#in this case I think Splinter would be a rat from the start or at least wouldnt get so (understandably) mentally crushed by it

[hatekawa]

next question (I’m so sorry), who would Jayce be if Donnie is Viktor? :0

A long while ago I was thinking if i shouldnt replace Raph (Vander) with Splinter but I didnt know where I would put Raph in............. hear me out. Raph as Jayce and then Mona would be Mel. I hope I cooked

[yorshie]

Hello, fellow raccoon here 🦝 If it’s not too much trouble, could you write about sharing a bed for the first time with the Bay!verse turtles?

Ah! Another raccoon! Thank you for the request, I had a lot of fun writing this one! I went with head canon style.

Bayverse x reader, SFW other than bedshare, set in 2023 so turtles are 24-25

Tags: @jackalope-in-a-storm @tmnt-tychou

MICHELANGELO

This sweet turtle got his nest all ready when he heard you were finally spending the night. Brought in your favorite snacks, hunted down all his extra pillows from around the Lair, and restocked his mini fridge in case you got thirsty.

So when the time finally came and you go drop your bag off in his room, there is not a free spot to be found. His bed is a mountain of pillows and blankets, the small coffee table shoved in front of his tv has everything from pizza, microwavable food, and what looks like three different flavors of cookies piled on top of it.

Not gonna lie, its a bit intimidating. You might even have faltered, if sunshine boi wasn't right behind you with your toiletry bags, happy go lucky energy rubbing off until it felt like the spotlight wasn't directly on you.

the rest of the night is spent in typical Mikey fashion, a.k.a. a game and movie marathon. His brothers occasionally wander past his open door to say hello and to see what the two of you are up to. They might have a bet running on how much Mikey smothers you and how long you'll allow it. Even Splinter is in on it, thought the old rat refrains from making an appearance so his youngest doesn't feel like he's doing something wrong. He wants to marry his sons off eventually, after all.

When you eventually get tired and it's time to delve into the towering abyss of pillows that have taken over his bed, Mikey's territorial side makes an appearance. The door gets shut and locked to avoid anyone that might think it's a good idea to pull a prank (none of his brothers would but Mikey is paranoid because he is the prankster), and he wastes no time diving in after you for some cuddles.

oh. ok, maybe there's too many pillows, because now he can't find you! He's lost his significant other! Cue a mini chase where most of his bounty ends up in the floor in his search. You are not getting out of cuddles. No amount of wiggling or hiding will save you.

the actual cuddling is quite nice. Mikey's warm and his bicep makes for an excellent pillow. He likes to lay face to face, with your head tucked under his chin, limbs entangled and churring up a storm that you knew would have his brothers wincing in second hand embarrassment if they ever heard all the turtley noises he made when it was just the two of you.

He definitely snores, though. And farts in his sleep. Fact of life, don't get mad, because we all do it sometimes, most of us just aren't a mutated turtle man with a noxious gut fueled by pizza and sour patch kids. Dutch oven him with his own farts as payback.

in the morning you'll definitely wake up first, though as soon as you start to move Mikey will be alert. Call it sixth sense, but all the turtles are hyper aware of their own personal spaces and who's in them. I hope you weren't planning on getting an early start that morning, because now that Mikey's awake he's ready to continue the movie that you getting sleepy paused the night before. While getting more cuddles and eating breakfast in bed, of course.

LEONARDO

he internally started creating lists as soon as you accepted his sleepover proposal. Panics a little and moved the date once to make sure his sheets are washed the day before. Everything in his space has to be perfectly so. If someone interupts his cleaning and prepping, they better expect to have their head bitten off. Will have a literal panic attack if you arrived early.

You, of course, notice nothing out of place when he presents his room for your inspection. Yes, you read that right. This turtle will practically sweat as he waits for your verdict on whether the nest is good enough. No, he doesn't realize what he's doing. If you pick up on it don't tell him or else he might start panicking again.

The two of you will actually not spend too much time besides sleeping in his room, most of your time will be hanging out in the main living area. This serves two purposes: as the eldest Leo wants you to get along with all his brothers, and two, the thought of his bothers coming by his room to say hi to you absolutely drives is reptile brain crazy. So you'll eat and hangout with everyone else, and try not to laugh at the subtle teasing you know your turtle is going through with the whispered jokes and laughter that seem to stop every time you turn around.

When it gets late enough and everyone starts peeling off to do their own thing, you'll have to let Leo know you are ready to go lay down. Hilarious if you think He's going to suggest it's time to head to bed to you, he's trying his hardest not to think of the words "you" and "nest - BED! he meant bed!" in the same sentence.

when you finish your nighttime routine and make your way back to Leo's room, don't be surprised to find him on a makeshift pallet on the floor. There is no way you couldn't have seen this coming, but don't worry, there's an easy fix. Simply get in his bed, close to the wall, and start shivering. Loudly. Ham it up. In no time flat you'll have a turtle sneaking up next to you to keep you warm, though at first he will be hesitant. Cuddling you in the privacy of his own room with the expectation of sleep is very different from just chilling with you.

despite Leo trying to be a gentleman during the beginning, leaving you a bit of space and trying his hardest not to crowd you, by an hour in he will be wrapped around you. As he slowly gets tipped closer and closer to the edge of sleep, the more loose he will become. And once he gives in and gets used to the cuddles, he will never want to stop.

He clicks and chirps in his sleep sometimes. You woke up thinking there was a baby bird or something in the room, only to discover the high pitched noises were coming from him, before he transitions into deeper churrs from his chest right in front of your eyes. If you keep very still and quiet he might not wake up, but he will be traumatized if he does and discovers he makes these noises

There is very little chance of you waking in the morning before Leo. This turtle gets up early, but maybe just for today he can slip back next to you, after morning training, just to feel close to you for a bit longer. When you wake up you could just spend the morning talking, he won't mind being lazy as long as it's with you

You'll most likely be the one making breakfast if the other brothers aren't up yet, as Leo is banned from making anything other than tea or using the strict guidelines Mikey placed next to the microwave. But, he is an excellent sous chef, and after you're both fed he will be quick to suggest an activity so the two of you can hang out longer. Just know he's already weighing his chances of getting you to spend the next night as well.

DONATELLO

Dee had about 50 reminders set in the days leading up to your first sleepover, and a mental list he was practically grappling with in between projects. Anytime he'd focus on what was coming up too much, the butterflies would start going haywire in his stomach and he was likely to drop whatever it is he's holding at the time

Needless to say, he was in a bit of a panic by the time you showed up. Technically speaking, logically speaking, he knew his bed and room where both clean. And he knew you liked spending time with him, so why the anxiety? Why the nerves? He's so nervous, he doesn't even realize you've arrived, moved around his habitual pacing to set your bag on his bed, and now you're simply watching him with fond curiosity.

He shrieks when he finally notices you. Practically has a heart attack and knocks over at least four stacks of meticulously arranged cds and various technological components. Eventually joins in your laughter after he's calmed down enough to see the humor in the situation.

Just this once, Donnie has cleared his timetable of various projects to focus soley on you. That isn't to say that before he's blown you off or ignored you, but by now you are well aware how hard he has to work to contain his wandering mind, al lthe little tips and tricks he uses to keep his focus on the here and now and not bouncing from idea to idea.

The two of you will not be spending too much time out in the main area. The time it takes the two of you to procure dinner is more than enough brotherly interaction for the tall turtle. Not to mention, it turns almost awkward as the other's try desperately to not make prolonged eye contact with anyone else. They learned a long time ago not to tease the brother that controls all their devices and the access to the wifi.

Once Donnie and you are comfortable back in his room, the true hang out will begin. You'll play rock-paper-scissors to pick a movie, Donnie always lets you win, but he gets to pick the music that plays in the background. If you want, he'll access his computer and set up the program to make the lights in his room dance to the beat. Curled up in his arms, it is the easiest place to fall asleep, surrounded by fluttering lights that mimic being underwater.

Donnie may not actually sleep, but he stays with you the entire night. If you wake at all it might be to the idle scratching of pen on paper as he writes, his hand moving in your hair or along your back, or to his soft breaths caught in a light doze, a soft churr rumbling in his chest. If you're also the type to burn the midnight oil, you both might stay up talking long enough that the morning slowly creeps up on you before you both pass out.

Splinter often stops by the Lab in the morning on his way to meditate, if only to wrap a blanket over his son's shoulders and move his glasses to a safe spot. It's an ingrained habit, so much so that it doesn't even register that you spent the night until he quietly opens the door. He takes on look at the two of you holding each other close, and turns away with a smile.

Dee can cook, but most likely he'll order from the diner one block above their preferred manhole cover, and the two of you will sneak out for eggs, bacon and pancakes before secreting it away in his room so you don't have to share.

RAPHAEL

If the two of you are close enough for a sleepover, Raph is going to be the calmest of his brothers about you being in his personal space. Sure, he'll clean up, make sure all his dirty clothes are in his hamper and all the drawers actually shut on his dresser, but don't expect much in the way of fanfare.

He doesn't care where you wanna hang out in the evening, as long as you're comfortable. If you're out in the Lair proper however, get ready for some brotherly jockeying. Mikey almost can't help teasing Raph about having a guest over for the night, but the bigger brother will take it in stride as long as its only Mikey. Donnie tends to stay out of the limelight when it comes to teasing, but you better hope Leo doesn't so much as raise an eye ridge in Raph's direction. To be fair, the blue turtle is likely only drawing attention to how soft for you Raph is, but the two of them earning a trip to the Ha'shi might put a bit of a damper on the sleepover.

Leo's right though, Raph is completely soft for you. You want something to eat? He'll go get it for you without even a huff. You want popcorn for the movie? He'll bring back soda as well. You ask how much he can bench? He'll toe the line between showing off and making sure he can actually handle the weight. You neck hurts from having to crane around him to watch the movie? He'll lay on the ground and let you splay across his shell. You blink at him and sleepily ask to be carried? You're already up in his arms before you can even finish the sentence.

When it comes time to sleep, Raph will insist you take the inside of the bed, close to the wall, but he's thought ahead and gotten you your own pillow so you don't have to share with him. Yes, technically its from Mikey's room, but don't worry he disinfected it with a shit-ton of Lysol and Frebreze and washed the cover. This doesn't mean he doesn't want to cuddle, but of all the things Raph understands in his life, the very first few are the difference in size between the two of you, just how much he weighs, and how strong he is. So he'll tuck you against the wall and lay out on his stomach in one of the few positions that makes it hard for him to tip over. There's just enough room between the lip of his shell and the mattress for you to slot yourself against him, and he'll take the opportunity to slide his arm around your waist and bury his snout in your hair.

He'll hold you there throughout the night, breath slow and even. If you wake, be prepared that any movement will rouse him. He can't exactly help it, and he tries not to make you feel guilty over it, but you can always make out the green shine of his eyes peering down to make sure you are ok before he drifts back off again.

This turtle churrs sometimes in his sleep, but it's not the cute or soothing churr of contentment. No, someone parked a diesel engine in his man and is revving it like he's driving up an inclined gravel mountain road. The only way to get him to stop is to poke the thin strip of skin along his side, repeatedly, until he snorts and shifts. 50/50 chance the shifting will stop the churring. If not, you'll have to repeat the process.

In the morning, he'll dip before you wake, and come back to the room with warm pastries and whatever he's seen you drink in the morning. If you want your breakfast right away however, you might have to bribe him with turtle smooches as he tries to steal back his spot and catch up on the cuddles he's missed being a good boyfriend. Yes, he's holding you hostage, unless you want to try climbing over him. You might succeed if you make him laugh.

At some point in the day, after breakfast and whatever morning routine you keep, Raph will ask you what you want to do. If you want to go home, decompress, he'll take you home, but if you want to stay again and hang out some more you'll get to see the sweetest, softest smile break across his face.

[imagionationstation]

How often DOES Donnie get hugged? I'm curious now...

Well gosh diddly darn NOW I’M CURIOUS TOO!

*pulls out folder and cues up 2012tmnt episodes*

I wanted to start outlining photos but there’s a photo limit.

So you get an analysis instead:

Okay, so according to my info, he most commonly receives hugs from April. Somehow, despite fans insisting that they’re only friends and she’s only confused bc stressors in her life and she’s ‘not romantically interested in him,’ she also never has any trouble running into his arms?? Like no matter who’s around??

Sad/happy/relieved/any emotion = hug/kiss the Tello??

No wonder this boy child is confused. She’s the one doing all the initiating when it comes to anything physical about their relationship.

Anyway, we’re not actually here to talk about the confused teens-

And when we step past that, the next person who is free with his hugs is definitely Mikey. Of course, he’s free with hugs with everyone, but at least he tries to keep things fair between brothers. Anything from a gentle side-hug to forcefully yanking a brother off the ground. His bear hugs are not to be underestimated.

Most of the time, Donnie doesn’t seem to mind the hugs. He actually seems to appreciate the embraces, or tolerate them fondly. It’s not like he doesn’t hug back either. He just seems more likely to hug when it’s bred off impulse, like a fear embrace when panicking.

And it’s not just a him, or a Mikey thing. The brothers all have this impulse to huddle together or grab one another from time to time.

Unfortunately for the toxic side of the fandom, the next person who shares the most hugs with him would actually be Splinter.

Sure, it mainly consists of his sons hugging him, but he’s not a very huggy person. And a hug isn’t defined by who initiates. A hug is defined by the fact that both people willingly participate in a show of affection. Splinter may not always initiate, but he always accepts.

In case there’s even a sliver of conviction that I’m merely being biased. Nah, man. My statements are built upon TRUTHS.

Look at all of these. Rat man loves his kids. 👆

I was only able to find a few hug moments between him and his older brothers. They’re usually group hug moments-

But there are also those two. One initiated by his older brothers (who were under the impression that it was what their little brother wanted in their dying moments AH 🥺) and the other was purely his doing.

He doesn’t really share too many hugs from his older brothers 🤔.

The closes thing that I’ve found is an arm slung around his shoulder, but even those fluffy moments are pretty sparse.

(Discussion over the lack of hugs is OVER HERE.)

We must also discuss the Fugitoid hugs. There’s only one shown, but I think Donnie appreciated it. That robo man was a great mentor, but I’m pretty sure he forgot he’s made of metal and Donnie has lungs.

Dude doesn’t know his own strength.

There’s also… This.

But, uhm. We don’t talk about this.

[aquietwritingcorner]

Indirectly Responsible

For @tmnt-write-fight for @turtle--thoughts @personne-writes @azucar-skull @teainthesnow @pileofpawns @rbtlvr @drebspells2022

Title: Indirectly Responsible Prompt: Donnie not coping as well as he seems with both the aftermath of Good Genes and how that indirectly led to the Foot Mystics being freed; You don’t know, you weren’t there; Bad dream; “There has to be another way”; Recovery; Turtle Pile Fluff; Scars Fandom:  TMNT 2003 Word Count: 6005  Author: aquietwritingcorner/realitybreakgirl Rating:  T Characters:  Donatello, Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo Warning: NA Summary: The Demon Shredder could strike at any moment. All of New York is under threat. And in April O’Neil’s apartment, one turtle can’t help but think that this whole situation is indirectly his fault.    Notes:  So, looking at the timeline, I don’t think that there’s a way for any of the turtles to know that their theft of the Heart of Tengu would lead to the heralds being freed until deep into season 5, so that’s where I’ve placed this. I also know there wasn’t actually much time between Karai waking up in April’s apartment and the final battle, but, eh, let’s pretend there was. ffn || AO3

____________________________________

Indirectly Responsible

Don tossed and turned, shifting around as he slept on a pallet that April had laid out on her floor for him, moving stiffly, uncomfortably. The lights were out, the apartment dark, and quiet lay like a blanket over the sleeping occupants. Inside April’s bedroom Karai slept, Chaplin choosing to stay with her, both guarding and keeping an eye on his mistress. Casey slept on a cot out in the hallway, where he would be the first alert for any trouble that might come up that way. On her couch curled under a blanket, April slept, but with a bat nearby, just in case. The Ancient One had taken to her recliner, hat pulled down over his face, snoring lightly. Splinter slept on a small nest of pillows, curled up in a more rat-like way than he typically did.

Leo, Raph, Mikey and Don all had pallets of quilts scattered around the rest of the apartment, strategically placed. Raph was near the shop stairs, ready for any trouble from that direction. Leo had chosen to sleep under the living room windows, perhaps in defiance of having once been thrown through him.  Mikey stayed near the kitchen, easily able to distinguish between the sounds the appliances made or trouble. Don, for his part, had laid out his pallet near the computer in case an alarm went off.

They had wanted to set up a watch rotation, just in case something happened in the night. However, the Ancient One had insisted that they all sleep. He felt that something was going to happen, soon, that this was the lull before storm, and they all needed to be well-rested for the coming battle. Splinter had trusted his judgment and encouraged everyone to rest while they could.

However, Donatello’s sleep was anything but restful. Dreams—memory fragments?—played through his head, distorted, hard to parse through. Most of what swirled around in his dreams were fragments, small pieces of moments that had no context. They were small enough that, should he remember them when he woke, he wouldn’t be able to glean much from them. Still, they were poignant in is dreams, leaving his mind in turmoil.

His giant, clawed hand around Mikey’s leg. His father’s sad face. Fear and a feeling of needing to get somewhere safe as he ran through the sewers. Being enraged as April held a broom that had just hit him in the face. Rage as Leatherhead and his brothers tried to catch him. Fear as Bishop’s men tried to gun him down. Anger as Leo shot him again and again with tranquilizer darts.

Pain. Pain, pain, pain, pain, painpainpainpainapain—

These dreams weren’t unusual. He’d been having them off and on for months. They’d started a few weeks after he’d gotten the cure for his second mutation. Don theorized that it was because his body had finally healed to the point that it could begin to process the trauma that he’d gone through. They’d fade out after some time, but then would resurface, usually with accompanying aches, pains, and exhaustions as his body recovered.

He had started to have these dreams again during their training with the Ninja Tribunal, something he attributed to the stress of the environment. The Ancient One had theorized that they were an avenue of mystical attack, with some connection to the situation, and led Don through some meditations to try to deal with them. Unfortunately, there hadn’t been much time to focus on that, and the dreams had continued. They grew more frequent, the memories more broken up, and left him with echoed feelings of anxiety, terror, dread, and guilt that he couldn’t shake.

Every so often, though, a more intact memory would come through. It was usually a few minutes of something he’d observed or done when he’d been mutated. Some of them were downright terrifying. Others were just painful. Most of them, though, were enlightening no matter the other emotions accompanying them, and he usually remembered those memories when he woke. Tonight, amidst the fragments that ran throughout Don’s head, an intact memory made its way to the forefront.

He was in pain. He was in so much pain. He hurt. He was terrified. Safe. He needed to get where it was safe. He didn’t know where that was, but he needed it. He’d been trying to get out of this trap for hours, beating, beating, beating on it. But it wouldn’t let him escape.

He was in pain. He was scared. He was tired.

He slumped to the floor of the cage, energy spent for the moment. His captors were just beyond it, talking, although he didn’t understand them.

“There has to be another way, Leo!”

The one addressed shook his head. “There isn’t one, Raph.”

“What about the Utroms?” the third asked. “Or the Triceritons? Couldn’t we ask them for help?”

The big creature shook his head. “It is not an option, Michelangelo. While they could help, by the time a message got to them, it would already be too late for Donatello. His cells would have completely broken down.”

Something in the third one’s expression stirred something inside him, but he didn’t understand it, and just continued to watch.

“Then is this the only option?” the furry one asked.

The big one let out a breath and walked to the wall of lights and noises that he was often at. “As much as I hate to admit it, I am afraid that it is, Master Splinter.”

“There ain’t nothing else?” the first one said. “Nothing we can steal or get for you? Yer a smart guy, LH! Or—or what about the Justice Force? They’ve got all kinds of things, right?”

“I asked,” the third one said. “But… there’s no one there that understands all of, well, this,” he said, gesturing to the group.

The first one looked back at the second one. “So, this is it? We just take Donnie to that mad man that caused this problem in the first place, and let him have him?”

“No.” The second one’s voice was strong. “No, we don’t just hand him over. This is Don. He’s our brother. Someone will be with him all the time.”

“Ain’t gonna do us a lot of good if Bishop decides to just keep us all,” the first one said.

“I know,” the second one said. “But… there’s no other options. I’ve been over this in my head a million ways, Raph. This is the only thing we can do. There is no other way.”

All eyes traveled over to him. He didn’t like it. He didn’t like the way they were looking at him. There was something there and he didn’t understand it. It made him mad, made him angry, and that gave him a surge of energy. He rose to his feet and roared, pounding on the cage that kept him again and again.

Maybe if he did it enough, if he escaped from this, the pain would finally stop.

The scene slipped back again, although not forgotten, fragments overtaking it, trying to cover it up. Yet no matter how much the fragments tried to cover it up, the scene stayed, pushing its way through them, insisting on staying in Don’s awareness.

Rage at Stockman, who seemed as little more than twigs walking. “There has to be another way!” Pain from things being jabbed in his side from Bishop’s men. “There isn’t one.” Fear as a gas filled the new cage he was in. “Then this is the only option?” Loneliness, loss, as he searched for safety, for his family for safety, not knowing when they found him, that they were who he was looking for. “I’m afraid that it is.” The overwhelming desire to runbreakhidefight all at once. “There’s no other options.”

Pain. Pain, pain, pain, pain, pain painpainpainpainpainpain—

“There’s no other way.”

Don woke up with a start. He immediately sat up, ignoring the ache that shot through him, tense, ready to roll out of bed and fight. There were no immediate threats, though, and everyone else seemed to be sleeping. The apartment was quiet, the monitoring systems weren’t going off, and Don couldn’t hear any threats from outside.

“There has to be another way!”

“There’s no other way.”

A shudder ran through Don, and he let the battle-readiness fade away, simply sitting there instead as the ache started to settle into his bones. He tried to calm his breathing, focusing instead on those two phrases. Why did they seem so familiar? What had happened around those words? His brow furrowed as he tried to think it through. What had he been dreaming about?

“There has to be another way, Leo!”

“There isn’t one, Raph.”

“What about the Utroms? Or the Triceritons? Couldn’t we ask them for help?”

“It is not an option, Michelangelo. While they could help, by the time a message got to them, it would already be too late for Donatello. His cells would have completely broken down.”

“Then is this the only option?”

Right. Right, it had been not a dream but another memory. This time one of his family talking. Talking about him and options. Or, more precisely, what they felt like was their only option. The only way they had to cure him.

“So, this is it? We just take Donnie to that mad man that caused this problem in the first place, and let him have him?”

“No. No, we don’t just hand him over. This is Don. He’s our brother. Someone will be with him all the time.”

“Ain’t gonna do us a lot of good if Bishop decides to just keep us all.”

“I know. But… there’s no other options. I’ve been over this in my head a million ways, Raph. This is the only thing we can do. There is no other way.”

Don drew in a big breath, held it, and let it out. The memory was coming back to him, now. He’d seen fragments of it before, but they were all connecting, snapping into place. He’d known his brothers had taken him to Bishop. He’d known they’d negotiated with him for a cure. He’d know that they’d had to go and get something from Karai for Bishop, although he’d had to press hard to get that information out of anyone.

And he knew it was something called The Heart of Tengu. And he knew that it had given Karai control over the Foot Mystics. The same entities that now called themselves the Heralds of the Shredder and had worked to bring about the return of the Tengu Shredder.

Not that any of them had known that until recently.

After she had woken up, and after Chaplin had come to get her, and after they had both decided to stay for at least the night, everyone had settled down to share information. Or, well, that had been the idea. Neither side trusted the other, obviously. Broad strokes were shared, until one, fairly explosive moment when Karai had accused the turtles of bringing the whole disaster about. She’d told them about the Heart of Tengu, then, and how it had kept the Foot Mystics under control. She blamed them for what was happening.

Don had been stunned. He knew that his brothers had stolen something from her for Bishop, to ensure the cure for him. But he hadn’t realized what it was—or just how it had caused this apocalyptic nightmare they were now in.

“This is all your fault!” Karai snapped. “You stole the Heart of Tengu from me! You were the ones that set the Mystics free!”

“We may have stolen it from you, Karai,” Leo said, “but we had nothing to do with setting the Mystics free.”

Karai scoffed. “Then why did you steal it, Leonardo? To control the Mystics? To try to use them against me, only to find them too difficult for you to control?”

Raph growled. “Yer barking up the wrong tree, sister,” he said, and Don could see how he was trying very hard not to grip the handles of his sai, trying not to escalate things.

“It was payment,” Leo said, interrupting anything else that might be said. “We had a need. That was the payment required to ensure the deal.”

Karai spread her hand towards the windows. “And look what that ‘payment’ has cost everyone,” Karai mocked. “Was it worth dooming the world for?” she demanded.

Something sure seemed to settle in each of Don’s brothers and his father, even as Leo spoke again. “Yes. It was, Karai. And I’d do it again. We all would.”

Don took a breath, bringing himself back from that memory, even as the guilt he felt settled into him once more. His hand went to the scar on his leg, all that was left from that infected wound he’d had all those months, and pressed down on it, trying to massage away the shooting pain he was feeling from it. That wound had introduced the outbreak virus into his system, and that wound should have been something he paid more attention to.

The scar was a raised, bumpy thing, about an inch and a half wide, and roughly circular. It made sense, seeing it came from a puncture wound. The initial puncture hadn’t been as big as the scar, but there had been some necrosis around it that had worried Don a little. Fortunately, that, as well as the wound itself, had seemed to heal up with the advent of the cure.

It was a reminder, though. A reminder of what his own inattention and lack of care had cost them. A reminder of the guilt he carried with him. If the pains it sent out into his body from time to time were his only penance, then he had gotten off lightly.

Lightning flashed outside, and Don turned to look out the windows. Everything was so wrong out there. The sky wasn’t right, the trees and the buildings were twisted, warped. Everything outside felt like a mockery of what it should be. The people were terrified. Even the criminals had backed off, everyone hunkering down, waiting for the next thing to happen.

And Don knew it was all because of him.

Don couldn’t stay there anymore. He needed to get up, to move, to go somewhere else. His scar ached, and he felt the pain from it creeping into his bones, aches settling into the stretch marks left on his skin from the transformations. It felt like there was a pressure on his shell that was waiting to snap, and he winced as he got up. As much as he tried to hide it and deny it, he was still recovering from his second mutation. His muscles often had a persistent ache to them, something he felt in his very bones, and he still didn’t have all of his endurance back. Training with the Tribunal hadn’t helped that, and he had often found himself utterly exhausted at the end of a training day.

Honestly, it worried him, and some primal part of himself wanted to give into emotions and panic. Don kept that part in check, trying to remember that it was a traumatic thing that his body was recovering from. He knew that there was still a chance that the aches and pains would fade and eventually he’d be back to normal. However, he also knew that there was a good chance that he’d be living with this the rest of his life. Again, it was a small penance to pay for being the indirect cause of the apocalypse.

Don shook his head. The dreams, the worries of a full recovery, he sat them to the side for a moment and very quietly got up, using the nearby desk for leverage as his body protested the movement. He grabbed his bo—both to have it just in case, and for the extra support it gave him--and on silent feet he made his way towards the spiral staircase that led down into the shop.

Sneaking past Raphael wasn’t an easy thing to do, especially when Don felt as bad as he did at the moment, but it was possible, and Don knew the tricks. He managed not to disturb his brother and landed quietly in the shop with only the barest of a stumble, using his bo for balance. He could see more of the outside through the shop windows, and it turned his stomach, making the guilt settle on him even harder. The pain he was feeling flared up in response, and with a grimace, Don quietly made his way through the shop and to the door that led to the hallway, using his bo as a walking staff.

The staircase was there, and Don could hear Casey snoring on the second-floor landing. Every so quietly, Don made his way to the stairs, going down them instead of going up. He headed into the basement, and down to a room that he was told he ran into when he was mutating.

Don paused in the doorway, leaning on his bo and looking around. He wasn’t sure how Kirby’s room had survived the fire and explosion of April’s building, but somehow it had. Kirby’s bed and drawing table were still in there and Don listlessly made his way around the room, his bo quietly tapping on the floor. He looked at the little trinkets and such that had belonged to the man. He’d apparently had no family to come collect the things, and April, not knowing what to do with them, had put them back. She’d intended to clean the room out and rent it again, but with all of them in her life, she never had. Don was kind of glad for that now.

He heavily sat down on the bed, not feeling like staying standing any longer, and reached over to pick up a half-geode that was sitting on the nightstand. He could see where the fire had scorched the outside of the rock, but the crystals inside were undamaged. He gently ran his finger over them, wishing that he knew the significance of this to Kirby. He’d never gotten the chance to know Kirby that well. It had been a meeting, an adventure, and a tragedy.

Something else he was responsible for.

“Don?” Don looked up to see Leo standing in the doorway to the room. He was looking at Don with a mix of curiosity and concern, clearly assessing him. He frowned when he saw Don’s bo propped against the bed in easy reach. “Are you okay?”

Don shrugged and turned the geode over in his hand.

“Just thinking,” he said. “I’m aching a little, too.”

Leo frowned sympathetically, and moved further into the room, coming to sit beside Don. “I can understand that. Anything I can do?”

Don let out a small, half-amused noise. “Not unless you can rewind time and keep me from getting the wound to begin with.”

Leo’s mouth twitched up in a smile. “If I could do that, I would have done that to begin with.

“There has to be another way!”

“There’s no other way.”

Don frowned as the memory resurfaced, complimenting Leo’s words.

Leo, of course, took notice, and his smile faded away, too. “What is it?” he asked.

Don looked down at the rough outer surface of the geode, running his thumb on it. “…Was it really the only way?” he asked quietly.

He felt Leo stiffen a little at his side. “Don, what do you—”

“The amulet,” Don said. “I—I had another dream tonight. Another memory. I was inside the cage LH and I built. You were all outside it, and Raph was saying that there had to be another way other than taking me to Bishop to get the cure. But you and LH didn’t seem to think that there was.”

Leo was still. “I remember that conversation,” he said, his voice muted, but firm.

Don swallowed, feeling emotions welling up in him. He rotated the geode in his hand, keeping the rough side up, letting his fingers scrape along it. “Was it the only way, Leo?” he asked. “Was it truly? I understand why you did it. I’m not saying that. But look what it cost us. The Tribunal. Our friends, the other acolytes. Parts of New York City. It could cost us not just the city, but so much more. Getting that amulet to save me might have doomed the world.” He was staring firmly at the rock now. “I’m not worth the world, Leo. I’m not worth all of those peopl—”

Suddenly Leo’s hands were on his shoulders, and his brother was roughly forcing Don to face him. Startled, Don dropped the geode and looked up. Leo’s face was set, grim, and yet full of barely contained emotion.

“Donatello, I never want to hear you say that again,” he said firmly, fiercely. “You are worth it.”

Don’s own mouth settled into a grim line, the startlement fading. “Am I?” he said. “To you, to our family, yes, I am. But if you compare my life to the lives of everyone else, then no, I’m not.” He gently but firmly moved himself out of Leo’s grasp on his shoulders and leaned down to pick up the geode, wincing as he did. “In the grand scheme of things, my life isn’t worth any more than anyone else’s.” He turned the geode up, looking at the crystals. “There had to be another way to get me back.”

“There wasn’t.” Leo’s voice was firm, sure.

“There would have been, in time,” Don said. He grabbed his bo and used it to help him stand up, moving across the room to put the geode down on a shelf.

Leo stayed where he was and shook his head. “There was no other option,” he repeated, his voice rising a little bit.

“The options weren’t fully explored. I’ve seen the notes and I—” Don started.

Leo suddenly leapt to his feet, fire in his eyes. “You don’t know! You weren’t there!” he said forcefully, his voice raising even more.

Don turned to look at him, and Leo backtracked, reigning himself back in.

“I mean, of course you were there,” he said, his voice a little quieter. He ran a hand across his head, frustration in the movement. “But you weren’t—you weren’t you,” he said. “It was like I said to Raph and Mikey once. I kept looking to you to ask what we were going to do but… you weren’t there.” He looked at Don, with pleading eyes. “You’ve got to understand, Don. We explored everything as best we could. There was no other way.”

Don took a breath in, turning to stare at the geode for a moment. Its crystals caught the little light in the room and reflected it. “Then it’s my fault,” Don said quietly.

Leo stared at him a moment, confused. “What?”

“Then it’s my fault,” Don said turning back around. He leaned on his bo. “You’re right. I wasn’t there. I was… I was a raging, mindless beast who didn’t understand anything that was happening.” His jaw tightened a little. “I didn’t know anyone or anything. I didn’t even understand when I was safe. All I knew was pain and rage. I wasn’t there.”

“Don, I—” Leo started, but Don shook his head and cut his brother off.

“I wasn’t there before that, though.” He looked Leo in the eye. “I saw Leatherhead’s notes. He noted the point in my own notes when I became unreliable. I was too sick, too far gone with the virus to accurately interpret the data anymore. I wasn’t ever going to be able to find a cure, because I was already ‘not there.’ By the time we got back from the past, my reasoning was too far gone.”

Leo was silent, the analysis evidently taking him by surprise. Don forged ahead, reaching to run his fingers over the geode again.

“I never was going to find a cure,” he said firmly. “And it was my fault for not taking the wound seriously to begin with.” Don’s voice began to pitch up a little. “And I only got the wound because I froze up and Raph had to push me out of the way. If I had just moved, or if I had taken the wound more seriously, then I wouldn’t have double mutated,” the words spilled out of his mouth, falling quicker and quicker, his grip on his bo tightening. “If I hadn’t double mutated, then all of you wouldn’t have gone to Bishop for a cure. He wouldn’t have instructed you steal the Heart of Tengu. The Foot Mystics would have never gotten free. They wouldn’t have been able to kill the Tribunal and our friends. The Demon Shredder wouldn’t have been revived. And the fate of the world wouldn’t be hanging in the balance!”

Don whirled back to face Leo, who had been silent, watching as Don laid out his reasoning, grasping his bo with both hands now. “So, you see, Leo, this is all my fault! The world could end, we could all die, and it’s all my fault because I didn’t move out of the way of an enemy in time!”

For a moment, there was silence. Then Leo looked at Don and frowned. “Alright,” he said, crossing his arms. “It is all your fault.”

Don wavered where he stood. “What?”

“It is your fault,” Leo said. “You’re right. If you hadn’t gotten that wound, then none of this would have happened.”

Don hadn’t been expecting Leo to say that, and he stared at his brother, his mouth hanging slightly open. The words stung. They hurt, even though Don knew they were true, and he tightened his grip on his bo again.

Leo wasn’t finished though. “But I’ll say it again. You don’t know. You weren’t there.” Leo took a step towards Don. “Your notes may not have been reliable towards the end, but they were better and more extensive than anything Bishop or Stockman had.”

“But… they made the cure…” Don said, confused.

“Yeah, they did,” Leo said. “From your notes.” Leo sighed and put his hands on Don’s shoulders, both comforting and supporting Don. “They lied to us, Don. They said they had a cure when they didn’t. Master Splinter and Leatherhead told us about it later, but it was too late by that point. You were closer to a cure than they were. They just had better resources and equipment to finish what you started.”

“They—what?” Don stared at his brother, trying to process this new information.

Leo nodded. “Leatherhead said that the only reason your notes were as well-researched and extensive was because you were testing yourself. Don’t you see, Don?” Leo asked.

Don stared at his brother, waiting for Leo to explain.

“Because you got that sting, you started your studies and research long before Bishop or Stockman even knew there was a problem. You had the most complete and accurate information available. Because you double mutated, your research went to Bishop and Stockman, and they were able to make a cure. Without you, without your research, without that sting, the city would still be suffering from mutated creatures.”

Leo gave Don’s shoulders a squeeze. “Yes, we stole the Heart of Tengu as payment, but it was because Bishop lied to us about what he could do. Not to mention, Bishop started the whole mess to begin with, with his fake invasion.” He gave Don a tight smile. “You didn’t bring about the danger we’re in now. Bishop did, by trying to build a fake danger, and then by lying to us.”

Don stared at Leo, blinking as his brain processed the information. “…Oh.” He could feel himself trembling just slightly. He shook his head. “But—still. You stole the Heart of Tengu to save me.” He glanced at the doorway, as if he could see outside through it. “I still feel responsible.”

Leo shook his head again, and adjusted his grip, leading Don back to the bed and sitting them both down. He shifted again, sliding an arm along Don’s shoulders to pull him in. “You’re not. Besides…” Leo hesitated. “I don’t know how to explain it, but… it feels like this was always supposed to be us? I think… I think that even if it hadn’t been to save you, then something would have happened to the Heart of Tengu anyway, and we’d be in a similar position.”

Don eyed Leo skeptically for a moment, but then relented. Leo had always had a sense about these things, even more so since he returned from the Ancient One. It had seemed to sharpen, somehow, during their training with the Tribunal.

“If you’re sure, Leo,” Don said, slumping a bit against his brother, tired and aching.

“If Leo’s sure about what?”

Mikey’s sleepy voice interrupted, and Mikey poked his head around the door. Raph was right there with him, moving to stand in the doorway, eyes moving over the pair, clearly assessing the situation.

“If I’m sure that Don’s not responsible for everything that’s happened,” Leo said.

“He ain’t,” Raph said bluntly.

“Ohhh,” Mikey said. “This is because of the Heart of Tengu thing, isn’t it?”

Don shot a Mikey a startled look. “How did you—”

“How did I know?” Mikey said, coming into the room and plopping himself down on the other side of Don. “You mean, how did I know that one of the two turtles with a huge guilt complex was totally and absolutely going to take what happened and blame himself?” Mikey grinned. “Come on, Donnie, gimme a little credit.”

“I don’t say this often, but Mikey’s right,” Raph said. He strode forward and poked Don in the forehead, before taking his bo from him and setting it to the side. “You’ve been overthinkin’ everythin’ durin’ your recovery. Wasn’t hard to figure you’d take what Little Miss Shredder said to heart.”

Don frowned and looked down at his leg again. His hand traced over his scar, wincing a little as he did. “I guess. It’s just—”

“Nope, no ‘it’s just’,” Mikey said. “Whatever Leo said, he was right.”

“It ain’t your fault, Don,” Raph said, his voice quiet. “It never was.”

Don sighed, his hands rubbing at the stretch marks on his thighs. “It still feels like it is.”

“Well, no matter if it feels like it or not, it isn’t,” Leo said.

Don looked up at his brothers, giving them a weak smile. “It’ll take some time for me to internalize that,” he said.

Raph made a shooing motion, obviously trying to encourage Don to lie down. “Yeah, well, while you’re working on that, we can work on you,” he said. “Yer hurting right now, aren’t you?”

Don grimaced. “It’s… never really left,” he admitted. “It’s just worse tonight.”

Raph let out a huff of frustration. “Don. You’re suppose to tell us these things.” He looked over at Mikey and Leo. “You two know what to do.”

“Right-o!” Mikey said, and practically tacked Don to the bed.

“Hey—what--!” Don protested.

“Nuh-uh,” Mikey said, draping himself over Don’s shell like some sort of starfish. He put his head right on top of Don’s. “You said that heat makes your shell feel better, so I’m about to be your own personal heater!”

“You’re too heavy to be a heater,” Don grumbled, trying to get comfortable under Mikey’s weight.

“I’ve got his legs, you get his arms?” Raph said to Leo.

“Sounds good to me,” Leo said.

“Guys, you don’t have to do this,” Don protested. “It’ll fade back to a tolerable level eventually.”

“Hm, I dunno, bro. Eventually sounds like it’ll take to long, especially when we can do something about it now,” Mikey said. He booped the back of Don’s head with his snout. “Come on, Don. Let us help you.”

Don sighed and relented. He was well and firmly trapped, as his brothers started to massage his limbs, trying to help with the pain he was feeling. Mikey’s heat on his shell helped, too, although he wasn’t about to admit it out loud. Slowly, Don started to relax as the massages and heat started to help the bone-deep aches he was feeling.

“You’re still recovering,” Leo said to him, softly, as he worked. “Physically, mentally, and emotionally. Let us take care of you. Because while you might not think you’re worth the world, to us you are.”

Somewhere above Don, Mikey snorted. “That was one of the cheesiest things you’ve ever said, Leo,” he cackled.

Don heard the thwap of Mikey being hit. “Shut it, chucklehead,” Raph said. “It might be cheesy, but it’s true.”

“Never said it wasn’t,” Mikey protested. “Just that it was cheesy.”

Don chuckled quietly at the interactions and decided to stop protesting his brothers’ actions. He let them do for him, and then, when they all somehow curled and squished and fit on the bed, the bedframe miraculously holding under their weight, he didn’t protest, but instead let himself be cocooned within his brothers’ warmth and love. They talked, softly, about stupid things, silly things, and wishes and dreams, until one by one, they all fell asleep with each other, feeling safe and secure in a way that none of them had in far too long.

Don wasn’t sure he’d ever completely recover from his second mutation. He had a feeling that the aches and pains would come and go, becoming something he would deal with the rest of his life. He still felt guilty for what was happening, too, feeling indirectly responsible for the current state of the city. But right now, at this moment? He let himself trust in his brothers’ words, and refocused his mind on them, instead of his guilt.

And this time as Don slept, not a single dream or memory disturbed him.

It was hours later when two figures silently crept to the doorway of the room, looking in on the sleeping pile of turtles that was on the bed. Arms and legs were intertwined together, making it hard to tell who was sleeping on who and where one turtle began and another ended.

“You see?” the Ancient One said, very softly. “I told you—they needed this night. Their bond is strengthened. Donatello’s spirit is a peace, cutting off that avenue of attack. This bonding will only serve them well in the coming battle.”

Splinter looked over his sons, too many emotions running through him for him to properly express any of them. “It will,” he agreed instead. “I can only hope that it will keep them safe.”

For a moment, Splinter hesitated, and then he stole out of the room, returning moments later with a couple of large blankets. The Ancient One blinked at him.

“How are you going to cover them up? They are all tangled,” he asked, although he moved forward to help Splinter unfold the blankets.

“As I did when they were mere babies. I will cover the whole pile,” Splinter explained. “Creating a ‘shell’ for them to seek comfort in.”

“Ah.” The Ancient One nodded, and helped Splinter cover the sleeping pile of turtles, smiling to himself when he saw how Splinter took the time to adjust a limb here and there, and press his nose to each of his sons’ heads.

The two slowly left the room then, leaving the turtles alone to finish sleeping throughout the night. In the morning, battle would come, the Ancient One was sure, and for that, the four would need to be bonded strongly. But tonight, their bonds had been strengthened. He just hoped that it would be enough.

But for four turtles who were sleeping in a pile, under blankets put over them by their father, nothing could feel more safe and secure in that moment.

[bluepeachstudios]

I love your headcannon about 03 Splinter preparing his boys for when he dies. Can I throw one of my own back at you please? In a lot of ways, I think the 03 boys had the hardest and most perilous childhoods. Their father went from only having to provide for one rat sized rat, to having to provide for five people sized and suddenly sentient mutants. 03 Splinter does not have the same basis of knowledge that Rise or 12 Splinter have when they mutate - he has to learn EVERYTHING, while keeping them all alive, and hidden, and raising his sons. (Side note - I think this is why the 03 boys are so good at admitting they don’t know things. There must have been so many questions Splinter just couldn’t answer. Not knowing isn’t a sign of weakness for them - it just means you have more to learn.) How much harder was it for him to find not only food, but food safe for baby turtles? To work out how to find them heat and light? To get them safe water to drink? To work out what to do when one of his children were sick? I feel like the 03 boys are very very lucky to all have made it to 15. I also feel like Splinter wouldn’t be entirely able to hide it from them. They would have known when there wasn’t enough food, when the water wasn’t safe to drink, when their brother was scarily ill because it was too cold. Growing up like that has got to affect your maturity level. Not to mention that, as much as he would have tried to avoid it, the turtles were the only ones Splinter could lean on if he needed help. We see traces of that throughout the series - for example, the boys are very good at scavenging for what they need. I totally agree that Splinter purposefully made sure they could do so in case he died, but I also think he didn’t have much of a choice in getting extra help so they could survive. (Extra side note: I also feel like suddenly having access to enough food and the right nutrition is a big part of why they all start getting taller in Fast Forwards.)

THIS EXACTLY YES!! Splinter prepared them as best he could, and they taught themselves a lot as well! They had to grow up very fast to take care of each other, and their father, who needed to learn almost as much as they did!

[hood-ex]

How did you like mutant mayhem? who was your fav

Loved it!! I had SO much fun watching it!!

The turtles getting their groceries from shipping containers/trucks?? Brilliant! Love that take!

I was pressed when I read that Leo was going to have a crush on April, but I actually didn't mind it in this case. (Even though I 100% prefer for them to just be best friend's/family and would never want to see April with any of them). Like Leo being such a nerd made it work plus April didn't show any interest in him, so it didn't bug me like I thought it would. Now if they try to turn that into something in the future then we're gonna have a problem, but it being a one-sided thing that Leo will hopefully grow out of (quickly!) is fine.

Speaking of April, I LOVE this version of April, and I love how they switched up the reporter thing a bit with her being super anxious to be on air bc it made way for some character progression. I do tend to prefer her being quite a bit older than the turtles, but I feel like her being a teen like them works in this universe.

Also, I love it when Leo is characterized as a nerd who says cringey/nerdy things sometimes and they delivered on that beautifully here with his speeches. It's veryyy 2k12 Leo vibes. Fucking loved it. Especially loved it when Leo actually had an amazing rousing speech during the Superfly fight scene and then after Raph complimented him on it, Leo started geeking out about how cool he sounded LOL. Obsessed.

"GO NINJA, GO NINJA, GO!" I started screaming when this started playing!! Secret of the Ooze reference let's gooo!

The milking... THE MILKING... the nipples and the milking!! Mikey and Raph got milked!! That running joke killed me. Also, since Mikey got milked first, I couldn't help but compare that to 2k3 when Bishop was going to use a saw to cut into Mikey's carapace while all the other bros had to watch. Althouuugh... ngl, I kinda wish Raph had gone a little more berserk over Mikey getting milked since he's so protective, but I understand they were trying to keep the mood light even though... it was... a torture scene... so uhhh... anyway.

"6 N' THE MORNIN' POLICE AT MY DOOR!!" 😂

"He's molly-whopping me!" LMFAO I was wheezing

All the bros singing BTS for Donnie's sake, and Donnie being like, "You guys don't even know the words..." HAAA

I love it in every iteration when Splinter gets involved to save his boys and this time was no different. Hell yeah feral rat dad!!

Mikey and Mondo Gecko, hell yes!! Bro, when the explosion rocked all the turtles and Mikey was disoriented?? The way his eyes looked after that?? Yeees!

THEIR SHELLS CRACKED 😱😱😱!! That "I'm gonna crack you like pistachios" joke killed me though

WHEN THE NEW YORKERS STARTED HELPING THEM TAKE DOWN SUPERFLY YESSSS LET'S GOOOO!!

Mikey or whoever telling Raph he needed therapy ALSKDJA

All the mutants living in the sewers with the turtles?? Full House vibes!! With Bebop and Rocksteady there idk kinda weird but I guess it works for this version of them.

I could not with their high school fits like 😭 April please take them shopping 😭

All in all, I thought it was super fun and I couldn't stop laughing the entire time. There was still kiiinda more of a Leo focus this time around, but it wasn't nearly as much as the Rise movie, so I'm glad it felt more balanced between each brother (and thank god we didn't have to sit through another Leo vs. Raph type of beef thing).

I think in terms of characterization, Leo was definitely characterized the best and felt IC. I feel like there could've been a bit more development for Donnie, Raph, and Mikey. Donnie had his anime/kpop thing, Raph had his love for violence, and then Mikey... there wasn't anything super defining about him other than maybe the fact that he signed up for the improv team try outs. But honestly, I'm not that mad at it because I'm sure they'll get more fleshed out in the TV show that's coming in the future. Now that they're attending school, I do kinda hope that Donnie takes some kinda robotics/woodworking/science classes because I'd love to see him develop the skills he's always depicted with.

As for my fav, I mean, it should be noted that Mikey is always my guy and that I'm usually going to focus on him the most in every scene, but other than him, I'd say Leo. I also really enjoyed April, Splinter, and Superfly though.

[ignominious-scoundrel]

Some of the aspects of MM was similar to older franchises, not things like IDW or Rise. Splinter being a rat that mutated (rather than a human) is one of them. This is the case in 1984 Mirage comics, 1987 cartoon, 1990s movies, and the 2003 cartoon. The Shredder's design has the same colour scheme as 1987 with purple and dark grey. The turtle's belts with their initials on the buckle are referencing the 1987 design. Overall, there are a lot of elements referring back to the oldest versions.

The concept of being able to suck mutagen out of the turtles goes back to the 1984 Mirage comics: in Issues 24-26 a tapeworm attaches to Raph and starts to drink his blood. As it drains the mutagen therein, it mutates into a humanoid called Bloodsucker and Raph un-mutates back to a regular turtle. For the entire story arc in these issues, Raph is a tiny regular turtle with barely any of his identity left behind.

Similarly, the scientists in Mutant Mayhem 2023 made a retro-mutagen which un-mutated Superfly back into a regular fly at the end. I believe 2012 was the introduction of the concept of retro-mutagen, but I may be wrong since many of the timelines intersect.

Anyways, I am betting my hypothetical money and crossing my fingers that one of the turtles are going to be un-mutated for a period of time as a part of the plot in the 2nd movie. One reason I think that is because they showed the un-mutated Superfly. I do not think Superfly is going to become the main villain, that role is hinted with the foreshadowing of the Shredder. I think they showed Superfly to draw attention to the fact that he survived and became a perfectly normal fly. With the importance of the retro-mutagen emphasized, it is likely to be brought up again in the 2nd movie. Someone is going to get un-mutated, and it is going to be someone important.

If the small family dynamic continues in the 2nd movie, I am betting that it will be either Raphael or Splinter. Splinter, being their dad, is their source of safety. It provides the opportunity for character development if the kids have to fight the Shredder alone because Splinter is a normal rat. If Raph was the one to mutate, it could be a reference, or because he and Leo are the most "generic" of the TMNT. But because Leo seems to be more of a main character than the others, and the hinting of romantic development, it would be disappointing if he was indisposed for the rest of the 2nd movie.

If they capitalize off the big family dynamic with the presence of Superfly's relatives who joined their family, then it is likely that these guys will get picked off one by one -- including Splinter-- and the "crisis" in the hero's journey would likely the turtles left completely alone with everyone else un-mutated, and/or the brothers are separated from each other. Then their solve the problem and get back together and fight the villain, etc etc.

This was just a really long way of saying I like the 1984 comics and I am hoping to get a reference. It is probably not going to happen, but then it could be one more thing to add to my really long slideshow about the development of the TMNT franchise.

[eveandtheturtles]

Started with a Kiss, Chapter 5 - Discussions over drinks

On AO3

Previous chapters on tumblr Next

A/N: Missed with March but this one is Beta Read by @thoughtful-raven. Dude you are a superstar. Enjoy and please reblog/comment to let me know if you liked it ;) no reposts. Characters depicted are in their early/mid 20s or older.

Pairing: Donnie x OC.

Tagging: @madammuffins @turtle-babe83 @thelaundrybitch @dilucsflame33 @pheradream15 @sharpwindow @leosgirl82 (anyone else wants in on this lemme know!)

After the panic attack, Kara was out for the count for most of the day. Cheryl decided to stay until Kara woke up. That way there would be someone around that she trusted. The turtles and their father were great people, no doubt, but the two women barely knew them.

So, after seating her at the kitchen table, the brothers dispersed throughout the lair; Leo went to read, Raph and Mikey went to play video games. Donnie hovered for a moment but even he disappeared into his lab. Before they left they did make her some tea, leaving a full teapot for her. 

Cheryl wasn't sure if she preferred being alone or with someone around. Her own nerves were shot so she tried to calm down staring at the tea in her cup. That was why, when the chair across from her moved, she nearly jumped out of her skin. 

She blinked and looked up at Splinter. 

"Apologies for scaring you, my dear," the rat apologized.

"It's alright," she smiled awkwardly.

"Would you mind if I-" he gestured to the teapot.

"Oh, no, please, help yourself," she shook her head. 

Splinter smiled and poured himself a cup. He then brought it up to his lips, inhaled deeply taking in the aroma, exhaled, and took a small sip. 

"Ah… this was brewed by Raphael," he hummed.

Cheryl watched that, amused. "You can tell which of them made the tea?"

"Tea brewing can reveal a lot about a person," he chuckled, turning the cup in his hands. "Raphael prefers stronger, bold flavors, which sometimes can result in him using a bit too many leaves. Leonardo tries to balance his brews more, but he hesitates at times ending with water a bit too cold for the brew. Michelangelo is impatient so he tends to scald the leaves with too hot water or pours it too early"

"What about Donatello?" She relaxed and grinned.

Splinter let out a pained sigh, shaking his head. "My brilliant son prefers the brew of coffee way too much. I'm afraid he doesn't appreciate tea as much. Calls it 'hot leaf juice'."

Cheryl laughed.

"He microwaves it and uses tea bags, " Splinter said the last word like it was the highest offense. 

She snorted and laughed louder. "I am so sorry," she giggled. "I am afraid Kara and I are very similar to him."

Splinter sighed painfully. "No appreciation for fine things," he said shaking his head but still with a smile.

She giggled. "How else can you tell someone's character?"

"Hmm," he stroked his goatee, "a game of shogi. Speaking of, your friend has a very interesting strategy."

"Oh, yeah, she loves these kinds of games. I stick to chess and still lose to her," Cheryl sighed, amused. 

"You two seem very close," Splinter noted.

"Yeah, at this point we're basically sisters… She was there for me at my lowest and I for her." She rubbed her fingertips over the mug and took a sip.

"It is an important bond to share with someone," Splinter said softly. 

"Yeah, I guess…" She dropped her head. "I never thought we'd get this far."

"Do you regret-?" He tilted his head inquisitively.

"No!" She quickly interrupted him. "Absolutely not, I just sometimes wonder if she'd be better off without me…"

"I doubt she thinks so." Splinter placed a comforting hand over Cheryl's hand. "What makes you say that my dear?"

Cheryl sighed deeply. "You could say I was a catalyst for a lot of things in her life…"

Splinter remained quiet, giving her space in case she wanted to elaborate.

"When we- I- can't, I promised I wouldn't be talking about her, privacy is so important," she hesitated. 

"If it helps, this isn't about her," Splinter reassured her. "This is about you, clearly needing to get things off your chest."

"Alright, it's just- our lives have been interwoven for so long. It's impossible to separate them…" She ran her hand through her hair, messing it up. "My parents were- are middle-class, white 'traditional' people." She air quoted with a painful grimace. "The ones with 'right' values," she snorted bitterly. "Then they had the misfortune of having a child that couldn't hear as well as others. They didn’t like the idea of ASL or hearing aids, so I had to learn how to lip read, but it still made me feel like an outsider,” she licked her lips thinking about how to continue. “Kara was my first friend to make me feel normal in more ways than one… " She rubbed her eyes, wiping away the tears. “When I was 14 I realized a new thing about me. Just another occasion for disappointment,” she snorted bitterly. “I got a girlfriend and my parents found out. Obviously, this wasn’t how they imagined their daughter to be,” she took a deep breath in. “If it weren’t for her I would have been sent to conversion therapy.” Her knuckles paled as she squeezed the mug tighter.

“How old was she?” Splinter frowned thinking about the tiny woman. His head turned slightly to where she was resting.

“Uh…13-ish? She’s… always been stubborn. Add to it the audacity and the teen conviction of being almost immortal and you’ll have the idea of Kara back then,” she chuckled, sounding a bit watery. “She was already in college by that time.”

Splinter stroked his beard thoughtfully. “That is a lot of responsibility for someone so young. Even my sons were at least 4 years older before they dared to take on the mantle of protectors. You were very brave,” he said slowly. “What of her parents?”

“I’d rather not discuss that?” She sighed. “It’s really not my place to tell.”

“Understood.” 

Donnie tilted his head, taking his headphones off and looking to the kitchen, where Cheryl and Splinter were still chatting, but about much simpler topics. 

He wondered how much he should dig into Kara’s past. Oddly enough, he cared if she’d get mad at him for it. Normally, he wouldn’t bat an eyelash (if he had one). He did it to April, Casey, and Vern. Even Chief Vincent and any cop who got friendlier with them. 

Cheryl was the direct link to her past. He knew if he dug hard enough, he’d uncover what she tried to scrape off the public records. On the road, he was limited to what he had on himself but now, at home? He thought back to Leo’s words. 

No, he couldn’t wait for her to fess up. His family always came first. He hit ENTER. Then waited for the results to start filling in.

Kara woke up groggy, wondering which century it was and what planet she was on. After a brief glance at her phone she determined she had slept for like 3 or 4 hours, her mouth felt like a desert and her eyes felt like bags of sand. She probably looked terrible. She felt terrible.

She rubbed her face and looked around. Finally, the memories started booting up. Yeah, it really wasn't good. She sighed heavily. 

Slowly she slipped her feet onto the floor and hissed at the cold. Rubbing her arms, Kara made her way to the kitchen where the scent of food was calling her.  

She saw Mikey at the stove. He was whistling as he was cooking. Tossing an onion over his arm he caught it on the knife's edge before chopping it. It landed in a wok and the orange-clad terrapin moved it with expertise and precision. Her mouth watered. 

The ground under her feet vibrated and Kara looked up, spotting the tank that was Raphael. He gave her a sharp look and his mouth moved. 

Morning, pipsqueak.

She frowned and glared at him. Did he just call her pipsqueak? Was she just called a tiny bean, a shortie? Raph, unknowingly to himself, made his way to a short person’s shitlist. She was already plotting her revenge.

Her stomach rumbled. Revenge must come later. She followed Raph into the kitchen area. There Mikey served them a portion of egg-fried rice. They had Chinese last night and much of the leftover rice remained. 

She focused on eating while the two giants were talking and playfully shoving each other. Soon Leo arrived, grabbing himself a bowl of food. He nodded politely in her direction, which she returned. She wondered where Cheryl was and just at that moment, she arrived with Splinter for the meal. 

The two friends hugged tightly. They needed to discuss things but it wasn't the time or place for that. Cheryl got served a portion of food as well and the two talked about how they should go about Kara's academic presence. 

<Do you think you could get a note from the Chief of Police that you can’t attend the classes?> Cheryl asked. Kara snorted.

<Suuuuure, I can try,> she giggled. <Tell Stephen he needs to fill for me for a bit longer too, but I hope to be back sometime this week.>

<I can’t imagine you just skipping work for whatever reason,> Cheryl snickered. <This must be hell for you.>

<Shut up, I’m fine. I plan to annoy the hell out of all of them so they kick me out themselves.> Kara winked. 

<Awful, awful person you are.> The two leaned in and hugged. <Just don’t do anything stupid when I’m not around okay? This is really, really bad. Not like before…> Cheryl looked at her, brow furrowed in concern.

<I know, trust me, I do. I paid once for being stupid…> Kara rubbed her throat. <I’m… I’m going to try and be smarter this time.>

<Okay, just remember there are people to help you here this time.> Cheryl looked at the table full of turtles. <Even if they are a bit unconventional.>

Kara sighed deeply but she was smiling. <I know, and I have you.> She reached her hand and squeezed Cheryl’s palm. Cheryl smiled back and the two bonked their heads together and giggled.

<Dig in, silly.> Cheryl poked her in the ribs and the two resumed breakfast.

A bit later Kara was about to finish her meal when Leo slid his phone to her. “ Chief Vincent wants to see you tonight. We have a spot - not the police station - set up.”

She read it and nodded. She was still too mentally exhausted to fight them on this. She was too far in this as well. Might as well go with it. The breaking and entering at her place definitely scared her enough for it. “ I’ll go.” She wrote back.

Cheryl looked at her. <Should I call Tim?>

Kara nodded. Yeah, the presence of a lawyer was definitely required. Cheryl passed the information to Leo and he agreed to text her the address.

Kara got up from the table and stretched yawning. Her muscles protested and she winced. She needed two things - coffee and workout.

“ Do you guys get Uber Eats delivery here?” She typed in the notepad on her phone and showed it to Leo.

He frowned. “ What do you want?”

“A specific coffee order.”

“We have coffee here,” he pointed out.

“Okay, and can I make a strawberry frappuccino with a double espresso and chocolate swirl on top of it?” She raised her eyebrow at him.

“ Can’t you just accept what’s here?”

She huffed at him. “ I am about to meet the chief of police who is gonna most likely interrogate me, I found out I’m being hunted by a mafia, and my flat has been broken into and robbed. I. Need. This.” Her lips drew into a thin line of determination.

Leo sighed deeply, rethinking his choice in life. “ Fine.”

Kara smiled victoriously.

Raph must have said something because Mikey, who was sitting in front of her, was snickering. “ Donnie is gonna hate that. ” She read his lips.

A mischievous thought popped into her mind.

Donnie wandered into the kitchen sleepily. He was rubbing his eye under his glasses when the alluring scent of coffee hit his nose.

He saw Kara by the counter, using cinder blocks to elevate herself as everything in the lair had been scaled up for the brothers. His brothers were by the table with Cheryl, chatting, snickering, and drinking something. Donnie squinted as suspicion filled his mind. It deepened once they went quiet as they saw him approach, with Mikey nudging Raph jokingly. 

Donnie looked closer at what Kara was doing. She was by his coffee maker. A state of the art machine that he built and improved upon over the years. He had a specific coffee blend he perfected over the years. A harmony of flavors with depth and a tangible body. Nothing like those cheap Starbucks knock-offs. 

He looked closer. There was a tall beer glass in Kara's hand. Next to her was a blender and a bucket of crushed ice. 

Donnie looked back to his brothers and noticed each had a mug or similar pint glass. There was the scent of his perfect blend in the air.

"What did you do?" He glared at his brothers. 

"We didn't do shit," Raph replied, sipping from a mug. He made a delighted hum. "It's the half pint there." He pointed to Kara. 

The blender began to whirl again and it sounded so offending to Donnie at that moment. 

"She made us these cool drinks, dude!" Mikey announced, pointing to his mug.

Leo drank his green concoction without a word but he was definitely trying not to grin too hard. 

Donnie turned to Kara who regarded him with an impish smile. She had finished her drink, which was pink, with a small hill of whipped cream and a chocolate drizzle.

She took a loud sip through a silicone straw, maintaining firm eye contact. Then set the drink down. 

<I was feeling fancy. I hope you don't mind me using your coffee.> She looked all cutesy singing that. <I can make you something too.> She winked.

Donnie exhaled through his nostrils and pressed a knuckle to his forehead. 

<What are they drinking?> 

<Well,> she almost wiggled, biting her bottom lip as she watched his reactions, <I made a matcha latte for Leo, a hazelnut oat milk latte with some cinnamon for Raphael, and a cereal coffee with milk for Mikey, as for me, strawberry frappuccino with a shot of espresso.> She raised her glass at the end of the presentation. <Cheryl is drinking a simple latte with caramel drizzle.>

Donnie inhaled and exhaled again. <Did you. Just make. All my brothers. Starbucks orders?> He signed slowly, accenting each pause and closing his eyes for a moment to maintain calm. He opened them to see her reply.

<Yep. I really enjoy those lattes. Such great drinks.> Her grin was so wide it almost broke her face in two. 

<They aren't lattes!> Finally, Donnie exploded. <Whatever Starbucks is doing is a sacrilege against coffee! Leo's and Mikey's drinks don't even have coffee in them!> He was so exasperated he was shouting together with singing.

His brothers snickered.

<They taste good though,> she shrugged. <You sure you don't want one? You might change your mind.> She teased.

Donnie gapped at her for a moment too stunned by her audacity. <No!> 

<Your loss.> 

She grabbed her glass and sauntered away to sit at the table with the others. Mikey greeted her with a fist bump, which she gladly returned. 

They watched Donnie move about grumbling and ranting about coffee sacrilege, cursing the famous chain store and his family. 

" Does he do this often?" Kara wrote to Leo.

" Yup. Sometimes when Donnie ticks dad off he will pull out instant coffee right in front of him, it's a whole show." He snickered as he wrote. 

" Amazing." Kara grinned. So Splinter had some mean streak to him, huh?

<Not that I judge you but...Why did you do this?> Cheryl asked her friend, watching Donnie as well. 

Kara shrugged. <I don't know. Seemed like fun.>

<Riiiiiiight,> Cheryl replied with doubt clear on her face.

Kara shoved her friend a little. She didn't want to explain that she found the way Donnie frowned cute. There was something about his arms when he did things too. Honestly, this was petty, childish, and immature. Why did she do that? She wasn't 12 anymore.

She sighed. She really needed to stop. If the little annoying things put distance between them then maybe it was for the best though.

" I noticed you guys mention a dojo around here, mind if I use it?" She asked Leo.

He nodded and stood up gesturing to her to follow him. She took her drink and did just that.

Donnie entered the dojo wanting to work out some of his irritation. Yes, he made his coffee but he was too ticked off to drink it. So, a workout it was. 

Lo and behold the source of them was right there too. He paused, surprised at the weapon of the choice she was working with. 

Kara was going through the motions with a silver staff. The predominantly thrust-based technique reminded him more of a quarterstaff rather than his bō. He wondered where she got the weapon because he didn't remember it being part of the brothers' collection. 

She didn't notice him yet. Donnie admired her for a moment. The movements were sharp and precise. She knew what she was doing. Of course, he doubted she had much actual combat experience. Regardless, she was a delight to watch. 

Finally, she paused and looked up. Seeing him there she straightened up. <I'll be gone in a minute,> she told him

<Can I join?> He asked, surprising himself. On the other hand, this was perfect. He could kick her ass as retribution for messing with him.

She tilted her head surprised, eyebrows riding up. 

<Like a spar?>

He approached the weapon stack picking up his bō staff. He turned to her. <Yeah.>

She considered his proposition and smiled. <Sure.>

She took a couple of steps back. With a smooth movement of her thumb, her staff separated and shortened into two rods. 

He took his position. His eyes met hers as she took her stance. They nodded.

He attacked. She was fast. As he swung she got closer and blocked him. Simultaneously, she threw a hit on his leg. Donnie hissed. He spun the bo and moved back. Kara grinned. She spun the sticks in her hands, waiting. He grinned back, realizing he probably underestimated her. 

While Donnie often fought shorter opponents, they rarely went lower than 5'7". He saw his height as an advantage in those encounters. Meanwhile, Kara was 2 feet shorter than him and used to opponents way taller than her. 

They started circling each other. From time to time Donnie would cautiously thrust at her which she'd deflect with one of the rods. Finally, she moved in for an attack. 

She was so fast. He was stronger, though. She knew that and her tactics reflected that. She tried to take him down quickly. Aiming for his legs and sides to hit with the sticks.

He recognized her style as eskrima. Whenever he attacked she was ready to block and counterattack at the same time. 

At one point Kara went between his legs. Sliding right through and whacking him high on his calves, making him drop to his knees. Next move she aimed for the head. Quickly, he blocked her again. Spinning his legs as he got up he tried to cut her but she jumped up. 

Using the momentum he tried to hit her with his staff next. It worked. She winced and folded in half for a moment. In his panic, Donnie tried to approach her to see if he didn't overdo that but regretted it immediately. Kara used his hesitation to hit under his jaw. 

Who said she was going to play fair?

Donnie snorted. She was a refreshing opponent. He had to adapt quickly. Her height, deceptiveness, and dual technique forced him to change his usual style. He had to angle staff or his own body away from the assault. 

Soon the difference between them became apparent though. 

Yes, Kara was fast and crafty. And quickly figuring out his weak points. Her metal weapon was heavy and sure to cause serious damage were he not a turtle. But she was still human with no experience in true combat. 

Donnie, on the other hand, was a turtle mutant who since childhood was trained in ninjutsu and from age 16 actively fought against the criminal underworld of New York. Not to forget, he still was stronger than the average person despite his status as a scientist of the family.

She was getting tired. Her stamina was dropping. Donnie's wasn't. 

Kara took the wrong step. Her arms dropped a little lower, she moved a little slower, and he had an opening. Using his staff he swept her knees out from under her. She fell on her back and groaned. Immediately, Donnie was on top of her, pinning her hands down. 

She was looking at him startled, eyes wide, mouth slightly opened. Her breathing was elevated from the workout. He could feel her pulse in the veins in her wrists. Their eyes met and she swallowed hard. 

Donnie blinked, caught in the moment of watching her lips move. 

"Are we interrupting something?" Raph's snicker broke the spell.

Donnie jumped away from Kara as if burned. Kara got to her feet slower, stretching her back. <Nice workout,> she told Donnie and nodded at Raph. 

She picked up her sticks, which she dropped during Donnie's last attack. She joined the two pieces and collapsed the entire thing into a silver cylinder. Donnie recognized it as one of the items she had taken out of her bag back in California. Back then he thought it was pepper spray or something. Huh. 

She left the dojo, nursing her side. 

To say that Kara wasn't happy to meet with the Chief of the Organised Crime Division was an understatement. She was tense and the bruise she had developed thanks to her workout with Donnie was hurting like a motherfucker. She briefly wondered if he managed to crack her rib…

"Dr. Williams, I presume?" Chief Rebecca Vincent joined them at the table. 

They were in an empty maintenance office of an abandoned parking lot. It was cramped with the 7 of them there. They dropped Cheryl off at April's on the way there but picked up an extra instead. The four turtles were blocking all the exits - the door and windows and she was sitting at the table in the middle with her lawyer. 

Timothy Spencer, her attorney, was surprised but not shocked when Kara contacted him. What he didn’t expect were four mutants. While unnerved, he was a professional. The paycheck he was getting from Kara was enough to keep him quiet as well. 

She eyed the Chief without a hint of trust but nodded. 

"After Dr. Stockman and now you, I should just start investigating all brilliant scientists in this city it seems," the Chief tried to joke but all she earned was a grimace from Kara. Timothy remained stone-faced.

"Right," Rebecca cleared her throat. "Let's start then, shall we?" 

The negotiation part was a headache. It was mostly a ping-pong battle between the Chief and the lawyer of ‘we can charge her-’ and ‘where’s your evidence?’. Kara tried to stay focused, this was her future being discussed. Her and Cheryl’s safety. Still, her eyes wandered a little.

Raph and Mikey by the window were doing something on their phones. Leo was leaning against the door looking up at the ceiling and Donnie… He was mostly working on some calculations but she noticed he was looking at her from time to time. She frowned catching him once and he looked back on his sized down screens with…. What was that? Guilt?

What was that about? What did he do? 

Suddenly her attention was called back to the arguing Police Chief and her lawyer. Finally, after 2 hours of back and forth between them it was agreed that the Chief would present Kara as a Confidential Informant, maybe, depending on what the DA office would say - an undercover free agent hired by the police. That was then written down by both parties and signed. Now Chief Vincent would need to go and discuss it all with the DA. That meant another meet-up session for them. That meant Kara had to spend more time with the turtle brothers as she, again, refused police presence. But the main point has been settled. Chief agreed to a deal and that Kara’s identity would be kept out of the process as much as possible for the amount of evidence she could provide. With a good chunk of it already sent to the Chief by Donnie. 

She glared at him on their way to the lair, carried by Raph. She wasn’t bitter at all, no why should she? There was nothing to be bitter or frustrated about. It wasn’t like him going a little bit behind her back didn’t irritate her. And that little workout routine they did earlier that day didn’t confuse her feelings and resolve more. So everything was fine! All fine!

Once they reached the lair Raph set her down and Kara started marching out to her designated spot. She needed to cool off.

Leo though had other plans.

He stepped in front of her, stopping her briefly. “Listen, it’s really important for the city to keep Archambault in prison. I’m really glad you decided to stick around.”

Kara took a breath in. She wanted to say she didn’t have much choice but… getting to know the brothers just a little… she probably had. She doubted they would force her to do anything if she refused. 

“Yeah, well, it’s in my best interest to get this sorted out as soon as possible,” she typed up on her phone to show to Leo.

“Right, we will need to talk about this too,” he placed his hands on his hips. “I need you and Donnie to try and maybe research or work out why Big Boss is after you.”

“ I don’t know what to tell you, I don’t have other ideas why they would be after me.” She showed him her response. Behind them, Donnie leaned in to read.

<What about Ryan Ledger?> He spoke and Kara froze. It took her a moment to process what he said. It was like her mind refused to accept it. But of course, of course, he couldn’t just wait for her to give information freely. Of course, he had to dig. How could he not!? All her frustrations from the day came to head in that single moment. Her eyes narrowed at him.

<What?> She signed slowly. Deep frown, head tilted.

<Ryan Ledger, he->

Her face morphed into cold fury. She sidestepped Leo and walked up to Donnie. Marched is more likely. Then she gestured for him to lean down. He bent his knees and when he was at eye level with her she slapped him. She slapped him so hard the sound echoed through the lair. Her hand burned and his head turned. 

His brothers let out a collective 'ooof' with Mikey muttering: "That had to hurt."

<How dare you-> Her hands were shaking. Her whole body was shaking with deep anger. <How dare you dig that up!>

Donnie straightened up, rubbing his chin.

<I had all the right to do so,> he stated. Still, some shame crept up on him. His shoulders slumped. 

<No!> Her hands were moving wide and fast, erratic. <No! You had no- This does not concern you!>

"It does concern me! It concerns my family! We have to protect-" He shouted as he signed.

<Bullshit! It doesn't! You didn't need to get involved! The only reason you did was because of some sick hero syndrome you four have going on!!> She gestured to all the brothers. <You could have just given the chip back to the police! Let the French buffoon get charged! H0AX once more evades arrest!> She pushed him back pressing a finger into his plastron. <You involved yourself in my life! I didn't need that! I didn't ask you to!> 

"Listen-!" 

She took out her hearing aids. Threw them at him and stomped into the sewers. She wasn't going to listen. 

Donnie huffed. She was just so… infuriating and difficult!! He went after her. 

It was easy to catch up. His legs were so much longer than hers after all. 

He grabbed her shoulder, spun her around, then winced as she punched his stomach. 

<Which part of 'not talking to you' didn't you get?!> She huffed, stepping back from him, and cradling her hand. Damn that plastron was hard.

<I thought you wanted to know that he was involved,> he said, irritated. Damn, she punched well for such a tiny thing.

<I knew! I found out! Definitely not from you spying on me!> She tried to kick his shin but he jumped back.

<How was I supposed to know you would have told us! You said nothing about him in the first place!>

<Well, I'm sorry, I didn't know I had to disclose my abuser to a group of fucking strangers!!>  

That shut him up. He read the files. He didn’t have the full story but- Shame really settled in this time. She glared up at him.

<I'm leaving,> she stated. Final. 

<Where are you going to go?> He asked as more of a reflex. 

<I don't fucking know, maybe to April or crash at my lab, that's none of your fucking business!> She threw at him.

<Fine!> He replied, baring his teeth at her.

<Fine!> She signed, throwing her arms wide by the end.

<Fine!> He huffed.

She flipped him off and stormed to where her clothes were stored, grabbed her suitcase, and headed for the exit. 

"What's going on?" Leo approached Donnie, throwing a concerned look at Kara. 

"She's leaving," Donnie huffed and stomped to his lab. 

"She can’t!" Leo shouted after him. “We have to stop her!”

"See if I care!" Donnie shouted back.

"I ain't going with her," Raph quickly evacuated the area and grabbed Mikey by the shell. 

"Whoa, dude-!" Mikey protested.

Leo dragged his hand over his face. He was about to go after Kara when Splinter stopped him.

"Master?" He said confused.

"I believe it will be for the best if Donatello follows after our guest," the old rat said thoughtfully. 

"But he's-" 

Splinter raised his hand to stop Leonardo. 

"There are emotions and situations that you can't solve for your brothers. This is one such situation," he said with a small smile. "Just let the two of them breathe. Kara shall return here."

Leo nodded. "Alright." He rolled his shoulders trying to relax. 

"Now, would you mind playing a game of shogi with your old father," Splinter said, gesturing to the board he already had set up. 

"You always win," Leo chuckled.

"You never know, maybe today will be your day," Splinter smiled at his son. They both knew that was a lie.

Kara huffed stomping through the sewer canals and heading to the nearest maintenance entrance. Dragging a suitcase up the ladder would be tricky on its own even without her bruised ribs. Spite was a powerful painkiller though.

The suitcase’s handle slid back and snapped into place and she started climbing. Yeah, it was hard as hell but she kept going. Step. Pull. Balance. Step. Slowly but surely she was making progress. The last obstacle was opening the manhole. She gritted her teeth and pushed it open. 

Suddenly her luggage slipped from her tired grasp. She watched it falling almost slow-mo to the ground. Before it could crash and spill its content everywhere, Donnie appeared, catching it. 

Kara sighed, relieved, but then glared at him. What was he doing here? She definitely didn’t want to look at him at this moment. How did he even find her?? Was there a tracker on her? It better just be because of cameras in the tunnels for his own good. 

He clearly wanted to say something. Fuck it. She turned her head and took another step up. 

“Kara!” he called and she gritted her teeth. She didn’t hear him. Her hearing aids were still in his pocket.

Then two pairs of hands reached down into the sewers and pulled her up, while she struggled to escape.

“Fuck.”

[teenagemutantninjatrauma]

You know what actually? Y’all know that half-joke headcanon that’s around about all versions of Donnie that, before bedtime, Splinter reads him science books instead of fairytales?

I wanna.. see someone take that seriously, not gonna lie. Because there is so much potential there!

In Rise universe, it’s the main form of bonding for the two. Donnie isn’t very touchy and before they figured out how to deal with the soft shell situation, he wasn’t allowed to do as much stuff as his more sturdy bros, so one-on-one time with dad that focused on things Donnie was interested in meant a lot! And, even though Splinter has zero clue what most of the books’ contents mean, he can still provide the proper pronounciation (tell me there’s not a bajillion words that you can pronounce without having any idea wtf they mean, and he was in the film industry and his native language might be Japanese and not English, I think that’s a combo that can make you very hyper aware of every word outta your mouth). That, and, sometimes, I think Splinter walks away from that having learned new things! Sometimes, while babysitting, kids will spring the most random facts on me that I had no clue about! My brother has a huge interest in all sorts of creepy crawlies and whenever I’d read him from different animal books he’d provide me with (factual) extra information that he seemingly just. Gained from somewhere on his own. Also, Splinter would quote random stats at Donnie to calm him down I think

I admittedly don’t have many thoughts about the 2k12 universe, but I think it’d be an opportunity for all the tots to gather and listen together - a lot of the time, Donnie’s knowledge flies wayyy over their heads, but something about sitting together in a pile and listening to their dad read has immensely good vibes to them. So it’s the opposite from Rise, it’s a chance to all sit together, especially since there’s probably some crossover between interests! Leo likes Space Heroes after all, I think like any good fan he’d take random information he learns about things like space travel and satellites and lasers and use it to write scientifically correct Captain Ryan fanfiction. Raph is more interested in biology, especially after getting Spike, he wants to know which animals eat other animals, how much which animal can carry, I think he’d really enjoy all the extremes of the animal kingdom? Things like fastest animal or biggest animal would be really cool to him. I dunno if Mikey would get much out of it BUT I also think he’d really want to read in place of Splinter sometimes? I learned to read at a very early age and loved to read to other kids in kindergarten, partly because it meant everyone got quiet and listened to me - sounds familiar, right? I think Mikey would like it.

‘03 universe is a special case, I think reading as much as possible was a necessity - this Splinter got mutated from a rat, not into a rat, and suddenly he’s experiencing life as a person, and there’s so much to learn, especially with having four baby turtle mutants on his hands now! What is safe for them to eat but not for him, and vice versa? What temperatures can they survive in? And originally he started learning all of this on his own, but the moment Donnie could at least vaguely gesture, he wanted to read with Splinter. They learned how different sewer pathways are marked, how to know what street they’re under, but I’d also wager they’d have to learn stuff like.. what rat poison looks/smells like. What illnesses may not have been a problem for them as animals but is a possible danger now? It’s why I think funnily enough ‘03 Splinter would be to some extent open to doing experiments involving the other kids, because.. none of them knew anything about how to be a person (they can be mentally ill now and all of them are neurodivergent, rip), about walking on two legs (the real reason Splinter wears a cane is because his bones were NOT meant to last as long as they have. Rats live for like two years and his life span is now a massive unknown that his body wasn’t originally prepared for, and yeah the mutagen probably helped, but still.), just.. general existing is now something they have to learn. This would probably also be a good reason (not the only one, but one of them) Donnie feels like the team really won’t survive without him.

In short: Splinters should read science books to their Donnies :)

[skeleton-in-a-hoodie]

In DDMG, April and Kirby end up knowing about Splinter before the Jones do. Like Casey knows Raph has an adoptive dad, but he doesn't know said dad is the NYC Rat Man.

And I realised this means that the parents group starts out as a group of three dads doing their best to look after all the kids and said dads are:

(Under readmore cause this got longer than expected)

a happily married social worker who is trying to treat this rat demon adopting four human children as much like a normal adoption as possible, in part to avoid thinking about the whole "demons and ghosts are real" thing. Very competent at his job, his wife definitely knows about all this, no way in hell he was keeping this from her

A recently widowed psychologists who's work mostly involves putting rats through mazes and very recently got tenure. Is trying to help his daughter deal with the loss of her mother, whilst also struggling to come to terms with it himself. Friends with Dr Rockwell, which results in the spiderman pointing meme when they realise both of them know/ are friends with Splinter

a ghost who left behind a wife and child, and recently emotionally adopted four children. Is the youngest of the group, regardless of whether or not you include the years after his death, and is trying extremely hard to be the best father he can with zero experience or preparation for raising four young kids. Was apparently a ninja before he died, which somehow is not the wildest peice of information about him

Just these three doing their best to support one another. Splinter asks Kirby and Samson a lot of questions regarding parenting advice, and sometimes vents about being dead. Like he knows there's still so much he can't do for the boys, and fears that they're missing out on experiences a living parent could give them, like being there in person at their competitions rather than lurking in the shadows, and sometimes that gets to him.

Kirby will talk about his wife and ask if they've got any ideas for how to help April, cause Kirby never feels like he's doing enough. He's doing as much as he can, and April is happy, but her mother died only recently and it feels like there's this big gapping whole where she used to be and Kirby knows he can't fill it, and he fears that means he's letting April down. It doesn't help that they don't really have family he can ask for help. There's his sister who does what she can, such as letting them move in with her when they first moved to New York, but she travels a lot for work and Kirby could do with a shoulder to cry on.

Samson takes a while before he starts opening up about his own concerns, largely because he's used to shouldering things on his own. He always worries about blancing being a good dad to his son and his work, because there's so many kids who need his help but he's got a kid at home who needs him to be there for him too. There's also just a lot about his job that wears away at him - Samson never feels like he can do enough to help the kids assigned to him, and runs himself ragged trying to go above and beyond. It does him good to see the Turtles thrive with Splinter, even after they're not his case anymore, because he can see that here's something good he did and, if nothing else, those boys have a good life ahead of them.

All three of them vent about work to be honest, which one day leads to:

Kirby: *ranting about some absolute asshole he had to work with earlier*

Samson: Jeez he sounds horrible to work with.

Splinter: BITE HIM.

Kirby: ...

Samson: ...

Kirby: ... eh?

Splinter: I SAID BITE HIM. VICTOR WOULD NOT STOP ANTAGONISING PEOPLE AND BEING GENERALLY UNPLEASANT-

Samson: So you bit him?

Splinter: HE CHALLENGED ME TO A FIGHT. WHAT WAS I SUPPOSED TO DO?

Samson: You're a ninja master, try that! Why did you bit him?

Splinter: HE BIT ME FIRST AND I RETALLIATED.

Kirby: Wait, wait, wait, which one is Victor?

Splinter: I THINK APRIL SAID PEOPLE ONLINE CALL HIM SPIDER BYTEZ

Kirby: Oh, okay, I know who you mean now. The eight legged one with the acid spit?

Splinter: YES! HE HAS AN EQUALLY CAUSTIC PERSONALITY I AM AFRAID.

Kirby: Don't he and Raph hate each other? What happened there?

Splinter: AH, YOU SEE-

Samson: Can we go back to the acid spit and eight legs please?

[panfluidme]

The Faslers

Master Post

Jazmine Lucinda (age 44): The single mother who moved to New York after her husband's passing from Oregon. She has five kids, so she desperately needed her family's help. She's a successful doctor who's worked on many people with terminal illnesses and disabilities. When she learns that Donnie is a survivor of cancer, she immediately starts keeping a close eye on him just in case if anything happened under her watch. Jazmine met Splinter while she was out. She had gotten stood up and he saw that she was upset, so he went to comfort her. A little bit later, the two started dating and eventually get engaged. Jazmine is the only Fasler that Splinter and Donnie trust with their mutant secret. It took her a bit to accept that she was dating a rat, but she came to terms. He was still her Splinter, the man she had fallen in love with.

Jessica Emmy (age 17): The oldest Fasler child. She's in the same grade as April and is good friends with her and Sunita. She wants to become an actress when she graduates, so she does theater. After she meets Splinter, he gives her private one-on-one lessons to help hone in her skills. When she met Donnie, she quickly became overprotective. Jessica sees herself as his older sister, even before her mother started dating his father.

Jarid Kendrick (age 14): He absolutely hated Donnie at first, feeling jealous that Donnie was smarter than he was (even though both of them skipped two grades). He only hung around Donnie because Lucy's his cousin and Marcus was his only other friend and they adopted Donnie into their small group. He quickly became friends with Robbie when he joined the group. Jarid is the geography smart kid in the group. If you were to ask him about any kind of rock, he would go on and on for hours. Even after he started warming up to Donnie, he and Donnie kept up their friendly rivalry because it was fun. Their relationship got very tense after Donnie officially moved in. Once again, Jarid was jealous of Donnie, but this time, it was cause he got his own room while Jarid has to share one.

Jasper Moon (age 12): The non-binary middle child. They use they/she pronouns. She really, really wants to become an author. Her stories aren't very good yet, but she is only twelve, so they have a reason. (If you're wondering why she's twelve and uses they/she pronouns it's cause I know several nb people who figured it out when they were that young too. Also, Donnie uses he/they pronouns and showed her that that's something people can do.) She absolutely adores her step-father and step-brother. She loves to ask question after question about tech or watch Lou Jitsu movies with Splinter.

Jax Marshall (age 7): The very energetic child who picks up on some of Donnie and April's chaotic energy. He loves to draw all over the walls or tear apart his toys. Jax idolizes Lou Jitsu and thinks it's so cool that he gets to live with him. He brags to all of his friends that his papa is the Lou Jitsu.

Jimmy Jr "JJ" Randall (age 3): Jazmine was pregnant with him when his father died, so he was named after him. He's a very bubbly kid. His favorite people is Donnie and Jarid. He finds the way they playfully argue (sometimes actually argue) to be hilarious and it cracks him up. Much like Donnie, JJ is autistic and is non-verbal. He has the cutest laugh that makes anyone laugh when they hear it.

When Jazmine marries Splinter, the family decide to keep Fasler as their last name. Jazmine didn't change her last name when she married Jimmy Sr (who instead took her last name), so she wasn't changing it now. Her kids (other than Jax and JJ) kept it in memory of their father. Splinter is not offended, but he decides to keep Hamato as his last name so Donnie could keep it (he knows Donnie wouldn't change it and he didn't want Donnie to feel alone in it).

[ritterschaf]

without restraint

Characters: Baron Draxum, Splinter

Warnings: it's nsfw, but not explicit (I think??), but you know what they're doing. Yes, I know that's what you're here for. We have no shame here, it's fine.

Summary: What began with simple wrestling somehow turned into something more. Something differently physical. Something intimate. Something powerful.

He has no idea how it started; but then again, Draxum realizes, that is the case for basically all of their arguments. One of them starts – it really doesn’t matter who it is and what they argue about (but it mostly is Splinter and his movies) – and the other retorts. There’s a sort of rhythm in their arguments by now and they always end the same: stopped by one of their boys who interject.

It feels the same today, starting with a minor thing they probably both don’t remember anymore, anyway. But there is something different, and direly so – the boys are not present. A roadtrip, they had called it, one that would last for several days; so there was no one in the Lair to stop them from actually…well, arguing. And more. Although they both don’t exactly know what this more truly is, because they boys have always kept them from it…so when Splinter snarls “Alright, Draxum, that’s it. Let’s go.” Draxum doesn’t continue to argue. He just closes his hands to fists and falls into the battle-stance that is almost as familiar to him as breathing.

For a second there’s silence; anticipation lines the air between them, the crackle of adrenaline about to be released – they never really have fought ever since the Shredder. The thought is…exciting.

At first, there’s restraint; almost as if testing the waters, as if expecting the boys to barge in any second.

But they don’t, so their blows – almost playful in their weakness – get stronger. More serious. More powerful.

Draxum is a warrior – has been for almost his entire, long, long, life; his blows are fierce, if he wants them to be. He strikes with a purpose; his fist finds it’s mark and his adversary falls; that’s how it’s always been. Not today, though. Despite his size, there’s still somuch of Lou Jitsu in Splinter, he’s cunning and fast, and—strong. There’s a warrior inside that rat, violence hidden beneath that tiny frame. They’re equals here. And Draxum, for his part, loves it.

He has no idea how it came to pass, only that, at one point, Splinter pins him to the ground, hand on his wrists in a grip that seems impossible to resist. And then – perhaps to whisper something – Splinter leans down, just as Draxum strains against this hold, that was just so—so deliciously strong— –and suddenly their lips touch.

He doesn’t know if that really is what happened – only that when it did, his first thought was not to stop it. Quite the contrary.

Splinter, once he realizes what he's doing, draws back, startled. Maybe even horrified, afraid, he can’t tell— Draxum uses that momentum to topple him over, pins his wrists to the ground with his sheer might and weight. It works. The rat hits the ground so hard, all air leaves his lungs with a sharp gasp. Maroon hair tumbles into Splinter's face, grazing his whiskers that are flicking restlessly, quick like the pulse beating inside Splinter's wrists, right into Draxum’s palms, he sees him breathing hard-- Out of excitement? Fear? …Or something else entirely?

Draxum is so close he sees his own face in the rat's eyes. Sees the look of astonishment on his own features, of wonder; if he were less of a scientist, he would not be able to ignore the sudden heat he felt in his face, but pushing the emotional component aside was easy enough for him; but what he sees, that is indisputable.

He likes this, strangely enough. And the rat…doesn’t seem as adversed to this as he would have guessed.

Splinter's mouth opens, so close to him that he hears his lips part. Judging by his face, he will probably apologize -- for something Draxum doesn't want him to apologize. So he silences him, by covering his mouth with his'.

After they part again, there's surprise on Splinter's face, something in his eyes Draxum can’t make out, but it is not anger, or hate, or even disgust…he knows that look, would recognize it. This is anything but – if he were to put a label on it, it looked like the opposite entirely; so clear, so vivid and honestly confused it makes Draxum smirk and lean even closer. He doesn't fully understand this, how it could come to this. But he cannot deny how hard his heart beats with excitement, how right it feels in this very moment. This…whatever this is, is good.

Neither speak a word, just stare at each other. Say it now, if you want me to stop, Draxum says with his eyes, waits. He gets his answer immediately, for Splinter strains against his grip and chases him into another kiss.

It is unfamiliar as they tangle now on so different a ground, as hands slip beneath already dishevelled and loosened clothing, touching places they most certainly never thought - albeit silently hoped, perhaps? - they'd reach.

Splinter moves with uncertain confidence – as if the knowledge of appropriate movements is still there, just…buried – and Draxum imitates him, adding what he thinks feels right. The former movie star is experienced where the alchemist is not; they both move slow for different reasons none of them care about.

Suddenly, their restraint has returned; is welcomed, by both and feels right.

It feels right to sneak a hand under a yukata to sweep it off of a grey-furred shoulder, just as it feels right to have fingers loosen the knot around a cloth barring a fuchsia abdomen from prying eyes.

Claws tangle themselves in white hair, a tail wraps around an ankle followed by a small palm sliding up a reddish muscular thigh – all framed by the duel now carried out by their lips.

They wrestle with each other, now on completely different terms, and not at all as competitors, until both of them are bare to the other's admiring eyes; encompassed by a tension inside them that is all too sweet and growing ever sweeter with every lingering touch.

The first intimate touch is gentle, executed by Splinter who slowly regains his boldness with every further move they make. Draxum gasps involuntarily, followed by a scoff when he sees the rat grin in his face. He looks so much like Lou Jitsu in this moment it almost hurts; it doesn't, not in any way that matters right now; but it does throw him off balance and he can't help but stare. Splinter takes this as a sign to continue. A well placed stroke brings Draxum from hands down to forearms, forehead pressed against that of his former foe-now friend-now coparent-now...lover?

The word is so unfamiliar, so far off from everything he knows he inhales sharply. This is territory unknown to him, the warrior alchemist who has only ever known the fields of battle, his laboratory and seldom anything that kept him from either of the two. There's fluctuation here, all is in motion, feelings, sensations, movements and everything stays and sways all at once - the only thing constant is the man-turned-rat beneath him, one hand on his waist, the other on his length-- He can't stop when he raises his mouth to his' again, urging, needing to say, to name that constant that is the only thing holding him right now. Not Lou Jitsu, not 'rat', not Hamato Yoshi-- "Splinter", he sighs in a whisper.

The very first time he has said that name. And Splinter chuckles beneath him, uses their closeness to kiss him again and does, until the alchemist is well and truly breathless. He directs him to a sitting position, guides his hands until they find their way on their own, never letting go of him; until a well-placed stroke makes the former action start shiver in excitement, too. And Draxum, scientist that he is, quickly learns the flow of what comes next.

It is a blur from then on. Fur getting moist with sweat, slicked fingers stretching places, giving way to other, even more desired intrusions that beckon more noises, more shivers, more of that delicious, delicious tension--

Rhythm, that is not easy to find, but manageable, for they both have more than a thing to learn from the other. Until they move in unison and the restraint, welcome before, becomes utterly unwanted and is left behind like their clothing, long discarded. Sharp canines drag over a tense neck wracked by harsh noises, claws hook into flesh, leave marks red as fire, gleaming in fuchsia and grey fur alike. Grips turn harder, movements sharper, getting more reckless along their ever-fastening descent into completion; nibbles turn to bites, soft kisses to exchanges so hard they almost bruise and the gasps turn into occasional laughter, exhilarated because they match, they fit and even now they spar on equal grounds. Gloves off, no holding back, because they know the other will endure.

--until the tension reaches its peak, they push each other too far and it ends like every good battle does; in a slick mess, in utter exhaustion-- and bliss.

Draxum still doesn’t quite understand how that had happened – but damn, he sure enjoyed it; that is the thought most dominant in his head after it stops spinning. And when he looks over to Splinter, who flopped to the ground beside him, his brows furrow immediately.

"Oh. Oh no." He saw the rat's face. Knew the crinkle of his lips, the subtle flick of whiskers when he was about to say something absolutely, scandalously off-putting. And Draxum knows exactly, /exactly/ what it was going to be. So, naturally, just as Splinter opens his mouth, he lunges to cover his lips with his hands- only to stumble midway because, by the titan’s eternal essence, he is shaking. “That was some…”, Splinter begins and leans over to him, small hands framing his face, the power in that seemingly innocent grip holding him in place as he nears Draxum's ear and with great satisfaction and no small amount of mirth whispers: "…hot soup."

Draxum kicks him.

(In the face, tho. Not between the legs. He still needs that part functioning. For, y’know. Future experimentation.)

(hehe)

[misteria247]

How would the rise turtles react in they saw 2012 splinter spirit?

Hmmm that's a good question Anon. I think.......personally they'd all have mixed feelings about it.

Raph if he ever met the spirit of 12 Splinter would probably be a mess. After all even though this rat mutant isn't technically his father he's also kinda is and having heard the story of this man's death and seeing how it effected his and his brothers counterpart's would make him a complete emotional mess. But he'd also want to know exactly who 12 Splinter was and would most likely try to talk to him, just to see if there were hints of his pops within this spirit of the man who raised his friends and official newest little brothers, them being older be damned. He'd learn as much as he could about 12 Splinter and try to get to know him somewhat so he can better understand him and his personality. Raph would probably be also very hurt that 12 Splinter even if unwilling had left his family behind. Raph knows that logically he couldn't foresee it happening but as someone who's entire being focuses around family he'd be incredibly hurt emotionally by the events that tore 12 Splinter away from his brothers and at how Raphael carries the guilt of his father's death.

Mikey if he ever met 12 Splinter's spirit would undoubtedly cry. I'm talking bawling and trying to hug him kind of crying. After all this is a variation of his dad, a variation of the man who loved them and raised them from infancy. He'd be a bawling mess, filled with grief for the other turtles who had lost the very thing that he and his brothers still had. He wouldn't say much to him, just too busy sobbing and grieving for the man who died for him but in another reality different from his back home. Perhaps after his breakdown he'd want to ask questions and get to know the rat even if he is a spirit, after all this is the man who raised his best friend Michelangelo and his brothers and since the older turtles are like family this would extend to 12 Splinter as well. He'd do his best to get to know this older rat dad because that's what families do. And just like with Draxum he'd do his best to get a bond between them even if he's nothing but a ghost.

Donnie on the other hand if he met 12 Splinter's spirit would be rather conflicted with it. After all magic, ghosts and mystics weren't exactly in his forte of knowledge and seeing this dead version of his papa would give him very mixed feelings. He'd probably try to ask 12 Splinter a bunch of questions and looking at everything from a logical perspective rather than the emotional one. If he looked at it from an emotional one, he'd start to think about Donatello and his brothers, and start to think about how they have struggled since his death. He'd think about it and emotionally he'd most likely be angry at 12 Splinter's spirit. Because while logically he knows that 12 Splinter and his sons couldn't have stopped him from being murdered he'd feel as if the rat Sensei had abandoned the older turtles in a way. Donnie knows that this simply isn't the case, but emotionally he can't help but feel this slight frustration towards 12 Splinter. So he'd only look at everything from a logical standpoint as to avoid opening up that can of worms in the emotional department. Especially when he knows that he can't really blame 12 Splinter for what had happened and knowing that it'd upset the older turtles who are also his brothers now. The last thing he'd want is to upset them further, they'd already been through enough.

Leo......

Leo would probably be very uncomfortable and conflicted with it. If he ever met 12 Splinter's spirit Leo would probably end up bombarding him with questions, like why he and Leonardo were chosen as leaders and why they were the only ones who could really do the job and not anyone else. But once he got those questions out of his system and possibly answered I believe that Leo much like Donnie would keep his distance from the spirit of his Sensei in another world. After all he's not a believer of ghosts and he already has a somewhat strained relationship with his own dad back home and the last thing he'd want is to make 12 Splinter have the same kind of relationship with him respectably. But that would only be one of the reasons he'd keep his distance. Another reason he'd do so is because deep down much like his twin and older brother he would be a little bit angry and hurt by the way things had turned out even though he knows it was out of their control. And it wouldn't help that having gotten close to his older counterpart he had been able to witness the full extent of just how much 12 Splinter's death had really effected Leonardo and how at only eighteen years old it'd put him in a position where he now had to lead his family as well as teach them and basically become like their father. Basically Leo would feel a sense of betrayal on behalf of his newest family members and we all know that when someone he loves gets hurt he doesn't let it go easily.

At least that's how I see it going should it ever happen.

[milkytheholy1]

I was gonna request something like a headcannon of what would the Rottmnt turtles to an indirect kiss, but I'm gonna leave it on the side for now. Is that okay for you?

TMNT masterlist. TMNT 2. Ultimate masterlist. AL masterlist

Raph:

"Ready? Three, two, one, go!" Mikey shouted through the megaphone with glee, in awe as he watched his oldest brother chow down on a million hotdogs in a minute.

You were by his side cheering the snapping turtle on, a wide grin on your face as you screamed and shouted: "Go Raph! You can do it! Bite those dogs!"

Donnie was stood by his side keeping check of the time while Splinter counted the number of hot dogs his son could dispose of, he was scarily impressed.

You and Mikey continued to cheer Raph on, laughing slightly when he smiled back at you with hot dog sausages hanging from his lips. He was quickly approaching the 50 mark, easily beating out Leo's record of 15 and Donnie's record of 10.

As the timer soon approached its final strike, so did Raph. He seemed to know time was ticking and ploughed as many buns as he could into that monstrous mouth of his.

Choking lightly, he pushed the final hotdog into his mouth then collapsed onto the table. Donnie had shouted the time while everyone cheered and clapped.

Raph was in a food coma, as it were, only shaking his head weakly while he continued to slowly chew. You had gone up to him with a bottle of water and bin in hand, y'know, just in case.

He had accepted it without hassle, actually thanking you the best he could. Being the winner, you had leaned in to kiss his cheek as a reward not noting the way his attention jumped around the room.

His head had soon swivelled just as you landed your lips on his green skin, jumping slightly when the taste of canned hot dogs invaded your mouth.

Pulling back with wide eyes, you saw a very sheepish Raph rubbing his neck awkwardly. "Sor-" he interrupted himself with a burp, causing you to laugh in hysterics.

"No problem, big guy. Congrats on winning."

He had definitely won that day.

Leo:

It was just a regular old movie night down in the lair, you had been embraced by the strange warmth the lair provided and had since then refused to leave.

You and the four brothers were bunkered in the projector room watching any movie you deemed entertaining enough. Splinter had joined you for a small amount of time, choosing to take his spot on the recliner while you all huddled together on the floor surrounded by blankets; per Mikey's request.

Splinter had left approximately 10 minutes after the movie had started, complaining about the amount of CGI and lasers they used and how movies weren't like the olden days; whatever that meant.

With the rat-man gone, you and Leo took full leverage of the recliner, both bumping shoulders as you jumped back.

You had thought nothing of it, knowing that most of the time you and Leo were quite a cuddly pair, so things like this felt normal.

After the movie ended and another was already in motion, you had somehow received the glorious popcorn bowl; bearing in mind it was almost half-empty.

Leo had noted the sweet aroma coming from you, at first assuming it was just your natural smell, but the quick flicker of his eye told him otherwise.

Not really thinking about it, Leo tried to manoeuvre his arm, which you were currently laying on, into the popcorn bowl. Feeling movement beneath you, your body dipped and dived to help him.

You both turned so quick you could barely tell what was going on, but you did notice the suddenly warm feeling pushed against your lips.

You had only wanted to apologise for your obstruction, yet here you are now, lips smacked together and eyes bulging wide.

The others hadn't noticed the state you two were in, only looking back when your loud ramblings of apologies and dismissals were heard throughout the lair.

All in all, it wasn't the worst movie night you've ever had and you'd both remember the feel of each other's lips.

Donnie:

Donnie had gone experiment mad at the moment, testing every little thing that moved. His lab had become something akin to a mad scientist in a horror movie.

He had called you late one night, practically begging, yet he'll deny he begged, for you to come over and help him out.

Curious to see what he was working on, you agreed and soon made your way down the streets of New York to see him. Though you wish he had picked a better time considering you were walking through New York when you probably shouldn't have been.

Soldiering into his lab, you found the genius hunched over his desk with tools in his hands, what's new you mused.

He had turned around at the slightest sound of your snicker, he yanked the goggles off of his head and pulled you over to an empty table.

"Sit here and be still, got it?" he barked out, not really paying attention to all the questions that came rambling from your mouth. Pinching the mask fabric between his snout, Donnie finally gave in when your questions raged on and on.

"First, no this won't kill you. Secondly, it's in the name of science. Thirdly, I'm just using this small rubber hammer to test your joints. And fourth thing, no it will not kill you or explode or turn evil; well, probably not the last part."

Before you could question, he had hit the hammer gently against your leg and hummed when the appenage kicked up. He did this a few more times on both knees and then moved onto your elbows.

You weren't really sure if this is what you were meant to do and what these results contributed to but you were too scared to ask.

Donnie was quite close to you now, seemingly breathing in your air as he hit your elbow with the tiny hammer. Yet this time was different. This time instead of a small tap he whacked the hammer against your bone causing you to jump up.

Due to the close proximity, your foreheads banged together and lips smashed until you pulled apart. Donnie's whole face seemed to turn red, your own developing a small blush.

Donnie had turned back to his table to record these new notes in a flustered state.

Oh yeah, he was gonna need to do some more experiments after this.

Mikey:

You and Mikey had made a mess of the lair and there were three words as to why: Arts and crafts.

What appeared to be a seemingly fun and relaxing afternoon had turned into a nightmare-ish disaster with paint and glitter covering you both from head to toe.

You had tried to keep most of the paint and glue from staining the floors, not wanting to destroy the Hamato home, then Mikey pointed out it was a sewer and sewers were meant to be dirty.

That excuse didn't go down well with Splinter, who as punishment, made you both clean it all up.

So here you were now with a mop in one hand and a soapy bucket in the other, while Mikey stood with a dustpan and brush. It had been fairly boring, to say the least, both of you kind of working in silence for no reason whatsoever.

That was until Mikey began to hum and song, which then turned into singing, which then turned into a duet, which then became a full-blown musical.

You had been swinging the mop around, trailing puddles of water all over the place, effortlessly gliding across the room. Mikey, similar to you, had been waltzing with his partner: the brush.

Through a raised bow and big grin, you had planned to meet Mikey in the centre of the room for the grand finale. As you skidded over to him, your feet had lost traction on the floor and gravity seemed to be your enemy.

Obviously falling to your doom, Mikey tried to save you but fell in the attempt. Landing on top of you with a wheeze, he blinked his eyes open to see his reflection barely there in the wide shocked state of your eyes.

Trailing down he noticed your lips firmly pressed against his and quickly pulled away. He rambled out apology after apology, only truly stopping when you sat up and he fell from your hips at the unexpected movement.

"(Y/N), I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to trip. I was only trying to save you." he mumbled out, tears brimming in his eyes. Your heart heaved for the sunshined boy, leaping out into a hug as soon as you could.

"Don't sweat it, M, I kinda liked it anyway."

[pasteltraitor]

(I was planning on doing like six more of these as a sort of ('five times Raph protected his family and one time it was the other way around' but if you don't want me to I won't, happy birthday.

Everyone knew Donnie was a softshell, and everyone worried about it.

The young turtles, despite being around the age of ten, were still cautious whenever playing with Donnie, their pops and Raph made sure of it. But they started to get reckless after Donnie tied soft things onto himself to protect his shell, it was like all their caution had been thrown to the wind, they all had thought it would be fine to be as rough as possible.

Raph was still slightly worried, unlike his other brothers, it still sat in his mind, and he'd told them off sometimes, but eventually even he played more rough, even if he was worried.

His purple loving brother had been checking the newly built ramp, making sure it was stable, when Leo had shouted from the top about calling dibs on the first try, and shot down at rapid speed despite the protests from everyone else, then hitting a loose part of the ramp that sent him rolling down at rapid speed instead.

Time didn't slow down during that moment, Raph's instincts and body, his thoughts, had felt like they'd sped up.

Leo was coming right for Donnie, and Donnie hadn't been wearing anything to protect himself at the time, Leo couldn't stop himself, and Donnie wouldn't dodge in time-

Raph had barely thought about what he was doing, just what would happen if he didn't make it.

Raph rushed forward, shielding his soft shell brother with his own body as he rolled through the air, pain stabbed him as he hit a wall with his plastron.

His limbs went limp to reveal a shocked but unharmed Donnie, who had seemed grossed out by the hug until he looked directly at his bigger brother.

Raph sighed in relief, cringing at the small pain in his chest as he looked down-

And saw the scar.

It wasn't that big, he later thought, but it had still hurt, though he didn't care. he checked to make sure Donnie was okay first. "Yo, you okay, Donnie?" The bigger of the two asked, Donnie responding, "Other than the uncomfortable awful feeling of being stuck in a hug, yes, but are you seriously asking me that when you have a crack on our plastron?? "

"A WHAT?!?" Splinter said, the rat having been brought over by Mikey.

Raph and Donnie both exclaimed "IT WAS LEO'S FAULT" while Pointing at said turtle who had hit the other side of the ramp, causing a small bruise to form by his cheek.

After Splinter had checked they were okay, thanked Raph and scolded Leo, fixed up Raph's scar and put two bandaids crossed into an X onto it, Donnie had come up to Raph to say somethng.at

"…Thank you for saving me, even if I could've done I better with some planning, it was helpful." Raph grinned. "Your welcome, Donnie. You're still gonna be wearing two pillows on your front and back and one soft blanket, though, just in case."

Many years later, Donatello gently touched his battleshell, thinking about that day. That incident was a part of what had inspired Donnie to make his battleshell in the first place.

Donnie looked over at Raph, who was arguing with Leo again for the fifth time today, and stared at the spot the small, now faded, scar you could hardly see, would be, silently grateful though he would never admit it aloud.

-------

Characters are OOC but IDC I woke up at 4: am with a vision and I will write it.

Again happy B-day don't have to answer this ask you can just delete it or keep it in your inbox.

P.S I dare you to go on the scariest ride at six flags on saturday your prize? You got to go on the scariest ride at six flags congrats

aww this was rlly sweet i loved it thank u!! im posting it <3<3

also would love to see more of these! no pressure to if u dont want to

also ur on! idk what the scariest ride is but ill go on it! and I dare u to not scream at all during a ride

[toothlesshat]

Ooooh idea!

So if we view the Turtles get Exposed universe separate form the Meet the O'Neil universe... what if the way the humans discover the correlation between Lou Jitsu and the turtles and rat man is because Splinter had to seek actual professional medical help for Leo! It's like three days in, the turts are laying low because April came rushing in freaking out because someone got a clear picture if everyone's faces, but then the worst case scenario happens.

Leo's injuries become infected and they've run out of antibiotics and other medicines.

Splinter thinks long and hard, trying to find a suction but there's none to be found. April cannot connect to her mother because her phone was broken shortly before the invasion, the Hidden City is still in lock down and Draxum is trapped on the other side of that because he happened to be down there getting some supplies when the invasion started, and topside is so abuzz because of the invasion and the search for him and the turtles there's no way he could possibly steal the necessary ingredients form a pharmaceutical company! Which leaves only one option... he has Raph wrap his brother up in the cleanest and softest blankets they own, tells Donnie and Mikey that April is in charge, and he and Raph head up topside to an overnight ER to beg someone to help his son.

I love this idea but holy shit how sick would that be for them to finally be exposed to New York but Leo is literally on deaths door if they don’t get help???? And fuck it, lets make this worse for him by giving Splinter a cloaking brooch (maybe Sunita was top side during the invasion and gave it to him, maybe Big Mama gave him hers, maybe he just acquired one in the last two years, idk) so suddenly Lou Jitsu emerges from his hiding place after going missing over 20 years ago (25 if I’m correct. The creators said Splinter was in the battle nexus for 10 years, and in the series Draxum says it was 13 years since they were mutated, and the movie takes place 2 years after so..) with one of the rumored turtle men in his arms claiming to be his father and begging for help or he’ll die. It’s… gotta be a lot to take in for the night shift people…