3 Things I'd Like to See In Worldbuilding More: Architecture
Jaali
[Image Description. Three geometrically patterns Jaali windows. The central one has a open window in the middle of it. End ID.]
Jaali, or the jali are latticed screens, decorations, and windows that are a well known facet of Indian architecture, and found in Indo-Islamic architecture in general.
They have prominent detailed geometric patterns, sometimes with natural influences, and details with calligraphy. Jaali are beautiful, and come in so many shapes and sizes that simply describing them isn't enough to get a good picture of the thousands of designs and forms jaali take.
Jaali provide shade, privacy, and passive ventilation. They minimize sunlight and rain coming in, and the holes, through the venturi effect, cool the air coming through, and allow proper airflow out as well. Since the holes are about the same width and size as the structure of the jaali they are also sturdy and structurally sound.
Jaali aren't always open either. They can be used as ornate detailing, and can have religious and cultural connections, much like how the real world jaali were important to various faiths, including Islam, Buddhism, Jainism, and Hinduism.
I'm personally just a huge fan of their soft lighting.
Jali from the Tomb of Salim Chishti
Tree based Jali from the Sidi Saiyyed Mosque in Ahmedebad
Jali from the Red Fort in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
Non-Western Architectural Terracotta
[Image Description. The Latta Mosque in Nazir Khani, India. It's bricks and terracotta are a vibrant and aged orange color. The outside is detailed with calligraphy, carvings, and layers. Modern glass windows replace where once ancient windows sat. End ID.]
Terracotta is a staple of the world. Many could recognize it's use in architecture, especially in the west, such as in the Bell Edison Telephone Building of Birmingham, England, or the Natural History Museum in London.
To this day terracotta continues to be used worldwide in various projects from decor, dishware, and still, construction. But why?
Terracotta is any mix of clay and water. Due to how clay forms it can be found everywhere in the world, most people probably live near a clay deposit and have no idea. It's so malleable when wet that it makes easy sculpting and constructing material, and when mixed with water then dried/heated, it provides strong brick. It's use goes back to ancient times in cultures of all sorts.
[Image Description. African-American and Italian clay miners circa 1910. End ID.]
It also provides unique colors, even when unglazed.
Since Terracotta is so widespread, seeing its use from nation to nation reveals little artistic touches from culture to culture. From the giant terracotta house of Mexico, to the curling columns of Greece, and the sun-dried clay of African villages. There's so much to explore in clay architecture worldwide, but I wish would see more of it that wasn't based on Western cathedrals, Greek city halls, or Post-Modern brick buildings.
Terracotta Casa by Octavio Mendoza, in Villa de Leyva, Mexico
Yurts, tipis, and other traditional tents and portable dwellings
[Image Description. A red wooden frame of an Bentwood style Yurt used by the Karakalpak in Uzbekistan. It has short wooden double-doors, and the side is designed with weaving wooden slits. It has a clay platform as its foundations. End ID.]
Many indigenous groups around the world rely on a some form of lodging tent as their shelter from the elements, especially those that are nomadic, and live in large plains and steppes. In each of these kind of tents we see are unique in their own shape and features.
I'm tired of people (white people especially) pretending that nomadic lifestyles, and tents in general are some kind of torturous way to live, meanwhile trailers are okay though? No it's not everyone preference, but the utility of lodging tents is far underplayed.
Take for instance the tipi, a lodging tent used among various Native American tribes (and incorrectly stereotyped to be used by all Native Americans ever). Tipis are sturdy! And especially practical for nomadic peoples, as it's easy to pack up and then rebuild somewhere else. They fair against the rain, are cool for the summer, and stay warm enough for the winter.
Tents tend to also mean camps. While mansions, and palaces can serve for one large family to all hole up in, tents well serve a community-based culture, with families and communities gathering in encampments instead.
Anyway you're nomads should actually be nomads by the way
Sioux Style tipis that have been modernized for events and rentings
I mean like I ship Lawrusso but if they wanted THAT much to make Daniel and Johnny straight in Cobra Kai, Kumiko and Ali are RIGHT THERE. Sorry for everyone who ship Damanda or Jarmen, but I never saw the chemistry, I don't see the chemistry, and I never will. Like everytime there were romantic scenes between them I was thinking the whole time "Can we get onto more important things? Like karate? Pleaseee?" because I couldn't stand them. (Still can't)
First, I'm going to analyze (a little) Jarmen. We all know how was Johnny in Karate Kid, but we also know how he "changed" in Cobra Kai (yeah, sometimes there was null character development but at the end his rivalry with Daniel ended so I consider that character growth). And I'm pretty sure that it wasn't Carmen who changed him. It was Miguel, it was Robby, it was Daniel. Honestly, if Carmen didn't have a romance with him, do you think he wouldn't have changed??? The show was mostly about his relationship with Daniel and what happened since he lost the tournament. You can get Carmen out of the picture and it wouldn't have changed many things about the show. But with Ali in the picture? Oh, she would have make him want to be a better person (because Ali wouldn't date a "bad" version of him, she would only date him again if he proved he was worthy of dating her again). Besides, Ali (unlike Carmen) has a strong personality, she would have challenged him, he couldn't have been a passive love interest, and she would have confronted him about being a bad father to Robby (making him ALSO start to be a good father to his son). And apart from everything I've said, Ali knew Johnny since he was a teenager, so she knows him better than Carmen, and although their relationship didn't work in 1984, it could have bloom thirty years later with a little effort from both sides (mostly Johnny).
Now onto Darmanda. Unlike Danali, Damiko or Jarmen, we didn't see how Daniel and Amanda changed from being friends to become a couple (and later a marriage) and that, since the beginning, made me feel like something was missing. We saw how Daniel fell in love with Ali and how Daniel fell in love with Kumiko, but we didn't get to see that with Daniel and Amanda, making the ship lack the development that could have sold the ship to some of us. About their personalities: Unlike Carmen, Amanda had a strong personality (like Ali) which maybe could have made Damanda work in one of the movies of Karate Kid. But in Cobra Kai, Daniel didn't need someone challenging, someone defiant like Amanda. He didn't need someone confronting him about his rivalry with Johnny, Kreese or Terry, someone telling him that he was overreacting, or someone who didn't understand (or didn't try to understand) the trauma those rivalries caused to him. Daniel needed someone who didn't pressure him any further, who understood him and comforted him instead of saying that he needed to "let go of their karate rivalries". And Kumiko is a perfect love interest for him because of that. We all know how healthy was Damiko's dynamic in Karate Kid II, and Daniel needed that healthiness in Cobra Kai (at the beginning he could have dated Amanda, but later he could have divorced her and date Kumiko instead).
And thirdly, Mike and his wife. We don't know so many things about her wife, not even her appearance, and although I don't dislike this ship (unlike Jarmen or Damanda) because we didn't even see how their dynamic was, I still think there's a better option of a love interest for Mike than her. Since Mike changed after what happened in 1985 and became a better person, he could have started a relationship with Jessica Andrews. Their relationship in 1985 was a little bad because of what Mike did, but if Jessica saw Mike's change, she could have given him another chance. They could have started as friends who tried to find a common ground, and later they could have become a couple. Besides, if Mike dated Jessica, she could have stopped him from confronting Daniel when Terry burned Mike's furniture store (he could still have the furniture store, but maybe for different reasons than in the canon).
In conclusion: I think Daniel and Johnny's canon pairings in Cobra Kai were terrible and Damiko and Jali are better options.
(AO3 Link - Yes, yes, I'm very behind. In this one, Tali gets a strange visitor. Necessary context: This is an AU in which the quarians didn't create the geth and never left Rannoch. The First Contact War/Relay 314 Incident is happening, unbeknownst to the rest of the galaxy.)
Tali was just getting cozy on her couch with a cup of tea and a new asari rom-com when a crash sounded outside her back window. She bolted upright and turned around, brow furrowing. It was too loud to be some kid playing with a drone, and besides, she didn’t have any close neighbors. So what could it be?
She set her tea down and headed for the back door, not even thinking to grab her face scarf, and what she saw when she stepped outside made her stop short.
It was a ship - that much was clear. A small one, likely only meant to hold a pilot and maybe a little cargo, but she didn’t recognize the design as belonging to any race in the Milky Way. Tali wondered for a moment if she should call someone (who, she had no clue), but the thought that whoever was piloting that ship could be injured propelled her forward.
(After a couple of steps, she backtracked and grabbed her shotgun.)
When she was standing alongside the ship, she hesitated, uncertain what the right move was. The viewport was tinted, but she thought she could see a figure moving inside. She searched for some kind of latch she could open, but generally ships weren’t meant to be manually opened from the outside. In the end, feeling more than a little awkward, she knocked on the hatch. “Hello? Do you… need help?”
A few moments passed, then Tali jumped back as the hatch opened with a hiss, revealing an alien she’d never seen before. They were bulky, not quite like a krogan but more so than any quarian she knew. Brown skin and dark… fur? On their head, thicker down the middle. They were wearing navy blue armor, which may have added to their bulk, but she didn’t suspect it was by much. Their facial features reminded her of an asari, though a bit rougher.
As she finished her quick survey of the alien, she realized they were talking to her. She couldn’t understand a word they said, but she did recognize their hands above their head in a universal gesture of surrender and the way their eyes focused on her shotgun. In her shock, she’d forgotten she was holding it. Smart. If they meant her harm, she’d probably be dead right now.
The thought actually comforted her a little. As first contact situations went, this could be worse.
“Are you hurt?” she asked before immediately feeling silly. If she couldn’t understand them, odds were they couldn’t understand her either.
Taking a chance, she held her gun with one hand and pointed it at the ground, holding out her free hand in greeting.
Their facial expression changed into what would’ve been a smile on an asari, and they spoke again, grasping her hand instead of her forearm - well, close enough, she figured.
“Are you-“ she started again, then stopped and tried to think of another way to communicate her question. Before she had the chance, the alien winced and reached for their side. It was only then that she noticed the small bits of shrapnel sticking out of their armor and the dark stain surrounding them. "Oh," she gasped. "You need medi-gel." Before she could think better of it, she made a beckoning motion and pointed at her house, inviting them inside. "Come on, then."
Here it is! Kind of impressed with myself with how quickly I was able to make this one. It turned out pretty well, and I’m just really proud of the whole concept. This is such a fun song for him I’m surprised this hasn’t been done before lol. Not saying that I’m gonna make it but the sequel to this one is Cobra Kai Johnny and This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things. TKK!Johnny in his Speak Now era and CK!Johnny in his Reputation era.
Youtube turned off the comments so please leave all your praise here!
