#lars’ love language is quality time

[sundaynie]

LARS’ LOVE LANGUAGE CONFIRMED !!

spoilers: lars’ affinity lv.5 !!

after unlocking the travel event for lars, you cannot convince me that his love language isn’t QUALITY TIME. like he’s always finding ways to be in MC’s presence?? appearing out of nowhere but wherever she is. the travel event deffo attests to that. he even suggested and was more than willing to be her observational drawing !! the man is always seeking out and wanting to spend his time with MC. he wanted her to be his assistant (not even for the day but for a whole damn year lol) and for her to follow him around all day and be wherever he is?? even when his schedule was jampacked (with shooting for variety shows + meetings during lunch) he still wanted to her to be around him !! when she fell asleep, he was glad to still be in her presence. he’s a busy man with a multi-million business so he knows his time is precious yet he still wanted to spend it with MC for as long as possible. i mean— “having you here makes things slightly more bearable.” omg he’s so !! HARDWORKING QUALITY TIME KING 🥺🥺🥺

(lars rorschach really out here solidifying the reasons why he’s my favourite lovebrush boy omg)

[allmoshnobrain]

𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

part 26 of ? | masterpost

word count: 2085 | ao3 link | fic's playlist

I let out a quiet, pained noise, frightened and hurt like some scared critter stumbling into the lion's lair. James's eyes flicked up, catching mine for the briefest fraction of a second, shock and regret dancing in his blue gaze before I pivoted and beelined it out through the kitchen door.

✦ summary: Despite choosing to remain by Dave's side, Nore finds that getting over her feelings for James is harder than she thought it would be.

✦ on this chapter: dave mustaine x female!oc, james hetfield x female! oc, oc is cliff's cousin, +18, language, slice of life, angst, love triangle, drinking, recreational drug use, jealousy

✧ you got me wrapped around your finger, do you have to let it linger? ✧

The guys' last weekend in Los Angeles rolled around real quick, kicking off on a slightly chilly Saturday that practically begged for an afternoon tucked under the covers. We cooked up our own version of coziness; Cliff threw an invite my way to chill at Mike's place, puffing on some smokes and sipping drinks while diving into a stack of horror movies Kirk had snagged.

Running into James again was just about as awkward as I'd braced myself for. He gave me a somewhat normal greeting, but the turmoil in his eyes had my heart doing an uncomfortable squeeze. To top it off, he had Pat in tow, showing up at Mike's with this big grin, hand-in-hand with James, their intertwined fingers betraying a closeness I'd rather not have known existed.

I tried to brush that off, though. After all, I had made my choice, hadn't I? Coming back home later that night, I knew I'd land in the comfort of Dave's arms, and whatever leftover turmoil would get washed out like rainwater. With time, the pain and sadness in James' eyes would likely fade. And perhaps, we could go back to being just good friends, sweeping those stolen moments from that autumn under the rug like they never happened.

We kicked back in Mike's basement, popping those tapes into his brand new VHS player. Kirk and Lars posted up on the carpet, Kirk sprawled out with his head in Lars's lap, dropping the occasional comment about film quality or some backstage scoop. Cliff, Mike, and I settled onto one of the couches, passing around a joint, while James and Pat claimed the other one. As the beer stash ran dry, a pizza got ordered, and I started to chill out as the mix of booze and weed took hold.

We all glanced up at the doorbell's ring — probably the pizza delivery. James hopped up to get it, trotting up the stairs with a beer in hand. Pat eyed him for a sec, then decided to trail along. Mike sparked up another joint, which I happily took a hit from before passing it over to Cliff.

"Hey, did you guys know this movie set caught fire during filming?" Kirk tossed out as scenes from The Exorcist flickered on the screen. "They even brought in a priest to bless the joint afterward."

"Wow, spooky," Lars chimed in, sarcastically. Kirk nudged him hard. "Hey!" Lars laughed.

"Hey, Lars, toss me another beer," I casually asked, absentmindedly eyeing the bottom of my empty bottle.

"Ah, I think we're tapped out. Time for a run upstairs."

"I got it," Cliff mumbled, his words a bit slurred as he attempted to stand.

"I'll roll with you then," I chimed in, getting up and stretching with a sigh. "Might as well grab a round for everyone."

The two of us hauled ourselves up the stairs, the steps feeling way trickier to navigate than they should in my slightly buzzed state. Once we hit the kitchen, Cliff cracked open the fridge, hunting down the beer bottles.

I shot my brows up with a grin when I spotted the two pizza boxes chilling on the table, my stomach churning with post-smoking and drinking hunger. I popped open the box, snagged a slice, and chomped down, letting out a satisfied sigh as the warm cheese exploded in my mouth, eyes shutting in a little moan of delight.

My tiny moment of food ecstasy got cut short by the distant hum of laughter. I blinked, curious, realizing I hadn't laid eyes on James and Pat since they jetted upstairs for the pizzas. But if the pizzas were in the kitchen, where the hell were they?

Looking back, maybe tracking down the muffled chuckles echoing down the hallway was a lousy move. But I was riding a bit higher on intoxication than I expected, and a self-destructive curiosity just started creeping into my chest. I crept up to the living room door, halting in silence when I caught sight of James and Pat holding court in the center of the room, huddled up and chatting in hushed tones.

I don't know what hit me first, tearing my heart into a million pieces; maybe it was the way Pat's eyes lit up, her hands resting on James' chest while he gripped her waist, the phantom memory of his fingers on my hips stirring uncomfortably in my chest. Or maybe it was the way they talked and chuckled, clearly lost in their own little world. Or, what the hell, it could even have been the gentle kiss he laid on her lips, sprinkled with sweet nothings meant just for her.

I let out a quiet, pained noise, frightened and hurt like some scared critter stumbling into the lion's lair. James's eyes flicked up, catching mine for the briefest fraction of a second, shock and regret dancing in his blue gaze before I pivoted and beelined it out through the kitchen door.

I gulped down the cool evening air and shut my eyes, tears hanging on and refusing to fall. My hands shook a bit as I slapped them on the porch frame, the wood cold against my skin. I jumped when the door creaked open again, but it wasn't James; Cliff's worried eyes locked onto mine, sadness creeping in at the sorry sight I must've been.

"Cliff..." I said, my voice shaky and tearful before he stepped up, wrapping me in a solid hug.

I buried my face in his chest, letting out heavy sobs as tears flowed down my face, like a dam that had held back way too much. Cliff just held on, running his fingers through my hair as he kept me close. As awful as it all was, I felt relieved as well — like those tears were letting go of some of the crap I'd been carrying around for weeks. When I finally eased up, I pulled back with a sigh, tears still rolling down as I sniffled, trying to wipe them away with my fingertips.

“Ah, shit. Sorry, I totally soaked you," I mumbled, my voice all choked up as I noticed the tear stains on Cliff's shirt. He snorted.

“Screw that, Nore. Want a beer?” He lifted one hand, and I spotted he was carrying a plastic bag with the beers he’d grabbed from the fridge. I nodded, thankful. He plunked the bag down, grabbed one for me and one for himself, and we leaned against the porch railing. “So, spill it. What the hell happened?"

"You know what happened," I mumbled, holding back a sob. I took a swig of the cold beer, the bitter kick helping me calm down a bit. Cliff sighed.

"It's James, huh?"

"What do you think?"

"I don't get it," he said, and I looked up, raising my eyebrows when our eyes connected. "If you're into him, why not figure things out? You know he likes you too."

"Apparently, not that much," I grumbled, and he snorted.

"Nore, no offense, but if the girl I liked kept turning me down, I'd probably try to move on too. Maybe not jump into something else... but I don't know if I'd keep pushing after getting rejected as much as he has with you."

“I... “ my voice broke, and I sighed. "Cliff, I'm with Dave. I made my choice. He needs me... I won't bail on him. Not for James, not for anyone. But that doesn't mean I don't feel..." I stopped, the lump in my throat preventing me from talking. Cliff sighed before pulling me into a tight hug.

"It'll pass." He kissed my hair, and I nodded.

"I know."

"If it helps, I find her damn annoying. And I doubt those two will last more than three months." He murmured, clearly trying to make me feel better. I chuckled softly.

"Think we can still be friends after this?"

“Totally, Nore. Just gotta figure out where you both stand. But if you've made your call... Well, he'll have to get that, babe. Just give him some space, and cut yourself some slack too."

"If you weren't Bay Area's best bass player, I'd swear you missed your calling as a shrink," I teased, and he burst into laughter. I shot him a look, a soft, affectionate grin playing on my lips. It was reassuring to know that even in the middle of this mess, Cliff would always be there for me. "Thanks, Cliff."

"No worries. We got each other's backs, right?" He grinned and messed up my hair. I let out a soft laugh. "Plus, no one messes with my fave cousin."

"I'm your only cousin." I quipped, echoing his usual comeback, and he grinned.

"Exactly. Hey, you're not bailing, right? Wanna head back inside? Kirk might think we hated the flicks."

"Well, he wouldn't be totally off the mark," I swiped away the last of my tears with the back of my hand but made my way to the kitchen door with a sigh. "But let's go back."

As we stepped in, I noticed that James and Pat had vanished from the living room. No clue where James had wandered off to, and honestly, I wasn't itching to find out for the first time in forever. I paused for a beat, my eyes lingering on Mike's phone before a sudden determination took over.

"Cliff," I called, and he shot me a questioning look. "You go ahead; I'll catch up, alright? Got a call to make."

"Sure thing. You sure you don't want me to stick around?"

"Nah, all good. Seriously," I reassured him. He gave my face a once-over before nodding, taking the beers back with him to the basement.

I grabbed the phone, pressing it against my ear, hesitating for just a moment before punching in the number I knew by heart, even though it had been ages since I dialed it.

"Hello?" My mom's voice came through, causing my heart to skip a beat.

I was aware that this number, her personal office line, was the only one she personally picked up. No assistants or housekeepers screening calls. But despite that, a weird tension crawled over me at the sound of her voice. I paused for a sec before diving in:

"Hey, Mom. It's me."

“Eleanore?” she inquired, surprise coming through her voice. “What's going on? Did something happen?" 

"Nah, everything's okay," I murmured, my voice slightly shaky. "I just... I..."

“Are you okay, dear? Were you crying, by any chance?”

“No, I'm fine. I'm fine,” I sighed, closing my eyes. "Actually, I called about that school offer."

"Oh? Tell me what's on your mind," I could feel my mother's tone of voice instantly changing, shifting to the interested and sharp tone she used during her negotiations. 

"I'm taking it. But I want to focus on art, Mom. Not law or business. Just art."

"Alright. I'll have Alice look into the best art schools in the state, maybe even the whole country. We can explore international options if you're interested. You'll get a top-notch art education. But you remember your end of the deal, right?"

"Getting involved in the family business, understanding the ropes, so I can handle things when you and Dad can't. Yeah, I remember," I confirmed in a low voice, aware that this was the most challenging part of the deal.

Business never floated my boat, especially the whole legal operations deal with my family's law firm. But the payoff was too sweet to pass up. And maybe a major life change was exactly what I needed.

"Good call," my mom chimed in, and I could practically picture her smiling. "I'll talk with your father. You'll come back for Christmas, right? We can discuss it in more detail then. Feel free to bring your... Boyfriend along if you want."

The rest of the conversation was a bit of a blur. I knew I'd just made a call that would steer my life for the next few years. No clue if I'd regret it or what kind of person it'd turn me into. But I would do anything to beat the heartache gnawing at my chest. Maybe I was running away. Maybe I just wanted to ditch the sadness.

Perhaps I just wanted to wipe clean the pained look James and I exchanged moments ago. Maybe I wanted to forget that he chose not to come after me, not to offer me any comfort.

But did any of it really matter?

✧ if you'd like to be tagged on the next parts, let me know and I'll add you to the tag list! ❤ ✧

tag list: @killazilla777

[burning-academia-if]

What are the ro's love languages (giving and receiving)?

Rook: For giving, it's words of affirmation. You two have known each other a long time, and when you're together, he can finally say everything he's kept inside. For receiving, it'd be physical touch. He isn't used to contact, and the first time you'd take his hand or brush a stray hair back in place, he'd become tense, unsure. But the more the two of you come into contact, the more he realizes he's been desperate for positive touch his whole life.

Beck: For giving, it's acts of service. He'd do anything for you, without question. Pick up groceries, make dinner, take care of you when you're sick. He's almost a mom that way. For receiving, it's quality time. He doesn't want much from you, as long as you're existing in the same space as him, he's content.

Rhea: For giving, it's gift giving. She's also pretty crafty, so some of the things she'd give you are things she's made. Cute jewellery or funky little clay figures are the norm (if she gifts you a clay figure, you're officially one of her favorite people). For receiving, it's acts of service. Seeing someone taking care of her, and wanting to, will make her feel like she's finally found a home.

Zoe: For giving, it's gift giving. They're probably throwing snacks or drinks at you during testing season as a way to ensure you're taking care of yourself. For receiving, it's quality time. Study dates in quiet places brings a sort of calm to them you rarely see.

Lars: For both giving and receiving it's physical touch. For someone who couldn't stand to even be in the same room as you, he becomes extra touchy once things change. Holding hands, toying with your hair, leaning against your shoulder are all norms. Plus, with how tired he always is, you two will probably spend a lot of time cuddling and taking naps together.

???: For giving, it's words of affirmation. Being in your head means they can sense what's wrong and they're quick to soothe. For receiving, it's acts of service. After all, you two are connected because they want something from you.

[nobodyisneurotypicalinthebureau]

Can I please have the Sexuality Music Sexuality Weird quirk Love language Clothes and Romantic headcanons for Angela Douglas?

Anon, I have no clue why you're asking for her sexuality twice, but okay. /hj

Angela Douglas sexuality, music, weird quirk, love language, clothes, and romantic headcanons.

Warning for spoilers

Sexuality: Demiromantic asexual

Music: She plays music while doing autopsies sometimes.

Weird quirk: She gets the impulse to scream in the middle of the night. She rarely acts on it, though.

Love language: quality time. Her lab is actually connected to Lars, which was a dream come true for the two.

Clothes: She has multiple lab coats that she changes every day. However, nobody really realises it because they're all identical and very clean.

Romantic: She sometimes walks into Lars' lab, kisses him on the cheek, and runs away. This is a sort of little romantic game they play.

[lyssa-ink]

1, 2, 4 and 11 from the ship ask game? For either or both of your ships! Sorry if it's too many questions fjshsdfgshdf you don't need to answer all of them if you don't want to

Thanks for the ask! Splitting this up to two for each ship–

lar/fel/niara

1. What’s their love languages?

Lar: Quality time. Even just being in the same room is good to him, a reminder that he’s not alone

Fel: Acts of service. Maybe it’s the whole raised to fulfill your families’ legacy of servitude deal, maybe she just wants her partners to know she’s always there for them

Niara: Gift giving. She was expected to ‘earn her place’ as a kid so giving something freely, no matter how small, is the biggest act of love she can think of

2. Do they have a dynamic trope? (enemies to lovers, sunshine x grumpy, etc?)

I think I’ve called them ‘enemies, friends and lovers in almost every possible order’ before which is an accurate description. Niara and Fel are enemies to lovers, Fel and Lar are friends to lovers, and Lar and Niara are friends to lovers to enemies to lovers

mira/auryn

4. What’s their favorite sleeping/cuddling positions?

Okay I think Mira’s the embodiment of that old “Are you the big spoon or the little spoon?” “I’m a knife” “She’s the little spoon” meme.

11. What’s a song that describes their relationship? Or, what’s the song that they’ve deemed “their” song?

If Only. Yeah from the disney movie. But literally it’s about a girl pretending to date a guy to achieve he own ends but falling for him. That’s literally them.

[gardenofedenuniverse]

Baby Joy! Daddy Skarsgard?

Baby joy! Alexander Skarsgard ignites rumors he's welcomed first child with Swedish actress Tuva Novotny - as pair are spotted on night out with newborn

Skarsgård, 46, and Novotny, 42, were seen together for first time on Monday

The Big Little Lies actor carried a young child after they had dinner with a friend

Novotny appeared to confirm her pregnancy in April at the Swedish Elle Awards

The two have long been rumored to be a couple but have never confirmed

The recently appeared together in Lars von Trier's The Kingdom: Exodus

Alexander Skarsgård and his rumored girlfriend Tuva Novotny appear to have welcomed their first child together after they were spotted enjoying dinner with friends in New York City.

Though their relationship has been kept under wraps, the rumored couple were pictured for the first time together on Monday evening as the 46-year-old Big Little Lies actor carried a newborn baby in his arms while Novotny, 42, pushed a stroller.

DailyMail.com reached out to representatives for both Skarsgård and Novotny who have so far been unavailable for comment.

Growing family? Alexander Skarsgård, 46, and his rumored partner Tuva Novotny, 42, were seen together on Monday for the first time after they appeared to have welcomed their first child

So far, the rumored lovebirds haven't revealed when Tuva gave birth, and they haven't divulged the child's name or sex.

Tuva appeared to have confirmed her pregnancy when she appeared while seemingly debuting a baby bump at the Swedish Elle Awards in April.

The two had long been rumored to be a couple, though neither has confirmed a relationship to date.

They appear have recently collaborated together on the iconoclastic Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier's long-awaited third season of his horror series The Kingdom.

Back in black: The Melancholia star looked sleek in a sporty black Adidas jacket with white stripes running down the sleeves, which he paired with black jeans

The disturbing series, which had two earlier seasons that aired in the 1990s, takes place in a hospital haunted by supernatural phenomena.

Skarsgård previously worked with von Trier on his acclaimed apocalyptic drama Melancholia with Kirsten Dunst.

Tuva is also featured on the revival of The Kingdom.

Earlier this year, she appeared with Anthony Hopkins in Zero Contact. Although she appears in many Swedish and Nordic films, the actress has also appeared in high-profile English-language films, including the Julia Roberts–starring Eat, Pray, Love (2010) and the Natalie Portman–starring sci-fi thriller Annihilation (2018).

Staying cozy: Tuva appeared to have on a dark jacket inside of Alta, which serves upscale Mediterranean food

Fun meetup: She and Alexander appeared to be in high spirits, and they could both be seen beaming ear to ear at times while chatting with their friend

Although she is best known as an actress, she has also moved into directing over time and occasionally works as a singer.

Meanwhile, for the date night out in New York, Alexander and Tuva were both dressed casually and comfortably for their rendezvous with friends.

The Melancholia star looked sleek in a sporty black Adidas jacket with white stripes running down the sleeves, which he paired with black jeans.

He also had on matching black sneakers, and he wore his blond hair short while sporting a close-cropped beard.

Tuva appeared to have on a dark jacket inside of Alta, which serves upscale Mediterranean food.

Sweet: Alexander seemed to be on baby duty and carried the young child in his arms while they were wrapped up in a thick blanket

Layers: Tuva bundled up in a thick olive overcoat with a fringed red plaid scarf twirled around her throat

Top of the line: She pushed along a high-quality black stroller while her rumored partner walked by her side

Years of rumors: The two had long been rumored to be a couple, though neither has confirmed a relationship to date

She wore her brunette hair styled up casually in a bun while sitting next to her rumored partner and chatting with a female friend.

She and Alexander appeared to be in high spirits, and they could both be seen beaming ear to ear at times while chatting with their friend.

Afterward, they stepped out into the chilly street to head home. Tuva bundled up in a thick olive overcoat with a fringed red plaid scarf twirled around her throat.

She pushed along a high-quality black stroller, but Alexander seemed to be on baby duty and carried the young child in his arms while they were wrapped up in a thick blanket.

News is out: Tuva appeared to have confirmed her pregnancy when she appeared while seemingly debuting a baby bump at the Swedish Elle Awards in April

This is not the first child for Tuva, who has a  15-year-old daughter named Ella, from her previous relationship with Nicolai Bjerrum Lersbryggen.

Skarsgård has been notoriously private about all of his relationship, even predating his rumored partnership with Novotny.

In 2011, Amanda Seyfriend confirmed that the two had dated years earlier, and he was rumored to have briefly dated Evan Rachel Wood during their time filming True Blood for HBO.

Kate Bosworth, who costarred with him in a remake of Straw Dogs, reportedly dated him from 2009 to 2011. Most recently, he was reported to have dated the model Alexa Chung from 2015 to 2017.

They recently worked together on iconoclastic Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier's long-awaited third season of The Kingdom, after Alexander previously worked for him opposite Kirsten Dunst and Charlotte Gainsbourg in Melancholia (pictured, 2011)

[angeltrapz]

SAW ask time 💚 wld love to hear abt chainshipping + Adam bein autistic— maybe like what Lar notices abt Adam’s stims, things he does for him/ways he helps when Adam needs it. Also for Eric/Adam, maybe any thoughts on Eric finally like.. realizing he’s got a special interest?? ik we’ve talked abt how hard he masks but bein around Adam (n Mallick) helps him relax abt that, so like maybe how does he react + what is th special interest? anything u wanna dish abt!

thank u it’s always SAW ask time in my heart <33

!!! I was just thinkin abt tht!!! our minds 💫

I think th first time he rly sees Adam stimming (i.e. flapping his hands) he’d be like “what’s that?” but not in a rude way - genuinely a tone of “I want 2 know more abt this thing, pls tell me” rather than anything anywhere near condescending/annoyed/mean-spirited like Adam has dealt w fr YEARS at this point. so he’s definitely put on edge a lil bit bc he can’t help it, maybe he starts to like wind down and force himself into quiet hands, but Lawrence is immediately like “no I wasn’t making fun of you!! u don’t have to stop doing it!” which kinda stops Adam short like. what r we doing here. usually when ppl ask me tht they’re also telling me 2 stop. finally Lawrence says “I was just wondering what kind of stim tht was,” like he didn’t almost (accidentally) uproot Adam’s whole shit + is currently Doing So Now by using actual terms tht Adam didn’t know he knew, n so he like takes a moment to absorb tht comment n then he’s like. “oh. it means I’m happy or excited?” and honestly? when Lawrence hears tht? he’s like “oh... so then you’re rly happy? 🥺” n it’s just like. a moment fr both of them lol. (Adam feels Much safer discussing things after tht too, in several ways. it definitely helps w building trust between them!!)

after that though Lawrence definitely takes notice of more things! he’s not afraid 2 ask questions, so tht’s smth tht’s rly good fr them - Lawrence being able to seek information (he also does his own reading + research) to better understand, n not in tht shitty mommy blogger “I know yr in there somewhere” way. he doesn’t want 2 change Adam. he wants a better grasp on wht Adam’s experiences r like so he can help n minimize stress abt certain things. fr Adam tht’s definitely like.. foreign territory, bc as u’ve mentioned b4 + my personal hc as well, his parents didn’t really care 2 get him formally diagnosed + even acted like there was No Way he cld be neurodivergent in any sense, so 2 have some1 who is interested n respectful is So important 2 him. (personal hc time: I hc Adam as both adhd AND autistic like me so there’s tht!!)

so like he takes notice of th way Adam likes 2 roll things btwn his fingers (shirt sleeves, shirt hems, hoodie drawstrings, blankets, soft fabrics he likes the texture of, etc.) n is just like Oh Idea. I like 2 think he gets Adam one of those bead lanyards (like this one, which I also have!) fr him to fidget w n he kind of presents it like “I thought maybe u wld like smth like this?” n honestly he’s a lil nervous abt what Adam is going 2 say. but Adam takes it n holds it fr a minute, rolling th beads n messing w th lanyard itself 2 kind of test it, n he just looks up n smiles n he’s like “I love this. u’ve been paying tht much attention??” n fr Lawrence it’s just like “yes? of course? bc I love u?” like it’s th simplest thing in th world n Adam’s just. Huh. no he does Not tear up, if Lawrence told u tht he’s lying. he’s just Rly not used 2 ppl who want 2 know more without wanting to “get inside his head” or belittle him fr it (ties into my hc tht fr th most part, Adam hasn’t rly had any Good friends...) so it takes a lil getting used to.

another thing!! Lawrence does is ask 2 listen 2 Adam infodump abt his special interests - esp photography!! like they do this thing where if it’s not too late at night by th time Lawrence comes home frm work, Lawrence will take a quick shower n then get into his pajamas n into bed (just fr some quiet quality time b4 they go to bed, bc he still tends 2 come home a bit late), n he’ll have Adam sit next 2 him n he’ll be like “what do u want to tell me?” bc tht’s another thing tht Adam was entirely unused 2 - having ppl who didn’t just tolerate his infodumping, they wanted to hear it. Lawrence might be th first person to not actually give him shit fr it/tell him he’s being annoying/shut him down completely. again, it takes Adam a lil bit to b fully comfortable w it, but once he is he adores having tht time to be excited abt things w another person! who he knows Wants to listen!! (if we’re going th route I personally like 2 think abt sometimes too, where Lawrence is autistic as well, I feel like they infodump back n forth abt photography n medical stuff. do either of them rly know what the other is saying? not rly. are they listening happily bc that’s their partner n it’s smth they’re excited abt? oh absolutely!)

I think Adam has a tendency to eat a lot of th same foods bc they’re safe n he knows he likes them/doesn’t mind their texture (which is a big issue w trying new foods fr him), which is smth tht Lawrence also takes note of and as such, he likes 2 make sure they’re regularly stocked up on at least some of tht stuff. it’s not even smth he tells Adam he’s doing, bc it’s rly tht simple 2 him - Adam likes these things n therefore we shld have them at th house - but fr Adam it’s just One Of Those Things, y’know?? he got so much shit as a kid fr being such a “picky eater” n got shit fr it as a teenager too bc “why don’t u ever try anything new??” was smth his friends/parents Loved 2 say. it’s th fact tht Lawrence rolls w it so easily, doesn’t poke or prod for reasons he eats th way he does, and doesn’t get upset w him fr it/try 2 force him into things he isn’t comfortable w. it means a lot to him, more than he’ll ever have words 2 say (but he does always kiss Lawrence’s cheek when he gets back frm th store n he sees some of his same foods, which is just as good). it’s loving tht he’s autistic because it’s a part of him, a fact, not despite or in spite of. tht’s what’s so nice n kind of healing abt it; feeling safe 2 express yrself as u are w a partner who u know u can trust. who maybe words questions a bit funny sometimes, completely unintentionally, not out of malice (where allistic Lawrence is concerned, anyway). Adam feels Safe, n tht means a lot 2 him.

as fr ways he helps him!! a big thing is tht Lawrence is observant, esp as they spend more n more time together. a lot of th time, even when it’s just th two of them alone, Adam might have trouble maintaining eye contact fr an extended period of time, n Lawrence might not know how much it Actually helps, but he doesn’t mind tht Adam doesn’t always look at his face when they’re talking. it’s smth tht takes a little getting used 2, but he was never shitty about it w Adam. the way he sees it is if it makes Adam more comfortable, why shld he get upset abt it? it’s not like he doesn’t know when Adam’s talking 2 him anyway, or tht he can’t tell if Adam is listening; Lawrence knows both of those things, so Adam not making eye contact isn’t a problem, y’know? it’s okay. n I rly don’t know if Lawrence is fully aware of how much Adam appreciates tht.

another thing is he’s patient + understanding when Adam is nonverbal, whether it be bc he’s having a shutdown/meltdown, sensory overload, or just plain Difficulty w speech. it kinda depends on what I’m writing at th time, but I feel like Adam might have picked up at least a lil bit of sign language here n there; mostly simple phrases tht get th point across. I like 2 think Lawrence learns what they mean so he can take tht stress off of Adam’s shoulders, but most times, Adam is just comfortable sitting in silence w someone he cares abt.

OH brief thing Lawrence is RLY good at helping w pressure stims. he gives amazing bear hugs n I feel like he’d also probably let Adam lay on him if they’re on th couch/in bed. I just Feel It.

-

OHH I think abt Eric finally developing a special interest now tht he feels more comfortable w doing so a lot. honestly I kind of rly like th idea tht his special interest might be info abt rats! it kind of hits him when he catches himself writing down lil facts (tht might not even be related to pet care!) in his notebook so he’ll remember them + always being excited 2 learn more n share what he’s learned. it makes Adam SO happy to see him being comfortable w tht aspect of himself, esp now that he’s safe to explore it w ppl who understand n who won’t discourage him/belittle him for it,, Mallick too of course, but Adam knows how much Eric struggled w tht kind of thing for such a long time so he’s just. Ah. 🥺🥺

like they’ll all b chilling on th couch (Eric, Mallick, n Adam) n Eric will have his head against Adam’s shoulder while his hand is on Mallick’s chest, who has HIS head in Eric’s lap w his legs dangling off th armrest, n he’ll be like “did u know tht when rats r happy, they grind their teeth together? it’s called bruxing n then sometimes their eyes move in their sockets rly fast while they’re doing it. tht’s called boggling.” n Adam will be smiling so wide when he says he didn’t know tht but it’s rly cool!! n then Mallick will start asking questions n he n Adam just listen while Eric infodumps fr probably th very first time since he was very very young, before it was masked out of him by his parents. n he finds tht he Doesn’t feel so bad abt it anymore, not when he’s around ppl who want him to be happy and want to see him be happy - esp ppl who encourage it n let him know it isn’t smth he has to hide/keep locked away. it’s hard 2 b ashamed of himself when Adam n Mallick r looking at him w genuine interest in their eyes n so so much love.

he might still like, slip back into masking behaviour every now n then, bc it’s something he’s still dealing w n learning 2 leave behind, but after he discovers his first special interest it gets a little easier, letting go of that way of life. it was smth he was forced into by adults who didn’t actually want th best for him like they said they did when they put him through “therapy,” but w partners he knows understand n who are even autistic themselves, Eric slowly learns 2 be more comfortable w it. it’s slow, but it’s progress. bit of a learning curve. he’ll get there.

[turningvioletviolet]

a semi-brutal review of all the songs in “steven universe: the movie”

All opinions in here are my own opinions, obviously. If you disagree with any of these, let me know - I’d love to hear your own assessments.

I based my reviews both on the overall quality of the song (vocals, instrumentals, lyrics, visuals, energy, progression) as well as how well it fits with the overall narrative (both thematically and in terms of plot). In some cases one of these two aspects greatly overpowered the rating, usually because it has that big an impact as to how likely I’d skip that song during a rewatch and/or listen to that song on its own outside of a rewatch.

Some reviews are longer than others.

The Tale of Steven

Pure exposition by characters you don’t like. Big yikes. While I appreciate the throwback to old movies where they had music in the opening credits, this just was not done in an appealing way. I skip over this song every time I watch the movie.

Final Rating: 0/10 stars

Let Us Adore You

The harmonies were well-balanced, but the song itself was a bit meh. It’s a major reminder of the disappointment that many of us had watching Change Your Mind with how easily the Diamonds just changed sides.

Final Rating: 5/10 stars

Here We Are In The Future

Oh, boy. I have a lot of mixed feelings about this song. It’s absolutely an exposition song, which I really dislike. Setting aside personal dislike, I think exposition songs can work if they serve a good purpose.

I can see what they were trying to do with this song. First of all, since this is a movie and not another episode, there’s a value in having some of the essential plot from the show covered - you might have people who haven’t seen the show in a while, or even people watching this without having seen the show at all.

Additionally, by showing all the characters at the beginning of their journey, it makes it easier to follow when later in the movie, the characters lose their memories and have to regain them. I can appreciate how this is important in storytelling, especially for a younger audience. But for me (and I imagine many others who were younger when the show first aired but are now adults), it was just a bit too redundant.

I did like the little motifs that were throwbacks to other songs (”We Are The Crystal Gems” during Steven’s solo and “Stronger Than You” for Garnet’s solo), and the background art was definitely beautiful. I also just appreciate how they introduced some of the changes from the series (Pearl and Greg being good pals now, Lars working at a bakery, and Little Homeworld being built).

That last chorus, though, was way too much. Way too contrived and cheesy. Whose idea was it to have the characters running through fields and singing? A bit cringeworthy. I generally skip over that part when I rewatch the movie.

Overall, there are quite a few issues I have with it, but I understand the intention behind most of them and appreciate that the song isn’t necessarily for my benefit.

Final Rating: 7/10 stars

Other Friends

An absolutely excellent song all around. The old-timey swing vibes really are compelling (we haven’t heard anything like this in SU before) and drive in the concept that Spinel is stuck in the past.

All the game/toy/friend language is delightfully consistent, highly characteristic of the singer (something that’s crucial for an intro song), and also just has that really exciting contrast with the fact that this is, you know, a villain song.

Another thing I liked about the lyrics was the way it created a delicious tension by reminding us that we don’t know who she is or what’s going on (e.g., “Did you think all this time that I wouldn’t find out about you?” and “I’m the loser of the game you didn’t know you were playing”).

It was sung fantastically well, too. The progression also was really strong - it started off normally, by the second verse the anger was really building up, and then the final line was smooth and really added to the sense of “wrongness” that you get by watching the Crystal Gems cut in half.

Final Rating: 10/10 stars

system/BOOT.PearlFinal(3).Info

A very fun song! It was tied into the plot really well. The fact that the song was kind of robotic not only made it catchy, but it also provided an interesting look into how Pearls were expected to behave back on Homeworld (and how generally Pearls are the only ones who do sing).

It’s also a total classic that even a rebooted Pearl can’t help being a know-it-all. She’s just too adorable in this song.

The only reason it doesn’t get full points is that I could see it getting annoying pretty quickly.

Final Rating: 8.5/10 stars

Here We Are In The Future (Reprise)

I’d give this song 0 stars if it weren’t for Uzo Aduba. She’s the only saving grace of this song.

Steven’s being way too woe-is-me in this song (especially after Bismuth’s first verse, which Steven apparently totally ignored). The lyrical changes from the original to the reprise were plain and uninspired.

But again, wow, Uzo Aduba. Not only were her vocals a genuine pleasure to listen to, but I love the way the energy increased as the song went on and how her vocals always seemed to be getting higher (usually verses have that rise and fall, but with Bismuth it was practically all rise throughout any given lyric, which was great in building tension).

I also liked how the “We are the Crystal Gems” line was handled - vaguely reminiscent of the old theme song, but very different - deeper in vocals, more seriously sung, more tension...it’s really compelling. I think it’s also an interesting way of highlighting the difference between the Crystal Gems of old and the Crystal Gems of new.

(I also liked Peridot and Lapis pitching in for “We’ll find a way” and “To save the day” - great to hear from them, and I like the character development.)

Overall, despite the overall perks, I don’t think any of them are enough to really save the song (especially if you include Spinel’s interjection at the end, which was just obnoxious). I’m willing to put up with the bad parts to listen to the good, but only sometimes and even then, it’s a close shave.

Final Rating: 4/10 stars

Isn’t It Love?

Oh dear. I love Garnet, I really do, but this song should not have been in the movie. If you include a song, it should be to drive the plot forward or present new information. All this song does is put the film on pause so that we can hear another song about how Garnet exists because of love. Which we already know. If I wanted to be really salty, I’d say it kinda feels like the Crewniverse didn’t want to have to give Garnet any distinct character traits other than “fusion made of love”.

But, okay, yeah, the visuals were absolutely phenomenal, as is Estelle. So I won’t make this a 0.

Final Rating: 3/10 stars

No Matter What

Absolutely one of my favorite songs in the entire movie. It’s very, very catchy, and the purpose of the song is also just very heartwarming. The progression of the song (especially near the end, when it gets sad and then uplifting - literally) was handled very well.

The only reason I don’t give it 10 stars is that the second verse was way too repetitive and unoriginal. They literally repeated the phrase “no matter what” eight times in a row instead of just singing another verse. Not a fan.

Final Rating: 9.5/10 stars

Disobedient

I don’t necessarily like this song (a bit too on the nose for me), but I’m also a big fan of pop punk, so I might just be picky. So I’ll set that aside.

Here’s the thing: if you told me that this was actually not an original song but a cover of Simple Plan, I’d probably believe you. So I have to give RS credit for that.

Plus Amethyst’s solo was borderline breathtaking.

Final Rating: 8/10 stars

Independent Together

The song itself is really great (I love the rock vibes, and the visuals make a great accompaniment). There’s also a lot of great payoff in this song: Steven and Greg fusing for the first time, Pearl starting to float in sync with the lyric “isn’t the thought enough to lift you off of the ground?”, and Opal’s reappearance. Knowing that the voice actors for Steg and Opal are also friends and have collaborated in the past on music also makes the song a little special.

That said, I don’t like the redundancy in the lyrics. Pearl’s part is a perfect match for Steg’s part, and they repeat the chorus too much. I really felt like they could have spent more time on this song to make it better.

The bridge, however, was lovely, even if I’m not really sure what the lyrics are trying to get at.

Something about Steg’s movements seemed a little sexual, which made me uncomfortable.

Overall, it’s a good song, but has some clear room for improvement.

Final Rating: 8/10 stars

Drift Away

It’s not like anyone needs me to explain why this song was rated so highly, right? But whatever, I’ll dive in anyway.

The background music in the beginning immediately built tension while simultaneously adding that sense of innocence.

The lyrics throughout the song told a very distinct story, which I think is enjoyable in a song. If you typed out the lyrics and removed the bridge and rhymes (and added dialogue tags), it would be a remarkably well-structured piece of flash fiction - beginning, rising tension, climax, and resolution. In particular I found the progression from “Isn’t that lovely? Isn’t that cool? And isn’t that cruel? And aren’t I a fool?” to be extremely moving.

The melody is able to be very catchy without that catchiness overwhelming the other aspects of the song.

The heart behind the song is also utterly fantastic, both in terms of vocals and lyrics. I think the bridge in particular was really interesting, because that’s where she steps back from the storytelling to reflect.

Overall the song makes me almost like Spinel (and I know it made many people absolutely love her). Simultaneously heartbreaking and beautiful - the clear showstopping number of the movie.

The only reason I knocked 0.1 stars off is that the whole magical girl anime transformation near the end was way too contrived. Did they really need to animate her leaning back with her hair shooting out? What is this, Sailor Moon? Way too cheesy. Although I like the reveal that her face marking are supposed to look like mascara.

Final Rating: 9.9/10 stars

Found

Okay, so Steven isn’t being fully genuine in this song. Sure, he’s pulling out his usual Steven-ness, but there’s a clear ulterior motive; Spinel was correct later on when she points out that Steven didn’t actually care about her, just about getting her to stop the drill. And while that’s justified on Steven’s part (I’m on the same page - if you haven’t caught on yet I don’t actually like Spinel), it still leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Other than that: The melody is weak and not well supported by the instrumentation. And I’m sorry, but Steven’s and Spinel’s voices just don’t harmonize together that well.

Not much good to say about this song other than it’s slightly more tolerable than the opening credits song.

Final Rating: 0.5/10 stars

True Kinda Love

Oh gosh. Mixed feelings. I adore Garnet and I adore Estelle, but I don’t feel like the song was especially great. I mean, can anyone explain what exactly it’s about or how it fits into that scene, or how it fits into the theme of the movie? Because it kind of seems to me like, similar to Isn’t It Love?, it’s just SU trying to wring as much as they can out of the whole “Garnet’s made of love!!!!!!” thing, which after a point starts to feel more fanservicey than genuine.

But other than that, it really is beautiful to listen to - SU does a fantastic job of getting background music that complements Estelle’s already beautiful voice. The instrumental part in the middle was beautiful and made the scenes much more interesting to watch (something was so delicious about the contrast between Greg’s arm getting poisoned while this calming music is playing in the background). Steven’s solo followed by Garnet singing again was also really satisfying to watch and listen to, although maybe that’s just me being a sucker for the combination of climbing and singing.

Final Rating: 7/10 stars

Change

I do enjoy this song - it’s satisfying when you look at its place in the overall thematic progression of the movie. I also love the parallels between this and Stronger Than You (which I made a separate post about). Plus, the background music is just fun - it’s energetic and slightly retro while maintaining the classic SU sound. I’m also a sucker for abrupt song endings.

Plus, Steven wiping away his own bloody nose before magicking it away with his newly returned powers is badass. as. fuck.

However, this is just another example of redundant, repetitive lyrics in this movie. I imagine this has to do with the timecrunch RS was on - she didn’t have a whole lot of time to write fully original lyrics, but that doesn’t change the fact that the repetition gets too much too quickly.

Final Rating: 7/10 stars

Let Us Adore You (Reprise)

Now, this is an example of a reprise done well. It weaves together two different songs seamlessly, bringing them together in a surprisingly perfect resolution to the film’s central conflict.

Final Rating: 9/10 stars

Finale

I always stop watching the movie before this song. The last thing this movie needed was another reprise of the whole “Here we are in the future” thing, which was already getting cringeworthy in the first two instances. And that transition into the whole Broadway vibe? While I’m sure that was fun for the animators to work on, it was just way too out of place in the movie.

Final Rating: 0/10 stars

[underteika]

𝑪𝑯𝑨𝑹𝑨𝑪𝑻𝑬𝑹 𝑺𝑯𝑬𝑬𝑻

repost,  don’t reblog !

𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐬 !

FULL NAME.   Anda Teika NICKNAME.   Joy Division (Lars), Cantaloupe (Miriam) GENDER.    Nonbinary (they/he pronouns) HEIGHT.     6′3 w/out the slouch AGE.    25 ZODIAC.    Pisces SPOKEN LANGUAGES.  (American) English, Japanese

𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬 !

HAIR COLOR.    Ashy purple (dyed) EYE COLOR.    Brown SKIN TONE.    Fair-ish (glows if sorrow is present) BODY TYPE.    Toned, broad-shouldered VOICE.   Soft baritone, mumbles often DOMINANT HAND.    Right POSTURE.   Slouches, and tends to draw their body inwards SCARS.    From L shoulder blade to L base of scalp (usually hidden by hair), Slice in L waist, Seam in R knee from amputation TATTOOS.    None, but wants one BIRTHMARKS.   None MOST NOTICEABLE FEATURE(S).    There’s a good chance they look like they’ve been crying. At close inspection, from the R knee down it’s a prosthetic. Very easy to tell what they’re thinking/feeling by looking at their face.

𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝 !

PLACE OF BIRTH.    Washington, USA HOMETOWN.   Republic, WA (Moved to Japan at 14) SIBLINGS.   None PARENTS.    Deceased. Currently taken in by Lord El Melloi II PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT.    Often an afterthought and left alone more often than not. Both with their parents and their grandmother, they didn’t leave the house much.

𝐚𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 !

OCCUPATION.   Undertaker, gravekeeper (volunteering), Autopsy cunsultant at Lord El Melloi II Detective Agency CURRENT RESIDENCE.   Lord El Melloi II’s house, but jumps around to visit friends CLOSE FRIENDS.    EM2, Zal, Lars, Junpei, Scott, Miriam RELATIONSHIP STATUS.   Dating LVA FINANCIAL STATUS.   A lot of money in the Teika estate, enough to live comfortably. DRIVER’S LICENSE.   Up to date, and not a point on it  CRIMINAL RECORD.   Harboring a criminal, withholding information in a criminal investigation, involuntary manslaughter VICES.   Weed, cigarettes, and forgetting circumstances rather than dealing with them

𝐬𝐞𝐱 & 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 !

SEXUAL ORIENTATION.   Bisexual ROMANTIC ORIENTATION.   Panromantic PREFERRED EMOTIONAL ROLE.    Needs a strong anchor to rely on; tends to keep heavy issues to themselves PREFERRED SEXUAL ROLE.    Bottom-leaning switch LOVE LANGUAGE.   Quality time? RELATIONSHIP TENDENCIES. Often able to figure things out without them being said due to empathetic abilities. Becomes wholly emotionally invested in their partner. Usually has domestic tendencies, and is definitely a caretaker personality.

𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐨𝐮𝐬 !

CHARACTER’S THEME SONG.   Omen - Fate/Extra CCC OST HOBBIES TO PASS TIME.   Gardening, restoring furniture, getting baked and listening to music LEFT OR RIGHT BRAINED.   Right? PHOBIAS.   Trains SELF CONFIDENCE LEVEL.    A hair below average (used to be non-existent) 

TAGGING:  You!

[alexdecampi]

The Scottish Boy excerpt: The Black Knight

Hello all! Now that I've posted the lovely art of the Black Knight from @Trungles in the last Scottish Boy update, I thought I'd give you an excerpt (spoiler-free) from a later chapter where the Black Knight features. (I’ve also re-posted Trungles’ art under the cut!) 

I think one of the benefits of coming back to prose writing after a lengthy sojourn in comics is it's made me quite good at blocking out action scenes and keeping them dramatic and suspenseful. Anyway, judge for yourself. Please consider pledging for the novel this is an excerpt from, you can read more right here. It’s only $35 for a 450+ page illustrated hardback, and $15 for eBook. And in a very real way, I can’t do this without you. 

“I need to speak to His Majesty,” mutters Montagu, pacing. He points at the head. “Take this thing away and bury it. You, come with me,” he commands, his index finger rising to indicate the young knight who had spoken first. “You’ll give a full report in front of the King. Number of troops. Weapons. Likely nationalities. Tactics. If the King approves, we’ll raise a larger force and destroy this resistance and all who support them the same way we took care of it in Scotland.”

“I’d like to go,” says Harry, stepping forwards before he even realises it. “I’ve been on several raids across the border. I know some of the land.” Harry inhales, and plays his final card. “Sir Thomas Howland, too, he is the most experienced raider of us all.”

Montagu smiles at him, his hooded eyes as dead as a December garden. “Good old Sir Harry. We can always count on you.”

The King prevaricates. Sending enough men to end the border resistance once and for all would mean sending an Earl, and if they send an Earl, they might as well just invade France. The King doesn't want to invade until Germany and the Low Countries get off the fence. Plus, their army at Antwerp is not large. A hundred and twenty knights, plus about a thousand men-at-arms.

Then France sends its fleet against English port towns. Portsmouth is hit; Southampton, burned. The Channel Islands are seized. The news reaches Antwerp at the same time as a letter from Oliver Ingham, the English seneschal in Gascony, begging for help against a French invasion.

Edward sends messengers to England to begin raising real army. And he sends an Earl over the border.

Montagu takes a quarter of their men-at-arms and twenty knights, including Harry and Sir Thomas. They follow the Scheldt river southwest to Ghent and then towards Tournai, just across the line into France. Once they reach Tournai, they will turn north and travel along that border, killing and burning their way towards Calais. It’s a cumbersome force, ill-suited to fast raiding in enemy territory. Instead, Montagu plans to intimidate the locals into giving up the mercenaries: each village will be asked for information, and if they don’t respond, the village and everyone in it will be destroyed.

The monotonous, flat fields of Flanders are finally relieved by low hills as they approach the border. Sparse stands of trees thicken into forest and Harry is relieved for the shade, even if he misses the stark, endless visibility of the farmlands. The docile barns and quiet farmsteads of the plains are not all friendly to the English cause. Any one could harbor enemy combatants ready to slip out under the cover of night and devastate an English camp. The landscape reminds Harry heartbreakingly of Dartington, and he spends a day in turmoil, imagining men like them riding through Devon, burning and killing.

They cross the Scheldt at a little stone bridge late on their third afternoon, and then the small army makes camp at the edge of the elm forest just on the Flemish side of the border. Tomorrow, they ride into France. Tonight, their last night on Flemish soil, they eat cold rations of cheese and hard bread and sausage, and turn in without fires. Harry sleeps in his mail. He learned that lesson in Scotland.

Their first mistake is assuming they were safe in Flanders.

Their second is assuming the mercenaries would fight like Englishmen.

The raiders slay the sentries with knife and bolt in the deepest pits of the night, when the moon has already begun her decline. Harry jolts awake to the sounds of screaming and the creak and twang of crossbows. He slams on his helmet, grabs his shield and sword, and unlaces his tent flap. His first instinct is to head for Montagu, because he has a feeling that is where the Black Knight, this Chevalier de la Mort, will be. But as he looks cautiously outside his tent, his military instincts take over. First, he has to secure the horses.

The camp is pandemonium. Montagu brought with him a score of longbowmen but their ranged weapons are useless in a packed, close-range night fight in a forest. Harry keeps his shield up and his head down and yells “<To the horses! To the horses!>” as he runs through the camp towards the horse lines. He deliberately chooses to speak in English, hoping none of the raiders understand their language.

He ducks under a crossbow bolt and whirls, his sword coming up low and under the bowman’s short hauberk. Harry feels the wet suck of the sword hitting the man’s thigh bone and yanks hard, pulling it out. He runs on. There’s no point making sure the man is dead. If he can’t stand, he’s as good as gone, and with luck one of his friends will stop to help him. Then Harry will have stopped two raiders rather than just one.

A few men-at-arms from their camp stagger towards him, clutching weapons and shields, most still in their nightshirts. By the time they get to the horse lines there are a couple dozen of them, knights and spearmen and a few longbowmen, massed together. It’s enough to make them a hard target in a camp full of easy ones, and but for a few opportunistic shots from passing raiders with crossbows they’re left alone.

Harry doesn’t hear the sound of hooves anywhere but from their own horses, fearful and restless in their lines. Inside, he’s panicking, because he knows the raiders' mounted force is out there somewhere. But where? It makes his skin crawl, knowing that the main part of the attack hasn’t even happened yet, that any moment now will come the thunder of heavy armor riding them all down. The forest will slow them, but it’s an old forest, with tall trees and little undergrowth. Nothing to stop a mounted knight.

Harry throws a bridle on on Nomad then jumps up on him, bareback, and once again yells “<To me! Rally to the horse lines!>” He orders the younger knights, all with fresh memories of squiring, to grab all the remaining destriers and take the men-at-arms and head as a body back over the Scheidt bridge, deeper into Flanders. All Harry can do is send a quick prayer heavenward that he’s not sending them to their death. It’s strange that the raiders hadn’t already freed the horses, or stolen them… unless they want the English to run.

Unless the bridge is a trap.

“<Ride back along the river!>” Harry calls, his guts twisting in panic as he remembers the little copse of trees on the Antwerp side of the bridge. At what perfect cover it would be to turn the crossing into a killing ground. “<Don’t take the first bridge you come to. Take the second.”>

The men nod their understanding.

Harry calls to some of the men-at-arms he’s worked with before: Carl and Pete and Kev and old Lars. He has just enough time to point out the horses of the Earl and his household knights before the raiders – who hadn’t been avoiding them, they’d been organizing – are on them. It’s a dozen enemy against the six of them, but Harry is on horseback and Kev has his bow. Kev can shoot six arrows for every one from the more cumbersome Genoese crossbows, and they soon even the odds. Carl's hit, they can’t tell how badly, but Pete and Lars get him over a horse and they’ll worry about it later, when they have the luxury of time.

They push through the camp towards Montagu’s tent. Harry can see the knights of quality bunched in front of it, surrounded by enemy raiders.

Montagu is furious, screaming at the raiders from behind the cordon of knights defending him. “French scum! Brigands! Your leader calls himself a knight, then why won’t he come out and fight like one?”

There’s a soft, harsh sound then, somehow audible over the clash of steel and the thud of arrows into shields. It’s a crackling, gasping wheeze, and Harry realizes after a moment that it’s laughter.

A chill runs down his spine as he looks to its source. There, deep in the shadows of the trees, is a pool of even greater darkness: a knight, huge and broad in black plate, his shield plain but for a bend sinister, on a large black warhorse. And he’s laughing at them.

Harry can hear the muted chink of the horse’s tack as the knight shakes his head in amusement and turns his steed, disappearing into the forest. And that’s somehow the most terrifying thing of all: that the Black Knight didn’t feel like he had to engage. That they weren't worth his time.

[picklejaropener-a]

character sheet

BASICS.

full name.  Alara Kitan pronunciation.   ah-LAR-ah kit-AHN nickname.   n/a gender.  female height.  5′4″ age.   early 20s zodiac.   *shrug* spoken languages.  Xelayan, English

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS.

hair colour.   brown eye colour.   brown skin tone.   pale body type.   petite accent.   american-ish dominant hand.   right posture.  very good, because of the lower gravity than what she’s used to she naturally stands up straight and doesn’t slouch tattoos.   none most noticeable feature.  ridges on her forehead, nose, and ears

CHILDHOOD.

place of birth.   Xelaya hometown.  Xelaya manner of birth.   unremarkable first words.   “daddy” siblings.  Solana Kitan (sister) parents.   Ildis & Drenala Kitan parental involvement.   raised by both parents alongside her sister, she clashes with her parents but does love them

ADULT LIFE.

occupation.   Security Chief, Planetary Union current residence.   USS Orville close friends. Kelly Grayson, Ed Mercer, Claire Finn, Gordon Malloy, John LaMarr, Bortus, Isaac relationship status.   single financial status.   n/a - no money in the future! driver’s license.  no cause she’s from space criminal record.  none

SEX & ROMANCE.

sexual orientation. bisexual romantic orientation. biromantic preferred emotional role.   submissive  |  dominant  |  switch |  unknown preferred sexual role.   submissive  |  dominant |  switch  |  sex repulsed libido.  average turn ons.   pass turn off’s.   pass love language.   quality time relationship tendencies.  inconsistent, she starts and stops relationships a lot in her quest to find the perfect person

MISCELLANEOUS.

character’s theme song.  ...I will return to this when I have one hobbies to pass the time.   boxing mental illnesses.   n/a physical illness.   n/a left or right brained.  mix fears. not being good enough, failure self confidence level.   low but growing every day vulnerabilities.   see ‘fears’ above

tagged by.   no one tagging.   everyone!

[dramazones]

Oh Wow! Im finally here with a headcanon birth chart and analysis for jamie!

i'm on mobile so I cant even put this long ass post under a read more i am so fucking sowwy but anyways a lot of this was inspired from dewmie-in 's meta posts and also i rlly love astrology so pls follow them first of all or else ur a fake fan shhfhgjsjkfkd

☀️ ♓︎ Pisces Sun ♓︎ ☀️

There is no doubt that Jamie is a pisces sun. Some of the well known characteristics of a piscean are being the artistic ones, the ones more in touch with their emotions and the absolute dreamers of the zodiac, I can assure you this as a mercury and moon piscean!

And it’s quite obvious that these traits 100% match up to jamie’s surface character being a big theater nerd, writer, poet, and as an actor, he HAS to understand emotion in all its forms! While being the more compassionate of signs, that also comes with sympathy, and maybe even empathy.

to which he expresses when he tells steven that a good story with a quality protagonist HAS to include said protagonists struggles as well, now this might be a reach but perhaps this was self projecting after his own struggles in kansas, maybe even foreshadowing ooOoOh

(“a real hero must struggle” jamie struggles living in kansas, moves back to beach city, nails his first production and gains management position @ the theater, aka his heroic ending i guess idk, then more theater related accomplishments as mentioned in letters to lars ofc)

☽♎︎ Libra Moon ♎︎☽

One of the biggest desires for any libra placement is balance, And the moon sign being the emotion sign, Libra moons desire an emotional balance as much as they do in their environment. Libra Moons can also be known as a “people person” while typically depending on the study of others to lean their own nature.

Jamie fits the Libra moon description being a sort of people person himself. Though he’s capable of keeping a friendly conversation with just about anyone, There’s also no doubt that this guy has severe anxiety that affects his communication with others along with his emotional stability (even affecting him physically). The thing is that he’s managed to keep the anxiety and his social skills much more balanced the more we see him or i guess as time passes, not one of them overpowering the other. (see venus in scorpio as to why he limits himself socially as much as he would his anxiety)

While he desires emotional balance that also comes with a feeling of frustration and defeat when things are even slightly out of balance (also a symptom of anxiety ; easily irritated/defeated) such as his improv performance in letters to lars, ending his performance within a minute after feeling overwhelmed as it started going south.

So while there are several moments of him maintaining an emotional balance he also has another side of the scale that’s less balanced (astrology word play lmao) such as a general lifestyle balance, also nonexistent for jamie (even though your lifestyle heavily affects your behavior) in a sense that he lacks of a healthy sleep schedule being a mailman AND an actor, one occurring from the early morning to the afternoon and the other job occurring at night. Probably irrelevent but its MY sleepover and Ill add as much necessary info in this birth chart reading as i please.

Im also including buddys book as an example because though it was only jamie being the faceclaim for buddy theres no denying that since historical friction theres at least some parallels between the two characters sharing the same traits (being writers, returning to beach city to prosper in their careers, being absolute drama kings)

♀️♏︎ Scorpio Venus ♏︎♀️

One of the biggest aspects to Jamie’s character INCLUDES being an absolute sucker for romance so lets get this bread and talk abt his relationships w/ everyone and his views on love uwu

Scorpio being a water sign means healing is one of the largest aspects to the sign. Healing nonetheless comes with a relation to trauma being from the planet representing death itself. Life and Death go hand in hand to define each other, ya feel me.

while were on the topic of death lets bring back the parallelism between jamie and buddy thats been around since historical friction. in the play buddy is presumed dead up until william reaches beach city. ok. so hear me out. perhaps that was foreshadowing for jamie’s traumatic near death encounter with topaz and aqua. remember how I said the water element represents healing as well as trauma??? It all kinda ties in yall...

ANYWAYS It’s safe to say that Jamie is a person that’s been through his rock bottom AND trauma already (his death if you will), struggling to live a happy, or even regular (lets face it as far as we know the only thing he came back to beach city with was sunglasses, bitch was broke) life in kansas, the abduction, its not something you can heal from overnight. While he does show symptoms of severe anxiety (to say the very least) even after the abduction he’s also grown closer to working on healing, moving on from his overwhelming fear of rejection by prospering in theater (him coming back to life if u will), and as for anything directly related to the abduction is unknown, but its very likely he’s working on moving on from that on his own as far as we know!!

which brings up the next trait of a scorpion venusian! They prefer to be a mystery in order to protect themselves as a result of fear of getting hurt for trusting/opening up too much. The first time we see jamie since the abduction is during the re-election in dewey wins, where he doesn’t seem affected at all. Yes, Jamie is a pretty open book for the most part (see dewmie-in’s analogy to in/out of the closet in historical friction) however theres also moments where he limits himself, or perhaps another side to himself, a far more passionate side…

Holding back tears during his drama zone and waiting until hes alone to be excited abt delivering his letter in love letters, playing it cool when earning theater director position in historical friction, not to mention his room SHOULD play a very huge role in his secretive side. (see brodingle’s post on jamie’s room, his casual side vs his passionate side)

the venus in scorpio (or any scorpio placement rlly) also remains a secret not truly by choice, but theyre also studying others of interest. being an actor, Jamie should know a thing or two on body language and raw emotion as he sees it.

And finally, The venus is scorpio is a devoted, passionate, and emotionally attached lover. in love letters he falls for someone easily, and even if he learned in the end love at first sight isnt real he is most definitely the type to fall easily based on emotional connection alone! Also, his fear of rejection can easily play into his love life as well. Being in kansas getting constantly rejected and returning back home out of not just defeat but most likely homesickness as well. He missed his stable job. he wants stability, loyalty, commitment! yeah ok thts all i got for now ladies!

♂️♍︎ Virgo Mars ♍︎♂️

Mars being the planet of impulsiveness, energy, initiation and “doing it” being born under the sign of doing it efficiently and orderly gives a handful of traits that completely match up to Jamie and the way he puts out his energy into the world

Jamie has been the type to not just instantly put his energy into something new, but he’s also put his energy into mastering said thing! While Mars is the planet of impusiveness, Virgo is the sign of patience, the Virgo mars is a firm believer of practice makes perfect, and striving for overall perfect, which does in fact get overwhelming for Jamie the perfectionist.

In historical friction, though hesitant, he was not afraid to critique and analyze dewey’s writing skills. And although he was anxious again to go against deweys script and use pearls version instead, he went with pearls because he desperately needed to execute his first play flawlessly. this also occurs again in letters to lars, when his improv performance doesnt go as planned he doesnt just end it from there, in fact, he still has that sense of patience to critique his cast members on stage before getting completely irritated when they dont comply. imo its important to note this duality of patience and impulsiveness because this is an anxiety inducing combination that heavily matches up to Jamies energy.

it’s also important to bring Jamie’s room back in this, because while it was creepy as shit its also FILLED with books, and has really fancy stationery meaning he is in fact a writer. The Mars in Virgo is an attentive to detail oriented person, and being a writer, Jamie not only reads others’ works, he records his own with plenty of detail as seen in his love letter to garnet. Its in his nature by now to have an eye for detail as seen in his room, his costumes, his writing, etc.

Its very likely that his venus and his mars sign do sort of relate in a sense of the way he will present himself. The virgo mars wants a deep connection as the next person but refuses to express that “passionate side” as much as others, preferring to remain casual or present a “cool exterior” which plays into the venus in scorpio’s preference for a secretive side or to remain a mystery.

lets also not forget Jamie’s mime performance in Sadie’s Song. His body language easily read as excited and desperate for perfectionism. Theres no denying he spent time and energy into his act, probably studying mimes and all lol

plus the virgo mars being an attentive to detail type of person, scorpio venus’ silent study on their person of interest and libra moon’s dependance on the study of others to learn how to express emotion when and where and how all tie into each other. Jamie depends on detail before well, doing! he is the type to not just think before acting but hes also gotten quite anxious overthinking as well!

The Taurus Ascendant is a sucker for stability, loyalty, especially to their passions with change being their biggest weakness, very fitting to Jamie. Stability is what made Jamie return to beach city from Kansas because he was not used to such a drastic change in an unstable life, doing the absolute opposite of prospering in his acting career, another big desire for a taurus rising btw, they thrive for success!

They also need a sense of security and any chance at risking that security is a big no-no for the Taurus Ascendant. Jamie’s constant fear of rejection, his anxiety before a production that could make or break his career, he desires a sense of reassurance and security that will assure him that things will not turn out as horribly as his anxiety’s (cough drama zone cough) made it out to be.

⬆️♉︎ Taurus Rising ♉︎⬆️

now, in Reunited, hes completely moved on from garnet at this point. This takes places after the abduction, the only thing that would really be on his mind rn is healing and finding peace again with himself and in his surroundings. while hes handled this healing process alone (as far as we know) hes also learned about what he wants for himself including his love life. seeing garnet extremely happy and married and all makes him defeated for a moment not because “uUuuUUhH shes the one that got away!” its because he truly desires a passionate and devoted relationship as ruby and sapphires! which brings up the next topic!

In relationships, the Taurus Ascendant won't easily break up with someone they gave their heart to. Jamie wants a partner thats going to be as devoted and passionate as himself. He needs that sense of commitment and loyalty from someone and probably wouldn’t handle something as emotionless as one night stands for example! Any taurus placement has the same desires for romance as scorpio placements to be quite honest here, im just sayin as a venus in taurus and scorpio rising lmao.

🌊 Water Dominant 🌊

Ok so the thing is heres the thing. Out of all four astrological elements, Jamie exudes water energy the most, then earth, then fire, and lastly air. He’s not just an emotional person, he’s also an optimistic person, even when he overthinks things, he continuously looks into the future rather than his past so I think its important to note he also has that “psychic” aspect to him as well as having a strong sense of someone else’s emotions as much as his own.

let me also add in dewmie-in’s post where they point out tht jamie does in fact have a literal reocurring theme with water so even if he turns out to like not be a water sun sign in canon (highly doubt there will ever be a canon bday for him lmao the entire point of this post tho) theres no way hes gonna not be associated with water coincidentally. so if u didnt read their post tldr: being a fucking buffoon in the literal rain, throwing letters into the ocean, staring at the ocean on his free time, (aka during working ours, worlds okayest mailman) cries easily, buddy dying in water, jamie nearly being killed as instructed by a gem named aqua, jamie surviving in water after being THROWN off the ship. (i added a few more btw hshfhhdjd)

so yeah thats that on that, theres plenty more planet placements than that in a birth chart but i just felt like doing the usual ones i guess :P

[archatlas]

Is architecture basically just finding inspiration in something and constructing a building based on that inspiration?

Nothing is further from the truth. 

Architecture is…

1. “Architecture is definitely a political act.” - Peter Eisenman in Haaretz

2. “Architecture is unnecessarily difficult. It’s very tough.” - Zaha Hadid in The Guardian

3. “Architecture is by definition a very collaborative process.” - Joshua Prince-Ramus in Fast Company

4. “Architecture is a way of seeing, thinking and questioning our world and our place in it.” - Thom Maynein his Prtizker Prize Acceptance Speech

5. “Architecture is the art and science of making sure that our cities and buildings actually fit with the way we want to live our lives: the process of manifesting our society into our physical world. - Bjarke Ingels in AD Interviews

6. “Architecture is merciless: it is what it is, it works or doesn’t, and you can clearly see the difference.” - Jacques Herzog in a lecture at Columbia University

7. “Architecture is always related to power and related to large interests, whether financial or political.“ - Bernard Tschumi in The New York Times

8. "Architecture is a good example of the complex dynamic of giving.” - Jeffrey Inaba in World of Giving

9. “Architecture is too complex for just one person to do it, and I love collaboration.” - Richard Rogers in The Guardian

10. “Architecture is the most powerful deed that a man can imagine.” - Ben van Berkel and Caroline Bosin Volume

11. “Architecture is an act of optimism.” - Nicolai Ouroussoff in The LA Times

12. “Architecture is an artificial fact.” - Mario Botta in Perspecta

13. “Architecture is full of romantics who think that even relatively small changes to the built environment create the aspiration for a better society.”  - Mark Wigley in Surface Magazine

14. “Architecture is for us, the public, and it is going to get scuffed.” - Alexandra Lange in Design Observer

15. “Architecture is the work of nations…” John Ruskin in Stones of Venice

16. “Architecture is always dream and function, expression of a utopia and instrument of a convenience.” - Roland Barthes in “Semiology and Urbanism”

17. “Architecture is an expression of values – the way we build is a reflection of the way we live.” - Norman Foster in The European

18. “Architecture is the real battleground of the spirit.”  - Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in “ID Merger Speech”

19. “Architecture is not a question of the purely theoretical if you’re interested in building buildings. It’s the art of what is possible.” - Paul Rudolph in Chicago Architects Oral History Project

20. “Architecture is geometry.” - Álvaro Siza in Imaginar a Evidência (Imagining Evidence)

21. “Architecture is about improving conditions: environmental, social and sometimes also political.”  - Arjen Oosterman in Volume

22. “Architecture is not just one thing. It is not just an art. … It has to deal with the real situation; it has to do something good for the society.” - Xiaodu Liu in “What Can Architecture Do? An Interview with Xiaodu Liu” on ArchDaily

23. “Architecture is much more than the building of an object on a site: it is a reinvention of the site itself.” - Sean Lally in The Air From Other Planets

24. “Architecture is a language: new designs should abide by grammatical rules to avoid dissonance with existing structures.” - Prince Charles in The Architectural Review

25. “Architecture is an untapped source of magnificent stories waiting to be imagined, visualized, and built.” - Matthew Hoffman in “Blank Space Launches Architecture Storytelling Competition”

26. “Architecture is about serving others through the design of the built environment.” - Kevin J Singh in “21 Rules for A Successful Life in Architecture”

27. “Architecture is a very complex effort everywhere. It’s very rare that all the forces that need to coincide to actually make a project proceed are happening at the same time.” - Rem Koolhaas in Co.Design

28. “Architecture is intended to transcend the simple need for shelter and security by becoming an expression of artistry.” - Jay A. Pritzker in his 1985 Pritzker Ceremony Speech

29. “Architecture is the only art that you can’t help but feel. You can avoid paintings, you can avoid music, and you can even avoid history. But good luck getting away from architecture.” - Philippe Daverio in Humans of New York

30. “Architecture is the petrification of a cultural moment.” - Jean Nouvel in Newsweek

31. “Architecture is characterised by endurance and longevity: a long education, long training, long hours and long lives.” - Catherine Slessor in The Architectural Review

32. “Architecture is a muddle of irreconcilable things.” - Juhani Pallasmaa in The Architectural Review

33. “Architecture is, in many ways, a very specific type of science fiction; it is its own genre of speculative thought,” - Geoff Manaugh in Architect

34. “Architecture is largely irrelevant to the great mass of the world’s population because architects have chosen to be.” - Bruce Mau in Architect

35. “Architecture is becoming less about a single walled-off phallus on the horizon, and more about parks and public spaces which engage with the city.” - Alissa Walker in Gizmodo

36. “Architecture is most often a victory over the process of creating architecture.” - Sam Jacob in Log

37. “Architecture is capable of mounting a profound critique of the status quo.” - Reinhold Martin in Places

38. “Architecture is such a conspicuous immensely physical object in space its presence is bound to influence everyone.” - Gautam Bhatia in India International Centre Quarterly

39. "Architecture is not just about building. It’s a means of improving people’s quality of life.” - Diébédo Francis Kéré in Washington Post

40. “Architecture is a physical experience — it needs to be seen and touched to be wholly understood.” - Nicolai Ouroussoff in Los Angeles Times

41. “Architecture is really difficult. I realized that only very recently. It’s like music. You can enjoy it but — to know it — it’s a different story.” - Diana Agrest in nprEd

42. “Architecture is capable of absorbing anything, and hence tends to dissolve into everything.”  - Ole Bouman in Volume

43. “Architecture is not just a matter of technology and aesthetics but the frame for a way of life – and, with luck, an intelligent way of life.” - Bernard Rudofsky

44. “Architecture is a discipline where you can have multivalent interests. You could be a philosopher, a geographer, a scientist, an artist, an engineer; you can be poetic about it.” - Toshiko Mori in Metropolis

45. “Architecture is supposed to be about a higher purpose.” - Stanley Tigerman in Newsweek

46. “Architecture is the most public of the arts, and the public are severe critics.” - Eric Parry in The Guardian

47. “Architecture is a form­maker, problem‐solver and environment‐creator, and the international exposition is its laboratory.”  - Ada Louise Huxtable in New York Times

48. “Architecture is supposed to complete nature. Great architecture makes nature more beautiful—it gives it power.”- Claudio Silvestrin in Elle Decor

49. “Architecture is a small piece of this human equation, but for those of us who practice it, we believe in its potential to make a difference, to enlighten and to enrich the human experience, to penetrate the barriers of misunderstanding and provide a beautiful context for life’s drama.” - Frank Gehry in his 1989 Pritzker Prize Ceremony Speech

50. “Architecture is not a private affair; even a house must serve a whole family and its friends, and most buildings are used by everybody, people of all walks of life. If a building is to meet the needs of all the people, the architect must look for some common ground of understanding and experience.” - John Portman in “The Architect as Developer”

51. “Architecture is a social art. And as a social art, it is our social responsibility to make sure that we are delivering architecture that meets not only functional and creature comforts, but also spiritual comfort.” - Samuel Mockbee

52. “Architecture is too important to be left to men alone.” - Sarah Wigglesworth in Parlour

53. “Architecture is not a purely private transaction between architects and clients. It affects everyone, so it ought to be understandable to everyone. - Blair Kamin

54. "Architecture is vital and enduring because it contains us; it describes space, space we move through, exit in and use.” - Richard Meier in his 1984 Pritzker Prize Ceremony Speech

55. “Architecture is more about ideas than materials.” - Qingyun Ma in Los Angeles Times

56. “Architecture is not just for big star projects like museums. It’s for the slums around them, too.” - Juan Ramon Adsuara in npr

57. “Architecture is bashful about reality.” - Wouter Vanstiphout in Archis

58. “Architecture is just background. The beauty of architecture is that it brings people together and can create public constructs.” - Ben Van Berkel in AD Interviews

59. “Architecture is about hope, about change—it makes life more exciting.” - Lars Lerup in Architect

60. “Architecture is blessed and cursed with more dimensions than its greats know what to do with: the three of sensible space, the celebrated fourth of travel through it; and others, ineffable, beyond—the fifth of utility, say, the seventh of happy accident, the ominous eleventh.” - Philip Nobel in Metropolis

61. “Architecture is a mystery that must be preserved.”  -  Jean Nouvel in Huffington Post

62. “Architecture is only as great as the aspirations of its society.” - Lisa Rochon in Globe and Mail

63.“Architecture is like the picture of Dorian Gray: It can look beautiful in public, while somewhere out of sight its true soul withers and rots.” - Lance Hosey in Architect

64. “Architecture is about reason-right?” - Alfred Caldwell in Chicago Tribune

65. “Architecture is a profession of optimism.” - Johanna Hurme in spacing

66. “Architecture is about the manipulation of light: both artificial light and day lighting.”- Tom Kundigin Architectural Record

67. “Architecture is expected to carry too much weight in many cases.” - Patricia Patkau in Globe and Mail

68. “Architecture is not a goal. Architecture is for life and pleasure and work and for people. The picture frame, not the picture.” - William Wurster

69. “Architecture is the most obvious flower of a society’s culture.”  - Alan Balfour in Art Papers

70. “Architecture is more than making a statement from the street. It’s making an environment for living.” - Dion Neutra in Los Angeles Times

71. “Architecture is a translation process.” - Fernando Romero in Metropolis

72. "Architecture is quite a narrow, obsessive business.” - Nicholas Grimshaw in The Guardian

73. “Architecture is perplexing in how inconsistent is its capacity to generate the happiness on which its claim to our attention is founded.” - Alain de Botton in The Architecture of Happiness

74. “Architecture is a kind of urban ballet.” - Aaron Betsky in New York Times

75. “Architecture is a history of style written by the victors.” - Herbert Muschamp in New York Times

76. “Architecture is driven by belief in the nature of the real and the physical: the specific qualities of one thing - its material, form, arrangement, substance, detail - over another.” - Kester Rattenbury in This is Not Architecture: Media Constructions

77. “Architecture is not always synonymous with building.” - Francisco “Patxi” Mangado

78. “Architecture is complicated and like other complicated things it is prone to entropy from the outset.” - Guy Horton in Metropolis

79. “Architecture is where imagination meets life.” - Kazuyo Sejima & Ryue Nishizawa in their 2010 Pritzker Prize Ceremony Speech

80. “Architecture is an incredible ego trip. You get things done, you build them, you look at them. That’s why I enjoy life and don’t have an ulcer. - Stanley Tigerman in the Chicago Tribune

81. "Architecture is a strange field where we’re constantly asked to demonstrate over and over why design matters, to everyone, all the time. It’s exhausting.” - Amale Andraos in Metropolis

82. “Architecture is about the lack of stability and how to address it. Architecture is about the void and how to cross it. Architecture is about inhospitability and how to live within it.”  - Geoff Manaugh in The Guardian

83. “Architecture is both an art and a practical pursuit, and the profession has always been divided between those who emphasize the art, that is pure design, and those who give priority to the practical.”  - Paul Goldberger in New York Times

84. Architecture is one of the reflections of the permanence of a civilization. - Charlie Rose

85. Architecture is not a profession for the faint-hearted, the weak-willed, or the short-lived. - Martin Fillerin The New York Review of Books

86. “Architecture is a very dangerous job. If a writer makes a bad book, eh, people don’t read it. But if you make bad architecture, you impose ugliness on a place for a hundred years.” - Renzo Piano in Time

87. “Architecture is the pathology of the contemporary era.” - Forensic Architecture

88. “Architecture is a discipline directly engaged with shaping enclosure, of erecting and toppling barriers or—more explicitly—of extending and limiting ‘freedoms’.” - E. Sean Bailey & Erandi de Silva in “BI’s First Print Edition Released - FREE: Architecture on the Loose”

89. “Architecture is interesting, but by itself it means nothing.” - Massimiliano Fuksas in New York Times

90. “Architecture is an art, yet we rarely concentrate our attention on buildings as we do on plays, books, and paintings.” - Witold Rybczynski in Metropolis

91. “Architecture is aligned with and implicated in the systems of surveillance and control.” - Eric Howelerin Volume

92. “Architecture is 90 per cent business and 10 per cent art.” - Albert Kahn

93. “Architecture is probably the subject of more theorizing, navel-gazing and introspective agonizing than any of the other arts.” - Paul Gapp in the Chicago Tribune

94. “Architecture is invention.”- Oscar Niemeyer in Newsweek

95. “Architecture is always political.” - Richard Rogers in Financial Times

96. “Architecture is a frame of mind, it’s about ideas; the profession is about how to translate those ideas into the real world.” - Christopher Janney in Architectural Record

97. “Architecture is an active participant in the interactions of people within it.” - Jonathan C. Molloyin ArchDaily

98. “Architecture is not only developing in its own realm, it is constantly assimilating achievements from other fields.  - Maya Engeli in Volume

99. "Architecture is first and foremost about serving people and society.  This is an architect’s responsibility: to design buildings that fulfill their practical purpose, bring people together, and connect us to the natural world while preserving precious resources.” - Steven Ehrlich in Metropolis

100. “Architecture is about building a place in the universe, not about mimicking a depleted, decrepit reality.” - Stefanos Polyzoides in The LA Times

101. “Architecture is a public commodity, and as such invites public scrutiny.” - Reed Kroloff in Architecture*

102. “Architecture is not about the creation of newness but rather about the fulfillment of needs and expectations.“ - André Tavares in Forbes

103. "Architecture is the same as advertising for communicating the brand.” - Patrizio Bertelli in The New York Times

104. “Architecture is not just about accommodating very prescriptive demands—it’s doing it in a way that stimulates the unfolding of life. - Bjarke Ingels in Co.Design

105. "Architecture is exposed to life. If its body is sensitive enough, it can assume a quality that bears witness to past life.” - Peter Zumthor in Thinking Architecture

106. “Architecture is flexible.” - Krzysztof Wodiczko in St. Louis Post - Dispatch*

107. "Architecture is a combination of science and fiction.” - Winy Maas in Domus

108. “Architecture is the art we all encounter most often, most intimately, yet precisely because it is functional and necessary to life, it’s hard to be clear about where the "art” in a building begins.“ - Jonathan Jones in The Guardian

109. "Architecture is not an inspirational business, it’s a rational procedure to do sensible and hopefully beautiful things; that’s all.” Harry Seidler in the Sydney Morning Herald

110. “Architecture is used by political leaders to seduce, to impress, and to intimidate.” - Deyan Sudjic inThe Washington Post

111. "Architecture is a paradigm for reconsidering research.” B.D. Wortham in Journal of Architectural Education*

112. "Architecture is about giving form to the places where people live. It is not more complicated than that but also not simpler than that. - Alejandro Aravena in his 2016 Pritzker Prize acceptance speech

113. "Architecture is generally a poor relative to things like film, fashion and product design. Even though it is economically more important, for some reason it is not getting the recognition.” - Tamsie Thomsonin The Architects’ Journal

114. “Architecture is a complex and articulated process but if you lose the process and only keep the form you lose the core of architectural practice.” - André Tavares in Wallpaper*

116. “Architecture is practical poetry.” - Bjarke Ingels at the New Yorker Festival

117. “Architecture is the sum of inevitable negotiations.” - Felipe Mesa in Domus

118. “Architecture is more than just buildings; these structures can inspire and motivate people to do great things.” Fisk Johnson for the 2017 Chicago Architecture Biennial

119. “Architecture is one of those disciplines that has no shortage of voices.” - Guy Horton in Metropolis

120.“Architecture is always a temporary modification of the space, of the city, of the landscape. We think that it’s permanent. But we never know.” - Jean Nouvel in The New York Times

121. “Architecture is like life: a matter of trade-offs.” - Paul Goldberger  in The New York Times

Quotes via

Paper Architectural Models via

[claudinei-de-jesus]

The fate of the righteous

1. Nature of the sky.

The righteous are destined for eternal life in the presence of God. God created man to be known to man, loved and served by him in the present world, as well as to enjoy his presence forever in the world to come.

The Christian during his earthly life experiences by faith the presence of the invisible God, but in the life to come this experience of faith will become a fait accompli. He will see God face to face, he will have the experience that some theologians call the "Beatified Vision".

Heaven is described by several titles:

1) Paradise (literally, garden), reminding us of the happiness and contentment of our first parents when participating in communion and conversation with the Lord God. (Rev. 2: 7; 2 Cor. 12: 4)

2) "My Father's House", with its many mansions (John 14: 2) exposing the comfort, rest and fellowship of the home.

3) The heavenly country, on the way to which we are traveling, as Israel at that time was destined for Canaan, the Land of Promise. (Heb. 11: 13-16.)

4) A city, suggesting the idea of ​​an organized society. (Heb. 11:10; Rev. 21: 2.) We must distinguish the following three phases in the condition of Christians who have departed from this life: first, there is an intermediate state of rest while awaiting the resurrection; second, after the resurrection, judgment on works follows (2Cor. 5:10; 1Cor. 3: 10-15); third, at the end of the Millennium, New Jerusalem, the final home of the redeemed, will descend from heaven (Apoc. 21).

The New Jerusalem will descend from heaven, it is part of heaven, and therefore it is heaven in the full sense of the word. Whenever God reveals himself through his personal presence and heavenly glory, there is heaven, and in this way we can describe the New Jerusalem. (Rev. 22: 3,4.) Why does this city come down from heaven? God's ultimate purpose is to bring heaven to earth. (See Deut. 11:21.) He will "bring together all things in Christ, in the dispensation of the fulness of time, both those in heaven and those on earth" (Eph. 1:10); then God will be "all in all" (1 Cor. 15:28).

Although the New Jerusalem does not reach the earth, it will be visible to the earthly inhabitants, for "the nations will walk in its light" (Rev. 21:24).

2. Heaven's need.

The study of religions reveals the fact that the human soul instinctively believes that there is heaven. This instinct was implanted in the heart of man by God Himself, the Creator of human instincts. The arguments that prove the existence of the future life are not formulated mainly for men to believe in this life, but because men already believe, and wish to bring the subject intelligence to the deepest institutions of the heart.

Heaven, too, is essential to the demands of justice. The sufferings of the righteous on earth and the prosperity of the wicked demand a future state in which full justice is done. The Bible teaches that such a place exists. Plato, the wisest of the Greeks, thought that the future life was a probability, and advised men to gather the best opinions about it, and to embark on them as if on a raft, and to sail dangerously the seas of life, "unless that more safely I could find a better ship, or a divine word ". This divine word that the sages desired was the Holy Scriptures, in which the existence of the future life is taught, not as an opinion or theory, but as an absolute fact.

3. The blessings of heaven.

(a) Light and beauty. (Rev. 21:23; 2: 5.) The best human language is inadequate to describe the glorious realities of the future life. In chaps. 21 and 22 of the Apocalypse the Spirit uses language that helps us to understand something of the beauties of the other world. The mole that lives in the hole in the earth cannot understand what life is like for the eagle that soars above the high mountains. Let's imagine a miner who was born in a mine 500 meters below the surface and who spent all his days there, without ever having seen the surface of the earth. How difficult it would be to try to describe the visual delights of green trees, flowering fields, rivers, orchards, mountain peaks, and the starry sky. He would not appreciate any of this, for his eyes did not see, his ears did not hear, and the knowledge of these things did not enter his heart.

(b) Fullness of knowledge, (1Cor. 13:12.) The feeling expressed by the wise Socrates when saying: "One thing I know, is that I know nothing", has been repeated by the wise men of that time. Man is surrounded by mysteries and longs for wisdom. In heaven this yearning will be satisfied absolutely; the mysteries of the universe will be unraveled; difficult theological problems will vanish. Then we will enjoy a better quality of knowledge, the knowledge of God.

(c) Rest. (Rev. 14:13; 21: 4.) A certain conception of heaven can be formed by contrasting it with the disadvantages of the present life. Think of everything in this world that causes: fatigue, pain, struggle and sadness, and consider that in heaven these things will not disturb us.

(d) Serve. There are people used to a very active life who are not interested in heaven, thinking that heaven is a place of inactivity, where ethereal beings spend time playing the harp. This, however, is not an exact conception. It is true that the redeemed will play harps, because heaven is a place of music. "There will be work to do as well." ... They are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple. "" (Rev. 7:15); "... and his servants will serve him" ... (Rev. 22: 3). The one who placed man in the first paradise, with instructions on how to take care of him, will certainly not leave the man without having what to do in the second paradise.

(e) Enjoyment. (Rev. 21: 4.) The greatest pleasure experienced in this world, even if magnified a million times, would not yet express the joy that awaits the children of God in that kingdom. If a powerful king, possessing unlimited wealth, wanted to build a palace for his bride, that palace would be everything that art and resources could provide. God loves his children infinitely more than any human being. Possessing inexhaustible resources, he can make a home whose beauty surpasses everything that human art and imagination could conceive. "I will prepare a place for you."

(f) Stability. The joy of heaven will be eternal. In fact, permanence is one of the necessities for happiness to be perfect. As glorious as heavenly beauty and happiness may be, knowing that these things would end is enough for enjoyment to lose its perfection. Remembering that everything will inevitably end, would be an obstacle to perfect enjoyment. Everyone wants the permanent state: permanent health, permanent peace and permanent prosperity. Instability and insecurity are feared by everyone. But happiness in heaven is precisely the divine promise that your enjoyment will never end or diminish in intensity.

(g) Social Enjoyments. (Heb. 12:22, 23; 1Th. 4: 13-18) By nature, man is a social being. The lonely man is abnormal. If, in the present life, social enjoyments bring so much happiness, how much more lovable social communion in heaven will not be much more glorious. In human relationships, even the people closest to us have their faults and characteristics that destroy their personality. In heaven, friends and relatives will not be absent. Social enjoyments in this life are accompanied by disappointment. Often the family members themselves cause us great sadness; friendships end and love fades. But in heaven there will be no misunderstandings and no feud; everything will be good and beautiful, without shadow and without defect, full of heavenly wisdom and resplendent with the glory of God.

(h) Communion with Christ. (John 14: 3; 2 Cor. 5: 8; Phil. 1:23.) "Whom having not seen him, you love; in whom, not seeing him now, but believing, you rejoice with ineffable and glorious joy" ( 1 Peter 1: 8). That day we will be as he is; our bodies will be like his glorious body; we will see you face to face; he who pastored his people in the valley of tears, in heaven will lead these people from joy to joy, from glory to glory, and from revelation to revelation. ... O destino dos justos

1. Natureza do céu.

Os justos são cuidados à vida eterna na presença de Deus. Deus criou o homem para ser ele conhecido pelo homem, amado e servido por ele no presente mundo, como também gozar eternamente de sua presença no mundo vindouro.

O cristão durante a sua vida terrestre experimenta pela fé a presença de Deus invisível, mas na vida vindoura essa experiência da fé tornar-se-á um fato consumado. Ele verá a Deus face a face, terá a experiência que alguns teólogos chamam de "Visão Beatifica".

O céu esclarece-se por vários títulos:

1) Paraíso (literalmente, jardim), lembrando-nos a felicidade e o contentamento dos nossos primeiros pais ao participarem de comunhão e conversação com o Senhor Deus. (Apo. 2: 7; 2Cor. 12: 4)

2) "Casa de meu Pai", com suas muitas mansões (João 14: 2) expondo o conforto, descanso e comunhão do lar.

3) O país celestial, um caminho do qual estamos viajando, como Israel determinado tempo se destinava a Canaã, a Terra da Promissão. (Heb. 11: 13-16.)

4) Uma cidade, sugerindo a idéia duma sociedade organizada. (Heb. 11:10; Apo. 21: 2.) Devemos distinguir as seguintes três fases na condição dos cristãos que partem desta vida: primeira, existe um estado intermediário de descanso enquanto aguardam a ressurreição; segunda, depois da ressurreição segue-se os juízes sobre as obras (2Cor. 5:10; 1Cor. 3: 10-15); terceira, ao fim do Milênio descerá do céu a Nova Jerusalém, o lar final dos remidos (Apoc. 21).

A Nova Jerusalém descerá do céu, faz parte do céu, e, portanto, é o céu no pleno sentido da palavra. Sempre que Deus se revela pela sua presença pessoal e glória celeste, ai é o céu, e dessa maneira podemos descrever a Nova Jerusalém. (Apo. 22: 3,4.) Por que desce essa cidade do céu? O propósito final de Deus é trazer o céu à terra. (Vide Deut. 11:21.) Ele tornará "a congregar em Cristo todas as coisas, na dispensação da plenitude dos tempos, tanto como que estão nos céus como que estão na terra" (Efés. 1:10); então Deus será "tudo em todos" (1 Co 15:28).

Embora a Nova Jerusalém não chegue até a terra, ela será visível aos moradores terrestres, pois "as nações andarão à sua luz" (Apo. 21:24).

2. Necessidade do céu.

O estudo das religiões revelam o fato de que a alma humana instintivamente crê que existe céu. Esse instinto foi implantado no coração do homem pelo próprio Deus, o Criador dos instintos humanos. Os argumentos que provam a existência da vida futura não são formulados principalmente para que os homens acreditam nessa vida, mas porque os homens já acreditam, e desejam trazer a inteligência às mais profundas instituições do coração.

Também o céu é essencial às exigências da justiça. Os sofrimentos dos justos sobre a terra e a prosperidade dos ímpios focos um estado futuro no qual se faça plena justiça. A Bíblia ensina que tal lugar existe. Platão, o mais sábio dos gregos, opinou que a vida futura era uma probabilidade, e aconselhou os homens a colherem as melhores opiniões a respeito, ea embarcar nelas como que numa balsa, e navegar perigosamente as mares da vida, "a não ser que com mais segurança poderia achar um navio melhor, ou uma palavra divina ". Essa palavra divina que os sábios desejaram são as Escrituras Sagradas, nas quais se ensina a existência da vida futura, não como opinião ou teoria, mas como fato absoluto.

3. As bênçãos do céu.

(a) Luz e beleza. (Apo. 21:23; 2: 5.) A melhor linguagem humana é inadequada para descrever como gloriosas realidades da vida futura. Nos caps. 21 e 22 do Apocalipse o Espírito emprega linguagem que nos ajuda a compreender algo das belezas do outro mundo. A toupeira que vive nenhum buraco na terra não pode compreender como é a vida da águia que se eleva acima das altas montanhas. Vamos imaginar um mineiro que nascesse em uma mina 500 metros abaixo da superfície e que ai passasse todos os seus dias, sem nunca ter visto a superfície da terra. Como seria difícil tentar-lhe as delicias visuais de verdes árvores, campos floridos, rios, pomares, picos de montanhas, e o céu estrelado. Ele nada disso intelectualia, pois seus olhos não viram, seus ouvidos não ouviram e não entrou em seu coração o dessas coisas.

(b) Plenitude de conhecimento, (1Cor. 13:12.) O sentimento expresso pelo sábio Sócrates ao dizer: "Uma coisa sei, é que nada sei", tem sido repetido pelos sábios daquele tempo. O homem está rodeado dos mistérios e anseia pela sabedoria. No céu esse anseio será satisfeito; os mistérios do universo desvendados; problemas teológicos difíceis desvanecerão. Então gozaremos de melhor qualidade de conhecimento, o conhecimento de Deus.

(c) Descanso. (Apo. 14:13; 21: 4.) Pode-se certa formar a concepção do céu contrastando-o com as desvantagens da vida presente. Pense em tudo que neste mundo provoca: fadiga, dor, luta e tristeza, e considere que no céu essas coisas não nos perturbarão.

(d) Servir. Existem pessoas acostumadas a uma vida muito ativa que não se interessam pelo céu, pensando que o céu seja lugar de inatividade, onde seres etéreos passem o tempo tocando harpa. Essa, porém, não é uma concepção exata. É verdade que os redimidos tocar harpas, pois o céu é lugar de música. "Haverá trabalho a fazer também." ... Eles estão diante do trono de Deus, e o servem de dia e de noite no seu templo. "(Apo. 7:15); “... e os seus servos o servirão” ... (Apo. 22: 3). Aquele que colocou o homem no primeiro paraíso, com instruções sobre como cuidar dele, certamente não deixará o homem sem ter o que fazer no segundo paraíso.

(e) Gozo. (Apo. 21: 4.) O maior prazer experimentado neste mundo, mesmo que ampliado um milhão de vezes, ainda não expressaria o gozo que espera os filhos de Deus nesse reino. Se um poderoso rei, possuidor de ilimitadas riquezas, quisesse construir um palácio para sua noiva, esse palácio seria tudo quanto a arte e os recursos pudessem prover. Deus ama seus filhos infinitamente mais que qualquer ser humano. Possuindo recursos inexauríveis, ele pode fazer um lar cuja beleza ultrapasse tudo quanto a uma arte e imaginação humana possível. "Vou preparar-vos lugar."

(f) Estabilidade. O gozo do céu será eterno. De fato, a permanência é uma das necessidades para que a felicidade seja perfeita. Por muito gloriosas que sejam a beleza e a felicidade celestiais, saber que essas coisas acabariam já é suficiente para que o gozo perca sua perfeição. Lembrar-se de que inevitavelmente tudo findará, seria um empecilho ao gozo perfeito. Todos que desejam o estado permanente: saúde permanente, paz permanente e prosperidade permanente. A instabilidade e insegurança são temidas por todos. Mas a felicidade no céu é justamente a divina promessa de que o seu gozo nunca há de terminar nem diminuir de intensidade.

(g) Gozos Sociais. (Heb. 12:22, 23; 1Tess. 4: 13-18) Por natureza, o homem é um ser social. O homem solitário é anormal. Se na vida presente os gozos sociais proporcionam tanta felicidade, como não será muito mais gloriosa a amável comunhão social no céu. Nas relações humanas, mesmo as pessoas mais personalizadas a nós têm suas faltas e características que destroem a sua personalidade. No céu os amigos e parentes não terá faltas. Os gozos sociais nesta vida fazem-se acompanham de desapontamento. Muitas vezes os próprios familiares nos causam grandes tristezas; como amizades acabam e o amor desvanece. Mas no céu não haverá os mal-entendidos e nenhuma rixa; tudo será bom e belo, sem sombra e sem defeito, cheio de sabedoria celestial e resplandecente com a glória de Deus.

(h) Comunhão com Cristo. (João 14: 3; 2Cor. 5: 8; Fil. 1:23.) "Ao qual, não o havendo visto, amais; no qual, não o vendo agora, mas crendo, vos alegrais com gozo inefável e glorioso" ( 1Ped. 1: 8). Naquele dia seremos como ele é; os nossos serão como o seu glorioso corpo; nós o veremos enfrentamos um rosto; aquele que pastoreou o seu povo no vale das lágrimas, no céu conduzirá esse povo de gozo em gozo, de glória em glória, e de revelação em revelação.

[naturecpw]

You kind of know, going into it, that scientists who have spent their lives studying animal behavior are not going to love being asked, “What is the smartest bug?”

“It’s a tricky question and I don’t think anyone will give you a straight answer to it, unfortunately,” laughs Marc Srour, a biologist who specializes in invertebrates. He’s being nice: it is, I fully acknowledge, a pretty stupid question. But scientists themselves have, without using that phrasing, been attempting to answer it, and have been making progress. Insect intelligence is an under-studied field, but a particularly weird and dynamic one where huge discoveries are being made almost every year.

The biggest problem with asking about animal intelligence is defining what we even mean by “intelligence.” The animals generally thought of as smartest—among them the great apes, dolphins, and the octopus—are believed to be intelligent because they demonstrate some of the behaviors that we associate with our own superiority as humans. These qualities include problem solving, advanced communication, social skills, adaptability, and memory, and also physical traits like the comparative size of the brain or number of neurons in the brain.

Scientists study these qualities, but they study them individually, as concrete behaviors and attributes, and don’t usually like to then add up an animal species’ scores on those qualities and then declare them objectively intelligent.

Insects are a particularly difficult group of animals to study for these traits, because they’re just so different from us. Srour walked me through the basics of an insect’s brain, and holy god, they are so weird. Insects are extremely modular creatures, not like us at all: the easiest way to understand an insect’s nervous system is that an insect has many different sub-brains in different parts of its body, which feed into and can be controlled by a slightly larger central brain but can actually also operate separately. The antennae of an insect has its own brain. So does the mouth, the eyes, and each leg. Even if the central brain of an insect stops working, its legs still have their own sub-brains, and can keep walking. 

Insects have, even considering their small size, a comparatively smaller central brain than we do, and with a much, much smaller neural count. Lars Chittka, perhaps the foremost researcher on the behavior of bees, told me that a bee has under a million neurons in its main brain. Humans? About a hundred billion.

Whether the amount of neurons or the physical size of the brain is related to intelligence is not really clear; researchers have no idea what humans are doing with all those neurons. But certainly there is a correlation between comparative brain size and the amount of those “intelligent” behaviors an animal can perform. In an insect, the key thing is the mushroom bodies, a pair of structures within the insect’s main brain that’s responsible for learning, memory, and, sort of, intelligence. Generally speaking, the larger the mushroom bodies, the smarter the insect.

There’s another angle as well, one that’s a little more complicated than just “big brain equals big smarts.” “Generalist insects tend to be the most intelligent,” says Srour. What he means is that insects, and animals in general, demonstrate more intelligence when they are equipped to adapt to all kinds of food sources and habitats. An animal that only eats one kind of leaf in one kind of tree doesn’t have to know very much; it can ignore all other information besides that which is directly related to that one leaf. “You can say in general that fleas and ticks, they’re not very intelligent,” says Srour. “They only have one purpose in life, and that’s to find their host and feed on their blood. They don’t have to do anything sophisticated so they don’t need very high brain functions.” Yeah, screw you, fleas and ticks, you idiots.

But a generalist animal has to do all kinds of intense thought to survive. Everything it sees can be a potential home, threat, or food source, and the animal has to constantly evaluate new stimuli to see if it can make use of it. A bee can feed on dozens of kinds of flowers, and must figure out the best bang for its buck as well as figuring out how to take advantage of it. The same goes for ants, which can feed on a wide variety of plant and animal matter. Ants leave scent trails for other ants to follow, a clear demonstration of social intelligence. Beetles don’t do that kind of thing; a beetle is a lone creature that doesn’t need to work with others for survival. Hell, a cat doesn’t even have to do that.

This all ties in with the “social brain hypothesis,” a theory put forth by anthropologist Robin Dunbar in 1998. The social brain hypothesis states that intelligence evolved in animals, including humans, specifically to work within and survive with social groups, not in order to solve any particular ecological problem. In other words, living in a group forces an individual to become smarter, rather than a smart individual choosing to live in a group.

“Ants, bees, and termites all have very high intelligence,” says Srour. “They have to recognize nest mates, communicate with them often.” The challenges of living within a large community require intelligence.

The three groups that are, according to Srour, up on the podium of smartest bugs, are the bees, the ants, and the cockroaches. Partially that’s biased because these are some of the best-studied insects of all, and it’s further biased because these insects behave, in some ways, more like humans than any other.

Which brings us to the honey bee.

Unlike most insects, the honey bee is a social animal, which forces it to have many intelligent abilities that non-social insects (like, say, flies, or beetles) don’t need. And its smarts are legion: the insects are able to recognize and distinguish between human faces, a surprising trait given that it isn’t really necessary for their survival. Another one: bees can count. In an experiment, honey bees were rewarded for stopping at the third in a series of landmarks, and proved able to remember this location and to thus count. (The distance was altered, while keeping the same number of landmarks, to discourage the bees from using their sense of distance.) Further study indicated their maximum counting abilities go to about four.

Bees are capable of observation, learning, and memory to solve problems. “Every bee is entirely flower-naive at the beginning of its foraging career,” says Chittka, meaning that the bee has no instinctive knowledge about how to score nectar or pollen from flowers. That’s trouble, because flowers are wildly divergent: different flowers will need entirely different strategies to exploit, and it’s up to each individual bee to figure out how to attack each different flower.

Bees can learn new strategies for getting food from other bees, something few other insects are capable of doing. Chittka told me about a technique called “nectar robbing,” in which bees figure out that it can be easier to bite a hole in a flower’s spur to suck out the nectar rather than figuring out how to get inside the flower. Other bees have proven able to observe this strategy, understand its purpose, master it themselves, and remember it for future flowers. That’s pretty smart!

But perhaps the best-known and most insane bit of intelligence from bees is what’s known as the “waggle dance.” This is a method of communication that the bee uses to tell other bees in the hive the location of a flower or source of food. Here’s how it works: a bee performs the dance on a vertical surface inside the hive. The dance is shaped like a coffee bean: roughly, an oval with a line down the middle. Dancing straight up means to fly in the direction of the sun, straight down means away from the sun, and left and right mean to fly to the left or the right of the sun.

The bee travels in a figure-eight pattern, tracing the line in the middle before performing the loops around the outside of the coffee bean shape. The amount of time it takes the bee to make its circuit around the outside of the coffee bean tells other bees how far away the food source is: a one-second loop means, roughly, that the food source is a kilometer away. The longer the loop, the farther away the food source is.

The bee will repeat this dance many times to indicate the quality of the food source: a really great one will find the bee doing this over and over again, yelling “IT’S A KILOMETER NORTHWEST OF HERE, IT’S A KILOMETER NORTHWEST OF HERE, IT’S A KILOMETER NORTHWEST OF HERE” for minutes on end. A decent but not quite as good source might find the bee repeating the message only a few times.

The Waggle Dance  | Inside the Animal Mind | BBC

“The honey bee dance is unique insomuch as they’re using symbols,” says Chittka. “No other animal besides humans has that.” Even other primates don’t use symbols: an ape like a chimpanzee may point at a desired object, or lead others to it, but it won’t use an abstract symbol or message to indicate what it wants to convey. The honey bee’s waggle dance is a wildly intelligent attribute; it enables a bee to very efficiently convey detailed information to a large group, and also can be done in the safety of the hive, where other animals can’t overhear. 

These behaviors are far above and beyond what most people would assume an insect is capable of. Without exaggerating, the honey bee is capable of advanced symbolic communication, language, facial recognition, number use, observation and mimicry, understanding of rules, and high-level problem-solving. They are, in some senses, significantly smarter than many mammals. Amazing.

https://getpocket.com/explore/item/i-asked-leading-entomologists-what-s-the-smartest-bug-in-the-world?utm_source=pocket-newtab

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https://youtu.be/12Q8FfyLLso

[thewrosper]

Cannes Film Festival flashback: Most memorable editions, from post-WWII beginnings to its 2009 pinnacle

May holds a special place in the calendar of film lovers across the world. It is when the privileged few of them gather at that most hallowed rendezvous on the Croisette for Cannes Film Festival — and it sure is a privilege to discover the best films of the year, before they are coated with all that promotional sheen. Sadly, Cannes 2020, originally scheduled to run from 12-23 May, will not be held in its "original form" this year due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis; but it was announced on Sunday that it will screen an official selection of its films at fall festivals like Venice. Meanwhile, all its parallel sections — Directors' Fortnight, Critics' Week, ACID — have been cancelled. With many other festivals also cancelled, cinemas closed, and productions on hold, the COVID-19 pandemic has paralysed the film industry.  It is unfortunate especially following the success of last year's edition, which proved exactly why Cannes is still considered the barometer of quality in cinema. Some of the most beloved films of 2019 began their journey at the festival: Beanpole, Bacurau, I Lost My Body, Invisible Life, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Pain and Glory, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, The Lighthouse and, not to mention, the eventually Oscar-winning Parasite. It was truly an exceptional line-up, in terms of scale, variety and substance. Turning back the clock, we time-travel to Cannes film festivals over the years with equally exceptional line-ups. End of a war, birth of a festival Highlights | Beauty and the Beast (Jean Cocteau), Brief Encounter (David Lean), Gaslight (George Cukor), Gilda (Charles Vidor), The Lost Weekend (Billy Wilder), Notorious (Alfred Hitchcock), Rome Open City (Roberto Rossellini)

Proposed as an alternative to Venice Film Festival (then politicised by Mussolini), the first edition of Cannes was initially supposed to be held in 1939. Louis Lumière, the man who gave us cinema, was announced as president. MGM had chartered an ocean liner to bring all the stars from Hollywood. Cary Grant, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Gary Cooper, James Cagney, Mae West, Norma Shearer, Spencer Tracy, and many more had arrived on the Croisette. Then, Germany invaded Poland and they all had to book return tickets. The world had to wait till the war ended for a taste of what Cannes had to offer — and boy, did they deliver. Alfred Hitchcock got everyone's hearts racing and adrenaline pumping with Notorious. Billy Wilder followed up Double Indemnity with a grim portrait of alcoholism in The Lost Weekend. David Lean served a romantic tearjerker for the ages in Brief Encounter. Italian neorealism began to take shape with Roberto Rossellini's Rome, Open City. Jean Cocteau crafted an anti-Disney treatment of Beauty and the Beast, where the surreal and real, the ugliness and beauty come together in a magic realist concoction. Out of the 44 feature films screened, 11 of them (one from each participating country) were awarded the top prize, Grand Prix (now called Palme d'Or), for reasons of diplomacy. This included India's sole Palme d'Or crown (till now) in Chetan Anand's Neecha Nagar.  However, it was anything but a smooth-running operation. In a comedy of errors, the reels of Hitchcock's Notorious were reversed, screened with the ending reel first, while the projection of George Sydney’s The Three Musketeers was turned upside-down. There was also tension brewing over the beginning of the Cold War. Russia blamed every technical issue on the US; the US cried sabotage over last-minute parties being scheduled at the same time as Hollywood films.  Despite reversed reels and upside-down projections, Cold War scandals and consolation awards, the inaugural edition proved it could only get better. Cannes 1946 helped France regain its status as an economic power in Europe post-WWII, also enhancing its cultural weight over the rest of the world — at least, in terms of cinema.  The glitz and glamour Highlights | Ballad of a Soldier (Grigori Chukhrai), La Dolce Vita (Federico Fellini), L'avventura (Michelangelo Antonioni), The Virgin Spring (Ingmar Bergman), The Young One (Luis Buñuel)

Within a decade, Cannes had set a new precedent for other festivals. Call it a temple of cinema or a glamorous vanity fair, it was beginning to attract the best filmmakers in world cinema. It also became the new locus for the golden age of Italian cinema, as two of its canonical entries, Fellini's La Dolce Vita and Antonioni's L'avventura, were both screened at the festival. Not without controversy of course. La Dolce Vita and L'avventura divided the critics and the public, stirring the deepest admiration and aversion. The former ended up winning the Palme d'Or, the latter the Jury Prize. However, for a large portion of the public, La Dolce Vita was an overlong decadent affair intended to outrage all good taste and sensibilities. They also didn't care for the pacing or abstract narrative of L'avventura, having expected it to be a straightforward investigative thriller. The boos and barbs got so severe, lead star Monica Vitti left the screening hall in tears. Cannes has become a stage for glitz and glamour, parties and photo calls, and the army of paparazzi that comes with them. With La Dolce Vita, Fellini sums up the hope and despair, the beauty and ugliness to this superficial celebrity lifestyle, testifying to the social malaise underneath. In L'avventura, Antonioni created a new visual language of his own, one which reflected its synthetic nature while merging the realms of reality and abstraction. Before Come and See and Ivan's Childhood, Grigori Chukhrai gave us an equally lyrical meditation on war in Ballad of a Soldier. Also screened at the festival were Bimal Roy's Sujata and William Wyler's Ben-Hur (out of competition). With Marché du Film established just the previous year, Cannes had also set the stage to become the premier global film market we know it as today, giving film professionals the opportunity to shake hands with the best in the business. Pulp Fiction puts American indie films on the world cinema map Highlights | Exotica (Atom Egoyan), The Hudsucker Proxy (Coen Brothers), Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino), Three Colours: Red (Krzysztof Kieślowski), Through the Olive Trees (Abbas Kiarostami), To Live (Zhang Yimou)

Cannes 1994 will forever be remembered as the year Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction won the Palme d'Or, thanks to jury president Clint Eastwood. The film beat favourites like Krzysztof Kieslowsk's final feature, Three Colours: Red, and Nanni Moretti's Dear Diary, which was eagerly championed by jury vice-president Catherine Deneuve. The victories of Sex, Lies, and Videotape in 1989 and Pulp Fiction in 1994 gave American independent cinema global validation. Pulp Fiction of course benefited from producer Harvey Weinstein's "Iron Curtain Strategy" to increase the buzz with limited screenings, while targeting selected American critics to deliver glowing reviews. It began his enduring love affair with Cannes, as he returned as jury president 10 years later and delivered three more of his films (Death Proof in 2007, Inglourious Basterds in 2009, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood in 2019) in the race for Palme d'Or.  The edition boasted a particularly rich line-up across the various sections. Un Certain Regard, the official selection which was created in 1978, and favoured atypical films and lesser-known filmmakers, included Olivier Assayas' Cold Water (L'eau froide), Pedro Costa's Down to Earth (Casa de Lava), Claire Denis' I Can't Sleep (J'ai pas sommeil) among others. Adding to the festival's scale and eclecticism were the parallel sections. Critics' Week featured Kevin Smith's Clerks, while Directors' Fortnight had a commendable line-up of films from Aki Kaurismäki (Take Care of Your Scarf, Tatiana), Ang Lee (Eat Drink Man Woman), Michael Haneke (71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance) and Shekhar Kapur (Bandit Queen). John Waters' hilariously absurd satire, Serial Mom, was also screened out of competition. The pinnacle of eclecticism Highlights | Palme d'Or: Antichrist (Lars von Trier), A Prophet (Jacques Audiard), Bright Star (Jane Campion), Broken Embraces (Pedro Almodóvar), Enter the Void (Gaspar Noé), Face (Tsai Ming-liang), Fish Tank (Andrea Arnold), Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino), Thirst (Park Chan-wook), The Time That Remains (Elia Suleiman), Wild Grass (Alain Resnais), Vincere (Marco Bellocchio), Vengeance (Johnnie To), The White Ribbon (Michael Haneke) Un Certain Regard: Dogtooth (Yorgos Lanthimos), Father of My Children (Mia Hansen-Løve), Mother (Bong Joon-ho) Out of Competition: Drag Me to Hell (Sam Raimi), Pixar's Up (Pete Docter)

Andrea Arnold, Bong Joon-ho, Jane Campion, Gaspar Noé, Lars von Trier, Park Chan-wook, Quentin Tarantino, Michael Haneke, Pedro Almodóvar, Yorgos Lanthimos and more. Talk about an umissable festival line-up. But with this diversity came division, as some of the jury members ended up in a bitter battle. Jury President Isabelle Huppert and fellow juror James Gray reportedly fought over the former favouring Antichrist, and in the end, reached a compromise with The White Ribbon. The 2009 edition was also an example of how Cannes is a unique showcase for little-known filmmakers to introduce their films to larger audiences. It is hard to imagine if we would all have been raving about Lanthimos and the Greek Weird Wave, if Dogtooth hadn't won Prix Un Certain Regard. Ditto, with Mia Hansen-Løve. It is no wonder filmmakers and producers organise their production schedules in order to be able to present their films at Cannes. Cannes 2020 could have matched the 2019, if not 2009, edition with a line-up, which would have probably included Annette (Leos Carax), Bergman Island (Mia Hansen-Løve), The French Dispatch (Wes Anderson), Last Night in Soho (Edgar Wright), Memoria (Apichatpong Weerasethakul), Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon (Ana Lily Amirpour), Peninsula (Yeon Sang-Ho), Pixar's Soul (Pete Doctor), Tenet (Christopher Nolan) and many more. We'll know more when Cannes chief Thierry Frémaux makes an announcement on the selection in June. Even if there's no physical or online edition of the festival, just imagining a "What if" wishlist makes for a comforting exercise in these strange times. Read the full article