#Just musing out loud

[shakingparadigm]

It seems like Unsha is.... fairly tame? At least compared the horrendous feats of Urak and Heperu. He almost seems more grounded compared to them? Unlike Urak and Heperu, who are obssessed with winning to the point of trying over and over again, Unsha accepts his loss gracefully and moves forward with other things.

Ivan was a gift to Unsha's wife for her birthday. He chose children based off of their potential, and when Ivan showed the most promise he gave him full investment. Instead of forcing out Ivan's talent through more heavily abusive means (nurturing, it seems to be called), he brings Ivan to success through sponsorships, methodical marketing and exposure. Unsha considers the things he learned from being with Ivan and takes interest in what Ivan's thoughts might have been before death. He says that despite everything, Ivan was worth the investment and worth the loss.

I'm not trying to say that Unsha was a "good parent", he was neglectful to Ivan's personal needs and worked him relentlessly among other things. There definitely could have been more diabolical actions that haven't been revealed yet. He undoubtedly viewed Ivan as a product that he needed to sell (a businessman in all areas), but it's just interesting to note his differences and train of thought. Much to think about.

[queenhawke]

thinking about deadloch again and how eddie and dulcie should've fucked

[thekingofmuses]

Shot in the dark, but since I do have a fondness for boxer characters, what if I rp'ed Ed??

[littledancingphoenix]

When you really think about it, Kazuya and Lars have some things in common, though the trauma is definitely different. I can’t help but feel bad for them for losing their mothers because of the same tyrannical asshole.

[communicationnskills]

Okay but thinking about it now I’m actually sad that Tim and Lucy probably won’t ever patrol together again... like that’s been 99% of their dynamic for over 4 seasons so to not have that again is just weird! This is one of those things that I wish the show would allow us to suspend disbelief a little bit and have them stay partners, like all the other shows do ( could literally name like 5 ships on cop shows that work together ) but anyway, I know why they are doing this storyline and I liked everything that happened in the episode last night but it still makes me a little sad thinking on this!

[nomstellations]

i have GOT to get more shameless about posting my oc content, but i also want to get more practice with writing preexisting characters...hmm

[thekingsofironfist]

I realize that the Archers of Sirius consider it their duty to exorcize demons, but I wonder when it comes to Kazuya and Jin. How much is Heihachi's influence??

[dreamlandcreations]

My head is filled with House of the Dragon scenarios, really it's otherwise empty at the moment 😵‍💫 but I can't decide

Or should I go with just making (a) moodboard(s) bc I'm more likely to be actually finishing that(/them)? 🤔

[teruel-a-witch]

something something danny had a dog before he met rachel

then she took the dog in the divorce (that was petty af wtf) and dragged the poor senior dog to hawai'i where it died during a two week quarantine so danny didn't even get to say goodbye

something something steve wasn't a dog person but ended up getting a dog

then he left hawai'i and left the dog with danny

at least this time danny got the dog, so that's somewhat an improvement? lol idk

[self-ships-ahoy]

I wonder which f/o I can have my small town dream with. One who isn't so tied down to his job and willing to settle down with me in a quaint, down to earth lifestyle outside of big cities (or in medic's case, outside of binding contracts <_<). Maybe that's just something that will have to hold onto until I get married for real.

[goodshipskypirate]

I AM THE GREATEST! I AM THE BEST WHEEL CHAMPION IN THIS GAME! I AM BETTER THAN BOTH THE SALAMI AND BOLOGNA COMBINED!

Okay, that explains how she knows about the Champion, lady invented Wheels. And I guess the rounds you win and take as literal physical prizes are all that is needed as proof that you are ready to face her.

...How does she still send things to the outside world? Maybe she literally builds her clockwork robots to do so. It would certainly explain that monstrosity you face in the Brisk arena.

[thekingofmuses]

I think I would characterize K' as graysexual.

[littledancingphoenix]

🧡

[vindicated-truth]

As someone who loves both characters individually and together, I keep wondering if Dongsik's and Joowon's relationship is healthy.

(Please feel free to chime in with your own views, let's figure this out together lol)

Are they enablers of each other?

Yes, in a way, especially when they had no choice to, if they want to solve the cases they're working on together. They did it, however, with the promise / threat that they will each be punished for their own wrongdoing in the end.

Do they owe each other anything?

Yes, but at the same time they kind of neutralize each other in the end. Dongsik owes Joowon for catching Han Kihwan, but at the same time Joowon is also the one who arrests him. At the same time, Joowon owes Dongsik for having his own father be the murderer of Dongsik's sister, yet he brought justice to Dongsik in the end, and even followed through with Dongsik making him vow to live the rest of his life as a cop.

(To be honest, I don't think you can give a worse punishment to someone with a very rigid and absolute moral compass than to not get out of a very corrupt and broken system.)

Do they have an equal footing with each other in their hierarchical society?

Not at the beginning, but they do in the end.

Do they have a rose-colored glasses view of each other?

This is debatable, when from the very beginning they've already seen the absolute worst of each other. They can only go up from there, so to speak, since they've never really forgotten each of the other's flaws even as their relationship progressed into something less combative and more of grudging awe.

They do have a somewhat idealized view of each other in the end, but that's mostly because of experience, what they went through together: they know exactly what the other did for them, and can't help but feel grateful for it.

Do they complement each other?

I've written multiple posts about it lol, so it goes without saying that in many, many ways, their weaknesses are complemented extremely well by the other's strengths.

Do they ruin each other?

See, this is the thing: I think they've ruined each other for other people.

Their relationship evolved from a unique mix of their own complementary traits and their special circumstances, neither of which I believe can be replicated by and with anyone else.

No one else would have a deeper understanding of Dongsik's lunacy than Joowon, who witnessed first hand what drove him to it—and by whom.

No one else would have a deeper understanding of Joowon's stubbornness than Dongsik, who witnessed first hand the lengths Joowon would go to complete his goals—and why.

It's a very unique circumstance that only the two of them will share and intimately know about each other, for better or for worse, by virtue of the fact that they are each driven to be who they are now, ironically, by Han Kihwan.

By virtue of being Lee Yuyeon's murderer, and by virtue of being Han Joowon's father.

That's the power Han Kihwan had and will always have over them. They are who they are in part because of what he did to them, separately and together.

That's what makes him the true monster of the story, the "final boss" of the series of monsters that both Dongsik and Joowon had to deal with, not because he was the "best" or "most powerful" of the villains—he was actually the weakest, stupidest, and most cowardly of them all—but he had the most impact to each of their lives, in the absolute worst way.

And isn't that the true evil? What is truly angering of all? That the least of them all had the most damage done to the best of people.

Would it be healthier for them to end up with other people, someone new and different?

Objectively—yes.

My worry for Joowon is that he might always feel like he owes Dongsik, just because he intimately knows what his own family did to Dongsik's family.

And my worry for Dongsik is that he might always feel like he owes Joowon too, precisely because he intimately knows everything Joowon had to give up in order to bring justice to him.

There's a chance that their relationship might evolve the same way as, for example, Nam Sangbae's relationship with Dongsik, who had stuck with him with some misplaced sense of responsibility—even as his love and care for Dongsik had been sincere—because it was colored by guilt.

For Joowon's and Dongsik's relationship in particular, it wouldn't necessarily be out of guilt—they've already punished each other, so to speak, in ways they deem fitting—but out of gratitude.

I can't be sure if that's a healthy foundation of a relationship, to be with each other because you're grateful to them. Perhaps that's also why I find it more believable to accept the actual ending of the story as the right one, if only because they need that time apart to re-discover who they are without the shadow of Han Kihwan looming over them—in different ways—so that if and when they choose to come back to each other, it'll be after a re-affirmation of their own sense of selves, this time free from everything that had previously shackled them.

Is it better for other people to be with them?

This is just the reverse of the question above, and honestly? My objective answer is no.

It is with complete and utter love for the both of them that I say they may have ruined each other for other people.

For Joowon in particular, his new theoretical significant other might want and need a partner who would have more attention and time for them as a family, instead of one who is completely and utterly devoted to his duty as a cop.

For Dongsik in particular, his new theoretical significant other might want and need a partner who has more concrete goals and ambitions in life, and not someone who is just starting to figure out his own identity and his life after finally being free from all the shadows that dogged his steps for decades.

Because the thing is, I'm not entirely sure that their new significant others would deserve them, just because I'm also not entirely sure neither Dongsik nor Joowon would be completely happy—even as they might have sincerely loved their new theoretical partners in return—with someone who wouldn't have completely understood who they are and what they've gone through, and what they're still going through.

For better or for worse, I don't think there's anyone else who can completely understand and accept them, the best and the worst of who they are—other than each other.

In conclusion: Is it healthy?

In time, it can be. Let them come back to each other at their own pace, in their own time.

I think they do know, deep in their hearts, that—for better or for worse—there will be no other.

And I think that can also be their motivation too, to do their best to make up for their mistakes, to live their best life and be the best of who they can be, and find their own ways to heal and move forward, because they have someone waiting for them.

Someone to come home to.

[padfootastic]

hohoho i am writing a remus & sirius confrontation that is ending up a little too mean and it’s verging on the edge of not fitting into FoD but by god, is it satisfying 😈😈😈

“Oh, stop pretending, Remus.” There’s a part of Sirius, not insignificant, that tells him to shut the fuck up. To bite back the words as he’d always done. They don’t expect it of him but he is perfectly capable of maintaining a civil tongue when needed. He just doesn’t want to, today. “You’ve always resented us, haven’t you?”

“Padfoot, do you even hear yourself—?” Remus’ amber eyes are bright, almost feverish, and Sirius knew that all he had to do was push.

So he did.

- brought to u by ‘i’ve been thinking about remus and i also recently read a fic that blindsided me w commentary on james’ and sirius’ social positions intimidating remus into compliance as an excuse for his cowardice and general temperament and got incredibly annoyed at how he is, yet again, victimised so i shall now endeavour to turn that idea around on its head using the ‘ol ‘u cannot help someone who does not want to be helped’ adage so help me god’

[thelonelyshore-if]

It wasn't until just this moment that I realized that basically none of the ROs have middle names picked out. I should do that at some point, for fun if nothing else.