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divyeshd · 2 days

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How to Choose the Perfect Rose Bouquet for Every Occasion

Introduction

Roses are forever linked to feelings of love and the ideas of beauty and grace, making them a top pick for different events. Whether it's showing deep love or acknowledging success, roses can portray feelings without saying anything. That said, picking the right rose bouquet from the vast array of colors, styles, and types can be a challenge. Each rose color has its own significance, and the way it's arranged can heavily sway the message you want to send. This guide will assist you in understanding roses, giving useful advice on how to pick the perfect bouquet for any event. No matter if it's a romantic action, celebrating a friendship, or a means to express sympathy, you'll know how to make the best decision.

Understanding the Meaning of Rose Colors

Before choosing a rose arrangement, knowing what each rose color signifies is important. Each shade has its own special meaning, making your gift more heartfelt and thoughtful.

Red Roses: Love and romance are signified by red roses. They share feelings like affection, longing, and esteem. Red roses in a bouquet are special for anniversaries, Valentine's Day, and times when love needs to be shown.

White Roses: Purity, innocence, and fresh starts are signified by white roses. They show up at weddings and moments of sympathy or memory. Bring a white rose bunch to weddings, baptisms, or memorials.

Pink Roses: Pink roses mean respect, thanks, and happiness. Lighter pinks show politeness and tenderness, darker pinks appreciation and acknowledgment. Use pink roses for birthdays, thanks, or celebration.

Yellow Roses: Yellow roses mean friendship, joy, and delight. They can brighten up a day and fit celebrations like friendships and graduations, or to simply cheer someone up.

Orange Roses: Orange roses mean energy, thrill, and regard. They're striking for showing fascination or for celebrations. Pick these lovely flowers when congratulating someone in advance or showing pride in their success.

Lavender Roses: Lavender roses suggest charm and falling in love instantly. They're mysterious and elegant, ideal for romance and special moments.

Peach Roses: Peach roses convey honesty, gratitude, and humility. They're perfect for saying thank you for celebrating a sincere bond.

Blue Roses: Blue roses are uncommon and represent the elusive or puzzling. They're ideal for conveying something extraordinary.

Black Roses: Black roses, known for goodbyes or fresh starts, are mysterious and bold. They're not common in normal bouquets but stand out in themes or to mark endings that bring new chances.

Choosing the Right Bouquet Style

After picking the right rose shade for the event, next comes choosing your bouquet design. The arrangement's style can substantially alter its look and the sentiment it expresses.

Classic Round Bouquet: The perennial demand for the classic round rose bouquet keeps it in style. The roses are snug in a circular structure, fit for classy events like weddings and formal parties.

Hand-Tied Bouquet: The hand-tied rose bouquet embraces an easy-going aesthetic. The flowers, loosely grouped and tied with a ribbon, suit spontaneous acts, outdoor events, or casual hangouts.

Long-Stemmed Bouquet: Long-stemmed rose presentations highlight elegance. Their tall, straight stems make them a natural choice for romantic outpouring, like proposals or Valentine 's.

Mixed Flower Bouquet: A bouquet isn't just for roses. Adding various flowers like lilies or hydrangeas brings color and texture. Such variety is great for gifting during birthdays or expressing gratitude.

Cascade Bouquet: The cascade bouquet shows roses tumbling down, mimicking a waterfall. This dramatic expression suits grand events or momentous celebrations.

Posy Bouquet: Compact and manageable, the posy bouquet is small yet appealing. It's a lovely choice for bridesmaids and flower girls or a sweet little gesture for dear ones.

Single Rose: A single rose conveys much. Regardless of color-red for love, yellow for friendship, it holds a strong message. It works best for a simplistic, yet profound gesture.

Tips for Choosing the Perfect Rose Bouquet

Selecting the right bouquet goes beyond just choosing the color and style. Here are some tips to help you make the perfect choice:

Consider the Occasion: Don't forget about the event when picking a bouquet. If it's a love-themed event, go for classic or long-stemmed roses in red or pink. For showing friendship, a hand-tied bunch of lively yellow roses is perfect.

Know the Recipient’s Preferences: Make the bouquet special by thinking about what the person likes. If they like simple elegance, going for a bouquet of white roses is good. If they like bright colors, choose a mix of orange and pink roses.

Seasonal Availability: Roses are generally available year-round, but certain colors and varieties may be more abundant in specific seasons. Consider seasonal blooms for a fresh, high-quality bouquet.

Add Greenery and Accents: Season Availability: While roses are typically available across all seasons, specific colors and varieties might be more plentiful during certain times of the year. Seasonal flowers could offer a fresher and superior-quality bouquet.

Choose the Right Size: The bouquet's size should suit the occasion and the message you plan to convey. A large and extravagant bouquet could be just right for a big celebration, whereas a small and delicate arrangement might be more fitting for a small, intimate gesture.

Consider the Vase or Wrapping: How you present the bouquet is important! A stunning vase or classy wrapping can increase your gift's overall impact.

Think About Longevity: If you want the bouquet to last, consider adding long-lasting flowers or choosing durable roses. You can also give care instructions for the recipient to enjoy the bouquet longer.

Rose Bouquets for Specific Occasions

To help you further, here are some recommendations for choosing rose bouquets for specific occasions:

Weddings: White or soft pink roses in a round or waterfall-like bouquet create a dreamy feel. Throw in baby's breath or green leaves to enhance it.

Anniversaries: Bright red or lovely pink roses capture the essence of anniversaries. Try a tall or assorted bouquet with matching flowers for elegance.

Birthdays: Pick lively colors like yellow, pink, or orange roses for birthdays. A loose or assorted flower bouquet is sure to brighten the day.

Valentine’s Day: It's a classic to choose red roses for Valentine’s Day. A circle or tall bouquet shows love and longing.

Thank You: Share thanks with peach or pink roses in an assorted bouquet. Soft flowers like lisianthus or baby's breath amplify the gratitude.

Sympathy: Opt for white roses for sympathy flowers or remembering someone. They express respect and innocence. A plain yet graceful setup delivers comfort and your sympathy.

Graduation: Toast to success with orange or yellow roses in a loosely tied arrangement. Their vivid colors bring a zest of joy and pride, they're perfect for happy moments like these.

Apology: Pink or white roses are suitable for an apology, displaying sincerity and humility. A small, hand-picked arrangement could say a lot about your regret.

Conclusion

Choosing the perfect rose flower bouquet for any event involves understanding more than color. It's about knowing its meaning, considering what the receiver likes, and picking a style that sends the right message. Roses are powerful—they express feelings in any situation. They are the ideal gift for showing feelings in life's many moments. Whether you're making love, friendship, or fresh starts, a carefully chosen rose bouquet can make that moment extra special. Remember, it's not just the flowers, it's the thought, care, and love that matter when you choose them. So, next time you're picking a bouquet, let the roses speak and create unforgettable memories for every event.

#rose flower bouquet #flower bouquet #flower #sympathy flower

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huenjin · 4 years

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and i see you in colours.

and maybe it's the vibe, the way your eyes sparkle and suddenly it feels like i don't need to hear sounds or feel stuff, just envision everything like a person with synesthesia because you are colours to me. you breath colours into me.

jeongin; he is shades of purple. the softness of pastel in his delicacy. the dark hues of the same in the way he moves and in the way he teases. he preferred the perfections, strives to do the best as much as he can endlessly like how the purple hues addict one. because that is what he is. striving to be a strong individual on his own. he takes pride in marching to his own beat, to stand out and to be his own person, as bold as the dark purple. he's the one to care for a person, to rush to help just as the pastel violets warms you. purple is the colour he leaves on your neck and your body and purple is the colour he'd adorn you with. purple is loyalty and purple is what he bleeds.

seungmin; blue, blue, blue. his eyes sparkle to an extent to calm you just as the mid day waves that hit the shore. not too harsh against the soft sands. just enough to kiss it and go back. just enough to promise you happiness. he's deliberate and introspective. as gentle as the soft pastel pearls that fall off the tables one by one by one. and if there is anything he'd take a bullet for, it's family. the family he was born into, the family he made in his journey and the family that took shelter in him. he's the royal shade of blue to bleed royalty and valour to protect. he's the pastel blue in aesthetics to be the fuzzy light in your dreary days. and in blue, he believes everything is fair — everything must be fair. it is the norm the world demands.

felix; he's every shade of green that has touched the surface. there's a weird sense of royalty as bright as the jade with him that tends to pour out generosity to everyone around him. the generosity that blends to radiate this fresh mint in him as ball of nothing but joy around. chaos is so disliked, shunned and the persistence to strive for balance rounds him off. as clear as the emerald is your vision, the clarity in ideas and objectives. his love is as blossoming and tender as the leaves that flutter in the wind. his love — and he as a whole — is endearing.

jisung; and maybe no other colour would define and speak to him as much as yellow did. he's an enigma. unexplainable. when he smiles he radiates minion yellows, all too bright and eye blinding for people around. he bleeds sunshine radiance around in every room he walks into and yet it descends down. there's mustard in his shades, a dampening vibe that tends to make you crave into him and beckon to him to seek your warmth, your comfort. he is too bright for the world that he forgot to radiate some upon himself. and maybe one day he'll be kind to himself as kind he is to the world.

hyunjin; his desires are bright as magenta and his love as soft as every shade of pink in the world. when he loves, he loves big. and he cries over the loss, clutching his heart because you have left him as an empty shell to be filled all over again, taking every bit of his heart. as chaotic as the darker shades of pink he is, he is the calmness and the gentleness of the soft hues of cherry blossoms, drifting around you and wrapping you with nothing but good memories. and his love, albeit unrequited most of the times, is fuelled with hope of an unconditional love one day, of stories to tell his children of prince and princesses. he believes.

changbin; brown as mahogany and brown as the sand the seas whisper its secrets to. he knows that the a stable and simple life is much, much better than the grandeur of the riches anyone can offer. he is as genuine and transparent as a cup of crystal clear water and god forbid him to meet someone who'd let the snake bite cleopatra. experience has taught him enought to take things slow — slow enough to love life, slow enough to appreciate everything. and if there is anything worth dying for, he knows it's friendship. it's always friendship.

minho; red, red, oh dear good lord, he is bright as red. bright as cadmium red with passion, he burns. burns for his love for dancing, burns for his love for you. he teases you like the raspberry red and is good enough to tie a cherry knot. he will tease you enough to smear the lipstick on your coral lips. he will hold you close to signify the fury and fiery passion he has for you. the copper taste while he kisses you passionately. he is the college boyfriend that you chase after with ruby red roses. he is the love of your life with hope of cardinal red passion but, but there is sincerity in him as bright as the colour red. and may his passion live long, in both his career and his love.

chan; the way you love is white. it's white white white white whitewhitewhitewhi— he is purity and honesty. the excitement to love him is as pure as the bubble in a champagne. he is particular in the way he chooses to give his love away and his affection. as ironic as his is taste refined, he'd like both a bottle of champagne and overtly cheesy unhealthy slice of pizza. he is wise. he is mindful and he is blessed. he is all the shades in one — the passion, the gentleness, the chaos and the sheer overload of passion. and sanity be reckoned, he would rule them all.

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athenagrantnash · 3 years

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Gunpowder Milkshake review

There are four elements to a film that, when all are achieved, can elevate a film from “good” to “great”; and any film that can achieve at least two of these elements is certainly a good and enjoyable film.

These elements are (in no particular order)*:

Aesthetic

Cast (charm, likeability, acting skill, etc)

Characters

Writing (story, script, dialogue etc.)

*While all four elements are important, writing is in my opinion the most important of the four.

So does Gunpowder Milkshake achieve all of these elements? Let’s discuss. (not a spoiler free review)

1) Aesthetic

I cannot say enough good things about the aesthetic of this film. The lighting, the camerawork, the set design, the costumes, it is all top notch. There is never a moment where what you are looking at isn’t visually engaging.

One of my favorite elements is how much is said about each character based on their costumes.

Karen Gillan’s Sam wears an orange jacket for the majority of the film - a jacket she stole because she didn’t like the clothing provided for her. Early in the film it’s established she doesn’t quite know what kind of assassin she is - she is as undefined as her jacket. But there’s a sportsmanship about her, as she won’t kill the three stooges when they aren’t trying to kill her, and she draws the line at ever letting a child be in danger.

Chloe Coleman’s Emily spends the entire movie in a yellow coat - representing the optimism and joy that comes with childhood innocence, an innocence that at the end is marred by the blood red handprint across the back of her coat.

The clothes worn by Angela Bassett’s Anna May, Carla Gugino’s Madeleine, and Michelle Yeoh’s Florence are all very similar, but specific to each character.

Anna May wears dark blue - signifying depth and power - and she has more layers than anybody else - Madeleine has the sweater/jacket, Florence has the vest, and Anna May has both. And just like her clothing, she has layers. You can sense the power and ferocity, and anger that lies rippling just below the surface, only just barely kept in check.

Florence wears green - signifying serenity - , and her outfit has nothing loose or soft about it. She is exactly as she appears to be - exactly as a tiger stalking its prey appears to be - quiet, contained, serene... deadly. It’s her serenity that keeps Anna May’s ferocity in check, but don’t mistake that for safety.

Madeleine wears pink - signifying kindness - and instead of Florence’s vest or Anna May’s vest/suit jacket combo, she instead wears a soft sweater. She is kind, trusting to her instincts, and protective of Emily. But her kindness is not weakness - just look at her weapon of choice if you disagree.

And while everybody else is wearing bright and/or striking colors, Sam’s orange jacket, Emily’s yellow coat, Anna May’s blue suit, Florence’s green vest, Madeleine’s pink sweater, Scarlet - completely at odds with her name - is wearing colors that are practically nondescript. She has isolated herself from the other Librarians, and that’s shown in a beautifully subtle way through her clothing. And yet, in a further note of subtlety, she is wearing soft oranges, showing her connection to Sam (also in orange) and how that connection is what brings her back from her isolation. Her clothing is loose, but not soft, reflecting a deceptive casualness, which matches her personality perfectly.

I’m not even going to touch on the visual brilliance of the lighting, set design, and camerawork because words literally will not do it justice. You just have to watch and see for yourself.

Additionally, an argument can be made that, since “action” is not its own category, that would fit into this section too - and while it’s literally impossible to top how visually engaging the lighting/set design/camerawork/etc. are, the action is certainly on par with it. The fights are all incredibly fun and creative, and they take advantage of the setting they are placed in, the road blocks or handicaps the characters have to work with, and at no point ever feel stale, repetetive, or boring.

So where does this movie rank in aesthetic? 5/5

2) Cast

There is not a weak link in this entire cast! Karen Gillan, Lena Heady, Angela Bassett, Michelle Yeoh, Carla Gugino, Paul Giamatti - every single one of these actors has proven time and again how much talent, charm, and onscreen charisma they have. Relative newcomer Chloe Coleman legitimately holds her own, even among such a star-studded cast, and is simultaneously sympathetic, charming, likable, and absolutely adorable.

Even bit players like the three stooges that Sam takes out, Emily’s dad, the doctor, and Jim McAlester play their roles to perfection.

As a side note, am I the only one who was a little bit disappointed that McAlester’s first name was Jim? It would have been hilarious if his first name was Kevin, and then we could have drawn our own conclusions about the criminal turn Kevin McCallister’s life took when he truly embraced his childhood propensity for chaos.

So where does this movie rank in cast? 5/5

3) Characters

This is where the movie starts to falter a little bit. Every single character is likable, but a lot of that can be attributed to how excellent the cast is.

Most of the characters are fairly cookie cutter, and while there is nothing about them that is particularly annoying or stereotypical, none of them have enough depth to truly be “great” characters.

The closest any character has to having any sort of depth or complexity is Nathan, who - while he doesn’t hesitate to send an entire army after Sam - sends her a private message and provides the only help he can.

Not that any of the characters are bad - I think my analysis of the lead lady’s clothing proves my opinions on that pretty conclusively - but they could have been better

Additionally, at just under 2 hours there is barely enough time to develop them properly. Florence in particular could have been much further fleshed out in ways that are not solely inferred through the costume design and acting.

The relationships between Emily and Sam, Sam and Scarlet, Scarlet and Anna May, Sam and Madeleine, Anna May and Madeleine, and Madeleine and Emily are done fairly well. I understood each dynamic and how it worked in the larger story that was unfolding. Florence had none of that - to the point that (if not for the inferred analysis based on clothing) I’m still not entirely sure if she or Anna May was the de facto leader of the librarians. If they had added something - either her legitimately having a moment where she takes charge or (even better) establish a rivalry between Florence and Anna May over who is in charge that would have done a lot, but unfortunately as it stands Florence didn’t get the development that Michelle Yeoh deserved.

So where does this movie rank in characters? 3/5

4) Writing

If the movie started to falter a bit when it came to its characters, it faltered even more when it came to the writing. In fact it’s the writing that can be blamed for the characters not given the development they should have gotten, even if these are two different categories.

And yes, it’s an action film, so technically the plot takes second place to the fisticuffs and gunplay - and while I’m not going to hold the genre against the film, even as an action film the script could have been a lot stronger.

Most importantly, the movie should have been at least thirty minutes longer in order to allow more growth and development for each of the characters. One scene that should have been in the movie was one of Emily while she was captured by McAlister. He should have tried to turn her against Sam, not realizing that the revelation that he had killed her dad had already done that. But Emily is smart, and the more he talks the more she realizes she’s directing her anger at the wrong person. Then when Sam turns herself in so that she’ll be safe it solidifies it for her - Sam might have pulled the trigger, but she’s not the heartless killer that she should be angry at.

And that is just one example of how a longer runtime and a few more rewrites could have given the story and characters a lot more depth.

Now onto the white elephant in the room.

“There’s a group of men called the firm” (yes, I’m going there... somebody has to).

I get what the film was going for, but this is the most perfect example of why it needed one or two more rewrites. 1) If it’s a group of men, why is Sam working for them and why is she recognized as the best at what she does? The movie is trying to imply inherent sexism, but because it felt the need to slam us over the head with that line all subtlety was lost.

Sam could have just called it “a group” and then we the audience would see that while men and women work for them, the ones calling the shots are all men. And then to turn around and show how much more prepared, professional, and competent the Librarians are would make this point in a much more subtle and compelling way. There is a lot more power in using that kind of storytelling than in explicitly telling your point to the audience in so many words.

However, while most movies that go this route make all their male characters useless or stupid, Gunpowder Milkshake did manage to not do that. Other than the three stooges, which Nathan chose to send after Sam because he didn’t want her killed, therefore by design are supposed to be useless, all of the people that our mains go up against feel like legitimate threats.

And I’m glad, because as a woman I do not like the recent tendency to turn men into useless idiots and then imply that is the only way the women managed to defeat them. I want women going up against men who are at their best, and still win. And this movie did that.

Additionally, I will say that the whole “group of men” thing is a minor quibble on my part, as it doesn’t fall into the pitfalls most other movies who are making this point fall into. But it is unfortunately an example of why the writing could have been much better.

Add in some awkward dialogue that only worked because of how ridiculously charming and likable everybody in the cast is, and we unfortunately have writing that is sub par and does not live up to the standards set by the other three elements. The aesthetic, the cast, and even the characters deserved better writing.

As a side note: Where do these people get their milkshakes that they manage not to melt even after three hours? Because that’s some circa 3000 level galaxy brain and I want it.

So where does this movie rank in its writing? 2/5

Conclusion:

I said at the top that for a movie to be “great” it has to meet all four elements, but to be "good” it only has to meet two, and Gunpowder Milkshake definitely meets two of the elements.

Where it begins faltering and falls short of being “great” is in the characters and the writing, which is a shame because the brilliance of the cast and the genuinely engaging and breathtaking aesthetic deserved to be in a movie that can be called great.

I would love a sequel to this movie that does flesh out the relationships better, provide more depth to the characters, and allows for the writing to match the quality of the cast/aesthetic.

So what is my total ranking for this film? 3.5/5

It’s good, and I will definitely watch it again and recommend it to people, but it so easily could have been great.

#gunpowder milkshake #karen gillan #lena heady #angela bassett #michelle yeoh #carla gugino #look at that I managed to actually be professional and write a whole interview that didn't include simping over A ngela B assett #y'all should be proud of me

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daisiesforlacey · 4 years

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The Costuming and Coloring of JATP : Part 1 - Julie Molina

I’ve seen so many of these posts and I wanted to make my own! I love costuming and color theory in film and I thought I’d do my own take on jatp! Please keep in mind that I am by no means an expert and this is only my thoughts, and feel free to add your own interpretations and thoughts :)

Heads up this is a super long post (I won’t be coving all of Julie’s outfits, only the ones that have significant meaning)

And none of this could have been possible without Soyon An, the costume designer of jatp! All referenced quotes and information for her can be found here, here, and here

One of the main difficulties of costume design is having the clothing fit the period, tone of the piece, and the character. The characters have to wear the clothes, not the other way around. Who is this person? What are their conflicts? How do they look at the world? What do they value? How do they grow? Just some examples of what good costume designers ask.

They can also be used as a subtle tool to show who each character is; how we dress is a reflection of ourselves.

JULIE MOLINA:

Ok so we all know she is an absolute queen with AMAZING fits, even from the start of the show! I’m going to go chronologically, just to make it easier on all of us!

Julie starts off the series in a baggy yellow sweatshirt over her blue and white shirt, her painted jeans, fluffy slippers, and a set of necklaces! (Actually we first see her at school, where she wearing a flannel instead of the sweatshirt, but the same concepts apply) This already gives us A TON of information on her!!

Her necklaces include a Virgin Mary pendant, a nod to her heritage and religion and one of her own name, which we can assume is a gift from someone special to her

She puts on the sweatshirt after she gets home and bombed playing in front of her class. Idk about you, but I always want to wear sweatshirts and comfy clothes whenever I feel down, so I infer that that is what Julie is doing!

There is also something to be said about the visual irony between bright yellow smiley face on the front and Julie’s own grieving

(Also can I just say that I love that Julie is allowed to be a teen and wear silly slippers because their comfortable clothes. I am so tried of teenagers being over sexualized and as a brown girl myself, it’s wonderful to see these multidimensional non white characters!)

Her own painted jeans, (also pretty baggy) and sneakers as said by Soyon An, are painted by Julie! (We also see her creativity later when drawing a cupcake on her mic for Luke’s bday, but that’s another post)

Her creativity seems to have no bounds, and it’s obvious that from the start that this is how she expresses herself!

If you want to get really analytical, one could say that the bright yellow covering up her blue collar could show how Julie herself is trying to cover up her own sadness

The blue and yellow also come up in another scene of hers with Luke, but that is another post entirely

JUST FROM HER CLOTHES ALONE WE, THE VIEWERS, ALREADY SUBCONCIOUSLY KNOW SOOOO MUCH ABOUT JULIE:

She’s most likely Catholic and cherishes her religion and family

She’s not feeling too confident in herself

She’s crazy creative and talented

She’s trying to mask some sort of sadness

ISN’T THAT INSANE??? A TELL TALE SIGN OF A GOOD COSTUMER!

Julie then moves to plaid pants and a cropped lavender blouse (Which I absolutely adore!!!)

She has just met the boys, and Luke gave her that little pep talk in front of the studio and is now wearing form fitting clothes!

DON’T TWIST THIS: She’s wearing these clothes because she now feels more confident in herself and is ready to sit down and play Wake Up

Julie is wearing more subdued colors; the focus isn’t on her outfit, that’s not where the color is. The color is lighting Julie from behind. The focus of the moment is Julie and her music.

You’ll also notice the lighting behind her shifts from the cold early morning, to the sun rising behind her, again, very poetic. The sun is literally rising on Julie and it is a new dawn for her, and the start of the show itself

Not to mention Wake Up which is literally about moving forward and... waking up lol

This is maybe one of my favorite performance outfits of her! (Who am I kidding, all of them are my favorite)

Julie is wearing a camo jumpsuit with patches and her signature sneakers

The patches, once again, show us that Julie is creative in many ways along with her shoes

I love that all of her outfits seem like the average person could make them and wear them. Yet, these characters are still teenagers and are discovering their own personal style, which can be sort of outlandish. It really works to ground the show in reality with all of the kooky happenings

Julie is once again wearing her necklaces, and we can infer that she wears them all of the time

In this outfit (with an added Double Trouble tshirt underneath), she also sings Flying Solo. The jumpsuit is a reflection of her friendships with the guys and Flynn!

And this outfit with Bright??? Chefs kiss. This is the subtle characterization I live for!

Julie’s actress, Madison Reyes’, mother is in the armed forces. She and Soyon wanted an outfit to pay homage to her, and I think the camo works perfectly

By this time we already have a good grasp on who Julie is

Julie is wearing a neon blue leotard, silver white pants, fishnets, her drawn on white sneakers and a rainbow chunky sequin cloak. She also find a drum major’s cape from the music room. She has her hair in the same cornrowed way as she does in Stand Tall, with pink, red, and blue ribbons.

While I may be jumping the gun this early in the post, I love this detail. This is her fantasy which ends up coming true in the final number and that is just beautiful

Julie’s fantasy outfit in I Got the Music is so extra and wonderful

This is Julie’s idealized self; it is bright and unapologetic and you can’t help but notice her. The outfit is purposefully outlandish and completely unrealistic

This is the first thing that clues you in that this is a fantasy; she does a quick change from her previous outfit. You can also see that her trio of necklaces aren’t there.

She keeps some elements from her actual school outfit, the pants and presumably the leotard, they just get an upgrade

Ok now onto the breakdown:

These are her school colors

This is the first time we see Julie in blue since the first episode. So far, we have seen her in muted tones. This time the blue is vibrant. This signals to the viewers that she is not hiding anymore and has almost reclaimed the color

Soyon specifically said she wanted a hood for Julie such as the Virgin Mary is traditionally depicted with a head covering

Julie is wearing her school colors loud and proud with a cropped LFHS reddish hoodie, underneath is a bright blue leotard, a blue belt, and white distressed jeans and fishnets

Julie is now fully in her element and has formed a band with the boys!!! Woohoo!

If you recall, in this episode, Julie also interacts the most with Carrie and Nick up until now; the two characters rooted in her school life.

Most everything I said in the previous section is here too, just a little toned down.

One thing that I see in this outfit is that she’s wearing a little bit of the boys’ themes; Luke’s blue, Reggie’s red, and Alex’s denim and grey.

This is also the day that she gets into the conflict with the boys, they go to Bobby’s to get revenge, lie to her, and bail on the dance. I see this as them becoming closer and then falling farther apart.

Julie is also wearing fishnets and socks, which mirrors Dirty Candi’s performance of Wow. This is a wonderful detail to show that the two aren’t so different after all.

I love this outfit and I will forever be mad that we never got to see her perform in it

Julie is wearing her mothers mesh tie dye top, a black tank top, and loose black striped pants

THIS IS SUPER IMPORTANT: This is the first time we see her wear her mother’s clothes, a physical representation of her coming to terms with her mother’s death!!!

This is also when Flynn comes up with Julie and the Phantoms, another big milestone. This is when they were supposed to make a mark on her school

(Ofc we all know this is when the boys bail...)

The next day, Julie is wearing a powder blue floral dress, sneakers, with a white t shirt and a cream colored cropped fluffy jacket (this is most aligned with my aesthetic)

Again, this shows that she is experimental with her clothes

It is also worth noting that Soyon does a good job with establishing that she is a sneaker head, I mean have you seen her kicks????

Now is a good time to talk about character colors: good media will establish a color per character. This helps viewers easily distinguish who they are and how they connect to others. Characters may wear these colors a lot or have significant moments in these colors

The colors also have their own meanings which apply (we’ll look more into this in the Stand Tall dress)

Luke is blue, Julie is purple (as we will see later on), Alex is pink, and Reggie is Red

When characters wear another character’s color it signals to us that they will be having a ‘moment’ with the other character (getting along after fighting, learning something new, etc.)

Alternatively, if a character is wearing colors opposite to another, you know they will clash

In this episode, Julie goes to Luke’s house and learns more about him and Emily AND SHES’S WEARING HIS BLUE!!! BIG MOMENT!!!

ONCE YOU NOTICE COLOR IN FILM, YOU CAN LEARN TO PREDICT WHERE THE STORY IS GOING. THESE ARE SOME HELPFUL HINTS:

Notice a character’s colors and when another character wears them, they will be having a ‘moment’

If the color in the scene isn’t on the character, the focus isn’t on them, maybe it’s on the emotions of the scene or other characters

Colors WILL signify emotions; yellow is happy, blue can be sad or calming depending on the shade, red can be passion or anger. If a character wears a lot of one color, you can predict their emotions

Ok no hate, this is definitely not my favorite outfit. It gives me mad Shake It Up vibes, not that that’s bad, just not my thing.

Julie performs Finally Free in a teal and black dress/shirt, silver biker short, a black vest, and arm bands

It has been confirmed by Charlie and Madison that this is when Luke realizes he like Julie, which makes sense as you see that she is wearing blue (She will now start wearing more of these cool tones)

She is also wearing arm bands, something Luke does often

Her vest is also the same one as the girl from the beginning, which we all know by now is Rose, her mother!

She has upcycled the vest and added her own special twists to it! It also helps for us to see connection between Rose and performing

You can also see a dahlia pin, her mother’s favorite flower. These often make an appearance! (They’re also purple)

It’s Edge of Great Time!! This is maybe the most iconic outfit!

Julie performs in a white blouse with butterflies, her hair also with butterfly clips, her pants are constructed beautifully with black and white panels. She finished the outfit with black and white combat boots and more butterflies!

Soyon specifically said that the butterflies represent Julie coming out of her cocoon and coming into herself, like a butterfly would!

This is truly her most powerful and performance worthy outfit and sucks all of the attention to her

Julie’s clean contrast of black and white also make her stand out from the rest of the band! The combination is often a symbol of power and truth! (Think judges robes)

Time to get some tissues, Unsaid Emily, it’s your turn!

This is what I consider Julie’s most average and basic outfit, but there is a lot to analyze here: A magenta sweater and jeans.

This sweater is her mothers; meaning it is probably a comforting item for her, seeing as she is about to have a very emotional moment, calling back to that yellow sweater in the beginning!

Also see how this has blue, pink, and red designs, and I’m sure by now you can tell what I am going to say: These are the guys colors!

She’s going to have a heartfelt moment involving them, and it fits. This is one of the emotional climax’s of the show and this is when she becomes even closer with the Phantoms

You can tell, just from her standing on the steps of Luke’s house what is about to go down (Well maybe not all of the tears, but still)

Julie goes to check on the guys in the studio in a blue floral shirt and blue jeans

These are once again, Luke’s colors, but are slowly becoming THEIR colors. She wears these when she is saying goodbye to her best friends

This is also the outfit that Julie’ wears when she finds them after the performance and they haven’t crossed over.

It makes perfect sense that she is wearing all blue when SHE AND LUKE HUG!!! (And then all of the boys too in the best group hug ever)

Of course we’re gonna end the post with this absolutely ICONIC outfit!

Julie is wearing a purple dress with purple tulle, a bedazzled leather jacket, and her hair IN THE SAME STYLE AS I GOT THE MUSIC!!!

Lets go one by one:

The dress is a Balmain dress that Soyon got for $500, then she completely deconstructed it and made it to fit Madison! that’s incredible

This is the climax of the show: the boy are ‘doing their unfinished business,’ Julie is playing the Orpheum, and what color is she wearing but PURPLE! What color are dahlias? PURPLE! What color has had the most significance? PURPLE! What do red, blue, and pink make up? PURPLE! PURPLE IS JULIE’S CHARACTER COLOR

You’ll also notice that her jacket has pink, red, and blue accents, the colors of Alex, Reggie and, Luke, to show that they have become a part of her and she is now a part of them

That’s the same for her hair

It shows how she has now achieved her dream, her make believe world is now her reality

I really think we’ll see more of Julie in purple in the seasons to come, now that she has found herself

I hope that you all have learned a little about color and costuming in this post! Once you get the hang of it, it becomes really fun, like a puzzle!

I hope to do more of these with the rest of the characters as well!

Feel free to add on your own ideas and interpretations!

#Julie and the phantoms #Julie and the himbos #jatp #jatp julie #julie molina #juke #julie x luke #ray molina #Jatp luke #Luke patterson #The Costuming and Coloring of JATP

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knightotoc · 4 years

Text

"I took care of them:" Lightsaber Color Transformation and Identity

Clickbait Title: Why Ahsoka's S7 Lightsabers are Blue

Very vague spoilers for Jedi Fallen Order (and Rebels and the KotORs) below! The JFO spoilers are marked if you want to skip them.

When Luke changes from a blue to a green lightsaber, it signifies both a break from Anakin (and Obi-Wan) and his own personal transformation. (And also, the necessity for the saber to stand out against a blue sky during the movies' first outdoor fight.)

Ezra's change mirrors Luke's -- he also moves from matching his master's color to carrying his own. His experience at Malachor, while different than Luke's at Bespin, was equally harrowing. Both students' fledgling understanding of themselves as Jedi were shattered -- Luke can no longer want to be like his father; Ezra has seen the power of hatred.

The thing which gives a lightsaber its color is its kyber crystal. The movies wisely avoid this mechanism, but the cartoons, videogames, and Disney parks can't get enough of it.

If you buy the lightsaber creation experience at Disneyland, they have you meditate to pick your color. (I didn't go for this, though I did buy Maul's which was more expensive and twice as big. Hey, he's magic and I'm not.) I read a Polygon article that described the meditation as a surprisingly sincere spiritual experience -- a real connection to a specific color. And I watched a GameGrumps where they discussed buying extra kyber crystals on Etsy so that they could have all the colors. You can even change the color yourself with some YouTube engineering.

(I should also point out that as I was messing with my Maul sabers the other day, one light randomly turned green for a second. The integrity of these Disneyland saber colors is fragile indeed. Or maybe I am magic.)

But could an in-universe crystal change color? Luke and Ezra just got new ones -- did the new colors just happen to reflect their new identities? Or did the new identities alter the color?

And what if you were taking care of someone else's?

The KotOR games are the richest example of using lightsaber colors for storytelling. Jedi tradition during this ancient time had the colors signify your specialization -- blue for the hardy Gaurdians, green for the wise Consulars, and yellow for the Sentinels with their, uh, miscellaneous talents. You can change your lightsaber color any time you like depending on what crystals you find in caves or boxes (and they've got almost the whole rainbow out there), but the rules of meaning are written for you to follow or break. Still, you couldn't change any crystal itself until ...

Darth Mom Loves You

... KotOR II. You CAN change the crystal you find at the darkest part of the cave back home on Dantooine -- indeed, you must! As your mysterious mentor Kreia explains:

"That crystal is bonded to you. Through you it acquires its character and strength. And through it, your power is enhanced."

This bonded crystal changes in two ways: its color changes to align with your morality (black for a dark side player, white for a light side player, and three -- count 'em -- shades of gray), and its glow changes to align with your level (below level 12, it is opaque; above level 33, it "radiates an immense amount of light, almost blinding anyone who looks at it").

It is a beautiful way to keep track of your progress in the game as your Exile regains their lost powers and redefines themselves in a scary new world. Especially since you can only change your crystal with Kreia's help -- you need to talk to her about it, go to the workbench, remove it, and hand it over to her, trusting in her guidance and wisdom and the eerily powerful bond you share. (I, uh, love this game.)

She takes care of it for you.

The thing is, this crystal does not affect the color of your weapon. KotOR lightsabers actually mash THREE crystals up in there -- one for color, two for power. Changes in your identity affect your weapon in a tangible, yet invisible way.

Of course, a blindingly bright power crystal doesn't sound especially sustainable -- no matter how fascinating your arc or powerful your bond.

An ad from the brilliant Jedi Academy book series.

***🎸🤖Spoilers for JFO🤖🎸***

JFO is a far more aesthetically-driven game than the KotORs -- not just because it's a lot prettier, but because the rewards in chests only affect your appearance, not your stats. You can find new lightsaber hilts in the same places you can find new ponchos. But unlike the KotORs, you can't find new crystals until you've been sufficiently harrowed. And then, suddenly, it's the most thorough rainbow of all.

You begin the game with the ability to switch between blue and green, with no connotations attached except what you bring with you. But after Cal's own breakdown on Dathomir -- a more internal struggle than those of Luke and Ezra -- and its continuation and eventual healing on Ilum, we are finally inside the mind of a Jedi as they build their lightsaber -- and choose their color. Cal holds his battered crystal up to the light, and as he turns it, we see a spectrum of seven colors, all contained within one kyber crystal. You pick your favorite and go.

His rejuvenation in the Force gives Cal the ability to choose the color of his lightsaber. And he found this crystal in the darkest part of a cave from his childhood -- just like Exile and Luke found theirs.

So is that ... how it works? Do you get to pick? Does the color emerge from your broken little wizard soul?

If any Star Wars media was going to argue that, it would be JFO, where visual customization is so dear.

***🎸🤖End Spoilers🤖🎸***

Skip Here for the Ahsoka Theory

Why do Ahsoka's lightsabers change to blue? Certainly, she has had her own harrowing experience -- but it wasn't followed by any caves nor rambling old ladies trying to get her in touch with her spirit. Just a smug young man and a knowing expression between the two of them. It's cute as hell but why did he do that?

She didn't change them blue; he did. Did he switch her crystals? Why? Do they really need to be replaced like batteries? (The ancient lightsaber Ezra found on Malachor still worked.)

He changed them blue to put his own spirit in them. He missed her; he wants her to stay. It's a symbol of a bond, like the orange helmets -- but while the clones changed their armor to match Ahsoka, Anakin changed her sabers to match himself.

Possessive, yeah. Sweet, sure. Pitiful, maybe. Especially considering the sabers' fate. And that almost all the other Jedi who switch their own saber colors move away from their masters, not towards them (except Luke in his battle on Crait in TLJ ... I could gush about that too, but this is already so long! It's certainly a moving parallel to S7 Ahsoka).

What interests me about these silly crystals is the possibility that they change along with their Jedi. "This weapon is your life" -- then what happens if your life changes? Or if this weapon becomes someone else's life?

What if he changed them blue unintentionally? His proximity to the crystals, his hopeless wish for her return, for them to understand each other -- Darth Dad loves her, too. From her, he acquires character and strength. And from him, her power is enhanced.

Of course there are no caves -- these are city Jedi. The cave is the dorm room. Home is a skyscraper.

He took care of them. They were not better -- they were just his. And she was not.

#the clone wars #ahsoka tano #anakin skywalker #lightsabers #jedi fallen order #sw rebels #kotor #lightsaber discourse #this weapon is your life!#disneyland jokes

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botwstoriesandsuch · 4 years

Text

Where Time Takes Us

Destination - Part 1

- - - - - - - - - -

Watch the home while she is off to war

The Slumber King versus the rearing boar

Awake, arise, do not be blind

To tales and destinies entwined

In the world we said that we would leave behind

— excerpt from folk song, The World Behind, writer unknown, dated back to the Era of Myth

- - - - - - - - - -

6 months, 3 weeks, and 3 days before the Hyrule Castle Slaughter, the Akkala Citadel Massacre, the slaying of the Champions, the death of the hero, and the rise of Calamity Ganon...

Her job ends on doomsday.

She should be working, and truly she wanted to, but circumstances had led her to walk towards the echoing laughter.

Already trying to prepare the quip she would throw back at them, (as undoubtedly they’d complain about her being late again), the researcher weaved through the familiar roads of West Castle Town. Most of the houses were dark, with the only light source coming from the occasional flickering lantern, and the pale complexion of the midnight moon. Needless to say, it made the warm glow of The Adequate’s Tavern stand out all the more as she approached.

Another roar of laughter and shouts escaped from an open window on the south side of the pub. The bags under her eyes curved with her smile as she recognized one of the voices. She absentmindedly traced her fingers along the outer walls of the tavern as she walked, loose chips of faded blue paint falling to the pavement below. The wooden sign above the door creaked with its askew weight. The Adequate’s Tavern was printed in bold, blue letters atop a faded yellow outline. The missing e’s and t’s gave evidence to the building’s true quality.

Pushing open the door, the researcher was met with a swirl of familiar scents, ranging from alcohol, apples, bread, and leather, along with a smokiness coming from the fireplace near the back of the bar.

Closing the door behind her, she walked through the entrance, passing under a wooden overhang, and alongside a long, stone-slated bar counter. She overheard a conversation between the barkeep and a waiter.

“Yes, they’re here again, so get out there already!”

“The scientists?” the waiter asked.

The man started shoving her towards the storage door behind the bar. “Yes, yes, now hurry up and stock up on that apple cider. I’ve already turned four full pitchers from the three of them, and the fourth is no doubt on the way. We can turn a bigger profit from those kids than any random alcoholic that stumbles in here tonight!”

The waiter disappeared into the back, and the barkeep was left muttering by the counter. Chuckling to herself, the researcher moved away, starting to search for the scientists in question. Other than a single, beige wall that separated the edge of the bar with a support beam in the middle of the room, the pub was very open and lively. Square and circular tables were littered across the floor in mismatched patterns, ranging from oak brown to birch white. Clearly, aesthetic was not the centerpoint of the place.

She walked about the pub, scanning the faces of the men and women alike who crowded by the booths and tables. The tavern mainly housed a sea of Hylians, who let out the occasional drunken laugh, or hearty chuckle. It was a miracle she could hear her thoughts at all, as the air was rich with the sound of clattering dishware and the patter of dancing feet, as in a small corner to the left was a semi-circle stage housing a small band. A Hylian man with umber dark skin, much like her own, blew away at a Lurelin-made, seashell harmonica. To his left, a blonde woman extended her arm in quick and elegant strokes with a bow and fiddle. Two others struck away on small drums and bells, and the playful gig they performed had gotten several people up from their feet to dance for Hylia knows how long. The music wasn’t terrible, but she had heard better, from a certain Sheikah in particular...

As if fate had read her thoughts, she finally caught sight of her friends.

It hindsight, it was easy enough to expect the bard to be at the table closest to the stage. Yet, it was probably the three heads of cloud white, Sheikah hair that gave them away the quickest. A young teenage boy sat across a square table from two other Sheikah, a boy and a girl. He was looking at nothing in particular, as he plucked away at his lute, presumably tuning it. Wrapped around his head was a small cluster of green wooden beads, woven with brown string. They dotted like a line of stars in his fluffy, white hair, alternating between pine and sage shades. The knot tying the strings and beads around his head hung loosely like vines just by his right ear. He was just asking to look like a starstruck, homeless traveler, if it weren’t for the bright red cape pinned across his shoulders. The golden, Hyrulean emblem holding the crimson cloth together signified his status as an important worker of the palace. Although, no one would be surprised that this thin, skinny teenager was a bard and court poet, and not a royal knight.

Suddenly, the bard looked up and met her gaze, a pair of warm, red eyes catching the light of familiarity. He patted the empty seat next to him and said something to the other two Sheikah in front of him. One of them looked back, a young man with storm wild hair that seemed to part like lightning. He had a beige, long sleeve coat over a red tunic, as was the classic Sheikah style. However, the style of his white jacket told of his rank as a scientist. With chocolate eyes and a contagious grin, he nudged the girl next to him and fake coughed.

The young woman wore roughly the same outfit, although she had a navy blue skirt and boots compared to the other guy’s black pants and shoes. Her eyes were also red, albeit, with a more striking scarlet color, compared to the other boy’s warmer wine shade. Looking back, she adjusted her bright, Sheikah red, round, sparkly, diamond decorated glasses, complete with white accents that matched her hair. It was pulled in a messy bun, a hairstyle that her close friends knew was less for looks, and more for practical purposes, as supposedly, “the stupid strands always find ways to bother my eyes. No, stop, I don’t need a comb! My eyeballs are just sensitive, okay?”

Pivoting past a waiter, the researcher finally moved closer to the trio, brushing her curly dark hair above her shoulders as she prepared for the sarcasm to begin.

The stormy eyed scientist spoke first.

“Purah, Purah! Is that...a ghost I see? It looks like Adello, but I feel like I haven’t seen her in a century, I surely thought her dead! Am I being…haunted?”

Purah turned in her seat and gave a fake gasp. She adjusted her red rimmed glasses at the sight of her. “You’re right, Robbie! I’ve heard about these spirits. They only come at midnight under a full moon, and they appear when you have friends that don’t know how to time manage and haunt you by coming to your birthday party with their terrible fashion sense 45 minutes late!” She clapped her hands along with the syllables of “45 minutes” to let her point be known.

Robbie awed at Adello in sarcastic wonder, and the boy across from him exhaled out of his nose with a smile.

Adello put a hand on her hip. “Save your breath, I was just working a bit overtime on the Divine Beast sketches. You know, work? For the jobs that we all have? So we can pay our taxes and shit? Unfortunately, not all of us have fancy salaries Mrs. Royal Scientist.”

Purah turned to Robbie, pulling down her glasses and looking at him sternly. “See, this is another trait of these kinds of spirits. They’re cursed to only say excuses for eternity.”

He shook his head. “Coupled with the fact that their fashion only ever consists of one color? Truly, a terrible fate for a ghost indeed.”

Adello narrowed her eyes. Smoothing out her juniper colored tunic, she said, “Okay, first off, green is a great color on me, it pairs well with my skin tone. You’re both just blind, no wonder you need glasses.” Purah put a hand on her chest dramatically, but she continued. “Plus, I’d really rather not get fired since that ceremony thing with those Champions is tomorrow and, as you all know, I just got that promotion.”

The researcher propped a black leather boot up on the empty chair by the table, flipping her jet black hair dramatically. “How does it feel to be in the presence of someone with an actual on-the-field career?”

Purah stuck out her tongue, and Robbie cupped his hands and booed. However, the boy sitting on the other side of the fourseated table gave a celebratory strum of his lute, giving Adello’s pose a bright background flourish with a few upbeat chords.

She winked. “Thank you Zimiri, at least someone can recognize skill.” The bard gave a little bow with his head, grinning. “A few chords is all it takes to enhance a dramatic, late night entrance.”

Adello chuckled, finally sitting down in the empty seat beside him. The old oaken chair and floor creaked under the new weight. Robbie let out a huff.

“You kids need to learn to respect your elders.” He announced the word “respect” with the tip of his tongue. The researcher rolled her eyes.

“Ah yes, a whole one year gap between us. What astounding age and experience that these elders emit.” She gestured at Robbie and Purah with a sweep of her arm.

“Uh, excuse me, but I believe in my case it’s now double that. A whole two years, my dear, naive child. For as of 4 hours ago, I now emit the knowledge of an existence spanning two decades!” Now it was his turn to pose dramatically, pointing towards the ceiling.

Everyone at the table groaned, turning to occupy themselves with something else. Purah started writing in her journal which she pulled out from her satchel, and Adello started to become very interested with the ceiling. Zimiri continued to pluck nothings on his lute.

Robbies crossed his arms, his white long sleeves folding across the Sheikah red shirt underneath. “Oh I see! So when Adello brags, she gets a musical accompaniment, but when I do it, it’s suddenly annoying and embarrassing?”

Adello smirked to herself, and answered, “Yep, that’s how it goes!”

“Alright, you don’t get to speak, Miss I-don’t-know-how-to-be-punctuation!”

Purah promptly smacked Robbie over the head with a pen.

“Hey! W—”

“The word is punctual, you idiot.”

Robbie slumped his shoulders and made a face. He tapped his thumb and fingers together, mimicking the opening and closing of a mouth while he muttered mockingly in Purah’s tone under his breath.

Purah finished off a note in her journal before turning to the rest of the table. “Alright Adello, time to catch up. We’ve been playing ‘Till You Spill and I’ve already got some juicy stuff in here!”

Turning the pages of her journal towards Adello, she gave a chaotic grin. “Last round, Zimiri revealed that he once got teary eyed in front of the King himself after reading a poem about clouds.”

Zimiri raised his hands in defense. “Look, the clouds were an analogy for lost childhood innocence and I got choked up with that author’s amazing choice of imagery and descriptions, okay?”

Purah pointed her pen at him to hush, and continued. “Of course, him being a sentimental dork isn’t anything new, so he lost that round to Robbie who revealed the identity of his first crush.”

Zimiri muttered something about the game being rigged towards the birthday boy, but Adello talked over him, excitedly.

“Ooohhhh? Robbie?? Who are they?” She propped up her elbows and cradled her chin in her hands, excited at the prospect of more embarrassing information she could hang over his head.

He mumbled, looking to Purah for assistance, but she only cupped a hand over her ear, waiting for him to respond. “You all fuckin—” he sighed, “it’s…she’s…c-ch…” he avoided everyone’s gaze, “her name is...Cherry…”

Adello gasped, gleefully. “That girl from your old university?? The writer you hung out with!?”

Purah beamed, shaking Robbie’s shoulders excitedly. “I know right???” She loosened her grip and allowed him to wiggle out of her grasp for a moment. “Oh sweetie, campus days may be long gone for all of us prodigies and geniuses,” she flipped a few strands of her white hair with a turn of her head, “but I’m sure you’ll get her someday. You just gotta turn up the charm, find a way to woo with words. I’m sure writers love that.” Purah pulled down her glasses and gave a forced wink at him.

Adello tried to hold her tongue to no avail. “Pffft. Yeah, you can try wooing her with your punctuation.” This got a snicker out of Purah, and caused the birthday boy to blush furiously and slump further in his seat. Zimiri finally spoke up.

“Now, now, let’s all play nice. We don’t need to pester him further about it, he did win the round after all.”

“Uh, yeah. Speaking of the game, you still need to drink up, mister.” Purah slid a tan brown cup of apple cider towards him, the translucent contents sloshing around like muck in a gutter.

He leaned on the back two legs of his chair. “Isn’t it punishment enough to smell it? The cider isn’t even near my face and my mouth is already burning.”

She shrugged. “Them's the rules of ‘Till You Spill. Your secret sucked, so swig!”

The poet groaned, but complied. Tipping the cup towards his lips, Zimiri took a hearty slurp of the cider, much to everyone’s amusement. It felt like hot, molten copper mixed with old apple skins. How could something both burn and freeze your throat at the same time? He let out a gag, to which Adello patted him on the back with a short laugh.

Raising his posture, Robbie crowed, “When we finally have Zimiri’s birthday maybe then we’ll actually upgrade to the alcohol.”

Adello raised an eyebrow. “Uh, right, because the upgrade from disorientingly strong, smelly apple cider, is you two being flat out drunk. Right...”

Purah slammed both her fists down with pride, letting the cups and pitchers slosh a few amber colored drops onto the worn wooden table. “Bold of you to assume I’d drink at all, considering I’ve never lost a round! Mwahaha!” She blew a raspberry at her. “This tongue is apple free, baby.”

She gestured with her pinky and index finger at Zimiri and Adello. “Now, you two! The late combatant and the latest loser shall spill next. Give us your juicy gossip!!”

The bard, still reeling from his drink, leaned back in his chair and gave a nod toward Adello. “Ladies first?”

While she wasn’t undefeated in this drinking game, she sure as hell was playing to win. Especially since somebody needed to knock that smug expression off of Purah’s face. Adello thought to herself quickly.

Zimiri, no doubt, is probably gonna say something self-deprecating again, as he’s too nice to actually reveal anything embarrassing about anyone else. So...I just need to say something unexpected and interesting...perhaps something embarrassing about...hmm, I’ve already exhausted all my info about those cushy nobles and guards in past rounds…

Suddenly, she snapped her fingers. “The princess has a secret stuffed animal collection.” Seeing the light in her co-workers’ eyes twinkle, Adello knew she had chosen her words well. Purah leaned in. “Ooh? And how did you come across this juicy piece of information?” She rested her chin on an arm with an innocent smile.

“When I sent my application for the new job a few weeks ago, I gave it to the princess directly. It was late at night, and I bumped into her as she just left her room. The door was cracked open for a few seconds, before some royal, pompous guard slammed it right in my face. Yet, it wasn’t before I saw the pile of,” she counted on her fingers, “cow, sheep, bird, dog, and several horse stuffed animals piled high by her big, blue bed. I bet if I peeked for just a few more moments I could have found enough to pin her as a true horse girl.”

Robbie shrugged his shoulders, unconsciously rapping the table with his finger. “Well, speaking as a horse guy myself, I can attest to the fact that the childhood horse obsession phase never leaves, so I find Princess Zelda’s collection quite admirable.” He gave a nod towards Zimiri. “Either way, it’ll be tough to top that, Zim. Cute, yet slightly concerning, fact about our future queen? Quite the competition. Shall I signal the waiter for a refill now?”

Zimiri plucked a few more strings from his lute, before finally setting it down on the floor. He tilted his head, playfully. The string with sage green beads seemed to sway with the tavern’s music, and he spoke with a glint in his eyes. “Well, I might be faced with impending failure and ultimate defeat, but hells if I’m not one to try instead of mope.”

He combed his fingers through his messy, white hair, pondering his next choice of words. Fiddling with the beads and strings wrapped around it, he thought out loud.

“Let’s see...to top out on an embarrassing fact about a respected princess...it's natural to combat it with something...personal? That always seems to be the more valuable information in this game…” Adello shook her head. He was playing right into her hand.

“Well...Robbie won last round with the identity of Cherry...so, how about I dish out something similar. See, I’ve...uh…” he rubbed the back of his neck, “Oh! Well. Court poet, shrine researcher, the job gets you close with the princess...kinda...I’d like to think we’re close anyhow…” He mumbled the last part of his sentence and let out a short cough. Then, he went back to fiddling with his short, messy hair.

“So… ever since I moved into the castle, When did my mom move… five years now? I’ve, uh… had a crush on... Zelda…” He gave an uncertain grin, and raised the palm of his hands as if to ask, “well?”

At first he was met with silence. In his head, he started to celebrate the victory of his first ‘Till You Spill round in literal months. That was until he was met with groans and pitiful mutters.

“Oh Zimiri,” Purah sighed, “I was rooting for you too.” Seeing the bewilderment creep onto the poet’s face, Robbie answered the question before it even escaped his lips. “Literally everyone here knew that bud, it’s not a secret.”

The bard started to sputter, moving his hands in wild, questioning motions.

“But? Wha— I? You!? Didn’t you— I… W-Well I mean, I know Adello knew, I told her years ago, but you guys—”

“Oh my gods. Zimiri, you literally talk about her all the time, you’re totally in love. Given that we’re also the recipients of your long spiels and ballads about how ‘intelligent and thoughtful and amazing Zelda is,’” Purah said the words to mimic the tone of Zimiri’s honey sweet voice, “it’s exceptionally, extremely, very, very obvious.”

“R-Recognizing a person’s positive traits doesn’t instantly mean in love!”

The royal scientist leaned across the table and patted his head. “Right, but you also started attempting love songs a coincidental 2 weeks after starting your job of shrine research with her. Your eyes are already red, so whenever she passes by it’s like your pupils magically form into adoring hearts. Try to stay away from poker, it’s for your own good.”

Zimiri continued to sputter, his cheeks becoming roser by the second. Robbie turned to Purah. “So, all in favour of finding Adello’s spill better than Zimiri’s?” The two of them raised their hands in unison. “Alright buddy, secret sucked, so swig! WAITER PLEASE!”

Adello watched as the same woman she had seen near the bar earlier made her way to the table. Picking up a pitcher, she poured out a fresh cup of Adequate’s Apple Cider. The four of them had been here so many times, they didn’t even need to verbally ask for the order.

Before he could even start to reach for the cup, Adello snatched it out of the way. “Nah, it’s okay. I’ll do one for you, Zimiri. These two monsters have already tore you to shreds, and I’m sure I need a punishment anyway for coming in so late.”

He started to protest, but after catching the look in her dark, iron eyes, he relented. “Well, I thank you for your generosity.” The other two, however, were not as compliant.

Purah cupped her hands around her mouth, yelling, “Booooo... Boo to pity! Boo to generosity!” Robbie mimicked her.

“Yeah you have to respect your elders’ wishes. We demand blood! Suffering!”

Adello cracked her neck for show, before downing her glass of cider in a few gulps. The stench and tingling sensation seemed to stick to the sides of her throat. It would take more than water to clear that out. “Adequate” was being very generous when describing its quality.

“Mmmm. The cider’s weirdly salty tonight, I think your attitudes got mixed in here.”

Purah blew another raspberry at her.

They played for a few more rounds, the clatter of cups and breaths of laughter decorating the hours. Much to everyone’s distaste, Purah continued her winning streak, getting by with unbeatable information about the King, royal guards, and one embarrassing anecdote about how her little sister, Impa, had caught her writing an interesting letter to the “local archery hunk.”

Yet, Purah laughed along with the rest of them, the eyes behind her red rimmed glasses held no shame, which Adello envied. Of course that sort of attitude would make you a master at this game. Robbie and Adello attempted to team up and be biased towards Purah in an effort to get her to lose, but either Zimiri didn’t take the hint, or he just really liked playing fair which wasn’t exactly out of character, even if it meant more drinks for him.

Suddenly, a bell towards the back of the pub rang, signifying the end of the band’s gig. The dancing paused, as people gave their thanks, varying from politie applause to drunken yelps. Robbie then rapped the table with his hands, excitedly.

“You know what else tonight needs? Some amazing music, eh Zimiri?” He bounced his eyebrows up and down at him, and gestured towards the lute leaning on one of the table legs.

“I don’t know,” Zimiri replied, “I’ve only a part-time hire for the weekend rush hours, and I wouldn’t want to blindly get on stage and sing without being given permission.”

Adello scoffed. “Uh, are you kidding? The owner would love for you to play without paying you. Haven’t you heard the talk around town? The Adequate’s Tavern: Home of alright food and acceptable ale, but an outstanding bard!”

He fiddled with the string in his hair again. “Oh yeah? I’d love to meet him someday.” At this, Adello clicked her tongue and promptly shoved him out of his chair with her hip.

He laughed to himself as he stumbled aback. “Alright, alright, but only because the birthday tyrant requested it.” Robbie clapped his hands in a “chop-chop” fashion, to truly signify his role as the newly dubbed tyrant.

Suddenly, Zimiri perked his head. Stepping back towards the table, he reached for his cup. “Oh wait, I just lost that round. I still need to drink my—”

Adello grabbed the cup right out of his hands. She tipped it 180 degrees and let the cider spill completely onto the wooden floor. He hopped back, and Purah let out a surprised yelp, saying something about letting the stench seep into the floorboards. Robbie just started to laugh, wildly. Noticing the small commotion, a few other guests looked back at them and started to snicker to themselves.

Setting the cup back on the table, the researcher said, “Great, now you don’t need to ruin your voice any longer. Now get up there and one-up the last band.”

The bard pushed his chair under the table. Picking up his lute as he stood and faced Adello, a charming smile on his face. “Heh, well. My singing voice is grateful. I suppose now I’m in debt to comply.” He gave a curt bow.

Robbie clapped his hands again. “Great, great. Now quit the manners and let’s go already! I still have to order the cake pie!”

Both of the girls rolled their eyes in unison. Zimiri shrugged and started to walk through the small crowd of standing Hylians, and towards the small stage.

A few of the regulars who recognized him let out whoops and whistles, yelling out “Bard!” or “More music!” in support. It seemed that no one really knew his name, but it was nice enough to know that even working here part time would grant you the honor of being recognized by a bunch of random folk. One confused patron, who only associated him with “z” yelled out “Yeah, Zelda!” before promptly slumping under the table. Looking around, a blonde girl caught his eye, as it seemed she was staring at him. He waved, and her cheeks, much to Zimiri’s confusion, turned pink at his gaze and she turned to her friends who started giggling.

Moving past the last of the Hylians with an, “excuse me, sorry!” he finally stepped on the stage. The bard pulled up a small stool to the stage, leaning against it. Most of the folks continued to whoop in approval, seemingly eager for another chance to start dancing. Even the barkeep clapped his hands, probably excited at the thought of a free gig.

I guess, if no one is stopping me…

It was a rowdy bunch, but not a new one. Zimiri had played for these kinds of audiences before.

“I see that quite a few people are itching for a new tune. So, uh, any requests?” he announced as he strum a chord on his lute.

A mass of different voices bounced around the tavern, requests ranging from The Babbler’s Jig, Misko’s Tale, The Eldin Bluffs, and Can I Get More Ale? Although, Zimiri wasn’t quite familiar with the chords of that last song.

He couldn’t stop himself from being biased towards the request of a certain dark skinned girl to his left.

“The World Behind!” Adello said. “Enough with those new ballads, I demand a classic!”

Robbie pumped an arm in the air. “Yes!” he shouted. “I second that! So is my decree as birthday tyrant!”

The bard smiled, preparing the fingering on the neck of his lute. He turned towards the audience. “Well, I’m afraid I have no choice but to heed to such authority.” He began to pluck the beginning notes, tapping a tempo with his boot against the stage. “Now then, a beat, if you all would be so kind?”

The tavern chattered in approval, before piping down. There probably weren't more than 30 people, but the beat they made was definitely sufficient. The sound of stomping, banging mugs, and clapping filled the room. The tempo didn’t even need much adjusting, as The World Behind was pretty familiar around Castle Town. The beat was like a child pretending to be a marching soldier, unconcerned and playful.

Zimiri’s smile widened. A lively crowd indeed, this will do nicely.

With that, he started to sing. His silvery voice echoed across the tavern, as he closed his eyes and began to play.

The boys have gone out to the wishing well

Will they come back? Oh only time will tell

A rupee for a life refined

But time and dreams never align

So tell the world we’ll leave it all behind

Many of the guests had started to dance again, while the rest continued the beat of the song. As Zimiri plucked rapid notes on his lute, he heard a supporting holler from Purah. Next to her, Robbie was slamming his fist to the beat, clearly enjoying himself.

Have you seen the soldiers’ drinking ale?

They wish to sing along with nightingales

To dance on home with songs and rhymes

To banish all the fears from mind

Yes tell the world we’ll leave it all behind

Another pause between the verses, and the bard played the “decorative” rapid notes in between. He didn’t mean to seem like he was showing off, but Adello would attest to the fact that this happened whenever he got too into the music. Looking towards her, Zimiri saw her give a double thumbs up.

Of beasts and men and all atrocities

The damn-ed fate, she owns all that you see

To a better day of new design

Forgot about the gods divine

Oh tell the world we’ll leave it all behind

At this point, some of the guests were singing along, though not to the point of overpowering his own alluring voice. Laughter rang out around the warmly lit room once again. Zimiri looked out at the dancing patrons and smiling guests, grinning at the feeling in his chest this brought. He continued the last verse.

Watch the home while—

“HEY!”

The sudden gruff voice startled the bard to the point where he nearly slipped off the stage.

Lumbering through the double doors, three guards entered the tavern. The one in front, who had interrupted the music, wore a typical knight’s outfit, the same as his male and female coworkers behind him. However, the black hooded cape he wore atop his metal armour swayed with every step he took across the floor, his supposed rank silencing the room.

Well, mostly, silenced the room. A few ticked off guests were booing, groaning, and mocking him for ruining the entertainment.

“Oh would you lot shut up for 2 seconds?!” he said, his voice booming across the tavern. “Listen, I’ll be blunt. I gotta give two messages for this establishment.”

The guests shook their heads, mumbling. Their booing and insults continued, but their volume quieted, it was too early to be getting cross with a couple of knights. Even Zimiri quietly slipped off the stage back towards his friends so as not to be at the end of the knight’s intimidating voice.

The female guard behind the knight handed him a slip of parchment. Unfolding it, the guard cleared his throat.

“Firstly, your music and pounding is disturbing the noblemen next door. He’s staying at the inn or something and wants you to, quote,” he read from the paper, “quit the mindless thumping, for Castle Town is a place of serenity and peace, not of nonsense jigs and banging.”

The groaning and insults started up again; the man gave a shrug, stating something about how he was just following orders.

Adello couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “HA! Well, with an attitude like that, this’ll probably be the first and only time he’s been banged— he should be grateful.”

The room exploded into a mess of laughter and whoops. Even the guard smirked to himself, but attempted to hide it with a shake of his head, saying “Watch the mouth, girl.” Although, his stern tone wasn’t in it.

After a second, he cleared his throat again. With a stomp of his boot he regained the pub's attention, the laughter suffocated out.

“Now, we’re also here looking for a Dr. Robbie Kimura? I received word they might be around here?”

With the attention now towards a single table, most of the guests went back to their idle banter. A few waiters nodded their head towards the table in the back, and the man caught sight of three, white haired teenagers, who were sitting with the dark haired girl who had quipped out earlier.

The scientists turned around too late, in an effort to avoid the knight’s gaze. “Gee, what a bunch of snitches,” Robbie mumbled. The three guards started to walk over to the table.

“Dr...Robbie?”

“Who’s asking?” Robbie squinted with his dark brown eyes.

“Doctor? Really? Is this some kind of prank? You and your friends don’t even look old enough to drink.”

He scoffed. “Okay, first, yes I am a doctor! I didn’t fly through all those courses over four years just to be called, ‘Mr.’ And secondly, I’ll have you know that I am a ripe 20 years of age today, and I’m here drinking expired apple juice with my associates. So take that, pal!”

Beside him, Purah gave a proud nod in agreement. Zimiri started to wave politely at the guard, but Adello grabbed his arm before he could finish the movement. The guard was a bit unsettled with the way that girl was glaring at him. What was some random Hylian doing hanging out with a bunch of Sheikah anyway?

“Right, well, look here, son. Some curious aristo-brat snuck into the courtyard and caused one of those flying, metal Sheikah things to fall apart. My boss said that it was your prototype so you should come back and clean it up before something explodes, and possibly give a sincere apology to the meddling kid who got a few scratches.”

Robbie threw his hands in the air, exasperated. “You’re really gonna pull me out of a birthday just so I can go apologize to a spoiled kid for breaking in and ruining my Guardian?”

“If it lets me keep my job, then yeah.”

Robbie mumbled something about not getting a slice of the apple cake pie.

Suddenly, Adello got up and pushed her chair in, smoothing out the belt around her tunic as she walked towards them.

“Ah yes, well, thank you my dear assistant for the assessment but I’m capable of taking it from here.”

The guard raised a bushy, black eyebrow. “Sorry, wha—”

“You said you only wanted Dr. Robbie? Well great job, you found them. Now let’s get going, I need to finish up a new design anyway.”

“You’re...Robbie? You’re a... clearly not—”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I should have had my mother consult you for your opinion before I was given my name.”

This time, the guard didn’t smile along with her quip. “This is not the time for—”

She held up a finger to silence him, and glared at the three guards with her iron eyes.

“Look, I’m not a nobody. I’m more than capable of fixing up the guardian and any other disasters you might have left lying around the castle grounds. If I’m feeling generous, maybe I’ll even lick the kid’s boots, it’s not my first time dealing with this, alrighty?”

The knights looked at each other, quizzically. The researcher crossed her arms.

“You’re still following your precious orders, aren't you? How would you know what Dr. Robbie looks like? You can’t be faulted for not knowing someone you never met. So, you’ll just have to take my word for it.”

The blonde man behind the gruff, black caped guard, whispered something to his female coworker. Her gaze switched between the girl and the man. Still seeing the uncertainty in their eyes, Adello leaned closer to the knight and lowered her voice. “Come on, have a little heart, it’s his birthday.”

A beat of silence sat, only filled by the mild mumbling and chatter of the tavern. Finally, the guard let out a sigh.

“Alrighty Dr. Kimura. I’ll help escort you to the site.”

Robbie started to protest, but Adello quickly silenced him with a wink. The guard turned towards the rest of the room, yelling, “The rest of you, the sun is gonna rise in a few hours so save your rioting for then! Am I clear?”

The patrons just responded with stupid groans and half-hearted agreements. They started walking towards the door. The female guard started to put a hand on Adello’s shoulder, but she brushed it off, saying something along the lines of “I can walk on my own two feet, thank you very much.”

Purah turned in her seat. “I’ll save a slice of cake pie for you!” Adello turned her head and responded with a two fingered salute, before disappearing out the door with the guards.

The tension in the tavern was almost immediately cleared, the moment the knights left. Most of the people went back to their normal conversational volume, and the waiters began to patter about with more confidence. However, Zimiri slumped in his seat, letting out a sigh.

“Why does she always do things like that?”

Robbie fiddled with the edge of his cup, tracing his finger around the rim. “Well, you know her. Undermining authority? Check. Insults and quips? Check.”

Robbie continued to list off more traits, but it faded out of Zimiri’s ear. Always jumping onto other’s burdens. Ah, that idiot. I bet she hasn’t slept for the last two days.

Purah suddenly piped up, taking out her pen and rapping it against the table. “Alright you two, let’s not let the sacrifice be in vain. Pool your rupees, we’re getting Robbie the fancy cake pie.”

The clatter of a few red and blue rupees echoed on the wooden table, although Zimiri knocked Robbie’s share aside, saying how the birthday tyrant shouldn’t have to pitch in. Purah turned in her chair and started to wave her hand, in order to get the attention of a waiter. The bard watched as a woman with a tray started to walk over to the table. Then, he turned to Robbie.

“So what should we do while we wait?” Zimiri asked. Robbie stroked his chin, looking around the room.

“I think...the people could still use some music.”

Looking out at the crowd, Zimiri noticed how the guards' interference had really dampened the atmosphere. The warm and lively laughter that was present just a few moments earlier was now replaced with more monotone chatter.

He nodded his head in agreement, putting on a charming smile. The place needed a new pick-me-up, did it?

Well, what else is a bard for?

Stepping back onto the stage, he strummed an open chord, double checking the tuning. The whooping and clapping started to return, much to his delight. Plucking a familiar melody, the warm feeling in his stomach returned as he watched the new smiles that started to fill the room. However, before he began to sing, Zimiri first focused on craning his neck to look out a window, trying to catch a glimpse of a certain girl in the night.

It seemed the moon and sun were balanced on the edge of the world. The night had started to submerge behind the walls of West Castle Town, with only the brightest stars still perched upon the ink of the navy blue sky. The silver lining of greying clouds just barely glowed from the faint light of the day, still trying to break out of the eastern waters.

Adello’s footsteps echoed through the cobblestone streets, but she could barely hear it against the shifting of metal plates from the guards in front of her.

The gruff man looked back, scratching his peach fuzzed chin as he spoke. “Listen, if you finish your work quick I might be able to escort you back here.”

Adello shook her head. She turned to retrieve a journal from the pouch on her belt, opening its pages as an excuse to avoid his gaze. “No, it’s fine. I still have some more work I should be finishing up at home anyhow.”

“You...live at the castle?”

“Mmm.”

The guard took her blunt response as a sign to not continue with the niceties, much to Adello’s relief. Looking up, she gazed at the looming castle. Its towers were like mountain peaks, sitting above the blurred silhouettes of the buildings of Castle Town.

Taking out a bit of charcoal, she started to sketch its outline on a fresh page in her journal. While she only had one color, she tried to capture the shadows and lighting that cascaded on one side of the castle to the other.

The female guard slowed her step, starting to walk alongside the researcher.

“Already working?”

Adello didn’t look up from her journal. “Uh… you could say that.”

She laughed. “Well you best hope you know what you’re doing. This kid’s father has been yelling at Her Highness all night. Supposedly because she’s helping to lead Sheikah research, so everyone associated with guardians is at fault.”

Adello finished up the tower of Princess Zelda’s study in her sketch. She smiled to herself at the finished work. It was one of her better pieces. Putting the journal away, she turned back to the guard and scoffed. “Is that so?”

The guard hummed a yes, her blonde braid swaying to each side as she walked. “Apparently, the kid is the son of some visiting nobleman from the East Post. It’d be in your best interest to apologize profusely if you still wanna walk around alive.”

Adello shook her head. She didn’t know it then, but looking back, many moons from now, she would laugh at the irony of her response.

“I’d rather die.”

#botw #breath of the wild #legend of zelda botw #loz botw #botw fanfiction #where time takes us #botw oc #adello #zimiri

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havemyoldusername · 4 years

Text

Legion - from a design perspective

Costume design:

In Legion, each character has their own colour scheme. It comes out in the clothes they wear primarily I was bored so I decided to catalog and analyse the costume design of Legion - which has fast become one of my favourite shows.

Syd: From the first moment we see Syd on screen, she’s wearing a black Clockworks jacket with orange pants. From then on, most of what we see her in throughout all three seasons is mostly back clothing with an orange accent. In the first few episodes of season 1, she wore black with an orange coat or an orange hair tie. She’s also been seen in yellow, and red. But always mostly in black. In season 3 she wears orange/red/pinkish tinted glasses which I see as more of a reference to her namesake ‘Syd’ Barrett of Pink Floyd. Orange can symbolise both optimism and negativity, while also meaning communication with others (or wanting to communicate with others).

Kerry: The first time we see Kerry on screen, she’s wearing an almost exclusively black and white ensemble. The end of that episode, she’s wearing black and white with a brown jacket. That’s Kerry in civilian attire. For a few episodes in season one she wears black and brown, however her colour scheme throughout the seasons is most consistently blue and brown, with her primarily wearing a blue jumpsuit with a brown belt and brown coat in season 1. In season 2 she wears a blue shirt and pants with a brown short sleeved coat that does up at the chest. In season 3 she wears a blue jumpsuit again but this time with a brown harness over her chest. Her hair is black but during season 2 and onwards, she has a white stripe on one side. Blue can symbolise loyalty and integrity, and brown can mean protection (Kerry is extremely loyal while also very adept at fighting and takes a role of protection for others and Cary).

Cary: Cary doesn’t necessarily have a colour scheme, though in a way he does. While he wears one of the more ‘normal’ outfits, consisting of a long sleeved button up, a vest, a tie and occasionally a blazer, he sometimes parallels Kerry in colours. For the most part in season 1 Cary wears some variation of browns and whites, while in season 2 and 3 he is more often seen wearing browns, blues and whites with the occasional red or yellow. Some scenes where he and Kerry are focused, Cary can be seen wearing a blue shirt, black vest (or dark blue vest) and brown tie. Blue can also mean wisdom, and brown can also mean security and comfort (Cary is smart while also being the body Kerry retreats to when she’s hurt, or needs time out).

Melanie: Melanie in season one primarily wears a light peach/pink colour and beige. This is in opposition to Clarke’s dark reds and browns, portraying them as two sides to the fight, one light and one dark. This changes in season 2 as Melanie is more often seen wearing greys, blacks and very dark reds, which signifies what happens to her in that season - where she chooses Oliver over everyone, choosing to help Farouk and become one of his hosts because of it. She’s become tainted in season 2. In season 3, she’s only seen in two episodes, but in the first episode she’s back in peach/pink, so she’s happy, and in her second episode she’s in browns and whites, but they’re generally lighter than season 2. Her costuming is a great representation of how design can foreshadow the character arc.

Amy: Amy is mostly dressed in green. The first time we see her she’s in a green dress, then again at her home, and throughout the season she’s in greens and blues. In season 2, the two episodes we see her alive (the episode she dies and the episode of ‘what could’ve been’) she’s in green while her manifestations to Lenny are also in green. Green is a relaxing colour, can represent healing but also inexperience.

Lenny: Now Lenny’s interesting. When she’s used as the face for Farouk, her clothes are dark black and browns, generally consisting of a black under shirt and brown overalls. In the end of season 1, Lenny’s clothes turn all black (with a little white for aesthetic purposes) as the identity of the Shadow King is revealed. As herself in season 2-3, her clothes consist of blues, browns and blacks, particularly in season 2 as she’s still a part of Farouk for the first few episodes. In season 3 she’s wearing almost exclusively blue in varying shades. In season 1 flashbacks where Lenny replaced Benny in David’s mind Lenny’s wearing black and red, while in Clockworks she’s wearing black and orange - as orange seems to be the uniform, with a red stripe on her jacket.

Farouk: Farouk is primarily in brown, and his glasses are yellow (The devil with the yellow eyes). In the past, Farouk wears red, which is one of the main colours signifying evil (note, Lenny wears hints of red in the flashbacks with David). Farouk’s embroidered clothing is coloured yellow In Morocco. Yellow can mean cowardice as well.

David: David has the simplest and yet most complicated clothing in the show. His clothing choices are generally dark colours, with season 1 primarily putting him in black, white, grey and yellow (possibly to hint at Farouk’s presence). His clothes are also the most casual while being a little odd and unmatched (to tie into his erratic nature). David’s Clockworks jacket has a yellow stripe. In season 2 David is put into red, orange, green, black and grey primarily. All of them are quite dark. Probably to signify his descent on the dark path. David’s alters - the other versions of him - in season 2, wear the same outfit but with a different coloured shirt. One wears yellow, for example. In season 3, David almost exclusively wears his red commune outfit - and in addition his blue drug turns red when he gets angry - and David’s the bad guy in season 3. His alters have no variation in season 3 from what I can remember. Grey can mean indecisiveness, while also signifying the grey zone between good and evil. Red can symbolise determination, anger and ambition.

Ptonomy has the least interesting costuming of the main group so I won’t talk about him.

#legion #david haller #sydney barrett #kerry loudermilk #cary loudermilk #melanie bird #amahl farouk #lenny busker #analysis #tv show analysis #clothing analysis

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clarissaartap · 4 years

Photo

Jeepneys by Manansala 1951 Enamel on fiberboard 51 cm x 59 cm

Born on January 22, 1910 in Macabebe, Pampanga, Vincente Silva Manansala is an acclaimed Filipino painter and artist. In his youth, he considered his hobbies, kite-making and creating charcoal sketches on paper, as fun, temporary escapes from his labor-intensive jobs of being a newsboy and shoe shiner in Intramuros. At the age of 15, he found that his inclination to the arts brought him under the mentorship of Ramon Peralta to learn the fundamentals of painting at a sign and poster shop. A year after, he enrolled at the University of the Philippines School of Fine Arts. When he graduated in 1930, not only was he able to master the basics of oil-painting, but he was also able to merit a great deal of financial aid, scholarships, and grants from art establishments around the world due to the artistic prowess and prodigious creativity he displayed during his stay in the institution. Later in his career, he received multiple awards and held positions in esteemed local and international art establishments.

The education and training he took up in countries like France, Canada, the United States of America, and Germany, was reflected in his approach to his artworks, which were obviously products of international influence. It was refreshing in the local art scene at that time, which drew in a massive audience for his exhibits. Rapidly gaining popularity, Vicente’s eccentric aesthetic made him a pioneer of modernism of the arts in the Philippines. His style could be referred to as “transparent cubism,” which involves scattered facets of varying hues across the painting. His paintings created lasting impact to their audience, as his technique seamlessly blended geometry with expressionism, calculation with spontaneity. His genius as an artist transcends beyond his technical innovation, as the subject matter in his paintings, centered on the post-war urban experience, spoke to a new Filipino audience. The end of World War II sparked a type of social awareness that Vicente tastefully incorporated into his artistry. As he took inspiration from his immediate surroundings, Vicente’s paintings revolved around the life of the commoner. He took everyday scenes, objects, and places, like family gatherings, cockfights, native delicacies, the slums in the urbanized areas of the country, religious figures, and painted them in his slightly more westernized fashion that somehow made them iconically Filipino (Paras-Perez, 1980).

Jeepneys is the title given by Vincente to his work. Based on the title, and the painting itself, the image he intended to create was the daily traffic congestion in the metropolis. Given that the jeepney is one of the most affordable means of transportation readily available to the masses, Vicente probably wanted to cement the theme of daily Filipino encounters as the core of his collection. This work was made in 1951, just six years after the war ended. It is known that jeepneys quickly surfaced as a makeshift, creative way in an effort to re-establish inexpensive public transportation, much of which had been destroyed during World War II. This was done by repurposing and decorating the surplus jeeps from American troops in order for it to be suitable to accommodate several passengers and look visually appealing, colorful, and eye-catching as it traveled on the road (Platino, 2014). The popularity and the history of the jeepney during that time may have also prompted Manansala to create this artwork. The painting is currently displayed in the Ateneo Art Gallery as a gift from Fernando Zobel.

Jeepneys is a painting done on a fiberboard using enamel. A wash of white and bright yellow was laid down first, before hasty, daubs of other colors in varying saturations, like orange, red, and brown were applied. The use of enamel on fiberboard allowed for the different-colored strokes to be semi-translucent and glassy without the need for tedious modification of the paint, permitting the yellow hue to penetrate through the secondary layer of pigments. This mimicked a filter of warmth throughout the piece and brought about a more cohesive color palette. The presence of the different colors also distinguish one entity in the painting from another, allowing for clarity of scenery despite the expressive style employed by Manansala. This clarity is also achieved through the use of actual, irregular, black lines that serve as outlines of the subjects in the painting. The inconsistency and coarseness of these lines give a sense of spontaneity to the piece. On top of these outlines, smudges of warm blues were added as accent colors to impart variety against the otherwise unified, chromatic value scale of only varying shades of red and yellow; this makes the painting more interesting and more captivating of the attention of its viewers. Slivers of white highlights also creep through the painting.

With the guidance of the chromatic value and the black outlines in the painting, I can identify many jeepneys and people as subjects, which makes me infer that the setting is an urbanized area, like Metro Manila. In the upper portion of the painting, I can see even more people, lined up, probably waiting for a ride to get where they want to be. I deduce that these are common Filipinos, patiently queuing for transportation to get home from work. The reds and yellows make me believe that it is sunset, or time for people to return to their homes after a day at their jobs. The primary colors of the painting may also signify the colors of the Philippine flag, in order to place emphasis on the Filipino origins of the jeepney, and on just how routine the scenario depicted in the painting is in the country.

Unlike the vast majority of Manansala’s works, this particular painting of his makes use of more organic shapes than geometric ones, a hallmark of his signature “transparent cubism” style. Similar to his other paintings, this painting is composed of superfluous shapes of different colors that contribute to an overall puzzle-like look. The distribution of these shapes and visual weight is more or less uniform across the entire work, which makes the painting balanced. The irregularity of the shapes, formed by both colors and lines, also evoke a touch of movement and life to the whole piece to be perceived by the viewer. There is also very minimal negative space in the painting; the fiberboard is saturated with different objects and characters. This gives the piece an disorganized rhythm which almost makes the conveyed scene feel chaotic to the viewer. The seemingly rough texture of the painting, probably achieved through the use of a fiberboard with grooves and indentations as its canvas, gives the painting a rustic, undone edge. There is also an absence of a defined vanishing point in the painting, which makes the elements appear very packed and arranged in a collage-like manner.

In my opinion, all of these elements reinforce the mayhem and frenzy of the traffic scene in the painting. Manila is known for its notorious traffic; streets are rarely peaceful in the midst of the relentless honking of vehicles, the reckless attempts of drivers to beat a red light, and the rowdy crowds of people on the street desperately trying to find a good deal or any sort of transportation to get where they need to be. The dynamism and movement in this painting, that I was able to immerse myself in, was successful in transporting me into the legendary Manila traffic. Given that this painting was made just a few years after the end of World War II, the Philippines was eager to rebuild its economy that had suffered tremendously during the war. This could have led to more Filipinos joining the workforce, and the subsequent increase in the number of people that had to be on the road to earn a living. The work of Manansala, Jeepneys, through its elements and composition, has successfully communicated the essence of a bustling city, brimming with vitality just as it is with madness.

I have utmost respect for Filipino artists like Vincente Manansala, who use their acquired techniques from other parts of the world to help in the progress and development of their own country. Jeepneys, along with Manansala’s other paintings and illustrations, is a carving etched on the history of art in the Philippines, as he spearheaded the rise of modernism in the local field of art. Other artists like Mauro Malang Santos, Antonio Austria, Angelito Antonio, and Mario Parial have been inspired to experiment with their own distinct, unconventional styles in painting because of the contributions of Manansala. His artistry birthed a new generation of artists that embraced their personal aesthetics. Beyond his mastery of art, I commend him for the common thread of daily, purportedly hackneyed conventions in the lives of everyday Filipinos that is firmly woven throughout his series of paintings. He shows that the average Filipino is worth creating art for. An image of the traffic-bombarded roads of the city are just as enthralling as extravagant portraits of doñas and dons, paintings of picturesque views that only the upper class can afford to see in a lifetime, and illustrations of glamorous novelties. I believe that in a way, Manansala’s work was able to open the once inclusive, intimidating realm of art to other people who resonate with his work that captures the unfeigned, honest heart of the Filipino.

To me, this painting does not necessarily pass the classic standards of rhythm, harmony, balance, and proportion, as it does in fact look disarrayed at first glance, especially when I consider that Manansala did in fact intend for this painting to represent a scene of jeepneys. It might even be difficult for some to make sense of the painting at first. In spite of this, I cannot help but be in awe when I look at this painting, maybe because a sight that I am so familiar with, has been transformed into a expressive impasto of color, with details that take my gaze from one impressive fragment to another. The more I look at the painting, the more things I am able to find that make the work even more fascinating. I do find significant cultural value in this painting as well. The use of primary colors keeps the painting grounded in its Filipino roots, and it also allows for a more graphic projection that the jeepney is a mode of transportation unique to the Philippines. Its history of it being a product of Filipinos’ resourcefulness and resilience after the war makes it a cultural staple in the country. There is a deep heritage and origin to something deceivingly simple like a humble jeepney, like there is a hidden complexity and masked grandeur and to the everyday, seemingly mundane, themes of Manansala’s works.

References:

Paras-Perez, R. (1980). Manansala. PLC Publications.

Platino, M. (2014). Philippine jeepney: World War II surplus vehicle that became a cultural icon. Retrieved from https://globalvoices.org/2014/04/20/philippine-jeepney-world-war-ii-surplus-vehicle-that-became-a-cultural-icon/

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foxymuses · 4 years

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on the topic of the LED (mostly) re: connor and 900 specifically (as simon’s more or less functions as you might expect)

this is copied and edited some from my old blog so. i’ll try to fix the wording to make it more sensical but. there’s some complicated contradictions in here that i’m too lazy to fix at present. i also kinda started rambling about more then yet partially related led business. but it got long then, and longer edited, so under the cut it goes.

so the rk series (specifically 800/900) led functions differently than a normal android led (which would make sense given events and shit, lemme explain), but mostly because, with specificity to connor, he’s supposed to hunt androids and particularly deviants, and they need a method of long range control to make sure he does that. why the led? lemme explain basic leds first

so leds, primarily, appear to be aesthetic. a way to be like ‘this is an android’. for the most part, they remain a clear, bright blue. red rings typically indicates deviant, if the deviant hasn’t already removed their led (which seems to be the closest thing to pain an android feels, if markus’ face says anything) but could also just be because it’s forcibly removing something from one’s skin – and even if they can’t feel pain, they can definitely feel the twisting as the led disconnects. an android’s ring can also flash red momentarily after experiencing a shock (emotionally, physically…pick something)

yellow rings are harder to pinpoint exactly what they represent, but it seems that most often its a state of ‘thinking’. whether this means an android going through an internal database, deciphering an emotion they’re feeling and don’t understand, or processing orders – it’s a state of calculations, however quick. it can also happen, sometimes but not always, during connections (as in, sending a money transfer, or when connor makes his reports.) signifying a transfer of data.

this is most prominent when markus converts androids. sometimes, they don’t go red right away – instead, they go yellow (see, the androids you can free at the cyberlife warehouse). this might be for androids who have not experienced enough to know true deviancy yet, but yellow rings are sort of ‘can be any thing for a number of reason’ but we can typically (and usually rightly so) assume thinking is happening to some degree, whether through coded calculation or through actual processing of a situation.

it’s also quite often that an android whose ring has gone yellow, or is yellow for a period of time, goes red.

in some cases, it seems the leds act, like i’ve said, as connections (see, markus at the paint shop) but i think they’re more like antennas. they act as a beacon for the machines to tune into each other (i say machines, because i assume it may also work not just android to android but android to atm if needed, or vending machine, or something, like during some of the interactions you can have as markus in the stratford tower). it enhances, and perhaps speeds up, the transfer of data. (have you seen those phones that can share charge but simply touching each other? like that) however this led is not necessary, it appears, because at the stratford tower, markus is able to do the same transfer of information without his led. (please note my slight hesitance on this due to markus being an RK model, and also that he touches that receptionist android at some point during this process. though if we look at the freedom march, it also seems he is able to send short distance transfers without touching, and does not have his led there either. it can be argued, however, that if he had the led still, he could reach further. i digress)

but if it is the case, then it’s safe to assume that without leds, transfer is merely slowed from like. a 2sec to a 5 sec process or something. nothing big. just enough to factor that the signal doesn’t have that direct led to led link and has to actually go through typical data transfer processes. all in all, the led has a function, but is not entirely necessary for the function.

i can also, and will be, arguing that a good portion of the led is also sort of a gps tracker, and once removed, blinds cyberlife to where an android is. not that cyberlife is actively seeking out any of these androids, because several of them still have their leds when they get to jericho, but it does give them a sort of access to know ‘this android is still alive’ versus ‘this one has been deactivated’, and when removed, gives them a sort of blankness regarding that android, and might even register as ‘deactivated or otherwise missing’

alright, so how does this add up to connor and/or 900?

okay so connor’s is, of course, standard in the aesthetic department. a simple blue ring in the temple. however what’s different is that, as i said way up there, cyberlife is sending him to hunt other androids, and there’s very little room to screw up there. the world has definitely improved, but keeping a leash that long while maintaining the idea you aren’t is still fairly difficult. so the leash is attached via the led. the data signal in connor’s led isn’t something he can just pop out and whatever -- i mean, yes, he can pop out the led, but because of his specific design and intention, he can’t disable the leash. which can be kinda of complicated to understand since i basically just said that the led in normal androids also doesn’t disrupt functionality when removed, but the problem here is that other androids use it a simple data transfer, so the led aesthetic ranks higher than it’s actual use, and disabling it is mostly just disabling the aesthetic to make an android look more human. yes, the functionality is still there, albeit potentially delayed. connor can remove the aesthetic bit, pop out the led, but it’s function runs so much deeper than a mere antenna, a heightened data processing that, even if normal leds when removed don’t cause a serious lack of functionality, connor’s removed does nothing making it therefore virtually unnecessary to remove it. the led of a normal android removed may give them a better chance of hiding in plain sight, but if connor’s is removed, it essentially triggers cyberlife to be like ‘this is a problem something has happened’ which makes connor more vulnerable. but i think i’m talking in circles now so... moving on.

it’s a lot more complicated than that. the led is what controls the garden (which is basically the control center, the internal command) – when connor makes a report to amanda, his led goes yellow. he almost goes into rest mode, like a computer sleeping, the led indicating this. the led’s signal is linked through his programming, through his memories and his harddrive and into his decision making and his biocomponents. it acts as a method for cyberlife to make sure they have complete control over the situation. the led is a kill switch, essentially. if it’s removed, as i said, it warns cyberlife, and they can choose to shut him down and send out a new connor with his led still intact. the led is the leash. it can monitor his software instability, it can change the calculations to make sure he’s choosing the choices cyberlife wants. it can even go red and force deviancy by creating questions in connor’s mind. by being the connection to cyberlife, and by being the internal hub that controls the zen garden and thus controls connor’s reactions to the world based off of amanda’s incessant questioning, the led basically grants cyberlife an impossible amount of control over who connor is and what he does.

most of the time, this doesn’t happen for machine connor because he’s doing the mission. yay, ta-da, cyberlife has their puppet. but let’s talk about deviant connor for a moment, when he thinks he won. the led forces him back into the mind as it lets cyberlife take control (to kill whoever is leading the deviants at the time), and connor, for the first time, is realizing that the situation has never been in his hands. he’s stuck inside his own led trying to break out before he does something he’ll regret.

now if he can’t, then he’s trapped in there, probably until they do something about it. but if he can, then naturally his first instinct is that he has to remove the led asap – breaking free, getting out through the backdoor is one thing, but he can only do it so many times, and even if it is permanent, he’d live in constant fear that it’d happen again. remove the led, remove the leash, right? but the the led is only the place where the leash clips on -- removing led doesn’t remove the entire inner link that cyberlife has, and sometimes there will be quiet orders or little bits in his programming that say to do this or tell him not to do that even though it’s against his own thoughts, and he’d have to find someone capable of working on androids to get that out of him. removing the led will not remove cyberlife, and may be more dangerous for him than he would’ve been keeping it. connor’s led is basically the puppet-master hub and you can’t believe what it tells you, especially mine, because i like to think at some point in his machine verse, even connor learns how to change the color of the led on command.

now i don’t typically write deviant connor except post-revolution where he succeeded in his mission of stopping markus, and he’s therefore deactivated only to be woken up later. because of his deactivation, when he’s reawoken, this connection isn’t gone but the zen garden is no longer functional, so there’s no real need to remove the led. in most cases he doesn’t.

anyway, the most important part of this stems from his fake deviancy verse, where he pretends to go deviant to get close to those in jericho and take them down from the inside. in this, he declines removing his led because 1) cyberlife would probably kill him outright because even if he was faking, that blinds them a little and they want that control and 2) by keeping his led, he’s keeping his place in the DPD as a double agent without them knowing what’s happening, and it also means that cyberlife can have access to everything that connor sees within jericho. so he doesn’t get rid of it.

so moving on to 900; 900′s led functions in much the same way as connor’s regarding his particular connection to cyberlife. the changes is that here, there is no amanda. the zen garden still exists to some degree, but is more of a place for 900 to go during stasis than it is a place for him to reflect on choices and be pushed towards cyberlife’s desires. with most rk900 models, there isn’t ever a moment where they’d consider removing the led, and in general removing it would signal a self destruct. the rk900 series also have a separate chip that is a separately coded ‘kill switch’ which, when activated, can send all the rk900s into terminator mode and cause mass chaos, and attempting to remove this switch will also more than likely trigger a self destruct. it’s a way to prevent the rk900s from successfully deviating, if they should ever actually get through the intense amounts of coding made to prevent it.

my point here is that cyberlife took what they knew of the 800 model and made it stronger, which is the most obvious in 900 because he’s the one they sent to the dpd to watch over those that had been around connor. for the most part, they don’t interfere, because 900 doesn’t have a precise mission that they’re trying to manipulate, but there are two instances that i’ve plotted out in which they do attempt to take over 900 in a way very similar to how they manipulated connor into almost shooting markus -- the first is in shutting down his decision making to try to make him shoot gavin, since gavin is his partner and cyberlife doesn’t like that 900 is choosing to be attached. the second is when this kill switch is activated. you can tell if 900 is not under his own control because when cyberlife takes him over, his led goes red and a thin line of red will circle his irises. they’ve essentially made it so the led in 900 functions as more of a chain than it does a leash; no, 900 doesn’t get stuck in a zen garden fighting his way out, but he does, if he wishes to stop, have to rewire his own coding. in being brainwashed, he can do this if he wants to. in having the kill switch activated, he cannot. the led essentially assures that 900 remains a machine, whereas with connor it was assurance that cyberlife could force deviancy if they wanted.

900 does not remove his led because he sees no need; for the most part, even if cyberlife has that chain attached to him, he can shut down their attempts to manipulate him because of how strongly they coded him and because of his attachment to gavin. they are there to make sure he doesn’t decide to go against their wishes, but more or less have no control over how he chooses to do things. so even if 900 does a lot of bullshit that humans would rather he didn’t, because the zen garden is not technically a thing, there’s nowhere for them to send him while they change stuff.

however, the kill switch cannot be deactivated by himself, as it is embedded within the code for his basic programming, so it requires someone else to fuck with. in activating this, they just turn off the ‘social’ part of 900, which prevents him from properly recognizing the situation and adjusting his behavior accordingly, allowing them to just set him on a war path in which he wouldn’t recognize even gavin’s face.

it’s important, also, to note, that the only person who can safely interface with 900 is connor, because connor’s led has similar qualities, and because connor can navigate through the bullshit that is cyberlife’s programming for control. that means only connor is capable of ending the kill switch activation by interfacing to directly enter the led powerhouse and put a pause on the destruction long enough for someone to hold 900 down and remove the chip. this is dangerous for connor, however, because he opens himself up to that cyberlife control via the led to led interaction.

now, anyone can interface with connor because his led allows for deviancy, so it allows people in. 900′s was built without that allowance, so interfacing will actually be painful for a different android because their led, if they still have it, won’t be able to process that much data at once, and if they don’t have it, then they won’t even have an antenna by which to process the data to begin with. he can, if he so desires, allow people to interface with choice parts of himself, but he doesn’t really.

and in terms of aesthetic, 900′s is far more calm, which is in line with his lack of acknowledging emotions. his led rarely goes yellow except if he’s in true stasis, and for the most part is that soft blue. it will flicker red if he’s angry (such as if someone threatens gavin) but generally, you won’t be able to use the led to decipher his own moods.

and then with 900, he can’t remove the led unless he has also already removed the kill switch chip and even then, he usually doesn’t because removing it would mean that he wishes to appear human, and 900 never believes himself to not be a machine, so that would be just. ridiculous to fathom for him. the most he’ll typically do is cover it if, for instance, he’s in a relationship with gavin, and gavin wants him to for whatever reason. but yeah 900 won’t typically allow his led to be remove, especially pre-kill switch.

i went on like 8 tangents and made a lot of contradictory information but this is ages long so we’ll jsut end it here

#;;connorcanon #;;rk900canon #LOOK I DONT EVEN KNOW IF THIS MAKES SENSE

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literarydumpinggrounds · 5 years

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Secret’s Out: Part 3/?

Pairing: Draco Malfoy/Slytherin!Reader

Word Count: 3,090

Warnings: hints of mild angst? flirting?

Summary: Pansy Parkinson can’t seem to keep her mouth shut, and Slytherin!Reader is out for blood. However, some things aren’t always as sour as they seem.

Notes: I admittedly had a bit of trouble with getting this one to a place I was happy with. It seemed to go in a direction of its own! So, as usual, enjoy! :)

Draco had an advantage when it came to potioneering, due to the amount of time he’d spent under the protective wing of Severus Snape since the Triwizard Tournament. He’d spent far too long with the raven-haired professor drilling defense and procedure into his memory to be a stranger to the complexity of laborious potions. Amortentia was merely tedious work compared to the things Snape had taught him, and it was amusing that Slughorn made it seem so severely difficult. From the moment he was born, his entire life proved to be a never ending lesson on how he was expected to be. He was expected to be the embodiment of perfection, whether in appearance or execution, to have an undying, unconditional loyalty to his bloodline, and to never underestimate the power to be found within pride. His father was the first person to set his expectations of life; never expect praise, even if its rightfully earned; never beg, or apologize, or show weakness. Lucius never taught him how to deal with emotion, however, and that was the exact predicament he was struggling withㅡ an emotion so foreign that he couldn’t even begin to decipher it.

Once he’d finished his brew with the required attentiveness, he watched as it began to glitter and glow. The entire elixir turned a brilliant shade of carmine, underlying tones of fuchsia and mulberry dancing amongst the shimmer as spirals of entrancing pearlescent steam ascended from the bubbling cauldron. Draco was quite clever when it came to many things, but he could admit that even this was impressive. The scent from the cauldron engulfed him in a warm security that he couldn’t recall ever feeling prior to that moment, and despite its soothing nature, it set him on edge. The bitter floral notes of Daisyroot Draught mingled with the earthy tones of the soil after heavy rain, and embraced the refreshing scent of sweet strawberries. He was ripped from his daze as Professor Slughorn let out an obnoxious squawk of surprise, forcing Draco’s crystal orbs to settle onto you.

“Merlin’s beard, Miss Y/L/N! I believe you’ve done it!”

Draco was accustomed to his achievements going unacknowledged when it came to Hogwarts, or anywhere for that matter, so it came as no surprise when Slughorn’s praise fell only onto you. He was used to Hermione Granger or Harry Potter soaking up praise for their successes, so he found your moment in the limelight to be refreshing. He smiled vaguely to himself as the surprise in your expression melted into that of appreciative pride, only to wipe it from his face altogether as Pansy’s voice cut through the silence. He was immediately overtaken by the familiar burn of irritation, his hands curled into fists as they gripped the fabric of his robes. It'd been there a while now, this anger, escaping when he least expected it. He was angry at everyone from strangers to his peers, hell, he would find himself angry if his sandwich wasn't quite right. Draco was under immense pressureㅡ a perpetual state of fear ㅡwith nobody he could confide in, and the truth was, he desperately needed positive change. There was more going into his mind and body than he could handle, and he could feel himself slipping away from who he thought he was each time he did something to please the Dark Lord.

Before he could even stop the words, his brow had creased in annoyance, and he’d told Pansy offㅡ completely ignoring the questioning looks he received from Crabbe and Goyle as he returned his gaze on you.

And just as fast as the anger was there, it dissipated as your eyes met his; a hint of that previous warmth spreading through his chest, forcing him to look away.

Say something, idiot. Do something!

ㅡ

You’d received several various gifts from an anonymous source throughout the next few weeks, and you’d managed to keep it hidden from your roommates. However, today’s theme started before you’d even managed to get out of bed. Vixen had discovered a bountiful bouquet of red roses at the door, and woke you with an absolute frenzy after reading the attached piece of parchment.

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet.” Vixen stood at the center of the room, making an absolute show out of reading the message scrawled within the parchment. She stretched it between her perfectly manicured fingertips before shifting her weight to one side, eyes flitting up to you inquisitively before she continued, her tone full of amusement. “Red roses are meant to signify beauty and perfection. I hope they’re to your liking, darling.” she spat the last word incredulously, slapping you with the note a couple times to emphasize the incoming climax of the message. You had been sitting at the end of the bed in mild dismay, demanding that she stopped hitting you as you pushed yourself onto your feet, rubbing your temples.

“Signed, DM!” she squawked.

Signed who?

Your eyes grew wide as your mind was sent head first into a surging perplexity, your feet beginning to carry you across the floor. Everyone was making the trip to Hogsmeade today, and you’d been grateful for it until this strange turn of events presented you with an issue far more severe than your difficulty with Herbology. Since Draco had sent you that charmed note, you’d been waking each morning to a new gift at the door of your room; always with some charming sentiment, but never once with a signature.

“How could you not tell me about this little rendezvous with Malfoy!” Vixen stipulated, her arms crossed over her chest as she stood dumbfounded at the foot of the bed, earning a bark of a laugh from you.

She’d been silently observing you with an indescribable calm, no doubt trying to read your mind as it raced a thousand miles a minute. “It’s hardly a rendezvous if one of the members involved doesn’t even know it’s happening! They’ve been coming in for nearly two weeks, but they’ve never been signed.” you insisted with a gesture of your hand, plopping yourself down onto your unmade bed. “It makes perfect sense now.”

Vixen’s emerald eyes blazed with mischief as she crossed her arms over her chest. Clearly displaying her amusement with a determined arch of her brow, and a simple truth.

“You’ve got to confront him, Y/N.”

ㅡ

Hogsmeade was a maze of winding streets, as complex as the heart. The streets were the veins, paved with elaborate cobblestone that had seen a million footsteps, and the people were the blood. You knew every crooked road and alleyway better than the spells and techniques you learned daily, though perhaps not more vivid than the smells that accompanied it; an elaborate mingling of aged parchment, chimney soot, baked goods and sweets, and the warm bitterness of the saloon.

You’d always felt that Hogsmeade was what a village became when there was no city planning, replaced with a great enthusiasm for jovial experience and tradition. Every building was different, borrowing this and that from another era. It made the place as comforting as a beloved quilt, every patch unique and as eye catching as the one before. Every red was the exact same one, a brilliant cherry scarlet. Every blue was a bright royal hue, neither dark or light. The street lamps were the same canary yellow as the store lights, but it was more than that. The street was free of litter, and the walls were aged perfection. It was whimsical and welcoming, and it was exactly what you needed after the last few weeks.

You followed alongside Vixen as she weaseled information on Ernie Macmillan’s current relationship status from a few Hufflepuff girls on your trek to the Three Broomsticks. The clouds covered the sun in pillowy wisps, revealing the approaching infliction of more snow. You were appreciating the atmosphere of the village, trailing along with leisure when your eyes caught a glimpse of a familiar face inside of the Honeydukes Sweet Shop, causing your feet to still.

The encouraging words that your roommate had uttered mere hours earlier ran through your mind, burning every atom like fiery footprints as it came and went. Making up your mind, you watched him discreetly through the window, dressed in his lovely black clothing, his coat undone to accommodate for the heat inside, not a hair out of place.

However, reality faded back into view as Vixen’s questioning voice called out to you, your decisive gaze settling onto the celadon door.

“I’llㅡ I’ll catch up with you, okay? Our usual booth.”

Without waiting for a response, you wandered into the shop, welcoming the pleasant warmth as it soothed your chilled skin. The enthusiastic chatter inside was no different than that on the street, but the scent of sugar and spice was much stronger. Among the shelves upon shelves of the most succulent-looking sweets imaginable stood Draco, clashing drastically from the vibrant aesthetic of the shop in his solid black attire.

He was the kind of guy that girls fantasized about, his effortless elegance and charm giving him the advantage over most. And though you were never one to follow the crowd, you'd admittedly fallen victim to those blue eyes long ago.

You watched him from across the crowded room, swallowing the nauseating nerves that you’d been fighting with for the past few hours as you took note of his thoughtful expression. He always seemed to be lost in thought these days, in the room but a million miles away. You wondered if he knew how exhausted he looked when he thought nobody was looking, when he let his guard down. He wasn’t particularly special looking to some, but he’d always found a way to stand out, especially as of late. There was something about Draco, that apparent confidence and inflated ego, that had girls muddling their words and blushing uncontrollably whenever he was around.

Outside it began to flurry, the large flakes invading steady and soft, falling from a sky of white velvet to mask the earth. They came together, and though you knew that you would have to journey through it to get to the Three Broomsticks later, you enjoyed the beauty of it for a moment. It was when you returned your gaze to the blonde that he saw you, a light illuminating his prior melancholy expression into something far more pleasant, his eyes sparkling as he flashed a brilliant smile.

Over the years, it seemed that distance was no match for attraction when it came to Draco. You could be at opposite ends of the earth, and there would still be a gravitational force pulling you together. Something about the two of you simply matched, unspoken but very clearly felt, and you hardly knew one another.

You couldn’t help but grow fond of his smile, something so rarely seen anymore, and hardly genuine when one did. It was days like this that you wondered if your mind was an engine or an exhaust, wondered if you were really the master of your individual thoughts, or if they were the result of deep thinking that you were only loosely aware ofㅡ like someone else was deciding for you. You often wondered if he ever felt that way.

A surge of confidence took hold of you, and you proceed to strut over to him despite the racing of your heart. “Funny,” you grinned, tracing your fingertips over the display that he stood on the opposite side of, your eyes never leaving his. “I never took you for a sugar quill kind of guy.”

“No?” he chuckled softly. “What kind of guy do you take me for then, Y/L/N?”

He looked down at the quill in his hand before settling it back into place, looking back up to you with a playful glimmer in his eyes. You teetered your head from side to side as you leisurely moved around to the other side of the display, as if contemplating the answer with great attention; a dramatized expression of deep thought settled on your features before you shrugged, twirling a violet quill between your fingertips as you looked back up to meet his gaze with a raised brow.

“The kind of guy to leave miscellaneous gifts at my doorstep.” you proposed confidently, a triumphant smirk tugging at the corners of your lips as a broad smile spread over his features, his head hanging in defeat. “In that case, I should probably tell you; I prefer daisies.”

The both of you bubbled at your comment, the air seeming to grow lighter as your amusement simmered down into mild snickering.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

ㅡ

It had been nearly half an hour since the both of you had settled into the window-seat to watch the chat and watch the snow, and Draco seemed more relaxed than you’d ever seen him. In that proximity you caught a whiff of him, that timeless scent of Lania aftershave that most wizards associated with their elders, somehow brought back to life on his skin; the bitter spice a familiar wave of warmth through your chest.

Falling in love seemed effortless in that moment, like the only thing that would ever matter was the two of you, eating sweeties in a window-seat as you watched the flurry intensify into heavy snow.

It was juvenile, inexcusably naive, and dangerously addictive, but being with Draco was like entering a house, and finally realizing you were home. When he smiled, it was like a blanket of security holding you close, making you feel safe. When your eyes met, it was like the stars of a thousand galaxies had unfolded within his irises, only to be seen by you. The feelings that swam within you were intoxicating. You felt like nothing was impossible, like you could conquer anything as long as he was by your side. The reality of it was, however, that his family was full of purist Death Eaters who would rather watch him bleed out before allowing you to be together. That was no secret since Lucius Malfoy was arrested, if it ever was. You wondered if he ever wished things had been different, or if the weight of his father’s expectations had been lifted.

You didn’t know much of anything, nobody did.

“You’re not what I expected, you know” you interjected into the silence, drawing his absentminded gaze from the artistic dendrites that were accumulating on the windowpane. “In fact, you aren’t anything like I’d expected.”

“Thank you?”

You shook your head slightly, your eyes crinkling at the corners at the sight of his hesitance. “I don’t mean anything by it, Draco, really. It’s justㅡ” you pondered your words carefully, observing the developing tension between his brows as he looked over your face in apprehension.

“Your friends aren’t exactly charming.” you pointed out, meet his gaze on it halted its travelling over your features. “I just don’t understand why you choose to surround yourself with people like them.”

His eyes were like undiscovered waters, so full of life and potential, yet so uncertain. Their watchet hues carrying his emotional currents with great intensity, only promising the observer an opportunity to breathe once they’ve drowned. You wondered if he’d always been so transparent, or if you’d just fallen victim to a well-placed masquerade all these years.

He shook his head, a conflicted look washing over his pointed features, his words laced with an underlying, possibly unintentional chill that you wished you weren’t on the receiving end of. “You couldn’t possibly understand, Y/N. You’re just a half-blood.”

Draco paled slightly at the sound of his own unfiltered words, his gaze falling to his lap. “It’s different, everything’s just different.”

His words stung like a slap to the face, despite the truth behind them. You couldn’t possibly know, because you had never lived a life anywhere near his own. You’d grown up in an average house, with simple things and a relatively simple life. Your entire existence had always seemed exceptionally ordinary, but now it seemed that nothing in your life was simple at all. Even with this being true, your knuckles were tensed white as they twisted the fabric of your robes. Your temper had always proved to be a force to be reckoned with, disembodied at times, and hard to control.

“I’ll have you know, my blood has never prohibited my fulfillment in life.” you found yourself drawn to your feet, arms crossed defensively over your chest as you watched him flounder helplessly. “Can you say the same, Malfoy?”

ㅡ

Your words dripped with an underlying animosity that was like acid, and it burned him to the core. Disappointment swam in your irises like a darkening cloud taking over the sky, and he wanted nothing more than to fix it, to take back what he’d said. He never wanted to see that look again ㅡ especially if he was the cause ㅡbut as he was about to speak, the bell at the door rang.

“Malfoy! Blaise is looking for you.” Goyle called out breathlessly, eyeing you suspiciously before he disappeared the same way he came.

Draco spun around to look to the door before looking back to you, a wave of distress briefly evident on his features. In complete honesty, he had never been so scared in his entire life. He was afraid of what was to come, what you would think of him when it did, and who he was dealing with. And yet he ignored that reluctance within him at the thought of walking away from that warm security that he felt when you were near, taking a step away from you.

“I have to go. I’llㅡ I’d love to see you again.”

The distance between you was growing, and he was practically willing to beg. Anything you asked of him if it meant he could rid himself of this incessant fear for a moment longer.

“The Astronomy Tower,” his eyes filled with hope. “Tonight. Will you meet me?” he pleaded, looking far too adorable for it to possibly be legal as he reached for the door.

You nodded, valiantly ignoring every ounce of common sense you had left as your shoulders sagged in defeat.

“It’s a date!” he declared dramatically as a brilliant smile of relief took over his lips, and with a slam of the door, he was gone.

What were you getting yourself into?

ㅡ

@httpsavocados

@that-weird-kid-charlie

@emothrash

@sinfulmango

@theroyalbrownbarbie

#draco malfoy #draco malfoy x reader #draco malfoy x you #draco malfoy/reader #draco malfoy/you #slytherin!reader #slytherin #draco malfoy x slytherin!reader #draco malfoy/slytherin!reader #harry potter #secrets out

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katiaelizabethanderson-blog · 5 years

Text

Ohayo ((オハヨウ) Satoshi Kon (2008) Film & Animation

scene 1 - 5

scene 6 - 11

scene 12 - 17

scene 18 - 23

scene 24 - 29

scene 30 - 35

The scene numbering is to make it easier to read the text as it might be hard to read in the screenshots, but the screen grabs of the scenes are still easily visible. Below is the corresponding notes (numbered) for each scene.

Scene Notes

The first scene is a title page, written in japanese is the word ‘Ohayo’, which translates to goodmorning in english.

This transitions with a close-up of some objects in the main characters room, a happy birthday flower bouquet.

This is the close-up. It pans down slightly, and transitions (the same way, by fading in opacity) to another detailed close-up.

Presumably a birthday present, and a birthday card. Some princess pink quilted handbag and basket (maybe lunchbox?) has flowers and the same ribbon as the bouquet. These items seem out of place in such a messy apartment with muted colours and old fashioned patterns as seen from the rest of the scene(s).

Cut to a close up of the main character who is trying to ignore her phone alarm. The outer edges of these close up shots are out of focus, leaving only the features of the face in sharp clarity, so we remain focused on the subject.

She scrunches up her face, an honest expression, unable to ignore the alarm any longer.

Wider shot of the room reveals a messy room, cluttered with things and posters all over the place. She lifts herself up heavily, slumped, and reaches out to grab her phone to shut off the alarm.

The one half of her remaining in bed is noticeably more opaque than the one who gets up to turn the alarm off.

Cut to her in the kitchen, where she bends down almost out of shot to get some orange juice out of the fridge. I like the portrayal of a woman here, as seen in the scrunched up face. It is an honest look at a real person, not an idealistic one, who is just finding it a bit hard to get up in the morning. It isn’t trying to make her look beautiful in every shot, and that’s relatable and real.

She glugs down the orange juice, tilting her head all the way back and finishing the carton. We see through her ghostly figure. The rest of the room is very dark, so we can assume it’s early, as we see the blinds are drawn but it is still very dark. We see her glugging the juice down from the way her neck moves, indicating big gulps. Again, this is honest and truthful portrayal of how people look in real life, when aggressively downing orange juice for sustenance in the morning.

A quick jump cut of her kicking the fridge door closed, we see more details, like piled up rubbish bags. Her life is unbalanced, disorderly, she might be depressed or just too busy to take care of her flat properly and that’s why she’s drinking orange juice for breakfast and not cleaning the clutter and rubbish.

More clutter. She is still visibly see-through. Reaching for the remote on a cluttered table, with old dishes and empty cans, even a half full wine glass.

Interesting angle as we see her sit down in front of the old fashioned style tv, turning it on, we see the news in the next scene.

Over the shoulder shot, dynamic use of small space. Would be hard to do this in real life setting, without warping perspective with a lens that would give the same frame so closely behind the subject.

Back to the same shot we saw before from what seems to be the viewpoint of on-top of the television – where we are now watching her. Her other ghostly counterpart wakes up and turns off the phone alarm, just as she did earlier. They are doing the same thing but out of sync, neither of them whole, or fully awake. Visible in sluggish body language, slumped shoulders, and transparent figures of the same person reveal a sense of emptiness.

Other self passes through her body, for a moment she becomes less transparent when the two halves meet. This is a kind of visual metaphor, that when we are balanced (whole) we feel more ‘full’ – complete, happy, or able. Being transparent like a ghost is kind of weak, no?

The other self goes about her morning routine, getting orange juice that the first half of her already drank.

She drinks it just the same. We view both halves of the main character at the same time quite often.

Close up of more transparent self (2nd awake).

Body language shows tiredness

Opening the bathroom door, the sun has come up now, illuminating the other ghostly self.

One half disappears into the bathroom, and the other self continues to brush her teeth, as their heads both disappear behind objects in the room.

We move to a side view from the perspective of the kitchen, and see a light and dark lighting of both halves. Again showing this theme of balance, light and dark within one whole. This reminds me of the present (gifts in scene__) in the first opening scene which seemed out of place in a dark and messy apartment, something so pristine and new, seemingly gifts for a different person more suited to them. Neat and tidy, more posh, more expensive, more ‘girly’ personality that the room (the owner of the presents) disputes.

They pass through each other again. This is significant conceptually and aesthetically. I have done this in my own film, and it’s a great powerful effect. They cast shadows on each other, it’s interesting to watch how they interact without knowing the other is there. Opposites of orange and blue coloured lighting are viable, another nod to the theme of duality, imbalance or contrast in one thing.

The second self to wake up is becoming less opaque, as the first one who woke up is becoming much more transparent. These are all indicators of becoming whole again, feeling like herself again, waking up to real life.

A moan escapes as we pan up from a shoulder height shot (close up) to her face looking up into the shower. The lighting is noticeable in the highlights and outlining of her side, and the water is very reflective on her skin.

They are both in the shower, that’s why she is less opaque.

This becomes more obvious when we see them separate from each other again, as she gets out of the shower.

2nd half of her is still very transparent at this point, much more see-through than she was at the start.

Steaming her face, close-up. Foliage in the foreground.

We see them separate again for a moment

Before they connect again, making a fully whole (not at all transparent) subject, signifying their merging and completion of the morning routine. Ready to start the day, I’m actually awake now.

This shot is the only scene where I believe she is made to look very pretty. Only once she has combined the light and the dark halves, is she allowed by the artist to be celebrated and become the object of desire or attention. There is a brief moment where we see her in the shower, it is a nice shot, and she is drawn in a pretty way, but this is where she looks almost angelic – a contrast to her scrunched up face or gulping of orange juice in earlier parts of the video.

She finally greets herself (and the viewers watching) in the mirror, and we see her in an over the shoulder shot again. The only non-diegetic sound other than the faint music in the beginning of the short, she speaks the title of the movie, Ohyao (good morning). And that’s the end of the short.

This last scene is no longer than 2 seconds. Is she greeting herself in the morning – or her other self? Is this just a confirmation that the combining of the two selves made her feel neutral again, ready to start her day, and that’s why she said it? I think it’s just a good morning, a sigh, a nod to encourage herself that she is ready for the day after reluctantly getting up.

General notes

· stars dark (dark blue, grey) ends light (yellow/orange)

· no speaking other than the title at the end by MC (the main character) at the end

· still elements of blue in the scene at the end, but it’s light blue, signifying a release of sorts, a lighter scene or transition from that ‘dark’ place where the main character started off.

· the only time where she looks happy is the last scene when she is ‘whole’, i.e. when the two ghostly halves meet up at this part of the morning routine. A glimpse of this happiness is caught in the shower scene in the way that she is portrayed to be pretty, as a sign of everything coming to a close or back to normal, imitating that feeling of ‘waking up’ when you have a shower in the morning and not really being fully awake until we do so, as most of us can relate to.

Notes on the soundtrack

Calm chime music (non-diegetic, not heard by character), like a child’s ballerina box play as an introduction along with a title page, setting the tone of what’s to come. However, the sound is a bit sad. This works well as it transitions into background shots (close-ups of elements of the room) which further set the scene like the music does... Elements of this chime melody are quiet but still appear in some other parts of the film. The intro music is charming and peaceful, and fades out to a woman sleeping peacefully - then disturbed by her morning alarm which sounds very different to the intro music, and changes the atmosphere from calm to disturbed (also paired with her annoyed expression at the sound of the alarm).

Disturbed by a telephone ringing (phone alarm). Sighing follows from the main character and some rustling of sheets, intro to some diegetic sound (what the character hears, we hear). She turns the alarm off and gets out of bed, her footsteps can’t be heard. The scene cuts straight to her standing in the kitchen opening the fridge, so there is no visual of the main character actually walking until much later, and therefore no need to replicate/add the noise of footsteps.

In terms of music, (non-diegetic), there is a changing of pace in the music once the character has woken up, and the music continues to speed up until the last scene when the MC greets herself in the bathroom mirror (scene 35). It particularly seems to change just as the tv is turned onto the morning news, and seems to imitate that sort of announcement music that you would hear from the news, except on a more ‘chimey’ and calmer toned (also paired with light piano melody as it transitions to be more smooth as the music then intensifies and changes tone slightly, leading to the climax of the whole morning routine, the end scene).

Other sound like - brushing teeth, yawning, gulping, fridge door rattling, shower running, shower curtain moving, dripping water, and general noise from the tv can be heard.

WATCH OHAYO HERE:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYUFBnAmK28&t=1s

#5IMAG003W #5IMAG003W.2 #5imag003 #wps

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