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lagosbratzdoll · 7 months

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On Daenerys, Colonisation and Race Discourse within the ASOIAF Fandom

This has been on my mind for a good long while and honestly, as much as I would like to leave discourse in the pits, it has been bugging me intermittently over the past few weeks.

Far too many of you get on here and call people who like the fictional dragon-riding family, neo-Nazis and that sentiment is so prevalent, that white people feel comfortable telling me a black woman that I am a neo-Nazi for rooting for Daenerys Targaryen. I am upholding neo-Nazi power fantasies for wanting to see a little girl live at the end of a story. I am a neo-Nazi for wanting to see the rape survivor have the family she aches for and children with the man (or men) she loves.

Then, those same people go on spiels about how the systemic erasure of those who sing the song of the earth and other old races is not colonialism. That their removal from their home is not displacement but an agreement between two equal parties. The fact that the only place where those who sing the song of the earth exist in the present timeline is north of the wall, surrounded by the bones of their dead, is not a travesty. That the expulsion of the old races from their home isn't that bad and should not be condemned.

Instead, people argue, completely seriously, that the harm that the First Men and Andals have caused is centuries in the past, so essentially the slate has been wiped clean. The logical leaps that are required to arrive at such a boneheaded conclusion are truly mind-boggling, and those who make such arguments are not good people.

I am unsure how one could read those books and come away with the impression that the old races do not mourn the loss of their home. I am unsure how one could read The Last of the Giants[1] and Ygritte’s reaction to both the song and Jon’s dismissal of the ethnic cleansing of the giants then believe that the old races and the free folk have moved past their displacement.

In Westeros, from the Wall to the broken arm of Dorne, they all speak one language despite the fact they are all different ethnicities and they all landed on the shores at different times. That is not the case in Essos, we have been introduced to at least six languages and in A Dance with Dragons, Tyrion notes that the Valyrian spoken in the Free Cities has evolved into nine distinct dialects, and they are well on their way to becoming different languages.

How would a continent as large and diverse as Westeros maintain its hegemony over the people if not for forced assimilation, discriminatory practices and violence? The brutal repression required to keep one house in power for thousands of years is nothing to sniff at. The suppression required to keep the vast majority of Westeros worshipping one (or seven) gods. The systems in place ensure that language does not grow or evolve amongst the highborns at least.

Centuries before Aegon's Landing the maesters were the definitive educational authority and even now centuries after, nothing has changed. The grey rats still decide who learns what and when they learn it. There's one in every highborn home, all correspondence passes through them, they are the healers and the councillors.

The circular logic gets even more blockheaded when you factor in the fact that Daenerys is far from the only white character in the books. She is not the only character who wishes for home. She is not the only character who draws strength from her ancestors, her bloodline and her magical creatures.

Cersei draws strength from her family’s iconography, and the Stark children (Jon included) all draw strength from their direwolves, their home and their blood. Sansa, Arya and Bran wish to return home and their home was built on the indiscriminate murder and displacement of the indigenous peoples. Their home is built on centuries of rape, murder, exclusionary practices and sexual slavery.

However, if we give the nonsensical argument that time erases crimes air; the Starks, Lannisters and Tullys are warring to settle personal grievances in the present timeline. As a consequence of that war, thousands (a modest guesstimate) of small folk, minor nobles and even some major ones have been raped, tortured, maimed and killed.

Despite all this, no one writes meta after meta about how Sansa and her siblings must surely die for justice to be had for those who sing the song of the earth, the free folk, the giants and all the old races that fled beyond the wall.

People write meta about Cersei and how she must die, but those are typically more misogynistic nature. They typically argue that she must die not for the “crime” of being Lannister, but for the “crime” of being Cersei and “ruining” Jamie.

I would not mind criticisms of Dany and her peace-focused approach to ending slavery because the approach is naïve and she gives the slavers far too much ground. However, she is learning, growing and self-critiquing. At the end of A Dance with Dragons, she has decided to embrace fire and blood, her knight is breaking the false peace which is a necessary step forward.

What I find offensive is people saying that she should have planned better before she abolished slavery. And that the death, violence, and sickness that arises from her quest to eradicate slavery is somehow worse than the death, violence, and sickness that already existed in Slaver’s Bay.

This argument often downplays the horrific conditions and suffering that exist(ed) under the slave system in Slaver's Bay. Such arguments are often in poor taste and prioritise the lives and comforts of the slavers more than the people they have enslaved.

I would not mind criticisms of Dany if people applied that same critique even-handedly. The same people who believe that Jon and Bran have done much to rectify the evil that their ancestors perpetuated believe that Dany has not done anything to right the wrongs of her ethnic kin. They praise them for the non-existent steps that they have taken, but in the same breath, they condemn Dany for not being able to immediately end the plague that is slavery.

It is perfectly alright to not like fictional characters, no law requires you to like certain fictional characters over others. However, what is not right is making broad accusations about those who do, it is beyond the pale. It is disgusting, and annoying, and trivialises real-world issues to score cheap points against fictional characters.

Equating the survival of a teenage survivor to the restoration of a fascist house or neo-Nazi power fantasy when such designations do not exist in the world of ice and fire is strange behaviour. Saying that the teenage survivor will eventually be manipulated and raped (again) before ending up dead on her manipulator's blade is also strange behaviour.

Dismissing the horrors of colonialism, especially when the text shows you that the involved parties are still affected by it, is not normal and often veers into real-world imperialism apologia. While criticism and analysis of characters and their actions are valid and even encouraged, it is essential that we do not resort to sweeping generalisations about other people and that we keep criticisms of characters grounded in the text.

[1]

Ooooooh, I am the last of the giants, my people are gone from the earth.

The last of the great mountain giants, who ruled all the world at my birth

Oh, the smallfolk have stolen my forests, they’ve stolen my rivers and hills.

And they’ve built a great wall through my valleys, and fished all the fish from my rills

In stone halls they burn their great fires, in stone halls they forge their sharp spears.

Whilst I walk alone in the mountains, with no true companion but tears.

They hunt me with dogs in the daylight, they hunt me with torches by night.

For these men who are small can never stand tall, whilst giants still walk in the light.

Oooooooh, I am the LAST of the giants, so learn well the words of my song.

For when I am gone the singing will fade, and the silence shall last long and long.

#I do not like most of y’all.#Do not call people of colour you do not know neonazis to win points against a fictional character.#It is not my fault that most of your faves are boring and do nothing to drive the plot forward #take it up with george rr martin and stop villifying dany and her (mid) family.#The insistence that we must mind fandom etiqutte is tired as hell too especially because people use it as silencing tools.#“Yes I called you a neonazi but you are the real weirdo for finding my post so really it’s on you that you saw that.”#that’s how y’all sound.#If I see another post that equates enjoying dany to being a neonazi #i will make it everybodys problem.#Took a long break from this fandom because the rancid takes were overshadowing the good takes #and i’ve been back less than a year and the takes are even more rancid than before.#hotd opened an evil door that should’ve remained shut.#Cause why the fuck are there criston cole apologists? Why are there aemond and aegon ii apologists? It is a dark world we live in.#put the last giant at the bottom for my homies who have not read the books which if we're speaking real is more than half of y'all #now that i have gotten this out of my system #it is time to get back to demon slayer #daenerys targaryen #asoiaf #asoiaf thoughts #asoiaf nonsense #if you saw the typos in the first version #no you didn't #edited this to add some thoughts I originally put in the tags because I felt it worked better there.

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mrstsung · 2 months

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Me at mk12/mk1 shang:

Baby you did no wrong. The narrative does you wrong. Tells us you can never be forgiven yet other characters do horrible shit (maybe even worse) and get off scott free cuz the narrative and story told you to hate him. Instead of using your brains to think for once in your god damn lives. Calling shang lazy because he's poor,down on his luck trying to survive in this game. Ableist shitlords who tell poor people and minority groups to "put in honest work and youll get somewhere" or "shang tsung is always a liar" when a supposed "good version exists"?! Are you shitting me?! He deserve nice things. Every excuse i see seems to be wanting to demonize a character that in the story actually didn't deserve it. And by all means is valid in their anger. Shang tsung deserves better. But most of all he deserves the heads of those responsible for giving him a wretched life. So fuck nrs and fuck liu kang stans.

You deserve so much more. Shang tsung stans,my fellow tsimps. Please do him actual justice. That doesn't involve shipping him with everyone on the roster. You know actually write something worth a lick.

Also Me at mk12/mk1 liu kang and anyone who justifies him in the narrative now:

That's not my liu kang and honestly liu should have stayed dead.

Nah i won't apologize.

Hating on this man for the predicaments that you gaslight him on in a situation where liu kang has every fucking means and power to actually change shit or ya know stand up to his superiors. Does nothing. Nobody's calling out these god/titans. And look where that gets our faves.

So liu kang is just as at fault if not more.

You dont give him nearly as much shit as you give raiden as a God and yet unlike raiden

LIU KANG DESERVES TO GET FUCKING YELLED AT,CALLED OUT AND SOME FUCKING CONSEQUENCES FOR HIS BLUNDERS. but yet....he doesn't really. Just sad kitty mew mew faces and a slap on the wrist.

Meanwhile shang tsung has to pay for crimes he did WHILE HE WAS TRYING TO SURVIVE AND ACTUALLY FUCKING DO SOMETHING ABOUT THE PROBLEMS.

Dont give that "oh but evil shang" did what? Whos to say it wasn't the same shit? But instead of God liu kang,it was raiden? So same shit. Plus like i said a good shang exists. So....what is the actual excuse to not feel bad for shang. Even a lil bit?

So same shit different god. Nothing got changed. Nothing worth of lick to the story actually happened.

So what did we actually do differently that was worth it?

Nothing.

Like how am i supposed to love these supposed "good guys" but all they do is follow orders,not question shit,follow narrative,and run around like bumbling idiots? How am i supposed to root for someone who legitimately ruined the lives of others by not actually helping.

If gods actually can do all this shit in mks world. Like they say. If these beings are oh so powerful. Then show it. Because if not. Then they are just as flawed and are no better then the supposed mortals.

Gods in mk use mortals as cattle for their own amusement would be the narrative that mk needs so desperately. And for shang tsung of all people to call that shit out and actually do something about it and do a NOBLE DEED. Would be fucking amazing.

But nope y'all want your boring stale unseasoned trope of "uwu evil guy to beat up because me good guy cant possibly be an asshole in the wrong uwu"

What drove shang to evil....is the lack of actually love and care from someone that was supposed to protect him. He had a hard time trusting others. So.....help him trust again? Help him and guide him better? Maybe he needs a lil bit different teaching technique? He obviously didn't take pleasure in lying or stealing or selling to make ends meet. Obviously there was a reason. Whos to say the people wouldn't find any excuse to hate shang even if he was making an honest living? Whos to say that they wouldn't find a way to other him in the narrative as some of y'all seem to be doing?

So yeah nothing changed.

same shit. Different god. That's all that fucking changed. Period.

It's a mid game. And thats me being very very generous. If shang wasn't in it and used as fucking sale bait. I bet you it wouldn't even get off half the fucking attention it's gotten. And even then it's waning as we speak. (Good)

Say what you want but there is no valid reason to hate shang tsung. You can say he's not your fave. You can say he's done deliciously cold Blooded shit. I'd agree with you.

But dont ever say it was for no reason. He has every right to fuck the gods up.

This man is a survivor of a game that was rigged from the start.

And by god he still despite taking unnecessary L's . He stays winning because i feel he's more popular than any other character on the roster. Simply by being the lovely bastard he is.

People would argue that sub zero or scorpion are the best. Not anymore. They aint even the right ones.

Kenshi is only popular because pretty guy lewis tan(he's cute but by god fans of him are irritating) plays him and people want anime sword dude. Outside of that niche what does he actually have to offer the narrative and story beyond his part. Nothing. Unpopular opinion but...His son was cooler anyways.

Johnny cage is cool but only in small doses otherwise he's insufferable. And he's even mid tier in mk12/mk1. That jean claude van damme skin is the only reason people came back for johnny and i genuinely feel that was also a sale bait. Because they knew they couldn't beat tekkens sales nor street fighter. And had to rush shit out to even be noticed.

It reeks of "notice me younger generation. We still have the cool toys." It's desperate for the glory days that never will come.

People are tired of the mediocre.

You had an opportunity to actually shake shit up. But nope nrs just wants an injustice game so bad but have to appease the impatient mk fans. I say this as a long time mk fan. We are our own worst enemy.

But enough venting.

I'll get back to shang tsung posting soon.

Some actual good food.

Just lemme simmer down and cook a bit.

#personal vent #personal post #personal post do not reblog #DO NOT REBLOG #vent post

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halalgirlmeg · 1 year

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17, 20, and 6 for the books ask 📚

6. I've only read 2 books this month that's Sula by Toni Morrison and What Our Souls are Made if by Tasha Suri

But I'm also currently reading Partners in Crime by Alisha Rai and House of Hunger by Alexis Henderson

17. Top 5 kids books?

Hmm if going off books I loved as a kid:

Black Beauty

Junie B Jones

Ramona the Brave

Wayside School is falling down

Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters

20. What are things I look for in a book?

Well first things first do I like it? Cause if I don't then what are we doing here. But I guess getting more technical if there's one genre I'm very nitpicky about its gothic horror cause imo too many books call themselves gothic horror when it's more like paranormal horror or historical fiction (looking at you The Hacienda). Like I look for the dramatics and overwhelming swell of emotions, I look for the dread the creepiness that crawls under my skin, the horror that lurks in the shadows you know what I mean. Then there's like romance my other fave and some are good but the best ones have me blushing and laughing and kicking my feet in the air (shoutout to Can't Resist Her, Nighthawk, and The Bride Test). If it's fantasy, literally nothing because it's not topping The Final Strife.

15. Recommend and Review a book

SO GLAD YOU ASKED! Everybody read the final strife by saara el-arifi! It's about this girl Sylah she is a part of what they call the stolen. She was one of the babies of a higher class (Embers) switched with Dusters (a middle class but not the lowest of the low) and she was supposed to be a part of this revolution of sorts but her entire family died at her fault and she is drowning her pain and sorrows in drugs. So when she is drunk one night trying to take back what she's owed she finds herself in the captivity of Anoor who she was switched with and she sees the life she could've had but Anoor wants Sylah to train her for this competition for these warden positions but mind you, not everyone knows she's really a duster so it'd be a big deal if she won but it's a lot of people ready to bring her down and Sylah's got people from her past returning with the same old motives but if she can help Anoor win it could mean serious things for them both. And we can't forget our Ghosting sister Hassa, she lurks in the shadows forgotten as most Ghostings are maybe she isn't an Ember or a Duster but there's big things happening behind the scenes and you can't count Hassa out.

LITCHERALLY I thought I might not be a fantasy girl fr. THEN I READ THIS ONE ITS SO GOOD. 10/10. I can't wait until The Battle Drum realizes next year like I'M READY. Like side note it's got great action scenes, it's got a lesbian bisexual and a trans girl. Holy trinity of women, and they're all Black. Js. Also arguably one of the better portrayals of drug addiction I've ever come across

19. Most disliked popular books?

Since I already answered this I'm going to elaborate on one and that's These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong. Literally biggest disappointment I've read in a while. You know it's like 1920s Shanghai setting, supposed to be Chinese and Russian mafia with some enemies to lovers going on. Why was I 200 plus pages in and nothing had happened. Literally could tell you maybe 2 things that happened. And I was more than halfway done. I'm also a firm believer if your story whatever medium its in involves gangs or mafia you are required to not be boring like these are borderline thrillers or they should be and yet...this book did not deliver despite sounding great. And I def was reading reviews wondering wtf did other people read cause I was like...there's no freaking way. Also for it to be enemies to lovers it was all enemies and no lovers, like not the main part. But I blame the internet cause folks heard enemies to lovers and ran with it but with no effort like hello

*and scene rant over*

#asks #whew this was long okay I'm done #thank you for asking ��

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akakios-aikos · 10 months

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Diary Entry #003

Tuesday, 11. July 2023, 23:38

Alright, so originally I wanted to wait a bit before I do the next entry, but something just happened seconds ago that has me shaking to the point where I might think I'm going to have a panic attack once I'm done with typing this out.

So to go through everything that has happened, it's probably best I go through everything in the order it happened. So last Entry was on Saturday, Sunday was pretty boring, so there is nothing I really need to add there. I think one nice thing that has happened on Sunday, was that I was out with my siblings and a mutual friend of us getting some Sushi all you can eat in your fave restaurant. During the night from Sunday to Monday, I actually tried a spell to manifest a

Now to Monday, so Tay decided to reach out to me after work (I guess?), asking me about what I have been up to, I told him, that work has been boring and how I got some Oil-burns while cooking on the weekend. He, as expected, didn't ask any more questions about the subject, and instead we were talking about his shit (like always). At some point, he just stopped replying right in the middle of the conversation for like 6 hours???? And then he came back like nothing happened, and we just continued talking. Like, at least tell me what the fuck took you so long.

Well anyway, while he was taking his time with replying I had a discord call with Cil and I KID YOU NOT, I love this woman so much. So I told her about how I feel very alienated with the girlies, especially Iruna and she absolutely understood my worries and told me that I was valid in the way I was feeling which... It felt sooo good having someone respond to my struggles with understanding. She told me that I can very well reach out to Iruna and talk about my fears, and how she is sure they will understand how I have been feeling recently. Especially since Iruna did reach out to me again today.

Then we also talked about the situation with Tay and how I feel like he doesn't really acknowledges my issues and the things that I care for, like my stories and poems. Cil once again was the most amazing listener and told me that it is something I have to clearly communicate with him, because what's the point of putting any more effort into a connection if it's completely one-sided? But how do I even tell him those concerns, I don't want to beg him to treat my properly, I just want him to treat me properly without me having to wish and beg for it. So that's something I will have to put in some more thoughts into.

Well now to today (Tuesday). First of all, I didn't go to work, the constant weather changes gave me the BIGGEST migraine. I stayed at home not really doing anything but sleep till noon, once I was feeling a bit better I helped out my older brother with some work and decided that I want to pick up Fire Emblem Engage, because I am really in the mood for some games again. I am probably going to do that tomorrow. Tay and I continued talking, since his response was at like 1 am I think, so we just kinda picked it up again after I woke up.

So now I have been idling in my bed since then going through social media ordered pizza, doing not really anything, when I suddenly see a response Tay made to some RANDOM FUCKING TWEET that just was talking about the reasons why one could be single, and he decided to fucking respond to that saying that he is better off that why and how he doesn't feel like a relationship right now. So now I am shit scared because I DO still have feelings for him, but do I even have a chance??? What can I do to get him to reciprocate these feelings, i wanna be with him but after everything that happened, THAT IS ALL HIS FAULT BTW, he doesn't wanna be with me? That's why I am so scared off communicated my worries with him since I feel like that might turn him away from me and I need to be as loving and pleasant to him as possible... i dont know what to do

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piracytheorist · 2 years

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(laa again bc idk when to stop typing :D) man it's a bit weird to see players put the responsibility of accepting the coercion- i mean 'deal' and being nice to the villain (that, doing what villains do, hurt the mc - ofc that's expected of him) on Ethan's ptsd + traumatised + paranoid + exhausted ass. like, it's Ethan's baby daughter that got dismembered by these people and they played keep away with her body parts and they want him to have a rational discussion after the nightmarish day he's had? with the dude that ran him through, dragged him to his 'family', put him on a saw-like game, made him go through the lycans den, told him they'd use his baby as a thing?

...not to mention some of the stuff he says during his fight :x

"The villagers are nothing but a bunch of worthless peons!"

"I'll use your cute little daughter to become more powerful than ever!"

"You'll meet Rose in the after life!" "Rose's power is mine! Right after I murder Miranda!" and that's just some of it!

and some peeps say 'but ethan should have joined then betrayed heisenberg to escape with rose!' ...pls tell me where in the games ethan has shown any inclination to lie, betray or be anything other than painfully honest and emotional bc i think the guy can't lie worth sht

heisenberg's my fave lord and i'd have loved to have the option to join him, bc it'd add replayability to the game and it'd lead to a bad end like 7's zoe route (...and also bc it'd add fuel to my wintersberg fic ideas :> imagine the angst! the betrayal! the whump!)

Yeah, I feel that, for the most part, people who think it would have been a good choice to join Heisenberg are not understanding the Author's Intent here (or are just ignoring it). It was never the creators' intent to make us question whether Heisenberg could have been an ally to Ethan. Giving Heisenberg that depth of having been Miranda's victim and wanting to escape her is not there to make him redeemable. It's there to make him human; if you don't give your villains depth and some human traits, they are just big monsters/zombies (in RE's case) that you have to defeat. And that gets boring and distant after a while. But some people misinterpret that depth the villains have as an excuse to blame the main character for being an ass to them - after the villains have been an ass to him in the first place.

And it's this whole stupid idea that fandom spaces have set, that you can't like a character who's morally wrong cause if you do you automatically condone their actions, like... You absolutely can. You can simp for Lady Dimitrescu and love how hot she looks as she drinks the blood off of innocent people. You can simp for Heisenberg and love how he makes his terrifying but fucking awesome army of corpses. But some people have that above thought so much drilled into their minds (not on their own fault, tbh), that they're looking for the tiniest excuse to justify themselves liking the villains - when they don't even have to! Like, I know that loving Lady D doesn't mean you'd condone her actions in real life, but some people take that so personally that they take it to the other extreme and blame Ethan for trying to find his daughter???? so to make Lady D's and her daughters' treatment of him morally correct. When that's not the point of her character at all. Her loving her daughters doesn't mean that, morally, she has the right to keep Ethan away from his daughter, but that's exactly what she does. Being a loving mother and getting devastated upon their deaths makes her a deeper character, more human, and easier to understand. Not redeemable, and certainly doesn't put her above Ethan on the moral scale. But still likeable as a fictional character.

And again, liking a fictional character is not a question of morality. It's just about what you like to see, what you resonate with the most, what makes you feel good. Venom is one of my comfort films, honestly, and I love how Venom eats the heads off of criminals. I'm 100% against the death penalty in real life, yet I love this big, dumb and fictional alien punishing bad guys by eating their heads straight off. You go you big alien himbo, protect San Francisco and get your nutrients at the same time (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

So yeah, my love for Venom doesn't negate nor combat my very solid stance against the death penalty in real life. I'd be fucking terrified if that was happening in real life.

And again on the ignoring the Author's Intent, a lot of people hate on Ethan because he's "boring", seeing that they're justified in hating on him and calling him the bad guy because he doesn't have the depth that the villains have... and they're not understanding that Ethan being "boring" is essential to what the writers created. They wanted him to be a simple guy, they wanted his comebacks to be stupid and cheesy, they wanted him to not have any super deep backstory or motivation or whatever. All that contributes to making the game survival horror that balances lore (we focus on the Lords' story instead of trying to learn more about Ethan's story), action, just a little bit of humor (if you don't understand why we laugh our asses out at stuff like "You're the one who's cursed" and "Caught myself a big one" and you just think Ethan is unforgivably stupid and a bad protagonist... YOU ARE NOT THE TARGET AUDIENCE. SORRY THAT YOU WASTED YOUR MONEY AND TIME ON THIS GAME) and emotion (if you don't get just a little bit sad at the ending... the game was wasted on you, is all I'm saying).

That was... a lot LMAO. But the more I see people call Ethan boring, the more I shake my head and go like Please learn a tiny bit about storymaking before criticising a game WITH A STORY IN IT. With all that in mind, it's no surprise to see people completely lose the point of why Ethan told Heisenberg to fuck off instead of considering telling him "yeah sure go ahead and use my daughter whose dismemberment a few hours ago you were an accessory to" for even just one moment. It's basic rules of the creative process.

All that said, I think it would have been interesting to see how fucked up things would get if Ethan had allowed Heisenberg to use Rose. Maybe Heisenberg's plan would've backfired and Rose would have died for good, and imagine seeing Ethan's reaction to that?? Especially since in re7, if you choose Zoe, you have to kill Mia yourself for good, that could've been paralleled in re8 by Rose ending up dying, leaving Ethan a hopeless, helpless mess. Maybe in his rage and grief he would've turned at Heisenberg and absolutely demolish him. And then he would've been left alone, hating himself for the poor choice he took. Definitely lots of angst and whump potential :3

#Resident Evil #Resident Evil 8 #Ethan Winters #re meta #long asks anon #living up to your name :D #as am I :P #anonymous #ask and ye shall receive

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drivingsideways · 3 years

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Hey talk to me about your top three favourite kdrama women. What makes them special? What's a fic you would like to write about any one of them?

Mystery anon! :D What a lovely ask.

I’m going to cheat a bit and divide my answer into characters I loved a lot, but do not want to write fic about, because I think the canon gives me what I need; and characters that I loved a lot but NEED TO BE RESCUED ZOMG. (My fic writing impulses are 50% spite and 50% fix-it )

Caveat being that I’ve still watched only maybe a dozen kdramas, so I’m pretty limited in my knowledge!

Characters that I love a lot, but have very zero fic impulses toward:

Han Yeo-jin from Stranger/Secret Forest: What a delight! What an iconique character! Is there anyone like her? NO. LSY-nim gives us a delightfully complex character, and Bae Doona knocks it out of the park in every single scene, so I’m just happy to be along for the ride. I think what makes Yeo-jin special for me is the intrinsic place of empathy that she operates from. I think “righteous” is a word that often comes with negative connotations (self-righteous, for eg), but I do think she’s one of the most righteous-in-the-good-way characters I’ve watched in kdrama or any drama. I’m tired of stories that portray goodness as “boring” , as unworthy of narrative breadth or depth, and I love that Han Yeo-jin comes to us like a breath of fresh air in our particular dystopian narratives hellscape. She’s good, but never naive. She’s righteous but never cruel in her moral certainties. I think that LSY nim, in the second season especially, gave Yeo-jin the kind of arc that character deserved when she’s forced to really dig deep into herself to figure out how she’s going to live in the world in the face of a deeply cutting, deeply personal disillusionment, and I’m really hoping for an S3 to see how that plays out further.

Goo Hae-ryung from Rookie Historian: Ok, I will admit this may be rose tinted glasses view due to this show being my gateway drug into kdrama, but c’mon! She’s a reader! and a Thinker! And loves her wine! She’s plucky! She’s cute! She’s got a wry sense of humour! She’s got principles! She’s got a solid common sense to her that somehow doesn’t get in the way of her dreaming BIG! Oh dear, doesn’t she sound like the Mary-est of Mary Sues? Good for her.gif, I say! Anyways, Shin Se-kyung is unutterably charming in this (AS IN EVERY SHOW OMG GIRL) and I just have a huge fondness for free-spirited heroines who get to tramp through the narrative changing the world as they do!

Lee Ji-an from My Ahjussi: I’ve never had my heart broken more OR restored by any single character. IU is *phenomenal * in this, I think she really stepped up to what the script demanded from her. Ji-an’s weariness, her fear and vulnerability, her prickliness, her anger and her bitterness, and how, despite everything, she fights : GOD. Just. Again, what I love about the writing in this show is that it’s deeply empathetic without being cloyingly sentimental. I think a less, hmm, imaginative writer/PD might have focused on the Lee Ji-an the victim, and while the show definitely tells you in no uncertain terms that she is one, of both circumstances and a cruel society, I think it refuses to take away her agency over her own life.(Lee Ji-an when we meet her is too busy hanging onto life by tooth and claw to indulge in self-pity, but we also see the toll it takes on her not to be able to say “this is too heavy a burden for me to carry myself and it isn’t my fault”; the show I think approaches Dong-hoon from the opposite side- his emotional isolation is partly a result of his own choices, but he doesn’t see it yet, and so his journey is also about letting people in and sharing the burden, but also recovering his own agency over his life. It’s an interestingly gender-bent arc, which is one of the things I love about this show. )

Ok, can I please add one more?

Hwang Han-joo from Melo is my Nature: She just felt SO real to me. She’s someone who doesn’t have the spectacular brilliance of either Jin-joo or Eun-jung, and struggles with accepting her limitations but not allowing herself to be defeated by them? I love her struggles as a mother, as a working woman in a sexist industry, a woman who’s perhaps having to rethink and reimagine what she wants from romance. I love that she’s a little silly, a lot kind, and an optimist, and just. I just think she’s the bravest of the three, tbh, and I LOVE HER AND I WOULD WATCH A SPIN OFF ABOUT JUST HER (i shouldn’t have faves among the three i know, BUT I DO, IT’S HER, IT’S HER.)

Ok! On to the next section! And I’m going to cheat again because I can’t stop at three. SORRY. NOT SORRY.

Characters I love and SHOULD write fic for if I weren’t such a tired and lazy bunny:

Song Sa-hui from Rookie Historian: Oh, girl, girl, GIRL. I love how she fights to snatch her freedom from the jaws of the patriarchy. I love that she unapologetically centers herself while doing that, because she knows that nobody else will. I love that she’s prickly and calculating. I love that she’s smart and knowledgeable. I am SO HAPPY that she got to carve out a little bit of freedom for herself, even if it also is exile to some degree. She *should * be Emperor Jin’s Prime Minister and steering the ship of state, while also carrying on a tumultous affair with Queen Min Woo-hee, while ALSO commiserating with Emperor Jin about his boyfriend Historian Min Woo-won’s regrettable tendency towards Principles (TM) and masochism-but-not-in-the-fun-way. (This takes up much of his time which is why Song Sa-hui is running the country, of course. It works out well for all concerned, well, except her dad, of course.)

Song Ga-gyeong from Search:WWW: What’s NOT to love about our brilliant, beautiful, emotionally tortured gay icon? Nothing, absolutely nothing. I loved how the show allowed her to be flawed and make bad decisions, and then allowed her to make better decisions and regain control of her life. What I do need to do, of course, is see the CANON LOVE STORY between her and Cha Hyeon through to the end. It must, of course, include at least one baseball game, a lot of tequila and messy beach kisses.

Oh Ji-hwa from Beyond Evil: Oh boy, this year’s runaway hit cleared the extremely low bar for standard crime/ thriller shows by leaving more than one of its female characters breathing and with all limbs intact, and got called feminist for it BUT it didn’t do justice to any of them in any meaningful way and that never hurt more than in the way they sidelined Kim Shin-rok’s talent by not giving Oh Ji-hwa anything much to do. She’s a tough as nails cop, a loving sister, a devoted but unsentimental friend-and by rights SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE HEROINE OF THIS SHOW. My secret fic fantasy is to rewrite the show entirely by making her , and the two other female characters in non-antagonist roles- Yoo Jae-yi and Im Sun-nyeo- as the central characters, as they investigate a serial killer who targets women. It’s the only acceptable version of this done-to-death (ha!) genre, I have no idea what the Baeksang jury and tumblr fandom is smoking when they hype the show so much, I want none of it.

Jung Sun-ah from The Devil Judge: I love her rage, her spite, her passionate defense of women, her style, her sexiness, her rage, her rage, her brilliance, her tenaciousness, her smartness, her clothes, her refusal to hate herself for everything she is and chooses to be, her ambition, her comfort wielding power, her EVERYTHING. Dead, her? NOT IF I HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY ABOUT IT. Here’s what *really * happened at the end of canon- she gets out of the building by planting that lady-like but still deadly gun against Kang Yo-han’s temple and making him lead her through his own “secret escape route” or whatever the fuck it was the show wanted us to believe. From there on out, it’s all sunshine and beaches, and scheming and waiting for the right moment to strike again-though of course, this time around, she also has to reckon with vigilant, tenacious cop Soo-hyun -another character who REALLY didn’t die for manpain reasons and had the good sense to leave her gay best friend to follow his psychopath boyfriend to Switzerland or wherever it is that star crossed lovers in kdrama land meet up on the regs these days- anyways, Soo-hyun and her are in this catch-me-if-you-can epic transnational honest and cute cop-and-beautiful sexy villain chase and yes, they WILL kiss (and more) AND IT WILL BE GLORIOUS.

*whew *

Thanks for coming to my TEDTalk.

#kdrama #thank you for this ask OMG #[fiona apple voice] ladies ladies ladies ladies

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imagining-in-the-margins · 3 years

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Hi! You often give alot of insight into anons like this and your my fave CM blog so that's why I'm here! So I'm finishing up the last seasons (and lord it is hard to get through) and they just introduced Max and I cannot stand her. She was just so rude and it felt like she had 2 different personalities the entire time she was on screen. And I worried that this meant I was like hating women because I don't like other female characters like Maeve, JJ, Hailey, and Seaver. But then I started thinking and I honestly think it's cause these Characters are women poorly written by men. But then I wondered how they created likeable Characters like Emily, Kristy, Blake, Tara, and Penelope (leaving out others like Savannah because they're under developed in my opinion) I don't know what's the difference in the writing for these Characters or of there isn't any at all and I'm just being hateful in a way. What are your thoughts?

Ah, I think about this a lot. Thank you for thinking I’m interesting enough to answer this, also!

I think you’ve really hit the nail on the head with the writers doing a poor job at most of their female characters. However, I think it’s possible (and very common in this fandom) for people to dislike any character Spencer showed an interest in, which is also problematic and rooted in internalized misogyny. To me, it all comes down to why you dislike the characters.

(A LOT More Below - Bit of a Rant)

The first step I took when reflecting to see if this was my problem was rewatching and seeing which female characters I loved. Along with the ones you listed, I also found a number of side characters I greatly enjoyed, including Lila, Austin, Dr. Linda Kamura (from Amplification, the anthrax episode), Einstein, Megan Kane, and a few other random case characters. So, right off the bat I found multiple characters who Spencer showed an affinity for. I also greatly enjoyed Cat’s character, although I found her to be underdeveloped in canon (Fanon has done a good job, IMO) and often contradictory in her character design.

If you didn’t like any of these women, and your reason is related purely to Spencer’s reactions to them, chances are you might be suffering from a bit of jealousy rather than improper character design - not that you need to like them all (or the ones that I like), but because they are all very different. You should, theoretically, find something to enjoy about at least one of them.

But the CM Writers have a TERRIBLE habit of writing women that are easy to hate.

There’s a bunch of controversy I see over Haley Hotchner, but the truth is that they wrote her to be hated. That was her sole purpose. Her character’s decisions were poorly thought out and she was shown to be malicious 80% of the time. This was intentional. She was written to personify the trope of the nagging housewife. If you dislike her, you have done nothing but follow the narrative.

That being said, you should also criticize why they wrote her this way. Because it didn’t make any sense. She married a prosecutor - a dangerous, time consuming job. She had Jack when she knew he was with the BAU. Why did she randomly change her tune? Why did she suddenly demand he gives up on his dreams that she was fully aware of for years? I’d argue they wrote it like this to further the narrative of “the wife who traps you with a child to force you to do what she wants” which is garbage writing. I wish people could look at the potential she had if they hadn’t written her like... that.

Maeve, I find, is problematic on multiple aspects and I’ve talked about it before. Her narrative was poorly thought out because as soon as they pitched the idea of a long-term love interest for Spencer, everyone (most notably Gubler) rejected it. They didn’t think it was necessary for his character, who already had a lot going on with the ignored plot lines of his drug addiction and mother.

There were multiple problems associated with her character that were never addressed. The fact she essentially just took advantage of a patient because she was bored, she seemed to “correct” his interests and show annoyance when he disagreed with her, she lied about having a fiance, she was shown to be considering breaking up with him... there’s a lot.

Her character is poorly written. It had a lot of potential, but they just kind of stopped caring once they decided to kill her off. She had more faults shown on screen than redeeming qualities. For many, they liked her because they see there was a potential that we’ll never see (fair). But for people like me, we interpret it as a idealized fantasy of what could have (but probably wouldn’t have) been, which is not healthy for Spencer.

JJ is an interesting character because you can feel the constant struggle between AJ Cook and the writers. They really sabotaged JJ at every step of the way. I’ll be honest and say that I think there are some reasons to hate JJ, but they aren’t the reasons I see most often. Almost all of the JJ hate I see is surrounding the idea that JJ is an evil, manipulative, jealous bitch. But.. she’s not. Even in Truth or Dare, when she pulls that asshole move that was wildly OOC for JJ (in my opinion), she isn’t shown to be jealous or cruel about it.

I think she’s the most likely target for people who’s hatred is driven from jealousy or disliking conventionally attractive women and assuming them to be bitchy by nature of looking “beautiful.” I think Lila Archer* also falls into this category.

But as I said, JJ was also written with a lot of flaws. I think it’s fair if you don’t like her character or the way she treats Spencer, but I also hope that you similarly criticize the whole team in the same way, and don’t just pity Spencer because he is smol uwu babie who needs protection.

(* Yet another reminder that I ask everyone to not message me about J Depp or Amber Heard. Reactive Abuse is an extreme trigger for me and I will block you if you try to get me to talk about it)

Seaver got a lot of hate based off one line of dialogue. I think it was a bad line. If they had left it out, there would be essentially no reason in my mind to dislike Seaver. I used to dislike her a lot, but the more I rewatch the show, the less she bothers me. She was just a young student who wanted to learn about her father/herself. She was MASSIVELY underdeveloped because they kicked her off just as quickly as they invited her in.

NO character was developed that quickly. Her scenes were a bit cringey and the plotlines were bad, and her character was mediocre. I don’t think she deserves the hate she gets. She is a lukewarm character.

I hate everything Max’s character represents. She was introduced to show that Spencer could be trained to be “normal” and it’s anti-autistic bullshit. She had no personality besides “I hate my low-brow job as a teacher and couldn’t be fucked to change it until a man told me I was smart.” She was cracking high-school-clique jokes while her family was about to be murdered. She immediately abandoned said family to make out with her boyfriend who just admitted to enjoying kissing the woman who tried to murder her family.

Her character makes absolutely zero sense. I do not understand how she is so liked. I really don’t (other than the fact that RLC is absolutely wonderful).

If they had left her character out, I think we would have been better off for it. We could have seen Spencer wrestle with defining himself by the women in his life and learning to love himself (without just replacing those women with... another... woman...)

That being said, those who cling to Max for hope of a happy ending for Spencer... I felt that. Fanon and fanfic can solve all character deficiencies. I believe in you.

So, yeah. I’d say if you’re worried about why you dislike women characters, you’re probably on the right path. I’d just reflect on why you dislike the characters you do and whether they are written as misogynistic stereotypes. It makes complete sense to reject characters written for the purpose of making you hate them, but we should all pour one out for the brilliant actresses that had characters with so much potential if not for men ruining it.

#Criminal Minds #anti-maxcer #anti-maeve #answer #answered

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myimaginarywonderland · 4 years

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Okay, so this post will talk about Lance but I will also give my opinion on the Lando situation since I think it is important.

First off, I think it says a lot about Lando that he made an apology. Now, be it because of the backlash he faced, because he actually saw the harm he was causing or because he genuinely regrets it, that is something I don't know. What I do know is that by apologising for it, he acknowledges that his behaviour was wrong and that is really important because it shows that he reflected on himself.

While I do still feel irked by something about the message, be it that he isn't naming Lance or Lewis who he both targeted with his actions in different ways and apologise to them directly which he might have done in person, so I am not able to judge it or be it the weird sorry at the end, I can put aside my feelings and say that this was the right thing to do and is also setting an example for his fans who were one of my main issues with all of this. They then know that saying that was not right and might learn from it themselves.

But this post isn't about Lando. This post is about Lance.

As most of you might have heard, Lance was really affected by what happened on track. He can clearly see that he is anxious and uncomfortable in his post race interview and what happened afterwards tells the story (I don't really want to talk about it because this is something private that he did not share and it is like with the story on Twitter something that was shared by other people who he didn't give the right to share it too so I don't want to spread it any further.)

This is who Lance is.

Someone who is sensitive and takes a lot of things personally.

You want to know why? Because he has, as a person, always been blamed for his dad's wealth. As if he choose to grow up with a billionaire dad. As if he is somehow responsible for it.

And he has always been painted out as someone undeserving, someone that doesn't have talent and totally owns his position to the money of his dad.

Now, let me just give you some data because I want to totally discredit this made up stuff with no roots.

In 2015, he won the Toyota Racing Series. He won by a bit over 100 points. The second finisher was his teammate. You might now some of the other drivers who competed in this series for example one Callum Iliot or Artjom Markelow.

Or in 2016,his first season in Formula 3, he finished fifth. The winner of that year was Felix Rosenquvist (a great driver) who was also Lance teammate and had only one DNF in comparison to Lance 5 and a DSQ. Now, there are two other drivers, one that was the runner up in Antonio Giovinazzi and a fourth who was Charles Leclerc. Pretty competitive field if you ask me and to finish 5th as a rookie,is impressive.

Now, fast forward a year to when he won the F3 championship. He won over his teammate by a margin of over 150 points which is so impressive, even with the two more DNFs his teammate, Maximilian Günther (another great driver) had that is quiet a lot.

Now, if you really want to use the argument that he skipped F2 against him, there is another driver you should be discrediting just as much. You guessed it, M*x V*rstappen. He also went straight into F1 which was a definite mistake but nobody ever likes to say that. I would also like you to remember that Lance did not drive for F1 as a regular driver immediately after he won the championship, no in 2016 he was a test driver, so he could slowly get used to F1. (This is not official but I would guess it's the thought process behind him being a test driver.)

Now, in 2017, his first F1 season, he was teammates of Felipe Massa. Might have heard of him, lost his championship to Lewis by one point, was teammate of Micheal Schumacher and a generally way more experienced driver. Yeah, you wanna know what the difference between him and Lance was in Lance first season? 3 points. And Lance had 2 more DNFs. You know what else he got in his first season? His first podium. In his first season, he became one of the youngest people to ever achieve a podium. With just 7 rounds into his first F1 season, in an okay midfield car with a way more experienced and older driver he was up against, he achieved a podium. And during the entire course of the season, that would remain the only podium for the Williams team that year.

Now, onto 2018. Williams was not as bad as in 2019 but they were still nowhere in terms of pace and he still didn't finish last in the championship (but I don't think we can count this season.)

In 2019, Checo became his teammate. And Checo in my opinion is one of the best midfield drivers, so there was already a lot he had to go up against and he was still so young and had less experience. There is a 30 point difference between them. Make of that what you want but for me, sure it was not Lance greatest season but now you have to think if Racing Point where really that good go be the fifth best car or if maybe, Checo just got more out of the car with his experience and talent. And than, you have to consider that he was still young and only had one season where he was truly competitive (that 2018 Williams was not something you could truly challenge anyone with.) And to then be up to one of the best midfield drivers who is widely appreciated and adored by the paddock, is a lot. Maybe for some of you it was too big of a gap which is alright.

However, don't dismiss his talent. He has had a good junior career and was up to some of the drivers you love and call talented, he even beat some of your faves. Maybe you don't see him as the next great driver but he is not a bad one and truly deserves a seat if you consider his achievements. Maybe he could have proven himself more if he had a season in F2 which is fair but that doesn't take away from anything he has achieved.

And even if you don't see him as talented, that gives you no right to bully him online. He can't change who his dad is.

Now,onto the money. I see a lot of people saying that he is only in F1 because of the money (which I hope you have by now realized is not the case.) But really, let's talk about the money.

Money is something that sadly plays a big role in F1. F1 is above all still a business. And businesses want money. So, why not take someone who has money and talent like Lance? Where are you all saying Michael only got his seat because of money (he is a pay-driver after all or at least he was one when he came to F1.) And now let's talk about his move to Racing Point. Can you truly blame Lawrence for wanting to make his sons dream come true? Wouldn't any father if they had the resources do this? Wouldn't any father want to fufill his son's dream, even if it might be seen as unethical by some or criticized? Would you really care if you saw how happy your kid was? Would you really care if you saw the glow you kid had? I don't think so.

I already said it but he was at Williams before he was at RP. His dad doesn't own that team or have any chairs in it.

Let's forget his profession for a second. Let's say you don't find him talented as a driver or just don't like him, fine. You are entitled to your opinion and sometimes we just don't like people, it happens.

What else would you have against him?

He doesn't post on social media often because people already bully him enough for his family. There is basically nothing you can dislike about him there.

And as a person? He is quiet and basically does nothing to anger people. He is literally just a normal dude. He goes on trips with his friends, he does sports to stay in shape and watches sports. He is not even posting personal stuff because he doesn't want to give people more room to bully him.

If you saw him on the street, would you think he is from a rich family? He does not look like it at all, he looks like that guy from your local sport who is literally just a college student trying to get through life.

And not only was he discredited for all his accomplishments because of something he had no control over but he also saw another driver proudly display a symbol that has been used by people who killed people who belonged to his religion. He saw a driver weat that symbol in cooperation with a company whose boos seems to be a Neo Nazi.

Lance has had to go through to so much shit just because his dad was rich (which Nicky's and Lando's also are, yes I know it's less but it's still more than any of us will probably ever have.)

This boy does nothing wrong.

Did he make a mistake with the maneuvers on Lando? Yes. But he is still so young and also new to F1, he can still learn and is growing as a person and driver. He is expected to perform more just so he proves his worth which he already has because people discredit him for having a rich dad.

Have you seen what he has done this season? He would be in the top 5 had it not been for the last races where none of the DNFs where his fault. Neither was getting Covid or being ill but people literally made fun of him for being in pain, saying stuff like "Did Daddies boy have a little stomach ache?" Yeah, because F1 drivers aren't trainex to perform no matter what, aren't putting their health last when it comes to these things and might have to be really bad if they can't drive and are not even going out of their room.

He has improved so much, he is not blaming other drivers even if they clearly hit him (see Charles) and he stays calm. Because he can't afford to be to emotional since some people would hate him for rightfully calling out others mistakes and just maybe saying that their faves are not flawless and make mistakes (like Charles.)

He has to act a certain way or be a certain way because what would happen if he just showed more of his personality? You call him dull, boring but you don't even try to get to know him. You don't even look up videos where he is more open and comfortable.

He is awkward infront of the press because he has to fear to be discredited or to be questioned about his worth every second.

And all of this pressure, this mask and this pretend eventhough he is just as human as the rest of us. And you see how hard it is, how much he questions himself, how his self-doubt increases and ultimately what happened has happened.

Because while it is just an easy insult for you that you can post anonymously online, it is one of thousands for him.

And you know, he didn't grew up in Europe. Sure he competed with some of the European drivers later one but he didn't have any of them when he started racing and he might already have been an outcast because people would already have seen him as different since his family didn't need to make sacrifices to get him to wear he is now. At least not financially ones. And then, when he came to Europe there were these already formed friend groups and it wasn't easy to get into them. The only friend he had was Esteban and I am so glad. This seems like such an unlikely friendship because they are from totally different backgrounds but that might have been what connected them in the first place. So, with basically only Esteban who liked him from the competitive times, it must have been pretty bad (not to say that the others hated him but I don't think they really cared for him.) I am so glad to see that he now also has Checo and that they get along and I hope that stays this way eventhough all of what has happened (which is also not his fault and I am sure that if he had any say in it, it would have been done differently.) Maybe we can even see their friendship when Checo stays on the grid. And with the potential of Seb next year, that might be the only other friendship or friendly connection he might form.

He is so strong for having to endure the dislike of so many people and he is still so kind and so sweet.

This has been a long post but one that I have wanted to make for a long time. If you got this far, I applaude you.

#f1 #lance stroll

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tk-writer · 4 years

Text

The Pat Down [Saiouma]

hi! this was directly inspired by tickly-tuft's fic gentle persuasion, which is still a fave of mine to this day! i thought the setting was perfect and i also have no more original ideas zsjkfhjks so i put a lil spin on it (i hope thats ok tt!!) please enjoy yet another phantom thief au fic, this time from ouma’s perspective!

~~~~~

Ouma Kokichi never got caught. And if he did, he always found a way out.

Those words repeated in his mind like a mantra as he sat with wrists cuffed to the table and ankles fettered to the legs of the chair. They echoed again and again, but as time continued to pass it was getting more and more difficult to believe his own lies. The agency wasn't playing around this time. It appeared that they had invested in some new toys, some of which were constructed with seemingly impossible locks that even a professional like Ouma couldn't get out of. After tinkering with them for awhile, he got bored and decided to just wait for the detective instead.

The sound of clinking metal clinking rang throughout the empty interrogation room whenever he made the slightest movement. He had been sitting there alone for what felt like hours, so he was starting to get a bit restless. Being a prisoner was boring without a guard there to toy with.

Luckily, he didn't have to wait much longer. The door finally opened, revealing a serious looking Saihara who seemed less than pleased to see his arch rival in his chambers once again.

Ouma flashed him a flirtatious grin and readied his arsenal of comebacks. The best part was about to begin.

"Afternoon, Saihara-chan," he sang in a honey sweet voice. "Or is it evening now? I've been waiting here for soooooooo long. I thought my beloved detective had forgotten about me. Huhuuu..." he conjured up a few tears while giving him the biggest puppy dog eyes he could muster.

"It's been twenty minutes," Saihara stated, unfazed by Ouma's theatrics. "I had to finish up some paperwork. You really made a mess of things today."

Ouma shrugged. "Wasn't my fault your officers can't tap dance."

"We had to call in an expert from China to deactivate the lasers, Ouma."

"At least it wasn't boring, right?"

Saihara sighed and rubbed his eyes. He seemed more ragged than usual. Ouma would’ve felt guilty if he wasn’t so damn stubborn about pulling all-nighters to solve his cases.

"Can you please make this easy for me today? I'm tired. I was up all last night doing research."

Ouma recoiled, trying to mime the action of clutching his heart without the use of his hands.

"Is my beloved detective involved with another thief? I'm heartbroken, Shumai! How could you do such a thing?!"

He received a deep sigh in response.

"Alright, I guess we'll have to do this the hard way."

In an unexpected move, Saihara walked towards the bound thief and stood behind him. Ouma tried turning his head to see where he was going (and what he was doing), but Saihara was standing at a weird angle out of his line of vision.

He opened his mouth to speak, but all that came out with a breathy, panicked gasp.

The feeling of two pairs of hands patting both of his sides, moving up and down from underarms to calves, made him jump at each point of contact. Ouma gritted his teeth, choking back high pitched vocalizations in an effort to speak.

"Nnnngh! Huh, huh, hey!! What are you doing?!"

"Making sure you don't have any dirty tricks up your sleeves before I interrogate you."

"Mmmh!! I don't!!"

The hands continued to explore, gently tapping against his chest while Ouma squirmed as much as he could while trapped in place. Fortunately, Saihara seemed ignorant to his suffering for now, but he knew he wouldn't be able to hold it in much longer...

"Come ooooon! They took all my gear already! You don't have to-aaaha!" He muffled the last cry as much as he could, but the little accidental flutters against his thighs and hips were really beginning to get to him. He wanted to scream when Saihara tried pulling off one of his shoes and brushed against the top of his foot. One finger snuck into the side, seeking out gadgets and doohickeys that Ouma usually had on help to aid his escapes. His touch was soft and cautious, and it tickled bad.

"Stop squirming so much, you're making this harder."

"Then stop touching me-eeehe!"

That was it; the breaking point. Saihara froze, taken aback by the sudden uncharacteristic squeal Ouma had just let out. The thief cursed himself internally, scrambling to think of a way to move past the situation.

"Saihara-chan is such a perv... you know, if you wanted to do a cavity search that badly, you could've just asked..."

He thought the innuendo would be enough to throw him off, since it usually was, but the detective had discovered something new and nothing could stop him from investigating further. Ouma couldn't see him, and for the next several seconds he found himself on edge. Inhaling sharply, forgetting to exhale... until he gasped again, quite loudly this time, when Saihara gently poked his sides.

"You're ticklish," he whispered to him. Ouma could hear the smirk in his voice. Blunt denial was all he could think of in defense.

"Hmm? Don't know what you're talking about, Mister Detective, but maybe instead of focusing on me you should be going after my associ-AAAAH!"

The screech was caused by an abrupt pinch on his lower side. He would've crunched himself sideways if his wrists hadn't been shackled in front of him.

"Don't change the subject," Saihara replied, moving his hands a bit faster. Ouma arched his back and wiggled from side to side as ten fingers curled into his ribcage. He broke out into maniacal laughter, unable to restrain his childlike giggles any longer. "How did I not know about this before?"

"Naahahhahaooo! Get AHAHAHAHAFF!!"

"Where's the Monet painting you stole today?"

"Whahaat!?!"

"I know you still have it. It wasn't under the floorboards like last time. What did you do with it?"

"Mmmgnnhhh-GAHAHAHAHAHA! Stahahahhap Shuichi!!!"

It wasn't often that he used his first name, but Ouma's mind was in shambles and that was the first thing he clung to. He was trying to focus on fighting against the tickly sensations, which meant less effort towards making coherent speech. What was making it harder was listening to Saihara quietly chuckling next to his ear, as if he were having the time of his life torturing Ouma.

"Well?" he asked, finally pausing after god knows how long.

"I told you... I don't have it... NONOONOOOOO! Not there not thehehehere!!"

The thief was borderline screaming. Electric jolts slammed into his brain as Saihara tickled the hollows of his arms. It was the most intense sensation yet. He would’ve broken both arms if it meant getting away.

"You always tell me you're a liar, how do i know if you're telling the truth now?"

"I dropped it on my way out!! Pleaeheeheese STOOOP!!"

"Hmm... alright, I guess I believe you."

Ouma felt his hands leave his body at last, but tension kept him rigid long after. He swallowed air, trying to regain his senses after the tickle attack he'd just experienced.

"Jeez... I didn't know you were such a sadist..."

Saihara rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, the realization of what he'd done finally dawning on him.

"I'm sorry... I was a little mean, wasn't I?"

Ouma faked a frown, furrowing his brows in an ersatz display of anger.

"Utterly cruel. I'm scarred for life."

Saihara knelt beside him. His hazel eyes were warm and soft, a look only reserved for Ouma. The thief would never admit it, but that was what made him fall for the detective in the first place.

"How can I make it up to you?"

"Give me your undying, eternal devotion. And also ten million dollars."

"How about I do this and call it even?"

Before Ouma could respond, he felt Saihara lift his chin gently with two fingers, forcing him to meet his gaze. He watched him lean closer, eyelids fluttering shut, and followed suit. He felt softness against his lips and melted. There wasn't much else on his mind besides the feeling of Saihara so near and the sweetness of the kiss they shared.

All too quickly it was over. The detective pulled away and gave him a small smile before making his way towards the door. Ouma could still feel heat radiating from his face. For once, he was speechless.

"See you at the next heist," were his parting words. "Make sure to use the air vents this time, please."

He closed the door behind him and was gone. Ouma sat there for a second, still processing what just happened, before slowly slipping both wrists from loosened cuffs. His ankles followed suit, but when he stood, his stance wobbled and he had to brace himself against the wall. His fingers grazed his lips, still in disbelief.

“Maybe I should get caught more often...”

#tickling #tickle fic #saiouma #oumasai #phantom thief au #hi! i wrote this at 4 am! i hope it's coherent!#lee!kokichi #lee!ouma #ler!shuichi #ler!saihara

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stephkaylor · 3 years

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FAVES and FAILS: The Vampire Diaries

So I have decided that since The Vampire Diaries has a spin off, The Originals, I am going to divide the characters based on where they appeared the most. So on this list I will be talking about the Salvatores, the Petrova/Gilbert line, the Bennets and Caroline, etc. but I will discuss the Mikaelsons, Hayley, etc. on their own list with the other characters that appeared on The Originals mostly. As always, spoilers are abound as I will discuss storylines and character arcs below, so be warned of that. In any case, here’s my FAVES and FAILS for The Vampire Diaries.

FAVORITE MALE CHARACTER: Damon Salvatore

Could it be anyone else? I don’t think so. He’s a delightful little sociopathic shit and I love everything about him. He is 99% id and 1% ego, if that, and even when I hated him, I loved him (god, I sound like Elena…). In any case, love this man, five stars, would recommend, chef’s kiss.

LEAST FAVORITE MALE CHARACTER: …I think Matt Donovan…?

Ugh, it’s hard to pick between Matt, Tyler, and Jeremy, but I think it has to be Matt. I never enjoyed his judgey attitude against everything supernatural, he seemed pretty whiney most of the time, and he was just genuinely uninteresting for the majority of the show. Not into it. Pass.

FAVORITE FEMALE CHARACTER: Katherine Pierce (Katarina Petrova)

I thought about giving this post to Caroline by default, but if it comes down to it, Katherine nudges her way into the top spot. Katherine gave no fucks, knew what she wanted and was unapologetic about how she went about getting it, and an all around bad bitch. Was she primarily evil? Yes. But, to be honest, it never really bothered me.

LEAST FAVORITE FEMALE CHARACTER: Bonnie Bennet

God, this woman was annoying. She was hypocritical, judgmental, and far too holier than thou for me to swallow her bullshit. She constantly played favorites with Caroline and Elena (I’m sorry, you hold Caroline becoming a vampire against her for like two seasons, but when Elena becomes one, it’s not her fault? Sure.). She hated all supernatural creatures because they “go against nature”, but it’s totally chill for you to perform sacrificial magic to get what you want, unleashing a terrible evil in the process (but it’s not her fault). How she nearly excommunicated Caroline just because she stayed with Stefan after Stefan killed Enzo, as if it was her fault in any way. How everyone treated her like she was a special little unicorn because she’s a Bennet Witch and she’s so magical, like, please, gag me. I could go on, but I honestly cannot be bothered. Hard pass.

THE CHARACTER THAT DESERVED BETTER: Caroline Forbes

She was essentially shunned by all of her friends and family for becoming a vampire, even though she didn’t choose to become one at all. Also, she was basically used as collateral damage for the entire Salvatores and Gilberts versus The Mikaelsons debacle just because Klaus liked her. She was always the second choice no matter what the situation was (unless it’s her being impregnated with magical twins without her consent and then guilted into carrying the babies, but poor Alaric just lost his wife. I’m sorry, unless it’s your uterus, shut the fuck up). I’ll just be over here doing what exactly NO ONE on the show did, and pick Caroline first.

DEADWEIGHT CHARACTER WE SHOULD’VE DUMPED IN 2009: Tyler Lockwood

I couldn’t pick Matt twice, so Tyler, I guess. He was selfish, a terrible boyfriend to both Caroline and also Liv later, and if I have to hear that boy whine about his fucking sire bond one more time I will literally throw my laptop off of a bridge.

UNDERHYPED CHARACTER: Lorenzo “Enzo” St. John

Honestly, he’s one of the one things that made the last few seasons of the show bearable. His delightful British rogue was a lovely way to fill the void that the Mikaelsons left in my heart, his devil-may-care attitude was man-made-manifest of what I was always thinking while watching the show, his BFF relationship with Damon and later Caroline was a joy to watch, and he was way too good for Bonnie.

OVERHYPED CHARACTER: Alaric Saltzman

He is marginally more bearable right now on Legacies, but he annoyed the shit out of me while he was on the first show. Does he hate vampires or is he best friends with them? Does he want to be a hunter or does he want to stay away from anything supernatural of any kind? Also, he (along with nearly everyone else) basically guilted Caroline into carrying his magical siphoner babies, which is a touch too icky for me…

SHIP YOU WOULD SELL YOUR SOUL FOR: Delena (Damon and Elena)

Could it be anyone else? I never shipped Stelena, as I found both Stefan annoying and Elena too woe-is-me while she was with him. She made Damon want to be a better person and he made her embrace who she really was, monster and all. They had a perfect balance between themselves, and it was a joy to watch. He got the girl, guys.

SHIP YOU JUST WERE’N THAT INTO: Steroline (Stefan and Caroline)

They were just too…meh. I was entirely uninterested in them, whatsoever, and isn’t that even worse than a ship that you hate? I used their scenes for a bathroom break or to get a snack, as I was guaranteed to miss nothing interesting or important while they were on screen.

CHARACTER YOU LOVE TO HATE/FAVORITE VILLAIN: Kai Parker

What does it say about me that all of my favorite characters are violent psychopaths…? I’m just going to leave that to be unpacked with the future therapists I’m bound to hire. Kai was the perfect evil. He was powerful, purposeful, and unapologetically demonic in the very best way. I could watch him terrorize my favorite characters forever and not get bored. Perfection.

FAVORITE STORYLINE: Stefan and Damon’s Brotherhood

If you don’t think this is what the show was about at it’s core, you’re wrong. They loved each other, they hated each other, they died for each other, they killed for each other, and, ultimately, they let nothing and nobody come between them. If you asked me who Damon loved more, Elena or Stefan, I COULD NOT answer you, and isn’t that just the fucking point?!

STORYLINE WE COULD’VE DONE WITHOUT: Magical Babies

I know that a major reason this was even a storyline is because Candice Accola got pregnant, but still…how? Like…she is a vampire..? She is unable to biologically change…? Like can someone grab me a biology textbook and explain how this a thing that can happen BIOLOGICALLY, please? I get that they are mythical creatures, so science doesn’t mean much here, but it just doesn’t make sense in any universe. Also, as I said above, the fact that Caroline was impregnated without her consent and then largely guilted into carrying the babies is a touch too rape-y for me…

BIGGEST PLOTHOLE: Do they go to school, or…?

Like, are they just compelling the teachers to not notice them not attending class like 90% off the time? Also, how do the people in Mystic Falls not know anything about the supernatural? Like, they aren’t subtle AT ALL so how do they keep sliding under the radar? Also, in a lesser way, how are hybrid witch/vampires a thing? Like, I thought if a witch dies (like they would have to if they become a vampire), they lose their magic…?Make it make sense, Julie!

MOST HEARTBREAKING MOMENT: Damon Dies (the first time)

Honestly one of the saddest moments in the entire series was Damon’s ghost watching Elena lose it when he doesn’t make it back from the Other Side. They were finally happy and together and they can only enjoy it for like five minutes before it goes to shit. Why, Julie??!

BIGGEST EYEROLL MOMENT: Magical Babies (again)

I try to not use something twice on this list but COME ON. This was ridiculous and I do not support this in any way. (Also this twin bullshit is still fucking annoying on Legacies, if anyone was wondering).

MOST SHOCKING MOMENT (any spit-takes?): Elena forces Kathrine to take The Cure

This was one of the moments that I literally gasped aloud. Most of the time the foreshadowing on these shows is seen from miles away, but I honestly did not see this coming at all. Also, Kathrine was basically the LAST person who wanted that cure so it’s crazy that she was the one to end up taking it and turning human.

MOST BADASS MOMENT: Kathrine kisses Damon at the end of Season 1

Like I said before, she is the original BAD BITCH of the show (not an actual Original, but you know what I mean…) and this was an amazing entry for the character who would be, largely, the villain of the series. It played on the feelings that Damon is developing for Elena, it finally introduced the person who started it all for the Salvatores, and it showed us exactly who she is at her core, and that she isn’t sorry about it at all.

SERIES FINALE SATISFACTORY LEVEL (use no words, just gifs):

OVERALL MARKS OUT OF TEN (10 being this show has changed your life for the better, you happily rewatch the series over and over, and the show has made your life better in some way. 1 being this show gave you nothing but trust issues, a stomach ulcer, and high blood pressure, and you honestly do not know why you did this to yourself)

7 out of 10.

I look back on The Vampire Diaries with the kind of fondness that only comes from a bizarre mix of nostalgia and incredulity. When scenes from this series show up on my instagram feed or on my Youtube recommended page, an involuntary smile creeps across my face without me realizing. I could do without like half of the characters and some entire seasons were completely unnecessary to watch, but it gave me some of my very favorite characters and ships, and spawned an entire universe that I still enjoy to this day. This magical, crazy, beautiful world was a joy to experience, even when it made me want to beat my head against a wall at least once per season.

If you want to see the other ones I have made, here's the original post with links. x Hope you like these! (I say to probably no one...)

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crossdressingdeath · 4 years

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And it's not so much the fans, but the way most of JC meta is always written as an attempt to tug at your emotions “look at his childhood!” “look at JFM totally favoring WWX!” “look at WWX betraying him!” which is clearly meant to make you feel sorry for him and sort of manipulate you into feeling guilty for judging anything he has ever done. I was reading some self-declared JGY apologism recently to see if it’d make me change my opinion on the character, and it felt very different. Just an1/4

examination of all facts in canon with an attempt to reconstruct his full character arc, no reference to elaborate arguments constructed on fanon, no one was trying to make me believe that his murders were justified by his sad childhood or were anything else than choices he made in answer to surrounding circumstances. It’s a whole thing with JC fans that he’s supposed to never be in control of what he does, feels or acts, it’s always his childhood trauma, inferiority complex (lol, where),2/4

his youth, the other sect leaders, so we can’t really hold him responsible for any of it. (I remember a long meta on how JC really couldn’t save the Wens because he was dependent on money from the Jin sect to reconstruct LP (which is fanon, I think?), so he really didn’t have a choice but not to do anything for them. OP, you have just written that he chose not to save the Wens because it would benefit him financially, how is it not a choice?) And weirdly, JC meta always has the highest3/4

“are we even reading the same book with the same characters” takes ratio compared to others, even more controversial/villain characters.4/4

Yeah, I’ve noticed that too. JGY meta is actually some of my favourite because it tends to be remarkably unbiased (by which I mean yes they’re going for a specific conclusion but it’s based entirely on facts that we see in canon and interpreting those facts with a good amount of acknowledging that the things he gets up to are still Incredibly Fucked Up even if they’re sympathetic towards him), but JC meta... yeesh. It’s very much “If you judge him for the betrayal and the slaughter of civilians and the torturing people to death and whatnot you’re a soulless monster who refuses to acknowledge the suffering of others!” which is... honestly just kind of boring after a while and exceedingly irritating if you’re interested in an Actual Critical Analysis. Honestly I’d argue the whole “It’s not his fault, he can’t control anything!” thing his fans always seem to end up insisting on isn’t doing him any more favours than just acknowledging he’s a self-centred overgrown brat who refuses to consider anyone besides himself, because they do always end up arguing that the leader of one of the four most powerful sects in the entire novel is so incredibly, unbelievably terrible at literally everything related to his job that he can’t politic his way out of a wet paper bag, though. Which is funny! As you mention with the meta that basically ended up arguing that JC let the Wens die so he could get money from the man holding his purse strings (and yeah, there’s no evidence of that in canon; in fact all evidence suggests Yunmeng was doing too well for itself and making the other sects antsy), it’s genuinely hilarious when in their attempts to make JC look good they end up making him look absolutely terrible. But yeah, there does seem to be a disproportionately large amount of “did we even read the same book” arguments. Frequently with absolutely nothing backing up their reading of his character, and of the meta that does give an actual argument frequently requiring so much twisting of events that it usually makes him look worse than he would have if they just... admitted he did fucked up things like pretty much everyone who’s not a JC does with their faves in this fandom. Personally I think it’s because antis enter the fandom and see this bastard who tortures people to death for being vaguely associated with someone he hates and makes everything about him and insists that it’s always someone else’s fault when things go wrong even if he was directly responsible for the situation that went wrong and latch onto him hard, although I will happily acknowledge that it’s a theory with very little weight behind it and to make it very clear I’m talking specifically about the “JC did nothing wrong and everyone is just so mean to him and if you’re critical of him that makes you a terrible person!” crowd and not people who just happen to like JC. But that’s my feeling.

#mdzs #cql #grapehate #anon #asks

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jamlocked · 4 years

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C, J, U, V and X :))

C - A ship you have never liked and probably never will.

Ohhhh, boy. I could go three ways on this really...or maybe two, idk. I feel like my answer will be taken as problematic - - and I’m going for it anyway, because it’s just my opinion.

The ship I dislike the most is Sherlolly. It’s not because I don’t like Molly - I do, a lot. It’s not because that would make Sherlock straight or bi - the whole argument that used to fly about that Sherlolly = homophobic is fucking gross. It’s just not a ship that does anything for me. I used to think that I just found it boring (and this is NOT me saying that Molly is boring, or het romance is boring, or any of that), but I’ve come to realise it’s mostly because it vibes with the part of Sherlock’s narrative I like the least. The whole, ‘Sherlock was weird and abnormal with no friends, but now we’re going to turn him into a complete human being’, thing. Which, VOMIT.

Again, I’m not saying that het romance is too ‘normal’ to fit here. Sherlock could have a massive thing with Irene, and that would have a vibe I like far more. The issue I have with Sherlolly is that Sherlock has always been an extreme type of character in whatever canon. Molly, in BBC canon, is this wonderful character Sherlock came to find a great friend in. The notion that he could ‘learn to be normal/complete’ seems to be the arc of the four seasons, complete with the whole ‘I love you’ scene in TFP, where they full dangled the possibility of future!canon!Sherlolly by at least making Sherlock think about it seriously. It seems to equate with ‘the more we teach Sherlock to fit into ‘normal’ society, the more chance he has of having a ‘normal’ relationship, with someone...’ - okay, I’m not going to hold Molly up as a bastion of normality, given she falls for sociopaths and does autopsies, but even if you take that into consideration, it’s still the most ‘normal’ relationship the writers could put him into. A casual viewer would go, ‘he’s got a girlfriend now, he behaves better, he gets on with his family, he’s straight/white/upper middle-class = totally a character I’m easy with’.

And that’s just not what interests me when it comes to relationships I want to watch. Now, if we’re talking about dark!Molly who’s into Glee and cats, but also runs a black market organ business and wants Sherlock to help sort out the competition - I’m totally here for that. If Molly likes her knitted cardigans and secretly wants to kill Sherlock, while he likes his suits and is madly in love her but also wants to use her to get to her criminal mother who harvests dead bodies and practices necromancy? I’m all ears.

But ‘Sherlock gets a girlfriend, solves crimes, learns manners and is never obnoxious again, and OH LOOK WE FIXED HIM’ - fuck, no. ...that was a lot of words, and I didn’t explain it very clearly, but I’ma stop now.

J - Name a fandom you didn’t think about until you saw it all over Tumblr. (You don’t have to care about it or follow it; it just has to be something that Tumblr made you aware of.)

Tumblr has made me aware of BTS, The Witcher (although I had seen adverts for that on Amazon, but idk anything about it), Hamilton, Moomin, MASH, The Mentalist, Kyo Dir en Grey, Elementary ...oh man, there must be more, but I forget. I’ve been here a few years now. I’d heard of most of these shows/people before Tumblr, of course, but didn’t know much about them. And still don’t on some of them, but am definitely aware of them now.

U - Three favorite characters from three different fandoms, and why they’re your favorites.

Jim Moriarty, obviously. HE IS SO FUN. And there is such pain under the smirk, and THOSE SUITS, BABY. I am the biggest sucker in the world for obsession, and ...well, see my answer to X in a minute. There’s nothing about him I don’t ove. So much scope to play with in fic as well.

An old fandom of mine - Les Mis. My fave character is Javert, because of course I love the most awful dick of them all. Again, with him, see X below. And also again, so much to write about. I literally nearly based a PhD proposal around him, and his representation, his place in 19th century France, his attitudes and where they came from. Did you know the character of Sam Gerard in The Fugitive is based on him? He’s relentless, he’s unforgiving, and he collapses at the end in the most spectacular way possible. Total prick, and I fucking love him. :D

I’m really trying to think of character I love who isn’t a total douche, just for the sake of variety. But I can’t, so lets go with Gene Hunt from Life on Mars.

I expect most people won’t have heard of/seen this show (but omg they might be making a new series, sa;ldfkjsalfksj I CANNOT :D), but if you can watch it, you should. Gene Hunt is awful - a 70s cop with all the faults of the time. Corrupt, mostly alcoholic, sexist, violent, homophobic, racist...but also hilarious, and there’s a really big heart under there. You learn that he might do nothing but call people the worst names in the world, but he always ends up doing his job in. If you watch this four minute video, you’ll get the gist. If you’re a fan of the Discworld series and you like Sam Vimes, you’ll recognise Gene. He’s the arshetype of Copper, and he goes on this great arc from being the stereotypical bad copper of the 70s, to being something quite different. And he really is hilarious, with insane charisma. He and Sam Tyler are the perfect double act. :D

V - Which character do you relate to most?

Jim Moriarty. I may not be a criminal mastermind, but only because I’m not that smart. And don’t have his level of swag, because c’mon. Who does?

X - A trope which you are almost certain to love in any fandom.

AHAHA. My bulletproof trope is ‘two sides of the same coin’. Sherlock/Moriarty. Javert/Jean Valjean - who, incidentally, were two characters based off one man; Vidocq. (A man who more films should be made about, incidentally.) These two are literally two sides of one man. Even Gene Hunt represents part of Sam’s psyche in Life on Mars, as well as the more obvious old vs new, forensic vs gut instinct.

But yeah, in literally any fandom, you show me a protagonist and an antagonist that are more or less the same person, and I’m there. Cannot get enough of it.

#anti-sherlolly #sherlock #life on mars #les mis #javert #fandom #all about meme #omg that got so long I'M SORRY

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thenotsosecretbits · 4 years

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what were your favorite kdramas of the year? or what kdramas did you watch?

A few weeks ago I decided to make a list of all the kdramas I've ever watched. One reason is because I was super bored at work (much like I am now) and the other is that my daughter wanted to know exactly how many kdramas I've watched and I needed an accurate list.

I watched 11 kdramas that aired in 2019, and although one began in 2018, it ended in 2019 so it counts. I watched 2 dramas this year that originally aired in 2017, so they do not count on my 2019 list.

They are in order of favorite to least favorite and with commentary, because knowing my fave dramas means nothing if you don't know why I liked them:

My Country: The New Age - My favorite drama of 2019. The acting was stellar. This drama made me feel things. Mostly overwhelming love for Nam Seon-ho, my favorite character in a drama ever. This drama moved me to tears. I knew that ending was coming and I was still not prepared for how much it gutted me. Will recommend this show to everyone. I will not warn them about the ending. I want them to hurt just like I did.

Leverage: Con Artists - My only complaint about Leverage is that there are only 16 episodes. I loved this crew. I loved the cons. Hopefully there will be a season two and if there is I will be watching. I miss this show a lot.

Memories of the Alhambra - The ending is the only thing I disliked about this drama. Everything else was great. MotA made me a fan of Hyun Bin. This show was all about his character and he delivered. Jin-woo deserved better than that ending, though.

Watcher - Really great drama. Everyone should watch it. This drama was good at showing you that sometimes good people do bad things for what they think are the right reasons and the way those things can change you, sometimes for the better, but mostly for the worse.

I liked the next four dramas equally, so 4-way tie.

Hotel Del Luna - This drama is worth watching for IU's wardrobe alone. Was not a fan of Captain Firefly, was a fan of everyone else. They really should not have given us that last scene if they weren’t going to deliver.

Her Private Life - Cutest couple ever. Ryan and Deok-Mi were great. I loved that he accepted her and all her wacky fangirl ways. I loved that, for all her wacky fangirl ways, you knew that he was the one she loved the most. Great kisses, which are important in kdramas.

The Tale of Nokdu - Got really heavy towards the end, but I didn't mind that, though some people did. I like that it ended on a lighthearted note, but still maintained a bit of that seriousness, which is important.

Romance is a Bonus Book - Good show. I happen to like Lee Jong Suk (he was in one of my other favorite dramas W: Two Worlds) and I like that he picked this as his last show before enlistment. I liked Dan-i, because I could identify with her a lot. At one point I was also a single mom trying to get back into the job market (not for the same reasons) and realizing how hard that is when you see how different things are. I loved the publishing company, they were wonderful. And the love of books. As an avid reader I really liked that.

Kill It - This drama made me so mad. This drama would have been higher on the list but I hated the ending. HATED IT!!! Other than that, it was a good drama that tackled a pretty horrible topic. But the ending. *deep sigh* The ending. (I just realised Kill It was on OCN and now I'm mad at myself for expecting a different ending. My dissatisfaction with the ending is my own fault. )

Melting Me Softly - Lots of people hated this drama. I didn't mind it much. The main couple were cute and that was pretty much all I cared about. Could it have been better? Absolutely. Ji Chang Wook continues to deliver stellar on screen kisses.

My Absolute Boyfriend - I will say this was very bingeable. I finished it in a weekend. Ending could have been a bit less ambiguous. Yeo Jin Goo is always adorable.

I also watched Mad Dog and Save Me (both starring my new fave Woo Do Hwan) in 2019. Of those, I liked Mad Dog the most. Would definitely have watched a second season of that. Save Me was a very close second, but I was not a fan of Sang Hwan, who diminished my like of the show a bit, since he was the lead and therefor never went away. I'd watch it again though. Dong-cheol and Sang-mi were great. All the villains were horrible and deserved everything that happened to them.

And that is my list. 2019 wasn’t a bad year for good dramas. 2018 was definitely worse. I started a bunch of dramas in 2018 I still haven’t finished yet. I should probably do that.

#asked and answered #my kdramas of 2019 #my country #my country the new age #memories of the alhambra #leverage: con artists #ocn watcher #hotel del luna #tale of nokdu #romance is a bonus book #ocn kill it #melting me softly #my absolute boyfriend #her private life

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hithelleth · 4 years

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Ship history meme

Embrace your past and get to know your friends’ fandom origins!

Rules: Post gifs of your fandoms / ships starting with your most current hyperfixation and work backwards. (Bonus points if you share any stories about how or when you got into that ship! But not necessary!!) Then tag anyone whose fandom history you’d like to learn about!

I was tagged by @jadedbirch - thank you! <3

Under the cut, because my history of shipping, or multishipping (because you know me, but I only put in gifs of single ships, b/c tumblr gif inserting function hates me), is a bit long even with only hyperfixations.

1. Victoria Hughes/Lucas Ripley (Station 19)

Ah, yes, I’m back in this hellhole, rereading fanfic, because Grey’s & 19 are back and easy to watch legally without jumping through hoops and I know I’d said I wouldn’t but then I was bored and now I have all these feels again. (I’ll say a few things on it in a separate post when the season’s done in three eps.)

Anyway, this one slammed into me last spring out of the blue, but how could I not ship it when it checks all the right points?

2. Garcia Flynn/Lucy Preston (Timeless)

Another Kripke show, and third time being the charmed, Kripke and co. actually learned from their past mishaps and actually made a good show (except the finale, but what finale? I don’t know it.)

So, there’s this tall, dark, brood, and bad (or maybe not) and lil’ miss goody two shoes (or maybe not) who get each other, what’s not to ship?

3. Bellamy Blake/Roan (The 100)

(No gif, b/c it’s a minuscule ships with maybe 5 gis and tumblr is a bitch, nothing shows up in search and apparently now you can’t save & reupload gifs - which is a good thing, finally, should’ve done it sooner.)

Oh, boys! My boys. I love(d) them so much. The last ship I have written extensively for - even the most extensively after Revolution (I, mean I only published one short oneshot, but the 35K monsterfic that is 3/4 done is still there in my drafts and I still think about it and them, because dammnit.)

Also very good with Clarke thrown in, or just Roan and Clarke (which I also managed to publish a fic for and kudoses that still come on the regular keep my writing heart at least hibernating and warm - here’s to hoping it wakes up from hibernation one day and I can write again.)

4. Shelby Wyatt/the Haases (Quantico)

Yes, all of them. Even Claire, because why not. And I’m sure if they had had the sister on the show, I’d have shipped her with her, too.

(I mean, I’d say I only shipped Shelby separately with each of them and I didn’t think of also poly shipping them, but that would be a lie and hardly the worst thing I’ve ever thought of shipping.

I hardly said anything about it on here because that was the peak of Moral Purity Wars time on here and Shelby was wildly hated across fandom, ugh, so I jsut squealed a lot inwardly.

5. Grant Ward/Leo Fitz & Jemma Simmons/Sunil Bakshi (Agents of Shield)

Ugh, then there was this shitshow I loathe. But for a while there, there were good things. And now we’re really getting into my multishipping tendencies.

I started with Fitzward, surfed Skyeward, and then hurled straight into Bakshi/Simmons, also managed to write a ton of fic for the first and the last, but none for the middle.

(That was also the era when I was into highly questionable stuff, like I may or may not have half a notebook of a Ward/Simmons/Rumlow fic somewhere, oops. But I have no regrets, so we understand each other. And that isn’t the worst thing that’s ever come across my shippery imagination, either.)

6. CM2 or Charlie/Miles/Bass (Revolution)

(gif mine)

The best fandom had the best ships!

Who even got me into this show? It may even have been @lglorien who mentioned the new Kripke show when we were both binging SPN that summer. And then she didn’t even watch all of it and left me to suffer on my own.

Well, not on my own, because I found the best fandom along the way, so yay!

Anyway.

If you think knowing Miles was Charlie’s uncle stopped from shipping them from the moment she stepped in The Grand in the pilot and he was an asshole to her, you don’t know me. Then Miloe flashbacks happened in ep. 3. And I simultaneously started shipping that and noticed Charlie and Bass have things in common (mainly, Miles being an asshole to them, as it turned out later.)

But there were so many other good ships (Jeremy x everyone, yes?) and some random minor ones, including one or two of only my own concoction.

And nobody hated anyone for shipping. The best of times, really.

7. Elijah Mikaelson x everyone (TVD/TO)

Elijah is very shippable with anyone, but Elijah/Elena - there’s a lady who’s not on tumblr anymore (Hazel) that got me into this, and Elijah/Elena/Klaus - the fault of Sandrine_Shaw on AO3′s fics - were on top of my faves (and still are, TBH.)

You know, when itsy bitsy vulnerable human dares (the nerve! negotiate with a big bad original? Elijah was impressed. And so was I. The rest was history.

And for the second, well, when the two Original dumbasses keep falling for the same version of one woman, the solution is rather obvious.

8. Dean Winchester/Sam Winchester & Dean Winchester/Castiel (SPN)

Yes, I was a Wincest shipper, that shouldn't surprise anyone. Because the early seasons had their charm. And then Cas showed up and jumped onto a Destiel bandwagon as well. So, yeah.

9. Buffy Summer/Spike (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

There were a few years when I had to much work and studying to watch things, so now this trip into shipping history brings us to early 2000s/1990s.

I liked Buffy/Angel well enough, but Buffy/Spike was it! I mean, he went to get his soul back for her. That scene when he’s hugging the cross haunts me to this day. Enough said.

10. Harmon Rabb Jr./Sarah MacKenzie (JAG)

Oh, god, Harm and Mac! Ship of all ships. The show tried to throw three different women at him and the third stuck. And we had to go through 8 seasons of slowburn then. A+++++

And, um, yes I shipped Mac with Webb for a while, too, because it’s me.

But yeah. As far as I’m concerned Harm and Mac are happily married and managing their careers and NCIS: LA can bite me with their BS in last season finale. .

11. Xena/Gabrielle (Xena: Warrior Princess)

Back when my very catholic grandma watched Xena and Hercules with me and also shipped Xena/Gabrielle, because ‘sometimes girls like girls, it’s nice’. Good times.

I also crosshiped her with Herc, a bit. and definitely had a thing for Xena/Ares. Yep, my ship type started showing early.

***

I’ll stop here.

Obviously, there have been a lot of other ships, but I tried to stick with the major fixations, otherwise we’d be here all week. (I haven’t even mentioned Marvel, or for that matter, books, so many books.)

Tagging: @lglorien, of course, @eveningspirit, @wellwhataboutme, @bea2me, @stargazerdaisy, @vesperass-anuna, @elemenopew, and anyone else who wants to do it, my mind is drawing blank, forgive me. And, as always, feel free to ignore.

Anyway, this took a lot of work, but it was satisfying. What a trip down the memory lane! So many feels!

#shipping #tag meme #about me #shipping history

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polar-stars · 4 years

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(Lea’s) Shokugeki Next Gen - Masterpost Version 2

I’m bored and achieved nothing today, I need to do at least one productive thing

A quick run-down of my Next Gen kids, because why not? If anyone asks me about them I can point to it ;w; It won’t be the most informative post ever but it’s really just a simple introduction. In case it sparks your interest, feel free to inquire about these kids.

I also have a tag on my blog that’s dedicated to them -> https://polar-stars.tumblr.com/tagged/Shokugeki-no-Kimiko-Stuffz

As well as an entire fanfic, which is still in the starters (It will be long. Be very afraid honestly, because I, for the most part, have no idea what I am doing) -> https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11912834/1/Shokugeki-no-Kimiko

Also: There might be some unusual ships in here. I’m sorry if your fave ship doesn’t happen to be included. It really comes down to personal preference ovo;; But please be respecting! I am as well.

Anyways, let’s get into this:

115th Generation (the Prime-Focus)

Kimiko Yukihira

DoB: 27th of June I Daughter of Soma Yukihira and Erina Nakiri | Loves Playing Cards & Grocery Shopping | Dislikes Materialism & Being Called “Kimiko-Sama”

An friendly and optimistic young aspiring chef entering Totsuki as a transfer student in her first year of highschool. Was taught the so-called Yukihira-Style and is therefore known for her creativity. Greatest aim is to create a dish in which her mom can find no fault in.

Hiroshi Aldini-Tadokoro

DoB: 25th of May I Son of Isami Aldini and Megumi Tadokoro | Loves Plushies & Fishing | Dislikes Cigarette Smoke & Dark Humor

A shy but practically angelic guy from Tohoku. Looks out for others a lot, which also shows in his cooking. Very well-versed in both Japanese cooking as well as Italian cooking. Often falls into the shadow of his much bolder cousin, but doesn’t make any attempts to get out of said shadow.

Kaori Hayama

DoB: 17th of February I Daughter of Akira Hayama and Hisako Arato | Loves Gardening & Pastel Colors | Dislikes Mess & Snails

The current valedictorian of the 115th Generation, who more than often gets a sort of nobility attributed to her by the rest of the students. Known as the “Gatekeeper to the Fountain of Eternal Youth” or “Youth Preserver” for short, as her medicinal cooking is famous for energizing it’s customers. Has her goal firmly set on the top of Totsuki and has no interest in socializing whatsoever.

Mika Aldini

DoB: 9th of August I Daughter of Takumi Aldini and Ikumi Mito | Loves Dancing & Romance Movies | Dislikes Rain & Gardening

A fiery, bold girl from Tuscany, who appeared in Totsuki as a transfer student in her second year of middle school. Specialised in Italian Food as well as the usage of Meat. Up to any kind off challenge thrown her way.

Lola Nakiri

DoB: 17th of November I Daughter of Ryo Kurokiba and Alice Nakiri | Loves Limousines & Heavy Metal | Dislikes The Color Pink & Being Bored

The daughter of the headmistress who’s certain she can do whatever she wants. Well-versed in the usage of Seafood and utilization of Molecular Gastronomy, but known for putting more focus on the Seafood-aspect of her dishes. Teases everyone and anyone with no mercy.

Mona Nakiri

DoB: 17th of November I Daughter of Ryo Kurokiba and Alice Nakiri | Loves Techno Music & RomComs | Dislikes Hot Weather & Rap/HipHop

The other daughter of the headmistress who’s much more quieter and reserved than her twin-sister. Known for making use of seafood fairly well, but her true passion lies in Molecular Gastronomy. Just wants friends but is actually very socially awkward.

Takayuki Hojo

DoB: 6th of September I Son of Terunori Kuga and Miyoko Hojo | Loves Fireworks & Pudding | Dislikes Operas & Complete Silence

The grouchy, easy-to-trigger little brother of the president of the Chinese RS. Being part of the RS himself, Takayuki also specializes in Chinese cuisine mainly having his focus on Sichuan Food. Absolutely hates commentary on his shortness.

Kazuo Mimasaka

DoB: 9th of March I Son of Subaru Mimasaka and Nao Sadatsuka | Loves Every Romance Cliche Out There & His Camera | Dislikes Mika’s Fanclub & Aggressive Dogs Barking

A very eccentric member of the 115th Generation who easily scares people with his mere presence. Truth be told, he’s completely harmless. Traces other people’s work but adds his personal spin on it by working in foul-smelling ingredients. Has a massive crush on Mika Aldini and is a hopeless romantic.

Yasu Ibusaki

DoB: 2nd of March I Son of Shun Ibusaki and Ryoko Sakaki | Loves Forest Walks & Adzuki Bean Paste | Dislikes Gossiping & Tight Clothes

A peaceful and friendly young man, whose gentleness often gives off a big-brother-vibe to many. Knows a lot about Fermenting and produces his own Sake, I mean Rice Juice. His true passion is in the art of smoking however. Much more competitive than he lets on.

Chieko Marui

DoB: 5th of December I Daughter of Zenji Marui and Yuki Yoshino | Loves Chess & Matcha | Dislikes Metal Music & Irresponsibility

A highly intelligent girl and the ace of the Enomoto-Seminar that focuses on literacy-research about cooking. Incorporates said research excellently into her dishes while additionally having a talent for Wild Game, even taking interest in breeding. Known fairly well for loud complains and long rants, usually referring to her dormmates.

Hideyoshi Kawashima

DoB: 19th of August I Son of Shoji Sato and Urara Kawashima | Loves Himself & Parties (in Chieko’s room) | Dislikes Broken Mirrors & Studying

The overly arrogant emcee who’s known to host a bunch of events on Totsuki. Through and through an attention-whore who does has a fair share of admires though, being honest. Spends all of this time where he is not loudly praising himself with bickering either with Daisuke or Chieko.

Daisuke Aoki

DoB: 26th of October I Son of Daigo Aoki and Yua Sasaki | Loves Retro Stuff (mostly 70s and 80s) & His Guitar | Dislikes Horror Movies & Dangerous Animals

A soft-spoken and shy emcee who hosts Shokugekis and other sort off events on Totsuki. Much more friendly than his childhood-friend Hideyoshi, but overlooked regardless most of the time. Bickers a ton with Hideyoshi.

Emi Kusunoki

DoB: 25th of July I Daughter of Rentaro Kusunoki & Mea Yanai | Loves Saunas & The Smell of Gasoline | Dislikes Still Being Without a Boyfriend & Libraries

An often brash young girl who’s also known as the major Gossip Girl on Totsuki, that loves to hear and share all kinds of rumors around. Specializes in Heating. Wishes for a boyfriend with a motorcycle.

Itsuki Kumai

DoB: 10th of March I Son of Shigemichi Kumai and Rui Kofuru | Loves Self-Deprecative Humor & Edgy Rock Bands | Dislikes Colorful Clothes & Phone Ringing

Very silent but also awfully pessimistic. Itsuki has a large talents with vegetables and herbs, as he tries to cook as vegetarian as Totsuki’s tasks allow him to. Additionally he has large knowledge around the cuisine of North-Africa. Forgot how to smile long ago.

114th Generation (The 2nd Years who constantly argue for the most part)

Hiraku Yukihira

DoB: 13th of April I Son of Soma Yukihira and Erina Nakiri | Loves All Thing Decadent & Squid | Dislikes Laundry & Elite 10 Paperwork

Ever since entering Totsuki as a transfer student a year ago, Hiraku quickly worked himself upwards as one of the most, if not the most, admired chef of the school. His sensitive sense of taste, the so-called “Tongue Blessed by Angels” or “Holy Tongue” for short gives him a great advantage at cooking. He’s awfully unorganized however and much of a dense airhead.

Akio Hayama

DoB: 26th of February I Son of Akira Hayama and Hisako Arato | Loves Clipboards & Traveling to the Middle East | Dislikes Stains & Organizing Hiraku’s Fanmail

Hiraku’s loyal and diligent secretary, who does not seem to mind just how chaotic Hiraku can be sometimes. Inherited his father’s sense of smell and is therefore outstandingly talented in the usage of spices and creating fragrant dishes. Very friendly but also easily nervous.

Suzume Hojo

DoB: 11th of April I Daughter of Terunori Kuga and Miyoko Hojo | Loves Memes & Fans | Dislikes Sitting Still & Sexism

The bouncy, energetic president of the Chinese RS. Therefore of course specializes in Chinese Cuisine. Much of a laid-back jokester but does look out for the younger students and takes certain matters fairly serious. Shouldn’t be underestimated.

Shigeo Eizan

DoB: 29th of November I Son of Etsuya Eizan and Nene Kinokuni | Loves His Smartphone & Jazz Music | Dislikes Slow or No Internet & Suzume’s Jokes

A materialistic, cold-hearted young man who’s already involved in consulting-work despite the young age. His cooking relies on his intensive knowledge on the chemical components in his ingredients and how to utilize them. Is incredibly intelligent and fairly good at tricking people into trusting him.

Ai Kabutoyama

DoB: 25th of January | Daughter of Tetsuji Kabutoyama | Loves Violin Music & Butterflies | Dislikes Loud Noises & Movies Without A Happy Ending

A very silent and distant young girl, who barely ever talks to anyone but wears an almost constant miserable expression. Specialized in utilizing Skewers. Friendly but insanely Short-Cut whenever she does speak.

Beatrice Shiratsu

DoB: 9th of July I Daughter of Julio Shiratsu | Loves Posing & Making Lists | Dislikes Video Games & Bad DJs

A girl that can often be rather extravagant but all-things-considered she’s very open and rather sweet. Specializes in Italian Cuisine. Loves partying and is very occupied with savoring the life of a teenager as long as she can.

113th Generation (The Third Years, where most of the classmates have been removed already)

Noboru Shinomiya

DoB: 29th of April I Son of Kojiro Shinomiya and Hinako Inui | Loves Painting Landscapes & Autumn | Dislikes Unreliableness & Getting Bothered on his Day-Offs

Noboru is a serious young man who values organization, structure and a good environment. Gets easily annoyed when such things are not provided. Shows great talent in both Japanese cuisine and French cuisine and feels greatly torn between the two. Wants relaxation.

Kiyoko Saito

DoB: 21st of February I Daughter of Somei Saito and Momo Akanegakubo | Loves Shopping & Kimonos | Dislikes Untidiness & Disrespect from younger Students

Kiyoko is a proper but spoiled young lady who’s friendly as long as she receives the respect she thinks she deserves. She’s specialized in Japanese Sweets, but does know how to make Western desserts as well plus Sushi of course. Very fashionable and has a booming Instagram.

Masashi Eizan

DoB: 13th of May I Son of Etsuya Eizan and Nene Kinokuni | Loves Classical Japanese Music & Kiyoko’s Daifuku | Dislikes Everything He Considers Indecent & Being told to rely too much on his Father and his little Brother Shigeo

Masashi is overly serious and strongly values rules and customs. Considers himself superior than practically everyone on Totsuki, save for Noboru and Kiyoko. Specializes in Traditional Japanese Cuisine and is known for an extraordinary talent with Soba. Has a very short temper.

Ran Mimasaka

DoB: 1st of June I Daughter of Subaru Mimasaka | Loves Her Motorcycle & Her Laptop | Dislikes Bullying & Not Being Active For Too Long

Ran is a calm, friendly girl but also slightly witty young woman. She utilizes foul-smelling ingredients for her dishes. Ran is also often perceived to be the “most normal” one of the Mimasaka-sibling. In actuality, she’s excellent at fishing and gaining information and is incredibly informed about basically every person walking Totsuki.

116th (The 3rd Years of Middle School)

Moe Saito

DoB: 20th of December I Daughter of Somei Saito and Momo Akanegakubo | Loves Balletts & Bears (primarily Pandas) | Dislikes People She Doesn't Know Touching Her Ribbon & Ripped Jeans

Moe is very stoic and barely ever truly emotes. Should she ever actually smile, its a sign of her being beyond happy. She’s a Sushi-Chef whose main gimmick it is to make the Sushi as cute as possible. Also has a great talent for Bentos and while it’s not her main focus, she does know how to make desserts. Speaks dryly but also very bluntly.

118th (The 1st Years of Middle School)

Kei Eizan

DoB: 5th of July I Son of Etsuya Eizan & Nene Kinokuni | Loves Video Games & Tigers | Dislikes Ties & The Scent of Coffee

Kei often has troubles with making a good first impressions as he’s rather grouchy or even aggressive at points and also makes usage of a very foul language. Not to mention the reputation attached to his surname. He does have a good heart however and an actual sense for justice, which shows in his friendship with the frequently bullied Ayano Mimasaka who he befriends and would protect at all costs.

Ayano Mimasaka

DoB: 30th of October I Daughter of Subaru Mimasaka & Nao Sadatsuka | Loves Lewis Carroll’s “Alice In Wonderland” & Sewing | Dislikes People Pulling her Braids & Physics Class

Ayano is a fairly eccentric but innocent, little girl who just happens to have a number of a bit more outlandish interests as well as a creepy laugh and the tendency to pop out of nowhere. She got heavily bullied in her life already just because many consider her weird and scary.

Not on Totsuki (because they’re too young yet)

Nino and Maja Aldini-Tadokoro (Twin-children of Isami and Megumi, little siblings of Hiroshi, Future part of the 119th Generation)

Takahiro Marui (Son of Zenji and Yuki, little brother of Chieko, Future part of the 119th Generation)

Kasumi Ibusaki (Daughter of Shun and Ryoko, little sister of Yasu, Future part of the 120th Generation)

Yoshiko Saito (Daughter of Somei and Momo, little sister of Kiyoko and Moe, Future part of the 120th Generation)

Not on Totsuki (for reasons I can’t get into now because it would be Spoilers for the Fanfic)

Yuu Tsukasa (left), Shouhei Tsukasa (right) and Tsubame Tsukasa (middle) - Children of Eishi Tsukasa and Rindou Kobayashi

Thank you for listening ;w; !

It’s still not complete...haha but we’re getting somewhere

#Shokugeki no Soma #Shokugeki no Kimiko Stuffz #Shokugeki no Souma

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