#it's not clear if this scene was real or just in leo's head

[leisi-lilacdreams]

He didn't know what he was doing... ...he just wanted his twin...

down down they go

just a fun little what if idea :D

au of @somerandomdudelmao's au wooo! inception this thing!

[sugudoe]

── ✎ CHERRY SODA, 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘬𝘰‧₊˚ ୨୧

✶ 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: June has arrived with a constant presence of heat waves, which your hot self is happy about — after all, now you have an excuse for your red cheeks and sweaty hands whenever 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙠𝙤 𝙞𝙚𝙞𝙧𝙞 is near you.

✶ 𝐚. 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞: happy pride month! i love loving woman. at the end, i got heavenly inspired by gatsby’s love for daisy, if you’ve seen the movie with leo, you will understand which scene i’m referring too. fun fact: the movie they are watching is bodies bodies bodies, and i wanted to explore more of reader’s ct, but i couldn’t, cus is all fluff. there is always gojo slander in my fics where he is not the love interest lmao. I ALSO LEARNED HOW TO MAKE DE DEGRADE TITLE MWAHHH. divider by: @cafekitsune

✶ 𝐬𝐲𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐮𝐬: fem!reader / pure fluff / modern!au / curse!au / crackfic! / all are minors so no smut or sexual innuendo / everyone is gay / english is not my first language / too many swear words / lesbian!shoko / reader’s sexuality is shoko, and only that.

✶ 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 3.4k

The happiest day of your life in Jujutsu Tech was the day you found out your upperclassmen, Shoko Ieiri, was lesbian.

That’s it, it was a simple statement made by her when you heard Gojo Satoru flirting with the girl and receiving the news as an answer. You nearly fell to your knees thanking whatever deity is taking care of this universe and you, the sky was clear of clouds, but you could hear perfectly the fireworks of celebration in your head and heart.

“And then, she said ‘Gojo, I’ll rather eat raw liver than be dating a man, specially you.’” You recall the talk while walking from side to side in your room, while Haibara and Nanami are seated in your bed, one with a enchanting smile and the other completely bored. “And…”

“And what?” Haibara bounces on his crossed legs, hands gripping your sanrio plushie of Cinnamonroll, his favorite of your vast collection.

“And she is vegetarian!” You clap your hands, Yu following your movement. “So, Gojo turned to me, and he said ‘and what about you, hot stuff?’ ”

“What did you answered?” Nanami is the one to ask, although his eyes are fixated on the album cover of the vinyl in his hands, disco playing in the background, his ears are all focused on the gossip.

“So, you see…” Scratching your head, you sighed. “I fumbled for real, just went back to you guys.”

Haibara happy expressions morph into disappointment.

“You’re so stupid, with all respect.” He offends you, though. “This was your chance, it’s not everyday we can be going around telling people we are gay, specially our crush.”

“You do all the time.” Both you and Nanami answers the boy.

“Yeah, ‘cause I’m me, Yu Haibara, the one that can’t shut his mouth. No one tells me their secrets, Kennie had to bodyslam me multiple times because I was always about to tell everyone, when we fist stared going out.” Although he said with energy, the boy had his lips in a pout.

“That’s not true, you haven’t told anyone I’m sapphic or about my crush on Shoko.” Your pacing has stopped, as you tried your best to comfort him.

“Not yet, at least.” Nanami snorts his small comment, before whipping the smirk of, and groaning. “Listen, I’m not in the mood to have you two whining, one is already hard enough to deal with, and I’m dating him! So you need to fix this, Y/n.”

“Huh? Fix what? What did I do?” You stare at Haibara, but he seems as confused as you.

“You need to make sure Shoko knows you’re into women as well. Make this your plan of life or whatever, soon as she knows, then comes plan b: get her on a date, it’s not that hard.”

“Yes it is!” You argue your friend’s really good plan. “She is Shoko Ieiri, pretty and popular and strong, and I’m little old me.” You dramatically falls on your carpet, hands on your forehead like a damsel.

“Girl, be for real, this school does not have that many people to be calling her popular. It’s just that you both are the only girls.” Haibara throws the sanrio plush at your face after his statement. “And you are as strong as her, in fact you are stronger than her, you literally are the strongest at the school.”

“So close! That’s the albino with the blinding eyes, actually.” Says Kento, coming to sit on the floor by your side. Both of you with large doe eyes staring at an energetic Haibara.

“She knows what I mean, your cursed technique is literally the more fucked you get, the more stronger you become. If Gojo bitch slapped you, you would break this world with your energy.”

“What are you saying, baby?” You stare agape at Nanami, is not always he uses the pet names, but the boy is as shocked as you with Haibara’s statement, so it slipped.

“Yeah, what’s with you and this weird coach talk? I don’t wanna be slapped by Gojo.” You mumble awkward, thoughts going straight into the cursed image of having Satoru’s large hands slapping your face — goosebumps follow your disgust in your skin.

“You need to shoot your shot, make her see you as not a school friend but as a potential future girlfriend.” The brunette gets up from the bed and points to your calendar. “It’s june, time to proud!”

You are proud and extremely hot, days later when summer has made its presence everyone’s problem. The students at school discards the purple jackets of their uniforms to only wear the white shirt underneath. You have to do a double take when you see Shoko and her classmates coming your way at the vending machine.

Ieiri looks so beautiful. She always does — but there is something about the short box braids she has, or how she tied her blouse on her waist, the way her skin is glowing with sweater, or the way she is smiling and right in front of you — glossy lips tinted pink moving. Oh shit, she is talking to you.

“I’m sorry what?” You catch yourself saying before staring at her eyes, she is smiling and they are almost closing. Adorable. “My brain is melting, it’s so hot.”

Lame excuse, but she buys it, you think.

“I was asking if you bought your soda yet.” You can sense her eyes on your empty hands, and smiles more when you sign no with your head.

“No..No! I was about to, you want some? I can buy for you.” You cringe at your own desperation, but Shoko sweetly laugh.

“No! I want to buy for you. I’m you senpai, it’s my job.” She goes for the machine and presses the number for cherry coke twice, before paying with her card. Shoko gives you your can before saying her goodbye and moving back to her waiting friends, both males smirking at you.

Walking back with a maniac smile before sprinting to your bedroom, you where once again greeted by Nanami and Haibara in there, startled by your sudden entrance of nearly breaking the door down.

“SHE KNOWS MY SODA!” You scream before falling to your knees, the cold can pressed against your hand reliving you.

“What does she mean?” Haibara asks to his boyfriend, but Nanami simply shrugs, annoyed.

“Don’t know, but clearly you don’t know ours. I’m thirsty and melting.” The blond whines before leaving the room to grab his and his boyfriend’s beverage.

“Hai, you don’t understand.” It’s a second after the door closes, you are in front of the boy, happy expressions in contrasts to his alarmed one. “She payed for my soda, and she knew what was my favorite.”

“SHE KNOWS YOUR SODA.”

When Nanami returns, minutes later, he is appalled to see you and his boyfriend screaming happily and jumping on your carpet, while on the background, wedding bells are heard from your music box. He sighs desperate.

Friday comes quickly, and luckily for you, it’s the first of the month, therefore, movie nights in your room: the perfect hangout spot, as always. It’s been a tradition since your friendship with Haibara started, and Nanami shows up whenever he was bored, which pretty much was all the time — specially now that he has his own boyfriend to cuddle.

You love them both to a crazy extent, is true! But no one in their right minds enjoy third wheeling, so you keep mumbling while setting your room up with the help of Yu while Nanami is out buying the snacks. It’s in the middle of your one person rant while adjusting fairy lights on your bed, small couch and plushies’s shelf, you feel something being throw to your head.

“Ow! What was that for?” You turn around to a pissed of Yu, hands on his hips and scowling face.

“I’m so tired of you, Y/n.” The boy comes closer to you, you fear he is going to throw any other thing, but instead he hugs you. “Please, don’t be stupid. Shoko likes you, everyone can see as much as we see you like her. So stop wasting time.”

It’s not supposed to work, because after all, you are the second most dramatic person in this school — coming after Satoru. For some reason, you might blame the summer heat waves that burn your skin much like Shoko’s attention does, and your brain has always been fogged with thoughts of only her. The thing is, Haibara is partly right. You like her lots and lots, and she likes girls lots and lots, and you are a girl, a pretty girl that can make Shoko laugh and feel comfortable — a pretty girl she knows what’s the favorite soda flavor.

Haibara is startled when you leave his embrace to move out of the room, he follows you after a few second of astonishment, and when the boy notices where you are going, a large smile is plastered on his face. He is so proud of you.

Both of you stop in front of a black door decorated with a cat rug and painted with flowers and vines, handmade by Shoko herself. You take three long breaths before knocking the door, and nearly jump back when it’s opened less than a second later by a six foot tall white haired freak with devilish smile. Gojo doesn’t have his glasses. Bitch knew you were coming.

“Shoko, your girlfriend is here.” Satoru sings before opening the door more, giving you a sight of Shoko’s perfectly cleaned room and minimal decorated, a total contrast to your own.

“Y/n?” Ieiri jumps from her bed besides Geto and comes your way at the door, pink cheeks much like yours. “Hi!”

“Hi…” Your soft voice you have reserved only for her comes out, before you scratch your throat and looks at everyone. All eyes are on you. “Uh, the boys and I are doing a movie night. We- - we thought of inviting you guys, if you want.”

“We would love to, we were so bored, actually.” Shoko answers right away, before turning to her friends.

“Huh? Weren’t we going to the mall?” Gojo asks turning towards Geto, but the black haired only shakes his head. “Oh, oh! Yeah, yeah, we are totally bored, no mall! Just movies with friends sounds amazing.”

“Great!” You smile triumphantly. “Nanami is getting snacks. Hai, can you send him a message asking to buy more?” You turn to your friend, but he is already with his phone in hand, texting, one of his hand making a positive sign. You turn back to face Shoko, shivering while noticing she is already staring at you. “So, see you… You guys, in fifteen minutes?”

“Yeah, see ya.” She whispers back.

It takes Haibara hands on your shoulder, much like Gojo’s on Shoko, for you to realize both of you had been quietly staring at each other. You wave her goodbye before moving back to your dorm. While in there, you and Haibara prepare the room for the others. The sofa would be for him and Nanami and your bed for you, as always. Your friend goes to his room before returning with his inflatable neon pink couch, which prompt you to change your neon lights to pink, as well.

The room is cutely decorated before you both fall on the bed to rest, and then a knock come. You don’t get up, Nanami just bursts into the room before dropping his bags on your coffee table. He scoffs.

“Why did you had to invite them?” Is all he says before falling on his sofa. “I mean, I like her, Geto I can handle…” Kento moves his face to stare at you two before whining. “But Gojo?!”

“Damn, I thought this was going to be a good time, not an offending me time.” The three of you jump at hearing Gojo’s voice, he is by your door, annoying smile decorating his face. Besides him, is Geto and Shoko.

“Every hour is a offending Gojo time, sorry bud.” Geto taps his friend head before moving inside your room, his eyes scan the place before deciding to fall on the neon sofa. “Nice room, Y/n, very you.”

The “thank you” is at the tip of your tongue, barely leaving through your voice, before stagnating when you look at the door, where she is. And fuck, you don’t think you’ve said anything in this world before, words become nothing in your mind in that very moment, all you can think is compliments and her name — Shoko is wearing a different outfit than earlier, she discharged the shorts and shirt for a flourished sundress, and two strands of her hair are braided. You can also catch glitter on her eyelids and her signature pink gloss on her lips.

“Shit.” Someone say, and you quickly realize it’s your voice. You cough before shifting your face to the boys, all again staring at you. “Uh, than… Fuck, thank you, Geto.” You say before moving towards the coffee table and grabbing two sodas of cherry coke and twizzlers. You go towards Shoko, who is still by your door, and you handle her the soda with a happy smile she copies.

“Am I going to have to share the pink couch with them giants?” Shoko whispers, motioning her head towards Satoru and Suguru, both playing fighting in the inflatable couch.

“No, no.” Couching again to refrain the embarrassment of answering so quickly, you sigh after, containing your nervousness. “You can share the bed with me.”

You close the door behind her, and soon your hand is in her back, moving both of you towards your comfortable bed and sitting on it, legs sprayed all over while your backs are resting on your comfortable headboard. Shoko is near the wall, caged by your body.

You toss the controller to Haibara, and he starts to go through the movies in the playlist showed on your wall, by your projector. You are not interested in movies anymore, if you could you would move everyone away and be with only her. You can sense her face moving towards the boys and you, but you keep staring at your soda. The cold in it keeps you in check.

Taking a gulp, tasting the faint cherry, you wonder what kissing Shoko would taste like. You could bet it would be like strawberries with sugar sprinkled on them, maybe a spoon of honey as well. And obviously, a tinted bitter of the cigarettes she smokes from time to time — it used to be worse, until you commented on the bothering of the smoke, and now she never smokes whenever you are near.

Maybe, you head and heart wonders, she likes you. There is nothing wrong with you, after all. You are pretty, smart, strong and sometimes funny. You could be liked by her as much as you like her, right?

The movie is already playing when Shoko pokes your arm, your mind goes blank and you move to her, tilting your head.

“Can I have a licorice?” She quietly asks. You want to give her anything, in fact.

“Yeah, here.” You open the package, giving her one of the red tubes. Trying not to, but failing, your eyes focused on the way her lips closed on the candy, wetting part of it with her gloss.

“Hey! No snoggin in there, I’m already third wheeling these two.” Gojo’s voice makes you realize how close you were to Shoko’s face, you grunt before staring at Nanami and Haibara, and they are just holding each-other.

“You’re bitter ‘cause Suguru won’t cuddle you.” Shoko answers after biting harshly her licorice, Nanami laughs at her answer when an offended gasp comes from Gojo. He doesn’t deny.

You laugh at Gojo’s offended face, and to add more fire to his bitterness, you move your arm to Shoko’s shoulder, she goes stiff for a moment before resting her head to your neck.

“Traitors.” Gojo mumbles and goes back to staring the movie, you see Suguru smirk before doing the same you did to Shoko to his friend.

After more minutes of the movie, in a particularly funny scene, you sense Ieiri’s head moving, you look down and she is already facing you. You grab another licorice and give it to her, straight to her mouth, she bites it before you take a bite on the other end.

If that’s the closest your mouth would come to hers, you would take it. By the gods, anything she would give you, would be precisely loved by you. Her presence, her scent, her glittery eyes staring solely at you. You would trade anything for her in that moment, if only to keep her attention on you and yours on her. What’s heaven to a woman’s love anyway?

You want to kiss her when the licorice is devoured eagerly. You almost do, lips reaching closer, and her eyes flattering shut, but a bombing laugh of Suguru takes you both apart. No one noticed, all eyes on your wall. You sigh gulping, groaning once more, but smiling while hearing her quiet giggles.

When the movie ends, everyone but you two get up, cracking their bones and talking loudly.

“Y/n, what was your favorite scene?” Haibara is the one who asks you, smirk in his face he shares with Gojo. “My favorite was the cruise one with the bananas’s costume, so funny.”

“Oh, yeah! Yeah, my favorite as well.” You answer while caressing Shoko’s arms, she starts to giggle more and you smile as well. “There was no cruise scene, right?”

“No, there wasn’t.” Shoko moves her head up, laughing sweetly now.

The gods really took their time with her, appreciating every little detail, from her laughs she emanated such good feelings, your insides would go warm and butterflies would rip your ribcage. But truthfully, you felt the weight of all your emotions while staring lovingly at her. Someone coughed.

“Well, I don’t know ‘bout you guys, but I’m tired. Should we go?” Gojo says and everyone agrees, they all say goodbye to you before stopping at the door, Nanami moves towards your music box, playing a calm song he knows you listen to before sleeping.

“Aren’t you coming, Shoko?” Suguru asks with malicious in his voice. She yawns, but doesn’t move.

“I’ll walk her to her room, don’t worry.” You say, making her nod and soon all the boys are gone. Is just you and her, in your bed.

Shit. Shoko Ieiri is in your bed. The perfect girl, the one you adores, the most beautiful human being is laying on you in your bed and she is not complaining, she even hugs your waist tighter when the door closes.

“Ieiri.” It’s rare for you to call her by her name, and she always seems happier when you do, this time is no different, she moves her head up with that cute smile you adore. “I like you.”

You always wondered how to confess to someone — her — in the most majestic and perfect way. In your mind, much like Haibara did to Nanami, you should give her plenty of her favorite food and flowers to match her sun kissed cheeks. It’s not something you planned, because you’ve never thought this day would come. Although it all changed with her in your arms, like she was always meant to be, you were designed to hold her.

So, in the pink and yellow lights of your room, under a shelf of dozens of plushies and Novo Amor playing in the background, your eyes focus shifting from her glitter eyeshadow to the gloss in her lips, that was heaven to you. That was the perfect place. She smiles, and you know you did the right thing.

“I like you too, Y/n.” Her sweet voice is melody to your ears, you barely register what she says, but is nothing to worry about, her lips are quickly on yours by the end of her sentence.

It’s cherry.

Shoko Ieiri tastes like cherry, in fact, she tastes like your favorite soda, a part of you who loves the beverage, unknowingly already choosing her. Her gloss is passed to your lips, giving you more of her taste, and when the kiss gets deeper, you feel like heaven has been given to you. In that moment, you know you are lost.

You separate yourselves for a second, finding yourself hovering over her, and stare at the her pretty crimson face, for just a moment appreciating that after her you would never be the same again. And how happy you were for that. So you go back for a second kiss, and a third, and more, more. All the kisses she wants, you will give to her, for the whole eternity you’ll have by her side — you are hers, and she is yours.

[phoebepheebsphibs]

Double-Mutated Mikey

Chapter 13: Cheers

Continued from the short story written by @boots-with-the-fur-club

Including a short blurb, also written by @boots-with-the-fur-club

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The day went on pretty quickly after that...

April and Casey helped make plans with Leo and Raph up until around 4PM, when Mikey came running down the halls and pounced on Leonardo from behind, knocking him flat on his face. Donnie came stumbling through a few minutes later, his mask askew and eyes still conveying a need for some more sleep, but generally rested for the most part.

They'd made sure to entertain Mikey as best they could, playing a few games and letting Mikey wrestle with them. And by "them", it was mostly just Raph.

Raphael'd never had trouble when it came to sparring with Mikey before. Sure, the kid was strong and fast, but Raph was always the one to beat him no matter what. Now he actually had to work to hold his own against him. Mikey's play-fighting was chaotic and swift, his movements were a blur and Raph could tell he wasn't holding back on his strength anymore. Or maybe, he'd forgotten how...? In any case, he'd knocked him on his tail more than once and looked up to see him sitting perched on his chest with a great big grin. At least he was having fun.

After dinner -- which had a lot of proteins in it for Mikey of course -- they'd all settled down for a Lou Jitsu movie.

That was very interesting to witness.

They'd nearly forgotten about the issue with his eyesight, and had to find a way to watch the movie with the lights on. They came up with an odd compromise -- by shining a lamp over only Mikey, while the rest of the room was darkened. It worked well enough.

Mikey was confused at first, unsure what the movie was. For a moment, he seemed to think that it was almost like a window, and the people were real. He tried to attack it once. It was then that they realized that Mikey had a fierce disliking of humans now. He'd not gotten around to mentioning that beforehand, which would have been helpful to know before April came over...

Mikey watched the rest of the film with intensity. Slowly but surely, he became invested, and at one scene he heard the very familiar catchphrase.

"Ahh!! AH! AH!!! MMMMNNNGHH, Mmmmmaah! AAGH!" He shrieked, pointing and jumping and screeching with excitement.

"Yes, Mikey!" Leo laughed, his joy overflowing at knowing he remembered something. "Hot soup!"

Mikey bounced ecstatically. Even more so at seeing the enormous smile that his brother bore now. Donnie smirked. Raph's hands stimmed with glee. April chuckled at Mikey's enthusiasm. Splinter laughed happily and pet his head sweetly.

By the time the movie was finished, April had to leave to get back to her studies. But she promised to return when she could after class the next day.

"See ya later, bro-bro," she said with a smile as she knelt down next to Mikey and pat his head.

Mikey chirped in response, smiling at her happily.

The rest of the night was a mix of different things. Donnie peeled off to work on the anti-mutagen, Leo went to talk with Casey about... "things"... and Raph helped Splinter clear the living room of dishes and leftover popcorn.

Mikey took the opportunity to explore the lair some more. He went into every room, stayed for about five minutes to investigate, then went to the next interesting place.

He popped into Dee's lab first. The lab was dark again, but after the movie had ended, Mikey had gotten used to the darkness and his infrared vision had returned. He saw a blorb of heat sitting in a chair, typing away on a desk. The computer screens gave off some heat, but not as much as the consoles and hard drives beneath the desk. There wasn't much else to see. He'd gone up to Donnie and chirped at him, though Donnie hadn't responded beyond head rubs.

He got bored quickly and left the room to go look around. He found Raph and Splinter talking as they washed dishes. The kitchen was brightly lit, and Mikey's vision switched over again. He wandered in circles around the table, listening to their conversation without processing a single word. He just liked hearing their voices. But eventually he got bored of that too, and wandered out, looking around the halls and skate room and training room...

He'd come across Leon and Casey next. The two were talking in private, though Mikey hadn't picked up on that. They were standing just beyond the traincar bedrooms, and Mikey wondered what they were doing so far away. His infrared had come back, causing a minor headache but he muscled through it as he went towards the others. He noticed that the closer he got to them, the further away they went from the lair. Why? Why were they getting farther...

"...all I'm saying is that I get it, I really do," Casey muttered softly.

"You get it? You get looking at your family and not knowing who they are anymore?" Leo argued.

"Yes. That's every day of my life, now..." Casey responded.

"...I hadn't... I didn't realize... I'm sorry, dude, I just... You're right. And I don't mean to be a stranger to you, I'm really trying to be who you want me to be, but I--"

"I don't WANT THAT, Leo! You shouldn't have to change who you are now to fit who you were once to me. You'll never be him..."

There was a pause of painful silence.

"...And you don't have to be."

"But... I need to be, don't I? Not just for you, but for them -- for Raph, and Donnie, and --"

Leo suddenly turned towards Mikey and snapped.

"Mikey! What are you doing here? We're having a private conversation, do you mind --!"

Mikey jerked back nervously, looking between them. He didn't know... he couldn't tell they weren't facing him. He thought they saw him... He didn't mean to...

Leo sighed and walked over to him.

"I'm sorry for yelling. You startled me, that's all. C'mon, let's go hang in your room for a bit, okay?"

Leo turned to Casey.

"We can continue this conversation later."

"I don't think we need to," Casey responded, folding his arms. Mikey could see his expression, but his voice sounded a little bit agitated.

Leo sighed as he took Mikey back into his room to hang out.

"Oh, by the way, I found these," Leo said, once Mikey's eyes had readjusted to the light.

He handed him a pair of nunchucks.

"Snagged em while searching for you at the labs," he explained. "Figured you'd want them back."

Mikey looked down at the wood and chains. Were they a gift? Important? He didn't recognize them at all. He snorted at the weapons, then grabbed them in his mouth, and tossed them away.

Apparently they weren't interesting. Leo made the oddest expression when Mikey discarded his signature chucks, but he masked it pretty quickly, offering to try and entertain the kid until it was time for bed.

The two tried everything, from Mikey experimenting with some of his paints, to Leo reading a few of his comics to him like bedtime stories. Mikey and Leo conversed about a few things, such as who April was, and why she'd come.

Mikey signed to Leo to ask what to call him if "Blue" wasn't his actual name. Leo was extremely patient with him and helped him to memorize the sign for his and his brothers' names. Leo made sure to say the names as he signed them, helping reiterate them in his little brother's mind.

After several minutes, Mikey finally started yawning and pressed himself against Leon's chest. Leo lifted the baby brother up and carried him to his hammock to sleep in. Mikey chirped out a 'goodnight' before succumbing to sweet, sweet sleep.

Leo hummed as he tucked Mikey in, folding the blanket edges under his arms. Leo had to admit, Mikey was one heck of a trooper. He was scared, scarred, and lost in his own mind, but hopeful and cheery as ever, and 100% willing to work on himself to get better. He was already starting to remember things, and he'd come to trusting April pretty quickly despite the animosity he had for humans now... Maybe this wouldn't be so hard. It wouldn't be so bad...

.

.

.

“Mikey, it’s not that bad-!”

"No- no! You don't understand! It was my fault! It's me! It's always been me!" Mikey shouts, grabbing the front of his orange jacket, tears rolling down his cheeks as he pouts.

“I know you burned it twice now but you’re being super dramatic.” Leo rolls his eyes as he dumps a plate into the trash.

Mikey looks up at him and pouts a lot more.

Leo sighs and walks closer, patting Mikey’s head.

“You’ll get it, eventually! Took me a while to stop burning stuff.”

Leo only started making his own food maybe a year or two ago. Maybe closer to a year since Raph panicked about them burning themselves.

He is way more paranoid about Mikey so this practicing is supposed to be secret, but it won’t be if he keeps crying.

Mikey wipes his eyes but still hiccups.

“I-I keep messing up. Making it too hot and leaving it too long….I….I just want to be as good as you….”

Leo pulls him in close.

“You will be! Just gotta practice. Maybe you’ll be a big chef and you can make me all the food I want!”

Mikey sniffles.

“I-I can be?”

“You’re already good at soooo much stuff, why not? My super cool, talented little brother!”

Mikey smiles and giggles, rubbing his face into Leo’s shirt.

Leo smiles too, hugging him closer.

It wasn’t a lie.

He believes it 100%.

Mikey can do anything.

He’ll always be there to cheer him on.

.

.

.

Leo comes back to reality, the memory still vivid in his mind.

He cups Mikey's speckled cheek with a smile.

"I'm still gonna cheer you on, king," he whispers. "No matter what. You've got this..."

Mikey murmurs something in his sleep, and Leo can almost swear it sounds like an actual sentence or phrase. It might have been wishful thinking, the sound was too soft to actually hear. But Leo will go to his grave convinced that he'd heard Mikey mumble in his sleep...

Love you.

Leo smiles and gets ready to take the first sleepover shift.

Prev || Next

[crowsandturtlesandbatsohmy]

What are some of your favorite character relationships/dynamics in TMNT, and why? Is there anything that you particularly like seeing explored with them in fan works (art, writing, comics, etc)?

Good question!

I’m always a sucker for PB&J/B-Team. Initially it was just because I loved how Rise Donnie seems to have a clear soft spot for Mikey, and also the contrast of sarcastic “emotionless bad boy” with a mean streak and a sunshine sweetheart is just delightful to me! I enjoy them across all universes, but Rise is definitely my favorite :) For them, I love to see moments where Donnie really steps up as a big brother and looks out for Mikey. Things like making space for him in the lab, or making noise canceling headphones during Leo and Raph’s arguing phase, or taking him along when going on trips out of the lair. OR! To give canonical evidence, any scene where Donnie throws himself in front of an attack that would otherwise hit Mikey. I love the idea that Donnie has big brother instincts which cause him to have a soft spot for Mikey. I also love seeing Mikey try and make Donnie get more sleep, or eat, or generally take care of himself. I like to see him listen to Donnie info-dump. I love it when he’s able to get Donnie to relax a bit. Honestly I just love their dynamic so so much. They’re so much fun together, and the hurt-comfort (my favorite fic genre) is top tier. Unfortunately last I checked I’d read everything that fit what I was looking for XD so I make my own instead.

My other favorite duo is Leo and Raph. For this one it’s 100% 2012 and MM specific. They give me super strong twin vibes and there’s something incredibly endearing about their dynamic in both shows that I just can’t quite put my finger on? Like they obviously have each others back, but they’d rather die than admit that out loud. And yet there’s so much love there and so much care and concern. They’re best friends. Raph would punch Leo for a pineapple. Leo would push Raph into a drain pipe if he thought it would get him five minutes of peace and quiet. They tease each other constantly and it’s always brutal. They encourage each other the most. They are siblings in the truest sense and I love it.

As for what I like to see in art/fics, I tend to prefer the softer side of their dynamic. I like it when they hold each other up, be that physically or mentally or emotionally. I like it when they’re just goofing off and being silly brothers. I like it when when Raph can get Leo out of his head and to just relax for a bit, and I love it when Leo can sit with Raph and help him sort through his emotions and calm down. I love it when they take care of each other, like one brings the other a blanket or food or what have you. I love it when they one or both break and they go to each other. Hurt comfort with them is also absolutely the way to go, in my opinion. Typically I prefer if the hurt comes from an outside force, be it one of the other two, Splinter, the villain of the day, etc, and then one helps the other cope with whatever went down. But I also enjoy a good argument and reconciliation if it’s handled well :) My legit favorite canonical scene with the two of them is in MM, when Leo gives his speech, tells Raph to get loud, Raph flips the van and everyone piles in, and then Raph leans on the window of Leo’s seat and tells him he sounded like a real leader. They’re being supportive of each other and encouraging each other it just makes me so happy!!

I’m probably a bit basic in my taste, since that’s the way the shows often split the boys up, but hey, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it ;)

Thank you for asking! This was fun!

[joestvr]

༺✮ atashi no kimyona jinsei // あたしの奇妙な人生 ✮༻

༺✮ summary: five years after the fall of diavolo, you, y/n romano, who was sent away to japan at 11 to further your studies—find the courage to come back to naples after living out your schoolgirl & gaijin university student facade in morio-chou to see how your clan’s worsened—as well as become the “donna” of your father’s gang, il terrore, while your older brother is the real leader behind the scenes, just using you as a front. with plans to murder your clan, you seek the particularly handsome young don of passione for friendship. with your tyrant father’s intervention, your friendship with the don turns to something you never saw coming.

★ 1 // il terrore

★ 2 // bella

★ 3 // viva romano

You and Alima woke up at 3 am to prepare.

You decided to wear a red V-cut shirt lined with lace and a black miniskirt with a small slit on the thigh. As for shoes, you wore your favorite black Prada pumps.

You walked downstairs quietly, rubbing your forehead.

"Ohayo..." You yawned as you walked into the kitchen, Alima handing you a cup of coffee.

"Ohayo. How'd you sleep?" She asked, going to sit at the dinner table across from you.

"Fine, but I could hear talking from you and Alexander's room almost all night. The hell was that about?" You raised an eyebrow.

She laughed. "He was talking to Jotaro. You know they're best friends."

"What about?"

"The usual... How's the wife, how's Jolene, how's the old man... etcetera. Don't worry." She said reassuringly.

You sighed again and walked over to the library section of the mansion with her, running your fingers over some books until you found the right one, taking it out, getting a key from the empty space, walking to the next room, the tea room.

Your hands hovered over the side of the walls until you found the correct place, then put the key inside and turned it, the vault room behind being revealed.

The vault was filled with Stand Arrows, Requiem Arrows, guns, gold, silver, jewels, family portraits, pictures from your childhood.

"Get whatever you want," you said to Alima, "couldn't give any less of a shit on what goes."

You picked up a pistol, cocked it, then put it under your skirt, tucking it in your shorts, turning away.

★★★★★★★

It was already 5 am. You and Alima had at least 6 cups of coffee, and felt ready for the day.

You blowed out your hair, did your makeup, and tried to look like you weren't about to have a mental breakdown.

Vince and Alexander came downstairs together, laughing. Leo and Elena sleepily followed behind them.

Alexander went over to Alima and hugged her tight. "I can't come today. Have some work to do in the next town over..."

He looked at Leo. "Stay here and babysit your sister. You guys can go out, but BE CAREFUL." He raised his finger in his son's face.

Leo nodded and rolled his eyes. "Sure, old man."

Alexander scoffed then kissed Alima. "Bye, amore. Bye Sis, stay safe."

He waved then left, putting on his hat. You turned to Leo and Elena.

"Leo."

"What's up?"

"Your mother, Vince, and I have some work to do today. Go upstairs until we leave, okay?" You reached up to his head and ruffled his hair.

"Okay. I'll take Elena out later." He said, picking up Elena and going upstairs.

10 minutes passed, and there was violent knocking on the door. You rushed over and opened it to see Giorno and the others.

"Ohayogozai—" you stopped yourself then cleared your throat, "Sorry. Buongiorno."

"This girl is fucking Japanese. Why is she even running a whole gang?" said Abbachio angrily as they walked inside.

Bucciarati shot him a piercing glare and hit his shoulder.

"Fuck off, Abbachio!" said Narancia, then turned to you, "Sorry about him. He's just angry because you're an unconventionally pretty girl running a gang. He's not very popular with women..." He laughed.

Fugo smacked Narancia and he yelped.

"So.. Uh.. Why don't we head out?" you said abruptly, then looked at Alima as she walked upstairs quickly and came back down with her burgundy Chanel bag and your black one.

You slung your bag over your shoulder and grabbed your keys. The men watched in awe.

"You two are taking God damn purses to a mission? Bucciarati, tell me this is a fucking joke—"

"Abbachio, that's about enough." Giorno said, his voice stern.

"Can we get going?" Trish said from the back.

"What she said. Abbachio, it's 5 in the fucking morning, get inside the car." Mista said.

Abbachio scowled loudly and went outside into the car.  Everyone followed.

(seating plan cs idk how to explain it in words☠️ bucciarati is driving btw)

"How long is the car ride going to be?" Trish asked.

"One hour," said Bucciarati, who turned the car on, "then it will likely take half an hour to infiltrate the place."

"Seriously?" Mista groaned.

The car went silent for the next 45 minutes, until your flip-phone started ringing. You struggled to find it as you dug through your bag.

You found it and opened it, seeing the contact name Hirose Koichi, then answered.

"Moshi Moooosh?"

"Yo, Y/n-chan. Did you arrive back in Naples safe?" He asked, speaking in Japanese.

"Yahou, Koichi-kun. Yeah. I'm in the car right now with some friends.."

Giorno's head shot towards you upon hearing the name "Koichi"

"Cool! Where to?"

"Etto... I'm on a mission, not sure where we're going," you cleared your throat, wanting to change the subject, "How's Yukako-chan?"

"Yukako is good. She's so busy with the wedding preparations, I'm afraid she's forgotten about me." He chuckled.

You laughed. "If only I could have a relationship like yours, Koichi-kun. Anyway, I've gotta get going."

"Alright. Good talking to you, Y/n-chan."

"Say hello to Jotaro-san and Josuke-kun for me. Ja ne."

"Ja mata."

You closed your phone and put it back in your bag. Vince was staring you down.

"What the fuck is your problem?"

"How many guys are you talking to? Jesus, Y/n." He furrowed his eyebrows.

"How many bitches are you playing with?" You retorted.

"Shut the hell up!" He pushed you by your face.

"Hey! This foundation cost me 15,000 yen from the Dior store in Kyoto! Don't touch me." You gasped and took your pocket mirror out, making sure your foundation base didn't get ruined.

Alima leaned over and slapped the back of his head. He groaned. "Ugh, you bitch!"

You turned around to say something to Trish, but saw that Narancia had fallen asleep in her arms, her eyes were closed.

You smiled with pride, and noticed Giorno doing the same.

Your eyes met and you both blushed then looked away.

"Uh... GioGio, you don't mind if I smoke while we're in here, do you?" You questioned, reddening.

"O-Oh, go ahead." He grinned slightly.

You reached over Vince and rolled down the window. Vince looked at you and smirked at your suggestive position.

You cracked up a little and sat back again, taking out a cigarette, sticking it in your mouth, lighter no where to be found.

Vince lit one of his own, then pulled you towards him to transfer the flame.

Giorno was stunned.

I can't fall in love with her, he thought, look at what she has.

"Bucciarati, pull over! I need to piss!" said Mista.

"Yeah, me too!" shouted Fugo from the back.

"What the hell?..." Alima whispered. You giggled, smoke coming out of your mouth. The car pulled over by a gas station and the doors opened. Vince got out.

"I'm going to buy cigarettes." He said, looking at you.

"Can you get me a coffee?" You asked hopefully.

"No."

You frowned and the rest of the people who needed to go got out. It was only you and Giorno, Narancia and Trish, who were fast asleep.

You continued smoking silently, and Giorno sat there taking in your beauty. "So, Bella. Can I ask you something a bit personal?"

You turned to him. "Sure. What is it?"

"Are... You, uh... and Vince...together?"

You gasped and shook your head. "Ew, no! I would never!"

Giorno let out a sigh of relief and smiled amusingly. "Oh."

You sighed and leaned in closer to whisper, "He's not what you think he is, GioGio. Whatever he may seem to you, don't believe it."

Giorno grew flustered and could only stare at your eyes, then your lips. He snapped out of it and nodded his head.

"I see..." He managed to muster out.

★★★★★★★★

Later, you and the group finally arrived at the warehouse docks you were supposed to bust.

Vince got out and was standing there waiting impatiently, "Y/n, get out!"

"I caaan't moooove... Pick me uuuup..." You pouted, holding your hands out.

"No! Bye." He walked off into the distance.

Giorno had already gotten out of the car and was outside the open car door, "Bella." He held his hand out, smiling.

Your face lit up slightly and you took his hand, going into his arms as he picked you up and helped you out of the seat.

As he put you down, you thanked him and looked at Trish, who was holding onto Narancia's arm.

"Word has it that some big dealer within Il Terrore would be distributing 15 kilos of coke at this warehouse, Romano." Abbachio said to you in a bitrer, condescending tone.

You only showed a reaction on your face when he called you by your last name, flinching slightly. You struggled to keep your composure at that.

Trish and Alima grew wary, knowing how you hated being called by your last name. You took a deep breath.

"P-Please, call me... Y/n." You said shakily, turning to him.

Abbachio was about to say something back, but Bucciarati sensed your discomfort and burst out, "Abbachio, enough of this! You need to respect the Donna or I'm calling a taxi and sending you home."

Abbachio scoffed and didn't respond.

"Y/n, look there." Trish suddenly said, pointing to the warehouse in the distance. You saw people going inside.

"Everyone, Let's split up." Bucciarati said, "Abbachio will come with me. Y/n and Giorno, you two go together. Mista, go with Trish. Narancia, go with Fugo."

"Vince, go with Alima." You said sternly.

"Why do I have to get stuck with this old lady, Tesora?" He whined.

"Vince, I'm going to punch you so hard you'll go flying back to Kabul to see your father. Have some respect."

"Fuuuck you!" He raised his middle finger at you while Alima crossed her arms and rolled her eyes.

Trish looked at you, a bit worried, this was your first mission in a while. "Be careful." was all she said before Mista pulled her away.

Everyone split up and went different directions, Giorno was cautiously walking beside you.

"Do we know if they're stand users?" Giorno asked quietly as he held your hand going down the steep stairs.

"Probably not. I don't think there's been any new stand users within Italy since the fatass Polpo committed suicide..." You responded in a low tone.

Giorno swallowed dryly, remembering how he caused Polpo's death. "Ah, I see."

"Though I don't know what my father's been up to—" Your speech was interrupted as a bullet came flying toward your back, but Cheri Lady's arm appeared and caught it right as it nicked your shoulder.

Giorno gasped.

"Ita..." You hissed softly, putting your hand over the wound, blood gushing at a slow pace.

The bullet was dropped inside your palm, and you recognized the engraving inside. A heart and a star, with that same phrase you were so familiar with right next to it.

♡☆Viva Romano

Your anger grew within, blood boiling.

"Fuck..." you muttered.

"Fuck!"

"What is it?" Giorno asked.

"These bullets are only manufactured and given to established members of Il Terrore." You took your gun out from under your skirt, unloading the chamber, taking out a bullet and showing Giorno it, then the bullet that was shot at you.

Giorno's eyes widened at the comparison, they were identical.

"Viva Romano..." He said, then looked down at you again, "The phrase associated with Il Terrore..."

You grew nervous and started to scratch at your skin anxiously.

Ever since you were a kid, whenever you were at your wits end or you were apprehensive, you would scratch and pick at your skin until you bled.

Giorno noticed this, and you weren't stopping until blood started to gush out of your forearm and upper arm.

"Y/n—" He grabbed your wrist, stopping you. Your hand was trembling.

You furrowed your eyebrows, sweat trickling down your forehead. "Uragirimono... Traitors."

"Who do you think it is?" He let go of your wrist, but continued to hold your hand.

"I don't know. I don't know... I— I'm— How could this have happened?" Your eyes widened.

"Don't worry, Bella. Please." He squeezed your hand as you continued to walk again.

"Fuck this... I can't believe he allowed this to happen." You whined.

"Who?" He asked.

"Vince, that fucking bastard!" You hissed angrily.

Suddenly, Giorno yanked you under him and into a corner, his right hand reflexively going around your waist. You blushed.

"Gio—" He pulled his left hand away from yours and pressed it over your mouth, leaning in close to your face.

"Shh. We're right next to the entrance to the warehouse." He whispered, his golden hair falling off his shoulders attractively.

You were desperately trying not to moan. How could you have gotten turned on in a situation like this?

There were loud shots being fired, and Giorno flinched, going closer to you, his knee going slightly in between your legs.

Don't moan, don't moan, don't moan, don't moan... DON'T MOAN... was all that was going through your head.

"Mmph—" You moaned, gripping his shirt. He looked at you and removed his hand from your mouth, not noticing your lipstick transferred onto his palm.

"Sorry." He muttered, helping you up.

When the two of you finally managed to get inside of the warehouse, you made Giorno conceal himself behind some shelves, while you walked to the middle where there was a large crate sitting there.

Your heels clacked as you approached, Cheri Lady appearing and breaking the crate open. Packages with a white powder inside of them fell out. Each had to be at least 1 kilo, you thought.

You took a pocket knife out from your pocket and sliced one open, the powder pouring out.

You took a handful in your palm and sniffed it.

It smelled... sweet?

You dropped the handful and licked the tip of your finger. Of course.

You started to laugh quietly.

"You thought you could fool them with this shit..." You chuckled.

Giorno was horrified.

Bucciarati and Abbachio burst inside, then the others, seeing you so humored.

"Y/n, what the fuck is this?!" Vince shouted.

Your laugh grew quieter as your aura flared up, glowing a deep red.

Cheri Lady appeared from behind some other shelves, a man in her grasp.

The man, who you knew, was Vince's friend, Francesco Minardi.

"Y—Y/n?! You fucking bitch!" He yelled.

"Francesco?!" Vince gasped.

You sighed then took a deep breath, grabbing the man by his collar and making him stand up, then shoving him back to the ground again.

You took the gun out from under your skirt and started fidgeting with it in your hand. "Back in Morio-chou, none of the dangerous Yakuza families dared to step foot there because they were too afraid— Why?"

"I had struck a deal with the son of an influential clan within the Yakuza to stop the drug flow to the part of Japan I was living in. But..." You inhaled, "I found out soon after that he was plotting to murder me in cold blood and start up drug production again—"

Cheri Lady appeared and grabbed him by his collar, you leaned in. "I took a day off from school and delivered his head on his father's doorstep. And that was it.."

"You cold, unfeeling whore... Why are you here?! I thought you ran off!" He shouted, then groaned when you kicked him in the chest.

"Uragirimono," you said softly, "Traitor. That's what you are."

"I wanted out! I'm sick of your stupid family!"

"It's been 5 years, Francesco, and you still didn't grow the balls to call me and tell me you wanted out... I could've made arrangements for you... You betrayed me... Uragirimono..." You kept fidgeting with the gun. The urge to kill was making you delirious with longing for bloodshed.

"Your father is nothing but a tyrant who abuses his loyal subjects! Who wouldn't want to betray him?!" He shouted back, spitting blood out of his mouth.

You were shaking with anger. It was taking the strength of a million soldiers to not rip him apart.

"Oh really? What about me? The gem of the Romano family, the most beautiful?" You teased, making Alima sigh at your arrogant tendencies despite the situation. Giorno nearly smiled.

"Kill yourself, Y/n! I'm sure it won't be too hard, since everyone knows about your suicidal tendencies! Ha!" He screamed, laughing condescendingly.

You smiled and Cheri Lady disappeared, while he dropped to his knees.

You took a few steps away from him, cocking the gun, holding it to your head. "Let's see then, hm?"

Giorno gasped and tried to go after you, but Bucciarati yanked him back. "Control yourself. She knows what she's doing."

You pulled the trigger, a shot was fired, but you still stood.

In between your head and the gun, there was a ghostly red hand holding the bullet, then dropped it.

"Keep pulling stunts like this, Romano. You and your entire family will die brutally. Start off with your father..." He muttered, then laughed.

"Morte al Romano..." You whispered before firing once, blood splattering on your face, then throwing the gun aside as his body dropped.

You signaled for everyone to exit the warehouse.

Sticking a cigarette in your mouth as you approached the dim rising sun, you took out your lighter and lit your cigarette.

You took one last look at the engraving on your lighter then threw it onto the crates behind you.

"Morte al Romano." You murmured again as the warehouse was engulfed in flames.

[cabinofimagines]

what about Jason and Percy compete in a friendly competition to see who can decorate their cabin the best for the holidays or something? just them being festive in uuh competitive ways

A/N: Everything for my white boys -Danny

Warnings: None!

Words: 1,330

Highlights —(Platonic!Jason & Percy xGN!Reader)

It started as a joke.

Of course, you should know better than to make an off-handed comment to Jason and Percy and word it as a challenge, even if your words are dripping with satire.

You can't even remember what the conversation was about, but Jason and you were chatting about what other stuff he'd like to do now that he was at camp to increase his holiday cheer, and Percy slipped into the conversation like he always does.

"Why not put sets of Christmas lights in your cabin? I mean, your dad is the literal god of lightning, I think even he can appreciate that tradition."

"True, and you can even fly around and hang them where the other cabins don't get to reach!" You joke, then turn to Percy. "Are you decorating?"

"Oh yeah, Tyson's coming this year and I want to surprise the big guy."

"You guys should compete to see who gets to make the sickest decor," you yawn, looking ahead absently. "Gods know I would kill for some holiday entertainment right now..."

Jason sits upright in his place, looking at you like a puppy who's just been offered a bone. "That's a fun idea."

Percy snorts. "Sit your Roman ass down. I came back yesterday, and I do not want to spend the week competing with you."

"Why, 'cause you know you'd lose?"

Percy looks at him with annoyance. "I wouldn't lose."

"Romans are great at flashy decor, you know?"

"Greeks invented parties."

"Both of you are wrong," you state bemusedly, but even now you don't really feel like stopping them. "However, I am very bored now that Klaus has gone on strike, so by all means, do rip each other's heads off."

Percy looks back at you with a frown. "He's gone to what?"

"He's very sensitive about being called Santa nowadays, maybe it's a racist slur, did you ever think of that?"

Jason interrupts your talk. "Well, I'd love to stay and chat but I have a cabin to decor and a reputation to maintain, so..."

"You know most people call your reputation just 'heavy OCD', right?" Percy taunts him.

"I'm making your cabin look like the dumpster where all unwanted toys go to die," Jason replies casually as he walks away.

You whistle lowly, patting Percy's shoulder as you both watch Jason walk away. "That was very psycho of him."

"Yeah," Percy's eyes never leave Jason as he speaks, a clear frown on his face. "Well then, I guess it's war."

"Percy, if you don't want to don't let him—"

"He's going down," he states with emphasis, getting up and storming out in the direction of the Hermes Cabin.

Jason recruits Leo almost right away, which you'd consider unfair if this were a real competition, which is not, so Jason is just being smart.

You end up agreeing to help Percy because Annabeth is busy decorating the rest of camp, and she probably doesn't want to encourage these two to be dorks any more than is healthy.

Is it as fun as you were expecting? Kind of. Percy has lots of tasty snacks that he doesn't have an issue sharing with you, and he's also very fun to talk to, though sometimes he gets super pressed about the decoration process and you have to keep your distance.

Jason isn't any better, he flies around hanging all kinds of weird lights Leo made in his spare time—this guy hasn't slept an entire night since he was probably eight years old—and every day he shows up with a brighter, flashier install for the cabin.

"Not that I'm complaining," Leo tells you as he takes a moment from rewiring an old Santa robot he found in the bunker. "But why did you edge them to do this? Feels like a gender-bent version of that one scene in the Grinch movie."

You shrug and take a bite of your gingerbread cookie. "I was bored, and Jason's really easy to manipulate."

"Hmm."

"In my defense, I was joking, but he'd been trying to find ways to turn something else into a competition since I made him and Thalia make their own version of hot chocolate to see which one was better."

"Why did you do that?"

"Because I wanted free hot chocolate."

"Hmm," he repeats, this time nodding. "You think that if I taunt him enough he'll bake me a gingerbread house with marshmallows on top?"

"I think that if we taunt Jason enough, we can get him to dress up as Santa and deliver presents to everyone in New Rome overnight."

"Yeah," Leo smiles at his friend, still hanging up lights around the windows of his cabin. "Maybe we should gift him a therapy session once this is over."

The day came to turn on the lights in Cabin One and Three, lots of curious campers had gathered to witness the final results of Jason and Percy's arduous job during the last five days.

There is a sudden burst of light and noise from each cabin the moment the lights go on, they're both impressive and creative in their own ways, sticking to the original vibes of each cabin—Jason even summoned a tiny cloud above the cabin so it would be snowing every few hours to keep it white and fancy.

Percy, on the other hand, had made a Christmas tree out of seashells, seaweed, and moss. It was weirdly cute. Both cabins were strong competitors, but then a third blast of light joined theirs, and everyone's eyes turned to Hades's Cabin.

Nico walked forward with a proud smile, surrounded by at least a dozen skeletons dressed up as elves. Hazel was there too, looking very proud, but then the last member of their team was the one who gave you shivers: Klaus. That whimsical jerk really knew how to decorate a cabin.

Percy's mouth fell open as he saw the cabin. "How? I never saw you decorate!"

"Hazel's mist," Nico smirks, placing an arm around his sister's shoulders. "Kept you out of our business until we were ready to show you how it's really done."

Jason's the one who looks the most outraged. "That's not cool, guys! If you were going to participate, you should've let us know first!"

Nico raises a brow. "Jason, this wasn't even a real competition, you're both insane—and that's coming from the guy who dresses up skeletons as Santa's elves."

You hush him hurriedly. "Don't say that, Nico, we don't know if it's a slur!"

Nico frowns. "Santa's not a slur."

"But it pisses off Klaus so much..."

"What pisses me off is that you have no respect for tradition, Y/N L/N," Klaus replies dramatically, squinting at you. "All of you, abusing sweet traditions just to feed your egos or keep you entertained, you should feel ashamed of yourselves."

"Who are you, the Lorax of Christmas?" Leo snorts.

Jason elbows the boy and steps forward. "C'mon Klaus, don't be angry—we were having fun either way, right Percy?"

You elbow Percy and he chokes out a reply. "For sure, yeah! Climbing around the rooftop sticking lights to the smoothest surfaces on earth... great fun."

You sigh. "Listen, Klaus, we're sorry we offended you, okay? Nico is right, maybe we are a little bit insane. Can you forgive us?"

Klaus glances at you hesitantly, he seems unsure. "I'll think about it."

"Well, we still won anyway," Nico grins. "You can come down now, Will!"

To everyone's surprise, something moves around the rooftop of Nico's cabin and Will soon gets spotted, dressed up in a star costume, his skin glowing like he swallowed ten yellow lightbulbs for lunch. "Thank gods, I'm so hungry!"

You laugh, watching as Nico and his skeletons help Will to come down safely.

"Well, sorry you didn't win," you muse, giving Percy harsh pats on the back. "Next time I'll go to Nico, I should've known he's an expert at killing boredom."

[snoelledarts]

I don't think anyone's asked about 'I can't believe I'm writing Percabeth' yet?

Omg I'm so happy you asked. It's really disorganized/a lot of parts from it have been recycled into things that have since been posted BUT I did write the "night before Frank catches them in the Argo II" scene (a classic) XD

Snippet below the cut! Teen and up, I suppose? For jokes the book already makes about Frank being mortified that they were alone together. And jokes about Coach Hedge threatening the Seven with Sex-Ed PowerPoint Presentations.

Percy and Annabeth have been meeting up in random spots less traveled on the Argo II. They’ve been spotted a few times. Mostly by Jason, who claims that walking aimlessly around the ship clears his mind (Percy has seen weirder habits), and once by Leo who Percy had to actually pay real mortal money to keep his mouth shut. He still can’t believe that bribery worked. 

Leo, when Gaea destroys the Earth that $5 will mean nothing. But who is Percy to judge?

Tonight, they’ve chosen the stables.

“How are you holding up?” Annabeth asks him, face mushed against his shoulder. He can’t see her mouth move, but he can feel it, warm and soft against his neck. She presses a soft kiss there, chaste and sweet, and Percy follows it up with his own kiss to her forehead.

“Nothing new here,” Percy laughs, holding her just a fraction tighter. “How about you?”

“Same.” There’s a pause, and at first Percy can’t tell if it’s an awkward one or a comfortable one, but then Annabeth laughs into the silence and every muscle in Percy’s body automatically relaxes. “I think we’ve run out of things to talk about.” 

Percy laughs back. It’s true. They don’t get much recreational time these days, so really all there is to talk about is their inevitable doom, which they have strictly banned discussing at their secret meetups. 

“May I interest you in some comfortable silence instead, m’lady?” Percy asks, tipping an invisible hat her way even though she can’t see the gesture, buried against him as she is. 

“Gross, Percy. Don’t ever say m’lady ever again,” Annabeth giggles, lifting her head to look him in the eyes. Her hair blocks his view of the outside world, closing them off from the world. It also tickles his nose, but Percy very skillfully holds back his sneeze to avoid ruining the moment. “You know we aren’t good at silence. It’ll last all of five minutes before one of us gets antsy and says something really stupid. And it’ll probably be you, but you’ve reached your limit of stupid stuff you get to say, today. So we can’t have that.” 

Percy tries to mock being serious back at her, but he can’t help the wide grin that splits his face. “What happens when I go over the limit?”

“A fate worse than death.”

“Oh, really?” 

Annabeth nods, very serious. (How does she do that? Percy would give anything to be able to school his features into something other than a goofy grin around her, but even at his most serious he locks eyes with her and his heart swells and he can’t help but smile--)

“Well, I wouldn’t want that! So I guess I’ll just have to sit here and be very, very quiet.” Percy takes a deep breath and then puffs out his cheeks, pretending to hold his breath. Like a petulant child. Because he is one. 

“Percy!” Annabeth laughs, and lifts a hand up to push at one of his cheeks to pop the seal of his mouth. Seeing the opportunity for what it is, the moment her hand makes contact with his face, he lets all the air out in one giant raspberry. 

And if he spits all over Annabeth? Well, she’s seen grosser things in battle. 

“Oh, yuck! Perseus!” 

They devolve into another fit of laughter, which turns into a light wrestling match, which turns into Annabeth giving him a brief kiss to gain the advantage. Not to be out-done, Percy kisses her back, and they both quickly give up on their one-v-one to kiss instead. It’s mostly closed mouth, the wonderful feeling of Annabeth’s soft lips on his. Their kisses are unrushed. Gentle, casual, the way that keeps Percy’s head spinning in the good way. The way that has him grinning into Annabeth’s kisses. The way that has him humming gentle and wrapping his hands around her waist and hold her close.

When they finally pull back, Percy rolls her on top of him just to feel the comforting weight of her body on his. It’s good like this, his own personal weighted blanket. They fit together like the gods made them side by side. Percy feels his eyes start to drift closed with the warmth of his girlfriend in his arms after so long without her. Even with the discomfort of the hay poking into his back, he can’t find it in himself to bring it up that they should go back to their separate rooms. 

It’s really just their luck that it would be Frank who finds them in the morning. 

--

“Dude, it could have been worse. Could’ve been Coach Hedge that caught you! Then you’d have to sit through his teen pregnancy lecture again. Or worse, his sex-ed presentation. Why does he even have that shit on hand?” Leo puts a faux-sympathetic hand on Percy’s shoulder, but he can hear how hard Leo is holding back his laughter. 

Jason is only a little bit better off, a pursed smile hidden behind his hand as he, too, is a victim of Percy’s plights. 

“We weren’t even doing anything! Her shirt moved in her sleep! It’s not like we were both shirtless or something,” Percy groans into his hands, face hidden in shame. He feels Jason shift off of the table where he was leaning against it to sit on Percy’s other side instead. Great, a captive audience. 

“Percy, my man,” Leo starts, still too close to busting into a fit of giggles for Percy’s liking. He puts out a small fire that started on the edge of his pants. “It’s just us, you can drop the act.”

What? Drop the act? What act-- oh. Sometimes Percy gets so comfortable and caught up in this monumental relationship that he’s built with Annabeth that he does, in fact, forget that he’s a teenage boy in a teenage boy world. 

Operation: Convince the Other Boys That He and Annabeth Were Not Doing Anything Because It's True is a mission Percy knows is destined to fail. But just like all the other missions he went on that were destined to fail, he embarks anyways. 

“It’s not an act, my man,” Percy rolls his eyes, finally lifting his head from the safe cocoon of his arms. His face is still red, and his hair is probably sticking up in every direction, but that’s not relevant right now. “If we were doing something I wouldn’t have bothered to lie about it.” Percy gets more defensive about it than he means to, feels his hackles rise before he realizes what’s happening. 

Leo nods sagely at Percy’s words, unbothered by his harsh tone. 

“Then there’s nothing to worry about,” Jason adds, ever wise. “If you weren’t doing anything, then why are you so upset?” He raises a stupidly perfect light eyebrow in Percy’s direction. 

Jason does, unfortunately, have a point. But that is not a Pandora’s box Percy is willing to open with these guys that he doesn’t really know. Sure, they would die for each other. And it would probably be best if they got to know one another more than further than superficially. But that’s on being a child soldier, Percy supposes. 

Leo suddenly perks up, holding a finger up in the air and Percy half expects a lightbulb to actually appear above his mop of curly hair. “You’re upset because you wanted to do something but Annabeth said no! Blue balls sucks, man.” 

It takes so much confidence to be so utterly wrong and look so pleased with oneself about it. Percy would know.

“No,” Percy snaps, pushing up out of his seat. “No, it’s not because of that. That’s awful. If that was the case, I wouldn’t ever be upset about it. Can this conversation be over now?” 

Jason seems to agree with him, looking equally uncomfortable, shoulders tensed all the way up to his ears. 

“Damn, my bad. I’m sorry.” Leo has the decency to be thoroughly embarrassed, at least. Percy forces himself to breath in once, then again, then a third time. Slow and steady, like Annabeth taught him. He counts to seven in his head before he sits back down, an olive branch to the other two. 

Percy’s usually a pretty happy-go-lucky guy. At least everyone at Camp Half-Blood thought so. And yet, at Camp Jupiter, he felt anything but. Hazel and Frank don’t see him that way. Jason and Leo and Piper have mostly seen him moody and brash and more than his fair share of stupid. 

Percy’s starting to wonder if he’s really a happy-go-lucky guy. This conversation is certainly not making him feel happy-go-lucky. 

“Apology accepted,” Percy says, because his mother raised him right and he has manners, thank you very much.

“Right… anyways,” Leo’s eyes dart every which way like he’s doing joke calculus to figure out how to lighten the mood. Percy wouldn’t be surprised if Leo did actually have a formula for that. Whatever it is, it needs tuning. He seems to make everyone groan with disappointment just as often as laugh when he employs his methods. “It’s not like I would know! You two are the ones with girlfriends. Single-Leo lives on, unburdened by the warm embrace of women.” Leo’s maniacal grin settles back on his face where it belongs. 

Percy finds it amusing how often Leo swings between making himself out to be the slickest guy on this side of the universe and demanding respect for being untainted by being in a relationship. Gotta be hard, being the perma-seventh wheel. 

“I wouldn’t know either,” Percy shrugs, saying the first thing that comes to mind so that he seems cool and casual and normal like everyone at Camp Half-Blood knows him to be. Except… Why did he say that? Why did he say that why did he say that--

Jason and Leo both give him a funny look, but thankfully the conversation moves on without a hitch, because Jason butts in and changes the topic (Percy’s hero).

[nani-nonny]

Obligatory Attached au angst post (1149 words)

(This post goes in hand with this past post, although chronologically I’m not sure which goes first hehe it works both ways I suppose :D)

[Prompt: Mention of Raph’s death :( and Leo’s horrible way of coping until he snaps]

Donnie walks into Leo’s room, not bothering to flick the lights on. He stops three steps in, his eyes softening upon seeing Leo standing at a table, bracing the edge like his life depends on it. His brother’s head hangs low, staring at the ground.

With another look, Donnie notices Raph’s red bandana in Leo’s hand. The fabric is crumpled in the slider’s vice grip, the tails hanging enough for Donnie to see the stains trapped in the cloth.

Donnie clears his throat, raising his arm to pull up a hologram of a timetable from his tech-arm brace. “Greetings, brooding leader of the resistance, we have a meeting in the next 30 minutes. People have been wondering where you’ve been.”

Leo doesn’t respond, but his hands grip tighter to the table causing the material to groan under the pressure.

Donnie looks around awkwardly for a second, uncertain with what to do in his current situation. He tries to make small talk, “I’ve noticed you haven’t marked off on the roster for the past three days. Have you gotten your much needed beauty sleep as of late?”

Leo turns his head away from Donnie’s direction. His shoulders tense and he takes a deep breath.

Donnie takes a few more steps in, causing the door to close to automatically close behind him. He still doesn’t turn on the lights, but he flicks on a soft glow from his arm brace. It illuminates the room with a purple glow, barely revealing Leo’s disturbed features in the dark.

The softshell frowns when he sees the dark circles under Leo’s eyes. He had heard from Mikey that Leo was showing concerning declination in health, especially in the form of lack of sleep. He was too busy to check in on Leo, taking over for Leo when necessary and organizing just about everything when it comes to running the resistance behind the scenes. And now, he regrets not taking even a mere second to check on his twin.

He hadn’t seen Leo since his twin declared he’d make the decision on what to do with the infant. But he didn’t think it would prove difficult to this extent. Or, perhaps he had hoped it wouldn’t be difficult for his twin who always managed to come up with a plan. Maybe he believed Leo would make the right choice, and they would move on from the krang infant like an everyday occurrence.

It was a simple decision in Donnie’s eyes, or as simple as it seemed for Leo to make. He trusts Leo would make the right decision. He didnt think it would affect Leo.

“Is it… is it about the infant?”

Leo clenches his teeth. He nods.

Donnie can see the frustration in Leo’s expression, it was deep and churning. An expression even he would be able to discern. “You don’t have to make the decision on your own, do you want to talk to me about it?”

Donnie’s eyes flick to the red bandana in Leo’s hand again, and adds, “Do you want to talk to Raph about it?”

Leo’s mouth twitches open, but nothing comes out. Donnie sees this as an opportunity.

“Why don’t you talk to Raph about it? I’m sure he’d love to talk to you. Mikey can even set up the whole ‘ghost ceremony’ for you so it’s easier to contact the fam’. You know, as ridiculous as it is to think about. Raph’ll know what to do, Leo. You know Raph, he’s dependable on hero decisions. Come on, let’s go to Mikey and we can figure this out together.”

“No.”

Donnie frowns, “What?”

“I’m not, I’m not going to Raph. I’m doing this on my own.”

Donnie crosses his arms over his chest, “Oh, really? You seem to be doing a real good job so far.”

“Shut up,” Leo grumbles and leans on the table slightly.

“Enough of this, one-man hero spiel Leonardo. Let’s just go to Mikey and get this over with. Raph won’t be mad that we’re bugging him—.”

Leo slams his fist on the table suddenly, his demeanor snapping and his voice raising to something akin to a roar, “I’m not taking this to Raph’s ghost!”

Donnie pauses in disbelief. Near shock, even, at the change in Leo’s voice. “Wha—you know it’s not really his ghost, right?”

Leo slams his fist, this time the hand holding Raph’s bandana. His mouth quivers as he yells, “I know, it’s not Raph’s ghost. I know that. But that’s not what I need! I need Raph. I need to talk to Raph, here! —in the now, —in the flesh! I need my brother, not his ghost! I need him!”

Leo swallows, shutting his eyes tight and he raises his fist again, but he slowly lowers to the table. His voice is strained, strangled somehow, “I don’t want to talk to Raph through the Hamato ninpo. I don’t want to take this to Dad either. I just… I just want to talk to my big brother. I want to look him in the eyes, and I want to hear his voice. I want him to take Casey’s baby from my hands, and tell me exactly what we’re going to do with It.”

Donnie watches as Leo crumbles, mentally and physically, when his twin’s hands leave the table to hold Raph’s bandana. Crumbling to the floor as if holding onto that table was the only thing keeping him standing.

Leo holds the bandana to his chest as his voice comes out as nearly a whimper, “I want my brother alive… is that so bad? Even if I can contact him any time I want, I want him here with us. Not through some ghost connection we have with our ancestors… not as something I can’t even hug.”

Donnie doesn’t know what to say, or rather, he’s not sure how to say anything. How can he think of anything when Leo’s pleading desperately like a child? A small, small child who wants his big brother to tell him everything’s okay?

He always thought Leo was strong for taking up the responsibilities Raph had left behind in death. He thought Leo was strong for being able to move forward after Raph’s death. He saw Leo’s strong back and the confidence exuding from his twin and used it as his own strength to overcome their brother’s death.

But seeing Leo now? Small and curled over and trembling shoulders? Leo’s silent cries as he crumbles before him?

Donnie sits beside Leo and opens his arms. “Come here.”

Leo swallows and wipes his tears before turning to Donnie and hugging his twin. He buries his face in Donnie’s embrace as he continues to cry silently.

Donnie reaches over Leo’s shell to message Mikey, Get over here quickly. He sends his location immediately and returns to hugging his twin.

Mikey nearly breaks down the door ten seconds later.

[celticcrossanon]

Hello Celta, it was also a new moon last night/this morning, August 16th morning or overnight wherever you are. believe the new moon is in Leo. I’m so over Charles not resolving the issue of Harry one way or another. All the decisions or non- decisions were made by Elizabeth, and Charles is simply continuing on the tradition of non decision decision-making. Not choosing to act is a choice, a decision.

From reading your interpretation of the meaning of the cards of your attempted reading, I get an avoidance energy from dear old CSW, like she’s deliberately throwing up confusion, like dust in our eyes. It’s funny I never had much of an opinion of her over the years. But I’m seeing her now as a very dark horse. We see now she was/is adept at playing in the shadows to further her agenda to emerge as quite the power player after Elizabeth.

There’s been talk among like minded blogs about her agenda, particularly vis a vis the coronation. The non release of even existence of photos of the King and the Wales line after the coronation, ie Charles and the heir and the heirs family. Instead we get Charles and CSW with her grandkids. Their names and her dogs names sewn into her coronation/wedding gown.

There’s talk of her desire to have her kids be titled. Except the thinking was it would look unseemly and too much in this time of Charles ‘austerity’. Lol. His ‘austerity’ that made him demand Catherine not wear tiaras or new clothes at both his coronations. Bloggers were complaining that Catherine wore a rewear at the Scottish event. My guess is that Charles on SCW behalf made ‘demands’ on Catherine, just because she can, and just because she’s the height of snobbery where Catherine is concerned. That she is behind the absence of Catherine at the opening of Parliament last year, and Catherine’s absence this November. The date is set for when William and supposedly Catherine will be in Singapore for Earthshot.

By the way, the France state visit is still on for this September for Charles and CSW. Watch out for her to wear all the diamonds and tiaras and crowns in the vault, just like Germany. Poor CSW, it’s all she has now. And subterfuge, she’s always had that, now we see it clearly. She’s been leading Charles by his little head all this time, and he can’t say no to her. Not even for his own bloodline. So yeah, decisive Charles, ah no. You can’t expect miracles here. Expect Charles to make a non-decision decision about everything, especially Harry. I’d be happy to be wrong though.

Hi AnonymousRetired,

The gossip does say that Camilla is a big influence on Charles, and when the courtiers want something done they go to her as she will then convince Charles to do it, so I think we do have to take into account her behind-the-scenes influence.

I believe the date for the State Opening of Parliament is set by Parliament itself and not the King, so I am not sure how much influence Charles and Camilla would have on that date. I don't know whether it is presented to them as 'this is happening on this date', or whether the date is decided in consultation with their staff and their schedules (which sounds more likely to me), or if it happens in another way. In all other areas Charles and Camilla appear to work as a team, with her being the greatest influence on his decisions. She does appear to be pushing her family forward to either be seen as equals with or to try and overshadow the blood royal. If you look at history that sort of behaviour rarely ends well.

I feel that it has got to the stage where Harry has to be dealt with. It does not have to be anything drastic, but the King needs to make a clear line between working royals and non working royals. Making the distinction clear on the royal website would be a very good start, as would not naming Harry as a Counsellor of State. As long as the lines are blurred Harry and Meghan can continue to exploit that and claim that they are a bigger part of The Firm than they real are (which is 0%).

Added: Thank you for the New Moon information. I think that had something to do with my confusion as well, as that New Moon hit several sensitive spots in my chart. Now I am waiting for things to settle down, which they should do in a few days (when Mercury, a fast moving planet, moves off my natal Uranus).

[sparky-is-spiders]

Title!

there was teeth in their kiss

Okay so I won't lie, this one really got away from me. I had like three different ideas and I was like "I'll just write a really short scene for all of them!!" only for the "really short scenes" to get... progressively longer. Oops?

I have two Lizardverse fics and one TMA (JE) fic. Because I don't want my Lizardverse stuff showing up in the JE tag and it's also The Longest One, so you can check the notes of this post to read it.

Also gonna be real I wrote these at ass-o-clock at night and Did Not Edit them, so.......

Oh shoot wait warnings! They only apply to the second one (you can stop reading at (Amaldyne)).

Body horror/mouth horror (mild?)

Non-consensual touching (non-sexual/non-romantic, but I figured I should still warn for it just in case)

(Send me a fic title!)

(Important Lizardverse Context (TM): The Overseer is a creature called a Grotle (think ankylosaurus but bigger, spikier, and omnivorous). He's also a very dangerous necromancer. His real name is Mihzarch (pronounced Miz-ark), and these are used somewhat interchangeably. Leoshgon wields a sword called the Godslayer sword. It's a very deadly semi-sentient sword that's bonded to his soul. He's also a Noctar (a much smaller, fuzzier mammal species.))

(Leoshgon) The Overseer liked to put his teeth to Leoshgon's throat. It happened in the night, mostly, when Leo was curled against Mihzarch's heavily plated body, throat bared in offering for the Overseer to do as he would. He was always very gentle, of course, and very careful. As if Leo was a priceless, fragile heirloom, not the most dangerous weapon in the world. But there was a pressure there, and Leo could feel the shape of the teeth even through his mane: the wide, shearing ones in the back; the broad conical incisors in the front, wet with saliva and dreadfully cold. The puff of chilled breath sent shivers down Leo's spine. Leo wasn't sure he liked the sensation, really. It was uncomfortably damp, for one, and also sort of boring to be held in place for so long (aside from that brief spike of fear, which really wasn't fair to Mihzarch at all, because the Godslayer Sword was the real danger here, but- that wasn't the point anyway). But he always bared his neck willingly. And when those massive jaws closed so sweetly around his throat, he leaned into it. And then Mihzarch would let out a happy rumble that sang through Leoshgon's entire body, and all would be well.

(Important Lizardverse Context (TM): Amaldyne is currently a (semi) unwilling servant of the ever-starving god of hunger. Eityr is weirdo freak bestie who want her to become as powerful as possible. Their relationship is. Uh. Weird. Amaldyne is a dragon becoming something More, Eityr is a Noctar)

(Amaldyne) "Show me." Amaldyne didn't look up when Eityr entered the room, nor did she turn to face her. In fact, she did not acknowledge Eityr's presence in any way at all. No matter. Eityr would not be so easily dissauded. Amaldyne's desk was strewn about with massive tomes and piles of documents and about a dozen bits of charcoal. It was as if some great beast of parchment had been savaged and slain atop it, and Amaldyne was trying to read the future in its bones. With a flick of her wrist and a stretch of her power, Eityr relocated them all to the floor, then hopped up onto the now-cleared metal. Amaldyne slowly raised her head to look at her with exhausted irritation written plainly all over her snout. "I want to see," Eityr said, "so show me." "Show you what?" the words were accompanied by a hiss of displeasure, but Amaldyne's wings remained loose and relaxed by her side. Unhappy, but willing to indulge. Were it anyone else, Eityr would find that infuriating. "Something happened, didn't it? There's something-" 'wrong' wasn't the right word. Whatever it was, it must surely be the opposite of 'wrong,' but Eityr struggled to think of an alternate descriptor. "Something happened to you, and I want to see it. Show me." Amaldyne nudged her down off the desk. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Eityr, and I don't have time to engage your every childish whim either, so please-" Sick of waiting and on a whim, Eityr grabbed at Amaldyne's lower jaw and yanked downwards. It split right down the middle, and the insides were coated with teeth that had not been there only a moment ago. Amaldyne let out a proper snarl then, shock intermingled with an animalistic rage. Her tail was poised to strike, stinger gleaming in the low light. But the tell-tale glow of dragonsflame never touched her throat, and so Eityr felt comfortable in running a paw along the seam where Amaldyne's mouth had split. No venomous fangs sank into her fur and no bite crushed the strength from her writs. Of course not. Amaldyne had always been content to let Eityr do as she would, why should this be any different? After a moment, Amaldyne pulled away. Her jaw clicked back together, and she watched Eityr through slitted, appraising eyes. "Satisfied?" She asked? Eityr saw no reason to lie. "No."

[knightzp]

ooh btw I'm curious what was your process for world building and writing your bb fic?

OOO OKAY OKAYYY i warn you this is going to be long bc overexplaining is my passion and there is just so much for me to say abt this fic

well first i already knew i wanted to write a royalty/fantasy au focused on knights bc i ADORE this type of au and well. they are knights!!!! so who would be better to write an au like this abt!!! it was just too perfect and the bigbang gave me the opportunity and push i needed to start developing this idea

i wanted everything to make sense into the au with the things we know in canon so ofc leo had to be the king and the rest are his close group of loyal knights. i chose to write it focused on the equivalent to ! era instead of !! and not have tsukasa be directly the king bc not only was it relevant to the plot i had in mind (leo Had to be the king for that) but also i wanted to show how leo passed the crown to tsukasa at the end just like in requiem, which is probably my fave knights story so i really really wanted to reference it at the end (and ngl i love ! era and by the time i started with this fic i hadnt read enough !! stories either ajsdk)

for the worldbuilding i wrote some notes abt the characters. i started with knights and wrote abt their past, general situation of each of them and even a bit of their relationships with other characters. here you have them if youre interested o7

but apart from knights there were other characters i had very clear since the beginning that i wanted to include in the fic. like mao mika and sora, bc i wanted to write abt their relationships with ritsu arashi and tsukasa respectively. also i very much wanted to write 2wink for the only reason that i love them and if no one is going to write knights and 2wink together then ill do it myself!!!! i also wanted to include switch as a whole bc they would fit so well into this au as wizards and its a bit of the same with alkaloid as soldiers and ra*bits as forest spirits!

other characters are also mentioned even if they dont really appear. some are just casual tiny cameos i felt like doing like tori or tetora and shinobu but others have a more important relevance like eichi. i figured since he is often described as an emperor, well he could be one in this au fr! that means we have leos kingdom and eichis empire one next to the other in this world (and in my head i was imagining even a third one, like a country for all the characters who arent from yumenosaki, i called it the reimei state but it wasnt relevant at all for the story so its not mentioned in the fic). but well, the existence of the empire was very important because i also wanted to write a sort of backstory referencing checkmate into this au, which ended up being an attack from the empire to leos kingdom and the outcome affected leo so much that he ended up going into lockdown for months just like in canon

soooo with all this now i only needed a plot. i wanted it to be like a silly adventure but also with a deeper meaning behind it and that it let them grow closer together as friends and also grow as individual characters. so a quest to find something was my first idea. and since leo was the king it Had to be his idea so i wanted it to be music related and thats how i came up with the forgotten lyre tadaaaa. i had him reveal it during a ball at the beginning of the story just bc i wanted to write a ball scene and have rtmo and nrmk and izlo and everyone in pretty clothes and dancing together (super self indulgent). as every typical quest they had to encounter different obstacles in their way and i figured each obstacle or stop in their way could be related to a different unit: so switch would give them directions, ra*bits would stop them in an enchanted forest, undead would ambush them at night, alkaloid would pose them some trials before the end and 2wink would be the real final boss and thennnn when they finally got the lyre in their hands, the last chapter had to be tsukasas coronation for the perfect ending

i also made notes of what i wanted to happen in each chapter. this was important to organize myself bc i knew since the beginning there had to be ten chapters in total since i used povs from everyone in knights and so i could have each one of them have two chapters in the end. however its true i didnt have every single detail planned and my teammates helped me a lot giving some ideas in the parts i got a bit stuck

oh and i almost forgot! the prophecy!! tbh this part wasnt planned from the very beginning but rather it was a sudden idea i got while writing switch chapter. i just thought since natsume is interested in divination in canon it could translate to this au giving them a prophecy and making things more interesting!! since i had the plot more or less planned out i could write the prophecy right from the start and then i just had to make sure it all made sense when writing the rest of the chapters. i was a bit worried at first bc writing prophecies can be tricky and i had never done it before but i think it turned out pretty okay in the end!

[lizzylucky]

Thoughts and Observations From The Movie, Part 2/4

Welcome to part two of the silly things and fun details I picked out from the Rise movie!

My sister and I often pause the movie here to reread the options on this whiteboard for destroying the key, and it never fails to make us laugh. My one question: when and how did they test Donnie’s stomach? He wasn’t even there!

Also, feels like a callback to TummyTello, somehow. It also leaves me wondering why Donnie’s Stomach was an actual idea for destruction, regardless of whether it involves TummyTello. Guy must eat some crazy stuff XD

Further content below the cut!

“So… You’re Running Out of Ideas.” by Syr E. Piphany.

Okay, okay, bear with me- I actually have a little theory for this one.  This is a screenshot from when Leo asks Donnie to locate Raph. Donnie tells him that Raph is practically- and then that he actually IS- on top of them. What I noticed here is that on this visual locator he has, none of the little character icons are oriented the same way their real life counterparts are. All six characters are in the same area and standing pretty close to each other, and I would assume that, kinda like google location sharing or snapchat location maps, you have to zoom in further on the map to get more specific locations.

This kinda sounds like it’s going nowhere, but what I’m getting at is the idea that when multiple people are in the same location, given that we know the icons will not be oriented perfectly to the people they represent, they’ll probably appear in the same orientation every time. 

Which would mean!! that Donnie has intentionally designed his tracker app to have icons show up with this orientation when people are close together, furthermore meaning that he chose to put his big brother in the center of them all on purpose. As an artist myself, this could be coincidental, but very rarely are things like this done without purpose, and I like to imagine it’s a subtle way to represent Donnie thinking the absolute world of his big brother; that he would turn to Raph for guidance even before Splinter, whose icon is on the other side of the circle from Donnie’s. 

I also love that the icons for Donnie’s best friend and Donnie’s “twin” are on either side of his.

And, as one last afterthought, I think this could also be a subtle nod to how Raph’s krangification becomes the center of the story and main motivator for all the characters for a huge chunk of the movie.

Does ANYONE ELSE SEE THIS?????

That absolutely looks like a masked face in the biogrowth at the top of this building. In truth, it actually looks a lot more like one of the paper ninjas than it does the Shredder, but the similarities are still there, and it works as further evidence that the Shredder and the goals of the Foot Clan were all hinged around the Krang.

Is anyone else floored by the size of this skull that Krang 1 or whatever is sitting on? I always would forget about it pretty immediately given Leo’s cheeky “surprise!” here, but this thing looks like the head of a freakin’ dragon or something. I wonder what it is? And how it got to, let alone died in, the technodrome.

 One genuinely non-serious theory my sister and I occasionally talk about is the idea that the technodrome is actually a massive egg, and this was the incomplete embryo of whatever it would have become. Further non-serious evidence, which can be seen in the next images, is that the technodrome, in spite of being extremely technologically advanced, is clearly… alive, not just pure tech. Actually, everything the Krang use seems to be bio-mechanical in nature, to some degree.

It will probably be made pretty clear here that Donnie is my favourite character, just a fair warning XD But man I love this scene- one, because of the Autism-ADHD solidarity shown between PB&J immediately previous, and, two, because it’s actually a seriously incredible show of strength from Donnie. 

Many fans of Rise, and of Donnie especially, also have Autism (like Donnie is confirmed to have) and/or ADHD (including myself) and understand that sensory issues mixed with New Things You Don’t Understand can be absolute hell. Like, ruins your day, renders you inactive, unfocused, nonverbal, made to be a shaking ball of anxiety, hell. Not always, but the point still stands.

Additionally, and as much as I am all for Donnie’s softshell not being seen as a big weakness because it’s natural and still more protection than any normal person has (not to mention the advantages it offers him in terms of swimming and flexibility (also probably feels really nice for scritches and sleep piles)), it actually does seem a relevant point here that this is, technically speaking, the most vulnerable part of Donnie’s body. So actively choosing to expose it to an unfamiliar and highly advanced, invasive and living technology on top of the difficulties that come with the above described neurodivergent tendencies goes against his nature in so, so many ways, but he does it anyway. 

Mikey being worried about his vulnerability here, in spite of feeling out of place before, makes a lot more sense from this perspective. Knowing all that, honestly-- it just never fails to impress me.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

[youlooklikeabeeandilikebees]

Being Human UK Werewolf Transformation Scenes ranked (in my opinion, including the pilot and webseries)

17. George in the woods (Original Pilot)

George sitting naked on what looks like a fallen tree just seems so uncomfortable. Seems like a good way to get splinters in your ass.

The animatronic head looks really good as George’s face elongates. The actual prosthetics and makeup here look good, but the editing just doesn’t do it any favors because it’s so fast and awkward. 

This is basically a less good version of the 1x01/1x02 opening transformation which is why it comes last. Not bad on its own but you can see the improvement as the show goes on.

16. George and Tully (1x02)

probably the only transformation I don’t look forward to on rewatches to because I just find it dull and the whole werewolf fight thing just doesn’t land for me. I just find it kind of… silly? Them growling at each other makes me cringe out of my skin.

Tully hanging himself always really disturbs me and while I get why George initially leaves him to die, him going back to save him definitely feels more in character

Tully very suddenly having fangs before George does bugs me a little. Especially since every other transformation scene with more than one werewolf shows the transformation in perfect sync with each other it just seems like they maybe hadn’t decided for that to be part of the lore yet.

The shot of George’s shadow is definitely the best part of this scene

15. George and Nina (2x04)

Thank God Lucy saved Nina by lowering the pressure but her (immoral) logic also makes sense because how else would they lure George there without Nina to convince him to come?

There’s a nice parallel between them both being unconscious as wolves (George taking tranquilizers and Nina falling unconscious from the pressure chamber)

George successfully getting the wolf to sleep always makes me happy for him but then of course we soon see the consequences of that later in the episode

It’s somewhat interesting finding out that werewolves still transform when unconscious but it makes sense that that would be the case since they can’t control it

This one’s lower on the list just because it’s not much of a transformation scene compared to the others

14. Bobby (5x04)

Bobby and his whole “like a clock, ready to rock” to remember how to change the barrel is very endearing. He’s really trying his best, poor guy.

We don't see much of the physical transformation but what we do see is some pretty great looking makeup. It looks super convincing. I do wish that for the show’s final werewolf transformation (and the only one in season 5) we would’ve gotten a little bit more prosthetics though.

Also Rook, I love you and you are one of my favorite characters but you are a bastard and Bobby deserved a better caretaker

13. Tom at Cutler’s club (4x07)

Poor Tom thought he was gonna be a hero by killing the Old Ones, only to nearly kill innocent people

I love the editing cutting between people dancing and Tom transforming

The practical effects look great

12. George trapped with Julia (Original Pilot)

Thank God they kept Russell Tovey on the show once it was picked up. This scene makes it pretty clear why he deserved to play George. His total freakout feels so real. Him crying out “I’m sorry. I love you” feels so desperate and genuine. He was totally prepared to die to save Julia. There is so much intensity and urgency in his performance here, it’s incredible.

The actual transformation feels a little rushed once Annie saves Julia. The editing is not nearly as good as it would be during transformation scenes in the show later on. We don’t even see the final wolf. But the buildup to it is just so fantastic.

11. George, Tom, and Leo (4x01)

Tom telling George he “ain’t nobody’s father” is such a brutal but genuine line. For Tom the sweetheart to say something like that, you know you fucked up big time.

I love the aesthetic of this scene - the lighting, the grimy location, claws scraping against the floor, dripping blood and saliva

The shot of the elongating ankle is super cool

The final wolves look great and extra realistic. I think the lighting in this scene really helps make the costumes look as good as possible.

Cutler’s plan to film them and post it online is pretty clever actually, albeit unsuccessful in the long run. I like when the wolves try to grab him through the bars as he’s filming.

Hal and Pearl consoling each other is sweet and I love the final goodbye they give to Leo, unsure if he will survive. I do wish we got to see at least one shot of wolf Leo in bed though. Since they are able to restrain the wolf in the bed it seems like Leo’s wolf form is perhaps just as weak as he is. It’s interesting considering how an older wolf might act compared to a stronger younger one.

The vampires’ disappointment of Eve just being human is hilarious

10. George forces himself to transform (4x01)

I went back and forth on whether I should include this one since it isn’t a normal full moon transformation but it felt too weird leaving it out and it is a fantastic scene

I love how George’s idea is conveyed visually (through him seeing the poster with the full moon). It would’ve been clunky and awkward for him to say something out loud to just himself. It’s immediately clear what he's trying to do just by showing him look at that poster.

I love how George begins his transformation by screaming, which is inarguably the most signature and iconic part of his transformations. And then as we hear his signature screams in the background it becomes unclear if he’s still just trying to get in that mindset or if he’s reacting to the change starting.

That part when he rips the guy’s head off and they all slowly turn in horror to look at him is perfection. So tense, so unsettling, so badass. I have rewatched that part way too many times. It’s nice to revel in his success before it kills him :(. I also love Annie's immediate reaction of oh God what have you done because she knows he's fucked himself up and she's worried.

Cutler just noping out of there immediately is so funny

The way Russell moves his body and kind of hunches over in an animalistic way is great

This is also the first time we see a vampire (Griffin) die from toxic werewolf blood and I still hate that random bit of lore Lord Toby decided to just throw in there seemingly just to make killing vampires easier. I really wish we got to see George straight up rip Griffin’s throat out a bit first and then finish him off with his blood or a stake.

9. George, Nina, McNair, and Tom at the dog fight (3x04)

I love all the dogfight scenes and the iconic set piece of the cage

Tom being willing to die to save Nina and the baby was so sweet

The way they feel pain in sync with each other is an interesting creative choice which I’ve always liked. It’s cool to see how interconnected the werewolf curse is.

McNair killing Richard is really satisfying. The way Richard is like “good doggy” as if that will save him is so funny and pathetic. And having McNair, who we of course later learn was infected from a dogfight run by Herrick, be the one to kill Richard, who is now running dogfights, is extra satisfying. It’s like a little bit of revenge before McNair faces Herrick in 3x07. 

It’s interesting the way that McNair seems to be able to maintain a bit more control than the others while transforming, which makes sense given that he is the most experienced werewolf of the four of them. He’s definitely acting wolfy but still seems aware enough to not attack Mitchell and to target Richard instead.

I love the look shared between George and Annie when Annie and Mitchell are in the cage. It’s so sweet.

The bird’s eye shot of Mitchell and Annie in the cage surrounded by the wolves is great.

8. McNair and Herrick

I weirdly feel bad for Herrick since he genuinely has no idea what’s going on or what he did wrong and he’s so scared. Uncle Billy you were creepy but kind of sweet.

It’s very satisfying for McNair to face Herrick, even if he knows he’s not gonna make it out alive. I always wonder if McNair genuinely knew he was going to die or if he wrote the note to Tom with the intention of destroying it if he did in fact survive.

I love how McNair repeats Herrick’s quote “You walked away unharmed from a plane crash. Only now I don’t know what to do with you” showing how much it stuck with him all these years later. That also reminds me of George’s iconic repeating of Herrick’s “It got my attention” in 1x06.

McNair seems to enjoy the transformation in a way we’ve never really seen before on the show. He literally grins with malicious glee at Herrick.

I love how Herrick’s cowering while holding out the knife in defense mirrors the same method McNair most likely used when he survived the dogfight as a human.

7. George and Nina (2x01)

This is Nina’s first transformation and I love how Annie helps and supports her

George’s strange excitement walking to the woods is quite interesting. We see a big change compared to season 1 and it’s a good contrast to Nina’s anxiety. He's quite literally blissfully unaware of what he's done to her and has a weird newfound pleasure in the transformation, perhaps as a result of killing Herrick and recognizing how powerful he can be.

I wish Nina could've had a little more of a slow realization that she was indeed about to transform and it could’ve used more of a buildup of anxiety while waiting in the room. I would’ve liked a bit more pacing around, trying to figure out if what she was feeling was just anxiety about what might happen or if changes were actually starting. But that’s just my opinion. I do think the contrast between George and Nina screaming with Mr. Galvin's initial lack of transformation is very clever. And I love the dramatic camera zoom on Nina when she says it’s coming.

Annie saying there was a werewolf called Nina on Buffy always bugs me a little cause it was actually Angel not Buffy which had that character but that’s like the tiniest nitpick ever

Poor Mr. Galvin. He has his short moment of excitement thinking the chamber might actually work and then… probably the grossest scene in the entire show unfolds. I also love the assistant guy slipping up by saying “that happens” when Galvin says he feels sick and then he realizes they lied about never having done this before.

I love the shot of wolf Nina, with her claws scraping against the floor and the close ups of her face and teeth look amazing. That shot of her shadow as she howls is a great parallel to the similar shadow shot of George in 1x02.

6. Christa in the gym (Becoming Human Episode 7)

Imagining Adam calling George explaining his situation and asking for advice is absolutely hilarious. And the fact that he doesn’t realize he needs to drag the chicken circling a mile radius and instead just drags it in a tiny circle makes me laugh every time.

Christa spends the previous 6 webisodes always denying that she’s a werewolf. If we thought George had a rough time accepting himself in season 1, Christa takes it to a new level. Her first worry when they realize they’re stuck in the gym is “No you can’t see me change.” Unlike George, she’s not immediately worried about potentially killing Adam but instead worried about no longer being able to deny what she is. She’s so deeply ashamed, she can’t stand the idea of someone seeing her biggest secret, even if they already know about it and still accept her But then it doesn’t take long before she reverts to shouting “I’m gonna rip your head off,” finally realizing that killing her friend is a greater threat right now than them seeing her transform. There’s a great sense of urgency in the scene. And while in the moment it seems weird that the gym door would be locked on both sides, we learn in the final episode that there’s a reason for that.

The bone cracking sounds are so grotesque and really sell the transformation even when there aren’t many prosthetics

I love the way Christa’s mind changes to more wolf-like before her whole body does as Adam leads her to the broom cupboard and she snarls and tries swiping at him

The fucking basketball, as if that’s gonna help keep a werewolf from getting out lol

I love Christa so much and I wish we could’ve gotten a more full-length series out of this.

5. George in the woods (1x02)

I love Mitchell's narration explaining what’s actually going on inside George’s body (major organ failure, heart attack). It really helps us as viewers understand what happens during the transformation, which I think is important for us to understand this early on in the series.

Of course Russell Tovey is amazing in this scene, as always

Mitchell’s glee about how “remarkable” the transformation is for dragging George through it and keeping him aware the whole time is very interesting. He’s just straight up impressed that this curse is capable of being so horrific. “It’s so cruel it’s perfect.” Mitchell’s kinda fucked up for thinking that but I think I get what he means. It really is amazing that the curse is able to do such severe damage while keeping the sufferer alive and then repairing it the next morning.

Since this is the same scene from the intro to 1x01, I think we can perhaps assume that it’s George’s first ever transformation. I always wondered how he knew he should go to the woods. Like did he just sort of instinctively feel it was coming and know what to do?

4. George and Nina after George gets arrested and McNair at the dogfight (3x01)

Hilarious scene of Nina at the front desk thinking fast by using her nurse badge to make up a story about George being a patient. I can pretty much quote this scene word for word at this point. My favorite part is probably when she goes “it’s contagious” and punctuates it by tapping her finger on the desk. It also shows how much better Nina is at pretending to not be in pain (as anyone who gets period cramps can relate to) and I like how she’s just like “I’m really annoyed” and the officers are like ok we should just do what this lady wants.

George and Nina have a very sweet moment telling each other I love you, fearing that they may kill each other (and then of course to learn in the morning that their wolves get along a little too well lol)

The line about how they could’ve redecorated the house after all is really funny and I love how the only reason the house still looks that ugly for the rest of the series is because they wanted Nina to use the basement to transform and then she didn’t even use it.

At the dogfight, I love how much is conveyed just from the fearful reactions of the poor human victim and the excited vampires. Vincent is so entertaining as an MC, I wish we got to see more of him in the show. His introductions to McNair and the human victim are so over dramatic.

3. George at the house (1x01)

After the hilarious scene of George running through the woods, we get the first full transformation scene in the show

The living room setting obviously brings to mind the iconic An American Werewolf in London transformation

I love how they just put on some music (The Prodigy!) and assume people will think it’s just a party despite the obvious wolf noises. 

The part where the table that George puts on top of the chair falls and he jumps a little bit in reaction to it is such a great little detail that adds to the chaos of the scene when they’re trying to clear the room out.

Mitchell immediately protecting the tv is just iconic and Annie just awkwardly holding a pitcher is perfect

I love how unprepared Annie is. She wants to watch to see what happens but she obviously has no idea what she’s in for. The way she just plops down on the couch before he finally agrees to it is so funny. She keeps a pretty cheery tone until George starts screaming and then we see the horror on her face. I think her seeing him transform was really important to her fully understanding him.

The mixture of George’s screams and the disgusting bone cracking sounds is so disturbing I love it

The head animatronics in this scene look amazing! I love the appearance of the first one we see, how it’s still mostly human but with fangs and then it starts stretching. The effect of his snout protruding out is really effective and the added sound effects do a great job at maintaining the illusion that his face actually is changing.

The transition from George’s human screams to wolf howls is always so disturbing in the best way

The final wolf looks a lot different than usual. I definitely prefer the later design.

2. George at the parent teacher conference (2x07)

I love the slow realization of horror as Sam tells George that she put the clocks back. Never before has daylight savings been used as such a horrifying plot twist. Also I literally cannot NOT think of this scene whenever it’s daylight savings time.

When George first falls to the floor there’s a girl off to the side who smiles at someone offscreen and it always seemed like an unscripted moment to me but I’m not sure. I can’t help but always notice it now.

The cinematography as George runs through the street is really clever and unique for a show which normally doesn’t apply such drastic changes in filming techniques. The camera in his face emphasizes George’s stress and fear as he rushes home while transforming in public. And while we do see other people’s brief reactions, this technique allows us to see through George’s eyes while also keeping the focus on his own reactions. There's such stress and intensity in this whole sequence because George isn’t just trying to find a spot in the woods with very little time left (like in 1x01). Instead, he’s in the middle of the city, surrounded by crowds of people, and already physically transforming. Yikes.

I love seeing Annie help him once he gets in the house and the way she berates him the next morning is great.

I’m obsessed with the comic relief edit of Hennessey asking Kemp if they brought a door and then a quick cut to George running in the street

That moment when Annie gets him upstairs and he cries out after his vertebrae protrude is genuinely the most disturbed I’ve felt by any transformation scene. I think that’s because it sounds more like he’s crying, which shows his utter pain and suffering in a slightly more subdued way than when he’s fully screaming. Chills every time.

My absolute only complaint is that once Annie gets George in the cage, he’s suddenly fully transformed. We know, as has been shown multiple times before, that the transformation doesn’t happen that quickly. But I understand the choice to do that because it really shows how close George was cutting it.

1. George killing Herrick (1x06)

I mean could it really be any other scene at number 1? This is the climax of the whole season with the trio united against Herrick, eventually giving in to using George as their “weapon.” It is iconic, climactic, epic, full of memorable lines and Herrick’s monologues.

“It got my attention,” yes go George!

Russell Tovey’s screams are always so good and so convincing. It feels like he’s holding nothing back in this scene.

Herrick saying “the fat lady ain’t singing yet” followed by George’s well-timed scream

“Looks like your little suicide bomber’s about to go off”

Herrick singing Bad Moon Rising

George keeping his necklace on when we know he usually gives it to Mitchell to keep safe when he transforms seems important. Not sure what to make of it but it allows him another way to harm Herrick before finally killing him.

We get to see all the details of the transformation and it looks amazing. His shoulders protruding out is a detail I don’t think we see in any other transformation.

I noticed that when his snout protrudes they used the same exact scream from the 1x01 transformation at the house. I guess that’s the stuff you notice when you’ve watched this show so many times lol

I love the way you can tell George’s mind has gone a little wolfy too at times and you can see him trying to fight it

There are so many great and varied reactions: Nina’s confusion and horror, Mitchell and Annie’s pity, Herrick’s fearful excitement like he’s almost impressed that he’s found someone who can actually kill him and yells for him to do it. 

George’s line about how humanity is about love and sacrifice therefore “this doesn’t rob me of my humanity, it proves it” is one of the best quotes from the whole show

[phoebepheebsphibs]

Okay so I had a deleted segment of Hide and Seek chapter 13, where the Grim Reaper actually spoke to Leo and Donnie. As creepy as it was, it didn't fit how I wanted the moment to feel and the chapter was already too long so I cut it.

But here's how the scene originally went!

            “��H…H-hey, hey! You! Don’t think that just because you’re lanky that it means I’m scared of you! You’re nothing but a spooky hallucination! An illusion! You aren’t real!”

            Think again.

Leo’s head spun. Donnie screamed. He must have heard it, too. The jawbone did not move, nothing about the ghost moved or changed, but Leo could hear him speaking clear as day. His eyes widened in surprise, and his hands clapped over his tympanum as the voice went on.

            You impede my work, child. You can stall, but you shall not stop me.

            “Shut up! You can’t take my brother!” Leo shouted.

            Be warned, young one. I do not want to hurt you or your brother. But my job is to deliver, and soon enough I will have to—

            “I said shut it!” he snapped. “You can’t take him!”

            Heed me, boy! The phantom retorted. My work is not to be tampered with, and I am not to be trifled. Wheels set in motion should not be halted. I will let you off with a warning, but if by my next visit your brother has not been saved, then I shall be forced to take him with me. As for you, little interferer, he said, pointing at Leo. TAKE WARNING AND STAY OUT OF MY WAY.

The ghost charged. It flew straight to Leo, into him, through him, past him. Leo clutched at his heart as he felt the wind going through his chest like he was nothing but a ghost.

He heard Donnie scream in terror, and Leo was afraid that the ghost had made it to Donnie… but the twin-stinct stopped, and he could feel the familiar chill leave him. The ghost was gone. It had given them a warning.

            “L-Leo! Leo, are you alright?! LEO!”

[tothefiniteyou]

PREVIEW:

The tears just wouldn’t stop no matter how much he wished they would. He didn’t feel like a big brother right now, and he supposed that was because he wasn’t one. Not anymore. He was all alone.

Notes under the cut as I'm using this post to explain some special thoughts I had writing this that weren't included in the notes! So I guess read it first and come back to this post if you're interested.

First things first, the delirium tag. This is a little evil, especially since I tagged this as hurt/comfort. You see, I made sure to tag it as City Fall and not post-City Fall because I wanted it to be unclear if any of this is real.

I repeat lines and make it clear that Leo has vague memories of things but, even he isn't too sure what's going on. He gets the impression that the singing is familiar because of his mother, but he can't actually grasp the complete memory. Everything's a bit fragmented, with lines from the dream appearing again when he 'wakes up'. And then, there's this line:

"His little brother. His bleeding heart of a brother that only ever wanted to help. The little brother that he had shrugged off with vitriol and fear. His baby brother who wasn’t dead but alive, and here. His brother that hadn’t left him alone in this world to fight all alone against the demons in his head and the shadow of a man that wouldn’t let him go no matter how far away he had gotten."

He could be talking about the Shredder, or he could be talking about Splinter, as being in The Foot would put distance between them. So, at night and in his dreams where he's allowed to pretend and properly mourn, he could easily envision Mikey being there. Maybe Mikey is really there, maybe not. Who's to say (I am the one to say. I can. But I won't).

I know that this entire scenario doesn't quite have a place to fit in with canon, but hey! That's the beauty of fanfiction. And while this is me giving you some fun BTS content, don't take this as exact. I wanted it to be interpreted either way. It's why I chose to not describe the scenery much when Leo wakes up. That way the reader doesn't get a hint as to when or where this is all occurring. That and he's panicking, so. Not exactly the best time to assess your surroundings.

The scene with the skeletal Death might be confusing so allow me to explain; it starts with Tang Shen, but then she's slowly morphing into something else as it crushes Leo. Her skin peels away, revealing Death. Death is the one still gripping Leo, but as he looks down, he can see the skin of his dead mother grasping his ankle and accusing him.

Anyways! If you see this, hi! I hope you enjoyed.

[patchdotexe]

doip. / 7.7.23:

welcome back to dragon of icespire peak! now on the roster: jason! our party has now effectively doubled. we did it kids

the twitch chat in jorb's brain is green's tv

LAST TIME, ON DRAGON OF ICESPIRE PEAK: You guys fought a really big pig! [dead silence for the rest of the DBZ intro] IT JUST KEEPS GOING

one minute of silence as the dbz music plays. absolutely fantastic. my face already hurts

I AM GOING TO THROW JORB . oh my god. we start RIGHT OFF with a nightmare of alidaar back in the arena trying to take down his like - oh my god i havent written down any of this in my notes yet huh. alidaar is a runaway gladiator slave! and his owner/the arena master is a huge dick that alidaar spent most of his childhood trying to take down to win his freedom and failed every time. so alidaar starts off with a nightmare of trying that again and again, and then zasan the fuckhead turns into a cryovain hybrid, clones himself, and blasts alidaar with lightning. and then he wakes up! and i am not doing this scene justice! holy hell!

alidaar wakes up In An Actual Bed Holy Shit. also nameless is sleeping on him! adorable

alidaar is in the fancy guest bedroom! time to find kepesk

Alidaar Is Trying To Search For Kepesk With His Soul . he rolled a 16 and now believes he can find kepesk if he tries hard enough

kepesk located! the courtyard is being cleaned up, not much time has passed since Boar Problems

CORWIN IS BUTCHERING THE THUNDERBOAR . BY HIMSELF . LMAO

time to head out to see where the boar came from!

green: we're coming back, right? leo: we gotta, we gotta eat the pig! falcon: there'll be some pork for you. at least.. i think it's pork. i'm not sure it's a real boar. alidaar: meat is meat!

kepesk leads the way! big clearing with a burnt-out pine tree that has 10 little dolls at the base of it. normal. this is fine. hey wait

leo: …did we leave twigbias at the hunting lodge? jorb: did you? nyx: did we? green: i forgot we have a guy in a box.

OH GOD THE DOLLS HAVE HEARTS IN THEM. GROSS . OH GOD THE HEARTS ARE STILL BEATING, GROSS!!!!!!!!!

alidaar: should we start disposing of these - do we have fire? nameless: :| alidaar: ..oh right you do fire shit now. um, can you do fire shit to these? ………….please?

nyx: can i do an arcana check? jorb: for what purpose? nyx: to see if i can find the fucking purpose of this shit???

oh ew the hearts are Linked to something. i am still voting for fire

Nameless Is Being Gross (removed a heart and crushed it) AH OH NO WE ARE UNDER ATTACK FROM TREE

ZODIARK THE HORSE ROLLED A NAT20 TO DODGE THE OPENING SALVO. LOVE THIS HORSE

kepesk: do trees normally do that? alidaar: uhhh i've seen a couple trees and this is new, so nameless: only a couple??? [..] jorb: -first time seeing a tree with 10 hearts! green: or, 9 hearts now. jason: one more and it can pull the master sword from the stone.

green: maybe it's a nice tree! leo: HOW DO WE TALK TO A TREE, BESIDES THE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE OF VIOLENCE

nyx: what are we supposed to do?! jorb: you could leave! nyx: is this where the trail ends??? jorb: the trail keeps going past this. nyx: WHAT ARE WE DOING leo: fuck this shit im out~

green: maybe it's like a pokemon team and it's team pig and team no-pig. jason: electric pig is the name of my philip k dick podcast.

jorb: you could use the necklace of fireballs! green: there's like 8, isn't there? jorb: you didn't use any on gorthok! green: the boar was weak. >:) nyx: like this tree!

we have stacked all the dolls and let kepesk smack em all at once . TIME FOR TREE

alidaar: [rolls 19] i'm gonna do the coolest backflip. kepesk: [rolls 9] i try to also do the coolest backflip and land on my face.

uh oh . there appears to be a problem (tree has grabbed people)! except then everybody immediately got free. including the horse. and now we don't know what else to do.

nyx: …why did we do this? leo: i dunno! [..] green: "i could've told you my whole life story, but you killed me!" jason: that would be a pretty good epitaph.

jason: take only photographs, leave only sociopathic violence? nyx: i can only imagine in toblerone's mind right now- leo: TOBLERONE?

alidaar: let's just leave, we did it. nyx: we did it! jorb: you did it! you solved my tree puzzle! your reward is nothing. leo: yaaay! green: let's never talk of that again. jorb: that filler episode was weird!

we have found a large ditch! aaaand on the other side of the ditch are some followers of talos! TIME FOR INITIATIVE

oh hey targor has a longbow! that's handy. i wonder if my crossbow still sucks

IT STILL SUCKS.

nyx is ALSO struggling to nail the guy with sacred flame so like at least we're in this together

TIME FOR KEPESK TO THROW A FIREBALL. BWOOSH

Jorb Now Has To Roll Like 9 Saving Throws

kepesk: i look at the rest of the team, "does this remind you of any trees we've seen recently?" :D jorb: the orc on the other side's eye twitches, like "really?" jorb: is zodiark still standing back? green: yeah-- he high-fives me because i'm so awesome.

Kepesk Gets Hit With Lightning green: i just stare at him unblinking the entire time while he's casting it and then i get bzbzbzbzbztztzt

ONE OF THEM IS RUNNING AWAY LMAO. GOOSDBYE . HE HAS 1 HP AND HE IS OUT OF HERE

taken two down, now it's just the spellcaster (and the running guy!) time for crossbow leo: i'm gonna use my crossbow again..

leo: [voice cracks] I'M GONNA BREAK THIS THING IN HALF jorb: you might've already broken something, that'd explain the rolls!

green considers Compelled Duel-ing the spellcaster into the ravine and chucking another fireball orb. it would be SO funny (but also a waste of an orb)

however she IS gonna compelled duel him! let's go!

jorb: how do you compell a duel with him? kepesk: you're so good at throwing stuff at us, i bet you can't come over here and throw stuff at us! bet you can't do that in the ravine!

WAIT NOOO IT HAS A RANGE OF 30 FEET AND HE'S 60 FEET AWAY…. MAN

jorb: you just insult him.

KEPESK IS NOW WITHIN 30 FEET OF HIM. COMPELLED DUEL

kepesk: I BET YOU WON'T FIGHT ME IN THE PIT!

god damn alidaar really does just wreck shop when he's in close quarters huh. got the kill and threw the spellcaster back up the ditch! also one guy ran away but he is On 1 HP and literally ran to the hills so i think he gets to live

ooh, stormclouds over stonehenge! The Circle Of Thunder! two people are having a dance party with More Twigblights

jorb: everyone make stealth checks! leo: [rolls a 6] oh. nyx: [rolls a 4] um. green: [rolls a nat 1] WHOO!

We Have Been Caught.

jason: GOD DAMNIT MARIO IF NOT FOR YOU WE WOULD'VE KEPT OUR COVER [..] nyx: mario you've fucked it up for all of us. what have you got to say for yourself you goddamn italian. i don't know if there's any italian slurs but i'm gonna-- jason: oh there are SO many.

jorb: they know you're here and they look hostile. kepesk: HEYYYY CMON GUYS! AHEH! AAYYYYYyyy i can come up with something better, hold on-- jorb: …roll a persuasion with disadvantage.

(We Are Now In Combat)

i'm rolling poorly for everything except my sword.

oh right the pcs have new tokens!

or well nameless had a new token but alidaar and kepesk have new tokens :D

(i actually. need to redo ali's because the contrast sucks. whoops)

oh? you're a chime?

[distant WAHOO]

jorb: well it's a high dc but they're rolling well. nyx: have they considered not??? jorb: …ill let them know.

jorb: targor's turn! he's gonna tar and he's gonna gor

genasi: we've had intruders here before… let me show you how we deal with them. [HITS KEPESK AND NAMELESS WITH LIGHTNING]

leo: [spaces out thinking abt alidaar's nightmare sequence] leo: --hey why did they clone?? jorb: huh?? [notices one of the tokens got duplicated] oh. nyx: ALIDAAR, IT'S JUST LIKE YOUR DREAM! IT'S COMING TRUE! leo: AH NOOO

jorb: and he's.. gonna use his action.. to turn into a pig! why is there two of him also.

SURE. ONE OF THE GUYS WE'RE FIGHTING IS A PIG. boar time

jorb, struggling with movement: where's the ruler. nyx: he's just teleporting. jorb: he moves THERE. [token zips across screen] nyx: every time somebody moves like that i want to put in a slide whistle noise

Kepesk Takes A Moment To Heal green: i sit down and drink. nyx: chug chug chug chug jorb: it tastes like health. nyx: tastes like prion disease! jorb: tastes like prion disease! no, it tastes a bit.. cinnamon-y?

nyx: i'm going to explode [the boar] with my mind. jorb: you're going to cast prion disease.

i appear to have become a primary target.

the genasi cast Bless on themself, their friend… and then needed to do one more person, so they picked a twigblight. hey what makes this twigblight so special

Steven The Twigblight

genasi: this is my special boy! his name's steven! nyx: do the other ones have names? genasi: no! that's why he's special!

GOODBYE STEVEN.

leo: steven is gone. jorb: [steven universe voice] HE'S.. GONE! green: special boy was kinda asking for it.

yeah alidaar is continuing to be the anti-twigblight weapon of mass destruction as long as i have a breath weapon charge. rip steven 2023 - 2023

green: [cutting out] nyx: …are you barking??

kepesk is doing lightning stuff also! get fucked, our lizard is also storms

leo: h . hey guys.

leo: it's steven. [..] jorb, switching back into narration mode: seeing this-- not steven--

nyx: that's what you get for attacking my lizard!

genasi downed the boar and sent nameless tumbling away with a thunderwave but uh. nothing stops the kepesk and alidaar train!

kepesk: YOU GUYS FUCKING SUCK! Hey. [venomshocks the genasi to death]

alidaar, looking down at the bodies: hm. we probably shoulda tried to ask em what was goin on here before startin the violence.

DID WE EVEN GET THEIR NAMES? I DON'T THINK WE GOT THEIR NAMES. the genasi said the boar's name but i didn't write it down. the only one with a name is Steven now and forever

hmm. killing the talosers took out the storm, and this was definitely where the boar was summoned, but there doesn't seem to be anything here besides that? OH WAIT THERE'S TUNNELS

THERE ARE NO TRUCKS IN WORLD OF WARCRAFt

zodiark found a potion of greater healing we all forgot about. also kepesk found some ashes and a lame axe and is very disappointed

INTO THE PIT! I HAVE FOUND JASON

[STUDIO AUDIENCE APPLAUDS]

jason's guy is playing solitaire. alidaar is So confused. time to cut him free with fancy sword!

alidaar: I FOUND A MAN! kepesk: is that a treasure?

kepesk: do you need help fighting a man? alidaar: hopefully not! jorb: he is unarmored and unarmed leo: and kind of a dweeb. jason: that's what my mother calls me.

jason's guy: [..] one of my colleagues got incinerated [..] alidaar: did he uh- kepesk: did one of those guys have a lame axe?

OH MY GOD HIS NAME IS AREPO. (Arepo H. Legomenon!) AND HE'S DOING SOMETHING FOR A LONG NAME THAT SHORTENS TO WIKIPEDIA. (Wholly Inclusive Knowledge Index Project for Ensuring Dependable Information Access)

(also i missed the context and forgot to write it down at the time but there was a joke about us messing with the tree trap and arepo hearing the zelda dungeon unlock noise)

our party rules.

OH MY GOD NAMELESS HAS A NAME

DAUBLE

kepesk: this is zodiark, he's my horse :D alidaar: kepesk, buddy, bit hard to miss your horse. kepesk: and who would want to? :D

[jason googling what the outer layer of a bone is called]

Alidaar Finally Realizes How Fucking Cool His Sword Looks (i didn't realize dragon slayer has artwork! it looks cool as hell! oh my god!)

JASON'S FIRST NAT20! whoops arepo was intended to be a sacrifice. good thing we killed everybody!

finding trapdoors! [zelda dungeon appearing noise] arepo: that noise again..!

Always Split The Party! [citation needed]

second nat20! arepo drinks a weird potion! (it's a potion of invulnerability. he is not dead) jorb: 29, because your proficiencies are insane-- arepo: i went to college!

time for kepesk and alidaar to look around! there is not much in here. jorb: [scene description of a boring storage room with niches] nyx: i thought you were gonna say there's a bunch of talos guys in the niches

"oh, i didn't tell you about the second one?" "the summoning spell summons two!" "gorthok the thunder boar is my father"

GORTHOK JR

prison of gorthok (waterdeep night club)

arepo running full-tilt to tell kepesk and alidaar about a hidden compartment

arepo: SPEAKING OF FLOORS-- alidaar: we were talking about floors??? kepesk: floors! alidaar: FLOORS? I HARDLY KNOW ER--

leo: okay! i am become knowledge of floors! ………it's getting late

ali's found a cool shield with lightning designs! and immediately threw it at kepesk. it's very on-brand for him

The Entire Squad Stares At A Deer arepo: we have bacon at home, we don't need to kill the deer GOKTHOR THE THUNDER DEER! we have released a deer! it has run away

alidaar: we have affected the ecosystem. [long pause]

THE DEER WILL REMEMBER THAT. TOBIAS WILL REMEMBER THAT. DONJON RASKIN WILL REMEMBER THAT.

time to head on back!

FALCON

FALCON HAS GIVEN US JERKY!! YIPPEEEEEE

THUNDER JERKY

We Are Eating The Boar. It Is Tingly

jason: "i go for seconds" "alright take 2d6 thunder damamge!"

a new day dawns! targor leaves for neverwinter, but we have successfully bribed arepo with jerky.

WE STILL DON'T HAVE A PARTY NAME! :D

BUT IT'S OK BC DAUBLE DOES

jason: something something last name either ganger or lereffect