#Second evaluation

[kenzan-brainrot-mp4]

Hello! The twist ending of PYIH kind of shocked me. 'Twas really foolish of me for thinking that for the entirety of Kiryu's saga, Majima has just that twisted obsession with Kiryu, being a "Mad Dog" and all. I came across your PYIH analysis the other day and it really brought home what they were conveying with the ending.

I'm still having trouble wrapping my head around the premise of PYIH. Is the sole purpose of Majima's "filming/documentary(?)" is to rehearse telling it to Kiryu? Because if it had been, that would be even crazier.

Oh, and at this point, is it even reasonable right now to interpret their relationship as platonic or brotherly? What do you think?

YEAHHHHH imo I think yakuza kenzan yakuza 3 (rooftop scene) is where we first truly starting seeing a glimpse of a deeper dynamic between Majima and Kiryu that goes beyond the "weird twisted obsession" reading, and we see more examples of it later as the series goes on (gestures at yakuza 5 and IW) but moments like those were decently subtle/blink-and-you'll-miss-it (not to mention they lessen in frequency also probably in part to Majima's lessening screentime throughout the series), but pyih's ending really goes out of its way to ensure that you actually Know how deep and genuine Majima's feelings are, which I am both extremely appreciative of and Kinda Crazy about

I think the whole documentary thing is interesting. Given the fact that they went out of their way to get the equipment/crew/etc. for the "film version", I would say that the Majima's retelling of his story at the studio and at Kiryu's bedside serve different purposes, and that him telling the story on set was not specifically for Kiryu (what Majima plans to do with the "film version" I'm not completely sure, but I guess for now we can assume it's just a project Majima wanted to do while getting Majima Construction back off the ground?) I'd say the premise of pyih is both to retell Majima's story as he presents it to the "general audience" And Kiryu, hence why the game starts with one and ends with the other. It's the same story to everyone, for the mostpart, and the main difference between the two 'versions' is How he presents it (to the cameras/the players/main audience he puts on the fuckass pirate costume and the theatrics, to Kiryu he tells it to him straight, without the extra show stuff for the cameras. We can Assume the story he tells to each audience is practically identical, considering that the cutscene of him telling it to us in the beginning of the game and him telling it to KIryu at the end of the game use identical lines (cough cough in the Japanese audio), but his tone of voice between the two are notably very different)

Uhhhh shoot I don't know if any of that made sense 💀 Point is I think Majima telling the story of pyih is, in fact, meant for Everyone, it's just that Kiryu gets a sort of special, more authentically told version of it if you will (After all, Majima could've just shown Kiryu the film when it was finally done, but instead he went out of his way to tell it to him personally)

As for the question of "is kazumaji canon now", WOO boy. First of all I actually lowkey want to thank you for asking that question, I've been wanting to post about it for a while now but kept putting it off lol. I mulled over this exact question quite a bit during the week-or-so long time period that I was writing most of my analysis after finishing the game, and, despite the fact that I myself am very vocal about liking kazumaji in a romantic scenario/context, I would not personally call it canon, and I say it is still absolutely reasonable to interpret them as platonic.

While many of the aspects we see in their relationship (especially on Majima's end) such as obsession, devotion, etc. etc. are often associated with romantic interest (Especially in fandom spaces), I don't think they have to be considered specifically romantic. People who have read through my posts may remember a while back that I did an analysis of The Sun at 36.5 wondering if the song was written with the intent to represent Majima's feelings towards Kiryu (for the record this was incorrect and the meaning behind it goes past the scope of the game) and I was going pretty insane about it lol. That's because, had the song been written with that in mind, it would've meant with almost 100% certainly that they would be, in fact, canon, and that would've been Insane. However, this is not the case, and other than that theory I had there's nothing else in the games that would specifically state that either one has Explicitly Romantic feelings towards the other. Do they have a very deep and complex relationship, the likes of which they don't share with many other characters? Definitely. Is it explicitly romantic? I wouldn't say so

The main example I would like to bring up to argue against it would be minedai (*cough* my second favorite yakuza ship I fucking Love Mine Yoshitaka so much he's one of my favorites). I'll link this amazing post with all the examples but essentially, while minedai and kazumaji share many of the same themes in their relationship/dynamic (again, obsession, devotion, you get the drill (can you tell Majima and Mine are two of my favorite characters yet LOL)) the main difference between them is that, with minedai, it is basically outright said Multiple Times in Multiple Sources outside of even Yakuza 3 itself that Mine loved Daigo, with words used Specifically to convey strong romantic connotations, a choice rgg went out of their way to make every single time they wrote about them together. Kazumaji, on the other hand, does not use these kinds of words to describe each other, whether it be in words coming from Kiryu and Majima themselves, or official relationship charts, descriptions, etc.

Can feelings including romance be heavily implied without needing to be explicitly stated? Absolutely, but with the way rgg tends to Very Obviously and Explicitly state when characters Are romantically interested in each other, and also simply because there is still (imo) plenty of room to read kazumaji as Not romantic, I wouldn't say it's canon. And for the record, I wanna reiterate that this is coming from someone who is personally very enthusiastic about kazumaji as a ship, so I'm trying to be purely objective here, and that is my verdict (Also this is just a random aside, but I really don't agree with the people who are (unironically) labelling Kiryu and Majima's relationship as "queerbaiting". but that's a whole other discussion entirely)

Thank you for shooting an ask !!

[i-dreamed-i-had-a-son]

Broke (2016): BBC Sherlock is a phenomenal piece of media and anything that seems like a flaw just hasn't been fully explored yet

Woke (2020): BBC Sherlock is an incredibly flawed series run by an egotistical writer, it never deserved the hype and is actively bad on so many fronts (especially representation)

Bespoke (2024): BBC Sherlock is flawed and bogged down by increasingly poor writing, which many fans refused to see while it was airing, leading to hugely misplaced expectations (particularly for the final series), AND it has the seeds of some compelling characterizations and portrayals, some genuinely solid performances, and touches--albeit imperfectly--on complexities that are still being discussed today (particularly as it relates to the relationship between Sherlock and John). The huge cultural impact of the show has created a massive pendulum effect in its public perception, leading to most people today remembering a caricature of the show (whether positive or negative) rather than appreciating its nuanced merits and failings...that being said Season 4 sucked

[gayvephelis]

guys how long has reuben price been retconned to 23 instead of 20 i just found out about this i feel like my world is collapsing around me i need to recontextualise everything

[amarguerite]

well at least I know that work stress is what primarily killed my ability to write fic last year

[oreolesbian]

the absolute lack of media literacy from people who haven’t even seen oppenheimer is making my head spin but whatever

[poison-doll]

Also, for what it's worth, I don't actually use the term 'baeddel' like, at all anymore and I don't encourage people saying it. Nowadays I tend to call the kinna person who espouses those beliefs transradfems, and they complain about that just as much, but that at least, imo, gets into a bigger debate about what I believe defines trans radical feminism, which is much easier to articulate and is more objective than a word with a complicated and toxic history going back centuries.

okay since you brought up transradfems: if any transradfems are reading this i think you're very cool and sexy. my DMs are always open.

[say-hi-intrepid-heroes]

trying to explain to people why i am panicking over something that is likely not a big deal is so difficult. do you not understand this is my worst fear? stop trying to tell me the odds, i do not care right now.

[oh-meow-swirls]

i think this was funnier in my head.

[ryuki-draws]

Woe, brave boy be upon ye

[ilovedthestars]

here's the thing. yes, some pieces of art are "better" than others. there are many criteria you can measure that with--technical skill, creativity, clarity, conceptual depth, successful execution of the artist's intentions, etc., and i do think it's useful to clarify which ones you're using as a measuring stick. but like, of course you can evaluate art. of course you can be critical (in the "art critic" sense) of art. (among other things, that's one of the most important ways to get better at making art yourself.)

however. when it comes down to evaluating what gets to count as art. what art even gets to have a seat at the table. i will go to bat for the thing that isn't as "good" every single time.

you can say you think a piece of art is bad. you can say you think it lacked technical skill, or clarity, or conceptual depth, and you consider those important elements of a successful work. i might even agree with you. but if you think that means it doesn't matter, someone is going to die on this hill and it isn't going to be me

[a-dip-in-the-source]

Here's a fun random question - whats your biggest hot take/controversial opinion on fhdw that you haven't shared yet? Or if you can't think of one, expand on the ones you have shared :)

If we are talking about controversial opinions, I don't think the Ronodin we were presented with in the books is ever really redeemable. Not because his actions made him irredeemable but because he is perfectly happy with hurting people and does not regret it. I needed a scene where he showed genuine apology to someone who wasn't his manipulation target.

His backstory is sad, and you can trace the way he had good intentions all the way down, but simply saying you have good intentions doesn't mean much when you're also murdering families and causing world wars. A point is made, the current situation with the sanctuaries is untenable for the Dragons, but Ronodin doesn't really care about this point. He's using the dragons and demons as sacrifices to get the throne. Ronodin wants the Fairy Crown so that he can prove that he was right and that his family were all fools. He dresses up his goal in pretty fabric so he can feel good about it, but he is still sore that he fucked up in negotiating with the demons.

He is a character with the potential to be complicated and interesting, who deserved a better written ending, but I don't think he was ever righteous so much as he found the words to make people believe he was righteous. At best he is an anarchist who thinks things will just work themselves out once he burns the previous world to the ground, at worst he is a wellspoken abuser.

[rearranging-deck-chairs]

no offense to mel shes great its not that i want her gone or anything, its just that her narrative role would make so much more sense for yaz to have

[bluebellwren]

Mayo Clinic called and is like “oh, well, since you were diagnosed with fibromyalgia you’ll see one of our rheumatologists for an evaluation and have a two day educational class on the condition” so already we’re off to a fantastic start

[rackartyg]

in therapy today i just talked about the dark urge and astarion and my therapist was elated about it. it was fantastic. “wow you’ve really been using this story and those characters to process things. that’s amazing!”

the era of being ashamed of my interests is over. it’s apparently Cool and Healthy to use fiction to cope. i wish i could tell fifteen year old me about this it would blow her mind

[oediex]

When I finished Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, I realised it was my 22nd platinum trophy. I had planned on finally earning the platinum trophy for Dragon Age: Inquisition this summer. But wouldn't it be nice, I thought, if it was the 25th?

In 2018, my friend sold me his PS4 after upgrading to a Pro himself. He knew I was interested in gaming and so I didn't have to think twice. He sold it to me for £80 and threw in Dragon Age: Inquisition for good measure. So I'd have something to play. My very first Playstation trophy was The Wrath of Heaven - by finishing the prologue of the game.

For a couple of years now, I've had only one trophy left to earn - beat the game on Nightmare difficulty. I've been postponing it, not for fear of failing at it, but for fear of the finality it seems to imply. I will, of course, still be able to play the game, but I won't be able to earn any trophies for it any more. A sad thought.

[forlorn-kumquat]

I know I still have a job

I know nothing about next year is written in stone yet

I'm doomsaying and psyching myself out

but fuck I wish I had a solid answer