#Literally I don't know the timing of the parry because the game's repeatedly said it doesn't matter

[prancingintheshadows]

Is the Sonic Frontiers update supposed to be kicking my ass? Because it is.

[cosmos-daughter]

My opinion on Resident Evil 4 Remake.

CONTENT: why I find it average, why the original is so special & Leon's frustrating out-of-character behavior.

The original Resident Evil 4 is my all-time favorite game. It has always felt like a sacred, precious thing to me — and so the mere thought of a remake sounded borderline sacrilegious, if I'm allowed to be a little dramatic. I am also against the thought that good games need to be remade for the sake of modernity, and I believe the dated graphics & mechanics of the game are a huge part of its unique charm. So naturally, I have a lot to say about this remake.

First of all, I think it's hilarious how the directors said this game is more survival horror than the original because it's absolutely not. That is a blatant lie. I'll get into details about why during this text, but I don't think the game is scary, especially compared to others RE games, and personally I didn't feel fear at all during my gameplay, not even with the regenerators, even if they look terrifying visually (they were the closest to being scary though).

The reason behind that is simple: the game is too focused on combat, therefore, loses a huge part of the horror. If you carry a knife you can parry almost every attack, and the ones you can't you can evade by pressing the button at the right time. For example: in the original, even if it was also combat-focused, you couldn't afford to let the regenerators too close, and even at a distance they were still dangerous because of the attack they stretch their arms and grab you (something you can get away from instantly in the remake if you have a knife; unlike the original where you have to press the button repeatedly and you still lose a lot of HP for being caught).

Huge part of the reason why the original got my hands sweating, especially when I played in the professional mode, was the tank/old game controls. That made the whole game 10x harder because if you were at the wrong place at the wrong time, you were done. While seeing Leon parrying a chainsaw with a knife is cool as hell, it also takes away the impact of the whole thing, since you're not screaming in horror when you turn back and see the chainsaw dude right behind you because you know you're already dead ー since you can't parry and can't quickly evade because of the controls, you don't have time to react anymore. This is one of the things that made original game so special, and since we don't have that kind of gameplay in modern games anymore, I think it would be better if they stopped remaking the old games for the sake of modernization and focused on releasing new games instead, so we can have new characters, lore, enemies, locations.

The original also didn't have a auto-save every five seconds like the remake does. That castle section where you send Ashley up to handle the cranks was stressing as hell in the original because if you died at the very end you had to begin the entire damn phase all over again, since the beginning. The remake is much easier in that sense, since it has way too many checkpoints, even in hardcore mode.

You also have a lot of space in your inventory and key items don't take up space there because they go alongside the treasures, so item managing is basically nonexistent. And as if that wasn't enough, you also have a second inventory (typewriter) in which you can store weapons. This mechanic only works well on other RE games because you have nothing more than a tiny inventory to carry your weapons, recovering items and key items at the same time. In a game where you can literally have a XL sized suitcase as a inventory system, I think it's very unecessary. The resources in this game aren't scarce either, unless you're playing in the hardest difficulty, which it's the very least.

The only thing this game technically does better than the original is the atmosphere, at least visually speaking, since it has more realistic graphics and lighting, so we have darker/spookier places. But that's not all there is to atmosphere, there's also the psychological aspect, which this game doesn't have much because like I said, it doesn't make you tense, you're not fearing for your life most of the times because you know you can easily fight back whatever comes at you and there aren't many insta-kill attacks. This game doesn't have the same tension that RE2 remake does when you have to move around the station knowing Mr. X is hunting you because you can hear his heavy footsteps amongst the silence and you also know he has a incredible hearing, so any noise you make can lead him to you, thing that pressures the player to not stay on the same room for too long.

And yeah, yeah, I know most of the previously mentioned things are the same way in the original, but that's exactly my point. Capcom bragged so much about this game being more survival horror than the original so I expected them to actually keep their word and do some changes on the gameplay/mechanics to actually make this be true.

Unless Capcom's definition of "more survival horror" is simply adding more dimly lit rooms and realistic graphics, since that's the only huge and noticeable difference from the original. And if it's the case, I'm very disappointed, considering it's coming from the same company that made RE1 remake: the closest there is to a perfect survival horror and a perfect game -- RE2 remake: a game that perfectly masters the art of ambience and atmosphere as manner to cause tension and uneasiness at the player, and the greatest modern survival horror in my opinion -- and RE7: a genius masterpiece of horror and the most terrifying game I have ever played so far. While all these games also make use of poor lighting to create atmosphere (it's a horror game, after all), none depend solely on that, because that'd mean is a bad game. We know they know very well how to make a terrifying, spine-chilling survival horror, and it's clearly not what they did in this remake, so I think it's very audacious of them to say so.

Resident Evil's horror was always the fact that you actually had to be smart and skilled to survive. What causes fear is your own helplessness as a player, the knowing that you're not invencible because you can't parry a chainsaw with a knife, you can't dodge attacks, you can't sneak up on your enemies and take them down with one attack from behind, and all that while having to use your resources wisely. These are games that encourage the player to avoid enemies instead of going on a killing spree because the enemies drop items. It punishes you for taking down enemies instead of rewarding. You're meant to avoid them when instead of confronting.

I thought maybe they'd implement these typical RE stuff to the remake and change the game a little, since they were talking soooo much about it being "more survival horror", but turns out they didn't, and at the end it resulted in a game that has nice, updated graphics and gameplay but manages to be inferior than the original because it's less unique and easier; and that's why I don't think RE4 remake has even half of the appeal of the previously mentioned games. It's just a game, a very well made one, mind you, but it's just what's expected of a AAA game, and it's not outstanding in any way if not except for graphics (which is something I personally don't care for) and while it's a fun time, it doesn't bring anything worth putting it on a pedestal, both story and gameplay-wise. Capcom did not overcame themselves with this game, neither it's their best work until now.

There are good changes in the remake, Ashley and Luis being the best of them, now that they've been given more screentime and depth, both are much more likeable and interesting characters. I fell in love with them both, and they are the reasons why I even managed to replay it, especially Ashley, she's so cute and pretty and I loved her gameplay section more than anything. The side activities such as tresure hunting and target shooting mini-game are way more fun too. While all of these are ten thousand times better now, it's not enough to be considered worth making a remake because that's not why you play a Resident Evil game for.

To me, the remake wasn't necessary because all they could possibly 'upgrade/improve' in a remake would be the story, gameplay or graphics, and the reason why people love the original is not because of any of those, but because it's a unique game.

The game is so unrealistic, chaotic and goofy while still being creepy, tense, challenging, and that's what makes it perfect. It seems like something coming out of a Junji Ito's manga -- surreal, bizzare, and so exaggerated that ends up being comical. The bodily mutilations and distortions of the enemies are horrifying but these same enemies are idiotic and unserious; the absurdity, ridiculousness and improbability of everything going on in the story is what feeds this different type of horror this game has, for this reason I like to think of it as a horror comedy of some sort.

I mean, Ada showing up in a cheongsam doesn't make sense but we love it and it's iconic because it's the only horror game where you'd see a woman fighting in a long red dress and high heels. The game is full of extremely extra characters doing unrealistic and unnecessary things all the time just because it looks cool, and there's hilarious scenes like Leon running away from a fucking gigantic walking statue, the laser room scene, or Ashley being kidnapped by a abnormally big mosquito. The original didn't care about being realistic, their goal was to achieve what was considered cool back in the day. They valued creativity, not realism.

Resident evil 4 (2005) is kind of a mess, I meant it when I said the game is very chaotic. It's a crazy mixture of things that you normally don't see going together in a horror game, but it works surprisingly well in the end. It has:

Characters based on anime characters archetypes. Ada is the mysterious morally grey enemy-ally with a complicated relationship with the MC. Leon is the cool, handsome (ikemen) good hearted hero. Ashley, the tsundere-ish himedere damsel in distress who's in love with the main character. Luis, the charming womanizer who's secretive about his motives and arguebly an asshole. And all the very theatrical villains with cartoonish speach.

A action-focused combat.

Escort mission (having to protect and guide Ashley).

Humor very present in the story.

Yet it still has the typical horror stuff -- a lack of dialogue and soundtracks that makes the game's atmosphere lonely, the bleak, cold and pale scenery, gruesome and gory deaths, grotesque body horror including disgusting scenes that shows the enemies' bodies being ripped open and modified, etc. All these things in one game is not something you find everyday.

Point is, the original didn't need to be have poorly lit places, jumpscares or anything to be good, because it already had the huge factor of being a distinct and very specific game at it's favor, and what does the remake have? Now that the game looks, plays and feels like every other high-budget game that comes out every year, what's the appeal of it? There are plenty of games similar to RE4 remake, but nothing quite like RE4. That doesn't necessarily means it's bad, not every game has to be revolutionary, I'm not that harsh, but it means that there's nothing extraordinary about it.

Now, my next topic and the most important one to me: our protagonist, Leon Scott Kennedy. He was definitely the main reason why I couldn't enjoy this game as much. God, how frustrating it was to see this Leon onscreen. Completely out of character, so emo and edgy and grumpy that ended up being borderline annoying. Keeping his one-liners and "sense of humor" doesn't matter when you changed everything else that formed the essence of the character.

Not to mention even his humor now is more dry and overly sarcastic, very different the way Leon used to joke around. He had a harmless and silly humor overall (remember the classics: "where's everyone going? bingo?" "your right hand comes off?" [re4] "what the matter, not a fan of sewers?" "got some sins to confess?" [re6], etc). It was the clever and well timed remarks that made him so funny, he didn't really had to offend people or be cynical all the time.

Now he's saying stuff like "give my regards to your god" "i'll give you a holy body" amongst other stupidly forced things, I feel like his 'humor' is just over the top, very edgy and even a little bit cringe sometimes. His humor used to be the kind that would make you giggle because it was smart and a bit goofy -- not roll your eyes. ... Or maybe it'd make you roll your eyes too, but affectionately. Having a smart mouth and being sassy is not Leon's entire personality. When you know his character well, you easily notice the difference. But I guess it kinda makes sense, because they were clearly going for the RE2r version of Leon instead -- which is very different from the Leon from RE4 original and RE6. And the cgi movies, too.

What REALLY got under my skin though, was when when Luis said to him "quiet type, aren't you?" or something like that. That made me want to bang my head on the wall repeatedly until I pass out because this is the kind of thing you would never hear someone say about the old Leon -- this man loves likes to talk, way too much, even. He's anything but the quiet type. Leon is not Leon without his charisma and exceptional social skills.

And in the remake, he lacks all of those qualities and is reduced to a serious ass agent, as if we don't see enough of characters like this. That distinction between him and your typical government agent was what made him so special and beloved. And it doesn't help that his current voice actor voices him speaking aggressively towards people most of the time and Leon is not a agressive or confrontational person at all (not blaming the voice actor, he's just doing what he's been instructed to!) and doesn't carry the same charisma and confidence on his voice like the previous VAs did, and his voice is not as mature as Mercier or Mercer's. I feel like he did a great job voicing RE2 remake Leon, when he's supposed to be a young, naïve, inexperienced young man, but it's definitely not fit for older the Leon. You can't tell me a character's voice doesn't affect their personality because it absolutely does.

As I mentioned before, the whole reason why Leon is so unique it's because of how different he is of what you'd expect a person on his field of work to be; while you'd expect serious, cold and unfriendly person, he's all the opposite. He may look like a sad-tumblr-boy (I mean, look at his hair) but he's actually a very easy-going and fun person with good intentions, and this is why people like him so much. In the remake, he is the sad-tumblr-boy, he looks like he's running out of patience all the time, and that made me appreciate even more how calm the old Leon was. Basically, the old Leon is that cool, chill guy you'd approach on a bar, but remake Leon is the kind you'd stay away because he doesn't look exactly approachable.

His life sucks and he's miserable but he's not a bitter person -- it's the opposite. He's admirable and he is so strong for managing to be like this even with the immense trauma and survivor's guilt he carries within himself. I'm not saying he can't lose his patience and needs to be relaxed all the time because that's not how he is, he might be calm and non-confrontational in general but his hatred towards bio-weapons and those who use them is something that is very present on his character, very clear in every movie and game he's on -- it's literally what he fights for. We saw his more of his "bad side" (not to me tho y'all be safe) in Damnation and Vendetta -- yet it still feels like him. Even if he's having a mental breakdown, stressed out and showing a side of him we haven't seen before, it's still feels like Leon, he doesn't sound or act like a complete new character like he does now in the remake because he still carries all the traits that are important to his character.

I have seen people complaining about Leon's old behavior being unrealistic but I strongly disagree. Just because he's traumatized and depressed it doesn't mean he needs to be salty all the time -- the problem is that people think if the story doesn't show or mentions all the time how the character suffers from whatever he struggles with, it means the character doesn't suffer from it at all.

His calm demeanor, flirty comments and humor were also coping mechanisms, he joked as a way to relief the tension -- his own and other people's -- and as an attempt to calm down people around him, something he was always good at doing. Remember how easily he could calm Ashley in the original, how softly he spoke to her, how he manages to comfort Helena right after she lost her sister and was nice to her the whole time when he didn't have the obligation and had reasons to be pissed at her. His sincerity, good intentions and tenderness makes people get attached to him easily, because Leon is always very aware of the mental state of the people around him and cares a lot. Sometimes I even wonder if his caring and empathetic behavior towards people isn't a reflex of his desire of having someone doing the same for him.

He always wears his heart on his sleeve -- and while he doesn't say out loud how he feels, he doesn't have to because his eyes say it all, he is very expressive, he's always been. Leon is a sensitive person with a big golden heart, and I find that not very well represented in the remakes, even if his interactions with Ashley are still lovely and he's still described as a good guy. They're telling us, but not exactly showing, when it was the opposite in the past. I don't think they did a good job in showing his sensitiveness and softness, which are things that were very present and clear even when he was at his worst state.

And like I said before, I don't think his old personality was unrealistic, but if you think it's okay to completely change a character's personality for the sake of realism I feel bad for you, that's exactly why the main characters are getting more boring and all-the-same each day, like what happened to Jill for example, she's unrecognizable now. Leon is my favorite character of all time and it has been that way for years, so seeing his character getting murdered like this annoyed me to an extent that I considered giving up on Resident Evil (as you can see I didn't though).

I'm not saying remake Leon is bad ー he's grown into me, though it took a few years for that to happen. But it's undeniable that he is very different from what he is on other RE media. He still has the same traits as the original Leon but he displays them in a very different manner, way more subtle, which is disappointing to see because Leon's transparency is one of the most important and admirable parts about him, a man that isn't scared of showing how he feels is incredibly sexy and that why he is so attractive. Like I said before, he is the type to wear his heart on his sleeve, he doesn't hide much. He's a sensitive, kind, good hearted man that will do anything to protect people, and I wish they focused more on those qualities than on his bitter, traumatized side that we know exists deeps down. They could've let this for another game, another story.

TLDR: the remake is a nice game, and it'd be amazing as a individual game unrelated to RE or if the original didn't exist and this what the original release, but for a Resident Evil and compared to the 2005 game it's not that impressive and lacks in many aspects; it doesn't have the same charm and uniqueness as the original, and the changes they did in Leon's personality made the game much less appealing, since his charisma and humour pretty much carried the original game. I'll probably replay it again in the future, because I did enjoy it, but I'd have appreciate a new game with brand new content and story much more than a remake that ended up nerfing the best parts of the original game and what made it so special and loved.

[downwiththemutantnjnjaturtles]

We Met Within This Screen (chapt. 2)

[Donnie x fem reader]

Sfw, part 1 here

Intellectually, Donnie was the best matchup for their leader as today was sparring day. He'd gone against his oldest brother many times, sometimes even coming out the victor himself, but today was just not his day.

He held his staff with that iron grip of his and waited for Leo to come at him. Donnie was more on the defensive than any of his brothers; he had to be. Out of all he was weakest physically but superior in calculations, but he was missing range in this matchup. Leo had a hard time disarming him as his katana could sometimes get lodged in the solid wood staff, giving Donnie leverage to perform the finisher in the short time it took him to dislodge his sword. He thought this time would be how that would happen.

"You're slow today, Donnie," Leo said as he lunged at his brother with a swing of his katana, forcing Donnie to step back. He was too focused on blocking Leo's rapid succession of attacks to respond.

Leo reeled back to swing his blade again but Donnie parried and struck his arm with his staff, shoving it aside. For a split second, Leo actually thought he was fixing to go down by this move if Donnie could hit him again quick enough. But his brother hesitated in thought, and without any reluctance himself, he used his other katana to put him in a compromising position. The match was over and Donnie was forced to stand down.

"Why did you hesitate?" Leo questioned him, lowering his blade. Raph watched from the sidelines with Mikey as they prepared to go up next. Since Leo was the winner, it was Raph's turn next to spar in his younger brother's place.

Donnie huffed and dropped his stance, putting his staff away. "It's just an off day," he replied. Splinter wasn't there to dictate today's training session and tournament, so Donnie was already on his way out to go to his lab by the time Raph stepped up to spar. But Leo sheathed his sword and put a hand on Donnie's shoulder, stopping him in his tracks.

"You've been pretty eager to run back to your lab lately," Leo said matter-of-factly. He was wondering what was going on, why Donnie seemed weirdly distant the last couple of weeks. He had gone through a very withdrawn phase in earlier times upon entering his teenage years, but now, he was legitimately making everyone guess. He didn't snap at his brothers, and he wasn't any more impatient than usual. But something was different. He'd been spending a lot more time holed up in his lab, which everyone began to notice. Leo wanted to know what was wrong.

Donnie shifted and shrugged, "Like I said, I've been busy with some projects. Also, it's not like I have much to do out here beside training and patrol."

Leo opened his mouth to speak, but Mikey jumped on between them. "You missed game night last week! You never miss it," he butted in. Both Donnie and Leo gave him a look as if to say really? and he added in, "Well, uh...not usually."

Gently moving Mikey aside, Leo wanted to continue, but he saw Donnie staring at him expecting a follow-up when he didn't really have one. Whatever this was, Leo knew that coming at Donnie with questions was not the way to go about it. So he stepped back and gave his brother some space.

"We all have off days," Leo said finally after an awkward moment of silence. "Just work on your speed, Don."

"Got it."

With that, Donnie turned to leave, and Raph entered the ring to go against Leo in the last match of the night.

Once Donnie was gone, Leo got ready to spar with Raph. As they got into position, he contemplated bringing this recent development up with the other two, but decided against it in the end. He didn't want to incriminate Donnie, especially with Raph's assertive approach to handling things. Donnie could be somewhat flighty at times when it came to resolving matters of emotion, at times a little too introspective, but Leo couldn't fault him—he had his own struggles with that very thing, too.

Done, finally, Donnie thought as he skirted into his lab and started up the game. He was late to the party quite literally; training lasted longer than he'd thought, and he was disappointed to see that his newest friend was online, but not responding to his invite. Did everyone get together and play without him? After a few minutes, he almost decided on giving up. The instance made him contemplate whether he even wanted to continue this. Perhaps he'd been too eager.

He sighed. And then the menu pinged, and he was there reading the message in an instant.

Hey, sorry I partied up without you, I just didn't know if you were gonna be on or not :/

Without even thinking, he licked his lips typed back, repeatedly deleting and retyping his message to make sure it was casual but not too casual, apologetic but not desperate—

It's okay, don't worry about it

Likewise sorry it took me so long to get here.

That would do. He'd be lying to say he wasn't feeling that flutter in his stomach; the excitement of something new got to him in a way that only a discovery in his research did, or how he felt when he mastered a new technique in his training.

Let's get started then :)

They started the game, and this time he kept the mic on, as she did. They talked back and forth as they fought creatures and enemies and looted things, eventually coming to learn that she herself was in New York City. He was surprised; suddenly, the world felt a lot smaller, and he couldn't concentrate on just playing after that. The time they spent became more of an opportunity to converse than to play a mundane game for hours on end.

At some point, she switched the topic to his whereabouts. Donnie's breath hitched.

"I'm...not anywhere near. So it doesn't really matter," he told her, cringing. If the guys found out—if Splinter found out—he would be in such trouble.

"Oh," she paused for a moment, trying to find something to say. "That's alright, I don't want you to feel like you have to tell me, you know?"

He'd muted his mic to release a deep breath. He got lost in thought thinking about how in that moment, he wanted to be human. If he weren't a giant mutant turtle, he could actually form a connection with someone. It was a very "Mikey" thing to think, he reckoned, but at times he wanted friends just like his brother did.

"Yeah, sorry, I just…"

"It's really no problem, dude."

He felt as though he could hear the smile in her voice. What did she look like, he wondered. He wanted to see her, but he couldn't ask for that when he could never do the same. If he could get her name, he'd be in the clear to do some preliminary lookups on this person, but so far, she'd been dodgy about sharing info about herself as well. He couldn't blame her. They were two strangers online, one with a huge secret and the other completely in the dark about who he truly was. For all she knew, he could have been a creep, looking to stalk her online and perhaps do even worse. The thought made him feel almost nauseous, how she could be considering that about him as a possibility as they spoke. But she seemed comfortable enough. Unlike him, who was still slightly skeptical of the entire thing, because after spending his whole life in practical isolation, he was at a loss as to what to say or do after a certain point. The conversation died off and both of them thought simultaneously about how weird the sudden silence between them felt.

She hummed, as if searching for something to bring up. When she spoke, he was taken aback—"Hey, I'm gonna be honest, I really like talking to you but this game is getting boring. Do you wanna chat somewhere else?"

"Uh…" he trailed off, mind shooting blanks. Oh, was it just a horrible idea. He couldn't keep the jig up forever; the truth was bound to get revealed somewhere down the line. He was fixing to reject the proposition, tell her that he didn't want to take it that far. She could be anyone. The likelihood of it being a clever ruse on account of the Foot Clan was slim, but the paranoia still worked ambiently in the background noise of his mind. But his other doubt stopped him—when would he ever have a chance at this again? He wanted to have the strength to say no and leave it at that. The loneliness that crept up on him from time to time had something else to say.

"Yeah," he answered after a terribly long pause of mumbling, fighting with himself all the way as she told him where to add her. He could have kicked himself had it not been for the fact that he knew how to encrypt data, and that as long as he didn't leak a word about his inner circle or life, it would be okay. It didn't feel okay, though.

"Nice! I'll text you, see you later, Bo. I had a lot of fun tonight," she chirped.

Before he could respond, she was gone from the party, and the mic went silent. It happened so fast. He was barely caught up with the fact that he was now receiving messages and prompts to talk, but he couldn't bring himself to answer right away. He had to refocus his logic; how could this be used by the enemy as a way to get to them? Could they have somehow anticipated he'd download this game and find this random on there? The more the thought about it, the more glaringly obvious it was that it was not the case. It was just too improbable.

"The probability of the Foot being able to simulate such a specific scenario in order to get intel on us is so slim, it is practically non-existent," he told himself as he finally pulled up the messages. He read through them. "Approximately a zero-point-zero-zero-zero..."

My name is (Y/N), by the way :)

Well, that was easier than expected. He figured that somehow, the name suited you—a fitting name for such a personality. But it also gave him a glimmer of hope. It made him want to ask why you appeared to trust him, as he could be anyone on the Earth over the screen, not his benevolent self. Which she had no way of proving, technically. But he soon came to realize the screen painted him in a whole new light that it casted on him. It hit then that he could be anyone. He didn't have to be himself; not necessarily. She'd never have to know, as he could wear a human mask and she'd be none the wiser. Problem was, the lying made him feel guilty, and slowly would develop to be the thorn in his side.

Donnie thoughtfully stared at the screen. Now that he was here, some of his anxiety began to fade. He found himself actually able to talk, someone to listen to his tangents and even build upon them. They spent hours texting back and forth about anything and everything until it was almost time for him to put the phone down to leave for patrol. He felt giddy, like a kid, all over again.

________________________________________

Had you ever been able to talk to someone this easily?

You asked yourself that question as you exchanged with the faceless and nameless stranger over your screen, chatting from afternoon to night. Time flew by in an instant, with him, and you loved every minute. He was someone intellectual, but funny and so easy to talk to that it was as though the conversation carried itself. After some time he came out about his age after you revealed yours. Oftentimes, he'd just present to you a random question when the subject tapered off and run with it, like now:

What do you think of reptiles?

Puzzled, you took a second to reply. Odd question.

Why do you ask? Do you have one?

I was just curious

What do you think of them?

The chat indicator flip-flopped between "typing" and "idle" a few times before a message finally popped up, and you smiled. You'd learned over this short time that he was a dork in a cute way.

Well...I think they're pretty cool.

They've got natural armor and you would be surprised to know just how fast a turtle can be

You laughed a little to yourself. It was such a random thing to bring up, yet you were endeared. Deciding you'd go along with it, you asked him what else he knew about turtles.

Well...

__________________________________________________

Donnie was wondering what he was talking about just as much as she probably was. Stupid, he thought, facepalming. His first time really speaking with a human as an equal and he starts talking about turtles. Of course he knew a lot about them, he was one himself—but for some reason he found himself wanting to dispel myths and misunderstandings about turtles as if they reflected on him, when as far as she knew, he was just a human guy like herself.

He groaned lightly and typed, thinking up a fact that wasn't too conspicuous.

Red eared sliders are semi-aquatic.

As he typed the next part, he caught himself writing "we" instead of "they", to his dismay. He quickly fixed the error and continued, feeling weirdly exposed as it was almost as though in sharing this information, he was putting himself under a microscope for her to inspect.

They can hold their breath for up to thirty minutes, usually

Holding his breath was something he'd tested numerous times before. He and his brothers had actually made a game out of it on a few occasions, with Leo leading at thirty-three minutes, Donnie in second at thirty-one. Raph broke at twenty-nine minutes and Mikey followed behind in last at just twenty-seven. The ability could be trained, nonetheless.

That's interesting, I wonder what it's like to be able to go underwater so long?

It's kind of cool, you should try sometime

For THIRTY MINUTES?

Shit. He promptly replied:

No—not like I can hold my breath that long, I just mean you should try to see sometime I guess

I tested it just for the fun of it.

Looking up how long humans could hold their breath on average (between thirty seconds and two minutes), he bumped the number up a little bit and added:

Personally, I'm at two minutes and forty-five seconds

He was embarrassed, partially covering his face as he waited for a response. Such a foolish slip-up; he couldn't afford to say anything cryptic. But he still was fairly sure that he had recovered that alright. He couldn't help but think about how awkward or weird he seemed to her. Who talked about this?

I don't think I could hold my breath for more than a minute, kudos to you haha

Anyway, sorry to switch gears all of a sudden but if you don't mind me asking, what's up with your family? You have any siblings?

He told her no. He would not bring his brothers into this, lest it be the slim chance of a ploy, after all. He said his family situation was unconventional and left it at that.

With that, he said to her goodnight and put his phone away, getting up to go get geared for patrol. It was only then he noticed the figure leaning against the doorway.

Chapter 3