#That was the best gif of evil Leo from charmed I could find

[mariana-oconnor]

The Greek Interpreter pt 2

We have literally 0 plot to theorise on so far, just Mycroft in all his Mycroftian glory.

"I have had something quite after your own heart--a most singular problem--submitted to my judgement. I really had not the energy to follow it up save in a very incomplete fashion, but it gave me a basis for some pleasing speculation. If you would care to hear the facts--"

This is a bit like when my Mum tells me that I should look at the crossword she's started. Mycroft wants to share his enjoyment with his brother. Such a good older sibling. Also, he's too lazy to actually do the legwork required. But that's what younger siblings are for, isn't it? Or at least that's what my older brother tells me.

"This is Wednesday evening," said Mr Melas. "Well then, it was Monday night—only two days ago, you understand—that all this happened. I am an interpreter, as perhaps my neighbour there has told you. I interpret all languages—or nearly all—"

...He interprets all languages.

All languages.

All languages. Or nearly all. That's a lot of languages, my dude. I know some people who speak a lot of languages, but none of them comes close to speaking all languages. 5 or 6 I think is the most I've ever encountered, and only fluently in 3 or 4. There are definitely people out there who speak more, but nearly all. This man is officially the most knowledgeable person who has ever appeared in a Sherlock Holmes story. He's a linguistic genius.

The Internet tells me that historically the person who is said to have spoken/understood the most languages was Sir John Bowring, a 19th century governor of Hong Kong. He understood 200 languages and spoke 100.

The person who currently holds the record lives in Brazil and claims to speak 59.

The BBC website tells me that there are up to 7000 different languages, although 90% are spoken by less than 100,000 people. But Mr Melas does not specify that he speaks all the common languages or all the popular languages. He says he speaks nearly all languages.

Yes I am taking this literally purely to be difficult. It's more amusing that way. I know this is a case of hyperbole for fiction's sake, but I like the idea that Mr Melas speaks 6000+ languages. This is another case for random supernatural occurrences within the stories.

"I was not surprised, therefore, on Monday night when a Mr Latimer, a very fashionably dressed young man, came up to my rooms and asked me to accompany him in a cab which was waiting at the door. A Greek friend had come to see him upon business, he said, and as he could speak nothing but his own tongue, the services of an interpreter were indispensable."

First, I like the note that Mr Latimer is a fashion-conscious man. Second, how did he and the Greek man come to be friends if they could not speak each other's languages at all. Have they always spoken through other people? Maybe you should try learning some Greek, Mr Latimer.

"It was certainly more roomy than the ordinary four-wheeled disgrace to London, and the fittings, though frayed, were of rich quality."

Mr Melas is a cab snob. 'Four-wheeled disgrace to London' is a delightful turn of phrase.

"I had ventured some remark as to this being a roundabout way to Kensington, when my words were arrested by the extraordinary conduct of my companion. "He began by drawing a most formidable-looking bludgeon loaded with lead from his pocket, and switching it backward and forward several times, as if to test its weight and strength. Then he placed it without a word upon the seat beside him.

Well, this can't be good. Shenanigans are afoot. I like that Mr Latimer is very clear about this, though. Oh yeah, I'm a bad guy. Look at my bad guy credentials. There's no beating around the bush, just straight up threat of violence. Clear. To the point. No need for words.

"'This is very extraordinary conduct, Mr Latimer,' I stammered. 'You must be aware that what you are doing is quite illegal.' "'It is somewhat of a liberty, no doubt,'"

This is such a polite exchange. 'Uh, you are aware that kidnapping me is illegal, sir?' 'Yes, it's a little rude of me.'

So casual, so matter of fact. If I were kidnapped I wouldn't say 'hi, you know this is illegal, right?' But then i don't speak 6000+ languages, so what do I know about talking?

Realistically, this is terrifying, but Mr Melas' account is hilarious.

'I beg you to remember that no one knows where you are, and that, whether you are in this carriage or in my house, you are equally in my power.'

Less hilarious. More terrifying.

"'Well done, well done! No ill-will, Mr Melas, I hope, but we could not get on without you. If you deal fair with us you'll not regret it, but if you try any tricks, God help you!' He spoke in a nervous, jerky fashion, and with little giggling laughs in between, but somehow he impressed me with fear more than the other."

Yep, this guy seems unstable. Also 'no ill will'? You literally kidnapped him with a threat of violence. Yes ill will. Much ill will. I don't think you know what ill will means.

"'But say no more than you are told to say, or--' here came the nervous giggle again--'you had better never have been born.'"

Yep... this is the sign of a totally stable and reasonable person and absolutely not a creepy murderer. At least we already know Mr Melas survives to relate this tale, or I'd be certain he was about to be buried under the floorboards.

"'You are to ask the questions, Mr Melas, and he will write the answers. Ask him first of all whether he is prepared to sign the papers?'"

The fact he is not allowed to talk indicates that something about his voice would give something away. If they don't know Greek then writing and speaking are pretty much interchangeable for getting information across, so there would be no need to stop him from speaking because he can write incriminating things just as easily. Unless, one of them can read Greek, in which case why get an interpreter? So I stand by my thought that his voice must be incriminating. Or he's mute. Always possible.

"I took to adding on little sentences of my own to each question, innocent ones at first, to test whether either of our companions knew anything of the matter, and then, as I found that they showed no signs I played a more dangerous game."

Resourceful and intelligent. He tests the water first with non-incriminating stuff, then gets more in depth.

"'Harold,' said she, speaking English with a broken accent. 'I could not stay away longer. It is so lonely up there with only—Oh, my God, it is Paul!' "These last words were in Greek, and at the same instant the man with a convulsive effort tore the plaster from his lips, and screaming out 'Sophy! Sophy!' rushed into the woman's arMs Their embrace was but for an instant, however, for the younger man seized the woman and pushed her out of the room, while the elder easily overpowered his emaciated victim, and dragged him away through the other door.

OK, so Sophy seems to have been having quite a pleasant time of it all told. While poor Paul's been going through it. Kind of dumb of them to let her walk in on them, though. I assume that they had a plan to avoid that which somehow went wrong. Also, if she's being held of her own free will, this seems like it might put an end to that? Unless she's very gullible.

So, brother? I'm thinking relative because he has to sign something before she can get married? Or he wants her to be married? Presumably there's some sort of fortune involved.

"'We should not have troubled you, only that our friend who speaks Greek and who began these negotiations has been forced to return to the East. It was quite necessary for us to find some one to take his place, and we were fortunate in hearing of your powers.'"

'forced to return to the East' is that like saying he's in the cellar looking for a cask of amontillado? Maybe he just had a family emergency... maybe?

Also 'your powers', yes. Mr Melas's linguistic skills are clearly a super power.

"if you speak to a human soul about this—one human soul, mind—well, may God have mercy upon your soul!"

This threat clearly worked well, considering Mr Melas has so far told at least two souls about the situation, with great glee. I get the impression that Mr Melas is a stifled adrenaline junkie and this is the best thing that has happened to him all year.

"I cannot tell you the loathing and horror with which this insignificant-looking man inspired me. I could see him better now as the lamp-light shone upon him. His features were peaky and sallow, and his little pointed beard was thready and ill-nourished. [...] The terror of his face lay in his eyes, however, steel grey, and glistening coldly with a malignant, inexorable cruelty in their depths."

Sounds delightful.

Honestly, it's the little pointy beard that clearly marks him as a villain, though. Everyone knows that.

Although if he doesn't put more care into maintaining it, the league of villains will have him cast out for failure to maintain proper villainous standards.

"Any steps?" he asked. Mycroft picked up the Daily News, which was lying on the side-table. "'Anybody supplying any information to the whereabouts of a Greek gentleman named Paul Kratides, from Athens, who is unable to speak English, will be rewarded. A similar reward paid to any one giving information about a Greek lady whose first name is Sophy. X 2473.' That was in all the dailies. No answer."

Well now they're definitely going to know he said something. Subtle.

"In the meantime, Mr Melas, I should certainly be on my guard, if I were you, for of course they must know through these advertisements that you have betrayed them."

You don't say? No, seriously. I'd be worried if I were him. But apparently he's just got absolutely no fear.

"Then the brother--for that, I fancy, must be the relationship--comes over from Greece to interfere. He imprudently puts himself into the power of the young man and his older associate. They seize him and use violence towards him in order to make him sign some papers to make over the girl's fortune--of which he may be trustee--to them."

OK, so clearly that's entirely wrong because it's Watson's thoughts on the matter. So back to the drawing board. Not to disparage Watson, at all... but there's no way it's right if it's his theory.

"I really fancy that you are not far from the truth."

Really??!? That's probably the biggest surprise of this whole story so far.

Sophy seemed to have no inkling of any crime or ill-intent on the part of the bad guys, so they're clearly being subtle with her. Or they were. You don't just wander around a kidnapper's house going 'I came to find you Harold, because I was so lonely all alone up there'. Unless you're actually a character in an erotic thriller novel, then I guess that probably is a thing you would do.

I don't think this is an erotic thriller, however.

Did Watson really get this one right? I guess we'll find out next time.

[novy2sirius]

᭓ ྀུ༺ a degree theory by nikola stojanovic

please read before proceeding

important note: this is not my info. this is all from nikola stojanovic’s theory on degrees in astrology. he has books on it that i think you can find online and download for free

trigger warnings: murder, car crashes, sex, and suicide

sign degrees

zero degrees: 0°

the same characteristics as the sign it’s already placed in. example - aries venus at 0° is purely an aries venus, obviously aside from the house energy

aries degrees: 1°, 13°, and 25°

beginnings, leadership, taking action, fighting spirit, not giving oneself up to fate, struggle, war, abuse, labor, diligence, etc

taurus degrees: 2°, 14°, and 26°

food, money, stability, earth, luxuries, sound of voice, singing voice, etc

gemini degrees: 3°, 15°, and 27°

communication, self-expression, technology, books, siblings, neighbors, etc

cancer degrees: 4°, 16°, and 28°

home, traditions, nurture, loyalty, faith, mother, the ocean/water, etc

leo degrees: 5°, 17°, and 29°

life, children, attention, fame, creativity, strength, happiness, light, etc

virgo degrees: 6° and 18°

improvement, health, to diminish, routine, animals, acts of service, etc

libra degrees: 7° and 19°

harmony/fairness, charm, beauty, law, music, art, dancing, pleasures, etc

scorpio degrees: 8° and 20°

death, major transformation, wealth, jealousy, sex, secrecy, taxes, etc

sagittarius degrees: 9° and 21°

wisdom, abundance, college, travel, photography, success, beliefs, etc

capricorn degrees: 10° and 22°

hard work, fear, public attention, karma, father, boss, isolation, history, etc

aquarius degrees: 11° and 23°

unexpected experiences, technology, friendships, networking, divorce, etc

pisces degrees: 12° and 24°

spirituality, escapism, dreams, illusion, the sea, mysteries, the hidden, etc

special degree meanings

supreme power: 2°

this degree is often found in the charts of people with remarkable achievements, who had extreme power, and who were highly respected according to nikola’s research

eroticism/a fun life: 5°

many sex symbols like marilyn monroe have this in their chart. nikola believed this was the best degree in general as well. he thought it indicated lots of fun and pleasure in one’s life

suicide/divorce: 11° and 23°

according to nikola the aquarius degrees (11 and 23) both indicate divorce occurring when placed in prominent positions in the chart. 11 is the only one indicating suicide though

car accidents: 15°

nikola believed that when this degree was connected to 8th house or scorpio placements it could indicate getting into car crashes

pure evil: 18°

nikola believed that this degree indicated a negative destiny for someone. he thought it was the worst degree you could have in your chart, based on his research he thought it was solely about facing hardships and nothing more. he also believed it could indicate being an evil person with no good intentions

to kill or be killed: 22°

just as the title reads, nikola believed this degree indicates being killed or being a killer. another thing he believed it could indicate was abandonment in the area of life it’s placed

clairvoyance: 29°

nikola believed this degree indicates someone that has very good intuition and can make accurate predictions about the outcomes of events

my opinion on astrology degrees

i personally don’t believe in nikola’s theory 100%, although i do think there’s accuracy to the signs being associated with specific degrees. i have always had stronger belief in my numerstrology degree theory than anything when it comes to this subject though. i definitely do not believe 18° is fully negative like he claims since the universe is yin yang so there’s always both positive and negative ways things can manifest. these are just my thoughts though

do you believe nikola’s degree theory? comment below!

[faulkners]

『 SYDNEY SWEENEY, TWENTY-ONE, CIS WOMAN, SHE/HER. 』 can you believe it’s a new season of sweethearts? i’m rooting for OLIVIA “LIV” FAULKNER. they’re the STUDENT from BURLINGTON, VT. back home, they’re often described as +INDEPENDENT and +CHARMING, which i guess i could get behind. their -MANIPULATIVE and -CUTTHROAT side makes great television, though. you know, they kind of remind me of chewing gum, shiny lip gloss, & screaming in the bathroom at a party. i wonder who their match is. i guess i’ll have to tune in to mtv to find out.

ooc: hi all! im gray ( 19, EST, she/her ), im excited to be here, this is my baby girl olivia! she’s actually evil and not here to make friends. 

links !

pinterest

spotify

basics !

full name: olivia blake faulkner

nickname: liv

hometown: burlington, VT

age: 21

date of birth: 06/06/2000

sun sign: gemini

moon sign: leo

rising sign: sagittarius 

venus sign: gemini

occupation: student at the university of vermont

sexuality: lesbian

height: 5′3

MBTI: ENTJ

temperament: choleric

enneagram: 8w7

inspirations !

kim kelly ( if she was rich ) / leighton murray / cordelia chase / paige michalchuk

need to know !

so, it went something like this: “livvy, look. there’s this new show, like a dating show. all lesbos, though.” “hm. i would be so good on reality tv.” “yeah, ‘cause you’re hot, but not this show, though. ‘cause wouldn’t your dad, like, throw a fucking fit?” “yeah. he so totally would.”

alexa, play rich girl by gwen stefani! liv is the youngest child & only daughter of two prestigious firm lawyers. she grew up in a house that taylor swift would call “not a mansion” but, like, it was big as hell and luxurious. she’s a material gorl!

with how much her parents left her alone, liv figured out pretty quickly that if she wanted attention, she’d have to get it outside the home. picture the mean girl in the middle of every teen movie poster; at any given age, liv had a posse of a few other girls who walked around being kind of rich and kind of mean with her. 

basically the only way liv did get her parents attention was playing piano; she’s a total prodigy, going to prestigious music camps and the best teachers, and she’s diligent about her practice, though she doesn’t talk about it that often unless she really needs to brag - it’s just not as glamorous as she wants to make herself out to be.

during high school, she had a bunch of boyfriends, too, but they were basically just toys to her, and even after realizing she liked girls better, liv never outgrew that - she’s got this tendency to reject the idea of serious romance all together. everybody is just an accessory, or a quick fuck; arm candy at best. 

not that she makes that clear! liv loves to toy with people’s emotions; make them feel seen, like she thinks they’re so interesting, but to her, it’s all just stupid flirting - because she can’t open up her heart, not even to herself. or maybe just because she’s an evil bitch.

and she is, you know: an evil bitch. because she isn’t here to make friends, she’s here to make enemies, and make money, and she’s all too happy to play the villain for the cameras and away from them. 

she’s used to being unwanted, though she’d never ever say that. so it’s just so much better to reject everyone first, or make herself so unattainable, before she can get hurt.

and that’s one thing about liv: she’s so sensitive, it’s insane. she feels everything so deeply that she outright locks that side of herself off and becomes the ice queen instead, because she doesn’t want to feel any of it.

so, there it is: she was never really cared for by her parents, but she was expected to be perfect ( normal! straight! proper! ) and she tried to be, even though she always felt inferior ( especially to her older brother ). she’d take out her negative feelings on others by just being bitchy, and between her parent’s very conditional ‘love’ and years of dating boys just to say she did, she never truly learned to connect to people - could this show change that?

extra backstory / trivia !

liv goes to the university of vermont - a public ivy, ‘cause daddy wouldn’t pay for yale.

gorgeous gorgeous girls do lock themselves in the bathroom and cry for 3 seconds on their birthday before redoing their mascara and getting white girl wasted

olivia basically invented homoerotic codependent high school friendships that end with friendship breakups that hurt way too much to be normal. she also invented fighting with your frenemy just to have an excuse to touch them. those are the facts.

high school was a time for olivia; i said she never really connected to anyone, but that’s not totally true. when she was 16, one of the girls in her posse of pretty friends was name melanie, and melanie and liv were close. really close. liv would play piano for her; they’d share liv’s bed when melanie slept over. liv thought she was reading all the signs right, so she didn’t care that she had a boyfriend when she leant forward and kissed melanie

melanie didn’t feel what liv felt - she pulled away, grabbed her things, and said she was going to tell everyone. liv basically said ‘they’ll believe me over you,’ threatened to destroy melanie’s social life, and was a total cold bitch about it - she didn’t cry until melanie left, even. but then she cried. 

she knew that what she felt for melanie was different than what she felt for boys - she knew she was probably gay, even, though she couldn’t accept it, at least not out loud. still, as she got older, and got to college, she started letting herself hook up with girls, even if she wasn’t that open about it. 

last year, though, she took one girl - a girl she liked and maybe even could have felt more for, if given the chance - to her family’s vacation home in the hamptons. privacy for the weekend, she said. then her parents walked in on them kissing ( liv didn’t know he was coming! ) 

this... was a problem. totally unacceptable in the faulkner family - and daddy was gonna cut her off, and she was fucked, but god, is liv manipulative, and a good liar. basically, she gaslit, gatekept, girlbossed. it was just a little kiss! that’s how girls show affection nowadays. her parents bought it because they wanted to buy it. 

and liv was relieved - and ashamed - and hated herself - and then again, she didn’t feel like hiding anymore. if she wanted to fuck girls, then she would; it’s not like she was gonna marry one. so, she stopped being secretive about it. she started publicly flirting with everyone, toying with everyone, indiscriminately ( though she doesn’t really enjoy it with men, but she likes to mess with them ). still, that was just at college - her parents didn’t know.

they’re totally gonna know now, though.

yeah, this is how she’s coming out. and she’s totally getting cut off, but that prize money? it’ll pay for her last year in college, easy. and she’s sure she’s gonna win. she might be losing her family, and her trust fund, but she’s going to be okay.