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weightedblankettt · 9 months

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An Analysis on the Literature Girl Insane MV!

Hey! You might not know me that much, as I’m not active in the DRDTheory community, as I’ve dubbed it, but my name is Blanket! Technically, this is a work of collaboration between the majority of DRDT Twitter, but it’s mainly just an analysis of stuff I couldn’t do by myself.

Okay, and now, onto the video!

So we start off with the spoiler warning. Pretty standard stuff, of course.

Many of my theories beginning here will be based on the colors and what I, personally, associate them with. Of course, the actual MV’s contents will be looked at further down the line.

As a bonus, take note of what pops up right after that. It’s a question: Do you want to forgive... someone? We’ll answer this question later on in the theories section.

These are mainly just lyrics, but the “final verdict” part catches my eye, as I believe it isn’t in the lyrics further down the line. Perhaps it’s about the current trial? As many people believe, David did not kill Arei. His reasons for lying about doing so are unknown, but we can assume that the singer is calling the listeners idiots, because of their incorrect final verdict. Whatever David wants to do, it’s certainly not leading them to the right one.

Next, these lyrics. While I believe it’s fairly obvious that the pink is meant to represent the typical Danganronpa-esque color of their blood, the color that the word “game” is in is probably relates to David. After all, his hair clips and star eyes, both prominent features of his “facade”, are in the same color.

Here is where the most prominent part of the MV is, to me. The text that flashes across the screen during transition points. The first one, in white text, is an excerpt from Osamu Dazai’s “The Flowers of Buffoonery.” The book, while I’ll spare you the greater details, greatly describes themes of suicide. The story’s main protagonist, Yozo Oba, can be described as so: “-But the narrator, a self-conscious writer, makes frequent first-person asides, breaking the fourth wall as he comments on the quality or believability of the novel he is writing.”

Something especially telling is this line, from an analysis of Yozo’s character. “Yozo is a person characterized by shame. Although I pretend to be someone who is confident and unabashedly themselves, that is not really true. I have always been ashamed of who I really am. I created a whole persona to interact with others because I believed my true self would never be enough.”

David’s character is someone very similar to that. Someone who has created a false persona to interact with others. Yozo is someone who feels resentful of other people, simply because he is forced to make them happy. “Yozo Oba is the tortured author and unreliable narrator of the three notebooks that comprise the bulk of No Longer Human. [That is the sequel to The Flowers of Buffoonery.] His appearance is depicted in three photographs examined by an unnamed narrator in the Prologue. These three photographs correspond to his appearance in each of the three notebooks. As a child, Yozo is precocious by design—an impish child who uses his antics to hide his fear, shame, and inability to relate to humanity. These fundamental flaws carry over into young adulthood; in the second notebook, he is a handsome young man whose smiling photograph lacks humanity, betraying the depth of terror and isolation that his comical persona seeks to hide. In the third photograph and notebook, he is only 27, but his gray hair and forgettable appearance prevent him from being labeled an ordinary human being.”

The quotes in yellow are from Agatha Christie’s “Murder on the Orient Express.” The full quote reads as follows. "If you confront anyone who has lied with the truth, they usually admit it – often out of sheer surprise. It is only necessary to guess right to produce your effect." I think the relevancy of this line in terms of David can be explained with his actions so far. Fun fact: Similarly to Danganronpa, “Murder on the Orient Express” is a murder mystery.

This is just a rickroll. DRDTDev thinks that they are FUNNY!? (They are.)

The “an archaic personal pronoun rarely used in real life, but popularized in fiction by the book” is most likely referring to thou/thy/etc. I’m not sure what this correlates to, but it’s probably important. I couldn’t find the green text, but from what I can tell, the green text probably relates to David’s nihilistic point of view towards humanity. Update: Bleuflower on Tumblr has located the source to be I Am A Cat by Natsume Soseki, so go check her out for that! If I had to say anything about that, it’d probably be relating to MonoTV, however, there’s also a continuation of David’s nihilism towards humanity that was also found in the Osamu Dazai references. The book itself is described as a “mordantly comic evocation of Sōseki's deep pessimism about his own humanity and indeed about humankind in general.”

The white text here is an excerpt from Osamu Dazai’s “No Longer Human,” which follows the same protagonist as “The Flowers of Buffoonery.” I’m sure you can all gather what that means in relation to David, but the main point is that he seems detached from his view of “normalcy.” @shidoutism on Twitter had this to say, as they’ve read the book itself: “OKOK so basically this first excerpt is from 'no longer human' by osamu dazai (its his last finished work because dazai sadly took his own life after publication of the book) now from the limited knowledge i have of david the meaning and message of the book might help in whatever analysis ur doing?? no longer human is about a man who never felt like he understood humans. like the title suggests, he never felt like a person. its revealed the protag was pretty sheltered and rich in childhood but experienced trauma from the familys housekeepers, but he never reported it. thats basically the start of it all as the protag grows up, he finds fear in communicating with humans. so he ends up either isolating himself and/or destroying all of his relationships with people. he's scared of people seeing the real him, so ever since he was a child he started putting up a happy, cheerful front. but it just creeped some ppl out bc it didn't feel genuine, it was more like a clown wanting to so badly entertain others. the protag starts resorting to bad coping mechanisms such as dr/gs and alc/hol and has many relationships with women to drown his sorrows and feel closer to being 'a human'. aaand the end of the book is kinda unsettling as the protag is sent to a rehab center and then when released, isolated himself somewhere far away without people, stating "everything passes. thats the one thing i learned in this living hell [somewhere along those lines]" and the book ends numbly like it feels like nothing”

I don’t know about you, but this sounds rather similar to our “protagonist.”

This quote is from “The Setting Sun”, by, you guessed it, Osamu Dazai. It tells a similar story, albeit with a different protagonist, but I feel like this ties in more with his facade, and how his inspirational speaking comes off to other people. Considering he is in his facade at this time of the MV, it’s safe to say that that’s what this is referring to.

And now, this all falls into place. These are the names of the Osamu Dazai books referenced in the text beforehand. The (I’m), next to No Longer Human, however, could signify how David views himself. Someone so sunken into depravity that they don’t register themselves as human anymore.

The faded text here is the first sentence of Yasunari Kawabata’s “Snow Country”. I don’t know what this refers to in terms of David, but this also seems important.

David still views himself as manipulative. Even if he does love people, even if he does have a semblance of care for those in his life, he views himself as an evil, irredeemable sack of shit, incapable of any emotion other than selfishness and cruelty.

This part is especially intriguing to me. David still wants to live, as anyone else does, but he can’t bring himself to find a reason to leave. His career is dead. He’s worthless, and nobody needs him around. Where would he go? There’s no room for him anywhere, even if he escaped, he’d just be shunned for good now that his entire life has been thrown away.

The excerpt from “And Then There Were None” by Agatha Christie, describes someone losing motivation to leave the island. The island is a metaphor for the building, that the students are trapped inside, and David has lost the will to leave in the first place. He doesn’t want to leave, because there’s nowhere else for him to even go. He doesn’t have a home. He doesn’t have a fanbase. There’s nothing left.

The text here reads: “If you’re Hythlodaeus, then I must be Morus.” This refers to the work “Utopia”, written by Thomas More. The book follows Raphael Hythlodaeus, a man who claims to be from Utopia, a perfect place for everyone. His surname quite literally means “Bringer of Nonsense,” or something along those lines. While this may be a stretch, I believe that “Hythlodaeus” is referring to Pre-Reveal David, and “Morus” could possibly be either Post-Reveal David or someone affected by his speeches, for example Xander.

Also, I find it interesting how the girl in this frame, most likely David’s “sister,” Diana, and David himself are both tilting their heads at similar angles. It’s possible that their relation is hinted at through this, but I’m not sure.

The excerpt right here is from Kajii Motojiro’s entry in the Kyoto Journal, entitled “Lemon”. While some of the text has been altered, the main story is about a man who finds himself suffering, and walks through his neighbourhood only to find a greengrocer selling lemons. He goes home, and finds himself happier than before. I’m not sure what this means when it comes to David, however if you’d like, you can analyze for yourself and let me know.

https://www.kyotojournal.org/fiction-poetry/lemon/

This part doesn’t have any external references, but I believe that the lyrics here reinforce David’s worldview, that no matter what you do and how hard you try, “nobody ever changes.”

The star imagery here is a direct reference to David. Stars are representative of his happy facade, and when he loses the stars, he quits the bullshit.

…And this frame. Alright, let’s start from the top. The electrocution definition is a callback to Xander, who’s referenced quite a few times in the video. The yellow text, which is from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s “The Little Prince”, is possibly a reference to David’s view on other people or himself- That nobody is special unless you were born special. However, the end of the text describes that if the boy were to tame the fox, the speaker, that they would need each other. I’m not sure if this is a description of manipulation, or a codependent relationship, but the David parallels are there. That, and the title of a “little prince” probably refers to David and how he’s idolized by many. The green text is, again, from “The Flowers of Buffoonery.” The full text is as follows. “A man crushed by reality puts on a show of endurance. If that's beyond your comprehension, dear reader, then you and I will never understand each other. Life's a farce, so we might as well make it a good one. But real life is a realm that I may never reach. The best that I can hope for is to loiter in the memory of these four days, so steeped with empathy. Four days that count more than

five or ten years of my life. Four days that count more than a lifetime.”

In reference to David, this is more representative of his true feelings. Not the asshole persona or the facade, but the genuine feelings he has. He already feels far too gone by his own standards, and constantly puts on a “show” for other people in the form of his speeches.

The red text is possibly a person dealing with depression speaking on one of their symptoms. There’s no way I could find a source for such a short quote. A common symptom of depression is losing interest in things you previously found enjoyable.

The white text on the side describes someone who finds pleasure in solitude as opposed to being bossed around by other people. It’s a reference to David’s backstory, as someone who was pressured into putting on a performance for others, finding comfort in being alone rather than having to play pretend whenever around other people.

The white text at the bottom is a continuation of the white text at the top.

The only theory I can think of for this is that it’s a foreshadowing to either gaps in their memory or the amount of survivors left in the killing game being four. Not sure.

Update: I don’t know how I missed this, but the “11” next to the suspicious gaps refers to this. It’s possible that the suspicious gaps are gaps in their memory now, being as he doesn’t remember having an older sister, but her existence is most likely confirmed, as we saw her.

This part here is referring to “Catch 22,” when the main character realizes that without a soul, humans are just… matter, if you will. Empty husks.

For this part, I had to call upon my not-so-trustworthy old friend, Google Translate! The translation of this from Latin is “I think, therefore I am (not.)” That’s what makes the most sense to me. We’ll refer back to this part later, for I have a different intention for it in my mind than David himself.

The dark blue text is another excerpt from “The Little Prince.” The prince in question is talking to a castaway, and the main takeaway of his words is that only your heart can tell you what you really need. If you were to simply look with your eyes, then what you truly need would be drowned out by the blinding light of superficial desires. I’m pretty sure that’s what that means. David is looking through his eyes, seeing a cruel world where nobody changes unless they were born to.

Now, let’s get into the next big part of the MV: The crossword puzzle. You might be wondering how this relates to David, but its moreso his own commentary on his classmates. Let’s go back to the latin. Pay attention to this reference of the solved crossword by raspbeyes on Tumblr. It will be very important for you to follow along.

Notice how there’s roman numerals in some of David’s lyrics? For example, this that we established earlier meant “I think therefore I am (not.)” This is referring to Rose. Her photographic memory can be linked to the description of “thinking.” The context of this may become clearer in future parts of the story.

III. That’s Charles. “If you doubt brittle things are broken.” Is, in my mind, referring to his memories. He has a recurring element of not remembering things, but he doesn’t seem to be aware of this until Chapter 2. For example, his secret- “Your older brother died, but you don’t remember him at all.”

IV. Arei. Her breakdown sequence should be all you need to associate this with her.

V. This is Ace. He’s going insane, obviously, because of the paranoia and failed murder attempt against him. That, and he’s become more disheveled as the game progressed.

XIV. Veronika, correct? Substance to the arts relates to her talent as a Horror Fanatic. Naturally, she’d be related to things like that.

XV. Whit’s refusal to accept his mother’s death, staying ignorant to the tragedies around him, is one of the “happiest” members of the cast.

XI. Mai Akasaki is not mentioned in the current story, and all of her quotes hidden amongst the cast members describe her in past tense. She was someone everyone viewed as reliable, trustworthy, and perhaps, if you exaggerated it, as God.

These two walls of text are both from the same source: Hamlet’s Solliloquy of “To Be, or Not to Be?”

This is what the thing actually means, in case you aren’t aware, which even I wasn’t until just now. It represents David’s suicidal ideology, from what we can assume with the way he’s trying to get everyone to vote wrong in the trial for Arei, quite well. Whether he wants to live, or die, is most likely a constant struggle for David to answer.

Which is why he leaves it up to… whoever can answer.

This is an absolute reference to the trial. The class trial rules are overlaid over the death portrait texture, which is “conveniently” covering David’s face. The seventeen here is also telling, considering what the description has to say about it!

This is what I believe is David’s end goal. To get everyone executed as a result of his own hopelessness. By pretending to be the killer and antagonizing the class, he believes he can easily sway the votes by “manipulating the public” as he always believes he’s done. By getting everyone to vote for him, he can end the killing game and his own “pathetic life” in one fell swoop.

After all, it’s not like he believes they have a chance of winning and escaping in the first place.

And here, is where we left off in Episode 11. David completely drops his facade in order to effectively kill himself, along with everyone else. After realizing the hopelessness of his situation, he makes a drastic turn to accept it readily. Someone who self-sabotages continues to do so because they develop a warped perspective of having control.

And again referring to the description, the 12 near the “Tallying Votes” caption refers to this. It’s David’s way of justifying his selfishness, with a diluted form of justice serving as an “ultimately fair verdict to the trial.”

However, David has always wanted to be loved. It’s why he even bothers with his facade, because he’s been putting it up for so long that disregarding his persona would effectively ruin everything he’s worked so hard to maintain in the first place. The repeated imagery of applause could also be a callback to his status as a celebrity, especially with how he reacted to Xander and Arei’s reliance on him.

While this does have a small fade of text pointing out that the “degraded copy” is the cover, which is not true because the MV is amazing, but. I believe this–

Oh. That’s literally it. Well, that makes one mystery solved!

Hey, look, we’re already halfway through! nice! Eden’s optimistic personality can be referenced here. She wants to live with everyone, together, and make sure that nobody gets hurt.

This is another reference to David’s rambling on about how attempting to change is utterly futile, and that nobody changes.

The yellow text is the definition of a television show, I believe. The blue text is an excerpt from “And Then There Were None,” by Agatha Christie. The full quote is this: “Breakfast was a curious meal. Everyone was very polite…. Six people, all outwardly self-possessed and normal. And within? Thoughts that ran round in a circle like squirrels in a cage…. ‘What next? What next? Who? Which?’...” …Do you get it? It’s a parallel to the killing game. Or, rather, how David views it. Everyone is terrified and scared for their lives, but they still greet eachother with mock kindness.

The blue text on the side is an excerpt from Shakespeare’s “Macbeth.”, and it goes like this: “I am in blood / Stepped in so far, that, should I wade no more, / Returning were as tedious as go o'er.” A critical analysis of the original work reads as follows: Shakespeare is saying here that Macbeth has involved himself in so many murders that it is as easy for him to carry on than to turn back. Macbeth compares his course of action with wading across a river of blood, creating a vivid image of his bloody reign. The word 'tedious' reveals the hardening of Macbeth's heart.

And now, the moment I’m sure most of you have been waiting for. Xander. Something I took notice of was that the cracks line up directly with his left eye, while his right eye is the one that’s actually missing in the game. Nonetheless, Xander clearly did mean something to David. Whether it be through his idolization of David, or if he inspired David in some way, his death had an impact on him. Manipulative persona or not.

XVI translates to Hu from the crossword puzzle. He’s taunting her, similarly to how he did in the trial, although the ??? makes me wonder if it actually IS David…

XII, that’s Eden. I assume it’s because of her optimistic persona that she is standing in someone’s way, although we’re not sure who.

For the next part, let’s say we take this at face value. It could definitely be referencing David allegedly pushing Arei to commit suicide, although this could also be something he internalizes, with the themes of suicide and wishing to be dead explored previously.

These are all repeats of the previous works included in the MV, like The Little Prince, Ozamu Dazai’s series, Agatha Christie’s works, etc etc.

Now, this is code, I’m assuming, but I tried translating it and couldn’t find anything. It’s a common encryption language. In case you want to translate it, it’s: 3aqxw97pktc8uki458fbdpfoacllex2f07bf8mg24b4mpfx2adc6v3f5yhxjd8i7sf11312zaj5lazet47jod5jczec5mvb6bz2o59r143sf2pe916sczcn7emvbl55ehe9iqb2708tt83482c8tw3c77gn47ojca634gbcfz0016s647wwlakcn46brcle0eam9

NOTE: @glorywelpchild on Twitter says… “For this, it may have been encrypted multiple times by different engines? I'm not a programmer so I'm not really familiar lmao. Another thing, it could be a type of programming the dev knows/commonly uses.”

The VI here is Arturo, but I don’t know what this means. Perhaps the description can give us some insight?

Hmm… Well, I don’t mind. Whatever you say.

Nico’s number is VIII, and this is referring to the defense they put up when asked about their intentions against Ace’s life. They claim they never thought about it, and “even if they try to think, they don’t know.”

This is Levi’s, as per the IX.

I actually managed to find the original image in the background. It’s a study on Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9’s orbit around Jupiter for several years before crashing into the planet. While the name, Shoemaker Levy, may be a play on Levi’s name, I believe this is also referencing that he may die soon. Maybe this is a stretch, but the symbolism of a comet named “Shoemaker Levy” crashing into Jupiter being right under a symbol that represents Levi, our prime suspect in a game where being caught results in death, is too far to be a coincidence. Part of my theory for Chapter 2 is that Levi is the blackened, after all, but that is in a previous post. Nonetheless, we can move on.

This is “Enterance of the Gladiators.” While it is now associated with silly things like clowns, it was originally a military march song. Hmm, where have I heard this description before?

Ah, that’s right! In the description!

These two are relatively straightforward. The David we meet in the prologue is his facade, and it serves as an introduction. However, we are re-introduced to him with a whole personality change, and that comes delayed from all the others.

This is a direct reference to MonoTV and the throne in the trial room.

The truth bullets. Typical Danganronpa symbolism, and it’s also a neat little reference to Xander’s custom weapon.

References to some of the students. The dresser is Levi, the bowl of fruit is Rose, the gun is Xander, the teapot is Hu, and the candle is maybe J?

The clock is Eden, the portrait, maybe a reference to the game? The stupid kid’s toy might be Whit.

Teruko and Mai. Teruko’s misfortune and Mai’s idealization are both key parts of their characters.

The gavel, another reference. The kitchen knife, Min. The skull, Veronika. The mirror… Possibly Xander because we’ve seen him with broken glass earlier in the MV, but it might be David and his personas making another reference.

The mastermind, sitting atop their comfortable chair.

The noose is Arei, the gas mask is Charles, the mouse is Nico, the theater mask… Perhaps the mastermind again, or Veronika again. The safe is David’s locked away and suppressed emotions. These are all mainly theories based on observation, don’t take it as the wholehearted truth.

David being mentioned again with the hair clips. The lemon has been brought up beforehand, it’s a callback to the journal entry. The dummies represent David’s detachment from his humanity, and the television is a callback to the fact that they’re on a television show.

David views himself as a snake, a liar, a murderer. Snakes are common imagery to use when referring to the Devil as well. The blood is a callback to the killing game itself.

Either a reference to Min, or the fact that all the books are empty could be visual dramatization of David’s feelings. There’s supposed to be something in them, but the books are empty. The “various kinds” could also be how many personas he puts on, if that’s a prominent part of his backstory.

The killing game is being broadcasted, so that counts as terrorist iconography, if nothing else. Dandelions, while beautiful in their own way, don’t belong in a garden. The megaphone is David’s custom weapon, and it’s a way for him to broadcast his speeches to those around the world.

The letters are from the joke comic that the dev released. You know the one, where Xander writes a letter for David and he accidentally throws it away thinking that it’s garbage. The popular toy refers to the commercializing of the Tragedy, as Veronika explained on the first day of Chapter 2. How horror movies will put black-and-white designs in their films to up the fear factor because of the subliminal/primal fear of the design back in the days of the Tragedy. The flowers… No idea.

This is cleverly disguised, but it’s a reference to the debate between continuing to live and killing yourself. To be or not to be, to stop or to keep going, but they’re both lit up. How are you to do both at the same time? You have to make a choice.

Main Roles are David and Xander. It makes sense, considering they both have full-body moments and we know who they are. The crossed out name is Mai Akasaki, but the cut off name is a bit harder to decipher. Thanks to some inspiration and help, I’ve come to my final conclusion regarding this.

They are related to Arei, 100%. The letters match perfectly.

Even in comparison to Arei, the “N” in her name starts only a bit earlier, but that’s because the first word is probably only two or three letters, in comparison to the four letters in Arei.

Originally, I couldn’t translate any of these. All I could make out was that the first hand was Xander and the second hand was Min or Mai. However. @MAHIRUMILGRAM on twitter managed to translate them! They are as follows:

After this point, the truth bullet breaks through David’s words, similarly to how Teruko is fighting against David, despite the truth bullet being in agreement towards David’s idea.

There’s also this, which could be David trying to deflect us from the truth, or that the lyrics genuinely don’t relate to him. I’m leaning towards the former.

The white text at the top here is from a story, entitled “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas.” It is about a beautiful city where everyone is happy. However, their city is not as beautiful as it seems. They tell the story of how the townspeople have locked a child in a basement, and left it to suffer. Their happiness, as they’ve been told, requires a sacrifice. “Inside the room, which is behind a locked door, there are a couple of dirty mops, a bucket, and a young child. The child is ten years old, but looks younger. The child is scared and completely miserable. It is never allowed to leave the room. Occasionally, someone opens the door and kicks the child to make it stand up. The person fills the food bowl halfway with corn meal and grease, fills the water jug, and leaves. The child can remember what the outside world looks like and begs and pleads to be let out. The child is naked and covered in sores, and it wails at night in its misery. The people of Omelas all know about the child in the basement. They all understand that everything good about Omelas, from their abundance of food to the good weather, depends upon the suffering of the child. They all understand this because when children are between the ages of eight and twelve, they are brought to see the child, and this tradeoff is explained to them. During this experience, the children of Omelas are disgusted. They want to help, but they are told they can’t. If anyone helps the child by clothing, feeding, or otherwise caring for it, then the perfect happiness of Omelas and its abundance would die. Therefore, no one may even speak kindly to the child.” I wanted to include this because it describes David so well. Someone who has been cast away because they’re deemed useless to society, someone who’s happiness would destroy the happiness of anyone else. I find the story truly fascinating, as it might describe David’s suppressed emotions and the depressive tendencies he indulges himself in.

“Their tears at the bitter injustice dry when they begin to perceive the terrible justice of reality, and to accept it. Yet it is their tears and anger, the trying of their generosity and the acceptance of their helplessness, which are perhaps the true source of the splendor of their lives. Theirs is no vapid, irresponsible happiness. They know that they, like the child, are not free.”

“How you have felt, O men of Athens, at hearing the speeches of my accusers, I cannot tell; but I know that their persuasive words almost made me forget who I was—such was the effect of them; and yet they have hardly spoken a word of truth [alēthēs]. But many as their falsehoods were, there was one of them which quite amazed me—I mean when they told you to be upon your guard, and not to let yourselves be deceived by the force of my eloquence. They ought to have been ashamed of saying this, because they were sure to be detected as soon as I opened my lips and displayed my deficiency; they certainly did appear to be most shameless in saying this, unless by the force of eloquence they mean the force of truth [alēthēs]; for then I do indeed admit that I am eloquent. But in how different a way from theirs! Well, as I was saying, they have hardly uttered a word, or not more than a word, of truth [alēthēs]; but you shall hear from me the whole truth [alēthēs]: not, however, delivered after their manner, in a set oration duly ornamented with words and phrases.”

Do you remember, in the prologue, where Xander describes the “rumors” against David’s positive front? This is a direct parallel. Here, Socrates denounces the words of his attackers, similarly to how nobody truly believes the rumors except for the critics themselves. Even Xander was fooled by his charisma.

“Was't Hamlet wrong'd Laertes? Never Hamlet: If Hamlet from himself be ta'en away, And when he's not himself does wrong Laertes, 240 Then Hamlet does it not, Hamlet denies it. Who does it, then? His madness: if't be so, Hamlet is of the faction that is wrong'd; His madness is poor Hamlet's enemy.”

Hamlet blames his own insanity for the death of Laertes’ father. Just like David tries to get everyone killed, and blames himself for murdering Arei, because of his own insanity.

This is a line from the poem “Be Not Defeated by The Rain,” by Kenji Miyazawa. It describes a man wishing to become someone strong, someone who cannot be bested. I believe this is exactly what David wants, too. To be as strong and as hopeful as he is forced to pretend to be, instead of a hopeless mess who would rather die than be seen as worthless.

David reaches the height of his insanity, before finally quieting down after being basked in green light. I don’t know if this was intentional, but I believe that it represents how he’s given up on even death after the students manage to vote correctly, hence the green coloring.

And now, number 19.

I severely doubt that David will actually die in Chapter 3. That is not “foreshadowing,” that is just giving out the answer, and DRDTDev is much more careful than that. I believe this is a final representation of David’s suicidal ideologies. He says he will forget, he says guilt will not weigh him down, but he’s lying to himself. That’s why the stars are still behind him, because he’s still lying. He says he is satisfied, he says he’s okay with death, but when has David ever been truthful with us?

And he leaves an empty throne behind. Not because he is dead, but because he has relinquished his career and his reputation for nothing.

Even though he is missing, nothing else has changed. That is how he views his life.

And that concludes the main analysis of David’s MV! It’s such a beautiful thing, really, I don’t know how to phrase any of it properly. Thank you to everyone who’s read this far, and everyone who helped me out. The decoding and puzzles? Ah, I’ll let you all do that… But, maybe I can help a little! Blanket, out~! See you all next time!

#danganronpa despair time #david chiem #dr #mv analysis #WOOH THAT TOOK ME 6 HOURS.#levi fontana #nico hakobyan #mai akasaki #ace markey #veronika grebenshchikova #eden tobisa #teruko tawaki #hu jing #arei nageishi #whit young #charles cuevas #rose lacroix

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maxsix · 2 months

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Ad Astra: The Theory Of Relativity | An Interstellar Ateez story Part I | Part II (Words: 5994, Warnings: Minor Swearing)

"WHAT?!" Wooyoung shrieks through the passenger side window. "How can I be suspended! What am I supposed to do now?!"

Hongjoong knows he should feel guilty about his behaviour. He does. As the oldest surviving member of their family tree he can feel the decades of ancestral guilt being passed down to him but his parents did not raise a loser, they raised a rebel and a free thinking pioneer.

As much as he wants to discourage problematic defiant behaviour, he can't help but feel proud his baby brother is following in his footsteps of quiet rebellion.

But Wooyoung can't know that. Not yet.

"I'm sorry okay? I know I kind of overreacted but your teacher is a jerk. You didn't deserve to fail anything. I mean, everyone knows Einstein didn't dunk on Newton, he just-"

"-course corrected." Wooyoung finishes weakly before draping himself over the truck's window like a dying cornstalk. "My life is over. They're going to fail me. I'll never get into NASA. I don't want to be a farmer!"

"We'll figure this out. Don't worry about it. Just get in the truck." Hongjoong pleads as he scans the horizon for any late dust storms. "We gotta go pick up Yunho from work."

The sulky fourteen year old slumps into the passenger seat and sighs obnoxiously loud. Hongjoong has no idea where he gets this kind of passive aggressive behaviour from because Yunho was never like this and neither were their parents.

The drive to the Lucky Star Corn Mill is only seven minutes from their high school and Wooyoung uses the entire time to explain, in great detail, the catastrophe that is about to befall his life. Hongjoong, a prisoner in the confines of his own truck, has no choice but to absorb it all.

"Hongjoong! Are you even listening!?"

"I'm always listenning, kiddo. You're failing science because you're a little shit. Your life is over. You'll never get into NASA because they don't accept gremlins. Big sad."

Wooyoung looks over unimpressed and judgemental in the way only a teenager can be.

Hongjoong can't help but smirk and laugh at the dramatics. "Did I get it right?"

"Why do I even bother telling you anything?" Wooyoung grumbles, pulling up his hoodie in defeat.

"Because I'm your favourite brother."

"No you're not. Yunho is."

Hongjoong cackles loudly because they both know that's a lie. "Of course he is."

"Shut up."

The Lucky Star Corn Mill was run by Park Kyungmoon and his younger brother Jonghoon. They were once friends of Hongjoong's parents and in the months following the constant stream of crop deaths, dust storms and funerals, had been the ones who took the new orphans in and kept them alive. Hongjoong owes them a life debt that he doesn't know how to repay.

It must have been weighing on Yunho's mind too because he had insisted on helping out at the Mill after school as soon as he turned sixteen. It was what Hongjoong had done. They fought about it for two whole days; Yunho wanting to prove himself helpful and Hongjoong just wanting his brother to spend the last few years of his childhood without the heavy weight of adult responsibilities.

"You have a lifetime to be an adult, you know? Why do you want to grow up so fast, huh?"

"You really think I have a lifetime?"

It had been been sobering hearing that from a sixteen year old but he was no ordinary teenager, he had lost four family members in the span of two years and became an expert on grieving, something that the World should never have asked of him.

Hongjoong had lost the argument but in the end it was for the best. Over the next few months Yunho's confidence grew like roots that had finally taken in the soil; the self realisation of his place in the world had finally become clearer, even if he didn't fully understand it all yet. His grief, ever present, became a sturdy foundation to stand on instead of a heavy weight to carry.

Hongjoong had noticed the change with a sigh of relief; it had seeped into every aspect of his brother's personality: his posture, the way he walked, he way he spoke and the way he spoke back. They still fought but rarely had it ever been over something stupid.

They had both refused to take any money from the Mill as payment but more often than not, Hongjoong would find crumpled ten dollar notes when he was sorting out the laundry. One time, he found some food vouchers for the local store in one of his jacket pockets. It had been just after their father died from dust-lung, Wooyoung was so sickly and small then and Hongjoong remembers just sitting alone in their tiny laundry room, clutching those vouchers and crying until it was time to pick his brothers up from school.

"Hongjoong! How are you kid?" Kyungmoon greets him with a wide grin and fierce embrace. "You keeping well?"

"Hi Uncle Moonie. We're doing alright. How is your back?"

"Oh the old arthritis is being a rat bastard." Kyungmoon chuckles as they walk through the Mill together. Hongjoong greets the familiar faces of the old workers, some of whom he knows from his time working the corn grinder as a teenager and some who have hired him to fix their generators or trucks after he left.

They find Yunho operating one of the old forklifts in the back lot, attempting to lift crates of dried corn to be ground into corn meal. The jerky movements causing quiet cursing and several vegetables to go flying to the ground.

"You're letting him forklift now? You know he doesn't actually have his driver's licence yet, right?"

Kyungmoon waves his hand dismissively. "He wanted to try it and that old thing goes like minus two miles per hour. He won't hit anything but dried corn, which is their fate anyway."

Hongjoong shakes his head. "Only you could be poetic about corn, Uncle Moonie."

Not wanting to disturb the seventeen year old, Hongjoong leaves Kyungmoon to coach Yunho through forklift etiquette and makes his way over to the bagging station to greet Jonghoon, Kyungmoon's younger and grumpier brother. He had let his greying hair grow long now and it gave him the visage of wisdom but only until he spoke.

"Hi Uncle Hoonie, have you been well?"

The hug always knocks the wind out of Hongjoong. "Yes yes I'm fine but I'll tell you something kid, we gotta get some more muscle on Yunho. Did he grow two inches since last week?"

Hongjoong nods. "Oh, yeah he really takes after dad. He had a big growth spurt over summer but only vertically."

There's a pause then. Hongjoong lets it happen.

"Pity we couldn't say the same for you huh?" Jonghoon slaps his knee in laughter, the harsh sound causing a few workers look over at the sudden outburst but Hongjoong has let these jokes slide years ago, least of all because it was true: their father had been tall but mother of average height. Yunho took after the former but it seems he and Wooyoung took after their mum.

“Yeah yeah but you know mum was always the brains behind the whole operation anyway. I still won the genetic inheritance.”

“Oh, you calling your own brother and old man dumb?”

Hongjoong shrugs, “Well, Yunho failed his driving test last week because he was too busy staring at some guy on a bike. I’m not even kidding you. It’s like he’s never seen a boy on a motorbike before.”

“Oh, sounds like a crush. Which kid is it?”

“That one in his year who’s even taller than he is.” Hongjoong says, unable to comprehend that his brother is even at an age where he might start dating other actual humans. "Can you believe it? He'll be eighteen soon but I still remember when he used to sleep with a teddy bear."

“Ah, he's going to be just fine. I don’t have any doubts about that one.” The elder man says before shifting tone into something more urgent. “Now that other kid you got though? That’s the one to worry about. Where is that gremlin anyway?”

Hongjoong groans as he's reminded of the parent teacher meeting. “He’s in the truck sulking because Yonghwan might fail him in science.”

“What?! Wooyoung? Our Wooyoung? Failing. Science?!” Jonghoon exclaims in disbelief, “You gotta be shitting me. Thought he was the smartest kid in his class?”

“He is.”

“That Kim Yonghwan loves lording it over everyone else. I heard that punk tried to fail Seungcheol's kids over an essay.”

“I bet Seungcheol took that really well.”

“Pretty sure Seungcheol walked into the room and Yonghwan just passed out on sight.”

They share a laugh.

“How’d the rest of the teacher meeting go?”

“I got him suspended for two days.”

Jonghoon stops sorting out the bags of cornmeal but doesn’t say anything, almost like it’s the answer that he was expecting.

“That's Murphy’s Law.”

“It’s not!” Hongjoong exclaims defensively. “I didn’t even say anything. Kids shouldn’t be punished for defending the founding fathers of gravity!”

“Anything that can happen, will happen. Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.” Jonghoon recites. “Older brother with an authority problem, younger brother with a suspension: Murphy’s Law.”

Jonghoon grins at him with all the charm and glee of a Cheshire Cat and Hongjoong has no idea why his parents named after this man.

He makes sure his eye roll is dramatic as his sigh is loud but let's Jonghoon lead him towards the other bagging station where the pedal always seems to get stuck every second Wednesday. Hongjoong is happy to be left alone to fix it. He’s had enough conversations about the future.

By the time Yunho is done the sun is still mid sky and casts a palid yellow light over the earth but at least it wasn’t all smog and dust storms today.

“Your ass got suspended?!” Yunho laughs. “What did you do? Recite Isaac Newton on the playground?”

“I didn’t do anything!” Wooyoung grouses. “It’s Hongjoong’s fault. He got into a fight with my science teacher.”

That just makes Yunho laugh harder.

“Yep, sounds about right.”

“Hey!”

There's an argument right on the tip of Hongjoong's tongue that's suddenly interrupted by a mechanical whirring that flies over the truck.

“Hongjoong! It’s a drone!” Wooyoung gasps excitedly, as he leans forward to look out the window. “We haven’t seen one like that before!”

They haven't.

As one of the town's remaining mechanical engineers, Hongjoong had seen most of the drones that were still operating and this one was definitely larger than the ones they used for farming surveillance. An uncomfortable weight settles in his gut as he takes in that very specific shade of gunmetal grey, the lack of markings and the very distinct sound it makes. It feels eerily familiar, like a ghost from his past.

A military drone.

They were on the outskirts of the main town centre now and turning off the cornfields towards home. There were barely any cars out at this time of the day so this was an opportunity not to be wasted.

“Yunho, switch seats with me and tail it.”

“But I didn’t pass my driving test!”

“The Universe will forgive you!” Hongjoong yells hurriedly, before scrambling over Wooyoung to look out the passenger side window.

The drone is flying too slow and too low to be steered by someone nearby. Still it moves in a sophisticated loop that is faster than the truck can keep up with, especially with an unsteady seventeen year old at the wheel. Hongjoong watches it glide over the corn fields, towards their home, then back around again; a seemingly aimless path but he's old enough to know that military drones do not wander like this.

Wooyoung is practically in his lap as he’s handed the tracking gun.

“Here, get it Hongjoong!”

Hongjoong shakes his head and pushes the gun back. “No, you get it this time. Aim and hold the trigger until I get a signal lock. You know how to do this.”

Wooyoung nods and leans out the window with determination.

Hongjoong grabs his binoculars to try and find any identifying etchings on the drone's body but it’s impossible even from this distance. He boots up his laptop, letting it search through the available wavelength channels.

Not American. Not Russian. But in Hindi. An Indian drone?

Access Successful.

“Okay, kiddo, we're signal locked. Tag it.”

“What? Me?" Wooyoung looks over in panic. "What if I miss?”

“You won’t.” Hongjoong reassures him with a smile, "You know what to do."

“Er, guys? Whatever you do, can you do it fast because we’re gonna run out of corn field!” Yunho yells, as they cut haphazardly through the dense vegetation.

Sensing his brother's hesitancy and doubt, Hongjoong manoeuvres Wooyoung into his lap so he can steady his arm on the window frame.

"Yunho, take the truck to 65 and stay on that!"

Turning to Wooyoung, whose hand is beginning to shake now, he tries a gentler approach. “This is just science, yeah? Yunho is going to match the speed of the truck to the speed of the drone. It's just like what I said about relativity: the object going to be exactly where you think it will be. Just aim for the belly. Don’t think about anything else.”

Uncertain, but nodding, Wooyoung pulls the trigger with shaky hands and his eyes half closed. The recoil is unfamiliar and he's pushed back against Hongjoong's chest.

But the tracker lands with a metallic clang.

“I hit it?” Wooyoung asks in disbelief.

Hongjoong grins and ruffles his brother's hair. “You hit it. Now get off me, I need to land this thing."

“There’s no more corn!” Yunho shouts suddenly, “We’re out of corn!”

Hongjoong looks up just in time to see the fast approaching edge of the cliff. He jerks the gear stick into park as Yunho slams the brakes half a second later. Wooyoung goes flying into the dashboard.

Hongjoong's heart is pounding violently in his chest, half from the adrenaline of the drone chase but mostly from the unexpected near death experience at the hands of Yunho's driving. He's shocked the laptop wasn't a casualty.

“Yunho. I love you like a brother but we really gotta sort out this driving issue.”

“I AM YOUR BROTHER! You said to follow it!” Yunho cries indignantly, pointing to the drone outside the window. "And I followed it didn't I?"

Suddenly feeling so close to his parents (and his parent's age), Hongjoong runs a shaky hand through his hair before replying.

"Yeah okay okay, you did good. Just....stop when there's a cliff next time, okay?"

The drone glides over them again and Wooyoung scrambles to exit the truck. “Hurry up and land it Hongjoong! What if it falls into the ocean!"

They end up crouched on the grassy cliff to watch the drone flying gracefully through the air, neither too fast or too slow now, just aimless and waiting for a mission.

"Yunho, grab my toolbox from the back of the truck. Wooyoung? Come here, you can land this one."

They crowd around the laptop as Hongjoong hacks into the drone's flight control and once he's slowed down its flight speed he shows Wooyoung how to use the track pad to gently land the drone over a clump of long grass in the field behind them.

The younger boys take off immediately, sprinting over to the fallen machine before Hongjoong can even call out a warning not to get too close. Wooyoung is already crawling underneath to read the markings while Yunho cautiously touches a wing.

"What does this mean Hongjoong?"

The markings on the drone's belly are in Hindi. He can't understand all of it but he's seen something like it enough times before to fill in the gaps of his knowledge.

"It's an Indian military fighter drone."

Yunho pulls his hand away from the metal. “Indian military? How did it get here?”

"India had a big space program once and after they landed on the moon their tech got a whole lot more sophisticated. They sent out fight drones as surveillance when the food wars broke out but the war died as fast as it started and the world doesn't really need military services anymore so I guess this little guy got forgotten.”

They're able to inspect the details on the drone close up now: its gunmetal grey paint was faded in patches by the sun and weather, the markings on its belly were peeling off in some parts but despite all it's been through, it was completely intact otherwise.

"Yunho, get the flat head screwdriver. We have to get this panel off to disable it completely. You can try to jimmy it open this time."

Yunho nods in understanding as he listens to Hongjoong's instructions but Wooyoung watches them both with a mournful expression clouding his face, wincing in particular when they start dissecting the drone and pull out its wire-y guts.

"Maybe we should just leave it here." Wooyoung says quietly.

Hongjoong sighs, knowing a comment like that was coming.

“We can’t leave it here. Someone else will just take it and dump it. This battery cell could probably power our house for a year.” Hongjoong reasons gently. "At least we'd take care of it properly."

Wooyoung shoves his hands in his hoody and looks away. “Yeah, I guess so.”

It takes the three of them a monumental effort just get the drone into the back of the truck; Yunho does most of the lifting because he’s got the height advantage but it’s Wooyoung who insists on sitting out back “to watch it” on the drive back home.

“He seems spooked.” Yunho observes quietly. “You should talk to him later.”

“I know. I will.” Hongjoong nods in agreeance. “It’s been a big day for him. Maybe I should attempt a pizza tonight.”

"You gotta be kidding me. Hongjoong, I love you like a brother but hasn’t he suffered enough for today?”

Yunho cackles in glee as he dodges Hongjoong's punch.

“You little punk! Who raised you to be like this?”

“You did!”

The pizza wasn’t half bad. They used some bottled tomatoes from last season and the black olives that Kyungmoon had the foresight to preserve back in the days when olives actually grew on their land.

Wooyoung eats but is subdued and quiet.

Yunho stays to help with the dishes, taking care to methodically store them all upside down so they wouldn't collect too much dust by the morning. They draw plastic sheeting over all the appliances before Hongjoong lets him go to shower and finish his homework.

On most nights, Wooyoung could be found sprawled on the floor of his room but tonight Hongjoong finds him in their basement with the dead drone.

“I think it wanted to be found.”

“Maybe.”

“Was it really lost and forgotten?"

"I think so. There's no military around to catch them all, especially ones that have strayed off their path like this. The storms probably fried some of its electrics too."

"That's kind of sad."

"Yeah."

Hongjoong lets the silence sit comfortably between them for a few minutes, knowing his brother is reflective tonight, but he also knows that sometimes Wooyoung needs to be dragged away from his morose moods.

"Come on, show me the damage in your room."

Wooyoung had forgotten to close his window that morning and even though it wasn't the worst day for a dust storm, there was still a good blanket of it in the room.

Hongjoong doesn't think much of it until he looks at the floor where there are long lines of dust, thick then thin, alternating in some kind of sun burst pattern radiating from the book shelf.

"See? That's my ghost." Wooyoung explains. "It knocks off books it wants me to read and writes lines on the floor."

Hongjoong kneels down to take a closer look.

The lines are too straight, too deliberate, too orderly to be there by mistake. Wooyoung's lamp, one of the only metallic items in the room, was knocked over and now laying parallel to the lines too.

It's then that Hongjoong suddenly remembers something an old teacher once taught him and takes a coin from his pocket, letting it flip it in the air a few times before landing.

It doesn’t bounce but lands with a thud between the lines of dust.

"Unbelievable." Hongjoong laughs in disbelief.

"What is?"

“This isn't your ghost. It’s a magnetic field in your room. It’s gravity.”

“But there’s lines.” Wooyoung points out. “You told me it's rare to get straight lines in nature!"

“It is rare.” Hongjoong confirms. “This is an anomaly, written in binary."

“Binary? Like a computer?”

“Exactly like a computer.” Hongjoong nods. “Why didn’t you tell me about these lines before?”

Wooyoung throws his arms up in exasperation. “I did! I keep telling you about how my ghost leaves messages in the dust but you both think I’m crazy!”

"I never thought you were crazy, kiddo." Hongjoong says, "Now, give me your notebook. Let's see what your ghost is trying to tell you."

It’s midnight by the time Hongjoong gets anywhere. It was like writing a sentence using a mathematical alphabet. He substitutes the thin lines for 0s and the thick for 1s but it made no sense. It's only when he reverses it that there is a very distinct set of numbers that he recognises the start of immediately.

129. 35.

Co-ordinates.

Yunho stumbles in bleary eyed. “I know it’s the weekend tomorrow but can’t you guys sleep? After you finish praying to your dust God.”

Hongjoong isn’t tired but Wooyoung is yawning aggressively and trying to fight it but blinking comically slowly.

“Go shower. You’ll have to crash with me tonight. We’ll clean your room out tomorrow.”

Hongjoong doesn’t sleep that night at all, his mind continuing to buzz with possible locations and places he remembers being before.

129.

129 is Busan. Somewhere near the coast.

129 had a military base once.

He doesn’t believe in coincidences.

But he does believe in Murphy’s law.

“Where are you going?!” Wooyoung whines the next day. It’s only seven am and the sound is jarring against the quiet calm of the morning.

Hongjoong continues to pack his bag. “I need to go check something out. I’ll be back tonight. Uncle Moonie will-“

“I want to come!”

“Wooyoung, no.”

“Is this about the drone?” Wooyoung leans close to whisper. "Are you going to follow the coordinates?”

Yunho flips the pancakes over and looks at Hongjoong with concern etched on his face. “Coordinates? By yourself? That sounds kind of sus doesn’t it? What if they’re the CIA or something?”

“I'm just checking in out, I won't go near any buildings or people.” Hongjoong stresses. “I just want to see where these coordinates go."

“Ha!” Wooyoung slams his hands down on the counter, alarming them both. “I knew it! I'm coming!”

"Wooyoung, no." Yunho frowns deeply now. “This doesn’t sound too good Hongjoong. What if something happens? What am I supposed to do?”

“Uncle Moonie will come over to babysit. It’ll be fine.”

The spatula clacks harshly on the bench. “We don’t need a babysitter! I just meant what if something happens to you? What the hell are we supposed to do?!”

Hongjoong just wants tell his brothers that it will all be fine, that it was no big deal and how if you're not moving forward then you're just going to grow stagnant but halfway through his thoughts he takes in Yunho's frustration and Wooyoung's restlessness and decides that none of those answers would provide any comfort.

For all his premature stoicism and maturity Yunho was still a teenager who had loss two generations of family. He was always afraid to lose another.

“I’m just doing research. I’ll radio in every few hours. I'll just go look then come back. Promise!"

Knowing the fight is futile, Yunho sighs and turns away to tend to the pancakes again. Wooyoung has run off now, hating it when his brothers fight, so the house falls into silence as Hongjoong continues to pack his bag for the trip.

Kyungmoon drops by an hour later, smile fading as soon as he senses the tension in the kitchen. A questioning eyebrow is raised in Hongjoong's direction but all he gets back is a vague shrug.

Wooyoung doesn't come down for breakfast and they leave him be. Yunho refuses to engage in any conversation, preferring to eat in icy silence. Kyungmoon fills the room with non sensical light chatter and Hongjoong is once again grateful for his presence in their lives.

When it's time to go Hongjoong hesitates at the doorway, feet heavy all the sudden like they just don't want to leave. It's not a new feeling but one he still hasn't fully come to terms with yet.

“Be good. Look after your brother.”

“Yeah whatever.” Yunho mumbles, before holding out a thermos of coffee. "Here, it's black like your soul. Try not to do anything stupid this time."

The hug is awkward but accepted like always.

Kyungmoon walks him to the truck and Hongjoong looks up hoping to catch his youngest brother's face in the upstairs window but it remains empty. Wooyoung was always bad at goodbyes, no matter how short term it was. They were told it was a by product of all the trauma but they weren't told how to fix it, so it just stayed broken.

Hongjoong knows all this, it weighs heavily on his mind even as he gets into his truck now, but some leads just need to be followed and some questions need answers. Sometimes you need to betray your own heart.

“Are you sure about this?” Kyungmoon asks. “There's not much out that way and the boys don’t seem too happy about it. Wooyoung won’t even come out his room.”

“It'll be fine. I’ll only be gone till tonight and the location is just out of town. I gave Yunho the CV so I’ll radio in if there’s any problems.”

Kyungmoon nods, partly unconvinced but at the same time knowing he should trust the responsible and capable adult Hongjoong had become. This wasn't the volatile teenager he took in all those years ago.

“Thanks for doing this uncle Moonie. I’ll bring you back a cool souvenir!” Hongjoong salutes before reversing out the driveway.

It’s about ten minutes into the drive that the road gets rough and bumpy. The government had simply run out of money at a certain point and funnelled everything they had into food security and agricultural biotechnology. Most things on the outer edge of town remained largely forgotten now.

Reaching blindly into the passenger seat for his thermos of coffee, Hongjoong's hand finds a warm messy head of hair instead.

“AGH! What the hell!"

The truck slams its brakes and Wooyoung is thrown against the dashboard again with a painful grunt. He has the decency to look a little sheepish.

"Hi."

“HI?! What are you doing here! You can’t come with me!”

“You wouldn’t even be here without me! I found the information so I deserve to go see it!”

Hongjoong rubs his eyes tiredly but when he opens them again, Wooyoung is definitely still there in the passengers seat, grin as hopeful as it is annoying.

“This isn’t some field trip okay? You are not coming. I’m driving you back to the house and you’re gonna stay there. That’s an order.”

Wooyoung holds up his notebook. “But this was my idea!"

Hongjoong groans loudly and closes his eyes a a few seconds, wondering if he had the energy to get into this argument right now. What would his parents do?

They would say that adventure lives outside your door and if you don't keep moving forward then you just get stagnant and that's the real mind killer.

“Ugh, fuck it. Fine! Make yourself useful and radio Uncle Moonie to tell him you’re here.”

“Yes!” Wooyoung break out into a wide grin and he turns on the CV to radio home. Traditional phones weren’t as reliable anymore so they went back to using older farming towers and radios. It was an unusual juxtaposition they all had to live with now: having advanced agricultural practices but still having to rely on old traditional infrastructure. It's a clash of the past and future with barely any room for the present.

It's growing dark by the time Hongjoong's truck tells him they are near their destination. They were hours away from home now and the landscape had changed completely; the dust was pervasive everywhere but here there was nothing else growing, just miles of earth and rocks.

Wooyoung had fallen asleep for most of the drive and though he would never admit it out loud, Hongjoong had enjoyed having his brother with him, unconscious and unhelpful as he was.

The coordinates lead them to an unremarkable looking grey building surrounded by a similarly unremarkable looking fence that seemed to stretch on for miles in each direction. There were no signs of anything: location, identification or life. It makes the hair on the back of Hongjoong's neck stand on end.

“Wooyoung, we’re here I think.”

Hongjoong gently nudges his brother awake as the truck crawls to a stop.

“Oh. Is this it? It looks abandoned.” Wooyoung yawns, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “What a let down.”

“It’s not abandoned.” Hongjoong murmurs, scanning the fence and perimeter with his binoculars.

“How do you know that?”

“There’s a path leading to the entrance over there.” Hongjoong points to barely visible groove marks in the dirt. “Someone else has been here and recently.”

They would need to come back another time with some help and a few bolt cutters.

Wooyoung is silent for a moment before turning pale. “Hongjoong? There’s a light box on the side of that fence post. Is it meant to be blinking at us?”

Hongjoong’s body reacts before his brain does; his stomach plummets to the ground as his hand automatically flies to shift the truck into reverse.

“Oh fuck! Get down and stay down!”

Wooyoung crawls into the footwell of the truck and Hongjoong barely has time to throw a blanket over him before a piercing bright light floods the truck, so white and intense as it hits his eyes that he can feel the heat burning on his skin.

“Stay down! Don’t open your eyes!”

A mechanical whirring sounds off in the distance but grows louder with each passing second. Hongjoong can't see at all now and though he tries his best to blindly shift the gears of the truck, his arms and legs and senses are disorientated.

“Trespassing is a state and federal offence. Please remain in your vehicle. Please remain calm.”

Hongjoong has definitely heard that robotic voice before. A cold shiver runs down his spine and it's the last thing he remembers before being hit with an electric shock and blacking out.

There's no indication of how much time has passed when he comes to. He's on a concrete floor in a dimly lit room furnished with nothing but a table and two chairs. There’s one door. No windows. No clock.

An interrogation room.

It feels like hours before the door opens and a dark monolithic robot entity manoeuvres itself in. It stood tall, sleek and imposing, as if a soldier had been turned into a rubik's cube and there were a hundred moving parts with a million possible configurations.

The familiarity comes flooding back again: the robot is the same distinct shade of gunmetal grey as all military tech, the same regulation communication window and the same small faded logo that speaks of its service history.

“Who are you? How did you find this place?”

“Where's my passenger?”

The robot's light blinks erratically as it shuffles closer to the table. “You will tell us your name and how you discovered this location!”

“I’m not telling you shit.”

“YOU WILL TELL US YOUR NAME AND-“

“CAASI, stand down. Neutral mode, Fifty Percent.”

The robot slides its panels back in place, perfectly sleek again, red light fading to black.

“Standing down. Neutral mode. Fifty percent.”

Hongjoong narrows his eyes, trying to make out the the shadowy figure that entered the room so quietly that he didn’t even notice.

It’s a man: tall and willowy, dressed in all black, relaxed and assured in posture as he walks closer.

“Don't you think it's bit risky using ex military programs for your guard dog here?"

“Oh CAASI is the least of your problems.” The man says, finally stepping out of the shadows to sit down in the other chair. "And it's all the government could spare."

Hongjoong takes in the face in front of him: he has big round eyes, bright and sparkling, even in the darkness of the room, with a sharp nose and strong angular jaw. His hair was short and black, with a few wayward strands tucked behind the left ear because they were too long. He looks older but not by much.

“Look, I can see that you don't want any visitor. I'm just a farmer who stumbled here by accident.” Hongjoong explains. “If you just give me back my passenger, we’ll be on our way.”

The other man just surveys him calmly.

“You’re terrible at lying. Did you believe any of that CAASI?”

“Zero percent truth detected.”

“Zero percent.” The man smiles. “So do you want to tell us the truth now?”

“I’ll tell you if you give me-“

“Your brother is fine. Quite hungry though.” The man interjects. “Exceptionally bright. Must not share much DNA with you.”

Hongjoong breathes a sigh of relief. “Okay, so if you just give me my brother back, we'll be in our way. I'm just a farmer-"

“No you’re not.”

“Well, who the hell are you then? Where the hell am I?”

“I’m Doctor Park. I’m a physicist.”

Before he can even stop it, Hongjoong’s face twitches in recognition and judging by the smirk on the other man's face this was the reaction he was watching for.

“Doctor Park? I knew a Doctor Park once and you can’t be him. He was a professor of astrophysics."

“What makes you think I'm not?" The man asks coolly.

"Well, he was sixty and not very pretty to look at?"

The man barely conceals his eye roll. "Very logical deduction."

And for the first time in a long time Hongjoong realises, very disappointingly, that he was being completely outwitted by a stranger he's never met before.

“Listen, congratulations on the physics degree. That’s really great for you but I have a family I need to get back to and a brother to collect. So if you could just take me to him, we won’t cause you any more trouble.”

Doctor Park tilts his head for a few seconds to look right into Hongjoong's eyes. The intensity unexpectedly threatening, even to someone like him.

Then, without saying anything, the other man rises from the chair to walk towards the door, knowing but not even waiting for Hongjoong to follow.

Outside the interrogation room there was a long corridor, surprisingly clean and only marginally less dim.

CAASI the robot trails behind them both, its red blinking light oddly menacing for a non human entity.

“Should I be seeing all of this? Shouldn't you be worried about me telling other people?”

“You won’t.” Doctor Park replies. “They’re unlikely to believe that a place like this still exists.”

“I don’t even know what the hell this place is.”

They reach two steel doors and there’s a pause before Doctor Park swipes them in with a small sly smirk on his face.

“Yes, you do. Kim Hongjoong."

#Ad Astra: The Theory Of Relativity #Ateez #Ateez AU #hongjoong #wooyoung #yunho #An Interstellar AU #Ateez fic #for the 6 people who are interested in reading this #every character is someone on the ateez team #yonghwan is Eden #The other two are on their writing team #Ad Astra stuff #Hongjoong fic #Wooyoung fic #Yunho fic

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