#(and this isn't a ''you're more used to spices from your own culture'' thing bc i'm korean)
Note
the devil : is your muse addicted to any substances ? is there anything that could possibly make them quit?
&&
judgement : is your muse forgiving of themselves ? how about of others who wrong them ?
the devil
From canon, Piter is implied to be addicted to 'sapho juice,' a drug that boosts quick thinking by a lot. It's a highly addictive substance that will permanently stain your mouth red over time, & that's an ordinary tool of the trade for a Mentat. Seems pretty dystopian to me, honestly?? That something so invasive and personal is a normal requirement of showing up to work? I'm reading between the lines of Dune! I'm reading that neurodivergence is like a prized trait for a servant class that supplies intellectual workhorses for the ultra-rich! Like, the meritocracy aspirations of today's world are maybe just not there (bc feudalism) & if you're super smart or something it's like Oh! A Resource! Don't get me wrong, the Atreides main character family of nobles & their inner circle is pretty awesomely brain-weird too (they've got movie quote guy, compulsively moral guy, teenager who's so dang observant, woman who mysteriously fails repeatedly to get on peoples' good side even tho she means well, etc), so it's not like there are bold lines dividing classes by neurotype or anything. But dang, I just read a lot of thanklessnes into the Mentat role. (I'm imagining the more bitter folks have the inside joke that 'Mentat' stands for Managing Eminent Neurotypicals' Tasks, Albeit Thanklessly)
Piter is also heavily addicted to 'spice,' the setting's famous miracle drug that extends lifespans, lets you see into the future a little, and makes safe space travel possible. Rather than being an expectation, this is a very intentional choice, and a sign of his commitment to hmmm greed and hedonism. Like, this little man saw moderation and ran straight past it with his hands reaching out.
Lastly, in one of the scenes in the book where Piter shows up, he's being annoying & the Baron sarcastically asks him something along the lines of, "Are you high?" and mentions a third, completely unrelated drug. So I interpret that Piter is just really open to experimenting with drugs & that there are a few he's quite heavily addicted to. He already lives in a world that wants him to be addicted to drugs because it makes him useful, so I wonder if the rest is like, he might as well act like it was his idea. He's very evil & I don't write that as good (he is some sort of meow meow, i am microwaving him, etc etc), but like oh shit there's some righteous rage there.
judgement
Piter is hard on himself for making big mistakes, especially when it comes to not predicting or calculating things accurately. Part of it is the huge pressure to be useful, and the fact that everything from his basic safety to his absurd wealth is conditional on not only being useful but being extraordinary. Another part of it's pride; as much as he doesn't like the thought of being used, he truly takes pride in doing good work. Like, I bet he can play an instrument, I hc that he owns a racehorse, he has other shit going on that he might conceivably be proud of. But getting Results for his House is like the one singular situation where it's not just him patting himself on the back, he's really made an Achievement as defined by culture.
In many contexts though, he's got everything he needs to see failures as a natural part of the road to success. Like, okay! There's a problem or a goal & i am going to do a while loop about it.
I feel like Piter isn't one to get revenge against every specific person who wrongs him. In the book, the Baron laughs at him and tells him about a bet he made with someone else about what Piter would do in a situation. So he's not scaring people away from gossiping about him. In another part in the book, he says he'd really get a kick out of seeing the Baron's castle sacked and destroyed. I think his big grudge is against the Empire and the nobility, for all of the scary and personal ways he was shaped to be a tool for their use; and he'll never forgive that. I think he might be so obsessed with the specific wound and anger that minor shit still hurts but seems trivial.
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