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sleeplesssmoll · 4 months

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Reverse 1999: Vertin Character Analysis and Theory

Vertin and the “Hidden Desire”

I'll be exploring the Gluttony Amplification Material and how it potentially relates to Vertin. Unlike the Psychubes, Gluttony is not a conclusion built upon Vertin’s thoughts and reflection. Instead, Gluttony is “a desire hidden in the depths”. I examined this under a mostly biblical lens because Reverse1999 loves to use Biblical references. Word Count 1600+

Relevant Background Information

Psychubes are an element of an arcanist's thoughts. They provide buffs/abilities. The more you ponder, the more you gain (in game description). Vertin can reflect and meditate in a process called pneuma analysis (resource stage) twice a day, where she acquires lesser Psychubes, Thought Elements, and Thoughts in Entirety.

Thought Elements: an element of an arcanist’s thoughts. There are so many ways to organize the mess: the furnace that burns and the blade that cuts…but I wish to keep it the way it is.

Thoughts in Entirety: an arcanist’s complete thoughts. As the disorganized has been organized, the darkened vision lightens, ideas are finally taking shape in my mind.

These are the building blocks for greater ideas, which would be higher level Psychubes. On the Psychube page in the Atlas, you will also see the phrase word anamnesis.

In Platonic philosophy, anamnesis is a process of rediscovering knowledge that the soul already possesses but has forgotten. Plato stated the soul has pre-existing knowledge that is brought back to consciousness through the process of questioning and recollection. However, in Christian and Catholic contexts, anamnesis is recollecting the “Passion, Resurrection, and Ascension of Jesus”. In other words, remembering Jesus’s sacrifice and honoring his memory (this is an oversimplification for the sake of brevity). In general, we can think of anamnesis as a profound reflection or recalling of events.

To summarize, the Psychubes interlap with Vertin's emotional state and have been cultivated by her experiences. She reflects, recollects, and creates stronger “impressions” (from the Psychubes). The definition for impression: an idea, feeling, or opinion about something or someone, especially one formed without conscious thought or on the basis of little evidence. These are all emotion/intuition based. Very fitting for an arcanist.

From a lore perspective, the Psychube Shop is a representation of Vertin’s mind as she turns her thoughts into Psychubes. The different prices represent the time and introspection needed to gather Vertin’s thoughts. She needs more complete thoughts (Thoughts in Entirety) in order to afford the stronger Psychubes, which means spending more time doing pneuma analysis (farming the stage). The lesser ideas are also the foundation of strong ones. In the game this is represented by engraving a Psychube to make it stronger. (Note: This is how I connected the game mechanics to the lore, but I'm open to other interpretations!)

Gluttony is not a Psychube and isn't listed in the Atlas. However, it consumes the most Thoughts in Entirety. The strongest Psychubes are worth 210, but Gluttony is a whopping 300. The Snake symbolizes “desire hidden in the depths.” It gorges on Vertin’s thoughts if she indulges it instead of a Psychube. However, if she allows Gluttony to devour her thoughts, she can amplify an existing Psychube. This could be interpreted as gaining a deeper understanding, but to get there she needs to get obsessed/fixated/focused. This is reflected in the large amount of thoughts she needs to invest in Gluttony before she can amplify her chosen Psychube.

But what exactly is Gluttony and why is it slithering around in Vertin’s soul?

The Serpent and the Sin

Gluttony is represented by a snake, which we can also refer to as a serpent.

In the Bible, snakes are often associated with deception and temptation. The serpent in the Garden of Eden is commonly interpreted as a symbol of Satan tempting Eve to disobey God. Snakes also represent danger and evil.

In the biblical story of the Garden of Eden, the serpent tempts Eve to eat the forbidden fruit (Apple) from the Tree of Knowledge. The serpent challenges God's command, suggesting that eating the fruit will not lead to death but rather make Eve and Adam godlike, “knowing good and evil”. The serpent manipulates Eve, creating doubt about God's intentions and enticing her with the idea of gaining knowledge and wisdom. Eve eventually succumbs to the temptation, eats the forbidden fruit, and shares it with Adam. Their disobedience led to their expulsion from the Garden of Eden. The story is a lesson on disobedience and its consequences. The snake was also cursed by God to crawl on its belly and eat dust.

While snakes aren't evil in every context, keep this story in mind.

With the Snake symbolism established, we can look at the Sin.

The Seven Deadly Sins are Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy and Pride.

Going a step further, Lust, Gluttony, and Greed share a theme: excessive desire. People carrying these sins are deemed insatiable.

Gluttony refers to excessive indulgence in food or drink. It involves overconsumption beyond what is necessary, often driven by an unrestrained appetite or desire for pleasure. It’s a sinful behavior due to its focus on self-indulgence and lack of moderation.

However, we haven’t seen any behavior to connect Vertin with Gluttony. In fact, she displays the exact opposite and reflects Gluttony’s counterpart: Temperance. Temperance is one of the Seven Virtues (opposite of Seven Sins). According to Wikipedia Temperance is the practice of moderation and voluntary self-restraint. It involves refraining from vengeful actions through mercy and forgiveness, avoiding arrogance through humility, and curbing excesses like luxury, overindulgence in food and drink, as well as managing rage through calmness. This is Vertin’s whole persona as the stoic Timekeeper. She asks for nothing, but is always ready to give. During Green Lake, we see her explicitly say things like she doesn’t have wishes because she already has everything she needs but she goes out of her way to fulfill other people’s desires.

So Why a Snake? Why use the term Gluttony?

In Vertin’s case, I’d say a “hunger for knowledge” suits her. She wanted to know the outside world to the extent of letting herself get hurt in (electric fence and punishments from teachers) in the process. She craved more while everyone else obeyed the Foundation and stayed in their lane. Smoltin could never be satisfied within the Foundation’s walls.

While it’s true she had an insatiable curiosity, she is not Eve in this story.

She was the Serpent.

During the break away event, Vertin enticed the other children to disobey. She tempted them, just like the snake who tempted Eve. She challenged everything they knew the way the Snake planted doubts about God. The other children were swayed by her which ended up getting them Reversed. Now she is the Timekeeper, doomed to helplessly watch history repeat as she loses friends and allies. The snake was cursed to crawl on its belly, and she was cursed to brave the Storm as Eras end.

Maturity and trauma go hand in hand since children who experience trauma are forced to grow up faster than others. Vertin wanted “too much”, and look at where it got her. She has her own goals and desires of course, but Vertin doesn’t ask for much compared to her crew. Vertin is also a victim of other people’s greed like Constantine, and as of recently, Arcana. What if she’s afraid she’ll become like the people who hurt her and her friends? Who continue to hurt her physically and emotionally?

Gluttony could be what Vertin perceives as her sin. She could have a skewed perception of herself. She wants things like everyone else, but wanting things is “wrong.” Wanting too much will make her hurt people. This is why Gluttony is part of her psyche along with the psychubes she manifests. It’s not a conclusion or idea she needs to come to because it's already coiled up in her mind. It lives there. To clarify Vertin has desires but chooses not to act on them. Its similar to not being able to control your emotions, but you can manage how they manifest to some degree.

The repression is intense.

“The snake is hissing to find its way. It is now clear where to go and what to bite. It opens its mouth, it protrudes its fangs, it sinks them into the prey.”

Fun fact, snakes are predators that can unhinge their jaws to eat their prey whole after they subdued them. It fits right into the concept of Gluttony. Idk how you want to interpret this but to me it shows someone who knows what they want, knows how to get what they want, and has the means to claim it without hesitance. Yet, Vertin doesn't indulge this part of her (Unlike Constantine and Arcana). What do you think? There are so many ways to interpret this!

TL;DR: Psychubes are linked to Vertin's emotions and experiences, cultivated through reflection and meditation in a process called pneuma analysis. Anamnesis, mentioned in the game's Atlas, connects to Platonic philosophy and Christian contexts, representing a profound recollection of events. Gluttony, symbolized by a snake, consumes Thoughts in Entirety, reflecting excessive desire and temptation akin to the biblical story of the serpent in the Garden of Eden. Despite Vertin's displayed Temperance, Gluttony resides in her heart. Her trauma represses many of her “hidden desires”. The symbolism of Gluttony, both in the lore and game mechanics, adds depth to Vertin's character.

Disclaimer: there is also a serpent on the Insight Material “Fruit of Good and Evil” but that will be a discussion for another time because we’re focusing on Gluttony.

More Psychube Stuff:

#reverse 1999 #vertin #reverse 1999 theory #character analysis #religious imagery

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rose-tea-and-strawberries · 11 months

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Heya 👋

I discovered your account a few weeks ago and I fell in love with your twisted wonderland x house of mouse AU and I also started posting about this AU merged with my Twisted Wonderland AU 😊

Alas here is my question

I'm a huge jungle book fan, so I'm curious how they see Yuu in your AU

Hope you have a wonderful day/night 😊

I LOVE JUNGLE BOOK SO MUCH - it's actually one of the only instances where I like the movie more than the book (mainly because the books are super depressing - though it is lowkey funny how book!Shere Khan has the exact same death as Mufasa)

So I'm setting the HoM!AU as post-Shere Khan's defeat and pre-Mowgli going to the man village.

Literally all of them ship Yuu with any Savanaclaw Student

So I've said it before but Mowgli's family - Raksha, Rama and his brothers - absolutely adore Jack. They all like to roughhouse with him it's adorable. I personally headcanon that he's twisted from Mowgli's wolf father which is why he's not as villainous as his peers and also why he has a strong sense of justice - plus why he's close to his younger siblings.

Mowgli and Yuu are best friends. He and his brothers welcome her to the pack the same way they welcomed Mowgli and Jack. Raksha's mother instincts are blaring when she sees her so she joins the other animal Disney mums like Sarabi, Duchess and Mama Jumbo in doting on her with maternal affection.

Bagheera (Disney's OG good kitty before Simba - I literally love him so much he has my heart) is like Yuu's cool uncle. He is such a dad (even though his first instinct was to eat baby!Mowgli when he first saw him), the moment he sees Yuu he's like 'must protect'. Seing a mancub that he wouldn't get grey fur babysitting is such a relief and he spends most of his time just chatting with her and preventing Baloo and the rest of his cast from corrupting her. I have a twst!Bagheera OC that Yuu befriends and he's like this cool senior that warns her of dangers of possible predators.

Baloo is ecstatic to have another mancub to impart his wisdom onto :D (lowkey think that he would be friends with Timon and Pumbaa since they have similar life philosophies of taking it easy and stuff). Yuu thinks of him similarly to how she thinks of Coach Vargas - fun uncle who means well and she probably shouldn't get any advice from.

Kaa tried to eat her when he first met her but was then stopped by Minnie and Bagheera. Yuu's learned her lesson with Jamil when it comes to staring into the eyes of a snake. He and Sir Hiss are snarky snake besties and get snek cuddles around her neck privileges.

Shere Khan with Yuu is: No mancub allowed *sees Yuu* one mancub allowed. He's like a platonic tsundere where he pretends he doesn't like her but still loves it when she gives him head scritches.

I feel like Shere Khan has a love hate relationship with Scar. Tigers are actually stronger than lions are and have been known to beat them in fights even though Scar is, by twst lore and probably also Disney lore, a more important figure and much above SK in the villain pecking order so there would also be that whole fighting instinct over the hierarchy between them. This fighting instinct is also included in the whole Custody Battle™ because they both keep on making jabs at the other's expense (Shere Khan likes to say that Yuu deserves better than some lion whenever Scar is near him). The two of them are also best friends - it's hilarious. It's also funny to watch them gripe about Tigger and Prince John who they both consider the embarrassments of their species.

The elephants are cool. They hang out with the other Disney elephants (like the ones in Dumbo and Lion King). I forgot his name but that baby elephant that Mowgli befriends is totally bffs with Dumbo and the two of them like to play with Yuu and Mowgli together.

#house of mouse au #fem yuu #asks #twst yuu #twst #twisted wonderland

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eggsaladsandwhic · 1 year

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Knives Headcannons (SFW and NSFW)

This is for my upcoming Poly CollegeAU Knives x OC x Vash fanfic and it's 2am and I gotta get my brainwaves out.

SFW and General

Nai is a double major in both Environmental Justice and Science

Likes taking philosophy classes it helps him understand humanity a bit more.

Probably autistic or at least on the spectrum

Is struggling with Bipolar and it hits him hard sometimes

College life is hard when you're a plant and he's trying his best to fit in

Speaking of Plants I've got this weird idea that Nai is definitely like a carnivorous plant (usually some species have barbs or thorns to trap their prey in)

Will not go to parties or bars (...Vash makes him every once and a while, but will not admit to being perceived whatsoever.

Likes fruity and sour wines

Absolute book nerd

Gets end of the semester burnt out depression (me too ngl)

Is the cook of the apartment surprisingly, he has learned to like some human cuisine. He's an alright cook but is a heavy meat and vegetables kinda guy (don't ask him to bake it makes him impatient)

Probably in a couple on campus band ensembles

Gets hit on and flirted with a lot and really hates it

Sleeps only with those soft af blankets and prefers to be cold rather than hot, and he usually needs to hug in his sleep, hence the blankets.

Likes the idea of love, especially a platonic to romantic type of affection

He's just so bitter about the fact that a human would likely never want him for what he really is

Touch adverse but even more touch starved

He's got to like someone for them to even be in his personal bubble

Actions over words

Vash and him both have a Mate for life concept so wanting to choose that special someone is really hard

So many goddamn hair products but the soft hair is worth it

NSFW ⚠️ Below

Okay shifting gears here now for ✨ The Spice✨ (NSFW)

Big dick energy - thinking around 8.5 hard

Prehensile penis and def looking like a softly barbed tentacle

Petals like a flowering butterwort, white to purple

Back to my carnivorous plant idea but this man is FERAL in bed - bites and makes plenty of noises

Aphrodisiac pre-cum, topical and ingestible

VIRGIN (this man hates people with a firey passion)

However does own one of those clear Fleshlights especially if he goes into rut

Has to go a couple rounds otherwise he feels frustrated even on a normal night

Amazing stamina and recovery time

Has a medium sex drive but the more stressed out the lower it is

This man has to Top, he'd really have to trust his partner to bottom and lose control like that (BUT THATS EXACTLY WHAT HE'S LOOKING FOR)

Don't let him get pussy drunk it's a bad idea for either party

Since I'm going for at least semi-realistic sex (especially with a dimensional being) in this fic I'll be honest and say he would accidentally hurt you and it crushes his soul

As much as I love self indulgent smut I think a human would have a hard time keeping up with a horny plant

Would bite either way too hard, overstimulate you too much, accidentally flung one of his knives into your side, started going marathon mode and having to literally slap him out of it

Usual kinks- Praise, hair pulling, breeding, choking, Size kink

Unusual - Blood, prey/predator dynamic

Wrote till I needed to sleep oopsies anyways please fill my brain with more ideas I'm begging 🙏

#trigun #millions knives #knives x reader #fanfic #headcanon #trigun smut #trigun stampede

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polycule-playoff · 11 months

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Polycule Playoff Info

This is a tournament for polycules and it encourages more complicated relationship structures.

Submit polycules via the google form.

Polycules must include at least four people, more than four are encouraged.

Please tell me your headcanons about who is with who and in what way, romantic, queerplatonic, etc.

If there are conflicting headcanons on a pairs relationship then a preliminary poll will be held to come to a consensus.

Please respect all interpretations of a pairs relationship; do not talk down about platonic, romantic, queerplatonic, etc, relationships.

Polycules don't have to be canon.

If a polycule is submitted more than once but with new people added; I'm going with the philosophy the more the merrier. All characters that are submitted for a polycule will make it into the polycule.

No minecraft roleplay or harry potter or homestuck characters please.

Also, if a character doesn't have a canon image, please send in an ask with fanart of the character or they won't get in. The fanart must be yours or you must have permission of the artists to use it.

There are a few polycules which I'm putting in myself.

I'm currently running @throuple-tournament and have other life responsibilities going on so this will be slow until the throuple tournament finishes.

Polls will run for a week.

Propaganda is welcome.

I will not answer asks about discourse.

Do not be mean to me, others or the polycules.

Edit: The first 50 or so polycules submitted will get in.

There will only be one per piece of media and so I will be doing some more pre-tournament polls to decide this.

Here is who has been submitted already (Last Updated: 19 May 2024)

Pink = romantic, purple = queerplatonic, blue = friends with benefits, yellow = marriage, and white = idk, but it's something.

Submissions are closed.

#polycule #playoff #polyamory

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emelinstriker · 3 months

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I have a theory about the reason people(myself included) want to make Reader not entirely human or better/stronger/different than human, can be:

a)we don't like being us, humans.

b)you know those animes where the mc is the most bland, boring, average character, but turns out to be extremely powerful, or gets an extremely strong abylities(by accident, coincidence, chosen one, their loved one is gonna die, etc), gets the attention of all the powerful gorgeus people around them(more often than not because the mc has an ability they are interested in).

And we kinda internalized that being just a human can't be all. There must be something more. A human can't be just a human.

But that's just a theory, a reader theory. Goodnight.

(This got longer than I wanted it to be KEKW- But I can't help it, I talk a lot if it's something I have personal experience with.)

Oh yea no, the those reasons why peeps wanna avoid being human has been clear to me for years. There's way more reasons than that, of which most come down to personal preference. I've glanced at and avoided enough fics since at least 2017 where the Reader is some form of hybrid, god or something that isn't human or isn't unspecified. Just because my own personal preference lies more with reading about a Reader who is actually a regular human on earth, just trying to get by daily in life.

Thing is that if you read a fanfic where the Reader has literally no other description other than "normal mortal human", then there's nothing more to it. Visuals are up to the person behind the screen, besides the fact that the character is a regular human. It's always lowkey painful for me personally seeing peeps try to for example slap wings onto themselves, and pretend like they didn't just read they're supposed to be human. While it's fine if they wanna fantasize about it and ignore any balancing or realism rules privately, the AU is already imbalanced af enough in canon when certain aspects come into play.

The "what if" questions about the Reader being anything other than a human with no magical or racial bonus abilities are immediately seen as nothing more than hypotheticals that I personally would rather like to avoid talking about. My response to them all would just be "No". Because honestly, unless I can see something as an actual possibility in my works and it's actually logcial, like the idea of a Reader being a cannibal as well as, I'd rather keep hypotheticals away and not treat them as if they were possible in canon. Which is why I just straight up am all like "No" at those instead of responding with my own headcanons.

I'm just not comfortable with people trying to force changes on pre-established parts/rule sets in the world building. That's also part of why the Judge is in control of basically the board and its rules, making sure they're being upheld and kept as much in balance as possible. Eight powerful servants is already way more than the AU was supposed to have initially.

However, I am open about the idea of different upbringings of the Reader and how they became the Master and all that, because that is literally part of the philosophy seen in the AU. The idea that all humans are different in the way they act, live, see the world, and interpret things based on their own experiences. You don't have to suddenly be turned into something you are not, but wish to be seen as by others to get along with the people around you, or even be a leader to them. In this case the champions. That's why I usually respond to people talking about either personal experiences they've made themselves, or if it's about a very much possible scenario for a person to be in, or if it's about some condition or disability.

The champions are moreso seen as an extension of such a scenario. They don't just fall heads over heels for the Reader overnight either, as they can also just remain forever platonic. The experience made to get to anything more than that relies on the Master's actions, behavior, etc. with each individual champion. Which is why my responses feel repetetive regarding the reactions of the champions. I can't go into detail on those general reactions as everyone's relationship and expeiences with them would be different.

The AU isn't based around just one Reader, but a collective. If one is non-human, everyone would need to be non-human, more specifically the same species, due to the borrowed soul being that of a human. The only thing that's the same for all the Masters is just the human soul, since that's the thing that lets them find the Reader in the AU and feel connected to them. The soul of the Reader is already powerful enough in that regard, even if it's just mainly for the connection and acting like a tracker for both the champions and the Judge. (Unless an oopsie happens and the Reader accidentally ends up turning into something like an insect the others have a harder time finding as the soul wouldn't be noticeable enough, of course. But it's a rare moment.)

The Reader's soul in my previous works in Undertale actually worked similarly, but was altered a bit in ESAU for the experiment being held in the AU.

#eternal servants au #esau qna #i might as well count this into the ramble tag #cuz like there's bonus info about my own viewpoint on certain aspects #emelin rambles #typin this entire thing on phone rn so idk if it's understandable or if it's grammatically correct hfbhbfhf

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eternal-echoes · 10 months

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“Harnack's central idea was to return simply to the man Jesus and to his simple message, underneath the accretions of theology and indeed of hellenization: this simple message was seen as the culmination of the religious development of humanity. Jesus was said to have put an end to worship in favour of morality. In the end he was presented as the father of a humanitarian moral message. Fundamentally, Harnack's goal was to bring Christianity back into harmony with modern reason, liberating it, that is to say, from seemingly philosophical and theological elements, such as faith in Christ's divinity and the triune God. In this sense, historical-critical exegesis of the New Testament, as he saw it, restored to theology its place within the university: theology, for Harnack, is something essentially historical and therefore strictly scientific. What it is able to say critically about Jesus is, so to speak, an expression of practical reason and consequently it can take its rightful place within the university. Behind this thinking lies the modern self-limitation of reason, classically expressed in Kant's "Critiques", but in the meantime further radicalized by the impact of the natural sciences. This modern concept of reason is based, to put it briefly, on a synthesis between Platonism (Cartesianism) and empiricism, a synthesis confirmed by the success of technology. On the one hand it presupposes the mathematical structure of matter, its intrinsic rationality, which makes it possible to understand how matter works and use it efficiently: this basic premise is, so to speak, the Platonic element in the modern understanding of nature. On the other hand, there is nature's capacity to be exploited for our purposes, and here only the possibility of verification or falsification through experimentation can yield decisive certainty. The weight between the two poles can, depending on the circumstances, shift from one side to the other. As strongly positivistic a thinker as J. Monod has declared himself a convinced Platonist/Cartesian.

This gives rise to two principles which are crucial for the issue we have raised. First, only the kind of certainty resulting from the interplay of mathematical and empirical elements can be considered scientific. Anything that would claim to be science must be measured against this criterion. Hence the human sciences, such as history, psychology, sociology and philosophy, attempt to conform themselves to this canon of scientificity. A second point, which is important for our reflections, is that by its very nature this method excludes the question of God, making it appear an unscientific or pre-scientific question. Consequently, we are faced with a reduction of the radius of science and reason, one which needs to be questioned.

I will return to this problem later. In the meantime, it must be observed that from this standpoint any attempt to maintain theology's claim to be "scientific" would end up reducing Christianity to a mere fragment of its former self. But we must say more: if science as a whole is this and this alone, then it is man himself who ends up being reduced, for the specifically human questions about our origin and destiny, the questions raised by religion and ethics, then have no place within the purview of collective reason as defined by "science", so understood, and must thus be relegated to the realm of the subjective. The subject then decides, on the basis of his experiences, what he considers tenable in matters of religion, and the subjective "conscience" becomes the sole arbiter of what is ethical. In this way, though, ethics and religion lose their power to create a community and become a completely personal matter. This is a dangerous state of affairs for humanity, as we see from the disturbing pathologies of religion and reason which necessarily erupt when reason is so reduced that questions of religion and ethics no longer concern it. Attempts to construct an ethic from the rules of evolution or from psychology and sociology, end up being simply inadequate.”

- Pope Benedict XVI, MEETING WITH THE REPRESENTATIVES OF SCIENCE - Aula Magna of the University of Regensburg, 12 September 2006

#Catholic #Christianity #quotes #Pope Benedict

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jackalopey · 2 years

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Title: Cross-Cultural Studies Fandom: Star Wars: The Old Republic Characters: Female Sith Inquisitor/Lord Kallig, Ashara Zavros Ships: Ashara Zavros & Female Sith Inquisitor. Pre-relationship but can be read purely platonic Description: Lord Kallig was searching for an apprentice. She got an Ashara instead. Prompt: Nobody warned you about me?

AO3 Link

The basics, Kallig understood. Apprentices were necessary. They were a symbol of strength. She needed them to increase her power-base, to keep herself from a painful death. Despite dear old (Great, Great, Great, Great… actually, she wasn’t entirely sure how many Greats were appropriate) grandad’s concerns, she was pretty sure that this was the right choice. Pretty sure.

Sure, the idea had come from Zash, who had stabbed her in the back and tried to steal her body once already, but the truth of it was, she was winging everything. Her knowledge of Sith life was pretty limited to ‘zapping things’ and ‘trying to not get killed’. Despite the body-snatching-back-stabbing, Zash had lived a life as a Sith. She knew how these things worked, and keeping Kallig alive was logical for her, for now. So the advice was, probably, genuine.

There were just a couple of snags.

The first being that Kallig didn’t have the first idea of how to mentor someone. The second being that her alleged apprentice was clearly significantly more knowledgeable than she was.

Ashara had spent her life as a Jedi. She had said that she had been with the Order since she was five years old. Her knowledge of the Force, of philosophy, of lightsaber duelling - all of it was already complex, well-established, and better structured than Kallig’s own method of trial and error.

Granted, Ashara’s teachers had been Jedi. Kallig, probably, had a better understanding of the Sith way than Ashara did. But every time that she tried to impart her knowledge, she was met with arguing. Debate, that she wasn’t entirely sure how to counter. She tried her best, and she thought that she was even giving Ashara something to think about, but she felt like she was walking in the dark, with no idea if she was about to step off of a cliff.

Frankly, she felt less like Ashara’s master, and more like a child playing pretend. It didn’t feel real. She didn’t feel as if she had any authority over Ashara, and the worst part was, she wasn’t sure if she really wanted to.

All in all, it was a mess.

In battle, Kallig didn’t feel like herself.

Her body moved, her lightsaber defended her, sparks flew from her fingers. But she wasn’t there. It was as if she was watching what happened from a distance - like she was an observer of herself, rather than a participant in the fight.

She heard others describe battle as rage-inducing. She had heard the term ‘the heat of battle’ many times in the past. She couldn’t understand it. When she fought, she felt out of control, but not due to any all-encompassing emotion. She felt out of control because whatever tie connected her soul to her body had been severed, leaving something that reacted rather than thinking, some almost droid-like creature that existed to serve only one objective: survive.

Lightning cascaded from her hands, and a scream filled the room. Ashara won her own battle, and turned to Kallig.

The victim of Kallig’s onslaught writhed on the floor. Emotionless pink eyes stared down at him.

“Master, that’s enough.” Ashara said, approaching cautiously.

Kallig didn’t react to her. It was a wonder that the man wasn’t unconscious. The pain must have been unbearable.

“Look at him. He’s done. This is just cruel.”

Still, there was no reaction.

Frustrated, desperate, or foolish, Ashara stepped forwards. She put a hand on Kallig’s shoulder.

“Kallig. Stop.”

The lightning stopped, and the man slumped down. Somehow, he survived.

Kallig stared at the man, unblinking. Then, as if a switch had been pressed, she whirled on Ashara, eyes narrowed. Ashara retreated, her body tense as she prepared to defend herself.

“You don’t tell me what to do.” Kallig said, her voice eerily calm, but her presence in the Force that a mere moment ago had felt blank now came alive, anger pooling around her.

“What.” Ashara responded in disbelief, “You won. He was defeated. Yet you stood there torturing him. I will not set aside my morals for you, master.”

Kallig took a step forward, then another. Ashara didn’t move - instead, she kept eye contact with her, glaring defiantly up at her. When she was in front of her, Kallig finally spoke again:

“I am Sith, Ashara. Did nobody warn you about me?”

That was met with an eye roll. “Please. I’ve watched you. I don’t know what you are, but you’re barely a Sith.”

For some reason, that struck Kallig. She felt a pit of cold emotion claw at her, and she felt an almost overwhelming urge to lash out at Ashara, to keep her from ever saying such a thing again. It took her a moment to recognise the emotion as fear.

She wanted to silence the unruly Jedi. She wanted to keep her from spreading her – - lies? Truths? She wasn’t sure – - she wanted to ensure that no one would ever speak back to her, no one would make demands of her, no one would hold her to any expectations. Not now, not ever. Her fist clenched by her side. It would be easy. So easy. It would be– -

Kallig took a step backward. Then another. She turned her back on Ashara, and looked down at the charred body. Still alive. Still breathing. But in pain.

“Tell me, Ashara. What would you do in my place?”

“...I would heal him.”

A strangled laugh left Kallig. “Really? Heal him of the tortures, as you put it, that I caused?”

Ashara let out a frustrated huff. “I don’t know, Kallig! I haven’t tortured anyone before!”

Silence fell between them. Kallig kept staring at the body. There was another uncomfortable feeling in her stomach. Shame. This was neither the first nor the last time she had done something like this. Why was she feeling this? Did Ashara…?

Kallig shut her eyes for a moment, before turning around again, sweeping past Ashara out of the room. Ashara hesitated, before following her.

“Go back to the ship. I need Khem. If you want to take pity, contact a medic.”

She felt a ripple of confusion from Ashara, but the other girl didn’t argue this time. “Of course, My Lord.”

Ashara looked over the monitors in the engine room. Andronikos had explained to her what they all meant, and she was running through his words in her head. She would never be a mechanic, but it was good knowledge to have, and another way to occupy her mind. Not every waking moment had to be spent obsessing over her circumstances. It was better to have a clear head when dealing with the Sith.

The Sith… she confused Ashara.

One moment, she would be joking around, gentle and approachable. She could never be mistaken for a Jedi, but in those moments, Ashara felt that she could see through the act she performed in public to the person hiding in her core. Sometimes, she even surprised Ashara with acts of mercy, made casually, with no ulterior motive, as if they were simply the right thing to do.

Then, the mask would return, and she would stand torturing a defenceless man with that expression of apathy. She would respond to Ashara’s challenges with anger or fear, rather than the open curiosity that Ashara knew that she was capable of.

But as quickly as the cruelty had emerged, it would be gone again. Not quite as if it had never happened, but she didn’t seem to dwell on it. It was as if as soon as a situation was over, she was ready to move on and forget all about it. No reflection. No remorse.

The Sith had, at least, never raised a hand against Ashara - or any of her travelling companions, for that matter. But Ashara would not be grateful for the absolute bare minimum.

Not for the first time, Ashara questioned her choice in being here. Her masters would surely disapprove, but… they weren’t here to voice their opinions anymore. Guilt rose up in her. Who’s fault was that? If she’d just…

A knock interrupted her thoughts.

That was another thing about the Sith. She had never invaded Ashara’s privacy. She had openly challenged Ashara, and had given her orders, but Ashara had never felt pressured or forced into doing anything that she didn’t want to do. Sometimes she would become angry or frustrated with Ashara’s refusal to do what she wanted, but that was it. Ashara knew that if she sent her away now, she would leave.

It wasn’t what she had expected from a Sith.

Ashara didn’t look towards her as she spoke. “Can I help you?”

“Let’s talk.”

Ashara heard the Sith walk further into the room, until she was standing a few feet away from her. Ashara looked down at the console again, before slowly turning to face her.

The Sith’s hood was down, her scarred face fully visible. Pink eyes looked at her, something unreadable in them. Ashara looked at her with a neutral expression. “Go on, then.”

“This,” The Sith gestured vaguely between the two of them, “isn’t working.”

“I noticed.”

She sighed, bringing a clawed hand up to rub down her face. She seemed conflicted. She brought her hand down, and paused. Hesitated. Then, she turned and walked back towards the exit. Ashara wondered if that would be it - if she had changed her mind about whatever it was she wanted to say - but, instead, she hit the button beside the open doorway, shutting them in and giving them complete privacy.

She had never done anything like that before. Ashara felt a spark of nervousness that she chased away. If the Sith wanted away with her, there would be no need to shut the door. While Ashara got along well enough with Andronikos, she couldn’t imagine him leaping to her defence, and she was sure that Khem would be all too happy to devour her.

The Sith paced, the movement not doing much to help quell Ashara’s anxiety.

“I don’t like the Jedi, Ashara. I don’t like the Republic. You know this. However, I can’t deny that they have some… knowledge. It is deeply, deeply flawed, but there may be a degree of worth to it. You have been raised by them since you were a young child - you have an in-depth understanding of how they function, their strategies, their philosophies, their lore.”

The Sith’s words came out quickly, as if she was speaking every word that came to her mind. Ashara tried to follow along, and bit back the retort she wanted to say in response to the Sith’s blatant disrespect of the Order.

“You have knowledge. This inspires your actions. You have morals and ethics, you have a way of seeing the world. Perhaps you don’t know who you are yet, but there is a strength in you. You speak your mind, regardless of the situation, regardless of who you are speaking to. You… listen, but you do not back down. You do not compromise who you are.”

Ashara stayed silent as the Sith spoke, trying to hide her surprise at, what seemed to be, a series of genuine compliments.

“This causes a problem for me.”

Ashara blinked, and finally spoke. “What problem?”

The Sith ran a hand through her hair. “You are my apprentice. I must shape you, mould you. Pass on my knowledge to you. It is expected of me. It is necessary. But I do not feel like your master, Ashara. You do not feel like my apprentice. I- I could force it. I know that’s what… others would want me to do. I don’t want to do that. I won’t do that.”

Ashara processed what the Sith had said, and paused. Then frowned.

“Wait. You’re saying- you’re saying that you respect me.”

The Sith stopped pacing. Her hand stilled in its position in her hair. Gradually, she turned to look at Ashara, her eyes wide and startled.

“Oh.” She said, “I think that I am.”

The two remained staring at one another, silence stretching between them. Ashara broke it by letting out a confused laugh.

“So what’s the problem?”

The Sith groaned. “This isn’t how it was meant to go! The respect I would command if I had a fallen Jedi for an apprentice… but I just- I can’t.”

“It’s not a bad thing.” Ashara said. “If you tried to make me fall, I would ensure that you faced retribution.”

“Retribution isn’t very Jedi of you.”

“Respect isn’t very Sith of you.”

Silence stretched between them again, but this time, Ashara somehow found that it wasn’t uncomfortable. Perhaps Kallig’s honesty had influenced her in some way.

“Earlier…” Kallig spoke hesitantly. “Did you… get that man help?”

Ashara nodded. “I don’t know what happened to him after that. But I said that I had found him in that state.”

Kallig looked towards the ground. “...Thank you, Ashara. I… please, keep being honest with me. I don’t… like the Jedi. But I- ah- I want to learn from you.”

Kallig sounded almost pained as she spoke, as if she had to fight with herself to get the word out. Ashara stared. She couldn’t remember the last time that someone had truly valued her opinion.

“Am I the master now?” Ashara asked, a lightly teasing tone to her voice.

Kallig’s gaze snapped back up to her. “Don’t push your luck.”

Ashara smiled, and after a moment, Kallig hesitantly smiled back.

Maybe, Ashara thought. Maybe this hadn’t been such a terrible idea after all.

#fictober22 #swtor #sith inquisitor #ashara zavros #quizzi #ashara

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thespiral · 1 year

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to follow up on that i think my only real genuine problem w toontown corpoclash is how much it feels fucking inscrutable the new game mechanics are like idk apparently i need to do fucking Raids for fucking Drops for Loot and there's like new currencies and like i get it's to better fit into the mold of other mmos and keep people's attention but i cannot get behind the new things as much as i want to like it basically forces you to be with a group and forces you to memorize and strategize and I KNOW I KNOWWWWW IT'S ABOUT TEAMWORK and there's an in-game group finder but like it's such a chore and i always wanted to do things solo like at that point whyyyyyyyy bother i don't want to grind a boss over and over and over for a fucking. sticker. bragging rights in an mmo meant for kids? it feels like fucking wow in there. and yet i still feel compelled because i despise ttrewrit grinding more. SAD!

also #hater #opinions but the managers are so like. Fun Looking and Animated that they stick out like such a sore thumb against the more boring cogs and sooooo many of them feel like sexyman bait like alright a few do fit but there's so many that feel. Off and very strange when put in the "boring business robots" archetype. idk maybe i've just been a hater since the lawbot redesigns and have way different design philosophies than the corpoclash team but like

contrasted with

cmon now

like again maybe i'm just a hater and sure the old cog designs are less animated/plain but to me that's like. The Point? like these feel like what business people would look like thru the lens of funny cartoon animals and the others just feel like. idk, too modern, too fun if that makes sense. idk im not exactly asking them to downgrade but it's always gonna be a thorn in my side cus like they feel soooooo. Different. i'm just a toontown purist or something

[edit as to not swarm ppl's dashes] my design philosophy wrt to cogs can be described as "perhaps the cartoonishly evil businessmen that designed the cartoonishly evil businessmen robot enemies did it best"

if clash had like a smaller private server pre-hh update [and also like, the old prestiges and sos cards and whatever] and reverted the lawbot changes. i dont think it would be helpful and it would probably have a playerbase of 0000000.1% and cost like a bajillion dollars. but i'd play it. perhaps i am just yearning for the platonic ideal of a toontown that may never be achieved. perhaps i am just stubborn

#txt post #<- possible new tag for this. maybe. if i remember

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merge-conflict · 1 year

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🗣️, 🤡, 🤔 & 💝 for the lovely Val? (sorry if this is too many!)

Not too many at all tsym for asking! :3 I love answering these. 🗣️ - How do they handle public speaking? Really well! It's something Valentine had classes for growing up, which certainly helps, and she loves to talk. Her favorite type of speaking is a technical presentation, and she used to give a lot of them at work. In her eyes it's basically a free pass to get a bunch of people in a conference room so she can give a clear and concise infodump. She also is one of those people who likes to give weird dramatic monologues for fun– Abernathy's husband Mark is one of those bookish guys into theater, and they used to try and one-up each other as a game.

🤡 - What’s something dumb they’re embarrassed about?

This is such a good question, and as I was thinking about the answer I think it explains a lot about her. The short answer is: it depends on who's watching. If it's someone Important than she becomes self-conscious and embarrassed about every normal thing she does, but especially any sort of unconscious stimming behavior (humming, finger tapping, pacing). But on the other hand, Johnny shoulder surfing every waking moment of her life doesn't really bother her that much because he's a dipshit rockerboy and his opinion is at best funny and at worst not worth considering. Another more direct answer is that she hates showing any weakness unless it's part of her "ehhhh, I'm just a little guy, it's my birthday" routine she's doing to annoy someone or get attention. (Jackie taught her that one.)

🤔 - What’s something they’ll never understand?

People who refuse to consider new information, or show no curiosity outside of their own bubble. Valentine spends a probably unhealthily neurotic amount of time in self-analysis and regular analysis, and she loved working CounterIntel because she got a steady stream of news and info that kept her fed. Conceptually she understands that not everyone is as comfortable with cognitive dissonance as she is, which is why people will often avoid seeking out contradictory info, but she loves the messiness of it. And how could belief stand up to choice when it comes down to it? There's a certain freedom in rejecting purity (which she has never and could never achieve) and reveling in the fact that everyone acts against their own beliefs from time to time. That this might be her counterpoint coping mechanism and not a morally correct philosophy is one of those self-reflective observations that still eludes her.

💝 - What gestures do they really appreciate? How do you get on their good side?

It's all about the little gestures! As someone prone to becoming somewhat obsessively loyal to people she gets attached to, she really appreciates all the intimacies (platonic or romantic) that are there and gone in a flash: lending her a tool before she asks for it, pre-emptively sharing food, saying something that proves they were thinking about her. It means they care enough to pay attention, and it makes her feel very taken care of. As for her "good side", that's slightly trickier. She generally tries to stand friendly with everyone, (friends are much more useful than enemies) but it would be easy for someone to overestimate her actual investment in a relationship, and I'm not sure it's fair to say someone is on her "good side" if she'd carefully manipulate them over a series of weeks to get some outcome she wanted, as long as she figured they'd never find out. She could be chuffed as all get out if you brought her lunch while she was absorbed in some problem, and she'd cheerfully carry a conversation with you and probably return the gesture, but that doesn't mean you Matter or that she really considers you her friend.

If you want to get on her actual, stupidly loyal, will get herself canned or kicked around or killed for you good side, then you need to be Interesting, Persistent, or just stick your neck out for her when you could just as easily let her hang.

#i'm sorry these got so long!#i hope i am accurately portraying how she will flirt and flatter and then immediately forget you exist #she will be your 'close friend' for a decade and then briefly lose touch and replace you #this does get harder for her after Arasaka because she has to do her dirty work herself instead of from behind a desk #and also facing down mortality when her inner circle has finally dwindled to 0 #valentine #ask meme #cyberpunk 2077 #also again thank you for asking :3

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theomachst · 2 years

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How would you characterize your Genesis pre-degradation?

For Munday, anonymously ask the mun something you want to know about them, their portrayal, or what they will/won’t write [ACCEPTING]

Hoo boy.

Golden Child syndrome in youth that manages to get a lot better, but never entirely goes away.

Undiagnosed ADHD, bipolar, & high functioning autistic, very friendly and open and doesn't have much of a filter. Or a sense of impulse control. Or a sense of shame, at all. LOVES attention, both positive and negative.

The type of guy who makes you feel like you're the only person in the entire room when his attention is focused on you, but that just makes the loss of such focus all the more heartbreaking when he decides to shine that warmth onto someone else.

Charisma in spades, radiates charm like the sun. Loves to goof around and play the Class Clown, but when it comes down to brass tacks, he's loyal to a fault and fearless to the point of reckless aggression when he gets protective or upset.

Very physical and touchy, both in intimate and platonic/friendly ways. Words of affirmation comes in at a 2nd to touch.

Loves to read and think about the universe and the nature of things: philosophy, science, art, literature- he just seems fascinated by any and everything to the point that you begin to wish you saw as much beauty and wonder in every day life as he does.

When angered, he's relentless and aggressive, mocking and manages to cut you down to the quick with only his words. He does NOT forgive easily, especially if you do something especially cruel, thoughtless, or ignorant.

High energy, high emotional states, great singing voice. Can impersonate people so well, it's eerie- he even gets inflection and body language spot on.

When he loves, it's all or nothing. He will be hopelessly dedicated to you, finds new details to fall in love with all over again, every day. Writes you poems and intimate letters and leaves thoughtful little gifts in your office/locker. Very trusting, would be willing to do anything and everything with you (within reason).

He has high standards that he imposes on himself, but never other people. He desires to be a 'hero', but what that means to him I'm still kind of parsing out. It's not the fame nor the money, it's more like... something deeper than that. A lot of people think he just wants to be Sephiroth, and to an extent, he does- but knowing Sephiroth personally, he doesn't at the same time. I think he wants to make a difference in the world. He also wants to leave a legacy behind.

He fears abandonment. Loss of everything he holds dear- Rejection. Being forgotten, just another face in the crowd, another meaningless flash in the pan. Failure is unacceptable.

#✦ HEADCANON #✦ OOC

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sleeplesssmoll · 13 days

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what even is gnosis and pneuma? those game terms got me so lost 😭💀. id be reviewing the convo logs but nothing comes to concrete understanding hsjsksk

Arcanists are race that contains a unique cell colony allowing them to perform arcane skills (magic, divination, alchemy, etc.). They do not follow reasoning like mankind and instead practice Gnosis. There are two defining features of Gnosis:

It can't be verified by an independent 3rd party.

It’s impossible to comprehend through reasoning.

Gnosis seems like a faith based, spiritual type thing that doesn't follow rationale. They think with mostly their hearts instead of their heads.

Pneuma analysis is related to psychubes and anamesis. I explained my ideas on pneuma analysis in this post about Vertin but here is a snippet:

Disclaimer: This is speculation using the in game context. New info could change it.

Psychubes are an element of an arcanist's thoughts and they grant stronger abilities/buffs on game. The more you ponder, the more you gain (in game description). Vertin can reflect/meditate in a process called pneuma analysis (resource stage) twice a day, where she acquires lesser Psychubes, Thought Elements, and Thoughts in Entirety. This is the main purpose, but we can dig deeper into the details of how it works (in theory):

Thought Elements: an element of an arcanist’s thoughts. There are so many ways to organize the mess: the furnace that burns and the blade that cuts…but I wish to keep it the way it is.

Thoughts in Entirety: an arcanist’s complete thoughts. As the disorganized has been organized, the darkened vision lightens, ideas are finally taking shape in my mind.

These are the building blocks for greater ideas, which would be higher level Psychubes. On the Psychube page in the Atlas, you will also see the phrase word anamnesis.

#reverse 1999 #reverse 1999 lore #ask #i hope i didn't make you more confused #reverse 1999 has a lot of terms #and many are open to interpretation so far

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ao3feed-danganronpa · 11 months

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a hard day's work

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/48fCogR

by platonics

They giggled again, sending stabbing pain through her ribcage. Most of the group was getting more on edge by the day, but not them. They were all long, loose limbs and easy smiles under their mask, doing their makeup every day and brewing tea with foraged herbs. All through high school, they intrigued her. Now, she thought she might hate them a little.

As the former Class 79 adapts to their new reality, Korekiyo helps Himiko with her chores.

Words: 2388, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Dangan Ronpa Series, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: Other

Characters: Yumeno Himiko, Shinguji Korekiyo, Other Characters Mentioned

Relationships: Shinguji Korekiyo/Yumeno Himiko

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Non-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), Inspired by Yellowjackets (TV), Gravedigging, post-plane crash, Pre-Relationship, Friends to Lovers, a bit of kiyo's life philosophy, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Starvation, Nonbinary Shinguji Korekiyo

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/48fCogR

#IFTTT #ao3feed #fanfic #dangan ronpa #danganronpa #dr

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edward-sonbati · 1 year

Text

Platonic Epistemology as Proto-Rationalist

Plato’s epistemology is arguably the first systematic theory of knowledge in western philosophy. Central to this epistemology are the foundational doctrine of forms, the doctrine of recollection, and the immortality and pre-existence of the soul. This paper will explore the development of these key Platonic doctrines from his transitional work, the Meno, to later middle works such as the Republic, and the Phaedo and argue that these doctrines serve as the foundation of a proto-rationalist epistemology. 1

In the Meno, the young aristocrat whom the dialogue is named after poses the following epistemological problem to Socrates:

And how, Socrates, will you look for it, when you don’t know at all what it is? Which totally unknown thing will you inquire into? And even if you find it out, how will you know that it is the thing you didn’t know? (Meno 80d)

Meno raises doubt that one can even effectively inquire and pursue knowledge to begin with. For if one already knows something, there is no need for inquiry, and if one doesn’t know something one cannot inquire into it as he does not know what to look for. Meno would have us believe that human beings are essentially in an epistemological black hole whereby the pursuit of knowledge is either impossible or for naught. In response, Socrates rebukes Meno’s position, calling it

“wimpy” and “lazy,” and argues for a more sanguine epistemology. It is here where Plato, through the literary character of Socrates, first espouses the doctrine of recollection.

Since the soul is immortal, and has been born many times, and has seen everything here and in the underworld, there is nothing that it hasn’t learned, and it’s no wonder that it can recollect everything that it used to know about virtue and other things. Everything is related, and the soul has learned everything, so after it has recollected one thing (a process that men call “learning”), nothing prevents it from recollecting everything else. If, that is, one is brave and does not give up the inquiry, for inquiring and learning are

1“Proto-rationalist” is a term I have coined to describe what I consider to be a primitive and early form of the rationalist epistemology of later modern philosophers, such as Descartes and Kant

just recollection. So we must not give credence to that contentious argument: it would make us lazy and only wimpy men enjoy hearing it (Meno 81cd).

This teaching is a chief cornerstone of Platonic epistemology and effectively voids Meno’s initial objection into philosophical inquiry. When the soul “learns” or acquires knowledge, it is not learning something new or foreign to it. Rather, it is simply recollecting information that it had prior knowledge of in a past life. Here we see a small and subtle hint of the doctrine of forms that will be further teased out in the middle works. As we will see later in the paper, the pre-existent soul had perfect knowledge of the forms before being imprisoned in a corporeal body where one must recollect knowledge of said forms through philosophical inquiry.

Crucial also to Platonic epistemology as exposited in the Meno is the role of hypothetical reasoning. Urging Meno to loosen what Socrates considers to be his tight ideological restrictions on the acquisition of knowledge, Socrates argues the following:

It seems, then, that we must consider what something’s like without yet knowing what it is. Will you at least loosen your reigns a little and allow whether it comes about by teaching or in some other way to be considered from a hypothesis. By “from a hypothesis”, I mean they geometers often consider whatever anyone asks them. For example, when asked whether a certain area can be inscribed as a triangle in a given circle, they reply “I don’t yet know whether this is so, but I do think I have a hypothesis, as it were, that’s relevant to the issue: If this area is such that when applied to the given line of the circle it falls short by a space similar to that which has been applied, then it seems to me that there’s one conclusion, and there’s another if it’s impossible for this to happen. So I’d like to tell you my conclusion about inscribing this thing in the circle hypothetically (Meno 86d-87b).

It is clear here that hypothetical reasoning plays an integral role in pursuing knowledge, even knowledge as tautological and self-evident as geometric proofs. Before the geometer can conduct a proof, he must employ hypothetical reasoning to begin his work.

Nevertheless, this ability to reason hypothetically in order to ascertain tautological geometric proofs is readily accessible to anyone, as demonstrated by the example of the slave boy. Guided through a series of questions by Socrates, Meno’s bondservant is able to

successfully answer Socrates’ questions using hypothetical reasoning. Socrates then uses this example to support his doctrines of recollection and the pre-existence of the soul, saying:

SOCRATES: But if he did not acquire them in this life, it is obvious at once that he had them and learned them during some other time?

MENO: Apparently.

SOCRATES: Which must have been the time when he was not a human being? MENO: Yes.

SOCRATES: So if in both of these periods (when he was and was not a human being) he had had true opinions in him which just have to be awakened by questioning to become knowledge, then his soul must have been learning throughout all time? For clearly he has always either been or not been a human being.

MENO: Evidently.

SOCRATES: If the truth of everything that exists is always in our soul, then the soul must be immortal, so you should be confident, and, whatever you do not happen to know at present—that is, whatever you don’t remember—you must try to inquire into and recollect? (Meno 86ab).

It is because the slave boy had prior knowledge of the geometric shapes that he was able - through the guidance of Socrates’ questioning- to answer the questions concerning them, despite never having learned geometry.

From all this we can gleam elements of an early, proto-rationalist epistemology. Speaking through Socrates, Plato clearly argues that reason, rather than subjective experience, is the best means of obtaining knowledge. The immaterial soul in its pre-existent state has perfect knowledge (of what we shall later learn to be the forms) which must be recollected through hypothetical reasoning. It is for this reason that the slave boy can accurately answer questions regarding geometric shapes despite having no training in the geometric sciences. This is because he already has past knowledge of geometry, he only needs to recollect the pertinent knowledge through appropriate, reasoned questioning.

The Phaedo is a watershed in Platonic epistemology in that it is arguably one of the first dialogues to give a clear and sophisticated exposition of the doctrine of forms and the

immortality of the soul. Perhaps most pertinently, a rejection of any inkling of empiricist understanding of epistemology is made clear from the get-go.

In this dialogue that we first learn that there are such things as forms (what one might think of as a proto-typical and primitive understanding of universals, such as justice itself, bigness itself, beauty itself, etc.) that all entities have a relative partaking of. It is, in fact, from this foundational doctrine of forms that Socrates argues for the immortality of the soul. If one were to render the argument in its logical form it might run as follows:

P1 There are forms

P2 If something has a certain feature, it derives this feature from the relevant form P3 The forms have contraries

P4 No form ever admits or instantiates its contrary

P5 The soul has the feature of life (and indeed, it is the life-force of man) P6 Life and death are contraries

:.P7 The soul cannot die (per P4)

As we will see, it is the immortal soul that serves as the seat of a person’s knowledge and intellectual inquiry.

In arguing that a true philosopher yearns for death and spends his life practicing for it, Socrates argues that death -and with it the separation of the soul from the body- is necessary for the acquisition of perfect knowledge:

[The soul] thinks best when it is not troubled by anything like hearing or sight, or pain or any pleasure—when it is, as far as possible, alone by itself, and takes leave of the body, avoiding, as far as is possible, all association or contact with the body, and reaches out toward reality.” (Phaedo 65c).

In order for the philosopher to fulfill his quest for the pursuit of knowledge he must become disembodied intellect; a soul without the trappings of the body and bodily senses, which serve only to deceive the philosopher (Phaedo 65a-c). It is then clear that for Plato it is through reasoning and intellection that knowledge is acquired, rather than subjective experience or sense-perception.

But in no dialogue is an early rationalist take on epistemology expounded so clearly than in Plato’s magnum opus, the Republic. It is in this monumental work that he lays the foundation for his metaphysics and the doctrine of forms comes to full fruition.

In what is perhaps the most well-known and celebrated excerpt of the Republic, the Allegory of the Cave, Plato recounts the flight of the mind from the visible, sensible world to the intelligible world in the form of a parable. It begins as follows:

And now, I said, let me show in a figure how far our nature is enlightened or unenlightened: --Behold! human beings living in a underground den, which has a mouth open towards the light and reaching all along the den; here they have been from their childhood, and have their legs and necks chained so that they cannot move, and can only see before them, being prevented by the chains from turning round their heads. Above and behind them a fire is blazing at a distance, and between the fire and the prisoners there is a raised way; and you will see, if you look, a low wall built along the way, like the screen which marionette players have in front of them, over which they show the puppets (Republic 514a-c). 2

The prisoners only know the world of the cave and the shadows cast upon its puppets by the fire in the background. The prisoners are an archetype for man in his unenlightened state. At this stage, man -unenlightened by knowledge of the forms- only perceives the sensible and visible world, completely unaware of the intelligible and unchanging world of the forms.

But what happens when one of the prisoners breaks free from his bondage? Plato answers:

2 All citations from the Republic are taken from the Benjamin Jowett translation (Vintage, 1991), pp. 253-261 (Public Domain)

And now look again, and see what will naturally follow if the prisoners are released and disabused of their error. At first, when any of them is liberated and compelled suddenly to stand up and turn his neck round and walk and look towards the light, he will suffer sharp pains; the glare will distress him, and he will be unable to see the realities of which in his former state he had seen the shadows; and then conceive someone saying to him, that what he saw before was an illusion, but that now, when he is approaching nearer to being and his eye is turned towards more real existence, he has a clearer vision (Republic 515d).

When someone first breaks free of the shackles and bondage of the visible world and begins to approach knowledge of the forms he will initially be averse to this knowledge and will have difficulty fully embracing it and integrating it into his worldview. Eventually, however, he will grow accustomed to the light and his understanding will increase:

He will require to grow accustomed to the sight of the upper world. And first he will see the shadows best, next the reflections of men and other objects in the water, and then the objects themselves; then he will gaze upon the light of the moon and the stars and the spangled heaven; and he will see the sky and the stars by night better than the sun or the light of the sun by day [...] Last of he will be able to see the sun, and not mere reflections of him in the water, but he will see him in his own proper place, and not in another; and he will contemplate him as he is [...] He will then proceed to argue that this is he who gives the season and the years, and is the guardian of all that is in the visible world, and in a certain way the cause of all things which he and his fellows have been accustomed to behold? (Republic 516a-c).

In the same way that the prisoner will learn of the true nature of the sun and its role in the passing of night and day and the change of seasons, so too will the enlightened man come to know and understand the doctrine of the forms and that objects in the sensible, visible world are only shadows of the forms, partaking of them and deriving their features from them in an imperfect manner.

Underlying the allegory is a sharp distinction between the intelligible and the sensible and between that which is ascertained through reason and that which is ascertained through sense-perception. The former is characteristic of enlightened thinkers who have acquired an

understanding of the forms, the latter of the unenlightened, chained by the fetters of the sensible world and know only the shadows visible before them.

In this paper, we have explored some of the foundational doctrines that comprise Plato’s epistemology. These include: the doctrine of the immortality of the soul, the doctrine of recollection, and, chief of all, the doctrine of forms. In the Meno we saw that Socrates argues that all learning is essentially recollection. The pre-existent soul, having once had perfect knowledge of all things, must relearn and re-acquire its past knowledge through recollection, guided by hypothetical reasoning and philosophical inquiry. In the Phaedo, Socrates argues that the soul, pre-existent and immortal by nature, is alone the organ by which the human being attains knowledge, independent of bodily senses or subjective experience. It is for this reason that the true philosopher yearns for death. For only through the soul’s separation from the body can true knowledge be acquired. Lastly, we analyzed the Allegory of the Cave and saw the equation of enlightenment with knowledge of the intelligible and unchanging world of the forms, on the one hand, and the equation of unenlightened thinking with the objects of the sensible, visible world on the other. (SHOULD I REPHRASE THIS SENTENCE?)

A common theme permeates all three dialogues, that is, that true knowledge is acquired through reasoned intellection rather than through sense-perception or individual experience. It is through reason alone, untainted by corporeal senses, that the philosopher can take flight from the sensible, visible world to the unchanging and intelligible world of the forms. It is because of the exalted role reason plays in Plato’s epistemology that we can rightly call his theory of knowledge and recollection “proto-rationalist,” laying the foundation for later rationalists such as Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, and Kant.

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dmsap7g2 · 1 year

Text

Eutierria

Week 13 - 27/04/23

youtube

*Lighting elements not present due to complications capturing installation lighting post-presentation.

CONCEPT

Eutierria: (eu: good) (tierra: earth) (ia: belonging to) describes the boundaries between oneself and all else, especially as a means of belonging to the Earth(1).

Originating from pre-Socratic philosophy, the ancient Greek interpretation of four basic elements; earth, water, air, and fire(2) (and later aether), were proposed to explain the world and intricacy of all matter through fundamental physical substances(3). Since interpretation of the nature of physical reality is a key part of these philosophies, we gravitated towards Plato's philosophical interpretations of the classical elements. Plato learned of the four classical elements directly from Empedocles, whom the theory is credited to(4). However, Plato added that all four of these element particles had mathematical forms, called "Platonic solids"(5), with a fifth element being assigned to the heavens, which his student Aristotle later named "aether" in his own interpretation(6).

We created an audio-visual installation surrounding our own interpretation of the natural (classical) elements via a unique speaker setup, lights, and accompanying visualizer, which all work together to provide a different interpretation of the Greek classical elements. Through our carefully composed soundscape, which utilises our own field recordings of the natural elements (rain, wind, water dripping, etc) and other recorded materials from our experimentation re-contextualized with heavy processing, this piece provides four sections for each individual element, earth, fire, water, and wind, which all take place within aether, visually represented by the installation space, and sonically represented by the droning bass playing throughout.

During the formation of this installation, we looked back to Plato’s theory of forms: every object we perceive is traced to the idealized, timeless, unachievable form, that gives shape and categorization to the material world. Faults in our perception validate recording as a method. An imperfect aural image, taken from one precise perspective, still gives enough context for our mind to shape the image to what makes most sense to us. Utilizing field recordings and separating the sonic component from its source allowed us extended creative control over the viewer’s perception. Movement could be redirected, certain resonant frequencies — accentuated and harmonized. We used these opportunities with the more basic elements of the environment, finding similarities between nature’s aural spectrum and the overgrown system of man-made sounds: FM waves, white noise, short bursts of accidental melody.

SOUND

Ableton Live effects chain for processing water droplets - Munich for Corpus utilised to harmonise sound impulses

Processing sound for the installation was a matter of analysing our samples and discovering which aspects of sound were present (timbre, rhythm, tone) that we wanted to enhance or modify. for example, water was primarily presented in the form of droplets - short bursts of sound with a discernible resonance. We used delay extensively to multiply those small-length samples and permeate the mix with their subtle impacts. The resonant, impactful nature allowed us to harmonise each splash into a predetermined musical value.

With so many speakers within the SDL space, there were both advantages and disadvantages to utilising them, the main pitfall we found being the inability to take any project work home for further experimentation due to mixing in a non-stereo speaker setup. Our main advantage of the speaker setup was our ability to create an atmosphere through experimental placement and modulation of our sounds across the speakers. During the creation stage, we referred to Murray R. Schafer's The Soundscape: Our Sonic Environment and the Tuning of the World, which provided a different perspective on how to create a soundscape, and elements Schafer breaks down the experience of an acoustic environment to. Perception of sound as thematically presented by Schafer's words provided a great conceptual link to our piece, particularly within our individual experiences recording and interpreting the classical elements, and informed our arrangement and processing of the sound events of the work.

VISUALS

Ableton Live UI of Jitter patch utilised to generate/control visuals

Utilising a dynamically responsive visualizer plugin came quite late in the process, during the conceptual implementation of the Greek classical elements. We used a jitter patch to cycle through simple geometrical forms, automating the shape in accordance with the installation's element narrative; the result was as much controlled as it was self-generating. The amplitude of audio signal was used to generate the reactive pulse and subtle movements of the lines of our shapes, allowing the shapes to feel more "alive" whilst retaining the audio-visual link to, in turn consolidating the installations overall concept. This balance in automation and generation of our accompanying visuals allowed for a refined but characteristically unpredictable energy within the installation, as we had tied our concept around philosophy related to the fundamental forces of nature, which is itself a refined but unpredictable force. The visualizer became a vital component for the installation - without it, our installation concept becomes a lot more difficult to see.

LIGHTING

Ableton Live automation rack for Beam controlling each light during sections of the piece

The integration of light sources and, in particular, the setup of dynamic parameters, came with several obstacles we had to work around. The variance of size across the individual lights translated in the amount of light they could project; we compensated for this by varying the saturation of our colours across the piece, depending on what type of light was being used and for what. The larger Fresnel lenses required saturation of colour to compensate for the softer coloured light produced when fed a colour value. The smaller lamps however would translate colour more directly, sometimes requiring the reverse approach - we would dial the intensity down to create a warmer, balanced light. Consideration also had to be given to how using too many light sources could expose the space too much, which we felt took away from the atmosphere.

Ableton Live only allows for a single parameter to be dynamically modified by an LFO or envelope follower, understandably done to prevent message interference and allowing one continuous stream of data pointed to one output device. However, the message source cannot be changed even when it is turned off: that meant that if we were to set a control device to a single parameter, we were stuck with it for the entirety of the piece. We had to choose which characteristics of the lights worked best when modulated cyclically via LFOs and which needed to work in direct relation to sound.

We utilised lighting this way to create depth and atmosphere for the installation; instead of observing a flat 2D rendered image of our visualizer on one end of a room with depth, accompanying it was aesthetically matching and dynamic lighting to allow for more of a spatial experience.

REFERENCES

(1) G. Albrecht. Eutierria. Eutierria. Last updated 2020. Accessed 17 Apr 2023. http://www.eutierria.org/our-story.html

(2) K. L. Ross. The Greek Elements. Friesian. Last updated 2021. Accessed 17 Apr 2023. https://www.friesian.com/elements.htm

(3) R. Bertrand. History of Western Philosophy and its Connection with Political and Social Circumstances from the Earliest Times to the Present Day. Simon & Schuster. New York. 1945. p. 62.

(4) P. Ball. The Elements: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press. New York. 2004. p. 1.

(5) ibid., p. 9.

(6) ibid., p. 10.

PROJECT BIBLIOGRAPHY

Albrecht, Glenn. Eutierria. Eutierria. Last updated 2020. Accessed 17 Apr 2023. http://www.eutierria.org/our-story.html

Ball, Philip. The Elements: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press. New York. 2004.

Bertrand, Russell. History of Western Philosophy and its Connection with Political and Social Circumstances from the Earliest Times to the Present Day. Simon & Schuster. New York. 1945.

Covarrubias, Sabina. Geometrum. Sabina Covarrubias. 2023. Accessed 19 Apr 2023. https://www.sabinacovarrubias.com/geometrum

L. Ross, Kelley. The Greek Elements, Friesian. Last updated 2021. Accessed 17 Apr 2023. https://www.friesian.com/elements.htm

Opsopaus, John. The Ancient Greek Esoteric Doctrine of the Elements: Fire. Web Archive. Last updated 1999. Accessed 20 Apr 2023. https://href.li/?https://web.archive.org/web/20071029052110/http://www.cs.utk.edu/~Mclennan/BA/AGEDE/Fire.html#EF

R. Murray, Schafer. The Soundscape: Our Sonic Environment and the Tuning of the World. Destiny Books. Rochester Vermont. 1994.

University of Twente. Wide-band WebSDR. Last updated 2017. Accessed 23 Feb 2023. https://href.li/?http://websdr.ewi.utwente.nl:8901/

user191954. Why does fire make very little sound? Physics Stack Exchange. Last updated 2018. Accessed 20 Apr 2023. https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/426698/why-does-fire-make-very-little-sound

#sound art #sound installation

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