#only symmetric relations allowed

[mordcore]

new rule: if u wanna tell me someone i rb'ded from is problematic, wether you provide proof or not, ur gonna have to come off anon or i'll just ignore you

if u r gonna cast judgement on me u'll have to let me do the same @ u 👁️

[janmisali]

Are you doing a video on group theory? I’ve never really understood it

check the faq. that said here's my brief explanation of groups!

a "group" is a mathematical concept with a really nondescriptive name. it consists of two parts: a set of group elements (these can in principle be literally anything), and a group operation which defines which ordered sequences of group elements are equivalent to each other.

in order for a given set and operation to qualify as a group, they need to satisfy a few specific properties, called the group axioms:

for any sequence of group elements, there is a group element which on its own is equivalent to that sequence under the group operation; no sequence of group elements is ever undefined, or defined as something that isn't a group element

this includes the sequence of zero elements. the group element equivalent to the "empty sequence" is called the identity

for any element a, there is an inverse element b such that ab is equivalent to the identity. this property is mutual, so ba is also the identity. (an element is allowed to be equal to its own inverse)

if two sequences are equivalent under the group operation, then one sequence can always be replaced with the other when it appears as part of a longer sequence without changing the value. if ab=x and bc=y, then abc=xc=ay

these properties might sound arbitrary and overly specific, but it turns out lots of mathematical systems satisfy them. a very basic example would be the additive group of integers: the group elements are the integers, and the group operation is addition. the other most common examples are symmetry groups, where the group elements are the different symmetric actions that can be performed on an object (such as reflections and rotations), and the group operation defines which sequences of these actions have the same outcome.

it's important to remember, however, that in general it doesn't really matter what the group elements represent; the underlying math only really cares about how they're related to each other under the group operation. because of this, a lot of seemingly very different things can be described as "the same group". for instance, the group of symmetries of an equilateral triangle is the same thing as the group of permutations of a list of three items; their group operations are exactly the same, just with different labels and meanings assigned to the corresponding group elements.

anyway that's the short version. hope that helps :)

[bethanythebogwitch]

It's too bad Halloween was yesterday because I would have done a Wet Beast Wednesday on something creepy, like the tongue-biting isopod. It's not though, so so I'm dipping my toes into echinoderm science and talking about crinoids. While crinoids are the least famous echinoderms, being overshadowed by their relatives the starfish, sea urchins, and sea cucumbers, they are extremely well-represented in the fossil record. We know of far more extinct crinoid species than living ones.

(imag id: a crinoid attached to a rock. It is a long, slender stalk with multiple threadlike protrusions emerging from it. At the top is a crown that looks like a flower composed of feathery appendages. It is while all over)

As with all echinoderms, crinoids are bilaterally symmetrical as larvae for become radially symmetrical while adults. It is hypothesized that the ancestor of all echinoderms was a bilaterally symmetrical animal that evolved to become radially symmetrical as adults. This places echinoderms in the same clade as all other bilaterally symmetrical animals, including mollusks, arthropods, most worms, and all vertebrates. You are more closely related to a starfish than a starfish is to a jellyfish. Crinoids are one of those animals like anemones that look more like flowers than animals, which is why they're also called sea lilies. A typical juvenile crinoid consists of a stalk with a holdfast on one end and crown on the other. The stalk is segmented and made of porous calcified material called ossicles, which are attached to each other by discs. This is the part of a crinoid that fossilizes most easily and a great many crinoid fossils are only known from their stems. The holdfast is a root-like structure that attaches the crinoid to a substrate. Crinoids that attach to a hard surface have a branching holdfast to grip on while crinoids that attach to sediment have a thick, stalk-like holdfast that penetrates into the substrate like a tree's taproot. The crown is the part that looks like a flower and consists of two parts: the theca/calyx/arboral cup and the rays. The theca is shaped like a cup and has a mouth in the center. The mouth connects to a simple u-shaped gut that leads to an anus near the mouth. The rays are analogous to the arms of a starfish. All echinoderms have 5 symmetrical body segments and crinoids have five rays, though they usually branch after emerging from the theca, resulting in up to a few hundred total rays. The rays are segmented like the stalk and can curl up. Crinoids will curl up their arms and pull them in to protect them. The rays are used in feeding. Crinoids are passive suspension feeders that wait for plankton and organic particles to be carried into the rays by the current. Each ray is covered by flexible appendages called pinnules that give the rays a feathery appearance. Each pinnule is covered by tube feet that are coated in sticky mucus. When a food particle hits the tube feet, they grab on and transfer it to the center of the ray, which contains a canal called the ambulacral groove. The groove is filled with cilia that carry the food particle down to the mouth. All crinoids take this form during their juvenile phase, but only a few modern species retain it for their entire lives. Most modern species will shift into an adult form where the stalk falls off and the theca becomes free-swimming. These are often called feather stars. Both stalked crinoids and feather stars can use their rays to pull themselves along the substrate, but feather stars can also wave their rays around to swim. Swimming allows feather stars to more readily avoid danger and become more active in their attempts to catch food.

(image: a diagram of crinoid anatomy. source)

(gif id: a feather star swimming. It looks like a bunch of black-and-white striped feathers attached to a central disc. The arms are undulating, propelling the feather star through the water)

Crinoids are dioecious, meaning individuals are either male or female. In most species, the gonads are in the pinnules closest to the theca. The gonads actually swell up and cause the pinnules to burst and release the gametes. Different species have different strategies. In some, both sperm and eggs will be released into the water column. In others, only the males broadcast sperm which the females use to fertilize their eggs. The eggs are withheld by the mother, either by gluing them to her arms or incubated in sacs on the arms. The larvae, called vitellaria, are free-swimming and bilaterally symmetrical. They will swim for a few days before dropping to the substrate and attaching. They then metamorphose into juveniles.

(image: a diagram showing a crinoid progressing through multiple developmental stages from fertilized egg to larva. source)

The fossil history of crinoids dates back to the Ordovician period (485-444 million years ago), the period between the Cambrian and Silurian. While echinoderms and even stalked echinoderms existed during the Cambrian, the oldest definitive crinoid fossils are Ordovician and it's unclear which extinct group that crinoids evolved from. For over two hundred million years, crinoids were extremely diverse and were dominant sessile filter feeders, beating out anemones and corals. The mass extinction at the end of the Permian dealt a major blow to crinoids that they never recovered from, causing them to lose their dominance and become much less morphologically diverse. The Permian mass extinction is a fascinating period of history as it was the single greatest mass extinction in the history of Earth. The early Triassic saw a mass adaptation to more flexible and motile body plans in response to increased predation. It's not clear when feather stars entered the picture, though they may have come about due to predation in the Triassic. Some extinct crinoids had different survival strategies than modern ones. The genus Pentacrinites attached themselves to driftwood and floated through the open ocean. They would have been like floating islands of diversity moving through the oceans with lots of other animals following for food and shelter. A fact that gets passed around a lot is that the largest fossil crinoid ever found (Taxocrinus saratogensis) was 40 meters (130 ft) long. That isn't true and seems to stem from a misprint. It was actually 40 ft (12.2 m) long, which is still fucking enormous. Crinoids today don't get anywhere near as large as extinct ones could. Fossil crinoids measuring many meters in stem length are well documented while ones alive today never even reach a meter long. Crinoid fossils are extremely common and can be used to provide relative dates to nearby fossils. In some places, enough crinoid parts fossilized near each other that they became clustered together in sedimentary rocks called encrinites.

(image id: a fossil imprint of many crinoids attached to a piece of driftwood. The imprints ore in a flat, tan rock. The driftwood imprint looks like a long, dark blob. The crinoids have long, curved, and overlapping stems and fan-like crowns at the top. Fossil found at the Houston Museum of Natural Science)

[abalidoth]

what was your PhD dissertation about?

No idea what your level of math is so I'll answer this at a few levels.

Level 1:

Group theory is the study of symmetries of objects -- like how a rectangle is symmetric in the same way the letter H is symmetric, but not in the way the letter S is symmetric. I studied the symmetries of very specific sets of points that live in many-thousand-dimensional space.

Level 2:

I studied a type of object called an association scheme that can be seen either as related to a finite group, or a special type of graph, or a special matrix algebra. My specific research involved digging through a database of finite groups to find schemes with a particular useful property, and proving some generalizations of it.

Level 3:

An association scheme is a special kind of matrix algebra, that's closed not only under regular matrix multiplication but also elementwise matrix multiplication, and has a basis of 0-1 matrices. These basis elements form a series of graphs with special properties -- strongly regular graphs and distance regular graphs are both a type of association scheme. Association schemes can also be developed from a generously transitive group action (one where any pair of elements has a group element that switches them.)

My research involved proving properties from the character theory of finite groups that allows me to probe into the structures of association schemes, and dig through old databases of finite simple groups to prove shit. There's a number on my forearm tattoo (13056) that's the dimensionality of a new association scheme I discovered lurking inside the Co2 (Conway) finite group.

[alphynix]

Strange Symmetries #01

Most animals are bilaterally symmetric, having body plans with mirrored left and right sides – which also allows them to have a defined head end, rear end, top side, and underside.

It's not entirely clear what evolutionary advantage this type of symmetry gave to the first bilaterians, which would have been been small "simple" worm-like animals living sometime during the Ediacaran Period between 600 and 560 million years ago. The current generally accepted explanation is that it probably allowed for better active locomotion – clustering sense organs at the head end and directing body movement more efficiently towards food sources and away from threats.

However, this sort of symmetry is never completely perfect. Internal structures like organs are often arranged nonsymmetrically, and the realities of genetics, physical development, and environmental influences always result in external small deviations.

Zebra From The Back by Lynn Greyling | CC0 Public Domain

…But not every bilaterian has stayed roughly symmetrical.

Over the last half-billion years or so some bilaterians have abandoned their roughly-mirror-image body plans in favor of something distinctly wonkier. Asymmetry has evolved multiple times in various different lineages, and so every weekday this month we'll be looking at some examples.

And we might as well start way back near the beginning:

———

Strange Symmetries #01: Almost Bilateral

Living in the Ediacaran between about 567 and 550 million years ago, the proarticulatans were flattened rounded organisms with two rows of soft "quilted" rib-like segments (known as isomers) and sometimes a larger fused "head" section at the front. The left and right isomers weren't perfectly mirrored, instead being offset from each other in a glide reflection pattern – but the presence of a clear central body axis suggests these animals may have had some sort of relation to the earliest bilaterians, possibly even being a very early stem group that was experimenting with a not-quite-totally-bilateral body plan.

Discovered in what is now northwest Russia, and dating to around 555 million years ago, Vendia sokolovi was a small proarticulatan measuring about 1.1cm long (0.4"). It had a rather small number of isomers compared to some of its relatives, only 7 per side, and seems to have had a simple digestive tract that branched into each isomer.

(The superficial resemblance to trilobites was coincidental – while we might not be entirely sure what these things were, we do at least know they weren't closely related to early arthropods.)

Very little overall is known about these animals' lifestyles. Trace fossils suggest they were able to move around, feeding on microbial mats on the seafloor, and they may also have been able to firmly stick themselves onto the spots they were currently grazing.

———

NixIllustration.com | Tumblr | Twitter | Patreon

[luxudus]

Neo-Anthropocene: From pets to people, the history of the Ruuik species of Irou

Originally drawn and written in august 2022

Introduction: During the initial first contact with the Ikleudd, humanity would soon discover another shocking revelation, not only were they no longer alone in the vast cosmos, but the Ikleud had not been alone either. For tens of thousands of years, they have been in harmony with another species they have uplifted, and they called themselves the Ruuik

Physical Adaptations: Much like many of their relatives in a clade known as Radapillupoda, the Ruuik sport a fur coat in order to regulate their temperature and to blend in with their environment.

Their exoskeletons, compared to many other Radiathopods, are considerably more flexible, allowing the size and complexity of their brain to expand.

Their feet have become more flexible and developed joints, and their beaks are now opposable and double jointed. They have used these two abilities to manipulate their environment, grasp and craft objects. Their antennas are flexible and move independently to display emotions as well as provide refined sensory.

They are surprisingly agile and strong, to accommodate their softer exoskeleton they have far greater muscle mass, allowing them to run for long periods of time, and strike with lots of force. And their dexterous claws allow them to climb surprisingly well.

Also heavily contrasting the Ikleud, The Ruuik range from 0.6 meters / 2 feet to 1.2 meters / 4 feet tall

Ecology and Niche: The Ruuik fill an ecological niche similar to hyenas and domestic cats. They have a wide and diverse diet, and are capable of eating pretty much anything. From seeds to fruits and grasses, soft bodied invertebrates, to even small and large Mollimembruds, Soft bodied invertebrates distantly related to the Radiathopods. Duvirecthids, fish like "vertebrates" somewhat related to the Tivarapods. radiathopods, Radially symmetrical exoskeletal invertebrates the Ruuik hail from. And even tivarapods, the titanium-boned, seemingly "2 headed" vertebrates the Ikleud hail from. 

Communication: They communicate using a series of clicks, taps, and grinding created by their beak, and can create noises similar to vowels by expelling air out of their spiracles. Since there's not really any specific place on their body to show expression, they utilize body language even more than the Ikleud. They will wave out their arms, fludder their antennas, and can even modify the way they move in order to express themself.

Behavior: Despite their physical adaptations, their strength and agility, It’s still not enough for a lone Ruuik to defend itself against other predators. Because of this, they have become very social just like humans and Ikleudd.

They usually form groups of 3-5 individuals in order to ensure not only their survival, but everyone elses. They care very deeply of each other, when not in combat or hunting Ruuikk will often engage in play and socialization to strengthen their bonds. However, despite how social and crafty they sounded, for most of their evolutionary history they could only be classified as nearly sapient, akin to corvids or apes.

Prehistory: Ruuikk as a species first evolved a little over a million years ago, and managed to diversify in such a small evolutionary time frame. Their diverse diet allowed groups of Ruuik to focus on specific strategies, They ranged from foraging “herds” that would gather up plant matter and enjoy the simple life, to simple hunter-gatherer societies, to warrior packs that would hunt down irolope herds and fight off songwolf packs.

Unfortunately some 110,000 years ago a disease ravaged these societies, and by the time the disease was repelled, it was already too late as all their societies collapsed and they were sent back to square one.

Domestic history: Millenia later, when Ikleudd began migrating to northern Intrapa and underwent an agricultural revolution. They understood the Ruuikk’s wide food palette could protect their farms from pests and unwanted weed analogs. So they would domesticate the surviving Ruuikk and protect them, and when continental trade was established, Ruuikk would begin migrating across all of Intrapa. Throughout history, the Ruuik have been slowly learning more and more about the world around them, and became more intelligent and prosperous as millenia passed.

Eventually when the Ikleudd became a global civilization comparable to earth’s early information age, they discovered how truly intelligent their pets were, and efforts to intentionally make them intelligent started, which sped up their rise in intelligence. All culminating in the start of the 3000s when the groundbreaking news was revealed that the first truly sapient Ruuik had been born.

Modern day and conclusion: Now in the 3160’s, the Ruuik have become a prosperous and fully sapient species under the guidance and protection of the Ikleud, They joined their companions on the frontiers of space exploration and helped the Ikleudd and more recently the humans in constructing a prosperous and nearly utopian civilization. The Ruuik have gone from simple pets, and ascended to being people.

The scene: Pictured above is Evhnuut Vasaluu-Tohkheru, an Ikleud farmer shaking hands with her Ruuik companion Evhnuut Vasaluu-Chi’ki’da after a long day of taking care of their farm. Behind them is a typical Ikleud-Ruuik city connected by transit bridges over vast swathes of forests and prairies. and above is a space-station home to nearly a million residents and is the trade hub of the entire Vei system, the solar system the Ikleudd-Ruuikk hail from and call home.

[novelyst]

Skyrim Female Head UV: The Definitive Post

We begin as like a cooking blog's recipe, with a sort of vaguely related yet unnecessary anecdote. I've been thinking about putting modding stuff up on this blog, lately. I used to run into the problem on Discord where I'd be like: man, I'm spamming this channel, who even cares about this stuff anyway? So I made my own dev thread in which to spam these posts. As more and more people started joining, though, and still not replying to anything I wrote, I ran into the same issue where I've now become hesitant to post whatever I want in my own dev thread for fear that people will find it annoying. Silly, I know, but I figure that this here, tumblr, is the option with which I cannot go wrong, right? So long story short: this might turn into a mostly modding blog now.

I'm about to do an explanation of UV mapping as an introduction to this post, for those who know very, very, little about it. Many of you reading this may already be modellers or texturers who don't need this dumbed down, so you are welcome to skip to the big red UV map if you wish.

Without further ado: this is Nur.

Nur is what I would call a 'chatterbox', but she was made in the same way as any paper fortune teller. One thing that you should note about her: she is three-dimensional. I have power over Nur's state of being, and I can unfold her.

Unfolded Nur looks very different. We can see that her mouth, usually a triangular bipyramid minus a couple of faces, is now four separate triangles. We could also conceivably understand this as a '2D' version of Nur. It's flat, but it has all of the colour information that ends up on the surface of her 3D self; the area painted red is the 'mouth' part, the top squares on the left and right are the upper part of the 'face'.

Now, if we were to make a 3D mesh of Nur, we could use something like the second image for her texture and tell the computer which area of it should be shown on the surface of a given polygon. We'd do this by giving every point two dimensional coordinates, instead of inventing some kind of new format where every voxel in 3D space is assigned a colour—after all, it's only the surface that matters, right? This process of giving 3D vertices 2D-coordinates on a texture is called UV mapping. What you should really take away from this is the UV map holds the information of how to wrap a texture on to a mesh.

And, since all vertices already have X, Y, and Z coordinates, (and W is used for something else,) their two-dimensional texture coordinates are U and V.

Now, UV maps can be different from a piece of paper you fold in a few ways. What you mainly need to remember is that in UV Maps, we aren't bound by angles, length, or area – the lines making up a UV map are 'stretchy'. This mapping allows, then, for you to 'stretch' the texture over the surface of the mesh.

Now that everyone is (hopefully) on the same page, let's move on to the subject of the post!

This is the UV map of the female head mesh in Skyrim. Right away, a few weird quirks are going to stand out about it.

It is not truly vertically symmetrical along any X-coordinate.

It is kinda symmetrical along a line a short ways to the left of the centre.

Even along that line, the eye sockets are not symmetrical.

The symmetry along that central line starts falling apart towards the boundaries of the image, where there is not really very much symmetry whatsoever and what there is seems to fold more along the actual central vertical axis.

Now, if none of that stuff stood out immediately to you, or you are having trouble seeing it, that's absolutely fine! This image here should help to clarify the things I just mentioned.

The white line in the middle highlights the true centre of the image, from which (as you can see) the UV of the mesh's 'central line' is offset. The sort of lens-shapes either side of it trace the UV map's eye sockets, which are quite different.

Now, is all of this stuff fine? I mean, kind of. No, it's not really a good UV map (there are serious issues, for example, at the back of the scalp) and the symmetry problems all suck for working with it as a texture, but it's still useable and, for a high-poly to low-poly workflow, won't really impact things all that much for the creator. Painting on to the mesh, baking from a sculpt – all these will suffer for a worse UV map, but are still essentially the same process as with a different UV. The game's textures were made for this UV map, and Bethesda seem to have been able to manage fine with it.

Credit to Bethesda Game Studios. A section of the 'FemaleHead_MSN.dds'.

The issues come in more for people working on a 2D level. Making textures in photoshop? Painting some tintmasks? Then these things are going to annoy you, especially those darned eye sockets. So, is there a better way?

A Better Way

Sorry, that section header is kind of misleading. There's an extent to which this is subjective but, honestly, I don't think there really is a better way. I firmly believe that you can't fix Bethesda's UV because it's not broken. A little annoying to work with? Sure. But it wasn't meant to be another way, and it works with the textures provided by the game. There is nothing to fix.

On the 15th of March of 2012, Enhanced Character Edit (ECE) was published on Nexus Mods, in its description claiming thus:

Fixed asymmetry head mesh for Female.

Enhanced Character Edit had not 'fixed' issue of the off-centre axis of symmetry. What it had done was make the eye socket on the right symmetrical to the one on the left in the UV map. Behold, the ECE head mesh with the vanilla game's texture.

On the left: the ECE head mesh with the vanilla textures. On the right: the vanilla head mesh with the vanilla textures, as Todd intended.

ECE needed its own textures, made for the 'symmetrical' eye socket UV. There were already existing texture sets made this way (even reflecting the same eye; I suppose people preferred the left side), so it wasn't too great a problem—ECE was providing a fix for existing mods, really!

Except, well, it's a little more complicated than that. You can change the mesh, and the textures along with it, which works. This only affects the player character, however—generated face data for NPCs must be regenerated or, in the case of NPC overhauls, manually changed by the user, a thing few users actually know how to do. Pretty soon, though, people were using ECE in their character creation, and then for the NPC overhauls that they put on Nexus. Skin mods were being made specifically with use of this head mesh in mind, like SG Female Textures Renewal, which actually includes ECE as a requirement for this reason.

So everything is great and we can just use ECE, right? Sure, we have to regenerate all of our NPCs' faces which requires the creation kit and a lot of time, but that's workable. Well, not quite. Some mods have mismatched diffuse maps and normal maps when it comes to eye sockets, like Tempered Skins, which has ECE's eye sockets in its diffuse, but bases its normal maps mostly off of vanilla, including keeping its asymmetry. Mods like Mature Skin don't even use the ECE sockets, which means that those textures will look wrong on NPC overhauls based on the ECE head meshes. This issue ends up happening both ways, too—users of ECE-based textures have an even worse issue when using a mismatched mesh, to the extent that Enhanced Female Head Mesh was created, a mod that solves an issue that isn't in the base game. The ECE sockets are that ubiquitous.

Credit to DomainWolf. A comparison image from the mod Enhanced Female Head Mesh, showing the issue that ECE-based textures have when using the vanilla mesh.

Incidentally, this user has also created tintmask mods. Many of the textures included in those would have to be manually edited in order for them to look right on the vanilla head mesh.

We can see that the effects of ECE's change ripple outward without ever really becoming understood by the common modder. When installing High Poly Head, users are presented with the option of Symmetrical Eyes (Female). The average user probably doesn't know what this means, let alone whether the texture that they're using is based on ECE. If they choose the wrong option, many won't think to go back to the FOMOD. ECE itself has been far surpassed in popularity by RaceMenu on SSE—how many people would think to install it for its head mesh alone? Even Enhanced Female Head Mesh, which is specifically mesh-only and for SSE has only ~25 k downloads as of writing. Popular skin mods with symmetrical eye sockets have millions.

This whole thing impacts almost all modders. Most of them know barely anything about it. So, this stubborn ass who refuses to use the 'fixed' eyes and manually converts all of their NPC mods by painstakingly fixing things in NIFSkope wanted to write a post aggregating everything they knew about the subject, endeavouring to maybe improve people's awareness of it.

If you read all of this, thanks! I'm honestly surprised at how long it got. I hope you enjoyed my writing.

Hello, future me here. If you read this before this message was added, please note what I had earlier said about ECE not working on SSE was wrong. I have updated the previous sentence to reflect this information.

[t-oppenheimer]

Athlete, Compression, The Physical Split.

So begins the implicit critique of a popular system: What exactly constitutes physical acumen? That is a philosophical question which must be raised whenever we reproduce this trope of Strength, Dexterity and Constitution. Do humans, as they grow and train out, grow hardier and more pain tolerant without endurance and flexibility to match? I would hope that every time someone weight trains they do stretches beforehand and eat bulk carbs and protiens afterward. And while there are people with strength who lack fine motor function and the other way around, these two things are gained in tandem with experience and one is typically only lost in traumatic, disabling events.

So why have these? It's not for the monsters sake-- for although there is something to be criticized with the 'half-assedness' of symmetrical design when it comes to monsters (all player stats but meaningless equipment, level and arbitrary actions) these splits also reveal frustrations. Should amorphous creatures such as the Gray Ooze be infinitely dexterous (they are able to squeeze and bend and flex with little restriction) or not dexterous at all, for having only 'pseudopods' which lack nuanced control at all? According to WotC, the answer is 'mediocre dexterity' because the only time it ever comes up in actual play is "a fireball has been placed on top of me, despite having no where to go and not moving away from it at all would I be able to contort my body so as to diminish the damage I take from it?". Here of course, it having a '6' is literally just space being taken up for a worthless symmetry, the "-2" is what is relevant.

Pathfinder has tried to touch on this in some ways. My favorite example is the Armor Training trait exclusive to the Fighter class: this gives that character an incentive to maintain all three physical stats to emulate "the peak of physical acumen" by allowing dexterity an increasing benefit to one's strength build as they level up. One could even find a narrative springing from this unique aspect: The whelp who was once a mere town guard who knew how to keep a spear level at their waist and little else grows to find that the rigidity of their training and equipment maintenance proves more a hindrance than a boon. As they begin leveling, they tinker (or have someone else in the party) tinker and modify their equipment to work in ways only that fighter can use, and soon their plate armor isn't just any plate armor, but theirs, with the lion codpiece whose teeth functions for blade catching.

But that is that game and I am to discuss my game. Poison and disease is not a major element of the game, so Constitution is rendered almost completely vestigial. Strength does seem to be an objective thing (there is a difference between being able to dead-lift twenty pounds, two hundred pounds and four hundred pounds) but what justifies Dexterity? After sitting with it for a very long time: too much.

Dexterity controls how well one points a bow, swings a thin bladed weapon, picks a lock, sneaks across a hall and flies in the air? Preposterous. Especially in WotC's most recent products in which strength no longer holds the domain of weapon damage and modifications to your Constitution score no longer directly alters your maximum health value, Dexterity controls a disproportionate amount of the character's total acuity. This stat needs to be broken down.

The easiest angle to go about that would probably be to split fine motor control from gross motor control (you don't hear that one every day!). The strength and coordination of your arms, legs and back can be trained wholly separately from your dexterity between your fingers and... yeah, mostly your fingers. Now hands are central to the human experience so that's okay: the actual problem is likely our imagined "body" stat has is that it is almost exclusively about sports and sports related mobility. Acrobatics, maybe throwing and run speed?

Here, we can connect our "Body" stat to what remains as "Strength" because, as established before, these two seem to be trained in tandem such that there is no meaning distinguishing them. This is the summary of an "Athlete" and thus we have the final result of that thinking. But now fine motor control is only compared against directly, and has no control over secondary stats, the way Athlete determines AC.

Does anyone still have their 2014 5e DMG lying around? You might remember in the proposed "New Ability Scores" that no one ever adopted at any table. I kid, but what I say is not far off from the truth, for nothing else in the game supported either option, all implementation was by facilitator decree. If there is ever one singular sin of the most recent edition of Dungeons and Dragons, its enshrining their facilitating players to 'kinda wing it' as-- even more than a replacement-- the cornerstone of game design. In that ignored section is the ignored concept of a 'sanity' ability score which unlike the honor score is designed to support a theme plainly impossible with the game's progression. If I was an ninth level wizard and a cosmic horror tried to grab me, I'd simply teleport.

I do share the boilerplate objection to 'sanity' mechanics: tying mental health into a binary 'are you fucked up or Normal™?' is not representative of a very serious phenomenon which touches too many people to treat so lightly. Remember the tone of my game: satrical and brutal. What if instead of the Lovecraftian horror situation where you see exactly one (1) biracial person and go "WHAT THE WHAT?!?!?!?! BLBLBLBBL PFFFFFF KOOKOO; KOOKOO-- POLLY WANNA CRACKER" we went in the total other direction. A character who just loses their nerve and says "In this situation, I would fold." Throws their hands up in frustration, or decides this struggle isn't worth it and walks out of the door. It's not that you lose what you once had in a fit of irrationality, but in light of what you just witnessed you suddenly gain rationality and reconsider the stakes you actually have in this. If we maintain this 'nerves' idea, then what is strong nerves and what is weak nerves? One of the first things to go when you are frightened is your control. Fight, flight or freeze, goes the wisdom. When you jump you're liable to throw your pencil in the air, and when you're trembling you can't hold a pencil steady. This is what we tie with fine motor control to create "Precise".

We butchered conventional wisdom to place a new series of mechanics together which is easier to explain and work through while maintaining value for both and simply working. Ah-- but what we did to wisdom, and the other two, is a topic for another post.

[jahayla-parker]

Symmetrical Healing: Kaz Brekker × Sister!Reader

Part 1

Description and Warnings: view mini-series navigation

“Kaz,” y/n sighed, following after her brother as he stormed to the back of the Crow Club. She knew Kaz was aware of what she was vaguely scolding him over. Just as she knew he was ignoring her as to not have to talk about it. “It’s her choice,” y/n said softly as they entered the back room.

Jesper had tracked down Inej and told her about their upcoming heist. The intent of the heist wasn’t to save Sankta Alina per se, but rather to comply with Sturmhond’s request that just so happened to involve the Sun Summoner. But, the brief relation was enough to bring Inej back to the Crow Club demanding a role in the heist. Or, at least that’s what Inej claimed was the reason she’d returned after Kaz had sent her away.

“I never said it was not,” Kaz argued as he began to sort through his supplies. It was a distraction really, the items having already been sorted upon their arrival. Both siblings knew it was a futile effort to not think on the subject at hand. Yet, Kaz kept his eyes glued to the items even as he felt his sister’s knowing stare.

Y/n shook her head and hopped up onto an old wooden crate beside Kaz. “She’s here because she cares. The Crows are her family, Kaz, you can’t-“.

“She’s here for Sankta Alina,” Kaz scoffed dismissively. He spared a sideways glance at his sister, but ignored the exasperated expression she sent his way. “Besides, just because The Wraith has set her mind to this, doesn’t mean I need to assist her in the poor decision,” he argued.

Y/n groaned and shook her head. “You are both stubborn,” she murmured, “truthfully afraid to see how that all pans out in the end”. Y/n smirked when Kaz glared at her. “Nonetheless, you know you’re making this harder on yourself than it needs to be, right?”

“Making what harder, y/n?” Kaz sighed, turning to face his sister. He felt his entire body freeze and his face drain of color when y/n whispered the four words he never expected her to say, “your crush on Inej”. Kaz grabbed his cane, squeezing the crow’s head for dear life. “I have no such feelings. I don’t have any positive emotions for anyone,” he protested with a sharp stare.

“You do for me,” y/n argued breezily.

Kaz sighed and nodded once. “You’re my sister,” he replied, “but that’s all. No one else, no one”.

Y/n rolled her eyes, “keep telling yourself that, because with the way you’re acting, one day you’re going to need that to be true”. She sighed dramatically as she lowered herself off the crate, her feet loudly hitting the floor under her. “I’m going to get ready. Play nice,” y/n teased. “They matter to me,” she added sincerely, sending Kaz a look before exiting the back room.

Y/n watched Nina and Kaz from the rooftop nearby with Inej. She bit her lip anxiously, her own nerves starting up as she watched her brother remove his gloves. Y/n knew what it was like to crave the intimacy of physical touch yet despise even the thought of such contact. It was a trauma response they’d both developed after the Queen’s Lady Plague. So even just watching her brother from afar as he prepared to allow Nina to touch his bare skin for the sake of their cover story, had y/n on edge.

Inej sensed y/n’s nerves and found herself quickly looking between where Kaz and Nina were and y/n. But, Inej knew y/n could keep it together. Not only was she not the one about to be touched, but her brother needed her to stay strong; and so, y/n would. Inej had seen such a dynamic from both of them to each other countless times. It made her longing for her own family that much more pressing.

“Brekker, just breathe,” Nina murmured, setting her hand atop Kaz’s on the small coffee table.

Y/n leapt up from her crouched position at the moment of contact. She could practically see the anxiety attack building inside her brother before his body even had time to react. Y/n whispered to Inej to follow their target before she rushed to the edge of the roof to begin her descent.

Y/n watched in heartbreaking horror as Kaz tried to push his way through the crowd of people lining the street. She winced with each new contact his body made, the terror in his eyes increasing exponentially. Y/n tugged her gloves from her pockets, not needing them in most cases as Kaz never let anyone touch her and let her from tasks where she’d have to touch others. But, she kept a pair on her at all times just in case as neither sibling had let anyone apart any outside in on their touch aversions so if she found herself in a situation requiring it, she’d need a barrier on her. She also had it on her, for situations like this. In which she needed could be there for Kaz.

Y/n slid her gloves on, the barrier helping both herself and Kaz as she wrapped her arms around his flailing body and pulled him to the side of the street. Once they reached an entryway to an abandoned shop, she positioned her brothers back against the stones for support. Y/n carefully dug into Kaz’s coat pockets, pulling out his own pair of black leather gloves. She smiled faintly in relief as she passed them to him.

Kaz gripped onto to the gloves for dear life. His breathing was still erratic, the imaginary water in his chest slamming against his rib cage. Kaz was mostly out of it, but he could sense his little sister y/n was beside him. Just far enough away to not touch him and trigger either of them any further, but close enough to feel her warmth. Kaz always loved that about her, how warm she was. It always helped pull him out of his anxiety attacks after feeling someone’s cold skin. It didn’t fix the issue but knowing his sister was still alive and by him always helped speed up the recovery.

Kaz was still struggling to regulate himself when he realized Inej was behind y/n. Kaz had ordered both girls to follow their target upon the conclusion of the meeting he and Nina had with her. He’d planned it and told them of their task from the moment he explained the whole plan to the crows. Yet here they both were. He felt guilty as he knew it was because of him they were here. They should’ve been doing their job not worried about him. Kaz let his guilt come out as a scolding instead as he shot them an irritated look despite his shuddering. “You were supposed to follow her”.

Y/n swallowed thickly as she slowly backed up from her bother as she saw he was coming back to his senses more. She sighed as she realized she had failed him. Sure she’d told inej to go after their target still, but as Kaz’s sister, y/n was also a higher up in their group and supposed to see to things and yet here she was with inej who knows how far away from their target.

“We couldn’t leave you, not like this,” Inej mumrured, knelt beside the siblings.

Y/n saw the despair and shame on her brothers face and realized her actions likely made this worse for him. Another way she was a failure when it came to helping her brothers. She meant to help him through his anxiety attack but simultaneously unconsciously brought inej even if he claimed to not like her to him during such a vulnerable state. Y/n shot Kaz an apologetic look before she silently leapt up from the ground and rushed off.

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[enby-fox]

Why Poirot is Autistic-Coded

I'm basing this mostly on the David Suchet TV series - I've read some of the books and the traits are noticeable there, but I've seen more of the TV series than I've read books, also David Suchet made a point of acting true to the Poirot of the books - not as the production wanted him to. Captain Hastings, Miss Lemon, and Ariadne Oliver also have neurodivergent traits, which I’m not covering here. I do recommend this series, it is calming, predictable, nothing awful happens to the main characters (I refuse to watch Curtain), it’s relatable to some autistics, and there’s a lot of it! Also, the costumes are great if you’re into period clothing.

~ Clothing – Poirot’s clothes are about 20 years out of fashion, being in the Edwardian style whilst the TV show is always set in the mid 1930’s (the books range between the end of WW1 and the 1960’s). He is fastidious in his dress. He almost always wears his patent leather shoes with spats, even whilst walking in the countryside where they cause him discomfort. His attire changes very little, only differing in fabric and colour (beige/grey/black/white)..he is seen wearing his suit jacket in hot countries, despite being visibly uncomfortable from the heat. He wears his shirt, bow tie and waistcoat at home, with his dressing gown over the top. A small spot of grease on clothing distresses and pre-occupies him, he complains when his collars aren't starched properly. His clothes are always immaculate, and never dishevelled. He will put down a handkerchief before sitting on a bench, or kneeling on the ground. He won't show the bare skin of his arms, he is always fully covered. He doesn't care that they're out of fashion, he doesn't care what people think, he loves them. The restrictiveness of this clothing, and the amount of covering it offers, could also be a sensory need.

~ Personal grooming - While at the barbers he mentions measuring his sideburns and finding one a couple of millimetres longer than the other and tells the barber to make sure this doesn't happen again. He is always perfectly groomed; he takes a lot of pride in his appearance. His moustaches are very important to him, he trims and shapes them very regularly, they are always symmetrical (he carries a little mirror and brush for this purpose). The moustaches are also not the fashion and are quite silly, he doesn't care. He wears expensive fragrance and dyes his hair - both are seen as feminine at the time; he gives zero shits. The fragrance could be a sensory thing. So too could be the hair and moustaches. When he eats, he dabs his mouth with a napkin very regularly - sensory issues with food on skin.

~ Food - He is picky about what he eats and drinks. He has a tisane every day, despite it not being a popular drink in the UK at the time, and he must have his tisane at specific times with a specific quantity of sugar. He won't eat his boiled eggs if they are not identical in size. His toast is meticulously cut up into tiny squares with tiny blobs of jam in the exact centre. He is suspicious of new food - Hastings encourages him to try fish and chips, Japp makes him faggots, mash and peas - he refuses to eat it.

~ People - He is great with people and seemingly has a lot of empathy. Personally I put this down to him enjoying studying people - the way people work being like a special interest to him. He has a good knowledge of human behaviour and psychology. His job allows him to meet a lot of people quite effortlessly, and to be invited into their homes and spend time with them, without having to make the social arrangements himself. His career does the socialising leg-work for him.

~ Justice - He has a strong sense of justice; his job prevents innocent parties from being prosecuted. He doesn't assume the working classes to be the guilty parties and the upper classes to be innocent. He speaks to everyone as his equal, women and working-class folk, he's not condescending. He desires the truth from everyone and is determined to find it if they don't freely give it to him. He values honesty highly and hates to be deceived.

~ Workaholism - He can't cope without a case for too long. He needs his little grey cells to be active and tested. Crime and human behaviour seem to be his special interests, and he has the need for stimulation. He tries retiring briefly to grow vegetable marrows in the countryside ('The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'), but crime finds him again and he realises he misses his career and the city.

~ Home - He is quite minimal with his décor. There is no clutter, everything is neatly arranged in its correct place, and there is no dust. His crockery is arranged by height. He could probably afford to hire a cook, but does not, he loves to cook and needs things to be done his way (Miss Lemon sometimes cooks, but she understands him). He is seen washing the dishes with Hastings in one episode, repeatedly handing the same plate back to Hastings to clean, as he has not done so correctly. In other people's homes he will adjust and straighten objects because it irritates him to see things not lined up.

~ Relationships - Poirot is single, and as far as anyone knows always has been. He has no children, and he has no desire for marriage. He seems to develop a romantic attraction to Vera Rosakof (the Russian countess), but this goes no further (possibly because she's a jewel thief and he's a private detective 😆). He doesn't flirt - he exudes zero sexual energy. Personally, I think he is asexual and bi-romantic, he certainly gives queer vibes. He would likely struggle in a traditional romantic relationship, he enjoys his independence and needs things to be his way, he doesn’t want his routine altered, and is very committed to his work. He never mentions his family background to anyone, he only talks about his prior police work in Belgium.

~ Money - Poirot enjoys having money, money matters to him - he enjoys the finer things. But he is also sensible with money, he doesn't like overpriced things and is quite tight with his purse strings. When he’s at an auction bidding for a mirror he lets himself be out-bid rather than going over his budget – despite being fairly wealthy. He makes a point of his bank balance never falling below a specific figure.

~Travel - Poirot enjoys some elements of travel, but not others. He has a fear of flying and gets sea and car sick. He hates sleeping in a tent - he needs his home comforts. He can't abide dust/sand getting on him or his clothes. We never see him in the water, or sunbathing shirtless. But he seems to appreciate culture and history and art (and knows a little Arabic), and so travels in search of these things, but in as much style and comfort as possible. He will pack his entire wardrobe.

~ Methods - Poirot is very good at noticing small details that seem inconsequential to everyone else but are key details that unravel the whole case, he takes nothing for granted. This knack for noticing details others don't is an Autistic thing. He also understands people’s psychology and motives.

~ Posture - Poirot always has perfect erect posture, to the extent that its quite rigid. He's never seen slumping in a chair or crossing his legs. He sleeps on his back unmoving and equally rigid. There is a scene in ‘The Mystery of the Spanish Chest’ where Poirot dances, his footwork is fast and neat, but the rest of his body does not move, and his face is fixed. When he walks his legs move but his upper body does not.

~ Routine - In ‘Dumb Witness’ a dog is foisted upon Poirot, he looks after it temporarily and seems to enjoy it’s company, but chooses not to keep it, saying - "the routine of the dog is not the routine of Poirot". Poirot has his tisane at specific times every day and won't tolerate it being brought to him late/early. In the TV adaption of 'The Murder of Roger Ackroyd' he says "you know how lateness distresses me".

Disclaimer -These are just my interpretations of Poirot as an autistic myself. Others will obviously have their own take on him. I’ve probably also missed traits/examples but writing this was mostly just for my own enjoyment!

[quercus-queer]

hey, what’s up with tlou 2? I keep seeing comments mentioning how it’s related to zionism but I can’t find info on it

Im not someone who gets very interested in creators of the media I enjoy (idk what my fave band looks like or their names) and I was only a very casual watcher of tlou adaptation and gameplays. I only recently found out Neil Druckmann is a Zionist and that tlou2 was “inspired by the Israel-Palestine conflict.”

This is to say Im not the most informed and have no desire to watch the podcasts this Vice article gets quotes from, the article was more than enough information for me. There’s some reddit threads out there too but I digress.

Some excerpts that I think sum up the article, Druckmann’s bias, and explains the criticisms people have always had about tlou’s writing.

But "cycles of violence" are a poor way to understand a conflict in a meaningful way, especially if one is interested in finding a solution. The United States, for example, hasn't been at war in Afghanistan for almost 20 years because it's trapped in a "cycle of violence" with the Taliban. It is deliberately choosing to engage with a problem in a way that perpetuates a conflict. Just as the fantasy of escaping violence by simply walking away from it is one that only those with the means to do so can entertain, the myth of the "cycle of violence" is one that benefits the side that can survive the status quo

In The Last of Us Part II's Seattle, Scars and Wolves hurt each other terribly, and the same can be said about Israel and Palestine. The difference is that when flashes of violence abate and the smoke clears, one side continues to live freely and prosper, while the other goes back to a life of occupation and humiliation. One side continues to expand while the other continues to lose the land it needs to live. Imagining this process as some kind of symmetric cycle benefits one side more than the other, and allows it to continue.

As a result, The Last of Us Part II never quite justifies its fatalism.

…

This seems to be The Last of Us Part II's thesis: humans experience a kind of "intense hate that is universal," as Druckmann told The Post, which keep us trapped in these cycles.

But is intense hate really a universal feeling? It's certainly not one that I share. I, too, have seen the video of the 2000 mob killing of the Israeli soldiers in Ramallah, and it's horrific. Yet, my immediate response wasn't "Oh, man, if I could just push a button and kill all these people that committed this horrible act, I would make them feel the same pain that they inflicted on these people," as Druckmann said.

This is not a universal feeling as much as it's a learned way of seeing the world.

…

The trouble with [the story/writing/themes], and the reason that Ellie's journey ultimately feels nonsensical, is that it begins from a place that accepts "intense hate that is universal" as a fact of life, rather than examining where and why this behavior is learned.

Personally, I’ve come to understand that people who cling to the Cycle of Violence as human nature, especially concerning community/global conflict have an deep misunderstanding of humanity.

This post details an article that requires an account to access, but elaborates on a certain mentality about Landback movements:

Additionally, the casting for tlou2 adaptation has come out and it’s a shit show:

Dina (the only Jewish character in the series + her fam) will be played by a very skinny conventionally attractive Hispanic non-Jewish woman who is allegedly a Zionist

Abby will be played by a very skinny conventionally attractive 5’2” woman who is also allegedly a Zionist

Also worth noting since some redditors misunderstood: the author is NOT saying Palestinians are literally like the Scars, the entire point is that Neil created the Scars to parallel how HE (biased) sees the conflict.

[lairofdragonagelore]

Patterns and Styles: Elvhenan

The amount of elvhenan ruins in DAI and their details allow us to identify patterns that belonged to the elvhenan architecture. Many of these are clearly the inspiration from where Orlesian design took theirs.

This series of posts are not exhaustive since I’ve developed a very detailed list of tags tracking certain features of a given design. These posts merely try to gather in one place the symbols and elements I used most of the time when identifying buildings in my analysis of DAI.

[This post is part of the series “Patterns and Styles ”] [Index page of Dragon Age Lore]

Patterns

Patterns are usually seen in the borders of the door frames or around the windows of an elvhenan building. Sometimes, these patterns decorate the walls of big keeps such as Suledin Keep. When we see these patterns in a building, we are immediately told that the origin of it was elvhenan, no matter what a contemporaneous, unreliable narrator may tell us via codices. Thanks to these details, we can know that codices such as  Valeska’s Watch, which tries to explain the origin of the Valeska’s architecture as merely built by Grey Warden is not entirely true: the original structure IS elvhen, and we know this thanks to keeping an eye on patterns like these.

The main patterns I gathered are the following:

1 - It’s a patterns that looks like a small sun-like, but it could also look like an egg in flames [I wish I could know how to extract these elements from the game in an easy way, so I don’t have to deal with pixeled images]. The only important elvhenan object that comes to my mind related to this is the red dragon egg.

2 - I call this elvhenan pattern “flowers made out of circles”, and they are present even in very ancient elvhenan architectures such as the Solasan Temple. It’s a very typical patterns which may have inspired the thorny-flower-pattern of Orlais [right side]. If the Golden Ring is truly important in the Elvhenan culture, I may even say that this “flower” hides a “ring” in the centre of it. 

3 - This one is a very subtle pattern that makes us remember a lot the way the Veil or magical barriers are paint in Murals in DAI: Basics. It’s also one of the basic patterns we see around Orlesian door frames, so I assume they took inspiration [or directly stole it, since it’s the same one] from this one.

4 – It’s a simple pattern of equidistant squares, which has some distant “flavour”  to Dwarven style.

5 – Semi-circles are very commonly used too, usually presented in this exact way: two opposed rows of semi-circles.

6 – It’s the repetition of the pattern 1.

7 - It’s usually a vertical pattern that we see in columns or walls that extends from the ground up to the ceiling.  Curiously, it’s a pattern that I can see it may have inspired the typical pattern we see in Tevinter walls/columns, where serpent-dragons eat each other as they twists upward. The elvenan one is a symmetrical version, usually presented in the main chambers of the elvhen temples. Sometimes, in the main chambers, this pattern is painted in golden.

8 -  It’s an undulating line, usually seen in stair steps. We know how meaningful undulating lines are inside elvhenan art [details in Murals in DAI: Basics]. We can see this pattern decorating the main murals found in DAI too.

9 – Intertwined eluvian-like shapes. This pattern usually decorates handrails, and is present in main chambers.

10 - Another pattern usually seen at the basement of the elvhenan statues is this one, which emulates eluvians frames inside domes of similar shape. This pattern may have inspired another we can see in the Orlesian art, specially in the Winter Palace bell.

Architecture

The most distinctive detail about elvhenan architecture are its entrances frame and windows frames made in the shape of eluvians. The windows have a pattern of branches or “vines” upside-down inside them. This same pattern is seen in one of the mosaics of Fen’Harel’s mountain ruins, in the one where the chained figure is put upside-down.

Windows usually have three repetitions of the top of an eluvian’s shape, giving an impression of a gill. Windows and entrances are always decorated with the aforementioned elvhen patterns around their borders.

Important chambers in elvhenan buildings are painted in golden and green, and their ceiling have a resemblance to Gothic ribbed vault styles

Mosaics are important in the elvhenan architecture. They usually decorate their walls or floors. The yellow-brownish mosaics that we usually find on the ground seems to be used to focus something important on its centre: the Asterisk Symbol, that could be understood as a proto-symbol of a sun but also we know that the elvhenan related it to a Titan’s heart, is usually used to place a statue/element of great importance on it. In the case of the petitioning chamber of the Temple of Mythal [ Temple of Mythal in detail], it’s the petitioner themselves who is placed in the centre of it. In places like Shattered Library, we find the red dragon egg on it, or the spirit of The Archivist. In temples like Temple of Mythal, we find the statue of Mythal in the middle of it, or a brazier in the chamber of Sylaise [which element is Fire]. In places like Cradle of Sulevin, each of the statues that keep a fragment of the legendary sword are placed on the asterisk symbol. In fact, if we see the whole configuration of the floor mosaic, it seems to suggest a Quincunx symbol.

Another kind of floor mosaic, sometimes seen on walls [as in The Lost Temple of Dirthamen] is the one that looks like a “flower” but I think it’s and oversimplification of the Quincunx symbol. We can even understand this one as an oversimplification of the previous detailed floor mosaic.

Decorations

This is one of the most repetitive Elvhen symbols I saw, it’s usually found on boxes, but also on Elvhen funerary lid. There is a hint of a unique symbol in Hinterlands: The Unknown Ruin that seems to relate to this one, but so far, it’s a symbol that I barely could relate to a very styled, geometrical halla. 

Due to its undeniable link to the helmet of a regular Tevinter mage soldier, I consider that there must be some connection with dragons too [otherwise, Tevinters would have no interest in it, so far we know]. This symbol also appears in several mysterious concept arts that give no hints to understand it. I hope DA:D will provide answers eventually.

In some places, such as Cradle of Sulevin, we find this decoration which has an important relevance in Elvhen history: thorny vines and sun-symbols appear in it giving the impression of being related to the codex Veilfire Runes in the Deep Roads but also to all those unreliable Dalish tales about Elgar’nan. Curiously, better versions of this symbol can be found in Fairel tomb’s dwarven seats. I’m not so sure if this asset can be considered irrelevant, since it’s used in Elvhenan temples, as well as backrests of dwarven chairs, but seems to have quite important elements of DAI lore to be totally overlooked.

This object is compounded of three elements that, depending on where you find it, some are on the background or the foreground. The main element are the thorny vines. In Cradle of Sulevin we find different versions of it while we trigger the Vir Tanahhal, the path that Andruil has “given” to the Dalish [some of these versions don’t have the upper figure that looks like a gem] while in others it is on it; the dwarven version keep it in the background. 

This pattern, usually only seen in walls of elvhenan temples, will be maintained by the Dalish in their clothes. Curiously, it’s also a common pattern in the clothes/armour of the Qunari.

An important element that seems to be overlooked due to the distance is the Elvhenan flag: an asymmetrical brown flag/banner [maybe it’s just age that turned into this colour?] which displays dots and flowers.

Of course, there are a lot more of statues, fences, objects and decoration elements that should be considered, but I think I made a decent exhaustive tracking of them along the tags. There is also a good exploration of the paintings we find in most of the temples in Nation Art: Elvhen. 

When it comes to statues or symbols, these targets can be checked:

Dragon Mythal statue

Humanoid Mythal statue

Howling Fen'Harel statue

Sitting Fen'Harel statue

Elven Owl statue

Elven hart statue

Elven Archers

Elven Tree Statue

Humanoid Dirthamen/Falon'Din

inuksuit

Red inuksuk

Golden Ring

Elvhen funerary lid

Evanuris Mosaics

Elven Orb

Vhenadahl

and potentially pointy tower

There are additional tags to explore such as Elven and Elvhenan design, although they are a bit more generic. 

[rhetoricandlogic]

Tear Tracks

Tear Tracks - Malka Older

Illustrated by Richie Pope

Edited by Carl Engle-Laird

Wed Oct 21, 2015 9:00ams

Flur traveled across the stars to make first contact with the Cyclopes, hoping to forge a peace treaty between humanity and the first sentient aliens they’ve discovered. She’s undergone careful training and study to prepare for this moment. But what if her approach is too human?

Nobody expected them to look human. If anyone still harbored that kind of anthropocentric bias, they kept it bottled up with their other irrational fantasies (or nightmares) of successful contact. The biophysicists had theorized alternative forms that could support higher intelligence: spiraling cephalopods, liquid consciousness, evenly-distributed sentience. The Mission Director, who was known for being broad-minded, even invited some science fiction writers to work with the scientists in imagining what intelligent alien life might look like. The collaboration didn’t generate many usable ideas for the Mission (although it did lead to half a dozen best sellers and a couple of ugly lawsuits). And after all that thought and effort and retraining of assumptions, the first intelligent extraterrestrial life-forms they found were humanoid.

Not completely human, not like actors in silver face paint, but bilaterally symmetrical, bipedal, with most of the sensory organs concentrated in a central upper appendage that it was difficult not to call the head.

“We need a new word, a whole new vocabulary,” Tsongwa said, as he and Flur reviewed hours and hours of long-distance surveillance video. “A term to remind us that they’re not human, but still give them equal importance and intelligence.”

Because not only were they humanoid (the word did not satisfy Tsongwa, but it caught on and stuck), they were clearly intelligent, with societies and civilizations. They lived not in the caves or intelligent-organic complexes or mind-alterable environments hypothesized by the scientists, but in identifiable buildings, in cities. (The Mission Director promptly brought in architects, urbanists, psychologists, forensic archeologists, urban psychologists, forensic architects). They were “advanced” (Tsongwa insisted on putting the word in quotes) enough that first contact with them could be via radio, and then video. Many of the linguistic problems, not to mention the initial shock of alien existence, could be worked out long before Flur and Tsongwa got anywhere near the planet.

The Mission Director insisted on the importance of a protocol for contact, flexible enough to use in as many different contexts as they could imagine (an optimist, he was still hoping to discover intelligent spiraling cephalopods), yet structured enough to allow for some degree of standardization. Two ambassadors, one male, one female (the Mission Director did not point out that they were also of different “races,” another word Tsongwa used only in quotes). They would go armed, but imperceptibly so. They would go with scientific objectives—as much observation and recording as possible—but also with diplomatic goals that were more important: they were to bring back, if not a treaty, at least an agreement. “A framework,” the Mission Director explained, “for future relations.” He made a template for them, but encouraged them to modify it as necessary. The next day he came back with a few more templates, to give them a sense of the range of options.

Flur, the brilliant young star of what they call the Very Foreign Service, smiles and nods, but he’s overselling it. She’s pretty sure she can figure out the acceptable options, maybe even some the Mission Director hasn’t come up with, just as she’s pretty sure she can charm these aliens by respecting and listening to them, by empathizing, by improvising. Maybe more than Tsongwa. She likes Tsongwa, but he’s so serious, and places too much importance on semantics. She knows he’s supposed to be the experienced balance to her youth and genius, but nobody’s experienced anything like this before. And he’s not actually that much older; it’s just the deep lines on his face and the slow pace of his consideration that make him seem so.

Flur is aware of another probable advantage: as far as they have been able to tell, most of the alien leadership is female. Or the equivalent of female, what looks like female to the humans, which means human females will look like leaders to the aliens. Even Flur’s skin color is closer to the rosy purple of alien flesh. Though no one has mentioned either of these cultural elements, Flur prepares herself for the possibility that she will need to act as the head of the expedition, even if she remains technically subordinate to Tsongwa.

Her confidence, or overconfidence, does not pass unnoticed. But it doesn’t worry the Mission Director or Tsongwa much. Flur is never disrespectful, and she works hard, studying the video and audio recordings, diagramming and re-diagramming what they understand about political structures, writing short treatises about cultural practices.

The time and place of the landing are set, and there is a flashy ceremony for the departure from the base station, full of flags and symbols and fine music, scripted and simulcast. Flur has an odd longing to wave to her mother, but manages to quell it. Fortunately, the Mission Director has managed to fend off requests to simulcast the mission itself (largely by reminding politicians and media executives about the unlikely but real possibility of a grisly end to the adventure). The closing air lock leaves Flur and Tsongwa alone, except for the eighty-two mission staff looped into their communications and recording network. They beam down, a slang phrase for what is in practice a long, bumpy, and dangerous trip into the planet’s atmosphere on a shuttle known as the Beamer. This is Tsongwa’s expertise, and Flur is appropriately grateful for it as she copilots. He ably navigates them to the designated landing site, an extensive field outside of the alien city.

Flur takes a deep breath once they are settled. Through the small window she can make out tall, curving shapes: the aliens, the natives of this planet, have gathered as planned. From the screen on the dash the Mission Director looks back at her, almost bathetic in the way emotion and overwhelming awareness of the significance of this moment play openly on his face. Flur checks her comms and stands up. For a moment she and Tsongwa are face-to-face in the narrow aisle between the seats, and though his chin is level with her forehead Flur feels for the first time that they are looking straight at each other. This moment, though it is being recorded and transmitted in a dozen different sensory and technological combinations, is still theirs alone. There is a mutual nod—Flur doesn’t know which of them initiates it—and then Tsongwa leads the way to the hatch.

Stepping out of the Beamer, Flur finds that the aliens look less human at this close range. Their extended bodies curve gracefully into hooks and curlicues, partially obscured by flowing robes that give the impression of square-sailed ships luffing to the wind. When two of them step forward with extended hands, Flur can see that their three fingers are flexible as snakes. They cover the lower part of their faces with more cloth, but above that their noses have only a single nostril, flat on the face, opening and closing like a whale’s. Unsettlingly, it is the eyes that are most human: none of the giant pupils or extended slits of old science fiction movies, but (what appear to be) irises and robin’s-egg sclera within the familiar pointed oval shape, although they each have only one. In the popular press they are already known as the Cyclopes, but Flur finds each eye startlingly (perhaps deceptively?) expressive.

The two aliens have paused, hovering at a safe distance. Maybe that’s their idea of personal space? Flur glances at Tsongwa, a sideways slant of the eyes obscured by her goggles, but he is already stepping forward, arms up and out, mimicking the circular alien gesture that they have identified as significant and positive. Through her speakers, Flur can just make out the sound of him clearing his throat.

“Greetings,” he says, in an accented Cyclopan that they hope is comprehensible . He pauses. In what is surely the best moment of either of their lives, the aliens say the same word back to him.

The two designated humanoids approach, and curve more so that their singular eyes are nearly on a level with their visitors’. The skin of their faces looks parchment-like, worn and creased, like oak leaves pasted together, with striking lines trailing down from both corners of their eyes. They pronounce elaborate welcomes which Flur only partially understands. Their names are Slanks and Irnv, and they are happy to welcome their most esteemed visitors from another planet and take them in this honorable procession to the capital city of their island, where they will meet their leader. Flur almost lets out a reflexive giggle at the irony of it all, but she squelches it, and accepts instead the folds of material that Irnv hands her. “A costume more suited to our climate,” Slanks says, as he hands the same to Tsongwa.

Flur, cozily padded in a latest-model spacesuit, had not noticed any issues with the climate, but at least the local dress resolves one concern. There had been some worry at Mission Control that, having transmitted visuals of humans in their native habitat to the aliens, they would find the sight of them in their tubed breathing apparatuses disconcerting, but the alien clothes include fabric to cover the lower face, so that should help.

It is a moderately long walk to the city, and Flur keeps an eye on the visit clock ascending without pause in the corner of her view, and the bars representing her life support resources shrinking ceaselessly. A milky fog obscures much of the landscape, but Flur stares at the fragments of organic material at her feet, twigs and leaves in strange shapes, or maybe shells or corals, or something they have no word for yet. She longs to scoop up a sample, but is embarrassed to do so in front of their attentive entourage.

At the edge of the city they are guided to a canal or river where they board an almost flat barge, its slightly curved sides dressed with the same fabric that the Cyclopes wear. As they detach and float slowly along, Flur begins to feel disoriented, although she can’t figure out what is dizzying her. Finally, looking down at the canal, she decides it is the water, or the liquid, which is sluggish and thick. Grateful for the flowing native costume, she detaches a specimen vial from her space suit and within the compass of the billowing sleeves manages to scoop up some of the canal liquid, seal, and pocket it. She doesn’t think anyone has noticed, not even Tsongwa, who is deep in limited conversation with Slanks.

The gray-blue buildings are sinuous and low. Flur wonders if they continue underground. They cross a few other canals, but there are also pedestrian paths where tall humanoid shapes in expansive robes move, pause, interact. As they stream inexorably by, Flur catches a glimpse of two flowing dresses, one bold purple, one carnelian red, pressed against each other, fluttering suggestively. She looks away quickly, then looks back, but they have drifted out of sight before she can be sure what she saw.

The canal empties into a wide circular plaza, like a collection basin, or possibly the source of the waters. Avenues dotted with pedestrians surround the central circle of mixing waters, which has been waterscaped into a flat sculpture, tilted slightly upward, with streams of blue and lavender liquid running down it in carefully designed flows. Flur can make no sense of it, but she’s sure it’s important.

“It’s beautiful,” she says to Irnv, and although the alien replies “Thank you,” Flur has the feeling that the crinkles around her eye express politeness rather than real pleasure. Beautiful was not the right word.

They disembark and enter the palace through a gateway draped with more cloth, the bright colors this time woven through with a black thread that gives the whole a muted sheen. The corridors are high and narrow, and slope (downward, so she must have been right about going underground) more steeply than a human architect would allow. Despite her oxygen regulator, Flur is out of breath by the time they come to a stop in a cavernous chamber, and she thinks uneasily about their tanks. As a precaution, during the visit planning they halved their life-support time frame and gave only that conservative number to the aliens. Still, Flur can’t help being aware that everything was an estimate, that if for any reason they can’t use the barge it will take them longer to get back, that they are therefore dependent on the aliens. She calms her breathing, catches Tsongwa’s eye on her and nods to tell him she’s okay. Then she looks around. Mission Control sees what she sees.

The room, like the corridors, has no right angles; its shape suggests the word “organic” to Flur, although she guesses Tsongwa would be able to find some semantic problem with that. The impression is intensified by a shallow pool of slightly lilac-tinted liquid in the middle of the room, roughly where the conference table would have been on Earth. The Cyclopes are reclining in flexible harnesses, suspended from a frame that hangs from the rounded ceiling and ending in constructions almost like hammocks. It takes quite a bit of adjusting for these to be feasible for Flur and Tsongwa (more wasted time, Flur can’t help thinking), but once she’s cradled in one she finds it surprisingly comfortable, her weight evenly distributed, her feet just resting on the ground.

While they are finishing with Tsongwa’s harness she examines the row of decorations along the curving wall, gradually realizing that they are not abstract moldings, but sculpted likenesses. There are no gilded frames, no contrasting background to firm, smiling faces, but once she sees it Flur can’t believe she missed it. There are so many analogs in her own world: the row of ancient principals on the moldy wall of her high school; the faces of presidents in her history book and hanging in pomp in the Palais National; the old, unsuccessful directors hanging outside the Mission Director’s office. Conscious of the video feed, she looks at each face in turn for a few seconds, trying to learn what she can.

They do appear to be mostly female, although Flur counts three faces of the thirty-eight that scan to her as male. There are no confident smiles; a few are actually looking away, their faces turned almost to profile, and most of the eyes are angled downward. They look almost sorrowful; then, as she keeps staring, they look too sorrowful, the way the politicians at home look too distinguished. The vertical lines on the cheeks, trailing down from the corners of each august eye, begin to look stylized. In fact, much as the sequences at home evolve from paintings to photographs to three-dimensional photographs to hyperphotos, the moldings also show the passage of time. The first few are exact and detailed, like living aliens frozen into the wall, and as she follows the series back they become vague and imperfect. The face that Flur places as the oldest is painted in a combination of blues and lavenders, as though faded from the more usual dark purples, and the two-tone palette is unique. Staring at it, Flur starts to feel that it looks familiar. She remembers the fountain in the huge plaza, and suddenly that flowing pattern of water makes sense. It was a face—this face.

She leans toward Irnv to ask her, but at that moment everyone starts swinging back and forth in their hammocks, and more aliens start filing into the room. The last face to enter is also familiar: it is the most recent in the sequence of portraits. “It’s the president,” Irnv whispers. “She lost her three children and husband to sudden illness over the period of a year!”

Flur has no idea how to respond to that, and her half-hearted “I’m so sorry” is lost in the flurry of introductions, swinging of hammock-seats, and a brief interlude of atonal song. After that it is the president who, arranging herself with some ceremony in her hammock-chair, begins to speak. Flur gets most of it. Irnv, who has also apparently been studying, whispers the occasional English word in her ear, but these are so out of pace with Flur’s internal translation that they are more disruptive than helpful. She is grateful that she will have the recording to listen to. She will translate it word by word, slowly, in her office at Mission Control (a thought that fills her with momentary, inconvenient homesickness) but the general point is clear enough. Honored to receive this first interplanetary delegation; already the communications between them have set the foundations for a strong and close friendship, the type of friendship (if Flur understands correctly) which can withstand any tragedy; this personal visit, however, will truly interlace (or something like that) their peoples in mutual regard. Blah, blah, blah, basically.

Then it is Flur’s turn. She had expected to stand up to give her presentation, and it feels odd to speak from the balanced suspension of the hammock, without much preamble except the turning of expectant, one-eyed faces towards her. She takes out the small projector they brought, and aims a three-dimensional frame of the rotating Earth into the middle of the room, slightly closer to the president’s seat. Her presentation is brief and colorful: a short introduction to the history and cultures of Earth, glossing over war, poverty, and environmental degradation and focusing on the beauty and hope integral to human and other biodiversity, with subtle nods to technological and, even more subtly, military power. The aliens seem impressed by the projection, although there is too much light in the room for it to come through at its full sparkling vividness. Flur wonders if they hear her spiel at all.

She nods at Tsongwa, and he takes over, describing their proposed agreement, or framework. Leaning back in her hammock as he steps through the template, explaining why each section is important and the degrees of flexibility on each point, Flur has to admit he’s quite good: understated, yes, but that seems to fit the mood better than she had expected. Before they left she had, privately, suggested to the Mission Director that they switch roles, so that she could take on the key task of persuasion, but although he seemed to consider it, he had not made the change. Flur knows she would have been good, and her Cyclopean is slightly better than Tsongwa’s, but he has learned his piece down to the last inflection. He even seems to have taken on the president’s mannerisms, looking down and to the side and only occasionally, at key points, making eye contact.

There is a pause after he finishes, then the president sways, signaling her intention to speak. “For such a momentous occasion,” she croons, “we will need to discuss with the high council.”

During the pause while the council is called, Flur cannot help fretting about their deadline. Why wasn’t the council there from the beginning, if they are needed? Will she and Tsongwa need to make their presentations again? At least her political diagrams have been partially validated, although she is still not clear on the relationship between the president and the high council, or either of them and what Mission Control has been calling the Senate. Apparently the president does not have as much direct decision-making power as they thought.

There is further singing to cover, or emphasize, the entrance of the high council, and under it Irnv points out some of the more important council members. She seems to have a tragic tale about each of them. There is a woman who lost most of her family in a storm, another whose parents abandoned her as a child. The leader of the council, surprisingly, is male; his wife drowned two days after their wedding. Unable to continue murmuring about how sorry she is, Flur is reduced to nodding along and trying not to wince. She wonders if Tsongwa, a few feet away, is getting the same liner notes from Slanks. Looking at them she guesses he is, but between the oxygen mask and the face covering, it is impossible to read his expression.

Extensive discussion follows. Flur loses concentration in the middle of hour two, and can no longer follow the foreign syllables except for occasional words: “haste,” “formality,” “foreign,” “caution.” Dazed and unable to recapture the thread, Flur shifts her attention to body language instead, trying to figure out who is on their side. The president doesn’t seem engaged, putting a few words in now and then but otherwise looking at the pool in the floor or at the walls. Then again, no one else is showing fire or passion either. The discussion takes place in a muted, gentle tone, councillors lounging in their hammocks, occasionally dismounting to dip their lower extremities in the shallow lavender pool. She wonders if they are showing respect for the president’s tragedy. It is when she catches the president actually wiping a tear away from the corner of her large eye that she leans over to Irnv.

“Maybe the president is, um, a little distracted?” she asks.

Irnv looks back at her but says nothing, and Flur hesitates to interpret her facial expression.

“She seems quite . . .” Flur notices another tear slip down the furrows in the president’s faded-leaf face. Thinking of her lost family, she is wrung by an unexpected vibration of sympathy. “Maybe she could use a break?” What Flur could use now is a moment to talk to Tsongwa in private, to strategize some way of moving this along.

She wasn’t expecting her comment to have any immediate effect, but Irnv leans forward and says something to someone, who says something to someone else, and a moment later everyone is getting up from their swings. Flur cringes, but maybe it’s for the best; they certainly weren’t getting anywhere as it was.

“We will take a short refreshment break,” Irnv tells her. “Come, I will show you the place.”

They file into a corridor beside Tsongwa and Slanks. Flur tries to exchange glances with Tsongwa, hoping that however the refreshment is served, it will allow them some tiny degree of privacy to talk, even if only in their limited sign language. Food would be nice too, but since the breathing apparatuses they are wearing make eating impractical, their suits are fitted with intravenous nutrition systems. They won’t get hungry until they’re long dead of oxygen deprivation. Flur is wondering how to explain this to Irnv in some way that will make their refusal of refreshments less impolite when Tsongwa and Slanks turn off the corridor through a small opening draped in purple. Flur starts to follow but Irnv catches her arm with her three serpentine fingers.

“Not in there,” she whispers. “That’s the men’s side.”

They take a few more steps forward and then slide through an opening with crimson curtains on the opposite side of the corridor. The space is smaller than Flur expected, and there is no one else there, but in the far wall is a row of curtained, circular passages, like portholes. Irnv gestures Flur toward one, then wriggles into the cubbyhole beside it. After a moment of hesitation, Flur pokes her head into the hole. Inside is a low space, a small nest with cloth and cushions everywhere and a shelf with several small jars holding different items: violet straw, green powder, ivory slivers the size of a thumbnail. Flur pulls her head out, but the drape has already fallen in front of the Irnv’s opening. Flur crawls into her own nook, lets the curtain down behind her, and leans her head back against the unsettlingly soft wall.

It is so obvious she doesn’t even want to whisper it into her comms (although Tsongwa is probably doing just that at this same moment, on the men’s side), because surely they’ve figured it out by now: Eating is a social taboo. That’s why they cover their mouths all the time. Of course they hadn’t mentioned this during the previous discussions, any more than earthlings would have said, “By the way, we don’t discuss defecation.” Fortunately, because of the intravenous nutrition and the assumption that they wouldn’t be able to eat alien food, no one at Mission Control brought the matter up during protocol discussions for the trip. Flur wonders what the reaction would have been. Embarrassed silence? A quick, mature resolution of the question and no more said about it? Giggles?

Even though she’s not going to eat (she does take samples from each of the jars for her specimen cases), Flur finds the isolation soothing. She would like to sit in this cozy womb, silently, for at least ten or twenty minutes, breathing slowly and remembering why she’s here. Instead she talks to Mission Control.

“How long would it take for us to get back without that canal?” Flur asks the air in front of her nose.

“We calculate walking would add another hour to the journey,” answers Winin, the desk officer assigned to her earpiece. “That’s with no obstacles or disruptions of the sort that might come from visitors from outer space walking through a major city.”

“So about two and a half hours total,” Flur muses.

“You’ve still got some time,” Winin assures her.

“Yeah, but we’re coming up on the limit we gave them.” Flur lowers her voice, wondering how sound travels among these cubicles.

“Well, you can find an excuse to extend that, if you have to. How does it look?” Winin asks, as though she hadn’t seen and heard everything that happened herself.

“Can you patch me in to Tsongwa?” A moment later she hears his voice.

“. . . very interesting, how many things we did not foresee.”

“It is, it’s fascinating. I think we can consider that alone a success, a complete validation of the need for this expensive face-to-face visit in addition to all the other communication.”

Flur is a little surprised to hear the Mission Director. So Tsongwa went straight to the top during his break. She clears her throat. “Hey Tsongwa, how’s the food on your side?”

He lets loose his surprisingly relaxed chuckle. “We’ll have to ask the lab techs later,” he says.

The Mission Director is not interested in small talk at this juncture. “Now that I’ve got you two together, what do you think? Can we get the agreement signed today?”

There is a moment of silence, and Flur realizes that, through the layers of alien building material and empty alien atmosphere that separate them, she and Tsongwa are feeling exactly the same thing.

“It seems unlikely,” she offers, at the same time as he says, “I doubt it.”

The Mission Director lets out a whoosh of breath. “Well. That’s a shame.”

“It’s not a no,” Tsongwa clarifies. “They need more time.”

“Maybe if we could talk to someone else,” Flur says, looking for some hope. “The president doesn’t seem up for it right now, with all she’s been through.”

She’s hoping that Tsongwa did not get the full tragic history and will have to ask what she means. Instead he says, “Actually . . .” He pauses to order his thoughts and in that pause Flur hears a rustling and then her name called, very softly, from the other side of the curtain.

“Gotta go,” she whispers, and then slides out of the cubbyhole.

Irnv is reclining in a hammock-harness outside the cushioned wall of nests, still within the women’s area. Her face covering is loosened and hanging down below her chin, and although Flur is careful not to stare at the dark purple, circular mouth, she finds she is already acclimatized enough to be shocked. The orifice seems to be veiled on the inside by a membrane of some kind, and doesn’t fully close. Struck by the curiosity of the forbidden, Flur wishes she could see how they eat.

“Do we have to get back now?” she asks, wondering too late if she should thank her host for the food she couldn’t ingest.

“We have some time still,” Irnv says. “I don’t know how you do it, but here we usually relax and socialize after eating.”

“It is . . . like that for us too,” Flur says, wondering if she is right about the translation for ‘socialize.’ Following Irnv’s graceful nod, she climbs into the hammock next to her and tries to put a relaxed expression on her face. Where is everyone else? They must have designated special eating rooms for the aliens and their handlers.

“Flur,” Irnv says, and Flur snaps out of it. “What does your name mean?”

Rather than try to define a general noun, Flur takes out her palm screen and presses a combination she had pre-loaded. “Like this,” she says, holding it out to Irnv as the screen runs through hyperphotos of flowers, all different kinds.

“Ahhh,” Irnv strokes the screen appreciatively, stopping the montage on a close-up of a wisteria cluster.

“And you?” Flur asks, trying to keep up her end of the socializing.

Irnv looks up, her head tilted at an angle that is so clearly questioning that Flur begins to trust her body language interpretation again. “Your name,” she says. “What does it mean?”

“Star,” Irnv replies, with a curious sort of bow.

“Oh, I thought star was ‘trenu,’” Flur says.

“Yes, trenu, star. Irnv is one trenu. A certain trenu.”

Flur finds herself tilting her head exactly the way that Irnv did a few minutes ago, and Irnv obligingly explains.

“Irnv is the name of your star. Your . . . planet? We tried to pronounce it like you, but this is our version.”

Terre. Earth. Irnv. But “pronounce it like you?” They have only been in contact for a few years. How old is Irnv?

“And your family?” Irnv asks, while Flur is still turning that over. “Where are you from?”

“An island,” Flur says, one of the first words she learned in Cyclopan. She takes her palm screen back and brings up globes, maps, Ayiti. She hadn’t prepared anything about her family, though. “Many brothers and sisters,” she says. She thinks of the video that was made for the launch party, presenting a highly sanitized version of her backstory, and wonders why nobody thought to load that into her drive. Maybe it wouldn’t translate well; their research has not pinned down the alien version of the heartwarming, life-affirming family unit. “We used to raise chickens,” she says, unexpectedly, and quickly pulls up a picture of a chicken on the screen, and in her mind, the memory of chasing one with her brothers.

Irnv blinks her single eye. “They are all well? Your brothers and sisters?”

“Well?” It’s a hard concept to define. The pause feels like it’s stretching out too long. “They’re fine. We’re just fine.”

A beat. “And how were you chosen for this?”

“Oh,” Flur says. These are all questions they should have prepared for. She can’t imagine, now, why they thought the conversation would be all business all the time. “Well, I went to school, and there were . . . competitions.” She can’t remember the word for tests. “And then more school.”

Irnv is nodding, but Flur reads it as more polite than comprehending, and she’s trying to remember the words, find the right phrase to explain it, how it’s not just written tests, but also character, leadership qualities, sacrifices, observations by instructors and mentors, toughness, drills . . .

“. . . happy to have you here,” the alien is saying, with seeming earnestness.

Flur rouses herself back to her job. “We are very happy to be here too,” she manages. “But we will have to go home soon, and we would really like to complete this agreement. For the future.”

Irnv leans back in her hammock. “We hope so. But it is a very short time.”

“It is,” Flur agrees, with as regretful a tone as she can summon. “The president . . .” she trails off, delicately.

“The president is a great woman,” Irnv says, in a tone that sounds to Flur very close to reverence.

“She is,” Flur agrees, disingenuously. Pause, effort at patience. “Perhaps it’s not the best time, though, with all she’s been through recently.”

Irnv looks confused, then understands. “You mean the loss of her family? But that wasn’t recent, that was many years ago.”

Years ago?

It takes Flur a moment to recover from that, and when she does Irnv is looking at her curiously. She puts out her hand, and the supple, red-purple fingers curl around Flur’s arm. Flur is shocked to feel their warmth, faintly, through the protective space suit.

“I think she will agree,” Irnv says. “It will take time. We can’t rush.”

“Of course,” Flur answers, still feeling the pulse of warmth on her arm, though by then Irnv has removed her hand. “We go,” the Cyclops says, sliding the scarf back over the bottom of her face as she stands.

They are not the first ones back into the meeting room, but it is still half-empty. Tsongwa and Slanks aren’t there yet, and Flur wonders what they might be talking about in the men’s room. She decides to put her time to good use.

“Irnv,” she says gently, getting her attention from a conversation with another alien. “That—that face there?” Flur nods at the first one in the series, the two-tone blue and lavender portrait. “Is that like the fountain in the middle of the city?”

Now that Flur has seen Irnv’s mouth she finds she can better interpret the movement of the muscles around it, even with the mask covering it. She is pretty sure Irnv is smiling. “Yes, yes,” she says, “you are right, that is another example. She is the founder of our city. After starting this city she was visited by very great tragedy. In her sorrow she wept, and her tears, different colors from each side of her eye, became the canals that we use to navigate and defend our city.”

Flur is trying to figure out how to phrase her follow-up questions—does she probe whether Irnv understands it as a myth and exaggeration, or take it politely at face value?—when she notices Tsongwa has come back in with Slanks, and nods to them.

“It is in her honor,” Irnv continues, “that we now make the tear tracks on our faces, to represent her learning, sacrifice, and wisdom.” She runs her fingers along the deep grooves in her face.

“You . . . do that? How?” Flur asks, trying to sound interested and non-judgmental.

“There is a plant we use,” Irnv says. “But when one has really suffered, you can see the difference. As with her,” she adds in reverential tones as the president enters the room, and Flur can see that it is true, the wrinkles in her cheeks are softer and have a subtle shine to them.

“That’s . . . impressive,” she says, feeling that admiration is the correct thing to express, but then the president begins to speak.

“Very regretfully,” she begins, her eye not nearly as moist as Flur had expected, “the time our visitors have with us is limited by their technology, and unfortunately we will not be able to settle this question on this visit.”

Flur’s hammock shudders with her urgency to speak, even as she catches Tsongwa’s warning look.

“However, we look upon it favorably,” the president goes on. “We will take the time to discuss it here among ourselves, and converse again with our good friends soon.”

Flur is about to say something, to ask at least for a definition of ‘soon,’ a deadline for the next communication, some token of goodwill. It is the Mission Director’s voice in her ear that stops her. “Stand down. Stand down, team, let this one go. We were working with a tight time frame, we knew that. And it’s not over. Great job, you two.”

The positive reinforcement makes Flur feel ill. Irnv’s face, as she turns to her, seems to hold some wrinkles of sympathy around the mouth-covering mask and her cosmetic tear tracks, but all she says is, “We should get you back to your ship as soon as possible.”

The return trip, indeed, seems to pass much more quickly than the journey into the city. Less constrained by the idea of making a good impression, Flur takes as many hyperphotos as she can, possibly crossing the borders of discretion. Noticing that they are taking a different canal back (unless they change color over time?) she scoops up another sample. She even pretends to trip in the forest to grab some twigs, or twig analogs. Irnv says little during the walk, although Tsongwa and Slanks appear to be deep in discussion. Probably solving the whole diplomatic problem by themselves, Flur thinks miserably. When they find their ship—it is a relief to see it again, just as they left it, under guard by a pair of Cyclopes—Flur half-expects Irnv to touch her arm again in farewell, but all she does is make the double-hand gesture of welcome, apparently also used in parting.

“Irnv,” Flur asks quickly. “How old are you?”

“Eighty-five cycles,” Irnv says, then looks up, calculating. “About thirty-two of your years,” she adds, and Flur catches the corners of a smile again. Meanwhile, Tsongwa and Slanks are exchanging some sort of ritualized embrace, both arms touching.

The return beam is less difficult than the landing, and once they are out of the planet’s atmosphere and waiting for the Mission Crawler to pick them up, Tsongwa takes off his breathing apparatus and helmet, removing the comms link to Mission Control.

“You okay?” he asks.

“Fine,” Flur says, trying for a why-wouldn’t-I-be tone. “You?”

Tsongwa nods without saying anything.

“I just wish we could have gotten the stupid thing signed,” Flur says finally.

Tsongwa raises both palms. “It’ll happen. I think.”

“The president seemed so . . .” Flur shakes her head. “It’s a shame that we caught a weak leader.”

“You think she’s weak?”

“Well, grief-stricken, maybe. But it comes to the same thing. For us, anyway.”

Tsongwa leaves a beat of silence. “What did you talk about in the eating room?”

“Personal stuff, mostly . . . names, families. Oh, that’s something,” Flur sits up in her chair. So different from those hammocks. “Irnv told me she’s named after our planet, but after our word for it. Earth, I mean.”

Tsongwa is stunned for a moment, then laughs. “Well, that’s very hospitable of them.”

“Tsongwa, she’s thirty-two. Thirty-two in our years!”

Another pause. “Maybe her name was changed in honor of the visit?”

“Or maybe . . .” Neither of them says it: Maybe the Cyclopes have been listening to us longer than we have been listening to the Cyclopes.

“What did you talk about?” Flur asks finally.

“Family, to start with.” Tsongwa says. “Personal history. It’s very important to them.”

“What do you mean?”

He arranges his thoughts. It occurs to Flur, looking at the lines in his face shadowed by the reflected light from the control panel, that she has no idea what he might have told them about his family, because she doesn’t know anything about him outside of his work.

“They wanted to know if I’d suffered.”

“Suffered?” Flur repeats, in the tone she might use to say, Crucified?

Tsongwa sighs; the English word is wrong, so dramatic. “They wanted to know if I’d . . . eaten bitter, if I’d . . . gone through hard times. If I’d experienced grief. You know.” An alert goes off; he starts to prepare for docking as he speaks. “They think it’s important for decision makers, for leaders. It stems from the myth of the founder—you heard about that? They believe that people who have suffered greatly have earned wisdom.” He twitches a control. “Now that we know this, we can adjust the way we approach the whole relationship. It’s a huge breakthrough.”

“But . . . but . . .” Flur wonders, with a pang, whether this means she won’t be included in the next mission. Can she somehow reveal all the hardship and self-doubt she has so painstakingly camouflaged with professionalism, dedication, and feigned poise? “But come on! The president has suffered, okay, but she didn’t seem any the wiser for it!”

Tsongwa shrugs. “They believe it, I said. That doesn’t mean it’s true. They aren’t perfect, any more than we are.”

And Flur thinks of the Mission Director, his careful multidisciplinarity and his pep talks, or the president of her country, a tall, distinguished-looking, well-spoken man who has failed by almost every measure yet retains a healthy margin of popularity. By that time they are docked, and scanned for contaminants, and the airlock doors open, and then they are swarmed by the ops team, shouting and congratulating them, slapping their shoulders and practically carrying them into the main ship where the Mission Director, his emotion apparent but held in perfect check, shakes hands with each of them and whispers a word or two of praise in their ears. Flur tries to smile and nod at everyone until finally, though it can’t have been more than five or ten minutes later, she’s alone, or almost, stripped to a sterile shift and lying in a clinic bed for the post-visit checkup.

“What’s the matter?” The medical officer says, coming in with a clipboard and a couple of different scanners. “Are you feeling okay?”

“Fine,” Flur manages through her sobs.

“You did great,” he says, as he runs the scanners over her quickly, almost unnoticeably. “The geeks are already raving about those samples you brought back. There, there,” he says, when she doesn’t stop crying. He pats her arm awkwardly. “It’s just the tension and excitement. You’ll be fine.”

But it isn’t the tension or the excitement. Flur is thinking about the things she could have said to Irnv: about her four brothers, dead, drunk, imprisoned, and poor; her three sisters, poor, unhappy, and desperate. About her own childhood, hungry and hardscrabble. If she had unburied these old sufferings, would Irnv have trusted her more? Would she have been able to get the agreement signed?

But mostly, and it is this that makes her want to cry until she makes her own, shimmering tear tracks, she is thinking about her mother. Twice abandoned (three times if you count Flur’s reluctance to visit). Beaten occasionally, exploited often, underpaid always. An infant lost, a dear sister lost, an adult child lost. Flur has always avoided imagining that grief. When her brother was killed, she clung to her own complicated pain and did not look her mother in the eye so she would not probe those depths. Now she weighs all her mother has suffered.

In another world, it would be enough to make her president.

“Tear Tracks” copyright © 2015 by Malka Older

Art copyright © 2015 by Richie Pope

[alexesguerra]

The Medieval Scapini Tarot Deck Medieval Scapini Tarot Deck by Scapini, Luigi --New Cards-- Intricate and elegant of design, the Medieval Scapini Tarot seeks to capture the artistic wonder of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Cut the deck and lay a spread and discover the hidden meanings found in the symbolism, style, and settings of the Major and Minor Arcana, all beautifully rendered by Luigi Scapini to bring your divination to life. ""While this is a contemporary deck, one would think it had been delivered in a time machine from the renaissance!"" Italian artist Luigi Scapini’s lavish paintings recreate 15th century Italy in this gold-accented tarot deck. The Major Arcana and court cards have gold backgrounds in the manner of fifteenth-century European decks. Both the Major and Minor Arcana include full scenes. In the Minors, symmetrical arrangements of the suit symbols provide composition around which the scenes are arranged. The depth of Scapini's art history expertise is evident in his lush settings and period costumes. Interesting details, and sometimes-humorous references, are cleverly imbedded in the artwork, with many of the cards depicting historical figures, for example, Rasputin as the Knight of Cups. Readers will easily relate to the universal situations revealed in the cards, for pleasurable and insightful readings. The trumps all appear over an elaborate golden background and have a luxurious feel. When splayed out across the table in readings they stand out and make quite an impression. While quite detailed, the trumps are also more straightforward in appearance and require less effort to quickly seize their meaning. The pip cards, on the other hand, are a gold mine of symbols and interpretive sources. Scapini has a way of creating a wealth of imagery in a card that allows your gaze to be seized by one thing, only to then pull the eye from a large image to a smaller one buried within it, complete in itself. For example, you may notice the cup held in someone's hand on the card, then suddenly what once was only fine detail decorating the cup you now notice is a tiny, yet communicative image of a person crouched down and shedding tears. Each time I look at a card I find I've just seen another new detail. U.S. Games Systems, Inc. The 78 cards of the Medieval Scapini Tarot recreate the Middle Ages of Europe with symbolism, costume and settings. Pls. note that being a new card item, the photos in the listing are the published photos of the item manufacturer in compliance with any copyright and trademarks rights that may belong to actual manufacturer. ISBN: 0880790318 EAN: 9780880790314 Publisher: U.S. Games Systems Physical Info: 1.19" H x 5.33" L x 2.9" W (0.64 lbs) 78 pages Street Date:11/01/1988 Pub Date: May 01, 1991 Copyright Date: 1991

[mapsstudio]

Top Urban Photography Trends Shaping NYC

As we explore the top urban photography trends shaping NYC, it’s clear that authenticity is taking center stage. We’re seeing a shift towards capturing genuine moments that resonate with viewers, alongside dynamic compositions that make the city feel alive. Storytelling through visuals adds depth, while nighttime photography unveils hidden narratives woven into the city’s fabric. However, as we consider these trends, we must also reflect on how they address the pressing social issues within our urban landscapes. What implications do these evolving practices have for both photographers and the communities they represent?

Embracing Authenticity in Photography

In today’s urban photography scene, we’re witnessing a powerful movement towards embracing authenticity. As we capture the raw essence of city life, we recognize that trust is essential for building connections with our audience. By focusing on genuine moments, we foster engagement and create a deeper sense of community.

Authenticity in our work not only enhances our credibility but also nurtures integrity in our craft. We must be cautious of manipulation, as passing off altered images as real can lead to viewer betrayal. When audiences discover deception, it erodes trust and can overshadow the hard work of genuine artists.

By committing to authentic representation, we honor the diverse cultures and experiences within our urban landscapes. Moreover, as we incorporate social issues into our narratives, we encourage dialogue and understanding, further solidifying our connection with viewers.

Transparency in our photographic practices becomes crucial; it allows us to appreciate the beauty of our surroundings without the fog of unrealistic standards. Together, we can champion authenticity in urban photography, ensuring it remains a powerful medium for storytelling and connection in our vibrant communities.

Dynamic Composition Techniques

Dynamic composition techniques play a crucial role in urban photography, allowing us to capture the vibrant essence of city life. By embracing dynamic compositions, we can create images that resonate with energy and emotion.

We should always be open to unexpected perspectives—shooting from unique angles or using wide-angle lenses can elevate our photos, adding depth and intrigue.

Exploring anti-symmetry in our framing can make our visuals more engaging. Instead of relying on safe, symmetrical shots, let’s challenge ourselves to create off-balance images that provoke thought and stir dynamic emotion.

We can inject mystery into our pictures by leaving certain elements open-ended, inviting viewers to engage more deeply with our work.

To truly stand out, we need to take more risks. Let’s break free from conventional techniques and experiment with layers, Dutch angles, and unconventional framing.

By capturing compelling gestures and eye contact, we can establish a strong connection between our subjects and the audience.

Ultimately, the goal is to create images that not only depict urban scenes but also evoke feelings and tell stories through dynamic composition techniques.

Storytelling Through Visuals

Capturing the vibrant energy of urban life goes beyond just dynamic compositions; it’s about weaving narratives that resonate with viewers. Storytelling in photography allows us to engage our audience on an emotional level, making them feel connected to the moments we capture. By focusing on the essence of people, places, and situations, we can evoke feelings that linger long after the image is viewed.

To master this art, we must refine our skills in composition, lighting, and post-processing. Techniques like the rule of thirds guide our viewer’s focus, while strategic lighting enhances the mood and emotion of our photographs. Each shot we take is an opportunity to capture emotions—whether it’s joy, vulnerability, or solitude.

As we develop our storytelling abilities, we create relatable narratives that resonate with diverse audiences. This ongoing journey of skill development encourages us to explore new stories within the urban landscape.

Addressing Social Issues

Photography’s ability to address social issues makes it a powerful tool for advocacy and change. We see how iconic images can evoke visceral responses, transforming complex social dynamics into visual narratives that resonate with viewers. These photographs transcend language and cultural barriers, making the realities of social change universally accessible.

Through citizen photojournalism, everyday individuals capture pivotal moments that highlight injustice, sparking public outcry and fostering empathy.

However, we must also navigate the ethical considerations surrounding this powerful medium. Graphic images can sometimes exploit subjects, raising questions about consent and representation. Responsible image-making requires sensitivity to the experiences of those we photograph. Striking a balance between impactful storytelling and ethical integrity is crucial in our pursuit of social change.

As we document urban life in NYC, we harness photography’s immediacy to shed light on pressing issues. Whether it’s homelessness, inequality, or systemic injustice, our lens can serve as a catalyst for dialogue and action.

In doing so, we not only preserve collective memory but also inspire future generations to advocate for a more just society. Through our work, we can elevate these narratives and drive meaningful change in our communities.

Nighttime Urban Photography

As we explore the vibrant streets of NYC at night, we find that nighttime urban photography offers a unique lens through which to capture the city’s pulse. This genre of photography in New York transforms ordinary scenes into captivating narratives.

With the interplay of neon lights and shadows, we can reveal the hidden stories that emerge after dusk. Street photographers thrive in this environment, utilizing long exposures and creative angles to highlight the dynamic energy of nightlife.

We see how the glow of street lamps illuminates candid moments, allowing us to showcase the diversity and authenticity of urban life. Whether it’s a bustling corner with food vendors or quiet streets that seem to hold their breath, these images tell stories that resonate with viewers.

Moreover, nighttime urban photography allows us to address social issues subtly. It becomes a powerful medium to document the conditions of marginalized communities under the city lights, often overlooked during the day.

What Our Clients Are Saying About Maps studio

At Maps studio, we take pride in the positive feedback we receive from our clients. Check out some reviews from various platforms like Google My Business to see how our urban photography services have made an impact in New York City. Clients love how we capture the essence of the city and view their experiences with us as both enjoyable and rewarding. If you’re keen to explore the latest trends in urban photography, come join the many satisfied customers. For more info, visit us at Maps studio.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Equipment Is Best for Urban Photography in NYC?

When we consider the best equipment for urban photography in NYC, we find that versatile cameras, wide-angle lenses, and portable tripods work wonders, allowing us to capture the city’s vibrant energy and intricate details effortlessly.

How Do I Choose the Right Location for a Shoot?

When we choose a location for a shoot, we consider the story we want to tell. We scout areas that resonate with our vision, paying attention to lighting, backgrounds, and the unique atmosphere of each space.

What Are Some Tips for Photographing Diverse Cultures?

When we photograph diverse cultures, let’s immerse ourselves in the community, build genuine connections, and respect traditions. By capturing candid moments, we’ll showcase authentic stories that resonate and celebrate the beauty of cultural diversity.

How Can I Protect My Gear While Shooting in the City?

We can protect our gear while shooting in the city by using padded bags, securing straps, and being mindful of our surroundings. Staying aware helps us avoid accidents and keeps our equipment safe during urban adventures.

Are There Any Photography Workshops Available in NYC?

Sure, there’re plenty of photography workshops available in NYC! We can explore options that suit our interests, from street photography to portrait sessions, helping us enhance our skills while experiencing the city’s vibrant energy together.

Conclusion

In exploring these top urban photography trends in NYC, we’ve seen how authenticity, dynamic compositions, and storytelling can enhance our connection to the city and its diverse communities. Nighttime photography adds a unique layer, revealing hidden narratives that spark important conversations. By embracing these trends, we not only celebrate urban life but also shed light on the social issues that shape our experiences. Let’s keep pushing boundaries and capturing the vibrant essence of this incredible city together!

Visit Maps studio for more  information about photography.

[apurbanspaces]

Tips to Design a Front Elevation for Your House

The front elevation of a house is its face, creating the first impression for visitors and passersby. It reflects the style, personality, and aesthetic choices of the homeowner, making it an essential aspect of home design. A well-designed front elevation not only enhances curb appeal but also adds value to the property. Designing a front elevation can feel overwhelming, especially if you’re new to the process. Here are some easy-to-understand tips to help you create an attractive, balanced, and welcoming front elevation for your house.

1. Start with Your Style Preference

The first step in designing a front elevation is to decide on an architectural style. Are you drawn to traditional styles like Colonial, Mediterranean, or Victorian, or do you prefer modern, contemporary, or minimalist aesthetics? Choosing a style early on will set the tone for the rest of your design, helping you pick materials, colors, and decorative elements that match your vision.

For example:

Modern or Contemporary Style: Focuses on clean lines, minimal ornamentation, and neutral colors.

Traditional or Classic Style: Often includes columns, arches, and more decorative detailing.

Rustic or Farmhouse Style: Uses natural materials like wood and stone to create a cozy, inviting look.

Once you’ve chosen your preferred style, you’ll have a clearer direction for selecting the rest of your elements.

2. Pay Attention to Proportion and Balance

Balance and proportion are key to creating a harmonious front elevation. Proportion refers to the size of elements in relation to each other, while balance ensures these elements are visually equal on both sides. For example, if you have large windows on one side, you might balance them by adding similar-sized windows or a decorative feature on the other side.

When designing your front elevation, try to:

Balance Symmetrical Elements: Symmetry is visually pleasing, and it’s especially common in traditional designs. If you have a central entrance, balance it with equal-sized windows or columns on either side.

Ensure Proportionality: Avoid oversized elements that overwhelm the design, such as overly large windows or doors in a smaller home. Keep each element proportional to the overall structure of the house.

3. Choose Materials Wisely

The materials you choose for your front elevation significantly impact its appearance. Common materials include brick, stone, wood, metal, and glass. You can combine materials for a more dynamic and layered look, but keep the style and surroundings in mind to ensure it complements the overall aesthetic of your home.

Some tips for selecting materials:

Brick and Stone: These materials provide a timeless and durable look and are ideal for traditional or rustic styles.

Wood: Adds warmth and a natural touch; it works well in both modern and farmhouse designs.

Glass: Allows for a contemporary look and maximizes natural light. Glass elements, such as large windows or glass railings, are common in modern and minimalist homes.

Metal Accents: Steel or aluminum elements, such as railings or roof trims, can enhance modern or industrial designs.

It’s also important to consider the climate in your area. For example, if you live in a hot climate, materials like brick and stone that stay cool might be a better choice than metal, which can retain heat.

4. Add Architectural Details

Architectural details add character and depth to your front elevation. Even small additions, like cornices, moldings, or columns, can enhance the design and create a more polished look. Depending on your chosen style, you can add the following details:

Columns and Pillars: Common in classic and traditional designs, columns and pillars can frame the entrance and add a grand, stately look.

Cornices and Moldings: These decorative features add depth and sophistication. Cornices are typically found at the roofline, while moldings can be added around windows and doors.

Archways and Arched Windows: Arched elements can soften the look of the elevation and add an elegant touch. These are common in Mediterranean, Colonial, and Victorian styles.

Cladding and Shutters: Adding cladding or shutters can enhance visual interest and make the design look more intentional.

Choose details that complement your style without over complicating the design. Subtle touches often have a bigger impact than excessive decoration.

5. Incorporate Windows Thoughtfully

Windows are an important part of any elevation design, offering both aesthetic appeal and functionality. They provide natural light and ventilation while also adding visual interest to the front of your house. Here are some tips for designing with windows in mind:

Size and Shape: Choose window sizes that match the proportions of your home. For a more modern look, you can use large, expansive windows, while smaller, framed windows create a traditional feel.

Placement: Balance the placement of windows so they don’t feel cluttered or uneven. A well-balanced design may have windows on each side of the entrance or in a symmetrical arrangement.

Window Style: Window styles should align with your architectural theme. For example, large, frame less windows work well in modern homes, while grid or paneled windows suit more traditional styles.

Window Trim: Adding trim around windows can enhance the design. You can use contrasting colors or materials for the trim to make the windows stand out and add depth.

6. Design an Inviting Entrance

The entrance is the focal point of your front elevation, so make it stand out. A well-designed entrance enhances curb appeal and creates a welcoming atmosphere. Here’s how to make it inviting:

Choose the Right Door: The front door should match the style of the house. For example, a wooden door with a simple design suits a farmhouse look, while a sleek glass door complements modern architecture.

Add a Porch or Overhang: A porch or overhang adds dimension to the entrance and provides shelter from the weather. This feature also makes the home feel welcoming and allows you to add decorative elements, such as plants or outdoor lighting.

Use Pathways and Landscaping: Enhance the entrance area with pathways, steps, and landscaping. These elements guide visitors to the door and make the approach to your home more attractive.

7. Choose Colors That Complement Each Other

Color plays a huge role in the visual appeal of your front elevation. The color palette should be harmonious and complement the architectural style of your house. Here are some tips for choosing colors:

Neutrals and Earth Tones: Neutral colors, like gray, beige, and white, provide a clean, timeless look and are versatile with most architectural styles. Earth tones like brown, tan, and olive give a natural and grounded appearance.

Accent Colors: Use accent colors for elements like doors, trim, or shutters to create visual interest. Dark colors, like navy or black, can create a bold contrast, while bright colors add a playful touch.

Keep the Environment in Mind: Consider the colors of neighboring homes and natural surroundings. Choosing colors that blend well with the environment can make the design feel more cohesive.

8. Plan for Outdoor Lighting

Outdoor lighting not only enhances security but also highlights your house’s architectural features at night. Lighting can make your front elevation look warm and inviting after dark, so consider adding:

Pathway Lights: Lights along walkways or driveways guide visitors safely to the entrance.

Wall Sconces: Placed on either side of the front door, wall sconces add balance and create a welcoming glow.

Spotlights and Uplights: These can highlight architectural details, like columns or textures, adding depth and dimension.

9. Add Landscaping for Finishing Touches

Landscaping ties your front elevation together, adding greenery and color that softens the design. Simple touches like flower beds, shrubs, or even a small tree can bring life to your design. Some ideas include:

Flower Beds: Plant flower beds along pathways or under windows for a splash of color.

Trees and Shrubs: These add height and frame the house beautifully, creating a natural backdrop.

Potted Plants: For added flexibility, use potted plants around the entrance to change the look seasonally.

Final Thoughts

Designing a front elevation doesn’t have to be overwhelming. With the right mix of style, balance, materials, and thoughtful details, you can create an attractive and welcoming exterior. Remember to focus on symmetry, choose materials and colors that fit the style, and add landscaping and lighting to make the design complete. Following these simple steps, you’ll achieve a front elevation that not only looks good but also enhances the character and value of your home.