#there are infinite ways to interpret a text

[allidopas]

when engaging with fanwork i usually prioritize those that align with canon. at the same time im like. damn who am i, augustine of hippo? and then my next thought is, yeah im reaching my pretentious lit student phase

[thegreatyin]

mr spices and mr wines. also mr candles and mr veils.

have you ever seen that one tumblr post that's like. "i don't ship these characters i just think they belong in couples therapy together". yeah. that's pretty much my stance on most spacebat ships

[jibunbosh]

Mesmerizer is a satire of TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and the rest of the modern short-form vertical video format

A brief thematic analysis.

I'm sure there are countless people already interpreting the imagery and details in this wonderful song & MV, like here and here, so I won't spend too much time retreading that ground. Miku and Teto are dancing. Miku gets hypnotized. Teto signals for help, but gets hypnotized at the end as well.

That part is obvious enough, but that's still pretty surface-level. What is this seemingly hyperspatial horror scenario supposed to mean to us?

While checking to see if anyone before me's already come to the same conclusions as I did and if I should bother not writing this text post at all (lol), I came across udin's great analysis video. She comes to the conclusion that the song tackles themes of disillusionment with reality and the ways we indulge in escapism to relieve ourselves of the pains of the world.

I agree with that reading! From practically the very beginning, we have Miku call to us - the viewer - to push away our true feelings. Teto comes in to peddle a solution, inviting us to surrender and empty our minds - in her words, "pretending to know nothing."

You, the viewer, are a critical character in this masquerade. For nearly the entire video, Miku and Teto's eyes are unfailingly trained on you. Or, well... perhaps they can't actually see you, but they can see a camera, or whatever other aperture the point of view is supposed to be from. And they know they're being watched. (Who else would Teto be sending distress signals to?)

Let's put a pin on that for later.

udin notes very early on that Miku and Teto are, conspicuously, kept in vertical frames - very similar to the video formats of TikTok (and Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts, and whatever other clones of the format exist.) You know, just like the animator Caststation's Rabbit Hole fan MV that went viral some months ago.

Hey wouldn't it be crazy if the song's producer, 32ki, released Mesmerizer shorts too haha. Wouldn't that be crazy.

Wow, wild.

These short-term vertical videos are captivating & alluring. If you're reading this, it's more likely than not that you've also found yourself caught up in them at least once, scrolling through the infinite algorithmic slurry and forgetting about the real-life issues you have at hand. Would you say, then, that you felt hypnotized? Mesmerized, even?

And so these two invite us to join their world and focus on the... uh... rectangle.

Their dances are repetitive, following the same loop. Their outfits are distinct, but their choreography isn't. They're copying the same formula, repeating it ad nauseam to the best of their ability.

They're doing a fucking TikTok dance.

Back to the pin I told you about earlier, with Miku and Teto looking at a camera.

Miku sways with the camera, eyes looking directly at it like a swinging pocket watch. She's been looking at it the entire time, after all. We've been seeing her via our screen this entire time, but, again, she doesn't necessarily see us. She's beholden to the camera, which she dances for day after day, caught up in its spell. She's hypnotized by it. Eventually, she breaks.

Teto, on the other hand, resists. For a while, anyway.

Despite her being the one jumping to us with the "solution" at the beginning of the MV, there's very quickly good reason to question how much agency she has in this. She dances for the camera as well, but she doesn't want to. She's signalling for help. She wants out.

Many content creators (as much as I personally loathe the non-specificity and soullessness of the term) have struggled with the adaptation to the short-form video format, and the preference the algorithm has had for these captivating, bite-sized videos. They're catchy, and easily drive up metrics. Practically anyone who's publishing their work via video format online needs to learn to adapt or fall behind, even if that means whittling their content down to fit the frame, the time, and people's shortening attention spans. Sometimes, that means compromising on specificity and completeness... or, in other words, the true representation of a full work.

The song's writer, 32ki, has been releasing songs on YouTube for several years. Their first YouTube Short, however, was posted only a year ago: a short, whittled-down segment of their previous song, CIRCUS PANIC!!!, hoping for it to win the ProsekaNEXT song contest. It was their first song to achieve widespread popularity and hit a million views.

The shorts, however, aren't the "true" versions of the song. The full song just won't fit.

We're being mesmerized as consumers of this endless stream of content, rather than appreciators of music and art. However, that relationship isn't completely symmetrical across the plane that is the 4th wall. Miku and Teto are trapped not by their attention spans, but by a compulsion to project their "truthful acting" and peddle that window into a colorful, problem-free world.

We, as the collective audience, need not dwell on any one thing for too long - we need only swipe, and move on to the next video. However, Miku and Teto are trapped behind the screen for eternity, day after day.

They're the only characters we get to see, of course. There's no evil 3rd voice synth character that's plotting to keep them trapped in there. We can't put a face to whatever force is hypnotizing them and trapping them behind the screen. It's faceless - like the inscrutable algorithms of YouTube recommendations or the TikTok For You page, or the impersonal corporations that develop & maintain those aforementioned apps. Miku and Teto's likenesses, on the other hand, are being exploited and extracted from for their entertainment value, being strung along by that metaphorical hypnotizing force like puppets on a string.

Many people, represented by Miku, enjoy their success on such platforms. It's freeing and liberating to throw oneself wholeheartedly into such an endeavor, of course! Others, represented by Teto, harbor their doubts of the emotional veracity of such a medium, but know they have little choice lest they face destruction... perhaps not literally as a person, but as an idea.

Wouldn't it be easier just to let oneself be swept away by it and give in?

[dragonpropaganda]

you should talk about your thoughts on rw fanon (looking with huge eyes)

Oh god, there's a lot of major misconceptions have concreted into fanon, mostly around ancient society and ascension.

First things first! Ascension is not death! They are entirely separate things treated entirely separately by the text of the game. I can see where the interpretation is coming from, but it doesn't really align with how the text treats either subject. Five Pebbles may want to remove the self destruction taboo, but from his reaction to the rot it's clear that he doesn't want to die. Conflation of ascension and death only comes up as an offhand possibility that pebbs makes on iterator 4chan, when he's going into the possibilities of scenarios that even the other sliverists are doubtful of! (let me make clear that I am not a sliverist by any means)

Ascension is more of talked about as a form of transcendence, yeah? A Bell, Eighteen Amber Beads talks about their sitution as being "To have grasped at the boundless infinites of the cosmic void…", not as them seeking an end to life.

The beta dialogue goes into more detail, mentioning the "infinities of time and space" and the "boundless fractal planes of spirit and reality...", though this dialogue was cut and it's hard to tell how much it reflects the concept as in the released game.

As for the cultural misconceptions... there's A Lot to talk about, but the first that comes to mind is the common conflation of the five natural urges and the christian concept of sin.

It is true that the negation of urges is mentioned by moon as an alternative method of ascension, but much of what we know about the culture of the people who the fandom calls the ancients (which makes discussion of the depths a mess but that's something for another post entirely) points towards the urges not being seen as shameful.

Even the first urge does not seem to be particularly scorned! Being a warrior is presented as a cause for bragging in the Shaded Citadel pearl, being comparable with being an artist and a fashion legend. The second urge, also does not seem to be suppressed. Multiple sources attribute some level of honour to parenthood! The aforementioned pearl also mentions Seventeen Axes, Fifteen Spoked Wheel as being a "Mother, Father and Spouse" without any hint of shamefulness. Nineteen Spades, Endless Reflections expresses pride about having progeny, mentioning it alongside their owned land and esteem among their peers.

After some peer review, an esteemed friend has told me to add a section on purposed organisms as well! This is not so much my area, so I might be a bit off on some things.

As moon says, the majority of purposed organisms were tubes in boxes, and that the primal fauna of the world are almost entirely extinct. A lot of the fandom seems to ignore the first part, and i can't say I blame them, but the evolution of the creatures is so much weirder than people think.

Concept art for the creatures has this interesting quality to it, where the organic parts of the creatures have an almost... melty quality to them.

In the concept art, the flesh appears as if it's almost defying the machinery to form an animal shape. It's as if it's conquering its own artificiality the way the foliage grows over the (stone, brick and concrete, not mostly metal as some think!) ruins.

Of course, it's hard to really tell how much of this reflects the finalised concept, most of the integration is much smoother in the game, in line with a seamless kind of biomechanical design. There was always an intention of biomechanical strangeness, as shown in this screenshot of the devlog before the term "slugcat" even existed!

That said, the melty nature of the concept art shows a level of wild change inherent the biomechanical nature of the creatures, as if they truly are the result of these "tubes in boxes" almost revolting against their own boxes.

and considering centipedes... some tubes may not have had boxes in the first place!

[furiarossa]

Question: What if Vlad was the Ghost King?

This is a really interesting question!

It's interesting to note how most fans focus on alternate universes where Danny Fenton/Phantom becomes the king of the ghosts, when in the canon version of the series it is Vlad, at some point, who possesses the objects of power... and having the Crown of fire and the Ring of rage, in theory he has infinite power. Considering that at the time Fright Night is in his service, Vlad has access to the entire triptych of the objects of power, the ring, the sword and the crown, three things that historically carry enormous symbolic value.

On top of that, Vlad owns also the Skeleton Key, that can unlock any door, realm, case, or prison, even allow access to any realm in the Ghost Zone.

Isn't that enough, to be near-omnipotent?

And despite all this, Vlad never uses the Crown and the Ring at the same time, refusing in a certain sense to become the Ghost King. He does not allow himself to be corrupted by infinite power, because that is not his goal. (As usual, in our analysis we leave out the third season, because there the characters' motives appear too fundamentally altered and unrecognizable. We have an explanation for this too, but it will come in its time!).

Within the series, this is left as an open question, never answered: Vlad could indeed become the King of the Ghosts, but we are never shown the objects of power again after Reign Storm (only once, briefly, in the graphic novel "A Glitch in Time", but in an inconsequential way. Vlad continues to possess those objects, but it is clear that he does not use them directly to acquire power, but rather to seek something else).

So, asking "What if Vlad was the Ghost King?" is... pretty normal. A rather natural consequence of what we have been shown.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that we don’t find it interesting how other fans give this role, that of the king, to Danny Fenton/Phantom: every interpretation is completely subjective and we like to explore every possibility. All this is just a preamble to the real answer, of course: what if Vlad wore the symbols of power? What if Vlad, as you asked, decided to become the King of the Ghosts?

Because that's what it comes down to: his choice to accept that power.

At this point, many things could happen... but we will decide to analyze one path in particular: that of power which, combined with the sadness of an abandoned man, corrupts him.

But let's start from the beginning, shall we?

What does it mean to become a Ghost King?

+ Origins +

The Ghost Zone originates from the remains of the Fallen Ancients, enormous living creatures that were once part of the material plane, but during a fracture of reality descended into a completely empty dimension. The decomposition of their magical bodies created an entire ecto-ecosystem, with a unique spiritual imprint, which quickly gave rise to sentient entities.

One of the first entities born in this way, around the time the first phantomhives were formed, decided to create magical objects that would allow it to control the power of these Ancients, much like mages on the material plane sometimes do with the bones of great magical creatures, which contain a portion of the power of when that creature was alive.

The entity in question, whose identity is debated, is often referred to in texts simply as "Blacksmith".

The Blacksmith did not know that everything within the Ghost Zone originated from the remains of the Fallen Ancients, so they could not have foreseen that these magical objects they had created would not only be of unheard-of power, but also capable of controlling every single being within their plane of reality, be they living or non-living. Possessing the Crown, Ring, and Sword at the same time grants any spirit immediate and total dominion over the entire Ghost Zone.

+ Role +

Among the spirits, a Ghost King is neither essential nor particularly welcome: it is a role created by mistake, directly from the ancient relics, and is not necessary in any way to the functioning of the Ghost Zone.

Long periods of time can pass between one "coronation" and another, mainly because the spirits tend to hide the relics, or to guard them, to prevent other individuals from using the power. There are some "legends" that speak of how the role of a Ghost King makes sense and is necessary to maintain order, but this is mere monarchist and totalitarian propaganda, usually commissioned by other Kings in order to give a semblance of reason to their power and to keep them under control.

Unfortunately, it is impossible to destroy the relics, both because of their robustness and because of their deep energetic connection with the Ghost Zone, which would risk causing enormous cataclysms, and the possible destruction of the entire phantom ecosystem if they were shattered to pieces, so there will always be Ghost Kings.

Vlad as a Ghost King: how it happened?

(Aka, what if Vlad was a REAL villain? What if he chose the bad path?)

Having the relics is not enough to be the King, you also need to wear them. The Crown of Fire and the Ring of Rage, in particular, need to be used in synergy, amplifying each other's strength, and this is a problem, because wearing the Ring means entering a state of continuous fury, where the individual has no other choice than to pursue a goal in any way, even with extreme violence; Vlad is therefore reluctant to use the relics as they were designed and tries to channel their power in other ways, without much success.

Vlad gives in after a cruel prank: the Fentons' daughter, Jasmine, spends the afternoon with him, giving him the hope of some friendship and human contact, only to reveal that she actually wants to capture him, having discovered thanks to Danny that he is a half human and half ghost (very similar to what happens in 211. "Secret Weapons").

Jasmine wears the ectoskelenton suit, controlled through a neural interface, that allows her to fight on equal terms with him, and to easily overcome this obstacle, Vlad decides to wear the Ring and the Crown.

Once he becomes the Ghost King, unable to control his new and boundless power, Vlad kills Jasmine with a single shot, causing her and the suit to explode.

At first he despairs, for having taken the life of someone so young, but soon he realizes that he is relieved to have gotten rid of her and also a little proud of himself for having managed to overcome the fear (which he defines as "mortal") of killing someone.

The power begins to fill his head with unhealthy ideas and killing (or dominating) those who dared to harm him in the past becomes an obsession with an easily achievable resolution. In a single night, he kills Jack in his bed and kidnaps Maddie, but luckily for Danny, the boy is not at home: he is at a party with two of his friends, Sam and Tucker.

Vlad reaches him, swollen with pride, with his hands still stained with blood and the crown that is burning on his head, and reveals to him that he killed his parents, voluntarily omitting that he only kidnapped Maddie. Danny begs him to spare him, promising him that he would become a diligent student if he survived.

Vlad has no desire to become Danny's mentor, but now only to take his life. In front of him, he kills Tucker without any remorse, strangling him. Danny, to distract the killer and prevent him from doing the same to Sam, insults him, challenges him and starts to run away. Vlad orders a bloodhunt on him: now every spirit in the world, among those who answer to his orders, will try at every moment to capture the fleeing boy. Danny will run away relentlessly for five years, while all the spirits in the world chase him.

+ The Man and the Demon +

Being an halfa, Vlad is an extremely anomalous Ghost King, possessing a human side in addition to his ghost self: the Crown and Ring only feed the latter, making him extremely unbalanced.

His ghost, huge and aggressive, is considerably more capable of taking control of his flesh body, as well as detaching itself from it for long periods of time. Vlad's human side still has some restraint and does not want the harm they are inflicting on others to be so extreme, but the more time passes, the more the ghost side of him, obsessed with power, is able to subjugate him.

Human Vlad had an infatuation for Maddie, a completely normal thing towards the only woman who has ever shown to understand him and who shares interests and passions with him.

After becoming the Ghost King, and realizing that he can achieve anything through force, Vlad captured Maddie and locked her in a cage, where he thinks he can break her will and force her to love him. The woman does not seem to submit to his will in the least, and insults him with sagacity and malice whenever she can, especially when he is in front of an audience.

Vlad continues now to keep her prisoner, not for love, but as punishment: over time, living close to her, he has learned to detest her, but he does not want to let her win and will never release her voluntarily.

+ Powers +

A Ghost King has near-absolute control over everything around them when they are in the Ghost Zone.

Some of the most notable powers of a Ghost King include:

Extended Teleportation: In addition to transporting their body to other places, breaking down their ectoplasm and reassembling it at will in almost any part of their realm, a Ghost King can also transport any other creature/object native to the Ghost Zone;

Supernatural Stamina: A King can sustain prolonged efforts, well beyond human limits, such as running for several days without ever having to stop or without eating. The true limit of this resistance is unknown, as the King's organism is entirely sustained by absorbing the Ghost Zone's energy, therefore it is thought that exhausting his energy is equivalent to mortally draining every single spirit in his realm of all strength;

Summoning: already personally knowing the creature he wants to summon, a Ghost King can summon it almost instantly to any part of its realm, without necessarily using magical sigils or standard summons, but only by pronouncing the name of the entity. This power does not extend to beings that were born outside the realm;

Mind Control: A King can control, as if it were a puppet, the actions of any spirit to which he has affixed the Fire Mark, regardless of the origin of the spirit itself. Unlike other forms of mind control, that imposed by a Ghost King is total and can even force an individual to perform actions that harm their physical and mental safety, to the point of suicide;

Blood Hunt: One of the most iconic powers of a Ghost King is the ability to designate a victim that each "subject" must try to kill on sight. Whoever the designated victim is in a Blood Hunt, they will be chased everywhere by hordes of spirits who crave their blood and who, sooner or later, will surely capture and kill them by any means at their disposal.

We hope that you liked our interpretation! And if you want to know more, feel free to ask ;)

(On an interesting note... it seems like your question is absolutely timely, because right now we're thinking about writing something where the main antagonist is a Ghost King Vlad. Two of the drawings related to this answer are from the early stages of the project, they're concept art! And it's cool that we got to use them for something else, too. The last drawing was done just for this specific ask :D )

All the ghost worldbuilding posts!

The “Ask us about ghost worldbuilding” post

Our ask is open

[thecosmicangel]

Everything that you believe in only works because you believe in it, you have given it the power to become real.

Religion , crystals , tarot, divination, affirmation, placebo effect or any tool, practice, method & set of beliefs only work & are true because you have given it the power to be so. Prayers are answered because you stood strong in your faith (believe/assumption)that it will be answered (you persisted in your faith). The power that they all have in common is the power you have given it. The power doesn’t come from the outside it comes from within. The power is in our subconscious mind.

YOU & ONLY YOU create your reality & destiny , you have the power to change your destiny at any moment because infinite realities/ parallel realities exist in the quantum field. The biggest illusion has been that power/god is outside of us when it has always been within each one of us. So please don’t ever stop believing in your power, and the capacity you have to have whatever you desire.

The same divine intelligence/ power that created you and me plus everything else also resides WITHIN YOU & by default you hold the same power. By believing in your godly power you believe in God, the all, divine intelligence whatever name you want to call it.

All religious texts, spiritual teachings, philosophers, esoteric & occult teachings are all saying/implying the same thing over and over again in different ways, we are reminded we hold the power, create our realities and are the gods of our reality. The message is there but only “the ones who have eyes to see and ears to hear” will receive the message. It is everywhere in movies, tv shows, religious scripture, spiritual teachings, and books.

Now I’ll give you a few examples of how it is written & spoken of everywhere. Followed by my interpretation of it.

Side note : The Bible is not meant to be taken literally, but to be understood at a metaphysical level.

Genesis means "origin, creation, generation". The book of Genesis is about creation and the birth of all things in existence.

"And God said, let their be light, and there was light" Genesis 1:3

God affirmed and it was so.

"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him” -Genesis 1:27

We are God, we are a reflection of god , we hold the same power as God, God/Divine intelligence is In us all. We are all God experiencing itself through different ways.

Jesus says "The kingdom of God is within you" Luke 17:21

God can be found within you as it has always been within you. If we are made in the image of God then we don't need any other validation but our own self. Everything you want comes from you not outside of you.

Jesus says " Varily I say unto you, except ye be converted and become as little children ye shall not enter the kingdom of heaven" Matthew 18:3

In other words dare to dream & have a big imagination just as children have. Create & imagine whatever you desire, no dream is too big or impossible if you dare to dream it in imagination. Use your creative child like imagination to create your heaven on earth. Your imagination is the kingdom of heaven. Don’t ever lose your imagination. Don’t rely on logic or the 3D to create, if you can see it in your minds eye then it is very real & possible.

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”

“For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”

Matthew 7-8

If you want it, decide & assume you have it and you will receive it. It is as simple as that.

“so is my word that goes out from my mouth:It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” - Isaiah 55:11

Everything that you assume will become manifest, you must not have any doubts that it will not be so, because it is already done. Know that everything you want is already yours, simply affirm it to be yours

“Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven.” -Matthew 6:10

Similar to the saying “As within, so without, as above, so below.” Everything & everyone is a mirror/ reflection of your mind & what you assume to be true. The world is a mirror of your assumptions.

"Power resides where men believe it resides. It's a trick. A shadow on the wall. And a very small man can cast a very large shadow. " - Varys from Game of Thrones

There is 7 Hermitic Principles. The first principle is the principle of mentalism.

" The all is mind; the universe is mental"

In other words everything in existence, our outer world is all a mental construct. It is a hologram projected out based on subconscious programming. Everything we see is first created in our mind by programming of our subconscious & imagination. The world is a mirror of our assumptions. What we believe to be true is projected out into the outer world. If you want to see change in the 3D then you must first make the change within.

Now do you see how everything points back to YOU? How things are made possible by you & you only?! Do you understand the power of your mind?? Do you get that the 3D is a reflection of your inner mind (3D reflects the 4D). Do you understand that you are the only validation you need? Do you understand that imagination is real and not the 3D?? Do you understand that everything that exists and can possible exists is true and real? It all exists in some reality, there is infinite realities. Do you see how things have the power to be when you give it your awareness? Do you see how you are a reflection of God working & experiencing itself & creation through you= you are the operant power & god of your reality?!!!

xoxo, the cosmic angel ⭐️🪽

[siena-sevenwits]

“Send the risky text,” they say. It’s worth it - you’ve got to live boldly occasionally.

But people, don’t settle for that. REFUSE to make it occasional. Through the power of self doubt, every text, even to your chillest friends, can be a risky text which will cause you infinite embarrassment the moment you hit send!

“Have a great day!” (Did I seriously send that?)

“You can do it! You’ve got this!” (Oh no, the ways that could be interpreted!)

“Well, it was nice talking. I should get some rest.” (If only I could unsend! No!!)

[probablyasocialecologist]

Some people, in defense of generative A.I., will claim that A.I. builds from influences the same as human beings do.  This is, to me, the first indication that I’m talking to somebody who either does not understand how A.I. works, how human creativity works, or most likely both.  Something that needs to be clearly understood is that A.I. has no intelligence.  It does not “think”.  It is a predictive text program that simulates human expression by ingesting unfathomable amounts of data and trying to replicate that data.  It does not know and can not know what meaning its outputs have.  Further, it has no desire and no emotion to motivate action or decisions.  It simply runs a program and assembles pixels or words to match what seems most like other correct pixels and words in its vast data set.  It aggregates.  It produces averages. Humans, obviously, do not create like this.  Humans have intentions and purpose to what we do.  These intentions are sometimes deep, sometimes shallow, sometime clear, and sometimes nebulous.  But we always have emotion and thought connected to what we make.  What we create is guided by intent colliding with discovery, and these two states feed each other.  And the influence that we draw from existing work is not an analysis of pixels, but an emotional response to how that work makes us feel.  Even in analytical study of form or anatomy, our brains do not operate like computer programs.  While committing information to memory, we also interpret and seek to understand and this affects how that information is later able to be used.  Because we are each an individual, infinitely complex being, our different physiological, environmental, and cultural variations bring us to infinite different endpoints.  Like it or not, we all see the world slightly differently and our creative expressions reflect this. It has become standard to describe A.I. as a tool.  I argue that this framing is incorrect.  It does not aid in the completion of a task.  It completes the task for you.  A.I. is a service.  You cede control and decisions to an A.I. in the way you might to an independent contractor hired to do a job that you do not want to or are unable to do.  This is important to how using A.I. in a creative workflow will influence your end result.  You are, at best, taking on a collaborator.  And this collaborator happens to be a mindless average aggregate of data. To some, the prospect of collaborating with the sum average of all artists is apparently an attractive prospect.  Maybe you feel you are below average in some areas and the A.I. will therefore raise the quality of those areas.  But every percent that you hand over to the A.I. is a percent less of your unique voice, perspective, and intention.  And for folks who use A.I. generations wholesale, that comes out to a 100% loss of anything personal or unique that they might bring.

[scarlet--wiccan]

Oh God I was really hoping the backstory that was leaked for Billy was fake... just heard about the new episode and it turns out it wasn't. why would they choose this over adoption or reincarnation-

It's bad! I really feel like the M C U goes out of its way to interpret these characters in bad faith and come up with the worst possible versions of their stories. I've said this before, but everything about Wanda's origins and the nature of her power seems designed to make her an objectively worse person who is more directly responsible for causing harm than her comics counterpart, but is also weirdly set on punishing her for existing and having trauma. She's simultaneously more doomed by the narrative, and infinitely less deserving of redemption.

With Billy, they took a situation that, while complex and, at times, difficult to parse, is ultimately miraculous and joyful, and they made it just.... incredibly grim. There is no real distinction between Billy Maximoff and Billy Kaplan in the comics-- they're the same person, given a second chance at life and the great fortune to reconnect with his original family, in a way that doesn't invalidate or erase the second. And, again, I want to emphasize that when YA and CC were written, Wanda had Jewish heritage, so I don't think there needs to be any awkwardness in the transfer between the Maximoff and Kaplan families, and the text never does anything to imply that Billy's cultural upbringing is any less valid, or any less central to his character after his origins are revealed.

Here, they created a false dichotomy between the two characters, killed one them off, and made the other into a body-snatcher. That is so much darker, and so much more tragic for the Kaplans-- and it creates uncomfortable questions about their relationship, and Billy's identity, that I don't think can ever be neatly resolved. I will say that, thus far, I don't think the show explicitly disavows "William's" heritage, or writes off Billy's relationship with the Kaplans, the way some people are reporting. He doesn't actually remember his life before the switch, so it's not a total takeover, and at points, the episode seems to imply that he's somehow both, and neither-- a new gestalt.

But I don't trust these writers to execute that concept with integrity, or even consistency. In WV and MoM, Wanda's motives, sense of self, and relationship to her powers repeatedly change at the drop of a dime, and we're seeing the same thing, here, with the abrupt change that takes place when Billy reveals his identity. The shift in personality, escalation of power, and the vague implication that he's been masterminding this whole excursion makes no sense with the established timeline-- this is all happening within 24 hours of him even learning that Wanda had kids, let alone that he might be one of them, not to mention hearing about both Agatha the Witches Road for the first time. And up until that point, he really was just an earnest kid. The heel-turn feels silly and juvenile, and the needle drop at the end of episode #5 underscores that a little too perfectly-- his "bad guy" act is just as ill-fitting and unsubstantiated as the Eilish's edgy, wannabe-thug aesthetics.

Obviously, the most important issue here is not the quality of writing, but where this character falls into the spectrum of whitewashing and erasure. The fact that Locke is not Jewish but, before the switch, is playing a Jewish character-- and, specifically trespassing on prayer and religious ceremonies-- is a problem. I've seen a lot of different opinions expressed by a lot of different people within the community about who can or can't play Jewish characters, but I think we can all agree that this is worth criticizing, especially given the larger context of repeated erasure and historical distortion against Jewish and Roma people in this franchise.

But I also want to emphasize that, because of what was done to Wanda, and the franchise's insistence on conducting blatant anti-Romani racism, there was never going to be a truly authentic or acceptable version of this character. Now matter how they cast the role, a significant part of his background had already been erased, and he was already saddled with significant racist baggage. I am very, very tired of white people and Young Avengers fans overlooking that fact.

[skaruresonic]

idk why so many antis took the whole "like long lost sibling would " on that alt text for the promo of dark beginnings as canon and 'solid evidence' that shadria have a sibling relationship when the text can also be read as sarcastic or mocking? I might be reaching but sarcasm doesn't really translate well in text but putting any indication like ' or () when it doesn't flow in the original text always feels like somebody making snarky comment to me, idk to me personally I could argue w antis that it mocking them by being like 'isn't this obvious ship bait totally platonic' ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Idk it just so annoying to see so many antis go 'haha shadria fans must be weeping' when it a fucking alt text on a promo that I doubt any writers or higher up would quality check in comparison to the fact in canon that shadria has yet to be label unlike other characters in the series as well as ignoring how many opportunities the series had to outright have shadow call Maria his sister no media be it games, shows or comics has him calling her sister or vice versa. So unless the new game outright has him referring to her as sister in all languages, shadria will still be a valid ship and even if that does happen it still won't erase all the moments the two had either shippers r still gonna ship.

I don't understand why antis think one little text line that not even in any media is gonna make Sharia shipper suddenly stop. Apology for ranting but omg it so annoying seeing anti act so high n mighty over something so trivial 💀

Personally, I'm inclined to agree with Beev on this one. It seems like they threw in "as long-lost siblings would" in order to placate the antis. Which would, ironically enough, imply an awareness that the piece could be read as romantic.

There was really no need for a parenthetical note to dictate the tone of the piece. If they left it at "Shadow and Maria reach out for one another in an infinite abyss," the reader could interpret it any way they want.

(Random tangent, but describing space as an "infinite abyss" also strikes me as a bit strange. You can see stars in the piece.)

I think SoA knows the flavor of the food they've been serving us recently, but they did this as a sort of PR move to cover their asses. They might be worried about losing face with Shadria antis, who form a not-unsizable portion of fandom now compared to Shadria shippers.

...but I mean. Come on. There's no way they're not aware.

And the thing is, it's not like the manga or anything else is explicitly confirming the dynamic is definitely romantic, either. It's not like we shippers aren't aware we have our ship goggles on; we just wanna vibe in our space.

Ever since playing SA2 as a kid and wondering if Shadow was in love with Maria, I've always had the feeling that their dynamic was supposed to be left open to interpretation. Antis want to impose their reading upon pain of accusing you of being a freak, while the shippers are more like "haha... unless?"

Also, it's really funny to think this is the ship they consider worth calling people "demented dogs" over. Have you literally played any other video game ever? Read any book? Watched any movie? Oh no, a ship the game probably wanted us to ship a little! OOGA-BOOGA.

This is probably one of the least problematic ships in existence tbh. Methinks the antis doth protest too much.

Besides, you're (general you) being disingenuous to claim there are no undertones whatsoever. Why include them if the dynamic is only supposed to be interpreted a certain way?

Using Sonic X as an example of what I'm talking about might be cheating, but since it's about as non-canon as the manga appears to be, it seems fair to mention it.

In Sonic X, Shadow also tends to recall Maria through a romanticized filter; he remembers her as being extra beautiful and ethereal compared to other characters who recall her as simply an ordinary girl.

Compare Shadow's flashbacks to the flashbacks of the soldier who shot her:

In the soldier's flashback, Maria is just a frightened child who pulls the lever. We're not shown her body, but rather his reaction:

In Shadow's flashbacks, Maria slumps tragically to the ground and/or lies on the ground, calmly speaking her last words while bathed in soft blue light.

There's a heightened sentimentality to Shadow's memories of Maria which serves to emphasize, I guess, the "beauty" that the ARK tragedy took from him. Considering Shadow is stated to like "nothing," maybe he finds nothing or no one else as beautiful.

Not that her death wasn't tragic in and of itself, but there's a marked difference in tone. One feels like a child's senseless death viewed from the POV of the man who killed her, and the other feels like... to be frank... something romance anime-coded.

It's worth noting that Shadow maintains this romanticized filter even when fantasizing about an alternate timeline where she survived (or perhaps the future they had been looking forward to after she was cured), so you can't always chalk it up to a product of Gerald's brainwashing:

...let's unpack this on the therapist's couch, hmm?

---

I don't understand why antis think one little text line that not even in any media is gonna make Sharia shipper suddenly stop.

Very true, and it's a fool's errand to try. I was going to reblog that piece without tags, as per usual, but I decided to tag it as "Shadria" just to flip antis off. Fuck you, you can't tell me what to ship on my own blog. xP

(also tagged it "Shadria" because "Shadria" was the original ship name and it's still a perfectly good ship name. it's a pet peeve of mine, how antis chased shippers off the Shadria tag and forced them to come up with less elegant portmanteaus. "Shadaria" and "Mariadow" sound so much clunkier than "Shadria")

---

Apology for ranting but omg it so annoying seeing anti act so high n mighty over something so trivial 💀

No worries, antis are annoying at best. Wish they would just go away. >.>

[thelockedasshole]

Tbh I hate any interpretation of Paul TLT that views their fusion as unhealthy outside of the lens of the text specifically.

Like, what TaMuir is saying about it? Sure. What the narrative is saying about it? Absolutely.

But as a system who has a complex relationship with both temporary and permanent fusion, acting as if two people becoming one is inherently unhealthy and codependent and just... bad - well, it honestly kinda sucks. Also let's be clear moralizing and valorizing health, especially as defined by our current psychiatric system OR cultural/subcultural norms separate from that is not a guarantee of moral rightness or "purity".

(To be very clear, unless it is entirely by choice and absent of pressure or coercion to the fullest extent possible, we are against final fusion, and we're happiest when our system is overall expanding. But smaller fusions in a literal infinite system? A non-issue, that's the individual member's choice.)

Idk it's just like. Why can't the creation of Paul be something to grieve AND celebrate? Why can't Camilla and Palamedes becoming one be about how love is destructive and that's part of its beauty?

For that matter, are we sure that TaMuir or the narrative she's constructed is unequivocally, diagetically or otherwise, condemning the act as unhealthy, destructive, or wrong? Hasn't a recurrent theme of these books been that love at its best intentioned and most balanced is still something that takes? While so much of this is explicitly about hierarchical power structures and colonialism/imperialism, what about the way people change each other indelibly no matter how they try not to, what about you can't take loved away, what about showing how a (found) family can be inherently broken and unhealthy and still be worth it?

What about the complexity of the way the power imbalance between necro and cav essentially gets swapped while Camilla carries Palamedes in her body, where he didn't have much say in being pulled back and kept tethered, where she used them being unable to be present at the same time to lie to him and try to manipulate his actions?

What about that all of this is complex, and the locked tomb constantly looks at the erotic in the profane, treats horror and arousal as two sides of the same kind, takes "romantic" both is the classical and current cultural sense, says "love is erosion and maybe the canyon left by it is not all pure and perfect but maybe it doesn't have to be. Maybe it's okay and maybe it's not and maybe it's both."

Anyway back to my original point if I'm being honest a lot of things in tlt read as plural and I have some personal issues with how a LOT of that is handled but. My flawed and biased interpretations of the text aside I wish we could at LEAST keep discusssions moralization of fusion and other plural-analogues in tlt to examinations of textual/narrative and authorial intent.

[mickstart]

Have you seen hbomberguy's video? Curious re your thoughts on it.

god I'm so sorry sddfgfdsj I meant to answer this 1000 times today but I kept falling asleep due to The Sunday Sleepies.

Overall I think it's a good into to patho, I think it's great how much attention it brought to the game, and I think overall he gets the main themes of the first game. I've seen better essays / video essays that delve deeper into its influences specifically in the context of what european / russian texts and theatres it's drawing from for dankovsky, and stuff that REALLY tackles how it fucks up colonial/imperialism themes despite how earnestly it wants to engage with them. But overall, as a video that introduces an obscure game to a wider audience, yeah it's great.

But oh my god the RESPONSE to it? Has not been great.

There's this great long post, I forget where, about how you can't just watch a video essay on a text and come away expecting to be an expert on that text. How the video essay is one person's experience and interpretation of a text intensely filtering it and passing it on to you, and to you that then becomes The Text, even though it is fundamentally a DIFFERENT text. It's not a complete game, it's a video from one guy's perspective focusing on certain aspects. I think this is ESPECIALLY true for hbomb's video because the way he emphasises how the game hates you personally and wants you to die puts people off of playing it for themselves.

In a lot of ways, in the public / internet consciousness, Hbomb's patho video has BECOME Pathologic to people. They're not thinking of the game, they're thinking of His Video. Which is fucked because like. Ugh.

For example: The video doesn't give Changeling Route the attention it really deserves. There's a reason for this - Changeling Route is the route the devs had the least time to develop. So, the more polished routes of bachelor and haruspex naturally took up more of hbomb's attention. That's fine! It's a natural response to the game! What's not fine is how the internet has taken that Response To The Text as being The Text, and now discussion about the game, because it's a Response To A Response To The Text like a game of telephone, is so heavily centered on Daniil. With each new iteration of response, Daniil becomes more and more central to the audience response until suddenly we're in a position where Daniil Dankovsky IS pathologic.

What I ESPECIALLY hate is that. Pathologic 2 is a totally different game, in more ways than I could possibly get into. The story is different, the characters are portrayed differently. But Pathologic 2, despite being infinitely more playable than patho 1 and even coming with accessibility difficulty options that can turn it into a borderline walking simulator, is IGNORED because "oh we saw the hbomb video we know what patho is about!" Which means I now have people who admit to not playing patho 2 telling me "daniil is a PRICK he's a PRICKLY PRICK HAHAH" when that is not the case in patho 2. I played pathologic 2! I know who Pathologic 2 Daniil Dankovsky is! I met him! You watched a VIDEO about Daniil Dankovsky that exaggerared his traits in a different game for COMEDY!

Sorry I got super off track there. Anyway to sum up: I think the video itself is great, but I wish it wasn't treated as The Text. Hbomb shows a lot of love for The Actual Text in that video and it's a shame that people don't want to actually experience it because they think they already have somehow.

[rynnthefangirl]

Your answer shows me what I already think, you, fans of this boys, dump all the emotional responsibility on Aegon and Viserys, they have to choose between family and having their right, and the fact that they did not want it is something that you assume. Aegon "You are sitting in my chair " Targaryen does not seem to reflect what you say and Viserys was a great hand and the year he reigned a great king .

And no, Jace did not die saving anyone, that is not mentioned in any text, only in a video where they do not even represent his physical appearance well, flying quickly between the ships spitting fire is not the best way to save Viserys, something that he again did not achieve if we assume that he tried it since Viserys became a father at 13 and was married to a woman older than him at 12, otherwise he would be a courtier, all because of a shitty idea had by Jace. Nothing is ever mentioned about Viserys in relation to Jace, he may have perfectly felt conflict with him and Rhaenyra, since they are the ones ultimately responsible for what happened to him, regarding Aegon, his relationship with the "Velaryon" princes is mentioned to say he adored them to compare them with Viserys (there is an abysmal difference, Aegon and Viserys were infinitely closer) and the feelings of a 9 year old boy are not those of a man who is aware of what was happening around him.

I will make assumptions but so will you, the only thing I believe is that the responsibility of giving up their "rights" as others have done before would fall on the "Velaryon" princes who are the ones who occupy a place that does not belong to them perhaps ambition and the desire to occupy a throne at all costs is not a characteristic attributable to Aegon and Viserys🤷🏼‍♀️ despite their traumas they were still men and Targaryen princes of their time and that your legacy (the legacy of House Targaryen) is reduced to some random house of the seven kingdoms to make alliances or that they predispose you to join a celibate order where that surname will die with you does not give me the impression of being what they would want. It is an issue that goes beyond them as people, it is a duty to their house. They also give the kingdom a stability that Jace would never give them, since anyone can threaten and oppose the reign of an illegitimate son, it is not so easy when your name is Aegon Targaryen and no one doubts your kinship, so that quality of Aegon and Viserys of caring for people would still be present since they would give stability, unlike others.

The "Velaryon" would have the throne and would be the new dragon lords while the legitimate Targaryens get crumbs. Because yes, this is what would happen. Jace would reign with the surname Velaryon. The fact that he would reign with the Targaryen is an invention of the series that makes no sense. But again it will always be the same, Aegon and Viserys are the ornaments that only have the right to speak when everyone dies and there is no one else to support and of course they have no other life than to be sad. But hey, everyone has their own interpretation of these characters, I will always support them as kings and heirs in any possible scenario.

It is not ambition to want something that is yours, it is justice.

Aegon "You are sitting in my chair " Targaryen does not seem to reflect what you say.

The context of that quote is Aegon dismissing his Hand and regents after having been manipulated, controlled, and assailed by ambitious lords for the past six years, at great risk to himself and his loved ones. Such an attitude cannot be assumed to apply to a situation where he never experienced the Dance and Regency, and his brother sits the Iron Throne.

Viserys became a father at 13 and was married to a woman older than him at 12, otherwise he would be a courtier, all because of a shitty idea had by Jace.

Regardless of the consequences, the point is Jace's intentions, which were explicitly said in F&B to keep his brothers safe. And reminder that despite the things Vis suffered in Essos, he did fare much much better than his brother did in Westeros. Had he been with his father's friends in Pentos, he likely would not have suffered at all. Given the horrors and danger that befell Aegon in Westeros, Jace's idea to get A&V far away from the conflict was not a bad one. It was just awful misfortune that their ship happened across the Greens.

Nothing is ever mentioned about Viserys in relation to Jace, he may have perfectly felt conflict with him and Rhaenyra.

And he may have loved them and not blamed them at all, so your point? Like you said, we have no info on this, nor on Aegon's feelings beyond "he worshipped them as a boy". Whatever we think is only headcanon. For my own part, I do in fact headcanon Aegon and Viserys having very complicated and mixed feelings about their family, especially Rhaenyra. But that is about my interest in angsty complex character dynamics, not some need to fulfill my bias by making Rhaenyra and the Velaryon boys either hated or loved.

Perhaps ambition and the desire to occupy a throne at all costs is not a characteristic attributable to Aegon and Viserys.

It isn't.

They were still men and Targaryen princes of their time and that your legacy (the legacy of House Targaryen) is reduced to some random house of the seven kingdoms to make alliances or that they predispose you to join a celibate order.

What do you think every second, third, fourth, fifth, etc. son of every house in Westeros does? Not being the one to continue on the main ruling branch of your family is a common experience expected of everyone who is not the first born son.

They also give the kingdom a stability that Jace would never give them

This is the one thing I agree on, and the only reason I have to be against Jace taking the Iron Throne. That being said... starting a war for the throne... also destabilizes the realm......... So one could say that Jace should abdicate in favor of his brothers for the sake of stability, but if he does not, then that is not a justification for A&V to start a war that will get thousands killed. It's the same thing as when TG say "oh Rhaenyra's reign would never be accepted so the Greens had to usurp the throne for the good of the realm" even though their action of usurping the throne quite literally destroyed the realm as much as or more than any possible instability from Rhaenyra's reign would have.

Jace would reign with the surname Velaryon. The fact that he would reign with the Targaryen is an invention of the series that makes no sense.

Is this not literally how things work in Dorne. I don't recall the Martell name being lost during all the times that the reigning ruler of Dorne was a woman with a consort from another house.

Also, this is not an argument against a bastard ascending the throne. This is an argument against a WOMAN ascending the throne. This would be an issue even if Jace was Laenor's true born son. Which means it has nothing to do with his legitimacy, and has to do with the idea that Targaryen blood being passed down from a mother doesn't "count" as much as Targaryen blood being passed down from a father.

But again it will always be the same, Aegon and Viserys are the ornaments that only have the right to speak when everyone dies and there is no one else to support and of course they have no other life than to be sad.

I think this is the most interesting line of all. Because all the value you have ascribed to A&V is entirely tied up in ideas of legitimacy and Targaryen blood purity, rather than anything about them as unique people and characters. They are the best because they are trueborn, because they are Daemon's sons, because they are the rightful kings, because they are pure Valyrian blood.... but you could replace them with characters of entirely opposite personalities and backstories, and that would all be true. They are "ornaments" to your ideas of the glory and legacy of House Targaryen.

For me, my love of them is tied entirely to their unique characteristics and identities. It's not just them being sad-- though of course their traumas are certainly a part of their characters-- it is every single thing they say/do/think/feel/experience/love/hate/fear. They are rich, complex, and fascinating characters. I am in truth, hardly a Velaryon boy stan. I like them, sure, but that's it. I just like them. They aren't even among my top 10 favorite Targs. Aegon III is my all time favorite Targaryen and Viserys II is definitely top 5. I'm not saying that others' don't do this, but don't think for a second that I am shoving them aside or into convenient minor roles to prop up their half brothers. Quite the contrary, the characters of A&V are first in my heart and first on my priority list.

It is not ambition to want something that is yours, it is justice.

The throne is not some sacred thing. Truth is, it is NOBODY’S right. Absolute monarchy is a terrible system of government, and nobody should hold that kind of unchecked power. It isn't "justice" to start a war that risks bringing your own people death and devastation over some messed up idea that you are entitled by birth to be the most powerful person ever. Aegon II believed that is was his right to rule over Rhaenyra because he was born with a schlong. If he believed that it was his by right, does that make him "just"? No, no it does not. It makes him a greedy warmonger.

Like do you think I care whose parents had a ceremony before they fucked, and whose didn’t? I don’t. If GRRM came out tomorrow and revealed via Word of God that Daeron II was in fact the Dragonknights bastard, it would not change my opinion on the First Blackfyre rebellion one bit. I still would not support Daemon. A true king wears the crown not because he wants it or feels entitled to it. A true king wears the crown because the REALM needs him to. THAT is what Aegon III and Viserys II understood. That is why they are better than Aegon II and Rhaenyra (though ofc Rhaenyra >>>>>> Aegon II, always).

If you want to imagine an Aegon and Viserys who would fight their brother for the throne, and cheer them on as they tear the realm apart because it’s their “right” and we can’t have dirty bastards on the throne… I’d recommend taking another look at Aegon II. Because that is his character. And to be clear I’m not saying Jace would be in the right in this hypothetical— it’d just be the Dance all over again, both sides refusing to give up a crown for the good of their people. I love Aegon because he represents an END to that kind of attitude. He makes peace with former Greens, he compromises, he leaves his uncle in the line of succession to avoid conflict, he sits by Tyland Lannister’s bedside to comfort him as he dies. That is why I love him, and his brother.

[bestworstcase]

What specifically makes you say that the Ozpin circle is basically a cult?

not "basically" a cult—it is a cult.

ozpin's inner circle is a religious organization dedicated to safeguarding four divine relics entrusted to their leader, who is literally the god of light's chosen one, until he deems humanity prepared for the final judgment. its notionally secular nature likely exists because ozma figured out that publicly doing this:

“The others cheered in agreement. The man considered. He had wanted to bring people together, and his efforts were finally bearing fruit. The accidental experiment was working, far better than any attempts he had planned in his previous lifetimes. “The people here believe in magic, though many have never seen it,” she said. “If you show everyone that it’s real, that the man with infinite lifetimes has returned as he promised—” [...] “She shook her head. “We trust in you and the fate you’ve laid out for us. We believe in the good of people and our shared responsibility to protect one another and Remnant. So many have heard our stories about you, but now you’re here, in the flesh. Your presence is living proof that everything you’ve said is true. It reinforces our beliefs and commitment to the Circle. Together, now, we will make ready for the final judgment.” [...] “And for a time, all that the woman had said seemed to come true. Many more followers flocked to Circle and their reputation and message spread all throughout Remnant. This was what he was here for, he thought. Perhaps, in the end, he would be able to rest.”

inevitably leads to conflict because, surprise! people don't like being told what to do by eschatological cults!

but ozpin's circle is not in fact secular—ozpin tells his hand-picked loyalists that the gods he serves are the Only True Gods and the whole point is that he's working to fulfill the mandate given to him by the god of light. the huntsmen academies are, inescapably, a religious institution.

moreover ozpin's circle is a cult not just in the broader sense of being religious in nature and dedicated to worship of a particular god but also in the narrower modern connotation of a high-control group organized around a charismatic leader. this is not a matter of interpretation; this is overt text. half the point of pyrrha's arc in V3 is to reveal this fact.

members of his inner circle are expected to work in absolute secrecy and—evinced by the antagonism between qrow and ironwood in V2-3, and the immediate suspicion of lionheart in V5—subject to intense scrutiny by other members against the possibility of betrayal. likewise, pyrrha is deliberately isolated from her peers (primarily through secrecy) and put under immense pressure when ozpin et al attempt to recruit her as their next fall maiden—all without informing her of anything beyond the very bare minimum facts of what they want her to do. "we can fill you in on the details once we know that you're with us."

and like. with the way those scenes in V3 are framed, with the very direct line drawn between ozpin's ruinous paranoia and secrecy and preoccupation with betrayal and ironwood's ruinous obsession with loyalty, and with the whole thing where the narrative continues to highlight how deeply and profoundly traumatized everyone who comes into contact with the inner circle ends up being... like, this is the intended reading. it is so unsubtle.

salem's circle is also a cult in the religious sense—she's, er, very explicitly receiving cult from tyrian and i would argue at least notionally from the others as well—and while it remains to be seen to what extent tyrian's belief that she would send him to hunt down anyone who left is grounded in reality, at a minimum she doesn't bother to do anything about it so the implicit threat is there to keep people in line.

[fabiansociety]

How do you interpret Kiryu’s sexuality?

Ah, the real Yakuza rorschach test! "Interpret" is right, because the games are a real hot mess of subtext and text, so it's definitely something that each reader of the series has to figure out for themselves, and you can make a case for just about any interpretation, particularly as you shape it through play.

Personally, I read Kiryu as a homoromantic heterosexual asexual, if that makes any sense? his relationships with men are usually the deepest and most passionate from an emotional standpoint, with the obvious standouts being nishiki, majima, and rikiya, but he also has similarly affectionate relationships with side characters like Pocket Circuit Fighter and shinji. he enjoys spending time with women, but it's almost always heavily ritualized and paid for through hostess clubs; none of the hostesses you talk to in the games come back, with the exception of yuki and koyuki, who he knew as coworkers rather than romantic partners.

he does sleep with women, but he's increasingly uninterested in pursuing sex as the series goes on. by yakuza 5 or 6 or so, he's much more the prize for the hostesses rather than the player — that is, he will sleep with them if they offer, but he doesn't particularly want to. in general kiryu has a very difficult time saying no to sex with people, even if he's not particularly interested in it, and seems to approach it as a man's duty rather than a passion the way shinji did. his approach to sex is utilitarian and voyeuristic, and primarily a biological need to fulfill. he does enjoy a certain amount of peeping — see his enthusiasm for gravure, webcams, and hot springs ping pong — but when his interactions with women move away from friendship or camaraderie he gets increasingly uncomfortable. it's notable in Infinite Wealth that he can name only two important romantic relationships with women in his life, both from decades prior, and he never actually dated yumi or kaoru. his affection for them is as symbols rather than as people.

in any case, i don't think kiryu thinks of himself this way. i think he knows he's put off by sex and doesn't really think about why he gets so particularly flustered when men flirt with him and not when women do. he was happy to devote himself to his jobs as a yakuza, as a prisoner, and as a father, none of which gave him an opportunity to interact with adult women particularly. he remembers hot men fondly — he comments frequently on how hot haruka's husband is, and reminisces fondly about pretending to be a couple going to a love hotel with rikiya. what his sexuality might have been if all his romantic energy wasn't channeled into brawling at a young age is impossible to know, but like many a man before him, kiryu is invested heavily in rituals that let him touch the skin of other men.

[howdoesagrapewrites]

im not the anon who asked for something like tricycle but HEAR ME OUT what if like something where the reader has to travel outside the country and pav and gayatri are like “what ?? we’re coming w you tf ?” and you and gayatri have to point out that hes spiderman … and cant leave … so then you ask gayatri to stay behind for him and idk where else to go from here 😭

𝙃𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙞𝙨

Cw: slight angst/comfort, poly!gn!reader x Pavitr Prabhakar x Gayatri Singh, long distance relationship, depressive behavior

Notes: I had to use an online roulette to tell me if I should make angst or fluff, fluff won. I interpreted this as "they're moving away" but if this isn't what you wanted, just tell me

>You were horrified as you heard them tell you that you were leaving the country

>You tried to protest, be logical, be emotional, cry, lay a well researched and sensible argument, beg, anything in your control to convince them otherwise, but your tutor just won't budge

>You had the biggest fight over this

>You locked in your room, refusing to speak to anyone as you cried and cracked your head open thinking about how you'd explain this to your partners, what would they think? You want to communicate this the best way possible, is there even a good way to do it?

>You didn't answer texts, and you hated yourself for it, you hated yourself for getting shut down and wasting the little time you have left

>You didn't want your partners to feel neglected or think you were mad at them, so you made sure to tell them it was just issues in your home, and that they didn't do anything wrong

>And they tried to respect your alone time, they really did

>But four days was enough:( please

>Pavitr calls you, and you just start crying and word vomiting things that don't make any sense

>"jaanu, are you there?"

>"I am, but I won't, and I really- I-I mean that it won't be like this forever, and I really want to say it to you, but you'll feel sad, and I need you here, but then we have to talk and if we talk you'll - I'll- if we talk that means I have to go- I don't want to go"

>You sob even harder when you listen to the beep indicating he finalized the call, you are there just having an absolute meltdown, hugging your pillow as you rot on the bed you've been the whole week

>Your crying is loud, but loud enough to cancel out the loud banging on your window, it's your boyfriend (in his spiderman suit) carrying your girlfriend in his arms, waiting like two stray dogs for you to open the window

>He was really fast, he probably started swinging the second he hanged up

>You clumsily open the window, crying and struggling with the safe, to finally let them in, they almost knock you down on the floor with the strength they used to jump to hug you

>You hold them as a close as you can, they don't ask for explanations and carry you to your bed to cuddle until you calm down, always with reassuring words of "it's okay", "whenever you're ready", and infinite "I love you"s

>When you gather the strength to talk, completely forgetting whatever script you had in mind, they can't believe it

>"We're coming with you!" Gayatri blurts out, anxiously biting her lip, looking at Pavitr and then at you

>"That's right! We'll come with you, it'll be an adventure for the three is us!" Pavitr smiles, unaware of the million of flaws in his train of thought

>"You can't leave Mumbattan without a spiderman, love" you stroke his cheek looking to soothe his worries

>"And you can't leave him, Pavitr, your father, your country, everything you know and love is here"

>"Not everything" she said, a single tear cascading down her face, bitter expression

>Gayatri hugs you close, crying into your shoulder "not everything, not without you..."

>It took you some time to finally convince Gayatri to stay, took you even longer with Pavitr

>And it want easy, at times they'll come up with a newer crazier idea to travel with you

>You spent all the time you had left, glued to them

>and when it was time to say goodbye, they had to be physically restricted to leave the plane go without doing anything reckless

>You stayed on facetime with them almost 24/7, going to sleep on calls kind of thing.

>And you're just depressed in this new place, nothing is like home, nothing is as lively, as beautiful, as comfortable as Mumbattan

>after failing several classes, and practically snapping back at everything, your tutor agreed that you simply needed to go back, so they told you that if you couldn't find 5 reasons to stay here, you could go back and captain Singh would be entrusted with your care

>As much as it was physically painful to, you managed to keep it a secret

>And when december was here, you were counting the seconds to get in the plane. You failed the school year due to those early months, but you tried to stop dwelling on that, there's nothing you can do about it

>"what are you doing today?" -you

>"today's christmas silly, just staying home" -Gayatri

>"I wish you could be with us, captain Singh invited me and my Maya auntie for dinner" -Pavitr

>"damn, so you really have no time to do anything? Not even opening the door?" -you

>"What door are you talking about?" -Gayatri

>you knocked, Gayatri's breathing became irregular, so nervous and scared this was just a joke

>but she saw you with two backpacks, on her door, she couldn't contain herself, too much joy inside

>Pavitr heard the happy squealing and came running, they kissed you and smelled you hair, touching you like they were making sure you were real

>There's really no place like home