#i wanted to give her an outfit that just represents her … normally i guess? idk

[jellykinss]

forgot to post this yesterday !,, but !!!!! jelly has a new outfit again !!!!! yay !!!!!!!!

[chilly-me-softly]

One with DCL where you're a football player for Man U womens team and you've never met Dom but there's a few fan pages of you two and there's a new event called idk the Prem Get Together or something which is basically like the met gala where all the premier league footballers (men/women) dress up and go and they do something like prom king and queen type of thing and call it Prem King and Queen where they have a vote for best dressed and you're chosen Prem Queen while he's chosen Prem King and the footballers that know of the fan accounts that ship you two, all call it fate and what not and he asks you out at the end of the event.

This is a really odd one that I just came up with and I love it, I might just write something like this myself but I'd actually like to see how you go about it as well. But if you don't want to because I'm planning to write something along the lines too, then trust me I totally get it, no hard feelings :)))) Xx

I absolutely loved the idea, I am not that good with descriptions and this request perhaps needed it more than anything else. But absolutely can't wait to read yours too, tag me in it if you haven't already written it x

-

Prem Get Together is the most anticipated event of the year, perhaps even more so than the weekly games. The excitement is in the air from the start of the week, everyone starts talking about it, wondering if the level of the year before will ever be topped or how the various players will perform. There are a lot of people within the football world who want to express themselves without being judged, and that event is the best opportunity. You personally can't wait, to see the reaction to your outfit or to hear the ideas behind other people's outfits or to laugh at some people's choices.

The red carpet is there for you, you walk proudly with your gaze high until you turn to the photographers and let them take as many pictures as they want. It's also their time not to hide behind bushes to get pictures of the footballer of the moment. You smile at everyone, stopping for a short interview, before entering the hall and starting to wander around to look at the competition. There were people who were certainly more excited than others, others who simply enjoyed having a different evening. And then there would be the proclamation of the king and queen of the event, whoever had thought of that event had made sure that everyone put a little effort into the competition.

"Oh my god you look fabulous!" you turn around smiling finding yourself in front of Tom Davies and Dominic Calvert-Lewin, the former has an excited look on his face and can't keep his eyes still studying every little detail of your outfit. It's a well-known fact that the two are passionate about fashion and this is reflected in their choice of clothes, which you can see they've put a lot of work into. Dom in particular strikes you, it may be simple but the simplicity strikes in an unexpected and unique way. You seem to have found who to vote for in the male audience.

"You guys are great too. It's almost a shame I can only vote for one of you two."

"Oh no vote Dom please, I just came for the art part"

"I can see that" you giggle bringing the glass in your hands to your lips. Tom sees one of their friends and drags Dom away unceremoniously, the boy turning quickly to give you a nod before disappearing into the crowd.

You approach a few of your teammates and together you gossip a bit about the boys, some of them not really applying themselves and some just wearing heavy makeup or dressing up like it was a simple Halloween party. But at least they tried.

Together you go to the voting booths and wait for the line to proceed so you can cast your vote. You never vote for yourself and you found a female costume that you liked, even if it belongs to a city player you make the cross next to her name. For the men's outfit you didn't have so many problems. Satisfied you go back to the common room where you enjoy the rest of the evening chatting and waiting for the proclamation.

The hosts of the evening are the king and queen of the previous year, who can change clothes for the award ceremony and in fact as they come on stage you notice that they have changed into their classic ceremonial clothes.

"Are you ready to find out the king and queen of Prem night?" the boy shouts and a round of applause and booing is heard loudly soon after.

"The wait is almost over, in this envelope we have the names of the winners"

"C'mooon!" shouts someone in the crowd raising a few laughs, you're nervous and you don't even know why. It's not like you're aiming for victory, you're already quite satisfied with the criticism you received for your outfit.

"Okay ladies first" the girl opens the envelope and nods finding herself clearly in agreement, "The Queen of the Prem is..." it feels like the last day of competitions where the games are all played at the same time and no one knows until the end. It's a strong, exciting feeling but you don't want to feel it on a daily basis.

Then you hear your name and a spotlight shines on you and the applause and whistles start up as you make your way incredulously towards the stage, with all those eyes on you and the crown and everything you feel a bit uncomfortable and you don't know what to say honestly but you try to act normal, thanking and waiting for the king to be proclaimed.

Shortly after you are joined on stage by Dominic and you find yourself agreeing with the popular choice, a wide smile greets him on stage from you. Even on his face there is some slight embarrassment as he tries to hold the crown balanced on the curly hair he has decided to keep natural for the evening and thanks his friend for representing the idea they had one night in the best possible way.

"Well our work here is done. We leave you with tonight's winners and next year's hosts, ladies and gentlemen the king and queen of the Prem!" you are immediately blinded by the flashes of reporters wanting as many pictures as possible of the two of you together and then alone and then together again.

"I voted for you" you murmur as they continue to take pictures, turning slightly towards Dom to see he's smiling at you.

"Me too" he murmurs, "I was so happy to see that you had won"

"Me too in sharing this with you" your friends don't miss a chance to congratulate you on your win and take a closer look at that crown, curious to see if it's cheap jewelry or what. Inevitably you walk away with your groups, but all it takes is for your gaze to briefly fall towards him to apologize to the girls to bring you closer to him again.

"Hey king, it's been a pleasure. I guess we'll see you again next year"

"Or we could start preparing as early as tonight" he says boldly, "maybe over coffee?" and you find yourself nodding accepting his offer, starting your journey that will take your complicity through the roof at the next edition of Prem Get Together.

[misstrashchan]

Top 3 RWBY ships & your favorite moments for each!!!

AH IT'S YOU!

And... Just three? Really? Uh, well, I guess I'll start with my first OTP I had watching the show when I was 13 that I still have a soft spot for...

1. Ladybug (Ruby/Blake)

Blame Madoka Magica, but I'm drawn to the dark haired, aloof and cool mysterious girl having a soft spot and looking out for the clumsy, optimistic and maybe a little naive girl trying to prove herself who happens to be the MC, and finding their own hope renewed in themself because of that relationship.

I mean there's just a lot of little moments when Blake is just so wholeheartedly the member who believes and trusts Ruby the most as a leader, like I know it's easy to overlook over the series but between "She's only two years younger, we're all just kids" in defence of Ruby when Weiss calls her just a kid, "She's our leader, she can take care of herself" in response to Yang worrying over Ruby, and "We'll follow your lead Ruby" to her before meeting Ironwood, and their initial meeting being Blake coming over and helping Ruby out when Weiss is giving her a hard time but then aprubtly leaving, it's just... I really love them, okay?

My favorite Ladybug moment is probably their talk in v8, because it's kind of a culmination of those little actions and words over the series that conveyed the nature of their relationship actually communicated, when Blake just lets Ruby know how much she looks up to and believes in her as a leader, and how greatful and moved you can see Ruby is to hear that when she's at a low point of doubting herself the most. (Even though that kind of faith is a double edged sword for her, but that's a Ruby meta analysis for another day)

And of course Ruby's soft chuckle and little "I could hear you" after getting up when Blake was pleading for Ruby to get up after getting knocked out, because they needed her, just melts my heart everytime I hear it.

2. Bumbleby (Yang/Blake)

I mean. It's Bumbleby! Ladybug may have been my first OTP but Bumbleby reigns supreme in my little heart since falling into it during v2 and fully committing to it after v3 and during v4. The slowburn, the pining, the angst, the comfort, the finding their way back to each other no matter how many times they seperate, the complimentary colour schemes, Beauty and the Beast, Ying and Yang, the way their narratives are intrinsically interwined with one another, THE SOFT FOREHEAD TOUCHES. God the list of reasons of Why Bumbleby is just neverending.

I mean, when I think good slowburn romance, I just immediately think Bumbleby.

Favourite moment? Geez. Idk. There's so many iconic bees moments it's hard to pick. Burning the Candle? I love it when you're feisty? Your bow goes great with your pajamas? Bees vs Adam? The Reunion? The Reunion 2.0 with forehead touches? (which are, in my humble opinion, far softer and more romantic than any kisses could be but that's just me)

But for all the angsty and dramatic moments, I really really like this series of small moments when Yang and Blake are getting ready to go dancing with FNKI in v7 the most. Yang trying to teach Blake how to dance and Weiss finding them to be an insufferable couple, Blake putting on mascara while Yang watches her lying on her bed with just the gayest little grin, Yang coming over and just so casually putting her hand on Blake's shoulders. It's just. It's my favorite just because of how casual it is. The two of them getting to relax and doing normal couple stuff. After everything these two have gone through they deserve that with each other, to enjoy those first highs of venturing into a romantic relationship. It's just the little moments, y'know?

3. Rosegarden (Ruby/Oscar)

So much about this ship just screams perfect slowburn material. How Ruby has consistently been the person who believes in Oscar as his own person, how Oscar is the first person we see get Ruby to open up to about her own fears,(and like, Ruby's really the only person Oscar has confided in like that over the series too) how throughout v7 Ruby worries over her decision to lie to Ironwood mainly because she knows it's something Oscar doesn't agree with and she doesn't want him to think less of her. The very circumstances that allowed them to meet; the war with Salem, Oscar merging with Oz, their shared burden that allows them to bond, is also exactly what would prevent them from ever having an actual relationship. It's just so... tragic when you really think about it and I LOVE that kind of shit.

RG to start with was more of an "enjoying how adorable Oscar's crush on Ruby was but believing it would ultimately be one sided" than actual "I Think This is Going to Be A Thing". And then the Dojo scene happened, which was this really revealing character moment for both of them in a way we hadn't seen either of them with anyone else, where they share their fears, and Oscar pushes Ruby to be more introspective and honest with her feelings at the start and at the end Ruby pushes Oscar to be braver and more confident in himself, which hits the core struggles of both their characters and I was like. Hm. Okay. Maybe there's more going on here. And the ship has kind of had my attention since then. (not my favorite RG moment though)

And then like, in v6 when Oscar gets his first huntsman outfit, and you can see that 1) His main colour is green, complimentary to Ruby's red, 2) His secondary colour is also Ruby's red 3) His accessories are the same as the ones Ruby has in her Mistral outfit, meaning he took direct inspiration from her and 4) As the cherry on top his whole outfit is a Very Obvious nod to him alluding to the Little Prince. And I was like Ah. This is A Thing Now. And then the series went on to have the subtle-as-a-brick-parallels with the Bees and visually pairing them with the Bees and I was like Ah. Yeah. We're definitely in it now.

Enough about that though. Favourite moment? Ruby handing Oscar back his cane. Not just the "You're your own person" Ruby says to reassure Oscar of his own individual identity, but what she does when she says it. Before that, when Oscar reaches to take the cane from Ruby who holds it out to him, he lingers there, asking "I'm just going to be another one of his lives, aren't I?" And right then and there Ruby and Oscar would be holding onto one another, except the cane is in between their hands. It's what connects them, but it's also what separates them. Because the cane represents Oscar's connection to Oz and his merging with him. And it's only because of Oz that Oscar met Ruby at all. But then when Ruby tells Oscar he's his own person, she puts her other hand on top of his. Asserting her own, unique connection to him. That still gets me.

[hobidreams]

Moonlit Throne historical clarifications/references

i want to accurately represent the history from the joseon era, but sometimes for the sake of story/ease of accessibility, things had to be minorly changed. the following is a list of creative choices/changes i make in the writing of Moonlit Throne, as well as further information about the history/culture that i’ve found through my own research 💓 i hope this can also provide some more context for those interested. this list is to be updated as the series progresses so i always recommend you read the latest drabble before checking for more info here for risk of spoilers. please correct me if i get any info wrong!!

for even more information about the world, check out the tag #moonlit history!

last updated: after drabble 43!

new information for the latest drabble will be under the moon.

king gwanghae - as mentioned in the line “gwanghae flow” & in the rest of the MV, Daechwita was inspired by this historical king & the movie about him. Moonlit Throne is not inspired by any king. any event that is similar is purely coincidental!

topknot - various sources state that only married men were allowed to wear their hair up, though this is often not the case in popular korean media. even though Yoongi is unmarried, i chose to pay homage to the daechwita MV & give him a topknot throughout the series. *** same goes for the blonde hair color!

months - traditionally, they followed the lunar calendar in the Joseon era. but i thought that that would be a bit difficult to explain for modern audiences so i am choosing to use the months/modern equivalents of dates.

yoongi’s scar - i am aware that Scarlet Heart Ryeo depicts the facial scar as a reason that someone could not become king. i haven’t found much on this in the way of historical sources, so it’s not a factor in my series!

uinyeo - aka. reader’s mom, and eventually reader herself. at the time, it was believed that women could not be treated by male doctors due to the shame of showing a man their body, even in a medical context. this position was generally occupied by a woman that was ranked below middle-class & commoner (think merchants/fishermen/etc.) as it was not a very desireable role. reader’s mom, Eun-a, is the head uinyeo, which is why she is called “su-uinyeo-nim” by others.

***i haven’t found any information that says men couldn’t be treated by women due to the Confucius beliefs, so at least in this story, reader helps out the male physicians from time to time.

eunuch - eunuchs were impotent or castrated men (had all or part of their genitals removed) who worked within the palace walls, serving and attending the royal family. they had their own hierarchy, like head eunuch, etc. it was possible for eunuchs to marry & have families of their own.

***Eunuch Kim has a 🍆! it’s just his testicles that were removed.

yoongi’s name - technically kings use temple names that end in jo or jong instead of their given names, but i’m keeping it as Yoongi!!

age - it’s revealed in the march 1858 drabble that Yoongi is officially turning 10 years old that year, but this is in Korean age. his birth year is 1849, which would make him 9 years old in age as we know it internationally. Korean tradition dictates that people age up at the start of the new year (Jan 1), not on their actual birthday. traditionally, they also add an extra year as they consider the baby 1 year old at birth, not 0 years old. to do the math, reader is two years older than him, which would make her born in 1847 & turning 12 that year!

*** the average life expectancy around that time was ~35-40, so their understanding of a teenager would be very different than ours, at least in terms of maturity. thus, even though the main characters are relatively young by today’s standards, i’ve written them to come off as older. UPDATED INFO: it seems court ladies could live up to rather elderly ages, even up to 70, so i’m not sure if the earlier statistic was just mainly for men.

birthdays - i couldn’t find any information about whether they celebrated the actual day of birth as well back then, only about 100 day milestones, etc. but it is part of Korean culture to celebrate the birthday in modern times, so i kept it in.

jeonha - similar to mama, this is how you refer to the king as an equivalent to “Your Majesty”. wangseja-jeonha is the full title for the crown prince. usually people just call him seja-jeonha.

women’s rights - how much freedom you have kind of depends on what rank you are. most of the upper court/noble ladies (yangban) are born & raised within the palace. they were very, very rarely allowed to leave (& if they were married off, then they would have to leave with like guards/people with them). it’s unfortunate but they were treated like property, passed off from father -> husband. from what i can gather, the lower ranked women (like the uinyeo) had a bit more liberty about going into town (or at least ive seen in media), mostly bc no one cared about them.... sad truth but truth nonetheless.

king’s authority - even though the king is the ruler of the entire land, he doesn’t have absolute authority over everything. generally kings in the joseon era had to listen to the advice of the court officials if they thought he was making the wrong choice.

Minister Choi’s execution - so actually there were several types of executions for people of different ranks. someone of Minister Choi’s status likely would have been given a less gruesome death via. poison (sasa or 사사). but i’m keeping it as a beheading to pay homage to the daechwita MV!

***i also came across an article that said only royal blood could be spilled on the palace grounds so i’m not 100% sure where the public execution square was located, only that there was one & it was separate from the palace. also a lot of dramas seem to ignore this rule, so i’m not sure.

perfume - this existed back then! along with cosmetics. they were a luxury item for mostly the upper class, but they definitely existed.

Queen Jeonghui’s birthday - fun fact! i borrowed this real life queen’s name first, for drabble 3. then i found out, it just so happens that her real birthday falls in November as well. it was a total coincidence haha. 

OC’s outfit/hairstyle - this is what she would have worn!

palace - the layout of the series setting is loosely based off Gyeongbokgung Palace! if you look at the map, i’ve set the private gardens at #24 (though the position of the island is different than how it looks in the map. it’s instead from the right side going towards the left), Yoongi’s private residence is #25. reader is moved into #23. #26-28 are libraries, which includes the crown prince’s private library.

*** also the palace is much bigger than you might imagine so to get anywhere takes some time & a bit of walking!

jipgyeongdang (집경당) - #22 on the map. along with #23 (below), were traditionally houses for concubines & palace maids before Yoongi moved them.

hamhwadang (함화당) - #23 on the map. where reader lives post December 1868.

sanggung - the highest rank available for women who served the palace/royal family. a woman could become a “favored sanggung” if she slept with the king, but not a proper concubine. normally from the “commoner” class.

sangmin - “commoner” class. made up about 80% of joseon’s people. were the farmers, fishermen, laborers, etc. these were the people that paid taxes and were ruled over by the nobles!

cheonmin - the rank below commoner, described in English as “vulgar commoner.” the upper classes considered these people “unclean.” among their numbers were butchers, sex workers, performers, shoemakers, and yes, uinyeo. they were normally given little to no respect at all within society.

concubine - women that had the honor of sleeping with the king. concubines had their own ranks within them as the king usually had many (think around a dozen). more info.

town - from what i can gather, directly outside of the palace is a small town. if you think of the Daechwita MV, it’s like the town that Yoongi walks through when he has black hair. this is where mostly people of the middle/lower class, like sangmin & those below that, live.

chuseok - Korean harvest festival! it means “autumn evening with the brightest moon”. it’s usually celebrated on the 15th day of the eighth month in the lunar calendar. that would put it anywhere around sept 9-oct 2 in our modern calendar depending on the year!

yangban - these are the “ruling class” or gentry of the joseon era. generally means their families own land, are somewhat (or very) wealthy, and they are well-educated. (think Mr. Darcy, for a British equivalent)

why does no one recognize the prince in town? - with a lack of access to pictures & internet, it was common for the normal citizens of the country to not know what their monarchs looked like. generally to identify people & rank, they had to rely on appearance. gold was a color only reserved for royalty, so only the king & his sons could wear the royal robes with gold embroidery. once Yoongi takes off those robes, it’d be hard to identify him from among regular yangban!

jeon - these are bits of shrimp/vegetables/fish/other small things that are deep fried in egg batter!

nokdujeon - this is like a small, savory pancake made with, you guessed it, mung beans!

Chun-ja calling Eunuch Kim “Kim-nim” - look. i’ll be straight with you i have no idea how a commoner would refer to a eunuch. i’m flip-flopping between his title (which i also cannot figure out bc idk which of the 18 political ranks he would be, but not for lack of trying y’all T_T) & his name with the respectful -nim. so just to be safe, i’m going with it.

***i also am not 100% on this, but i believe Eunuchs rank higher than commoners because they work in the palace? which is why Eunuch Kim uses “-ssi” for her.

hangul & hanja - so the Korean alphabet as we know it is called hangul, and it was invented in 1443. in the past, they used to use hanja, Chinese characters, to write documents.

female literacy rate - as related to above, it was rare for women to be able to read/write even up until the late 19th century. they weren’t allowed to learn hanja at all & only around 4% could learn hangul. of those 4%, it was mostly noble women, who received good education to be better wives.

***books were then thus read aloud by those literate to crowds, so people could still enjoy stories.

face - the concept of “face” is very much rooted in Asian culture. in Korea, it’s called chemyon, & is basically related to your reputation + how others see you. you can lose, build, or gain face through your actions or what rumors of you spread. for example, if parents have children with bad grades, they + the child lose face. people should strive to do things to build their family’s honor & face up. i’ve experienced firsthand how people go to sometimes extreme lengths to “save face” as the term goes. basically, if you’re going to do something shameful, it’s better to do it where no one can see. (this concept isn’t going to have a huge influence in the series, at least not so far & i use it rather lightheartedly in October 1865 but i just thought that it’s really interesting + important to know about Asian culture!)

French expedition to Korea (Byeong-in yangyo) - in October 1866, the second French empire tried to invade Korea (or Joseon as it was called at the time) because the king at the time executed seven French missionaries. after several months of fighting, Korea won with only four soldiers killed & 3 wounded (compared to France: 3 killed, 35 wounded). Joseon was able to stay relatively isolated from all the other countries, continuing the practice of isolationism.

gossip - i couldn’t find any laws prohibiting people from talking about court going-ons/battles, though i would assume that it’s punishable if you’re doing it to talk badly about the king. but even if there were laws in place, word gets around, as word tends to do. therefore, i’ve given Eunuch Kim a bit more freedom in his letters.

royal funerals - it could actually take up to 5 months for the coffin to begin its journey to the resting tomb, but i’ve expedited the timeline for plot purposes!

coronations - these actually weren’t super common in Korea or Asia in general, but it did happen once in the 1700s for King Yeongjo. i’m using that as inspiration for Yoongi’s crowning.

*** also i couldn’t find info on the exact wording that King Yeongjo used when he announced his succession to his deceased brother’s body so... i took some creative license there.

gama - how yangban & up women travelled, carried by their servants. here’s a visual!

the royal engagement - actually, Beom-su would not have lived within the palace walls. she would have lived in a detached palace that was further away from the main palace, and there would be a whole procession where the king goes to her during their wedding rites. however, i’ve seen several dramas have the bride-to-be hang around a lot, which seems to be true because she would have had to learn the customs of the palace, so i’m not sure how much she would have been around realistically. i’ve just chosen not to address it, like the dramas do.

Beom-su’s name - i chose this name for her because of one of the possible hanja for beom: “犯”, which i would pair with the hanja “秀” for su. her name would basically mean excellent invasion, which i thought was a bit cruel, slightly humorous, & overall fitting. it is normally a masculine name though! 

why are Beom-su’s father’s actions such a scandal? - so all the unmarried women living/working in the palace were considered the king’s property. he could sleep with them if he wanted to, but essentially they belonged to him. by laying hands on the maid, the minister committed a double sin because he not only was he assaulting someone, but he was infringing upon the king’s territory. 

civil service exam (gwageo) - this is an exam issued every 3 years that any man, commoner rank & above, could take in order to enter into civil service. it’s what Jimin takes to enter into the court! i’m not sure what month these were held or if it was just at the king’s discretion (could not find much info)

more on eunuch kim & the re-marriage process

royal tombs - these were often quite far away from the actual palace but looking on maps, i found that there were a few tombs rather close to the palace that people could have conceivably travelled to within a day, over several long hours on horseback!

on natural disasters - yes, in history, natural disasters like floods/earthquakes/eclipses were said to be the king’s fault because he wasn’t a good enough ruler! things like this could seriously derail the people’s trust in the king and was a big cause of concern.

on Queen Jeonghui being in court meetings - i couldn’t find actual evidence that said the queen couldn’t be at these daily meetings between officials. in fact, the real life Empress Myeongseong in the ~1870s was pretty involved in politics and was quite interested in matters of law, etc. so, i’ve decided to allow Jeonghui to be present and address the ministers alongside Yoongi!

Chunaengjeon - i kind of explain more about this already in the drabble itself but if you’re curious, it’s the only solo court dance in the Joseon era and the highlight of the dance is a moment where the dancer mimics a bird perched on a flower and smiles :’) i thought it was fitting for these two. here’s a video of a performance that i used as reference!

janae - there were quite a few different terms for couples to call each other during this time. “janae” was meant to represent wife and is kind of their equivalent to our... “honey”? it was mostly used among the commoners/lower classes to convey affection and closeness. (aka eunuch kim continues to be the cutest)

on adopting a child as a eunuch - the readings i found say that eunuch kim’s children must be eunuchs themselves if he adopts them directly, but they don’t mention anything about this particular case of a eunuch marrying a widow, aka the child is not directly adopted by Eunuch Kim himself. so Han-jae will not be a eunuch when he grows up!

american invasion of korea (shinmiyangyo) - this is a true historical event, as i’ve mentioned in my author’s note for “June 1871.” Americans repeatedly violated Korean soveriegnty and invaded their land, resulting in many, many deaths for the Korean side. they were hoping this destruction would force Korea to accept the trade treaty. Korea did not, and eventually were able to chase the Americans out of their land a month later. the wikipedia page goes into greater detail if you’re interested, and is a quick overview of the situation.

seong-min’s living situation - as i’ve mentioned earlier with the whole Beom-su situation, i’ve chosen to not use the detached palace again for this engagement as dramas tend to do.

the wedding ceremony - similar to my reasoning about the detached palace, i’ve chosen to focus on only a few parts of the marriage rites while only briefly mentioning the rest. why? well, while i would LOVE to explain all the details and intricacies of such an incredible process, i feel like that would take a lot away from the heart of the story and be distracting, especially at such a critical stage. so i’ve explained what i can, and given brief overviews where i am able. ofc i adjusted the parading ceremony because of the change of the detached palace custom. if you’d like an easy-to-read source on the whole process, please check out this link! basically the MLT chapter depicts a tweaked vers of steps 5 and 6. 1-3 happened behind the scenes, and i mentioned #4 in the “summer 1871″ drabble.

chungin - our equivalent of “white collar” workers, or the upper-middle class. this rank was made up of low-level bureaucrats, accountants, physicians, etc. some royal servants would also be part of this rank because they’re allowed to enter the palace. there is an exam (chapkwa) to become this rank!

conception dreams (taemong) - as uinyeo-nim explains in the drabble, these dreams were often seen as omens of impending pregnancy. depending on what you see in your dream, there are different interpretations. possible symbols are animals, fruits, elements of nature, children, and jewels. eg. if you dreamed of fruits, it was often considered to be a sign of having a baby girl.

other conception myths - i know from my own experience that Asians often have a lot of superstitions regarding conception and pregnancy and medical things in general. however, i couldn’t find any specific conception myths for the time period in question (most of my research only uncovered superstitions for after you’re already pregnant), so i’ve taken some creative license here, using the conception dreams and current beliefs as inspiration!

on Queen Jeonghui calling oc “dear” - since I prefer not to use Y/N, ___, etc. for reader’s name and just generally avoid mentioning it, it’s nearly impossible for me to convey the tone with which Queen Jeonghui would’ve been calling OC in this chapter. in Korean, she would be saying “[name]-yah/ah” depending on the ending syllable of the name. adding that suffix to the end of a name conveys closeness and intimacy between people. I’ve chosen to substitute it for “dear” to make things sound more natural in English. it’s not an exact match, but it’ll have to do!

[goodplace-janet]

Leverage s1e11, The Juror #6 Job

another heartbreaking intro scene :’( and some parker character development!

let’s go out-heist the defense team and steal a guilty verdict

except no one will listen to parker because i guess sports is just too important :///

i was hoping hardison was going to say they should listen to her, but instead he was like “she doesn’t have social skills, cut her some slack” ???

so we have eliot spencer who goes by his first name, and alec hardison who goes by his last name, and parker, who ... ?

is hardison his grandma’s last name, and that’s why he uses it, to distance himself from his foster families or something?

also where did parker get her name

i’m fascinated by names and what they tell us about characters i guess

GOD is nate like, admiring this lady’s evil legal heist skills? watch out, crowley, there’s a new nemesis in town

“who’s alice white?” “you are!!”

“she’s going to buy the jury.” “not if we [dramatic pause] steal it first.” i love this show

parker’s outfit with the cute skirt and the t-shirt and tiny suspenders? adorable

“a chess game has three stages, right” me, who knows nothing about chess strategy: if you say so

parker’s face when nate is like “so you need to get these people to trust you” is a whole entire mood

parker’s autistic, right? we all agree?

i did see a post float by my dash that said it’s canon

the ‘let’s teach parker social skills’ scene feels a little like the ‘let’s rehab nate’ scenes, like.... i’m uncomfy with it, but in an unarticulatable way or something idk

actually everything parker wears in this episode is super cute??

they really just went and had gina bellman do brownface. they did that.

wow.

“a steak made outta beans”

parker’s ‘i just made a friend’ face, i’m cry

“unless she found a guy with a cia-level cover story and fake identity” actually,

i hate every single detail of this real indian company with a fake indian representative plot, oh my god

like, taking advantage of a dude’s cultural appropriation to pull off their scam is not the worst idea? but the writers went about it in a gross af way

“they all have their own alice white, you just happened to give yours a name.” i... the dialogue in this scene is maybe a little weird? but i like the concept that everyone is performing to an extent

*the dialogue is a little weird as in, define “““normal”““ and i wanted the overall message to be ‘no one is ~normal~’ but it didn’t go quite that far

the stolen wallet toss to the driving by accomplice thing was incredible

“some of you even made friends. it’s not as bad as you thought, right?” i’m CRY i love parker and hardison both being in the courtroom, trying to pull off this job, and being nervous but also supporting each other 💕💕💕

okay, driving his phone gps around is so great, i did not put that one together until she explained it

“alice made a friend! :)” “YOU made a friend” i love this!! eliot not letting her downplay her accomplishments 💕

the brownface was SO BAD, but everything else about this episode was pretty good

[klanced]

here are all my dnd episode hot takes bc i love it so much

I’m guessing that, besides being the team’s mascot/furry, Lance also functions as a tracker of sorts. 

His posture (squatting on the ground), the fact that he looks like he’s holding something (like mayhaps a scooped up bit of dirt), the way he’s looking over his shoulder as he gives the team his Opinion, the way they all seem decidedly unimpressed at his deductions considering he only sniffed dirt- Fantasy Tracker™, Babey!

Anyway, going off that, it looks like the party is trying to track something (a monster? Lotor’s character? Keith’s?).

I bet Pidge’s armor makes her super top-heavy. If she fell over, she’d look like a turtle on its back.

Also I can’t get over her CHICKEN ARMS and her BIGASS double-bladed axe like. She really is going all out huh.

I’m also digging the fact that Shiro is wearing a full-on black cloak in the middle of a somewhat sunny forest while hanging with his crew. King of wishing he stayed home! King of withdrawing from others!

I’m already in love with this episode like this is DEFINITELY going to be one of my top five favorite episodes. I feel it in my nerd loving bones.

I sincerely hope that whatever their riding is some big scary monster that scared the pants off everyone except for Allura, who immediately befriended it. Bonus points if there’s a scene where she rubs its tummy.

Maybe it’s some personification/manifestation of the White Lion? Idk, I never finished Season 5 so I don’t really know what’s up with Allura and the White Lion, but this could be a reference to that ep.

I saw a post where someone said that could be Keith’s character which is hilarious and I fully endorse.

... Y’know what? I bet whatever the team is tracking in the first pic ends up being the animal they’re riding in the second.

This is your daily reminder that I am a BIG lesbian who is in LOVE with Allura! 

LIKE HELLO? THE PURPLE BODYSUIT? FLAWLESS. THE HAIR? CURLED AND FLOWING. HER EARS? POINTER THAN HER ARROWS, AND TWICE AS DEADLY. LEGOLAS SAW HER OUT OF THE CORNER OF HIS EYE AND IMMEDIATELY WENT HOME.

I love her.

But seriously, just LOOK at her. She woke up that morning and she decided that yes, actually, she IS going to be That Bitch™! She’s winning the award for best dressed, and she damn well knows it.

I’m also still not over that one curled bang like UGH. YES. And the purple theme she’s rocking?? The way they almost match her pastel glowing marks? Her arrow feathers???? Cupid lined up the shot at my heart, and Her aim was true!

Correct me if I’m wrong, but aren’t Allura’s eyes a bit bluer than normal??? Are these.... Fantasy Contacts™?

This is pure speculation, but in my opinion it looks like Allura’s character isn’t a princess. Her armory is fancy, but she lacks Allura’s usual “crown” (it’s not really a crown, but I can’t find the proper word for it lol). Which is interesting! And if true, would confirm some of my meta on Allura lol.

........... I just realized that Hunk isn’t actually bald at the top of his head, but is instead wearing a green hat. And you know what? I’ll take the Rock Lee look over the monk bowl cut any day.

He still looks like Doctor Strange took a vacation in the Earth Kingdom, but y’know what? We still stan. I mean, the beard alone is absolutely legendary, so quite frankly? Hunk’s outfit may be weird as hell, but he still looks good. Case closed! Legends only!

Hunk’s collar is popped because he’s too busy mmmmmmmmmmblockin out the haters.

His belly button is glowing. Absolute legends only.

Also what the hell, Hunk’s sideburns look so good??? His Fantasy Barber™ is a god????? Like OOF, that cut? That fade? Can he please call his barber and ask them to fix Kuron’s hair?? Lol.

Hunk lookes like he’s playing as some kind of monk/sage class, which really tickles my fancy because Hunk as a defensive magic user is (Allura voice) absolutely divine. I mean, just look at that staff! He could either heal you or hurt you with that borderline club, let’s leave it at that.

The longer I stare at his beard the more unbelievable it gets. How did he cultivate such a majestic lock of hair? He has absolutely no facial except for this single 1″ by 1″ square. Hunk is incredibly powerful.

Voltron really wants me dead, huh. Like, they want to loot my wallet from my cold dead corpse and spend my last two dollars at Starbucks. That’s the only explanation for... this.

He looks like if Kaden from Fire Emblem Fates had a baby with Odd from Code Lyoko and that baby raided the closet of Mako from Legend of Korra.

If he has a tail, I will go full on nuclear winter, mark my fucking words.

If his ears so much as TWITCH I will really lose it I am not joking. Voltron has gone TOO FAR, and I will be the one to end it.

Okay I might be imagining things but in the picture on the left, it looks like Lance still has a right earlobe/right ear, so uh. What’s up with that. Does Lance just have four goddamn ears. Are his furry ears fake? Oh my god, is Lance faking being furry kin?

If he has claws tho, I can accept that because that’s cool as hell. I’ll also tolerate Lance having sharp canines, but only if he’s constantly biting his tongue lol.

Lance is wearing quite a bit of jewelry for someone whose clothes look like shit which begs the question of how... he has them. 

If Voltron makes Lance’s dnd character a thief we riot.

Also his facial markings look like Krolia’s which is either a funny coincidence, OR the dnd episode takes place after Keith reunites with the team and introduces them to Krolia, and Lance’s markings are inspired by hers. Which is cute.

I honestly cannot tell if she’s wearing a furry cape or if that’s just her hair, but either way I’m loving it. You go, you fierce little warrior you!

I JUST NOTICED THAT HER SHOULDERS ARE AS BROAD/BROADER THAN HUNK’S NOW GHSKDGHDJGSDGDS

I mentioned this in a different post but I genuinely thought Pidge was going to be a rogue or some sort of magic user, so DPS/Tank Pidge has completely blindsided me and I’m loving every second of it.

Pidge doesn’t roleplay based on her actual self and personality. No, she’s creating Fantasy Pidge™ for a Fantasy World™ which means living out every wild dream she’s ever had!!! She’s chaotic neutral bitch and LOVING it.

She has a DOUBLE-BLADED AXE and it it’s not at least 3/4 her size then what, pray tell, is the point. I want Pidge to heft her axe around like it’s nothing, and then when she puts it down it literally shakes the ground. That’s the ultimate power move.

Lance being a goddamn furry PROVES the existence of other Fantasy Races™ so fingers crossed that Pidge decides to play a dwarven character to explain why she’s so short ghdkjsghdkjs

Pidge looks so happy in the second pic. This really is the best day of her life. 

(ZOOMS IN ON THE SECOND PICTURE) YO IS THAT A CROWN???? 👀👀

Okay but seriously, if Shiro’s character is a prince/king I will EXPLODE!!!! Let Shiro make a dnd character with an unnecessarily tragic and dramatic backstory!! Let Shiro roleplay as a prince on a mission to avenge his fallen kingdom and free his people!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That would also explain why Shiro is constantly wearing a black cloak and hiding his beautiful, perfect face. Because he’s on the run and has to stay undercover, bitch!

NGL, I’m a lesbian but I stared at the second picture of Shiro for a good ten seconds. Mostly because Shiro’s hair looks really, really good, and it’s a balm to my eyes after season 4 and 5.

Also, I just realized, his crown/coronet/WHATEVER is in the same place/represents his tuft of white hair! You can see this most clearly in the first pic :3c That’s so cute!

I’ll admit, I’m a little disappointed because at first, I thought Shiro was wielding a gigantic two-handed sword, which is absolutely badass and kickass. However, on closer examination I can see what looks to be a shield strapped to Shiro’s back (apparently over the cloak, which is weird lol), so Shiro most likely wields a so-called “one-handed” sword.

I won’t lie, for a hot second I thought Shiro might be wielding a club or something because I couldn’t see a sword hilt, but if you look at the left picture really closely, you can see what looks to be a black sword hilt. I did some googling, because swords are cool, and I’d guess Shiro’s sword is based off a knightly sword.

[constel-langst-ions]

Cover-Up

*Loosely based on other tattoo fics and amazing tattoos Ive seen (all will be desribed as best as possible)

Warnings: Previous self-harm, scars, tattoos

—

No one really knew why Lance wore long sleeves and jeans all the time, per say. It was normal for him to be seen like that, always with his jacket on. No one questioned it, either. Only Hunk really knew what was below the heavy clothing.

—

They all found out after a particulary hard training session. Allura had called them all into the common room.

“Paladins! I have exciting news!” She announced, her voice unusually chipper, losing her usual loud and demanding tone. Everyone listened, eager to know the news.

“Me ane Coran have organized a day off. We wanted to congratulate you all on your improvent over these last few months!” She finished, holding out the last note. Her hands were clasped together, and she wore a large grin, the kind that made you start smiling with whoever wore it.

All the paladins wooped, chattering away about their plans for the next day. The only one who wad quiet, was Lance. He simply gave a small smile, adding a brief comment if a fellow paladin shot a tease or idea his way. If someone hadn’t been involved in the conversation, they could’ve guessed that he didn’t look forward to it.

They all turned to go to their respective rooms, before Allura sharply inhaled. They turned to her, eyes wide in surprise. “Sorry, paladins! It seems I have forgotten to add that the planet we’ll be stopping on has one of these ‘beaches’,” She air quoted, “that you all seem to love will be there. It is a peaceful planet, not dominated by any species, so do not feel the need to bring your bayards.” She rushed out the last sentence, having said it all on one breath.

“Now, shoo! We will be arriving in a few of your Earth hours.” Her face twisted with confusion at the term, and the paladins left her, laughing with glee.

—

“Woo-hoo!” Lance cheered, collapsing onto one of the couches. “This is gonna be awesome!” He smiled, positive energy radiating off of his form.

Pidge waved her hands at him, making a mock face of disgust. “Gross, get your happiness away from me.” She sat beside him, fiddling with her collar.

“'Dawh, Pidgeon, why so down? Afraid of the Lochness Monster?” He sprang at her to emphasize his own teasing.

“No, she’s probably afraid of sunburns.” Keith, having flopped onto the couch opposite to them, piped up. “I dont know about ypu, but I’m defintly going to burn.”

Hunk and Shiro finally sat down, hunk letting out a little noise of amusement.

“Me and Lance will probably tan, if there’s even a sun. I mean, I hope there is. What’s a beach day without the sun?”

“Don’t worry, guys, we’ll bring sunblock. Maybe snacks.” Shiro said, a smile tugging at his lips.

As if they had planned it, all the paladins shouted, in unison, “You’re such a dad, Shiro.” They all crumbled into giggles at that, Shiro affectionately rolling his eyes.

“Alright team, lets get ready for tomorrow and make it a fun day. No stress, no fights, and no computers.” His eyes landed on Pidge.

The girl squawked in astonishment, the rest of the paladins laughing and giggling as the stood and walked out, leaving a mildlu annoyed Pidge to deal with Shiro.

—

The minute Lance arrived in his room, he threw off his jacket and practically ripped off his shirts, kicking ogf his pants as fast as he possibly could. He sat down o his bed, wearing only boxer briefs.

He looked down at himself, and at the splashes of color on his arms, legs, and chest. And, beneath those, the white lines that littered his body.

“Oh god, how will they react?” He moaned, hugging himself.

His tattoos didnt help much to cover the scars; they were still clear as day. They started at his ankles and went up to his hips. His arms were worse. From his wrist bone to his elbow, there were scars. Thin and white, always mocking him for how scared he had been.

He couldn’t get a body suit; it’d be suspicious, and he would definitely be asked about it.

Feeling his stomach start to feel empty with anxiety, he started thinking about his tattoos, looking to get his mind off of the worryting thoughts that plaged his mind.

His first tattoo that he had ever gotten had been a warercolor wave on the inside of his left arm. It was long, stretching from his wrist to his elbos, effectively covering most of the scars. It was beautiful, different shades of blue making it look real, completed with white tips to represent ocean foam.

His second one was on the inside of his right arm. It was the solar system, each planet beautiful decorated in a different, vibrant color. Each had a splash of watercolor around it, as if someone dropped paint on it. It was probably his favourite one.

After the solar system, he got a tattoo on the middle of his chest, going from his belly button to right below his collarbone. It was a ribcage, plus a spine, and instead of limbs, it had flowers growing from it. The top faded to a rose, a petal ending before his collarbone. It was plain, simple black and gray, but it had taken the longest out of the others, and was the most painful.

Finally, the one that meant most to him: wings. He had a tattoo of wings on his back, them being large and so delicately tattooed, with attention to detail, that they almost looked real. The feathers were a vibrant blue, the same as Lance’s eyes.

From there, he got countless tiny tattoos that litteref his body. On his collarbone, he got the planets in order. On his other collarbone, he got a quote, saying 'I refuse to sink’ with an anchor beside it. He helf that quote dear to his heart.

He would never forget the story behind each tattoo, and how much they meant to him.

—

Without realizing, Lance had fallen asleep. He woke up to the sound of Allura’s booming voice over the comms, announcing their arrival to the planet, named Deshion.

He inwardly groaned, pulling on his pair of blue swintrunks before he threw on his normal outfit. Afterall, it was still a short trek to the area they would be staying.

He stepped out of the room, nearly running into Hunk as he did so.

He took a step back as Hunk nearly jumped out of his skin.

“Woah, sorry bud! I was about to come wake you.” Hunk grinned, searching Lance’s face for any sign of negativity.

“Nah, Im okay.” Lance looked Hunk up and down, silently congratulating the yellow paladin for his choice in wear. He was wearing yellow swimtrunks, with white, flowery prints on them. He was also shirtless, much to Lance’s surprise.

“Are.. you dressed..?” Hunk asked, looking at Lance with confusion.

“Hmm? Oh, yeah!” He snapped back to attention. “Yeah, yeah. I have my shorts on beneath.”

“Cool! Well, everyone’s waiting on the bridge for you, so whenever you’re ready, meet us there so we can go. The castle already landed.” And with that, he sped off.

Lance huffed and shoved his hands in his pockets making his way to the bridge. He was slow, and his face had lost the usual lively expression. He was not looking forward to this.

—

Lance regretted wearing his full outfit to the bridge. When he arrived, everyone was already wearing their full bathing outfits, Pidge even wearing a bathing suit (a.k.a, Lance mused, green shorts with a black tanktop.) He felt out of place, and ignored the team’s concerned glances.

“Are we gonna go, or what?” Lance grinned and fingergunned, even adding in a wink for extra reassurance. Collectively, they groaned, and all started walking into the escape pod. (the pod thing that leaves the castle? Idk man)

—

As soon as they got down, they saw Allura and Coran setting up towels and umbrellas. To Lance’s surprise, there was even a picnic basket in the middle.

But what really caught Lance’s attention was the crystal clear, blue waters. He almost burst into tears at the sight, but stopped himself. It had been so long since he had last seen an ocean, and he longed to play in the water, while splashing his teammates, and collecting shells. He wanted to bask in the sun and do chickenfight, and lose, just to let Pidge have the triumph of beating him

But a voice in his head nagged him. No, it said, you cant. They’ll see the scars. Judge you. Leave you. Give you pity. If not that, they’ll judge those tattoos.

He shuddered at the thought. All of those choices were terribls. But hey, if he was being judged for either of those things, it wasn’t new. People who saw the cuts left him, mainly friends. Or complete strangers saw them, and called him a freak.

The tattoos were worse. He was always called out for them, usually by middle-aged people, calling him rebellious and other nasty slurs. It sucked, so he resorted to wearing jeans and a jacket, even in the dead heat of summer.

And, he thought, even now, on the beach. He sat down on one of the towels, having promised to join the other paladins later. He watched as they splashed and played and ran. Watched as they did all the things he wanted to do with them, oh so badly. It tugged at his heartstrings to know that he lied, he wouldn’t join them. He couldn’t.

He couldn’t risk them leaving him, too.

—

Pidge sat on Hunk’s shoulders letting out a battlecry as she went to knock Keith off of Shiro’s shoulders. Much to her happiness, she had caught him off guard. He flailed, before falling backwards, ultimately taking Shiro down with him.

She jumped off of Hunk’s shoulders, ignoring how Keith stuck his tongue out at her. She turned to where Lance was sitting.

Why hasn’t he joined us yet? She thought to herself, narrowing her amber eyes on his still form. He was just sitting there, absently making shapes in the sand. He hadn’t even changed into his swimtrunks, for God’s sake!

Pidge knew she should’ve been somewhat suspicious, but this was Lance. He was a good actor, and Pidge knew it.

“Lance!” She called, waving her arms at him, “You said you’d join us!”

That seemed to grab his attention, as his head snapped up to look at her.

“Uh..” He looked like a deer in the headlights, and she would’ve laughed if it wasnt for him wincing.

—

“I cant..?” Lance cringed at his own excuse. It was terrible, he knew, and by Pidge’s expression, she knew too.

“Uh, yes you can.” She retorted, crossing her arms in annoyance.

“Lance, you promised.” She said, giving him puppy eyes.

Oh god.

He can’t resist that looks, and Pidge fully knows it.

Reluctantly, he stands. Well, its now or never. He thought to himself, standing up and tugging his jacket off.

—

Pidge watched as he stood and took off his jacket. Then his shirt. And that’s when she saw the tattoos.

She inhaled sharply, the other paladins following her gaze. Their jaws dropped.

Lance, with his perfect skin that he cared so much about, had tattoos.

All of them were floored. Each tattoo was detailed, absent of any mishaps. It was obvious that each had had much time and effort into them. Congrats to that tattoo artist, Pidge thought, they’re good at their job.

—

Lance slowly shed his clothing, dreading the moment when he would be close enough for them to make out the scars. He took off his pants next, pulling his swimtrunks higher up onto his hips. And he walked, inner arms pressed against himself as he folded his arms, attempting to hide the most visible scars.

—

Pidge felt her heart sink when Lance was close enough to them. Now she could see the tattoos, but she could also see the scars underneath them. Reallt, it was obvious. It was also clear that the tattoos were meant to hide them. It didn’t work. They could all see it.

But, she could also see Lance try to hide it. He had his head down and arms crossed. Yet, they all knew. And Pidge had just forced him out of his comfort zone, just because she wanted him to be there.

“Lance..?” She questioned, her voice quiet. She could hear the teams suprised gasps, and the noises the made after them, disheartened.

“Pidge.” He looked up, shooting her a cocky grin. But it was forced. His smile dropped, and he shifted uncomfortable.

“Look,” he started, uncomfortable, “I’m sorry. It happened in my past. I got these tattoos to cover them. Yadda yadda, big ol’ sob story.”

No one said anything, just standing as the waves lapped at their legs.

“If it makes you guys uncomfortable, Ill go find a swimshirt.”

That snagged Pidge’s attention. “Uncomfortable?” She spoke, utter disbelief in her words. “You think we’re uncomfortable?” She almost cried at that.

“Lance, we’re sad that you would ever do this, but we’re not uncomfortable. It makes me proud that, even though you have scars, that you’re willing to show them anyways. Not everyone is like that.

Lance seemed shocked at her words. Still, no one moved.

Then Lance shot forward, engulfing her into a hug. She let out a cry of protest.

"I’m so sorry Pidge! You didn’t deserve to see that. But.. just…” He stammered, reluctant, the rest of the team joining in on the group hug. Cooing softly, whispering reassurances and praise.

“It means a lot to hear you say that, Pidgeon.”

[wishingfornever]

1/10/2018 – No Contact:  Hitting the Polls

So, I ended up asking a question to my fellow nations and I got minimal communication out of it.  Lol, I’m really bad at being responsible. I ended up watching several movies yesterday.  And by yesterday I mean it’s almost 1am and I watched three movies as well as ordered a large pizza and ate it at one sitting.  I’m a terrible person.

Three movies, all animated and almost all French.  The Angry Birds Movie (which was better than I thought it’d be), Avril and the Extraordinary World, and The Long Way North.  The last two were the french ones.  I watched these after binge watching CellSpex who I started watching due to her Zero Punctuation styled portrayal of herself.  Not to say she’s ripping it off or anything, she just uses a very simplistic way to illustrate herself being her outline. Expression is done with a simple outline of eyes rather than using a facecam like other channels.

The Angry Birds Movie… as mentioned, better than I thought it was going to be.  I relate with the angry main character because I too have large eyebrows.  Oh, and I might have anger problems.  CellSpex mentioned how it was an allegory for Trump being right, but the way I saw it was… anti-American.  The pigs represented the United States as evident with their boats and greedy pigs with Southern Accents. The eagle was the outdated throes of liberty, coming back to aid a less advanced people to overcome their enemy who is a western power. In the end, they sing praises of “Red” which is communism!

I guess my point is, if you look for something you’ll find it.  I don’t think it’s trying to push a Communist message but everything can be open to interpretation.  That’s what makes everything so challenging.  When you take a religion and you determine your interpretation is the only correct one, then you end up with Protestantism and Catholicism with all these little heresies in between.

That said, Avril and the Extraordinary World.  I was a little let down.  I thought the art was something.  The animation was well done, I like how each individual person sort of moved on their own accord.  Gives a lot of life to the world in a very subtle way, I felt.  The opening scene with the police was just stellar.  However, I did feel the second half of the movie was somewhat weaker.  The ideas I came up for were WAY cooler than what actually happened.

I really wanted to see it in French, however.  I would have preferred subtitles.  Especially when the talking cat (who is actually quite charming, btw) requests Avril explain something simply by saying, “In English, please.”  That actually pissed me off.  They’re French. They’re in France.  They should speak French.  Even if the movie is in English, they should have said, “In French, please.”

I also thought the villain creatures were kind of… cute.  I mean, I didn’t like the idea behind them and sort of felt that they didn’t fit that well in a supposedly steampunk setting.  I was hoping for more politics and thought that they’d be a rival nation like Prussia or something.

Which reminds me, they (the French) were at were with the American League, for some reason… and they built a bridge to connect themselves with Britain.  Um… why?  They’re the BIGGEST rivals.  In fact, France had plans to invade Britain prior to WWI (if it came to that, of course).  And considering a Napoleon sat on the throne…  Not that it mattered.  The entire political system was sort of just background noise.  The Emperor wasn’t really important except that the original Napoleon III died.  Even then, he could have totally been replaced with a government stooge and it would have been fine.  I don’t know why they wanted France to be a monarchy when it was pretty unneeded.  If there were more politics in the movie, then yeah.  That’d be important.  But… it’s not, really.  It’s just kind of there.

There is a lot that I didn’t like now that I think about it.  I was expecting… A LOT more.  And I dislike how the Alternative History got the real history… wrong.  Like certain things wouldn’t have been able to happen due to what they proposed.  That’s always been a pet peeve of mine.  And I also dislike how they just selected a group of famous or relatively well-known scientists from the early 20th century just to be sort of… cameos.  I mean… Tesla.  That’s the only one people really would care about.

Regardless, I liked the animation, even though the noses and ears were really big.  The cat was great, as mentioned, and the grandfather wears spats.  That’s nice.  Fashion hadn’t changed much, it seems, as they still had late victorian wear.  It’s steampunk, which is sort of underplayed in media.  It’s charming.  It’s just… eh.  I was hoping for more.  I felt disappointed.  Like, if it were a pizza I’d have eaten it all and still feel like I hadn’t eaten enough.  And it’d have mushrooms which I dislike but I’ll eat anyways because it’s still good pizza.

Finally, The Long Way North.  This was my favorite of the night.  It was GORGEOUS.  Just beautiful.  The artwork wasn’t as detailed as Avril and blah blah blah but it was still very inviting.  What I liked most about it is that it didn’t use a lot of black outlines.  Really, it had very few outlines.  Samurai Jack did this, sort of.  The eyes are simple but they were beautiful.  The motion was just… refreshing.

The story was fine, though I did have some quips about how they’re supposed to be in Russia.  Only ONCE did I see Cyrillic.  The rest of the writing was mostly in French, which admittedly would have been a thing for Russian Aristocracy to know… but not Norwegian sailors. At least, I assume they’re Norwegian.  They have Scandinavian names and the ship is called the “Norge.”  I don’t really know what they do, either.  Like, they’re not whalers and they’re not transporting goods.  What do you do?!

They make plot happen, I guess.

I found how they did feet to be weird but also kind of… cute.  It had a childlike spirit but was still captivating.  There were some dumb cliches here and there and some more questions that I’d like answers for, but for the most part?  It’s a movie I want to suggest to Ariel.  I think she’d like it too.  :D

Time for bed.  Going to be a busy day tomorrow.  I intend to finish my tax plan tomorrow.  Or… today.

Well, that was a waste.  Current time is 10.  I didn’t have a lot of time today.  I was called in for work.  Drat.  I posted a poll asking about “What we should do!” and what should be taxed.  Irrelevant, really.  Just buying me time.  I didn’t have the chance to pick up honey mustard or anything else, not that it matters.  I was too tired from work.

I ended up watching videos and streams when I got back.  I can’t recall what I really did today, which is weird.

I’m watching an old movie.  Troy.  It came out 14 years ago.  An old story but I don’t like how the narration begins with, “Will they remember us in 2004?!”  Golly, I don’t know.  Will they remember us in 6018?  It’s dumb.  And they keep doing it.  “They’ll tell our tales thousands of years from now!”  Shut up!  Stahp it!  No! Stop bragging about how we remember an ancient story!  Stop it.  You don’t see modern stories about snipers talking about “In 300 years, they’ll remember me.”

Dumb.  So dumb.

Still, I quite enjoy troy.  Not a lot of ancient movies that aren’t overtly religious or mythic.  Like… it’s somewhat similar to what France considered art while Rembrandt was doing his thing.  He had stark contrasts with sublime imagery as did other Dutch artists while to the French, this was not art!  Art must be old, depicting historic events or mythological events!  That’s why there is SO much art depicting ancient kings and whatever and not much of the actual normal every day from that period.

Like, cool, but for real though.  Branch out.

In the 60’s and 70’s all Ancient movies were just… meh.  Ben-Hur. Romans.  Jesus, also.  Dumb.  I hated Ben-Hur.  Jason and the Argonauts.  Also dumb but impressive for its time.  Then The 300 Spartans or whatever movie.  Also dumb.  Haven’t seen it, but it’s dumb.  Of course, that one isn’t religious but I’m sure it’s got some religious undertone.  Most American movies did, probably in an effort to combat Communism.

Anyways, I’m trying to think of a good movie about Rome or Ancient Greece… idk.  There is a lot you can do, I’d personally like to see something involving the siege of Syracuse during the second punic war.  Which reminds me.  Why is Hannibal not in any movies?

Of course, Hannibal would perhaps be cast by an African American gentleman if they made a movie about it.  Really, they should get an Israeli to do it as the Carthaginians were a Semitic people.  Of course, that might not be enough because the modern Israeli can be sort of white at times. Perhaps an Arabic character would be fine.  Just a Middle-Eastern sort of appearance physically.

Regardless, going to watch my movie.  I like the outfits because they’re not the greek armor you know and love.  Breastplate, corinthian helmet, bracers… honestly, you had to supply your own kit back then.  So, there wouldn’t really be a uniform.  What I described?  That’s expensive and I’m fairly certain they didn’t have bracers.  Just didn’t.  Not sure why, may have been a waste of armor to them.

That said, the armor takes some inspiration from this old boar tusk helmet from the Mycenean period.  They were basically early Greeks which is appropriate for the… well, Greeks in the movie.  A lot of detail and design.  Sometimes too much design, but still.  It was clear that “These aren’t the Greeks we see from pottery.  These Greeks are even MORE Ancient!”  Except for Achilles who has a Corinthian helmet… with a very open face.  And somewhat modern armor for the time.

Regardless, I always felt good costumes help sink you into the feel of the movie. When I was younger, this all looked perfect to me.  Now?  Not so much, but it gets a pass.

Oh, Christ.  The costumes are worse than I remember.  Non-Greek items on supposedly Greek men.  They mentioned a lot of places in Greece, too. Not sure how powerful they would have been at this time but they didn’t sound very… well, powerful.  In fact, I think it’s kind of redundant.  Thessaly also looks like a desert.  It’s in greece so I THINK it should be green but I’m not sure.

The capital A without the line in the middle.  That’s a popular thing on shields.  Called a Lambda.  It’s basically the letter “L” for the Greeks.  Spartans never really used the lambda until AFTER the battle of Thermopylae which is YEARS after.  I say that because I noticed a random lambda at Achilles’s yurt.  Very ancient if they’re using yurts instead of housing.  Almost nomadic.

They say Thessalonian again.  I think he’d be identified more by his city rather than region.  Thessaly isn’t a city but a region.  I guess it’s not wrong, just unusual.

Army shots.  A lot of extras.  Thing is, uniforms are very important in movies because you can recognize them versus us!  We’re the good guys, we wear white while… eh.  Yeah, there was a lot of individuality in the militaries back then.  Armors would look different, shields would DEFINITELY be different, colors would be different, or whatever.  As mentioned, you brought what you had.  If you had a yellow shirt then you wore it.  Your friend would wear a blue shirt.  The idea of uniforms being an important thing to have wasn’t really a thing until quite recently.  Even in Ancient Rome when they had a professional army, you’d still see a few different effects here and there.  Mostly with officers, mind you, who could afford it.  But still.

I LOVE how they have to convince Achilles to stay because their army is scared.  Like, dude.  They’re scared because Achilles fights all the battles for them.  If he leaves, then they have to fight.  And they’ve probably never fought a battle because Agamemnon says, “Best fighters fight only!” all the time.  It’s a miracle the Greeks ever conquered Troy.

Oh, shit.  They have that weird helmet thing with a super circular crest. Didn’t notice it.  The guards at the table during a feast. Guarding… a portion of important wall?  Hrm.  Regardless, I���ve seen that helmet before.  Also seems to be a Saracen helmet adorned by someone at the table… for reasons?

Sparta is the most fucking overrated city state ever.  Just a thought.

Poseidon? I’m fairly certain the Trojans had different gods than the Greeks because they weren’t actually Greek.  I’m not entirely certain, however.  Just fairly.

The Greeks wear red and the Trojans wear blue.  Hrm…  Weird thing to notice.

Paris loves Helen… thing is, love wasn’t really an acceptable reason for marriage back then.  Funny thing, that.  You see someone talking about how in Greek mythology, humans had 4 arms and 4 legs and Zeus separated them so they’d have to forever find their soulmate, you look them in the eye and call them a liar.

Country wouldn’t really be the term.  City-State.  So City.

Whenever someone says, “Poetic” my ears perk like my name is being called. Hector said “Nothing Poetic” and I’m like, “Eh?!”  First half of my screen name.  ;)

Proved.  That’s a word, yeah.  Sounds weird.  I think I would have said, “Proven.”

Every day wear costumes are… weird.  Costumes in general are getting weirder.  Sean Bean, what?

And Odysseus references his wife.  Lel.  Odyssey easter egg.  And then he talks about how remembered it’d be… oof.  Stahp it.

Larissa? Wait, what?  That’s IN fucking Thessaly!  Achilles fought other Thessalians?  Seriously?  And the king of Thessaly didn’t know who Achilles was?  Achilles just happen to be a POWERFUL mercenary, born locally.  In fact, he’s from what is probably your main city.  I mean, he’s bumped elbows with OTHER kings like Odysseus.  And now they’re talking about being remembered again!  Christ, this is like the prequel to Coco.  -,-

Priam has a voice like deep velvet.  Oof.  Powerful.  Wasn’t expecting that from such a narrow figure.

Thinking back, I think in the Iliad the Gods were on both sides because they felt split about the issue.  I can’t remember, I read it in high school and it was sort of difficult to read through.  So, maybe they did worship the same gods?  Or maybe Homer assumed they did.  It’s possible.

What accent does Hellen have?  Everyone is English but she sort of sounds… well, drunk.

I hate when extras have their gear slightly to the side like it doesn’t fit correctly or something.  Dude, straighten your helmet.  Do what you need to do.  Everyone should be passed around a handheld mirror or something.  -,-

Oh, those archers have the most worthless helmets.  You could have a band of metal wrapped around your head that will get hot and eventually start cooking your flesh in the nice, Mediterranean sun… or you could wear a straw hat.  Both will protect you about the same.  The stray hat may actually be better, considering it won’t melt your forehead.  If the sun exists and can get hot, you don’t want to be touching metal.

Something I do remember is whenever someone who had awesome armor fell in battle in the Iliad, people fucking lost their shit and rushed to loot the body.  Strip them of their armor.  Random fact.  May remember it wrong.  So, a lot of those people who are fighting would have a shield, a helmet, and a spear with nothing else.  The myrmidons would be decked out because they’re badasses and they’d have collected armor from previous encounters… but the run of the mill warrior wouldn’t.

I want to see a movie where the armor isn’t a suggestion.  I want to see it actually save someone’s life.  Preferably, someone who isn’t a main character.  Something else I’d like to see is more people who are just… wounded.  Not killed but just wounded.  This may surprise you but most casualties in a battle weren’t really fatalities.  Well, not immediately… wounds could be fatal but they didn’t die instantly.  I dislike seeing the aftermath of a battle and it’s a field littered with corpses.  It wouldn’t be that static.  There would be crying, people huddled in a ball, people writhing in pain.  It’s actually kind of hard to kill a person. But no.  Everyone must die instantly.

Oh, look.  D-Day.  Lelelelelelel.

Random thing to note.  The Romans believed their people were originally Trojans.  This is probably untrue.  However, I do think it’s a possibility that their neighbors to the north may have been Trojan. They were the Etruscans and not a lot is known about them.  The Romans had a tendency to adopt customs and cultural ideas from other cultures, look at their gods.  Basically reskinned Greek gods.  The Etruscans being Trojan?  Perhaps the Romans adopted their neighbors’ history and some of their identity.  Just a thought, of course.

“I spoke with two farmers today.  They saw an eagle with a serpent clutched in it’s talons today.  This is a sign from Mexico.  They will pay for our wall.”  I make myself laugh.

I’m not sure they’d be kissing.  I believe kissing was a Roman tradition.  Was very unusual in other cultures.

Looking at the extras for the armies, I’d say this may have been filmed in Turkey.  If so, they used the Turkish army as extras.  That’s a common thing to do.  You pay the government rather than the extras so it’s cheaper.  Then again, they may have filmed somewhere else.  I assumed Turkey because that’s where Troy is supposed to be.  But the Trojans aren’t Turks.  Remember that.

Lol, they look like my cousins actually.  I think I see one of Adela’s brothers.

Hrm, maybe they aren’t entirely from an army. If they are, then they allowed the soldiers to grow beards just for the movie.  I’m curious where it’s filmed now.  :o

...is this Mexico?

HOLY FUCK, IT MIGHT BE!!!  I just Googled it.  They filmed in Malta and Mexico.  Mexico was where they filmed the gates and wall of Troy. Whoa.  The extras probably are Mexican.  Certainly a lot of CGI.  And it makes the idea that the eagle with the serpent thing represents a sign from Mexico even better.  I wouldn’t have guessed Mexico but the guy with Agamemnon looked like one of my uncles.  Interesting. :D

Hector has a very handsome actor playing him.  More handsome than Brad Pitt I feel.

There is a nose guard on the helmet of Paris.  When we see through his perspective, however, it’s sawed off.

He spits out a lot of blood for what looks like SUCH a weak punch.

Apollonians… they look like every other soldier.  It probably would have been cheaper if their costumes were more realistic.  Minimal armor for the average soldier while the Apollonians would have actual armor.  That way, they’re unique and can be identified quickly.  Also, archers are op please nerf.

The Hittites are mentioned.  That’s pretty neat except the Hittites are on the other side of Turkey, almost Armenia.  I can’t remember if it were them or the Assyrians but one of their cultures relied on conquest.  Either their civilization conquered or the world would end.  They had to win EVERY battle… well, they lost a battle. World didn’t end.  Then their civilization collapsed.  The lesson there is push for victory but allow defeats.  You can lose every battle in a war but that doesn’t mean the war is lost.

I feel the scene where Achilles rescues the priestess is cliché.  So cliché.  :/

They’re listing off gods now.  Eh…  There were literally hundreds of gods in Greek culture.  Like, I touched on this back with Hercules.

Sean Bean actually has a rather soothing voice.  I never noticed that until now.  I remember in the Sharpe series, he pissed me off.  Even then, I think it was less to do with his character and more to do with Anglophilia.  As well as blatant classism.  And horrible cliches, again.  And inaccurate historical portrayals.  Then again, I guess the books may have been better.  Not sure.  It was suggested to me back when I played vidya gams.

Patroclus is a terrible actor.

“Attack at daybreak!”  *attacks in the middle of the night WITH FUCKING NAPALM!!!*

Really, if you could get so close to their camp without setting off the alarm, why not just go in and stab everyone quietly.  I mean, you’re already attacking at night.  Just… come on.  Wouldn’t Apollo have better watch over you when the sun is out?

I love how they march in the sand.  Like, they look like they’re running SO slowly.  Fun times.

The armies stop fighting to watch the best fighters fight.  I’m not sure how true that is but I’ve heard it’s happened on medieval battlefields before.

One of the extras in the back, shaking his head.  I love it.

“There are no turns, so you can’t get lost.  I know you too well.  Got lost in the fucking hallway… dumb bitch.”  I shouldn’t poke fun.  I get lost easily as well.

Archery. Ah, yes.  Warfare for the cowardly.

Good fight between Hector and Achilles… except Achilles forgot his helmet, shield, and spear head.  D’oh!

King Priam snuck into the Greek encampment.  Really?  If some old dude could do it then the Trojans could have snuck at least Hector in there.  Killed a few people, slit a few throats of sleeping Greeks and then flee.  Cause chaos or something.  Didn’t have to turn the beach into the Vietnam War.

Wait, Priam knew Achilles father?  And the king of Thessaly never even heard of Achilles?  The guy who is literally two yurts down from his palace?

CGI soldiers… huh.  I wonder why CGI movies aren’t more common.  I think they did something like that with Beowulf but it was just… weird.  Not a good movie.  There was a movie called Beowulf and Grendel which was interesting.  Not the best, either, but they had historically accurate armor.  Always nice.  Was true to the original lore, as well.

CGI might be cheaper than live action in terms of large battles and historical accuracy.  And if you’re doing a series, maybe you can reuse assets.  Then again, it might be more expensive due to… well, CGI taking time to do.  Time is literally money.

Oh, Aeneas has a part in this?  I was under the impression that he was a cousin of Hector and Paris.  Paris doesn’t know him?  Huh.

“We’ll be together!  In this world or the next!”  Erm…  The River Styx isn’t a very romantic setting.

Lol, this dude just bounced his shield.

There is a lot of impalings in this movie.

Oh, Agamemnon died.  Weird, I thought he survived the war.  I guess he was basically the antagonist in this movie… though I don’t think there really was an antagonist in the Iliad.  Every story nowadays needs someone to personify evil, I guess.  Where Achilles is honorable, Agamemnon seeks power.  They clash, thus they’re opposites.

Eh…  I prefer the idea of not having antagonists.  We expect the bad guy to lose.  To die.  To be punished.  In reality, this couldn’t be further from the truth. It’s not that life is tragedy, it’s just what you make of it. Those who do what they must ensure a better world for themselves and those they care about.  Behind every pair of eyes is a story.  And in every story, they will be their own hero.  And each story… each hero.  They’re all flawed.

That’s what makes a good character.

Geez, Achilles.  I bet you wish you didn’t forget your armor in front of the gates of Troy.  Dumb ass.

If I recall correctly, Achilles doesn’t die in the Iliad.  I’m not sure I remember the ending at all.  However, it’s suggested that Paris’s shot was guided by Apollo himself… because Paris is a coward and isn’t allowed to be credited with defeating Achilles. Poor, poor Paris.

Of course, I’ve heard a lot of things.  My dad told me about how Achilles was on his chariot, dragging Hector’s body and Paris prayed to Apollo to guide his arrow and it hit Achilles’s heel.  He falls off his chariot and his head hit a rock.  That’s what my dad told me.  I don’t actually know how he died but the way I heard it sounds dumb.  Also conflicts with the Iliad, which probably isn’t the most ACCURATE of sources, but I like the idea of Achilles finding a bit of peace by returning the body of Hector.

Alright. Movie is over.  Not as good as I remembered but it was decent.  :D

Current time is 2:30.  I did the thing I thought was probably annoying.  The movie thing.  Not really a review, more a walkthrough.  If you just read it while not watching the movie then I just describe dumb moments.  I said I wouldn’t do it again because it’s annoying. But I started and I couldn’t stop.  My weakness is historical facts in movies.  D’oh!  And I told Adela I’d do the dishes before I went to bed!  Also D’oh!

I’ll do them… it’s just really late.  I’m irresponsible.  A good reason to not document my movie viewing experience is because of this crap right here.  I started watching a two hour movie at 11.  Maybe before.  And I just finished it.  I did a lot of writing with the occasional stop by google to check where the movie was made and who died when. Btw, I was right.  Agamemnon survived the war.  -,-

Anyways, time for bed.  But first, dishes.  Night.

[canaryatlaw]

mmmm okay, I’m tired but still probably have a lot to talk about. I woke up way too early because my window was open and they were doing the garbage collection which is noisy AF and combined with the fucking chickens next door I was up a lot sooner that I would’ve liked to have fun. so I texted Jess to see if she wanted to get breakfast and she didn’t respond right away and I was like wow did I actually wake up before her for once and I did but she did wake up not long afterwards and answered me. So we met up for breakfast, the people at our normal place are definitely getting familiar with us regarding our ordering habits and such, lol. We headed back to our respective apartments afterwards so I could get ready for my interview, with plans to meet up later. by the time I got back it was only like 10 so I had some time to kill, which I mostly just went on my computer for and watched some other food based netflix show about chefs and something british but it really wasn’t interesting so I wasn’t paying that much attention. Around 11 I started getting ready, did my make up first so I didn’t get any of it on my suit and made sure my eyeliner was super tight and the way I liked it. I was planning on wearing my plain white button down with my gray suit jacket but when I put the button down on the buttons were not cooperating with me and staying closed (thanks boobs) so I had to switch it out for a white button down that has a black flower pattern on it, still looked good with the outfit. I headed out at like 11:50 for my 1 pm interview because I like being able to control my timing on these things. So I ubered down there and at some point during the drive I was like FUCK I totally forgot the application they wanted me to fill out and bring with me at home. I had it all done and ready to go, even set it out to take it with me but then just didn’t. so like, FUCK. I emailed the lady who I set up the interview with (she was an administrative assistant of some sort, not a lawyer) explaining and asking if it would be okay if I came up a little earlier to fill one out, and I anxiously refreshed my email every two minutes until she responded and said that was totally fine, so I breathed a little easier. I got there with plenty of time, so I went to the pret a manger across the street and just got a drink to kill time with for a bit before heading up around 12:35 since it’s kind of an ordeal to get up to the right floor. This is the Willis Tower (formerly known as the Sears Tower) which is like, a BIG deal, and this place was up on the 70-ish-th floor (I’m paranoid about giving the actual number in case it somehow gets back to them), so it’s a bit of a journey. I had to get checked in at the front desk, then go through security, then find the elevator bank that went to the range of floors the floor I was going to was in, which required going up to a certain floor and then switching over to another to go the rest of the way up, so a little bit complicated. Thankfully there were a few nice people who helped me figure it out. I was somewhat familiar because we did the PAD charity auction there for two years but I hadn’t been to this floor before. While I was in the elevator and feeling my ears pop as I went further up I couldn’t help but think about 9/11 and how screwed the people who worked on the top floors were. Like walking down 70-ish flights of stairs while the building is on the verge of collapsing? sounds nearly impossible. but of course I’d hope by now we could prevent such an attack from ever happening again (it was definitely the day I no longer felt the safety a child would in their home when I could see the smoke on the horizon and knowing I had classmates whose parents weren’t coming home). But anyway. I got to the right floor and the woman I was emailing with came and got me, took me to the right room and gave me a new copy of the application to fill out, so I got to working on that until the woman who was actually interviewing me came. I got about halfway through before she showed up, my handwriting was probably atrocious because I was rushing but hopefully it’s at least legible. So, the interview wasn’t really that much of an interview. She only really asked me a few questions about my experience and what I had knowledge about, then spent a while discussing what the position would be and what kind of work I’d be doing on a regular basis. She was talking about it in a way that made it seem like they were fairly certain they were going to hire me, which is great, but......there’s a catch, because there always is. While they handle a bunch of different types of law the one they were hiring for was their worker’s compensation department, and as if that isn’t incredibly boring in itself, they represent the insurance side, so basically actively fighting against people who were injured at work to receive the money they (probably rightfully) want. And like, obviously the deal here is that I want to do child protection law, but until OPG lifts their hiring freeze (which should be “soon,” whatever that means) there’s no open positions in the field, which is alright because there are other areas of law I’m interested in practicing in where I could do some work in for a few years until I could get a position in child protection. However, out of the areas I’m interested in, worker’s compensation is probably at the bottom of the list along with like, tax law. So on the one hand it’s a pretty strong possibility of actually getting a job, but on the other I worry I’d be fucking miserable. They’re very much part of the “big law” model of course with an office in the willis tower and talking about billable hours and everything and how you end up working 70+ hours a week and it basically takes over your life, which is great for someone who went into law to get to a prominent position and make a lot of money (which I’m sure this position would involve), but none of those are even remotely the reasons I went into law, and I would feel like a major sellout if I did this. So I left there feeling conflicted. I ubered back home because I didn’t want to get all sweaty in my suit. Got back and changed, then headed over to Jess’ to run some errands. First we hit up the salvation army to grab a few cosplay items, then the chicago costume shop for a few accessories and such, then finally up to Target to get some more regular items we happened to need. After that we went to this restaurant we had previously ordered delivery from, I got a waffle with fruit compote but it was kind of disappointing, I mean their normal waffle said it was belgian so I assumed the waffle plus other stuff would also be belgian but it wasn’t really, it wasn’t crispy, and like, the compote was more like ridiculously sticky and sweet kinda filling you’d find in a pie, so I wasn’t thrilled about that, but oh well. After we ate Jess graciously dropped me off at my apartment because I had a big thing of toilet paper to take home with me. Got home, put some stuff away then sat down with NICKZANO and started with some Game of Thrones. I finished season 4 and started season 5, so I’m actively approaching actually catching up on things, so that’s cool. still plenty of gore that makes me wince but that’s the show anyway. I eventually switched over to 30 Rock. While watching them both one of the things I did on my laptop was look for theatre auditions I could potentially do, and I did find one that could work, it’s a production of Antigone done by a college that’s fairly close to me (according to google maps it would be about 26 minutes by bus) and while they hold open auditions they the directors are “encouraged” to cast the majority of the show with students, so idk if it’s really worth it, I’m gonna think about it though and see what I decide. And yeah, after a few episodes of 30 Rock, which I watched one more than I was planning to because kitty was all curled up in my lap and sleeping and I obviously couldn’t just wake her like that, so I stayed, I started getting ready for bed and that’s more or less how we got here. god I’m tired, did I mention that? guess that’s what happens when you wake up way too early and still stay up till 1 am 🙄 and on that note I am going to go to bed now. Goodnight lovelies. Happy the week being more than halfway over.