“It’s okay. Art happens or it doesn’t. Can’t force it.”
She scooted back on the coffee table, pulling her legs to fold beneath her. The bread she was making could wait to be finished. Not like it was going anywhere. She tilted her head back and gazed at the ceiling.
“I’ll find something that strikes me soon enough. Not my first slump. Won’t be my last. Life’s been a bit crazy lately so it’s just a bit harder to find that spark again.”
▊✘┆— He nodded.
❝Guess I can understand that.❞
He wasn’t the artistic type. At all. Must be pretty cool, though, to be able to create something that made a lot of people happy… and to also do it without the expense of someone else. Whatever Kaye made, it always managed to blow his mind… the pieces …–the ones he had by her still hung throughout the Nest where he knew they’d remain unharmed by idiotic shenanigans.
I think the best part about susanna clarke’s magic systems is how really and truly magical they are. unlike so many magic systems in the modern fantasy genre, hers aren’t bound by rules— they are wild and eerie and beautiful and, above all, wholly beyond human comprehension. Magic is not a science. It is a labyrinth of empty halls flooded with water, it is a raven-haired king staring out at you from the shadows, it is the language of the trees and the rocks, it is the loss of reason, it is the acceptance of insanity. and since magic cannot be tamed or understood, when stuffy old people try to turn it into a tool, they are “merely throwing paper darts about a parlour, while real magic soared and swooped and twisted on great wings in a limitless sky far, far above them.” like dang susanna clarke really getsmagic
I think it’s kind of funny how common a trope hive minds are in science fiction like we’re all super fascinated by the concept of a linked species that shares data through psychic link or whatever. But when it comes down to it it’s just as likely that an alien might see us and consider us to be a linked species because we are constantly connected and we share data through vibrations in the air or in codes that are just manipulating a space so different frequencies of light can be observed against each other or in an elaborate system of movement. And we are basically always doing this and none of our complex thoughts show up on their own they are built upon by others and every piece of ourselves is influenced by the networks of other humans that share data with us. Like sure we CAN exist as an individual unit but you die if you haven’t spent years getting data that teaches you how to survive like none of us can just LEAVE the hive mind right away and we only thrive when part of a communal unit. Idk maybe this is nothing but I think it’s kind of cool.
A human would get trapped on an alien world and ask for help getting back to earth and the alien would go “oh no! This species becomes both psychologically and physically unwell if not networked to other members of its species! Don’t worry little guy I’ll get you back to your monkey hive mind”
i believe that settled humans behave more like hive insects than we do like primates, even our closest cousins.
we collect food and bring it back to a central protected area to share with non-gatherers. we specialize into castes and roles. we cooperate to build grand structures to live in together and to defend from rival hives. we tend to have specific places equipped with specialized caretakers to raise and educate our young as a collective. our constructions get increasingly geometric and regimented the bigger our hive becomes. we often use other species in the maintenance and defence of our home. and we develop ways to leave messages to each other: not just signalling directly about current situations, but marking paths, posting warnings, and indicating work to be done in the future.
other primates don’t do any of this. none of them. not even chimps, our closest cousins in the world.
but hive insects do.
settled humans area hive species. that’s why we invent communication technology, and also why we so readily adopt it. language, messengers, roads, signal towers, writing, mail, printing presses, newspapers, telegrams, radio, phones, the internet. each time the hive gets that much better at operating like a hive instead of a troop. we’re running bee software on monkey hardware, and it’s working really well.
1. How did you know becoming a fashion designer was your calling?
It’s funny actually, because it really wasn’t! I was in the cellular phone and automotive business for twenty five years. As the industry changed, I decided “you know what, I love retail.” I automatically knew working in retail would be the number one thing I would love doing! So I just happened to one day think “maybe I’ll…
