#auvember

[alitteraladhdmess]

Artificial

Decided to make my official design for Night Eyes Donatello

Cw: lots of blood, 3rd degree burns

@tmntaucompetition

[diagoose]

First drawings for Au-Vember!!!

wanted to play with a cannon divergence au, where leigh is not shipped off to be a child soldier, but instead is raised to be a player in the human royal courts and be her grandfather's heir as Dutchess of Amswrath. say yay for never leaving behind the very toxic dynamic of her family.

Griffin is abandoned on the streets and picked up by the tielfing mafia for his growing psychic abilities, and gets to have the proper training to use his psychic abilities as a style of casting(abbarent mind reflavoring)... also gets to be involved in organized crime yay.

also leigh kills her grandfather in this au.

may do more doodles of this au this month i am having fun.

more lore beyond the cut:

the two would still meet thought court intrique and politics, i am still leaning toward them knowing eachother in childhood, but the relationship has evolved into something less sweet.

this is a bad au for them, as these would bring out the worst in them. Leigh, who would not have the confidence instilled in her by Saerdis, but still has ambitions and survivalist mentality, is a wolf in sheeps clothing. she's rutheless and ultimately acting withing her and only her best interests.

Griffin who was not raised in catholic shame in this universe, gets to have his hot girl summer every summer. but he would be using that to drown out and hide from his own morality as he pushes ahead for his own survival. he would also be very bitter and self victimizing, and use that to justify using people for his own ends.

very toxic and ultimately selfish relationship, where they absolutely use eachother. i think there is love there, but they certainly ignore it. which makes me saad, go be nicer to eachother

[theawesomeninja-xd]

AUcember!!!

Light

@tmntaucompetition Finally, I get a chance to show off this au!

I introduce to you miraculous hamato :)

I love this one so much and I'm definitely working on it once I finish memories!

[boots-with-the-fur-club]

Here is something I wrote for auvember!!

Tournament

@daboyau

@tmntaucompetition

The three sets of brothers stood in the arena with their knuckles all white from holding their weapons so tightly.

They were sets with missing pieces. Those crucial pieces were part of a completely different set at the moment.

It had all started with the turtles who officially started their top side heroics in 2003.

According to them, it was just a regular patrol night.

Their Leo had heard a strange noise and went to go investigate. They, of course, followed after him only to see a portal they didn’t recognize and a glob of pink attached to him.

They tried to help him. Despite the obvious pain he was in, he managed to warn them not to touch him.

Raph did not want to listen to that and reached for whatever it was to get it off.

That’s when Leo moved away with an animalistic growl.

The three turtles watched in horror as the pink glob had taken over his entire arm and up under his mask.

His eyes had started filling with an eerie pink glow that matched whatever had gotten on him.

He went through the portal right after which closed behind him.

Similarly, the version of them that was finally allowed to go to the surface in 2012 were also on a patrol when everything went down.

They had been racing rooftop to rooftop towards where they’d meet up with Casey and April.

Leo had started trailing behind which was already unusual.

The further they went, the more Leo slowed down. Eventually he just stopped completely, spacing out as he looked into open air.

Once they noticed this behavior his brothers stopped and went back to the building next to where he was standing.

They called out to him but it almost seemed like he was listening to something else talk.

Just as Mikey was about to toss a water balloon to get him to snap out of it, Leo’s eyes began to glow red.

They closed the distance between them too late. Leo willingly hopped off the building into a portal that closed immediately after.

It was more complicated for the turtles who took their crime fighting more seriously in 2018.

Their story actually began in 2020 though, after they fist met and defeated their version of the krang.

They didn’t want to leave their Leo alone much at all because he had barely gotten done with healing and they all were recovering mentally after the most traumatizing time of their lives.

He was feeling just a tad bit suffocated and told them that. So, they left him alone for a bit in the living room to read his comics.

When they heard a scream coming from there they nearly fell over each other to get to him.

Leo was pinned down by several men in business suits. They looked far from human with their strength and vacant stares.

That and the sight of an open portal nearby caused the three of them to tear into the intruders.

They only realized they were robots when they were taken apart. The weird brain looking things inside that would run off into the portal only confirmed their suspicions.

Just as they had thought that they’d taken care of enough of them to let Leo stand up, one of the robots slammed a device onto the back of his neck.

Raph had slammed into the robot and sent it rag dolling into the portal.

Leo got up and took out his swords.

Raph barley managed to avoid getting cut when Donnie and Mikey yelled to warn him.

Without a hint of reaction, Leo had left them all behind through the portal that vanished with him.

Raph and Donnie had to stop Mikey from opening a portal that would nearly destroy his arms again.

They and the 2012 turtles had some knowledge with portals, but not enough to find out where exactly their Leos had gone.

The 2003 turtles had inter-dimensional allies they could ask for help.

They traveled to the land of their Battle Nexus after informing their Splinter and gained permission from the Daimyo to use his war staff.

The staff, having a mind of its own, brought both the remaining 2012 and 2018 turtles to the 2003 turtles.

After a hight amount of chaos, 3 attempted fights, and high scientific curiosity between Donatellos, they were finally able to explain to each other what they had experienced.

18 Donnie was not very surprised at all about alternative universes as he basically had photos already of most of them.

They all however had understood that the Krang, and some other alien nearly as evil called the Necro Monster, had banded together and took their Leos.

The reason why still wasn’t completely clear.

It obviously wasn’t good, but just how bad exactly was yet to be seen.

They would have to try to get the answers for themselves.

There was an attempt to bring their Leos back using the staff but whatever they tried didn’t work.

Something or someone was blocking them.

It left only one option, getting to their Leos themselves.

The Daimyo suggested a plan for him to send them all to where their brothers were but keep the staff in this universe so it would not fall into villainous hands.

Once they handled whatever was stopping the war staff from sending them back, it would bring them back.

The 2003 Splinter insisted on going with them at first. The Daimyo urged him to stay so he could be sent as backup in case anything went wrong.

That’s how all the turtles ended up right in front of Big Mama in her recently reconstructed office.

While the 2018 turtles were both shocked and enraged, she didn’t seem surprised to see them in the slightest.

A trapped door underneath them opened up and sent them falling into darkness.

There was a good amount of screaming until Raph created a projection and scooped them together.

They collectively had landed on something metal, sliding them fast further into the darkness.

Eventually there was light at the end of the tunnel. They got shot out into the brightness of the day and Big Mama’s arena.

Raph set everyone else down and plopped down besides them after he stopped his projection.

That’s how they ended up in the present situation.

Big Mama’s voice started booming over the speakers in the arena.

“Tut tut tut turtly boos, don’t you know it’s rather rude to drippy drop in unannounced?”

“Was that even English? You guys understanding any of that?” 03 Raph glances around.

“She’s mad we surprised her, dude.” 12 Mikey answers.

03 Raph raises an eyebrow.

“I’m fluent in crazy.” 12 Mikey brags.

“We’re here because you have our brothers! Hand ‘em over or I’ll shove my sai up your-!”

“No no, none of that ruffian riff raff language is allowed!” Big Mama interrupts 12 Raph.

“Fuck. You. Give Leo back!“ 18 Raph growls out loudly.

The 2003 and 2012 turtles stare at him in shock. None of them had actually ever been allowed to swear.

“Raph, you used our only f-bomb! We can’t go above a pg-13 rating!” 18 Donnie complains.

“Sorry Dee, I’ll let ya have it next time.”

“You will not! You bimbling buffoons ruined everything already and that sent me into quite a tizzy wiz. I was lucky enough that a splendiferous offer was thrown my way. I help with a little tournament in my Battle Nexus and not only will you be done away with, but I’ll get three universes worth of money and power!” Big Mama laughs gaudily.

“Yeah right lady, you wish this was as good as the real Battle Nexus!” 03 Raph shouts.

Big Mama looks ready for blood at this point.

“You want your brothers so badly? Here! Take them!”

Three entrances open up at the other end of the arena.

All the Leos walk out and towards their brothers.

03 Leo moved like his legs were being forced to work. However, there was a blind fury in the way he snarled and bared his teeth.

It was incredibly disturbing for the rest of the 03 turtles who knew how much he must be fighting against this.

12 Leo took each step with purpose, almost as if he knew exactly what he was doing and just how important it was to do it.

As his family watched this, their blood ran cold. If they didn’t see the red eyes they might have thought he was in full control of himself.

18 Leo walked robotically. There was no style or discernible uniqueness to it in the slightest.

It broke his brothers’ hearts. They knew he would hate the lack of flare and dramatics.

There were no words, no monologues, just each Leo starting their attacks.

03 Leo went after 18 Raph first.

Raph quickly defended himself with his projection and used his clones as a distraction.

03 sliced through them with ferocity.

“Why is he attacking me!?” 18 Raph questions.

“He probably thinks you can take him! Leo, bro, snap out of it already!” 03 Raph grabs at his brother.

03 Leo split kicks both Raphs away.

12 Leo readies both his swords as he runs at 03 Donnie and Mikey.

“Woah dude, stop! That demon in your head is lying to you! You’ll just get all old and turn into dust!” 03 Mikey warns.

“I don’t care what happens to me as long as I get what I want. I saw what I could have! I know it can be that way!” 12 Leo attacks them.

03 Mikey blocks his attacks.

“The ones called the turtles will now be called the ones who are eliminated.” 18 Leo says flatly.

“This one will be a piece of cake.” 12 Raph raises his sais.

“No! Watch out!” 18 Donnie shouts.

18 Leo tosses one of his weapons near 12 Raph which he easily dodges.

“Ha! He missed!”

“He doesn’t miss!”

The sword 18 Leo tossed is replaced with himself.

12 Raph had no hope in reacting in time. He barely notices an orange blur before he’s suddenly out of harm’s way.

He’s absolutely gobsmacked both of the fact that he was over 18 Mikey’s shoulder and that he could even move that fast.

“How did you do that!?”

“It runs in the family! Super quick!”

“This isn’t working! Everyone! How did you defeat this type of thing in your universes!?” 03 Donnie questions.

“Nardo got through to Raph so he could fight the Krang’s influence himself.” 18 Donnie answers.

“We usually just break those devices!” 12 Donnie advises.

“Our Leo just wouldn’t accept the deal!” 03 Mikey adds.

“Alright, nobody knows our Leos better than we do! Everyone take on their own!” 18 Raph instructs.

It was surprising for most of them to hear a Raph in charge and giving good orders, but they followed them quickly.

03 Leo recoiled slightly at his brothers coming closer.

“Leo, it’s going to be okay. You all saved me when I became a monster, now it’s my turn to help. You have to fight this! You can fight it!” 03 Donnie encourages.

03 Mikey puts away his nunchucks.

“Listen bro, I said it when you were sick, and I’ll say it again. You’re even more annoying than me when you get your mind set on something! And that’s saying something! You can totally fight that weird alien thing!”

03 Leo hisses and growls, thrashing around. It’s clear that he’s trying and failing to get a hold of himself.

03 Raph starts stomping over to him.

“Alright, enough is enough! You’ve been trying to protect us this whole time and I’m sick of it. We’re a team, you’re going to get help if you like or not ya knuckle head!”

03 Leo roars out before grabbing at his arm, his roars fading into his own screams as he begins tearing the krang part off.

“Leo!”

“I….will not….let you…hurt them…!” He screams louder as he fully removes it and squishes it in his hand.

“I knew you could do it, bro!” 03 Mikey cheers.

03 Leo begins to sway, falling into 03 Raph’s outstretched arms.

“We’ve got ya, fearless leader. Take a rest already.”

12 Leo began his assault with attacking 12 Donnie.

“Why am I always the first!?”

“Not cool Leo, not cool!” 12 Mikey comes at him with his nunchucks to help Donnie out.

12 Leo ducks and picks up dirt to throw in his eyes.

12 Mikey instinctively puts his hands to his eyes in pain.

12 Leo kicks his plastron while he has the chance.

12 Raph gets behind him and holds his arms back.

“What are you doing!? Why would you ever make a deal with a demon!?”

“Why should I bother telling you? When have you ever tried to listen to me?” He hits his head back into Raph’s face.

12 Raph stumbles back, barely able to get himself together again in time to use his sai to catch Leo’s sword.

“I get it, I don’t always agree with you! But those guys told me earlier that demon that’s messing with your head only goes after people who are greedy! What are you trying to get!? Money!? Power!? You’re the guy who wouldn’t steal a sword from a rich jerk!”

“I want to be selfish for once! I want to have it all! We could have it all! I knew you wouldn’t listen to me unless I made you listen! If you serve the demon with me, we can all be happy.”

“What are you talking about!?”

“It promised to lessen my burden so that it wasn’t so heavy to carry. It promised that I could make decisions without having to worry if it got any of you hurt. It promised that I wouldn’t have to sacrifice anything anymore! Not my childhood, not my time, not my life!”

Raph stares at him with wide eyes.

“Leo-“

“No! No more saying anything! No more snark! No more calling me lame! Do you think I want to only be known as boring and responsible!? I want to be cool! I want to be a leader you guys want! I try to make things fun! I just….try! I try and try and try my best until I’m just sick of it! But I’m not allowed to me sick of it or else sensei is disappointed! Mad! Anything but proud! So I’m getting what I want, and you’re all finally going to listen!”

Raph’s eyes only get wider. He glances behind Leo at Mikey and Donnie.

They share similar expressions and Raph knows they’re all on the same page of what must be done.

He shoves Leo back.

Leo tries to charge forward, but Mikey uses his nunchucks to wrap his chain around his left arm.

Donnie disarms his other arm with his bō.

Raph moves forward and grabs Leo tightly in a hug.

Mikey and Donnie join in.

“We didn’t know you were taking our jokes so hard. I alway rip on everybody. It wasn’t about you, but….I’m sorry. I’m sorry it hurt you. I thought it was easy being Splinter’s favorite. I was wrong, okay? You don’t have to go making deals with demons.” Raph apologizes.

“I always said it wasn’t fun being the responsible one. We mess around because we want you to take a break! We want you to have fun too, promise.” Mikey hugs him tighter.

“You can talk to us. We’re here, Leo.” Donnie insists.

Leo’s eyes slowly go back to normal and he hugs his brothers back tightly.

“Thank you.”

The 2018 brothers were having a slightly intense battle

18 Leo didn’t seem to have a limit anymore. He just kept portaling, running, dodging, jumping, slicing, anything and everything to avoid his brothers grabbing him.

Raph, Donnie and Mikey were breathing heavily as they attempted to think of a new strategy.

“Nothing we know about him is working! I can’t razz any tazz!” Mikey whimpers.

“That’s it, we’re tryna fight Leo, but that’s not Leo. They’re forcing him to be their way. It’s not just how he talks but how he moves too. We gotta grab him like he’s a robot!” Raph realizes.

“Robot….if he’s being controlled by tech, then I can hack that tech! It has to have a signal going to and coming from somewhere. I just need time.” Donnie looks at both of them.

“Now that I can do! Distraction time, baby!” Mikey jumps up and rushes towards Leo.

They do a back and forth with their movements. Mikey uses his chains and midair acrobatics to keep Leo’s attention and actions aimed at him.

Raph uses his clones when Leo gets too close to Mikey and to make sure he doesn’t have time or room to make portals.

Donnie furiously tapped away at his wrist screen and several other screens he created with his ninpo. It wasn’t the easiest thing in the world to try to hack something you’ve never seen before.

However, when it came to his brothers, he’d reconstruct science itself if he had to.

It started to get more serious as Leo began hurting himself from how he was moving.

Or rather, being moved.

The pressure forced Donnie to work even harder. Just when it seemed Leo was about to land a massive blow, he stopped.

Raph took this moment to punch the device on Leo’s neck. It drops uselessly to the ground.

Leo smiles in exhaustion.

“Took you guys long enough.”

Mikey quickly steadies him, smiling tearily.

“Welcome back, Leo.”

“Good to be back Miguel. It killed me to not be able to do any flips when I walked in. I could have said so many cool things.” He laments.

Raph and Donnie get closer to them.

“I agree, I’d give that entrance a 5/10.” Donnie states.

“From now on we’re sitting in the room with you when you read comics!” Raph insists.

“Yeah, fair enough. Right now we need to go kick some spider as-“

“Careful Leo, Raph already used our one f-bomb.” Donnie interrupts.

“What!? I missed that!?”

“Don’t worry, I have it recorded.”

“You’re the best.”

“Hate to interrupt, but I’m pretty sure you want the same thing we do.” 03 Raph walks over.

The 12 turtles join them as well.

“We make her pay for everything.” Donnie grips his bō.

“Let’s do it. On three you guys, one, two, three!” 18 Leo shouts.

“Hot soup!”

“Cowabunga!”

“Booyakasha!”

“We’ll work on that.”

[koolaidashley]

More of a crossover than an au but hey. Shut up. Mystery I mean disaster twins 😁

Second Week of AUVember Prompt

Journal

Good luck and have fun!

[colourfulshadows]

IWTV/Vampire Chronicles AUvember

I spent hours searching for November fanfic events because I didn’t want to participate in any word-count goal ones, but I didn’t find anything I could imagine myself doing. Then I asked myself: What is something that would challenge me as a fanfic writer, what is something I’ve never really done before? Answer: Experimenting with Alternative/Alternate Universes! Aside from the usual Canon Divergence. I mean stuff like Coffeeshop AUs, High-School AUs, etc. For a long time, I didn’t even read them.

So, for November, I’m leaving my comfort zone and will attempt to create IWTV/Vampire Chronicles AU fanfics! (Of course, I'm doing it for this fandom because this particular hyperfixation has taken over my brain). I wonder how this will work out because I included prompts I don’t even read – part of the challenge for me will be to find something of interest in settings that would usually bore me. And maybe other people want to try that too? If you're interested in joining, read this: - I don’t have the energy to turn this into a moderated event, but if you want to participate, feel free to use the tag #vcAUvember, so we can check each other’s works more easily! - Interpret the prompts however you want – do one, do all, do a oneshot per prompt, or multichapter fics with combined prompts, drabbles, drawings, etc. This challenge is about experimenting with something new and/or unfamiliar. No rule says the characters can’t still be vampires in these AUs (aside from the last prompt), but if they are then it should still make some sense for that setting and vampirism shouldn’t be the centrepiece of the plot. I made this prompt list (some are maybe more tropes than AU’s, but I still called them that):

1. Runaway AU

2. Medieval AU

3. Roommates/Neighbours AU

4. Space AU

5. Retail AU (choose which one)

6. Hospital AU

7. Serial Killer AU

8. Parent/Family AU

9. Cyberpunk AU

10. First Responder AU

11. Dom/Sub and BDSM AU (18+!)

12. Stranded AU

13. Social Media/Chat/Text AU

14. “School etc.” AU – so College/University/High School/Boarding School, …

15. Time travel AU

16. Celebrity AU

17. Crime AU

18. (Post-) Apocalypse AU

19. Royalty AU

20. Lawyer/Prison AU

21. Summer Camp AU

22. Psychiatry Ward or Group Therapy AU

23. Pirate AU

24. Coffeeshop/Restaurant AU

25. Office AU

26. Babysitter AU

27. Victorian AU

28. Flight Attendants AU

29. Scientist AU

30. Non-Human/Non-Vampire AU It would be fun if people join me in this, but I’ll do this challenge either way, hoping I won’t just scream into the void, haha.

[unfriendlyamazon]

@kaijous​ re-listening to black tapes dragging me back into that mess and i feel like i should give you guys an insight into my mind when i start thinking of an au

this is for something i have not even written 

(unless you saw my auvember chapters like two years ago)

[brewdeninglove]

day 11: holiday season retail. hugo goes back later to apologize for his stepdad being such a pain. brian slips him his phone number because hey why not 

(this one brought to you by the christmas music that's already starting to take over my local radio stations)

[theawesomeninja-xd]

Dude!

crawling in heaving and bloodied from trying to meet a deadline, but here! 4,000 words of almost unedited turtles for auvember!!! I’ll probably clean it up and post on ao3 later too. :)

@boots-with-the-fur-club

@tmntaucompetition

The muffled roar of the crowd was familiar as it filtered through the walls of Leo’s room. They sounded more excited than usual, chanting names and catchphrases like they were getting paid for it. More than once, he’d heard his own name. Usually, that would be comforting. The approval of the crowd had never failed to give him the warm tinglies, even if the need to surprise and impress them more and more with every fight made the pit of his stomach twist with anxiety. 

Today was different, though. The stakes of this fight were greater than ever before. It would determine his future in the Battle Nexus, and if he came out of it the winner he would be crowned the champion of this season’s youth division. By this time next year, he could be winning in the big leagues instead of the youth division. Leo had lost fights before — it was pretty much a given that even the best of Big Mama’s champions would have a bad day eventually — but something about today felt chokingly intense. Maybe it was the way that Big Mama had fussed over every little detail, and how her eyes were sparkling with that special mix of mischief and malice she only got when a fight really mattered. This one was going to be a major money maker, and he knew in his heart that if anything went wrong it would mean all of the contestants’ heads on stakes. After all, it had been made very clear to him and all the other youth division members that they would always be replaceable. No matter how many fights they won or how much money they made for Big Mama, if they disappointed her then there were at least a dozen other shiny new fighters just waiting for their shot at the Nexus. 

He took a deep breath, rolling his shoulders and cracking his neck. He’d won every one of the tournament’s competitions and had dominated in each battle so far. They were at the final bracket, which meant he was just one last fight away from getting the champion title and the eternal glory that came with it. Well, up until the next year’s championship tournament, but that was beside the point.  What mattered was that he was too close to the end to let his nerves get the better of him. He took another deep breath, trying to calm the racing of his heart, and did his best to focus on something besides the impending career-making-or-ending fight that was about to start. He wiggled his toes and felt the plush rug beneath his feet. The cold of the stone floor still seeped through it, the chill making goosebumps break out across all the places where his scales melted into more vulnerable skin. Those areas were easier to injure, old and new scars crisscrossing each other. All it would take was one costume mishap and then whoever his opponent was would see them, and know just where to aim for, and it was all thanks to his own past carelessness, practically showing everyone who looked at him exactly how to—

Whoooooo nelly, time to hop off that train of thought! Leo squeezed his eyes shut and gently slapped at his cheeks a few times. The callouses on his palms felt rough and hard against his face, and he dragged them down, distracting himself by thinking about how many manicures it would take to smooth them out once this season was over. He missed the sweet smelling lotions and nail polish he always indulged in during the off-season, but Big Mama had said it wouldn’t fit his Image and strongly discouraged the use of them. Even though he wore gloves during all his public appearances so his fans wouldn’t even see his nails to know he’d painted them. Whatever.

His focus on his unkempt hands and ratty nails had at least worked to quiet his tailspinning mind. His heart had stopped thinking he was about to die, which, like, save it for the actual arena, right? He laughed to himself, and the sound seemed too loud in the small room. He wiggled his toes again, allowing himself to enjoy the sensation. He did his checklist. 

Thirsty? No. 

Hungry? A little, but not enough to actually eat. 

Bathroom needs? Nah, he went twenty minutes ago. 

Any injuries? Nothing that wouldn’t be easy to hide and able to be ignored once his adrenaline started pumping. 

Deep breath. Deep breath. Deep breath. 

“See?” he said out loud, flashing a practiced smile at the crystalline water glass sitting on the nearby side table. It winked back at him as the crowd above roared again and set the whole stadium rocking. The lights hanging from the ceiling rocked along with it. Leo’s smile stretched wider. “It’s all good here. Nothing to worry about! I’m gonna get out there and kick butt.” 

“That is quite right, my dear turtley-boo!” a voice called from the intercom system. Leo startled, just barely keeping himself from tripping over his own feet and ending up face-down on the floor as he jumped a foot in the air. If he had fur, it would definitely be standing on end. 

“Heyyyy boss lady!” he called, turning his face towards the camera tucked away into the corner. Even if she’d seen the way he’d jumped, at least he hadn’t embarrassed himself more by letting her see his stupid scared face. 

“Halloooo!” Big Mama sings back, the sound crackling and a little distorted through the speakers. Leo forced himself to relax, trying to pretend like his breathing hadn’t sped up once again. He didn’t know why the sound of her voice always sent his heart beating doubletime, but he knew that he had to hide that it did. 

“Are you ready for your big fight?” she asked, excitement brimming in her voice. He knew that whatever was about to happen would be bloodier than the matches before. 

“You can bet your purple booty I am!” The grin plastered on his face felt too tight. His smile never seemed to fit right these days, his teeth too big and his mouth too small for the way Big Mama wanted him to perform for the crowds. He did his best though, and she hadn’t commented on it for a while. 

“Oh, you are a dimbly-delight, aren’t you?” she tittered, though there was a razor edge to her words that had him internally cringing. “This fight is what we’ve been working towards for the last three years. You won’t disappoint me, will you dear?” 

Leo swallowed around the lump in his throat, and instead threw up a peace sign and a smile towards the camera’s glinting eye. Big Mama hummed, and the sound of the door unlocking echoed from behind him. Another deep breath, and he turned to face the fox youkai in a bellhop uniform that had come to collect him for this final round. Leo flashed one last smile and a wink for the camera before he left the safety of his room, allowing himself to he led towards the arena. The cheering of the crowd got louder the closer they got, the stones around him echoing with their enthusiasm. The sound hurt his head. It made his eyes water and his heart pound harder against his plastron. On bad days he sometimes found himself half convinced that the cracks on his plastron must have been caused by exactly that: his heart trying too hard to escape its fleshy prison, battering wildly against his ribs until it broke into pieces. 

His face screwed up with disgust as the thought flitted through his head, and he wondered where that had come from. He’d never been one to be poetic. Overdramatic, absolutely. But usually in a more showmanship way than a “mopes in dark corners” way. 

He just had to hold himself together for a few minutes more. Then, he’d be all suited up and taking his first steps into the bright lights of the arena. He always felt better once he was there. There was something about doing over waiting that never failed to quiet the noise of his mind. 

“Soooo,” he sang, rocking on his toes as he waited for the youkai leading him around to sort through his keys and let them into the dressing room. He got a dirty look in response, which was answered with his best shit-eating grin. “Big, orange, and hairy! Any hints you can give me about this big surprise battle?” 

“You’ll find out soon enough,” the youkai (did he have a name? Did Leo know it? Didn’t matter, he would be dubbed Forface from this moment on!) grunted, his fluffy tail swinging back and forth with irritation. Leo had to fight the urge to grab ahold of it. It just looked so soft! 

“Aw, c’mon! Toss me a bone, I’m dying of curiosity here!” 

He seemed to consider it, pausing briefly before he turned the key. The sound of the door unlocking seemed to echo through the halls, strangely loud over the sound of the crowd. Foxface cast a look down the hall, dark eyes glittering in the low light as he checked for anyone who might overhear them before he pushed the door open and ushered Leo inside. He sighed but went without a fight, tromping towards the center of the room and onto the little raised platform that he had been trained to stand on while Big Mama’s employees got him ready for his fights. 

“These opponents aren’t anyone from the Nexus,” Foxface said at last, his voice low. He didn’t face Leo, eyes focused only on the armor that he was gathering. Leo stared wide eyed at the back of his fuzzy head, surprised but delighted that Foxface was actually talking to him after all. “Big Mama’s been training you specifically for this fight. This is what you were recruited for, and it’s going to be a hard one.” 

“What do you mean?” Leo demanded, brow creased as Foxface approached. The armor, his usual battle costume, clanked softly with each of his otherwise silent steps. He bit his bottom lip, sharp canines pressing against the black of his bottom lip. There was something about this fight that was making Big Mama’s staff nervous, and Leo didn’t like that fact one little bit. 

“Your opponents today are competing to win something important back from the Battle Nexus. They’re determined and they’re tough. So just.” He sighed, shifting Leo’s battle costume to one arm so he’d have a hand free to massage the bridge of his nose. “Be careful.”

“Riiiiight….”

Leo didn’t speak as Foxface began helping him into the layers of undergarments and armor, doing up the multitudes of straps and buckles with a five-fingered dexterity that Leo sometimes found himself a little envious of. As the mask slid over his face, Leo felt his breathing even out at last. The mask, which showed the visage of an oni whose face was twisted in what may have been a snarl or a smirk, always calmed him before a fight. It was a reminder of who he had been trained to be as soon as he entered the arena: ruthless, arrogant, and mischievous. It was a personality that the crowds loved to watch, and one that he had found it easy to lean into. Even when nobody could see his face, he knew his body language was exaggerated enough that they knew exactly what he was trying to communicate. 

From outside the dressing room, a klaxon siren was beginning to sound. Foxface drew a sharp breath, his hands tightening on the sash he was tying around Leo’s waist. It was a red and white slash across the waist of his black armor. Not his favorite color combination, but something about it was a little comforting. He’d tried to convince Big Mama to let him have a blue sash instead, but she’d pointed out that the shade he wanted would clash terribly with the black, and he couldn’t argue with that. Red was good enough and, though he knew it was silly, he always felt a little safer with that red sash wrapped around him. 

“Time to go,” Foxface said. “Don’t forget your sword.” 

Leo grinned, though it couldn’t be seen behind the mask. Nobody besides him was allowed to touch his weapon. He’d gotten it a few years back, just before he’d found himself at the Nexus. Seeing it lodged in the lid of a dumpster like some sort of New York Excalibur had been exciting, and he hadn’t hesitated to try his hand at pulling it out. 

And, well, that was sort of where his life began. He’d pulled it out, and in the process he’d lost his balance and tipped backwards off the dumpster. His head collided with the concrete ground below, and the next thing he knew he was waking up in Big Mama’s office with a bunch of fuzz for memories and a contract sitting in front of him. 

He’d held off on signing it, but nobody had ever come looking for him and he never got his memories back. She’d convinced him to try just one fight, and he’d been good at it, and the sword felt so right in his hand, that he gave in a signed up eventually. It wasn’t like he had anywhere else to go, right? 

Just one season, he’d said, but one became two, and now two was three, and at the rate he was going he’d probably be here for the rest of his life. No matter how short or long that ended up being. 

Usually a thought like that would make his chest a little tighter, make him want to crack a joke just to ease the pressure a little. Right now, though, he found he didn’t care too much. That’s how it always went once he was in his costume, with the mask over his face and his sword in hand. Nothing else mattered but the coming fight, and the glory it would bring to him and the money it would rake in for Big Mama. 

The doors opened, and he emerged into the arena. There were thousands of fans wstching, and every one of them was chanting his stage name. It was a good feeling. Even though they couldn’t see it, he smiled at them. When he raised a hand to wave, the crowd went wild. 

The announcer introduced him, though by this point he didn’t really need it anymore; everyone who watched the Nexus knew him. Big Mama had named him Rainbow Smash, which he was pretty sure was homophobic of her, and also was a stupid name. But hey, if going by Rainbow Smash got him a roof over his head and the title of champion then he wasn’t going to complain. Plus, it was almost the same name as the coolest of the little ponies.

“And tonight’s competitors,” the announcer boomed, and Leo tensed, watching the entryway across the arena as it slowly opened. Fog poured out, obscuring his view of his opponent(s?). Leo pouted behind his mask; why didn’t he get cool fog? “For their Battle Nexus debut, tonight we welcome, the Mutant Turtle Warrior Teens!”

A hush fell over the crowd as the fog cleared, revealing three figures. Who were facing the wrong way. They were kappas, like him, though they didn’t look like the same species. Leo tilted his head, confused but assessing. He knew better than to assume anything. The last time he had, he’d had his shell kicked back and forth across the arena and been stabbed twice before Big Mama had called the match. 

One of them was texting, face pulled into a deep frown that furrowed the eyebrows that were drawn over his mask. Damn, that was so stupid but Leo couldn’t deny that it looked good. The littlest one had tears streaming down his cheeks as he practically hid in the shadow of the biggest one. Leo eyed the big one, taking in the spikes and the bulk and the muscle mass. His mask was red, and his eyes were wide and scared as he gazed around at the crowd. There was a hint of desperation to him, as though he was looking for a familiar face amongst the thousands of onlookers. He turned, and noticed Leo, but neither of them made a move yet. Big Red was dismissive, already confident that he’d win a fight against Big Mama’s champion without breaking a sweat. What a dumbdumb. Leo cocked his hip, a little sad his grin was hidden by his mask. He already knew this fight would be tough — three-on-one’s always were — but Leo could tell these guys weren’t gonna take him seriously until he made them, and that was fine by him. He loved surprising people. 

After a second, Red’s gaze slid up and away, towards the gleaming box-seat that Big Mama always sat in to watch the matches. The big guy’s lost expression morphed into one of fury, and Leo felt his stomach twist. He looked like he was ready to kill, and something about it seemed so wrong on his face. Leo wasn’t sure why, but he just knew right down to his bones that Red was always meant to be good. At the thought, his free hand brushed against the sash tied around his waist and he amended the thought to almost always.

“We’re here!” Red bellowed, his furious expression fixed on the reflective glass high above them. Though Leo knew he couldn’t actually see through the glass, his good eye sure did seem to laser focus on someone up there. He wondered vaguely what happened to his other eye, and made a mental note to stay to his left and take advantage of the obvious blind spot. 

“So you are!” Big Mama called back, her tone full of condescension as it echoed over the loud speakers. The other two were paying attention now. The purple-masked one had put his phone away, though where, Leo didn’t know. He was pretty sure those little booty shorts they all wore didn’t have pockets. That said, it was A Look, and he kind of wanted to try the booty-shorts-and-thigh-highs combo now. 

“Give us back our brother!” the littlest one yelled, scrambling up Big Red’s shell with a practiced ease. He stood on his shoulders, glaring and pointing up at Big Mama’s box like he thought the extra 8 feet of height would be enough to make him intimidating. Red’s hand hovered anxiously by the yellow spotted ankles, worried that he might fall. 

Leo’s mind tick-tick-ticked through his observations, forming and discarding plans just as quickly. Red was obviously protective of the little guy, which meant that all Leo had to do to throw him off his game was go after little Sunspot there and the big guy would probably do something dumb in response. In turn, Sunspot seemed the type to rush into things without thinking. Impulsive and used to being protected by the bigger kappas around him. It would be easy enough to trip him up. He wasn’t sure why the thought of hurting them made him sad. It wasn’t like he hadn’t had to fight tight knit groups before, but for some reason the thought of fighting these guys was really messing with him. With a huff, he pushed the feeling away and turned his attention towards the one in purple. Damn, now that was a bigass forehead. No wonder he tried to hide it with a bandana. 

Stupidly big forehead or not, that was the one he was worried about. Unlike the other two, he was watching Leo. It was easy to see that his mind was doing the same thing: tick-tick-ticking away. The expression on his thin face was intense, yet distant. Normally, Leo would have written this guy off as the outsider of the little trio. The one that would be easy to separate and pick off because nobody would be watching his back, but also harder to exploit his reactions because he wouldn’t care about what happened to the other two. 

He had the strangest feeling that, despite appearances and his past experience telling him otherwise, that wouldn’t be the case this time around. No matter how different Egghead seemed from the other two, he just knew the usual tricks wouldn’t work. Which left…the fake shell. If someone was only wearing protection on one area of their body, it went to reason that that was the area that was most vulnerable. That was something he could use. 

Leo smirked to himself and turned his attention back to the other two. He was getting bored waiting for this whole thing to start. Why was Big Mama dragging things out like this? The sooner they could get started the sooner he could end this and move on, crowned Champion again and ready for the big leagues the following year. More of the same. 

Sunspot was still yelling, shaking his fist up towards Big Mama. Leo sighed and tapped his foot impatiently. He could practically feel Egghead’s attention zero in on it, looking for anything to exploit. This was so booooooring!!!! The crowd was obviously feeling the same way, murmuring restlessly amongst themselves as time dragged on and on. Leo wouldn’t blame them if they started throwing things soon, considering how much they had probably paid to see the finale of the championship tournament. 

“Well, you are a feisty little tippy-terrapin,” Big Mama’s voice tittered over the loudspeaker. “The three of you so eager to begin! Dimbly delightful.” 

“Get to it!” Big Red snapped. 

“Very well,” she hummed. “My terms are simple: Defeat my champion, and you get your brother returned to you safe and sound. Lose, and he’s mine forever.” 

Sunspot looked like he wanted to argue, but Egghead interrupted before he could. 

“This guy?” he asked, eyebrow cocked incredulously as he pointed at Leo. The smirk on his face was infuriating. Leo was actually kind of impressed. 

“Indeed!” 

The loudspeaker screeched a little, and the crowd all cheered at the confirmation. Egghead’s smile stretched wider. With a flourish that would make even the best performer jealous (not that Leo was, of course!) Egghead produced a shiny metal staff, giving it a twirl as some kind of holo-screen flickered to life in front of him. 

The bo swept through the screen, and the loudspeakers overhead crackled and fizzed for a second before suddenly, loud synth music began to play. 

Push It To The Limit, huh? Leo had to bite back the urge to laugh. At least this guy chose good music to get his butt handed to him to. He’d better he careful though, because with this level of showmanship Big Mama’s interest was probably piqued. 

“No problem,” Egghead hissed. There was a feral look to his eyes as he sized Leo up. 

As if on cue, Sunspot was standing next to Egghead, swinging nunchucks. Where the hell were they pulling these weapons from?? Big Red was grinning, cracking his knuckles as he took point in their little formation. 

“When we win this, we are never gonna let him live it down,” Egghead said, adjusting his footing.

“We’ll get him back,” Sunspot announced, and when his gaze fell on Leo it was cold and determined and dangerous. “All we gotta do is get through one guy.” 

Big Red grinned. It wasn’t a nice look. Leo gulped, but readied himself. Despite having used it practically daily, his sword suddenly felt bulky and unfamiliar in his hand. Still, as he tightened his grip, he felt the familiar rush of empty calm wash over him. 

This is what he’d been waiting for, hadn’t it? Weird opponents or not, it was a fight like any other, and he didn’t intend to lose. No matter how much his heart had begun to ache in his chest at the thought of the kappas standing in front of him bloodied and bruised. He’d do what he had to. 

There was no kindness left on their faces. It had been burned away by a steely determination. Big Red’s voice was cold as he said, “Let’s do this, boys.” 

As one, they charged. The final round of the tournament had officially begun, and only one side was meant to make it out alive. 

[dork-empress]

AUvember Day 12 Legend of Korra--Flowershop

Ahhhh back to my old Wuko roots! Though I’ve never done a flowershop au before, so this was fun! 

“Is it weird?” Korra asked, “Cause like, I can ask Bolin, if it’s weird…”

“Korra, would you just tell me which ones you want?” Mako said on the counter, “It’s only weird ‘cause you’re making it weird.”

Korra sighed in relief looking over the array of flowers. “Do you think she’d want roses or is that too stereotypical?” she asked.

Mako rolled his eyes and sighed, going through his stock. “The benefit of having dated you both is that I know exactly what you both like.” He said, quickly arranging a bouquet of red roses, gold flowers and just a few hints of blue to go along with the color of Korra’s eyes.

Korra brightened looking at it, “It’s perfect!”

Mako smiled, privately pleased with himself, “Great, that’ll be $60.”

Korra nearly dropped the bouquet. “Sixty—“ she said, “Don’t I get a discount or something?”

“Oh, and how much do YOU have to pay in rent?” Mako asked her, arms crossed.

Korra grumbled, pulling out her wallet. He was pretty sure she heard some curses under her breath that would make her mentors faint.

Bolin came out of the back with an armful of plants he’d been potting. “That Korra?” He asked, nodding at her retreating back.

Mako nodded, “Its her first official date with Asami tonight.” He said.

Bolin grinned at the thought, but then hesitated, “And she came to YOU for the flowers?” he said, “Isn’t that…weird?”

Mako sighed to himself, angrily starting to arrange a display. “I don’t know…” he said, “Yes? Kinda? But I don’t want THEM to think it’s weird,” He said, “I just…I’m happy for them, I really am, I—I dunno.”

“You…”Bolin started, “Are you, like, still in love with Korra?”

“No!” Mako protested.

Bolin put his hands up in surrender. “Asami…?”

“No, no, it’s nothing like that,” He said, “I just…I really am glad to be just friends with them, we’re in a good place, but…I kinda…I want what they have.”

Bolin nodded, “You’ll find someone out there,” he said, “If you keep looking! Should be easy in this ol’ shop.”

Mako grumbled, “Maybe.” He said, “It’s just…Asami is amazing, smart, drop dead gorgeous, kind, funny. And Korra? Also gorgeous and passionate and stronger than me, probably. So, I dunno…I just start thinking…”

“What?” Bolin asked, curious.

Mako chewed his lower lip. “What if…I mean, I couldn’t make a relationship work with two of the most amazing women on the PLANET. If I couldn’t do that, what if I’m not meant to be in a relationship.”

Bolin smacked him upside the head, “Wha—Bolin!”

“Stop talking nonsense,” His little brother said, “It’s not about how great they are or what kind of person you are. Sometimes two great people just aren’t suited for each other, and that’s exactly what happened with both of them. But, someday, you’ll find someone you CLICK with, and it works out!”

Mako sighs, “I guess.”

Bolin checked his watch. “Okay, this is going to sound super tone deaf given the nature of this whole conversation, but I actually have a date planned tonight with Opal, so…..”

“I’ll cover you,” Mako said. Bolin lit up, “Have fun!”

“Hey, you never know, maybe working tonight will lead you to your one true love!” Mako rolled his eyes and pushed his brother out of the store.

The store was dead silent for a solid hour after Bolin left. Mako rearranged the displays over and over, cleaned everything, made sure it was all taken care of and looking nice, and was JUST starting to think it was a good time to close early, when a man burst through the doors.

“Oh thank GOD! You’re still open! He said in a rush.

Mako was familiar with that expression. “A dozen red roses for an anniversary?” He asked, already reaching over.

“What?” the man, an oddly pretty man now that Mako got a look at him, with a ridiculous amount of product in his hair, “Oh, no, nothing like that. I’m hosting a dinner party tonight and the florist BAILED on me at the last minute!”

Mako’s eyebrows shot up. “I…I don’t know, a last minute order like that—“

“Please?!” The man said, clasping his hands together and getting way further into Mako’s personal space than Mako was typically comfortable with, “Please, please, I’ll even help get everything together, and I’ll pay TRIPLE the normal price!”

That got Mako’s eyes to really go wide. Triple? “Flower’s are more expensive than you think, sir, are you sure—“

“Believe me, I’m sure!” he said, “I’ll pay whatever you want just, please save me!”

Mako sighed. “What do you need?” he asked.

The good thing about this particular guest, whose name he learned was ‘Wu’ was that he knew exactly what he wanted. It was frustrating when customers were just vague about things. The problem was he knew EXACTLY what he wanted and wouldn’t budge on anything when Mako made any suggestions. “I’m telling you, those flowers won’t look good there,” he said, “They’re too small! They’ll get overtaken by the leaves!”

“The leaves are the important POINT!” Wu argued, and Mako swallowed further complaints. Whoever said ‘the customer was always right’ can bite his entire ass.

Wu also wasn’t willing to get his hands dirty with getting the flowers. He called in some workers of his, that Mako assumed were working the party, to come move the flowers. “Great,” he said, “Now just load up in the back of the truck and we’ll be on our way.” Wu said with a great deal of finality given that Mako was still confused.

“Wait, what?” he asked, “I’m not going with you.”

“Of course you are!” Wu said, “You think these people understand anything about arranging the flowers? You’re almost to closing time anyway, chop chop, lock up, and let’s get moving.”

Wu had to be the singular most frustrating person Mako had ever met. And he’d met more than his fair share of frustrating people! But he was also a hard person to argue with, so Mako found himself locking up his shop and settling into the back of the truck.

“Whoa…” was all he said when he stepped out. He’d been in some austentatious places before, mostly back when he was dating Asami, but this…this was practically gaudy, and just…huge!

“Come along!” Wu said, “Now, I have other matters to attend to, but these people are at your service, they’ll do everything you ask,” he said, “Refreshments are sitting over there if you need them, thank god the caterer didn’t bail, and bathroom’s down the hall on your left. Farewell!”

With that, Wu was off, leaving an array of servants in his wake, all looking to Mako for instructions. “Uh,” he said, “I…I guess we’ll start with the table centerpieces,” he said.

Somehow, they got it all set up before the first guest stepped in the hall for the evening. Mako sighed, packing up his tools, and the servants all disappearing into the kitchen.

Wu came up to him, breathing in relief, “Thank you so much, Mako, you’re a LIFE savor!” He said, “Please, feel free to stay for the party.”

“Uh,” Mako said, looking around. “I think I just better go.

“Big plans?” Wu asked.

Mako hesitated. “Well…” no, he didn’t. And his closest friends were all on dates. The best company he hoped for tonight was Pabu, “I just…I have nothing to wear.”

Wu clapped, and another servant stepped up. “Garson, go and see if we have any spare suits that will fit Mr. Mako. Feel free to dip into my personal collection, if you can find anything to fit those broad shoulders.” The servant nodded, and headed out. “And Mako?” Wu asked, “Make sure to save a dance for me,” he said with a wink.”

Mako smirked and walked to follow the servant. Just as he did, he overheard a pair of guests approaching Wu. “Simply a LOVELY arrangement, your highness.”

Wait…

What?

[pied-piper-pluto]

A statistics exam and a software engineering exam in the span of 4 hours tonite.... pray 4 me

[diagoose]

Join Me...

heyyooooo, hello. going to be doing a lil self imposed challenge. Au-vember, which is just an excuse to post a lot about ocs and write/draw au's for them! gonna put my guys in situations.

i'm giving myself permission to be silly and indulgent with my art, and you are welcome to join me!

don't have a prompt list or anything, just the goal to post something for it every other day this month, we'll see if we get too busy lol.

[boots-with-the-fur-club]

@turtleinsoup Sorry to disappoint, but the similarities are only because Kendra stuck headsets on all the turtles and is actually absent through the whole fic.

Here’s the link anyways to part one and two if you still wanted to read it: https://www.tumblr.com/boots-with-the-fur-club/735252512827965440/special-auvember-entry-me-and-my-rise-bestie

Febuwhump Day 8: Why Won’t It Stop?

How many days has it been? Kendra only pauses the constant feed when she comes in the room to gloat.

[theawesomeninja-xd]

@tmntaucompetition Journal

Memories Raph loves his journal ^_^

Everyone's seen him write in it, but Mikey's the only one that's actually read it.

[boots-with-the-fur-club]

Let’s pretend I finished this in actual November! Here is the last prompt, last au, a “The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals” au! You can find the musical for free on YouTube, would absolutely recommend!

Thank you, @tmntaucompetition for doing the prompts and idea for auvember! I was had a lot of fun in writing all of them!

@daboyau

Disco

A grungy tune rings through a hockey and action movie decorated room.

Riot, by Three Days Grace.

“….If you feel so angry, so ripped off, so stepped on…”

Cassandra Jones pauses mid one handed push-up, glancing over at her bed where she left her phone.

“….You’re not the only one refusing to back down-“

The ring tone stops as she hops onto the bed and taps the answer button.

“This is Cassandra, speak immediately!”

“Casey! You gotta come help me out here, something is seriously wrong.”

“O’Neil? Are you under attack!?”

“Not….exactly? Okay look, it’s not gonna sound that bad, but it does if you think about the implications.”

“Implications….the deadliest of all the nouns.”

“The guys went to see some Jupiter Jim musical last night, I had work so I couldn’t go but I got fired this morning and came down to the sewers to see how it went.”

“And then they attacked you?”

“No! I….heard them singing.”

“I’d just punch their throats in that case.”

“Look, I know you don’t know them as well as I do, but they usually sound like a yodeling goat when they sing! Unless it’s cold out for some reason, but that doesn’t matter! They’re too in sync! I’m freaking out here!”

“While I still don’t see what the implications are, I will come to your aid shortly.”

“You’re a life saver Casey-….what the….?”

There’s funky music in the background that she can’t quite place.

“O’Neil? What’s wrong?”

“Splints? Why are you….? No! Mikey! You hate disco!”

“O’Neil! Answer me!”

The only reply is the sound of hurried footsteps and rustling fabric. She must have started running.

Casey persists in her shouting until she hears the echoes of a sewer chamber. She was probably going to try to lose them.

Casey takes off out of her room and then her house, still listening to what’s going on. After only a minute or two, it sounds like the phone got dropped.

There’s loud splashing noises that grow quieter until they can’t be heard anymore. She still listens as she races to find a manhole she could lift.

Eventually, the splashing noises return and the phone sounds like it’s getting picked up.

“Oh heyyy, Casey, guess April dropped her phone.” Leo speaks into the phone in a sing songy tone.

“Don’t you play with me! What have you done with her!?”

“Me? I haven’t done anything. She totally just freaked out and ran off.”

“Stop lying! I know about the implications!”

There’s silence for a second or two before the call turns into a video chat.

Casey nearly stopped running in surprise.

It was naturally always dark in the sewers, so it was hard to make much out. Or, it would be, if the two turtles in the frame didn’t have the creepiest shade of glowing blue dripping down their faces.

Their smiles were too wide, their eyes were crazed.

It reminded her of when she went to a musical as a child and the actors tried to force her to join along as they walked down the aisles.

They tried so hard to look happy and the unnatural expression never left her mind.

“Awww, did you hear that Donnie? Casey doesn’t want to play.”

“Perhaps we should see if April wants to play instead.”

Casey grits her teeth.

“Leave her alone or I swear I will tear you to pieces when I get there!”

Donnie and Leo laugh in perfect unison before the phone’s camera is flipped around. The only thing in view is darkness.

Casey immediately turns on the tracking app she and April have for each other in case of emergencies.

“April! Come out now, or finding you will be more annoying than it has to be.” Donnie says with a slight growl.

“Donnie, that’s not how you ask a friend to hang out. You gotta lure her in, delicately. Aprillllll.~ Come out come out, wherever you are!”

No response.

They begin to walk forward.

Casey manages to finally get into the sewers and turns on her flashlight, running as fast as she could in the direction the phone’s location is in.

Then, Leo begins singing as the camera shows they’re walking much faster.

“Let's play some games. Let's play some games today, fuuuunnyyy games. Some funny games today!”

“Leo, look.” Donnie points to a light shimmering far in the darkness.

“Do you want to play with me?” Leo continues to sing.

“Come here, come here.” Donnie joins in.

“I want you to come here so we can play.”

They purposefully pretend they take a wrong turn near where the glimmer was.

Casey’s heart beats fast and she screams out to warn her.

To her horror, she’s been put on mute.

There’s a hope that April won’t fall for this trap.

Unfortunately, she does.

The moment she rushes past the wall, Donnie and Leo grab her.

She screams in terror as the two of them laugh in a stilted way while still in unison. Nothing like any kind of laugh any normal person would do.

Casey runs even faster and prays that she can get there in time.

Leo flips the camera once again and lifts the phone above them.

“Whoops, no recordings allowed in this performance!”

The video call ends on his chilling smile, the blue dripping down his face somehow even worse than before.

Casey nearly breaks her own phone in anger but knows that it’s the only way to know where they are.

The tracking indicates they’re on the move again. Probably dragging April to their lair.

She continues running despite how long she’s being doing it already. The burn in her legs and lungs didn’t matter as long as April was still in the worst possible danger.

Eventually, finally, and out of breath, she makes it to where April’s phone was. The lair’s lights had all been shut off except for one. The heat lamp was acting as some sort of spotlight.

April’s phone was directly under it.

Casey turns off the tracker and keeps her flashlight on instead.

She wasn’t scared, more pissed off than anything. How dare they turn on April and force her into this musical madness?

She hears something nearby and immediately spins around to shine her light into the darkness.

There stands Mikey, smiling ear to ear with nothing behind his eyes except for a dim blue glow.

“There you are, Cassandra.”

“Orange one! Where did they take O’Neil!?”

Mikey giggles creepily and tilts his head.

“La la la la la, la la la la la, la la la la la la la la!”

“That’s neither an answer or actual singing!”

Mikey giggles more and runs back into the darkness.

Casey gives chase.

Suddenly, something shoots out and crashes into her hand. The phone smashed into a wall and takes out the flashlight with it. She’s left in complete darkness. Her fists go up and her feet slide into a defensive position.

“What is this!?”

The heat lamp from earlier suddenly shines over in front of her, revealing Donnie with a top hat he was tipping down over his face.

“It’s….a….show stoppin’ number. A real show stopper.”

Casey backs up.

“Enough with the singing! Where is O’Neil!?”

The light moves over to Leo who has a matching top hat, and April tied to a chair.

“Show stopping number! With April front and center!”

“O’Neil! Are you okay!?“

“I’m fine! But you gotta get out of here!”

“I am not leaving you behind!”

“It’s too late for me! It’s a freaking infection! They’re singing zombies, Casey! It’s literally your worst nightmare!”

“What kind of coward would I be if I left you in my nightmare!? THROAT PUNCH!” She kicks at Leo’s head.

Leo dodges with a spin and a flourish of his hat.

“I thought you were going to punch his throat!” April exclaims.

“I’ve learned yelling my attacks isn’t helpful!” Casey chops furiously at the rope until it falls apart into pieces.

“Okay, you’ve got to teach me that when we’re not busy bein in danger.”

“Let’s get out of here.”

“Not so fast! Slow down that tempo, you’re not going anywhere.” Donnie shouts from the darkness.

There’s the sound of clapping from his direction, then the lights turn back on.

Not in the normal way, though.

The lights flashed differently colors all over the place. A funky, discoish song plays from unseen speakers. The same one Casey heard over the phone before. It was easier to tell now was it was.

Copacabana.

Mikey reappeared alongside Raph and Splinter. In a perfect, creepy amount of unison, they danced to the song. Their fingers traced the air as their hands rhythmically went side to side. The other hand was placed on their hips.

Like Donnie and Leo, blue was dripping down their faces.

From their eyes, their mouths, their noses.

“Not again! Guys, please, get a hold of yourselves!” April pleads.

She and Casey are attacked from behind, getting kicked and falling closer to the enclosing trio.

Casey looks back, seeing Donnie and Leo had joined back up with their own disco moves.

Tossed to the ground by a disco kick.

It was both entirely embarrassing and terrifying.

Casey grabs April by the shoulders, pulling her up as she herself gets back to her feet.

“To hell with their dance fighting, we need to find a way through!”

“I’m up to any ideas you have!”

“You aren’t.“

“Wha-“

Casey grabs April’s jacket right off her and quickly ties Raph and Splinter’s hands together before kicking it down. This causes them to hit heads and get distracted. Casey uses this opportunity to make her escape with April, grabbing her hand and running.

The music continues as they run. It’s like the worst horror game soundtrack ever.

Or maybe the best.

They keep running until they can safely go up a ladder and out front a manhole. Luckily, it ended up being in an alleyway with a large dumpster they managed to push on top.

They breathe heavily, adrenaline still pumping.

“That was far too close for my liking. My enemies should be defeated with much more ease.”

April opens her mouth to respond but ends up coughing into her hand.

“….Aw nuts….”

“What? What’s the matter?” Casey glances over and tenses up.

There was the same, unfortunately familiar, glowing blue.

“I told you that you should have left me….”

“….Stop saying foolish things. You were, and still are able to not sing. We still have time to fix you.”

“How? We don’t even know what this is!“

“You’re a future journalist, O’Neil! You can figure it out. You do not give up, especially this soon.”

April smiles softly at her.

“You’re right. I’m April O’Neil! And I will not be in a musical unless I want to be!”

Casey smiles back.

“Then let’s make sure you’re not.”

The two of them leave the alleyway. April begins looking up and down the sidewalk until she finds a newspaper stand. She slams money down in front of the owner and takes a newspaper.

“Here! The theatre the boys went to, they said something crashed into it the night of the musical.”

“That’s where what’s causing this must be. Perhaps if we tear its heart out, you all will go back to normal.”

“It’s the best, and only plan we have.”

They head to the theatre. It’s closed down and boarded up when they arrive, so Casey handled the boards and they went inside.

Once in the same room as the stage, they could see some kind of mutated plant there.

They also saw the people with blue all over their faces.

To make matters worse, the turtles and Splinter dropped through a portal, joining in with the other infected people.

Donnie and Leo were once again the aggressors, coming in at April and Casey fast.

“It is time….” Donnie starts.

“to diiiiiie!” Leo completes, singing.

“You get to that creepy thing, Casey! I’ll hold them off!” April gets into a fighting stance.

Casey begrudgingly nods and rushes forward.

April does her best to distract the people, turtles, and rat that were coming towards them.

They, however, continued to sing.

“Sorry to interrupt, but we got bones to pluck! The time for chaos is long past overdue.” Mikey croons as he attacks.

April barely manages to avoid it, shoving him into one of the seats.

“Death isn't optional! In fact it’s optimal!

Your time is up and now we go through you!” Donnie sends some weaponry her way.

April dodges the projectiles as best she can until she’s grabbed from behind by Leo.

“We tried to convince you in soliloquy!”

April struggles heavily as Raph begins to leer over her.

“But now we'll kill you with more than harmony!”

“You’re not harming anyone! Or else you get it!” Casey calls out.

All the infected people turn towards her in horror. She’s holding a sharp piece of wood towards the plant.

“No!” They screech in unison.

“Do it Casey! Now!” April insists.

Casey pulls her hand back so she can stab it.

“Wait! I can give you what you want, Cassandra.” Something in her mind begs.

“Who’s saying that!?”

“It’s me, in front of you. You became infected with my spores just like the others. I have access to your mind. You don’t have to do this. You wanted to rule the world, didn’t you? I can help you!”

“Why would I ever listen to you?”

“Because it’s too late for everyone fully infected, but not too late for your friend. I can release her…..if you join me.”

“I refuse to serve something like you again!”

“No no no, you won’t serve me. You’ll rule with me. I know when I’ve met someone truly exceptional. With your help, no one will ever be able to stop us!”

Casey thinks hard about this decision until something trickles down her nose. She curses under her breath, knowing what it is.

There’s a tense air, her back is facing April.

Then, she stabs the wood deep into the plant.

The infected screech once again, writhing in pain and letting April go.

She quickly runs towards the stage in relief.

“Casey! You did it! You-!….Casey….?”

Cassandra turns around, smirking wickedly as blue drips down her arms and down to the floor from how she had stabbed the plant.

“I did. I took the next step. The only step.”

April screams in horror as the infected stop writhing in pain and start singing again instead.

“You got your silver Casey, you got your crown. You got their blood on the roses in hand.”

Casey beckons the infected, they go backstage to the costume area and come back with some props. She cheerfully, manically, twirls around with them.

“Whoa, you donned the sash and scepter, doing a dance as you crowned you queen of the land.”

[merakimagic]

I decided to write an AU that I actually plan on continuing for a while. I’ve had the idea in my head for ages but now I’m finally acting on it🩵💫

In summary:

After the Krang invasion New York City may go back to normal but nothing is the same for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles… especially not a certain blue boy. Leo had never felt more self alienated from his family and after an argument with his favourite twin he finds himself out on the town. Running and jumping through New York while battling his own inner demons about the warrior he is meant to be. While lost in is own mind Leo is jumped and taken away where he meets one strange and irritating Yokai who runs a once year tournament to find the strongest warriors in the hidden city. But something about how he is towards Leo is different. Leo doesn’t like this situation but will soon learn more about the expectations he’s failed to live up to that were put in place even before his mutation.

Below is a (somewhat) reference sheet for one of the main characters Kyuseishu.

Enjoy Reading!!

And thanks @tmntaucompetition for finally making me follow through and get moving on a AU idea. I can’t wait to participate more in auvember!💜

First Week of AUVember Prompt

Tournament

Good luck and have fun!