sins of the fallen.

Dito did not betray the party of his own free will in Branch D.

One of the things I love most about Drakengard is the fact that though the party will not admit it, they genuinely love and care about each other. Dito finds value in the companionship the other Disciples, Mikhail and Zero offer. He is absolutely on the Murder World Tour to fuck shit up and destroy things, but he is one hundred percent in it to be with them, whatever that might mean.

Dito’s backstory has heavy themes to sexual abuse. Five used the control an Intoner has over her disciple to control him and force him to obey her every command – but she did so subconsciously, without realizing she was doing it. 

Throughout the game and his prequel novel, Dito makes it abundantly clear that he does not like Five in any way. The only thing he appreciates about her is her ugly subconscious and the fact that she refuses to acknowledge the ugly parts of her infuriates him. She abuses him without even knowing she does it and that is the part he can’t stand. And it wasn’t always this way. We see the slow progression of Five’s decline. Dito and Five travel together almost amicably through the desert in her DLC. He’s constantly muttering under his breath and making his displeasure and less than “cute” traits known, sassing her and making it clear that he isn’t just her cute little plaything, but they’re on mostly equal footing. Five seems to allow him to do this. By the time of his novella, though – Five is controlling him and forcing him to interact with her in a way she approves of. Dito is aware of her doing it and comments about how he doesn’t even have control over his facial muscles unless she allows him to. He can’t voice opinions she doesn’t like. He can’t even try to kill her. By the time Zero arrives to challenge Five, we see that the control over him has advanced to the point where he physically cannot move without her approval. He remains standing behind her with his head down, completely unmoving, until Five has him summon Phanuel for the boss fight. Even his summoning incantation is different from how he is in the rest of the game - it’s flat and devoid of any and all emotion. After her death, Dito becomes one of the most animated party members in terms of physicality and voice. He’s constantly talking, constantly making inappropriate jokes, emoting all over the place with his voice, and even his idles have a bounce to them.

In Branch D Dito begins to lose his mind as the corrupted world begins bleeding through reality. The closer they get to Five, the more frenzied and manic Dito gets. He never sounds as unhinged or wild as he does at any other point in the game. To me, it’s clear that Five’s warped state is making him act erratically, especially where the rest of the party notices and becomes concerned. It worsens the closer he gets to Five, until his mind cracks and he loses all impulse control, summoning Phanuel and sacrificing himself in a way that he just would not do in his right mind. While he isn’t channeling Five’s power when he summons the angel, he is still under her influence.

We know that Intoners can brute force their Disciples into doing what they want. We see that when Three hijacks Octa and forces him to summon Armisael. 

Hey Dito! Check this out!

During a quick respite from their journey the young dragon had sought out entertainment while Zero was busy with… whatever. Even though he’s been clearly warned not to splash about, she didn’t exactly say he couldn’t do that in something more clean, right?

With a swift motion the young dragon had dived into the pool of water, drawing the pits content into the air from the sheer impact of his weight and landing on the unfortunate nearby Disciple, drowning him for a moment in cold water before leaving him soaked. Mikhail, however, had yet to notice this.

Oh no, oh no, oh no. Dito barely has a chance to register that the big dumb baby had left the spot he’d been napping in and bolted for the water before he’s in there, and the splash has hit. He’s drenched from head to toe, certain that a frog has the audacity to wiggle itself into his pocket.

          the              future          is                 not                  given           to                     you—-

DITO: Ugh, spirits... ZERO: Friends of yours? DITO: I don't have friends.