#But other than that. DVDs aren't dead
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They still!!!! Make DVDs and Blu-Rays!!!!! I hate it when people say they aren't making them anymore!!!!! Shut up!!!!
#kit.txt#Legit seeing Barbie and turtles DVDs preorders up#Also boxsets are still being made. Movies DVDs are still being made. Can you stop lying.#jb hifi always has a “upcoming release” poster#Sanity still exists and sells new dvds#That's just Aus I know other countries stillmake and sell DVDs#Like....yes there's less DVD stores now but. They still make em#Still pissed at Disney being like “Australia gets no more Disney owned media DVDs lol”#Like. They own a LOT. That affects a lot of people here#But other than that. DVDs aren't dead#Shut up#I feel like that pro piracy post either has unintentional misinfo or are trying to do a scare tactic#I'm always pro piracy but man. Get your facts straight#Also like.....Discotek is still alive and well
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Apple fucked us on right to repair (again)
Today (September 22), I'm (virtually) presenting at the DIG Festival in Modena, Italy. Tonight, I'll be in person at LA's Book Soup for the launch of Justin C Key's "The World Wasn’t Ready for You." On September 27, I'll be at Chevalier's Books in Los Angeles with Brian Merchant for a joint launch for my new book The Internet Con and his new book, Blood in the Machine.
Right to repair has no cannier, more dedicated adversary than Apple, a company whose most innovative work is dreaming up new ways to sneakily sabotage electronics repair while claiming to be a caring environmental steward, a lie that covers up the mountains of e-waste that Apple dooms our descendants to wade through.
Why does Apple hate repair so much? It's not that they want to poison our water and bodies with microplastics; it's not that they want to hasten the day our coastal cities drown; it's not that they relish the human misery that accompanies every gram of conflict mineral. They aren't sadists. They're merely sociopathically greedy.
Tim Cook laid it out for his investors: when people can repair their devices, they don't buy new ones. When people don't buy new devices, Apple doesn't sell them new devices. It's that's simple:
https://www.inverse.com/article/52189-tim-cook-says-apple-faces-2-key-problems-in-surprising-shareholder-letter
So Apple does everything it can to monopolize repair. Not just because this lets the company gouge you on routine service, but because it lets them decide when your phone is beyond repair, so they can offer you a trade-in, ensuring both that you buy a new device and that the device you buy is another Apple.
There are so many tactics Apple gets to use to sabotage repair. For example, Apple engraves microscopic Apple logos on the subassemblies in its devices. This allows the company to enlist US Customs to seize and destroy refurbished parts that are harvested from dead phones by workers in the Pacific Rim:
https://repair.eu/news/apple-uses-trademark-law-to-strengthen-its-monopoly-on-repair/
Of course, the easiest way to prevent harvested components from entering the parts stream is to destroy as many old devices as possible. That's why Apple's so-called "recycling" program shreds any devices you turn over to them. When you trade in your old iPhone at an Apple Store, it is converted into immortal e-waste (no other major recycling program does this). The logic is straightforward: no parts, no repairs:
https://www.vice.com/en/article/yp73jw/apple-recycling-iphones-macbooks
Shredding parts and cooking up bogus trademark claims is just for starters, though. For Apple, the true anti-repair innovation comes from the most pernicious US tech law: Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).
DMCA 1201 is an "anti-circumvention" law. It bans the distribution of any tool that bypasses "an effective means of access control." That's all very abstract, but here's what it means: if a manufacturer sticks some Digital Rights Management (DRM) in its device, then anything you want to do that involves removing that DRM is now illegal – even if the thing itself is perfectly legal.
When Congress passed this stupid law in 1998, it had a very limited blast radius. Computers were still pretty expensive and DRM use was limited to a few narrow categories. In 1998, DMCA 1201 was mostly used to prevent you from de-regionalizing your DVD player to watch discs that had been released overseas but not in your own country.
But as we warned back then, computers were only going to get smaller and cheaper, and eventually, it would only cost manufacturers pennies to wrap their products – or even subassemblies in their products – in DRM. Congress was putting a gun on the mantelpiece in Act I, and it was bound to go off in Act III.
Welcome to Act III.
Today, it costs about a quarter to add a system-on-a-chip to even the tiniest parts. These SOCs can run DRM. Here's how that DRM works: when you put a new part in a device, the SOC and the device's main controller communicate with one another. They perform a cryptographic protocol: the part says, "Here's my serial number," and then the main controller prompts the user to enter a manufacturer-supplied secret code, and the master controller sends a signed version of this to the part, and the part and the system then recognize each other.
This process has many names, but because it was first used in the automotive sector, it's widely known as VIN-Locking (VIN stands for "vehicle identification number," the unique number given to every car by its manufacturer). VIN-locking is used by automakers to block independent mechanics from repairing your car; even if they use the manufacturer's own parts, the parts and the engine will refuse to work together until the manufacturer's rep keys in the unlock code:
https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/24/rent-to-pwn/#kitt-is-a-demon
VIN locking is everywhere. It's how John Deere stops farmers from fixing their own tractors – something farmers have done literally since tractors were invented:
https://pluralistic.net/2022/05/08/about-those-kill-switched-ukrainian-tractors/
It's in ventilators. Like mobile phones, ventilators are a grotesquely monopolized sector, controlled by a single company Medtronic, whose biggest claim to fame is effecting the world's largest tax inversion in order to manufacture the appearance that it is an Irish company and therefore largely untaxable. Medtronic used the resulting windfall to gobble up most of its competitors.
During lockdown, as hospitals scrambled to keep their desperately needed supply of ventilators running, Medtronic's VIN-locking became a lethal impediment. Med-techs who used donor parts from one ventilator to keep another running – say, transplanting a screen – couldn't get the device to recognize the part because all the world's civilian aircraft were grounded, meaning Medtronic's technicians couldn't swan into their hospitals to type in the unlock code and charge them hundreds of dollars.
The saving grace was an anonymous, former Medtronic repair tech, who built pirate boxes to generate unlock codes, using any housing they could lay hands on to use as a case: guitar pedals, clock radios, etc. This tech shipped these gadgets around the world, observing strict anonymity, because Article 6 of the EUCD also bans circumvention:
https://pluralistic.net/2020/07/10/flintstone-delano-roosevelt/#medtronic-again
Of course, Apple is a huge fan of VIN-locking. In phones, VIN-locking is usually called "serializing" or "parts-pairing," but it's the same thing: a tiny subassembly gets its own microcontroller whose sole purpose is to prevent independent repair technicians from fixing your gadget. Parts-pairing lets Apple block repairs even when the technician uses new, Apple parts – but it also lets Apple block refurb parts and third party parts.
For many years, Apple was the senior partner and leading voice in blocking state Right to Repair bills, which it killed by the dozen, leading a coalition of monopolists, from Wahl (who boobytrap their hair-clippers with springs that cause their heads irreversibly decompose if you try to sharpen them at home) to John Deere (who reinvented tenant farming by making farmers tenants of their tractors, rather than their land).
But Apple's opposition to repair eventually became a problem for the company. It's bad optics, and both Apple customers and Apple employees are volubly displeased with the company's ecocidal conduct. But of course, Apple's management and shareholders hate repair and want to block it as much as possible.
But Apple knows how to Think Differently. It came up with a way to eat its cake and have it, too. The company embarked on a program of visibly support right to repair, while working behind the scenes to sabotage it.
Last year, Apple announced a repair program. It was hilarious. If you wanted to swap your phone's battery, all you had to do was let Apple put a $1200 hold on your credit card, and then wait while the company shipped you 80 pounds' worth of specialized tools, packed in two special Pelican cases:
https://pluralistic.net/2022/05/22/apples-cement-overshoes/
Then, you swapped your battery, but you weren't done! After your battery was installed, you had to conference in an authorized Apple tech who would tell you what code to type into a laptop you tethered to the phone in order to pair it with your phone. Then all you had to do was lug those two 40-pound Pelican cases to a shipping depot and wait for Apple to take the hold off your card (less the $120 in parts and fees).
By contrast, independent repair outfits like iFixit will sell you all the tools you need to do your own battery swap – including the battery! for $32. The whole kit fits in a padded envelope:
https://www.ifixit.com/products/iphone-x-replacement-battery
But while Apple was able to make a showy announcement of its repair program and then hide the malicious compliance inside those giant Pelican cases, sabotaging right to repair legislation is a lot harder.
Not that they didn't try. When New York State passed the first general electronics right-to-repair bill in the country, someone convinced New York Governor Kathy Hochul to neuter it with last-minute modifications:
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/12/weakened-right-to-repair-bill-is-signed-into-law-by-new-yorks-governor/
But that kind of trick only works once. When California's right to repair bill was introduced, it was clear that it was gonna pass. Rather than get run over by that train, Apple got on board, supporting the legislation, which passed unanimously:
https://www.ifixit.com/News/79902/apples-u-turn-tech-giant-finally-backs-repair-in-california
But Apple got the last laugh. Because while California's bill contains many useful clauses for the independent repair shops that keep your gadgets out of a landfill, it's a state law, and DMCA 1201 is federal. A state law can't simply legalize the conduct federal law prohibits. California's right to repair bill is a banger, but it has a weak spot: parts-pairing, the scourge of repair techs:
https://www.ifixit.com/News/69320/how-parts-pairing-kills-independent-repair
Every generation of Apple devices does more parts-pairing than the previous one, and the current models are so infested with paired parts as to be effectively unrepairable, except by Apple. It's so bad that iFixit has dropped its repairability score for the iPhone 14 from a 7 ("recommend") to a 4 (do not recommend):
https://www.ifixit.com/News/82493/we-are-retroactively-dropping-the-iphones-repairability-score-en
Parts-pairing is bullshit, and Apple are scum for using it, but they're hardly unique. Parts-pairing is at the core of the fuckery of inkjet printer companies, who use it to fence out third-party ink, so they can charge $9,600/gallon for ink that pennies to make:
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/11/ink-stained-wretches-battle-soul-digital-freedom-taking-place-inside-your-printer
Parts-pairing is also rampant in powered wheelchairs, a heavily monopolized sector whose predatory conduct is jaw-droppingly depraved:
https://uspirgedfund.org/reports/usp/stranded
But if turning phones into e-waste to eke out another billion-dollar stock buyback is indefensible, stranding people with disabilities for months at a time while they await repairs is so obviously wicked that the conscience recoils. That's why it was so great when Colorado passed the nation's first wheelchair right to repair bill last year:
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2022/06/when-drm-comes-your-wheelchair
California actually just passed two right to repair bills; the other one was SB-271, which mirrors Colorado's HB22-1031:
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB271
This is big! It's momentum! It's a start!
But it can't be the end. When Bill Clinton signed DMCA 1201 into law 25 years ago, he loaded a gun and put it on the nation's mantlepiece and now it's Act III and we're all getting sprayed with bullets. Everything from ovens to insulin pumps, thermostats to lightbulbs, has used DMCA 1201 to limit repair, modification and improvement.
Congress needs to rid us of this scourge, to let us bring back all the benefits of interoperability. I explain how this all came to be – and what we should do about it – in my new Verso Books title, The Internet Con: How to Seize the Means of Computation.
https://www.versobooks.com/products/3035-the-internet-con
If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:
https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/22/vin-locking/#thought-differently
Image: Mitch Barrie (modified)
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Daytona_Skeleton_AR-15_completed_rifle_%2817551907724%29.jpg
CC BY-SA 2.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en
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kambanji (modified)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/kambanji/4135216486/
CC BY 2.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/
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Rawpixel (modified)
https://www.rawpixel.com/image/12438797/png-white-background
#pluralistic#vin locking#apple#right to repair#california#ifixit#iphones#sb244#parts pairing#serialization#dmca 1201#felony contempt of business model#ewaste#repairwashing#fuckery
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if y'all don't mind me talking about those fish for the second night in a row...i just love all of the little details of characterization on this show so much and i think mulder's fish are a perfect example of this
(you can find my last post about them here)
mulder has fish as early as the first episode of season two, about which set decorator shirley inget said on the DVD extras, "so, we got him a fish tank, and it's kinda nice, 'cause he's got a little pet at home"
the fish are his pets! they're what he comes home to, and the tank is tucked in the corner of the one area of his apartment that he actually uses, that he's actually comfortable in, right in between the couch and his desk
it's why we're so familiar with it and see it so often
he's literally always sitting next to it
it’s always tended to, cared for, and decorated. filled with rocks and plants.
and, of course, his UFO aquarium accessory. which, you could say he saw at the pet store and bought, i would argue that it was a gift from someone
after mulder leaves in season nine, the tank and his fish can be seen in scully's apartment
throughout the show, we see scully, doggett, and van blundt feed the fish, with both scully and doggett pausing in mulder's apartment to feed them whenever they come over while he's away
mulder jokes about them when running off on an assignment in the pine bluff variant
and checks on them upon returning after his abduction, immediately noticing that one is gone
the thing about this to me is, that mulder is a natural caretaker. we see this kick in instantly with his mother, with scully, and with all of the victims and witnesses on the cases that he takes on.
above anything else, mulder is defined by being the big brother, and he's good at instinctually caring for others
however, one of the many contradictions and conflicts of his character, is that the flipside of that core defining characteristic is that he's the big brother who lost his baby sister. who, at least from his point of view, failed at caring for her and keeping her safe, and never allows himself another chance
he isolates, he will not let himself connect to or focus on anything other than work, he doesn't own a bed. he doesn't see his family, him and scully "just work together," he packs up and leaves town 48 hours after his baby is born. safer without him there, that oughta protect everyone.
isn't that the joke of fish? they're the pet for people who can't take care of something real, who aren't capable, who don't have the time. they're low-maintenance, they don't expect anything from you, they're the starter.
they're how you introduce a child to responsibility, to looking after something that's alive.
mulder could have something real, but just like he stays confined to that one corner of his meticulously decorated apartment, he stays confined to that entry level of connection and responsibility. he picks out rocks and plants and sets up aquarium bobbers and makes sure they're fed. the tank is always clean. when he comes back from the dead, he's missing one molly, and it's the first thing he notices and gravitates towards. they have a new home when he has to pack up and go.
he knows how, and he'll tend to whatever is in front of him, but he'll never have more than that.
#remember when monica told doggett that you're either a dog person or a cat person#mulder is a Fish Guy is what i'm saying#i'm kinda just being silly at this point#but i love those fish#and i love all of you thank you so much for the love on my last post#blowing u kisses#txf.txt
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you disagree with buying hogwarts legacy on moral grounds (fair), but also think that nobody should be tainted by their association with ‘problematic’ media. how does that work?
i am going to choose to take this anon ask in good faith and assume you have legitimate interest in my thoughts on the distinction. under that framework, this is an interesting question i have a lot of thoughts on, so thanks for asking!
first, we need a definition for "problematic." In my post, i was specifically referring to fiction that depicts things that would be morally objectionable in real life — rape, incest, abuse, pedophilia, murder, etc. because that's most relevant to the proshipper/anti issue i was addressing in that post. however, that's certainly not the only kind of definition one could come up with. when we talk about immoral or problematic media, there are so many ways that could apply and so many things that could be talking about, each with their own ethical concerns. so let's offer up a few different kinds of "problematic" media.
fiction which depicts things that would be ethically wrong in real life -- think game of thrones, dead dove fanfiction, hannibal, lolita, etc
fiction which depicts things that would be ethically wrong in real life, but through a lens that misrepresents or romanticizes these things in a way that reflects poorly on the author's understanding of these real-world issues -- think fifty shades of gray
fiction where the content isn't the focus, but that content was produced by or with the involvement people who are, shall we say, unsavory -- pirates of the caribbean, enders game, harry potter
fiction where the production of the content involved breaches of ethics, and the art exists because immoral things were done -- the shining
and there are many more categories! we cannot have the same conversations about all of these kinds of media, because they each demand their own ethical and critical framework to assess how they affect their consumers and environment, and what constitutes responsible and thoughtful engagement.
if we view media consumption (a term i hate, but it serves our purposes) through the lens of harm reduction, then it's clear why category 1 and category 3 are different. im watching hannibal on tubi right now. this is not harming anyone. similarly, no one would be harmed and no harm would be enabled by me reading some dark fic on ao3. the objection to buying hogwarts legacy is one that's founded on political principles and harm reduction — that is, that monetarily participating in jkr's intellectual property directly enables her to use her influence and money to continue her anti-trans crusade in the UK. and that's a very specific objection. it's not just dependent on what kind of media hogwarts legacy is, but on who benefits from it and what those benefits will result in. i don't even have the same objection to fiction in the same category — i dont feel as strongly about people like, buying a PoTC dvd or a copy of enders game.
to elaborate a bit more on my objection to hogwarts legacy...my thoughts on hogwart's legacy aren't that anyone who buys it should be shunned and isn't a real ally. in fact, it's something im still grappling with, and i havent really pinned down my true thoughts. on one hand, i feel a great frustration with leftists who still buy harry potter media. but on the other hand, i also recognize that HP is still a massive cultural property, and many people in the real world simply do not recognize this concern — and that one person's purchase of a video game isn't going to singlehandedly run JKR's empire. the way i think about hogwarts legacy is far more akin to how i think about chic fil a than how i think about fifty shades of gray — it's part of the debate over ethical consumption under capitalism more than the debate over media. of course, that's not the only objection to hogwarts legacy. from what i've heard, it's pretty damn antisemitic, so i'd certainly side eye anyone i heard gushing about the plot or arguing it contains no bigotry. but that's not part of why i object to buying it, because i think that consuming bigoted media with a critical eye is a crucial part of learning how to dissect the underpinning ideologies involved.
this is part of why i reject the proshipper/anti framing, because so much of the argument seems to be based on the presupposition that a single critical framework can apply to literally every mode of engagement with every single work of art ever made, when my favorite part of media analysis is forming opinions and thoughts about specific works. like, the position of "no one should be tainted by their association with problematic media" is really only accurate to my opinion on category 1, and even then not unconditionally. part of media literacy is meeting each piece of art where it is, and forming thoughts and opinions based on that specific art and how it interfaces with reality, rather than applying a generalized template. for instance, i do actually think that how people engage with and think about art can reflect on their real world morals — but i draw conclusions from how they engage with a work of art, not the mere fact that they engage with that art.
TL:DR: the reason that i have different opinions on different things is because those things are different. nuance baybeeeeeeee
feel free to ask any follow up or clarifying questions!
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[Chiru Mail! The Altaria’s a bit covered in snow from the trip over, but still happy to regale you with a Delibird Day carol this time of evening.
He hands over a wrapped box—inside is another box, marked with “open in case of more haunted decorations” and filled with Cleanse Tags, a short written guide on illusion exercises in Vanilla’s handwriting, attributed to Wolfgang and Mozart the Zoroark, and a pouch of Pokémon-safe chocolate chip cookies. There’s also a box DVD of a Pawmark movie, though to be honest it looks exactly like all of their movies from the cover. This one seems to be themed around Halloween, with a Hex Maniac meeting a Pumpkaboo farmer…? There’s a note on the box saying “Had to send a terrible movie back. They have no idea what ‘Hex Maniac’ means, but maybe you’ll find it so bad it’s funny?” Seems doubtful.]
thank you vanilla! i'm gonna tape a cleanse tag to all of my dishware. maybe that'll stop the shuppet from trying to nosedive into all my boiling liquid LMAO. (i'll have to put those somewhere safe, though... don't need the shroud getting upset over them)
oh shit, i need to get back on practice with Deckard... we haven't really done much other than going over what he already knows for a while. he can copy mint dead-on, but that and color-shifting are about the only two things so far, lol. i'm sure the gang will love the cookies, too! they already try to eat everything in eating range
oh this movie looks awful. i think i'm gonna watch it first. she looks like she's in the spiritomb halloween hex maniac sweater dress. the ones they sell at spiritomb aren't even good quality! the REAL sweaterdresses are so much more comfortable.
hope you and the family had a good holiday!
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The list of mild and medium inconveniences of today is inconveniently long and while I'm dead aware that it's all just tiny, not life altering stuff, it's still an amount that makes me very grumpy. So I'll throw it all here and look for solutions for one or the other and then let the rest be.
Last nights sleep was CRAP. Why? ONE FUCKING MOSQUITO. I'll have 12 and more bites, still didn't catch the bitch. Bitch is still alive. Had to get up at 4am and spray myself in anti mosquito spray I ever only use outdoors, and then go back to bed with that spray on my, just to be able to catch a little more sleep.
Couldn't get up and hunt the bitch down because I'm staying in a shared flat this week that's incredibly poorly soundproof so people wouldn't have been too amused by me running around in the cranky wooden floor middle of the night.
Which adds: I'm so not used to share place anymore. I don't notice the others much unless one walks around on the loud as fuck old floor, but I know they're next for and above floor and I don't like it.
I'm hungry.
I've spent 10h at the archive reading hand writings from 1790 when normally my brain is fried after 6h of archive work. So brain is extra extra fried.
And I feel like I didn't go through enough files, while I read through hundreds of pages and cases.
All while we have 30C outside. That's 10C more than I can bear.
And so much sun outside.
And tomorrow big meeting with boss with some annoying things to agree on.
And I can't even watch the daily Simpsons to unwind at 6pm because the TV only works with dvd here in this room.
And I still gotta go grab dinner somewhere which means more heat and sun and people.
Oh and the curtains here aren't really darkening anything while at home I got it more or less dark at night.
I could add more but this is kinda enough to feel cranky.
Gonna go grab food somewhere now, then boost up the work laptop again and watch some Simpsons on Disney. And try to sleep as soon as it's dark tonight, and spray myself before I go to bed so that undead bitch can kiss my ass.
#random personal stuff#sorry I just had to throw it somewhere#The inconveniently long list of today's inconveniences
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7, 13, 18 for the behind the scenes ask game
7. Which part of writing do you struggle with most?
The writing bit haha. I mean, I'm sure most writers feel the same, but there are days I sit down to write and absolutely nothing comes out. I guess, if I want to be more specific, I'd say the issue I encounter the most when it comes to writing is that I can almost never tell if I can't write on certain day because of needing to push through a block, or if it's because I need to take a break. There's a fine line between the two of them, and I am not good at recognizing the difference.
13. Is there a trope you wouldn’t write if it was the last trope on earth?
Ukefication. I'm a devoted lover of bad-asses. Even in the whumpiest of whumps, I want my characters to have agency and a spine. I feel like there is a very big difference between letting a character be vulnerable and making them into nothing more than a shivering brain-dead trophy.
18. What is a line/scene you’re really proud of? Give us the DVD commentary for that scene.
(Forcing myself to do this about a published fic lmao)
Goose Step has a scene in it that was not planned, but ended up being one of my favorite I've written.
“You’re seriously gonna do a little dance for His Majesty?”
Nyx lobbed a knife at Lib’s stupid smirk, watching with annoyance as he flickered around it easily. He lazily chucked another three in the general direction of the blue sparks, snorting as one pinged harmlessly off Lib’s knee-pads.
“Not really being given much of a choice,” Nyx said. “You have to practice phasing without the gear at some point.”
Lib glared at him, rubbing at his knee. “Yeah, I will when it’s not you doing the throwing.”
I wanted it to be clear that Nyx was being a bit of a coward, and that meant that someone other than Cor the Immortal would have to tell him so. I figured I would have someone Nyx was much more inclined to trust say it, so that his refusal to listen would stand out more as a product of fear/anxiety rather than based in any unseen past experiences. Naturally, Libertus was the best choice.
We start with my favorite activity for this duo, Libertus and Nyx giving each other shit.
It always kind of annoyed me that, while I know warping is supposed to be one of the harder magic techniques, Libertus didn't seem to be capable of even phasing when most of the other Kingslgaive are shown doing it. So I decided to make Nyx annoyed by it too, which is why Libertus is being given one-on-one training in it.
Lib, of course, uses the opportunity to make fun of Nyx for being spineless. Bit of glass-house move, given the circumstances, but I've never been above throwing stones so neither is Lib.
I absolutely agree with his decision to wear protective gear while practicing with Nyx, though, whose aim is more instinct than is strictly safe for people who spar with him.
“Coward!” Crowe called, dangling lazily from the ropes overhead.
And here's where the scene immediately went of the rails.
Crowe always has a talent for throwing me completely off in my writing (which is why her fic is taking so freaking long). She's a lot of fun to write because of this, but she also has a tendency to run off and world-build on her own. Such as, the Warp Obstacle Course, of which she is currently dangling from. Yes, it also bothered me that we saw almost nothing of her talents in the movie, so she gets to warp too.
“Mind your six!” Nyx yelled back at her, watching as one of the greener Glaives tried to warp up behind her. Anya, he was pretty sure. The rare Nif with a talent for magic.
An OC! Yeah, Anya is actually a glaive you should get used to seeing in my fics, since I consider her to be one of Nyx's more trusted officers. This is early into her training, though, and I made a nod to the Comrades lore here that Nifs aren't typically as skilled with magic.
“You should just hire one of those troupes to do it for you. Less embarrassing for Galahd that way. I’ve seen you dance.” Lib said as he tossed the knives back into the Armiger.
Nyx pulled them out again and readied his aim. “Yeah, keep talking and I’ll make you do it.”
Nyx can't dance. He can do the training sequences just fine, but I don't see him as the kind of guy who can let himself go long enough to feel comfortable making a display of himself. Part of this is because I love to juxtaposition 'grandiose' characters with crippling anxiety, and part of it is because in the movie, he is described by other characters as being a show-off, but he doesn't really do that outside of it being a by-product of him doing what is necessary.
I also loved this little interplay of the armiger here. I have a fairly nuanced idea of how 'my' version of the armiger works, and I love hinting at it in places.
“Or,” Luche said, clapping a hand on Nyx’s shoulder. “You could grow a pair and tell his royal arse to shove it.”
Ah, Luche. Eloquent. A good portion of this whole over-arching AU is to redeem the Traitor Glaives, since I think they're neat.
Nyx held the knife over his shoulder, offering it to Luche, who took it immediately.
“You’re late,” he said as the knife whipped past his ear and towards Lib’s chest.
“Yeah, well, blame yourself for putting me on guard on the other ass-end of this fucking city.”
“Blame yourself for running your mouth in front of Councilor Balneum.”
Luche scoffed, grabbing another knife from Nyx’s hand and pitching it at Lib. “He had it coming.”
I also like to explore the relationship between Nyx and Luche as friends who had grown apart, and how that changes when Drautos isn't purposely driving a wedge between them. I see them as two people who know each other extremely well, but don't always have the same ideals. They do, however, both enjoy throwing knives at Libertus.
Nyx nodded slightly in agreement, sniffing once. “Yeah, he did. Doesn’t change the fact that I had to do something about it, or risk him mouthing off to someone else with more sway.”
I don't think a lot of people caught this detail, despite the fact that I made a point of it in the scene prior, but Nyx is subconsciously using the same behavioural cues that he was examining in Cor. Specifically, this is the 'slight sniff to denote agreement', though Nyx notably also voices his opinion where Cor tends to leave it unspoken.
“Fucking politics.”
Nyx laughed, “Yeah, welcome to the Citadel, Luche. You still want to be my second?”
This is the first time I mention in this series (or any, for that matter) that Luche is Nyx's second in command. I will delve into this more in his planned KGLegends22 piece.
“Shut the fuck up,” Luche sighed, throwing the last knife at Lib and missing by a meter. “Let me take a nap instead of running drills, and we’re even.”
Lib watched the knife clatter off in the other direction, bemused.
Luche is just tired, here. His aim is actually very good.
“How about you go relieve Crowe of her flag and I won’t make you do target practice for an hour to make up for your shit aim?”
Nyx has to balance being a Captain and not being a hardass. He's being a bit soft here, but part of that is to gauge just how sour Luche is, since this is early into their Captain-Second partnership. They already mesh pretty well, but the last thing the Kingsglaive need is interpersonal conflict between their leadership. It's about toeing the line between authority and comraderie.
“Oi, fuck you!” Crowe shouted, now dangling slightly to the left of where she had been earlier and attempting to shove Anya off the course.
“Deal,” Luche laughed before shattering into blue sparks behind him.
One of the parallels I am making in this scene is the connection between Fighting and Play in Galahdian culture. Nyx's training style and leadership is drastically different from Drautos', largely because Nyx is letting his own upbringing inform how he leads. Rather than warp training being traumatic as it is in the movie, they utilize various techniques in team building activities, simultaneously training the magic as they build trust in one another.
I am annoyed at myself for not mentioning that there are other Glaives taking part in this capture the flag game, though. It's not just the five of them in there.
“Still should just tell them off, Hero,” Lib said, sauntering back from retrieving Luche’s stray throw. “Or at the very least have someone else do it. No reason to make a fool of yourself for the royals. You’re not just a random Glaive anymore and they need to remember that.”
“Easy for you to say,” Nyx scoffed. “You’re not the one standing in a room with them every day.”
“Sounds like you need to remember it too, Captain."
Libertus has never exactly been subtle, but that's just as well, since Nyx is being extremely obtuse here. You'd think he'd pick up on it, but nah. Which is a good think for us, since otherwise we wouldn't have gotten Nyx doing a little dance for Cor in the very next scene XD
#ffxv#nyx ulric#libertus ostium#luche lazarus#crowe altius#ask game fill#my stuff#garbria#kingsglaive
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Idk if you've been asked this before, but favorite horror movies? Anything particularly impactful to you? I'm kinda lost with what I want to watch lately, esp for spooky season
I just got all the OG Hellraiser movies and i may gorge myself on them bc that's always fun, I love fun. Ring is also good but it was also my 12 year old special interest. If you want a better and Japanese Would You Rather from the 90s, Red Room (also called King Card Game iirc) is good, unearthed films released the dvd but it once was on youtube in full. I actually need to watch a couple of horror dvds i've had and just never watched...
Obligatory The Devils rec
Oh, i have a love for the Re-Animator films, my exfiancé and I went down a Re-Animator and related films wormhole. Speaking of, by the same director: Society. Fun film. Good effects. Freaky third act.
(I am completely dead inside and desperate to feel so most horror movies fall flat unless they can do something fun/quirky/aesthetic/interesting for me lol so sorry if these aren't scary.)
If you have Shudder and like found footage, Deadstream is pretty good. One dude carries the whole dang thing, props to him. Host is also good.
The movie adaptation of the videogame Detention is good. Netflix also has a tv show based off it but the movie is more horror and the show is more ghost drama.
Kairo/Pulse, the OG one, is so gd good. Upsetting in a bleak way--I watched it with friends raaaaather soon after my breakup and it kinda fucked me up lmao--so I rec it but with the caveat I was in a super dark lonely isolated borderline suicidal place ("was" lol) so it hit even HARDER than usual. Good film. But like...if you watch it while depressed you're gonna be suuuUUUUUuuUuUuper depressed.
Oh wait yeah if you want bleak and upsetting true horror, on youtube for free is the film Threads from 1984. It is about what nuclear apocalypse would look like for the survivors. It is....it is difficult. It is kinda like watching The Handmaid's Tale where you just keep getting punched in the face over and over and it never stops.
Noroi: The Curse is a slow burn found footage that actually...ok so i love found footage bc the bar is low. So low. I have 0 expectations. You can only delight me. Noroi is like "what if we did found footage fucking RIGHT" and it is good. Again slow burn.
I'm sure others have better recs than I--tbh if you have access to Shudder I have found you can't go wrong with the Shudder originals. They have yet to disappoint. They also have a shitton of giallo films which tend to just be....very pretty trainwrecks.
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Ilia for bingo?
There aren't that many squares hit on this one, because Ilia isn't a character I have particularly strong feelings about, in the ordinary course of things, but there's a little bit to talk about for each one.
- Wow! They are a horrible person
This one is a little harsh, and sounds harsher than I really feel towards Ilia, but this bingo board doesn't deal in too nuance so it is what it is.
The thing about Ilia, and the thing the kind of annoys me - albeit not enough to say that I actively dislike her - is that she's genderflip Adam. She's a White Fang warrior with past history with Blake, a romantic obsession with Blake that leads her to violence and to attempting to take the lives of Blake's parents (Adam orders the hit on the Belladonnas, Ilia willingly carries it out). The only thing that they don't have in common is that Ilia never abused Blake, and that one can be chalked up to lack of opportunity.
And yet. And yet. Compare the reactions that the two of them get from the fandom and in-universe. Blake talks about how she wants to save Ilia, and then does save and forgive her her past actions, then proceeds to join Yang in stabbing Adam to death. Not to say that was wrong - it was a battle, he was an enemy, inter arma enim silent leges - but why does Ilia deserve endless chances while Adam doesn't? And of course the fandom loves one and hates the other.
It might be the clearest cut of example of double standards between men and women in the show.
-If they were real I'd be afraid of them
This one is pretty self-explanatory: she's a killer, a killer who can camouflage herself. That's pretty scary.
-Wasted Potential
Ilia is set up as a parallel to Adam. That's made explicit in the 'X character is the embodiment of Y word' scene; Blake talks about how Adam represents Spite, and then says that she worries that that same sense of spite is consuming Ilia, but that she hopes to save her before that can happen.
And there's something in that, it isn't bad, the problem is that it almost comes too soon, given what we later find out about Adam's backstory, his servitude in the mines, his getting branded sorry hit in the face with a convenient branding iron. Ilia, meanwhile, gets to give her backstory directly to the audience (and can I just take a moment to say that Blake's volume 5 short might be the best delivery of a villain's backstory in the whole of RWBY? The choice to let Ilia exposit her own past means that she gets to speak for herself in a way that very few other villains do, while the fact that we get her side of the story rather than objective truth, say via flashback, means that there is interesting space to interpret what she is and isn't saying) and it's an interesting contrast to Adam: while he served in the mines, she got to live in Atlas, attending an elite prep school - but at the cost of having to hide what she really was. There's some interesting stuff that you could do with that, but nothing is or can be done with it because we don't find out about Adam's backstory until... well, really until the DVD commentary for volume 7, by which point Adam is dead and Ilia has left the show, so there isn't much to be done with the similarities or the differences.
Meanwhile, the real wasted potential is the other parallel which goes ignored, between Ilia and Blake. They both passed for human in order to attend elite educational establishments, and both outed themselves under traumatic circumstances - Ilia by turning blue when she learned of her parents' deaths, Blake with her ill-considered words in the argument with Weiss - and yet while Ilia was rejected by the human 'friends' she had made while passing, and reacted to their rejection with violence, Blake runs away and is later accepted by the group for who and what she is.
It would have been nice to see Blake reflect on that a little - perhaps, instead of bringing up Adam's spitefulness, she could have segued from her love for the other members of Team RWBY into Ilia, and how she wasn't offered the love and friendship that Blake received, making Blake determined to offer it now.
It just seems as though mirroring the hero and the villain would have been more fruitful than mirroring two antagonists who never meet and one of whom is barely in the volumes where Ilia appears.
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Sci-Fi Saturday: Just Imagine
Week 6:
Film(s): Just Imagine (Dir. David Butler, 1930, USA)
Viewing Format: YouTube
Date Watched: June 19, 2021
Rationale for Inclusion:
In looking into science fiction films of the 1930s, the first one I ran across that was new to me was also the first of its genre to receive an Academy Award nomination, Just Imagine (Dir. David Butler, 1930, USA). Not surprisingly if you're up on your Oscar history, this nomination came in an aesthetic category: Art Direction. Subsequently, designers Stephen Goosson and Ralph Hammeras lost to Max Rée for the Western Cimarron (Dir. Wesley Ruggles, 1931, USA).
Other than being a piece of Academy Award trivia, including Just Imagine in our survey made sense because it was intermixed with genres we had not seen combined with sci-fi yet: comedy and the musical. The former was rarely seen combined with science fiction in the silent era, and the latter required the innovation of synchronized sound motion pictures.
Just Imagine is the first talking picture we watched, but it was not the first sound science fiction film produced. That distinction seems to belong to the 1929 adaptation of Jules Verne's The Mysterious Island (Dir. Lucien Hubbard, USA), which was produced as a silent film with a sound sequence and synchronized music track later added. I do not recall why we opted to skip this film in our survey: whether it was an issue of outright missing its existence and availability on DVD or through Archive.org, or intentionally skipping it because we had recently watched 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (Dir. Stuart Patton, 1916, USA), which included narrative elements adapted from that novel.
At any rate, for its cross-genre whimsy and Oscar nomination, I decided Just Imagine needed to be included on our survey despite viewing access being inconvenient. Despite its historic status, no mainstream media or art house distribution service has made the film available on physical media or streaming. Various DVD-R versions circulate, and it can be found in unofficial versions on YouTube (as we watched it) or Archive.org.
Reactions:
The lack of mainstream release for Just Imagine makes sense for two reasons: due to copyright issues and only being of relative niche interest, late 1920s and early 1930s films aren't as widely available on contemporary home formats in general, and the film overall is not very good.
The main weaknesses of Just Imagine come down to its plot being a weak, rote triangulated romance, mediocre songs, and emphasis on Elmer "El" Brendel's comedy. Unlike his vaudevillian and cinematic contemporaries the Marx Brothers, Brendel's Swedish immigrant archetype has not retained his appeal or cultural relevance with later generations. However, his character's fish out of water immigrant schtick works well within the character's Rip Van Winkle inspired subplot.
The Academy wasn't wrong in nominating Just Imagine for its art direction though. The futuristic art deco city of 1980 is beautiful looking, and clearly indebted to the aesthetics of Metropolis (Dir. Fritz Lang, 1927, Germany), including video phones and personal airplanes instead of automobiles traveling between skyscrapers. The laboratory equipment that brings the fifty years dead Single O (Brendel) back to life was apparently too expensive a build for just one use because it was reused to more iconic effect the following year in Frankenstein (Dir. James Whale, 1931, USA).
Single O's man from present day in the future storyline would be repeated in later sci-fi works, like the serial Buck Rogers (Dir. Ford Beebe and Saul A. Goodkind, 1939, USA), movie Judge Dredd (Dir. Danny Cannon, 1995, USA), and television series Futurama (1999-2003, USA). Other genre tropes that come into play throughout the film include food in pill form, people receiving number designations, marriages being bureaucratically arranged, reproduction without the sex or body horror, and a trip to a Mars populated by Martians. None of these aspects originate with Just Imagine, just cement its genre status.
For sci-fi fans, the set pieces and tropes in play make Just Imagine worth watching at least once, if only to appreciate later, better iterations of its elements. For classic film and pre-code cinema fans, it's an interesting cultural artifact for no other reason but its cast featuring Brendel, Maureen O'Sullivan, and Joyzelle, she of the infamous "naked moon dance" in The Sign of the Cross (Dir. Cecil B. DeMille, 1932, USA).
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Watching Avatar, Part 8
Wow, this was a thrillride! I'm glad I'm watching this on DVD because waiting through the season break on this must have been excruciating.
16. "Appa's Lost Days": APPA WE MISSED YOU! Also, man, this episode was unexpectedly brutal. I was expecting a little more "wacky hijinks that sent Appa all over the place" and a little less animal cruelty and tragedy. Thrilled to see Suki for a hot second until WTF, did they actually kill her off? There's no way, right? Azula and co continue to be excellent high-level threats. Really interested in the kindly old guy who sent Aang that message. Fuck this Long Feng guy.
17. "Lake Laogai": Man, this episode was a Lot. On one hand, YAY Uncle Iroh gets a tea shop! On the other hand, everything else. Again, this creepy brainwashing authoritarian government stuff is surprisingly hardcore for a kids' show. (I don't always get Long Feng's goals here. Just give the Gaang back Appa and refuse Ba Sing Se's help permanently and they'll probably leave! You don't seem to want them here anyway!) All the Joo Di stuff is intensely creepy and very effective. Wasn't originally happy to see Jet, but the Gaang did untangle all that faster than I expected, and the ending there was surprisingly moving. Zuko Get Yourself Together Whatever-Year-This-Is Challenge. YAY APPA'S BACK!
18. "The Earth King": Didn't love the Zuko half of this episode, but hopefully he's finally on the right path. Did love Aang bribing the Earth King with a ride on Appa, that was good thinking, and the whole plotline with the politics was very satisfying. Not sure if the letter from Toph's mom was real (as in written by her as part of the plot) or faked. I hope it was faked, I hate the idea that her mom would condone this. And then that ending, which was a fabulous OH SHIT moment. Of COURSE Azula would have all the Kyoshi Warriors' gear after defeating them. (IS Suki dead??)
19. "The Guru": TEA SHOP TEA SHOP A little necessarily slow, dividing between the meditation sections and everything else. And oh yeah, this choice to not open all the chakras isn't going to come back and bite Aang at allllll. /s But either way, THERE'S OUR GIRL TOPH teaching herself metalbending! Man, I love watching her be the tank. Nice to see Sokka with his dad. Azula remains a brilliant villain.
20. "The Crossroads of Destiny": Holy crap, that was a ride. I just about died laughing at Azula telling Long Feng, essentially, that she's going to rule because she's a boss and he's just a little bitch, and him agreeing. Headdesking forever at Zuko STILL not getting his shit together yet. I guess it makes more sense to give him what he thinks he wants and then have a Realization but ugh. Also, I thought Sokka was going to be the big stumbling block to the group's eventual acceptance of him, now I suspect it'll be Katara. Which will actually be harder to overcome, since Sokka doesn't tend to be taken seriously the way Katara is, especially on matters of trust/ forgiveness. Iroh remains the absolute best throughout, and I am heartbroken that he lost his tea shop! He just got it! You guys didn't tell me he only gets his tea shop for like a day!!! Katara is the other MVP of this ep and the spirit oasis water and "death in the Avatar state" bits definitely paid off here. Where are they going to go now? They aren't going to try to invade the Fire Nation just the four of them, are they?
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I watched Mama Mia 2 Here We Go Again last night with my friend (they bought me the double disk DVD so we have the 1st and the 2nd <3). I loved the movies for so long but I haven't rewatched them for a few years and now I have some Commentary. Below is me listing out the things that bugged me in Here We Go Again.
During the rewatch, I realized that Mama Mia 2 is like an AU of Mama Mia rather than continuing the same story. Like I Love the characters in the 2nd film but that's not my young Donna, and the other characters just aren't quite matching to their present day characters. Yeah- Aging is a thing and growing up means changing over the years but I don't see that in the way they showed them in Mama Mia 2.
(Not to mention they didn't follow the OG story line? Donna's diary not matching the 2nd movies plot line of meeting the men) (also Tonya and Rosie acting like they don't know the men /about Donna sleeping with them all in a relatively short time frame? But they meet Bill and Sam on the island)
Mama Mia is one of my favorite movies (definitely crushed on Amanda Seyfried in any of her movies tbh) and I was so pumped for the sequel but it is not connected to the 1st and it kinda stops me from enjoying Here We Go Again because I want it to follow the OG story and honor that.
Here We Go Again coming out in 2018 is probably the reason for the differences made- specifically the pro-life vibes in it. I could be wrong, I don't want kids ever so maybe it's a personal thing that the importance placed on Sophie being pregnant like Donna was odd to me. Overall the way they frame Sophie being pregnant and having that be a pivotal moment in the film was meant to show 'Ah the joy of a a baby its magic and Nothing Compares'.
Also Cher showing up to be Donna's mom?? THEM DROPPING THAT DONNAS DAD WAS HISPANIC ???? SENOR CIENFUEGOS?? I KNOW THAT STUFF WAS ADDED WAY LATER BUT I FEEL LIKE THAT WOULD BE IMPACTFUL TO DONNA AND HER LIFE BEING 1/2 HISPANIC/ MEXICAN. IM BEGGING FOR CONTINUITY PLEASE.
Love Cher- but hearing her show up and give Sophie shit by saying ' Don't hold a grudge it'll make you fat' ?? Why, just why and then Sophie hugs her later after Cher gives criticism about her performing but saying she's proud after Sophie prompting her to change her answer? Just gives a message of '(Blood) Family is everything and forgives all' that I don't like and was not in the first film? Donna also references her mother in the 1st movie as dead 'Someone has it out for me up there probably my mother'. Donna made it clear throughout both movies the lack of connection she has with her mom and the mommy issues she has. Everyone else in the movies being so open to having her on Kalokairi while they cry over Donna being gone and how much they love her? Sam giving her a hug and kiss despite not likely EVER meeting her before Donnys baptism??
(Also do Greeks do baptisms? I'll look it up but just why so Christian and all the Christian messaging. Sophie grew up on the island and so did Sky? Why no accents, why does it feel like the main cast is only visitors despite the story stating they lived there? Donna was there for 40 years why don't they show the impact beyond design choices??)
Also SOPHIES GRANDMA?? LIKE THE ONE SHES NAMED AFTER - THAT WAS MENTIONED IN THE FIRST MOVIE 'OMG I WAS NAMED AFTER THE WOMAN WHO HELPED MY MOTHER RAISE ME' WITH BILL FINALLY BEING ABLE TO CONNECT IT TO 'OH SHIT THAT GIVES MORE CONTEXT AND I THINK YOURE MY KID NOW'
WHERE IS SHE?? WHY ISNT SHE IN THE MOVIES? OBVIOUSLY DONNA VALUED HER PRESENCE IN HER LIFE, WHY WASNT IT REFERRENCED IN THE 2ND MOVIE OTHER THAN GRANDMA SOPHIA GIVING SAM SHIT FOR LEAVING DONNA / BEING ENGAGED AND TELLING HIM TO FUCK OFF WHILE DONNAS 'WITH THE BIGGEST STUD OF EUROPE' (LIKE THATS YOUR GRANDSON?)
I got a lot of feeling about world building man, that's what can draw me in and I wish they did more for the movie (bits and pieces, it doesn't have to be written out and verbally stated but like, but not even interactions with the staff/neighbors?) I was blind to it when I first watched it but they really don't give anything meaningful to any of the PoC characters despite this literally being their homes with their families. Like WHY DOES SOPHIE DO THE LINE UP THING WITH CHECKING PEOPLES UNIFORMS DURING ANGEL EYES??? Just the distance all of the white Europeans and the Greeks/ overall white savior-Mary Sue 'everyone loves Donna and Sophie' - why is everyone else so servant like?
- I love Harry (the token gay of the show really) and his character makes me sad more after the 2nd movie. In the end sequence/ final song of Super Trooper (with Cher) all the characters are dancing with their younger selves- everyone is having a good time and dancing but Harry is like No I don't dance/ my younger self is cringe? Like part of his development was connecting with Sophie and being one of her Dads / valuing life again and being more than a corporate executive/ banker, 9 to 5 guy. He dances with everyone else but with his past self he's back to 'I'm uncomfortable and a boring man, allergic to fun'? That unravels everything up to that point of Harry connecting with others, his want to be 'spontanteous', his want to be fun and in the moment. (Also Harry in the 1st movie - would Not entertain the idea of missing something of Sophie's -why the hell was he in a board room for 14 hours before deciding to remember how important she is to him??)
Also Sam, Bill and Harry in the Super Trouper number are shown behind the var picking up glasses of beer to come around it and sit on stools while kinda singing? It's giving ' oh haha the Average Dad who likes to sit and watch sports on TV and sit back after long day of work'? I feel like there were so many small things and decisions made to show a conservative version of Mama Mia in Here We Go Again.
It's a fun movie and not meant to be serious commentary of the world but rewatching after the last few years leaves me with a sense of 'its not that great or/ fulfilling characters stories' - I'm still jamming to the soundtracks and talk with others who love the movies but damn I needed to rant.
#mama mia#mama mia 2 here we go again#bitching about world building#i know that i can write fanfiction for this and i might#should i also play DnD so i can world build to my hearts content? yes but#i will wait a little bit cause i know that its Trendy now thx to ST#not that its a bad thing but there is likely a demographic in the community that is there because omg my fav does this so ill do it to
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congratz to 100 followers👁👁💜
Can I request a Leo×reader scenario in which the couple argues and then makes up? it doesn't have to be hardcore angsty for the argument, some fluff at the end would be really nice♡
tysm and have a nice day~
(TW FOR THIS AUTHOR'S NOTE: COVID MENTION.) Sure thing! I want to apologize for my absence once again (I do this on all of my posts, I know, it's embarrassing lol)- I've been absolutely booked. I just tested positive with COVID this morning, however, so since I'm forced to stay at home I have more time to write. I'm asymptomatic at the moment, so I'm not completely dying over here. Please don't worry about me; I'm fully vaccinated and completely fine.
This also follows the same basic premise as these headcanons I wrote, except in those the reader argues with Raph and not Leo.
Anyway, onto the (long overdue) scenario!
Aside from Raph, you hardly knew Leo to be the arguing type. If any of the brothers got into an argument (which was rare in and of itself), Leo was the one to stand between them. It made sense, seeing as he was the leader. Leaders mediate fights to keep the group unified. Pretty much the whole job description.
Because of this, you felt comfortable sharing everything with Leo. He often served as a sort of life coach to you: if you had problems with work or school, you'd go straight to him and he'd give you some advice that, later, fixed the situation perfectly. If he wasn't a mutant turtle, you would've tried to push him to become a therapist.
Tonight, of course, was like any other night- you'd came back to the lair after a long day, toting a couple boxes of pizza with you. It was your night to cook, and you didn't have much time. You did, however, have some time to swing through the local DVD shop and grab a disc with lost episodes of Space Heroes. You'd spotted it through the window a few days prior, but hadn't had time to stop by. Besides, today was your one year anniversary with Leo and you didn't have a gift yet. The timing couldn't have been more perfect.
When you stepped out of the tunnel and into the lair, the first thing you heard was yelling. You knew who it was almost instantly: Leo and Raph. Things were growing more tense with them lately. This was the second argument of theirs this week.
Sighing, you dropped the pizzas precariously on the turnstile, making sure the disc was safely secured in your messenger bag lying against your hip. As long as they weren't throwing punches, you had a chance of de-escalating the situation.
Despite how loud the yelling was, you could still hear your footsteps clack on the concrete as you crossed the living area into the hallway were the bedrooms were.
"You think you're so high and mighty, huh? 'I'm Leo and since I'm the leader I call all the shots! I can do no wrong!'" Bang. "Have you ever thought that maybe you aren't perfect?!"
"I'm not saying I'm perfect Raph, just that my plan is better! If your plan was the best choice, I'd pick it!"
"Yeah, because that's happened before!"
You felt your stomach fill with dread as you stepped through an invisible barrier, into their argument. Two sets of eyes turned on you, and you could've sworn they felt like lasers.
"This doesn't concern you, Y/N."
Time paused for a moment as no one moved. You could feel Leo's exasperation from a mile away, but that didn't phase you- you'd dealt with this before.
"When you're yelling loud enough for me to hear as I walk in, yes, it does." You stared him dead in the face, doing your best to play up the 'stubborn bouncer' act.
"You don't even know what we're talking about. This is important stuff."
Maybe this was a little tougher than usual.
"You're not 'talking', you're arguing."
Leo sighed, rolling his eyes. "Can you just go away? You don't need to inject yourself in everything!"
...
Oh.
You didn't say anything, and you felt your eyes tear up as you slowly backed away, the bag holding Leo's gift rubbing against your side. Even though you felt miles away from the brothers, you could still feel the shock radiating from them both.
You didn't care. You just wanted away.
Instinctively, you wandered into the dojo, seating yourself cross-legged in front of the large tree.
The time that passed held no value to you. It could've been five minutes or five hours. You couldn't think as Leo's words reverberated through your head.
Maybe you were too nosy. There was no real reason for you to get involved except to fuel your saviorism. They would've come to an agreement whether or not you had shown up. No matter how harsh his words were, Leo did have a point.
Besides, what would you have done? Have them calmly explain the entire backstory of their argument and patiently wait for you to solve it for them?
Maybe you-
Creak.
You felt someone at the doorway. There was no question as to who it was. With a sigh, you turned your head around to see Leo standing in the doorway, staring at his hands. After a second, his head lifted and you met eyes. His mouth opened as if he wanted to say something, but no sound came out.
He took a deep breath, and as you felt the guilt rising up you closed your eyes. "Y/N, I-"
"I'm sorry," You both blurted out at the same time. Leo's eyes widened as you opened your eyes.
"... Y/N, you have nothing to apologize for," Leo said.
You shook your head. "No, I do. It was out of my bounds to try and act like I'm above you guys. There was no reason for me to try and mediate a conflict that I knew nothing about."
"I didn't mean what I said, Y/N. I don't know why I said it. None of it was true."
Despite yourself, you chuckled a little. "It actually was kinda true. I get nosey sometimes, and I get that it can be annoying."
There was a ghost of a smile on Leo's face. "There's no convincing you. You've always been stubborn."
A laugh bubbled from your throat. "That's my charm."
Leo's smile grew, and he walked to your side as you stood up. "You know," you said, "It's a special day."
"That it is," Leo replied.
"And I might just have a little something for you." You winked as you put your hand in the bag containing the Space Heroes disc.
"You got me a gift? You didn't have to-"
"Hush," You said, holding your free hand up to Leo's face. "I insist."
Leo rolled his eyes playfully as you drew the disc out and presented it to him. He didn't speak for a moment, his eyes sparkling with surprise.
"Wait, is that...?"
"Ten lost episodes of Space Heroes? Yes, yes it is."
Before you knew it, the disc was gone from your hands and Leo was sprinting across the dojo to the TV, dragging you by the hand.
#tmnt leonardo#tmnt 2012#xreader#tmnt scenario#scenarios#scenario#leonardo#tmnt#hurt/comfort#tmnt angst#angst#tw arguing
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If your requests aren't open you can ignore me, but imagine mc playing around and just doing the classic 90s anime vilian stance while yelling "SILENCE BOTTOM!"
hahaha, oh the boys’ reactions would be very diverse. I hope ya don’t mind me doing some short headcannons for the oldest four brothers because I don’t wanna be too repetitive + I feel like I’m taking too long to answer your ask haha sorry about that 😅
Some are implied nsfw ;) haha
“SILENCE BOTTOM!” Brothers’ Reactions
Lucifer
The brothers and MC were having their usual biweekly game night in MC’s room when said human thought it would be a good idea to bring out their stash of alcohol smuggled in from the human world (much to Lucifer’s disappointment) but failed to realize demons aren’t affected by human alcohol...which left only MC drunk out of their mind.
Of course, to be fair, Asmo brought in a bottle of demonus for the seven of them to pass around but it was too small of an amount to leave anyone more than a little tipsy.
With every shot MC took, their face reddened more and their volume increased as everything sent them into a fit of giggles, which the boys found cute. They wrapped their arms around Mammon’s neck and blew into his ear teasingly as said demon’s face became ruddy.
“O-Oi, what are ya doin’?” He protested, but didn’t push them away.
“What? Can’t I hug my ‘first’ demon?~” MC laughed before falling over, basically body-checking Mammon to the floor along with them as he yelped out of surprise.
“Alright, that’s enough. They’re obviously inebriated,” Lucifer said, standing up. “Time for bed,” he continued, ushering the others to hurry up and leave. The others began cleaning up, getting ready to leave but MC was quick to get off Mammon and stand up with wobbly legs.
“You jealous, Luci?” They giggled as the brothers looked at them with small smiles.
Lucifer ignored them as he continued commanding his brothers to clean up faster. Beginning to berate them for letting his human become so drunk. “You know humans are frail beings! The fact that you didn’t listen to me when I told all of you to stop giving them more shots is completely-“ his scoldings were giving MC a headache so they were quick to shut him up.
Posing so quickly and suddenly that they saw stars in their eyes for a bit, MC opened their mouth with a glint in their eye before shouting: “SILENCE BOTTOM! MUAHAHAHA” successfully shutting up the eldest brother.
Everyone was silent. MC stood still in their pose before doubling over from laughter as Lucifer watched with widened eyes.
“Everyone out, now,” Lucifer ordered, waving towards the door which they were quick to oblige but right as the door closed he heard quickened footsteps down the hall before an uproar of laughter resounded from his brothers. He’d deal with them later.
Sighing as he picked the human up from the floor, who’s laughter had eventually died down as sleepiness fit them full on, he laid them on their bed before brushing aside their askew hair accompanied with a chuckle. “That was a surprise, love, but I’m sure you know I’m far from what you call a bottom,” he chuckled, tucking them in. MC had long since passed out, mouth slack and cheeks still red. “You’re definitely a strange one, but mine nonetheless. I hope you know you’ll be facing the consequences of your words in the morning,~” he whispered in their ear, making them shift, before he kissed their forehead and shuffled beside them for cuddles.
Slight revenge sex in the morning once they’re sober for embarrassing him in front of his little brothers since he is the avatar of pride after all.
Mammon + Levi
these boyos scream switch to me soo you might know where I’m going with this
after a day at R.A.D, MC had walked with Levi and Mammon back to the House of Lamentation and they started another one of their arguments yet again.
“Mammon, you literally stole money from me last night after putting a bookcase on top of the door to my tank and watching me panic! What kind of older brother watches their younger brother almost drown???” Levi screeched, clasping at his neck dramatically.
“Wait, you can drown? I thought you were some weird sea monster thing,” Mammon retorted with a laugh as they entered into the living room. MC just face-palmed.
“Does it look like I have gills to you?? Ughh, you can just be so infuriating sometimes!” Levi groaned, running his hands through his hair in a frustrated manner.
MC shuffled to his side, whilst rubbing circles on his back as they cooed:” aw, it’s alright Levi-Chan~how about we go have a marathon of Ruri-Chan’s limited edition dvds you got in the mail the other day?”
Levi’s face lit up with both excitement and embarrassment. “You’re right! I almost forgot about that! Let’s go!” He exclaimed, grabbing ahold of their hand before pulling them towards his room but Mammon was quick to grab MC’s other hand and pull them the opposite way.
“Nuh-uh, where do ya think you’re goin’ with my human, huh? They’ll be staying with me because I ain’t watchin’ no Riri-Chan DVD’s,” Mammon shook his head, pulling MC closer but Levi countered it with a tug of his own.
“It’s Ruri-Chan, thank you very much and MC offered so it’s not your call whether they go or not, numbskull,” he retorted as MC was losing their patience being pulled around.
“Ha! If you think I’m gonna let ya get your hands on my human then you got another thing comin-“ it was in that moment a cheeky grin appeared on MC’s face before they ripped themselves from both of the demons’ grasps and posed dramatically.
“SILENCE BOTTOMS!” They bellowed, leaving the two speechless before faces turned red quickly. MC got a good laugh at their reactions before Levi spoke up.
“Th-that was kind of t-tantalizing! P-please do more! I’ve only heard it in animes and thought it was funny before this...” He begged, pushing both his pointer fingers together sheepishly.
“H-huh? What do ya mean tantalizing?” Mammon stuttered out, equally as embarrassed. He enjoyed it too, but wouldn’t be caught dead admitting it.
Well, looks like they found out something new about themselves.
Satan
Oh boy, calling this man a bottom? hmm possibly
MC was helping him study human culture for a test that was coming up and decided to take a short break.
“So, how about we talk about some things that won’t be on the test?” Satan suggested, looking up at MC from his book.
“Like?” MC questioned.
“Hm, I would like to learn some human slang in order to use it for confusing my brothers,” he replied, a hand on his chin as he thought. “All I know of is the dance phenomenon called the dab? Levi was quite interested in doing it at every given second for a fleeting period of time,” he continued, deep in thought which made MC laugh.
“Well, lemme think,” they began before one popped up in their mind. “Ooh! Do ya know what a DILF is?”
“Oh, come on, you can do better than that. Of course demons know what DILFs and MILFs as well,” he replied, chuckling which made MC pout.
“Well, do ya know Lucifer is a total DILF to me?” MC retaliated, knowing that would rile up Satan. He visibly gagged at her words before slamming his book shut.
“Please never say those words again,” he hissed, closing his eyes.
MC chuckled at his reaction before another idea popped up in their mind. “Ooh, how about...” they began before bolting up and waiting.
After anticipating for a bit, he cocked his head at their silence. “How about what-“ he was quickly cut off with a loud “SILENCE BOTTOM!” From MC which he jumped at.
MC watched his reaction before bursting in a fit of laughter. “Pretty funny, right? It’s a thing humans do as a joke-“ Satan wasn’t listening as he closed the space between them with rosy cheeks.
“I would be lying if I said I’ve never thought about it before~” he whispered closely, hot breath tickling MC’s face as they looked at his lidded eyes.
“HUHH??” MC blurted out making Satan looked at them in a confused manner.
“You were implying you wanted me to try being submissive during sex, were you not?” He questioned, assuming he was correct.
“W-what? No! It’s a joke in the human world!” They were quick to reply, still a bit frazzled. It was Satan’s turn to be embarrassed.
He backed away quickly, cheeks blushed red for a different reason now as he rubbed the back of his neck. “O-oh!” Was all he said before quieting down. An awkward silence settling over them before MC spoke up quietly.
“W-what did you have in mind?” they asked, hesitant.
“Huh?” Satan turned to look at her.
“I-I would be lying too if I said I never thought about having you under me...so what did you have in mind exactly,” they replied shyly, not meeting his eyes.
A smile spread across Satan’s face as only four words left his mouth: “Me wearing cat ears,”
😏 ;)
Did ya notice I’m trying a new format?
#obey me#demon brothers#obey me shall we date#obey me fandom#obey me x mc#obey me mc#otome game#obey me mammon#obey me levi#obey me leviathan#obey me lucifer#obey me satan#obey me headcanons#obey me fanfic#obey me scenarios#obey me! shall we date?#obey me implied smut#obey me imagines#obey me smut#;)#obey me asks#answered
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Ninja Stars
Hey everyone. If you don't know, some of the things I do in my spare time is writing stories mainly crossovers. Just the idea of taking two completely different franchises and fusing it together just entice me. I decided to show you one of my latest works.
Growing up, one of the cartoons I loved watching from my childhood was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles specifically the 2003 incarnation. The characters, story, humor, adventures and even the times when things went dark never took the smile off my face watching it.
So I decided to take this wonderful incarnation and mix it with something I got into last year...
Yep. I mixed it with Jojo's Bizarre Adventure of all things. Am I crazy? Yes. Do I regret writing this? No. The big star for this particular fic is none other than our favorite toilet licking wielder of the Chariot card...Jean Pierre Polnareff!
Without further ado, I present to you guys... Ninja Stars!
He didn't know what he unintentionally signed up for when deciding to live in New York with his friends in the Joestar Family. Jean Pierre Polnareff was a Noble Frenchman who owned a nice estate in his home country of France after his father passed away. He used to have two younger siblings that he loved dearly. His sister Sherry Polnareff and the youngest sister Fleur Marie De Polnareff. Sadly his sisters' fates weren't as good as his.
Sherry was defiled and murdered when he was preparing a meal once she got out of school. For Fleur, she vanished when a terrible storm had hit the land by their estate and she disappeared with it before even turning a year old. Fleur was declared dead since her body was never found and Sherry never got the chance to be a big sister since it was robbed before she turned 5. Tragedy always liked to mess with his family while distrust amongst parents harassed the Joestar Family.
He felt sympathy for his friends Jotaro and Joseph along with their siblings. Their father George having an affair with multiple women before his wife died and said women having children being Giorno, Josuke, Johnny, Josefumi or Gappy and Jolyne. George didn't even know about them until he caught word of multiple teens having their family's birthmark! Giorno's mother and stepfather were abusive, Jolyne's foster parents neglectful and untrusting, Johnny's foster father was abusive and Jotaro's foster father never being there for him. The only ones who honestly had a good parent were the twins Josuke and Gappy though it was hard for Tomoko to care for their needs and herself at times.
George was even harder on Jonathan and Joseph often cruel enforcing manners through starvation or hitting them at times! Even their step siblings Dio and Diego Brando who have shaky relationships with the Joestar siblings at best didn't have much faith in George, and their father was worse than him! It didn't take long for George to be declared not capable to care for his children and was lawfully removed from caring for them. He lost his title to the estate and fortune which went to the siblings so they could live and get the things they needed to live off of.
They were placed in William Zeppeli's care alongside his two sons Caesar and Gyro. Anyway… Joseph figuring France was just digging up old wounds had offered Polnareff to stay at their home in New York until he felt ready to move on. Kakyoin, Avdol and Iggy were also going to be living there so it wasn't going to be that bad. Who was he kidding? When were things ever easy or normal?
The plane from France had finally landed in New York's National Airport. A tall and buff Frenchmen with tall silver hair that reached seven inches high wearing a black one strap shirt, beige pants, broken heart earrings and black expensive Italian boots had walked through the crowded airport with luggage in hand. "Now, where are they? Joseph did say they were here 30 minutes before my plane landed." The Frenchman asked to himself as he looked around the building.
His eyes then landed on a sign that read Jean Pierre Polnareff, his name, in the arms of buff and tall young man with messy brown hair, green eyes and light peach skin wearing a green crop top, fingerless gloves, a scarf, blue jeans and brown boots around his height which was 6'5. Next to him was a teen who despite being around the brunette's height was a bit younger and looked to have some Japanese blood from the narrowed aquamarine eyes and slightly darker skin. He wore a black modified gakuran with a gold chain, black hat torn in the back with two gold pins, purple shirt, expensive black slacks and black boots.
"Over here Polnareff!" The brunette shouted as Polnareff ran over to them. "Hey Joseph! Good to see you too Jotaro. You didn't have to swing that sign like you were advertising a restaurant Joseph." Polnareff teased as Joseph merely chuckled. "I wanted to make sure you don't lose yourself in the crowd. Things have been a bit crazy in New York as of late." Joseph explained as Polnareff raised his eyebrow.
"What do you mean by that? Is something going on in the city?" The Frenchman questioned earning a nod from Jotaro. "Purple Dragons?" Polnareff questioned his two friends. They had taken Joseph's car after leaving the airport and the two brothers took the opportunity to fill Polnareff in on current events. "Yeah. They're a street gang that has been causing trouble around the city. Muggings, threatening people, burning down stores, break ins and a whole mess of trouble. A bunch of annoying pissants but dangerous ones at that." Jotaro spoke blowing smoke from his lit cigarette.
"Johnathan's friend Speedwagon and his gang, the Street Ogres, have been trying to get rid of them but these dragon bastards are relentless." Joseph explained making a hard turn through the city. "You told me about the Street Ogres on the phone. That they were powerful just as they were dangerous since the gang used to be based in Europe's own Ogre Street, a personal grave for intruders. Until Johnathan defeated their leader and they followed him here to serve as his protectors. The fact these Purple Dragons can match one of Europe's most dangerous gangs is just terrifying." Polnareff said.
"There is also a new rumor going about. People are saying ninjas had been spotted in New York. Good grief." Jotaro spoke with a hint of annoyance in his voice. "Eh?! Ninjas? Since when?!" Honestly this trip was getting weirder by the second. "A few days ago, a bunch of Purple Dragons were found hanging from a street lamp by their waists. Near the scene were shurikens, a Japanese throwing star and one of the tools a ninja uses. It was embedded into the brick wall and some in the concrete floor!" Joseph exclaimed surprising the Frenchman.
"Damn. Things really have been crazy here. I bet Dio and Diego aren't exactly happy with this nonsense." The silverette questioned as Jotaro let out an amused snort. "Considering Josuke took home one of the shurikens and his recent binge watching on ninja related shows, Dio nearly had the World strangle the dumbass and Diego almost using Scary Monsters just to chew up all his DVDs. Jolyne even chased him around the house with Gappy's pet turtle Joshuu just to get him to shut up." Jotaro spoke sounding smug from his tone.
"I bet Johnathan wasn't happy with that and Johnny locked himself in his room watching his spaghetti westerns to avoid the mayhem. What about Giorno and Gappy?" He questioned as Joseph raised an eyebrow. "I forgot how brotherly you could be. Giorno is keeping an eye out for any trouble reaching home while Gappy isn't really bothered about the mayhem like the Zeppelis. Kakyoin, Iggy and Avdol are already at the estate and were filled in about the stuff as well." Joseph explained. Clearly satisfied with his answer, Polnareff remained quiet for the remainder of the drive.
The Joestar Estate was huge rivalling the size of an actual town hall though considering who previously owned it being a holder of a massive amount of riches it was too be expected. "Can I just say your dad was too crazy with his money spending?" Polnareff said as both brothers shrugged. "Stay away from my hair Iggy!" Shouted a young rowdy male voice as a purple pompadour wearing young teenage male ran past Polnareff with a little black and white Boston Terrier following close behind. "Ahahaha! Looks like the little rascal found a new victim! Looks like Iggy hasn't changed a bit. Is he still giving the dog catchers hell?" Polnareff chuckled patting his hair.
"Yep. They even have $100 dollar bet going on about who will catch Iggy first. Tried getting Johnathan to take the bet but you know him and dogs." Joseph stated. "That's right. He's working as a part-time veterinarian since his archaeology research hit rock bottom when that cave in came out of nowhere. I still think it was a Stand related incident since the ground was guaranteed to be fully stable, diagnostics and all." Polnareff exclaimed remembering the particular incident.
A lot of people got hurt during the incident and Johnathan was nearly decapitated from collapsing debris on surface that had no pockets of any kind inside of it done naturally or not. "There is also that creep who came in a bit earlier. A guy named Baxter Stockman had an appointment with old man Zeppeli about a project to take care of New York's rat problem." Jotaro stated as they sat down on the couch and the delinquent pulled up the tape.
The video showed a large empty rat maze and an African American scientist with almost a buzz cut style dark hair, rimmed glasses and hints of madness deep within those brown orbs he called eyes. He had to agree with Jotaro that despite the man not saying a word, the madness is this eyes screamed bad news. The man Baxter Stockman soon unveiled an object that was covered in sheet just as the video began.
It revealed to be some kind of robot that screamed raptor to the Frenchman on how it's design nearly matched the prehistoric predator if this one wasn't made of metal, had huge jaws, and a single light to serve as an eye. The inventor's assistant, a young woman with crimson hair and the kindest eyes Polnareff ever seen unlike her boss named April O' Neil, had released a bunch of rats into the maze. Then Stockman let loose his invention which he named Mouser. And what happened next after the Mouser found a rat…
Polnareff was glad he hadn't eaten any food or his friends would see what he had earlier. "Holy shit. This guy really offered these as a solution to a rat problem?! A killer robot that can eat through walls?! Sure, I don't want a rat in my house but at least I have a humane trap to use than that!" The Frenchman exclaimed. "That's what I was thinking! Even that April chick looked like she didn't want to be there! Everyone on the house agreed to turn this guy down including Dio! And Dio is the type of guy to practically fry up live rodents and laugh while watching them burn before feeding them to his pet bird!" Joseph shouted as Jotaro smacked him.
"Shut up! I'm sitting right next to you, dumbass! Don't need to yell in my ear. Anyway… Gappy is looking into Stockman's background since something about that Mouser seemed off. The robot bastard also somehow seemed to creep Johnathan out too and the man has been around all types of machinery considering Gappy's profession. From what's been happening in New York as of late, this an omen for an absolute shit storm." Jotaro said before walking away. They couldn't agree more.
Later… Polnareff had finished unpacking all his stuff into his room. William was kind enough to give the man a nice large room with its own bathroom, closet and a small fridge that easily reminded the Frenchman of a 3 star hotel suite. He didn't pack any extra stuff that wasn't clothes or necessities like health products but there were some things he couldn't part with. His practice rapier, the portable toilet he bought considering the bathroom mishaps from that one road trip involving him, Jotaro, Joseph, Iggy, Avdol and Kakyoin and a few photos including the one of him, his sister Sherry and their newborn sister Fleur.
He looked sorrowfully at the picture of a young boy, a red haired girl and a small baby girl with a tuft of silver hair and a slash like birthmark on her neck with all three smiling or happy in Fleur's case. Polnareff rubbed his eyes so no tears would fall down. It felt wrong for a grown man to cry even for something as sad and important as this. He heard someone knocking on his door. "Come in!" Polnareff called as the door opened to reveal two people were at the door.
One was Jotaro and the other was a young man just as tall and as Jotaro but a bit older with soft blue eyes, wild blue hair and wore a purple sleeveless shirt, gray jeans, brown shoes, black fingerless gloves and what looked like a cast around his ankle. "Hey Jotaro and same to you Johnathan. I guess your leg isn't fully healed yet. I'm surprised you haven't let Josuke or Giorno heal you." Polnareff spoke as the blue Man Johnathan let out a soft chuckle.
"I don't want to rely on them all the time. Plus it's just a simple sprain so I figured to let time and my Hamon heal it instead. Anyway, I was wondering if you want to go to the store with me? I forgot to pick up a few things and also want to do a bit of grocery shopping while I'm at it." Johnathan asked while Polnareff turned to Jotaro. "I'm coming with him so he doesn't get himself hurt again. Plus I need to pick up some more cigarettes." Jotaro said as Polnareff merely shrugged and decided to join along. What was the worst that could happen?
Apparently the worst could happen was the street caving in from underneath your feet. Around halfway to the store, the ground beneath them had suddenly gave way dropping the trio of men down into the sewers below. Jotaro and Johnathan landed on the walkway while Polnareff fell into the sewer water. "Eww!!!" Polnareff shouted spitting the dirty water out of his mouth and getting to the walkway. "This is fucking ridiculous. How the hell can a street just fall apart like that?!" Jotaro hissed dusting himself off.
"It's just like the dig all over again. Now I believe it was no mere accident. Look at the walls." Johnathan said pointing to a wall of pipes behind him. They had been torn to create a large tunnel and the way the tunnel was made being all too familiar. "Are those...bite marks? The only thing that can do this…" Polnareff said only for Jotaro to finish his sentence. "Mousers. Stockman's little rat project tried to kill us!" The delinquent growled clenching his fists in rage.
The sound of clanking metal had grabbed their attention quickly as what appeared to be a squadron of Mousers heading their way. It was more terrifying seeing blood on some of their jaws knowing the poor rodents they must had devoured or an unlucky sap who ran into them. "I ain't taking this shit lying down! Silver Chariot!!" The Frenchman cried out as something came out of his body. It was a knight in a heavy silver suit of armor, a silver helm covering the head except for yellow eyes with blue iris, spiked shoulder pads and wielded a rapier as it gently hovered in the air.
"Pierce them Chariot!" He called as the silver knight let loose a barrage of sword swipes faster than the eye could see. The Mousers took multiple slashes with resistance but when the first was decapitated and went offline, Silver Chariot used it to his advantage. Soon a pile of Mouser heads and parts laid before their feet. "Good job Chariot. We should find a way out. Who knows how many of those menaces are down here?" Polnareff stated.
A loud feminine scream echoed through the sewers. "I recognize that scream. That's Stockman's assistant April! Come on! It came from down here." Johnathan called as the group took off deeper into the sewers. They ran as the sounds of fighting could be heard around them and grew louder the closer they were. It soon quieted as the three men turned the corner to find an unbelievable scene. Tons of Mousers destroyed and scattered across the ground, April unconscious in the hands of a man sized humanoid green turtle.
That's right. A man sized turtle wearing an orange bandanna, brown arm and leg straps, belt and orange wrapped nunchucks. To make it weirder, there were three more of them with one having a purple bandanna and held a Bo staff, blue bandanna and twin swords and red bandanna with twin sai. A clicking sound of a gun made everyone froze. "Hold still. Move and Showdown Bandit Aeon will put a hole right through blue haired pretty boy's head." A cold feminine voice spoke from behind Polnareff and Jotaro.
The voice sounded young around Jotaro's age maybe a year younger. The 4 turtles turned to see the group and looked nervous at the female holding Johnathan, Jotaro and Polnareff hostage. "Oh… Hehe. Hey big sister, lovely night for a stroll in the sewers and not hunting Mousers." The turtle in orange spoke only to get slapped on the back of his head by the turtle in red. 'My Lord! They can talk too! Fascinating.' Johnathan thought despite the clear hostage situation.
"Michelango, Leonardo, Donatello and Raphael, what did father Splinter say about running off? Not only did you disobey his orders but also got discovered by more humans. You know he's going to punish you four." The voice spoke as all four looked nervous. 'Seriously? A family dispute in a goddamn sewer? Good grief.' Jotaro thought with irritation. It was becoming awkward for the Frenchman and his two friends from how the situation was turning out. "Sorry big sister Fleur." All 4 spoke as Polnareff's eyes widened greatly.
It couldn't be… Could it? He slowly turned his head around to look at their captor. It was a young woman around Jotaro's age with wild silver hair and sharp blue eyes, she wore a headband with demon horns, a green bandanna, a red and black traditional ninja suit, purple shoulder pads, orange hakamaki sash, blue boots, an accessory silver tail with a gold hoop, two short katanas on her back, fingerless brown gloves and a gold hilted blue blade katana on the small of her back sideways but what grabbed him was the familiar mark on her neck and the red streaks under her eyes.
The spirit or Stand beside her had the appearance of a demonic grey skinned cowboy, a single red eye amongst the shadow of his red horned cowboy hat while the other covered by his purple bangs, a bandanna shaped like an opened fanged mouth on his face, peculiar red ribbons near the neck, a black outlined gold poncho over a gold shirt and brown vest, brown gun belt with red fabric by the empty gun holsters, a black tail with 5 hooks at the end ranging from orange to red, yellow jeans and on them were gray leg straps with red blades, brown and orange cowboy boots with large blades spurs, white arms with the right pointing an orange, black and gold gun at Johnathan's head and the other a giant black, orange, and red gauntlet with golden blades for fingers and three orange nozzles on the center fingers.
"Little Fleur… You're alive." Polnareff spoke with a shaky voice. "You speak as if your familiar with me when I never met you before in my life. Who are you?" Fleur questioned. "You are Fleur Marie De Polnareff, third child of Jaune Reyn Polnareff and Charlotte Maria. Mother named you Fleur because you were as beautiful as a field of blossoming flowers when you were born." Polnareff spoke as he looked at the little sister he lost.
"Wait a minute. How do you know so much about her?" The turtle in red questioned angrily. "Because she is my long lost little sister. My name is Jean Pierre Polnareff, her older brother." He spoke taking out the picture of him and his siblings when they were younger. The gasps in the room from seeing the photo was enough for Fleur to have a look for herself. Her eyes widened upon seeing the familiar mark on the baby's neck in the exact shape and place as hers. "We're taking them back to the lair. Father needs to hear about this." Fleur spoke walking off while her Stand followed.
The walk through the sewers was silent as no human or turtle decides to talk. It was too uncomfortable and awkward for everybody. Fleur led them to a wall with a strange blue pattern on it. The wall pulled apart revealing it to be a secret entrance and the inside blew all three men's minds. It was a secret lair with tons of room, wall of TV's, couch, workbenches, pinball machines and basically all kinds of stuff perfect for a comfortable living. "Incredible. All of this has been under New York for this whole time. Despite all the technology and items here, the walls and layout are much much older." Johnathan spoke practically breath taken.
"You are very observant young man. My sons and daughter, may I have an explanation on how we ended up with 4 guests?" An aged and soft male voice spoke as they turned to see a human sized anthropomorphic gray rat with brown eyes, a small goatee, white bushy eyebrows and leaning on a brown wooden cane wearing an orange and dark brown kimono. "Good grief. Things gotten really bizarre." Jotaro sighed at the weirdness they found themselves in.
One explanation from Polnareff later… The group were sitting down and gathered at the front while April who had woken up earlier after fainting again joined in. "So that explains it. Fleur was separated from you because that terrible storm had washed her away. It makes sense for her not to recognize you since she was a baby before disappearing." The turtle in purple spoke. "Though my question is, who or what are you guys? How did you even find her without being caught on the surface?" April questioned.
"That is a very long story. We weren't always like this. We used to be what you once called normal. I used to be an ordinary pet rat whose owner was a kind martial artist named Hamato Yoshi. On a trip to France, my master and I had came across Fleur crying by the edge of a river. The only clue to her name was a flower tied in her hair. A few years later, the home of my master was caught in a nasty blaze. I was able to get out with Fleur through my Master's sacrifice.
I hid Fleur in a safe place within the sewers and scavenge for food to keep her alive. On one of those scavenging days, I saw the beginning of an accident. A child had walked out of the pet store carrying four baby turtles. *That was us! From the orange bandanna turtle* Don't interrupt Michelangelo. Where was I? An elderly blind man was walking the street unaware of a massive truck heading straight towards him. A man near the child lunged to shove the elder out of harm's way yet accidentally sending the tank holding the four turtles near the sewer were they were gently swept down below.
The truck had flung open wide enough for a mysterious canister to jump out and went down the sewer bursting open and covering the four turtles in a glowing green ooze. I followed them down and took pity on them. I gathered all four and safely put them in an empty coffee can though one decided to shake himself and got the ooze on me too. I took them back to my den where Fleur laid sleeping.
The next morning, I woke up. All four had doubled in size and I was changed too. The ooze had affected us in many peculiar ways from enhancing our intelligence and strength along with affecting our growth. Then one day, one of the young turtles had spoken my name. Fleur manifested her own peculiarity in the form of a spirit that same day. I knew then that it was my duty to protect and raise them as my own.
To each I taught them the ways of Ninjutsu and to harness their new form and power. Fleur named her spirit Showdown Bandit Aeon after one of the tarot cards, the Aeon Arcana. For the four turtles, using a book on the Italian Renaissance Arts, I gave them their names. Leonardo(blue), Donatello(purple), Raphael(red) and Michelangelo(orange). That is our story." Splinter told finishing his tale.
"Yep! We're unbelievable!" Shouted Michelango who they could clearly tell was the goofball of the four. "Where's your off switch?" Raphael questioned as Jotaro snorted amused. "Been asking the same thing myself about our little brother Josuke." Jotaro said. "It's still incredible that you have a Stand Fleur combined with the fact that your family could see them." Polnareff said as that got the makeshift family's attention. It was enough for Aeon to manifest with a curious glint in his eyes. "Speak of the cowboy, hey Aeon." Michelangelo said as April looked confused.
"Stand? I don't see anything." April spoke clueless. "Only Stand Users can see Stands. Stands are the manifestation of a person's fighting Spirit with their own set of abilities based on their user. They are called Stands because they always stand beside you." Jotaro explained. "Maybe not for long. I came up with something that I've been dying to try out." Donatello said heading to a cabinet and took something out.
He came back with a pair of glasses with green half lenses. "I made this when I found out Fleur had a Stand. Using a bullet Aeon supplied me with, I created these beauties. The Spirit Lens. I didn't know if one day we would lose the ability to see or hear Aeon so I made these just in case. Aeon is considered the fifth brother of the bunch since we played and trained with each other from childhood. Try the Spirit Lens on, April." Donatello explained surprising the male trio.
'Glasses that can see Stands!?' Went through their heads as April put on the glasses before turning to suddenly scream. "Oh my gosh! There's a demon cowboy right in my face! Is this Aeon???" April questioned nervously as Jotaro, Polnareff and Johnathan's eyes widened. "Yeeehaw!!!! Looks like your little doodad was a success Donnie! The lassie can see me!" A young raspy and wild male voice came out from Aeon as he twirled his hat. Donatello chuckled at the Stand's obvious happiness.
"Oh. It's rude to leave a family member out of a reunion. Jotaro, Johnathan and I are also Stand Users. Come out Silver Chariot!" Polnareff called as Silver Chariot manifested. "Wow! An actual knight in shining armor! And that rapier looks fantastic!" Leonardo stated as he couldn't help but admire the craftsmanship of Silver Chariot's blade. "The elder Knight and young bandit. Very interesting. The Chariot is the tarot card for conquest and absolute victory. Quite fitting for a knight or crusader." Splinter spoke as both Stands approached each other.
"Aw shucks. Thanks. I had Silver Chariot with me since birth and both of us keep each other in fighting shape." Polnareff said scratching his head sheepishly. Both of the Stands eyed each other before Aeon decided to just give Chariot a big hug as his tail wagged wildly like a happy dog. "Aww. They look so cute! Someone take a picture!" Michelangelo said. "Wish I brought my camera." Johnathan mumbled.
"Let's get back to business. April, why were those Mousers chasing you?" Fleur questioned getting everyone back on topic. "I decided to spy on my former boss since it was too suspicious to build so many of something like the Mousers for a city rat problem. I discovered that he was using the Mousers to rob banks and jewelry stores of their valuables. One of the test runs even brought down an archaeological dig!" April explained as Johnathan's breath hitched.
"Dear god. Those things were the reason nearly everyone at my digsite was almost killed. To think the same man who pitched those awful things to us were responsible for the pain of so many." Johnathan spoke clenching his fists angrily. "Now I recognize you! You are Johnathan Joestar, the eldest son of George Joestar and heir to the Joestar and Zeppeli Corporation! Oh shell! I read a few of your books on ancient civilizations and they were really excellent. To meet one of my favorite authors is astounding!" Donatello explained as Johnathan couldn't help but smile.
"Well it's nice to meet a fan of my work. I would love to discuss about it later but I think it's best if we deal with Stockman first. He caused too much pain for a lot of people and must be stopped before he could do further harm." Johnathan said. "Yeah. That jerk destroyed our old home and those pieces of scrap metal try to make a meal out of our Sensei!" Raphael stated taking out his sai.
"I agree. My sons and my daughter, I ask of you to assist April in stopping Stockman before he could do even further harm. Jotaro and Jean, I ask of you to accompany them on this mission. I know my sons and daughter can protect themselves but it'll be good to have someone capable of protecting Miss O' Neil. Though Johnathan, I ask of you to stay here. The injury on your ankle needs to be checked and wounds like that on a battlefield can put you and others in grave danger." Splinter explained.
No one objected the elder rat's words for it obviously made sense. Even Jotaro silently agreed despite being known to be against any type of authority. "It's not going to be easy. Stocktronics has the latest top of the line security system. It'll be tough to get in without being spotted." April spoke only for Fleur to giggle. "We've got that problem already handled." The kunoichi said.
"May I present you our technologic master turtle, Donatello!" Michaelango said pointing at Donatello. "You're too kind." Donatello chuckled. "Can we go already? Please!" Shouted Raphael. "Follow us. We know these sewers like the back of our hand." Fleur spoke walking off. The group of 8 quietly walked through New York's Sewer system. April had stopped them to point a small security system.
"Seriously? Security systems in the sewer? This Stockman guy is really paranoid." Michaelango whispered only to be smacked by Jotaro. "Thanks big guy." Raphael silently chuckled. "Get a room you two." Michaelango spoke only to get shushed by Donatello. "Be quiet. April and I are busy! This is delicate work!" Donatello whispered annoyed as he dismantled the system. "*sigh* Little brothers…" Fleur muttered.
The system was soon broken allowing the group to travel to the building through the ducts. Using his sai, Raphael had opened the vent after the guards left. "Alright. The terminal is over there. If I can access it, I can make blank spots in the security for you guys to travel undetected." April whispered. "Let me do it. Star Platinum." Jotaro spoke manifesting his Stand.
It looked like a big purple Aztec warrior just as tall as Jotaro but buffer, had long black flowing hair, sharp teal eyes, gold wavy lines going down his body and wore gold shoulder pads with spirals, red scarf, gold circlet headband, black fingerless gloves with gold studs, black knee boots and a long white loin cloth. April had to hide her blush. "Oh shell. He's huge. Looks like you got a fellow purple lover." Raphael joked as Donatello rolled his eyes.
"Star Finger." Jotaro whispered as Star Platinum's middle and index finger thin and lengthen before using it to pick the lock open. Jotaro called Star back as the group got out of the duct and followed April into terminal room. "Nice lock picking Jotaro. When did you learn to do that?" Leonardo questioned the raven. "Jotaro has a crazy fanclub that follows him everyday at school. He picks the roof door lock to escape since students aren't allowed up there." Polnareff answered the blue mask turtle.
"Alright. I'm blanking the cameras in 10 second intervals. You guys have to keep moving and don't stop if you don't want to get caught." April warned. "Got it. We'll be back." Fleur spoke as the 5 ninjas disappeared without a sound to three clueless people until the Frenchman turned around. "They're gone! That Splinter can teach!" Polnareff stated as he couldn't help but feel proud at his little sister and a bit for her brothers.
The kunoichi and her four shelled siblings outran the cameras as they raced through the halls. Walking into a completely dark room, all 5 siblings were on guard. "It's quiet, too quiet." Leonardo warned pulling out his weapons like the others. Fleur kept her third blade on her back as she kept an eye out for danger. "Guys, my turtle sense is tingling." Michelangelo joked nervously. Suddenly the lights flashed on to reveal Stockman high above in a control room and there were manufacturing guns found above in high-tech factories, the type that fire beams of extreme heat.
"You really think I would be so lax in thinking to not anticipate intruders! Did you come here for my secrets because it wouldn't matter. None of you are leaving out alive." Stockman threatened looking at the thermal images of the 5 shinobi only to be disturbed by 4 non human shaped blurs. "What are you? I guess I have to dissect you to find out." Stockman spoke as the ceiling guns shifted to face the group before the ninja found themselves under fire.
It didn't take them a second to take cover behind the pillars. "Showdown Bandit Aeon!" Fleur cried out summoning her Stand. "This is quite a shootout but these pieces of scrap can't outshot me!" The devilish cowboy laughed aiming his gun and began firing bullets. Each bullet sniped into each barrel causing each laser gun to explode from its own blast. "Donnie!" Leonardo called as the turtle in purple came over. Donatello tossed Leonardo into the air so he could slice the guns in half with his katana blades.
Donatello using his staff, pole vaulted to one of the guns before turning it to shoot at the others and then finished by sabotaging it to explode. "Mikey! Hammer throw!" Raphael called Michelangelo ran over to the turtle in red. Michaelango jumped over Raphael as the red masked turtle kicked out his feet to launch his fellow turtle to the control room glass and break open an entry to Stockman's terror.
Fleur and the others quickly followed up there blocking Stockman as their friends walked in from the other side. "April! You're alive." Stockman said shocked. "And kicking. My friends here helped me out and get me to you. It's over Stockman, I have enough evidence to land you in jail for a very long time." April spoke only for Stockman to laugh and pull out a remote with a single button. He pressed it before Michaelango could grab him.
"It's too late! I called back all my Mousers. They'll be here to rip you to shreds!" Stockman chuckled as the group could see the beginnings of a swarm of the malicious robots surround them. Stockman had used their distraction to escape. "Guys! Stockman got away!" Michelangelo shouted. "We have bigger problems. We have thousands of things heading our way! Stockman must have made even more before robbing those banks earlier!" Donatello panicked as both him and April got to the control panel before trying to hack it.
Mousers began to come in the room from all around them as Jotaro, Polnareff and Fleur got their stands ready. Suddenly all the small killer robots stopped as their single eye began blinking. "April, what did you do?" Fleur questioned as Michelangelo picked up one of the Mousers. "I couldn't shut them down so I had to reroute their programming to overload." April warned as the orange masked turtle dropped the Mouser in panic. "Let's get the shell out of here! This place is going to blow!" Fleur cried as it didn't take a single second for all of them to scramble out of the building and down into the sewers.
Back at the lair… the news played the burning scene of the Stocktronics building as the group watched. "What are you going to do now April? I'm pretty sure you're out of a job." Splinter questioned. "We can help her get back on her feet. She did help us stop Stockman." Fleur offered as Polnareff couldn't help but smile. "Splinter, I want to thank you and your master for caring for my little sister. She has turned into a wonderful woman with your guidance." Polnareff spoke.
"It was an honor. Though it'll take time for Fleur to adjust knowing she has a living relative. You and your friends are welcomed back here. The boys still need some guidance that I can't provide." Splinter spoke as Polnareff smiled. "Wait, if Polnareff is Fleur's older brother and Splinter adopted Fleur, doesn't that make Polnareff our big brother in some way?" Michelangelo questioned as everyone looked at the Frenchman.
"I believe it does since Splinter is her parental guardian. Looks like Polnareff has gotten another chance at being a big brother again." Johnathan chuckled as the Frenchman looked ready to cry. Today was just an insane day for Jean Pierre Polnareff. Moving to New York for a new start had gotten him into a crazy adventure. Now not only did he have his little sister Fleur back but also has 4 teenage mutant ninja turtles to guide like a big brother should. It was going to be strange but he wouldn't trade it for the world. And this time he was going to protect them!
That's it folks. I honestly thought Polnareff deserved another chance at the big brother role because it just suits him perfectly in my opinion. Here is a drawing of Fleur and her Stand Aeon though his name on the picture is different since I drew it before writing this.
#polnareff#oc#oc stand#jojo's bizarre adventure#tmnt#tmnt 2003#jjba#crossover#crossover au#ninja turtles#ninja turtles meet jojo#humor#adventure#jean pierre polnareff#jotaro kujo#johnathan joestar#leonardo tmnt#raphael tmnt#donatello tmnt#michelangelo tmnt#joseph joestar#baxter stockman#april o'neil#splinter#silver chariot#star platinum
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I am 17 but all my life since I was a kid I have been hearing things that aren't there in the physical world. I'll hear just whispers here and there but as of recently I have been hearing actual voices, loud bangs and even music. I heard a voice say to me "do you know Ethan? He's dead" and just yesterday a female voice said to me "what if you're needed" and this past week I have been seeing many spirit orbs with my own eyes, does this sound like I'm developing clairaudience and clairvoyance?
Afternoon you lovely gifted soul you ;)
YES!
You are so totally gifted. You aren’t just *developing* clairaudient abilities, you ARE clairaudient.
Your clairvoyance seems to be dependent at the moment on your comfort level, I feel a bit of hesitance in you to fully *see* who might be speaking to you.
You’re mostly receiving white noise / random info & messages… You’re basically tuning into what I like to call “Spirit Radio”. As you go through your everyday life, you’re picking up on telepathic thoughts & words spoken by Spirit.
When you heard “Do you know Ethan? He’s dead” - Spirit shows me that this message coming through from an Earthbound Spirit (a Ghost).
When you heard “What if you’re needed?” - Spirit shows me this came through from a Spirit Guide / Spiritual Ally of yours.
* Keep Reading to learn more about Clairvoyant & Clairaudient abilities + Bonus Info about developing those gifts further *
If you wish to expand your Clairvoyant & / or Clairaudient abilities, here is some info & further suggestions for you:
I’ve pulled some info from a Mediumship Development workshop I’ve taught in the past. See how you feel about these suggestions, and try to work with / accept these gifts of yours in order to foster more clarity & understanding of the messages coming through.
Clairvoyance(“Clear Seeing”)
The ability to see via the 3rd eye, objects, people & events in another realm or along the past, present or future timeline of events
The number 1 most sensationalized gift - accuracy is difficult so don’t believe all of the hype
May appear as still images (like photos), moving clips (like movies)
Can be as subtle as seeing colours, shapes, orbs, shadows, outlines, etc.
Requires understanding (and sometimes interpretation) of what you see - [ view this post then scroll to the bottom to the “Bonus Info” to learn about the difference between Literal Clairvoyance & Figurative / Symbolic Clairvoyance ]
Typically present in those that have prophetic or vivid dreams - or those that have a large amount of success in meditation or spiritual visualization exercises
Development: What if I told you once a message is seen it can never be unseen? Treat images, visions, movie clips, etc. like you would your NetFlix direct streaming - fast forward, rewind, pause, stop, start, etc.Practice image recall - imagine all that has been seen physically & spiritually is catalogued away in your “memory banks” as files, boxes, photos, DVDs, etc.Sit in meditation and access something you saw in a dream or anytime in the past.
Deeper Connection: Work with your Spirit Guides / Spiritual Allies to request more information, more visual detail, ask to see things from a different perspective or with more clarity.
Clairaudience “Clear Hearing”
The ability to receive words, sounds, vibrations from another person, animal, object or event
One of the more underrated “Clair” gifts & often not spoke of to the same extent
May manifest as speaking thoughts to yourself (bouncing around in your head - your thought in the forefront, then another voice answering in your same sound/tone in the background), or picking up on phantom sounds (i.e. breathing when no one is around, music when there is none playing, bell chiming, animals making noise, etc.)
May begin manifesting as a buzzing or static noise in the ears, also ringing (especially in one ear but not both), phantom name calling
Requires keen observation of what the sound is & suspension of logic & reason when hearing female vs male tones of voices, many voices, etc. Typically present with those that often sing, hum, or speak to themselves
Development:What if I told you that the voice that responds to you with your “internal conversations” is not your own, but that of your Higher Self or a Spirit Guide? Try to notice any subtle changes to that voice inside of your head - is it slightly deeper than yours (signifying male), more airy or tingly (female), older/wiser, are the words used the same that you would use conversationally?
Deeper Connection: If you continue to receive a buzzing, static noise or ringing then simply ask Spirit to send the message via a lower pitch or frequency that you will recognize. When you start to hear sound, quiet/still yourself (or others), pay attention, and ask for the sound to play again, for the volume to go higher, lower, or to receive in a way that you will understand.Most importantly, when you are being spoken to *engage* in the conversation by speaking back. It’s only through acknowledging what has been said that you can receive more information & learn why you were sent this message.
#ask#ask me anything#ask me stuff#spiritual development#intuitive development#clairvoyance#clairvoyant#clairaudient#clairaudience#yes you are gifted#you're psychic#you're a medium
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