#Jesus Christ this is an incredible analysis

[todayisafridaynight]

THIS IS GONNA SOUND SO MEAN BUT WHY DO U LIKE RYO AOKI/MASATO

masato hot

[04tenno]

Do you think that if the latest live action version of the games comes to be, they’d be a bit more open about the queer characters being queer? Not anything direct but not as vague as some of them are in the games?

I also wonder if they wouldn’t be held back by some of the same things the games are, would characters who receive less screen time get more of that. Really, I don’t know why I’d bother thinking about it so much right now but I must W o n d e r

Oh, like the Hollywood movie that was in the works a couple years back? I'm not entirely positive that one in specific is still going through, since Nagoshi was the one overseeing it and we haven't seen any news in years, but I suppose worst case scenario they could always do other live action adaptations.

RGG adaptations historically have next to nothing to do with the games or have any real supervision, so it depends on who's behind the wheel. Any opportunity to shake up and retell the existing stories does have potential. The original Like a Dragon movie and the stage show had Majima be a lot more forward than almost anything that was actually in the games at the time, for example, but they were still in the realm of plausible deniability.

So it'd be heavily dependent on the chosen plot, format, and priorities in the script and direction. If it's an all-new story and/or cast, well, I haven't seen Poetry of the Soul or the Yakuza prequel, so I'm not sure what the precedent is. But if it's a proper adaptation, which game/era is being adapted matters hugely for potential representation. And the format and priorities matter because a stage play, one-off film, a series of films, an average drama, and a miniseries all have vastly different amounts of time to dedicate to plot and characterization.

For example, one would expect no adaptation of Yakuza 3 would just Leave Out Mine's Motives Entirely and reduce him to a monster who wants all orphans dead, right? But the comic adaptation did exactly that. Of course, it was from Haruka's perspective and she has every right to think so, but considering the comic was specifically meant to summarize the whole of Yakuza 3 as a replacement for the wiki, choosing Haruka as the viewpoint character was a mistake from the beginning. But that's how it happened with only a few panels to tell the story, and a "plot-focused" Yakuza 3 film adaptation may make the same mistake.

In all honesty, though, I think the games have waaay more opportunities to make it work. A show might have a fighting chance, but the average RGG game now is about 48 hours, which would be grossly long for anything other than the annual NHK taiga drama (and honestly, those are still grossly long).

I personally think Yakuza: Like a Dragon is the queerest game not by virtue of having anyone declare their love but by having a host class that relies on charm in a game with only male enemies, having Essence of Titillation and Essence of Restoration work on female party members, having Ichiban get a honk-honk from a guy and it giving him the biggest stat boosts in the entire game, having those teasing hints about Nanba and Ichi or Zhao and Ichi, Having Nick In The Game Period, having the plot center around a family with two dads, having one of said dads' gender nonconformity be the most respectfully-depicted instance in the entire series (and referring to him as an actress and mother), having Ako in the game and both treating her normally and having her be voiced by a woman in the dub, having NPCs express wanting to be reborn as the opposite gender.

Like... that's the run-on sentence to end all run-on sentences, but I could go on. These Bitches Queer.

[moe-broey]

Jesus fucking Christ .

[butchhamlet]

do you have any good shakespeare retelling book recs?

what a beautiful time to ask this, says guy who has left this ask collecting cobwebs in his inbox for months! because guess who has two thumbs and just finished queen goneril by erin shields! WHAT a fucking play, holy SHIT, this is some of the best characterization of the lear sisters that i've ever read and the exploration of womanhood as filtered through class + race + shitty families + political maneuvering is so so so good. also the things shields does with the og playtext... chef's fucking KISS

anyway, recency bias aside, i've been meaning to make a post about my favorite shakespeare retellings for a while, and i think i never actually did it because i wanted to make a lear retelling ranking list and then i never read some of the ones on my TBR. so whatever. the learlist will happen someday. here are my favorites in general. (here is my goodreads shelf for the retellings i've read, good and bad, and here is the shelf for the ones i have yet to read.)

in no particular order:

a thousand acres by jane smiley: outsold. epitome of what makes an effective retelling--a book that clearly has something to say about and to the original text, but that also isn't afraid to diverge, to exclude here and zoom in there. ungraciously, this is "lear on a farm" and it starts a little slow, but holy fucking shit, i can't do justice in a paragraph to the way this book unraveled me. one of the best books of all time mayhaps. also, introduced the edmund character by describing his ass. 10/10

the last true poets of the sea by julia drake: i don't read that much YA anymore but jesus fucking christ. books tailored for me specifically. twelfth night retelling about siblings + mental illness + being bisexual + love triangles that actually make sense (emotions are confusing!) instead of being contrived + beautiful description + excellent dialogue + THE MENTAL ILLNESS. books that made me start crying in zoom class in 2020

rosencrantz and guildenstern are dead by tom stoppard: kind of a cop-out answer because we all know this one. but that does not detract from how good it is. this is one of those plays, at least for me, that makes me think, "ohhhhhh, THIS is what theater can do. this is using its medium to the absolute utmost." it is so clever and it makes me want to cry. i think about "i don't know. it's the same sky" more often than i can say

american moor by keith hamilton cobb: not exactly a retelling, but a one-man play about a Black man auditioning for the lead role in Othello, tangling as he does with his relationship with shakespeare's work and cultural dominance. suuuuuch a good fucking play even beyond the analysis of othello (which is excellent); the language is so fucking incredible. everyone who likes shakespeare should read this.

teenage dick by mike lew: modern teenage richard iii; this one's more reimagining than retelling, because it diverges pretty sharply from the plot of richard iii, but god, it's so fucking fun. and upsetting! really upsetting also.

foul is fair by hannah capin: i will be so real. i read this in high school and some of the YA books i've revisited since did not hold up for me. so idk if i can tell you this is "good" with my full chest. but the pitch is "lady macbeth gets sexually assaulted at a party and decides to fucking kill the boys who did it" and i stayed up until like 1am to finish it because it was such a vicious gleaming wild ride

the stars undying by emery robin: does this count? hard to say, because it's just as much a retelling of roman history than shakespeare's antony and cleopatra (honestly, more, since it focuses on the era where caesar and cleopatra were lovers, which is before shakespeare's play). but i'm counting it anyway because it's bisexual space opera cleopatra and it's the best book i've read so far in 2024 and it's making me crazy and i'm writing a thesis on it < genuinely

peerless by jihae park: macbeth, but college applications, featuring asian macbeths (they're twin sisters >:3) who think their classmate has taken their place in their dream school because of affirmative action/DEI. this play is absolutely VICIOUS. it's macbeth x heathers. think it mirrors macbeth in faltering a little in its final stretch, but it still fucks hard

the wednesday wars by gary d. schmidt: okay, not a retelling; this is about a preteen boy in the 60s. but it's one of the best most genuine and heartwarming books i've ever read and it manages to be hilarious while also foregoing cheap slapstick punching-low humor for a hell of a lot of warmth and passion. and the main character interacts with shakespeare a lot as a running theme so i can justify putting it on this list. #evangelizing

of course, i would be remiss not to mention that @suits-of-woe / @mjulianwrites has written the best take on Two Gentlemen of Verona to ever exist, and i mean that quite seriously. unfortunately it hasn't been published yet so we'll all just have to prayer-circle about it. i would also be remiss not to take the opportunity to. uh. coughs. do a bit of casual self-promo. if you 1. have ocd 2. have gender or 3. think about malvolio a lot. boy do i have the novella for you

will definitely add to this when i read more retellings; feel free to drop recs in the tags/replies/reblogs/my askbox!

[tanoraqui]

Dungeon Meshi Liveblog: Golems, Orcs, & loser party that got TPKed by bugs (<3)

He's so competent, I love him. I really appreciate that post pointing out that this whole party is pretty near the top of the game in terms of genuine competency at adventuring. It's hard to tell when we rarely see other adventurers.

Just a few pages later, Senshi seamlessly takes out 3 golems on his own!

Water fountain shaped like a lion head!

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Senshi has just been single-handedly keeping the dungeon from getting so dangerous that the Elves get to bully their way in, huh. Do you think dungeon experts have been wondering what's taking so long, and will one day find out that it's this one weird dwarf. I hope so.

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I like the dragon being so goat-like.

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HUZZAH!

Side note: I think an ideal live action Senshi would be played by Nick Offerman.

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Marcille and the orc chieftain fighting while Senshi pointedly makes bread gives me such "The Last Supper" vibes - that is, the song in Jesus Christ Superstar. Two people having an increasingly vicious argument over dinner while everyone else in the room says increasingly loudly, "Wow, this food is great!!"

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HEY LOOK THE NEXT CHAPTER STARTS WITH MY MAN!!

I'm sure this isn't novel analysis but man I like how directly Kabru's party mirrors the original Touden party. (Side note: I wish each party had a name that wasn't just the name of the party leader...)

Toudens':

6 members

3 fighters (Laiois, Shuro, Namari)

2 mages, 1 for damage (Marcille) and 1 for healing (Falin)

1 lockpick (Chilchuck)

2 long-lived (1 dwarf, 1 elf)

4 short-lived (3 humans, 1 halffoot)

3 men, 3 women

4 tall, 2 short

1 Easterner

leader is a mall tallman fighter

lockpick is halffoot

1 mage is tallman, 1 is long-lived magic-heavy race

1 fighter is a dwarf

Kabru's:

6 members

3 fighters (Kabru, Kuro, Daya)

2 mages, 1 for damage (Rin) & 1 for healing (Holm)

1 lockpick (Mickbell)

2 long-lived (1 dwarf, 1 gnome)

4 short-lived (2 humans, 1 halffoot, 1 kobold)

4 men, 2 women

3 tall, 3 short

1 Easterner

leader is a male tallman fighter

lockpick is halffoot

1 mage is tallman, 1 is long-lived magic-heavy race

1 fighter is a dwarf

A) it's obviously a solid party composition in terms of classes, and playing into D&D stereotypes (born of Middle Earth, as many D&D stereotypes are) of correlations between PC race and class.

B) Ryoko Kui was like, "There are going to be PARALLELS in this story and you are going to APPRECIATE THEM", and she was so goddamn right. Subtle themes are great but you know what's even better? Like 5 different really overt themes that are all happening all the time and interweave so constantly that subtlety is created in the infinite nuances of overlap. Eat or be eaten and to eat is to live is to want and understanding is compassion but it's also violence and we're all incredibly different and we're all incredibly the same and we're all trying to eat or be eaten in an elaborately connected web of life, and--

I want an orchestral arrangement of this story.

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I'm not carefully counting all winged lion motifs but I AM going to count the number of Kabru Winks(TM). We're at 3 in this chapter.

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EXQUISITE SMASH CUT

[savagewildnerness]

Let’s talk the art of this scene: Lestat, turning Louis beneath Jesus on the cross. Then, as the camera pans away at the end of the episode, Lestat lays prone, arms outstretched, and Louis is sitting beside him, his arms similarly at his sides - both Louis & Lestat evoking Christ on the cross in their own positioning… whom they lie & sit beneath. Religious. Sacrilegious. Beautiful.

Well, I could continue this analysis into a full essay! Which is very rich of me to say as I am not even religious myself & (although my Mum is Catholic & I was christened Catholic, so not to say there was zero religion in my family!) I was never brought up religious at all, so I am certain there is much I don’t notice or understand too!

I may not be able to create clever or funny memes like you incredible folk (😭 I don’t understand how to be funny!!) but if you need someone to boringly analyse a scene: HERE I AM!!!!!!!!!

[otherentrance]

um. an analysis of martha & ten in s3e1 of doctor who or whatever

now when it comes to the tenth doctor's companions you only really hear about rose and donna. and that's great, that makes a lot of sense, i get it. but that meant i really had nothing to go off of with the introduction of martha jones in series 3 & setting aside the fact that i immediately loved her, it really struck me just how calculated the doctor was in that first episode in regard to letting her on

i think its fascinating actually, because in "The Runaway Bride" (the christmas special between series 2 & 3) the doctor had just lost rose. like it went: "Rose Tyler, i love you" *30 seconds later, Donna has entered the chat* "Who the hell are you?" so it makes sense that he's super out of it that whole special

a new end of world crisis is thrown on him, a new person is thrown in his life, & its all happening before he's had time to process the end of "Doomsday". by the end of the special i didnt get why donna didnt go with him, but i get it now

it was all just so much so fast. unfortunately, i dont think we know how much time has passed between The Runaway Bride & Smith and Jones, but he's apparently had enough time to settle two things:

despite his protests, there's no avoiding what donna made him promise. "find someone", "i dont need anyone", "yes you do. because sometimes i think you need someone to stop you.", "yeah"

the fashion in which he wants to go about finding said someone

ok

in that first scene martha and the doctor have together, where the doctor is pretending to be a patient, right off the bat he's got this cheery neutrality to all the doctors-in-training crowding his bed. martha just happens to be the one called up to diagnose him, and he seems to like the way she reacts to finding out he's got two hearts

its interesting, she just takes it calmly, no freaking out or even mentioning it. this is a pattern with martha, she just accepts whatever situation shes in and rolls with it. and the doctor's got this look on his face when he looks at her in that first scene, neutral smile, raised eyebrows, he's curious he's probing the waters he's trying to figure her out

right off the bat, the doctor is curious as to what sort of person martha is. & i dont have the background of how he met rose (because im not watching doctor who in order) but im assuming, based on how it ended, that everything about her sort of happened to him. like she just burst into his life, blinding, and they crashed into each other

so it makes sense, indeed its incredibly human of him, to take the exact opposite approach with a new companion. he doesnt want to fall apart like he did for rose, so he's going in all experimental and curious neutrality and its fascinating because he's not even emotionally distant!

right, ten's emotions are something that gets talked about a lot, about how buried they are. its funny, ten is telling martha who he is instead of showing. (because if you're upfront with the things that hurt you then its all out in the open and you can put distance between yourself and the significance of your own experiences)

im getting ahead of myself. second scene they have together

ten comments on how smart martha is with the whole "if the air was gonna get sucked out it would have happened straight away, but it didnt!" thing. this objective observational approach to bizarre situations seems to be the first thing that draws martha and ten together. shes smart, and clear-headed, and curious. like he is

and then! and then and then!! "fancy going out [-side, on the moon, where there's no oxygen]?" "okay." "we might die." "we might not." "...good, come on."

good. good. like a teacher asking a question and getting the answer they want. the line is delivered slowly (which is saying something because jesus christ david tennant talks fast) and deliberately. if the question is "will you risk your life in the name of figuring out what's going on?" then the answer is "yes, not only will i risk my life but i choose to put my faith in the chance that i live."

curiously, i think it's this gift for hope martha has that ten is drawn to. i think he's been flying by the skin of his teeth, running on hope and running out of it, and martha is an optimist. a curious, smart, observant, optimist. god i love her already

(at the end of that interaction ten specifically points to the other woman with martha and says "not her, she'll hold us up". he's chosen his subject, and disregarded the other potential opportunities. its so calculated)

scene three, that balcony scene.

turns out they can breathe on that balcony, wahoo. martha remembers that party with her family and starts getting choked up. "you okay?" "yeah" "you sure?" "yeah" "you wanna go back in?" "no way, we could die any minute but all the same its beautiful"

ten sees her getting emotional and, briskly, asks if shes okay. she insists she is twice in a row and shoves down her emotions in favor of admiring the view. and who is this reminding me of?

okay so thats the fourth thing of note then. she's calm, smart, hopeful, and ignores her own emotions in crisis. and she finds joy in that view too! its beautiful! standing in the earth light.

she finally asks him whats happened, and he turns the question back on her. here we go, fifth thing. "extraterrestrial. idk a few years ago that would have sounded mad, but these days?" she pays attention. complete opposite of donna, she's caught up on the alien events going on and she believes them

moving right along: ten makes the decision to open up to martha, and tell her his real name. "what, people call you The Doctor?" "yeah" "well im not, as far as im concerned you've got to earn that title" "well i better make a start then"

i love this interaction. he's telling her his name and instead of ogling at the weirdness she says "earn it." like its a challenge. my current hypotheses, having not seen the rest of season 3, is that this is a unique quirk of their dynamic. martha wont just take his bullshit, or ogle at his space-alien-ness, or let him take charge just to follow after going "what the hell??". she'll catch right up with him and help figure out the mystery as well

ok scene 4

"if they're [jabloon, monster of the week] police are we under arrest? are we trespassing on the moon or something?" "no, but i like that! good thinking."

again, she's sharp. creative. and then the reveal that the doctor's non-human! oh youre kidding me, dont be ridiculous, stop looking at me like that. 13 seconds. "oh you're kidding me, you're not non-human" to "well shit, guess he is" in 13 seconds! she's marvelous! she just takes it!

fifth scene, the whole The Doctor is trying to figure out the situation and the companion is hanging back asking questions and trying to get their head around the whole space alien thing while he spits information a mile a minute. its crazy, she keeps up! like not just with how freaking fast ten talks, with what he's saying!

im a broken record, she just believes it all its wild. she recognizes the situation as a problem, accepting each piece of information as valuable and true, and works to solve it i love you martha jones

ok i cant sit here going scene by scene lets jump to the end shall we

scene i lost count. the tardis is parked in some back alley after a fiasco of that family party for marthas brother

the initial test is over, and martha's passed. the doctor wants to take a chance on her

"i just thought, since you saved my life and ive got a brand-new sonic screwdriver which needs road testing, you might fancy a trip?"

evidently martha cant say no to that so we, lovely viewers, are treated to a classic "its bigger on the inside!" scene. and ten's got that look on his face again! carefully cataloging her reaction, sizing her up.

coming full circle, martha asks about the doctors previous companions (again), and its fascinating comparing this scene with the opening of "The Runaway Bride"

where donna stumbled across rose's jacket, assumed ten had kidnapped her, and confronted him about it, thus throwing the hurt of loosing rose right back in his face, ten puts it all out in the open for martha right off the bat

im the doctor, ive got a brand new sonic screwdriver, the tardis is bigger on the inside, and the last one was rose. welcome aboard

even while throwing it all out in the open, ten quickly says "anyway" like he doesnt want to talk about it. when martha asks where she is (like donna did) ten assures her that rose is safe and fine. directly doing the opposite of how donna approached the subject

and still ten insists that martha isnt going to be "the new companion". that shes here for one trip, then back home. he knows donna was right, he needs someone, he promised her. he knows but he doesnt want it, yet. hes telling martha the situation while still walling off his actual feelings about it

which explains why ten reacts so badly to martha teasing him about that kiss from earlier. when she opens up the situation like he's flirting he shuts her down fast. but when she turns it into a joke, and says she's not interested we get "good." again

its a really clear pattern, the way ten assesses her this episode. he notices her cool headedness and observation and pokes a bit more. he shuts her off when she approaches territory he doesnt want her to. he responds with "good" when she responds with what he wants

he's drawn to her because they share a lot of key traits (accepting bizarre situations, intellect, high emotional regulation) & because she shows a few key traits that distinctly compliment his own (her hope, curiosity, and stubbornness). she doesnt marvel at him like other companions did (and will), and doesnt put up with his bullshit either. she makes fun of him for being "pompous" in a way other humans just worshipped him. she relates, accepts, understands, and humbles him in very distinct, important ways

anyway "Smith and Jones" was a solid episode & you guys dont talk about martha enough, shes amazing

[psalmsofpsychosis]

David advocating for batjokes is so cathartic bc i remember ages ago some were suggesting that gotham!batjokes wasn't really a two-hander and only Cameron was playing up the tragic love arc (which is crazy because david has talked about Jeremiah loving bruce before the ace chem episode dropped and the fact that he literally plays Bruce as though he's on the verge of crying in every other scene he has with post-reveal Jeremiah but okay)

I need to hear these two guys idea dumping on each other while filming season 5

postgrad David and Cameron are dream Gotham blunt rotation for real because i geniunely think they're both incredibly delightful and unhinged and strange individuals and i also think that they both knew what they were doing.

Like, putting it into context— Cameron was just coming off 11 years of Shameless US, jesus christ. He was a gayism veteran at that point, he knew what the tone oh his plot was, of course he was going to act it that way and talk about it that way. But also, David was a 16 years old kid. Like, i dont know what indepth philosophical nuance people expected him to bring to the table, he was a fucking child at the time, teens take things lightly, it's what they do. But still it's an insane, insane thing to me that some people thought that gotham!batjokes is an unintended one sided narrative because, as you yourself said, David's acting is incredibly deliberate and distinct, Bruce's body language is a whole world of its own when it comes to Miah, and we're not even talking about the plot points. So i think that in the specific S5 time frame he played it more intuitively and less philosophically like Cameron did, and he didn't necessarily have a grown up's vocabulary around the narrative, i honestly didn't expect him to. But now that he's older and has had time away from the clutches of DC and also more years on him, he's came back full force. His analysis and understanding of Joker is on point, and he took extra care to really highlight where his priorities lie in a "Joker Essey" video by sticking the fucking "only Batman would go to this length to find the good in Joker, because he's his one true love" comment sticker right on top. There was no reason for him to highlight that comment, or draw any attention to it at all, if he wasn't aboard the batjokes train of hell. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ and man does it heal me to the bone, i'm just so glad to know that everybody has been on the same page all along, it shows on screen and offscreen

[artist-issues]

Hi. I hope you're doing well. I wanted to let you know that your story analysis and whatnot goes hard. I've been enjoying going through your posts, especially in regards to receiving your insight on Disney related things. I also like that your Christian lens brings a very specific view to the table. I find it valuable, even as I recognize where I disagree with you.

Reading some of your thoughts though, I came across one post where you said something that greatly intrigued me. You said that, "homosexuality is a sin that is only destructive when it isn't submitted to Christ."

What would it mean to you to submit it to Christ in this context? Especially regarding how that would work with homosexuals such as myself. My own religious background hasn't given me the lens to fully understand the language that you used, and I'd appreciate further insight for better understanding.

In either case, I would like to thank you for your time in reading this, and hope you have a good one.

Wow, this is an incredible ask. Thank you for sending it, and being so kind and respectful. I will be honest: I don't remember which of my posts that's from, so I might get the context of what I meant there wrong. But I know that the Bible is consistent, so I'm not worried about trying to make what I believe on the topic clear!

I don't know your "religious background" and in our current culture it's not always effective to assume that what I mean when I use a word is the same as what you understand when I use that word. But the Lord'll make up for that,

So here goes!

People have been born with desires that are twisted (think like a spine that has vertebrae out of place, not "twisted" as in "I'm insulting you.") since mankind fell. Some of those desires are for power, some are for gratification of a sexual impulse, some are for selfish comforts, etc.

I think what I meant this: Homosexuality is not special or especially impossible to pop back into place; it is one in a list of twisted desires. And when you decide "no, I'm not in charge of my life—the God who made me is in charge of it, and if He says something in me is out of place, He's right, AND what's more, He can put it back together. I identify as His much-loved creation: I do not identify with the parts of me that are out of place/I do not identify as my homosexual desires." That would be submission.

I didn't make that up, and neither did any religion. God did. It's in the Bible:

"Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revolvers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God." (See, it's in a list of twisted desires/actions/sins that people identify with.)

But then the next part is:

"And such were some of you: but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of God." I added emphasis for clarity's sake, but see? Such were some of you--Christians. People who are called righteous by God, were once "homosexuals—people who identify with their unrighteous desires." But then they submitted those desires to be washed, and took on the name of Christ, instead of the name of "homosexual," or the name of anything else, for that matter.

If you're interested in reading more of my philosophy, or what I meant after hearing that:

God did make you for love. Love isn't wrong. Like how a toymaker made a little tin soldier to bring joy to children. It's natural and right for you to desire sexual intimacy and unconditional-selfless-acceptance from another person. You're supposed to desire that—the same way a sentient tin soldier might be "supposed to desire" being played with.

But, when mankind fell, they fell because they decided they wanted to be God. They wanted to pick what was right, and wrong, and good, and bad, for themselves. But that whole goal was a lie: it was never even an option. But we reached for what wasn't there anyway. And as a result, all of humanity's desires got corrupted.

So now that desire for love that the human being was made to have, and made to feel fulfilled by the God that loves them perfectly, is twisted up. It's corrupted. Suddenly you don't want love the way you were designed to have it; you want something that doesn't exist (because God gets to decide what "love", is, too, He invented it,) and doesn't fit.

See, that original desire is still there, and that's why it feels so confusing to be told "what you love is wrong" because you feel like it's such an integral part of you—and it is. But it's just twisted up. You weren't meant to love the same gender, or someone abusive, or any of the counterfeits. That "love" part of you was meant to love God, (and if another God-loving person of the opposite gender can enhance your love for God, to include them in that in this beautiful harmony.) But that part of you's twisted up. So it's still trying to beat, but it's to all the wrong rhythms.

It would be like the little sentient tin soldier suddenly deciding he should be a real soldier and fight the Revolutionary war. He thinks "I feel brave, I was built with a sword, I should do this." But he wasn't made to use it like that, so no wonder his toy sword immediately gets smashed in a real fight.

But then it gets worse. He doesn't go back to the toymaker and say "you were right, I was never made for this, and now I'm battered and broken and I can't do what I was actually made for—no child will find enjoyment in a shattered toy." He doesn't do that. Instead, he just keeps hopping into battle, poking feet with his bent-up toy sword and getting ground into the mud.

If the toy soldier would just go back to its maker and say "you were right, and I don't deserve it, but only you can help me" the Toymaker would straighten the sword. Shine him up. Give him a new coat of paint—and even better, he would give the toy soldier an add-on to his original purpose—he'd give him hands big enough to hold the tools that fix other toys. Now the toy soldier has new life in the purpose that he was made to be satisfied by, AND he can help other toys who lost their way, too.

That's what Christian's call "The Gospel." That's Jesus' sacrifice on the cross: the toy soldier got what he wanted and deserved to be left in the mud, but instead the Toymaker took what he deserved, and gave him new life.

But it took that submission, first. The toy soldier might still look fondly at real soldiers and might even have the feeling, as the Toymaker is still cleaning him up, that he might want to go back and be a real soldier again. But that's the thing: the Toymaker's changing his desires back to the way they were before he ever reached for the thing he wasn't made for, too.

Anyway, I don't know if that janky little analogy helped. I know our two worldviews are really embattled right now—they have to be, because they are opposites—but you asked so kindly, and I appreciate it. "Such were some of you"—such was I. I was you. Now I'm in Christ. You can be, too; you were made to be. But all that to say, I'm not judging you—because such was I, and such would I be if not for Him.

[sassylich]

i think my last ask on here was “you’re so scary” so let me try to put my OTHER thoughts down.

you’ve added so so much to this already incredible podcast, it’s insane. you bring so much depth to faulkner while giving such an entertaining performance that helps us empathize with him. i don’t wanna ramble on for too long cause ill accidentally write a character analysis essay, and i’m sure you’ve been told this all before anyway

i feel like, especially during s3, you’ve really come to understand faulkner like no one else and just perfect him. and i’m sure that’s not an easy task so !!! jesus christ !!!

anyway this podcast means so much for me, huge thank you to you and everyone on the cast and crew, i can’t wait for the finale !!

aaaaaaaaaa thank you!! 😭💕 genuinely, this is such a lovely compliment! faulkner is a character that i felt like i understood instantly, and simultaneously had SO MUCH still to learn about, so honing his characterization throughout the series has been one of my favorite things i've ever done!

once again, massive props to jon and muna for letting me go ham with faulkner, and in fact encouraging me to go even harder during live sessions!

i also can't wait for you to hear the finale!!

[lakesbian]

i guess it's hard to get a read on how much he actually cares about palatine and dauphine or reciprocates their dislike of him? also why did he say that about "sexual favors"

(this post is about the fanfiction sword and sorcery, which you should read because it's good. it's written by tumblr users shakertwelve and nonplatonicsubtext about their estateverse au, which you can read more about in the estateposting tag on tumblr user shakertwelve's blog. would i ever lie to you about a fanfic recommendation.)

ok ahem. i've posted about alec's opinions on palatine and dauphine before bc i think the dynamic potential there is hilarious and i'm so delighted that they got put into the fic. the fancy frilly little freaques are fiiiighting!

Alec Is So Entirely 100% Certainly Without Doubt more mad about palatine and dauphine than they are about him. it would frankly be more accurate to ask how much victor and amelia reciprocate his dislike, because they are living RENT fucking free in his sad little repressed brain. but, like all of his emotions, it's just not super obvious because of how repressed he is--he feels and displays everything in a very muted way. the posts i linked get into the main bits of Why He Does Not Like Them At All, but to elaborate based on analysis of what's actually in the fic:

“Regent had a run-in with them a while back, before he joined the team,” Tattletale said. “He was new to the city, so he didn’t realize what his costume choice would make people think of.” She gestured vaguely in the direction of the Estate capes. “But he was doing things they don’t do and going to parts of town they stay out of, which caused some confusion. Eventually Dauphine and Palatine tracked him down to have a talk about it. It didn’t go well.”

as we can extrapolate from above, alec's history with them is like this:

he shows up to brockton bay as a severely maladapted, depressed, Generally Unwell cult-escapee on the young (and probably malnourished) side of 13 with effectively nothing to his name but his powers

as a weak cape without a team and zero social or systematic connections to turn to for help, he's forced to do very small-scale villainy just to scrape by enough to survive. and the entire time he is wearing his costume that veritably Screams "i am a special little prince please look at how wonderful i am." jesus christ he needs a hug.

these random cunts, palatine and dauphine, pull up and basically tell him to Fuck Off and stop Stealing Their Family's Schtick

these random cunts are also dressed fancy like him, and dauphine especially is someone alec would identify with fashion-wise, given that it's explicitly stated that her costume is princess-like. "Even with her elaborate costume, she looked more like a child’s princess doll than an actual princess." taylor rags on it, but it's still princess-like

this random fancy cunt, dauphine, is the daughter of...marquis, an incredibly successful, fancy villain with long hair who has a lot of money and lives in a mansion and, from alec's perspective, loves and cares about her dearly and buys her nicey clothes. and beyond just that, she has a brother who--instead of tormenting her & then laughing about it--wears a special fancy gleaming knight costume and bridal carries her around and is so sweet and nicey to her if anything bad happens. like, for example, alec getting pissy at her and tripping her.

we already know alec gets Insanely, Malevolently, Incandescently Jealous over someone he's engaged in hostilities w/ having a nice family. (see: him doing all that shit to sophia). we also know that he isn't very good at recognizing this jealousy in himself. (see: aisha revealing in late worm that alec only realized that he had done all that shit to sophia out of a jealous rage like a week or two later when he was talking to her about it.)

which is to say: alec sees dauphine as being Sorta Like Him, but if he had a 100% ideal family (dashing golden knight brother that takes care of her! rich fancy father who protects them and buys them nice shit! and they all live in a mansion!), and LET ME FUCKING TELL YOU. HE IS SO INSANELY JEALOUS HE HOPES THE ENTIRE ESTATE GETS HIT BY A NUCLEAR WARHEAD AND EXPLODES. ...all subconsciously, of course. he expresses this thru things like mocking her for being "a baby about a little trip" &c--insulting the vulnerability & familial care he certainly wishes he could have, while fully unaware why seeing it annoys him so much.

but i digress. keeping all of that in mind, you can see why alec would be infuriated & jealous towards them even if they were completely neutral towards him. but they weren't neutral towards him--instead, these people he views as being Like Him, But Living Out His Wildest Dreams, approached him to hassle him for accidentally appearing like he was one of them. local loving royal villain family approaches boy who is obviously projecting subconscious desire to be a beloved prince onto his costume design and goes "quit stealing our vibes," boy reacts with a parasocial grudge. his weird complexes about them shall reign eternal. he wishes he had a second, cooler palatine to beat the first, lamer palatine to death with hammers, and then bridal carry him to stand dismissively over dauphine's prostrate form as she weeps over the first, lamer palatine's corpse. and also he wants the second, cooler palatine to be hand-feeding him a bag of chips ahoy the entire time.

...i should stress again, this is alllll more or less entirely subconscious. alec doesn't know what the fuck he's feeling ever, this just comes across as a subdued vague annoyance/disdain for them.

so, why the weird "sexual favors" remark? it genuinely was not intended to be a harassing comment, nor do i think he genuinely would say he believes that marquis prostitutes his daughter if he thought about it for a second. but he does identify with dauphine in the sense that they're aesthetically similar enough for him to be extra-jealous about her. and so upon hearing "dauphine's favor," he takes the meaning of "you can have a favor from my kid" he's most used to as a child who was prostituted by his own villain father, and he projects it onto her. if i want to read into it beyond that, i think he might be unconsciously/impulsively trying to poke a hole in their family--a sort of [hopeful] "marquis sucks :)?" where he'd like to hear that marquis isn't as much of an envy-worthy dad as alec thought. meanwhile from the estate's perspective he was just a creep for no fucking reason. there are other, far more important things for lisa to be paying attention to during this scene, so i don't think she was wasting any time reading alec, but if she Was she certainly would've gotten a good show of severe mental unwellness.

[proudfreakmetarusonikku]

baffling to see people who I know follow my blog doing an abuse apologism “oh but that’s not Bad abuse” have you literally never read a post from me. like how do you read any of my analysis of Multiple Media and come away thinking that there’s some sort of hierarchy of abuse or that trauma based abuse is somehow Less Bad than pure evil stereotypical abuse. like ??? i'm incredibly disappointed i have been trying to cultivate a better discussion on the complexities of abuse for YEARS here how can you argue that behaviour i have deliberately shown and modelled through c!prime as not that bad when it happens irl. genuinely, and I don’t even mean this in a mean way- do you have the slightest amount of reading comprehension? if you read my work and discount any type of abuse you didn’t comprehend it. you’re still stuck in c!dream's mindset where what he does to c!tommy is okay because he's doing it out of trauma and I should NOT have to explain this through fictional characters to you Jesus christ

[sundewhasaudhd]

I need to finish my last two Paulkins week fanarts and then start work on art for MCYT-Halloween, but not now, so instead have my ✨plane thoughts✨

Sundew’s Hatchetverse plane thoughts

FUUUUUUUUCK!!!!! CHARLOTTE YOU DESERVE SOOOOOO MUCH BETTER!!!!!!!!

I love how America is Great Again is like, the only song that didn’t make it into Inevitable, and I think it’s fully Wilbur’s fault. Like, he was already mad enough that John got a song in general (his petty gay ass)

Someone show Hannah Cavetown RIGHT NOW

Aspen likes to listen to the some of the loudest, most overstimulating music at full blast (I’m not projecting, you are)

One of the Nerdy Prudes hyperfixations was stop motion animation, because of Jack Stauber and Moral Orel

Sundew’s DSMP plane thoughts

I was listening to some of the music I had downloaded, and I started listening to Records of the SMP, and I got HIT with a TRUCK LOAD of nostalgia. Like, used to listen to this shit all the fucking time 2 years ago. Like, it’s not really accurate character wise, they’re not like characters analysis’ (which is something this needed to learn A LOT sooner), they’re just supposed to be funky beats. And they are! They fucking slap!

Welcome Home still makes me ridiculously sad. Like Jesus, get this kid some goddamn therapy

Also, Blue still goes INCREDIBLY HARD. YOU KNOW EVEN IM A GHOST (BLUE SLEEP)! I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU THE MOST (BLUE FRIEND)! LIKE COME ON!!!

Oh, we’re on Records of the SMP now

I don’t know shit about c!Karl lore besides the Karlnapity breakup tbh, but Tell Your Story still makes me lowkey sad for him

I have I question for Derivakat. Why the fuck did c!Karl get THREE SONGS??? Like, I get it, you like c!Karl, but damn, save some for the rest of em

FUUUUUUCK REVIVED STILL GOES HARD AS HEEEEEEEEEEELL (the rampant mischaracterization of Revivebur pisses me RIGHT THE FUCK OFF though [it’s ok, it’s about my OC Prometheus now {FUCK PROMETHEUS!!!}])

Yes, listening to Derivakat is what got the DSMP thoughts flowing again. Am I proud of that fact? Not really. Is it still true? Yes 😔 (not a diss on Derivakat or anything, I’m mainly just disappointed it took this long)

Time travel songs in my two hyperfixations:

Turn Back Time by Derivakat vs Time Bastard from Nightmare Time. THE FUCKING DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THESE TWO SONGS LIKE JESUS CHRIST! 

[thesurrendertender]

Why Jesus is a Seer of Life: an essay about the Homestuck Class and Aspect of the Son of God.

(Disclaimer: I do not, and I repeat DO NOT, intend to disrespect religion in any way. This is just my analysis based on what we know about Jesus and how it can be applied in the context of the classification of Homestuck classpects. If you think I’ve said something disrespectful, or factually wrong, please let me know!!! Also, this essay contains spoilers for all of Homestuck, and I’m assuming you already know at least the general story)

Hello :3 my name is Valery and right now I’m very into Homestuck!!! I really like this webcomic. Specifically, I’m very fixated on classpects because I find them incredibly amusing so I like to mix and match them and try to classpect certain characters.

If you don’t know what a classpect is, is basically a title given for a character in Homestuck. This title is based on a Class and an Aspect, like an rpg. There are a total of twelve Classes and Aspects, and every combination explains something about the characters. If you are interested in finding out your Aspect, you can take the quiz on the official test of the Extended Zodiac. I recommend it!!!

Now, I’ve seen some people talk about the classpect of Jesus, and I actually thought about it for a while. After a discussion with some other people in the official Homestuck discord, I came to the conclusion that Jesus is a hero of Life, specifically a Seer. Here’s why I think so.

Some fans tried to cite the canon context, by saying Jesus is a Prince of Life, an adjective canonically used in the Bible to refer to him. I haven’t read the Bible so I’m absolutely open to corrections, but I do not agree on this: firstly because in the context of the Bible, the title of Prince is far different from the meaning it has on Homestuck.

I cite: “Jesus Christ is the Prince of Life. This is true because Jesus has life like no one else; no one could take His life from Him – He had to give up His life (John 10:17-18). This is true because Jesus won life for His people on their behalf – He didn’t just win life for Himself, but for His people. This is true because Jesus gives life abundantly – the Prince of Life can give life. This is true because Jesus sustains our life, and He rules over life. In every sense, Jesus is the Prince of Life!” (Source: https://enduringword.com/prince-of-life/)

In this context the title of Prince is considered someone who gives life for others. But I feel like I need to give more context of how Classes and Aspects work in the comic.

In Homestuck, the Class of the Prince is a destructive Class, counterpart to the passive Class of the Bard. The Prince is someone who destroys Aspect, or destroy through Aspect.

an Aspect will always opposite of another Aspect: Space is opposite of Time, Mind is opposite of Heart, Rage is opposite of Hope, Breath is opposite of Blood, Light is opposite of Void and Doom is opposite of Life. In Homestuck, based on your Class, it may happen that you mirror your opposite Aspect, and this applies particularly to the Classes of exploitation like the Knight and the Page, and the destructive Classes like the Bard and the Prince.

All the Princes we saw canonically in Homestuck mirrored their opposite Aspect, even acting like they were devoid of their Aspect: Dirk Strider, the Prince of Heart, was schematic and rational like a Mind player, even defining himself as Heartless. Eridan Ampora, the Prince of Hope, was stubborn and bringer of Chaos like a Rage player, and stated to his friends that they were all Hopeless. Not only that, but he also actively destroys the Matriorb, the thing that would restart the troll race in a new universe, quite literally destroying any Hope his race had.

As stated before, the Life Aspect is opposite to the Doom Aspect: Life is described as the Aspect of healing, providing and empathy in the sense of searching for a way to help. Meanwhile, the Doom is the Aspect of fate, rules and empathy in the sense of listening to you and letting you vent. So, a Prince of Life would mirror a Doom player, in the sense that they start out as fatalistic and Lifeless, and as someone who destroys Life or destroys through Life.

Again, I have not read the Bible, but I think that even those who have can see that this description of Jesus simply doesn’t suit him. It’s way too negative and destructive for someone like him, someone who went ahead and said to love and respect. So I did my researches, and in the end I came to the conclusion that the Seer of Life is the best title for the Son of God. My conclusion is motivated by may things:

First off, the definition: the Seer Class is described as a passive knowledge Class, counterpart to the Mage, and is one who sees and sees through their Aspect. Contrary to the Mage Class that already has experience, Seers starts out not knowing much about their Aspect, and have to learn about it as they progress.

An example of this is my favourite Beta Kid and the canonical Seer of Light, Rose Lalonde: Light is the Aspect of fortune and knowledge, so Rose was able to see best incomes and paths on how to win the game she was playing with her friends. In order to fulfil their Aspect, a Seer has to search a way where their Knowledge can get to others, and we can also see this in Terezi, the Seer of Mind, when she gave clear instructions on what John had to do to fix the main timeline.

It’s shown that Seers starts off not having much of their Aspect in their life and/or are surrounded in an ambient that reflects their opposite Aspect, so that is why they must search and learn as much as they can. Also, it’s canon in the webcomic that Seers are able to see the past and the future, regardless of their Aspect.

This is why I believe this Class fits for Jesus: Jesus was able to see a peaceful life, where people could just love and respect each other. He was a preacher who talked to his followers, in an ambient where everything seemed doomed. He was able to see a better future.

And this is not all, because I also want to mention the biggest reason why I believe he is a Seer: the character of Kankri and the Singless.

The Singless was a troll who was able to see his pre-scratch self, Kankri, in a world where trolls lived in harmony and free of violence. He had followers who listened to him, and gave his final sermon as he was executed. His preachings were saved by his most devoted follower and lover, the Disciple, so that his memory could live on.

In a sense, Kankri and the Singless are the same person, and I believe the pre and post scratch trolls share the same Classpect. The Classpect of Kankri is the Seer of Blood, and it’s implied he was able to see the events of his post scratch version. Kankri also has the habits of speaking in very long speeches, and actively seeks to find the best outcomes and ways to make sure everyone is united and safe. This connection is also a reason why I believe Jesus is a Seer.

Now, for the Aspect of Life, I cite: “Those bound to the aspect of Life are the universe's healers. They are concerned with the betterment of themselves and those around them, as well as the onward march of positive progress. Deeply empathetic, they have an intuitive understanding of other's suffering and the best way of righting those wrongs. This applies to both physical and mental suffering, though it might not be a cure you'll like. They also have the tendency to put other's needs before their own.“ (Source: http://hs.hiveswap.com/ezodiac/aboutaspects.php)

I think this description explains itself on why I picked this Aspect: Jesus wanted the idea of a better world to live on, and many people rejected his message because his ideals weren’t liked or understood. He forgive all of humanity and put our sins before him, taking the responsibility of them.

That’s it!!! Let me know what you think. I conclude by saying I also believe Judah was a Thief of Doom and God a Lord of Space. I might explain why in another post, because this one is already long enough :3.

P.S: just to make sure people don’t need to ask me the same questions:

“Are you okay?”

yes I am!!! This took like, forty minutes and it’s all from memory expect the sources so it wasn’t that tiring.

“Why did you do this?“

I seriously don’t know why but the classification of classpect has switched something into my brain, I don’t think I’ve ever put so much energy in researching and analysis. I think I got fixated.

“Homestuck sounds crazy! Should I read it?”

I genuinely believe that it’s worth reading at least once in life, especially if you’re around the age of 13-18. It has one of the best characters I’ve ever read, amazing dialogues, music and animation, and i believe it really gets you if you’re able to read it all.

“Too Long Didn’t Read”

Jesus is a Seer of Life because he sees Life and shares knowledge of Life. He has connections with the character Kankri/The Singless, a Seer of Blood.

“What is your Classpect?”

While I’m convinced I’m a Hero of Heart, I’m quite unsure on the Class, because I relate to all the passive classes lmao. Right now I’m settling to the Muse of Heart :3

[queensectonia]

@sacrificecage The Void Rant is definitely coming, i promise, and should hopefully be pretty easy to write, all things considered, given that it'll mostly just be me linking/explaining sources and doing some light thematic analysis on the side. the extremely barebones gist of it is that not only is it... just True that kirby influenced void and not the other way around, it's also far more in line with and benefitting of SA's entire theme that this is the case.

as for hyness, jesus christ. even moreso than the void rant, i tells ya fdghkjlfd

i've muttered before about writing about why he's so bad, but every time i think about actually explaining that i just get so pre-emptively exhausted, because...

well, as opposed to other divisive characters in the series, who for the most part are divisive on "some people just don't like this particular character type" grounds - even susie falls much more into this than any hatred of her specifically - hyness is controversial because his writing and character take so many swings at so many very sensitive real-world topics. he is just the dictionary definition of poorly-handled. he COULD have been an incredibly cool character - like i've said before, the fandom has been clamouring for a dark matter cult for DECADES! but he was just... fumbled in the extreme. like, we have proof that Kirby Has Become Christian can be both fucking hilarious and genuinely useful to a character's writing; look no further than judas iscariotgolor and the apple of eden lmfao.

but i don't think we needed a literal catholic pope who is a possible very hamfisted reference to a real thing that really happened along with eeeeeverything else Badly Done about hyness, ya dig

he could have been so good, man. he just... he really could have.

[nekrotiize]

Best Louie moment from the games?

All of them… all of the moments.

He is a major delight every time he is on screen and I love him so much. Hedonistic gay autism creature with a maxxed out wisdom stat. He’s so good at surviving.

Some specifics though… This isn’t comprehensive by ANY MEANS, again he’s a delight every second he’s on screen, but.

His sad wet pathetic little doggy howl. Running away from people he thought kidnapped him. Loudest explosion in the fucking world.

Deepest most fucked up voice you’ve ever heard. Goes up so high when experiencing Melon Joy :). His voice goes up so much when he gets excited it’s adorable

Appreciate his little berry nose and big ol doggy muzzle and cute red earsies and his fat little rodent cheeks. Ok now process that his helmet is off and he can just breathe oxygen for no apparent reason other than He’s Louie. Incredible.

He go :3. How can he be evil if he’s never done anything wrong and also goes :3?

His other smiles suck so bad and I just love this for him.

Hates capitalism so much

I do not stop thinking about these lines for. Two very different reasons.

AND. He is so fucking big.

I will also take a moment to shout out the fact that he was the final boss twice. The first time wasn’t his fault. The second time he got backed into a corner so I’m also excusing that. Both times? Jesus Christ the boss themes fuck hard and also the fights themselves are SO FUCKING STRESSFUL. He is so cool and neat and my favorite. I have pages worth of analysis and interpretation on this guy but you didn’t ask for that so I will spare you. He is THE Character for me though. Just know this.

Stares at you in a disgruntled fashion btw.

Ok thank you for the ask! I hope this sparks a bit of joy.