#gta posting

[izukuologist]

how i leave the hospital in gta to search for another unarmed pedestrian

[ruscha]

trevor gets it. he was so real for this

[returnofdedsec]

Everyone needs 2 leave franklin alone…..stop being mean to him.

[ruscha]

constantly thinking about gta v’s themes surrounding religion and righteousness, sin and sinners. how it takes place in the city of saints. how michael attempts to absolve himself of his past sins by taking on a surname that means “holy” or “saintly”, how he is referred to as pseudo-messianic by lester in reference to his “resurrection”. how lamar coins the trio’s nickname: the unholy trinity. how the song nine is god from the ost is referencing the 9mm pistol franklin uses in endings a and b and referring to it as his god, his only true guiding force.

how each character has run-ins with religious groups that exemplify their particular hang-ups: michael joins epsilon to have control, power, be a god. trevor sacrifices hitchhikers to the altruists to be the arbiter of judgement upon those who have judged him. franklin corresponds with the children of the mountain in order to find self-confidence and purpose.

how trevor refers to his and michael’s meeting as a “baptism”. how trevor’s need to be outside of the mainstream and expose the hypocrisy of society means him taking on every imaginable vice, performing every taboo, becoming the enemy of “righteousness” in favor of the naked truth, the scapegoat for the world’s wickedness. how during michael’s funeral the preacher begins speaking about how jesus was crucified next to two thieves, one penitent and one impenitent, one who aspires to righteousness (michael always thought of himself as “the good guy”) and one who rejects it entirely (trevor is “hell walking on earth”), and how franklin’s ultimate ending finds him breaking that false dichotomy and unceremoniously remarrying good and evil.

[ruscha]

here’s the thing about amanda de santa. why would the writers of the game give her the very impactful role of being michael’s main motivation to kill trevor and get out of the business originally, if their intent was to also write her in the laziest, most sexist way possible and portray her and michael’s relationship as hopelessly dysfunctional even after they reconcile because, in her words, michael is a terrible person who will never meaningfully change but she at least wants to be the one to spend his money and eventually bury him?

because if their intent was to write her as shallow and unsupportive and showcase how fundamentally flawed hers and michael’s marriage is, then michael and trevor should just run away together at the end, right? that’s the sensible conclusion here. michael and trevor fundamentally understand each other more than michael and amanda do— michael secretly craves trevor’s chaos and lifestyle, and trevor is extremely open about how he seeks out relationships with other unstable people that are “doomed to fail”. they have genuine chemistry, work on a fairly level playing field (class antagonisms aside) and they implicitly if not explicitly condone each other’s criminal activity. so why wouldn’t they be great together? why is michael still a “family man” at the end of the day if he fucking hates his family?

because the intent was never to really explore michael’s relationship with his family. this game was made by straight men who really only meant to say things like “bitches crazy” and “no homo” and “isn’t it funny how marriage is a trap”. amanda (and by extension tracey (jimmy is exempt from this because he gets actual character exploration and heartfelt interactions with michael, i wonder why that is)) represents a glaringly lazy aspect of the game’s writing which in almost every other way is engaging, competent, and filled with a surprising amount of depth and nuance for a game made in 2013. amanda is a joke, a half-assed misogynistic trope, a pawn who you aren’t supposed to care about beyond the aesthetic property of being michael’s wife, even though michael is supposed to have cared so much about her and the kids that he faked his own death.

[ruscha]

the trikey gay subtext is huge and obvious in the game but also like. lamar and franklin have literally canonically touched penises. framar is so real

[ruscha]

michael de santa talking to his therapist

[ruscha]

yeah……..….