#Half Light

[antigonick]

Understand that there is a beast within you that can drink till it is sick, but cannot drink till it is satisfied. Understand that it will use the conventions of the visible world to turn your tongue to stone. It alone knows you. It does not wish you well. 

—Frank Bidart, excerpt of "The Third Hour of the Night", in Half Light

[coffinwoodx]

yes, this exactly. there’s a post somewhere in my drafts talking about how much i love half light. i used to dislike him bcuz i didn’t understand him as a skill but i get it know. i deemed him a “useless skill” when that’s so far from the truth you gotta look INWARD. what a guy, that half light

[mrtequilasunset]

Tumblr really did not want to let me upload this file. Anyways. Phys Skills!

in case you haven't seen the other designs they're here: [Psyche] [Motorics (currently redesigning)]

[worlds-end-discotheque]

This isn’t a fully finished thought-project yet so please bear with me but I’m pretty sure Cuno is the one paying the bills for the de Ruyter apartment.

Or at least he’s trying to.

When you go into Cuno’s apartment, the first thing you realize is the chain and the warning about the electricity. From what we know about how Cuno protects his shack (and the state of his inebriation-comatose father) we can safely assume that Cuno’s the one who chains the door closed whenever he leaves. Obviously, no one in Martinaise would want to leave their home open for any reason, but the apartments clearly have deadbolts installed in the doors— so the chain is an extra measure. Cuno can’t have anything being stolen, even taking the extra effort beyond confidence in his own intimidation to chain it up.

The apartment has two rooms: Uuno’s bedroom, and the living room. Uuno’s bedroom consists primarily of the bed, the clothes line, presumably a dresser or some end table-like surfaces. Plenty of room for his substances and shit.

The living room has the sofa, which is clearly covered in Cuno’s clothing and a makeshift sleeping setup. The risqué pinup on the wall is basically confirmation that this is Cuno’s “space,” not something that he and his dad alternate or share. The L-Couch is Cuno’s bed, bedroom, and dresser, effectively.

Which leads us to the tiny desk. The items on the desk are minimal, but crucial: Cuno’s speed with the straw, Cuno’s textbook and homework, a lamp, the stack of bills, and an open phone book.

We’ve established already that Cuno and his father do not share space. Cuno is already a territorial kid, established by his limited safe zones in his own home. He wouldn’t leave his damn homework out somewhere where his dad could access it; the fact that the homework exists means that beneath his attitude, Cuno clearly has a deep level of care for his schoolwork and at least a desire to complete it. With how terrified he is of his father, there’s no way in hell Cuno would leave his schoolwork out in a place that his father could damage it or get angry for it. Which essentially confirms that the desk is Cuno’s space only.

The speed has its little straw, making it convenient to sip on consistently while doing work at the desk. (I do this with my water tumbler.) especially if you’re at the desk for a long time. With the open phone book, it’s clear that Cuno is at least trying to find the numbers for the companies that the bills are coming from. It’s not just a pile of mail on the desk— he’s doing research into it. Gathering phone numbers to take outside to one of the payphones. The desk is organized, business-like, unlike anything Cuno is— except for how he deals.

Which leads me to my last bit. Cuno’s insistence on selling you shit. Obviously, the best way for this kid to maintain a steady supply for his own addiction is to be a dealer. However, for a 12-year-old boy with a substance addiction in the world of DE where there’s nothing else to do, that level of self-control is absurdly high. There’s a meticulousness to it that betrays a primary aspect of Cuno’s approach: business. Cuno isn’t doing it for popularity, for “cool” points, and if his focus was only his own addiction then he would likely just steal them, take it all for himself. He’s not supplying his dad, that’s for sure. On top of that, he’s got a side hustle selling clothing and other crap he picks up, enough to try and pitch it to Pigs— repeatedly. There’s a lot to buy off Cuno, and it’s the one thing he repeatedly brings up in dialogue options, aside from insults. He wants you to know he’s willing to do business. He needs the money. Because the bills are stacking up, his dad could die any minute, and now he’s got Cunoesse too. (It’s not confirmed if she stays in the apartment with him, and I’m inclined to think not, considering the chain, his fear of her too and the fact that she stands on the other side of the fence than him— there’s a special separation there. There’s also no trace of Cunoesse-noted belongings nor a second space to sleep indicated on the couch; shivers, empathy, none of the skills speak up when inside the apartment about anyone but Cuno and his dad. At the same time, this is again unconfirmed).

I lost what I was talking about here, but the point is. Cuno breaks my heart and I want to adopt and take care of him so badly. It’s one thing to be a delinquent kid, it’s another to be a 12-year-old delinquent kid trying to pay your own damn bills in Martinaise. Fuck, man. I love this kid so much. He breaks my heart.

As much as I yap about my old man yaoi, I think Cuno is my favorite character in DE. He’s just… I need to take care of him. God help me. I wanted to kill his dad so badly. Sigh.

Anyways. That was my thought project. Thought Cabinet just adopted Cunology.

[hazeldonuts]

Perfect video for a peaceful commute to work

[disco-archetypes]

HALF LIGHT - Get the fuck out of here. Fuck this place, fuck this world, fuck this life, fuck this body -- just fucking go.

[disco-dancing-in-the-desert]

[rynli]

I’m not dead I just can’t draw lately

Have a bunch of random disco doodles from the last month

[bearbug55]

heh… some disco elysium fanart.. IM STILL MOSTLY INTO HAMILTON I JUST saw a rly good animatic and my brain exploded! woo! jeffmads coming soon

[ontarom]

new favorite Disco Elysium quote dropped

[pierppasolini]

Half Light (2006) // dir. Craig Rosenberg

[antigonick]

What I hope (when I hope) is that we'll see each other again,— ...and again reach the VEIN in which we loved each other... It existed. It existed.

—Frank Bidart, excerpt of "To The Dead", in Half-Light

[volivolition]

just a little stressed lmao

[shifthours]

me liking posts abt fandoms i know nothing abt bcs im a just lover like that🕊

[tmbatcat]

HELLO FRIEND might I humbly art request reaction speed and half light . the fight or flight fellas (though arguably reaction speed is closer to freeze or fawn but I digress)

Hello this is for you friend <3

Questions for Anon below v (don't lookk if you are not Anon!! It's illegal or something)

I very much think this is @elderwhizzer ...but don't have concrete evidence... (and if it's not you... eh, sorry for taging you in this :| OMG LOOK, a distraction! Reaction Speed is in the drawing!)

If you want, friend, I can do another drawing where they do an activity and not just stand around in a void and wave at the 4th wall (this was my first time drawing HL so it was more of a study for me) (give me another promt :] have fun with it) (I would be super happy to draw them or any of the other Skillys again <3)

(also, in general, idk why you asked this anonymously. Like do you want to keep a secret that you wanted a Reaction Speed and Half Light drawing? I'm just very curious is all')

Ok, goodbye friend!! o7

[stoneantler]

Of the skills, my favorite is half-light. Underneath all the macho bullshit it spews, half light is really the part of Harry that is scared like an animal. It's his fight or flight response and obviously Harry is set to fight. And I love how it's there, telling you to be afraid, telling you that you must protect yourself because you're in danger. To me, it's even more than fight or flight, half light is ptsd to me. The scene where you discover Cuno's dad is really the moment that illuminated that for me. The way half light keeps breaking into your stream of though, and your heart starts to pound and you start to sweat and it's a silly scene in some ways because your response is so wildly out of proportion to the reality. If Harry were more observant, he would have realized that Cuno's dad is no threat even before they entered the apartment, but for one thing, he's dumb as rocks in this playthrough, and for another, that's ptsd. It's not rational, it's not prortional, it's being scared like a wild animal and it's trying to protect yourself whatever harm you know is coming