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dutchforstrangers · 4 years ago

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Digimon Astrology Journey - 'Head first' buddies: Koushiro & Taichi

So I’m back with some headcanon Digimon Astrology and I’m diving into it head first! Something fierce leader Taichi would do, however he needs his loyal ‘brains’ there with him and that will be Koushiro. Where Koushiro is a thinker, analytical in every way due to his pragmatic Sun and Rising, Taichi is one of action due to his Moon and Rising (and Mars!). However don’t underestimate them, they have some serious airy energy going on, making them vocal, diplomatic and charming in their own individual ways.

These boys are so different, yet work together very well. They just have a hard time… talking to others or each other about… the complicated, personal specific stuff feelings. Must be the stars, right?

It’s been a while, but you can read back all things Astrology (basics, background, etc.) in previous posts Part 1 | Part 2. Furthermore, exploring Taichi and Koushiro’s birth charts is part 2 of this series, you can read the exploration of Sora and Mimi’s birth charts here.

The important stuff

Koushiro Izumi, August 26th 1989 (around 05.30AM)

Sun: Virgo (earth-mutable)

Moon: Gemini (air-mutable)

Rising: Virgo (earth-mutable)

Taichi Yagami, October 15th 1988 (around 5PM)

Sun: Libra (air-cardinal)

Moon: Sagittarius (fire-mutable)

Rising: Aries (fire-cardinal)

Warning: IT’S VERY LONG! I’m sorry in advance…

A little disclaimer before I start rambling: These are headcanons! Their given birthdays are not canon at all, but just me having fun combining my love for Digimon and my love for Astrology. It can be highly self-indulging, but maybe you can find some truth in it as well! If you want to know how I calculated their birthdays, read my previous posts as stated above. I use these birthdays in my own fanfiction, but feel free to use them as well. Some credit in the form of a reblog, like or mention of these posts and/or my Tumblr would be highly appreciated! See something you want to discuss? I love to learn and talk! As said these are my headcanons, but I’m not afraid to change my mind or to defend what I have if necessary.

Everything charts and the why under read more!

Koushiro Izumi - August 26th 1989

Assigning the Virgo Sun to this boy was the first thing I did, because I myself am convinced Koushiro Izumi is the embodiment of a true Virgo. I could be wrong, as I did not study Astrology and am a simple hobbyist, but everything I read about Virgos always lead me back to this particular maroon headed anime dork for years now. Hence why I gave him the same Sun and Rising sign, because Koushiro is who he is. Anyway, let me try to convince you.

For starters, here are a few (or actually all the) things about Virgos in general, for both Sun and Rising. Virgos are bright, practical, pragmatic, orderly, respectful, critical, perfectionists, security driven, communicative, tidy, nervous, detail-oriented… Can I stop already? Okay, now pick one of the above and tell me it’s not fitting for Koushiro.

…

Hm, I know. It’s hard, isn’t it?

Maybe his tidiness is questionable depending on the situation… But the guy is orderly and the chaos only exists in times when his perfectionism takes over. The nervous part from the Virgo can be seen in shyness or even being obedient. All of that makes Koushiro a dedicated friend who would do anything in his power to make everything work for you. Danger is that he will efface himself, thinking he’s not worth as much as the others. This is what happens in Adventure episode 28 right after he solved the card riddle. On the top left corner either the Agumon or the Gomamon is right, but he doesn’t know which one and he apologizes, which is not necessary at all, with: “I’m sorry I couldn’t live up to your expectations,” which is such a Virgo Sun/Rising thing to say..! The Virgo dynamic is alive and kicking.

It’s even more alive and kicking in his other strong Virgo placements: Mercury and Mars. With Mercury in Virgo, Mercury is in it’s sign of its rulership, making it a strong placement. And precisely that planet is the planet of thoughts and knowledge! The combination of his Sun, Rising, Mercury and Mars in Virgo makes him be, engage, think and act like a true Virgo. Detail-oriented, thoughtful, respectful, orderly, practical and curious!

The hardest part for his birthday calculation was his Moon placement. The Moon is all about emotions, needs, wants, behavior, responds, et cetera. I first gave him a Capricorn Moon, but my boyfriend is such a Cap Moon and it didn’t fit the bill for Koushiro in my opinion. So I read and searched and eventually came to the conclusion it had to be an Air sign Moon, simply for the fact that our boy Koushiro is the bearer of the crest of Knowledge and Air signs can be seen as the intellectual ones of the Zodiac! Eventually I went for the Gemini Moon and I’m going to explain why exactly.

One could say Gemini is the bearer of Knowledge just as much as Koushiro is. Gemini LOVE to know things! They are naturally curious and are great communicators, when it comes to knowledge (pun warning if you’ve seen the reboot: they love to bring joy to their knowledge). Gemini tend to be a bit superficial when it comes to having and sharing knowledge and of course we know that’s not the case with our Koushiro here, due to his many Virgo placements, making him more observant and inward. What the Gemini Moon DOES to him is making this boy very talkative! He likes to spill what’s on his mind, he likes to share what he thinks, he likes to ramble and rant. It’s something we see him doing in Tri a lot, especially that one scene in Reunion part 3 (episode 3) where he keeps on rambling about all the strange events and he misses the first part of the conversation between the other DigiDestineds (about the news and Jyou’s ‘girlfriend’ poor guy no one believes him). Koushiro misses the conversation because a) his Gemini Moon likes to ramble and keep rambling, and b) because his Virgo placements can make him a bit unaware of his surroundings quite the time…

That’s not a bad thing per se, Koushiro is just very much focused on his work and d e t a i l s, which is a VERY Virgo-ish trait. But lets not forget that his priority is to help others with that knowledge and that the combination of his Virgo placements with his Gemini Moon makes him a great mentor. Brings me to his role throughout the entirety of Adventure 02: The Mentor. You’re welcome.

Another Gemini Moon thingy is rudeness. Now we know Koushiro is the most polite person out of ALL DD’s, always using honorifics, even saying Hikari-san instead of Hikari-chan, because Koushiro IS respect. But Koushiro is not afraid to tell you what’s at stake in times of ‘danger’, he’s not afraid to tell the truth. There are a few examples for that in Adventure, Adventure 02 and in Tri, but I’d like to refer to one of my favorite moments in whole Digimon Adventure history. Because Koushiro x rudeness brings me back to Diaboromon strikes back when he’s obviously so done with everyone, then Mimi enters the scene and he doesn’t even care. In the English dub she literally says “How rude”. Ooooohhh Koushiro, you little rude demon… It’s not the biggest proof it’s a simple one and my personal favorite.

All of the talkativeness and rudeness is something we mostly see Koushiro doing when he’s most comfortable. So we won’t see him being all talkative all the time -sharing more than just plain, superficial knowledge and instead more personal helpful knowledge- with everyone, but we do see him being talkative and speaking up to certain characters he’s most comfortable with. Now name one boy he’s very talkative to compared with literally all the other characters… You know what? Scroll down.

Last thing and then I’ll stop rambling about this beautiful and lovely nerd. His Venus, planet of values (and love…) is in Libra. What does that mean? Well, I’ve seen quite some fans type Koushiro as a bi-sexual, or something in that direction. Or even better a ‘disaster bi-sexual’. I already agreed on that, but when I saw this birth chart… IT’S (HEAD)CANON! Seriously, Libra is the zodiac sign of doubt, decision making (or actually no decision making, but I’ll get there with the next boy) and relationships and if you have your Venus placed in Libra you’re doomed to be a disaster when it comes to making decisions in your love life both romantically and platonically! Venus in Libra creates the desire for a good and loving relationships, but Koushiro’s Virgo Sun/Rising makes him more shy, his Virgo Mars makes him hold back. Once again, the Virgo Sun/Rising-Libra Venus dynamic lets him efface himself in relationships, thinking they have nothing to offer, but they have!! And so Koushiro gets left behind with his unresolved feelings… the boy has a hard time in love, let’s give him all a hug!

Taichi Yagami - October 15th 1988

The protagonist. Okay, let me compare this goggle headed protagonist to another goggle headed protagonist outside the Digimon franchise: Naruto. This is probably more interesting to people who have watched and know Naruto, so you can skip the part. To me Naruto is the classical protagonist type; bold, adventurous, playful, (a little) obnoxious at some times, hot headed… These are traits we easily assign to fire signs in the zodiac, especially Aries. So I would immediately give Naruto the Aries Sun placement. However, when we see Naruto grow up, his behavior and the way he speaks and leads grows up with him as well. That’s only natural. And based on those changes I wouldn’t necessarily give Naruto the Aries Sun placements, although the Aries placement or another fire placement is very likely to be present in his chart.

Now I could go even further, explain the development from child to adult through Jung’s theory about cognitive functions, but that’s incredibly complicated and a looooong stretch I won’t be making here today. In short, Jung’s development theory is interesting, because it shows how we first see the obvious traits in a child which are the traits the child engages (Rising sign) the world with before it develops the other functions showing the person’s true identity (Sun sign). So we could say we first see someone’s Rising sign more clearly before the Sun comes shining through. Like with Naruto. And the same could be for Taichi in the case of this headcanon.

To tackle his birth chart and big three, I’ll be starting with explaining his Rising Sign before his Sun sign. And the Rising sign I assigned him is Aries Rising.

Like I said above, Aries is bold, adventurous, playful and above all: courageous. Especially the Aries Rising placement which is more courageous than its Aries Sun counterpart. Aries are born leaders, can be extremely competitive, are somewhat restless and desperately need to move. In Taichi’s case with the above birth chart, that urge to move is magnified by his Aries Mars placement. The dynamic of his Aries Rising and Aries Mars makes Taichi a mover, an adventurer, and incredibly determined. This could be both positively, always wanting the best (especially for yourself, as Aries is a pretty selfish sign), and a tad negatively, always going and going and going. In the Adventure series this could be the reason why he makes Greymon dark-evolve, because he wants things too bad and too fast. Aries are hot headed and can grow impatient if things don’t go the way they want. And the Aries Rising and Mars dynamic makes Taichi a very physical guy. Mix that with the impatience and he is not afraid to pick fights and use his fists.

All of this can make Taichi a very stormy and reckless boy (boundaries? What’s that?), but also a fearless leader. The exuberance, the impatience and restlessness comes back in his Sagittarius Moon placement as well. This Sag Moon in combination with his strong Aries placements in Rising and Mars makes Taichi a sportive, physical, optimistic and forward leader that is incredibly courageous and adventurous, which could make him a bit ‘superficial’ as a protagonist. But the Sag Moon also deepens and strengthens his leader skills.

Sagittarius is a sign pictured by a centaur with an arrow and bow. The centaur’s horse legs make the Sag want to move and be free, but the arrow aims in a clear direction and aiming takes knowledge and focus. Sagittarius thus is an adventurous fella, but also a philosopher. Taichi’s Sag Moon placement makes him a pro in seeing the bigger picture and connecting dots next to his never ending energy. He will make sure we’re going in the right direction by overlooking the whole situation. So we absolutely shouldn’t forget Taichi is a true strategist! He sees, understands what’s at stake in a situation, connects the dots, comes with a strategy and like a true leader knows his team and can place everyone in his right spot to get through the toughest of situations (once again referring to Taichi asking Koushiro to pick the cards in Adventure episode 28). Speaking about a great leader, gosh, Taichi, you’re truly amazing! <3

However, it’s his Aries Rising and Mars that often make him act before he thinks, preferably alone (Taichi is a teamplayer, but the selfish and reckless Aries in him makes him act alone. And the sum of teamplayer + acting alone = self-sacrifice mode… which happens ALL THE DAMN TIME). Or actually makes him act while thinking without doing a short reflection beforehand. Seriously, I’m convinced that this reflection in advance could have saved him a lot of trouble throughout Digimon Adventure. Let’s blame it on (t)his (headcanon) birth chart…

Also, all of the above vouches for Taichi having an amazing intellect, but the guys needs to be challenged… Hence why he’s always staring out of the window during classes in Tri, daydreaming away to where the adventure is. He feels trapped, needs to be outside and should use his intelligence for things he finds important (like saving the digital world, soccer and saving friends and the world). The daydreaming could also be his Libra Mercury who can make Taichi lose his focus and could make him lazy. Luckily Taichi has a very active Aries Mars in opposite aspect from his Libra Mercury that neutralizes that lazy and dreamy Libra Mercury.

Okay, back to topic. Now you maybe think: But if Taichi is good in knowing where to go, being the fearless leader, also an intellect who has the knowledge to aim straight and shoot… then WHY is he so lost, down and in doubt in Tri and so unknowing of his future in Kizuna…??!! I have an answer to that. And that answer is his Libra Sun.

I know I know, this is a very VERY unpopular Sun sign to give this goggle leader, but please hear me out. For starters, Libra is the sign of diplomacy and if we believe the 02’s epilogue what’s Taichi’s job? Right, a diplomat. We also know he studies something like political sciences in Kizuna (which I think is AMAZING and vouches even more for Taichi’s intellect! Politics is a tough study…) and to make it in the political field you really do need diplomacy and charms.

Taichi is an absolute charmer, in my eyes at least. I mean, look at his 02 self! He’s such a smooth charmer in every way… The way he sends off Sora to Yamato while acting all cool and collected, phew, that requires some serious smoothness. And still we often see Taichi depicted as a down and broody boy besides his energetic and bold (sometimes indifferent…) character, especially after Tri. That too could be due to a Libra Sun placement.

Like Sagittarius is depicted by a centaur, Libra is depicted by scales and those scales are all about harmony, balance and justice. Libra is the opposite of Aries in the zodiac, but also about weighing opposites in the sigh itself. When we look at the Aries/Libra opposite placement: where Aries can be quite selfish, Libra as an opposite is the people’s pleaser. Where Aries is reckless and impatient, Libra is thoughtful and patient and one could say that an Aries acts where a Libra waits. Where Aries makes the impulsive decisions, Libra keeps deliberating leading into constant doubt and confusion. And how do we see Taichi in Tri? Ah yes, in doubt and confused.

A Libra Sun desperately wants to bring peace and harmony, driven by justice, in a diplomatic way. Libra Suns are deep thinkers which can make them very doubtful, making them spiraling down into a hole of overthinking and doubts. The Libra Sun-Sag Moon dynamic makes this all even more deep and almost philosophical in a way there will always be more and more questions, but never answers because Libra simply can’t make choices. All while being solution-oriented!

As Taichi grows up from a middle schooler to a high schooler, it’s that doubt coming from the Libra Sun that kicks Taichi hard. It conflicts with his carefree and bold Aries Rising nature and as that Libra Sun comes shining through, we see Taichi becoming more cautious and reserved compared to his younger self. The guy has a strong inner dialogue always looking for the best solutions to please everyone and bring harmony (I wanted to say ‘balance to the world’, yes to all the avatar the last airbender cameos) to the people and world(s in case of the digital world) around him he so desperately wants to protect. This is what we see happening in Tri, where he can’t choose what’s the right thing… Most of the time that inner dialogue is hidden behind his Aries Rising (and Aries Mars and Sag Moon).

So under that tough and courageous Aries Rising demeanor (remember that a Rising sign is all about engaging and how you come across to others) is a very soft, sweet, friendly and overall smart Libra Sun boy who has troubles expressing himself because the boy is in conflict with himself (which we see in the Dark Master’s arc in Adventure where he expresses his concerns towards his sister to Koushiro… it’s so hard for Taichi to let it all out, even when he needs it badly). It’s so sad, he’s such a complicated character, but that’s also one of the most beautiful things about Taichi. He’s layered af. He could be the best listener (Koushiro’s feels this, that’s why Koushiro can talk so open and freely to Taichi, because Taichi lets him thank you Libra Sun) if it weren’t for his strong fire placements opposite from his airy Sun sign. But give the boy time and space and he can show you his charms in a way no one else owns those charms.

So Taichi’s Libra Sun is hidden away most of the time due to his strong Aries placements. Usually his Rising and Sun sign being in opposite aspect from each other, should neutralize the placements, but Taichi’s Aries Mars placement makes the Aries Rising overrule the Libra Sun. Still, we shouldn’t forget Taichi is a softy with a big heart. He just needs the right people around him to get his charm on and Taichi definitely has some great people collected in his life who can help him think and make decisions.

A few things I want to point out before I stop rambling, because this analysis is already WAY too long.

Taichi’s midheaven in Capricorn in combination with his Libra Sun and Aries Rising makes him very ambitious on the intellectual side! Directly aiming for the UN and quickly climbing up the promotion ladder (and being successful like a true Cap, let’s not forget that).

His Mars was in transition from Pisces to Aries during his birth. Which means his Aries Mars is highly influenced by Pisces which could also explain why he spirals down as Pisces Mars has a lot of stormy energy on the emotional side (whereas Aries Mars has stormy energy on the physical side). When this emotional energy comes out negative, it can lead to mental health problems (!!! TRI DEPRESSED!TAICHI), especially when close friends and family (can you feel it coming? The whole Hikari-trauma is a thing) are involved.

His Libra Sun makes him in need of a group of friends and he loves being surrounded by them! Though he doesn’t like to admit that due to his Aries Rising. Taichi is such a conflicted boy…

An end note on these two boys: A heart to heart/hard friendship with a lot of mutual understanding and support <3

#DFS Digimon Astrology Journey #head-first buddies #Koushiro Izumi #Taichi Yagami #Digimon #Koushiro #Taichi #Izzy Izumi #Tai Kamiya #Izzy #Tai #Astrology #Reference post #Digimon adventure #Digimon tri #Digimon kizuna #Digimon adventure: 2020 #LONG POST.#Digimon headcanons

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refinedbuffoonery · 4 years ago

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Looking Through A Window (2)

macriley married undercover au

masterlist.

Oh man. My dudes. I received so much love and support and excited feedback on the first chapter that I thought my heart was going to explode. Y’all are so wonderful. Keep it up. <3

*****

Luckily, Matty lets them take the Phoenix jet to Houston. Flying commercial would make today even more tortuous than it already promises to be, albeit for a different reason.

No matter how hard he tries to distract himself, Mac cannot stop staring at the diamond ring on Riley’s finger. The princess cut gem is stunning and ridiculously large, but it suits her cover as a lucrative arms dealer. A white gold wedding band sits below it. Riley left her usual assortment of rings at home, and Mac can’t help but think her long, delicate fingers look bare without them.

He tears his eyes away from the rings again and again, both on the plane and while driving to the safe house. Riley drives with just her left hand, her right elbow resting on the center console. Mac likes driving, but there’s something relaxing about riding shotgun while Riley drives instead. He’s never been able to put a finger on it, but the sense of ease washes over him all the same. Admiring the way sunlight illuminates her engagement ring is simply a bonus.

He doesn’t let himself imagine what he might give her, in an alternate future where she reciprocates his feelings and one day wants to marry him.

Harley obediently lays in the backseat, staring out the windshield. She's been on her best behavior the entire twenty four hours Mac's known her, ever the professional.

Which puts her completely at odds with Mac and Riley's shenanigans—cracking jokes, dancing on the plane and in the car, doing purposefully bad impersonations of Russ. These are the best parts of going on ops alone with Riley. They can let loose in a way they just couldn’t when anyone else other than Bozer was around. Everyone else is professional all the time; Mac and Riley are only professional when they have to be.

Riley taps the steering wheel in time to the classic rock song on the radio. “What do you want for dinner?”

“Dinner? We haven’t even had lunch yet!”

“True.” Riley chuckles. “Can you tell I’m hungry?”

Mac gives her a sly look. “Not at all.”

They settle on Texas barbecue for lunch on their way to the safe house, because that’s what Jack would choose if he was here. If only the old man could see them now, all grown up and getting sent to take down terrorists unsupervised.

Seated in a booth in the far corner of the restaurant, Mac raises his brisket sandwich in a toast to Jack, in whatever afterlife he found himself in. Hopefully it’s the one with an endless supply of good barbecue.

“Oh man, Jack would’ve loved this,” Riley says through a mouthful of food. She sneaks Harley a piece of brisket.

Mac smiles. “Yeah, he would’ve.”

It’s easier, now, to talk about him. At first, Mac hadn’t been sure he could ever get to a point where talking about Jack didn’t make him want to hit something or just curl up and sob.

But here he is, on the other side. Him and Riley both.

Their safe house is another twenty minutes away from the restaurant, in a nice neighborhood full of trees and children playing on the sidewalks. It’s so much greener than a California neighborhood could ever dream of being. There’s even a park across the street from their apartment complex. It’s exactly the sort of place a young, affluent couple would want to live.

Riley parks in their designated space, and the pair ascend the stairs to apartment number 202. Outside of the car, they don’t dare use each other’s real names until they’re sure the apartment is free of bugs. The place was furnished earlier that week by other Phoenix agents, but Mac and Riley do a thorough sweep of every room just in case.

It’s a nice apartment. Wood flooring, granite countertops, matching cabinets throughout. There are pictures on the walls, but Mac doesn’t bother to stop and check what they are.

Riley clears the space from back to front, so Mac does the opposite. He clears the kitchen first, frowning at the absence of any sort of food, before moving on to the living room.

Mac stops dead in his tracks when he enters the bedroom. The singular bedroom. With a singular, queen-sized bed.

Oh no. This is not happening.

Mac shakes his head and rubs his eyes, hoping his mind is just playing tricks on him and that there’s actually two beds. Or a whole other room he missed before.

The one and only bed seems to mock him.

He walks back out, finding Riley already sitting at the kitchen table, turning on her laptop. “Uhh, Riles? There’s only—”

“One bed,” she finishes, not bothering to look up. “I know.”

Oh god. He can’t do this. He can’t. Not with his dignity still intact. Mac stammers, “I’ll, uhh, sleep on the couch. You can have it.”

That gets Riley’s attention. “Don’t be ridiculous. We’re going to be here for weeks. You’ll hurt your back sleeping on the couch that long. Just sleep with me.” Riley’s eyes widen as she realizes what she just said. “In the bed,” she quickly adds.

Mac ducks his head to hide his blush.

“What are you working on?” he asks in a feeble attempt to distract himself from their sleeping situation. Because it will definitely be a situation if Mac’s not careful.

“Connecting to the Wi-Fi,” Riley says in a slow, “What else would I be doing?” sort of way.

“Right.” Mac silently curses himself. Of course that’s what she’s doing. “Anyway, I’m assuming you already know this, since you probably opened the fridge too, but we have no food.”

“I saw.” She’s multitasking again, manicured fingers flying faster across her keyboard than Mac can keep track of. “Why don’t you unload our bags while I finish this, and then we can go.”

Unable to help feeling like he’s been dismissed, Mac complies without protest.

Soon they’re back in the car, headed to the grocery store, and the whole thing feels ridiculously domestic. Mac’s never been a fan of grocery shopping, but Riley makes it almost...fun. For starters, she’s not methodical about it the way Bozer and Desi are. But more than that, getting to spend time with her doing mundane, non-work stuff is a nice reminder that their relationship is more than just the job. They’re friends too.

Mac wishes there is a way to tell her all that without it sounding weird.

They come home, unload the groceries, and take Harley for a long walk, and that feels easy too. It feels normal, even though literally nothing about this situation is normal, and Mac already knows he’ll miss this when the op is over.

But normalcy ends when Riley beckons Mac to sit beside her at the kitchen table, and together they write an advertisement for their arms dealing business. Once they’re satisfied with it, Riley sends it off into the dark web, and there’s nothing to do but wait, like a spider after spinning her web.

The waiting is the worst part.

Mac is contemplating taking Harley for a second walk when Riley asks, “Want to help me make dinner?” He takes one look at her hands on her hips and the “you don’t actually have a choice” look on her face and knows he’ll be left to fend for himself if he doesn’t help now. Mac learned that the hard way back when he and Riley lived together.

“Sure.”

They work in comfortable silence. Mac chops vegetables and grates cheese for their quesadillas while Riley does the actual cooking part. Even though they are doing separate tasks, Mac is acutely aware of every move Riley makes, no matter how insignificant. Flexing her long, thin fingers around a knife. Itching the back of her calf with her foot. Dancing in place, spatula in hand, while she waits to flip the quesadillas sizzling in the pan.

Mac smiles softly. Her random little dances are cute. He’s noticed them more and more since realizing he has feelings for her, but if Mac is being honest, he’s always thought the dances are cute.

Riley hisses as she peeks under the tortilla, checking to see if it’s browned yet.

“You good?” Mac asks, frowning.

“Yeah, I touched the pan by accident.” Riley runs her thumb under cold water.

Her laptop dings while they eat. Wide-eyed, Mac glances at Riley. That was fast. She grimaces before sliding the laptop closer and checking the notification.

“Is it them?” he asks tentatively. That’s the hard part about this; in order for their business to look more legit, they had to just put an ad out and hope for a response, rather than target the terrorist organization directly.

Riley exhales. “No, it’s not them. It’s someone else.”

Swallowing another bite of quesadilla, Mac says, “I don’t know whether I’m relieved or if that’s worse.”

“Same.”

There are no more responses that night.

*****

Mac wakes up in the same position he fell asleep in—on his side, facing outward, with as much space between him and Riley as possible. When they crawled into bed the night before, Riley did the same.

Harley spent the night on the couch.

She’s a very guarded dog, Mac is slowly realizing. Tolerating, but not trusting. Mac supposes he would be like that too if he was a dog and he got stuck with a bunch of strangers after his human suddenly disappeared one day.

He makes coffee, feeds Harley breakfast, and takes a shower, all before Riley loses her battle with the snooze button and finally gets out of bed. While she showers, Mac takes Harley for a walk in hopes that the cool, spring air will ease the anxiety that took root the moment Riley released their ad into the void.

It doesn’t.

Dark, puffy clouds loom on the horizon, and the few birds Mac hears shriek at each other in warning. It looks like a storm is coming.

When Mac returns, he’s met with a grim expression, one he understands without Riley uttering a single word. “They answered,” she confirms.

“What did they say?” Unclipping Harley’s leash, Mac moves to stand behind Riley, resting his hands on the back of her chair. The scent of her shampoo tickles his nose, and he forces himself to ignore it and focus on what Riley’s saying.

“They want to meet. Today.”

“Time or place?”

Riley points at a small box on her screen. “Just an address.”

“What’s there?”

“A warehouse,” Riley says. “Owned by the same shell corporation other Phoenix techs already tied to the organization.”

“Not very clandestine, are they?”

“No, they’re not.” Riley looks up at him, her head bumping his sternum, and butterflies ricochet inside Mac’s rib cage. There’s something soft in Riley’s expression that makes Mac want to kiss her. “Are you ready for this?”

Mac sighs. “As ready as I ever am. Are you?”

“Yeah,” she says, but her confidence falters. Without thinking, Mac squeezes her shoulders in reassurance before walking away to change.

*****

The warehouse is located on the edge of the city, in an industrial area that has certainly seen better days. Even from a distance, Mac can see cobwebs decorating the warehouse windows and rust creeping up the roller doors. Aside from Riley, there’s not another soul in sight.

As per the directions the organization sent after Riley confirmed the meeting, Mac parks on the south side of the building, near the only functional-looking door. He doesn’t look at Riley as they get out of the car, instead desperately trying not to cringe at the cold, heavy weight of the gun holstered at his side, hidden beneath his jacket.

High-end arms dealers couldn’t walk around unarmed, unfortunately.

Although her hands are occupied with holding Harley’s leash, there’s a gun hidden beneath Riley’s suit jacket as well. Mac’s stomach churns. The second Riley emerged from their bedroom earlier wearing that jet black suit, she was a different person. She was wholly Genevieve Turner, and no matter how hard Mac tried, he couldn’t find even a single trace of his best friend beneath the icy exterior.

Locking their SUV, Mac smooths the lapels of his own black suit and slips into character as well.

The dark clouds Mac noticed earlier are directly overhead now. Mac has never believed in omens the way Jack did, but he can’t help hearing Jack’s voice in his head, warning him that black clouds are a sign of certain doom. Or something like that.

There’s no one inside the warehouse, at least as far as Mac can see. “Hello?” he calls, the word echoing slightly in the open space. Aside from a few random wooden crates, the room is empty.

A door slams, and then an older man comes into view. He’s probably in his late fifties, with graying hair and a beer belly his shirt doesn’t quite cover. The man swaggers like he owns the place, although Mac doubts the leader of a terrorist cell would deign to play tour guide.

No doubt there’s a quip on the edge of Riley’s tongue about entitled white men, but she doesn’t share it.

The man extends a hand to Mac in introduction. “Conrad.” His sneer doesn’t reach his eyes.

Mac frowns, keeping his hands at his sides. “Last name?”

“Doesn’t matter.”

What he’s about to say might screw everything up before it even starts, but Mac says it anyway. In his gut, he knows it’s the right call. “If it doesn’t matter, then we’re done here. My wife and I have no interest in entering a business relationship with someone too inexperienced to understand that trust is integral to any transaction.” Mac spins on his heel and strides toward the door, Riley falling into step beside him.

“Wait!” the man calls. They pause, turning around slowly. “Deacon. Conrad Deacon.” The man seems to know he’s already lost. Good. “Welcome to the cause.” He gestures for Mac and Riley to follow him.

Mac stands his ground. In his peripheral, Riley stands utterly still, the perfect mask of cool, collected neutrality. Almost bored, even. It’s scary how easily she becomes her cover.

“Come on now,” Conrad says, taking a single step forward. “We have much to discuss.”

That’s enough of the power play, Mac thinks, but just as he’s about to give in and follow Conrad, Riley utters a single, sharp command that rings through the room. “Sit.”

Harley obeys.

Riley’s lips curve in a cruel, taunting smile. “Then enlighten us.” Mac suppresses a shiver; he’s seen this side of Riley plenty of times before, watched her hone it over the years, but it’s still unnerving. Admittedly, it’s also kind of hot.

Conrad ignores her entirely. He croons, “Why don’t we start with your names?” It’s phrased like a question. It sounds like a question, but Mac sees the demand for what it really is.

Mac gestures to Riley. “This is my wife, Genevieve Turner. And my name is James.” His father’s name tastes like ash on Mac’s tongue.

“And the dog?”

“Killer,” Riley sneers. Mac isn’t sure if she’s kidding or not.

Again, Conrad doesn’t acknowledge her. “James, why don’t I give you the tour and explain what we do here.”

“We’ll go on the tour, but we are not here to join your cause.” It takes every ounce of Mac’s willpower to maintain his neutral tone. “All we care about is what you’d like us to provide and how much you’ll pay for it.”

Conrad doesn’t hide his displeasure. “Fine. Follow me.”

Mac and Riley are led through the open warehouse. The layout is straightforward and nearly impossible to get lost in. But after Conrad shows them a room full of rifles—countless hung on the walls, floor to ceiling, the rest in half-open crates—Mac finds himself counting the number of wooden shipping crates scattered around the building.

He doesn’t like his final number.

Arming terrorists doesn’t sit well with Mac, even if it serves a purpose. It makes him sick, knowing he will likely be indirectly responsible for their next attack.

Especially because those crates are no doubt full of the kind of rifles designed to kill people most effectively. The ones hanging on the wall are military grade, probably cutting-edge. Desi would know exactly what they are and how they work.

Trusting Riley is paying close attention, Mac only half listens to Conrad babble about the cause. But then the older man says something that stops Mac in his tracks. “Our country is being run into the ground by whiny do-nothings,” Conrad asserts, “who waste our money and spew garbage that some people matter more than others. Well, you know what? Hardworking, everyday Americans matter. But no,” he scoffs, “those damn liberals don’t like it when we remind them of the truth. Once we’re rid of them and the insufferables who elected them, this country will be better off.”

The ground sways under Mac’s feet. He knows these people believe this, read it in Matty’s extensive briefing notes. But it’s another thing entirely to hear someone say it to his face.

He can only imagine what Riley must be thinking.

Clearing his throat, Mac tries to redirect the conversation. “Like I said, we don’t care about your cause. Just tell us what you’re looking for, and we’ll be on our way.”

Conrad eyes him suspiciously, but complies. “We’re looking for something a little more than what you can get at the store, you know?”

Mac doesn’t, not exactly. He’ll have to ask Desi later. “I do,” he lies.

“Good. Here’s what we’re willing to pay for it.” He hands Mac a folded piece of paper, and Mac does a double take when he reads the number. There are a lot of zeroes. “And as a show of good faith, we’d like it delivered tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?” Riley splutters. Mac feels it then, the broiling rage slipping through a crack in her persona. He needs to get her out of there. Now. Not just to preserve the op, but for Riley’s wellbeing. Some audacity Matty has making Riley play nice with men like this.

Mac slides his hands into his pockets, using the movement as a cover to brush his knuckles against Riley’s fist. I know. I’m here. I’m sorry.

For the first time, Conrad addresses Riley directly. “Yes. Tomorrow. Unless that’s something you can’t do?”

“We can do that,” she replies calmly, and the difference between her reactions is like night and day. As quickly as that crack appeared, it was gone.

“Excellent.” Conrad takes another step toward Riley, offering to shake hands, but Harley’s low, menacing growl keeps him at bay. Rewarding the dog with a quick scratch on the head, Riley closes the gap and shakes Conrad’s still-outstretched hand.

“It’s a deal,” she says. Following suit, Mac shakes Conrad’s hand as well and follows Riley out the door, neither of them uttering another word.

Mac drives. One look at Riley’s trembling fist decides for him.

By the time the warehouse disappears from the rearview mirror, he can’t take the silence anymore. “Hey,” Mac starts, but Riley cuts him off with a hand.

“Not until we’re inside.”

They hit every single red light between the warehouse and the apartment, and Mac anxiously taps the steering wheel. Raindrops land on the windshield. They’re small at first, but soon the drops are large and numerous enough to refract the streetlights, and Mac struggles to see where he’s going. He adjusts the windshield wipers over and over, never landing on the right speed.

Too slow. Too fast. Too slow. Too fast.

Mac settles on a setting that’s slightly too fast, and the squeak of rubber on glass nearly matches his heart thudding in his chest.

Riley stares straight ahead, unmoving, unblinking. Mac wants to reach out, to let a gentle touch say what he verbally can’t, but the road is slick enough to make him keep two hands on the wheel. We’re almost there, he reassures himself.

By the time he parks, it’s pouring hard enough that the ten second walk from the car to the door soaks them to the bone. Riley’s hands shake as she unlocks the apartment door.

Once they’re inside and Mac unclips Harley’s leash, Riley turns to him with pained, pleading eyes. His heart breaking all over again, Mac draws her in for a long, tight hug. She doesn’t say anything. She doesn’t have to.

Mac just cradles the back of her head and sways gently, wishing he could fix the world for her.

Neither pulls away, even when Riley suddenly says, “If Conrad was smart, he would’ve had someone bug our car while he paraded us around the warehouse. I don’t think he’s actually smart enough to do that, but we should check first, just in case.”

Mac curses himself for not thinking of that. “Good call.” He rubs Riley’s back, hoping the gesture is soothing. “I hate the way he treated you,” he snarls. “Like you weren’t even worth acknowledging.”

“Welcome to being a woman.”

It was more than that. They both know it. But neither say it.

*****

“You need what?” Matty shrieks over the phone.

Mac winces. “Sorry.” He’d called Desi first, to ask what kind of guns Conrad meant with his innuendo, and received a verbal lashing for not asking any follow-up questions. But she made her best guess anyway. Now on the phone with Matty, it doesn’t take even a single brain cell to know that her reaction will be much, much worse.

“He wants us to prove ourselves,” Riley adds. “As a show of good faith.” The words come out dripping in venom, but their boss doesn’t comment. Mac takes a second to study her; Riley changed into leggings and an oversized flannel shirt, and there are still remnants of dark makeup smudges under her eyes. Now, she’s sitting on the kitchen counter with her knees tucked into her chest. It’s weird to see her take up so little space.

Matty sighs, deeply and loudly in a way conveys her annoyance more than words ever could. “Fine. A few weeks ago, Border Control confiscated a huge shipment of smuggled guns near El Paso, so I’ll see if we can borrow those. But next time, Blondie, don’t make promises you can’t keep.” He doesn’t correct Matty in that it was Riley who made the deal. That would only add fuel to the fire.

“Thank you,” he says, and Matty hangs up. Mac runs a hand through his damp hair. “That went well.” Riley’s lips twitch, but it’s not the amused reaction he hopes for. He’s at a complete loss regarding what to say to her, so Mac gently asks, “What can I do?”

Riley slides off the counter, and Mac reaches for her automatically, although he doesn’t actually touch her; his hand hovers just beside Riley’s elbow. She doesn’t shrink away, but she makes no move to touch him either.

“Help me put him and everyone like him in a deep, dark hole where they can’t hurt anybody. And then just…” she trails off, taking a deep breath. “Keep being you.”

With that, she walks away, leaving Mac alone in the kitchen, racking his brain to figure out what that last part means.

*****

Later that night, Mac tosses and turns, replaying Conrad’s words. Once we’re rid of them and the insufferables who elected them, this country will be better off. They seem off-kilter, like what the man said and what he really meant are misaligned. Mac sighs, rubbing his face.

Another bolt of lightning illuminates the bedroom, and Mac automatically counts the seconds until he hears thunder rumbling in the distance. The storm is moving closer.

Beside him, Riley lies on her back with her eyes closed, although her breathing is too light for her to be asleep. Mac wonders if her mind is just as loud and chaotic as his.

For Riley’s sake, he hopes it’s not.

*****

Sleep never finds Mac.

The storm rages all through the night, but by the time dawn arrives, the thunder and wind dissipate, leaving just the steady downpour. The clouds are dark enough that Mac can hardly tell the sun even bothered to rise this morning.

When Riley’s alarm goes off, it’s like the shrill tone is mocking Mac for being awake. Riley groans as she shuts it off.

“Morning,” he mumbles. His throat hurts. He needs water. “Did you sleep well?”

Another groan. “No.”

“At least you slept,” Mac mutters.

Riley rolls onto her side, drawing one of the extra pillows into her chest. “Do you always toss and turn that much?”

It was his fault, he realizes, that she didn’t sleep. Mac suddenly feels guilty. “Sorry. And no.”

He expects Riley to be upset at being kept awake, but she isn’t. With a look that just might be understanding, she softly asks, “What were you thinking about?”

Mac can’t say that his thoughts whip around his mind like raindrops in last night’s storm. Not without sounding crazy, at least. So instead he says, “I don’t even know. I just have a bad feeling about this.”

“Me too,” Riley admits. “It feels off.” Her eyes are heavy, and Mac’s had enough early mornings with Riley to know it’s not just the lack of sleep weighing her down.

“Go back to sleep. I can handle the delivery.”

Riley rolls her eyes. “Don’t be ridiculous. I’m not letting you do that by yourself.”

He doesn’t argue. “Okay.”

A moment passes between them. It’s been happening more and more lately—holding eye contact a little too long, sharing smirks when no one else is looking, stealing moments where it’s just the two of them and nothing else matters. Each one gives him hope that there’s not a wall between them, but instead, a door. Someone just has to be brave enough to open it.

Sitting up, Riley quipps, “Just don’t make me regret letting you sleep in the bed with me.” Mac snorts.

“No promises.”

~ Tag List ~ Want to be added? Send me an ask.

@angelinanao

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#beth writes #macriley #macgyver #macgyver fanfiction #angus macgyver #riley davis #looking through a window au

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bigskydreaming · 4 years ago

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#video#important content#aight so fun fact#when I was getting certified to be a Victim Advocate#they dead ass had us watch the Unconscious People Don’t Want Tea video#I am not joking#in a nationally certified course#videos like this matter#a LOT tags via @desperatecheesecubes

Oh I absolutely believe you. Most of the most useful and informative and accurate content about rape culture, consent, victim advocacy and the like IS indie created and produced.....precisely because of how much of society’s entertainment content is produced by literal predators.....who actively gatekeep content that would cast their own in an unfavorable light from being professionally made and circulated.

I mean, its literally the heart of why I stress the importance of having these kinds of conversations in fandom spaces....because the only people actually capable of barring these kinds of discussions are....other fans.

But at pretty much every level of professional media and entertainment, there are predators in positions of power - whether they were already predatory when making their way up the ladder or simply grew to like it once they realized they were in a position to exploit their power predatorily like, literally doesn’t matter.

The point is just that they’re THERE, and we’re talking about the people who play some of the largest roles in actively SHAPING our culture....hence why rape and abuse culture have such large footholds and footprints in our society. Because it was actively shaped to be that way by people who literally have a vested interest in eroding perceptions of consent and victim advocacy and overall just making society in general more vulnerable to BEING preyed upon, whenever it suits predatory culture shapers’ desires.

Its like why I so often go back to the example of the infamous ‘sexually charged’ scene from X2 between Logan and Bobby Drake, one that never actually turns into a kind of teacher/student trope but which hits all the same beats and thus was perceived and received as EXACTLY that by fandoms of the time.....like, this scene was written and directed by a known predator. Bryan Singer has been directly accused of preying upon underage actors on his sets going all the way back to the 90s -

(and I swear to god if any idiot comes into my inbox on anon to try and make this about homophobia when I’ve literally been gaybashed by homophobes and thus am more than aware of how easy it is for homophobes to make USE of something like this to advance their own agendas, but is also equally aware that homophobes don’t actually need SHIT to be homophobic and advance their agendas anyway, and thus I’m actually in no way obligated to defend or distract from an actual predator just because we happen to share a marginalization, like fair warning, try that with me and I will attempt to set you on fire with the power of my wrath)

- but like point being.....this isn’t a coincidence? Singer’s predatory behavior has been a known quantity since even BEFORE the X-Men movies, and that scene in X2 is thus a classic example of someone like I’m describing using their extremely wide-reaching platform to actively shape culture according to his own vested interests. He’s literally using pop culture and entertainment to make the kind of dynamic that HE is interested in perpetrating with underage teens like, seem enticing, harmless and socially accepted all at the same time. This is LITERALLY normalization in action.

And its everywhere in our entertainment, and its the precise reason there’s barely any counter narratives to this in actual widespread media.....because many of the gatekeepers of Hollywood are literal predators themselves. It doesn’t mean that every creative in Hollywood is, just that they exist....and that they also exist in positions of power on the executive or studio side of things, thus making it fairly impossible to get actual counter narratives made on a culture-shaping level of equivalent platform....because they block such narratives from getting produced at all, or else use their influence to dilute or water down the point of such a narrative to the point of being all but useless.

Its like the same thing as why sex work is criminalized in the first place. People can go on all they want about how its to act as a deterrent and to protect people from being exploited, but like....I’m a former sex worker and while I’m a male one, I’ve certainly known tons of female sex workers and even with society’s sexism to factor in, like....no. Every female sex worker I’ve ever known or talked with is someone I’ve known to say the exact same thing as I’m outlining below.

That’s never been the reason for criminalization. Its to make it impossible for sex workers - whether they do sex work simply because they like it or are need-based sex workers, with the very existence of any need-based sex workers thus putting the lie to criminalization of sex work as a deterrent (like if people are going to do sex work anyway because the consequences of not doing it, like homelessness or starvation, are everpresent, then the comparatively lesser risk of being CAUGHT doing sex work renders it utterly useless as a deterrent) -

Like point being, the criminalization of sex work on the whole has absolutely nothing to do with deterring shit....its literally to make it easier to EXPLOIT sex workers. I mean, my ACAB feelings aren’t arbitrary or ideological. Even as a guy, I hate cops for deeply personal reasons that stem from my time as a sex worker and the fact that I can personally attest to just how many fucking cops directly target and exploit sex workers in various ways because they more than anyone know that criminalization means THEY CAN GET AWAY WITH IT, because a sex worker has literally NO legal recourse against that, other than opening themselves up to potential legal consequences as well, just for admitting to being a sex worker when trying to report a cop or someone else for rape.

Cops ‘frequent’ sex workers more than pretty much any other ‘client group’ I can personally think of, because the ones who only seek out a badge in the first place because they WANT the ability to throw their weight around with the added perks of institutional power backing them up? They are like, first in line to engage with sex workers in various ways, because they know damn well that they can do literally whatever they want to a sex worker, consent be damned, and there’s pretty much nothing that sex worker can do in recourse without running smack into that Big Blue Wall and an arrest warrant for their own crime of solicitation.

And all of THIS in turn stems from the fact that another major source of ‘clients’ for sex workers is.....politicians. The actual literal law makers who ENACT these laws that criminalize sex work, for example, and thus ensure a ready, reliable victim pool ripe for exploitation by virtue of having no legal protections or opportunities for redress.

But yeah. It doesn’t surprise me on any level to hear that indie vids and tiktoks and the like are utilized in the programs you’re talking about - in fact, that more than anything makes me confident that the course actually knew what it was talking about and was making a sincere effort at empowering and educating people to act as advocates for victims and survivors.

Because the way our society was built from the ground up - by people interested in exploiting power in various ways against the many, many groups of people vulnerable to such exploitations - like, literally rewards and empowers people seeking to do the exact same thing. Thus resulting in predators being entrenched in the halls of power and at the table of culture-shapers like, on practically every level.

Which in turn makes the only spaces available for ACTUAL education and countering the narratives that shape and spread rape culture....literal counter-culture spaces like indie environments. And like fandom COULD be, if more fans would just....LET it be that.

*Shrugs* But whatevs.

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gtavicecityapp · 4 years ago

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GTA Vice City Review: A Classic Never Goes Out Of Style

Parachute pants, big hair, and pale sports jackets may not be the height of style nowadays, but gamers were in the middle of a digital resurrection ten years ago. Grand Theft Auto Vice City rode about the enormous (and pleasant ) victory of GTAIII using a new setting, a much more character-driven narrative, and an elegant sandbox universe, which makes it a string popular even now. People who wish to relive the glory days of the 1980s (and 2002) may download the game on Google Play for only five dollars.

Can Vice City live up to expectations? Well, no and yes. The technical facets of the game, and Rockstar's ambitious dedication to the sandbox design, have not aged well. If you have played GTA-style games in recent years, Vice City will appear simplistic and laborious. The game's comparative absence of sophistication works nicely in the brand new mobile form factor on the flip side. People who are burnt out to the "everything to everybody" design of Grand Theft Auto IV (guy dates, anybody?) Will enjoy the simplicity. And as an interface, Vice City excels on high-powered hardware.

Crime Pays Pretty Well, Really

The narrative begins with Tommy Vercetti, a mafia guy. He has just been released from prison and delegated to emerging criminal possessions in Vice "no, it is not Miami, we swear" City. Players can build a criminal empire by stealing automobiles, busting drug prices, intimidating less elastic sellers, and even killing lots and lots of individuals. The narrative is amazingly coherent and plays out like a love letter to Scarface. Voice acting is strong - really, the actors and actresses much outclass their electronic avatars' capacity to express them.

Compared with the elderly Grand Theft Auto III, Vice City includes a lot of depth, even though it isn't immediately evident. A broader selection of weapons and automobiles (like bicycles and helicopters) will be the icing on a remarkably profound system of property and money laundering. Play about half the game, and you will have the ability to get and upgrade land, subsequently making you money. It's possible to invest this money in more and better hideouts and improved equipment. Coupled with more collectibles and side assignments than you can shake a 12-gauge at, Vice City provides about 30 hours of playtime directly through and at least 70 hours for completionists.

But moving straight through assignments in this sort of game is practically missing the point. You'll end up hard-pressed to withstand the desire to crash automobiles, race tanks, try out numerous challenges, and normally create the Vice City Police Department to make their cash. At times, the subtle and, sometimes, a not-so-subtle comedy that endures through the game should delight the twelve-year-old in you (also create the adult in you feel guilty). It goes without mentioning that this game isn't intended for children and should not be played with them between the picture representation of criminal behavior and novelty.

They Do Not Make' Em As They Used To

To a technical degree, Vice City is somewhat behind the times. Textures are flat and dull; draw space is almost zero, and also, the individual versions particularly seem like something from a 90s game. All these were forgivable back to the PlayStation because of the sheer extent of this game. Still, past an increase to a resolution that's thankfully flexible from the settings menu, there are not any improvements. To put it bluntly, the game is ugly, but that should make it much easier for older hardware to join in the fun. The screenshots in this review have been shot on a Transformer Prime, with settings maxed out.

On the plus side, this comparatively low degree of graphical elegance makes the game run amazingly well on Android. Vice City is quicker and more straightforward in my tablet computer than it had been in my own dusty old Xbox, also. As mentioned above, people who demand a little additional oomph in their hardware ought to have the ability to correct the digital resolution of this game to match. More annoying are the marginally older gambling conventions present: both the planning and leaping mechanics are annoying at best and utterly ruinous at worst. The simple fact your character dies almost immediately in water at a game consisting almost exclusively of islands remains incredibly annoying. These issues are not specific to the Android variant, but it is a slight bummer that Rockstar did not address them at the translation.

The highlight of this game's demonstration, today as then, is your sound. Total voice acting was uncommon back in the afternoon, and also professional, devoted focus on the figures was less. Combine this with Vice City's full complement of period-correct radio channels (and, of course, exceptionally entertaining faux chat channels ), and you would do yourself a disservice if you did not hear this game on a fantastic set of headphones.

Catch A Controller

This is generally the stage in the review in which I lament a game's touch-based controllers, and really, Vice City leaves a lot to be desired in this section. You can fix the camera by sliding in the center of the display, but what else is accomplished by onscreen buttons - lots of these. It is a complex game and demands many excellent controllers, particularly in these sections where you are working guns or flying vehicles.

The controls are responsive and quick, for the most part. I can not fault the designers for the intricacy of the game because simplifying the controllers will need gutting a lot of actual gameplay. If you are patient and well-coordinated, you should not find the touch controls a significant barrier to your enjoyment of this name.

Grand Theft Auto is supposed to be played with a gamepad. Recognizing that, Rockstar programmed complete gamepad support (such as the PowerA Moga, for all those who took advantage of this current free advertising ). After hammering in my Logitech gamepad, the digital controls automatically vanish, and the layout yields. There are a couple of hiccups; for instance, there's no visual indication regarding what to press to take a telephone call. But overall, it is a virtually perfect emulation of the classic gameplay. Throw in an HDMI adapter, and suddenly you are back in 2002 - with high-definition images to boot.

Conclusion

There are many slight issues with Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, the majority of which have already been with the game since its first edition. Meaning that it is challenging to play with no control, and it'll punish gamers used to more pliable, contemporary mobile games. However, for those willing to check beyond its flaws, the game is delightful and engaging as it had been a decade ago.

More than this, it is a beautiful price. While five dollars is on the other side for Android games, many games at the Play Store do not have the breadth and scope of Vice City, and they will not keep you going for months on end. If you are a casual fan of Grand Theft Auto or sandbox games, Vice City is essential. Otherwise, await the game to go on sale (it probably will at some stage ) and snag it afterward. You will not regret it.

#GTA Vice City #GTA #Vice City

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letterboxd · 5 years ago

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Satisfied?

We examine what Letterboxd reviews of Hamilton reveal about the musical’s cultural currency in 2020.

In this absolutely insane year, when our love of movies feels helpless in the face of pandemic-induced economic collapse, some extremely good decisions are being made on behalf of audiences. Studio Ghibli on streaming platforms. Virtual screenings to support art house cinemas. Free streaming of many important films about Black experience. And: Disney+ releasing the filmed version of Hamilton: An American Musical—recorded at the Richard Rodgers Theater in 2016 with most of its original Broadway cast—a year ahead of schedule, on Independence Day weekend.

“Superlative pop art,” writes Wesley of the filmed musical. “Hamilton wears its influences and themes on its sleeve, and it’s all the better for it. Lin-Manuel Miranda and his team employ an unlikely cocktail of not only hip-hop and showtunes, but also jazz (‘What’d I Miss?’), British-Invasion pop-rock (‘You’ll Be Back’), folk music (‘Dear Theodosia’) and Shakespeare (‘Take a Break’) in service of developing an impressively vast array of themes. This is a testament to the power of writing, an immigrant narrative, a cautionary tale about ambition, a tragic family drama, and a reevaluation of who decides the narrative of history.”

2016 may only be a half-decade ago, but it feels like an eon in American political years. With theaters dark and America’s long record of racism under urgent scrutiny, the complex smash-hit lands back in the spotlight at an interesting time. Is Hamilton “the most offensive cultural artefact of the last decade”, as Lee writes? Or “timeless and wholly of the moment”, as Tom suggests? The answer, according to a deep read of your Letterboxd reviews, is “all of the above”.

First things first: why now?

Sophie has a theory:

“Disney executive: Hey we’re losing a lot of money because our parks are closed. How do we start making money again?

Other Disney executive: It might be nice, it might be nice… to get Hamilton on our side.”

Sure, business. Still, it’s historically unprecedented that a Broadway show of this caliber (a record-setting sixteen Tony nominations, eleven wins, plus a Grammy and a Pulitzer) would be filmed and released to the public while it’s still, in a Covid-free universe, capable of filling theaters every night. Will people stay away when Broadway reopens because they’re all Disney+’d out?

No chance, reckons Erika. “I’d still kill to see Hamilton live with any cast… I get why producers are afraid that these videos might hurt ticket sales, but I’m fucking ready to buy a ticket and fly to NY one day just to see as many shows as I can after watching this.”

Not every musical fan has the resources to travel, often waiting years for a touring version to come near their hometown. And even if you do live in a town with Hamilton, the ticket price is beyond many; a daily lottery the only way some of us get to go. So Holly-Beth speaks for many when she writes: “I entered the Hamilton lottery every day for almost two years but I never got to be in the room where it happens… however, this 4K recording of the original cast will do very nicely for now! Finally getting to see the context and performances after obsessing over the music for years was so, so satisfying.”

“Finally” is a common theme. Sydnie writes, “I love this musical with every fiber of my body and it was an extraordinary experience finally getting to watch it in Australia”. Flogic: “To finally be able to put the intended visuals to a soundtrack that I’ve had on repeat for such a long time: goosebumps for 160 minutes.” Newt Potter: “Now I fully understand people’s love for this masterpiece of a musical!”

I’ve got a small query for you.

Where’s the motherfucking swearing? Unsurprisingly, Disney+ comes with some limitations. For Hamilton, it’s the loss of a perfectly placed F-word.

“I know Disney is ‘too pure’ to let a couple of ‘fucks’ slip by,” writes Fernando, “but come on, it’s kind of distracting having the sound go out completely when they sing the very satisfying ‘Southern Motherfucking Democratic Republicans!’ line.”

Will agrees: “Disney cutting ‘motherfucking’ from ‘Washington on Your Side’ felt like sacrilege akin to Mickey Mouse taking an eyebrow pencil to the Mona Lisa.”

Nevertheless, sings Allison:

“Even tho Disney stripped the story of its f***s, Don’t think for a moment that it sucks.”

(Yes, she has a vegan alert for Hamilton.)

Does it throw away its shot?

The crew filmed two regular shows in front of live audiences, with additional audience-less sessions for a dolly, crane and Steadicam to capture specific numbers. The vast majority of you are satisfied. “It’s the most engaging and expertly crafted life filming I’ve seen since Stop Making Sense,” writes ArtPig. “The film does an incredible job of placing you right in the action. It feels like the best seat you could get in the theater. You can see the sweat and spit.”

“Translates perfectly onto the small screen,” agrees Ollie. “There’s a level of intimacy that feels hard to replicate in any other filmed production. We see those close ups, the passion and gusto behind every actor’s performance.”

“Shockingly cinematic for something filmed on such a small stage,” is Technerd’s succinct summary, while Paul praises director Thomas Kail: “He knows when to back away along with moving nearer when appropriate, and the choices always serve to govern the power and stamina of the performances.”

Though cast members’ voices were recorded on individual audio tracks, Noah had a few quibbles with the sound quality. “Some of the audio capture is off in the recording, sometimes voices being too soft or too loud. It’s not immersion breaking, but it is noticeable enough to irk me a little in pivotal moments. Some of the shot composition doesn’t fully work either. Of course nothing is going to be as good as seeing it in person.”

Robert, recalling another recent cinematic escapade of musical theater, lets his poetry do the talking:

“This will do for now until the true movie’s made, Though if Hooper directs, there’ll be an angry tirade.”

I think your pants look hot.

Hamilton fans have their cast favorites, but something about being able to see Jonathan Groff’s spittle and Leslie Odom Jr’s scowls in 4K has you losing it all over again. Several specific shout-outs we enjoyed:

“Daveed Diggs the Legend! Go watch Blindspotting (2018), it’s one of the best movies ever!” —Kyle

“It’s hard to believe anyone will ever top Leslie Odom Jr. as Aaron Burr. I already loved him from the original cast recording, but seeing his full performance in all its glory was just godly.” —Erika

“Thankful that it was made possible for me to view with such clarity the phenomenon that is Renée Elise Goldsberry and spectacular Phillipa Soo.” —Thea

“Daveed Diggs was electrifying and Jonathan Groff was absolutely hilarious. If they interacted together the stage would’ve combusted from the sheer will of their talent.” —Nick

This is not a game.

On one hand, the release of Hamilton is sweet relief for music theater nerds riding out the pandemic. A generation of kids knows every word by heart, rapping (this version of) American history like it’s no thing. On the other, the Obama-era musical already feels behind-the-times, even for many Hamilton lovers, and the filmed version has brought that into sharp focus.

“I listened to the OG cast album about 50 times when it came out, the production is about as good as I’d always hoped,” writes Josh. “Since then however there’s been a very important and broader reckoning with the failures of neoliberalism and the Obama years ([from] which this has to be the most emblematic piece of art) and for me personally a drifting further to the left that has resulted in a very different relationship with the material. So my feelings today are a bit more complicated.”

“Hamilton is extremely non-committal about its politics,” writes Sting. “It doesn’t examine much of what Hamilton dictated besides ‘he wants complete financial control of the country’ (which would sound like a fucking supervillain in any other context, including reality).”

That lack of political commitment, reckons Morgan, is what helped Hamilton as a musical become so popular: “It’s fun. It’s catchy. It interweaves trendy and socially relevant artistic tools to infer a subversive subtext, while simultaneously sanitizing and, at times, flat out fabricating the historical narrative and downplaying the brutality of the true origin story, for the sake of appeasing those in power. Classic Bill Shakespeare stuff.”

History has its eyes on you.

Much criticism lies with the fundamental storytelling decision to make a modern ruckus about America’s Founding Fathers, the men (including Alexander Hamilton) who in the late eighteenth century united the thirteen colonies and co-wrote the Constitution. Undisputed titans of history, they also have blood on their hands, and HoneyRose writes that the musical “glorifies these men, and paints them as self-sacrificing heroes, and honestly normalizes and validates slavery, as well as the behavior of slave owners.”

Stevie, who saw the Broadway production as well as the filmed version, confesses: “I’ve tried (I’ve really tried) to understand what makes people lose their minds over this but I’m still completely baffled by the hype… These were horrible men and a romanticism of them through song and dance just seems entirely misguided.”

Sean is not convinced that Hamilton is a hagiography. “I can’t imagine anyone watching all of this and thinking it paints a portrait of the Founding Fathers as anything other than childish, greedy, venal and self-aggrandizing.” Wesley agrees: “I don’t think Hamilton is trying to be a history lesson, so much as a lesson about how we think about history. It’s a compelling human story told in a revolutionary way.”

That “revolutionary way” is the musical’s central conceit: that of a cast-of-color playing the white founding fathers as they bumble towards independence. Journalist Jamelle Bouie, who regards the musical as “fun, exciting, innovative and, at points, genuinely moving,” wrestles with the “celebratory narrative in which the Framers are men to admire without reservation. Through its casting, it invites audiences of color to take ownership of that narrative, as if they should want to take ownership of a narrative that white-washes the history of the revolution under the guise of inclusion.”

It’s complicated for Matt, too: “It’s widely agreed upon that the show encapsulates the Obama era better than anything, how it coddles white liberals with a post-racial vision of history in a superficial sense, overlooking the insidious and oppressive systems that they benefit from (hearing the audience clap to ‘Immigrants, we get the job done’ unsettled me). Of course hopefully its legacy will be that it opened up more Broadway roles for POC. But I really think that the show doesn’t make Broadway more appealing and accessible to POC, it just makes hip hop more accessible to white people, a launching pad of course to listening to Watsky or something.

“No hate though to anyone that’s completely in love with this, it’s definitely worth seeing despite any hang ups.”

I wanna build something that’s gonna outlive me.

The story doesn’t end, just because the music does. Kai_Kenn has a suggestion: “I have been a part of discussions that dissect the culture that created Hamilton, as well as the culture that Hamilton created, and whether or not Hamilton appropriately addresses the modern issues [that] the cult following proposes it does.

“This is an ongoing discussion that I am trying to be an active listener in and, if you consider yourself to be a conscientious consumer of art, you should too.”

Noah is on board with that: “Reflecting on the past and focusing on the future are not two mutually exclusive actions. Both are a must, regardless of who you are or what you do. A five-star experience in a four-and-a-half-star film. I think that’s just fine.”

Related content

Want to see more of the key cast? Watch Daveed Diggs in ‘Blindspotting’; Renée Elise Goldsberry in ‘Waves’, Jonathan Groff repeat his role as Kristoff in ‘Frozen 2’, Lin-Manuel Miranda in ‘Mary Poppins Returns’, Leslie Odom Jr. in ‘Harriet’, Phillipa Soo in the forthcoming ‘Broken Hearts Gallery’, Christopher Jackson in the forthcoming ‘In The Heights’, Jasmine Cephas Jones in ‘The Photograph’, Okiereriete Onaodowan in ‘A Quiet Place II’ and Anthony Ramos in ‘Monsters and Men’ and ‘A Star is Born’.

Ways to support the Black Lives Matter movement

Official Black Lives Matter’s Resources

Teenagers that have ‘Hamilton’ stuff on their bedroom walls

Films where they mention ‘Hamilton’

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ucflibrary · 5 years ago

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This unusual summer semester has ended and we’re prepping for fall. It’s only a few short weeks until the 2020-2021 academic year begins. It’s certainly going to be an interesting semester. Please remember to follow the Armour Up, Knights campaign to help keep the UCF community safe. Wear your mask, wash your hands, and try to keep 6 feet between yourself and others. By supporting each other, we can come through this stronger on the other side.

Libraries staff has pulled together a few suggestions that cover a whole range of areas including college success, cultural appropriation, investing, and football. Click on the link below to see the full list, descriptions, and catalog links for the featured Back-so-School titles suggested by UCF Library employees.

Welcome to the 2020-21 academic year!

100 Books to Think About by Cynthia M. Kisby College is a place to develop and employ thinking skills to achieve whatever we most desire in life. This book is a starting point to understand how the mind actually works. Written for UCF students by a UCF faculty librarian, this book summarizes expert advice on how to use thinking to take care of our mind, gift, body, people, and world. Although presented as a personally annotated bibliography, this is not a story book. Feel free to skip around to whatever chapter interests you at the moment. Best of all, this online book is a totally free gift to you from the UCF Libraries’ Showcase of Text, Archives, Research & Scholarship (STARS). Suggested by Cynthia Kisby, Administration

College Students: mental health and coping strategies edited by Mery V. Landow College students are subject to a massive input of stresses which require successful and ever-changing coping strategies. These stresses include inside and outside pressures by the world to succeed, financial worries, concerns about uncertain futures, social problems and opportunities since college is often the meeting place for future mates, and homework and tests in multiple and complex subjects requiring preparation and focus with often conflicting priorities. Unsuccessful coping often results in anxiety, heavy drinking, depression and a host of other mental health problems. Suggested by Sandy Avila, Research & Information Services

Go See the Principal: true tales from the school trenches by Gerry Brooks Gerry Brooks is an elementary school principal turned YouTube celebrity who entertains K-12 teachers, administrators, and parents across the country. He tells jokes with the kind of mocking humor that gets a laugh, yet can be safely shared in school. After all, even great schools have bad days -- when lesson plans fall through, disgruntled parents complain, kids throw temper tantrums because they have to use the same spoon for their applesauce and mashed potatoes, and of course, dealing with...The Horror! The Horror!...dreaded assessments. Suggested by Katie Kirwan, Acquisition & Collection Services

Happy Teachers Change the World: a guide for cultivating mindfulness in education by Thich Nhat Hanh and Katherine Weare the first official, authoritative manual of the Thich Nhat Hanh/Plum Village approach to mindfulness in education. Spanning the whole range of schools and grade levels, from preschool through higher education, these techniques are grounded in the everyday world of schools, colleges, and universities. Beginning firmly with teachers and all those working with students, including administrators, counselors, and other personnel, the Plum Village approach stresses that educators must first establish their own mindfulness practice since everything they do in the classroom will be based on that foundation. The book includes easy-to-follow, step-by-step techniques perfected by educators to teach themselves and to apply to their work with students and colleagues, along with inspirational stories of the ways in which teachers have made mindfulness practice alive and relevant for themselves and their students across the school and out into the community Suggested by Megan Haught, Student Learning & Engagement/Research & Information Services

Inseparable: how family and sacrifice forged a path to the NFL by Shaquem Griffin & Shaquill Griffin with Mark Schlabach Much more than a sports memoir, Shaquem and Shaquill Griffin share the previously untold details of the powerful and inspiring story behind the modern NFL’s first one-handed player, and his twin brother’s unrelenting devotion, sacrifice, and love. It’s the story of Shaquem’s understanding of God’s purpose for his life—to inspire others to stop being afraid and to stop making excuses—and his family’s unwavering support in spite of seemingly insurmountable obstacles. The Griffins’ unlikely underdog story has already captured the imagination of millions of football fans and physically challenged people around the world. Suggested by Sara Duff, Acquisition & Collection Services

Sold My Soul for a Student Loan: higher education and the political economy of the future by Daniel T. Kirsch American higher education boasts one of the most impressive legacies in the world, but the price of admission for many is now endless debt. As this book shows, increasing educational indebtedness undermines the real value of higher education in our democracy. To help readers understand this dilemma, the book examines how student debt became commonplace and what the long-term effects of such an ongoing reality might be. This work examines this vitally important issue from an unprecedented diversity of perspectives, focusing on the fact that student debt is hindering the ability of millions of people to enter the job market, the housing market, the consumer economy, and the political process. Perhaps most importantly, it explores the new relationship debtor-citizens have to the government as a result of debt, and how that impacts democracy for a new generation. Taken together, these qualitative and quantitative approaches paint a clear picture of the consequences of student debt for America and its citizens, both now and in the future. Suggested by Megan Haught, Student Learning & Engagement/Research & Information Services

Spillover: animal infections and the next human pandemic by David Quammen This work examines the emergence and causes of new diseases all over the world, describing a process called "spillover" where illness originates in wild animals before being passed to humans and discusses the potential for the next huge pandemic. The emergence of strange new diseases is a frightening problem that seems to be getting worse. In this age of speedy travel, it threatens a worldwide pandemic. The author tracks this subject around the world. He recounts adventures in the field, netting bats in China, trapping monkeys in Bangladesh, stalking gorillas in the Congo, with the world's leading disease scientists. He takes the reader along on this quest to learn how, where from, and why these diseases emerge, and he asks the terrifying question: What might the next big one be? Suggested by Megan Haught, Student Learning & Engagement/Research & Information Services

Success in College: from C's in high school to A's in college by Peter F. Burns Peter F. Burns also gives an insider's perspective to the academic semester, in-class behavior, and how and when to approach professors. Perhaps most importantly, there is invaluable advice about the attitude and work ethic that are essential to the development of outstanding college students. Burns uses his own college experiences, as well as the experiences of other students and professors and research findings, to supplement the material given. Suggested by Sandy Avila, Research & Information Services

The Little Book of Common Sense Investing: the only way to guarantee your fair share of stock market returns by John C. Bogle The classic guide to getting smart about the market. Legendary mutual fund pioneer John C. Bogle reveals his key to getting more out of investing: low-cost index funds. This tenth anniversary edition includes updated data and new information but maintains the same long-term perspective as in its predecessor. Bogle has also added two new chapters designed to provide further guidance to investors: one on asset allocation, the other on retirement investing. Suggested by Peter Spyers-Duran, Cataloging

White Negroes: when cornrows were in vogue ... and other thoughts on cultural appropriation by Lauren Michele Jackson This book provides a cultural, political, and social survey through the most American of pastimes that continues to thrive today. It is a crucial account of the people, stories, and culture that create the hilarious, crazy wonder that is life in the 21st century. It is also a wake up call. This book documents how this very old tradition shapes our society in the present in the hopes that we can imagine something better. It will transform what readers think they know about race and culture in the new millennium and open the door to a new present and future unburdened by crimes of the past. Suggested by Megan Haught, Student Learning & Engagement/Research & Information Services

#UCF #ucflibrary #featured bookshelf #back to school #reading #tbr #booklr

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flying-elliska · 5 years ago

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What do you think about the concept of separating the art from the artist?

Hey anon ! Thank you, I love these more philosophical asks ! A very interesting question.

At face value it can be an interesting approach in terms of engaging with art, centering your experience of it and not the artist’s experience/intentions/commentaries on it. The concept of ‘death of the author’ speaks to me more because it highlights that aspect. In general, though, I am quite interesting in artist’s lives, because they give an additional dimension to the art, and I find creative processes fascinating.

Let’s be honest, though, that principle is generally invoked when the artist’s done shitty things or holds problematic opinions. I think then, it’s very much a question of degrees of shittiness and your own history with the art - but being completely blind to the artist’s opinions or actions is to me, dangerous, and here’s why.

If we take ‘art’ broadly, for instance, I was a huge fan of Harry Potter growing up, and waiting for these books framed my life as I grew up at the same time as them, they’re a big part of why I love writing and reading, and their impact on my imagination and my construction as a person was enormous. So, of course it was really not fun to see JKR progressively reveal her shitty opinions online (from her appropriative take on Native American culture, to her TERF-y tweets). After that I decided to disengage from anything she did recently (never saw the second Fantastic Beasts and not planning to, for instance) while conserving love for the books in terms of what they brought me and my experience reading them as a kid - even though now being more aware of there already being shitty aspects in them (racism/fatphobia/lack of representation/problematic metaphors about AIDS/antisemitism/etc) and the need to demand better from the fiction I now choose to consume. I think this is a problem that comes back a lot with classical writers, too, when you discover they had shitty opinions (like for instance, Woolf was a huge antisemite, like so many writers of that era), to be able to deconstruct that and where it comes from while seeing the positive of their art, otherwise it’s probable you have to trash the quasi entirety of Western classical art, and I think it’s possible to engage critically with a work of art and consuming stuff that isn’t a hundred procent pure and good in interesting ways. I think, for instance, that most Lovecraft fans acknowledge he was an absolutely horrible human being but they are able to use his base mythos to subvert the author’s racism and make it say much more interesting things about the Fear of the Other. I think it’s possible to ‘digest’ the art, understanding why it is the way it is, and in so doing, engage with prejudice and sort of...subvert/deconstruct it/make it your own, which is a very valuable process. However, coming back to modern stuff, if I know the author is a really shitty person, and I don’t know their art, it’s probably going to prevent me to want to engage with it (like Orson Scott Card’s books, since he is a disgusting militant homophobe, I won’t touch his books with a ten foot pole). I feel like totally ignoring the author’s shitty opinions, as a fan, comes from a place of not wanting to interrogate your own prejudices. It’s okay to like certain problematic things, I think, as long as you’re aware and you don’t replicate it too much in your own behavior - and having discussions about the flaws of something you love is a fundamental exercise in nuanced thought.

In general, however, I think there are some actions by artists that are just too abhorrent, and completely ruin the art for me or the idea of ever engaging with me. This concept of ‘separating the art from the artist’ has come up as an excuse, recently, for why it was okay that the French Film Academy gave a prestigious Best Director prize to convicted child rapist R. Polanski, and it seriously made me want to vomit. I cannot even conceive of anyone willingly watching his movies or working with him and not immediately think about he did and be absolutely sickened (same goes with Woody Allen, for instance), it absolutely boggles my mind. It perpetuates this idea that talent is an excuse for doing horrible things, and it is one of the principles that upheld for a long time - and does it still - this entire network of talented predators in the creative industry, as if the art these people produced was somehow more precious than all the lives they ruined. It’s a massive fuck you to victims and it’s revolting and it makes me so blindingly furious. I’ve been listening to the Catch and Kill podcast by Ronan Farrow lately, which among other things talks about the investigation into Harvey Weinstein, and it really illustrates this network of talented predators who are enabled by the people around them, and it makes it very obvious that this specific construction of talent is very much a ressort of how oppression functions - you’ll notice that the shitty artists that get excused are most often rich white dudes - as if being brilliant separates you from any moral obligations to your fellow humans, and as long as your art brings you fame/money/power, you can do whatever you want. It’s disgusting. I think it’s one aspect of this one larger mechanism of denial that leads to people not wanting to learn that someone they loved/admired did horrible things, and it’s one reason why you should never put someone on a pedestal quite that much. And very much tied into unfettered capitalism and elitism too - this concept that successful people are somehow, inherently morally deserving, which is one of the most poisonous concepts in our entire society. It’s just so...dishumanizing, this idea that the suffering of some people doesn’t matter because their status is lower.

Long story short, I’m not a big fan of the concept, honestly.

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mitchellvernon · 5 years ago

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Blog #1 (Weeks 1-5)

Week One

In week one of audience studies, we looked at defining the term “audience” and were asked to think about some of our personal audience experiences over the course of our lives. Audiences have been important to me personally being a massive sports fan so I was immediately racking my brain to think of some of the audience experiences that have shaped me as a person. When I was sitting in class I came to the realization that audiences have helped to shape the culture around all of us and have personally given me some of the most lasting experiences of my life. In the seminar we were asked as a class to think of the most memorable audience experiences we have ever had, this questioned opened my eyes to the various forms of audience interactions that there are. Initially, when I heard this question all I could think about was sports, to my surprise my classmates all had varying ideas of the term audience and they all had incredibly different memories than what I had thought of. It was soon clear that audience participation had more than one simple definition, my classmates presented memories of seeing their favorite films, attending political rallies, live theater and even simple things such as street performances. These ideas changed the way I thought about audiences as a whole and forced me to broaden my personal definition of the term.

When we look at audiences it is important to identify the different behavioral characteristics between different events. My immediate instinct of sports audiences behaves far different from that of a movie theatre audience. My example in the seminar was my experience at the 2014 Winter Classic in Michigan where my beloved Maple Leafs took on the Detroit Red Wings. I distinctly remember this audience being incredibly rowdy and energized throughout the entire course of the game, it seemed like a rabid mob of people who cared about nothing but the outcome of that game. On the other hand, I think about some of my movie-going experiences and it is not hard to contrast between the two forms of audience. In a movie theatre, you are expected to be quite so that everyone sharing the theatre can hear and enjoy every detail of the film. This goes to show that not all audience experiences are the same and oftentimes your experience depends on the event you are attending.

In week one we were also asked to think about how audiences have changed over the course of generations. Initially, this question stumped me in lecture, I simply could not understand why audiences would act differently based on the period of time they are living in. It was not until our seminar where I started to understand the differences in generations more clearly. The first point made by a classmate was the difference in dress wear, In previous generations, it was the custom to dress up for events like sports or even movie outings. It would be incredibly unlikely to see a person wearing the jersey of their favorite Maple Leaf at a hockey game in 1940. Events like these were a chance to be seen and it was expected that if you were in attendance you would be dressed formally.

I found this incredibly interesting as I think about my own movie theatre attire, these days most people would likely wear something comfortable like sweatpants and a warm sweater unless they were on a date, even then most times the dress wear could be described as far from formal. This point made me think of the behavior of audiences from these generations, some of these events took place during economic hardship therefore only the wealthy could attend something like a sporting event. The overflow of wealth at these events would create a sort of social dynamic where the event becomes less about the game and more about being seen and socializing with the people around you. Today a sporting event is about the game and nothing else, the people in attendance are there because they have an active interest in the outcome of the game in most cases and would like to experience it with like-minded individuals all devoted to cheering their hearts out for the team that they love. It is clear to see that no matter what generation you come from audiences have an important place in culture, although the behavioral norms may change the importance of gathering has never wavered.

Another mind-blowing factor of the week one lesson is that we are always part of an audience. This idea truly made me think about how often I am a part of an audience over the course of a day. Social media and technology have only served to enhance this point as now there are literally billions of people behaving as a virtual audience that is present 24/7. Twitter immediately came to my mind when I thought about this as this online community, specifically the account of United States President Donald Trump. For the first time in history, we are watching the most powerful man in the world argue with his own critics using a public forum on a daily basis. It is incredible to think how large the audience is in this specific case, people who both agree with him, disagree or are generally indifferent are all witness to the most soberingly horrifying reality show that there has ever been. These online audiences also provide the common person with the ability to have an audience of millions at a moment's notice. This newfound voice gives everyone the opportunity to have the eyes of the world upon them, in the past audiences were reserved for people in the public eye or in the public in general, now I can stay in my room all day and if I produce interesting enough content I can have an audience of millions.

Week one of audience studies opened my eyes to the true weight of audiences and their evolution over time. This lesson also provided me with key knowledge about my own personal audience experiences and allowed me the opportunity to compare and contrast with the experiences of my classmates.

Week Two

With the introduction of week two content, we take a trip through the history of audiences and their behavior to uncover the similarities and differences between audience participation over the years. I found it incredibly interesting when as a class we talked about Greek audiences and how the Greeks “institutionalized” audience participation through drama. One of the most interesting aspects of Greek theatre was the audience itself, the intimate setting allowed for the audience to intervene with the play itself and be apart of the story. It is difficult to think of a comparable to this today if one were to attempt to participate with a theatrical production without being asked they would immediately be removed from the theatre. The closest comparable I can think of would be stand up comedy where the phenomenon of “hecklers” has been a large part of the art form from the beginning. It is mentioned in the lecture that Greek theatre was often political and drew into question the status quo throughout the play. This could be comparable to the audiences of today, recently for example at the play Hamilton the cast was aware that Vice President Mike Pence was in attendance, the cast decided to use this platform as a chance to comment on the current government and create commentary about the republican’s behavior. Audiences have always been a platform where the performers have had the chance to express their beliefs depending on the performance and is often used to incite social commentary.

In the seminar, we discussed the “rowdy” nature of the Greek theatre crowds and were asked to draw comparables to today's audience participation. It is difficult to see a comparable within the art world as theatre and film are seen as places of respect and attentive listening in modern times. The only real comparison would be sports where the audience can interact with the players, chant names, yell profanity or do essentially whatever they wish while they are caught up in the heat of the match. As we spoke about in the lecture, after the development of Greek theatre and the culture of “rowdyism” there was a shift towards a more mediated audience in the 20th century. As hypothesized in the first week's blog this was partly because of financial standing. This is a common theme in the hockey world when referring to the Toronto Maple Leafs, the team is notorious for selling corporate seats to wealthy business people which often means the entire lower bowl of the audience is fairly reserved in their cheering while the upper bowl is typically where the common fan would find themselves and is where “rowdyism” is alive and well. In theatre, on the other hand, it is difficult to think of a theatrical production in today's day and age where it would be acceptable to be rowdy. As a class, we struggled to think of a solid example but we came to realize that there are some performances that were quite attentive listening is not the norm. For example a cirque du Soleil performance is incredibly dependant on crowd reactions, this type of performance would not be the same without an engaged and active audience. Over the course of the “rowdyism” discussion, I came to realize that crowd participation is completely dependant on what they are bearing witness to, that being said there is always a cultural norm of how one is to behave at each possible type of event.

In week two we also looked into the idea of the three models of media which are mass, outcome, and agent. The first of which is outcome and it focuses on the idea that the public is being acted upon by the media, this theory hypothesizes that the media can control individuals with the content they display. A solid example of this would be the body-shaming notion that females have been fighting against for years now. For generations, the media has broadcast what they believe to be the “ideal woman” which is often skinny with beautiful face and appealing features. This representation happens to be very damaging to the female community as 99.9% of people do not look that way, this leads to women feeling worthless and forces them to compare themselves to the .01% who do look that way. The second model we learned is the “audience as mass” which sees audiences as indefinable large amounts of people subjecting themselves to varying types of media. This model comes with more questions than it does answers as it leaves us to wonder which types of people subject themselves to different types of media. I find it difficult to understand how one would determine the type of people involved with different forms and channels of media, personally, I live with four other people and we all consume completely different forms of media even though we are of the same age and gender… This model is an enigma. The final model is “audience as agent” this is the model that I find myself most interested in. Agent focuses on the idea that everyone decides what media they will consume based upon their own interests and personality. I agree strongly with this media model. For example, when I decide to open up Twitter in order to inform myself my timeline is made up of accounts that I am interested in there are very few people in the world with identical interests to mine therefore the collection of media that I consume on a platform like Twitter is uniquely my own.

Week two was a loaded week where we took a time machine through the history books to examine audiences through the ages. We also held up a mirror to examine our own audience habits to further understand how each individual consumes media and participates as an audience in 2019. This was an incredibly important week of study and I look forward to week three of the term.

Week Three

Week three brought with it some serious discussions about the media and the impact that it can have on the minds of the audience. I found it extremely interesting that Chapter 2 of the Sullivan text opens with the story of a school shooting in 2007 and the implications on the national beliefs regarding violent video games. This week's lesson spoke to the fact that the media can change the minds of millions of people and even without concrete facts can develop a narrative that may not even be true. I believe that this belief has never been more important than it is today. As the state of international politics continues to become more heated it becomes more and more important than the truth be the primary motive for the media. Depending on your political leanings there is a television network and a newspaper directed right at you. For example, my father finds himself on the political right so he subscribes to the Toronto Sun, a local paper with right-leaning bias, these media forms only serve to reinforce previous beliefs and provide no countering arguments to make the reader think. In the case of the video game hypothesis by Dr. Phil, there was no real evidence provided at all and the claims that he and others made was simply opinion, still the statement he made shaped the minds of millions and to this day violent video games are always part of the discussion when it comes to violent crimes. This week's lecture was incredibly topical and I cannot wait to dive further into it with my readers.

In the seminar, we discussed how media shapes us individually and we were asked to estimate how often do we consume media over the course of the day. The initial thought of everyone in our class was television and news media so a lot of the initial answers ranged from about one to two hours per day. We were then asked to think about social media and technology and how that has changed our media consumption. It seemed as though we all simultaneously realized that we each consume far more media than we first anticipated. Personally, I cannot go more than 10 minutes without checking my phone for new information, even sitting down to write this blog is extremely difficult and I have to force myself to put my phone in another room. So with these thoughts in mind, our seminar collectively agreed that we likely averaged about 3 hours of media consumption per day. The only logical conclusion that can be drawn from this information is that at the very least the media that we individually consume on a daily basis consumes a large portion of our constant thought. Cooley was far ahead of his time in this regard with his beliefs that the environment around an individual shaped their mind and generates their personal beliefs. This theory was created in the 20th century far before the birth of the internet and social media so one could only assume that these are truths that have only amplified in recent years with technological development. These days children are receiving smart devices at such a young age that the phone essentially acts as an extension of the person, whatever that person views on their phone are personal to them and have a direct stream to their mind. We spoke in a lecture about the effects of films on human consciousness and how these fake realities could play a part in the beliefs of a person. A solid example of this would be the 2012 Aurora Colorado shooting inspired by a character from the film “The Dark Knight”, in this case the gunman was so consumed and inspired by the beliefs and actions of “the Joker” that he decided to commit one of the most horrifying and violent crimes of the decade. In this case, the message from the film caused such a traumatic change within this man that he was willing to commit murder, this is a clear example of the “audience as objects” theory. This type of behavior is exactly what has been feared by media theorists and it played out on a horrifying scale.

The object theory has been a political tool used for generations and is the reason for the birth of propaganda. In the lecture, we spoke about propaganda and how it has been used to control nations for generations by showing the home country as right and strong while the enemies are made to look satanic and evil. This tactic is also being used in our home country right now with the federal election coming up this month. Since the campaign has begun there have been vicious attack ads made by all parties in order to discredit the opposition and make their party look superior. These tactics have been used for generations as the people making them believe that if they can make the enemy look as bad as possible then the mass majority will be on their side. This idea goes back to Cooley’s theory regarding the individual’s consumption of media and the belief that if a person is surrounded by a certain form of media than they will be likely to believe and agree with it. As we spoke about in lecture and as Lazarsfeld mentioned, the effects of these attack ads in the world of politics are more directed towards reinforcing someone’s beliefs rather than creating them. Therefore, these ads are meant to take a pre-existing idea and expand it within the individual's mind until they essentially know it to be true. For example in the ads presented by the Conservative party they often address Prime Minister Trudeau's corruption scandal involving SNC Lavalin, this is to reinforce the idea within the minds of voters that Trudeau is corrupt and is not to be trusted. The world of media is an integral part of politics and propaganda was born from the theory of audience as objects.

Week three reinforced the idea of the audience as objects and generated strong examples that oftentimes the media can control the beliefs of the individual. This control can be both intentional as it is used in politics, or unintentional like the tragic movie-themed mass shooting in Aurora Colorado.

Week Four

In week four our audience studies class has taken a deeper look into the relationship between the audience and the news media. I have looked into this relationship briefly in my previous blogs but this week is directly targeted at the topic. Public opinion is something that is always shifting and is a factor within every major news story. As the textbook displays the idea of public opinion goes all the way back to the 5th century BC, where opinions were shared orally and were only discussed locally with the people surrounding. Since the 1930s the idea of polling has shifted the entire idea of public opinion and made it far easier to grasp the general feeling of the people. That being said the polling technique does not always work, the majority of people will not be polled therefore the poll consists of a very small group within the society meaning the results may be incorrect. The most popular example of this is the 2016 United States election in which all of the early polls from the media showed that Hilary Clinton was the heavy favorite to win the election, as we now know these polls were accurate and resulted in global shock. As we spoke of in lecture public opinion has been something that has shifted in delivery method time and time again over the course of history. I found it incredibly interesting that such important historical moments such as the french revolution could be created in a salon where like-minded individuals voiced their displeasure and shared ideas. As we discussed this in seminar I came to believe that this was the height public opinion as debates were still an important and useful tool in changing the minds of the public. As we discussed in lecture polling has taken away the need for debate and given the impression of a definitive right answer. In my opinion, social media has only hurt the practice of debating because the platforms make it so difficult to broadcast your opinions without being completely chastised by others and severely damaging your reputation. In today's day and age public opinion has become a matter of “you are either with us or against us”.

One of the most important factors of the lesson from this week was the idea of data gathering and which ways are right and wrong. This is crucial for the presentation of data because the wrong collection method can present the information in a completely false and inaccurate way. In the Sullivan text, we learn that “survey methodologists today use probability sampling to select the individuals for the sample. This means that individuals are selected at random from the population” (Sullivan, 63). This method allows for the best chance of fully grasping the public opinion because it hopefully would include people from every possible walk in life in order to gather accurate results. The other major issue that we went over regarding polling was the non-responding candidates. This can endanger the credibility of the pole as it did in the 2016 election where many Trump supporters refused to participate in the poll which heavily skewed the results. Recently I have been receiving personal texts from polling agents regarding the upcoming federal election from all of the major parties, my friends have been receiving the same texts and I hate to admit it but none of us responded to them.

This is a common theme with this sort of polling in my personal experience because it is so impersonal I feel as though I have no need to respond, therefore I will not. In our seminar we spoke about the idea of technological advancements and their impact on polling, this is an incredibly important topic because we now have the ability to make polls accessible to everyone. The simple fact is our media needs to find an appropriate incentive for polling. Telephone interviews have also been popular for generations and have been effective in acquiring an adequate amount of data from each participant, but the problem still remains: why would I waste my time on an interview? The text says the typical interview lasts about 20 minutes which is considerably longer than I am willing to spend on the phone with anyone let alone a complete stranger, at my household my father would often pick up the phone answer maybe one or two questions then realize he has more important things to do. The idea of polling has been a massive leap forward for the data collection of public opinion but in my opinion, we still must develop a more efficient way of conducting the polls in order to ensure that the citizen is heard and the information is accurate.

The spiral of silence idea from the reading is something that I found to be incredibly truthful. This theory is based around the fact that our desire to be accepted outweighs our desire to express our opinions. Never has there been a time where that is more truthful than today. This is especially true in the United States where it seems as though social media has become a public shaming ground for people with right-wing ideals. People like Ben Shapiro and Canadian Steven Crowder have received serious death threats for simply expressing their opinions on social platforms. This forces people with these opinions to stay silence in fear that their reputation or even worse maybe at stake if they express themselves. It seems through the research done that people are more willing to discuss their minority opinions offline as if it were to be online it would be searchable and public domain. In my opinion, in order to maintain a free society free speech is of the utmost importance, people should able to express their opinions no matter how controversial they may be. I found this research incredibly enlightening and it answered many questions that I had been asking for years.

The idea of public opinion is something that has changed time and time again over the course of history, and as we learned this week so has the way that we have expressed it. Through all the change though there has remained one truth which is: in order for a society to continue to progress opinions must not be discouraged. We as a race must continue to express ourselves and learn from each other in order to make the necessary changes that we will always need.

Week Five

As we move into week five we take examine closely the concepts of media ratings and target marketing. As discussed previously the media ratings are a form of majority rules decision making. The shows that draw the largest audience stay on the air and the ones that do not are canceled. The audience in this case completely determines the networks daily programing and the television shows are in a constant battle with possible cancellation. These rating systems are essential to large companies looking to advertise, these ratings provide a clear view of when the best time to purchase advertising space would be. Since television networks rely on advertising revenue they are inclined to listen to the desires of the major corporations. To further dive into this weeks lesson we must first define the term political economy, in the text it is described as: “at its core, political economy focuses broadly on social theory by connecting the systems of the economy-the organization of the corporations, the structures of the marketplace and the behavior of the market players” (Sullivan, 78). With this knowledge, it is easier to pick apart the relationship between television networks, large corporations, and audiences. When thinking of this theory I often think about the monetization of the internet in recent years and how it is trying to find its footing within the advertising world. There are enormous amounts of content on the internet for essentially whatever you're looking for and there are youtube channels and websites which draw millions of eyes every day, some of these locations happen to be controversial. This begs the question should a company put morals above profit or is the advertising landscape an impersonal profit machine. The system of ratings allows for corporations to grasp what is worth investing in and allows them to determine what is media draws the most eyes, these ratings are easy to understand and have been trusted for generations.

Enter Dallas W. Smythe… This academic claimed that the media itself was less interested in the importance of their content that they are creating and more interested in the advertising revenue that comes with a large audience. By this notion, the more interesting the content the more interested the viewer and by extent more money from the advertisers. Karl Marx, on the other hand, had come out with differing opinions about the media years before stating that the media is used as a tool to support a capitalist society. In my opinion they are both partially right, there are lighthearted productions that look to do nothing more than entertain the audience, but on the other hand, there is a large amount of media content with a serious agenda. The simple fact is the media is far too broad to be covered by one simple umbrella definition, but it all boils down to the fact that if it’s interesting enough people will watch and money will be made. This theory by Smythe creates the notion of audience commodification which essentially means that the media is selling attention. Sut Jhally, on the other hand, took this idea even further arguing that the audience is the labor force within the media industry, without them watching the advertisement the media would have no source of revenue. If I'm being honest sometimes watching advertisements does feel like a job but now that I think about the importance of advertisements as a means to maintaining the media landscape as a whole it seems far more reasonable than I once thought.

It is simple to see that after week five of my ideas regarding media viewership have been forever changed. I used to think the advertisement was a waste of time with no importance whatsoever. Now I realize that the entire landscape of media was built on the back of advertisements and the content that I enjoy would be non-existent without the companies that are willing to buy our attention.

#audience studies

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olympivnshq · 6 years ago

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congratulations mona ! you mentioned cat called artemis and L lost her heart immediately. mine followed suit about 10 lines later. there is an ache in HELEN that you showed through your writing in ways we had imagined, but not quite delved into the way you did. we were curious to see what applicants for her would make of whether the trojan war was a result of an affair, or a pure abduction. we’re glad you picked one route and stuck to it. we’re excited to see how helen fares in the midst of the gods who started it all with your first faceclaim choice: ROSIE HUNTINGTON WHITELEY.

☆ﾟ*��ﾟ OOC INFO.

hi hi! i’m mona, i’m currently in the gmt+2 zone, and i actually own a cat called artemis :)

☆ﾟ*・ﾟ DEITY — GENDER. AGE RANGE.

HELEN OF SPARTA — FEMALE. 28-32

☆ﾟ*・ﾟ MORTAL NAME. JOB/OCCUPATION. BOROUGH/NEIGHBORHOOD.

HEDY HATHAWAY, ACTRESS/SOCIALITE, UPPER WEST SIDE, MANHATTAN, NY

☆ﾟ*・ﾟ AESTHETICS.

classical statues, paintings covered with dust, a silken ribbon forgotten on a bench, the clatter of a spoon against porcelain when stirring tea, the sensation of velvet against skin, pearls from a ripped necklace spilling on marble floor, rose petals, old perfume, gold and pearl jewelry, fields of roses and peonies, hazy afternoons & warm vanilla ,gold highlight & shimmer, lost momentos, soft wind, sad smiles, warm hugs, choral singing somewhere far away, sun shining through big windows and flowy chiffon curtains, gentle and loving touches, dancing with your eyes closed, equal parts mysterious and electric.

☆ﾟ*・ PLAYLIST.

i. will you still love me when I’m no longer young and beautiful? will you still love me when i’ve got nothing but my aching soul? // ii. housewife, beauty queen, homewrecker, idle teen. the ugly years of being a fool, ain’t youth meant to be beautiful? // iii. helen of troy is that your name stupid girl, stupid game - she cries all day, cries all night // iv. when i’m dead and gone, will they sing about me? dead and gone, will they scream my name? // v. mama said, you’re a pretty girl, what’s in your head it doesn’t matter - pretty hurts, shine the light on whatever’s worse, perfection is the disease of a nation // vi. in the land of gods and monsters i was an angel, living in the garden of evil // vii. she’s made of outer space and her lips are like the galaxy’s edge, and her kiss the colour of a constellation falling into place // viii. can nobody hear me? i’ve got a lot that’s on my mind, cannot breathe, can you hear it, too?

☆ﾟ*・ HOW WOULD YOU PLAY THEM?

helen of troy has always been defined by her face, a face that launched a thousand ships and started a war, and yet no one ever seems to care about the girl and soul hidden behind that mesmerizing face. beauty is a curse, a burden that comes in a disguise of a gift from gods, and helen knows this better than anyone else. she only has a face, but not a voice. she spends her whole life being controlled by various powerful men, ushered into their companies and later beds. there’s no one more alone in the world than helen of troy as she’s trapped in gilded cages and kept as some exotic bird. there are only those who wish to use her as a tool, such as her parents, husband and even the cruel gods for their little games of war, and then there are those that judge her and try to put all the blame on her, paint her as a whore, seductress and bringer of destruction in their songs, tales and poetry. but next to paris, she feels safe, understood for the first time, like she can finally make a choice in her life. and she does, she finally is allowed to make choices, she’s on a quest to enlightenment and a better life, a life in which she can decide what she wants. helen wants to have her voice heard and she wishes is to be free. she’s mostly been passive her whole life, unable to speak or take matters into her own hands, but rather she must follow the strict protocols and obey the rules others have written for her. yet helen isn’t a cruel woman despite all the loneliness and abuse, but she’s hopeful and free-spirited, always carefully waiting for the perfect moment to flee. if she could, she would trade her face with any other lady or princess, just so she could have a normal life.

a life filled with beauty, wealth and splendor was once again bestowed upon helen or rather hedy, but it all came with a very similar price indeed. hedy was born in a family filled with successful and ambitious people; a famous businessman for a father and a wealthy model for a mother with a keen eye for the finer things in life. as their only child, hedy had always struggled to live up to the high expectations of her parents, had always tried her best to make them happy while completely pushing her own happiness aside. from an early age, her mother started taking her to pageant shows, modeling and acting auditions, wishing to make a profit on her strikingly beautiful child; from a charming baby to a stunning toddler and teenager, people were practically climbing over each other to get a piece of hedy and make her their new shining star. hedy didn’t like any of it really, even in a room full of people and photographs she always felt profoundly alone, yet she never really had much courage to speak up to her parents. instead she would sneak out at night or when no one else was around and attend painting courses, cooking lessons, even parties, anything and everything that made her feel alive and less lonely. when she first got into the acting business, she had expected to finally be recognized for her hard work and not just face. but of course, she was a fool for thinking that. no matter how hard she had practiced or worked, she always got picked for similar roles, the beautiful damsel in distress, the pretty girlfriend of the main hero, the bond girl, a stunning girl without a name, the provocative but stupid blonde bombshell. her parents however were entirely pleased and so was the media and her fans. but her parents didn’t stop there as they went a search for a fitting husband. almost one year ago, she got engaged to a businessman who’s practically 15 years older than her, and while she does wear a pretty diamond ring on her finger just to please her parents, she knows that she will never marry him. among her peers, she’s known as a bit of a heartbreak among her peers, but that of course is only a facade as she wants to find someone who will truly love her for what she is and not just like her for the way she looks or what she owns. she’s learning how to be more independent and free, she’s learning how to grow and escape her parents’ shadow. she’s also become an advocate for women’s right and equality and with the help of other women, she’s learning how to love and respect herself, and never let anyone again use her as a puppet. most do see her a joke, a young, wealthy and beautiful girl like her simply cannot be unhappy, she is not allowed to be unhappy. they all claim she has everything, judge her at every possible opportunity, but hedy won’t let them get to her this time. she will fight for herself. she’s not happy, but she wants to find it, and she’ll try to seize it. one step at a time.

answer these questions: 1. are they more likely to stand with the pantheon or against it? she is more likely to stand with the pantheon, but truth be told, now she’d be quite indecisive. sometimes she feels as if the gods are simply playing with her for their own sickly-sweet entertainment. 2. what is their stand on mortals? she is a mortal and she’ll always be more fond of her own kind that the gods.

☆ﾟ*・ SAMPLE PARA (OPTIONAL)

’’ – miss hedy, miss hedy,’’ a man in a black suit calls, steady hands gripping a white phone ready to capture her every word and motion. she snaps out of her beautiful reverie, forgetting almost for a few brief moments that she’s supposed to be answering inquires and not imagining that she’s on a sunny beach somewhere with warm sand tingling beneath her toes. ’’yes?’’ she looks up, blue eyes steadily focusing on the impatient man. ’’this year you were once again named as one of the most beautiful actresses in the world, tell me how does that make you feel?’’ when she hears his inquiry, she sighs, chest trembling with disappointment.

didn’t anyone come to ask at least one single question about the movie? she asks herself, unwilling to face the truth. is that all she is? a pretty face that’s meant to be ranked with the others? a girl only born to be on display? she can almost hear the cry of thousands of women across the world, women only valued for the way they look, now for what they truly are. ‘’i’m honored. really. next question please.’’

an older woman from the audience raises her hand and with a soft smile she starts to form her question, and the more she talks the more hedy can see that her smile isn’t genuine. ‘’recently, the young and beautiful margo vera has been compared to you, from your similar career paths to looks, it’s sometimes hard to ignore the resemblance. do you see her as competition, miss hathaway?’’ she refrains from rolling her eyes, knowing that such behavior doesn’t suit a proper lady like her. in that instant she wishes they could all just leave her alone. hedy’s cherubic smile falters, but her lips are still curved upwards. ‘’no, of course not. why would i?’’

‘‘so are you saying that she could never match your looks?’’ the woman immediately jumps, searching for tiny pieces of flesh that she can fest upon like a true vulture. ‘‘no, no, i think she is extremely beautiful. i wish her nothing but the best. i’d even love to work with her,’‘ but what she wants to say is, i hope she’ll be more beautiful than me, i don’t want this, i don’t want this beauty, i’ve been carrying it all my life, but it’s too heavy for me. i want more from life. don’t you see that beauty isn’t everything?

‘‘with the recent beauty standards in the industry, do you think…’’ another man starts, but hedy stops him with a wave of her delicate hand. ‘‘that’s all for today. thank you all for coming. see you next time…’‘ she announces wearily. the wave of flashing lights before her is almost blinding.

–you look so beautiful today, smile for the camera one more time, miss hedy

– smile, i love your face

–hey over here, over here, stay for another question

it’s always like this. she’ll never be free.

☆ﾟ*・ ANYTHING ELSE?

pinterest board <3

#ohq:accepted #semi appless rp #lsrpg #literate rp #helen #helen of sparta

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kpopnkoffee · 6 years ago

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Drama Review: Mask

Show: Mask

Starring: Soo Ae, Ju Ji-hoon, Yeon Jung-hoon, Yoo In-young

Genre: Mystery, Melodrama, Romance

Language: Korean

Availability: Viki

Episodes: 20

Synopsis: Byeon Ji-sook is a sales clerk at a department store where she suddenly meets her doppelgänger, Seo Eun Ha. While Ji-sook is stuck in crippling debt along with her family, Eun Ha is the daughter of a congressman and the fiancée of chaebol heir Choi Min Woo. Min Woo and Eun Ha are engaged to be arrange married and neither of them holds any affection for the other. Min Woo is a patient seeking treatment for his mental illness, but hopes to be named successor of his father’s company. After an unpleasant argument between the two, Eun Ha suddenly hangs between life and, to save her family, Ji-sook decides to put on a dangerous mask.

Review: This drama was really one of a kind. I’ve never watched such an intense drama with such amazing actors. They each conveyed their role in such a unique way that I found it difficult not to feel hatred for the villainous characters and affection for the protagonists. This is an incredibly intense drama that takes a lot of energy to binge-watch. It may be triggering to those with severe depression or anxiety, so please be wary before you watch this! Though it is classified as a “Romance” on Viki, I would really rate it more as a Mystery. There are things that you don’t find out (but probably suspect) until the last few episodes. With all the twists and turns in this drama, it gave me a new appreciation for KMystery Dramas.

Rate: 7.5/10

***SPOILERS AHEAD***

It took me a few episodes to wrap my head around what tf was going on.

Eun Ha is found drowning in a pool with Choi Min Woo waking up from unconsciousness. Nobody else is found around the pool and the immediate suspicion is that Min Woo, after an argument with his fiancée, pushed her into the pool and let her drown. The CCTV camera shows no evidence of this...because everything from after the argument to Eun Ha’s rescue has been erased. The biggest mystery then is who killed Eun Ha?

It’s a classic doppelgänger-switch movie, but what makes this interesting are the reasons behind the switch, and the main lead’s backstory. Min Woo is an illegitimate heir and he blames himself for his mother’s accidental death, but it’s interesting to see this unfold over the course of the series. There’s not too much backstory to Ji-sook or Mi-Yeon (the female characters), but Seok-Hoon seems to have some. His backstory isn’t revealed until the very last episodes, though we get glimpses of it near the beginning of the show.

I thought this was kind of a waste, because it would have been nice to know why he was going about murdering people and exploiting them- it would have given his character some dimension earlier on in the show.

The only real people I believe had any character development were the main leads (maybe). Ji-sook definitely showed incredible and beautiful character development as she goes from being a wimpy doormat to a confident, self-loving woman. I hated the way she dealt with the problems that came her way, but I liked her attitude near the end. She held no fear and did what was right knowing that it would put her in danger too.

Min Woo’s character development is kind of unusual and possibly inaccurate. He’s the typical “cold and arrogant” male lead and he meets Eun Ha (Ji-sook) and turns warm-hearted and kind. He suspects something’s not right and is intrigued by his new wife because she is not the arrogant and aggressive woman he first met. What’s unusual is his sudden decline in obsessive-compulsive behavior. Even if one is not diagnosed with OCD, it is difficult to completely get rid of that behavior. The sudden change without therapy, medication, or any obvious help from a professional doesn’t seem realistic or representative of those that experience OCD-like behaviors. But I suppose it was nice to see some representation of mental illness in this show (there is so much stuff going on here regarding mental illness!)

Mi-Yeon is an evil b**** through and through. She only has eyes for her husband and will do anything and everything to save her marriage, including sacrifice her brother and sister-in-law. You can see some possible character development near the end, but really I think she’s incredibly wishy-washy and I definitely disliked her (strongly). The actress who played this role was amazing, because I definitely felt all the negative emotions I was meant to feel. A lot of the times I skipped parts where she came on because I couldn’t stand her (and her absurd loyalty to her husband). She definitely needed therapy imo, and not from Min Woo’s original therapist either (you’ll get it when you watch the show). There were parts near the end where I sympathized with her, but I never really liked her.

Same with Seok-Hoon. There is some incredibly sudden “character development” in the last episode and I found it stupid. It came out of nowhere and I think the producers could have done better without it. Doesn’t seem to make sense and it just...leaves me feeling nothing for him? Like I think the last scene was supposed to make me feel sympathy and “oh he’s a nice guy after all”, but I didn’t feel that and just saw it as the writers not making a commitment with the character. I think it would have been nicer to see some signs of it in previous episodes or perhaps see some of this “development” in the beginning or something. This just came out of nowhere though and I was not a fan.

Overall this drama was really interesting and though the plot was kinda predictable, I thought it was cute. The male lead’s acting could have been better, the chemistry between the characters could have been more interesting, it could have been shorter, and the pacing could have been better. But I enjoyed the show. I would definitely recommend it to someone who needs a serious melodrama/mystery show to watch!

#drama review #review #dramareview #dramas #kdrama #korean dramas #asian dramas #jdrama #kdramas #mask

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spectraspecs-writes · 6 years ago

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The Great Gatsby: In this essay, I will...

Below the cut I have copied, word for word, my essay that I wrote that says Nick Carraway imagined all the events in “The Great Gatsby.”

tldr: Compared to all the other characters, Nick is about as interesting as off-brand toothpaste - we only learn about 12 things about him over the course of the book, which is little compared to what we learn about the rest of the characters and when you consider that he’s the narrator. (Just look at the party in chapter 2 for examples of this.) When Gatsby dies, Nick is the only friend of Gatsby’s to show up at the funeral, which makes no sense given that, he had all these parties, surely he must have touched other lives. The characters’ behavior after Gatsby’s death make no sense - Daisy and Tom just up and vanish, when Tom is not the sort of person who would leave without fighting Gatsby, he’d turn up to gloat about “ha ha, I got Daisy and you didn’t.” Then there’s Jordan Baker’s sudden engagement - we learn at the beginning of the book that she’s single, but by the end of the book she announces to Nick out of the blue that she’s engaged. She’s a professional athlete, and Nick really likes her - if the media didn’t follow her social life, Nick would. The events with Gatsby take precedence over the events of an otherwise full summer. (Now of course, this makes sense given that the book is about Gatsby, but Nick seldom mentions his career. Quote from the essay - “The events he cites-eating lunch with his fellow bond salesman, walking around in New York City - compared to the extravaganza that is Gatsby’s company, and being privy to his cousin’s husband’s love affair, and hanging out with such a celebrity as Jordan Baker, are dull and trivial. No wonder he’d choose a fantasy world over the real world.”) Plus, he staright up forgot his own birthday and didn’t remember until basically the end of the day. Until after the fight Tom and Gatsby had over Daisy, until after the fantasy started to fall apart.

Odds are, none of the characters are completely fake. Perhaps Gatsby, Tom, Daisy, and Jordan resemble people he met during the war or other times in his life. Perhaps he met a guy during the war who called everyone “old sport.” Perhaps he really did meet a polo player named Tom in college. But the man was lonely - he planned to rent the house in West Egg with a coworker who then moved, he’d left his family behind, and even his dog ran away. Nick was lonely. He made up some imaginary friends.

And if you want my citations, below is the whole essay, complete with citations.

Imagination is an integral part of the human experience. Every one of us has at some point created a magical world for ourselves, be it as simple as having an imaginary friend, playing role-playing games online, or writing fan fiction. we may do this to fulfill some deep desire to be loved and to experience things that we could never hope to experience in real life. Something in our real life is displeasing to us, and we want to fix it in whatever way we can. In my spare time, I like to write fiction. I like to create new worlds and new people, to experience new things that could never happen in real life, and to give myself a different life, a better one. We can find this in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel, “The Great Gatsby”. Nick Carraway, the narrator of the story, has a life that none of us would wish for. In the summer of 1922, much to the chagrin of his family, he moves to New York City to become a bond salesman. He originally plans to rent a house in the country with a coworker who then moves, so he goes out to West Egg Village alone. Even his dog runs away. At that point, Nick’s life was miserable. It must have seemed that all the world was against him, and he didn’t have a friend in the world. In such a situation, a person would find some way to make friends, be they real or imaginary. I postulate that this is exactly what Nick has done-he creates imaginary friends so as to be liked and creates a new world around him. This creation is shown by the over-the-top qualities exhibited by all of the characters save one-Nick himself-, the discrepancies in character behavior, and the fact that, though Nick’s summer was a full one, the events with Gatsby and the rest of his imaginary friends are given the greatest importance.

The characters in “The Great Gatsby” are known for their extravagant qualities, their over-the-top lifestyles, and their bursting personalities. All of the characters in the book have these, save one, of course-Nick himself. In fact, compared to the information we have on every other person mentioned in the book, we have startlingly little information about Nick. He’s rather boring, by comparison, and more realistic than everyone else in the book. Most of what we know about Nick is in Chapter 1. He’s middle-class, a bond salesman, was a soldier in World War I, is from the midwest, and in the summer of 1922, he rents a small house in West Egg for $80 a month. That may seem like a lot at first glance, but after that we only learn 5 things- his name, where he went to college, he’s the cousin of the wealthy Daisy Buchanan, where he works, and the house he rents is, incidentally, only one over from the extravagant manor of Jay Gatsby (1, 7-13; 3, 61). Of the other characters we know greatly more, even of Gatsby, who is considered somewhat of a mystery. This is largely due to the fact that Nick focuses more on others but with a great lack of perspective about himself. He observes the behavior of others around him, but fails to observe his own. In fact, there is a lot of description in the book about others, but, again, a significant lack of the same about Nick. In Chapter 2, Nick attends a small get-together at the apartment of Tom Buchanan and his lover, Myrtle Wilson, in New York City. When the other guests begin to arrive, Nick describes them in great detail- Catherine, Myrtle’s sister, is described as “a slender, worldly girl of about 30[…]. When she moved about there was an incessant clicking as innumerable pottery bracelets jingled up and down her arms”; Mr. McKee, a fellow tenant “was a photographer”, his wife, “shrill, languid, handsome, and horrible”. Myrtle changes into an “elaborate afternoon dress of cream colored chiffon”, and when she changed, Nick notices that “her personality had also undergone a change. […] Her laughter, her gestures, her assertions became more violently affected moment by moment and as she expanded the room grew smaller around her”. By contrast, Nick becomes drunk, sits down in the living room, reads a gossip magazine (2,34-35), and doesn’t say much of anything, and he certainly doesn’t say anything about himself. Overall, his role is very minimal. Fantasies often include great amounts of detail to make them seem more real. But by including so much detail about others and next to none about himself, Nick makes himself seem flat by comparison. It becomes obvious that something is not right, not real- either Nick or everyone else is fake. The odds that 5 people would imagine the same thing are too low, telling us that it is really Nick who imagined them. Their extravagance and great detail tells us that the characters are, in fact, a fantasy.

Furthermore, another clue that the events of “The Great Gatsby” are Nick’s imaginings is all the discrepancies we find in the characters’ behavior at the end. Nothing that would make sense to happen, given the characters established behavior up to that point, actually does When the character of Gatsby dies (8, 169), the only one who mourns, truly, is Nick, even though, surely, Gatsby must have touched many lives. He must have had other friends in the world. But no, only one friend, Nick, attends Gatsby’s funeral (9,182). (This also shows how Nick is central to everything, proving that he is, in fact, the one who imagined all of this.) Daisy, the woman supposedly so attracted to Gatsby that she was tempted to leave her husband, wasn’t even in the area. She and Tom disappeared shortly before Gatsby died- they “left no address”, didn’t “say when they’d be back”, they had just “gone away early that afternoon, and taken baggage with them”(9, 172). Even if their leaving makes sense, Tom is the kind of person who would want to gloat. This personality trait can be seen both during and after his and Gatsby’s fight over Daisy in Chapter 7. He is arrogant and believes that Daisy can only love him- When told that Daisy loves both Tom and Gatsby, Tom says, “‘Even that’s a lie. […] Why—there’re things between Daisy and me that you’ll never know’”(7,140). And when Daisy says that it wouldn’t be true if she said she never loved Tom, he says rather pompously, “‘Of course it wouldn’t’” (7,140). And at the very end of the fight, to further assert that he’s won, he orders Daisy and Gatsby to drive home together—“‘Go home,’” he says, “‘He won’t annoy you. I think he realizes that his presumptuous little flirtation is over’”(7,142). Tom would want to rub it in Gatsby’s face once more that he had Daisy before bowing out. He would have Daisy drop by to say goodbye forever. Even while mourning for Myrtle, it would be out of character for Tom not to gloat.

There’s also the point of Jordan Baker’s sudden engagement. At the beginning of the book, Daisy says that she intends to set Nick and Jordan up together- she says, “‘In fact, I think I’ll arrange a marriage. Come over often, Nick, and I’ll sort of -oh- fling you together’”(1,23). Jordan Baker, being a celebrity, a professional athlete, would be rather well-followed by the media of the time. Any boyfriend she might have had would have been news, the same as it is today, and Daisy wouldn’t have even tried to set them up. And Jordan liked Nick, we know this (“‘I hate careless people,’” she says, “‘That’s why I like you’”(3, 63).), and Nick tells us right out that “for a moment, I thought I loved her” (3, 63). If the media didn’t follow this professional golfer, Nick certainly would. However, at the end of the book, she tells Nick “without comment that she was engaged to another man” (9, 187). Out of the blue, with no clues of any sort beforehand, Jordan is engaged. Her engagement totally removes any chance of a further relationship between her and Nick, a relationship that we were expecting. That doesn’t make sense considering her character and the details established thus far. That is a character discrepancy that hints to something suspicious beneath the surface, hinting even more that these events are all a fantasy.

Yet another clue that the events of “The Great Gatsby” are Nick’s fantasy is the importance that the events with Gatsby and the rest of the delusion are given out of an otherwise full summer. Nearing the end of Chapter 3, Nick breaks from his story to tell us about the events thus far— “Reading over what I have written so far I see I have given the impression that the events of three nights several weeks apart were all that absorbed me. On the contrary they were merely casual events in a crowded summer and, until much later, they absorbed me infinitely less than my personal affairs” (3, 60-61). For a brief moment-a little over one full page (4 paragraphs on pages 61 and 62)-Nick breaks a little from his fantasy to tell us what he had done until the middle of July, 1922, but after that he goes back to talking about Jordan and his imaginings. But he was right when he said that it seemed those three events were the highlights of his summer up until that point. The events he cites-eating lunch with his fellow bond salesman, walking around in New York City (3, 61)- compared to the extravaganza that is Gatsby’s company, and being privy to his cousin’s husband’s love affair, and hanging out with such a celebrity as Jordan Baker, are dull and trivial. No wonder he’d choose a fantasy world over the real world.

Also, preoccupation with the fantasy caused him to forget his own birthday. In Chapter 7, following Tom and Gatsby’s fight over Daisy, as Tom was preparing to have a victory drink, he asked Nick if he wanted any. Nick didn’t hear him at first, then said, “‘No…I just remembered that today’s my birthday’”(7, 142). He didn’t remember this until after the fight, when his fantasy started to fall apart, when Daisy, the reason he created the fantasy in the first place, left Gatsby. He didn’t think about it until real life started to creep in. His life wasn’t important until an issue with his all-important fantasy was resolved. There is a clear separation between the fantasy and his reality. Were these events real and true, Nick would not have forgotten something like his birthday.

Now, none of this is to say that Gatsby, Daisy, Tom, and Jordan are entirely fake. Indeed, the human mind is incapable of creating entirely new people. However, compiling qualities from separate people into one person is entirely within the realm of possibility. In his life in New York, or his life in the midwest, Nick might have met someone-anyone-that could have later become Gatsby, or any of them. Perhaps during the war, he encountered a soldier who called everyone “old sport”, or perhaps in college he really did meet a polo player named Tom. In creating his imaginary friends, he called minor details from his real life to his mind and they turned into these people, these friends that Nick created for himself. And they became so fantastical, with such unbelievable qualities, because if you were going to create an imaginary friend, why would they be boring?

The imagination is an amazingly human thing. Some might even say that it is what makes us human. It’s been used to create amazing worlds and amazing technology, from the spear to the Internet. The creators are valued in history, and the character of Nick Carraway is honored with a place among them. After all, through the creative genius of F. Scott Fitzgerald, he created characters that have been valued and read about for decades, almost a century-characters that are fantastically amazing, fantastically complex, fantastically important. We need not pity Nick Carraway for making imaginary friends rather than real ones. We should respect him, and continue to honor him and the story he is a part of, as we have in years past.

#the great gatsby #specs writes stuff #ap lang #ap language #original writing #original essay #in this essay i will #as promised

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creationsgreys · 2 years ago

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Defeating pazuru ff mystic quest

Continued abuse of our services will cause your IP address to be blocked indefinitely. Please fill out the CAPTCHA below and then click the button to indicate that you agree to these terms. If you wish to be unblocked, you must agree that you will take immediate steps to rectify this issue. If you do not understand what is causing this behavior, please contact us here. If you promise to stop (by clicking the Agree button below), we'll unblock your connection for now, but we will immediately re-block it if we detect additional bad behavior. Overusing our search engine with a very large number of searches in a very short amount of time.Using a badly configured (or badly written) browser add-on for blocking content.Running a "scraper" or "downloader" program that either does not identify itself or uses fake headers to elude detection.Using a script or add-on that scans GameFAQs for box and screen images (such as an emulator front-end), while overloading our search engine.There is no official GameFAQs app, and we do not support nor have any contact with the makers of these unofficial apps. Continued use of these apps may cause your IP to be blocked indefinitely. This triggers our anti-spambot measures, which are designed to stop automated systems from flooding the site with traffic. Animated Violence, Mild Fantasy Violence. Some unofficial phone apps appear to be using GameFAQs as a back-end, but they do not behave like a real web browser does. A RPG for younger players in the days when RPGs were still a niche genre - a much simpler and less epic RPG than Final Fantasy fans are used to.Using GameFAQs regularly with these browsers can cause temporary and even permanent IP blocks due to these additional requests. If you are using Maxthon or Brave as a browser, or have installed the Ghostery add-on, you should know that these programs send extra traffic to our servers for every page on the site that you browse.The most common causes of this issue are: Of course, for the true Final Fantasy fans some things might not entirely please but looking at the bigger picture, it’s an honest overhaul of a classic.Your IP address has been temporarily blocked due to a large number of HTTP requests. On a closing note, you have to play Mystic Quest Remastered to really appreciate it. Relive your childhood game in a new way or try a solid recreation of a true RPG Potions and spells still play a huge role in the game and using them can completely turn around the outcome of a battle. In Mystic Quest Remastered you still rely on a good battle plan and the proper time to engage because some monsters are simply too tough to beat at a low level.įortunately, your characters can be equipped with the items you pick up along the way. SeanKelson's Final Fantasy Mystic Quest Walkthrough Table Of Contents 1-Introduction 2-Walkthrough A. Fighting them is easy but defeating them, well that’s a different story. Guide and Walkthrough (SNES) by SeanKelson. Just like in the original, monster random encounters no longer exist and are replaced with stationary minions. Equip your heroes with the items you want and fight the evil that lurks all around The combat system is pretty much the same, with the exception that in Mystic Quest Remastered you can have up to four characters fighting together and the HUD layout is somewhat different. It relies on good looking pixel art, exploring revisits the top-down bird’s eye view, and interaction and movement are done using a handful of keys. Right off the bat, from the looping theme song to the graphics, Mystic Quest Remastered takes you back 20 years when things were much simpler in terms of visuals and gameplay but still plenty of fun. A true recreation of the classic RPG experience It was rebuilt from the ground up and does its best to keep as much as the original as possible, while also providing a set of new and welcome changes. Mystic Quest Remastered is todays’ adaptation of the classic Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest title which was released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.

#Defeating pazuru ff mystic quest

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scifigeneration · 7 years ago

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Why won't scientific evidence change the minds of Loch Ness monster true believers?

by Artūrs Logins

If you’re convinced Nessie’s real, would science unconvince you? AP Photo/Norm Goldstein

You may have noticed a curious recent announcement: An international research team plans to use state-of-the-art DNA testing to establish once and for all whether the Loch Ness monster exists.

Regardless of the results, it’s unlikely the test will change the mind of anyone who firmly believes in Nessie’s existence. As a philosopher working on the notion of evidence and knowledge, I still consider the scientists’ efforts to be valuable. Moreover, this episode can illustrate something important about how people think more generally about evidence and science.

Discounting discomfiting evidence

Genomicist Neil Gemmell, who will lead the international research team in Scotland, says he looks forward to “(demonstrating) the scientific process.” The team plans to collect and identify free-floating DNA from creatures living in the waters of Loch Ness. But whatever the eDNA sampling finds, Gemmell is well aware the testing results will most likely not convince everyone.

A long-standing theory in social psychology helps explain why. According to cognitive dissonance theory, first developed by Leon Festinger in the 1950s, people seek to avoid the internal discomfort that arises when their beliefs, attitudes or behavior come into conflict with each other or with new information. In other words, it doesn’t feel good to do something you don’t value or that contradicts your deeply held convictions. To deal with this kind of discomfort, people sometimes attempt to rationalize their beliefs and behavior.

It’s hard to stop waiting for an expected UFO. Joseph Sohm/Shutterstock.com

In a classic study, Festinger and colleagues observed a small doomsday cult in Chicago who were waiting for a UFO to save them from impending massive destruction of Earth. When the prophecy didn’t come true, instead of rejecting their original belief, members of the sect came to believe that the God of Earth changed plans and no longer wanted to destroy the planet.

Cult members so closely identified with the idea that a UFO was coming to rescue them that they couldn’t just let the idea go when it was proven wrong. Rather than give up on the original belief, they preferred to lessen the cognitive dissonance they were experiencing internally.

Loch Ness monster true believers may be just like the doomsday believers. Giving up their favorite theory could be too challenging. And yet, they’ll be sensitive to any evidence they hear about that contradicts their conviction, which creates a feeling of cognitive discomfort. To overcome the dissonance, it’s human nature to try to explain away the scientific evidence. So rather than accepting that researchers’ inability to find Nessie DNA in Loch Ness means the monster doesn’t exist, believers may rationalize that the scientists didn’t sample from the right area, or didn’t know how to identify this unknown DNA, for instance.

Cognitive dissonance may also provide an explanation for other science-related conspiracy theories, such as flat Earth beliefs, climate change denial and so on. It may help account for reckless descriptions of reliable media sources as “fake news.” If one’s deeply held convictions don’t fit well with what media say, it’s easier to deal with any inner discomfort by discrediting the source of the new information rather than revising one’s own convictions.

Philosophy of knowledge

If psychology may explain why Loch Ness Monster fans believe what they do, philosophy can explain what’s wrong with such beliefs.

The error here comes from an implicit assumption that to prove a claim, one has to rule out all of the conceivable alternatives – instead of all the plausible alternatives. Of course scientists haven’t and cannot deductively rule out all of the conceivable possibilities here. If to prove something you have to show that there is no conceivable alternative to your theory, then you can’t really prove much. Maybe the Loch Ness monster is an alien whose biology doesn’t include DNA.

So the problem is not that believers in the existence of the Loch Ness monster or climate change deniers are sloppy thinkers. Rather, they are too demanding thinkers, at least with respect to some selected claims. They adopt too-high standards for what counts as evidence, and for what is needed to prove a claim.

Philosophers have long known that too-high standards for knowledge and rational belief lead to skepticism. Famously, 17th century French philosopher René Descartes suggested that only “clear and distinct perceptions” should function as the required markers for knowledge. So if only some special inner feeling can guarantee knowledge and we can be wrong about that feeling – say, due to some brain damage – then what can be known?

This line of thought has been taken to its extreme in contemporary philosophy by Peter Unger. He asserted that knowledge requires certainty; since we are not really certain of much, if anything at all, we don’t know much, if anything at all.

One promising way to resist a skeptic is simply not to engage in trying to prove that the thing whose existence is doubted exists. A better approach might be to start with basic knowledge: assume we know some things and can draw further consequences from them.

A knowledge-first approach that attempts to do exactly this has recently gained popularity in epistemology, the philosophical theory of knowledge. British philosopher Timothy Williamson and others including me have proposed that evidence, rationality, belief, assertion, cognitive aspects of action and so on can be explained in terms of knowledge.

This idea is in contrast to an approach popular in the 20th century, that knowledge is true justified belief. But counterexamples abound that show one can have true justified belief without knowledge.

Say, you check your Swiss watch and it reads 11:40. You believe on this basis that it is 11:40. However, what you haven’t noticed is that your typically super reliable watch has stopped exactly 12 hours ago. And by incredible chance it happens that, now, when you check your watch, it is in fact 11:40. In this case you have a true and justified or rational belief but still, it doesn’t seem that you know that it is 11:40 – it is just by pure luck that your belief that it’s 11:40 happens to be true.

Our newer knowledge-first approach avoids defining knowledge altogether and rather posits knowledge as fundamental. It’s its own fundamental entity – which allows it to undercut the skeptical argument. One may not need to feel certain or have a sensation of clarity and distinctness in order to know things. The skeptical argument doesn’t get off the ground in the first place.

When it comes to science versus skeptic, evidence doesn’t always matter. AP Photo, File

Knowledge and the skeptic

The eDNA analysis of Loch Ness may not be enough to change the minds of those who are strongly committed to the existence of the lake’s monster. Psychology may help explain why. And lessons from philosophy suggest this kind of investigation may not even provide good arguments against conspiracy theorists and skeptics.

A different and, arguably, better argument against skepticism questions the skeptic’s own state of knowledge and rationality. Do you really know that we know nothing? If not, then there may be something we know. If yes, then we can know something and, again, you are wrong in claiming that knowledge is not attainable.

A strategy of this kind would challenge the evidential and psychological bases for true believers’ positive conviction in the existence of Nessie. That’s quite different from attempting to respond with scientific evidence to each possible skeptical challenge.

But the rejection of a few true believers doesn’t detract from the value of this kind of scientific research. First and foremost, this research is expected to produce much more precise and fine-grained knowledge of biodiversity in Loch Ness than what we have without it. Science is at its best when it avoids engaging with the skeptic directly and simply provides new knowledge and evidence. Science can be successful without ruling out all of the possibilities and without convincing everyone.

Artūrs Logins is a Visiting Postdoctoral Researcher in Philosophy at the University of Southern California – Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.

This article was originally published on The Conversation, a content partner of Sci Fi Generation.

#science #philosophy #psychology #cognitive science #cognitive dissonance #evidence #skeptism #ufos #loch ness monster

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