#mary is the best character in the bible

[jaypentaghast]

this is very random but what I want in season 3 is a compilation of cute moments of Jesus with Mary and Joseph, followed by Jesus getting angry at god and being all "you're not my parent!!!"

[red-hood-vigilante]

s1 is just. i love you grainy unfocused shots of cemeteries and foggy roads no one travels. i love you john’s journal as a bible. i love you sam driving the impala casually with dean sleeping in the passenger seat. i love you jessica moore and sarah blake and cassie robinson. i love you dark motels with neon signs and dusty libraries with huge lore books. i love you side character serving as a mirror to the winchesters. i love you cleaning guns and wounds and sharpening of knives and gas stations and flip phones and laptop stickers. i love you small towns where time stands still with something unknowable and hungry lurking in the shadows. i love you angry psychic sam and dean trying his best with a leather jacket too big for him. i love you looming presences of john and mary. i love you homemade and flawed equipment. i love you horror and tragedy and blood. i love you dramatic lighting and silhouettes. i love you folklore and local legends. i love you -

[writing-with-sophia]

Common character archetypes in literature

Character archetypes are universal patterns of behavior, personality traits, and motivations that are commonly found in literature, mythology, and other forms of storytelling. They are often used as a shorthand to help readers quickly understand and relate to a character's role and purpose in the story.

Here are some common character archetypes:

The Hero: The hero is a brave and noble character who goes on a quest or journey to achieve a goal or overcome a challenge. Examples of heroes include Odysseus in Homer's "The Odyssey" and Frodo in J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings."

The Villain: The villain is an evil character who opposes the hero and tries to prevent them from achieving their goal. Examples of villains include Darth Vader in "Star Wars" and Iago in Shakespeare's "Othello."

The Mentor: The mentor is a knowledgeable and seasoned figure who directs and encourages the protagonist throughout their adventure. Examples of mentors include Gandalf in "The Lord of the Rings" and Obi-Wan Kenobi in "Star Wars."

The Trickster: The trickster is a mischievous character who uses their wit and cunning to achieve their goals. Examples of tricksters include Loki in Norse mythology and Hermes in Greek mythology.

The Damsel in Distress: The damsel in distress is a female character who requires saving from a hero. Examples of damsels in distress include Princess Peach in the Mario video game series and Sleeping Beauty in the fairy tale of the same name.

The Wise Old Man/ Woman: The wise old man or woman is commonly portrayed as having immense wisdom and expertise, and often acts as a mentor or guide to the protagonist. Examples of wise old men and women include Dumbledore in the Harry Potter series and the Oracle in Greek mythology. Such archetypes have been frequently employed in literature over time to communicate universal themes and concepts about human existence.

The Innocent: The innocent is a pure and uncorrupted character who often serves as a symbol of hope and goodness. Examples of innocents include Dorothy in "The Wizard of Oz" and Boo Radley in "To Kill a Mockingbird."

The Outcast: The outcast is a character who is rejected by society and often feels a sense of alienation or isolation. Examples of outcasts include Frankenstein's monster in Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" and Hester Prynne in Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter."

The Temptress: The temptress is a seductive female character who lures men into danger or temptation. Examples of temptresses include Circe in Greek mythology and the character of Delilah in the Bible.

The Scapegoat: The scapegoat is a character who is blamed for the problems or issues of others. Examples of scapegoats include Tom Robinson in "To Kill a Mockingbird" and Piggy in "Lord of the Flies."

The Rebel: The rebel is a character who challenges authority and often advocates for change. Examples of rebels include Winston Smith in George Orwell's "1984" and Holden Caulfield in J.D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye."

The Everyman: The everyman is a relatable character who represents the average person and often serves as the protagonist in a story. Examples of everymen include Bilbo Baggins in "The Hobbit" and Winston Smith in "1984."

The Wise Fool: The wise fool is often portrayed as someone who appears to be simple-minded, foolish, or even insane, but who possesses insights and wisdom that are not immediately apparent to others. Examples of the wise fools include the protagonist in "Diary of a Madman" and Yorick in "Tristram Shandy".

The preceding list outlines the typical character archetypes found in literature. Can you determine which archetype best fits your characters?

If you want to read more about The Wise Fool archetype, click here: The Wise Fool - Who is that?

[catholic-character-tournament]

Round 5 - Catholic Character Tournament

Jason art credit @Reincao

Propaganda below ⬇️

Jason

Okay it's cannon but like in an alternative universe because Comics. I just think the fact DC made Known Murderer and Reblious Teen with Daddy Issues a Catholic priest in a different universe. Just. Casually.

Jason Todd is may or may not be Catholic in the main timeline of DC Comics, but I the Flashpoint storyline, my man is a priest! He was a drug addict, thief, and in the Blood Brother cult before dying, only to come back to life and decide to become a priest in the hellhole that is Gotham. In the main timeline, he comes back after dying and stuffs a duffel bags full of heads! The common trait before all Jason Todds is that they all have to be as dramatic as possible. Dying and coming back as the most unexpected thing. Unbelievable. I love this man.

Shadow

In sonic destruction (the AI generated fan thing snapcube made a while ago) shadow was catholic or something which I think is reallyyyyyyy funny

Ok listen. I know this is a stretch but hear me out. He says “oh my God” in the Twitter takeovers so we know this is a possibility. I see him as a Christ-like figure because I saw his whole confrontation with Mephiles and was like “this is a thing that happened in the Bible??” and the pose Mephiles shows him in is literally like a crucifixion and Mephiles is meant to be a demon / false prophet reference. And also he’s called a demon in Shadow The Hedgehog 2005 then the guy who calls him that is like “I was wrong I’m sorry” and that also reminds me of a thing with Jesus in The Bible. But the biggest reason is his whole thing with Maria cause I think he’d come to earth and hear Ave Maria once and convert to Catholicism idk he’s like we’re comforted by a female familial figure named Mary sometimes called Maria?? And her color is blue????? Heck yeah I’m in because I Will Cry. Also feel free to share this as propaganda obv even if he doesn’t get in the bracket just. It’s funny.

I feel like he’d battle a lot with being seen or portrayed as a demon and how the aliens he’s related to very much look and act like demons idk lmao- and also I feel like confession would just be good for him I think he needs it for his mental health

There is a debate on the lovely website tunblr that Shadow T. Hedgehog is an allegory for Jesus Christ.

He is Jesus, idk what to tell you. He lived, he was sealed away, he was awakened again and deemed the ultimate lifeforms, he’s angry but not evil, does what he believes is best for people and the world at any given time. Total loser.

[heather123fan-blog]

Firebrand-Catherine Parr 2024

Hello all,

So I am American and got the opportunity to see Firebrand today after I got off work in the afternoon. It premiered today, June 14th, in the United States. I loved it and thought it did a great job of authentically portraying the characters from this period of Henry VIII's reign. However, there were a few things I didn't care for that deviated pretty significantly from the historical record.

The good parts:

Catherine Parr's relationship w/Princess Elizabeth. I was so scared that the screenwriters would mess up their story knowing the atrocious novel this is based on but I was pleasantly surprised at how they handled it. Catherine was portrayed accurately as a very loving, protective mother to both Elizabeth and Edward. Someone who cared about them deeply and encouraged their Protestant education. There are a few scenes where they share a bed together, Catherine comforts both children and discusses Elizabeth's Latin translation of the Bible with her. Edward even runs up to her, hugs her and calls her Mama in one scene. That was so sweet!

Catherine also has a good relationship w/Princess Mary though their relationship is more of a friendship as opposed to a mother-daughter bond. As it was in real life.

Mary's portrayal wasn't great but could've been worse. She reminded me of the actress who played her in Wolfhall.

Henry VIII was portrayed as extremely monstrous and cruel to those around him. His entire court is terrified of him.

He is abusive towards Catherine Parr but thankfully the violence wasn't too graphic or excessive.

Catherine Parr oh my goodness this is probably the best portrayal of her I've ever seen. She is brave, bold, intelligent, charismatic and passionate about reforming the Church of England.

The film did a fantastic job of depicting her Protestant faith and how that was such an anchor for her life. Unlike BE's Catherine she has ambitions and goals that are deeply rooted in her religious beliefs.

Her scenes as Regent were great. Her relationship with Anne Askew is depicted as being a close friendship as opposed to mere acquaintance. This might be stretching things too much but was fun to see explored.

The costumes, props, and set design were amazing. Wonderful attention to detail. Henry VIII even plays Pastime with Good Company on I believe the piano at one point.

[crow-aeris]

I don’t think I’ve actually listed out character and their bird species before, but here it is!

Also, the best way to check the birds out is using EBird. just search the names/scientific name and high-quality pictures of these birds as well as their description, vocalizations, and range will all show up!

Characters and their Birds:

(Also, sorry in advance for the weird formatting, i couldn’t get it to work)

The Bats:

Alfred- Tawny Owl (Strix aluco)

This plays into how Alfred is able to just… Appear and can hear almost everything going on. Also, tawny owls are common found in europe, and alfed is british 😔

Bruce- Harpy Eagle (Harpia harpyja)

Harpy eagles are some of the biggest eagles in the world, feeding primarily on primapes and slothes. Now, take into account Bruce’s bulk… Our man is huge.

Damian- Harpy Eagle (Harpia harpyja)

Within the League, power is everything, so to be born such a “powerful” raptor would’ve been seen as a good sign, but after Damian “goes soft (stopped killing ppl)” he’s seen as “weak”, or a “waste of immense power”, especially in Ra’s’s eyes.

Duke- Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)

Doves in general are seen as peacekeepers and pacifists in general (it might be sacrilegious, but I think Jesus Christ and Mary in this au would have been depicted as doves (aphrodite too), which would probably endear them to those who believe in the bible- I’m also an atheist, and this is just speculation— pls don’t kill me :,]) which leads a lot of people to underestimate Duke and drop their guards around him. He’s a nice person in general, but I think he’d use this to his advantage when undercover as Duke Thomas: Ditzy 2nd Wayne chick.

Also, since doves are the symbol of peace, he also acts as the promary peacekeeper and buffer between Damian and Tim, who’d constantly get into fights, especially once Tim becomes Shadow.

Cass- Barn Owl (Tyto alba)

Barn owls, since they have disk-shaped heads and displaced ears, have the best hearing of all owls. I think that was something David Cain took into account when he, uh, had Lady Shiva have his kid. And since she’s an owl, she’s perfect assassin material, and David Cain alongside Shiva trained Cass until she was perfectly silent both in the air and on land.

She also runs warm- courtesy of being an owl, and so her siblings (especially Jason and Dick) and Steph would huddle under her wings when watching movies and nesting, but if the arguments ever gets too rowdy, Cass would go to either Bruce, Damian, Duke, or Tim.

Tim- Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus)

Being a peregrine falcon means he is well respected within the elites in gotham. His natural flight speed is also something he’s proud of, and as Shadow, Tim is capable of darting in and out of the fray and knock out criminals before they eve know he’s coming. His speed and skills are further honed later on, and he turns into a truly formidable oppendent.

Steph- Violet- backed Starling (Cinnyricinclus leucogaster)

While the males are really purple and flashy, the females are more neutral in coloration 😔 Stepha dyes her feathers while vigilante-ing, so ppl assume she’s a dude.

She and Duke looked after Jason while he was on the streets, and they would keep an eye out and make sure he doesn’t get into any trouble.

Jason- Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)

When he was younger, he had duller coloration in his feathers. But as he grew older, more and more people looked at him weirdly when he was out on the streets- his mom having to shield him from their leers. Later on, he learns that the people staring had less-than-pure intent, and that incentivizes him to hind away his wings.

When Batman and Anubis go off their rockers in grief, helps protect who he can from their indiscriminate anger, and evenually, he gets dragged into the flock after getting caught inbetween two gangs and got injured.

Barbara- American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)

She was originally going to be a baltimore oriole, but making barbara wouldn’t make sense. Then I debated making her an owl for wisdm, but the I remembered Apollo was the god of prophecies- Oracle of Dephi- and Apollo’s sacred bird was a crow (lets ignore how he smited them) so I made barbara a crow to lay homage to her as oracle :3

Plus, crows are hella smart, and I felt like it fit

Dick- Fischer’s Lovebird (Agapornis fischeri)

I could’ve easily took the coward’s way out and just made him a robin, but Dick needed to be colorful and bright, and he needed to be the light that illuminates Gotham’s eternally-gloomy skies. So i went searching for the perfect bird before finding the Fischer’s loverbird. It matches perfectly with the Grayson family colors- red, green, yellow- and so i went with dick as a fischer’s lovebird

Other Characters:

Thomas- Harpy Eagle (Harpia harpyja) Like father like son!

Martha- Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) She was a beautiful woman, and thomas won her over by trying to catch a fish for her. He failed, ofc, and capsized their boat, but she had fun and decided to marry that silly man. (they’ve tone this story to bruce like… 12 times, but what wouldn’t he give to hear them tell it again)

Selina- Eurasian mgpie (Pica pica) You’ve heard about magpies and how they like shiny things and how they love to take said shiny things… well, here it is! Plus, I just think pica pica is really funny

Gordan- Red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) Red-tailed hwk is THE most american bird, what with their shrieks being used in hollywood in place of actual bad eagle sounds, and Commish Jim Gordan works as a police, so I thought it was funny

Talia- Imperial Eagle (Aquila heliaca) She is an imperial eagle because not only are they eagles, imperial conveys royalty, so i thought it was befitting

Ra’s- Haast’s Eagle (Aquila moorei) Haast’s eagles were huge, and I mean they were larger than harpy eagles with wigspans capable of reaching 8ft. the thing is, these eagles went exticnct partially due to humans sailing and traveling all over the place with rats and stuff being the main reason. i think that would make ra’s al ghul pretty pissed that his aves species was wiped out, or smth like that.

Either way, the Haas’s eagle is really cool and I think you should check them out

Joker- Glistening Green Tanager (Chlorochrysa phoenicotis)

I hope you all know how monstrous this bird is, like it is PEAK joker green, like literally. I got the idea off of a different blog i saw a few days or weeks ago talking about how the joker would be THIS bird, and i cannot agree even more. Also, the joker gnawed and tore his own wings off or the acid he fell into made it so the wings had to be amputated, either way idk and my brain is mush. What I DO know is that losing ones wings is terrible, horrible, and the joker probably gnawed it off himself in a fit of madness and craze directly after being acidified, or something like that

Metas/More Characters (No descriptions cos it’s 1am and I’m TIRED and I have a driving test tmrw):

Lois Lane- Western Kingbird (Tyrannus verticalis)

Clark- No Bird, he’s an alien

Jonathan- Like his mom, a Western Kingbird (Tyrannus verticalis)

Conner- Like his mom, a Purple Martin (Progne subis)

Luthor- Like his son, a purple martin (Progne subis)

Flashes- All of them would probably be a humming bird or a sunbird of some sort, I feel like its pretty self-explanitory. It’s not that being a hummingbird garentees you to be a speedster, it’s more like the speedsters just coincidentally end up as hummingbirds.

[rosemaidenvixen]

Little bit of background on some of the name based symbolism I've got going on in the sunshine au.

First is Jim. His name means supplanter, as it was derived from a character in the bible who stole his brother's inheritance by impersonating him. This is emphasized by Jim being a Junior, he's literally a replacement for James Sr. The irony here is that Jim is a far improvement from his father, he's kind and selfless where his father is petty and selfish. Jim may be a supplanter but he's a welcome one.

Going further into this, I've left it ambiguous whether "Lake" is Barbara's maiden name or one they got from James, so the reader can interpret it whatever way they want. But I really like the idea that it was James' name first, but Barbara and Jim stole it and made it their own. Dr. Lake is Barbara's professional nom de plume, James spent ten years whining about how the world screwed him over while Barbara became a professional in that time. And like I said, the younger James Lake is a vast improvement over the elder.

James has become redundant in every sense of the word.

Next up is Mary, her name is also biblically derived and means bitterness (among other things but bitterness is what I decided to go with). But Mary isn't bitter, she's fiery and passionate. These things make her who she is and what drives her forward.

Toby, short for Tobias, means god its good (a lot of bible names here apparently) and most of the time Toby strives to live up to this. He does is best to be the best ever wingman and sidekick. He doesn't need the spotlight himself to be happy, he's glad to support his friends. But even he can get angry and upset sometimes, especially with his friends choices. He learns that getting mad at the others and criticizing their choices doesn't make him a bad friend.

And these last two might be the most on the nose when it comes to ironic symbolism.

Claire means light and bright. But while her name evokes light Claire wields the powers of shadow and darkness, struggling not to sink too deep into the darkness herself more than a few times.

Darci means dark, and not only is she the opposite of Claire in her name, she contrasts her in that her arc will be learning about wielding the power of light. But just because Darci's a warrior of the light doesn't mean she won't struggle with her role just as much as Claire.

Because light isn't purely good any more than darkness is pure evil. Hence why team Trollhunters has both a champion of light and darkness. True balance involves both.

[gunsatthaphan]

~ Monthly BL Breakdown: May 2024 ~ 

🏳️‍🌈 Happy Pride Month!!! 🏳️‍🌈

Disclaimer: ALL shows can be streamed here or here, as well as on Youtube and other platforms. For more info on where to watch what, check out this post! 

New breakdowns are coming at the end of every month - feel free to add stuff! -> previous breakdowns

What came out this month? (green = seen/currently watching)

🌟 You Made My Day (starring Tar A. and Bom T. from I Will Knock You) - May 3rd (Thailand)

🌟 Inverse Identity / Upside Down - Mary 3rd (China)

🌟 Wandee Goodday - May 4th (Thailand) ✅

🌟 Dear Miss Becky - May 6th (Philippines)

🌟 Deep Night Special Episode - May 9th (Thailand)

🌟 A Balloon's Landing - May 10th (Taiwan)

🌟 City of Stars: Special Episode - May 10th (Thailand, cinema release)

🌟 The Time of Fever (Unintentional Love Story spinoff) - May 15th (South Korea)

🌟 Blossom Campus - May 16th (South Korea)

🌟 OMG! Vampire - May 19th (Thailand)

🌟 Pray in Love - May 20th (Taiwan)

🌟 Manji Reverse - May 24th (Japan)

🌟 My Biker 2 - May 28th (Thailand)

🌟 Knock Knock Boys - May 30th (Thailand) ✅

🌟 Anti Reset Special - May 31st (Thailand)

Monthly Likes / Dislikes

❣️ My Stand-In - I've been liking this a lot and it's probably my favorite bl from this year so far. I was mostly skeptical of the reincarnation trope as I usually don't like that but I like where it's going. The storytelling is excellent, it's comprehensible and sends such good messages, it's subtle, not as in-your-face as other shows, they're not rehashing the same things and every character is believable and well-shaped, down to the smallest side role. The characters are flawed but so well-written that it's just a joy to witness them develop. That being said I wanna give a big shoutout to whoever was in charge of casting because the lineup is really top-tier lol. Every character is on-point thanks to their respective actor; Up is doing so well and also Poom is a very pleasant surprise. I love how expressive he is and him and Up work extremely well as a team imo. Also Mek as Tong is a good choice. Almost forgot what a truly good production looked like lmao. I'm in awe.

New series & movie announcements

🎥 Some Secrets in High School (mini series) - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥 Street Fight (movie) - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥 See Your Love - Date TBA (Taiwan)

🎥 Century of Love - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥 Allure of the Siren - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥 Takara's Treasure - Coming July 1st (Japan)

🎥 Air Moment (starring Earth T. & others) - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥 The Paradise of Thorns - Coming August 2024 (Thailand)

🎥 Your Sky (starring Thomas & Kong, winners of the DMD reality program Friendship the Reality) - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥 I Hear the Sunspot (remake) - Date TBA (Japan)

🎥 My Idol - Coming August 2024 (South Korea)

🎥 Khemjira - Date TBA (Thailand)

Other news from the BL world

❗️ In a week-to-week-release, Be On Cloud announced the cast of the upcoming BL 4 Minutes: Bible Wichapas, Jes Pipat, Bas Asavapatr, Job Yosatorn, Fuaiz Thanawat, Mio Athens, Jet Jetsadakorn & Jjay Patiphan. A release date, as well as further information has not been disclosed.

❗️After the announcement of OhmFluke being the lead actors in the upcoming Korean BL Surfing, their respective managements released a statement saying the news were false and that there was never any contact between the companies nor a request for permission to issue the news.

❗️The annual KAZZ awards were held on May 14th. The following BL actors/productions won:

Net Siraphop - Actor of the Year

Bed Friend - Series of the Year

Pit Babe - Kazz Magazine Favorite Award

❗️ The 20th Komchadluek Awards were held on May 28th. The following BL actors/productions won:

Zee P. - Most Popular Actor

Nunew C. - Best International Singer

Fourth N. - Best Rising Star

JimmySea - Best Couple

❗️ Actor JJ Radchapon has been announced as Net's new partner in the upcoming BL Love Upon a Time. His original partner James S. previously dropped out of the project to focus on his music career. Shooting will begin soon.

❗️ Actors Kaownah Kittipat and Max Nattapol have been announced as the BL side couple in the upcoming period GL drama Mom Pet Sawan.

❗️ Actor Tang Chinadis has announced his departure from the upcoming BL Jack & Joker. He withdrew from the project following accusations of physical abuse from his ex-girlfriend Prigkhing S. (formerly with GMMTV)

❗️ After accusations of domestic violence against his ex-girlfriend, the charges against GMMTV actor Pawin Thanik have been dropped. The company released a statement saying both parties requested a mediation, after which they came to a settlement where both cases were dismissed. Pawin had previously been placed on work probation and withdrew from the BL We Are amongst other projects.

Upcoming series & movies for June

👉🏻 My Love Mix-Up - June 6th (Thailand)

👉🏻 Love Sea - June 9th (Thailand)

👉🏻 SunsetxVibes - June 15th (Thailand)

👉🏻 The Rebound - June 26th (Thailand)

👉🏻 Blue Boys Part 2 - June TBA (South Korea)

[verdemoun]

The non-warpers.

Mary-Beth Gaskill is regarded as one of the greatest female writers to exist, up there with Shelley and Austen. In the foreword of her best novel, she writes: “to Kieran.”

Orville Swanson’s annotations and teachings of the Bible are so influential; his attitudes towards different ways of life cause drastic positive change to how Christians act towards those of different cultures.

On what is now the main street of a large town Rhodes, a supermarket stands, modern as any other. Behind the till, Johnathan Pearson smiles at a now faded photo of eight people around a wagon, his grandfather Simon in the front seat.

Tilly Pierre dies of natural causes in her sleep, next to her snoring husband in the largest house in Saint Denis.

Mary-Beth absolutely is up there with Shelley and Austen, which means all the school aged babies come home complaining at least once about having to read her books. The whole gang scold them for whining only to pretty much do the homework for them because they all love her novels - many of which are basically her own take on fit-it aus.

The Lady of The Manor, for example, reads as a beautiful tale of love between Susan Grade and David Vincent fleeing police inspector Mellon to the islands with her niece and Mr Vincent's apprentice, only for Ms Grade to realize the curse David Vincent claimed to be under (that compelled him to commit increasingly heinous acts) was a complete fabrication. She banished him to isolation on his precious islands while raising her niece and the highwayman's apprentice as her own children in the new world.

Mary-Beth's dedications would never mention names for the sake of protecting her past as a VDL, but the gang suspected many were to them. One of the more obvious ones was a novel titled Strawberry Roan, which was dedicated 'to the one who helped me realise I could be happy without being in my head somewhere else'. Strawberry Roan reads much more like Mary-Beth writing a 'how to look after horses for dummies' as she learned to look after the horses the gang left behind, except for a slow burning love affair between protagonist Marie and a charming stable boy who is tragically forced to flee the estate to avoid being drafted and no doubt killed in a fictional war.

Orville Swanson was such a charitable and revered member of the community he not only accidentally founded a whole new branch of Catholicism based on his annotated bible, but remembered as a significant figure in recent American history. The gang still randomly find his likeness on commemorative coins in their loose change (and usually keep them).

While his church was accidentally destroyed in a fire several years after his death, a garden was planted on the site in his honor and memory. It's a major tourist attraction featuring Orville's Fountain, with wishing coins thrown in collected for donation to non-for-profits and community services that support at-risk teenagers.

His legacy shows everywhere in modern era America. Arthur one day got really lost in modern era Blackwater and needed to call the gang to come get him - only to find himself standing on the corner of Orville St and Swanson Boulevard.

Counter-claim Pearson lived long enough to see other grocery stores start to pop up in Rhodes as it became a bustling town and was afraid his little local store would be out-competed. Before he passed away he significantly expanded the local produce range of his store. By the time his grandson inherited it, it had become one of the best local delicatessen + sandwich shop in Rhodes and is often featured in top 50 places to eat at in America. Johnathan is also going to be featured later yoinking that character.

Not only is a photo of the gang, as passed down for generations, still proudly displayed (well, a slightly sharpened copy of the original photo, which is now kept in secure storage to protect it from UV), but his grandfather's treasured compass. It is a small shrine to his grandfather's legacy both before, during and after the VDLs: copies of his navy enlistment and honorable discharge forms, newspaper articles featuring photos of a post-canon older Pearson receiving awards for both his store, and having the best damn stew at the local fair.

Tilly Pierre lived a long and truly fulfilled life. She never knew discomfort. She found a man who loved her, and worshipped her for who she was and had always been. She saw her oldest daughter go off to marry a wonderful man who loved his mother-in-law as much as he feared her and would always treat her daughter right. She helped her youngest girl fight for the right for an education, and go on to a remarkable career. She raised sons that would never know the perils of turning to crime to survive, or fear where they would sleep that night. She died peacefully, in a bed more warm and comfortable than she could ever have dreamed of knowing in 1899, knowing every day of her life she was loved.

[thosedangnuns]

What would each warrior nun character be if they were a fruit?

Ava is a watermelon 🍉 because she's super sweet but when you get one you're like wth do I do with it now there is now way this is going to fit in my fridge.

Beatrice is a tomato 🍅 she's a lil confused but she's got the spirit.

Camila is a peach 🍑 she is pretty and delicious but don't forget there's a stone inside she will break your jaw.

Lilith is the proverbial apple 🍎 from the Bible stories you're NOT supposed to eat it you will literally make god mad.

Mary is a lime 🍋 she can be sour by herself but prepared the right way there's not much better (reminder Mary drinks a lot and there are limes in margarita, gin and tonic, etc…)

Vincent is a banana 🍌 because there's a very short window of time for them to be good, after that they're all gross and rotten and brown.

Superion is a mango 🥭 because it's pretty hard to figure out how to eat it but when you do 🤤

Michael is a fig people always trying to put them in foods they don't belong in 🤷‍♀️*

Yasmine is a strawberry 🍓 because neither of them are any good at driving.

Duretti is a kiwi 🥝 he's better with the skin off.

Salvius is a coconut 🥥 because she can take emotional beatings (😢) and still come out sweet.

(Technically a fruit I'm told who knew who knew…)

Chanel is a lemon 🍋 because she has a strong flavor, is just a little feisty and can help bring out the best from other fruits.

Together they make the fruitiest of salads, yes?

[forestdeath1]

i don’t think atyd was that bad (not trying to bash the author ofc it was very well written) but the only mischaracterised character was remus. sirius would’ve probably said “she’s got the best tits” about mary, they would fatshame peter, etc. and people who say that mary wasn’t given a personality apart from being a stereotypical girl when we see her not trusting dumbledore because of how english people treated her jamaican grandpa after he fought ww2. etc etc etc.

You know, I don't really have any issues with ATYD because I see Remus and the other characters as OC. The problem isn't the story itself, but rather how some fans treat it like canon. You can enjoy any fanfic you want, but it's strange to treat one as the Marauders bible. I think, ATYD is a decent fanfic about OC. I'd portray Sirius and James way tougher, though. But I think, Sirius would never say "she’s got the best tits." And, honestly, I doubt Sirius would be into David Bowie. But hey, I'm not overly critical about other people's fanfics. If the author sees Sirius that way, that's their right to write him like that. The whole problem lies with fans who haven't read canon, only ATYD.

[saras-devotionals]

Quiet Time 9/6

What am I feeling today?

I wish I had been more productive today. Then again I was really tired and it was probably good for me to get that extra bit of sleep. Prayerfully all my plans can follow through today. Also, I’m trying so so hard to keep a level head. There’s a brother in the church who I’ve developed an interest in and I don’t want to spiral like I have the habit of doing in the past. I just need to trust in God and His timing and not fret and preoccupy myself with worrying about whether he likes me or will ask me out again or if he feels the same way about me etc.

Bible Plan: Rethinking Love and Romance

Finally, we turn to the New Testament’s Christmas story—wait, what? We associate angels, shepherds, and wise men with the Christmas story, but romance? Stick with us. There is something profound to learn about love from a character who does not have a single line in the story.

Matthew’s gospel tells us that Joseph was betrothed to Mary. In their world, betrothals were more serious than modern wedding engagements. The two were legally bound to one another, though they didn’t yet live together or consummate their relationship. During the betrothal time, Mary discovers that she is pregnant—and the baby is not Joseph’s (Matt. 1:18). Imagine being Joseph in this scenario. What is he supposed to do? In their culture, this would have been humiliating to both Mary and him.

Joseph shows lovingkindness to Mary by deciding to divorce her quietly (Matt. 1:19). That doesn’t seem very loving, but consider the cultural context. Joseph could have preserved his own reputation by publicly shaming Mary. He could have told everyone she was pregnant with a child that wasn’t his, leaving her to carry the burden alone. But Joseph won’t do it. He shows mercy toward Mary.

The authors say he wants to divorce her quietly because he is a “righteous” (Greek: dikaios) man. This word in Greek is deeply relational, describing someone doing right by another person and treating others as infinitely valuable creations of God. What could be more loving than treating someone with mutual respect and acknowledging that God built them for honor, blessing, and endless lovingkindness? Joseph wishes Mary no harm. He chooses to care for her.

Joseph is later awakened by a messenger, an angel, who instructs him to not divorce Mary. For Joseph, a quick and quiet divorce instinctively looked best for everyone involved. But Joseph chooses to trust the angel and, again, acts in a way that cares for and blesses (or gives life to) Mary—a picture of true love.

Most of us aren’t getting angelic instructions about who to stay romantically involved with. Wouldn’t that be nice? But we can still choose to act in love toward others in the way that Joseph did. Are we loving another person because of what they can do for us, or are we loving them so that they can be built up, cared for, and blessed with life? Are we choosing to do right by the other person regardless of what they can do for us?

In today’s video, learn more about the Hebrew word khesed that describes the relational and active love that God has for his people.

Matthew 1:18-25 NIV

“This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.”

I never thought about this too deeply but let’s take a moment to reflect on this situation. Joseph is a man betrothed to a woman who is now pregnant with a child that he knows it not his. Think for a moment how that would make you feel, betrayed? angry? bitter? disappointed? disgusted? hurt? I can’t imagine what it must have been like initially for Joseph but take some time again to reflect on how he responded to the situation.

It says he did not want to expose her to public disgrace. Think about what that says about him and his character especially during this time period and cultural context. He loved Mary in a way of respect and kindness, he was looking out for her even when it may have seemed she wasn’t doing the same for him.

This can lead us to a great practical:

Are we loving another person because of what they can do for us, or are we loving them so that they can be built up, cared for, and blessed with life? Are we choosing to do right by the other person regardless of what they can do for us?

No matter what happens or how how people treat us today (and any other day for that matter) - we should show the same love that God has shown us. Let’s not grumble when asked to do something. Let’s build up other people with our words. Let’s take the time to encourage one another.

[himehikoshrine]

Mary Jane and Frankenstein 

In honor of Spooky Month and the imminent arrival of Mary Jane Day, I have done the scariest thing imaginable, returned to tumblr dot com to write a meta/analysis post.

[image description: images side by side of the top of the Mary Jane poster, showing Mary looking down sewing Jacob, next to the 1831 edition front panel illustration of Frankenstein, showing Victor looking down on his creature in horror]

This is a mostly informal attempt to collect my thoughts on the fact that Neji’s little spooktacular, in addition to being a very pointed exploration, as all of his plays are, of art and theater, the school, himself and his classmates (without their permission, the menace) and just, a lot of fun, is perhaps one of the best piece of Frankenstein related media I have EVER seen in relation to the original novel. 

This is pulling a lot of things from the Stage Script rather than the in game version, which summarizes a lot of the things I'm mentioning specifically. You can find the full Stage Script in the game menu, or

[ here ]

because I love this play so much that I needed a searchable version.

Caveat Emptor here is that it’s been a long time since I’ve read the novel in its entirety. If this game gets me to read it again, I may have to revamp things. But again, largely informal. But very long, somehow.

Oooops.

If you're curious about anything in here and want to expand on it more, or hear my thoughts on it, please feel free to reblog, send an ask, or message. Or ask me elsewhere if we're already connected there. There's a lot I glossed over, especially at the end of this. I have a lot to say, and if we're back to writing metas on tumblr dot com the chances of stopping at one are slim.

Mary as Frankenstein, Mary as Mother

Mary’s name is acting as several allusions at once. I mean, there are at least 3 Mary’s in the bible one could point to - Mary, Mother of Jesus is absolutely at play. But Lazarus’s sister is also a Mary. And while technically Mary Magdalene is often misrepresented and amalgamated with other characters in retellings, the idea of “purifying” her has canon precedent - having had seven demons driven out of her.

Of course, Neji’s twisting all of it, in his Neji way.

(Interestingly enough, these are the Three Marys of the Quem Quaeritis - widely considered a point of "rebirth" of theatre in Europe during the middle ages.)

But Mary is also the name of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, author of Frankenstein. And this, this is a Frankenstein story. It is, in fact, a beautiful inversion of so much about the book that gets left out in most far more serious attempts at a Frankenstein story. 

The original book is about motherhood and its inversion. Much could be said about when during her life she wrote it, or her own mother’s death shortly after she was born, or any number of things that have been hashed and rehashed a thousand times from AP English to the ivoriest of towers. But, fan of Death of the Author that I am, I posit you don’t need any of that to see in the text.

Victor creates a person with science, rather than by ‘nature’. It is an unnatural birth. And Victor is just about the shittiest possible parent. The Creature spends a good deal of time explaining to him, when they meet up again, that Victor is his father, and that he was literally abandoned as a newborn, and maybe that was kind of the worst possible thing he could have done. It’s not a mantle Victor has any desire to take up, the role of a parent. He wanted to create life, but he didn’t want to be a parent. But that’s what it means to create life. 

By gender swapping the role, you’re already inverting the inversion - but Mary’s creation is no more “natural” than Victors. But it is different. Neji, ever witch-coded himself, has Mary put one of her own hairs into every doll. It’s returning the shared body to the act of bringing these creations into being.

But even without that. Mary considers herself a mother. She considers herself a mother despite having no memory of one herself - Mary knows lots of things she shouldn’t, and doesn’t know many things she should. But she calls herself a mother. Even before any of the dolls move, she is their mother. A motherhood she wants to desperately share with others. She considers the act of selling a doll a kind of ‘adoption’. These are her children. And they know it. It’s stitched into every stitch in their doll bodies. They know Mary is their mother. And they know she loves them.

[image description: screenshot of Mary in her workshop. The text shows Mary's line saying "I'm back, dear dolls. Mommy's home."]

The Creature comes to think of Victor as a father - an absentee one at that, and craves that love, a love he is never shown. Mary averts this spectacularly. She creates out of love. 

Names

Mary takes great care in naming Jacob, and ends up doing so, though she doesn’t say it, after a biblical pun (Jacob, in the bible, is explicitly named such as a pun on the word “Heel”). But names are important to Mary, and she is sure to give one to Jacob as soon as he’s fully formed, even before she sees him wake up. Victor very particularly does not name his creature. Instead, he tends to throw around insults, many of which are demonic or satanic. When they finally meet again, the Creature says to him “I should have been thy Adam.” Mary averts this mistake, among so many others, spectacularly. Being called by her name is important to her, and she extends that offer to Jacob even before he’s fully “born.” Like a good mother.

[image description: a screenshot showing Fumi and Kai dressed as Mary and Jacob, as seen from the stage with the audience in the background. Kai is saying Jacob's line "I did, Mary. You are Mary Jane. My mother."]

Not only does she give him a nice biblical pun of a first name, she shares her last name with him, again before he’s even more than a doll. That’s her boy, that’s her best friend. That’s her family.

The song here, which is only sung and dance AFTER Mary has given him a name is called "A Friend Without A Name" Almost as if specifically calling attention to this fact. Mary is as much the friend without a name as Jacob, if not more. She is the one that has never heard another voice say her name, where as Jacob is called his before he's even awakened by the Island's magic and Mary's love.

[image description: the screen from just before A Friend Without A Name showing Mary and Jacob's CG of Mary Stitching Jacob.]

Mary as a Good Mother

Some of the weirder moments in the play actually make a lot more sense when you look at them through this light. Jacob randomly saying he hates Mary in a fit of jealousy? It’s because he’s a child. He’s a baby. That’s a baby boy. Mary, herself quite childish, forgetting so much of what’s important, as the Island is known for, reacts incorrectly, but understandably. This is her first friend - and far more of one than the others she thinks she’s made, in terms of mutual respect, compassion, and small acts of kindness. But this level of connection and emotional reciprocation is still new to her. She’s hurt. She runs.

And The Order of Shadow’s duo is quick to tell her that that’s just the nature of ghosts, telling themselves a little joke about how they have been lying to her from the start, and fully intend to stab her in the back, far more than any ghost. Victor’s instinct is to consider his creature a monster, a fiend, a demon. Mary is told by characters positioned as far more knowledgeable about the world than her that he must be exactly that.

And how does Mary react? She refuses to believe it. Even hurt as she was, even with someone who just said this is their entire expertise telling her it’s in his nature to be cruel, Mary refuses to accept it. She still loves him. She makes the right choice. That’s her best friend. That’s her family. That’s a (un)life she brought into this world, and she stands by him. No matter what. She would risk her life to rescue him. She will fight for him.

This is why that scene has to be there. Because she has to be given that temptation, that trial. And she passes spectacularly in a way Victor will not, to the end.

It’s also a thematic explanation for the garbage scene, which is probably there as much to be silly as anything. I mean, it’s also there to show many other things — Mary’s eccentricity is ingenious in its own quirky way — the islanders who hated her, who she didn’t understand, give her the tools to save Jacob and the others — Mary not even considering the same level of violence — it being a moment of empathy between Mary and the islanders who never showed her even a shred of it back — she understands that they couldn’t tell which food was rotten. She sees things from their point of view. And many more besides.

But, from the point of view of Mary as a Mother, Mary succeeding brilliantly where Victor failed… Mary is literally willing to coat herself in filth to rescue Jacob. Parenthood is messy. It involves a lot of gross things. Even Victor's, sanitized of the normal processes and cloaked in science, was made of corpse parts. But the play actually brings back a part of parenthood that Mary had been able to avoid thus far - the mess. Mary, once again, doesn’t hesitate. For Jacob? She’ll do anything.

Jacob is shown love and kindness, and he responds with the same. He has the same unnatural strength as Victor’s creature, but he’s only ever shown using it to rescue himself and others. When Mary asks for a handshake, he replies that he can’t, because such would be an invitation for a duel. And that they should hug, instead. Mary didn’t even know what that was. Far from disgusted by the lack of warmth she feels from his skin, she looks beyond that, to the emotional warmth and connection.

Frankenstein’s creature, famously, lashes out in violence. While Victor views this as his responsibility only in so far as he brought a demon into the world, he doesn’t understand, even when the Creature eloquently explains it, that the Creature was a being who had only known cruelty.

Jacob knows love. He knows kindness. He knows sadness and loneliness and pain. And refuses to engage in any form of touch that could even be considered violence. They hug.

Which is not to say Mary’s creatures can’t kill. But they do only to protect their mother, and only after Mary has risked everything to protect Jacob. They are Mary’s children, not Victor’s. Even their violence is an act of love. And in another inversion - they are the ones telling Mary to run. Something she does not want to do. She doesn't want to leave them behind. After all, they are her children. She departs from them only at Jacob's literal tug away, and with an apology and a thanks.

[Image description: screenshot of Fumi, dressed as Mary Jane, shown from stage view, with the audience behind, while a Doll's lines "Protect Mommy, let mommy run away." are shown below.]

Boats and Framing

But the parallels are not only in the most famous part of the novel - consider this - Frankenstein, the novel, is written as a series of nesting framing narratives. The bookend narrative, the one we open and close on, is a boat. Most Frankenstein adaptations cut the boat trip frame, but Mary Jane very specifically opens and closes on a boat at sea, and its ending is EXACTLY the reverse of Frankenstein’s. If for some reason you’re this far in and don’t want more spoilers for a 200 year old book, now’s the time to click away, I guess.

The boat is on a course to the Arctic. Victor is on board, telling his story, because his creature has fled there, away from humanity. Victor intends to pursue him endlessly, to kill him, fully aware that he is almost certainly going to die, frozen and alone, in the process. We don’t get to see this happen - the story ends merely with the certainty that this is what is coming. Victor, on a boat, intending to go to the ends of the earth alone to kill the Creature he brought into the world, treating it like some burden and punishment. 

[image description: a screenshot from Mary Jane, with the CG of Mary and the Ghosts on the ship, with the summary text overlayed on it reading "Friends together, fun forever."]

How does Mary Jane end? With Mary, and Jacob, and a cast of playful characters — her friends — sailing off for the ends of the world, together, in pursuit of life and happiness - even in death.

Ghost Party ends the play because its a triumph. Neji throwing out Horace’s Ode to Cleopatra in there because he can’t not do silly things like that — but Frankenstein famously contains many references to classics — many made by the Creature himself, who was forced to educate himself via books, lacking a parent to help him. 

Mary Jane takes a section of sheer joy out of a poem of complex mixed emotions, and says them repeatedly. This is a party. This is a triumph. Mary leaves on a boat for the ends of the world a success, a good mother, a friend. And a human.

Humanity, Connection, Isolation

The play deconstructs so wonderfully this question of humanity. Mary doesn’t find any joy in it, despite barely understanding it herself - until she is able to use it to help others. The first time in her life she’s been glad to be human - something she only really understands as “needing to eat food” - is when it gives her the ability to save her ghost friends. If that’s what humanity is, the ability to care for others, the ghosts of the chapel, the play is telling us, are far more human. 

One of my favorite exchanges in the play is after Charles and Figaro explain to Mary that the corpse parts used to make Jacob were their friends. Mary is not malicious in the least. She has no concept of this act as sacrilege or desecration. She is genuinely childishly innocent in most of what she does. And she can’t understand it.

Mary says “If you can love unmoving corpses so much… How can you not feel for living ghosts...?"

[image description: Mary in front of the burning town. She's saying "How can you not feel for living ghosts...?"]

Charles responds that she must be completely off her rocker. But she’s correct. Mary sees life in front of her, even undead life, and wants to protect it. Even the Islanders, who only ever treated her with distain, who only ever made her miserable — she doesn’t want them to die, even knowing they are already dead. 

Outside of Mary, her oddball eccentric self, in this play, the more human someone is, the crueler they are. Figaro and Charles are only ever here to mess with her before dragging her off to be killed. They have no willingness to even try to understand anything outside their world view. The Islanders, who think themselves human, revile Mary, and make up terrible rumors about her. 

Both of these groups do so, in part, for similar reasons. Because to have empathy would force a realization on them they cannot bear. The last thing Figaro realizes, before he’s dragged into the most poetic of justices, is that the dolls have SOULS. They are ALIVE. It’s a moment of anger and madness, but it’s a last minute realization that he’s been wrong now that it’s too late. Of course it’s not a revelation he’ll remember. You tend to forget what’s important on Kakuriyo Island.

If Mary averts all of Victor’s mistakes, Charles and Figaro make many of them. Seeing the Creature as a collection of corpses, as demonic, as an abomination against God. Reacting only in anger, in cruelty, in violence. Chasing something they view, wrongly, as an abomination to the ends of the earth, until it kills them. Mary has Victor’s role, but Victor’s actions and outlook are given to the antagonists. 

It’s fascinating to me, then, that there are two of them. In the version of the play that gets performed, they’re twins - doubles. Two halves of one whole, who egg each other along in their cruelty. But they also exist to show that even these two are capable of empathy and connection. They do in fact understand the thing they tease Mary with. They have the ability and understanding to extend that to Ghosts, or to Mary. They simply refuse to. Figaro really does love his brother - his grief at his death is genuine. It’s a clever way to show that.

In the book, Victor is extremely isolated, by his own choice. He withdraws from everyone in order to work on his creature, and after he runs from it, he keeps to himself just as much, now blaming the idea that he can tell no one what he’s done. Even when he’s surrounded by family, he is utterly alone. By choice. The Creature eventually lashes out and kills the woman Victor intended to marry. In Victor’s mind, he cares about this girl, but it is not in his actions. Like much else, she exists more as a creation of Victors mind than something in the world for him to interact with and care about. Until she dies. Then he’s furious. And decides to spend the rest of his life chasing down the Creature to kill him for it. 

This contradiction in Victor has always read as intentional to me. The book is calling out his hypocrisy here. He doesn’t actually desire connection - the connection his Creature eloquently explains his longing for. But if it is denied him, he acts like he’s been affronted, painted with a shallow layer of sanctimoniousness or justice. Murder is bad, of course, and the Creature shouldn’t have killed an innocent young woman to get at Victor, of course. But the discrepancy between the way Victor reacts to her in death and the way he does when she’s alive is intentional.

Victor has every chance for human connection. Time and time and time again he’s given that chance and refuses it. Even to the very end, on that boat. He could stay with the crew. Sail back home. Let it go. The Creature has run away from humanity which it has come to despise as much as its absentee father disdained it. There is no need to keep chasing. But Victor cannot let it go. 

The Creature longs for connection and is denied it. Victor disdains and refuses it, even when it’s available to him.

Mary as The Creature

Contrast this with Mary — It is Mary, rather than Jacob, that is in the Creature’s situation here. Mary is constantly chasing connection. Constantly trying to find something to reflect humanity (compassion, life, emotions — rather than the matter of blood and flesh that Figaro and Charles always talk about it as) back at her. And she can’t get it. She, like the Creature, hides in the bushes and watches it from afar. She, like the Creature, chases after it only for people to run away, to treat her with cruelty. Mary is Frankenstein, but she is also a reflection of the Creature. She is both in one, in this sense.

[image description: screenshot of summary text over the church and figures of the church ghosts. it reads "The friendless Mary dreamily watched the ghosts as they sang a happy song.]

Her costume specifically makes her look nearly as much the doll as the ones she makes - in the world of the story, because she's sewing both - but thematically, it ties her to them not only as their mother, but as a reflection of the Creature, herself.

Like the Creature, Mary is an odd mix of naivety and childishness, with startling gaps in her knowledge, and extreme skill and adult abilities. She knows what she knows well. Like the Creature, Mary has no memory of kindness, of family, of parents. She has only ever seen it in the way the Islanders interact with each other. She is the Creature here - raising herself, learning of the world through watching it, being reviled for every attempt she makes to reach out.

One thing the Creature explains to Victor is that he didn’t even understand, at the time, why he was being treated this way. He had no awareness of his own nature and what he looked like in the eyes of others. Only that they ran in fear and chased him away, and reacted with violence.

Mary Jane inverts this. Mary is human, but the humans around her are something she cannot understand. Like the Creature, Mary doesn’t understand why people react this way. The book expects you to come to the same conclusion as the play - the fault lies not with the Creature anymore more than it does with Mary, at this point. It is those around him, those around her, that are at fault, that are a thing neither can understand. Human’s are cruel. Ghosts who think they’re humans are cruel. It is a disconnect between themselves and the world around them they don’t understand, and desperately try to bridge over and over.

Even Mary, as quirky and childlike as she is, is on the verge of giving up, of being consumed by the Lonely Darkness. We don't know what her fate would have been if the Order of Shadows had not come. Victor's Creature, far more morose than Mary, gives up on connection, as well. He is denied the most basic of needs, and eventually, he learns the violence and hatred being directed at him, and, newborn that he is, lashes out.

But, ultimately, companionship and connection are the Creature’s goals, and it is that that he requests of Victor, who refuses to provide it himself. Make for me a mate. Mary is the Creature, and she is Frankenstein. She makes a friend for herself. Her motivation in creating Jacob is not science, it is not in defiance of  death or God — very pointedly — it is out of loneliness - the same motivation that the Creature gives for his desire that Victor make him another like him. And when Mary does so, she’s a good mother, and a good friend.

Religion

Frankenstein’s full title is Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus - it is about forming people, but it is also about stealing fire from the Gods. The question of if creating life out of death the way Victor does is an affront to God is something that Victor himself thinks about, but the book is much more interested in exploring it as the way characters view it. Victor punishes himself, it is not the Divine that punishes him. The Divine acts not as a force, but as an idea. One that both Victor and the Creature end up grappling with and trying to find their place within.

So that Mary herself seemingly has no concept of it, is fascinating. She goes to watch a chapel every night, but I don’t know she knows what a chapel even is. She mentions God once herself, saying that the smell of the garbage would be enough to affect even God, but she also talks to the Moon as a companion and a friend. Her worldview is uniquely hers, in relation to all things. As I said, the idea that making the dolls the way she does, or using corpse parts to do it might be sacrilege does not even occur to her.

Rather than go the route of the novel, Mary Jane twists this around too. In the world of Mary Jane, religious objects hold not only the power of an idea but an actual force. And it is a force that is completely, within the world of the show, amoral and nonsensical. The blessed weapons and fire the Order of the Shadows use are “holy” as a property, but that gives it no moral weight within the world of the play. And the play is messing with it the whole time. Holy wood or water can destroy a ghost, but they live in a church. Something that Charles and Figaro comment on, but cannot interrogate in terms of what it means for their conviction. But they’re split on how to proceed - the fact that ghosts can live in it doesn’t shake their faith, though. Sister Ghost is there largely for this joke. A nun who is constantly evoking the divine, who would be killed by a consecrated item. 

[image description: the summary text over the chapel backdrop with the text of "the chapel where Jacob and the others were left behind was being filled with the scent of holy water.]

If I could add something to Mary Jane, I would have loved for Mary or Jacob to ask Sister Ghost what “God” means (this is a conversation that happens in bonus material for Tokyo Ghoul once, actually). I would have loved to have that brought up more explicitly. But it’s also very funny that it never is.

The first definitions for a God we get are them being applied to Mary herself, with plenty of ambiguity on if the Order’s faith itself has a mother figure at its center or not. And either way it’s a fascinating play on the idea, and the themes of the novel.

Closing Thoughts, Other Connections and Ideas "Beyond the Scope of this Essay"

Anyway, all of this while playing around with everything else going on in this play, Neji’s totally, without permission, commentary on Fumi, on Tsuki’s legacy (please read the stage script, somehow the game thought it was a good idea to cut that whole specific reference even when making Kisa pick between an “erase Tsuki” option) and on Kai. On himself as an artist. ("I am the one who is strange. With my changing moods, with my hobbies. That is why everyone thinks I'm strange and avoids me.”). As with several other plays, a commentary on authority, and on creation, and on isolation and friendship and connection. 

And, of course, what I’ve been holding back this whole little essay is that Mary Jane is, thematically, at its core, playing off the exact same situation as I Am Death. Like — both of these plays center around a woman pouring her emotions into an undead creature. I see you Neji. You can’t hide from me. Reading I Am Death as a Frankenstein Story remixed into an old Japanese mytho-history is a LOT of fun to do, but is, as the academics say, beyond the scope of this essay.

(and, I Am Death itself is about Neji and Chui, and the twisted, messy love-hate revenge drama they are acting out across all the routes in the game. Neji writes the plays that introduce Chui to the world. Then he runs. And spends the whole game trying to beat him (affectionate.). “Make me another like me” you say… 

Literally the only thing I’ve come up with to make the “bad end” CG more compelling to me, is that this is what it’s riffing on. I like my I Am Death costumes way weirder.)

Mary Jane is a Frankenstein Story, I Am Death is a Frankenstein Story, Jack Jeanne is a Frankenstein Story. The other, other thing I’m leaving out here is that the Order of the Shadows are OBVIOUSLY pulled from Tokyo Grand Guignol, aesthetically. And the most famous TGG play is Litchi Hikari Club, which is, say it with me, a Frankenstein Story. Also one that takes the themes of the novel (gender, love and sexuality, childhood, genius, violence, blind pursuit to the point of madness, god complexes) harder than most, but runs with it in nearly the exact opposite direction. But again, very much beyond the scope of this essay.

Also also also leaving out the fact that Tokyo Ghoul is... kind of ... not not a Frankenstein story. It certainly riffs on the motif quite a bit. Even if you've never read it, you've seen the mask design (an in universe riff on the joke.).

Even just one dimension of this play, and look how many words you've made me write Neji-senpai.

[image description: image from the bottom of the Mary Jane poster, with the cast list, showing the chapel ghosts with a focus on Ushinoko, Neji's character, looking towards the 'camera'.] Some little Halloween Spooktacular you’ve got there. Bravo.

[twinnedpeaks]

ok it’s time for elvira’s yearly reading wrap up! best and worst of 2023:

worst:

the cabin at the end of the world, paul tremblay - disappointing. could have been so good but, alas, was not.

the silent patient, alex michaelides - quite possibly my least favourite of the year. people were telling me how shocking it was and how it had a huge plottwist. this plottwist was predictable from PAGE ONE. please.

the grimoire of grave fates - i remember nothing except being bored.

hide, keirsten white - i hate when horror is bad <3

filth, irvine welsh - okok my second attempt at reading irvine welsh. i liked parts of this book but not enough to even slightly enjoy it as a whole.

finnegans wake, james joyce - i wasn’t sure whether this should go in best or worst honestly. such a huge phenomenon, purely because it’s “unreadable”. i still don’t know how to feel.

best:

12 bytes, jeanette winterson - miss winterson can do no wrong in my eyes. brilliant reflections on technology, written beautifully.

new animal, ella baxter - just SUCH a good time!! great novel on grief and sexuality.

the gilded wolves, roshani chokshi - i’m very picky about my fantasy books, but i fell in love with this trilogy so fast. the characters are incredible and diverse, and finding a canonically autistic character meant a lot to me.

tripping arcadia, kit mayquist - creepy, gorgeous, has not left my mind. i can’t even explain it, it is just an Experience. Go read it.

how to sell a haunted house, grady hendrix - FUN HORROR!! HAUNTED HOUSE!! EVIL PUPPET!!

when we lost our heads, heather o’neill - lesbian marie antoinette historical fiction? yes.

no longer human, osamu dazai - gorgeous tale of existence and misery. loved loved this one.

i who have never known men, jacqueline harpman - heartbreaking and real. one of those books i think everyone should read.

patricia wants to cuddle, samantha allen - lesbians and furry little monsters. weird as fuck and so funny.

penance, eliza clark - reflections on true crime and the rivalries between teenage girls. gruesome and fascinating.

not forever but for now, chuck palahniuk - MY MAN RETURNED!!!! and i am so goddamn grateful. nauseating but stunning. masterpiece as always.

house of hunger, alexis henderson - gothic vampire novel with a touch of haunted house story and eerie lesbians.

sign here, claudia lux - one of the funniest books i’ve read in a LONG time. selling your soul to the devil is basically the same as working for capitalist organizations.

the child thief, gerald brom - HORRIFYING version of peter pan. brom always makes me utterly nauseous and i am ovsessed with him in every way.

the girls, emma cline - 60’s cult vibes, true crime, just a solid piece of literature.

angels before man, rafael nicolas - basically gay bible. 10/10.

silver under nightfall, rin chupeco - poly queer vampires. gritty gore. amazing world building. cannot WAIT for the sequel.

none shall sleep, ellie marney - me? enjoying crime fiction from someone other than karin slaughter or tana french? it IS, apparently, possible.

house of leaves, mark z danielewski - IT IS ABOUT! THE! SYMBOLISM! I WANT TO YELL.

[catholic-character-tournament]

Semi-Finals - Catholic Character Tournament

Propaganda below ⬇️

Sister Michael

She drives a DeLorean. She does judo on Fridays. She likes a good statue and despises the French. Her full nun name is Sister George Michael, after the guy from Wham!. She is the fiercest nun you’ll ever come across and, if you’re attending Lady Immaculate College, she’s the woman in charge. So whatever you do, if you’re feeling anxious or worried or just need a chat: don’t come crying to her.

joined the nunnery for the free accommodation?

she does love a good statue it has to be said

She is the headmistress of a catholic school <3

sister michael so reminds me of the nuns who taught me. they're tough and sometimes a little harsher than a woman who dedicated her life to god should be but they're also wonderful people. i had a nun teacher who was 60 years old and would do handstands. another nun (also in her 60s) told me god was nonbinary. another was really mean and made me cry. (so did the handstand nun.) while the catholic girls school is The Catholic Experience, the school wouldn't have been the same for me or the derry girls without at least one nun who seemed to have sprung up out of the ground fully formed, ageless.

Shadow

In sonic destruction (the AI generated fan thing snapcube made a while ago) shadow was catholic or something which I think is reallyyyyyyy funny

Ok listen. I know this is a stretch but hear me out. He says “oh my God” in the Twitter takeovers so we know this is a possibility. I see him as a Christ-like figure because I saw his whole confrontation with Mephiles and was like “this is a thing that happened in the Bible??” and the pose Mephiles shows him in is literally like a crucifixion and Mephiles is meant to be a demon / false prophet reference. And also he’s called a demon in Shadow The Hedgehog 2005 then the guy who calls him that is like “I was wrong I’m sorry” and that also reminds me of a thing with Jesus in The Bible. But the biggest reason is his whole thing with Maria cause I think he’d come to earth and hear Ave Maria once and convert to Catholicism idk he’s like we’re comforted by a female familial figure named Mary sometimes called Maria?? And her color is blue????? Heck yeah I’m in because I Will Cry. Also feel free to share this as propaganda obv even if he doesn’t get in the bracket just. It’s funny.

I feel like he’d battle a lot with being seen or portrayed as a demon and how the aliens he’s related to very much look and act like demons idk lmao- and also I feel like confession would just be good for him I think he needs it for his mental health

There is a debate on the lovely website tunblr that Shadow T. Hedgehog is an allegory for Jesus Christ.

He is Jesus, idk what to tell you. He lived, he was sealed away, he was awakened again and deemed the ultimate lifeforms, he’s angry but not evil, does what he believes is best for people and the world at any given time. Total loser.

Vote for Shadow the Hedgehog

There seems to be some confusion in the notes. He is Catholic. It may not be explicit, but it can be inferred.

Shadow was created by Professor Gerald Robotnik, and for the early part of his life, lived with Gerald and his granddaughter, Maria Robotnik.

Robotnik is not a made-up name. Google Search results may only bring up pages related to the Robotniks of the Sonic the Hedgehog series, however, it is a rarely used Polish surname. Poland is a historically Catholic nation, and… come on. Maria is the most Catholic name ever. The Robotniks are Catholic. Shadow was created and raised by Catholics.

Now you may be wondering to yourself: Does Catholicism even exist in Sonic? The answer is yes, at least in the Archie comics, where Protestants are explicitly mentioned.

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Couple this with the fact that several characters, including Shadow, have canonically taken the Lord’s name in vain, it is reasonable to infer that Christianity, and therefore Catholicism, exists.

So… while Shadow’s own religious beliefs may not have been explicitly addressed… at minimum:

Catholic is a cultural designation that Shadow will always be allowed to claim based on the family that made him.

Whether he’d actually want to claim that designation is a different conversation, but the other propaganda does a fine job of explaining why it may be appropriate to headcanon him as a practicing Catholic.

Now that we’ve established that Shadow has as much of a right to be in this tournament as anyone else, there’s one very important reason you should vote for him:

It would be funny if he won.

Thank you.

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Essays are done!! Here’s some Shadow propaganda because the propaganda we currently have sucks and I need to fix that. While yes, Shadow being Catholic is a meme, there is more to outside of the simple “fandub said so” and its not quite stated its Catholicism but just how he behaves and his actions. There’s a lot of Sonic content so I will try to keep this brief. Gonna get headcanons out of the way.

Shadow is Chilean and so are Maria and Gerald Robotnik because I fucking say so and they’re Catholic. He definitely had un rosario next to his like. Bed or test tube whatever he slept in. So did Maria btw. Alright let’s move on because I am 100% correct.

Let’s start with some background for Shadow. Shadow was created as a cure for a girl called Maria and he grew to care for her as a sister and loved her deeply. He was artificially created but still holds a soul that is similar to Maria’s. Long story short, Maria is killed protecting Shadow who watches as she’s shot in front of him. He has his memories tampered by Maria’s grandfather, Gerald, who manipulates him into carrying out revenge on the Earth, even if Shadow ends up as collateral.

Shadow struggles with frequent identity crises, even before Maria’s death and always wondered what his purpose was, what he was made to do. Was he a weapon? Was he a cure? He’s the Ultimate Lifeform, but what does that truly mean? ? He’s Shadow, but what more is there to him? He doesn’t know what his purpose is other than what others have prescribed to him, and he guides himself through the will of others (something that he breaks through afterwards but not yet). Shadow at his core is self-sacrificing and constantly punishes himself. This is where you can see some of that good old guilt that everyone has been using as propaganda, but we also see someone who is giving and kind.

He is snarky in the game, especially when interacting with Sonic, but he’s having what is essentially an ongoing mental breakdown but keeps moving because it is his duty to his sister. He doesn’t believe himself important enough to continue on after her and sees it in himself to act out on “Maria’s wishes”. After the revelation that Maria’s final wish for Shadow was for him to make those on Earth happy and to protect them, he immediately sacrifices himself to do so.

Okay, that’s a lot and you’re probably asking “Okay, you mentioned he is a giving person and yeah he has guilt, but that’s not really Catholicism” and yes you would be right! So let’s go into the more important part of being Catholic. The charity, the community, the kindness, etc. Shadow is a very reserved person and has the habit of being a dumb teenager because well. Yeah. Anyways, he definitely has a soft spot for those he cares about and while his whole arc (in my opinion) is about finding the freedom of self-autonomy, it is also Shadow growing as a person and deciding not to save people because others have told him he needs to, but because he wants to. It is born from his soul and its his nature to care for people. It is who he is, and he knows it now. He’s not doing it because he’s a hero or because he is told to do so. Shadow is a very giving person and I think people tend to forget about that especially due to bad writing from the past decade or so. He is also stated to help out at food shelters and volunteers a lot. He is proud and a bit prickly, but he cares so deeply about those he loves. He is stronger with his loved ones and will always do his best to protect them. These are minor, yeah, but you don’t need sweeping and enormous acts to get attention for the good deeds you do. Most of what you apply of Catholicism is done at the personal level, between your friends, family, and community.He also goes to Mass whenever he can and if he can’t he goes to the capilla and also does the sign of the cross whenever he runs by a church. Cutting this off because this is already 740-ish words and I had to send these across multiple asks I am so sorry Catholic mod

[dorsey-divine]

(This is an artistic exercise, corrections on precise theology or correct theological interpretation- re: the bible is not always literal- are not welcome or needed, but your own theological fascinations/brain worms are most certainly wanted and welcome.)

I was raised catholic, and that deeply affects my art and the way I perceive other's art. Because of this I think about divinity, its nature, its place in the world, angels, and the nature of free will in the Bible quite often. Specifically how for several major characters (yes, characters, the bible is a book that at best is a heavy fictionalized version of certain real events and people) free will doesn't truly exist.

Did Lucifer really have a choice? Was his rebellion from God his own will or was it part of God's plan for the world? The structure of Christianity (and most Abrahamic faiths) requires God to have an enemy, a corrupter of His perfect design, so that the terrible actions of others can be justified under the worldview of the faith. God is omniscient, He knew that Lucifer would rebel and be cast down, and He needed that to happen so there would be an enemy deity, someone to blame. Was Lucifer meant to rebel? And God is all-powerful, he could destroy Lucifer, but he doesn't. So that he can continue to be the enemy and corrupt humanity? So God is never to blame?

Did Eve disobey God when she ate the fruit of knowledge, or was that still God's own plan? Why was the tree even in the garden in the first place? There's a whole world outside Eden. How did the snake enter the garden at all, if its purpose was to tempt? Surely a loving god would protect their creations from something that could harm them. Did God allow the snake in to test Eve, did He put it in the garden on purpose? Did He set humanity up to fail so that we would worship His greatness forever, always beneath Him? Groveling for his forgiveness and light from our first breath? For Christian doctrine to work humanity needs to be unclean, and for us to be unclean there must be an impetus. Did Eve truly disobey, or was the command not to eat the fruit a façade to cover up God's true intention? If He created everything, then He created sin. And why does Eve's sin taint us all? Why must we be at fault for sins not our own? Were they sins at all?

Mary was born without original sin in her soul because she was always meant to be the mother of God. Always. Gabriel came down from Heaven to ask her if it was what she wanted, but she was already chosen, her 'yes' meant nothing more than her 'no' would've. Could she have said no at all? The narrative is controlled by men, how can we know if her words are her own? What chance does the will of a teenage girl have against the Almighty God? The author of reality. And God could remove Eve's actions from all of us, but He doesn't, why? How can a loving God make that decree? How can a loving God give a mother her child and plan to take them away? How can he kill a child before their parents?

Judas is like Lucifer. Jesus Christ must be crucified in order for Him to take on and cleanse the sins of humanity, and to be crucified He must be betrayed. Jesus knows Judas will betray Him, he knew all along, for the Father and the Son are one in the same. Did Judas ever truly have a choice to follow Christ's teachings, or was his path already chosen for him, and was he forced along the road by fate's invisible hand? Did Jesus ever try to stray his friend from that path? Did Christ's infinite love fall short for Judas? In the face of the 'grand plan'? Did God lead him into sin and eternal damnation for the 'greater good' of humanity? Was he always meant to be the sacrificial lamb? Who truly died for humanity then? Jesus rose after three days and resides in paradise, but Judas remains in Hell forever because of the God he was meant to put faith in.

Did any of them have free will, or were they just playing their assigned parts? Like marionettes on strings, dancing and singing to a tune that is meant to look like one of their own creations. Were their lives forfeit for God to place himself on a cosmic throne? Are ours?