#SHE WAS BRAINWASHED BY A CULT. AND IT'S LITERALLY EVIDENT IN THE FIRST TRIAL

[omnipotent-omnicube]

happy purge march release day

[hope-grace-serenity]

In Defense of the Deputy: Morals and Ethics in Far Cry 5

The narratives of recent Far Cry installments have been framed in a way that make the player question whether or not they’re truly playing as the “good guy.” In Far Cry 3, Jason slowly embraces the violent lifestyle on Rook Island, gradually finding the killing to be a fun power trip instead of the horrifying reality that it is. In Far Cry 4, Ajay topples a ruthless dictator, only to replace him with a revolutionary that is either a religious extremist or a person who has children kidnapped in order to make them into soldiers/slaves. In Far Cry 5, the Deputy goes up against a professed prophet in an attempt to subdue him and his cult, only to find in the end that the prophet was right about the end of the world. It is logical to think that if the Deputy would have just left the cult well enough alone, then that would have been the right choice, as it would have avoided the war between Eden’s Gate and the rest of Hope County, as possibly the Collapse itself. However, there is a different way to view it.

The purpose of this post is to convey that Joseph being accurate regarding the Collapse does not necessarily mean that avoiding confrontation with Eden’s Gate or joining them would have been the “right” thing to do. In fact, it will suggest the opposite: that the Deputy has a moral and ethical obligation to fight *against* Eden’s Gate and that the actions of the cult are firmly wrong despite the Collapse happening. While we as players can certainly feel empathy for the Seeds, their actions within the game make them the clear villains in this scenario, in my opinion. The Deputy deserves no blame for attempting to subdue the cult, and I will explain why by focusing on both in-universe rationale and looking at the narrative from a broader perspective.

The Warrant

First, we need to examine the idea of morality and ethics. Morality refers to a person’s principles of right and wrong--this is something that can be influenced by a person’s culture, religion, family, experiences, etc. Ethics refers to rules of conduct given by some kind of external source. In Far Cry 5, the protagonist is a law enforcement official with an ethical obligation to uphold the law and confront those who break it. Furthermore, from the perspective of a 21st century American--which we can assume the Deputy is, based on the setting of the game--Eden’s Gate commits several acts that cause harm and remove the personal agency of others, which provides the Deputy with a moral motivation for stopping them, as opposed to solely an ethical one.

An arrest warrant is made for Joseph Seed due to suspicion of kidnapping with an intent to harm. The Deputy choosing not to go through with the arrest would be bad from both a moral and ethical perspective. “Kidnapping with an intent to harm” is a serious charge, and can be a matter of life or death for the victim. Imagine if you were the parent or sibling of the kidnapping victim, and you found out that the law enforcement officials chose not to go through with the arrest of the suspect because they were afraid of rocking the boat. If that information was made public, the law enforcement officials would be rightly criticized for not doing their jobs, and for prioritizing their own desire for convenience over bringing justice to the victim. By arresting Joseph Seed, the Deputy made the moral and ethical decision.

As we see from the main game, the “suspicions” listed in the arrest warrant are later proven to be correct. Alex is killed, and his body is mutilated and put on public display as a warning. Hannah is tortured physically and psychologically, and is also killed due to her forced participation in Jacob’s trials. Joseph and several members of Eden’s Gate knew that they kidnapped the film crew. They knew in advance that Law Enforcement was coming. So, how do they decide to handle this? In a way befitting for characters who are meant to be viewed as villains.

Before the Reaping

Before we get into what the Deputy actually sees in-game, one thing needs to be made clear: Eden’s Gate always had an underlying darkness surrounding them. Regardless of what they looked like on the surface, they were never some peaceful hippie commune that was minding its own business before the Deputy came along. They’ve been committing crimes and getting away with them for years. They didn’t suddenly snap once the Deputy arrived--the Deputy’s arrival simply peeled back and revealed what was already there.

We know from the “Grieving Note” that Angels have been with Eden’s Gate for several years, longer than the current Faith has been with the group. Angels are humans who are exposed to an extreme amount of the Bliss drug, which causes them to lose their capacity for human thought and essentially act as a literal mindless follower. Their loss of identity and individuality is furthered by Eden’s Gate shaving the heads of the Angels and surgically removing their ability to speak. They act as slave labor--described as "beasts of burden"--and are fed dog food and garbage. The idea of becoming an angel is used as a threat to fellow cultists in the “Cult Note” in the King’s Hot Springs Hotel. The fact that Eden's Gate creates and condones the existence of these Angels is truly disturbing from a moral perspective, due to the inherent exploitation and dehumanization. When Angels die, their bodies are tossed in a pit of “boiling muck” in Horned Serpent Cave to disintegrate.

Angels aren’t the only ones thrown in the pit to disintegrate: Joseph threw the body of Lana, a previous Faith, in there as well, despite being told by him that she was “special.” There is a reason the writers chose to highlight that the bodies were disposed of in here, as opposed to the cult simply burying them. Bodies are disintegrated if you want to hide evidence, and by tossing the bodies in a location with properties dangerous enough to require a bio-hazard sign, any crimes are easily covered up. We don’t find the bodies of Selena or the other previous Faiths who were "used up and thrown away" by Joseph, but considering there are hints that point to foul play (disintegration of Lana’s body, Megan leaving out of fear of what Joseph could do after seeing that there was a new Faith, the way the position itself is dehumanized, the fact that Joseph has a designated corpse disposal spot in the first place, etc.) and absolutely zero evidence towards any kind of alternate fate for the previous Faiths, it’s easy to put two and two together and conclude that the previous Faiths met a grisly fate that was covered up as well.

Eden’s Gate was also involved in animal abuse through the creation of Judges, which were unleashed after the reaping. These animals were kidnapped and forcibly exposed to an obscene amount of the Bliss drug, which purposely causes them to act like rabid killers in the service of Eden’s Gate. According to NPCs, they were trained to hunt humans.

Let’s also not forget that Joseph personally gorged a guy’s eyes out for being a traitor. If the developers didn’t want us to view Joseph as someone who was capable of doing that, then they would have removed it from the introductory video, but they didn’t. Also, the fact that Eden’s Gate has been planning for the Reaping for a while now shows that this group had the intent to launch a large-scale attack from before the Deputy even arrived at the compound.

And last but certainly not least, YEARS before the events of FC5, Jacob sent the Cook to kidnap Jess’s family. The Cook starved the family for days before torturing the parents and children by playing sick mind games and feeding the parents' flesh to their children. After all their toes were cut off, the parents were set on fire in front of their kids. The fact that this happened years ago, and this Cook is still with the group, is quite telling and reveals a lot about the morality and priorities of Eden’s Gate. If they wanted to get rid of him, they would have.

So as we can see, Eden’s Gate has no moral high ground to stand on at the start of the game. Not only is Joseph guilty of the crime he is accused of, but he and his organization are guilty of so much more, and have been for years. These actions committed by Eden’s Gate violate numerous laws and are morally wrong, as they bring severe harm to others and/or forcibly remove another’s personal agency for the convenience of the cult. The Deputy uncovers all of this throughout the course of the game.

During the Reaping

Knowledge of Eden’s Gate’s past crimes would be reason enough to take down this cult, but the Deputy also sees the current horrors firsthand. During the Reaping, cultists kidnap, torture, mutilate, and murder numerous unwilling participants. They steal supplies and were willing to kidnap a beloved pet dog in order to perform experiments on him and turn the poor dog into a savage killer, after killing his owners. Defaced corpses are decorated and strung up as warnings. Some citizens of Hope County are fed to Judges, while others are turned into Angels or are forced to leap off a giant statue. If someone doesn’t convert to the religion of Eden’s Gate, then they are either tortured or drugged until they give in, or murdered.

The Deputy has zero incentive to walk away from this conflict. Why would they? As a deputy of Hope County, they have a moral and ethical obligation to protect the county’s citizens, and those citizens are under attack by Eden’s Gate. Eden’s Gate are the aggressors in this scenario. *They* are the ones who are kidnapping, murdering, torturing, and brainwashing the Hope County citizens. As far as the Deputy is aware at the beginning of the game, they are the only remaining police officer and only person in a position of authority to fight against the cult. It is their responsibility to fight against the people causing grievous harm to the county.

Throughout the game, the Deputy’s personal encounters with the heralds further reinforce the idea that Eden’s Gate is dangerous and beyond reason. While confessions can and should be voluntary, John does not approach it in that way. John kidnaps, terrorizes, and tortures the hardened Joey Hudson to the point of tears, and brings the Deputy to his torture dungeon where he once pried confessions under duress from prior individuals of the county. He kidnapped the Deputy in order to forcibly baptize them to the point where they might have drowned without Joseph’s interference, and captures them in order to make them confess, using the presence of Hudson as leverage (Hudson’s misery was also used as incentive on the video to draw the Deputy to the Holland region). He lures the Deputy to the church in the same way (by kidnapping their friends) and then permanently modifies their body against their will. Despite his proclaimed desire to have the Deputy atone, John also expresses desire to see the Deputy dead on occasion, such as after they destroy his sign.

While it might be easier for the player to sympathize with John due to his backstory and dynamic with Joseph, from the Deputy’s in-universe perspective, his instability represents a very real, tangible threat not only to them, but to the people of Hope County as a whole. At every turn, John has either imposed his will onto the Deputy by removing opportunities for agency and/or harming others. The Deputy owes John nothing. Any "choice" he gives of saying "Yes" is undermined by the massive amount of strings attached. It is difficult to envision a reason why the Deputy would decide to give into John’s philosophy, aside from faking it in order to protect their allies. This is a failing on John's part, not the Deputy.

Like John, Faith also expresses a desire for the Deputy to give in to Eden's Gate. But unlike John, she initially appears to the Deputy in a more pacifistic, less confrontational way. Despite this, the Deputy is still able to see her darker side due to her views on the Angels and fate of the unfortunate souls who walk the path whipping themselves and take a literal leap off of the statue of Joseph. Furthermore, she overrides the Deputy’s agency through the use of Bliss, which drastically warps one’s perception of reality. The Bliss that she now controls makes the horrific creation of Angels possible, and this Bliss is also used during baptisms, which muddles the issue of personal agency and consent to John’s process in addition to her own conversion process. The dangers of the Bliss and how it affects one’s thought process become highlighted in the Henbane region, and letters, voicemails, and NPC chatter show that Faith is not one to be trifled with. This comes to a head when Faith brainwashes the Sheriff and manipulates the Marshall into killing Virgil before killing himself. While it’s easy to have sympathy for Faith and her experiences, from the Deputy’s perspective, Faith is still a potential danger, which is why they step back when she leaned toward them during her death scene.

Jacob too removes the Deputy’s personal agency by literally brainwashing them and turning them into a tool that he can command, which eventually results in the Deputy being forced to kill a friend. He forced captives into competing against each other in life or death trials. He keeps the Deputy in a cage with a dead body and feeds them “mystery meat” after seven days of starving them while telling them a story about how he cannibalized his friend. The Judges are his brainchild that he sends to attack and kill others. Like John, Jacob also kidnapped and tortured a fellow police officer, to the point where they act like a slave to Jacob’s whims. Jacob has not done anything other than convincing the Deputy that he is a threat.

It is not the Deputy's job to fix the Seeds' personal issues--it's their job to protect Hope County. Throughout their journey, the Deputy sees various atrocities being committed, both to strangers and to themselves and the people they care about. There is zero reason for the Deputy to genuinely give in to the Seeds and join Eden's Gate, considering the horrible way they were treated and how they saw others being treated.

Joseph and the Voice

The Deputy’s presence did not *force* Eden’s Gate to start the Reaping. *Joseph* was the one to initiate it as a reaction to the Deputy’s presence, and all of Eden’s Gate followed him lockstep. When given the opportunity to finally confront and arrest the man responsible or walk away, it almost feels laughable that it’s even a choice at this point.

As leader of Eden’s Gate, Joseph oversees all parts of the Project. The buck stops with him. If he had any issues with Faith’s Angels, or Jacob’s trials, or John’s torture, he could have and would have said something--such as when he intervenes during the baptism--but he doesn’t. Because it furthers the goal of the Project, he doesn’t see any issue with these actions and feels they are justified.

Joseph’s vision of the Collapse coming true doesn’t mean that his actions throughout the game have greater inherent morality than the Deputy. It just means that he’s right about the Collapse. Regarding the Reaping, I do not believe that Joseph was motivated by a sense of cruelty, but that doesn’t change how many of the actions he participated in and oversaw *were* cruel. In real life, we see various examples of some people (not just in religious institutions, but in positions of authority in general) who commit harmful acts for the sake of a perceived “greater good.” And many of those people genuinely believe in what they are doing, believe they are in the right. But that doesn’t mean they actually are.

Which brings us to the elephant in the room: the Voice. If the Voice of God supports Joseph, then surely the deputy is automatically the “bad guy” for opposing him, right?

Wrong.

First, we have to be willing to admit that we know next to nothing about the Voice. The only things we know about it is what is conveyed to us by Joseph. We do not know the exact wording of what the Voice says, the level of detail it gives him regarding expectations (if any), or even what it is. Is it the voice of God? Satan? A real angel? Some kind of eldritch entity from another dimension? How accurate is Joseph's reiteration or interpretation? Sometimes it seems to directly tell Joseph things (hence the title, “the Voice”), other times it shows him visions. Clearly, there is some kind of supernatural component, as it allows Joseph to see the future, but since we don’t know much about it specifically, we can’t automatically assume or attribute inherent benevolence or morality to it.

Second, it’s entirely possible for a genuine prophet of God (assuming the Voice does indeed belong to a benevolent creator), or those who have/had God’s favor, to engage in morally questionable behavior, both in the eyes of God and/or in the eyes of 21st century readers. While the Project at Eden’s Gate is its own distinct religion, it takes most of its cues from Christianity, both in terms of practices and beliefs. In the Bible, King David had a man murdered so he could sleep with that man’s wife. Jonah wanted the entire population of a city to be killed off instead of having them repent. Jacob (the Biblical figure) deceives his father into giving him a birthright that belonged to his brother, and shows blatant favoritism to one son which ends up causing a lot of internal strife within the family. It’s fully within the realm of possibility that Joseph’s actions are not meant to be endorsed, either by the Voice itself or by the narrative in a broader sense.

In New Dawn, Joseph alludes to his own personal failings by saying, “My soul has become a cancer. I am a monster. I only spread suffering and death in the name of God.” The death of his son and the destruction of New Eden act as a moment of awakening for Joseph, as he finally realizes the harsh reality of his actions and how they affect others. He then expresses a desire for death and says, “There is only the justice of God’s hand.” The implication of “justice” being done indicates that the Voice (“God”) would not be happy with some of the actions that Joseph did. So while Joseph’s actions in FC5 were done with the intent of serving the Voice, his execution of these ideas was something that Joseph feels God would not like, as his actions spread death and suffering.

And thirdly, we have to remember that the Deputy and the player are viewing the idea of morality from the perspective of a 21st century human. Let’s say that, hypothetically, the Voice specifically instructed and condoned the erasure of free will/murders/kidnappings/etc. for whatever reason, and by enacting them, Joseph and Eden’s Gate were “just following orders.” Does this absolve Joseph and Eden's Gate of responsibility? No. Willing participation in the crimes committed, even if it wasn’t “their idea,” can still have legal consequences and can still be viewed as “bad” from a moral perspective because of the results of those actions.

The Collapse

It has been discussed elsewhere (on this site and in outside articles/discussions about the game) that the actions of the deputy correspond with the role of the Lamb in Revelations, and by breaking the seals, the Deputy’s actions supernaturally trigger the Collapse. This interpretation is fairly popular, and is one I personally support. However, I do not feel as though this interpretation lessens the morality of the Deputy's actions. Their decision to fight the Seeds is still the right one, regardless of whether or not their actions resulted in some kind of cosmic game of dominos.

First off, when the Deputy is attempting to take down the Seeds and protect the people of Hope County, they are not doing this with the intent of playing a role in a cosmic prophecy that will result in the death of millions. They’re looking at the situation from a human perspective, and acting accordingly and sensibly. The Seeds, on the other hand, were willingly harming innocents both before and during the Reaping.

Second, if there's a need to assign blame to a human for starting the Collapse (and I personally don't think there needs to be), it would be the Seeds, not the Deputy. The Sheriff and the deputies wouldn’t have arrived with the arrest warrant if the Seeds were not kidnapping and doing other illegal actions.

And thirdly, if one does attribute blame of the Collapse to the Deputy, then one also must attribute the birth of the new world to them as well. Following along with the idea that the events of FC5 are a fulfillment of Revelations, then the Collapse is ultimately viewed as a Good Thing within in the context of the Book of Revelations, even if the player might not personally share the sentiment. The Book of Revelations describes how the new world that is supposed to emerge from the ashes of the old is meant to be much better than the one before. And if we look at the world of New Dawn--and I’m going to copy and paste something I wrote previously here---Nature is allowed to flourish, people work together and support each other in a tight community, all the social ills mentioned in the Book of Joseph (and by the characters in-game) no longer exist. The only “snakes in the garden” would be the Highwaymen, and they are abolished by the Captain, who Joseph prophesizes to be some kind of Messiah-like figure. The final scene of New Dawn is one of hope, where the characters talk about building a better future. The way Joseph and Ethan’s storyline ends also connects to the whole idea of breaking away from the past and moving forward. If one believes that the Deputy is responsible for the Collapse, then this new world shown in New Dawn and the context of Revelations complicates the idea of viewing the Deputy's actions as being inherently bad.

Some might also argue that the Deputy has responsibility for not taking Joseph's warnings more seriously. Why though? Why should the Deputy attribute more credibility to Joseph's claims than, say, those of Marshall Applewhite or David Koresh? As players who know the ending, it’s easy for us to say that the Deputy should have listened to Joseph's warning about the Collapse, but there’s no in-universe rationale for the Deputy to do so. Issues of belief aside, Eden’s Gate’s actions alone are enough to paint an extremely negative picture of the group and would be enough to make any regular person not want to associate with them.

Under the framework of the Revelations prophecy being the intended interpretation of the game events though, I personally don't feel that any character "deserves" blame for the Collapse happening, not even the Seeds. I blame the Seeds for what they do to people within the game and before the events of FC5. And my perception of the Deputy is based on what we see in the game as well. But again, the Revelations prophecy idea is simply one way to view the game. Regardless of whether or not this interpretation is the correct one, the deputy still has the moral high ground in their fight against the Seeds.

Conclusion

Joseph being right about the Collapse does not mean that his (and by extension, Eden’s Gate’s) actions during FC5 were justified, and the Deputy should not be blamed for fighting against them. Just as the Deputy made a choice to arrest Joseph, Joseph made the choice to react in the worst way possible with the Reaping. Eden’s Gate were the aggressors who were kidnapping, torturing, and murdering people throughout the county. The Deputy fights against Eden’s Gate as a direct result of *Eden's Gate's* actions. The Deputy deserves no blame or guilt for killing the Seeds and destroying their bases of operations, as they reacted in a logical way based on the quality of information they had at the time.

In New Dawn, the Deputy expresses an extreme amount of guilt, which transforms them into the Judge. This guilt is misplaced and should be attributed to the other resident of the bunker, which is something Joseph himself even alludes to during his final speech in New Dawn when he criticizes his own actions. If Eden’s Gate did not start attacking the people of Hope County, the bunkers would still be standing, and the Seeds and many other cultists would still be alive. But they did, so they’re not.

While I adore all four of the Seeds as characters and have varying degrees of sympathy for them, they are firmly villains within the context of the story due to their actions. The deputy is not a bad guy for trying to stop them. The fact the Seeds sided with a guy who kidnapped and starved a family, then fed the parents' flesh to their children while playing “this little piggy” with the parents’ toes, and then murdered said parents in front of their children should speak for itself.

TL;DR: The deputy’s decision to confront Joseph instead of walking away was the right one.

[violent-backed-starling]

An Essay For your Consideration

The Manson Family, Heaven’s Gate, The People’s Temple; all are fairly well-known cults. They are known because of what they did. They all made the news in the worst possible way. The Manson Family murdered innocents because their prophet commanded them to. Heaven’s Gate ended in a mass suicide. The People’s Temple ended with a mass murder/suicide. These are all traumatic and shocking events. It is because these are so well known and present in the public eye that these cults in particular have shaped the way people portray cults in the pieces of fiction they write. This is evident from The Order in the Silent Hill Series by Keiichiro Toyama to The Village by M. Night Shyamalan. The cults in the media are always dark, unhinged, or at the least upsetting to most people, which is why the viewer generally ends up rooting for the hero. In a particular fictional cult they express several of the above traits. In the 2019 horror comedy musical Black Friday, written by Matt and Nick Lang with music and lyrics by Jeff Blim, there is a cult that goes about the mall doing similar crimes. This kind of behavior is extreme. In general, cults while still awful and problematic in their own rights, do not go to such horrific lengths. The Wiggly cult in Black Friday has extreme behaviors, even by cult standards.

When the cult first formed in the mall in Black Friday it was not completely horrible, unhinged yes, but not completely irredeemable. Over the course of a few mere hours they turned to savage actions in order to get what they wanted. It started off with just burning down the Cinnabon in the mall as a “sacrifice to a dark god”. Their actions only escalated from there. The cult’s prophet, Linda Monroe, slit the throat of the manager at Toy Zone when he could not get her a Wiggly doll immediately, even though he tried to bargain with her saying that he could contact the manufacturer and get her a Wiggly doll. She later tried to have one of the cultists murder a teenage worker at Toy Zone, presumably for lying about having one of the Wiggly dolls. She lied about the Wiggly doll to protect her sister who carried it, unknowingly, in her backpack. The teen worker managed to escape and find help in the end, but she was supposed to be murdered. The cultists also ended up finding this worker’s sister and taking her back to Linda who threatened her with a knife when she found out the sister no longer had the Wiggly doll. She most likely would have been murdered by Linda if there had not been help coming from her sister. The cult eventually died in a fire when the whole mall burned down due to the Wiggly doll being set on fire, because they refused to leave the Wiggly doll that they had gotten ahold of and were fighting over who would be the new prophet since Linda had been shot and killed. The cultists literally burned alive instead of escaping because of their cult and them wanting to be the new prophet. That is an absolutely horrific and painful way to die. Them burning alive for their god is a prime example of extreme behavior. Even when it comes to the more extreme cults, they generally do not end up with cultists burning alive, voluntarily. This kind of behavior is why the Wiggly cult in Black Friday is not a regular cult.

Cults show up on the news on occasion. Those cults are generally more violent and upsetting because what they do or what they did has to be something awful to get them onto the news. NXIVM is a cult that has made headlines semi recently since they did awful things like brand women and make women give them blackmail materials so they could not leave the cult once they joined. This sounds bad and horrific and is only scratching the surface on what truly was going on, but they did not commit murder or mass suicide. This is also just one case, a case that made headlines no less. When it comes to the easily recognizable hallmarks of cults the ones that come to mind are the manipulation of their members, brainwashing, and the separation of members from their family and friends. Cults usually end up separating the members away from their family and friends in order to make them more vulnerable and likely to stay within the cult. The cults also sometimes take money from their followers who, believing that will be put to a good cause, give it to the leader. That money is usually used to benefit the leader of the cult in some unorthodox way, like buying a sports car or nice worldly possessions. While that sucks and no one should take advantage of people like that, it is still far better than murder. In Wiggly’s cult they were willing to kill for one of the Wiggly dolls. Their prophet wanted four of them, but not a single person in the cult had one until the end and when they finally got one it was Linda’s, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. The people that also were part of the cult had problems because that was how Wiggly ensnared them. They were part of the cult of comfort because of their own issues and wanted relief.  That is the same reason why many people joined NXIVM. Keith Raniere presented his cult as an MLM that sold courses for self improvement. In Black Friday Linda had an affair with her lawyer and desperately wanted to be adored. The other cultists had similar issues, one had recently lost a job, another was homeless and so on. This cult of comfort had people under its thumb believing in their new god, Wiggly.

There is also the issue where people blend the lines between cults and religions. The fact is that they do overlap in areas, and many cults are based upon being a religion. Thomas Robbins explains that the ways religions have become more cult like has affected the studies of the sociology of these religions. Then the other group that cults overlap with is political parties. There are a number of political cults as well. The Cult of Cheka in Russia is a big one. The public sees that “the FSB continues to promote a positive image of the Cheka in the public imagination”. This cult is pushed to be in the public eye and is supposed to be thought of as good. It is literally a government supported cult. That is because this is a secret police kind of deal. That implies that this lies on the more extreme side of cults as well, but that is the way most of the well known ones are. Wiggly’s cult has both of these aspects to it. Linda is Wiggly’s prophet because he is a dark god from another dimension, but the reason people love and believe in him is capitalism. Wiggly is not only an interdimensional being with the powers of a god, he is also the little dolls that were sold in the Toy Zone, and all over the USA. The commercial for those dolls promised relief from the woes of the world to his followers. They were convinced that this product would make everything better. That is why they were willing to burn with the doll rather than just letting it go.

Most cults that end do not do so by such tragic means but rather they just split apart or fizzle out on their own. Sometimes there are legal issues, but they are generally something smaller scale than murder, such as tax fraud, insurance fraud, etc. Those are still crimes and they are seriously wrong but not nearly as bad as killing someone. 

The time in a cult does affect the mental health of the individual. The ex-members of some organizations would say that they suffered from “cognitive deficiencies (e.g., memory, perception, decision-making, or information-processing deficits) and emotional impairments”. The separation from family and friends makes it harder for people to leave. The cults do, generally, let people leave though, and people do choose to leave. This is not the most common, but nor is it completely unexpected. While people who leave their cult do consider it to be rewarding, they also have problems afterwards. They can have physical issues, emotional issues, psychological issues, or some combination of them. These are regular cults, the more extreme variety could have one committing serious crimes like murdering, being an accomplice to murder, or straight up ending with them dead, whether by their own hands or not. Those people in Wiggly’s cult did not leave; they would rather die than leave their cult of comfort, so they did. 

The people that ended up in the cult in Black Friday were there because Wiggly and by extension Linda promised to fix the holes in their lives. They just blindly followed and believed her when it came to what Wiggly could and would do for them. They would not take responsibility for their own problems and try to solve them themself. The cultists wanted the fake promises of comfort Wiggly gave them rather than trying to fix them because it was easier to just rely on Wiggly. They wanted someone else to fix their problems like their failing marriage, losing their job, their messy divorce, losing custody of their kids, their dead wife, etc. This is something that probably drives real life people to join cults as well. Bad circumstances can have one turning to ill advised sources of comfort and relief. In some cases that ill advised source of relief could be cult. These are the kind of people that a real life cult would target to try to get them to join their ranks. These are people who might turn to a cult in times of trial which is exactly why a cult would try to convert them simply because they are easy targets. Even if the actions of Wiggly’s cult are extreme the member’s reasons for joining are ordinary and understandable. That gives this cult some sort of connection to a more realistic cult. The actions from this cult do align with some cults, namely The Manson Family and The People’s Church. 

The Manson Family was also a very extreme cult when it came down to it. The Manson family with the myriad of crimes they committed. Those crimes including murder, torture, hostage taking, the attempted assassination of the president and other lesser crimes like grand theft auto and forging a check from the treasury. The trial was no less disturbing with Charles Manson trying to represent himself and after a few days being found incapable of doing so. He also entered the courtroom with a cross carved into his forehead. Manson demanded to be allowed to testify and they agreed. He testified that he was a product of the criminal justice system since both his father and mother ended up in prison at some point. The court also ended up having members of the family testify and they told the truth of what Manson said and believed. They actually ended up testifying against Manson. The cult was following his orders and it was on his orders that they killed. They also believed what he was saying about Helter Skelter being a huge war of which the Family would come out on top of. Manson said that was the true meaning behind the Beatles song by the same name. The cult also had members afraid of Manson and they were scared to disobey so they did what was asked of them whether they wanted to or not. That kind of behavior from a cult is intense, extreme, and rare which is why it was in the public eye as much as it was. This is exactly the kind of cult behavior that Wiggly’s cult from Black Friday also expressed. They also had similar behavior to another cult, that cult being The People’s Temple.

The People’s Temple started out with good intentions, but ended up with a large amount of its members dead. It started as a genuine religion but changed for the darker as the leader, Jim Jones, started faking healings and doing drugs. The healings would bring in more people and more money and with that money eventually Jones started doing drugs which evidently caused him to change, personality wise. He started wearing his signature sunglasses at that point to hide the fact he would have been doing drugs. He eventually got so paranoid due to the drugs that he decided to start his own little paradise for his followers out in Guyana. He started a small village with cottages and called it Jonestown. Many of the followers flocked out there, but once they got there they were stuck. They did not have enough money to leave, Jones kept their passports in a locked box, and all of the mail coming in and out was monitored. Those combined conditions made it practically impossible for anyone to leave. Life in Jonestown was miserable; they did not have enough space or food for everyone. Eventually concerned family members were able to convince U. S. Congressman Leo Ryan to go check on Jonestown in 1978. He and a bunch of reporters visited on November 17th, 1978 and at first it was okay but Ryan invited the followers to leave with him. Jones got very upset at how many wanted to go and as a result one of his lieutenants attacked Ryan with a knife. He escaped without harm. Jones then ordered for Ryan and his companions to be killed. They were ambushed and murdered as they attempted to board planes to leave. Then Jones ordered everyone in the main pavilion where the older member and nurses injected the young with poisons and drank poisoned Kool Aid. That kind of thing is very extreme. It is uncommon and made the news. 

The extreme cults are rare and have radical ideas and views. Wiggly’s cult is extreme and so is The Manson Family and The People’s Temple. They are all alike in the committing murder area of cult behavior. They also promised to be the ones safe from the world and would be left alive when the apocalypse would come. Wiggly’s cult ended in suicide as did The People’s Church. That is an extreme reaction to the situation that was going on and there were far better options that just were not taken. Manson and Linda were alike in that they would delegate the murdering to someone else. Linda and Jones are alike in that they did actually get their hands dirty. Linda’s cult may have been fictional and had some serious supernatural elements, but it still reflected actual cults behaviors even if those behaviors were extreme and part of the one percent of cults.

[revisitingstoneybrook]

#68 Jessi and the Bad Babysitter: Chapter 14

Now it’s time for some fireworks! It’s always fun to see someone snap and call the BSC out. Godspeed, Wendy.

It's the next BSC meeting on Wednesday and Jessi has her eyes glued to the door, praying that Wendy arrives on time. She's afraid another Kristy-Wendy showdown will take place, and I think she's also worried that because she's the one that brought her into the BSC, it'll be her ass too.

Much to Jessi's relief, Wendy shows up at 5:29 and she's not a happy camper. “Her mouth was set in a thin line and her big brown eyes were narrowed and angry.” *gasp* How could anyone not be in a good mood to be at a BSC meeting? Wendy says she had to leave a Super Mario tournament just to be at the meeting on time. And to top it off, she was winning too! Guilt-trip all you want, Wendy. The BSC is immune to all excuses. And Super Mario...Ann must have been tearing her hair out when she read all these modern pop culture references.

Jessi tells her she did the right thing and thinks to herself the BSC is more important than video games. The BSC supercedes all! And imagine if Wendy showed up 25 minutes late again...she'd wake up in the morning with “YOU'RE GOING DOWN!” spelled out on her windowsill in baby blocks. Jessi tells Wendy it's important she's here, but Wendy doesn't look too convinced.

At 5:30, Kristy calls the meeting to order and says she has two pieces of business. First, Shannon's coming! But she's going to be late. So anyone else showing up a minute late = LOOK. Shannon showing up late = that's ok! You know what, fine. Shannon gets like no love, let them bend the rules for her.

The second piece of news...Wendy was late to the job at the Pikes! Dun dun dunnnnnn. Wendy, completely blindsided, looks at Jessi accusingly. Oh no, Wendy. Jessi didn't say anything. It was Kristy's little Yes-Girl.

Mary Anne tattled on Wendy to Kristy. She says she didn't do it to be mean (yeah right) but said it was something that Kristy had to know. Wendy tries defending herself by saying she was maybe 15-20 minutes late and Jessi was already there. Kristy snippily counteracts with this:

“The big deal is that when parents call here they know they can count on us in every way.” (Good times, bad times, in between...) “That means they can be confident that they can get out the door when they need to. This business works because we run it in a professional manner.”

Uh, no, you run it in a dictatorial manner, Miss Napoleon Complex. And geez, if Mary Anne had kept her mouth shut, nothing would have happened. I mean, Mrs. Pike came home and both girls were there and the house and kids were all in one piece. I feel for Wendy because she's being ganged up on when all she's guilty of is assuming wrong. And they all keep forgetting that SHE WAS AT A BABYSITTING JOB. It wasn't like she was out shopping or was on a date (Stacey) or something. Oh wait. That's against BSC rules too. Girl's between a rock and a hard place here.

Wendy opens her mouth to say something, then shuts it. Too bad this a G-rated book because Wendy telling Kristy to fuck off would have been great. After thinking her words over, Wendy says things aren't working out. Stacey, who's said like six lines in this whole book, wants to know why, mainly to ease the tension and keep Kristy from unleashing her claws. She's also mentally taking notes for future reference when she quits this bitch in 15 books.

Wendy says there's too many rules and doesn't like the fact that she has to surrender all her personal jobs over to the BSC. She also doesn't like having to be at meetings three days a week because it takes up too much time. Kristy, your rebuttal? “You knew the rules when you joined.”

NO SHE DIDN'T!!!!!! NO SHE DIDN'T, NO SHE DIDN'T, NO SHE DIDN'T!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good lord! No one gave her an explanation of the rules when she first joined. Kristy was too busy acting all high and mighty, demonstrating how the club assigns jobs and yelling at Mallory for being sick. Holy shit, Kristy is such a bitch. Wendy, in a more composed manner, tells her what I just said. How the first meeting she attended was so frantic and no one ever told her what any of the rules were. Through all of this, Kristy stays silent. 

Wendy admits that the club is great (so the brainwashing did get to her a bit) but it's great for all of them - not for her. Mary Anne suggests that it's just an adjustment period and she'll be fine soon. It falls on deaf ears, because Wendy stands up and gives the BSC a verbal smackdown:

“No, I don't think so. I have parents. I have teachers. I don't need a club telling me what to do, too. That's just one too many people bossing me around.” Oooooh, want some ice for that BURN, Kristy? “Sorry it didn't work out. 'Bye.”

With that, Wendy walks out of the room and into BSC obscurity.  Or there's always my theory that she was driven out of Stoneybrook for defying the BSC and was sent to live in RI in exile, like Anne Hutchinson.

Since this is a G-rated book and there can't be any lines of “Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out!”, Kristy spits out a goodbye and adds on, “No offense, Jessi. But I can't believe you and she are friends.” Ouch x 100. Geez, someone is a bad match for the BSC = shitty friend. Jessi tries to defend Wendy and calls her “pretty independent.” Yes, free spirits have no place in the BSC! Hear that, Dawn? Change your hippie ways, or you're next!

Stacey jokes that Kristy's met her match. Kristy glares at her (which makes her perm go stick-straight) and gives us this. “Wendy? Not likely. I don't think there's much value in being completely undisciplined and unable to follow a few simple rules.”

A few SIMPLE rules?! The BSC runs around like a bunch of maniacs to make sure they don't break them and cower in fear at receiving one of Kristy’s Looks. The fact that the BSC is literally terrified of pissing off their president is scary and shows that their rules are not that simple.

Jessi remarks that Kristy and Wendy are actually quite alike and that's why they clashed. The only difference is, Kristy's a leader...and Wendy's a loner. Yes, let's just keep shitting all over her.

Jessi apologizes for bringing Wendy in and Kristy says it's alright, she's relieved she's gone. Because if she kept showing up late, they'd have to can her and “that would have been pretty unpleasant.” Oh yeah. With the trial for high treason and the beheading in the town park? Very unpleasant.

Mary Anne says she was afraid they'd fire her and actually had a nightmare over this the night before. “I dreamed we all had to stand in a circle and tell Wendy why she had to leave. In the dream, I couldn't do anything but cry because I felt so bad for her.” Like we need any more evidence that the BSC is a cult. I'm picturing them all in black robes, holding candles with Wendy in the middle, waiting for Logan to lead her off to her tower.

And WTF Mary Anne. If it hadn't been for you blabbing all this to Kristy in the first place, Wendy wouldn’t have up and quit. Shut up.

Before they can trash talk Wendy anymore, Shannon shows up and everything gets sunny again! And, guess what...her Honor Society dinner committee meetings are over! So she isn't as busy now! Claudia gives her the news about the newly-departed Wendy and Shannon says Kristy told her “she wasn't working out too well, anyway.” I'm sure Kristy used much more colorful language than that. 

Shannon tells them she has a cunning plan...a plan so cunning, you could brush your teeth with it. Since they've been calling her like a million times a week to offer her jobs...why doesn't she just come to meetings and take over Dawn's position as alternate officer? Then when Dawn comes back, go back to being associate?

Sounds great...JUST LIKE IT DID WHEN I SUGGESTED IT LIKE 10 FRICKIN CHAPTERS AGO!!!!!!! God, it took them THIS long to come up with that?

Kristy is overjoyed, Shannon says she has no issues with stepping down, as it'll be spring by then and she'll be swamped with school stuff and she'll be going away for the summer. Kristy freaks out and demands Shannon not go away for the summer because they'll need her. Shut up, Kristy.

Stacey tells Kristy to chill out and Kristy lets it drop. For now. So the phone starts ringing as the neglectful parents of Stoneybrook call in, Shannon takes lots of jobs, problem solved.

As Jessi goes home, she wonders about whether she should still be friends with Wendy, considering she kind-of told off Kristy and is unreliable. Because having a friend who is late to stuff is BAD. If I dumped any friends who were not punctual, I'd have to get rid of a lot of friends. Jessi finally gets a hold of herself and realizes that not everyone is used to Kristy's iron fist of power, it isn't the end of the world if her friend isn't punctual and decides to talk to Wendy.

Jessi calls up Wendy, Wendy seems to have been fretting over the same stuff because she thinks Jessi hates her for quitting the BSC. The two clarify their feelings, Wendy says she just didn't fit in with the BSC, admits she doesn't like Kristy (but doesn't hate her...no please, tell us your true feelings about her) and they decide to stay friends. Well, at least as much as the BSC will let Jessi, since all non-BSC friends kind of fall to the wayside eventually. She even says Wendy would fit in great with the We <3 Kids Club. I don’t get why Wendy could have stayed on as an associate. She wouldn’t be required to be at every meeting and it would take some of the pressure off Logan and Shannon.

[imaginedanganronpa]

Can you please do Saimatsu in a talent swap scenario where magician Shuichi joins anthropologist Angie’s cult thing? Detective Kaede tries to talk him out of it, but Shuichi felt he failed Kaede in the last two cases by either getting evidence mixed up and almost getting everyone killed. Then he ends up becoming the the third killer by protecting Kaede from Adventurer Korekiyo.

I didn’t realize how long this one was, but I really loved this prompt. It was super fun to write and I hope you enjoy!Fair warning though, it gets ANGSTY really fast!

Saimatsu Talent Swap Scenario: Ultimate Detective!Kaede Akamatsu & Blackened Ultimate Magician!Saihara Shuichi!

Kaede Akamatsu felt a lot ofpressure when she found herself in this situation – after all, she was theUltimate Detective. In a Killing Game scenario, it would be in the Blackened’sbest interest to take her out and she knew that. Since the beginning, she haskept her guard up and remained skeptical of the other Ultimates participating.

And yet, she met someone who made her feel a bit more at ease in thispredicament: Saihara Shuichi, the Ultimate Magician. Although, he didn’t looklike an Ultimate Magician nor was he who she imagined she would spend almostall of her time with, he never failed to make Kaede feel at peace, even whenlocked in this place.

The two met at the very start of the Killing Game, before it had been initiatedby Monokuma. He was the first person Kaede met, and she knew he would be aninteresting person to keep close when he literally fell for her – I mean, whenhe fell out of the locker and landed at her feet.

This clumsiness only continued throughout the first two Investigations. Alwayseager to show off his magical abilities, Saihara had once bumped into a tableand spilled a vase onto the floor while trying to use a Revealing Spell to show the fingerprints on Rantaro Amami’s body. The broken glass and water spoiled the bloodand fingerprint evidence, rendering it inadmissible.

During the second Investigation revolving around Ryoma Hoshi, he also failed tomention to Kaede that he spotted Kirumi Tojo tampering with the Crime Scene. Whenhe tried stopping her, Saihara misplaced evidence that was overlooked duringthe Investigation and irrelevant to the Trial. 

Due to the misplacement, Kaede overlooked Kirumi as being a possible Blackenedand ruled her out at the beginning of the Trial. Thankfully, she was able toconnect the dots before everyone voted or else the Magician may have gotteneveryone else killed.

He was also quite impressionable – all the Ultimate Anthropologist, AngieYonaga, had to do to convince him to join her ‘humanity’ cult was promise himfame and fortune that would only increase his credibility as a Magician oncethe students got out of here; she never explained how or why she would do this,and simply told him to put faith into humanity.

“After all, Magicians are someof the most beautiful people in the world~!” She bribes in a singsong voice.

Kaede tried talking him out of it, insisting that there was nothing Angie coulddo for him. She knew that Angie was untrustworthy and a bit out of her mind,but Saihara wouldn’t listen – instead, he tried convincing Kaede to join hercult alongside him.

Taking her hand into his and snaking one arm around the small of her waist,Saihara leans in and brushes his nose against hers. “Come on, Kaede. It wouldbe wonderful to explore the world and meet so many different, beautiful humanswith you… don’t you think?” The corner of his lip points upwards into a smirk. Theywere standing in the Dining Hall but were the only ones here – it was nighttimeand beginning to get dark so most everyone else had already gone to bed, andthe couple used this privacy for alone time.

A blush formed across Kaede’s cheeks. By now, she had an undeniable attractionto him. She couldn’t avoid her feelings forever, but she just didn’t want themto get in the way of her Detective work or ruin her goal to make it out of thisplace alive. His words were tempting… but he also sounded brainwashed and she just couldn’t do it. She was far toological to make a decision like that and couldn’t put faith in the Anthropologistgirl’s empty words.

“Sh-Shuichi, think about this. I don’t want this strange cult to fog your mindand cause you to make poor choices. I want you to make it out of here with meand I’m afraid you’ll get yourself killed if you join Angie and the others,”she swallows hard, afraid to strike a nerve with her following sentence, “afterall, you haven’t been making the best choices lately.”

Saihara seemed to understand what she was implying and his smile immediatelydisappeared. His limbs become limp as he recoils his hand back towards hischest and breaks their eye-contact. Kaede wasn’t wrong, she never was, butrecently the others have been giving him a hard time.

Truthfully, the most genuine reason why he wanted to join Angie was because hewanted to find a place where he felt like he belonged and was accepted. He’salways managed to do something wrong throughout his life and that didn’t stop oncethe Killing Game commenced – the only thing he was ever good at was magic, andeven then people didn’t take him seriously until he gained his title as an Ultimate. 

Sighing, he turns on his heels and bids Kaede a goodnight, swinging the DiningHall door open and leaving her behind. The Detective stands there, all alonenow and regretting what she said. If she could take it back now, she would.Since the two became close, Saihara has opened up to her about his past anddifficulties growing up. She knew that he would take her words the wrong waywhen all she truly wanted was the best for him.

Kaede’s feet began moving without her realizing it at first. She was boundingtowards Saihara, feverishly trying to catch up to him. She finally does and placed a firm grip on his shoulder, shaking some sense into the boy. “Shuichi,please let me talk to you!” 

He reluctantly pauses, keenly listening without turning to face her. She takes hisactions as compliance and continues, “Why are you acting like this, Shuichi?You know I just want what’s best for you because I care about you more than anyoneelse here! I’m sorry if I upset you-”

“I just… feel like I’ve failed you, Kaede. You’re a phenomenal Detective, andI’m more like the annoying sidekick who always gets in the way.” His voice wasshaky and meek, and as Saihara turns his head, she realized that handful oftears had fallen down his face. Kaede also noticed the faintest hint of a blush on his skin but feels her heart sink into her stomach.

They both knew how they felt and acknowledged their feelings, but it seems likeshe had really done it this time. Shaking her head in defiance, that was theopposite way she wanted him to feel. “That isn’t true Shuichi! Everyone makesmistakes and everything still worked out, didn’t they?”

He grits his teeth and clenches his fist. Through tears, Saihara retorts, “Onlybecause of you! If you weren’t here I would’ve gotten everyone killed by now,” hebreathes deeply as his eyelids flutter close. His voice was high and irritable,and he takes a moment to calm himself down – that was one of the strategies he’slearned in Angie’s cult so far. “Just, please, let me be alone for a while,Kaede. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Wordlessly, he leans forward and gently places a kiss on her forehead. Onceagain, he exits the room without her and leaves Kaede alone with her thoughts.What else could she do other than cooperate? She assumed that things would returnto normal after the sun rises again, and then hopefully Saihara was a bit moreunderstanding.

However, on his way back to his room, Saihara noticed a dark figure dancing acrossthe wall. Tracing the shadow with his eyes, he peers into a Boys’ Bathroom –that’s when he notices Korekiyo Shinguuji, the Ultimate Adventurer, crouchingdown and mumbling to himself. He’d been reciting a personal pep-talk, and justwhen Saihara thought that he was simply having a moment, he overheard analarming sentence. 

“And when I take out that putrid Detective girl, I’ll be able to escape fromthis madhouse…”

Saihara’s eyes widen and his hands begin trembling with fear. As his stomachtwists and turns, his mind races with possibilities. Should he tell Kaede andscare her or confront Korekiyo and potentially get himself killed? He couldalways wait and reveal Korekiyo as the Blackened at the Trial but that would mean Kaedewould have to die first and…

No, he refused to fail her any longer. He would protect Kaede, even if it meantgiving up his life, or taking another. They may have fallen for one another and made plans tospend their lives together once this was all over with, but that was onlypossible if she was still alive.

Saihara mindlessly began making his way towards Korekiyo’s Lab – he would haveto surprise him if he ever wanted to protect Kaede. Thankfully, he stuck aroundlong enough to hear that Korekiyo had left his murder weapon in his Lab and hadto go back to retrieve it, and that the room was unlocked; too bad Saiharawould get there first.

He skims the Lab and eyes a rope hanging on the wall – typical for an Adventurer.Saihara creeps into a corner and patiently, yet anxiously, waits for the muchtaller man to arrive. The footsteps drew nearer, and he had to silence his ownonce Korekiyo actually entered the room.

The next thing he knew, he was using the rope to strangle Korekiyo, and thenhis mind went blank. Everything went dark after that, and once the Magicianfinally comes to, he realized what he had done – Korekiyo’s lifeless body waslaying on the floor at his feet.

Panicked, Saihara rushed back to his room and locked the door. His heart wasbeating fast and adrenaline pumped through his veins; he couldn’t seem tosleep at all that night.

It took no time at all for the Body Discovery Announcement to shake theremaining students to their very core. Angie and her cult had been the ones tofind him, and Saihara did his best to act shocked along with the rest of hisclassmates.

That’s when the reality really hit Saihara – either Kaede would discover him andhe would get executed, or he would get away with it and she would instead.Regardless, one of them was going to die. He was the third killer, the Blackenedamong the Spotless, and their hopes of living a peaceful life together after ending the Killing Game was history the moment he wrapped that rope around Korekiyo’s neck.

What was he supposed to do, though? Let her die? Saihara felt more ashamed ofhimself now than ever before, and ruining the past Investigations seemedminuscule compared to what he’s done now.

He avoided Kaede until the Trial took place in hopes that their growing distance wouldlessen the blow of his death and make it easier on her once he was gone; afterall, he wouldn’t be there to console her anymore.

She could sense that something was off but assumed that he was still upset withher from the other night. But, oh well, she’d be able to talk to him once theygot through this Trial!

Or, so she thought… she had figured him out before the Trial started butrefused to believe it. Kaede waited to see what evidence the rest of her peershad to offer, but nothing seemed to stray away from the fact that she sointensely wanted to ignore. 

It broke her heart to accuse Saihara, and everyone was stunned to discover thetruth. They all knew about Kaede and Saihara’s budding relationship andwondered what could have come over him to cause him to do something like this.

After Monokuma revealed Saihara as the true culprit and her suspicions wereconfirmed, she completely breaks down. Afterwards, she bolts towards himand slammed her fists against his chest, her knees becoming wobbly as tearsstreamed down her face. “I knew you were angry with me, but how could you?! Ididn’t think you were the kind of person to let your anger get the best of you,Shuichi! What about our life together?” Kaede’s voice cracks as Saihara wrapshis arms around her to help keep her standing.

He shuts his eyes tightly to prevent his own tears from escaping, knowing thatthat would only upset her more. However, he giggles and shakes his head at Kaede.“I thought the Ultimate Detective would have figured out my motive…” he trials off,his heart wrenching in his chest.

Using his forefinger, Saihara lifts Kaede’s chin and uses his other finger towipe her tears. “I did it to protect you.” Kaede blinks, confused, and stares upat Saihara. Her knees were still quaking, and her vision was blurry from thetears. She didn’t understand, shaking her head in denial. “What do you mean…?”

“I overheard Korekiyo making plans to kill you after I left the Dining Hall. Icouldn’t let him do that, and I guess I killed him in a blind rage… I’m sorry,Kaede. I’m sorry that we won’t be able to make our plans a reality, but youknow that… I love you.”

Saihara struggled to choke out those last three words, and this only caused notonly both of them but most of the others to succumb to tears. His heart feltheavy as he whispered in her ear, “I’m not mad at you, I never was. Please,remember that,” as he embraces Kaede in one last long, passionate kiss.

Kaede couldn’t believe it, and blamed Angie for his death. If he hadn’t joinedher cult, they never would have argued and he never would have discoveredKorekiyo’s plans. It didn’t matter if she would have been murdered because then,Saihara would still be alive.

Monokuma, whilst clapping and leaping from his oversized seat, makes his waytowards the lovebirds. “Now, now, break it up! This stuff is makin’ me sick! Westill have a Punishment to get to!”

The cold, metal chain wraps around Saihara’s throat. Kaede grips his hand eventighter, nearly cutting off the blood-flow, and screams for him as the Magicianis ripped away from her desperate grasp. “No!” 

“Don’t forgot me,” Saihara pleads with a bittersweet smile, and those are thelast words he ever spoke. 

- Mod Rantaro