#wilhelm in a nutshell

[simsim54]

Simon has passions, hobbies, and interests. Wilhelm has Simon.

I said what I said.

[randomnameless]

Hello! I hope that you are doing well!

I just wanted to send you a question regarding the amount of power Rhea has in Fódlan since something came to my mind. You know how during Edelgard's coronation, she said to her father that, "The Archbishop of the Church of Seiros would normally act as witness, but my professor will fill that role instead"?

Unless I missed something [or am overthinking], do you believe that Rhea was even there to witness Ionius' coronation?

We were told in the game that it had been ages since a member of House Hresvelg enrolled into the Officers Academy as well as that there had recently been a rift between the Adrestian Empire and the Church of Seiros.

Therefore, to me at least, that implied that said rift had been going on for a while. And I do not see why they would allow her there if such a thing was going on. Yet, Rhea does not retaliate against this as far as I know. Then there is the fact that Edelgard is allowed to be coronated without Byleth's presence. The Southern Church was dismantled, too, so…I think it is safe to say that there was not an official to witness her from there as well. lol

To put it simply, it feels very contradictory to me and adds a crack into the "Rhea controls Fódlan" perspective.

Hi!

I agree, that NPC going all "the empire and hthe church cut ties eons agao that's why supreme leader is the first imperial heir to attend since ages" suggests Rhea wasn't very welcomed in Enbarr.

FWIW the Nopes book about the Southern Church incident reveals the Emperor of that time already wanted to cut ties with the Central Church - and used this rebellion (which was more or less a Varley daughter wanting to have a role instead of letting her bother inherit everything?) as an excuse to finally give them the boot.

In a nutshell, I heavily doubt Rhea was around when Ionius was coronated, if her Church was already "not welcomed" by the time the Southern Church was disbanded.

The Archbishop acting as witness might be just some sort of old ceremonial thing, just like the "covenant of the red blood and the white sword", maybe all coronations try to renact the "oath" Wilhelm took/swore to Seiros when she presumably made him Emperor of Adrestia? And the Archbishop acts as a stand in for Seiros (even if we know better!) when the oath is sworn again by Willy's descendants?

As you pointed out, the Archbishop being present or not is merely decorum, since nowhere the game suggests that in the non-CF routes, Supreme Leader's coup coronation isn't regular or anything.

Rhea controlling Fodlan isn't backed up by canon, Adrestia has been doing its own thing for several centuries, the CoS only provides help (the game doesn't tell us what it is!) to Faerghus : Dimitri becomes King not because Rhea crowns or splashes oil on him, but because he is the Crown Prince and the last heir of the previous King. As for the Alliance, it does its own thing without her input!

[fumblingmusings]

ONE MORE THING regarding late 19th Century Anglo-German relations... Okay. It's a little paternalistic but I imagine each European nation gets a bit touchy when it comes to these poor girls being plopped in a place they aren't prepared well enough for being asked to carry out diplomacy at a time when personal politics don't matter as much anymore. And I think Victoria's eldest daughter Vicky, the mother of Kaiser Wilhelm II, kind of shows this phenomena in a nutshell.

Also I do imagine that Arthur would be incredibly uncomfortable with how Princess Vicky was treated by the Prussians (then Germans) which would really colour his interactions with Gilbert and Ludwig in the second half of the 19th Century. It's a narrow scope example of why relations between the two just crumble so badly by the 1880s on.

Bear with me. I have a point.

Okay so, Queen Victoria's girls were very much trained for politics. Prince Albert was like here have all the philosophy and theory you could ever need. So Vicky, Alice, Louise, Helena and Beatrice all would be ready to be good Queens. Or, at least, trained to be good British Queens, which doesn't really fly in the German states. Especially for eldest daughter Vicky.

Sidenote: They all have chubby cheeks and I want to squeeze them.

So you have a Princess who yes has a nice like-minded husband, but her in-laws dislike her, and her eldest son rebels against his liberal mum by going full on authoritarian and creates a rival court so extensive that by the time she becomes German Empress this other faction frequently raids her home for anything that would excuse her exile or worse... you know. Typical royal family stuff.

But she is also a woman who reads and supports Karl Marx (what the...) and Charles Darwin, builds hospitals during the Franco-Prussian war, founds girls schools and nursing colleges, visits Synagogues, openly calls antisemites lunatics, encourages a free press... and the German court hate her for it. Largely because she refuses to be quiet.

So it's not just a case of 'the mean Germans think my perfect Princess is annoying' for Arthur; it's that conflict between Liberalism and Conservatism which is the very crux of why Germany and England are incapable of having friendly relations. Arthur watches the soft power and these (somewhat bullshit/hypocritical) liberal ideas and principles he has set himself up as representing on the international stage get completely and utterly rejected by another nation. One that he cannot exert control over. And I bet that infuriated him. His way absolutely is the right way what is Ludwig's damage you know? And I guess after WWI he feels mighty vindicated but until then... what a frustration.

Arthur and Ludwig (or Gilbert, depending on how you interpret who's actually in charge at this time) have such very different ideas on power and ruling and what a monarch is even there to do. It's just a very personalised example of why Arthur cannot get along with Ludwig. A British Princess (friendship) was a very precious thing to have, and the Germans squandered her (it). At least in Arthur's eyes.

[halfbakedspuds]

OC incorrect quotes

Cause why not. Most of these are mine, btw, the rest are from audio clips I thought fit well.

Adrian: Honestly, I was starting to think you'd sleep in and forget to meet me this morning...

Lyanni: Wouldn't have forgotten if I was sleeping with you.

Adrian: ...But look at thi- Jesus

Adrian: I don't know, hey. I've just had this massive recurring headache for a few weeks now.

Lyanni: *Literally just walks into the room

Adrian: And there she is...

Lyanni: I know two hundred ways of killing a man.

Adrian: You can tie a bucket filled with rats to their stomach and heat it up so that the only way the rats can escape is by eating through their guts.

Lyanni: ... two hundred and one, plus a mental note to never piss you off.

(Watching Lyanni in a tavern brawl against eight other people)

Evelyn: Should we perhaps go help her, Sir?

Adrian: *Getting his camera out* Why'd we do that?

Evelyn: Maybe 'cause it's about to go from a barfight to a bloody street brawl?

Adrian: *Starts filming* Nah, she's got this. Kick him in the balls, Blosjin!

Evelyn: Well that was horrifying. Has anyone got the number of a good therapist?

Evelyn: Wait, fuck, I'm the therapist, aren't I?

Adrian: Where are my fucking guns?

Lyanni: Language, Starman.

Adrian: My utmost apologies, but may I humbly request ascertainment as to the location of my fucking firearms?

Adrian: I'm bi, which means I'm 10% attracted to men, 10% attracted to women...

Adrian: *points at Lyanni over his shoulder* ...and 80% attracted to that dumbass over there.

Lyanni: Life is like a game of chess...

Adrian: ... We both suck at it.

Strax: I sleep with a Nucleic Destabiliser in my room.

Evelyn: I sleep with a Dahltech 308 special under my pillow.

Wilhelm: I sleep with a gravity rifle under my bed.

Adrian: Amateurs.

Evelyn: Alright then, boss, enlighten us to the deadly weapon you sleep with?

Adrian: *Smirking and taking a deep breath* Lyanni Sverik... and my revolvers.

Lyanni: I just don't understand why he's being such an arse about this mission.

Evelyn: *Fixing the gun on her warsuit* Well, maybe it's because deep down he cares about you and is afraid you'll get hurt or killed but is too emotionally repressed to know how to say anything about it.

Everyone:

Evelyn: Oh, was I... not supposed to say that out loud?

Wilhelm: I, for one, love that you did. Please, do continue.

Lyanni: And then he took his shirt off, and like my body had a reaction...

Evelyn: Please keep this to yourself, I don't need to hear about that.

Lyanni: I was just sitting there like "Boy, how in the hells are you still alive?'

Evelyn: ...

Evelyn: Okay, native, you have my attention now.

Adrian: *Showing Lyanni how to use a gun* in this line of work, you'll quickly see a lot of people become priests.

Lyanni: ...what?

Adrian: Extra holey.

Adrian: Let me be Frank-

Lyanni: Who's Frank?

Evelyn: Shush, I want to hear what Frank here has to say.

Adrian: Throne, give me patience instead of strength because I will strangle this lot if you give me strength...

Some random IUC guard: *To Adrian* Someone should put freaks like you in a mental hospital.

Lyanni: *Frothing at the mouth, barely being held back by Adrian* Someone should put you in a box floating down the river, grandma!

(Wilhelm and Adrian's first meeting in a nutshell)

Wilhelm: Who the fuck are you?

Adrian: Who the fuck am I? Who the fuck are you?!

Wilhelm: Better question, why the fuck are you?

Lyanni in her cell: I'll do both of you boys one better: How the fuck are ya'll and where the fuck am I?

Lyanni: I work fine under pressure.

Adrian: I mean no disrespect, Velsjen, but I've tread on landmines that handled pressure better than you do.

Lyanni: I want to wake up to your face every day for the rest of my life.

Adrian: You do realise that I'm up two hours before dawn almost daily, right?

Lyanni:...

Lyanni: I want to see your face at some point every day for the rest of my life.

Edit: posted without tags. Eto bleh

[a-pile-of-kruge]

young royals in a nutshell

[eldestdauqhter]

wilhelm, arriving at hillerska: i hate it here. i fuckin hate it here. fuck my parents. fuck these snobs. erik, bro, please get me out of here

simon: /sings

simon: eat the goddamn rich

wilhelm: ok. this is my new home

[scorchboys]

season 1 in a nutshell

"oh wilhelm...you poor, poor soul"

[overdrugs-mayhem]

Ok, a lot of you asked for a translation of our latest comic so... here it is x°D We didn’t translate it earlier because it’s a parody of an italian televions program where people scream while they try to hook up other people, so we have no idea if this make any sense even if it’s in english now ahah Here have some samples of this madness :[here] and [here]

[ita version]

[the-marksman-cely-film-cesky]

[Sledujte] The Marksman Celý Film česky "CZ online 2021

Když se Jerry přestěhuje do luxusního hotelu na Manhattanu, kde právě probíhá svatba století, její zoufalá organizátorka si najme Toma, aby jí pomohl se myšáka zbavit. Hon kocoura a myši vzápětí skoro zničí nejen její kariéru a chystanou svatbu, ale i skoro celý hotel.

Sledujte : : -  https://t.co/3FVTEdPgLF?amp=1?M4rksmancz

Žánr: Akční, Thriller, Krimi Hvězdy: Liam Neeson, Katheryn Winnick, Teresa Ruiz, Juan Pablo Raba, Dylan Kenin Režisér: Robert Lorenz, Robert Lorenz, Francisco X. Pérez, Wilhelm Pfau, Mark Williams

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In 1889, on November 1 in Gotha, Germany Anna Therese Johanne Hoch, who later would be known as Hannah Hoch was born. Being the eldest of five children, the girl was brought up in a comfortable and quiet environment of the small town. Her parents, a supervisor in an insurance company and an amateur painter sent her to Girl’s High school. However, at the age of 15 Hannah had to quit studying for the long six years to take care of her newborn sister. Only in 1912 she continued her education with Harold Bengen in School of Applied Arts, mastering glass design. As the World War I broke up Hannah returned to the native town to work in the Red Cross. The first years after war the young woman recommenced her studying, getting to know graphic arts. 1915 was highlighted by an acquaintance with an Austrian artist Raoul Hausmann, which grew into the long-lasting romantic relationship and involvement in Berlin Dada movement. For ten years till 1926 Hoch worked in Berlin’s major publisher of newspapers and magazines. Her task was to design embroidering, knitting and crocheting patterns for the booklets. Being on vacation with her beloved in 1918, Hannah discovered ‘the principle of photomontage in cut-and-paste images that soldiers sent to their families’ (National gallery of Art). This find affected greatly on her artistic production, and she created mass-media photographs comprising the elements of photomontage and handwork patterns, thus combining traditional and modern culture. Her prior preoccupation was to represent the ‘new woman’ of the Weimar Republic with new social role and given freedoms. Hoch was the only woman in Berlin Dada, who took part in all kinds of events and exhibitions showcasing her socially critical works of art. Till 1931 she participated in exhibitions but with the rise of National Social regime was forbidden to present her creative work. Till her last breath in 1978 Hannah Hoch lived and worked in the outskirts of Berlin-Heiligensee. The piece of art which is going to be analyzed in this research is ‘The beautiful girl’ designed in 1919–1920. It combines the elements of technology and females. In the middle of the picture one can clearly see a woman dressed in a modern bathing suit with a light bulb on her head which probably serves as a sun umbrella. In the background a large advertisement with a woman’s hair-do on top is presented. Maud Lavin describes strange human as ‘she is part human, part machine, part commodity’ (Lavin). The woman is surrounded by the images of industrialization as tires, gears, signals and BMW logos. A woman’s profile with the cat eyes, untrusting and skeptical, in the upper right corner is eye-catching as well. This unusually large eye symbolizes DADA movement — a monocle, which is present in almost every Hoch’s work. The colour scheme does not offer rich palette of tints, including mostly black, white, orange and red pieces. The photo is surrounded by the BMW circles which add the spots of blue. An apt description of the piece is given in the book ‘Cut with the Kitchen Knife’ and states that it is ‘a portrait of a modern woman defined by signs of femininity, technology, media and advertising’ (Lavin). In other words Hannah Hoch focused on the woman of the new age, free and keeping up with the fast-moving world. The artist promoted feministic ideas and from her point of view urbanization and modern technologies were meant to give hope to woman to gain equality of genders. With this photomontage she commented on how the woman was expected to combine the role of a wife and mother with the role of a worker in the industrialized world. The light bulb instead of a face shows that women were perceived as unthinking machines which do not question their position and can be turned on or off at any time at man’s will. But at the same time they were to remain attractive to satisfy men’s needs. The watch is viewed as the representation of how quickly women are to adapt to the changes. In a nutshell, Hoch concentrated on two opposite visions of the modern woman: the one from the television screens — smoking, working, wearing sexy clothes, voting and the real one who remained being a housewife. The beautiful girl’ is an example of the art within the DADA movement. An artistic and literal current began in 1916 as the reaction to World War I and spread throughout Northern America and Europe. Every single convention was challenged and bourgeois society was scandalized. The Dadaists stated that over-valuing conformity, classism and nationalism among modern cultures led to horrors of the World War I. In other words, they rejected logic and reason and turned to irrationality, chaos and nonsense. The first DADA international Fair was organized in Berlin in 1920 exposing a shocking discontentment with military and German nationalism (Dada. A five minute history). Hannah Hoch was introduced to the world of DADA by Raoul Hausman who together with Kurt Schwitters, Piet Mondrian and Hans Richter was one of the influential artists in the movement. Hoch became the only German woman who referred to DADA. She managed to follow the general Dadaist aesthetic, but at the same time she surely and steadily incorporated a feminist philosophy. Her aim was to submit female equality within the canvass of other DADA’s conceptions. Though Hannah Hoch officially was a member of the movement, she never became the true one, because men saw her only as ‘a charming and gifted amateur artist’ (Lavin). Hans Richter, an unofficial spokesperson shared his opinion about the only woman in their community in the following words: ‘the girl who produced sandwiches, beer and coffee on a limited budget’ forgetting that she was among the few members with stable income. In spite of the gender oppressions, Hannah’s desire to convey her idea was never weakened. Difficulties only strengthened her and made her an outstanding artist. A note with these return words was found among her possessions: ‘None of these men were satisfied with just an ordinary woman. But neither were they included to abandon the (conventional) male/masculine morality toward the woman. Enlightened by Freud, in protest against the older generation. . . they all desired this ‘New Woman’ and her groundbreaking will to freedom. But — they more or less brutally rejected the notion that they, too, had to adopt new attitudes. . . This led to these truly Strinbergian dramas that typified the private lives of these men’ (Maloney). Hoch’s technique was characterized by fusing male and female parts of the body or bodies of females from different epochs — a ‘traditional’ woman and ‘modern’, liberated and free of sexual stereotypes one. What’s more, combining male and female parts, the female ones were always more distinctive and vibrant, while the male ones took their place in the background. Hannah created unique works of art experimenting with paintings, collages, graphic and photography. Her women were made from bits and pieces from dolls, mannequins of brides or children as these members of the society were not considered as valuable. Today Hannah Hoch is most associated with her famous photomontage ‘Cut with the kitchen knife DADA through the last Weimer Beer-Belly Cultural epoch of Germany’ (1919–1920). This piece of art highlights social confusion during the era of Weimar Republic, oppositionists and government radicals (Grabner). In spite of never being truly accepted by the rest of her society, this woman with a quiet voice managed to speak out loud her feministic message. Looking at Hannah Hoch’s art for the first time I found it confusing, because couldn’t comprehend the meaning. It was quite obvious that every single piece and structure is a symbol of the era, its ideas and beliefs. However, after having learned about her life and constant endeavors to declare about female’s right, little by little I started to realize what’s what. As an object for research I chose ‘The beautiful girl’ as, to my mind, its theme and message intersects with the modern tendency: a successful, clever, beautiful and free woman has to become one in no time, cause the world is moving faster and faster. I enjoyed working with this artist as her example is inspiring and is worth following

[expressandadmirable]

Good Luck Out There (Wilhelm)

I.

The sun hung low over the steeples and chimneys of Aelfheim, the sky a brilliant tapestry of pink and gold and deep blue at the corners. On the still-warm tile of the manor’s roof, Aviva pushed herself up to sitting, pulling the leather cord from her hair and letting the long braid slowly release itself. It had been some time since she had enjoyed a rooftop sunset.

“I think I’m going to build a tower,” Wil offered, apropos of nothing.

“A tower?” Aviva considered that for a moment. “Like your father’s?”

Wil chuckled humourlessly, reaching for the half-empty bottle of wine sitting between them. “No-one could build a tower quite like my father’s. His was connected to dark energies I couldn’t even begin to work with. I’m honestly not even sure those energies exist in the world now, given how we remade things.” A pause. “Plus, nobody’s that extra,” he added, taking a large gulp of wine to punctuate his point.

Aviva snorted. “That’s certainly true.” She accepted the offered bottle, taking a considerably smaller sip as she thought. “Where would you build it?”

“I’ve been thinking about that.” Wil’s tone was casual, as if discussing the weather. “So far, my first choice is out in the Blacksand Desert. Less of a chance I’ll be interrupted.”

“Yes, can’t have innocent bystanders walking in on your weirdness,” Aviva teased, but the truth of it nagged at her. Wil had become less and less social over the years since they had restored the world. Though always willing to visit with Aviva and her immediate family, he had withdrawn almost completely from public life, politely declining any official invitations and avoiding what he considered “prying eyes”. She passed the bottle back to him, her smile fading. “If you could still access those energies, would you?”

Wil kept his gaze focused on the vanishing sun, putting the bottle to his lips in a convenient moment of silence. “I don’t know. Alphinaud wasn’t my stone’s guardian, so I suspect it’s a moot point. But I’m starting to wonder if we might have greater access to our own elemental powers. I’m Shadow, after all; there’s probably a lot I could do. I could certainly make one hell of a tower.”

“You could, at that.” As the last of the sun melted into the horizon, a cold breeze whipped across the roof, tugging at Aviva’s hair and making her shiver. “Let’s head inside,” she suggested. “We can find Halei, or we can go out into the city and get into trouble.”

Taking another swig of wine, Wil nodded. “Let’s go find your wife. I’m all for staying in, though. Last time Sol and I went out in this nice city together, we started a bar fight.”

Aviva huffed a soft laugh. “I’m sure they’ve forgiven you since then.”

“I’m not gonna take any chances.”

II.

“Wil?” Aviva called as the dimly-lit antechamber of the tower materialised around her. “You called? I came as quickly as I could. Wil?”

“Hey, V.” Wil leaned against the doorframe, his sleepless face pulled into a wry half-smile. “Thanks for coming. I, uh… I guess I wanted to… talk? To someone?”

“Of course.” Aviva offered him her most reassuring smile. “What’s up?”

For a few moments, Wil fiddled uncomfortably with the wide sleeves of his robe, unable to meet her eyes. Then, finally: “My mum died.”

The Tiefling’s shoulders sank. “Oh, Wil…” With one fluid step, she crossed the antechamber and spread her arms, wrapping Wil in a tight hug. The Half-Elf stiffened, then changed his mind and softened into the embrace. It had been some time since he had touched anyone. When they finally separated, Aviva held him gently by the shoulders. “What happened?”

“Oh, heart failure. Human old age. Not unexpected.” He reconsidered his statement. “Well, not by her doctors. It wasn’t something I’d really thought about in… a long time.”

Aviva nodded. “Did you ever go see her again?”

“Absolutely not,” Wil answered sharply, taking an almost involuntary step backward into the tower’s main hall as he slipped free of Aviva’s hands. “I understood her words.”

With a twist of her stomach, Aviva realised she did not have anything to say to that. She had never understood Evangelina Stonewood’s instructions that, for both her safety and his, her son should never return. After the defeat of his father and the restoration of the world, Aviva had expected mother and son to reunite, sooner or later. The thought of sending her own daughter away, even to guarantee her safety, brought a tightness to her throat. “How did you find out?”

“Dr. Unne.” Wil’s old mentor. “He’s out the door soon himself, but I still keep in contact with him from time to time.” With a deep sigh, Wil turned and began to descend a rounded flight of stone steps, gesturing for Aviva to follow. “You want some coffee?”

“Yeah.” The bottom of the steps opened into a surprisingly homey kitchen, the fireplace burning cheerily even as it cast deep shadows about the room. The skeletons going about their chores had long since ceased to surprise Aviva, and she accepted a steaming mug from what had likely once been a goblin with a nod of thanks. “Got any bourbon to put in it?”

Wil clucked his tongue. “Of course. What kind of man do you take me for?”

Settling at the small kitchen table, they sat in silence for a while. The quiet seemed to comfort Wil, as did the presence of his Tiefling friend. Eventually, he spoke again. “I’m not going to die.”

“Pardon?”

“I’m not going to die,” he repeated. “I’ve been studying my father’s old papers. He was foolish, turning to the path of the vampire. But there are other ways, ones that are less damaging to the mind. I haven’t figured out the best one yet, but… I’m on my way.”

Aviva chewed her lip. “Wil… Following in your father’s footsteps. You saw what he became. Corrupted, mad. Are you sure that’s a good idea? How do you know you’ll avoid the same pitfalls?”

“Because I have all his failures to build on.” Wil swirled the dark liquid in his mug. “I have a map of his mistakes. I know how to avoid them.”

“There are nearly infinite mistakes when it comes to magic of this magnitude--”

“I was in a guy’s head when he died, Aviva. I felt what it was like.” Wil looked her in the eye. “I’m not going to do that again.”

For a time, neither spoke. Then Aviva sighed. “Just be careful, okay?”

Wil scoffed, smoothing the folds of his robe with pointed overconfidence. “When am I not?”

III.

“Aviva?” Halei called from the doorway to their quarters. “V? You’re… You’re going to need to see this.”

“Yes, sunshine?” Aviva poked her head into the sitting room, her fingers tangled in the hair she was attempting to sweep into an elaborate updo. The sight of Halei stopped her cold. “Are those… bones?”

Halei stepped inside, pushing the door closed with her foot. “Yes,” she said simply, making her way carefully around the sofa and depositing an astonishingly large collection of sun-bleached bones onto the table. “It showed up at the front gate and apparently spooked the guards, so they took it down.”

Hesitantly, Aviva approached, freeing her hands and letting her hair tumble down her back. “Alright… So… Why is it on our dining table?”

“Because,” Halei answered, producing a folded parchment from the folds of her tunic, “it was delivering a letter. To us.”

All at once, understanding clicked like a key in a lock. “Wilhelm.”

“Looks like.”

“Of course, because delivering a letter by animated skeleton’s not dramatic at all,” Aviva muttered, taking the parchment from her wife and breaking the ornate wax seal. The handwriting was the same looped, elegant script she remembered from Wil’s previous letters, though somewhat rougher, as if he had not written with a quill in some time. Her confused frown deepened as she scanned down the page. “...Huh.”

Halei tilted her head. “What does it say?”

Clearing her throat, Aviva affected her best Wilhelm impression. “‘Hey Aviva and Sol, sorry I won’t be able to make it to your daughter’s birthday. Please tell her Uncle Wil is bone tired. I’m not just being a lazy bones, I promise. I hope you won’t have a bone to pick with me. Insert additional bone jokes here.’”

“Oh gods,” Halei groaned. “Does it actually say that?”

“‘Anyway,’” Aviva continued, “‘I wanted to let you both know I’ll be taking a leave of absence from our regular get-togethers. I’m close to a breakthrough in my research and I can’t leave my laboratory even for a moment. In addition, I’m not exactly my most attractive right now, and I don’t want to startle any innocent waitstaff or guards.’” Aviva sighed and met Halei’s eyes. “Do you think he’s finally done it?”

Halei pursed her lips, then shrugged one shoulder. “Could be. Either that or he’s close.”

Sharing a look of unspoken concern, Aviva returned to the letter. “‘Before I excuse myself completely from polite society, I want you to know this: you’ve always considered me family, which has meant more to me than I can say, especially as my own blood family and I drifted further and further apart. I want you to know that I think of you as my family as well. Whatever it takes, I will ensure that you and your daughter live your lives in peace, safety and happiness. No harm will come to you -- not if I have anything to say about it. I love you. Never forget that. Yours, Dr. Wilhelm Husk.’”

Stunned silence settled in the room. Aviva stared at the parchment, reading the words a second time, then a third. Halei humphed and folded her arms. “That boy’s turning himself into a lich, isn’t he.”

“Yes, I rather suspect he is. He said he never wanted to die, so…” Delicately folding the parchment closed, Aviva placed it atop the table of bones. “I don’t… know what to make of this.”

“That’s Wil in a nutshell, my love.” Halei smiled gently. “Always has been. He’s a neurotic mystery wrapped in a socially awkward enigma.”

“Do we do anything? Try and stop him? Talk him out of it?” Aviva huffed in frustration. “Would he even listen?”

“I don’t know,” Halei answered with another shrug. “If he’s not hurting anyone… If he is, yes. We will have to stop him. We will stop him. If not… We’ll see what happens.”

Aviva let out a slow, measured breath. “I don’t like it.”

“I know.” Sliding her arms around the Tiefling’s waist, Halei rested her head against Aviva’s shoulder, soothing her worries away, at least for the time being. “We knew this was coming, in a way. It’s a very Wil decision to make.”

“You’re right about that.”

“And it is his to make. At least he let us know. We’ll just have to keep an eye on him and take it one step at a time.” Halei gave the Tiefling a squeeze. “In the meantime, our girl has a birthday coming up. Let’s focus on that.” She glanced at the table. “…And we have to figure out what to do with all these bones.”

(Art by @biasanduntrue)

[randomnameless]

Discussing about Lysithea yesterday with a friend made me realise...

FE16 is a game that is so centered on its protagonist + the possibility to join CF that, well, some character’s characterisation... is completely off.

Or it’s just me thinking too much about FE heroes but -

In FE16, Seteth tells Cyril in his “I am totally not your adoptive uncle” support that while he shows her deference in a formal context, she’s actually “like” family to him. So the odd convos from Fe Heroes about her not going to the beach or the scolding she receives for dressing like a witch falls in the “she’s totally not my sister” spectrum.

And yet... in FE16 proper?

Well, we see how Seteth reacts when Flayn is kidnapped because some maniac wants her blood and is after her because of her pointy ears. He is panicked, prone to make rash decisions, something even Rhea berates him for.

We know he has been looking for Rhea for at least 5 years during the TS, and also tried to look after the people at his own scale (reorganising churches, etc etc). He looks positively rejoiced to find her anew when she’s finally fred from Adrestia’s Gritnea Tower, and wants her to recover.

However... In his supports, or even in his only plot important route - everything seems accessory to Billy, there’s no worry about her being vivisected for parts or him being worried about his last (?) sister (?)’s security when she was caght by the same people who treated Flayn so well that she still has nightmares about it.

In their A support, Seteth goes :

We saw the moment where Seteth asked questions to Rhea about what is Billy, but Rhea didn’t answer. Then, “before she vanished”, he asks her again. I suppose this is an off-screen convo, but when does this happen ? When they are both overseeing the Monastery’s evacuation ? Or when she tells him she will buy them time by transforming in her dragon form?

During this extremely stressful period - let it be Empire goons already marching on Garreg Mach, or Empire goons going to march on Garreg Mach to steal the remaining parts of their family members to create monsters out of humans - the only thing Seteth managed to ask is... more info about Billy ?

There was no “damn how did they know we are inhumans” or “if only you didn’t trust Wilhelm with that knowledge” nor “I sure hope Macuil and Indech are alright, maybe we should regroup and tell them humans are after our parts again”, no.

The “pointed questions” were about Billy’s creation, and the homonculi.

And yes, I understand, maybe Seteth asked her all those other questions and facts I raised earlier, so this line in a nutshell isn’t that catastrophic.

But coupled with this :

Seteth is sure Rhea is somewhere in the city, and wonders if she is able to sense them coming...

But then it immediately switches to “if we are able to save her, she will tell you secrets”.

No mentions of “I hope she’s safe” or anyone wondering why “saving her” and not just freeing her, is she endangered??? Seteth, with the prospect of finally finding his sister (?) who had been caught for 5 years by people who turned his family in bone clubs, only has to say “if we find her she will tell you the truth about your birth”???

No “She’s in the Empire, but in what state...” hinting at her possible transformation in a pair of shiny daggers or “we have to rescue her, Rhea is like family... to me and you as well.”

Billy learning “the truth behind citrus” is more important than Rhea’s well-being, after being jailed by people who were looking for Nabatean bones and hearts. 

I’m exaggerating, but it’s as if Reyson tells Ike “if we manage to find my sister, she will be able to explain Lilia’s whereabouts since she’s the last who saw her and maybe the story we know about Yune and Ashera !” 

No, Reyson dgaf about the plot, or Ike learning some “truth” about his mother’s past, Reyson is only worried about his sister’s wellbeing!

We’ve a character who, apparently, thinks of her as his “totally not family” -  berates her on her swimwear and her dresses - whose reason to find her switches to “she well tell everything to Billy”.

I know Seteth isn’t one to talk a lot about himself - or if he does, he does it in roundabout ways - but I’d really have liked it if the game toned down the “gosh Billy, I hope we can find Rhea soon so she can reveal the things she has hidden from you” to “I hope my sister is safe from those people who diced the rest of our family to make shiny bone clubs”.

Heck, even in the Billy support, instead of “Rhea is only important because of the Truth she will tell you”, Seteth could confess that Rhea is like family to him, and they already lost a lot of family members “a long time ago”, that is why he doesn’t want to lose anyone else, Rhea, Flayn and now, Billy themselves (who he comes to regard as family too) ? And to keep things hidden, Billy could ask what he means, but Seteth replies he will tell them everything when they find Rhea.

Imo, it feels like, to Seteth, Billy learning the truth about who they are from Rhea is more important than his own feelings regarding his missing sister (?). Billy is the avatar and Sothis reborn, at this point Seteth knows it, and yet, does it imply not giving any fucks about Rhea, as a person? Is she only “important” now because of the knowledge she has, and not for being a member of his family he cares about??

Rhea... I am overjoyed that you are unharmed. I could not stand losing another of our kind.

“If you died no one could tell Billy who they are!”

Is this supposed to play in the “alone B4 U uwu” nonsense that is Rhea’s S-support - Seteth must not care about her at all else Billy won’t be “the only one uwu″ to befriend Rhea since Zanado ? The only one Rhea could be “Rhea” and not the Archbishop with since Zanado??

Were they thinking they needed to put Seteth in a bus and make him not care about her in anything but a professional sense (and yet couldn’t completely avoid the elephant in the room - White Clouds and Flamey already take too much place in SS) so the S-Support with Billy wouldn’t be completely nonsensical ?

Or is it because “Rhea sus” and the general framing of the game that they couldn’t make Seteth care about his sister more, because the end of all relationships has to be Billy ?

I know some people complain a lot about the 3H characters in FE Heroes, but damn if Fe Heroes doesn’t develop the characters from 3H in ways the game never bothered to.

Nemesis exists and explains his “might makes right” POV, Edel is Bernie’d for her Red Emperor tendencies, Dimitri’s parallels to other Lords shine even stronger, Rhea is an awkward but kind and playfum person, Worst Mom sucks, Seteth gives fuck about every member of his family and can share his “dad/brother” worries, etc etc.

90% of my reason to want FE16 characters in FE Heroes actually are tied to this - the heroes team develop Fodlan characters more than the FE16 team

[ebaeschnbliah]

MISTER  KINGSLEY

________________________________________________________________

Some time ago I wrote about the short cases Sherlock investigates at the beginning of TST (Spinning the plates). As it turned out each case seems to be closely connected to Sherlock himself in one way or another. It appears to be the same with characters who have a tattoo. Even as unlikely ones as the torturer in Serbia (TEH) or the unconscious ex-con in CAMs office (HLV)

In TST a man comes to Baker Street and seeks the help of Sherlock Holmes. His wife left him and he assumes she was having an affair. Sherlock doesn't take that case but throwes the man out instead. This case might have been too boring for Sherlock but the man - Mr. Kingsley - is quite interesting. He has an almost faded tattoo on his forearm. Reason enough to take a closer look at this guy. Could he be a Sherlock mirror as well?

More under the cut .....

His name is KINGSLEY

Which  includes the word KING. While Mycroft is compared to the 'queen' in ASIB, Sherlock is more than once connected to the 'king'.

'Am I the current king of England?' asks Sherlock in TSOT.

Elvis is called the 'King' as well and in THOB his face overlays Sherlock's while the first accords of 'Hound Dog' can be heard.

In TLD Elvis is mentioned again as a person who can be recognized by one name alone ... like Sherlock.

Now, you haven’t always been in life insurance, have you?

This is the very first information about Mr. Kingsley. He works in 'life insurance' .... is it too far a stretch connecting 'life insurance' to a form of protection ... of guarding? Sherlock himself (and some of his mirrors) are several times presented as 'guardians'.

You started out in manual labour. Oh, don’t bother being astonished. Your right hand’s almost an entire size bigger than your left. (“10½” over the right hand and “9½” over the other.) Hard manual work does that.

KINGSLEY: I was a carpenter, uh, like me dad.

A carpenter who is the son of a carpenter?. Is this another Christ reference? Wouldn't be the first time Sherlock is associated with Christ in this story.

In the New Testament, Jesus is commonly referred to as "Jesus of Nazareth" (e.g., Mark 10:47). Jesus' neighbors in Nazareth refer to him as "the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon" (Mark 6:3), "the carpenter's son" (Matthew 13:55), or "Joseph's son" (Luke 4:22).

And you’re trying to give up smoking, unsuccessfully,

SHERLOCK: Not just e-cigarettes – ten individual e-cigarettes. Now, if you just wanted to smoke indoors, you would have invested in one of those irritating electronic pipe things, but you’re convinced you can give up, so you don’t want to buy a pipe because that means you’re not serious about quitting, so instead you buy individual cigarettes, always sure that each will be your last.

This speaks for itself, I think. :))))

You once had a Japanese girlfriend that meant a lot to you

But now you feel indifferent about. You’ve got a Japanese tattoo in the crook of your elbow in the name ‘Akako.’ It’s obvious you’ve tried to have it removed. KINGSLEY: But surely that means I wanna forget her, not that I’m indifferent. SHERLOCK: If she’d really hurt your feelings, you would have had the word obliterated, but the first attempt wasn’t successful and you haven’t tried again, so it seems you can live with the slightly blurred memory of Akako, hence the indifference.

This topic - the 'broken off realationships' of various kinds (parents, friends, lovers) - runs throughout the whole story. Stillborn children, orphans, lost siblings, children, friends, a dog  and romances ending before they even had a chance to properly begin.

And of course the connection to Japan is another reference to the East, the Eastwind, Eurus and memory.

KINGSLEY: Sorry. I-I thought you’d done something clever. No, no. Ah, but now you’ve explained it, it’s dead simple, innit?

The whole deduction scene up unto this point is taken - with little changes - from ACDs Story  'The Red-Headed League'. In the original the client's name is Mr. Jabez Wilson. He is a former ship's carapenter who had once travelled to China. Holmes deduces this by a very distinctive fish tattoo on his arm and a coin on the watch chain. Mr. Wilson comes to Baker Street because the company he worked for suddenly 'vanished' without a trace. Turns out the whole organisation was a fake from the start. It's existance had been only created to lure Mr. Wilson away from his house for several hours per day to dig a secret tunnel to a nearby bank ... and the considerable fortune of French gold in its vaults.

The meaning of names

An interesting thing to notice is, that the name chosen for the lady in pink in ASIP is ... Jennifer Wilson. The name Wilson is also related to 'William', which is Sherlock's first name in this story.

William comes ultimately from the given name Wilhelm (cf. Old German Wilhelm and Old Norse Vilhjálmr). That is a compound of two distinct elements :

wil = "will or desire";

helm = Old English helm "helmet, protection"

Protector of desires - what a fitting name for Sherlock in this special adaptation!

Original Sherlock Holmes reacts to Mr. Wilson's rather simplifying interpretation, regarding the explanation of the deductions, quite different.

“I begin to think, Watson,” said Holmes, “that I make a mistake in explaining. ‘Omne ignotum pro magnifico,’ you know, and my poor little reputation, such as it is, will suffer shipwreck if I am so candid."

Omne ignotum pro magnifico .... 'every unknown thing is taken for great'

Or 'everything becomes commonplace by explanation' that's how Dr.Watson translates this statement in the lovely Granada adaptation of the 'Red-Headed League' with Jeremy Brett and David Burke (here).

Back to Sherlock and Mr. Kingsley

Highly indignant and offended by Mr. Kingsley's dismissive reaction to his explanations, Sherlock launches from nil to a hundred into a real torrent of deductions about poor Mr. Kingsley, who listens dumbfounded.

I’ve withheld this information from you until now ...

... but I think it’s time you knew the truth. Have you ever wondered if your wife was a little bit out of your league? You thought she was having an affair. I’m afraid it’s far worse than that. Your wife is a spy. Her real name is Greta Bengtsdotter. Swedish by birth and probably the most dangerous spy in the world.

WATSON: You’re working for Mycroft? MRS WATSON: He likes to keep an eye on his mad sibling. HOLMES: And he had a spy to hand.  Has it never occurred to you that your wife is excessively skilled for a nurse?

A 'super-agent' with a terrifying skill set? Oh, Mary I hear your tapping.

She’s been operating deep undercover for the past four years now as your wife for one reason only: to get near the American embassy which is across the road from your flat.

And once again the mention of an embasy - an ambassador. First Rufus Bruhl the US ambassador and his children Max and Claudette. Then the ambassador in Tiblisi who knew the truth about AMO. Three ambassadors in one story? A bit much for just coincidence, I think.

Tomorrow the US president will be at the embassy as part of an official state visit. As the president greets members of staff, Greta Bengtsdotter, disguised as a twenty-two stone cleaner, will inject the president in the back of the neck with a dangerous new drug hidden inside a secret compartment inside her padded armpit.

Like poor John in TEH? Before he got dumped under the bonfire woodpile? Is John the president?

This drug will then render the president entirely susceptible to the will of their new master, none other than James Moriarty.

Ahhhh .... another dangerous drug.  H.O.U.N.D. is for creating fear. TD12 is to create the bliss of ignorance. And now something to gain full domination over someone else. Fear - loss of memory - loss of power .... how frightening.

Moriarty will then use the president as a pawn to destabilise the United Nations General Assembly which is due to vote on a nuclear non-proliferation treaty, tipping the balance in favour of a first strike policy against Russia. This chain of events will then prove unstoppable, thus precipitating ... World War Three.

This sounds a lot like  '... Nuclear codes – I could blow up NATO in alphabetical order. In a world of locked rooms, the man with the key is king; and honey, you should see me in a crown.'    Jim Moriarty ... ruler of the whole world!

JOHN: Are you serious?  SHERLOCK: No, of course not.

'... his wife left him because his breath stinks and he likes to wear her lingerie.'

KINGSLEY: I don’t! Just the bras.

Really? Cross dressing like unle Rudi? Like Mycroft as Lady Bracknell? Oh, what a coincidence!  Sometimes the universe seems to be rather lazy.   :)))))

'his breath stinks' ... the simplest translation would be 'not liking what comes out of someones mouth'  and I guess there are a lot of people who are convinced this applies perfectly to some of Sherlock's deductions.

SEBASTIAN: He could look at you and tell you your whole life story. Put the wind up everybody. We hated him.

Assuming Mr. Kingsley is indeed a mirror for Sherlock - created in his own mind - how heartbreakingly sad is this last deduction! Sherlock imagining a life partner who leaves him because of what comes out of his mouth ... and because of what he likes.

JOHN: So. What’s this all about, then? SHERLOCK: Having fun. ..... While I can.

In a nutshell ... Sherlock is annoyed and wants to have fun while he still can and because of that he invents an impromptu story - far-fetched and dramatically charged - about a most dangerous 'super agent' employed by a criminal mastermind to gain world domination.  Sounds familiar ....

Are these kind of stories the ones Sherlock loves most?

Stories about undercover agents, secret spies, super agents ... like Mr. 'double-0-seven' James Bond? Then he would propably get along very well with another character in this story. A little boy ... with a mop of unruly, curly, dark hair. For he seems to have quite similar interests as Sherlock .... and he is a clever boy as well .... Max Bruhl.

SHERLOCK: What would he do in the precious few seconds before they came into the room? How would he use them if not to cry out? This little boy; this particular little boy ... who reads all of those spy books. What would he do? JOHN: He’d leave a sign?

The ambassadors son .... Max Bruhl .... abducted and poisoned and left to die together with his sister Claudette.

This reminds me very much of Sherlock - who gets abducted and drugged as well ..... or poisoned?

September, 2017

I leave you too your own deductions  Thanks @callie-ariane for the scripts.

@gosherlocked @loveismyrevolution @sagestreet @sherlockshadow @monikakrasnorada @kateis-cakeis @sarahthecoat @raggedyblue @darlingtonsubstitution @tjlcisthenewsexy

[geeksfromfuture-blog]

Can Technology Replace Economists?

If you've ever heard the words 'technology and economics', you may have jumped up and left the room, just thinking about how technology can replace economists? But before you go that far, let me explain what I mean. In a nutshell, what I'm saying is that we need to start rethinking our own economic models for use in explaining technological change. Because at the end of the day, no matter how sophisticated our technology, it's still just a simple thing that gives us more information. We can't know the future and be certain that the economy will continue to run on the way it has been doing so far. The same goes for economics. Sure, new things can change things but they don't give us knowledge about what will happen in the future, because all they can do is provide us with more information. It doesn't give us any kind of 'forecast' or forecast at all. So while we continue to use a relatively simple and well tested economic model to explain the world of today, the next few decades may not be predictable in terms of economics and technology. New technologies are likely to have greater effects on the economy and society than we ever thought possible, giving us a new paradigm and altogether different set of problems to solve, as they will have a greater impact than we could have ever imagined before. Now this raises the question, is the current economic system still fit for purpose? We may be at a turning point when the economic system will become obsolete and will not be able to do its job anymore. As technology becomes more advanced, it will change our whole lives and society. If this is the case, will we still be able to use a technological system to predict the future and explain our society and the way it works? Will technology replace economists? I think not. If this was to happen and technology replaced economics, then a lot of things would change. There would be an overall lack of information and predictability for everything that happens. Everything would be dependent on the whims of science and technology and not the natural laws of the world. Although, the same may not be true of the economic system, because although the information, analysis and predictions made by economists may change, their economic model can keep changing with the changes that technology causes. And if the predictions of economists become increasingly wrong, then it won't be wise to rely on them too much. Things would shift again and the entire system would come apart at the seams. Technology, for all its changes and innovations, remains something that is independent of nature and very dependent on humans, in many ways. That's why economists still have a place in predicting the future. They are still uniquely qualified and able to make predictions about how the world will change, what will happen and what will be the consequences. Although, this might mean that the knowledge and opinions of economists will start to fade. But for the time being, it is the best tool we have, and that's why we use it. So now, would it really be smart to go away from the economists altogether and use something else, such as the laws of thermodynamics? It would seem that thermodynamics, which has its roots in the early 1900s, is one of the better alternatives that we have to use to explain the world of today. But is it really more efficient than economists, in terms of explaining the future? I doubt it, because there is little doubt that people like Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Bernoulli and Thomas Young have done more to explain and predict the future than anyone else, not even including those who wrote about it. What it really comes down to is that whatever we use to explain and predict the future, it's basically all using the same thing, which is still a simple framework that shows us more information, but doesn't tell us anything about the future itself. and it's one of the biggest problems that our society faces, namely what to do about the future.

Will Technology Replace Economists?

Will Technology Replace Economists? Yes, it is quite possible. I remember the frustration when people used to ask me, "Will Economics Fall Out of the Sky?" It is too easy, and people need to be aware of this. However, there is no reason why we cannot make a rapid transition to technology - and a smarter future for the world. Perhaps you will not like this answer but, well, if you think about it, it would be hard to find a better answer. I don't like to get involved in politics, I am not an economist, I don't write these articles, and I do not know much about the subject matter. So, let's keep that in mind. Let's look at people from the past who didn't have all the modern conveniences - and for most people, they seem to have been happy. Even today, in the developed world, when some people have more than others, that doesn't seem to be cause for worry. When you think about it, it makes sense. You see, in the Industrial Revolution, things changed dramatically. Things were far more efficient and were starting to change the nature of work. The pace of life was changing and the change could be very good for the human race, as long as it happened slowly and in an orderly fashion. In other words, not all of this technology should have been rushed into existence. Instead, there needs to be a lot of introspection and a debate about the direction of the future, how things will change and where they will head. Then, and only then, should the changes start to be made. That's how it has been for centuries. It seems that some scientists and futurists think that scientists are still doing experiments on everyday people, in laboratories in the world of science fiction. It seems to me that is highly unlikely to happen in the real world any time soon. Let's face it, science fiction is a very long way away from what is likely to happen in the real world, I hope. We are entering a period where some people are working with technology that is far more advanced than anything that was ever imagined in our history. If we do not leave the way that we came from, that won't be the end of mankind. For sure, there will be some backlash against this development. But, what is much more important, is to ask yourself how you are going to respond to these changes and how you will integrate it into your lives. How you are going to adapt to this faster, smarter future? How will you be able to adapt and deal with those changes? Many people are unsure about how they are going to handle the changes and that is, of course, why there is some backlash in the real world. But, remember, these changes are here, and we must change or we will be forgotten species - history will not remember us as a species. There are some issues that should be discussed and others that will take a little bit longer to get to an appropriate place. We can only hope that we are able to understand these changes and they help us to adapt, when they come. Read the full article

[scifigeneration]

Odd properties of water and ice explained: Water exists as two different liquids

We normally consider liquid water as disordered with the molecules rearranging on a short time scale around some average structure. Now, however, scientists at Stockholm University have discovered two phases of the liquid with large differences in structure and density. The results are based on experimental studies using X-rays, which are now published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.

Most of us know that water is essential for our existence on planet Earth. It is less well-known that water has many strange or anomalous properties and behaves very differently from all other liquids. Some examples are the melting point, the density, the heat capacity, and all-in-all there are more than 70 properties of water that differ from most liquids. These anomalous properties of water are a prerequisite for life as we know it.

"The new remarkable property is that we find that water can exist as two different liquids at low temperatures where ice crystallization is slow," says Anders Nilsson, professor in Chemical Physics at Stockholm University. The breakthrough in the understanding of water has been possible through a combination of studies using X-rays at Argonne National Laboratory near Chicago, where the two different structures were evidenced and at the large X-ray laboratory DESY in Hamburg where the dynamics could be investigated and demonstrated that the two phases indeed both were liquid phases. Water can thus exist as two different liquids.

"It is very exciting to be able to use X-rays to determine the relative positions between the molecules at different times," says Fivos Perakis, postdoc at Stockholm University with a background in ultrafast optical spectroscopy. "We have in particular been able to follow the transformation of the sample at low temperatures between the two phases and demonstrated that there is diffusion as is typical for liquids."

When we think of ice it is most often as an ordered, crystalline phase that you get out of the ice box, but the most common form of ice in our planetary system is amorphous, that is disordered, and there are two forms of amorphous ice with low and high density. The two forms can interconvert and there have been speculations that they can be related to low- and high-density forms of liquid water. To experimentally investigate this hypothesis has been a great challenge that the Stockholm group has now overcome.

"I have studied amorphous ices for a long time with the goal to determine whether they can be considered a glassy state representing a frozen liquid," says Katrin Amann-Winkel, researcher in Chemical Physics at Stockholm University. "It is a dream come true to follow in such detail how a glassy state of water transforms into a viscous liquid which almost immediately transforms to a different, even more viscous, liquid of much lower density."

"The possibility to make new discoveries in water is totally fascinating and a great inspiration for my further studies," says Daniel Mariedahl, PhD student in Chemical Physics at Stockholm University. "It is particularly exciting that the new information has been provided by X-rays since the pioneer of X-ray radiation, Wilhelm Röntgen, himself speculated that water can exist in two different forms and that the interplay between them could give rise to its strange properties."

"The new results give very strong support to a picture where water at room temperature can't decide in which of the two forms it should be, high or low density, which results in local fluctuations between the two," says Lars G.M. Pettersson, professor in Theoretical Chemical Physics at Stockholm University. "In a nutshell: Water is not a complicated liquid, but two simple liquids with a complicated relationship."

These new results not only create an overall understanding of water at different temperatures and pressures, but also how water is affected by salts and biomolecules important for life. In addition, the increased understanding of water can lead to new insights on how to purify and desalinate water in the future. This will be one of the main challenges to humanity in view of the global climate change.