Decided to polish some jacket designs!
Emmet originally received a strait from the League after they thought he posed a safety risk to others and mandated him to wear it. Big surprise, they literally just went to a Unovan hospital and asked if they had any of the old jackets lying around. It's ill-fitting and unpleasant, not to mention the hasty edits they made to his uniform to act as a secondary restraint looks awful. As much as he is still operating as usual, having to walk around in the strait is humiliating and dehumanizing, especially because of the stares from other people.
Of course this crime against dignity and fashion had to be corrected, so Elesa called her designers and offered to make the League Council a more appropriate uniform for him. The only rule given was that it must still restrain as well as the original straitjacket, so Elesa ended up modelling the jacket after a vest and the secondary restraint after a double-breasted greatcoat. It's meant to look like clothing, more like everyday wear than something out of an asylum. It also uses hand covers (i.e. socks) instead of a grossly oversized sleeve to keep the hands restrained.
It resolves a lot of the issues Emmet had with the original, namely that it blends in with the crowd rather than making him stick out. It also has an air of professionalism and formality that the original didn't have. He's much more willing to wear it and keep it on, as well as being more comfortable in it.
I'm struggling to describe this in sentences so as for the differences:
League Straitjacket:
actual retired straitjacket from hospital storage
made of old canvas and leather
uses oversized belted sleeves to restrain arms
uses belts and buckles to restrain upper arms and tighten back
can't fit anything thicker than a tank top underneath
Elesa's Modified Straitvest:
bespoke articles custom tailored to Emmet's measurements
made from stiff cotton and fabric staps
uses belted cuffs and hand covers to restrain arms
uses straps and locking slide buckles to restrain upper arms and tighten back
able to fit a collared shirt underneath
Elesa's outfit also has the added bonus of being more breathable, soft, and being able to function as regular clothes.
Anyways bonus sketch comic:
Dignity restored.
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Margaret of Anjou’s visit to Coventry [in 1456], which was part of her dower and that of her son, Edward of Lancaster, was much more elaborate. It essentially reasserted Lancastrian power. The presence of Henry and the infant Edward was recognised in the pageantry. The ceremonial route between the Bablake gate and the commercial centre was short, skirting the area controlled by the cathedral priory, but it made up for its brevity with no fewer than fourteen pageants. Since Coventry had an established cycle of mystery plays, there were presumably enough local resources and experience to mount an impressive display; but one John Wetherby was summoned from Leicester to compose verses and stage the scenes. As at Margaret’s coronation the iconography was elaborate, though it built upon earlier developments.
Starting at Bablake gate, next to the Trinity Guild church of St. Michael, Bablake, the party was welcomed with a Tree of Jesse, set up on the gate itself, with the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah explaining the symbolism. Outside St. Michael’s church the party was greeted by Edward the Confessor and St. John the Evangelist; and proceeding to Smithford Street, they found on the conduit the four Cardinal Virtues—Righteousness (Justice?), Prudence, Temperance, and Fortitude. In Cross Cheaping wine flowed freely, as in London, and angels stood on the cross, censing Margaret as she passed. Beyond the cross was pitched a series of pageants, each displaying one of the Nine Worthies, who offered to serve Margaret. Finally, the queen was shown a pageant of her patron saint, Margaret, slaying the dragon [which 'turned out to be strictly an intercessor on the queen's behalf', as Helen Maurer points out].
The meanings here are complex and have been variously interpreted. An initial reading of the programme found a message of messianic kingship: the Jesse tree equating royal genealogy with that of Christ had been used at the welcome for Henry VI on his return from Paris in 1432. A more recent, feminist view is that the symbolism is essentially Marian, and to be associated with Margaret both as queen and mother of the heir rather than Henry himself. The theme is shared sovereignty, with Margaret equal to her husband and son. Ideal kingship was symbolised by the presence of Edward the Confessor, but Margaret was the person to whom the speeches were specifically addressed and she, not Henry, was seen as the saviour of the house of Lancaster. This reading tips the balance too far the other way: the tableau of Edward the Confessor and St. John was a direct reference to the legend of the Ring and the Pilgrim, one of Henry III’s favourite stories, which was illustrated in Westminster Abbey, several of his houses, and in manuscript. It symbolised royal largesse, and its message at Coventry would certainly have encompassed the reigning king. Again, the presence of allegorical figures, first used for Henry, seems to acknowledge his presence. Yet, while the message of the Coventry pageants was directed at contemporary events it emphasised Margaret’s motherhood and duties as queen; and it was expressed as a traditional spiritual journey from the Old Testament, via the incarnation represented by the cross, to the final triumph over evil, with the help of the Virgin, allegory, and the Worthies. The only true thematic innovation was the commentary by the prophets.
[...] The messages of the pageants firmly reminded the royal women of their place as mothers and mediators, honoured but subordinate. Yet, if passive, these young women were not without significance. It is clear from the pageantry of 1392 and 1426 in London and 1456 in Coventry that when a crisis needed to be resolved, the queen (or regent’s wife) was accorded extra recognition. Her duty as mediator—or the good aspect of a misdirected man—suddenly became more than a pious wish. At Coventry, Margaret of Anjou was even presented as the rock upon which the monarchy rested. [However,] a crisis had to be sensed in order to provoke such emphasis [...]."
-Nicola Coldstream, "Roles of Women in Late Medieval Civic Pageantry," "Reassessing the Roles of Women as 'Makers' of Medieval Art and Culture"
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a (not)short list of unpopular polin opinions
+Colin saying that he 'found/met himself' on his travels is GOOD, actually, and Penelope should be overjoyed that her friend put that kind of work into himself. she should be happy the letters between them were genuine connection instead of him using her as 'free therapy' as some people like to state
+Colin is not using Penelope as free therapy, ffs
+Colin's line about not courting Penelope couldn't have possibly 'ruined her prospects' because she already had 0 prospects
+Colin caring about Marina even after everything went down is proof he has a good heart and nature and would make an excellent partner. (do i think he should have visited her still? no, i think she deserves her privacy, but Colin didn't do anything wrong in the S1 situation and him coming to check on her, being nice to her husband and her children, and feeling concern about her happiness is HEAPS better than how other men in this series have treated their previous romantic partners)
+Penelope being upset he isn't interested in her is 100000% valid. Cutting him out of her life for it however is toxic as hell (and celebrating her 'ghosting' him is very telling)
+Penelope was SUPER out of line multiple times w/ Colin, in particular when he's clearly heartbroken. Nearly confessing her crush on him in S1 was bad and selfish (his engagement JUST blew up very publicly by her hand) and when he comes back from traveling (aka: trying to heal after said blow up) asking about women he met is very tone deaf. reminding him she herself is a woman is ALSO very tone deaf
+Penelope has been and continues to be a bad friend to him, partly by her own admission when he complimented her on being a loyal person and she said she didn't deserve that (good news: this means she can have a character arc becoming a better one!)
+Calling Colin 'stupid' or an 'idiot' simply because he doesn't realize Penelope has a crush on him or for verbalizing things poorly is ableist and it needs to stop being so normalized in this fandom
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