#and donnie gets knee braces because he can

[sad-leon]

TW!! Suicide Attempt, Self Harm, Implied Eating Disorder

i forgor the colour behind the dialogue but im too tired to add it now

im so tired and theres no resolution because nothing i can make will make me feel better. i Know my friends love me and think my life is worth living, but when it gets bad it gets Bad and theres nothing to do but pick up the peices

[supermallorygalaxyart]

(originally posted on instagram)

big collection of a bunch of my tmnt art for tumblr!!! :D

mikey & hobie art was for a dtiys on insta by @/cl0udy.dr3ams!

rottmnt human design notes/headcanons:

mikey: wears chewelry and has different faces on all four knee & elbow pads

donnie: wears a scoliosis boston brace that he made himself (hence the geniusbranding), had geometric edges for extra swag, and wears platform boots to be taller than leo (without them they are the same height)

raph: transfem raph truthers rise up! she has a lacey tank top for cuteness and likes to wear pigtails (in yellow hairties!) because she looks up to april

leo: ponytail is yellow. he stole it from raph who stole it from april

tmnt 2012 human design notes/headcanons:

mikey: also wears chewelry!! & he's got a crognard shirt & ICK-coloured socks :3

donnie: super robo mecha force 5 hoodie. his clothes are super patched up for a mad scientist vibe and also because he refuses to find new clothes when his inevitably get ripped and burned

raph: transfem butch raph truthers RISE THE FUCK UP!!!!!! it's important to me you know you can see his sports bra through the wide arm holes of his tank. he's the only turtle who isn't sporting merchandise of his favourite media because he's embarrassed about enjoying things BUT he did bleach dye his tank himself with casey :3

leo: space heroes shirt!! & he wears a knee brace post-shredder fight, and uses a cane alongside that post-series.

[meggahamicide]

I wanna ask about ‘The Incident’ so bad 0_0 but I know it’s spoiler territory… So instead, can I ask about everyone as kids?

This may not be in line with the asks you’re asking for,,,, but did Vermin know he had brothers? and vice versa, did Splinter share that there was a fourth turtle / even know if that fourth turtle was alive? And then any other fun turtle tot info you wanna share. I don’t know if I have any clarifying questions about the AU as a whole, but I still wanna ask things wwww I hope you don’t mind!! 🙏🏻🤍

I'll just avoid anything that enters the spoiler zone, or keep it very vague, but as for if Vermin knew he had brothers, I'd say... no? He knew that Draxum tried to mutate three other turtles, but other than that, he figures that the others died either during or soon after their mutation and didn't have much of an emotion attachment to them. And even then, he only knows that they existed because Draxum had documented the experiment in a book that had all of his research notes in it.

Later on, in the episode where everyone canonically gets their mystic weapons, instead of taking the crystal, Donnie takes the book. As far as Splinter knew, Vermin had died in the lab's destruction, so when Donnie tries to confront him about their missing brother, Splinter is equally surprised. I think I've mentioned previously that Donnie (and somewhat Mikey) is aware that something is missing, but he wasn't entirely sure what it was until he finds the book and it triggers his mission to hunt Vermin down and get him to join their family.

Now, if you were lookin' for cute kid stuff, I won't give it to you here. But as a treat, I'll give you a little Post-Incident snippet. (warning for blood and injury!)

Before the incident, the family wouldn't fear the surface as much and would often find shelter in old warehouses and condemned buildings. They enjoyed people watching from the shadows and even had tentative safehouses throughout the city where they would retreat if too many humans were around their temporary dwellings. The sewers weren't their home until after.

The event takes place when they're all young still (Mikey is 7, Donnie is 8, and Raph is 9) and it ends in what is, in the majority, permanent injures for Raph, Mikey, and Splinter.

Mikey ends up getting injured the most, grabbed by both his left leg and right arm, breaking the bones around the joints in his elbow and knee and leaving him required to wear support braces and use mobility aids on occasion. Chronic pain shows up as he heals, (I might make a separate post about that since it's such a big thing and I can't really dump all the aspects that go into something like that here) and a head injury gives him amnesia surrounding the incident, but he gets nightmares that he can't remember when he gets stressed or overly exhausted.

Raph ends up with a wound that cut across his eye, blinding him on his right, and has problems with letting his brothers out of his sight for too long. Although I haven't redesigned him yet, one of Splinter's ears gets ripped off along with half of his tail. Because Donnie was the most defended, he didn't get injured past a few scrapes and bruises, but he does have a hatred for having to be protected now. Cue, his obsession with giving them the most overpowered and completely automated defense system when they finally hunker down somewhere defendable: Shelldon.

[arokel]

Obviously I’m here for more coxstroke and perhaps a situation where one takes advantage of his height for whatever (nefarious?) reason?

here you go! this is almost entirely based on @roborain 's beautiful art so it only gets a teeny bit nefarious at the end, but I hope you like it anyway :)

Title: Leading, Resolution

Pairing: Don Hume/Bobby Moch

Rating: G

Tags: Piano, Fluff, First Kiss

Read on ao3

Notes: The chord progressions here are based on a typical ragtime chord progression, which is a bit before the boys' time but made its way into folk music throughout the 20th century.

Playing an instrument is a great way to brood without anyone noticing. Don's fingers roll into familiar tune after familiar tune as his mind churns, gaze straight ahead. He knows these songs well enough to play them in the dark, and so he can focus his mind's eye on the carousel of memories that won't leave him alone even now, when he should be able to lose himself in music as he's always done.

D7-G7-C.

His thoughts have been in unrest ever since the moment three days ago when Bobby had said, "you know, I think we're the same" and refused to elaborate.

Roger is clapping along. Joe hums under his breath and Gordy bobs his head in time. And Bobby watches.

"The same how?"

"You know, the way you look at me - I look at you like that too. You just haven't noticed."

"I don't look at you any way."

"Well, I do. You don't have to do anything about it; I just wanted you to know.”

Dominant-dominant-tonic.

There's no way Bobby could have meant it the way it sounded, but every second since Don has been searching for those looks, for some sign he might not have heard wrong. There's been nothing.

"Eyes up, Donny! Come on, you're shy to look at me now? Listen, I'm sorry I said anything. You can forget it if you want."

"Easier said than done."

"Well, I - my offer still stands. If you want to do something else. Feather, Adam; is today your first time in a shell? Because it sure as hell seems like it."

Leading-leading-resolution.

Don wants so badly to do something, anything, but he can't trust his own ears. He needs to see it.

The latest song trails into silence and Don's hands drop to his lap, played out. His head is too full of questions now to keep going even through the muscle memory. There is a smattering of applause and a few whoops from Chuck, and Don finally turns to face out towards his teammates, focusing his eyes for what feels like the first time in hours. That's when he sees it.

Bobby has drifted closer to listen, and now he is pressed against the lip of the shallow stage, elbows braced on the boards and chin propped in his hands. And his eyes -

They're a pale, piercing blue like always, and yet, watching Don, they're softer. Robin's egg rather than ice. And the look in them, so unlike Bobby's usual sharp gaze, can only be described as smitten - the way Joe looks at Joyce, the way Don knows he looks at Bobby even if he denies it, the way Bobby said he looked at Don.

Don can't look away.

He pushes back the bench and steps away from the piano to affect a slight bow, ears burning less at the applause and more at the heat of Bobby's unwavering gaze as he straightens.

Looking at the room properly now, he can see that the boys have finished their cleaning while he played and, now that he's finished, most of them are already drifting towards the door. Only Bobby remains, spine straightening and flushing under Don's scrutiny. The adoration is gone, to be replaced with a nervous, questioning look, but Don has seen enough. It was there, and Bobby does look at Don like Don looks at him, and Don wants to see it again.

It is now only the two of them. Don gathers his courage and lets himself smile down at Bobby.

"Come up here?"

"Thought you'd never ask. Hoped you would, though," Bobby says, with a grin of his own, and pushes himself up onto the stage.

Before he can straighten to his full height, Don bends to meet him, hands on Bobby's shoulders keeping him on his knees, bearing him down to the floor to kiss him. When they part, Bobby's eyes are hazy and bright and sweet.

Then he ruins it, as usual, with his mouth.

"So you like me looking up at you like that, huh? I know a couple other things I could do from this position."

Don's fingers twitch in surprise, grip tightening briefly on Bobby's shoulders like the opening chord of another piece.

E7. Dominant, leading, leading, leading -

Don will follow it where it goes.

[fourfoldtrap]

Tmnt 2012 Leonardo’s Knee injury ramble that became a ficlet

Ever since Leo’s awoken from his coma he’s been dealing with a issue. Now it’s not major enough for him to even think about burdening Donnie with.

His knee aches, a deep white hot pain that slowly drags its way up and down his leg. His knee fucking hurts. He can’t meditate the way he’s used to, the weight of his body is too much for his frazzled nerves

Sleeping with his knee wrapped is uncomfortable. He hates the way the makeshift brace of bandages leaves raw grooves across his knee. Waking up in more pain than he was the night prior, the skin under his ‘brace’ practically burning.

The usual stealth he’s been accustomed to his whole life— even before ninja training— his ability to practically glide across the floor, is gone. Overtaken by his Goddamn. Leg.

His leg creaks and groans with every step his takes, the popping of joints announcing his presence to a room before he even reaches the door. Its greatly frustrating when he’s trying to listen in on Raph and Donnie discussing His recovery and they can hear his ankle pop from behind the door. Or he turns to quick and hip pops.

He’s considered some nights when the pains too much, and the tears build too quickly. Just getting rid of his leg entirely. It wouldn’t hurt, at least not as bad as his leg hurts now— It would probably be a improvement! What good is a ninja who’s leg announces them to their enemies like their a cowboy entering a bar in a western film, foot stepping on that one floorboard to creak announcing them to the bar.

He can’t even sit comfortably!! Bending his knee at all causes teeth grinding pain. No more sitting on the heels of his feet. No more sitting cross legged on the couch bowl of popcorn resting between his leg. No more cozy nights huddled in a semi ball reading space hero’s fanfics on his phone.

He’s damned to a life of watching his brothers frantically clear a space from the coffee table because he wanted to sit with them— but his fucking leg needs to be straight and resting on something to Not hurt. He just wants to cry sometimes, why him why did it have to be him.

He has such a small amount of things that make him happy why did Shredder have to take the few things he had that were HIS and replace it with this fucking pain.

Let me know if I need to add any trigger/content warnings. I don’t think I do bc this is mainly just me pushing my chronic knees pain onto Leo. I feel like it would crush him to try to meditate in his usual form but it hurts to much to focus.

[seasidesandstarscapes]

Threads

Summary: Don loves Bobby’s outfits

Rating: G

Genre: Canon Era, Established Relationship, Fluff, Slice of Life

Words: 831

-

AO3

or

Don shouldn’t be riled up over a simple piece of fabric.

He’s seen Bobby without his shirt on. Hell, they’ve all walked around the locker room with little shame. A sweater vest making him so…flustered doesn’t make sense.

Bobby is cleaning up the sun room and Don had offered to keep him company. He tried to help but Bobby insisted Don stay put. So here he is, sitting at one of the tables and watching Bobby bounce around the room.

The vest he wears is red and blue patterned argyle, making Bobby stand out in a room of muted beige tones. The fabric is just tight enough to accentuate his waist, showing off the way he twists and bends. It’s a perfect fit for Don’s hands and he rubs the tips of his fingers together. God, he’s so gone for Bobby.

Don tears his eyes away when he catches himself staring at Bobby for much too long, but today it seems like Bobby is intent to stay in his field of view. He plops down across from Don, already smiling with conversation spilling out of him.

Don tries to focus, he really does. It’s just that Bobby’s sleeves are shoved up to his elbow. His hands gesticulate with his story, eyes glistening with excitement and Don is lost.

“So what do you think?”

Don blinks at the sudden question and he can only frown as Bobby stares at him expectantly. Bobby’s eyebrows quirk, his smile grows just a little.

“Whatcha looking at, Donny?”

Heat rushes to Don’s face and he snaps his gaze down to his lap. His hands twist together as he wishes for the ground to swallow him whole. He had hoped he’d be used to Bobby’s teasing by now, but every time, it strikes him right in the heart. A way that makes him giddy, because it means Bobby is paying special attention to him.

“I’m beginning to think I’m the problem,” Bobby grins, unfazed. “Maybe I ought to cover myself with a sheet if I’m distracting you so much.”

Don’s head shoots up at this and he realizes he’s fallen right into Bobby’s trap. Bobby has his bottom lip caught between his teeth as he gets to his feet to give Don a very good view of his entire outfit.

Struggling for words, air, Don’s mouth opens and closes helplessly as his gaze sticks to Bobby. Bobby inches around the table, perches on the corner while Don is left to watch. He just wants to reach out, pull Bobby into his lap. Instead, Don is frozen in the spot, scared if he moves, he won’t be able to help himself.

It’s then Bobby slides along the table, settles himself in front of Don. He spreads his legs, placing his feet on either sides of Don’s lap. Don is the luckiest man alive. Or maybe the most cursed. He’s not sure yet as Bobby leans forward, resting his forearms on his knees.

“Your move, Hume.”

With that, Don grabs at Bobby’s waist and digs his hands into the fabric of that damn vest. Bobby laughs, shuffles forward until he falls onto Don’s lap. He braces his hands on Don’s shoulders and Don shoots forward to give Bobby a heavy, heated kiss.

Bobby shivers in Don’s grip, grinds down to pull a whine out of Don. They really shouldn’t be doing this here, out in the open, but it makes it all the more thrilling. Don bites Bobby’s lip in retaliation, pleased with the small gasp he earns.

Nails dig into his shoulders and Don nearly crumbles from the harsh passion, moving his hands underneath the vest and up Bobby’s back.

“Guys, come on. Not in the sun room.”

Don and Bobby break apart, heads whipping towards the intruder. It’s Jim and he looks haggard. Books are tucked under his arm, his bag dropping to the floor as he stares at the two.

“Sorry,” Bobby gingerly climbs off Don’s lap, readjusts his sweater vest with the clearing of his throat.

Don mumbles his apology as well, stands to make his way to the door.

Jim waves them off with a gentle smile as he settles on the couch, opening one of his many textbooks. Bobby leads the way out and Don obediently follows behind.

“But, uh, Chuck told me he won’t be back to the dorms until after dark,” Jim offers.

Don blushes while Bobby raises a brow before a devious grin spreads on his face. With his hand caught in Bobby’s tight grip, Don races along with Bobby to his room, a small laugh bubbling out of him.

When they reach the room, when Bobby slams Don against the door and drags him into a kiss, Don is back to gripping his vest.

A small thought enters his mind and it’s then Don decides maybe this time, he wants Bobby to keep his clothes on.

Even if it’s just his shirt and the vest that complements it.

[mochiimadness]

Uhh if you’re available, can you do the turtles’ s/o as a jiganshi (a Chinese zombie girl) and how they would react if she could fight?

Also I love ur fanfics omg❤️❤️

Hello! I did a little bit of research before writing this, if I have gotten anything wrong or if this offends anyone, please let me know so I can fix it! I did play up the supernatural aspect more, mainly the addition of super strength that most forms of zombies seem to have.

I wasn't sure which version you wanted, so I went with the Rise!Turtles, hope that's okay!

The Turtles with a Jiganshi s/o

Neon Leon

It's not every day you meet an undead person-

Much less end up with one as your s/o

Leo was admittedly shocked at first when he first met you

He ended up making jokes ofc- his go to coping method when something unexplainable happens.

"Pleased to eat you! Get it, cause you're a zombie!"

"...I actually don't eat people-"

"Oh-"

Slightly awkward first meeting aside,

You two ended up getting along great!

Sometimes you'd even help him with his zombie puns!

Since you sleep during the day,

You often end up spending time with Leo during his insomnia fueled late nights

You try to help him sleep, but when that fails, you two are happy spending time with each other.

Sometimes, he ends up having to wake you up during the day for various reasons

Enemy fights, watching a movie, pizza dinners-

Whatever the reason, he'd usually say;

"Hey, does waking you up count as raising the dead?"

Leo.

He has a point though...

Leo thinks that you're cool!

Though, he never expected that you could fight

Not that he doesn't think you aren't strong or anything-

It's just that, as a Jiganshi, your limbs are incredibly stiff.

He's seen you struggle to bend down to pick something up

And you literally have to hop everywhere because you can't bend your knees enough to walk.

So, when he saw you literally leap to his rescue, he was worried to say the least.

"Wait S/O don't-!"

Only- you're actually fighting these yokai with no problem???

While you may not be able to walk or run- your hops are incredibly strong

You're spinning with your arms straight out like some sort of zombie fan, smacking opponents away with surprisingly strong blows,

Leo's sitting there with his jaw hitting the floor

By the time you're finished smacking those yokai unconscious, Leo's barely gotten up

Who could blame him? He's in shock

"...So..."

"... you can weaponize the t-pose???"

Leo

He's not wrong though.

After his initial shock,

He's absolutely thrilled!

Not only can you fight, but the way you fight makes for a fun experience!

He definitely asks you to fight with them more often

Overall, you two end up having a blast!

Don Tron

Donnie couldn't believe his eyes when he met you

You are literally something from myths and fiction

A creature of science fiction even!

A living corpse!!

Of course, he had to speak to you-

And also ask some incredibly personal questions

"How is it that you're unable to walk, but can still hop?"

"Do you eat people and/or brains??"

"How did you reanimate???"

Donnie pls-

Q&A first meeting aside, you both end up bonding quite well!

You do answer any questions you can, and he does tone it down if it ever gets to be much

He's just excited!

As a Jiganshi, you're pretty nocturnal

Which works well with Donnie, as he usually stays up late building or just surfing the internet

When he found out that you usually sleep in a coffin, he was horrified

How could you sleep in something so uncomfortable??

He immediately built you a rather spacious coffin equipped with the softest sheets and pillows

It's like sleeping in a silky soft cloud!

Because you have to hop everywhere, and can't really lower your arms, he builds some mechanized leg and arm braces for you!

While it's still hard to actually bend your limbs, it does help a lot

Now you can actually walk!

It's still easier for you to hop everywhere though, but you appreciate the gesture and use the braces every now and then.

Like Leo, Donnie never really expected you to be able to fight.

It's not really something he ever really thought to think of- rightfully so

But one day, during a fight with the purple dragons- Donnie's tech had been turned against him

His brothers were still on their way, and Donnie was struggling against the onslaught of his own inventions.

Just when he thought he was about to be hit with his own weaponized drone-

You appeared from seemingly out of thin air-

Thankfully you had gone with him to receive a supposed 'Genius Award' (which ended up just being a trap set by the Purple Dragons)

You plummeted from the sky after leaping into the air, crashing down onto the drone-

It shattered

Donnie doesn't know whether to be impressed or devastated over the destruction of his beloved drone.

Until he realized you were quite literally fighting and smashing his battle made weapons with scarily ease

Effectively crumpling them like they were nothing but foil paper.

"OH MY BANANA PANCAKES!"

After the battle, and a few tears over the loss of his tech, Donnie was going a mile a minute

"How were you able to stop my tech so easily?"

"Due to always having to hop, have you somehow gained enough strength to leap that high?? Or is that a supernatural side effect???"

"Do you think you could possibly stop an oncoming vehicle-"

You may or may not end up fighting more often or getting roped into strength tests.

Mystic Mike

We all know Mikey is terrified of ghosts-

When he first met you, he had mistaken you for one

He may or may not have shattered nearby windows by shrieking

After clearing up the misunderstanding, and informing him that you were actually a Jiganshi, he's much calmer!

Though, at first, he's still a bit scared

"You won't try to uh- eat me- right?"

"Oh, don't worry, I don't eat people!"

Phew-

"I eat the qi (life force) of others!"

W h a t

After an existential crisis, and many, many reassurances that you wouldn't eat his qi (or his loved ones qi), you and Mikey get along well!

Mikey often hops along with you!

You both have challenges involving how high or far you can jump

Of course, you always win

Mikey does beat you during flips or harder parkour though.

Out of all the brothers, despite his fear of the paranormal, Mikey has no problems seeing you eat

He walked in on you once draining the life force out of a creature, and just smiled and asked;

"Hey, do you wanted to watch movies after you're done? I got the blankets and pillows ready :3"

Very supportive

When you first end up fighting in front of him, Mikey isn't actually surprised at the fact that you can fight

What surprises him is how well you can fight

He always knew you were strong, small instances of accidentally cracking the ground or chipping the wall never went unnoticed by him,

But you were surprisingly quick with your movements.

You're hopping around rapidly, confusing your opponent's then knocking them off balance

"Go S/O go!"

Mikey's cheering on the sidelines, watching you go

And of course, he's always there to watch your back just in case

Not that you need it often

But it's still nice to have him be there!

You two enjoy fighting together

Mikey often flings enemies towards you, which you knock aside or crash down on

The scariest part is that you two are usually smiling or laughing so sweetly with each other.

If this was an anime, would both have starry eyes and flowers surrounding y'all

Enemies sprint away

Big Red

Raph couldn't believe his eyes when he first saw you

You were just minding your own business, hopping along

The hopping might've been excused as something normal, maybe you just had a lot of energy

Or maybe you were doing some sort challenge

Y'know, something believable

But there was also the fact that you are a sentient zombie

Then again, Raph had seen stranger things in life.

After getting to know you, Raph fell hard.

If you ever get tired of having to hop around everywhere, Raph will gladly carry you!

Or if you have trouble reaching anything, he'll make sure to get it for you

Very kind and considerate

Not that he doesn't think you can do things on your own,

After all, he knows you're more than capable of handling your own

But it's nice to have help every now and then

And if it ever gets to be much, let him know!

He won't get offended and backs off

Just wants to make sure you're doing alright ^^

Being the big ol' worrywart that he is,

Raph is concerned about you being anywhere near a battle

Much less being in one.

He won't lie,

He never expected that you could fight so well

You have trouble grabbing snacks that are too high or low for you to reach

So how would you fare in a fast pace battle??

It was a huge shock for Raph when he first saw you fight

"Wait- S/O get outta of here! It aint safe!!"

Genuinely thought he wouldn't be able to reach you in time

You were about to be sent flying!

But you ended up sending the mutant flying instead???

Cue Raph staring, frozen, in shock

Turns out, you're more than capable of fighting

And damn can you fight!

You're dodging and weaving,

Getting mutants to accidentally hit themselves instead

Then hitting them with a powerful flying kick!

Raph's jaw drops as the mutant goes flying through a wall

After the fight, he profusely apologizes for thinking you couldn't fight

"I really hope I didn't offend ya! I swear that wasn't my intention-"

Very sweet and genuinely worried that he offended you

After that, he's never once doubted you couldn't hold your own

In fact,

You two often fight together!

You both end up causing a bit of property damage...

But you two are smiling at the end of the battle,

So, no worries about the rubble around y'all!

Hello! I hope you enjoyed ^^

This was my first time writing about another cultures folklore creature that I wasn't super familiar with (ex: the kitsune), so I hope I did alright.

If I wrote anything wrong, please let me know! I did my best to include some of the details I read when researching the Jiganshi

Reblogs appreciated :3

[thedawningofthehour]

Is bishop going to be very old/immortal like in 2k3?

Is Leo going to get into fighting again or is he going to be less physically involved now? Does he secretly hope Galois won't like Raph?

Would Draxum ever kill Splinter if he had a chance to in quicksilver?

I haven't decided everything about Bishop's backstory, (I probably won't present it all anyway, part of the allure is that he's a mystery) but yeah I am going to include some bits about him being present for events that he is absolutely too young to have been around for. There will be a reference to the Roswell incident, which took place in 1947, and how strange that he still looks 35-40ish.

I do think you guys are overestimating how much he's going to be present going forward. Leo's main enemy is very much still Draxum, and Draxum's main enemy is still the human world as a whole and not Bishop specifically. And Gale doesn't give a fuck about him at all, which incenses Bishop greatly. (he's like Kendra in that he wants to be Donnie/Gale's greatest nemesis, and he's just like "oh right you exist.")

Leo will be back in the game at some point! It won't be exactly the same, he's still gonna need a knee brace and will have to be aware of it for longer than this story is going to run for-being sure he doesn't strain it, giving himself adequate time to put his leg up and let it rest in between periods of activity. He'll probably have pain flare-ups for decades. But this is Leo we're talking about. Man could lose every limb and would still be out there trying to bite Drax. He just can't do this anymore:

Leo would never wish for something like that, he's hoping for the best for Raph. He just isn't that hopeful.

Well, he still has the promise he made to Donatello, which Draxum holds in very high esteem. Maybe pre-table Draxum would have done it anyway, but not anymore. Not with him. And now he's promised Raph as well.

But his feelings towards Splinter are very different and honestly, a lot less complicated than his feelings towards the turtles. Even though he hates Leo now, Draxum is still very aware that Leo is his creation and his son's brother-and in another life, he would have been Draxum's son. Even though that's not what happened here, even though Leo has been a pain in his ass ever since Draxum found out he was alive-that knowledge still holds him back.

It's not the same with Splinter. While Draxum was absolutely in love with Lou Jitsu, he does a lot of the same compartmentalizing he does to separate Lou from Rat Lou that he does with Donatello and Galois. And honestly, he's under no illusions about 'what could have been' with Lou. In another life, the turtles would have been Draxum's sons. There is no life where Draxum ended up with Lou. Furthermore, Lou is the reason Draxum didn't raise the turtles as his sons, he kidnapped all four of them and raised them in squalor. If he hadn't done that, Draxum would have a decent relationship with Leonardo-they'd probably still fight, sure, but Draxum could forgive his more annoying qualities and love him. He'd have been able to teach Michelangelo about his mystic powers and help him develop his abilities. He could have trained with Raphael every day. And he wouldn't have had to do any of this to Donatello, he wouldn't have had to hurt him or lie to him and live with what he's done. He'd have had his perfect scientist son, and he wouldn't have had to break him open like a kinder egg first. Draxum fully blames Lou for this not being his reality, and he's still angry after all these years.

But he's Raphael's father, was Donatello's father. And if someone took Galois away from Draxum the way he took Donatello from Lou, it would destroy him. What he's done to another father, it's just unthinkable. What right does he have to attack Lou? Wouldn't Draxum have done the same, stolen his sons away from someone who would put them in harm's way? How can he condemn Lou for his actions when Draxum has done far worse?

In short-no, because he promised. If the promise didn't exist, probably. If only so he can stop feeling conflicted about it.

[xxlea-nardoxx]

sorry if youv already said this, but where did Donnie get the cracks/scaring on his skin in your au?

I never explained it before and even if I did, it's alright!! All of his scars are from the canon 2012 timeline, actually.

The red "cracks" are supposed to be scars from being electrocuted, especially from the episode "The fourthfold trap"!! I just can't draw scars very well, lmao.

As for the other scars...

The scars on his left elbow are from "Slash and Destroy", because I like to think more into his injury. He also wears a brace similiar to the situation with Leos knee. :>

The ones on his fingers are simply because of potential substances he's touched. Bro, for the love of god, wear gloves.

All of the other scars don't have an exact canonical accident assigned to them and are just from several fights during the show, because realistically the canon turtles should look scarred af.

But I guess some of them can be tracked back to "Broken Foot" too, when he got blown up!

[gutless-draws]

I wanted to play around a bit more with some future Donnie and came up with this. No, this will not change and I am gonna make a whole ass ref out of it. But so far, I have a few things laid out! For instance, I have Donnie’s prosthetics and cybernetics down and will be making a ref for that too. With that, I’m gonna info dump about him!XD

First his cyborgy mess situation-

So, Donnie has a good few prosthetics, so for limb wise his left leg(from the knee down) and his right arm(from hand to shoulder socket). His leg has a hidden blade in it but his arm has more versatile use, as it has a built in gun, can hold small objects like small viles and such, and also a tazer! He calls it his “multi-purpose arm” like the multi-purpose pocket knife.

From there he has robotic eyes and a sort of built in brace for his jaw, basically two L shaped pieces of machinery that keeps his jaw together. his robotic eyes can zoom in, pick up evidence and store it on the side, and night vision. And for his jaw, it just helps him keep it stable and there BUT, because it's Donnie, he added the flavor of being able to unhinge his jaw to the point it terrifies people. No, he does not explain why he added that, he just wanted too.

His gas mask also is a filter/his helper in breathing. His lungs are jacked, so he uses it to assist in breathing when his body gives out on the need. Cool feature he added was

Donatello lived and died at the age of 33 - 34 years old. He was the strongest at ninpo out of all his brothers and also stopped giving a shit over the years so he grew more emotionally mature(still struggles with emotions and people but has gotten better at it) and has almost dropped the entire “emotionally unavailable bad boy” persona just a tiny bit.

I do have a few timelines with him that involve Casey, cause gets all the dads I guess, but I have two main ones with him. One; being Casey’s uncle, or two; being Casey’s dad. I couldn’t decide, plus I like me a good story line. For the dad one, it’s debatable if he gets with Cassandra but Casey is not biologically his but he treats Casey as such. Basically him and Cassandra co-parented until Cass died then he was left to pick up the pieces of that. He has a huge soft spot for children, having chosen to teach the children of the resistance basic education when he wasn’t out on the field or busy working(which only a select few were able to get to stop working.) He also grows to be a good 7′0 tall and “fun” fact, I gave him Casey’s cape because I came up with the idea that it would be originally Donnie’s and Casey just had acquired it at some point after Donnie died.

That’s about it. I’m definitely gonna draw more of him, I just loved the design and I have future ROTTMNT brain rot, hopefully you all like it cause I certainly love him.

[soursugxr]

I went slightly insane during my history class

Separated AU? Kinda? Except all of them are completely different from their actual ROTTMNT iterations💀

I’m gonna be honest I’ve never loved drawing Donnie for whatever reason so of course I had to make him pretty so I would actually want to draw him.

Storyline below!!!

Essentially this entire AU is: would if Draxum’s lab exploded and it messed up the turts?

So the story I’ve formulated in my head is like:

Basically the same until like. The whole “Lou Jitsu destroys Draxum’s lab bc fuck that guy” thing. The lab very much explodes.

Raph, being the biggest, shields his siblings (specifically his twin) from the blast to the best of his ability, which absolutely massacres his shell. Leo is the only one who got away without any serious injuries, Donnie straight up lost his arm, and Mikey’s legs are permanently messed up.

Splinter (understandably) thinks Raph is just straight up dead after that (he is not), and takes the other three turts so he can get them help, gets mutated in the process.

Raph is (somehow) not dead, and (somehow) manages to survive on the streets of the Hidden City on his own. His shell is absolutely fucked, but thanks to growing up around magic, he can use it pretty well. He ends up meeting Sunita, who teaches him how to talk, and her family takes him in for a while, but he’s so used to being on his own that he doesn’t really adjust well to being part of a family.

Meanwhile, the other tots are (mostly) safe with Splinter.

Because of the whole “twintuition” thing, Leo has grown up being super anxious all the time. He barely has any memory of having a third sibling, but there is A Feeling that he can’t shake. They’re constantly feeling super guilty about not being injured in the lab explosion since her siblings were so badly injured and it effects them every single day, so he becomes the leader to protect them. She’s super serious about all the ninja stuff, simply because he doesn’t want his little siblings getting hurt again, and this entire time they’ve been holding on to a tiny piece of red fabric that he’s had since the Incident. They don’t know why, but they’re very attached to it.

Donnie, being the absolute genius he is, managed to build himself an entire high-tech prosthetic arm. Because of course he did, he’s Donnie. He doesn’t come out of the messy ass garage often, usually only for missions or when Splinter tells him to. He’s been working on something to help Mikey with his whole leg situation for the past god knows how long. He hates getting dirty until it’s his garage/lab, then he’ll go crazy and get covered in oil and grime.

Mikey’s situation is a lil unique. He can walk around on his own most of the time, but sometimes his legs Do The Thing (his words. it just means they feel weird and hurt a lot), so he’ll need a knee brace or crutches or something for a little while. He loves graffiti, which is how he met April, and he’s also the one who goes out on his own most often, despite Leo constantly worrying about him. He’s the one who found Raph :)

Sunita is honestly just The Best. She’s been Raph’s best friend since they met, and has tried to help him at every opportunity. When he left the hidden city after finding out about that Draxum is on the hunt for him, she was worried sick, and ended up sending Mayhem after him, just to make sure he was okay.

April has been The Red One for a long ass time, because she thought green was lame since “all of the turtles are green” (ignoring the fact that Donnie is a painted river terrapin and therefore not green) and she wanted to be cool. Leo never really liked that whole thing because of the Hey I’m Super Attached to This Red Fabric thing, but they got over it eventually. She’s very much a big sister to the turtles, even though she was slightly weirded out when she first came across Mikey.

Cassandra is the other reason April wanted to be The Red One, she just wanted to match her girlfriend. Casey’s honestly just The Gayest person on earth, and does she care? No. She can kick ass and kiss girls and that’s what matters. She’s aware of the turtles but doesn’t hang out with them super often, so most of what The Guys know about her is just from April gushing about her favorite person.

Splinter has been trying to dad this entire time :,) he’s riddled with guilt and severe trauma, but he’s trying and that’s what matters. Every so often he thinks about the fact that he just left Raph in the destroyed lab and he cries a little bit (a lot actually) because his train of thought is “I could have at least buried him.” Being a rat isn’t the greatest either, but again, he manages. He doesn’t have any “visible” injuries from the Incident, but mentally he’s absolutely fucked.

Draxum is a bastard piece of shit (in this au) and I hate him (in this au). He went into hiding for a lil while, but then came back with a whole “I want my creations back” thing going on, which drove Raph out of the Hidden City. Raph remembers the most about the Incident, oddly enough, and the mere thought of being put back in a test tube makes him physically ill. Drax kinda gets his redemption arc but it’s in that really awkward “why the hell would I ever forgive you?” sense, like an abusive parent who realized they fucked up and tried to apologize, but you’re never going to forgive them because of what they did.

Raph actually got a cloaking brooch so he could blend in on the surface, but kinda hated it because he felt out of place anyway (because people are judgmental of people with scars/visible disabilities). When Mikey found him, he was alone in the sewer with the brooch off, shenanigans ensue.

And by shenanigans I mean Donnie and April now owe Mikey so much money because they were betting on whether or not Leo’s whole “guys we have another sibling somewhere I swear” thing was true or not.

Raph is very unwilling to talk at first, but eventually he’s like “I mean this is my brother so I may as well talk to him yk?” But also doesn’t want to be found just yet.

Sibling bonding time :)

Raph is very concerned about Mikey’s legs giving out and tries to heal it with magic (it doesn’t work). Mikey is very concerned about Raph’s shell, but it’s healed now, just weakened and misshapen.

At some point Draxum’s bounty hunters find Raph, but unfortunately Mikey is there, so Raph’s first instinct is to protect him. Raph gets very injured, Mikey manages to escape the bounty hunters and drag Raph along with him.

Everyone is now freaking out

That’s all I got for now. So here’s some lil notes n stuff about The Guys

Raph

Alligator snapping turtle

The tallest and (technically) oldest

Leo’s (slightly older) twin. They’re from the same clutch of eggs

Doesn’t really care to define his gender identity or sexuality. Truthfully he doesn’t even care about what pronouns people use for him, but he just tells people he/him to keep it simple

Instead of sais or tonfas, he uses improvised brass knuckles

The team medic! He’s good at improvising if need be, and is very no-nonsense when it comes to his brothers’ taking care of themselves. This man singlehandedly improved Donnie’s abysmal sleep schedule

Still talks in third person sometimes, mostly when he’s having a bad day, a panic attack, or dissociating

Fight or flight is almost always on, he has a problem with hoarding food because of how he grew up

Never really learned any proper fighting techniques, he just goes for whatever opening he sees

Very quiet. He still has pretty bad anger issues, but he bottles it up until it’s too late and he gets a little silly in fights (Leo has called an ambulance for a Foot Clan soldier at least twice now)

Leo

Alligator snapping turtle

The second shortest, but also second oldest

Raph’s twin

He/they/she. They spent so long worrying about her siblings that he never stopped to figure out her gender. They don’t know what to call himself, but defaults to “man liker” because that’s the closest thing he can come up with

Classic two katanas(?) I don’t actually know what kind of swords Leo has outside of the odachi in Rise

So incredibly the leader. She takes it very seriously, since his siblings getting hurt is his biggest nightmare

Insanely anxious, constantly. If they hadn’t gone through so much meditation training they would be having nightly panic attacks

The last time they had a meltdown it was because Mikey’s chronic pain acted up so bad that he couldn’t walk for about a week, and Leo was terrified that he would never walk again

Makes the shittiest dad jokes to try and cope, but it doesn’t work. Humor is Mikey’s thing. Tries to distract herself with projects instead. Doesn’t work either, that’s Donnie’s thing. Meditating for hours and hours doesn’t work very well either. That’s Splinter’s thing. He can’t figure out what his coping mechanism is, and that just adds more stress to their life

Freaks out over the tiniest stuff

Hates eating mushrooms because of the texture

Donnie

Painted river terrapin

Second tallest, only a few inches shorter than Raph

The middle child

He/him, much like Raph though, he doesn’t really care. Sometimes he calls himself “triple A” because he’s agender, asexual, and aromantic. He doesn’t care about relationships but thinks it’s kinda cute how happy April is when she talks about Cassandra.

High tech bo staph and his tech, specifically his prosthetic left arm

The smart one. He hoards bits of knowledge that are probably useless, but also ones that are very useful. His toolbox looks like a nightmare mess, but it’s actually perfectly organized in his mind

Very quiet and slightly antisocial

He’ll obsess over the tiniest detail of a project and then never finish it

His prosthetic arm actually has five fingers so he can better work with tinier objects. It also has an added bonus of any handprint-activated things made by/for him only working for him, so it keeps his siblings out of his stuff

Ambidextrous

Mikey

Western painted turtle

Shortest. Tiny lil baby

Youngest and acts like it. His siblings know no peace

He/they. Turns out being stuck in bed because your legs hurt so much gives you a lot of time to think about your gender, and this lil fella figured out he was transmasc.

Still has his nunchucks, but now they’re bedazzled

Tries to walk even when his legs Do The Thing because “it only hurts after like 5 minutes guys I’m fine”

Sews patches onto the fabric parts of his knee braces, doodles on the plastic/metal parts

Tries to be super agile and do cool tricks while fighting, but leg pain is unfortunately a bitch

Very serious about safety when it comes to graffiti. He gets upset when April doesn’t wear a respirator mask when working with spray paint

I wanna get this writing right someone please tell me how chronic pain affects people I crave knowledge

That’s basically all I have so far. I’ll make lil notes like this for the non-turtle characters at some point

More stuff:

Ref sheets

[the-lavender-clown]

In The Dragon on 5th Avenue. Does Donnie get a brace for his right leg? I read the thing about the limp and could not stop worrying about it. Also, does he have a fear of cats?

Yes he does get a brace as well as a cane even if he only uses the cane sparingly. When he gets his cloaking brooch he will also get some physical therapy and by the time he meets his brothers it won’t be much of a problem. He’ll still mostly wear a brace or compression type thing over his knee, since that’s where the problem is mainly located, but he’ll only use his cane if he’s having a really bad day after aggravating it. The cane will also take the place of his tech bō as it can extend and change its shape to be more staff like.

For your second question yes he is afraid of cats, much like Jase is afraid of dogs. Both of them are equally uneasy around Mayhem because it’s hard to tell if he’s more of a dog or cat.

[tmnt-obsessed-ace]

Lost But Never Found: Chapter 3, Its Getting Hard To Breathe

The week prior had been a roller coaster.

Leo had gone into the medbay, just to give Indigo a check up, to make sure his unconscious turtle friend was still ok.

He checked the vitals, heart rate was still good, he was breathing fine and everything else seemed normal.

Besides the broken bones, internal damage and the dozens upon dozens of scars that littered practically every inch of Indigo's body.

Leo shook the thoughts from his head, though his eyes drifted to the x-ray images sitting on the table, mocking him relentlessly.

After giving the turtle one last once over he walked over to the table, picking up the images yet again, for perhaps the hundredth time since they were printed.

Where to begin? Three fractured ribs, the severed ulna and fractured radius in his right arm? The obvious concussion?

Those were just the current injuries.

Looking at the images now it was so much worse than Leo originally thought. Broken bones that healed incorrectly like the dozens of tiny fractures in his upper arms, like something grabbed him and tried to crush him.

Or the absolute disaster of a right knee. It looked like the kneecap had almost been shattered. Torn muscles and scar tissue were surrounding the joint. It looked so easy to dislocate, like even just standing on it wrong could push the joint out of what's left of the socket.

How was he even walking on it?

The worst part is that it was recent, about two or three years old. Leo almost felt sick. Was Indigo forced to fight right after the injury? That's just pure vile! Doesn't Big Mama let her competitors rest after major injuries like that? The injury will only get worse if not!

Judging by how messed up the knee is, that's probably what happened.

God, Indigo was in the Battle Nexus for years! Fighting for as long as he could remember.

"I'm never gonna let Big Mama hurt you again." Leo suddenly said out loud, watching the slightly strained rise and fall of Indigo's chest with every breath he took.

The pictures were set back on the table, with the slider making a mental note to get a knee brace for Indigo for when he wakes up. That should at least help stabilize the joint a bit while letting him use the leg.

A soft beep sounded from the nearby machine. The blood analyzer, it seems it was finally finished after forty eight hours. Only reason it was forty eight was because Donnie got the first blood sample contaminated and the results were inclusive. So Leo did the second sample since his twin brother can build machines like they came from a comic book but a little blood makes him too queasy.

Regardless, the results were being printed so Leo was happy.

Once the paper was free from the printer, the slider snatched it while it was still warm. He looked it over, noticing something…

"What?"

You see the machine was primarily used to figure out blood type, gotta make sure any blood donations are from a compatible donor or else blood poisoning will happen and that's a nightmare to deal with.

But it can also check for diseases in the blood and even parentage.

Leo was staring at the results, slack jawed as his mind tried to process what he was seeing.

He grabbed the papers and sprinted out of the medbay, the rest of his family was in the living room rewatching the classic Jupiter Jim movies.

"Guys!" Leo screamed before tripping on the fallen pillows. He landed on the hard floor with a thud, all the papers scattering around the room.

"What is it?" Raph asked, suddenly concerned. "Are you ok?" Leo brushed himself off with a groan.

"Is Indy ok?" Mikey asked, climbing over Raph and fully prepared to race to the medbay. Donnie was tinkering with his cellphone, though he took one headphone off to listen in.

Leo hurriedly tried to gather up the papers, his stomach practically in his throat.

"Look at this!" He showed off the papers, gaining some looks of confusion. April and Donnie's eyes went wide.

"Oh my…no way, how did this happen?" Leo shrugged as Splinter walked into the living room with more buckets of popcorn.

"Dad! Dad, look! You gotta see this!" Leo shouted as Raph and Mikey still looked confused.

"Just a second Blue, let me set this down first!" Splinter said with a light chuckle. Leo didn't have time to wait.

"Indigo is a mutant! He's your son!" The slider shouted, the popcorn buckets all falling to the floor the second the words left Leo's mouth. Splinter whipped around, instantly getting the papers shoved into his face.

The old rat grabbed the papers, scanning it over and over expression morphing from confusion to horror in seconds. He covered his mouth with one hand, tears welling in his eyes.

"How is that possible?" Raph squawked, glancing towards the direction of the medbay.

"I-I don't know! The only turtles Draxum created were you four!" Splinter yelled, shaking like a leaf.

He suddenly bounded towards the medbay like his life depended on it.

The others followed suit and when they arrived, Splinter was sitting next to Indigo's unconscious body, practically vibrating with how hard he was shaking.

"A mutant?" Mikey asked "Like us?"

"Almost exactly like us. Except for some differences in the ooze used." Donnie explained, having taken the papers from Splinter and showing it to the youngest turtle. "Though I'm not exactly sure what species of turtle he is."

"No way…"

"But how? Why? Splints, didn't you say that Draxum's lab was completely destroyed when you were mutated?" April asked. Splinter nodded, but didn't stop shaking.

"Maybe he rebuilt it before we got there and bada bing bada boom Indigo!" It was a shaky idea but an idea nonetheless.

"Really Nardo? It supposedly took Draxum thirteen years to recover all his research, when and how could he create another turtle in that time? With papa's DNA no less!" Donnie added, though the concern laced in his voice was clear despite the heavy sarcasm.

"I was just suggesting!"

"Yeah well your suggestion is inaccuracte."

"Well how else did he become a mutant?"

"I don't know maybe he was an average turtle that ate an oozequito or something?"

"By he has Dad's DNA? How is that possible?"

"Yeah true."

"Maybe Draxum had some od dad's juice left over?"

"Splints are you ok?"

Splinter pulled Indigo into a gentle hug, looking at his children. "Boys." The rat said quietly. "There is only one possiblity. Indigo is one of Draxum's original…five experiments. And I left him behind. God what have I done?" He said, voice breaking into a miserable sob as he held his child in his arms.

"Pops its not your-"

"Yes it is Red! I should've seen him! I should've grabbed him! Then he he would…he wouldn't…I failed him, I failed my son…" That was it, Splinter was crying now, trying so hard to scoop Indigo up and hold im tightly in his arms, protect him from all the horrors of the world. He never should've been in the Battle Nexus, at the mercy of Big Mama and the ruthless hoardes of yokai.

Just like he was.

"I'm so sorry my son. I'm so sorry…"

His children all wrapped their arms around him and their brother, crying miserably while Indigo peacefully slept.

What if he never woke up? What if he…he…passed?

That would by far be Splinter's greatest failure as a father.

After all, Indigo wouldn't have been in the Battle Nexus, been beaten so badly, if Splinter had only noticed a fifth turtle in Draxum's lab.

But he was sure he only saw four even thirteen years later he still remembers only seeing four baby turtles.

Right?

Back in the present time, that same turtle was finally awake.

"What?" Indigo asked again, disbelief clear in his voice.

The rat pulled away and rubbed his eyes dry.

"I understand that this is quite a shock." How was he even supposed to respond to this? Indigo glanced at Leon, was this some kind of joke? The slider gulped, nervously shuffling from foot to foot.

"So uh…yeah you're our brother!"

"What do you mean by that? This…this has to be a joke! Right?"

Both the rat and turtle wore the same guilty expression on their faces. Like father, like son as the old saying goes. Though it was also fearful, like they expected him to explode. Indigo only felt confused.

Leon grabbed a clipboard from the nearby desk, handing it to Indigo. With a raised brow he took it and skimmed the sheet of paper.

It was some kind of table, with all kinds of numbers listed in the columns. Some of the numbers were similar between the two columns but aside from that he couldn't really understand what it meant. "So what does this have to do with anything?"

Leon took the clipboard back, flipping to the next page. "This is the one you gotta focus on Indy." Once the clipboard was once again handed to the shorter turtle his heart began to pound harder against his ribs.

Indigo (n/a), blood type O-, 65% DNA match to Hamato Yoshi.

The rat squeezed Indigo tighter, shame clear on his face.

Hamato Yoshi.

Indigo gently pushed the rat off of him, despite how his arms suddenly felt so heavy, shaking from the strain.

He collapsed into the pillows, vision blurring. A dull ache began to pulse in his skull, near his temples. Where did that come from? Did he get another concussion in the fight?

Take a breath and try to relax. A little difficult to do when your lungs feel like fire.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Easy, simple.

Hopefully the rat and Leon didn't notice how his breath waivered with each huff of his lungs.

"I thought…" The words clung to Indigo's throat. "I thought your name was Lou Jitsu?"

Leon snickered quietly, despite the grim look on his face.

The rat sighed, putting a hand on Indigo's shoulder. "That is just a stage name, Hamato Yoshi is my actual name." The turtle nodded, wincing as the ache in his head turned into a throb, spreading almost lazily through his skull like flowing water.

He tried to massage the pressure points, hands shaking the entire time till his arms eventually collapsed.

Hamato Yoshi.

He shoved the thought away, spots forming in his vision. "I…wha?" He slurred out, one hand pressed against his forehead as the pain intensified again.

His ears were ringing, drowning out the two of them. What was happening? It's like his brain was melting! He buried his head into his hands as hot electric shivers zipped down his spine.

Burning.

Everything was getting hotter and hotter.

Heart pounding against the turtle's ribcage, reigniting the burn with every thump.

Hamato Yoshi

Hamato Yoshi

Hamato Yoshi

That name sounds familiar.

But how.

How does that name sound familiar?

Why does it sound familiar?

The pain reached a peak, becoming blinding.

White hot yet ice cold.

Make it stop!

Make it stop!

Please make it stop!

It's too much make it stop!

God someone please make it stop!

The turtle's stomach lurched, twisting into knots.

God it felt like his skull was vibrating.

"Fuck." Indigo gasped, nearly choking on the word. He clawed at his head, trying to drown out the screaming pain in his mind.

Just as the pain was about to overwhelm him it suddenly vanished.

His eyes twitched, in perfect sync with his heart rate.

A cool, three-fingered hand rested on Indigo's shoulder, providing relief. "Woah woah, calm down Indy, it's ok!" When Indigo looked up Leon was giving him a soft look.

"Sorry." The slider only scoffed at the response. Leon pulled his hands off his head, there weren't any marks left behind. Indigo rubbed his eyes, sinking into the pillows with a dull oomph.

"You alright? That looked intense." Indigo blearily nodded, massaging his sore head. There was a soft knock on the doorframe, though it felt like a hammer was smacked into the turtle's forehead.

Indigo groaned, a string of curses under his breath.

"Is he ok?" A voice asked quietly. Upon looking up there was a much larger turtle standing in the doorway. He was big, broad and spikey and even had a snaggle tooth hanging over the right side of his mouth.

Wearing a bright red bandana and a nervous look on his face. But the strange part was how he was hunched over, arms pulled close to his sides. It was weird.

Like he was trying to make himself look smaller, less intimidating for some reason. Indigo raised a brow. "What are you doing?" He dared to ask, forcing himself to sit up. Now was not the time for rest even though he felt like he got pounded into the ground…again.

The big turtle perked up, honey brown eyes widening. He looked nervously at Leon, waiting for confirmation.

Leon in turn looked at Indigo.

"This is my…er, our big brother Raph!" With a simple 'come here' gesture, Raph cautiously walked over.

The red clad turtle stood a bit away from the cot, still trying to look smaller than he actually was. It was bizarre. Shouldn't someone his size be standing tall, shoulders out and head held high. That's how most of the other competitors acted.

"Hey little buddy, you feeling ok?" The big turtle asked, voice soft and restrained. Which only added to Indigo's confusion.

"What's wrong with you? I'm not gonna bite you if that's what you're thinking." He said curiously. Did this guy lose a stupidly easy match? It happens to everyone, no sense in dwelling on it.

Or maybe it was because of Indigo's status in the arena. He was one of the top five fighters after all so it's understandable to be intimidated. Or awestruck…

The large turtle looked taken aback. "Oh no! I just didn't want to scare you! I'm pretty big after all! I'm Raph by the way!" Indigo looked Raph over, he was maybe six feet tall max.

He couldn't help but laugh.

Both Leon and Raph were taken aback as he laughed harder and harder till the pain in his chest forced him to stop. With wheezing breaths he looked Raph dead in the eyes.

"Bitch are you serious? I fought opponents five, six, maybe even seven times your size regularly. I could take you in a heartbeat!" Both turtles looked stunned.

"Dude." Leon breathed out as Raph at least tried to relax.

"Anyways foul language aside, so how are you feeling Indigo? You doin ok?" Raph asked again in the same tone as before. Indigo rolled his eyes and threw the blanket off.

He stretched his legs, hissing as his right knee decided to be a bastard and locked. Damn it not again. Great! When its not one thing its another.

Whatever it will unlock in a few minutes anyway. Indigo hopped off the bed, staggering as his feet hit the floor, right knee threatening to buckle.

"Easy! Don't hurt yourself!" Raph yelped, trying to provide support but Indigo brushed him off.

"I'm fine! I'm fine!" Leon's arms were suddenly around his stomach, heaving him into the air.

"Oh hell no you are gonna rest!" The slider grunted, struggling to hold him up. Indigo sighed, grabbing Leon's arm.

"What are you doing?" Indigo rolled, using the momentum to briefly switch positions with the slider.

With a twist Leon was swept off his feet and chucked into the cot with a powerful spin from Indigo.

Leon landed on the cot with a whap. Indigo landed left leg first and once he regained his balance he leveled the slider a deadpan stare.

"You were saying?"

"You're bleeding!" Raph gasped, pointing to a stitched up gash on Indigo's right hip." Sure enough there was a dark crimson spot beginning to form against the stark white gauze.

"Eh no big deal."

"No big deal?" It really wasn't a big deal, it isn't near vitals so a little blood is really nothing.

"Raph please put Indy back on the bed." Stated Leon as he approached, teal medical gloves on his hands. A white stapler was held in hand, clacking dangerously. Indigo only scoffed at the device.

"Do you actually think that will scare me?" The question hung heavy in the air, the only other sound being the constant click clacking of the stapler. Raph carefully tried to approach Indigo, a pleading look on his face.

"You were hurt really bad Indigo, you gotta rest so you can heal. So let's get you back in bed so Leo can nicely patch you up again ok?" The shorter turtle rolled his eyes. Raph gently tried to nudge him back to the cot.

"It's just a little blood, so like I said it's no big deal. It will probably stop bleeding in a few minutes." With that said he staggered out of the medbay, despite how his right knee was absolutely not cooperating. Get with the program already!

The room was completely purple. Purple floor, purple walls, purple lights. The owner of this room really liked the color. Complex machines in all stages of construction were scattered around the room. Massive computer monitors were mounted to the walls, some kind of a human looking girl with insanely long teal ponytails was displayed on one of the monitors.

How does she not trip over her own hair? It looked like a video. Before Indigo could go over to investigate further there was a loud buzz.

A soft blue glow materialized in the air right in front of the turtle, stopping him in his tracks. Leon's head popped out of the swirling vortex, a scowl on his face. One hand holding the stapler came through as well.

Indigo crossed his arms, leveling the slider a glare of his own. "It's just a little blood Leon, save the medical supplies for someone who actually needs it." The boy's face morphed into shock, then something else. A sad look, Leon's face fell into a familiar look. One that was often painted on the older competitors' faces whenever he would often come back beaten and bloody.

It was the look of pity.

"Oh boy. Indy if we run out of medical supplies we can just raid an urgent care. We don't have to worry about scarcity most of the time."

"Most of the time?" Leon nodded, stepping out of the portal. It closed behind him just as Raph came out of the medbay as well.

"Besides hermano, the only one here that 'actually needs it' is you!" Leon finished that sentence with a boop to Indigo's forehead before he was dragged back to the medbay. "Raph go tell Mikey and April that our new brother is up, and if he doesnt let me fix the wound to bring out Dr. Delicate Touch!" Leon cooed in a sing-song tone.

"Whose Dr. Delicate Touch?" Leon only smiled evilly as he gestured for Indigo to sit back down on the cot.

"Your worst nightmare." The gauze was snipped off and disposed of in the nearby trash can. The gash was revealed, the bleeding being like Indigo assumed. Relatively shallow and not at all life threatening as the slider was making it out to be. "You're lucky it's a light bleed or you would already be at the mercy of Dr. Delicate Touch."

The blood was cleaned off and the stapler leveled across the gash. Leon looked up at Indigo, bright green eyes once again filled with pity. "Well? Are you gonna do it or not?" The boy whined a bit.

"Well I…I was just kidding you know? I can just restitch it if you want?" His voice was impossibly soft, it was sickening. Indigo grabbed the stapler and swatted Leon's hands away.

With a loud click the first staple was punched in, it was a bit crooked but if it gets Leon to calm down so be it. Two more were punched in, closing the wound. Not the prettiest thing in the world but it will do.

Upon seeing Leon's absolutely flabbergasted face, Indigo raised a brow. "What?"

"Didn't that hurt? Like a lot?" The shorter turtle shrugged, it was a bit painful but the tolerable kind of pain.

"Compared to almost getting your limbs torn off, not really." The slider's jaw dropped as he stared at Indigo with a look that bordered on horror.

Leon gulped and nodded, hastily covering the wound in gauze again. "Right…where's the rat?" The rat was just gone, not at all seen since…whatever the fuck that was a couple of minutes ago. Like he had headaches before but nothing as agonizing as that was. Leon frowned nervously.

"Oh he's in the kitchen making some dinner, hope you like ramen!" The slider joked. However there was no effort in the joke, it was hollow, laced with anxiety. Indigo decided not to comment. "Anywhizzle, maybe we should introduce you to April and Mikey already, yeah? But you still gotta take it easy ok?" The shorter turtle begrudgingly nodded and stood up again.

He shifted his weight off his impossibly stubborn right leg, ignoring a twinge of pain from the awful joint. As long as it didn't dislocate it would be fine. Leon gave him a curious look "Is that an old injury? Didn't heal right?" When Indigo nodded Leon grabbed something from the nearby table.

It was solid black with four straps, two on top two on the bottom. A circular pad in the middle on either side. "What is that?" Leon walked over while opening up the straps.

"A knee brace, it should make walking easier and less painful." The brace was put on, the straps snugly secured. "Try it out." Indigo stood up, actually putting weight on his right leg for once.

The usual pain was still there, yes but far less than it usually was. His eyes went wide as he took a few steps. "Woah."

"Does it work?"

"It actually does." Leon looked almost giddy.

"Come on, let's go before Mikey and April get impatient." The boy grabbed Indigo's wrist and led him out of the medbay.

"By the way, why did the rat leave?" Leon froze in his tracks. He turned back to the shorter turtle, an anxious look in his eyes.

"It's…uh…we'll talk about it after dinner ok?" That wasn't an answer. But the look of pure dread in Leon's eyes forced Indigo to sigh and nod.

"Alright. I'll hold you to it." Leon gulped before continuing on through the purple room. The monitor that was previously on clicked off as soon as Leon entered the room. Indigo stared at the monitor as they left the room. What the hell was that about?

Once they left the purple room, Leon attempted to lead the shorter turtle to the living room. However Indigo couldn't help but lag behind. He looked around, they were pretty high up. Two levels appeared to be underneath the current one.

Warm orange light streamed in from a massive glass looking dome high above. The walls were covered in so much colorful graffiti, so many colors. Soft fairy lights hung from the walls, adding even more glow to the colorful room.

On the first level was a big wooden ramp of some kind.

"You good?" Leon asked with a chuckle as Indigo continued to look around, eyes big and mouth wide open.

"It's so…big. You guys actually live here?" The slider laughed, slinging an arm over Indigo's shoulders.

"We live here buddy, and hell yeah we do! You, my friend, are gonna get the grand tour!" Leon waved a hand excitedly before jumping down from the top level. With an impressive backflip Leon landed on the floor. Ok the landing needed some work but was impressive otherwise.

Indigo looked down at the concrete floor, the jump wasn't that high honestly. He could easily make that jump, and if he lands right his right knee won't dislocate again. He took a few steps back, getting ready for the jump.

A short turtle wearing an orange mask bounded over to Leon. He had orange spots on his arms and legs and what looked like two stickers on his plastron. Though they were a bit blurry from this height.

Indigo jumped off the platform with a burst of speed, scoring three flips! He could hear the sounds of awe from below. Yes! He was going to land in a handspring.

Before he could, the turtle crashed into something, landing on the floor with a thud. Indigo groaned, rubbing his head.

He could hear Leon and someone else laughing hysterically in the background. Great, that's just embarrassing. His face instantly got hot while he just looked away.

Whatever was underneath him was starting to squirm a bit.

"Ughnnh." Indigo turned his head to see what exactly broke his fall. Though who is the more appropriate answer.

Underneath him was the orange clad turtle, who was currently trying to push him off. Indigo climbed off and pulled the turtle up.

"Are you alright?" The turtle shook himself off before looking up at Indigo. He smiled brightly, revealing an adorable gap in his teeth.

"I'm good! Ohmigosh you're finally awake! Hi, I'm Mikey!" Mikey squeaked, suddenly pulling Indigo into a tight hug. Holy fuck this kid was way stronger than he looks. Indigo awkwardly returned the hug, patting the turtle on the shell.

"Ease up Michael or you'll further crack his ribs! Also Indigo I swear to god do not pull another stunt like that or you'll tear all your stitches open!" Leon called out, causing Mikey to loosen the hug. Someone laughed, the same voice from earlier. If it wasn't Mikey then who was it? Indigo looked up to see a human girl next to Leon. She noticed that he was looking at her.

"Hi, I'm April! April O'Neil!" She cocked finger guns at him, making Indigo smile a bit.

"I'm…Indigo" It felt weird to introduce himself like that. He gently pushed Mikey off and brushed himself off. What an introduction. His face heated up while he tried to avoid everyone's gazes.

"Relax dude, that stunt was cool!" Mikey said excitedly, clapping his hands in applause.

"Come on, let's go to the living room." With that the four went into the living room, claiming the nearby bean bags.

Once Indigo was sitting down all eyes were on him. He scooted closer to Leon.

"Uh…what?" He asked, seriously what was with the looks? Mikey nestled into his left side, giving Leon a look that Indigo couldn't quite read.

The room fell quiet, with Mikey and Leo looking a bit anxious while April drummed her hands against her thighs.

They all had a curious glint in their eyes, mixed in with the familiar look of pity.

They all just sat there for a while. No one dared to say anything but Indigo feeling exposed. He could feel their eyes tracing over every scar that littered his body. Scars were normal, proof that you survived another battle. They were inevitable so why the big deal?

"So what's up with the girl with the long hair?" Indigo asked, because apparently he has to start the conversation.

"Huh?"

"What girl?"

"Me?"

"Crazy long teal hair in ponytails? Wearing a short dress and weird cuff things on her arms? That girl?" Everyone's eyes went wide as dinner plates.

"Hatsune Miku?" Mikey gasped, stars in his eyes.

"Where did you see that?" April asked, a bright smile on her face.

"On one of the monitors in the purple room connecting to the medbay." A downright evil grin spread across Leon's face. He sprung up and sprinted out of the living room at top speed.

Indigo watched the slider go, confusion growing by the second. "Who's Hatsune Miku?" He dared to ask. "Is she Donnie's girlfriend or something?" To say that April and Mikey burst out laughing would be an understatement. They were instantly clutching their sides laughing so hard they were rolling on the floor.

"YOU LISTEN TO VOCALOID?" Leon shouted from somewhere else in the massive home. "DON'T CHU EVER LIE TO MY FACE AGAIN!"

What the fuck? Indigo looked at Mikey and April, who were still laughing. So they were absolutely no help. At least they weren't looking at him weird anymore.

Leon came back a few moments later, covered in purple dust. He plopped down next to Indigo with a content look on his face.

"All is right in the world." The slider sighed with a smile.

"Ok…but who is Hatsune Miku? What's a Vocaloid?"

"Digital singer, her digital songs. And Donnie loves her music."

There was a faint squawk of protest from somewhere else in the lair.

"Ok?" Once Mikey and April recovered they sat back up, tears in their eyes. "Right. That makes sense." Indigo mumbled that last part.

Donnie suddenly stormed into the living room. "How dare you expose me like that!" He grabbed a pillow and chucked it at Indigo's face. It hit with a soft whap, leaving him stunned.

Then with perhaps as much drama as possible, Donnie flopped down in the beanbag next to April, pouting heavily.

Everyone laughed at him and his theatrics. Indigo relaxed a bit since the attention wasn't all on him. But once everyone settled down the awkward tension settled back over the living room.

At least until.

"So how did you get all those scars?" Donnie asked nonchalantly, April smacked him upside the head. "What? It's a simple question."

"Well got this one from a rogue acid attack." He pointed to a large roundish burn scar on his right shoulder. "Hurt like hell for weeks. Little bastard and his cheap tricks."

"Yikes…" Leon muttered, scooting closer to him.

"This one was from a ghost yokai, bitch tried to slice my leg clean off." Indigo pointed to a large criss cross scar at the top of his left thigh.

"And these" He tapped his left cheek, where jagged looking scars extended up and across near the center of his forehead. "came from a demon wolf's freaky black magic claws, definitely one of the most painful ones for sure. Couldn't even breathe without the constant raging pain going through my skull until it started to fade a couple of weeks later. But apparently that wasn't enough for the fucker cause he almost strangled me to death in our rematch fight." That was the incident that landed him in the Infirmary for the first time.

He told that story several times in the barracks, usually getting a worse one back in response.

That's what he was expecting. Instead he was met with pure silence and horror.

April had both hands over her mouth, Donnie's mouth was hanging slack jawed. Mikey whined nervously, suddenly becoming a barnacle on Indigo's side. All the color had drained from Leon's face.

A soft gasp came from the doorway, where Raph stood. He looked like he'd been punched in the face.

And next to him was Splinter, standing there completely still. Indigo wasn't even sure the rat was breathing.

*What?" The turtle asked, trying to push Mikey off but to no avail.

The red clad turtle slowly walked over. Before Indigo could ask he was scooped into a second hug, one impossibly soft and gentle. Like he was made of glass and any pressure would shatter him completely.

"Uh ok? You good big guy?" Leon stood up, somehow wriggling his arms around Indigo as well. April and Donnie joined in not long after.

"Ok I'm kinda being squished here so can you let go?" They did not let go, in fact it felt like their collective grips got even tighter. What the hell? Why so many hugs in one day?

Indigo tried to squirm out of their arms but was forced to just sit there. Seriously it wasn't that big of a deal.

He looked over at the rat, who hadn't yet moved from his spot. In fact he hadn't moved at all! He was just standing there staring off into nothingness. A haunted look in his eyes.

"Alright, alright that's enough!" Indigo finally managed to squirm out of the group hug. He got out of hugging range. "Why are you guys acting so weird?"

No one said anything, no one dared to move. Indigo sighed, they were all acting weird for some reason.

Leon tried to move closer, a reassuring look on his face. It was clearly fake, like a broken mask. "Indy it's…" Indigo glared at the boy, who trailed off and wilted under the shorter turtle's gaze.

"We have so much to discuss, my son." Splinter said so quietly Indigo almost didn't hear him speak. The short rat wore an empathetic expression. And while not one of pity it still made Indigo grimace. "Orange, can you help me finish dinner?" Mikey nodded, bounding out of the living room with lightning speed.

"Blue, why don't you and April give Indigo the grand tour of our home?" Leon nodded, grabbing Indigo by the wrist and pulling him out of the living room while April brought up the rear.

"Alright mi hermano! Time for the grand tour of Casa La Hamato!"

"Ok ok…" Indigo said, his strength starting to wane and his legs beginning to quiver. He slumped against Leon, just a bit of dizziness, nothing to worry about. If only his legs weren't about to give out.

"Woah easy buddy I got you!" Leon's arms wrapped around Indigo, holding him up while his vision blurred in and out of focus.

"Ok you need to rest Indy, you just woke up after all." April added with a soft smile. The two shifted so Indigo was between them, is weight supported on either side. The trio slowly made their way to the medbay. The short turtle was laid back down in the cot.

He looked up at the purple ceiling, swirling vision and ringing ears yet again. April and Leon were talking to him but it just sounded like a giant massive blur of gargled noises.

Everything was spinning around and around, colors blurring together while his eyes throbbed in the same familiar fashion of one of his typical headaches.

"Rest now…" A soft voice suddenly whispered as the turtle's vision began to darken. The voice said something else but Indigo was already gone, falling into the inky black void of dreamless sleep.

A little nap won't hurt anything. Maybe an hour or two…

Meanwhile far off in the city something was working a large fish hook over a whetstone wheel, sharpening the metal till it could slice anything like butter.

The figure giggled excitedly, smiling at her reflection in the polished hook. She grabbed a rag and cleaned the hook one final time to make it absolutely sparkle!

Once it was clean she grabbed a black cloak from a nearby table, securing it over her head, pulling it over her body and popping her arms through the holes. Hopping over to a window she nearly flinched at her own reflection. The cloak made her look so menacing! So scary!

She covered her arms in wrappings just to add to the terrifying factor. She hopped out of the warehouse, heading towards a part of New York she knew all too well.

The sewers.

A manhole cover was lifted up and she slinked down into the darkness. The figure had one destination in mind, a place she once lived happily with her family. She hasn't been back home in so long!

She can't wait to see her dad again!

As for her brothers…something. No! Someone was coming back for the homecoming of the century.

This was going to be so much fun!

Unbeknownst to her, there was another brother in the midst, one that will complicate things. A turtle that will paint the waters with blood.

A turtle named Indigo.

[turtlepowerups]

When it happens, it's in an instant — Leo moving in a blur of movement, excited to be in the fight instead of watching from the sidelines...and then there's a crack as he lands, pain lancing upward from his knee.

He doesn't register it until Casey and Raph are there, pulling him upward and toward the farmhouse, Raph calling, "Donnie!" as they lead him.

If he wasn't gritting his teeth from the pain, Leo might have laughed at the thought of the irony.

"Stupid leg, never going to heal," he mutters a short while later, brooding over Donnie's announcement that he had reinjured the bone, and was on strict rest and recovery...which just meant that he once again found himself watching Raph and Casey circle each other, their weapons drawn.

And then the thing swoops down from the skies, and suddenly it doesn't matter, because his brothers need him, moving without thought and paying for it when the chimera snakes a limb toward his knee in a painful hit.

He's limping by the time it steals them into the skies, screaming, "No!" as it disappears.

.

Later, as he half-leads, half-leans on April, he can't help but mutter, "I can't believe you talked me into this."

"I shouldn't have had to," is the reply, and he scowls.

"You don't understand. I thought I was getting better, but I was hurt again way too easily!" It's an old wound, slowly festering with the time spent following their escape of Manhattan, and frustration bleeds into tiredness as he sighs, "I'm a liability to the whole team."

"You're not! You're their leader, injured or not! We can help them, we have to help them — "

Which is — touching, but.

"Uh, April? I'm...over here?"

.

It's slow-going, the journey up the cliff, and the battle that follows, but it's worth it for finally returning to the farmhouse and allowing himself to sit on the couch.

His knee and leg aches, and this time, he's not denying he needs a brace, especially not with a furious Donnie ready to sic a puppy-eyed Mikey on him — but he founds himself smiling at the thought. Maybe he can't fight as he used to, but with his brothers and sister on his side, he won't need to.

(Casey and Mikey have already begun talking about upgrading his crutch, and Leo can only hope that Raph doesn't allow them to convince Donnie that he needs an emergency surprise flamethrower to his arsenal.

He's still recovering, after all — he shouldn't need to worry about accidentally setting fire to his mask.)

There's a movie on the TV, still playing, and Leo finds himself smiling as Mikey suddenly slides in front of it with a gasp of, "Dudes, look — !" but peering past his brother's shoulder, he frowns at the scene — the main character walking off a broken bone without even a wince, his smile wide.

"Ugh," Raph mumbles to his left as he sinks onto the couch. "Don't you hate plot armor?"

"It's so unrealistic," he agrees. "The recovery is needed."

[wisegirlandseaweedbrainforever]

First off apologies to StarryFeathers on ff I know this is a rewrite of a certain scene from your fic "Lost Brother" I did love your fic, but as someone who was pushed out of their family due to disabilty, I didn't feel the conculsion was messy enough emotionally, so I rewrote "that one scene" so I could go back to writing my own fic, instead of this thing sloshying around my head forever. Again APPOLOGIES!

...

"That's just cruel father!"

Michelangelo hears Donatello shout.

The clink of pottery gets louder as he breaks into a run. Things have been too tense lately, he gets, but do they have to fight he knows Leo can hear them if nothing else.

"What's going on here?" Mikey asks as he enters the dojo.

"Splinter wants Raph to teach Leo how to fight!" Donnie says throwing his hands in the air.

"I mean that's a good thing right? That way we wouldn't have to worry about him, and dad so much?" Mikey responds confused.

"Not you too!"

"Hey! If this is about him not being right in tha head-" Raph starts

"Oh don't start that again" Donnie rounds on him. "I was there too, Raph! Just cause you can't face facts doesn't mean I love him less! Who built all those crutches as kids, huh? Who tried to teach him how to speak again huh? Me! And I'm telling you ninjitsu is too much for him! It's hard enough on a healthy body! You wear a knee brace, I've been nursing my ankle for over a month! His leg is twisted in two places! He can barely hold a fork! I get wanting to protect him, but that is why I am installing censors! Why we should have an escape route planned, and agreed upon places to meet up! Not for us to break him again!" Don screams tears flowing down his face.

"About that-" Mikey says quietly.

Everyone turns to face him.

Mikey quakes, but holds out the box that he is holding. "I was working on gathering Leo's things from the old lair, and look what I found"

"Is that my old tea pot?" Master Splinter says.

"It looks like it." Mikey replies.

"Didn't it break?" Donnie askes.

"It did indeed, my son" Splinter says simply.

"Leo tried to bring it to you last winter," Raph says. "When you got sick, he tried to help you like you always help him"

Splinter sighs.

"So he was putting it back together?" Mikey askes. "I didn't know he was able to do that?"

"He's more stubborn than a mule" Raph says. "Always has been."

"Hmmn" Mikey hums. "Where is he anyway? With all this arguing, I'd normally hear him falling down the stairs trying to stop us?"

"He's at April's. She wanted to see him, and this all' was a long time comin' " Raph growled "I didn't want him here for it. He's been too anxious as it is, since the cave in."

Donnie finally looked away. And Mikey didn't feel any better, almost leaving Leo behind after the mousers would always haunt him "how could they do that? Just forget about him altogether in an emergency?!" He knew objectively it was because Leo wasn't part of the team, when things got rough topside, they didn't have to worry about him, he was home and he was safe. But that hadn't been the case this time. They weren't topside when the mousers attacked, Leo hadn't been safe, and they should have been worried.

"He's still trying to fix us isn't he?" Don says breaking through Mikey's self depricating thoughts.

"Always the big brother huh? Even when we should be tha ones taking care of him." Raph says bitterly.

Splinter sighs again, "Shredder will still stop at nothing to destroy us, and my eldest is still helpless against him."

"You are so sure he's still in there Raph, why?" Donnie asks.

"Why don't you ask him?" Raph says, holding out his Shell-cell.

Donnie's forhead crinkles as he takes it, and Mikey moves around to read over his shoulder. The ID said Leo, and there were so many texts there, like the accident never happened, like Leo had always been there. Leo asking if dinner was ready, if they could watch space heroes, when April was coming to visit. Mikey barely remembered what that was like, for Leo to be part of their lives. He just remembered the accident, his broken body, how it had been him to suggest that tunnel for playing, sure Raph blamed himself for Leo going back to save him, Donnie for not seeing the signs of collapse, and dad for being topside when it all went down, but no one remembered Mikey had begged Leo to go play there, Leo had said it was dangerous, but Mikey hadn't listened, and Leo was never the same because of it.

"I never made Leo a phone" Don says, voice light with amazement.

"I gave him an old one of mine," Raph said awkwardly. "He was always so worried when we were gone, and this let him know how we were doing."

Donnie looks so horrified, and Mikey understands. All these years, the chasm between them felt so wide, yet if they'd only given him a key board it wouldn't have. They gave up on him too quickly.

[trialbystory]

FlashFictionFriday: Enhancement Talent

If you're a fan of professional wrestling then this weekend is WWE Wrestlemania and/or Ring of Honor Supercard of Honor. So here's my Day 6 creation for FFM2021 about a wrestler named Liam. The day's challenge was for your main character to 'have a positive character trait that somehow comes back to bite them in the ass.' In this case Liam is selfless and puts the good of his fellow roster members and the promotion they work at ahead of his own professional interests and...Well the title is what it is for a reason. Read Liam's tale below.

---

Liam winced in pain as he hit the ground, then braced himself for the impact he knew would come next. Letting out a grunt when Marko landed on top of him, he played up his reaction and used it as cover to speak quietly to him. “Go for the finish.” He caught a look of acknowledgment before pushing the other man away and struggling up to his feet. He lurched forward, trying to catch his opponent across the neck and chest with his muscled arm, but Marko ducked nimbly under the appendage and instead grabbed Liam’s shoulders from behind before striking his back with both knees and dragging the pair of them down. He then scrambled to get on top once more and the crowd counted along with the referee. “One! Two! Three!”

The bell rang and Liam sheepishly made his way to the back where Donny, the owner of the promotion, was waiting for him. “Hell of a show out there, I think this is just what Marko needed to really cement himself as our next big star!” Liam only grunted in response. He might be used to it, but playing the jobber was never a fun time, but Marko had at least been easy to work with. And honestly he deserved to get a push; he’d spent years working his ass off in the undercard and now the fans were finally behind him. “But let’s focus on you now. You’ve been with the company almost as long as Marko, and no matter what we ask you to do, you do it without complaint. I wish everyone in the locker room had your attitude.”

“I’m just puttin’ in the work,” Liam replied with a shrug, “And if that means making opportunities for the others who’ve already paid their dues, so be it.” The owner’s smile lit up at the words. “Exactly. I’m glad you feel that way, because you did so well setting up Marko for success tonight that I think I’m gonna make that your whole deal, y’know?” That was not what Liam had wanted to hear. “Creative’s got some real interesting plans in the works, but we need someone who can take the loss without it hurting them with the fans too much, and I’d say you fit the bill.” Liam tried to return Donny’s smile, but the pit in his stomach was getting hard to ignore. He never complained about having to lose because he’d always been told that eventually the company would pay him back with a push of his own. Maybe even a run as champion. But now the owner was here telling him his new gimmick was to be the guy that lost all the time. Marko was right, I should’ve said something. “You’ll make a fine Gatekeeper.” Too late now.