#a WHILE

[dandylovesturtles]

havin' all these Splinter and Leo thoughts. augh.

this is partly the fault of @/turtleblogatlast's post about Leo just wanting to make Splinter proud.

post-movie

...

Seven days post-invasion, and Leo is feeling (relatively) pretty good. Sure, he's still on a truly ridiculous amount of painkillers and he can't walk two steps without collapsing, but he's able to stay awake and talk to his family and considering where he thought he would be right about now, well... that's everything.

So yeah, he's feeling pretty good. He just finished his lunch of soup and a protein shake, warm and a little drowsy while he listens to April talk about some of the more ridiculous conspiracy theories that have started spreading on the surface. Donnie's tinkering with one of his smaller inventions while he listens, Mikey is nestled in Raph's lap, and everything is calm and cozy in their makeshift medbay.

And then his dad walks in and says, "I would like to talk to Blue, please. Alone."

And suddenly Leo doesn't feel so good anymore.

"Aha, wait," he says quickly, reaching out and grabbing April's sleeve just before she rises from her chair. "Whatever it is, you can say it in front of everyone, right?"

Splinter shakes his head. "This is a conversation I think it is best we have in private." He makes a shooing motion at the others, and April pulls her sleeve from Leo's fingers with a helpless shrug.

"See ya in a few, Leo," she says, then walks out. The others look from Splinter, to him, then back to Splinter, and one by one they each get up and shuffle out, too, with their own hasty farewells.

Traitors, every single one of them.

The door closes, and Leo finds himself alone with Splinter for the first time since coming back from Staten Island. Or at least, the first time he can remember. He was pretty out of it the first few days; most of what he remembers is muddled and confused. And embarrassing. He cried a lot more than he'd care to admit.

Splinter hops into chair April was sitting in and pulls it closer; he has to stay standing to be anywhere near eye level with Leo. He wishes he could read Splinter's face, but his expression is giving nothing away. Sometimes it's easy to forget he spent a not-insignificant part of his life as an actor, until something like this happens.

Leo decides to speak before he can. Head him off at the pass, or something.

"If you're going to yell at me, just remember my eardrums are already damaged."

Which is true - turns out being 1, too close to an exploding alien spaceship and 2, getting punched in the head repeatedly by an alien very mad about said exploding spaceship is bad for the ears, even when you don't have outer ears like a human. So super loud noises are a bad idea right now, and thus Leo cannot be yelled at. Flawless logic; maybe he can keep using that every time he gets in trouble.

For the first time, his dad's expression shifts, just a little. A deeper frown, a heavier set to his brow.

"You think I came in here to yell at you?"

Leo feels his stomach twist. Does he have to spell it out? "I mean, didn't you? That's usually what kicking everyone else out is leading up to."

"I see..." Splinter is still unreadable, looking a little too intensely at Leo. "And what do you think I want to yell at you about?"

He really does want it spelled out. Leo suddenly realizes that there won't be any yelling because this is his punishment: to admit everything he's done, to speak all his sins for his dad's ears. Lay it all out in his own tongue and show that he understands, really and truly, the depths of his screwups.

Oh, he understands. He understands it so well he may choke on the words.

"...For losing the key," he says finally, and it stings on its way out. He hasn't talked about it since it happened; every time he tries to say anything to the others, they shush him, saying, "It's okay, Leo, everything is fine now."

It's not okay, and everything isn't fine, and this is when he finally hears about it.

Finally, an identifiable emotion on Splinter's face: horror, dawning clear and present. And Leo doesn't understand that, because doesn't Splinter know he lost the key? He was there for that conversation, wasn't he? Leo's memories of that day have grown a little hazy between the drugs and the recovery and the fact that thinking about it for too long makes him go fuzzy around the edges, but he's pretty sure he remembers Splinter being there. He flicked popcorn at Leo's head. He probably should have done more than that; maybe then Leo wouldn't have made such a mess of things.

Splinter doesn't say anything right away, just stares at Leo with that horrified expression, and the silence is so scary that Leo starts filling it without even thinking.

"I was kidding about the whole... not yelling at me thing. I know I deserve it. I mean, I was fooling around, doing what you and Raph told me not to do, and I doomed the whole world doing it! Some leader I am, right? And I know I'm not exactly your favorite son to begin with, and that's fair, because I keep letting you down, but this is definitely my worst screwup to date, and you yell at me when I don't close the fridge door all the way or throw balls around the TV room so why wouldn't you yell at me for destroying the planet, right...?"

His voice peters out at the end, too hoarse to continue. That's the most words he's strung together over the last week, and for the first time he's glad for his injuries, for stopping him from spewing any more embarrassing word vomit just to fill the air.

Splinter is still looking at him with that same horrified expression. If anything, he just looks more upset, which means that Leo at least accomplished his goal.

Leo's waiting for the yelling to start, but when Splinter finally says something, it's, "You think I have a favorite son?" throwing Leo for a loop once again.

"Uh, yeah?" he says, because that's all there is to say. He's always assumed it's Donnie - the "funny one", the one who fixes Splinter's TV when it's broken, and the only one of them likely to get a real job and move out of the house. But even if it's not Donnie, it's gotta be Mikey, or Raph. His brothers are amazing and talented, and all Leo has ever been good at is winning the Lair Games.

Splinter closes his eyes a moment, and when he opens them his face moves back to a more neutral expression. "I do not have a favorite son," he says, firm and serious. "I love all of you just the same."

Leo thinks that can't be true - if it is, he feels bad for the other guys. But he doesn't think he can just say that, so he says, "Yeah, Dad, of course," instead.

Splinter looks a bit crestfallen. "You don't believe me?" he asks, and shoot. Leo has no idea how to respond to that.

"...I know you love us," is what he says. And that's true, it is! He just doesn't know how his dad could like him as much as the others.

Splinter's expression turns sad. He reaches out and lays a furry hand on Leo's arm, careful of his bandages and all the many wires he's hooked to. "You think you doomed the world?"

"I lost the key," Leo repeats. "It was all my fault. It's why I had to..." His voice fumbles over the words, and he revises. "It's why it had to be me."

Splinter's mouth twists. He climbs out of the chair and onto the mattress, careful not to jostle Leo as he settles down on his knees.

"Blue," he says softly, gently palming Leo's face this time. "None of this was your fault."

Leo's stomach twists again. He thought he was being punished, but somehow this is worse.

"Yes it was," he argues. "I lost the key," for the third time, "and... and I ignored the order to retreat, and got Raph captured, and and and, I ignored the guys and tried to force our way into Metro Tower, and it was me who told Donnie to try to fly that stupid ship, and because of me Mikey had to-"

"Leonardo," says Splinter, sharp, and Leo goes silent. His dad looks devastated, but he keeps his hand on Leo's cheek, brushing with his thumb, and for the first time Leo realizes his skin is wet. Splinter sighs heavily, his entire frame seeming to droop with the weight of it.

"Leonardo," he repeats, softly this time. "You did not doom the world."

"But-"

A furry finger on his lip quiets him.

"You did not doom the world," Splinter repeats, once again firm and serious. "You did not take the theft of the key seriously, because you did not know what it was, the threat it represented. But it was the Foot Clan who chose to use that key, fully knowing what evil it would unleash. That is not on you, my son. The responsibility falls squarely on them."

Leo doesn't know how much he can believe that - isn't it their job to stop the Foot Clan? But Splinter looks so sure as he says it, and his hand is still tender on Leo's cheek, and for the first time a little bit of doubt seeps into Leo's heart, telling him that maybe, just maybe, this wasn't all his fault after all.

But still...

"Even if that's true," he says, with heavy emphasis on the if, "everything I did after that-"

"You are young," his dad interrupts. "You are inexperienced. You are learning. And the amount of growth you showed us all, even over just that one day... You shined as brightly as I know you can."

Again, Leo's stomach does a twist - but it's a happier one, this time. Splinter's voice is sincere, leaving no room for doubt, and Leo can almost, almost believe that this is true, that his dad has believed in him from the very beginning. Has seen something in him, whatever it was that led him to make Leo the leader, that lead to him putting trust in Leo.

He just wishes he felt like he'd done more to earn it.

"You did not doom the world," says his dad again. "You saved it. But, it never should have been like that to begin with. You should never have been facing down such a fierce foe so young, especially as alone as you boys were. And you-"

His voice becomes choked up, and Leo's heart lurches.

"You... sacrificed yourself to save us all. I... I am your father, and I... could not protect you."

He's crying. His dad is crying, and Leo feels panic, reaching out to try and stop this.

"Dad-"

"No." Splinter holds up a hand, giving his head a hard shake. "All I ever wanted for you boys was to save you from the sacrifices asked of our family. And yet I could not - and for that, you paid dearly. You almost paid the ultimate price, and we almost lost you forever."

A thick knot forms in Leo's throat, and he can barely get out, "I'm okay, Dad, I'm here."

"Yes you are." Splinter squeezes his shoulder desperately. "You are here. You are safe. But that doesn't change that it should not have been you to begin with."

Leo watches in dawning horror as Splinter steps back, then kneels over on the mattress.

"This is why I came in here, Blue. Not to yell at you. To apologize."

He presses his forehead against the sheets.

"I am so sorry that I could not protect you."

He's crying. So is Leo, openly now. He reaches out for his dad, fumbling for his shoulders and urging him to straighten up.

"No, Dad... This wasn't your fault!"

"But-"

"No! It was just... it was just a really, really shitty thing that happened, okay? It was the Foot Clan, and the Krang, but it wasn't- it wasn't..."

Splinter raises his face and looks at him, and suddenly the words he's been trying to get Leo to believe for the last several minutes barrel into him and Leo crumbles.

"...I didn't have to do it," he says.

"No." Splinter gets up, coming closer. "You had nothing to atone for. You did it because you are brave, and you are kind, but this was never yours to fix."

Leo sucks in one harsh breath, then another, and then he's sobbing harder than he ever has in his life, and his dad hugs him tight, his arms warm and his fur soft where Leo buries his face in his shoulder.

All the feelings he's pushed aside - the ones he didn't think he had the right to feel, because he'd had to do it, he had to make up for his mistakes - bubble over, gripping him with grief and despair but also relief, that he's still here to cry and be hugged by his dad.

"I was so scared."

"I know."

"I thought I wouldn't see you guys again."

"I know. We thought we had lost you, too."

"I just... I didn't know what else to do... I couldn't let him... I couldn't..."

"Shhh, it's alright. It's over now. We're all safe."

Leo hugs his dad back, as tightly as he can with his injuries, and sobs and sobs until he's all out of tears. And all along, his dad tells him he is safe, he is good, and he is loved.

Later, Leo feels even better than he had before.

[an-experienced-gentleman]

Come, let's rest for a while.

Six Sexy Words

[wiidoodles]

Beach Episode......more to come

Nai's delicate victorian skin vs. the literal sun

[tiredmoonslut]

I think it's interesting how SJM's books have taken on their current Tiktok reputation of being the most popular "faerie porn book" when the thing that has always stuck out to me as far more engrossing and unique about her writing is the life she pumps into her worldbuilding, and her magic systems.

Magic is never just a tool in her worlds. It lives and breathes like a sentient being and every single magically empowered person in her stories has a personal, symbiotic relationship to it that I find endlessly fascinating. The gods, and their permutations throughout each series bring a sense of galactic enormity to that magic, highlighting the events of each story and really mastering that feeling of fate and destiny. She takes the kind of all-powerful, world-spanning levels of power common to male authors in the fantasy genre and makes it sexy. Not by adding smut---but by mastering aesthetic. There's a reason SJ and all her stars and storms and crowns and shadows have sparked such an emulative phenomenon in the fantasy genre, and it's because it brought sexy back to having power that can destroy worlds. It's a power fantasy---written for women, instead of men.

Idk I just feel like the erotica pales in comparison to just how good Sarah is at making worlds that feel gorgeous and enchanting and vivid and populating them with characters who kick fucking ass. I wish that had been what made her blow up on Tiktok instead.

[blindbisexualgoose]

At this point I’m just a Rodrick fanpage. And there’s nothing wrong with that

[wyvernspirit]

Someone's cooking 👀

(( @solarockk ))

[klarioncall]

[Young Justice, in the woods by Mount Justice, format vertical video phone recording] Bart is filming. So, instead of cuts, the video just goes blurry for a quarter of a second. Robin and Superboy walk into the frame, in full costume, start doing the “I Know What You Are” bit from Twilight. (Tim as Bella, Kon as Edward.) Everyone breaks when Kon says “Say it, out loud” and Tim replies, “A Clone”

[vinnyandthephenomena]

these flowers in the attic lifetime movies are absolutely wild did they even read the books i’m gonna cry

[wasntthataparty]

Another Quote post because I can and will (cw: some swears) Does a squat, rolls over, gets up quickly. "Shut up! Shut up!!" Literally like, the rest of the chain, laughing at him. - Warriors "The fear of scurvy is real." Takes a bite of an orange. "Don't laugh at me, Scurvy is VERY real." - Wind "Someone tell my wife I miss her." "Bro. that's YOUR job." Time and Twilight. "Why do your legs bend like that." "He has old man legs." - Wild and Hyrule, talking about Time. "My French toast!! It's over. It's over. That was the best thing I cooked today." "That was the only thing you cooked today." - Hyrule and Sky. "Ooh, someone's up late." "ooohh, I'm so sorry I don't wake up at the ass crack of dawn, and that I enjoy having a proper sleep schedule, fuck off." (He just woke up, give him a minute) - Wars and Sky.

[badlydrawngenshincomics]

who are YOU pulling for in fontaine?

[hopelesslygaysstuff]

help what should i title this fic

its inspired by THIS and should be up within the next 24 hours maybe we shall see if i find enough motivation for it

its already so long i am incapable of writing short fics i fear

[blu3-f1nch]

Slut

Meow meow

[bigboysteveharrington]

Whenever Steve’s dad pulls an asshole move that particularly pisses him off, Steve takes his friends spite shopping with his father’s credit card

It happens first with Robin when the mall just burned down and Steve’s still visibly injured from what went down there and his father is already on him about finding a new job as if he got fired or quit for fun and his job didn’t burn down and sure his dad doesn’t know the real version of what happened, but he almost died ‘in the fire’, can’t he at least have an inch of breathing room?

But he hasn’t cut Steve off yet, he’s just threatening to if he doesn’t start looking for a new job soon. So Steve picks up Robin and takes her to every store in town still open and buys himself a bunch of shit and keeps asking her what she wants and suggesting stuff for her and when she brushes off one of the things he shows her as way too expensive, Steve tells her he’s paying. And Robin looks hesitant, so he adds, “Well, actually, my douche father is. That’s the whole point of this. So the more expensive the better.” And Robin just studies his face for a moment and then turns and says, “In that case…” and just starts grabbing things and they both grin

After this, Robin is a staple in the tradition of spending as much of his father’s money in one day as possible whenever Steve wants to send a message. The kids also frequently benefit from Steve’s random “Come on, we’re going shopping. You can get whatever you want. I’m buying.”

They don’t know why Steve sometimes just randomly decides to spoil them all and they don’t question it. Obviously he can afford it. At first, they try to just get a few things but then Steve starts shoving more at them and asking if they want it, so they start trying to push the limits of what they can get, but it becomes very clear very fast that Steve has no limit for what he’ll buy for them when he’s in this mood

Steve’s father hasn’t acknowledged Steve’s rage spending once. Steve knows that’s probably a good thing, but at the same time it annoys the hell out of him that he doesn’t know if his father even notices or cares. And that’s why the scale of his spending goes up every time

[craske]

413!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[anxiety-banana]

who wants an angst-fest!!

anyway here's a bit of my WIP

Ahsoka doesn’t remember the time between tapping out a message and getting dragged off the ship, but she remembers Rex pulling her against his chest to avoid letting her see the bodies. Bodies. Her Masters were bodies.

anyway i'm feeling sadistic apparently. so. people are dead sorry </3