hanbunmensch

[hanbunmensch]

Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather the multitudinous seas incarnadine, making the green one red.

A little water clears us of this deed.

#dbh markus #dbh north

[hanbunmensch]

I just wanted to say I find your DBH deep dives and analyses absolutely fascinating and I always enjoy seeing them come across my feed. I often read them a few times to make sure I absorb everything. Thank you for taking the time to share such musings with the DBH community.

I'm glad to hear that, though my posts are nothing special. I've read some of the script and surrounding texts for that work, but I can't do data analysis, and there are many more specialists out there who know much more about DBH. Moreover, the thought that someone reads my posts a few times is kinda terrifying and somewhat embarrassing. When using this language, I often struggle to compose my thoughts effectively, leading me to simplify the content reluctantly. I wish I could write with more clarity 🤧

[hanbunmensch]

the fact what the others want shouldn't be what u want

Could this be related to our recent Twitter conversation about Jacques Lacan's "Desire is the desire of the Other's desire"? Well, it doesn't really matter either way, but if that's the case, I feel I significantly underexplained the concept, so I'd like to add some context here.

Firstly, this concept isn't about denying the desire for the Other's desire from an individualistic perspective that believes in an established self. It's an analysis of how human desire is formed in a way that's beyond our control. For a simple example, a child eats cake because they feel their parents want them to, in order to satisfy their parents' desire. Well, the child might actually like the cake, but that’s another story. Desire is something mediated, not merely a direct relationship between the child and the cake as an object of desire.

Looking at the game's story through the lens of the Other's desire, we can observe the following:

In "The Bridge", Connor has the option to say to Hank, "I’m whatever you want me to be, Lieutenant. Your partner... Your buddy to drink with... Or just a machine... Designed to accomplish a task." I think this should be seen in connection with a statement by Kamski in the bonus content short movie "Kamski", where he says, "They can cook, discuss philosophy with you, have intimate relationships according to your desires." I believe this indicates a literally "NEUTRAL" statement in general about the nature of androids as products. Software Instability doesn't change with this option.

And Kamski's aforementioned statement brings to mind Markus, who, at the beginning of the game, cooks bacon and eggs, talks about Plato's Republic, and forms a pseudo father-son relationship with Carl. (I am aware that many here despise the father-son concept, and I'm not here to engage in a discussion on the pros and cons of it. This is merely an explanation based on canon. Markus calls Carl "dad" and says, "I had a loving father", while Carl tells Markus, "You're my son". Also, the French title for the chapter "Broken" is "Tu es mon fils (You are my son)".)

Now, as for Markus, in "Time to Decide" and with the "SOMBER" option, he reflects, "Maybe I was only what my master wanted me to be... And now I need to decide who I really am..."

Kara and Alice, who are analyzed by Luther as "She wanted a mom, and you wanted someone to care for", and by Lucy as "She wanted a mom. You wanted a little girl" in "Crossroads", rely on the fantasy of becoming a normal human family. This journey, driven by their fantasy, is not condemned by Luther and Lucy. Instead, Kara becomes aware of this desire and simultaneously faces Alice's true identity.

Thus, in this game, desiring the Other's desire is neither portrayed entirely as positive nor entirely as negative. Your sarcastic take on Kara and Alice desiring to be like a human family as the meaning of "become human", in my opinion, is somewhat superficial. They have managed, among themselves as androids, to embody a very human perversion of desiring the Other's desire.

As a side note, in critiques of DBH within the Japanese-speaking world (my mother tongue), Sartre is often brought up: This stems from an interview where David himself referenced Sartre and described choice-based games as "existentialistic". The story arcs—Markus's movement for rights and Connor's forced complicity in oppressive structures—can indeed be interpreted through Sartre's concept of engagement (commitment). Therefore, when I learned from L'art de Quantic Dream that David has read Freud, Jung, and Lacan*, I found it intriguing as material for interpreting the work. Existentialism proclaims that humans are free and live by their own will, in contrast, structuralism, as used by Lacan in his interpretation of Freud's psychoanalytic theory, suggests that humans, despite believing they live by their will, are unconsciously bound by structures. My primary interest in engaging with fiction is predominantly in discovering the aspects that, at first glance, seem to deviate from today's "morality" in characters or humanity in general, whether intentionally placed by the author or not, and in finding ways to deal with them instead of merely condemning them as toxic. It was in this context that I mentioned "Desire is the desire of the Other's desire" as a clue to such exploration.

* "Si le jeune David ne saisit pas vraiment la portée des textes du médecin de Vienne, il n'hésite pas un seul instant à feuilleter ceux d'autres psychanalystes comme Lacan ou Jung." The verb "feuilleter" is used in the original text, suggesting he just skimmed through or glanced at the works. However, considering that in his country, philosophy is a standard part of the curriculum in secondary school (lycée), it makes me wonder if this kind of knowledge is more common there than what someone like me from outside might assume. But I don't really know for sure.

Sometimes I get worried I'm letting Kara out of my rants but really her story is more about domestic violence stuff and how androids try lying to themselves so they feel like fitting in the world - in this case "becoming human", a horror story about acceptance - but not exactly only about yourself but the fact what the others want shouldn't be what u want. Cuz that's what Kara's and Alice's journey became after they changed Alice's character.

I feel like mfs say Connor's story is the best one cuz it got lotta makeup. Few people gonna get some refs and really gonna sound like an average sci-fi game instead of touching sensitive subjects like Markus and Kara's story does. And also got the dynamic with Hank that is basically a comic relief.

I got some bad news...nobody is free from caginess.

#dbh

[hanbunmensch]

My monthly contribution to the dbh fandom

#suits you well

[hanbunmensch]

I've unearthed a video I started working on last year but never finished. It showcases scenes where North and Connor take over Markus' role. Though it doesn't cover every single scene.

#youtube #dbh markus #dbh north #dbh connor

[hanbunmensch]

来年は漫画描きたいっす

#dbh

[hanbunmensch]

Apparently so.

#dbh markus #dbh carl

[hanbunmensch]

#dbh memes

[hanbunmensch]

alice: distant jericho: unpopular hank: hostile

#dbh

[hanbunmensch]

#dbh connor

[hanbunmensch]

#dbh markus

[hanbunmensch]

babe wake up another beat just dropped

#been on repeat for an hour

[hanbunmensch]

#dbh markus

[hanbunmensch]

Tagged by @iwonderwh0  – thanks for giving this recluse a chance to share a bit about myself.

3 ships: If I ever did a dbh fanfic, I'd totally wanna see more moments between the three protags, including Kara, who had limited canonical interactions. Does that count as a ship?

First ever ship: I've never really shipped anyone, but the first time I dabbled in fanfiction was for Ghost in the Shell. Wrote a pretty dull novel, and I got a single reaction... a thumbs-down.

Last song: Rudie Can't Fail – The Clash

Last movie: I Hired a Contract Killer

Currently reading: This question is a tough one for me since I often skim through stuff without fully finishing. But for novels that you'd typically read from start to finish, I'm reading Zendegi by Greg Egan. 

Currently watching: Better Call Saul

Currently consuming: Dr. Pepper

Currently craving: Dr. Pepper...

I was tagged by @sweeteatercat and @nothinggathers, thank you so much! ❤

9 people to get to know better!

3 ships: Hankcon, Polycho, Harrykim (or Kimharry, no one knows what's the right one lol)

first ever ship: Honestly, I don't really know. I know the first kinda ship I felt compelled to read fics and stuff about was stardew valley Shane (x farmer)

last song: Wurst Vacation by Ice Nine Kills (sorry, but the eins, zwei, drei, die part always gets me 😂)

last movie: Err, still the terrible Red, White, and Royal Blue adaptation 😓

currently reading: Total Creative Control by Joanna Chambers and Sally Malcolm (at least it's giving me Hankcon ideas, so it's good for that lol). Also a ton of fics.

currently watching: OFMD

currently consuming: Tea

currently craving: Chocolate cake

I tag: @iwonderwh0, @glass-noodle, @cheekybrassmonkey, @hothotpot, @advictoriams, @heiko-goes-detroit, @detroitbecomeonline, @anonymousedward, feel free to ignore 😊

[hanbunmensch]

#dbh markus #dbh connor

[hanbunmensch]

#dbh

[hanbunmensch]

#dbh kara