#i went in knowing mikey would get zero screen time a what do you know

[davenportofdoor]

I liked the movie

[downwiththemutantnjnjaturtles]

We Met Within This Screen (chapt. 2)

[Donnie x fem reader]

Sfw, part 1 here

Intellectually, Donnie was the best matchup for their leader as today was sparring day. He'd gone against his oldest brother many times, sometimes even coming out the victor himself, but today was just not his day.

He held his staff with that iron grip of his and waited for Leo to come at him. Donnie was more on the defensive than any of his brothers; he had to be. Out of all he was weakest physically but superior in calculations, but he was missing range in this matchup. Leo had a hard time disarming him as his katana could sometimes get lodged in the solid wood staff, giving Donnie leverage to perform the finisher in the short time it took him to dislodge his sword. He thought this time would be how that would happen.

"You're slow today, Donnie," Leo said as he lunged at his brother with a swing of his katana, forcing Donnie to step back. He was too focused on blocking Leo's rapid succession of attacks to respond.

Leo reeled back to swing his blade again but Donnie parried and struck his arm with his staff, shoving it aside. For a split second, Leo actually thought he was fixing to go down by this move if Donnie could hit him again quick enough. But his brother hesitated in thought, and without any reluctance himself, he used his other katana to put him in a compromising position. The match was over and Donnie was forced to stand down.

"Why did you hesitate?" Leo questioned him, lowering his blade. Raph watched from the sidelines with Mikey as they prepared to go up next. Since Leo was the winner, it was Raph's turn next to spar in his younger brother's place.

Donnie huffed and dropped his stance, putting his staff away. "It's just an off day," he replied. Splinter wasn't there to dictate today's training session and tournament, so Donnie was already on his way out to go to his lab by the time Raph stepped up to spar. But Leo sheathed his sword and put a hand on Donnie's shoulder, stopping him in his tracks.

"You've been pretty eager to run back to your lab lately," Leo said matter-of-factly. He was wondering what was going on, why Donnie seemed weirdly distant the last couple of weeks. He had gone through a very withdrawn phase in earlier times upon entering his teenage years, but now, he was legitimately making everyone guess. He didn't snap at his brothers, and he wasn't any more impatient than usual. But something was different. He'd been spending a lot more time holed up in his lab, which everyone began to notice. Leo wanted to know what was wrong.

Donnie shifted and shrugged, "Like I said, I've been busy with some projects. Also, it's not like I have much to do out here beside training and patrol."

Leo opened his mouth to speak, but Mikey jumped on between them. "You missed game night last week! You never miss it," he butted in. Both Donnie and Leo gave him a look as if to say really? and he added in, "Well, uh...not usually."

Gently moving Mikey aside, Leo wanted to continue, but he saw Donnie staring at him expecting a follow-up when he didn't really have one. Whatever this was, Leo knew that coming at Donnie with questions was not the way to go about it. So he stepped back and gave his brother some space.

"We all have off days," Leo said finally after an awkward moment of silence. "Just work on your speed, Don."

"Got it."

With that, Donnie turned to leave, and Raph entered the ring to go against Leo in the last match of the night.

Once Donnie was gone, Leo got ready to spar with Raph. As they got into position, he contemplated bringing this recent development up with the other two, but decided against it in the end. He didn't want to incriminate Donnie, especially with Raph's assertive approach to handling things. Donnie could be somewhat flighty at times when it came to resolving matters of emotion, at times a little too introspective, but Leo couldn't fault him—he had his own struggles with that very thing, too.

Done, finally, Donnie thought as he skirted into his lab and started up the game. He was late to the party quite literally; training lasted longer than he'd thought, and he was disappointed to see that his newest friend was online, but not responding to his invite. Did everyone get together and play without him? After a few minutes, he almost decided on giving up. The instance made him contemplate whether he even wanted to continue this. Perhaps he'd been too eager.

He sighed. And then the menu pinged, and he was there reading the message in an instant.

Hey, sorry I partied up without you, I just didn't know if you were gonna be on or not :/

Without even thinking, he licked his lips typed back, repeatedly deleting and retyping his message to make sure it was casual but not too casual, apologetic but not desperate—

It's okay, don't worry about it

Likewise sorry it took me so long to get here.

That would do. He'd be lying to say he wasn't feeling that flutter in his stomach; the excitement of something new got to him in a way that only a discovery in his research did, or how he felt when he mastered a new technique in his training.

Let's get started then :)

They started the game, and this time he kept the mic on, as she did. They talked back and forth as they fought creatures and enemies and looted things, eventually coming to learn that she herself was in New York City. He was surprised; suddenly, the world felt a lot smaller, and he couldn't concentrate on just playing after that. The time they spent became more of an opportunity to converse than to play a mundane game for hours on end.

At some point, she switched the topic to his whereabouts. Donnie's breath hitched.

"I'm...not anywhere near. So it doesn't really matter," he told her, cringing. If the guys found out—if Splinter found out—he would be in such trouble.

"Oh," she paused for a moment, trying to find something to say. "That's alright, I don't want you to feel like you have to tell me, you know?"

He'd muted his mic to release a deep breath. He got lost in thought thinking about how in that moment, he wanted to be human. If he weren't a giant mutant turtle, he could actually form a connection with someone. It was a very "Mikey" thing to think, he reckoned, but at times he wanted friends just like his brother did.

"Yeah, sorry, I just…"

"It's really no problem, dude."

He felt as though he could hear the smile in her voice. What did she look like, he wondered. He wanted to see her, but he couldn't ask for that when he could never do the same. If he could get her name, he'd be in the clear to do some preliminary lookups on this person, but so far, she'd been dodgy about sharing info about herself as well. He couldn't blame her. They were two strangers online, one with a huge secret and the other completely in the dark about who he truly was. For all she knew, he could have been a creep, looking to stalk her online and perhaps do even worse. The thought made him feel almost nauseous, how she could be considering that about him as a possibility as they spoke. But she seemed comfortable enough. Unlike him, who was still slightly skeptical of the entire thing, because after spending his whole life in practical isolation, he was at a loss as to what to say or do after a certain point. The conversation died off and both of them thought simultaneously about how weird the sudden silence between them felt.

She hummed, as if searching for something to bring up. When she spoke, he was taken aback—"Hey, I'm gonna be honest, I really like talking to you but this game is getting boring. Do you wanna chat somewhere else?"

"Uh…" he trailed off, mind shooting blanks. Oh, was it just a horrible idea. He couldn't keep the jig up forever; the truth was bound to get revealed somewhere down the line. He was fixing to reject the proposition, tell her that he didn't want to take it that far. She could be anyone. The likelihood of it being a clever ruse on account of the Foot Clan was slim, but the paranoia still worked ambiently in the background noise of his mind. But his other doubt stopped him—when would he ever have a chance at this again? He wanted to have the strength to say no and leave it at that. The loneliness that crept up on him from time to time had something else to say.

"Yeah," he answered after a terribly long pause of mumbling, fighting with himself all the way as she told him where to add her. He could have kicked himself had it not been for the fact that he knew how to encrypt data, and that as long as he didn't leak a word about his inner circle or life, it would be okay. It didn't feel okay, though.

"Nice! I'll text you, see you later, Bo. I had a lot of fun tonight," she chirped.

Before he could respond, she was gone from the party, and the mic went silent. It happened so fast. He was barely caught up with the fact that he was now receiving messages and prompts to talk, but he couldn't bring himself to answer right away. He had to refocus his logic; how could this be used by the enemy as a way to get to them? Could they have somehow anticipated he'd download this game and find this random on there? The more the thought about it, the more glaringly obvious it was that it was not the case. It was just too improbable.

"The probability of the Foot being able to simulate such a specific scenario in order to get intel on us is so slim, it is practically non-existent," he told himself as he finally pulled up the messages. He read through them. "Approximately a zero-point-zero-zero-zero..."

My name is (Y/N), by the way :)

Well, that was easier than expected. He figured that somehow, the name suited you—a fitting name for such a personality. But it also gave him a glimmer of hope. It made him want to ask why you appeared to trust him, as he could be anyone on the Earth over the screen, not his benevolent self. Which she had no way of proving, technically. But he soon came to realize the screen painted him in a whole new light that it casted on him. It hit then that he could be anyone. He didn't have to be himself; not necessarily. She'd never have to know, as he could wear a human mask and she'd be none the wiser. Problem was, the lying made him feel guilty, and slowly would develop to be the thorn in his side.

Donnie thoughtfully stared at the screen. Now that he was here, some of his anxiety began to fade. He found himself actually able to talk, someone to listen to his tangents and even build upon them. They spent hours texting back and forth about anything and everything until it was almost time for him to put the phone down to leave for patrol. He felt giddy, like a kid, all over again.

________________________________________

Had you ever been able to talk to someone this easily?

You asked yourself that question as you exchanged with the faceless and nameless stranger over your screen, chatting from afternoon to night. Time flew by in an instant, with him, and you loved every minute. He was someone intellectual, but funny and so easy to talk to that it was as though the conversation carried itself. After some time he came out about his age after you revealed yours. Oftentimes, he'd just present to you a random question when the subject tapered off and run with it, like now:

What do you think of reptiles?

Puzzled, you took a second to reply. Odd question.

Why do you ask? Do you have one?

I was just curious

What do you think of them?

The chat indicator flip-flopped between "typing" and "idle" a few times before a message finally popped up, and you smiled. You'd learned over this short time that he was a dork in a cute way.

Well...I think they're pretty cool.

They've got natural armor and you would be surprised to know just how fast a turtle can be

You laughed a little to yourself. It was such a random thing to bring up, yet you were endeared. Deciding you'd go along with it, you asked him what else he knew about turtles.

Well...

__________________________________________________

Donnie was wondering what he was talking about just as much as she probably was. Stupid, he thought, facepalming. His first time really speaking with a human as an equal and he starts talking about turtles. Of course he knew a lot about them, he was one himself—but for some reason he found himself wanting to dispel myths and misunderstandings about turtles as if they reflected on him, when as far as she knew, he was just a human guy like herself.

He groaned lightly and typed, thinking up a fact that wasn't too conspicuous.

Red eared sliders are semi-aquatic.

As he typed the next part, he caught himself writing "we" instead of "they", to his dismay. He quickly fixed the error and continued, feeling weirdly exposed as it was almost as though in sharing this information, he was putting himself under a microscope for her to inspect.

They can hold their breath for up to thirty minutes, usually

Holding his breath was something he'd tested numerous times before. He and his brothers had actually made a game out of it on a few occasions, with Leo leading at thirty-three minutes, Donnie in second at thirty-one. Raph broke at twenty-nine minutes and Mikey followed behind in last at just twenty-seven. The ability could be trained, nonetheless.

That's interesting, I wonder what it's like to be able to go underwater so long?

It's kind of cool, you should try sometime

For THIRTY MINUTES?

Shit. He promptly replied:

No—not like I can hold my breath that long, I just mean you should try to see sometime I guess

I tested it just for the fun of it.

Looking up how long humans could hold their breath on average (between thirty seconds and two minutes), he bumped the number up a little bit and added:

Personally, I'm at two minutes and forty-five seconds

He was embarrassed, partially covering his face as he waited for a response. Such a foolish slip-up; he couldn't afford to say anything cryptic. But he still was fairly sure that he had recovered that alright. He couldn't help but think about how awkward or weird he seemed to her. Who talked about this?

I don't think I could hold my breath for more than a minute, kudos to you haha

Anyway, sorry to switch gears all of a sudden but if you don't mind me asking, what's up with your family? You have any siblings?

He told her no. He would not bring his brothers into this, lest it be the slim chance of a ploy, after all. He said his family situation was unconventional and left it at that.

With that, he said to her goodnight and put his phone away, getting up to go get geared for patrol. It was only then he noticed the figure leaning against the doorway.

Chapter 3

[fappellmoan]

day 1: love, actually, is all around

summary: will byers is stuck waiting for an available flight to go home on christmas eve. fortunately, he happens upon a cafe with a ridiculously cute barista. ie, a night of missing family, finding love in unlikely places, and hating asshole dads. what more could you ask for?

genre: coffee shop/college au, fluff

a/n: huge thanks to @frogfaceandzombieboy for organizing all of this, it’s been so fun and i’m excited to see how the week goes!

read it on ao3

Will kicks his feet as he trudges down a city street, bundled up in a parka and an extra long scarf that he’d attempted to knit himself years ago. His therapist at the time suggested he find a creative hobby to keep him busy during the dreary winter, and that sentiment turned into him churning out hats and scarves like nobody’s business. His mother, bless her heart, loved the matching set he made for her, even though threads poked out around her ears and the bottom of the scarf unraveled the first time she put it on. She had kissed his cheeks about a billion times and worn them every day (and year) following.

He misses her like crazy.

City sidewalks, busy sidewalks, dressed in holiday style; in the air there’s a feeling of Christmas.

That’s for sure. He hums to himself, breathing in the crisp winter air that bludgeons his face. He stares up at the lights decorating streetlights and telephone poles. At least the city tried to make it cozy; but he longs to be home, decking the table with his brother and blasting cheesy music with his mom in the kitchen.

All of the streets he hikes are empty. It’s weird to populate a city by yourself, to exist alone on a night where families are gathered in prayer or laughing around a table, he thinks. It really kinda sucks to be alone.

He happens upon a sweet little cafe, population zero--well, except for the cutie cleaning up the dining room. The guy seems to be about Will’s age, and tall, with soft dark curls bouncing against his forehead as he hums to an upbeat Christmas song.

Will doesn’t mean to stare, but, well--he’s distracted. He hangs back in the door, making a desperate choice between leaving the guy alone to close and trying to talk to him.  Or maybe he could just get something to help his freezing fingers.

Yeah, that’s all.

“In or out, kiddo?” the guy calls out, glancing up briefly from a coffee-stained table. And, god, he has the warmest, most stupidly charming brown eyes Will has ever seen.

“I--uh,” Will steps forward and lets the door shut behind him, then follows up intelligently with, “I’m eighteen, dude. Officially not a kid.”

Cute Guy stands up and stretches his back, then leans casually against his chair. “Aw, I guess I was thrown off by your height. Sorry.”

Will’s eyes blow wide, but he winds up smiling, a stupid blush visiting his cheeks. “Wow, your customer service is great.” The guy throws such a smiley look his way that he drops his defense. “Well, listen, I don’t wanna be that guy since you’re closing. It was nice meeting you, uh--”

“Mike,” he offers. “And it’s okay, I’d appreciate the company.”

Well, isn’t that the warm and fuzzy Christmas spirit? “Cool, uh, I can just hang out in here I guess. You don’t have to make anything.”

“Nonsense! What’s your order?” Mike drags his cleaning supplies behind the counter and leans himself up against the register, elbows on the counter.

Will takes a moment to scan the vast menu. “Uhh, large peppermint mocha latte with whipped cream, please?”

“Festive.” Mike’s eyebrows do a little dance as he punches the order in, long fingers tapping along the screen. Some of his nails are painted a spotty, sparkly dark green. “1.96, please.”

As Will digs through his pockets for change, he stares up at the menu, then back at Mike. “The--isn’t it, like, almost 3--?”

“If you’re willing to claim you’re a senior citizen, I’m willing to give you a discount.”

Will laughs a bit at that, laying the cash onto Mike’s open palm. “First I’m a child, now I have AARP? Make up your mind.”

“Dunno, I guess you’re quite the conundrum,” Mike chuckles. “Could I have a name for the order?”

“There’s no one else in here?”

The corner of Mike’s lips quirk up, and it’s, like, the hottest thing Will’s seen in a while. But who’s counting. “Could I have it anyway? For the system.”

And like, yeah, maybe Will’s stomach has about a million butterflies screwing up his insides, but he manages to sorta smirk back. “Will.”

“Aha! One less mystery.” Mike hands him a receipt and snags a cup from under the counter. “So, is there a reason you’re here on Christmas Eve? No family?”

Will leans himself against the counter, facing the front window, eyes stuck on the Christmas tree in the center square of town. He smiles wistfully. “No, I have a family. But my flight was delayed. Major winter storms ahead, or something stupid like that.”

“Oh, that’s a shame. I’m sorry to hear that.” Whirring sounds out from the espresso machine between them. Behind him, Mike is waiting while the milk is heated. “Are your folks cool?”

“It’s my mom and my brother,” Will says quietly, closing his eyes tightly to prevent any tears. Right now, they’re probably starting dinner, and even though his mother’s cooking has never been the best, it’ll be amazing, because Christmas Eve was always special for them. Always. “But, yeah, I love them. Miss them a lot.”

Will hears pouring behind him as the machine slows down. “That’s great, man. Do you know when your flight is?”

“3:30 in the morning.”

“Ah, shit, you have a while to go, huh?” Will nods quietly. “I’ll keep you great company.”

Will smiles to himself. “And how come you’re stuck here? Don’t most places close early?”

“One would think,” Mike says snarkily, but there’s a smile caught in his voice. “Nah, they wanted to stay open ‘just in case,’ and I guess I didn’t really mind the idea of being here. I’m not going home.” He clears his throat. “However, it’s been incredibly lonely, at least ‘till you showed up. So, thanks William. And order up.”

Will furrows his brow a bit, but still smiles as he slides his drink across the counter and lets the scent burrow into his nose. A sweet mint with gentle hints of chocolate. His name written with a poorly drawn Santa hat next to it. The smile turns into a full-blown grin.

“Thanks.”

“I even gave you extra cream.” Mike presses his lips together. “Whipped—whipped cream.”

“Nice one,” Will chuckles, moving to take a seat at one of the tables seated close to the counter. 

Mike wrinkles his nose at him teasingly, then grabs his rag and mop. “Alright, I’ll sit with you in a minute, but I want to finish this shit up.”

Will gestures greatly with his hand. “By all means.”

As Mike speed-cleans to the best of his ability, Will takes small sips of his drink, humming softly when he tastes it for the first time. Will tucks his feet up and under his knees and scrolls on his phone until his attention is pulled in the direction of Mike, gasping, arm thrown out wildly to his side.

“Oh, my god, this is iconic.” He pulls the mop back in and tilts it up as a microphone, exaggerating the beginning, “I… don’t want a lot for Christmas,” he dips himself back, scrunching his eyes shut, “there is just one thing I need.” Will giggles as he continues, slightly off-key but endearing, loud and excited. “I don’t care about the presents, underneath the Christmas tree! I just want you for my own,” he sucks in a breath dramatically, and Will may or may not have his phone tucked between his knees, recording, “more than you could ever know. Make my wish come trueee, all I want for Christmas, iiiiiiiiiiis… you!” He points the end of his ‘mic’ at Will, and Will’s cheeks are burning a cherry red, but he pulls his phone up and shakes it tauntingly. “William!” The boy snatches forward, tripping over his own feet, but Will saves it before he can do anything, shrieking with laughter. “How very un-chill of you! That was a private serenade.”

“I won’t share it, I promise,” Will says, leaning back against his chair, putting on pouty eyes to the best of his ability while he gets over his giggles (especially hard with Mike so close, trying to snatch the phone from his hands). “Aw, c’mon, Mikey. Let me have it to remember you by.”

And, to Will’s surprise, Mike pulls back, narrowing his eyes, a small smile trapped in his cheeks. “Fine, fine, but no sharing it. I’m trusting you right now. I’m serious, Will,” he says, but he’s forcing back a laugh. “Don’t you dare.”

“Promise.”

“Good.” And he meets Will’s eye with a heart-melting smile before he continues to hum along rather obnoxiously.

It’s weird to him how easily he banters with Mike, how normal it feels to show this stranger his actual self. It’s like, somehow, a secret pull in the world led him to the guy’s doorstep on Christmas Eve, the softest holiday of them all, so that he could feel at home away from home. 

Or something like that.

Once the song is over, Mike pushes his way through the counter doors, and he disappears to the back for a minute with the cleaning supplies. When he comes back, he throws off his apron, and then pulls up a chair across the table from Will.

And then he’s right in front of Will, staring at him with a stupid goofy grin, messy curls falling in his eyes, and jesus, he has freckles. 

Mike leans forward on his forearms, grinning wildly under the soft cafe lamplight, and fuck he’s pretty. “The video not enough? You can take a picture too, since, you know, it’ll last longer.”

Will swats at the boy’s hand, stifling an embarrassed smile. “Shut up.”

Mike beams, smiling with his eyes, and he takes a sip of his own drink. “So, William, don’t you have any friends in town? Someone more exciting than yours truly?”

“I don’t think I’ve met anyone more exciting than--” Will stops himself, because Mike looks far too entertained; his eyebrows shoot up and he rests his chin on the flat of his palm. “Uh, everyone went home.”

“Hm.” Mike is way too pleased with himself, somehow still grinning behind the drink lid. “And no special friend going home with you to meet the family?”

Will rolls his eyes. “No, um, last year I had a stupid little high school boyfriend, but he—” Will gnaws at his lip, looking away from Mike. The boy tries to catch his eye with a sympathetic look, but he can’t meet it. “He left our little Christmas party early, and well, I found out around New Years that he—well, new year, new man, I guess.”

Mike’s eyes widen. “He cheated on you?” Will nods. “Oh, I could kick his ass. That’s so shitty. And during the holidays?” He shakes his head. “Fuck that guy.”

“Yeah, but it’s—it’s pretty stupid, I guess, that I haven’t dated much since. It happens to a lot of people.” Will fidgets with his fingers in his lap, linking them together and twisting and tapping.

“Hey, it’s not stupid,” Mike says firmly, finally bringing Will’s gaze up. “That’s super fucking shitty on his part. But hey, the single life can be great! Lonely, sometimes, but it’s nice to know that you can live with yourself, you know?” He chuckles shortly and looks down. “Maybe that’s stupid.”

“No, I get what you mean.” Will smiles softly. “It is good. But yeah, lonely.”

“So lonely!”

Will chuckles, and Mike joins him, and then a comfortable silence settles around them. Briefly. “I guess, I guess just—even though I’m ready to move on, it feels hopeless. I can’t seem to find love anywhere.”

“It’s not hopeless, Will!” Mike exclaims, and Will unabashedly gazes at him, smiling at him with a raised eyebrow. “Why, I think, love actually is all around.” He meets Will’s gaze, gorgeous dark eyes sparkling under the gentle lights with childlike energy. After a moment, he throws his hands up and gestures toward the window. “Like, look outside. It’s amazingly festive out there. And people all across the city aren’t even here, because they’re with their families. But it’s still beautiful! And they’re beautiful! That’s love, right?”

Will nods, shrugs. “Yeah, I suppose.”

“And losers like us find each other all the time, and then we’re not so alone on Christmas Eve. Like, the universe has to be showing us love, right?” He says it so eagerly, looks at Will so hopefully, that if he were a much bolder person, he would kiss this handsome stranger. He would grab his cheeks and kiss him hard and hold on tight.

With too dopey of a smile to control, Will says, “I guess so.”

Mike shrugs. “I know you’re on board with this now, Will, you can’t fool me with your aloofness.”

“I can certainly try.”

Mike gasps, fake offended, and then Will is giggling and Mike joins him.

“So, what about you?”

“Huh?”

Will takes a sip of his drink and cups it in his hands. “Your family? Not going home?”

“Ah,” Mike smiles painfully down at the table. “My sister won’t be home, I don’t even know what’s going on with my mom, and I’m not going home to just my dad. No can do.”

“Your mom left?”

“No, well…” he glances around thoughtfully. “She isn’t living with him now that me and Nance are gone, which is good, but I think she’s having a rough time figuring out where to go, and…” he shakes his head. “I don’t know. I think she’s safe right now, probably with my Nana, but I don’t know.”

Will’s heart hangs heavy in his chest, and he’s smacked with the realization as to why Mike was so gung-ho about the love thing. “That has to be really hard, Mike. I hope she’s okay.”

“Me too.”

“And your dad?”

Mike smiles. “An asshole.”

“Hey, mine too!”

Mike snickers into his drink. “Funny how that works, isn’t it?”

“Truly. Dads suck.” He chuckles under his breath. “But uh, how will you be spending Christmas?”

“Awh, are you concerned for me, William?”

Will squints. “I think that’s a generally polite question.”

“Mhm,” Mike purses his lips, “I’ll be hanging out with my roommate and some dorky Christmas movies, I think. Maybe go out and fall in love later in the day, get fucked up in the evening. Who knows?”

Will rolls his eyes. “Well, have fun.”

And for a while, it feels okay to be lonely with each other, sipping at festive drinks and giggling over stupid shared family problems, alone in their own cozy little world on Christmas Eve.

As the night winds down to a close, Will clears his throat. “Uh, hey, I have to get going. Make sure I’m at the airport on time.”

Mike glances at his watch, and Will thinks about how cute it is that he has a watch (and then how dumb that thought is) and with a quiet, “Shit,” Mike goes to turn on their ‘closed’ sign.

“Do you need a ride, or anything?” Mike seems a lot more nervous now, scratching the back of his neck and furrowing his brows at Will.

Will smiles at him teasingly. “I don’t take rides from strangers, thank you.”

“Fair enough. You’re a smart kid.”

“I’ve made it this far.”

They stand there for a moment, a bit more awkward than before, trying to anticipate each other’s next moves.

“Uh, hey,” Will says finally, digging something from his pockets. “Give me your hand.”

“In marriage?”

“Haha, nice try,” Will makes a ‘c’mere’ motion with his hands, and Mike sticks his arm out. Will scribbles his number down on his pale forearm. “Text me if you want the video.”

“Awh, that’s cute. He’s never heard of phone contacts,” Mike coos to an imaginary audience.

“Shut up,” Will grins, shoving the marker back in his pocket with a blush. “Now you won’t forget.”

“Oh, I promise, I will never forget you, Willy.”

Will wrinkles up his face and laughs. “Don’t ever call me that again.” He’s all too aware of the fact that he’s still clinging to Mike’s wrist with a few fingers, buzzing at the touch. “Bye, Mike. Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas, Will.” Mike doesn’t move, and Will is stuck in his spot, gazing up at the boy, who smiles bashfully down at him. Then, Mike leans down into a dramatic bow and just barely ghosts his lips against Will’s knuckles. “Thanks for spending time with me, kind sir. And make sure you report me for the awful customer service.”

Will is stunned, and he wants to kiss this boy so badly. 

He doesn’t.

He manages to move his jelly legs after a second, clicking his suitcase and pushing through the door, the bell sounding out through the somber restaurant. And then he’s laughing, waving goodbye, with an embarrassingly giddy, “Sure thing,” and he makes his way down the sidewalk, his face burning in the brutal breeze.

After he has boarded the plane, settled in his seat, answered his mother’s 100-plus texts about how everything is going and be safe’s and I love you’s, and queued up a movie to watch (or perhaps fall asleep to) on the way home, he feels his phone vibrate in his pocket.

Unknown: [ hey, u dont have to send me the video. But keep it to remember me ;) and lmk when u get back ]

Me: [ jan. 10th. And i hate u :p ]

Mikey: [ do u happen to be free on january 10th? Or the 11th, if that works better? I’d like to prove u wrong some more, if i may ]

Will grins down at the light of his phone, and he lets his head fall back against the seat, burying his face in his hands.

Me: [ i’ll see u on the 10th. Nerd. ]

Mikey: [ :D ]

[steve0discusses]

Yugioh S4 Ep6: Gozaburo Kaiba Just Casually Started WWIII And Only This One Guy Cares

Welcome to November, where we celebrate writing a 50,000 word book as if I don’t do that every single time I write about an episode of Yugioh. Hello, this is my season. It’s wordy season. I’m so freakin good at doing this. I can’t say most of what I’ve made is any good, but I CAN say at least I’m prolific. Do enough content to fill that bitter pit and walk right over it, that’s been my motto for the past 5 years.

Anyway, I had an awful flu this past week. (Everyone I live with had it so every bathroom was like ground zero) It was SO bad. I still can’t eat spicy food over a week later (Which is so hard for me because usually I can keep up with my Indian friends, that’s my spicy level--max spicy, please--but since this illness, my white taste genes went into overdrive and I tried putting pepperoncini slices in my sandwich and it set my mouth on fire. Pepperoncini. It’s v embarrassing.)

I did attempt to write this post. Unfortunately I never made it past this cap because I got VERY distracted by the emblem on Alister’s face, and how it isn’t proportionally adjusted to match the angle of his face, and it was like three paragraphs of just wanting to talk about it. And then at some point I got very distracted talking about how many empty glasses I was given at my place setting at this baby shower I went to during the flu epidemic, and it mattered a whole lot to me at the time, but I think, overall, was mostly just some sort of nonsense. The things I’ve spared you. 

(bro has just informed me that the 4 gold-lipped crystal goblets I was given at this baby shower was actually very distressing and a very big deal and that I should absolutely talk to at least someone about it, but maybe he’s just saying that to make me feel better, but I have no idea. I am too sick for sarcasm at this time but my god why was I given so many glasses????)

I straight up have no memory of if I’ve made this joke before. Maybe.

(read more under the cut)

Since it feels like 8 years since the last time I could just eat chicken without feeling like I consumed an entire Thanksgiving meal, a little recap:

-Alister pretended he was Pegasus to lure Kaiba and then, off screen, murdered everyone in Pegasus’ castle

-Pegasus got murdered by I’m pretty sure Mai (which is like...OK then...)

-Yugi and Co went on vacation by driving directly through San Francisco and peeking out the window and saying “yeah that’s enough for me”

-No adults, not even Roland, bothered to come with their kids this time, so the only adult of the entire crew--Pegasus--is dead

-Rex and Weevil are luggage

-The Eye of Sauron showed up and it was the end of the world but Yugi threw a dragon at it so I guess everything is OK now

-Monsters are real but they are hard to animate so we’ll just pretend like they’re causing havoc everywhere although most of the planet seems basically unaffected by this.

-The Grim Reaper is a friendly monster that hangs out in a Japanese park and that feels fairly on brand.

And I think that was all that was happening so far.

In a weird twist of fate, Mokuba is the only one in this room that isn’t trapped which sort of...if you’re the only one NOT kidnapped wouldn’t that also be a type of being kidnapped?

And we finally get to figure out why Alister wants to Murder Kaiba so bad and, spoiler, it reaches.

???

I’m gonna get more to the obvious problems with Alister’s devotion to murdering all the Kaibas in a bit but yes, Alister is in fact going to try and Kill Kaiba on this kid’s show because of Kaiba’s Dad, who is such a horrible and abusive person that Kaiba essentially drove the bastard out of Japan and straight to the bottom of the ocean.

Just kinda feels like Alister has been living under a rock...which, I guess he has been. He has been living in some weird Atlantis structure so I guess he never got the memo that Gozaburo Kaiba is hella dead.

So that’s what they’re up to. How’s Sausalito?

Um.

Huh.

So the North Bay is a really classic scenery. It’s rolling hills. It’s NAPA. It’s like...definitely not Arizona. California has a couple of mesas but they’re no where near here and the Monument Valley style Mesas really only exist in Monument Valley.

And I know it’s because the background artist for Yugioh is all horny for horny rock structures but like...this couldn’t be farther from the Bay Area in the way that it is drawn and it is such a shock after all the work they did last episode to research that Bay Area lore. Once they crossed the Golden Gate they were like “well no one will care about this part” which is true not only of Yugioh but also of real life Californian politics.

Anyway, I have been making a map, but unfortunately my original file will not suffice. time to fix it.

There we go. Now they’re in the right place. Just smack dab in Monument Valley, Arizona, smack dab in the middle of the Navajo Nation and so hypothetically, not even in the United States anymore.

While in the car, Yugi has just been anxious as hell the entire time, and just going “y’all I have a bad feeling I’m uncomfortable I have a bad feeling” while Joey and Tea just patiently stared at him flipping out in the corner. So...kinda like a normal trip with someone who has high anxiety/possessed by a ghost. I  kinda feel like this is every girls trip to Disneyland for me. There’s always one Yugi who’s like “no one said anything about CROWDS.” and you kinda just gotta let them do their thing. Just let them get it out of their system and hide in the bathroom when they need to hide in the bathroom and don’t fight it, they’ll be fine. Just hold their spot in line when they desperately look for a secret place to medicinally vape because there’s too many freakin children at Disneyland.

And it is HILARIOUS that Yugi is able to have this type of premonition but cannot figure out that they have somehow missed San Fransisco and have wandered into a DESERT.

Back in Pegasus’ California (an island that legitimately looks more like California than actual Yugioh California) Alister has decided to go completely off the rails and it happens so fast and without any warning.

the line is actually “This doll used to be my brother’s” which is a very different meaning but both are likely from weird ass Alister and this weird ass show, so I’ll leave the cap like this (although yes, this is what I thought Alister was saying for kind of a while until I recorded it for this blog and was like “oh shoot I heard the line wrong when I had the flu huh.”)

Man, RIP Noah, he would have been excellent this episode.

Honestly seems like just yesterday when Seto and Noah were pitted against eachother by a cyberdemon Dad-head floating in the sky, Mokuba was possessed for some reason and being used as a human shield, Tristan was a robot monkey, and Yugi was just shrugging at Kaiba from across the field like “Kaiba if you don’t play good you die--oh my gods, he died. Well that was bound to happen...again.” Man.

Alister should be their best friend, this is nonsense.

So lets do the math to 7 years before 2002.

I searched Wikipedia for wars during 1995 (they do have a list of 90′s wars) and looked for any that involved heavy use of tanks and their artillery fire (on big swatches of cities like this), inner city western architecture, temperate landscapes, and western clothing that match Alister and Mikey (AKA WWII vibes) and found out:

Nothing fits that description

UNLESS Alister and Mikey are time travelers from a WWII bombing in Europe. This is Yugioh. That could happen. Probably not, but youknow...it’s not too late for Yugioh to bring in time travel.

I mean if you don’t want to get super political in your cartoon just invent a world war I guess? We’ve already clarified that Gozaburo was Big Boss, so at this point I can easily see him inventing wars just to sell ships.

(I could probably add thousands of more deaths at this point but I have no idea where they are, if they’re on a tiny island or an entire country so I’ll just...leave the count alone but just now it’s implied that a hell ton of people died during this episode)

People going off about how Sesame Street is so amazing for talking about issues like you’re Dad going to prison while Yugioh was straight up talking about the intricacy of the War Economy. Yugioh being all “don’t forget kids, your good capitalist economy survives off of the undeserved bloodshed of civilians in other countries! Eat the poor!” and it’s like hot damn this heavy commentary came out of freakin no where.

Anyways, this is stuff most kid’s shows will delicately skip over but nah, Yugioh is going to go here, and they are going to steamroll directly through it with massive tanks.

So, lets kill this kid’s entire family and talk about the terrors of the World War of 1995 and all the war orphans who get recruited to become soldiers at the ripe old age of 9. Alister was 9 when he was recruited to be a child card soldier.

This kid’s show.

Alister is...basically Raiden, right? Like as long as we’re talking about Metal Gear, this kid is just one step away from cyborg implants and weird colored blood?

Better wear bright red when you visit the war crime scene, surprised Gozaburo didn’t invite like an entire photo -op crew to incriminate him even further.

Now we did look up “where the hell is Alister from Yugioh from?” (there is no answer) and we did find out a little factoid. In the Japanese version of the show, Gozaburo had bought the land and was just forcibly evicting Alister and his family from their home with tanks.

Which is wild.

He just straight up evicted an entire metropolitan city????

Like the dub did a way better job than the sub at this one, I’ll give them that.

It’s just so weird that Gozoboro just didn’t like...raise the rent like a normal bad landlord. Instead he was like “rather than gentrify my land and save me a ton of money, I’ll just destroy everything I just bought and murder everyone here” which is like...

...Seto did the world so many favors when he kicked out his Dad, right? Like Damn. I don't understand why Alister isn’t freakin worshiping Seto right now when his whole deal is “I must kill Gozaburo” and Seto’s like “yo I already did that. Twice. I didn’t even have to literally kill him either, I just embarrassed him so bad that he killed himself. His stupid tank company sells joke games now. I literally turned the man into a joke.”

Then again, Alister is on the green magic and like I think it alters your brain chemistry somewhat.

(How ripped did Alister get in this episode, by the way? The kid is like 16 years old or something so how did this happen? ...The perpetual horny line running straight through Yugioh, man. Look at it run. That 16 year old is drawn like he’s 28 and really into Crossfit and his crop top gets smaller and smaller like every scene.)

So like this is a very gray issue that I cannot believe they brought up in a kid’s show (like can you imagine if Scrooge McDuck had to face facts that his company murdered tons of people???), but also this is Seto Kaiba. Seto grew up in the system, so like he doesn’t need to be lectured to about dirty money because he was on the losing end of that not too long ago. Seto is himself basically a upscale war orphan since he was adopted by Gozaburo to continue the machine like a freakin maniac (a Solidus Snake, if you will) so of all the people on this show I don’t get why Seto would care about this. This is just how Seto views the entire world as either losing or winning and no reason to feel bad about it because he’s been both.

Also...Seto stopped the machine. Kind of. He was unaware that cards were the same thing as weapons, but at least he stopped the sale of huge child-stealing tanks.

So they play the game for a little while and Seto does kind of poorly as usual, and just when I thought this episode couldn’t get any weirder...

And just like that, Seto peaces out. Like he does almost every single time he has ever played a card game solo except for that one time he was playing Joey Wheeler. (Which was also one of the few times Seto ever won.)

Like I just want to remind you that this segment is in the same episode as WWIII and the tonal whiplash is pretty remarkable.

That’s right, we’re back in the Unnamed Monster World, which is not the Shadow Realm, and which I thought you could only access if you were dreaming and able to search through the puzzle maze.

Apparently this can just happen at any time and all that stuff with the guiding Kuriboh and Yugi and Pharaoh trying to find this place was just...them wasting time.

Again he ditches the legendary sword so freakin fast because who needs a sword when you have a dragon? Only this anime.

And that’s how Seto, who was absolutely going to lose this game, somehow just barely came to a draw.

So just to recap, Seto has yet to win a card game that he didn’t get prophetic help for via a hallucination or Yugi telling him what to do. Unless you count Joey and grandpa.

Then, the one last adult I forgot about, the driver of Yugi’s car, decides that it’s about time that he also died and left this show as adult free as possible.

THE HELL ARE THEY?

Also...maybe it’s the angle but the writing on that gas station looks a lot like kanji.

Yo, what if this is the backgrounds for a different show and they’re just sharing? I mean I doubt it because Yugioh had a good enough budget but...what if? What if that’s why they’re in Arizona?

Anyway, next time we’ll find out if this guy just drops dead or has been a Yugioh monster this whole time, and I think maybe both?

And if you just got here, this is a link to read all my Yugioh recaps in chrono order

[chaos-weekly]

code breaker

Indy wasn’t planning on answering Zion’s call, but it was too strange that he was calling at 12:30am the night Dante died. Unless he knew Dante (which was unlikely), something was up and she was going to find out what it was. 

When she answered, there were no pleasantries, just: “Indy, thank God you’re up. Grab your laptop and get to Jimmy’s now.” She didn’t bother questioning it or asking for more information, she just said she’d be there soon and went inside to grab her things. 

She arrived at the bar minutes later, backpack slung over her shoulder and eyes only slightly red. The open sign was off, but she could see Zion and some tall biker guy behind the bar, each pouring themselves another drink. Indigo took a deep breath before entering to compose herself. It was okay to be sad, but if this was about the weird circumstances surrounding Dante’s death, and she hoped it was, then she needed to pull herself together to fully function. 

“Hey,” she said as she entered the bar, using a voice that was more confident than she felt. 

“That was fast,” Zion said, surprised. “I was expecting you to be a little longer.”

“Yeah, well, the streets are empty.”

“Right.”

There was a bit of awkward silence. Zion didn’t seem to want to broach the actual topic of why he’d called her, but his companion didn’t seem to be in any hurry to talk. But she needed someone to talk and fast. Otherwise, she’d start to think about how Dante spent a lot of time here and how he’d never walk through the doors again. 

Again, she was pathetic.

“Look, this is going to sound crazy, but Dante left this note and we think you’re the one who’s supposed to decode it,” Zion said. He handed her a little sheet of paper, a note addressed to someone named Thorn, and she unfolded it. There was a reference about To Kill A Mockingbird at the top of the note followed by a sequence of binary. Indy swallowed. It was written in Dante’s almost illegible handwriting. It was definitely a note, and when she took a second to read the part in English, a frown spread deep across her lips.

“It’s an insurance policy,” she muttered, slipping off her backpack and putting it on top of the bar. She looked up at the two men in front of her, eyes scanning their faces and focusing in on the unfamiliar one. “You’re Thorn?” He nodded in response. It was the dumbest name she’d ever heard. 

“Figures.” Thorn looked as if this comment was new to him. “I can decode this, but so can anyone else. It’s literally just binary. Ones and zeroes. There are translators online.”

“But you’ll do it?” Thorn asked, surprising Indigo. His voice was just as gruff as she imagined it would be. 

“Yeah, but I’ve got to make a phone call first. I hope y’all have room for one more.”

“Who?” Thorn asked, immediately on edge.

“Dante’s sister,” Indy fired back. 

“We have room,” Zion said, eager to ease tensions. “And Indy… I’m really sorry about Dante.”

She gave a nod, swallowed, and stepped outside. 

Micah didn’t deserve to be roped into this disaster. No, she should have been sitting on the sidelines, allowed to just experience her grief and pain in solitude without the knowledge that her brother was planning on being murdered. But Dante was pulling her in from beyond the grave. He wanted her to know whatever was in this insurance policy. Indy felt like she owed it to him to at least give him that.

She called Micah five times before she picked up, and when her friend answered, the line was silent.

“Mikey?” Indy asked quietly, waiting for some indication of life.

“Indy,” Micah said, her voice shaky and quiet. “You heard?”

“I was at the festival.” There was a moment of silence, and Indigo fought back tears. “I’m so sorry, Micah. I’m so sorry.” She could hear Micah crying on the other end. It broke her heart into two. She couldn’t imagine losing a sibling, much less two. Micah was stronger than she’d ever be.

“Mikey, he left a note. It’s some kind of insurance policy. And he called you Atticus. He wants you to avenge him.” There was silence on the other end.

“What?” Micah asked. “An insurance policy? Why would Dante need insurance?” Indigo sighed.

“He told me a few months ago that he was involved in shady stuff and that he wanted to skip town. And he called me Thursday saying he was finally going to do it and that he wanted to see me one more time before he disappeared.”

“What?”

“It’s a lot, Micah. But look, I’m at Jimmy’s with some biker guy named Thorn and another friend. The rest of the note is in binary, and they want me to decode it. I’m going to hang out here until you come. You should be there when I get it.”

“Yeah,” Micah said, a rustling sound from the other line indicating movement. “Yeah, I’m on my way now. See you soon.”

The call ended and Indy headed back inside. She took a seat at the bar, and someone had made her a glass of water with a little lemon perched perfectly on the edge. 

“This is very pretty, Zion,” Indy said, opening her laptop up and pulling out a binary translator. 

“It was Thorn, actually,” he replied, nodding at the other man. Thorn was leaning against the back of the bar, arms crossed. His eyes were focused intently on her, and she narrowed her eyes at him.

“You’re freaking me out, dude,” Indy told him. He simply grunted and looked away. He was like a caveman. 

Indy typed the binary from Dante’s note into a translator and clicked translate. It took a second to load, but when it did, the translation made no sense. She frowned, and Zion moved from behind the bar to look at her screen. 

“I thought you said it was a simple binary code,” he said, flustered. “Did he mess up?”

“No, Dante’s too smart to mess up,” Indigo muttered, staring at the note intently. “There’s some kind of code in the letters that came from the binary.”

“So you can’t get it,” Zion groaned. Indy looked up at him with a confident smirk.

“I never said that.”

“How long is it going to take?” Thorn asked. He’d moved from his position of being as far away from her as possible to leaning against the bar in front of her. And he was staring again.

“Considering I’ve never done this before, I’d put on some coffee,” she replied dryly. “You have beautiful eyes, by the way.” Thorn scowled, she raised her eyebrows as if daring him to reply, and he headed back towards the kitchen. 

The sound of the door opening made the two remaining in the room jump, but it was just Micah. She looked about as put together as Indy felt-- trying her hardest not to cry and having to settle for a perpetually quivering lip. Indy slipped off her barstool and made her way over to her friend, wrapping her arms around her as she sobbed into her sweatshirt. Thorn was already back with a pot of coffee by the time Micah pulled away, wiping her nose and eyes on the sleeve of her hoodie.

“Come sit next to me,” Indigo said softly. “I could use a friend who knows how to utilize the English language properly. Zion is freaked out and talking too quickly, and Thorn only responds with grunts.” This made Micah giggle, and she took the seat next to Indy’s at the bar. “Here’s the note. I thought you might want to read it.” Micah nodded and slipped from her chair to read the note in a booth on her own. Indy tried not to pay attention to the sobs and stared at her computer screen, but out of the corner of her eye, she could see Zion bringing her a cup of coffee. 

This was a challenging code. The most obvious key shifts hadn’t worked, and now she was having to think a little more creatively, which was hard to do with Thorn continually staring at her.

“Do you want to watch?” Indy finally asked. “If not, you’ve got to stop staring at me. Just because I can type fast doesn’t mean I’m some kind of superhuman.” He gave a shrug, as if he thought she might be an alien regardless, but moved around the bar and took a seat next to her. It was apparent that he had no idea what she was doing, but she didn’t expect him to. It felt like a small child was watching her work and it was somewhat endearing. 

“I don’t get computer stuff,” Thorn muttered, shaking his head.

“You don’t have to,” Indigo replied. “It’s not for everyone.” But she talked to him while she kept working, making small comments about why she was doing what she was doing or how she got to be such a fast typer. There wasn’t as much pressure to decode this message while explaining things to him. It just reminded her that if Dante could write this code with his limited knowledge, she could crack it with her wealth of knowledge.

Limited knowledge.

“I’m thinking too complex,” she said softly, her fingers hovering over the keys as she paused her typing. “Dante doesn’t know a thing about this crap.”

“Yeah. I’ve never heard him talk about letter code before.”

“Maybe the shift is actually in the binary,” Indy mused. “You’re not supposed to shift binary, but Dante wouldn’t know that. Or maybe he would and knew no one else would think about it.” She plugged in her binary to a program and applied a shift. 

The paragraph that appeared in front of her was in coherent English. Dante was a genius, just like she always knew he was.

“Micah, Zion,” she said, scanning the message. “You’re going to want to see this.” Micah practically ran over and Zion followed close behind. The four of them crowded around her screen to read the note:

Micah, Indy, and Thorn: The Salemsville Police are corrupt, and they’re the ones who killed me. They want to wipe out the biker gang entirely. I have the dirt on them you’ll need to take them down. It’s hidden all over town. The info is on a flashdrive in my apartment. Find it.

There was a long silence. Indigo wasn’t sure how to process this. She was a full-time college student with two hard majors and a million other things to do, and he wanted her to go on a treasure hunt that would lead to them dismantling the entire police force? It seemed insane. But she trusted Dante, and judging by the look of mild panic on Micah’s face and the one of stoney determination on Thorn’s, they did too.

“My name isn’t on the note, but you can count me in anyway,” Zion said, ending the silence. “I didn’t know Dante, but I’ll do it for Jimmy and Eden.”

So Jimmy, the president of the biker club, and Eden, Zion’s older sister and Sheriff Magnus’s wife, were having an affair after all. It made sense. 

The three others just nodded, and it was decided then and there: they were going to find that information and make sure the Salemsville Police Department paid for what they did to Dante.

[mhsn033]

Coronavirus: ‘Soft play is heading for a cliff edge’

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption Bye bye ball swimming pools: The fun however tricky-to-tidy points of interest might per chance well recede amid the Covid-19 pandemic

They are the salvation of a moist day – the set up children can fearlessly plug themselves up and down brightly-coloured, spongy mats as mother and father discover solace with coffee and a chat, the latter in total drowned out by deafening, delirious-with-happiness screams.

Nonetheless subtle play centres face being wiped out amid the coronavirus pandemic as even handed one of many final industries to comprise a proposed opening date. Within the final three weeks, no lower than 15 comprise closed their doors completely and a lot more are dwelling to put together.

Extra than 25,000 of us comprise signed the #RescueIndoorPlay petition, calling on the authorities to assassinate a resolution on reopening or provide more financial serve to the UK’s 1,100 centres, which make negate of 30,000 of us. There is additionally negate among operators relating to the impact closure might per chance well comprise on families with babies, which rely on subtle play centres for sanity and socialisation.

“I win for teenagers and oldsters’ psychological effectively being,” says Helen Whittington, who has started a crowdfunder to interchange “tricky to tidy” ball swimming pools at DJ Jungles in St Albans and Hemel Hempstead with new sensory areas that can well perhaps enable social distancing.

“We’ve toddler lessons, NCT meets and are a group up for folk to socialize – postnatal despair might per chance well delay and children lose the boldness to mix and assassinate guests, share and steal turns.”

Image caption Helen Whittington says subtle play centres are needed for teenagers’s and oldsters’ psychological effectively being

Simon Bridgland made the heartbreaking resolution to shut Large Stress-free Home in Canterbury before the total lot of July, which he’d crawl for six years. The announcement became met with an “outpouring of love” from customers on his Fb net page.

“I became blown away by the amount of feedback,” he says. It became not an effortless resolution to assassinate, with 17 workers losing their jobs.

“We would not had any earnings in anyway since March. Gentle play isn’t the gold mine of us deem it is – you assassinate your money in chilly climate to acquire thru the summer season months. Most are in colossal warehouses and price a range of money to retain going.”

Handiest final one year he opened a £50,000 trot kart discover which had honest a pair of months of negate. As a replace, he has determined to diversify. Mr Bridgland runs Snowflakes Day Nursery on the identical web page online, and is going to boost it into what became Large Stress-free Home. Youth will comprise the crawl of the set up and its services.

Image copyright Simon Bridgland

Image caption The trot kart discover at Large Stress-free Home became ideal installed final one year

“It be going to be one hell of a nursery, what with the sheer quantity of home and just a few racy ingredients.

“Personally, I deem subtle play is useless. The kids, they’ll not social distance. So we were left without a choice however to repurpose the centre.”

One other owner reworking their commercial is Ellis Potter, managing director of the Riverside Hub in Northampton, who is presently to acquire a shipping of 80 tonnes of play sand for a pop-up beach on the auto park.

“It be note us about £1,000 a day honest to face light with the doors closed, which is a serious chunk of money,” he says.

“We’ve obtained a total bunch of emails from mother and father who are seeking to convey a sense of normality support to their children’s lives, attributable to or not it is the children which will most seemingly be being affected in all of this.

“We’ve implemented massive hygiene and safety features, and spent tens of thousands of pounds with air sterilisation and antibacterial fogging – every little thing that we can create to retain get however the authorities are honest not having it. They honest might per chance well not enable us to originate indoor play.

Image copyright Riverside Hub

Image caption Ellis Potter has had “literally a total bunch of emails” from mother and father who whisper their children comprise been missing out

“We’ve 60 workers on furlough who are anxious relating to the long crawl, and we’re seeking to supply them some readability. There might per chance be been some very sad times however emails and Fb messages from customers comprise kept us going.”

Mikey Johnson, assistant supervisor of Jungleland in Telford, said the dearth of readability for subtle play centres became “diabolical”.

Takings went down 90 per cent in the week sooner than lockdown as unnerved families stayed at home. Interior a week it became zero. Because the pandemic took retain, Jungleland grew to turn into a tumble-off point for a local food financial institution.

Image copyright Mikey Johnson

Image caption “A full bunch of families” were helped by the pop-up food financial institution at Jungleland, which despatched affords to Telford Disaster Make stronger

In March the company had 26 people of workers. Now eight dwell on furlough, all eyes on the next authorities announcement.

“At the minute or not it is an unknown,” said Mr Johnson. “Although we now comprise a date, or not it is the rebuilding duration after that.

“We would doubtlessly be working at half of ability, and that’s honest not a viable commercial. We need bums on seats. It be honest a ready game.”

Representatives from the British Affiliation of Leisure Parks, Piers and Attractions (BALPPA) – many in furry costumes – descended on 10 Downing Boulevard just not too long ago to boost consciousness of their #RescueIndoorPlay marketing campaign. The pandemic meant they weren’t allowed to physically hand in a petition, however that is gathering whisk on Trade.org.

“We’ve had a enormous quantity of serve from of us who negate these centres on a standard basis – they are embedded in our local communities,” said Paul Kelly, chief executive of BALPPA.

“We need the authorities to protest us the date we can reopen, or protest us why we can’t. There are 1,100 centres and I will’t uncover about them surviving if we do not hear something presently.

“We are heading for a cliff edge.”

Lizzie Elston, 45 from Harpenden, mum to Oliver, eight, is among those who are backing the selling campaign.

Image copyright Lizzie Elston

Image caption Oliver Elston’s mum says she would comprise “no hesitation” taking him to subtle play attributable to she knows how seriously they are taking cleanliness

“The advantages of sentimental play are massive. Oliver’s not into organised sport – we’ve tried to acquire him into rugby or cricket, however he’s at his happiest when he’s jumping off issues honest being a ninja,” she says.

“He’s repeatedly entirely cherished subtle play – honest being a lunatic – so it is sparkling as a guardian attributable to you presumably can comprise a coffee with guests and know he’s get, either by himself or with guests. It be so most well-known for his physical and psychological wellbeing honest not being in front of a screen.

“It’ll’t be overestimated, the importance of sentimental play – it helps how they form, how they study and socialise, so or not it is critically most well-known for his or her psychological effectively being.”

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[bleachanimefan1]

Turtles Forever Part 36

Reflections

The turtles are blindfolded by the side of their masks, while Yuuki had a normal blindfold, holding bamboo sticks as part of their training. Everyone came to Casey's farmhouse for a break from everything. However, Splinter wanted to use their time to train and not relax.

 "Master Splinter," Donnie speaks "When you said that we we're coming up here for a little rest and recuperation, I though maybe you meant rest and recuperation."

"Ah, Donatello, there is nothing more restful for a ninja than rigorous training." Splinter explains. "It brings focus and-" He hears game noises from behind him and turns to see Mikey with his eyes glued to the screen of the videogame he was playing, with his mask off. Splinter smacks it out of the turtle's hands.

Mikey kneels down to pick it up "Gamedude! Speak to me Gamedude!"

Splinter drags him back to the others by his mask. Casey and April were relaxing in the shade by the trees watching. Venus sat with her legs crossed reading a book while Mona leaned over her shoulder reading along with her as Venus helped her.

"Now, defend yourselves." Splinter said.

"Uh, sensei, we got zero visibility here." Raph pointed out. Splinter flips over them and charges at Leo, who defends himself. Raph blocks his staff as do Donnie and Mikey. Then Yuuki blocks it as well.

"Not bad, huh, sensei?" Mikey asked.

"Not bad at all." Splinter kneels on one knee "We are finished for the day." Everyone except Leo puts their bamboo sticks down. Splinter trips them, causing them to fall into each other like dominoes and landed on the ground in a pile, but Leo jumps over them at the last second.

"Master Splinter, you said that we were finished." Donnie said.

"A true ninja should never believe everything he hears." Splinter bows to the blue mask turtle and he bows back "Well done, Leonardo." 

"There goes Leo making us look bad again." Donnie retorts as he stands up.

"Yeah, Leo doesn't always get it right." Raph murmurs as he stands, straightening his mask back into place.

"What was that, Raphael?" Splinter calls out.

"Uh, nothing, sensei." Raph answers, nervously walking past him. Leo helped Yuuki as he helped pull her up off of the ground. 

"Come, let us sit and talk." Splinter said as they approached April who was reading and Casey, who was lying in his lounge chair. Venus was meditating on the blanket while Mona silently played and picked with the dandelions as they sat on the blanket that was laid out.

"No big deal, really, but I was thinking about the first time we met the Shredder and how he almost had Leonardo here going over to the dark side." Raph said, waving his fingers.

"He did what now?" Venus questions, intrigued. 

Leo groans and places an hand on is forehead "Oh, here we go again. You know, I still feel like an idiot about that whole thing." He explains.

"And I don't blame ya. The Shredder almost had you believing that he was a good guy, remember?" Raph asked.

"The Shredder invited you and Yuuki to a little party, and like suckers, you went...alone." 

"Hey, I was kidnapped. I didn't really have a choice." Yuuki chimed in.

"Don't interrupt."

"Sorry."

Leo looks around suspiciously until he sees Yuuki being surrounded by a dozen of Foot ninjas. He growls and quickly pulls out his swords and jumped "Mind if a cut in?" He asked, landing next to her facing the ninjas.

Leo looked over his shoulder at Yuuki "Stay close to me no matter what." She nodded.

Three ninjas made their move. They launch themselves at Leo and Yuuki. Leo kicks two of them knocking them back. The other one throws a lunch at Yuuki and she quickly side stepped tripping them. They fell into on top of three ninjas.  Another one draws their sword making a charge at her from behind. Leo flips her spinning her around kicking them out of the way. One comes up from behind Leo. Yuuki tapped them on the back they turned around and she punches them in the face sending them flying last Leo. He looks in surprise then smiled.

They hear clapping and turn to see a man standing in the shadows. "Impressive. Very impressive." He comments and stops clapping. "My agents said that you were good, but their description doesn't do you two justice." He steps out with a grin on his face, standing a few feet away from them.

 "I am Oroku Saki, eighth generation master of ninjitsu and you both are?" The man finishes, gesturing to the two. Leo puts away his swords "Leonardo, and this is Yuuki." Leo said, bowing, while Yuuki silently stared at the man standing behind the turtle.

"I felt that it was urgent that we meet. There are things that you need to know. You have been caught in the middle of a battle that is so much bigger than yourselves, but, you must know, there is a force. A corrupt and evil force that is out there, right now, working its insidious tentacles into every aspect of our world." Saki sighs and looks at the Foot Clan symbol.

"Unfortunately, the only thing standing against this evil  force is me and my humble army of ninjas. We stand alone against them, as my master did and his master before him. It has been my destiny to fight for the side of good," "I was hoping that you would find it in your hearts to join me and fight against this evil. We could stand together."

Mikey breathes deeply "Join me Leonardo and Yuuki. I am your father." He mimics in a deep voice.

"I can't believe you bought the Shredder's whole twisted story." Raph replies.

"Neither can I." Leo murmurs

"Do not feel bad my son. You hoped that his words were true. It is the nature of a good heart to hope." Splinter tells him, placing a hand on his heart.

"I'm just glad you guys opened my eyes, especially you sensei and Yuuki. I should have seen through the Shredder's lies. I should've seen it coming." Leo said. Sitting beside him, Yuuki took Leo's hand holding it "Don't be hard on yourself. We all make mistakes."

"Yeah, well, I'm just glad that the Shredder didn't see Master Splinter coming." Mikey comments, pointing at Splinter.

"Remember the first time we went to face the Shredder?" The Shredder knocks Donnie back, sending him sliding into a wall. "He kicked our shells all over the place."

The Shredder raises his gauntlet getting ready to strike Leo from behind "No!" Leo turns to see Raph blocking the gauntlet with his sais. Shredder picks him up by his belt and throws him to the wall. Mikey is surrounded by ninjas. Yuuki jumps in to help him fight them. While he was distracted, Shredder kicks him into the wall and he lands on his injured foot "Ow.." 

Yuuki saw the Shredder coming after Leo as he was fighting some ninjas. She charged at Shredder but he quickly turned around and kicked her away. Sending her flying into the wall, hard. She slumped to the ground along side the three brothers.

"Yuuki!" Leo called out to her in alarm. He rushes over trying to get to the others until Shredder blocked his way. Shredder knocks him into the wall.  

"None of you will leave here alive!" Shredder narrows his eyes into slits and raises his gauntlet getting ready to deliver the blow.

"I thought for sure that the Shredder was going to finish us all off." 

"Yeah, too bad he forgot one thing," "A little 90 pound weapon of mass destruction we like to call our dear old dad." 

Splinter jumps down from the water tower and blocks the gauntlet with his staff. "You destroyed my family once, I will not allow that to happen again."

Splinter strikes Shredder with his staff and jumps to the water tower, glancing at it. He gestures to the Shredder with his finger. Shredder charges at him and tries to punch him, but Splinter dodges and uses his staff to block more blows. Splinter evades him as he slices at the rat with his gauntlet, hitting the support beams of the water tower. Splinter gets an idea and quickly moves away as Shredder slices more beams. The water tower starts to creak. The Shredder notices.

"This is for my Master Yoshi!" Splinter declares and he kicks one of the support beams, allowing the water tower to fall. The turtles and Yuuki move away from the water tower as they climbed up the wall. Shredder makes a run for it as the tower collapses down on him, spraying water everywhere as it breaks. Soon, it stops and Shredder is on the ground, wet, along with his army of ninjas. From above, the water tower falls on top of him. 

"I thought I had avenged my Master Yoshi," The Shredder gauntlet rises up from the wreckage "But the Shredder was not finished."

"Finished? I wonder if he'll ever be finished." Casey comments.

"He does have a habit of coming back." Leo pointed out.

"Yeah, remember April's place?" Donnie asked.

"I wish I could forget it." Mikey said, with his head on his knees.

Leo crashes through the windows. They give a look of shock and he lands on the floor, bruised. 

"Leo!" Donnie exclaimed.

"Leo, what happened?!" Raph demanded.

Mikey kneels beside him holding his head, gently. Leo struggles to open his eyes. "Who did this to you?!" Raph asks as his vision clears. They all look worried. Leo grunts and closes his eyes. Raph scowls in anger and clenches his fists.

"I'm gonna find out who did this." He growls, pulling out his sais walking towards the window.

"No, Raph, wait." Leo calls out, hoarsely. He kneels next to him and Leo pulls him closer

 "He's back the...Shredder." He mumbles, weakly.

The door bursts open and the Shredder steps in. "Oh, crud." Raph mutters under his breath.

"It's really him, like Leo said." Mikey said as the Shredder stands before them. 

"Say farewell to each other while you still can."

"Oh, yeah, Mr. Spiky pants? Well, you should be saying...farewell...to, uh, yourself!" Mikey retorts, nervously.

"Oh, yeah, Mikey that got 'em." Raph deadpans. Shredder narrows his eyes at them.

 "Guys, I say we shred his butt once and for all!" Raph declares. They charge at him. Shredder punches Raph down before knocking Mikey to the floor. Donnie leaps with his bo staff and Shredder grabs his weapon before sending Donnie flying into a pole next to Leo, Splinter, April and Yuuki. The Elite jump down in front of the Shredder.

"Finish them off." Shredder orders.

The Elite charge at the turtles, knocking them down one by one. Mikey jumps to the door and opens it "Everybody in here! We can hold them off!" 

As Raph and Casey fend off the ninjas, April and Yuuki help get Leo inside. Splinter, Raph and Casey run inside. Mikey locks the door and Shredder barricades it with a metal bar. Pulling out a sphere, he presses it and throws it to the ground, the shop catches on fire.

"Like the Phoenix, I have risen from the ashes!" He said, swiping an pipe, which causes steam to come out.

"Hey, this door's getting hot." Mikey tells them, trying to open the door. "It's jammed! It won't open!"

"Gas plus flame equals...let's book now!" Casey realizes. "We gotta get out of here!" Raph exclaimed as he and Mikey tried to pry the door open with their weapons. The fire grows larger and larger until it finally explodes, knocking the police back.

"That was NOT a good day." Leo comments. April sighs, sadly, as she hugs her knees.

"I really miss that old place," She turns to them "Do you think he's gone for good? The Shredder?" 

"I don't know. I sure thought Leo here finished him off at the Foot Headquarters." Raph said.

Leo lands in front of the fire, holding the Sword of Tengu, glaring intensely at the Shredder, who has Leo's swords. The two narrow their eyes at each other. They grip their swords tightly before the Shredder leaps into the air. Leo jumps as well.

They yell as the inch closer to each other in the air and a slice is heard as they land. Leo turns his head at the Shredder before seeing his head fall off of his body. The body crashes to the ground, dropping Leo's swords. Leo sheathes the Sword of Tengu away while Raph hand his own swords back to him. The five stared down at the Shredder, silently. The Shredder is no more.

"But it wasn't the end of him. Remember what happened the night our pals the Utroms were finally gonna beam themselves back home?"

Mortu kneels down and crawls out of his body. "Donatello, would you do me the honor of powering up the transmat?" 

"Sweet!" Donnie exclaimed, excitedly. Suddenly, shurikens are thrown at the panel.  It sparks and Donnie jumps away from it. "The Shredder came back into the TCRI building...badder than ever!" 

They look to see the Shredder and the others have returned. "As long as I live, you will not leave this place alive!" 

Shredder drops something and the device sinks into the floor, beginning to countdown. Weird red lines began to glow and seep through the floor and spread throughout the room. "Seems like he's always trying to make sure we never leave anywhere alive." Donnie and Mikey walk over to the device. Donnie bends down to pick it up. 

"Do not touch it!" Mortu exclaimed as he runs over to them. "It is an Utrom implosion device, the techno organic virus it contains will destroy you. Already it had thoroughly infected the system. The entire building will implode in less than ten minutes!"

Everyone gasps in shock and horror. The turtles, Yuuki, Mona, Venus and Splinter stand against the Shredder.

"Bomb schomb. You guys are forgetting the freaky part of that whole ordeal," The Shredder leaps at them and fights them. "The Shredder's true identity!"

"You pathetic creatures have interfered with my plans one time too many! For that, you shall pay with your lives!" The Shredder raises his gauntlet to strike, but Splinter blocks it with his staff.

"Shredder, there is no time!," Splinter protests. "The building's about to implode. Even you could not survive!" 

Shredder uses his other claw and breaks Splinter's staff in half. "Then we shall perish together!"

Donnie tries to use his staff to hit the Shredder, but it only breaks in half and Shredder kicks him. One minute was left on the bomb. The Shredder then knocks down Splinter. Mikey attacks and manages to get in a few hits while Raph and Mona penetrates his armor with sais. Leo slices at his armor.

 "Guys!" Donnie calls out as he runs to the control panel.  "Use your weapons to penetrate his armor, I think we can stop him for good!" They stab their weapons into the armor and Yuuki throws her Tessen penetrating right through it. 

"You pathetic creatures," The Shredder groans as he is still standing "Cannot defeat me!" 

"Don't be so sure!" Donnie shouted as he connects two wires. A large spark flies and hits the Shredder, electrocuting him. He howls in pain. He falls down to the floor with a thud. As they walk to stand around his fallen body, they hear a noise coming from the Shredder and they look to see smoke seep out from the Shredder's stomach, opening up. A pair of eyes glared at them.

"Ahh!" Mikey screamed. "Man, when we found out that the Shredder was an Utrom, I nearly soiled my shell!"

The Utrom growls and jumps latching his tentacles around Yuuki's face. She squirmed trying to get him off. "Nasty little bug." Raph comments.

"Get it off!" Mikey shouted as Leo tries to get the alien off but the Utrom snaps at him. Splinter uses his staff to pry the creature off of her and flings the alien across the room.

"Guys, quick!" Donnie calls out. They run to the transmat. The Utrom follows them right at their tails. The bomb counts closer and closer to zero. The Utrom jumps to catch them, but they disappear. He screams as a look of horror is on his face and the bomb goes off.

"How come every place we go, things get blown up?"

"Just lucky, I guess."

"Lucky? Yeah, but that last time wasn't so lucky for the Shredder." Donnie pointed out.

"There's no way he could have survived that, right?" April asks.

"I dunno, April, the Shredder may play rough, he may play dirty, but he don't play dead." Mikey answers.

"Yeah, but he sure leaves a path of destruction wherever he goes. I can't help but think of Master Yoshi." Leo explained.

Yoshi practices his skills and Splinter copies him. "Not only was he Master Splinter's sensei and your father, he was also an guardian sworn to protect valuable secrets of the Utroms. Secrets that the Shredder and his forces would stop at nothing to learn."

Suddenly, Hun punches the door open. "But, he didn't go down without a fight though."

"Yeah, from what Master Splinter says, Master Yoshi was one tough dude." Mikey said.

"I wish we could've met him." Donnie commented.

The ninjas and Hun trap Yoshi. "You have to admire Master Yoshi's courage."

"He was defiant to the last." Shredder enters the room.

"Yeah, he really threw in the Shredder's face."

"Like some else we know." 

"He who lives without honor...will end without honor!"

"Even though it cost him his life." Shredder raises his gauntlet before delivering the final blow to Yoshi. Splinter closes his eyes as a haunting sound of a slice hits his ears.

Splinter sighs. "When I think of my Master Yoshi, my heart aches. But, I know that Master Yoshi kept his honor to the end. A true warrior. A true Guardian. A true father."

Casey stands up enraged. "With the Shredder and Hun and the Purple Dragons!" He grabs his chair and smashes it against the trees. "The heartless goons, like, I just wanna gaaah!" 

Everyone stares at him uncomfortably. "I think what Mr. Jones here is trying to say is, we're all sorry for your loss Master Splinter." April sits down with him, holding his hand. She turns to Yuuki "And you as well."

"I may not remember him, but at least I have you guys and my parents. That's good enough for me. " Yuuki said, smiling. 

"Thank you," Splinter bows to April. "We have all suffered at the hands of the Shredder."

April and Casey look down at their hands before glancing back up at each other. They quickly retract their hands and Casey scratches his neck sheepishly and April blushing.

 "You guys wanna know the funny part?" Donnie ponders.

"There's a funny part?" Raph asks, sarcastically.

"Well, not haha funny, but kinda ironic. I was thinking that the Shredder had a bigger hand in our lives than we know. Without the Shredder, we'd all still be pet turtles in a glass jar right now." Everyone give him confused looks.

"What'cha talking about Willis?" Mikey asked in a deep voice.

"Well, allow me to explain. As you all might recall, we got mutated by that strange ooze when we were only babies." 

"I remember as if it were yesterday. You were all so cute." Splinter comments.

"The ooze that mutated us came from the TCRI building, right? And why did the TCRI building even exist? Because the Utroms were trying to build their transmat so they could go home! And why did the Utroms need to go home?" Donnie continues.

"Because they were late for dinner?" Mikey jokes.

"No, because an evil prisoner they were transporting across the galaxy sabotage their starship. Causing them to crash-land on Earth centuries ago. And they've been trapped here ever since. And who was the evil prisoner who caused the Utroms so much trouble? He was in fact, ah, drum roll please...the Shredder!"

Night-time has fallen, and everyone was surrounded by the campfire as they listen. "Ahem, ergo the Shredder had a direct hand in our creation. See what I mean?"

They give Donnie confused looks "I think I speak for everyone when I say, no." Raph answers.

"Ladies and mutants, how NOT to tell our origin story." Mikey said, sarcastically.

"No, listen, if the Shredder hadn't made the Utroms crash in the first place, then they never would have developed the ooze. And if they never developed the ooze, we'd never had been mutated and if we've never been mutated, we'd be eating fish flakes in some kid's aquarium right now!" Everyone went silent taking in the information. 

"Whoa, that's really deep." Mikey scratches his head.

Raph shivers. "Being that closely related to the Shredder makes me feel...dirty."

"Hmm, the Shredder may be apart of our origin, but it is we who chose our fate." Splinter said.

"And even if the Shredder is still out there, no matter what he throws at us, no matter how much he messes up our lives, nothing he does will change the most important thing: that we're family," Leo puts his hands on Yuuki's and Mikey's shoulders.

Mikey bursts out laughing. "Leo, that was off the charts of the sap 'o meter. You've been watching way too many after-school specials, bro." He points a marshmallow at Leo's plastron.

"Just eat your s'mores and keep quiet, Mikey. Leo's got a point." Raph said. Mikey throws throws the marshmallow at his nose and he growls, clenching his fists. Yuuki covers her mouth as she snickers.

Mikey continues laughing, rolling on his back "You are so dead, laughing boy." Raph charges at him.

"Watch the graham crackers!" Leo warns, but it was too late as Raph and Mikey rolls over them as Raph tackles Mikey. Leo and Donnie got up and jump into the fight to stop them. Casey stands up "Pile on!" He exclaimed as he jumps into the pile as the others watched.

Yuuki couldn't hold it anymore and she busts out laughing out loud holding her sides. Her eyes watered from laughing to hard. Mona watched in silence not knowing if she should intervene or not. Venus stood up and walked over to the rolling pile yelling at them, trying to get them to stop.

"Well, it's definitely a family. Do you think we'll ever be able to teach the kids some manners?" April said to Splinter.

"Miss O'Niel, teaching the art of ninjitsu is hard enough. I am afraid even I cannot work those," He answers.

In the middle of the night, while everyone was asleep, a creak from the floor boards, and the sound of a door shutting woke Donnie up. He rubs his eyes walks to the window to see Venus. He opens the window then climbs out on to the roof, shutting it quietly. Then he follows after her to the lake behind the farmhouse.

As Venus inches closer towards the bank of the lake, she heard the sound of a twig snap.

She immediately gets her guard up. "Who's there?!" She shouted. She saw no one there. Venus frowns then bent down and picks up a rock then throws it at the bushes.

"Ow!" Donnie falls out of the bush holding his head, rubbing it. Surprised, Venus covers her mouth, mortified. She runs over to him "I'm sorry!" She apologized profusely, scanning it to make sure that wasn't bleeding. Donnie stands smiling sheepishly "It was my own fault for snooping. You have nothing to apologize for." 

" Still, I'm sorry. " Venus answered.

"What are you doing out here?" Donnie asked

" I just going for a midnight swim."  She said. "Would you care to join me?"

" Okay. " Donnie said.

Donnie's eyes widen "Uh, V-Venus, what are you doing?" He asked, nervously as he saw her taking off her armbands then finally her belt, leaving just her mask on. She was almost completely naked in front of him. He quickly covers his eyes and glances away, blushing.

She turns around, smirking "You do swim do you not?" Venus asked as she neatly laid her stuff in the ground.

Donnie stammered as his eyes fixated on her, completely entranced "Oh, I swim, p-pretty girl-" He immediately corrects himself "pretty good, pretty good, it's good, swim good, I swim pretty good. " He answers nervously. She laughs. Donnie takes off his wrist bands and elbow and knee pads then finally undid his belt and laid them in a pile along with his bo staff.

Venus stepped into the water, with Donnie following after her. They shiver as the cold, soothing water brush again their skin. Then, Donnie jumps into the lake with a big splash, also splashing Venus as well. Venus dives in after him swimming deep.

The moonlight reflected in the water, illuminating it. Donnie was captivated as he watched Venus swim, gracefully under water. He had never seen anything so beautiful. Eventually, they came back up to the surface for air. 

As they catch their breaths, Donnie turns to Venus "What was your people like?" He asked, curious.

"So many questions." Venus answers, smiling, shaking her head.

Donnie blushed. Venus smiled "Well, we were like your Earth terms, to monks."

"And how do you fight knowing exactly where to hit?"

Venus pauses and looks away from him "My eyes." She said, bitterly. Donnie gives her a confused look. "Your eyes? What do you mean?" He asked.

Venus turns back to him staring at him silently then reaches for the knot on her mask to untie it letting her mask fall around her neck. Pale translucent pupiless pinkish lavender eyes stared back at him. 

 "My eyes enable me to see chi flow in the body and where to hit it to blocking the flow." She explained. "Some of my people have this gift but it is sought after by many." 

"Is that why Zanramon told you belong to him because of your eyes? " Donnie questions.

"Yes. Also, whose ever offspring that I have, they will inherited it as well." She tells him. 

"Have you and him ever?" Donnie asked.

"Thankfully, No. We never had the chance to." Venus answered. They floated in their backs looking at the starry sky. Venus turns her head to him "Say, Donatello, would you like to help me rebuild the Turtleoid race?" She teases.

Donnie's eyes grew wide, he wasn't sure if he heard that right, and he immediately looks at her, shocked " W-What?!" He said, in disbelief. "Y-you m-mean you and I-I? R-Right now?!" He was extremely nervous. Never before in his life, he had a woman asked him to do something intimate with him. 

Venus laughs. She shakes her head "No, I don't mean, right now. What I meant is, in time, when both of us are ready." She said.

 "Then it's a promise." Donnie agreed. Venus smiles until She notices Donnie smile drop. "Is something wrong?" She asked, worried.

"It's nothing, really." He tells her. "It doesn't seem like nothing." She said "Come to think of it, you look like you had something on your mind all day." He looks at her silently. Venus swims over to him "Please, I like to help."

He sighs. "Back at the TCRI building, before we even met you, there were so many questions that I wanted to ask the Utroms. I wanted to know why we were mutated the way we are now. Why were we here? That we weren't just a mistake. But I guess that's all that we're ever be." Donnie splashes the water hard with his fist. "I thought that we were special. I just wish that I had the chance to ask them but I guess I never will, now." Then, he felt something press against his shell.

Donnie turns his head to see Venus, close to him with her hand on his shell. She leaned and rested her forehead against it.

"You are special...to me." She replied, softly. Donnie felt his heart flutter. He never felt like this to anyone before. He smiles sheepishly "You're special to me as well." He said. Venus returns the smile, blushing.

"Come on, let's head back before the others know that we're gone." Donnie said starting to swim back. 

Donnie and Venus swim back to shore and gathered their gear putting them back on and walked back to the farmhouse.