♡ i. THE SIREN.

So a couple friends and I were talking on discord about our reasons of disliking Joseph and it just turned into us listing all the reasons why he’s a horrible person. Just because I think Joseph is a horrible person doesn’t mean I don’t think he’s a great character.

The first time we see Joseph is in the video that the deputy watches on the way to arrest Joseph. In the video we can see Joseph preaching to his followers and then blinding a man who has snuck his way into the cult to expose Joseph. The way Joseph preaches is very persuasive and his voice is so full of power that you can’t help but be pulled in.

Further into the game we were always warned about Faith being a manipulator but we were never warned about Joseph. During the baptism scene with John, Joseph shows up and threatens to shut John out of Eden if he doesn’t get the deputy to atone. John has been abused for most of his childhood by his father and foster parents, I believe that John has some abandonment issues so Joseph threatening to leave John behind during the collapse was certainly a huge blow for John. Even after John dies Joseph never really says anything good about John compared to Jacob’s and Faith’s eulogies.

“A seal has been opened. My brother, John, was loved by few. Feared by many. Misunderstood by all… except me. John was not born a monster. He was just a child when our family was torn apart. He was loving, kind, full of joy. He was easily preyed upon. John was not perfect and sometimes, he was not even good. But he was my brother. And those responsible for his death will be punished. I promise you that.” -Joseph Seed after John’s death.

“My children, a seal has been opened. My brother Jacob was a fighter. He fought our parents, he fought the government… he fought me. But, mostly, he fought himself. The demons that he brought home from the war consumed him. He thought he was a weapon without a purpose. That was he was warrior without a legacy. But look around you. You are his legacy. All of you willing to protect our Family from the Collapse. To purge the sinful from our home. And you will, my children. You will purge the sinners from our home. Jacob’s death will not be in vain.” -Joseph Seed after Jacob’s death.

“A seal has been opened. My Faith… My Faith. She was not the carry that name, but she was the most devoted. She was like many of you when she came from me; broken, lost. I put my faith inside her… and she became angelic. Perfect. And those sinners took her away from us. It is Faith that holds us together and, without it, we are lost. So we must never lose faith. And those that try to harm us… will suffer.” -Joseph Seed after Faith’s death.

For this next part I want to thank @deputyburnseverything for posting the screenshots of their conversation with one of the FC5 writers.

So Joseph uses his status as cult leader to sleep with his followers including Faith, whom joined the project at 17. This leads me to believe that his wife was the first Faith that he had impregnated which led him to marrying her in order to keep his intentions “pure’.  Now I know that deputyburnseverything post had a reply that said “This also goes against things Greg Bryk has said about Joseph’s relationship with Faith” this may be true but Greg is not the writer and the undertones are all there, I mean look at New Dawn Joseph had a sexual relationship with a follower (possibly another Faith) and had a son with her.