#and there have been a few points where i feel the translation doesnt convey the same msg as the original cn

[birbsong]

hmm not the biggest fan of the love and deepspace localisation

[bigbroemen]

沼・山・海・谷にいる numa・yama・umi・tani ni iru

４人の人たち・・・はやく yonin no hitotachi ・・・ hayaku

ココに・・・連れてきて・・・・ koko ni ・・・ tsuretekite ・・・・

---

沼 numa - swamp

山 yama - mountain

海 umi - sea, ocean

谷 tani - valley, canyon

に ni - location marker; in x に y, y is located in or on x

いる iru - to be (of animate objects); to exist

４人 yonin - 4 people, "yo" being 4 and "nin" being the counter for people

人 hito - person

たち tachi - pluralizing suffix, primarily used for people and other animate things w behaviors

ひやく hayaku - adverb conjugation of はやい hayai - fast, quick

ココ koko - here, this place

(again) に ni - location marker; in x に y, y is located in or on x

連れて tsurete - te-form conjugation of 連れる tsureru - to take (someone) with; to bring along. te-form conjugation is being used to tack this verb onto another to create a compound verb

きて kite - te-form conjugation of くる/来る kuru - to come, to arrive. te-form conjugation is being used to convey the verb as a request/instruction

---

swamp・mountain・sea・valley in

4 people... hurry

here... come and bring them

the text is split up in a way that makes the sentence read a little more broken, heres reading it again without a line by line translation

4 people in swamp・mountain・sea・valley...

hurry　here... come and bring them

---

お久しぶり its been a long time since ive done one of these!!!!! i stopped for a long time because 1. they take so long to put together and i think i was just burnt out, despite how much fun i was having, and 2. i hit a point where i was able to fly through a Lot of dialogue without having to stop and learn new pieces, so a good portion of dialogue in games started becoming a lot less like new adventures and a lot more mundane and normal feeling!! that has actually been a very special feeling and ive just been letting myself enjoy it, without jumping to make a breakdown post every 30 minutes

im definitely not at a point where i can play through games like final fantasy tactics, or like. 999. that would be the god mode of practicing japanese i think, thats like. you have to have a developed home-born and raised high school level understanding of japanese. like you dont NEED to be born and raised but thats the level of exposure you should expect to have in order to match that level

it HAS been a long time!!! i stopped playing games in japanese for a while. in the same way i got burnt out on making breakdown posts, i also got burnt out actively play-reading in japanese for at least a few months. at the time, it felt too wrong to just passively play-read for that period of time in retrospect though, i think thats wrong. input thats only getting passed through and not getting committed to memory still does more for your exposure than input that doesnt go in at all. i DID play a ton of kirby air ride in japanese in that period of time, so at least i like. REALLY know what まっすぐ means from all the drag race predictions

im playing majoras mask right now. i started playing on the switch in english and i got the energy to play in japanese, so i started a file on the computer (apparently the system language change doesnt work for the roms on the switch??). joeys playing fallout 4 a ton on the computer and im letting him since he gets less free time than i do and his work is a lot more physically taxing, so im a lot more ahead on the switch vs the computer (also the computer is just taking longer by virtue of me looking up words and shit in the jp dictionary every 20 seconds); i just got the lens of truth and the goron mask in english while im Still on the very first 3 day cycle in japanese

i dont know how many more of these ill be doing in the near future!! they DO take a long time. if i find a box of dialogue or boxes of dialogue that really Grab me, ill be here

[coolspacequips]

How do you draw natural hair???? I can't find a solid reference that isn't just "draw individual strands" or "make blocks and nothing else"

omg thats a tricky question, tbh, anon!!! and also tbh this answer got longer than i expected... i dont rly have the Art Language to rly teach anything v well so uhh i just threw a bunch of stuff in here

ive never made a tutorial, and i dont rly have the time to do one atm, but HERE is a pretty decent one i see floating around from time to time, and HERE is one that loosely goes over some dos/donts of drawing black features, and mentions hair as well. theres a particular one i think is rly good that i cant find, unfortunately, but oh well

the first guide i linked gives a pretty neat rundown of a few things to keep in mind, namely:

texture types

hairline!!

lighting

colors/undertones

just like w straight hair, the first thing to consider is the hairline and HOW the hair falls, which may seem intimidating bc of the natural beautiful voluminousness of black hair, but rly isnt as hard as it seems. 

i think ppl are often intimidated by learning to draw curly hair out of this feeling that they have to render each strand/curl and flyaway, but when ur doing art youre trying to CONVEY something, not render a picture perfect image. you can translate the curl, volume, and texture of hair without fully rendering it, the same way that u can translate the swish and fall of straight hair without having to draw every single strand, but ya, you cant rly draw ‘blocks’ with no nuance or defining features and hope to communicate the same thing

it might be useful to kind of envision it as drawing layers. like, the way that you wear layers of lace and crinoline to give size and volume to a skirt. this applies for rly picturing most styles, but w curly hair in particular its a good way to imagine how/why the volume builds the way it does

this is just a scribble to illustrate my point lol, but u wanna get the shape and stuff down!! when its shorter, it sticks up into those cute, curly afros and bobs, and when its long it gets heavy and the curls tend to droop down more. btw, shrinkage refers 2 the way that ur hair shrinks up from the curls themselves, so keep that in mind when it comes to the hair length that youre drawing, also! if the girl i drew had wet hair, itd probs go to the middle/bottom of her shoulder blades, despite being shoulder length when curled

ur best tool is reference! look at pictures of black hair in different styles. its like, the most versatile hair in the world, u can curl it and shape it and braid it, hell, afro textured hair can be sculpted into just about anything, broaden ur scope of what you think black hair can be!!! and dont just draw sleek 4c ringlet curls and call it a day!! also, get more comfortable drawing the shape of a bald head, dont hide behind hair. itll help you draw all hair and features better, but especially will help w faded styles, braids, and of course shaved heads

reference doesnt have to just be pictures, tho, bc it can be hard to know where to start. look at how other BLACK artists draw black hair, and take note!! focus on what they thought needed to be included to get the point across, what silhouette the hairstyles have, where they draw curls, where they draw parts in the hair, how they highlight and what shapes they make. give braids and locs a try-- its not as hard as it might seem, but it takes practice to get it right!!

if u have a more realistic style, its def worth getting further into the nitty gritty of just how all of those curls come together, im just talking more about the shape and how it translates in a p basic way, especially since i have a more cartoony style afiowejaioej im also still learning!! 

im sure u have all seen asieybarbie’s stuff floating around on tumblr thru the years, and she is one of my Big Inspirations when it comes to drawing varied black hair AND skintones (which she has a tutorial about lol), and HERE is a little sketchpage she posted once that has a small variety of both. some are more rendered, while some are big blocks of color broken up by highlights and loose curls on the edges to define the shape of the hair, and note w the locs how u can see her scalp between the parts in her hair

if u have a simple or comic style u can still convey black hair, either as a block of shape w defining features, or by drawing out the texture of the curls and strands, like this

(first two are old, finished comics lol, and hey look 2 black wlw!!!!! tiger tiger is something ive been working my way thru, but is recent, ongoing, and cute and funny and inspiring lmao. notably tho none of these are black artists :c ive been out of the web comics game for a minute and tiger tiger is the first one ive read in a while lmao)

***its girlswithslingshots.com, made a typo!! 

also when i think mainstream comics, the first character w natural hair that comes to mind is my wife gwendolyn from saga who i couldnt not mention

on the left her curls are more rendered, its cover art, notice how the light hits the curls and the way that they curls end, which is simplified to the right image a lot of the time in the main body of the comic!

and idk ive said too much already, but hopefully that helps!! im just kind of rambling at this point lol, but research and reference and practice are rly the best thing, and looking at other art of respectfully portrayed black characters

[flakandforay]

Singularity Theory

overall: thanks bighit for dropping this out of nowhere despite the fact that i have work the next day, totally fine. honestly i just love this whole vibe of it help. but moving on, i cant just enjoy the song without looking at the whole MV. 

everyone knew that the intro is titled singularity and due to my previous hunch in the LY Intro Theory, it would be done by Taehyung which we all found out to be true. but moving on, regardless, everything in this video is important regardless to help us understand the HYYH series.

warnings: death, mentions of blood etc, please do read with care

theory: well, when everyone thought that we are done with the HYYH series, bighit proves that we aren’t even done with it, not even one bit. in a way, this video could be seen as a standalone since there aren't much relations, but do stay tuned as i uncover the relations. 

not especially when they released the album covers of the Love Yourself Tear Album, and we see this continuation of the flowers with Love Yourself Her Album as well, notice how they actually fit. 

also, take a look at the Y version of LY Tear, there is a line that would most likely connect to the last instalment of the LY Series to spell S, E, L, F. 

also, notice that in LY Tear, the flowers have untangled themselves, as if to say that this is the end, this is how they are ruined by love; how they are now facing singularity which later could be seen as loneliness. 

i found this on twitter (ctto), that, if you like at the flowers again, it spells out  ‘Tear’; yes to the graphic designs ???

but moving on, this intro, Singularity is done by Taehyung that has a nice jazz, slow burn vibe to it. full analysis of it right here.

but let’s start off with the meaning of Singularity. 

Singularity = the state, fact, quality, or condition of being singular. 

Reference 

hence it could be interpreted as loneliness, especially loneliness after a relationship has ended and has been well conveyed throughout the whole mv of Singularity; right from the props itself and his acting. 

notice how the props that Taehyung uses are clothestand, though i know it’s a choreography done by Keone Madrid but the fact that he portrayed the ex-lover as a clothestand, and that he portrays the same intimate, sensual feelings with an inanimate object eg. the clothestand.

according to this tweet, Namjoon was the one behind these lyrics for Singularity, writing them after he was discharged from the hospital since he had a recent surgery.  hence the depth of the lyrics brings one to places for sure.

anyway, notice how everyone was shocked to see that this intro had a choreography just like boy meets evil. based on this tweet, it has been revealed that bighit actually teased us during the 2017 MMA, in which it featured Taehyung dancing to the same intro routine with the back up dancers.

thanks bighit for the unnoticeable hint. everyone thought it was just part of the dance and performance. 

moving on, remember i said that they are several parallels to DNA, I Need U Jp, BST, BST JP. , Wings Concert Trailer etc, here’s how.

with DNA, the same kind of wide set

with I Need U JP, and the use of flowers, specifically flora.

BST, and the same kind of neon pink filter, during the 2nd chorus of BST to match Singularity. 

BST JP, with those filters seen again here. 

not to mention the Wings Concert Trailer together with BST, them with the dripping ink from their eyes.

yet, apart from this, it’s interesting how ink comes out of one eye, as if they're crying. i would like to assume that this idea or concept is somewhat similar to the Weeping Statue ( i mean this could be far-fetched, but consider it as my personal opinion )

a weeping statue = statue which has been claimed to be shedding tears or weeping by supernatural means. Statues weeping tears of a substance which appears to be blood, oil, and scented liquids have all been reported. Other claimed phenomena are sometimes associated with weeping statues such as miraculous healing, the formation of figures in the tear lines, and the scent of roses.

Reference

keywords from here, are statues weeping tears of oil etc and scented liquids ( possibly paint, ink ? ) just like these scenes above but also the fact that it has to do with the scent of roses etc ( just like the one in Singularity )

however, for eg. the meaning of the Virgin Mary weeping is as such.

Some believe that because of the state of the world has caused the Virgin Mary to weep tears of blood because of all the losses of life.

Reference 

yet, i find it interesting that out of everyone, only Taehyung had the mask on with the ink dripping from the eye as compared to Jungkook and Jimin. as if to say that Jungkook and Jimin are weeping because of the losses of life of the other boys but for Taehyung’s case, it is from the mask, to say that another identity of him is weeping but not really him. 

remember how in Euphoria, the storyline of HYYH changed, and so he isnt exactly weeping, he is just putting a facade. 

i mean, then again, at 0:36, there is this scene of Taehyung extending his hand to get attention and it just reminds me of their Wings VCR Concert Trailer as if Taehyung is trying to get out and escape; that same vibe.

then, notice how he is wearing the Gucci earring called Loved. the fact that the earring is ‘Loved’ since to say that he is no longer in a relationship, he used to love someone, he is lonely now; in the singularity phase. 

notice how there is this quick scene of the roses. 

as such, the flowers here are mostly to blue and lavender, faint pink possibly.

naturally, there are meanings to the colours of the roses. so, i did some research and here is what i got.

Lavender = Love at first sight or just an enchanting way to say, "I love you!" Lavender roses can offer a daily reminder of your love and eagerness to grow your relationship.

Pink = Words like admiration, gentleness, grace, gladness, joy and sweetness are just a few ways to describe the meaning behind the pink rose. A pink rose can also convey happiness, gracefulness and admiration.

Blue = symbols of love, prosperity, or immortality.

Based on another website, Blue = the impossible, or the unattainable. Since the blue rose itself is a rarity in nature, it stands for something that is hardly within one's grasp, an object that seems too difficult to be achieved. Thus the blue rose is admired and revered as an unrealizable dream.

Reference: here, here and here. 

so based on this, it is safe to say that these flowers represent unattainable love, love that was impossible especially if it was fake love as what has been hinted during the 2017 year-end shows. 

notice how this is specifically for the scenes of Taehyung and Seokjin just like how the whole HYYH series revolves around yet again. 

not to mention how the lavender represents ‘love at first sight’ as what bangtan have been promoting in their Love Yourself Her Album, especially in DNA, in which it is in their DNA upon seeing their loved one during the first time, it is fate, it is destiny, and it is not a coincidence. 

첫눈에 널 알아보게 됐어 서롤 불러왔던 것처럼 내 혈관 속 DNA가 말해줘 내가 찾아 헤매던 너라는 걸

=

I recognized you as soon as I saw you As if we’ve called each other The DNA in my blood is telling me That it’s you who I’ve been looking for

Reference: Colour Coded ©

but also, i found another meaning of the blue rose and i think it is really befitting. 

The meaning of the blue rose could also be in sync with the quote which goes, "some doors should never be opened."

Reference

so in a way, as if to say, one shouldnt fall in love in the first place, to protect yourself from all the negative feelings and singularity that would come when the relationship crumbles down. 

but anyway, moving on, within these scenes, it seems as though Taehyung seems to be carrying a Smeraldo flower. 

remember prior to the LY Her album, there was the Smeraldo blog that was active but is now closed. ( translations of some of the Smeraldo blog posts here ) 

also, the Smeraldo flower is actually a flower created by a man, it wasn't originally grown by mother nature or anything. it’s meaning is ‘The truth I couldn’t tell.’ 

remember how at the end of the Euphoria video, Jungkook asked Seokjin, “Brother, is that everything? Aren’t you hiding something more from us?”

and then, these few scenes where Taehyung looks up at Seokjin as if to say he knows the whole truth, so maybe he didnt even forget in the first place, but he doesn't seem to confront Seokjin about it; most likely the other boys dont know what’s going on, or even if they do, i guess they haven't had it all figured out yet; maybe just some hints that things aren't the same since in the Euphoria world, the timeline changed (Euphoria theory here).

sidetracking back to Taehyung wearing the mask in Singualrity, one could also consider this as he is actually weeping since he knew what Seokjin is doing but given that the rest doesnt know, so he tries to hide his true feelings. 

but moving on, i like to bring up the point of the whole ‘frozen lake’ metaphor in the lyrics of Singularity. 

이얼어 붙은 호수에 또 금이 가 그 호수에 내가 날 버렸 잖아 내 목소릴 널 위해 묻었 잖아

=

A crack again on this frozen lake I dumped myself into the lake I buried my voice for you Over the winter lake I was thrown

보지만 결국 엔 언젠가 봄이와 얼음들��� 녹아 내려 흘러 가

=

But in the end, spring will come someday The ice will melt and flow away

Reference: Genius 

it’s not a common metaphor, but i did some research, and this is what i found. 

“Your frozen lake is the name for what you want most in the world. And you want it. You want it so bad that you’ll do anything to get it and your heart takes over. But because of that it destroys you in the end. It’s right there sitting in the middle of the frozen lake. And you think you’re fast enough to go out there and grab it before the ice cracks

And what you don’t realize is you’re already standing on the ice and it’s falling apart around you.”

-K. Blye & M. Deeks

Reference

notice how the fact that the frozen lake metaphor is used to say that in between, everything else around you is crumbling, falling apart much like the relationship that has just ended. 

hence these scenes.

then it also shows how Taehyung is now touching the so called melted frozen lake, to which he sees his own reflection, as if to say that everything has already fallen apart, and now he realises that he is in singularity. 

notice how familiar this is with Hoseok in BST ( read my Taehyung and Hoseok’s pairing theory here )

but what’s interesting is that remember in BST, it ended with Seokjin’s face being cracked, and everyone got a shock because why would they do that to his face.

but now it kinda makes sense, because think of it as now Seokjin has realised that everything surrounding him would crumble and fall apart, hence maybe why he now tries to go back and correct the mistakes, creating parallel worlds, despite knowing he would sacrifice himself eg. Euphoria 

moving on, im going to go back to the lyrics, and notice how it brings the idea of the phantom. 

잠시 들어간 꿈 속에도 나를 괴롭히는 환상 통은 여전해

=

In the dream I shortly went into My agonizing phantom pain is still the same

Reference: Genius

when they brought up the phantom in verse 2, one would see the whole mask aesthetic.

honestly, i thought they were doing some kind of Jabawockeez thing but of course with this style of music, it’s not likely. so my next guess, would be the Phantom of the Opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber. ( a classic )

The Phantom of the Opera talks about a lady named Christine who then grew up in the theatre scene, though she wasn't outright a singer, since she was young, she has been receiving lessons of music by the ‘Angel of Music’ who was none other than the Phantom himself. 

see, he was a man who had a disfigured face, hence the mask to cover his flaws. but as time passes, he grew infatuated and loved Christine though of course Christine didnt really feel the same way since she had someone else named Raoul. 

but apart from this plot, the Phantom was known to be the one lurking in the Opera house etc but more importantly, he was a musical genius, composing great operas. the Phantom was known to have experienced unrequited love but more importantly, loneliness, otherwise could be interpreted as Singularity. he has lived a life where many fear him, many have not seen him either, hence many would not love him at all.

with his disfigured face, when he was young, he was most likely not treated well, hence no compassion or a sense of empathy or love shown to him which was why towards the end of the Phantom of the Opera,

Raoul finds the lair and attempts to persuade the Phantom to spare Christine, begging him to show compassion. The Phantom refuses, and captures Raoul with the Punjab lasso. The Phantom tells Christine that he will free Raoul if she agrees to stay with him forever, but if she refuses, Raoul will die. Christine, heartbroken, tells the Phantom that it is his soul that is deformed, not his face. As the Phantom and Raoul both plead to her, Christine mournfully wonders what kind of life the Phantom has known. She tells the Phantom that he is not alone and kisses him, showing him compassion for the first time in his life. The Phantom, having experienced kindness at last, understands that he cannot compel Christine to love him, and sets them both free. Raoul hurries Christine out of the lair, but she returns alone to give the Phantom back his ring. The Phantom tells Christine he loves her, before she tearfully exits with Raoul. The weeping Phantom huddles on his throne and covers himself with his cloak. The mob, led by Meg, enters the lair. Meg pulls the Phantom's cloak from the throne, finding only his mask on the seat. She lifts the mask up into the light and gazes at it in wonder as the curtain falls.

Reference: Wikipedia; Synopsis

so here in a way, it is as if the Phantom has finally accepted his fate of not being loved by Christine but sets her free. perhaps this could be the next hint for Love Yourself Answer which would be the final instalment of this whole series. 

i did some research on the significance of the mask in the Phantom of the Opera

The short answer is this: the motivation for every event set in motion is the severe, present-from-birth facial deformity of the Phantom; the deformity that he wears the mask to conceal. He was actually forced to wear it as a child, since in the mid-1800s(and quite a bit later), an accident of birth like that was often seen as a devil's curse, a sign of uncleanliness, or similarly dark circumstances. Over his lifetime, the mask became the symbol of all the hatred and condemnation he'd gotten from everyone around him, as well as the place to hide that disfigurement. Crutch and shield and prison and symbol.

Reference 

notice how the phrase devil’s curse is used, hence relating back to my Jungkook HYYH: the Notes theory  especially since in the HYYH notes: L Version, it seems as though Taehyung had a hard time starting with his own family. 

Taehyung 29 December YEAR 10

I took my shoes and threw my bag and went into the main room. My father was really there. I didn’t think of how long he was going to return or where he had been. I only raced recklessly into his embrace. I don’t remember clearly afterwards. Whether it was the smell of alcohol, the cursing or the slap to my cheek. I didn’t know what was going on. He reeked of alcohol and his pants were foul. His eyes were bloodshot and his beard was growing wildly. He hit my face with his large hand. He asked what I was looking at. He then lifted me in the air. His crimson eyes were frightening but I was so terrified that I couldn’t even cry. This wasn’t my father. No, this is my father. But then again, he wasn’t. My two feet shoot in the air. In the next moment, my head crashed hard into the wall and I slumped to the floor. It was as if my head exploded. My vision flickered and I blinked a few times. My head was filled with the sound of my father’s harsh breathing.

i love how vast and ambiguous all these scenes were, even more so when there were these few scenes that only showed certain angles of Taehyung’s face as if the rest of his face was covered by a flaw.

but lastly, this scene has got me thinking why it was there in the first place. 

this scene only came for 1 second before the video transited to something else. im not exactly sure what this is, but i would safely assume it would be a reference to the whole frozen lake thing, the one where Taehyung finds himself in the dream.

but anyway, i do think that Singularity has some hints to offer, but of course, aesthetics, music, lyrics and choreography, thank you Taehyung for pulling this off so well, i can’t wait for what bangtan has in store for us. 

so what’s next?  

[Photo Source] Bighit Entertainment  Credits: maxine ☕️ DO NOT REPOST ©

[coalitiongirl]

ive been watching your scenes to rewatch and ive been crying at literally all of them. out of curoisity, what are your favourite ouat scenes? either sq or general? also side note, i love your latest fic, such an interesting premise. i get so scared every time someone says an order and emmas forced to comply, that scene with the trolls had me on edge. and the fact that cora must suspect something about emma now - im so scared but excited ahah :D have a nice day :)

OH I super dropped the ball on those omg, i have so many others!! but i haven’t been able to rewatch in a long time, it hard 😩

of course i LOVE almost every swan queen scene!! it’s hard for me to pick favorites because nearly every one pings something else inside me omfg. I don’t think there’s a single sq scene I couldn’t write an essay about WHOOPS. so lemme try to answer this with just some of my favorite non-sq scenes 😅

Emma in True North: hoo boy, this is probably in my scenes to rewatch but that scene on the road, MAN. there’s so much careful buildup with emma’s abandonment issues and how much she sees herself in nick and ava. and they have a chance she never does and dammit, she fights for them!! she fights for two kids just like her and they get their moment and jmo turns that realization into agony with sheer artistry in emma’s FACE in their final moment. god.

Regina in We Are Both: this was the episode that sold me on Regina! tbh i’d marathoned s1 as soon as they announced mulan was going to be in s2 so i hadn’t been focusing much on thinking before that?? and then suddenly there’s Regina, in all her rich and layered stories, and i fell hARD. the whole narrative of the episode- Regina resisting parental abuse until she becomes what she’s always feared to be free!! and that translating into her saying ‘no, this isn’t going to continue to the next generation. even if i lose the only thing that matters to me.’ do u ever stan!!! I DONT KNOW HOW TO LOVE VERY WELL. END ME.

Emma in Firebird: listen. never follow ur idols to ur next fandom or you’ll suddenly realize they actually hate women and then get ‘’’muted’’’ for ‘’’yelling at her too much’’’ but jane espenson did a GOOD with the flashbacks in this one (present day still literal and figurative hell tho!!). The concept of Emma’s jacket as armor isn’t an original one, but the execution was honestly stellar. Emma forging this connection with an older hardened woman who can’t let go of the past either!! emma destroyed and remade into the lady we met on her twenty-eighth birthday. GOD. SHE FINDS HER DAUGHTER. and i gotta say, the vulnerable-tearful-young thing jmo was doing w emma in s5 didn’t work for me in terms of what present day was trying to convey, but it’s a perfect fit for that flashback, i WEPT.

Regina in Quite A Common Fairy: Lana OWNS the cave scene with Tink, god. The depth and breadth of emoTION. The episode and the narrative itself builds it up from episode one! because this regina on the road to redemption but finally giving us a glimpse into the emotional and mental state she was in as the young queen- she has all this rage and she’s SUSTAINED by it, it’s her only real truth and constant and she’s terrified of what might happen if she lets it go for even an instant and chooses hope instead. (Lana’s voice when Regina says she’s afraid that without rage she might just ‘—float away’ is something that has stayed with me for a long, long time.) REGINA PULLING OUT HER HEART TO MAKE A POINT. far from the last time she will, but how affecting!! god!!

Emma and Snow in S1: There are a few moments i’m thinking of (and i’m literally writing this on the treadmill so pls forgive the lack of episode names) and all of them are so stellar, god. The moment when Snow finds Emma living out of her car early on. Snow and Emma sitting at the table at the loft holding hands. Emma lying down next to a crying Snow. Snow yelling at Emma for being so selfish when she tries running off with Henry?? EMMA SHOWING UP AT MARY MARGARET’S DOOR SEARCHING FOR A ~PERSON~ AND MARY MARGARET SILENTLY LETTING HER IN. Snow and Emma work best in S1 in the silences and the fights, where they’re allowed to just care and be family, and I treasure each of those moments as much as they do.

Regina and Zelena in the Kansas: There’s a lot of effort put into this dynamic right near what seemed like the end, playing with how exactly Zelena perceives her happy ending to go- and then Regina strikes it all down by being different, by changing, by being someone Zelena hadn’t believed either of them capable of. And then Regina goes to Zelena’s cell and offers her!! sisterhood!! my god. i instantly fell in love with the dynamic in that moment and i’m forever pressed that the ‘it’s nice to have family in town’ line was cut. because you can tell that regina craves family and craves unmaking this second monster of her mother’s and zelena was going to TAKE that second chance and hey! this seems the perfect time to go off-message and

Belle in Family Business and Heroes and Villains: imma be honest, i like belle just fine in the early seasons but i have zero interest in rumbelle, which means a lot of fast-forwarding through her scenes. But these two scenes were ENCHANTING. Mirror Belle preying on Belle with the truth that she’s afraid to face! Emilie does such a fantastic job conveying so much cruelty in that scene, I was gaping and enthralled and hoping shattered sight was going to work exactly like that (and tbh props to ginny for doing a hella creepy snow at the start of Shattered Sight). And that town line scene!!! What a stunning, evocative scene. Belle reclaiming agency and taking action in such a 100% cold-blooded but necessary way!! that’s my ravenclaw babe!!!

Mulan and Aurora: I was young, and I Believed, and I Believed for a very long time. I am appalled at my naïveté too, don’t worry.

Regina in Enter the Dragon: LOOK it’s not about the leather but it’s a lil about the leather!!! I really appreciate both Regina in the past and present in this one and also how gay it is, and I’m most charmed by lil evil pep talking nugget Regina who just wants you to be the very best villain you can be! It’s such an artful melding of the exuberance of young!Regina and the delight in chaos of eq!Regina and i, for one, am a fan.

Emma (and Henry) in The Stranger/An Apple Red as Blood: my gOD. Okay I think one of the first times I cried while watching this show was in Emma’s desperate, hysterical denial to August about the curse. She’s so clearly hit rock bottom and she’s TERRIFIED of believing and it’s breaking her. SHE DIDNT ASK TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR EVERYONES HAPPINESS. SHE DOESNT WANT IT. THAT IS CRAP!!!! i love her!! i love emma swan!!! i do!!!!! and then moving into the end of the next episode when she tells henry she’s leaving and just!! ‘henry! life isn’t a story!’ man this show had some incredible early work. sigh. emma kneeling in front of henry begging him to listen! my god.

Regina in the Cricket Game: so i’m leaving out all my fave sq moments which severely limits the number of regina and emma scenes i can talk about here but the flashbacks in this one SURE ARE SOMETHING. regina has hit rock bottom in this set and you feel it in every moment, in her REGRET THAT I HAVE NOT CAUSED MORE PAIN and frickin stABBING snow and that dark scene with the candle oh god. this is a regina who doesn’t think about looking back anymore but who doesn’t think about looking forward, either, and she’s terrifying. it reminds me a lot of the scene later this season in Welcome to Storybrooke where she takes out snow’s heart and ‘see? i can have everything’ but there are tears sliding down her face. regina in enraged despair is something to behold!!

Henry (and Emma and Regina) in Operation Mongoose: Henry doesn’t often get lengthy times to shine that aren’t about other characters, but he was literally a YA hero in the author’s universe! man! what a kid! and his scenes with bandit Regina are some of my all-time favorites, as is that heartstopping moment when he reaches the top of that tower and flings the door open and Emma KNOWS him. reader, i wept. i wept hard. talk about your earned moments!!!

Emma as Dark Swan: posture! clothing! positioning! voice work! dark swan was a revelation i’m still rightfully bitter about, because she was EVERYTHING in those early episodes. the way she caressed snow’s face in first episode of 5a. the faux-innocent with the calculating eyes on the ship with whats-his-name. every interaction with henry where she was trying to be a PERSON. the way she moved! the way she felt more reptilian than human! i wanted to know everything about her!! (then i did and quit the show lol) honestly some of jmo’s best acting to date, i’m forever in awe.

That Still Small Voice: look, this is an episode about a cricket and it remains one of my favorite quality ouat episodes. Archie sells it best as an adult influenced by his past without quite knowing it, and Archie and Henry make for a really engaging dynamic in here. There is nothing about Archie’s professional behavior that doesn’t make me want to scream but this remains a very, very good episode.

Emma in Sympathy for the De Vil/Lily: okay this is cheating a little because so much of this is also Regina but!! Emma individually shines in this narrative and throughout 4b. From the moment she finds out about what her parents had done, you can watch it slowly draining a part of her?? yes her eyes got redder but there was also this kind of apathy about EVERYTHING. And tbh the Cruella episode is pretty awesome on its own (I love the slow revelation that Cru is the villain, what a stellar execution of a fave trope) but WHEN EMMA KILLS HER. In the exact moment that Cruella says ‘heroes don’t kill’. that’s what pushes emma over the edge!! and then emma ready to kill again the next episode because she feels like she’s sliding into an abyss, i couldn’t BREATHE. emma is incredible when the narrative lets her be angry, and i wanted So Much More. Speaking of which, Emma getting angrier and angrier and almost losing it in The Snow Queen was more of that anger!! i am HUNGRY for it.

Regina and Snow in The Evil Queen: This episode is messy af but damn did my heart skip a beat when a hooded hero saves Regina and tears off her hood and it’s SNOW. This episode does so much of what makes Snow/Regina so fascinating and frustrating, both in the present and the past. Their interactions in the woods moved me! changed me! and Regina had already crossed the point of no return but oh man, oh man, the way they’d almost gotten somewhere for a minute there.

Regina and Henry in Save Henry: A classic, a work of art, and I’ve said so much about it in the past that I’m exhausted just thinking about expressing it all again now. But what a STORY of an evil queen who falls in love with a little boy. What a narrative!! The promo pictures from this episode came out when I was sitting in the hospital for a checkup while I was expecting my daughter, and I was tearing up and the nurses thought it was about the ultrasound. I’M NOT PROUD. This is a love story!!! And it culminates again in A Curious Thing, by the way, which put another ten years on my life, an Epic !

Emma and Henry in New York City Serenade: boy was this a journey, but I was absolutely spellbound omg. This was a love song to a fantasy but it’s a fantasy that never unmakes Emma– she’s afraid of commitment and happiness and everything permanent in her life that isn’t Henry, but she’s still going to take that leap despite herself. It’s a wonderful character study that captures Emma’s essence in a new world, with a new past.

Snow in The Miller’s Daughter: Snow is at her best when the show isn’t painting her with rose-colored glasses and we get to see her darker side, and I don’t think she ever gets quite as dark in the first three seasons as she is when she’s standing there, smiling earnestly at Regina as she tells her that the key to Cora loving Regina is in the poisoned heart she holds. My god. It’s so incredibly cold-blooded and vile, and it’s absolutely the kind of manipulative pragmatism that suits Snow best. I am enthralled and horrified.

Neal and Emma and Henry and Gold in Manhattan: This is one of those really cool scenes where even though I don’t particularly care for half the characters within it, everyone acted the hell out of it and it’s so GOOD. There’s so much tension and you’re holding your breath through the squabbling, and then Henry shows up and you KNOW. You know what’s going to happen and you’re terrified for Emma and it’s so visceral, right up until the instant when Neal demands Henry’s age and Henry shouts ELEVEN and my god, my god. What a reveal. What a scene.

There are more!! so many scenes and moments i’ve loved over the years. Emma and young!Lily! Snowing in Snow Falls! Anna of Arendale!! Snow and Emma in Lost Girl!! Ruby in Red Handed! The David/Emma dragon fight in A Land Without Magic! Regina tearing out that heart in The Doctor and meeting Daniel again?? Regina and her father in hell. all of Hat Trick. i think twenty is a good place to stop, but hoo boy, when this show was good, it was GOOD. alas.

[suteshiro]

(1) Do You Sleep With Your Closet Doors Open Or Closed?

Open, kinda? My closet is built into a wall and one of the sides has like, shelves I use often so it’s just open for accesibility

(2) Do You Have Freckles?

Nope! I got nerfed, honestly. I’d look lovely with freckles

(3) Can You Whistle?

Hahaha nope,

(4) Last Song You Listened To.

Night of Fire bc im listening to an eurobeat mix while working on a school assignment skjfvnskjfv last song I Willingly listened to is The Hearse by matt maeson which fucking slaps

(5) What Is Your Favourite Colour?

Probably purple!

(6) Relationship Status.

Single

(7) What Is The Temperature Right Now?

18 celsius/64 fahrenheit. pretty average but for some reason im cold

(8) Did You Wake Up Cranky?

Nope! I woke up feeling wonderfully actually

(9) How Many Followers?

404. Very nice number

(10) Zodiac Sign.

I’m a scorpio and a dragon :3

(11) What Is Your Eye Colour?

Brown!

(12) Take A Vitamin Daily?

I do not, though I used to and might start again, who’s to say

(13) Do You Sing In The Shower?

Not rlly. I shower listening to music and I have a lot of trouble singing along to things im hearing for some reason skfnvskfjb

(14) What Books Are You Reading?

I’m too embarrassed to say publicly which one im reading now skjvnskfjb i kinda wanna read some cute cheesy romance in the nearby future

(15) Grab The Book Nearest To You, Turn To Page 64, Give Me Line 14.

I grabbed the first lotr book and gottt

“Ah,” said Ted, “ you hear them, if you listen. But if I wanted to listen to old lady tales and childish legends, I’d stay home”

(Translated a bit roughly bc my physical books are mostly in spanish

(16) Favourite Anime?

You cant ask me thatt skjfvnklabmksfjb It might be Violet Evergarden? It’s the only anime that’s really made me cry

(17) Last Person You Cried In Front Of?

I think I cried in front of my mom at some point recently while pretending i wasnt crying

(18) Do You Collect Anything?

Notebooks skfnskfsnb I just think they’re neat

(19) What Did You Have For Lunch?

havent Lunched yet, dont scold me

(20) Do You Dance In The Car?

I’m rarely in cars and they’re usually not mine

(21) Favourite Animal?

Coatimundis pretty...... and adorable

(22) Do You Watch The Olympics?

Nope

(23) What Time Do You Usually Go To Bed?

I try to go to bed a bit before midnight but im needy and like talking to my friends so its usually around 2am

(24) Are You Wearing Makeup Right Now?

Nope! I p much never do that

(25) Do You Prefer To Swim In A Pool Or The Ocean?

Both have their pros! I think I tend towards pools bc as a rule they dont rlly have like, annoying consequences

(26) Favourite Tumblr Blog?

@yournewapartment​​ keeps popping up in my dash with good advice and nice stuff and i appreciate it

(27) Bottled Water Or Tap Water?

Bottled waterr the tap water in my building is weird and doesnt seem very safe to drink and by now i hate the taste skjvfnkjn

(28) What Makes You Happy?

My friends, comedy shows, reading good fanfiction, writing fanfiction, drawing my characters, reading about others’ characters, giving gifts, the smell of roses, fairy pokemon, butterflies-

I like being happy

(29) Post A Gif Of What You’re Currently Feeling Right Now.

Im not really a Keeps Gifs That Convey Emotions kinda guy

(30) Do You Study Better With Or Without Music?

Depends a lot skjvfnskfjvn my brain keeps switching

(31) Dogs Or Cats?

Very hard questions,,, I think I tend towards dogs bc they’re like me. Big. Excitable. Needy.

(32) If You Were A Crayon What Colour Would You Be?

Purble.,......

(33) PlayStation Or Xbox.

PlayStation

(34) Would You Swim In The Lake Or Ocean?

I have been in the ocean before and idk how much i liked it but sure id do it again. A lake sounds fun!!

(35) Do You Believe In Magic?

I practice it!

(36) What Colour Shirt Are You Wearing?

Red

(37) Can You Curl Your Tongue?

I’m not sure what exactly this is asking

(38) Do You Save Money Or Spend It?

I like saving money skjfnvksjv I rarely think of things to spend it on

(39) Is There Anything Pink Within 10 Feet Of You?

Ye! There’s a bag I use to keep my chargers in it when im outside. it has flower pictures. very pretty

(40) Do You Have Any Obsessions Right Now?

Love Live,,,,, and now my character Curiosity bc @zuramaru​​ is an angel and running a campaign he’s in and we played yesterday and holy shit theres a lot going on

(41) Have You Ever Caught A Butterfly?

Oh yes!! this one time I was in a place absolutely full of butterflies and I caught one between my cupped hands and it stayed there when I opened them and it was a wonderful experience

(42) Are You Easily Influenced By Other People?

Ya,, I do the fawning thing so I tend to agree with other people by default, lest we have any kind of conflict

(43) Do You Have Strange Dreams?

Oh yes, most of the dreams I remember are. bizarre

(44) Do You Like Going On Airplanes?

Yeah!!! Only done it twice but it was a blast

(45) Name One Movie That Made You Cry.

Inside Out fucking got to me

(46) Peanuts Or Sunflower Seeds?

Peanuts,,, I don’t like sunflower seeds. I mean they’re tasty but. Too much effort for too little reward

(47) If I Handed You A Concert Ticket Right Now, Who Would You Want The Performer To Be?

Uuuuh, FOB probably

(48) Are You A Picky Eater?

Not really, but also yes? I have a few things I absolutely refuse to put in my mouth

(49) Are You A Heavy Sleeper?

Perhaps? I’m not very hard to wake up but I can sleep through a lot of stuff

(50) Do You Fear Thunder / Lightning?

Nah I fucking love it

(51) Do You Like To Read / Write?

Yes!! I think I would actually like to become a writer. Not sure tho

(52) Do You Like Your Music Loud?

Yea but only when I’m really into it. Like, usually I’m listening to stuff and the volume tends to low but then there’s this One song and I turn it up all the way until it’s over

(53) Would You Rather Carve Pumpkins Or Wrap Presents?

Wrap presents, I’ve never carved pumpkins before skjfvnskjfv seems like a hassle and I’d feel bad for not making it look nice

(54) Put Your Music On Shuffle, What Is The First Song That Came Up?

Haven’t you noticed (I’m a star) from Steven Universe

(55) What Season Are You In Right Now? (Weather)

Winterr

(56)What Are You Craving Right Now?

Choclet........

(57) Post A Screenshot Of Your Tumblr Feed.

Here you go!

(58) What Is Your Gender?

Solarian!

(59) Coffee Or Tea?

I’m a tea guy!

(60) Do You Have Any Homework Right Now? If So, What Is It About?

I’m helping translate an entire thing about the way emails work, its a bit of a hassle skjfvnsf

(61) What Is Your Sexuality?

Uuuuh I’ve been questioning but im mlm and also into nb people

(62) Do You Make Your Bed In The Morning?

Yeah! Makes me feel accomplished and sexy

(63) Favourite Pokemon?

SYLVEON SYLVEON SYLVEON

(64) Favourite Social Media?

Absolutely Tumblr. Unless you count Discord as a social media

(65) What’s Your Opinion On Instagram Stories?

I don’t use. Instagram. But sure they’re neat

(66) Do You Get Homesick?

A little. Usually when I travel I’m either at a place I hate or at a place where I don’t have commodities I do have at home skjfnskjfb so I miss my room

(67) Are You A Virgin?

Yup

(68) What Shampoo And Conditioner Are You Using Right Now?

Uuuh I’m using a Head & Shoulders shampoo I believe? WIth no conditioner bc my hair is real short now and conditioner tends to feel weird

(69) If You Were Far From Home And Needed To Sleep For The Night, Would You Choose To Rent A Crappy Motel Room For $60 Or Sleep In Your Car For Free?

Well you see I would choose the crappy motel but 60 bucks seems a bit unattainable so sure, let’s stay in my car

(70) Are Both Of Your Blood Parents Still In Your Life?

Nope, father is Dead

(71)  Whats The Next Movie You Want To See In Theaters?

I’m not interested in anything, honestly

(73) What Is Your Favourite Quote Right Now?

“If I could make days last forever, if words could make wishes come true, I’d save every day like a treasure and then, again, I would spend them with you”

(74) What Eye Colour Do You Find Sexiest?

There’s this like. Really nice honey color

(75) Did You Like Swinging As A Child? Do You Still Get Excited When You See A Swing Set?

I loved swinging! I still do but I’m. Self conscious about my weight and scared of breaking something

(76) What Was The Last Thing You Ate?

Some pastries for breakfast

(77) What Games Do You Have On Your Phone?

20B wives, My sweet angel is a real angel, BitLife, Buriedbornes, Cardinal Quest 2, Crazy 8, Egg Inc, FarmVille 2, Fire Emblem Heroes, Gardenscapes, Get bigger! Mola, Homescapes, Human Resource Machine, Kept Man Life, Love Live, Mermaid Evolution, My Little Star VIP, Piano Tiles 2, Plague Inc, Pocket City, Pokémon GO, Puzzledom, SmithStory, Soul Knight, Tap Knight, Tower Breaker

To be clear quite a few of these stay there completely untouched

(78) Would You Give A Homeless Person CPR If They Were Dying? Why Or Why Not?

What kind of question is this???

I mean I don’t know CPR but if I could yeah???

(79) Been On The Computer For 5 Hours Straight?

… listen,

right now ive only been on my computer for like an hour or two but yeah ive done that,

(80) Stalked Someone On A Social Network?

I don’t think so?

(81) Do You Like Meeting New People?

Yyyyes and no. I’m a bit awkward but I like people

(82) Do You Wear Rings? If You Do, Take A Picture Of Them.

Oh!! I wear this really pretty crown shaped ring but idk where I left it

(83) Do You Sleep With Your Bedroom Door Open Or Closed?

Closed closed closed I haaate when my bedroom door is open

(84) What Are Three Things You Did Today?

Talk with friends, make some tea, read? I haven’t done a lot today skvnskjvn

(85) What Do You Wear To Bed?

Comfy shirt and sweatpants

(86) List All Of Your Different Beauty Products You Have Right Now.

What’s a beauty?

(87) Are You A Day Or Night Person?

uuuh both? hard to answer??

(88) List All Of Your Video Games On Your Phone, Console Etc.

Well, we’ve already clarified what I have on my phone skjfnskjfb

THe only games I know I have on console are Mortal Kombat Armageddon, Devil May Cry 3 special edition, and Okami. Oh! And God of War. I think at least the first and second. Were there more than two?

(89) Tell Me About A Dream That You Had And When It Happened.

Nah

(90) Favourite Soda Drink?

I don’t like fizzy drinks, they make my throat hurt

But Fanta is nice

(91) What Sounds Are Your Favourite?

Melodic voices singing, the rain, absentminded humming, small clicking noises...

(92) Do You Wear Jeans Or Sweats More?

Jeans! I have very few but I’ve grown fond of them. Used to wear yoga pants pretty exclusively before

(93) How Do You Look Right Now?

Gorgeous, of course

Skjvnskfjvn I’m still wearing the clothes I used to sleep

(94) Name Something That Relaxes You.

Ghibli movies

(95) What Tattoo Do You Want?

A star map on my back!

(96) Favourite YouTuber?

Right now I think that’s John Wolfe. But I like quite a few