Cultiples #2: Intro Material

[pirate_anon]

Cultiples#2:
The Fandom Cults of Draven

LB Lee

click images to enlarge

Slanderous Cult Tidings: Intro

I am nineteen, and I have just joined the plural
communities of Livejournal. I find myself talking to a man
named Neo, a metaphysical multiple—in other words, he is one of
many within his body, and he sees his origins as being spiritual or
mystical in nature. He is from the Matrix, and when I mention
that I have heard of him, he replies, "Heard of, eh? Slanderous
rumors and cult tidings I hope" (Lee, 2007 April 12).

He then links me to "the article to end all articles" on his
website, which is "about Neo, Trinity, [and] this 'underground
revolution'" which is built to "spread the message of choice" (DK,
2007, Paragraph 2). But some are against their “status-
quosmashing revolution” and “some have gone the clichĂ©d [sic]
route of spouting 'cult' at anything that even remotely looks like
an ‘alternative’ belief structure.”

Neo is quoted as saying, “until there is concrete proof or
evidence that we've harmed someone by trying to save them
from themselves... by simply trying to wake them up, people are
free to take it or leave it as they choose” (ibid, Chapter 4: Who
They Are - The Controversy).

Less than two months prior to this, Neo pled guilty to a
felony charge of obtaining a controlled substance through fraud
or a false prescription and spent two weeks in jail (State of
Washington vs. Draven, 2007); his partner helped him obtain the
drugs, so she’s now a convicted felon as well (citation available
upon request). Less than three months prior to their jail time,
Neo was the respondent to two charges of domestic violence
(Parker, 2006; Smith, 2006), and a few months after his talk with
me, he will end up in court again for two more (Prissel, Phyllis
2007; Prissel, Steve 2007). And these are not mere
miscommunications or minor arguments; Neo also threatened a
follower with a knife in May 2006 (citation available upon
request), and he’ll be arrested again in 2011 for threatening
someone with a weapon (Morning Sentinel Staff, 2011).

But at the time, I don’t know this. I am nineteen, and
unworldly. Having just experienced my own massive paradigm
shift of realizing I too am multiple, my mind is open in a way that
it isn’t now. It doesn’t seem unbelievable that Neo could come to
the real world to save us all. Indeed, I find myself attracted to the
idea, the thought of helping free people’s minds. It’s only pure
luck that I don’t get taken in, that Neo loses interest in me and
never recruits me.

It’s easy to blame my attraction to the cult on me being
foolish, naïve, or stupid. When I spoke to ex-followers, they
overwhelmingly derided themselves for their own poor
judgment. But the fact remains, however ludicrous it might
appear from the outside, Neo’s Matrix cult was built to attract
people just like me—inexperienced, open-minded (arguably too
open-minded), maybe a little bit odd, with a desire to help the
world and find a place within it. Truly, is it fair to blame the
victims for being conned by a man who has worked very hard to
do so? Who has in fact made it his career?

Neo’s Matrix cult only lasted about six years, but he is just
one of at least twenty headmates that have appeared over the
decades, and just one of many cults they have run during this
time, all involving fandom. In the ‘90s, it was Kurt wanting to
carry on Kurt Cobain’s music; in 2017, it was Tony Stark, trying to
build his Iron Man armor and fight fascism. The faces, names,
and identities change, but the end-goal is always the same: to
maintain adoration from followers. The results are also identical:
arrests, homelessness, and suffering.

Anyone who voices criticism of this group of headmates,
or puts the pieces together, is stalked, flamed, harassed, and
threatened with lawsuits, sometimes for years. As Neo himself
puts it, "Hell hath no fury like me on a psychotic, disillusioned
rampage […] I WILL tear you apart" (2004 November 12).

Such predators are common in plural communities online.
I hope that by writing about this one, I will help others recognize
this kind of behavior, avoid being sucked in, and refuse to allow
cult leaders a foothold (and a victim pool) in our communities. If
nothing else, the story is long, twisted, and abstruse, but
compelling. This isn’t just a history of cults, but an unsavory part
of plural history,

Neo and his headmates have never chosen a group name
for themselves, as far as I know, so I will call them by the most
common name carry-over they share: Draven.

Regarding Pronouns,
Conjugations,
and Terminology...

For those who are not plural or in fandom, the linguistic
and grammatical hurdles can seem harrowing. I try very hard to
avoid jargon, but that’s not always possible. Thus, a brief word of
explanation and list of terms:

Multiple: more than one person who lives in the same
body.

Singlet: one person who is the sole tenant of their body.

Plural: a general-purpose term to cover the full spectrum
of people who aren’t singlet, but aren’t quite multiple
either—people who are only multiple at certain times, or
are in-between, and so on.

System: refers to a group of headmates as a whole.

System member: one person within the group.

Headmate: a person someone shares a body with.

Integrate: When two or more system members merge to
become one.

Dissociative Identity Disorder (AKA DID): a mental
illness characterized by “multiple personalities.” It has a
certain medicalized culture associated with it, and in
plural communities online, DID is merely one of many
different types of plurals.

Soulbonder: someone with a deep connection to fiction.
This ranges from feeling one’s characters are “alive” and
“writing themselves” to having fictional characters
(soulbonds) among one’s headmates. A soulbonder may
see themselves as singlet, plural, or multiple.

Fictionkin: someone who believes themselves to be a
fictional character. The lines between fictionkin and
soulbonders can be blurry.

Slash: in fandom, the depiction of a romantic or sexual
relationship between characters who aren’t involved in
the original media—for example, Sherlock Holmes/Dr.
Watson. Overwhelmingly involves male characters.

So, for instance, Draven is the system, Neo a system
member. At various times, they have identified as multiple,
singlet, soulbonders, and fictionkin. They have never claimed to
have DID, but they will claim integrations periodically.
When referring to the group as a whole (or when I don’t
know who’s speaking), I will say “Draven” and “they.” Otherwise, I
will use the individual’s name, such as “Neo” and “he.”

I have stumbled across sources who have changed
pronouns under time; when in doubt, I use the pronouns others
used around them during that time.

Since I do not know how Draven’s system feel about verb
conjugations, for simplicity’s sake I will use constructions like
“Draven is,” rather than “Draven are,” since I know it comes off as
strange to people not used to it.

Although I myself am multiple, I will be using singular
pronouns throughout the write-up. This is purely for
convenience to keep the reader from getting confused or
distracted.

The next section is purely for reference purposes; skip it if
you want to get to the story.

A note regarding citations...

APA style citations, it turns out, are completely
unprepared for the practicalities and ethics of referencing a
prolific plural predator online.

Draven has used many, many names over the years, and
they sometimes use multiple names for a single system member.
Since they have no official system name, ex-followers have used
anything from Draven’s legal name to individual system member
names to online handles in their discussions with me, or in their
public warnings to future potential followers. All of this has
worked to Draven’s benefit, because as the names keep changing,
present followers never realize Draven’s past actions. In the
interest of standardization, citations of all Draven’s system
members will be listed under that sole name.

Draven is immensely prolific, and their followers can be
too. They sometimes make multiple untitled posts on the same
platform on the same day. As a result, I will use full dates as
needed, for example, “Draven, 1999 January 1.” I will only go to
APA’s preferred format of adding letters when I’m differentiating
multiple sources created on the same day, such as “Draven, 2001
June 6a.” More conventional sources will remain year-only, for
instance, “Lee, 2016.”

Due to Draven’s special attention on children, their
penchant for stalking and harassment, and the sensitivity of the
material, I will be referring to all followers by pseudonyms. Some
sources will only be available upon request. I have no desire to
expose followers and ex-followers to more harassment, or enable
unsavory types who wish to do so.

The Internet moves very quickly. All of my cited sources
were originally gleaned from publicly accessible online records;
the sole exceptions are private ex-follower communications and a
photograph, given with explicit permission to use, along with
access to the Safety Pin Army roster, which is public to anyone
with the link. During the times I have worked on this write-up,
large swathes of my sources have been deleted, locked, or moved
elsewhere. As a result, I will be replacing these sources with
screen-caps from my own downloaded copies, with file names
identical to their inline citations and zipped together so that my
facts can be checked.

(Appendices can be downloaded here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1dAuteuQNa6sK6KSbpCt4gOLdcc3TZ2ZS )

With all that said, let’s get on with it.

Dramatis Personae:
Draven System Members

Robin Hood: 1995 – ? Started music career.

The Crow: ‘95 – ‘99ish. Continued music.

Kurt Cobain: ‘95 – ‘99ish. Continued music.

William “Fox” Mulder: ‘99 – ‘02. Paranormal PI.

Angel: ‘01ish – Sept. ‘04; Apr. ‘09* Doomsday seer, artist, Paranormal PI.

Angelus: ‘01ish – Sept. ‘04; Apr. ‘09* “Pure evil.” Merged with Angel?

Sirius Black: Jun. - Dec. ‘04.

Neo: Sept. ‘04 – 2011ish Doomsday seer. Most successful.

John Constantine: Jul. ‘05 – Mar. ‘06. Paranormal PI. Alchemist.

Tyler Durden: Jan. - Feb. ‘06, 2015* Inspired creation of soap and rockets.

Greg House: May - July ‘06.

Edward Elric: Nov. ‘06 – Feb. ‘08. Alchemist.

Hannibal Lecter: Mar. ‘07 - ? Artist.

Anakin: Apr. ‘08 – Aug. ‘10. Wanted a junk shop.

The Phantom: Apr. ‘09 – 2015. Musician, magician.

Tony Stark: Mar. ‘15 – now. “Activist.”

Jigsaw: Nov. ‘15 – now. Made traps.

Ash Ketchum: Sept. ‘16 – now. Not sure if existed

Rick Grimes: May ‘17 - now. Antifascist.
Kylo Ren: Jan. ‘18 – now.

(Years marked with a * note a minor, short-term resurface)

Partners

W (Dana/Krycek): Late ‘98 – Aug. ‘02. Fiancée. SF writer.

Buffy I: ? - May 2002.

Buffy II: Fall ‘02 – March ‘03. Multiple fiancée/wife. Stalked, harassed for years afterward.

Buffy III: ~Mar. ‘04 – May ‘04. Fiancée. Possibly a troll.

Ellen: ~May – Sept. ‘04 Fiancée. Very ill. Had a toddler.

Smith I: Nov. ‘04 – April ‘05. Stalked, harassed, flamed on Fandom Wank.

Trinity (Smith, Angie, Gabriel, Clarice, Mara Jade, ObiWan, Padme, Sidious, Christine, Mama Giry, Pepper Potts, Steve Rogers, Natasha R., Rey, and many many more): Oct. ‘04 – Present. Wife. Arrested many times, convicted felon due to Draven.

Other Players of Note

Connor: ~2002 – present. Joined Angel’s cult as a child, became Draven’s “adopted son,” BDSM spankee, and punching bag.

Faith: ~2002 – present. Joined Angel’s cult as a child, became a love interest.

Crowd: 2005-? Matrix fan, became Neo’s attack dog on Fandom Wank.

Demos: Jun. ‘05 - Jan. ‘06. Teenage acolyte who moved in with Draven, ended up in court. Escaped.

Seven: Jan. ‘05 – Jun. ‘06. Gave Neo, Demos, and Trinity housing and money, got threatened with a knife. Neo’s “adopted daughter.” Escaped.

Blackbird: March – July 2007. Acolyte who moved in with Neo. Escaped, tried to take Neo down,
got banned from Livejournal.

Zeal: March 2007-2008. Australian follower; escaped thanks to Blackbird.

Blaze: 2008. Neo and Anakin’s “adopted son.”

Visual Timeline