Ah. The Ruse™. Once again, the respectable character utterly failed at morality because reasons (i.e. money, prestige, or power, often all three)

If it's not ancient families and madmen, it's The Respectable One who couldn't stand facing public shame and/or poverty.

More disturbing paintings. And the interior's aesthetic is a whole other problem.

Naturally, the owner is not sane.

a man is sitting in a car with the word yikes on the side Alt: Gregory from Abbot Elementary is sitting in his car, rolling up the window and hiding, with the word "Yikes" captioned

And it's alway the kind of painting that makes you wonder: How can you live with that thing in the house?

*cue investigation*

Ooooh, there was something much worse in your midst...

Scene: Detective(s) talk to the victim's family.

Trend so far: If the crime is especially suspicious, the family will have this horrific painting in the background. A visual semaphore for "skeletons in the closet."

Oftentimes, someone in the family did it. And always for bonkers reasons.

#writing

a man in a star trek uniform is standing next to another man in a black shirt . Alt: Karl Urban as Bones Star Trek, captioned "Stop it."

*Humans fly to the moon and back*

Yes! Go science!
Yay! Go humanity!

A Person: Would you like to go to space?

*record scratch*

Sir, I am already in space. I'm on Planet Earth. I have space at home.

Person: But wouldn't it be exciting?

Far too exciting, sir. FAR TOO EXCITING.

#space #writing

Komorebi, noun, Japanese: When sunlight filters through the trees, the interplay between the light and leaves

It's intriguing how German and Japanese almost always have a word for a very particular human experience.

I recently stumbled upon "komorebi"

"Sunlight filtering through the trees" isn't just a visual reality, is it... It's an entire moment that resonates within.

#words #writing

Earthset captured through the Orion spacecraft window at 6:41 p.m. EDT, April 6, 2026, during the Artemis II crew’s flyby of the Moon. A muted blue Earth with bright white clouds sets behind the cratered lunar surface. The dark portion of Earth is experiencing nighttime. On Earth’s day side, swirling clouds are visible over the Australia and Oceania region. In the foreground, Ohm crater has terraced edges and a flat floor interrupted by central peaks. Central peaks form in complex craters when the lunar surface, liquefied on impact, splashes upwards during the crater’s formation. [alt text from NASA]

#Artemis II lunar flyby images are showing up! 😍

A crescent Earth setting behind the Moon.

Do go watch #Artemis II on NASA's livestream. Hearing their comms and bearing witness to our planetary Great Outdoors is a delight.

"And it came to pass that The Learnéd Ladies of the Moon and Stars received word, and there was great rejoicing." - Astronomica 1: 3-4

NOPE. with a side order of ABSOLUTELY TF NOT.

When a character from the OG series shows up and you let out a little scream? That's when you know the sequel works.

That was delightful.

This one's positively Scrooge-esque

We have more Mad Coppers on the beat, Jesus H. Christ.

There's all the -isms, yes, only this time it's violent classism that's showing up rather severely...

What's with all the daggers and stabby things

The menswear is quite lovely ngl

We are still in the Colonial Crimes Season.

Lady Wife is decidedly unpleasant. Terrible personality. Clearly a profiteer.

Meanwhile, children are sweeping the streets because Awful Labour Laws while Main Characters reach for a cigarette first thing in the morning - Lord in Heaven, would you stop!

Given the last couple plotlines the current theme seems to be White Man Goes Rotten While Doing Empire and Brings All That Mess Back Home To Merrie Englande That Has Absolutely Nothing To Do With Empire What Are Talking About Those Are Trophies And That's The Family Fortune Would You Shut Up Already

Every single character refuses to listen to their hunches or their gut feeling. They tolerate absolute creeps in their midst and talk all their concerns away because "unreasonable", "rude", or "hysterical".

Unsurprisingly, crimes are committed by Mr. ShadyCharacter HE IS LITERALLY RIGHT THERE wow

We are supposed to feel sorry for the obviously Wronged Man but, sir, ye were a-colonizing and were brutalized by the monster ye helped create. It's unfortunate in the story. In the larger context it's kind of: Well. Ok.

Alas, these were Victorians, so it's not like sanity was an option anyway.

Colonizers crimeolonized, now everyone's traumatised.

Why are colonizers always so shocked their thuggery followed them home? You crimed "over there" and never once redeemed yourself, let alone reformed, what did you expect? Yet here ye are all shocked your past showed up with receipts.

Hair and Makeup did a bang-up job

I don't know why we had to bring a sitar player into this

That is one Unhappy Marriage phew

This is going to be another Heinous Crime Committed in The Colonies isn't it...

Lots of Trouble in Paradise by the look of it

Sir. Your moustache needs a trim.

How are you talking about that particular Mutiny like you didn't start that entire mess all by yourself.

Another Fainted Woman. Ladies, you need to loosen those corsets. Or get rid of them entirely.

*looks at 1920s*

Well done.

That is one hell of a uniform.

Black on black? And what do all those tassles mean?

They went and crimolonized in the imperial periphery and then Mr. Preposterous over here expected his fellow crimers to not to be complete and utter thugs in the imperial center? Please.

You were monsters at the Cape. Unsurprisingly, you brought that monstrosity home. Now everyone's in jail.