#Donnie is his own category

[turtleblogatlast]

I honestly love the clothing styles of each of the turtles in this show and I love how these styles really incorporate their personalities as well.

Like, obviously Donnie has the best sense of style, yeah? Think that’s something pretty agreed upon here. Everything we see him put together is very meticulously crafted and clean. That goes with his personality because Donnie is a very meticulous person in general, and he knows what he likes very, very well, and knows how to flaunt it in turn. Him commenting on colors he enjoys or disapproving of outfits that the others see no problem with also shows how he just generally has an eye for this kind of thing. He doesn’t just know what looks good on himself, but also what looks good on others - and I think this ties into his love of gift giving too. Donnie also has a flair for making sure that his things have his “mark” on them, and his clothing is no exception. All that he wears and how he wears them screams “Donnie.”

Mikey is really fun because his styles are honestly a pendulum between super simplistic and incredibly out there. And often, you’re going to see a lot of color or patterns to both. And in my opinion I think that all reflects really well on Mikey’s character - he’s got a colorful personality but even more than that he’s incredible sure of who he himself is. Mikey’s style, I feel, is less what looks good as clothes and more what sparks joy in Mikey himself. His bright stickers he wears are a testament of that! He’s comfortable in his own skin and his style reflects this perfectly, whether he goes for a more out-there look or a more toned down one.

Now, for Leo. Okay, I think I’m actually in the minority here I feel because Leo’s style isn’t really that bad? Hear me out- if you actually look at what he wears, try taking out, like, one accessory. Suddenly, that outfit works! He even manages to put together many good outfits in the series, but his “bad” ones are the ones that tend to stand out, alas (just like how his mistakes tend to be big ones oop-) Basically, my personal look at him is not that he’s inept at styling at all, but that he has a “too much” gene. And like everyone else, this sense of style is completely like him, too. Going too far to impress when all he needed to do was slow it down some to think things through. (And funnily enough, a lot of his outfits take random aspects from his brothers too - “nothing without them” huh?)

For Raph, I feel bad for him since pretty much all of his clothes are inevitably going to be ripped, but he makes them work pretty much each time. Like Leo, Raph tends to go more sporty with his looks, but I also noticed that his stuff often goes in that in between of comfy, cool, and cute. His pajama suit in particular comes to mind in terms of “cute” as it’s more something you’d see younger children in rather than older kids, and I think it can be a subtle nod to the fact that for all Raph tries to seem older, he’s still just a kid too.

I could probably go on, but these are just all off the top of my head - I love how the boys’ personality’s come out in so many different ways.

[rottmnt-residuum]

Hi, I've read the Residuum comic, and I think the characterization of the boys is really good. I was wondering if you have any tips on how to write them? Especially Mikey, please.

I'd actually recommend re-watching the show with one character in mind. All my notes on the turtles come from doing separate re-watches for each of them. The key is to ONLY watch the character you are focusing on.

In the end, you'll probably be happier with your own personal interpretation. As we are with ours lol

TL;DR

Massive post under the cut

To preface: we'll be contrasting (this Mikey) against the fandoms version of Mikey, as our interpretation is very different. Don't worry if you prefer the fandom version, there's nothing… wrong per se with writing him this way. We just find him flat and uninteresting. (Main author: not me, I just hate him, lol).

Every reader or fan comes into a story with their own biases and experiences. A ton of our view of Mikey is based on how our siblings acted. We see Mikey as the young sibling that got preferential treatment from the whole family, simply due to being the youngest, but is now aging out of the privilege. Which all youngest siblings do at some point or another.

The fandoms version of Mikey is empathetic, naive, vulnerable, co-dependent and quite often a door mat who cries at the drop of a hat. And as much as the fandom like to say that people love him… when this particular character archetype is in other media, they seem to attract the most criticism. Mable pines, Bolin from Korra, people rag on Aang all the fucking time, and Steven Universe is a whole other bag. These characters don't deserve it, and yet it happens anyway.

To flatten Mikey to simply 'the baby' is a disservice. We don't see or write Mikey as the fandom “baby” version (cinnamon roll uwu). Part of this comes from having multiple siblings, so we interpret the times when Mikey does the puppy dog eyes as typical younger sibling bullshit, mostly by the way that the other turtles rarely react to it, if at all.

The other turtles traits can also get projected onto Mikey. Mikey being the fandom therapist is in the same category as this. He isn't a therapist, he's a psychology nerd who likes to psychoanalyze people and meddle in their relationships. (Donnie and Shelldons relationship, Splinter and Draxums...) he's not trying to resolve your emotional issues. Of the turtles, the character that cares the most about people's feelings is Raph. And Leo is more of a consoler than Mikey ever is. It flattens all the turtle's characterizations when you start doing this because you are ripping out parts that are integral to another characters' complexity.

Co-author has told me that they've seen people become confused when going into the show after only reading fan fiction or coming from the movie. They see his characterization as inconsistent and become upset when their view of him is contradicted. This also happens when a fandomized version of him becomes the primary characterization that they use. Sometimes when this disconnect happens (or if they just don't like the character), Mikey characterization is swung in the complete opposite direction.

They make him manipulative and abusive, or someone who is hyper violent and avoids being held accountable for anything. This is an uncharitable interpretation of him and can come off as pretty racist depending on the circumstances. (like if someone considers the turtles black or not)

Every version of Mikey is a shithead (affectionate), even this one. Especially this one, really. When Mikey not doing the "baby schtick" hes mean. If you pay attention to what he's saying, and just not his tone of voice, he's consistently saying pretty mean or condescending stuff. (You could take this as simply naïveté, but he still says mean shit pretty often regardless)

The times he does say genuinely nice stuff the turtles don't exactly expect it from him, at least, in the early season. And while he is mean, and seems to find saying mean things to be funny, Mikey isn't cruel. Nor will he ever be.

This shit-headery behavior is found in both 2003 and 18 Mikey. They have a degree of social intelligence that lets them use it to annoy people into doing what they want. 18 just has the advantage of being baby faced and having better tonal control. He's good at using people's perception of him to get what he wants.

Let Mikey have his problematic traits, but don't overexaggerate them. He doesn't revel in fooling people. He loves doing character bits, and the baby faced one just happens to be one of them. However, to infantilize or to deem him incompetent is to piss him off, he wants to be viewed as a competent part of the team and competent as an individual. He's not insecure about being young, he just doesn't want to be treated like he can't do anything.

Mikey above all is an optimistic character, he sees the brighter side quite often and is conscious of the harm his actions have on people. Mostly after the fact, but he consistently attempts to rectify the harm he has personally done to peoples lives. (Todd, Bullhop, Draxum). Food and shelter seems to be a thing that he considers to be a right. He doesn't cross a boundary twice once he learns of it, and he never pushes people too far (if he likes you, that is. if he doesn't know you or doesn't like you, he doesn't give a singular shit. But that is standard to most people.). He doesn't care about people's stuff, though. He breaks things all the time.

Mikey understands boundaries, but he doesn't automatically recognize them. He needs them to verbalized or for there to be a very obvious reaction to the boundary being crossed (unfortunately, for Todd and Donnie). Sometimes people mess up (esp. younger people), and it can take a while for teens to learn where boundary is, but he fully respects the boundaries he does know about. He doesn't act petulant when he's told about boundary, he apologizes, accepts it, and moves on. He doesn't dwell.

Mikey doesn't hold on to distressing emotions. He bounces between emotions quickly, but isn't effected in the long run. One thing Iv'e seen people often conflate is the difference between sensitive and vulnerable. Mikey is sensitive, but I have never seen him vulnerable to others. To be sensitive is to be easily influenced by the current situation. To be vulnerable is to hold that influence for a long time. Characters can have one, both, or neither of these traits. But Mikey is not vulnerable. It is the difference between compressing memory foam and a piece of metal until they deform. One will pop back, the other does not.

Those who are vulnerable but not sensitive will take longer to effect, but once you do, they will hold on to that emotion for a very long time. The vulnerable, are grudge holders. (leo). But like I've said, Mikey bounces back. What a character does has an effect on his emotions, but it doesn't make a lasting impression.

Forgiveness is another thing people like to push on him. It is not that Mikey forgives people easily, it's just that he doesn't hold grudges. He neither forgives nor forgets, but he does not ruminate. He's generally affable, first impressions seem to be a big part of how he views people. He is idealistic, and doesn't assume people are unchanging and/or evil, but he's not a mark.

Mikey isn't so much as naive or overly trusting… it's just that he's inexperienced. He doesn't get fooled by anyone in the series except meat sweats, and that's because Meatsweats is on Todd drugs. Mikey just didn't notice when he started faking. He's not… actually all that aware of people's emotional states, passively. He has to tune in to notice things like that.

Mikey isn't someone who really tries to regulate others emotions, either. The fandom like to make Mikey afraid of his brothers fighting and others being upset, but Mikey doesn't actually care. The most distressed we ever see him in a fight is in the movie, and he's not SCARED, he's just concerned (and then alarmed once it turned physical). If anything, outside extenuating circumstances (like the movie), Mikey actually seems to find their fights annoying.

(Mikey actually seems to have a pretty short fuse, but his bounciness doesn't really let it linger very long, lmao)

(One pet peeve of fandom Mikey is the constant crying, crying at fights, crying at insults, crying for no reason all the time. Sure, he tears up when he gets emotional, but when Mikey is genuinely crying It's when he's desperate, like when he's hungry, or when he's trying to save Leo from certain doom. Same thing, really.)

Mikey respects no one (we love him for this). He admires people, he admires his family: April, the turtles, his dad, Lou Jitsu. He admires Rupert Swaggert, but he respects none of them. No one is sacrosanct to the Mikey.

Above all, the way we write characters is to give them a past that informs how they act now. We view Mikey and the other turtles as teenagers that were kids, and that will be adults. Yes they all have “problematic” traits, but 1) good characters need flaws, and controversial traits are one of the best to use, and 2) they're teenagers, don't expect adult behaviors from them, also don't expect them to be kids. They're minors, not toddlers.

This is getting as long enough as it is, so we'll stop here, but this is a very broad overview of how we characterize him. There's a lot we didn't cover here, but if we even started on hobbies, or the real minutia of his quirks and ticks, or even how he feels about other specific characters... we'd be here all day. So I hope this is good enough lol

If there was something you wanted to know in particular, you'll need to get specific. Feel free to ask again ahahh

[ju1cyfru1t]

Y/N’s guide of a soft shell turtle mutant

(Rise! Donatello x Reader)

fluff :)

gn reader, romantic leaning but can be read as platonic

In which Donnie stumbles upon your documentation on himself.

Leo’s version Mikey’s version Raph’s version

✿ Subject of interest

Soft Shelled turtle mutant; humanoid turtle man

✿ Diet:

Pizza, fruits, unflavored juice(?), maybe lettuce (subject is a turtle), chemicals???

✿ Likes:

Science, Technology, purple, turtle tank(;referred to as “his baby”,) Jupiter Jim + Lou Jitsu, dancing, libraries, uranium???, techy bo-staff(;also referred to as “his baby.”‼️do not play with‼️)

^(note: continue to add to list)

✿Dislikes:

“Uneducated idiots”, purple dragons, loud noises, Dr.Feelings, scratches (assumption - afraid to test hypothesis; subject bites), sports (assumption - subject is not good at sports), affection; unless the turtle is feeling needy.

✿ Tail language ‼️‼️DO NOT ATTEMPT TO PULL; I REPEAT, SUBJECT BITES‼️‼️

twitching rapidly: sign of agitation, maybe overstimulated? (Might be partnered with hissing) Let turtle relax by himself, unless asked otherwise.

wagging: excited, stimming(?) add cause to list of likes

still and loose: typically relaxed or focused, but should check on turtle (sometimes rewarded with small cuddles at desk if observee is not too busy)

——————————————————————————

Donatello sighed to himself, setting down the file. He would never admit it, not even to himself, but he found it weirdly endearing for you to document him like this.

He had noticed you paying extra close attention to him lately and how you jot things down in your little notepad, whether he was just working in his lab or just hanging out.

Donnie knew it was wrong to look at your personal stuff, but when he saw the file with his name in your backpack after you left it in the lair he couldn’t help his curiosity.

He checked the time in his tech gauntlet, before grabbing his favorite pen. He could spare a few minutes.

——————————————————————————

✿ Subject of interest

Soft Shelled turtle mutant; humanoid turtle Trionychidae, to be so specific.

✿ Diet:

Pizza, fruits, unflavored juice(?), maybe lettuce (subject is a turtle) ???, chemicals??? It was one time, in the name of science! 2/10, would not recommend.

✿ Likes:

Science, Technology, purple, turtle tank(;referred to as “his baby”,) I sense a hint of bitterness. Jupiter Jim + Lou Jitsu, dancing, libraries, uranium???, techy bo-staff(;also referred to as “his baby.”‼️do not play with‼️) It is not a toy after all, and you almost blew up my precious, darling laboratory.

^(note: continue to add to list) Good note.

✿Dislikes:

“Uneducated idiots and miscreants”, purple dragons, loud noises, Dr.Feelings, I prefer Dr.Solves Problems. scratches (assumption - afraid to test hypothesis; subject bites), sports (assumption - subject is not good at sports) no comment, affection; unless the turtle is feeling needy neglected. You are an idiot, but you don’t belong in this category.

✿ Tail language ‼️‼️DO NOT ATTEMPT TO PULL; I REPEAT, SUBJECT BITES‼️‼️ It was your own fault. Trust me, I will have my revenge someday.

twitching rapidly: sign of agitation and tension, maybe overstimulated? (Might be partnered with hissing) Let turtle relax by himself, unless asked otherwise. Scoff. I hissed at you ONE time.

wagging: excited, stimming(?) add cause to list of likes You’re as dense as a brick wall, (Y/N).

still and loose: typically relaxed or focused, but should check on turtle (sometimes rewarded with small cuddles at desk if observee is not too busy) Perhaps even a kiss if you ask nicely.

Very detailed, encompassing observations. I recommend you continue your research with the subject thoroughly.

——————————————————————————

Thank you for reading. :) please lmk if you think I should do versions for Leo, Raph, and Mikey.

[greenglowsgold]

The List.

Based on the Cass Apocalyptic Series.

The first part of this has been rumbling around in my brain ever since that Super Sad Scene a month ago, but yesterday’s update gave me the other side of the coin, so to speak, and finally pulled it all together.

@somerandomdudelmao thanks for the fuel, friend

                              -----

                              Donatello’s days have become a series of checklists, as of late.

No, that’s not exactly true. His days have always been about lists: what he’s done, what he can delegate to someone else, what still needs doing. But these days he’s been doing less and listing more, piling tasks from the first category onto the second as fast as he can manage, hoping he has enough time to empty the queue.

The full catalog is written out in a series of files, reorganized for accessibility to the layperson and meticulously up-to-date as of yesterday. He meant to run through it again this morning, ensure all the relevant instruction manuals were attached to each item and double check his protocols, but he wasn’t… he couldn’t…

He’s going to die tonight.

It irritates him, his own miscalculation of the timing more than the stark presence of his oncoming demise. The latter has been inevitable for quite some time, long enough that he’s gotten used to the idea. But he thought he had another week or two, and he doesn’t like being proven wrong. He wonders if his brothers know.

Probably not. They know it’s bad now, obviously, because they’ve piled him with pillows and blankets and surrounded him on all sides, and Leo has finally gone quiet. But they trust him, they’ve always trusted him, even when they shouldn’t, so if he swears he’ll last a few more days, they’ll believe him. He thinks. He’s pretty sure. If they knew it was tonight, he doubts they would choose to sleep through it. Donnie thinks about waking them up, but only for a moment. He’d like to say it’s a noble act, to leave them in peace a little bit longer, but the truth is he’s just too fucking tired to move.

There’s something settled bone-deep in his chest, a heaviness that sits on him like a stone, a peine forte et dure pressing him down and down, stopping his voice and his breath and his heart. He wonders if this is what dying usually feels like, or if it’s unique to the Kraang. Raph would know.

He cranes his neck to the right, to catch Raph’s face out of the corner of his eye. Raph’s working eye is half-open, staring down at the floor. Donnie could ask him. (He won’t. Let him fall asleep.) The movement of his head is so slight it doesn’t even catch Raph’s attention. He’s too tired for anything more. He’s so goddamn tired.

His lists are out of reach at the moment, with his physical interfaces back in the lab and his ninpo locked behind a wall of oh-god-it-sounds-too-exhausting-to-even-try, but he memorized them all long ago.

Raphael: Maintenance (delegated to Casey, who has it well in hand). Plans (tucked away in a dedicated folder, long term, but someday they’ll have the materials, and Raph will have a proper body again, someday). Honey (yes, he passed that along last week).

Raph has access to the tracking programs, so he can keep an eye on everyone himself, even when Donnie can’t pull up locations or vitals for him anymore. He has his own space in the base once more, somewhere to close a door when he needs to (he insists he doesn’t, but Donnie isn’t a fool). He has more excuses to spend time with Casey, who’s taking over his upkeep. Donnie hopes it fills in some gaps for both of them.

He runs through the list, double checks each item. It’s his last chance to make sure he hasn’t forgotten anything important.

He looks down, finds Mikey.

There’s a stockpile of the anti-aging serum in his safe, the formula in his database, plans for the permanent solution clearly labeled. As long as they have his lab, his systems, Mikey will be as young as his years. He’s walked him through the greenhouse, even if most of it is controlled by the computer system. Mikey misses the world being green; it’ll do him good to spend more time around the plants. He has his tea, his candles. He has Draxum, who by now should have received a — mildly — threatening message warning him not to pull any disappearing acts anytime soon. He has their ancestors, just a short call away.

Donnie’s sure Mikey will call on him soon. He doesn’t plan to stray far.

Up a bit. To the left. Leo.

The arm — Leo knows how to take care of it, as does Casey.

The passwords — reset, something even Leo will be able to remember without resorting to blackmail.

The schedule — reshuffled for the next few days, he’ll have a hard enough time sleeping as it is.

The photos — everything they have, even the embarrassing ones. He even managed a couple of prints, and one precious shot from their pre-apocalypse days, something for Leo to tuck into a pouch and carry with him, when they’re not around.

Raph, Mikey, Leo. He doesn’t think he’s missed anything. Donnie lets his head fall back, too exhausted to hold it up any longer.

Is it enough?

His mind stretches further out. He’s unraveling.

What about April? Her prescription is up to date, they just checked a month ago. She has the latest in his combat tech, which has kept her safe in the field this long, so he has no reason to think it will falter now. He’s leaving her a few extra pieces, since he won’t be able to use them anymore. Leo will find the time for a movie night once in a while, he’s certain, even if his taste in Jupiter Jim movies is horrendous. They still have coffee; he’d die before he let that particular supply run out. He will, actually.

Casey. Fuck, Donnie’s gonna miss his birthday. But he did plan for this, his protocols will kick in. The mask is finished, everything is in place. He’s reconfigured his workstations, fit them for a tiny human instead of a seven-foot turtle. Casey has a better head for mechanics than any of his brothers ever did. Kid likes to be useful, so Donnie’s left him as much use as he can. He’s taught him everything Casey can learn and left instructions for more, when he’s a little older and wiser. His family will take care of him, they’ll make sure he gets there.

The base. It has to hold, to give them somewhere safe. The infrastructure is sound, and they have people to manage repair work. Supplies are decent, the most critical items in stock, everything that can be made renewable is. Their allies — Leo handles interpersonal issues and leadership, but Donnie’s checked the list with a pragmatist’s eye, left notes and rankings for priority. Security is the largest concern, but he’s spent nearly half his time with his assistants since his self-diagnosis (he could have spent it with his family), running them through the programs and adjustments, trying to bring them up to somewhere in the realm of his own expertise (a fool’s errand, but still). They’ve been rigorously instructed, they understand that the little things like sleep are secondary concerns. It has to hold.

Is it enough? For them to be okay?

He’s done everything he can. He can’t do any more. So it has to be enough.

Donnie blinks, and for a moment isn’t certain his eyes will open again at the end of it. But they do. At least one more time, they obey him.

Raph. Mikey. Leo. April. Casey. Home. He rolls back through the list. It’s his last chance. He can’t miss anything.

Mikey’s hand tightens unconsciously around his wrist, fingers meeting easily on either side. Donnie feels only the echo of the pressure.

Raph. Mikey. Leo. April. Casey. Home.

Something bright sparks at the edges of his vision before it fades. The last gasps of a dying brain, he supposes. Synapses firing one last time before they’re snuffed out.

Raph.

Mikey.

Leo.

                                                            April.

                                                                                                                        Casey.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Home.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Light.

                                                                                                                         There’s light.

                                                            It hurts.

                                                            He thought dying would stop the pain, but it’s risen to a fever pitch instead. His brother’s arms are gone, but the disease wraps around him in their place, consumes him. It rages like a wildfire, burning through his center until pieces start to flake away like ash.

Oh, this is what it does, what it was built for. The Kraang could have killed him in a lot of different ways. He’d wondered why they chose this one.

He hasn’t planned for it. This is something he didn’t even know to fear.

It’s bright and it hurts but it’s quiet as he crumbles, folds in on himself like a black hole in the utter silence of outer space. It’s quiet enough that the voice that breaks through does so clear as a bell.

His head turns to follow the sound, instinct. He’s lost half his field of vision, but what’s left is enough. He looks, and finds Casey.

Casey looks at him, at him, not the body. Donnie opens his mouth to ask a question — What are you doing here? How? Why? — but something else sloughs out instead. Not blood. He doesn’t have that anymore.

Casey calls his name once more and starts running.

Donnie’s questions fold back into his mind. His mouth clicks shut, he swallows back the putrid rot and pushes himself up. His arms are shattered but they’ll have to hold him. They have to. Because Casey is here and he needs something, which means Donnie missed something, which means he isn’t done.

His spirit disagrees with him, doesn’t see the logic. His arms don’t hold.

Casey reaches to catch him as he falls, and the touch ruptures him instead. He scatters. Into the air and the ground and Casey. For a moment, he’s just pieces, fumbling around and latching onto anything that welcomes them, and Casey does that. They flow into him. They’re him. They’re…

He’s…

Casey, he’s…

Donatello pulls himself back together. Most of himself, anyway. The infection hasn’t followed him but the damage persists. He’s run through with cracks and crevices, shaking bits away into infinity with every movement. But there’s more of him here than not.

Unexpectedly, Donnie is not gone. He’s still dead, but that’s fine, he planned for that one.

                                                                                                                         Casey has him now. He wraps himself around Donnie in layers, helps hold him together with a kind of sheer will that makes up for any lack of mystic knowledge in spades. Casey asks him to stay, and Donnie takes up the task like Sisyphus sizing up the hill. This time, this time I’ll do it right.

Even better, Casey has taken him to another time, one where all of Donnie’s long-term plans are now completely-fucking-reasonable plans. Casey’s going to fix it, so Donnie can fix everything else. Whatever else needs it. He hasn’t really asked. And he knows he’s missed something, but he doesn’t think too hard about what, not yet.

First thing’s first: he needs a body.

It’s so simple to accomplish that it seems like the universe is mocking him. Just a quick 1-2-3, ticking off the list. It feels almost stupid, like running back through the early levels of a video game after unlocking all the ultimate weapons and burning through enemies and obstacles, laughing, shit, did I used to think this was hard?

In no time at all, his own face has formed in front of him.

In no time at all, he’s gasping.

It’s only been a few hours since he last breathed air, but he’s missed it.

Another thing he’s missed? Functional musculature. Casey slams into him and Donnie is startled to find that it doesn’t knock him over. His arms and legs look like actual limbs again, not fragile little sticks disguising themselves as such. He stands, dragging Casey along without a second thought. The weight barely registers. It’s amazing.

The power trip is heady, but it only lasts a few minutes before reality kicks it in the ass and pulls him back down to earth.

We lost, Casey says.

They’re dead, Casey says.

It wasn’t enough, Casey does not say, but Donnie hears it just as clearly.

All those plans, the preparations, the precautions and protocols, they only borrowed a year or two before they fell apart. He sees the timeline spiral out before him, tighter and tighter until it collapses in on itself, rendered all the more insignificant from his own point of perception. He was alive yesterday. His family is dead today.

Everything he did, it wasn’t enough. Of course it wasn’t. He was stupid to think otherwise.

(Raph. Mikey. Leo. April. Casey. Casey’s still here. It was enough for him, at least.)

It cuts at him a little, to have been so wrong. But he’s strong again, now. He can take the wound. More importantly, he has another chance to get it right.

Donnie breathes. His chest expands smoothly, easily. The air doesn’t rattle in his lungs. He’s alive, he’s a genius, he can fix anything.

He pulls up a list.

[its-wabby-stuff]

Mikey Goes To Oz

<Time spent: 49 hours 17 minutes>

When Mikey takes some time away from a loud family squabble he accidentally ends up getting “flushed” down the sewers. This winds up sending him to the colorful land of Oz where he meets a good witch, a wicked witch, a brainless scarecrow, a heartless Tinman, a cowardess lion, and a powerful wizard, all disguised behind very familiar faces.

A canon adjacent spin off set before the season one finale but after they discover Splinter is Lou Jitsu

I wanted to fit each of the boys into their “you’ve had this all along” category. Leo isn’t brainless, in fact he’s pretty clever with a street smart, people reading ability on par with Donnie’s intelligence. Donnie isn’t heartless, he just has a tough time expressing his feelings. They are complex and unalgorithic but he can get just as excited or sad or angry as anyone, as much as he may deny it. Raph isn’t a coward, but being brave sometimes means admitting you’re scared and that you maybe don’t have all the answers. You dont have to be strong all the time and you don’t have to do it by yourself.

In the movie Dorothy’s journey home is also a representation of her running away. The important thing was to remember there were people who cared about her. Mikey is experiencing a similar phenomenon, wanting the escape the bad vibes in the lair. His “you’ve had it all along” is interesting because it is an object, since the Ruby kneepads could’ve taken him home the whole time. And sometimes getting home means going on a journey only to realize you never left.

I put April as Glinda because Glinda appears as a defender of the weak, and I see April in a similar light. Always willing to help and beat someone up if it is so required. Splinter as The Wizard of Oz represents Splinters own willingness to hide behind different personas, his running from the past and the pulling back of the curtain for Mikey in timeline. The Wizard grows through the movie, albeit quickly, and ends up leaving Oz to go home leaving his legacy with the scarecrow, the Tinman, and the lion. In this case the passing of the baton to his sons.

Meanwhile Draxum as the wicked witch felt much more how Mikey sees Draxum at this time in the show, mostly just an antagonistic force who wants something from them. Fun fact: I imagine throughout this dream, Draxum is uninterested in being the wicked witch but is pressed into it via plot. Hence his disinterest in being “melted.”

Additional characters not pictured: Big Mama as the Wicked Witch of the East (those were her Ruby kneepads!!) and Todd as the Mayor of Munchkin Land. If you can think of more, feel free to leave them in the comments or tags.

[untitled-tmnt-blog]

Now that 2024 is coming to a close:

1) Of everything you've made this year, which ones are you the most proud of?

2) What are a few of your favorite things (art, comics, fics, etc) that someone else has made this past year?

As far as my own stuff, I would have to say:

This Hide and Seek animatic -- I love making animatics, but they end up taking me a LONG time! That does mean that when I finally finish one though, it's very rewarding to see the full thing!

This scene, for the rottmnt cut intro project -- It's a short scene, but was a lot of fun to do! I also think it shows how much I've improved, even from my first scene for this same project.

This hardcopy of IMBI -- I'd never tried bookbinding before, but I had so much fun learning how and was really happy with how it turned out!

These mixed media collages -- It was one of my first times experimenting with mixed media, and I think they ended up looking pretty cool! Plus, just like the others... I had a lot of fun with it! (I suppose it makes sense that my favorite pieces are kind of just the ones I had the most fun doing, huh?)

And then, for other people's stuff... I'm sorry, but I'm just so indecisive! I have to at least pick a few things from each category!

"Long" Comics:

Here There Be Turtles (by @theelvishfiddler) -- This is hands-down one of the most impressive fan comics I've ever seen! Not only does it have incredible art, but the characterization is spot-on, and the storyline is so engaging that I am absolutely dying to see what happens next after every single update! I've seen people saying that the quality is even better than the official comics, and... yeah, no doubt about it, it really is! This comic is INSANELY good!

You've Been Portal Jacked! (by @wickcipher) -- This comic has such an interesting premise, with an artstyle that I love and SO much potential! I was immediately hooked by the first chapter, and was so excited to see it continue! Very much looking forward to seeing where things go from here!

"Short" Comics:

This Raph comic (by @e-turn) -- Raph and Leo tug at my heartstrings sooooo much! And the effect of Raph's time spent under the krangs' control is something that I never get tired of seeing explored. He loves his brothers so much, and would never EVER want to hurt them... but now he has these memories of himself doing exactly that, and those memories are just so much at war with who he is as a person, and AAAARRRRRGGHHHH!!!! I love it.

This Splinter comic (by @charcoaldustonmyfingers) -- THE EMOTIONS. I enjoy seeing this one every time it crosses my dash, and it has yet to lose its impact. Splinter loves his boys so much!!

This alternate movie ending, and part 2 (by @magisav) -- Beautiful, and heartbreaking. Both at the same time. The look on Leo's face is ingrained in my memory forever.

This Firefight fan comic (by @sludge-city) -- This one is such a well-done adaptation of some of the most emotional moments in this incredible fic! It was heartbreaking enough reading it the first time, and seeing those emotions depicted on Leo and Donnie's faces ripped my heart to shreds.

This redrawn IDW scene (by @purplepixel) -- The redrawn panels are beautiful, and I love the coloring! But also... man, this hurts so much knowing what comes next! Donnie, nooooo!

Multi-Chapter Fics:

Emotional Support Water Bottles (by @dandylovesturtles) -- This series is easily one of my favorites! Poor Leo goes through so much... and yet even when it's over, that kind of experience will undoubtedly leave some scars behind. Not physical scars, but very real nonetheless, and I've loved seeing Leo and his family try to navigate their way through that.

Firefight (by @remedyturtles) -- A true classic, at this point. With probably some of the most intensely emotional scenes I have ever read. Highly recommend, if you can handle that level of hurt before the comfort!

DFL's Whumptober 2024 (by @daflangstlairde-art) -- Technically a series of fics, which are unrelated to one another. But they are related in one important way: making me FEEL THINGS. Each one is so well-written, and I've been hooked all the way from the first fic to the last!

Oneshots:

The Shadows May Go (by @remedyturtles) -- This fic. THIS FIC. It made me cry. Splinter loves his sons so much, and even in his darkest moments (perhaps especially in his darkest moments), Leo knows that.

Now the Darkness Comes Alive (@goodlucktai) -- The role-reversal that I didn't know I needed. It's beautifully written, and like I said, Raph and Leo tug at my heartstrings so much! I started drawing something for this fic a while back, and desperately want to finish when I have some more free time on my hands again!!

Bed Sheets (by @dandylovesturtles) -- Splinter is not a perfect parent, by any means. But he loves his sons so much!! This fic is practically the embodiment of those two things, and it makes me emotional every. Single. Time.

Art:

This drawing of April and Karai (by @darkpolicepsycho) -- absolutely beautiful!! I love how you can just feel the power of Karai's ninpo flowing through April.

This drawing of Raph with cherry blossoms (by @pelmenya-owo) -- soooooo pretty!!! The colors. The lighting. I cannot possibly overstate how gorgeous this drawing is!!

These Undertale-style drawings of April, Raph, Leo, Donnie, and Mikey (also by @pelmenya-owo) -- I've never played Undertale, but I love these little animations so much!! Very cool.

This drawing of Samurai Leo (by @kathaynesart) -- I showed this drawing to my husband, and he immediately asked for it on a T-shirt. It is PHENOMENAL.

This Hollow Mind drawing (by @grey-viridian) -- I haven't read the fic that this is from yet, but oh man, the emotion in this scene!! Family protecting family. I love it so much.

This drawing of Leo (by @oh-lordy-lord-save-me) -- The colors. The colors!! The absolutely STUNNING colors!!!

This TNV art (by @windide-blog) -- I'll admit, I still need to read TNV. But even without context, the scene depicted here is amazingly well-done! I can only hope to be able to draw scenes as beautiful as this one day.

This art of Leo falling through the sky (by @sad-leon) -- The background is beautiful. The imagery is beautiful. The animation is beautiful. All around: beautiful.

This drawing of FMA Sprout, plus this one (by @intotheelliwoods) -- I just love these so much! Brotherhood is probably my favorite anime, and man, Sprout makes a great Edward Elric.

This drawing for the Turtles Together zine (by @andva-ri) -- This one has everything. Splinter. April. Draxum. Big Mama. The turtles, of course! I love all the different scenes, and how seamlessly they come together into an absolutely gorgeous art piece! This is a level of skill that I can only hope to one day come close to reaching!

This drawing, also for the Turtles Together zine (by @staticwither) -- Just look at those bright, beautiful colors! Truly incredible. This scene was already great in the finale, but this art piece somehow manages to take that energy and multiply it tenfold! It's beautiful.

This drawing of Leo with water lilies (by @tangledinink) -- I absolutely LOVE the paint-like style of this one! The level of detail on this is insane, and it's just downright one of the most beautiful art pieces I think I've ever seen. I want it on a throw blanket.

This Kingdom Hearts AU drawing (by @boxfullaturtles) -- I have very minimal knowledge of Kingdom Hearts. But even without that context, this drawing is just SO GOOD! I love the stained-glass design! And the way all the characters are in their own circles, and Leo's head is lined up inside of one as well, but continues down into a full-body drawing. Gorgeous.

AUs:

Posessed AU (by @grey-viridian) -- Such an interesting premise!! It somehow manages to be absolutely heartbreaking, but also so much fun at the same time.

Tiz Sep AU (by @tizeline) -- I love the comic. I love the characterizations. I was hooked on this AU from the moment Leo starting infodumping about Sonic! But also, Mikey campaigning for president of the multiverse while Donnie works against him was perfection. I just love seeing these characters do literally anything, because they're just so enjoyable to watch!

"The Besties" (2AL by @intotheelliwoods & SLAU by @dianagj-art) -- I'm aware this is like, an AU crossover within an AU kind of situation, but man is it so much fun! And also, so much more emotional than you'd expect turtle multiverse shenanigans to be.

Animations:

Rottmnt Restored (by @emichen88 & @powerauerart) -- Incredible. Amazing. Phenomenal. Astounding. 100% would watch again and again and again.

This JJK WIP (by @seasaltcosmos) -- I don't care if it's unfinished, I LOVE this!!

That was... slightly more than "a few." And I'm sure I still forgot some. I could go on and on about all the awesome stuff people here have made, but I had to cut it off somewhere!

[tmntxthings]

一Holiday Comps・゜・。

author’s notes: so last weekend me & mine decorated our own gingerbread houses, call me inspired ✨

author’s notes 2.0: *sigh* i couldn’t get this done during xmas, so sad, but i want it OUT of my drafts, totally lost the motivation after Donnie’s 😭 forgive meeeeee

warnings: cursing? competitive nature x10, unedited asf it’s 2:00 am rn :3

—————————————————————————

Leo

Obviously he would be trying really hard. Because if anything suddenly becomes a competition all this turtle is concerned about is being numero uno.

“We should up the stakes a bit. April! You’ll be the judge, anddddd add in stuff to like throw us off our game. Make it harder! Oooh time limit of 40 minutes?”

He’s like adding shit and making things way more complicated than just a, “Oh cool gingerbread house contest? When everyone finishes the judges can decide who wins!”

No! Nope! Not happening. This will be the X-Games of Gingerbread Comps. Glory or death type shiz. So how does this process that he thrust upon the whole gang work? Well let me just say he has no problem abiding by the time set.

But his house looks messy as hell. He had a very hard time getting the roof to stop collapsing and may have looked over at Donnie to see how he got it done. Icing? Everywhere. He has no problem when one of the challenges was to “Switch hands! Use your least dominant,”

Easy peasy lemon squeezy. Though some could argue that it didn’t matter what hand he used, it would have been messy either way. If one challenge was to switch seats and work on a brother’s gingerbread house be ready for a slick sabotage. One that Mikey may not have realized until his own foundation started fumbling, why were the walls caving in?! And what happened to the tree gummies that had been set aside?!

Leo happened, that’s what. Though he is quick to deny and not know the nature of those issues at all. By the end April is video recording to also get Sunita and Cass’s vote. Including Splinter that’s four! One for each turtle if everyone is lucky.

The responses on Leo’s house are making him pace. He can’t stay still as he hears Cass laugh out loud, wondering why the hell his gingerbread man is on the roof. “This one is a bit all over the place but, it’s got personality!” Is the saving comment from Sunita who revives Leo’s confidence in the whole ordeal

In the end I think with the time frame Leo definitely got shit on his house, but it doesn’t look all that pretty, one vote at least!

He’s butt hurt about whoever wins if it’s not him and definitely calls out his brother’s own flaws in their own work. Petty. P-E- to the T-T-Y~!

Donnie

If given an unlimited amount of time, I do believe Donnie would be a real rival in this house decorating competition. First of all he’s good with his hands, precision baby, precision!!! He has the most practice with fiddling around with crazy small parts. Those little sprinkle balls aren’t falling to the floor due to his hands.

Now he may not get a lot of them on, because this turtle will take up a lot of time just getting the foundation of the house perfect. The walls have to be straight! The roof cannot be uneven! April may have to stop him from using outside sources or trying to break the whole model build and go for something more his style.

Once he finishes with that Donnie probably took about 10 minutes alone with it having to be perfect. Icing is up next and oml this may be his downfall. There is so much to secure, and you have to take into account the drying time! The challenges he has no problem with either but they eat up his time completely!!

If April decides to do a bit of trivia, winner gets to penalize whomever he chooses, Donnie is most likely winning those even if April chooses a fair category like Jupiter Jim or Lou Jitsu. Trivia is just Donnie’s jam, and the only way he can get Leo to stop for two minutes or be able to eat one of Raph’s essential pieces like a peppermint decor!

Donnie’s build would be the cleanest, icing looking beautiful! Like touched of snow on the house! But he would hardly have any decorations due to sheer lack of time. He’d have a vote for sure but would get comments like, “It looks pretty simple!” or “This one doesn’t have a doorknob!”

“If I had more time,” would be his immediate come back. Puffing up and feeling defensive because this competition is definitely in his wheelhouse, but Leo of course had to make it to where a genius couldn’t thrive under such terse conditions. Hmph!

I’m sure April’s vote would be for Donnie

Mikey

He’s an artist, artists thrive in silly little gingerbread house competitions. I mean come on he’s the one who has the most creative ideas. Probably the most aesthetically pleasing as well!

But I fear Mikey will lack in the actual house building part. Which is literally just four slabs of gingerbread and the two more for the roof. He’d struggle to get it to stand. He’d struggle to get it to stay still. “Why does it keep MOVING?!” He’d be yelling out his frustration for sure

Even more so when he finally gets everything to stay in place only for one of the challenges to be switch houses. Leo getting his house and while Mikey doesn’t pay too much attention to what Leo is doing, when he gets his gingerbread house back it’s suddenly collapsing again?! He thought he had solved that problem! ACK! “LEO!!!” But no amount of calling his older brother out would change the fact that his house still isn’t put together

When…If he does get it together in time, you best believe he’s rushing to finally get to his favorite part! The decorations! He’s definitely eaten a couple of things without noticing it happening himself. It’s not exactly good candy, but candy is candy!

I think Splinter would vote for Mikey’s even if the house is crumbling, it’s a pretty crumbling house, out of all the brothers I think Mikey would win in a contest that wasn’t rigged by Leo!

Raph

I’m sorry, but he’d eat like half his materials. HE WOULD! So there wouldn’t be a house, maybe a shack if he’s lucky.

And on top of his appetite getting the best of him, everything is pretty darn small, and his fingers are chunky. This activity is just really not made for him but he’s doing his best, okay? His best with what he has left LOL

The hardest part would be decorating since the candy would be the smallest pieces to get on. He’d have icing everywhere, mostly on his fingers to which he would be licking clean, losing more material!!!

“Raph are you even trying???” Leo would goad, feeling that much better about himself and his standing even though he’s not doing much better as we have seen! Raph doesn’t let Leo get to him, he’s happy to just be doing something with the fam! And eating!

I think Cass would vote for this guy’s shack. Probably for some odd reason that I could never guess because she’s such a wild card to me sksksksks

[yes-i-write-fanfiction]

Hey, about the tfa X rottmnt crossover au.

how did things go when the turtles(now mechs) first met the Autobots and the Decepticons and what does the Autobots's and Decepticons's opinions on the four brothers before and after it's reveal that they are Splinter's sons?

When the brothers are transformed into mechs, they also end up getting separated from each other, forcing them to encounter and deal with cybertronian society on their own. Luckily (or not, depending on your point of view) they all arrive on Cybertron.

Their different alt modes and frame types sadly reflect on how they are recieved not to mention the fact that autobots put everyone into categories and stereotypes them depending on their frame types. They are expected to fall into these categories and anything that goes against those expectations are met with fierce resistance and disapporoval by their surroundings.

Donnie and Mikey are welcomed with open arms, their respective alt modes and gifts (Donnie's intellect, Mikey's fighting) making the autobots treat them better. Perceptor and Wheeljack both seek to mentor Donatello while the cyber-ninja dojos wish to train Mikey. While both of them are regarded as prodigies, they are also considered as too young to make their own decisions and in need of constant supervision and guidance. Donatello is seen as intelligent but too confrontational and stubborn, making the scientists not trust him with his own experiments and research, while Michelangelo is regarded as too carefree and too easily distracted.

Meanwhile, Raph and Leo, who are a tank and a jet, are looked at with suspicion. Raph is stereotyped as nothing but a brute and Leo's flying alt mode (plus red optics) make bots assume he's a decepticon. Raphael is made to fight, that being considered his only purpose and value, while Leo is looked at in suspicion. When Raph starts to show that he's caring and gentle, he is mocked and when Leo acts heroic, his actions are misconstrued as manipulative and filled with ill-intent.

To summarize, all of the brothers are seen as weird and in need of correction so that they will fall in line with the autobot standards. Their quirks and individualities are seen as defects that need to be disciplined away.

Things only change when it is revealed that they all share code with the master Splinter. The bot was famous for being odd, for never quite fitting in and going about life his own way. This only made him stronger and made him revolutionize Cybertron even more.

Upon this revelation, there's this kinda 'aha' moment because now the bots realize that instead of squashing the independent thinking of the brothers, it needs to be allowed to reign free. Only then will they live up to their full potential.

But with the revelation of their connection to master Splinter, there's also this new need to control them in other ways. Autobots and decepticons alike realize how valuable the brothers truly are and are now determined to possess them. Before they were just talented individuals, now they are tools for the cause.

[britt-kageryuu]

Leo is playing a version of the Sims, with some mods installed.

The audience has watched him mess around, and try to get the Sim based on himself with the one based on his boyfriend named Moon, and somehow just annoying the Bunny instead.

"This is somehow harder in this game, than in real life. Then again my lovely Moon did threaten to cut me in half when we first met." Leo says this while trying to figure why the 'romance options' are making Sim Usagi annoyed.

"Bit of a fun fact. When I visited Bunny Boys family I got to see some pictures. And let me tell ya. He had a Great something Grandfather that was very handsome, and apparently had a 'best buddy'," Leo stopped to do air quotes, "that showed up in quite a few pictures. Though said Grandpa was also a Samurai, so who knows what their relationship was."

In the middle of him talking the Mikey Sim somehow caught something on fire.

"What? How!? He was Painting? How did it catch fire?!" Leo quickly tries to get the Sims to get to safety, or put out the fire. "I need to pause and ask Dee if something in one of the mods is messing with my game."

Leo didn't switch to a BRB scene, he just muted while talking on the phone.

Meanwhile the game wasn't paused either, and they can only watch as the Donnie Sim messes with a Science Station then have it blow up in their face. The Sim then stomps over to a shower to clean up.

The Raph Sim can be seen just going back and forth between a few exercise equipment.

And the Leo Sim starts a stream on the computer, but because of the angle of the camera where Leo left it, it looks like the Sim is talking to the audience. Which is slightly unnerving for the viewers.

Leo after a few minutes ends his phone call and un mutes.

"Sorry about that guys. I asked Dee, and they mentioned that there may have been a mod that adds hidden attributes to the Sims that you have to learn on your own. So maybe my Moon might not see the romance option as romantic until later, and Mandarin might have a hidden pyromaniac trait." As Leo says this the camera switches to see Mikey cooking something with a Flambe flair.

"Though my own Sim might have a hidden trait that makes him a terrible flirt so that romance options fail. Either way time to by some better fire alarms, and look for a different approach to take with Moon." Leo says while leaning back in his chair with his arms folded.

He just sits back to watch what the Sims were doing for a few minutes, kinda forgetting to turn on double speed, and observed them going about with their lives.

An in game notification mentioned a Sims Splinter, who's a big celebrity, was caught in a scandalous affair.

"I guess this is part of one of the mods. Though what is this affair?" Leo leans forward to click on the notification.

It brings up a in game 'newspaper/magazine' that showed a couple pictures, one of Sim Splinter coming out of a closet with a random male sim, and another of an in game wedding photo of Sim Splinter with Sim Draxum.

"Well this isn't the first time I've seen this kind of article about Dad, but it's the first time that they have a wedding picture. Ya know. Since Pops never married his Ex." Leo says while taking a screenshot and sending it to the group chat. "Though I didn't know his Sim was married to Barrys. I guess that's a personal touch from Dee."

Leo goes to make an attempt at a different interaction between his Sim and Moon. That's when he found a modded sub category of interaction that involved a sword duel.

"Why not? It's the closest thing to what happened, so it might work."

He and the audience sit and watch as the two sims have a fight that didn't last long, but then once it was done their relationship meter had gone up quite a lot. Then the sims started flirting on their own.

"I swear Dee programmed this just to make fun of how weird my relationship is. Because I feel very called out." Leo says with a bit of a pout.

The chat was still very entertained, and tossing around suggestions of what to do next.

The stream continues thankfully without any of the Sims setting themselves on fire.

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

Masterpost

My mind was hitting me with so many story ideas while I was writing the Convention series. Which kinda tells me that my own mind doesn't like working on one connected story over multiple posts, and rather me have 10+ loosely connected posts.

[cinamun]

I'm interrupting your regularly scheduled programming to let you know that I can't stop thinking about how they covered up Donny Hathaway's death by officially calling it suicide. He didn't jump, he was incapacitated and pushed, and it was all because his music and skill in composition was unmatched and white music producers wanted his music, hence his last words.

No one has ever come close to this man's vocal range which is in its own category; Deep Soul.

He was considered the most prolific Deep Soul artist of his time having major influences on modern music. You can't think of soul music without thinking of this man. He was a brilliant musician and created the most beautiful love song ever recorded.

[turtleblogatlast]

4.) When did you become a fan of TMNT?

18.) Who is your favorite villain?

19.) Who is your favorite ally?

27.) What is something you love to see in TMNT art/fics?

28.) What is one thing you would like to see explored more in TMNT art/fics?

33.) What is your favorite thing you've made for TMNT?

35.) Which character relationships are your favorite to write/draw?

Sorry there's so many 😅 you don't have to answer them all if you don't want to.

Also, I always love it when I see your posts. Everything you write is so interesting to read and it is always so fun! (with a side of pain for the angst ofc)

Anywizzle, I hope you have a great rest of your day/night :]

Don’t be sorry, I love answering these haha! And thank you, I’m happy that you enjoy my rambles! <3

4.) When did you become a fan of TMNT?

When I was super young, I’m talking like three years old young. I really liked the ‘87 reruns and as a dinosaur kid I liked that the turtles were vaguely dino-like to baby me haha

18.) Who is your favorite villain?

Hmmm I’m not done with the show yet, but it may just be 2012 Shredder. There’s something really insidious but human about him that I enjoy.

19.) Who is your favorite ally?

If she counts as one then Rise April! If she’s in her own category then probably Draxum?

27.) What is something you love to see in TMNT art/fics?

Honestly I adore when people put in little details from the show that are ultimately fluff text but add a whole lot of depth and character in subtle ways. (Example being making Donnie affectionately pet Mikey’s head as he did in Bug Busters)

28.) What is one thing you would like to see explored more in TMNT art/fics?

Hmmm, I guess exploring the flaws of characters that aren’t just Leo and Splinter and occasionally Donnie? I love my boy Leo, and I really love how his flaws make him so interesting and fun to write about, but at the same time I feel like the others have their own flaws completely wiped away or not given a lot of focus. Mikey especially I feel could use some attention in this regard, so I love seeing whenever he’s allowed to make mistakes too because it adds so much more depth to him.

33.) What is your favorite thing you've made for TMNT?

Hard question!! Honestly it depends on the day, but right now it’s actually the super quick sketch I made for the 40th anniversary comic haha! I also miss my Prison!Leo AU and really need to get back to it…

35.) Which character relationships are your favorite to write/draw?

It depends I think! Obviously, I love Leo to the moon and back so they’re all Leo dynamics (though I need to do more Donnie and April stuff too because I adore their dynamic as well), but it depends on the tone I’m going for in regard to what’s my favorite.

But if I absolutely had to pick, maybe either Splinter and Leo or Raph and Leo.

[endermen-impasta]

3 Rise Head Cannons:

(( That doesn't deal with just the turtles and somewhat in depth / there's reading guys ))

1.) The Mystic City Spacial Awareness

-- I think I did a post on this before but I would like to restart the head cannon that I made. Basically nothing had been canon about the Mystic City (( aka The Underground City )) So I would like to think of the Mystic City being about the same size as a small country, depending on where you go up to the "top side" is where you would end up. So say you entered the Mystic City in New York, you traveled around a few blocks, found an entrance to the topside again, took it to the topside, and ended up in Europe. In perspective you gotta know where your main topside door is / have a Mystic City key or you are ending up in Japan.

2.) Mystic / Ninpo Branches:

-- We know everyone has their own Mystic Powers and Ninpo, this is understandable. The only one that stands out is Mikey's... let me explain. I head cannon that Mystic / Ninpo can branch into different categories. With Mikey he used to just have super strength on the surface level, but seen inside the doomed future Mikey can also: hover / fly, stretch objects (( aka his chains )), and summon portals. Who's to say Leo, Raph, April, or even Donnie could learn different skills as well? This is where a Mystic / Ninpo Branch comes in. Kinda like a family tree but everything could be linked together. (( This is also pointed towards the head cannon that Raph can change his size after some training into bigger or smaller proportions. ))

3.) Mystic and Ninpo Inside a Blender:

-- IDK if this is cannon or not but I head cannon that the ninpo the turtles have made their mystic powers (( that were more or less given to them )) stronger. Seen from Hamato Karai ninpo can be formed from thin air, meaning ninpo is inside the host. Unlike ninpo, Mystic Powers are trained and gained from experience takes the form of a weapon and/or object. In general, ninpo and mystic powers together are a lot.

[siri-ike]

2500 hours of audio

Authers note: to be completely honest I forgot about this until I got a notification that someone rebloged it. So I guess have a part two.

Part 1

reasearch links: affects of isolation

Donnie's nice and accurate account of events in exact detail and order of occurrence, category 6: severe injuries and illnesses. Part 172: Leo's recovery from the prison dimension part 1.

"Mission log. I've managed to avoid the enemy for now"

"Enemy? He must be talking about Kraang."

playing hour 59.

"59? No, Shelldon. Rewind to the start."

If Donnie didn't know better, he'd say Leo had been listening to these himself. Even if we accept that he'd been stuck for a bare minimum of 2500 hours, assuming he hadn't talked to it the full week he had it before the prison dimension, and also assuming that he was talking to it 24/7 from capture to rescue. Which is unlikely, even for him.

104 days is just so hard to even comprehend.

Donnie looks over at Leo, sleeping peacefully.

"I'm... sorry you had to endure that, Nardo."

rewind complete.

"Play recording."

"Leo's notes: found some jewelry that fell into the sewer. Mostly, engagement rings, wedding rings, and class rings. None of them fit me, of course, so I'm gonna sell them for pizza money."

Click.

"Shelldon, skip to when he got sent to the prison dimension."

=]

Right, gotta reprogram his artificial intelligence.

"Fast forward 10 minutes."

He could probably get a solid 10 minutes of rambling in a week.

"I don't know how to lead. Raphs, the oldest, why couldn't he just stay leader? Or if it had to be someone else, why not pick April? She's just as good at rushing in without a plan. Maybe even better. Or Mikey, he can get anyone to like him. Remember when he got all the kids in the mystic library to follow him?" Leo shudders audibly. "Maybe I should just ask dad. Or maybe I should wait for Donnie to finish rebuilding Shelldon so I can ask him and then have him erase his own memory. Yeah, that's it. Don! Buddy! Tello. What's up?"

Click

"I remember this. He asked me about my progress rebuilding you. I thought he actually wanted to hear about the process of, ugh never mind, it's not important. Shelldon, fast forward 2 minutes."

Click.

"Leo's notes: Pick up 125 pizzas, any toppings."

Finally.

"Leo's notes: uhm, sorry I haven't talked in a while, things got really crazy for, I think it was a few days. Anyway, Kraang got bored of kicking my shell for so long. I could have sworn I'd be dead by now, but it's like no matter what he does to me, I can't die."

"OK, I've been fiddling with the wrist comm for a while, Donnie put a bunch of 8 bit games on it like frogger, snake, and pong. At least I'll have something to do. At least until I run out of battery... I definitely need it too, It's barely been, what 8, 9 hours? And I'm already talking to a photo."

Click.

Donnie looks up from sanitizing his surgical equipment (ok, so it's really Leos, but it's not like he's using it right now) to remark snidely

"As if I would make a machine that runs on batteries. These babies run by replenishing quartz energy converters. You just have to move it around to charge it. I got the idea from these old watches, you know just because an idea is old doesn't mean it can't be utilized by my extreme gen-"

He stops as he looks over at his unconscious brother.

"Some other time, perhaps."

setting reminder for "other time"

"Shelldon, disregard previous order."

reminder canceled

Donnie sits back down and presses a button on his console.

"Update. I beat snake. Turns out if you manage to make the snake fill the whole screen, the game just ends. And it only took me like- 178 hours according to the time log... I can't believe I've been playing snake nonstop for 178 hours. I'm not even tired or hungry. It makes sense kind of. I mean, they were in here for a thousand years, weren't they? Probably don't need food or sleep"

"Dear wrist comm, Kraang found me again. spent a couple hours getting thrown around, totaly ruined my frogger streak. I could have sworn he cracked your screen. Can things also not 'die' here?"

"I think I've been here for about 8 to 10 days. Hopefully, the next thing Don adds to the wrist comms is a clock. Maybe he's hearing this all the way back home. Are you? Are you listening in on me? Sneaky pancake."

"Kraang ruined my rock sculptures of you guys! Can you believe that? He's suck a jerk. We have an entire dimention! It's not like I go around breaking the stuff he makes. Even if he did make things, I wouldn't destroy it! I almost feel bad for the other two Kraang. I can't imagine having this guy as a brother."

"I ran into some people here. They looked somewhat human. Like the aliens in the first Jupiter Jim film: the 1968 classic Jupiter Jim's Atomic adventure in space. Before they had the budget for alien costumes or a full 20 minutes of film. So they just hired some college students and heavily contoured them. Exept the guys I met were also short. So, short. Like. Shorter than me, anyway, I'm gonna follow them to see what's up."

Click.

"That's strange I didn't pick up any other life signs. Check again."

the only signs of life picked up by Leo's wrist comm were his own and kraang

"They got a flying car, it looks so 60s. I half expect it to have lava lamp floors."

"Reminder: ask Donnie to make the floor in my room a lavalamp."

"Wait, no, a waterbed floor. That way, the whole floor is a bed."

"I got even closer, and they use 60s slang, too. Like daddyo, check and far out. I'm pretty sure I heard one of them say the word splitsville. I'm gonna try to talk to them. How do I look... yeah, like a homeless person, I know, I meant more like. Do I look approachable?... No, no raving loonatic is not my idea of approachable. Hang on."

"Ok, I dusted off my bandana, harness, and wrappings. Is this presentable enough?... too bad, cause it's the best we're gonna get."

Click

"Maybe it's a robot? Inorganic life wouldn't be detected on the scanners. That would explain why we can't hear a response. It's just communicating through text." Donnie denies.

"They call themselves Neutrinos. Their people are the original inhabitants of the prison dimension. Which means that somehow, they have been avoiding the Kraang for generations. Isn't that great, I'm not alone."

"Is there such a thing as interdimentional ethics?"

"If I had a nickel every time our world sent genocidal balls of over-chewed gum to the neutrinos dimention, I'd have two nickels. It's not a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice."

"It happened, I've officially survived a whole month in the prison dimension. Wooo." Leo says flatly. "Should have had the foresight to bring a cake, no; pizza... who am I kidding? If I had either, I would have eaten it by now."

"I met the Neutrinos again. Currently following their directions to a village inside a meteor. I can't wait to spend some time with people. I was about to start losing it."

"They've got everything here. Plants, technology, people, a religion. I guess those just pop up whenever you have a group of people living together."

"They're no teenage mutant ninja turtles, but it's a community. And if I'm being completely honest, I think I would even take the company of Meat Sweats right now over nothing."

"I guess this place isn't without strings attached. If I want to stay, I have to join a religious faction. I thought it was all one belief system, but it turns out there are three major ones and, like, 20 small ones. All of them want me on their side, and I suspect that whichever one I choose will try to use me to 'sort out' the others as they put it... but... I can't be alone again. I was alone for 36 days, and it was,-" Leo's voice breaks. "... I can't do that again." He stutters.

"Ok, what would Lou Jitsu do? Dad would probably pick the cannibalism faction. So I can rule that one out. What would Leo do?... I would pick the most powerful group because they've been offering me the most. I can't do that, I'm pretty sure they are evil. They wanted all neutrinos shorter than 3 feet to classify as property. That's like, almost half of them. The second most powerful is no better because they want all neutrinos who have antena to be executed. What is wrong with these people? What would Donnie do? The permanent social distancing faction. Eh, ruling that one out, too. Raph, probably the solving everything with love and snuggles faction. Nice but impractical against Kraang. Plus, their leader tried to make me assassinate the leaders of other factions so they might be messy. April would try to expose each of these dangerous liars, but it seems like everyone already knows they're corrupt. Mikey... he'd just take them over. I guess I could do that. I mean, I'm much bigger and stronger than all of them put together. No, then I would be ruling through force, and I've only lived here for 3 days. I can't decide what's best for them when they've survived well over a thousand years on their own. I think the best choice would be to leave. I can't be of any help here."

"Donnie! Time for breakfast!" Mikey shouts from outside the room

Click.

"I'll be right there"

"Was that Leo's voice? Is he awake?" He asks excitedly.

"No, just some recordings. Could you bring my dinner in here? I can't leave him alone."

"You look awful. Did you sleep? And, no, you can't have breakfast here because Draxum said he needs to look at your wounds." Mikey waves his arms around, showing off the new bandages and braces.

Donnie looks guiltily at Leo, still sleeping.

"I'll stay. I'll even snuggle him. He won't miss you a bit, " Mikey said teasingly, clearly trying to get a response.

And usually, that would get a rise out of him. But right now, Donnie doesn't want to be missed. He just doesn't want his brother to be alone anymore.

Donnie hasn't even left the room before Mikey's gotten all cuddly in bed with Leo. Turtle shells aren't exactly the softest blanket to wrap yourself in, but Leo probably wants to be touched way more than he wants to be comfortable. Besides, it's well past time for Donnie to get the cracks on this arm examined. Yeah, that's it. It's not like he's avoiding the other 2489 hours of Leo's mad ramblings.

"Hmn," Leo purrs,leaning into Mikeys affectionate embrace.

"I knew you'd appreciate a good cuddle 😘. Even if you sleep for a thousand years, I'll still hold you tight." A realization dawns on Mikeys face. "I might be dead by then, so you'll just be nuzzling a skeleton 🤭. But at that point, you really can't be picky."

good morning, donnatello. would you like to continue playing the recordings

"Shelldon, I'm Mikey. Donnie left the room."

do any of us truly leave the room

"What?"

playing recording

"Wait, no -"

"Nothing is real! All of it, it was a hallucination. The Neutrinos, the flying car, Barbara Walters, the village. It was just my imagination... is anything real? Is Kraang even real? Are you real?!"

"Leo?"

"IS THIS ALL THERE IS? Just wandering around forever, talking to myself, and making up others to talk to?"

"Leo," his voice fell flat this time.

"They're really not coming to save me. I probably told them not to. That sounds like me. But, I still thought. *sniff* This is so selfish. If they tried to get me out, they'd risk releasing Kraang. It's better this way. *sniff* They're better off without me. Sure, they'll be upset at first. But, then. Raph'll be less stressed, Donnie will be free to focus on his own projects instead of constantly building stuff I ask him to." He inhails unsteadily. "Someone else'll be team medic, probably Don or April, and they'll figure out that Mikey needs glasses. Real glasses. Which means he won't crash into stuff anymore because they'll actually deal with it instead of putting it off to avoid sneak attacks from doctor feelings, doctor delicate touch, and doctor positive." He sounds out of breath. "Dad finally won't have to deal with me either. He won't have to admit he was wrong to make me lead. And April can finally graduate without me constantly distracting her. *sniff* Th'this is b'better."

"Shelldon, stop the recording." Donnie says from the doorway.

"He, he," Mikey blubers out. "How long was he..." he's too mortified to finish.

"By this point, at least more than a month and 3 days. If we assume every 11 hours is another month. That means it would have taken 227 months to fill up the whole thing." Donnie pauses to see the horror in mikeys eyes. "That's 19 years."

[nani-nonny]

Welcome to Nonny’s TedTalk about their background characters and their significance to the plot aka my excuse to suddenly lore drop OCs (I guess I’m calling them OCs now)

Anyways, a bit of a long post hehe

Roddy Runes: First Appearance on Distorted Mirror Ch.1: Switch

In front of Leo is a rodent yokai with a huge, bushy tail covered in singed fur. The yokai is wearing what can only be described as scraps of cloth dirtied in, well, dirt and what Leo hopes to be is dry ketchup. Over the yokai’s snout is a purple gas mask of sorts with a small D on the lower jaw—it looks way too close to Donnie’s logo…

The yokai’s eyes widen and his hold on Leo’s upper arm weakens. He drops the teen and looks over his shoulder at a human wearing the same gas mask. He glances between Leo and the human who pressed her finger to her ear.

The yokai finally stops to stare at Leo who stares back at him with the same look of confusion, “This—I don’t—where is the leader?!”

A rodent mutant (species unknown) that Leo meets upon first entering the future timeline. He’s a bit of a worrywart and skittish soldier in the Resistance. He loves children, and if it weren’t for the Krang apocalypse, he would have been a daycare attendant or a teacher/tutor. Leo wasn’t aware of this, but in the future, there was a huge accident with the Krang that mutated hundreds of humans. Roddy was one of them, which explains why Leo mistook him as a yokai in DisMir. Originally, Roddy’s name was Rudolf Thanes, but he changed it to Roddy Runes to better match his new appearance.

Fun fact: He would’ve adopted Leo in a heartbeat if the future timeline counterparts hadn’t claimed Leo as one of their own.

Occupation before the Krang: full-time university student majoring in education, part-time camp counselor

Occupation after the Krang: Scouter. Before his mutation, he was already talented in noticing the near-unnoticeable tracks laid out by any living being, including the Krang, or spotting enemies from afar, etc. But after his mutation, those senses were multiplied, especially as a mutation into the prey category. He’s extraordinarily talented in this area of expertise, to which he jokingly give thanks to his perception of always keeping track of kids he was chaperoning in his past

Significance: He played the part as the guiltripper and backup plan for Leo in DisMir. He unintentionally brings forth Leo’s guilt by mentioning the importance of family and teamwork when trying to reassure Leo’s nerves. Leo would have the option to run back to his side if absolute fear would take hold, and he would have gladly protected Leo with all of his ability and life. His significance didn’t seem all too grand, but he pushed Leo to take anxiety and fear in hand and step forward to responsibility.

Olympia: First Appearance on DisMir Ch.3: Breach

Leo raises a brow and is about to question the weird turn the conversation has made before the person serving the soup speaks up.

Her voice is gruff, limited to a rough but welcoming tone. She’s a mixed yokai, one Leo has never met before or even seen, with features of a bull and snake. She's missing a horn and snake scales travel up the length of her arm to the side of her face. She scoops a hefty portion of soup and drops it into Donatello’s bowl.

Her spoon flicks broth at Raphael’s face when she points her ladle at the turtles, “Watch it, it’s not easy to make balanced meals with what little shit we have. Don’t forget I can spit some venom in your rations.”

A bull/snake hybrid yokai based off of the Ophiotaurus from Greek Mythology that Leo meets with his brothers’ future counterparts. At the time taken during the fic, Olympia’s name wasn’t introduced but she’s the lunch lady that fed all of the Resistance present at the temp-base her bland soup. She isn’t normally the one who makes food, but she was the only one present with experience in feeding large numbers at a time, especially because she occasionally helps her wife in the kitchens back at home base. She is one of the surviving yokai from initial Krang invasion that is able to move and around and speak of the tale. Shes a socially perceptive yokai who likes to dish out people’s stories or secrets without the other noticing.

Fun fact: She was hinting that she was fully aware of how suspicious Leo’s appearance in the future timeline was, hence a part of Raph’s nervousness in talking to her. (Aside from pointing out that Leo looks “suspiciously” like Future Leonardo.)

Occupation before Krang: Battle Nexus fighter

Occupation after Krang: Frontline fighter, focused on giving and taking heavy hits as a tank, honestly not much of a change for her but became increasingly more of a life or death situation

Significance: She played the part of providing a sense of comfort and familiarity for Leo in a world completely strange to him, filled with people who aren’t strangers to the mind boggling situation of the world amidst an apocalypse. She’s kindhearted and warm, strong and easygoing, she truly cares for people. Her part wasn’t long, but it showed readers that despite the war, there are still kindness in people’s hearts and a sense of the mundane in the future. She also played the part of suspicions that are rising within the resistance soldiers present in the throwaway base, no one would voice their concerns, but she played it off as teasing. Very sneaky hehe

Wiler: First Appearance in Dead Man’s Deal Ch.4: Visit & Last Appearance in Return of a Champion

Leo turns to see two yokai who haven’t left the room yet. The shorter yokai, a penguin…of sorts, is seated with a large dumbbell in hand. The taller yokai, a falcon, lay on a bench with a barbell above his head. The falcon halts to a stop while the penguin sneers at Leo’s eye contact.

“Don’t expect us to leave just because Big Mama favors you,” the penguin snapped.

A penguin yokai based off of Maori mythology of tawaki. Just like the myth, Wiler often ventures to the surface under the pretense of being human. Hence his rough and boisterous demeanor, which he picked up from nights in New York observing the harsh demeanors of drunken Yorkers. Wiler was named by a Battle Nexus fighter after being abandoned in the cages and continued to live within the Battle Nexus until Big Mama finally deemed him enough to become a fighter. He only knows of the Battle Nexus, so he went above and beyond when satisfying his curiosity of the outside world and journeyed to the surface. He spent years observing the humans from afar, fear keeping him from actually interacting with them. The closest he got to an interaction was accidentally bumping into a child and apologizing profusely before he hid behind a trash can. He often surfaces to find that child again, to see how they’re doing.

Fun fact: He’s 4’9” (145 cm) in human form and often gets mistaken for a human child on his adventures on the surface.

Significance: He plays the part of providing a sense of normalcy to F!Leo’s life by becoming a close, adult friend outside of family. In the beginning, his short fuse was familiar to F!Leo as a reminder of Raph back in the days, although F!Leo never noticed this. He showed F!Leo how easy it is to talk to people and what it’s like to be normal, despite F!Leo’s reality of being a former war vet and from the future. His boisterous temperament broke through F!Leo’s thoughts and helped the fallen leader from drowning in thoughts of self loathing and regret. He would never admit it, but he thoroughly enjoys being F!Leo’s friend.

Ripper: First appearance in DMD Ch.4:Visit and DMD: RoC

Leo ignores them and just stares, wondering why the penguin is so hostile. The falcon falters under Leo’s stare, but the penguin gets more annoyed by the second. It got to the point the penguin dropped his dumbbell and stormed over to Leo. Leo had to crane his neck down to meet the penguin’s eyes who got angrier by the action.

-continuation of Wiler’s first appearance

A falcon yokai based off of Slavic mythology known as the raróg (or raróh). Unlike his best friend, Wiler, who was practically born and raised in the Battle Nexus, Ripper was sent to the Battle Nexus as punishment for a crime he did not commit. His family are renowned in the black market for a variety of merchandise, especially artifacts. They often sold to Big Mama and she is their best customer, but Ripper grew to fear her the day the family tried to sell her “authentic” artifacts from the human world and she retaliated by framing his father for drug-related crimes and personally sent his father to the Hidden City prison. This led to his elder brother taking over, but was swiftly framed for the sudden disappearance of artifacts within the Hidden City councilroom. His anxious and fearful demeanor made it difficult to speak his truth and was charged for the crime and sent to the Battle Nexus as punishment where he met Wiler. They swiftly became friends, where Wiler helps Ripper steadily overcome his skittishness and anxiety, and he helps Wiler get out of trouble by stepping in before it becomes trouble.

Fun fact: Wiler and Ripper met during training, much like how they both met F!Leo for the first time. Wiler was working on the barbells when he failed a push and Ripper easily lifted the barbells off of Wiler’s neck, saving the penguin’s life.

Significance: He plays the same kind of part as Wiler, becoming a friend to F!Leo and helping F!Leo gain a sense of normalcy beyond the time travel and guilt and strange familial relationship of fathering brothers in the past. Ripper is a softy who would allow anyone to walk over him like a carpet if it weren’t for Wiler, so his skittish demeanor warms F!Leo’s cold exterior. Through himself and Wiler, F!Leo relearns how to be friends and adapt to being an adult in an old world. They teach F!Leo it’s okay to be alive and continue with life, it’s okay to make friends and to continue to grow as an adult, to move on from the past and accept the present.

Griffith: First Appearance in DMD Ch.2: Regret & last appearance in DMD:RoC

Leo looks forward to see a smithy of sorts. It’s not much, especially in comparison to the only smithy he knows of, which he saw in his youth. But he recognizes the type of oven and the smithing instruments. There is a lone, burly yokai slamming a hammer onto red hot steel on a pedestal shaping it with expert precision.

“Griffith,” Big Mama says, catching the attention of the big yokai who immediately stops and rises to his feet. The yokai is taller than expected with muscles stacked upon his torso. He’s a swan wearing a dirtied apron and scars along his splotchy arms where feathers no longer grow.

“Yes Big Mama?”

A swan yokai based off of no myth really, I was watching Swan Lake when thinking about what to make Griffith lol. And I thought it would be funny to see the ever graceful swan reduced (or improved) as a big buff blacksmith in the Battle Nexus. He’s a gruff fellow, observant and meticulous in his work. He has been working as Big Mama’s blacksmith for almost the entirety of his life. He’s a man of little words, his body etched with numerous burn scars and battle scars (he argues that in order to create a weapon, you have to understand the fundamentals behind the weapon). He’s fluent in weaponry, often training with different weapons before using that knowledge attained to creature finely tuned weaponry that earned him a notorious title as the Battle Nexus’s renowned blacksmith. He holds no regard to many fighters, just watches them come and go as time goes on. He’s one of the oldest yokai living in the Hidden City, due to retire although never showing signs of accepting retirement, especially how youthful he seems.

Fun fact: He offered to make Lou Jitsu a weapon during the actor’s time in the Battle Nexus, but Lou Jitsu never accepted. Despite his keen eye, during F!Leo’s time in the Battle Nexus he never saw the similarities between Lou Jitsu’s style and F!Leo’s style—almost as if they were complete strangers.

Significance: His keen eye observed that F!Leo’s style was downright barbaric, almost sloppy had it not been so calculated. For every “mistake” in movement, there was a follow up that filled the gap. He almost opted to give F!Leo a barbed mace if Big Mama didn’t tell him that F!Leo’s weapon is a sword. He, without saying anything except carved F!Leo’s title into the handle, revealed F!Leo’s barbaric tendencies when fighting. He informs F!Leo through the title that F!Leo had long abandoned teachings and opted for desperation and cruelty in fighting. This, in turn, makes F!Leo realize how much he had changed because of the war and his actions. Griffith makes F!Leo momentarily break from thoughts about the past and realize the present—and that tells F!Leo that he’s not acting as the man he once was. Griffith’s part was extremely short, but he played a huge part in F!Leo’s life that F!Leo hadn’t realized. Although F!Leo never acted upon noticing this change, it opened his eyes significantly. But in RoC, Griffith played another part in helping F!Leo accept a new norm, a norm that is beyond fighting to push the pain down to fighting to heal. Another small part, but huge in F!Leo’s life.

Officer Xeni: First appearance in Leonardo Come Down Ch.5: Atone and Alone

The yokai policeman stares at Leon suspiciously, eyeing the young mutant. Leon smiles nervously behind a confident facade, his eyes switching between the policeman and the screen on the desk he leans on. The policeman almost draws his lip up in disgust at the elbow that leans on his desk and Leon quickly retreats.

“Let me check,” the yokai policeman taps away on the hologram, suspiciously eyeing the turtle gang as he does. A few more taps into the system and he says, “Alright… we don’t have a Leonardo Hamato nor a Hamato Leonardo. But we do have a Loathsome Leonard, and… hm. No last name.”

An unnamed badger yokai based off of the mujina in Japanese mythology. He was originally unnamed and species unspecified in the fic as I didn’t want to name him at the time of writing LCD hehe. He’s a pretty laidback guy, a little normal in comparison to the previous characters. He’s simply an officer, born and raised in the Hidden City, normal family of two kids and a wife at home that happened to meet the Hamatos as the strangest part of his mundane life.

Fun fact: He’s the definition of “she’s so boring if she were a spice, she’d be flour” (Louise from Bob’s Burgers) /lhj he’s literally just an average guy doing his job, happy and comfortable with his life

Significance: He plays the part of the informant for the readers and Little Leo. He fills in the readers for what happened in between the time that the Hamatos were asleep and F!Leo escaped to prison. He portrays the readers’ feelings about the F!Leo situation, showing pity to Leo for wanting so desperately to see F!Leo despite the ex-leader running away so often. He’s like a reader insert lol, not too entirely significant toward the plot other than being a bridge between the reluctant and self-isolating F!Leo and the desperate to understand Little Leo.

[familyofpaladins]

The Pizza Game (Chp 5)

Chapter 5: Donatello Leaves a Message

Ao3 Link

<&lt;Chapter 1 | <Chapter 4 | X | Chapter 6>

Summary: April, Leo, and Mikey receive a message from the late Donnie. Words: 2231

Being the Leader of a resistance was hard. Of course there was the fighting and patrols, but honestly that was the easiest part. The hardest parts were the strategy meetings, the negotiations of supplies between the different scattered groups of resistance fighters and people just trying to survive, both Human and Yokai.

Having Mutant little brothers be a bridge to the Yokai had helped April O’Neil immensely in dealing with the different groups. They were all charismatic in their own way and people (human and non) would listen to them. She could assign tasks and the brothers would help delegate.

Donnie in particular had been a significant help with the particulars of scheduling meetings and making the most logical use of supplies to which areas. But he was very rarely allowed to actually be in any the meetings. He was far too blunt and easily offended if anyone questioned his Logical and Correct thinking. So he didn’t attend the meetings, but he helped her plan them.

He was gone now. Had been for a little over a year now.

You would think that would make the planning harder. But Donnie, brilliant, ever the planner and overthinker Donnie, had made preparations in the case of his death. He had systems of systems connected to anything and everything that he had built and alerts and backups for each. Some were already in place even before, like the security system and Krangazoid trackers. They already used it to get notifications for intruders and movements of the bigger krang hordes.

But now there were additional alerts. Alerts for maintenance of his machines with detailed instructions of how to fix possible problems. He had made an algorithm for plan making for such things as where to move to if the Krang got too close to the base, or how to shift them away from the more populated areas of the resistance.

All of these new alerts used the same alert/communication system that Donatello had established long ago.

The alerts/communications had a five-level triage system. The naming of which had been hotly debated during its creation. (Even now, depending on who was talking about it, would use different names.)

There was Level 5 (REALLY REALLY (Two Reallys) IMPORTANT): EMERGENCY which would only be for things like “The Krang are breaking into the base GET OUT NOW”.

Level 4 (Really Important): WARNING. Used for things that needed immediate attention, like broken security systems, and enemies approaching the base, or a neighbor base was in trouble.

Level 3 (Important): CAUTION. Things that needed attention soon but could wait until a patrol was over (broken heating systems, upcoming meetings between resistance factions).

Level 2 (Sort of Important): NOTICE. Things that were important but could be dealt with within a couple weeks such as Patrol Schedules, Inventory Notifications, Location Changes, and supply requests.

Level 1 (Not So Important): GENERAL. General messages. This was generally used for post-mission/patrol reports, but could also include personal messages of important dates (birthdays, days without attack). Pretty much anything that could potentially be ignored and not be a problem went into Level 1.  

Each level alert could also be amended with locations of where the alert needed to read from and a category. Most common categories were: Kraang, Base[X], Supply [weapons/food/medical], Security, Maintenance, Reports, and Personal.

Yes, there was still the occasional Donnie Code that required 3 code books to figure out, but he had simplified a lot of it down.

Anyone in the resistance could use the alert system to report to each other, but almost all of the automated ones came from Donatello’s systems.

Since Donnie had died, there were also more… personal alerts and notifications. Time and dates were always a little difficult to keep track of when everyday was an abysmal landscape, but Donnie had kept track. So, every once in a while, April got a notification for someone’s birthday or that it had been 13 years since she was promoted to Commander.

The automated alert that April had received just that morning was only level 2, but didn’t have a category attached to it. She could see that alert had also been sent to Leo and Mikey as well.

April frowned. That could mean a lot of things.

It was level 2, so nothing too important or dangerous (hopefully). But it was also to the Commander  and two of the top Generals of the Resistance. So that could mean it was something to do with moving krang hordes or possibly something with one of the other resistance bases. But it wasn’t an alert From the other bases, so that means if it IS about the other bases, it’s something that Donnie’s prediction models picked up. That could be either really good or really bad.

Another thing about the alert was that it had a placement of Donnie’s Lab.

Normally (if there was a normal anymore) that meant it had something to do with some project or research of Donnie’s. But it’d been about a year since his death. She thought they had taken care of all those kinds of things.

If it wasn’t any of those things, that left: personal. She looked at the date (when did it get to be November?) and tried to recall if it had any significance. No birthdays. No death dates, because every day was a death date for someone (but she still remembered the ones of those closest to her). She couldn’t recall it being a Victory day either.

She just didn’t know.

April didn’t like not knowing.  

“Keep making that face and you’re going to end up with a Raph-chasm”. Years of living in the apocalypse kept her from screaming at the sudden voice, but it also made her fling her bat at it too.

Michelangelo’s years of skills allowed him to catch the weapon while Leonardo had already ducked out of the way.

“HAMATO LEONARDO DON’T YOU DARE SNEAK UP ON ME LIKE THAT AGAIN!”

Leo chuckled as he plucked the floating bat out of the air and handed it back to her, “But we’re Ninjas! Sneaking is part of the gig!”

“Don’t sass me Little Brother, or I WILL hit you with this bat!” she threatened as she took back her familiar weapon. Leo still had a smirk on his face but held up his hands in surrender.

“I’m not going to get a Raph-chasm. You’re the one who’s trying to copy his look”, she pointed at the prosthetic arm with her bat.

Leo huffed a laugh in concession, while she turned to the other turtle, “Mikey! It feels like I haven’t seen you in forever!” They hugged fiercely.

“April! MMmm yeah I guess being leaders of a resistance keeps us all pretty busy.”

It had been about at least a month, she thinks, since she was in the same room with him. Kept busy by recon missions and patrols and battles and meetings and more meetings and uuuggggh. You’d have thought the apocalypse would have put an end to business meetings, and yet here she was.

She hugged him a little tighter, trying to savor the familial moment.

“Hey hey hey now! What am I, chopped liver? Where’s my hug?” Leo complained.

“Right here you big baby,” April rolled her eyes but she held an arm open for the blue turtle. “Speaking of babies, where’s the kid?”

“Me and Casey just got off patrol a bit ago. Kid is exhausted so I told him to go ahead and go to bed.” Leo answered while still wrapping them in a hug and she basked in the warmth of it for a moment

This was nice.

Nice things can’t last too long though. There were things to be done.

April sighed as she released the hug. “As much as I love this, we all have things to do. You guys here for the Alert?”

They both turned serious and Leo nodded his head in confirmation.

“Yeah, we were just going to check on it. You have any idea what it’s about?” Mikey asked as they began to finish the walk to the lab.

“I was hoping you guys would know.”

They were in front of the door now.

“Guess we’re all about to find out together then.” Leo stated, taking a breath and opened the door. 

She half expected the room to be dusty. It had been a while since she had been in the lab. But with the regular maintenance checks and Donnie’s own cleaning robots, the place was as clean as ever. She could almost imagine that Donnie was just around the corner, entranced in some new project of his. It pained her heart to know that that would never happen again.

“Okay Dee, what’s the haps?” She said quietly to herself as she pulled up the alert.

A holographic projection of Donnie appeared before the three of them. Her eyes stung at the image of her friend.

“I suppose you’re all wondering why I’ve gathered you here today.”

April scoffed, and heard Leo and Mikey do much the same, a smile tugging at her lips. So it was Donnie being dramatic. She didn’t know what it was about yet, but some of the tension left her shoulders.

“If you are seeing this, it means it has been 389 days since I died.” April scowled along with Mikey while Leo raised an eyebrow in a where-is-this-going kind of way.

“And if you’re seeing this and that’s not true,” the hologram Donnie (HoloDon?) continued, “then stop snooping through my files right now!”

HoloDon paused for a moment, supposedly to let snoopers back out of the file.

“Still here? Very well. As you all know I am the most gracious of winners and losers, never been upset ever-“

“HA” Leo scoffed a laugh, and April smiled with him at the blatant lie.

“- But I shall not let even Death stop me from winning.”

Where on Earth was he going with this?

“So, as 390 days is my record, I shall make sure that you do not break said record by reminding you of PIZZA!”

April shook her head rapidly in disbelief.  

He… he really left a message, about THAT? She was speechless.

She turned to look at Leo and Mikey, both of their jaws were dropped.

“And in order to keep my record henceforth,” HoloDon continued, “I will remind you at random intervals of anywhere between 20 and 389 days, about pizza, so that I win For. Ever! MUHAHAHAHA” HoloDon cackled.

“I can’t believe this. I can’t- I’m gonna kill him.” Leo finally stated. Mikey turned to look at his brother incredulously but his face was still frozen in its shocked state. “I don’t care that he’s already dead, I’m going to bring him back and kill them again. That ASSHOLE oh my gawd!” Leo continued his hysterical rant.

April wasn’t sure if he was truly pissed or just acting dramatically at being out done by a dead man. Knowing her brother, it was probably both.

Mikey had started shaking so hard, April wasn’t sure if he was crying or laughing. April finally heard him gasp in a breath of air before shouting “Winner is supposed to get the first slice! That jerk can’t even eat it! He just wanted to have the glory all to himself” he threw his hands in the air in dramatic indignation.

At their reactions April finally cracked and started to laugh. It started with a snort, and before she knew it, she was having to sit down on the floor she was laughing so hard.

Despite their grumpiness, the two turtles began to chuckle with her and soon they were all roaring with laughter.

After several minutes of almost calming themselves down, another would snort a laugh again and set them off.

They finally calmed down enough for April to say “I can’t believe he did that! Actually, what am I saying, of course he did that”

“Oh I needed that,” Mikey sighed.

“What, a pizza reminder?” Leo asked with a smirk.

“NO,” Mikey smacked his arm, though there was no strength behind it “I needed a good laugh”

April couldn’t help but agree with him. It had been a long time since she had laughed that hard and that long. She wondered if Donatello knew that was how they’d react to the message.

“Hmmm, do you think that’s why he really did it?” April asked.

Mikey blinked at her, and Leo looked to the ceiling in thought.

“It could be, I wouldn’t put it past him,” Leo finally said after a moment. “But I also think he wanted to win and wasn’t about to let something as trivial as death stop him.”

“Yeah, that sounds like Donald,” Mikey agreed with a chuckle.

“It was nice to hear his voice again. Where he sounds like HIM instead of the all robotic alert voice.” April said quietly after a moment.

“Yeah it is,” Mikey agreed, his eyes shone wetly.

“Even if it was him being a giant jerk,” Leo huffed with a laugh.

“Gotta admit though, I don’t think I’ll mind getting the stupid notification again.” April said.

Both brothers agreed with her.

Over the course of the next 548 days they heard Donnie remind them of pizza two more times.

Then the Krang found their base, and the computers hosting Donatello’s alerts and algorithms were destroyed.

:'3

<&lt;Beginning | Next>

[demifiendrsa]

Phantom Blade Zero - Announce Trailer

Chinese version with English subtitles

Phantom Blade Zero is in development for PlayStation 5 and PC (Steam, Epic Games Store). A release date has yet to be announced.  

Key visual

Screenshots

First details via PlayStation Blog

“What’s your plan, knowing you have only 66 days to live?”

This journey began with Rainblood: Town of Death, an indie game I made back in 2010. The development process was a creative outlet for me as an architecture student, first in Beijing and later New Haven.

When I returned to China, I founded my own development studio, S-GAME, and Rainblood grew into a franchise that would later become Phantom Blade. Most of these titles were for smartphones and never released outside of China, but we still managed to build a fan base of over 20 million players.

Now, allow me to introduce Phantom Blade Zero, the spiritual rebirth of the original Rainblood and the game we always wanted to make.

Kung-Fu Punk

Phantom World, the universe in which the game is set, is a place where many kinds of powers converge. Here you’ll find Chinese Kung-Fu, intricate machines reminiscent of steampunk, arts of the occult, and other intriguing elements that don’t quite fit into any of these categories.

In Phantom Blade Zero, you play as Soul, an elite assassin serving an elusive but powerful organization known simply as “The Order.” Soul is framed for the murder of The Order’s patriarch, gravely injured in the ensuing manhunt, and, though his life is saved by a mystic healer, the makeshift cure will only last for 66 days. Now, he must fight against powerful foes and inhuman monstrosities, all while seeking out the mastermind behind it all before his time runs out.

From Louis Cha’s Wuxia stories and Bruce Lee’s films to Michelle Yeoh in Everything Everywhere All at Once and Donnie Yen in John Wick: Chapter 4, Phantom Blade Zero draws on a wide range of martial arts icons, but with a twist of its own. What we call “Kung-Fu Punk” instills a heavy dose of punk spirit and our unique visual aesthetic.