#he stands up for himself when he's talking to raphael too even though he likes her

[tiarnanabhfainni]

i loved the part of the book where piranesi resolves to take better care of himself while he's rediscovering his own history. he just has so much compassion for himself! the journal upsets him so he takes a week off and does things he enjoys and then he settles into a safe place when he wants to tackle the subject again. and he doesn't believe The Other when he's told about his amnesia! he values his own insights and his own knowledge of the House even when fucking ketterley is actively trying to undermine his sense of self. piranesi's gentle treatment of himself and the person he used to be is genuinely so moving.

[once-in-a-blood-moon]

do you think solomon would be able to survive a week of not being allowed to call mc adorable? no or no

NO. Big no, lol.

Although this does lead me to wonder why he'd need to stop calling MC his adorable apprentice for a week. Like does the rest of the cast make a bet with him to see if he's capable of going a week without the petname or does Purgatory Hall have an intervention about his excessive use of it?

--

"And then, listen to this! My adorable apprentice used the spell I taught them to whisk the demon away like it was nothing. You should've seen it," Solomon gushes while everyone around him seems to groan and roll their eyes.

"There he goes again with the "my adorable apprentice" thing," Asmo sighs.

Mammon pipes up next. "Yeah! And it's gettin' pretty damn annoyin' too!"

"They're not just your apprentice, Solomon," Satan scolds.

Solomon can't help but chuckle at the stink everyone seems to be making. "What, I can't be thrilled by how MC is exceeding under my supervision?"

"No, you can," Simeon starts, "it's just...you refer to them as your "adorable apprentice" a lot."

"A lot, a lot." Luke adds.

Solomon sits there in silence, soaking up what his roommates are saying. He hadn't realized how often he called MC that, though now that he thinks about it, he can't deny it. When he speaks about them he can't help but be proud.

Belphie then brings up a point mid-yawn. "I bet he couldn't go a week without saying it."

"I second that bet!" Mammon interjects with dollar signs reflected in his eyes.

Lucifer sighs next to him not wanting to entertain this more then he should, but he had to admit that this was probably a bet Mammon could win. "I have to agree with Mammon. You do say it an annoyingly often."

"Ah, so we're betting on this, are we?" Solomon grins, not passing up the opportunity to prove himself while having a little fun. "Fine. I bet that I can go a week without calling MC my "adorable apprentice"." He reaches into his pocket and pulls out the Devildom equivalent of twenty dollars and throws it on the table.

"You're on!" Mammon exclaims.

"I believe in you, Solomon!" Luke cheers.

Everyone else follows suit, pooling their money in the middle while declaring their bets. Lucifer, Mammon, Satan, Belphie, and Barbatos all betting he'll lose. Leviathan, Asmo, Beel, Diavolo, Simeon, Luke, and himself betting he'll win.

And so the games begin.

Through the week, he does find it difficult to hold back from using the petname. There are several instances when talking about them almost slips him up, though he's always able to catch himself before saying it. It was a term so used to sitting on the tip of his tongue that it was hard to let go. Everyone goes around to check in with each other and him to make sure he hadn't lost the bet yet. All of them stay surprised at his determination to get through the week, but remain skeptical in his ability to actually see the week through. MC, while oblivious to the bet, has even caught on to the absence of Solomon's petname praise.

It's Thursday during their after school lesson with him when it happens. He'd been quizzing them on the different types of magic and they had correctly named each one. They were even able to identify their own and his without extra prompting. Solomon was so caught up in his pride and love for them that he said it without thinking.

"Fantastic! Just what I'd expect from my adorable appren-" he trails off, his eyes widening as his heart sinks.

He just lost the bet.

MC stares at him, worried as to why he cut himself off like that. "Um...are you okay?"

Solomon stands there silently in defeat before replying solemnly, "I need to go make some phone calls..."

--

"Solomon! Just the sorcerer we wanted to see." Simeon greets once Solomon enters the common room after receiving a text from the group chat calling for an emergency meeting.

Solomon glances around to see Simeon, Luke, and Raphael dotting the room in the sofa and chairs. The odd thing is that they all seem relatively calm. Simeon pats the cushion next to him on the couch with a smile, and Solomon immediately obliges and sits down.

"So, what's the emergency?" he asks.

"Oh, this isn't an emergency," Luke says while swinging his legs. Simeon finishes for him, "it's an intervention."

A brow cocks on Solomon's forehead. "An intervention? Is this about me spending too much time in my room again?"

Simeon chuckles. "No. Although we may need to talk about that sometime soon."

"It's about MC." Raphael says, cutting to the chase.

"MC? Are they alright?" Solomon glances quickly between his friends as worry gnaws at his heart.

"MC's fine! It's about you and your obsession with calling them your "adorable apprentice"." Luke explains.

Solomon pauses, almost tempted to laugh at such an asinine reason to call for an intervention. But he sees the seriousness in everyone's eyes and realizes this is actually happening. "Is this a joke or..."

Raphael shakes his head. "I'm afraid not. You use the term so much that we thought maybe it was time to talk to you about it."

"I don't use it that often," Solomon says, slightly offended by the notion. "I praise them accordingly."

"And accordingly would be...all the time?" Simeon asks with a knowing grin.

"Well, I..."

Simeon got him. Okay, so maybe he had a problem, but it's not like it's a big deal. "Why wouldn't I want to praise them for their hard work as my student? I'm sure you all would do the same."

"Maybe so," starts Raphael, "but there's a difference between being proud and being obsessed."

"Yeah, we're just concerned about you, Solomon," Luke adds.

He sees the worry in the little angel's face and sighs, having no choice but to endure this "talk."

"This is barbaric. A man can't even gush over his apprentice anymore..."

The whole of Purgatory Hall laughs at Solomon's pouty joke before continuing with their intervention.

"They say it takes a month to break a bad habit. From this point forward, when you're speaking about them just assume everyone knows MC is your adorable apprentice," Simeon suggests. "You can praise when praise is due, but you don't need to overdo it."

"Fine, I'll give it a try." Solomon mutters, not happy with the compromise. Deep down he knows he'll be lucky if he lasts a week.

[kiame-sama]

Warnings; bg3, full party (because I want them all there to talk), Druid Tav*, Slight druid path spoilers I guess?, Owlbear, Protector type Tav, yandere companions (ALL of them), basic identity spoilers for first act followers, slight early story spoilers, they/them reader, yandere Raphael makes an appearance too.

* Tav is the name that always appears in the character generator first, so technically Tav is the unofficial term for the player character- or Reader in this scenario.

~~~~~~~~

The large owlbear lumbered slowly amongst the fallen undead, using the sharp beak to pick around the bodies for anything useful. Of course, not everything picked up by the defacto leader of the group was typically deemed useful. Such was the way of the unusual soul the group found themselves following the every whim of.

Countless battles had been won with their leadership and each companion had true respect for their leader, even if respect for the other companions was variable. To take them from desperate and hopeless about their plight to truly believing they could succeed their impossible mission. Each odd soul brought in to the fold by the odd druid may not believe, but they believed in how much their leader believed. For them, this was enough.

This meant that when their trusted leader wandered around as a creature that could feasibly carry three of them, they just followed along and grabbed what they wanted if their leader didn't pick it up first. They trusted their leader to distribute loot and treasure adequately based off of who could best use what was collected. Still, that didn't make the experience any less surreal, even for those who were familiar with druids that favored their bestial forms.

"Astarion, do you ever feel like we, as a group, just adapt to everything around us a little too well?"

Gale, the wizard of the group walked next to the rogue vampire spawn, his arms crossed in a contemplative way. Never before would he have imagined himself having light banter with such a being without bloodshed, but here he was regardless.

"Do tell me you are joking, right?"

"No, should I be?"

"God's, Gale, we're all stuck here as a group with only one thing in common- the fact that we're facing impossible odds to simply survive- and we can barely keep ourselves from killing each other. On top of that, just what do you think we're doing right now? Hm?"

"... Collecting the spoils of our battle?"

There was a distinct moment of silence as the beautiful vampire spawn stared at the wizard with a look of disbelief and disgust. The apparent pause catching the attention of the rest of the party- minus the owlbear lumbering ahead of the group- as they all decided to listen in. It was good fun to hear the others squabble and it gave a sense of comradery despite the situation they were in, misery loving company in most ways, though things weren't seeming too miserable now.

"We are in a temple that is inside of a crypt- some depth underground- picking amongst the remains of reanimated corpses that have all been stomped to death by our Owlbear leader. Not to mention this leader who just so happens to be the most balanced person among us and somehow isn't corrupt as all hells while doing it."

Some of the others nodded along in their own ways, knowing Astarion's assessment wasn't too far off from the crux of the situation they found themselves in. A few cast glances at the afore mentioned owlbear leader who seemed rather content rooting through what little remained from their earlier rampage.

"And they're hot as the hells while doing it."

Karlach, the literal flaming tiefling barbarian, commented, putting herself in the conversation with a wide grin.

"You're one to talk, Karlach," Wyll playfully jabbed back, "You've literally got fire coming out of you!"

"You know I'm right though!"

"Well, I didn't say you were wrong."

Before the two could continue, Astarion cut them off, bringing the now group conversation back to Gale.

"Anyways, my point still stands. We are not the ones who make this all work. They make it work for us. We are stuck together- like it or not- and they call the shots. We can get used to anything because they can get used to anything. Don't pat yourself on the back too hard now, it might get you excited."

Gale slightly winced at that jab, given the fact that he was the most obvious about being smitten with the group leader, and yet his beloved was completely unaware of how hard he had fallen. How hard they all had fallen.

"Are you all fools," Shadowheart hissed in a low voice, "you know they can hear us, right?"

It was Lae'zel's turn to bark out a laugh, her lips curled in a sly grin as she regarded the Sharian cleric. It gave the Githyanki soldier a sense of satisfaction to know something about their leader the cleric didn't.

"They can't understand us in that owlbear form. Why else would these fools talk so plainly?"

Unknown to them, their leader could understand them, but simply didn't want to cause in-fighting or favoritism to arise. So they simply carried on as if unaware of the conversation, just trying to focus on finding what was salvageable.

Unknown to them all, a demon watched from the rafters. His arms were crossed and a grin played across his lips. He had to admit, that druid was certainly a fetching prize as they clearly enamored not only their mismatched companions but him as well. Time would leave him the last among them by the druid's side, he would ensure it. Besides, he had plenty of time to wait.

[woodchuck019]

Crowley was Raphael?

WARNING: MAJOR GOOD OMENS 2 SPOILERS

Ok, so in the last few years we all enjoyed the headcanon that Crowley was the Archangel Raphal pre-Fall. To be completely honest, in season one this theory didn't make a lot of sense because we knew basically nothing about Crowley as an angel except for the fact that he helped create the stars and fell because he asked too many questions. So, even though it was a nice and interesting theory, I thought it would remain that, a theory.

Well, seems like this theory is basically confirmed now at the end of season 2. But let's start at the beginning.

First, we have to talk about the Hierarchy of Angels in Christianity. This Hierarchy was theorized by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite in his book De Coelesti Hierarchia (On the Celestial Hierarchy). Dionysius described nine levels of spiritual beings which he grouped into 9 orders.

Highest orders:

Seraphim

Cherubim

Thrones

Middle orders:

Dominions

Virtues

Powers

Lowest orders:

Principalities

Archangels

Angels

Now, a lot of people asked Neil why the Archangels have so much power if they are so low in the Hierarchy and he said that he and Terry actually tought of archangels and Archangels as different beings.

So we have the arch-angels, in thre sense of being just above the lowest Choir of angels, and then we have the Arch-angels, in the sense of being above all angels.

Actually, the term archangel itself is not found in the Hebrew Bible or the Christian Old Testament, and in the Greek New Testament the term archangel is used referring to Michael, who is called 'one of the chief princes,' and 'the great prince'.

The idea of seven archangels is most explicitly stated in the apocryphal Book of Tobit when Raphael reveals himself, declaring: "I am Raphael, one of the seven angels who stand in the glorious presence of the Lord, ready to serve him."

In Judaism the Archangels are given the title of śārīm, meaning "princes", to show their superior rank and status, so they are also called "Princes of Heaven".

In season 2 episode 6, when Crowley is in Heaven trying to find any info on Gabriel, Muriel gives him the missing Archangel's file explaining that even if they wanted, they couldn't show it to him, since only angels above the rank of Dominions could access it. Immediately after, without putting in any effort, Crowley opens the file, saying that he was an angel once and they never bothered to change passwords. (I totally read a fic like this btw).

When the Archangel Saraquel meets them and recognises Crowley, she says that they worked together on the Horsehead Nebula. So Crowley must have been pretty high up in the ranks if he worked with an Archangel.

When they show us the scene of the trial, Gabriel is ready to be cast down to Hell, but the Metatron stops him and says:

"You are not going to hell. For one Prince of Heaven to be cast into the outer darkness makes a good story. For it to happen twice makes it look like there is some kind of institutional problem."

So we know that one of the Seven Archangels has Fallen, and it could be Lucifer, even though in the bible it is never stated that he was an archangel, but wouldn't they have said so if it were the case?

Also in episode 2, when Shax tells Crowley that Heaven and Hell think Aziraphale has something to do with Gabriel's disappearence, she says:

"A miracle of enormous power happened last night. The kind of miracle only the mightiest of Archangels could've performed".

Reminds you of something? Raphael, one of the mightiest of Archangels?

I really hope they will confirm the theory in season 3.

[mslanna]

Can I ask for Raphael having a 'Wait, why am I jealous?' realization of his romantic feelings for Tav? (For the record, Tav is romantically interested in him, too, because I can't handle angst right now 🥲)

Ask and you shall receive. 🥰

Served Cold

(Served Cold on AO3) enby Tav without body configuration cold and comfort hot devil is hot Karlach cameo

Conquering all nine hells was a lot of work for one devil. Even with his armies and followers, Raphael had few subordinates he trusted. So asking Tav to join had been only logical. After all, they had delivered the Crown of Karsus to him willingly.

He had been right, too, as Tav greed easily to his request. They helped him conquer the hells and he, well, there was a certain uncertainty about his part of the deal. Just make sure I don't die seemed like a sensible request. It was not much of a prize, though. The exchange seemed barely equal.

But he wouldn't look a gift Tav in the mouth. It was also to be expected that Tav would enlist the help of their friends. The tiefling should not have been a surprise, especially since she could not return to the material plane with her hellfire heart.

It wasn't that he didn't trust his human to get the job done, despite the biting cold of Cania and the wide icy plains. But this was his father's domain. Mephistopheles knew he was coming for him and his security was increased.

Tav was smart for taking the circumspect route to his palace even if that meant several weeks of trekking through the cold. The entrance wasn't secret as much as unexpected. A place as big as Mephistopheles court had a whole system of venues to accept or remove wares and services. A place as old as his father's had also gone through several system changes. Dead ends happened.

And Tav knew how to talk to servants and debtors. As a paladin they exuded and air of trustworthiness. The time they spent undercover in his father's realm had not gone by easily. Raphael had worried every day. So much of his plans rested on Tav's success.

But they succeed as he knew they would. Tav was reliable, more so than many of his subordinates. Subordinates who were making a lot of noise under the command of Yurgir right now. Mainly to keep Mephistopheles attention on them and allow the small group to slip in through a discarded and ignored back entrance that should have been decommissioned and closed centuries ago.

Raphael considered standing with the armies. But the prospect of seeing the expression on his father's face when he turned up in the centre of his secure home was a strong argument for travelling with Tav.

He was accustomed to the burning cold of Cania. The storms of blade-like winds and freezing snow were inconvenient but manageable. The tiefling was doing fine with her hellfire heart as well. It kept her warm under the layers upon layers of clothes.

Tav on the other hand suffered miserably. It didn't matter how many layers they put on, the result was a shivering heap of furs that moved slowly through the cold landscape. The view was pitiful, but Tav didn't complain once. Their dedication to his cause was admirable. And when nobody watched, not even his own inner devil, Raphael allowed himself to admire them.

Not now, of course, as the human sat huddled up like a shrimp at the small fire. They shook violently and stuck their hands almost into the flames. If he didn't know better, Raphael would have thought them a blemish, worth no note. His thought were of a very different nature though.

There had to be a way to help Tav. It was not the most devil-like thought but it was well founded. Tav was a valuable asset, a tool well worth protecting. It was only natural that he considered his options to keep them at peak performance.

The problem was how to get warmth to his mouse without attracting attention. A bigger fire was out of the question. That left very limited options. But, for the success of his campaign, he was willing to make sacrifices. Even personal ones.

He was still mulling over the best way to phrase his idea so it would not appear to be personal, when Karlach moved. She rounded the fire and came to sit next to Tav, worry engraved on her face.

"You'll catch your death, soldier." The tiefling nudged Tav who moved towards her unthinking. Drawn to the warmth, no doubt. "Yeah, that's more like it. Gods, you're cold."

Despite her words, Karlach wrapped Tav into their cloak. And his little mouse, leant into it. Raphael took a deep breath. The way Tav softened and their body slowly ceased to shudder. It was a good thing. There was no reason for him to be mad about it.

Yet the anger simmered in his stomach, bitter and bubbling. That had been his offer to make. A sacrifice for the greater good. Yet the tiefling offered it as if it was nothing, a small act of friendship and care. He should be grateful for that. His dignity stayed intact.

But his dignity was not rumbling dangerously low in his chest. To think that it could have been his arm around Tav's shoulders, his arm they leant against, grateful and content. The fury surprised him, as did the pain. What did it matter who kept Tav warm?

But it did matter, and it mattered that it wasn't him. Raphael carefully avoided putting a name on the rage. The last thing he needed now was complications. The fight against his father was difficult enough without worrying – uselessly – about one fragile mortal.

It was not worry he felt, looking at Tav who dozed off in the sudden warmth. Trenches dug by the cold over the last days softened. Their mouth relaxed and opened slightly. They looked at peace. Peace he should be giving them.

"If it proves too much of a strain on your infernal engine, let me know." Raphael was proud of the nonchalance of his tone. "I am willing to carry my share of the burden."

"Tav is never a burden." Despite her cheery tone, the threat in Karlach's voice was clear. "And I'd rather freeze to death with them than burden you with them."

Raphael sat back. "If this is how you treat offers of help-"

"If you want to offer help, offer help. Don’t style yourself as a martyr for the most minuscule act of decency."

Looking at his little mouse – eyes closed, breath soft and regular – Raphael wondered if they were indeed asleep. What would Tav think, listening in on this conversation? And what did it matter to him? He was a devil! He did not care what mortals though of him.

Except for Tav.

The realisation was uncomfortable and unwanted. It was true nevertheless.

"Don't mind him," Tav murmured, adjusting their position against the tiefling. "He's just jealous."

Jealous. The word stunned Raphael. He was not jealous. He was a devil! He stared at the lips that uttered such blasphemy. Lips that were once again of a soft pink instead of pale blue. He had a pretty good idea what he'd like to do to them, traitorous, insolent lips.

Unfortunately, his ideas supported Tav's claim. Ridiculous. They were an asset. A tool for his victory. Nothing more.

Yet.

"Well." Karlach pulled Tav closer. "Even jealous devils have to behave themselves. Maybe a 'please' wouldn't go amiss."

"If you think I will beg, you are severely mistaken," Raphael huffed and folded his wings closer around him.

"Do as you please. But I don't think Tav is a burden and I know how it feels to have them breathe down my skin when they sleep – and drool a little." The tiefling dropped a sloppy kiss onto Tav's forehead.

"Devils are not to be drooled upon."

"I'm sure you can make them lick it off again." The tiefling delighted in teasing him.

Still Raphael could not deny the appeal of the vision her words conjured. "Oh, hand them over already." He gestured impatiently.

To his surprise the tiefling actually obeyed. "You know I will kill you, if you hurt them," she smiled as she draped the mortal against his side.

Raphael snorted. "I'd like to see you try."

"I don't," Tav murmured and turned to press their face into his arm.

A surprisingly efficient argument. Raphael dragged his little mouse into a comfortable position, resting their head against his chest and wrapping them both in his wings. At least tiefling couldn't see his face any longer that way.

"You are mine," he murmured into Tav's rear. "Mine alone and don't you forget it."

"Jealous," they replied sleepy, but with a smile touching their lips. "I like it."

Raphael growled and dropped kiss onto their head as he had seen Karlach do. What an insolent little creature he held. It would be impossible to pry them from his grip.

[weirdafposts]

ROTTMNT - Abandoned AU

In this au, Yoshi Hamato(Lou Jitsu) was less brave, having only worked on movie and show sets, never actually fighting anyone or anything except prop dummies and such. But, Baron Draxon was intrigued by this “Lou Jitsu”, and thought he had great fighting skills. Baron kidnapped Yoshi, wanting to use him to mutant 4 turtle babies. In the end, Baron succeeded, making the 4 turtles half human, half turtle. But Yoshi didn’t stand for it, he quickly freed himself and the turtles, managing to escape and found himself in the sewers. Having touched the turtles who were covered in a green ooze, Yoshi obviously got some on him. Just then, a rat ran by, making Yoshi freak out mildly and kick at it, biting him. Due to the ooze, this made Yoshi mutate into a half-human, half-rat. Panicked, Yoshi quickly left the turtles in the sewers and went elsewhere, freaking out over his new transformation. This made the 4 turtles parent less, having no one to take care of them…

Years later, the 4 turtles have all officially become teens. Raph being the eldest at 15, Donnie and Leo both being 14 and Mikey being 13. But, due to obvious circumstances, the 4 turtles don’t actually have names. Instead, the 4 just call each other nicknames based on how they look or act. 

Currently, in order to survive, the turtles have been stealing from humans, as a way to find food and to find entertainment. As they had gotten older, the more they went out.

As expected, Donnie was the one to improve the lair. He had taught himself how to read and found, what’s called, a library. He learned about many things, electronics, technology, etc. Unlike the other 3 turtles, Donnie was the only one who knew how to read as, turns out, it’s incredibly difficult to teach yourself how to read, and Donnie had 0 clue how to teach that to his brothers. So, as Donnie progressed into making the lair more and more advanced, all his brothers could do was watch. The 4 turtles learned to talk properly when Mikey was 9, Donnie and Leo were 10 and Raph was 11, as they had seen what a tv was, and Donnie being the smart turtle he is, figured out how to steal and use it, leading up to them learning how to speak properly. 

Raph appointed himself as leader as he was the largest, oldest and was the most mature of his brothers. While Mikey was the artist and therapist of the group and Leo was just himself.

Now, due to their… Lack of parents, the 4 mainly just watched tv, and that is how they learned to socialize. Action movies and shows being their main interest, the turtles were rather, let’s say, “aggressive” when trying to approach humans. They didn’t understand that they were different from humans as tv never explained anything to them. Most of the time, the turtles were always threatened or even attacked by the humans they approached. This made them see humans as evil beings only out to hurt them, making the 4 fear people.

Of course, they all have to steal to get food and necessities, but they always avoided humans, like humans had the plague.

Eventually, Donnie started reading more historic books, eventually finding out about these guys named Donatello, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raphael. Donnie was inspired to say the least and decided to bring up the names to his brothers, Raph actually liked the names, so the 4 turtles decided to claim them as their names. Raph being Raphael, Donnie being Donatello, Mikey being Michelangelo and Leo being Leonardo. That is how they got their names, not Splinter.

The 4 turtles look almost exactly as how they did in the show, except without masks, because no one ever gave them any.

The turtles are always in their lair as they don’t feel the need to go outside too often. It’s damaging them mentally, though, they don’t realize it. Mikey, being the extrovert he is, always tries to find ways to make his brothers hang out with him, while Donnie usually keeps to himself in his lab. Raph is typically the one to give in to Mikey’s begging and Leo will occasionally give in, but mainly does his own thing.

None of the turtles have ever seen Yoshi, at least not since that night. They only have themselves.

[agalactichalo]

Brothers in Arms and Odds (TMNT 2012)

@tmnt-write-fight Attack For @bambiraptorx

A big thank you @awildaspenappeared for helping me write this!

Author Note

Totally not listening to brothers in arms while writing this.

I will probably move this to A03 When I can make an account

Summary

Splinter’s death had left the four brother's relationships strained with tensions high and simply surviving with a false sense of routine and pretending to cope with their Father’s passing. Due to the lack of proper training, self care and especially sleep, a simple fight of the remains of The Foot had them retreating defeated and injured. Tensions snapped and two brothers have to work through their differences and insecurities to move on and start to heal.

OR TLDR: Raph gets his ass beat and he and Leo have a bitch fight before making up.

Word count: 2,560

♡━━━━━♡

A few weeks have passed since Splinter’s death, and no one within the Hamato household is coping well with it. Each of them is dealing with the loss in their own way. Every moment drags on, an endless cycle of distraction and mindless routine.

Michelangelo sleeps most of the time, choosing to avoid the harsh reality of Splinter's absence. This time, there’s no futuristic robot to reverse what’s happened—no way to bring Splinter back. It’s a truth Mikey isn’t ready to face. In his dreams, at least, everything remains as it was, and he’s willing to stay in that world for as long as possible.

Raphael throws himself into his training, his hits growing fiercer with every session. The training dummy doesn’t stand a chance under the relentless barrage of attacks. It’s Chompy, his pet, that occasionally breaks his cycle of aggression. The tenderness with which Raph feeds his alien turtle contrasts sharply with his damaged knuckles and shaky hands, consequences of pushing himself too hard.

Donatello hides away in his lab, avoiding sleep entirely. Every attempt to rest ends in nightmares, haunting him with visions of their father’s death. His near-death experience looms over him too, a constant reminder of how close they came to losing not one, but two family members. So, he focuses obsessively on his ever growing list of to-dos and projects: rebuilding Metalhead, upgrading the Shellraiser, anything he can think of to keep his mind occupied.

Leonardo tries to hold it all together, determined to live up to Splinter’s last command: to be the new sensei. It’s an overwhelming responsibility, but he refuses to let his father down, or his brothers. The weight of leadership is heavier now, after everything they’ve endured, and though the burden grows each day, Leo keeps pushing forward.

The only time the brothers talk anymore is during patrols, and even then, their coordination is lacking. The once effortless flow between them feels now disrupted. Mikey has lost his usual spark, Raph seems more reckless, willing to dive into fights without a second thought, and Donnie appears unfocused, his dislike for his staff more evident than ever. As for Leo, all he can do is watch, trying to lead while feeling like his brothers are slipping further into their own dark cycles.

One night as they race across the rooftops, recent sightings of the Foot Clan in the area bring them to a familiar abandoned warehouse. Smoke billows from the building, and the urgency propels them forward. But when they skid to a stop, Mikey’s momentum sends him over the edge. Leo’s heart leaps into his throat, but he catches Mikey by the lip of his shell in a swift, practiced motion. He put Mikey back on the roof.

Leo breathes in and out, counting under his breath, “One, two, and three,” steadying his nerves. His eyes scan the scene below. Among the Foot soldiers, he spots Tiger Claw and Baxter Stockman—two familiar foes.

He exhales slowly, his mind clearing as he formulates a plan. With a calm, steady voice, he delegates. “Alright, Raph, you’re on Foot duty. Just... don’t break the soldiers like you do the bots. Donnie, I need you to hack into Stockman’s tablet, disarm the Mousers, and gather any intel. Mikey, distract Stockboy, annoy him as much as you can. I’ll take care of Tiger Claw. Understood?”

He didn’t wait for an answer before he kicked off of the roof and flipped as he crashed into the scene very loudly. “Takeshi!” Leonardo yelled. There was no mistaking the mirth in the tiger’s eyes and Leo wasn’t about to give him any more advantages so he rushed forwards, drawing his blades.

The beat of his heart thudded in his tympanum, deafening the clash of Leonardo’s twin katanas locked on Tigerclaw’s machete. Leo felt like he had to take on the biggest threat alone and honestly, Barry Stackmen was not even close to the hardest villain they had to fight. He felt confident to let the other’s handle him without his constant surveillance. He could trust his team.

That was the case until Raph decided the robots weren’t enough of a challenge, his sais spinning in his hands before he steadied them. The middle child running after Tigerclaw, his movements rather unfocused and emotion driven as if this were just another training dummy. Leonardo found himself clutching to his katana’s tighter, he felt worry and annoyance bubble up inside him, “Raph! What are you doing!” He exclaimed in annoyance, turning into anger that seeped venom into his words. “You could’ve gotten hurt or in my way! You-”

Raph would grit his teeth, barely dodging an ice bullet from the enemy. “Yeah? Let you baby us and get hurt? What are you trying to do here Leo? Sacrifice yourself again? Join Spl-” “Raph! Leo! Enough dudes!” Michelangelo interrupts in exasperation. He was tired of their stupid, petty drama that pulled him out of The Zone, trademarked by Dr. Naminstein. He then proceeded to shriek as a Mouser barrelled into the back of his legs that he hadn’t been paying attention to.

Raphael and Leonardo whipped their heads round to the unyielding screech. “Mikey!” They yelled in unison, fear settling deep into them. This unfortunately left them distracted to the original threat facing them. Leo watched helplessly as a flash of red crossed his vision and he saw Raphael landing on the ground. Evidently after being hit with one of Tigerclaw’s lazer’s, a second shot following when his brother tried to get back to his feet.

Leo couldn’t afford to hesitate yet he found his feet glued to the concrete. A Mouser then attempted to bite his arm which shook him back to reality. He saw Mikey and Donnie together, easily fighting off the scientist but the original objective long abandoned.

Raphael was hurt and still climbing to his feet so Leo did the only thing that made sense. He slid in between his brother and Tigerclaw and as loudly as his hoarse voice could go and yelled. “Retreat!”

The safety of the smoke bomb flooded his vision as it exploded on the ground. He hoisted Raph over his shoulders and slunk into the shadows, fleeing back to the rooftops to cooperate. He shoved the fear that they would be followed down until he saw Donnie and Mikey hop over the ledge and join him. Instant relief almost had him forgetting the next plan of action.

With a nod he started sprinting off, ignoring Raphael’s protests and weak hits and demands to be put down. Usually he would’ve quipped back or at least argued with Leo but his silence was deemed serious enough to Raph that he stopped shortly thereafter. Mikey and Donnie were also quiet, even with Mikey’s occasional quips which were more sparse and weaker than usual. All this to say that the journey back had Leo’s body on autopilot and his mind running on overdrive about his failure. He had failed Splinter, his promise to keep his brothers safe, to be a leader and like a sensei and father to them, to be the front line. He had failed- was failing his brothers, his world, his purpose by being inadequate and was he so untrained and indigent that he got so easily distracted in a simple fight to get his brothers hurt was he so useless that- The familiar creak of the turnstiles after they were knocked rang in his ears and brought his mind back to the present. Leonardo let himself take presence in the now. He dumped Raph on the sofa in a more gentle manner, that was more of habit than response considering how hurt his brother was. Leo finally broke his silence. “What were you thinking? Why did you think getting in the way was a good idea you moron.” He then turned to Donnie and had a drastic change to a clear cut and icy tone instead of the fire that had erupted seconds before. “Can you grab the first aid kit for me?”

Raphael’s veins were hotter than lava and his nerves were all fried as he held his anger in. He wanted to scream at his brother, the mental bomb ticking away until Mikey left the room, “what was I thinking?” He laughed bitterly, “What was I thinking? You wanna know what I was thinking? Or do you want to stay on your self righteous high horse and keep pretending everything is fine!”

“Self righteous high horse-?” Leonardo would begin with disinfecting the shots on Raph’s wrist and thigh with a wipe. Luckily it looked mostly surface level for now. “Really? I’m trying to make sure everyone is okay Raph!”

“You’re trying to make sure everyone is okay? What about yourself?!”

“I’m fine Raph, and none of this is about me. I need to make sure you all are okay.” Raph kept pulling away when he had pressed too hard and Leo kept harshly dragging the limbs back in place. “Stay still!”

“None of us are fine Leo, you pretending you are is frustrating!!”

“At least I am trying to help everyone feel better!”

“No, you're trying to replace Splinter!-” there was a moment of silence before Raph would get up, not bothering to wait for Leo to be finished helping him anymore. “It’s like I said before! You were always his favorite and it's no wonder. Now you are even trying to be him!” He snapped before grabbing his sais in his uninjured hand and leaving. Heading out towards the sewers.

Leonardo got up, and made an attempt to go after Raph, however a hand on his shell would stop him, “Let him go bro. He will only get more mad if you try and talk to him now.” Mikey would say softly to his brother.

Minutes would turn into hours as time ticked on, Rapheal having not returned home yet. Leonardo left passing around the commons, eyeing the clock every now and again as he passed it. Eventually he decided enough was enough, it was time to check on his brother, what if he got hurt more? What if Tigerclaw got him? What if he officially quit unlike the 27 other times he has?

Anxiety tearing away at the eldest’s thoughts, till eventually it led him out the lair when he couldn’t just sit back and worry anymore. Running through sewers then moving his focus onto the city, jumping rooftop to rooftop, cold air burning his lungs but he couldn’t bring himself to stop. That was until he noticed a figure sitting in front of him, the door to the rooftop left dented and damaged from having been hit assumingly by his brother.

There was silence, but Raph made a motion to move a sai out of the spot next to him, showing the other he knew the other was there. Allowing him a chance to sit by him, not knowing what to expect out of this action. Though it is one that took Leonardo off guard, he expected to be sent away or need to plea his case as to why he should stay.

Leonardo joined Raph sitting at the ledge of the rooftop, as they both looked out into the dark city.The eldest would finally say, feeling a sinking pain in his chest at the reaction. "Yeah, and how's that working out for you?” Raph’s voice was harsher than he meant, the younger of the two soon moving to get up, however felt a hand on his shoulder keeping him from leaving.

Leo sputtered in protest. “What do you mean, ‘Working out for me? You’re my brother!” Leo sighed and let the fury leave his body. “Look, Raph you can’t keep putting yourself in danger like that. It-I-I can’t keep you safe if you just rush in like that. That’s all I want.”

“You are such an-” “Raphael.” “A hypocrite.” “What? Raph.” “Just listen, Fearless. It’s not your fudging job to protect me. I’m a big turtle and I don’t need you acting like my dad. I had one of them and that was enough for me. I need my brother. I need you to trust me. I ain’t gonna sugar-coat it, Princess. I did get hurt because of you.” Raphael peeled his gaze from the first crackles of dawn on the horizon and landed on his brother’s icy blue eyes filled with fear. Raph could assume he thought his fears were confirmed. He continued, in lieu of his brother’s painful expression and taut shoulders. “That was because you decided to fight me instead of working with me to take down Tiger-face. You decided being a hero and the sole fighter was more important and you didn’t trust me to help. I had already taken out all the stupid, mindless foot soldiers and I  came to help your dumb-” A loud blare of a car horn interrupted Raph and broke his flow. It shut off almost immediately and Raph let out a sigh. “Leo. Can you see what I’m trynna say? I-I don’t need you to bear the weight of everything and throw yourself into everything with the bare bones of a plan based on stupid emotions.” Raph could feel the little emotion he let surface start to make him cringe so he lightly punched Leo’s arm for good measure which caused a bubble of laughter. “Alright, alright.” Leo smiles softly and turns his gaze to the rising embers of the morning. “It's just that It has always been my job to look after you three. Splinter… being gone just made me realise I have no one else to help anymore but… you guys aren’t little kids anymore. I should trust you guys more, I just…”

Leo looked at his hands in his lap and fiddled them together, knowingly avoiding his brother’s frown. He couldn’t look at such a harsh gaze right now knowing he was not only the cause but why it was unwavering. He let the swirling storm of thoughts in his head condense further. He didn’t need to unload that mental baggage right now. Instead he’d do something productive for Raphael, and all his little brothers. It would just also benefit himself too.

“I’m going to try and trust you more. All of you. It won’t be easy but-” “If anyone can do it, it's you, Mr Practice-makes-perfect.” As Raphael spoke he hooked an elbow around his elder brother’s neck, dragged his ugly head down and noogied the scales light heartedly.

“Get off! Raph!” Raph softened at the giggles that bubbled up. Sounds unheard since long before their Sensei’s passing. Raph let his victim go and stood up. He offered a hand with a mirthful grin. “Let’s go home, Leo-nerd-o.” Leo wasn’t born yesterday and betted the hand that would inevitably lead to a headlock or sharp yank or worse and stood up. “Last one home has to get Donnie to eat a full meal!” Leo called a second after he had already started running and lept from the rooftop. Things weren’t perfect. But they would be okay. This was probably the first talk of many- with all of his brothers. Things would never be the same but that was alright. Leo had his brothers.

Maybe one day he wouldn’t put his own life worth under those he cared for but that wasn’t likely.

[yanderes-galore]

Hi, how are you going?

Fandom: TMNT 2012

Character: Raphael

Fic type: romantic concept with dear-yandere's prompts 82. Punishment, 98. Stitches and 103. Teeth.

Personally I'm doing okay and I'd love to try my best at these prompts! @okchijt wanted to try their hand at a sadistic Raph prompt plot so I approved what they did and fleshed it out! They helped a lot! Hopefully this became a good story :D (Albeit unnerving). Warning, this one's definitely messed up so adhere to trigger warnings before hitting read more. You have been warned.

Prompts Here

Yandere! 2012! Raphael Prompts 82, 98, 103

“I know it hurts, honey, but this is what happens when you don’t do what I say.”

“I really want to be gentle to you right now, but you’re making it impossible.”

“Smart ass. I’d suggest biting your tongue before I rip it out.”

Pairing: Romantic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Jealousy, Violence, Swearing, Threats, Anger issues, Toxic themes, Dubious relationship, Accusations of cheating, Implied delusional behavior, Implied kidnapping, Dehumanization/Degradation, Manipulation, Cuts, Punishment, Wounds, Blood, Toxic relationship obviously, Sadism, Broken bones, He feels bad at the end... kinda, TRIGGERING THEMES AS DARLING GETS HURT IN THIS.

Raph's blood boiled when he saw you look so happy with Leo, his brother. You smiled at him like you hadn't a care in the world. You laughed with him as though you weren't betraying him.

Raph hated how close you were with his brother. Sometimes it felt like Leo was better than him. It only ever angered Raph when you're so easily pleased by his brother.

Why are you never like this with him?

Was it because Leo was so much nicer? Raphael tries his best to be loving and caring with you. In fact he succeeds most of the time, he's capable of being soft. It's just that... his anger tends to get the best of him.

As a result you often become the victim of his frustration. He can't help it and he knows he has a problem. But sometimes... especially when he sees you appeal to Leo more than him...

He feels it can be justified.

Having enough of the laughing and casual conversation between you two, Raphael stands up. He feels his eye twitch and the fact he can't compete with his brother. You're talking about Leo's favorite show or something, commenting on certain moments. You barely even notice Raph is there.

Until he grabs your arm.

Silence overcomes everyone in the room as Raphael yanks you towards his room. Leonardo looks as though he wants to say something to his brother but it unsure. Based on the harsh grip the mutant has on you, you can only assume what you're in for. Were you in trouble? For what?

Raphael can't help himself when he tosses you onto the bed in his room. The wind is knocked out of you and you hear the door slam as Raphael locks the door with an audible click. Before you're able to respond to him he yells at you.

"You're cheating on me!" He growls, green eyes narrowed at your confused expression. "You always get so damn comfortable with Leo like we're not involved!"

"Raph, we're just friends? Me and Leo happen to enjoy the same show-" You try to defend yourself but your voice is quickly drowned out by his.

“Smart ass. I’d suggest biting your tongue before I rip it out.”

With that you grow silent as Raphael rages on. You hated when he got like this. His anger was like a monster that can't be tamed.

He was a monster that can't be tamed.

"I don't want you so close to him anymore! It drives me mad! It's so damn annoying... why can't you just pay attention to me?"

"That seems to be all I ever do! Talking to others is my only form of normalcy. You won't even let me go home. I can't live like some pet!" You snap back, fed up with all of his accusations. "Leo isn't going to do anything. He won't come between us!"

"Really?"

"I'm tired of things too, Raph! I'm tired of being scared of you! I'm tired of the pain, I'm tired of being some sort of obedient little pet for you. I'm tired of you CONTROLLING me!" You snap, rightfully calling out the turtle on his behavior for the past few months.

Raphael laughs at your breakdown. It's partially because you called him out. This was all a personal attack and you both knew that.

He wasn't going to deal with this.

"Oh, please! You're nothing without me." Raphael growls, stalking you into the corner of his room. "Without me, you'd be as good as dead in this world."

Regret bristles the hair on your skin as you realize how trapped you are. You shake your head and shove yourself into the corner of the bed. You really should've held your tongue.

"I'm sorry, we're just both frustrated and-"

"This'll only hurt a bit, you know better."

With lightning speed, Raph pulls his sai and cuts your skin. His cuts are sloppy but it's enough to get the lesson across. You scream in pain, the blood dripping down your arm.

"Oh... please, Raph-!" You cry, but those green eyes are cold.

"It's not enough." He says, making eye contact with you. "I need to get the point across."

"Huh?"

*SNAP*

At first, you felt nothing. If was like the adrenaline made it seem like he didn't break your arm. At first the audible crack was your only clue.

Then the pain set in.

Then you screamed.

“I know it hurts, honey, but this is what happens when you don’t do what I say.” Raphael coos towards you, shushing you and soothing you like he didn't just break your arm. He's sickeningly sweet all of a sudden as he places a hand over your whimpering mouth. You stare at him with fear and he isn't sure if he hates it or adores it.

You weakly cry apologies towards him as he pulls out medical supplies from beneath his bed. He feels he's made his point. Now it's time to fix things.

"Shhh, it's all over. I'll fix you and maybe next time you'll listen." Raphael soothes, kissing your head as he makes a makeshift cast and splint. "It's going to hurt, but by now I think you know that."

Fixing you is harder than breaking you. Despite this and all of your crying, Raphael manages to patch you up. Part of him feels bad he's done such a thing to the one he loves.

Yet he tries to tell himself it's deserved for making him feel so jealous.

Do he love or hate your tears...?

By the end of it all you turn away from Raphael on the bed. You hiss in pain at times and flinch away from him due to what he's done. You can't tell if he did this with blind rage... or he did this of his own accord.

You don't care.

“I really want to be gentle to you right now, but you’re making it impossible.” Raph grumbles bitterly, his anger simmering down as he sits on the bed. He patched you up the best he can, now it's just the aftermath.

The tone of the mutant still sounds like a threat to you, causing you to listen to him more. The last thing you want is more pain. You're miserable enough with him right now already.

"... C'mere."

Reluctantly you're pulled into the arms of Raph as he leans down with you. He rubs your back in an attempt to be soothing but you're so rigid in his arms. It's all for a good reason, Raphael even begins to think back on what he's done.

His obsession over you only ever gets worse.

"I'm sorry..." He whispers into your hair. "I wish I knew how to love you."

He doesn't expect an answer back.

[pagesfromthevoid]

this is me trying | g.d. | 3

Ex!Gale Dekarios x fem!tav

Bargaining --individuals may attempt to negotiate or bargain in an effort to avoid the pain of the loss. They often turn to a higher power. It can provide a sense of temporary relief, but ultimately, it cannot alter the reality of the loss.

Word Count: 1.2k

Warnings: Raphael needs a warning in and of himself. Bargaining of souls; suicidal ideations

Series Masterlist | Talk to Me! | AO3

“I’ve done it before –snuck into his home,” she reminds Helsik, leaning on the counter. Her movements are erratic, her eyes darting around the room as she whispers. “You know I can do it. I got you those gauntlets  –I’m not gonna steal anything, not this time but –what do you want? I’ve got plenty of gold now.”

Even though the diabolist does not give a number, Tav still dumps a pouch of gold onto the counter, then another –then another.

“I need to get into the House of Hope. I need –I have to.”

Helsik stares at the pile of gold in front of her, brows raised in both greed and confusion. The last time Tav had been here, she had been far less desperate and far more convincing –more confident too. But as the diabolist looks over the Hero of Baldur’s Gate, she must come to the same conclusion most people had when they saw Tav:

She is broken.

There is a bit of hesitation, but not a lot, as Helsik slides the pile of gold into the drawer of her counter. Then she slides the necessary ritual items over.

“Try not to die, hero,” is all she says as Tav snatches the satchel of items and runs up the once familiar steps of the Devil’s Fee.

*****

The portal into Raphael’s home spits her out directly in front of his archive, where the doors are open and a handful of debtors look on vacantly. Most are tending to the house, some are sneering at her as she presses forward into the House of Hope. Raphael will be less than thrilled that she, once again, has broken into his home –but she has a hell of a deal for him this time around and she is desperate.

She hesitates a moment outside the door of the boudoir –once again, a familiar feeling creeping up her spine as she recalls the last time she was here; recalls when he had scolded her for doing something so reckless like sleeping with an incubus.

Tav had thought he would leave her for that.

He hadn’t.

Sometimes she wishes he had. Would it have made his departure easier?

“Come back to play, little mouse?”

The barrier blocking the door shifts then disappears, leaving it up to her to step inside. Haarlep is lounging in the restoration pool, naked and in Raphael’s form like the last time she’d seen him. 

“Where’s your master?” She asks, tone clipped as she steps up to the edge of the pool.

Haarlep wades over to her, peering up at her from his new perch at her feet, cheek resting on his arms. “Oh, somewhere I’m sure –we could play with him and see if he’ll come running, if you’d like. I know I have been dying to see you again.”

A knot forms in her stomach, and Tav knows that this isn’t anything more than a reaction to the incubus and his effects on people. She has felt phantom hands and touches several times since they last met, and while his effect on her now is tempting, the reminder of him using her body to pleasure others immediately makes her blood run cold.

“Or I could kill you, and find him myself.”

“You remember what happened last time you broke things of mine, little mouse.”

She whips around, eyes narrowed at the cambion that stands in the doorway. Raphael looks, as expected, displeased that she is there without permission again. When he steps forward –no doubt trying to look intimidating and angry –she stands in place, staring him down.

“I’m here to bargain with you, Raphael,” she states, stepping forward to meet him now. Toe to toe, he is significantly taller than her. Stronger than her. More wicked than her. But she has something on her side that he doesn’t:

She is crazier than him.

She is more desperate than him.

She is more than willing to risk everything to get her life back. 

“And what could a little mouse offer the cat that he does not already possess?” Raphael coos, leaning down close to her. Their noses almost touch. 

“The crown.”

Raphael draws back, brow furrowed in both disgust and disbelief. “You had your chance, mouse. I recommend –,”

“I can get it back,” she cuts in, reaching up to grab the front of his tunic. Raphael’s expression shifts to confusion as she touches him. His claws pry her fingers from him —and for a moment, as his eyes catch a glimpse at her nails, Raphael sees the truth behind the mouse’s bargain: bitten down to the quick, bruised, maimed from herself. Empty. Desperate. 

Instead of dropping her hands, he simply looks over the offending appendages as she continues to ramble. She doesn’t notice that Raphael does not care what she has to say. “Gale –he…I know he took it. I know he went back on our deal, and he broke the contract and you didn’t get to collect your end. I never intended for that to happen —truly.

“I can get it back,” she repeats, voice rushing out now. Her words are frantic, watery from holding back tears. She doesn’t even realize Raphael is touching her —if she had, wouldn’t she have pulled away by now? “I just —I need you to get me to a portal to Elysium. You don’t even have to help me enter. You just —I can’t —there’s no documentation on how to get there, or enter, or travel.

“But if you bring me there, I can get the crown back from Gale. I can bring him home, and fulfill my contract and if I fail, then —well that’s that, isn’t it?”

“That is…that,” Raphael finally manages to say, dropping her hands away from him. “Unfortunately, little mouse, I have no interest in your soul any longer.”

“What?” Tav blanches, tear stricken eyes wide as panic begins to set in. “No, no, no —but Raphael, I’m the hero of Baldur’s Gate. My soul is invaluable. I am promising it to you —I am giving it up if I fail —why —I don’t —,”

“What use is the soul of the great hero when the soul is barely existent anymore?”

Tav’s hand reaches up and clutches her chest —over her heart where one would assume the soul rests —and looks blankly down at it. “My soul…it’s fine. My soul is fine. I am fine —,”

“I have no use for your soul or the crown, mouse,” Raphael repeats, adjusting his tunic back into place. “I have no desire to accept your deal.”

“But —I thought —you wanted it before —,”

“When it was whole,” he snaps at her, eyes narrowed and dangerous. “In the quiet corner, the cat watches his prey. But the mouse falls ill and cannot run away. No longer a challenge, the cat loses his thrill. A sickly little mouse holds no interest still.”

“Raphael, please —,”

But the cambion snaps his fingers and flames engulf Tav —sending her back to the room in the Elfsong that she still lives in. She sways on her feet a moment before dropping to her knees, eyes blank and unseeing. 

So much for bargaining.

[fabuloustrash05]

What r ur opinions on the foot mutants?

I’m gonna assume you mean 2012 mutants from the Foot Clan

Tiger Claw: An interesting and fresh new villain for the Foot Clan and I think he is so cool! Tiger Claw is a brand new character to the TMNT franchise and he truly made a damn good impression with fans and myself. He establishes himself as a menacing villain and continues to be throughout the entire series. He has his funny moments too like with the catnip or him talking about wanting to eat Fishface. We get bits and pieces of his backstory as the story goes on, especially when we meet his sister Alopex and learn she is the one who cut off his tail, but I wish his dynamic and relationship with his sister was explored more in season 5 than in just one episode, which is why I stand by the idea that Alopex should've been involved the Kavaxas arc. And speaking of that arc, Tiger Claw starting a cult was random and kind of out of character to me. It was the only time I found him to be uninteresting. Overall a great character and a great villain, but I felt he was overused by the end.

Bebop & Rocksteady: I’m gonna talk about them both because my feelings for both of them are the same. I love them. I really enjoy their dynamic and relationship with each other (they are totally dating and you can’t convince me otherwise). Their dynamic with Tiger Claw is also hilarious, he’s their third wheel. I love Bebop's Michael Jackson-like attitude and Rocksteady's way of speaking always makes me chuckle. Their ending in season 5 though I wish was handled better, because apparently they leave New York and become heroes in New Jersey or something, which I am all for the villains turned hero trope, but I wish they handled it sooner/better. Regardless, I hope they are happy with their new life and please invite me to the wedding.

Fishface: Much like Tiger Claw, Fishface is also a brand new character to the TMNT franchise and I will say he’s an interesting one! He’s one of the few people in the Foot Clan who actually have a full backstory and a reason to why he works for Shredder. I love his character and personality, and I enjoy his dynamic with both Bradford and even Raphael. You get the feeling that him and Raph are friendly enemies, like they hate each other, but also respect each other because they share similarities. This is a concept I wish the writers explored more, but they didn't so I did it myself with a fanfic I wrote on AO3. There’s a little bit more backstory for him in the animated adventure comics, which I highly recommend people go check out because it explores his backstory a little bit more. He loses a few points though because he flirted with a minor 😷

Dogpound/Rahzar: This will be confusing considering they’re all the same character, but I like Bradford, I hate Dogpound, and I love Rahzar. I really liked the concept of Chris Bradford, a celebrity icon one of the Turtles look up to who is revealed to be a henchman for their greatest enemy. I find it disappointing that they don’t fully explore that concept for a whole season, which is one of the main reasons why I don’t like Dogpound, not only do I not like his design, but I also think that he was introduced too soon. Rahzar on the other hand I love! How he was mutated was so well done and I love his design, so scary, horrifying even, but also badass and intimidating. What I wish they done is that Bradford should’ve been human for the entirety of season 1 and then come season 2 he gets mutated officially into Rahzar. Remove Dogpound entirely.

Baxter Stockman: I consider Stockman to be a tragic villain because of how much he was mistreated by both the Turtles and The Foot, and I honestly felt bad for him when he got mutated. To me, he was kind of forgettable as a mutant. So when he was turned back into a human in the season 4 finale, I got excited and thought he was gonna make a comeback in the next season and be his own villain like he was in season 1, but we never see him again. I haven't watched the 03 series yet, but I wish Stockman took the route his 03 self did and slowly went insane in the 5th season, maybe trying to go back to being a mutant by experimenting on himself but it backfires. Have his actions be his downfall. Another example of this series' wasted potential.

[sleepingfancies]

👕5 🌤3, 4 🤝7, 12, 17 💓6 for raphael??????? mayhaps????

HEH >=3 you've activated my trap card (talking abt my ocs for too long)

👕5. What are your characters opinions on scars?

A stupidly nuanced answer for a straightforward question, but that's just how Raphael is. For the most part, scars are flaws to him; signs of carelessness or recklessness. Scars from things like cat scratches, tripping on uneven ground and skinning a knee, blisters from repetitive motion - things a person can "control," he scoffs at. To Raphael, they should have either known their limits or simply been better at what they were doing. Purely accidental or surgical scars he's far more understanding about, and is even curious about them. He likes hearing the stories behind their existence, because it gives him greater understanding of the person. Scars on himself, though? He can't stand them. Even surgical scars he would hate vehemently. Permanent signs of his own mediocrity, in his perspective. They'd drive him insane. He'd do anything to cover them up or get rid of them. He'd be embarrassed by them, he would want no one to see them. Raphael would probably avoid something like surgery for as long as possible if he knew it would give him a scar.

🌤️3. What season would your character say they're most similar to?

Summer babyyyyy. The heat, the blazing sunlight, the rapid weather changes, the inevitability of it all. Summer is a strong hand grabbing you by the shoulder and saying "don't ignore me," and that's exactly who Raphael is. Summer storms are intense albeit short-lived, much like his own temper flares. Summer days are bright and warm, summer nights are gentle and lively. He identifies with all of these things! Frankly, he does know himself well enough to know he is as unpredictable and attention-demanding (and hot, in his not-so-humble opinion) as summer, anyway.

🌤️4. Is there a natural phenomenon that scares your character?

Raphael is not at all keen on tornadoes. Teothe is a relatively flat and low-lying country, with the coast to the east, the Nattenheim mountain border to the west, and the massive expanse of the Arboretum to the south. Because of its topogrophy, Teothe is extremely susceptible to tornado formation during summer thunderstorms. The idea that wind alone could destroy his home, kill his family, and overall destroy his life really scares Raphael quite a lot. Living away from home, when tornadoes do occur, he is in a constant state of worry and fear until he knows his siblings are alright (which, given how far away he is, could take weeks).

🤝7. Who is your character most honest with?

Again, a weirdly nuanced answer, because tbh Raphael has different definitions of "honest" when it comes to himself. Truthfully Raphael really only has three close friends, Mirabelle, Alizee, and Conall. Mirabelle is a coworker of his, and one of the few people who's seen Raphael at some serious low points. Mirabelle is the most acquainted with his worst impulses and behaviors. She knows how destructive he can get, and he's most honest with her about those tendencies. Alizee is Raphael's immediate younger sibling, and she knows how complicated his relationship can get with their family. She knows that he's different when he's at home, and she knows why things are tense between him and their mother. Raphael's most honest with her about the pressure of being an eldest sibling and what his childhood was like before her. Conall is (initially) a complete stranger, who has no clue who "Rikke the Savior"/"Rikke the Traitor" is, who barely speaks Teothean, and is mostly just deeply distressed that Teothean trees and spiders can't speak. Conall has no context for half the things that make Raphael want to gnaw on plastic. It takes a little time (but faster than Raphael would've expected), but Raphael becomes honest about a lot of his identity struggles with Conall. Although Conall doesn't know who Rikke is, he can relate to Raphael's general problem, since his own mother is quite the meance back in the Arboretum. So Mirabelle, Alizee, and Conall are all recipients of Raphael's honesty in their own unique ways. There is no one person whom Raphael trusts with being honest about every aspect of himself, though.

🤝12. How would your character react to being put in a position of leadership?

It's not ideal! He would much rather be a follower, since he's been the leader of his siblings for most of his life as it is. Stress would weigh down on him pretty hard. He also wouldn't want to be "threatened" with a leadership position forever (again). If he was put in a position where his leadership was indefinite, he wouldn't be able to separate leadership from his place as an eldest sibling. His leadership would turn condescending and far too familiar, and he'd likely receive pushback until he either snapped or simply quit. If a leadership position is being granted to him as a reward or as recognition, he'll accept it quicker than if it's because he's actually qualified to lead. He does occasionally place himself in leadership positions voluntarily, if he feels like the original leader isn't doing their job right/well anymore. Raphael is what you might call an "emergency leader." He'll follow until things start going chaotic or horribly wrong, and then he'll step in and start guiding, even though he doesn't actually want to be the leader. He usually has some choice words for failed leaders.

🤝17. How well does your character work with others?

Generally Raphael doesn't work well with others. To the above point, he has absolutely no patience for incompetence at work. Raphael will openly question methods and behaviors, challenge ideas, and argue strategic plans. His superiors at his job have all but removed him from fieldwork and reconaissance entirely, because he cannot help becoming combative if he feels his coworkers are being stupid, inefficient, or uncertain. It's a combination of his eldest sibling instincts and prioritizing how he does things, for better or worse. He's confident in his own personal ability to charmingly disarm others, so he finds more abrasive and blunt methods of talking to others irritating and unnecessary. He doesn't account well for how other people might operate, simply believing their ways of doing things aren't as good as his. He works best by himself, or with a small group of excellent communicators (which most of his coworkers are not).

💓6. How well does your character act under pressure?

Raphael functions well enough on the surface under pressure - he makes a good show of not being impacted by pressure at all, appearing very flippant and nonchalant. But in actuality the fear of failure is stifling. If he fails in general he kicks himself something fierce, but to fail under pressure, when expectations are high? When people trust him to do good work and succeed? Failing simply isn't an option. If he failed in front of others while under pressure, their disappointment would be so palpable he'd fly off the handle at the next person who asked anything of him. He never wants to be known as the guy who fumbled when it mattered most.

[p0cket-watxh]

((note: alex doesn't know or hasn't interacted with any if the canon characters. this is jusy how I think Alex would interact with them, like a headcannon))

DR. RATIO

both of them are math teachers, one just hates ignorance while the other one hates time

both hate their supid students, though both try their best ti teach their students and give them room for improvement (alex gives up midway however)

both will just talk about math with ratio also adding more knowledge on the medical field (hes a doctor too)

alex from time to time would mention raphael and how he was the best student to him and ratio could see how dear raphael was to alex

[Audio Record]

"My students are idiots, they can't grasp the topic no matter how many times I repeated it! I even dumbed it down for them!" (R)

"Same for me! My students are in tenth grade, and yet they don't know what a polygon is! Grading their papers gives me a headache!" (A)

"Even if I'm giving them all the things they need, they irritate me to the point I throw chalk at them!" (R)

"You throw chalk at them?" (A)

"Yes, and?" (R)

".."

".."

"Honestly, I should too." (A)

WELT YANG

both are old (alex is "old" in a sense that he goes back in time a lot)

both will talk and joke about march dan heng and stelle/caelus being kids (from time to time, alex sees raphael in one of the three and occasionally tears up but stops himself)

welt tells dad jokes and alex laughs at it

[Audio Record]

"Did you hear about the walnut at the cashew party?" (W)

"No? What about it?" (A)

"It was nuts!" (W)

"AHAHAHHAHAHA!!" (A)

"What's so funny about it?" (M7)

"Ah, leave them be. They're having their time of their lives." (H)

BLADE

i headcannon these two just randomly met at a street or even a cafe and just chatted how being immortal sucks

"i cant fucking die and it sucks" buddies. both want to die so badly but one has a teeny bit motivation of living

these two rant out to each other about how nit being able to die sucks

while ranting, alex breaks down, goes crazy and acts emotionless after his breakdown and blade acts like its nothing

in return, when blade's mara takes over, he laughs crazily while talking to alex

from time to time, they'll both laugh crazily while kafka, firefly/sam and silverwolf stands by the side, scared (kafka is more of intrigued)

[Audio Record]

"Ah.. hahahahah.. Ahahahahahahaha!" (B)

"Uh, oh.. Blade's mara is on the run.." (F/S)

"That Alexander guy is crying though.. He's probably scared." (K)

"Hah.. Aha.. Hahah.. Hahahhaha!" (A)

"He's not scared, I think they're both mentally unstable." (SW)

[dicaculus]

Title: A Pile of Hot Metal and Dirty Dishes

Artist: Crankyfossil

Rating: Explicit

Pairing: Magnus Bane/ Alec Lightwood

Wordcount:42,462

Summary: Magnus Bane is the Head Chef at Encanto and doing just fine. Or that’s what he tells Simon the therapist, his boss Raphael, orders him to go to. Magnus is a genius in the kitchen, his food is art, but if he starts a fight with one more disrespectful customer, he’s gone. Simon is useless though, going on about Magnus using work as a means to distance himself from meaningful relationships, and emotional walls that could rival a fortress. What does he know? Magnus is fine. Then everything goes wrong. His best friend, Catarina and her daughter get into an accident. His eight-year-old niece, Madzie, is the only survivor and Magnus finds himself going from cool uncle Magnus to the only parent Madzie has left. To make matters worse, Raphael has replaced him while he’s on leave. Alexander Lightwood is a menace. He’s careless, breezy, and annoyingly good at everything he does. Magnus can’t stand him, but with Madzie refusing to eat his cooking and his hands full, Magnus needs all the help he can get. Along the way, Magnus begins to realize there’s more to life than seared cod and lemon dressing, and maybe, just maybe, it’s a life that he wants Alexander Lightwood in.

This fic was created for the Malec Discord Mini Bang 2023.

READ ON AO3

CHAPTER EIGHT

Magnus doesn’t tell Madzie about leaving the restaurant. Madzie loves Encanto, and he knows it would break her heart knowing she’d never be back so he spares her and lies telling her he took time off, but he positive Madzie doesn’t believe him. Instead, he spends the rest of the week seriously looking into starting his own place. For the first time in years Magnus looks into the steps to starting his own restaurant. He meets with an accountant talking about finances and just how much it will cost him and what type of loan would be best for him. He works with a real estate agent looking for the perfect building. But everything is too big or doesn’t fit the laid back bistro he has in mind. Magnus works on his concept, his brand and looks through his piles of recipes to come up with a menu. Creating a menu means recipe testing, so poor Madzie becomes his guinea pig. While she likes some of his creations, her child palate makes things difficult for him. Magnus needs an adult, someone who will try new foods and flavours. He needs Alec.

Despite keeping himself busy with menu planning, Magnus’s thoughts always come back to Alec. Every recipe he wonders what he would think. Would he like it? Would it bring a smile to the beautiful man’s face and would he hear noises of satisfaction as he took a bite? Magnus misses Alec so much he develops a pasta dish with him in mind, an Indonesian twist on one of Alec’s favourite dishes to be exact, Aglio e Olio.

“Spaghetti with garlic and oil,” He’d said “It’s such a simple, yet incredible dish if made correctly”

Monday comes again and Magnus while Magnus doesn’t have to see Simon anymore, now that he’s not working at Encanto, he goes anyway, needing someone to talk to. He lets it all out, telling him about the fight, how much he regretted it and the things he’d said. Magnus talks about leaving Encanto and feeling terrified for future and lost for the first time in a long time.

“I wish there was a cookbook for life, you know? With the recipes telling us exactly what to do,” Magnus sigh. “I know, I know. You’re gonna say, How else can we learn, Magnus?”

“No. Actually, I wasn’t gonna say that”

Magnus sits up on the couch. “Really?”

Simon nods. “What I was gonna say was, you know better than anyone. It’s the recipes you create yourself that are the best.”

Magnus snorts. It’s cheesy, but Simon is right.

When he picks Madzie up from school that afternoon, he decides to break the news about Encanto. To his surprise, she takes it well. He expected crying, tears, hell, even screaming, but instead she nods.

“It’s not the same without Alec”

Magnus nods sadly. “You’re right. It’s not Madzie, I miss him too”

“If you miss him, why don’t you say you’re sorry? Tell him not to go. Make a wish of his come true, like you did with me”

Magnus hums, it’s not a bad idea. “What do think Alec would wish for sweet pea?

“Your cooking, of course!”

So while Madzie does her homework that evening, Magnus cooks for Alec. He cooks him ayam goreng, an Indonesian fried chicken like he promised and his spin on aglio e olio that he knows Alec will either love or hate. Once Madzie is fed a serving of the fried chicken and it gets a thumbs up from her, he wraps up the rest of the food and leaves the apartment. 

The drive to Alec’s place is longer than he thought it would be, it takes him forty-five minutes, most of it spent on the highway in slow traffic. No wonder it took him too long to get to his place when they’d made pizzas. But when Magnus does arrive, he snorts at the industrial style of the apartment course Alec would live in something like this. Magnus parks his car and, with food in hand, marches up to the front, lets himself in through the unlocked door. Magnus takes a terrifying elevator ride to the second floor in what Magnus swears is an elevator older than he is and looks for Alec’s apartment. He hears the familiar sound of opera the second he’s out of the elevator. Smiling to himself, Magnus follows the Italian singing until he’s stood outside a door that says 12. He stands in front it and takes a deep breath before kicking the door a few times rather than knocking because of his full hands. Only moments later, Alec slides the metal door open with a shocked expression, not expecting to see Magnus.

“I think you should know there’s something else I never do.” Magnus says before Alec has a chance to speak.

Alec huffs and with a smirk leans against the door frame, “Oh yeah, what’s that?”

“I never invite myself into a man’s home, blindfold him and feed him ayum goreng and pasta dish he inspired because I couldn’t get his stupid face out of my head while begging him not to go to San Francisco.”

“You never do that?”

Magnus shakes his head, his eyes welling up with tears, afraid Alec will close the door. “Never.”

Alec nods. “That’s too bad.” Then he slides, pushes the door with his fist so it opens further and takes a step towards Magnus, taking the dishes from him and walking into his apartment, leaving the door open for Magnus.

Magnus steps into the apartment and gently shuts the door behind him. The apartment is beautiful, with big windows which must let in the most beautiful sunlight, a large comfortable looking couch against some exposed brick.

“Magnus, I–”

“I left Encanto,” Magnus interrupts. “I dropped a raw tomahawk steak on a customer’s plate and left.” 

Alec blinks in shock. “You, what?”

“Because I was miserable Alexander, you were right. I hate cooking that food! And after I left, all I could think about was the things I said to you in the freezer. I meant none of them.” Magnus takes another breath and steps towards Alec, who stares at him. “Madzie told me maybe if I granted a wish of yours, you’d forgive me and maybe you’ll stay”

“You’re taking relationship advice from an eight-year-old?” 

Magnus groans “It was better than idea I had”

Alec chuckles, then takes a step forward and grabs Magnus’s hand, pulling him close and wrapping an arm around Magnus’s waist. Then he cups Magnus’s jaw with his other hand and Alec strokes Magnus’s cheek with his calloused thumb and kisses him gently before pulling away.

“If that fried chicken tastes as good as it smells, I won’t go to San Fransico”

Magnus hums and kisses Alec again. “I look forward to helping you unpack, Alexander”

—-

Without Magnus and Alec, Encanto closes its doors a few months later. The space goes up for sale only a week later and Magnus buys it immediately from ready to transform the dark walls into a warm, welcoming bistro. It takes nearly a year of work and spending more money than Magnus thought he’d have to, but a little over a year after he bought the place Catarina’s opens. 

Long gone are the black walls and the dim lighting. Now there are big windows letting plenty of light in, outdoor seating and warm colours on the wall, making the restaurant feel welcoming to everyone. Magnus hires some of his previous staff, including Clary and, of course, Alec, with Alec and Magnus working together the restaurant is an immediate hit and soon they there’s a line down the block to get a table. 

Madzie comes to Catarina’s every day after school, she often sits in a booth that’s she’d dubbed her own and finish her homework before helping in the kitchen much like she’d previously done at Encanto but this time she’s in bed before midnight. And just like Magnus always wanted, he gets to share his heritage, his Indonesian flavours, in a modern way and in a more traditional way. 

Working together isn’t always easy for the couple. Sometimes they bickered in the walk in, causing Clary to intervene and split the kitchen in half like they’d done at Encanto the night they first cooked together. 

But despite that, neither would want their life any other way, especially Magnus, who felt the weight of a ring in his pants pocket as he waited for the perfect moment to present it to Alec.

[ducknotinarow]

MM RaphDon - "Just say it!" - Topic: Homework

| My muse struggles with the truth...Send "Just say it!" And my muse will confess to something they don't really talk about. Bonus: specify a specific topic and that's what they will talk about!

It was surprisingly easy for Raphael to lift the kid clear off his feet, holding them by the fabric of their shift alone as he slammed their back roughly against the metal lockers behind them. The sound of metal being hit rung out through the empty hallway. Luckily for him it was empty at least. The human on the other hand? wasn't all too lucky on their own end as papers flew right out from their hands. Scattering across the the dull titles of the school hallway. Everyone should be in in class. Unless you happened to be ditching. But that wasn't the point here. Even if that was how Raphael seemed to find out what was going on here.

Well what he thought he knew was going on at least, Raphael knew his brother's handwriting well enough but it wasn't the give away it was the drawing that made him notice that was Donnie's work. He seen enough of their fan art over the years to recognize the style his brother drew in. Raphael already knew a big strong scary mutant? when throwing in some force was more than enough to get a human to tell him everything. Of course, Raph had simply assumed they stole Donnie's homework. It made sense Donnie was like the smartest person to ever just exist after all. This kid might have bullied it out from Donnie!

Course that wasn't what this kid was telling him happened. Raphael's scowl slowly unscrewed from the mess of words they were letting lose right now. That Donnie did the homework for him, something about him not being the only one even?

"what?" Raphael pressed them in against the lockers just assuming they were lying or something here to save their ass from the beating he was going to dish out to them. But as they kept talking Raph had to admit it sounded possible. After all he and Mikey were guilty of the same, and Donnie? Never really turned them down. But when they did it they offered him stuff like the last slice of pizza, or giving up their placement for the line up when it came to bathroom use. Raph couldn't tell how many times he got stuck with a cold shower cause of it. He needed to get to the bottom of this, letting go of the kid so they fell to the ground. Unlike himself, Donnie would be in class. "Sorry Case I gotta look in to this." He says to his ditching partner at the time.

Vaguely recalling his twins schdeual he stormed out from the hallway right away. Leaving behind his friend and the other kid to stay behind in the aftermath.

Donnie loved science stuff, so of course it was one of the classes he mentioned most. Which is how Raphael knew to head off towards that section of the schools building. Nit all to sure what the truth here was. If that kid had stolen Donnies work or froced them into doing it. Raph would get Casey to hold them down well theu got well aqinted with his fists. Good old three knuckle shuffle if you will. Seeing how he only had the three fingers after all. This kid had to be lying why would Donnie be just doing it after all?

Standing outside their class room he was quick to lie and say he had to speak to his brother. Well that parent wasn't a lie but it wasn't due to the family emergency he claimed. He'd done this before and told Leo he wouldn't. But honestly who was more at fault Raph for ditching? Or Leo believing him? When Donnie finally comes out though Raphael wasn't all to sure how to bring this up. And Donnie had to get back to his class.

"Just spit it out"

"Are you gettin' bullied or something?" Raphael asks right away of course, that would earn some confusion in turn. "I saw this kid with your work ready to beat his ass for you but he said you did his homework for him?" Raphael states waiting for Donnie to tell him clearly the kid took his homework or froced him todo it for them even. "So I just wanna know if it just him or am I going on a tour to dish out some hits?"

However, before Raphael could even think about roping Casey in to help Donnie came clean and told the truth.

"Why the heck are you doing thier homework for Donnie?." As if he and Mikey weren't guilty. "Is this why you ain't sleeping much? Cause you're doing all this extra work? I get you wanted go school so bad but that can't be why your doing thier work right?" Raphael really didn't follow what was going on here. For a number of reason as he huffed out a breath if air he been holding in longer than need be. Before he grabbed Donnie by the hood of their purple pull over. "Fuck making this quick you are telling me whats going on Donnie right now."

[kudosmyhero]

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (IDW) #30: Northampton - part 2

Read Date: May 30, 2023 Cover Date: January 2014 ● Story: Kevin Eastman ◦ Bobby Curnow ◦ Tom Waltz ● Script: Tom Waltz ● Art: Sophie Campbell ● Colors: Ronda Pattison ● Letters: Shawn Lee ● Editor: Bobby Curnow ●

**HERE BE SPOILERS: Skip ahead to the fan art/podcast to avoid spoilers

Reactions As I Read: ● in the Mirage story of Northampton, the narrative told is through April’s journal. Here, Michelangelo is writing to his friend Woody ● Alopex is such a great character

● ACK just when things were coming together! ● 👏👏👏👏👏

Synopsis: Michelangelo is writing a letter to his friend Woody back in New York City. Mikey lets Woody know that he and his brothers found Leonardo and then had to go into hiding to get away from the Shredder. Mikey explains that even though they went out of town to get away from trouble, trouble found them in the form of Alopex, who stowed away with them to get away from the Foot Clan too, which she has renounced. Mikey expresses worry for Leo.

Leo sits beside a stream, wishing their mother would appear to him again. Unbeknownst to Leo, Alopex watches him from the shadows. Raphael sneaks up on Alopex and leads her away to question her about what she's doing there. Alopex tells him she was trying to thank Leo for standing up for her when the others discovered her, but Raph doesn't believe it. Alopex says she doesn't care if Raph believes her, because she knows what Leo has gone through, she knows what its like to have Shredder in your head, twisting your thoughts and emotions.

Mikey continues his letter to Woody, telling him about Splinter's injuries at the hand of Shredder. Donnie has been tending to Splinter, and says the cut has healed nicely but he'll have to keep a close eye on the fracture. But Mikey knows the Shredder hurt Splinter more by turning Leo against him. Donatello is frustrated that he can't do anything about the Technodrome problem while they're living in April's parents' barn, and no one else understands his worries.

Leo is still walking through the woods by himself, dealing with the lingering effects of the brainwashing. He hallucinates a spectral version of the Shredder in the trees, causing him to cry out. At that moment, the Turtles' mother Tang Shen appears to him and calms him. Shen walks with Leo to a peaceful garden, one she has taken him to before. Shen asks Leo if he's found what he had lost. Leo tells her that he has his family back, but he is still unfamiliar with them. She tells him to proceed slowly, and not to let himself get overwhelmed. She tells him she is needed elsewhere and she vanishes, causing Leo to wake up. Donnie is standing over him trying to rouse him, but Leo stays calm, no longer so jumpy as a result of the brainwashing.

At April O'Neil's parents' house, April's mother Beth tells April and Casey Jones that her father, John, was part of a top-secret project when he worked at StockGen. John spent years working with a healing compound nicknamed ooze, when he began to have second thoughts about the ethical implications of StockGen's work. Unfortunately, John then had a stroke, which put any thought of the ooze out of John and Beth's minds. Beth tells April she wishes she had kept her away from StockGen, but John's injury compensation and April's internship put her worries out of her mind. Beth retrieve's John's old laptop with all of his notes from his work at StockGen and gives it to April, telling her maybe she can make sense of it.

Back in the woods, Donnie tells Leo he was talking in his sleep, saying something about their mother and ghosts. Leo says it felt like he was really speaking to their mother, not just dreaming, and Donnie must think he's crazy for saying that. Donnie tells him that six months ago, he would have, but after what they've seen, he's not sure. Donnie concedes that maybe what they're going through really is the result of some type of cosmic fate or destiny. Leo tells him he just feels like he's stuck in place, treading water. Donnie assures him that it's just the after-effects of the brainwashing, and it'll pass. Donnie asks Leo to come back to the barn with him so he can bounce ideas about the Technodrome off him. This time it's Leo's turn to reassure Donnie, telling him that if he tackles the problem one step at a time he'll succeed.

In the barn, Shen now appears before Splinter, although to her he will always be her husband Hamato Yoshi. Splinter is embarrassed, asking her not to look at him in his new rodent form. She tells him that the true essence of an individual lies within. Splinter tells her that he is worried he is a failure, having let Shredder take their eldest son and turn him against them. Shen points out that Leo has been returned to them, and although he suffered at the hand of the Foot, there is a force that outweighs all darkness: love.

Mikey finishes up his letter to Woody, telling him that although they're all hurting pretty bad, Mikey has an idea to help speed up the healing process. Mikey builds a campfire and begins roasting hot dogs, and Splinter and his brothers join him. Even Alopex is invited to sit with them.

However, high above in the night sky, Koya circles the campfire, reporting in to Oroku Karai that she has found Splinter and the Turtles.

(https://turtlepedia.fandom.com/wiki/Northampton,_part_2)

Fan Art: TMNT n.13 - Variant Cover by Claudia-SG

Accompanying Podcast: ● Shellheads - episode 62

[iztarshi]

Febuwhump - assumed dead

Fandom: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Notes: A raised by Draxum AU. He's a terrible parent, but he does care.

The Barracks is in its usual state of colourful chaos when Draxum enters. His weapons, his glorious creations, are, when off duty, the messiest creatures Draxum has ever had the displeasure of seeing. The floor is scattered with a layer of huge cushions, food wrappers, game pieces, and outlandish human skateboards. He drew the line at action figures — his creations will not exalt humans. The television itself was a mistake.

Despite this the turtles are standing in a perfect line, all wearing their black outfits and horned half-masks, weapons sheathed neatly. There’s been some squabble, though. Raphael’s fear stink is in the air and Michelangelo is shifting from foot to foot, flicking glances at Leonardo.

“Today, we will emerge in Central Park,” Draxum announced. “Michelangelo and Raphael will corale the puny humans for my oozequitos. Donatello and Leonardo will destroy any enforcers of law who approach.”

Leo leans his weight back on one leg, ruining the neat line as he twists sideways. “So, same as usual?” he whines. “Maybe I’d like a change, you know? Do some coralling, round ‘em up like a cowboy.”

Draxum huffs out a sigh and grabs Leonardo’s shoulders, pushing him back into his place in line. “You are my creation and you will fulfil your role as it has been assigned,” he barks.

Leonardo’s eyes meet his from behind the mask, glinting with something hard. “You’re the boss,” he says.

Huginn leans forward from Draxum’s shoulder, getting in the kid’s face, “Yeah, he’s the boss.”

Draxum steps away, the last thing he wants is Leonardo getting into an argument with one of his gargoyles again. That can go in circles for hours.

Draxum opens his portal and says, “Go. Conquer this petty park.”

The turtles go.

The crowd panics. This is usual, humans are panicky creatures, prone to fleeing at the slightest pain. Michelangelo’s chains and Raphael’s huge form are always enough to block them and turn back the tide.

Except this time he hears Michelangelo call, “LEO,” despite the volume without too much alarm, and when he looks there is a thin figure in black and gold, trying to move against the crowd. Draxum waits for him to make a portal, more frustrated that Leonardo has let this happen to himself than worried, and then the figure falls.

Draxum’s vines shoot out, pushing the crowd aside and he sees the turtle sprawled out on his back, leg bending at the wrong angle and head lolling, black clothes soaked with blood. Leonardo is not moving and that, more than anything else, is wrong.

The other turtles panic. Raphael’s projection and Michelangelo’s chains vanish in the same moment, while Donatello throws himself into the crowd in a way that only stirs it up to further madness, people trampling even over Draxum’s vines as they scramble away from Donatello’s drill.

One of the police officers has a gun trained on Michelangelo where he is standing, frozen. Draxum strangles the human with a vine before calling, “Retreat!”

The turtles charge through the portal he opens, Raphael dragging Michelangelo. Draxum stands in front of it, vines whipping the crowd aside once more. There is no body. Have the police officers now standing among the civilians taken it? Where is Draxum’s creation?

With one last roar of frustration he thrashes his vines through the park, heaving up the ground in jagged plates.

Then he turns and walks through the portal.

The mood in Baron Draxum’s castle is strange in the weeks that follow. He thinks his creations must be grieving, but if so they do not do so in front of him. They barely talk to him at all. Perhaps they blame him for the loss of their brother and perhaps they are right. Draxum had been impatient, had put his creations to work before they had even attained their full strength.

Leonardo will never reach his full strength, his full size. Draxum remembers when he was small enough to carry around in a pocket, when Draxum frequently did carry him around in a pocket because he was the best behaved little turtle imaginable as long as he was pressed against Draxum in some way. His sly and difficult Leonardo had been so easy as an infant.

The small shrine Draxum built to comfort the others is rarely visited by them but he finds himself there daily. He places blue flowers, Leonardo’s favourite colour, and remembers Leonardo trying to argue that his mask should be blue. Perhaps Draxum should have allowed it.

The turtles were made as obedient weapons, so why does he regret saying ‘no’ to them more than he regrets giving them leave to search dumpsters for movies and giving them all their gaudy cushions? Why does he regret putting weapons on the battlefield more than letting them enjoy their time away from it?

He rubs his eyes and pulls his mask on to hide his drooping ears.

“The plan has changed,” Baron Draxum announces. “Despite your strength and tenacity I was wrong to place you in battle before you had attained your full growth. We will not be attacking the humans of New York again until you are ready.”

“Isn’t it a little late to stop now?” Donatello asks. “Both the Hidden City police and NYPD are after us. Delaying the plan for a decade on our side won’t make them delay it on theirs.”

“Donnie, not helping,” Michelangelo and Raphael chorus in what they probably think is a whisper. Draxum can see the relief on both their faces and his heart squeezes hard in his chest for reasons he doesn’t understand.

“My decision is final,” he says.

Then he leaves them and returns to Leonardo’s shrine.

The soft footsteps of the smallest turtle approaching are enough for Draxum to gather himself. This shrine was intended to bring comfort to them, he will leave if one of them wishes to use it.

“Um, Draxum,” Michelangelo calls, stopping in the hallway outside. “Can I talk to you?”

“Of course.”

Michelangelo is the hardest of his creations to see as a weapon, with his soft eyes and rounded features. Now, though, as he draws himself up and hesitance falls away there’s a flash of predatory intent in his eyes. Draxum braces himself for questions about why he put them on the battlefield so soon only to change his mind so late.

“Why have you never asked me and Raph to kill anyone?” Mikey asks.

Draxum blinks. “You were more useful in a defensive role.”

“Really?” says Michelangelo. “‘Cause Leo has portals. He could put everyone back where you wanted them in an instant.”

There’s a heavy silence. Draxum feels pinned under a gaze that will not accept a lie. Which is ridiculous. The Baron Draxum fears nothing and tells no lies to begin with.

“I made you all as weapons,” he says. “But Raphael and yourself did not seem to have quite the spirit, the hardened nature.”

“I don’t think Leo did either,” Michelangelo says. He swings himself up to sit on the shrine and Draxum clenches his teeth at the disrespect but dares not interrupt. “He hasn’t been the same since we started this. Donnie hasn’t either, but he says he’s fine, says it gives him a chance to really use his abilities. Even though it changed him.” Tears spill down Mikey’s cheeks. “But Leo hasn’t been okay for a long time. Not since you made him do this.”

“Are you telling me that child allowed himself to be trampled to death on purpose?” Draxum draws himself up in horror. His bright flame of a creation, as curious about people as Donatello was about plants and machines, full of ideas and foolishness. Snuffed out without Draxum even realising the fingers closing on the wick were his own.

Michelangelo’s confidence seems to desert him and he squirms before finally blurting, “Leo’s not dead! He said he couldn’t do this anymore and he was leaving. It was all fake, we’ve been meeting up with him. I wanted him to talk to you first, but he didn’t think you’d listen, and then he almost tried and you didn’t.”

Draxum lowers himself to sit on the floor, legs shaky as a newborn lamb’s. “Leonardo is alive?”

Michelangelo nods.

“His leg was broken.” The crumpled figure, the way the leg had bent.

“Raph was furious. He wasn’t meant to take it that far, he was meant to go into his shell for the actual trampling part. He said he needed to make it convincing.”

“And you do not believe that was the true reason?”

Michelangelo shakes his head firmly. “It was spite. He said he didn’t believe you cared about him at all, but I think he must have known you did at least a little. Or he wouldn’t have hurt himself just so you had to see it.”

There was that ruthlessness that Draxum had seen in Leonardo, that had convinced him Leonardo would be a fine warrior, would be untouched by the necessities of war. “I was born a warrior,” Draxum says. “I was fighting at your age. Alongside my parents.”

Michelangelo slides off the shrine and gives Draxum one of those hugs Draxum never manages to respond to correctly. “I’ll take you to Leo if you promise you won’t make him fight again,” he says.

“We’re here,” Michelangelo says. They’re perched on a roof, indistinguishable from any other roof as far as Draxum can see. “He’ll be here soon.”

“This is a pre-arranged meeting?”

“Yeah, he’s on the move a lot so he portals in to meet us. It’s my turn to rend-ez-vous tonight.” Michelangelo is jittery, excited or nervous, feet and hands moving constantly. He grabs and lets go of Draxum’s arm at random intervals until Draxum tries patting his head. Michelangelo lets out a breath and beams up at him.

The bright blue of a portal spills over the neon stained darkness of New York and Leonardo steps out. He’s limping slightly, but his leg isn’t in a cast and he can clearly put weight on it. He’s wearing an oversized hoodie with a straw hat and no pants. He’s the best thing Draxum has seen in weeks.

Leonardo jolts to a stop as the portal fades and holds his sword in front of him in an attack stance. “You brought him here?” There’s betrayal in his voice. “Now he’ll never let me go!”

“Leonardo,” Draxum says, raising his hands in what is meant to be placation. Possibly it still seems like looming because Leo shrinks back and raises his sword higher. “I have no intention of forcing you against your will.”

“Yeah? Isn’t that what I’m for? Your perfect weapon. Like I ever had anything against humans, or wanted to pop out of nowhere and kill people who didn’t even believe in me like some kind of movie monster.”

“I did not intend to hurt you like this. I believed you had a warrior’s spirit…”

“Sorry to disappoint you,” Leonardo spits. Leonardo’s sword is shaking in his hand, at any moment that tension will translate into the flick of a wrist, into a portal. And Draxum cannot find the right words to make him stay.

Michelangelo steps out of the shadows and takes Leo’s arm in both his hands, gently lowering the sword and Leonardo glares at him. “He’s been mourning you.”

“You’re imagining things.”

“He called off the plan until we’ve reached our full growth.”

“Forever,” Draxum chokes. Both turtles turn to look at him, Michelangelo with an encouraging nod and Leonardo with desperate suspicion. “If you do not wish to take part in it I will no longer require that of you.”

“Then what are you even here for?” Leonardo demands. “You want me back to do what? Skateboard? Lounge around reading comics?”

Draxum shrugs. “If that is your will then yes.”

There are many things Draxum has done wrong in raising his creations but he has never lied to them. Leonardo slowly lowers his sword. “Mikey,” he says. “What the hell did you do to him?”

Michelangelo pats Leonardo’s head and then flits over to rub his face into Draxum’s cheek. “Lots of people rethink their priorities after the death of a loved one.”

“Yeah, but…” Leonardo looks into Draxum’s eyes and despite the mask Draxum finds himself completely unable to meet his gaze. He hunches, folds his arms against his chest and looks at the ground. It’s a deeply analytical gaze, measuring and reassessing. “Heh. Guess I’ll come back for a few days, but I’m keeping the sword close.” He takes Draxum’s other arm, grin too wide and obnoxious to make it a friendly gesture. “And you can think about how you’re going to make this up to me. Because you have a lot to make up for.”

It’s in Leonardo’s nature to press an advantage until something snaps and Draxum can already foresee there are going to be a lot of comics and ice cream in the next few weeks. He hopes he isn’t the thing that snaps. It would hurt, to lose Leonardo again. Draxum rubs Leonardo’s head the way he would Michelangelo’s and is startled by the way those calculating eyes go wide and wet.

“Come on,” Draxum says, opening a portal of his own. “For the time being, let us go home.”

“Yeah, come on,” says Michelangelo, taking Leo’s arm. “I have got to show you the shrine.”