#and some stuff about nepotism?

[corruptlabyrinth]

cancelling really isn't a new thing

I mean when Marie Antoinette said "let them eat cake" back in the 18th century they just put her on the guillotine and killed her

getting cancelled seems pretty tame now

[jettison-my-gift]

.

[bucketofpaint]

Danny is Damian's clone.

He's well aware of it. He wasn't just any clone. He was the very first. That was the difference between Danny and other clones. He was made before the League started using brainwashing and stuff into their cloning process.

When Danny was fresh out of the tube, the League had sat him down and explained his the purpose of his existence, gave him some intense training, and immediately tossed him out into the world.

But the thing was, he just didn't care. He had absolutely no loyalty to his creators, and he had no desire to kill/kidnap his original. So he just started walking. The next thing he knew, he was at some orphanage in Illinois.

And then the rest was history. He got adopted by a pair of enthusiastic scientists and their red-head daughter, got his own name, and he could finally start living his own life.

Danny had put the past behind him and had barely even thought about it at all for a long time. That was unill his original showed up at his school.

----------------

Damien was annoyed. He was stuck at some random Illinois town (supposed to be the most haunted place in the world, which was a bunch of ludicrous.) On a transfer program. He tried convincing Father how illogical it would be, but Father had told him it would be good for him to meet new people.

___

Danny was annoyed.

"I don't understand what the big deal about him is anyways," Danny complained.

"He started being the ceo of Wayne Enterprise when he was a teenager." Sam countered.

"Ok, so, nepotism."

Sam rolled her eyes. "I still don't understand why you're so against him."

"One, billionaire. Two, Tucker is way cooler than Tim Drake.

Sam's eyes soften. " Tucker is just gone for a few weeks."

Danny's cheeks felt warm. "I never said anything about that. I just want Tucker to find a cooler role model, is all.

Sam gave him an all-knowing look. "Well, if you say so. I'm going to get in line."

Sam, all ways waited last to get in the lunch line. Claiming she didn't want to hold up line when the lunch ladies had to get the vegetarian option. Which was fine, but now that Tucker was doing the dumb transfer student program, all he could do was eat his mediocre lunch and mindlessly play on his phone.

Untill someone grabbed his arm and dragged him out of the cafeteria into the hallway. Danny turned around to face the person. He froze at the sight of his own face. Or well, a glaring rich kid version.

"Oh, it's you." Danny said nonchalant, even though he was screaming inside.

"You're not going to play dumb, clone?"

"No, why would I, The resemblance is uncanny.

"What are you doing here?" His original demanded

"You dragged me here."

His original scowled. "You know what I mean, clone. I won't hesitate to end you."

"Just trying to go to school, honest."

Original glared at him, scanning him with his eyes. The grip on Danny's arm loosened. " I'll be watching you, clone."

" Whatever you say, template."

Danny walked back to the cafeteria, blocking out the yells of rage behind him.

___

It was about a week of Damian watching his clone, and he was confused. At first, he thought the league sent the clone to trade places with him before he went back to Gotham, but now he wasn't sure. The Clone seemed to fit in the community to well to have show up recently, but that didn't disprove the theory entirely. It could be a long-term plan from the League. They could be responsible for putting the transfer program in place in the first place.

The other theory was that the clone escaped and made a life for himself, but that didn't explain how he got past his programming.

After the last period, Damian found his clone and pulled him aside.

"What do you want?" His clone asked, irritated.

"You're different then other clones, explain."

"I don't know. I didn't really stick around very long to find out."

"What about your programming?"

"I didn't have any?"

Damian thought about it before giving a small nod. "You don't seem to be a threat, but I'll still keep my eye on you, clone."

"I've got a name, you know." He held out his hand. "Danny Fenton, nice to make your acquaintance."

Damian heistently shook his hand. "Damian Wayne."

That started their unsaid agreement. You don't mess with me, I don’t mess with you. They interacted with each other sometimes, but not very offen. They were impartial to one another, and both sides weren't very keen on getting to know each other. And that was their relationship till the day Damian was leaving.

Damian was waiting for the bus when Danny approached him.

"What do you want, Daniel?"

"I told not to call me that, but uh, here." Danny handed a piece of paper to him. "It's my phone number if you ever need help from the League or anything."

Damian slipped the paper into his pocket. "Give me your phone." Danny handed over his phone, and Damian started typing.

"What are you doing?" Danny asked.

"I'm putting my number in. If you ever require assistance."

Danny smiled, "Thanks."

____

A few months later.

Tim was peeking over a corner.

"What are you doing?" Dick asked.

Tim didn't say anything and just waved him over. He walked over and stared in aw at what he saw. Damian was slouched on the couch, his hair messy, playing on his phone.

A few minutes later, Jason joined.

"Am I hallucinating?" Tim whispered.

"Nah, I don't think so... unless we're all hallucinating." Jason whispered back.

"Do you think he has brain damage or been possessed or something?" Tim asked.

Dick shook his head. "That seems unlikely."

"This is so trippy. I've never seen him wear anything that casually like ever.

"What are you imbeciles doing?"

"We're watching Damian."

All three of them froze and turned to look at a glaring Damian.

Damian walked past them and went right up to the second Damian.

"Daniel, what are you doing here?"

The causal Damian 'Daniel' pulled out a letter. "Your pops invited me, and I didn’t want to risk the chance of batman showing up at my front door."

Damian scoffed, "Of course, Father found out."

Alfred walked in. "Master Daniel, I'll be taking you to Master Bruce."

The double got up and went to Alfred.

"Cookie, Master Daniel?"

"Sure, and call me danny."

[thehandmaidenofcreativity]

Long idea so bare with me. You are a college student (fem pov) and you and you family are visiting your uncle for the summer. Your uncle just happenes to be JY Park (JYP) so you go to South Korea and that’s when you meet the group your uncle owns… stray kids. Now your dad really wants you to go on a date with one of them but you think that stray kids are actually stuck up and entitled so your like nope.your like ya there very fucking hot but…Then you get to know them and there not just hot as hell (and horny) but also good people. But your angry at your father so you don’t want to do what he asked but stray kids are so hot, so you sneak out to there dorm to do some not so kid friendly stuff if you get my drift. You can build on from that but that’s just an idea. Love your stuff <3 keep writing!

Wow hi! I was so shocked (and happy!) to get this ask. It was a little daunting, but I actually really enjoyed working on it. So thank you:) I hope you end up seeing this, Anon!

Comments: This is part one in what will likely be an ongoing series in which the reader will eventually be involved with all 8 members, but for now, we're starting with Seungmin and Hyunjin.

Rating: Explicit/18+

WC: 7.5k

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“Can you at least pretend you’re happy to be here?” Your mom is giving you the look again. “Jin-Young said he wants to take you to his company. Maybe he can give you a summer internship, so you’ll still have something to put on your resume.” 

“Ah yes,” you sigh and roll your eyes. You know that JYPE is a huge company with great artists, but you also know from experience that idols aren’t your cup of tea. Working there doesn’t sound like a great time. “Nothing like some good ole nepotism to boost your resume. Plus, I’m not even majoring in anything related to the music business.”

“Well honey, if you’re determined to be upset about this, then it’s not going to be a good summer.” She pats you on the shoulder, signaling that the conversation is over. “I just hope you’ll try to keep an open mind.”

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The next day, after breakfast with your parents and uncle, you all head to JYPE. JYP gives you all a small tour, introducing you to the different groups currently in the practice rooms. The last group you meet is Stray Kids. Like the others, they immediately stop what they’re doing to come greet your uncle. Standing in a line like that, glistening from the sweat of their hard work; you stare shamelessly. You’ve seen a few of their videos, so you already knew they looked good. They’re even hotter in person. Even more so, because they aren’t cookie cutter copies of each other; they each have unique features that catch your eye. Still, you know what tends to hide behind pretty faces and hot bodies, so you don’t plan on thinking about them much once you leave this room.

JYP introduces you, and you’re met with the same fake, polite greeting from each of them. Then he throws a curveball. “So my niece will be spending a lot of time with you in the next few weeks; take good care of her.”

You try not to look too shocked and shoot a glance at your mom. She gives you a smile and a shrug as if this isn’t totally her doing. As your uncle begins discussing something with a couple members and your dad, you take her to the side to talk privately. 

“Mom! I’m going to be ‘spending time’ with them? Doing what? I told you I didn’t need a pity internship!” You whisper-shout as soon as you’re sure no one will hear you.

“Oh, you’re being a bit dramatic.” She shakes her head at you. “This will be a good experience for you! It’ll even relate to your major; you’re going to be helping them with their English, kinda like a tutor. Your future students are going to think you’re so cool being related to JYP; you’ll be able to bond with them even better when you can tell them you’ve worked with their favorite idols.”

She’s not entirely wrong, but you still don’t love the idea. Idols are the worst.

Soon it’s time for the guys to get back to practice, and your family’s tour ends in JYP’s office. Along the way, your dad gushes over Stray Kids, and you try not to look annoyed. You learn that SKZ is getting ready for their next world tour and some of them are feeling like they need to get back into the habit of speaking English so they can feel more confident interacting with their fans. 

“I was happy when your mother asked if there was anything for you to do around here. I think it’ll be a good way for you to stay busy and make friends while you’re here in Korea. And of course, we’ll get to spend so much more time together if you’re here in the building every day.” Your uncle looks so pleased; you don’t want to bring him down.

“I look forward to it.” You hope your smile doesn’t look as fake as it feels. “I really appreciate you giving me this opportunity.”

In the car on your way home, your dad kind of shocks you. “Honey, I think you should go on a date with one of those boys. Jin-Young speaks so highly of them, and they’re very polite and intelligent. Just the kind of boy we’d be happy to see you with.”

Your mom agrees immediately. “And they’re so talented! After I talked to my brother about your internship, I watched a few of their music videos. Not to mention, they’re all quite easy on the eyes.” 

“I don’t care how cute they are, mom!” Though you certainly wouldn’t kick any of them out of bed. “I would never date any of them.”

“Just think about it, honey.” Your dad isn’t going to let this go. “See how you feel after spending a few days working with them.”

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The next day, you show up to JYPE bright and early, wishing you were still in bed and dreading the day you’re about to spend with a bunch of hot assholes. When you arrive at the studio they’re starting out in, half the group is already there. Their leader, Bang Chan, greets you immediately and gestures for you to sit on the couch in the back of the room. The others are so engrossed in each other that they don’t even seem to notice you.

“So as you may know, Felix and I are also fluent in English since we’re both from Australia. The rest of the kids have various levels of fluency and confidence in their skills.” You have to actively remind yourself not to swoon over his accent. “It’ll be helpful to have another person to speak casually with and maybe correct pronunciation on some words. Sometimes they have questions about little grammar things, so they may ask you. I think that’s all? That sound okay to you?”

“Yeah, sounds fine.” Anything else you might say is lost when four rowdy guys walk in the studio. They’re laughing and a couple of them start yelling. This might be a long day. One of them - you probably should’ve made sure you knew who was who before coming today - starts handing out iced coffee to the ones who were here first. He surprises you by handing you one as well. “Oh, thank you! You didn’t have to get me anything.”

He gives you a big smile. Those dimples are dangerous. “You’re welcome! We didn’t want to leave you out.” 

His accent is cute, too. Which one is he? You’re about to try to run through their names in your head when Bang Chan claps his hands and yells, “Alright!”

The eight of them are suddenly lining up in front of you. After a ‘1, 2’ from Bang Chan, in unison, they say, “Step out. Hello, we are Stray Kids.” You weren’t expecting the full greeting like this again.  

“We know that this was kind of sprung on you, so we thought it would be a good idea to introduce ourselves again. So I am Bang Chan, though you can just call me Chan, or Chris, if you want.” Chan gestures to the guy next to him, and they sound off from there. You’ve got all their names down now. Though, of course it’s all stage names (for those who don't go by their first names), which feels a bit like keeping you at arm's length. Hopefully talking with them won’t be too annoying, but you’re worried about the idea of just hanging out with them all day; there’s only so much time you’re willing to spend with a bunch of douchebags.

Chan calls for Hyunjin to head into the recording booth, then sends Lee Know and I.N, the one with the coffee, over to talk with you. They somewhat awkwardly ask you to go over the pronunciation of the English lines they’ll be recording today; these two must be the ones least comfortable with English. Still, they do well. And as much as you hated that your mom landed you with this ‘job,’ you have to admit that this is actually a worthwhile way to spend your time. It is the kind of experience that would look good while applying for teaching jobs in the future. 

After a fair amount of practice, Lee Know heads to the recording booth, and I.N goes to join a couple of the other guys. You think Han is coming to talk to you, but he just flops over on the couch for a nap. So you’re back to just awkwardly sitting in a room full of dudes that are ignoring you. Great.

As the session goes on, you marvel at the way they work. They work so hard, recording and re-recording again and again until they’re satisfied. You do end up having conversations with most of them, mostly about their album and whichever of them was currently in the booth. Seeing their passion, you start to feel like they might not be as stuck up as you were thinking; they’re just focused and dedicated.

⋆⭒˚｡⋆｡✧･ﾟ

You dip out after recording; your uncle asked you to come have an early lunch with him. By the time you return to Stray Kids, they’re in a large practice room. Once again, you’re sitting on a couch in the back of the room, just watching them interact, feeling like a piece of the furniture. 

When the music starts, you look up from your phone and… damn. They all can dance really well. Like it’s hard for you to pick out the main dancers at first. 

They’re all lip syncing or singing along quietly as they move through the steps, then Han starts full out singing. You thought most idols struggled to sing when they dance like this; that’s why they play their tracks during their concerts. He sounds phenomenal, though, nearly as good as he did in the recording booth. And he sets off the others, every other line someone sings it out loud, and once again they all do it so well. Maybe you know less about idols than you thought. 

When they finish Chan comes over with a cocky grin on his face. “What did you think?”

With dimples like that and that accent, you know he must be insufferable. Still, he hasn’t given you a reason to be rude. “It was super cool. I didn’t expect to enjoy watching you practice so much. You’re all such great dancers.”

You were too complimentary; you can tell by the way he puffs up. You see the two behind him smile and fistbump, and decide you don’t need to stick around for the douchiness to come out. “Anyway, I’m gonna head out, unless you guys will need me again?”

Chan nods, and with that you’re out the door.

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As the week goes on, you realize you shouldn’t have taken such a hard stance with your parents. They check in every evening, asking about how working with ‘those cute boys’ was and which one you think you might want to go out with so your mom can set it up with JYP. Every day you insist that you’re not at all interested in stuck up idols, and every day you feel like you’re lying more and more. 

You’ve had the opportunity to witness a lot while you’ve been with Stray Kids. They invite you to lunch and to watch practices in your off time, and you’re not going to pass up getting free meals and witnessing the beauty of their movement. With that, you’re around them when they’re not in work mode as well, seeing how kind and conscientious they are. They seem to truly care for the staff around them; they’re constantly doing things for each other and basically everyone else. They start opening up to you; you hear the way they talk about their fans, their families, their staff. And they’re very good to you, too - always treating you, making sure you’re comfortable and have anything you want/need. It turns out that they are truly the nicest guys; and if it’s not genuine, you don’t know what is. 

When you walk into the studio the next morning, you’re pulled into an unexpected hug. Felix gives you that big smile of his. “Good morning! I hope you don’t mind that we’re starting a little early today.” 

You return it readily. “Good morning! Honestly, it’s not too bad. I usually have early classes, so this feels normal.”

You go to sit on the couch and wait to find out exactly what you’ll need to do while you watch the present members. Felix is clearly the biggest morning person; he’s like a little flame, giving sparks to each member he speaks to, and you can see them brightening in his wake. After a few minutes, Chan comes in with Seungmin. He gives you a wave, but goes to sit by Changbin and immediately starts discussing their schedule for the session. Seungmin approaches you instead, handing you an iced latte - he got your order just right.

“Oh thank you, you didn’t have to do that.”

“Of course, we wanted to thank you for changing things up for us today.” His English accent is so cute, and he’s incredibly attentive. And you love talking with him most. “Channie Hyung asked me to give you the low-down.” 

Like the first day, Chan thought it would be nice to have you talk through pronunciations for Lee Know, I.N, Hyunjin, and Seungmin’s lines while the others are recording. You’re pretty sure that they could get this done without you easily, but you like having this time with them now. They’ve started relaxing a bit, working casual conversation into their time with you.

Even when you’re working with one of the other guys, Seungmin tends to sit with you, both double checking little things and helping you to direct them. His presence is comforting and welcome, often with his arm draped behind you over the back of the couch, occasionally brushing his hand against your shoulder or back.

By Friday, you feel like you have a much better understanding of the guys. You’ve seen their more serious sides and their sillier sides. And their flirty, kinda dirty sides. You’ve gotten glimpses of this over the course of last week, but it’s like the gloves came off today. It’s not even just flirting with each other. All day they all make sure to send quippy innuendos your way and make some kind of unnecessary physical contact with you, and you don’t hate it. You actually kind of love it. 

3Racha go to work in their smaller studio, while you head to a practice room with the rest, and things take a slightly spicier turn. After a few run-throughs of different aspects of the choreography, Lee Know turns to you. “Wanna try it out?”

You’re not much of a dancer, but you figure what the hell, no harm in trying. You try to follow his steps as he counts them out, and even though you’re doing pretty well, Lee Know directs Hyunjin to give you a little extra support. With Hyunjin close behind you, placing light touches on your hips, your arms, your shoulders, it gets harder to focus on what you’re doing. When you’ve gone through the steps, they compliment you on the way you move.

“You could be a little looser in the hips, though. It’ll help all the moves flow more smoothly.” Hyunjin gets behind you again, this time with his front pressed to your back, his hands landing firmly on your hips. He applies slight pressure to encourage you to follow along with the sway of his hips. You nearly shiver when he whispers into your ear, “I like the way your hips move with mine.”

You have a moment like that with each of them. You try not to let it get to your head, but with each touch and insinuation, you’re falling into fantasies with each of them. When they break the group up further for more individual practice, Lee Know takes your hand.

“Come to my practice room for a bit?” He lets go when you take a step after him, giving you a coy smile. When you get into the small room, he indicates that you should take a seat facing him. Then he’s kneeling in front of you so that you’re looking down into his beautiful, brown eyes for once. His hand rests on your knee for balance, rubbing his thumbs back and forth absently. You start to think about what it would be like if he leaned in and his hands moved up your legs… The thought cuts off when he speaks again, an interesting gleam in his eyes. “So I’ll sing once through, if you notice anything you can make a note. Then I’ll sing again and you can stop me when I make a mistake.”

You want nothing more than to sit and listen to him sing for hours on end. His voice is amazing. You grab the pad and pen from the table next to you. “Of course!”

For the next hour or so, Lee Know - Minho, he told you you could call him that - sings for you, and you sing his praises. It is incredible. His voice – he himself – is so beautiful. He very gracefully takes your critiques and works hard to get things perfect. 

The rest of the day is much the same, really just hanging out with the guys and watching them work, sometimes with all eight of them, other times in smaller groups. All of them continue to flirt, making you more and more interested in spending time with them outside of work hours. As you’re heading out for the day, Seungmin catches up with you.

“Would you wanna grab a coffee with me later?”

You try not to smile too big. “That’d be great. Just tell me when and where.”

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When you get home, you’re already going over your plan to meet Seungmin at the cafe near his dorm. You’re so immersed in thoughts of him, you nearly run into your mom.

She asks the usual questions and you give the usual answers. 

“Honey, I really do think you should consider letting your uncle set you up with one of those boys. You say you’re not having fun at this internship, but your mood seems up. It might be good for you.”

You can’t believe she was right, but you’re not gonna let her know that. So you lie. “That doesn’t have anything to do with a bunch of idols. I met a girl who works in the cafeteria who’s cool, though. I’m actually meeting her at a cafe in a little bit.”

She’s happy that you’re making friends and leaves you to get ready. You throw on a top that tastefully shows off your cleavage paired with cute, comfy flowy shorts that could probably cover your ass a little better. You feel a little bad going behind her back, but your parents would be insufferable if they learned that you were interested in them. 

When you get to the cafe, Seungmin is waiting outside, two coffees in hand. Unfortunately, you can’t see his smile behind the mask, but he does look good despite it. 

“Hi, thanks! Were you wanting to sit outside?”

His ears look a little pink; you worry that he’s got bad news. “I actually was hoping you’d want to take a walk. Maybe to the dorm to hang out with the guys? It’s completely fine if you don’t.”

You think about it less than you should before agreeing. If you took a moment, you’d think it sounds like a set up for something more. Actually, you might still have agreed. 

He takes your hand and after a short walk you reach the Cuties Dorm, as they call it, but all of the other members are there. When you walk into the living room, you’re greeted by shouts from each of them and what’s become the usual hug from Felix, that literal ball of sunshine. This time his arms linger around you a bit longer as he tells you he’s happy you decided to come.

As you settle on the couch between Seungmin and Hyunjin; the former sits a little closer than necessary, leaning into you, while the latter throws his arm around your shoulders with his hand gently kneading into the nape of Seungmin’s neck. You revel in their closeness. You all hang out for a while together; they tell stories and ask you more about your life back in the states. Like earlier in the day, there’s more flirting and touching than usual, and they’re even less subtle about it. Also like before, you give as good as you get. 

At one point, Hyunjin makes what you think is a joke about how nice it is that you signed a broad NDA when you started at JYPE in case you decide to have “even more fun” with them. You laugh and agree, leaning into him a bit more. Seungmin’s hand lands on your thigh then, fingers lightly caressing your bare skin. You’re not entirely sure if this is going where you think it is, but between their hands and arms on your body and the looks the members shared at your agreement, you’re starting to wonder if it really was a joke. 

“I’m really glad we’re getting to know you more tonight.” Chan watches you, head tilted, contemplative, as he says it. “We’ve all been hoping to get closer to you. We just weren’t sure how open to it you would be.”

Seungmin slides his hand a tiny bit more toward the inside of your thigh and gives you a quick squeeze. You stare at Chan for a moment. He licks his lips, holding your eye contact. Well, fuck it; if I’m wrong, I’ll just refuse to go back to work, you think. “So to be clear… You all are hoping that I’m interested in hooking up?”

 Despite his boldness from just moments before, Chan starts turning into a tomato and looking down at his hands. Not one to mince words, Lee Know takes control of the situation. “Yes. Are you?”

“I mean…” You glance around the room, taking in the varying levels of hope, embarrassment, and desire on their faces. You rest one hand on Seungmin’s and the other on Hyunjin’s leg. “You don’t mean all at once, right? I think I’d need to work up to that.”

The room erupts in laughter and the tension dissipates. You all agree to just let things progress naturally, with the stipulations that they’re all going to actively pursue you now and that relationships won’t go beyond a friends with benefits situation. You assure them that you’re attracted to all of them, not that you felt pressured when Chan said ‘all.’ 

Luckily, once you’ve talked things out, things are as relaxed as before the conversation started. Soon, though, most of the guys announce that they’re leaving. 3Racha need to head back to the studio to work on a track they’d been talking about for the last half hour. Minho and I.N had plans to see a movie tonight, and Felix decides to tag along. On their way out, each of them gives you a hug. Chan’s is only a half hug, but his hand is definitely on your ass. You raise your eyebrows at him, and he just gives you a little squeeze and a pat before heading for the door. Changbin’s hug is so comforting that you wish you could just melt into him. Han is bold enough to kiss your cheek before saying goodbye with a wink. Seeing this, Felix immediately says that he wants a kiss, too. Rather than kissing your cheek like Han, however, his soft lips make contact with yours for just a second. You’re pretty sure your cheeks are on fire as I.N slips in right as Felix releases you. 

“Better make it a full set,” he says as he brushes a quick kiss on the side opposite of Han’s. Minho is last and to your surprise, he keeps his hands off your ass - you would’ve thought if anyone was going to grab it, it would’ve been the resident butt hunter. He does, however, whisper suggestively in your ear before he releases you. “I hope you have a good rest of your night.”

You turn to face the remaining two, the implication in Minho’s words making your head spin. You meet Hyunjin and Seungmin’s eyes in succession, unsure of what your next move should be.

“We’re going to watch a movie, if you wanna stay here with us for a while longer.” Seungmin’s voice is neutral, but you think you can see a touch of hunger in his eyes. “Otherwise, I’m happy to walk you home.”

Hyunjin bites his lip while he waits for your answer. It makes you wish you were the one biting it. “Yeah, a movie sounds nice.”

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You make your way to the couch again with Hyunjin, and Seungmin heads to the kitchen to make popcorn and grab other snacks. The two of you sit facing each other, discussing preferred genres and favorite movies. You land on The Greatest Showman for tonight, and Hyunjin’s face lights up with passion as he talks about his favorite dance numbers in film. When Seungmin arrives with the snacks, Hyunjin surprises you by reaching over and pulling you halfway into his lap.

“Sorry,” he giggles, not looking even a little sorry. His hands are lingering on your hips, and you catch yourself looking at his lips again. “Just wanted to make sure Minnie had room to sit.”

“So considerate of you, Jinnie.” Seungmin deadpans as he sets the snacks and drinks on the coffee table. He sits beside you, partially on your cushion, and his hand lands on Hyunjin’s, still on your hip. Your breath hitches when you feel a slight squeeze. Hyunjin releases you then, and you turn to face the tv; they’re both so close to you, you feel your cheeks heating up. But then they’re acting normal again, like they have no clue that now all you can think about is being pressed between them with their hands and mouths exploring your body. You know you just confidently talked about hooking up with them, but you’re a little nervous now.

“I am considerate.” Hyunjin laughs and gestures at the screen. “You love this movie, right? We picked it just for you.”

For the next 20 minutes, it’s just like it was before ‘the talk.’ You're talking a little as you watch the movie. Seungmin has his arm around you this time, and after a few minutes Hyunjin rests his head on your shoulder and takes your hand; his thumb traces small circles on your skin. Seungmin moves so that his hand is on the nape of your neck now; when he presses in a bit with his fingers, you look over at him, and Hyunjin takes the opportunity to make a move. 

Seungmin is smiling as Hyunjin places a kiss just under your jaw and your mouth drops open with a sharp inhale. Hyunjin’s hand drops yours and moves to softly squeeze your thigh as he kisses you again. Seungmin tips your chin up so you look directly into his eyes. “Is everything okay?”

You don’t trust yourself to speak, so instead you nod and rest your hand on his thigh. He smiles widely and leans in to press his lips to yours. He tries to pull back, but you immediately pull him back, tilting your head for a deeper kiss. Hyunjin continues to leave a trail of kisses on your neck and his hand shifts up to your waist, creeping up slowly. At once, he gives you a gentle bite and his hand cups your breast. You break your kiss with Seungmin with a small gasp. As soon as you turn to face him, Hyunjin captures your lips, his tongue tangling with yours. Seungmin takes over for him on the other side of your neck, nipping and sucking at your sensitive skin. Both their hands roam across your body. They’ve barely begun - you hope - but you’re already feeling a little overwhelmed and unsure what to do with your hands.

It’s like Hyunjin reads your mind. He sits back grinning at you with pink, pouty lips shining. Seungmin turns toward you, and throws his arms around your waist to pull you into his lap, turning you to face away from him and keeping his arms wrapped around your middle and resting his chin on your shoulder. Hyunjin finds your hands and asks, “This isn’t too much, is it?”

You bite your lip as you consider how to answer. He’s so beautiful; it’s hard to think of anything besides kissing him again. “It’s kind of a lot… But I don’t want to stop.”

Seungmin begins kissing your neck again, both hands cupping and caressing your breasts.  Hyunjin’s smile widens as he scoots as close to Seungmin as possible, gently moving your legs so they drape over his lap. One hand starts kneading the inside of one of your thighs. He leans in, his other hand comes up - you thought it was going to your face, but he reaches past you to stop Seungmin’s progress on your neck. You feel yourself being pushed forward slightly, feel his obviously hardening cock on your back, as you watch Seungmin bring his face up to meet Hyunjin’s. The second their lips touch, your jaw drops a bit.

When this began, you somehow never even thought about this being a possibility. With how comfortable they are flirting with and touching each other, you feel a little silly for not considering it already. It’s quite possibly the hottest thing you’ve ever seen. They’re so beautiful together. You catch a glimpse of Hyunjin’s tongue slipping into Seungmin’s mouth at the same time that his hand makes contact with your center, fingers moving in slow, deliberate circles. You spread your legs a bit to give him easier access, wishing there weren’t two layers of fabric blocking his path. As you move, Seungmin’s hand comes down to hook your outside leg over his, spreading you further. Lips still locked on Hyunjin’s, his hands slide inside your shirt and around to your back; once your bra is unclasped, his hands come back around and under it, pinching and twisting your nipples. 

A small moan escapes your lips and brings Hyunjins attention back to you. Both of their mouths are on you again, and Hyunjin slips his fingers into your panties. You feel like you’re on fire. You simultaneously reach in front of and behind you, wrapping each hand around equally impressive lengths. As you stroke them through their shorts, you elicit two moans in harmony. 

Hyunjin pulls back. “As much as I like this couch, I wonder if we should move somewhere a bit more comfortable, Minnie?”

One of Seungmin’s hands drops down to your waist, the other continues to tease you. “That is an excellent idea, Jinnie. Are you alright with that?”

It takes you a moment to realize he’s talking to you now. They move in unison. When one speaks, the other kisses, their hands never stop touching, caressing, taking you closer to what is sure to just be your first climax of many tonight. You nod and capture Seungmin’s lips.

Hyunjin giggles and presses a kiss to your cheek. “I know you said this was a lot, so I think we’d prefer a verbal answer.” He pulls at your shirt. “Cause if we move locations, things are definitely going to heat up.”

“I want that.” You nearly gasp. “Please, let’s go. Wherever.”

Hyunjin stands, pulling you up with him. “Seungmin-ah, why don’t you take our gorgeous friend here to your room while I go get a few things.”

“Yes, sir.” Seungmin smiles and salutes before throwing you over his shoulder with a quick slap on your ass. “I’ll hold down the fort.”

Seungmin proceeds to his room, not flinching at the slaps you’ve landed on his cute, little ass in complaint. In no time at all, he’s dropping you onto your back, and before you can even catch your breath, he’s on you. His tongue clashes with yours, one hand grips your hip tightly while the other grips your face and neck with his thumb pressed under your chin. He’s a bit more… forceful than you expected. It’s exciting. You bite his lower lip. 

He smiles against your lips. He brings his hand to the hem of your shirt and starts pulling it up. “I think you’re wearing too many clothes.”

You let him pull your top off and discard your bra. You pull his shirt up as well, ready to see more of him. For a brief moment, you wonder if you should be waiting for Hyunjin, but as soon as his shirt clears his head, he’s on you again - this time bringing his mouth to one nipple to suck, lick, and bite gently. One of his hands slides down into your panties; his fingers thrust into you a few times before spreading your wetness up to your clit. You arch into him with a moan. 

Seungmin starts kissing his way down your body. You whimper when he retracts his hand to pull your shorts and underwear off in one smooth motion. He pauses then to look down at you with a hungry look in his eyes. You’re suddenly very aware that you’re naked in the bed of a man you met less than a week ago. With another on his way to join you. You wonder if you think you make terrible or excellent decisions. You sit up and tug on the waistband of his shorts, and when he slides them off, you lean more toward excellent. He doesn’t give you the chance to touch his nice, thick cock; when you reach for it, he puts a hand on your chest, pushing you onto your back. He settles down between your legs. He kisses a trail from your right knee down your thigh, nipping at you in a few places. When he starts back at the top of your other knee, you let out a whiny “Minnie…”

“So impatient.” He smiles up at you. He doesn’t stop his teasing, but at your small groan, he splays his hand over your stomach, thumb landing on your clit. His lazy circles barely take the edge off. 

“Seungmin, please.” 

He chuckles, but takes pity on you. He gives you a long lick, sucking when he reaches your clit. Your back arches off the bed, and you squeeze your eyes closed with a moan. You’re so preoccupied that you miss the door opening and shutting, only realizing Hyunjin’s in the room when he kisses your forehead. 

“Is my puppy making you feel good? He’s great with his tongue.” Hyunjin giggles when Seungmin sits back, mouth and chin glistening, to ‘mong mong’ at him. 

You reach up for Hyunjin, but he’s already moving closer to Seungmin. He runs his hand down your body, easily sliding three fingers into you while simultaneously leaning over to lick the Seungmin’s lips clean. It is… beyond hot. 

“You taste good,” Hyunjin turns back to you, his fingers pumping in and out, keeping you panting and needy. “And you’re so wet for us, baby. Minnie, I think you should finish what you started so I can have a turn.”

You almost tell him that he can just take his turn now, but Seungmin dives in immediately with renewed vigor. Every swipe of his tongue brings you closer and closer to the edge. You expect Hyunjin to kiss or touch you in some way, but when you can control your trembling body enough to look down at Seungmin, you see that Hyunjin is just behind him. You watch both of Seungmin’s hands reach up to tweak your nipples and realize that Hyunjin has reached under his arm, and his fingers are the ones expertly curling against your g-spot. They’re so in sync. You prop yourself up on your elbows and watch as Hyunjin switches hands, so he can stroke Seungmin’s cock using your wetness to smooth his glide. The sight tips you over the edge. Your eyes roll back in your head as you curl in on yourself with a moan. Seungmin keeps up a steady pace allowing you to ride out your orgasm. He disengages with a moan of his own as you come down. 

“That’s a good girl,” Hyunjin purrs. He grips Seungmin by the hair to tip his head back and kiss him passionately before turning back to you to say, “and a good boy. Don’t you think so?”

You let out a sigh and sit up. Your gaze immediately begins tracking the movement of Hyunjin’s hand again. You suck your lower lip between your teeth with a soft groan. At Seungmin’s soft “fuck,” you bring your hand over to rub lazy circles over your clit. Suddenly, Hyunjin draws his hand back. Seungmin whines and your eyes snap up to Hyunjin’s.

“Well, Minnie, if she doesn’t think you did a good job, I’m not sure you should get a reward.” He says it with a devious smile on his face. When Seungmin huffs and turns to try to bite his neck, Hyunjin catches his chin and crashes his lips back to Seungmin’s.

“No, no!” You say a little too loudly, scrambling toward them. “He did such a good job! He was amazing. You were amazing, Minnie.”

Hyunjin giggles and drags Seungmin’s face toward yours. His tongue slides against yours, and your hand picks up where Hyunjin’s left off. One of his hands is back on your chest, the other sliding through your folds again. Hyunjin laughs again, gently pushing both your shoulders to separate you. “Oh well if he was that good, he deserves more than this. Lay on the bed, pup.”

Seungmin pouts a little, squinting his eyes at him as he stands. “Hyunie, I know you like taking charge, but it feels like there’s a little too big of a power imbalance here.”

Hyunjin laughs, pulling his shirt over his head and pushing his shorts to the ground. Like Seungmin, his body is nicely toned, not overly muscular. Beautiful. “Better?”

“Almost.” Seungmin tucks a finger into the waistband of briefs, pulling Hyunjin closer to him. The smile on his face is devastating. “And I think I’ll choose my own reward. Lose these and you sit on the bed.”

Hyunjin presses a quick kiss to Seungmin’s jaw. Then he licks his lips and turns to you. “Help me out?”

You’re enjoying watching them so much, you nearly forgot you’re part of this as well. You free him of his briefs and watch his half-hard cock bounce as he moves to sit with his back against the headboard. Seungmin’s watching as well, his head cocked to the side. He moves behind you, hands resting on your waist. You get a chill when you feel his breath on your neck. He whispers, “I’m going to put on a condom now. While I do, you should get on your knees between Jinnie’s pretty dancer’s legs, ass up and ready for me.”

The second his hands leave you, you’re crawling up to take Hyunjin’s pretty cock into your mouth. Another time you might have teased him, but you’re so hot for him, for them, that you want to get him on your level as soon as possible. You bob your head, tongue swirling around his tip when you come up. With each pass, he stiffens and grows - you soon have to work to fit him in your mouth. You relax your throat and take him further, wrapping a hand around his base, the other resting on his hip. 

“Mmmm,” Hyunjin rumbles, tangling his fingers into your hair with a smile. “Minnie, is this a reward for me or for you?”

You feel Seungmin bring himself into position behind you. He grabs your hips, adjusting them so that you’re just where he wants you. You can hear the smile in his voice as he plunges a couple fingers into you. “I always want to reward you, baby, but I feel like the real winner is between us.”

He lands a playful slap on your ass and you hum in agreement, causing Hyunjin’s grip in your hair to tighten as he lets loose a low groan. You hum again, then pull off with a pop. You grin up at him as you feel Seungmin tap the fat head of his cock against your ass. You tape Hyunjin’s tip into your mouth and suck hard as you continue to pump your fist around his shaft. You feel the pressure of Seungmin pushing into you, his hands grip your hips tightly. He goes slowly, sinking inch by inch filling you up. The pressure feels fantastic. You moan, giving Hyunjin a slight squeeze. Both men jerk their hips in tandem. You pull off Hyunjin with a gag, panting, pushing back against Seungmin as he keeps up steady thrusts.

Hyunjin takes your face in his hands, stroking your cheeks with his thumbs. “I’m sorry, baby. It felt so good; I couldn’t keep still. If you can’t keep going, I can wait my turn.”

You shake your head. “No, I’m - ahh - I’m okay. Just wasn’t ready.” You press your face into his thigh with another shaky moan. 

Hyunjin laughs. “Seungminnie, are you happy where you are or should we flip her?”

“No,” you pant. “I wanna… I wanna finish.”

Seungmin is hitting you in just the right spot. Each rock of his hips sends you closer to your peak. Hyunjin laughs again. It turns into another groan as you wrap your lips back around his head and suck hard. “Fuck me.”

“I can do that next, if you want, but I might need a breather.” Seungmin grunts out as he increases his pace. His grip on your hips tightens, you’re likely going to end up with bruises. You increase your pace in turn, and Hyunjin’s moans become more frequent. It’s hard to maintain, though. You pull off of Hyunjin with a gasping moan, burying your face in his thigh again. 

“I’ve got this, baby.” Hyunjin takes over for you, jerking himself in tempo with Seungmin’s thrusts, his gaze locked on the snap of Seungmin’s hips. He lets out a drawn out groan. “You’re taking Minnie so well. You have no idea how fucking hot you look right now. Fuck, Min, I think I could come just by watching you; I’m already so close.”

Hyunjin’s other hand is stroking your hair and you look up at him, mouth hanging open barely able to do much more than pant and moan. The tide is rising in you, threatening to wipe you out. 

As he lets go of one of your hips, you feel Seungmin lean against your back. and Hyunjin is leaning forward to meet him. You can barely see their kiss, but you feel how it’s interrupted Seungmin’s rhythm and let out a whimper. His hand drops from Hyunjin’s face into your hair. He pulls it a little less than gently. The new angle allows you a better view of Hyunjin working himself and biting his lip. The space created gives Hyunjin room to take hold of one of your breasts, pinching and pulling, bringing you right back to the edge.  

Seungmin slides his other hand between your legs, and your body starts to convulse. You can’t control any of the sounds coming out of your mouth - a mix of their names, moans, curses. Your climax overwhelms you. As you shake and move with each slam of Seungmin’s hips, but barely hear Hyunjin’s “fuck” as thick spirts of cum land on your chest and face. It spurs you on; you do your best to stick out your tongue, to catch as much as you can. 

Another “fuck” sounds as you feel Seungmin’s hips stutter to a stop. His grip on your hair loosens, and you barely manage to keep yourself from face planting into Hyunjin’s lap. Your body is nearly spent, finally coming down from what may have been the best orgasm you’ve ever had.

Seungmin pulls out and flops down on his side next to you, breathing heavily with a relaxed smile on his face. “You look so pretty with Jinnie all over you.”

He rolls over to grab wet wipes while Hyunjin encourages you to flip over and sit up. After Seungmin cleans you both up, Hyunjin pulls you back to lean against him. You stay like that for a few moments, before dressing and snuggling back up on the couch to watch the rest of the movie. When it’s over, you and Seungmin walk hand in hand out of the dorm, passing Minho and Jeongin on their way in. Minho shoots you a wink and a look that makes you feel like he’s telling you that he’s next… and you can’t wait.

⋆⭒˚｡⋆｡✧･ﾟ

Part II Here

[youremyheaven]

Outcaste Nakshatras: The Outsiders (part 3)

Here's part 1 and part 2

The more I study Mleccha nakshatra natives and the art they make, the more I understand how deeply lonely it is to have a Mleccha nak (Bharani, Ashlesha, Vishaka, Shravana) and I really feel for them. To live your whole life feeling misunderstood and othered is so difficult.

The movie Edward Scissorhands is a really good example of the "outcast" trope. The titular character is played by Johnny Depp who has Ashlesha Rising and his love interest is played by Winona Ryder who has Mercury (amatyakaraka) & Venus (atmakaraka) in Vishaka

I find Outcaste nak pairing very interesting because obviously you only feel like you belong/truly feel accepted in the presence of another Outcast.

Sidharth Malhotra, Vishaka Moon is married to Kiara Advani, who has Mercury & Venus (atmakaraka) in Ashlesha (if you have 2 or more planets in the same nak that energy is very concentrated even if its not your big 3)

they're both known for being pretty low-key people which is unusual in Bollywood lmao

Sid is an "outsider" which is what we call non-nepo actors in India. imagine the extent of nepotism in cinema in India that its the exception to be an "outsider"lmao. anyway Sid is pretty reserved and introverted and is known for not fitting in with the Bollywood crowd. Kiara is also kinda like that I guess but idk too much about her personality. They both seem happy together tho

Kareena Kapoor, Shravana Moon is married to Saif Ali Khan, Ashlesha Sun & Shravana Moon

Kareena's parents are famous actors who are separated (her dad was misogynistic and abusive and didn't want women to act) and even tho she's a nepo baby she didn't grow up with the same privileges as others in her famous family. Her elder sister had to drop out of school to support the family by acting as they were raised by a single mom and had fallen on bad times. You can see how the "outcast" themes were present in Kareena's life even though she's a very privileged nepo baby

Saif is also a nepo baby (welcome to bollywood lol) but he married a much older actress when he was 21 and had two kids. they later got divorced and Saif received a ton of bad press for alleged adultery, not getting custody or visitation rights of the kids, not paying child support (the amount was absurdly high tbh) etc he didn't fit in with the other actors of his generation. The media & public went crazy when news of Saif & Kareena getting married came out bc Saif is a divorcee with 2 kids (this stuff is still taboo in India unfortunately) and Kareena is one of the most successful stars of her generation. But they've been married for 10+ yrs and have 2 kids and are as happy as ever.

Even Kareena's longterm ex-boyfriend, Shahid Kapoor was a Mleccha caste nak guy (he has Vishaka Moon)

Expanding on the outcast tropes, Shahid's parents separated when he was young and he saw little of his biological father. He had to work very hard for very long to break into the industry and even now, he's not really given his due as an actor.

Alia Bhatt, Shravana Rising is married to Ranbir Kapoor, Shravana Moon

their marriage seems hella toxic to me ngl BUT they've both had similar childhoods.

Alia & Ranbir are both nepo babies (welcome to bollywood), Alia is like a tier 3 nepo (her father is a notoriously controversial filmmaker) whilst Ranbir is like a tier 1 nepo (he is a 4th generation actor from the biggest film family in India) however both their parents had unhappy marriages, and both of them had abusive fathers. trauma bonding, mayhaps? they're both also extremely close to their mothers as well (Moon dominant people often tend to be)

Its another example of Outcaste naks bonding over their shared experiences/feelings of being the outcast.

all members of Blackpink have an Outcaste nakshatra in their chart that is prominent in some way.

Jisoo- Shravana Moon, Venus in Vishaka (darakaraka), Ketu in Bharani

Rose- Venus conjunct Jupiter (debilitated) in Shravana

Jennie- Vishaka Moon, Mars in Shravana

Lisa- Jupiter in Shravana (debilitated), Swati Moon (Swati is a Shudra nak, which is the lowest caste so the themes are similar to that of outcaste naks)

This is interesting to me because BP is the biggest girl group of all time yet they are also probably disproportionately hated for things they cant even control. they were mismanaged by a shitty ass company with very few comebacks and barely got to display their true calibre as artists and their media interactions, promos, other activities etc were severely controlled and restricted. all of this is to say that despite being the most successful group their actual experiences are far from sunshine and roses. they were treated like outcasts by their company and the industry and fans. they trained for 4-6 years, enduring a brutal and toxic system, worked very hard with what they were given, with 0 creative liberty to come this far im glad theyre pursuing solo careers now and hope to see them thrive<333

the movie Lost in Translation is a good example of two outcasts/lonely people who find comfort in each other

Bill Murray is Shravana Moon and Scarlett Johansson is Vishaka Moon

Sridevi, Ashlesha Sun & Rising and Boney Kapoor, Vishaka Sun & Mercury

So they had a really fcked up marriage that I won't get into but they were both people who felt like outcasts in their lives. Sridevi grew up with a stepfather and was pushed into acting by her mother when she was 3-4 years old (she's like an Indian Judy Garland tbh) who deprived her of formal education and a normal life so that she'd be the family cash cow. Being South Indian, she also found it hard to fit in among Bollywood folks as she initially spoke neither Hindi nor English. Boney's the ugly duckling of his family and his younger brother is one of the most famous/iconic actors ever, he had to become a movie producer since his brothers became actors and his father (who was a movie producer) thought it would be better if he stayed behind the scenes. themes of exclusion and outcast-ness crop up in their lives and in the lives of all the people I mention here.

Lady Bird is a good example of a movie about a female teenage outcast. The titular character is played by Saoirse Ronan, who has Bharani Moon

Recently I came across the content creator, Alana Lintao who often makes shorts about social behaviour. This one in particular stood out to me because its literally about one person being excluded by a group of friends or being treated like "the other".

Alana plays the excluded friend in this short as well. She has Bharani Sun, Swati Moon and Mercury in Revati amatyakaraka (Swati & Revati are both Shudra naks)

Outcaste naks are vilified and crucified for mistakes others get away with.

Janet Jackson, Vishaka Rising & Ketu

Janet's career took a hit and her life took a tumultuous turn after the Superbowl incident. She did not deserve all the vitriol she received then especially considering how so many others get away with wayyy worse

Jennie, Vishaka Moon gets hated on for absolutely nothing

Lana Del Rey, Ashlesha Moon, Vishaka Rising (&stellium)

Lana does say dumb things from time to time but she gets soooo much unnecessary hate

I have noticed how Outcaste nakshatras often tend to have really difficult childhood experiences

Jeanette McCurdy- Ardra sun, Bharani Moon & Pushya Rising

Jeanette opens up about her abusive mother and terrible childhood in her memoir. I mention her other placements as well because I've noticed that both Ardra & Pushya natives also experience abuse in their early lives

Britney Spears, Shravana Moon

she has endured so much abuse from so many people including her family. i wish her peace.

Wheein, Vishaka Moon grew up with a single mother and later after she made her debut her estranged father tried to borrow money from people under her name?? there was a minor scandal about it many years ago. She also grew up quite lower middle class if not poor.

David Bowie, Shravana Rising

Bowie once said, "“It wasn’t a particularly happy childhood, my parents were cold emotionally. There weren’t many hugs. I always craved affection because of that.”

Cole & Dylan Sprouse, Ashlesha Sun

Speaking on the Call Her Daddy podcast, he explained that their mother's issues with mental health and addiction contributed to her being "financially the most irresponsible woman ever." He said that when their dad was given forced custody when the boys were 10, their mom had already spent everything they'd earned from their early acting jobs. Though their dad wanted them to be "normal kids," he ultimately decided that the boys' acting careers were a financial necessity.

Ariel Winter, Shravana Sun

Ariel Winter has spoken out about how acting wasn't her choice, but it was her mother's. Ariel shared that her mother, Crystal Workman, had dreams of being an actor herself. Ariel said that with Crystal as her stage mom, she dealt with a lot of abuse and exploitation.

Once Ariel's acting career began, she said her mom put her on a strict diet and neglected her education. Her mother also had her dress in outfits that sexualized her. Ariel claimed her mom put her in “the smallest miniskirts, sailor suits, low-cut things, the shortest dresses you’ve ever seen. People thought I was 24 when I was 12. If there was going to be a nude scene when I was that age, my mother would have a thousand percent said yes.”

Now Bollywood is an industry run by film dynasties, its very rare for someone from the outside to break in and make it big. Being an "Outsider" is very difficult, people bully you, try to sabotage your career, try to isolate you etc etc, needless to say its not for the faint of heart. So lets take a look at some of the most successful "Outsiders" in Bollywood who made it big without any family in the business

ofc we have to start with the most successful outsider of all time, Shahrukh Khan, Shravana Moon

he truly came from nothing (father died when he was a teenager, mother died before he made his debut, has a sister with special needs who he has taken care of his entire life) and became the biggest star in the world.

Akshay Kumar, Vishaka Moon, he was a martial artist, chef, waiter and worked numerous odd jobs before he started modelling in his late 20s and later started acting and today he has a net worth of $340 million

Anushka Sharma, Bharani Sun

her life is truly a case of being lucky af, she was a model and by the age of 19-20 she was cast in a film opposite Shahrukh Khan aka the biggest actor in the country produced by YRF, one of the biggest film production companies in India. its truly a fairy tale because neither can Anushka act nor is she gifted in any other way (bad dancer, heck she was even an awful model) but she's incredibly successful in every way and is now married to the (former) Captain of the Indian cricket team

Deepika Padukone, Shravana Rising

she is from a privileged background (her dad's a renowned badminton player) but she worked very very hard to get where she is today and has had more career longevity than just about any other actress.

Bipasha Basu & John Abraham, Bharani Moon

they were both a hot couple who were really popular in the 2000s

there are many other successful Outsiders but they don't have outcaste naks lol, these are the only ones i can think of rn :/

i hope this post was informative<33

[thornybubbles]

JJBA Yandere Scenario: Jealousy (The Joe-Foes) Doppio/Diavolo

**Note: This is another story that I’m just not satisfied with. I thought about scrapping what I had and rewriting the whole thing but changed my mind and just went in and added some changes instead. I figured if I spent time rewriting it, I’d never get around to all the other projects I want to work on. I’m sorry if it’s trash. I’ll try to do something better for Doppio and Diavolo later.**

You were in way over your head. 

You were in way, WAY over your head.

You joined Passione as the lowest of the low, just a messenger and nothing more. Slowly over time, you found yourself climbing higher and higher in the ranks receiving more responsibilities and more rewards in turn. Before you knew it, you were as high as you could go. You had somehow become your own unit within the organization.You had no subordinates but you answered only to someone named Doppio. When you first met the man you were certain someone was playing a prank on you. This guy, who looked and acted like a kid, was actually the underboss? This was the guy who took orders directly from the Boss himself? It had to be a joke… but it wasn’t. Doppio absolutely was the undisputed second in command… somehow… and you were taking your orders from him. The strange part was that only you knew who Doppio was and who he had ties to, and you were sworn to secrecy on penalty of death. But when you found out who Doppio really was, that’s when you knew that maybe a life of crime wasn’t the career choice for you. Though, it was far too late to drop out of the game now.

Doppio and you were often paired on missions together. Usually you would receive your orders through cypher messages stating that you were to “Make sure the plan goes smoothly, eliminate any interference, and keep dear Doppio out of trouble.” You had suspicions that Doppio must be related to the Boss somehow. Nepotism wasn’t unusual in the business, but it always irked you whenever you came across it. Doppio’s naivety, clumsiness, and habit of finding trouble no matter how hard you tried to avoid it made you wonder why he was allowed to have such a high ranking with all the responsibilities that came with it. You began to resent the pink-haired twerp, feeling that if anyone should be the Boss’s number Two, it should be you. You actually worked to get where you were. You didn’t just have it handed to you! You didn’t fight your way to the top just to end up as a glorified babysitter! 

What made it worse was that Doppio seemed to have developed an annoying little crush on you. It didn’t help that whenever you and Doppio were on a mission together, the Boss expected you to be in disguise and pretend to be Doppio’s lover. This gave Doppio the perfect excuse to always be holding your hand or clinging to your side in some way. He was always begging for kisses, hugs, or just your attention in general. You were not happy, but what could you do? Orders were orders. What’s worse is that you were beginning to suspect that these “missions” were actually dates. Now every time Doppio snuggled into your side you seethed on the inside and sent mental curses to the Boss. You were one of the best that Passione had to offer and now you’ve been reduced to being a forced date for the Boss’s nephew or something! You were deeply insulted, but due to the situation, you wouldn’t be allowed to voice any complaints. 

Of course at the time, you had not yet put two and two together about Doppio’s real identity. That day would be one you never forgot. It started when Doppio decided to take you on a shopping trip around the city. You sighed and reluctantly allowed yourself to be dragged along. Realizing that this “mission” wasn't going to be anything important, you decided to just let Doppio treat you. You weren’t about to say “no” to free stuff. The problem arose when you made the mistake of not only letting the guy at the jewelry store flirt with you, but flirting back at him. It wasn’t that the guy was especially attractive or anything, you were just relishing the fact that you were finally getting attention from someone other than Doppio. The man-child was so busy looking at all the shiny things in the store that you hadn’t thought he’d notice if you fluttered an eyelash or two. Besides, what would he even do about it? 

Well, you fucked around and found out. 

At some point during your conversation, you turned to see Doppio staring at you with a stunned, horrified expression on his face. For a moment, he looked like he would burst into tears. Then he did something weird. He started imitating the sound of a ringing cell phone. You and the jeweler exchanged confused glances and you began to feel embarrassed by Doppio’s antics. You watched as he started looking around as if he was searching for a phone. He looked behind jewelry cases, rifled through a stand holding some designer purses, and then made his way back over to you. All the while he was making that stupid sound. Finally you’d had enough. 

“Doppio, what the hell--?” You didn’t get to finish the question as you found yourself suddenly off balance. 

Doppio had, for some reason, snatched one of your shoes right off of your foot and was holding it to the side of his head and talking into it as if it were a phone. The action nearly caused you to fall over and nearly lose the wig that you wore as part of your disguise. You turned to glare at Doppio and chew him out for acting like a loon, but when you caught the look in his eyes, anything you were going to say got stuck in your throat. 

Those were not Doppio’s eyes looking back at you. His normally hazel colored eyes were now green and glared back at you with an intense madness. The very shape of his irises had changed. What was wrong with him? Was he possessed? Was an enemy Stand attacking him? Why did it look like he’d grown taller? Shocked, you took a few steps back from him. 

“Boss?” he spoke into your shoe. “Yes, we’re at a jewelry store…. I’m sure it’s just a misunderstanding… “ 

Doppio continued talking into your shoe as if he was having an actual conversation with the Boss. You could only stare at him in shock. What on earth was happening? The jeweler chose that moment to make a snide comment at his expense and Doppio… effectively lost his shit. The meek, timid, wimp of a man you knew as Vinegar Doppio turned his green-eyed glare on the jeweler. He pressed your shoe closer to his ear to secure it while he used his other hand to grab the poor man by the hair. He then slammed the man’s face into the jewelry case repeatedly until the glass was cracked and splattered with blood. 

“CAN’T YOU SEE I’M ON THE PHONE?!! SHUT YOUR FILTHY, COCKSUCKING MOUTH AND MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS!!!” he bellowed, using a voice and language you’d never thought you’d hear from someone like Doppio. 

Now he not only looked taller, but his arms and legs seemed more fleshed out and muscular. The sleeves of his sweater were pushed up slightly and you could make out what you thought to be elaborate tattoos on his arms. Since when was Doppio the type to get tattoos? You thought about calling your Stand, but you didn’t even know what you would have it do. If you used it to attack Doppio, the Boss would be furious, but you couldn’t exactly just let him give you the same treatment as the jeweler. You had to get out of there. 

The jeweler’s unconscious body slumped to the floor and you moved even further away from Doppio before turning and breaking into a full run. You didn’t care about your other shoe, you just needed to get away from Doppio while he was acting like a psychopath. You didn’t get far. You only took about three steps when you suddenly ran right into Doppio’s arms. You had no idea how he got ahead of you like that. You didn’t even see him move. He practically crushed you in his grip, but his embrace didn’t have its usual clingy, loving feel to it. He was holding you with a strength you’d never felt him display before. It was as if his arms were pythons and they were trying to squeeze the life out of you. 

He was looking up at you with the saddest expression you’d ever seen him use. His watery eyes were now back to their normal color and looking at you like you just knocked his teddy bear out of his hand. 

“Why are you trying to run from me?” he asked with a whimper. 

Was he serious? After that display of his, did he even have to ask? 

“D-Doppio… you… w-what happened to you? Your eyes changed and you-you…” 

Doppio wiped his eyes and let you go. He placed your shoe into your hand. You took it from him and put it back on, not taking your eyes off of him. 

“Boss called us back. We need to go.” he said with a sad sigh.

He never addressed your concerns and seemed to actively ignore it when you mentioned what just happened. He grabbed you by the hand and all but dragged you out of the store. Where was this strength coming from? You just couldn’t understand what was happening. It was like Doppio was becoming a different person! The next thing you knew, you and Doppio were getting into a taxi and being taken to God knows where. 

“He wants to talk to you.” Doppio said, still giving you that sad look. 

“Who?” you asked. 

“Boss. He sounds really mad.” 

A thrill of terror shot through your system. The Boss wanted to talk to you? And he was angry? That’s extremely concerning. On top of everything that was going on with Doppio, you really didn’t need this right now. Also, the Boss never had heart to hearts with anyone directly. Just what was going on? What rule did you break that was bad enough for the Boss to speak to you in person about it? 

“What is he mad about?” you asked Doppio, gulping down your fear.

“Why were you flirting with that guy at the jewelry store?” Doppio said, completely ignoring your question. 

“Uh… I… It didn’t mean anything, Doppio!” you stammered, not wanting to set him off again. “I was just messing around! That’s all!” 

You added the last part with a nervous smile. You never felt so on the spot in your life. It was apparent that your flirting had been what set Doppio off, but you never expected such violence from someone like him. Now you were beginning to understand why the Boss kept him around. He was a force to be reckoned with when he was angry and no one would ever suspect someone like him to have psychotic meltdowns that ended with brutal violence. But what was with the eye color change and the increase in height and muscle mass? Surely you hadn’t imagined that. 

Doppio huffed and folded his arms, going into a full pout. 

“You never look at me like that…” he muttered. 

His kicked puppy expression was slowly turning into one of annoyance and disgust. For a moment you feared he was about to have another outburst. For the rest of the ride, you sat in fearful silence while Doppio fumed and pouted next to you. After about 20 minutes, you realized that the taxi was taking you to an area of the city that you’d never been to before. Judging by all the sprawling villas and expensive looking stores, you were going into a very well-to-do neighborhood. The taxi pulled alongside an alley next to a huge hotel. 

“This is our stop.” Doppio said. 

He climbed out of the taxi and you followed after him. The taxi driver made no attempt to get any money out of either of you and he drove away as if he couldn’t get away from the area fast enough. Doppio grabbed your hand and dragged you down the alley. The alley was nothing like the ones in other parts of the city. The street was free of any garbage and there weren’t any shady guys in trench coats or scantily clad women leaning against the walls, waiting for their next customers. Other than a few trash cans lining up against the building wall, the alley was completely empty. 

Doppio took you all the way to the end of the alley and you realized that he’d taken you to a dead end. Out of instinct you jerked your head to look behind you, expecting to see rival gang members closing in to corner you, but there was no one there. Doppio stopped at the door and finally let go of your hand. The door looked weirdly high tech. It lacked a knob or handle of any kind and on the wall to the right of it was a keypad. Over the top of the door frame was an ominous looking security camera that seemed to focus in on you as you stared up at it. Doppio punched a code and the door slide open, making an unsettling “ssshhhh” sound. The room beyond the door was pitch black and you couldn’t make out a single thing inside it. Doppio grabbed your hand again, but instead of dragging you along behind him, he suddenly pulled you forward, flinging you into the yawning darkness. You yelped as you felt your body collide with the hard floor. You heard the door clang shut behind you, sounding far too similar to a prison door for your liking. You weren’t sure if Doppio came into the room behind you or threw you into the room alone. 

“Doppio?” you called nervously into the darkness. 

No one answered. You stood up, rubbing your sore shoulder from where you were tossed onto the floor. That would definitely be a bruise later. You never thought Doppio could be so vicious. You had always seen him as a klutzy, slow-witted pest with a childish streak, but you were really starting to think that it was time to reevaluate the way you thought about him. You were startled by the sound of footsteps walking around you. 

“D-Doppio? Is that you?” you called, your voice shaking slightly. 

No response. 

You listened as the footsteps moved away from you. You weren’t sure but it seemed that the further they got away from you, the heavier they sounded. It got to the point that they started to sound like a different set of footsteps. Just how many people were in the room with you? 

“Doppio, if that’s you please answer me!” you said, hating how your growing fear could be heard in your voice. 

The footsteps stopped a few feet ahead of you. There was a clicking sound, and you were suddenly blinded by a bright light shining directly in your face. 

“Doppio isn’t here right now. It’s just you… and me.” 

That was certainly not Doppio’s voice. It was much deeper, richer, and older sounding. You squinted your eyes, trying to see past the blinding light and oppressive darkness. You couldn’t see much, just the outline of a tall man with long hair. He was standing in front of the light, blocking it from blinding you, but also making it impossible to see his appearance in detail. There was one detail that you could make out though, and that was his glaring green eyes. The same green eyes that Doppio had when he flipped out on the jeweler. 

“Do you know who I am?” he asked you. His voice gave you chills, and not in a good way. 

You didn’t answer. You couldn’t answer. You were too afraid to. 

The man walked up to you, staring down at you with menacing green eyes. He reached out and grabbed you by the face, squeezing your jaw just enough for it to be uncomfortable but not quite painful. 

“I’m the man that you signed your life over to when you joined Passione.” he said, tightening his hold on your face just slightly for a moment. 

“I am the only reason you have the power and position that you have today! I am the one that gave you everything! With a snap of my fingers I could have you back to being a lowly messenger, or tossed into the streets! If I so chose, I could end your life in the blink of an eye. Your very existence continues because I allow it!” 

As he ranted, you could feel your blood began to freeze. The mysterious man that stood before you was the Boss himself! You were alone with the leader of Passione and he was royally pissed at you! The trouble was that you still didn’t know what you had done to earn his ire. 

“When you joined up with Passione, you became my subject, my property! I partnered you with Doppio for a reason. You answer to Doppio. You belong to Doppio. Anything that belongs to Doppio belongs to me! Do you understand that?!” 

He shoved you away from him, causing you to fall backwards onto your rear. You stared up at him in fear, afraid that he was going to inflict more abuse on you. He sounded unhinged and still, he hadn’t explained what your crime was. 

“Do you understand the concept of loyalty?” he asked you all of a sudden. 

You nodded your head. 

“Tell me, what do you think loyalty is.” he commanded. 

You took a moment to get your thoughts together while he stared at you in expectation. 

“Loyalty is showing support, devotion, or allegiance.” You answered, hoping that was what he wanted to hear. 

“Do you think you’ve been loyal?” he asked you, his voice taking on a slightly irritated tone. 

“I have been nothing but loyal to you and the organization!” you answered without hesitation. What was this talk of loyalty? When had you ever made the Boss doubt your loyalty? 

He reached down and grabbed your arm, then he yanked you up to your feet. You found yourself pressed up against his chest and staring directly into his green eyes. He studied you for a moment before saying, 

“You were on a date with Doppio, yet you dared to throw yourself at that lowlife at the jewelry store!” 

You didn’t know how to respond. 

He clenched your arm tightly, causing you to gasp in pain, but you didn’t dare try to break free. 

“Let me make it clear to you once more. You belong to Doppio, to ME!! If you are not loyal to me then you are a liability! You do know what happens to those that I deem to be a liability, don’t you?” he practically spat in your face. 

“Y-yes! I’m sorry! I’ll never-- I’ll never do it again!” you said, squirming in discomfort due to the grip on your arm. 

The Boss released you and you sagged to the floor, doing everything in your power not to burst into tears in front of him. After this, the last thing you needed was for the Boss to view you as an emotional fool. 

“I will hold you to that.” he said and you could hear the contempt in his voice. “Now get out.” 

You had no idea where the door was but that didn’t stop you from picking yourself up and charging into the darkness to find where you hoped the exit would be. Luckily, the door slid open as you approached and you wasted no time practically jumping out of the room. The door slammed closed behind you with a foreboding clang. To your surprise, Doppio was waiting there for you, looking both worried and downcast. When he saw you he threw his arms around you in an embrace. You returned it, though shakily. 

You knew the truth about the Boss now. It was something else that no one else knew. Vinegar Doppio and the Boss of Passione were the same person. They occupied the same body somehow. But this wasn’t some rare disorder or anything so… human. No,  this was something straight out of Robert Louis Stevenson! Pure Jekyll and Hyde shit! You weren’t sure how something like that was actually possible, unless it had something to do with his Stand (which you were certain he must have, even though you hadn’t seen it yet).

You looked down at Doppio, who was brazenly snuggling his face into your chest, and took a few slow breaths to calm your jangled nerves. 

“I’m sorry, Doppio.” you said, hoping to smooth things out between yourself and this “current incarnation” of the Boss. 

The man in question looked up at you and cheered, smiling sweetly as if the events of the day had only been a waking nightmare. 

“I forgive you…” he cooed, but suddenly his whole body seemed to tremble and twitch. His head jerked back and it seemed as if a whole separate set of eyeballs rolled around to replace his own. Now you were, once again, staring into the Boss’s wild green eyes. 

“...but…” he said, in a deep threatening voice that was most certainly NOT Doppio’s, “If your lovely eyes ever begin to rove again, I will cut them from their sockets!”

Doppio’s body convulsed once and he was back to normal. 

“I still want to buy you something nice, if that’s okay?” he said, grinning and giving your waist a little squeeze. 

You grinned at him nervously. 

“Okay, sweetheart.” you said with a gulp. “We can do whatever you want to do.” 

You just barely caught the triumphant grin on his face, before Doppio started dragging you out of the alley to finish your date. 

You should have stayed as a messenger.

[ratconnoisseur]

my turn to make a Think Tank headcanon list

because i have several thoughts i have accrued and they should be released into the world like a bird or perhaps a cazador....

they're all under the cut

i'll go left to right

everyone has autism btw

DALA

- age at tank: 35

- skipped forward several grades in school. got started at college ludicrously early. gotta have time for all those phds

- han chinese, youngest of 3 sisters. sort of an outlier in the family, not really as effeminate as her sisters, but extremely smart.

- has always collected teddy bears. they do NOT play about beanie babies

- i feel like she'd be from california originally

- had pcos as a human, enjoys being a tank due to lessened pain, but still misses the other stuff. eating. blinking. intercourse...

- she/they, definitely. very experimental about gender and such. dresses how she pleases. slings a mean strap

- very sociable, probably the most out of the tank, rivaled by mobius. went outside of big MT/higgs the most, until that was no longer an option.

- not very animated. doesnt move a lot, doesnt blink a lot. very enthusiastic abt things she likes, but her intensity is very still....not a lot of moving around. it doesnt rly occur to her that she "should" move. takes things at her own pace. stares.

- liked traveling, couldn't do it often.

- the other execs rarely ever viewed her as a "woman," really...and that suited her fine. she/they, you know. but she was never one to just disregard an ignorant comment whenever one would come their way.

- was treated quite well by their fellow execs, really. any mistreatment was from other employees or board members and was swiftly dealt with, either by virtue of her variety of achievements and accolades, or the respect of her colleagues, or....you know. one or two pockets of highly allergenic mold spores found under the offending party's desk. academia is a jungle and brother sometimes you gotta bring out the neurotoxins

0

- age at tank: 31. the youngest of the tank.

- i feel like he's a white latino for some reason but i don't know why

- only child. raised by his mom, i feel like his dad was absent a lot, but he's a real momma's boy. was told he was more special than other people as a child and never forgot it

- one year borous's junior. he went to a different school district until high school

- he had friends as a kid but nobody close. kind of in the background, not really popular but not an outcast. midcard classmate

- has hated mr. house since forever. would rant and plot and collect information about him just to hate on him more. sometimes, as a form of entertainment, other think tank members will ask him "oh, did you hear about what robco-" and yes he DID hear about robco and he will rant passionately about it for the next few hours

- has that kind of autism thats like....almost overly sarcastic. its sooo close to being normie speech but he just gets the little stuff wrong, hes too sassy abt it, just slightly too exaggerated..."this is how normal people talk, right?"

KLEIN

- age at tank: 59

- polish heritage, definitely

- also from california.

- i feel like he'd come from a military family, something with government connections. a very serious environment. i feel like he'd have gotten his position at big MT through some form of nepotism. that's not to say that he's incompetent, i'm sure he was perfectly competent at logistics and idea-ology.

- he worked his way up to head researcher through hard work and a pushy personality that resonated with the board of director's political leanings

- gaaaaaaaayyyyy but so deep in the closet he's found narnia

- abrasive, better people skills when tipsy. he and mobius had a good cop/bad cop sort of thing when talking to investors. he always saw himself as the good cop

- old man autism type A. hes just bitter and repressed abt everything. seems the most "normal" at first glance. kinda hates himself and thinks way too highly of himself at the same time. when u talk to him a little more that social weirdness starts leaking through the cracks...but one might not notice it if theyre not looking for it. hed be just a little weird to them, and they wouldnt know why. inverse of mobius.

8

-age at tank: 44

- mormon. older sibling out of many siblings. big family.

- from utah, kind of closer to colorado and wyoming. raised in a rural area. probably developed his interest in radio signals due to the relative isolation

- professional erotic arts connoisseur. oh baby

- strangely high charisma. normally he might come off as unsociable or even slightly creepy, but when he turns on the charm, it's hard to resist. not even other tank members know how he does it. it's not an invention or anything, either, he can just naturally set people at ease. but he doesn't often have a need for it, so it's rare he utilizes it.

- they call him doctor 8 inches

- big audiophile. pretty much canon but i can see him REALLY being a stickler about sound systems. if he had a car it'd be ridiculously tricked out. a home theater constructed by him would go hard. post-tank he'd probably work with movie theaters around new vegas to help with their sound...probably created synthesizers

- would go antiquing for rare records, tapes, what have you

- quiet autism. just kind of a mild guy. he likes what he likes and dedicates his time to that. when one goes out of their way to engage w him on his level he will reciprocate

BOROUS

*cracks knuckles*

- age at tank: 32. looks older than he is.

- ukrainian heritage, mother's side. father worked for the government.

- one year 0's senior. 0 was his only friend throughout high school.

- while betsy and richie were his primary bullies, he'd get bullied by a lot of other kids. with how uptight and zealous he was, he was an easy target.

- gabe was a gift, the only nice thing his father ever did for him. one day his parents came home with a dog from the shelter, said "this is gabe, he's your responsibility now"

- without borous around gabe was severely neglected. borous would go to a science camp for a few days, come back, gabe would have barely been fed, dehydrated, etc. gabe was the most important responsibility in borous's life.

- adding to that, he would absolutely sic gabe on small woodland creatures. tearing apart roadrunners and squirrels and especially any invasive species

- borous would definitely have kept animal parts in jars. periodically his parents would find them. his mom would throw them away, his dad would beat him and then throw them away. he always found ways to replenish them though. had a library of different animal parts in big MT, just not kept in his house. he'd often harvest new entries to the library in his basement, though. the grind never stops

- we're getting a little dark here but i think he'd work with the local wildlife services to hunt down and kill stray/feral cats. i feel like his passion for biology and ecology and his disposition would bring him to this conclusion. cats are an invasive species to the mojave, they disrupt the balance of the ecosystem, much like COMMIES invade our DEMOCRACY...they should be hunted down and killed and he funded part of his college this way. selling cat intestines to string instrument makers and such. that's my guy!!!!

- THEATRICAL autism. learned human interaction from movies. big, broad movements. theres a theater kid in there somewhere

- liked the narrators of movies, especially sci-fi shows and movies, because they were omniscient. far away from conflict, knowing everything, confident and essential, and nobody could beat them up or give them wedgies. modeled his speech patterns after them because of this.

- had sizable comic book collection

- i have a lot more but i want this list to have a semblance of balance lol. my special guy

MOBIUS

- age at tank: 59

- italian heritage. raised catholic, has the healthiest relationship to religion out of the tank

- pennsylvanian because i said so. would send letters to his mother from time to time.

- bisexual absolutely. very free-spirited, klein would call him a hippie on occasion.

- also like hippies, very experimental with substances. knows just how much of a dose to take of anything for every occasion.

- the most well-adjusted out of the tank. the good cop in his and klein's good cop/bad cop routine

- his morals, instead of deteriorating over time, only grew stronger. i imagine he was slightly more ignorant of ethics at the beginning of his employment, then sort of became more aware as time went on...culminating in his brain-zapping of everyone.

- not to say he wasn't dubious! he's quite dubious. you don't invent roboscorpions without being dubious

- old man autism type B. just a quirky guy. quirkiness is immediately noticed, but he doesnt rly hate himself for it so its just a part of his charm. odd guy. however, he almost seems the most "normal" past that. he is who he is and he accepts this. inverse of klein

GENERAL

- shortest to tallest: dala<mobius<klein=0<borous<8

- as time went on, they all grew closer. they became a sort of scientific hydra, at their most cooperative. company trips, they'd all go together. they were all neighbors in higgs, they were subject to a lot of gossip amongst the employees

- mostly isolated from the broader employee population, out of touch from their needs. made them perfect candidates for becoming tanks.

- becoming tanks wasn't completely their decision, it was mostly up to the shareholders, to keep the innovation (profits) flowing even after the world ended. it's not like they had anywhere else to go, anyway. keep making us money! get in the tank shinji

- i feel like they became tanks shortly after the great war...then employees either, fled the facility or died...i bet a few of them joined the enclave

- if you disabled their weapons, and took them far away from big MT....i don't think they'd be that dangerous. they'd need supervising, of course, but really...i think they'd be okay. i don't think they'd cause another apocalypse scenario without their laboratory. especially not with proper guidance about what the world is like now. they probably didn't have a good idea of what it was like even before they became tanks...i think they deserve to learn how to be human again. beats sitting in a crater for the rest of time

anyway those are my thoughts LOL you can kind of see some of these reflected in the fics ive written....mmm if i think of any more ill add them later yesh......

[bethanydelleman]

How would you feel for modernizing S&S about gender bending Edward (Edwina?)? So his her and Lucy’s relationship is a secret because Mother wouldn’t approve. Lucy claims she’s a lesbian but really she’s bi and makes Mrs F think she’s “cured” by meeting Robert. And Mrs F can initially evenly split her money then disinherit Ed and it all goes to Robert.

This would also require making Elinor gay and add an extra interesting component to Elinor and Lucy’s interactions.

Okay, this has been suggested. Edward's relationship with Lucy is very strange and does not translate no matter how much I think about it so let me lay it out clearly:

Edward is secretly engaged to Lucy. Hiding an engagement from parents is run of the mill, but not being able to tell Elinor, a woman you love? That's not normal. If he doesn't trust Elinor enough to tell her, that ain't love

Edward is trapped in his engagement by honour. But why in the world would a modern person be trapped? Unless Lucy is doing some very messed up stuff (threatening to kill herself if he leaves her), there is no reason for him to fall out of love and stay. Remember, he was out of love before he met Elinor. And Lucy doing something like that really changes the dynamic for me

Lucy is holding on so tightly to Edward because it's her only chance at entering the gentry. Lucy cannot just get a job and nothing she could do as work would get her close to the wealth of Edward/Robert, but it's also very much about class security. So how do you translate that to modern times without just making her a lazy gold digger? (This is also a problem with modernizing P&P btw)

There is also the part where Edward is forced to be jobless because without family support, he can't really do anything. The gentry professions relied so heavily on nepotism that even if Edward went into the church, he'd end up without enough money to support himself. That dynamic also doesn't really apply to modern times

So yeah, this is why I can't do a modern Sense & Sensibility. I'm open to suggestions but this one doesn't fulfill the criteria for me.

[jumpstart-if]

Jumpstart is a character-driven slice of life, containing drama and romance. It's mainly inspired by the show 90210 and the movie Mean Girls.

You had multiple sticky notes on your bedroom ceiling, bathroom mirror, and any other surface you were able to get it on.

How to be rich by 21:

1. Survive high school Survive the final year of high school 2. Move out and get a pet (finally!) 3. Become rich and famous (should be easy enough...)

This list has followed you ever since your eleventh birthday when you were suddenly bombarded with the dreaded question:

‘What is your dream job?’

Quite frankly, you didn’t dream of labour. At least not the regular kind. Call it psychic, but you knew you were destined for the easy life, filled with copious amounts of wealth, relaxation, and travels. You were are special.

Seriously, you had everything set out for your 'rags to riches' story:

You weren’t the most popular, but you also weren’t eating lunch alone in the school bathroom. ✔️

You made sure to work a part-time job, starting from the age of thirteen, so it would be easier for future fans to relate to you. ✔️

You were on your way to being crowned ‘Most likely to be famous’, which would have made for the perfect moment on ‘The Late-Night Phil Show’.✔️

Everything was going to plan… until it wasn’t.

Not only did your mother decide to marry some wealthy businessman, but she also packed up all your stuff and moved you hundreds of miles away from your home that screamed ‘humble beginnings’ and into a five bedroom (minimum) mega mansion.

Oh, and public school? Forget about that. From tomorrow on, you’ll be one of those rich private school kids. Goodbye 'rags to riches' background, and hello nepotism allegations.

Though, that’s a problem for future you...

Right now, you’ll have to adapt to school life the way the people at the top of the food chain do it. 

Get ready to ‘survive the final year of high school’ filled with gossip, betrayal, romance, angst, and social drama you could’ve sworn only happened in movies and TV shows.

Jumpstart is rated 18+ as there will be mentions of sexual themes, drugs, alcohol and violence.

Choose your MC's name and gender.

Decide your MC's personality, clothing style, and much more.

Get involved with 1 out of 4 romanceable characters.

Climb to the top of the hierarchy at Maplewood Private School.

Jumpstart your way into the life of stardom and wealth.

Isaiah/India (m/f) 'the high school worldwide heartthrob':

You could’ve sworn you saw them gracing the red carpet in some of the hundreds of magazines stashed in one of your moving boxes. Child of the famous celebrity make-up artist, Naomi Lawton and basketball star, Sean Lawton. Wanted by many, yet only successfully claimed by A. Though, judging by how many people I can be regularly spotted with, it begs the question: Does I care?

Appearance: Sepia skin tone. M! has short coily black hair, mostly styled in cornrows and decorated with some silver hair jewellery. F! has long bleached coily hair, currently styled in waist-length blonde braids.

Alison/Anderson (m/f) 'the school's number one':

Not quite like the ones in movies… they’re somewhat nice? At first, they can be straight-up vicious, ripping apart any and every little detail they can get their hands on, but once you earn their trust, you’ll learn that behaviour is much more of a façade than a true reflection of them.

Appearance: Olive complexion with sprinkles of freckles on their nose and cheeks. M! has short curly ginger hair that loosely hangs over his forehead. F! has shoulder-length ginger curls and bangs.

Tegan (m/f) 'the estranged childhood best friend'

You were eight years old, when their family decided to move someplace else, ripping your, what you thought to be inseparable, bond into two. At the start you tried to keep up, exchanging letters almost every day… then weeks… then months if anything, until complete silence. You’re not sure who stopped sending them first or when even, but one thing’s for certain: you were no longer friends. No, after ten years, you definitely weren’t.

Appearance: Brown skin tone. M! has black buzzed hair. F! has straight, waist-length black hair.

Levi/Leighton (m/f) 'wherever they go, trouble follows aka the school's bad boy/girl':

For someone with a big reputation, there’s next to nothing that can be found on them. And all your pestering questions are met with nothing but warnings, yet you can’t help but grow more curious about them with each passing encounter.

Appearance: Tawny skin tone, though you can’t help but notice the faded scar tainting their otherwise clear left cheek. They have wavy brown hair, reaching down to their shoulders.

Reblogs are more than welcome and thanks for reading!

DEMO TBA

[the-s1lly-corner]

Can you do Vox as a father figure to fem reader please????? :3

Platonic father figure vox x AFAB!reader

We stocking up on things in the queue since I'll be busy doing art comms/donations LETS GOOo

Not sure if this will post when I'm still doing them but shrugs, we will see. Wanna keep that up for at least two weeks, or however long I can last before burnout

Theres definitely a learning curve. For vox I mean, he never planned on being a dad to anyone and yet here he is. It's definitely going to take some getting used to

He can sometimes be a little oblivious or insensitive to your problems, especially if you're younger.. like still in your teenhood and having to deal with your emotions and hormones... though he can defuse a tense moment fairly well with or without his hypnosis

Teaches you business stuff, might even get you a job working for his company. Is it nepotism? I mean yeah, but hey at least it puts a roof over your head and keeps you from going out and starting turf wars or something equally bad for the Bee's business... doing things like that.. probably the quickest way to get in trouble..

Vox can be a bit

Wonky with doing punishment, struggling to find what's appropriate. Either it's too light or it's too harsh and a third party has to step in... usually its Velvette...

Speaking of, vox knows next to nothing about feminine products (menstrual, make up, ect) or fashion so Velvette is going to step in every now and then. She ends up forcing vox to do his own research when she gets fed up with him always asking for assistance

[gardenofnoah]

middle aged touya my beloved 🫶🏼 (cw: drinking)

in his 40s, Touya is relatively tame. he spends most of his time working on his bike in the dingy little garage across the street from his place. he doesn’t need to work anymore (finally benefitting from nepotism, he thinks with a snort), but he finds himself helping out the elderly couple that live next to him from time to time, usually with an uneven shelf or a leaky faucet. they don’t ask him about his scars and the wife sends him back home with some sort of bread or sweet dessert every time, with the intention of fattening him up, since he won’t do it himself—which he finds ironic because he eats more and with a consistency that he hasn’t ever until now. 

he establishes a routine without meaning to, and at the end of every day he finds himself looking forward to going home—also for the first time in his life—because when he opens the door he’s nearly taken off his feet by the 93(.7, says the vet) pound monstrosity that he cohabitates with. 

he found himself walking through the kennels of the local animal shelter a few years ago, after several of his mother’s gentle nudges to find himself a companion. after making it explicitly clear that she was barking up the wrong tree for grandkids, she just rolled her eyes, shaking her head. 

“I think it would be nice for you to have something to take care of,” she told him, expression only a little worried—but mostly just fond. 

so that’s how he ended up in front of the last kennel in the pound, lowered to a crouch and speaking softly to the huddled, shivering mass at the far corner of it. even as crouched in on himself as he was, touya could see the pale scars that littered his otherwise dark brown coat. he felt the phantom ache on his own skin.

“he’s been here a while,” a worker muttered from behind him, “not sure how much longer they’ll want to keep him here.”

touya turned his head to regard the voice, raising an eyebrow. “what d’you mean?”

“he’s on the euthanasia list. we’ve tried to keep him off of it for as long as we can—but he’s aggressive and there haven’t been any interested adopters. time’s running out for him, unfortunately.”

the reality of it turned in his stomach something familiar and wholly unwelcome. he was overcome with a feeling of sympathetic kinship—it was just like the world he knew to chew up and spit out everything it could. 

he decided he’d try to stop that cycle where he could. 

“I’ll take him.”

“get off of me, you fuckin’ heifer” Touya laughs, pushing the dog back in a way that has it bounding back toward him, eager to play despite his age. neither one are particularly gentle, but there’s an underlying respect that comes with time and patience to keep the rough housing playful. touya hasn’t named the thing (because despite all of the ways he has changed, he’s still a bit of an ass), but any time Fuyumi brings his nieces over to visit, they stuff him into frilly princess costumes and call him whatever variation of “Princess Spotticus Snuffalopagus” they come up with that day—he figures that’s enough. 

he’s home to change and then he’s out the door again—because another first for him has happened unexpectedly: he’s found himself a few friends, and they have a standing Friday night meet up down at the bar across from the bike garage. none of them are much for talking, which suits Touya just fine. he strides up to the bar and takes his regular stool, nodding the familiar faces to the left of him and ordering his usual dark beer. it’s something he looks forward to now—the quiet comradery, the absence of the need to look over his shoulder. 

and right now, he is pointedly not doing that, because he thinks that if he just ignores the tap on his shoulder, it might just stop. 

it doesn’t.

“look, you little fuckin’ runt—” he snarls, turning to the source of the irritation—

“will you hold my drink?”

the interruption stops him dead in his tracks, long enough to blink back the shock at having been truly and willfully ignored to get a good look at you. 

at least 10 years his junior, clad in a pair of high-waisted jeans and a black tank top that leave just enough to the imagination to peak his interest. he realizes he’s staring, and his eyes snap to yours to find a knowing little smirk on your face.

“and why the fuck would i do that?”

“only for a minute,” you roll your eyes, like you’re the one that’s inconvenienced by this, “i just have to go to the bathroom.”  

he sighs, clipped and full of irritation, but holds a hand out to you regardless. you give him a smile that he immediately has to turn away from, huffing out a little “hurry up” as you turn toward the bathrooms. there’s no one around but him and his friends, but he finds himself curling your drink into his chest anyway, hunching over it like something nefarious might drop into it from above. 

it’s only a moment before you return, and much to his chagrin, you hop up onto the stool next to him and do well to make yourself at home, turning to hit him with another lopsided grin. he shoves your drink back in your hand a little too roughly—you pay it no mind, thanking him for watching it. 

“you just give your drink to any old stranger you find?”

you laugh a little, tipping your drink back to take a sip. he watches the tip of your tongue swipe a stray drop from your lip and he knows he should look away. 

he doesn’t.

“not usually.”

“that’s quite the fuckin’ gamble,” he gruffs, taking a sip of his own. 

“maybe,” you say, like you know something he doesn’t. he doesn’t like it. 

“don’t you have friends to get back to?”

“mm, yeah—i suppose i do,” you set your drink down and reach your arms up in a stretch—he has to look away then, because your chest strains against your tank top and he’s suddenly worried for his old heart—“what’s your name?”

he studies you then—eyes you with overt suspicion and you let him, smiling sweetly at him in a way that makes him nervous. he tuts at you, looking away to hide the flush that he feels creep up the side of his neck. 

“touya,” he grits out.

you repeat it, trying it out on your tongue, and he nearly comes out of his skin. you hop down from the stool, far too close to him—he doesn’t know why he wants to lean into your proximity.

“see you next time then, touya.”

he feels you well after you’ve gone. when the air stops vibrating, he lets out a sharp exhale, dropping his forehead to his hands on the bar top in front of him. the man next to him barks out a laugh, clapping him on the shoulder in some show of knowing sympathy. 

he’s too old for this shit. 

[ot3]

i understand if it's too personal and you don't have to answer, but im so curious about your area of work. how were you able to get a job (assumedly) about setting up dates, what's it called? what kinda degree can you get to start working at that kind of stuff?

i am a nepotism hire a childhood friend of mine has been working at this company for a little bit and referred me to the job when they had an opening. so the answer to what kind of degree to get is i guess 'dont get one, start attending your local unitarian church.' i have an associates in studio art and then 180 credits of various animation and polisci classes that do not make up an entire bachelors degree between them. so zero marketable skills other than being on the computer, which is great for this specific job.

anyway i am just a customer support person and up until a couple months ago I did all of the stuff you would normally think of in terms of a customer service job for a website. i answered emails. i deleted peoples accounts. i answered the phone. that kind of horse shit. but then they decided to pretty much restructure the entire way the company actually functions internally in order to cut back on staff and now i spend 8 straight hours a day booking reservations and shit. the volume has been kind of insane because they gave our team a shitload of new work without letting us hire anyone else. its kind of amazing to see just how hard it is for some people to answer the question 'what time are you available for dinner'.

[rhysdarbinizedarby]

Rhys Darby has ‘not an ounce of scaredness’ about son’s band dreams

NZ actor Rhys Darby and his musician son Finn interview each other. VIDEO CREDIT: David White/Stuff

Rhys Darby is proudly listing career moments - but they’re not his own.

He’s recalling watching his son Finn’s band, Great Big Cow, “absolutely rock” iconic LA venue Troubadour to sold-out crowds.

As a parent, “you worry about a bit of nepotism,” he admits.

“Are we just ‘yay, our boys!’ when really they’re dreadful?”

But, he says, the band’s indie folk rock is “brilliant”, and keeps getting better. And, he insists, people are paying attention.

“We’re shocked as parents a little bit,” he jokes.

The band, Rhys and I are nestled between a Street Fighter arcade game and a pinball machine, in a dark corner of Auckland’s Whammy Bar. The US-based teen band has been sound-checking for their first international show.

Rhys has donned weathered jeans and a plaid jacket - approved by Finn. His son is wearing Dad’s socks for the night. While Rhys talks, Finn pulls faces and shares quiet in-jokes with his band mates. There are plenty of laughs.

Finn, Paolo Pesce, Will Angarola and Wyatt Nash originally played together in a school jazz combo, and went on to form Great Big Cow in 2022.

Rhys Darby, left, watches his son Finn’s band dreams without “an ounce of scaredness”. DAVID WHITE/STUFF

Now, Rhys insists, they have a growing fanbase. Some of whom “[do] that thing where you dance really closely … Moshing”. He points to my notebook.

“Put down there that I did know what moshing is.”

Sure, Rhys Darby - one of New Zealand’s most well-known comedy exports - helped the band get bums on seats and lock in bigger venues, but they were also recently featured on LA public radio station KCRW’s Young Creators Project, can be found on Spotify and their mainstay is house parties.

“I think because I'm a bigger deal [in NZ], it might have been a little different. In LA, no-one really gives a shit about who I am,” he laughs, looking over at Finn who’s patiently had his hand raised while Dad spoke.

There are people and groups in LA that have helped the band too, says Finn, and he’s not sure those opportunities would have happened back in NZ.

“I would have got you on bFM for sure,” Rhys quips back.

He looks on at Finn’s creative path with, “not an ounce of scaredness”.

“Obviously as a child I had many different dreams, but at the base of everything was art and performance,” he says, describing his younger self as a “dreamer” who wanted to entertain.

Rhys Darby with son Finn before Great Big Cow played Auckland’s Whammy Bar. DAVID WHITE/STUFF

“When it comes to [my kids], I see different ambitions, but they have the artistic talent - I’m completely open to whatever they want to do. I’ll always be there for them.”

Where New Zealand has a bit of a reputation for tall poppy syndrome and an air of negativity, LA is hugely positive, says Rhys - especially for fostering young talent.

And it was in LA, at a house party, that Finn recalls being caught up in the “electric energy” of playing live.

“The whole audience was moving. And I think two people got lifted up above the crowd and surfed around above the crowd,” he says.

Finn’s not the only Darby putting in some work while in Aotearoa. Following Rhys’s joint 50th celebration with wife Rosie, he’ll be returning to the local stage, performing his Rhys Darby 25 Years stand-up show at Waiheke Island’s Wild Estate on April 3.

It encompasses the best bits from his previous shows, but performing it at Waiheke is “just another excuse to put on a show, really”, and to show his US mates another part of Auckland.

Rhys Darby, following a stint in the army and then university, kicked off his career with stand-up, before becoming a household name with an impressive TV and film CV, including Flight of the Conchords, Yes Man, The Boat that Rocked and Our Flag Means Death.

As for whether he still loves stand-up, “love is a strong word”, he laughs.

“I still enjoy it. But it's it's less of a thrill than it used to be.”

What he’s really loving is throwing himself into acting, and challenging himself with more dramatic roles - different to the very physical, crazy “shenanigans on stage”, requiring more focus for the comedian and “not just being a silly bugger”.

Plus, he’s 50 now.

“It’s much easier to do the stuff where I'm just sitting down,” he laughs.

Still, there’s no denying he’s been part of a movement that threw New Zealand comedy into the wider world, and he speaks proudly about his own work, but also that of other Kiwis such as filmmaker Taika Waititi and actor Rose Matafeo.

It’s a type of comedy, he says, that “has a signature” and can’t be copied.

Rhys Darby and son Finn at Auckland’s Whammy Bar. DAVID WHITE/STUFF

“I think it’s that positivity thing, which is ironic coming from a place with tall poppy syndrome. We don’t like each other but you guys love us, eh?”

It’s one of the reasons Darby is still living in LA, “still waving the flag [and] not changing my accent”.

And while Darby’s big break may have been the role of band manager Murray, when it comes to Great Big Cow he and Rosie “don’t want to be helicopter parents too much”.

“We're there when they have a question.”

And while Rhys says he can’t talk about any of his own projects, Finn interrupts with a quiet word about vague plans for a comedy musical theatre show featuring Rhys and the band.

Looking back at his own career, the highlight was breaking into the US market - name-dropping X Files and Our Flag Means Death as highlights.

“What's next? It's all peaks and troughs,” he says - mentioning Hollywood is turning to AI, but “thankfully, there's no one that can do a better robot impression than me”.

Still, the changing industry is worrying.

“People are losing their jobs, and AI is having a lot to do with it,” he says - dropping the quips and gags for a moment.

“After the strikes, I know, it's taken a while to get the industry back on its feet, but I'm hoping that it will get there,” he says.

“But it is worrying. It's really worrying the moment.”

Source: Stuff NZ

[eistyping]

yandere!brothers best friend

headcannons/intro to my brothers best friend/skater boy oc, nico nomura.

warnings. typical yandere behavior, light mentions of stalking, secret cameras, murder, etc, not proof read

a/n. nico is my bbg omg you don't understand.

- you first met nico when you were eight and he was nine. he came over to your house to have a playdate with you and your brother while his father had a business meeting with your parents

- nico had just moved to your country from japan for his fathers business and didn't have any friends. he quickly took a liking to your brother and the two of them quickly took a liking to teasing you.

- the two of them became inseparable, which meant you saw him everywhere too

- you went to the same schools, went on vacation together, lived in neighboring apartment buildings

- and for a while it was very much platonic, brotherly vibes

- until it wasn't.

- nico didn't know when it happened, but at some point you had grown up, right in front of his eyes and his thoughts for you began to shift from pure and innocent to well....

- he still teased you often but it began to feel different, almost like flirting?

- you knew you had to be imagining things, i mean, this is nico we're talking about. he was practically a second older brother.

- he began to walk you home from school everyday, pick you up from wherever you were. sometimes he would even just... show up without you even telling him where you were.

- it honestly began to freak you out a little bit, and by the end of high school you tried to avoid him altogether.

- however, nico would never allow that. you are his darling after all, didn't you know you needed him?

- that's when things started to go very, very wrong for you

- people were dropping you left and right, things of yours happened to start breaking, you got fired from your job

- and nico just so happened to be there to pick up the pieces.

- he began to hang out with you more, comforting you over the loss of your friends, buying you new, expensive versions of whatever broke with daddy's money, getting you a job at his dads law firm so you never have to worry about being out of work again.

- need a place to stay? you can crash at his place, he has an extra room just for you! (that totally doesn't have hidden cameras)

- need a new apartment altogether? why don't you just move in! half your stuffs already there anyways

- need help on an assignment for class? don't worry, he can help, even if he never went to college and is only getting by on nepotism and pure luck.

- cant you see that he would do anything for you?

- i mean there's a reason that anyone who's ever mean to you mysteriously disappears.

[getvalentined]

I am so sick of people asserting that Cloud's father is some super special important person like it's some explanation for the fact that he was able to save the world. Superior bloodline stuff never sits well with me in the first place, but in this case it's just so antithetical to the actual thesis of FF7 and does such a huge disservice to multiple characters that it makes me white hot angry.

The most popular contender is President Shinra, because Cloud being a Shinra bastard would (somehow) explain why he's allowed into the company at such a young age (even though enlistment age appears to be 14 and Cloud left Nibelheim to enlist at 14) and how he wound up on so many important missions—because it can't possibly be that he's actually competent, he's so pretty, how could he possibly be competent? It's not as if we see him being staggeringly competent from jump in every title where he's featured, including those that start prior to him being forcibly mako enhanced by Hojo. Clearly this is nepotism.

After all, we know that President Shinra is always so supportive of his bastards! That's why Lazard hid his identity and worked his way up the ranks to become director of SOLDIER at the youngest possible age and then set about trying to orchestrate a hostile takeover of the company by allowing all three of his best operatives to defect in the middle of a war, a process that was only thrown off because one of them passed off every single mission where he would have had an opportunity to go AWOL.

This was clearly the result of nepotism. There's just so much nepotism going on there. Obviously.

The newest contender is Glenn Lodbrok, the lead character from the First SOLDIER section of Ever Crisis, because he's blond-haired and blue-eyed and presumably one of the first people in Project 0 to survive some level of the mako enhancement process. I guess this is supposed to mean that him being Cloud's father would be a perfect explanation for Cloud actually being capable of literally anything, since the only way for him to become the hero that was chosen by the planet to keep it alive would be if it's part of some bloodline destiny.

There are a whole host of issues with Glenn as an option here, not the least of which is the canonical lore about Cloud's father, namely that he was some nobody traveler who kinda passed through and got Claudia pregnant and then left; he may have died up in the mountains, but apparently all that was ever found was his pack, so there's no way to be sure. Further, Claudia was very young at this point—according to her original concept art declaring her to be 33 at the time of her death, she gave birth to Cloud at 16-17 years old.

Glenn is one of two possible age ranges: if he was active in the early stages of Project 0, being a character in the First SOLDIER battle royale game, then he was around 21 in 1985, meaning a 21 year old knocked up Claudia Strife when she was 15 and then walked out on her. If he's 21 during the events of Ever Crisis, which seems likely based on his character design, that would make him 14 at the oldest when Claudia got pregnant.

Okay, I know this kind of thing happens IRL, but I feel pretty confident in the statement that there is absolutely no way that that's the direction SE is taking this timeline and characterization. I'm not even sorry. That's not happening. Either he's giving "predator," or he's Deadbeat Dad: High School Freshman Edition.

But that's honestly not even the worst of it, the math not matching up is entirely irrelevant when the implications of this assertion are applied to the actual thesis of this series as a whole, to the characters we already know, to the actual lore. Claiming that Cloud is only special because of the sperm donation of a man who abandoned him literally removes any concept of his competence as a character, declaring that he's just the newest iteration in a line of "worthy" men. He can't be worth anything unless his father is worth something. He can't be good at anything unless his father is good at something.

Beyond that, it casts Claudia aside entirely, asserting that the fact that she raised Cloud doesn't matter—she may have brought him up entirely on her own, but that doesn't actually matter. She didn't instill values and morals and guidelines into him that would allow him to grow up into a man who could save the world, she was just an incubator, a nursemaid, a nanny, a cook. She was just a servant who kept him alive long enough for his father's bloodline to awaken within him and make him into the hero he was always meant to be.

Insisting that Cloud's value as a character hinges in any way on his father, a person who had no place in his life whatsoever and whom he doesn't even remember, takes away his agency and declares Claudia to be irrelevant. It says that a sperm donation matters more than an upbringing. It says that the place he started is the only thing that defines where Cloud will end up.

This is literally, 100 percent, the opposite of the thesis of this series. The entire concept of these games, of these storylines, is that the way you were made doesn't have to dictate what you can be, who you are, where you're going. Your genetics do not define you, and assumptions to the contrary are literally what make people into monsters. What matters is the people you love, the people who love you, and the person you are now as a result of those people.

And the fact of the matter is that regardless of timelines, regardless of characterizations, regardless of theories, Cloud Shinra and Cloud Lodbrok didn't save the world.

Cloud Strife did.

Claudia Strife's son did.

And I think people could stand to give both of them a hell of a lot more credit.

[billygoated]

Finally got around to playing Mouthwashing and god damn is this gonna be one of the games that sticks with me for a while. because like, what the fuck? (in a good way dw)

Spoilers below the cut! (CW: rape, pregnancy, cannibalism, suicide, Jimmy.)

Honestly the biggest thing that surprised me about my experience with the game and the so far two days since my completion of it, is Curly. Fucking Curly. i have a love-hate relationship with this man. because on one hand i can genuinely believe in his competence as a captain, but on the other... he utterly failed Anya (and the rest of the crew to by extension) by showing blatant nepotism towards Jimmy due to their being friends by not doing anything about him actually just straight up RAPING Anya and getting her pregnant.

Like, don't get me wrong, if Jimmy wasn't the whiny egotistical jackass that he was i fully believe the crew would've completed the journey just fine and gotten paid (even if they where gonna be jobless afterwards anyway due to the company going bankrupt). But this one fucking failure of his, this one fuck up due to a personal fault, singlehandedly doomed the entire fucking crew and condemned him to not only watch, but to outlive all of them by a long time. And by the time he realized his mistakes, it was far, FAR too late for him to do anything. All he could do was laugh as Jimmy picked up the gun.

And this man really stared his failures in the face when Anya took her own life in front of him, and he was the one to tell her that the medbay could be locked no less! And he had to watch Jimmy kill Swansea, and then eventually himself, after forcefeeding Curly his own leg and putting him in the cryopod. Curly essentially paid the price of his own actions, as well as paying the price for Jimmy's (who he is partially responsible for the actions of as his captain, best friend, and as someone WHO KNEW DAMN WELL HE RAPED SOMEBODY).

But at the end of the day i don't believe Curly is some belligerent psychopath who went out of his way to be just as bad as Jimmy himself, Curly is a person who let his social nature and friendship turn into favoritism and complacency with the status quo, ultimately trying to preserve it much to everyone's detriment.

I genuinely believe Curly cares about his crew, I really do. And i like that about him. But his mentality as a captain to preserve the status quo was a big part in why Jimmy was able to do what he did. It's not like the signs weren't there even not accounting for what happened to Anya, it literally would've been written all over Jimmy's psych eval, Anya herself even points it out to him. The man is not well and shouldn't have been allowed on the ship (though corporate bullshitery was also partially responsible for this as i am not blind to this games anti-capitalist themes).

I think that's about all i have to say though and i suck at concluding long winded stuff like this so TL:DR Swansea should've been captain, He's a real one and actually has a spine.

(i will almost certainly edit this if i think of anything i want to add or correct about my takes.)