#kinda conflicted with the change in direction btw i really liked season 1 and how movie-like it was

[timeloop-angel]

Yooo csm movie announced just some days after i finished the manga!!! Lets gooooo!!

[heinzpilsner]

On approaching Zuko's face duality from a stylistic point of view

It's my last post on this topic, I swear

(Yep, I'm totally hyperfixated. But Zuko's appearance is such an interesting topic for analysis! Can't help it.)

Basically, choosing a style for such a face, you inevitably come to a certain dilemma. In neutral state, his right side is that of a pretty boy, and his left one - of dramatic beast, which results in a conflict of impressions. And conflict of impressions is exactly what you need to avoid in order to maintain a good image (*with some rare specific exceptions).

In the end, you can't get best of both worlds here - not simultaneously, that is. You have to choose some consistent course and go with it.

There's a sad fact to consider though: you can't change the left side of Zuko's face. It will always be here. And while his eyes can be read alternatively as "predatory yellow" or "warm gold", one of them will always remain squinted.

What you can affect though is the right side: while pretty, there is still a certain sharpness to Zuko's features, which you can accentuate with mimic and right decorations.

Basically, that's what happened with Lee-the-refugee look - it hits you with how handsome Zuko is, and that's exactly what a good image's purpose is. (Btw, on practical side, this look also don't require excessive efforts in fashion department. Which can become a real problem with eccentricity of my beloved ponytail - while I believe the season 1 look is an overall fitting image for Zuko, I have to admit he has to be really picky and careful about the clothes he accompanies it with. His design was thankfully in the good hands though mostly).

Of course, if you decide to go in the "pretty boy" direction, the inherent beauty of Zuko's face will still have an effect. But it will always be kinda smudged - a significant part of appeal will be lost in the wake of subconscious emotional confusion. That way, Zuko's scar will always be "such a shame" instead of "wow". Treating it as a nuisance you need to ignore instead of an opportunity is just not the best course of action. After all, as they say, if you can't beat them, lead them. Take that, Ozai!

Does this mean what Zuko would have to favour dry smirks over nice smiles in order to maintain a good image? Probably.

Would it prevent him from being a kind and compassionate man though?

Definitely not.

(At the end of the day though, it's all just a theoretical talk. If we take into account Zuko's personality, I think he'd be perfectly content with looking "just nice". It's already much more than he could hope for in his exile years*, I suppose. (*I like the season 1 ponytailed look, I really do, but I can only imagine how ugly Zuko believed himself to be at the time, ouch. Zuko, dear, it's not your ponytail, it's your attitude what's awful.)

Too much of attention, even positive, would only make him uneasy, I suppose. It's too bad what he's a freaking royalty with a huge scar on his face anyway, lol.

Does this mean that the comfortable nice look would be the best for him though? Nope.)

Still totally ignoring tumblr notifications. Feels good.

[once-upon-a-ouat]

OUAT Rewatch 1x16 “Heart of Darkness”

This episode got dark just as the title promised and I loved that. Just as Regina said, “Everyone has a dark side”. Even our beloved fairytale heroes. OUAT explores human nature rather thoroughly and always leaves me fascinated with the results.

Snow was such a badass in this episode. I loved that bloodthirsty side of her but I’m glad that she got back to how she was. It was still interesting to see what she would turn into without love in her heart. It also gave us some insight into the person that Regina has become although she didn’t have her love erased from her heart. I loved Snow’s resourcefulness in this episode. It’s already been established that she’s resourceful (she managed to survive on her own) but here it was a bit different. Combined with the hatred that was now the only thing left in her heart, her creativity got a dark side to it that was actually pretty frightening. The writers used the opportunity to show just how much Regina’s actions had hurt Snow and that the thing that was preventing her from returning the favor was the love that normally filled her heart. But with that love gone, she gave into the pain and the desire for revenge. I loved how she agreed to go with Grumpy because she was hoping Rumple could help her in her quest for vengeance. The interaction with the dwarfs at the beginning of the episode only strengthened the one in the end and the storyline in general. It was awesome to see her apologize to her friends and to see them be willing to risk everything to help her once again.

David in the Enchanted Forest was awesome to watch (to differ from his Storybrooke counterpart but I’ll get to that later). I loved that despite the fact that he set out to find Snow, he still had his own story going on and that interfered with his reunion with his love (btw, Red’s appearance was awesome albeit brief). Now, kissing a woman that doesn’t even remember you was not the best idea as he probably came to realize. And neither was taking an arrow although it was very romantic. I loved that he saw Snow's dark side but still didn't give up on her. You know that's a contrast to Storybrooke David so I won't delve deeper into it.

Rumple was awesome. He was very comical but an evil genius as always. I love how he gave Snow a potion to rid her of her love in order to get her hair to bottle said love because he was certain her love would be restored. I have to admit that the first time I watched this episode I thought "There's no way he'll succeed" and then it worked and he got love in a bottle and I was like "HOLY FUCK!". It was terrifying but also so fucking impressive.

Poor Mary Margaret! She had so much going on in the past episodes and now this. It's admirable she managed to keep it together for so long. Although she kinda had a meltdown during her questioning but it's totally understandable. The "I was talking to you" tho. Emma did not see that coming. The knife in the heating vent and David's distrust totally finished her. It was heartbreaking to see her so defeated in that last scene with Emma. It's understandable why she decided to escape (1. Why the hell are there no surveillance cameras in that Sheriff Station? 2. How did Regina plant the key under the freaking mattress?) but it was still upsetting because she said she trusted Emma and yet, her actions didn't show it.

Emma was so adorable in this episode. I loved how hard she was trying to prove Mary Margaret’s innocence, but also knew she had to move the case forward because otherwise Regina would fire her and then Mary Margaret would be in even more trouble. That scene between the two of them in the end of the episode was so awesome. Emma was just as upset as Mary Margaret about the current turn of events and I feel like she was losing her own faith in herself and that’s why she asked Mary Margaret to believe in her. Knowing that her friend had faith in her and counted on her would give her the needed strength to go forward and prove her innocence. I loved that she ended up going to Gold even though earlier in the episode she was trying to convince Mary Margaret not to trust him. “I approve of your results” was a great line in my opinion. It showed that Emma was ready to cross lines in order to protect the people she loves and we can also see that in the later seasons too. I loved her interactions with Henry, and the part with the skeleton keys was cool but I understand why she still doesn’t believe in the Curse. Skeleton keys are not necessarily magical although that particular set looked like something that came out of a book about fairytales. And now Emma is onto Regina. The conflict is getting messier and messier and I’m loving it.

I absolutely loved Regina in this episode. She was very self-aware here which we haven’t really seen from her before. She was always insisting that she wasn’t evil and wasn’t trying to ruin people’s lives, but here she really owned up to who she was. I loved the self-irony in “Evil doesn’t always look evil. Sometimes it’s staring right at us and we don’t even realize it.”. Smooth move, Regina. And I absolutely loved her scene with Mary Margaret. She looked so sympathetic and sounded so genuine. And, in fact, she was. There wasn’t even one lie in what she said. I loved how she compared herself with Mary Margaret. It was extremely funny because we know how much she hates her. I also loved how the writers keep reminding us about Regina’s motivation and build the suspense as to what happened. At this point we’ve had her mention her lost love five times and it makes us wonder how that happened.

David. Oh my God, David! Why? I’m so done with him. I can’t wait for the Curse to break so that he can stop being such an idiot (and I don’t really want the Curse broken; season one had a vibe to it that none of the next seasons could quite recapture). It was cute that he wanted to help Mary Margaret but then it all went to hell. I’m having a problem here with how the whole thing happened. Didn’t you fucking notice that in those memories Mary Margaret had long hair and was wearing... I don’t know, a fucking cloak? I think that was so unnecessary and the writers only included it to create drama. And they still haven’t explained why the fuck David suddenly started blacking out again.

Henry and August’s interaction was interesting. We got some more clues as to who August is and learned why he’s in Storybrooke, but just like before it simply raised more questions. I loved the air of mystery that the writers managed to create around August and we have a few more episodes to go before we finally learn who he is. It just creates even more suspense and the levels of that are already insane. On a side note, I loved the little moment between Henry and Ruby. Especially since she didn’t trust him in 1x04.

Gold was interesting to watch but I’m not very certain what he’s doing because, like I mentioned in my previous review, I really don’t remember how the main story developed. I know the general direction in which it went but I can’t recall details so I’m a bit lost here and therefore can’t really say much about him in this episode. Maybe after watching the next episodes I’ll be able to piece it together and will discuss his course of actions in one of the upcoming reviews.

Favorite scene: David and Snow’s True Love’s kiss. That scene was so amazing. I cried because of how sweet their reunion was. David managed to restore the love in her heart. How romantic is that? It was really moving. But of course they had to ruin the moment. Now though it’s Snow’s turn to find David. I think it was kinda dumb of George’s people to just leave her in the woods though. It was obvious that David cared very much about her which meant that George could use her to cause him pain. If they were a little smarter, they would’ve taken her with them. But the scene was cool anyway.

Least favorite scene: David asking Mary Margaret if she killed Kathryn. I honestly don’t know what he expected from that conversation. Even if she had killed her, she surely wouldn’t have told him. That was so idiotic of him. What I loved from that scene was that Mary Margaret told him to get lost. It was hard as hell for her but she still stood up for herself and I respect her for that. The contrast between that scene and the one above though. It served very well to show us once again how much exactly the Curse is screwing them over.

Favorite line: “I always believe evil isn’t born. It’s made.” - Regina to David

There were so many great lines in this episode and I had such a hard time choosing only one, but ultimately I decided on this one. It resonates with my beliefs and I loved it since the first time I heard it.

Least favorite line: “Words, words, words. That’s what love is.” - Snow to David

Okay, I needed a least favorite line and this sounded disrespectful towards love so that’s why it’s here.

I loved this episode. It built quite well on the foundation that the last episode established. I loved the development in most of the relationships featured throughout it. Ginnifer Goodwin portrayed Snow's change of heart very well. Also, soundtrack. The episode was very intriguing and I can't wait to see what tricks the characters will pull out of their sleeves next time.

[rqs902]

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this became just a random summary of my thoughts on mainly yu gengyin (with other kids sprinkled in lol) throughout various episodes of season 2, which may or may not be presented in any sort of logical flow or order, just a warning.... 

i feel like yu gengyin is normally a calm boy, pretty direct, but keeps his composure. but this pose right here, i can relate to his contempt for zhou wen HAHAHHAHHAHAAHAHA HES SO DONE HAHHAHAHA

i havent even started the episode yet but i saw they’re gonna perform exo’s wolf and just started LAUGHING HAHHAHAHAHHAHAHA I NEVER HTGOUHT HAHAHH NOT THIS SONG HAHHAHAHHAHA

tbh im totally ok with leo not choosing ygy HAHAHAHAHHAHA no offense to him, but he’s not very good at playing the super idol game, so hopefully ygy can shine stronger elsewhere. i feel like this show doesnt show him enough appreciation yet. 

HAHAHAHAH YGY IN THE SAME GROUP AS CXK YES IM THRIVINGGG 

suddenly leo’s team got very strong lol 

but pyj hating hd still lol.... but its ok they have wmt even tho they got a bunch of new kids and the most useless new kid lol.....

i was just complaining about lack of ygy but suddenly there are more flashes to ygy on screen lol... amazing... but he does look really nice in this color

WHEN YGY GOT NOMINATED TO BE ELIMINATED MY HEART BROKE 

but tbh for the remainder of the ep i more worried about freaking wumuti looking like he was freaking dying gosh he shouldve gone to rest or something, they really didnt need him to keep standing there after he finished performing. freaking muti pulled off an amazing performance despite his condition and as soon as he exited that stage persona, he literally looked like he was so weak and so pale i was like oh gosh let the boy rest!!! ugh but yea i refuse to believe / am in denial that ygy may possibly get eliminated so i am refusing to think about it LOL. anyway now on ep 6 they literally keep giving him screentime. zfz literally saying the purpose of this mission is to “save ygy” and cxk talking about giving ygy a special role in their perf so he can shine ;_; i love friendship 

but im not complaining about extra ygy time ehehehheh he looks like a prince for this stage and i love how he’s still smiling brightly throughout the ep and when aya brought up his status of being nominated for elims he was like ‘can you not say it out loud” and it was jokingly and he was smiling but the downward motion he made with his hands, i was like ah he is trying not to cry?

its interesting bc im almost grateful at least now ygy will get some more attention

wow look how stylish wu muti was in 2016 

oof watching ep 7 was painful..... it felt like an ultimate low for gengyin, and even tho we all teared up when zfz was eliminated.... it kinda made sense when he was talking about the colors and how he liked his own color so maybe hes just not meant to be in a boy band and i can agree... ahhhh side note fangzhou and yifan’s friendship ahhhh it makes so much sense why they’re still so close today.... even tho im still SO MAD that deng qiang is still here and fangzhou had to leave.... episode 8 was really FINALLY the break that this team as a whole really needed and im SO HAPPY and relieved for them 

this entire season has felt like a low for gengyin, like torture for him, and he really hasn’t gotten a break to shine or to feel success and i feel like to be in that kind of a slump for like 2 months??? thats so sad... and im sure that takes a toll on your mental health. but despite it all, despite being passed up for getting chosen for the special stage, he still was rooting for daidai so cutely like the way he used a silly voice to chant “戴隊戴隊” and so wholeheartedly exclaimed “戴戴太感人了~ 媽呀! 唱得快撕裂了你知道嗎’ I mean, honestly he could’ve easily and understandably felt salty that daidai got that opportunity (even tho we all know gengyin has more vocal ability), but he didn’t. it felt like he truly and fully supported his friend and teammate and that already had my heart going oof 

BUT THEN. then watching their practice footage and just watching him regain his confidence and then finally FINALLLYY perform like he was truly enjoying being on stage. after 8 freaking episodes, FINALLY its yu gengyin’s time to shine and i am THRIVING!!! ahhhhhhhhhh i literally stopped after their team’s perf to just absorb all the amazing things they said about him, about his vocals and high notes, and about his dancing improving, and about his rapping being so next level for him, and about his stage presence being the best hes been yet. and the comment the teacher made about how yu gengyin’s personality is just so nice and 善良 that he has had difficulty portraying a powerful stage presence and today he finally saw it, and i think he was just so perfect, im so proud and so happy!!!!!! and wow this stage is everything to me. cxk’s stage presence is already so strong (and btw i loved how kunkun so confidently said “ygy is our main vocal. he will no doubt stand on stage very confidently and perform well” -- i LOVE how much faith cxk has in gengyin, despite all the setbacks gengyin’s faced recently) and the choreo - they made it work for them and you could see them work together and i loved the way liu ye just literally SAW gengyin’s confidence. he saw how gengyin was just somehow so handsome on this stage and i think that says a lot about how much someone’s mental state can truly impact their performance. it hurt my heart to hear ygy describing being at risk for elimination for the past 3 weeks as feeling like he was physically weighed down by the immense pressure. he just seemed so tired, but at least within the last 2 eps the show has taken the time to really highlight how gengyin’s been practicing late at night alone, trying not to let down his team mates and really trying to improve himself. (ugh the fact that he had been practicing his high notes secretly all this time but never got to show it until he broke his voice...) But yes, i literally just watched their team’s performance and paused to type this all out and now im gonna go back and watch their whole segment again, because i love seeing yu gengyin’s transformation and this confident side of him. how can you not love his smile (and the way that they captioned this as "yu gengyin’s signature smile” :’)

man ep 8 is like THE time to be a ygy stan bc hes literally thriving and shining and getting all this screen time and attention and its so well-deserved and ive just been waiting 8 eps but we’re finally here :’) and yes its now official that ygy is my bias on this show i cant turn back now hahHHAHAHHA ive invested too many emotions into this child and you best bet i just changed my phone lock screen to also be ygy HAHHAHAHA its actually the top photo from the pic i just pasted above, bc this performance, that SMILE is EVERYTHING 

but also on a darker note, the whole conflict between wu muti and huadi is making me uncomfortable.... honestly i feel bad that ive been hoping their team loses but thats mainly just bc i need deng qiang to get eliminated which would require their team to lose LOL but also this whole thing between muti and huadi is getting out of control and their tempers are p concerning... like tbh we all know huadi has a temper but like muti is firey too and he’s like at a point where he just keeps yelling and being rude so im like theyre both just being rude to each other and its to the point where its starting to affect their team work... oh noo. sigh... from the beginning i thought huadi and muti’s dance styles were so different that they may clash bc theyre both going to try to lead dance practice, but this is way worse, this is their personalities clashing and its much scarier than i expected. 

also poor pinlin... man he like got super shafted during the first season imo and now he has to leave season 2 bc of his super serious injury.... ugh seeing his tears of frustration hurt my heart... he has so much talent and deserves more opportunity to show it :( but man his waist injury sounds so bad. the main bright side to all this is zuo qibo getting peer pressured into stepping up as a main vocal and really improving and getting some time to shine too. in season 1, back from when muti was like ‘noo i dont wanna be compared to qibo, hes a good singer’ until now, i dont think we’ve reaaalllyyy gotten too much of an opportunity to appreciate qibo’s vocal abilities because hes not had too much exposure and hes been overshadowed by the kids who have already established their strong vocal abilities. im scared hes under a lot of pressure now, as their leader and main vocal, but im glad hes been doing so well so far, good for him :’) im looking forward to seeing him improve and get more appreciation. i remember he was one of the most popular kids at the end of season 1 (along with cxk and wmt i think?) so i want to believe that he can live up to it. also this is random, but his visuals are really growing on me, like i can see him as a visual now and i think he looked really good this ep!!! to me visuals are cxk wmt zqb djy and maybe also hyf zpl yeeaaaaaaa but i mean ill say again, i just love ygy’s smile :’)