#TURTLE INSTINCTS FOR THE WIN

[imagionationstation]

Was ANYONE going to tell me that baby turtles kiss (bump beaks) each other to express love and nuzzling is one turtle’s way to confirm the safety/possession of another turtle???

Like, they NUZZLE to say “I love you are you okay you’re mine” ALL AT ONCE. It’s NOT just some silly little motion. It has MEANING!

The kind of meaning that could TOTALLY translate as “I would kill for you just point at who” in a scared moment LIKE AH

DO YOU KNOW WHAT WRITERS COULD DO WITH THIS KIND OF VALUABLE INFORMATION???

DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH FANFICTION MY BRAIN IS INTERPRETING IN AN ENTIRELY NEW WAY???

[tommorowonlymaybe]

Tmnt 2012 x Injured!Reader (Romantic)

During a mission in the Kraang laboratory, you and the Turtles are ambushed. The Turtles are quickly neutralized and trapped under a strong transparent dome, while the enemies shift their focus to you. Despite this, you manage to fight back and nearly win. However, just before being destroyed, the last Kraang fires at a lever behind you, activating an unknown mechanism. A few seconds later, a grinding noise echoes through the lab, and a massive metal harpoon pierces you through.

You deliver the final blow, and the Kraang bot crashes onto the metallic floor with a shower of sparks. That’s it. It seems like it’s over. Your ears ring from the tension, your heart pounds loudly in your chest, and your breathing is heavy. You straighten up, scanning your surroundings—the Turtles are still trapped under that damn dome, but you’re almost there.

“(Y/N), hurry!” a voice breaks through the ringing in your ears.

You nod and take a step forward… but suddenly, something clicks in the distance.

A faint, barely audible sound.

Your eyes instinctively shift downward—to where the disabled Kraang bot lies. Its body smokes, its limbs motionless, but something inside is still working. Even broken, it managed to make one last move. One last shot.

Click.

Behind you, a mechanical noise rumbles to life, like an old engine starting up.

For a moment, the entire lab seems to freeze.

Silence.

You blink.

“(Y/N)! WATCH OUT!”

The grinding of metal.

You don’t even have time to turn before something cold, tearing, unnaturally heavy pierces through your side. For a brief second, your brain refuses to register the pain. But then it crashes over you like a wave, as if it wasn’t just a harpoon, but an entire truck that hit you. Instinctively, you clutch at the wound, but all you feel is the warm, sticky liquid spreading across your palm.

You fall to your knees, not screaming, but letting out a strangled sound. Your lungs constrict, as if all the air has been knocked out of them. You try to inhale—and only now do you realize that the harpoon is lodged inside. Every movement sends sharp, needle-like pain stabbing through your body.

“(Y/N)!”

A voice… someone is calling you. You try to focus your vision and see it—the dome. The Turtles. They’re pounding against it, their faces a mix of panic and horror.

And then you hear footsteps.

Your gaze frantically sweeps across the room. Kraang. More of them.

Shit.

You force yourself to stand. Every cell in your body protests, dark spots dance before your eyes, but you don’t stop. You lunge forward, staggering like a puppet with its strings cut. It’s doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is reaching the panel.

Your hands are shaking, blood drips down your fingers, but you press the buttons. First. Second. Third.

Nothing.

“Shit!” the word escapes your lips, and without thinking, you start slamming your fists against the damn panel. Breaking it. Crack. Crunch. Blood mixes with metal dust, but you keep going, even as your fingers go numb.

And then—click.

A jolt. The screech of machinery.

The dome lifts.

Blurred figures rush forward. You feel hands grabbing you, holding on tighter than necessary, but it doesn’t matter anymore. You don’t see their faces, don’t hear their voices, but for some reason… you feel at peace.

You smile.

And then—darkness.

Their reaction:

Leonardo

Every second of that scene is burned into his memory. He didn’t just see it—he lived it with you. His mind was desperately searching for a way out, but his body remained trapped, powerless. Leo remembers the way your face twisted in pain, the color of your blood on the metal, the sound of the harpoon pulling back. And it haunts him.

When the dome lifted, he was the first to lunge forward. He didn’t care if there were still Kraang left. His only goal was to catch you, to stop you from falling, from hitting your head, from… disappearing. His hands were tense yet painfully gentle, as if one wrong move could break you.

His face in that moment—completely blank. He didn’t scream. He didn’t show emotion. He just acted. Only later, when you were safe, his fists clench so tightly. That’s when it hit him—he had almost lost you.

After that, he became even stricter with tactics. If before he could allow himself to adapt on the fly, now every step was calculated. He always made sure you stayed close, always repeated every possible escape route before a mission. Sometimes he even triple-checked the gear—just to make sure nothing could go wrong.

But the fear never left. He didn’t show it, but after the incident, he would constantly glance at you, even when things were calm. Especially when things were calm. On rare nights when sleep refused to come, he found himself back in that lab, asking the same question over and over: ‘What if I had reacted faster?’

In battle, he instinctively shields you. Even if the attack is still far away, he’s already between you and the enemy, ready to take the hit. It’s not up for discussion.

He only let himself relax when you finally started recovering. One day, you caught him holding your gaze a little longer than usual. There was no commander’s discipline, no calculated thought behind it. Just silence. Just the unspoken question: “Are you really okay?”

But even after you fully healed, he still couldn’t forget. No matter how hard he tried. No matter how much he told himself things were different now. It had happened once—so it could happen again. And he would never let that happen.

Raphael

His first reaction was a scream. Loud, furious, raw. When he saw the harpoon pierce through you, he didn’t just yell—he roared. He slammed his fists against the dome with enough force to send pain shooting through his knuckles, but he didn’t care. He screamed your name like it could somehow force you to wake up.

He kept pounding on the barrier. Over and over. When you got up and ran for the control panel, he only hit harder. At some point, he struck so hard that his own fingers cracked—but he didn’t stop. He couldn’t just stand there and watch.

The second the dome disappeared, he was the first to reach you. No hesitation. He got to you before anyone else, dropped to his knees, and pressed down on the wound with both hands to stop the bleeding. Blood dripped between his fingers, slid across his joints, but he only pushed harder—like sheer force alone could keep you here.

If anyone had gotten too close in that moment, he would’ve killed them. Raphael had always been hotheaded, but that day, his rage reached its breaking point. Every remaining Kraang became nothing more than a target. If anything had tried to get in his way, he would’ve torn it apart.

When you woke up safe, he didn’t leave. He sat there in silence, just watching you. Watching your chest rise and fall. Watching the color return to your face. Only when he was sure—completely sure—you were conscious, he abruptly stand and walk out. He needed to release what was left of his rage. He destroyed every training dummy in sight.

After that, he became even more aggressive. In battle, he hit harder, moved rougher, snapped faster. A fear had settled inside him—a fear he couldn’t express in any other way but anger.

But along with that, he became your shield. Even if he wasn’t aware of it himself, he always kept you in his line of sight. If you fought nearby, he covered you without a word. If he had to move away, he still knew exactly where you were. And if an enemy ever aimed for you—they were already dead.

And most importantly—he never let you take risks again. No matter how much you argued, no matter how much you insisted you were fine, he would always step in front of you. He would always snarl “You almost died once, I’m not letting it happen again!” He wasn’t giving you a choice. He wouldn’t let it happen. Not to you.

Donatello

When the harpoon pierced through you, his world collapsed. For a second, nothing else mattered—only you and that damned harpoon. Donnie had never been the type to succumb to panic, but in that moment, he felt it in full force. Every part of him screamed

“No, no, no! This wasn’t supposed to happen!”

He knew you weren’t supposed to move. With a wound like that—it was impossible. But you moved. You forced your body to keep going despite the pain, and he saw how agonizing it was. His heart clenched when you took that first step.

When you collapsed, he was already there. He didn’t even remember how he got to you so fast. Maybe faster than Leo himself. His hands were shaking, but his fingers worked with precision, applying pressure to the wound, checking your pulse. He was mumbling something—maybe words meant to soothe, maybe medical terms. Maybe just your name over and over, terrified you would disappear.

Even if you were unconscious, he kept talking to you. Maybe he begged you to hold on. Maybe he promised you’d be okay. Maybe he just kept whispering, “Please, please, not now…” while he desperately tried to stop the bleeding.

Later, when you were finally safe, he couldn’t erase that moment from his mind. The image played on a loop: you standing at the console, the sound of the shot, the screech of metal, the blood. He couldn’t sleep because the second he closed his eyes—he saw it all over again.

He became even more attentive. Maybe even too much. He checked on you more than necessary, asked too many questions: “Does it still hurt? Are you sure you’re okay?” And if you tried to brush him off, he’d just show up later with medicine “just in case.”

Every time you did something remotely risky, he froze for a second. Even if you were fully healed, even if there was no danger, his heart still clenched. Because he remembered. And because he could no longer imagine his life without you.

Michelangelo

At first, he didn’t understand what had happened. It was too fast—your victory, the shot, the click of the mechanism… He didn’t even see the harpoon right away. But he saw your face. And that was the worst part.

Then, his heart dropped. Because you weren’t just hurt—you could actually die. The thought hit him like lightning, knocking the air from his lungs. “No, no, no—this isn’t real, right?” He wanted to believe this could be rewound, that this wasn’t happening.

When you collapsed, he snapped. He forgot about everything else, even the fact that the dome was still there. He just screamed your name, slammed his fists against the barrier, begged you to hold on. His voice cracked, but he didn’t stop. He couldn’t.

When he finally got to you, he froze. The wound—too deep. The blood—too much. He wasn’t a doctor, he wasn’t a tactician, he wasn’t anything useful. He just wanted you to be okay. And the only thing he could do was grab your hand and whisper, over and over:

“You can’t leave me…You can’t.”

Later, when you woke up, he never left your side. Even when you got better, even when you could move and talk again. He brought you food, kept you entertained, told stupid jokes—anything to avoid seeing that fear in your eyes again.

But when he was alone, he broke. The laughter, the jokes, the easygoing mask—it was for you. But at night, he’d wake up drenched in sweat, gasping, because he’d dreamt of that lab again. Heard the screech of metal, saw your face the moment the harpoon struck. Sometimes, it wasn’t even a dream—sometimes, he just sat in the dark, replaying it in his mind.

He became hyper-aware of you. He’d notice even the smallest changes—if you were tired, if you winced, if you flinched at a loud sound. If you needed a break, he’d insist on one. If you looked even remotely uncomfortable, he was already there.

And now, he’s terrified to lose you. Even for a second. On missions, he never leaves your side. He still cracks jokes, still plays the fool—but underneath it all, he’s watching every move you make. Because he knows if it happens again—if he loses you—he will blame himself for the rest of his days

[abbeyofcyn]

Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles AUs

New! Merch

Phantom Pain

Donnie was finally back to normal. At least.... he was no longer feral. But months of being infected takes its toll and Leo has lost a lot to get him back. It's not easy having two idiots who can't deal with emotions as brothers for Mikey.

Start reading here

Hiatus

CW: nightmares, amputation

Tags: #phantom pain comic

Krang infection sequel

Krang Infection

Two years after the invasion, Donnie feels sick and his gut instinct tells him it's very different from the rat flu.

Start reading here

Completed

CW: minor body horror, implied amputation, non graphic brain surgery

Tags: #krangified Donnie #Krang infection comic

False Memory

All the brothers have had nightmares from the Apocalypse pop up and ruining their sleep. Casey confirmed that what they've dreamt actually happened to their counterparts in his timeline. They refer to it as 'false memories'. Leo wakes up to the worst 'memory' he's had thus far.

Start reading here

Completed

CW: death

Brains and Brawn Apocalypse

Donnie and Raph lost their brothers during the apocalypse when they were only in their twenties. Now, in their thirties, there's not much hope left for them to win this war.

Several one shots: overview

Completed

CW: death

Great, what's next...

A poll based adventure with Donnie as the main character

Start reading here

Discontinued

CW: none

Wretched Little Pests

Read the comics here

CW: death, injuries, murder, savage mode

Tag: #wretched little pests au

[phecdasolar]

Tumblr I need your help I am in dire need of feral/unhinged Disaster Twins fics pleaseeee (and maybe Mikey as a bonus) I’m just in love with the idea of Raph being the impulse control for once with this iteration, and just the second he’s out of commission the other three go insane.

Weapons of War, Bioengineered Killing Machines, Manufactured Supersoldiers Rottmnt turtles my BELOVEDS

And maybe just like,,, set Leo and Donnie loose on one of the other dimensions and have them absolutely horrifically annihilate their counterparts’ villains while they watch on in horror

(B.E.A.S.T. was SUCH a good fic you guys oh my GOSH go read it I’m begging you-)

I NEED to have it addressed in fic form that the Rise turtles are fundamentally different than all their other counterparts, because their counterparts? They were accidents. Just a couple of turtles splashed with mutagen and oh look now they’re people but Green. (Huge oversimplification I’m aware but hear me out okay-)

But the Rise boys were created. They were specifically designed to be weapons of mass destruction. They were built with the intent to cause harm which means they were bioengineered to be stronger, smarter(?), faster, to heal quicker, to have the capacity to take hard hits while dishing out even harder ones, they were literally forged with a purpose to kill.

Add on their mystic powers? Then their unlocked Ninpo? You can’t honestly tell me that these four aren’t the strongest and potentially deadliest version of themselves out there.

Yes they still had to learn things, as did the other iterations, they weren’t immediately good (that much is obvious, like c’mon it’s IN the name) but I don’t think the other iterations possess the same instincts as these guys do. They’re just so. Unhinged. They’ve all had their moments in the show I think where it’s obvious they’re not really,,, stable. I love them.

In a plain fists only, maybe weapons, no powers fight, I do think some of the other iterations would win, but purely because they have way more experience than these guys do. (If I did any crossovers I’d say 2003 and 2012 are definitely older than these guys, especially if we’re basing this at the end of their shows) But put them against each other when they’re still at the same level? Rise is whooping butt, I know where I’m placing my bets. It’s called RISE of the TMNT for a reasonnnnnn they’re not there yet but they WILL BE, and as of the end of s2 and the movie I say they’re finally THERE.

I have no idea how this turned into a headcanon rant this was just supposed to be me asking for fic recs hsgdjdjdk it’s almost 3 am tho so whatever sorry if none or only some of this is incoherent o7 o/

Editing this with a list of fics I have been graciously recommended below the cut:

Firefight by remrose [43/43 chapters 222k words] (edit: JUST FINISHED READING ch38-42 WATCH ME BAWL MY EYES OUT I was rotating them in my brain all morning at work) less on the feral side, more on the gut-wrenching angst side, still Disaster Twins and still super good

In Which Donnie and Leo Make Themselves Everyone Else's Problem in an NYC That Isn't Even Their Own by YukiSkyes [7/? chapters, 18k words] the CLASSIC “the Disaster Twins are unapologetically causing chaos” fic, always a delight to read

The Lemonade Leak by TurtleSoupSwimmer [27/37 chapters, 143k words] I’m being told it’s very true to the theme here, and it’s very angsty, a suspenseful psychological thriller, and will make you scream at your phone. I for one am very intrigued

Eschatology by aenor_llelo, Alderous, ConcoctionsFromHell, izziel_galaxy, Jaybird314, Otakuforlife19, and Rocket999 [17/17 chapters, 344k words] “HEAVY on the boys being biologically engineered to destroy the world, it also delves into so much character building and worldbuilding that we never got in canon, and it gives even super minor characters the chance to shine” Sounds intriguing, AND it’s a BNHA crossover which I am a big fan of :D

The Hunter’s Bible also by TurtleSoupSwimmer [2/2 chapters, 15k words] Rated Mature, contains themes of SA and c@nnibalism so PLEASE keep that in mind!! Not a fic for the faint of heart this is a Dead Dove: Do Not Eat! The SA is only attempted, and never shown, only implied, and it’s only in ch 1, but the other stuff is fairly descriptive and takes place in ch 2. All that being said, flipping UNHINGED, just about lost my mind in ch 2, it was entertaining in a surreal kinda way if you get what I mean. Funky little feral creatures

[bumblesimagines]

Imagine:

Getting the attention of Tashi and Art

Request: Yes or No

Pronouns: He/Him/His, M!Reader

Happy pride month!! Let's see if the wifi will let me post this. More Art than Tashi cause I'm a sucker for pathetic blondes.

~~~

His eyes tracked the ball back and forth, left to right, taking in the swings from both players. (Y/N) swung his racket, sending the ball back over the net. Art's eyes lingered on his face, taking in the knitted brow, serious look on his face. Sweat trickled down his forehead and temple from the heat and exertion, though he hardly had to try against Tashi. The ball flew by her before she could even get close to hitting it, her leg wobbling and threatening to give out from under her.

Art's throat tightened. "Tashi-"

"I'm fine!" She snapped, her knuckles whitening from her grip on the racket. Tashi's chest and shoulders lifted and lowered with her heavy pants, sweat similarly covering her features. She looked tense. Angry. Distraught. Tashi cursed under her breath and wiped her forehead with the back of her hand as she snatched her water from the ground and drank. Art turned back to the other player when he did similarly, taking his bottle from the bench and drinking before patting his neck and face dry a rag. 

"Hey," Art walked toward him, glancing over his shoulder at the girl. "She's still injured, man. Could you go easy on her?"

"She asked to play." (Y/N) reminded him gruffly, tossing the rag over his bag and arching a brow at him. Art swallowed thickly, eyes instinctively averting elsewhere. He hardly ever spoke with (Y/N). He'd been given enough warning to steer clear by his classmates but Tashi seemed determined to at least win one round. 

"I can't play against someone too scared to hurt me to play right." Tashi had told him when they arrived at the court that early afternoon. Art's gaze immediately snapped over to him. It always did. He couldn't help it. (Y/N) was as captivating and terrifying as Tashi. Quick, cutthroat, and with a glare that could stop hearts. Art remembered the first time he'd been held under that glare. He'd felt himself physically shrink back into a nonexistent shell like a damn turtle. "At least he'll take me seriously."

"If she hurts herself again-"

"That's her problem, sweetheart." Art inhaled deeply, nostrils flaring slightly as his words jabbed right into his lower stomach, a satisfying heat shooting up his spine. (Y/N) stared right at him, straight through him really, and the mixture of irritation, mockery, and apathy made Art look back at him with a glare. He cared about Tashi, so much so he'd been willing to wedge himself between her and Patrick. Patrick lost her and now, Art had a chance with the girl he'd been enthralled with.

"You don't always have to be a dick, you know?" Art meant to sneer, to sound assertive and angry, and he was. But holding eye contact with (Y/N) made his stomach twist, just like it had when he first laid eyes on Tashi and listened to her victory cheer. It was a breathtaking feeling, one that made his nerves jitter and his skin flush. 

A beat of silence followed and Art pressed his lips tightly together, waiting for some sort of reaction that'd land him a visit to the nurse. Instead, (Y/N) scoffed. "Get used to it, Donaldson. I won't baby you or your girlfriend just because you asked. If you have a problem-" (Y/N) leaned in, bumping the tips of their noses together and piercing into him with his eyes. "-cry about it."

"Hey," Tashi called out to them and Art's head snapped in her direction. She watched them, brow slightly arched and free hand bouncing a tennis ball until she had their full attention. "Come on. One more match." 

"No." (Y/N) exhaled heavily and leaned back, picking up his bag from the bench and stuffing the bottle inside. Art and Tashi looked back at him, questions forming on the tips of their tongue that (Y/N) dismissed with a simple roll of his neck and a few words. "You've bored me. I'll see you around."

Tashi blinked at him dumbfoundedly, the racket slipping from her grasp and legs moving to quickly walk after him as he made his way off the court. "The hell do you mean by that? I'm fine, I swear. I just need to train." She assured him, her long braid swinging back and forth with her rapid movements. The borderline desperation in her voice did little to slow him down and she grunted in annoyance, quickening her step into a brief jog to cut in front of him. "What is it? What did Art say to you?"

"Nothing, Duncan. He's worried about you, is all." (Y/N) shrugged. "Besides, another match like that and you would've hurt yourself. Cut your losses and move on."

"And how the hell am I supposed to do that?" Tashi sounded breathless, weak even. She hated it. She hated admitting she knew no matter how many doctors she visited, how many hours she trained to rebuild her strength and work on the court... she'd never go back to what it once was. Forced to retire before her career had even truly started all because of being too in her head during a match. "Tennis is all I know. I can't- I can't abandon it, not like this. Do you know how hard I've worked for this?" She can feel the tears pricking the back of her eyes, the fast beat of her heart, and trembling hands. It was overwhelming. It was infuriating. 

(Y/N) stared at her, his fingers holding onto the strap of his bag and rubbing into the rough fabric in thought. "I don't give a shit about anything you do, Tashi. You're not my friend, not my competition, or someone I even think about. But as a fellow player, I suggest becoming part of someone's team. Assistant coach, partner, whatever the hell you think suits you. But if you keep playing like this, you're going to fuck up your leg beyond repair. You always need a backup plan in sports."

Tashi crossed her arms and took a deep breath, tilting her head up toward the sky and nodding weakly. Her parents would support her regardless of what she chose to do but she knew, deep down she knew, that they'd always be disappointed she never reached her full potential. "Yeah," She exhaled softly. "Yeah, you're right."

"Always." She let out a breathy chuckle and rolled her eyes at his cocky tone, eyes trailing after him when he departed down the sidewalk in the direction of the locker rooms. He reminded her of Patrick, a better improved less annoying version at least. Or maybe he reminded her of herself. Tashi bit the inside of her cheek. The potential was far too great to ignore.

"Hey, you okay? How are you feeling?" Art's sweet voice filled her ears and she peered at him over her shoulder, spotting her belongings in his hand and that scrunched-up, worried look on his face. So dutiful, so warm. The perfect person to mend into whatever she wanted, whatever she needed. Her aching leg grounded her and she sighed. 

"I'm fine." She muttered. God, how many times had she uttered those words since the match? Everyone treated her like cracked glass ready to break at any given moment. She was stronger than that. Better than that. Why could nobody see that? "I'm... I'm gonna get some rest, Art. I'll see you tomorrow, 'kay?"

"Yeah, yeah, of course." Art nodded, his poofy curls bouncing off his forehead as he offered over her things and offered her a smile. "Want me to walk you back?" 

"No, it's alright." 

"Take care, Tashi." Art sighed quietly and watched her walk away, unable to stop himself from looking down at the brace wrapped tightly around her knee. Her limp had mostly disappeared, only noticeable if one looked for it, but he could tell Tashi wanted nothing more than to go back to how things were. If only she and Patrick hadn't argued that morning, if only he'd won the match and gotten her number instead. Did Patrick deserve it? Art tried not to be a sore loser or a shitty friend, but he'd be lying if he said he wasn't a smidge glad to know he wouldn't be coming around anytime soon. 

Guilt crept in pretty quickly and he shoved his hands in his pocket, turning his sights on the locker rooms and heading toward them. He'd hardly played as much as the others, but his skin still felt sticky and dirty from the sweat he'd accumulated. Cool air greeted him when he stepped inside and he maneuvered his way around the halls and lockers, greeting familiar faces that exited with nods and smiles until he noticed the familiar figure stripping by one of the open lockers. Art averted his eyes at first and then slowly shifted them back to the tennis player. 

"Take a picture, Art," The blonde flinched, heat erupting in his neck and traveling rapidly throughout his body. (Y/N) peeled his shorts from his legs, head angled toward the younger guy, and lazy smirk only fueling Art's embarrassment. "It'll last longer." He tossed the shorts and boxers over his bag and stepped around the lockers, the familiar squeal of the shower handle turning echoing through the partially empty room. 

"I-" Art clamped his mouth shut and cleared his throat, bidding goodbye to the last of the guys in the locker room before he found his locker and began undressing. He retrieved a towel and placed it on one of the nearby sweats before stepping onto the cool tiled floor in the showers, sparing a glance at the player. "I wasn't... staring."

"You always stare." (Y/N) sighed, running a soapy hand over his shoulder and leaving a trail of foam behind that the cold droplets washed away. He tilted his head back, the water splashing against his chin and trickling down his throat. Art turned the handle, the cold water making him tense automatically but it soon gave way to relief when his warm skin cooled. He ran a hand through his curls, letting the water soak into them. 

"You don't mind, though." Art said quietly, finding a new surge of confidence. (Y/N)'s brow twitched, the corners of his lips curling and eyes fluttering open to look at him. He stared at him questioningly, prompting Art to clear his throat again. "You don't care about tennis but you still play because... because you like attention."

"Bold statement, Donaldson. Especially from you." (Y/N) laughed and stepped toward him, leaning in again and tilting his head, eyes finally bright with something other than indifference or irritation. Art's lips parted, soft breaths escaping him. Another step and they'd be close enough to kiss. "You'd do anything for Tashi's attention. Anything for my attention. And you'll never have either, not for as long as you want."

[dandylovesturtles]

Trick: Leo and Draxum

Had an idea here for an End Game AU where:

the boys don't escape, and for whatever reason Splinter can't break out either

Draxum reads the room a little better on what will happen when he puts that Dark Armor on

the boys did a better repair job on the helmet

idk what specific warnings to put on this but uh Leo is straight up not having a good time

---

Leo sees Draxum coming toward their cage, and knows they've run out of time to try for an escape attempt. Instinctively he moves closer to his brothers. He feels them closing ranks beside him, too.

"Now now, there's no need for such ugly looks." Draxum looks entirely too smugly satisfied as he surveys them, just outside of striking range on his side of the bars. "You should feel honored. I have a place for each of you in my glorious army."

"Thanks, but we're too young to enlist," says Leo automatically. He feels Raph shift behind him.

"And yet that hasn't stopped you from interfering with my plans at every turn. But that ends now."

Draxum crosses his arms behind his back, looking over each of them in turn. Leo doesn't like it at all; it makes him feel like a piece of meat being considered for grilling.

"Each of you will have your use," Draxum continues. "Snapping turtle, you are incredibly strong, both physically and mystically. And I have seen you lead your team. Rough around the edges to be sure, but you will make a fine general.

"Box turtle, you have an unusually high amount of untapped mystical energy. Under my instruction, you will become someone truly formiddable.

"And softshell, you are clearly highly intelligent. A shame you have wasted your talents on the human schools of invention, but rest assured, I can teach you all you need to know.

"And finally, the red-eared slider."

"Don't forget my winning personality and gorgeous smile," Leo quips.

In response, Draxum regards him coolly.

"Compared to your brothers, you are mediocre in every way. Your mystic potential is above average, but much weaker than the rest. You are not nearly so strong or intelligent, and while you have some physical talent, it's outweighed by your insufferable attitude."

It shouldn't sting. It shouldn't. Draxum's just a crummy villain, who cares what he has to say?

Leo chuckles nervously, shuffling back. "Mediocre? No way, I'm the best! Come on, guys, tell 'im."

This is where his brothers should chime in. Donnie should say, "No, he's right." Or Mikey should back Leo up, shouting down Draxum.

None of that happens. Instead, Raph is the one who moves, putting a hand on Leo's shoulder and physically moving him to the back, putting himself bodily between Leo and Draxum.

"None of us are joinin' your army," Raph growls.

"This is not something you have a choice in." Draxum waves a hand. "Now, I will be taking the slider with me."

Abruptly the bottom of the cage under Leo starts to sink, and he yelps, flailing his hands out for his brothers. Donnie and Mikey grab on, trying to hold him, but as the bottom of the cage falls out a strong vine grips his ankle and yanks, pulling him out of their grasp.

"Leo!" they yell after him.

Outside the cage, Leo hangs suspended in vines that grip him by every limb and around the middle. Draxum turns on his heel and walks away, and the vines carry him along after.

He tries to turn back and see his brothers, who are still making a racket, tries to smile reassuringly, but the vines hold him too tightly, and he can't.

"Hey, hey," he says. "If I'm so mediocre, what do you even need me for, huh?"

"Relaaax," says Draxum, with an easygoing tone that Leo doesn't like at all. "I said I had a place for each of you, and I meant it."

The first thing Leo sees as they enter the next room is the Dark Armor, standing fully complete at the top of a dais. The next thing he sees is his dad, trapped inside a similar cage - the moment he sees Leo, he rushes to the bars, slamming at them hard.

It doesn't even make a dent.

"Draxum!" he roars. "You said you would let them go!"

Draxum looks over at Splinter, shrugging.

"I lied."

Leo doesn't have to wonder what kind of deal his father made for their release. That helmet wasn't there before.

"I kept wondering why the Foot Clan was so eager for me to get inside the Dark Armor when before they had been so adamantly against me getting anywhere near it," says Draxum, talking about things Leo frankly couldn't care less about. "And then I realized... there is... a hunger in this armor. It will not awaken to its full strength until it is fed."

He looks back at Leo with a smile. "That's where you come in."

"Oh no, it doesn't want me," says Leo fast. "I'm way too lean! At least fatten me up for a few weeks first."

"It does not want you flesh, fool. It wants your mystic energy."

Leo grimaces. "Well, you just said I'm pretty mediocre in that department, soooo..."

"I said you are weaker than your brothers. But you still have plenty to sate the armor."

"You sure? I mean, maybe you should find someone with more, uh, mystic energy juice."

Draxum pauses, turning to look him in the eyes. "Very well. I suppose I could go get the box turtle-"

Leo swallows hard. "No," he says, voice resolute. "Not him."

"Good. Then we are agreed."

"No!" shouts Splinter, and he sounds so terrified that it shakes Leo. His dad has never sounded like that. "Draxum, please! He is just a child!"

"Again with this objection when it never seemed to matter before," says Draxum, like he's bored. He begins pulling Leo toward the armor.

"Please! Don't do this!" Splinter slams into the bars again, but they don't budge. "Take me instead! Just do not do this to him!"

"Shut up, you doddering old rat," snaps Draxum, and vines wrap around Splinter, silencing him. "I still have my uses for you, too. Don't worry - I can always make you a replacement son."

"No replacing perfection," says Leo, feeling lightheaded and nonsensical, and a vine around his mouth silences him, too.

He's pulled on the dais. Draxum slides each piece of the armor onto his body, one by one. It's too big for him, and he feels like he's being swallowed by some gaping maw, sliding down into the stomach of a fearsome beast.

This is where the rescue is supposed to happen. His brothers are supposed to burst in, having made a daring escape. His dad is supposed to display some heretofore unseen power and kick Draxum's butt. Divine intervention from his ancestors is supposed to shield him, and he should be free to go home, where he can laugh with his family about the whole crazy incident and how he's apparently good for nothing but a blood sacrifice to a demonic spirit.

The rescue doesn't happen. Instead, he watches, eyes wide and full of fear, breathing too fast against his gag, as Draxum smiles gleefully and puts the helmet on.

The pain is indescribable. The vines finally fall away from his mouth, and it doesn't matter because all he can do is scream.

Draxum was right; there's something hungry in the armor. It's eating him alive now, not his flesh but his spirit, ripping the energy right out of his veins, peeling him apart at the seams. It feeds on him, on every part of his flagging mind - even his fear is delicious to it. And when he feels like he has no more he can give, when he's certain that this is the end, when the darkness starts to roll over his consciousness, pulling him down, he hears a voice - one full of hatred and rage and a dark satisfaction.

Thank you, Hamato.

[thefiercest]

TMNT 2012: Father Splinter 3 - Donatello

(Sorry it´s been a while)

I love Splinter's relationship with Donnie so much. (Mostly because I find it funny)

I love how out of all of the turtles, Donnie is the one who tries to question Splinter´s wisdom and methods the most. He always seems to challenge Splinter in that area, like he is craving for the day when Splinter is proven wrong.

I like to think that Donnie and Splinter used to butheads when it came to ninjutsu. Donnie seems very insecure about his fighting skills, which is why he is always trying to think ahead and smart his way out of the worst situations. Donnie seems to know his strength and his limits, better than his brothers´ but though that was good, Splinter wanted him to push past his limits.

However, Donnie always seems to try to prove something to Splinter. Like he is just as strong as his brothers? Brains is better than ninjutsu or something like that?

¨Master Splinter, I think there is a lesson. You know like, brains over bravery or...something?¨

¨I think the something part is most accurate.¨

(Splinter´s responses are the best)

It's like they almost make a game out of it. (With Splinter always winning)

Donnie may get annoyed, when Splinter lectures him about how he overthinks and how he criticize him on not trusting his instincts but Splinter only does that because he is trying to raise Donnie´s confidence.

Donnie is more confident with his brain than he is on his skills as a ninja and he prefers to stay where he knows he is the most strongest, where he is comfortable.

Splinter hates how hard his son is on himself, and Donnie hates feeling constantly misunderstood. Out of all his brothers, Donnie is the one who takes after Splinter the least and sometimes, it is hard for them to relate or understand each other but Splinter always tries.

He seems to enjoy his and Donnie´s usual banter.

¨With all due respect, Sensei, I can´t keep fighting alien technology with a 6 foot staff. I was hoping to upgrade my weapon.¨

¨Mmm. A 7-foots staff. Interesting.¨

¨No, I meant using modern technology.¨

¨Aah, a solar-powered staff.¨

¨I´m serious, Sensei!¨

¨I know. And yes, you may upgrade your weapon.¨

¨That´s totally unfair! You can´t just- Wait, did you say yes?¨

(Lol. I love them so much) 

I also like how unlike sons, Splinter does not judge or mock Donnie for his crush on April. He is very fatherly in that area. When Donnie was upset about April being gone, Splinter was the one who comforted him and when he was being a bit...obsessive. Splinter had a private conversation with him (That we didn't get to really see because of stupid Nick!)

Splinter never crushed Donnie's hopes in April liking him back. When raising his sons, Splinter not doubted feared that they would grow up never finding true love and having a family of their own. He thought his sons would only have each other in the world. So, when April came along and he noticed his usual reality son, crushing on a normal human girl...he allowed his son to have that hope, not having the heart to tell him that April returning his feelings may be a difficult task.

However, when Splinter learned that Donnie was stalking April, he had to snap his son back into reality.

"My son, for someone so intelligent the obvious often eludes you."

I WANT TO KNOW WHAT HE SAID AFTER THAT!!

Splinter probably thought, what the others thought, that Donnie stood no chance with April and that he was just awaiting heartbreak but he did not want to say that it was impossible. Even so, his son was clearly not taking the hint from April, so Splinter took it upon himself to gently explain to his son that he could not force her to like him and to give her space.

Remember that episode when Donnie first made the retro-mutagen?

If that episode did not show how much Donnie and Splinter care for each other, I don't know what will.

Donnie was so proud and happy that he made the retro-mutagen, not only to help April's dad but his dad as well. Donnie was a fixer and he wanted to give Splinter something that he unfairly lost. He could not give him back his wife or his daughter, but he could give him back his humanity.

However, Splinter was hesitant...

"Save April's father first and then I will...consider it."

Donnie did not understand why his father did not want to take the retro-mutagen right away but he did not question, assuming it was just a lot for his father to take in and then...Stockman, in his ugly fly mutation glory, came in ruined everything.

Donnie was so conflicted. On one hand, he knew he had to save April and her father but on the other...what about his father? Splinter has been a mutant rat, forced to live in the sewers with them for almost over 15 years and Donnie wanted so badly to give him back the freedom he lost, for him to be happy. Thankfully, Splinter made the choice for him, telling him he must save Kirby but Donnie was still sad, sad for his father.

What Donnie did not understand though is that Splinter did not want to turn back. Yes, maybe he had considered it, wondering what it would be like if he returned being a normal human in society but he no doubt already knew his answer was going to be No.

For one thing, if his sons were going to remain mutants then so was he and another thing, Splinter, I believe, considered his mutation almost like a ...rebirth? A second chance.

As a human he had Tang Shen, Miwa, a clan that admired him but when he lost that, he moved to New York and had nothing to keep him going. He was alone but as a mutant, he gained a happy home, and his four amazing sons. His sons were his second chance to be the father he couldn't be with Miwa and he does not ever regret following that man in the ally that day.

Hamato Yoshi was Splinter's past and he did not wish to return back to it. He was content and happy where he was now.

So...why would he want to change that?

"Do not fret, my son. I am constant with what I have become. I have no place in the human world anymore. This is my home, and you four are my family."

I mean...it's true. What is waiting for Splinter up there when his sons are down in the sewers?

Even so, I just love how Donnie is always determined to take care of their father. How he wanted Splinter to have that retro-mutagen and how, he worked very hard to get Karai back for him.

Donnie cares for his father so much and Splinter does in return. Splinter is always there to help ease his overthinking son's mind, give him advice when he needs it, and shows his appreciation for all that he does.

"I know how hard you have tried, Donatello. Some things are just not meant to be..."

It was sad and it obviously broke Splinter's heart but even though he was in grieve, he still made sure to acknowledged how hard Donnie has worked and assure him that it was not his fault that he could not find a cure for his daughter.

Overall, these two have a great caring father and son relationship.

(With some fun banter added to the mix) :)

Leonardo

Raphael

[truths33k3r4]

Hi Melissa I love your story and I was wondering how would the turtle react to a toddler? Scared, calm, excited, irresponsible behavior.

(totally not for fanart reasons)

Hey, @oddartistl3!

I’ll go through each turtles reaction~

Michelangelo- Mikey would go through a few mixed emotions if he were to find a toddler in his home. The first would be surprise, wondering how in the world the little human made it down to the sewers, but that feeling would be swallowed almost instantly by his curiosity and kindness, taking the toddler and flinging them up onto his shoulders asking them all the questions he can think of. And in return, answering any questions the child may have for him, the giant, human-turtle teen. 😅

Lotus- Lo’s blood pressure would shoot up at an exponential rate if she were to find a HUMAN CHILD anywhere near her. If there’s one, then others will come looking for it. She would stand frozen in the shadows, conflicted by her want to protect the defenseless child, while also not wanting to risk her family and herself being found. Eventually, her heart would win over her head, and she would carefully take the child, holding it tight to her plastron, and returning it to the surface as quickly as possible.

Donatello- Don’s brain would utterly short-circuit at the sight of some mini, germ-ridden biohazard in his home. He would sit frozen in place with his mouth agape and eyes wide wondering

HOW THE SHELL DID IT FIND MY HOME?!?

His mind would begin rummaging through the dusted files of childhood, trying to decipher what the child would want as he tried to figure out how to bring it back to the surface. (AFTER toddler proofing as many pipes and appliances of his home as quick as mutantly possible.) He would give it one of his granola bars to snack on, (after looking up if it was safe for them to eat), and wordlessly hand it off to Leo as the freckled brother attempted to figure out a solution.

Raphael- “… What… the frick??????” Raph would be totally befuddled at such a weird sitch happening like a toddler being found in his home. That’s hidden. In the SEWERS OF NEW YORK. He would silently and secretly follow the child through the tunnels, making sure it followed the literal crumbs he left in a trail back to the surface. But before the child could even taste the crumb left on the unsanitary grounds of the tunnel, Raph leapt from where he was hiding and plucked the kid into his arms, bapping the soiled crumb out of their hand. After inwardly getting reprimanded by his twins voice in his head about “causing a child to catch four of the five food borne illnesses”, he grumbled and held the kid tight as he ran to reach the surface. When the child squirmed or started crying, the fiery brother would begrudgingly hum a simple tune to keep them distracted.

Leonardo- Leo’s eyes would blow out wide as his mouth dropped at the unexpected guest in his home. His medic brain would fight a glorious battle against his leader side, trying to gauge if it would be wise to care for the little stranger or just ignore them and let them find their own way back to the surface. Immediately his big brother instincts would bring the battle to a close, resulting in him walking up to the child and asking them if they’re hurting anywhere. After checking them over, and placing bandaids on any scratches or scrapes, (and of course kissing each one so the “boo boo would heal faster.”) Leo would hold out his hand to the child, asking them if they remembered how to go back home.

There ya go! Cant wait to see what you make with this! 😁

Hope you have a wonderful day! To God be the glory!

~ Melissa

[motheline]

Oh ROTTMNT is trending again so uh

Here have a man who hasn't slept in 72 hours and is about to let the cain instinct win as quick warmup

There will be more turtles in the future I swear I just gotta relearn how to draw them

[chil-aglia]

𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐞 |ROTTMNT| (Leo X Male OC)

𝐁𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐡𝐨𝐩

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

Adriaen briefly yawns, he didn’t get much sleep when all he could dream about was that strange door, at this point he’s gotten used to seeing the structure, even so, it still had him lying awake or stirring in his sleep. 

Then he was called out of bed to help with the mission that they’ve been working on for the past week. Honestly, Adriaen found this mission that the brothers came up with a little strange and bluntly, stupid.

Shouldn’t they prep for their other mission of getting more webs from Big Mama?

Oh well, didn’t matter now as they were already outside the Grand Nexus Hotel, waiting for their suspect.

Each turtle was assigned to a space, Donnie stuck to the west side of the roofs, Raph at the south, Leo in the east, Mikey to the north.

Adriaen was assigned to watch the front. He was bored out of his mind, and tired overall.

“Purple Rain, do you see the target? Purple Rain?" Raph’s voice echoed into the earpiece they all had for communication that Donatello designed. But Donnie wasn’t responding, at least not in the way that Raphael was appreciative of.

“As we pan across the asphalt savanna, we find the noble Bullhop. Survival in these cruel streets will require harnessing all of his fine-tuned natural instincts."

Adriaen sighs and shakes his head. Donnie of course had to be monologuing as if he was a narrator of a wildlife documentary.

He couldn’t tell what exactly happened but close by he heard multiple car alarms and lights go off, as well people in buildings nearby getting woken up.

What the…?

“And the king of all vertical veldt will go hungry again—“

Adriaen spoke up, interrupting Donatello. “Don, focus. You’re not David Attenborough. Just tell us where you see the target.”

Donnie huffs and responds back, “Why must you always put science on the back burner!?”

With a hefty sigh he added into his sentence, “Bullhop is in the alleyway by Big Mama’s hotel! Happy?" He hissed to which Adriaen smirked lightly and nods, even though the soft-shell mutant couldn’t see it.

”I am, actually.”

”All right guys, let’s meet up with Donnie.” Raph informs to which Adriaen turns off the earpiece and quickly jumps off onto the roofs and headed towards Donnie’s direction.

When they all arrive, Donnie gestured to the trash bin in the alley way, making the five stroll their way through and stand in front of the trash. 

Mikey gave a thump on the lid as Adriaen heard Bullhop let out as brief surprise “what?” and poked his head through. He didn’t have time to register who it was as Leo quickly puts a sack over the mutant's head. Which wasn’t the best idea as Bullhop freaked out and tries to run away.

"Ah! You’ll never take me!"

Tripping over his hooves he bumps into some trash cans and falls on his face, blacking out. Adriaen placed a hand on his hip and stared down at the unconscious mutated bull.

”Well that was easy.”

"Ugh. Now I’m not going to get to test my tranquilizer." Donnie groaned out, complaining. But of course, his intrusive thoughts won as he aims his tranq gun and shot at Raphael who flinched before falls down.

”Donnie!” Leo scolds his brother who quickly hid the weapon into his battle shell. “What? I wanted to test it out.” He explains, Adriaen standing next to the red slider with a deadpan look.

”Okay, fine. You, can carry Raph then.”

Donnie slightly pales as he knew he was going to struggle with lifting his larger, heavier brother. “Fine…” He grumbles as Leo grins and nudged Adriaen. “You’re cruel.” He teases playfully, “Well you know what they say, you play stupid games, you win stupid prizes.” 

He walks away to help Mikey take Bullhop, Leo blushed with a dreamy gaze. “Man I love you.” He mumbles to himself as he refocuses and helps his brother and Adriaen.

-----

They arrived back at the lair; Raph was the first to wake up. Confused but Adriaen explained what happened, before Raph could even scold his younger brother for tranquillising him. Bullhop stirs away, opening his eyes and looking around in utter puzzlement.

“Where am I?"

His eyes lands onto Leo who offered a small but welcoming smile.

"Hey, bud. You may not remember us..."

Bullhop quickly shot up, glaring at the five turtles. "Oh, I do! You’re those bug hunting buffoons who turned me into a klutzy bull!" He recalls to which Mikey innocently raised his hands up happily.

"He remembers us!”

Leo awkwardly chuckled, “Look, we were trying to stop the oozequitoes." He assures, his other brother Donnie butting in with his own mini explanation. "In fact, we, strike that, I, built this technological astounding bug slapper so we can catch them all."

Mikey nodded before holding up an empty canister, "But it's out of Big Mama’s web goo. So, fail." He sighs out with a slump to his shoulders, tossing aside the empty canister.

“Anywizzle, we feel pretty bad about what happened."

"So, we Mad Dogs, are gonna make it up to you."

Adriaen had his arms crossed and kept silent the whole time. He wasn’t all that thrilled with the brother's idea but when they voted, he was outnumbered.

“You mean, you’re just gonna be nice to me without expecting anything in return?” Bullhop inquired in amazement. The four brothers nodding in confirmation. “Wow. That’s how we do it in my native Etobicoke, Canada."

“Happy Bullhop appreciation day!"

Eugh boy…

And so, the turtles did their best to make Bullhop happy, giving him some grass, gave him a spa treatment and helped him play a dancing game. He tried to skate the ramp but fell due to his size, making a hole in the ramp and the skateboard flying and hitting Leo in the face.

The days went by, and his visit was worsening. He ate the pizza that Leo had baked, messed around in Donnie’s lab, ripped the shower curtain while taking a shower. 

Adriaen was also taking a bath one day, relaxing into the bubbles, until he jumped in shock when Bullhop slams open the door and was brushing his fur in the mirror. Adriaen felt his eye twitch as he groans and sunk fully down into the tub to avoid the mutant disaster.

Finally, everyone started to get very irritated while Bullhop broke the dance machine since he started to be an expert.

After days passed, Raph laid out the plan to enter Big Mama’s hotel in the kitchen.

"Okay, Big Mama's party's tonight. This is our chance to get some web goo. Here's the plan. We're going to dress as waiters, sneak past her. And nap the keys to the vault. Which she stores our goo. It’ll be like taking candy from—“

They got interrupted by a thumping noise, Adriaen blinking as he led the way and peeked into the living room, widening his eyes when he saw Bullhop doing jumping jacks, the place an absolute mess. He then sat down on the room chair and picked up a jug of milk before drinking and throwing it over him. The empty jug hits Donnie in the face with a thud.

“That’s it. He has to go."

Adriaen quickly nods in agreement.

”Definitely. I can’t stand him around.”

Raph hums but was also in agreement, “Yeah! We've gotta sneak into the party tonight. We can't leave him here and we sure can’t take him with us."

“But I feel terrible. We’re the ones who made him into this." Leo pouted, but fortunately Mikey was brave enough to step in. “Guys, I'm Dr. Delicate Touch. Let me handle this."

He walks away as Leo tilts his head at him, “Uh…should we stop him? You know how he is when he brings out Dr. Delicate Touch.” He questions, turning to look at everyone for their thoughts. Adriaen placed a comforting hand on Leo’s shoulder, surprising the mutant who blushed at the sudden contact.

”Leo…that’s exactly why Mikey needs to do this.”

With that, he, Donnie and Raph leave and head back into the kitchen. Leo decides to stay with Mikey to watch over him and Bullhop. 

Raph brought out a pizza box from yesterday and started eating, the three waiting for Mikey and Leo to return. "I don’t hear any sobbing, so it must be going okay. Unless he’s just crying silently on the inside." Raph hums in thought, chewing on a pizza slice as Adriaen and Donnie both share a look.

Mikey and Leo soon enter the kitchen, looking pleased with themselves. “Good, news guys! I totally punted. We’ll do our mission and deal with the unpleasantness later." Leo assured making his older brother smirk in eagerness to get the mission going.

"Okay. Let's get to Big Mama's Gala."

But when they head to their clothing rack that had the waiter outfits, they all stop and stare in bewilderment to see them shredded. Donnie being the only exception for not looking as he had his back turned.

Raph couldn’t help but give out a startled noise.

"I don’t even have to turn around to see how this turns out.”

Donnie calmly turns around, an unimpressed and not so surprised expression on his face. “Well, I’ve turned around and I see."

“Looks like Goldilocks tried on all your waiter outfits before he got to mine." Raph points out the obvious, "Would he really be insane enough to try to make up for everything by doing our dangerous mission on his own? Of course he would. Let's go." Leo scowls as he storms off to rescue the mutated bull.

Adriaen sighs, rubbing his temple before glaring lightly at the torn clothes. “I knew we shouldn’t have done this dumb Bullhop appreciation thing.” 

-----

Later, the five arrive at the Nexus Hotel. All on the roof looking through the glass skylight to observe the fancy party below. Bullhop was in the crowd holding a tray of food. He tripped when he took a step, dropping the drinks. He got back up and sighed in relief before quickly snatching another tray from another waiter who hadn’t noticed.

“Oh, man. I never should've told him our plan.” Leo groans, earning a sharp look from Adriaen who lightly whacked Leo upside the head. “You did what?!” He hisses at the turtle in blue who gave an awkward smile.

”Ugh…Donnie, what are the odds that this guy can succeed?” Adriaen turns his attention to the soft shell who raised his drawn-on eyebrows at him. 

“The guy once broke a pillow so…1%? He said overconfident?"

He’s doomed.

They look back at Bullhop who seemed to be talking to someone when he held a hand up to his ear. “Who’s he talking to?" Raph murmured in confusion, "I told him earlier that if he touched his ear, he could talk to anybody and the world.” He briefly and bluntly explains, earning a judging look from Raphael.

”I was trying to get some work done."

Mikey amusingly held a finger up to his head. "Roger that, Mr President."

Adriaen crossed his arms and kept his focus back on Bullhop, anxiously watching him walk around. He saw how Bullhop noticed a familiar large owl bellhop storing some webbings in a vault and locking it with a key.

Bullhop spoke to himself once more before making his way over. “Oh, I read his lips. He’s engaging. Perfect..." Donnie informs with a sarcastic and less enthusiastic tone. “So, who’s going to take responsibility for when he ends up captured?” Adriaen looks over to the brothers who whistle and avoid saying anything.

When he looked back down, he saw Big Mama in her human form appear in front Bullhop who looked utterly stunned as he turns away quickly. He trips over, sending the biscuits up in the air. Big Mama caught it with her mouth and dabbed it clean with a hanky.

The two conversed and whatever was being said, Mikey couldn’t help but shout out, as though Bullhop was able to hear him.

"Bullhop, don't blow your cover!”

It seems to have worked, whatever it was as Big Mama then drags Bullhop off to the dance floor.

"That is not good" Raph states but Adriaen hums in curiosity. “I mean…he was good at that dance game. Maybe he’ll be fine.”

Lights began to dim inside as the music started. They watch them dance on the dance floor as the crowd circle around them. Bullhop started off badly at first, but then he became confident with her, taking the lead. The mutant then threw Big Mama up in the air and dabbed.

"That boy can move, baby!" Mikey squeaks in amazement, and well, Adriaen admits that he was somewhat impressed too.

While dancing, Bullhop got closer to the bellhop owl and when he did so, he fell over with Big Mama still in his arms, face first. He managed to get back up with the keys with his right horn.

"He actually did it! He's got the keys. We've gotta get down there." Raph exclaims, leaning forward onto Leo and Adriaen who both got pressed up against the glass, their weight making the skylight window open and they give fall inside, crashing onto a buffet table.

“Well, that's the fast way down." Leo comments, a salad bowl on his head but he shook it off as they all froze when everyone was eyeing them in bewilderment.

"Guys, I've got the keys!” Bullhop shouts, dropping Big Mama and running over to them. "The Turtle boos. Get them!" Big Mama orders when she got back up, her little henchmen closing in on the five.

“Bullhop, the keys!” Mikey waved his arms out, running towards the vault. Bullhop tosses the key, having Mikey easily catch them. 

“Yes!"

Unfortunately for him, Big Mama slides in front of the vault with a narrow stare. 

"Hold them off! I'll get the goo!"

Mikey suddenly gets caught by the webbing from Big Mama and crashes into the wall, stuck in the goo. The brothers and Adriaen lightly gasp and watch Big Mama started to transform into her spider form.

“We’ve gotta get out of here!"

“What about the web goo?"

“We’ll get them some other way!"

Big Mama towers over the turtles, annoyance clear on her face. "Well, you little meddle doos. It’s time for you to find out why you don’t crash Big Mama’s box socials!" She hissed, ready to attack. Adriaen self-consciously held up his weapons towards her, ready to defend himself and the others.

“Hey, Big Mama!”

The sudden yell of Bullhop had everyone turn to stare sf him, watching how his bull form seemed to grow just a little larger as his costume rips off.

”You dance like you have eight feet!"

"So your feather feet mask a stanktonious traitor?!"

She lets out an ear-splitting shriek, spitting webs from her mouth, but Bullhop grabbed eight empty pitchers and caught them before he starts running away.

"Guys, I've got the eight pitches of goo!”

His clumsy form had him tripping over, breaking seven pitchers, managing to save just one. He quickly gets back up, “Guys, I've got one pitcher of goo! Let’s go!”

Leo had cut Mikey from the web cocoon as the five wasted no time on following Bullhop and escaping.

"Wait!” Big Mama shouts for them but she didn’t chase after.

When the brothers, Bullhop and Adriaen made it outside and away from the hotel safely, they started cheering. Leo giving a appreciative pat on the shoulder to Bullhop.

Raphael clears his throat, “Listen, uh…we’ve been thinking, and uh…” Raph tenses his body, gritting his teeth as Leo teasingly nudged his brother.

“Come on, Raph. You can do it."

"You’re welcome to stay with us anytime you want."

Adriaen was silently begging for Bullhop to decline the offer. “Hey, thanks guys! But you know, I was thinking I got to get myself together. I get to learn how to deal with…this whole situation.” 

Adriaen let out a breath of relief, “And I think I found the way. Through the dance! Mutant Canadian ballet!" Bullhop informs, giving a little ballet pose which honestly surprised the five before he waved bye and leaves the brothers and Adriaen who clap and wish him luck.

“That sounds great. Good for you." Leo praised lastly before they all let out a collective exhale. Mikey however quickly hollered out.

"You sure you don't want to join the Mad Dogs? Cause I was all set to kick Donnie out."

A tranq dart hits him and he passes out as Donnie looks away, holding the gun in hand.

”Seriously? That’s twice you’ve done that to your brother!”

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

A/N: I APOLOGISE FOR ANY GRAMMAR MISTAKES THAT WERE MADE, I TYPE REALLY FAST AND OFTEN DON'T SEE THEM UNTIL I ACTUALLY PUBLISH THE CHAPTER.

Sorry if this was a lil short or not that great. But regardless I still hope you enjoyed it!

First Chapter here

Previous Chapter here

[tartrazeen]

Hi TMNT community!

Just dropping this and running uwu

Had a dream last night, not sure what was up, but the bottom line is that Raphael ended up being a girl.

Not like, "transitioned to being a girl."

Just, "turns out he's been a girl this whole time."

Part 1 - The Angsty Version

The dream itself was nonsense, but in the morning, I had this super long scenario mapped out around the 2004 cartoon. I don't quite remember how they found out (this will be very different in Part 2), but it hit Raph hard. Immediately bolted, immediately had an existential crisis, disappeared to hide on rooftops and was doing the whole, "I'm a monster" thing.

The rest of the family's confused and freaked out too, initially by the shock of it, but even more from how hard Raph's taking the news. He won't talk to them and he's absolutely not letting them touch him. At one early point, while he's in full denial, he makes one attempt to ignore it and go back to sparring like normal. He sees Donatello hesitate, which Raph interprets as a 'I don't want to fight a girl' message, and decides to respond to this by flipping Donnie so hard on the mat that Donnie's shell cracks. They don't realize that in the moment, since the ferocity of that flip more than earned its own cause for alarm - which Raph tries to play off like he did it on purpose, to prove a point that he hasn't changed, and stalks off like he's leaving them behind.

A few days go past with the family mixed between wanting to give him space and wanting to at least find him to make sure he's... well, alive. But 'give him space' wins out because, as they tell themselves, they have to look after Donnie. It ultimately comes down to Donnie himself heading out to go find Raph. Surprise, surprise, the guy's on the corner of some rooftop, but he's too exhausted by everything he's trying to process to run anymore.

The reason Donnie came here was, as he very, very carefully explains through his panic, is that he was doing research and came across things like "egg binding" - bad stuff for turtles, and potentially lethal, especially if Raph's (justifiably in Donnie's eyes) losing enough of his shit to not even be able to hear the word 'egg'. But he can't let Raph walk into something that could kill him, so Donnie's here to give him the pages he's printed out... and also make sure Raph isn't going to try anything.

And of course Raph has no idea what Donnie's getting at, until the words, "You're right beside the edge of a building" come out. Then Raph's offended, because obviously he's not gonna 'try' anything. But Donnie doesn't know that, and he's been trying to keep his composure through this for Raph's sake, so it's a surprise to both of them when he starts breaking down about how he can't afford to lose his brother - and how he knows Mikey's the favourite, and even though they fight all the time, he knows Leo and Raph get along better anyway, so he's sorry Raph has to be here with him, and he's sorrier still that he's even saying this, because he was researching grief too and there was something about not venting to someone closer to the center of what's happening...

It's enough that Raph's instinct kicks in and he finally hugs his brother. Donnie's still rambling, but Raph's telling him there's no 'favourite' anything; he loves all of them, and he loves them all uniquely. With Donnie, it's hard to say it, because the guy's just so damn smart that anything Raph says comes out sounding stupid - but he's been trying his best, and he thought Donnie knew that.

It gives Donatello the chance to say that... yeah, he kind of knew, but he's the one who always ends up sounding dumb. He knows Raph only listens to him talk about things to be polite, and it's his own fault he can't figure out how to say anything without it going over Raph's head. Sure, Raph's not avoiding him, but it's not like Donnie's fun to be around. It's even worse when he sees Raph making an attempt to join in on whatever Donnie's saying, like finding something he thinks Donnie was talking about, just for Don to have to correct him on what he was actually saying and ruin it again. And Donnie does mean 'have to' - because when he doesn't, and Raph thinks he got it right, but finds out later that Donnie was only humouring him, it's the worst of all possibilities.

Raph's trying to insist that he's fine with Donnie rambling (since they all have their own unique ways to ramble; Mikey won't shut up with jokes sometimes, Leo can't go five minutes without a lecture), but it sounds like Donnie's the one who doesn't like Raph. And Donnie's trying - badly, he thinks - to explain that Raph's amazing, because those rare times when Donnie starts talking and Raph actually enjoys himself? It's the only time Donnie feels normal. And he can't lose that. Maybe it's selfish, but he can't lose that by losing Raph.

At some point, they talk about the crack in Donnie's shell that the family had plastered together. It's kind of a hairline crack off to the side; it'll heal over time, apparently. And in the silence after that, Raph starts looking at the research Donnie brought. Which includes the stuff about grief. He doesn't know if it's right or not, but he tells Donnie he doesn't trust anything that says his brother's not allowed to talk to him. Although - well... okay, so Raph ran off because he didn't want to hear it, but now, he'll hear it a little.

Donnie asks how he's going to handle the others. Raph's about to say he'll try to come back in a few days, but Donnie's insisting he come home now to show the others he's alive. If he doesn't want to stay, fine, he can leave again, but at least come home. After all of this, Raph can't say no. But, he says, Mikey cannot make any jokes and Leo can't be 'Leo'. They both know what that means, which is a nice gift of solidarity between them - but it does mean they know the other two aren't gonna be able to help it. When Raph panics, he runs. When Donnie panics, he does research. Mikey jokes and Leo scolds everyone for not waiting for him to think up some sort of plan. So... they have to handle that.

They go back home, and it's the first thing Raph says: no jokes, and no lectures. The distraction of Donnie freaking out has worn off, and now Raph's back to having to think about what this means. He even ends up asking Splinter if he's allowed to go to his room - if it's still his room. This isn't the longest he's been away from home before, so it's another point on how alien everything feels to him now. But of course it's still his room, and they let him go in there to be alone. Thanks to everything that happened on the rooftop, Raph's willing to let Donnie in, but he can't stomach the idea of talking to the others. The idea of coming to the table just to eat with them makes him sick in a way he's never experienced.

When they try it, though, Mikey's the next one to win Raph back. They're eating and he genuinely can't help it - when Raph's about to take a bite, Mikey quietly whispers, "Girl dinner." And Raph's immediately furious, stomping off back to his room and slamming the door, only letting Donnie in after the others are finished yelling at Mikey for once again failing to keep his mouth shut.

... But the truth of it is, as Raph will admit to Donnie, that that was actually pretty funny. He's furious, but now he's furious that it's on his mind, and they can never let Mikey know it was funny or he'll never knock it off. Donnie agrees. They try dinner again the next night. Mikey's absolutely silent, but right before Raph goes to eat, he's back to being furious and stomping off to go to his room. The only saving grace is that Mikey knows the difference between "Raph is about to crush me out of blind rage" and "Raph is about to crush me because I made a stupid joke and he doesn't want to admit it made him laugh." And that understanding is all it takes for the ice to break: the night after that, Raph is still instantly furious before he starts to eat, but he stays put and screws up his face like he's having to concentrate on being angry. When he thinks about it, Mikey decides it's his best joke ever. The others have to give him credit, because it did help with taking the teeth out of Raph's tension.

Leo's the hardest to deal with. Splinter has been patiently waiting for Raph to silently seek him out, and that's already paid off - Raph's walls were beginning to crumble when it was only the two of them - but Leo's been pacing around their lair, doing everything in his power to keep from ambushing Raph. Because they have a sister now. The rules have to change. He can't be a leader if he's not leading them to this new... new 'dynamic', and he can't lead them there if he doesn't know how things are supposed to work. He's caught in a loop of wanting to tell Raph exactly what the plan is, and having to ask Raph what that plan's even supposed to be. But he can't. The rational, non-panicking part of Leo's mind - tiny as it may be - knows he can't do that. There's so much Raph must be trying to figure out, and it's all so raw, and Leo has no right to barge in and demand everyone do things the way he thinks should.

But he doesn't know what else to do. So he's just pacing in silent frustration, looming over everyone, waiting for somebody to finally give him permission to jump in and grateful (in that teeny, tiny, rational part of his brain) that everyone's ignoring him. Anytime Donnie comes out of Raph's room, Leo looks for a signal. Donnie always looks back, face deliberately blank, and Leo returns to pacing. When Raph himself walks out, there's an anger that's only possible with such abject fear. Raph knows, Leo knows, and even Mikey on the couch knows: no lectures. Not a single word. In that icy stare they exchange every time, they're reaffirming that. Leo's the first to look away every time, as his way of renewing his promise to keep quiet, and Raph shows his appreciation by leaving to go wherever he is.

It's weeks of this. They haven't said anything to each other this entire time. But Leo is starting to talk with the others again, which means the panic is edging away. And Raph's still only letting Donnie in his room, which means he's not excluding Leo on purpose. So... it's fine.

When it erupts, it's during training.

Donatello's about to spar with Raph again, and it's Leo who takes in the tinest breath.

Raph - setting the emotional explosives - asks, "What?"

Leo, having been quiet for so long, cannot physically stop himself from answering, "Donnie's still healing."

Their screaming is loud enough for Mikey to wonder if anyone's going to realize there are turtles living in the sewer - and for Splinter and Donnie to not instantly brush it off.

But the fight never gets physical. And it never leaves that topic - how could Raph be so reckless to crack Donnie's shell, did he even understand how much danger he'd put Donnie in, what if it'd been his spine, Raph always does this -

They're okay. They apoplectically livid with each other, and Raph does eventually run off screaming at Leo from over his shoulder... but it's the same old fight, just cranked up to 11. Eventually, Raph's going to come back and say something shitty at Leo, and they'll go back and forth like that for another two weeks, and then eventually Raph will get so sick of Leo being right that he'll break down and finally apologize - and Leo'll be even more right and tell him he has to apologize to Donnie, who's at the other side of the lair with Mikey doing literally anything else - and that'll kick off that fight, which is usually their big finale, before Raph comes back exhausted and just admits that he's sorry and he overreacted and he knows he messed up but Leo always acts like he's never made any mistakes, and Leo'll go on about how he's always made mistakes and he's so hard on the others because he can't risk losing them by being careless, and then they'll have their stoic understanding and go to separate sides of the lair and then quietly meet up when everyone else is gone and apologize to each other for real.

Rinse and repeat, like they always do. It's practically clockwork for them.

And sure enough, right on schedule, Donnie goes to sit with Raph in his room, only to find Leo already in there and in deep conversation. He and Raph are sitting side by side, Raph with his legs hugged up to his plastron, and Leo sitting on his feet with his hands resting on his knees (his 'Thinking Leader' pose). They've finally worn themselves out enough to ask each other the hard, awkward questions that they'd never breathe a word of to Mikey, and couldn't bring themselves to ask Donnie outright. Leo is making a plan, because finally, he's learning what the plan's supposed to be.

From there, the scenario petered out into Raph's awkwardness at even knowing what he wanted to be called - brother or sister, him or her, his mind freezing the second he starts to think about it. He's trying to reconcile everything he knows about himself with what's he's just learned, but struggling. Mikey tries to help by finding something to help bridge the gap: literally, Chun-Li in whichever Mortal Kombat gave her those tree-trunk murder-thighs. But I looked it up and there's so much fanart of her that would probably make Raph feel even worse - and with that, I stumbled onto the second scenario.

Part 2 - The Nature Version

Like I said, the first scenario came out of a weird dream where like... Raph died or something? And then had to be transferred into another body, which was himself again but a girl...? Made no sense. So that scenario was me trying to make sense out of it.

Scenario two was me being like, "Okay, let's say Raph somehow found out he's a girl. How would that actually go down?"

I stopped googling Chun-Li and started googling the difference between male and female snapper turtles. Then I realized, "Oh yeah, cloacas."

So this one takes place in... well, not the Rise of the TMNT universe exactly, but when I picture Raph now, that's the version of him that keeps coming to mind. Same with Mikey. But Leo and Donnie still kinda have their personalities from the 2004 cartoon? Just roll with it - this time, the four of them are watching TV.

And what are they watching specifically?

A nature documentary.

About sea turtles.

It's a lazy night, Splinter's somewhere else, so it's just the turtles chilling in front of the TV and idly watching. It's probably just the next thing that happens to come on, but no one's exactly complaining.

But it gets to a part where it talks about the female turtle laying eggs.

And there's silence as everyone's watching, half-tuned in and half-tuned out - except for Raph, who has the faintest flicker of recognition, and points at the TV.

"Hey, I do that."

And the others are barely paying attention, but one of them asks, "Do what?"

And Raph - with a tiny bit more recognition - says, "The egg thing. The thing with eggs."

There's a little more attention, as all three of the others bother to look at Raph this time, but they're still just laying around.

"You lay eggs?"

Doesn't quite matter who asks it, but it's meant to be sarcastic, not a genuine question.

"Yeah, I think so." And Raph thinks about it. "Huh. I guess that's what it is."

And then he just goes back to watching TV.

There's a lot more time that passes before one of them kinda... like, realizes that Raph wasn't trying to describe something or gearing up for a punchline, and asks, "Raph, did you just say you lay eggs?"

And Raph's like, "I mean... that's what it is. It just said they were eggs." As if it's about Raph using the wrong word for them.

"Yeah, but Raph," one of them says - either Mikey or Donnie, I'm not sure, "that's for girl turtles."

"Oh," Raph says.

And then they're back to watching again.

It's two minutes later, and Raph asks, "You guys don't do that?"

"Don't do what?"

"Eggs."

"No," Mikey (for sure) says. "We're not girls."

And now - now - when there's silence, there's a hum in the air of concentration. Gears have started turning in everybody's minds, but it's Raph who gets his question out the fastest:

"How do you know?"

And it's sincere. Like - how would you know?

"Well -" It's over to Donnie. "Girl turtles have differences from boy turtles." And you know it is killing him to say 'girl turtles' and 'boy turtles,' but he's stuck using the words his brother used. "We - um... you know. We have differences."

"What kind of differences?" And it's Leo asking, which means everyone is officially confused and curious. The TV's on but nobody's watching. "Raph just said he laid eggs."

Nobody was expecting Raph to suddenly take offence to that, but it was still slightly surprising that Raph nodded along.

Donnie's stuck on how to reply for a moment. He knows the answer, obviously, but what's thrown him is the realization that they don't actually know. They're mutants. And turtles. If Mikey could hear Donnie's thoughts, he would point out how their dad is also a rat. Plus there's only ever been the four of them, and they've never exactly gone to a vet. It makes sense for them to all be male - perfectly logical, deducible sense - but...

"Can everyone go to their rooms and check something," Donnie asks, "and report back?"

So they go, once he's done explaining the deal with turtles' tails.

"I found mine," the first one says.

"Me too," says the second one.

"So did I," says the third.

"Nope," says Raph.

Donnie tells him to check where his cloaca is in relation to shell. There's a lot of semantics over what "right beside" and "farther down" mean, but eventually the four of them form their consensus.

"I guess I'm a girl," Raph says, shrugging.

"Why didn't you tell us you laid eggs?"

"I thought everybody did," he says. "You know how I say I'm gonna take the whole day in the bathroom, so I go find some other place instead of hogging of it?"

"You're leaving to lay eggs?"

"Not always. Sometimes it's just Mikey's wing night," Raph says. "And we all do that."

Fair point. There's a shared murmur of agreement and some nodding.

"Anyway, I didn't know they were eggs," Raph says. "I guess it looked different, but I wasn't really 'looking'."

"How long has that been happening?"

"Dunno. Few years."

"And... does it hurt?"

"Naw, just like being on the toilet. But that must be why it feels like I'm blocked up for a week." Raph thinks. "Hey, I thought girls did that every month. I only do mine once a year."

"Ohhh," Donnie says, understanding. "Because we're turtles."

"Ohhhh," the others echo, also understanding.

"Okay, well," Raph tells everyone, "I'm not laying any tonight."

Which is less interesting, and reminds them that they might've killed an hour, but there's still not a lot to do that night.

I figure if there's any 'drama' in this setting, it's gonna come from three places:

At some point, Donnie - channeling his RotTMNT personality - is going to ask for an egg. Just to check it out. And Leo - channeling his RotTMNT personality - is gonna try to find out how much stuff he can pass off as one of Raph's eggs, which is gonna start getting on Raph's nerves, especially when they're not even right. Also, Raph doesn't want to give Donnie a stupid egg.

Mikey is going to get it in his head that there are some mutant egg-babies floating even deeper down the sewer, and he'll oscillate between utter terror at these monsters coming back for revenge at being abandoned, and contempt for Raph being such a bad parent. This is going to keep going on until Raph snaps and drags them into the sewer to prove there aren't any egg-babies.

Leo - again, going full RotTMNT - is going to remember turtles have 'nesting behaviours,' and insist Raph has a secret base somewhere that he's been holding out from all of them. Raph's gonna be so annoyed, both because Leo's gonna start stalking him to find this magical man-cave, but because he does and it's nowhere near as cool as Leo telling everyone it is, and he doesn't want to deal with his brothers finding his hideout and telling him it's lame. He knows it's lame - it's just to get some peace and quiet, not to win some kind of contest. (Leo is absolutely going to turn it into a contest by trying to make his own man-cave that Raph's not allowed to see. He will also get trapped, end up trapping the other two, and Raph's going to have drag himself up and down the place to find them and get them out).

April's gonna try to bond with him over cramps, find out Raph only has to lay eggs once a year, and be furious with how the human body works for a week. It's gonna end up with Raph voluntarily having a hangout night with April to just chill and eat chocolate - which he'd do anyway, but now has a dedicated excuse.

Casey will ask what a cloaca is, and will make that weird. Fortunately it's just the concept of a cloaca, nothing to do with Raph, but there's a lot of facts about chickens and other animals coming that literally nobody will have asked for. This'll probably be the same time April finds out about the once-a-year thing.

The only 'serious' drama they could run into is starting to make fun of Raph being weak because he's a girl. But - like... that's why it's more or less the RotTMNT universe. They're gonna do it once, Raph's gonna be sad, they're gonna feel awful, and then never do it again. If you want serious angsty drama, go back up to Scenario 1, where Raph's doing some weird "I'm a monster" shit to himself, because once again, nobody else is insulting him for it. Mikey makes a joke once out of panic, then stops. Leo's gonna go bananas over pronouns 'cause of his thing with honour and ettiquette, but the worst he's gonna be is "Um actually"-ing Raph's preferred pronouns back to him. Donnie... may still ask for an egg. But as a way to check if Raph's doing okay with everything, not to run any creepy experiments.

Anyway, I like Scenario Two way more. I adore angst, so I love Scenario One for that reason, but idk, it's got the same vibe as Black Widow revealing she's infertile by saying, "WHO'S THE REAL MONSTER NOW, BRUCE?!" And I don't really wanna dive too far into the internalized and potentially external sexism of it. I like Raph, who's a turtle, realizing more about himself from watching a turtle documentary, and going, "Oh. Neat." And everybody else going, "Oh, neat, sorry we just assumed." And then they go back to their regular lives. No turtle-patriarchy, no turtle-boobs, no turtle-makeover - it's Raph. We know him. And now we know he lays eggs sometimes. It's even hard for there to be external sexism, because he can end any argument with, "But I'm a turtle." And he's right! Good luck enforcing your gender roles!

I do enjoy the thought of Mikey purposely asking to tell April and Casey, purely to wait for them to say, "What's up," so he can say, "Oh, not much. Tried a new pizza topping. Found out Raph's a girl. That's not because of the pizza, but we also aren't ordering from there again." But after that, it's not a big deal. Raph's so Raph that I think someone might ask if he wants to change his name out of a sense of politeness, only for him to go, "Why?" and everyone else to be like, "We don't know. We just thought you'd want to." The dynamic doesn't change in the slightest, and no one's even like, "Uhhhh so does this mean you like girls or boys hurr hurr." It doesn't matter.

There's also no temptation to drag out a tired "We have to protect our delicate sister so let's restrict what she's allowed to do" trope, because Raph can/will/has accidentally crushed them if he's not being delicate (which I think is a running gag of theirs already), and because anyone who hurts his feelings gets the same treatment they (including Raph himself) would dole out on anyone who hurts any of them. So I like it. :3

ANYWAY that was on my mind. Bye

[antares-8]

Yo, Antares (cool name). Gotta say, I'm loving your beast wirt fic. A lot.

I looked up the symbolisms of the flowers that appear in your stories, and you are a clever fellow.

Here are some things that have been rattling around my brain. Some of them are questions. I don't expect you to answer them, I am only putting them here so you know you have me thinking about your story and the possibilities.

Is Wirt going to get posessed by the Beast? I don't think so. He overpowered the whole Beast soul to interrogate him at the grave-grove/corpse-copse, and then there's the whole "wait that's dumb" thing. He can outwit and overpower the Beast any day of the week. However, the Beast has almost won in the past when Wirt fails the vibe check and doesn't think he can win. So is Wirt's mounting panic about the possibility of being overtaken actually rendering him more vulnerable?

If pulling the curse out of a headless horseman brings it back to life, would un-cursing a vrykolakas make it into a friendly undead like a pottsfielder, bring it back to life, or would it turn into an ordinary corpse?

The Sea Wardens seem like a cool bunch. But what if they betray him, or what if when they publicize the information about working with the Pilgrim, people turn against the sea wardens instead of warming up to Wirt?

Is Lord of Currents actually sleepy, or doing something important in Cloud City?

It occurs to me that Wirt has the means to eradicate a whole civilization without killing anyone. Just get the turtles to scatter tree seeds across the roads and plains, especially surrounding towns. Then, encourage growth. People are scared out of their minds of the forest, so he'd be cutting off basically all trade, travel, and communication without spilling a single drop of blood.

Wirt and Felicity have a lot in common. Both are willing to go up against the Beast for their brother's sake.

Loving your version of Beatrice. Wirt's lucky to have her on his side. I believe one comment called her "the only force of nature he can't control" and I'd like to second that notion.

Greg has a magic item. Pretty sure it belongs in the Cave of Wonders once he's done with it. You said that "no one will ever try to bully greg when he's wearing it." So, how do the bullies know to leave him alone? Is it mind control magic? Do they just instinctively know that hurting the teapot kid might be the last thing they do?

Polly. She is fun. Maybe a bit too okay with underage drinking. But she doesn't know he's underage. He's just a weird forest critter that's asking for directions. Wonder how she'll react to the news that the quadrangle isn't doomy anymore?

Fell Guard. Seems like if he cleaned that up and uncursed the flesh-eaters, there'd be a lot of land folk who had been saved by him. Good PR if nothing else. Unless they pretend to be normal, like Lorna, and people would just think he was attacking totally ordinary people? Although, as soon as Whispers' task was compleed, Lorna's facade dropped and she went all "more bones to sort, I'm sorry my turtles," so maybe the other people-eaters are obvious when not under a spell.

The Queen of the Clouds 100% knows about the Beast Fragment. Dreams are her thing. She was in the dream with the Beast in it. Maybe she told Enoch. That and she's spying on him sometimes, so she probably heard him mention it at one point.

Tome of the Unknown being like the Magic Conch crossed with the computer in the Lego Movie. "Can you tell me something about the Beast Fragment?" "No~"

How Beatrice reacted to the news about the sea wardens. (Wirt appears from the shadows, eyes filled with tears. Beatrice runs over to comfort and/or scold him, depending on what kind of trouble he stepped in this time. "Wirt? Are you okay? Why are you crying?" "The ocean is full of friends." "What?" "The ocean is full of friends.")

What is Wirt going to do about the altar? It sounds like they're going to keep making offerings, even after his explanation as to why it's unneccessary. If he ignores it, they'll think he's "rejecting" it, and that makes them scared that he's angry. If he accepts it, then they'll think they have to make sacrifices or else. Like he's an angry dragon or something. If he tears it down, that would make them think he'd been angered. It's an albatross. The only thing I could think of doing would be to swap out the offerings with giftss of his own, and change it from appeasment/worship to bartering and trade. Say, antlers for a flower crown, a wine bottle for a fruit basket, that kind of thing. Or maybe he just gives them back "slightly" enchanted. Whatever he does with it, he needs to make his goodwill obvious, and the optional nature of the offerings heavily implied.

I've had an idea worming through my brain, a brain worm if you will, about a distant future where the Pilgrim's not only accepted, but severely underestimated. They think of him as a friendly harmless forest nerd with no actual combat power. Then one guy finds an account of what the Beast was like in his heyday, and thinks that the Pilgrim is hiding something. The other idea I had was that someone from this future would either end up inan illusion of the pst made from Wirt's memories, and decide that the only one who could help them find the way home would be the Pilgrim! Maybe he knows why all these trees have faces...? And they wind up meeting something that is very much Not The Pilgrim. Not The Pilgrim at all.

I love getting long comments like this. Thank you for helping to make my day.

I have no intention of letting Wirt get possessed. At least not at the moment. The thing is that I'm making most of this series up as I go along and might change my mind one day, so I can't guarantee that it will never happen. Let's go with 90%.

I always imagined that killing a vrykolakas would just kill it, but as I said above, a lot of this fic is pretty slapdash. I add something, like vrykolakas, because it's cool, but I don't think through all the implications. Then somebody makes an insightful comment, and suddenly I'm wondering what would happen if un-cursing the vrykolakas didn't just kill them but created a friendly undead from the distant past....

There will definitely be mixed reactions to the SW alliance. It's another of those things I need to hash out. Spotting a pattern yet?

The LoC is indeed sleeping, though not exactly in the way you and I understand sleep. His dreams influence and are influenced by the world, though I'm fuzzy on the details still. (See above. Again.) The fic installment I'm working on actually has Wirt asking the Queen if she can help him get in contact with the LoC for more information on the Beast (and on the possibility of making Tree Wardens).

It has not occurred to Wirt that he can destroy entire trade networks. Certain citizens realize, and I don't doubt that the Beast pulled something like that at least once when he was more powerful because he's a jerk, but Wirt is an innocent flower who would never deliberately stifle the lifeblood of nations that is a trade network.

Love that parallel between Wirt and Felicity. I've had a vague idea of a future fic after Felicity's confinement ends and she meets Greg, but I haven't figured out if I can work it in or how that would go. I just know it would be really interesting.

Beatrice is the best. No further comments needed.

If someone/thing wants to harm/bully Greg while he's wearing his green cloak, they will be seized by a terrible sense of doom. The shadows will seem to claw at them and stare at them with narrowed luminous eyes, silently vowing revenge. Their lizard brain will scream that this child is protected by something truly awful, something whose wrath they must not provoke.

The cloak is also enchanted to grow with Greg and keep him at a perfect temperature. Wirt crafted it out of the essence of summer. You know how he casually does stuff that would knock an entire coven of professional witches flat on their collective ass? That's what he did just getting the material to make the cloak.

I have a couple ideas for bringing back Peg-Leg Polly for another installment. Beatrice deserves to meet her hero. As for the underage drinking, those laws don't exist in the Unknown.

I tried to look up the Magic Conch and the computer. Yeah, the Tome's not that useful until it feels like cooperating. It's starting to like Wirt, though--it gave him headache remedies that one time!

Beatrice is glad that Wirt has sort of allies, but she has strong opinions about how the Sea Wardens are basically paying him in exposure when he is basically saving their collective bacon. There's a reason she insisted on going with him for the sting operation.

Wirt is currently ignoring that altar. Is this sustainable long-term? No. But he's busy with other stuff at the moment, and Risorgimento is still debating if they need to escalate to a bigger, fancier altar with more offerings or perhaps he'd like a full-fledged temple? (He would not like a full-fledged temple.)

I love that story idea. What a nasty shock for whoever ends up in Wirt's memoryland thing. But then the harmless forest nerd shows up for a dramatic rescue, and the lost person in memoryland gets a comprehensive demonstration of EXACTLY what the Pilgrim can do when he puts his mind to it.

[cloudgremlin-creations]

Grafted Branches: Fight!

By this point maybe I should make a turtle blog. ANYWAYS

Because GB is a separated au, not all of the sibs grew up with Splinter. So their fighting styles and experiences are quite… mixed.

From oldest to youngest:

Dona has the most formal training, learning aikido and later ninjitsu from Oroku Saki. It was rocky going at first, but once Karai and Casey found out that Dona reacts faster to sounds than movements when fighting, the gang were able to design a system that prompts Dona with audio when fighting (different sounds are connected to different katas, and Don will instinctively do the kata Don has connected to that sound when it’s played). Because of this handicap and Dona’s inherent speed, Don has developed a fighting style that is vicious and fast- but very, very predictable. Don relies on surprise and speed, which does actually make Don a very good ninja!

Rafa was (partially) raised by Splinter and so has a spattering of aikido and ninjitsu training. Mainly, though, he uses kickboxing and wrestling techniques learned from Beebop and Rocksteady any time they weasel their way back into the Red Heart Sanctuary’s good graces. He will also just sit on you, my boy is 6 foot 1 of pure muscle, fat, tail, and shell. He’s definitely a contender on the battle field, but tends to focus on protection and de-escalation unless things get Really Bad, in which case. He has the strongest holding bite of the sibs (Dona might have the fastest and most force, but Don’s jaw is relatively weak and can be held open really easily if you jam it even slightly past Don’s release point).

Michael is a street brawler at heart, my lil terror <3. Sun begged saber training from sun’s uncle and learned keysi from sun’s dad (strictly for self defence! And to keep the terror from trashing the store with sun’s never-ending energy) but has also just picked up everything and anything sun thinks might be useful, which includes a lot of parkour. Michael fights dirty and will lead you on a merry chase around whatever area the fight is taking place in, utilizing the environment to deliver powerful blows from every direction. Anything to Michael is a weapon, and will be used accordingly! Just don’t let sun get close to water, sun is literally too dense to float TwT

Lee is an odd case. He’s extremely analytical and a perfectionist, but this doesn’t translate to “amazing fighter”. Although the way he fights is loose and flexible like Michael, he doesn’t have the same careless gusto to just try out new things. A lot of what he was taught was twofold: learning both how to be flashy and please the crowd while also viciously and discreetly taking the wind from your opponent’s sails. He relies a lot on intimidation and misdirection when fighting, and while his actual fighting skill is good, he doesn’t have the confidence to really push for the win, being a fairly defensive fighter instead. However, Lee is incredible at quickly analyzing the situation and pointing his sibs in the right directions, and often takes over from Dona once the action starts and there’s too much chaos and unpredictability for Don to handle (and if Karai isn’t there).

All in all, each of the sibs has a different way of contributing in fights- and in other types of confrontations. Want to make a business alliance with someone, get an accidentally inspiring speech, or plan an intricate heist? Dona. Wanna calm someone down, gain loyal allies, or fix a refrigerator? Rafa’s got it. Wanna confuse and embarrass the enemy, or maybe need some random super rare information? Send Michael! And for a special treat if you want to ruin someone psychologically, or if you need an on-the-fly plan that will Definitely Work, or if you need someone to become a meat puppet, Lee’s gotchu covered <3

[impossiblycolorfulpanda]

Would you mind explaining why you ship Azaang? It seems interesting, but I can't put my finger on it. Since you dominate the tag, maybe you have some insights about the ship?

Short answer: It's a superior, more intimate, more suggestive, and more spiritually attuned version of Zukaang and a complete antithesis to Kataang. It mostly takes place in my Book 4: Air/Dark Avatar Ozai AU.

...

Long answer: I believe it all started when I read Aaron Ehasz's tweet about Azula having her own redemption arc with Zuko as her Iroh basically. I then read a fanfic called Azula's Redemption where she's redeemed through Aang by showing her how to open and master her own chakras. It ends with Azulaang being endgame.

It's commonly believed that Azulaang is another "opposites attract" thing but mostly with their personalities rather than elements, even though Aang can waterbend and that art was one of the easiest for him to learn. Azula also had a rather strong fixation on the earth kingdom and was able to bend the Dai Li to her will with ease.

It is often shipped along with Zutara because it gives Aang a love interest. Some fans also see the possibility of Azula reforming due to Aang. I've been studying both characters and their dynamics with other people. I came to the conclusion that Azulaang has as much narrative significance as Zutara.

Azula getting better is the ultimate goal in Azulaang but I wanted to complicate things a bit where Aang is mostly changed by Azula's influence as well.

I invented a little mechanic where Aang and Azula form a spirit bond. This bond unites them as fate, allowing them to understand each other better than anyone else and one will know when the other is lying. This bond is formed when Aang finishes opening his own chakras first and it gets even stronger once Azula completes her chakra session next. Why it didn't form in Ba Sing Se is likely because Aang's fire and light chakras weren't fully opened. Do you know how Katara was an earthly tether blocking Aang's last chakra? I picture Azula being something of an opposite entity where her presence keeps all chakras open.

I mostly place Azulaang within the Dark Avatar Ozai AU of mine. In case you're wondering about that, it's an AU where ATLA has a Book 4: Air but the story arcs from the back half of season 2 of Legends of Korra are put in Aang's saga instead. Some parts of the first 3 seasons are altered though, like when Aang meets Roku for the first time, he vaguely describes Vaatu but doesn't mention his name. In the Library, the gaang learn the names Raava and Vaatu but no more than that, at the beginning of season 3, Avatar Wan's two-part episodes debut while Aang is still in a coma, at the end of season 3, Ozai fights the lion turtle instead of Aang at a different location and his plans for the earth kingdom were a trick to keep the gaang distracted. Ozai wins by slaying the beast and consuming its soul.

The dark avatar doesn't just obtain all bending arts in the opposite direction of Aang's cycle but consumes/controls the very sources of the bending arts, the entire power system of the avatarverse, and the souls of all original benders after causing them to go extinct.

Again, I always imagine Azulaang taking place in that timeline because the reason why their spirit bond forms in the first place is because Ozai doesn't need to fuse with Vaatu, Ozai IS Vaatu. Vaatu is also the true orchestrator of the 100-year war through Sozin and is reborn as a human through Iroh's mother, Ilah. Another reason is that Azula will have every reason in the world to want to join Team Avatar, bond or no bond.

Aang is the one who loses his past lives but in return, after he's purified, Vaatu's natural abilities, instincts, and status are taken from him and combined with all of Raava's while still permanently fused with Aang.

There have been times when Azulaang was seen through a biblical lens with Aang as an angelic archetype and Azula as a demonic archetype.

I hope this makes sense and I didn't just ramble on.

[the-four-terrapins]

The Pain

Trying to get back into things, had to get this out.

The pain is excruciating, each movement nearly sending him to his knees, but he continues.  Giving up wasn’t an option, not anymore. A mutant like him didn’t plan for a long life, not in his line of work anyways, as death greeted him every day with each outing into the night.

His brothers and he were the only thing between chaos and peace in this city. To keep the foot and their plans at bay, that was why they kept breathing, why they lived the life they did. Unsung heroes, without the gratitude of the residents of this great city, that was until you. Nothing until you.

He stumbled through the shadows, just a little longer, almost to you. The large mutant turtle grasped at weeping wounds, hoping to reach his destination in time. He should be heading to the lair, to his brothers and father but he didn’t know if he would make it this time and like hell you wouldn’t be the last thing he saw if this was in fact this was his last night on earth.

Bloody hands gripped at rusted metal pulling down the fire escape, one foot after the other hoisting up his massive weight. His knees almost buckle from the stress of it but his hand grabs at the railing just in time to catch himself. The terrapin stops for a moment to catch his breath and look up to see the light of your apartment shining like a beacon of hope. You were home, thank the gods, just a little more, he could make it.  

Thankfully the terrace door was open so his hands pushed through tumbling into your living room with an ungraceful grunt. On his shell he barely hears you scream out as you run to him. Your hands instinctively move to his wounds assessing before running to the bathroom for your first aid kit. The kit they had given you for emergencies, emergencies just like this.

It’s getting cold and his fingers start to lose feeling, at least he got to see you one last time. You burst from the bathroom phone to your ear screaming into the device before dropping it haphazardly dropping to your knees beside him.  Even like this you were breathtaking, he had been so lucky.

As you race to stabilize him his large green hand cups your face, his thumb wiping away the streaming tears. He can hear you still screaming not to give up, to hold on. He doesn’t want to give up; he doesn’t want to leave you like this but the pain was fading which wasn’t a good sign. A sign his massive body was failing, the body that loved you, saved this city more time he could count, the body that would give anything to feel you one last time.

Eye lids grow heavy, taking everything in him to keep them up. Shadows cast around your face seeping into his vision blurring all that he could see. Limps grow heavy slipping from your face and he hears you scream one last time as the darkness wins. He sinks into it nothing with your name on his lips.

The dark is peaceful, making him weightless for the first time. Silence and a feeling of warmth with his weightlessness, is this what death felt like? Calm, warm and some pain…..and the slowly growing sounds of his brothers. Wait?

As the weightlessness decreased the pain increased, then he felt his hands and feet move. Next the light filtered through and his eye lids opened to the lab. He was alive and at home. Looking around his whole body was nearly covered in bandages and by the grace of the gods you were there next to him facing his brothers. His hand reached out gripping your wrist with what little strength he had.

Your head wiped around so fast he could have sworn he heard your neck crack. A solemn face burst forth into pure happiness as you cupped his face plastering what open green skin was to see with your lips.

He was alive, alive to fight another day and make sure you knew just how important you were to him.

[5cythz]

The Clan Wars Character Intro: Mikey

Here’s some info about my boy:

• Mikey is a 14 year old black breasted leaf turtle

• he is very vocal about the fact that he never wanted to be a ninja in the first place.

• Mikey’s personality is more rebellious, energetic, sassy, loving, and loyal to those he cares abour

• he has ADHD and tends to find meditation and constant practice boring. He physically can’t stand still for longer then 5 minutes so he’s never been good at the discipline aspects of ninjitsu. When they get on his case about it, he would spare with someone, going all out, win, then leave, just to prove he’s still good, even if he struggles.

• as in any iteration, Mikey is very naturally talented in the fighting aspect. He is very instinctual about it and tends to priorities defense and wait for the best moment to strike against an opponent.

• he always had a tendency to try and slip away from the clan as a kid, to which clan members would always hound him about how he’s “just like Yoshi” because “he ran away as a kid to and returned mutilated. Karma will find you too one day” and this royally pisses Mikey off. He’s very defensive of his father.

• When the boys move to New York, Mikey is the one to adapt to the culture the easiest. He learns to be a normal teenager, picks up graffiti and skate boarding and introduces his brother’s to these things.

• He’s also the one to meet Casey Jones and in turn be introduced to April first. He brings them to his brothers and thats how everyone meets the humans.

• big thing about Mikey is that no matter what, if one of his brothers gives him an order, he will obey. No matter what. Only for one of them though. He never questions an order given by one of his brothers and would keep fighting even if he was about to die if Leo asked him to.

Turtle Instincts:

• Mikey was mutated mere days after being hatched. He had the least amount of time to develop any sort of life run by more then instincts. Because of this, as he grows up, he finds it the hardest to suppress his turtle instincts.

• Mikey HATES water. Absolutly despises it. Will go weeks without taking a shower if not called out for it. Even then, he refuses to bathe with anything besides Dawn dish soap. “If it’s good enough for baby ducks it’s good enough for me”

• Mikey loves 2 things when it comes to food. Spices, and fruit. He doesn’t care how old the fruit is, he will munch on it. Donnie thinks it’s gross

• his eyes don’t tend to focus properly, often looking in different directions, especially when he’s zoned out which, he does a lot.

• he tends to prefer being alone and often seeks it out. He often wonders if that’s one of his instincts or just due to feeling separated from his brothers growing up. Donnie believes it’s instinct related, having looked into each of their species

• he can react really fast and is the quickest of the 4.

AAAAAAAAnd that’s Mikey! I have more about him but I’ll leave it at that! More to come! Hope you enjoyed!