#probably badly

[wincestmaxxing]

wasn't trying to get seduced by a white middle-aged man with distraught widower swag today but. alright john winchester you got me

[tazmiilly]

APPARENTLY I HAD WORK TODAY??? uhhmmm well I'm just not gonna go in. see how that goes

[arasakas-ronin]

"I have other obligations in Japan”

There is a fascinating concept that seems to be rather uniquely Japanese in nature. It’s called “giri”, and I believe that it’s what Takemura-san is talking about when he mentions “obligations in Japan”. I’ve been digging into this over the last few days, here’s what I’m taking from that.

I am confident enough to share it, however, please take it with a grain of salt as it is a gaijin’s take on Japanese culture, and if someone with Japanese roots tells you that I’m wrong, please believe them and not me.

Giri is the virtue of the samurai!

The most succinct and complete information on this I found in Merryl Dean’s second edition of Japanese Legal System.

“These old tales of times when giri was from the heart and had no taint of resentment are modern Japan’s daydream of a golden age. In those days (…) there was no ‘unwillingness’ in giri.” (JLS, P11)

Giri is most clearly perceived in the relation between a retainer, their liege lord, and their comrades in arms.

Giri vs gimu vs ninjō

there is not even a clear definition for giri within the Japanese language, so it is impossible to translate. The concept, however, is clearly understood.

It is not to be confused with gimu, which may sound similar to Westerners, but is not:

Gimu exists towards your parents, but giri towards your in-laws and blood relatives starting at the second degree. (Fulfilment of intimate obligations to which one is born)

Giri exists towards everyone you have any kind of contractual / transactional relation with. That includes your liege lord or your grocer.

Ninjō: the opposite of giri: the human feeling of compassion.

you can have towards everyone. It mostly gets in the way of giri.

This is called “giri-ninjō,” which should be read as “the giri-ninjō conflict.” There is a wikipedia quote with an example below.

“A man must do 'giri’, they say, because, 'if he does not, people will call him "a person who does not know giri” and he will be shamed before the world.’“ (JLS, P11)

Giri within the circle of on: an obligation to return kindness

a balance between giving and receiving must be maintained.

the onus is not on the recipient! If Bob owes Alice giri and does not go out of his way to fulfil it, Bob will lose face and be shamed, and Alice will be fine.

In fact, Alice inquiring after Bob’s giri would shame him. It would also be seen as disgraceful for Alice, but the fault for this disgrace will fall upon Bob, as he should have prevented this by removing the need for her to inquire.

However, the situation is generally bad for everyone involved.

This is Bob’s fault, though.

Giri includes favours and gifts!

A return gift / favour needs to be an exact equivalent. Example (my understanding, might be inaccurate):

Alice does Bob a favour in the value of 10 rubber points.

Bob does a favour of 10 rubber points back: giri is balanced, all is well

Bob does a favour of 15 rubber points back: He has now placed giri upon Alice. This shames Bob.

"One of the most disparaging things one can say about a gift is that the giver has 'repaid a minnow with a sea bream (a large fish)’. So too in repaying giri.” (JLS, P12)

If giri can not be met within a reasonable amount of time, the amount of it will improve.

Giri will accumulate.

This is not seen as inherently shameful, because it is understood that it is the way of things (e.g. a student to their teacher, an Arasaka goon to the corporation.)

It is possible to become entangled in giri. In this case, your obligations will curtail your choices and leave you only one option. 

This option absolutely includes suicide.

which is still perceived as a romantic / idealized way to “restore one’s honor”.

Japanese proverb: “A fair death honours a whole life”

Applied to Cyberpunk

This looks exactly like what Takemura has going on towards V (ships aside) - the reason why he makes demands of Hanako!

Hanako-sama - V is living proof of the terrible crime your brother committed! We can confirm every word she speaks if only you will help her with the Relic!

He sees no conflict in maintaining his giri towards Arasaka and his giri towards V, which is why he tells his boss that she has to make concessions. 

In a Western understanding, Hanako could simply order him to do that.

However, given that there is a Lady/Retainer relationship between the two of them, each has an obligation towards the other to help them upholding their giri. 

Any failure to do so will shame the party who fails to become proactive!

What does that mean?

Hanako has to make sure that Takemura will be able to keep his giri towards V, or she will be shamed, and he will not.

Takemura has to do everything within his power to allow Hanako-sama to fulfill her giri towards V. If his existence places her in a conflict of giri, it is his responsibility to remove this conflict of interest by committing seppuku. Not doing this will be shameful beyond measure.

Should Arasaka break their word in the Devil ending, they will choose to forego their giri. In my understanding, that will lead to the corporation being completely and utterly shunned in Japanese society, and no one will ever want to do business with them again, because they can not be trusted to hold up their end of the bargain.

That is absolutely independent of V. Arasaka failing to fulfil their giri towards Nibbles would have the same effect.

If giri can not be met within a reasonable amount of time, the amount of it will improve:

This absolutely applies to Takemura, who perceives Arasaka as having given him everything (see the rooftop conversation).

He can never fully pay this back, which is why he is A-OK with throwing his life away in the service of 'Saka

he perceives the value of his life as an appropriate compensation for what he owes Arasaka

Giri outside the circle of on: Most prominently includes revenge

keep one’s reputation “bright”

among other things, this is achieved by maintaining the etiquette of one’s 'proper station’

removing a slur or insult: either of those is perceived as a stain upon one’s honour and has to be removed

extreme a: vengeance / enact retribution

extreme b b: suicide

anything between those two is possible

Applied to Cyberpunk

To me, this looks exactly like what Takemura has going on towards Yorinobu.

I think this is also the reason why he does not commit suicide

he has another option left to balance his giri, and he explores this first.

can always commit seppuku later

Maintaining the etiquette of one’s 'proper station’: 

You can observe that every time Takemura is with anyone Japanese who isn’t Oda. The moment he switches contexts, this becomes (painfully) obvious.

The two types of giri are perceived as one. 

Aggression begins only outside the circle of giri: 

As long as you are acting upon giri, you have not been aggressive, but merely reacted in an appropriate fashion.

Applied to Cyberpunk:

This makes me look at the Corpo War differently. What if Arasaka was “just” fulfilling giri? (I can absolutely see Saburo working very hard to make sure that the web of giri entangles him so completely that he sadly, regretfully, has no other choice than bombing the ever-living shit out of Militech.)

My understanding:

Giri might be compared to a debuff that has to be discharged.

You accumulate it through every social interaction outside your core family

this includes gifts and favous

if your debuff reaches too many stacks, you will be dishonoured and shamed beyond repair

you reduce stacks by reciprocating in an equal manner

If you apply stacks back, you will gain additional stacks.

Getting rid of those will be more difficult.

Ninjō

Wikipedia on this issue:

The classic example of ninjō is that of a samurai who falls in love with an unacceptable partner (perhaps somebody of low social class or somebody of an enemy clan). As a loyal member of his clan, he then becomes torn between the obligation to his feudal lord and his personal feelings, with the only possible resolution being shinjū or double love-suicide. This demonstrates how giri is superior to ninjō in the Japanese worldview since the latter could weaken an individual’s devotion to his duty

Is the ship doomed to sink?

No! I think it is on fire, but watch her go! 

It only means that there are constraints that any writer will have to work around. For this, I should create an additional post, though…

edit / addition after this dropped:

I hope so too

[cinlat]

Septangst 17: Torrent

Septangst2021 prompt list 

A look into when Sith Fynta didn’t quite discover that she had a connection to the Force. This one didn’t quite make the microdrabble word count.

Word Count: 516

Rain slicked off Fynta buy'ce, sending rivulets of water down her faceplate. Verin crouched next to her left, Torian on the other side of him. This hunt wasn’t sanctioned by the clan elders, but the three orphans needed to prove that they belonged.

Clan Ordo had accepted them under the promise that no one cared who their parents were, so long as they become productive members of the clan. Fynta had found that to be a half-truth.

“Half a klick,” Torian whispered even though they were sealed into their armor. These were the last pieces of an old life that tainted each of them. The children of traitors; aruetiise.

Fynta had never seen it that way, of course. Her parents had died for what they believed in, and that was the core of Mandalorian life. However, in doing so, they turned their backs on the Resol’nare by following Torian’s father instead of answering the call of the chosen Mand’alor. Verin said that she’d understand when she was older. Fynta doubted that.

“I see it.” Verin shifted in the mud, his knee sinking deeper. “Shab, it’s big.”

“You want to go back empty-handed?” Torian challenged. When Verin didn't answer, the young Cadera snorted. “Didn’t think so. Follow my lead.”

Fynta started to rise, but Verin shoved her back. “Guard the rear.” Before she could argue that she didn't need his protection, Verin dropped over the ridge to slide through the mud until he joined Torian at the bottom. Fynta muttered under her breath before doing the same.

Carefully, the three youth flitted from cover to cover, hiding behind trees, tall grass, or flattening into puddles deep enough to speed Fynta’s heart rate. She refused to call it a panic attack, no matter what the clan physicians said. Phobias were an exploitable weakness, and she didn’t trust Clan Ordo enough yet to admit to having one.

Torian and Verin had nearly made it to the beast’s flank when the wind shifted. Fynta stood to call out a warning at the same time the massive head whipped around, red eyes pinning the gangly boys who thought themselves big enough hunters to take its hide.

Time slowed, revealing the scene in painful clarity. Torian staggered back, caught mid-fall in Fynta’s peripheral vision, and seemed to freeze there. The creature lifted fur-covered hooves, aiming a kick at Verin’s helmet that would likely kill him. A scream lodged in Fynta’s throat as images of her clan’s massacre overlaid the vision of her brother’s ruined body. Pressure formed in her chest until she couldn’t breathe, then exploded out through her arms and torso. The pain was unfathomable, tearing Fynta apart while holding her together. She couldn’t move, only watch as Torian and Verin sailed backward into the foliage on the other side of the clearing.

Fynta didn’t remember falling, and having her HUD register only muddy water didn’t trigger the same overwhelming dread this time. She was numb, completely separate from her external surroundings. Blinking twice, Fynta told herself to get up and find the boys; to go get help. She did neither.

[changing-my-username]

I wonder how my fantasy F1 team that I forgot about after Austria got on.

[acerola-tree]

I wonder if...Kuroo found a way to deal with his hair in those 4 years

[hiddleloki]

I wonder how Peter will fair in zero gravity.

[colubrina]

Daily Word Count: But the Darkness Alters:  1307