#looks like i've built my own holy trinity

[lisutarid-a]

Who’s your favorite K Project character? I already said this before but thank you so much for doing the Gakuen K translations 😭💞💞💞

Aww, thank you once again, too! It makes me very happy to hear that you still enjoy my translations! 😭❤ 

As for the question, the answer is kinda obvious, I guess, right? *affectionate sigh towards a certain man in purple glasses* I really love Kusanagi! And when I say I love him, I mean A LOT. He's literally my ideal bf type whom I would gladly give my hand in marriage to (even if he wouldn't ask for it (but don't worry, im stubborn xD)). This man's just a whole walking green flag. Like, he’s caring, loyal, reliable, dependable, can cook, clean, is intelligent, handsome, funny, etc etc etc~ If he were real, I'd most likely be kissing the ground he walks on.

I know you said "character", but it's hard to choose one because you simply can't have one without the other (my IzuTotsu brainrot is not letting me), so I'll cheat and say that Totsuka is my second favorite 🥰

[clemelntine]

A compositional and symbolic analysis of the kantbison bdsm scene from the heart killers

After watching the heart killers trailer about 100 times, there is one scene that keeps getting stuck in my head. Or one frame I guess.

I've had to study too much iconography this month and need to let my thoughts out somewhere.

So here's my two cents

The first thing that caught my eye was Jesus in the middle of the frame. Well it's Bison in the middle but Jesus on his shirt. For a show that goes so much into crime, good/evil, gay sex, and kink, a character wearing religious imagery on his clothes can not be a coincidence.

At first, I thought this to mean that religion is a burden Bison carries on his back (literally). I thought his character might have some religious trauma or overall religious past that still affects him. Maybe he is still religious, explaining why he would wear the shirt, but the experiences he had in the church weren't positive (him being gay and all) so he wears Jesus on his back showing he still struggles with faith, and carries it like a burden.

But taking the rest of the scene into account, I think it might be more.

To start the entire composition is balanced. It's not entirely symmetrical (art never is), but broadly speaking the weight is evenly distributed.

There is Bison in the middle of the bed (also centered) framed by a lamp on each side. It seems pretty clear-cut. A triangular composition like this can be used to show hierarchy, the top being the most important, which would seem logical here since Bison is sitting on top of Kant and clearly has control. It also tends to stand for ascension towards the spiritual realm. A bit far fetched but could be a metaphor for the sex they are about to have. Going back to religion, triangular compositions were used sometimes as a symbol for the holy trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Although to make this a strong argument I would need three focus objects to link each to, and two lamps and Bison just aren't a convincing case.

Looking closer there is a point to be made that it isn't actually symmetrical. The right side of the room has more light and, more importantly, a lava lamp.

This lava lamp is a very bright color and part of the red composition of this piece. The red tones in this frame are the most saturated colors in this piece, and clearly aim to catch our attention.

This composition once again leaves the frame unbalanced. I started thinking, maybe it's supposed to be like that. Almost perfect but just not. Almost satisfying, Almost according to the rules. Was this how Kant and Bisons dynamic was built? They seem good but are a tiny bit off (was this about Kant lying to Bison about his intentions)?

But then I started looking at the other side of the bed, the empty place where the lava lamp was lacking. And there I saw a cross.

Not just any cross, but it is a cross with a necklace draped over it with a cross pendant on it. This could be a very strong argument for the theory of religious (trauma) Bison.

That is if it is Bisons, or even Kants room as we see them *spent the night* in three different rooms meaning that at least one of those rooms isn't theirs. (Although I am very certain the red room is a hotel room, as it is also the place they hooked up in on their first night)

Now for the sake of my argument I will be assuming it to be Bisons room because in the wardrobe in the cuddle room you can see a yellow shirt that looks a lot like the one Kant owns.

In that case the cross in Bison's room clearly just strengthens the point that he is religious. The necklace being around the cross but not around his neck in any of the scenes means he has some kind of mental barrier (religious guilt) that prevents him from wearing and showing his faith outside.

Although he is wearing a necklace in this scene that we don't see the pendant off (and that he isn't wearing when with Kant while still wearing the same clothes(taking it off when with his gay lover cuz those are two separate worlds)) but looking at the chain thickness it could also be a very different necklace.

To get back to the composition though (horrible segway), it could be that the cross tells us something about the story too.

Because the rest of the piece is balanced, it is possible that where the lava lamp has visual weight in the composition, the cross has symbolic weight.

The cross is obviously tied to Jesus and his sacrificial act of dying for humanity's sins. It is also one of a friend betraying a friend (or lover for all the jesus/judas shippers out there).

With the amount of sinning the characters do in the show I think it is mostly likely the former. I think the cross is foreshadowing for one of the character's sacrifice. One of the characters will either take the blame for all the crimes and go to jail or get killed saving the others.

It isn't weird that this foreshadowing would be in this scene. With the conversations Kant and Bison already had about the possibilities of one of them dying and what the other would do, it is probably one of them to sacrifice themselves.

It also makes sense to be here while Kant is blindfolded. This scene (other than being hot) shows that they trust eachother. Bdsm can be dangerous and does require good communication and trust. The amount they trust eachother could also lead the way for a jesus/judas dynamic of betrayal before the sacrifice, but we'll have to see about that (waiting for a scene where one of them washes the others feet).

In this scene no one is tied up yet (the rope/ribbon Bison holds is only tied to the bedframe, no clue why he is holding it like that) but I suspect that the person who will be tied up will be the one to sacrifice themselves in the end. As the ways of punishment by cross were done by nailing someone or tying them to it.

This is further strengthened by the fact that the rope/ribbon is red. This could be symbolic of the blood they will spill or could be a reference to the red strings of faith. Tying them up for sex would be tying them down to their destiny of dying.

It is Kant lying down on the bed blindfolded, clearly in a more submissive position, so it makes sense for him to be the one to be tied up. He also alluded to the fact that if Bison died, he wouldn't want to live anymore, a clear motive for self-sacrifice.

However, if Bison is really religious the cross is already symbolically tied to him. Not only that, he also literally has Jesus on his shirt, he is carrying his own destiny with him. If we go back to the composition though Bison being placed in the center of the triangle could be him in the center of the holy trinity [you didn't think I mentioned that for nothing did you]. This could place him as the son, the sacrifice (I'm not very well versed on the holy trinity lore, but aren't they all the same fucking thing, can't Bison be all three of them).

[theoreticallycatholic]

Day One: Genesis 1-3

4/22/24

I was gonna read through chapter 4 but this post was getting pretty long already so I decided to stop here. I did say I was prone to rambling...

Definitely not going to go this in-depth every single time 😅 my 12th grade Sacred Scripture class just happened to spend a lot of time on the Creation narrative so I have a lot of previous knowledge I want to share.

Genesis 1

Looking through my 12th grade theology notes on the creation narrative, I have a table there that looks like this:

Realm | Ruler Time | Sun, moon, stars Space | Birds Life | Land animals Sabbath | Man

I wish I had taken more in-depth notes. I feel like there should be much more to say on this but I can't elaborate. I think I understand what that means but not enough to explain it. Although, thinking of the sun, moon and stars as being created to "rule" light makes the idea of light being created before the sun make a little more sense to me.

"God said, 'let the earth produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and fruit trees, each bearing fruit of its own kind within it." Gen 1:11

Okay, maybe slightly off-topic, but I've always wondered if there were any foods that Jesus didn't like. Because I mean, he's God, so he created them, but he's also human, so I would assume that maybe that means he had the human experience of having certain foods he didn't care for. Did he ever eat a vegetable as a kid and then go "why did I make this"?

"God said, 'let us make man in our own image, in the likeness of ourselves, and let them be masters of the fish of the sea, the birds of heaven, the cattle, all the wild animals and all the creatures that creep along the earth.' Gen 1:26

Let US make man in OUR own image, in the likeness of OURSELVES. I never noticed that before. I thought it might just be this translation but I went and checked RSV and NAB and they both say that as well. Is God referring to himself as the trinity? All the way back in Genesis chapter 1? Or...am I just...thinking too hard about it?

This is one of the scenarios where I wish I could understand Hebrew because I want to go and read this passage in the original Hebrew. I'm marking this verse to come back to later.

Also, my favorite explanation of the Trinity and the one that makes the most sense to me is this: if human beings are made of a body, soul, and a will, and they are made in God's image, then God is also made of a body, soul, and a will—with Jesus as the body, the Father as the soul, and the Holy Spirit as the will.

Genesis 2

"But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you are not to eat; for the day you eat of that you shall die." Gen 2:17

From the footnotes: Eating from this tree means usurping the divine privilege of deciding what is good and what is evil; the temptation is to proud independence, questioning God's judgement of good and evil.

This is indeed the way the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was explained to me in 12th grade, which I am thankful for because it used to be so confusing to me when I was younger. I thought it meant that eating from the tree would grant the ability to tell the difference between good and evil, and I could never understand how that would be a bad thing.

It also makes perfect sense because it seems the root of practically all problems in society is that everyone has their own ideas about what constitutes moral goodness. Even as a bad Catholic who struggles to wrap her head around her own faith I cringe every time I hear the "you have your truth, I have mine" line.

"The LORD God said, 'It is not good that the man should be alone. I shall make him a helper as a partner.'" Gen 2:18

My mom quotes this verse whenever my dad does something dumb.

"Then the LORD God made the man fall into a deep sleep. And while he was asleep, he took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh in its place. The LORD God built the rib he had taken from the man into a woman, and brought her to the man." Gen 2:21-22

According to my theology teacher, the ancient Hebrews believed the soul was contained in the chest/lungs and that the rib protected the soul; so Even being formed from a rib means women are built to be protectors of the soul..? Or...something like that. Again, I wish I'd taken more thorough notes.

There was also this thing I heard from somewhere else about how calling women inferior to men because Eve was created from a piece of Adam is dumb, because the pattern of creation is that each new thing God created was better than the last, and Eve was the last thing he created. But that sounds like a point a radical feminist would make so I'm sure that wasn't the whole explanation haha because I'm fairly certain the speaker was a conservative Catholic man.

Genesis 3

"Now, the snake was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the LORD God had made. It asked the woman, 'Did God really say you were not to eat from any of the trees in the garden?'" Gen 3:1

I have always wondered why the devil is portrayed this way and that's still something I don't quite understand.

From the footnotes: In Hebr., 'snake' and 'dragon' are the same word; the dragon will lose its proud stance and become wormlike.

If we're imagining the serpent in the garden as not a tiny talking snake, but a giant monstrous serpent, it's sort of weird that Adam just...lets it chat with his wife. Because he was standing right there—

"She also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it." Gen 3:6

Another thing my theology teacher said: "Every covenant failure begins with a man failing to stand up for his bride."

"Then the eyes of both of them were opened and they realized they were naked. So they sewed fig leaves together to make themselves loincloths." Gen 3:7

I have a few things to say about this verse. The first is just that I've heard the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is believed to be a fig tree, both because it mentions Adam and Eve sew together fig leaves here and also because of that one passage in the New Testament where Jesus curses a fig tree.

Also, I noticed that the very first thing that happened after committing original sin was that Adam and Eve felt shame and immediately began to hide themselves from God.

I think there has to be some significance to their being ashamed of their naked bodies, something that relates to how throughout history human sexuality has been perverted, but it's not something I can put into words right now.

"He said, 'Who told you that you were naked? Have you been eating from the tree from which I forbade you to eat?' The man replied, 'The woman you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate it.'" Gen 3:11

This was something else I heard: obviously God already knew that they ate from the tree; what he is doing here is giving them the chance to confess. Like, as in the sacrament of reconciliation, I think.

Also, Adam immediately pointing fingers at his wife like a kid trying to get out of a punishment. Very classy of him. Eve also tries to blame the serpent but I feel like it's a little worse that Adam tries to blame her, since they are supposed to be partners who love and protect each other.

"'I shall put enmity / between you and the woman, / and between your offspring and hers; / he will bruise your head / and you will strike his heel.'" Gen 3:15

First of all, does anyone know why verses 14-19 are written in this format that's reminiscent of books like Psalms and Isaiah?

Secondly—although, this is probably common knowledge so I probably don't need to say this here—

The woman's offspring = Jesus

He will bruise your head = Jesus will triumph over sin

You will strike his heel = At the same time, he will suffer and die

Okay! So, that was Genesis chapters 1 through 3. This turned out a lot longer than I thought it would be. Again, please do not expect this level of detail from me through this whole series. 😅

The thing is, I find this stuff fascinating and I can talk about it like this but when it comes to actually believing it I have such a hard time wrapping my head around it. Even with everything I learned in that class there's still so much I don't understand.

I suppose there will always be things I don't understand, because there are things that we don't even have definite answers to. And those are the gaps that faith is supposed to fill.

Here's one of the stupid questions I have that I mentioned in my first post: does reciting prayers make a difference?

Right now I especially struggle with prayer and reciting prayers such as the Our Father is the only way I feel I'm capable of praying right now. But it doesn't feel like anything. It just feels like me saying words, even if I try to reflect on what they mean. Should I still say them anyway? What value does it have if I don't feel like I'm actually connecting with God?

Thank you to anyone who actually took the time to read this whole thing (if anyone did, that is...) and especially thank you to the support I have already received. I feel welcomed :)