my journey to you, halfway point
so I'm in the last scenes of ep14 of my journey to you, and either the costume designer got all the orders mixed up, or there's subtle foreshadowing in what I'm seeing. idk, so not even sure if these are spoilers.
once the two brides move into their respective new households (thus beginning the 'part of the family' of their story), YWS' colors become predominantly black and red (switching between one as main color and other as accent), with gold embroidery. SGQ's colors are mostly pale blue and white, with silver embroidery.
within the family, the dominant colors range from black, to midnight blue, to cobalt blue, and the distinction is mostly gold vs silver. GZY's colors run to the almost-black end, sometimes with cobalt accents, and usually with gold (though the gold is sometimes less accent and more a full third color). GSJ's colors are slightly lighter, denim-to-cobalt shades, with silver. His colors aren't just subtler, but also more balanced. GZY's colors run tend to be undiluted, while GSJ's are delicately intricate.
(all this with the caveat that some of the blues that GZY wears are so deep that with the show's lighting, it's hard to tell whether it's an intense blue or actually black. Same goes for GYZ, too.)
GYZ's colors lean darker, often midnight blue with silver; in a few outfits it's shades of dark blue, but still with silver. GZS is the only family member (so far) with red, though hers is closer to burgundy compared to YWS' crimson. the backdrop to that burgundy tends to be as dark as GZY's black or midnight blue.
the Xue group stick to pale blues and whites. the only other obvious outsider is MWJ, whose main color is deep green, a secondary color of hunter green, and mustard/gold accents.
-- and then everything shifts in the second half of ep14.
when GSJ talks with GYZ, GSJ's colors remain the same, but GYZ's under-robe/sickbed colors have shifted from that near-black midnight blue to a lighter shade almost matching GSJ's outer-robes. YWS' colors remain the same, but SGQ's colors have switched to white with subtle gold accents.
in the meeting with MWJ, only YWS and GSJ retain their color schemes. MWJ has switched to white with gold accents (curiously, just like SGQ), while GZS's burgundy has become secondary to midnight-blue robes.
and then there's GZY, suddenly in several layers of medium to pale blue, with white under-robes, and accented in silver embroidery. Plus his embroidery's got fuzzy/fluffy elements when most of what I recall him wearing previously has much cleaner/sharper edges.
and finally, a fully-dressed GYZ in his meeting with SGQ, in blues lighter than his usual scheme, and much closer to GSJ's color scheme.
(I'm not counting the second-trial outfits, which look almost ritualistic in white with what looks like gold and silver embroidery, and fluffy accents. maybe that was a combination chosen to show the trial takes both GZY and YWS out of their usual routines.)
current theory I'm going on is that the stronger the blue (as in, the clearer it is, vs so dark it could-be-black or so light it could-be-white), the stronger the character's ties to the family. which means both GZY and GSJ are deeply loyal, but their accents (gold vs silver) are where they differ. which, okay, fits their oppositional characterizations.
frex, GZS is regularly in her dark burgundy shade, but when it looks like the family needs to close ranks, suddenly her colors are dominated by midnight blue. the white-with-gold makes me suspicious that MWJ and SGQ have an agreement (much like MWJ had with YWS), and there's more to their 'accidental stabbing' than either is telling.
the question is whether their color schemes will go back to normal, and if so, when that happens, and what that might signify for what changed to put everything back. though one thing I do suspect was that GZY's colors shifted to reminiscent of the xue branch to signal he'd mastered the three sword forms -- and that YWS' adoption of the same fuzzy/fluffy embroidery accents on her white gown is meant to hint at the start of a shift in her loyalties.
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Dreamer of Dreams
How important are dreams? Chasing things beyond us sometimes grant us strength to surpass limits, to courageously endure for our vision. Over time a Pirate’s own became misconstrued, failures, losses piled up and his grandeur became murky. Losing a partial, vital piece of essence.
Children call them dreams, but upon nurture, it was called Ambition! Without having a strong-self interest, he couldn’t relate or jump the hurdle for others, initially sought. Now rectification came to retrieve what was lost. The First-Stage to Healing.
By plucking his lost spirit within obscurity, a reversion of his zenith came.
That horrendous fog vaporized to magnificent sunlight. Matured figure of the boy-to-be, extended his arm’s out, it was time to go home.
In their embrace, unbridled warmth quaked from a reunion of resolve.
A wide-spread grin surfaced externally Captain’s injuries stung, ached, nevertheless something swelled within himself, the belief to achieve, in absolution.
He sprung a bounce to his soles, kip-up. With finesse, began reassembling his own mind-games against his Skull Brethren, since started off this way, donning his original attire, fetching dual-blade’s of Hingan that were sworn off to prevent incidental death. Black-blood face paint ran across his eyelids, not only repulsing the dead itself; used to aid him in becoming brave that required adversity, now just meant to trigger Sol's distress.
Sol took aim to shoot-down Captain’s butterfly who came from the cabin’s keyhole to cause misdirection, the spirit-guide, named Perish, fluttered between his limbs, barely evading swatting and squishing attempts.
Soon found himself pulverized by a door that flew off the hinges suddenly as the Seeker sprinted with full on collision from a drop-kick, then surfboarding it, trampling his rib-cage. “Always told ye t’ fix that blimey door!” Giving a befitting punishment to the Shipwright, squished with the cabin’s door on him, Kuro kicked Sol’s silver-wind pistol into the waters, then blitzed towards climbing to the top-mast where their sail-flag awaited. Mistbeard’s mask still onlooking their pirate-battle.
The ex-Garlean conscript, struggled temporarily, wind knocked out of him, before angrily following pursuit, spare pistol <Live Free> brought out taking shots at the climbing cat-folk, who intelligibly utilized line-of-sight climbing alongside the mast’s with his heritage-expertise, forcing the gun-wielder to pursue, climbing up to the top with sheer agitation, this would be done in a duel-fashion now.
Atop the mast, where they’d wage their last-sequence as blood-brothers turned enemies. Sol finally arrives behind in his pursuit, seeing Captain more closely. He was unnerved, a deplorable golden-crest smile was on him, the markings of jolly, complete fulfillment, it always brought him anger. As if a Sun was looking beneath him, nothing he could do would discourage the heat, his traditional means to kill, erase, all left meaningless in pursuit. His brow twitched into a frown.
That deviant-rogue staring across him spoke, “Thanks t’ ye mate. I found irreplaceable value in me. I’m afraid… I’ll b’ stealing n’ cucking ye, again of something. Could race to see who reaches ascension firstly or lastly there! Like ol’ times… But I’ve got t’ slay your dark-cloud, it’s cramping my vibes.” Candidly bringing back a memento, it’s like time-flowed back, to not-long-ago, they used to rock-paper-scissors for who rigged, or climbing up on the masts, doing contests to one-up another in brotherly competition.
“Also – I’ve decided. I’ll become a King.” Calmness and overwhelming peace said with a matter-of-fact from the Scoundrel’s following words, after the storm-breeze howled.
Sol, overtaken by envy, frustratingly growled, “...Y-You can’t just decide that!” Where did this abundance of confidence come from? Teeth grinding and grating together blood rushing into his temple. His concentration was caught lacking and those winds nearly took him off balance, but Miqo'te remained perfectly still…
Energy shifted in an instantaneous, an explosiveness out-cried from Captain with a thunderous shout of his declaration. A Challenge against ALL of Destiny, Fate, anything in-between was committed, throughout the rumbling tides and passed air. “I’ll become King ov’ th’ LIVING!” A dream so far-above, outlandish, impossible echoed. Jolly laughter tantalizingly followed, against Sol’s ire, a splitting image of their own Founder was reminded.
To know, Living is to understand the existence of infinity! There was no-one way to live. This particular Pirate knew this and had connection to everything that resided between the spectrum's, life to death, and was born from a Mother’s Light and Father’s Shadow. Be that as it may, he ambitiously stared at the path of transcendence. Unwavering determination highlighting his visage.
Upon his crew and varied people across in adventuring, to most-natural or supernatural, soul’s encountered. All uplifting and inspiring him to heights leaving their imprints, scars, traces upon his singular vessel, these were the stupendous keepsakes, to preserve! Wanting this stead. Survival was instinctual because this was his perceived ultimate treasure.
A challenge traversed the realm, shaking with a bewilderment of unyielding certainty.
An individual-cloaked frozen-between-time peered over to the skies and gave halt from galloping.
They who stood at the highest summit, a GIANT, woke from disruption. Hinted with Captain’s Presence, awakening.
Enraged Sol, lashed out in foul spite, fear, quivering and whining jealousy, “Nonsense. Die, Die, Die!” Pulling his trigger, reloading with rapid-fire, pupils went bloodshot from crazed-fury.
The amber-eye, determined Seeker, predicted the trajectory of every fired-shot just by familiarizing Sol’s aim, countering by sliding against bullets with his dual-blades shield, deflecting and parrying him, to having them shred against his flesh in minor grazes, fearlessness, continued forth closing distance. Where Sol was useless in.
They battled akin to this when pint-sized deckhands, back then using bb-guns or slingshots versus wooden kendo, this entire scene felt like reversed-time.
Captain with a blade-rising upwardly in the air, spun his blade with realignment allowing glaring-rays, letting what all others were seeing. Sunlight had broken throughout the canopies of those undesirable clouds, vanquishing them.
His steel-reflecting light, brought a blindness causing the Raen to misfire, his last shot in the chamber, the Seeker predicting this response, taking advantage of his discombobulated state, gave a devastating cross-slash against the Raen’s bare-chest, secondary dual-strike following-through with momentum to strike his gun-slinging wrist, forcing a disarming in one flawless-swoop.
♫Undefeatable♫ - Reference - Last Chapter
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the background is as fascinating as the foreground, maybe more
a few things of note about the actual history behind LltG:
1. the historical first emperor of the Eastern Han (Emperor Guangwu) did have a wife he dearly loved, who he married first. he also had a second wife, a political alliance to gain access to the 2nd wife’s warlord-father’s armies.
In AD 26, Emperor Guangwu was prepared to create an empress, and he favored his first love, Yin. However, Yin had not yet had a son by that point, and she declined the empress position and endorsed Guo. Emperor Guangwu therefore made Guo empress and her son Prince Jiang crown prince. [wikipedia]
2. after 16 or so years, the empress was deposed, but it sounds like less “behead or exile you” and more like “amicable divorce”. Yin became the 2nd empress -- and seems like she was downright allergic to her family gaining any political power due to her position. like, she practically outlawed even the idea of promotions or raises for her family, and was a strong supporter of her son’s wife b/c her son’s wife chose to set the same rule.
honestly, between those two facts, I get the impression of a woman who a) loved her husband and trusted him, b) wanted him to succeed, c) was incredibly politically pragmatic, and d) possibly didn’t really want all the hassle of being empress, thanks. any way you look at it, it’s an unusual arrangement and implies both some pretty strong trust and transparency between husband and 1st wife, and again with 2nd wife/empress.
probably not always the most comfortable relationship(s) but a sign of three people who understood the price of getting to where they were, peace-wise, and choosing political peace over personal comfort.
Also unique among emperors in Chinese history was Emperor Guangwu's combination of decisiveness and mercy. He often sought out peaceful means rather than bellicose means of putting areas under his control. He was, in particular, one rare example of a founding emperor of a dynasty who did not kill, out of jealousy or paranoia, any of the generals or officials who contributed to his victories after his rule was secure. [wikipedia]
4. also, his first choice for crown prince was... either honest enough that he probably wasn’t the best choice, or just as disinclined to deal with politics as his mother(s) may’ve been:
Not having the heart to depose mother and son, Emperor Guangwu initially left Guo's son, Jiang, as crown prince. However, Crown Prince Jiang, realizing that his position was precarious, repeatedly offered to step down. In AD 43, Emperor Guangwu agreed... [wikipedia]
I mean, I get that China’s not about to okay anything that shows the development of a polygamous marriage (it seems to be okay as long as it’s backgrounded more and is already in place when the story starts), but the entire situation between those three people -- hell, even just the kind of people they must’ve been -- seems to me to be a fascinating story and one that deserves its own sixty-episode historical drama.
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I hate that I like alternative fashion(not just the colloquial use of the word, as in anything alternative from mainstream), because I want to wear ALL of them.
Currently my two main styles are my everyday(pretty normie) gay ™ button downs/patterned shirts and my vintage/history inspired clothing(I don’t have as much as I’d like but when I had longer hair, a wet set and red lip went a long way).
But I also DO like alt™ fashion. I know all the cultures are different but I think goth and a little bit of punk are the ones that interest me the most! I just love the alt look of it on other people and I want to see if I like on myself! I just feel like I really don’t know where to begin for the goth stuff. Also yes ,I know the culture is more than the clothing and I’m also interested in those parts too, this post is just focusing on fashion.
I’m also interested in Lolita fashion! I don’t think it’s something I’d do for everyday fashion, but I always keep coming back to it, so I’d love to try it out! Mostly what attracts me to the style is that I already like historical fashion, but I don’t know if there’s a particular sub style I’m interested in. I like when other people do Sweet but doesn’t feel like my vibe. I could maybe see myself doing goth Lolita or more classic/traditional Lolita. Though really, in my mind there’s only one coord idea that I want to do, but it doesn’t really fall neatly into any of the mainstream Lolita styles(I guess pirate would be the closest? there are some JSKs I’ve looked at that could fit my idea).
I also really want to get more into medieval/renaissance fair fashion or more piratey/vampire/vaguely 17th century fashion. I have my vintage style that I want to expand but I do want to play around with more time periods and different ways of modernizing them!
I actually really like my current styles but there’s so much I want to try.
In conclusion I WANT TO UNLOCK ALL THE FASHIONS!!!!!
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