[ACCEPTED] The Magical Adventures of @@LEADER@@

[Kaschovia]

This draft is a play on the title of the issue contest: Was It Something We Eight?

The Magical Adventures of @@LEADER@@

Validity: Very high recreational drug use, drugs legal, high civil rights

The Issue: You're sat in the office gardens after a state banquet when it occurs to you that dessert tasted unusually earthy. Did that intern chef mess up the food? It's been an hour or so, and as an unavoidable nausea begins to spread throughout your body, things are starting to feel a little... magical.

Option 1: "Everything will be alright!" rejoices a hallucination of the dead ethnobotanist Clarence McKanna, emerging from a tapestry of color in the grass. "Your intern chef accidentally put psilocybin mushrooms in your dessert... but not to worry, psychoactive compounds like psilocybin are tremendously useful in the treatment of various mental disorders and help us transcend our deepest existential fears. You should fund state of the art, holistic health centres where the masses can embrace their psychedelic awakenings free from the cold and clinical nature of the laboratory."

Effect: a mushroom a day keeps the sadness away

Option 2: "My magic is not for the ill-prepared mind, @@LEADER@@..." whispers a glistening cloud of rainbows, pouring abstract visual fragments of medical licenses and pipettes from the sky, "A bad experience can trigger all sorts of dormant, underlying mental disorders and you wouldn't know until they hit you like a brick. I'm better off consumed exclusively in controlled scientific experiments, not your average backstreet in @@NAME@@."

Effect: volunteers trip over themselves to get into the latest mind-bending drug trials

Option 3a (computers allowed): "Oh, that sounds terrifying," cackles a mischievous crow, landing on your shoulder as the sky turns an ominous shade of red, "I bet you're having a nightmare trip! Why don't you send one of those nationwide emergency texts so everyone knows just how dangerous these filthy, madness-inducing drugs are before you go completely insane? You can still save @@NAME@@ from total mass hysteria if you ban these devilish substances outright."

Effect: nationwide emergency texts are shrugged off as @@LEADER@@ having another episode

Option 3b (computers not allowed): "Oh, that sounds terrifying," cackles a mischievous crow, landing on your shoulder as the sky turns an ominous shade of red, "I bet you're having a nightmare trip! Why don't you air one of those nationwide emergency television broadcasts to warn everyone just how dangerous these filthy, madness-inducing drugs are before you go completely insane? You can still save @@NAME@@ from total mass hysteria if you ban these devilish substances outright."

Effect: airings of anti-drug PSAs are shrugged off as @@LEADER@@ having another episode

Option 4: A gnome pops his head around a plant pot, which seems to be dancing in the gentle breeze. "Hello, @@LEADER! Do you have a moment to talk about all the fun we're having right now?! Look at all these awesome shapes and colours!" He skips towards you in hilarious fashion, before sitting on your knee, "Don't you think everyone should be able to go on their own magical adventures, anywhere they want, and at any time? That way, we can all laugh and dance in the strawberry fields forever!"

Effect: tourists are convinced the country has gone bonkers

The Magical Adventures of @@LEADER@@

Validity: Very high recreational drug use, drugs legal, high civil rights

The Issue: You're sat in the office gardens after a state banquet when it occurs to you that dessert tasted unusually earthy. Did that intern chef mess up the food? It's been an hour or so, and as an unavoidable nausea begins to spread throughout your body, things are starting to feel a little... magical.

Option 1: "Everything will be alright!" rejoices a hallucination of the dead ethnobotanist Clarence McKanna, emerging from a tapestry of color in the grass. "Your intern chef accidentally put psilocybin mushrooms in your dessert... but not to worry, psychoactive compounds like psilocybin are tremendously useful in the treatment of various mental disorders and help us transcend our deepest existential fears. You should fund state of the art, holistic health centres where the masses can embrace their psychedelic awakenings free from the cold and clinical nature of the laboratory."

Effect: a mushroom a day keeps the sadness away

Option 2: "My magic is not for the ill-prepared mind, @@LEADER@@..." whispers a glistening cloud of rainbows, pouring abstract visual fragments of medical licenses and pipettes from the sky, "A bad experience can trigger all sorts of dormant, underlying mental disorders and you wouldn't know until they hit you like a brick. I'm better off consumed exclusively in controlled scientific experiments, not your average backstreet in @@NAME@@."

Effect: volunteers trip over themselves to get into the latest mind-bending drug trials

Option 3: "Oh, that sounds terrifying," cackles a mischievous crow, landing on your shoulder as the sky turns an ominous shade of red, "I bet you're having a nightmare trip! Why don't you send one of those nationwide emergency texts so everyone knows just how dangerous these filthy, madness-inducing drugs are before you go completely insane? You can still save @@NAME@@ from total mass hysteria if you ban these devilish substances outright."

Effect: parents keel over at the slightest mention of psychedelic drugs

Option 4: A gnome pops his head around a plant pot, which seems to be dancing in the gentle breeze. "Hello, @@LEADER! Do you have a moment to talk about all the fun we're having right now?! Look at all these awesome shapes and colours!" He skips towards you in hilarious fashion, before sitting on your knee, "Don't you think everyone should be able to go on their own magical adventures, anywhere they want, and at any time? That way, we can all laugh and dance in the strawberry fields forever!"

Effect: tourists are convinced the country has gone bonkers

The Magical Adventures of @@NAME@@

Validity: Very high recreational drug use, drugs legal, high civil rights

The Issue: After a recent study on psilocybin mushrooms as a treatment for depression, addiction, and various other mental ailments proved the compound was significantly more effective than contemporary medicines, @@DEMONYMPLURAL@@ are tripping over themselves in disagreement about using the controversial drug for therapy.

Option 1: "Oh, that sounds terrible," cackles a mischievous, crow-like figure, perched atop your office door, "you'd probably have one of those nightmare trips! It'd be a matter of time before you go completely insane... but you can save @@NAME@@ from these devilish substances and ban them outright. Why don't you send one of those nationwide emergency texts to let everyone know?"

Effect: parents keel over at the slightest mention of psychedelic drugs

Option 2: "Ignore that silly old crow, everything will be alright!" rejoices an old podcast recording of the dead ethnobotanist Clarence McKanna. "Psilocybin mushrooms and many other psychoactive compounds can be tremendously useful in the treatment of various disorders. State of the art health centres should be funded where the masses can partake in a new age of psychedelic awakening... under medical supervision of course. These wonderful, naturally-occuring chemicals have been stigmatized for far too long."

Effect: a mushroom a day keeps the sadness away

Option 3: "No, we've got to be more careful..." whispers a glistening cloud of androgynous rainbows, pouring abstract visual fragments of medical licenses and regulations from the sky, "my magic is not for the ill-prepared, @@LEADER@@. I have my place in your regulated scientific trials, but you should make sure I stay far, far away from the average @@DEMONYM@@. A bad experience can trigger all sorts of terrible things, and the worst part is... you wouldn't know until it happens."

Effect: crazed volunteers trip over themselves trying to get into psychedelic lab experiments

Option 4: A man dressed as a gnome pops his head around a plant pot, which seems to be dancing in the gentle breeze. "Hello, @@LEADER! Do you have a moment to talk about all the fun we could be having right now?! Think of all the awesome shapes and colours!" He skips towards you in hilarious fashion, before sitting on your knee, "Don't you think everyone should be able to go on their own magical adventures, anywhere they want, and at any time? That way, we can all stand in circles and laugh and dance together!"

Effect: tourists are convinced the country has gone bonkers

The Magical Adventures of @@LEADER@@

Validity: Very high recreational drug use, drugs legal, high civil rights

The Issue: You're sat in the office gardens after a busy day, full from eating the delicious cake your progressive, fun-loving intern left on his desk, when you remember they'd mentioned psilocybin mushroom edibles to a colleague. Now you think about it, the taste was unmistakably earthy. It's been an hour or so, and things are starting to look a little... strange.

Option 1: A gnome pops his head around a plant pot, which seems to be dancing in the gentle breeze. "Hello, @@LEADER! Do you have a moment to talk about all the fun you're having right now?! Look at all these awesome shapes and colours!" He skips towards you in hilarious fashion, before sitting on your knee, "Don't you think everyone should be able to go on their own magical adventures, anywhere they want, and at any time? That way, we can all stand in circles and laugh and dance together!"

Effect: tourists are convinced the country has gone bonkers

Option 2: "Be careful..." whispers a glistening cloud of rainbows, pouring abstract visual fragments of medical licenses and regulations from the sky, "my magic is not for the ill-prepared, @@LEADER@@. I have my place in your regulated scientific trials, but you should make sure I stay far, far away from the average @@DEMONYM@@. A bad experience can trigger all sorts of dormant mental disorders, and you wouldn't know until it happens."

Effect: crazed volunteers trip over themselves trying to get into psychedelic lab experiments

Option 3: "Oh, isn't this terrible," cackles a mischievous crow, landing on your shoulder as the sky turns an ominous shade of red, "you're having a nightmare trip! It's only a matter of time before you go completely insane... but you can save @@NAME@@ if you ban these devilish substances outright. Why don't you send one of those nationwide emergency texts to let everyone know?"

Effect: parents keel over at the slightest mention of psychedelic drugs

Option 4: "Everything will be alright!" rejoices a hallucination of the dead ethnobotanist Clarence McKanna. "Psilocybin mushrooms and many other psychoactive compounds can be tremendously useful in the treatment of various disorders. State of the art health centres should be funded where the masses can partake in this new age of psychedelic awakening... under medical supervision of course. These wonderful, naturally-occuring chemicals have been stigmatized for too long."

Effect: a mushroom a day keeps the sadness away

[Falafelandia]

It's a quite well written issue, but my one thing is that it violates player autonomy. Who are you to say what @@LEADER@@ eats?

[Kaschovia]

It's a quite well written issue, but my one thing is that it violates player autonomy. Who are you to say what @@LEADER@@ eats?

I might refocus the issue in this case, because it is a good point. I guess I amused myself with the idea of writing it from the perspective of the leader accidentally consuming a psychedelic cake, but player autonomy is a thing so I'll see if I can rework it to emphasise the experiences of the public.

[Kaschovia]

I've reworked the draft so that it retains the exaggerated, psychedelic feel, but doesn't violate player autonomy.

[Verdant Haven]

The presentation is clever, and I actually really like the way it worked in the first draft (in draft two it sadly makes no sense that leader would be experiencing these things), but the autonomy issue Falafelandia mentions is the trick. If pursuing this, I would probably go back to the original version where Leader is experiencing the effects directly, but would find another way to introduce the drug. Perhaps a chef accidentally mixed something up at a state banquet? We can't assume that Leader would steal cake from someone's desk, but we can definitely assume that Leader does in fact have to eat something, and that state functions are an instance of that consumption happening (we have other issues framed in that way, so there's precedent).

[Kaschovia]

The presentation is clever, and I actually really like the way it worked in the first draft (in draft two it sadly makes no sense that leader would be experiencing these things), but the autonomy issue Falafelandia mentions is the trick. If pursuing this, I would probably go back to the original version where Leader is experiencing the effects directly, but would find another way to introduce the drug. Perhaps a chef accidentally mixed something up at a state banquet? We can't assume that Leader would steal cake from someone's desk, but we can definitely assume that Leader does in fact have to eat something, and that state functions are an instance of that consumption happening (we have other issues framed in that way, so there's precedent).

Okay, I'm happy that the original style can be done! I'll get working on a draft that explores the angle you proposed.

[Kaschovia]

Reworked the premise to avoid violation of player autonomy and amended option 1 slightly.

[Verdant Haven]

This is fun, and I like where it is going. This is a creative approach to an issue that I think could work.

- Your characterizations and world building (for lack of a better term) are on point.

- I would like to see a little bit more clarification of the distinction between options 1 and 2. Use under supervision in controlled environments for purposes of psychedelic impact doesn't sound tremendously distinct (in statistical impact terms) from use under supervision in controlled environments for scientific assessment of psychedelic impact. Could the first one perhaps be a little bit more open about people taking them home or something like that?

- Option one could also stand to be just a hair shorter in order to feel more in sync with the others. The others are all really solid in that regard

- It took me a minute to catch the play on words in effect 2, but now I love it. Effect 4 also works for me. I think effect lines 1 and 3 could use some humor or wordplay.

- I think option 3 is misnumbered... unless that's the mushrooms talking. Oh no, are the mushrooms talking? Ahhhhhhh!

[Kaschovia]

This is fun, and I like where it is going. This is a creative approach to an issue that I think could work.

- Your characterizations and world building (for lack of a better term) are on point.

- I would like to see a little bit more clarification of the distinction between options 1 and 2. Use under supervision in controlled environments for purposes of psychedelic impact doesn't sound tremendously distinct (in statistical impact terms) from use under supervision in controlled environments for scientific assessment of psychedelic impact. Could the first one perhaps be a little bit more open about people taking them home or something like that?

- Option one could also stand to be just a hair shorter in order to feel more in sync with the others. The others are all really solid in that regard

- It took me a minute to catch the play on words in effect 2, but now I love it. Effect 4 also works for me. I think effect lines 1 and 3 could use some humor or wordplay.

- I think option 3 is misnumbered... unless that's the mushrooms talking. Oh no, are the mushrooms talking? Ahhhhhhh!

I've renumbered the options. As much as I wish an issue on magic mushrooms could mess with the ordering of the options, I wouldn't expect it to actually happen

I've distinguished option 1 and 2 a little bit further. I've added a fitting musical reference to the last option which I'm sure some readers may appreciate, too.

[Australian rePublic]

What do you mean by "the dessert tastes earthy"? And in either case, why does a chef have those mushrooms in the kitchen in the first place? And how do you ACCIDNETLY put it in a meal?

[Kaschovia]

What do you mean by "the dessert tastes earthy"? And in either case, why does a chef have those mushrooms in the kitchen in the first place? And how do you ACCIDNETLY put it in a meal?

I imagine mushrooms have an earthy taste, the issue is given to nations with very high recreational drug use so it's not too much of a stretch to say an intern chef might be inexperienced enough to bring magic mushrooms to work (probably to take after), and if a lot of people at the state banquet have dishes with mushrooms in, again it is no too much of a stretch to say those mushrooms could get mixed up.

[Kaschovia]

Edited option one slightly, feedback would still be appreciated!

[Atlantic Isles]

I feel like option 3 gives you room for a funnier/more interesting effect line. I don't know exactly what, but something aligning with the 2018 Hawaiian false missile warning would be amusing. Just food for thought!

[Kaschovia]

I feel like option 3 gives you room for a funnier/more interesting effect line. I don't know exactly what, but something aligning with the 2018 Hawaiian false missile warning would be amusing. Just food for thought!

I did some thinking for a different effect line for option 3 but nothing great came up. Any further general feedback on the draft would be really helpful.

[Southland]

I feel like option 3 gives you room for a funnier/more interesting effect line. I don't know exactly what, but something aligning with the 2018 Hawaiian false missile warning would be amusing. Just food for thought!

I did some thinking for a different effect line for option 3 but nothing great came up. Any further general feedback on the draft would be really helpful.

I think a decent effect line would be "airings of anti-drug PSAs are shrugged off as @@LEADER@@ having another episode". Other than that, can't really think of anything.

[Verdant Haven]

Just as a heads-up, Option 3 as presently written does require computers to be allowed - without computers, we treat mobile phones as banned. In my personal opinion it's worth it, because this option is hilarious. You could develop a doppelganger for non-computer nations with just a few tweaks if you wanted (something about a television PSA, perhaps?)

I did some thinking for a different effect line for option 3 but nothing great came up. Any further general feedback on the draft would be really helpful.

I think fun could be had with a reference to drunk-texting, given that that's basically what's happening here. Leader definitely needs a trip-sitter!

Something like Southland's line above would work if you go for the TV PSA route.

[Kaschovia]

I did some thinking for a different effect line for option 3 but nothing great came up. Any further general feedback on the draft would be really helpful.

I think a decent effect line would be "airings of anti-drug PSAs are shrugged off as @@LEADER@@ having another episode". Other than that, can't really think of anything.

Just as a heads-up, Option 3 as presently written does require computers to be allowed - without computers, we treat mobile phones as banned. In my personal opinion it's worth it, because this option is hilarious. You could develop a doppelganger for non-computer nations with just a few tweaks if you wanted (something about a television PSA, perhaps?)

I did some thinking for a different effect line for option 3 but nothing great came up. Any further general feedback on the draft would be really helpful.

I think fun could be had with a reference to drunk-texting, given that that's basically what's happening here. Leader definitely needs a trip-sitter!

Something like Southland's line above would work if you go for the TV PSA route.

I have chosen to go for the TV PSA route as I believe both the effect lines work and not much needs to be drastically changed with the option.

[Verdant Haven]

Looking good.

[Kaschovia]

Looking good.

Thank you! If there is anything minor that still needs addressing, let me know.

[Kaschovia]

This draft is now in the last calls stage, so I will wait another day for final feedback and then submit it tomorrow before the deadline.

[Verdant Haven]

Thank you! If there is anything minor that still needs addressing, let me know.

I've got nothing. Full send.

[Australian rePublic]

Good Luck!

[Nobre labe]

Um gnomo coloca a cabeça em volta de um vaso de planta, que parece dançar na brisa suave. "Olá, @@LEADER! Você tem um momento para falar sobre toda a diversão que estamos tendo agora?! Veja todas essas formas e cores incríveis!" Ele salta em sua direção de uma forma hilariante, antes de se sentar em seus joelhos: "Você não acha que todos deveriam ser capazes de embarcar em suas próprias aventuras mágicas, onde quiserem e a qualquer hora? Dessa forma, todos nós podemos rir e dançar nos campos de morango para sempre!"

[Australian rePublic]

Good Luck!

Um gnomo coloca a cabeça em volta de um vaso de planta, que parece dançar na brisa suave. "Olá, @@LEADER! Você tem um momento para falar sobre toda a diversão que estamos tendo agora?! Veja todas essas formas e cores incríveis!" Ele salta em sua direção de uma forma hilariante, antes de se sentar em seus joelhos: "Você não acha que todos deveriam ser capazes de embarcar em suas próprias aventuras mágicas, onde quiserem e a qualquer hora? Dessa forma, todos nós podemos rir e dançar nos campos de morango para sempre!"

English, please