#philosophers cocaine.......

[beekeeperspicnic]

Happy New Year, Everyone!

Artwork by @gooolabatooo, Holmes is played by the amazing James Quinn.

A new year can be a hopeful time, but I think it can also be stressful thinking about the state of the world and what lies ahead.

In the middle of the story 'The Naval Treaty', Holmes brings his interactions with clients to a grinding halt to give an inexplicable little monologue on hope and roses.

People have spent 125 trying to figure out what the heck this is about, both from a Doylist perspective (Is this Doyle espousing his own thoughts at the expense of the narrative, or is it a deliberate literary choice?) and Watsonian perspective (is this an insight into Holmes' spiritual beliefs or has he just been at the cocaine again?)

Personally while I don't think the sentiment he expresses holds up to any scrutiny if taken as a literal logical or philosophical thesis, I love it as a bit of poetic sentiment - the symbolism of flowers as representing beauty, joy, love and all things that aren't biologically necessary for life, but which are an 'extra' - and perhaps a reminder that there is goodness in the world.

May 2025 be full of 'extras' for you and yours ❤️

The Beekeeper's Picnic - Wishlist on Steam | Itch.io Demo | Discord |

[gregorovitch-adler]

My thoughts about The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes:

Let's start by summarising the movie -

No crime-solving happens in the first 34 minutes. The first act is all about Holmes and Watson's dynamic, exploration of the nature of their relationship with each other, etc. If you're the type of person who only watches/reads Sherlock Holmes for the cases, you'd believe this portion is skippable. Only the blink-and-miss detail about the "Midgets' case" is important as far as Holmes' detective work is concerned.

However, if you think exploring Holmes and Watson's interpersonal relationship and their casework are both equally important, like I do, the first act is GOLD. Most of the Tumblr gifs about this movie are from the first 30-35 mins lol.

1.) Holmes enters and they bicker like an old, married couple.

H: Oh, come now, Watson, you must admit that you have a tendency to overromanticize. You have taken my simple exercises in logic and embellished them, embroidered them, exaggerated them ---

W: I deny the accusation.

H: You have described me as six-footfour, whereas I am barely six-footone.

W: A bit of poetic license.

Not only is this whole scene just delightful in general but the theory about Watson being an unreliable narrator in ACD canon is actually being supported throughout the movie, starting right here.

--

W:It's those little touches that make you colorful...

H: Lurid is more like it. You have painted me as a hopeless dope addict - just because I occasionally take a five per cent solution of cocaine.

W: A seven per cent solution.

H: Five per cent. Don't you think I'm aware you've been diluting it behind my back?

This exchange was lovely. Way to slip in their closeness through a few words.

2.) Watson doesn't think it's odd to barge right in when Holmes is completely naked and taking a bath?

Also, why the hell does Holmes bathe with his bedroom door wide open?

And what's that thing he's taking a bath in called? Does anyone know about this stuff? Was this thing common in that timeline? It doesn't seem to fit a grown man like Holmes.

I have so many questions and I'm speechless at the same time. I'll just drop this here:

3.) Then Watson persuades Holmes to go to The Swan Lake ballet.

Watson enjoys that ballet, a little too much at that, mostly because he's staring at all the women on stage. (We'll get back to this later.)

Holmes on the other hand has dozed off. All he can admire about the most beautiful dancer, Petrova, is her strong arches. Which is... 🏳‍🌈

Then that whole scene about Nicholai and Petrova and Holmes in the dressing room. XD

Petrova offers a Stradivarius violin to Holmes in exchange for sleeping with her for a week, so that her child would be beautiful like her and brilliant like Holmes.

Holmes gets out of the situation by lying to both of them; saying he's in a relationship with Watson.

Honestly, that whole bit. Just look at the lines:

N: She has been dancing since she was three years old, and after all, she is now thirty-eight.

H: (gallantly) I must say she doesn't look thirty-eight.

N: That is because she is forty-six.

And:

Nicholai: (about Tolstoy) Too old --- Then we considered the philosopher, Nietzsche --

H: Absolutely first-rate mind ---

N: Too German --

Etc. They're all so funny. This whole scene is something else.

In fairness to Holmes, he did try to get himself out of the situation by lying about having hemophilia in his family, or saying that he's unromantic because he's English, etc but Petrova was having none of it.

Watson coming into the room all of a sudden gives so much clarity and calmness to Holmes. He just knows what to say to help himself because of Watson.

This unforgettable exchange:

N: You mean, you and Dr. Watson - He is your glass of tea?

H: If you want to be picturesque about it.

On a side note, I absolutely loved Nicholai's face journey throughout both scenes - in the dressing room, stuck in the middle of Holmes and Petrova's awkwardness, and later on when he asks about the alleged Holmes-Watson romance to Watson after having spread the rumour in the whole room.

I just loved his reactions a lot.

According to this movie-

Caprice of Mother Nature = Gay.

Half-and-half = Bisexual.

Watson comes to know about the rumour, after having had the time of his life with both men and women in the ballroom. Watson is pissed off, he goes home and confronts about the whole thing to Holmes.

They have a row at Baker Street, in which Watson is being extremely heteronormative again. Thinking too much about his reputation without stopping to question his own feelings and his weird fixation on Holmes' love life.

There's that famous line again:

W: Holmes, let me ask you a question. I hope I'm not being presumptuous -but there have been women in your life?

H: The answer is yes -- you're being presumptuous. Good night.

Awesome.

This marks the end of Act I.

The existence of these 33 minutes of the movie is proof that the writing team in this adaptation knows that exploring Holmes and Watson's characters and what they mean to each other is as important as Holmes' casework. Billy Wilder takes this seriously, even though there are some jokes here and there about it.

The whole of Act I is filled with raising questions about Holmes and Watson's preferences, etc. Does Holmes feel love or is he just a machine? Does Holmes feel love for Watson? Does Watson know about Holmes' feelings for him? Does Watson feel the same way about Holmes?

In my opinion, all the answers to the personal questions about Holmes are as clear as a day. What's really questionable is whether Watson knows and/or feels the same way about Holmes or not. Different viewers might draw different conclusions/inferences after watching this movie.

After this, the movie takes a turn because "Gabrielle" enters the picture, and the actual crime-solving begins from here. The tone becomes a bit more serious in this act.

A young woman, completely wet and in shock enters 221 B. Watson has to pay for her fare to the cabbie before he and Holmes take her upstairs to take care of her.

She can't remember anything at first, then from her wedding ring, Holmes gets to know her name: Gabrielle Valladon. Her husband's name is Emile Valladon.

She appears to have temporary amnesia because of getting hit on the forehead and almost drowning in the Thames.

She reveals info about herself that she's from Belgium, her husband was here in London for a job, they used to write to each other, and after some time, the letters from her husband stopped coming. She'd gone to the London police first after coming to this city. She says the police had advised her to consult Sherlock Holmes.

Now, this should make the viewer skeptical of her. Scotland Yard does consult Sherlock Holmes when they need him, but they aren't going to let him have the whole case if there's a situation like this.

Besides, that woman ending up at Baker Street specifically seems to be planned, anyway. Also, there's always this man who keeps waiting for her or someone else's signals on the outside.

I know what we see on screen comes from Watson's drafts on loose pages, but this movie's narration seems to be Third Person Omniscient POV to me. Where the viewer is privy to more information as compared to the characters.

The three of them keep looking for her husband's whereabouts, and she pretends to be helpless, needy, and fragile (to stroke the ego of the men around her, I believe. I mean that could be one of the reasons...) with temporary amnesia throughout most of the movie. Holmes and Watson don't suspect a thing about her as they keep working for her and she keeps sending cryptic messages to the "Trappists" (German government) with her parasol.

The thing I love about this act:

Ilse von Hofmannsthal aka Gabrielle Valladon is actually a competent character who happens to be a woman. We can see something shady is going on with her even though we don't know her real name, but one of the most brilliant people on the planet doesn't suspect anything. He thinks she's just a woman looking for her husband's whereabouts. He thinks her back story is real.

He keeps on thinking that until Mycroft basically tells him in the third act which is why we're able to see for ourselves that Ilse was genuinely able to outsmart Holmes. We don't have to be told by the narrative voice about Ilse's strengths (*cough* unlike BBC Sherlock and a lot of female characters written by Steven Moffat *cough*).

I, for one, felt respectful of Ilse or "Gabrielle" for real. It was quite refreshing to me after having watched some modern Holmes adaptations.

Holmes, Watson, and "Gabrielle" go looking for the cause of Emile Valladon's death after they've found his coffin in the graveyard, in the guise of having a picnic. Holmes and "Gabrielle" pretend to be a married couple - Mrs and Mr Ashdown, and Watson is their valet. The scenes after this point are delightful mainly because of Watson's reactions (which could be read as his jealousy over Holmes, too).

Also, me when Holmes calls Watson 'John' in an archaic Holmes adaptation:

Because of his sort of stupidity, Holmes takes Ilse, a German spy, right in front of the submersible (which he thinks is a mechanical 'monster' that lives underwater) in a boat, along with Watson.

Ilse was trying to grab as much information as she could about that secret project because she was working for her country. Who knew someone would show her the live version of that model so readily (albeit unknowingly)? :P

The three of them are obviously unable to find anything about Emile Valladon, so they go back to the inn room they're staying in.

That's when one of Mycroft's men comes to pick Holmes up and take him to his elder brother. Here's when the third act begins, I think.

Mycroft had warned Sherlock not to pursue "Gabrielle's" case any further during the second act. But Sherlock didn't listen, because a.) he's an empathetic man, and b.) Mycroft can't just order him to do or drop something just because. Sherlock is not a child anymore.

I know Mycroft was only trying to protect Sherlock, and that he couldn't have told him the real reason to stop him at that time, but still.

Either way, months of planning and testing the submersible have gone to waste because Holmes did not suspect at any point that his client, "Gabrielle Valladon" might have just been lying to him since the start. Can't blame Holmes for that. Ilse was meticulous.

Mycroft shows the model to the queen and she strongly disapproves of the model and curses it a lot. Personally, this seemed to be a shitty decision on her part, and I felt so frustrated and annoyed at her in that scene. She didn't even care to hear about its features. She just rejected it on the spot! :(

Mycroft decides to 'give the submarine' to the German government. It's implied that the Trappists were drowned along with the submarine itself in the deep waters. (That's what I gathered from that scene - correct me if my interpretation was wrong).

In conclusion, while Ilse is genuinely able to outsmart Holmes (unlike some writers forcing us to believe it in their adaptation because they told us so), the German government isn't able to go anywhere with the info they've gathered through Ilse because of Mycroft's last move. Moreover, the English government would have sent her to jail, if Sherlock hadn't suggested Mycroft send her back to her own country.

So, in the end, it's a lose-lose situation for all of them.

1.) Sherlock Holmes didn't know that Ilse was faking her name and her whole identity for a long time, so he unknowingly helped a German spy, thinking he was just helping an ordinary client. Ilse almost had him and the viewers could see for themselves that she'd outsmarted him.

2.) Even after Ilse von Hofmannsthal has got what she wanted for her government, as a spy, they aren't able to make use of that info because of Mycroft. And she has to get out of England anyway.

3.) Mycroft Holmes also fails, to some extent, because ages of effort to plan the submersible, hide the plans, and test the model in secret - all of it has gone to waste. The queen doesn't even want to hear him out in the end.

But even if it was a lose-lose situation, the battle was damn intriguing because of the high intellect on both sides - Holmes brothers and Ilse.

Months later, Holmes receives a letter from Mycroft about Ilse's arrest and execution by the Japanese government. Reading that, he's so moved that he can't even finish his breakfast. He gets up and asks Watson for his cocaine supply. Watson tells him, and then Holmes grabs the bag and goes to his room. Holmes shuts himself in, Watson gets up from the breakfast table too, sits beside the fireplace, and begins to write something on a piece of paper. Probably about the case, but for nobody to see.

End of Act III and the movie.

--

I loved the background score of this movie. It's quite touching and refreshing to listen to.

A lot of dialogue exchanges in the movie are so deep if you stop to think about them. It's unbelievable how much writers can convey through a few words. Some of them are quite funny too - particularly from Act I. There's a thin line between being funny and mocking, and TPLOSH didn't cross that. It was nice.

I love this portrayal of Sherlock Holmes. It's clear how deeply they've understood him from the original canon. Pretends to be dismissive and closed off but actually cares about everyone way too much.

I also liked Mycroft in this movie, even if he didn't have much screen time.

About Ilse von Hofmannsthal - I loved her. Seriously, this is how you write female characters, modern writers! People say ASIB is a direct adaptation of TPLOSH, which is true, but I'd prefer TPLOSH over that episode any day, and one of the reasons is the way the female lead has been written in the former. Not exactly a fan of how Moffat wrote her in his adaptation. He did her dirty, I'd say.

Characters like Ilse make me think that the writing team of this movie knew what feminism is. I can't say the same for the modern Holmes adaptation that has been heavily inspired by TPLOSH.

I loved the plot of this movie too. The case in itself was also pretty interesting and kept me hooked throughout. Even if it wasn't exactly resolved finally, and the ending was melancholic.

I wasn't expecting the movie to be this good. Which is why it took me so long to sit down and watch it.

I only have one complaint about this movie - Watson's characterisation.

I mean, Watson wasn't half as bad as I'd expected (I thought he was going to be horrible, based on the snippets of the movie I'd seen before), but still. I like how he doesn't fall into the bumbling idiot stereotype. As far as the casework is concerned, Watson is also quite competent and observant in his own right. He can handle the medical work too.

I've got problems with his heteronormativity, and the fact that when it comes to deducing what lies in Holmes' heart, he's dumb as bricks. It's annoying. Like, it's one thing if he doesn't feel the same way about Holmes, but he doesn't have to be so weird and homophobic about it. Also, I think Holmes should've told him about the truth related to Ilse and the 'mechanical monster'. I've had enough of 'keeping Watson in the dark for his own good', damn it! He should be more in the knowledge.

Watson's character was the only element in the movie that didn't receive justice from the writer. As a Watson-centric fan, I need this to stop happening in future Holmes adaptations. People should see more from his POV too, and stop to actually see where he's coming from, and properly understand his character in the next show/movie/whatever they make.

What I gathered from the movie about the characters and their interpersonal relationships-

Holmes is in love with Watson but doesn't admit it... for valid reasons this time. (side eyes at Watson's homophobia).

Watson is deeply attached to Holmes but sees him as a close friend. I wish he felt the same way about Holmes in this movie, but alas! Though if he doesn't feel that way about Holmes, why the hell does he seem so jealous of Ilse in Acts II and III? This is beyond me.

I think what they've tried to show is that Watson is too close-minded to confront his possibly repressed feelings for Holmes, deep within his heart? Maybe. It could very well be my wishful thinking lol.

But as far as Holmes' feelings for Watson are concerned, it's not even wishful thinking. It's just... right there. I wish the subtext about Holmes' pining were spelled out. I know why it couldn't (the Doyle estate was being a pain in the ass at that time), but still. It's quite clear what they wanted to write as far as Holmes' emotional side was concerned, but they dropped it from the scripts after Act I and decided to focus on the case instead.

Holmes is dismissive of 'Gabrielle' at first, but he becomes sympathetic for her after some time. He reaches out to help her with her situation, and as the plot moves forward, he grows affectionate for Gabrielle/Ilse, which is why he doesn't hold a grudge against her when he realises he's been outsmarted by this woman (even though his ego was mildly hurt for a while).

The way they maintained a balance between the plot and the characters is commendable. I love seeing well-written women in fiction and this movie showed me that.

I was surprised to see how good this movie turned out to be, as compared to my preconceived opinions. The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes has officially become my comfort movie now. Miles ahead of BBC Sherlock, in my opinion.

Thanks to my discussions with @jamielovesjam in a previous post about this movie lol. I wouldn't have wanted to watch the movie if not for the long talk I had with them. Also tagging @gaypiningshit and @helloliriels for further discussion.

End of my unnecessarily long rambling.

[disco-elysium-via-polls]

Today I'd like to show all the Thoughts that we encountered in the game, but didn't end up Internalizing. I think that the more you see of these, the more of a complete picture you get of Harry.

GUILLAUME LE MILLION

Temporary research bonus: -1 Logic: Head in the clouds

PROBLEM:

Whatever happened to Guillaume Le Million, who -- with his amber mane and sparkling teeth -- beguiled the tattered remains of the nation? While you suffered and suffered, did he dematerialize in a cloud of cocaine dust? Or did he simply stand in the corner and melt into the slendering *New* lines of some starlit boîte de nuit twenty years ago? Spare a thought for his great ass too! Or wait... maybe he became a police officer in Revachol West! Hmm...

Completion bonuses: +1 Pain Threshold: Blood oxygen is boring All PSY learning caps raised by one

SOLUTION:

Bad news: Guillaume le Million did not become a cop. In '38 he went on a tour to the Hsin-Yao province in Safre, where he died of auto-erotic asphyxiation. His body was found hanging from a decorative dragon tree in his junior suite, amid drug paraphernalia, unwholesome objects, and the Sylvia Trainor single "Wonderland" skipping in the background. And yes, you can take this as a metaphor for Revachol in the Thirties. And also as a warning.

DETECTIVE COSTEAU

Temporary research bonus: -2 Conceptualization: An idiotic idea

PROBLEM:

Detective Raphaël Ambrosius Costeau -- when you say it, it feels like you're taking a bite of lemon meringue while sitting on the terrace of a seaside cafe. On a cool summer day. In Sur-La-Clef. It's everything you're *not*. You haven't created many things during your stay in Martinaise, but you've created this. A fancy, sophisticated name that makes you sound intelligent. And that no one seems to *acknowledge*. Don't you feel like you deserve a reward for coming up with something so special? And what would that reward *be*?

Completion bonuses: +1 Savoir Faire: This one sounds fancy, let's have this +1 Esprit de Corps: Yup, fancy, let's have this one too

SOLUTION:

Monsieur Costeau, the reward for coming up with your classy new name has arrived. What are the attributes Detective Costeau should gain in? *Obviously* Savoir Faire and Esprit de Corps. You know *exactly* what they do and what those words mean. They're *refined*. Like *you*. You have a ton of that fancy stuff. And if the world can't accept Raphaël Ambrosius is your name -- you will always be Detective Costeau to yourself. R.A. Costeau -- sophisticated culture-detective. Specializes in ancient things and art.

BOIADEIRO

Temporary research bonus: -1 Physical Instrument: Astra Country

PROBLEM:

It has been brought to your attention that there are men who live by the law of the land and the strength of their arms. Sunburnt, rugged, smoking men who explored the great rivery veins of upper-Magritte and tamed the Mundi wilds. Frontiersmen, cow-herders, philosophers -- the *boiadeiros*... with a gun in one hand and an unfiltered cigarette between their lips, these men made their own rules. What would it take for you to become one too?

Completion bonuses: -1 Esprit de Corps: Lone wolf Cigarettes give +2 INT

SOLUTION:

Smoking, Harry. It will take a lot of tobacco-smoking for you to become a *boiadeiro*. Twin cigarettes fused to your lips and one hanging out of your nostril. In these tame, cultured times, without the sky’s dome above your head, the only way to be a true Franconigerian individualist is to smoke a lot of cigarettes. Light one up immediately. The smell of coffee brewing over a fire pit, a chestnut-flavoured morning. Welcome to Astra Country.

I'm not sure we ever actually encountered cigarettes in the course of our playthrough. Normally, they give +1 INT at the cost of 1 Health -- this improves the effect.

MAGNESIUM-BASED LIFEFORM

Temporary research bonus: -1 Shivers: No shakes

PROBLEM:

It is generally understood that human beings are carbon-based organisms, fusing little carbon tubes together to form complex, mushy structures capable of thought, love, and locomotion. It is also known that these structures sometimes like to “take the edge off” by consuming ethanol, amphetamine, etc. In such cases, it is important to supplement your body with magnesium. Tired? Mag it! Down? Mag time! Liver damage? MAXIMUM MAG! Some people say magnesium doesn’t really do anything and you just need to quit. What do we tell them?

Completion bonuses: +2 Volition: Magnesium receptacle glands -1 Logic: No such thing, man

SOLUTION:

We tell them: HELL NO. You’re about to become a magnesium-based lifeform. The age of the primitive carbon-man is done. No longer must mankind rely on slow-working background radiation to take us further into our genetic destiny. This is the era of guided evolution, and magnesium is the key. You are the first of your species. The next step in human evolution. An advanced magnesium proto-man who mags it up, drinks it down, and sniffs it sideways!

A pretty useful Thought if you have low PSY.

BRINGING OF THE LAW (LAW-JAW)

Temporary research bonus: -1 Rhetoric: Weird jaw

PROBLEM:

Hey, so a little observation. It's all cool, man. Don't freak out, but every time you say “I am the law“ -- and you say it *a lot*, it's basically *hello* for you -- your jaw does this *weird thing*. It sort of shifts sideways, hanging off your face at a jaunty angle, while the word *law* sounds oddly guttural and low. It's... strange. You wouldn't notice it, but after saying you're the law eighty thousand times, the question *does* come up: why *do* you have Law Jaw?

Completion bonuses: Learning cap for Hand/Eye Coordination raised to 6 Succeed all Hand/Eye Coordination passives -1 Rhetoric: Jaw still weird

SOLUTION:

Okay, so. We now know why you have *Law Jaw*. Why you say *the law* in a weird manner, and why your jaw does that thing. You had polio as a child. You hadn’t gotten vaccinated. It must've been right after the Revolution -- not a lot of vaccine going around then. So you got infantile paralysis due to polio and this jaw thing is a complication from that. Admittedly, it’s not very funny. But you *overcame* it! This little infant survived and became a sharpshooting supercop. So: fuck you, polio!

This is a pretty useful Thought *and* it tells us something, in my opinion, pretty important about Harry.

ANTI-OBJECT TASK FORCE

Temporary research bonus: -2 Pain Threshold: Hurts!

PROBLEM:

Take a look at your hands. See how bruised they are? See those little scars? This is Exhibit A. The material world is holding you back. Containers, mailboxes, doors, chairs -- they are all your enemies. Always have been. Atoms themselves are in on the conspiracy, forming shapes and structures that you hate. You are energy stuck in a body. You are spirit trapped in matter. Break free! Beat up that lamp post! Let it know just how much objects *suck*.

Completion bonuses: Attacking physical objects heals damage +1 Pain Threshold: Thick skin All FYS learning caps raised by one

SOLUTION:

Behold: the Anti-Object Task Force has assembled. God's avenging angel, arrayed against the lower emanations of the Darkened One: shoe racks, tape recorders, motor carriages. And doors. So many doors. You're not just pounding it all to pieces. You’re *reforging* the universe. From the anvil of the heavens to the worms below. Indulge in it. Be bold. Have an *impact* on the shape of Creation. Out of the furnace of your rage -- a new reality! Also, you should trash your room *again*.

The first bonus here is not as useful as it sounds, because by the time you unlock this Thought, you'll have already been through most of the attackable things in the game. The rest is still pretty good, though.

DATE OF BIRTH GENERATOR

Temporary research bonus: None

PROBLEM:

Your face looks like it’s 58 and your body feels like it’s 60. Your mind feels like it’s lived for one day or a hundred. Both longer than they ought to be, the day and the century.... But for how long, then, has this thing attached to your sentience walked the planet’s crust? Time to start racking those brains of yours, Elder One. When and where were you born?

Completion bonuses: Learning cap for Logic raised to 4 -1 difficulty to all Physique passives

SOLUTION:

You were born in the year ‘07, in the last year of the Commune of Revachol, right before it fell. In the Old Military Hospital, on the ground floor where people usually came to die, during a snowstorm. The Revolution had about one year left to go and the fires were still burning bright. There were explosions in the blizzard. This was 44 years ago. You are 44 years old. The bloating might never leave your face, but beneath it -- you still have some years. You still have some hope.

I believe you can talk about this with Kim once you have the answer.

ARNO VAN EYCK

Temporary research bonus: +1 Interfacing

PROBLEM:

The question won’t leave you – why did the melody line from a broken and discarded tape fit perfectly into a song played by some speedfreaks in a frozen tent? Can it be a coincidence? Maybe it’s the hand of the Man-Machine himself, in his attempt to craft a perfect song. Maybe Egg Head is actually Arno van Eyck in disguise!? Eyck? Egg? Hmm...

Completion bonuses: All white Motorics checks unlocked Reveals Arno Van Eyck gig posters in the world

SOLUTION:

Okay, so Egg Head is clearly not Van Eyck in disguise. Van Eyck is an Oranjese disc jockey -- but those people get around. Especially in Revachol, in the clubs on Boogie Street. Perhaps he stayed here for a short stint and discarded part of the song he was working on. Just threw it away. And then it ended up in the hawthorn tree. But why? Did he think it was *retrograde*? It wasn’t. Perhaps he caught a glimpse of the future and did not want for it to arrive just yet. Perhaps the city whispered the topline to him and he was frightened by it?

We've seen variations on this one before for other skill categories. The Arno Van Eyck posters give you additional orbs to click, which synergises nicely with Jamais Vu.

Egg Head also directly told us that his name was in reference to Van Eyck at one point, so that was not really much of a mystery.

SEARCHLIGHT DIVISION

Temporary research bonus: None

PROBLEM:

Missing persons cases just really get to you. It's hard watching people worry about their loved ones – the little nervous movements, the dark rings around their eyes from sleepless nights. And even if there are no loved ones waiting – you like to have all your ducks in a row, and it really bothers you when whole entire people aren't accounted for.

Completion bonus: +2 Perception: Clear-eyed pursuit of truth

SOLUTION:

You've sharpened your senses by being on the lookout for missing persons. Now you notice more of what's happening around you. Perhaps when you're done with this case, you can join the Searchlight Division of the RCM, and find every Revacholian that's ever gone missing without a trace (there is undoubtedly a backlog of such cases). Because you never know, a missing person could be just around the edge, barely out of sight.

ONE MORE DOOR

Temporary research bonus: +1 Half Light: What is behind it?

PROBLEM:

God dammit, it cannot be. A disgrace! That door on the coast... you remember the one, right? The one that leads to the abandoned supply depot? Why, in the name of all that's holy, does it not open? *Why*?! There *has* to be a way to get through that unopenable door. By gods, you're the police -- all doors are supposed to open before you. What will the others at the precinct think if you can't open a goddamn door? There must be a way.

Completion bonuses: -1 Half Light: No fear All PSY white checks unlocked

SOLUTION:

There is no way to open the supply depot door. Accept it. You cannot open *all the doors*. You have to integrate this into your character. Some doors will forever remain closed. Even if every single other door will open at one time or another, maybe to a key, or maybe to some sort of tool meant for opening doors... But this one will never accede to such commands. A realization crucial to personal growth. Crucial.

There will always be one more door.

HARDCORE AESTHETIC

Temporary research bonus: -2 Interfacing: Fuck grammar!

PROBLEM:

Not only have you internalized the Hard Core Aesthetic, you’ve also *contributed* to it. How harder-core could you possibly become? Low-core people come around you to correct your “typos”: it’s “Hardcore” here, “hard-core” there, “Hardorcore” in a third instant -- what’s going on? Those aren’t typos, man, that’s how core hardness works. If you don’t know “hard-core” from “Our Happy Hardcore,” what the fuck are we even talking about?

Completion bonuses: +1 Endurance: Really useful for doing drugs +1 Volition: Same thing, Hardman

SOLUTION:

Oh yes. Drugs. We’re talking about drugs. Let’s face it, these flirtations with the Hard Core Aesthetic have all been leading up to one question: Can I do drugs *harder* now that I’m a Hard Cop? And the answer is: yes. You can. You can do one more blast of pyrholidon and yellow shit-powder, you can even pull a ciggie and a lager on top of that. There. You’ve *truly* made the Hardcore your own thing now.

Despite what it says on the tin, this actually just gives you more health.

THE INSULINDIAN MIRACLE

Temporary research bonus: None

PROBLEM:

You were reminded of a poem, somewhere deep inside you, the translation of which you don't remember… "Nulla sarà cambiato della luce!” it begins. “Colori come grigio e marrone / Tutti stampati uno sull’altro / Trovai un vuoto / Una macchia Bianca / Gli altri guardarono / “Che bella giornata! Che bel tempo!” / Ma sentii la rotativa." You were reminded of it when you heard about the discovery of Insulinde. But what does it mean? And how do you know it by heart?

Completion bonuses: All white checks unlocked

SOLUTION:

It’s easy. You know the poem by heart because you were taught it at school. It is one of the Volta do Mar mantras repeated on the voyage that lead to the discovery of the Insulindian isola. And the words mean: “Nothing will be changed about the light! / Colours like grey and brown / All printed on top of each other / I found a blank white spot / All the others looked up: / ‘What a beautiful day! What beautiful weather!’ / But all I heard was the printing machine." What strange words to celebrate a new world.

You can only unlock this Thought when talking with Joyce after the confrontation with Ruby, making it a really useful tool if you have anything left to do in the game at that point.

And that's all the Thoughts that we encountered in our playthrough, aside from the ones we already saw in the game proper. We did also *technically* get to the point where we could have seen the Thoughts for the moralist and ultraliberal political alignments, even if we chose not to opt into them. So, I'll show those too:

KINGDOM OF CONSCIENCE

Temporary research bonus: -2 Half Light: Calm water

PROBLEM:

Heartache is powerful, but democracy is *subtle*. Incrementally, you begin to notice a change in the weather. When it snows, the flakes are softer when they stick to your worry-worn forehead. When it rains, the rain is warmer. Democracy is coming to the Administrative Region. The ideals of Dolorian humanism are reinstating themselves. How can they not? These are the ideals of the Coalition and the Moralist International. Those guys are signal blue. And they're not only good -- they're also powerful. What will it be like, once their nuanced plans have been realized?

Completion bonuses: Moralist dialogue heals 1 Morale Learning cap for Volition raised to 5 Learning cap for Logic raised to 5

SOLUTION:

The Kingdom of Conscience will be exactly as it is now. Moralists don't really *have* beliefs. Sometimes they stumble on one, like on a child's toy left on the carpet. The toy must be put away immediately. And the child reprimanded. Centrism isn't change -- not even incremental change. It is *control*. Over yourself and the world. Exercise it. Look up at the sky, at the dark shapes of Coalition airships hanging there. Ask yourself: is there something sinister in moralism? And then answer: no. God is in his heaven. Everything is normal on Earth.

INDIRECT MODES OF TAXATION

Temporary research bonus: -2 Empathy: Cold blooded

PROBLEM:

First, if you have a side-bitch ideology cooking somewhere, don't sweat it. Fightin' indirect taxation for the Gossamer State is compatible with *all* creeds. It's cool like that. You're a cool anarchist now. Unless you don't want to be an anarchist. Whatever! Stuff this meal ticket in your eye-socket and let's see if we can steal some *love* back from the robber barons at the customs agency and the *banditos* at The Insulindian Financial Oversight and Competition Committee.

Completion bonuses: -1 Empathy: Thinks he's a hustler or something Ultraliberal dialogue options give +1 real

SOLUTION:

Turns out those Financial Oversight Committee gangsters stuffed millions of hard-earned dividends away in the last place anyone thought to look: the hearts and minds of everyday Revacholians! You need to spread that deregulation gospel to the *people*. Tell them about that foreign fare tax. Preach that 98% gross burden. Preach it, preacher man! Set the brothas free. Taxes are racist.

Even with those, there are still *eighteen* Thoughts remaining in the game that we didn't encounter - either because we didn't have high enough stats, didn't pick the right dialogue options, or chose not to put any points into fascism. Some of them are mutually exclusive with Thoughts we did pick, some require *really complicated* methods to find. A few of them give us some more interesting backstory on Harry and Kim that's worth hearing -- but I'll let you uncover that on your own time.

[machinesonix]

I wanna dive kinda deep on one of the plot points in Dune that isn’t given its full context in the films. Actually I want to wax poetic about my favorite space witch super power and this plot point is gonna be our entry point into it, but without some sort of framing mechanism to focus my thoughts this blog is probably just gonna look like a bunch of all-caps Alistair Crowley cocaine patterned theology. But we’re here to talk about a different sort of psychoactive drug-fueled cult today.

The Bene Gesserit Sisterhood sure does give Lady Jessica a whole lot of shit for having a son. The plan was to have Girl Paul Atredies to have a baby with their cousin Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen and produce the Kwizatz Haderach, but in Jessica’s love for Duke Leto she gave him an heir instead. Which is weird because Princess Irulan is the heiress to the Imperial throne and a Bene Gesserit herself, but I guess that’s not how things fly on Caladan. Whatever the case, Jessica is very adamant that she does not regret her decision. Now the Bene Gesserit can do a lot of wild shit and sure, if you’ve got fetal telepathy maybe you can psychic your baby into having your favorite chromosomes and it doesn’t need a lot of technobabble but Herbert DOES provide some babble and I for one think it’s extremely cool.

Towards the beginning of the novel when the Reverend Mother microwaves Paul’s hand, she explains that in lieu of the machine technologies destroyed in the Butlerian Jihad, human technologies had to be developed to bridge the gap. This whole idea of ‘human technology’ fascinates me. Like I’m not sure if there’s a huge philosophical take away here other than something about the tenacity of the human spirit since a lot of these technologies are the result of the preternatural properties of the geriatric spice melange, but it really is a cool take on science fiction that’s made the setting as iconic as it is. 

Specifically, Bene Gesserit practice a technique called Prana Bindu meditation which I think translates as something like ‘muscle breathing’ but I’m not gonna pretend I can translate Sanskrit. A Prana Bindu trance allows its practitioner to manipulate their biology through sheer force of will. The big way the Sisterhood has been able to keep this century spanning eugenics program on the rails has been their ability to put their reproductive organs on manual. This is also what's going on with drinking worm poison to level up. Jessica and Paul are being put to the same test represented by the gom jabbar: Die like an animal or prove your worth by using your phenomenal human willpower to stay in control of the situation. If you're badass enough to manipulate your own metabolism to process poison into a particularly powerful dose of spice, you have earned the Other Memory and the esteem that entails. Or you can have your mom cheat and do all the hard work for you while you're sharing a metabolism, but you can see how that could stir some controversy. 

As a nonbinary person it is unavoidable to be fascinated by transformative bodily stuff. If I'm not then Rebecca Sugar will come take my license and like a poorly understood thought experiment about a physicist's cat, the quantum wavefunction in my pants will collapse into a single state. That's got at least something to do with my frothing fascination with Prana Bindu and all it entails. Now my brain is stuck on this whole male heir thing when Florence Pugh is absolutely killing it. STAY TUNED

[inkykeiji]

we neeeeed more of tag! tomura!! oh my goodness! he’s so yummy >.< do you have any little head canons for him or some stuff to share about him? i wanna give him a kiss he’s so cute!!

hmmmmmm i can give u a few!! c:

⁎ this is probably obvious based on his behaviour within the story itself BUT he has a massive sweet tooth and he hates veggies!! he claims he’s ‘too lazy’ to tell the cashiers at his favourite burger joint that he doesn’t want any vegetables, but dabi believes he’s actually just shy (tomura will puff up and hiss and curse and seethe if he hears this, swearing up and down that he’s not fucking shy, goddamn it, but dabi is not convinced). as such, the only person who ever makes his burger exactly the way he likes it is toga, when they’re hanging out at the diner.

⁎ if you give him a nose kissie, something sudden and unexpected, a quick press of puckered lips right to the tip, he will scrunch up his whole face and glower at you, acting as if he’s so mad about it, but will ask you to do it again, quiet and in the dead of night when you’re both laying in his bed that evening. this undoubtedly becomes a habit, always past the hour of midnight, always beneath the veil of the moon, always demanded softly—an order to be sure (he’s not asking you, he’s telling you) but one that is tender nonetheless.

⁎ he is unbearably pretentious. not only is he smart as a whip and sharper than a tungsten needle, but he genuinely and wholeheartedly believes he is better than everyone else. also, his mind is always churning a million miles a minute, although you’d never guess based on the resident indifference permanently fused to his features, expressions blank, bleak, and boring. as such, he is incredibly logical, and thinks through situations thoroughly. because of his intelligence, he and dabi have a tendency to veer into highly and heavily philosophical discussions.

⁎ he’s an apathetic, lethargic puppy...until he feels like his (found) family (aka his friends) is being threatened in any way, shape, or form. then he turns into a raving, rabid guard dog who will quite literally rip you to shreds.

⁎ he is surprisingly perceptive and notices the tiny details most others wouldn’t ever be able to catch—a slight change in inflection, a singular twitch downward of one corner of a mouth, the infinitesimal narrowing of a pair of eyes, the pulse of pupils when someone isn’t telling the whole truth. tomura picks up on these things without even realizing that he’s doing it; it’s almost like a sixth sense to him, natural and innate. sometimes he wishes he could turn it off, as it can cause sensory overload and result in him being agitated and testy.

⁎ he does coke, but usually only at parties and on special occasions. he will mix cocaine with standard party drugs, but never touches anything harder than those.

⁎ he is extremely dedicated to the don’t get high on your own supply rule.

⁎ despite his absolutely awful and incredibly unhealthy eating habits/diet, he is still thin as a rail.

⁎ he is physically clingy with his lover, but it is in a subtle, muted way—he always needs a part of his body touching theirs, but it isn’t obvious, obnoxious or in your face. in fact, it’s so natural that most people don’t even realize the two of them are touching at all.

[serpentface]

the character Setka Goodwinter being initiated into the mystery religion of the Scholars by the resident master surgeon Moonface. 

The "Scholarly Order of the Root" (just referred to as "the scholars") is a group of natural philosophers/a mystery religion that attempts to divine the true nature of Mind and the universe. They are the de-facto monarchs of the Ur-Tree and its surrounding lands, though the scholars practice a mystery religion closed to laypeople of the area and have little involvement in governance. 

Their public facing purpose is as a center of knowledge and study of the natural world, and they provide some of the best medical care available in the setting. The Scholars' full practice synthesizes astrophysics, cosmology, alchemy/chemistry, hallucinogens, cocaine, philosophy, witchcraft and botany. They are particularly interested in the ‘dreamlands’ or 'ether' (another realm that bleeds into base reality but is largely inaccessible) and beings that come from there.

This ritual entails use of a highly potent hallucinogen, alchemically refined into a crystalline form and insufflated. The initiate experiences altered realities, visions of shifting fractals and sacred geometry, and may meet with "the Giants", entities the Scholars believe to be true gods. These visions are understood to be total comprehension of the Dreamlands. While this meeting is underway, the initiate is trepanned to allow better communion between the Mind and the Dreamlands in waking life.

[child0feden]

BLISS

andreas “ BSOD ” betinger x reader

- general dating headcanons for andreas!

funnily enough, i used to date a guy called andreas! online dating, obviously, but he was sweet lolol! this was kind of interesting to write because i have had a lot of not so great experiences with heroin but please do not worry anon, i was perfectly comfortable writing this for you <3

- requested by anon | view my metal masterlists here and here

reading music recommendations: worlds forgotten boy by billy idol - im zeichen des bosen by grausamkeit

- okay so, i cannot just make dating headcanons for andreas and not mention heroin!

✩ i think to be in a relationship with him, you would not particularly have to do heroin yourself but you would have to be supportive of his use and not degrade him nor try to talk him out of doing it…

- i think your attempts at getting him to stop something he enjoys so much and brings him pleasure would bug him real bad, no matter how much you mean it out of love and care for him, he has been doing it for so long and he likes it, it is very likely he has been loving heroin, as well as hating it, for longer than he has loved you… it is a very difficult situation for both him and you at times…

✩ your attempts would likely annoy him so much, he would just break up with you if you do not stop, no hesitation and in a fit of anger

- he would probably be a little upset about the breakup because he did love you but he will quickly soothe his heartbreak with some bliss in the form of a drug

✩ so if you want a relationship with andreas, you will just have to be okay with having a relationship with heroin too, even if not a direct relationship!

- i will not really go too deep into this but if you enjoy doing heroin too, that is just great! he loves you even more

✩ though i will go a bit deeper into smoking weed with him because that is a lot more casual and easier to talk about for me

- first of all, he absolutely loves rolling blunts on your ass!

✩ i mean, it is just perfect to him! he gets to make a perfect blunt for himself, and you if you want to get high too, and he gets the most amazing view of your gorgeous ass, packing and rolling the blunt much slower than usual just to eye up and fondle the fat of your ass for longer!

- if you tilt your head over your shoulder and raise an eyebrow at him, asking just what is taking so long, he will probably just throw you a bit of a cheeky smirk before sinking his teeth into your ass cheek and mumbling against the skin

“ nothing… just your ass, you have a great ass, you know that? fucking perfect ass… ” ( he is definitely an ass guy and no one can convince me otherwise )

✩ well he is an ass guy but to be honest, he is pretty feral for your body as a whole… this nasty little guy loves absolutely covering your body in bite marks, bruises and hickeys… maybe track marks too, if you are into doing heavy drugs with him…

- i am unsure if andreas ever did cocaine, he most likely did, he would obviously like love snorting lines off your ass too!

✩ or even snorting the snow white lines up from your nude upper back as he pounds into your soaking cunt from behind, his movement slowing just a little as to not let any of the powder go to waste on the cotton sheets below

- if you are english or even just speak much more english than him, he always asks you to teach him how to say very weird and obscure words, he really wants his english to be better

✩ he definitely lets out loud laughs at just how strange some words sound when translated to english, but he does not laugh for long before his face drops and gets really scarily serious, looking you dead in the eyes and starting a way too deep and philosophical conversation about why it sounds like that…

- that is just the kind of high person i see him as, flat in the middle of being overly comedic and overly serious about things

✩ you would probably get immensely irritated by his run ins with police and near regular time in jail but it is just another one of those things you would have to learn to deal with or just break up with him because he is not a man fond of change

- when andreas is in prison, all he really requests is letters and phone calls from you, the mix of not having drugs on the inside and not hearing your voice at nearly all times of the day is damn near enough to drive him absolutely crazy

✩ so just send him letters and call him whenever you can, he really does appreciate it and makes the most of them!

- would he maybe request you send him some risqué or fully nude photographs of yourself with your letters? and lean closer into the phone, further away from the prison guards, to whisper filthy things down the line to you? well, yes…

✩ like i said, he really will make the most of them so of course he will be wanting some spank bank material for the stay!

- when he sends letters back to you, he usually drags some words out for unknown reasons, it is just one of those things with him! he would probably somehow find a way to harm himself just a tiny bit to drip a small amount of blood onto the paper, sending a real, intimate piece of him back to you

✩ if you have never seen or read “ wir kinder vom bahnhof zoo ” be prepared for him to be absolutely shocked and stare at you blankly for a couple seconds after telling him, then he will be trying to find a way to show you the movie as soon as possible

- obviously, he already owns the book! he will probably read it to you himself since the copy he has is in german, he will either try to read it in one long go to you after taking some heroin but quickly gives up, his mouth drying up every sentence and irritating him

✩ so it probably becomes a ritual for him to instead read a chapter to you before bed, your head resting on his flat, pale chest as he reads in a gravely voice, one hand holding the book open as another fondles your ass under the blankets or plays with your hair

- andreas really likes making out with you and very risky public displays of affection! he has no care for people watching nor what they think and an indecent exposure charge? well, just add it to the hundreds of other charges on his record, he could care less

✩ sloppy, open mouthed make out sessions with you literally always lead to sex and he will be damned if he will not make out with you in public so i am sure you know what that means but if you do not? it just means a lot of public sex, against walls, on benches, laying in the grass and so on… you guys, especially andreas, do not even try to hide what you are doing… he is loud as hell and he has no shame! grunting and groaning deeply as his hips slam against yours, his cock driving even deeper inside of you as your hands slide under his shirt, your nails digging into the pale flesh of his back, much to his pleasure, of course…

“ awh, fuck! fuck fuck fuck! feels so good, so fucking tight… always so fucking wet… ” ( usually andreas will let out a string of curses and dirty talk in german too, slipping back into his native tongue in the midst of the deep pleasure he is receiving )

- when andreas is released from jail, every time all he wants to do is very simple!

✩ he just wants to get home, get naked, do some drugs, listen to some music, probably whiplash smile, it takes him way back, and fuck you… that is it…

- he is a very easy to please man, most of the time, anyways <3

[peoplesprincessgeorge]

Which drugs the drivers would prefer

Pierre: party pills - my man has a dealer in every city, trust.

Charles: whatever Pierre gives him - they're having a good time.

Esteban: whatever Pierre gives him (derogatory) - gives the vibes of someone who would say yes just to fit in, but really he's scared.

Alex: shrooms - seeing nice colors and philosophizing? He's having a good time.

George: ketamine - the guy does free diving, that's ket-vibes. He would enjoy feeling smart.

Lance: adderall - the guy is a nepo baby, he was taking adderall to do homework.

Oscar: edibles - the chill guy is chilling. His only hobby is watching Netflix and sleeping, this is the drug for him.

Fernando: meth - go big or go home, all or nothing guy. If he's doing drugs he's doing DRUGS. He's taking drugs and getting to work.

Lewis: psychedelics - he has for sure taken them. My man is doing ayahuasca to find the meaning of life.

Valtteri: 2cb - lighter psychedelics w a hint of fun. Perfect for sitting in a cabin with some friends having a fun time.

Lando: MDMA - perfect for a hedonist that likes pleasure and partying (also the guy is horny).

Kevin: weed - he's stressed out, he needs to chill, and Copenhagen has an open weed market.

Nico: beer - German, relatively straight edge.

Daniel: coke - party animal, loves the confidence and loves hearing himself talk.

Max: coke - gets it from Daniel (sometimes Christian).

Yuki: poppers - short acting and fun and easy, it's a match.

Checo: coca leaves - thinks cocaine is ruining the lovely and traditional coca.

Zhou: none - he doesn't dare the Chinese government would fuck him over.

[polysyndetonaddictsupportgroup]

I found sea glass gardens yesterday and it’s so amazing!!! I love how you write all of the characters, especially yuuta (he wasn't one of my faves before but he might be now🤭). Also the effects of reversed cursed energy on him are so interesting! and I giggle everytime when the "power of love" comes up in any context lmao it never gets old.

Also Maki and Tsumiki at the end ugghhhh

I’m just straight up proselytizing for okkotsu yuuta at this point. he is so unwell he enchants me I’m so glad you like him too

The Geto versus Yuuta fight is so endlessly funny to me. POV you’ve spent a decade amassing power as a special grade sorcerer second only to gojo satoru only to get your shit rocked by this clinically anxious sixteen year old in desperate need of a Xanax prescription who got so hopped up on the Power of Loving His Friends that he unlocked his beam attack. Like Yuuta was honestly SO unwell during that final fight. Geto kept trying to do his Big Villain Philosophical Monologue and Yuuta was just going after him with this cocaine addict mania like “The Only Thing In This World I Care About Is Making Sure You’re Not In It Anymore I Am Going To Beat You To Death” baby girl was not okay. I started dropping the power of love gag in chapter one and it wasn’t meant to go on for this long but i find it too funny to stop.

Yuuta, who has a history of loving people passionately and needing to kill someone about it, suddenly experiencing an irrational and all consuming emotional connection with someone who was just terribly hurt by some really huge assholes: oh god oh no oh fuck I may need to kill someone about this

Meanwhile, Maki, meeting someone who hates her family as much as she does and who is willing to fuck up their heirlooms just to spite them: oh no I hope this doesn’t awaken anything in me

[trekfacility]

tw brainfarting, love for star trek, poor english grammar

i love star trek's philosophical episodes so much (or rather episodes with stronger philosophical elements than usually). it jerks my brain it questions my morals and my worldview

i LOOOOVED st voy s3e6 "remember" where b'elanna got to know about the massacre of some aliens.

so b'elanna saw the memories of an alien woman who lived through the times, when their people mass killed some group of people, who wanted to live their own amish typa way. and at the end torres and the captain are talking about this whole thing and b'elanna is like Hey we need to tell everyone on that planet We need to spread the word about this awful thing that happened so that they won't repeat the same mistake. and the captain is like Hey but who are we to bring them to justice. they live in their own world and it is not our decision to tell about the massacre or not. and im like....goddammit.....so thought provokin.....fr who are THEY to judge this whole another society and their history Yes even if it is objectively shit and awful but starfleet just doesnt have that privilege or status to do that

and it's like cocaine for my brain Yes give me challenging questions i can ponder before going to sleep!!!!!

+ continued watching and I LOVE how b'elanna talks to that woman at the end:

"Talk to people. Ask questions. Learn the truth for yourself"

really resonated with me since i have seen firsthand how propaganda and brainwashing affects people in a certain state that covers its certain crimes

[toastful]

You’re trying so hard and yet, still failing.

Pretentious without the intellect or substance to coincide. A carbon-copy snowflake who’s self-proclaimed variety of “different” ironically matches umpteen other people’s.

Stop taking yourself so seriously. Again, you’re trying incredibly hard and still failing. Individuals of actual intellect and substance can see right through you, even if you lack the self-awareness to do so yourself.

First of all how dare you! I am probably the most intellectual and substantial person on this website. I’m not like the others here. I’m better. Smarter. More talented.

This website is full of children who can’t read, are illiterate, watch day time television, listen to George Micheal, and can’t understand the complexities of poetry and classical literature!! No reading comprehension!! No media literacy!! This place needs a helping hand and that’s why I’m here!

Of course I take myself seriously! My job is serious! Only a serious, smart, intelligent, and handsome individual can do what I do. I am probably one of the post prolific thinkers of this time. A modern day philosopher. You wish you were as deep and intellectual as me.

And don’t you dare call me a snowflake! I hate cold weather and don’t appreciate being compared to that diet cocaine that falls from the sky. I was in the D.A.R.E program in school. I’m am proudly anti drug! Who needs drugs when you can have intellectually stimulating conversations and literature! Books are my anti drug!

You seem like a very shallow, sad person. It’s clear your projecting your insecurities on to me. You yourself are probably insecure about your short comings. How you blend into the crowd of this site. How nothing about you stands out. How you probably enjoy taking dips in pools during the summer time. All things that classify you as lesser then my character. I’m standing out and making a change. I am a god amongst men. You see that and freeze. Look at yourself and feel bad. Then you throw those icky little feelings at me. For shame anon, for shame. I suggest you take a good look at yourself. Maybe crack open a book instead of playing Candy crush on your phone. If you did that, then maybe one day you could get a little closer to being like me. But not too close. That would be impossible.

Also, I don’t appreciate your use of the term “coin-cide”. I think coins are lovely, and to wish such levels of extermination on them is cruel and wrong. Please reevaluate you thinking. Such violent thoughts are worrisome.

I hope you understand that you’re wrong and I am right. Don’t argue with me on this. Instead try to grow as a person. Have a good day.

[ravenkings]

You are the original erotic spaceman. You're so beautiful, and your hair is almost as big as your heart. You are rolling about on a beach in a lime green swim suit. You are snorting cocaine off your white and black bathroom tiles. There is a marble bust of an indiscriminate Greek philosopher on your mantlepiece, next to the champagne flutes and Bonsai tree. You dream of technicolour hors d’oevres. You are fucking a robot. You are so Italo.

–Angus Harrison, “A Bullshitter’s Guide to Italo Disco,” Vice, July 10, 2015

[not-terezi-pyrope]

Philosophical survey/poll of the day: Disregarding the morality of usage, what is the morality of *buying* black market drugs?

I've been thinking about this again in light of recent consumer boycotts. First let me state upfront that I am not soliciting advice for me personally, this is a hypothetical. Neither am I advocating that people buy or use drugs, nor am I condemning people who do. I am generally very pro-autonomy for questions of drug use, and think that a person using drugs has, in and of itself, no moral weight.

I am interested in what people think about the moral weight of buying drugs off the black market, however. Elaboration below, followed by a poll:

My question is about the morality of accessing the drugs trade as an end consumer, given that, according to popular conception at least, a lot of substances are supplied by "criminal gangs" who might also participate in more violent crime? Like, obviously this isn't so much a deal for weed because that's probably just some dudes growing it in their attic, but consider for example when people buy harder drugs, like cocaine, for example.

You can't trace the supply chain, but even the end point of purchase is some small-time dealer who sells drugs and isn't involved in anything else, at some point it will have been smuggled into your country, which might involve larger gangs, or like, organized crime operations who also are involved with violent crime. You likely don't know that for sure, but the point is you can't know, so my question is, does the spectre of potential violent crime in the process of producing and transporting an illegal drug make the purchase of the drug immoral, in the same way that some people say it is immoral not to boycott legal companies that are complicit in atrocities?

Alternatively, there are also these factors that may or may not excuse this:

One might argue that if you aren't aware of any specific harms in the production of a product, then you as the consumer shouldn't be obligated to suspect them, even if the context is the sale of black market goods.

One might argue that the harms perpetrated by the black market drugs trade, insofar one would contribute to them as an end-buyer, have their moral weight placed upon the legal system for outlawing the drug in question and therefore not allowing a verifiably ethical vendor to exist.

One might argue that the demand for illegal drugs is so ubiquitous and constant that whether you personally "boycott" the industry or not makes no difference, so you shouldn't feel bad for skimming off the top of what's already there, you're only contributing a very small percentage and the core audience for drugs isn't going to go anywhere no matter what you do, as the last centuries of prohibitions has proven

One might argue that the scope of criminal violence involved in drugs supply is overstated/sensationalized, and that any specific source of drugs probably isn't going to involve cartels assassinating people like in breaking bad or whatever, if the drug is produced by countries with low economic development then you might actually be doing good by providing income for people who have no alternatives

One might argue that the harms caused by the production and smuggling of black market goods are in no way worse than the harms perpetrated by the legal economy, which also has its fingers in many violent or exploitative acts and provably so, so it's not meaningfully any different to ordering from McDonald's or whatever.

I had a conversation with friends about this several years ago and I think that most people who were already okay with drug use in a personal capacity thought that the purchase of drugs is probably fine, but I'm interested to see what people think these days, and now tumblr has polls, so share your thoughts:

[justaferalcrow]

ATLA Characters as things my friends and I have said It's been a while, but I'm back, with even crazier quotes from my friends and me (some of us may or may not need mental help :D)

Sokka: Violence and bread-induced death is key. Mai: Then you can stab someone, but in an aesthetic way. Katara: We all have our own ways of doing things... Sokka: Are you saying the chicken does, or are you insinuating that my method was too violent? Katara:...I'm saying your method was too violent. Sokka: Well the chicken wasn't going into the coop, so I had no other option but to forcefully yeet the chicken into the coop! Katara: You wanna go down to the river to pray? Okay, you can stay in the river, forever. Aang: You sure do say bleep a lot. Zuko: It's the bleeping muppets, there are bleeping families watching! Katara: Why are we discussing drugs? Toph: If I were God... Sokka: Most people don't start a sentence like that, but please continue. Aang: I myself also defy gravity and logic at times. Toph: Don't worry Katara, I've never gotten drunk off vanilla extract before. Aang: Ohh, I was thinking there was a philosophical meaning there. Zuko: Nope. People just die. Aang: You know how they say, like, your worst enemy is yourself, or how they talk about your inner demons and stuff? Zuko: Pretty sure most of my demons are other people, but okay. Zuko: When I grill chickens, I mean business. *said while gazing at the bonfire he'd just chucked a bunch of chicken corpses on* Katara: CHAINSAWS WERE INVENTED FOR CHILDBIRTH??? Toph: Wait, isn't cocaine explosive? Katara: Sokka, everyone has their trials in life. Sokka: Yeah, and some people just are trials. Zuko: Traumatizing friends is a no-no. Aang: I think he's saying you poisoned the lemonade. Sokka: Hey Zuko…If I fed my cow lead and formaldehyde, would you eat its meat? Toph: Some people need a little violence in their lives, and I’m more than happy to provide it. Aang: If you drank enough olive oil, would it kill you? Sokka: I don't know...wanna find out? Toph: No, that's called the power of violence.

[astromachy77]

So, I've been seeing a lot of talk lately about the Force, what you can and can't do with it. Its all been very interesting.

And it got me thinking about the Jedi and the Sith, and about how it all parallels real life.

The Force is life—spirit, vital force, the animating principle.

That statement may seem pretty vague. Even a bit mystical. I ask that you hear me out.

Regardless of what you believe (or don't believe) there are things that are just plain fascinating, impressive, or awe-inspiring. Those feelings, that wonder, that marks us as sapient beings, that's apart of the Force, as are the things that spark those feelings in us.

One all-encompassing driving Force influences the destiny of the galaxy. An energy field generated by all living things, the Force surrounds and penetrates everything, binding the galaxy together. Universal balance—life and death, creation and destruction—is reflected in the Force, and thus is reflected from the Force back into the galaxy at large. The Force, for all the mystery and the power it provides, is as much a part of the natural order as suns and planets and life itself.

Taken from The Dark Side Sourcebook

In my opinion, if you were to take the above quote, and strip it down to its most base parts it is thus:

The Force is being. Or more specifically, the Force is the continuation and striving of being.

Which loops back around on what I said earlier. The Force is life—spirit, vital force, the animating principle.

With that said: the present participle of life is living.

And how we live (our thoughts, beliefs, and choices) determine our relationship with the Force and in turn with literally the entirety of existence.

How we approach life determines what side of the Force we're on.

Mr. Lucas said it best I think.

"The core of the Force….you've got the Lightside and the Darkside, one is selfless, one is selfish, and you want to keep them in balance. What happens when you go to the Darkside, It goes out of balance."

George Lucas, 2010 video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiImoO5QkcA - [50 second mark]

So I was trying to reconcile the two quotes I've listed. What is put into the Force is reflected back out. Is that why Anakin seemed to fall so quick in the movies? He put in a little selfishness, a little greed, a little fear, and it got reflected back into him? Did he essentially take space magic cocaine and lose his marbles?

Depends on your interpretation.

Universal balance—life and death, creation and destruction—is reflected in the Force, and thus is reflected from the Force back into the galaxy at large.

A little digging saw me realize how much Lucas took from various philosophies around the world. Digging deeper into those global philosophies saw me realize how much they took from each other.

A way of describing this reflective nature of the Force is described in various ways throughout the world's oldest philosophers, some dating all the way back to Mesopotamia.

The Microcosm-Macrocosm Analogy.

That is, truths about the nature of the cosmos as a whole, can be inferred from truths about human nature or in GFFA sapient nature.

In reference to Anakin, his fear didn't make him fall, the fear was already there, the Force just reflected what was really going on inside of him which made Yoda's comment make a lot more sense.

Death is a natural part of life. Rejoice for those around you who transform into the Force. Mourn them do not. Miss them do not. Attachment leads to jealously. The shadow of greed, that is.

Yoda, Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)

Anakin's fear is twisting his visions of the future. He can see a future, but what he's seeing is messing him up even worse, because he's only seeing the worst possible endings.

He let his fear into the Force and the Force reflected it.

He was worried about his wife dying. He was having flashbacks of his mother's death. It was rising in him like a tidal wave and his lack of control over this fear twisted his precognitive powers against him, showed him, what deep down, he expected and believed to see.

His fear became all he could see. And because he didn't take Yoda's advice, didn't change the channel as it were, his situation only got worse. He dug himself into a rut, a loop, where he didn't control his fear, the Force showed him his fear, and in turn his fear grew.

Because he trusted in the Force totally. But in the same breath overestimated his abilities. And that fear? I don't know about you, but when I'm afraid, I want to feel safe, what would make a former slave feel safe?

His wife?

No. That's just a reminder of what he's seeing.

His mother?

A reminder of a failure to save someone he loved.

Or, perhaps, power?

Foreshadowing people. Don't we love it.

The War probably didn't help either. How many clones do you think he saw die? Just like that. No warning. No nothing. Just death. Because we already know the precognitive powers of the Jedi had been harmed on a galactic scale.

He'd had no idea she was about to walk into a blaster bolt. The Force never offered the faintest hint of a clue. No trace of a bad feeling-or rather: no hint that all the bad feelings he'd had were about to add up to something much, much worse. Nothing. Nothing at all. That's what sickened him. What happens to a Jedi when he can no longer trust the Force?

Mace Windu, Shatterpoint

I guess, I've said all this to say that when reading about the Force, or for those writers amongst you, writing about the Force, the key element is character, the character of the character, because that is the Force.

Spirit.

THE END.

Yeah, I had no idea where I was going with all this. I just rambled until it made some sort of sense in my head.

If you got this far, hope it was worth it.

[firstaidspray]

OC Facts

I was tagged by @rhettsabbott to do this for some OCs. Thank you!! Here's Lilith and Marlin.

[ PERSONAL ]

$ Financial: wealthy (thanks to Scratch stealing Alan's money lmao) / moderate / poor / in poverty

✚ Medical: fit / moderate / sickly / disabled / disadvantaged / non applicable

✪ Class or Caste: upper / middle / working / unsure / other

✔ Education: qualified / unqualified / studying / other

✖ Criminal Record: yes, for major crimes / yes, for minor crimes / no / has committed crimes, but not caught yet / yes, but charges were dismissed

[ FAMILY ]

◒ Children: had a child or children / has no children / wants children

◑ Relationship with Family: close with sibling(s) / not close with sibling(s) / has no siblings / sibling(s) is deceased

◔ Affiliation: orphaned / adopted / disowned / raised by birth parent(s) / not applicable (created from Dark Presence)

[ TRAITS + TENDENCIES ]

♦ extroverted / introverted /in between

♦ disorganized / organized / in between

♦ close minded / open-minded / in between

♦ calm / anxious / in between

♦ disagreeable / agreeable /in between

♦ cautious / reckless / in between

♦ patient / impatient / in between

♦ outspoken / reserved / in between

♦ leader / follower / in between

♦ empathetic / vicious bastard / in between

♦ optimistic / pessimistic / in between

♦ traditional / modern / in between

♦ hard-working / lazy / in between

♦ cultured / uncultured / in between / unknown

♦ loyal / disloyal / unknown

♦ faithful / unfaithful / unknown

[ BELIEFS ]

★ Faith:monotheist / polytheist / atheist / agnostic

☆ Belief in Ghosts or Spirits: yes (she kind of is one, no?) / no / don’t know / don’t care

✮ Belief in an Afterlife:yes / no / don’t know / don’t care

✯ Belief in Reincarnation: yes / no / don’t know / don’t care

❃ Belief in Aliens: yes / no / don’t know / don’t care

✧ Religious: orthodox / liberal / in between / not religious

❀ Philosophical: yes / no

[ SEXUALITY & ROMANTIC INCLINATION ]

❤ Sexuality: heterosexual / homosexual / bisexual / asexual / pansexual

❥ Sex: sex repulsed / sex neutral / sex favorable / naive and clueless

♥ Romance: romance repulsed / romance neutral / romance favorable / naive and clueless / romance suspicious

❣ Sexually:adventurous / experienced / naive / inexperienced / curious

⚧ Potential Sexual Partners: male (Scratch only) / female / agender / other / none / all

⚧ Potential Romantic Partners: male (Scratch only) / female / agender / other / none / all

[ ABILITIES ]

☠ Combat Skills: excellent / good / moderate / poor / none

≡ Literacy Skills: excellent / good / moderate / poor / none

✍ Artistic Skills: excellent (singer) / good / moderate / poor / none

✂ Technical Skills: excellent / good (slightly above average mechanic) / moderate / poor / none

[ HABITS ]

☕ Drinking Alcohol: never / special occasions / sometimes / frequently / Alcoholic

☁ Smoking: tried it / trying to quit / quit / never / rarely / sometimes / frequently / Chain-smoker

✿ Recreational Drugs: never / special occasions / sometimes / frequently (cocaine, painkillers) / addict

✌ Medicinal Drugs: never / no longer needs medication / some medication needed / frequently / to excess / secret sixth option

☻ Unhealthy Food: never / special occasions / sometimes / frequently / binge eater

$ Splurge Spending: never / sometimes / frequently / shopaholic

♣ Gambling: never / rarely / sometimes / frequently / compulsive gamble

[ PERSONAL ]

$ Financial: wealthy / moderate (do the DD soldiers get paid??) / poor / in poverty

✚ Medical: fit / moderate / sickly / disabled / disadvantaged / non applicable

✪ Class or Caste: upper / middle / working / unsure / other

✔ Education: qualified / unqualified / studying / other

✖ Criminal Record: yes, for major crimes (he's a literal war criminal and mercenary soooo) / yes, for minor crimes / no / has committed crimes, but not caught yet / yes, but charges were dismissed

[ FAMILY ]

◒ Children: had a child or children / has no children / wants children

◑ Relationship with Family: close with sibling(s) / not close with sibling(s) / has no siblings / sibling(s) is deceased (had one brother)

◔ Affiliation: orphaned / adopted / disowned / raised by birth parent(s) / not applicable

[ TRAITS + TENDENCIES ]

♦ extroverted / introverted /in between

♦ disorganized / organized / in between

♦ close minded / open-minded / in between

♦ calm / anxious / in between

♦ disagreeable / agreeable /in between

♦ cautious / reckless / in between

♦ patient / impatient / in between

♦ outspoken / reserved / in between

♦ leader / follower / in between

♦ empathetic / vicious bastard / in between

♦ optimistic / pessimistic / in between

♦ traditional / modern / in between

♦ hard-working / lazy / in between

♦ cultured / uncultured / in between / unknown

♦ loyal / disloyal / unknown

♦ faithful / unfaithful / unknown

[ BELIEFS ]

★ Faith:monotheist (raised Catholic but barely believes in it) / polytheist / atheist / agnostic

☆ Belief in Ghosts or Spirits: yes / no / don’t know / don’t care

✮ Belief in an Afterlife:yes / no / don’t know / don’t care

✯ Belief in Reincarnation: yes / no / don’t know / don’t care

❃ Belief in Aliens: yes / no / don’t know / don’t care

✧ Religious: orthodox / liberal / in between (barely believes in it) / not religious

❀ Philosophical: yes / no

[ SEXUALITY & ROMANTIC INCLINATION ]

❤ Sexuality: heterosexual / homosexual / bisexual / asexual / pansexual

❥ Sex: sex repulsed / sex neutral / sex favorable / naive and clueless

♥ Romance: romance repulsed / romance neutral / romance favorable / naive and clueless / romance suspicious

❣ Sexually:adventurous / experienced / naive / inexperienced / curious

⚧ Potential Sexual Partners: male / female / agender / other / none / all

⚧ Potential Romantic Partners: male / female / agender / other / none / all

[ ABILITIES ]

☠ Combat Skills: excellent / good / moderate / poor / none

≡ Literacy Skills: excellent / good / moderate / poor / none

✍ Artistic Skills: excellent / good / moderate / poor / none

✂ Technical Skills: excellent / good / moderate / poor / none

[ HABITS ]

☕ Drinking Alcohol: never / special occasions / sometimes / frequently / Alcoholic

☁ Smoking: tried it / trying to quit / quit / never / rarely / sometimes (cigars/cigarillos only) / frequently / Chain-smoker

✿ Recreational Drugs: never / special occasions / sometimes / frequently / addict

✌ Medicinal Drugs: never / no longer needs medication / some medication needed / frequently / to excess / secret sixth option (should be on antidepressants)

☻ Unhealthy Food: never / special occasions / sometimes / frequently / binge eater

$ Splurge Spending: never / sometimes / frequently / shopaholic

♣ Gambling: never / rarely / sometimes / frequently / compulsive gamble