#also instead of the lair the turtles live in an abandoned

[peachdoesart-blog]

Hello ninja turtle fandom-

[opossumloverr]

✞°•I DON'T BELIEVE IN GHOSTS•°✞

(Based on this song, I know you know this song. don't lie to me)

Summary:

Turtle bros with a ghost reader!

Warning(s):

Some cursing!

A/N:

I MUST BE DREAMING CAUSE I DON'T BELIEVE IN GHOST YEAH, sorry, anyways, idk I just felt a little silly today, and I really do love this song. also I'm trying a different style DONT BULLY ME IT TOOK ME LIKE AN HOUR TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO DO GRADIENT

It was a chilly October night, the leaves rustled as the four brothers made their way towards an abandoned graveyard. The atmosphere was dark and gloomy, but they were determined to explore the area, for reasons unknown to anyone but themselves.

"I don't like this, guys. Let's turn back," the youngest brother, Mikey, shivered.

"What? No way! You said you were bored, Mikey. This is exactly what we need to get our blood pumping!" another brother exclaimed.

"He was bored, Leo, not us. You didn't have to drag us all here," one of the brothers groaned in annoyance.

"Sorry that Mr. Bootyshaker9000 wanted to stay indoors and rot. I'm preventing the inevitable!" Leo clapped back.

"I'm trying to prevent hitting you with my Tech Bo," Donnie gripped his weapon tighter.

"Try it, you won't," Leo egged Donnie on.

"You little…" Donnie scowled, lifting his weapon before getting interrupted.

"Enough! Fighting is not the memo right now! Now you two cut it out or else I'll…wait, what was that?" the oldest brother paused on his scolding to scope out the area. A pungent smell of perfume floated in the air, and chills went down their spines.

"I'm getting really bad vibes here! I told you we should've gone back to the lair!" Mikey exclaimed.

"Don't be such a party pooper, Mike! It's probably all in our heads," Leo tried to come up with a reasonable explanation, but a gust of wind shut off all of his thoughts.

"What was that?!" Raph exclaimed.

"It's a ghost!" Mikey chattered.

"That is preposterous, Michael. There is no such thing as a ghost-"

"No, he's right."

They all screamed in unison, clinging onto Raph. "AH!"

《RAPH》

After the shock and some failed punching attempts, he finally decided to talk instead of fight, and it was a delightful conversation

yall sat down and talked for hours, He asked a few questions, and you answered them

he made sure not to ask personal questions, like how you died and stuff (unlike Donnie, that insensitive prick)

was kinda sad when he had to go, but gotta make sure pops doesn't worry,

he promises he'll see you again

a few weeks later you show up in his room, sitting down calmly on his bed, or, erm, floating.

he threw multiple items at you before calming down and realizing that it was you, what were you doing here? how did you know where he lives?

all of those questions were brushed off when he heard that you just wanted to see him, and only him.

his heart pounded in his plastron, you wanted to see him? big ol' him? cue huge tail thumping into the ground

yall talked for HOURS, him talking about Lou Jitsu- wait, you've never watched Lou Jitsu? he's inviting you to family movie night. there's no getting out of this.

over the months, the both of you got close, he no longer throws objects or tries to throw hands when he sees you!

enjoys the company when he lifts weights

"Wow, those seem heavy," you said, impressed by his muscles as he lifted the weights. 

"They are heavy, but don't worry, Raph's got gains!" he replied, flexing his muscles with a curl-up. 

"Can I try?" you asked, reaching out your hands. 

"Sure, but be careful. I'll be here to spot ya!" he said, passing the weights to you. 

However, you forgot that you were transparent and accidentally dropped the weights on his tail, causing him to scream in pain. 

"Oops! I forget I'm transparent sometimes... You just make me feel so alive..." you said sheepishly. 

"I-I make you feel alive?" he questioned, seemingly forgetting the intense pain in his tail.

HES SOSOSO SILLY GUYS I CAN'T

《LEO》

He had never sliced a portal open this fast

before he could dive head-first into his portal you floated in front of it

you just wanted to talk... okay... but he's keeping a close eye on you

a few minutes later he's blabbing about Jupiter Jim to you, you've never watched it? what? do you live under a rock? or... a grave...

and you seem so interested! he could talk about it for hours! you know he could.

he literally clung onto the ground when it was time to leave, complaining as Raph dragged him away

he shouted a quick "See you soon"

he saw you soon alright, in his room, looking at his pile of Jupiter Jim comics curiously

He literally screamed like a girl

Oh! it's just you... where did you come from? oh, you just wanted to see him, not his brothers? him?

boosts up his ego by 100x

"I knew you couldn't get enough of me" type of energy

proceeds to yap about Jupiter Jim some more, what? it's YOUR fault for indulging in his hyperfixations

yall are the talker and listener duo

"And so Jupiter Jim was all like- pew pew pew! and the aliens were all like- Ohno! and then- hey, hey [NAME], are ya listening?" He questioned,

"Mhm, go on, I'm all ears"

Leo's eyes widened, and small churrs could be heard "OKOK! And then Jupiter Jim was all like, no way jose!"

He just like me fr

《DONNIE》

There is no logical way this could be happening! ghosts? really?

immediately started asking questions, why do you exist? how do you exist? would you perhaps be interested in some experiments, y'know, for scientific purposes (definitely not for his own personal questions)

his questions just kept on coming and coming, some of them being more insensitive than the last, he would've said more if Raph didn't smack him on top of the head...

but you were happy to answer them non the less

when they had to skedaddle he was pissed, how dare they interrupt! can't you see there was science in the making?

he says he'll come to you, for more questions of course, nothing more... (cap)

he didn't expect you to come to him.

he jumped a little but then started going into his "I ask you, answer" mode

Experiments on you (with consent ofc)

discovers you have telekinesis

you two grew close, his experiments died down the more he learned about you

now, he just really enjoys the company

just knowing that you're there watching him while he tackles a project gets him so motivated

you're like his little assistant

"[NAME], be a dear and pass me that wrench over there," he asks, hand out, palm open,

"You got it boss" you floated the wrench toward him, and he grabbed it

"Thank you, you really are a great help, [NAME]"

"Just glad to be here Don-tron!" you smiled, not noticing the slight wag to his tail.

He really appreciates you

《MIKEY》

He just kept screaming and screaming until you snapped him out of it

what? why aren't you trying to take his body? and why aren't you freakishly creepy, you just looked like a normal person, minus the floating and transparency

Oh, you just wanted to talk? well, as long as you don't possess his body he's all for it!

The conversation was amazing! he got so much more information about ghosts, he's even more fixated on them now!

you got this turtle laying on the ground, twirling his mask tails in his fingers, kicking his feet, saying "Ooh! Tell me more!"

was whining like a puppy dog when he had to get up on out of there, puppy dog eyes did not work in his favor tonight..

he swears up and down that he will visit you, just wait!

I guess you've waited long enough, because the following week you were caught snooping around his room

he screamed, yes, he won't lie.

but it's not his fault that you popped up out of nowhere!

then starts talking to you like he didn't scream like 100 decibels

Just yip yap yapping away, but you don't mind, you enjoy socializing with him

kinda sad that he can't touch you though, sometimes he wants nothing more than to wrap his arms around you

you're his muse! asks you to pose for him, and you happily oblige

"Okay just keep that position, right there, perfect! such an amazing muse for me!" He smiles,

"Well, it's easy to pose when I have such a wonderful artist painting me" You replied,

"Awe shucks, don't compliment me like that! you're going to give me an ego" he chirps happily

lala and okok duo. that's all I have to say.

BOO! HAPPY NEW YEARS GUYS OMGOMG 2024 IS HOPEFULLY GONNA BE A GREAT YEAR, HERES A LIL DITTY I WROTE, I HOPE YA LIKE IT, IM GETTING ON MY GRIND RIGHT NOW, I love ya! Merry 24, also I was watching Coryxkenshin while writing, shout out to the shogun. There also MIGHT be some grammar mistakes, kinda rushed to get this out

[chirpity]

How to Heal After the Apocalypse

Rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles post-movie

Chapter two baby!

If you asked Leo what he expected his routine for the day to look like, one of the very last things on his list was ‘reappearance of an alternate future me who lived and died in the apocalypse’.

He thought it would be a chill day, everyone had begun to relax the more time that passed since the now-dubbed ‘K-day’. All he wanted to do was relax with his family, watch some Jupiter Jim movies, and then wrangle them one by one into a check-up to make sure they were healing all right

Unfortunately he never got that far as when Casey was on the way to the Lair, had gotten…sidetracked. And now there was a distraught Casey, an injured and passed out older turtle mutant, and everyone was a flurry of chaos.

To say that he’s high-key freaking out is an understatement, but Leon was trying to keep it together for everyone, as both the leader and medic.

Feeling his panic worsen, he took a moment to simply breathe in deeply, holding for four seconds, and breathing out again.

He just has to focus on prepping the medbay, that always helps clear his mind.

Fresh needles? Check

Bandages? Check

Dissolvable thread? Check

And Casey should have collected some antibiotics and painkillers. Hopefully he would have gotten some more Tylenol as well, just in case.

Now one unexpected thing about Hamato Leonardo was just how well he had taken to being the medic. It was never a title or position officially given to him, but when they were younger, Leo had often found himself patching his brothers up with bandaids whenever they got injured. It simply had grown from there.

As they got older and injuries became larger and harder to deal with, Leo had taken it upon himself to grab ahold of some medical textbooks, with the help of Donnie and April of course, and had meticulously gone over each and every section with care.

In fact he still had those books on a special section of his bookshelf, the start of his ever-growing medical and healthcare books.

When Donnie accidentally cut or banged ip his shell, Leo was the one he went to to help clean and wrap it if needed. Mikey, rambunctious as ever, always had a set of bruises or cuts, and even Raph, with his tough as leather skin, had suffered from cuts and the like.

Then there were the bigger issues. Broken bones, fractured or dislocated joints hadn’t exactly been uncommon either, not to mention the time the heating went out in the lair, and while Donnie did his best to fix it, Leo had to do his all to avoid his family passing out from brumation, including himself.

Still, it wasn’t something Leo would ever give up. He was a great medic, if he did say so himself, and the medbay was his baby just like Donnie’s lab or Mikey in the kitchen. It had been a storage place at first, somewhere to keep all the medical supplies they began to stock up when it became too much to keep in Leo’s room.

Then they found a few cots that served as medical beds. There were two in the medbay, but there was also at least one in every section of the lair. And unlike his room, which was a complete mess that caused Raph a headache every time he saw it, the medbay was kept in nothing less than tip-top shape.

At least, it had been before it was destroyed by Shredder…

For now they had moved to an abandoned subway station and it was hard, getting used to it after spending all their life in their previous lair. Fortunately, Shredder hadn’t completely wrecked everything.

They were forced to move because it would take too long to repair and still left them more vulnerable than they would like to admit, so the family recovered everything they could, and moved it to the station instead.

The medbay still had most of the equipment undamaged bar one or two heart monitors, and they were lower on supplies than Leo liked, some being open or spilled.

Come on, it was difficult as it was to gain medical supplies considering their whole situation, so losing even a fraction of it made his heavy heart squeeze uncomfortably in his chest. Even if they did have supplies, he liked keeping them as stocked up as possible, you never knew when something was needed…

Luckily, he had April, Cass and Casey to help regain supplies. That’s what Casey had gone out to do in the first place. They had all protested, scared of him going alone but they knew he should get used to being topside cause…he was human, and he deserved that freedom. Casey had wanted to help in anyway he could, feeling restless and itchy, as he’d described to Leo.

He had promised to be gone for only a few hours at most, asking around for medical supplies for his family.

And that leads up to now.

Okay he has everything ready, and when Raph barges in unannounced with a foreign yet distinguishable figure, he forces his confusing cluster of emotions in a box at the back of his mind, and locks it closed.

He has patients to help.

“Place him on the bed, Raph, I can take it from here.” He smirked, acting as cocky and sure-as-himself as he could, at the very lest to assure his biggest brother.

“You sure, Leo? Is there…anyway I can help?” Raph twisted with his hands, a noticeable nervous fidget of his, and Leo smiled at him in response.

Even back when Raph was the leader and took charge of their team and missions, the one section he let the reigns go would be Leo and healthcare. He trusted him wholeheartedly as a medic, and as a brother. Leo’s chest warmed at his largest brother.

”Well, how is everyone else doing? I have to treat the old-timer over here, and look Casey over, so maybe you could go keep them all calm? Maybe start another movie?”

Raph’s beak scrunched up at that, and Leo was half afraid he would refuse, but he didn’t.

”We can’t watch a movie without ya! It’s called Family Movie Night for a reason, Lee.” He frowned.

Leo huffed at that, a smile twisting his own beak up, but before he could say anything else, Casey walked into the medbay with unsteady feet, and Leo frowned.

Casey’s eyes were stuck on Future Leo’s form, when Leo followed his eyes and noticed Case had zeroed in on the bloody cloth around his side, eyes slightly bloodshot and glassy with tears, rims red and he was pale.

Leo frowned and walked gently towards Casey, moving so he blocked the site of the wound but so he could still see Future Leo.

Mikey walked in behind him, gripping on the bag that presumably held the medical supplies. He flicked his eyes to Raph and Mikey, before speaking quietly to not spook Casey.

“Hey Mikey, thanks for bringing Case and the supplies. Raph, if you want to stay, could you help empty that bag and sort the supplies? Just place them on the counters or tables.” Raph nodded, and took the bag from Mikey, who let it go with a shaky smile. Oh he would be having a talk with Michael later about overexerting his arms.

Silently, Raph began sorting through the bag, and though he seemed confused at a few of the labels, he had a semblance of how Leo liked sorting his supplies, and began placing them carefully on the counter.

Leo gave Mikey a brief smile and a hug, and Mikey then left, presumably to update April and Donnie on the situation.

Leo then turned his attention back to Casey, who was stood statue still, and it worried Leo. He was definitely in some form of shock, given the slight sheen of moisture on his skin, and his breathing was shallow.

”Hey Casey, it’s okay. Can you look at me please?” He spoke lowly and softly, hoping the teen could still hear him.

Thankfully, Casey’s gaze moved slowly from the form of his teacher, to meet Leo’s eyes, and Leo smiled.

”There you are. I’m gonna touch you and move you okay?”

He waited a few seconds until Casey nodded, and then gripped his shoulder, steering him to the other bed. It was a bit awkward with his other hand holding onto his crutch and he glared down petulantly at it. He couldn’t wait to get the blasted thing off. He knew it was necessary, but that didn’t mean he hated it any less.

Casey let out a choked sound as Leo pulled him away from Future Leo, wriggling slightly under his hold, but he was quick to reassure him.

”Don’t worry, I’m just gonna sit you down so it’s more comfy, alright? I’m like 98.65% sure you’re in shock.”

Casey settled down after that, and sat down on the other bed in the med-bay, blinking owlishly up at Leo.

“Come on, lay down, it’ll be a lot more comfy I can imagine,” He tried to joke, and it did get a small smile from Casey, as he laid down, stretching his long legs out on the bed, boots and all. From the corner of his eye, Raph was emptying the final products from the bag.

“Hey, Raph.” Raph hummed in response, “Could you get some water for Junior and sit with him? Just keep an eye on him while I deal with Old Man over here. Make sure he’s warm, maybe grab a blanket if you can?”

Raph immediately perked up and began on the tasks, nervous with nothing to do or occupy his hands.

”Thanks big brother.”

Soon, Raph was seated next to Case, letting him nuzzle into his side after he downed half a bottle of water in one go.

Okay, one down, one to go.

Breathing deeply, he turned his attention onto the turtle on the cot, scanning him up and down for his injuries. Luckily for him, he got an alert on his T Phone, and while he usually did not condone using them in the medbay, he saw it was a message from Donnie.

Curious, he tapped it, opening it. He had to take a second to process it.

It was a list of injuries, Donnie must have scanned all his injuries with those goggles of his. Leo resisted the fond eye roll he felt, before briefly messaging Donnie back.

‘You really doubt my medical abilities, Dontron? I am hurt! :P’

‘ It was simply more efficient than you wasting time when. No need to thank me dearest brother’

Leo stifled a chuckle at that, before looking over the list. Donnie, the one who although was proficient in theoretical medical care, was more squeamish than Leo, and would never risk contaminating himself with other people’s germs, giving him a list of injuries?

Looks like he’d be having a talk with Donnie after Michael. His twin couldn’t hide his worry from him. Maybe he’d sic Doctor Feelings on him.

Anyways, he had a patient to look after. Let’s start with the most worrying - that wound. The bleeding was sluggish, but the amount of blood he must have lost was concerning.

With that, Leo fell into his element.

Remove obstructions to injury, clean it of dirt and check bleeding had slowed. Disinfect the wound, prepare the thread and needles, and stitch.

Up, down, in neat tidy rows, close together and pulling the skin back together as well as he could, then wrap with bandages.

Now to treat his other injuries….

An hour or so later, Leo slumped down on a wheelie stool, exhausted beyond belief. He hoped he hadn’t pulled any of his own wounds back open, he did not have the energy to deal with that.

His legs shook with exertion, his knee throbbing with burning heat, and his head pounded, almost seeing stars and bright colours flash. His throat was sore as well, and his shell ached. Luckily that wasn’t anything too bad, just felt like he had stretched his back too much.

He groaned, rubbing his eyes, trying to lessen the ache behind them. Oh yeah, had he mentioned that he hadn’t slept in at least two days again? Raph was still sat with Casey, who thankfully had woken back up around 20 minutes or so ago, and both were looking at him with concern.

”You ok, Leo?” Raph’s deep voice washed over him, and he slumped over more, nodding.

”Yeah, just- tired. I can’t say this is how I expected today to go.” He laughed lightly, hoping to lighten the atmosphere.

”And Casey! Glad you’re awake again. Care to tell ol’ Doctor Leon how you’re feeling?” He gestured as dramatically as he could, moving closer to the pair by pushing the wheeled stool forward, snatching a clipboard up as he passed it.

Casey blinked, brow furrowed, “Um, I think I’m okay? Like I remember everything that happened but- it’s kind of fuzzy, and my head hurts.”

Leo nodded, noting it down. Hey, you couldn’t say he didn’t keep immaculate healthcare records for everyone.

“Weeeell, you pretty much went into shock, which, I can’t say I blame you. You’ve certainly had a day and a half. You should be alright, but make sure to drink plenty of water, rest, and if you have a headache or anything come let me know and I can grab some painkillers for you. Also, keep ahold of that blanket for now, maybe change into some of those clothes we gave you, something warm and comfy, alright?”

Listen, he tried not to be overwhelming, but again, when it came to a person’s health, it was much better to be safe than sorry, in Leo’s superior opinion.

Casey nodded, his eyes darting to the figure in the other bed, and at the heart monitor Leo had set up, just to double check all his vitals.

”And, Sensei will be alright?” He asked, curling more into the blanket and Raph’s side, who happily wrapped a hand around the teen.

Leo nodded, “Physically, I’ve done all I can. He’ll be alright in no time. When he wakes up, well that’s gonna be a whole new issue, especially if he has no clue where he is.”

”Leo.”

Leo jerked his head up to meet Raph’s warm eyes, “Don’t worry. You’ve done a great job, and we’ll all be here when he wakes up, yeah? We’ll all help where we can, ok?”

Leo inhaled, held his breath, and exhaled,

”Absolutely! And of course I did a great job, I’m the great Neon Leon, baby!” He said enthusiastically with his signature smirk, although it was definitely lacking his usual energy.

”As long as you know that. So, what now?”

”Now, ‘Nardo, you are going to rest.” A voice stated without question, and they turned, met with Donnie at the entrance of the medbay, arms crossed and Mikey by his side.

”Someone has to stay and watch over Old me, not to mention none of you have had your check-ups yet and what if he wakes up- he’ll need someone here-“

”Leo.”

Leo froze. Mikey smiled, but it was too wide and forced. Leo gulped, and Donnie smirked. Oh god they were teaming up against him.

”Mikey! My favourite little brother! You know I love you, and have I told you how amazing your art is? And your Orange duck the other week? It was the best!” He rambled, desperate to avoid whatever Mikey was about to do.

Mikey wasn’t very scary, but when he tried, he was terrifying. Especially with Dr Delicate Touch.

“You have done so much already, now you’re gonna come and watch movies with us and rest.” Mikey all but glared and Leo shivered. Uh oh. Then Casey and Raph walked to join the two. Oh he was double fucked.

”Not to mention,” Donnie joined in, “According to what I’ve recorded, you have not slept for approximately 52 hours or so.”

”Wha- no I’ve slept!” He defended weakly.

Raph raised his brow, staring at Leo before he caved. How does he do that?

”For- a nap here and there…”

Raph’s eyes narrowed at that, and before he could protest, he had been lifted up, carried bridal style by his biggest brother, who was mindful of his still-healing injuries, but still holding him protectively.

”Hey, Raph, come on, someone has to stay here-“

”He’ll be alright for a mere few hours Leo. I have the footage of the medbay up and can keep an eye on his wellbeing.” Donnie expertly countered.

”C’mon buddy, we’ll watch some Jupiter Jim, and we can have some food, yeah?”

Oh, not the buddy. These bastards knew all too well what they were doing. Even worse was when Raph began doing what they could only describe as the equivalent of purring for turtles.

Against his better judgement, Leo’s body relaxed, and his eyelids fluttered, a wave of calm washing over him and lulling him into a doze before they even reached the main room.

Raph sat down, Leo still in his lap, Mikey and Donnie laying against him on either side.

Curse his brothers for knowing exactly how to force him to rest.

That was his last thought as he finally fell asleep, resting properly for the first time in the last 2 months, since before the Shredder. He’d been running himself ragged with medic duties and out of a sense of guilt, treating everyone and fixing up the med-bay and so on and so forth.

Thankfully, he had his brothers who would force him to take care of himself as well. They all smiled fondly at him, before turning their attention to the movie playing on the screen. April came and joined in the cuddle pile as well eventually, and they all rested, including the man in the med-bay, getting the first full nights rest in years, with no pain and no nightmares.

Ao3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/46041193/chapters/116056003#workskin

[mutated-green-things]

I do have thoughts on this but I think they all do fall under the 'living part time with a significant other' type beat. Honestly though I think that as the turtles grow older they never exactly... split the family to go off to make a new family? People/mutants/etc just keep getting added to it. And in like. An immediate family way too. Raph, Mikey, and Donnie all begin to consider Usagi to be another brother eventually as one example. April is either older sister or aunt. Casey is similarly the big brother/weird uncle. BUT if the turtles ever did move. In my mind (and turtle boyfriend au) it would be: Leonardo lives part time in Usagi's world. They have a modest home there with decor, a garden, etc. Donatello and Leatherhead do just live in a different part of the underground of NYC. Though in my mind it's usually not a sewer but an abandoned NYC subway tunnel. I even like to imagine their home is just a very renovated/technologically advanced string of old subway cars. They're close enough to the old sewer lair that they visit all the time though. Most commonly for dinner! Raphael lives the farthest away (unless you wanna count the whole alternate dimension thing as farther though in my head it's always been so easy for Leo and Usagi to return to NYC via magic that Raph is the farthest in practice) since he lives on the Triceraton homeworld with Traximus. After the whole Ceraton revolution Traxi becomes a respected high-level politician and honestly Raph spends his time in the lap of alien luxury just kind of vibin. I think there might be arguments here and there about him not visiting home enough. Either from Splinter or Leo or even Mikey but he does still come home pretty frequently. I think there could be some magic involved in that process (Traximus does participate in the Battle Nexus after all, but I think Triceratons aren't as well versed in the mystic arts as say, the people from Usagi's world. So it's more of a Thing to dimension hop for them) And Mikey. Well okay. Part of my headcanons just say that Mikey never really moves out and instead Slash ends up moving into the lair and they just live there with Splinter. But I've also tossed around the idea of Mikey and Slash living much closer to the docks of NYC so they can regularly go free swimming in the Long Island Sound or Lower Bay. Near a nexus of drainage pipes or something. Which would make their situation very similar to Don and LH's. They have their own underground home that's built with help from the rest of the family (especially help from the dynamic science duo that is Leathertello)

Okay this is a middle of the night odd TMNT logic thought:

Where would the Turtles even go if they decided to ever 'Move Out'?

This kinda hit me as an adjacent to if Leo and Usagi got married where would they live, but then really I couldn't help but wonder what the Turtles would do if they wanted to essentially find their own place.

Like would they just move to another part of the sewers in New York? Would they decide to live out in the woods at the Farm House or close to there? For Rise would they move to the Hidden City?

Would they go to a different world like go to Usagis world?

Or is their seperation anxiety on a level where they have a hard time with this and they literally just make a little get away place a couple blocks over, for when they feel things are just a bit much in the moment.

I've read a few different fanfiction that briefly bring this kind of thing up, but it's mostly they all move, or one of them part time lives with a significant other.

If you want to add your own ideas, go right ahead.

Because at least part of my mental work is like 'Rise Boys might move their train car somewhere else, but then come back because they miss everyone' or they kinda fixed part of the old lair, and visit every now and then.

[grapefacegrfa]

I started writing this at 1:24 in the morning and I have finished at 3:12am. A wise choice? No. Do I care? Also no.

.

"Happy Birthday" [I got lazy with the title, but I wrote a lot here. Gimme a break lol]

Scenario: It's your birthday, and the turtles are here to celebrate it with you! (I wrote this mainly because of my birthday coming up on the 23rd lmao)

Pairing: ROTTMNT Leo (Romantic), Mikey (Platonic), Donnie (Platonic), and Raph (Platonic) x GN! Introvert Reader

Warnings: Tooth-rotting fluff :]

Yet another year of existence. You hadn't ever really seen your birthday as super important (not to say you completely disregarded it of course), so you weren't even sure what to do for the occasion. You certainly didn't expect to wake up to a phone call, and it definitely caught you off guard when you heard Mikey's loud voice shortly after you answered said call. "WHERE YOU AT, SON?!" After a few short moments of just trying to get your thoughts together, it hit you; you had plans to meet up with the turtles in the lair this morning. Well, it was more so that they had plans and kinda pulled you into them, but you didn't mind that in the slightest. You quickly got ready and rushed out the door.

After a little while, you arrived at the abandoned, usually dimly lit subway station. Yet instead of just 2 the normal dull lights, there was a small string hanging from the ceiling with a small paper note attached to it that read, "Pull me." You did as the note instructed and upon pulling it, you were met with a loud POP and small bits of confetti falling from the ceiling. Shortly after the loud noise, the turtle brothers walked into the room. At least all of them except for Leo. All three of them told you short happy birthday wishes before Mikey gently grasped onto one of your wrists. Allowing the box turtle to lead you out of the room, he pulled you into the garage where you both were met with two large canvases and many buckets of paint.

The two of you started out with just painting while listening to soft music playing from a boom box on the other side of the room, but it somehow turned into a battle with paint. Well, "somehow" meaning that you accidentally flicked a few small drops of paint onto Mikey's face, which escalated into flicking paint at each other. You both eventually called a truce on your light hearted fight and Mikey stopped you before you could attempt to help him with the mess. "Don't worry about it! I've got this covered. You go on and hang out with Raph in the living room." You glanced at the youngest turtle with a soft grin and gave him a quick side hug before thanking him and leaving the room.

Thankfully you had an apron on, but you still had paint over other parts of your body, including your face. You usually wouldn't care much, but you didn't wanna hang out with Raph looking like a rejected pointilism painting. After quickly washing off your hands and face in the bathroom, you made your way into the living room. Raph was sitting on the ground in front of the projector screen and turned his head towards you, a soft and toothy grin on his face. "Hey, Y/N. Ready to have your ass kicked in Smash Bros?" You chuckled a bit and sat down next to you, picking up one of the controllers. "You're on, Raph."

You ended up beating Raph in Smash Bros. And Mario Kart. And even a couple of rounds on Just Dance. Exhausted, you both settled on playing a game that was more chill and way less competitive: Minecraft. About another hour had passed and Raph saved the game, standing up to shut off and put away the console. "I don't wanna take up much more of your time since you've got two other people to visit with. Though I think Donnie's wanting to chat with ya first because Leo's got something real special for ya apparently." You gave Raph a short hug and walked off to the door of Donnie's lab.

Shortly after knocking on the door frame, Donnie spoke up and told you to come into the room. Walking into the lab, you saw them tinkering with a small gadget. They gestured for you to sit down in the swivel chair next to them, not taking their eyes off of what they were working on. You fidgeted with your hands as you watched them work, handing them the tool they needed when they asked you to hand it to them. A few moments of silence passed before you decided to hesitantly ask Donnie what they were making. Donnie didn't answer right away, but they turned to you before they did. "I've heard you've been having problems with sensory overload quite frequently," Donnie then picked up the small, cube-shaped gadget and handed it to you, "so I made you something that may assist you with said issues."

At first glance, it looked like a regular fidget cube. However, once you pressed one of the tiny switches, the color of the cube turned a royal blue with tiny rainbow dots that slowly blinked on and off, giving the appearance of stars. Or more like Christmas lights. Pressing the numerous buttons and knobs did various things, ranging from changing the color of the tiny "lights" to making quiet, yet satisfying noises. "It's rather simple compared to most things I usually make, but-" You cut them off. "That's not a problem at all, bud. The fact that you took time out of your schedule to make me something so wonderful is more than enough. Thank you." Donnie had smiled at that and reached a hand up to give you a fist bump before gesturing you out of the room. "I believe Leo's done with his "surprise" by now," they stated while doing the finger quote thing that people do. You nodded and walked out of the lab, walking down the hallway to your boyfriend's room.

You were excited to see Leo the most. You obviously enjoyed spending time with the other turtles, but Leo had always made you feel happy in a eay you didn't think you ever could. Even before the two of you started dating, there was something about him that always made your heart flutter. Standing in front of the curtain, you knocked softly on the wooden doorframe. Instead of hearing him tell you to walk in, the curtain opened to reveal your boyfriend standing in front of you with a wide grin on your face. One of his hands gently pulled yours upward. "It's lovely to see you, gorgeous," he muttered before placing a soft peck on the back of your hand. A soft giggle escaped from your lips and you cupped his cheek in your hand, your thumb caressing the red crescent on the side of his face. Leo's usual smirk softened into a dopey grin as he melted into your touch. "Saved the best for last, huh?" "Well, I figured you weren't done with whatever you were doing..." You leaned up to kiss the edge of his beak, "but yeah. I did." After a few short moments of enjoying your touch, Leo gently pulled your hand away. "Wait here for a bit. I gotta go grab something."

Leo dashed out of the room and you sat down on the edge of his bed, looking around the room as you patiently waited for the turtle in blue to return. Glancing over at one of the walls, you saw his katanas leaning against the corner and a piece of paper on the shelf where he kept his comics. Before you could stand up to go over and glance at the paper, your lover had already returned with his arms behind his back. You tilted your head a bit, but he instructed you to close your eyes. You did so and you felt him place something in one of your palms. Once Leo told you to open your eyes, you looked down at your hand to see a small key chain from [insert hyperfixation/special interest/favorite form of media here]. A wide grin graced your face and you looked up at your boyfriend. "How did you know?" "That's easy. You were talking to me a couple of weeks ago about something new you'd been getting into, so I remembered that for future reference." The one time you had told him about it was when you where going off on a ramble and/or just didn't thinking he was listening, yet he remembered a small detail you stated in a conversation between the two of you. You stood up to pull your lover into a soft embrace, leaning your head on his shoulder. "Thank you. Mainly for always putting up with my tangents, but the fact that you remembered something so minor like that is so sweet." Leo pulled away and placed a hand under your chin to turn your face towards his. "I don't just "put up" with your tangents. I love hearing you ramble and I love your voice. I wish you'd quit apologizing for that because I promise you it's nothing you have to apologize or feel bad for." The red eared slider placed a soft kiss on your forehead before interlocking one of his hands with yours. "There's one more thing I've got for you before we go back out there."

Instead of leaving the room, Leo walked over towards his bed and grabbed a small box off of the bottom shelf above his bed. He opened the box, revealing a small metal ring with a tiny blue heart on it. "I swear this isn't what you probably would initially think it is. Especially since we're still pretty young and whatnot. I got that for you as more of a promise I guess? Like a promise that Im always here for ya. I know I'm not really a words guy or the best gift giver, but I also picked up on the fact that you'd been doing research on gemstones and stuff, so I had Donnie help me pick one out and they suggested sodalite because it helps with self-esteem or something and-" You cut him off by wrapping your arms around him yet again and smashing your lips against his. Leo melted into it, gently grasping onto your waist. The kiss was pretty short, but very sweet. "It's perfect, Leo." He looked down at you with a lovesick grin. "Well, you're prefect, Y/N." You both could've and most certainly would've stayed in each other's arms for the rest of the evening if it weren't for the fact that Mikey yelled at the two of you to meet everyone else in the kitchen right at that moment to have cake.

.

This was stuff that I came up with pretty much right on the spot with little to no planning other than self indulgent stuff, which I'm sure is kinda obvious lmao

Anywhizzle, I may end up rewriting this at some time in the future if and when I ever feel like it. Who knows though hngnfksksbskd

[captain-kinda-trash]

okay, so, I’m in LOVE with your work xoxo.

i’ve never requested anything before (so I hope I’m doing this right >_<) but I would love to see a super feminine/girly reader x Raph Drabble or something? anyway ily and your writing! i wish you nothing but best sweetheart! 💗

OHMYGAWD YES. ANYTHING FOR YOU, BEYONCE, I LOVE YOU AND YOUR LITTLE WRITINGS TOO EEE!! You're so sweet!! 🥺❤ Anyways-- Raphie coming right up!! I'm trying extra hard on this one just for you <333 thank you for the request!

Cute (Bayverse! Raph x Hyperfem! Reader)

[prompts ~ Bayverse! Raph] i also have a prompt list if you're interested!!]

Poor Raphael doesn't know what it is about you that he finds so damn attractive.

Well... He does actually. However, why, he couldn't exactly tell you.

When Mikey mentioned his new friend who worked for the pizza delivery services, Raph was expecting some angsty teenager, that spent their time loitering and skateboarding around abandoned buildings, so he hadn't given your name much thought.

But oh, when you walked into the lair, peeking cutely from behind a towering stack of pizza boxes (a "peace offering", you called it, "to make new friends"), Raph's whole world changed. Frilly skirts, dresses, fluffy sweaters, anything someone could consider feminine, you wore.

He thought he liked the idea of someone with a badass demeanor, who wore leather jackets and stompin' boots, had tattoos, and didn't take shit from anybody. But when you greeted him with a dimpled smile and the faint scent of your vanilla lipgloss, Raphael's perspective changed fully.

Suddenly, instead of fighting and kicking ass, the turtle wants to knit you a soft pink cardigan to match that pair of heels you were wearing last week.

Instead of ordering pizza and takeout, Raphael wants to help you bake and cook, and wear one of those frilly, lacy little aprons, just to match you and watch the cutest smile spread across your face.

He's a sucker for when you ask him to pick you up, to sit on his shell while he does at least 20 pushups. It gives him endless amounts of butterflies when you marvel at his strength, seated atop one of his biceps with your legs crossed daintily.

And when Raph has the chance to make you his, you can bet your ass he does.

He obsesses over watching you do your makeup while you sit in his lap, the way your tongue sticks out in concentration up close to the mirror and helping you pick out your clothing for special occasions.

Raph gets excited watching you walk into the lair each day with a new outfit that brings out your eyes and smile.

Self-care days are his absolute favorite, and he'll never admit to his brothers how much he loves when you give him a face mask and scale-friendly skin treatment.

You're just polar opposites that fit together so well. Frilly and girly, small and sweet, next to a mountain of scales and muscle and a kick-ass attitude that tempers off when you kiss his cheek gently. Raph loves showing you off, and feeling flustered when you do the same.

You take care of your Raphie (an affectionate nickname only you can call him), and he takes care of his princess <33

[there you go!! I had WAY too much fun writing this one!! hope it lives up to your writing, and that it was what you were hoping for!!! thanks again for stopping by with a request, it means everything!!! <333]

@raphsgrl

[curlsofsagesmoke]

TMNT (2012) DID DONNIE DIRTY WITH THE HALF-ASSED LEADERSHIP PLOTLINE AND HERE’S WHY

not to turn into a tmnt blog or anything but I've been watching the 2012 version and I have some Thoughts about the weird leadership conflict subplot between Leo and donnie that the writers started going for and then abandoned. admittedly I've only seen up until a few episodes of season 3 so I don’t know if they ever do go back to this, but from what I've seen this plot had amazing potential but it was handled in a truly awful way!

keep in mind also that I really love this show. I watched it as a kid, I think it holds up pretty well even now. it does have its flaws (many, many flaws) and the worst flaw is the writing imo, which can be lazy, ignorant, or just straight up bad at times. 

with that out of the way, buckle up and hold on to your butts cuz here the heck we go!

you cannot talk about leadership in tmnt without starting with the leader, Leo. the writers gave him a really interesting arc at the beginning of season one where he was really eager to become leader (splinter gave him the job because he asked for it, after all) but then he started to realize the burden that came with the title and started to crack a bit under the pressure. the most well-known character conflict in the entire tmnt multiverse is the tension between Raph and Leo, and this iteration of the show is no different. Raph is very obviously upset about Leo becoming leader and he (and donnie, but we’ll get to him in a bit) tries to argue that he should be leader instead. ultimately he fails and this does create tension throughout the rest of seasons one and two.

this tension comes to a head during an episode where Leo, tired of Raph always questioning his decisions and needling him, decides to fuck off for a little bit, leaving Raph in charge (”New Girl In Town”). from a writing standpoint, this episode is important for many reasons, but in terms of this subplot it is a moment of crisis for Leo which he inevitably overcomes by accepting the burden and responsibility of leadership; and for Raph it is a moment of realization where he finally accepts that he wouldn’t be a very good leader and he doesn’t want the burden that Leo carries all the time. after this episode, Raph and Leo do have their arguments, but overall Raph is much more accepting of Leo’s position as leader and only calls him out when Leo starts to go on little power trips.

which brings us to donnie. donnie also argued that he should be leader in the first episode, but it wasn’t treated as seriously as Raph’s argument, and after that there wasn’t much conflict between Leo and donnie (except for the technology vs. tradition thing surrounding metalhead, but I’ll get to that later). donnie and Mikey are presented as generally pretty laid back. when Raph becomes leader in “New Girl In Town”, they exchange a lot of “yikes” looks in the background but are willing to follow his lead and give him the opportunity to actually be leader. of course, this comes to a head when they confront the villain of the episode, snakeweed, in the sewers. they’re getting their asses kicked, Mikey is knocked out, Raph is having a panic attack, and donnie is left to fend for himself against snakeweed.

instead of having that little “I must meet this challenge and overcome it” moment that you’d expect, Raph gives in to the panic and it’s donnie who not only incapacitates snakeweed to give them time to escape, but also snaps Raph out of his panic attack and tells him what to do (namely, get Mikey out of there and retreat to safety). it’s not given any more attention after this so it’s kind of blink-and-you-miss-it, but this is the first instance we see donnie reveal a bit of his potential as leader.

this is in direct contrast to “Mousers Attack!” which came a few episodes before New Girl In Town. that was the episode that introduced the a-team/b-team dynamic, and in that episode we saw that donnie, while attempting to lead him and Mikey, was able to come up with a bunch of plans to infiltrate dogpound’s operations but wasn’t decisive enough to actually commit to anything. thus in New Girl In Town, we’ve already seen very obvious growth in donnie and the way he approaches leadership, but it’s very much pushed to the background, and for good reason. this is simply laying the foundation for the big showdown between Leo and donnie.

the next significant moment of leadership potential we see from donnie comes in the episode the Pulverizer. donnie gets stuck with Timothy in the lair but soon  becomes willing and even eager to teach him the basics of self defense, because, as he tells splinter, he knows Timothy is going to keep putting himself in dangerous situations and he’d rather Timothy be able to protect himself. splinter tells him that anything that happens to Timothy will be donnie’s responsibility, and donnie accepts this and begins training him. at the end of the episode they all make it out okay, Timothy goes on his way, and donnie seems to have become just a bit fond of him.

significantly, this is the first time donnie is given full responsibility over the fate of another person, and we see that even though he doesn’t really like Timothy, he takes this responsibility seriously. here he shows great leadership potential, as well, though again, it’s not really commented on narratively.

the next significant moment is, as you might’ve guessed, The Pulverizer Returns. in this episode we find out Timothy has joined the foot and is willing to pass information on to the turtles. Leo and Raph jump at the opportunity, Mikey is ambivalent as usual, and donnie is the only one who shows any concern. this is most likely because the last time he saw Timothy, splinter told him Timothy was his responsibility completely, and he obviously takes that seriously still. the entire episode, he tries to get Timothy to leave the foot and his brothers to take this seriously, but his worries are brushed off until they find out the shredder is about to mutate Timothy as an experiment.

so they race off to save him, and donnie ends up in a warehouse without his brothers to help, weaponless (because of some bullshit lesson splinter is trying to teach them, and as a side note, this was the first episode where I started to seriously dislike splinter as a character, because the way he was written here is just awful). the villains of this episode are dogpound and fishface. if you’ll remember, these are two serious villains, and up until this point they’d only ever been subdued, never defeated, and even then the turtles had to double team them in order to win. so it was of course surprising and incredible to see that donnie, armed with literally just a broom, was able to hold off a squad of foot ninjas, dogpound, AND fishface by himself for a good while, all while keeping Timothy away from the mutagen.

then Timothy IS mutated and a bomb is activated, and in just two minutes donnie comes up with a plan and executes it, getting them all out safely. when he starts barking orders at his brothers, they don’t even stop to question him. they listen immediately and that’s part of the reason why the plan succeeds. so what does this tell us? it tells us that donnie has a very strong sense of responsibility, protectiveness, and determination; that he is extremely capable when he’s focused and is good at thinking under pressure; and that his brothers trust him enough to follow his orders when he does give them. these are all incredible qualities for a leader to have!

notably the episode after this is Operation Break Out, where donnie goes off on his own to rescue April’s dad from The Kraang and they only make it out because his brothers followed him and intervened. clearly, then, donnie’s not really ready to be a leader and still lets his emotions cloud his judgement, which is a narratively sound writing decision. the big donnie-as-leader showdown doesn’t come until the end of season two, anyway.

and then season two. the tensions between Leo and donnie aren’t as obvious as the tensions between Leo and Raph, but they’re there, even if no one explicitly challenges Leo’s position as leader any more. here’s a quick rundown of the two significant episodes:

“Follow the Leader”--> Leo wants to stick to the old, traditional ways, but his brothers insist on unorthodox methods of fighting. Leo eventually comes to accept this to a certain degree when he admits it’s a good strategy to use against the footbots.

“Metalhead Rewired”--> donnie upgrades metalhead’s AI and Leo is suspicious of it. on the trail of The Kraang, Leo blames donnie for a few of metalhead’s mishaps, but apologizes when they realize that metalhead was leading them to a Kraang mutant prison. metalhead sacrifices itself to save them. Leo is sympathetic here because donnie is really upset, but it’s clear that these two are still fighting over the tech vs. tradition thing

and then we get to The Invasion, the season two finale. the synopsis makes it clear that this is where all of these moments that I've been discussing come to a head: “Leo and Donnie disagree about their plan to stop The Kraang invasion. When Leo makes a critical mistake, he is separated from the team and Donnie must step up as leader.” So we’re off to a good start as far as concluding this character arc goes. I was excited to finally see donnie live up to his leadership potential (and I thought this could be a good way to give Leo some closure regarding his issues with holding the world on his shoulders/blaming himself for every mistake/basing his self worth on his position as leader).

but I was sorely disappointed! in the episodes, donnie’s and Leo’s tech vs. tradition conflict comes to a head when Leo wants to flee the city (this seems very out of character for him) but donnie wants to stay and fight in his new combat robot, the turtle mech. this disagreement lasts until they are attacked in the tunnels and donnie is injured; Leo draws the Kraang robots away (I assumed this was his critical mistake: separating himself) to give the others time to escape. they go to April’s apartment to hide and regroup while Leo is hunted down and almost killed by the shredder. Raph and Casey rejoin the others, then shredder throws Leo through the window of the apartment, and they escape but barely. donnie then makes the decision to fight Kraang prime in the turtle mech (which is, I assume, his big leader moment, though of course it doesn’t even happen on screen). they fight Kraang prime and almost die, but Casey arrives in the van, saves them, and drives them out of the city. donnie apologizes to Leo’s unconscious body and says that Leo was right, and then the episode ends.

so. let me first say that this was quite possibly the worst way to end this really interesting and nuanced character arc that the writers had set donnie and Leo on. first of all, we barely got to see donnie act in any kind of leadership role. in Leo’s absence, they made most of their decisions as a team, where I had expected at least some sort of “I need to overcome my fears and anxieties and lead my family to safety” moment from donnie. secondly, Leo wasn’t entirely correct. yes, they ended up evacuating the city anyway like Leo wanted, but he was wrong about the turtle mech; it ended up destroying Kraang prime’s robot body thing. and donnie wasn’t entirely correct, either: the turtle mech was a great weapon that did some significant damage, but it wasn’t enough to stop the invasion. so we have these two characters who were both wrong in their own ways, both face the consequences, but no one ever discusses it.

so not only did we not see any significant character development from Leo; and not only did donnie not really get to act in any significant leadership role; but also worst of all, these two characters never got any closure! I'm a good handful of episodes into season three, and not one single character has even mentioned the tension between Leo and donnie during the invasion. everyone acts as if it never happened, so now as a viewer I'm stuck here waiting for the other shoe to drop or for one of these characters to finally snap, but I don’t think it’s going to happen, which sucks. in other iterations of tmnt (like the 2007 movie or the show from 2003) we get to see Donatello act almost like Leo’s second in command. I think that’s a really, really interesting direction the writers of the 2012 show could’ve gone in and I think it’s a waste of this subplot’s potential to just abandon it the way they did. I'm not sure what’s going to happen in season three, but I think a good conclusion of this arc would’ve been donnie and Leo confronting the argument they had, doing a little more maturing, and eventually donnie becomes Leo’s second in command. instead I'm really worried about how the writing of this show is going to devolve as I get further into the later seasons.

(as a side note: I'm currently working on a series of tmnt fics that addresses this issue, as well as the sometimes shitty ways the brothers treat each other and the stupid-as-fuck donnie/april/casey love triangle. so if that floats your boat, keep an eye out! I'll be reposting this with the link attached once I upload the first fic, so give my blog a follow or keep an eye on my ao3 account, heyassbuttimbatman)

[savannahsdrabbles]

The Dinner Party (Encounters-verse)

rating: G summary: Splinter invites April over to the lair for dinner, and April learns that there are secrets yet to be revealed.

notes: This was a lot of fun to right, if not just because I got to talk about sleepy turts. <3 4k words, Ao3 link here

April pressed the buttons on the side of her watch and squinted as a soft blue light illuminated the small screen: 2:27 A.M. When Splinter said no one would know that she was gone, he wasn’t kidding. Her street seemed to be asleep, despite the fact that she could still hear sirens and cars moving in the distance. New York City was never totally silent, but at this hour it was the quietest it was ever going to get. Her mom’s heavy snoring from the other room was the loudest noise around, and didn’t show any signs of stopping even as April had pushed open her bedroom window and crawled out onto the fire escape.

She’d snuck back into her school clothes once her mom had gone to bed, tucking her pajamas and a few stuffed animals under the covers to give the illusion that someone was still beneath them. April didn’t think her mom would even come to check, but doing so still made her giggle – this all felt like a dramatic scene from a movie. The young protagonist, sneaking out of her house and meeting a stranger in the night to go to a party – April was sure she’d seen at least three Disney Channel movies with a similar storyline.

The girl’s stomach growled slightly, serving as a reminder that she hadn’t eaten much for dinner. She briefly considered pulling a granola bar from the box in her backpack, but then decided against it. They were supposed to be eating at the lair tonight, and it would seem rude for her to show up full and having eaten part of her gift for them. Still, considering the fact that the family had been dumpster diving for food only weeks ago, April couldn’t help but wonder what their meal could even consist of. It was very possible that the food would be a hodgepodge of things pulled from dumpsters or stolen from open window sills.

Perhaps it would be a good idea to eat a little bit of something beforehand -

“Are you ready?”

April bit back a shriek at the sudden voice hovering over her head and stumbled back across the metal grating, her fist swinging wildly in the direction of the source. Before it could land, however, a slightly larger and softer hand caught the fist and gently held on to keep her from tripping over her own feet.

“Splinter, oh my gosh,” April caught her balance and then pulled her fist back to place the palm over her pounding heart. “You nearly gave me a heart attack. I didn’t even hear you climbing up the ladder – you’re like a ninja or something!”

Splinter’s whiskers twitched in amusement. He was perched on the edge of the fire escape, squatting in such a way that he looked like he were about to leap frog onto the platform where April was sitting. A dark brown robe was tied around his body, and a hoodie was pulled over that to further cover his rodent features. “Or something like that,” he mused. “But I am sorry to have scared you. Are you ready?”

April nodded, shouldering her backpack. “Yup! So how do we get there?”

The rat leapt nimbly from the bars, landing silently on his claws and then pulling himself to his feet. “I know that we spoke about this last night, but I wanted to give you one more warning before we go. Our home is intentionally a bit difficult for the average person to find, but that is for the safety of myself and my sons. It is of the utmost importance to me that you do not reveal its location, even to your mother. I am trusting you with a secret that, if shared, could spell danger for my family. You do understand this, right?”

April bobbed her head hard in affirmation, then gasped as her glasses slid down her nose and nearly tumbled to the ground below. “Yes sir!”

“Heh, alright then.” Splinter’s serious expression changed to a paternal smile. “Let us hurry now– I left the oven on.”

***

Splinter was not exaggerating about their home being difficult to find. After leaping from the fire escape with April hanging onto his neck, the rat had ricocheted off of the surrounding brick walls until he landed safely on the ground below. There he had led her to a nearby manhole cover, which he removed with ease and then pointed out the metal bars connected to the sides of the cement tube. The two then descended together into the depths, April grimacing slightly at the smell and general dampness in the air until they reached a bigger tunnel below. The air felt at least slightly drier there, even if the smell persisted. Once they had dropped onto the underground sidewalk, Splinter began to follow a seemingly nonsensical path through the sewers – two rights, a left, straight for several minutes, three lefts, a right – April tried to memorize the course, but eventually gave up and instead focused on not stepping in anything weird.

Eventually the sewer area ended, and the two emerged onto what appeared to be cement platforms that ran alongside old railroad tracks.

“From what I understand, these tunnels were originally going to be part of the New York subway system,” Splinter explained as he jumped down onto the tracks and then held a hand up for April to take. She took it gratefully and jumped, the CLANG from her feet landing on the metal sending echoes through the tunnels. “However, after several tunnel collapses and general flooding issues, these tracks were abandoned and left vacant. So for now, the boys and I have decided to make use of what was left behind. Someday soon we will likely out grow our home and be forced to relocate to an area that better suits our needs, but until then,”

Splinter gestured down the line, and April gasped. A lone subway train car was positioned a short distance down the tracks, definitely older and more rusted than any of the cars April had seen actively moving in the subway station. The car also appeared slightly smaller – more like a sleeper car than one of the long, steel tubes that normally carried dozens of human passengers across the city. Several tubes and wires were suspended from the ceiling above the car and hummed softly – April guessed that this was how they had access to water and electricity. “Oh wow – you guys live in there?”

Before Splinter could reply, a door on the side of the car slammed open and a shriek of delight rang through the tunnel. “They’re here!”

Within seconds, a small green and orange form crashed headlong into April, bowling her over and knocking the breath from her lungs. She stumbled backwards, gasping, and eventually fell flat on her butt on the tracks.

“Michelangelo, calm yourself!” Splinter warned, but there was a smile in his voice as the small turtle wormed his way into April’s lap and wrapped his short arms around her waist.

Once April could breathe regularly again, she looked down into her arms and locked caramel colored eyes with the chocolate brown ones of Michelangelo. The hoodie-clad box turtle rested his chin on her chest and gave her a gap-toothed grin, showing no signs of the fear that had been so prominent on their first meeting. His sleeveless hoodie also seemed to have been thoroughly cleaned since then, since the turtle smelled more like a normal, sweaty little boy rather than the filthy garbage he had been hiding in. “I’m so excited you’re here – Dad told us you were coming over and so we’ve been getting the lair ready for you all day! And he said that since it’s a special occasion, we get spaghetti AND meatballs – that’s one of my favorite foods beside pizza!”

April opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off as three other turtles of varying shapes and sizes tumbled out of the train car. “Mikey, you were supposed to wait inside until Dad brought her in!”

Michelangelo shifted into a sitting position, still perched atop April’s stomach, and stuck his tongue out at his brothers. “Well, they’re hear now, and it’s polite to greet guests - right Dad?”

Splinter’s ears flicked as he pushed down the hood that had been covering his head. “I suppose so. But it’s also equally as polite to not crush your guests.”

“Oh, sorry – ” the turtle quickly rolled off of his newfound friend and allowed her to stand, but didn’t show any signs of joining his brothers. “I’m just super happy to see you!”

“I’m happy to see you, too, Mikey!” April grinned. “How’s the foot doing?”

“Better now! I got really sick from it before, and Dad had to take out the stitches to fix it,” Mikey stuck the specified foot into the air, allowing April to see the row of bandages looped around it. His beak wrinkled up as he remembered the incident. “It really hurt, but I didn’t even cry, hardly. But now it’s healing up, and I just have to walk like this for a while – ” He took a few steps away from April, balancing on the heel of his injured foot with each step to avoid putting pressure on the wound. The process looked painful, but Mikey ended the walk cycle with a proud grin. “Plus Raph has been giving me piggy back rides, which has been cool.”

April looked towards the other turtles, suddenly remembering that they had an audience. She smiled warmly at the largest one, who she was fairly certain was Raph. The snapping turtle shuffled his feet under her gaze and blushed shyly. A red football jersey fit snuggly over his shell, but April could already see where several spines were protruding through the fabric. He was about the same height as she was, a fact that would have made her nervous had she not seen how he behaved before. Despite his gruff looking exterior, April still remembered the way he had cradled Mikey after Splinter pulled them out of the dumpster, and the small flowers he had drawn on their correspondences. “That’s nice of him.”

“I don’t mind.” Raph rubbed one arm and smiled. “I don’t want him to hurt his foot any more.”

The other two turtles were slightly more reserved in their greetings, hovering close to their father as they observed April. She didn’t blame them – she and Mikey had formed a bit of a closer bond through their initial meeting and eventual note passing. The other three she only really knew by name and what Splinter and Mikey had included in their messages.

“Why don’t we head inside now,” Splinter motioned with his tail towards the car. “It’s brighter in there, and April still has school tomorrow, so we shouldn’t keep her too long.”

“You go to school?” one of the boys piped up, his eyes suddenly sparking with interest. A more middle-sized turtle with a purple hoodie tied around his waist peered out from behind his brothers. He wore what appeared to be a large army style backpack over his shell, and a pair of thick black glasses was perched on his snout, making April briefly wondered how Splinter had managed to get his claws on prescription lenses. “What grade are you in?”

“I’m in sixth grade,” April smiled as the group shuffled down the remaining line and into the train car. Splinter ducked in first, muttering to himself that ‘the meatballs had better be done by now’. Mikey clung to her hand, skipping beside April and pulling her up the metal steps. “But I’m only eleven. My birthday falls late in the year, so I’m one of the younger kids in my grade – most of my classmates are twelve.”

The turtle – Donatello, she decided – listened with interest, his head bobbing as she spoke. “Cool. We’re all eight and are homeschooled, so that would make us…” he squinted thoughtfully. “Third grade, I think? Right Dad?”

“Something like that,” Splinter nodded absently as he hurried around the stove and adjusted the burner. “School was a bit different for me when I was your age, and the levels can vary from country to country.”

“Dad’s from Japan.” The turtle in the sleeveless blue tank top piped up, speaking his first words since April had arrived. She turned to face him, and was surprised to see the twin streaks of red running down either side of his face. They looked almost like crescent moons, running vertically from the tip of his head to right above his chin and passing over both eyes. Similar shaped yellow stripes ran up and down his arms and legs, marking him as a red eared slider – a term April had discovered during the frantic turtle research she had been doing over the past few weeks. She hadn’t had a chance to see his markings in the dark that first night, but now in the light of the car April could see that most of the turtles bore unique markings. Donatello’s shoulders boasted purple rectangles below his backpack straps, and bright yellow circles crept up and down Mikey’s legs. A few smaller dots were smattered across the bridge of his nose, almost as if flicked from an artist’s paintbrush. Several stickers had also been slapped to Mikey’s plastron, further diversifying his color scheme. They were all quite a sight to behold, really – a brilliant splash of color and life amongst the darkness of the sewers.

Mikey suddenly tugged at her arm, pulling her out of her thoughts. “C’mon – let me show you around.”

Now that she was looking at her surroundings, April couldn’t help but gape. The inside of the train car was nothing like the cold, intimidating exterior. The whole thing primarily consisted of one long room, with a curtain hung along the back right wall. The front of the car had been completely remade, and was now outfitted with the stove that Splinter was cooking on, a small sink, and a tiny cabinet from which he pulled a variety of mismatched silverware. Behind the rat was a small card table, currently covered with a variety of knickknacks, VHS tapes, stacks of used notepads, and books that April assumed had been collected over the years. Her eyes glanced across the spines – science and engineering textbooks, a few nature magazines, and then several books labeled with symbols that she could only assume were Japanese. She recognized a few of the VHS covers as being Lou Jitsu movies, and the rest were a collection of old cartoons she vaguely remembered having heard of. A large wooden tub sat underneath the table, which Raphael pointed out and clarified that it was for baths.

The four turtles elbowed past each other as they continued towards the back of the car, where twinkling lights had been strung along the ceiling and posters bearing characters from various action movies were plastered over the windows. Donatello explained that this area had originally been the conductors’ sleeping quarters, and two bunk beds had been built into the walls for layovers or when conductors took shifts driving through the night. Nowadays, this served as the boys’ bedroom. Leonardo seemed to be warming up to April as they guided her around, and he whipped open the curtain proudly to reveal the bottom bunk.

A large amount of the twinkling lights were gathered here, woven through the bars beneath the top bunk so as to dangle above their heads like stars in the night sky. The whole bunk was outfitted with a handful of t-shirt pillows and several small blankets with frayed edges. A large quilt lay on top of these, stretching from one end of the bunk to the other in a brilliant gradient of red, blue, purple and orange fabric. April noted a few holes poked through the red portion of the blanket – a clear sign that that was wear Raphael often slept.

The top bunk was much less decorated – two pillows and a thin blanket folded neatly at the foot of the bed. This was clearly Splinter’s domain, but Leo loudly announced that he had thrown up on the bed during their bout with the flu the week before.

“I had to clean it up,” Raph grumbled. “Since everyone else was sick.”

Mikey patted his arm solemnly. “You’re our hero, bro.”

On the opposite side of the bunks sat a small, portable television – April remembered having seen a similar one in her grandparent’s house back in Northampton. She had vague memories of watching cartoons in her grandpa’s workshop while he worked on cars, and having to lean in close in order to hear the sound that could never seem to get loud enough. In this small area, though, April could imagine snuggling into one of the bunk beds and allowing the speakers to echo through the car.

The last area of the car, immediately to the left of the door, featured a small table that folded out of the wall. A few books had been stacked here – easy readers and a handful of well worn comic books that April guessed were part of their homeschool curriculum. A row of spiral notebooks bearing each boy’s name sat in the window sill, and Donatello pointed his out proudly.

“I’ve got a list of inventions in there- stuff I’m going to make one day when I’m a world famous scientist!”

April grinned. “Cool! I’ve never been great at science myself – I’m more of a math person.”

“Ooh – I like math, too!” the turtle flapped his hands in front of him excitedly, causing Leonardo to giggle. “I can show you what I’m working on, if you want!”

“You can show April your work later, Purple,” Splinter suddenly announced as he sat a stack of plates and silverware on the school table. “For now, let’s go ahead and eat.”

He didn’t need to speak twice – the boys’ calm demeanor quickly dissolved into pushing and shoving as they all grabbed for plates and scooped out heaping portions of spaghetti and meatballs. April was a bit startled at the sudden commotion, but Splinter saw her expression and rolled his eyes tiredly as if to say ‘this happens everyday’.

Once everyone had settled down, forks in their hands and steaming plates before them, Splinter raised his cup. “I want to take this time again to honor Ms. April O’Neil, and the kindness that she has shown our family. From helping Michelangelo in his time of need, to helping us with groceries, she has proven herself to be our hogosha. April, thank you again.”

“To the hogosha!” the boys chorused as they lifted their cups.

April shrunk down in her seat a little, ears burning as she blushed. Thankfully they didn’t seem to need her to say anything in response, as the whole family immediately lowered their cups and dove hungrily into their meals.

***

“Ugh,” April placed a hand over her stomach and sat back in her seat. “That was so good.”

“Yeah,” Mikey nodded in agreement, having already flopped his head into her lap. The other boys sat in various stages of food comas, Donatello’s eyes drooping occasionally and Leo leaning heavily against the wall. Only Raphael seemed to fully awake as he happily bit into another forkful of pasta. Having enough food was clearly a rarity in this household, and being totally satisfied was even rarer. “My tummy is happy.”

April grinned down at the turtle in her lap and patted his shell. He made a purring sound in response and scooched closer, silently urging her to continue. As she did so, the girl looked up at where Splinter was quietly washing dishes. “I can help out with that, if you’d like.”

Splinter’s flicked in her direction, but he continued his job calmly. “That is alright – I’m almost finished, and then we need to get you home.”

April glanced at her watch. Sure enough, it was almost four a.m. She wondered briefly if she could convince her mom that she was sick in order to skip school, since she could already tell that she would not be getting any work done.

“Speaking of home, Leo mentioned that you were originally from Japan? That’s so cool – I’ve never been out of the country before.”

The rat nodded, though April could almost feel a silent guard go up as he spoke. “Yes, I was born and raised in Japan, but I came to America when I was still young. It was a good life, but…” he turned and looked over his boys. “My life wasn’t complete until I adopted these four.”

The girl considered his words for a moment, pondering if her next question would be rude to ask before she finally blurted it out. “How did you get to America? I mean, I’d imagine it’s hard to fly or something when you have to be in disguise the whole time.”

Splinter paused, and April immediately bit her tongue. That was clearly a sore topic. “I’m sorry- you don’t have to talk about that if you don’t want to.”

“No, it is alright,” the creature gave a light shrug of his shoulders, and then turned back to the dishes in his hands. “Life was not always like this for me. Let us just leave it like that.”

April yearned to dig deeper and ask more questions, but she swallowed them down and nodded. Whether he noticed it or not, she could see the way that his shoulders had tensed beneath his robe at her words, and how his ears had flattened slightly. Whatever had happened to him in the past, Splinter was clearly not ready to speak openly about it – or at least, not to her.

Her thoughts were cut short when sleep apparently overtook Leonardo, and the boy’s head dropped to the table with a small ‘thwack’. Mikey and Raph immediately burst into quiet laughter, only barely managing to muffle the noise behind their hands. Donnie watched the incident through half-hooded eyes, a look of confusion on his face as if he couldn’t tell what had just happened, and then slowly nudged Leo’s plate out of the way before his brother could end up covered in marinara.

“I think someone’s ready for bed,” April laughed, but she couldn’t blame him. Her own eyes were drooping heavily, and she was already dreading the long walk back to her apartment.

“I’ve got him,” Raph finally said as he got over his giggle fit and hopped out of his chair. April watched the turtle gently lift his brother from the table and carry him towards the open end of the sink, where he coaxed the half-conscious turtle into brushing his teeth. Even though she knew that all of the turtles were the same age, it was hard not to see Raphael as the big brother of the bunch – a role he clearly took with pride. The thought almost made her feel jealous – she’d always thought that it would be nice to have a younger sibling.

As if reading her mind, Mikey yawned pitifully from her lap and stretched his arms into the air. “M’legs are tired – carry me?”

April smiled down at the sleepy bundle and grinned. “Where to?”

“Gotta brush my teeth.”

“Alright, then,” the girl opened her arms and allowed Mikey to cling to her side like a baby koala bear. Donnie followed close behind, his steps heavy as he reached out to grab Mikey’s ankle for guidance. Together the trio shuffled towards the sink and traded places with Raph and Leo. The younger two both pulled their toothbrushes out of a cabinet and set to work as Splinter dried off the last dish and set it to the side. He nodded gratefully at April, and then cleared his throat. 

“I should probably take April home now, boys,” The air filled with a chorus of sleepy moans. “So everyone say your goodbyes, and off to bed.”

“Can we read a story tonight?” Raph asked hopefully as he pulled his jersey over his head and climbed into bed. Leo was already snoring quietly at his side, but shifted obediently when Raph nudged him.

“If there is anyone still awake when I return home, yes.”  

Donnie let out a small, exhausted ‘woo’ as he spit into the sink and then wiped his mouth on his arm. “G’night, April. See you next time.”

“Yeah, goodnight!”

“Goodnight!”

“zzzzz… ood ni….zzzz.”

After giving each of the boys that asked a last hug, April shouldered her backpack and followed Splinter out the door- but not forgetting to leave the box of granola bars on the table. Her eyes drooped heavily as she walked, but her heart soared with warmth as she reminisced on the evening. Granted it had only been an hour and a half, but she couldn’t help but feel the sensation that this was a landmark occasion in her life. Each of the boys had won her heart in a different way, and she was already excited to come back during the daytime in order to hang out and ask more questions. Like where did they go the bathroom? Why did Donnie wear that big backpack the whole time she was there? Was he really going to me a ton of inventions like he said? And what about the future lair that Splinter had mentioned?

April smiled to herself as Splinter began to hum a walking song under his breath. She still had questions about the rat as well. There were somethings that he wasn’t telling her, and that he didn’t seem to want the boys to know either. But what?

When they finally reached the ladder that led to the surface, Splinter allowed April to wrap her arms around his neck as he carried her up and out of the sewer, then up to the fire escape before she even realized what was happening. The rat waited patiently as she climbed back through her window, bidding her farewell with a promise that she could come over again whenever she wanted, and then he vanished.

And as April climbed into bed, not even bothering to put her pjs back on, she rested in that promise – that she would see the boys again, and learn more about their world.

[tmntxreader-fics]

TMNT React to Military S/O Coming Home

@mallory-lawson23 asked: Could you write a turtles x reader imagine where the reader is in the military and they’ve just come home from being deployed for almost 2 years?

The previous part to this can be found here 

Gender Neutral/Race Neutral Reader

Warnings: Cursing, mention of military and contents of war, angst if you squint? (probably a shit load of typos) also super long so it’s under the cut.

LEONARDO: 

The leader in blue has developed a system. 

He would like to say it works; that for the past eighteen months his coping method has been effective in blocking out negative thoughts that all revolve around you. However, if he were to say that, he would be outright lying. 

Leonardo conjured the solution of simply sitting down and meditating whenever his mind wandered over your safety. No matter where he is, the second his thinking starts to divert to darker thoughts- he sits. It doesn’t help. He can still imagine your screams of pain, the rain of gunfire; he even hears his name lingering on your lips, said with your dying breath. 

This time though, as he sits in the middle of the dojo, he doesn’t imagine your screams. He hears you whisper his name. It sounds so inexplicably real that he can’t help but frown when he hears his name called again. You don’t sound distressed but you sound closer than his imagination could ever allow.  

Then he feels it, a gentle touch on his shoulder that makes his eyes fly open and rest on you. 

There are no words to explain the sensations that Leo is feeling as he takes in your watery gaze. The smile you flash is wobbly at best but the laugh you attempt is an outright sob. He is frozen for a long moment, trying to discern whether he has truly lost his mind; but when your hand rests on either side of his face he grips you with wide eyes. Immediately, he embraces you, cerulean gaze set over your shoulder; afraid that if he so much as blinks the illusion will dissipate and he will be left alone once more with empty arms. “You’re back,” his voice is a broken whisper, vulnerable and small.

“I’m back,” you whimper, burying your face into the crook of his neck and allowing your tears to kiss his skin. 

Your smell, your touch, your voice, your presence, you are overwhelming his senses and he swears that he will never again allow you to leave his side. “You’re back,” he repeats, voice choked as his fingers tighten against your body. 

“I’m back.” 

RAPHAEL: 

He promised himself that he wouldn’t cry when you returned. 

He vowed that he would stand strong and simply express his love for you later on in private like a 'real man' would. As the date began to near he had even started to lecture himself, staring down his reflection in the mirror and muttering, 'a real man wouldn't fucken cry. So you ain't gonna do that shit, okay?'

He'd respond to his own scolding with a nod; then, like clock-work, approximately thirty seconds later he'd cringe at his own stupidity.

Now, Raph is keenly aware of the fact that these pep talks were not actually preparing him for your appearance. Deep down, he knows that he would melt the instant you were in his line of sight. All the embarrassing mirror-side lectures, they were really supposed to motivate him to keep himself together until the arrival.

You haven't responded in days. Not to any of his texts, calls, letters or emails- nothing. Absolute radio silence, the only kind of quiet that could drive him to give himself a pep-talk in the mirror every morning just so he doesn't break.

You had arrived into New York airspace a day ahead of schedule. Rather than return to your apartment to rest after the flight, you had decided that Raphael was your number one priority the second the wheels hit the runway. 

Upon entering the lair, you’re surprised when the first turtle you see happens to be the resident muscle. You had been expecting Mikey, almost already visualizing the laid back turtle draped along the sofa, comically imitating a pampered Greek god. 

Instead, you observe your boyfriend with a soft snort of amusement. Raphael is racing along the space of the living room, frantically picking up various miscellaneous items that had been strewn along the floor throughout the day. 

“Gotta be clean, gotta be clean, gotta be clean,” was the mantra that you could barely hear being muttered beneath the frazzled terrapins breath. At this, you couldn’t help but let out a loud chuckle. Distracted, he doesn’t turn to face you; instead, he simply replies with a stressed cry, “just shut up and help me!” 

With an amused quirk of your lips, you drag your bags to the bottom of the steps and drop them loudly. Finally, his head snaps upwards and his gaze meets your own. 

He had promised himself that he wouldn’t cry when you returned.

He had vowed that he would stand strong and simply express his love for you later on in private like a 'real man' would. 

This was his oath. But in that moment, as he abandons his janitorial mission and scrambles across the space between you both, he very quickly remembers that he’s never been one for societal expectations and he sure as hell was not going to start now. 

And so, as his arms wrapped around you in an embrace he could only dream of for months, he sobbed. 

DONATELLO: 

He couldn’t sleep.

He’d throw himself into his work as a result of this but it didn’t distract him; if anything it ailed him further.  

He couldn’t focus.

HIs mind would drift during an attempt to solve a simple equation.

He couldn’t trust his hands to remain steady when performing a mechanical surgery on his experiments.

He became an empty husk of who he used to be.

You were late. 

You had been scheduled to arrive two weeks ago, you had kept him updated on your entire schedule; even making sure to give regular confirmation. He had been excited. A few days before your supposed arrival you had given him nothing but radio silence. And the day after. And again. Fourteen days later he still scrambles for his communicator the second he wakes up from a fitful hour long nap. 

Now, after exhausting every possible method of reaching you and failed attempts of contacting the army for information; he was terrified. Then that foreboding feeling of helplessness made itself known throughout the days to keep him company. There was nothing he could do, no further action he could take in order to bring you home or give him peace of mind. It was as if he was leaving your fate up to a coin toss; no predictability or reliability, just luck. 

He had even begun to pray. He prayed to whoever was listening, any deity that would take a chance on this hidden mutant and give him a reprieve- give him you. 

Almost a month later, as you walked into the lair, the brothers had looked at you as if they were seeing a ghost rather than a person. When they led you to Donatello, you were stunned. The lab was spotless. Everything organized into his preferred categorical ordering and there wasn’t a stray instrument left upon the benches. 

While any other person would have thought this was a positive thing, you knew otherwise. Donatello lived in organized chaos; he didn’t have the time or patience to clean when he knew where everything was anyway. You see his figure hunched in the corner, re-stocking a cabinet and you grimace at his slow movements. As if he were stalling. 

“Donnie?” Your voice was soft but it carried across the room. He froze and with stiff shoulders, he remained quiet. You said his name again, gently putting down your bags and approaching him. At the second call it’s as if he had come to his senses. He shot up from the floor, standing to his full height before whirling around to face you. Whispering your name, he barely took a second to look you over before he raced forward to greet you, scooping you into a bear hug. 

You groaned, your elation stalled by the pressure placed on your wounds. As if he had been burned, Donatello drops you instantly. Finally taking a moment to appraise you, eyes narrowing when he’s met with healing wounds spanning all over your body. 

“I.E.D.” You muttered with a sad smile. You wanted to tell him what had happened but the words lodged themselves firmly in your throat. You had been on your way back to base with your unit when an I.E.D went off by the rear-right end of your truck. After two years of kinship and seeming invulnerability, it took less than a second for tight-knit unit of 5 to be reduced to 2. You and the other survivor had been hospitalized for almost a month. 

Donatello’s gaze softened, recognizing your fragile state and slowly he pulled you back into a gentle embrace, careful to avoid your wounds. With his fingers stroking your head in an attempt to comfort, he looked up towards the laboratory ceiling. Despite the morbid circumstances, the wry smile that made it’s way to his mouth was inevitable. At least one of the 330.5 million religious deities had listened to his prayer.  He couldn’t help but snort. 

MICHELANGELO: 

He had marked this day on his calendar. 

Of course, he hadn’t actually had a calendar beforehand so he spent about a week creating one that he knew he would only use to track one date. 

Lo and behold, that day had come. 

To Mikey, it had felt like a lifetime of riding an emotional rollercoaster. When you had first left he could only describe the way he felt like an emptiness; the fact that you weren’t around meant that he didn’t have to hold the facade. Of course, he was supportive of you; anything that you had ever wanted to do he would do nothing but support you if that was what your heart desired. 

But, this time... 

The second you left the lair for the final time, he was shattered. Mikey wished he had dissuaded you from leaving, he wished he had just disagreed with you and tried to get you to stay.

The first few months had been hell. Since it was so early in your deployment you and your regiment were focused on settling in and adjusting to the rigorous training. There was hardly time for you to contact Mikey and sometimes you would go weeks without contact. 

Eventually, it settled and you both would have a steady line of communication throughout the fortnight. Despite this, your absence put a dampener on his mood. It wasn’t that you were just gone on vacation or had moved away, it was that you were placed directly in the line of fire.

 Sometimes he wondered if this is how you had felt whenever he went out on patrol and forgot to check in. He made a mental note, (that he would undoubtedly forget within 5 minutes), to keep you updated constantly during his missions and patrol shifts. 

As the day began to reach its peak, he could barely contain his excitement. He was bouncing off the walls, down the halls and through the rooms. None of his brothers would dare reprimand him, not today. They knew the feeling of waiting for their loved one to return home and none of them, not even Raph, would take away from the buzzing excitement his brother was experiencing. 

The second you walk through the lair, you’re barely given a second to say anything before you’re basically tackled. 

“Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God,” Mikey mutters, holding you against him in a suffocative bear hug. You’d have hugged him back if your arms weren’t pinned to your side tightly. 

“Mikey,” you squeak. 

“No, no, no; You’re never going again. Like, never. I know I’m supposed to be supportive- which, I am! I totally am, baby, I just can’t do that again. I will literally come with you if you have to go back, I don’t give a fu-” Mikey barely takes a breath before you cut him off with a kiss. 

“I’m not leaving,” you murmur as he turns his head to gasp for air, reminding himself to breathe between sentences next time. 

When he turns to face you, you can’t help but reciprocate the goofy grin that’s etched all over his features. 

“So, not to break the mood but can you put me down? You’re kinda suffocating me here,” you try to shrug but find that you can’t move your shoulders either. He loosens his grip enough for you to comfortably breathe but he doesn’t let you down, the grin on his face widening with mischief. 

“Well,” he starts, flicking his eyes across the room casually. “Guess you’re gonna have to just suffocate ‘cos trust me when I say that you ain’t going nowhere for a loooong while.” 

With a flirty wink, he whisks you further into the lair- suspiciously carrying you in the direction of his bedroom... 

[thecomicsnexus]

TMNT #1-4 DECEMBER 2001 - JUNE 2002 BY PETER LAIRD, JIM LAWSON AND ERIC TALBOT

SYNOPSIS (FROM TURTLEPEDIA AND COMIC VINE)

A Fugitoid makes its way across the moon in leaps, passing by Tranquility Base and marveling at how it has stood the test of time. It meets up with an Utrom, and the two discuss their plans to finish completing a large craft and bring these "guests" that they have with them.

In a New York City alley, the Ninja Turtles face an all too familiar scene - carapaces against an alley wall while a street gang - this time, the Madhattan Maulitia - have them cornered. While the four of them are more of a match for the fifteen dullards in the Maulitia, the Turtles decide to take the rooftops as soon as possible to gain some distance between them and their foes. After a moment of reflection, they head on their way, only to find they are less safe than they had hoped, as the Maulitia has somehow followed them up with snowmobiles. After trouncing the Maulitia up on the rooftops and heading back down, Donatello comes across a snowmobile all on its lonesome and steals it. Michelangelo tries to get Don's attention for a ride in the treacherous snow, but his brother doesn't hear him and Mike slips and falls in the street. Moments later, he's hit by a bus, and a costumed character named Magnrok finds him, carrying him into an alley calling someone in to pick him up.

Meanwhile, Don rides the snowmobile into a subway and loses control, crashing it through a wall, where he finds an old, abandoned armored truck.

April and Casey head out to a fertility doctor, while Shadow trains with Metal Head. After their sparring session, Shadow worries about the outcome of the appointment. Splinter dismisses it as the impatience of a teenager, but Shadow has a premonition that big things are in store for the entire world.

Michelangelo wakes up in an ambulance to find paramedics working on him. He freaks out and tries to escape, but the paramedics warn him not to open the door. Mike pays no heed to them and does so anyway, instantly falling out and finding that the ambulance is flying. Michelangelo holds on to a handle to prevent himself from falling, but he is still dizzy and injured and loses his grip. Fortunately, a flying superhero, Raptarr, happens to be in the area and catches Mikey as he passes back out. Raptarr returns him to the ambulance.

Leonardo and Raphael return to the lair, with Raph complaining about how cold he is. Leo turns up the heat and offers to make Raph some hot chocolate, and discuss The Jones' decision to try for a child of their own. Leo then asks if they should look for their brothers, they haven't seen since the scuffle with the Madhattan Maulitia. Raph declines due to the weather and suggests Mikey's having the time of his life in the snow anyway.

Mikey wakes up again, this time strapped to a hospital bed. A woman on a video screen insists he stay put, but Mike just wants to get out of there. The woman says he's free to leave as long as he checks out at the front desk, and that his effects are in a nearby closet. He wonders aloud why the staff hasn't freaked out due to him being a mutant turtle. It is at this moment that Mikey sees that the patients at this hospital are a little out of the ordinary, consisting of various costumed adventurers and non-humans.

A Doctor Singh approaches Michelangelo with some orderlies and tells him he needs to return to his room. Mikey refuses and begins to fight with the orderlies, before they are interrupted by a man approaching in a wheelchair - the Turtles' old friend Pat, aka Zippy Lad of the Justice Force. Pat takes charge of Mikey and lets Singh and the orderlies be on their way, explaining to the turtle that he is in Kurtzburg Memorial Hospital, a special hospital for aliens, heroes, mutants, and other oddities, and one of only three places like it in the world. Pat happens to be on the hospital's board of directors and saw Mike come in while he was at a budget meeting, and vouched for him. Pat convinces Mike to get back in bed and rest up.

Back at the lair, Donatello rushes in, excited, and coaxes Casey and Raph to follow him to a discovery he's made. Leo stays behind so he can watch Junkyard Wars in peace. Don leads Raph and Casey to the abandoned armored truck he'd found, and the three of them examine the vehicle, taking notes of what would need to be cleaned and fixed to get it running again, and finding the moldy corpses of some apparent robbers inside, including a skeleton in the back wearing 1970s garb and still holding onto a gun. Don and Casey leave to get some batteries and cleaning supplies, leaving Raph to bemoan being stuck there with the "dead guys".

Shadow leaves for a clandestine rendezvous with her boyfriend Jay, while Splinter worries for her safety in the snow. When she meets up with Jay, she suggests that they go to the Jones Farm and warm up by the fireplace, but he reminds her that it's supposed to be abandoned and the last time they were there, someone called the police on them. Instead, he pesters her about going back to her place and meeting her "famously reclusive grandfather", which she turns down.

Meanwhile, on the moon, the Utroms accomplish another phase on their mysterious plan.

In the jungles of Venezuela, a research team discovers a strange life form. Meanwhile, in the Big Apple, Casey, Raph and Don get the abandoned armored car running, much to the dismay of the local New Yorkers. Master Splinter and Shadow are enraptured by the television coverage of an invasion of Unidentified Flying Objects.

The Utroms finally reveal themselves to the word in a very public display. Karai fantasizes facing the turtles in battle while her aid keeps her updated on the news about the alien arrival. After watching the tv coverage of the Utroms Michelangelo and Raphael decide to get a closer look when the stumble on a mysterious robot in the sewers.

REVIEW

As I mentioned before, the Archie TMNT comic was my gateway to the world of comic-books. But because of the indie nature of the Turtles, their comics were really hard to get from outside of the US.

As a result, collecting them was frustrating, and in any case, getting all of them was futile. It wasn’t until around 2005, that I started getting TMNT comics for real.

At the time I started with colored collected editions (First), and eventually this and Tales came up, as those were being published at the time. As a result, I got almost all of the issues for both series. I was really impressed, not only by the story, but also by the interaction of Peter Laird with the fans, and how he would keep us up to date with his life. Eventually I started watching the 2003 cartoon (also, not something I had access to at the time it was broadcasted) which was heavily influenced by Peter Laird, and some of its concepts would appear in Tales.

This is a very long story, that as far as I know, it’s incomplete and there is little hope for it to be ever finished. I do hope at some point Peter Laird takes advantage of that “18 issues a year” deal he made with Viacom and make it happen.

While both, Eastman and Laird were fans of Jack Kirby, it is very obvious in this run that Laird may have been even more. Case in point, the “Kurtzberg” hospital sequence. It’s not gonna be the last time we see Kirby inspired things in the book.

When the book starts, we get the idea that there was a time jump since the last time we saw these characters (1995), but when I saw Shadow so grown up, I realized how much time really passed. I mean, the turtles are technically still teenagers, compared to how much turtles live. But they are kind... 30 now?

Perhaps the most significant thing about this run is the Utrom non-invasion of Earth. Whenever I think of Laird’s writing, my mind goes back to this story. The way he looks at sci-fi is very positive (especially considering that the Alien visit happens right after 9-11). In a way, his writing is very similar to that of Jack Kirby, who would often dedicate pages to concepts and ideas that would make life cooler.

Jim Lawson is back, and luck us, he is being inked (and toned) by Laird and Talbot.

Perhaps the main problem with this title is the pacing of the story. As the book is bi-monthly, it takes forever for a ship to land on Earth (7 months). This is not unusual in indie comics, but it makes the first issue a bit uneventful.

I give these issues a score of 8.

[atamascolily]

Continuing with The Vein of Gold exercise, more films, more themes. I’m so predictable, y’all.

(Aka what Captain America has in common with Matilda)

9. Matilda

Nobody does montages like this film. There are at least three, and they’re all amazing.

10. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (live action I, II, and III)

(I didn’t hallucinate these films, okay??)

11. The Shadow

12. Jurassic Park

13. Captain America: The Winter Soldier

This particular gif looks like it ought to be Renaissance painting or something.

14. Night at the Museum

15. Hanna

Apparently, freeway fight scenes are a thing for me? They’re a staple of CA:TWS, along with Terminator and the Matrix films. Not to mention a lot of the Inception set pieces. Basically, if a film is set in modern times and has any action scenes whatsoever, I want one on a freeway, kthanx. Maybe because I hate being stuck in traffic? Or maybe just because it looks cool?

Identity issues: boy does CA:TWS have them in spades. From Bucky’s brainwashing--”Who’s Bucky?”--to Natasha’s “Who do you want me to be?” questions abound. Natasha is constantly changing her identities--literally in the climax--and her hacking saves the day. Her final scene is very reminiscent of Sarah Connor’s in Terminator, too. For the first time, Steve faces an opponent who’s literally his equal and opposite, so the doubling/duality motif is reminiscent. And the Winter Soldier is also a slightly-more-human version of the Terminator! He even has a metal arm and programming!

Also, the film as a whole is super-suspicious of technology, and there’s the ‘80s references of the old computers in the bunker and “Shall We Play A Game?” Not to mention HYDRA’s surveillance thing is kinda like Skynet, plus they intend to target people for what they might do in the future, and not stuff they’d already done...

(NB: Both Terminator and CA:TWS are thematically reminiscent of Three Days of the Condor--which I have not seen, but have read the novelization. I fucking hate Condor, because it is such an obvious Male Fantasy, with an obvious Male Gaze, Cardboard Cutout Female Characters and a Doormat Obligatory Love Interest. Maybe the movie is better?? God, I hope so. But aside from its initial premise, Condor  is thoroughly grounded in “the real world,” lacking super-soldiers or robots to make it engaging for me.)

What can I say about the three live-action TMNT films? Um, so they tap into the “underground” theme I have going, and also “nifty puppets/sfx”, “so much the ‘80s/early ‘90s,” and martial arts mastery. April and Casey are weird foils to Sarah Connor and Kyle Reese, and the Shredder and Darth Vader have a lot in common, as do Splinter and Yoda. April is inducted into the weird alterworld of mutant turtles and yakuza gangs, and the turtles get mistaken for entertainers/performers at several key points across the three films. The first two films are set in New York, with a focus on sewers and urban squalor, but also a pastoral retreat to April’s family farm during the training montage/rest and recovery sequence. Leonardo--always my favorite--communicates telepathically with Master Splinter, and the turtles stage a rescue like Luke tries in ESB and succeeds (on several occasions) in ROTJ. There’s a constant tension between maintaining the masquerade and uncovering the truth. There’s even a time-travel plot to take them back to medieval Japan, thus melding all of the themes/motifs together!

Not to mention the radioactive ooze that creates the turtles in the first place as a comment on questionable tech--it also creates some of the antagonists in The Secret of the Ooze AND GIANT MUTANT DANDELIONS.And there’s a sequence where they break into a lab full of early ‘90s computers that could be straight out of Jurassic Park. So, um, yeah, about that....

Jurassic Park:  amazing sfx and puppetry. Human interactions with the other--usually but not always negatively. Badass botanist (wish Ellie were the main character instead of Grant but still!). Ominous jungle setting. Tension between science/tech and biology. Mutations as a plot point. “Life, uh, finds a way.” A corporate museum getting trashed by a T-rex in the climax--contrast with Night at the Museum, for a more docile take on the same motif! Tension between the truth and maintaining the masquerade. The perils of corporate power--see Ian Malcolm’s speech on the importance of moral responsibility and power. (Yes, he is an asshole and the author mouthpiece, but he’s also Jeff Goldblum, so he gets away with it.) Contrast this with Cyberdyne System in Terminator, and HYDRA’s surveillance system in CA:TWS. Also, shirtless Jeff Goldblum - contrast with the male nudity in Terminator, and Captain America’s and Luke Skywalker in tank tops and short sleeves. Also, “Dinosaur eats man / Woman inherits the earth” exchange. And GIANT REPTILES just like TMNT!

The Shadow: huge Asian/martial arts influence on the hero. Rigorous training with mystics in the wilderness. Psychic powers. Secret identity, keeping up appearances, and maintaining the masquerade. Self/shadow--it’s the hero’s superhero NAME; IT’S NOT SUBTLE. “Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? THE SHADOW KNOWS! *ominous cackling* Fabulous fashion. Plot points involving a sarcophagus and busting into a museum (paging Night at the Museum). Amazing scenery, especially all of the hotel sequences. As always, I’m more interested in the female side character--in this case, Margo Lane--than anything else. Also, a scientist character played by Ian McKellen with questionable tech!

(I will never claim this film is good, and it has a TON of problematic elements, but even so, it made an impression on me, especially since I had been listening to a lot of vintage “The Shadow” radio dramas before I saw this, so I was familiar with The Shadow’s basic schtick. Also, even though it sounds like a cliche, The Shadow pretty much invented all the superhero tropes, so technically Batman and Dr. Strange owe him a debt and not the other way around... )

Hanna is very similar to Terminator, CA:TWS, and Matrix in that it features a protagonist being relentlessly hunted--in this case, by government agents very similar to those in the latter two films, only played by Cate Blanchett. Amazing underground lair/chase sequence, plus a fight in a German subway station; not to mention great desert sequences (hi, Star Wars!) and an abandoned theme park.

Matilda: the power of reading, a young girl saving the day because Adults Are Useless, classics references, newts, telekinesis. Like Steve Rogers, refuses to be cowed or lie, even when it would be in her own best interest to give in to tyranny. Interesting foil with Hanna, in that both are named after their super-powered protagonist, only Hanna’s powers are all based in incredible violence. Hanna is also wrestling with the question of who she is and what her purpose is in life, and she’s a survivor, just like Sarah Connor in Terminator. Also, a question of heritage and origins, as in Star Wars.

Night at the Museum: I usually don’t like Ben Stiller, and I think this movie would be stronger with a different lead actor, but Robin Williams is great as Teddy Roosevelt (mentor figure!) and it’s a natural history museum coming to life after hours with a giant T-Rex skeleton. Also, the miniatures are hysterical, and Akmenrah is great (contrast with The Shadow for their museum MacGuffin, too). Great sfx, too. Contrast with Jack Pumpkinhead and the Gump in Return to Oz, too. See also Steve stealing his uniform out of the Smithsonian in CA:TWS. It’s also a Found Family (or Family Reclaiming, depending on your point of view) along with The Secret Garden, and Matilda, and Star Wars and...

Anyway, I’m pretty sure a bot armed with this information could be used to generate stories tailor-made for me, which is both hilarious and frightening to think about.

Stories: I have a type.

[2k18leo]

“Could you be happy, here, with me?”

((You guys are super sweet with the nice comments I received from uploading my last piece of writing! This one is a lot longer than the previous.  Hope you enjoy! :) ))

“And you’re sure?” Leo asked, raising an eyebrow. He led you to the manhole cover in the alleyway on 6th.

“Hell yes, Leo!” You said excitedly. “I’m tired of only seeing you on rooftops and Central Park. You’ve been to my apartment. I think it’s only fair that I see where you live and thrive.”

He smiled at you, making his mask wrinkle a little near his eyes.

“Okay, but,” he began, “it’s not nearly as nice as your apartment, okay?” He put his hand out and grabbed yours, running his thumb back and forth along your fingers. “It’s… full of guys, for one thing. So—”

“Leo,” you began, cupping his cheek with your other hand, “you’re stalling. C’mon, I’ve already met your family -- I mean, except for your dad, but--”

“Yeah, well, he’s hardly off his lazy ass.”

“Leo!” you laughed, scolding him for that disrespectful comment.

You leaned up and kissed his cheek, “C’mon, I can’t pull up this sewer cover myself.”

“Alright, y/n, but just know … you asked for it.” Leo crouched down and pulled up the cover to reveal a dark opening.  You caught yourself staring at his flexing biceps for a moment. A soft warmth grew across your cheeks.  A smile formed on your face as you checked out the turtle you had a crush on.

Once the manhole cover was completely off, the smell of the sewers hit you pretty instantaneously.  He put out a hand for you to help you down into the almost-pitch blackness that was the sewer. Hesitantly, you made your way down, gripping the rusted ladder bars that would soon take you into an underground world in which you’d be practically blind to. After you were far enough for Leo to climb in and pull the manhole cover back into place, you wished you had brought a flashlight. With no solid ground seemingly coming any closer under you, you tried your best to see through the jet black space, but nothing. The only reassurance that you weren’t alone was hearing Leo’s own steps on the bars right above you.

“I’m surprised you haven’t made a comment about the stench, yet,” said Leo, giving a laugh.

“I wasn’t gonna say anything.” You smiled up at him even though you doubted he could see it.

You finally hit a flat surface under your foot. It was nice to be off the ladder, but you still had no idea about your surroundings, so you tried to stay as close as possible. When Leo dropped down next to you, you could feel his fingers lace with yours.

“Okay,” he whispered, “Since you thought it was a good idea to wear that cute-ass outfit today—”

Your mouth dropped in a half-smile, “I wanted to look presentable when I met your father!” It was so dark, you could hardly tell if your eyes were open or shut. But, you could hear his soft laughter next to you.

“Whatever,” he scoffed. It was almost as if you could hear him smiling. Without any warning, his arm hooked under the back of your knees, making you let out a small gasp, and he picked you up bridal style. Your arms wrapped around his broad shoulders as he began to walk. While you were astonished that he was so calmly walking through this pitch black maze, you also figured that he had made this trip thousands of times. It took you far too long to realize that you had a flashlight on your phone. Pulling it out of your back pocket, you instantly illuminated the scene.

“Hm, so that’s what it looks like down here,” said Leo, thanking you for the light that he still had no need for.

He walked on and on for about ten minutes or so, having made multiple turns both right and left. The darkness beyond the shine of your flashlight was eerie and gave you goosebumps.

By the time you had lost count on how many turns he had made, you started to see a faint light in the distance.  Now, there were old subway tracks beneath his feet instead of the murky water that Leo stood in when he began the walk.  You let him put you down and the two of you walked the rest of the way side by side, each step making the light glow brighter.  It was an abandoned subway station, hardly recognizable, where they lived.  The only part that made you believe it used to be a station was the line of turnstiles at the entrance.  He led you up to the turnstiles and you saw his home for the first time.  It was actually beautiful, considering it was underground in a literal abandoned subway.  Walking in, you saw multi-colored lights strung up and around walls, bean bags scattered about what appeared to be the living room, and the entirety of the lair was even bigger than you had imagined.  

“Okay,” said Leo, “It’s not usually this nice.  The boys must’ve cleaned for once while I was out.”  He called out his brothers names to let him know he was back.

Donnie was the first in sight, walking by while fiddling with his gadgets on his arm.  His expression proved he was lost in thought, but the sight of you made his eyebrows fly up in surprise.  “Ah, y/n, yes, good to see you.  Always a pleasure--”

“Y/n’s here?” You heard a voice call from the other room.  Almost immediately, Mikey leapt in with a wide grin across his face.  “Hey, girl! How you been?” He greeted you with a hug around your middle.  You laughed and answered, saying that you had just recently landed a job at a local smoothie joint near your apartment.  

“I mean, it’s not pizza, but oooh, girl, I could get down with some smoothies!”

While Mikey started going off about a story recalling this one time Leo had made him laugh so hard some smoothie squirted out of his nose, you heard Donnie say that if anyone needed him, he would be in his lab.

Suddenly, a booming sound started, making you look around to find Raph running towards you.

“Y/n!” he shouted, slamming into you and wrapping you up in his huge arms.  You could feel the ground depart from your feet.  Picking you up was like lifting a feather for him.  

“It’s great to see you too, Raph!” You said through a strain.  

“Whoa, whoa,” you could hear Leo say somewhere beneath you, “That’s my girlfriend, don’t break her, Red.” His voice wasn’t full of concern, but more of laughter.  

Raph plopped you back down on your feet, “It’s been too long, Shorty.”

“Yeah, I guess it’s been about two weeks since I’ve seen you guys,” you replied, smiling up at him.

“Well, you here now!” Mikey leaned his elbow on your shoulder, “An’ we got a full day of crazy-fun things to show you!”

“We do?” Leo cocked an eyebrow.

“Hell yeah!” Raph fist-bumped Mikey, “C’mon, y/n, we got a video game set up so get ready to lose.”

You began following Raph and Mikey, laughing, “Nah, I’mma kick you right in the shell!”

Leo watched you walking off with his brothers.  A smile grew across his face; he was pleased to see how well you got along with his family.  

After about an hour of playing video games, the only one who you couldn’t beat was Mikey.  Donnie joined in when you all started playing foosball.  The boys were surprised how good you were at that game.

“Dude,” Mikey addressed Leo, “She’s kicking our asses!”

Leo laughed, “Yeah, why else do you think I’m on her team?” He sent a smirk in your direction as he nudged you with his elbow.

“Well, statistically speaking, someone else should have won by now.” Donnie said, frustrated that it had been over eight turns since he had made a shot.  

It wasn’t long before the turtles gave up trying to beat you at foosball, and moved to the living room for a movie. On the walk there, you saw a figure moving by.  It was short, grey, and had a long tail that trailed behind it.  You could only assume that this was--

“Oh, Pop!” Leo called to the figure, “This is y/n.” He put a hand around your waist and used the other to gesture to you.  “Y/n, this is my dad.”

The short creature looked up at you. It was a rat.  You don’t know why, but you had always pictured an old turtle when Leo spoke of his father.  But a rat?  I mean, you weren’t judging.  Everything about this family was different already.  That’s what you loved about it.  You put out a hand to greet the rodent.  It’s whiskers twitched momentarily, just as its snout did, sniffing you out.  His hands were full with a steaming cup of tea, yet he balanced the cup in one hand as he let go with the other to extend it to you.  The handshake was gentle, and he gave you a small smile, which you returned.  Though no words were said between the two of you, you felt that he accepted you at least as an acquaintance.  

After the rat hobbled away into what you figured was his room, you turned to Leo.

“Don’t worry,” he said, wrapping his arm around your shoulders, “He just doesn’t know you, yet.  Give it time.  C’mon, Mikey’s making popcorn.”

He led you over to the living room where a projector portrayed a screen on a wall.  Donnie was setting up the movie while Raph was lugging in a pile of blankets.  

“Okay, boys,” said Donnie, tinkering on the projector, “what genre are we thinking tonight?”

“Rom-com!” Raph shouted, dropping down into a bean bag chair.

Leo put a hand to his forehead as he said, “Raph, we did a rom-com last week and you were the only one that wanted to watch it then, and you’re the only one that wants to watch it now.” Leo smiled at you as you stifled a laugh. The two of you sat down on a single, large bean bag, his arm wrapping around you.

“Ooh, horror!” Mikey cried, walking in, balancing a few bowls of popcorn.

“What did you call me?” you shot him a look.  Mikey stopped in his tracks, his eyes staring wide and his face flushing of color.  

“I—wait—no, I didn’t mean—” Mikey stammered.  

You cracked up in laughter.  Leonardo grinned at you, letting out a small laugh of his own.  Your laugh was one of the many things that made Leo fall so damn hard for you.  When Mikey realized that you were making a joke, he heaved a sigh of relief.

“Yeah, D,” you said after your fit of laughter, “Horror sounds great.”

Mikey walked by, handing you a bowl of popcorn to share with Leo, “You two are perfect for each other.”

You looked up at Leo, smiling, and he did the same down to you, giving you a squeeze on your waist.  As Donnie began the movie, you nuzzled up next to the blue-clad, pulling a blanket over the two of you.  About half-way through the movie, you looked around at the others.  Donnie was asleep, his head leaning on a propped up arm.  Raph and Mikey were snuggled so close together with wide eyes, staring at the screen.  They both had blankets nearly covering their eyes for a jump scare that could spring out at any moment.  You figured Leo was asleep due to how still he had been for the past twenty minutes.  His chest rising and falling at a slow, steady rate, which moved you ever so slightly as you were leaning on him.  So, it definitely caught you off-guard when he whispered into your ear,

“Thank you.”

“For what?” You asked, drawing your eyes away from the screen to look up at his deep blue eyes.  You adored the faint glow of his red stripes due to the random flashes from the movie.

“For coming down here… for wanting to.”

“Of course, why wouldn’t I want to?” you whispered, furrowing your eyebrows.

“It’s just… here with us.  Do you think you could actually -- could you be happy, here, with me?  Like, really?”  His eyes were staring so deep into you, begging for a positive answer.  You don’t believe he has ever felt like this towards anyone else before you.  It probably wasn’t that often he brought a girl home.

A small smile flashed across your face as you answered sweetly, “Absolutely.”

A smile of his own, larger than yours, grew so wide it wrinkled his mask.  He closed his eyes, leaning down to touch his forehead to yours.  He let out a small laugh of relief before kissing you sweetly.  You could feel the arm he had already-wrapped around you flex as he wrapped the other arm around you in a hug.  He then began to cover you in kisses around the corner of your mouth, your cheek, and your jawline.  You giggled quietly until Raph and Mikey shushed the two of you.

“Ay!” Raph whispered loudly, “If you two are done bein’ all cute and--” he was cut off by a scream on the movie, making him gasp so loud he nearly screamed.

You and Leo chuckled at Raph, then silently decided it was best to continue respectfully watching the movie.  You nuzzled again into Leo, resting your head on his plastron.  You could feel him rest his cheek on the top of your head.  His thumb grazed back and forth across your arm.  Once again, your eyes looked between the sleeping Donnie, the terrified expressions of Raph and Mikey, and the turtle you rested on.  This was a life you could see yourself living.  It really was.  Right at Leo’s side.  Could life get any better than this?

[tmntreasures]

Prom Night (Michelangelo)

Author/Editor Comments:  Obligatory “We’re not dead comment.” ;P Purple speaking! I just wanna give my compliments to the writer! Orange has been working on this for a while now, when she really didn’t have to. Both of our lives have changed a lot (more hers than mine), and she’s constantly busy; but she managed to finish this and I’m proud and thankful for her! So yeah! Love you Orange!

Now on to the story~

Prompt: A boy at your high school, named George, has asked you out; not because he likes you, but because you were his last option. Obviously, you turn him down since you have a turtle boyfriend who was going to meet with you behind the school. On the night of prom, you go outside to wait for your secret love. But the boy who had asked you out corners you outside. He acts very aggressive and clearly had brought in some alcohol to the school…

“Okay so, what did this guy look like?” Big blue eyes stared at you from across the table.

The moment you had gotten out of school you went straight for the lair. A boy had been harassing you to be his date to prom all day, and after each denial he became more aggressive. Even telling the pursuer that you were taken did not work. It had gotten to the point where you felt on edge just by walking down the hall.

You knew you would find solace in the lair and in the arms of your mutant boyfriend. Of course, as soon as you mentioned that you were being pursued, Michelangelo wanted to know all the details about him rather than how you were.

“Fine, I guess.” You shrugged, poking at an abandoned paper plate covered in old pizza grease. You thought that if you looked as disinterested as possible that he would take the hint. Then you remembered it was Michelangelo; and if other boys were mentioned, he needed to reassure his own ego.

“Wait. By 'fine' do you mean like, 'maybe I'd like him after a few drinks' fine? Or like, 'oooh, damn, he fine' fine?” He raised a brow at you, clearly reading for any sign of dishonesty on your face.

You couldn't help but smack the table rather harshly, “Be serious Mikey! The guy really creeped me out!” You scoffed a little as you recalled the events of the day. “I am serious!” He nodded fervently before giving you a sly smile. “I gotta make sure he's not as cute as me.”

You knew he was trying to cheer you up, but you were also quite sure he did not understand just how upsetting the situation was for you. “Michelangelo,” you saw him tense up when you used his full name and it just fueled the anxiety in your stomach. “He scared me.”

Something in your eyes made his expression soften and his body leaned forward to embrace you. “Woah, babe calm down. I was just messing with you.” As much as you wanted to pull away out of spite, you allowed him to wrap his large, warm arms around your smaller frame and gave in to his comfort. He squeezed you lightly and you could feel your racing heart start to calm down and your body relax. You had no idea you had been so tense until now and thanked him for the hug by wrapping your arms as much as you could around him and returned the wonderful squeeze.

“So this means I have to come to your prom right?” He said after a while. Although your head was buried against his chest, you could hear the cheeky smile growing on his face. “You know, for your own safety.”

You sighed obnoxiously, feeling your own cheeks ache from the smile that was suddenly coming from you. “Yeah. I guess you have to show up now,” you pulled away enough to give him a reassuring look. “I know you had other things to do tonight, but I got to have a bodyguard.”

He snapped his fingers and pointed at you with finger-guns. “I gotchu babe. I've even got the perfect disguise in mind!”

You let out a pained groan and winced. “It's not that trench coat and fedora again is it? That one is actually kinda creepy...” Flashbacks of the last time Michelangelo wore the coat flooded your mind and made the hairs on the back of your neck stand on edge. You shivered and pushed the thought out of your head and returned your attention back to him.

He put a hand on his chest and his jaw dropped in shock. “Excuse me! I would never wear something so casual to your prom night!” He gave you his signature grin, “I'm wearing a suit and tie for you~.”

“Aww, Mikey.” You leaned forward and gave him a sweet kiss on the cheek. Though you wondered where he would find a suit big enough to fit over his shell, the question did not linger long in your head. “Okay, I better start getting ready then. I'll meet you behind the school at nine-thirty. Got it?”

He nodded his head and began to wave you away. “Yeah, yeah I'll remember. I promise I'll be there in time. Now hurry up before we have our own prom night here.” He raised his eyebrows suggestively at you, causing your cheeks to blush a precious pink color.

“Alright I'm going,” you got up quickly and left the lair to prepare for the night ahead. It was, after all, going to be the best night of your life.

---

For Michelangelo, this was the worst night of his life. He had spent the majority of his time trying to find a tuxedo that would fit him in the junkyard, but he was unsuccessful. However, he did find one of those tuxedo t-shirts that was his size, but it was covered in dirt. So he had to run back to the lair to wash it. Then he had to dry it off which took a while too, so he went ahead to the school early to get his surprise set up for you; after all, his shirt should be done drying by the time he got back. Which it was, but once he had it on it was already nine-twenty. Without a moment's hesitation, he threw the t-shirt on and ran as fast as he could without being seen. He did his best not to think about how mad you would be once he finally showed up. Now he was very thankful he went ahead and set up your surprise; at least something would go right. At least, he hoped it would go right, assuming you wouldn't be too angry with him.

The upside to all of this though: he was pretty sure he made it to the school in record time. Unfortunately, after he perched himself on a nearby tree branch, he saw you outside with another kid; a teenage boy to be specific. Dread hardly had any time to cloud his thoughts once the strange boy snatched your wrist aggressively. Instinctively, his hands went to his sides where his nunchucks would be sheathed, but when his fingers gripped nothing but air he cursed under his breath. 

Of course this would be the one night he forgot his weapons during his mad-dash to get ready. He had to think of something quickly before the boy escalated things further.

Oddly enough an idea came to him fairly quick, but only because the situation had reminded him of a movie the two of you had watched recently. He would just need to borrow something from the school's cafeteria first before he could truly help.

Without a moment to lose, the mutant turtle entered the school through an unlocked window and did his best to not get distracted by the high school environment.

–

“Let go,” you yanked your hand quickly out of his grasp. You could feel your eyes bulging out of their sockets as you stared wide-eyed in disbelief at your fellow classmate. It was still difficult for you to process what was going on but luckily your body seemed to be reacting on its own. Maybe it was just because you were mimicking the turtles after having watched them train on occasion, or maybe it was from all those old kung-fu movies Michelangelo made you watch with him; either way, your limbs were acting on their own and you were thankful for it.

The boy seemed to wince when you pulled away but it was hard to tell. “I just don't get it,” Despite his cracking voice, anger still swimmed in his eyes. “Why not me? What's wrong with me huh?”

He took a step forward and you took two back. If you weren't careful, this could turn ugly very quickly. Your heart began to race and somehow constrict in your chest all at once . Breathing felt like a difficult chore, making you take short, quick breaths. Why now? Why did all of this have to happen now and to you of all people? You don't know this kid. You've had a few classes with him sure, but you had never once said 'hi' to him and he had certainly never made his presence known to you before, let alone show any interest. Where was all of this coming from?

Something dashed through the darkness and your attention was taken away from the situation. It couldn't have been a fellow student; no one you knew could ever move that fast. Could it have been--?

Before you could even finish the thought, something warm grabbed your arm and yanked you back. Branches and leaves scratched and flicked against your skin and dress as you struggled against whatever had you. With all that was going on you started to let out a scream, hoping someone, anyone would hear you and help.

A large hand covered your mouth immediately. Strangely enough, the action did not panic you more but it did not calm you down either. Your eyes finally adjusted enough to the darkness for you to see a familiar orange mask and the baby blue eyes that peered through its holes. There was a brief wave of relief that calmed your racing mind; unfortunately for the mutant turtle in front of you, that meant your frustration with him showed itself.

“Hey, calm down,” Michelangelo whispered. Whether he said it because he saw an angry flicker in your eye or not, you could not tell.

Of course that did not stop you from letting your frustration out on him. You grabbed his wrist and yanked it off of your mouth before hissing in a whisper. “'Calm down?' You are late! That weird kid found me and started acting crazy. You pull into some bushes without warning, and you want me to calm down!?”

He seemed unfazed by your outburst; perhaps it was because you were still whispering, making it not as effective than if you had been yelling instead. “I know, I know. I'm sorry,” he grabbed your shoulder and squeezed it comfortingly. “I'll make it up to you, I promise,” he smiled at you and you could feel your anger dissipating. It was quickly replaced with disbelief and questions when he suddenly revealed a ketchup bottle. “But first, we gotta get rid of this goon,” he grinned as he twisted the lid off, clearly doing everything he could to contain himself.

“H-hey...where'd you go?” the boy's voice quivered as he called out for you. Cautious footsteps walked closer and closer to your hiding place. You could not help but peer through the breaks in the bush to see where he was. The boy was close. A few more steps and he could start parting branches. Although you trusted Michelangelo to have a plan, you could not help but feel anxious. If he saw the giant mutant turtle, who knows what would happen?

After a few more steps, the boy suddenly stopped in response to Michelangelo snapping some branches underneath his feet.  Finally, he threw the contents of the bottle outward, making sure to keep a firm hold of the container itself. Ketchup splattered on the asphalt in front of the boy, some of it even getting on his shoes and pants. You could see him tense up as his eye widened in absolute horror; with the help of the night sky, even you admitted to yourself that the ketchup looked like blood.

The combination of the snapping noise and “blood” sprawled out in front of the boy had his mind racing. His mouth hung open in a silent scream and he grabbed both sides of his head as he tried to process what just happened. Your stifled laugh was turned to panic when you saw Michelangelo start to move toward the boy. You reached out to try and stop him but it was too late. There was no way the boy would not see him.

What in the hell was he thinking!?

Your question was quickly answered when you watched the two. The boy's eyes seemed ready to pop out of his skull when he saw Michelangelo. Luckily, he could not utter a peep, let alone a scream. His joints shook beneath his suit in fear as the mutant turtle reached down to swipe a thick finger into the puddle of ketchup. Michelangelo brought the finger to his own lips and licked the condiment off, never breaking eye contact with the shivering boy in front of him. You gagged a little at the gesture, especially since the liquid had been on the rough ground. But it was what happened next that made you gawk in shock and glee.

“No one will believe you,” the orange-clad turtle said ominously to your classmate before slowly returning to your hiding place. You did your best to contain yourself when he kneeled next to you. Both of you had big, cheek-burning grins on your faces.

You both watched through the branches as the boy stared at the puddle below. His face had become white as a sheet and beads of sweat rolled down his forehead and nose. He took a few steps back before finally running off into the safety of the school building.

The moment he was gone, you both let out big sighs of relief. You did not even realize you were so tense until you allowed your body to relax. “I can't believe you just did that,” you said through a chuckle.

“What? Eat that ketchup off the ground? That's nothin'.” The blue-eyed turtle grinned.

A giggle shook your shoulders. “Well that too. But I mean I can't believe you showed yourself to him.” You looked at him and shrugged, “You're not afraid he'll tell someone?”

He waved your concern away. “Nah. Like I said,” he leaned forward and tried his best to impersonate a horror-movie narrator. “'No one will believe youuuu'!... And even if he does, everyone’s gonna think he drank waaay too much punch when you show up to graduation unscathed.” He chuckled lightly. 

“I guess that’s true...” You giggled again, but you still had some unspoken frustration toward him that you had to get out. “You know you were super late right?”

“Actually,” He held up a finger to interject. “I came early to set up. Buuut then I had to go back home to get my clothes.”

“Wait, what?” you furrowed your brows in confusion. Despite the mutant turtle's goofball attitude, he actually did put effort into your relationship and would even impress you with what he could come up with with his limited resources. But actually showing up early to get something set up to surprise you? That was unexpected.

He smiled at the look of disbelief on your face and crossed his arms smugly. “I know, I know. I'm an amazing boyfriend and you love very much and are lucky to have someone like me.” He batted his eyes and gave you a big, toothy smile. You shook your head and could not stop the smile that crept on your face. As tempting as it was to give him a hug, you still needed proof. “Woah, you're not off the hook yet,” you wiggled a finger at him. “I still need to see what you got planned. Then I'll decide if you're off the hook.”

Michelangelo followed as you stood up to wipe the dirt and leaves off your orange dress. “Sooo, me saving you from that guy doesn't count?”

“You wouldn't have had to save me if you were here on time though,” you argued light-heartedly. “That's why I gotta see if your set-up was worth it,” you gave him a playful wink before stepping out of the bushes.

“Alright, alright,” he held his hands up in defense and followed you out. Once you were both relatively dirt-free, he gestured toward the school. “So, we're gonna have to go up. Can you maneuver in that?” He nodded at your dress.

You looked down, forgetting that you were even wearing the nice garment and lifted your legs to test your range of motion. “I should be fine as long as we're using a ladder.” You looked up at him in concern, “There is a ladder right?” As cool as it was that he could, literally, jump off walls and climb them with little assistance, it was difficult when you had to follow suit.

A little scoff came out of him and he nodded. “Of course there is! Though...I'll have to give you a boost.” He pointed at the wall, showing you where this ladder was.

It was old but made from sturdy steel; there were only a few blotches of rust from the years of its installment and lead to the roof of the building. Clearly it was meant as an emergency escape route, for the start of the ladder was six feet above the ground to prevent any small children from climbing up and hurting themselves during recess.

You sighed a little, feeling the exhaustion start to overtake the subsiding adrenaline. “Alright. Let's get it over with,” you both started to walk to the ladder and a thought suddenly crossed your mind. You quickly spun around and pointed a finger at his snout. “Don't do anything funny when I'm climbing up. I don't want to slip because you're trying to look up my skirt.”

He laughed nervously as if you had just caught him doing something wrong. “Okay, okay. I promise. I'll at least wait until you're on the roof before doing any funny-business.”

You smiled and prepared yourself for the trek upwards. Before you had met the turtles, heights were on your top ten list of worst fears. After being carried from rooftop-to-rooftop so many times, participating in a mission here-and-there, and even having a close-call after a high fall has hardened your resolve with climbing. Granted you had never climbed anything in a dress before, but you figured as long as you did not look down you would be fine.

Michelangelo knelt down and cupped his hands. Luckily for him, you were wearing flats, making it easier for him to push you upward once you stepped into his palm. You gripped the rough rungs and took a deep breath before making your ascent. After a few feet, you heard Michelangelo mount the ladder to follow after you. Luckily, he was true to his word and did not try to do anything to antagonize you as you climbed.

When you a mere three feet away from the top, you heard the giant turtle leave the ladder and use the windowsills to finish his climb. You paused only for a moment until he had finished his climb before resuming. The last thing you had wanted to do was lose your footing while he was moving around so suddenly. You could only assume he had gone ahead so abruptly to get the rest of his mystery set-up ready. As you neared the top, the sound of slow music reached your ears and a smile began to creep along your face.

When you reached the end, Michelangelo was there to offer you a hand over the ledge. You gladly accepted and you stepped onto the gravel-covered rooftop to see quite the spectacle.

There were tiny lights that one would find in a college freshman's dorm room decorating the emergency door. A few bulbs were missing, but it was hardly noticeable. A large, clean blanket covered the ground with a pizza box and one of Donatello's speakers resting on top of it, still leaving plenty of room for the two of you to sit. You rolled your eyes playfully at the sight of the pizza box, but your warm smile was more than enough to show just how pleased you were.

When you turned to look at him you finally noticed just what he was wearing. Somehow, he had found a tuxedo shirt big enough to fit over his large shell. It was amazing that he had gone through so much effort, but the shirt did look rather silly on him; silly enough for you to snort and giggle at the sight of it. “What? What!?” He asked, thinking he had done something wrong.

“Nuh-nothing,” you said in between giggles, wiping away some stray tears from the corners of your eyes. “It's just...you actually found a shirt big enough for you.” Once the words were out of your mouth you finally started to calm down and stopped laughing.

He blinked in surprise at your answer but was quickly replaced with a sigh of relief. “Oh! Oh good.” He fiddled with his fingers and stared at you with a big grin. “Sooo...you like it?” His grin somehow got wider when he asked.

Any ounce of frustration, annoyance, or anger you had with him faded away. Your heart swelled when you looked at the setup one more time before turning to him. “Mikey, I love it.”

“So, it totally makes up for being late?” He asked.

“Definitely.” You stood on your tiptoes and gave him a kiss on his lips. When you parted, a more upbeat song came on and the mutant turtle seemed to perk up a bit. “Oooh, I love this song!” He took one step forward but stopped himself. “You wanna dance?” He flashed you a charming smile as his hand took hold of yours.

“I thought you'd never ask,” you replied teasingly.

The two of you danced the rest of the night away, ending it with pizza and snuggling together to look at what little stars you could find in the city sky.

[fierycosmos]

TMNT: Mikey2k12xReader - Hero

You sighed as you continued waiting in the pizza parlor for your orders of large family sized pizzas for you sewer dwelling friends. And speaking of sewer dwellers, you were on the phone currently with one of your favorite turtles. “And you’re sure you want anchovies?” You asked apprehensively. “Of course I do, dudette!” Mikey cheered with glee on the other end. “Fine..but I can smell them from here and let me tell you, PU!” You shout whisper and wave a hand over your face to get rid of the rank fish smell. It smelt almost as bad as one of Mikey’s infamous burps. “But they’ll go so well with the jelly beans and soy sauce.” Mikey said excitedly. “I swear you need to get your taste buds checked.” You laugh as you hear your number being called over the speaker and you rush to the pickup area and take the lovely smelling pizzas from the man’s hands. “Thank you.” You smile and walk to the register to pay and finally leave. “All right, Mikey, I’m on my way. I better get a HUGE hug from you for being out this late.” “The HUGEST!” You could practically hear Mikey smiling on the other end and you can’t help but blush as you love receiving his hugs. “Good.” You smile. “And we have (favorite drink) waiting for you here too!” “Awesome! Thanks, you’re the best!” You grin grows as you carry on your conversation with him until you reach the right manhole. But as you’re walking you start to become a bit paranoid as random shadows from above keep reflecting off from the roof. You look up every time but nothing’s there. You find it at first funny because that’s how you originally met the turtles by accidentally spotting them on the roof, but this time you knew they were all home and there are many enemies you know that lurk in the night. “Uh, Mikey…” You bite your tongue to avoid stuttering and stop him mid-sentence about Crognard. “I hate to be an inconvenience but could you maybe meet me halfway?” “Uh, how come?” He asked, his tone almost completely calmed down and hushed like yours was. “Well, I think someone’s following me.” You admit as you cup your mouth around the speaker to continue to speak to him without anyone who was watching you to hear. “What?” Mikey almost shrieks as you move the T-phone away from you slightly at his loud remark but return it to your ear quickly. “I can’t see that well…but whoever it is doesn’t look friendly…” You look up again and the shadow following you is barely trying to hide anymore from the looks of it and you realized just how massive and scary looking the shadow looked. Then as you turned a corner something unbelievable jumped in front of you. Even crouched the mutant in front of you was something you knew you couldn’t handle. Then the giant mutated wolf stood on its hind legs as it leered down at you with dark red eyes and nasty bone claws right near your chin. “You got that right.” The gravelly voice of the mutant wolf snarled. “I see you have that little turtle device. Care to tell me where you got it?” “Rahzar.” Mikey freaked over the other line, able to hear the unmistakable voice of Rahzar. “Who?” You question but then realize you’re currently being threatened and try to cover up your mistake of talking into the phone and you back up slowly to get farther away from his claw. “Uh, you see, this is just a case.” You say casually as you try to pretend to take the T-phone apart but it fails and you just laugh nervously and continue to back up until you accidentally hit a wall. “No big deal…so I’m just gonna—” “Go? Oh I don’t think so.” Rahzar chuckles rounds on you and stops you from leaving the alley you, unfortunately, corner yourself in. “Okay…Mikey I’m scared.” You almost whimper into the phone but then Rahzar picks you up by the shirt, causing you to drop the pizzas and also made you drop the phone which he then crushed under his giant clawed foot. “AH!” You scream as he reaches up to grab the fire escape and begins scaling the building. “Y/N!” Mikey freaked when the line went dead and he rushed to his brother’s lab screaming, “Donnie!” “What is it?” Donnie shouted back as he was currently testing a new retro-mutagen and didn’t want to be disturbed at the moment. “Rahzar got to her!” “Got to who?” Donnie asked, needing more context than that. “Y/N!” Mikey yelled furiously as he ran over to Donnie’s desk and shook him. “Please, pull up some traffic cams, I have to find her now!” Mikey then continued to freak as he left the lab and head out onto the surface to look for you. “Phone when you know!” “Mikey wait, bring…!” Donnie called hopelessly to Mikey but then realized his brother wasn’t listening. “Back up…” Donnie sighs as he rubs his eyes in annoyance as he sits in his swivel chair and pulls up traffic cams on his screen. “Jeez, that shell-for-brains…” Meanwhile back with you, you were on an abandoned building’s roof, being practically choked by Rahzar as he held you up over the ledge. The reason why he was letting you breathe was only to answer his questions. “Where’s that nasty little lair of theirs?” You didn’t answer as you just kept your eyes shut. “Are you going to talk or do I have to MAKE you?” He threatened as he brought you closer to his muzzle and snarled, earning a whimper out of you. “Please, I don’t know where they live!” You begged, knowing you had to buy time to figure out how to get out of this mess. “I was going to drop it off! He was going to get it from—” “No more lies! I know you know where they live.” Rahzar right through your lies and shook you a bit over the edge to scare you further. “Even if I did, which I DON’T I would never tell you.” You said, trying to go the tough route instead of the clueless victim route. You watched enough crime fighting shows to know what to do in these situations. “Do you think you should really be fighting me?” Rahzar challenged as he was on the verge of laughing at your feeble attempts to be intimidating. “Go back to whatever hell hole you crawled out of.” You spat in his face and enraged him to no end. “Brat!” He howled as he threw you to the side. “AGH!” You tumbled and ended up knocking the side of your head and you could feel it throbbing and some blood trickling down your face. “Y/N!” Mikey cried, but you could barely hear him as your ears were ringing but you could see him through the spots in your vision “Ah, so you show yourself at last.” Rahzar smirked, as much as he could at least. “All right Rahzar, you have no right to go after her!” Mikey yelled. “Anyone who’s a friend of yours is an enemy of the Shredder’s!” Rahzar argued. “No! Leave her out of this!” Mikey demanded. “Try and stop me!” Rahzar threatened as he tried getting near you again. You crawled further into the corner you were in, in any attempt to avoid being in his grasp again. Mikey seeing you so terrified was the last straw before he charged forward. “BOOYAKASHA!” Mikey cried as he knocked Rahzar over the side of the building, but it wasn’t enough as Rahzar grabbed the ledge and swung himself back up and tried lashing at Mikey. He dodged expertly all of Rahzar’s attempts at hurting him and as Mikey danced around to torment the mutated beast he extended his nunchucks and caught Rahzar in a tangled web of chains and Mikey tightened it and then tossed the mutant to the next rooftop over and the Rahzar whimpered like a dog as he landed harshly on his back. As the chains had released Rahzar, he limped back up but with a new found fury blurring his eyes. “One of these days, freak, I’ll skin you alive, turtle!” Rahzar cursed over his shoulder as he ran to get a leaping start back onto the roof. “Not gonna happen dog breath!” Mikey threw down an egg bomb and poofed you and himself out of there. Mikey had you wrapped up in his arms tightly as he jumped from rooftop to rooftop. Once he knew the two of you were at a safe enough distance from Rahzar, he set you down gently and saw you weren’t talking. You were just quiet and didn’t want to open your eyes. “Hey, it’s okay, we got away. Super Mikey came to the rescue.” Mikey chided reassuringly as he rubbed your back gingerly, not knowing exactly where it was you were hurt the most he didn’t want to hurt your further. You just started to cry at his kind words. “Hey…he’s gone now. He won’t ever hurt you again; that I can promise.” “H-He’s awful…” You stuttered as you wiped your eyes on your arm. “I know he is.” Mikey nodded as he wrapped a protective arm around you. “I-I didn’t tell him anything, but he wanted me to. I knew I couldn���t, he would hurt you and your family next.” You managed to say through your tears and violent shaking. “But you getting hurt isn’t worth it.” Mikey reasoned as he tried to wipe off some of the blood from your face with a cloth he had on his belt. “I was so worried about you. I wish I had gotten here sooner.” Mikey said sadly as he looked down at the ground shamefully. You were shocked as to how bad Mikey felt about everything, though it was your first time ever being cornered by one of Shredder’s mutants, it could’ve been a lot worse. You found it sweet also that he cared so much about your safety that you smiled and sniffled one more time before gingerly leaning over and giving him a hug around his neck. “Well you came, that’s what matters.” He soon accepted the hug by wrapping one of his arms around your back. “Thank you Super Mikey.” You blush slightly as you lean away from Mikey. “All in a day’s work.” You kiss him lightly on the cheek and he goes big-eyed and his mouth hangs open a bit. “Wow.” He shakes off his shock and then looks at you with an innocent smile. “Can I get more of those the more I save you?” “Maybe.” You prolong as you avert your eyes but nonetheless with a smile on your face as your blush continues to get darker. “Oh Rahzar!” Mikey sang into the wind, though not as loud as to get his real attention. “No, no no no!” You freak as you snuggle deeper in fear into Mikey’s arms and squirm dramatically. “I’m kidding! I’m kidding!” Mikey laughs as he tries to calm you down. “Not funny, shellhead!” You shove him, but not hard enough to hurt him of course. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I know, too soon.” He said as he put some of your loose hair that was in your face behind your ear. “Ya think?” You ridge a brow at him but nonetheless feel better and laugh lightly. “Okay, no more that…now, where’s that pizza of mine?” Mikey asked as he looked around excitedly. “Uh…I’m not sure…” You answer guiltily. “Aw man…” Mikey then looks at you and how guilt fills your features and to make it go away he swoops in for a quick kiss but a pleasant one nonetheless. His forwardness was unexpected but not unaccepted as you kissed him back excitedly. “Well, I guess alls well that ends well.” He smiled after you parted. “You know…I can MAKE you a homemade pizza.” You suggested with a smirk on your face. “You can DO THAT?” He gaped as the thought never occurred to him before. “Yup, you’re the ninja hero, and I’m the kitchen hero.” You nod as you poke his beak teasingly. “Woo!” He swoops you off the ground with one arm and twirls you around as he fist pumps into the air with a large grin. This was the Mikey that you always wanted to see.          

[waterstar2016]

“Two Shades of Green” Part 3

***Disclaimer...TMNT is not my work. I just lovingly play with the characters in my mind. I am grateful for a chance to be able to express some of those mind adventures here. Immogene, her father, and Brian are my additions.***

*Gasps* someone commented and gave this love. THANK YOU! This is my first attempt at writing fan fiction, and I’ll tell ya I’m having a blast. Today is actually my birthday so I’ll be posting 2 chapters of “Two Shades of Green”, as a present to myself, and if you happen to like this story, it’s a present for you too. The second post will come tonight...I’m still fine-tuning it. Cheers!

The four brothers made sure to check on Immogene as often as they could. They really wanted to see her...each of them for their own reasons. Leo wanted to wipe her tears away. Donnie just wanted to get to know her. She seemed so interesting. Thanks to April he knew she didn’t like her body but goodness...he didn’t understand why. Donnie only thought of her curves as another excellent sample of the human race. As for touching them nuh un! He’d probably pass out. Mikey, he loved all women, skinny, not skinny, tall, short...it didn’t matter. He looked at Immogene as another gal to hang with...and of course, he loved to flirt. He’d seen her watching some Aliens and Predator movies the other night...and she was laughing! He just found that awesome. Raphael, well, he was in a mood lately. He’d been attracted to women before...but not like this. Seeing her had sent his body into overdrive. He also admitted to himself in the moments he saw her cry...it felt like something was breaking inside of him.

The apartment was in a good neighborhood. Other than the abandoned building across the street all the houses were fairly new and it was relatively quiet. That was the reason why the guys chose this location for April a few years ago. They used to come visit her here as a group or individually. If one of the brothers needed to talk, they knew April wouldn’t judge.

They’d discovered Imogene was pretty serious about her work. She didn’t leave the apartment much lately. After all, she was getting ready for her art show. Most of her time was spent sketching and painting. April would sometimes visit Immogene in the evening and the guys would watch the two women smile and laugh over a glass of wine. The guys knew Immogene was reeling over the loss of her father, so it was nice to see her start to smile a little more.

Most of the guys had started to ask April questions about Immogene. What was she like? What music did she listen to? What was her favorite colour? What were the tattoos of on her body and were there more that they couldn’t see? April answered some, but others she would tell the guys that they’d just have to meet her. Raphael however, was being a damn stick in the mud. He was only one that didn’t ask much.

Raphael and April had formed a really close friendship over the last couple of years so it surprised her. He didn’t even ask anything about Immogene in private. Mikey had confessed to her that both Leo and Raph had almost lost their frigging shells over Immogene the first time they saw her. Although, Mikey didn’t tell April what Raph had actually said.

April did notice however that Raph could be seen stalking around when his brothers were asking questions...pretending not to listen.

April knew Immogene would love all the guys...including Splinter. Splinter would ease the pain of losing her father. She also knew Immogene needed to get rid of that dipshit little dicked Brian. April considered both Leo and Raph, wondering if such a relationship could work. “Why not? She thought to herself.” Either of those two would be good for Immogene. April wasn’t worried about Immogene getting freaked out about the guys being mutant turtles...well...she’d probably squeak the first time seeing them... April giggled to herself at the thought.

April knew Immogene needed someone to cheer her on during the day and take her over at night. She was also taking into consideration that the guys had all started expressing their desire to meet someone. Of course, they were too afraid to act on it...after all, they were mutants and figured they’d never actually get a chance.

Immogene admitted to her she had a shitty sex life and even confessed some secret desires. Given the chance, she would be a vixen in the sac. The guys might be mutants...but they all rocked masculinity, even Mikey, and Donatello... in their own way. As for Raph...April thought of every masculine and testosterone related word in the dictionary...and then pictured a shot of Raph beside it. April at one point had found herself fantasizing over Leo a couple of times. Knowing how much of a control freak he was she could see silk scarves being used to tie appendages. Then she had met Casey. April was hoping the guys would eventually want to meet her friend. They were surely asking enough questions!

One evening when Immogene went to refill her glass of wine, April had looked out the living room window. She’d peered out through the glass and into the darkness. She’d waved ever so slightly to let the guys know she was thankful they were there.

As the guys could get in the abandoned building next door without being seen, they were able to take turns to check on Immogene during the day. Wasn’t it handy that an entrance to the sewers was right in the alleyway next to it? On one of the daily visits, it happened to be Raphael. He watched her while flipping his Sai.

Immogene looked like she was going visit the elderly couple on the first floor with a home cooked meal she’d prepared. While she was there she’d warmed up the meal she made and had dinner with them. Before she headed back up it looked like she was cleaning their apartment.

Raphael studied her with his eyes narrowed. He was remembering the first time he met the old couple. A few years ago he’d accidentally broken a flower pot of the lady’s while fighting with Leo, yet again. His brother just wouldn’t let something go...Raph couldn't even remember was it was that got Leo going. They were leaving April’s apartment and Raph had jumped off the roof to get away from Leo...instead of pummeling him. He had landed on something breakable. Whoops...now he’d done it, someone was coming. Leo landed beside him and tossed his head in the direction of the lair...Leo bounded off expecting Raphael to follow. Raphael, on the other hand, wasn’t too worried about it because only the old lady and her husband lived there. So because he was curious, instead of leaving he’d quickly donned his trench coat and hat. April had them dry cleaned for him that day, so he’d had them with him.

The next thing he knew the old lady came outside with a broom to shoo him away, and Raphael profusely apologized, he really did feel bad.

Taking him by surprise she’d invited him inside for tea. The only reason he went was that she was so tiny compared to his stature, but yet she was willing to take him on...with a broom. He’d offered her his arm and went into the apartment.

Raphael had spent the rest of the evening trying to figure out how to hold that damned tiny teacup that had little sunflowers all over it...without turning it into powder. The memory still made him smirk. He liked that old girl downstairs, she had spunk. Gladdice couldn’t hear or see very well, and her husband just sat in his rocking chair and smiled. Raph would carefully sit on the plastic wrapped couch and listen to the stories she had to tell. The old lady just thought he was a nice young man if a little shy...he never took off his coat and hat.

Raphael turned his focus back to the vision before him and watched her walk up the stairs to her own apartment through the windows at each level. Maybe Mikey was right...

At the end of every evening, Immogene would workout with her kickboxing bag. The guys enjoyed watching her. They were also starting to think that they wanted to meet her. Maybe it was time to talk to April. Two sets of eyes watched a little more intently than the others. One blue like the depths of the ocean and the other a light but intense green.

It was a long day at the gallery. Immogene was so tired. But, she also felt accomplished. She had only been in this city for a couple of weeks and she was on track to having the pieces ready. The curator was practically drooling over her work.

Immogene was also surprised at how she was handling New York. She was a small town Canadian girl and large cities normally scared the shit out of her, but she was forcing herself to step out of her comfort zone.

She had taken a cab back to her apartment but had asked to be let out a couple blocks away. She wanted to walk. As she was heading towards to her building she tried to call Brian...he’d talked to her but seemed distracted. The conversation was short. He didn’t even ask how her art was coming. Immogene knew better than to mention her father because Brian would just say it was time for her to start moving on. Immogene questioned her choice of being with him. But, who would ever love a freak like her? Like Brian always said. Too smart, too tall, built like a brick house with a little extra pudge. She rolled her eyes and kept walking. Sighing she found herself imagining that she would lose her little belly and Brian would finally love her. Immogene continued walking to her apartment...head half hanging with the stars in the night sky...

To be continued...

[elasianstar]

The World on a Turtle’s Back Chapter 8

RAPHAEL’S POV

My brothers were setting up for a movie night when Elasia came into the living room. Instead of being in the pajamas we expected her to be wearing she was in her training leathers, she threw a shiny gold top over it and was wearing a studded leather jacket over that. Her hair was styled and she was wearing bold makeup.

“I'm going out with my brothers for the night on flock business, I want you guys to just stay put while I'm gone. I'll be back around 2AM, don't stay up for me.”

We waited until we heard the sounds of their motorcycles leave before stealing the keys to the van. In our defense they were right on a hook in the kitchen. Donnie had snuck a tracker on her bike the last time she had brought it to the lair and we followed at a safe distance into the depths of the city.

They were in what looked like an old warehouse district, ancient factories with busted windows and graffiti tags line either side of an abandoned railroad line. One of the buildings stood out from the rest, it was about 10 stories tall and painted with an alien landscape. It was just like one of the drawings in Elasia’s sketchbooks. In the foreground however was the beastly figure of a troll with clownish face paint, leaned over the form of a scantily clad woman with a knife held behind her back. The neon sign over the door called the place the dark carnival.

Donnie pulled the van into an alleyway nearby and we took to the rooftops sneaking into the building via the air conditioning vents. Club music echoed through the vents and as we followed the sound, lights and fog let us know we were on the right track.

“Aww no fair, Angelface went partying without us!”

“Like we could go with her blockhead, we'd be shot down as monsters before we got to the door.”

“I don't think so Raph, look through here.”

Donnie was peering through the vents with his goggles as he waved us down.

The whole place was one central room with walkways going around it all the way up. On every level mythicals and humans danced and drank and had a good time while on the stage below a man with hands that looked like bird feet and aviator shades scratched records with another man with the tail of a snake instead of legs. People with colored skin and bug wings danced and performed aerial acrobatics from long silks hanging from the ceiling while furred folk showed off on the lower dance floor. A large twisted tree grew in the center of the building and glowed strange colors in the blacklights.

“Sick, we should totally be down there!”

Leo stopped Mikey from opening the vents by pulling him back by the edge of his shell.

“Hold back, there's a reason Elasia wanted us to stay at the farmhouse. We scope that out first.”

“Well then let's at least find a vent with a dance floor view, I wanna watch Time Reaper and Union Jack drop fat beats!”

“Time Reaper and Union Jack?”

“You didn't see the big shiny sign on the DJ booth man? Crow dude and snake man, Leo!”

“Fine Raph you take him down while donnie and i stay up here.

but we stay put until I give the signal, got it?.”

We found a nice grate just to the left of the curtained stage so Mikey could watch the DJ’s work. On closer inspection the crow man also had a bird’s feet and tail, his body giving off the same smoke as the nightmare back at the farm. He had a broken sword hanging on his hip from a heavy gold chain and his band t-shirt had a hole in the center where red stained bandages wrapped around his scrawny chest. The snake man had bright green scales scattered over his shoulders like freckles and was wearing a tank top bearing a British flag. Around his throat he wore a spiked dog collar and sharp yellow claws tipped fingerless gloved hands that shot across the turntables. His wild blonde hair was streaked with the same acidic green as his scales and his slitted yellow eyes were ringed in thick black eyeliner.

There was a man with frosted hair and glowing blue eyes working the bar, when the hand that wasn't wearing a white silk glove touched the glasses they would become frosted over with ice. He wore a baby blue suit jacket over a slightly unbuttoned shirt, a black bow tie tied around his bare neck.

Two women with grey skin and orange horns worked the bar with him, each wearing different shades of blue. The smaller one in teal wore bright red shades and a bright red leather jacket that ended just above her midriff. Her hair was cut in a bob, the ends curling upwards and streaked with teal. Her “sister" had longer hair streaked with cobalt and she wore a heavy bikers jacket covered in studs over a dark blue tee. Her shades had been broken on one side leaving a sharply winged eye to gaze bitchily at her patrons while the other side glinted with 7 red gemstones pressed into the glass.

I couldn't see Elasia or her brothers anywhere.

After a while of watching the club patrons having fun the lights went out and the music stopped dead. Signaling for mikey to stay put I moved a little further down the vent shaft to try and regain a visual. The sound of the curtains on the stage rising was all I could hear until the crow DJ started speaking in low smooth tones.

“Ladies and Gentlemen and Beings of all configurations, the dark carnival is proud to present to you, Furie and the BFT!”

The scaled DJ was lit by blacklight on the left of the stage, a union jack guitar hung from his shoulders over a white button up shirt that was unbuttoned halfway down. As he started to play a familiar melody the lights faded in on the bass player, a tall young man with shoulder length blonde hair, a single curl hanging in front of swirling blue and violet eyes. He was meek but the notes from his sparkling white bass guitar were strong and deep. A pair of moose antlers stood proud over his skull as long bony fingers plucked the strings. The crow DJ came up behind him to compliment the bass with cool smooth piano notes, his shades were gone and his skin had turned to shadow behind bright red eyes. Finally the drummer came into the light, he looked a lot like the bassist but his skin was California tan, thick muscle peeking out from under a ripped Tee instead of his brother’s sinew and bone. his shorter hair was honey blonde instead of pale cornsilk, a single cowlic stuck up from the front over deep blue eyes the same shade as the blacklight. He had an American flag the shape of a star painted on his right cheek.

the guitarist slithered up to the mic.

--”On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair,

Warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air.

Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light

My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim

I had to stop for the night.”

The dark empty stage was lit by a single amber spotlight through the mist. Elasia stood there, wings slightly spread, her outfit had been replaced by a sheer dress that shimmered, metallic gold outlining every dip and curve. Underneath she wore a skintight black leotard.

--”There she stood in the doorway;

I heard the mission bell

And I was thinking to myself,

‘This could be Heaven or this could be Hell’”

Her bare arms moved like water, tangling themselves in her hair and winding around her body

with the flow of the music. Her wings shifting around her body to show a flash of skin here and there as she danced.

--”Then she lit up a candle and she showed me the way

There were voices down the corridor,

I thought I heard them say…”

The other members of the band joined in the chorus as three dimmer lights revealed the trio, each one wearing dark tights, their colored shirts unbuttoned and their wings high and strong.

--”Welcome to the Hotel California

Such a lovely place (Such a lovely place)

Such a lovely face

Plenty of room at the Hotel California

Any time of year (Any time of year)

You can find it here”

They stood in pose as she wound her way through them, delicate hands touching skin as she practically used them as stationary objects to flip and twirl off of before spinning away. once again solo in her spotlight as they came to life in the background.

--”Her mind is Tiffany-twisted, she got the Mercedes Benz

She got a lot of pretty, pretty boys she calls friends

How they dance in the courtyard, sweet summer sweat.

Some dance to remember, some dance to forget.”

She worked with each one of them in turn, first in waltz, blue light overtaking her form and hiding it under an elegant ball gown. Second in a bouncing fox trot, her dress turning the same rich plum as her lips under ruby light. Third she danced a scandalous tango sparked with twirling gold bathed in rich emerald. Each dance held a spark of intimacy, a strong hand holding the wide-set hipbones of a bird, the other cradling the lower back as if in an embrace. Slender fingers entwined in gold, white, and chocolate hair, she caressed their faces as if they were lovers before spinning away leaving them forgotten. i felt a knot tying itself in my stomach while something in my chest was practically trying to shove me through the vent toward her.

--”So I called up the Captain,

"Please bring me my wine"

He said, "We haven't had that spirit here since nineteen sixty nine"

And still those voices are calling from far away,

Wake you up in the middle of the night

Just to hear them say…

Welcome to the Hotel California

Such a lovely place (Such a lovely place)

Such a lovely face

They livin' it up at the Hotel California

What a nice surprise (what a nice surprise)

Bring your alibis.”

Dropping to the floor she spread her body long against the smooth dark floor, obscured by the smoke. A flash of a limb or the shadow of an impossible pose being the only sign of her as the three males danced in an acrobatic tandem, wings spread like fallen angels if the faces of nearly every woman watching were any indicator.

--”Mirrors on the ceiling,

The pink champagne on ice

And she said ‘We are all just prisoners here, of our own device’”

Rising up onto her toes like a long silk scarf lifted by a fan she pointed her leg straight up into the air, arms wrapped around it as if chained. Her wings were spread straight out behind her, sparkling with golden stars against a deep velvet night as she spun slowly around her makeshift post. Her skin was dyed gold in the light, only to be broken by her markings and scars, a silver spiders web tempting those watching to edge closer. I lent against the vent, the light squeak of protest causing me to hold back. I wanted to see more of her.

--”And in the master's chambers,

They gathered for the feast

They stab it with their steely knives,

But they just can't kill the beast!”

The trio surrounded her as she faked struggling against her “restraints” each one drawing back as if raising a knife only to bring empty fists down harmlessly against her body. She arched her back in fake pain, eyes having been nearly closed the entire time flying open wide, mouth open in a silent scream before dropping once again to the floor.

--”Last thing I remember, I was

Running for the door

I had to find the passage back

To the place I was before

‘Relax,’ said the nightman,

‘We are programmed to receive.

You can check-out any time you like,

But you can never leave!’”

Her movements changed now, crouched low against the floor. her eyes glowed with hunger and her dance took on a predatory stance. moving sharply and pausing in positions mimicking a wildcat stalking it's prey from cover. The amber light turned blood red and her dress took on a similar appearance against her snow white skin. Emerging from the fog, her golden halo of a spotlight gone, she encountered each man again in turn. Instead of her varying dances of seduction from before she danced a sharp and violent pasodoble. claws raked skin harmlessly, carefully practiced to avoid hurting her partners. As she finished her mouth fell to each one's throat as they fell back into placid compliance.

The Snake man's hypnotic voice faded to the music as each of the men lifted her in tandem from behind, her arms and legs held back as her wings spread wide. She looked like a goddess ruling over her subjects as they twirled her gracefully through the air. Trading her off between them in spectacular acts of timing and skill. Finally she was passed to Francis as their wings mingled in perfect contrast, sunlit white to rich black, spinning together as all the lights faded out.

My hands balled into fists against the jealous fire in my belly.

…

When the lights came back on the dancefloor was empty, each of the dancers placed nonchalantly amongst the crowd and redressed in their clothes from earlier. The crow and snake were back behind the DJ table and the audience exploded back to life with the opening to The Monster by Eminem.

I heard the light crackle of my radio as my brothers chattered across the airwaves.

“Did you guys see that, talk about hot, i can feel my shell tightening!”

“ Mikey show a little decorum, those are her brothers and Elasia is our friend.”

“Those acrobatic maneuvers were impressive though, who knew her body could bend and twist like that. could prove to be a significant combat advantage in close quarters.”

“Now we know why she didn't invite us along.”

“Yeah yeah we get it, now is this little recon mission over? I'm heading back to the fuckin van”

“Somebody has a crush on Elasia!”

Mikey’s teasing tone had me gritting my teeth as i rounded the corner of the vent, when he saw my face his mouth snapped closed and he started crawling away through the vents as quickly as he could and remain silent. I chased him through the tunnels back toward Leo and Donnie’s scout point, making threatening lunges for him to get him to move a little faster, put a bit of fear back in him. When we got to the last corner of the vent though we heard the sound of rending steel before the floor of the vent fell out from under us.

The impact of my shell against the concrete floor knocked the wind out of me so hard that i almost didn't see the glowing tree twist around on itself to break Donnie’s fall, The entire room was silent as every eye was on us. When i got back on my feet and shook off the sheet rock and concrete dust i looked up to meet Elasia’s eyes. Her face was twisted in anger and in something i couldn't place. there was a smudge of something red on the corner of her mouth.

The crowd started to murmer, a single word forming, Golem.

I looked behind me to check on my brothers to stall. The glowing tree was bending down to the floor to gently set Donnie on the ground. leo was helping him out of the tree because his legs were shaking, his eyes were wide behind his glasses where they had been knocked askew on his face during the fall. The chant of the crowd was getting louder, the same word over and over.

“Golem.”

Elasia brushed past me, her wing grazing my arm as she went to Donnie. She grabbed his hand turning it over before wrapping him in a hug. She lifted his arm into the air like the victor of a boxing match for everyone to see. In dark black was a triangle tattoo similar to Leo’s except his was marked by another line that sliced the tip off of the triangle pointing down toward his elbow.

“The Golem has returned!”

Leo grabbed donnie’s other hand raising his arm to show his mark, the word Undine joining the murmurs of the collected creatures.

“The Undine! The spirits of the West and the North live amongst us once again!”

Her brothers and the band members surrounded us to hold off the swarming crowds as Elasia wrapped us in her wings, shoving us through a door behind the stage.

“You four are in so much fucking trouble when we get home, I TOLD YOU to stay at the house and now all of Elasia knows your faces! Splinter is going to kill me!”

“You are the one who just started announcing us to the crowd!”

“I had to, one of the guardians of myth just fell through the fucking ceiling and willed a diamondwood tree to bend! If i hadn't spoken there would have been pandemonium!”

“My scans should have caught the weakness in the vent shaft, this is my fault. I didn't intend for this to happen…”

Donnie’s anxiety was ramping up into high gear, as he rocked gently, running his fingers over his straps to try and calm himself. It hasn't been this bad since we were kids. Mikey got to him first, putting one hand over his chest and one on his shell.

“Its ok Donnie, bro, just breath. That's right in and out, what's the 28th digit of pie... 34th.... 14th.... 65th? Just keep breathing.... steady.... You good Don?”

Donnie nodded, pulling on his mask tails to ground himself. Elasia knelt in front of him careful not to do anything that might trigger an aftershock.

“Donnie, Donatello look at me hun. It wasn't your fault, your soul was merely responding to the danger, just like how Leo shoved us out of the lake. Do you understand?”

Donnie nodded, pushing his glasses back up on his beak.

“You were born with a gift, it would have manifested itself sooner or later. This wasn't your fault, don't ever be ashamed of being who you are.”

She turned his hand over and traced the mark on his wrist, it glowed bright green.

“Donatello Hamato, You’ve been chosen as the Golem. Your soul will survive the test of eternity, your body and mind will be as steady as the ground, your soul one with the plants and the stone of the earth. Be proud of who you are as the mountain never bows to the pressures of the sky.”

Elasia’s pov

I followed the van home on my bike, inside i could see three of the brothers souls huddled together while Leonardo drove. Donnie took a little to pull out of his panic but his brothers were quick to act, even Raphael stopping his brotherly bullying to comfort his hatchmate. I had hoped that the brothers would take their awakenings with more and more ease as each took on their new abilities but it seemed that the mixture of the unexpected fall, the overwhelming attention, and my own outburst had triggered Donnie’s anxiety. I had suspected he had some minor anxiety issues stemming from being the quiet and often overlooked brother but he had gone into a full panic attack. I would have to apologise when things leveled back out with the brothers.

When we got back they all headed to their rooms without a word but a few minutes later I heard all four voices coming from the morning suite. They would probably end up sleeping in a pile, they usually ended up doing that when one of them was overly stressed or injured.

I was dressing down for the night when I heard a light knock on my door.

“Come in Leo, it's unlocked.”

When he entered his eyes immediately scanned the space for potential escape points before landing on me with an ice cold resolve. I gestured for him to sit on one of the four plush cushions on the floor around a short card table.

“Tea?”

I gestured to the black teaset in the center of the table, it was painted with the ethereal forms of running animals in bright silver. After regarding the set he nodded, watching as i poured two cups before taking a seat on the cushion opposite from him at the table.

“You wanted to talk with me?”

“What are you doing Elasia?”

I set my cup down with a sigh.

“Honestly i'm not doing anything, i simply wanted to give you four a week out of the city, a chance to see that you don't need to keep yourselves hidden in the shadows of those sewer tunnels all your lives. I mean i had my suspicions about your latent abilities after handling your souls, but if my radiant magic energies didn't trigger your awakening in the month i've spent with you guys i was convinced that my suspicions were false. The events of today were not a part of my plan in the least.”

He sipped his tea slowly before speaking, his voice taking on his “leader tone”

“So you did have a plan, i suspected as much, watching you train, you never fail to have some hidden trick in place when you would get into a tight corner.”

“Yes, though the main plan was to simply get you four some much needed down time, i was also hoping that through the course of the week i would become closer with one of your younger brothers.”

he sipped his tea, contemplating the swirling tea leaves in the cup as his face subtly twitched through his thoughts..

“You're good for him, since you started your secret training every week, he hasn't been as prone to his usual outbursts. Something about you is almost taming him.”

“So you noticed… i haven't been doing anything to change Raphael, i've only been showing him how to deal with his own abilities. I showed him how to deal with the overwhelming influx of emotion he felt on a daily basis and over time what started as simple acts of compassion, turned into more.”

“I don't understand, you say that Raph possess some sort of supernatural sensitivity to emotion?”

the cup was on the table now, half finished.

“It's called Empathy, it's typically a rather common skill, even humans can become skilled empaths with the correct training. What you interpreted as an extremely brash and aggressive nature in Raph was simply him becoming overwhelmed by the influx of emotions he was naturally feeling from the people around him. Once i taught him to block out and deal with those ambient emotions his true self started to shine through, he really is quite a kind and caring person, he just has a skewed way of expressing that.”

“Yes, chasing mikey through the vents with threats to rip his shell off is definitely affectionate.”

“Well that explains why you fell through the ceiling, but think for a moment, has Raph ever seriously hurt any of you?”

He thought for a moment.

“Not Donnie or Mikey but he has left me with a few good cuts and bruises over the years.”

“That is mostly because you fed most of his intrusionary emotions, he was compounding your anger on top of his own. But truly think, Raphael bench presses 1000 pounds as a basic workout. If he really wanted to hurt you, don't you think he could?’

The look on leo’s face told me everything i needed to know, the young man literally wears his emotions on his face. He had never thought about Raph pulling his punches, he was only thinking of the surface emotion of his interaction with his next eldest sibling. Interpreting the words coming out of his mouth as his intention instead of looking any deeper.

“A good leader understands how his charges think.”

He nodded, eyes returning to the cup, his face so muddled with emotion that i had trouble reading him.

“I think i understand what you had meant now.”

“I didn't tell you any of this, i promised Raph that this information wouldn't get out. But i don't lie to my coven. You four are as close to me as my own brothers.”

“They aren't even your real family.”

“The blood of covenant is thicker than the water of the womb. When you've lived as many times as i have you come to realize the truth of that statement, you will as well someday.”

He stood to leave, bowing slightly in thanks before turning to go,  stopping in the door though he turned to me.

“You said you had suspicions, did that include all of us?”

“The Sylph and Salamander will wake in their own time. For now i believe your brothers may need your presence, there is a storm on the horizon.”