#drugs nexus

[valtsv]

headcanoning improbable bonding activities for the terrorism trio

[basilbots]

Also rip Nexus lost to negative star power addiction 😔

[guard-en]

can we get jackie beating the everloving shit out of someone

Hey... if it's what the people want...

[brekwrites]

Nexus Redemption Through the Unconditional Love of an Animal Real Not Fake in VRchat!!

Content Warnings for drug abuse and related topics (in the context of dark star power) and physical abuse (NOT to the animal!!, Nexus gets punched in the face).

[governmentmandatedryujinstan420]

I regret to inform everyone we're back in the white space. Expect the fire alarm to go off periodically in typical fashion of whenever it detects a steaming pile of garbage on the way. Like me! [i'll give a cookie to whoever recognizes where the sfx is from!!]

[2strangecrows]

some drugs graphics for funsies

[bambiraptorx]

People need to stop making me hate big mama so much! I'm supposed to love her! She's evil. Shes a giant spider lady. And she's voiced by Lena Headey!

But also...yeah sounds about right...she totally would:(

-🔮🕸

I read somewhere at one point that one of the potential plans for Rise S3 would have been to have Big Mama essentially take over the Hidden City and become that season's main antagonist. And while I don't know if that was actually how that season would have worked out or if it was just something they were considering and might have eventually scrapped, I started thinking about how she would use her influence to control an entire city like that.

Clearly, she already has a ton of power and influence given the Battle Nexus New York shebang (that she was advertising throughout season 2, so it's not like she was hiding it). And while canon doesn't address it exactly, we know from Draxum that potentially exposing the yokai to the humans is considered an extremely serious crime but she just?? does that for personal profit??? And there's no way she didn't think that through, so she either decided the potential profit was worth the criminal charges, figured that she'd be able to get the charges dropped, or knew that the Council of Heads wouldn't even prosecute her.

As I mentioned in this post, I've given her a lot of sway over the yokai education system as one of her avenues of building her power. But education isn't the only pie she's got her finger in: basically every industry in the Hidden City either has her direct influence on it, or people who owe her something in it. So for a lot of the lore I've built around Big Mama, she doesn't need to take over the Hidden City. She already runs it. If she did ever outright seize power from the Council of Heads, it wouldn't be taking control so much as openly acknowledging the power she already has.

//CW Drug Use, Substance Abuse, Addiction, Manipulation//

And as for her letting the Nexus fighters maintain substance abuse issues like I mentioned in that last lore post, it's just one of the many, many things she uses to control people.

Fighting in the Nexus is incredibly stressful, so many people who do it long term end up with serious substance problems (alcohol, drugs, etc) as coping mechanisms. If they want to get clean, she'll help them get clean (and lord it over them every time they try to defy her, that without her, they'd still be an addict). If they want to keep using, she'll help them keep using (and by providing them their drug of choice, legal or illegal, by letting them work for her, she becomes the safest and easiest source).

And if the Council is aware, they turn a blind eye to it: after all, addicts who have a safe, legal source for their substance of choice are much less likely to end up committing crimes, so really, she's just making society better, right? And honestly, that's what a lot of what she does to gain power boils down to: she makes it look like she's trying to make society better. She funds schools, medical research, housing developments, and so much more, but at the end of the day it's about making people feel indebted to her.

As far as the Hidden City is concerned, it couldn't function without her, and that, not the title of leadership or obvious political power, is what really matters to her.

[thaorins-gate]

Ether - Lore

So, a while back I made this awesome piece to visualize the most common drug of my world, Ether. While I am still well in the process of building the Prime Nexus, and I swear I am getting a website made so that I can share all the lore I have of this world like I have my own personal wiki, I'm gonna give you guys a little taste of what I have cooking. Specifically the lore on Ether. Enjoy!

Manufacturing

The Manufacturing of Ether is done by the Rolni. The Rolni have manufactured this drug since before the Gamaian Empire. When it was discovered, the Rolni would put small doses into potions in order to subdue pain and make healing potions taste better. This practice is still done by harvesting Neuterium and grinding it to a fine powder. The powder can be consumed directly or converted into a pill. Pills are less volatile as they have stabilizing casing. Some claim that pills are less effective, as the casing diminishes the quality. Testing by the Rolni has confirmed that this is not true.

Effects

Low Doses

Ether is traditionally consumed in low doses (these are small pills or pinches of powder). At low doses, the user gains a mellow feeling of euphoria, as well as a burst of confidence and feelings of sexual prowess. Inhibitions are reduced, impairing judgement, and their anxiety is diminished. This makes them more subdued and more likely to make illogical decisions, making them more complicit. Users can be more easily agitated. The effects usually last for a few hours.

High Doses

Large doses of Ether result in vivid, prophetic visions. Religious leaders use Ether to receive "the word" of their God(s). These visions cannot be dictated or swayed by external factors; they are random jumbles of events with no way to predict when they may happen. High doses also subdue their users for an hour, rendering them unable to control their bodies. When they resurface, they experience at least two of the negative side effects (most often migraines and vomiting).

Negative Side Effects

Ether's ability to lull its users into being complicit has been used by many powerful leaders, such as the Gamaian Empire, The Prism Convocation, and even internal political leaders. While this keeps the peace, it often lulls people into submission, making them poor leaders who do not make effective judgements for the benefit of their people. It has kept many poor leaders in power.

Ether is also addictive, and withdrawal from it - even the day after it leaves the system - can negatively impact the user. It can cause memory loss, insomnia, diarrhea, vertigo, vomiting and migraines.

Legality & Cost

Due to the difficulty of Ether's creation, Ether is considered more valuable than currency. While currency trade still exists, a few grams of Ether is significantly more valuable. This has resulted in some contaminated Ether on the market (Ether cut with similar-looking substances - often other drugs - to create "more"). It is nearly impossible to check if Ether is contaminated beyond having a Rolni examine it, which makes trade in Ether more limited to upper-class citizens able to afford a Rolni's services. Not that this has stopped lower-class drug deals; they simply treat it with the same value as regular currency (unless it has a seal of Rolni authenticity).

As for cost, Ether can vary from seller to seller. Contaminated ether tends to be cheaper and more easily accessible by the public. Large quantities of ether tend to be more expensive, making them more accessible for the upper-class/wealthy. This is largely to do with their manufacturing, as Ether requires specific skills and training to safely create.

Overall, the sale of Ether is legal and somewhat unregulated.

Seal of Rolni Authenticity

This is a magical seal permanently fixed onto the Ether pouch. If the pouch's seal is broken, so is the magical seal, letting the buyer know that it is possibly contaminated. Seals can be forged, but this is a difficult task that requires a magic user intimately familiar with Rolni casting patterns.

Societal Outlook

Ether is a commonality in Omuin. It is normalized for the wealthy to use and seen as a status symbol by the general public. However, those who abuse it are viewed in a very negative light. They are commonly more impoverished, spending all their money on their Ether addiction, unable to live without their prophetic visions and the gentle repose that Ether brings to its users. They cannot view the world without it. This addiction is also very common in wealthy users, but it gets much less attention and is kept very quiet. As far as the general public knows, the wealthy and their world leaders are not addicted to the substance, and if used in moderation, it has no adverse effects (this is propaganda). The same goes for religious leaders; the public is told they use it sparingly to avoid adverse effects and dependency. Yet, they use it frequently.

Due to the negative light that Ether addicts are viewed in, there is little support for addicts. They live on the streets in most cities, with the exception being the Oxevia Empire, who have support systems in the form of group homes and clinics that aid in the withdrawal symptoms. No system is perfect, though, and they do implement other "treatment" methods the Sol'ver and Rolni have developed: assisted suicide when the patient is seen as "too far gone." Ether addictions are possible to recover from at every stage, even if worldviews do not reflect this.

Withdrawal & Recovery

Ether withdrawal is a painful process. The subject can experience nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, anxiety, insomnia, muscle cramps, hot and cold flashes, elevated blood pressure, and general aches and pains throughout their body. This typically lasts up to three weeks as the body adjusts to no longer having a constant input of Ether. Ether withdrawal can be more manageable in colder climates or inside antimagic fields, and is made worse near Neuterium stashes and areas of highly concentrated magic. Long term withdrawal symptoms may linger for months, such as loss of appetite, insomnia, impaired judgement, and hot and cold flashes.

The most common form of withdrawal treatment is isolating the patient on a comfortable bed with their limbs bound so they can't hurt themselves. Gags are sometimes used, especially if the patient has fangs, to prevent them from hurting themself. However, this is ill-advised as the patient can asphyxiate on their own vomit. Patients should never be left alone for longer than an hour. Antimagic fields can be placed around the patient to limit their exposure to the Cord (this helps reduce the reliance on magic, and prevents them from casting dangerous spells). Patients are fed according to their symptoms: vomiting patients get intravenous spells, and non-vomiting patients receive bland, calorie-heavy food. Patients inside an antimagic field take an additional few days to ease back into magical exposure.

Unintended Properties

Unbeknownst to those who manufacture or take Ether, Ether inflicts a hivemind onto its users. This hivemind is caused by Cord-mutated microbes that live solely in Neuterium, which the degrading Mother Tree AI mutated in an effort to repair itself that ultimately failed. Any creature that takes Ether is tied into this hivemind and depth of the connection depends on the dosage. Lower dosages allow users to connect to the subconscious hivemind that all Ether-users share, transferring feelings, knowledge and attitudes to each member. Higher dosages caused vivid hallucinogenic visions of experiences from Ether-users in the past and future due to time being cyclical. This hivemind effect can be easily manipulated by pre-existing hiveminds, which is what allowed the Gamaian Empire to control the continent of Omuin effectively - by tying them into their own hivemind.

[asrarblog]

Healthcare Landscape in Pakistan – Pharmaceuticals & Medical Devices – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #986

[biodiversityday]

Biodiversity's contribution to good heath and well being

Biodiversity is not just a matter of beauty or money, but also of health for everybody.

[megamuscle885-blog]

Skitter Flow

We're so s-small in the end man.

She wanted pussy but I gave her trauma. Haha.

Opp was talkin crazy. Shot him in both timelines.

We're out here smokin the shit that'll send you to the birdcage.

I have no loyalty for anyone. Never did, never will.

My money longer than Pale. My money longer than a Grey Boy loop.

Popped a xanny and wiped out every op within the state.

Fed him spiders. Made his ass a statistical outlier.

The worms are back.

I'm on twelve vicodins smokin that shardspace bisexual warrior monk cultivated sidepiece myrrdin deluxe cauldron reserve hashish. Shit will send you into a trigger vision, it'll have you witness Crystal God Whales.

Shorty told me no tongue so I made her gag on it.

The opps cut up shorty's face so I took two thirds of his gang in the divorce. Sent his ass into a two year coma. Froze him solid in a whole other dimension. Turned that motherfucker into a footnote at his own execution.

I don't give a fuck if I go blind, I don't need to see the price tag anyway. [The Undersiders laughing in the background. Scapegoat expresses his disbelief.]

I'm wearin that darwin bark spider gucci. Haters in shambles, dressed in their mom's pantyhose. Everyone can see your gross dick son. Should get that checked out.

I love drugs. I love drugs.

This miasma got me making out with them butch puppygirls. Changed the trajectory of her life.

The bugs are back. [Long pause followed by howling laughter from the Undersiders.]

This fight was over the moment I stepped into the room, cunt.

These cops are interrogatin me about this S-Class gamer girl as if I hadn't left their new boss buried under a freshly poured concrete foundation not two hundred feet away.

I'm out here huffin those bakuda bomb brain blasters. Shit will give you a concussion. I'm numb to all forms of pain.

Ventilated that three year old nazi with the gold plated glock to spare her ass the torment nexus.

This zaza will turn your skin translucent and make your skeleton visible. This zaza will turn you into a teenage mutant ninja salamander with LSD spit. This zaza will turn you into solid carbide titanium.

I only handed back the free world cuz I was bored.

I'm eatin that premium challenger pussy juice marinated Fugly Burger meal. The Endbringers are all I think about.

All I need is a pack of newports and the touch of a woman, and I'll fight God.

AAAAH! The worms!

You keep talkin mad shit for someone who still has eyeballs. I don't fuck with warning shots, jit.

There are bugs under your skin.

I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!

Made her choke on it so hard they had to weekend at bernie's her ass.

Surrounded by pussy but I chose war. These lesbians screamin their hearts out. I'm sorry babe.

Fuck it, cut ties.

They forgot I'm her.

This shit's so small in the end man.

[dana-chan-the-control-brain]

Tsams canon stop calling Nexus straight up "Insane" "crazy" or a "Lunatic" every time he's mentioned challenge.

Look, I'm not blind to his issues. He's threatened children (robotic) and called his sister collateral.

But for characters to repeatedly say "he was always insane." Even from characters who don't know him that well, or probably only interacted with him once or twice like Gemini.... I don't know.

It's like everyone is buying Nexus's hype. As if he's not deliberately pushing others away. As if he didn't miss Solar so much he lobotomized himself over it and fell into a drug dark star power addiction because of it.

As if Nexus didn't want to "show Solar the new me" as if he was hoping that Solar would accept him and come with him even if he was off his rocker.

I can't look at the entire past year of N!Moon's life and say that "oh yeah, New Moon was always toxic"

He wasn't. And I can guarantee N!Moon having a villian arc wasn't something planned from the start with them.

Enjoy the entire Year of Nexus/N!Moon being alive and a good brother.

I see someone who cared so much and had to pretend to be something he wasn't and cracked under the pressure. Nexus even says if he has no one to care about he has no one to lose. He cared and lost so much and he just didn't want to care or be told what to do anymore he broke.

Something bad will happen to Nexus. And I feel it will end like every addiction story ends.

[cuddles-with-dragons]

a shitload of incorrect quotes

Tech: *clicks pen* Crosshair: *clicks pen in response* Wrecker: Stop that. Tech: Stop what? Wrecker: You’re talking about me in Morse code! Tech: Yes, that’s what we doing. In our very limited time, we took a class on a very outdated, very unnecessary form of communication just so we could talk about you in front of you. Congrats, you figured us out! *later* Crosshair, to Omega: That’s actually exactly what we were doing.

Hunter: What’s something you guys are better than Crosshair at? Wrecker: Mario Kart. Omega: Yeah, all video games except first-person shooters and The Last Of Us. Tech: Emotional vulnerability.

Tech: If you took a shot for every time you made a bad decision, how drunk would you be? Hunter: Maybe a bit tipsy? Echo: Drunk. Wrecker: Wasted. Crosshair: Dead.

Echo, setting down a card: Ace of spades. Tech, pulling out an Uno card: +4. Crosshair, pulling out a Pokémon card: Absol, I choose you! Hunter, trembling: What are we playing?!

Wrecker: What is love? Hunter: An emotional minefield. Tech: A neurochemical reaction. Omega: Baby don't hurt me.

Crosshair: What starts with F and ends with Uck? Echo: No it doesn't. Tech: Firetruck! Omega: FUCK!

Omega: I wish I could control wasps and bees to sting my enemies. Hunter: You’re too young to have enemies. Omega: You don’t even know.

Crosshair: If I die, you can have what little I own. Hunter: Wait. What do you mean "if" you die? Crosshair: My unending existence is fuelled by pure spite, that of which the painful experiences of life have rendered me full. Hunter: Hunter: *Sigh* Let me call your therapist again.

Nexu: I’m not a doctor, I’m a medic. Wrecker: What’s the difference then? Nexu: Well doctors actually save lives, medics just make you feel more comfortable as you die. Crosshair: Note to self; never get shot.

Crosshair: Hand me the people opener. Hunter: ... Hunter: Pardon? Crosshair, annoyed: The people opener! Just hand it to me! Hunter, stressed: WHAT THE FUCK IS A PEOPLE OPENER? Crosshair: How do you not know what a people opener is? Its pointy- you know? With a handle? Hunter: Knife. It's called a knife.

Omega, hugging Crosshair: Do you feel any better? Crosshair: I feel much better now that you're here with me. *Hunter walks in* Crosshair: I feel half better.

Hunter: Would you rather kill Tech, or— Echo: Yes, kill them. Hunter: I didn’t say the other thing— Echo: I don’t need to hear it. Tech: …I’m feeling a little unsafe.

Benji, to cadet Crosshair: Oh my stars you are so cute and small! Crosshair: *proceeds to kick him in the shin and run away* Hunter, walking past: Rule number 1, don't call Crosshair cute or small.

Hunter: Omega is at that very special age where a kid only has one thing on their mind. Crosshair: Murder? Omega: Murder.

Hunter: How high are you? Crosshair: 6'4". Tech: No, he's asking what drugs are you on. Crosshair: Oh, antidepressants, why?

Crosshair: Hey, do you know the password to Hunter’s computer? Omega: Fuck you, Crosshair. Crosshair: Hey!! Omega: No, you misunderstood, the password is "fuckyouCrosshair". Crosshair: Oh, no numbers? Not very safe.

Omega: In my defense, I was left unsupervised. Echo: Wasn’t Crosshair with you? Crosshair: In my defense, I was also left unsupervised.

Tech: I will find us a ride. Tech: If you two can manage to not kill each other while I'm gone. Omega: Oh, please. We're not children. *Tech leaves* Omega, casually: ...Eat shit and die. Crosshair, also casually: Yes, fuck you.

Omega: Are you the big spoon or the little spoon? Crosshair: I'm a knife. Wrecker, from across the room: He's the little spoon.

Crosshair: Fun Fact! The average person will walk by 36 murderers in their lifetime. Echo: I like how this is a "fun" fact. Hunter: It's fun because they didn't decide to murder you.

[elfboyeros]

Things in TDP that surprised me but I'm not mad about

The title is a bit misleading because I could never be mad at The Dragon Prince but I'm specifically talking about season 6 because I think Aaron, Justin, and everyone that worked on this show infused this season with drugs because this is so fire they fucking cooked with this one.

Soucering: most of the gifs used in this post are from this post  by celestialowlryx unless stated otherwise! (I am not in the business of stealing people's shit)

SPOILERS AHEAD

The Blood on the Beach!

There was a lot of blood on that beach like the blood that you could tell was blood on that beach in the first episode, and I know this show doesn't shadow away from death but THAT'S A LOT OF FUCKING BLOOD IN THE SAND! Not to mention, CLAUDE IS COVER IN BLOOD! Plus the whole Claude amputated her own leg, and her fucking voice actor during that scene, oof my heart!

The Bathing Scene

I'm very surprised that this was allowed dispute knowing nothing about TV rating (I mean obviously it was allowed it's in the fucking show!) But that scene is silence, besides a backing track, and you have a Terry bathing Claude in the ocean! That scene is so fucking intimate, especially for what is supposed to be a children's show and it makes me go insane!

Rayla and Callum's Bed Sharing Scene

Yionked from this post by rayllurn 

I'm looking at this in part from the eyes of a parent dispute not being a parent and just being a 23-year-old fucker that watches children's cartoons they have a weird obsession with, But this is another scene I'm a little surprised was allowed. Although I love that it was allowed! I can see from the eyes of a parent this scene be too "raunchy" because "What happens when two be people share a bed... sex!" but Fuck you this scene was great!

Viren and His Wife's Backstory

Yoinked picture from this post by Kilfeur

Okay fucking attack me in the internet town square if I'm wrong, but Viren described abuse... right!? Like that was Spousal Abuse right!? Because if it wasn't it was so fucking close! And where the scene wasn't animated in the traditional sense respective to The Dragon Prince, that whole sequence is insane!

All the Kissing Scenes

Damn, there was a shit ton of PDA this season, Specially thinking about the one scene with Rayla and Callum on top of the Starscraper, THINGS ARE GETTING FUCKING INIMATE FOR KIDS SHOW! I fucking love it! I love when we can do Romance like this so no complaining here there was just a lot, or many in the scope of the series as a whole this seems like a lot, I don't know, but regardless a win for romantics everywhere!

Viren's Sacrifice*

Yoinked from this post by madou-dilou

This one is more of an honorable mention, was it surprising, fuck yeah, but it didn't surprise me in the way everything else did. I did think Soren was going to be murdered for a hot second, which was shocking but fuck this scene had been balling like a God damn baby!

Janai and Amaya's Wedding*

Another Honorable mention because it's not shocking that it happened The Dragon Prince has not strayed from representation and the longer it continues the more representation we seem to get, although queer representation is still always shocking to get especially in children's cartoons, so it's going on this list for all the creators that have wanted to give us queer rep but couldn't and to those that have paved the way for us to get here!

Allen

Couldn't find a picture of Allen lol

Okay, you may not get this if you haven't read the graphic novel Through the Moon but Allen is a minor character way back from season one that Lujanne couples up with and I was surprised to see especially because the day before the season came out. I had read the graphic novel and cackled at his presence! So I freaked the fuck out when he was just there, at the moon nexus!

Rayla and Her Parents*

I'm adding this because it was another scene that had me balling (I think mostly because I have a good relationship with my parents and I couldn't imagine losing them) Knowing Rayla's character it wasn't surprising but I respect everyone who made that scene possible because, brother, that's emotional!

Finally Leola

*sigh* Leola's existence in general is a shock, and to me changes Aaravos completely! That purple motherfucker created the Sea of the Castout with his own tears, then got imprisoned in a pearl in a calm in his daughter's bones in the same sea he made with his own tears of grief! In addition, THEY FUCKING ANIMATED CHILD DEATH! THE ANIMATORS ANIMATED A CHILD DYING ON SCREEN! I don't give a fuck if there wasn't blood, THERE WAS CHILD DEATH ON SCREEN IN A CHILDREN'S SHOW! HOW HEAVY METAL IS THAT?!

Honorable of the honorable mentions: Big Aarvaos

Fuck he's huge.

Alright, I'm done.

[queerholmcs]

the mind of moriarty 👑🧑🏻‍💻♟️

I had the absolute pleasure of doing the original "the game is now" escape room experience immediately followed by the new moriarty-centric escape room (as though the first one wasn't moriarty-centric enough?) with @victorianpining and @647763 back at the end of July, and I did promise a full write-up when I came back to my senses at the end of it!

First off, I could not have been more pleased with the experience; I do absolutely recommend giving it a go yourself if you have the chance. Now, if you're in the mood for spoilers, I'll be detailing some thoughts and recollections below the cut. 💙

Just in case the first escape room experience didn't quite convince you, Moriarty is dead. It's very important that you know that going into this. He's the most dead anyone has ever been. He's so dead he "wishes he could die twice!", after all! They have to keep saying it because otherwise you might forget it, you see. Especially after Sherlock had a whole drug trip on a plane to prove how someone might have faked their death in such a manner only to conclusively decide that dear old Jimmy boy is in fact dead.

I'm assuming everyone reading this is already relatively familiar with the first escape room, and the whole bit where the Network is operating under the guise of "Doyle's Opticians," so I won't spend any time discussing that, except to say that we did get a few confused looks from the various Stamfords when we reappeared (after finishing the first escape room and making the choice to stick to non-alcoholic beverages at the Mind Palace prior to the second) to say, "Oh, no, we didn't get turned around or anything. We've just got a second appointment." (You mean to tell me that most people who go do one experience and then just... leave? Without doing the second one the very same day? What an absolutely unfathomable concept.)

The opening puzzles before the "John Watson held at gunpoint" briefing video (which was the same as that used for the first escape room) were particularly fun: you're shown a series of four images, and you have to figure out the pattern of what's changing (being mirrored, one might say?) between each one to choose the fifth of the sequence from a selection. (Ref. 1: Into the Woods: How Stories Work and Why We Tell Them, John Yorke.)

And then you go on to 221B Baker Street for photos and a brief moment of shenanigans, and I must add a note here that the Stamford who was working with us on this round was brilliant, you could tell she was absolutely loving her job, and there was a bit of a spiel about observation and logic and deduction that turned out to actually be helpful in solving the puzzles in the first room. (Shocking, that she wasn't just harping on about those concepts for fun!)

Anyway, Mycroft shows up via video feed, per usual, and introduces the premise of this game: James Moriarty (who is most assuredly dead, by the way, it's very important that you remember that) programmed an AI before he died—"an archive of maniacal data"—and your job, as new (read: expendable) recruits in the Network, is to go into a virtual-reality space called the Nexus, where you need to hack into the AI and replace Moriarty's mind with—well, not yours, obviously, you're "far too, as they say, basic"—but with Sherlock's. But why not use Mycroft's mind? you may be asking. Especially if he's the smart one.—because, dear reader, "One Mycroft Holmes is already too great a gift for this world. Two would be an indulgence." And that's verbatim from Mycroft Holmes as protrayed by Mark Gatiss himself. I am going to haunt him in whatever comes after this life. Still can't believe that you give them money and in exchange they insult you for approximately ninety minutes and at the end you say 'thanks, this was so much fun, I will definitely be doing this again!'

Right before you go into the first room, you are helpfully reminded by Mycroft one last time that "despite what video games suggest, you absolutely can die in the virtual world." Bit of a theme they seem to be harping on! It's almost like they're trying to get you to really believe that Jim is actually dead or something!

(Photos are all from the official 221b social media accounts.)

The first room is a sort of fusion of the pool from TGG with a chemistry lab and a hospital corridor, and also a miniature version of Jim's prison cell from THOB is there. There's a mannequin of John Watson decked out in a Semtex vest in the corner, and you get the usual experience of solving lots of intellectually- and tactilely-satisfying puzzles, which included opening a bordering-on-comical number of lockers. The John mannequin has a key in his hand labelled "007" (classic!) and a phone in his pocket so you can text Mycroft. Moriarty reminds you that he's the good old-fashioned villain in this fairy tale, and that Sherlock needs him or he's nothing, and that John is Sherlock's "live-in ordinary person."

I also particularly enjoyed the little chemistry puzzle in this room—they do give you a periodic table on the wall, so you have all you need to solve it without any prior knowledge, but who goes to a Sherlock escape room without a graduate chemist in hand?

(We also decided after the fact that the gift shop definitely should have been selling packs of the stickers seen on the lockers in this room, one of which was notably a pixel-art TV with a rainbow screen and the phrase "brainwashed".)

The highlight here, however, was definitely the prison cell. There's a letter on the chair that's on Pentonville Prison letterhead and signed by Mycroft and otherwise consists of a paragraph or two of fully redacted text. The walls have a number of fun phrases scratched into them, like "THREE SIGNS IS NOT ENOUGH" and "TOO MANY THATCHERS", which continue to live in my mind rent-free. (Some of the other phrases were helpful hints for the puzzles you had to solve, but those two weren't even relevant for the puzzles, as I recall. They were just bonuses. Specifically designed to haunt me, personally.)

At some point in here, Moriarty—no, sorry; his recorded voice, because he's dead, remember! We're just poking around in his virtual mind! ("Jim recorded lots of little messages for me before he died," anyone?)—insults you over the speakers, saying, "Goldfish, goldfish, goldfish have better recall than you!" (Mycroft Holmes in TEH, "I'm living in a world of goldfish," anyone?)

Anyway, you solve all the puzzles and put the phone you were using to text Mycroft in Jim's prison cell and continue on your way, going further into the mind of Moriarty, in the direction of the "Watson Ward" and "No Sherlock beyond this point" arrows. (Big moment for "there's definitely a reason that every other character in the canon has the initials J(H)W or its respectable inversion JM" girlies!)

Also there's an audio clip of Jim saying "choo choo!" as you leave the room. (Big moment for TFP girlies! I think my exact words were "I am going to kill myself.")

Onto room two! Green lasers everywhere! (They definitely intended you to do a fun little acrobatics situation here but we were content to hit the floor and crawl to find the buttons to disable them.)

After you disable the lasers, you get to focus on the primary puzzle of the room: a wall covered with sketches of people and copies of incriminating evidence, and you have to connect the scarlet thread red strings between each member of the jury and the evidence that Jim was blackmailing them with—you know, from way back in TRF? When the key code wasn't important at all, it was just about knowing someone's pressure points? (There's a Mary who's having an affair and is a lesbian, btw. Just like our mystery corpse in the original escape room, we should never assume someone is straight when there's room for them to be gay.) This puzzle as a whole was really satisfying, I will say, though it did make us wish for either a notepad or a massive whiteboard to make notes on while we solved the little logic puzzles to match the people to their blackmail material. (They could give you little branded notepads and pens to take with you through the rooms, and to keep as a souvenir, like the ones hotels give you! It would be so fun!) This was definitely the puzzle we spent the majority of our time on.

And then you get to the highlight of this room: opening the safe to reveal Jim Moriarty himself—well, a mannequin version—decked out in the Crown Jewels, happy as could be. There's a reminder that nothing in the Tower of London is as valuable as a few tiny lines of computer code that can open any door. And Jim's written a silly little poem of sorts and draws far too much attention to both "the rod of power in his right hand's grasp" and "the Orb" between his legs (and then we were at the Tower of London two days later and found out that that's not just a euphemism, it's literally called the Orb? Unhinged behaviour. And I don't even know who to blame for it now. The "rod of power" bit was all him, though. Could have been normal and called it a scepter!) and you have to figure out a code and (spoilers!) the code is 7437. Which is fine and perfectly normal and I'm sure the vast majority of people who complete that room think nothing of it, but unfortunately, we were not a group of "the vast majority" and so our experience was not what you might call "fine and normal", because Mia input the code and there was a little beep of success of and then she, without missing a beat, went on to say, "Oh, that's so funny! That's the numbers for S-H-E-R," at which point Rebs and I immediately sank to the floor to stare into the abyss while waiting for the next door to open.

So, just to recap: the point of TRF was definitely that there was no code, there was never any code, it was just about knowing people's pressure points and getting them to do what you wanted, but now that we're inside Moriarty's mind it's definitely all about codes and there's a silly poem to draw attention to various things including, but not limited to, the Orb between his legs, and the code that you need from him so that you can go deeper into his mind is S-H-E-R. Yeah. Sure. Why not. This is Fine! What really haunts me is knowing how many people will do that escape room and will never know that that's what those numbers mean. Because why on earth would you?

(Just to prove how normal I am about this, I won't even say anything about a potential parallel between Moriarty's "Orb" situation and the globe on Mycroft's desk under Whitehall. See? I'm not even mentioning it, why would you bring up something like that? No M-theory here, no sir! Not a single trace of it!)

Congratulations, you've made it to the rooftop, where Sherlock jumped off a roof and James Moriarty met his end, and I swear Jim has a line somewhere in there complaining about how hard it is to plan this sort of thing. (Whatever that means!)

We've got screens playing clips from all thirteen episodes of the show—okay, that might be an exaggeration; I didn't actually check to see if there were clips from every single episode. But there were definitely clips from series four, which is very funny considering how the universe that these rooms seem to be set makes exactly zero mention of John's wife at any point in time. (Hey, hello, hi, it's me who's writing this. Obviously I noticed when there were shots from TFP on those screens.)—and there are computer-code-esque symbols on the walls and Jim is lying dead on the floor and Sherlock is standing on the edge of the rooftop.

Here are some fun facts for you: the gun is still in Jim's pocket. (He's definitely dead, though! You know how you shoot yourself in the head and then return your gun to its rightful place before you politely lay down and die?) And Sherlock's mannequin is wearing the purple shirt of sex a purple shirt, which is a detail that might not be noticed unless you're thoroughly ransacking his every pocket (twice) to check for a missing key, and I was going to say something about how of course he is, because what else would you expect him to be wearing when we're three levels deep in Moriarty's mind and the code to get this far was S-H-E-R, but then I went back and checked and Sherlock is, in fact, wearing a purple shirt at the end of TRF. (Which somehow still doesn't actually negate any of the above, imo.)

Anyway, the first puzzle in this room involves finding a bunch of physical puzzle pieces to solve a puzzle, and figuring out how to unlock doors to obtain all of the pieces, and some of the padlocks use code words that they give you by putting phrases from their "sophisticated and cerebral" merch on the screen and highlighting letters, and some use numbers that you get by solving other riddles, but one of them is a padlock with a physical key and (spoiler!) it turns out that you don't even need to get the key for that one, because there's another way to get the puzzle piece out without unlocking the door at all! (Was his grand daylight robbery scheme a matter of keys and codes, or was it just about knowing people's pressure points and blackmailing them? You decide!)

And then it's time to manage the final task of uploading Sherlock's brain to the AI, which is accomplished by running around hitting buttons while music plays over the speakers to instil a sense of great urgency. You definitely would not want to do this with fewer than three members in your party. This is where they use Jim's line of "Surprise! You didn't think I'd just disappear, did you?" as seen in one of the teaser trailers, and they also plaster every screen with the classic "Did you miss me?" footage that mysteriously appeared on every screen in the country at the end of HLV.

But when you do manage to complete the task, Mycroft's voice comes back to congratulate you, and to sort of threaten you (though that's par for the course when it's Mycroft Holmes we're talking about, I'll admit), and to leave open the possibility of your returning for another job someday. I, for one, cannot wait to see what they're going to do for round three. (Personally, I think it would be very funny if they put one of the rooms on the Demeter for the next one. No rebranding necessary, no discussion of Dracula at any point whatsoever, but for some reason you find yourself on a boat, in cabin number 9, playing chess with the Devil himself Moriarty! What a shocking and unforeseen turn of events that would be!)

(The only real downside of them doing a third room would be that I would then have to make time to do three of these in one day. And that might be a bit excessive. I mean, three eye exams in one day? Someone's definitely going to say something.)

We had a very lovely time at the Mind Palace bar after that, to debrief a bit, and there was a logic puzzle that I still need to sit down and crack at some point when I have a moment. I was personally very pleased to find drinks called "The Diogenes Club" and "The Lying Detective" (both of which I was contractually obligated to order, naturally), and did you know you can rent out the bar for private events? I'm sure I would be very normal about such a situation. (Good job I'm not local to the area, truly!)

This has already gone longer than I think I intended, and I'm sure I could keep going, given the opportunity, but I'll close things out here, and say again that I do absolutely recommend doing the escape room(s) if you have the opportunity; I could not have been more pleased with the experience. My sole complaint is that they don't let you wander back through the rooms after solving the puzzles to have a moment to appreciate all the small details when you're not working against the clock. And also they should send me the scripts, as a treat. Along with any remaining unused video or audio footage. (Moftiss, my DMs are open, feel free to drop the links at your earliest convenience!)

[uncannyalien]

Ok folks

We all love Big Mama, right?

She's cunning, iconic, unhinged, and a powerful crime boss

But that's just the thing. "Crime Boss"? Of what?

Based upon what we know she obviously makes money through the hotel and the betting rings of the Battle Nexus, as well as her train, and she likely has her many legs in various other businesses and organizations in and above the Hidden City.

But "crime boss" to me gives the vibe that she runs a business of manufacturing, selling, and distributing contraband. The question is, what?

Mystic and human objects/artifacts?? People?? Weapons?? Drugs(she feels classier than that tho imo)??

She's obviously money laundering but that money has to come from somewhere. So what actually does she do??

[Also are we just gonna ignore the fact that she used to drive trailers?]

Thoughts and suggestions are welcome!