#I need to work on proportions when it comes to the recruits’ face shapes

[transformers-bold-bright-brisk]

Hey! Screenshot… redraw??? I dunno. I think this looks pretty cool.

#I need to work on proportions when it comes to the recruits’ face shapes #sometimes their optics are to high too low #their intakes are smaller or they don’t fit #wait…….am I a perfectionist?? #why did I add lighting #it’s pretty #tf fan continuity #transformers bold bright brisk #transformers #maccadam #maccadams #rescue bot recruits #my art #medix

[reytatouille]

hey so your fjord model completely blew me away; do you have any process pics? If not, can you explain a little of your process, for both fjord and beau? absolutely stunning.

Hey !

Thank you, that’s super nice ! I usually post my progress on Twitter but I can make a recap here ;D

1 - First thing first I make a base model in 3Dsmax. I know a lot of people start in ZBrush directly but A) I am not comfortable enough when it comes to creating from scratch in ZBrush and B) I don’t have to do retopology when I’m done he he. I also think it’s easier to manage a shape with a few points rather than sculpt in it but that’s a personal preference so if you’re more at ease with sculpting, go for it ! For this model I tried to stay relatively low poly (and then people from Ubi told me their models were up to 50K and I realized I could have put more edges).

The ropes are still splines at that point and are not transferred to ZBrush. I later used this tutorial to make a high poly version that was then baked on the low poly:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxAYvMs117I&t=120s

I put a placeholder for the hair so I could see what the silhouette would look like eventually. 

When I’m done I send the model over to ZBrush !

2 - I import each asset in .obj one by one, starting with the body. To avoid ZBrush making mush out of my shapes when subdividing them, I add one level of subdivision, then come back to the now slightly different first level of subdiv and reimport my original asset. That way it regains its original form and I keep my levels of subdivisions. This method can create some artefact on squared shapes but it’s the only one I found that worked.

When working in ZBrush I try to apply some tips I’ve learned from watching FlippedNormals’ tutorials and work by levels of details: low, middle and high-frequency. Here is the video that explains it the best but I really recommend most of their channel, you learn a ton of important principles when it comes to sculpting ! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKstQNoI2w0

Second important tip: never work with the default orange material, it lies to you.

ZBrush is also a good moment to check my overall proportions and anatomy. I use the Transpose Master in ZPlugin to make my different subtools one, I move and resize everything that feels off and then I reconvert them into separate objects. You don’t loose any subdivision information and it’s completely undoable so it’s very handy !Another thing when working with ZBrush: step back and look at the whole thing from time to time. Remember where your area of focus should be and check that you didn’t overdo it in areas that shouldn’t draw the focus away. For exemple at the beginning I had spent a lot of time on the folds of the boots at the ankles. Turns out the hard shadows they created were catching the eye too much and drawing the attention away from the face. So I smoothed them down a bit. 

When I’m done with the sculpt it’s time to do some UVs !

3 - For that part I come back to 3dsmax. I use the ZPlugin “FBX Import/Export” to transfer everything at the lowest subdivision level. And then it’s UVs, yay ! I’m not going to explain how to make UVs, I’ll just say I used two UDIMs, one for the whole body and one for the face. Looking back three would have been nice since the hood is too low definition for being so close to the face. I used a checker to make sure all the UVs have the same size.

Beautiful, I know.

When the UVs are done I export each asset one by one in .OBJ to update the ZBrush model. There again I go back to the first level of subdivision and I reimport, it keeps my higher levels of subdiv.

Ok now we have a low poly version and a high poly it is time for texturing and… baking. Oh dear I hate that part.

4 - So, I’m gonna be honest, when it comes to baking normal maps ZBrush has always been the death of me, and since Substance Painter was involved in my process I decided to do everything in Substance. It was my first time using it so I lost a whole day trying to understand how to make it work :)

Basically you start your project by importing your low poly in .fbx, with every asset named NameOfAsset_low. You then can bake your maps by importing your high poly as a fbx, with every asset in it named NameOfAsset_high. And then ask Substance to “match by name”. 

And then time to work ! I can’t really give tips on Substance to be honest, I’m very new at it, but there are tons of very good tutorials out there ! I worked using PBR Metallic Roughness. I made the opacity map for the edges of the cloth by simply taking the smallest brush size I could and painting threads. There’s one thing a recruiter told me once about Substance, that vaguely sounded like “With Substance kids these days don’t know how to paint textures, it’s all automatic”. So I think using the materials available in substance is nice, but you need to work over them after that. FlippedNormals’ channel has videos on Substance and how to think while texturing so I recommend checking those !

Then I just exported all my maps and put them on my model ! For Substance to Arnold there is a good video explaining in which slot goes which map: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgiZ-ZOEPNg&t=2103s

5 - And now… the hair. The hair was a first too, and it was quite difficult. 

I learned the principle of the method from this video (it’s a very interesting interview with the guy who made the hair for Horizon Zero Dawn):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z58OQ9x0E68

And I found another tutorial that used the method but with tools I knew how to use (I have never touched xgen in maya and the fibermesh in ZBrush seemed more approachable): https://www.artstation.com/artwork/GW9JB

For baking I used 3dsmax (you really need to up the global supersampler to get something not horrible) and xNormals. 

When I had all my hair strands all pretty and baked I started placing them. I think I put way too many of them and I would certainly do things a little differently but the method itself is good, I think you just need practice to get better results. For the eyebrows and lashes I couldn’t get something satisfying on ZBrush so I painted the maps by hand. The normal map is a combination of xNormals’ HeightToNormal baking and handpainted normal.

And we’re not done yet ! Because that’s a three weeks of work model. 

6 - The rig and skin. I’ll just say I used a CAT from 3dsmax. Those are extremely easy to learn and use with tutorials on youtube and they can really bring a character to life. I merged most of the objects together and then skinned them to the CAT. Here you need to know anatomy but if you want references you can check out Hippydrome, a handy website for modelers and riggers showing where articulations should be and how they work. It can also help with good topology ! https://hippydrome.com/

7 - Lighting and rendering. I used Arnold on 3dsmax for rendering everything. It’s very simple to use once you’ve learned the basics: 

A) for the light settings you use intensity first, exposure second, and you change the color using temperature (Kelvin)B) for rendering settings you start low, you check where the noise is and you up the corresponding samples 

For lighting I used 4 lights. From left to right: a rim light, a key light, a secondary and a fill light. The fill light is a skydome. I used this article to get a good base: https://3dtotal.com/news/inspiration/10-top-tips-for-lighting-and-presenting-your-sculpts-by-james-w-cain-zbrush-hair

And I think that’s all !

As you can see I spent a lot of time researching tutorials, but in parallel I also asked for a lot of feedback from friends who work in the industry. 

For Beauregard I only did modeling on 3dsmax, UVs, handpainted textures in photoshop, rig/skin and rendering in Arnold. She took me a week. For Fjord I introduced new elements and methods: I decided to use ZBrush and Substance, and I wanted to make hair cards. He took me three weeks.I think starting simple with Beauregard helped me figure out a lot of stuff and made it much easier to work on Fjord after. Struggling every step of the way can be overwhelming and make me loose interest in a personal project, so I really recommend starting small and introducing difficulty and new methods when you’re at ease with the basics. Finished is better than perfect !

I hope this will help you in some way. Don’t hesitate if you have specific questions I’ll be happy to answer as best as I can ! 

#replies #3D #3D tutorial #sageandginger #long post

[teratoscope]

Onanoid & Imagoplasm

You remember this guy, Tak, who you knew from before Operations Director Rincen snatched you up for his little manhunt. Little dude, big mouth, cute freckles. When you told him where you were getting transferred, he said don’t fuck with the elves. And you looked at him like he was stupid, and he looked at you like he’d never said anything more serious, and then he took another long drink of his coffee. He said I mean it, there are elves up in Alaska now, do not fuck with them. And you said sure. Son of a bitch was right. Here you are, up to your tits in snow and wading up the treeless side of a ridge, and there is an elf at the top. Elf’s a word for it. It’s long. Not tall, long. All people parts, but none of the proportions are right. Improbably slender neck, teardrop-shaped head, moon-silver hair floating out in all directions like it’s underwater, hands like clean-shaven spiders, fist-sized doe eyes that glow like searchlights, and you don’t know where it’s keeping all its organs. Not least because you can see the night sky filtered through its milky complexion. But then there’s the horrible little thing it’s carrying. It’s physical, it looks like it’s entirely there, and it overwhelmingly sucks to look at. Like a steamed shrimp dumpling with little rat feet and copious back hair. Tiny piggy eyes gleam at the bottoms of cavernous orbits, the skull almost human but nestled in the flesh in a way that reminds you of a barnacle. “Either of you seen a guy with about two-thirds of his face missing and a nuke strapped to his back?” you say. HD 1 MV 30’ AC 6 AT tasp blast (roll once to attack all in 120’ radius, 1d12 Wisdom damage, passes out if damage dealt exceeds own hp total) Special plasmic projection

Plasmic projection—every Onanoid has the ability to generate and maintain an exterior psychic form, or “imagoplasm.” The imagoplasm is capable of interacting directly with the physical world to a far greater extent than the Onanoid itself. It possesses superhuman strength and speed, flying telekinetically at a rate of 240’ per round, and attacks as a 5-HD creature either with a field-procured weapon or with its d6-damage fortified limbs. Its nature as a mental projection not made of conventional matter means that it is capable of delivering an unnatural volume of blows; when an imagoplasm hits, it rolls its damage dice an additional number of times equal to the difference between the attack roll and the target’s AC. This tends to destroy or deplete conventional weaponry, and obviously doesn’t work with cumbersome single-shot weapons.

Imagoplasms ignore harm from conventional attacks, but even a single point of psychic damage disperses them for 1d3 rounds, though they have formidable shields (functional AC of 17).

An Imagoplasm can never venture further than 360’ from its projector, though it can ignore line of sight and move through solid matter—though if it is operating outside of the projector’s field of vision, it can only sense by touch and by tapping the perception of someone else who can already see it.

 The Onanoids are another of the “Four Undesirables,” and the single most psychically adept human subspecies on Earth, as far as Xenobiology can tell. Or at least they would be, if their psychic abilities didn’t have such narrow applications.

As the name suggests, the Onanoids’ abilities are almost wholly internally-directed. They have near-flawless control of their own minds, and they use this control to maximize their pleasure at all times. This comes at the expense of achieving much of anything. They spend their lives rooting about for the bare minimum they need to consume to sustain the psychic effort of their permanent contemplation, defecating where they please and copulating whenever two that aren’t hungry wind up blundering into each other. It’s remarkable they have a stable population at all.

Credit where credit is due: their defense mechanism is second to none. Sustained imagoplasm generation is a pipe dream for original-strain human psi-talents, and for the Onanoids it comes as easily as breathing. Psi Studies wishes desperately that they could recruit from the talent pool and reverse-engineer the discipline, but their attempts to make meaningful contact have proven fruitless at the best of times. Constant low-level telepathy and a powerful aversion to mental discomfort means that, while a group of Onanoids are perfectly capable of living harmoniously with each other and even sustain something vaguely resembling culture, they’re barely able to recognize that other people exist. Language bothers them so much they actively scrub it from their memories as quickly as they register that it’s being thought at them.

Sometimes, however, an Onanoid’s attempts to screen out discomfort fail. Sometimes their composure breaks. For many, this is instantly lethal. For a small few, this results in a remarkable metamorphosis of their psi-talent—the trauma of exposure to alien thought patterns forces them to restructure their imagoplasm, and they develop new, idiosyncratic psience disciplines on the fly. These rare specimens are rapidly screened out of their original communities; this tends to lead into a marked improvement in their quality of life as we would perceive it, though it’s important to keep in mind that for these exile Onanoids, the experience is an incomparable loss.

#frp #frpg #ttrpg #trpg #rpg #D&D #Dungeons and Dragons #dnd #monster #homebrew #ruleslight #statblock #worldbuilding #game design #fantasy #bestiary #sf #sci-fi #science fiction #postapoc #post-apoc #postapocalyptic #post-apocalypse #psychic #humanoid #posthuman #exhuman #transhuman #mutant #solipsist

[vee-angel]

All for Nought (A Mass Effect Erotic Fan-fiction)

Happy Pi Day everyone! In honor of this nerdiest of all holidays, I thought it might be time to finally come clean about my geekdom and share the nerdiest of my writing. This story is by far my most developed work (the completed work will be the first of three novel-length stories). A few notes to anyone who may want to take the time to read it. First, I like fan-fiction to feel as authentic as possible; so I try to write the characters in a way that feels true to the source material. I also try to make the story feel genuine within the Mass Effect universe. As a result, this story is far more plot-heavy than my completely original works, but if you stick with it, there’s still a good amount of rough sex, weird sex, torture, humiliation, and bits of various other kinks. Second, the story so far is unfinished, and even when it is complete, it’ll essentially be a polished first-draft. As I’m learning more about writing, I’m seeing more things I want to add or change (having a main character that actually shows development through the story is something I definitely want to improve in the second draft.)

If you’re already familiar with the universe of Mass Effect, you can begin reading on Archive of Our Own here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16803949/chapters/39441787

If you need a refresher on the lore, or if you’re just such a fan of my writing that you’re willing to jump into a fan-fiction of a sci-fi franchise with which you’re unfamiliar, feel welcome to read the following Introduction/Cheat Sheet. 

All for Nought (Introduction and Cheat Sheet)

This story is the first in a trilogy of novel-length erotic fan-fictions set in the Mass Effect universe. A few things to keep in mind:

--The content of this story will end up being, at points, rather extreme. Since it would be tedious to identify and list every trigger-worthy scene, I ask that you simply assume that if there are acts of sexual violence or degradation that may trigger you, there’s a good chance you will find them in this story. (the second and third books will contain an even heavier emphasis on extreme kinks and fetishes, however) --I’ve attempted to make this story as close to canon-compliant as possible. For those not familiar with fan-fiction terminology, “canon-compliant” essentially means that the story is intended to hypothetically take place in that canonical universe. Essentially, that means that there should be nothing in the story that one could definitely use to say that this story didn’t happen in the universe. --I actually began writing this story with the third book (though I didn’t know it at the time). It came about at the request of an online rp partner. It slowly formed into a novel-length story, which in turn expanded into the final novel of a trilogy. This story is actually part of my first ever attempt at writing fiction, so keep in mind that I am very new to fiction-writing.

A brief primer on Mass Effect for those who may wish to enjoy the story without being hardcore fans (if you are a serious Mass Effect fan, the following will probably be unnecessary).

Story Background --The story takes place shortly after Mass Effect 2. During which the Alliance Marine Commander Shepard and the pirate/criminal Jack (aka Subject Zero) were recruited by the terrorist/human-supremacist organization called Cerberus (this organization also acquired Jack as a baby and, in order to maximize her biotic potential, forced her into cruel experiments through most of her youth) in order to defeat an enemy called the Collectors. There were many other members of the crew of the Normandy, but this story focuses primarily on those two. --The version of Commander Shepard in this story is female; she grew up on a human colony called Mindoir, where as a youth, she witnessed her colony being invaded by Batarian slavers (she managed to escape capture herself). She’s an expert in weapons and combat, but has no biotic aptitude and minimal engineering skill. --During the events of the second game, Commander Shepard (at least the version depicted in this story) recruited an asari Justicar (essentially an order of warrior nuns sworn to uphold justice) named Samara who asked for Shepard’s help in finding and executing her daughter. She explained that her daughter, Morinth, was an “Ardat-Yakshi,” meaning she had a genetic condition that only occurs in pureblood asari. An Ardat-Yakshi is essentially an alien succubus or vampire. While all asari have the ability to meld minds, for an Ardat-Yakshi, melding is always fatal. Furthermore, Ardat-Yakshi have the ability to strongly influence the minds of those around them, even at a distance (in fact, they sometimes induced entire communities to worship them as gods). When Shepard finally did help Justicar Samara track down her daughter (the Ardat-Yakshi Morinth), there was a stand-off where the two asari were evenly matched. Commander Shepard, believing that Morinth was more useful to her mission, chose to side with Morinth and kill Justicar Samara. Morinth then posed as her mother during the remainder of their mission against the Collectors

Universe background --Biotics- Essentially a form of technological telekinesis. Someone with biotic powers can move or damage objects with their mind. This normally takes the form of cascading waves of blue light. Biotic abilities are related to exposure to a substance called Element Zero (called Eezo, for short). Biotic abilities are rare among humans and other species, and usually result from exposure to Element Zero. The Asari, however are the one exception, being 100% biotic on account of the fact that the asari homeworld, Thessia, is rich in Element Zero;  --Asari melding- Similar to the Vulcan mind-meld of Star Trek fame, melding is an act wherein an asari telepathically joins their mind with that of another person. This can be merely to share information, or as an act of intimacy (especially as the asari reproduce by melding, though offspring are not always the result). Asari telepathy is generally represented visually by their entire eyes appearing to turn black. --The Terminus Systems- A section of the galaxy with no governing body and few laws. While most of the galaxy is governed by the Citadel, the Terminus Systems are essentially dominated by pirates, slavers, and criminals. Species Details --Asari- All female, skin tone normally ranges from pale blue to deep indigo, often (but not always) seen with facial markings. Their physical shape is nearly identical to that of human women, except that in place of hair, that have flat, backward facing plates that vaguely resemble rigid tentacles. Generally considered the most technologically and politically powerful race in the galaxy, the asari have a 1,000 year lifespan. Members of nearly every sapient species find them attractive. During reproduction, an asari offspring will receive both sets of genes from their mother, one set is an exact copy of their mother's genes, the other is randomized through melding with a partner. While the “father” can be a member of any species or any sex, the offspring are always asari. In fact, it’s something of a taboo for asari to mate with members of their own species, preferring instead to strengthen their species by adding diversity (also, because asari/asari pairings occasionally produce an Ardat-Yakshi) --Batarian- In their general proportions, they are similar to humans, though they have four eyes, sharp teeth, and generally very deep, gruff-sounding voices. Many species look down upon them due to their penchant for criminal activity and their cultural belief in the righteousness of slavery. --Salarian- A highly intellectual, amphibian-looking species; salarians generally have long, slender limbs and quick minds. While they only live for 60 years, their profoundly fast minds have made them one of the most prosperous species in the galaxy. They lack a sex drive, and generally mate after arranging a contract with another family. --Quarian- Proportioned like lithe, slender humans; quarians lost their homeworld centuries ago. They are most known for their weakened immune system, partially resulting from their entire species living aboard a migrant fleet of starships that they affectionately refer to as the flotilla. They are always seen enclosed in a form-fitting environmental suit. They generally have a kind disposition and extraordinary technological prowess, partially resulting from having to keep the starships on which they reside operational after hundreds of years. --Krogan- Reptilian warriors with thick bodies and a culture that emphasizes combat. Their biological durability is exceptional, being able to endure toxins, radiation, and a huge amount of physical harm. While not especially bright, they are formidable fighters, and exceptionally difficult to kill. They reproduce similarly to humans, and definitely seem to enjoy the act of mating. --Turian- Long, slender beings with a hard carapace and pointed spines in various places. The turians are most defined by a compulsion to serve their community. They’re generally seen as very disciplined and duty-oriented. Many have diverse skills and often serve in the Turian military, in fact, they make up the bulk of military personnel in the galaxy. They appear to have a sex drive, and it’s believed they mate similarly to humans. --Hanar- Large, jellyfish like organisms that are able to live outside of water and generally communicate through bioluminescence. They are generally polite, but seemingly capable of criminal and immoral acts. While genderless, there was at least one reference to “Asari-Hanar porn” in the game. So canonically… the universe of Mass Effect does contain tentacle porn. --Vorcha- Somewhat demonic-looking creatures with low intelligence and very short lifespans. The Vorcha process spoken language poorly and have a growling/hissing voice, they are defined by an exceptional ability to heal and their tendency to communicate through violence. They tend to be vicious and ruthless fighters and their contributions to galactic society are rarely beyond low-level crime and violence. Keep in mind that if you need any image or video reference to know what any of these species look or sound like, google is just a few clicks away.

I tried to keep this relatively brief and easy to reference, so feel welcome to look back on this if you need a quick and easy reminder of the details relevant to this particular story. There are, of course, volumes written about the universe of Mass Effect; I merely created this short document to be a quick cheat-sheet for my particular story.

[howwelldoyouknowyourmoon]

What messages are behind today’s cults?

Cults are coming. Are they crazy or bearing critical messages?

From May 1997 APA Monitor

By Philip Zimbardo, Ph.D.

Philip G. Zimbardo, PhD, was professor of psychology at Stanford University and a former APA president. He has interviewed and worked closely with survivors of Peoples Temple and their family members, as well as former members of the Unification Church, Scientology, Synanon, International Churches of Christ and other cults.

How do we make sense of the mass suicide of 21 female and 18 male members of the Heaven’s Gate extra-terrestrial “cult” on March 23, 1997? Typical explanations of all such strange, unexpected behavior involve a “rush to the dispositional,” locating the problem in defective personalities of the actors. Those whose behavior violates our expectations about what is normal and appropriate are dismissed as kooks, weirdos, gullible, stupid, evil or masochistic deviants.

Similar characterizations were evident in the media and public’s reaction to other mass suicides in The Order of the Solar Temple in Europe and Canada, murder-suicide deaths ordered by Rev. Jim Jones of his Peoples Temple members, as well as of the recent flaming deaths of David Koresh’s Branch Davidians and the gassing of Japanese citizens by followers of the Aum Shinrikyo group. And there will be more of the same in the coming years as cults proliferate in the United States and world wide in anticipation of the millennium.

Avoiding the stereotypes

Such pseudo-explanations are really moralistic judgments; framed with the wisdom of hindsight, they miss the mark. They start at the wrong end of the inquiry. Instead, our search for meaning should begin at the beginning: “What was so appealing about this group that so many people were recruited/seduced into joining it voluntarily?” We want to know also, “What needs was this group fulfilling that were not being met by “traditional society?”

Such alternative framings shift the analytical focus from condemning the actors, mindlessly blaming the victims, defining them as different from us, to searching for a common ground in the forces that shape all human behavior. By acknowledging our own vulnerability to the operation of the powerful, often subtle situational forces that controlled their actions, we can begin to find ways to prevent or combat that power from exerting its similar, sometimes sinister, influence on us and our kin.

Any stereotyped collective personality analysis of the Heaven’s Gate members proves inadequate when tallied against the resumes of individual members. They represented a wide range of demographic backgrounds, ages, talents, interests and careers prior to committing themselves to a new ideology embodied in the totally regimented, obedient lifestyle that would end with an eternal transformation. Comparable individual diversity has been evident among the members of many different cult groups I’ve studied over the past several decades. What is common are the recruiting promises, influence agendas and group’s coercive influence power that compromise the personal exercise of free will and critical thinking. On the basis of my investigations and the psychological research of colleagues, we can argue the following propositions, some of which will be elaborated:

No one ever joins a “cult.” People join interesting groups that promise to fulfill their pressing needs. They become “cults” when they are seen as deceptive, defective, dangerous, or as opposing basic values of their society.

Cults represent each society’s “default values,” filling in its missing functions. The cult epidemic is diagnostic of where and how society is failing its citizens.

If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything. As basic human values are being strained, distorted and lost in our rapidly evolving culture, illusions and promissory notes are too readily believed and bought—without reality validation or credit checks.

Whatever any member of a cult has done, you and I could be recruited or seduced into doing—under the right or wrong conditions. The majority of “normal, average, intelligent” individuals can be led to engage in immoral, illegal, irrational, aggressive and self destructive actions that are contrary to their values or personality—when manipulated situational conditions exert their power over individual dispositions.

Cult methods of recruiting, indoctrinating and influencing their members are not exotic forms of mind control, but only more intensely applied mundane tactics of social influence practiced daily by all compliance professionals and societal agents of influence.

The appeal

What is the appeal of cults? Imagine being part of a group in which you will find instant friendship, a caring family, respect for your contributions, an identity, safety, security, simplicity, and an organized daily agenda. You will learn new skills, have a respected position, gain personal insight, improve your personality and intelligence. There is no crime or violence and your healthy lifestyle means there is no illness.

Your leader may promise not only to heal any sickness and foretell the future, but give you the gift of immortality, if you are a true believer. In addition, your group’s ideology represents a unique spiritual/religious agenda (in other cults it is political, social or personal enhancement) that if followed, will enhance the Human Condition somewhere in the world or cosmos.

Who would fall for such appeals? Most of us, if they were made by someone we trusted, in a setting that was familiar, and especially if we had unfulfilled needs.

Much cult recruitment is done by family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, teachers and highly trained professional recruiters. They recruit not on the streets or airports, but in contexts that are “home bases” for the potential recruit; at schools, in the home, coffee houses, on the job, at sports events, lectures, churches, or drop-in dinners and free personal assessment workshops. The Heaven’s Gate group made us aware that recruiting is now also active over the Internet and across the World Wide Web.

In a 1980 study where we (C. Hartley and I) surveyed and interviewed more than 1,000 randomly selected high school students in the greater San Francisco Bay Area, 54 percent reported they had at least one active recruiting attempt by someone they identified with a cult, and 40 percent said they had experienced three to five such contacts. And that was long before electronic cult recruiting could be a new allure for a generation of youngsters growing up as web surfers.

What makes any of us especially vulnerable to cult appeals?

Someone is in a transitional phase in life: moved to a new city or country, lost a job, dropped out of school, parents divorced, romantic relationship broken, gave up traditional religion as personally irrelevant. Add to the recipe, all those who find their work tedious and trivial, education abstractly meaningless, social life absent or inconsistent, family remote or dysfunctional, friends too busy to find time for you and trust in government eroded.

Cults promise to fulfill most of those personal individual’s needs and also to compensate for a litany of societal failures: to make their slice of the world safe, healthy, caring, predictable and controllable. They will eliminate the increasing feelings of isolation and alienation being created by mobility, technology, competition, meritocracy, incivility, and dehumanized living and working conditions in our society.

In general, cult leaders offer simple solutions to the increasingly complex world problems we all face daily. They offer the simple path to happiness, to success, to salvation by following their simple rules, simple group regimentation and simple total lifestyle. Ultimately, each new member contributes to the power of the leader by trading his or her freedom for the illusion of security and reflected glory that group membership holds out.

It seems like a “win-win” trade for those whose freedom is without power to make a difference in their lives. This may be especially so for the shy among us. Shyness among adults is now escalating to epidemic proportions, according to recent research by Dr. B. Carducci in Indiana and my research team in California. More than 50 percent of college-aged adults report being chronically shy (lacking social skills, low self-esteem, awkward in many social encounters). As with the rise in cult membership, a public health model is essential for understanding how societal pathology is implicated in contributing to the rise in shyness among adults and children in America.

A society in transition

Our society is in a curious transitional phase; as science and technology make remarkable advances, antiscientific values and beliefs in the paranormal and occult abound, family values are stridently promoted in Congress and pulpits, yet divorce is rising along with spouse and child abuse, fear of nuclear annihilation in superpower wars is replaced by fears of crime in our streets and drugs in our schools, and the economic gap grows exponentially between the rich and powerful and our legions of poor and powerless.

Such change and confusion create intellectual chaos that makes it difficult for many citizens to believe in anything, to trust anyone, to stand for anything substantial.

On such shifting sands of time and resolve, the cult leader stands firm with simple directions for what to think and feel, and how to act. “Follow me, I know the path to sanity, security and salvation,” proclaims Marshall Applewhite, with other cult leaders chanting the same lyric in that celestial chorus. And many will follow.

What makes cults dangerous? It depends in part on the kind of cult since they come in many sizes, purposes and disguises. Some cults are in the business of power and money. They need members to give money, work for free, beg and recruit new members. They won’t go the deathly route of the Heaven’s Gaters; their danger lies in deception, mindless devotion, and failure to deliver on the recruiting promises.

Danger also comes in the form of insisting on contributions of exorbitant amounts of money (tithing, signing over life insurance, social security or property, and fees for personal testing and training).

Add exhausting labor as another danger (spending all one’s waking time begging for money, recruiting new members, or doing menial service for little or no remuneration). Most cult groups demand that members sever ties with former family and friends which creates total dependence on the group for self identity, recognition, social reinforcement. Unquestioning obedience to the leader and following arbitrary rules and regulations eliminates independent, critical thinking, and the exercise of free will. Such cerebral straightjacketing is a terrible danger that can lead in turn to the ultimate twin dangers of committing suicide upon command or destroying the cult’s enemies.

Potential for the worst abuse is found in “total situations” where the group is physically and socially isolated from the outside community. The accompanying total milieu and informational control permits idiosyncratic and paranoid thinking to flourish and be shared without limits. The madness of any leader then becomes normalized as members embrace it, and the folly of one becomes folie à deux (shared psychosis), and finally, with three or more adherents, it becomes a constitutionally protected belief system that is an ideology defended to the death.

A remarkable thing about cult mind control is that it’s so ordinary in the tactics and strategies of social influence employed. They are variants of well-known social psychological principles of compliance, conformity, persuasion, dissonance, reactance, framing, emotional manipulation, and others that are used on all of us daily to entice us: to buy, to try, to donate, to vote, to join, to change, to believe, to love, to hate the enemy.

Cult mind control is not different in kind from these everyday varieties, but in its greater intensity, persistence, duration, and scope. One difference is in its greater efforts to block quitting the group, by imposing high exit costs, replete with induced phobias of harm, failure, and personal isolation.

What’s the solution?

Heaven’s Gate mass suicides have made cults front page news. While their number and ritually methodical formula are unusual, cults are not. They exist as part of the frayed edges of our society and have vital messages for us to reflect upon if we want to prevent such tragedies or our children and neighbors from joining such destructive groups that are on the near horizon.

The solution? Simple. All we have to do is to create an alternative, “perfect cult.” We need to work together to find ways to make our society actually deliver on many of those cult promises, to co-opt their appeal, without their deception, distortion and potential for destruction.

No man or woman is an island unto itself, nor a space traveller without an earthly control center. Finding that center, spreading that continent of connections, enriching that core of common humanity should be our first priority as we learn and share a vital lesson from the tragedy of Heaven’s Gate.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Zimbardo

#Philip Zimbardo

[architectnews]

RIBA News & Events 2021, London

RIBA Events 2021, Architecture Gallery London, UK Buildings, British Architects News

RIBA News & Events 2021

Royal Institute of British Architects Exhibition + Talks + Events in London, England, UK

post updated 16 September 2021

RIBA UK News

RIBA responds to Cabinet reshuffle

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has responded to the Prime Minister’s Cabinet reshuffle, which saw Michael Gove appointed as Secretary of State at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).

RIBA President, Simon Allford, said: “This is a critical time for the built environment. Globally, we are preparing to host COP26, which must lead to ambitious actions and targets to ensure we are on track to reach net zero. At national level, we are also about to witness the most significant planning system reforms for generations, which have the potential to positively address the quality and sustainability of new developments across the country. The new Secretary of State must get this right, and secure the investment needed. We wish him well on his mission.

We are engaging with government on all the above; and working hard to ensure the long-awaited Building Safety Bill delivers fundamental reform and leads to the culture change our sector, profession and society desperately needs.

I look forward to continuing our liaison with the MHCLG and new Secretary of State, and hope we can count on him to promote the critical role of architects in delivering high-quality buildings for future generations.” 

15 Sep 2021 RIBA publishes new Design for Manufacture and Assembly guidance

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has published a new edition of the Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA) Overlay to the RIBA Plan of Work, alongside an accompanying guide.

The new Overlay aligns with the 2020 Plan of Work and details the relevant tasks that must be actioned at each project stage to successfully deploy the DfMA approach.

It reflects the huge technological advances that have been made to popularise the design process, and uses case studies to demonstrate the potential of the evolving method.

The Overlay has been produced by a group of industry experts led by Nigel Ostime, Partner at Hawkins\Brown, and Ian Heptonstall, Director of the Supply Chain Sustainability School. Publication of the report has been kindly supported by Akerlof, Buildoffsite, Kier, Supply Chain Sustainability School and UK Research and Innovation, and endorsed by Mark Farmer, Founder of Cast Consultancy and UK Government MMC Champion for Homebuilding.

RIBA President, Simon Allford, said:

“The new DfMA Overlay marks a significant development. By embedding this delivery mechanism within the RIBA Plan of Work, we are acknowledging the proven potential of DfMA solutions to produce not only good outcomes, but great architecture, as the case studies show. I firmly believe the built environment must explore this territory to meet the challenges ahead and – as custodians of good design – architects have the potential to lead its adoption. I commend this detailed guide and thank everybody who has contributed to its development.”

Mark Farmer, Founder of Cast Consultancy and UK Government Champion for Homebuilding, said:

“At a time when the construction industry’s inherent fragility is being exposed more than ever, there is even more focus on changing the traditionally accepted methods of doing things which are no longer fit for purpose. This Overlay therefore comes at a crucial time and if we are to fully enable adoption of technology and modern methods of construction and the better outcomes we strive for, then the overarching principles of how we initiate projects and organise the design and production process needs to be reformed and this Overlay provides a blueprint for that. The high profile of the RIBA’s Plan of Work as a project management and control tool makes the Overlay a practical and powerful addition to the tools necessary to modernise the industry and I look forward to seeing its adoption across industry.”

Download the Overlay and accompanying guide here.

14 Sep 2021 RIBA reveals shortlist for Stephen Lawrence Prize 2021 Stephen Lawrence Prize 2021 Shortlist News

23 August 2021 RIBA urges Government to drive forward Bacon Review recommendations

Monday 23 August 2021 – The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has responded to the Government-commissioned Independent review into scaling up self-build and custom housebuilding, led by Richard Bacon MP.

The final report – informed by a roundtable held with RIBA members – makes recommendations to Government on how to support growth in all parts of the custom and self-build market.

RIBA President, Alan Jones, said:

“By supporting more people to design and construct their own home, we will not only boost supply, but grow the proportion of bespoke homes that support higher levels of wellbeing and contribute more positively to local areas.

In addition to raising awareness of the Right to Build, and using planning reforms to support the delivery of custom and self-build homes, I strongly welcome the recommendation to use this delivery mechanism to accelerate Net Zero ambitions. I also have high hopes for the £150m Help to Build scheme, which should allow self and custom home building to become a realistic option.

All recommendations clearly align with the Government’s levelling up agenda and Building Beautiful plans – I urge policymakers to drive them forward.”

16 August 2021 RIBA responds to Government call for evidence to shape future profession

Monday 16th of August 2021 – The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has responded to the call for evidence, launched today by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), for those working in architecture and the built environment.

RIBA President, Alan Jones, said:

“This Government call for evidence is very timely indeed. The climate emergency and building safety crisis continue to prompt and prove the urgent need for regulated architects’ expertise throughout the entire timeline of each project.

This call provides an opportunity to demonstrate the value architects bring to society and expand upon issues the profession faces, including those that have stemmed from impending changes to legislation, such as ensuring professional competence and brokering MRPQ agreements.

I urge the entire profession to contribute, and I look forward to reading the final report.”

12 August 2021

Slow planning process causing project delays for architects – RIBA Future Trends July 2021

Thursday 12th of August 2021 – The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has published the latest Future Trends survey results, a monthly report of the business and employment trends affecting the architects’ profession.

In July 2021 the overall RIBA Future Trends Workload Index remained in strongly positive territory, returning a balance figure of +27. Whilst this is a four-point decrease on June’s results, architects remain very positive about future workloads. Actual workloads are 12% up on a year ago. 36% of practices expect workloads to grow in the coming three months, 55% expect them to remain the same, and 9% expect them to decrease. These results indicate that recovery continues.

Workload is expected to increase in three of the four workloads sectors – Private Housing, Commercial, and the Public Sector – suggesting growth to come. Pessimism about future work is only to be found in the Community sector. All regions continue to expect workloads to increase in the next three months, as do all practice sizes.

For several months, architects have been reporting concerns about the impact on projects caused by delays in the processing of planning applications. The key findings are:

• Thirty per cent of practices report some projects being delayed by six months or more • Seven per cent report some projects being abandoned • Thirty-nine per cent report some projects being delayed by up to a month • Sixty per cent report some projects being delayed by between one and six months • Twenty-two per cent report no projects delayed or abandoned

Commentary from practices this month also continue to highlight significant challenges in obtaining affordable and suitably comprehensive Professional Indemnity Insurance, and ongoing challenges around product availability and costs.

Site labour and practice staffing levels are being affected by Covid-19 infections and isolation. Some practices are beginning to report difficulties in recruiting staff, with a suggestion that this is exacerbated by the furlough scheme serving to dampen staff movement.

Private Housing continues to lead the workload recovery, with a balance figure up one point to +28. The sector remains strongly positive, with 38% expecting further workload growth to come. The commercial sector posted a balance figure of +11 down two points from June’s figure of +13.

With a balance figure in July of +2, expectations about future work in the public sector remain positive, but only just. The community sector remains in negative territory, posting a balance figure of -3. The sector has returned a negative or zero balance figure for 17 successive months.

Once again, all regions expect workloads to grow over the next three months, however optimism in London has fallen, with a balance figure of +17, down 11 points from June’s figure of +28. Nevertheless, this is the fifth month in a row that the capital has reported an expectation of increasing workloads. In contrast, optimism in the South of England rose sharply this month, with a balance figure of +33, an increase of sixteen points from last month’s figure of +17.

The Midlands & East Anglia held steady at +27, down just 1 point from June. Confidence in North of England is high but has moderated this month, with a balance figure of +36, down from +49 in June. Wales & the West at +28 has also seen confidence fall back, with a fall (from +45 in June).

In terms of staffing:

• At +13, the RIBA Future Trends Permanent Staffing Index rose slightly, increasing by two balance points from last month’s figure of +11. • 18% (up by 2%) of practices expect to employ more permanent staff over the coming three months, whilst 5% expect to employ fewer, the same figures as July. 77% (down 2%) expect staffing levels to stay the same over the coming 3 months. • Personal underemployment rose slightly by 2% and now stands at a to 16%

RIBA Head of Economic Research and Analysis, Adrian Malleson, said:

“Overall, the July Future Trends survey shows a sustained and broad-based confidence in the profession, as recovery gathers pace. Practices are reporting healthy enquiry levels and projects scheduled for up to a year ahead. Many practices are actively recruiting to meet the new levels of demand.

Significant issues remain, however, regarding affordable and suitably comprehensive Professional Indemnity Insurance, product availability and attendant inflationary pressures, local authority delays in processing planning applications and site and practice staffing shortages.

The RIBA has been actively lobbying the Government around planning delays. There have been some useful reforms including digitisation that have come about as a result, but we do need to see planning departments fully resourced to deal with this ongoing backlog.

The RIBA is having regular conversations with MHCLG, the ARB and politicians to highlight the urgent need for action to address issues in the Professional Indemnity Assurance market. The rise in cost combined with the reduction in the scope of coverage is deeply concerning. We will use the upcoming debates on the Building Safety Bill to push the Government to look at options for reform.

RIBA is reporting findings to government and working with other bodies in the built environment to monitor ongoing trends. We continue to be on hand, providing support and resources to our members as they navigate these challenging times.”

29 July 2021 RIBA responds to National Disability Strategy Thursday 29th of July 2021 – The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has responded to the National Disability Strategy, which sets out actions the Government will take to improve the everyday lives of all disabled people.

RIBA President Alan Jones said:

“We have been clear that the Government should develop a framework to implement accessible and adaptable design as a baseline for all new homes, and we’re therefore encouraged by this commitment to reforming the framework, and ongoing consultations on raising accessibility standards, to ensure more accessible housing is built.

To drive change, we urgently need solid timescales, plans and funding. Building Back Better must be built on a foundation of equity and enable us to deliver accessible, inclusive and sustainable post-pandemic communities. ‘Levelling up’ must be done in collaboration with the communities it seeks to serve, and so it is disappointing that the consultation failed to work with disabled people to design a strategy that will stand the test of time and is built upon concrete funding commitments. If the Government is serious about ‘levelling up’, it must undertake immediate action to put an end to the marginalisation and inequalities faced by the over 11 million disabled people living in the UK.”

29 July 2021 RIBA reveals judges for the 185th President’s Medals photo courtesy of Royal Institute of British Architects RIBA President’s Medals Student Awards 2021 Thursday 29th of July 2021 – The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has revealed the judges for the 185th President’s Medals, the world’s most prestigious awards in architectural education. The medals are now open for entry to architecture students around the world.

17 July 2021 Architects report onsite delays due to product shortages – RIBA Future Trends June 2021

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has published the latest Future Trends survey results, a monthly report monitoring business and employment trends affecting the architects’ profession.

In June 2021 the overall RIBA Future Trends Workload Index stayed at a similar level to May, increasing slightly by 1 point to a balance figure of +31. Optimism about future workloads remains strong. Actual workloads are 11% higher than a year ago. 38% of practices expect workloads to grow in the coming three months, 54% expect them to remain the same, and 7% expect them to decrease. These results indicate that recovery continues.

In January’s Future Trends report, 63% suggested that the new trading arrangement with the EU would have a detrimental effect on the availability of building materials.  In June’s Future Trends, the RIBA asked whether building materials shortages are affecting architects’ work. The results showed that difficulties in sourcing construction products are causing on-site delays for 63% of practices, and a quarter (25%) report site work being put on hold.  Delays are not restricted to the construction stages, with 18% reporting delays in the design process.

Other reports received of significant challenges to the architect’s market include:

labour shortages

difficulty obtaining affordable Professional Indemnity Insurance with the right level of cover

the speed of the planning application process causing project delays

shortages of construction products disrupting project delivery and creating project cost inflation

the potential effects of the gathering third wave and the planned lifting of Covid-19 restrictions

Once again, all regions expect workloads to grow over the next three months. The North of England (+49), and Wales & the West (+45) are the two most positive regions. Optimism in London continues to grow, with a balance figure of +28, up from +22 in May.  This month is the first time London has exceeded February 2020’s pre-pandemic figure of +22

Private housing continues to outperform other sectors with a very positive balance figure of +27. Whilst this is a fall of fifteen points on May’s all-time high of +42, only one in ten practices expect a decrease in private housing work.

The commercial sector is showing signs of sustained recovery, positing a balance figure of +13, up four points. This is the highest balance score for the sector since the EU referendum was held. Optimism about the public sector remains comparatively muted, with a balance figure in June of +4, down from +5 in May. The community sector persistently remains in negative territory, posting a balance figure of -6, down from -3 in May.

On balance, all regions expect workloads to increase in the next three months, as do all sizes of practice.

In terms of staffing:

The RIBA Future Trends Staffing Index dipped back down to April’s level of +11 after a slight increase in May.

16% (down by 3%) of practices expect to employ more permanent staff over the coming three months, whilst 5% expect to employ fewer, the same figures as June.  79% (up 3%) expect staffing levels to stay the same over the coming 3 months.

Personal underemployment fell again by 2% and now stands at a to 14%

RIBA Head of Economic Research and Analysis, Adrian Malleson, said:

“Overall, the June Future Trends findings indicate that the recovery in the architecture market continues.  The overall workload balance has been holding at around +30 throughout the second quarter of 2021. Private housing remains strong, and the commercial sector continues to recover. No region expects workloads to contract, and some are very optimistic.

The delays and shortages of building materials that we report are not solely the result of the UK leaving the EU.  There is increased demand for materials, both within the UK and overseas, as construction activity gathers pace.  The effects of the Suez Canal blockage are still unwinding.  The UK is experiencing workforce shortages within important areas, such as distribution (especially HGV drivers) and among builders merchants; though this is also linked to Brexit.

Nevertheless, the commentary received in June continues to reflect a positive market. Many practices report increasing enquiries and workloads, particularly in the private housing sector.”

15 July 2021 RIBA launches Fire Safety Compliance Tracker

Thursday 15th of July 2021 – The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has launched a new tool for its members to record and share fire safety information.

The RIBA Fire Safety Compliance Tracker records how a project has been designed and developed in accordance with Part B (Fire Safety) of the Building Regulations.

It can be used to provide compliance information to the design team or kept internally within your practice to help your team track compliance and to confirm the architectural design aligns with the fire strategy

The Tracker is based on the International Fire Safety Standard: Common Principles (IFSS-CP) and its associated Framework.

Find out more about RIBA’s work to drive building safety regulatory reform here.

RIBA President, Alan Jones, said:

“This is a valuable new tool that will help architects to demonstrate the detailed steps they have taken to protect buildings and people from the risk of fire. We remain seriously concerned about the rising costs of Professional Indemnity Insurance and the increasing prevalence of fire safety exclusions, and hope this new Tracker will provide additional reassurance for brokers and clients. I strongly encourage all practices to start working with it on their projects.”

RIBA Fire Safety Expert Advisory Group Chair, Jane Duncan, said:

“2021 marks the beginning of long-overdue regulatory reform prompted by the tragedy at Grenfell Tower, subsequent Hackitt Review and vociferous calls from the RIBA and others for clearer, stronger and enforceable regulations. It’s clear the whole industry requires a culture change, and I’m proud of RIBA’s efforts to place architects at the forefront. That includes the introduction of fire safety mandatory competences and this new tool, which will guide critical decision making and assist members to demonstrate regulatory compliance.”

We have added a useful resource post:

Performing Expertise in Building Regulation: ‘Codespeak’ and Fire Safety Experts – published 26 May 2021

17 Jun 2021 RIBA invites students, practices and schools of architecture to trial The RIBA Compact ethical framework

Thursday 17th of June – The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is encouraging architecture students, schools of architecture and Chartered Practices to trial The RIBA Compact – a framework designed to enhance student experience in the workplace.

The RIBA Compact sets out a series of commitments for Chartered Practices, architecture students, schools of architecture and the RIBA, including a requirement for clear contracts of employment for students, with no unpaid overtime and effective support in achieving PEDR requirements. Feedback from this pilot phase will help refine The RIBA Compact ready for its proposed roll-out from September 2021, when obligations for schools of architecture will form part of the new RIBA validation procedures.

The framework may potentially become a mandatory requirement of the RIBA Chartered Practice criteria from January 2022, subject to further consultation and formal approval.

RIBA President Alan Jones said: “The launch of The RIBA Compact is an important further step in our commitment to good employment practice and our help to manage expectations and commitments of employers, employees and our validated schools of architecture. We recognise the pressing need to support our members, practices and their employees in realising sustainable businesses, positive mental health and wellbeing, to help remove barriers to progression and provide equal opportunities for all those aiming to enter the profession. I encourage everyone eligible to take part in the pilot and help shape a framework that will help deliver the results we all need.”

RIBA Council Student Representative Maryam Al-Irhayim added:

“Architecture students and young professionals have the right to be treated fairly and safely in the workplace, and The RIBA Compact will help ensure they are supported in their journey to becoming qualified architects. I’m excited to see The Compact come to fruition and as an elected representative for students, I urge student members to help trial this framework. I guarantee you won’t regret it.”

Architecture students/graduates, Chartered Practices and schools of architecture can sign up for the trial before 12 July 2021. To find out more visit: https://ift.tt/3i9ZnSJ

16 Jun 2021 Committee on Climate Change warns UK homes at risk of overheating and flooding – RIBA responds

Wednesday 16th June 2021 – The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has responded to the Committee on Climate Change’s latest assessment indicating that the UK is struggling to keep pace with climate change impacts. The report highlights the urgent need to mitigate risks to human health, wellbeing and productivity from increased exposure to heat in homes and other buildings.

RIBA President, Alan Jones, said:

“This is a damning assessment of the UK’s climate action progress. Architects have key skills and experience needed to mitigate some of the disastrous effects of climate change – and we are committed to supporting them through initiatives including the 2030 Climate Challenge.

But the Government must also step up and set adequate regulatory standards. The proposed means to address overheating within the Future Buildings Standard remains far too basic; the Heat and Buildings Strategy is long overdue; and we still lack a clear plan to retrofit existing homes – not only to reach net zero, but to improve the quality of life for those who live there.

I hope this assessment prompts the Government to go further and faster, and recognise the importance of architects and good design.”

10 Jun 2021 Record high for private housing sector – RIBA Future Trends May 2021

Thursday 10 June 2021 – In May 2021 the overall RIBA Future Trends Workload Index increased by 6 points to a balance figure of +30. This indicates a level of optimism about future workloads among architects not seen since 2016. 40% of practices expect workloads to grow in the coming three months, half (50%) expect them to remain the same, and 10% expect it to decrease. These results indicate that recovery continues.

May’s standout trend was in the private housing sector, which at +42, is the highest Workload Index for this sector since the Future Trends survey began (2009). Almost half (48%) of practices expect workloads to grow in this sector.

The commercial and public sectors are also increasingly positive with the commercial balance figure up 2 points to +9 and the public sector gathering a little momentum, with a rise of 2 points to +5. The community sector remains in negative territory, posting a balance figure of -3, down from -2 the previous month.

In terms of practice size, confidence among small practices (1 – 10 staff) rose with a future workload balance figure of +27, an increase of 7 points. Confidence among large and medium sized practices (11 – 50 and 51+ staff) fell back somewhat, with a balance of +45. Nevertheless, a majority (55%) anticipate increasing workloads.

All regions anticipate increasing workloads over the next three months, with some reporting extremely strong levels of optimism. Practices in Wales & the West posted May’s highest balance figure, an extremely positive +55, with no practices expecting workloads to decrease.

Optimism in London continues to grow, with a balance figure of +22, up from +12 in April.  The South of England’s balance figure also improved further, with a balance figure of +25, up from +19 the previous month.

Anticipation of future workloads has dropped back in the Midlands & East Anglia, though it remains firmly positive; here the balance figure in May is +14, compared to +26 in April.  Similarly, the North of England has returned a strong but somewhat reduced workload balance figure; +37 in May, compared to +44 in April.

In terms of staffing:

The RIBA Future Trends Staffing Index kept its steady climb and increased by 3 points to +14

19% (up by 4%) of practices expect to employ more permanent staff over the coming three months, whilst 5% expect to employ fewer.  Three-quarters (76%) expect staffing levels to stay the same over the coming 3 months.

Personal underemployment fell again and now stands at a to 16%, a level last seen in 2019.

RIBA Head of Economic Research and Analysis, Adrian Malleson, said:

“This month report indicates a strong and sustained recovery of the architect’s market from the lows of 2020. The Private Housing sector posted a record high for future work, and work from the Commercial and Public sectors are also set to continue to grow.  Practices in all regions are positive about the coming months, with notable hotspots in Wales & the West and the North.

The RIBA Future Trends survey indicates that the architects profession has so far successfully navigated the unprecedented Covid-19 storm and is in a better position now than many may have anticipated a year ago.

The additional comments received from architects aligns with the positive figures. Practices have reported strong levels of enquires, with many of these converting into appointments. Now is a generally busy period, with some new jobs queued until later in the year.

Whilst there are high levels of private housing work – from one-off extensions through to larger-scale work for developers – there are also reports of workloads growing in non-residential work.

28 May 2021 “A fraction of the investment required” – RIBA response to Government cash boost to cut carbon emissions

Friday 28th of May 2021 – The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has responded to the Business and Energy Secretary’s announcements: £44million funding package and the Together for our Plan ‘Business Climate Leaders’ campaign.

RIBA CEO, Alan Vallance said:

“The funding announced today to improve the energy efficiency of our building stock is a step in the right direction. However, it’s just a fraction of the investment required to address the scale of the issue at hand.

The Government must urgently set out a comprehensive framework and publish its long-overdue Heat and Buildings Strategy. As outlined in our Greener Homes’ campaign, it must include a long-term policy and investment programme for upgrading the energy efficiency of our housing stock, and a National Retrofit Strategy, which incentivises homeowners to make the necessary changes.

I welcome the Government’s recognition of the important role small businesses will play in reaching net-zero. RIBA Chartered Practices, many of whom fit into this category, are already taking steps to reduce their carbon impact by signing-up to the RIBA 2030 Climate Challenge – which calls on architects to meet net-zero (or better) whole life carbon for new and retrofitted buildings by 2030.

We will continue to support our sector to drive forward change. We must all play our part in tackling the climate emergency.”

24 May 2021 RIBA and Google Arts & Culture launch new digital partnership RIBA and Google Arts & Culture partnership

RIBA calls on Government to go further and faster to decarbonise housing stock

Friday 14th of May 2021 – The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has today commented on the Government’s response to the Environmental Audit Committee’s  Fourth Report – Energy Efficiency of Existing Homes.

RIBA President, Alan Jones said:

“The Government’s response to the EAC’s report does not demonstrate the urgency that is vital if we are to improve the energy efficiency of our existing housing stock and reach net-zero by 2050.

As our ‘Greener Homes’ campaign outlines, to drive real change the Government must implement a National Retrofit Strategy – a long-term policy and investment programme for upgrading the energy efficiency of our housing stock. We need substantial and sustained government funding, green finance options and incentives for homeowners.

Retrofitting and decarbonising our existing housing stock must be at the heart of the Government’s response to the climate emergency. We now eagerly await the publication of the long-overdue Heat and Buildings Strategy, and hope it provides the framework so urgently required.”

12 May 2021 Architects’ confidence remains strong – RIBA Future Trends April 2021

Thursday 11th of May 2021 – In April 2021 the overall RIBA Future Trends Workload Index fell by 5 points to a balance figure of +24, after an increase in March. Whilst the previous month’s optimism has moderated, expectations about future workload remain strongly positive.

Thirty-four per cent of practices expect workloads to grow in the coming three months, whilst most (56%) expect them to remain the same. The percentage expecting workloads to decrease has fallen to 10%. Practices of all sizes are expecting workloads to increase, with larger practices remaining the most optimistic.

All regions reported an expectation of increasing workloads over the next three months. London practices maintained a positive outlook with a balance figure of +12. The South of England remained confident with a balance figure of +19, although this is a drop of 13 points from last month’s high of +32. The Midlands & East Anglia went further into positive territory, up six points from last month, with a balance figure in April of +26. Wales & the West continued to report a firmly positive outlook, posting a balance figure of +31. The North of England remained the most optimistic region, with a balance figure of +44.

Among the work sectors, private housing remains by far the strongest, posting a balance figures of +35 in April (compared with +36 in March). All sectors are broadly steady in their outlook, although the community sector has dipped to a negative balance figure.

Like the previous month, the commercial sector posted a balance score of +7, maintaining a positive view of the workload to come. However, the accelerated trend to online shopping may continue to suppress the retail sub-sector, and future requirements for office space remain unclear.

Optimism about the public sector grew slightly this month, to +2, up from zero last month. The community sector dipped back into negative territory this month, posting a balance figure -2, down from zero last month.

In terms of staffing:

• The RIBA Future Trends Staffing Index increased by 4 points to +11 this month. • 5% of practices expect to employ fewer permanent staff in the coming three months, while 15% expect to employ more. A clear majority (80%) of practices expect staffing levels to be constant over the coming three months. • Medium and large-sized practices (11+ staff) continue to be most likely to recruit permanent staff in the coming three months, with both groups posting strongly positive figures of +43. Over 40% anticipate some increase in permanent staffing levels over the next three months. • With a balance figure of +6, small practices (1 – 10 staff) also expect staffing levels to grow, although fewer smaller practices anticipate recruitment. • The Temporary Staffing Index returned a balance figure of +5 in April • For the first time since 2019, London has posted a positive permanent staff balance figure. Up from zero in March, April’s figure is +9, with 13% of practices anticipating recruitment. • The South of England (+6, up by two points) and the Midlands & East Anglia (+8, up by 6 points) are moderately optimistic about future staffing levels. • The North of England (+15, up two points) and Wales & The West (+13, down 5 points from March) remain comparative employment hot-spots. In Wales & The West, more than a fifth (22%) of practices expect permanent staff numbers to increase. • Personal underemployment fell to 18% (by 2 points) in April. Overall, since the onset of the pandemic, redundancies are at 3% of staff. Seven per cent of staff remain on furlough. Staffing levels are at 99% of a year ago. • The savage reduction in staffing levels that many feared at the start of the pandemic has not materialised.

RIBA Head of Economic Research and Analysis, Adrian Malleson, said: “Whilst the overall Workload Index has fallen slightly and confidence has moderated in some areas, April’s Future Trends marks a consolidation of March’s surge in practice optimism. Practices are increasingly confident about longer-term profitability, with 16% expecting profits to rise over the next year and 39% expecting them to be steady.

Challenges remain for a significant number of practices, however, with 4% suggesting they are unlikely to remain viable over the next 12 months, and a third expect profitability to fall (although both these numbers continue to come down).

The commentary received in April describes a growing market for architects’ services – high levels of work and enquiries, with staff increasingly being brought off furlough to meet demand.

Work in sectors such as education is increasing but the fastest growth is in the residential sector, with projects such as energy retrofits, extensions and refurbishments needed to support home working. There are regional hot spots as people relocate, often from London. However, whilst there is more work, in many cases it is lower value than pre-pandemic. Practices have also reported that a slow pace of planning administration continues to put a brake on some projects.”

11 May 2021

RIBA responds to the Queen’s Speech

Tuesday 11th of May 2021 – The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has responded to the 2021 Queen’s Speech.

RIBA President, Alan Jones, said:

“Poorly resourced and mismanaged planning imposes permanent damage on our communities, environment and economy; I therefore welcome today’s promise to progress reforms to the planning system. But reforms cannot be used as an impulsive means to boost housing numbers at the expense of quality.

We urgently need well-designed, safe and sustainable homes and spaces that support and strengthen communities. This relies on utilising the expertise of architects from the outset, and taking tougher action against developers who fail to raise their game.

In addition to the Planning Reform Bill, I welcome the progression of the long-awaited Building Safety Bill and introduction of the Professional Qualifications Bill, which paves the way for post-Brexit agreements that are critical to the strength and success of the UK architects’ profession. We will continue to engage with the Government on these critical issues on behalf of architects and the society we serve.”

29 Apr 2021

RIBA pilots Health and Life Safety test

Thursday 29 April 2021 – Following the publication of proposed mandatory competence requirements, the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has today launched a pilot test to assess understanding of Health and Life Safety.

As outlined within The Way Ahead, Health and Life Safety is the first area in which UK Chartered Members would be required to demonstrate their competence, from 2023. Followed by Climate Literacy and Ethical Practice.

Hosted online at RIBA Academy, the test asks a set of multiple-choice questions within seven areas of assessment, to correspond with the RIBA Health and Safety guide:

Preparing to visit site

Undertaking site visits

Site hazards

Design risk management

Statute, Guidance and Codes of Conduct

CDM Regulations

Principles of Fire Safety Design

The RIBA currently seeks feedback on these assessment areas alongside those for other proposed mandatory competences. RIBA Members are encouraged to complete the survey by 17 June 2021.

RIBA President, Alan Jones, said:

“We must ensure our members have the knowledge, skills and experience needed to tackle the UK’s evolving building safety crisis.

The tragedy at Grenfell Tower, subsequent Hackitt Review, and more recent fire safety catastrophes have not only highlighted the urgent need to reform regulations, but to raise standards of professional competence across the construction industry.

I urge members to take this pilot test and offer feedback on the proposed areas of assessment to ensure we create a robust system that works for our profession and the society we serve.”

29 Apr 2021

RIBA signs Halo Code to protect against racial discrimination

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has signed the Halo Code – the UK’s first Black hair code – to protect the rights of staff who come to work with natural hair and protective hairstyles associated with their racial, ethnic, and cultural identities.

The Halo Code was developed by the Halo Collective and brings together organisations and schools who have made a commitment to work towards creating a future without hair discrimination.

Signing the Halo Code and embedding it into policies, is part of the RIBA’s work to make its workplace and the wider architecture profession more inclusive.

RIBA Director of Inclusion and Diversity, Marsha Ramroop said: “We are committed to nurturing a culture where our staff feel comfortable bringing their whole selves to work. Despite being a protected racial characteristic, hair discrimination remains a source of injustice and by signing the Halo Code, the RIBA is taking a stand for racial equity. I encourage our members and practices to join us in driving out all forms of discrimination, by adopting the Code too.”

15 April 2021

RIBA opens £30K funding scheme for architecture students

The Hidden Seasons of Barbados, Shawn Adams, 2019 Wren Insurance Association Scholarship recipient:

Monday 26th of April 2021 – The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has today (Monday 26 April) opened applications for five RIBA Wren Insurance Association Scholarships, worth a total of £30,000.

The annual scholarships are open to students who are currently enrolled in the first year of their RIBA Part 2 course. Each recipient will receive £6,000 and the opportunity to be mentored throughout the second year of their Part 2 course by an architect from a Wren-insured practice.

The scheme, which was set up in 2013, has supported 40 recipients to date.

RIBA President Alan Jones said:

“Thank you to the Wren Insurance Association for their continued generosity to support architecture students, during a particularly challenging period. Scholarships and bursaries are an important part of our ongoing commitment to support students, and reward and retain talent in the profession, and we look forward to seeing the applications received.”

The deadline to apply is Friday 18 June 2021 and further information is available here.

Previously on e-architect:

15 April 2021 London architects confident again after 14 months – RIBA Future Trends March 2021

Thursday 15 April 2021 – In March the RIBA Future Trends Workload Index rose by 12 points to a balance figure of +29. This is the highest Workload Index balance figure since May 2016. In the last 12 months, the index has risen by an unprecedented 111 points.

All regions are becoming more positive about future work. London is the largest architecture market in the UK and, for the first time since February 2020, practices there are anticipating increasing workloads in the coming months, with a balance figure of +18 an increase of 21 balance points from -3 in February.

Forty per cent of practices expect workloads to grow in the coming three months, whilst just under half (49%) expect them to remain the same. The percentage expecting workloads to decrease has fallen again and now stands at 11% (compared to 84% a year ago). Optimism about future workloads continues to be driven by the private housing sector, although the outlook for all sectors is improved from last month.

Practices of all sizes are expecting workloads to increase, with larger practices the most optimistic. March feels like a significant turning point. The outlook of Small practices (1 – 10 staff) again rose strongly. In March small practices posted a future workload balance figure of +27 up fourteen points from February’s figure of +13. Confidence among Large and Medium sized practices (11 – 50 and 51+ staff) remains strong, with an overall balance score of +42, up 13 points on last month’s figure of +29.

March sees the South of England grow in confidence, with a balance figure of +32 this month, up from zero last. The Midlands & East Anglia has risen further into positive territory up fourteen points from last month to +20. Wales & the West posted a balance figure of +33 in March, the tenth consecutive month of a positive outlook. The most positive region this month is the North of England, with a balance figure of +47. Here only two per cent of practices expect workloads to fall, and almost a half (49%) expect them to grow.

Among the four different work sectors, private housing remains by far the strongest. However, all sectors are again up on last month, and no sector is negative. The private housing sector rose by a further 7 points to +36, a balance score that is higher than at any point since June 2015. The commercial sector returned to positive territory for the first time since the pandemic onset with a balance score of +7. Both the public sector and community sectors eased out of negative territory this month, but only just with both posting a zero balance figures.

In terms of staffing: • The RIBA Future Trends Staffing Index increased by 3 points to +7 this month. • 7% of practices expect to employ fewer permanent staff in the coming three months, while 14% expect to employ more. A clear majority (79%) of practices expect staffing levels to be constant over the coming three months. • Medium and large-sized practices (11+ staff) continue to be most likely to recruit permanent staff in the coming three months, with both groups posting strongly positive figures. • On balance, small practices (1 – 10 staff) expect staffing levels to grow somewhat, with a balance figure of +6 (up from +1), though 80% of small practices anticipate staffing levels to stay the same. • The Temporary Staffing Index returned a balance figure of +5 (up from +1 in February). • London remains least optimistic with a zero balance figure in March (though this is up from -8 in February). Eleven per cent of London practices expect to employ more permanent staff over the coming months with the same proportion expecting to employ fewer. • The South of England (+4) and the Midlands & East Anglia (+2) are cautiously optimistic about upcoming recruitment. • In line with workload expectations, the North of England (+13) and Wales & The West (+18) are the areas in which practices are most likely to expect growing numbers of permanent staff. • Personal underemployment remained at 20% in March, and staffing levels remain at 96% of a year ago. • Overall, since the onset of the pandemic, redundancies remain at 3% of staff. Seven per cent of staff remain on furlough. Eighteen per cent of staff are working fewer hours.

RIBA Head of Economic Research and Analysis, Adrian Malleson, said:

“With the vaccine programme underway, and workload prospects improving across sectors, regions and practice sizes, March’s Future Trends data shows a profession firmly optimistic about future work.

Personal underemployment has dropped from a high of 42% to 20%. Practices are more confident about their longer-term prospects, with 13% expecting increased profitability over the next year, and 29% expecting it to hold steady. However, the extremely positive rise in confidence does not mean that the challenges practices face have evaporated. Four per cent of practices think they are unlikely to remain viable over the next 12 months. Forty-three per cent, after an already extremely difficult period, expect profitability to decrease over the coming year.

The commentary received in March continues to describe a housing sector performing strongly, particularly smaller-scale domestic work. Some practices report that there is more work available than they can take on.

However, practices also mention that such work may be of comparatively low-value, and subject to intense fee competition. Longer-term, the recovery in private housing needs to be matched by growth in the public, commercial and community sectors.

Nevertheless, March’s data confirms a remarkable restoration of confidence among practices during an unprecedented 12 months.

We continue to be on hand, providing support and resources to our members as they navigate these challenging times.”

1 April 2021 RIBA responds to Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities report

Thursday 1 April 2021 – The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has today responded to the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities report.

RIBA Chief Executive, Alan Vallance said:

“Systemic racism and discrimination clearly exist in the UK. We must fully acknowledge and understand this, so we can tear down the barriers and drive out injustice.

Some of the biggest built environment challenges of our times – from the climate emergency to substandard housing and fire safety – particularly impact underrepresented racialised groups and these are very high on the agenda for the RIBA and our members.

The RIBA does not absolve itself of responsibility in tackling racism and in recognising our own history. We know that people who face racism are less likely to progress in our industry, and we are working to ensure that architecture is open to all, regardless of background or circumstances. We will continue to listen to underrepresented racialised groups and work to address their concerns within our organisation and sector.

We acknowledge the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities report which includes some insights, for example around the term BAME and unconscious bias training. We are already taking steps to tackle these, amongst other measures.

We will take time to review the report in depth, and continue to use our influence, networks and platforms, as we work towards a better, more inclusive, built environment.”

22 Mar 2021

RIBA endorses House of Commons report on energy efficiency of existing homes

Monday 22 March 2021 – The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has responded to the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee’s (EAC) report, ‘Energy Efficiency of Existing Homes’.

RIBA President, Alan Jones, said:

“This is a timely and well-reasoned report that outlines clear measures to make our homes more energy efficient.

I particularly endorse recommendations to implement a national retrofit strategy and pilot stamp duty rebates for homeowners that improve the efficiency of their homes within the first year – measures we’ve been calling for through our Greener Homes campaign.

Proposals to reform EPC methodology to focus on the actual performance of buildings are also encouraging, and critical to reaching the Government’s net zero target.

We need urgent action to address our shamefully inefficient housing stock – and this report shows how that can be achieved.”

11 March 2021

RIBA Future Trends in February

Thursday 11 March 2021 – Residential sector propels architects’ confidence – RIBA Future Trends February 2021

In February 2021 the RIBA Future Trends Workload Index increased by 14 points to +17, a level of confidence not seen from architects since early 2020.

Nearly a third (32%) of practices expect workloads to grow in the next three months, up from 28% (in January), whilst just over half (52%) expect them to remain the same. The number of practices expecting workloads to decrease has also fallen from 25% to 16%.

Optimism has been driven by the housing sector, which surged by 20 points this month to a balance figure of +29. Whilst it remains the only sector in positive territory, all other sectors saw a rise. The commercial sector saw the highest, up 16 points to a balance figure of -2; the public sector rose 2 points to -1; and even though the community sector posted the lowest at -6, this marks an improvement on the previous month’s figure of -15.

In February, the outlook of small practices (1 – 10 staff) rose significantly, posting a balance figure of +13, up fifteen points from January’s figure of -2. Confidence among large and medium sized practices (11 – 50 and 51+ staff) also remains strong, with an overall balance score of +29. Among these groups, 35% expect workloads to increase, and just 6% foresee a decrease.

All regions, except London, expect an increase in workloads in the near-term. Having briefly entered positive territory the previous month, London posted a negative figure of -3.

This month’s survey also asked respondents how they felt about the future of the workplace. Overall, results indicate that once a return to the office is possible, there is currently no appetite to resume pre-pandemic work patterns. Only 13% of practices expect to recall everyone to the office; almost a quarter (26%) see the future being a blend of office and home-based work; 20% look to leave the decision to staff; and 41% said they will continue to work as they are now (though how people work now is varied, with some practices already including an element of office-based working, when government restrictions allow, whilst others are fully remote).

In terms of staffing:

The RIBA Future Trends Staffing Index remained at +4 this month. It has been consistently, though only slightly, positive since October.

6% of practices expect to employ fewer permanent staff in the coming three months, while 11% expect to employ more. A clear majority (83%) of practices expect staffing levels to be constant over the coming three months.

Medium and large-sized practices (11+ staff) continue to be most likely to recruit permanent staff in the coming three months, with both groups posting strongly positive figures.

On balance, small practices (1 – 10 staff) expect staffing levels to be steady, with a balance figure of +1.

The Temporary Staffing Index returned a balance figure of +1, suggesting the market for temporary staff is positive, but only by a small margin.

London remains most likely to anticipate decreased numbers of permanent staff in the next three months, with a staffing balance figure of -8; down four points on last month. The South of England also remains cautious about upcoming recruitment, with a balance figure of zero.

Future recruitment is more likely outside of London and the South: the Midlands & East Anglia returned a figure of +6, the North of England +10, and Wales & The West at +21.

Personal underemployment fell slightly at 20%, down from 22% in January.

Staffing levels remain at 96% of what they were twelve months ago. Overall, redundancies stand at 3% of staff; 7% remain on furlough and 16% are working fewer hours.

RIBA Head of Economic Research and Analysis, Adrian Malleson, said:

“As the route out of the pandemic becomes clearer, not least due to the roll-out of the vaccination programme, February’s figures demonstrate a turning point – practices are starting to feel more optimistic about the future.

It’s clear however, that this increased confidence is partly dependent on the residential sector, fuelled by homeowners relocating or adjusting their homes to accommodate remote working, and question marks remain over the sustainability of this trend. Furthermore, practices who are reliant on work outside of this sector are yet to see their workloads increase.

Whilst the data suggests there is not currently a significant appetite to return to pre-pandemic work patterns, we also know that homeworking continues to create productivity challenges, not least because childcare and home-schooling have been impacting the working day. Commentary received from our respondents indicates that this is disproportionately impacting women.

5 + 3 March 2021 RIBA reacts to 2021 Budget

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has published an initial response to the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s 2021 Budget. RIBA President, Alan Jones, said:

“Whilst the Chancellor’s focus is understandably on mitigating the impact of the pandemic, the measures announced today do little to reassure me of the Government’s commitment to reach net zero or drive a green economic recovery.

Some of today’s announcements – such as the UK Infrastructure Bank and green gilts – could help our economy grow back more sustainably, but that depends entirely on future investment decisions. The money pledged must be used to create green jobs and fund energy efficiency programmes such as a National Retrofit Strategy.

Taken alongside the personal allowance freeze, the corporation tax rise will have a significant impact on RIBA members and hints at wider tax changes to come. It’s therefore vital that the Government looks at how the tax system could also help tackle the climate emergency. By reviewing reforming mechanisms to incentivise sustainability the Government could successfully drive the green economic recovery that is desperately needed.”

12 Feb 2021 Architects’ confidence remains fragile – RIBA Future Trends January 2021

In January 2021 the RIBA Future Trends Workload Indexremained positive (at +3) despite the turbulence of Brexit and a third national lockdown. Whilst 25% of practices expected workloads to decrease in the coming three months, 28% forecasted an increase. Just over half (51%) expected workloads to hold steady.

The South of England was the only region to post a negative workload balance figure this month, a fall of 10 points (to -2), although optimism also decreased sharply in the North of England (falling from +29 in December to 0). London posted a positive workload balance (+1) for the first time since February 2020. Other regions – the Midlands, East Anglia, Wales and the West remain in positive territory.

Among the four work sectors, the private housing sector was the only one to remain positive, at + 9. Having posted positive figures in December, the public and commercial sectors fell back to negative territory in January, posting -4 and -18 respectively, suggesting an expectation of falling workloads. The community sector continues to stall, falling to a balance figure of -15 in January, down from -8 in December.

Large and medium sized practices (11 – 50 and 51+ staff) remain confident; 53% expect workloads to increase, and 13% foresee a decrease (overall balance score of +39). Small practices (1 – 10 staff) however fell back into negative territory in January, posting a workload balance figure of -2, down from +4 in December.

With the UK and EU’s new trading agreement in place, the survey for the first time monitored the impact of Brexit on the attitudes of architects. Overall, the new agreement is perceived to have a negative impact on the profession; 15% more architects expect it to lead to a decrease in workload than an increase. Architects indicated they expect key areas to be detrimentally affected by the new agreement: 41% stated this to be the case regarding availability of skilled on-site staff, 54% regarding recruiting/retaining architects from outside the UK and 63% regarding the availability of building materials.

In terms of staffing: • The RIBA Future Trends Staffing Index rose again in January (+4, from +2 in December). • In the next three months 83% of practices expect staffing levels to remain the same, 7% expected to employ fewer permanent staff, and 10% expect to employ more. • Medium and large-sized practices (11+ staff) continue to be those most likely to recruit permanent staff in the coming three months, with both posting strongly positive index figures. Smaller practices are more likely to expect staffing levels to hold steady, having posted a January Staffing Index figure of zero. • The Temporary Staffing Index returned a balance figure of zero in January, suggesting the market for temporary staff will remain as is. • London remains the region least likely to anticipate increased staffing levels in the next three months – returning a negative balance figure of –4. The South of England is also cautious – returning a balance figure of -6. Recruitment is more likely in the North of England (+14) and the Midlands & East Anglia (+8). • Personal underemployment stands at 22%, a slight increase on last month’s figure, but within historical norms, and significantly below the high of 42% in the first lock-down. • Staffing levels are 96% of a year ago. Overall, redundancies stand at 3% of staff. Seven per cent of staff remain on furlough.

RIBA Head of Economic Research and Analysis, Adrian Malleson, said:

“It’s promising that the profession has overall maintained a positive outlook. However, with a decrease from +10 in December to +3 in January, it’s clear that the ongoing uncertainties presented by both Brexit and the third national lockdown are having an impact on confidence.

Disparities persist across regions, practice sizes and notably sectors. That only the housing sector returned positive figures, clearly indicates the limited commitment of resources to construction, from both businesses and government.

Whilst there are some promising signs, for example London reporting its first positive workload balance for 10 months, this increase is marginal (+1), and must be tempered by the fact that the commercial sector, so important to the profession in this region, remains fragile.

Sustained growth of the profession, particularly in the centres of large cities, will rely on a broad-based recovery that encompasses not only the housing sector, but also the public, commercial and community sectors. This recovery is unlikely to happen whilst we remain in lock-down but can be spurred and accelerated by timely government stimulus and investment.

photograph © Adrian Welch

6 Feb 2021 RIBA responds to launch of Government’s school rebuilding programme

5th of February 2021 – The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has today (5 February) responded to the Government’s launch of the first phase of the School Rebuilding Programme.

RIBA President Alan Jones said:

“Well-designed schools have the power to shape society – improving the attainment, behaviour, health and wellbeing of every child.

As the government’s ten-year rebuilding programme gets underway, it is crucial to focus on the delivery of good quality design, sustainability and safety. To ensure the best outcomes for students, teachers and the taxpayer, the government must commit to monitoring the performance of the new buildings once they are in use through Post Occupancy Evaluation – and use these findings to ensure each project is better than the last.

Furthermore, vital safety measures including the installation of sprinklers must also be prioritised in the design of new and maintenance of existing school buildings. Alongside the CIOB, RICS and NFCC, the RIBA is continuing to call for this to be mandated.

This is a critical opportunity to have a transformative impact on the lives of future generations – the government must get it right.”

Background:

In May 2016 the RIBA published the Better Spaces for Learning report – outlining how good design can help ensure that capital funding for schools stretches as far as possible, and supports good outcomes for both teachers and pupils.

In May 2019, the RIBA responded to the Department for Education’s review of Building Bulletin 100 – design for fire safety in schools. The Department for Education asked experts to help review the Building Bulletin 100, which is a design guide for fire safety in schools. Our response highlighted the importance of the inclusion of prescriptive baseline requirements on life safety measures, for example, maximum travel distances, ventilation, protected lobbies and refuges. Read all RIBA responses to government consultations on fire safety.

In October 2020, the RIBA issued a joint statement with CIOB, NFCC and RICS, calling on the government to require the installation of sprinklers in schools, including the retrofitting of sprinklers in existing school buildings when relevant refurbishment takes place.

19 Jan 2021 RIBA publishes findings of Architects Act amendments survey

Monday 25 January 2021 – 8 out of 10 think mandatory competence requirements are important – RIBA publishes findings of Architects Act amendments survey.

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has today (Monday 25 January) published the findings of its survey of the architects’ profession on proposed changes to the Architects Act.

The 502 responses have informed the RIBA’s official submission to the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) consultation on proposed changes to the Architects Act, which has also been published today.

From ensuring building safety to tackling the climate emergency, the areas prioritised by respondents reflect the challenges facing our industry and society, and the role architects must have in addressing them.

Findings of the RIBA survey reveal:

85% of respondents acknowledge the importance of mandatory competence requirements in promoting standards and confidence within the profession;

75% believe that an architect’s competency should be monitored at regular intervals throughout their career;

70% think fire safety is the most important mandatory competence topic;

68% want to prioritise health, safety and wellbeing; 67% legal, regulatory and statutory compliance; and 50% sustainable architecture as mandatory competence topics;

More than half of respondents (59%) want either planning or building control or both to be regulated functions.

In response to the survey findings, RIBA President, Alan Jones, said:

“This consultation is a defining moment – a real opportunity to ensure all current and future architects in the UK have the education, knowledge, skills and behaviours to make a positive impact on the built environment.

The fact that the majority of the profession wish to retain the regulation of title and expand into regulation of function, demonstrates the vital and holistic role that architects know they must have to effectively deliver their expertise.

We will soon be launching our mandatory Health and Life Safety requirements for RIBA members and will work with the MHCLG and ARB to coordinate practical competency measures for the whole profession to adopt.

We also continue to call for urgent reforms of building safety regulations and procurement systems, and for an appropriately funded education system for future architects. These will help to ensure that the profession can deliver buildings that meet the quality, safety, and sustainability expectations of society.

In light of post-Brexit agreements on professional qualifications, we will support the allocation of new ARB powers to negotiate international agreements that will assist UK architects in designing, delivering, and globally upholding the highest professional standards.”

Read the executive summary of the survey findings

Read the RIBA’s response to the consultation on proposed amendments to the Architects Act

19 Jan 2021 Winners of 2020 RIBA President’s Medal for Research and Research Awards

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has announced the recipient of the RIBA President’s Medal for Research and the winners of the President’s Awards for Research, which celebrate the best research in the fields of architecture and the built environment.

The winner of the 2020 RIBA President’s Medal for Research is Richard Beckett from the Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London, for ‘Probiotic Design.’ Through exploring the integral role of bacteria in human health, Richard proposes a design approach that reintroduces beneficial bacteria to create healthy buildings.

2020 RIBA President’s Awards for Research

18 Jan 2021 RIBA comments on proposed ‘Right to Regenerate’ policy

Monday 18th January 2020 – The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has commented on government’s proposed ‘Right to Regenerate’ policy, announced today.

RIBA President, Alan Jones, said: “While giving a ‘new lease of life’ to unloved buildings might seem like an easy win that could speed up the development of new housing or community spaces, the process of procuring these empty properties – and criteria for acquiring – must be carefully considered. This policy has the potential to help regenerate local areas, but this must be done with the highest regard to quality, safety and sustainability – it’s essential the government moves forward in the right way.”

14 Jan 2021 RIBA Future Trends – 2020 ended with fragile growth in confidence

Thursday 14th January 2021 – In the latest set of results (December 2020), the RIBA Future Workload Index returned the highest balance score (+10) since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Whilst 20% of practices expected a decreasing workload in the coming three months, 29% expected workloads to increase. Just over half expected workloads to hold steady.

Confidence was beginning to return beyond the Private Housing Sector (+14, up two points from November). Both the Commercial and Public Sectors returned to positive territory for the first time since February 2020 – the Commercial Sector at +1, up from -19 in November and the Public Sector at +2, up from -7. The Community Sector recorded an improvement although remained negative, returning a balance figure of -8 this month, up from -13 in November.

Confidence among large and medium and sized practices also continues to strengthen. Smaller practices have returned to positive territory after a dip in November.

Reports of personal underemployment are lower than they were a year ago. Workloads are reported to have rallied too; during the first lockdown they stood at 67% compared to twelve months ago; December results (taken prior to the third lockdown) were 95%.

London based practices remain negative about future workload with a -6 balance score in December, up slightly from -7 last month.

All other regions are positive about future workload: the Midlands & East Anglia returned to positive territory with +7 in December; the South of England at +8; Wales & the West at +22, up from +15 in November and the North of England was the most positive in December at +29 – the most positive outlook for the region since 2019.

Concerns about future practice viability remain, though have lessened. Overall, 3% of practice expect falling profits to threaten practice viability. 46% expect profits to fall over the next twelve months, 34% expect profits to stay the same, and 9% expect them to grow (8% don’t know).

In terms of staffing:

• With a slight increase on the previous month, the RIBA Future Trends Staffing Index returned a figure of +2 in December. • 84% of practices overall expect permanent staffing levels to remain consistent (up from 81% in November). • 7% expect to see a decrease in the number of permanent staff over the next three months (the same figure as November). • 9% expect permanent staffing levels to increase (up from 8% in November) • The anticipated demand for temporary staff has stayed the same as in November, with the Temporary Staffing Index falling at -1 in November • London is the only region to return a negative permanent staffing index figure (-9) – down from -7 in November • In London, the balance figure for permanent staff is -7 (up from -8 in October) • The Midlands & East Anglia are anticipating a falling number of permanent staff. In contrast, other regions are positive, notably Wales & the West (+9) and the North of England (+8). • Personal underemployment is back down to 20%. That’s lower than both last month’s figure and that of December 2019. At both times the figure was then 22%. • Staffing levels are currently 96% of their level a year ago. Overall, redundancies stand at 2% of staff. 6% of staff now remain on furlough.

RIBA Head of Economic Research and Analysis, Adrian Malleson, said:

“The growing optimism seen in our December results is heartening, with workloads being just 4% lower than they were a year ago and an increase in confidence in the commercial and public sector areas. However, additional commentary stresses the twin uncertainties of Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic. Understandably, these make 2021 a highly uncertain year and the construction market may get worse before it gets better

The disparity in confidence between regions continues. In December London results continued to highlight a concerning set of indices: future work predictions, future staffing levels, assessment of future practice viability and personal underemployment, which are all lower than elsewhere.

Some practices report projects being held up by delays in the processing of planning applications but there are also reports of Public Sector workload beginning to increase.

It is a mixed and changing picture but with an overall growth in confidence. Whilst this confidence is likely to falter in the current lockdown, there is hope that it will return, once restrictions are eased.

RIBA comments on new UK-EU relationship

Monday 4th of January 2021 – The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has today commented on the new relationship between the UK and EU.

RIBA CEO, Alan Vallance, said:

“Since our initial response to the post-Brexit trade deal struck on 24 December, the RIBA has taken time to consider the terms negotiated and the implications for our profession.

Since the referendum, the RIBA has strongly called for the mutual recognition of professional qualifications, and it’s therefore disappointing to see this has not been agreed. Going forward, the ARB has an opportunity to negotiate a new recognition route with the EU, and we will be working closely with ARB colleagues and members to help shape such an agreement.

In terms of trading goods, while tariff-free importing and exporting should benefit UK construction long-term, we know that certain processes including the certification and declaration of products have – or will very soon – change, and all businesses will need to adjust to new measures.

As we all familiarise ourselves with this new UK-EU relationship, the RIBA is on hand to support members and practices adapt accordingly.”

Visit www.architecture.com/Brexit.

RIBA News 2020

RIBA News & Events 2020 – recent updates below:

24 Dec 2020

RIBA reacts to news of post-Brexit trade deal

Thursday 24 December 2020 – The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has today responded to the post-Brexit trade deal struck between the UK Government and EU Commission. RIBA CEO, Alan Vallance, said:

“Today’s news of a post-Brexit trade deal is no doubt a relief for many. But while this deal provides us with some certainty around the future relationship between the UK and EU, hesitation and vagueness around trade in services remains a serious concern for our profession. Architects in both the UK and EU were clear about the need for a continued agreement on recognition of professional qualifications, and it is deeply worrying that this does not seem to be part of the deal as it stands.

It’s also disappointing to see that UK students are no longer eligible for the Erasmus scheme, given the clear benefits for young people. We therefore look forward to understanding more about the new Turing scheme referenced by the Prime Minister.

It’s our hope however that this deal will keep the costs of importing construction materials down and – current border issues aside – at least provide some confidence over trading in goods.

As ever, we will continue to support our members with guidance and lobby the government to invest in the skills and talent that fuels the success of UK architecture worldwide.” Visit https://ift.tt/38d1nWz.

17 Dec 2020

RIBA Future Trends – COVID-19 restrictions impact practice confidence and workload

Thursday 17 December 2020 – In November 2020, the RIBA Future Workload Index returned a balance figure of 0, meaning as many practices expect workload to increase as those who expect it to decrease. It’s the lowest figure since June and a fall from last months’ +9.

Confidence about future work strengthened among large and medium-sized practices (to +25), whilst smaller practices have returned negative predictions for the first time since June at -5.

2 Dec 2020

RIBA announces winners of 2020 President’s Medals

RIBA President’s Medals Student Awards 2020

RIBA News 2019

RIBA News & Events 2019

RIBA Summer Installation 2019

RIBA London Events information from RIBA

Location: 66 Portland Place, London, UK

RIBA Events Archive

RIBA Events, Awards & News Archive Links

RIBA Annie Spink Award 2020

National Museum of African American History and Culture building: photo © Darren Bradley

RIBA News in London

RIBA London Events – Archive

RIBA HQ at 66 Portland Place

RIBA Gold Medal for Architecture

Chartered Institute of Building

RIBA Awards

RIBA Stirling Prize

RIBA Honorary Fellowships

London Architecture Events

AA School Events

Bartlett School of Architecture Event

Comments / photos for the RIBA News & Events for 2021 page welcome

Website: London

The post RIBA News & Events 2021, London appeared first on e-architect.

#e-architect

[renegadesrpg]

Dark Angels: Creation. Part 41: Witch hunter; Hunter Witch Part 1. Adrian and Bryn

Adrian: *Sean throws Bryn a sharp look, his own troubles momentarily forgotten as he turns from worried male back into Sin’s reaper first lieutenant, but Zav shakes his head at him and then jerks it towards the ancient church. His deep, rich mental voice tags my brain as he silently speaks to all of us. ‘Let them work it out Sean. Even as a human Bryn could handle any witch ever born. As a reaper it should be like shooting fish in a barrel for her. We’ll go out to her workshop so I can teach you what you need to know. She’ll call us if she needs us.’ Sourly, I frown at him and ‘path’ back ‘Thanks for throwing me to the wolf here Zav.’ He just throws his head back and laughs as he mists away. Sean gives a mental chuckle, which I am actually kind of glad to hear, given where he’s at in his head right now, and sends out some soothing vibes as he adds his two cents. ‘Don’t worry, she hardly ever bites. Unless you ask her to. And even then she has to REALLY be into you.’ ‘Ha, ha, very funny,’ I answer back as he demats out right behind Zav. With a sigh I look at her dubiously.*

Why is it always me you snag for these crazy ideas? I’m a soldier, not a hunter. Give me a battlefield and I’m your guy, but hunting’s a different kind of fight. Sean’s better as a hunter, or even Zav.

Bryn: *Hands on my hips, narrowing my eyes and tossing my shaggy black hair back as I narrow my eyes*

Think of it as guerilla warfare. Even you’ve learned that forming ranks isn’t always the best option. *Huffing* And besides, it’s /not/ always you. Usually it’s Zav. But he’s busy and I don’t think he can help me with this anyway. You’ve got something special and I need it.

Adrian: Fine. What do we do first?

Bryn: First? Strip.

Adrian: *My eyebrows raise in outrage.* What do you mean, “strip”? I’m not taking my clothes off for you!

Bryn: *Snorting a laugh* Oh, relax, lover-boy, your virginity’s safe with me. I need to look for an anti-witch mark. I think you’re somehow invisible to the witch. We’ve been working in pairs, with another reaper, since this began. The only attacks that have occurred have been when you were the only reaper paired with another. I’d say that whoever is in charge of spying on us can’t see you. So drop your pants, at least down to your boxer briefs.

Adrian: I’m not a virgin, for Creator’s sake! *Jesus, women!* And I don’t wear boxers, briefs, or any combination of that under leathers. Just a jock strap.

Bryn: So much the better. If I need to see the full package, I’ll let you know.*Smirking, Now drop the pants and ditch the shirt.

Adrian: Fine, *I snap* But I’m not doing this down here. Sin and Declan could mist in at any second. My room will do.

*Without waiting I dematerialize upstairs to the room I took as my own for the duration. A quick glance around assures me it’s in shape just as Bryn’s black mist reforms in the doorway.*

Bryn: *I just knew he was going to be a pain about this. He’s always been more standoffish than Sean and Zav. With a sigh I mist up to the doorway to his room. Once my form has re-manifested I take a careful look around. The place looks like a military barracks. You could bounce a dime off of that bed. There are no personal items, no keepsakes. The only things that hang on the walls are his sword and dagger, tools of his trade, I guess.*

Well, you live up to the billing. *stepping inside* This place is certainly Spartan.

Adrian: *I give her something between a smirk and a frown… I never know how the hell to respond to Bryn. I’d had more contact with her since we started this rebellion in the ranks than I’d had since Zav recruited her and still I was awkward as crap around her. But then, I’d never been good with women. Even my human wife had given me a wide berth after fulfilling her duties as a Spartan wife, which had suited me just fine. Normally I treated female reapers the same way I treat male ones -- like I would have a lower ranked soldier when I was human -- with respect, but also with the expectation they’d keep the appropriate distance from a higher ranking officer. But by rank Bryn was my peer and in terms of power, hells, she could probably put me down by raising her eyebrow if she got pissed. I don’t know what one of those fireballs of hers could do to a reaper, but I didn’t want to give her an excuse to use me to find out. Finally, stalling, I ask,*

So what would this mark look like? After all this time I think I’d know if I had one.

Bryn: It could look like a birthmark, a mole… a weird configuration of freckles. Or it might not be visible to the naked eye at all. Whoever put it on you had talent, power, and imagination. I strongly suspect your grandmother. Even though it was before my time and well away from my country of origin, I’ve studied the lore and I’ve done some time... we’ll call it internships… with magical mortals and immortals during my leaves from the corps. *At his skeptical look I add,* What, you think I just take off for a few weeks and amuse myself with boy-toys? Give me a break. Men are more trouble than they’re worth. I learned that lesson early on as a reaper. Now lose the clothes.

Adrian: *This time I don’t have to think about how to react. A dark frown crosses my face as I let my clothes disappear, at least down to my jock. My skin heats as she starts to circle me and looks at me appraisingly*

I feel like a stud being examined before he services a mare, *I grumble.*

Why would you think my grandmother would do that?

Bryn: *Clinically, I look over every exposed inch. His skin has that tan that modern human women give themselves skin cancer trying to achieve and it ripples over a well-defined six-pack. The black back straps of the supporter grip well-developed glutes and the front… well, let’s just say I bet he had to specially design this particular bit of apparel. The pouch covers the necessities –barely- but even with its larger than normal proportions there’s quite obviously no room for any kind of protective cup. There’s barely room for him. Apparently Apollo’s genetics ran true through his descendants. But there are no marks on him that I can see. No freckles, no birthmarks, nothing. Just wide expanses of smooth, golden skin.*

The first Oracle of Delphi was mad strong magically and notably protective of her descendants. Oh, she had to let them choose their paths from the Fates’ choices, but she did what she could to protect them from harm from god’s and other magical entities... I’m not seeing anything…. Is the form you manifest as a reaper identical to the one you had as a human?

Adrian: *Nodding* It’s exactly as I was before I died. Does this mean I have to lose the supporter, too? I mean, why would my grandmother have put the mark on my, uh, private parts?

Bryn: Maybe because no one but someone you trust would ever see it. But don’t ditch the jock yet. There’s another possibility. She could have branded it soul deep the way Freya did the Inguz on Sin. I’ve never seen Sin naked, but I’m betting it doesn’t show itself unless invoked. It probably flairs if the Horseman tries to reach him through their link. If we left the wards and the witch is scrying for us then it would probably show itself.

Adrian: I am /NOT/ going outside this room like this, let alone outside the wards!

Bryn: Chill!

*Ok, I’m getting impatient with this modesty thing…*

We can mist to some place remote. If I’m right, the witch won’t see you, just me. You can manifest, let me take a gander, and then hide and get fully dressed, including weapons, until they send someone. We’re a match for the Horseman’s bully boys. We just need one alive when it’s over. I’ll force mental rapport and find out what they know before we stuff them in a Dybbuk box. We’ll know all he or she knows. If it’s demons we might have to get more creative. And if I’m wrong and they see us both, then we just have to kill them and try something else.

Adrian: *Snorting* You make it sound so easy. As they keep losing grunts, they might suspect we’re dispatching them too easily and send more than a couple this time.

Bryn: So?

*Hands on my hips, challengingly. A little conflict is getting him past his embarrassment and, hey, I’m always up for an argument in a good cause.*

You held off 10,000 men with a group of 300 at a mountain pass in Greece. You afraid of a few reapers? Where’s that Spartan attitude?

Adrian: We all DIED, in case you forgot. And no, I’m not afraid. I just want to be sure we aren’t “ambushed” with overwhelming force. They have to realize by now that the ones they have sent out aren’t coming back and that we /are/ still coming up on their radar. They haven’t called demons back in since the initial attack, but if they still could.

Bryn: *it’s a good point, I have to admit.*

But I can’t see the Horseman asking Lucifer for help easily. It shows that he’s weak. Sean took out DeAndre and that has to rankle, IF he knows about it. There’s no guarantee of that. The Horseman tends to let his “underlings” run things for him. If he didn’t, we wouldn’t have been able to position ourselves as well as we have. But if someone has slid into the power vacuum created when DeAndre and his crew didn’t return they don’t want the Horseman to know they’ve failed to contain us or even to take a civilian important to us. *Thinking out loud now.* In fact, I bet the Horseman isn’t aware of any of this. Not that he’s above rape and murder, but it’s not the smart move right now. Trying to take us out before he’s ready to make HIS big move isn’t any smarter than it would be for us to go on small random offensives just before we make OURS. It's in his best interest to keep us unsuspecting until he’s ready to take out all of the holdovers from Sin’s era and that he’s not quite there yet. New leadership is probably keeping him in the dark as much as they can. The reaper souls haven’t left a mortal plane yet, just been stashed in Dybbuk boxes for safekeeping, so the Horseman wouldn’t feel them gone. Lucifer might be missing the random demons that attacked you and Sean, but if they were low level cannon fodder, I doubt it. No, it’s the witch that will be more of a challenge than we’ve seen before. I can only think of three witches besides myself that could manage this kind of thing solo and I don’t like to think any of them would be in the service of Lucifer.

Adrian: *My embarrassment is gone. Bryn’s pretty much all business at the moment. She’s not above teasing any of us when the moment is right but she gets this isn’t the moment. And that makes it easy for me to focus on the task at hand as well.*

What makes you say that? And why not any of those three witches?

Bryn: It’s a massive operation to set up magical 24/7 surveillance on several beings who simply wink in and out of any location on the mortal plane and that’s how it would look, like a blip on a very big map. Scrying is usually done on a small scale for one physical being in a suspected general location. To see one of us popping up anywhere in the world, and doing it seemingly from nowhere, because with us behind wards that’s how it would appear, requires more than physical observation. It requires something that mentally tags the practitioner so they can catch it. Add to that our physical appearances are simply manifestations of our souls, and it means it has to be someone with enough juice to track a soul, not just a body. *Sighing, now, because the answer to the second question is harder.*

As for why those three? Well, two of them are my sisters. They died in the battle before my last one and I always assumed their souls had moved on to new lives, probably multiple times by now. Something would have had to go very, very wrong in one of those lives for either of them to end up pledged to Lucifer. As for the third… he’s very, very strong, and he very manipulative. And…*hesitating* we have history. Of all the human “boy toys” you guys have teased me about taking for a spin as a reaper, he’s the only one that I actually did.

Adrian: *If my jaw could hit the ground, it would have. Bryn’s as tough and pragmatic as they come and she’s always avoided emotional entanglements of any kind. Someone that could get past that tough exterior was either very special or very devious. A thousand questions run through my head.*

What do you mean “took for a spin”? Was this a short term fling or something more? Just how powerful was he? Enough to pose a problem for you?

Bryn: *If looks could kill a reaper, Adrian would be headed for the Long Sleep right now.*

We were involved for 20 mortal years, so maybe you’d call that a short term fling in a reaper’s gauge of time, but for that 20 years I thought I’d found what Sean and Zav have. I wasn’t sure how it would go when his time as a mortal passed, but I thought perhaps he could be recruited to become one of us. I had only been a reaper a few hundred years. I wasn’t aware of all the vetting Sin put in before he took one of us on even just as an ordinary reaper. Emrys would never have made the cut. He wasn’t entirely mortal for one thing. And he had an overpowering ambition for power that I didn’t realize until we’d been together most of that 20 years.

Adrian: “Not entirely mortal?” What does /that/ mean? Witches are mortal. Essentially just gifted humans.

Bryn: But Emrys wasn’t totally human.

*Looking away for a moment, embarrassed now at how naïve I’d been.*

Emrys’ father was a demon. His mother had been human. I’m not entirely sure, but I got the impression that his conception hadn’t been willing, and after he was born she confessed all to a priest. He convinced her the child was an abomination that had to die, but of course he wouldn’t get his hands dirty and she couldn’t bear the thought of doing it, so she swaddled the babe and left it in a sacred oak grove. Christian priests were just beginning to make inroads in Wales back then. Druidism and goddess worship were still predominant and the druids found the infant. The high priest was no fool. There was no reason an apparently healthy male child would be abandoned back then. He investigated and found the mother but she was too afraid to take the child back so he adopted him and raised him. I’d thought that upbringing had been enough to counteract his demonic heritage, and maybe his lust for power was just a normal human failing. But if it wasn’t….

Adrian: If it wasn’t, he could easily be behind this. *I finish for her.* How did you meet him? Did you teach him magick?

Bryn: He found me. Up until I moved everything here I kept my workshop in the crystal cave in Wales where I’d learned my craft all those centuries ago. It was remote and I had never had to ward it against intruders and then one day when I’m off role and working on a spell this drop dead gorgeous young guy just appears at the entrance. He said he’d been exploring. “Exploring”, my ass. *snorting* He’d felt the power as I worked the spell and had scryed to find the location. Then he just “appeared”. He said he was on a spiritual quest and just happened to find the cave. It took me 20 years to work out that he could translocate like a demon. Granted, I wasn’t with him all the time, but every leave I got, I spent with him and every night instead of staying with the corps I decamped to his bed. *Shaking my head,* I was so blind to what he really was.

Adrian: *She’d deny it, but you didn’t have to have Sean’s gift to feel the pain in her voice. This asshole hurt a woman I called sister, and now I want to deal out some pain to him. Didn’t matter if he was already dead. A reaper can get to anyone, anywhere, anytime.

So what happened?

Bryn: A baby was born in Cornwall. A dragon, a comet with a flame red tail, filled the sky that night. *My eyes grow distant as I remember.* He was almost manic with excitement. He said he’d seen it, that it portended the birth of king who would unite all of the kingdoms under one rule, but that he needed to be there. It was only with his power that it could happen. By that time the Rome I’d fought against had long since left Britain. Vikings ravaged the coasts at will, and for a time, they’d succeeded in establishing a foothold on a large part of the island. When grown, this new king, according to him, would see the Vikings gone and Britain ruled by Britains.

*Sighing wearily as I drop down to sit on Adrian’s bed*

What he didn’t say was it wasn’t about uniting the kingdoms. It was about being the power behind the throne. There was nothing altruistic in this. He saw the future and wanted more power. He already had magick…. More than anyone else I’d ever seen and I’d taught him how to use it. Now he wanted a different kind of power. And he wanted me to help him. As a reaper I could take out anyone that stood in his way, make sure he had access to the child. As a witch I could combine my power with his and create a world that was his to command. I was appalled.

We had a fight, a huge one, and it all came out. He never loved me. He’d used my body the way he wanted to use my power – to bind me to him. If I’d had none, if I’d even just been a mortal witch, he wouldn’t have looked at me twice. I cast him from my cave and warded it against him so thoroughly that he had no hope of ever gaining entrance again and then I turned my back on him. He followed through and I guess it worked for a time. But in the end other mortal weaknesses caused the death of this savior of Britain and the kingdom fell. Emrys died, walled away in his own cave by his fallen king’s enemies, led by a witch with some significant power of her own. Zav reaped his soul. I never asked what happened to it. Being half demon it could very well have ended up at Lucifer’s disposal.

Adrian: *I cross to the bed and sit down beside her. Ignoring my nearly naked status, I put my arm around her shoulder and pull her against my side. It says something about how devastating this was to her that she actually allows it. As I look down, I can see a sheen of tears she refuses to shed gleaming in her eyes.*

So if it is this asshole, can I kill him?

Bryn: *A strangled laugh escapes me. Damn, Adrian is such a rock. Unshakeable and steady. And just what I needed. Not too much sympathy, just enough and the understanding that revenge is best served cold.*

Well one of us has to.

Adrian: And, *raising an eyebrow – damn, has Sin taught all of us that?* And if it’s one of your sisters?

Bryn: *Inhaling and pulling away from his side to sit upright as his arm falls away.*

If it’s one of my sisters, it’s on me. I’ll need to know what twisted them up so much that they went that way and then I’ll deal with them. But I’m hoping it’s a coalition of lesser witches. A group of three with some skill could also pull this operation off. But first we have to get to them. And to do that we need to interrogate a bad guy.

So. *clapping my hands on my thighs, and then standing, forcing the bravado back into my voice* Are you ready to go, studly?

Adrian: *Suddenly, I’m very conscious of my near naked state once again. It’s a more normal Bryn comment, and I’m glad to see her coming back to herself, but still, “studly” is a going a step too far. Face flaming, I blurt* Don’t call me that. And just /where/ are we going?

Bryn: Outside my crystal cave in Wales. It’s remote even by today’s standards, and it has plenty of trees for you to conceal yourself behind so we can get a drop on whoever comes. Plus, if you’re concerned about them sending greater numbers than they have previously come to pass, we can retreat into the cave and I can slam down wards they won’t get through. Oh, don’t look at me like that, *Seeing the dubious look on his face.* We’ll stay in the half world until you can reassure yourself there’s no one around to see you in all your semi-naked glory. But be aware if I don’t see a mark flare, you’ll be naked pretty quick so I can make sure grandma didn’t tat you in an even more concealed place. Once it does you can get dressed. And armed.

Adrian: *The sword from the wall materializes in my hand. Though I’d come to prefer the medieval longsword, for fighting naked a Spartan sword was a more appropriate length for potentially naked fighting.*

I’m going in armed. As a mortal I didn’t fight in much more than this.

Bryn: *Frowning* Then why all the “I’m not going to be naked” crap if you fought mostly naked as a human?

Adrian: Because I’m /not/ human anymore and leathers provide a little more protection. Plus you’re a girl. I didn’t /fight/ girls in battle. Now are we going or not?

Bryn: Don’t think of me as a girl. Think of me as a harpy. Vicious and lethal. It might help. Follow me. *with a thought I dematerialized into the fine black mist of the reaper and disappeared.*

Adrian: *Snorting*

Women. *following her lead, I dematerialize into the half-world and follow her to Wales.*

#TBC

#WitchHunterHunterWitchPart1 #DarkAngelsCreationPart41 #Renegades #RRPG #BDB #AU #Reapers #Angels #Vampires #Witches #Ghosts

[colorofmymindposts]

Morgana and Guinevere: Chapter One

Fandom: BBC Merlin 

Pairing: Morgana/Guinevere 

Rating: Teen (Rating will increase with future chapters) 

Status: W.I.P.

Word Count: 558 

Summary: Set post 2x04. When Gwen returns safely from captivity, Morgana has many secrets about her own inner desires to tell her best friend. Gwen would be lying if she did not reciprocate her mistress’ feelings. 

Tags: Initial Angst, Eventual Fluff   

Notes:  This is a gift work for @crimson-devil-in-disguise whose birthday happened to be...yesterday. Sorry for the belated birthday present! At any rate, I decided to write her Morgwen multichapter since I’ve been waiting for the opportunity/inspiration to write for these two for the longest time. I chose the Lancelot and Guinevere episode to establish the context for the story because (1) it’s really gay and (2) I really thought the love triangle was really blown out of proportion because, really, whose arms does Gwen end up in at the end of the episode? Oh, that’s right, Morgana’s. This chapter is pretty short, but the next ones will probably be longer, and the rating is more than likely to increase just fyi. I will post this to ao3 as well if you prefer that reading medium.  

Work: 

Too many nights and days had passed in Gwen’s absence. In the time since her return, Morgana had done nothing but aimlessly roam the castle corridors, seeking answers for the many questions she harbored about Arthur’s rescue mission widely condemned by Uther. 

Morgana had begun to fast, whether deliberately or unintentionally she had not been able to tell, but Uther had deemed it the former and worriedly condemned the practice. She would not hear it. Uther naturally assigned a maid temporarily to her detail, but the girl seemingly wandered in and out of Morgana’s rooms without name, face, or shape as Morgana never bothered to look up as she always did when alerted to Gwen’s presence. 

Rest amid the constant concern had been difficult to come by as well. The early mornings with their accompanying frustrations had been spent primarily in the armory and training field, vividly imagining she, not Arthur, triumphantly seized Hengist’s castle, declared herself the desired Lady Morgana, released Gwen from her prison, and exacted rightful revenge on all those who’d dared separate the loyal servant girl from her loving mistress. Then the reunited pair hurriedly sought refuge in the forest, the din of Hengist’s den and all other undesirables abandoned; Gwen’s untamed, brunette curls imperfectly framed her face as the servant girl leant forward with a hand warm on Morgana’s shoulder and as lips eclipsed her ear in a dark whisper of “M’Lady”.    

She would have likely expanded upon the indulgent, persistent fantasy had the newly recruited knights not been so irritatingly punctual in their routines. Only once she returned to her chambers she could not reconjure it—only the memory of Gwen’s pained cries Morgana had run from in a desperate attempt to find help in another’s friendly face. 

Of course, at the most unanticipated of moments, Arthur finally arrived and with a simple “there’s someone here to see you” lovely, beautiful Gwen was in her arms again, safe at last. She was clearly travel-weary, yet a resilient spirit appeared to surround the young woman, as if her time in captivity had inspired some previously unknown confidence. 

“Gwen! I thought I’d never see you again,” Morgana admitted, breathless. Entertaining the notion in her mind, a future without Gwen, was distinctly different from voicing the fear out loud. The maid said nothing and buried her face into the crook of Morgana’s neck. 

“I can’t begin to imagine the hardships you’ve suffered at my behest,” she confessed quietly. “Please, take a few days—any amount of time, really, whatever you need—”     

“M’Lady, I believe you forget my unconditional service to you, and I have desperately missed your companionship these past few days. I should like nothing better than to be at your side.” 

The reassurance was given without hesitation, and, with each murmured word, Gwen’s lips burned onto her skin, leaving as good as kisses as her face and neck were all aglow. She was fully aware, however, that such promises did not extend to her in the sense she desired. Whomever the man that occupied Gwen’s mind was at least blissfully fortunate, knowingly or unknowingly, that he so effortlessly secured a foothold in the servant’s mind, a position she herself privately coveted.   

“Excellent,” she beamed nonetheless as they both drew back from their embrace. “I won’t lie; I was hoping you would turn down my offer.”

#morgwen #my writing #work in progress #chapter 1 #multi chapter #morgana #guinevere #merlin bbc

[mage-cat]

Unbubbled, Chapter 3

Yeah, I go a month without posting a chapter, then I do two in one night. Really, a good chunk of this was written back in August/September before going on the back burner and my little shippy one-shot idea turning into a multi-chapter story. So when Chapter 2 took so long, I decided I wouldn’t post it until I had a more satisfying follow-up ready to go. I’m just getting started.

Chapter under the cut.

Chapter 1 here.

Link to AO3 here.

Pearl stepped into the Forge, the notes of one of Steven's compositions reaching her ears before the words became clear. “… and birth and peace and war on the planet Earth...” Bismuth's back was to her, hunched over her workbench, likely doing sharpening or inscription work. A bag by the door was already filled with throwing knives, shuriken, chakram, and objects that reminded Pearl strongly of musket balls. She picked up one of the star-shaped shuriken. “Well, this is how you've always ultimately gotten to know new recruits. By their weapon preferences.”

The sudden addition of a new voice gave the smith a start before she turned towards Pearl and smiled. “Weapon preferences tell me a lot about a person. For example, Peridot wants to stay at a distance. That tells me she wants the chance to plan her attacks as much as she can. I don't think she's afraid of a fight, but she wants as much information and preparation for it as she can get. When I find out how she uses what's in that bag, I'll be able to say more.”

“Personally, I find Peridot rather insufferable at times, but I'm glad you seem to be getting along.”

“She does have quite an ego on her,” Bismuth admitted. “Between that and knowing she was getting solo missions, I peg her for a Crew Chief, probably getting evaled for a Site Manager job. Let me guess,” her smile grew wider, “she tries to give you orders?”

“Not after the incident when she called me someone's shiny toy and I punched her in the face,” Pearl said smugly.

Bismuth doubled over, her whole body shaking with laughter. “I keep finding out about great stuff that I missed. You literally knocking sense into newbies is always classic.” She was still chuckling as she straightened up, throwing a glance over her shoulder to the project behind her.

“So what are you working on now?” Pearl asked.

“I... um... I thought I would try something Peridot said about creative endeavors aiding in emotional processing.”

“That's probably wise. I know the Corruption is a lot to take in.”

“That's not what I'm processing here.”

“Then what?”

“I'm not really sure I can tell you.” There was uncharacteristic hesitation in Bismuth's voice.

“Oh come now.” Pearl started closing the distance between them. “I know all too well how bad the effects of keeping things bottled up can be.” She poked a finger at Bismuth's chest. “I've been missing you for a long time, and I'm not going to have you back just so you can slip into a funk.”

Bismuth seemed to develop an intense interest in the ceiling. “You know, I just keep thinking about when Steven pulled me out of Lion's mane, the way you jumped into my arms. I had fantasies about you doing that for centuries.”

Whatever Pearl had been expecting her to say, it hadn't been that. She developed an equally intense interest in the shuriken she was still holding.

“Why wouldn't someone fall for you?” Bismuth continued. “A Pearl fierce enough face Quartz soldiers and win? And you were so eager to learn, coming here to the Forge and asking about the things I was working on. I had never seen someone so riveted by the properties of tungsten.” She looked at Pearl. “Please don't tell me you really believe that it was Rose that made you incredible. That's just too sad to think about.”

She was still fiddling with the shuriken. “If it wasn't for her I never would have...”

“Hey, Rose unlocked something special in all of us, but there's a funny thing about keys. You don't need them to keep a lock open.”

Pearl looked up, her head still bowed. “Why didn't you say anything back then?”

“I tried, now and then, but I'm pretty sure blind people could see the way you looked at Rose. That was a level of devotion that wasn't going to let a third person in. Be honest. Did I stand a chance back then?”

“I... I don't know. I never considered the possibility.” She closed her eyes. “Oh, but I'm sure I would have felt so disloyal.”

“And it's not like I would have felt much better, getting between the two original Crystal Gems.”

“So, what is your creative endeavor here?” Pearl stood straight as she walked around Bismuth to get a proper view of the project.

“Well, it started out as a replica of your spear. I really don't know what it is now. I'm doing it in bronze, mostly 'cause it's easy to work, but I'm kind of proud that I got the alloy to match the color of your hair, which I really hope is not creepy. Steel would have fit to, maybe even better, but I just didn't feel like getting the fires hot enough for it.”

"Well if the point of this project was to get yourself less hot and bothered, that makes sense."

“And now you're making fun of me.”

“I'm processing.” She put the shuriken down and picked up the spear. Being entirely metal made it a bit too heavy to be practical, but Bismuth had, after all, been making an art object, not a battle weapon. She must have started with some particularly ruddy copper for the tin to lighten the alloy to its peach-pink color. The curves and proportions were exaggerated, calling attention to just how sharp and deadly the weapon was. Bronze blunted fairly easily, but for now everything had a fine edge. Pearl squinted at the delicate tracery Bismuth had been engraving on it when she walked in, leafy briars with rose hips but without a flower in sight. She carefully placed it back on the workbench, but she didn't take her eyes from it.

“I think I would have sided with you over the Breaking Point, you know. Back then during the heat of the war. A lot of us would have.”

“I guess that's why Rose didn't tell anyone.” Pearl was a little surprised Bismuth didn't sound more bitter than she did.

“Rose always said that it was important for a leader to have secrets, but it's only in the last few years that I've found out how many secrets she kept from me.” Pearl gripped the edge of the workbench. “Now I keep thinking of all those thousands of years fighting monsters that used to be friends, and I think about how you could have been there. You could have helped, and having even one more Gem around would have been a comfort.” Her shoulders slumped. “You would have been there for the peaceful times, too. There really were some great times in between the fighting.”

“Listening to the others talk about you, it barely sounds like they're describing the same person I know, and why does Amethyst act like the idea of Ruby training her is the funniest thing she's heard all week?”

Ruby would have been a better fit then she had been, Pearl thought, but there had never been a chance of that. “We thought we were so close to winning, Homeworld forces were retreating, and then we lost so much so fast. I know seeing Biggs was a shock, but imagine seeing that a hundred times over on the first day with no warning. And again the day after, on and on. After a while we stopped even trying to call them by their real names. It hurt too much. We clung to the comforts we had. Rose clung to her ideas about humans. I clung to Rose as much as I could. Ruby and Sapphire clung to each other. I know you're used to seeing Garnet around for weeks at a time, but I've sometimes gone years without seeing Sapphire or Ruby.” Pearl finally looked at Bismuth again. “They're getting better though. I've seen them twice in the past year.”

“And what exactly were you doing while Rose was off being fascinated by humans?”

“Trying to be better. Training, studying, keeping busy.”

“And I'm guessing that while you were hurting, o selfless knight, you never actually said anything to Rose, while she continued her streak of being completely unable to recognize anyone's negative emotions if they were not actually crying or yelling.” Pearl stared at her. Bismuth continued, “Rose had a lot of great qualities. Empathy was never one of them.”

“I keep forgetting that Steven actually gets that from Greg.”

“She left a lot on the little guy's shoulders. I hope he gets to do more with his life than clean up her mess.”

Pearl rested her hand on Bismuth's arm. She may have never jumped into those arms before the day Bismuth had effectively returned from the dead, but that didn't mean she had never been in them at all. There had been many comforting hugs and the occasional need for Pearl to be carried off a battlefield or boosted over a wall. One thing Pearl remembered being glad of was how Bismuth never held her like she was afraid that Pearl was about to break. For all Rose had respected her, there never stopped being times that she treated her like she was fragile.

Maybe Rose couldn't help it. Her instinct had always been to shield those she cared for as much as she could, both from physical harm and from painful truth. Bismuth cared every bit as much as Rose had, but she wasn't a shield. Her instinct was always to build and to make, and she would give everything to insure that those she cared for had the tools to protect themselves. If they doubted their ability to use those tools, well, Pearl had walked in on the middle of many long talks with new recruits, sometimes doubling as weapon design sessions, sometimes not, and had seen endless sparing matches. She had seen Bismuth build confidence in countless Crystal Gems. Pearl had missed that when Bismuth was gone. She had loved that about her.

“Look, if you need time to think or if you're just trying to think of a nice way to say no, just say so and I promise I won't...”

Pearl cut her off by pulling Bismuth down by her apron front and stopping her mouth with a kiss. After a second of surprise, Bismuth returned it and picked Pearl up in the same firm grip the pale Gem had just been remembering so fondly. After a beautifully long moment, Pearl pulled away to look Bismuth in the eye. “I have been far too careful for far too long. I've missed you, and I miss who I used to be. Will you help me remember her?”

Bismuth's smile was wider than Pearl had seen it since she had arrived at the Forge. “To me it was day before yesterday. I would be happy to help.”

Pearl threaded a lock of yellow hair that had fallen over Bismuth's shoulder between her fingers. “You know, I've kept up quite an armory in my room back at the Temple. Some of it's your old work. Some of it includes some interesting innovations you might like to see. We could head back, and when I'm done showing you that, I could also show you this cozy little reading nook I have.”

“That sounds fantastic.”

Chapter 4>

#cat writes #steven universe #fanfiction #bispearl

[rohitkkumar]

Parwanoo choked as tourists throng Himachal after Covid curbs eased

Mythology tells the story of the Phoenix; a powerful bird that at certain intervals will build a nest and sit in it as it is consumed by flames. Out of the ashes the Phoenix is reborn to once again grow in strength and wisdom. Sometimes in life, the thing that kills and destroys us is the very thing that is life's greatest blessing.

My name is Robert O'Conner. My family calls me Bobby but the rest of the world knows me as Robert. Immediately after graduating from college I was recruited by Willis, Goldman & Reed and assigned to the Chicago office. There were eleven new hires that started on the same day and that is when I met Barbara. We were given desks next to each other and as the new kids on the block we sought safety in numbers in defense against the veterans. The rookies started having coffee together at the break and then meeting over lunch to commiserate or cheer each other on as we all tried to integrate ourselves in the corporate world. After several months the group began to dwindle until there was just Barbara and myself.

Barbara was gorgeous. The kind of physical beauty that could make a dead man stand up and dance. After we got to know each other she admitted that she had been featured in one of those photo spreads that Playboy magazine occasionally runs, "Sorority Girls of New England Colleges." https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/flashy-islam-brothers-heavily-promoted-10121441ightstand. Every guy in the office tried to date her but she rebuffed them all.

She had long thick red hair, a mass of curls that hung below the middle of her back, and dark green eyes. Her skin was flawless and she used very little makeup, she didn't need to. Even without lipstick her lips were a deep red. She stood six feet tall in her stocking feet, an inch above my own five-eleven. Most of the time she wore slacks to the office but on those occasions when she wore a skirt the male employees were treated to the blinding vision of her perfectly formed long legs. Her breasts were neither large nor small, just the right size and shape. Every thing about her body was in perfect proportion. Each movement she made was a symphony of sensuality, from walking across the office to get something from the filing cabinet down to the simple act of putting a paper clip on a piece of paper.

As for myself, I am not a Golden Adonis nor am I the elephant man. A girlfriend in college once described me as being "six points above average." I have been told by several women that my best features are my blue eyes and my smile. One of my few regrets in life is not being able to reach six feet like my two brothers. If genetics hold true, by the time I reach fifty I will be thirty pounds heavier than the day I graduated from high school...with absolutely no hope of ever losing them.

I am not the life of the party but can hold up my end of a conversation and do reasonably well at telling a joke. For all of her beauty Barbara is fairly quiet but not shy, she was the center of attention no matter what the setting. Without even speaking she would have men gathered around her, just waiting for the pleasure of her smiling in their direction. You don't realize how intelligent she is until you have been around her for a while. I could never figure out how we ended up connecting.

From having coffee and lunches at work we progressed to catching a movie after work and then on to dinner and drinks Friday nights. From there it was Friday and Saturday nights and then several nights during the week. Six months after our first official date we were married.

Life was good. We were madly in love with each other. By working in the same office we could go to and leave work together. We had our own little universe that had little room in it for other people. The daily sex was fantastic and together we learned new ticks and moves that made it more intense as we went along.

Several years after we were married, corporate headquarters sent in a new manager for my unit. Derrick Andrews was a tall muscular black man with his head shaved smooth and an arrogant look in his eyes. He was smooth with the women and a real bastard to the men in the office. Gradually I found more and more of the workload being put on my desk as I struggled to get it all done. Instead of coming to work with Barbara, I increasingly had to go in early and stay late, not getting home until eight or nine most nights plus having to go in to the office on Saturdays. It became obvious that Andrews was trying to force me to quit the company.

During this time the only thing that kept me going was Barbara. Every night she would sooth my battered ego and take away all the stress. During the day she would call my desk just to say, "hi" or come by my desk with a cookie or slice of somebody's birthday cake. I had just about reached my breaking point when Barbara gave me the news. She was pregnant.

https://www.newsbreak.com/new-york/new-york/news/0PQzOhn4/meet-moyn-islam-the-entrepreneur-shares-his-story

I had heard the stories from the other guys in the office about how horny their wives got during pregnancy. At first it was true and the sex was almost non-stop at home. But as the due date got closer Barbara seemed to run hot and cold. One night she would literally jump me and tear my clothes off as I walked through the door. The next night she would be cold and distant. During the last few weeks she had completely withdrawn and would flinch whenever I tried to touch her.

At last the day came. Her water broke on Sunday morning and we rushed to the hospital. By the afternoon we were in the delivery room with the doctor telling her when to push. Finally there was one last push and the baby came out of the birth canal. The doctor immediately looked up at me and then over to Barbara. The room was oddly silent. Without saying a word the nurse placed the baby on Barbara's chest.

The baby's skin was back as coal.

I stood there, stunned, looking at the baby. Barbara's face had a horrified look. It seemed as though everything was happening in slow motion. I backed away from the delivery table, then turned and walked out of the room. As the doors closed I could hear Barbara screaming, "Robert come back here."

I made it as far as the parking lot before I stopped to throw up in the bushes. In a daze I was somehow able to find the car and take off. I drove around aimlessly for a while and then headed home. For the next several hours I paced back and forth trying to make sense out of what just happened.

I wrestled with my emotions for hours. Had I made a mistake, could I be wrong? Did I misunderstand about the baby? Had I misjudged Barbara? Where do we go from here? What possible explanation could there be? Had I done something to cause her to be disloyal? What signs of her cheating could I have missed? Was there more than one man she had cheated with? Could the marriage be saved, or was there any thing left to save? It always came back to one simple fact.

There is no way in hell that two people of Irish descent could produce a black baby.

After my third trip to the toilet to vomit I lost any sense of self-control and completely destroyed the bathroom. Barbara, my reason for living, had betrayed me. The emotional pain of her obvious infidelity became a physical pain as well. After all the years of what I thought were love and devotion for each other, Barbara had been unfaithful and bore a child fathered by another man.

We all make choices about where our lives will go. It was very clear that Barbara's choice did not include me; she had not honored the wedding vows we made to each other.

The phone had been ringing constantly since I returned to the house. The first time I let the answering machine pick up and heard Barbara's voice demanding that I return to the hospital so we could talk. She called five more times in the next hour, each message becoming less demanding until the final one when she was crying and begging me to come to her.

I couldn't take it any more and unplugged the phone so I wouldn't have to hear it. I went to the garage and came back with a hammer. I placed the telephone on the kitchen counter and left it in a thousand pieces before throwing the hammer through the closed window above the sink. By now the rage had subsided enough that I was able to put together some coherent thoughts.

In situations like this it is surprising how quickly material things become meaningless to your life. Over the next several hours I gathered up the few things that I now valued and piled them in the middle of the living room floor. Everything fit into three cardboard boxes that I found in the garage and I loaded them into my car. I threw all of my clothes into the car without bothering to pack them into suitcases. I put the empty suitcases in the car planing to pack them later. I had to get out of that house that held so many memories of Barbara's and my life together.

The last thing I did was to go to the garage and come back with another hammer and nail. I went into the bedroom one last time and looked around. I took off my wedding ring and nailed it to the wooden headboard. I heaved the hammer through the mirror over the dresser and left. By 11:30 that night I pulled out of the driveway and went in search of a hotel.

I got no sleep that night and in the morning I called my secretary, Mrs. Lopez, to tell her that I would not be in that day. Mrs. Lopez asked how Barbara was doing and I quietly hung up the phone with out answering. I spent the entire day inside the hotel room trying to get control of my thoughts and emotions.

The next morning I knew I would go crazy if I stayed there any longer, and not knowing what else to do, I went into the office. I was standing outside my office door trying to focus on what Mrs. Lopez trying to tell me when Derrick Andrews walked up.

"It's about time you showed up for work O'Conner. I'm getting tired of your work habits lately. The only reason I don't fire your ass is because I need to keep you employed so you can raise that little bastard of mine."

Mrs. Lopez and I both stared at him with our mouths open. With a smirk Andrews continued.

"Didn't know about that did you. I've been fucking your wife non-stop for the last two years. Your wife is one sweet pussy."

https://twitter.com/jamiejbartlett/status/1237020414725042182?lang=en-g

Outside I walked away from the building. My hand was really starting to hurt so I stopped at a deli and bought a large cup of ice to stick it into. I kept walking until I came to a bench that overlooked Lake Michigan and just sat, staring out at nothing. In the space of three days my life had turned to complete shit. I was twenty-seven years old and had been betrayed by my lover, my marriage of four years was in ruins, I was out of a job and was probably going to be arrested for assault. I am normally a laid back type of person, but today I had turned in to some kind of homicidal maniac. As I sat there, words like love, betrayal, cheating, dishonesty, commitment, infidelity, deceit, unfaithful kept floating around, racing in and out of my thoughts. Eventually I noticed that it was getting dark so I returned to my hotel room.

At 9:30 that night I was wrapping my hand in a fresh batch ice when someone knocked on the door. I opened the door and was surprised to see John Gordon.

"Good evening Robert, you're a hard person to find."

I only stared at him in confusion.

"Do you mind if I come in? What I have to say may take a while."

"Sure, why not." I stepped back to let him in. "Look, Mr. Gordon, I won't apologize for what happed this morning, but if you don't mind there are a few personal items in my office...excuse me, my former office that I would like to get."

"Ah yes, this morning. You certainly have an interesting way to start your Tuesdays." I opened my mouth to speak when he raised his hand to stop me. "Please don't interrupt me just yet. I need to say this and get on my way before my wife reports me as a missing person. First off I want to assure you that you are not fired. In fact, I am very grateful for what you did this morning. Derrick Andrews is a shithead and I've hated him from the moment he walked into our office. But he was sent by headquarters so my hands were tied."

"After you left, Mrs. Lopez grabbed me and pulled me into your office and started yelling in Spanish. At first I didn't understand much of what she was saying, but gist of it was 'you have to fix this.' I thought she was mad at you but she wasn't, it was Andrews. She told me about the things he had done to you in the office over the last two years...and about your wife." At that point he paused and looked around the room before continuing.

"By eleven o'clock this morning, Mrs. Lopez had seven women lined up outside my office telling me that they were going to file sexual harassment charges against Andrews and the company. I spent most of the afternoon on the phone with the legal department in New York. The upshot is that the women are not going to file a complaint against the company, but in return our legal depart will represent the ladies in court when they do file against Andrews personally."

"I have done nothing today except try to put out the fires that you and Andrews started. I interviewed every single person in your unit and they all confirmed what Mrs. Lopez told me. You may not be aware of it but you are the most respected person in that building. Within twenty minutes after you left the entire unit was writing their letters of resignation. Andrews has completely destroyed the morale of that unit and most of the people only stayed out of loyalty to you. Fortunately the staff has agreed to hold their resignations until I get a chance to sort everything out."

"You have several options to think about here. If you want to come back to the office, you will be coming back in Andrews' position as manager. If that is too much for you right now, I know several CEOs around the country who will hire you at a moment's notice on my recommendation...or here in Chicago if you want to work on your marriage." Again he paused for a moment.

"There is a third option I would like you to consider. You are too valuable an employee for the company to lose. I https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/earnings/eros-intl-consolidated-september-2020-net-sales-at-rs-52-65-crore-down-73-73-y-o-y-6102791.htmlthat you're originally from California. I can arrange for you to be transferred to our San Miguel office in California...at times like this it helps to be around family."

The minute he said San Miguel I knew my answer. I opened my mouth but before I could speak he stopped me again.

"I don't want an answer tonight, I want you to sleep on it, although it doesn't look as though you've been doing very much of that the last couple of days." He handed me a small card with a telephone number on it. "This is my private line, call me at 9 AM tomorrow." With that he headed for the door. He opened it and turned around with small grin on his face. "Just so you know, the score was one broken nose and three cracked ribs. I made certain that assault charges will not be filed against you. Here's the good news. When Andrews gets out of the hospital, he is going to explain to the district attorney how a man on his salary is able to pay cash for a Mercedes-Benz." His grin got bigger and then he left.

The news about San Miguel was the only good thing I had heard in the last few days. I was born and raised in Santa Teresa, about one hours' drive south of San Miguel. My mother and two brothers still lived there but that was not the good part. My best friend in the world lives in San Miguel. Colleen has always been the most important person in my life, from childhood and on to our "grown-up" lives. We share everything. I was the best man at her wedding and she was a bridesmaid at mine. There was nothing that we would not do for each other.

Colleen is also my sister.

There are four of us. Colleen is the oldest and three years older than me. In between are James and Michael, the twins. We all love each other but as children the natural paring was always Jimmy & Mikey against Colleen & Bobby in all the games we played. That same bond just continued as we grew up.

Colleen taught me how to tie my shoes and held my hand crossing the street. She sat behind me when we went down the giant slide and let me hide in her bed under the covers when the monsters in my closet were ready to come and get me.

When we were in high school, she watched out for me and kept me from doing anything stupid that would end up branding me as a hopeless dork for the next four years. Colleen gave me the best birthday present any fifteen-year boy could possibly imagine. She convinced her best friend on the cheerleading squad to take me to the Senior Class Christmas Ball as her date. I was the hero of every male in the freshmen class. Afterwards Cindy would wink and wave to me in the hallway and I became a living legend.

Colleen had married Bill after college and moved to San Miguel so he could open his business. They soon had two daughters and everything looked bright. Bill became an extension of Colleen for me and there was nothing I wouldn't do for him. But then Colleen's world fell apart.

https://www.fool.com/investing/2020/10/01/why-this-1-stock-could-bring-life-changing-returns/

Surprisingly, I did get some sleep and after a shower in the morning felt almost human again. That was the physical part. On the inside, I could feel my soul, my spirit, whatever you want to call it, starting to shrivel up and die. At 9 AM I called Gordon and told him my decision about San Miguel.

"Excellent choice Robert. There is a Starbucks around the corner from here on 53rd and Randolph. Meet me there in one hour." And he hung up.

By the time I got there he was already sitting at a table with a box in front of him.

"I don't have much time so here is the deal. Mrs. Lopez put all of your personal things in this box. Right now, Mrs. Lopez and I are the only people that know you are going to San Miguel and it will remain that way unless you tell someone personally." He handed me a thick envelope that was sealed and stamped CONFIDENTIAL. "Harold Peterson is the head of the San Miguel office and is expecting you at 8 AM Monday morning, he loves punctuality. Give this to him when you get there." He handed me a second envelope that was not sealed and I pulled out the contents. Inside was a first class airline ticket, one way to San Miguel. The other item was a piece of paper with the name and address of a law firm a few blocks away.

[entergamingxp]

Troy’s battles feel a tad dry, but its mythology is fascinating • Eurogamer.net

The Bronze Age, it turns out, is not an easy period to turn into a historically accurate, highly detailed video game like Total War. But it does sound fascinating. There are huge gaps in important places, unusual changes to how armies are proportioned, and the small matter of Homer’s Iliad sprinkling myth and magic over everything.

Playing it, I think there’s room for a little more of the mythical stuff – but talking to Total War Saga: Troy’s game director Maya Georgieva and senior game designer Milcho Vasilev, I’m also confident there’s a good deal more to come.

“We wanted to take a direction that has not been taken by any Total War before,” Georgieva told me, “this period of history, which is ancient history, the Bronze Age… I mean no Total War has gone there before us, and there’s a good reason for that! It’s not been missed by accident, it’s really tough for a Total War game to go into this era because the sources that we need to make an on-par experience with the titles that you love are missing, or are scarce in that period.

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“So for example, we don’t have a lot of historical records. We have a lot of archaeological evidence, but we don’t have, for example, the names of rulers of countries – the specifics that breathe soul into the historical narrative.” This is where the Iliad comes in: providing detail and inspiration for nation-states, rulers, “the leaders or the heroes or the personas and characters of the military,” as Georgieva puts it. “This basically makes the whole project possible”.

“The way we are presenting them is basically threading this very narrow path between reality and the narrative. Because, well, what we found out is that the narrative of the Iliad is very powerful. It has its own gravity, it draws us always towards it. So, from the beginning, we decided that one of the key points of the project will be: we are going to make a sandbox Total War game, but the events of the Iliad will be a plausible playthrough in that sandbox.” (Worth noting here is that there’s definitely no two-campaign option like the Romance and Records versions of Total War: Three Kingdoms, although it’s not something Georgieva ruled out for something post-launch. “That would have been a very nice option, but the scope of the Saga really doesn’t allow us to do that. I mean, we don’t have the luxury of making two games in one. But still, there are possibilities, probably after release. We’ll see.”)

Hero units, like Achilles and Hector here, can face off in duels very similar to those introduced in Total War: Three Kingdoms.

As for how those gaps are filled by the more fantastical parts of sources like the Iliad, Creative Assembly has opted for a “truth behind the myth” approach, effectively looking to make as factually accurate a Total War as possible and using the most probable explanations for the myths and legends to complete the history – a fascinating approach, philosophically, but one that can make you feel slightly underwhelmed when, say, the Minotour turns out to just be a big, tanky bandit dude in silly armour.

“We knew that we were going to have a difficulty with the unit variety in the game because of the Bronze Age and the way that warfare was conducted at the time,” Vasilev explained, and this is where mythological units, or mythologically inspired units, come in. The Cyclops, for instance, is a giant that sounds like more or less a properly mythical being in the game, and works to supplement the units of the era. “The Cyclops can be really good at sieges, because he is a unit that is able to destroy even huge gates, he’s able to throw a boulder over the siege walls to damage units behind it, and so on.” Others like the Centaurs, meanwhile, are more easily explained by the available facts, and so in-game they’re effectively just cavalry. As Vasilev put it, “we believe that the myth that has inspired the half-human half-horse centaurs is rooted in that period where people were not using horses much, but they would see some other tribe, not being very adept at that horse riding [themselves], or even fighting for horseback, and they would probably say that they are ‘one with their horse’.” They won’t be readily available though. To get these kinds of units players need to go “a bit out of their way” to recruit them on the campaign map first, and they sound either very limited or completely unique in their supply.

You might have clocked those ships in the background, but note there are no sea battles in Troy – if two ships end up fighting, then a land battle plays out with the armies disembarked on a nearby island.

When it comes to the battles themselves, this truth-seeking approach can make things feel a little flat. I played a single, fairly standard land battle in control of the Greeks, and their hero Achilles, against the Trojan army and hero Hector, with a decent amount of units on either side, including Centaurs for me and the “Minotaur” for Hector. In other words, I have lots of infantry and archers and one cavalry unit (plus a unit of slow chariots), and the enemy has an entire infantry force with one big man.

That slightly underwhelming impression aside, the immediate thing you’ll notice as a returning Total War player is that lack of cavalry. Total War’s real-time battles are, more often than not, about using speed, positioning, and flanking, and taking almost all cavalry out of the game completely disrupts the balance of that, and so Creative Assembly has had to quite noticeably shuffle some other things around. A big change is light infantry are faster, heavy infantry are slower, and there are more infantry types that have special bonuses like increased flanking strength, increased resistance to flanking, or outright immunity to it.

There’s also a big change to the landscape of the battle maps themselves: light cover, in the form of long grass, has been introduced, as have sand and mud. Light infantry can move into long grass to be hidden, like units traditionally would be in forests. Heavy infantry are severely slowed in mud, while light infantry are unaffected and medium only slightly slowed – similarly with sand. Basically, flanking-specialised light infantry units become your traditional light cavalry, and micro-managing unit positioning around different types of battlefield terrain becomes more important than ever.

There are several biomes for battles depending on where you are on the campaign map, and day-night cycles too. There was also mention of a Divine Will religion resource and five-resource economy in the campaign, but expect more elaboration on that down the line.

In practice, it can be a little finickity. If you’re a frequent pauser, expect to pause even more frequently. If you’re not, expect even more emphasis on your actions-per-minute and attention to detail (which is especially important, given the dusty biome of this battle meant it was often a little hard to tell between long grass and just slightly-longer-than-usual grass that doesn’t have the same effect). There’s also not a huge amount of visual distinction between units, especially the more elite ones, like Achilles’ Myrmidons say, that in other Total Wars you’d expect to be more instantly identifiable in the fray.

That said, it’s still interesting to have to rethink your tried-and-tested strategies – in fact, Warhammer games aside, this is probably the most impactful change to Total War’s battles I can remember. It’s something plenty of history nerds will find stimulating, as much as others might find it slightly dry. That’s the nature of the Bronze Age, really, but thankfully for the less fustily-inclined like me we have the other half of the narrative to do some making up. The big thing that’s got me excited is the siege of Troy.

“The siege of Troy needs to be a spectacular event, or at least a special event in a Bronze Age game. Because of the power of the narrative,” Georgieva said. That means – rejoice! – there is a Trojan Horse in the game, despite some suggestions that it would just be implemented as an earthquake for the sake of historical accuracy. “I think that’s a little bit of a misconception,” Georgieva explained. “There are actually three horses, three Trojan horses in Total War Saga: Troy… the way we’ve implemented the horse is we took the three most plausible, most possible options and implemented them.

The Centaurs in action.

“The far fetched one is the allegory of the earthquake. Earthquakes are quite common in the area even today, and we have archeological evidence that Troy’s walls were destroyed by an earthquake at the appropriate period of history in that time. So that was one of the interpretations, which is modelled into the game as a window of opportunity where you can attack Troy well after an earthquake because the walls are down, the garrison is weakened and you can just approach the city in a much more favourable way.

“The other ways to approach Troy with a Trojan horse are with a siege tower that is shaped like a horse. We know that a couple of centuries later the Assyrians fielded such siege machinery, which is sometimes referred to by the animal names. So we see that probably in the Trojan War, this is like a prototype, a ‘beast of war’, we call it in the game. It’s unlockable through a technology. And the other, the third one, is probably the closest to the narrative, because it involves the same tactic: a wooden structure filled with treasure, and also hidden units.

“This though, again has a historical tint to it because we realised that in that period of time Phoenician ships were horse-headed vessels, and also all ships would have been used for devoting things to the divine, to the gods. So we are basically replaying this sort of scenario where a ship with a horse’s head is filled with goods, and also hidden soldiers. And when you get to do that strategy, you play on a specific map that doesn’t exist outside of the strategic map. It’s during the night, the gates of Troy are open, and you start with several units inside the city. So it’s a completely new scenario. And those three ways exist in the game and give you the opportunity to choose your own Trojan horse.”

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Vasilev also explained that there are at least three separate versions of the battle map for the siege of Troy itself, including the standard 360-view one you’ll know from usual Total War sieges. “It’s not just an earthquake that we’ve implemented as a Trojan horse.” Finally, although Creative Assembly was at pains to make clear there’d be little talk of the campaign just yet, there’s an intriguing tease of a proper rework for agents, the units like spies and heroes that roam around providing support and intel on the campaign map.

Here’s what Georgieva told me about those: “after Thrones of Britannia, the previous saga, we were looking a lot at the feedback that we received and several systems that didn’t make the cut for Thrones. So for example, agents… they have a good and a bad side, let’s say. So we were trying everything to alleviate, for example, agent spamming on the map, but [in doing so] we were also having a lot of new interesting takes on the agent archetypes. We’re also implementing Epic Agents, which are mythologically inspired. And they are quite unique. I mean, we haven’t had anything like this in a previous title before.”

That little tease, plus the promise of a little more invention and bombast with the big siege of Troy, the suggestion that the campaign will offer some interesting scripted moments that line up with Homer’s epic, and the opportunity to relearn some habits in the battles themselves is enough to keep me excited. Translating this era into something like Total War sounds extremely challenging – the slight flatness of that battle I tried a few times being evidence of the fact – but the novelty of it, the magic of the period, and just the magnetic quirkiness of the actual required historical process itself, is still undeniable.

from EnterGamingXP https://entergamingxp.com/2020/06/troys-battles-feel-a-tad-dry-but-its-mythology-is-fascinating-%e2%80%a2-eurogamer-net/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=troys-battles-feel-a-tad-dry-but-its-mythology-is-fascinating-%25e2%2580%25a2-eurogamer-net

[g73ava-blog]

17 Superstars We'd Love to Recruit for Our photo editing software for windows 10 Team

Edit a picture made simple with the great state-of-the-art photo editing software

Good looking images are implicit to shoot the entity of a motif or even a series about them, minus revealing the overall background overall. In other words, they satisfy of developing one-of-a-kind photograph from average things. That aspect should be completed by cropping a section of an otherwise regular picture and by shooting close up shots of things what the viewer asking yourself in admiration, naturally what the object might be. And also topics with drawings or repeating are great applicant for different looking photography, like in the image of chopped vegetables below. Photo editing software does possess a number of the attributes is actually preferred for, which happens very practical when you've chose you have actually like to try your hand on something even more better than Sharpening and edit pictures. Photo editing software may additionally bring in screenshots from video clips, in addition to varying files. As well as when you're experiencing a little idle or it is actually merely plain unconcerned concerning how to usage a few of the resources, a wizard can assist you adjust the essentials just like illumination, concentration, color, and also cutting of images. For this people that love their pictures in widescreen editions, the software application supports you faultlessly created photos to make a gorgeous photograph. And when it is actually opportunity to print off your photography skills, you can easily choice some of the image package deal style layouts to quickly print them in a particular size.

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Brand-new photo editing software with a lot of cool options When the perspective line in a photo is certainly not degree, a particular of my personal petty aggravations in digital photography is. Occasionally if we are caught up in the moment, this basic rule is neglected however the bright side is that enhancing your images with the photo editing software to make them degree is additionally extremely easy. Balancing the cam at the edge of the pier suggested that the photo was not level that is notably easy to see to the sight if the picture has a plainly identified horizon line, just like the seashore. A focusing method belongs to the crop device, and you can just turn the photograph to match. Whenever you utilize the focusing technique, a grid will seem to help you become the alignment right. Level a picture is a truly basic task in which will certainly take just a few ticking, causing a far more aesthetically charming photograph. Occasionally if we take a picture, components of the shot might just wind up being actually darker than we want. I refer to the dark locations of the picture as darkness, as well as the colorful locations of the picture as spotlight. Variance has to do with accentuating the variation in between the brightness as well as dark areas of the photo. Enhancing the variance of a photo https://oresom.page.tl/ can considerably boost the graphical influence in which has, by creating the borders between those dark and light parts more clear. Coloring adjusting is one more significant part of the photo editing software. We are able to adjust photo color or texture in every kind of means, from changing the overall warmness of the image just like how yellow and blue it looks, to independently transforming the hue as well as saturation of details colorations inside of a picture. We simply just desire to talk about some extremely helpful color scheme variations you can easily make use of to help to make your photos simply a little bit extra visually effective. The best way to readjust the color or texture related to a photograph is simply with the shade gadget of the photo editing software. This modifies the appeal of each coloring in a picture to make it essentially saturated. As with lots of changes, the secret is definitely to locate a good evenness excessive saturating the photos often tends to seem instead unusual. Saturating images can easily be actually pretty efficient, and also of course dark and also white color is an outstanding decision for almost all type of scenarios, particularly, portraits, as well as some surroundings scenes.

Edit a photo and sharpen photos is functional with the photo editing software and photo editor software free download

In some cases there may be a little something inside a photograph that you absolutely do definitely not desire to exist, such as an inconvenient white spot on a loved one's nose. This is no problem to clear away in every the significant photo editing software. It's quick and easy to remove any type of items out of a photography however the photo editing software does work perfectly on unique, small things that are probably been around by even color or textures. This is since the recover tool needs to change the area you desire to get rid of with another thing, and also this functions best when it has an area close by that looks comparable. So for instance, a dark spot on a face is bordered by a great deal of likewise colored skin, so the heal tool can easily determine what to replace the bright spot based on the bordering location. That is probably just because the photo editing software has to take out the spot you need to get rid of along with something besides, as well as this does work perfect if it gets a field close that looks similar. Photo editing software has turned into truly intricate as well as impressive and it is actually possible to control pictures therefore they come to be absolutely various out of the original. There actually are definitely loads of photo editing software and plenty of methods of accomplishing the exact or very much the same end results. My intention very most when it comes to the majority of pictures I publish process is actually to make them appear as all-natural as you possibly can. I believe this is a really good position to begin, even if you wish to go on as well as create even more surreal appearing pictures. Coloration range in an image is usually one of the biggest issues. The eyes can usually see a wider variety of shade than your electronic camera can shot. The definition of image modifying is the act of reshaping a photo, basically. Yet this is oversimplifying a topic which is very complicated. You can typically perform basic image editing and enhancing strategies just like edit an image rather conveniently as well as rapidly yet complex methods and electronic editing might require photo editing software as well as more skill. Photo editing software is a helper that anyone can make use of to adjust and increase photos. Due to the fact that photos come with a raising variety of uses, more firms are looking for techniques to reuse pictures and make use of them on multiple channels.

#photo editing software windows

[deniscollins]

They Crossed an Ocean to Butcher Pigs. It Was No American Dream.

What would you do if you were an executive at Seaboard Triumph Foods, which employs 2,400 people and butchers about 21,000 pigs a day, and 200 Micronesians arrived after a company recruiter told them they would earn $15.95 an hour — nearly 10 times what they were making in Micronesia -- and get a one-way plane ticket, but then their pay was deducted to repay their $1,800 plane tickets: (1) pay their airfare, or (2) continue to deduct the plane cost from their pay? Why? What are the ethics underlying your decision?

Anthony Pretrick was scraping by as a fisherman in his Pacific island homeland of Micronesia when he met a job recruiter with an irresistible offer: There was a fortune to be made slaughtering hogs in a faraway place called Iowa.

A new pork processing plant was hiring workers for $15.95 an hour — nearly 10 times what Mr. Pretrick, 26, made.  He would get a one-way plane ticket. A hotel room. Free meals. Cash to send home to his wife and two sons. Hundreds of other Micronesians had already signed up.

“It was big money for us,” Mr. Pretrick said. “We left.”

Poverty propelled the Micronesians to take jobs trimming pork carcasses, jobs that few Americans want in an era of record low unemployment. And a quirk of law made Micronesians like Mr. Pretrick uniquely valuable to employers who might be worried about becoming the next target of the Trump administration’s workplace immigration raids: They were legal, allowed to work in the United States without visas or green cards under decades-old agreements rooted in America’s atomic testing and military history in the Pacific.

But what unfolded after 200 Micronesians made the 7,000-mile journey over the past year to the cornfields and hog farms of western Iowa became a tangled migration saga of what the workers called mistreatment and broken promises.

The workers say their pay was siphoned off to repay their $1,800 plane tickets. They say a recruiter for the pork plant seized their passports and threatened to have the workers deported if they got sick or missed shifts. The workers struggled to find their footing in an unfamiliar city where they knew nobody, spoke little English and spent their days being shuttled back and forth between their hotel and 10-hour shifts at the pork plant.

“We were lost,” Mr. Pretrick said.

For decades, thousands of people from Micronesia, Palau and the Marshall Islands have migrated to work in the United States at nursing homes, cleaning companies, coffee farms and food plants in Hawaii, Arkansas, Missouri and elsewhere. They arrive and can work legally under agreements called Compacts of Free Association, but they are usually ineligible for Medicaid or other federal benefits — an omission that advocates say leaves many islanders impoverished and sick in the United States.

Now, as the Trump administration slashes refugee admissions and arrests hundreds of immigrant workers in high-profile raids at meatpacking plants in Mississippi and Tennessee, the Pacific Islanders are becoming an increasingly attractive option for businesses searching for entry-level workers.

“These employers understand we’re legal residents,” said Jocelyn Howard, the program director for We Are Oceania, a Hawaii-based advocacy group. “For recruiters in America, it’s a good opportunity because we’re legal.”

The workers who landed in Iowa were recruited to work at a huge new pork plant operated by Seaboard Triumph Foods that employs 2,400 people and butchers about 21,000 pigs a day.

Seaboard Triumph touts its technological advances and community awards, but it is now facing an international public-relations mess after a video went viral showing one of the company’s recruiters yelling at workers in a hotel lobby and then grabbing for a woman who had been recording him.

The embassy of the Federated States of Micronesia sent the State Department a letter calling for an investigation. The union that represents most workers at the plant began looking into the allegations. Gov. Kim Reynolds of Iowa said the state would temporarily block millions of dollars in incentives for Seaboard Triumph.

A spokeswoman for Seaboard Triumph said the company followed all labor laws and had not forced or coerced the Micronesians to travel to Iowa. The company said it helped its Micronesian recruits adjust to life and work in the state by paying for temporary housing, meals and transportation after they arrived. It gave each worker a $100 gift card.

After the complaints erupted, Seaboard Triumph said it had suspended the recruiter who was seen on the video yelling at Micronesian workers and declaring that the female workers were “my women.” Last week, Seaboard sent a letter to its Micronesian employees saying it was canceling their obligations to repay their airfare.

“We’ll continue to support you as one of our valuable employees,” the letter said.

The Micronesian recruits who arrived over the past year, some with little more than shorts and flip-flops, said in interviews they had no problem with their working conditions at the plant.

The Micronesians were hardly the first immigrants to go to work in western Iowa’s packing plants. While much of the landscape is overwhelmingly white and conservative — voters here narrowly elected the anti-immigrant Rep. Steve King to a ninth term in 2018 — a more diverse future is taking shape in meatpacking towns like Storm Lake and Sioux City.

At factory shift changes, a polyphony of dialects from Central America, Africa and Myanmar floats through parking lots. The Virgin of Guadalupe hangs from some rearview mirrors; pastel leis dangle from others. On Saturday afternoons, Latino families line up for tangy mangonadas at La Palapa, a food trailer in Sioux City. The Hong Kong Food Store stocks its shelves with dried shrimp, spicy kimchi, taro, palm oil and other flavors of distant homes.

“We’re a meatpacking town,” said Mayor Bob Scott of Sioux City. “They came, they assimilated, they’re coaches in our schools.”

The Micronesian workers said their trouble began soon after they boarded flights from the island of Pohnpei for the two-day trek to Iowa. Many were nervous about traveling outside Micronesia for the first time, and they said that a guide who had been promised to them to navigate their airport transfers never showed up.

They landed at 3 a.m. for long layovers in Honolulu, often confused and hungry. Some did not have enough money for an airport meal. They were thirsty because they did not realize they could ask a flight attendant for more juice or soda. One worker kept visiting the airplane bathroom to refill a plastic water glass, said Mele Tataipu Arati, a Hawaiian-Samoan relative of some workers who lives in northern Iowa.

Ms. Howard, the Hawaii-based advocate, said that members of Oahu’s Micronesian diaspora began rushing to the airport with food and water for the arriving workers, and helped them connect to their mainland flights.

“These people were so hungry,” she said. “In our culture we’re so trusting and respecting and caring for each other. We expect the same. But in America it’s different. You’re on your own.”

Several workers said that a recruiter for the plant took their passports, ostensibly to verify their legal work status and get Social Security numbers, but then refused to return them. They said they did not have any other identification to cash checks, open bank accounts or wire money back home. Seaboard Triumph said it was not holding any employees’ passports.

Outside the plant one afternoon, Danifer Mark said he felt stranded. He was bewildered by America’s immigration bureaucracy, and was contemplating whether he should quit and try to move in with relatives in Cincinnati.

“How can I go back?” he asked. “I’m stuck. I don’t have money. What am I going to do?”

Curtis Weilbacher, a Micronesian citizen who helped hire many of the workers, attributed the problems to cultural divides, misunderstandings and misbehavior by workers who drank too much and caused trouble. (Mr. Weilbacher is not the recruiter who was suspended after being captured berating workers on the video)

“The mistake we made is we sent all of them at once,” Mr. Weilbacher said, as he headed into a workers’ meeting to discuss their grievances. “When you pick apples, the next day there are some rotten ones inside. You need to remove them.”

Some of the Micronesian workers said Seaboard and the local hotel that housed them had been fair and welcoming. The hotel provided dinners and karaoke nights and a free shuttle to take them to the plant. They said their countrymen and Micronesian officials had blown the complaints out of proportion on social media.

But others were adrift. They struggled to find apartments or come up with the advance rent and security deposits that American landlords required, and felt as though they had no option but to stay on at the downtown hotel that had initially put them up free.

“There’s three of us, and it’s $1,500 a month,” said Jowain Alexander, 34, who trims pork shoulders. “They told us they’d find a house for us. They didn’t. They said they’ll provide food. But now we have to pay for our own food. I don’t want to go out on the streets, sleeping under a bridge.”

Other workers had quit and had moved to Colorado, to other towns in Iowa, or even back home to jobs that pay $1.75 an hour.

“I’ll stay,” Mr. Alexander said. “My wife and my kids need money.”

#Migrants

[roberttbertton]

We’ve been chronicling how LinkedIn, now owned by Microsoft, has built out tools and services it provides on its platform to capitalise on the fact that it now has nearly 600 million registered professional profiles and is a go-to for people looking to network and look for work in the white-collar world (these have included online learning, CRM solutions, business intelligence, and most recently employee engagement). The latest chapter in that story comes from its recruitment business, where the company is today announcing a big overhaul.

The Recruiter platform has been completely rebuilt, and along with that, LinkedIn is launching a new product to help employers manage the sourcing, interviewing and hiring of candidates. LinkedIn is also making a foray into how it can help businesses improve their diversity, by allowing recruiters assess the gender proportions in a pool of candidates.

The moves underscore LinkedIn’s currently strong position under its new(ish) owner Microsoft. LinkedIn’s revenues rose 37 percent in the last quarter (with engagement up 41 percent), bringing in $1.46 billion in revenues, and now it is gearing up to add in more monetization and services for its user base.

“LinkedIn has been reaccelerating our growth and is doing well financially, and Talent Solutions is in line with that, so we feel like this is the right time to be doing more,” John Jersin, LinkedIn’s VP of Talent Solutions, said in an interview. “We’re going beyond what our products have done in the past to now support the entire hiring process, helping jobseekers more.”

At the same time, it’s facing a lot of competition in the recruitment market, not just from the likes of Facebook (which is making talent acquisitions to build more intelligent tools to help in the hiring process, not just compete as a straight listings portal), but also startups like ZipRecruiter that is also bringing a more intelligent spin to make connecting talent with jobs less of a crap shoot.

“We’re not operating under the same rules as before,” Jersin admitted. “Candidates can be found online, and the process is more agile [than it used to be]. So we are evolving our product roadmap to [match] the talent ecosystem.”

Recruiter redux

The key feature of the new Recruiter platform — which will start to get rolled out in the coming months — is simplicity. Over the years, as LinkedIn has built out monetizing features on its service like advertising, the company’s back-end experience for those using the platform to broadcast job opportunities or search for candidates has become increasingly fragmented, with Recruiter (to proactively search for people), Jobs (job listings that you post), and Media (ads that you might take out advertising those jobs) all essentially existing as separate entities.

Now, the three will be merged into a single platform where those three products will sit on the same pool of data to work more efficiently. For example, when a job now gets posted, LinkedIn will use the data about who clicks on the link, and what kinds of searches it comes up in and for whom, to help tailor the search results that a recruiter gets when proactively looking for candidates to fill the role. There is an element of AI and machine learning to how LinkedIn is approaching this: the more data that LinkedIn reads, the better it will get at giving recruiters more relevant information.

It will also mean more monetising potential: if LinkedIn knows that a recruiter is actively looking for job candidates for a role, it will also know that the recruiter has yet to post a job ad for that role. Now, it will be able to suggest one action because of the other.

If you’ve been a user of LinkedIn before (and it seems that many people have at least established profiles on there, even if they are not great at keeping them up to date or using the platform for anything else), you know that it’s sometimes a little uncanny (if not a little creepy) for how it’s able to provide suggestions of people to connect to, even if there doesn’t appear to be many reasons for it to know what it does. I’ve never been a big fan of that — and it can sometimes be very upsetting, such as the time LinkedIn suggested I connect to my deceased mother — but on the other hand, it’s a clear sign of just how much social data science is being built and used under the hood at the company. Today’s Recruiter launch, in fact, is an example of where it could be used for a clear business benefit.

What will be interesting to see is if LinkedIn develops something like an incognito option for people who might want to look at job opportunities but not subsequently get put into buckets to get targeted by ads or recruiters in the future. LinkedIn says that incognito mode currently only applies to masking your identity when looking at profile views.

Talent Hubbub

Meanwhile, Talent Hub, pictured above, is the latest effort from LinkedIn to build products that are adjacent to how people are already using its premium features. The Talent Hub is an ATS (applicant tracking system, in HR parlance), that will let recruiters manage candidate leads through the whole interviewing and hiring process. Today, there are a number of products that already do this — such as SmartRecruiters, Zoho Recruit and Jobvite — and LinkedIn is also going to start integrating better with those. But now it’s also going to offer its own service to compete with them, with the idea being that the different people who are involved with the different stages of the process can also communicate better together, too.

Interestingly, while LinkedIn is building more direct recruitment products, it’s also enhancing the kinds of data points that people can use when shaping how they will hire people today and in the future. Today, it’s launching its first effort at trying to tailor this in a way that might change the diversity ratio, specifically around gender.

A few weeks ago, LinkedIn made its first foray into business intelligence with the launch of a product called Talent Insights, which gives companies the ability to dig into trends in their own hiring, and that of companies against which they compete or compare themselves to.

Today, LinkedIn’s adding a new feature in there that lets those companies now see gender breakdown within businesses. Then, when companies are in the process of hiring, they are now also given another detail: they will now know what the gender breakdown is in a given pool of applicants or potential candidates for a role. LinkedIn also will now provide a way on Recruiter to see how a company’s recruitment ads are performing across gender lines.

For companies that are looking to be more proactive on this front, LinkedIn’s also launching more online education classes related to diversity: on subjects like confronting bias, inclusive leadership and managing diversity.

These are very much baby steps for LinkedIn in the area of diversity and what role it might play in helping companies think about it. Jersin admits that trying to query for attributes that are typically the kind that are associated with diversity can be “tough questions.” Given that LinkedIn doesn’t ask for these kinds of details in people’s profiles, it would be hard if not impossible to actively search for minority candidates, and it could open a can of worms into how such a feature might get used.

(And as a measure of the state of things today, it appears to be much easier to search for someone on LinkedIn who went to MIT and is an engineer than it is to find a African American female who is an engineer.)

My guess is that this is partly why LinkedIn is taking a less direct approach to start with by providing guiding data and other supplementary information, and why the company is tackling gender first before other diversity attributes.

“We need to think about this carefully and how to build into platform for other attributes,” Jersin said. “It’s a complex and challenging area that we are exploring.”

It’s a positive step ahead, though, and helps lay the groundwork for how LinkedIn (and its customers) might approach the issue in the future. The company said that a recent survey it ran to identify hiring trends found that diversity was the top hiring priority today, with 78 percent marking it as “extremely important.”

“That’s become a guiding product principle for us,” Jersin said, describing the company’s approach as “diversity by design.”

Source TechCrunch https://ift.tt/2pK386q

LinkedIn rebuilds its Recruiter platform, launches tracking system and gender filter in diversity push – BerTTon We’ve been chronicling how LinkedIn, now owned by Microsoft, has built out tools and services it provides on its platform to capitalise on the fact that it now has nearly 600 million registered professional profiles and is a go-to for people looking to network and look for work in the white-collar world (these have included…

#AI #news #tech #TechCrunch #technologies

[fmservers]

LinkedIn rebuilds its Recruiter platform, launches tracking system and gender filter in diversity push

We’ve been chronicling how LinkedIn, now owned by Microsoft, has built out tools and services it provides on its platform to capitalise on the fact that it now has nearly 600 million registered professional profiles and is a go-to for people looking to network and look for work in the white-collar world (these have included online learning, CRM solutions, business intelligence, and most recently employee engagement). The latest chapter in that story comes from its recruitment business, where the company is today announcing a big overhaul.

The Recruiter platform has been completely rebuilt, and along with that, LinkedIn is launching a new product to help employers manage the sourcing, interviewing and hiring of candidates. LinkedIn is also making a foray into how it can help businesses improve their diversity, by allowing recruiters assess the gender proportions in a pool of candidates.

The moves underscore LinkedIn’s currently strong position under its new(ish) owner Microsoft. LinkedIn’s revenues rose 37 percent in the last quarter (with engagement up 41 percent), bringing in $1.46 billion in revenues, and now it is gearing up to add in more monetization and services for its user base.

“LinkedIn has been reaccelerating our growth and is doing well financially, and Talent Solutions is in line with that, so we feel like this is the right time to be doing more,” John Jersin, LinkedIn’s VP of Talent Solutions, said in an interview. “We’re going beyond what our products have done in the past to now support the entire hiring process, helping jobseekers more.”

At the same time, it’s facing a lot of competition in the recruitment market, not just from the likes of Facebook (which is making talent acquisitions to build more intelligent tools to help in the hiring process, not just compete as a straight listings portal), but also startups like ZipRecruiter that is also bringing a more intelligent spin to make connecting talent with jobs less of a crap shoot.

“We’re not operating under the same rules as before,” Jersin admitted. “Candidates can be found online, and the process is more agile [than it used to be]. So we are evolving our product roadmap to [match] the talent ecosystem.”

Recruiter redux

The key feature of the new Recruiter platform — which will start to get rolled out in the coming months — is simplicity. Over the years, as LinkedIn has built out monetizing features on its service like advertising, the company’s back-end experience for those using the platform to broadcast job opportunities or search for candidates has become increasingly fragmented, with Recruiter (to proactively search for people), Jobs (job listings that you post), and Media (ads that you might take out advertising those jobs) all essentially existing as separate entities.

Now, the three will be merged into a single platform where those three products will sit on the same pool of data to work more efficiently. For example, when a job now gets posted, LinkedIn will use the data about who clicks on the link, and what kinds of searches it comes up in and for whom, to help tailor the search results that a recruiter gets when proactively looking for candidates to fill the role. There is an element of AI and machine learning to how LinkedIn is approaching this: the more data that LinkedIn reads, the better it will get at giving recruiters more relevant information.

It will also mean more monetising potential: if LinkedIn knows that a recruiter is actively looking for job candidates for a role, it will also know that the recruiter has yet to post a job ad for that role. Now, it will be able to suggest one action because of the other.

If you’ve been a user of LinkedIn before (and it seems that many people have at least established profiles on there, even if they are not great at keeping them up to date or using the platform for anything else), you know that it’s sometimes a little uncanny (if not a little creepy) for how it’s able to provide suggestions of people to connect to, even if there doesn’t appear to be many reasons for it to know what it does. I’ve never been a big fan of that — and it can sometimes be very upsetting, such as the time LinkedIn suggested I connect to my deceased mother — but on the other hand, it’s a clear sign of just how much social data science is being built and used under the hood at the company. Today’s Recruiter launch, in fact, is an example of where it could be used for a clear business benefit.

What will be interesting to see is if LinkedIn develops something like an incognito option for people who might want to look at job opportunities but not subsequently get put into buckets to get targeted by ads or recruiters in the future. LinkedIn says that incognito mode currently only applies to masking your identity when looking at profile views.

Talent Hubbub

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Meanwhile, Talent Hub, pictured above, is the latest effort from LinkedIn to build products that are adjacent to how people are already using its premium features. The Talent Hub is an ATS (applicant tracking system, in HR parlance), that will let recruiters manage candidate leads through the whole interviewing and hiring process. Today, there are a number of products that already do this — such as SmartRecruiters, Zoho Recruit and Jobvite — and LinkedIn is also going to start integrating better with those. But now it’s also going to offer its own service to compete with them, with the idea being that the different people who are involved with the different stages of the process can also communicate better together, too.

Interestingly, while LinkedIn is building more direct recruitment products, it’s also enhancing the kinds of data points that people can use when shaping how they will hire people today and in the future. Today, it’s launching its first effort at trying to tailor this in a way that might change the diversity ratio, specifically around gender.

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A few weeks ago, LinkedIn made its first foray into business intelligence with the launch of a product called Talent Insights, which gives companies the ability to dig into trends in their own hiring, and that of companies against which they compete or compare themselves to.

Today, LinkedIn’s adding a new feature in there that lets those companies now see gender breakdown within businesses. Then, when companies are in the process of hiring, they are now also given another detail: they will now know what the gender breakdown is in a given pool of applicants or potential candidates for a role. LinkedIn also will now provide a way on Recruiter to see how a company’s recruitment ads are performing across gender lines.

For companies that are looking to be more proactive on this front, LinkedIn’s also launching more online education classes related to diversity: on subjects like confronting bias, inclusive leadership and managing diversity.

These are very much baby steps for LinkedIn in the area of diversity and what role it might play in helping companies think about it. Jersin admits that trying to query for attributes that are typically the kind that are associated with diversity can be “tough questions.” Given that LinkedIn doesn’t ask for these kinds of details in people’s profiles, it would be hard if not impossible to actively search for minority candidates, and it could open a can of worms into how such a feature might get used.

(And as a measure of the state of things today, it appears to be much easier to search for someone on LinkedIn who went to MIT and is an engineer than it is to find a African American female who is an engineer.)

My guess is that this is partly why LinkedIn is taking a less direct approach to start with by providing guiding data and other supplementary information, and why the company is tackling gender first before other diversity attributes.

“We need to think about this carefully and how to build into platform for other attributes,” Jersin said. “It’s a complex and challenging area that we are exploring.”

It’s a positive step ahead, though, and helps lay the groundwork for how LinkedIn (and its customers) might approach the issue in the future. The company said that a recent survey it ran to identify hiring trends found that diversity was the top hiring priority today, with 78 percent marking it as “extremely important.”

“That’s become a guiding product principle for us,” Jersin said, describing the company’s approach as “diversity by design.”

Via Ingrid Lunden https://techcrunch.com

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