Weekly Creativity Challenge #4: Queen's Edition

This is an experimental attempt at setting up a poll by Megan Gray4.
Luck is on my side; it’s a different era now, where one mistake won't cost you your head at the queen's palace. 🙂

hiddenmarlin14
The Queen and the Politicians

She’s retired now. She used to be the terror of the music department—the long-time head boss. A short woman with messy, indeterminate gray hair and eyes that flashed like a cornered badger. She had a sharp nose tucked between two heavy cheeks and a smile—yes, a smile—but it was always cynical and condescending. Her figure was round, usually draped in nondescript shades of gray, looking as if she hadn't owned anything else besides basic t-shirts and pants. Just plain tees, long or short sleeve depending on the season, paired with loose, elastic-waist trousers, all in gray, worn on a frame that was easier to overlook than to navigate. Yet, despite everything, she had long, elegant, slender fingers.
That year marked the 50th anniversary of a major department at the university. It was also the year the guys in Congress tied up some "austerity packages," hinting that this very department was on the chopping block. There were student protests, chaos, the whole works.
What sticks in my mind is the concert held for that aforementioned anniversary. We were working on a massive project, and I was singing in the choir assembled specifically for the celebration.

The hall was packed; every seat was taken. The front row was reserved for certain politicians who, by some stroke of luck, decided it was vital to pay their respects to the academy—presumably to show everyone they actually care about culture and musical heritage.

The concert began. After the first choral piece, we singers remained standing on stage. One of those high-ranking politicians climbed up to a small lectern with a microphone and started his speech. After maybe two or three sentences, a small procession entered from the other side of the stage. They walked slowly, heads bowed, carrying wreaths and a casket. That little professor was among them. There was a stir in the audience; I don't recall how the speaker reacted. They placed the casket in the center of the stage with wreaths on either side. On the casket, the department's name, founding year, and the current year were inscribed. Once everything was set, people approached the casket one by one, pausing to bow their heads as if it were a literal funeral. The politicians sat in the front row with their backs to it.
Finally, the professor approached the casket. She removed her small black hat and bowed so low her head nearly touched the floor.

The politicians were right behind her. As she bowed toward the casket, she simultaneously turned and showed them her ample backside, which was, for once, clad in wide black trousers.

From that day on, she wasn't just someone to fear. She became someone worthy of admiration.

The Queen.

Louise Hay
A queen without a crown
Hair full of tuna
Not even a single scrap left
Cooking cornmeal for the kids
Stains on my shirt
My nerves are frayed
The baby won't sleep
I feel like a total wreck
And then you show up
Telling me I look beautiful
That even the tuna smell doesn't bother you
And that I'm the queen of your world

Grace Sanders24
The queen of the sidewalk.

Wom Cat
Then there's me, the Ice Queen 🙂.

Megan Gray4
A sweet tale of bees and Game of Thrones

Without bees, we’d struggle to enjoy much fruit at all. This tiny insect is responsible for pollinating most crops, and we wouldn't even know honey if it hit us, thanks to industrious worker bees producing it for 150 million years. An average bee produces about 1/12 of a teaspoon of honey in its lifetime, visiting 50 to 100 flowers during a single flight. 🙏🙏
In a kingdom called the beehive, a worker bee begins life as an unfertilized egg from Her Majesty, the Queen Matrix. Workers lack developed reproductive organs due to restricted nutrition, yet their sesame-sized brains possess remarkable learning and memory capabilities:
Aged 1 to 2 days: They spend their time cleaning the royal chambers, starting with the one where they were born. 🙂
Aged 3 to 5 days: They feed the older princesses.
Aged 6 to 11 days: They feed the younger princesses.
Aged 12 to 17 days: They produce wax, build honeycombs, carry food, and handle funerary duties. 🙂
Aged 18 to 21 days: They guard the entrance to the beehive, protecting it from intruders. 🙂
From day 22 until death (40–45 days): They collect nectar, pollen, and water, while pollinating... 🎉🎉

Every bee in the colony possesses a unique scent so members can identify one another, communicating through a "honey dance" known throughout the beehive kingdom. ;rock:
It is worth noting that drones hatch from unfertilized eggs. They do no work and possess no stingers; their sole purpose is to court the Queen Matrix. 🙂 The peak of this courtship is fertilizing the Queen, after which their lives end immediately following that moment of glory.
Things get intense on the throne if the old Queen dies or if the kingdom becomes overcrowded and needs to establish new colonies. Interestingly, the Queen Matrix then lays fertilized eggs in twenty wax "royal" cradles. Young bees feed the princesses specialized, rich creamy food, while the mother Queen stays on a diet. Soon, once the first princess grows large enough and dons her wax gown, the mother leaves the kingdom with her ladies-in-waiting and a scout party preparing a new hexagonal empire. The exit for the Queen is elegantly narrow; since she is far larger than her subjects, she must stay incredibly fit to squeeze out of the old palace and into the new one. Once the princess in the wax gown leaves her cradle, she must play a brutal game of thrones. To become Queen, she faces a choice: eliminate the remaining princesses still in their cradles, or lead a small swarm of subjects to start a new colony. If she chooses to leave, the next princess must make the same decision... and so it goes until one decides to stay and kill off the other potential queens.

Epilogue: Why do bees have a Queen?
If they had a government and ministers, there would be no honey left; every kingdom would be looted.
https://i.postimg.cc/prWZr7wk/2021-03-18.jpg

driftingmarlin44
Regarding the bees: three guys I know—let’s call them X, Y, and Z—all keep hives. Every single time I attempt anything, one bee shows up. It’s always just one. Then I call X, saying, "Hey, a bee escaped, come grab it before something happens." But no, the idiot claims it isn't his; it belongs to Y. So I call Y. "Here, a bee is right by me." Again, he swears it's X's. If X says it's yours, then it must be Z's. I can't even bother calling Z because his wife loses her mind, screaming about how that lunatic is calling again over some damn bee.
As for the Queen, people claim the grass is always greener on the other side. Since I didn't grow up in the Midwest, it seems to me this tiny little garden of ours is already crowded enough with Queens. Personally, I don't care about anyone else's yard, nor am I interested in what kind of Queens they have. They should probably worry about checking out ours first.

man..who’s actually gonna want to hang out with Megan Gray4 now that she’s mastered the art of running polls..one vote goes to Louise Hay..there’s just something about that "little song" that hits different..makes you feel weirdly comforted, even if you already have someone to lean on...another vote goes to hiddenmarlin14, but let’s be real, she knows she’s too good for this, so she’s walking away empty-handed...the final vote goes to Maria Wright62 simply because that's just how the world works and how it's supposed to be...

Voted 🍿

Napy & Lu 😁

It seems there's a sharp divide between the tuna industry and politicians 🎉
I've set up a poll through Wednesday and I’m thinking about nudging the local coffee shop regulars to cast their votes.
Miaana and Ruby, lend me a hand here 🙂

Megan Gray4 said:Looks like there’s some serious friction brewing between the tuna fans and the politicians. 🎉
I’ve got this poll running until Wednesday, and I’m honestly thinking about bugging the local coffee shop regulars to go cast their votes.
Miaana and Ruby, I need some backup here. 🙂

Honestly, this feels totally unnecessary. In my opinion, it should just be the artists voting while everyone else stays on the sidelines—not to mention the typical low-brow forum crowd shouldn't even be involved, since they probably wouldn't get it anyway. ☕

I suppose my only option left is to pinch them on the shoulder and snap a photo just to force a vote. I might as well throw some more fuel on the fire and stir up this entire art forum 😁
Now that driftingmarlin44 has swooped in with that theory about how my meadow is the most beautiful, bathed in golden sunlight and blooming with the finest colors... what on earth are we supposed to do with these artistic hybrids now? 🤦

Megan Gray4, chill out. There’s no need to push this. What's the point? I have my reasons for staying off those task boards and why I view photography as a form of art. ☕

One person’s just had a baby and is getting all the sympathy, while I’m over here with a massive headache... basically my life story lol... just kidding... thanks Louise, thanks Maria Wright62... anyone can join in, so I guess anyone can vote too... the thread is just chilling on its own and honestly, it doesn't need any hype... people are clearly reading it anyway, and since there isn't any weird voting drama, it’s fine... everyone from the main boards is being totally chill...

Grace Sanders24 said:Megan Gray4, calm down. There's no need to promote this. What's the point? I have my reasons for staying away from assignments and why I consider photography to be quasi-art. ☕

Are you sure about that? Because they could easily just do artistic portraits based on a specific theme and let some panel of pro photographers judge us.
😁

We women just understand one another 🎉 and we’re quite good at pretending we don't have a clue what guys are thinking 😁

Go to hell, all of you 🤦

Alright, here's my suggestion: let's have Luz decide the topic 🙂 I'm passing the torch 🥳

yeah... like a penalty being a reward... damn, that's just how it goes... how do you even make up for it... maybe with a kiss?