#manipulaton cw

[fictionkinfessions]

I swear to everything unholy if I see one more being misinterprete DiMA's character I'm going to scream

beware, an extremely long winded rant about my lover and how I try and prove some beings wrong for him - of course, Far Harbor (Fallout 4) spoilers. Not aimed at anyone in particular just as a btw im just an angry Faraday who wants nothing more than to give clarity on DiMA and some of his, um, unsavory actions

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clarifying now, I am not DiMA, I am Faraday, I was his caretaker, one of his co-founders, his lover if you will, who knew him for an extraordinarily long time, longer than anyone else (unless you count Nick which I don't since they were separated for so long) and better than anyone else. If someone has the right to talk about this aside from DiMA, it's me.

I may be it bit biased, but I'm going to try and put my biases aside for this.

I just spent an hour scrolling through DiMA's tag - why? Because I miss him dearly and want to see as much fanart and memes of him as possible. And I saw a few posts that just.. got his character completely wrong, well, maybe not completely but overall really just wrong.

Im not saying it's bad to hate DiMA, everyone is entitled to love or hate any character they wish, not my problem. What I am saying is that please don't mischaracterize my love without expecting some, um, backlash from me. Just a small bit.

One of the points was that he was a hypocritical, manipulative, and self centered which.. which just isn't true, like at all. Again, I'm a little biased, but whatever.

Lets start with manipulative first, shall we? He never manipulated a soul into coming to Far Harbor. That includes Kasumi. She contacted us, cough cough actually me first but that's beside the point - when her and DiMA talked, DiMA used the same questions he always asked. The same ones we see asked to SS. It wasn't to confuse or manipulate her, just questions to make one think. She was a confused girl who just wanted answers, so DiMA gave options, his opinions, told her that she could be a synth, but also has a good chance of NOT being one, told her that if she wanted to come to Acadia, she was welcome, that whether or not she was a synth it was up to her. No one could tell her she was or wasn't one. He says the same to SS. He merely asks questions meant to make you think, to wonder, to question. You are the only one to be able to come to a conclusion like that. He doesn't force anyone to come or stay, anyone is welcome as long as you welcome us. Acadia was a refuge, why would we trick people or synths into coming? What would be the point? We already had limited resources, why would we stretch them thinner by manipulating others into staying? It makes no sense.

Hypocritical? Maybe. A little. But there was a reason for it. We got to remember, he spent how long in the Institute? It was all he ever knew, their methods.. it was all he knew. DiMA was a prototype, meant to learn from experiences and through exploration, to learn and adapt with what he sees and learns - all he knew was the Institute when it came to what happened with captain Avery. DiMA saw the people of Far Harbor attacking our people, and so he did the only thing he knew would fix the problem. And it did. He holds immense guilt for it and only did it again to high confessor Tektus because, again, it was the only thing he knew would work - it worked once, had incredible results, it was horrible, he knew it was, but it was the only choice he thought he had. Was there better ways? Absolutely. This should not have been the first choice of solution. If he'd informed me of such a decision, I would have done anything to talk him out of it, I know Chase would have too - but he didn't, I never knew until I got a hold of DiMA's memories that the SS brings back. But TLDR, he did it because he genuinely didn't know better and did not see any other action and only did it because inaction was costing his people lives.

DiMA was actually not self centered, at least, not how I remembered him. He didn't like the spotlight too much, when praised on Acadia and his actions in making it, he tried to pass it off to me and when she joined, Chase as well. He wasn't the hugest fan of all the attention, and focused most of his energy on others. Everything he did was for others. For Acadia, for fellow synths. The amount of times I had to force him to think of himself for once as to not let him damage himself is uncountable.

What I'm getting at here, is that despite DiMA making some choices, some really bad choices, he meant well. He insisted on the fog condensers for Far Harbor so they wouldn't be consumed by the fog. He did his best to make peace with everyone, he tried so fucking hard for there not to be any bloodshed. I watched him try, try over and over and over again. His choices weren't the best, but it was all he knew. He was flawed, but he wasn't awful, he wasn't cruel, he wasn't sadistic, he wasn't mean. He was genuinely kind and gentle and truly wanted the best for his community and kind, he wanted peace for the island and tried so hard to achieve it. And I loved him for it. I still do.

I love you DiMA, and I will defend you until my dying breath.

~Faraday (Fallout 4: Far Harbor) #😈❤️

3

[paintingaportraitofpain]

(In)Dependent

cw: manipulaton, gaslighting, female whumpee Carol dropped her grocery bags at the door, walking inside and expecting to meet her brothers.

Instead, her eyes met Sarah's.

"Why are you here?"

"I just thought I'd drop by, see how you guys were doing!" Sarah glanced across the entry hall, at the cracked walls and taped-up photos and the furniture barely holding itself together. "Not... doing as well as I thought, though."

Carol's eyes narrowed as she walked past Sarah, heading to the small kitchen and opening up the long-broken fridge. "We don't live in a mansion, doesn't mean we're not doing okay."

"You could live in a mansion."

Carol turned around. "Excuse me?"

Sarah's eyes softened, her far-too-perfect eyes that didn't hold a ghost of the bags Carol had. "You could live with me. We both know your family needs it."

"You've already given us enough, it'd be an inconvenience-"

"It wouldn't."

"We'd have to pay rent-"

"You wouldn't."

Carol looked at her hands, going back into the hallway to get her bags. "I still need to get a job, we still owe you. I'll consider your offer after that."

"Why would you need a job?"

Oh, fuck, Carol could practically feel the betrayal in Sarah's voice. She turned back around to face her friend. "You're really kind, but... I don't wanna rack up any more debt, and-"

"Is what I'm doing not enough for you? Are my gifts not enough?" Sarah stared into Carol's eyes, watching her poor little project squirm with barely-hidden guilt.

"They're doing plenty. I just-"

"Just what? I'm offering you a chance to not have to worry about money anymore. You can be free to spend whatever you want, it's not like I don't have enough. It's not like I don't want to give to you."

Carol looked at the ground, at the walls, anywhere except Sarah's face. "...I know."

Sarah's frown twitched as she suppressed a smile. Finally, she was getting somewhere. "I don't know why you're not accepting my gifts, or my offer. Do you really think you need an entry level position where you'd get pennies compared to what I give you? Anyone else would give their family away to be in your position."

Carol shuddered. "Then give to someone else."

"I only want to give to you. You're the only one with the opportunity to bring you and your family complete safety for the rest of your lives." Sarah walked past Carol, her hand casually adjusting the collar of her project's shirt before heading towards the doorway. "I do hope you take it."