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wander-over-the-words · 1 year

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Make Like An Atom

Summary: In which Nick’s “brother” is having his partner join a cult, and Nick might just have one or two grievances about that.

Characters: Nick Valentine, [Male] Sole Survivor (Nathan “Nate” West), Grand Zealot Richter; mentions of DiMA, Kasumi Nakano, Brian Virgil, Old Longfellow, High Confessor Tektus, Ellie Perkins, Father/Shaun, Paladin Danse, original Nick Valentine, Kenji Nakano, Eddie Winter, Piper Wright, Nat Wright, Dogmeat, Codsworth, Synth Shaun, John Hancock, Skinny Malone, Jennifer Lands.

Pairing: [Male] Sole Survivor/Nick Valentine.

Warnings: cult-related business, use of derogatory language toward the mentally ill (nothing people don’t call the Children of Atom in canon), radiation poisoning, description of vomiting; mentions of death, murder, execution, firearm usage.

Disclaimer: The Sole Survivor in this is based off how I played him - personality, looks, choices and all.

Notes: First Fallout 4 fic. Takes place during Far Harbor, and after the main story. I’ve always thought it was really sweet how genuinely worried Nick sounds when the Sole Survivor has to join the Children of Atom (he sounds like he’s trying to talk them out of it when it comes to going into the Nucleus), so here’s a fic about Nick being concerned about his bf joining a cult that worships something that could potentially kill him. Cause y’know you probably would be too. And let’s be real: that scene where the SS has to drink the irradiated water must look worrying as hell from Nick’s point of view.

Extra notes: This fic has literally been sitting around for about a year and I’m sick of having it hanging over me, mocking me, so I’m using the excuse of the “obligatory posting Nick Valentine content on Valentine’s Day” to finally get the damn thing posted.

All material belongs to Bethesda.

Fic available on AO3.

…

This is going too far. To hell with it - it’s already gone too far.

Nick honestly - shamefully - hadn’t thought much of it when DiMA wanted Nate to pose as a new recruit for the Children of Atom in order to gain access to their base. His mind had been so clogged with the recent revelations: the possibility of DiMA being family, this supposed information that his own head is failing to store all of his memories, Kasumi’s worries that DiMA is up to mischief, the fact that this case is proving to be a bigger doozy than just leaving the familiarity of the Commonwealth to find one lost girl.

And besides - the Children haven’t seemed like that big a threat until this point, at least in Nick’s experience. There’d been those who had attacked when people had trespassed upon their property (but, hey, who doesn’t do that in the Commonwealth?), but the bunch he and Nate had encountered in the Glowing Sea had been friendly, if just weary. Friendly enough, at least, to give them directions to Virgil’s cave, and to do no more than that.

Turns out, the folks back in Far Harbor had been right when they said everything on this island was bred nastier than that of the Commonwealth. Even extends to the people.

Stumbling upon the Children’s little ‘test of faith’ was not only proof of that, but a pretty fine wake-up call.

It’d been an even bigger wake-up call when the Grand Zealot told Nate what he’d need to do, to see if ‘Atom’ wanted Nate in their beloved group: go and drink irradiated water from the spring nearby and see what ‘Atom’ showed him.

Of course - Nate being Nate - he’d headed off without hesitation, and once they’d gotten to the spring and their geiger counters had started going haywire, Nick had had to speak up. He’d tried to suggest they just lie and say they did it.

Nate had brought up the prospect of them saying the wrong thing and losing the chance to get into the submarine base; joining up and thus doing what the Children asked of him was the only way to get in through non-violent means, like DiMA had wanted (not that non-violent means wouldn’t have been the plan anyway, as Nick’s proud to say he and his guy are on the same page about unnecessary violence).

Nick knows Nate well enough to know that he was going to go through with drinking the damn water, no matter what Nick said, so Nick had told him to at least take a Rad-X before doing this, but Nate had frustratingly turned that down too by ‘reminding’ him that the Children were obviously hoping the rads would do something to him, and the Rad-X might stop that from happening. Assured him he’d be fine, he’s gotten dosed with rads before, they have RadAway handy, everything will be fine.

Then he’d cupped his hands under the trickling water, brought it to his lips and swallowed it down.

Nick can’t begin to describe the panic that’d shot through him when Nate had choked, spraying water from between his teeth as he fought not to spit it out, and collapsed against the rocks, violently coughing, gasping for air; Nick had raced to grab the RadAway from their supplies immediately when he’d heard Nate gasp like he was shocked, and he’d looked up to find Nate staring, staring, up at the rocks above them, at…at something. When Nick had looked, he’d seen nothing - there’d been nobody there, his detection programming wasn’t picking up anything, but Nate had obviously been so sure, for he’d tracked it with his eyes as he’d stumbled away from the rocks, out of the spring, following this…thing he was seeing.

And then he’d taken off, staggering into Fog so thick, he’d almost immediately become a silhouette, and Nick had torn after him, calling for him and asking him what was wrong, what was he seeing.

He hadn’t gotten any answers at the time; Nate was muttering to himself, looking around like the world was unfamiliar to him, and Nick had turned up his auditory receptors to hear him. Occasionally, Nate would stop and say something to somebody - a confused “E-Excuse me,” or “Hello?” - or tell himself this couldn’t be real, and a couple of times, Nick had nearly jumped out of his synthetic skin when Nate had cried out in alarm and stopped suddenly like he was avoiding something, nearly making Nick crash into him.

Nick’s just glad he’d been coherent enough to take down the ferals waiting for them at the shrine Nate’s delusions had led them to. The second Nate had stopped talking nonsense and seemed to come back to reality - when Nick could hear him trying to work out the password to the terminal in the shrine - Nick had been pulling his sleeve up to find a vein to pump RadAway into, ushering Nate to sit down outside while he recovered.

Frighteningly, Nate’s face had been grey, he’d been bleeding from his nose and from the scrapes on his forehead and cheeks from where he’d crashed into the rocks back at the spring, and Nick had spotted a few loose strands of hair on the shoulders of Nate’s coat. Before Nick could get a needle into his arm, Nate had swatted his hands away, grunted out a request for him not to look, and had promptly vomited onto the ground beside them, which brought perhaps a small amount of relief that the poisoned water was officially out of Nate’s system (alongside some of that mirelurk jerky Longfellow had given him).

Once he’d successfully started to get RadAway into Nate’s system and collected a purified water from their supplies to wash his mouth out, Nick had wrenched Nate’s road goggles up into his shaggy hair to see the dazed and fatigued look in his bloodshot eyes, and he’d asked Nate how many fingers he was holding up to check how well the RadAway was flushing the so-called vision from Nate’s system. Even treated him to a stimpak for the wounds on his face, once the radiation allowed for proper healing again.

That’d been another little wake-up call: the rads. Maybe he’d thought too little of it before. There’s no way the Nucleus is as bad as the Glowing Sea, but if it’s enough to keep these fanatics happy…Well, they might be out of their depth here.

Or, at least…Nate is.

There’d been some icon…thing in the shrine, and the Grand Zealot is so pleasantly shocked when Nate shows it to him (because, of course, even to these crazies, Nate would turn out to be something special), and then comes the point of no return.

“I am ready to follow His path,” Nate says.

“Then it will be so,” the Grand Zealot replies.

Nick can’t help himself; he speaks up without even really thinking about it.

“I’m not sure this is such a good idea,” he says. “We barely know these people.”

He catches the slight twitch of Nate’s head as he just barely stops himself from turning around and looking at Nick, and the Grand Zealot looks at him with disdain but says nothing to him. He sees the way Richter looks at Nate, as if expecting Nate to say something in his place, probably tell ‘his’ synth to pipe down, but Nate doesn’t acknowledge it, so Richter goes on like Nick isn’t even there.

He gives a nod to the icon in Nate’s hand. “Head inside and present the icon to the High Confessor once his sermon is done. He’ll be interested in seeing that. Once you’ve spoken with him, you should come see me. Have a task I think you’d be useful for.”

Nick doesn’t like the way he says that.

“And here.”

Richter reaches back and holds a hand out to the guard standing behind him, who hands him a mass of dark fabric and a pair of boots, and Richter gives these to Nate.

“Some more…appropriate attire.” His already-serious expression turns into a harsh frown. “But know this: we are all devoted servants to Atom here. Messenger or no, actions against the Family will not be tolerated.”

Glancing at the body still strewn on the ground nearby, Nick thinks back to the ‘test of faith’ and his coolant turns to ice.

The frown lets up; does this man ever smile?

“Welcome, brother.”

Icon tucked under his arm, Nate looks the outfit over, then smiles with a nod and tells Richter he’s just going to change into this, he’ll meet him inside.

Richter gives him a nod, and Nate and Nick are left outside as Richter disappears into the Nucleus.

Nate gives a huff of a chuckle as he turns around, carrying the bundle of fabric, the boots and the icon as he leads the way back in the direction they’d come.

“You’re gonna blow my cover with talk like that, Nick,” he says quietly over his shoulder as Nick follows him.

“Can’t say I’d be sorry to,” Nick says honestly and just as quietly. “I’m tellin’ ya, doll, I’ve got a bad feeling about all this, and my ‘bad feelings’ are rarely wrong. Come on. Maybe we should just focus on getting Kasumi home - make like DiMA and forget about all this.”

“What, and lose the chance to find out what’s in DiMA’s memories, even though it could end up affecting this whole island?” Nate says with a hint of dramatics, then gives a small snort as he adds, more seriously, “Doesn’t sound like the Nick I know…”

He disappears behind one of the junk fences lining the Children of Atom’s land; Nick stays on the other side to give Nate his privacy, trying to look nonchalant as he feels the eyes of the man at the door on him.

“Yeah, well, the Nick you know didn’t have to watch you poison yourself with rads and go running off into dangerous Fog whilst prattling on about some figure you were seeing. This Nick did, so he’s starting to think this whole ‘joining the Children of Atom’ thing might’ve been a step too far.”

“No turning back now,” Nate says, and Nick can hear the shrug.

Nick frowns softly and opens his mouth to reply, only to stop when the collar of Nate’s coat (the one Ellie had given him as part of the detective outfit he’d received along with the offer of being Nick’s new partner, old clothes of Nick’s) falls into view as it hits the ground, and another shot of ice goes through Nick’s coolant.

That coat has been fitted with ballistic weave, so Nate is shedding his armour for the sake of this charade - meaning he’ll have no protection if someone tries to hurt him.

God knows Nate’s been through some dangerous stuff, and he’s done amazing things since clambering out of Vault 111. He’s already played double agent before, in both the Institute and the Brotherhood (triple agent? Quadruple?), and those had had their own fair share of risks too, but this is…this is different. The Institute were overzealous boogeymen, and Nate had had his son’s good word to protect him, and the Brotherhood were high and mighty zealots who just liked to hear Nate say ‘Ad victoriam’, and they’d trusted Danse’s vouching for him, but these people?

Well, they’re just plain off their rockers, and there’s nobody this time around to make sure Nate is left unbothered in this irradiated hell of unpredictable cultists. And he wishes Nate wouldn’t just…dive head-in and play the hero so recklessly.

(He’s being a huge hypocrite, of course, and Ellie would laugh at his claim about having ‘feelings’ at all about cases, but this isn’t about him, it’s Nate who’s in danger here.)

“Sure there is,” Nick replies. “We just don’t go in an’ let these people try and indoctrinate us.”

“They’re already expecting me, Nick,” Nate says; his tie is discarded onto his coat. “I found this…icon thing, remember? And I saw the, ah,” he puts on a deeper voice of faux-awe, “‘Mother of the Foooog’!”

(Nick might’ve laughed, in another situation.)

“Besides,” Nate goes on over the sound of rustling fabric, “what would we tell DiMA if we didn’t even get to go into the Nucleus? What would we tell Kasumi?”

Nick arches a brow. “That the plan was nuts and we didn’t wanna go through with it?”

“Nick…” Nate says through a fond chuckle. There’s a beat where Nick only hears the shuffling of fabric again, then Nate adds, “We’ve already committed ourselves to the cause. You really wanna just leave Kasumi’s worries floating in the wind like that?”

No, of course, he doesn’t, but…

“Well, we…don’t hafta do it this way. Found another way into the Institute, we can find another way into this place, even if we just…grab ourselves a couple Stealth Boys and wing it.”

“Ah! Sooo, what you’re saying is: I drank some poisoned water foooor…nothing?”

Of all the times to show his wit…

“Nate…”

“Why the hesitation, Nick?” Nate says. “Kasumi’s counting on us, DiMA’s expecting results and the Children already think I must be some sort of figure the ‘Mother of the Fog’ is speaking through or…something. Besides -”

There’s a beat where Nate doesn’t say anything, just gives a grunt, and then there’s the clicking of metal.

Then comes a soft thud and Nick looks to see that it’s Nate’s shoe that has hit the ground, landing atop his fallen coat and tie, and he realises Nate is changing into those boots - that clicking had been the sound of his prosthetic foot being shimmied out of its shoe.

“ - this is an opportunity, remember? To find out if DiMA was telling the truth about you guys having history. Aren’t you excited about that, at least?”

“Not sure ‘excited’ is the word for it…” Nick mutters, brow furrowed as he casts his gaze to the ground, catching the sight of Nate’s second shoe joining the first out of the corner of his eye.

It’s been an uncomfortable lump in the back of his mind ever since DiMA apparently recognised him, the prospect that DiMA is right and Nick has just…forgotten him.

When he’d awoken in that junk pile, still of half a mind that he was the real Nick Valentine, he’d just assumed he was blending in with that which was around him: trash. The Institute’s trash that they’d - he didn’t know - gotten bored of. Maybe he wasn’t doing what he was told and so the Institute got tired of trying to tie their strings to his wrists and make him dance, maybe they’d just found a new project and decided this dingy old prototype wasn’t fun to poke and prod at anymore.

The idea that someone wanted him out, helped him escape…no. Never been a thought. With the way the Institute treated synths, the very idea of mercy, let alone help, was laughable. But a second prototype…sure, he’s wondered if he was the only one ever made, but the fact that another prototype had not only been made and been with him that whole time, but had assisted him in getting out, is…well, it’s knocking a screw loose.

Another prototype…A ‘sibling’. A ‘brother’. Is that how it works? Are they family because they were on the same assembly line? Because they were…‘raised’ together?

When he thinks of his time in the Institute, he thinks of the single room he was in, the feeling of knowing somebody’s eyes were always on him, the yanking of parts coming loose in his head as they pulled him apart and put him back together, but he never thinks of a face like his own. Of someone…being there, with him, in the room.

Was it DiMA’s eyes that were always on him, or their creator’s, or both?

It’s all so confusing, he’s dangerously close to being overwhelmed - so the fact that they’re getting nearer and nearer to potential proof is causing him all sorts of levels of trepidation. If DiMA is right about them being brothers, then he’s right about everything else: that he really is just forgetting things because he can’t stuff anymore memories into his head. He hadn’t remembered Kenji at first, after all…and if he can’t fit anymore memories in, then…how long will it be before his hardware starts tossing out other things, important things, more recent things? The good times he’s had as of late, the fact that he’d completed his mission to get revenge on Winter, the people he knows and loves? Their motley crew back at Sanctuary, and the likes of Piper, Nat, Codsworth, Dogmeat, Shaun, Ellie…Nate…?

The idea of that, it…it scares him. Badly.

But that isn’t what’s important right now. What is important is the fact that DiMA’s little plan is putting Nate in the heart of an irradiated cult who carelessly gun down their own and want to shove rads down Nate’s throat until he’s as sickly and insane as the rest of them.

“And I appreciate how eager ya are to help me with that,” Nick goes on, “but…”

“But…?” Nate presses him.

Nick hesitates, then comes out with it: “But no answer would be worth it…if it costs you, doll.”

There comes silence then, even the sounds of outfits being changed has stopped, and Nick waits for Nate’s answer to that. No doubt, some other attempt at getting him to agree to this harebrained scheme, knowing Nate. He does love what a do-gooder his guy is, but even he has his limits.

“...Nick, could you…come back here with me for a moment? I, uh…don’t think I’m putting this on right.”

Nick blinks once, surprised.

Not the response he’d expected from putting his heart on his sleeve; Nate’s priorities are getting a little skewed. Besides, he hadn’t thought those robes looked particularly difficult to put on - looked sort of just like a jumper and some trousers to him - but heck, what does he know about the uniforms of these loons?

“Uh…alright,” he says confusedly, putting a hand to the fence as he turns on the spot.

He steps behind the junk wall, and before he can process the sight of Nate before him in full uniform, the lapels of his coat are grabbed and he’s pulled forward so suddenly he nearly falls, and Nate’s body is crushed against his in a hug.

Caught off-guard, Nick takes a moment to fully recognise what’s happening, his body frozen and his hands hovering in the air, then his autonomy comes back to him and he returns Nate’s hug, slowly. His hands go to Nate’s upper back and he holds him as he feels Nate lean his head against his own, shifting his fedora. The man’s got only two inches of height over him, but somehow, he’s one of the few people who have ever made Nick feel…small.

“I’ll be alright, Nick,” Nate says, close to Nick’s ear, warmly but seriously. “I promise. I’m not gonna let them talk me into doing anything that I can’t happily be a part of. We’re just gonna go in there, grab DiMA’s memories and go, and we’ll figure the rest out later.” There’s a beat. “Besides, you…do know this is just an act, right? That I don’t really believe in all this ‘Atom’ junk?”

“Course I know,” Nick says, then sighs through his nose. “It’s just that this meeting with the Children of Atom turned out…a little different than what I expected. The folks we came across in the Glowing Sea didn’t even point a gun at us, but these people…”

He gives another small sigh, then breaks the hug so he can look Nate in the face, transferring his hands to Nate’s waist instead as he remains in Nate’s personal bubble.

Looking him in the face has become slightly more rewarding, since Nate has had the courtesy of moving his road goggles up into his chestnut brown hair, giving Nick the opportunity to have his own yellow eyes lock with Nate’s hazel-blue ones.

“Just…watch what you say in there, will ya? Don’t want you endin’ up like that other guy.”

He glances in the direction of the man who had been killed, and Nate puts a hand to Nick’s cheek and turns his head to bring Nick’s attention back to him.

“I always watch what I say. And if I don’t, well - I got you around to keep me in line, right?” he asks, and when he gets a small smile, he leans forward to kiss it.

Nick gladly returns his kiss, turning it from a simple peck to a deeper smooch, enough that both of them close their eyes and hold it for a few calming seconds before Nate breaks it to smile at him.

Nick still looks concerned, thinking back to the image of Nate, dazed and pale, bleeding from his nose, starting to lose his hair, sitting next to his own puke. Nate’s been hit with rads on their travels before, but Nick had never seen him look so…ill.

“Don’t suppose you…packed your hazmat suit?”

He knows how ridiculous he sounds - if Nate packed his suit, Nick would know it, his bag ain’t that spacious - and such as it is, Nate laughs at the prospect.

“No, I didn’t,” he adjusts Nick’s lapels, straightening them from where he’d grabbed at them, “and we don’t really have the time to head back to Sanctuary to pick it up. I’d…probably be offending them, anyhow.” He gives a hiss of a laugh. “They’d probably accuse me of,” he puts on a deeper, dramatic voice, “blocking Atom’s holy touch! Such blasphemy!”

Nick can’t help the short chuckle that leaves him as he hangs his head.

“Alright…” he says wearily. “I can see when I’m beat.” He lifts his head back up to look Nate in the eye seriously. “But you tell me if you start gettin’ sick, alright? Don’t try and play the tough guy act and muscle through it, not even if one of those Children are around to hear you complaining…I’m not losin’ you to rad poisoning.”

“I could end up as a Ghoul instead.” Nate shrugs a shoulder, looking up like he’s genuinely thinking about this. “Hancock’s always saying I’d make a great Ghoul.”

“Yeah, well, he would.” He gives Nate’s waist a shake. “But I’m bein’ serious here.”

“I know, Nick. I’ve been watching my rad count ever since I realised my Pip-Boy has a geiger counter.” Nate looks at him and smirks. “Since when did you go all Mother Hen?”

“Since my guy decided drinking poisoned water for the sake of a bunch of cultists was a good idea.”

“Leeet’s be honest here, Nick: is it really…the weirdest thing I’ve ever done?”

“I’ll get back to you on that verdict,” Nick says dryly, “depending on what happens next.”

Nate laughs, leaning in to Nick’s embrace, and thusly, Nick brings him in and holds him close.

Best thing to happen to him in perhaps ever, this man; saved him from Skinny Malone, from wrestling with the original Nick Valentine’s past for the rest of his days, had so happily helped him find all those holotapes, stood aside and let him kill Eddie Winter on his own and then stood by him where Jennifer Lands had died and let Nick say his piece. Brought him on this whirlwind of an adventure that culminated in exterminating the boogeyman that had had the Commonwealth running scared for so long - and through it all, went ahead and made Nick fall for him.

How many of Nick’s clients could say they’d done that?

Just the one - this one right here, in Nick’s arms (though he hasn’t been just a client for a long while now).

So if anything happens to Nate while they’re carrying out this plan of DiMA’s, Nick will be taking his grievances straight back to ‘bro’.

Nate pulls back from their hug, and Nick rests his metal hand on Nate’s cheek, thumb brushing tenderly over the sideburn lining his jaw, before Nate takes a step back, removing himself from Nick entirely. He pulls his road goggles back down over his eyes, then ushers Nick over with a quick curl of his fingers.

“Here,” he says, “gimme your hand.”

“Hm?”

Nick watches as Nate stoops to pick up a boot, and only then does Nick realise their hug had interrupted Nate completing his new look: his right foot’s found its way into the new boot the Children have provided, while the left is naked, since Nate doesn’t bother putting a sock on his prosthetic.

“Oh,” Nick says, understanding, and offers a hand for Nate to hold so he can balance himself as he goes to one foot, shimmying the boot over his fake foot.

Once he’s finally managed to get it on, he’s all set. Nate steps back and holds out his hands to put himself on display.

“So,” he says, “how do I look?”

Nick looks him up and down, taking in the sight of Nate in the baggy, dark robes, and he replies exasperatedly, “Like a fanatic.”

“Hm - that’s great,” Nate replies, ducking to collect the coat, tie and shoes of his discarded outfit (he’s wearing the robes over his shirt and trousers, evidently), “then I’ll fit right in.”

Nick can’t help the small scoff of a chuckle that leaves him as Nate stuffs his clothes into his bag. Before he can pick the bag up, Nick ducks down and retrieves a bottle of Rad-X from one of its front pockets, waving it at him.

“I’ll slip ya these when you start lookin’ pale,” Nick says. He pops open the bottle, shakes out a pill onto his palm, then holds it out. “Best to take one now, before we head in there.”

Nate hesitates, then stands up to look at Nick properly.

“Are you sure you wanna come in there with me?” he asks. “DiMA said these people accept synths, but…the looks they were giving you when we showed up…”

“Tryin’ to get rid of me, huh?” Nick asks teasingly. “Didn’t think I was being that much of a wet blanket. But you can forget it - you’re not going in there without me, no matter how these people feel. Remember: DiMA said there was some Pre-War security keepin’ the Children of Atom from getting their paws on those memories of his. Could be anything in there, and I’d feel a whole lot better about all this if I was there to watch your back.”

“Are you sure?” Nate winces and adds hesitantly, “I mean…you do look a lot like DiMA. If anyone in there has a problem with him…they could have a problem with you too.”

Nick shrugs. “Half the Commonwealth has a problem with me. Hasn’t stopped me yet.”

Nate gives him a small smile. “Alright. It’s your call. But you may have to hold me back if anybody in there says anything about you.”

“Hey, now,” Nick cracks a smile (he doesn’t approve of Nate’s wish to pummel anybody who gives him lip, but it is sweet), “DiMA wants us doin’ this without violence, remember?”

“Sure, but,” Nate stoops to collect a can of purified water from his bag, “I feel like DiMA would understand if I told him I punched a guy in your honour.”

Nate stands up and plucks the pill from Nick’s palm, sits it on his tongue, then gulps down some water. He gives a hard swallow as the pill goes down, then nods once and drinks the rest of the water from the can. He drops the can to the ground, squashes it with his prosthetic foot, then returns the metal to his bag, most likely to convert it into raw materials for building projects later; funny, what one can make with junk.

Nate picks up his bag and rolls his shoulders, clapping his hands once in preparation.

“Alright,” Nate says, “let’s do this.”

He passes by Nick to walk around the fence, and Nick sighs wearily as he watches him go.

“Yeah,” he mumbles. “Let’s.”

He follows Nate, gaining the attention of the guard by the door, who watches them closely as they approach. For a moment, Nick thinks he might be suspicious, but then the man just tells Nate that the High Confessor is in the middle of his sermon still, and that Nate should listen in.

Nate gives an obedient nod and raises a triumphant, excited fist as he slaps on a grin and exclaims, “Glory to Atom!”

As Nate disappears into the Nucleus, Nick casts the guard a deadpanned look and half-heartedly raises his own fist.

“What he said,” Nick adds dryly, and follows Nate inside.

#My writing #Fallout 4 #Nick Valentine #Sole Survivor #Nick Valentine x Sole Survivor #Fallout #fo4 #Far Harbor #Far Harbor DLC #Male Sole Survivor #Sole Survivor: Nathan ''Nate'' West

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howwelldoyouknowyourmoon · 3 years

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Review: ‘Growing Up Moonie’ Details Life Inside the Unification Church

by Nic Dobija-Nootens April 15, 2019

https://podcastreview.org/review/growing-up-moonie/

When Hideo Higashibaba was 22 years old, he left his family and the cult he was born into. Unlike people who join cults later in life — who we typically think of when we think of cult members — Higashibaba never chose to be part of the Unification Church. The decision was made for him before birth, and it would become a breaking point between him and the community he grew up in.

In his podcast Growing Up Moonie, Higashibaba details his life inside and now outside the Unification Church, a cult with an estimated 1 to 2 million members worldwide. [250,000 is a more realistic maximum.] The show is deeply personal and at times heartbreaking, and it offers a more nuanced view into the complexity of cults than more common stories about captivating leaders or the media frenzies surrounding them.

Although the Unification Church describes itself as a Christian religious movement, the organization’s strict beliefs, autocratic structure, and rigorous ingrouping are telltale signs of a cult.

Founded [in Seoul] in 1954 by Sun Myung Moon, a North Korean defector, the Unification Church would have its members believe Moon was a messiah figure who was free of sin and held sole power to forgive their sins. After Moon moved to the United States in the 1970s and gained attention for holding large rallies and mass wedding ceremonies, in which thousands of couples would be married simultaneously, people both within and outside the group began referring to members as “Moonies” as a reference to the founder.

Like many Moonies, Higashibaba’s parents, who both joined the Unification Church on their own, were matched by Moon and entered into an arranged marriage. Their mass ceremony, along with approximately 2,074 other couples, took place in 1982 at Madison Square Garden, a video of which is available online. Higashibaba, as a “second generation” Moonie or “blessed child,” was told to believe he was born without sin and was superior to other kids, which made fitting in with people outside the Unification Church difficult, even if they were part of his own family.

In the show, Higashibaba recalls relatives mocking him and his parents for being Moonies, calling them “brainwashed” and “weak-minded.” As a kid, Higashibaba was hurt by these remarks. The Unification Church was simply part of his family’s backdrop, and he was too young to see how its members were manipulated into believing that they were the insiders, while everyone else were outsiders. Ultimately, that kind of dichotomy reinforced by the Unification Church drove wedges between Moonies and the non-Moonie world, usually causing members to double down in their faith and engagement.

Higashibaba’s central point with Growing Up Moonie is that he and other “second gens” never had a choice in becoming Moonies. The Unification Church and its members made up much of his life and profoundly shaped his worldview. And because he was discouraged from pursuing non-Moonie friendships, it would be years before he realized leaving was ever a possibility.

▲ The Unification Church blessing ceremony of 777 couples officiated by founder Sun Myung Moon and his wife, Hak Ja Han. The womb-like decoration is similar to others seen at UC mass weddings.

In the course of independently recording and producing the show with editor Quinn Myers, Higashibaba interviewed other “second gens” about growing up in the Unification Church. Their lives and the relationships they navigate with their families are far more complicated than can be conveyed by any news headline, partly because their experiences weren’t all negative.

A woman who Higashibaba calls “Jenn” reminisces over the fun of large church services and playing with other Moonie children at a waterfront retreat. Another woman, Teruko, fondly remembers traveling through Europe and fundraising with Unification missionaries. And despite being shunned for breaking off an arranged marriage or “blessing,” then marrying a non-Moonie, Teruko remains in the Unification Church.

Moonies, like other cult members, can’t easily leave because their lives, identities, and families are so deeply entwined in the Unification Church. The sense that every member is part of one enormous “true family” is a great source of comfort and inspiration for many involved, but it’s also a manipulative tactic to scare people into staying.

Although Higashibaba started questioning his beliefs in high school, he didn’t leave the Unification Church until years later, because it would also entail cutting himself off from his family. When he finally left in college, he relied on support from non-Moonie friends to help him through his depression and self-reckoning.

That same year, Higashibaba also came out as gay, something he found empowering, but that he never could have celebrated within the Unification Church. Moonies do not accept homosexuality, period. The founder Moon, who died in 2012, was once quoted calling gay people “shit-eating dogs.” For most of us, who don’t grow up in a cultish structure, discovering who we are and what makes us happy is a big enough challenge. So needing to disconnect yourself from your family in order to find yourself, as Higashibaba did, is terrifying.

When I spoke with Higashibaba about the show’s personal focus, he said he considered doing more of an investigative approach to covering the Unification Church, but after beginning the project he realized the contributions his story could offer not only other cult survivors, but other people born into restrictive religious groups in general.

“I’m hoping this podcast creates some space for how incredibly complicated it is to turn your back on your family or to turn your back on faith,” Higashibaba said. “There are minute compromises and negotiations that all of us make day in and day out when it comes to whether or not we have to give up our relationships with our families, and I think the less privilege that you have in this world…the more dire and intense those compromises become. Making it normal to have these difficult compromises and negotiations…hopefully will create a more realistic picture of what it feels like to be in a cult, and help de-sensationalize the experience for other people.”

Although there are documentaries, TV specials, and miniseries about cults, they often overlook the everyday individuals living and struggling through them. Instead, they demonstrate the bizarreness of the charismatic leader or emphasize the shocked public perception. By not focusing on Sun Myung Moon, or the Unification Church’s millions of dollars worth of investments and business dealings, the show strikes a brilliantly human connection. Ultimately, that connection is more devastating to bear than any flashy exposé.

Higashibaba grew up seeing the Moonies and other cults made fun of in sitcoms and comedy movies, and he found it maddening. “As somebody who used to be in a cult watching this, I felt very othered, and a lot like a zoo animal,” he said. “Like, ‘Look at these weird people and the weird stuff they believe.’ It’s all quite dehumanizing.” Growing Up Moonie is now one way for those people to be seen, and an honest look at a difficult group for the rest of us.

“Cults are really fun to cover because they seem uncomplicated, but actually they aren’t,” he said. “There’s so many stories of broken hearts because of them, and in other cult media I never got to see the heartbreak that I have experienced in it, and I wanted that to be in the story.”

_______________________________________

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/growing-up-moonie/id1453725149

#Hideo Higashibaba #Moonies #cult #Sun Myung Moon

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heartslogos · 3 years

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newfragile yellows [1000]

“You shut up," Ellana doesn't even look as she points behind herself. “You don’t' get to fuckin' talk. You step foot anywhere, literally anywhere, and disaster falls in the most absurdly in line and thematic way for you. You don’t get to mock me right now.”

Carver holds his hands up in surrender as he glances towards his siblings. “Hey. I’m not disagreeing with you. Maybe you should’ve considered not inviting us on your vacation.”

“I’m hoping that your negative energy will cancel out whatever the hell it is I’ve got going on. If your lot is on one side of the island having some kind of survivor-esque drama playing out, it might draw all of the bad luck and vacation ruining events away from me.”

Ellana looks like a hunted woman as she quickly surveys the small and almost entirely empty airport. It’s such a small airport that there’s only one baggage carousel and it’s directly inside the building from the tarmac.

“Previous attempts have proven it isn’t the straight people, it’s not the white people, it’s not men, it’s something uniquely me.”

“Didn’t we learn anything from the skiing trip that turned into a B-movie?” Garrett asks, stretching his arms above his head as Bethany downs a bottle of water next to him.

“That was your entire crew. This time it’s just you four,” Ellana points out. “The experiments are still ongoing. Bull, tell me it’s good news.”

“It’s good news, the rental cars are ready and they look good. I did a full inspection, boss. Nothing wrong with the tires, all the cables look good, fluid levels are fine, AC works, radio works, everything works.” Bull nods towards the exit to the airport. “I’ve even got Pentaghast checking right now.”

Ellana nods. “Josephine, Leliana. Good news on your end?”

“Hotel reservations for all of us are correct,” Josephine says as she hands Leliana a small electric fan. “I have our room numbers, I have dinner reservations, and I’ve got a spa resort deal booked for those of us who opted in.”

“Wonderful. Hand the Hawke’s their thing so they can get a head start on taking their chaotic energy as far away from me as possible on this small island.”

“Careful, Lavellan, I’ll start to think you don’t like us,” Marian teases as she hefts her bag over her shoulder and kicks Carver in the calf. “Come on, lets go. I need to shower and get something that isn't airplane food into my stomach. I’m starving. Has anyone called back home yet to let them know we survived a plane ride with Ellana Lavellan and company?”

Ellana waves the group off as she turns to examine her own set of friends.

“Everyone looks in one piece. No signs of fever? Explosive stomach issues? Kidney failure? Pulled muscles? Think long and hard about this. We haven’t had anything ruined by food poisoning yet. Or strange bizarre diseases. And no, Dorian, I’m not tempting fate. I’m being practical.”

Cullen jogs up to meet them. “Alright. I’ve secured contact with the nearest Inquisition bases and allied forces naval vessels. Exits to the island are secured and ready in case of an emergency event.”

“Delightful. And the security check?”

“The third security sweep was completed about an hour before we landed. Nothing to report. Not even so much as a recent traffic stop.”

“Alright,” Bull puts his hands on Ellana’s shoulders and slowly steers her towards the exit, gesturing for the others to quickly follow before Ellana can change her mind, “I know what you’re thinking. Suspicious. Sounds like this place has something to hide. Like some sort of crazy cannibal cult or brain-washing sect that throws people into the ocean or whatever. But it’s a resort island. I’ll swear to whatever god you want. All of them, even. It’s run purely by capitalism and guess what we, as the Inquisition have a lot of? Capital. So it’s okay. We’re going to relax. Nothing is going to go wrong. And if something does go wrong it’ll be something we’ve prepared for. We’ve planned for literally everything. Also we packed an entire battalion’s worth of weaponry.”

“And think of it this way,” Leliana says, squinting up into the extremely bright blue sky and shading her eyes, “If something does go wrong we have the Hawke family here. If this is a movie that’s insurance that things end well. You don’t kill off the main characters of your series.”

“Ellana isn’t the main character?” Dorian asks. “Strange. Considering all the things happening around her one would guess she’d be the protagonist.”

“Different genre,” Blackwall points out. “She’s definitely in the genre of story that can get a bad ending.”

“The man’s right and he’s gotta say it,” Sera calls out from the far back. “Get a move on. I need to breathe air that wasn’t recycled and wasn’t breathed by the rest of you stale fucks.”

“Eloquent as always,” Dorian sighs.

“We are attempting to use their good-ending genre power to cancel out my possible bad-ending genre powers,” Ellana says.

“Like they’re a summer blockbuster and you’re a convoluted indie flop?”

“Thank you for the comparison, Krem. You make me feel ever so good about myself.”

“I’m calling it like it is.”

“Alright, get in the car before the boss does so she can see it’s safe and reasonable.” Bull shoves Krem.

Pentaghast waves at them and points towards one of the cars behind her. “Those are clear. I’ve got one more to check.”

“Thank you Cassandra,” Ellana says as she walks past the woman, “You’re a gift and a treasure.”

Pentaghast nods at them as they pass, crouches down next to the final car, and lifts it about five inches with her bare hands as she inspects the underside.

“What movie would Cassandra be in?” Leliana asks Krem.

“After seeing that do you even need to ask?” Krem rolls his eyes, taking one of Leliana’s suitcases and carefully loading it into the trunk.

Dorian, at another car, has already finished loading his luggage and is already inside. Ellana goes to follow, warily eyeing the car before sliding into the darkened interior.

Dorian takes one of her hands in his, giving it a quick squeeze.

“Relax. This is a vacation. A holiday. Time off. You’re supposed to unwind, not get more — this. Relax your jaw, it looks painful.”

“I’m waiting for this car to explode,” Ellana says.

“Morbid. You think that will happen before or after you pop my fingers out of their joints with how hard you’re squeezing my hand? I’d prefer before, to be honest with you.”

#heartsfic #gather your party and venture forth

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voidvoyeur · 4 years

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GIVE A MAN A MASK ...

As always, a disclaimer that this is my personal lukewarm take, imbued in my portrayal. I do not regard the following analysis as an objective truth to all - but an important facet to the writing and characterisation on this blog.

The use of masks in the horror genre has consistently been a crux to unsettle its audience. By not showing a face we perceive as ‘true’ there is the instinctive notion that such a character who wears a mask has something to hide. A masked villain is intentionally separated from their cast of heroes, victims and extras, all of which are unveiled. In Michael’s case, his mask is meant to unnerve these characters before it terrifies, at first sight forcing the onlooker, Laurie, to question whether she has something to fear at all, if she is being too superstitious - especially on Halloween of all days.

This is achieved with the mask’s design, an uncanny impression of a man’s face (originally William Shatner’s...). The facial structure alludes to an initial, unremarkable presence of a passing stranger, but the hollowed, black eyes and impossibly white pallor intrude - presenting a loss or absence of humanity. One of the most succinct explorations into this effect is by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas in Masks in Horror Cinema: Eyes Without Faces, most relevantly quoting J.P. Telotte, ‘[the mask] is neither grotesque or distorted nor natural, but more resembling the face of a dead man.’ With this analogy, it becomes clear that Michael’s face serves as a reflection of the fate of his victims, inhabiting both the fear he evokes and death he inflicts. Doctor Loomis prophecises this in his monologue, detailing the ‘blank, pale, emotionless face’ and ‘the blackest eyes, the devil’s eyes’. What makes this a prophetic monologue is that this reading of Michael’s maskless face becomes a reality which we and Laurie have experienced, and will continue to do so with Michael’s ‘mask’. It is now an argument of whether the mask is a mask at all, but Michael’s true face. If Michael himself is aware of this encapsulation of both fear and death, then Loomis is a mouthpiece for Michael’s own self-fulfilling prophecy, embracing the belief of being ‘pure and simply evil’ - using the mask to enact his role, as Murray Leeder claims, ‘Like an actor in a Greek drama, [wearing] his villainy plainly on his face,’ but I would modify that it is not ‘on’ his face but ‘as his own face.’ In Dead by Daylight, his place as a killer among killers still may not deter from how eerie he is to see from a survivor’s perspective. Applicable is thegamingmuse’s analysis of Valtiel in Silent Hill 3, ‘He looks more human than almost all the other creatures we see, but that only makes him more upsetting. The similarities make the differences stand out all the more.’ Michael stands within the space between the familiar and unfamiliar, what we know and what we don’t know. In the film, he demands to be looked at, especially in Haddonfield where he agitates the suburban safety of the town. And when he is not in the scene at first glance, he still demands to be looked for because we know he doesn’t function within the same physical laws as a human, but we do not know the exact extent of what that power means. When comparing his 1978 mask to the 2007 remake’s, the original mask’s ‘wholeness’ is much clearer. For the most part, Carpenter and Hill’s Michael is pristinely presented - his mask unblemished, suggesting a fully realised sense of self in both his role and belief of being a villain. In contrast, Zombie’s Michael is damaged and deteriorating. Befitting the director’s more psychological interpretation of his character ambling between the role of victim and villain - a cracked and marred mask portraying a more ‘damaged’ and unstable sense of self, a malformed identity hinged upon reuniting with his sister - and when he fails to do so that mask and identity becomes all the more ‘incomplete’ in the sequel. Whereas in 1978, Michael is (presumably) completely extricated from his family after murdering Judith, assured and arrogant in his character of stalker, perpetrator and killer. What is notable is its only point of damage would be a hole in the neck from Laurie stabbing him with a knitting needle - leaving a permanent mark in the same area of anatomy Michael exploits to overpower his victims through strangulation. Her action in the narrative showing her refusal to be disposable — consequentially having ‘living’, tangible proof. She, along with Loomis, is one of the rare few to try and prove his mortality - only to result in him getting back up, asserting his enduring immortality. This immortality is even foretold in his face, ever watchful with an unblinking stare - bearing a likeness to ivory statues and figure sculptures throughout Western art history, depicting culturally significant fictional and historical figures. Just as sculptors like Michelangelo, Bernini and Rodin have brought such characters to solid life, Michael is immortalising himself just as these statues are commissioned to immortalise their subject, mythologising himself (which ... considering his fandom cult status). If he is likened to a marble statue then he assumes the infallibility of the same material, his silicone flesh does not decay. Simultaneously, we know he can move therefore we are prey to an ominous atmosphere, led to think when he is not immobile within our line of sight, he is still able to walk behind us without our knowing. It also raises the question of if his mask is what grants him infallibility to death... In contrast to his impassive white mask, his smiling clown facade at the start of the movie seems to be a hyperbolic mockery of emotion. Compared to Zombie’s choice of Michael wearing his most recognisable mask when murdering Judith, Heller-Nicholas stating, ‘Here the mask has a distinctly adult look, and on Michael’s body it suggests he is a child capable of committing ‘adult’ crimes.’ Whereas in the original, the clown mask has a disarming playfulness and infantile innocence, further adding to the shock reveal that this was a child who killed his older sister. For five minutes (or a few seconds if you were unaware of his age) he fits within the uncanny child trope, defamiliarising what we expect a child to be capable of, the unmasking of a child doubles as the unmasking of a killer. More so is it unnerving to consider how much in the same way clowns exist between comedy and tragedy, evoking laughter from their audience with staged stunts going awry and choreographed misfortune, the young Michael derives joy from the tragic act of murdering his sister. It is also important to note that Judith immediately recognises her younger brother while he is masked, solidifying he will be the mask he wears. Fifteen years later, his victims are deprived of this same familiarity and knowledge. The sinister truth of the clown costume is brought home all the more when Jamie Lloyd chooses similar garb as her trick or treat outfit in Halloween 4. Later fulfilling - or possessed by - the same prophecy of evil when killing her foster mother at the end. Throughout the movie, everything she feels is written on her face, she is unmasked and entirely honest in her terror, pain, brief happiness and sympathy until she has inherited Michael’s evil, the red pom-pom nose referencing Michael’s own crime when he was a child, while the eyemask also references his visibly void gaze now – adopting his mask’s dead-set impassivity with her own face. Again, the child’s crime is shocking but there is no moment of unmasking, rather the opposite: an inherited mask. Even beyond the Halloween franchise, the significance of Michael’s mask is brought back into the pop culture consciousness through the subversion of other killers in the same genre. In Scream, Wes Craven creates a direct relationship with Halloween while transgressing from it, parodying the slasher horror formula. This is even evident when comparing Michael and Ghostface’s masks; the two are similar in their pitch black eyes and white faces but where Michael’s is intended to evoke fear in the audience and narrative’s victims, embodying a disturbing synonymity between an everyman and dead man, Ghostface’s mirrors the screaming faces of the audience and characters - mocking their fear. Much like Jamie Lloyd, Ghostface credits a certain lineage to The Shape, but where Jamie unwittingly follows in her franchise father’s (or uncle’s) footsteps, Ghostface is the teenager trying to rebel against his forefather’s conventions. Ultimately, Michael’s mask serves as a blank page or screen to project our fears, ideals and theories onto. As much as anyone, including his own psychiatrists, would want to know why he wears a mask, there will be a range of readings that can only be individual interpretation because the only certainty is the mask is designed, as a cinematic device, to be emotionally provocative of caution and fear. Nonetheless, my own interpretation is exactly that - he wears it to primarily provoke a reaction and to witness the expression of those who witness him, knowing full well he is personifying the horror his victims suffer -- and we as an audience experience.

#META / HEADCANON.#( and i didnt even get to h2018 lmao .....................#I'VE BEEN Wanting to do this for a while and quarantine provides ample time #was just a question of attention span ! !

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aalt-ctrl-del · 3 years

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sean hannity and rush limbaugh used to be these funny nuicances. Ultra conservative blokes, Prez Obama hating cultist, evangelical ranters about the evils of a black man president. Trash talk radio, so right wing

Kind of my first introduction to them was this whole debacle about a chicken tender that some kid brought to lunch, which was confiscated, and the drama went on for months. It was the whole FL Michelle’s promotion thing for health meals rather than trash meals, and I guess this school tanked the ideal of it super hard.

𝒜𝒩𝒴𝒲𝒜𝒴

catching snippets of them in our current climate, talking about trump and his tantrums refusing to concede. It’s bizarre. I call a lot of these people insane, since I’m not sure what else to call people who have an utter detachment from reality; an utter lack of comprehension or critical thinking. The blatant denial of what is going on in our world at this time, in major cities across the nation. In a city right next to my home.

For context, utilizing an unrelated topic. We have a guy that goes into a school and shoots up the place. Shoots a lot of teens, teachers, kills people or maims them. Kind of like the virus, only we don’t have shootings right now because most schools are shut down due to the pandemic.

But we’ll have students that survive, who come forward - with outrage fueling their motives, with hurt and trauma marking their words - they talk about the experience and what they want done. But you’ll have these guys like rush or hannity, calling them fake survivors and paid actors.

And this is true. trump said it too, the right-wing - NRA erections anonymous, and rush and hannity repeat it to their cult.

What is wrong with these people? What is going on in the head of someone that says, “These youths survived a traumatic experience, which very well might’ve killed them if they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. I can make a profit by - without an ounce of evidence - point the finger of doubt, and rally my followers against them. Because 2nd Amendment rights are the blood of the nation.” And that is how they make a living.

Not by educating their cult, but by fueling the gullible, delusional, fanatics. Validating the cultists conspiracy narrative, and giving them a platform, the right, to question whether the victim really did deserve to get shot for going to school that day.

And it’s happening once more, with the corona virus. hannity and rush behave like everything is completely normal, that we’re not 40 Million unemployed, thousands facing eviction, and a virus shredded through communities - killing hundreds of thousands and maiming thousands of others.

They play this lil game on trumps behalf, pretending that trump is completely within his right to recount absentee ballots from each and every state he lost - but only the states that went blue. It’s as if they have this ideal, wherein they’ll say, “How is it possible trump couldn’t win? He’s so charismatic, and brave, and he speaks with such eloquence. It can’t possibly be that 243,000 people are dead, and that butterfly effect influenced the decision of millions.”

And it might have been a different matter if trump was out there, trying to get control of the corona virus. Putting experienced people in charge of the pandemic response, listening to the doctors, congratulating Dr. Fauci for his efforts and hard work toward exploring the vaccines in production. Or, even addressing people, and informing them on measures for reducing spread. Y’know, the things that would make people endeared toward a sympathetic human person, and empower us in a time of tragedy.

But trump doesn’t do any of those things. He’s a decaying lobster in a fish tank, that the restaurant hasn’t removed because they have poor hygienic practices. trumps moronic and delusional fanatics chew on his carcass, since that’s all they got in that stagnant tank. They pretend trump is correct and has every right to be a dredge, and it makes them look like lunatics to normal functioning people. I don’t think they remember anymore what it’s like, to be normal people. If you took away their platform - they don’t have credibility but to their cult members - these people are no different from the evangelical cult members, speaking in tongues, insisting that “foreign angels will strike them down” - them being the absentee ballots, or people counting them?

hannity and rush have never actually pursued truth or facts, their narrative is always “as bizarre as that sounds, it’s the only lead we got.” It doesn’t matter if they themselves insists that no one takes it seriously, the point of it is that they make their bread from deluding thousands. They sell a product which studies have shown has a detrimental affect on the health of safety of the vast majority that take it. They discredit and mock people, even young people, who have survived traumatic experiences, and they dismiss the casualties of thousands.

They are the most sublevel of human beings.

#rush limbaugh #sean hannity #fake people #evangelical #mega church #cult #right wing #conservative #people we could function without #free speech does not permit you to advise people to drink bleach

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procancelled · 4 years

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Let’s Start A Riot (2008)

I want to start out by saying that while this album came out in 2008 so some of the stuff I reference may not have happened yet, the lyrics show that he had the ideas.

Also while some of these may seem like nothing, or very minor, given the things Dahvie has said I think that it’s important to look at everything he has chosen to put out to gain fans. The messages his fans are getting.

I Can’t Get Enuff

I’ll hit you harder than meth

I’ll leave you gasping for breath

References to rough sex and Dahvie’s oral sex fixation as well as drug references. I feel like the references to drugs matter a lot more now that we know he gives drugs to minors, clearly has access to drugs and promotes them.

Bitches Get Stitches

Stop the hate congratulate

Dahvie dismisses all criticism as hate which is always a red flag, especially when that hate is to do with any kind of sexual crime (Though this was before the Jessi Slaughter incident there were still allegations against him at this time)

You know my name so eat some cake

Flaunting his fame and clearly doesn’t care if people know his name for negative reasons.

Party hardy grab Bacardi

Young audience having alcohol referenced towards them. He gives minors alcohol, slips drugs in their drinks and then rapes them.

Talk your shit watch you get hit

Violent nature towards anyone who speaks up against him. Gives the idea that being violent towards anyone who says anything negative about him or the band is okay.

What’s up with that awful gossip

Rape and pedo allegations are not just ‘gossip’ dismissing it as something so trivial is gross. He’s just trying to convince his fans that anything they hear is just ‘gossip’ and not to be taken seriously while not saying what the ‘gossip’ is.

Don’t be mad cus my hair is so rad

Your hair is a wig. I don’t know if it was at the time but I would assume it was, or parts of it were extensions of some kind. And I have no problem with people wearing a wig, but when someone is pretending it’s their real hair and are wearing it to look younger so they can maintain having a young audience who they can take advantage of, yeah, I have many, many problems with that.

Also Dahvie offers to do young girls’ hair as a way to be alone with them so he can take advantage of them.

Bitches get stitches, end up in ditches

Violence and demeaning towards women

So get the riches

Cares about money a lot more than say, being a decent human being. He scams his fans out of money.

Check yourself before you wreck yourself

Acting like everyone who says anything about the allegations about him have the facts wrong

OMG blah, blah, blah

Rude and dismissive. Teaching his fans to act that way

I’m rated x for explicted sex

To me this feels like Dahvie is saying ‘I make it clear I’m sexual so you can’t blame me for what I do!’

You can talk your shit

You can run those lips

Implying that people who talk about the allegations are lying

You’re only making me famous you ignoramus

Dahvie is clearly a man who believes that all press is good press. This also, again, shows how much he cares for fame and how demeaning and insulting he is towards those who question him.

I’m dangerous

Well we can agree about something Dahvie.

Again his violent and threatening nature shows though.

You can talk your shit you’re only making me famous

This is a message he still puts out to this day and he makes his fans push it out too. He just calls everyone who exposes him for the awful person he is a liar.

And again, he continues to go on about fame and gaining more fame. More fame means more underage fans that he can take advantage of.

Blood On The Dance Floor

Slash, gash, terror, whore

I like you better on the floor

Shows Dahvie’s views on women and how demeaning those views are. Also uses violent language while referencing sex.

On the bed give me head

Oral sex fixation and demanding

Make you scream, candy cream

Childish

Scene sluts like it super rough

That’s the way they like to fuck

Shows that he goes for scene girls, who more often than not are on the young side. He’s generalising, being demeaning and also telling his fans, a lot of who are scene, how they should be having sex and how they should like it.

I like to twerk, I like to hurt

Okay so I know the Austin Jones things was years after this, but still Austin Jones vibes isn’t a good thing to give out.

Again with the violence

Bitch, don’t make me fucking work

Demeaning and also gives more of his views on sex

Now make your move into my room

And I’ll whip out my Dr. Doom

Okay so this isn’t a big deal but it’s just so cringy to call your dick ‘Dr. Doom’ and now I’m just thinking about how Dr. Doom is a villain. Also about how he loses, because that tends to be the theme with villains.

Oh, what the fuck?

Bitch, just shut up and suck

Again with the oral sex fixation and the demeaning language.

I need to feel myself inside you deep

More sexual references. Very demanding

Uh, uh I like it rough

I believe a girl sings this part. I’m just reading the lyrics and sparing my ears but Dahvie does not give it ‘rough’ he is abusive.

Uh, uh I give it tough

Like I just said, Dahvie is just abusive and has even gone ahead to say that that’s just what BDSM is which is so wrong and harmful.

It’s like a porno flick!

This line just makes me think about the fact that he has filmed himself raping minors, sometimes after drugging them.

I’m pure triple x

Redefine ultra sex

Dahvie constantly talks about how good he is at sex, which we know isn’t true given that he doesn’t even understand consent. Then there’s the fact that he’s telling his fans how he’s good at sex.

Sex and Violence

Just from the title we already have sex being linked with violence.

You’re so submissive

I’ll get you in position

Dahvie likes to be able to take control over whoever he is with, and he’s telling his fans what he likes. He goes as far as to take a women’s ability to have any control by drugging them.

Deep throat me girl and rule my world

Oral sex fixation

Be my scene queen

Most scene girls are young due to the fact that older people can’t dress and style themselves that way as they have jobs and such.

It’s just the way we fuck

It’s the way we cut

(Sex and violence)

Connecting sex and violence, probably trying to normalise this; ‘It’s just they way things are’.

Fuck me

Rape me

Just a disgusting line, acts as if rape is something asked for. It’s also ironic since he’s the one that’s the rapist.

Take me

Blow me

Oral sex fixation

I’ll slice you, I’ll dice you

More threats of violence.

I ❤ Hello Kitty

Referencing a character intended for children. If a child searches for Hello Kitty they may come across this song.

Also I think it’s really important to keep the name of this song in mind while reading the lyrics.

Ah! Ah! I like it

Against the wall

Just fuck me in the hall

Demanding and somewhat violent/rough/intense sex

You scream ‘meat sucks!’

Well you’re out of luck

Oral fixation. Also it sounds like he’s raping a lesbian.

I’ll fuck you in the face

And leave a nice taste

Oral sex fixation.

Dahvie would tell girls that had no sexual experience that cum tasted like ice cream... what fucking ice scream is he eating?

I’ll fuck you in the club

Exhibitionist

On the ground

Mop it up

Relax! Relax!

It’s my sexy track!

Acting like this is all an act, it’s just a joke and means nothing.

H.E.L.L.O.

Blasting through your stereo

K.I.T.T.Y.

Let me slip between your thighs

Hello Kitty is a children’s cartoon character and also is a minor.

H.E.L.L.O.

Coming straight from Tokyo

K.I.T.T.Y.

My sex will leave you satisfied

Again, this is a cartoon character aimed towards children he’s referencing.

H.E.L.L.O.

Show me how you’re such a whore

K.I.T.T.Y.

Bitch I’ll make you fucking cry

Okay so first off, ‘whore’ and ‘o’ don’t rhyme. Secondly, again we have Dahvie being violent and demeaning towards women. Lastly, HELLO KITTY IS A CHARACTER AIMED TOWARDS CHILDREN!

We mosh like liars

Well Dahvie, you are a massive liar.

You’re A Dancer, You’re Not A Lover

I want to tell you a tale

Of love, drugs and complications

Dahvie knows nothing about love. He drugs women/young girls and leaves them with a lot more than just complications.

Get into the bigger tits

Many of his victims have said that Dahvie was very interested in their chest. He views women as objects for his satisfaction.

So fuck me on the dance floor

Exhibitionist

Take off your pants

And do the revolutionary dance

Sounds really childish while the song, as well as the album, also contains many adult themes.

Modern World Christ

Dahvie compares himself to Jesus due to his name, or middle name as survivors have stated that he goes by Jesus David Torres instead of David Jesus Torres so when people look him up they wouldn’t find his arrest record.

This also just makes me think about all the cult leader who tie themselves to Jesus in some way.

Hollywood is full of shit

Say what you like

So we can call you a pedo and a rapist?

I got nothing to hide

I mean, you do but you can’t hide it any longer and you were doing a bad job anyway.

I’m not special or unique

Glad we can agree on that

I’ve been crucified like Jesus Christ

You’re not Jesus Christ!

As I grow stronger my voice gets louder

Just because you’re loud doesn’t mean you’re right or truthful

Your shit gets weaker as I stomp you with my sneakers

Rude, dismissive of claims against him and he’s also threatening those who come out against him.

Let my words eat you alive

Mocking victims

I wanna be the boy you adore

Not gonna happen Dahvie. And you’re not a boy, even at this time you were an adult.

Without the label of a Bedroom Whore

No one calls you that. We do label you as a rapist and a pedo.

And if you didn’t want any chance of being called that maybe don’t sing about sex.

So shut the fuck up with your ignorance

Me at BOTDF fans

And shut the fuck up with your competence

What? Why would you say they’re competent if you’re trying to act like they’re just liars and haters?

Money and Hoes

Again the want for money, probably to buy more wigs. And being demeaning towards women.

They want my cock

No they don’t, you force it on them.

They’re sucking my ding

Asphyxiation prescription perfection

Oral sex fixation. And who the hell calls it my ding? Like, he was rhyming it with bling, but seriously.

Hi, I’m danger

More dangerous but okay

I’m mightier than any Power Ranger

Power fantasy

I get what I want

Like the rapist you are. You get what you want because you prey on vulnerable people, make them trust you and then take what you want.

And be obscene

Leave parents feeling disgusting

Ironic since Dahvie befriends the parents of his victims to make it easier for him.

And I’m hood rich

You’re a middle class white guy

My grill is so ill

Just no

I’ll make your titties spill

No.

Also, demeaning

Till Death Do We Party

Cut your bone and slash your tongue

Violence...

Gonna shoot my hot load

...then sexual reference

Fuck me in the club, and light this bitch up

Exhibitionism

(Fuck me in the dirt, life up my sexy skirt)

Dirty, rough sex

Fuck me in the house and shake it all about

Shake it all about sounds childish

(Fuck me in the car, like a movie star)

He often raped people in the back of a car, forcing them to preform oral sex.

Fuck me in the rain, take away my pain

Sex won’t take away pain, this is a bad message he’s sending to his underage fans. Sex with Dahvie will only end in pain.

Fuck me in the church, make it fucking hurt

Violent

Dahvie,

I would not fuck you in the rain,

I would not fuck you on a train,

I wouldn’t fuck you in a church,

I wouldn’t fuck you for research.

I just want you in jail,

And for there to be no bail.

I Hope You Choke

Me to Dahvie

More violence

Cutting and frustration

Self harm, most likely trying to pander to his audience and seem relatable.

Sex and complication

Connects sex with negative emotions

I lost my grip

I’m about to slip

Love is cruel, remember this

Acting like this tortured soul to get pity.

Makes love sound bad.

Protect yourself from the fighting fists

Covered wrists

Self harm bating again

The whole song is just Dahvie singing about how some girl broke up with him and he hopes she dies.

Incel vibes x100.

Fallen Star

We’re so in love,

We did every drug

Connects love and drug use.

Normalising drug use when he has a young audience.

We kissed in the dark

In the back of your car

Many stories of Dahvie forcing himself on girls, or rather, forcing them on him, in the backs of cars. If it’s dark then they can’t see him.

You died in the crash site

Okay so there’s this whole story about how someone who was a member of the band died in a car crash, but while researching this I found a Facebook post where someone said at a show they asked Dahvie about it and he said she didn’t die and it was another one of his friends. I take this with a grain of salt because I can’t find any confirmed evidence as to whether this ex-band member is still alive or not.

He’s basically using someone’s death, not long after it happened, for sympathy on this album filled with references to sex and drugs as well as threats of violence.

Libertine

Okay so people say this song is dedicated to the member that may have died, however the fan in the Facebook post said that Dahvie said the song is dedicated to her because it was her favourite song on the album. Again, I have no idea which claim is real.

You’re living out a lie

Ironic.

If I could have my way I’d sit and watch you die.

Violence.

Also, you can see why I question this song being dedicated to someone who died since it has a lyric like this. Either Dahvie is being really tasteless, which I wouldn’t be surprised by, or she didn’t died and it was someone else and the story got twisted.

And there we go. One album done... so many more to go.

Wish me luck.

#blood on the dance floor #dahvie vanity #kawaii monster #botdf #anti botdf #anti blood on the dance floor #anti dahvie #anti dahvie vanity

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glowing-disciple · 4 years

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Woke up this morning to a lovely message from @lachesys , and I have something to say about it. I would be posting this reply to the post itself, but since they’ve already blocked me, this is the next best thing.

Firstly, I admit when I make mistakes, and I agree that my response wasn’t well worded or timed. In retrospect, that was an unnecessary addition. I don’t always articulate my thoughts well, and what seems like a good idea at the time can backfire. It happens.

But, it should have been clear that I was agreeing with you, not attacking you, making jokes, or belittling you. That alone make the tone of your reply inappropriate.

However, you crossed a line when you belittled my experience with a cult. When I was with them, I felt like I made friends outside of my immediate family for the first time in over a decade. I spent three years thinking I was building genuine relationships with other people. This was all ripped away from me the instant I couldn’t drink enough of the koolaid. They hadn’t liked me, they had only tolerated me, and that’s because a cult’s love is always conditional. And that hurts.

And this morning, I woke up to find that you’re mocking my experience saying it was “oh :( so sad :(” and that I’m not a “cult survivor” because I managed to get out before the brainwashing began.

You hold yourself up as a trauma support blog, yet you police who does and doesn’t count as traumatized.

Go practice your gatekeeping somewhere else. If you really cared about other people, you wouldn’t be doing that.

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commodorecliche · 6 years

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Gimme all the book recs Please :D

yaaaaaaaaaaaas okay great. i love sharing books i love.

1. The Thief of Always - Clive BarkerGenre: Dark FantasyBig personal favorite of mine. My father read this to me when I was a kid, and it literally has stuck with me since then. Every now and then I go back and reread it just for fun. It’s a wonderfully spooky little story, accompanied by some really lovely and somewhat off-kilter illustrations. Much like Coraline, it’s a novel that is a fable for children, and a tale of terror for adults.

After a mysterious stranger promises to end his boredom with a trip to the magical Holiday House, ten-year-old Harvey learns that his fun has a high price.

2. House of Leaves - Mark Z. DanielewskiGenre: Postmodernism, horrorHands down an absolute favorite. This is a book I literally recommend to everyone. This is a book that made me viscerally uncomfortable, at times I didn’t even sleep in the same room as it. I made it sleep in the living room. There is nothing overtly terrifying about the book, but its format and its unsettlingly immersive nature will lead you down a road unlike any other.

In 1997, Johnny Truant has stumbled upon a chest full of scrap papers that had once belonged to a man named Zampono. The papers aren’t just scraps though, they’re a chaotic but detailed transcription of a series called the Navidson Record. The Navidson Record is a series of videos made by a family who has discovered that their new house appears to change dimensions almost daily, it has hallways that shouldn’t exist, doors that should lead outside but instead lead into nothingness. Johnny attempts to re-order and reconstruct Zampono’s papers, and along the way begins to lose himself as well.

3. The Postmortal - Drew MagaryGenre: Science Fiction, Postmodern DystopiaReally funny, really dark, and full of a surprising amount of morality and humanity in a pre-apocalyptic world.

Imagine a near future where a cure for aging is discovered and-after much political and moral debate-made available to people worldwide. Immortality, however, comes with its own unique problems-including evil green people, government euthanasia programs, a disturbing new religious cult, and other horrors.

4. Horrorstor - Grady HendrixGenre: Comedy, HorrorHonestly this book is just balls to the wall fun. It’s a horror novel that’s laid out like the world’s most messed up IKEA catalog. Spooky at times, ridiculous and funny, at times moving, while also offering great social commentary on consumerism and the the current status of retail workers.

Something strange is happening at the Orsk furniture superstore in Cleveland, Ohio. Every morning, employees arrive to find broken Kjerring bookshelves, shattered Glans water goblets, and smashed Liripip wardrobes. Sales are down, security cameras reveal nothing, and store managers are panicking. To unravel the mystery, three employees volunteer to work a nine-hour dusk-till-dawn shift. In the dead of the night, they’ll patrol the empty showroom floor, investigate strange sights and sounds, and encounter horrors that defy the imagination.

5. Rant - Chuck PalahniukGenre: Science Fiction, Horror, SatireThis is a book I read several years ago and that I still think about from time to time. I haven’t had time to sit down and reread it, but parts of it still resonate with me today. This is a very peculiar story and it is told in a rather peculiar fashion (it is an oral history, and as such is told in a very conversational way by a number of different characters with a wide variety of thoughts and opinions on the titular Rant. It’s hard to properly describe this book, but let’s just say it’s been in my reread list for a while now.

Buster “Rant” Casey just may be the most efficient serial killer of our time. A high school rebel, Rant Casey escapes from his small town home for the big city where he becomes the leader of an urban demolition derby called Party Crashing. Rant Casey will die a spectacular highway death, after which his friends gather the testimony needed to build an oral history of his short, violent life.

6. John Dies at the End - David WongGenre: Comedy, Horror, Dark FantasyHoly god what do I even say about this book? It is just hilariously and marvelously insane. A perfect mix of cosmic fantasy, horror, comedy, and lunacy, and I loved every minute of reading it. I still have the rest of the series lined up to read, too!

The drug is called Soy Sauce and it gives users a window into another dimension. John and I never had the chance to say no. You still do. I’m sorry to have involved you in this, I really am. But as you read about these terrible events and the very dark epoch the world is about to enter as a result, it is crucial you keep one thing in mind: None of this was my fault.

7. Sphere - Michael CrichtonGenre: Science Fiction, Deep Sea HorrorThis is one I actually JUST finished, and I absolutely adored it. I had a couple small complaints about it, but overall, it was a wonderful read and very engrossing. Plus, I’m always a sucker for deep sea horror.

A group of American scientists are rushed to a huge vessel that has been discovered resting on the ocean floor in the middle of the South Pacific. What they find defies their imaginations and mocks their attempts at logical explanation. It is a spaceship of phenomenal dimensions, apparently, undamaged by its fall from the sky. And, most startling, it appears to be at least three hundred years old….

8. I, Lucifer - Glen DuncanGenre: Religious Fantasy, Occult FictionThis book is incredibly well researched, thought out, and characterized, as well as funny and extremely thought-provoking. I’d never expected to see a story that would give me a realistic and modern look into the Devil’s side of the story. I especially never expected to see a story that would make the Devil learn what it is to be human, either. All in all just an A+, fantastical read.

The Prince of Darkness has been given one last shot at redemption, provided he can live out a reasonably blameless life on earth. Highly sceptical, naturally, the Old Dealmaker negotiates a trial period - a summer holiday in a human body, with all the delights of the flesh. The body, however, turns out to be that of Declan Gunn, a depressed writer living in Clerkenwell, interrupted in his bath mid-suicide. Ever the opportunist, and with his main scheme bubbling in the background, Luce takes the chance to tap out a few thoughts - to straighten the biblical record, to celebrate his favourite achievements, to let us know just what it’s like being him. Neither living nor explaining turns out to be as easy as it looks. Beset by distractions, miscalculations and all the natural shocks that flesh is heir to, the Father of Lies slowly begins to learn what it’s like being us.

9. The Wasp Factory - Iain BanksGenre: Psychological HorrorLook, I want to say this right off the bat. This book is… not for everyone. Trust me when I say this is an extremely dark book with a lot of dark content. I would say that if you have any potential triggers, you may want to message me first and I will give you a better rundown of what all this book entails. This is a true piece of horror fiction. But it’s also incredible. I ate this book up in about two days and it is one of my favorite pieces of dark fiction to date. So yeah, chat with me if you have any concerns, but if you enjoy truly dark fiction, then this is up your alley.

Two years after I killed Blyth I murdered my young brother Paul, for quite different and more fundamental reasons than I’d disposed of Blyth, and then a year after that I did for my young cousin Esmerelda, more or less on a whim. That’s my score to date. Three. I haven’t killed anybody for years, and don’t intend to ever again. It was just a stage I was going through.

10. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams (the whole series, trust me)Genre: Comedy, Science Fiction, Cosmic FantasyJust trust me when I say this is a series that literally everyone should read at least once in their life. They are unflabbably hilarious in a way that only Douglas Adams could be, and they are just truly unique. This series is (rightfully) a classic and shouldn’t be missed.

Seconds before the Earth is demolished to make way for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is plucked off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised edition of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy who, for the last fifteen years, has been posing as an out-of-work actor. Together this dynamic pair begin a journey through space aided by quotes from The Hitchhiker’s Guide (“A towel is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have”).

11. World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War - Max Brooks Genre: Zombie horror, Faux HistoryI beg you - do not judge this book by the very terrible movie that was made about it. It is an entirely different animal than that mess of a movie, I promise. World War Z is a masterfully crafted book that details the zombie apocalypse in ways never before done in fiction. The Battle of Yonkers scenes and the testimony of Tomonaga Ijiro still stick in my head to this day. This book is a triumph of horror, ‘history’, and humanity, all balled into a distinctly unique experience.

The Zombie War came unthinkably close to eradicating humanity. Max Brooks, driven by the urgency of preserving the acid-etched first-hand experiences of the survivors from those apocalyptic years, traveled across the United States of America and throughout the world, from decimated cities that once teemed with upwards of thirty million souls to the most remote and inhospitable areas of the planet. He recorded the testimony of men, women, and sometimes children who came face-to-face with the living, or at least the undead, hell of that dreadful time. World War Z is the result. Never before have we had access to a document that so powerfully conveys the depth of fear and horror, and also the ineradicable spirit of resistance, that gripped human society through the plague years.

12. The Raw Shark Texts - Steven HallGenre: Fantasy/Realism, Meta-fiction, MysteryThis is a tough one to put into words. I read this many years ago, and I remember it more as a series of emotional experiences rather than just as a singular plot. Which I think really speaks to its character as a book. This is a book that deals with dissociation, memory loss, our sense of self, how easily we can lose that sense, and our struggle to hold onto or to rediscover the world we know and the people we believe ourselves to be. This book is just… an experience, much like House of Leaves. It’s immersive, and at times quite unsettling.

Eric Sanderson wakes up in a house he doesn’t recognize, unable to remember anything of his life. All he has left are his diary entries recalling Clio, a perfect love who died under mysterious circumstances, and a house that may contain the secrets to Eric’s prior life. But there may be more to this story, or it may be a different story altogether. With the help of allies found on the fringes of society, Eric embarks on an edge-of-your-seat journey to uncover the truth about himself and to escape the predatory forces that threaten to consume him.

I think 12 should be good for now! I certainly have more though, if you want them!!

Bonus, Currently Reading: The Library at Mount Char - Scott HawkinsGenre: Contemporary Fantasy, Horror, Dark FantasyI don’t have a whole lot to say about this yet since I’m not very far into it, but so far it’s been extremely intriguing, and Hawkins’ writing is truly beautiful.

A missing God. A library with the secrets to the universe. A woman too busy to notice her heart slipping away. Carolyn’s not so different from the other people around her. She likes guacamole and cigarettes and steak. She knows how to use a phone. Clothes are a bit tricky, but everyone says nice things about her outfit with the Christmas sweater over the gold bicycle shorts. After all, she was a normal American herself once. That was a long time ago, of course. Before her parents died. Before she and the others were taken in by the man they called Father.

Bonus 2, Up Next to Read: Dark Matter: A Ghost Story - Michelle PaverGenre: Horror

January 1937. Clouds of war are gathering over a fogbound London. Twenty-eight year old Jack is poor, lonely, and desperate to change his life, so when he’s offered the chance to join an Arctic expedition, he jumps at it. Spirits are high as the ship leaves Norway: five men and eight huskies, crossing the Barents Sea by the light of the midnight sun. At last they reach the remote, uninhabited bay where they will camp for the next year, Gruhuken, but the Arctic summer is brief. As night returns to claim the land, Jack feels a creeping unease. One by one, his companions are forced to leave. He faces a stark choice: stay or go. Soon he will see the last of the sun, as the polar night engulfs the camp in months of darkness. Soon he will reach the point of no return–when the sea will freeze, making escape impossible. Gruhuken is not uninhabited. Jack is not alone. Something walks there in the dark…

(also if any of y’all have read these, i’d love to hear YOUR thoughts on them too)

#books #book recs #science fiction #horror #book recommendations #long post #dogwithblogs

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calliecat93 · 6 years

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RWBY V5, CH14 Finale Review: Haven’s Fate

Well my friends, this is it. It’s been one Hell of a volume. It’s had it’s highs, its had it’s lows. But we’ve gotten through them all and once again, we are at the end of the season. To recap, Raven has thrashed Cinder, opened the vault, and is now faced with Yang. Who will leave with the Relic? Will our heroes fall all over again? Or will triumph be ours? For the final time this volume, lets find out.

Overview

The White Fang have been defeated thanks to a combination of Ilia, the Menagerie forces, and the Mistral police. Adam has risen back up, but Blake is already facing him. Once more, he tries to scare her. He mocks her on how she still couldn't face him alone, but this time our favorite catgirl is having none of it. She even outright tells Adam that she is not there for him, which noticeably ticks him off. But he still tries to talk her down, mentioning his new powerful ‘friends’. You know,t he same one who literally told him this recent development was his problem, haha. Thankfully, Sun joins in and points out to him that for all his talk, no one is standing for him. Indeed, the WF has been rounded up, none of Salem’s cult is beside him, and Adam is standing alone.

To rub salt in Adam’s wounds, Blake tells him that he can say what he wants to make her feel bad. But ultimately, she has better things to be worried about. Like I said in the last review, Adam has lost the power that he has over Blake. Is she still scared? Yes. But she isn't running away. She is facing Adam down and no longer gives a shit about him or what he tries to do for her. Her priority is Haven and her friends, not him. To Adam, hearing that Blake sees him as a mere roadblock causes him to finally attack. But Blake and Sun's combined efforts force him to run. Sun tries to go after him, but Blake stops him as all they’ll be doing is walking into a trap and allowing Adam to pick them off. Plus, now he can experience what it’s like to run. Farewell Adam, it’s not the end of you, but i will take the satisfaction of seeing you squirm for now.

With things under control, Sun reminds Blake of her team needing her. So Blake heads back for the school , and good thing too. Even after being impaled by Weiss’ summon, Hazel is still going strong with Nora even noting how fast he’s regenerating his Aura. That is some massive will power, man. Everyone is getting exhausted, and things don’t get better when Hazel manages to break Weiss’ summon. Thankfully, Blake lands a blow on him and joins Ruby and Weiss. She’s alarmed by Weiss’ injury, but there’s no time to worry. Ruby shoots Leo’s weapon before he can fire it, provoking the headmaster to run for it. That leaves only RWB against Mercury, Emerald, and a still raging Hazel. With Ruby leading the charge, the three girls face them off... but sadly we won’t get to see it. Which is my only criticism of this chapter, but... it’s pretty minor because of what happens next.

In the vault, Raven tries to talk Yang into leaving. But Yang is having none of it, figuring out that Raven is the Maiden and having been told of how the process works, there’s only two likely chances of how Raven got the power. Raven gets angry at Yang seemingly obeying Oz and Qrow, but Yang points out that she’s asking questions, advice that Raven herself gave. And it’s not long before through those questions, Yang deduces that Raven did indeed kill the former Spring Maiden. Raven confirms it, trying to call it a mercy kill. Spring was a scared girl who failed at Raven's training and since she’d be hunted with her power, Raven built up the girl’s trust in her before killing her. Wow, just... wow.

This provokes Yang to call Raven out BIG TIME. She calls Raven out on flip flopping between being merciful and a survivor. How she let Yang and the others walk into the trap not because she thought Yang could handle it as she claimed, but because it meant she could have an easier time getting her way. Raven, growing more and more angry, tries to defend herself. She says that Yang doesn’t know her or how many hard choices she 's had, which... Yang agrees with. The only Raven that she knows is the one her father told her of. A woman who was complicated, but always fought for what she believed in. whether it was for her team or her tribe. Then she asks if Raven killed ‘her’ too. At first, I thought Yang meant Vernal, but after like five rewatches I realized that Yang meant Raven herself. She’s asking if Raven killed the Raven that Yang had heard so much about. The Raven that Tai had fallen in love with and had a child with. Had Raven killed any good and just within herself and become nothing but a cold, cowardly ‘survivor’ who only knows how to run? Because to Yang, it sure seems that way.

Raven snaps, her Maiden mask even flaring up. She yells at her own daughter for her harsh words, trying to claim that she’s stared down death multiple times and did what others won’t. Yang shuts her up. Remember how Qrow said Raven has a skewed view over family? Well she has a skewed one over strength too. Strength isn't about doing things that others won’t or being able to punch something harder than anything else. Strength is when you face what scares you and put others before yourself. It’s when you do the right thing and face up to your mistakes. It’s when you take what’s happened to you, and grow into something better because of it. Yang knows this better than anyone. She got dismembered and abandoned. But she grew past her more violent approaches to things, she faced her fears and went to Mistral and her mother, she chose to join the war to be there for her sister, and now she’s here facing her own mother for her loved ones. What has Raven done? She’s abandoned her family. She’s ran away when things got too stressful. She used others for her own gain, which led to Vernal dying. Raven is powerful, but as Yang’s arm trembles once more, she points out that power doesn't equal strength. I am so proud of this girl right now, you have no idea.

Raven snaps once more, yelling at her own daughter for speaking to her that way when she herself is trembling. But Yang, clearly on the verge of tears, admits that yes, she is scared. But she’s still standing there, refusing to run. And for that reason, Raven is going to step aside and let Yang take the Relic of Knowledge. Why? Yang angrily says why, because Raven fears Salem. If Raven takes the Relic, then she’ll be painting an even larger target on her back. Salem will come at her with everything that she has and on top of having the Maiden powers, the bandit leader will NEVER be able to get away from a conflict that she’s tried this long and hard to avoid. But the solution is simple, Raven can let Yang take the Relic, become the target, and Raven can go off with none of the villains knowing that she’s Spring (until Cinder comes back, if she does at all) and be left alone once more. In other words, Raven can let Yang, her daughter, take the fall for her and get away scott free.

Throughout all of this, it is clear through Raven's expressions that she knows fully well that Yang is right. But through stubbornness or guilt, she has yet to confirm it. But in a genuinely heartbroken tone, she tells Yang not to take the Relic, saying that she doesn’t want to get involved in any of this. Yang agrees that she doesn't want to... but she will anyways. She’s not going to run away. If Salem wants to come after her, she’ll wait for her. She walks towards the gate, shoving Raven aside. The bandit is left shocked before, in one moment of vulnerability, cries. She says she’s sorry, and all that Yang can say is that she is as well. A familiar sound effect then plays. When Yang turns around, Raven is gone and all that remains is a lone black feather. Yang goes forward, arriving at the Relic which... looks like an oversized ornament, But it looks cool! When at the podium, all that Yang can do is give in to her emotions and fall to her knees, crying over everything that has happened over the course of the volume.

Meanwhile, Lionheart rushes into his office. He goes through his desk, clearly trying to gather up any possessions he needs before making a run for it. But he’s stopped by the Seer Grimm. Not gonna lie, with everything else that had happened, I had completely forgotten all about that... thing. Salem questions what is happening and after failing to play if off, Lionheart confesses everything. How Cinder changed the plan, how Qrow had the students with him, how the White Fang got stopped, essentially how things went to Hell but weren't his fault. Salem’s response? Well... she doesn't have one. The Seer remains silent, which is never a good sign. Leo tries to beg for a second chance, but still silence. Realizing that something is up, he aims his weapon... and the Seer knocks it off his arm. Leo tries to run, but his leg is grabbed. All that Leo can do is beg for forgiveness and be shown mercy before the Seer’s tentacles wrap around him and drag him off-screen. All we hear is the sounds of... something... there’s stabbing noises but also some kind of disgusting monster noise. Considering that Grimm do eat humans, ugh... yeah... the last we hear of Leo is him, in a pained, anguished voice plea one more time before he is finished off. Salem, looking outright bored, merely says ‘Coward. Damn, that was... that may be one of the most gruesome scenes in RWBY history. Which with Cinder’s attacks on Amber and Vernal is saying a LOT.

Back with the others, the three remaining villains are completely cornered by RWB and JNR. Even so, Emerald insists that Cinder will come back soon and have the Relic. They will win... but unfortunately for her, she is proven wrong. The elevator rises and with it Yang, who is holding the Relic. No Cinder in sight, and we have no conformation on her being dead or alive at this time. Ruby is relieved as Emerald falls to her knees. Mercury, realizing that they've lost, tries to get Emerald to move. It’s actually kind of nice to see some form of concern from the assassin, even if IDK if he’s genuinely worried about Emerald or about getting away. But Cinder's loss causes the thief to have a complete breakdown and to lose control of her Semblance. It causes the room to go dark and a disturbing image of Salem to appear. I... I honestly cannot describe it in words guys. It’s even more creepy than Leo’s death. It doesn’t last long, but everyone is left shocked and trembling as Ozpin confirms that despite it being an illusion, that was indeed Salem. We then see Hazel, who is carrying Emerald, and Mercury running away as Adam watches form the trees. The Battle for Haven is over. The triumph goes to the heroes.

With the fight over, Blake is able to meet back with her parents and Sun. The WF have all been taken into custody, but Ghira confirms that Adam did indeed escape. But Ilia walks in, pointing out that the WF won’t follow someone who ran out on them and now the organization will be left divided. Safe to say, they won’t be causing any danger to anyone for quite some time. For now, Ghira suggests forming a new Faunus brotherhood that will remain committed to bringing peace and equality. Sun, in the meantime, sees the others and pulls Blake away, encouraging her to go to her teammates. Have I ever mentioned that I love Sun? Because I love him.

Yang hands Qrow the Relic, confirming that Cinder is gone, Vernal is dead, and Raven has escaped. Qrow’s not happy to hear that, but he is relieved to see his niece safe and back with them. With the fight over, Ruby finally collapses in exhaustion, but luckily Weiss is there to hold her steady. Blake approaches the two as Yang runs over to check on her sister. Ruby asks Blake why she’s there, which Blake is also wondering. That’s gonna be a fun story to tell, huh? But luckily, Blake confirms that she isn’t going anywhere. Ruby says that’s all that matters before she and Weiss look at Yang, clearly worried about her reaction. And as a new, absolutely beautiful song titled All That Matters plays in the background, Yang slowly begins to smile, agreeing with the sentiment. Weiss holds out her arm and the four girls embrace. My friends, after two volumes and over 20 chapters of being splintered apart, Team RWBY is together once again. I won’t lie, I was crying throughout this moment. Heck, just typing this out is making me teary eyed. It made this finale worth it to me. It was what I was hoping for since the end of V3 back in 2016, and at last it’s happened in the most beautiful way possible.

Qrow goes to check on Ozpin, but he has reverted back to Oscar. The poor kid is exhausted from all the strain and used up energy, but he has a message from Ozpin. The next step is to take the Relic and go to Atlas. That’s all he gets out before passing out completely. Qrow watches the girls reunion before turning to the relic. It glows and you can hear a kind of whispering noise coming from it, which really sells it’s otherworldly feel. And as Qrow lets out a resigned sigh, the chapter, and with it the volume, ends the same way it began: a cut to a black screen. A perfect bookmark.

But of course, we’re not completely done yet. First, I LOVE THE CREDITS SONG. It is called This Time (From Shadows P2) and not only was a new Blake song long overdue, but it is just an awesome, uplifting song that shows how Blake is no longer hiding withing the shadows. If I didn’t want the soundtrack already, I absolutely need it now. But there is still the stinger to go into. When the credits end we, surprisingly, cut to Patch. Tai is there, so this stinger already wins points cause I have missed best dad so much OMG. Tai is tending to his sunflowers... but is stopped when he hears something. He stands and turns, seeing a lone black feather fall before him. Three guesses on who it is. Tai is surprised, but his expression soon turns into a serious, almost angered one as the volume truly ends. IDK if this is gonna be like V4′s stinger and be used in V6 later, but regardless... yep, Tai and Raven reunion is finally happening guys. And going off Tai’s face, it’s not going to be pleasant.

Review

My God... I do not at all know where to begin with this one. Well... lets talk about Raven and Yang first. Because Dear Lord, this episode, just... just this episode.

I have made my stance on Raven very clear. I do not like her. Sure the previous chapter showed that she isn’t evil and has some humanity, but I still don’t like her. It’s like Yang said, she used people, abandoned people, and we can confirm that she murdered an innocent girl as an act of ‘mercy;. My final stance on Raven is that I like her as a character, but I hate her as a person. And yes, there is a difference. Raven is a very complex character. She is cold, cowardly, intelligent, and cunning. She may be distant and dismissive over her family, but she does care about her tribe and did show to sincerely care about Vernal. She’s an interesting anti-villain who is willing to do bad things, but does have humanity.

However I still ultimately hate her. I am sorry, but she is a coward who willingly used and abandoned others for her own gain. While she clearly feels guilty for letting Yang take the Relic and bury herself into a fight that in her eyes is unwinnable, she brought all of this upon herself. She abandoned Yang. She tried to manipulate Yang. When Yang failed to take the bait, she was as cold to her as she was to her own brother. A brother who has now disowned her for willingly aiding a monster wanting to kill humanity BTW. Raven made these choices, gave Yang every reason to want nothing to do with her, and see her for what she truly is: a coward. Does Raven have a chance at redemption? Maybe. And with how she has gone to Tai, I am very interested to see what’s going to happen between them. Is Raven going to try to make things right? Or did she only go to Tai because the portal to him, and by association Tai himself, were all that she had left? But yeah, in the end Raven still allowed Yang to take the Relic and become a target, but does seem to realize that everything that Yang said was true. We’ll see how things play out in the future. But I am glad that Raven ultimately survived, there’s a lot of things that can still be done with her such as her relationship with Tai, the Maiden powers, and of course any info on Team STRQ. So I happily wait to see what happens next.

But the true champion of this chapter is Yang. Oh my God, Yang. She has had a lot of development this volume, which is both good and bad. But I’ll elaborate in my overall V5 review. For now, lets just talk about the chapter. Yang had come a long ways from the early days. She has come to understand what strength truly is. Like I said, it’s not how much power you can dish out, it’s facing the things that bring you down and owning up to them. Yang both in this volume and V4, has face her demons. She learned to calm down and think smarter. She faced her mother after years of searching. She made it to her sister and joined the war to be there for her. She confronted her abandonment issues and while I wouldn’t say she’s over them, she’s willing to let Blake back in. Yang rose from the ashes, and became a stronger person due to it. She has become calmer, smarter, and despite her fears she will face them and anything else that comes her way. It’s one thing to not be afraid, it’s another to be scared but face those fears anyways. Blake put it best, Yang is the embodiment of strength. Both physically and mentally, and I could not be more proud of her.

But regardless, this took quite a tool on Yang. After so long, Yang finally met her mother... and it went as badly as it can get. Their relationship is incredibly bitter, but it’s clear that the two do still have some familial feelings towards each other. I think that Yang does want to have her mom in her life... but she knows that it’s unlikely. And ultimately, she’s going to stick with her sister and her uncle. Her family. When she collapses in the vault, it’s clear how much all of this has had on her. Yang has ultimately pushed Raven away and the chances of making amends is more slim than ever before. Now Yang is left in a war that she knows that she could die in and now has a target on her back. Raven ultimately left her to take the fall, and she’s stuck with it. But as she said, she’s going to face it. For Ruby. For her family and team. For herself. She is Yang Xiao Long, and she will be armed and ready for whatever comes her way.

What sold this scene was, of course, the voice acting. Barbara and Anna Hullum did a fantastic job in this scene. You can feel the anger, contempt, and heartbreak radiating off of them both. In a dialogue-heavy scene where you absolutely had to nail the performance to get the emotion across, they both nailed it. Not gonna lie, this might be Barbara’s best performance as Yang yet and Anna has done an amazing job across the board. Major props as well to Miles and Kerry for directing them and getting the to give the best performances that they can give. Barbara did warn us that the finale was gonna be emotional, and boy was she right. Kudos to you ladies, you’ve come a long ways!

As for everything else... man, what else can I add? I am disappointed that we didn’t get to see more of the fights not in the vault, but again I understand that they needed to focus on those moments. I honestly really loved this finale. Yeah there was no massive brawl, but honestly topping last week’s Maiden fight was going to be very difficult. Some have complained about the length, but remember that we got 14 episodes instead of 12. They didn’t need to cram a whole bunch of stuff into the finale, hence why we got the Maiden fight last chapter and the final confrontation between mother and daughter here. There didn't need to be a huge fight. This volume was focused on character moments and development. Sure, fights are nice, but this was always a show about it’s characters and how they handle the events thrown at them. I feel that the volume nailed that and this chapter in particular showed that. I am very satisfied and anxiously await more.

So... what happens now? Our heroes have won and retrieved the Relic. The next step is to go to Atlas. Whether they’re going to head there immideatly (which is gonna be hard due to the lockdown) or we get a bit more time in Mistral is up in the air, but we’ll find out eventually. As for whose going, Team RWBY most likely will and chances are, we’re going to get plenty of Weiss and her family drama. We may also get to FINALLY meet Professor Polendina and learn more about Penny’s purpose. And there could still be a chance for her to be rebuilt if the professor has a memory unit, albeit she may not remember Vale or Ruby, But hey, she’d be alive again! As for the girls themselves... there may still be some issues between Blake and Yang that have to be sorted out. But we can assume that they’re going to try, and i n he end the team is back together.

As for everyone else... who can say? Qrow and Oz/Oscar going to Atlas is also pretty guarantee. But IDK about JNR, Sun, Ilia, or anyone else. Ilia would be possible since she comes form Atlas and specifically Mantle. But I can see her and Sun being left behind to help the Belladonna’s with the Faunus. Sun would likely come back for when they eventually go to Vacuo, so he wound’t be excluded forever. As for JNR... IDK. I could see them staying in Mistral to let Jaune train with his Semblance, but again who knows?

As for the villains, it’s probably safe to say either Emerald will want vengeance and stick with the bad guys or she’ll break away since with Cinder gone, she has zero reason to stay and take out her vengeance herself. Cinder herself... it’s still unclear if she’s dead or not. But either way, it’s probably going to be a while before we see anything about her again. Also, remember that Watts is a disgraced Atlas scientist, so it is very likely that we’re going to get some dirt on him. But it’s safe to assume that with the failure of the Attack on Haven, the baddies are going to be going at our heroes harder than ever. Can they face it? Well, we won’t know until Fall. But it’s going to be a wild ride regardless.

Conclusion

There is nothing else that I can say. The finale was heartbreaking, disturbing, and beautiful all at once. It allows closure for some things, but leaves plenty of doors open for the future. I loved this chapter, and I find it a very fitting conclusion to one Hell of a volume. I’m going to be doing a full V5 review in the future, where we’ll go over both the bad and the good of the volume. But until then, this is the end my friends. Thank you for reading my reviews, and than you Kerry, Miles, Gray, CRWBY and Rooster Teeth for all the hard work that you have put into not just V5, but the entire series. It was an exciting ride from start to end, and I am sure that Monty couldn’t be prouder of all of you.

So that’s it for me guys. As I said, a full V5 review will be out soon. I also will be reviewing RvB Season 16 (and the other seasons) when it begins in the next few months. I’m also going to be watching Gen;Lock when it premieres, but I’ll have to see if it sticks with me before I decide if I want to review it. So if you follow me, keep an eye out for all of that. RWBY Reviews will return this Fall with the start of Volume 6, so until then thank you for reading and remember to keep moving forward.

#rwby #rwby reviews

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sanctferum · 7 years

Text

Dangan Ronpa V3, chapter 3 free time!

Time to explore!

There’s a hidden Monokuma in Kaede’s lab. Ryoma’s lab’s been cleaned up by Monokuma, and the shower room is inaccessible because Shuichi doesn’t need to take a shower. The gym has also been cleaned up, and the inner tube in the pool has been neatly put away.

OK, the blackboards show different things in different chapters when you go into search mode. Or maybe it’s because we’re playing as Shuichi? I didn’t check them last chapter.

Monokuma knows. He knows that in order to be a Dangan Ronpa player character, an ahoge is necessary.

Another hidden Monokuma’s in the boiler room.

Oh, we can retry the escape game, huh?

Well, that didn’t work. I wonder what would even happen if we completed it successfully?

Found another Hidden Monokuma near the Kumasutra Hotel. I bet the last one is in the racing minigame again…

The casino minigames now include Mind Mine and Psyche Taxi equivalents.

Treasure Hunter Monolith: the music reminds me WAY too much of Chiaki’s execution music from DR2…

Outlaw Run: I am still very bad at this minigame. Give me Logic Dive back!

Don’t know how to unlock any category besides “Kind” for these minigames. Betting max coins didn’t work, getting an S rank didn’t work. Advancing a chapter hasn’t worked for the Hangman’s Gambit one, either.

Oh, did the exchange always sell Monopad themes?

Anyways, on to the actual free time! I’m gonna hang out with Kaito.

Kaito is still upset people are lumping Maki and Kirumi into the “murderous fiend” category. Let’s calm him down with this moon buggy model!

Kaito tell us about how astronaut training is super intense, and it’s a lot of work…but the universe is a harsh place. He’s got to be able to handle crazy situations if he wants to explore it. For the first two years of training, he learned the basic skills needed to be an astronaut – medicine, engineering, scuba diving, linguistics, survival training…pretty much everything.

There’s a training facility for astronauts at the bottom of the ocean? The most important thing for an astronaut is communication and teamwork. No one person can hope to explore space by themselves…you need a team, and you need to trust in that team. The facility at the bottom of the ocean helps people learn to work as a team. Also, as part of communication training, you have to master other languages and cultures…Kaito is fluent in Japanese, English, and Russian. He might be an idiot sometimes, but Kaito sure is incredible…

Bedtime already? I wonder if trying the escape game took up a portion of free time?

The Monokubs sure look beat up…well two of them at least. Monodam sure is harsh…

Time to train with Kaito! On our way out, we see Angie, who’s still trying to convert everyone. She claims to be prepared to work with everyone to make the Academy a paradise on Earth. Considering how well her last attempt at that went…hmmm.

Shuichi shows up to the usual training spot, but Kaito is nowhere to be f-

Oh. There he is, dragging Maki behind him. Well, I guess we’re all training together, huh?

Kaito kept ringing her doorbell till Maki answered. Then he dragged her here.

Maki thinks the whole idea is stupid and heads back to her room. Kaito tries to convince her to stay by…Kaito. Kaito, that’s stupid. You aren’t the hero of this story, and Maki isn’t gonna be willing to be your sidekick.

Kaito does say that from his perspective he might be the hero, but from our perspectives, we each are the hero of our own stories.

Maki knows from experience that this will all end in tears. But Kaito calls her out on the what he believes is the real reason she isn’t interacting with anyone. She’s afraid. She’s running away, when she should be standing tall and fighting.

Maki is getting pissed. Kaito, this is…

…going to work out well after all. Maki agrees to train, just so Kaito will stop bugging her about it.

And now. 100 pushups! Shuichi’s body is in hell, Kaito is going along…Maki is almost done. You don’t become an assassin by being out of shape.

Kaito tells her to show up for training tomorrow too. Maki ignores him and walks away.

Ah, so it ties back into what he was saying in the free time event. Teamwork…if you see someone who is weak, you help them become strong. Someone is suffering? You can’t just walk away. Kaito mentions that Shuichi and Maki’s cases are a bit different. Back to the rest of the pushups.

Monokuma Theater ti-

…Monodam Theater time.

He’s wearing a leather jacket and Kamina shades.

Morning announcement. Everyone will gather in the gym to get along, huh? Assembling in the gym is usually a rather bad thing. I’m not sure what to expect.

Kiyo mentions how he overslept, but is usually up by 6 AM and ready to go at 7:30 AM. A half hour to get ready? Is it because of his uniform? Kaito is also around but not going to the gym yet. He’s gonna make sure Maki comes with him to the gym, since everyone needs to show up. If someone doesn’t, who knows what could happen.

Outside, Himiko is complaining about having to go to the gym so early in the morning. Shuichi is apprehensive about all this, and Himiko mentions a student council meeting. What? Oh. Oh boy. Angie wants to throw a party…Atua decreed it would be a pool party?

Monokuma shows up. Looking awful still, huh? Is he gonna tempt us to peek on the girls’ pool party? Is this the scene that the Man’s Desire Gun or whatever unlocks?

Monokuma just stares at us until we randomly have a fantasy come up in our mind. A Man’s Fantasy, to be specific. Oh boy. Shuichi finds himself unable to resist it. Swimsuits…a zany-yet-romantic scene…yet, on the other hand, if anyone saw him, Tenko would beat him half to death twice…oh well, if such is the price we must pay…

Inside the Academy now…Keebo’s also worried about the sudden summons. Another motive, most likely. Keebo is determined to stop anyone from killing, no matter what!

In the gym, which again, has been cleaned up post-trial, we find everyone else. Miu talks about the computer on the 4th floor…the specs are insane…

Keebo is jealous of the computer. Godammit, I know Miu was being super suggestive at you, but…come on. You’re basically a computer yourself, anyways.

Kokichi is unnerved by Maki’s presence, and immediately begins trying to ruin the fragile atmosphere. Then Gonta shows up. He’s about to tell us something serious about the courtyard, possibly something that will help us make sense of “horse a”? Then the Monokubs show up before he can finish his sentence.

Monodam has a motive, all right. A motive to get along?

Tsumigi and Keebo…I’m getting the feeling Angie brainwashed them into her Atua cult too…Himiko was already in, but, um…

The motive will inspire fear like never before…forcing the Ultimates to unite to fight against it. Monotaro and Monophanie prepare to present, on Monodam’s behalf, the motive! It’s…a transfer student. What?

Resurrect one of the four people who’ve died so far…? How? Using the computer? Are we gonna resurrect Kaede? Or perhaps Kirumi, since she’s important to the world? Rantaro, so we might learn his talent? Ryoma…probably wouldn’t care to be resurrected. Anyways, what the fuck, and also, that’s the meaning behind the chapter title.

The Necronomicon? We’ve got a copy of that?

Once resurrected, we can welcome the student back, or, if we want to, kill them off again immediately. They’ll be part of the game again, in other words. Thanks for telling us that, Monotaro.

Monodam has no such thanks. Monotaro blames his exposition of killing on old habits.

Monodam instructs Monophanie to punish Monotaro…this is a complete reversal, the students are being spared and it’s Monotaro and Monophanie who are in deep shit. Monotaro doesn’t want to be punished by Monophanie, since he mocks for dumb shit all the time. Monophanie, remembering those times, decides sure, she’ll do it. Then the Kubs leave.

How can anyone believe that the dead can be resurrected? Well, Kiyo thinks that not believing it to because it’s scientifically impossible is folly in and of itself.

Funeral ceremonies…like the one we saw of ourselves…

Sending the dead to the next world. HMMM.

Kiyo believes souls are real…but they can’t be reached once the person is dead. Resurrecting the dead is impossible.

Angie believes it isn’t so strange, though. It’s not so much bringing the dead back to life as returning the dead to us…the difference is, the crime scenes were cleaned up perfectly. Perhaps the dead…had their deaths faked by Monokuma or themselves? In which case, they’re alive? Could the bodies have been fakes? If Monokuma and the Exisals can exist, is it possible for realistic corpses to?

Shuichi wants all this to be true, but he can’t believe it really is. To do so would be to turn away from the truth.

Gonta brings up that if the students were alive, they’d have to be here somewhere. Maybe one of them wrote “horse a” in the courtyard. He was gonna tell us something about the courtyard. Was it that the message is now longer?

“Twnm I”?

I see. The horse message wasn’t meant to be read from top to bottom. It was meant to be read from left to right. TH, WOR, SE, N, I, MA…?

And the Monokubs left the Necronomicon here for us. It’s definitely a motive…but what kind? Maybe it’s a motive like this: we ignore it and the four people who are still alive somehow die for real? Angie is very appreciative of Gonta’s story…she goes over and hugs him…is she…she’s trying to get him to believe in Atua. Soon she’ll have brainwashed like half the survivors.

A gentle grandma? Isn’t Atua a handsome man? Himiko says Atua’s appearance depends on who’s looking. Kokichi thinks that sure is suspiciously convenient. Angie invites Gonta to the student council that Himiko mentioned. Apparently it’s part of Angie’s plan to stop the killing game. Keebo, Himiko, Tenko, Tsumugi, and Angie all met up and agreed to make the Ultimate Academy Student Council. Angie came up with the idea, and is Student Council President. Which means Atua is the one really in charge. Of course. Kokichi declares them brainwashed…Kiyo agrees. The Ultimate Academy, under the conditions of the killing game, is the perfect breeding grounds for a cult. And this has all the markings of a cult. Keebo, Tenko, and Tsumugi, and now Gonta, have been taken in by this nonsense…Tenko even put aside her love for Himiko to give her love to Atua instead.

Maki points out how clear of a trap the resurrection ritual is…but it’s to no avail. The Student Council members are beyond the reach of logic or reason. Meanwhile, Kaito’s been really quiet this whole time, and I’m somewhat worried about him.

But there’s no time to be worried…we need to head to the pool and spy on the girls, pronto!

Two girls wearing only bikini bottoms. One girl wearing pantaloons. And Tenko, fully in the nude. Enjoy the view, Shuichi, I guess? (Or, you could just ask Miu to flash you? Where is she anyways? Was she not invited? Guess not, student council girls only)

Himiko would rather conserve her MP than use them to grow her boobs as big as Tenko’s. She’s awfully jealous. Tenko reassures her that Himiko’s boobs may be small, but they’re nicely shaped. Angie, meanwhile, is trying to grope Tsumugi’s boobs. Shuichi witness it all and immediately remembers that this is morally wrong and stupid. Too late, dude. Too late.

Afterwards we return to our room. Time to go hang out with people! Not sure who, though…Himiko, maybe. Next time!

#Dangan Ronpa #Danganronpa V3 #Dangan Ronpa V3

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