The Playmate Nightmare
A plaything and a playmate are two very different concepts. The first is a fantasy, the second a nightmare. Most people go with the first option, perhaps because it is ubiquitous. Playthings are everywhere you look. They’re at sports events and dance parties, clubs and bars. They’re even there when you switch on your gaming console. A plaything is just a click away. The pill of your lifetime. The magic lamp. Of course, playthings don’t come cheap, but you can always cheat; there’s very little accountability. Just take the backseat, press play, and the plaything will take you through the roller-coaster drive you desire.
Everyone wants a plaything: a screen whereupon to project their fantasies or to watch the perfect match presented, without having to lift a finger. Playthings are part of human culture. Young babies get toys to chew on. Toddlers have dolls and cars to tear apart. Pre-schoolers get their first tablets, and online nannies are available whenever parent comforters are inaccessible. Teenagers are so hooked on; they actually start looking for heavier drugs. It’s no longer enough with the remote environment of metaverse. They crave a full-fledged hands-on experience that VR can never replace no matter how much it attempts to. They’ve waited too long to finally find out the meaning of Love, the L-word adults throw around so casually that kids must be truly blind not to see it coming. Impatient to get the knack of it, they try each other on. Some even get married. Some later divorce. Some go polyamorous, bi or pan.
Really, why worry? You can change your playthings just like you upgrade your phone: every couple of years or so. If a plaything lasts five, that’s truly long-term. Few digital devices last that long, especially under the same ownership. Parents tend to pass their out-dated tech down the generations. But it doesn't change the point: Get a new plaything else you’re too old to matter. And the first high always wears off in the first four years for sure, according to science. So, why not be there just for the honeymoon ride? If you’re especially lucky, the plaything will become your ladder. It will jump-start your career; you might become rich and famous so you can afford to have more playthings to fool around with. Work is a drudgery, a sweathouse. You deserve your fantasy. You’ll worry about the collateral later. Not now. Maybe never.
Let’s look at the nightmare thing now, the playmate. It’s a complete catastrophe. You’ve got a rival, a jinx. Whatever you say or do, ‘Yes, but…’ might be the most polite answer you get. The devil’s advocate. You’re stuck. The playmate won’t budge an inch. It will raise an eyebrow perhaps. You’ll smile against your own will. You’ll jab, get teased, forget about holiday. A playmate is not a thing. It’s not an object to follow your beck and call. It is the real thing. And it shows no mercy, you can’t get your playmate out of your mind. There is no remote, only ‘I can read your lips. And if I can do that, I can read your mind too.’ Playmates predict your next step. They’re always ready. Always charged. You can’t have a break though you get plenty of space. You’re jinxed, you’re charmed, you’ve got problems to solve. It’s all next level. You’ve got to work hard. You’ll get high. And you’ll get to visit Hell. Playthings are forgettable whereas playmates are forever. They’re tattooed onto your soul.
You’ll want to turn back; you’ll want to get out. But playmates are under your skin, there is no running away. You can travel the world and dive into oceans, your playmate patiently waiting at the back of your mind. Your playmate may be busy full-time. Your playmate might not even want to see you. Your playmate may be taken, juggling playthings from the past. But nothing will stop your resonance. If it’s your playmate, it’s not a thing. You won’t get over each other. It won’t be just a fling. You’ll spar, but you will also be on par. You better get ready, get rid of your toys! Playmates require presence. You won’t get by with divided attention. In a split second, you may fall off the rope, your playmate will catch you, you’ll feel like a fool. Better be ready to smash the mirror, no magic can help you now.
Your heart will open, your feet will burn. Your hands will be fire. Your mind will be calm. You’ll live for the Beloved, you’ll die if you must because Love brings Meaning to us. You want to get lucky. Playthings have worn you out. You’re forty or over. Your time is running out. But there are only playthings around. You want to go home. You want to find Love. But Love isn’t coming, it’s fooling around. Love wants to tease you. Love wants you here. Love wants you now. But let’s wait with the wedding, it’s not going to happen tonight. Work on your cover, work on it hard! Love wants you naked, all masks torn apart. Love’s job is to listen, work on a solution, deliver. Love will not fail you. Love will ask you to fly.