#him caring about what mikey cares about and the willing to save a human for mikey shows progress that fits him

[fungalittleweirdo]

All four 12 turtles first meetings/impressions headcanons pleeeeeaaassseee <3333

anything for pookie <333

2012 TMNT First Meetings Headcanons

Leo

i think he would be interested in keeping you safe if you're a civilian

if you're a criminal he might talk you down from doing crime first, if you don't listen to him though he will kick your ass

but back to if you're a regular person in new york– if you were in danger he would most likely defend you

and if you insist on keeping him company because he saved your life, he might get a little shy and embarrassed

are you hungry ? he'll get you an order of pizza gyozas as soon as possible

you're one of the few humans he's ever met, it's a little hard for him to socialise with you at first but then gets the hang of it

if you're interested in any of the things he's interested in he will ask about it

he might infodump about space heroes if you're not careful

if you let him, he might develop a silly little crush on you

sorry this leo first impression headcannon thing is purely spoopy fanservice

Raph

he'd think nothing of you if you're a civilian

if you're a criminal he'd beat your ass, no questions asked

but if you're insistent on talking to raph after he saves your life or whatever he'd get annoyed and ask why you want to talk to him so bad

but this is only if he's still with mona

if he hadn't been with mona at all or they broke up or whatever, he might be bored enough to have you around for company

he might end up venting to you if you listen to him for long enough

raph feels as though he's never listened to and to have someone so ready and willing to hear him ramble, it comforts him

you might become his favourite friend after a night of talking and getting to know one another

he also would like it if you wanted to watch him train and cheer him on, it helps dissolve his insecurities

Donnie

depends how you react to him when it comes to you being a civilian

as for you being a criminal ? he'd ask you why, how, when– he wants every little detail about the crime you're committing and the context behind it. he might not even want to kick your ass at all, maybe he just wants to talk.

now, if the turtle's saving your life and you're grateful like a normal person, thanking him and going on your merry way, he'd be proud of himself for handling whatever you tangled yourself with on his own.

if you make out his save as a knight-in-shining-armour-saving-his-princess situation ? he would get all flustered and embarrassed, falling for you hard if you give him any semblance of affection as thanks.

the mutant is starved for affection after all the years he's pined and yearned. crushing should be his middle name and it's not for crushing his enemies.

spending the rest of the night talking to him would probably mean him checking for wounds or if you got hurt.

he would worry about you no matter if your life was threatened or if someone just tried to steal your bag

haha you're the next april (whether you reciprocate or not is up to you)

Mikey

nah dude you're chill brah

bro's clueless if you're committing crime

but otherwise he'd fight whatever's threatening you then offer if you want to hang out with him

whether you agree or scream and run away it's your choice (but the latter isn't what you're here for, is it ?)

he'd take you to murakami's or some pizza place he knows of for food first

after eating you guys would go up to the rooftops and he'd try to show you tricks on his board

maybe try to flirt with you if he finds you easy on the eyes

you spending time with him kind of reassures him that he's not annoying like his brothers say he is, so you're making him feel better about himself just by keeping him company

he'd love to talk to you again !! definitely will call you in the middle of the night to ask you if you think pineapple belongs on pizza.

[lackablazeical]

Addams! AU Snippet 6: 'Freakshow'

FULL CREDIT TO WRITER NewFallenLeaves ON A03!!!!!! SHE MAKES KILLER ANGST AND FLUFF ALIKE, CHECK OUT ALL HER WORKS!!!! NOW!!!!! IF YOU LOVE OR CARE ABOUT ANYTHING, DO IT. NOW. BEFORE I GET U /J

As usual, art to add on! It was a 1 layer challenge I gave up on partway thru, mostly just cus I wanted to be done with it, lol! Greyscale is always so fun, tho!

Full snippet below the cut! ⬇️⬇️⬇️

---

“Hold still, you little scumsucker.” As the burly human patted Mikey down, he came up quickly with two small daggers tucked into Mikey’s belt, as well as the ones hidden in the holster at the small of his back. “Shit, kid, how many more knives have you got, huh? Cough ‘em up.”

“Well,” said Mikey, “There’s the whole family with Mr. Stabby, and Miss Gashy, and the Puncture Brothers, and Auntie Slicer, and–”

The pile of small blades was already over half-a-dozen strong, and the man still managed to find three more.

“Oh, no!” Mikey wailed as the last one hit the table. He twisted against the tight ropes that bound his wrists behind his back, “You’re going to take all of them?”

“We know who sent you, we’re not taking any chances.” Finally satisfied, the man hauled Mikey none-too-gently by the elbow and dragged him out of the covered wooden cart that served as the freak show’s ‘office.’

The small encampment was reminiscent of a traveling gypsy convoy, with colorfully painted covered wagons. Some were cages for “FEARSOME GRUESOME MUST-SEE MUTANTS” with bold-lettered signs and warnings to stay back. Others were smaller, with striped awnings and shelves of cheap merchandise or galleries of rigged carnival games, with “STEP RIGHT UP AND TAKE A CHANCE” invitations for any fool willing to throw away hard-earned coin.

The heavy-set human dragged Mikey toward one of the larger cage carts. “Gonna put you someplace where you’re too worried about stayin’ alive to think about running off or causin’ trouble.”

He stopped in front of the enclosure. It looked as sparse and uncomfortable as any of the other terrible accommodations in the traveling freakshow. Unadorned iron bars, no straw or hay strewn for the mutant held within. The guard shoved Mikey through and slammed the cell door behind him.

Mikey tumbled onto the grated metal floor, lying prone while he waited for the man’s footsteps to fade. As soon as everything was silent, he flipped upright. From the corner of the cage came a low, throaty growling, and the occupant of the cell rose to his feet.

Even hunched, the alligator mutant was massive. Four times Mikey’s size. Larger than Raph, even, and little else save teeth and muscle.

“Don’t be…alarmed.” Every word the alligator spoke was slow and deliberate. “I…won’t harm you.”

“I know!” said Mikey. “I made Donnie do research on everything before I came.”

“You…know?”

“Woulda been pretty stupid for me to run in here without knowing everything about this lame-o sideshow. Besides, getting details is easy. It was supposed to add to Mama’s Spectacle Spectacular, after all. She bought it. And it woulda been such a cool thing, too! Everybody loves her circus, she has all the nicest hotel rooms for her performers, and you get to eat at the buffet, and the bar is open all night, and–”

“You…don’t seem…concerned,” said the alligator. “Were you…not poached…like the rest of us?”

“Ha! Nobody could poach me if they tried. Know how much Donnie has to add to his tranq formula to knock me out? Betcha don’t, because it’s a lot. I have resistance.” With a quick roll of his hips and shoulders, Mikey twisted his bound hands from behind his back and hopped over them like a backward jump rope. “Boy, am I glad they put me in here, you’re my first choice, anyway.”

“For…what?”

“For helping, of course! These humans turned out to be a bunch of dirty, no-good, double-crosser, deal-breaker cheaters, and they took Mama’s money and tried to cut and run. So now Mama wants me to burn the whole thing to the ground! Isn’t that great?! Anyway, are you good with pulverizing all the stuff? Because Raph didn’t wanna come, he was busy watching the Mrs. Cuddles’ Puppets-in-Peril Halloween Specials marathon. So if you could go ahead and do all the smashing, that would be awesome.”

“…smashing?”

Instead of replying, Mikey stuck out his tongue as he reached for a spot on the back of his neck, just below the rim of his shell. He withdrew a short, narrow length of sharpened metal, and proceeded to cut through the ropes.

“You managed…to sneak in a weapon,” the alligator marveled.

“Pffft,” said Mikey. “He only took my knives. This is my shiv.”

With his hands free, Mikey took a moment to stretch like a dancer before a routine. Then he promptly flopped down into a sitting position, legs crisscrossed. He set the shiv down on the floor of the cage and began pulling random assorted items out from non-existent pockets in his clothing and lining them up. “I still got lots of good stuff, see? This is my bolo, and this is my garrote, and this is my ice pick, and this is my can opener, and this is my bookend, and this is my cherry pitter, and this is my…”

The alligator watched as Mikey continued unabated. He blinked slowly at each new addition to the stockpile, his face becoming more and more skeptical as the items became less and less…perilous. When Mikey placed a penny down, he finally spoke.

“What…exactly…do you intend to accomplish…with a coin?”

“Ooooo, goody, I’m glad you noticed, I like this one.” Mikey flipped the penny with his thumb and caught it between his fingers. When he held it up to the light, the sharpened edge all around its circumference gleamed. “We’ll use it first!”

He tugged loose a lacing from the knee of his pants and looped it around the penny. Then he stood, approached the bars of the cage, took a deep breath…and began shrieking.

“HELP HELP MISTER JAILER GUY, I’M SCARED I DON’T WANNA GET EATEN BY AN ALLIGATOR!” Mikey twisted and rammed his shell against the bars to make even more noise. The camp echoed with resounding, repeated clang-clang-clang. “LEMME OUT LEMME OUT LEMME OUT OH PLEASE OH PLEASE!”

Several of the freakshow guards were on ‘patrol,’ roaming the perimeter of the camp. One who was nearby didn’t exactly come running, but he did seem annoyed and stepped quickly in the direction of the cage. “Shut up, kid. The more you screech the faster that freaking monster’s gonna chomp on you, just to get the goddamn noise to sto–”

The guard’s yells pitched up into a howl as a razor-edged penny, launched like a slingshot, lodged in his eye.

“What’s wrong?! What’s wrong?!” a fellow guard hurried up to assist him.

Mikey grinned as he picked up another weapon from his cache, aimed it between the bars, and punched a button.

Two metal barbs pierced the second man’s chest and an electrical current lit up his entire frame with sparks. He collapsed to the ground, convulsing.

“That’s my taser,” Mikey said. He reached through the bars and fished a keyring out of the guard’s pocket and quickly released the lock. He jumped onto the cage door and rode it as it swung open, dropping the taser in the dirt beside the unfortunate human, current still running.

“Come on, mister—ah–” Mikey craned his neck to look at the advertisement emblazoned across the top of the cage, “--Lethal Leatherhead! Smashy-smash, while I torch everything!”

Tentatively, Leatherhead stepped out of his enclosure. “You wish…to burn everything? With what…?”

But Mikey had already withdrawn a liquid-filled bottle from some hidden pocket in his coat. He drew a long, silken scarf from his glove by sleight of hand, flicked it to catch the flame on the tail of his mask, and then stuffed the burning wick into the neck of the bottle. “Molotov cocktail!”

He flung the bottle through the window of the largest wagon. The resulting explosion blew out the remaining glass, and Mikey dashed forward to intercept as guards raced to escape the inferno.

“What the hell is going o–”

“Machete!”

The man who had unluckily blundered closest to him gurgled, the handle blooming from his throat.

“Clothespins!”

Another guard screeched and flailed as two small wooden clips were driven into his eyes.

“Lanyard!”

Strangled gagging.

“Teacup!”

Wailing.

Leatherhead watched from the open door of his enclosure as Mikey continued his spree, shrieking the name of every item he produced and laughing maniacally as he dashed from one victim to the next.

A rhinoceros mutant in the cage next to his leaned towards the bars. “Friend of yours?”

“If it will convince him…to not jam a small kitchen tool down my throat…” Leatherhead ripped apart the hinges on the rhino mutant’s cage, “...then I will readily be his friend.”

The screech of “Rice paddle!” and a subsequent choking sound echoed across the grounds. Both mutants cringed.

“...rice paddle. Sure.” The rhino tagged along after Leatherhead as he moved to next cage. As that door bashed open, a warthog mutant jumped free and clasped hands with the rhino. They jostled briefly before turning to flee into the night. “Good luck with your crazy friend.”

“Bottlecap!” Mikey cackled from somewhere across the camp. “Stapler!”

Wet, squelching thumps and more screams.

A gangly mutant with mantis-like arms lounged near the door of his enclosure, watching Leatherhead expectantly. “That kiddo yous got over there has the right idea, I say,” he drawled.

Leatherhead nodded. “Fist,” he said. And punched the cage.

[friendly-neighborhood-hermit]

You don’t mind giving your opinions on this iteration (03) of the bros

My opinion on the 03 turtle bros? I don't mind at all!

Overall, 03 is definitely my 2nd favorite iteration, if not my 1st (it changes depending on my mood but its usually a close tie between 03 and Rise). The way they interact with each other reminds me so much of me and my siblings, in 03 specifically, they make jabs at each other but it never feels malicious.

I think it's a little unfair how much Donnie gets absolutely nerfed, always getting the shortest end of the stick, but I also think that it brings out something in their characters that really shows how much the care for each other, none of them really have this "the mission is more important than my family" attitude, and I love that they would drop anything just to save each other, no matter the cost.

They're so much of a team that they literally fall apart if one of them is gone (hence SAINW, that episode where Karai ambushed the lair while Leo was gone and decimated them, and the Good Genes arc, and possibly more, my brain just don't work rn) and as much of a fault as that may be, I also find it endearing. Sure they might not be able to win every battle even as a team, but they sure know how to put the word team in teamwork.

They have endless support for one another, and have each other's backs even if they aren't completely confident that they can protect one other, they sure as hell are going to try their best. I feel like I'm repeating myself, but yeah.

As individuals, well, I love them all, Donnie the most for sure, but these guys are all so lovable.

Mikey is so comfortable with himself and isn't afraid of being embarrassing, which is something that just comes with being a Mikey I think, and we love him for that, and he's always surprising everyone with his skills and how he uses his own special knowledge to solve situations that no one else can think of an answer for. (I named my dog after him, he's such a goofy little guy)

Donnie is smart, and also a total nerd, but no one makes fun of him for it (well, except Casey in that one episode, when they went up against the nanobots again, but even then that doesnt really count). He doesnt always have the answers and he's not afraid to admit that, and is always willing and eager to learn more. He's also chaotic and off his rocker, and he deserves to be a little insane sometimes as a treat, he's always busy being the sensible one, sometimes he's gotta get a little crazy too. His sass is off the charts, too, and his humor is just unmatched.

Raph isnt just some hothead and I'm here for it, I absolutely love it when he gets episodes that are just him being the most gentle and caring soul, and learning from his mistakes. He's like the opposite of Donnie in that sense, he's always doin the crazy stuff, he deserves to be calm and caring as a treat. I think that's why the two of them get along so well in this series (their dynamic is so focused on here and I love it)

And Leo- he's certainly a character, that's for sure, a very human, and relatable character, one that I think a lot of eldest siblings can relate to. I think just as Raph acts as the opposite to Donnie, Leo acts the opposite to Mikey, he's a motherly brother who gets a little silly sometimes, and is very trusting. He's quiet, palatable, and respectful, and I can really appreciate that about him, he's certainly not my absolute favorite turtle, and I feel bad for not having much to say about him, but he is one of my favorite Leo's, and is a very interesting character, nonetheless (I just clearly have a favorite 03 turtle)

I hope this is what you were expecting, I think I rambled a bit, but there's my opinion (I'm very biased- and the 03 theme song is just *chefs kiss*)

[olliethescribe]

Maybe it’s the time of year and I’m really getting in my emotions, but damn, thinking about Warren and Hypno is making me super emotional. Reread one of my favorite fics tonight to decompress and wow, I sincerely love them.

It absolutely shouldn’t work, their relationship. They’re opposites of each other in all the ways that lead them to complete the other - narrative foils as I keep saying. Hypno started off as a forgettable human that never reached high levels of fame or recognition, likely wasn’t considered attractive (the guy had been tricked and toyed with romantically a few times given his reaction to Mikey tricking him in Newsworthy), and is this humble and sweet guy that’s very sincere and also quite petty (choosing to ignore the attempted murder). Being mutated made him formidable, a memorable and dazzling act. He had nothing to lose and gained plenty in becoming Hypno-Potamus. He commands attention and is actively seen as a threat. The only reason someone wouldn’t remember Hypno is if he hypnotized them. Beyond that, he has quite the presence.

Then there’s Warren. He was a famous guy that starred brilliantly on TV as a news anchor, was actively being looked for as his disappearance was alarming, and considered an insanely attractive guy. Becoming a mutant ruined his life and cost him everything; a forgettable and unremarkable person that is easily passed over. He can call himself a villain all he wants but there’s nothing anchoring that title to him. He’s more blood-thirsty than Hypno, however (hell, he killed a guy on-screen and smiled as the ELOM clapped). Warren is loud and self-serving, putting on a show for himself, essentially, as no one else puts in the effort to even acknowledge his existence (even the camera pans away from him in Newsworthy, much to his chagrin). What was once a big shot reduced to a rain drop in the ocean.

The differences pile up in other ways. Hypno loves his animals, even going as far as to try and resurrect his previous hippo assistant, Doug, on multiple occasions. Warren got annoyed with a pigeon once and reduced it to ashes before laughing manically. Hypno is very into fashion (“who wears knit caps?! In summer! Who does that?!” As well as the entirety of The Clothes Don’t Make The Turtle). Warren’s a bit on the frumpier side, not expressing much of an opinion on clothes but very into keeping his hair in order. Hypno sticks to his promises and Warren picks betrayal.

They shouldn’t work. They almost didn’t! Their first meeting was full of animosity and Warren was the only thing keeping Hypno from killing four children. Yeesh. But, down the line, Hypno took Warren in and they made a domestic life together work. Falling into a rhythm, surprising the other with gifts and acts of service (Warren takes care of cleaning up around the house despite there being a chore chart, and Hypno made Warren a birthday cake and jumped out of it for him), encouraging the other’s acts and schemes, willing to do anything for the other. Hypno runs away the most out of any side villain in Rise, but took several punches for Warren just so his ‘roomie’ would be okay. They cry for each other, beg their enemies for help to make sure the other can be saved, that they could resume their lives and be together at all costs.

They’re so in love. They’d have hated each other if they met as humans, or at the very least would be unimpressed. They were too different as human beings in all the ways that make them perfect for each other as mutants. To find solace in someone going through the exact pain as you, in a similar career field no less! Spending late nights making fun of game show contestants and enjoying the other’s company. And it isn’t perfect but they have each other, can relax in the security of their relationship and know that the other isn’t leaving anytime soon. They’re partners in crime, makers of magic, co-hosts as they take the airwaves by storm illegally, long term roomies, lovers, husbands even.

Ain’t that magical?

[valentinehorrors]

You're my only desire

(TW: bl00d mention)

Something was wrong.

Casey already knew he was different than other people, a little more insane and more willing to put himself in danger, yes. He was stupid, something else that was not new information.

But truly, he put himself in a very stupidly dangerous situation.

At first, he thought that Mikey was just isolated. Keeping secrets that were driving him insane, that all he needed was someone he could be honest to. That's who Casey wanted to be, someone Mikey didn't have to hide to.

Then shit got complicated. Because the more Casey learned about Mikey, wanting to be his one friend, the more he realized there was a reason Mikey was hiding.

Then his own thrill seeking, danger loving, stupid side kicked in. Casey has always been well-meaning, a good heart, but willing to do whatever needs to be done. Mikey was a whole new shade of gray that Casey was not ready for.

The more Casey thought about it, the more he fought himself over it. Initially, Casey thought that Mikey had just been dealt a bad hand, a shitty as hell hand. The human wasn't sure what he would do if he had the same needs as Mikey, would he have done anything different?

Mikey isn't really malicious right? At least, Casey hopes he's not. Besides, he's not really in a place to judge, he's pretty fucked up in the head too.

After all, his first thought at seeing Mikey, bloody, surrounded by torn apart bodies, was "that's kinda hot." It probably also helped that he had kinda saved him. A bunch of thugs and none of his vigilante gear, if Mikey hadn't had shown up...

Yeah, okay, a lot of mixed feelings. Mainly two feelings actually, the feeling of "Holy shit this guy can kill me" and "Holy shit this guy will kill anyone for me."

But there's also... "If I don't stay, there's not gonna be anyone else able to reel him back."

He felt bad whenever he had that thought though, he didn't want that to be the soul reason of their friendship, because truly it wasn't. Besides, even if it came to that, he had no idea if he would even be able to.

Little did he know, he wasn't going to be needing confirmation for much longer.

"So, you don't like April? Like at all?" It was another one of their late night talks, same rooftop. They were leaning against each other, back to back. Mikey's shell wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world but Casey didn't really mind or care. Said human was also preoccupied with Mikey's kusarigama. He was curious and the turtle let him fiddle with it.

"No. I greatly dislike her." Mikey said, as cold as ever.

"Like why though? She's chill ain't she?"

"Originally, it's because she was someone new to take into account. A lot is taken into consideration when it comes to my mask, part of the reason it works so well is because I know how my family works. Someone new added risk, she could catch on to my tricks, or find some discrepancy. Unlikely, but possible. She was an unpredictable variable that annoyed me."

Casey hummed in response as he swung the blade by the chain, careful not to hurt himself or Mikey. At least he thought he was being careful, then Mikey grabbed the handle before the blade could collide with Casey's shoulder, without needing to even turn his head. Casey chuckled nervously as he took it back and continued fiddling with the chain. "But anyway, why now?"

"What do you mean?"

"C'mon Mike."

"... You."

Casey paused, turning his head to try to look at Mikey. Ending up way closer than anticipated, the human's head on the turtle's shoulder. Mikey's own eyes at the same time turning to Casey, that familiar shiver going through him. "Me? I'm why you hate April?"

"Yes... It's no secret Casey. I'm... attached to you..."

"Obsessed more like." Casey lightly joked

"As though you don't enjoy it."

Casey's not sure why he blushed at that, other than he's fucked in the head. "Shut up. Still, it's just joking. Don't think she's into me at all either. I just like pushing at her buttons and sometimes she fucks around right back. Just teasing."

"I am allowed to still not like it, or her." There was a slight furrow of his brow, it was the most Casey had ever seen of Mikey aside from his unnerving smiles.

"Oh shit," Casey paused, thinking over his words, "you... really hate her huh?..."

Mikey nodded, "That doesn't mean I want you to stop being her friend. Don't misunderstand. Besides, it would be far too suspicious if you changed your dynamic so drastically."

Casey chuckled nervously once again "right..."

There was a tension in the air the second the girl's name was brought up. Casey had been worried but as the conversation moved on and the tension dissipated, he dismissed it.

He really shouldn't have.

Casey wasn't exactly sure how he did it, but he knew Mikey was watching him almost 24/7. Sometimes it was even a comfort to feel that familiar shiver pass through him. He recognized the difference now, knowing when he was simply cold versus Mikey watching him.

But something felt off today, he wasn't sure what it was, but something was up. Mikey usually just checks in on him every once in a while, but this time he swore Mikey's eyes just didn't leave him at all. He's not necessarily complaining, the whole situation had a thrill that Casey could never resist, Mikey was right about that.

It was just a thrill. Just some fun. Yes, Casey knew that Mikey was deadly, he saw it first hand. Hell, he had been pretty shaken up initially. But clearly Mikey had a handle on his darker side and his whole hunger thing. It was just a thrill. Mikey was always so mindful of his mask and keeping up appearances, he'd never endanger it.

...

Casey never thought he'd walk in to the lair, and see a kusarigama blade over the girl's neck.

[skeleton-in-a-hoodie]

Thinking about ageswap Renet. Under a readmore cause long as hell and there's some slight spoilers for ageswap

Her and Mikey were a couple in this au once. When they first met, they caught feelings quickly and after she visited a couple more times they started dating. It was an open relationship, they were free to date other people.

Sometimes they'd go weeks or months without seeing each other, and could then could only spend a few hours together. But they made those hours count.

Renet is willing to admit that at first she was a wee bit startstruck by Mikey. She'd grown up hearing about the great warrior and hero Hamato Michaelangelo, how he and his brothers had fought back invasion after invasion, saved the Utrom, destroyed the Heart of Darkness, brought about the end of the Triceraton Republic, defeated the [REDACTED]! And she knew he wasn't that turtle yet, but she knows that's who he'll be one day!

But that's one of the problems that ended the relationship.

Renet knows what will happen to Mikey and his family.

Time Masters are not allowed to change the past. Their job is to maintain the timeline and intefer as little as possible.

Renet hold's Mikey's hand, and knows one day he'll lose it. When they help her save the timeline, she'll watch Donnie's back, knowing she can't warn him about the day his shell is cracked. She can't tell Raph to watch out, least he lose an eye. Renet can't explain why Leo's voice sounds so odd to her, and has to be careful not to ask him too many times how his leg's doing, just in case that tips the Brothers off that something will happen to him.

And she can't tell them about the things their kids will go through either.

The ageswap kids have a similar reputation to their uncles in Renet's time.

There's June, an inventor trained by Hamato Donatello himself. She played a key role in closing the gap between the technology of Earth and the rest of the universe.

And Mayday, a shapeshifting Kraang bio-weapon that decided no, the Earth and humanity were worth protecting, that she was more than the weapon the Kraang made her to be.

Maria "Shadow" Jones, a programmer and powerful psychic. When Renet was a teenager, she used to listen to archival recordings of Shadow's radio show, the first to include mutants and aliens. Her voice is still known centuries after her death, and it helped sooth Renet through hard times.

And of course there's Master Splinter! One of, if not the, most gifted ninja of his time who taught generations of ninja. After his teacher and uncle, Master Leonardo retired, Splinter led the clan he helped rebuild. And he was an artist - Renet has seen some of his paintings. He'd made them under a fakename, but a few decades after his death it was discovered that he and the artist were one and the same!

But from Mikey, she learns about the children they currrently are.

There's June, traumatised by the kraang kidnapping her as a baby. She's non-verbal, so they all learned ASL. Mikey and his brothers are trying to teach her JSL too. Junie likes to sit in Donnie's lab with him, watching him repair equipement or carefully make a new invention to help in the war against the Kraang. She likes bubblegum icecream and hates the texture of grapes.

Mayday is scared of needles and lightening. Her hair is bright yellow because Spongebob is her favourite cartoon. She loves horror movies, but hates that people like her are so often the monster that needs to be killed. Mayday doesn't know what she wants to be when she grows up, but there was a solid three months where the answer to that question was a horse.

Shadow can hear the thoughts and feelings of everyone around her and there are days were it's too much. Her family are overprotective of her, and she wants to prove that she can look after herself. She's scared of inflatable tube men and her favourite jacket looks like a bear.

Yoshi loves Godzilla and will make minature cities out of books and toys so he can pretend to terrorise them as his favourite kaiju. Draws constantly, and the Lair walls are covered in drawings left by him. He has terrible nightmares and Mikey isn't sure if they're dreams or visions anymore. He's a sweet kid with a big heart.

And Renet knows about the terrible things those children will go through.

If it's difficult to talk to his brothers, April or Casey at times, it's even harder to look at the children Mikey adores and pretend nothing bad happens to them.

The more she gets to know the people they are, and not the near mythical heroes she was taught about at school, the harder and harder it gets to resist warning them.

Falling in love with Mikey makes it even more difficult. She wants to tell him, but she can't, not unless she wants to alter history and potentially destroy the timeline. And even if the timeline wasn't damaged, the universe would demand compensation. Maybe the same thing would happen in a slightly different way, or something even worse could happen instead.

She refuses to gamble Mikey or his family for the sake of her guilt.

And Mikey knows she can't tell him. He doesn't blame her, not really, he knows she can't no matter how much she may want to. But he's a person and people aren't always rational - it's hard not to think about the fact that she could have warned him. Mikey does not want to ever grow to resent Renet. He loves her too much to ever think about hating her.

And she loves him enough to want to warn him.

But she also loves him enough to think about the future he'll get to experience one day, where he's happy and at peace, where the wars are over, where the children he raised are happy, where he'll have students he adores and guides through life with the same love and care he gives to his own niblings. Him and his family go through hell and back, but they come out the otherside together.

When the secrets she has to keep weigh her down, she'll flip to the last chapter of a history book and will read about all the joy Mikey can look forward to.

She loves him enough to want to warn him, but she also loves him enough to want to protect his wonderful future with all she has.

Even if that means she has to let him go.

Hamato Mikey is the best thing Renet never had.

But she knows how his story ends and it's a good ending.

And that's more than enough for her.

[briamichellewrites]

91

Elliot admitted to Rob she had been a virgin and he was her first, as they laid on her bed with Bruce. Did she want him to be her first? Yeah, she did. Okay, he just wanted to be sure. Was he the only guy she was with? No, she slept with her friend, Matt after sleeping with him. He appreciated her honesty, though it didn’t matter to him. It was her body and her choice. He kissed her forehead. If she was two years older, he would make her his official girlfriend.

Bruce enjoyed the attention of the humans. He yawned because it was almost time for bed. It had been a long day of doing nothing. He didn’t know who the guy was but his human liked him, so he liked him. After a while, he got up and ran off to his kennel. He had a full day ahead of him of doing nothing.

Mike met with Chester back at his place. They went up to his room and lay down on the bed. He had talked to Sam about their divorce. All he asked for was to share custody of their son, Draven. She was willing to give that to him as long as he was sober. Good for him. Was he sober? Yeah. He was sober since the last time he went to rehab. Good for him. He asked if he could be honest with him. About what?

“This is going to sound insane and I’m still trying to figure it out myself. I understand if you don’t believe me or if you want nothing to do with me. I just need to tell you the truth.”

“Mikey, you’re freaking me the fuck out!”

He turned to him and looked at his best friend. Chester did the same. He then repeated what he had told Brad about being in a time loop and what he thought his goal was. It started a long time ago. He found out that Anna had cheated on him. When he passed out, he awoke on the floor of his kitchen to his little brother looking down at him. That time, he went to rehab for depression.

He ended up eventually found a woman and falls in love with her. They became pregnant with a little boy they were going to name, Otis. Elliot also ended up being diagnosed with schizophrenia, so he was taking care of her. Then, he fell asleep and woke up on the floor of his kitchen with his little brother looking down at him. This time, he went to rehab for depression. Except, he ended up falling in love with Phoenix. They hired a surrogate, who gave them a son named, Otis.

Elliot was diagnosed with juvenile breast cancer, so he and Phoenix were taking care of her. She eventually moved to Montana in 2019 and started a farm. When he fell asleep, they were in Montana visiting her. Then, he fell asleep and woke up on the floor of his kitchen with his little brother looking down at him. Why did he think he woke up this time? He believed it was because of him. What did he mean?

“July 20, 2017. I have that date memorized in my head. That’s the day I find out that you lost your battle with depression. You hang yourself in your closet after coming home from visiting family in Arizona. Your wife, Talinda, and your three youngest children stayed. Between the time you got home and when your housekeeper found you, you ingested pills and then hanged yourself.”

“Mikey, how did you see that? How did you know that it was me?”

“Because the world knew. Chester Bennington, dead at 41. That was the headline on TMZ. I don’t want that to happen to you. I love you as my best friend and brother.”

Why did he choose that day? It was Chris Cornell’s birthday. He sighed because he could tell he was telling him the truth. So, he was supposed to keep him alive. Yeah. He apologized because he shouldn’t have told him. No, Mikey. He wanted to know and he wanted him to save his life. I love you.

“That’s why I kissed you. Whoever this woman is, she doesn’t matter. What matters is you. Mike Shinoda. The man I want to be my boyfriend.”

“It’s been two years since I felt safe with anyone but I feel safe with you. Will you be my boyfriend?”

He grinned. “I would love to!”

He laughed before they shared a kiss. Chester then rolled on top of him. Mike ran his fingers through his hair. He was the only person he knew that could scream like a demon while having the heart of an angel. The tall, thin guy from Phoenix, Arizona with tattoos and piercings was his best friend, brother, and now, boyfriend. For the first time since he woke up, he was happy again. He wanted to hold onto him forever and never let go.

They had to come out to the band but that could wait. At the moment, they just wanted to be with each other. This was what falling in love felt like. It was being vulnerable and open. He felt like he could tell Chester anything, no matter how stupid it sounded. Chester kissed him deeply, making him groan. He wanted to feel his body again on top of his.

Rob had taken a video of Elliot singing Picture by Kid Rock and Sheryl Crow while on her bed. He shared it with the band the following day. Phoenix joked that he didn’t want to see his sex tape. He gave him a confused look. Why would he have a sex tape, especially with Elliot? Oh, he didn’t know the video was with Elliot! Never mind then! Mike asked what the video was, so he got out his video camera and found the video. He then proceeded to play it for them.

She sang Sheryl’s part and damn, she had talent. It must have come from her mother since Mike didn’t know if Brad could sing. He made a copy of the video on a CD before emailing it to Elliot. Send this to your dad. He didn’t have his email. Brad received the email later while hanging out with George. Ellie just sent me a video. He played it for him. That’s Ellie? Yeah. He turned his screen, so he could see.

“She’s your daughter.”

“She’s my daughter.”

From: Brad Pitt

To: Mike Shinoda

Subject: Video

He had to admit he was nervous about emailing him. Why? Because the last time he saw him, he had caught him and Anna together. He was rightfully angry and he understood the damage he had caused by his selfish behavior. Anna wasn’t his and he never should have crossed that line. Mike was a friend but that relationship had been broken beyond repair.

He could never take that back, no matter how many times he apologized. Was he sorry? Yeah, he was and always would be. Mike, before I start I want to apologize. He read his email to Chester out loud. His words were sincere. Was he ready to meet with him? Yeah, he was. Why? Because he truly wanted to hear what he had to say. Chester asked if he was sure. Yeah, he was. Okay. He watched over his shoulder as he typed out his reply.

From: Mike Shinoda

To: Brad Pitt

Subject: Re: Video

@zoeykaytesmom @feelingsofaithless @alina-dixon

[prompt-master]

[cardsbizarreadventure]

I’ve seen a fad where people describe their original character’s personality with a few canon characters from different series.

What characters do you think you could combine to make Joelle?

☆꧁✬◦°˚°◦. ♠ ♣ ♥ ♦ .◦°˚°◦✬꧂☆ Thank you for the ask Mel! It actually took me a good amount of time to even decide upon who would be most fitting to build Joelle. Since she has some of my own self insert in her , but really which oc doesn't? It was kind of hard to decide xD But I think I've managed to collect the ones that are pretty relatable with my character. So here it goes!

Lucy - Elfen Lied If I have to be honest I've never would of thought upon how similar Joelle and Lucy stories are. I was never intending to have so many similarities with this specific characters until recently I stumbled upon a video that made me remember a bit more about the anime and how it played out. Lucy is a very interesting character , born with a 'sickness' ever since she was little kind of reminded me upon Joelle's origin as a pillar both past and present . Lucy has been bullied , barely knew any kind of friends and because of her 'sickness' everyone was after her because what she can cause with her powers , until she stumbled upon one that really liked her for who she was [Kind of gives me the possible Joseph or Rei vibes but without the romantic kind of intent that was implied in the story because Lucy did fall in love with her best friend.] She was brought into a lab to keep away from the outside world and experimented on , until she broke out and was given a chance for a second life regardless of what she had witnessed and did in her youth.

Ren Tao - Shaman King A few aspects that I can collect from Ren are the anger he has built for humanity that really matches with Joelle's story . Because when she ended up in the XPD facility where they did various of experiments on her and basically played her like a toy she began to pile up a lot of anger upon those people creating an image in her head that they were all the same . But after meeting with someone who opened her eyes to the world , she began to have another look upon things and wanted to try and move on and heal but also find a new purpose in life .

Edward Elric - Fullmetal Alchemist When ever I would look at Ed I could actually see a few aspects of Joelle as well , because of his own determination to fix what he has done in the past and return his brother back to his original body , reminds me of how Joelle wants to protect her new family and find a way to stop evil from prevailing . It also gives a pinch of hint upon how him and his brother were trying to bring back their mother , is a similarity upon how Joelle wanted to bring back her own mother but instead she ended up releasing a curse that later on haunts her , the same way Ed and Alphonse tried to bring their mother back and ended up creating a homunculus being. Sadly I haven't watched brotherhood and I really need to , but I'd assume I'd find even more similarities if I do so~. But I do however see a lot of pieces of Ed in Joelle!

Misaki Ayuzawa - Kaichou wa maid-sama This goes a bit on her emotional side to be honest. Misaki is a perfect representation of Joelle , a strong and very responsible individual and yearns for a piece of romance in her life that will assure her that they will stay with them for who they are . A perfect aspect of her Tsundere side because she is very conflicted and very confused when it comes to these sort of things. I absolutely adore her strong character and how she is able to handle so many responsibilities , reminds me upon her current position in the SpeedWagon foundation , a lot fear her because of how she would act and how her attitude just goes across the room, but a good amount also admire her when they get to know her personally and understand her better upon why she is the way she is , that she has a very gentle side to her.

Chise Hatori - Ancient Magus Bride Another little lost soul that was being sold to the world. Chise has always been one of my most favorite characters once I started the anime , the aspects of her that I see in Joelle are the growth she managed to accomplish with herself , she used to have a normal life a happy family , but eventually that turned around when 'dark beings' (which would hint the cults of Hearteater) began to make their way into their life and make it more dangerous to be around , and even the fact that her own 'blood and family' tried to kill her is the hint of her father that almost killed her. [But in the anime it was the mother that tried to.] She eventually ends up in good hands which help her see the world with different eyes and find who she really is and help her discover her own courage and determination that she wants to do better for herself and others around her .

Shigeo Kageyama - Mob Psycho Little little shy Mob~. He was one of my main inspirations if I have to be honest because a lot matched with the two of them. This comes around her more doubtful and shy side. Mob is a perfect representation of both Joelle's moods , when she is sweet and respectful to a menace and a deadly being if they come near their family. Her relationship with Reigen matches with the one me and my friend Mel have with Joelle and Yorie . Let's not forget about how crazy batshid he went when they took his brother away and he was willing to do everything in his powers to save him... but there was also the fire in his house.. now that is basically the next level of Chapter Death in a sense. But for real there are a lot of aspects behind Mob that I connect with Joelle and how her character is displayed~.

Yuuji Itadori - Jujutsu Kaisen Yuji is the aspect of Joelle that exists kind of rare but it's still there , it's her little goofy side , but the amount of love for her friends and family is also there . His determination and courage to protect his new friends is the same as Joelle trying to protect her own regardless of what kind of burden both of them carry that can cause the destruction of the world, even if the the two of them might appear weak to most they would always throw themselves in danger to protect their loved ones , but later one begin to grow in personality and strength . Maybe I can even connect a tad bit Sukuna and Chapter Death because both are the representation of the final stage when the 'scary' takes over and would basically erase your existence . Yuji and His friends remind me a whole lot of Joelle and her own little crew and how each of them help each other and will always be there no matter what. Basically the hero that wants to save everyone and doesn't really care what happens to them , as long as everyone is safe .

Manjiro Sano and Ken Ryuguji - Tokyo Revengers These two go in pair ~. I see a big portion of aspects of the two in Joelle and each of them kind of represent her 'goofy' and her very serious and respect side. Mikey is a bit more laid back and chill but at the same time very scary , a bit how Joelle is in a sense how she can be so calm on certain occasions until she finally snaps and beats the crap of anyone who doubted her and called her 'small and helpless.' This is the aspect I enjoy the most between the two because they underestimate their opponent and then get their ass handed to them , that's how the two kind of go xD. Draken would be maybe her grown up and mature side in a way and the one that keeps things in line when ever there is justice that needs to be served because no one is allowed to hurt their friends and family. Very loyal and determined and even jump down to apologize for their wrongs to try and correct themselves and possibly help their friends understand the situation a little better , unless there is no way out they always try and reason first before jumping into action.

Nezuko Kamado - Demon Slayer / Kimetsu no Yaiba [New Add] I almost forgot!! Honestly I can't forget to include my favorite little goofball . Another little demon that I can see a lot of personality traits and aspects in Joelle as well. Nezuko and Tanjiro are also a good representation of both Jericho and Joelle in a sense because of how strong their bond is beyond anything . I don't want to spoil anything in my current arcs because I want to keep it a surprise since I have a whole lot of things to decide on . Nezuko displays Joelle's very protective side and very caring one as well the side of value she feels towards her surroundings and regardless of being a little 'different' she still is the same person no matter what happens and will never lose her humanity even after being 'cursed'. And even be a little bit of a hint of her sensitive and cute side too regardless that she doesn't show it too often xD.

Saitama - One Punch Man And last but not least , I put him on the bottom because at the beginning when I was creating Joelle I would always think of Saitama and how she was going to play out of sort of a joke that is really powerful and kind of blunt in a sense . But now she has grown so much and has so much potential , story and personality behind her that you can't even imagine! Saitama was maybe my very first inspiration when I created her because for some odd reason I really like OP shid and I mean literally xD. I don't know why but I just do , but regardless of Joelle being kind of OP orientated , later on when I began to play out her story I started to balance her because I wanted her to seem a bit more real other than I just came here to kick your ass and you're dead now lmfao. She still has some funny little aspects of Saitama behind her that's for sure , but she is completely different now and I am super proud of what a long journey she has gone through and grown so much as a character ^ ^. Thank you so much for sending in dear!!I really enjoyed this ask <333!! - Cards

[skylarmoon71]

AU Blind Murdock Reader x Leonardo (TMNT 2014/2016) Chapter 3

“Bitch!!” You grunted, avoiding another punch and firing one of your own.

Let’s just say your current assailant wasn’t too happy with you stopping his little side job. Human trafficking was apparently common for them. Evil bastards. With a swift kick, you knocked him right off his feet. His head hit the concrete harshly, and from the slow breaths, you could tell he was unconscious. You tried gathering your breath for a second, but more thugs were coming. Not a lot of time to rest, just react. You took a few punches, countered as much as you could. Even on your best nights, there was never a point where you left unscathed.

The lash that landed on your stomach brought you to your knees, and you gasped when the male kneed you in the jaw. You fell back, heaving slightly.

“You cost us a whole lot of money you little menace. Should have stayed in Hell’s Kitchen.” The man standing over you stomped on your ribs, and his friends gathered around, kicking you on either side. With clenched teeth, you blocked as much as you could until you could get a hold of him. Gripping his ankle, you twisted and he screamed. Now with them distracted, you jumped to your feet, tackling another male to the ground.

Not anticipating it, he tumbled, and you clocked him in the face immediately. A few more ruthless punches and he was out. You turned, hearing the last man behind you, yelling as he charged. You fully prepared to respond, but something was coming in his direction, quickly too. You skidded to the side, just hearing the metal collide with his head as he fell too.

“You just can’t stay out of trouble can you.”

That cocky voice, you knew that voice.

“I don’t know Raph, I think she helped us. Give her some credit.”

There was no doubt, it was them. One by one you could hear their feet hit the ground.

You raised to your feet shakily, wiping the blood from your lips. You could hear a bit of shuffle, they were tying up the men you’d knocked out.

“You can rest easy, the police will be here soon. You should probably get out of here before they come.” Leo spoke.

“Leonardo…” so a part of your mind was still trying to wrap your head around the whole mutant thing. It would take a while.

“Why don’t we team up, we’re both on the same side!” Mikey was as excited as the first time you met.

“He isn’t wrong. We all care about this city. You don’t have to keep fighting alone. “ He was right, you knew that, but the idea of working with people, depending on them, trusting them...the last time you did that your mentor left you. Stick wasn’t big on feelings, or caring it seemed. Getting close to these guys, it would only cause unnecessary issues.

“I’m fine on my own.”

“Yeah, sure you are. Just look at you. Last time you almost died from blood loss. Now you wanna act all tough. Suit yourself. Next time you get cornered, we won’t be around to save your ass.” Raph really knew how to get on your good side.

He must have assumed you would reply with as much hostility that he just let off, but you turned, flexing your fingers and limping away. 

“I don’t need anyone. “ 

You were fine when you lost your dad, when Stick left. You’d be fine. As long as you kept fighting, you would be okay. You have to be okay.

“I need...to be okay..”

You held back the sob that threatened to leave, not even willing to chance a look as you forced your body to move forward.

Raph watched, feeling a tad bit guilty now. They all did.

You were dragging your right foot behind, and although you were a short distance now, they could hear the quiet whimpers you tried to keep in.

Leonardo felt his heart clench painfully.

You were young, burdening so much, and what was worse, you had no one. At least in the shadows, they had each other. They had family. From the looks of it, you weren’t as fortunate. He knew just how cruel the world could be to people who were different. 

After joining the NYPD, they felt like they were slowly but surely making progress. But you were nothing like them. You faced everyday in the light, probably getting trampled over for your disability, yet still going out every night to fight for a better day. That kind of burden, it would crush an adult, so the fact that you were doing it at such an age, it was terrifying.

Leo clenched his fists, eyes steady as he marched over in your direction.

“L-Leo I really don’t think you should..” Donnie knew his warning would fall on deaf ears, but he still tried. When Leo was standing right in front of you, you stopped, wiping your hand under your nose, trying to keep your voice down.

“Move.”

There was a tremble in your voice, despite your attempt to keep it strong.

“I’m not going anywhere until you agree to join with us. I don’t care if you think you work best alone, or that it is easier to be on your own. You’re tired, and if you keep going like this, you’ll die, and I can’t let that happen. So either you join us, or I fight you right here. Either way, we’re teaming up.”

“Dick.” you grumbled. Leo just smiled. 

“I’ve been called far worse. I’d take any insult if it were a guarantee that you’re safe (Y/N).”

Why the hell did he have to say your name like that.

Like he cared. He barely even knew you.

“So, you’re gonna fight, or you’re gonna let us help.”

You wanted to deny his help, if nothing but to avoid future heartache when they decided you weren’t worth the effort being around. But the warmth that emitted from his words, they gave you a slight hope.

And that’s what scared you the most.

Hope.

“Okay.”

What else could you do? You couldn’t exactly fight him in your state. You were just tired...so tired.

You could only take the chance, and hope for the best.

[tmnt-brave-new-world]

Interaction guidelines- The Rules RPs are currently open, please read the rules before interacting

The Rules

- Please Read the rules before interacting

-This is an Ask and RP blog. Rps will be taken under consideration, on a case by case basis

- Absolutely No one under 18, preferably 21+. I’m not planning to censor anything on this blog. If you are not of age, do not follow or interact. You will be reported and blocked

- Patience is a virtue. The Mun works an incredibly difficult and stressful job, that, because it pays the bills, takes priority. This blog is a platform for fun and interaction but can’t take precedence over the real world. Sometimes I’m super busy and it could be awhile before I respond to a post, or an RP. If you aren’t capable of patience don’t interact.

- Please be respectful. The level of respect you show this blog and others is important to the Mun. if you aren’t capable of acting in a mature fashion, you will be blocked. BE NICE…

- Absolutely no popup RPs in ask, without having discussed or plotted a story with the Mun.

- If you would like to RP please dm me with a story idea.

- This is not a tcest site. I’m sorry I don’t know how to write tcest, and don’t have a desire to do so. I feel that I would not be a decent or supportive rp partner if I’m not able to give it my best, and thus do not wish to mistreat or neglect those in the community who enjoy this type of RP

- No randomly appearing in the lair without being invited. Donnie has gone above and beyond to give them safety in their sanctuary. If you weren’t invited, you are not welcome in their home, as is the case with any stranger.

On to the boys!

- The boys are 2014/2016 Bayverse turtles but are mature adult men. Human age wise they are around 50, but maturity and body wise, somewhere in their 30’s respectively. They do not age the same as humans due to the properties of mutagen and their turtle mutant base type

- This is an AU set several decades into the future- please read the prologue to help understand a little more about the world they live in

- They live in a skyrise, penthouse. With state of the art- Donnie certified level protections put into place. Nothing gets in or out, without his knowing. He does not take the safety of himself or his brothers lightly

- The Boys do not belong to anybody and will not belong to anybody. They are free to interact with whomever they would like, in any way that has been discussed and planned between the two muns.

- They don’t know your muse, nor have had any previous interactions with your muse, and thus are not in love with your muse, or have an established relationship with your muse.

- If you want their love and attention you will have to earn it, just like you would in any other type of interaction

- Absolutely no god-modding. Example: its your 3rd time to respond and you’re attempting to have Leo princess carry your character to bed. This is not a natural flow to the story, and not going to happen.

- The boys may like certain features, or admire certain characteristics, however they are open to all body types, shapes and beings, so long as they feel a connection.

A quick explanation as to what the boys do with their free time in a world that knows they exist.

Leo: “We each found our interests and talents opened up a several viable options that had lead us each to a “unique” position.” Leo led as he gathered his thoughts. “Keep in mind after we managed to stop Krang and those who worked closely with him, the world was vulnerable. As far as my brothers and I were concerned, we had fought too hard and for too long for someone to simply slip into the power vacuum we had created and to continue to harsh reality Krang had created for Earth’s inhabitants. Due to this we each chose to do what we knew how to do and could most easily adapt as challenges presented themselves.”

He paused for a moment as he thought about the hardships, they had each faced and managed to overcome as they slowly helped right the world and returned her to standing on her own. A shimmering blue jewel among the galaxy and other worlds that had become familiar with the planet and its amenities.

“During our years in the resistance we managed to acquire wealth and assets. We were able to accumulate quite the little nest egg using those. Along with our acquired influence it opened many a door which in the old world would have remained not only closed but permanently locked to us.”

“I became a strategic investor. Buying the remnants of properties, businesses and services and either helping them to return to what they once were or repurposing to better suit the needs of this new era and turn a profit. It proved to be very profitable and allowed for me to continue to churn out profits which allowed for me to seek other properties and businesses to invest in or connect the right individuals with each other in away that led to my ability to offer the initial capital for a small percentage of the quarterly earnings. It helped people to create jobs and led to a lot of normalcy for those who desperately needed.

One hand washes the other, and this in its essence has lead to my own sector of the Tartaruga brothers incorporated. I have a multi-billion dollar operation on Earth and several branches operating throughout the universe currently.”

Donnie: “As Leo has said,” Donnie commented calmy, “our time resisting and fighting lead us each to our own talents. I spent a lot of time wearing many hats, which included, chemists, doctor, surgeon, agronomist, engineer, electrician, etc. to put it simply I spent a lot of time learning how to save lives, human and otherwise, and the best way to stretch our available resources in a way which led to people surviving. I also had to learn how to create medications which were so commonplace that many died without having them available. Most antibiotics don’t have a very long shelf life and when those ran out initially, we were in constant jeopardy of losing lives to the simplest of bacterial infections. My knowledge, and subsequent research lead to significant improvements and branching into many other factors, and shall we say break throughs.

Needless to say, the value of others wants, lead to my ability to fund the needs of the many. In my sector, I have several leadings areas including pharmacy, medical research, agrarian development, as well as generalized research and development in multiple fields from domestic to military. For obvious reasons, more detailed information is strictly classified.”

Raph: Raph chuckled as Donnie glossed over his closely guarded research. He was willing to kill to protect his research and continue to control the aspects that allowed him to fund the bulk of his interests and common welfare of those he blanketed with his programs. “They ain’t lying. After the world came back from going to shit, it took awhile to get it back up and going. Additionally, there were a lot of people, generally those not from this world that were way too determined to make sure we failed. This led to a lot of infighting and groups struggling for control. That tends to lead to a lot of shady business if you know what I mean, and it wasn’t like we had any type of social services such as police, fire fighting, or anything else. I initially took charge in areas like these.

I took a lot of care to train groups so that they worked together and were prepared to handle whatever problems came. It took a lot of time to cultivate proper training programs and help prepare people on how to help a traumatized world get back to functioning in a healthy way. I still help do this on planets and areas that are in recovery.”

“That being said however, my primary interest and “job” if you want to call it that, is training mixed martial artist prize fighters for the world federation galaxy league. Simply put we aren’t the only species that likes to watch trained athletes test their skills against one another within their respective brackets, or on specially contracted prized fights. I used to fight for the league and earned a lot of titles and prestige. I won most fights and was often the favorite to win after a while. I’m semi-retired and only occasionally enter the ring now days. However, I take and train promising talents for the league and other groups. I have also trained personal bodyguards for a variety of individuals.  Different specialties come with different specifics and contracts as well as costs. It takes a specific might set for each, and a lot of time to drill into a thick skull.”

Mikey: Mikey laughed at the turtle in red, “Oh yeah, and you were the king of thick skulled back when we were young, and dumb.” He barely dodged the throw pillow that was chucked at his head.  “Let’s see for me personally,” Mikey flashed a big grin, “I happen to be a master of many trades. During our days in the resistance, I learned a lot of different tricks to help make the food rations we had on hand not only palatable but nutritionally sound while feeding a literal army of people! So when it was possible I spent a large amount of time learning how to take fancy old world recipes and revamped them with food sources that were still available or recreated them with off world goodies. I also still paint, and love to collaborate with others to create amazing new concepts!”

His face darkened for a moment as he thought back to the early days of the resistance. “There were so many people who in the blink of an eye had lost everything, and unfortunately it was insanely common to find kids who had either been separated from their families or were the only survivor. In a lot of instances they were traumatized and it took a lot of creative thinking to coax them out of their shells and help to reteach them on how to live. This happened fairly frequently with adults as well. Because of this and what seemed like a never ending shortage of textiles, I had to learn and create new ways to make things and often times help find things that brought the sparkle back to peoples eyes. Because of this however, I have a multimedia conglomerate that allows me to work in a wide area of creative outlets. The fashion world is a flippant mistress, but there are a lot of ways in which one can compete and stand out. It’s led to a lot of lucrative contracts with those who are “starving” for the next amazing piece of creatively, or at least that’s what they tell me. The great thing about taking high end contracts and commissions is that a lot like my brothers, the revenue lets me continue to reach out to others. I fund a program that includes shelters called “Uncle Mikey’s” for those who are missing, exploited, or just need help. I also teach cooking, and practical skills for those who need them, and they are streamed to community centers such as local libraries, after school programs, and the like, to try and continue to help those who never received a chance to learn to do things due to the world kind of going through an apocalypse level event.

[kurlyfrasier]

Terrified: Part 5

Raph x Reader

Synopsis: Raph saves you from ruffians one night in an alley after watching out for you for weeks without you knowing. Which leads you to getting to know the guys and becoming part of the family. But Raph keeps a distance and you don’t understand why. 

Word Count: 1993

Warnings: I’m sorry. Also, I accidently switched back to 3rd person for the readers pov at the end of this. Oh, and some violence. Ummm....I have no idea what happened. I had no control, I swear.

I stormed out of Donnie’s lab to find Leo. He was considered a leader, maybe he would understand. Maybe he would get my hints. Or maybe I could convince him it was a waste of their time to see me home. Maybe-

“Oomph.”

“Whoa there, Y/n,” he set his hands on my shoulders, steadying me. I looked up through teary, frustrated eyes to find the very brother I had been looking for and launched, wrapping my arms around his neck as the tears silently flowed. He continued to hold me, rubbing gentle circles on my back as he cooed about how everything was going to be okay before I finally loosened my hold. He kept me in a loose embrace, looking down at me with worried eyes like any big brother would. I had always felt that brotherly pull toward all of them, except Raph; who made me feel warm and embarrassed and safe and frustrated.

“S-sorry,” I sniffled, rubbing the tears off my damp cheeks as my sight fell to our surroundings. Anything but him.

“Hey,” he leaned down to my eye level, shaking me gently to grab my attention. “Hey hey hey. There’s no need for apologies. Why don’t you tell me what happened so I can pummel who did this to you. Was it Raph?”

“Wha- Raph- Why?” I shook my head and met his ocean blues with a determined gaze. “That doesn’t matter- I think you guys should stop following me home-”

“Wha-”

“It’s not worth your time-”

“That’s not-”

“All of you have better things to do than make sure I get home safe-”

“Y/n,” Leo demanded my attention once more. “What brought this on? We want to make sure you get home safe. It’s not any trouble or a waste of time. We would do anything for you.”

“But-”

“You mean everything to-” He cleared his throat and towered above me, shifting on his feet. “Uh… to us. You’re like a sister to us. And we don’t let anybody hurt family.”

“Oh,” I breathed out, not feeling quite so burdensome. “Then maybe don’t force Raph to-”

“Raph? He’s the one who-”

“Yo! Dudette!” Mikey called from the couch just on the other side of the room. “When are we gonna race!?”

“Coming!” I answered with a tight laugh before looking back up at Leo. “Are my eyes red? You think anyone will notice?”

“No,” Leo smiled down at me. “Especially not Mikey.”

“Good,” I tiptoed up to peck his cheek with a quick thanks and skipped off to the couch, spirits lifted.

~~~~~~~~~~

Leo found Raph sitting against a wall in the darkened dojo, looking dejected. 

“She asked for us to stop accompanying her home,” Leo told him, voice quiet in hopes of not upsetting his brother.

Silence reigned, so he tried again as he sat next to Raph.

“She thinks we have better things to do than keep her safe.”

“Fine,” Raph sounded rough, defeated, hopeless.

“It’s not fine, Raph. She thinks she’s a burden,” Leo dragged his brother off the cold floor and slammed him against the wall.

“I heard ya, Fearless,” Raph growled out, shoving Leo out of his space. “Just like I heard her beggin ya not to force me-” he choked out. 

So this was your problem. Nobody got to you in the subway, except yourself. You didn’t want him and his brothers watching out for you anymore. You thought you weren’t worth their time- his time. Worst of all, he was the one that made you feel this way. Somehow he made you think you weren’t worth his time. That you weren’t good enough for him.

“You have to change her mind, brother,” Leo stated, calmer than he felt.

“Me?” Raph’s eyes bulged, incredulous. “No- I- I can’t. I’ll just mess it up. She already thinks- Just tell her I won’t follow her home if she doesn’t want me to,” he trailed quietly in the end.

“I’m not your messenger,” Leo ground out menacingly, getting nose-to-nose with Raph. “Fix this or you’re going to lose her.”

There was nothing Raph could say to that, even if he wanted to. It was the truth and he was terrified he had already lost you.

~~~~~~~~~~

Mikey and I were halfway through our last race when I noticed Raph and Leo walk in out of the corner of my eye, distracting me. Knocking me off the road. Or so I’d like to blame them when Mikey jumped up, rubbing his victory in my face. I ignored him. Setting the controller down I  glanced back where I saw Raph minutes ago, only to find him staring down at me barely an arm’s length away, a slice of my favorite pizza in hand.

I was stunned, to say the least, as my eyes shifted between him and the pizza he seemed to be offering me.

“Ya hungry?” He asked, raising the pizza closer to my nose.

“Uh, yeah,” I timidly reached for the slice, being extra careful not to touch Raph. One touch and I knew I’d be back to square one of Operation: Move on from Raph. While playing the videogame with Mikey I had decided I may not be able to get the guys to stay away, considering they all seem to be adamant about keeping me safe, but I could control how close I am to Raph. Ergo, the plan to stay away from him. To keep me from crushing even harder on him. To keep my heart safe. To keep my sanity.

Leo was right, I am family. To most of them, at least, and Raph wasn’t going to keep me away.

“Ready for the movie?” He asked, surprising me. Normally he didn’t start conversation with me. It was always nods and grunts. We had a… strange friendship, now that I thought about it. We never really talked, but I had always felt magnetized toward him. Probably due to the fact that he saved my life.

“Uh… yeah,” I bit into my pizza, turning away so as to not be intimidated. He was at least a foot taller than me and nobody could ever tell me those muscles weren’t unnerving. When I wasn’t drooling over them, that is. “I’ll probably just sit on the bean bag, by the way, so I’m not so much of a bother.”

“Yer not a bother,” he said, voice husky, drawing my attention. 

“My children,” Splinter stated. “You all know where drinks and more pizza is if you wish for more. I shall be meditating in the dojo. Enjoy your movie.” 

We all mumbled our thanks through mouthfuls of pizza as he strode away. I took the chance to move away from Raph and sat down on the edge of the couch, glaring at Donnie, who stole the bean bag and pretended like he had no idea that’s where I planned on sitting. Mikey started the movie as Leo turned down the lights.

I had just started to relax when I was suddenly lifted, only to be sat back down on Raph’s lap as he loosely held me in his arms. I stiffened in his hold, willing my heart to calm down. Reminding myself not to get comfortable, that I was going home directly after the movie. 

“Relax,” his breath tickled my ear as his arms snaked around my waist, pulling me closer. 

I nodded, unable to formulate any words as I unconsciously melted into his hold.

“You always sit here. On my lap,” he continued to whisper, resting his head on my shoulder. “Where you belong.”

What did he just say?

~~~~~~~~~~

You froze in Raph’s arms, breaths becoming uneven as the movie carried on. He had no idea what movie was picked for the night. Nor did he care. His mission: to confess all, hoping beyond hope that you wouldn’t run away from him. He supposed he could always keep you trapped in his embrace, never to leave him. But he figured you wouldn’t like that much if you did decide to leave. 

Eventually, after what seemed an eternity, you relaxed. Not long after that, he heard light snores rise to his ears. He decided that was his cue to carry you to bed. His bed. And this time he laid down next to you, more than a little unwilling to let you out of his sight, hopeful for tomorrow.

He laid there, intent on watching you sleep peacefully- just until he had to go on patrol. When you snuggled closer into his chest, his heart soared. Hair fell across your face and with a shaky hand he gently, carefully tucked it behind your ear. You sighed, stopping his heart. Vaguely, he wondered what he could possibly do to win you over. Eventually, he allowed himself to rest his arm around your waist, hoping it didn’t crush you. 

After a half an hour of so, Leo knocked lightly on his door, signalling it was time to go above ground. Reluctantly, Raph moved his arm that was on top of you, but you latched on- stopping him cold, afraid he woke you up. After a few seconds he realized you were still sleeping, slowly he slid his arm out of your grip and tip-toed out of his room without a glance over his shoulder. Although it didn’t seem to help the temptation to crawl back in bed with you.

Once out of the sewers they flew rooftop to rooftop, looking for thugs, Foot, Kraang- anything to make the night go faster. Thankfully, his brothers left him alone, but that also made it a quiet night. Which allowed his mind to work on overdrive. Distracting him with thoughts of you: the smell of your hair, your soft skin, your curves, the way you felt in his arms- so small in his grasp. Granted, most humans were small compared to him and his brothers.

So when they came across a handful of Foot, his mind was elsewhere. So much so, he scarcely noticed the glint of a blade coming at him. He blocked it with his sais. Just barely, forcing it to slide off the edge of his three-pronged weapons and sliced up his arm. He hissed at the burning sensation that seeped deep into his muscles- deeper than the cut itself was. He spun around to plunge with his uninjured arm, but was stopped short by an arrow flying into his bicep, forcing out a roar before he fell to his knees. 

His brothers were quick to surround him, easily knocking the swordsman down as the archer fled the scene, but not before forewarning them of Raph’s future- who had now face-planted into the pavement.

“It’s too late,” the archer shouted down at them as Raph succumbed to darkness. “He’s as good as dead.”

~~~~~~~~~~

You woke up with a start, recognizing the familiar 80s band posters and dumbbells surrounding you. You berated yourself, astonished you actually fell asleep in Raph’s arms the night before. You weren’t supposed to stay the night. That wasn’t part of the plan. Then you remembered what Raph said. That you belonged. You felt the blood rush to your cheeks as you swung your legs off the bed, preparing to face the typical Raph. The one who only looked at you to check for injuries. The one who kept his distance. The one who hid his kind heart that you had gotten a glimpse of that first night you met. 

You took a steadying breath and made your way to the door, not expecting three somber mutants to be standing outside of Donnie’s lab.

“What’s wrong?” You looked at Splinter first, then Leo, and Mikey. None but Splinter were able to meet your gaze. “Where’s Raph?”

Suddenly, you knew something was wrong. Your breath hitched, your heart sped, and blood drained down to your toes. You were terrified.

“G-guys?” You whispered out. The words were barely able to pass the lump in your throat.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Part 6

[heyheydidjaknow]

Can I have a lighthearted chapter? No, I cannot. Can I upload at the due date? Also no. But you can always count on me to make characters suffer. I would say that I'm sorry, but then I would be a liar.

Chapter 8

“Will you shut up?”

Donatello looks up from his computer. “Huh?”

Raphael’s eyes do not leave his magazine. “You’ve been muttering under your breath for the past hour and it’s starting to get on my nerves.”

“You’ll live.”

“You won’t for long if you don’t cut that shit out.”

He sighs. “Are you ever content with just leaving me be?”

“As your brother? No.” He sets the article down. “You’ve been acting weird all week. Usually, I could not care less, but you wreck enough shit without the added benefit of being distracted.”

He looks back at the screen. “So, I’m a ticking time bomb to you?”

“Yes.”

He looks back at the screen as he tries to think of how to answer. “It’s just that…”

“Oh, wait, don’t tell me.” He smirks. “You’re all depressed because your girlfriend has a life.”

He goes red. “I don’t care if—she’s not my girlfriend, first of all.” His voice rises.

“Sure, sure.” He stretches. “You know, typically, girls aren’t into guys who obsess over them.”

“Look, I’m worried about her!” He sets the computer down.

He blinks. “Why?”

“Are you kidding?” He throws his hands up in exasperation. “She killed a man!”

“Yeah,” he nods, “and I’m pissed I wasn’t the one to do it. What’s your point?”

“True,” he smiles cooly. “What you fail to consider, however, is that the rest of us aren’t psychotic.”

“I’m hurt.” He places his hand on his chest. “I will have you know that I’m definitely sane.”

“See, this is why nobody comes to you about their problems.” He leans his head back. “You ask why I’m down, and you immediately give me a hard time.”

They both turn their heads toward the entrance as their two other brothers walk back into the lair.

“How’d it go?” Raph gets up to meet them.

“You didn’t miss anything.” Leo sits down next to Donnie, glancing at his laptop before staring at the empty television screen. “Nobody was there.”

“Really?” Donnie’s eyes tear away from his computer screen. “Nobody?”

“Man, it was weird.” Michelangelo stays standing. “It was, like, two bots and then nothin’.”

“That is incredibly suspicious.” The tallest brother saves his work. “You used the stuff, right?”

“Worked like a charm.” Leonardo stretches. “So, what’d we miss?”

“Donnie bitching about not talking to his girlfriend for a whole week.”

“Can it,” he hisses.

“Donnie,” his brother speaks from next to him, “I’m sure that Y/N is perfectly fine. If you’re worried about her, you can and should go check on her.”

He groans. “If it were that simple, I would’ve done that by now.” He holds his head. “But what would I even say?”

He sighs, “I’m not going to say the same thing every time.” He gets up. “Mikey, you try. I’m going to go meditate if anyone wants to join.”

“Hey!” Mikey sticks his tongue out at him. “How come I have to do it?”

“Because Raphael is as cuddly as an eel.”

Raph glares. “Do you wanna go right now?”

“See?” He walks off. “And I did it last time. Your turn.” They hear the doors to the dojo slide closed behind him.

Mikey sits down in Leo’s spot. “If you want,” he offers as his brother walks off to the dojo, “I can try talking to her.”

“Would you?” He sighs. “I’m not good at this sort of thing.”

“For sure, man.” He gives him a thumbs up. “What are brothers for?”

“If you don’t make him do things,” Raphael warns, “he’s never going to learn to do them.”

“Man, he’s our bro.” He wraps an arm around his neck. “You can’t just leave your bro out to dry.”

“The hell I can’t.” He gets to his feet. “You guys have fun with that. I’ll be in my room.” He walks off, taking his pet turtle with him.

“Don’t listen to him.” He shoots his brother a thumbs up. “I’m sure everything will work out.” Mikey hopped to his feet. “Be back in a bit.” He waved, running out of the lair. “I’ll be back in ten.”

--

The look on his face is less than reassuring.

“Well?” Donatello, who has been checking the time religiously, is sitting at the door like a dog waiting for his owner. “How did it go?”

He smiles tightly. “I have good news and bad news.”

He groans, holding his head in his hands. “Just tell me.”

“Well,” he says hesitantly, crouching down in front of him, “she’s not dead.”

“That isn’t exactly a high bar to hurdle.” He takes a deep breath. “What’s the bad news?”

He pauses. “She’s… freaked out.”

“On a scale of one to ten,” he asks slowly, “with one being—”

“Nine.” His younger brother nods certainly. “At least a nine.”

He stands up. “I should go check on her.”

“Yeah, I don’t know what to do.” He rubs the back of his neck. “I think I made things worse, actually.”

“What else is new?” He runs out. “Tell Leo I’m going out,” he calls over his shoulder. He does not wait for a reply.

He does not blame himself entirely for the events currently happening; he is well aware that her inclusion into their mess was not willed by him. However, a part of him can not shake the belief that he and his brothers have, by virtue of their lifestyle, caused her more pain than he had ever wanted. A part of him, still, believes that he or someone else should have bitten the bullet; of them, you should be the last person in line to murder.

‘I should’ve said something, done something.’

He lands down on your roof, starting to scale down the building. You have left your window open: he can see your floral curtains fluttering in the autumn breeze. Artificial light streams from your apartment as soft music plays from inside. He lands on your windowsill carefully, reaching in past the curtains to knock on your wall. “Y/N?”

He hears the music shut off the shuffling of bedsheets, three steps. You pull the curtain open.

You have not slept in a week. You have continued to go to school, scared as to what would happen if you did not, but you have not eaten or drank in a while either; more accurately, nothing has stayed down. You have contributed these things, easily, to the newly introduced variety in your nightmares. You wonder, now, if seeing his body would have been such a bad thing; your head has conjured up every possible position he might have fallen in, anyhow. At least, if you knew, you would only have one image torturing you as opposed to the seemingly different variations your head could come up with.

Donnie is not a psychologist. He has never been able to fully grasp the subject as much as the others in the scientific field; all of medicine, for that matter, has, regrettably, been hard for him to wrap his head around, what with how different he and his brother are from humans, physiologically. His master was the closest he had to an actual human until you had shown up, but he was hardly exemplary of your typical human. However, be it by what knowledge he does have or by the way you hold yourself, he can easily tell you are off. The color in your face is gone, the bags under your eyes larger than he has ever seen them on you, and every move seems oddly sluggish to him.

“Oh, hey.” You smile tiredly. “If you’re here about Michelangelo, he was just here a few minutes ago.”

“I’m not.” He climbs inside. “He got back to the lair ten or so minutes ago. Are you alright?”

Your eyes are flooded with black for a moment, a wave of numb pain and vertigo washing over you as you spread your stance slightly, not wanting to trip over your own feet. You hold your face in your hand as you steady yourself. “Totally.” You wince as you nodded. ‘Let’s not move our head more than we need to.’

Years of attentiveness and common sense tell him that you are blatantly lying. “What happened?”

“Huh?” You close your eyes. “Oh, nothin.” You take a couple steps back, slowly sitting back down on the bed, which was covered in packets. “Please,” you insist, “make yourself comfortable.”

He shuts the curtains, crouching down in front of you to look your features over more closely as he tries to identify what, exactly, is wrong with you. “Am I allowed to touch you?”

You look down at him from your seat. “I mean,” you sigh, “you _can_, if you want. Just not anywhere a general physician wouldn’t touch, alright?” You give him a half-hearted thumbs up. “I trust you to know where you can and can’t put your hands.” You highly doubt that he has any bad intentions, really, but you want to make your intentions clear.

“O-oh, of course,” he nods quickly. “I wouldn’t do anything you wouldn’t—well, not that you wouldn’t—” his face went red. “I-I mean—”

“Dude, relax.” You roll your eyes good-naturedly. “Take a deep breath or I’m gonna the wrong idea.”

He does “S-sorry.” He rubs the back of his neck. “That was weird.”

“You’re all good.”

He presses the back of his hand against your forehead. “You don’t have a fever,” he notes, still red in the face. “Did you eat anything you normally wouldn’t?”

You give him a thumbs down. “I’ve only had soup. Do you want some?”

He blinks. “Soup?”

“Yeah.” You look back at the kitchen, where a pot of soup is sitting on the counter. “Ran out of leftovers a couple days ago.”

His eyes widen. “Days?”

You nod, wincing as you feel your brain pounding against your skull. “Yeah,” you sigh. “It’s been hard to keep things down. Glad I ran out, actually; I think I got a—”

He cuts you off. “How many days do you take between meals?”

You pause. “Now?” You shrug. “One meal every day or two.”

“Day or two?”

“Again,” you repeat, very confused as to why he looks as though he is about to have a heart attack right then and there, “it’s been hard keeping stuff down lately.”

“How are you not dead?”

You blink. “I beg your pardon?”

His voice rises as his speech sped up. “How many cups of that do you eat in a sitting?”

You sit up properly. “Maybe three or four and a couple pieces of toast?”

He looks about ready to pass out. “Are you insane,” he cries, an octave higher than usual.

You cover his mouth with your hand. “Shut up,” you hiss. “You’re gonna wake my neighbors up.”

He stops talking, grabbing your hand and pulling it off his mouth. He gets up, muttering something about being ridiculous as he pours you an unusually large bowl of soup and placing it in your lap. “Eat.” He stands there, glaring at you pointedly.

You are, admittedly, surprised by his icy, commanding tone. You do as instructed. “You act as though I’ve poisoned myself,” you point out between bites. “It won’t kill me, you know.”

“I’m not a licensed dietitian,” he informs you, clearly upset, “but the recommended caloric intake for a woman is approximately four thousand calories—”

“That’s wrong.” You are already halfway through the bowl. “It’s two.”

“Do you seriously want to get into a debate on something science-related right now?” You are genuinely scared by his expression; every word sounds oddly lethal, as if they themselves could kill you.

You swallow, standing your ground. “We can look it up, if you want,” you offer. “I know for a fact I’m… right…”

He has glared directly at you. It almost shuts you up.

You quietly eat the rest of the bowl. You set your spoon down with a gentle clatter, clearing your throat as you try to ignore the way he was staring at you as if he were trying to dissect you with his eyes. “Done.” You showed him the empty bowl.

“You genuinely see nothing wrong with your dietary choices?”

You shake your head, immediately regretting it. “I know it’s unhealthy, but not to the same degree you seem to think it is.”

“And you honestly believe that you only need to eat two thousand calories to be healthy?” His tone was softer now, likely in reaction to how quickly you had recoiled.

You nod hesitantly, ignoring the way your head pounds.

He pauses. “We’ll talk about that later,” he decides. “For now, I have to ask: why can’t you keep food down, exactly?”

You lean back, placing the bowl on the nightstand. You stay like that, closing your eyes. “I just keep seeing it,” you explain simply. “Hearing it, too; it’s kinda like tasting really bad and then having the aftertaste stuck on your tongue, but for memories. Or like doing something embarrassing and, every once and awhile, having something happen to remind you of it.”

“It? Oh.” As soon as he says the words out loud, he knows what you are referring to.

“Yup.” You pop the P. “I dunno if you knew, but it doesn’t splat.”

A heavy silence smothers you both, despite the sounds of the city.

You feel the bed shift. Your eyes glance over at the man lying next to you, hands folded across his stomach as he stares at the ceiling.

“I honestly don’t know what to say.” He sighs. "I wish I knew how to do right by you.”

“You don’t have to—”

He cuts you off. “I want to, though.” He rubs his face with his hand. “I want to be able to invent something that makes things easier for you, to keep you from getting hurt.”

“Dude, it’s fine.” You punch his arm lightly. “I’ll be fine, eventually. Just not right now.” You smile weakly. “But, hey? At least my dreams have a bit of variety, right?”

“Dreams?”

You chuckle tightly. “It turns out my head is rather creative when it comes to ways the body can bend. I almost wish I had seen the bodies; then they could all be consistent.”

He groans. “See, it’s stuff like that that makes me feel bad about not being able—not that it’s your fault,” he back peddles. “I just—”

“Stop stressing so much,” you cut him off. “That’s my job. Don’t put yourself into a tizzy on my account.”

“How could I not?” He threw his hands up in the air. “I care about you, Y/N. I’m obviously going to care if you’re alright.”

You pause. “My mental stability should be the least of your concerns right now, what with Shredder and all.” You close your eyes. “The only reason he hasn’t beaten you and your brothers within an inch of your lives is that I knew where he’d be when. All things considered,” you roll over to face him, “my having bad nightmares is a small price to pay.”

Another silence.

You sigh. “You should probably get going.” You pull yourself onto your elbows, leaning forward onto your knees. “I gotta stake out Shredder’s lair tomorrow so you guys know when to come in.”

He sits up next to you. “Y/N, I—”

“You should stop worrying so much, alright?” You smile gently. “I have some sleep meds if your dad needs them.”

He opens his mouth to say something, pauses, closes it again. “Alright.” He stands up. “I’m sorry for bothering you.”

“You didn’t.” He didn’t.

He stops in his tracks.

You rest your head on your legs. “Yeah?”

“Will we see you tomorrow?”

You purse your lips. “I don’t know,” you admit. “I’ll definitely call you, though; it’ll be something of a feat to hijack a hijacked chemical truck.”

He looks back at you. “Please, be safe.”

You nod.

“Eat, too.”

You nod again.

“And drink?”

You roll your eyes teasingly. “Yeah, Dad, I’ll eat.”

His face flushes again. “Then I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“You got it, buddy.”

You look so small.

‘I did that.’

He climbs onto the windowsill, hesitating to leave. “Goodnight.”

You wave lazily. “Goodnight, Donatello.”

He climbs out of your apartment.

You wait a minute or two before you close and lock your window. You pull the curtains shut properly behind him, walking back to the kitchen to put the food away.

You sigh, doleful. “Sorry.”

--

You were maybe thirteen years old. It feels like longer, but you were most certainly in middle school

Driving home after school one day, you had stared out the window, the radio playing something you half paid attention to. You don’t remember, now, what prompted the conversation—you figure it was some sort of assembly you had mentioned—but, somehow, the question of what to do if you were tied up in the back of someone’s car had been brought up. This was not an unusual line of conversation, considering your family’s conviction that you would be kidnapped someday, but you remember it specifically because, after he brought it up, you had run the scenario over in your head what felt like a thousand times.

“It depends on where you are in the car,” he had said. “If you’re in the back seat, you have to reach forward and try to choke the driver out, if you can’t get the doors open.”

“And if I’m in the front?”

“Ram your body against his. Get a hold of the wheel and swerve the car.

The line of thinking had confused you. “But,” you countered, “then the car would crash; we would both get hurt.”

“You have a better chance of surviving a car crash than whatever would happen to you once you get to wherever you’re going.”

You two had not spoken for the rest of the drive.

Now, you stare ahead at the road, eyes occasionally glancing at the man in the driver’s seat as you try to come up with a plan. You wish, now, that you had gone with your initial instinct to call instead of sending Leonardo a text message; who knows when he will get it?

“I feel almost sorry for you,” the man sneers. “You would be better off getting killed in the explosion than what’s going to happen to you.”

You say nothing.

“Hey?” He barks out a laugh. “You’ll get to see what happens to them.” He sighs happily. “I can see it now. The smoke, the fire, the smell.”

You eye the door. ‘Locked. Shit.’

“Those freaks won’t know what hit them.” He leans forward, staring at the truck in front of them. “Shouldn’t have messed with us if they didn’t want to meet their maker.”

‘Could I even survive it?’

“You know somethin’, kid?” He grips the wheel tighter. “I gotta give ya some respect; not a ton of kids would’ve come this far. Personally,” he shrugs, “I would’ve killed you right then, but Shredder wants more out of ya, apparently.”

‘Would he?’ You shift your feet to your right.

“I’ll thank you for one thing, though; I was getting sick of that pompous asshole.”

‘I just gotta get his hands away from the wheel. There are people in the back of this van. They’d survive, right?’ You fight to keep your breathing steady.

“For someone who hangs with those freaks, you ain't slick, hangin on the street corner.”

‘They’re ninjas. I gotta believe they’d be fine.’ You shut your eyes, stealing yourself.

“How you got Bradford is be—hey!”

You slammed your torso against him, eyes squeezed shut.

“What are you, fucking suicidal?” He yelled, trying to push you off.

You pull away, slamming one foot against his cheek and stuck the other into the wheel. You hear honking as you desperately bang your foot into what you pray is his body. You feel the car speed up as he screams obscenities at you. You force the wheel away from you as hard as you can.

The next few moments are a blizzard of broken glass, voices, and blackness as the metal deathtrap tries to shake the life out of both of you.

You figure that you must have passed out a second, for the next thing you remember is the smell of gasoline.

Your eyes snap open. You look over at the man stuck half out the window. You reach back, trembling hands fumbling with the buckle strapping yourself in. You slam yourself against the front window as you hear it click open. You use your arms to pull yourself through the hole, the rope slicing against a stray piece of broken glass.

Your head is spinning. The only thought currently on your mind is to get away from the car.

For some reason, you find yourself unable to stand. You, instead, crawl, dragging your body desperately away from the wreckage. You do not feel yourself doing it, ignoring the glass shards sticking themselves into your palms and under your nails, the way they slashed into your stomach and sides as you drag yourself over them completely irrelevant as you claw towards the sidewalk.

You hear the explosion.

You pull yourself into an alley, waiting for the ringing in your ears to stop as you hear the conflict happening a few blocks down. You swallow your vomit as you stare forward blankly, the smell of smoke filling your nostrils.

Another.

You fall forward, tears filling your eyes as the pain settles in. You do not know what happened to your legs, only knowing for sure that they could not and would not support your weight. Every muscle and every tendon is vibrating. Your hair sticks to your body as your clothes soak in some sort of warm liquid.

You do not like that smell.

‘Why is everything spinning?’

You hear yelling, the screeching of wheels against asphalt.

‘I’m going to die.’

The sentence repeats in your head over and over again as you lay there in the alleyway.

‘I’m going to die here.’

You do not know why you are shaking right now.

‘I don’t want to die here. Not now.’

“Help,” you beg. “Please, God.” You feel a sob rise in your throat. “I don’t… wanna…”

You hear screaming.

“Help,” you breathe.

You black out.

Table of Contents

Chapter 7

Chapter 9

[ayeshintheclouds]

I don’t really have a platform or any sort of public voice, I know. But there’s something that I want to talk about anyways because it’s really important to me and if even one person understands it or even sees it and keeps it at the back of their mind, it would make a difference in my opinion.

I want to talk about one of my best friends’ dads, Dr Hasan Gokal. You may have seen him all over the news, labeled “thief” by our lovely sensationalist media. I was really hesitant if I want to include him being my friend’s dad because I know it adds an element of bias to my argument. But I think it adds another perspective, another angle that the media can’t cover- I’m far enough that I have no obligation or pressure to go out of my way to support his cause. I’m close enough that I truly do see his side of it- the whole story unfold from before it ever hit the media: the struggle, the confusion, the misunderstanding and the pain that family is going through. My point is- I wouldn’t be writing this unless I truly believed him to be innocent.

Dr Hasan Gokal is accused of stealing vaccines. But he didn’t. Not really. He used up the remaining doses that were about to expire because he was ordered from higher ups to simply ‘find arms’ and use them all up because there was a shortage and we couldn’t afford to waste any. He filed all the appropriate paperwork, he asked permission from the highest higher-up available at the time. The word stealing implies the worst image: someone breaking in and stashing them in their bag and running. Which I know, is a technicality and it might technically be ‘stealing’ legally- but the way the media took that phrase and ran with it is extremely harmful to someone’s career. It is slander and deceitful, fueled by the media’s obsession with sensationalizing and demonizing people of color, especially Muslims. Especially someone who did something heroic and brave where he absolutely didn’t have to.

Dr Gokal was looking at the bigger picture, what truly mattered at that time, which was saving as many lives as possible as fast as possible. Each of those vials in his hands could have been someone’s life. Every arm out there was another person who could have caused another chain of infection. How could he bear to toss them in the trash? And I know- I know very well that protocol is important. The government, the healthcare system, they claim to take care of the bigger picture, “just do what we tell you, don’t think too much, too hard”

And I also know if everyone applied their own morals and ethics and ignored the system in place, there would be chaos. But in healthcare, you have to admit that there is a clear, clear grey area for unexpected situations such as these. These are unprecedented times, times with barely any frame of reference to look back on. All the protocol, all the rules, seem hastily made and vague and self contradicting. There’s orders from superiors to “find arms, waste nothing” And there’s orders from superiors saying to waste nine out of ten vaccines. Which are you supposed to follow? Dr Gokal was in an extremely grey area, and he made the best judgement call he possibly could have, given his time limit and his situation. He literally called and reported it to his superiors and filed all the necessary paperwork the next day. A ‘thief’ or anyone who believed what they did was wrong would not have done that.

Legality should not determine morality- wildly inhumane things were once determined legal by our country such as literal slavery.

This is not to say abandon all sense of propriety and do what your heart says- but I think Dr Gokal did an excellent job of balancing legality and morality. He did what he believed was right despite it being unconventional AND he followed all protocol- asking permission first as well as filing it in immediately after.

Admittedly, it may have been not the smartest thing to remove the vaccines from the site and administer them at people’s houses. Even so, it’s something that could have been cleared up with a fine or strict warnings. A court case and firing is very extreme for someone who was only going above and beyond to only do what the government and the hospitals were encouraging in the first place, to not waste.

Some aspect of racism definitely applies here, especially with the comment about “too many Indian names” brought up in court. The only reason he vaccinated many people from his cultural community was simply because they were the first ones he could reach. He called as many people as possible, his only goal was to just find arms. This would not have been brought up at all if the doctor were white and he vaccinated his friends Debby and Charles and Linda and Bob. No one would’ve raised an eyebrow and said “wow an awful lot of white people you vaccinated there.”

Well obviously? Maybe he was white and he knew many white people or lived in a white area? The sad truth is, that if it were a white man, he would be celebrated as a hero, not a criminal.

The racist comments I’ve seen are literally insane. I’ve seen people say Dr Gokal must be mailing vaccines to middle eastern terrorists- Please what?? I believe all logic goes out the window when some Americans see someone a few shades darker than themselves.

The biggest argument I’ve seen by far is- it’s not fair. But. How? These vaccines were being trashed. Wasted. They were not going to someone who could’ve deserved them more. They were being crushed when they were most needed, most precious. And most importantly- every person who got that vaccine was one hundred percent eligible. As in, if Dr Gokal hadn’t given his friends and family the about-to-be-trashed vaccines, they’d be in line within that next week anyways, consuming another entire set of vials. He could’ve gotten his people fresh new ones, but he didn’t because he felt it would be a waste of resources when there was already such short supply. This man prioritized you all’s health over his own family and community’s. He gave his people, his ‘inDiaN nAmEs’ the almost expired ones so there would be enough for the rest of the city. For all of you.

For every person he vaccinated that night, there opened up an empty spot in line the next day. A spot for your grandmother maybe, for your sick child maybe.

Someone could be alive today from his actions.

Dr Gokal helped conserve vaccines and he’s being labeled a thief. This is how our country rewards heroes. This is what our healthcare system prioritizes- petty legal formalities above human life. In a time when people are dying left and right, this is what they chose to focus their attention on. Hunting down a man who went above and beyond with zero regard for himself or his own gain and blasting him on social media and news as a criminal.

I’ve seen what it’s been doing to their family. They are so so tired of the stress, of the pressure. They don’t deserve this.

He is not a vaccine stealer. He is not some strange man from another country. He is American, just like all of you out there. He texts his daughter to please study and he plays hide-and-seek with Mikey the cat and he fixes our bikes when they break. He did the right thing and our blasted system is making him pay for it because we are so caught up in the details we hardly know right from wrong anymore. We are willing to let people die- as long as all the precious paperwork is filed, as long as our maze of systems remain perfectly in place.

Justice for Dr Hasan Gokal because he did what no one else could- care for his people. And maybe if our country cared half as much as he did, billions of people wouldn’t be dead today.

Please please sign this to help his cause

https://www.change.org/p/harris-county-district-attorney-kim-ogg-the-prosecution-of-dr-gokal-is-unjust-and-da-kim-ogg-should-stop-his-prosecution?utm_content=cl_sharecopy_27323511_en-US%3A4&recruiter=826836508&recruited_by_id=6d273550-c08c-11e7-8bf0-510c1cf8213e&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=psf_combo_share_initial

For the full story of what actually happened that night in detail:

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/10/us/houston-doctor-fired-covid-vaccine.html

Thank you for reading it means a lot🤍

[danzinora-switch]

Typing the Turtles (ROTTMNT) Part 1 - Raphael

This started out as an investigation into the turtles’ insecurities, because one thing the show does so well is demonstrate that they are still teenagers. And being a teenager is a confusing experience - there’s angst, drama, exploring one’s identity, a lot of growth, and overall figuring out who you are. That’s a messy process, too! And we see this mess in our turtles: they mess up, they’re learning, they self-doubt, they have fears and insecurities, but they’re also discovering their strengths and how to overcome their inner obstacles.

So after thinking about all this way too long, here’s my psychological breakdown of each turtle (I’ll be referencing MBTI and the Enneagram, but will include links for more general information on those if you don’t know what I’m talking about).

Raph: ISFJ, 6w5

The Defender, The Loyalist, The Big Brother, did I mention The Defender?

Raph is always helping out the little guy, whether that little guy is Mikey, Donnie, Leo, April or someone else. In the first episode, Mystic Mayhem, Raph is the one who notices poor Mayhem alone and scared, and suggests they should help him. He just met the little furball, and even after Mayhem attacks his face he’s still ready to fight some dog-jogger Yokai to protect him. He’s there when April’s school is attacked by Hypno (Hypno! Part Deux) and when she just needs her fan fixed (Repairin’ the Baron). He’s also there for a myriad of underdogs, such as Guy Flambe (Pizza Puffs). Interestingly enough, that episode also indicates that Raph has taken to moonlighting as the hero Red Angel of Preventing Harm.

Raph at his Worst: What is Raph afraid of? Beyond Mrs. Cuddles. Raph is afraid of being alone. But he also feels strongly empathetic when others are alone: Mikey on a solo mission in Hot Soup: The Game, Mayhem in the pilot, Frankenfoot when he runs away.  But why? 

If we look through the lens of the Enneagram, Raph wants security and support. The system/structure he is most committed to is their inner circle of family/friends. So nothing must happen to those he loves!

Raph has also demonstrated Worst-Case Scenario thinking when he’s stressed. Alone for 5 minutes in Man vs Sewer? Expect the worst. In Nothing but Truffles, Mikey even flashes back to a Raph lecture about what to do in the event of a: shark attack, vampire attack, werewolf attack, and puppy attack.

That said, when someone does hurt someone he loves, or sufficiently threatens/scares him and/or his support system, all his disaster-planning goes out the window in an effort to SMASH IT LIKE A BOSS! (Counterphobic 6).

He puts a lot of pressure on himself, but it’s not really about failing in big moments (as Leo describes it in Mystic Mayhem and Down with the Sickness, but that says more about Leo than Raph), but more about letting the others down. He needs to open the gateway to the Mystic City or else they’ll lose April forever. He needs to think of something to ask for in the Must Say Yes stage that will please all his brothers and not leave anyone out. And, in Insane in the Mama Train, Raph is the one most affected when Splinter says he’s disappointed. The others were willing to brush it off and apologize, but Raph is aware that they let Splinter down. It’s something worse, and he feels that hurt, deeply.

Raph is also sensitive enough that he sometimes takes things too personally. When Mikey and Donnie have a good idea in One Man’s Junk, he internalizes it as ‘Raph never has a good idea’. Mikey sorts that out the best: “We’re not saying you don’t have good ideas, Raph. We’re just saying we do, too.” It seems to snap him out of self-deprecating funk.

Average Raph: Raph wants to protect those he loves from physical threats, but also emotional ones. That’s why he’s so bad at handling interpersonal conflict. He can’t yell at Donnie in Donnie’s Gifts. He can’t yell at (Mike? Lou? Tony?) in the Pizza Pit because “it’ll destroy him”. He’s super conflict-averse when it comes to those he cares about. He doesn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings (ISFJ). Mostly this is a kind, caring, compassionate trait, but sometimes the situation needs Dr. Delicate Touch.

He’s the supportive friend and brother. He’s always ready to help out, whether it’s fixing April’s fan (Repairin’ the Baron), rescuing Guy Flambe from Meatsweats (Pizza Puffs) or saving Mayhem from the mirror. He’s encouraging… but sometimes to the point of enabling. In Pizza Puffs he recognizes this the most and literally wrestles with himself over trying to let his brothers fix problems on their own without him there to protect them. Sometimes he can’t help but support his friends even when he doesn’t want to: when he’s volun-told by Mikey to help warm Draxum up to humans, he doesn’t ditch, and when April invokes the Birthday Card to help Warren Stone he honors it. He can be dedicated and loyal to a fault.

He can be a little short-sighted, at times. His team-building exercise in Stuck On You was meant to be a positive, brotherly, bonding experience, but suffered from serious drawbacks. His tenacity in smashing foes is admirable, but doesn’t always get the best results, something Donnie tries to get him to see and think through. But they’re also what makes him a force to be reckoned with. You do NOT mess with Raph’s inner circle and expect NOT to get smashed, hoss! And the fact that his brothers know that he has their backs like this is probably its own form of support and security.

Raph at his Best: He believes in the Mad Dogs the most, that they can be and are heroes. “We’re do-gooders! And what do do-gooders do? They do good! And they do good well.” (The Mutant Menace) His compassion and commitment to protecting the underdog keep the others on track and in line with their goals. He is the rock in the middle of the chaos.

Raph actually has good practical skills: he has the mission calendar that only he seems to consistently stick to, and clearly enough self-discipline to responsibly and reliably sleep with his retainer on every night (Flushed, But Not Forgotten)

He also has the most grounded sense of duty. When they’re watching the skateboarding livestream in Gilbert’s Department store in The Longest Fight, Raph is the one who first investigates what sounds like a robbery, and is the one who cajoles his brothers into fighting the Foot. It’s a ‘look, guys, we have to do the right thing here and prevent them from stealing!’ moment. Pizza Puffs: look, guys, you’re going to have to learn to solve problems without me, it’s for your own good! (He knows that’s what needs to happen, even though he’s at war inside over it).

Raph says: what’s the responsible thing to do? And he’s trying to get his brothers to understand this as well (Pizza Puffs).

Raph Relationships:

Donnie: despite the lack of a full Donnie & Raph episode, they have a few surprising things in common. They each have an episode where they want their brothers to learn something. Donnie, in Mind Meld, wants his brothers to be smarter and plan ahead. Raph, in Pizza Puffs, wants his brothers to use some common sense and be a little more responsible. They both like finding solutions to problems, just one focuses on technical and one focuses on interpersonal problems. Mostly (for right now, though) Raph can be blunt with Donnie. He’ll slap the genius in the face with reality. “Donnie! The mech is REAL!” (The Purple Game). “Donnie, I know you know how to say it. We’re all on to you.” (Air Turtle). This is one turtle with whom he can put his foot down and say ‘hey! Back to Earth, now!’ (I can also see them collectively sharing facepalm moments in the future).

Leo: there are times when Leo’s need to be the best and stand-out attitude clash with Raph’s focus on teamwork (Air Turtle, for example “take your win-at-all-costs attitude somewhere else, Leo, we need to work as a team!”) but they do get to a point where both of their strengths in the group strengthen each other, like how iron sharpens iron. Raph wants everyone to work together as a team, but Leo sees their individual strengths. Without that, we get Raph’s glueball disaster in Stuck On You, but together, we have their greatest moment in Many Unhappy Returns. Leo points out the parts each member have to play, and Raph puts it all together in one big plan to defeat the Shredder. “Trust me, bro.” “I do.” (I’m really excited to see where the show goes with this).

Mikey: the main Mikey & Raph episode right now actually seems to be Repairin’ the Baron, and there’s an interesting clash going on here. Raph believes and supports his system, his family. Draxum has been the mortal enemy of the Mad Dogs and deserves to be smashed. However, Mikey is adopting him into the family. Raph is not immediately okay with this, he has a hard time trying to change his inner world. But he cares about Mikey. As he tells Draxum “I’m still trying to get used to this, but Mikey thinks you’re part of the family. And the number rule of the Mad Dogs is: you always take care of family!” They’re actually very complementary, as Mikey can step in in emotionally charged situations where Raph can’t, and how his adaptability gets through Raph’s need for stability. (It will be interesting to see what Raph does as Mikey grows up).

Ultimately, I’m excited to see Raph grow as he figures out the best way to guide this team and save the world. Home is where the heart is, and he’s got a big enough heart to be the home for a lot of people.

So that’s my (unbelievably cut-down) analysis of Rottmnt Raph! I’m going to save the relationships with April and Splinter for later, since this is already too long. Here are the links to learn more about the ISFJ and counterphobic 6w5 if you’re interested:

https://www.16personalities.com/isfj-personality

https://www.enneagraminstitute.com/type-6

https://enneagrampaths.com/2018/04/09/im-afraid-im-going-to-punch-you-discussions-about-the-phobic-and-counter-phobic-enneagram-type-six/

https://www.crystalknows.com/enneagram/type-6-wing-5

https://thoughtcatalog.com/heidi-priebe/2016/01/mbti-and-the-enneagram-2/10/

[fanfic-inator795]

Okay so, it’s pretty evident by now that Rise!Mikey has a bit of Sixth Sense, leading to him being incredibly on point with certain observations or even seemingly doing the impossible. Some examples of this on the top of my head:

Realized that there was real lunar weapons under the fake panel of the Moon Buggy in ‘Repo Mantis’

Knew EXACTLY how to distract Gus in ‘Bug Busters’ and did so without any hesitation

Was somehow able to mentally communicate with Bullhop and Todd in ‘Bullhop’ and ‘Nothing But Truffle’

The ‘Lights Off Jitsu’ pay-off in ‘Hide and Seek’

Somehow guessing exactly when Shredder would reappear in ‘Many Unhappy Returns’

Now, Rise is a very silly cartoon, so these ‘sixth sense’ examples could also just be chalked up to a running gag/jokes/coincidences. But honestly, given that all mutants in this series have some sort of power/ability even if it’s minor, and his bros all have abilities that don’t directly connect to their weapons (Raph’s natural strength, Leo’s natural speed and Donnie’s natural talent with tech), then why can’t Mikey have a bit of a sixth sense?

So, Mikey being very observational when he wants to be - which ties great into his out-of-the-box/use-your-surroundings fighting style that he uses them most out of all his bros - as well as being very emotionally intelligent (see ‘Breaking Purple’) gives him quite a bit of an edge. In relation, I’ve also noticed that even before ‘Repairin’ the Baron’, Mikey has been the least afraid of Draxum. There have been exceptions, of course, like in ‘Insane in the Mama Train’ when they were ALL terrified once they realized Draxum was there. 

But then you look at eps like ‘Bug Busters’ where he was so sure that Draxum was there to rescue them when he busted into Mama’s office, and ‘Evil League of Mutants’ where he wasn’t afraid of Draxum at all (hence why Raph had to push his head into his shell and pull him back, lol) and only became worried when the rest of the villains made their appearance.

The only other villain he’s done this with (other than his personal idol, Meatsweats, which is something ALL the boys and April are guilty of) is Recruit - someone who, similarly to Draxum, the show seems to hint at having some additional depth and reasoning for why she acts the way she does and has certain goals. She tries to kill him and wreck his First Solo Mission Ever, and yet the next time they meet he still calls her their ‘frenemy’.

So what exactly am I getting at here?

Well, we know Mikey’s main reasoning in ‘Repairin’ the Baron’ for why they should help Draxum was that he’s technically family, a message that has been fairly controversial and seen as harmful in other shows (though thankfully in Rise it’s more ‘give them a chance to be better’ and not ‘forgive them before they’ve put in the effort’), but what if there’s another reason?

I already mentioned in a previous post that, due to his observational and emotional skills, Mikey might have picked up on Draxum’s true motivation through his monologues - that being wanting to protect Yokaikind from the ‘human threat’ and wanting to save his people rather than just being destructive for destruction’s sake like the Foot - which would in turn make Draxum seem like less of a villain and more of a guy who’s doing the wrong things for the right reason (i.e. someone who has the chance of seeing the error of his ways and being better).

But, what if in addition to that, Mikey just had a feeling that there was something in Draxum - something good that could be brought out, hence why even before they started learning more about his motivations, Mikey was always a bit friendlier towards Draxum than his brothers were. 

Now I understand this isn’t exactly a problematic-free take either - the idea of a character feeling like they can change someone because “I know there’s good in them” and hanging onto that idea even after they’ve done awful things has also been heavily criticized as a harmful message - but for a character like Mikey who can be very optimistic, friendly and caring to others while still being more than willing to do what he needs to in order to protect people and save the day, it just makes sense that he would be willing to take a chance if he sensed that Draxum could be good (or at the very least, knew he wasn’t ‘totally evil’).

So yeah, tl;dr - not only was Mikey helping Draxum possibly foreshadowed from as early as ‘Bug Busters’, but with how scarily-accurate and correct Mikey can be at times, there’s a VERY good chance of Draxum eventually doing enough work and growth to earn his redemption and forgiveness/acceptance from the other characters.