video;

[a_sin_for_him]

[Lust has been drinking. She doesn't usually indulge to the point where mildly tipsy starts heading to drunk, but it's been an emotional week and two drinks turned into three until she's fiddling with her gear with a half empty wine bottle on the table beside her and a full glass in her hand.

Probably not the best time to flip on the record function and put out a general message.]

Why do emotions have to play such a ridiculously large part in daily life? They're nothing but organic chemical reactions. You mix sodium bicarbonate and acetic acid and get fizzing, bubbling carbonic acid. It's the same damned thing, at the most basic level. Chemicals interact with other chemicals and cause a reaction.

But the molecules that give birth to emotional feeling...they're never dormant. They're never inactive. They're always combining and breaking apart and firing off signals that we have no choice but to be ruled by. Human beings are like a single chemical in that way, one that reacts in a most volatile manner to every other substance and stimulus it encounters.

The sheer number of emotions a single person experiences in a single day... it's overwhelming. And like all chemical reactions, prone to change drastically the moment something new is introduced. The simple act of going from content to frightened or angry or even irritated is enough to interfere with daily life.

That seems like a detrimental design flaw, to me.

Comments

video;

[corporal]

They're necessary for survival; seems like that's the primary objective, anyway.

video;

[a_sin_for_him]

In such intensity, over every small thing? It seems counterproductive.

video;

[corporal]

I didn't say I agreed with it.

Perhaps the intensity just blankets all of them, fuck if I know. But I doubt I'd be the first one to say that some emotions are shittier than others.

video;

[a_sin_for_him]

[Lust laughs.]

A poetic statement I'm inclined to agree with.

The unpleasant ones are somehow so much stronger, too.

[armoredsoul]

[It takes a little bit before Al responds--between The Incident and Ed and Winry leaving, he's rather emotionally sore. Plus he's not sure how angry Lust still is at him over the whole thing.]

...part of it is survival. Adrenaline as part of the fight-or-flight response becomes excitement or anger, and without endorphins humans wouldn't have any incentive to interact with one another or continue the race.

But...even aside from that, if we didn't have any emotions, I don't think you could really say that 'life' exists, at least not the way we think of it. There wouldn't be any variety, it would be...cold. Honestly, I don't think intelligence could even exist at all without emotion along with it.

[a_sin_for_him]

[Lust doesn't bear Al - or anyone, really - any ill will over what happened. It was an unfortunate incident, but no one's real fault.]

Fight or flight and attraction for mating purposes, of course. That's one thing.

But really think about how many things you feel in a single waking period. How the smallest irritation can ruin a mood for the rest of the day. How one minuscule slight from the right person can leave you hurting for weeks. How those feelings permeate everything and effect every single thought you have. Unhappiness of any sort drains the drive, effects thought and decision making, interferes with daily necessities...

One could argue that the removal of feelings leaves nothing but intelligence - pure logic without emotional bias.

[armoredsoul]

I suppose. But I can't see how an intelligence like that would be able to progress the way we have. It's the introduction of all that personal chaos that's driven so much of our society and culture, for both good and bad. If there were no emotions involved, there would probably still be some advancements for the sake of survival, but it would stagnate eventually.

[He offers a small smile.] It'd probably be simpler for everyone that way, I'll admit. You'd sacrifice the concept of 'happiness', but you'd lose 'pain' and 'sadness' as well. Even if I personally wouldn't want that, I understand why a person would.

[a_sin_for_him]

Would it, though? Curiosity can exist with emotional investment. I'd posit that in the absence of emotion, advancement would come easier. Intelligence and curiosity would still drive humanity, and faster without the gum of frustration and obsession and desperation clogging the wheels. Passion and devotion and all of that certainly spur creation, but I think we give them too much credit in the grand scheme of things.

[It's all hypothetical, Lust's simply enjoying the chance at a friendly debate with an equal mind.]

It isn't even a matter of what we would want or not - it's their purpose in existence at all. Their dominance over our drives for survival.

[video]

[exeggutorhead]

[Half empty bottle of wine and rambling about science and emotions at the network? Clearly something's up.]

I don't think I can argue with that assessment.

[Feelings aren't bad, but damn it they're hard.]

I'm about to head back to the house, interested in a drinking partner?

[video]

[a_sin_for_him]

[Envy knows her so well.]

That's supposed to be healthier than drinking alone, isn't it?

Bring more wine. It's going to be a long night.

[video]

[exeggutorhead]

So I've heard. I'll stop by the store on the way.

[When he does get back to the house he walks straight into the kitchen, sets his shopping bag down on the table next to her with a clink, and goes to grab a glass out of the cabinet.]

Getting any interesting answers?

[That seems like a safe enough way to start this off.]

[a_sin_for_him]

[Lust shrugs as Envy joins her.]

Just general debate about the role emotions play in human life.

It's easy to tell those who've always dealt with them and those who came to them later in life.

[Video]

[foolishwren]

<sub>[She's out and about-- been training. Can't get complacent just because she now has a crashpad she doesn't have to pay for!]

[Her breath is puffing visibly in front of her when she replies, and her cheeks are red. It's chilly out and she's been jogging.]</sub>

If we didn't have emotions, it'd be pretty hard to care about anything.

It's tough but you just... I dunno, deal with it?

_{[... Oh. Now she sees the wine.]}

... Are you okay?

[Video]

[a_sin_for_him]

I'm not questioning why we have them at all, rather why they permeate all aspects and facets of every day lived. Even after an upset is over and done with, the emotions linger far longer than biologically necessary.

I'm fine, simply thinking. I like to think and talk about the things I think on.

[Video]

[foolishwren]

... Well, there's plenty of stuff that isn't biologically necessary.

Like, I think the last time anybody needed their appendix was like... five hundred years ago or something.

_{[She made that date up.]}

Nature kinda works by throwing stuff at a wall and seeing what sticks. It ain't perfect.

[Video]

[a_sin_for_him]

But it was at one time, and now it serves no function and performs no function. It outlived its purpose and went dormant.

This also assumes that nature is an undisciplined set of circumstances and theories, rather than something with design and intelligent guidance.

[diehardreaper]

No need to be like that, love. Sure emotions're hard but... keeps things from being boring, eh? Ups and downs all considered.

[ He's noting that wine bottle though. Looks like this one's dealing with some heavy issues. Ronald's not even gonna question the chemical reactions bit. All the science kinda went over his head. ]

Fancy accepting an offer to lend an ear to your troubles?

[a_sin_for_him]

But looking at them from a place of logic, as an aspect of a working machine, they're more counterproductive overall than beneficial. They're wild and unpredictable and naturally hold sway over our better judgement.

My troubles are all laid out. Emotions - strong ones that reach the surface - are something still new to me.

[Video]

[stitchedupbodyguard]

[Veronica probably wouldn't have flipped onto this video, but something about it just seemed to click with her.]

...My sister always talked about how emotions are the building blocks of people, and how they're supposed to make us who we are.

[She shook her head.] I'm not so sure about it, though. I'm terrible with emotions. [Yeah, she'll admit it.] It's easier sometimes to just not focus on them.

[Video]

[a_sin_for_him]

I can see the logic in that belief. We are nothing but a collection of chemical reactions.

I think maybe there are many of us who aren't good with them. I've never learned the trick of ignoring them.

[Video]

[stitchedupbodyguard]

But Fran says that's supposed to give us meaning, I guess. When she was looking into auras and stuff, she discovered that pheromones were really important too.

[that was a mess to be sure.]

...Yeah, me either. [She literally knows that feel.] They always pop up and it's....

[Video]

[a_sin_for_him]

I think what we do our lives is what gives us meaning. But that's all part of it, really. Pheromones are part of that complex chemical reaction that cause emotions. Really that's their only purpose - to trigger reactions in us. Maybe that is where the answers are hiding.

It's consuming?

video;

[majorcrotchgrab]

I think most of it has to do with our conscience. We're either constantly questioning things, making situations more complicated than they need to be or not doing it enough.

... Although it's totally cliche, talking it out sometimes helps.

video;

[a_sin_for_him]

That brings up a whole other set of questions though, doesn't it? The conscience. Is it a product of nature or nurture?

That was rather on my thoughts when I recorded the address.

video;

[majorcrotchgrab]

We're taught that it's always been in our nature.

[private//unhackable;]

[Since he isn't sure if their nature is a public known fact or not, he's just gonna play it say and turn the convo private.]

That is odd though, now that I think about it. Why were you and the other homunculi turned into humans when you arrived here...?