#i was also autistic (pause for the gasps of surprise because this is surprising) so i didn't know how like. body language worked | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

spooner-the-trinity · 3 years ago

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How would the writing of Rick and Morty fuck up the World of PokeAni

So, how about that winter special, eh? While I must admit, the two-parter format was magnificent, the second half needed a few extra elements like a few extra episodes, Team Rocket interacting with their doppelgangers, even an extra main villain and an added caveat to their generic plan. What other details would I have in mind? Given my autistic brain...

Yeah, I’m doing a Rick and Morty Crossover episode and I’m also thinking like the original creatives behind that show as if they had creative freedom allotted to them by the PokeAni staff who had to go along with their dark places. Mainly the restrictions that they were only allowed to kill off any three PokeAni characters they pleased in the finale, the rest would only be reduced to defenseless infants/PokeEggs at ‘worst’. The moment at a random convention where Dan Harmon is grilled on whether he’s killing people after confirming its continuity to both shows and holds up three fingers to confirm those two things, it will cause quite the riot and stir discussion in the PokeAni community that three important characters will be dying in the crossover event. It would go on to be such a big deal that big name celebrities and even news shows in western countries would share their two cents on the looming calamity about to befall the world that has charmed generations since the late 90s.

The special opens as normal, but there is an added scene where in a random hospital in Unova, a Swoobat magically appears onto a hospital bed and takes a deep gasp only to find an armored figure with what appear to be antique eggs adorning its chest and arms blasts it with a sort of energy. We cut to Ash who is informed that Professor Oak and all the Pokemon Ash had stored in his pasture have mysteriously vanished. The episode proceeds to hit the same beats all the way down to Pokemon forgetting moves and devolving into eggs up until Mirror Team Rocket pimps in with the armored guy in tow to fight the Pokemon. It surprises them because Humans don’t usually fight Pokemon, but they chalk it up to another Team Rocket contraption waiting to be wailed on by Ash and crew including Champion Cynthia who has whipped out her Garchomp for the occasion.

Of course, the effects of the biological rewind take effect and the armored man uses it against Garchomp, bodying the poor thing down to a Gibble he mercilessly choke-holds before turning it back into an egg. He commands the main-universe Team Rocket to escort the egg back to base with all the eggs in Rowan’s lab which are gathered by other troops adorning eggless variants of the Pokearmor that are able to utilize Pokemon moves on top of augmenting their blaster aim. A few of them can even fly including the main figure who kicks Cinderace and Pikachu to the ground with enough energy to knock ‘em down a peg on their evolutionary tree. Cinderace ends up a Raboot in a Yamcha death pose and Pikachu a Pichu because of such a kick. We continue up to where AU Team Rocket explain their scheme before a regressing Lucario (Riolu) and Intelleon (Drizzle) which is beat for beat what Royal Pain had in mind during the movie Sky High. The mainline Team Rocket appraises the plan but when Meowth is about to dish out his compliment

Meowth: With your help, we’ll be utterly un-uhh-aahhh! Armor Guy: What’s wrong? Cat got your tongue? Meowth: aah! aah! Aaowth! Muraaowth! Armor Guy: Since you’ve eaten your words, I’ll guess for you. Wobuffet: Wabah! <Look out!> Armor Guy: (Zaps main Team Rocket down to Infants and eggs with Wobuffet merely scraped down to a Wynut as the Armor guy’s helmet is undone to reveal Evil Morty) Unambitious Given this was a gimmick too important for certain realities like my own not to imitate. AU Team Rocket: (Shivering in their shoes as Wynut!Wobuffet flees the scene before it is promptly paused by:) Stan Lee Rick: See the Season Four finale of Rick and Morty, Dum-Dums! Excel-urp-cior! AU Team Rocket: Team Rocked would prefer to be (Zapped by Evil Morty) BLASTING OFF AGAAAAAaaaaiiiIN!!!!!

With both Rocket Teams disposed of, Evil Morty is the center villain who has reverted Dialga and Palkia into Eggs which now power his new armor alongside an equally regressed Groudon and Kyogre on his gauntlets. And sure enough, he wipes the floor with all of the gang’s remaining Pokemon, reverting them into eggs and turning the children younger before zapping them down to infancy before the idea of praying to Arceus could cross their minds. Cue a cutaway to Rick and Morty still adrift in a void between realities when a familiar face from the Movies shows up.

Yes, Sam from Pokemon 4Ever and a young trainer named Kana (I will reveal her Dub name at the end to preserve the surprise) emerges from a heavenly light in need of assistance with his world under threat. The two agree to his terms on the condition that whatever space-warping being return them to their universe. The episode that follows leads Rick to an army of super soldiers as we get a glimpse of Evil Morty staring intently at Pikachu’s egg with a Chameleon Arch on his head. Rick is told not to kill them by Sam, so he incapacitates them by increasingly brutal means before reassuring the blood-soaked Sam that, yes: ‘They’ll live.’ By the time they make it through the first half of the episode, Kana is met with a soldier that Rick cracks the helmet off of: An aged-up Ash Kachum, with Evil Morty’s consciousness overwritten onto his own to become just another puppet for Evil Morty to control for a big announcement: He is no longer a Morty but a being hell-bent on eliminating every trace of Rick Sanchez across every possible reality. Thus, he christens himself Stillverse and sicks all the super-soldiers he created from gene-splicing the Trainers and Pokemon into a new breed of chimera dubbed ‘Nuzlocke’ One team is literally the cast of the webcomic Myths of Unova. While the rest mix and match Pokemon to the point where pairs of certain characters are spliced with different Pokemon (Main Ash is spliced with Charizard and Lucario, whilst Mirror Ash is spliced with Pikachu and Bulbasaur)

They barely escape with their lives and make their climb to the peak of Stillverse’s armored fortress at the start of the fourth and final installment of the crossover... But seeing who Sam and Kana are forced to put up with, it won’t be without the loss of life, Sam pushes Kana out of the way of a blast from Stillverse himself which reduces him to a baby as he falls into a vat of acid. This results in the first death the Rick and Morty team are allotted to mandate upon the PokeAni, and the death of Professor Oak without even a goodbye shocks and horrifies fans who were watching this hypothetical episode as it would have aired. And we’ve still in the first half of the episode. After Stillverse reveals that he had bodyjacked a Pikachu gijinkafied by gene-slamming, he proceeds to overwrite Rick’s existence in C-137 and all traces connected to such a being through merging the two Pokeworlds with C-137 and watches a beat-down from a brainwashed Ash, Wynut!Wobuffet gives a heartfelt speech about who Ash is and the bond between human and Pokemon before Stillverse reverts the poor normal-type to its egg and crushes it beneath his foot. Big Mistake, because seeing a Pokemon get thoughtlessly killed snaps Ash out of it and prompts him to attack Stillverse with bloodthirsty rage in a dramatic eight-minute fight sequence that looked like it was lifted from Dragonball Z. And it ends with Stillverse’s concsiousness being deleted with a magnetic punch to the face that ends up frying Ash’s arm off and killing poor Pikachu in the process. As the third and final victim of the Dan Harmon flying circus succumbs to his injuries in his trainer’s arms over a white background, the former rodent sees Ash as the Ash he knew and loved over this long and incredible journey. The episode ends with a sad insert song playing over this scene, the voice actress behind Ash giving it her all for this final performance as the Ash we had followed for over two decades and has now awakened to a horrifying sight, his never-say-never shonen protag attitude extinguished by Stillverse robbing him of his Pokemon, his partner, and his childhood. Kana goes forth to comfort Ash, her once proud son now thoroughly broken. (The dub calls her Della, short for Delia)

And the cherry on top, Harmon informs Wooden Plank Studios to shoehorn the plot of this tragedy into the ongoing ‘Everyone got murdered by Sephiroth so now Kazuya has to bring everyone back’ arc. If you want some deets on that, feel free to ask.

Events pop up all across every Pokemon Center, comic shops, record stores that have VHS tapes on sale, and even the former Pokemon Center in New York for the premiere of JN093, styled as a funeral for Oak, Wobuffet and of course, Pikachu. The ‘Celebrate Pikachu’ campaign, though controversial in nature especially when Comedic legend Betty White would pass over a week afterward, proves a successful premiere party for the opening salvo for the Pokemon Legendary Journeys arc.

The episode itself opens with Misty backed into a corner when her last Starmie is reverted into an egg, she pulls out a gun and fires at the mook staring her down, piercing her eye right as Evil Morty’s mind control dissipates, exposing the child soldier to ‘red water’ and revealing her to be the very Piplup whose kidnapping at the hands of AU Dawn set this entire tragedy in motion. This and unloading the lead of the pistol leaves Misty distraught and horrified. Meanwhile, Brock finds his lower body crushed from his Steelix turned Onyx getting reverted right as it is holding up debris, severely crippling him. When Steelix nearly immediately returns to normal, Alder informs Brock that Stillverse is no more, a relieved Brock passes with no regrets. (Or at least, he would have, had it not been for protesting PokeAni staffers upset about the dancing around the rules Dan and company have been doing with storyboards) The show then unveils moments of the liberated Nuzlocke soldiers undergoing physical therapy at the very hospital from all the way back in the Indigo League era before cutting to a despondent Ash looking at a prosthetic arm he got midway through the montage. The day has arrived for the funeral of Professor Oak, Wobuffet, and of course... Pikachu. Any and every Pokemon that had shared a meaningful interaction with these three throughout the run of the show leave flowers for them. Including Lt. Surge and his mournful Raichu who are revealed to have been among the spliced alongside half the Gym Leader and Elite 4 population that had manifested over the eight generations of Pokemon games.

Half the humans of both worlds have been spliced into Nuzlocke vessels for Stillverse and are considered damaged victims at best (aforementioned Gym Leader/E4 spliced) and sins against nature at worst (everybody else). And to make matters worse, Stillverse’s Universe colliding scheme and the Luigification between counterparts has caused the two worlds to merge together in a haphazard fashion where the gates are abundant and lead to any other world in the Super Smash Bros pantheon, there’s even a gate into Sinnoh’s distant past. The people go to Delia for help, due to Oak naming her as his rightful successor in his last will and testament. Goh wants to investigate with Ash and all of his spliced Pokemon offer to come along. Ash’s response. “I can’t.” His matured young adult voice making it clear that he wants no one around anymore. The idea is proposed to find Xerneas and use its power to resurrect Pikachu, Ash agrees but only if he goes into that gate alone. And so, the next arc is set up and the Pokemon Legends Arceus adaptation begins.

So, yeah. All this for a missed opportunity to adapt the upcoming game through Dialga and Palkia’s antics.

#pokeani #rick and morty #pokeani au

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thewalkingdeadimaginings · 7 years ago

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This Is Forever

HI umm I was wondering if you could do a one shot where the reader has been a part of Alexandria for a while and she and Daryl have started to fall for eachother without the other one knowing and she goes to The sanctuary and offers herself in return for daryls safe return to Alexandria? And then negan calls Daryl into his room and makes a scene causd he's jealous about how the reader is in love with Daryl and Daryl finds out that way and somehow Daryl and the reader end up "getting cozy ;)" HI I just sent a request for a Daryl X reader one shot where the reader gives herself to negan in exchange for daryls safe return to Alexandria, sorry it's me again lol! I forgot to ask if you could also make it like negan brings the reader to Alexandria in horrible condition all tied up and Daryl sees it and it drives him crazy before they some how end up "getting cozy ;)" lol I'm so sorry this is so much to ask! I love your writing by the way!!<33

Somehow, I’m kinda sorta catching up but also not really because I have a million more requests left to write I am such trash omg how did I earn 1,000 followers? Hahaha I didn’t have a chance to write at all last weekend. I was at a charity event my dad runs every year. All the proceeds go to an amazing local charity for autism. From merchandise and raffle tickets alone, we made 5,000 dollars. That’s not counting things like ticket sales and getting in the door. That hasn’t been counted yet. If you wanna hear more about it, let me know because this charity is close to my heart because my brother is autistic. If you wanna know more about it, I’m gonna post it on another blog on wordpress so let me know!! Also, just a reminder that I do have a Wattpad account. My username is PerfectInsanity17 but I haven’t posted in a while for one because I’ve been working on this and secondly, not a lot of people were reading my work so I paused for a bit. But I’ve got three stories to read on there. If you’d like me to keep going on those stories, let me know!

How did you end up here?

A few days ago, things were wonderful. Things couldn’t get any better. Maggie and Glenn would be having a baby, Alexandria was thriving, you were rebuilding the wall. The only complaint you had was that your friendship with Daryl had become more and more complicated. The more time you spent with him, the stronger your feelings got. But he constantly kept you at arm’s length and there was no possible way to get more than friendship from him. But if that was your only complaint, then you really had nothing to worry about.

How could so much go wrong in just a few days?

In just a few days, Alexandria’s only doctor was killed, Daryl ran off to get vengeance on her killer, Glenn, Michonne, and Rosita went after him, something went wrong with Maggie’s baby, and mere hours later, Glenn and Abraham would be dead, murdered mercilessly right in front of you and the entire group. And you would watch Daryl, bloody, pale, and weak being dragged away as a prisoner. All because of one man. All because of Negan.

You’d caught Negan’s attention briefly but it was nothing more than a smile and a nod from him. You wanted to cry out in protest when he had Daryl thrown into a van and driven away but Rick told you not to. The crushed skulls of your friends didn’t hurt in convincing you to stay quiet either.

How did you get here?

It was only a few days later when Carl got the crazy idea in his head to sneak into a savior’s truck and head for the sanctuary. You weren’t sure which was crazier, Carl’s plan to kill Negan, or your plan to switch places with Daryl. How much good would switching with Daryl do? Probably wouldn’t help all that much. But Daryl would be home where he belonged. You had no idea what they were doing to him and that made your heart ache even more. He was already an abused man with a bruised soul. He might not recover from even more damage. If you could get him away from all this, then you would. You’d walk through fire for that man.

The things one does for love.

Seeing Carl with such bloodthirst was unsettling. He managed to take out two of Negan’s men before someone stopped him. And through it all, Negan was nothing but amused by the situation.

“And you,” Negan said when you emerged. He pointed at you with his bat, its barbed wire fresh and clean, as if it didn’t have flesh hanging off it and blood dripping from it like a leaky faucet just a few days ago. The memory of Abraham and Glenn’s flesh dangling from the barbed wire made you nauseous.

“What’re you doin’ here?” Negan asked.

“I wanna make a deal with you,” you stated. Laughter erupted from the men surrounding the truck but Negan was quiet. Once the laughter died down, he let out a chuckle and rested the bat on his shoulder.

“Shit, could’ve just driven here yourself,” he said, “Don’t gotta be a stowaway. Come on in, let’s talk about this deal.”

You’d caught a glimpse of Daryl before Negan took you and Carl outside. He was rounding up walkers for some reason you couldn’t quite understand. He was filthy, his thin hair soaked in sweat, his face marked with cuts and bruises that made your blood boil with rage. At least he’d recovered from being shot. He was alive, that was the most important thing. That’s how you had to rationalize it to keep from losing your mind. Otherwise, you weren’t sure what you would’ve done.

“So, what’s your name?” Negan asked once the two of you were alone, “Didn’t have a chance to ask when we met.”

“Between murdering two people and kidnapping another, how could you have found the time?” you shot back, “Name’s Y/N.”

“Shit!” Negan exclaimed, slamming his hands down on his legs, “You’re just full of piss and vinegar, aren’t ya?”

“Look, I came here to make a deal with you, Negan,” you said, “You gonna hear me out or not?”

“By all means,” Negan said, “Don’t be shy, Y/N. I’m shakin’ in my boots.”

“I was hoping you’d let Daryl go.”

“Not a chance.”

“Let me finish,” you snapped, “Let him go and take me in his place.”

“You gotta forgive me, Y/N,” Negan chuckled, “I’m kinda confused. Why would you give a damn if you were here instead of him?”

“Because he doesn’t deserve whatever you’ve put him through.”

“Funny you should say that,” Negan said, “Because Daryl seems to think differently.”

“That doesn’t surprise me,” you said, “But that doesn’t change the fact that he doesn’t deserve this.”

“And again I say, why do you care?” Negan inquired.

“Because I love him,” you blurted out, “And I need him to be safe.”

Negan’s smile fell and he leaned back in his chair. He was no longer amused by the situation. You couldn’t imagine Negan being jealous considering this was the only time you’d ever spoken. Then again, he was quick to murder two people he’d never met before. So, maybe he was quick to…lust.

“You stay right there,” Negan said, hopping up onto his feet. The sly grin was back on his face as he headed for the door, “I will be right back. Just give me two minutes.”

You leaned back in your chair, allowing yourself to get just a little comfortable as Negan left the room. It probably wasn’t the greatest idea to get the slightest bit comfortable. If Dwight or any of Negan’s other meathead henchman came in, you’d be screwed. Negan could easily trap you in this comfort you’d sunk into.

After a few minutes, Negan returned with Dwight following close behind, dragging Daryl by the collar of his sweatshirt. You gasped but Negan held out his hand before you could get up.

“Don’t move,” Negan said, turning his attention to Daryl, “Well, Y/N made an interesting offer. Would ya like to hear it?”

“What did you do to her?” Daryl snapped.

“Nothin’ at all,” Negan retorted, “Now pay attention. Y/N seems to think you don’t deserve any of this. And she wants to make a trade. I let you go and take her instead.”

“Why would you tell him this?” you snapped.

“And do you wanna know why?” Negan continued.

“Negan!” you exclaimed, “Don’t!”

He threw his head back, erupting in laughter, “Because she loves you! Now ain’t that just fantastic, Daryl? The things people do for love am I right?”

Daryl stood there staring at you, stunned by the revelation. He fought to keep a straight face. He didn’t want Negan to read him and figure everything out. If he was alone with you, he would’ve…well, he wasn’t entirely sure what he would’ve done. From the time you’d met, he was certain that you’d never seen him as anything more than a friend. And wasn’t this the worst time to find out he was wrong? When he couldn’t say a word in response to you.

“I gotta say, Y/N, you’ve made an interesting offer,” Negan continued, “You can stay if you want to but there ain’t a chance in hell of me letting him go free.”

“No!” Daryl blurted out, earning a rough yank from Dwight, “Just let her go.”

Negan sat back down across from you, nodding to the door, “Dwight, I think Daryl needs a time out. Put him in his cage.”

“Y/N, don’t do this,” Daryl continued as Dwight dragged him out of the room, “Get out of here!”

Dwight slammed the door behind them and it was just you and Negan alone, trapped in the uncomfortable silence. You folded your hands together on your lap, shaking your head, “I’m not staying unless you let Daryl go. Otherwise, I’m leaving with Carl.”

“We’ll talk about this later,” Negan said, “You just hang out here for a while. I’ve got some things to tend to.”

You didn’t move from your spot for hours. Negan had left to take Carl him and you considered sneaking away after a while but you wouldn’t leave without Daryl. And you had no idea where he was and you couldn’t exactly search for him without being caught. You really had no way of escaping so you just continued to wait.

After several hours, Negan burst into the room, fuming and swinging his bat around. He was enraged, pointing his bat at you, “What the fuck did you do?”

“Excuse me?”

“Don’t fucking pretend you don’t know what the fuck I’m talking about.”

“I haven’t moved from this spot!” you shouted, “I’m clueless!”

“Well, looks like you got your deal after all,” Negan said, “Daryl’s gone, and you’re mine now.”

Another few days passed and Daryl had gone from hilltop to the kingdom but ultimately ended up back in Alexandria with the others, prepared to fight Negan with everything they had. Dwight offered his assistance but knew nothing about you or your condition. He hadn’t seen you since the day you arrived, which sent chills down Daryl’s spine. It must’ve meant that Negan had dealt with you personally. Had he killed you? Or…worse? Things he didn’t want to think about.

“We’re gonna win,” Rick declared.

“What about Y/N?” Daryl asked.

“Once we finish this, we’ll be able to go over there and get her,” Rick explained, “I’m sure Y/N is fine, Daryl. Negan won’t kill her. She could be a potential bargaining tool for him. Don’t you think?”

Daryl grunted, “Sure. Better make the fucker pay for the shit he’s done.”

“Believe me, we will,” Rick said, “No doubt about that. Let’s just get ready. Try not to worry, Daryl. Y/N can take care of herself. She was bold enough to leave and try to get you out of there, she’ll be just fine.”

Just as Daryl had been afraid of, Negan had been the one to handle you personally. Negan was convinced you had something to do with Daryl’s escape and it was incredibly bad timing but you had no idea Daryl had even gotten out. Negan of course didn’t believe you for a second and his solution to this problem was to simply have you beaten until you admitted to it. But you knew that if you did, he’d most likely have you killed. On the other hand, you were so delirious that you weren’t sure which would be worse, death or being beaten.

You were just barely conscious when Negan threw you into a coffin. After a few minutes, you heard some familiar voices that made you perk up and felt the coffin being lifted but there wasn’t much you could do as you could barely move and were too weak to push open the coffin.

“I’ve got somethin’ you might be interested in,” Negan said. The coffin creaked and groaned as he pulled it open. You turned away from the blinding afternoon sunlight but were quickly dragged out by your upper arm, feeling Negan’s leather jacket against your skin.

“Y/N!” Daryl exclaimed from behind the gate. Rick stood at the very top of the gate, staring at you in shock. He knew that Negan wouldn’t have killed you but he still wasn’t expecting you to be so bruised and bloody.

“She made the deal,” Negan continued, “She stayed, he left. But I’m gonna take Daryl back now. If you all cooperate, Y/N will live. But, it’s a limited time offer so I’d make this decision quick.”

After that statement, everything became a blur. Bullets were flying, everyone was running around in a panic, ducking down and hiding. You could’ve sworn you heard Daryl shouting so you followed the sound of his voice despite how disoriented you felt. Negan was too distracted to notice your absence or try to prevent you from running off. You were avoiding all the gunfire better than you expected since you weren’t even trying. All you knew was you had to find Daryl. It felt like years since you’d seen him. And the last time you had seen him wasn’t exactly pleasant for either of you.

After being unable to find any familiar face, you realized it was pointless to be in the middle of all this gunfire when you could barely focus. You sat under a tree off in the corner where the gunshots were faint and you were free to take a deep breath. Your bones ached, your head throbbed, the blood and sweat that had accumulated on your body over the last few days left a layer of grime you couldn’t stand. Your eyes were so swollen, it was easier to just lay your head back and close your eyes.

The chaos ceased for a moment but you weren’t allowing yourself to feel relieved yet. Sure, Rick and the rest of the group could’ve won but they also could’ve lost and it would become a slaughter soon. Soon, people were shouting and firing their guns again and this time, roaring followed. Roaring? Why would you be hearing roaring? Who would have an animal like that?

You kept your eyes shut the entire time. If you didn’t see it, it couldn’t be happening, right? You thought of the simpler times when you and Daryl went on runs together, when you’d be spending days at a time alone together. He was always so quiet but his blue eyes spoke louder than his mouth ever could. He always hugged his legs to his chest, like he was shielding himself, very rarely ever made eye contact. And when he did, he seemed so unsure and would only peek at you from behind his wispy hairs hanging over his face. You’d wake up early in the morning while he was still sleeping and you’d push those hairs away from his face just to sneak a peek at his peaceful expression, his chest moving steadily up and down. You never wanted those runs to end. You had been convinced every time that you would tell him how you truly felt about him but in the end, you could never go through with it. And now, it could easily be too late. Daryl could be dead or dying. With all that gunfire, the possibility of him being alive was slim.

The second round of insanity ended much faster and then silence followed for several hours. You refused to move from your spot though, still so tired and so sore. This was the first time you’d been able to relax in days without fear of getting hurt again.

Footsteps approached you but you still didn’t move or open your eyes. The person’s clothes rustled and you heard them set something down in the grass beside them. It was when the person spoke that you finally opened your eyes and a pair of blue ones were staring back at you.

“Y/N,” Daryl said, “I’ve been lookin’ everywhere for you. Thought you were dead.”

“I thought you were,” you whimpered. Despite how injured you were, you threw your arms around him, nearly tackling him, “I’m so glad you made it out okay. Who got you out?”

“Not sure,” he replied, “What did that asshole do to you?”

“He was convinced that I was the one to get you out,” you explained, “The timing was pretty coincidental I’ll admit but he wouldn’t listen to me. I don’t wanna talk about that now. I’m just glad it’s over. Is Negan dead?”

Daryl shook his head, “Everyone from hilltop and the kingdom came at the last second and chased Negan and his guys outta here. But they’ll be back. Come on, let’s get you looked at. Can ya stand?”

“I think so,” you grunted as you got up on your feet. Being in one position for the last few hours made your muscles scream out in agony when you finally straightened out. Daryl grabbed your hand as the two of you walked to the infirmary. With all the commotion, you didn’t feel it was the right time to bring up what Negan had said a few days ago. Daryl would just get uncomfortable and shut down like he always did when someone brought up heavy conversation. Expressing emotion was not on Daryl’s list of skills. Especially now with his mind on other things, talking about that just wasn��t as important.

You gave it about a week. Your injuries had mostly healed by then. But other than that, you and Daryl were back with your group and things felt almost normal again. But you still felt uneasy around him. And he seemed more quick tempered than usual, getting frustrated with you easier than before.

Daryl had taken you back to the infirmary after you’d reopened a wound while you were trying to regain your strength and practicing your shooting. He sighed a few times as he was cleaning up the wound on your arm.

“What’re you thinking, Y/N?” he grumbled.

“Can’t just sit around forever,” you replied, “I have to get back to how I was.”

“If you hadn’t gone there in the first place,” Daryl muttered, “You should’ve stayed here where it was safe.”

“I had to go,” you argued, “You weren’t safe.”

“I don’t care about me,” Daryl shot back, “You shouldn’t worry about me so much, Y/N.”

“Didn’t you hear what Negan said?” you snapped, “What he told you? I care so much about you, I love you so much. I couldn’t stand the thought of you being hurt or ending up dead.”

“Well, how do you think I felt?!” Daryl shouted, tossing the bloody rag into the trashcan, “I hated every minute of you being there. I knew what Negan was doing and there was nothing I could do.”

You were startled by his outburst. He so rarely offered much in response but he was off now, “I don’t wanna lose you, Y/N. Not again. Can’t go without you again.”

“I didn’t know you felt that way,” you said.

“Yeah, well, didn’t wanna give Negan any more leverage than he already had,” Daryl said, “I didn’t actually believe him when he said it. It’s true though, what he said. Isn’t it?”

You kicked your feet, grinning as you grabbed his hands and pulled him closer to you so he stood between your legs, “It’s very true, Daryl. I love you so much. There was just…never a good time to say it.”

Daryl nodded, his own way of saying he loved you too. You were content with his not actually saying it because you knew he felt it. You felt it in his touch when he ran his fingertips up your arms. You felt it in the kiss he placed on your lips, careful and hesitant in all of these gestures but they spoke to you.

You wrapped your arms around Daryl’s torso, your hands slipping underneath his shirt and roaming his back. He tensed a little at your touch but soon he was rolling with it, kissing along your jaw and down your neck, his teeth grazing your shoulder. You inhaled deeply, taking in his scent as his trembling fingers tugged on your shirt. Pulling away briefly, you threw your shirt over your head and tossed it to the floor, quickly bringing Daryl back in. He groaned against your skin, running his nails down your back. You unbuttoned his shirt, pushing it off his shoulders.

“You really wanna do this?” you mumbled, wrapping your legs around his hips.

Daryl nodded and ran for the door to lock it as quickly as he could to make it back to you. You laid back in bed as he climbed over you, burying his face in your neck. You wrapped your legs around his hips once more and he responded with an experimental thrust of his hips, grinding against you. A squeak escaped your lips as you gripped him tighter in your arms.

“Shit, Y/N,” he grunted, “Never wanted anything so bad.”

A fire was burning deep within you and he’d barely touched you. Neither of you could bear it anymore, you couldn’t hold back any longer. You lifted your hips so Daryl could pull your pants down with ease. You sat up a bit and smashed your lips against his while you tugged his pants down past his hips. You felt his fingers slip underneath the waistband of your underwear, his thick fingers cold against your warm flesh. As his fingers reached your core, you bit his lip in surprise. You retaliated by allowing your hands to explore, sliding into his boxers and gripping him firmly in your hand.

“Daryl,” you whispered, slowly stroking him. Daryl groaned, whipping your body around and pulling your underwear down your legs. You gripped the headboard, your heart racing as you panted and whined. You wiggled your hips impatiently, looking back at him over your shoulder, “What’re you waiting for?”

“Stay still,” Daryl said, slapping his hands down on your hips. You jumped but smiled at the fiery feeling growing in the pit of your stomach. Biting your lip, you lowered your head. Without warning, he plunged into you and you both groaned in unison as he stayed there for a moment, allowing the two of you to adjust to the senstation.

“Goddamn, Daryl,” you said. Daryl slowly started moving his hips back and forth, his hands moving up and down your back. He held back any noises, only allowing a few grunts. You couldn’t hold back your pleasure as you moaned and whimpered, curling your toes and bunching the sheets up in your fists. The ache grew stronger with every thrust and you knew this wouldn’t last long for either of you. But this closeness would be worth it no matter how long it was.

Suddenly, Daryl lifted you up so the two of you were on your knees, your back against his chest as he thrust harder against you, beads of sweat running down the side of his head and dripping off his jaw, landing on your shoulder. With one hand on your hip, he moved his free hand down your stomach until he reached your sweet spot, his fingers moving in quick, deep circles. You writhed and rolled your hips against his fingers, flashes of white in your vision as you finally came. Your legs were weak and once Daryl let go of you, you fell forward, his continued thrusting sending you into aftershocks and your walls squeezed him so tightly, he couldn’t hold back anymore. He leaned his head back as he released inside of you.

“I can’t…we just…fuck,” Daryl said, more out of breath than you’d ever seen before, “You alright?”

��More than alright,” you replied, rolling onto your back. He flopped down beside you, “That was amazing. I can’t believe we did that though. Ever think we’d end up here?”

“Nah, but then again, you’ve always been unpredictable,” Daryl replied, kissing your sweaty temple. He never thought he’d ever have the courage to tell you how he felt about you. This had been the last thing he ever expected to happen but he wouldn’t change it for anything. He never wanted to let you go. This was forever.

OKAY THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR PATIENCE I KNOW I’M ABSOLUTE TRASH I APOLOGIZE FOR TAKING SO GODDAMN LONG. Writing smut is just harder to get done for some reason.

#Daryl Dixon #Daryl Dixon one shot #Daryl Dixon imagine #Daryl Dixon fanfiction #The Walking Dead #TWD #The Walking Dead imagines #TWD Imagines #fanfiction #one shot #requested

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brightlotusmoon · 8 years ago

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A little more Spirit And Oxygen

Here’s another sneak peak at my TMNT fic, “Spirit And Oxygen: Across The Universe” which is part of my “Mikey The Lifegiver” fic series. It chronicles Mikey’s adventures in major depression, brain damage, and being the actual heart and soul and light of the team. http://archiveofourown.org/series/599863 This will probably be the final story, which means it might as well be a chapter fic, which means that this is officially Chapter One. Yes. I feel good about this. Stuff that is my heacanon here: 1) Shinigami is in a polyamorous relationship with Karai and Michelangelo, and the ladies have their own bedroom in the lair. 2) Raph has taken a shine to Shini and her attitudes on life and is so proud his little brother has such an awesome loveperson who is also banging his awesome sister. 3) April has finally decided to try dating both Donnie and Casey, although she’s spent more time with Don, and Casey doesn’t mind. 4) Splinter and Shredder are dead. Shredder killed Splinter and then the boys teamed up with Karai to kill Shredder, and Leo decapitated Shredder after Karai punched Shredder in the heart after Mikey knocked out Shredder with a kick to the face. Shredder’s henchmen have teamed up with Purple Dragons and other gangs, and have recreated robot Foot ninjas. Splinter appears as a spirit to the Hamato family. 5) The Mighty Mutanimals are very involved in the turtles’ lives. Mondo has learned first aid from Dr Rockwell and engineering from Don. 6) Leo and Karai have been duel sensei-ing and still argue over who gets to be Actual Sensei. 7) Abandoned military bases are turned into hide-outs for the more vicious, feral, and angry mutants in every borough. Mikey, Mondo, and Shini like to try and find them to befriend the tamer, friendlier ones. Karai and Raph wind up getting angry out of love and fear. 8) Mikey is Donnie’s assistant in the lab and is a field medic who uses his emotional empathic reach to comfort the injured; he can be telepathic when he tries hard, but it gives him migraines. 9) Mikey has developed epilepsy following a brain injury, but it also boosts his spiritual powers. He and Raph share an empathic connection. ...I really got attached to Deanna Troi and Jean Grey when I was a teenager, okay? Also, I am happy to discuss where the rest of the story might go and how and why. I’ll often switch to several perspectives in one chapter, like April (Storm) or Karai (Iron) or Ghost Of Splinter (Wind) or Shinigami (Magic). Mostly I’m just in love with writing Donnie talking about Mikey. (PS, Mikey is Oxygen, duh. Don is Earth, Raph is Fire, Leo is Water. The Tumblr post for Mikey The Lifegiver is the second most popular blog post I’ve written so far. The first one is me waxing pagan about winter gods) Also, for my regular readers: You knew this sort of thing was gonna happen again. It’s all I write. Apparently, though, since 1999, I’ve had the most wonderful contemporaries and competition. You hardcore Mikey fans, you’re the best, I love you all.

Donnie’s dreaming hard again, and he cherishes it. Usually is dreams are soft and quick, minnows in a stream, full of chrome and rust and the scent of oil, and there are tiny things in his hands, beeping and whirring, and there are giant things in front of him, clicking and rumbling; and the scars all over his hands reminds him that these are his, he made them, and they make sounds at him as though they are praising him.

Almost a year ago, shortly after Splinter died and Shredder died and Karai moved in, things began happening that challenged every science imaginable, but Donnie learned to be completely fine with it. Aside from Leo and Karai in a constant subtle battle over who would be sensei, Raph mellowed out and Mikey stopped pranking. Donnie was the only one who recognized Mikey as the catalyst: after enduring a series of traumas that they wouldn’t wish on their enemies, Mikey had become quieter, softer. His odd hyperfocusing moments turned on books without pictures and science documentaries and Donnie spent three weeks spying on him; it was no surprise when Mikey caught him each time, because Mikey had changed the most. Donnie and April ran every single test, and Mikey endured them with a strange fidgeting patience, but Rockwell in the end explained that Mikey’s Dimension X brain had finally caught up with him. He was almost like April. Don stopped being surprised when a beaker full of An Unusual Chemical dropped from his hands and floated back up to the table, despite it only being him and Mikey. Mikey, who folded his arms and grinned cheekily, and that was the day Donnie went to the closet and handed him a lab coat with his name on it.

Between their rotating autistic traits and interests, Donnie with engineering and physical science and Mikey with social sciences and cultural studies, they managed to create Things that made the lair easier to live in. With Mikey around, it was easier to navigate the entire city and study humans’ patterns, so certain stores, warehouses, junkyards, and clinics would stay their “borrowing” targets. With Donnie around, they had vehicles and cloaking devices to move further and deeper in.

So Donnie dreams heavily, about jumping from roof to roof in Staten Island, looking for that one military facility that up until now always had staff. Mikey is right behind him, ready with both kusarigama and grappling hook. Donnie stops and signals, and Mikey presses right against his carapace, wrapping one arm around his waist, extending the other to aim the grappling gun. Don signals again, and Mikey pushes off and practically flies – scratch that, he literally glides – and Donnie feels perfectly utterly safe as he casually throws an arm around his little brother’s shoulders. Mikey wouldn’t let them drop; they’d only hover. That’s how good he’s gotten. The grappling hook keeps catching on roof edges and Mikey lets it hover and glide to the next and the next, and they keep going.

They’re on the roof of the facility, over a mile from where they started, and Donnie pries open the secret door and they move in, and their flashlights roam. They remove their backpacks when he finds the correct room, and collect the items he’s already listed on his T-Phone. It’s silent, it’s swift, and the only thing that warns him is Mikey’s hiss and his voice in Donnie’s head: Donnie, get DOWN—

And Donnie flattens himself on the floor and the creature grazes him with a long metal toe as it leaps over him, and his right shoulder and bicep both rip open wide and his body spills blood rapidly. But it’s not the pain that makes him scream. It’s the strangled screeching gasp, full of pure agony and horror, that Mikey makes from somewhere behind him. No living creature should be making a sound like that unless it’s about to die...

There is precious seconds of heavy silence, and he hears Mikey make that familiar, inhuman growl that all the turtles make when enraged, when their human sides shrink and their literal reptilian brains take over with crushing power. The creature howls in pain and shock, and Mikey lets out a roar that contains Donnie’s name scrawled into it, and then there is crashing, there is stabbing, punching, shrieking, snarling, bones cracking and flesh squelching and liquid spurting and other noises that Donnie will hear in his post-traumatic nightmares. Donnie crawls forward, collapses on his back, turns around and forces himself to stand.

The creature has Mikey pinned to the ground, and shadowed blood is pooling everywhere. And then Mikey kicks and flips the creature over with a furious shriek, and through the darkness Donnie sees his teeth flash in a savage grin, you do not want to see that kind of smile on Mikey’s face, and Donnie sees him coated in shadows, launching again at the creature, smacking his nunchaku again and again…and then the creature stops moving, stops making noise; and Donnie hears his own harsh, pained breathing, and his brother’s harsh, pained breathing, and he manages to call out, “Mikey, are you okay?”

There’s a pause. “I’m always okay, Dee,” comes a breezy reply, but it is thin and strained. “Hey, Dee, what’s hurt on you?”

“My right shoulder and upper arm, but I can patch it up. You?”

A longer pause, much much longer.

“Can I take a raincheck on answering that?”

Donnie feels his gut turn to ice. “Mikey?”

He sees the dark figure of his brother hold up a finger. “Just…gimme…a sec.”

Within that second, Mikey falls to his knees. Donnie feels himself lurch forward. His eyes strain. The shadows on his brother are not shadows. They are too shiny. He’s covered in it.

No. No. Please, no, not again, I can’t handle this again.

It’s not the blood loss making Donnie feel so dizzy. He struggles to move, and watches, in slow motion, as Mikey falls over completely, smacking the floor, and it is a wet smack, and liquid is still pooling around him. And Don starts to hyperventilate, because he’s not sure where the light switch might be in this room and where the first aid kits are, and suddenly the darkness is too dark and the floor opens up and he is being swallowed, and he cannot reach Mikey, and then he falls, and as he falls his T-Phone rings, and something presses its energy button, and it’s blaring in his ears, louder and louder, calling MIkey’s name.

Donatello bolts up screaming, and it is too dark and he can’t see. A door crashes open. A body launches at him, and before he can take another breath, a pair of arms are wrapped around him and a plastron is pressed against his, and his chin is on a broad muscley shoulder, and the scent he breathes in is pure Raphael.

“Raph,” he squeaks out. “Hey--”

“Sshhh, Donnie, easy,” the hoarse voice murmurs. “It was a dream. You’re okay.”

He finds himself awkwardly patting his older brother’s upper carapace, trying to politely pull away. “Raph…Raph, I realize that…can I breathe? Please?”

Raph pulls away, green eyes serpentine in the darkness of his bedroom. The way his head tilts, too.

“I’m fine, Raph. I promise. I know it’s a nightmare.”

Those eyes and that head tilt remain fixed on him.

“Donnie, this is your fourth nightmare. Do you realize that?”

Really?

“Um. No?” He’s been so busy between his lab and the sectioned-off infirmary that Rockwell and Slash and Casey helped build that he sometimes doesn’t remember going to bed.

“Well, it is. And I’ll bet it’s the exact same one. Yours are weird.” Raph sits back, agura style, and Donnie draws his knees up to make room. “They’re like clockwork. Once a week. And, y’know, this is the fourth week since--”

“I know. And you guys dragged me to my own bed when you knew I wouldn’t stay here.”

“You did this time,” Raph points out.

“True. Wait, I did?”

“Congratulations on a full twelve hours of sleep, bro. It’s ten in the morning.”

Donnie feels his eyes grow wide. He throws the covers off and jumps off his bed. “I’m missing work, I--”

Raph’s strong hand slaps against his chest. “Remember what we all agreed on? Until your shoulder and arm is fully functional, you don’t do anything complex without someone helping you. I hope you were planning on asking someone.”

Donnie narrows his eyes. “Do you know how to handle the complex alien chemicals I need to work on? Plus the newer components of the retromutagen?”

“If not me, you have April. Or Rockwell. Or Shini.”

Donnie sighs, looks at his immobilized arm, and sighs again.

“You’re a stubborn bastard, Hamato Donatello.”

“You’re worse.”

“I am a paragon of complacency, little brother.”

And Donnie winces. “Try not to call me that?”

“Oh. Right. I forgot. You’re right. Sorry, Don.”

Donnie sighs and gets dressed.

“Um.” Raph rubs the back of his head. “So, nothing’s changed this morning. That’s…like, good, right? Kinda?”

“Kinda,” Donnie says. “It means that Mikey is continuing to heal. Which is the best we can hope for in this situation.”

As he heads out of his room and toward the lab doors, Raph catches up. “You should eat something first.”

“I need to check his vitals and change his IV bags.”

“Karai did that.”

“Even the GI tube?”

“Yeah, that one too.”

Donnie pauses. “I just need to see…”

“Donnie.” Raph is impossibly firm, and very soft. “Donnie, everything you could do has been done. We’ve watched you and learned from you for a whole month. It’s a routine. And part of the routine is that those of us who aren’t doing the routine help ourselves first. It’s your turn.”

Donnie is very silent as Raph steers him toward the kitchen. Leo is finishing up a plate of eggs, toast, and tea. Shinigami is making two more plates.

“Oh, you got him up! Good morning, Donatello. Did your nightmare complete itself?” The witch’s smile is knowing and polite, and he has gotten used to her specific brand of sass. She is, after all his little brother’s girlfriend and his sister’s girlfriend.

He mumbles “yes” because shrugging his shoulders still hurts. He eats mechanically, even as he is poked at to make conversation. Raph has started giving him daily protein shakes. There is one next to his plate. He drinks it and crushes the bottle, casually proving how fine he is. Sometimes the others forget how strong he is.

He misses having Mikey around to defend him.

“I’ll be in the infirmary,” Shinigami says, and Donnie startles. When he looks at her, he sees dark, deep circles under her eyes. Her fair complexion is blotchy and even paler than usual. And he wants to slap himself. She loves him. She has so much love, she loves Mikey and Karai so much. And Karai, to see her baby brother like this. Abruptly, he stands up, wraps his arms around Shini, and grips her like one of Mikey’s famous octopus hugs.

She simply buries her face in his neck and holds him tight.

* * * *

Donnie is at his computer. As he’s reading and copying notes, he can’t help but hear her from the infirmary corner, and after a while he gives up trying to ignore it. He stretches his neck to catch a glimpse.

Shinigami has been sitting by Mikey’s bedside for fifteen minutes, and she only started speaking a couple of minutes ago. Don sees her hand tighten around Mikey’s as she talks.

“…keeps insisting nothing hurts, of course, but I refuse to believe her. Even when she shifted back and forth to her snake form, I could tell her arm was giving her trouble. Even the snake looked sad!” A small laugh, humorless. “Oh, sweet Mikey, you should see the looks she gives me when I point out her pain. She thinks I don’t see it. I see everything about her.” A pause. “I see everything about you too, you know. I see the subtle shifts in your facial muscles when you slip one of your behavior masks on. You know what I mean. When you fake smile, or your laugh is not real? I see it. You should not ever be sad, my Mikey. I told Karai I would do anything to protect her. Now that promise extends to you. Therefore, you must recover from this. You must hold me again so I can tell you I love you. You must hold me tightly, like an octopus, and laugh into my hair, and spin me around, and talk about your comics and your television shows. Tell me about Hamato Yoshi and how he adored you. Tell me about your brothers and your adoration of each of them, how they are your heroes. You and Donatello are very close. I know you wish to have so much knowledge and skill the way does.”

Donnie bites his lip and blushes a little. He almost feels like a sensei, in a way, the way Mikey looks at him while he works or while he is showing Mikey a project. He pictures the last lesson they’d had. April was there. She and Mikey were side by side, chins in their hands, looking at him lovingly, freckled faces and blue eyes alight, looking like mischievous twins.

He wants Mikey to wake up and look like that again.

He doesn’t know when Mikey will wake up. That hurts him most of all. This coma is different, deep and frightening. Mikey lost a lot of blood, and the mutant hit him in the neck, and Donnie knows how bad that can be. Concussion. Oxygen loss. Brain function compromised. Brain damage. Mikey already has enough. Donnie is worried.

Shini’s voice startles him.

“We miss you, Michelangelo. I miss you. I…need you. You must come back soon. Please.” And Donnie watches as Shinigami leans forward and presses her lips to Mikey’s, and smiles. She squeezes his limp, broken hand again. She stands up and begins to walk toward the door, then changes course, coming toward the lab. Donnie blinks at her.

She smiles at him. “What you working on?”

“Oh, um…” he glances down. “Taking notes on neurobiological function in humans and reptiles. I believe our brains are almost fully human, but we probably have neuronal and hormonal responses similar to diamondback turtles, too.”

“Mikey will sometimes make little noises,” Shini offers. “They’re not human.”

Donnie nods. “Yes. Chirping. Cooing. Growling. A kind of purring growl, like churring. Hissing.”

He shifted through the pages, wrote down some more notes.

“You aren’t going to do that all day, are you?”

Donnie glances up. Shini has leaned her hip against the table and is smirking. “Leo wants everyone in the dojo for training. Is this very important?”

He bites his lip, looks at his screen. “I guess it can wait until later.” He saves the file. Shinigami takes him by the elbow and steers him out of the lab. Interestingly, Raph is waiting there, arms crossed. He smirks and nods. “Good. Good Donnie.” Shinigami giggles, as if the two had planned it.

“How’s Mikey?” Raph asks, automatically.

Shini just shrugs. “The same. Karai wonders if I can use my witchcraft to find him in the astral plane. It is a thought.”

Raph raises an eyeridge. “Damn straight, it’s a thought. He’s been healing pretty well. Maybe it’s time to try reaching out to him instead of waiting for him to wake up.”

Donatello sits up straight and snaps his fingers. “It can be a family effort!” That seems to light a fire in Raphael, and he joyfully reaches out to fistbump Shinigami, who has a wide smirk on her face and a glint in her eye. Donnie feels stronger and happier than he’s felt in weeks.

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brightlotusmoon · 8 years ago

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Sneak Peek: A “Mikey The Lifegiver” side story

So, while working on the “Spirit And Oxygen” fic, I got poked in the writerbrain by yet another “Donnie thinks about how much he adores Mikey” story that didn’t quite fit, but maybe it could, so right now it’s going to be a side story, at least until Season 5 rolls around and we get canon confirmation on some things.

Stuff that is my heacanon here: 1) Shinigami is in a polyamorous relationship with Karai and Michelangelo, and the girls have their own bedroom in the lair. 2) Raph has taken a shine to Shini and her attitudes on life and is so proud his little brother has such an awesome loveperson who is also banging his awesome sister. 3) April has finally decided to try dating both Donnie and Casey, although she’s spent more time with Don, and casey doesn’t mind. 4) Both Splinter and Shredder are dead (Karai killed Shredder, take that Leo, although Leo was there too and got some hits in). 5) The Might Mutanimals are very involved in the turtles’ lives. Mondo has learned first aid from Dr Rockwell and engineering from Don. 6) Leo and Karai have been duel sensei-ing and still argue over who gets to be Actual Sensei. 7) Abandoned military bases are turned into hide-outs for the more vicious, feral, and angry mutants in every borough. Mikey, Mondo, and Shini like to try and find them to befriend the tamer, friendlier ones. Karai and Raph wind up getting angry out of love and fear. 8) Mikey is Donnie’s assistant in the lab and is a field medic who uses his emotional reach to comfort the injured. I don’t know if any of it will reflect in real canon. We shall find out in March. I did see the Korean leaks and I’m not saying a damn word. Also, I am happy to discuss where the rest of the story might go and how and why, and I’ll probably switch to another perspective like April (Storm) or Karai (Iron) or Ghost Of Splinter (Wind) or Shinigami (Magic). Mostly I’m just in love with writing Donnie talking about Mikey, and this would be my third Earth And Oxygen fic in the “Mikey The Lifegiver” series. (PS, Mikey is Oxygen, duh. Don is Earth, Raph is Fire, Leo is Water. The Tumblr post for Mikey The Lifegiver is the second most popular blog post I’ve written so far. The first one is me waxing pagan about all those winter holidays from dozens of religions with hundreds many gods) Also, for my regular readers: You knew this sort of thing was gonna happen again. It’s all I write. Apparently, though, since 1999, I’ve had the most wonderful contemporaries and competition. You hardcore Mikey fans, you’re the best, I love you all.

Lying in my bed I hear the clock tick, And think of you Caught up in circles confusion Is nothing new Flashback warm nights Almost left behind Suitcases of memories, Time after Sometimes you picture me I'm walking too far ahead You're calling to me, I can't hear What you've said You say go slow I fall behind The second hand unwinds If you're lost you can look and you will find me Time after time If you fall I will catch you I'll be waiting Time after time If you're lost you can look and you will find me Time after time If you fall I will catch you I'll be waiting Time after time After my picture fades and darkness has Turned to gray Watching through windows you're wondering If I'm ok Secrets stolen from deep inside The drum beats out of time If you're lost you can look and you will find me Time after time If you fall I will catch you I'll be waiting Time after time You said go slow I fall behind The second hand unwinds If you're lost you can look and you will find me Time after time If you fall I will catch you I'll be waiting Time after time

-Cyndi Lauper, “Time After Time”

Earth And Oxygen: Time After Time

There’s a pause. “I’m always okay, Dee,” comes a breezy reply, but it is thin and strained. “Hey, Dee, what’s hurt on you?”

“My right shoulder and upper arm, but I can patch it up. You?”

A longer pause, much much longer.

“Can I take a raincheck on answering that?”

Donnie feels his gut turn to ice. “Mikey?”

He sees the dark figure of his brother hold up a finger. “Just…gimme…a sec.”

Within that second, Mikey falls to his knees. Donnie feels himself lurch forward. His eyes strain. The shadows on his brother are not shadows. They are too shiny. He’s covered in it.

No. No. Please, no, not again, I can’t handle this again.

“Raph,” he squeaks out. “Hey--”

“Sshhh, Donnie, easy,” the hoarse voice murmurs. “It was a dream. You’re okay.”

He finds himself awkwardly patting his older brother’s upper carapace, trying to politely pull away. “Raph…Raph, I realize that…can I breathe? Please?”

Raph pulls away, green eyes serpentine in the darkness of his bedroom. The way his head tilts, too.

“I’m fine, Raph. I promise. I know it’s a nightmare.”

Those eyes and that head tilt remain fixed on him.

“Donnie, this is your fourth nightmare. Do you realize that?”

Really?

“Um. No?” He’s been so busy between his lab and the sectioned-off infirmary that Rockwell and Slash and Casey helped build that he sometimes doesn’t remember going to bed.

“I know. And you guys dragged me to my own bed when you knew I wouldn’t stay here.”

“You did this time,” Raph points out.

“True. Wait, I did?”

“Congratulations on a full twelve hours of sleep, bro. It’s ten in the morning.”

Donnie feels his eyes grow wide. He throws the covers off and jumps off his bed. “I’m missing work, I--”

Donnie narrows his eyes. “Do you know how to handle the complex alien chemicals I need to work on? Plus the newer components of the retromutagen?”

“If not me, you have April. Or Rockwell. Or Shini.”

Donnie sighs, looks at his immobilized arm, and sighs again.

“You’re a stubborn bastard, Hamato Donatello.”

“You’re worse.”

“I am a paragon of complacency, little brother.”

And Donnie winces. “Try not to call me that?”

“Oh. Right. I forgot. You’re right. Sorry, Don.”

Donnie sighs and gets dressed.

“Um.” Raph rubs the back of his head. “So, nothing’s changed this morning. That’s…like, good, right? Kinda?”

“Kinda,” Donnie says. “It means that Mikey is continuing to heal. Which is the best we can hope for in this situation.”

As he heads out of his room and toward the lab doors, Raph catches up. “You should eat something first.”

“I need to check his vitals and change his IV bags.”

“Karai did that.”

“Even the GI tube?”

“Yeah, that one too.”

Donnie pauses. “I just need to see…”

Donnie is very silent as Raph steers him toward the kitchen. Leo is finishing up eggs, toast, and tea. Shinigami is making two more plates.

He misses having Mikey around to defend him.

“I’ll be in the infirmary,” Shinigami says, and Donnie startles. When he looks at her, he sees dark, deep circles under her eyes. Her fair complexion is blotchy and even paler than usual. And he wants to slap himself. She loves him. She has so much love, she loves Mikey and Karai. And Karai, to see her baby brother like this. Abruptly, he stands up, wraps his arms around Shini, and grips her like one of Mikey’s famous octopus hugs.

She simply buries her face in his neck and holds him tight.

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