Isaac, we love you!

Binding of Isaac Blog | Any Pronouns

[cookiecaker]

the binding of isaac is an incredibly detail oriented game when it's looked at closely. while a lot of observations about isaac could simply be gleamed from the game's endings, it is the items and interactions in the game that showcase the true complexities of his character - one of these interactions being the fortune teller machines (or more accurately the "fortunes" they provide). these fortunes are indicative of things that isaac considers good, real, or otherwise truthful remarks, and reflect things that he's been told in his real life.

the fortunes themselves are presented as instructions or insights to the reader, and are often cynical or downright hurtful in nature, though not necessarily presented as such. they're shown just the same as other generally kinder remarks - fortunes like "BLAME NOBODY BUT YOURSELF" and "YOU WERE BORN WRONG" exist alongside fortunes like "YOU MAKE MISTAKES IT IS ONLY NATURAL" and "BELIEVE IN YOURSELF". this lack of distinction between these wildly different perspectives displays the kind of information he gets about himself, likely mostly coming from the two biggest sources of information in his life - his mother and father. isaac sees both perspectives as completely valid, because they're both people he was raised to trust, and isaac himself is still too young to really question their remarks towards them, even if they seem paradoxical. isaac also seems to take great importance in the sources his mother provides through her christianity, such as television or literature. the fortunes that are biblical (and often crueler) in nature likely come from there.

in a similar vein, many of the fortunes contradict themselves on their own advice - "WAKE UP" and "STAY ASLEEP", "GO OUTSIDE" and "DON'T LEAVE THE HOUSE TODAY", "MARRY AND REPRODUCE" and "QUESTION AUTHORITY". these fortunes and their simultaneous existence, while also showing the kinds of contradicting information he receives, could also portray a frustration or confusion with the statements themselves. he feels as though it is all true, but he can't possibly fulfill it all without compromising some part of what he was brought up with. it reflects a central theme of the binding of isaac - isaac's struggle with morality, with trying to understand what is the "right" thing for him to do, or if he is even "right" in the first place.

isaac struggling to see himself as "right" likely comes from many of these comments being more self deprecating than they are kind. considering their portrayal as just as accurate and true as any other fortune, remarks like "YOU LOOK FAT YOU SHOULD EXERCISE MORE" and "YOU WILL NEVER BE FORGIVEN" are taken at face value, and their depiction in game displays the way isaac sees himself and how the way people around him describe him is taken to heart. he sees himself as a monster, and it seeps down into every part of his being.

there are also fortunes that break away from the game itself and express isaac's vague awareness of the current state he's in. a lot of them refer to his own death or sleeping (one even refers to steven - which i intend to elaborate on later), and the only fortune that is a referral to isaac himself is "I FEEL ASLEEP!!!" *. its existence as the only fortune that actually talks about himself is yet another example of the small moments in which the binding of isaac's facade slips and he can, briefly, see his own fate.

some of these fortunes aren't always completely isaac's own thoughts, of course. there are quite a few fortunes that are meta in nature, like "REBIRTH GOT CANCELLED", "WELL THAT WAS WORTHLESS", and "WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU LEMONS REROLL!", and these obviously aren't always indicative of his own thoughts or views on his life. by and large, however, these fortunes are signs of the way isaac sees himself and the things he's been told from their contradictory, personalized nature, and their imperative structure with a second-person perspective.

* i realize that this is likely a reference to metal gear solid. i still feel like the way it is written fits within the context of the game / character and can be analyzed as such without a simple meta dismissal as some other similar references.

thank you for reading! i hope this one wasn't too wordy! i love feedback or continuing the discussion, so please feel free to comment or reblog with your thoughts. it made me so happy to see how much people liked the first one i did, and even happier to hear everyone's thoughts on it.

i have one more analysis post planned about steven and isaac's connections, and might write more if i get inspired. :-)

[isaac-in-downpour]

Bethany and Lazarus are always interesting to me because I've always seemed them as two sides of the same 'Good Kid' coin. I know they're considered siblings (unsure if flatly stated but you need Laz to unlock Beth so it makes sense canonically aswell?) so it makes sense to me for them to be connected.

More specifically, I consider Lazarus to be the front-facing "Good Kid", the one that handles Mom on a good day. The one that makes Mom happy and can 'bounce back' after something bad happens. He's often depicted as sickly which makes sense considered Isaac's living situation after the breakup.

On the other hand, I think Bethany is the "Church Kid". I've always thought of her as like a teenage choir girl type personality, a little sassy and a tiny bit stuck up but ultimately polite. I wouldn't be surprised if she was developed from Isaac seeing the church choir or watching them work while at Sunday school. She's the one that is holy, she studies and focuses and understands god in ways Isaac could never achieve.

[isaac-in-downpour]

Bethany and Lazarus are always interesting to me because I've always seemed them as two sides of the same 'Good Kid' coin. I know they're considered siblings (unsure if flatly stated but you need Laz to unlock Beth so it makes sense canonically aswell?) so it makes sense to me for them to be connected.

More specifically, I consider Lazarus to be the front-facing "Good Kid", the one that handles Mom on a good day. The one that makes Mom happy and can 'bounce back' after something bad happens. He's often depicted as sickly which makes sense considered Isaac's living situation after the breakup.

On the other hand, I think Bethany is the "Church Kid". I've always thought of her as like a teenage choir girl type personality, a little sassy and a tiny bit stuck up but ultimately polite. I wouldn't be surprised if she was developed from Isaac seeing the church choir or watching them work while at Sunday school. She's the one that is holy, she studies and focuses and understands god in ways Isaac could never achieve.

[dove-tears]

he finally made it to the aether so happy for him

[cookiecaker]

of course i recognize you

[isaac-in-downpour]

mind if i ask: if the youtuber who's making a 3dwscr video that you're excited about Sagan Hawkes? because I love that dude haha, im so excited for that video!! His petscop video is the only overview of it i consider to be good and most people dont even know about him LOL 😭

Yes it is!! I love Sagan Hawkes so much his stuff is so well thought out and the music goes so hard. Somehow I never watched his Petscop video?? (Every petscop overview i've seen just completely skips over important themes of the story!?! So a good review is great to hear, I'll absolutely watch it now!) But yesss I saw the community post a little while ago, I'm so excited!!

[crazyufokid]

i think isaac would build a very lovely little minecraft house and he would put two roses on each side of his door for decoration

[isaac-in-downpour]

took a proper look at 3d workers island because of the tags you left on my post and wow it is fantastic. i kept meaning to reread it and i'm glad i finally did... tony's stuff is amazing and i definitely see what you mean with the possibility of tboi connections being there. the obvious childhood trauma is definitely there but also the window into the creator's mind through the work itself is definitely very reminiscent of isaac's use of his worlds and imagination to process what happens in his life. super interesting stuff. gotta think about it more. thank you for the recommendation :D

Yippie! I read it myself recently b/c I loved Petscop and thought it was wonderful. Your post just kinda blew my mind on the connections between TBOI and Petscop, I would have never thought about it otherwise!

I was thinking about it last night b/c I saw this ask right before bed. The spiral of 'Inside 3dwi' users almost reminds me of Mom's decline, although with obviously different intent. There's also the removal of user 'GoodKid' which ruminates of Isaac's dismissal due to him being so young, despite clearly having problems even before the steep decline within the family.

But mainly, I guess it makes me think about when Isaac 'goes missing'. I don't think it's implied that anyone outside of Mom ever looks for him? The house on the hill and the island are both deeply isolated, the only ones who see the problems are so deeply removed that they can't do anything or are already conditioned not to. (I have alot of thoughts on how Mom probably isolated both Isaac and herself, people typically have church friends if their deeply involved..)

We see the main forum users dismiss concerns and panic of the 'Inside 3dwi' users so easily, and PLawler easily controls the narrative. Who's to say if in Isaac's town people dismissed any worry about Isaac or even refused to help once Mom goes into a panic? (Mom kind of reminds me of both PLawler and maybe Holland to a degree?)

And then of course the disposal of the Red Balls and the burial of Isaac's toy chest. The hiding of evidence that something terrible happened..

[crazyufokidart]

[isaac-in-downpour]

Dark Esau why must you be so hard to draw?? Anyway analysis under cut :]

I was confused for a long time on what Jacob and Esau represented for Isaac. I'll admit I don't fully understand the whole 'birthright' thing in the original story, so any meaning taken from that is currently lost on me. I've seen the McMillen tweet but I am ignoring it b/c.. Well I think is was a joke hehe

My current thought is that Jacob and Esau are how Isaac acted under each parents view. Like, I think it's pretty common to act differently when interacting with different family members. This goes on to say when Dad left, they became tainted because Dad's interaction doesn't exist anymore.

I think arguments can be made on both sides of who's who (Jacob being mom's 'follower' or Esau being mom's 'follower') Specifically through Dark Esau.

Esau being Dad's interactor could be that with Dark Esau, it's felt that Isaac betrayed their father. Everything they did together has been locked away and removed, why didn't Isaac fight more to keep these important moments? I think Isaac would blame himself for not being able to hold the physical items of Dads memory.

On the otherhand, Esau being Mom's interactor makes it that Dark Esau hates that Isaac can't follow Mom's word. Why can't he be good and holy like their mother wants? Why can't she make her happy like she used to? Isaac believes himself to be sinful, he could blame himself for not being good enough for their mother anymore.

Jacob and Esau work as one, Isaac was happy with his complete family, and had interests with both their parents. But when Mom and Dad split, one had to be left behind. Do they follow Mom or Dad? Maybe this caused their development as alters?? A direct byproduct from her parents breakup?

If anyone has more insight on how the Anima Sola could come into play, or on the actual biblical reference that would be so cool!

[cookiecaker]

So happy to see somebody else talking about how jacob and esau relate to isaac's self, because it's something i think about a LOT, but never really get anywhere with. this whole analysis you gave definitely helped out a lot for the way i see them. it's such a fascinating thing to me - these two alters that act as one person and are, in many accounts, considered one, and the tainted characters so much different than their biblical counterparts. the biblical story itself has a lot of significance to their behaviors, statistics and tainted jacob himself, so it definitely has a lot of relevance to their analysis.

essentially, when the twins are born, isaac (their father) gives esau a birthright, something that linked him to the family and gave him rights to the land and inheritance. esau is born the stronger twin and jacob the weaker one, though god prophesized "the older shall serve the younger".

later in their lives, jacob trades esau his birthright for a bowl of stew after an exhausting day of hunting; meaning to signify his supposed disdain for the birthright itself. later still, jacob disguises himself as esau in order to fool their blind father into giving jacob the firstborn blessing intended for esau. esau is incredibly angry after being tricked out of both of these, and plans to kill jacob, but before he can, rebekah (their mother) helps him flee.

much more happens after that, but that's the bulk that is relevant to the twins together. though, something incredibly interesting is that when jacob eventually returns, esau greets him with forgiveness and warmth rather than anger or murderous intent.

it's particularly fascinating because of the general consensus within the text seems to be that jacob is the more prosperous and virtuous of the twins, despite tricking both his father and his brother, thus arguably indirectly tricking god himself. TBOI goes against this consensus, however, and makes tainted jacob out to be someone who must repent for his sins, while also making tainted esau (or dark esau) something of a hellbound demon bent on revenge. it is as if they are both doomed for hell - despite their reconciling at the end of the real biblical story together, and jacob's significance to the lineage of abraham, isaac sees them BOTH (and by that extension, himself) as sinful. it's a very strange relationship as it seems to go directly against the text in his interpretation.

someone like cain or judas are very clear in their sinful or unforgivable acts, so it's much easier to see why isaac would associate with them - but jacob and esau are a bit harder to justify isaac's association and subsequent warping of their character.

it was really interesting that you said they could reflect how isaac is torn between his parents and acting differently around them, both because it's a very good example of code switching (something that has the potential to form alters when you're dealing with a dissociative disorder) and also because the actual jacob and esau were considered "favorites" by their parents - his mother (rebekah) favored jacob, and his father (isaac) favored esau. it could explain his association with them and relate them to his parents, a force that has a massive influence in his life and would definitely give isaac conflict as they're both very different people who likely treat him in very different ways. it could also give a bit of reasoning as to why jacob became the tainted one - not only does it provide more potential in gameplay it also reflects how when tainted, his "dad interactor" esau was taken and sent to hell, as his father was also taken away from him (and likely called sinful for his leaving of the family).

i have another idea for them relating to how jacob and esau are introduced - when you defeat mother, the cutscene and their unlock achievement both say "you are just like your father". it could definitely be grounds for a child's mind to want to make that split, to separate the "mom half" and the "dad half", and to make the "mom half" more prominent and controlling of their situation. this then makes the jacob and esau association make even more sense - jacob is the so called "dominant half" and is also the favorite of their mother.

all of this being said, it's still difficult for me to make sense of how they are both portrayed so differently from their biblical counterparts when tainted. it definitely takes parts of the text into account, but also goes directly against other parts - much unlike a lot of other characters that take a basic concept from their biblical stories and build around it.

it could be because it's meant to reflect isaac's own life more than the story itself, and exhibits how it can break the existing rules and stories he has... because it's his real life seeping through the cracks.

(i also am having difficulties with anima sola. all i've gotten is the broken chain imagery originating from the icon of a "lonely soul" in purgatory. not much related to jacob and esau themselves, and i'm willing to bet it could just a way to make a "chaining item" related to christianity.)

[isaac-in-downpour]

Ouhh yesss I love this!!! I've decided to look into just the basics of the tale (wikipedia my beloved) and it's interesting how Jacob is depicted as a true deceiver, but is also deemed to be deserving despite this? Esau is treated as frivolous and unworthy, and the father believes the deception to be deserved?

Plus how in text, it states that the mother helps Jacob deceive their father. It's almost an opposing parallel of how our Isaac's Dad takes Moms money and runs off with it..? Not to mention the common mention to birthright/womb, a factor we see Isaac has some degree of obsession over in the game..

the writing also says that when E&J meet after a time, Jacob does not trust Esau's pleasantries, and proceeds to avoid and deceive him further? Interesting how Esau is painted so devilishly throughout the entire myth..

I'm fascinated by your mention of the opposing narrative of Isaacs' version vs the biblical telling. It reminds me of how childrens sunday schools often take biblical stories and change them to teach children morals and lessons. Perhaps the morals to not be frivolous with important possessions and to not deceive your elders?

It's a stretch but I could see Isaac's trauma taking these fables to their extreme end. We know that Mom hates Dad for the deception, and we know that Isaac's loved belongings where taken from him during Moms decline. I can see them trying to work through these actions and emotions through the morals they've been taught, trying to make sense of things.

The Anima Sola... it's odd that many interpretations treat it as someone breaking from their chains/suffering and is destined for heaven. Yet, in TBOI, it is used to create chains and trap. Maybe a tell on how Esau continues to hold onto his hate? or Jacob holds onto his distrust? Jacob binds Esau to eternal suffering, saving himself from fate. I'm absolutely sure there is something within it that has meaning..

This is getting so long, oops! I hope my rambles made sense, and I still have many thoughts! -And again, I love your analysis! Thank you so much!! :]

[cookiecaker]

tonight me and my friends (@galactinqq & @spideyes) made a diagram connecting some important things between petscop, TBOI and interloper because they have a lot in common between the three of them (at least sometimes). i would love to discuss this more because i really like all three of these things

transcript below:

Interloper & TBOI:

All layers of the game becoming a downward spiral

Major characters' imagery becomes recurring

Major connections to creator's personal lives (there's not much for these two TBH. For now. Sad.)

Petscop & Interloper:

Older game aesthetic, unreleased game material

Game acts of its own accord

Input recording, "demo" recording

Moving your character without seeing it

Waiting for a really long time for something to happen

Dark as shit (Visually) (It's dim)

Deadpan and sometimes oblivious recorder

Ambiguous and strangely motivated group behind the videos

Fictional company behind material creation

Messages left for specific people in the game

Changing one person into a different person

TBOI & Petscop:

Horribly unreliable narrator

Trans-coded protagonist

Perspective works directly through the lens of trauma

Divorce

Identity warping through family member manipulation and abuse

Repressing childhood memories and returning to them later on

Recurring themes of being locked in a closet

The color red being related to the past

All three:

Trans related theories

Connections to respective creator's earlier works

Themes of dehumanization and horror of change Ghosts, both living and digital

INSANE Soundtracks

Unreasonably convoluted game mechanics

[isaac-in-downpour]

Dark Esau why must you be so hard to draw?? Anyway analysis under cut :]

I was confused for a long time on what Jacob and Esau represented for Isaac. I'll admit I don't fully understand the whole 'birthright' thing in the original story, so any meaning taken from that is currently lost on me. I've seen the McMillen tweet but I am ignoring it b/c.. Well I think is was a joke hehe

My current thought is that Jacob and Esau are how Isaac acted under each parents view. Like, I think it's pretty common to act differently when interacting with different family members. This goes on to say when Dad left, they became tainted because Dad's interaction doesn't exist anymore.

I think arguments can be made on both sides of who's who (Jacob being mom's 'follower' or Esau being mom's 'follower') Specifically through Dark Esau.

Esau being Dad's interactor could be that with Dark Esau, it's felt that Isaac betrayed their father. Everything they did together has been locked away and removed, why didn't Isaac fight more to keep these important moments? I think Isaac would blame himself for not being able to hold the physical items of Dads memory.

On the otherhand, Esau being Mom's interactor makes it that Dark Esau hates that Isaac can't follow Mom's word. Why can't he be good and holy like their mother wants? Why can't she make her happy like she used to? Isaac believes himself to be sinful, he could blame himself for not being good enough for their mother anymore.

Jacob and Esau work as one, Isaac was happy with his complete family, and had interests with both their parents. But when Mom and Dad split, one had to be left behind. Do they follow Mom or Dad? Maybe this caused their development as alters?? A direct byproduct from her parents breakup?

If anyone has more insight on how the Anima Sola could come into play, or on the actual biblical reference that would be so cool!

[ricecaqes]

dark esau cookie

[dove-tears]

holding isaac moriah out to you so gently. what would he make their fursona be and what do you personally think fits her best? what do you think they'd name their system if any name at all? these are the burning mundane questions i see no binding of isaac fan asking and i would love your opinion :3

I like to think her fursona would be a cat since i think they fit him the best and she loves them a lot, i also hc that he'd be catgender if they knew abt xenogenders :)

I like to think their system would be named the Torah. (If not then if they ever got to grow up then the new host would probably name themselves that as a personal name outside of their legal name)

[cookiecaker]

magdalene on her own is already an incredibly interesting character as compared to most of isaac's other identities - instead of being directly based on an existing biblical figure or stage of decay, magdalene is more closely connected to his mother, the connection that they hold, and isaac's own femininity and happiness as a whole. each part of her character holds a distinct history in isaac's life, including her appearance; a wig gifted to him by his mother, serving as another factor of their connection and the joy it brings isaac.

which then makes it all the more interesting to consider the appearance of tainted magdalene, her "abused" counterpart; the hair is distinctly duller in color and shaved on one side, much unlike what an actual wig would look like. at a first glance this choice in appearance may seem strange, maybe even haphazard, but is in reality a choice that makes complete sense given isaac's experiences and reflects the pain he feels at being stripped of his identity.

on multiple occasions it has been made clear that isaac's baldness comes from isaac's mother shaving his head (1) (2); while the purpose itself is unclear, the effect of it very much is. it strips isaac of his own identity without his input, and the resulting misery is shown clearly through the corruption or "tainting" of the identity that most encapsulates his happiness - magdalene. this act of shaving isaac's head is reflected in her appearance, and while it may be a fake wig in reality, the feminine identity that it holds is very much real to isaac. one part of her hair being gone expresses his feelings in that part of him being stolen, while what remains signifies that it remains something real and true to isaac.

thank you for reading my post!!! :)

[cookiecaker]

really really good thoughts. i never saw the dream that way, it's very interesting to take it that way especially since some of the other dreams aren't always literal in their portrayal. it could definitely go either way.

i feel like that ambiguity is something that gives isaac's mother some interesting depth - the wig could have been a gift directly from her, or it could have been something isaac simply found without permission. isaac and his mother are shown to both be happy together when he has that wig and dress on, but she's also the one that shaves his head, possibly in the desire for him to conform to masculinity.* this ambiguity and seemingly contrasting decisions could showcase the conflict she has about her christianity, or perhaps a shifting of values over time after exposure to dogmatic media. she wants her son to be happy and loved, but at the same time sees him as someone that needs redemption and cleansing.

*i've seen some people say it could have been done as a nazarite vow, though i feel it could possibly be for both these reasons if not one or the other, considering how often excessively religious practices and traditional gender expression go hand in hand. regardless, it has the effect of making isaac appear more "masculine", and it mirrors the experience many other trans and gnc children have had in being forced to have their hair cut a particular way for the sake of presentation. it is still about isaac's mother forcing her will unto him.

[isaac-in-downpour]

Gotta show them VeggieTales, you just gotta!!!

Didn't realize just how many HCs this had until I was finished, hello TBOI community!!!! I just think he's neat :] Hope you're ready for my rambling!! I haven't drawn actual humans in so long ahh!!!

I originally had this in mind as a 'post fix-it/saved form death AU' (hence the grown-out hair), but didn't have any ideas for the background so I used a reference for Mom's TV and house, so I guess this could also be a 'before it all went wrong' scene? Up to interpretation!

Anyways, I think Isaac should watch VeggieTales, it be a good way to help her with his religious trauma by bringing in much safer/nicer media. I think going 'religious cold turkey' would do alot more harm then good simply because of how ingrained it is in Isaac. (Don't ask why Dogma's there, it's just chilling ig, wondering why the TV's spouting safe media for once hehehe)

Isaac has the bedtime items equipped (Binky, Blanket, Night Light, Mr.Dolly) as well as Orphan Socks. They also have Maggy's Bow (colored from Magdalene's sprite, not the item. Although Maggy isn't co-fronting). I like to think the bow is used as a simple form of feminine expression for Isaac, so they share it with Maggy. Also Mr.Dolly look's so much like Maggy in game? I'm sure there's some theories I can think of about that but this isn't the post for it lol.

Lastly, personal HC that they end up using age-re (spaced for tag avoidance reasons) to cope with their trauma after the fact. It just makes since for me b/c of the old Binky text and that we know Isaac had a period of time when he was much younger where he was very happy. It wouldn't be surprising for him to mimic that feeling of before-times.