#like they all see memories and dreams that leo had

[microsofttothemax]

back on my leo brainrot can yall imagine a rottmnt episode where the boys are traveled into leo’s mind for whatever reason

like that one episode in the 2012 series (journey into mikey’s mind i think ??)

oh the fluff & angst potential of that is killing me

[aayakashii]

🎄 MERRY CHRISTMAS 🎄

How will you 🫵 spend your holidays with the boys?

These headcanons are mostly non-Christmas specific activities so everyone can feel included, no matter if you celebrate Christmas or not!!

Credits for the cozy prompts here!

Credits for the gifs here!

Frostheim

Jin

Drinking mulled wine.

It reminds him of when he snuck a sip from his mom's cup – feeling his cheeks warm and his mind get fuzzy. It was worth the light scolding he always received. As he grew up, however, the drink didn't taste as joyous as it used to. The spices held memories that were too painful to touch. Until you shared your cup with him during one Christmas night. And as he took a sip of your wine under your soft gaze, his cheeks warmed, and his mind grew fuzzy once again. But maybe it wasn't the drink's fault.

Tohma

Bundling up and taking a walk.

Granted, he already does it on the daily, but there's a special thing in the air when the year is ending; and the cold is seeping through the thickest of clothes; and you're right there, beside him, with your hand gripping his as if it was your lifeline. He knows he has a lot more resistance to the cold than you, and he enjoys it to the fullest. Seeing you bundled up, almost drowning inside his coats, waddling beside him like a penguin – he loves it. You're so cute. You're lucky he's a gentleman now.

Kaito

Baking cookies.

He thinks there's nothing more romantic than baking sweets with the person he's in love with. Wants to go through all of the cliches with you – putting flour on each other's noses and cheeks, sneaking a taste before it's done, making awfully shaped cookies just for the fun of it... it's the date of his dreams. It's only fair he'll try his best to make something you can't forget either.

Luca

Playing board games.

It reminds him of home. Of late nights with his parents and his brother, playfully arguing over plenty of colorful boards and weird pieces. However, playing games with his family after his brother disappeared became hard. It took him some time to realize he could enjoy it again with you. One night, under the dim lights and to the sound of your laughter and playful bickering, he felt his chest grow warm and his eyes soften as he looked at you, sat right across from him. He felt like he could keep trying again.

Vagastrom

Alan

Taking a long nap.

When was the last time Alan let his guard down? As he curls himself up on his couch, he feels like it must have happened in another lifetime. He focuses on his own breathing and his slow heartbeat – the soft, weighted blanket you had given him protects him from the cold outside, and he catches his own eyelids drooping. He feels comfortable. He feels safe. Before he drifts into a calm sleep, he makes a mental note to gather enough courage to ask you to make him company next time.

Leo

Lighting scented candles.

Self care wasn't exactly a foreign subject for Leo. He knew all there was to know about it. Yet, one thing still remained special whenever winter came around: the holiday themed candles. Gingerbread, nutmeg, peppermint... He pushed every themed candle into your arms whenever you two went shopping during this time of the year. It was his guilty pleasure; one of the few things he actually got excited about. You just have to give in to his whims (and pray you have no allergies).

Sho

Visiting the Christmas market.

Sho can handle crowds easily. Better than you, that's for sure. So you trust him when he invites you to stroll through the market, knowing he'll keep your hand in his as you two look at all the trinkets for sale and all the stall foods. You get each other small gifts – Sho gives you a miniature motorcycle keychain, and you give him a new bandana (which he puts it on his head immediately). As you two walk leisurely, hand in hand, through the busy street, he selfishly wishes he could just stay in this moment forever.

Jabberwock

Haru

Knitting a warm sweater.

He just finds more and more work for himself, even when he tries to relax; as if his body is fueled on responsibilities he creates for himself. If you point it out, Haru will only laugh and say he just wants everyone to have their own matching, ugly sweater. And he's steadfast on his goal. He wants his fingerprints visible when he's creating his very own family. You wearing an ugly sweater he made is just the first step.

Towa

Watching romantic movies.

Is it surprising to know that Towa is probably the biggest Hallmark fan? He could watch a thousand of the same "workaholic woman moves to small town and finds love" movies, and still wouldn't get tired of them. He talks of how he wants to recreate the "airport kiss" scenes, the "kiss under the rain" scenes, and the "kiss in front of an entire city" scenes. You tell him you can't offer him that much, but you can give him a kiss for every godawful movie he forced you to watch. And that's more than enough for him.

Ren

Listening to podcasts.

He doesn't like Christmas. Not surprising, I know. He just thrives in being a hater, and hating Christmas is essential to his persona. He will never admit, however, how much he loves the holiday atmosphere, and how perfect it is to tune into his favorite horror podcasts during the chilly, dark winter. You don't even point out that Halloween was two months ago anymore. You just cozy up next to him, and under fairylights and mistletoes, you get ready to listen to his favorite monster stories.

Sinostra

Taiga

Watching the snow fall.

He feels like the white snow awaken old, softer memories of a time long gone. He lays his head on your lap as you two hide in one of the school building's balconies, observing the snowflakes slowly coat the grass outside. You gently card your fingers through his tousled hair. Maybe he doesn't need to remember anything else if he can keep the memory of this moment in his mind, forever.

Romeo

Wearing warm pajamas.

They're fuzzy, soft to the touch. He can even feel his shoulders sagging as you straighten his pajamas and gently massage his shoulders. No need to yell, no need to fight, no need to worry about things falling apart and through his fingers. He shares his skincare with you in silence, and you accept it, in silence as well. The hum of his air conditioner is enough noise to fill the small, cozy little space you had created for him.

Ritsu

Doing a jigsaw puzzle.

There are no strict rules, no correct way of playing. Just a simple task with a simple goal. For once, he feels like he can be in silence and just properly enjoy your company while you two build some generic scenery together. Ritsu can just be, without the need to prove himself the smartest or the best in order to justify the space he occupies. For two to three hours, it's just you and him and nothing else.

Hotarubi

Subaru

Drinking hot chocolate.

The contrast between the japanese ambiance of Hotarubi and how "western" Christmas feels never fails to amaze Subaru. His favorite part of Christmas, however, isn't the decoration: it's the food. The sweets. He loves to warm his hands with a huge mug of hot chocolate, blushing every time you plop a few more marshmallows in his beverage. You spoil him, shoving every little sweet treat you find in his hands. He promises to eat them all, but only if you always join him in his indulgence.

Haku

Reading a good book.

It's not hard for Haku to have a good day, holiday or not. He just wants to laze around and have you tucked under his arm. That's all there is to it. He looks up from the new book you had just given him as a Christmas gift, only to see you handing him a mug of hot chocolate. He smiles, setting the book and the mug aside, and taps the seat right next to him, effectively trapping you under his arm. If he's being honest, he doesn't really care about christmas, but man, does he love christmas with you.

Zenji

Decorating for the season.

While Subaru usually worries about contrasting decorations, Zenji makes sure to place fairylights in every tatami room as soon as winter comes. He drags you around the dorm, his official helper, while he hangs ribbons and bells and mistletoes in every wall. When you ask him if he's hanging mistletoes on the doorways on purpose though, he looks at you with wide-eyed curiosity – he had no idea what you meant. Was there some tradition he wasn't aware of? Well, you're more than happy to teach him.

Obscuary

Ed

Lazing around

It's hard to break his habits. You do manage to shoo him out of his room after announcing Rui and you would deep clean it, so it could be presentable during the new year. Ed is pretty sure you're scarred for life, but, well, you insisted, right? But it's the holiday time, and his undead heart feels a little bit for you. He invites you to stay at his now pristine room for a while, dragging you into a random, obscure youtube rabbit hole. At least his sheets are all clean.

Rui

Going ice-skating.

Isn't it the perfect date? Being able to show off his glorious skating abilities, all while being your knight in shining armor, ready to catch you if you fall. He loves the angry red of your nose and cheeks and the awe in your face as you look at the way the sun reflects on the ice. Rui can barely keep himself from smooching your face until you were red from his attention, not the cold. He can't wait to take you to a cafe date next.

Lyca

Doing arts and crafts.

He wants to give a gift to Santa, and who are you to say no when Lyca asks you for help? In fact, he wants to give gifts to everyone he knows as well: the blonde gigolo, moth eaten casanova, Harurin, Romi and you, of course. His room becomes a warzone of arts and crafts supplies – there's glitter, glue and colored paper everywhere. But cleaning doesn't even come to his mind as he gives you a cheeky grin, glitter all over his face, as he show you his little craft project for Santa. He'll catch him this year, for sure.

Mortkranken

Yuri

Listening to cozy playlists.

Holiday spirit is the one Yuri blames when he allows you to control the aux cord. He's so generous, only demanding that every song must be instrumental. His ears perk up while he works on his papers and you put some etheral music to play. Plastic Platina, you call it. He huffs. What a silly name. He wasn't expecting, however, to inadvertently hum to the repeating rhythm of the song, his work flowing a little more fluidly than he expected. Maybe he can give things other than classic a try. But only sometimes.

Jiro

Lounging by the fireplace.

His body feels a little cold most of the time. It's a common ailment of his after he had woken up from his coma. During winter, therefore, he allows himself to be dragged by your hands as you demand he sits in front of the fireplace. You place a weighted blanket on his shoulders and tuck it snuggly under his feet. You sit beside him, watching the fire crackle and nursing a mug of coffee. He looks at you, body flush against him and he feels his cheeks grow a litte warmer, much to his surprise. Being cold isn't so bad, when he has your company.

[moonbaetarot]

Pick a pile

Random things about your future spouse

1. 2. 3.

Pile 1

Your future spouse dates to marry they don’t go messing around with people they want their wife/husband and nothing else. Your person has been wanting to be married since they were a little kid their parents set a really go example of what love is. They could still be friends with people they met in elementary school and this is because They are really friendly and good communication. Your future spouse could love sending cute little text or writing love letters to you. This person could have a love for cars or has a really nice car they love. (They could also love cats because I kept typing cats instead of cars lol) They only do things that makes them feel good if anyone or anything makes them feel bad they are quick to cut them off. You and this person could’ve had a past life together you two are very much soulmates. Your future spouse likes change they get bored quick. Your person is one of a kind they bright up a room. Your future spouse believes everything is connected, everything happens for a reason and it’s all going to be ok so when you are unsure about something they are going to reassure you everything is alright. Oddly specific Someone future spouses name could be Ryan or you could know someone named Ryan. Your future spouse loves summer, the beach, the sun and summer food. Your spouse could be Leo, Gemini, Sagittarius, Taurus, Aquarius or Capricorn. Your future spouse could be a twin or is a lot like their dad. They love fishing going out on a boat. You or your future spouse dad likes to ride Motorcycles and or has a tattoo of a cross or angle wings Im getting a lot about someone’s dad here there dad was a big part of their life as a kid they really look up to them.

Thank you for reading loves! 🤍

Pile 2

Your future spouse is successful they have achieved a lot in their life I feel like some of there achievements there parents helped with they may come from money. They are a goal getting if they want something there are going to get it. There love language is gift giving They love buying you whatever you want I’m seeing you walking out the mall with bagssss baby lol (I’m seeing the pink and Victoria secret bags the pink ones with white dots, I know not everyone is going to know what I’m talking about but if you do then you know lol). This person has a loved one that passed away that watches them I feel that they were really close with them as a kid and now watch over them. Someone’s favorite number could be 17. You and this person may move in really quickly When you and this person meet things are going to be moving really quickly. Your future spouse could be a real estate agent sells house, designs house, builds houses or decorates homes something of the sort. Your person is traditional they want to provide for you. They have a good intuition they know how to use their higher power and skills. All this long hard work this person does will pay off. This person knows how to take an L they grow from failed situations they don’t let it get to them. Your future spouse is an hardworking boss man you just have to sit back and see their vision being with this person your not going to have to work if you dream of being a stay at home mom or don’t wanna work in general this person will let you and y’all will with be just fine money wise. I see people being jealous of you two because yall have it all. Your future spouse could have an unusual unique name.

Thank you for reading loves! 🤍

Pile 3

Your future spouse loves making memories with you I see you two being 80 and y’all’s grandchildren come over and your future spouse pulls out a huge box just of pictures of fun things and memories y’all did over the past decades. your person is at good at manifestating if they really put there mind to something it can become there reality. You and your future spouse may look alike they don’t look like your siblings or nothing lol but yall share the same features. They come from a big family and have a lot of siblings I feel like you may be an only child or only have 1 or 2 siblings tho. Someone’s future spouse is a red head or a ginger or you are. You and your future may meet after you are going through a breakup your going to be like 3 weeks or months post break up and your going to meet your future spouse and your going to be closed off for good reasons but your going to realize why this past relationship didn’t work. This person may struggle with a bit of anxiety. This person visits you in your dreams a lot I feel like even when you meet this person you’re going to have very detailed dreams about your future spouse. You or your spouse could be a water sign Pisces, cancer, Scorpio. They are in touch with their inner child they are really creative and just have a really innocent image of life. Your this person whole world this person loves you so much yall are bestfriends if there was a map of there heart of how much you fill up there heart it would be full (this is such a sweet strong message). Your future spouse may like rock music. You and this person could have a baby boy and girl together. This person is taller than you. Your person may wear glasses or contacts. You or your person may be a bit scared of commitment.

Thank you for reading loves! 🤍

[dandylovesturtles]

Wrote this while I was waiting for my car to get its oil changed this morning

———

Donnie wakes up on his desk and pushes away without thinking, with violence, and his chair tips backwards and falls with him in it.

He barely feels it, the hard crash against the concrete floor, the way his hands scrape as he scrabbles back to his feet. He doesn’t care. All his thoughts, his feelings, physical and mental, are trapped back in that moment and that terrible, terrible snap-

Leo is gone.

No, he tells himself, it was a dream. Leo isn’t gone, they got him back. The snap was just a memory, somatic sensations that creep up on him from lack of sleep and lingering trauma. That’s the rational explanation. He tells himself this every time.

And like every time, he can’t believe it. It just felt too real.

He has to go see. Has to look in Leo’s room and see if he’s there, if he’s sleeping, but he won’t be because he’s gone-

Donnie takes a ragged breath and slams open the door of his lab.

He takes the steps down the escalator three at a time, jumping the last several feet. He sprints across the old platform to Leo’s train car, the old blue curtain hanging half open and swaying.

He throws himself through and stands in the middle of the empty room.

Leo is gone.

He’s not in his bed, not lounging in a beanbag, not going through his action figures and changing the poses. He’s not here.

He’s gone, and that terrible snap was real, the moment the portal closed and Donnie lost him forever. He crumbles to the floor, arms wrapped tight around himself, too shocked to even cry.

“…Dee?”

He jerks, looking back. A dark shape in the doorway, standing over him. It steps closer, and Donnie hikes his shoulders up and is about to let out a hiss, when he feels something soft and reassuring slot back into place.

The burning ozone feel of his brother’s ninpo wrapping around him.

“What’s wrong?” Leo, Leo, real and in front of him, crouches down and reaches out a hand. “Did you- oh, okay.”

Donnie cuts off the rest of Leo’s question, arms flung around him, clinging tight. Leo hesitates only a moment, but then he has his arms around Donnie, and even with the battleshell on, Donnie feels a deep relief.

“Hey, it’s okay,” says Leo softly. “You’re okay.”

Donnie almost laughs, because it’s not himself he’s worried about.

“You’re here,” he says, pulling Leo closer.

“Uh, yeah?” Leo chuckles. “It’s my room.”

“You left,” says Donnie.

“…Oh.” Leo sighs. “You had that dream, huh?”

“You left,” Donnie repeats. An accusation.

“I know. I’m sorry.”

That never makes him feel any better. “Don’t apologize, dum-dum,” he hisses, and Leo gives a ragged laugh. “Just… don’t leave again.”

“Yeah. Okay.”

They stay in the floor until Donnie’s heart calms back to an acceptable resting rate. Then Leo shifts, finds the release of his battleshell and clicks it. The shell falls off with a thump.

“Come on, I’m tired of sitting on the floor.” Leo takes Donnie’s hand and urges him to his feet. “Let‘s get in bed.”

Donnie stiffens. “I’m fine,” he says. A token protest.

“Dude, I found you crying. Don’t try to act cool on me now.” Leo tugs more insistently on his hand. “Come on.”

Donnie huffs, even as he follows Leo to the bed. “I wasn’t crying.”

“Sure,” says Leo placatingly. He lays out against his pillows, then pulls Donnie down next to him.

Despite his protests, Donnie settles in against Leo, ear over his heart. It’s alright. Leo is here.

Donnie will make sure he never loses him again.

[angelpuns]

50au Part 24

TW FOR VIOLENCE/FIGHTING/BRIEF CHOKING

Leo was having a hard time keeping up with….everything. Struggling to parse what was real and what wasn’t. 

If he weren't in so much pain he'd wonder if those birds really had done him in and he wasn't lying in the med bay imagining all this. Alone and practically comatose.

But his leg and his head and everything ached too badly for it to be a dream or some kind of weird hallucination. 

He wasn't sure his brain could make half this stuff up anyway. 

Donnie and Mikey had explained everything to the rat, who had then promised to help. After he took a nap, of course.  

Everyone seemed a little pissed off at that, but Leo was relieved. He already hated having to rely on a bunch of strangers that insisted they were family, he didn't want to add another into the mix. Even if he was Lou Jitsu ( which Leo really didn't believe that part of all this) 

Hell, maybe Jupiter Jim was uncle and was really a snake or something. 

The rest of the day was spent planning, for the most part. 

Donnie figured out exactly when he seemed to reset and said it was a breakthrough, though Leo didn't know how exactly it would help. He was going to forget either way, and it wasn't as if they could prevent it happening. Until Donnie said he was going to have Leo stay up past that point and see if it made a difference. 

Annoying, but Leo was at these guys’ mercy and all. 

He did learn a lot throughout the day. 

Mikey was a good cook. He was also the youngest. And even though he had this emotional maturity thing going, Leo could tell he was one wrong move from crying about this entire thing. 

The big guy, Raph, was the oldest. And he was super over protective and kept treating Leo like he'd break. He also wasn't as touchy-feeling as Mikey, but Leo figured if was more because of the circumstances and that Raph would hug him til he popped if he had the chance. 

Donnie was the really interesting one. They were twins, which Leo was guessing on based on a lot of context. Stuff from the montage, the way Donnie acted and the way he seemed to mumble ‘my Dumdum twin’ under his breath whenever he got the chance. He was really smart, too, Leo could barely keep up with half the stuff he talked about. 

At first he thought Donnie might be the leader, but Raph seemed to be more in charge than he was letting on. But the dynamic was still weird. Mikey definitely wasn't the leader. Leo figured he couldn't have been, because what Leader would get himself shot with a curse and then run around avoiding his problems all the time? He definitely wasn't leader material. 

Not that it mattered, because Raph had already told him they weren't going anywhere today. 

There was also the issue of Baron Draxum, the villain that had thrown Leo off of a roof and overall was just an untrustworthy bastard. They all thought it was weird that he remembered Draxum, but Leo didn't trust the guy as far as he could throw him. He definitely wasn't family. 

But he was helping them for some reason, and Leo was forced to let the yokai into his home to do so. Even if the thought made him want to be sick and made the panic and anxiety he'd been holding back all day simmer dangerously beneath the surface. 

Baron Draxum was working on the cleansing salve and promised he was almost done, that they could do the ritual tomorrow. Leo didn't like the sound of Draxum doing anything with his head, much less going into his memories. 

He brought it up with Donnie that night, while Donnie fixed the camera in the corner of his room. 

“ Are we sure it has to be him? Don't you all have any other yokai family members that weren't literally evil….?” Leo muttered, huddled in the corner of his bed. 

It was dark in the lair now. Everyone else had gone to sleep, while Donnie had Leo stay up so he could observe the resetting. 

His thought was that, maybe if Leo didn't sleep, the reset wouldn't be able to happen. Even if it was time based. 

“ Sadly, no. I would personally not love Draxum rooting around in your head either, even though I respect him as a fellow scientist and all,” Donnie answered, sitting on the edge of Leo's bed and prying apart the camera, “ but he's the only person we really know that can do all that mystic bullshit,” 

“ This all would have been so much easier if it were some kind of clinical mishap. At least then you'd be showing progress at this point, and we could probably fix it with surgery or something,” he huffed, holding up the light, “ there. You're going to forget it's up there, but at least you won't get freaked out again by the light,” 

Donnie started to put the camera back together with a sigh, still rambling. 

Leo got the feeling it helped him calm down. Even though he didn’t really understand why, he was feeling slightly calmed by whatever Donnie was going on about. Even if he was having a hard time keeping up and his head throbbed. 

“At least tomorrow we can do the ritual and put this all behind us. I've already got plans in case you somehow have lasting side effects, and of course a medical plan for your leg,” He clicked the last piece in place and headed to remount it to the wall, “ which you're obviously going to have to follow, Nardo. You were a terrible patient after the- when you got hurt, and we will not be having a repeat of that. I'm sure Dr. Feelings has his own plans about the emotional effects of all this and-”

Leo didn't have a chance to ask who Dr. Feelings was. 

The world went silent, Leo slumping forward like- 

Leo blinked awake, hunched over in the corner of his bed, his knees up to his chest. Someone was talking, but he must have just left his TV on, because who could possibly be talking? 

He fumbled for the remote on his nightstand, blinking away the sleep and fiddling with the power button. But when he pressed it, the noises didn't stop. In fact, the TV turned on when he did that, the fuzzy static making him frown. He turned it back off.

Someone was talking. Someone was in his room. 

In the corner of his room, in the dark, loomed a figure. They were tall and thin and shadowed, and Leo's first thought was that it was some kind of sleep paralysis demon. But he could move plenty, and his leg was starting to ache so badly that his knew he wasn't asleep. 

Leo rubbed at his eyes in an attempt to clear them, focusing in on the figure with a grimace. Still tall and still shadowed, but less threatening when he saw  a purple hoodie and the fact that the person was standing on a small step stool. At first he couldn't see what they were doing. But as they stepped down to admire their work, he understood. They were installing a camera.

In his room. Where he was sleeping. 

To watch him and-and do know god knows what with the information. 

Leo sat as still as he could, the figure suddenly turning to face him. They were a mutant like him, maybe even a turtle if he had to guess. Three fingers, green skin, a tail. No shell, as far as Leo could tell. Unless it was hidden well beneath the hoodie. But that didn't matter much, because all he could think was how someone could be in his room. 

The figure stared at him for a moment, no longer rambling to themselves. 

“ ‘Nardo, you okay?” They murmured, voice dropping to something closer to a whisper. 

Leo swallowed down the rising panic, glancing around the room for his swords. They weren't here. He always kept them by his bed, so why weren't they…?

Leo turned back to the mutant. This guy must have hidden them. He must have planned this so that Leo couldn't fight back…couldn't run. 

“ wh-who are you?” He asked, pieces of a plan starting to fall together. He had to fight. The mutant wasn't much bigger than him. He could fight, even if he was never good at hand to hand combat. He just had to lower this guy's guard first. If he could get him monologuing, then surely it'd be an easy fight. 

“ what are you doing in my room?” 

“ shit, did you reset?” they suddenly seemed panicked, quickly checking some sort of strange tech on their arm, “ I must have miscalculated, you weren't supposed to reset for another hour, at least-”

Now. 

Leo launched himself off the bed and at the stranger, hands outstretched to grapple him. The mutant shrieked in surprise, and Leo took him to the ground easily.

It hurt his leg, bad, but he had to fight! He wasn't gonna let this guy get away with whatever evil surveillance shit he had planned! 

“ ‘Nardo, stop- you've got to listen to me-” the mutant growled, teeth snapping dangerously at Leo's hands. He quickly grabbed their wrists and held them to the ground, far too relieved that the mutant didn't have a weapon on them, “ Leo-”

They kicked and twisted under him, but Leo was stronger. He quickly moved to straddle their legs, wincing when they kicked Hus injured one a little too hard. 

“Fuck- WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY HOME!?” Leo growled, leg wound throbbing in time with his heartbeat. He held his position though, the mutant struggling against him. 

“ L-Leo, it's me! I know you're confused, but I'm your brother” the mutant whined, hands clenching with the effort it was taking to fight him. They were a lot stronger than they looked, Leo straining to keep them from moving. “ Leo, please! Let-let me explain!” 

They sounded scared. And terribly desperate. 

It unexpectedly grated on Leo's nerves, a feeling like pity growing inside him. No, no he could not feel bad for this guy! A mutant who was lying to him and had literally invaded his home! 

“ tell me the truth Or I’ll kill you” Leo hissed, trying not to think too hard about the pain or the pity or the nagging feeling in the back of his head that made him want to hear this guy out, “ what were you doing with the camera? How'd you get in here?” 

The mutant let out a shaky sigh, “ I am your brother. You were cursed to forget your family and-” 

“STOP LYING!” Leo reeled his fist back and punched the mutant hard, trying not to focus on how the crack beneath his fist  made him feel sick, “ YOU'RE NOT MY BROTHER!” 

Blood gushed from the murant’s nose, their eyes widened and panicked. He squeezed his eyes shut for a second, the sight of it making him feel so fucking sick and he didn't know why. 

This mutant was going to hurt him if he didn't hurt them first. They were going to watch him and use the information to get him. He knew it, he already knew their plan, so he had  to fight back while he had the upper hand. 

He reeled back to punch the mutant again, but they stuck an arm out to stop him, grabbing at his neck and trying to choke him. But they were too hesitant, like they were afraid they'd hurt him. 

Too bad Leo wasn’t afraid to hurt them. 

He threw another punch, but the mutant tightened their fingers and he choked at the last second, nearly missing their cheek. 

Leo let go with his other hand to try and wrench their hands away from his neck, suddenly sucking in a panicked breath. This reminded him too much of- he couldn't breath and it was just like-

Leo squeezed his shut, his throat closing despite the mutant barely squeezing.

He tried not to think about it. Just fight. Fight this guy, don't think about how similar it feels to- 

Something pricked his neck and Leo opened his eyes, the mutant let go of his neck and pushed him off, scrambling away from him. 

He felt dizzy. 

“You-” Leo rasped out, but he couldn't make the words work. He couldn't move. Everything seemed to be falling down around him, the world going dark. 

And then he was nowhere. 

-----

lemme know if this needs more warnings. uuuuh yeah I wanted to write this part bad cause haha there will be consequences to Leo's actions ;) Regardless of whether he remembers them or not

I hope this bit isn't too OOC for Leo specifically, I think if he were cornered he could get real real violent so. Yeah.

Also I drew a doodle for this (which is why I wanted to write this bit) TW FOR VIOLENCE/CHOKING BELOW

Sorry Donnie you are also getting more traumatized :/

Part 1 | Part 23 | Part 25

[truths33k3r4]

(Warnings for this chapter are at the bottom of the page to keep from giving away spoilers.)

CHAPTER 9 - Dreams of the Haunted

Raphael watched as Lotus finally stilled in Leo’s arms, her stuttered breaths and sniffles slowly descending into silence. Her panicked words twisted and pulled at his mind, deepening his growing concern for her. Frustration began building in his heart as he watched someone so frail and scared fight a horrific, inner battle.

And all he could do was watch.

It brought him no comfort that he was the one that possibly sparked such awful memories in the frightened girl. How she looked at him… It was as if he was the ghost inhabiting all of her nightmares. As if it were him that caused her to flail out of bed in sporadic jolts, wearing beads of sweat on her trembling brow.

 The familiar, sticky tentacles of guilt quickly slithered around his heart, constricting the limited air in his lungs, and filling his mind with useless reprimands.

You shoulda just left her to Leo.

It’s your fault she’s afraid all the time.

She’s scared of you.

Raph shook his head in an attempt to focus back to the matter at hand.

The “matter” that now laid limp in his oldest brother’s arms, softly sighing and nestling into his plastron. The fiery brother watched in silent adoration as Leo stroked the young girl’s shell, successfully calming her enough to make her fall back to sleep. Raph remembered seeing Leo do the same calming motion when they were kids, using it to settle a frightened youngest brother surrounded by darkness, or steady a stressed nerd with too much homework, or simmer down a heated temper with nowhere to go but out.

Raph had used it once or twice as well. The faint memory passed through his mind like a soft breeze as he remembered Leo’s shuttering body hidden fully in his shell after another nightmare. However awkward that night had begun, Raph still recalled it with a warm endearment, remembering all of his brothers combining forces to bring comfort to their newly titled “leader”. Yeah, it was cramped and full of mushy feelings and tears; Three things Raph himself normally hated more than Math homework, but it was all worth it to be there for Leo. 

It was all worth it to bring comfort to their comforter.

As Lotus let out one final, heavy exhale, Leo skillfully weaved out of her embrace, laying her down gently onto the pillow and carefully draping the blanket over her. She didn’t stir the slightest, seemingly sinking deeper and deeper into the cushion of the mattress and the grounding weight of the blanket. Leo sighed as he looked down at her, his shoulders and body falling as if another weight had landed atop them. Tenderly, he reached out and wiped away the last of her tears speckling her cheeks. 

And he wonders why he was the best pick for Team Medic. Stinkin’ show off.

As Leo pushed himself off the floor with a winced grunt, he patted the dirt and grime off his knees and legs. Raph’s eyes involuntarily widened at the dark patches of dirt littering his oldest brother’s body. Normally the brothers kept their room a bit more tidy than that, but…

…a lot had happened. And some things carried more priority than household chores. 

“Raph, come on!” Leo shout-whispered, knocking the fiery brother’s train of thought clean off its tracks. “She’s asleep. Let’s go.” 

Raph gave a slight nod and followed his brother into the hallway, the two siblings being as silent and swift as wind sweeping across snow.

 They walked side by side in the hall, remaining quiet even after they were far past the brothers’ bedroom. Raph couldn’t help but subtly peer his eyes across to Leo, gauging what was going through the leader’s head. It wasn’t abnormal for the eldest to go silent, far from it in fact. Especially after something big happening, Leo would normally not speak as he contemplated the next best course of action. This had actually formed into a problem when they were younger, with Raph and Don’s impatience being stretched to their limits as they had to just wait for their leader to find a solution without a single conversation being had. That had sparked many unneeded forest fires of fury between the twins and their leader. 

Raph couldn’t help but snicker to himself as he remembered how ticked off Don had gotten, spouting off facts and insults in tandem when he wasn’t kept in the know-how. 

“Raph- What was that?” Leo asked suspiciously as he turned his gaze towards the fiery brother. “... Why… are you laughing??” He asked with a slight tint of incredulous confusion in his tone.

With Leo’s frosty irises now locked onto him, Raph found it a little hard to open his mouth and make words come out. 

“Uh… I was…”

Just speak, it ain’t that hard!!

“...Um…”

Leo’s Mom Glare™ suddenly shot up to a “should I be worried??” expression.

JUST. FRIGGIN. TALK.

Raph forcefully rolled his shoulders to release some of the energy building in his body.

“Heheh I was… rememberin’ how ticked off Don got when you went quiet on our missions. You remember the crazy insults he called you?”

Leo’s interrogative gaze flickered and dissipated as he turned his face to the ceiling and sighed with a smile.

“Ahhh yes…” The eldest huffed as his grin grew in nostalgic amusement. “Dad caught him swearing so many times so he just decided to make up new insults…Ah man, which one had you and me cracking up that one time?”

“Ooof, dude. How could ya pick? There’s too many good ones HA!”

“... Was it “Lint Licker”? Or maybe “Shiitake Mushroom head”, HAHA!!!”

Hearing the past substituted insults ignited a warm, soothing flame to ignite in Raph’s heart, leaving him clutching his stomach with how hard he was now laughing alongside his brother.

“WAIT WAIT- HAHAHEEE- Do you remember the time he called you a “Mother Clucker”?! BROOO I couldn’t even breathe I was laughin’ so hard!!!”

“OH DANG- HAHA!!! I can’t believe I forgot that one!!!” Leo was now clutching at his side too, leaning his shell against the wall of the hallway for support as he cackled and sniffed away tears from his eyes. “Don was so mad his face was as red as your mask!!!”

Now Raph could barely breathe with how hard he was laughing.

“Heee… He just sat there- HAHA- With his arms crossed holdin’ his breath- HAHAHA!!! You were afraid he was gonna pass out!!”

“He almost did!!! You had to catch him!!!” Leo’s voice cracked and broke with the laughter erupting out of his throat. Without meaning to, some of his words shot to an extremely high pitch, only worsening Raph’s guffaws to the point where he collapsed to the floor, splayed out and pressing down onto his torso.

There the two brothers were, one propped against a wall, the other laying flat on the ground, laughing.

Despite all that they had been through.

Here they were.

Laughing.

As their chuckles petered out to sniffs and snickers, Leo pushed himself off the wall and walked up to Raph’s prone body. The eldest reached out his hand with a big, real smile gracing every inch of his face. Raph couldn’t help but return Leo’s kindness with his own grin, gratefully accepting his big brother’s hand and allowing himself to be helped off the floor.

“Come on…” Leo laughed again, gasping for air, “Let’s go check on the Clean Up Crew.”

Raph nodded with a knowing smile as the two continued down to the living room.

“MIKEY!!! DON!!” Raph called out with his hand cupping the side of his face. “WHERE YOU GUYS AT??” 

After being answered with silence, Leo and Raph ventured into the kitchen. Walking past the doorway, the first thing Raph noticed was the “used” trash bin propped near the sink. The second thing he noticed, or rather was SMACKED ACROSS THE FACE WITH, was the pungent smell of lavender fumes filling up the entire room. Both his and Leo’s eyes immediately sprung up with more tears as they began to flap their arms to wave out some of the potent aroma. It didn’t do much, and unfortunately, living in the sewers, there were no windows to open and let out the powerful scent. So they just stood there for a bit, waving their arms, until finally both of them gave up in between hacks and coughs and simply retreated to the couch instead.

Comparatively, hacking and choking on fumes was apparently a much more effective way to beckon for their little brother instead of just casually calling to him. 

“What the shell happened to you guys??” Mikey yelled as he ran through the lair’s entrance into the living room. He was out of breath and wearing far-too-big gloves on his hands.

“Us?? *COUGH COUGH*- What- a-about you?? WHY were you *HACK* up top?!” Leo sputtered indignantly as he turned his head to look at his thirteen year old brother that was apparently alone in the big, scary world that towered above them.

Raph chuckled as he watched Mikey roll his eyes and tsk at the eldest’s obvious concern.

“Leooo I’m fineeee. I literally just took out the trash, CHILL.” Mikey grumbled as he pulled off the oversized gloves from his fingers.

“I will NOT CHILL.” Leo retorted right back, now wearing his patented Mom Glare™ and speaking as if he were Mikey’s parent rather than his oldest sibling, “You, young mutant, are thirteen. You aren’t allowed up top by yourself, you know that.”

“Yeah~ I’m fully aware, Mom-o-nardo. But Don was busy trying to hold in his lunch, so I took care of it.” Mikey sluggishly declared, his words dripping with nonconchalance. “You’re welcome~.” He flicked his hands with the dramatic flair of a magician, tossing the gloves onto a nearby side table, effectively making them ‘disappear’ from his person. 

Raph let out a silent “Ooooh~” as he turned to see how Leo would react. And as always, the eldest did not disappoint.

“Do I need to tell Master Splinter of your little solo errand?” Leo asked in a tone that was as cold and sharp as an icicle’s tip. 

The youngest’s face fell immediately as Leo played his highest card:

“I’M GONNA TELL DAD.”

Classic oldest sib move, Raph thought to himself. Game set match.

With an offended pout only a youngest sibling could pull off, Mikey growled and stomped his way into the kitchen.

 He quickly regretted his decision.

Raph and Leo couldn’t help the satisfied grins crawling up their faces as they heard Mikey begin to cough violently, clapping his hands over his snout and hightailing it back into the living room. He unceremoniously crumpled to the floor in a hacking heap.

Raph leaned further into the couch cushions and rested his head over his crossed arms, while he watched his little brother writhe dramatically on the floor. With a quick glance, he saw that Leo was subtly checking if Mikey was actually okay or if he was just being dramatic. He obviously came to the same conclusion Raph did as the two oldest siblings sat back and watched, the smiles on their faces never leaving for a second.

“Yeah… seems Don did one shell of a job “decontaminating” the trash bin, huh lil bro?”

Mikey’s head lifted from the ground long enough for him to spit out, “I BET ASTRONAUTS COULD SMELL THAT.”

Leo shook his head as he rolled his eyes, allowing a faint smile to grow on his face. Raph couldn’t help but ask himself how long it had been since so much laughter and smiles had graced the rooms of his home. 

In order to keep the bright composure he was carrying on his face, he pushed aside that thought and just sat as he watched his brothers just be kids again.

. . .

Images flashed past Raphael’s eyes as his body was forcefully shoved through a long, grey hallway. Echoes of horrified and pained screams blared into his skull. Shadows peeled from the walls and engulfed him, slithering their arms into tight bands around his biceps and ankles. Despite the fear penetrating every cell of his body, his mind remained completely hollow, as if he didn’t carry enough strength to create a simple thought. 

The only voice that could be heard in his mind wasn’t his own.

It promised safety and warmth; an easy way out of this trap. Its gravely whispers poked and scratched inside his head, trying to tangle and pull apart any chords of willpower he had left. He could sense the bristling flame of his determination and spirit continue to flicker into nothing. With each seductive, hushed word, a vital part of his identity was extinguished, replaced with an empty husk of compliance.

He wanted to scream, to run, to fight. He longed to beat the shell out of the siren that continued to whisper and enchant his body to bend to its will. 

His mouth stayed shut. 

His legs remained still.

His hands hung limp at his sides, bristling the tipped edges of his sais.

Now watching as if a spectator in his own body, Raph’s legs began to move. They pressed forward with an unnatural uniformity, pulling him closer to a pair of doors leading into a frighteningly familiar room. Raph watched as a pair of crimson-tipped fingers unlocked the door, beckoning him to continue on his way inside. No matter how much Raph’s spirit bit and snarled and yanked, his body complied with the voice’s wishes.

His form climbed into a cushioned chair surrounded by heavy machinery littering every surface. The haunting shine of scalpels and saws glistened on trays set up near his head. His wrists and ankles were slid into metal cuffs as his body unnaturally relaxed into the reclining chair. Lights began flashing as the machinery around him began to glow in a sickly neon green.

“LET ME GO!!!”

Raph’s spirit froze at the sound of the new voice screeching at the doorway. It was a voice he could never forget; A voice of someone who drove him crazy, and pushed him to always do his best in everything he ever did. A scratchy tone that would sometimes pop into a high-pitched crack, leaving him dying laughing on the floor and dodging random office supplies being hurled at him.

His best friend.

“I SAID LET ME GO!!! WHERE’S MY BROTHER?” Don snarled as he was dragged into the room by two hulking jerks, twisting and yanking at the freckled mutant’s chains. He winced as they threw him into the similar chair positioned beside Raph.

NO!! PLEASE NO!!!

Raph’s pleads and screams never left his body’s lips. He could only watch as his twin was forced down into the chair, the two men not being gentle in the slightest as they tugged Don’s limbs through the cuffs with a loud *CLANG*.

“RAPH!!” Don yelled to the hollow husk of his twin in both concern and relief at the same time,”RAPH WAKE UP!! WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE!!!”

The fiery brother couldn’t look away as Don’s face fell when his twin didn’t even acknowledge his existence, nevermind his words.

“...R-Raph?... What did they do to you?!- WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM!!!” Don ignited in a furious explosion of raw, protective instincts as masked doctors began filling the room.

Even with Don’s kicking and screaming, clawing and biting, and choice vocabulary that would send his father into a coma, the doctors still swiftly worked around him, preparing the machine that menacingly hovered above the two twins. Nurses began attaching small, metal nodes onto the sides of the brothers’ temples; Don’s on the left, and Raph’s on the right. The freckled brother didn’t stop squirming and fighting for one second, using all his energy to somehow escape his binds. But Raph remained still, his mind fully possessed by the siren that dwelled inside.

With a small *click* the machine began to operate. Raph watched as his twin began to scream, not in protest, but in pain. His body twisted and jolted as if he were being impaled by a lightning bolt. 

NO! 

Raphael’s spirit began to burn. 

NO…

His anger blazed in an uncontrollable pyre.

I… WILL NOT… 

His body’s hand twitched.

..LET…

His placid face began to sneer and snarl.

YOU…

His eyes burst open.

HURT HIM!!!!!

His spirit lunged through its prison, disintegrating the coils of control the siren once possessed. The chords of his identity and soul found their purchase in the core of his mind, planting themselves deeply, and never allowing such intrusion again. With the fury of a lion and the love of a protector he screamed,

“GET AWAY FROM HIM!”

Electricity sparked and stuttered through him in an instant, coursing through every muscle and fiber. It pulled his limbs taut, causing a deep ache to ignite in his bones. His skull rang with loud static, and his body twitched uncontrollably.

His body.

He fought against his binds, shattering the metal into pieces.

The lights on the machine flashed and popped, spraying the surrounding doctors with shards of glass. The panels of the contraption began to shake, as the device rapidly began to overload. 

The room was swallowed by the following explosion, bathed in an iridescent, blinding white.

Raphael and Donatello gasped simultaneously as they shot up, flinging their blankets off their chests.

Sweat beads trickled down Raph’s face as he shuddered and snatched onto his blanket. His fingers pressed deeply into the fibers, cushioning his nails instead of allowing them to penetrate skin. The thick, warm feel of the fabric pulled him back from fantasy, and planted him firmly in reality.

I’m home…

I’m safe…

I’m okay…

He chanted these words over and over in his mind until a cool, slurring voice broke his concentration.

“Raph?... You a’right, man?” Leo groggily whispered from his place on the spare mattress in the middle of the room. In the darkness the eldest’s frosty irises glowed as they locked onto Raph. 

Before the fiery brother could turn away from his sibling’s concerned gaze, Leo was already pulling away his sheets and blanket, tidily folding them over the edge of his bed, before silently crossing the room to Raph’s bedside.

CRUD CRUD CRUD-

NO- SHOO- GO AWAY- NOT NOW-

Raph immediately turned over, flopping to face the wall of his nook away from Leo.

“-I-I’m fine, Leo. Go back ta bed.” He subtly hissed through his fangs, hoping and praying that he was not about to get a big ol’ talk about feelings from the oldest. 

“Yeahhh, I’m not gonna buy that.” Leo yawned as he sat down on the floor beside Raph’s mattress. “A fighter you are. An actor you’re not. Now what’s going on?”

“I said I’m fine.” Raph curtly mumbled into his blanket.

“Still don’t believe you, try again.” Leo sighed as he rubbed at his eyes.

“I SAID I’M FINE.” Raph finally snapped a little too loudly, twisting his body to face his oldest brother. 

Leo winced at the volume of his brother’s expected outburst, then simply shook his head with an unimpressed frown. But before he could say another word, his expression changed as he noticed something about his fiery brother’s face. His mouth parted minisculely as he reached out his hand. 

Raph’s temper and pride demanded he swat it away, but his curiosity and love for his brother won out against his stubbornness. He remained still as Leo’s hand softly landed on the side of Raphael’s face, rubbing something wet off it.

Oh crap I’m crying.

DANG IT NOW HE’S NEVER GONNA LEAVE…

The concern over Leo’s face softened slightly, as he asked again, in a firmer “I am the oldest but I’m also your leader” tone, 

“What’s going on?”

Once again, Raph was completely trapped. Not by a psycho scientist, or by some evil, government organization, but by his perfectionistic, calm, and deeply concerned oldest brother.

There was no way he was going to get out of this one…

And that's it for this chapter! :) You all have been begging to see more of what happened to Don and Raph at the labs, so I present to you a nightmare~. This chapter was certainly tricky to figure out at first- with so many different scenes compiled together, it was hard to keep a steady flow for my reader, but I'm really happy with how it turned out! :) AAAAnd yes, I did say that I would only draw one panel for each chapter, but I COULDN'T HELP ITTTTTT!!!

Feel free to reblog and share this!

BIG THANK YOU to @poetique823 for helping me and encouraging me through this chapter!

@writer-in-wonder, @allyheart707, @oddartistl3, @risebabyx2, @joyjoygorl, @carrots-bear, @howtotrainyourdragonprince, @jasminegazer, @indieyuugure

If you want to be tagged in the next chapter, please comment down below! :)

To God be the glory!

~ Melissa

(CW- Nightmares, past medical trauma, being held down, and mind control!!)

MASTERPOST <- PRIOR CHAPTER NEXT CHAPTER ->

[cupcakeslushie]

Ayup! So, question about Donnie's view of his brothers:

He's never met Raph, only seen him once, hasn't actually met Mikey but has kinda stalked him, and talking to Leo was like talking to a filing cabinet. He loves them, but he also hallucinates them, and does he just have kind of made up personalities for them in his head, based off of so little?

“Talking to a filing cabinet” (wheeze) sorry I just gotta take a sec…(ﾟ∀ﾟ)

So before actually meeting them all, and forming a real bond with his brothers, Three is obsessed with comparing himself to them. Not necessarily in a bad, resentful way, but in a sadly unachievable desperate way. He (by way of listening to Draxum) puts them all on pedestals without actually knowing their skills. He just assumes they would be perfect, strong specimens, and never really thinks much of what their personalities are like. While the hallucinations that constantly plague him are convincing enough to fool him in the moment. Three is still able to remind himself in the after, that they are not his brothers. Most days he talks more to those shadows, than Draxum, the goyles, or even Vee. They almost never leave him, especially in the last year, when, as far as he knows, Vee has just up and disappeared on him.

Through the footage he can get his hands on, he sees Mikey’s resilience in battle, and is curious about the mystical acumen there. Vee tells him about how The Oni spares more lives than Big Mama demands he take, all while still managing to make an entertaining enough performance that he avoids being punished for his mercy. Mickey doesn’t even realize he’s doing it in those battles, but he’s mimicking the theatrical Leo from his memories, when they would all play together, and his big brother would weave these bright and lively stories for them act out. Donnie is very protective of Mikey, as Draxum has always held Four over Three’s head. When they meet, Donnie is really thrown off by how happy and bright Michelangelo is.

For Raph, Three is baffled by the kind expression he sees on One’s face. Three has always assumed he would be an absolute power house monster, based solely off his species and the size he must be. When Three watches Raph rescuing Mickey from Big Mama—a scenario Three could only dream of completing—there’s a kindness and type of strength, Three had never even considered. Three grows desperate to experience that safe feeling, but it also brings a sort of hopelessness. Subconsciously he begins waiting for a similar kind of rescue. When he meets Raph, Donnie is on his best behavior. Raph is a sweet and caring blanket of comfort, but he’s still huge and a possible threat. If Donnie makes Raph unhappy in any way, he could be kicked out, and sent back to Draxum.

For Leo, yes, it is sometimes like talking to a brick wall. Three gets almost nothing from him, except a feeling of failure. Draxum is expecting Three to convert Leonardo to their cause, or at the very least gain some inside knowledge that they can exploit at the right time. But Leo is so unyielding, Three is almost more scared to talk to him than anything, because can never make any headway. But Draxum doesn’t accept failure, so Three goes all in every single time. When he meets Leo again, it’s like being reunited with a stranger. Leo is guilty and overcompensating for his cold attitude towards Three, but he still has some moments where his anger is scary.

[seasirengirl]

EVERYTHING YOU SEE IS A PART OF YOUR IMAGINATION, EVERYTHING YOU SEE IS A LIE.

pairing: jason grace x f!neptune!reader

warning: jason is kinda a bop in this, reader is referred to as a blonde

a/n: wrote this at 4am so it’s probably really stupid, but i was thinking of writing hcs for a part 2? idk would y’all read that?

growing up at camp jupiter meant being a soldier, a warrior with no life outside of their duties, a disciplined demigod with no mistakes ever made. this mindset messed up a lot of the kids’ mind, awarding them with different mental illnesses that they wouldn’t be experiencing if their lives were just, normal.

normal could mean a lot of things, but jason grace lost the touch of it a long time ago.

what was normal? being a mortal in high school or spending his everyday life in camp jupiter?

none of these options were available to him, because in the middle of his quest to save the queen of the heavens, he felt more confused than ever, his memories slowly coming back, but in little snippets, unnecessary things were being brought back to him, such as a certain scent that reminded him of… he didn’t remember who. he was surely going crazy.

and the blurred face of a girl he saw every time he ever got the chance to fall into hypnos’ domain certainly did not help the situation. maybe he did something so terrible in the past that he didn’t even get the chance of sleeping undisturbed, but what did he do? he didn’t even remember.

the question that bore into the mind of a mere reader would’ve been, 'what did he even remember?’ an oblivion, absolute nothingness.

and his two apparent friends, leo and piper.

while piper seemed to not be much of a friend, she still kept her patience.

jason, being the selfless soul he was, always managed to put everyone else before himself, he was worried that he was breaking piper’s heart by his amnesia, which, by the way, was not his fault either, but who else was there to blame? truthfully, no one.

while the quest was ongoing, he managed to get used to being apart of the trio, managing to fall more and more in love with the mystery that was piper mclean, or so he thought.

piper was absolutely gorgeous, in her own unique way, she was something to be looked at, to be admired and treated with care and love, but the world that they got exposed into, certainly was not up to the standard jason wanted piper to be put at.

she was also a total knockout, pretty, smart and really unique, what more could a guy want?

right?

then why did the ocean breeze randomly flow through his nostrils when jason was not anywhere near an ocean? what about the blonde soft wavy hair he always saw in his dreams, or the laugh he heard during one of those dreams. something about the girl in his dreams made jason’s life way more complicated, he could not get her out of his head, but how could he? it’s like the gods above truly did not want anything to be remotely normal in his life.

was it all just a set-up, was he cursed? or was he simply going insane over a woman he had never met? it had to end.

apparently the blonde from his dreams did not even exist, he described her to a lot of people, but not one person in camp half-blood knew anything, so he gave up.

the argo II had to be built and they had to fight mother earth, gaea, along with quite a lot of giants, girl problems could wait.

while keeping himself busy, he found his sweet escape to be piper, maybe what was between them was real, it wasn’t just venus having “fun” for a bit and making him insane? he still got dreams from time to time, but they didn’t corrupt his whole time.

but a few months passed, his and piper’s relationship was going well, they were just days away from going to camp jupiter, while going there to find the rest of the eight demigods from the great prophecy was the goal, maybe he could find her there?

and just like that, thoughts and dreams about the mysterious ocean girl slowly came back.

until the day they finally landed in camp jupiter. pieces of jason’s memory came back to him, but not all of it, but everything seemed to click the second he got the chance to actually look around the (not-so) familiar territory.

his hand intertwined with piper’s, he entered camp jupiter, he noticed annabeth running off to a black haired boy, who he assumed to be percy jackson, since that was the guy everyone seemed to be looking for ever since his arrival.

but right next to percy, stood a girl, but not just any pretty girl, her.

the girl from his imagination.

she quickly noticed jason, running over to him and pulling him into a hug, he noticed slight tears in her eyes that weren’t willing to spill.

jason was stunned, his hand was still holding piper’s, until it wasn’t, he felt it let go.

but jason had your arms around him, which felt better than anyone elses.

“i missed you, jase.” you said quietly, in a tone barely above a whisper.

“i-i’m sorry, i don’t remember.”

“percy told me it was a possibility, i just never thought you’d forget me, after all that we’ve been through. he remembered things about annabeth, did you really forget all about me?” a single stray tear managed to escape your eyes, raised in camp jupiter, crying was not something you were used to, but given the circumstances, what else were you supposed to do? sit around and smile like nothing happened, like you didn’t just realise that the love of your life forgot about you? “no, i’m sorry, it’s not your fault, i can’t blame that on you.” you quickly added, noticing how much pressure you put on the boy you loved.

“jason, what’s going on?” that was the voice of the girl jason came back with, sweet as honey. did he find a replacement? have you commited a sin so unforgivable that the gods had to punish you this way? he held her hand, they came in happily, you weren’t needed.

“i don’t know, look, let’s just go and find annabeth, she’ll know what to do.” jason simply shrugged away from your uncounter, living the girl of his dreams in tears, standing there, empty.

and it certainly did not help that jason and his newfound girlfriend were on the ship too, so you couldn’t really be miserable all the time.

you had to put in the effort.

that same night, as you were about to go to bed in your cabin, percy came in to check on you and you suddenly got the urge to tell him about all of your emotions and thoughts, since he was a great listener and also probably the only person who could cheer you up.

so you told him, if you couldn’t trust your brother, who could you trust? you told him some details he didn’t already know about your and jason’s complicated relationship and about him and his new girlfriend.

jason’s cabin was the one opposing yours, so he got a bit confused and almost opened the door to your cabin, but he heard your voice, and his name a few times too, so he did something absolutely irresistible, eavesdropping.

“it was complicated for so many years, and when we finally confessed, 3 months later he just disappeared one morning, i count every minute he was a way, and he came back with a new girlfriend, what did i do to venus so horrible? she gave me a hair comb once after a quest, she doesn’t like hate me or something, right? or does that mean my hair is really messy?” you kept on rambling.

“shh, i don’t know about jason, but if he’s willing to break your heart like that, i’m not gonna be okay with it, goodnight, y/n.” percy kissed your forehead.

“night, perce.”

just as percy walked out of the cabin, he saw jason standing by the door.

“hope you heard all that, buddy.” he mumbled.

if jason thought he was going insane months ago, he for sure knows he’s insane by now.

around a week has passed since that night, jason admired you from far away, getting reminded of why he fell in love with you all those years ago.

it was a quiet evening, some calm and peace, the typical calm before the storm vibes were around.

and it sure ended up being a storm that night for jason grace. he had been thinking about ending things with piper, since remembering things were making him all confused, all of the fake memories were faded too, so their relationship was hanging by a thread, which piper tore that night.

“we need to talk.” piper exclaimed, her tone sounded serious, not the usual cheery and soft.

“is everything okay?” jason asked, knowing that in fact nothing was okay, but he could only use a filler sentence, he didn’t have much of a heart to say anything else.

“what’s going on with you and y/n? i know you two dated, but i see the way you act around each other, you’re not over it, neither of you, and whatever this is going on with us is simply not satisfying neither me or you, so, are you cool with staying friends?” piper stated casually, without much worry on her face.

“i’m sorry pipes, it wasn’t fair to you.” jason tried apologising, but got interrupted.

“it’s fine, but she loves you, i can tell, go talk to her before it’s too late.” that was it, the awakening point, jason immediately stormed into her cabin.

“i fucked up, i’m really in love with you.” he exclaimed, and boy, did that sentence change everything.

it did.

[dontlookatmytmntcollection]

Been thinking about doing this for a while, and about writing all the lads. But Leo comes to me the easiest, I guess?

Lowkey vent session!

Leonardo × F!Reader w/ Nightmare Disorder

Bad Dreams

He couldn't sleep.

Leonardo was endlessly tired. His eyes closed. But he was stagnant. Just laying here; thinking. Fretting. Totally unable to drift off.

The days events had been stressful, and he was overwhelmed with new information. Leo's mind raced with tactical strategies, leads, and contingency plans- wishing to handle the multitude of new problems NOW. But unfortunately, nothing was going to be solved anytime soon.

Which was all the more reason Leo should be asleep. No gear. No mask. No more new information. Everyone was gone. Asleep.

Leaving him ansty.

But he stayed here. Silent in the dark. The only thing keeping him in bed- fighting the temptation to walk around- was her.

Leo reveled in the warmth radiating at his side. The extra weight on the bed brought him a peace he was still getting used to; listening to her quiet, even breaths. He knew she was staying tonight out of sympathy or worry for what today had wrought- Leo wasn't sure.

She rarely stayed in the sewers for long. Let alone overnight. When he met her, it had bothered him. A flare of indignation and protectiveness would burst in his chest at the fact sometimes, and he had fought to ask why.

But she soon told him the real reason why she never stayed; told him while they were curled up on the couch. She was slumped against him, exhausted and upset, eyes red from crying.

Leo's heart had broken over her tired, nonchalant confession. And even more so at the graphic and horrible details. It got worse and worse, and he had almost asked her to stop.

Which was why now; Leo wasn't surprised when something in her changed.

It was still pitch dark in the room. But her peaceful breathing shifted. Just slightly in the silence. Quickening just enough- to click Leo into high alert, and he blinked his eyes open.

She wasn't awake, but he lifted his head quietly just enough to look at her. His nocturnal eyes could see her clearly, where she was curled away from him. Leo watched her back. Her sides.

Her torso was moving in tiny jerks with her small huffs. Her hand, the one bundled up close to her face holding the blanket, twitched.

Leo watched, saddened. The condition wasn't as dramatic as he had first thought. Always subtle, just like this. Nothing like his night terrors, which would wake him up in a cold sweat, leaving him so paranoid he'd sometimes get up to check on his family. He wouldn't wish it on anyone else.

Hers were so quiet that most of the time, it didn't even break his sleep; that alone being a miracle.

Leo was still watching.

She had explained that it is normal- and they happened every night. A life-long chronic issue, dating all the way back to her first memories. Haunting her night in and night out. Though sickness and in health.

Leo didn't have to wake her every time. She'd even explained that sometimes it was worse to jerk her awake. That it was even more disorienting to have an actual person grabbing and shaking her.

It was always going to be there, she had whispered, and Leo had actually believed her. His critiques, his suggestions and easy fixes dying on his tongue at the way she had been looking at him- like she was sad and resigned. Studying him. Watching for his reaction. Waiting for him to leave.

But Leo was here now. He hoped he always would be. His hand hovering over her arm, in the middle of the night, witnessing just another little fit.

Leo decided he couldn't wait. Couldn't watch.

"Y/n." He whispered. "Y/n, baby." He wiggled her shoulder just a little before he got up, bending his legs, resting on a hip and hand while he leaned over her. "Y/n?"

She blinked her eyes open, then suddenly grabbing for the pillow, squinting in confusion. Leo was there in a heartbeat, petting her back and brushing her hair away from her face. "It's me, it's just me. You're okay."

She sighed, eyes closed again as she slumped back onto the pillows. "Did I wake you up?" She whispered weakly, that pretty voice rough and broken.

"I never fell asleep." Leo moved again, scooting closer and switching his supporting hands, leaning even further over her form. Giving him room to comfortably pet her face and neck. To look at her. To sheild her from the room. "You okay?"

"Yeah." she said easily, eyes still closed.

Leo learned early on that prying for the details of a nightmare would only exhaust and hurt both of them. Sometimes, it even scared Leo, though he would never admit it.

"Need me to keep you up?" Leo offered instead.

She twitched, as if not expecting the question. She opened an eye, and Leo gave her a small smile, still petting her face. "I can keep you up."

"You sure you're not tired?" She asked.

"Yep." Leo whispered and leaned down to press a kiss to her cheek. "I'm right here. C'mon. Turn around."

She did as told, scooting around as he fell back into the sheets. This was always Leo's favorite part. They slotted together with practiced efficancy, and Leo buzzed with satisfaction at having her curled up under his chest and arm. Like perfect puzzle pieces. A position that allowed comfort for both him and the shell. And unlimited nuzzles and kisses to her head.

"Want to hear what's keeping me awake?" He asked.

"Yes, please." She muttered into his chest, then rested a hand over his collar bone. Pressing lightly there. "Thank you."

Anything for you. Always.

Leo pressed one last, sad kiss to his girlfriends head. Then he relaxed into her and the mattress, filling the dark with his quiet voice

[stardust-poet]

Stars.

Pairing: percy jackson x gn!reader

Warnings: slightly vivid gore descriptions, not proof read

A/n: wrote this at midnight, so... might be a little incoherent

Enjoy!

You and your friend percy sat next to each other, percy sitting with his legs crossed and you with your legs dangling off the side of the rooftop of cabin 3, watching the stars peacefully.

You were the one who invited him to do this at such a late hour. Percy didn't mind much, though. He was a little concerned about getting too cold and turning into a perseus-popsicle. And the harpys tearing the both of you to bits.

You had called percy on the demigod-safe phones Leo Valdez had made for Camp-Halfblood as well as Camp-Jupiter all the way in California.

Your voice was shaky, and your words were stuttered over and repeated. That was when percy knew something was wrong.

Percy had always been plagued with nightmares since he had been thrown into the demigod life. That's what he suspected happened to you tonight. You might've been plagued with the horrors of both wars or some of the quests you've been on with other campers who may or may not have made it back in one piece.

Either way, he was here for you.

Percy had a crush on you. It didn't affect whether or not he would've come. He would always come when you called.

His little crush started out small. Holding stares just a little longer, more aware of how warm hugs from you were, admiring your appearance.

But soon, it got deeper and more passionate. Noticing every little quirk you have, memorizing your 'system' whenever you perform a task, slowly falling in love with every part of you. Your eyes, your smile.

Gods, he loved that smile.

Percy hardly focused on the stars tonight. His entire focus was you and you alone. You were the only star he ever needed. Until his own brain reminded him that you might not have the same feelings, and as of now, you aren't in the greatest condition to confess to. He had planned to confess tonight.

The silence was deafening yet peaceful. You felt like everything was crashing down on top of you. You felt the weight of it all, but you weren't crushed. You couldn't tell if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

Earlier in the night, you woke up from a nightmare.

Not the usual kind, where it was maybe a monster chasing after you and having to run for your life with the overwhelming fear that it might catch up to you.

This time, it was memories.

Memories of the wars, bloodied guts, and other bodily parts everywhere from countless people you knew and some you didn't, mangled bodies spread throughout the area, people who were barely alive and hoarsely crying for help.

It felt as if everything was a thousand times worse in the nightmare then it had been in the actual moment.

Was it like that because you were so desensitized to this stuff? That you had to re-experience it in a dream for it to kick in?

What if you can't change this? What if every single bad, traumatizing, gut-wrenching thing that happens to you is something you'll blow off in the future?

What if you go cold?

What if you go numb?

What if—

"Are...you okay?" Percys soft whisper broke through the silence. Breaking you out of your downward spiral.

You hadn't realized it, but hot tears were streaming down you face. You hated the fact percy had seen you like this ... unless he didn't.

It was dark enough, right? Maybe he couldn't see you falling apart from your own thoughts.

And, percys whisper was just quiet enough for you to ignore it. You could blow this off, right?

"The stars look lovely, don't you think?"

Wouldn't this be confirming the one thing you feared?

"...that doesn't answer my question." Percy whispered, looking to you with a frown.

When he heard you faintly sniffle only a few moments ago, he got a wave of panic and fear flooded through him.

Were you alright? Were you crying? What had really happened?

That was when he saw the tears and asked if you were alright, resisting the urge to hold you.

"I don't wanna lie to you, percy." You whispered, your voice cracking as tears threatened to stream out of your eyes.

You wiped away the few tears that spilled out, feeling colder and alone despite a human next to you.

Then, percy pulled you into a close hug.

It was warm. You nuzzled into his chest and sobbed quietly, not really caring if anyone would hear.

Percy smelled like the ocean breeze and the beach. His hug was comforting and not like anything else you've ever felt.

Percy held you closer when he saw your shoulders heaving in rhythm with your sobs, pressing a small kiss to your forehead.

"It's okay, I'm here. It's okay, I promise you're safe. It's okay, you're safe. You're safe." He whispered sweet nothings that meant everything to you.

After your sobs had died down and been reduced to sniffles, percy asked:

"Do you...wanna talk about it?"

You shook your head against his chest.

"Okay. Okay, that's okay." He whispered, placing another kiss to the top of your head.

Maybe someday he'll get to confess, but surely not now.

Someday.

°•~《☆》~•°

.

.

.

Kinda mad at myself for not making them kiss ngl :/

Based on a writing prompt from (I think) Bookingitonthedaily on Instagram

[starlightshadowsworld]

THL but Percy doesn't go anywhere.

He and Annabeth are patrolling the Camp boundaries and hear something.

They go to inspect it, hear a roar and that silence.

Jason stumbles towards them, terrified.

He looks like he's been running for days, his clothes are wrecked, he's littered with injuries.

And he's missing his shoes.

He reaches out to them in panic and says something neither understand.

Before blacking out.

Waking up in the infirmary with no memory of how he got here.

Nor any memory of who he is.

He struggles to speak and manages to clumsily write "Jason" on a notebook but that's all.

Piper and Leo came to camp around 2 months ago are getting to know this crazy world and their new lives.

Piper, not content with how the Aphrodite cabin is being looked down on.

And no one wanting to teach her how to fight.

And it being Clarisse of all people who ends up mentoring her.

Some say its out of respect for her old friend, some say its because Piper reminds her of her.

Leo, getting to know his new siblings but he tries and fails to keep them at arms length.

He refuses to use his fire.

And has not told anyone about it's existence. For the fear it will ruin everything like it always does.

But it's getting harder to keep it a secret.

And maybe part of him... Wants to believe it's a blessing and not a curse.

Their paths cross when Jason starts to have dreams about a woman calling for his aid.

Because he's not the only one having them.

Cue Percy cursing in the corner.

Jason while he can speak he sometimes struggling with his words.

And sometimes makes barking noises.

Grover thinks he could be of the wild but has no idea what or how.

Because while Jason doesn't have a strong scent, it's definitely of a demigod.

Perhaps he was blessed? Not that Grover can see it.

But it's not the biggest thing to worry about.

Though he has sent like... 3 people to the infirmary from biting them.

They startled him.

... So there's that.

Piper and Leo are trying to figure out their dreams together with Jason.

But he's having other other ones they aren't getting.

A wolf calling out to him.

Saying that the God's have stolen her pup and she will have him returned.

Jason doesn't know who she is but she feels familiar.

They manage to piece togrther that the woman is Hera.

Annabeth calmly gets up and punches a hole in the wall.

Because... Of course it's Hera.

When the, annoyance somewhat fades away Percy wonders why no one from Olympus has said anything.

They ask Mr D but he has no idea what they are talking about.

Jason can't help but feel the wolf in his dreams seems familiar.

And he feels the same way when the hunters of Artemis show up and the eyes of their lieutenant fall on him.

Thalia knows it's him.

She tells Annabeth as much.

"It's him, it's Jason."

"Thalia..."

"I know it's crazy, I know it's insane but it's him... Its him..."

"Okay, if you say it's him."

She doesn't get to confront him on it until during Capture the flag.

"Jason! Jason please, it's me?"

"I'm sorry I don't..."

Thalia wants to scream but she doesn't, she needs to be calm.

It's him.

She knows it's him.

Their attacked by campers and from being distracted she's knocked down.

A rage fills Jason that he hasn't felt before.

... He knows her...

Lighting bursts from his body in all directions, shocking the now scared campers away from Thalia.

"GET AWAY FROM MY SISTER!"

He rushes past, helping her up.

"Thalia?"

"You.. You remember me?"

"A little... I'm sorry... I'm sorry I forgot."

She makes a sound that's a mix of a sob and a laugh and pulls him into a hug.

He hides his face in Thalia's shoulder not liking the attention. When he realises everyone is looking at him.

Or rather above him.

At the lighting bolt above him.

"All hail, Jason Grace. Son of Zeus, King of Olympus, Lord of the Sky. God of Thunder, Lightning, Kingship, Honor and Justice. All hail Jason Grace, son of the Lighting God."

Everyone's talking about what?! Zeus had another child?!

The chatter dies down when Rachel, who upon seeing Jason, glows bright green and da da da daaaa the oracle has entered the building.

Child of lighting

Beware the earth.

The earth giants revenge the seven shall birth.

The dove and the forge will break the cage.

And death unleash through Hera's rage.

Quest plays out and Jason gets his memories back.

Remembers that he's the son of Jupiter

Returns to camp.

And a lighting bolt appears overhead, this time with a numeral beside it.

For 1.

Chiron smiles sadly, taking it as acceptance to share the truth.

Tells the story of the Roman and Greek demigods.

"And our Jason, is not the son of Zeus but his Roman counterpart Jupiter."

Everyone reels taking in this information.

And while many are suspicious of the Romans, Jason has become a good friend and ally to them.

"Lupa said... That I must return... Maybe that's the next step?" Says Jason, standing tall. "Woah, hey we're not gonna let you alone." Says Percy, "agreed" Says Annabeth, Piper and Leo nods.

"I'm not losing you again." Says Thalia.

Not happy by Hera's explanation of having to keep them seperated.

Jason smiles warmly "than we shall go. To Camp Jupiter, together."

"Togrther!"

[chil-aglia]

𝐄𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐎𝐧 𝐘𝐨𝐮 |ROTTMNT| (Male OC)

Unfolding Secrets

I didn’t have time to draw anything for this chapter, but please feel free to make one and I can use it as the picture for this chapter if you want me to!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“You…”

Leo opens his eyes, fighting back an urge to cough up what he would think was blood. He crashed landed pretty hard after all. 

Leo opens his eyes as he watched Prime stagger towards him, recollecting himself as he was peeved. Leo had ruined his plans on conquering earth, of course Prime would be pissed off.

“You’ve ruined everything!”

Leo almost wanted to grin at that, but his body was telling him not to. “And now…my wrath will be reserved for you alone.”

Leo wasn’t even given a chance to respond back with something witty, he was silenced when Prime started punching his face, blood spitting out of the red sliders mouth. “You’ve think you won?” Prime hisses, ignoring the painful groans as he raised his two large arms up, balling his hands into fists.

“You wretched. Little. PEST!”

He pinned Leo down until the ground underneath them crumbled, falling further down to the ground below. Leo remained unmoving, and speechless. Beaten, covered with countless wounds, and almost close to death, the slider lifted his right hand to reveal the crumpled photo that Casey brought with him. A picture of his family smiling into the camera as it shows April graduating.

Seeing the photo made the young mutant cry, thinking of those happy memories. He let out a whimpering gulp and a tear rolls down, realizing that he is forever doomed to rot in this prison dimension. But knowing that his family and friends are completely safe, Leo smiled weakly, at peace with himself.

“Wipe that grin off your face!”

With an enraged scream, he sends Leo flying with an explosive attack, causing the entire building to explode. Drifting alone in the dimension, he cried as he held the photo to his chest as streaks of tears leaked, all alone in the darkness.

I’m sorry…

Leo holds back sobs, widening his eyes when Prime launched himself at him. He was far from done. Prime had way more rage stored up inside just for Leo. “Shit!” Leo coughs up, having the wind knocked out of him as Prime stalks his way towards him, his red eye on his armor glimmering. 

I’m going to die…fuck, I don’t want to die.

Leo could barely lift himself up, but with luck he rolls over and was on his hands and knees, panting heavily as he kept his gaze on the ground, refusing to look up at his opponent.

“I’m going to enjoy this…” Prime smirks sinisterly, his claws dragging across the ground, eager to scrape the skin off Leo. Leo froze in panic, shaking at the thought of those claws digging into his body. He wanted to be home. He wanted his family.

Leo braced himself for agony, but instead he heard footsteps approaching quickly from behind. He opens his eyes in time to see a fellow turtle like him jumping over his body from behind and landed in between Leo and Prime. A familiar sword in their grasp as they blocked the claws that were thrusted towards the red eared slider.

“What?!” Prime bellows, his eyes glaring at the one who got in between them. Leo was silent, staring owlishly at his saviour. Maybe he was dreaming, or even hallucinating as the figure managed to push Prime back. They staggered backwards, almost touching Leo as they aim the sword at the attacker.

My sword…when did?

Leo didn’t understand what was happening exactly, he just knew that this stranger, a mutant turtle like him, had somehow found one of his swords and was protecting him.

“What a nuisance you are vermin.” Prime spat out, grinning when he saw his pet flinch but tried to keep on a brave face. “You think you’re saving this pest? Your nothing. I’ll show you just how easily you can be crushed.”

Prime took a step forward, immediately the other turtle snapped their body to face Leo, grabbing Leo by the arm and hoisting him up. He wasn’t planning on sticking around any longer, he needed to get him and this mysterious figure to safety. And so, he sprints off, dragging Leo with him who almost tripped over his own feet as he kept pace with his saviour.

“W-wait! Slow down—“ Leo grunts, pain seizing his body as he wheezes heavily. The other didn’t respond, too focused on getting away from the threat. Honestly, he had no idea what compelled him to intervene. Perhaps he saw himself in Leo and he didn’t wish that upon anyone.

Or maybe it’s because Leo looked like him. Another turtle. Just someone else other than the Krang. He’s never interacted with others before.

“Where do you think you’re going?!”

Prime was fast, appearing behind them in a blink of an eye. Both Leo and his fellow mutant turtle were startled by the sight. Prime devilishly smiles, before focusing on the one he called pet. With ease and much force, he easily suckers punched the turtle to the side. Letting out a startled and painful gasp, Leo’s saviour skids on the ground, rolling what felt like for eternity before their shell collided with some debris.

Leo was left alone, facing Prime once more who pins him down. Relishing in Leo’s demise as he delivers punch after punch. Not giving the other time to process.

Leo didn’t know where the strange turtle that saved him vanished off to, all he could hear was the evil laughter of Prime and the sensation of being bashed around mercilessly. But then he felt his body get thrown once more into the void of the prison dimension. He was floating, and he felt a little at peace, taking a brief break from the beatings.

A portal suddenly opens, the brightness of orange made Leo weakly open his eyes and stared ahead. Ah, he was heading to heaven, wasn’t he?

Leo reaches out to it, ready to go into the light. But then he saw a miracle, or maybe it was a trick. He didn’t know and honestly didn’t care, because inside the portal he saw the familiar faces of his brothers tearfully looking at Leo in awe, Leo smiles.

“Took you guys long enough…”

He reached his hand as Raph used his red phantom aura to grab him. “Leo!” Raphael exclaims in hope and utter relief that he was getting him out that hellhole.

Rubble on the floor moved as the other turtle who rescued Leo coughs and managed to stand up, escaping from the pile of debris that crushed him. His head felt heavy, like his brain had been rattled severely.

He knew that Prime whacked him away, but fuck did he really have to go that hard on him?

The…blue guy. W-where’s the blue..?

He looks around on edge, he was hoping that he wasn’t too late in making sure the outsider had survived but with Prime, anything could happen.

In the corner of his eye, he saw a bright circle in the sky. Hesitantly he lifts his head to get a better view, he held back a gasp when he saw it was a portal. Smaller than the one he saw earlier that cut the Technodrome in half, but enough for a turtle his size could slip into.

That’s when he saw the stranger with the blue mask heading towards the light, a red like aura arm gripping him tightly to pull in the figure. He also saw Prime, his single red eye shimmering through the darkness of the prison dimension as he leaps up to either grab his new toy or to fit himself through the portal. Either way, he couldn’t allow it.

Using whatever strength he had in himself he picks himself up and started to run. Jumping on every rock and floating debris that he could reach. He was close to the tail of Prime, who was unaware of the others existence in this moment, far too focused on other things.

He grabs the tail and pulls himself, getting to his feet again he quickly runs along Prime’s armor. He had his own goal in mind. This portal, wherever this may take him, was a second chance. A chance to be free.

As he got closer, he saw what appeared to be more turtles dressed in strange colourful masks. The one in purple, full of rage in his eyes at Prime for what he had done, managed to use this staff where a purple transparent force turns the end of the stick into a large drill.

It was a magnificent sight, if it weren’t for the fact that the drill was coming right down on him and Prime. He quickly dodged and jumped, avoiding the mystic force as Prime let out a startled and confused yell when the drill hit his face. The three other turtles didn’t seem to notice the hitch rider that gripped Leo’s foot as they pull their brother out the prison dimension, along with a stranger who collided into Mikey who shuts the portal in time.

Mikey let out a surprised yelp when something large fell onto him after they pulled Leo through. His first thought was Krang, but then he remembered that Donnie pushed back the monster before he could grab Leo.

So…what did hit him?

Mikey groans and shakes his head, standing up on his feet. He looks back to his brothers who were far too focused on waking up Leo who eventually groans and opens his eyes, giving his best warm smile.

“Leo?” Raph softly spoke his name, as Leo blinks and briefly glance around at his surroundings.

“Eww, are we in Staten Island?”

Donnie and Raph gave a light and strained chuckle as they hug Leo. Mikey was about to eagerly join in on the reunion until he heard a light groan behind him. He pauses and turns back around, his gaze slowly looking down. He stiffens in utter shock at the sight of a stranger. A turtle mutant just like him and his brothers.

“G-guys…” Mikey hollers over, catching the attention of the three older brothers. “I think…we pulled out a friend of Leo’s…” He states, stepping to the side and presenting the unconscious turtle. All three froze and let their mouth hung open in bewilderment.

They didn’t know what to think, other than ‘ohmigosh another mutant turtle!’

Leo was more shocked of the sight. He really thought that his saviour was a hallucination of some kind. But now to actually see them in person? Well, it was just straight up weird for him to process.

The brothers all flinch when they heard the turtle groans again, stirring their body. Mikey naturally back away and hid behind his brothers, it wasn’t like he sensed danger from the newcomer, but he had to be safe. The turtle who was badly bruised opens his eyes and looks around. Struggling to lift himself up from the ground, he managed to somehow sit up, but his vision was all too clouded for him to focus on anything. It was bright for him.

He heard strange voices, making him look in the directions of the four brothers who huddled together protectively. He couldn’t pinpoint what they were saying, they were too muffled.

But he did saw something familiar.

Blue.

Slowly he reached his three fingers out, shaking as he struggled to stay awake.

“Y-you…”

He couldn’t do anything more; it was far too difficult for him to talk at the moment and so he lost consciousness once more.

Raph blinks and was the first to separate himself from his brothers to check on the stranger. He crouched down and poked their arm but got no response. Raph knew he they were alive considering the plastron was going up and down.

“Leo, do you…know him?”

Leo shakes his head, grunting when he tried to sit by himself, Donnie gripping his shoulders to help him up.

“No…not personally at least. He saved me actually, he was…in there with me. Probably a lot longer too judging from the bruises and dried blood I can see…plus it looked as though that Krang knew him anyway…”

Leo shivered at the mere mentioning of that monster. His eyes cast back to his rescuer. “I honestly also thought I just imagined him…”

Mikey hums and was crouched down on the other side of the turtle. Frowning as he scanned his body. “He looks badly injured…what should we do?” Mikey questions, turning his gaze to Raph who sweats in uncertainty of what to do. His main priority had to Leo. He was obviously hurt and needed medical attention. But when he saw the mystery turtle lying on the floor, he also needed medical attention.

“O-okay…Raph reckons we bring him back to the lair. Get him checked out.”

Donnie widens his eyes and gives a pointed look at this plan. “You want to bring a complete stranger into our home? What could go wrong? He says sarcastically.” 

Leo weakly nudged Donnie, giving his best stern look that he rarely pulls out. “He saved me. The least I can do is help him out. Raph can you carry him? Be gentle though.” Leo instructed, watching his older brother gently and cautiously pick up the injured stranger, holding them bridal style.

“Mikey, can you call the others? Let them know we need a med bed.”

“Two med beds. Your hurt too idiot.” Donnie sternly corrects, to which Leo hums in response, “Right. Two med beds.” He confirms to which Mikey gave a thumbs up and calls April on his communicator.

Donnie was left to help Leo stand up, keeping his arm around his twin who waddled along with Donnie.

“You okay?”

“I will be when we get home.”

In a hurry, the boys quickly made it home. The first thing they saw was April, Casey and Splinter who all just as quickly ran over to them.

“My boys…!”

Leo gave a weak wave but held a smile on his face to greet everyone. “Hey.” He smirks to which April hugs him, Donnie staying beside his twin, so he doesn’t fall over.

“You…you are so....man, I’m so angry I could punch you right now.” 

Leo awkwardly chuckled as April wiped away any tears that tried to spill from her eyes. “But I won’t. Not now anyway. You obviously need medical help, we set up the beds.” She starts leading Donnie and Leo to the med bay. Leo was more so surprised that his home wasn’t actually destroyed like their last place. Casey soon spoke up, “You said you needed two beds, right? Who…who else is hurt?” He gulps, concern as he checks over Donnie who shakes his head to indicate it’s not.

“It’s none of us. But it’s actually for…this guy here.” Raph informs the gang, stepping inside the med bay and showing off the unconscious stranger in his arms. April, Casey and Splinter all stare in shock and utterly flabbergasted. “Who is that?” April mumbles, to which Donnie shrugs his shoulders, “He was pulled out from the other side of Mikey’s portal when we got Leo.”

Casey turns to Mikey with shock at the mere mention of him opening a portal. “You opened…?” He trails off, his mind going back to his timeline of seeing his Mikey evaporating from opening a portal.

“I’m okay! Well, I do have these weird cracks and they kinda sting…but I’m sure it’s nothing!” Mikey assured, showing his hands that did indeed have cracks in them, Casey frowns and shakes his head at him. “You should also get those checked out.” He says with concern, but when Mikey went to argue back, Raph cuts him off.

“Of course he will.”

“Well about your eye? You should get that checked out too, right?” Mikey fired back on him. Raphael flinched before he nods stiffly. “I…I will.” He promises to his brother who nods and smiles back. “Then I’ll get these checked out too.” He gestured to his hands. Raph made his way to the other free bed and gently placed the turtle down. He steps back as Casey was busy checking over Leo and wrapping up any wounds.

April crossed her arms as she observed the sleeping stranger. “So…does anyone know who that is?” She couldn’t help but ask, squinting her eyes and tilting her head slightly. “He’s obviously a mutant turtle like you four.” She added, mumbling under her breath as to what she was looking at.

“He rescued me in that prison world. But other than that, I got no clue. Not even his name.”

“Would he even have one if he was in that place?” Donnie quips, earning a curious him from the others. Excluding Casey and Splinter.

“It…cannot be.” Splinter utters out, slowly walking over to get a better look. “Dad? Are you good?” Raph nervously asks, noticing the odd behaviour from his father who hesitantly placed his rat hand on top of the mutant turtle's plastron.

“Dad…?”

Splinter’s ears twitch as he lets out a long sigh before turning away to face his sons. “I…have kept a secret from you all for a long time now. Because I thought, I didn’t need to tell you anything.” He starts off, earning the curious and slight concern looks of his sons and even April.

“Back when I was captured by Draxum in that lab of his, where you four were all created with the combination of my DNA….there was…actually five baby turtles.”

Splinter turns back to face the unconscious turtle that didn’t seem to notice the feeling of his plastron being touched softly. “The fifth turtle was with us when the lab exploded, I managed to grab you four out of harm's way. When I went looking for the other one, I saw a piece of the roof fall down on top of them. I….I believed they were crushed.” 

Splinter lets his shoulders droop down in utter sadness at himself. “I didn’t even bother to double check. I’m ashamed of myself.” He added to which Raph quickly spoke to assure their father. “Pops, you didn’t know…and you couldn’t have checked. The place was falling apart, we could have all gotten hurt.” He comforts which did warn a small smile on Splinter’s face.

“Thank you, Raphael. But…I will still forever blame myself for not going back.”

Mikey softly spoke up, looking over to the nameless mutant turtle. “So…a-are you saying that he’s…” He trails off before Leo continued the sentence for him. His eyes wide and mind blank.

“Our brother…?”

Splinter nods slowly, “Yes…at least, I believe he is. I remember that the turtle from back then had yellow markings. This one here also has the same markings. Or maybe similar ones…”

Donnie let out a shaky breath, he had been gathering thoughts on this sudden news drop. But he refused to just believe in empty words, he needed solid proof. He strides towards the unconscious turtle, confusing the others as he looks through the drawers for a needle. When finding one he holds it up.

“Whoa, whoa, Donnie. What are you doing with that?” Raph quickly speaks up, stopping his younger brother from doing anything drastic. “I’m sorry, but I want to be sure. If what dad is saying is true, then I need proof. And what better way to get that, than a DNA sample.” Donnie explains his reasoning, ignoring the unsure looks of everyone else.

“Don. Maybe wait till he’s better, yeah? He’s still too injured and you might accidentally startle him awake.” Leo somewhat scolds, while he didn’t normally care what Donnie would do to get his answers, Leo thought how wrong it would be to get DNA from an unconscious person that just saved his life and was already too badly hurt.

It wasn’t right.

Donnie clicks his tongue and puts away the syringe. “Fine. I’ll wait till he’s better. But the moment I think it’s good to do so, I’m sticking that needle in him.”

Leo sighs but nods in agreement with him. While he would like to also believe his father, he also couldn’t help but be suspicious of it all. I mean, sure it was a possibility that Leo and his brothers had another sibling that they never knew about. 

But he didn’t want to have false hope.

Leo glanced over to Casey who had been awfully quiet. “Casey…you all right?” He asks the time traveler who flinched at the sudden attention on him. “What? Oh, yes. I’m fine…just, thinking.” He assures before placing his hand under his chin, he shakes his head before making his way over.

“He’s hurt. I should probably start wrapping any wounds he has.”

“And a drip in him. He looks a little malnourished.”

The others left Leo and Casey to do their work on their guest. Leo who couldn’t actually move had been instructing Casey on what to do. While Casey already knew some basics in the medical field, having been taught in his timeline. He would still be unsure on some things which is where Leo would come in and tell him.

The turtle that Splinter claims to be their brother remained unmoving.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: And thus, the start of the story is finally kicking in. 

Thank you to those who are already asking me questions, sending their own little thoughts on what the future could hold for this series, and just the overall love and support from not just Eyes on You but also for Collide.

Look forward to future chapters on this story!

quotev - 𝐄𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐎𝐧 𝐘𝐨𝐮 |ROTTMNT| (Male OC)

Ao3 - 𝐄𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐎𝐧 𝐘𝐨𝐮 |ROTTMNT| (Male OC)

First chapter here

Next chapter here

[theartofwoompwoomp]

got the feels for you baby! 

RiseLeo x reader

Prompt : “You never text me first, why?”

————————————————————————

Was he doing something wrong? He couldn’t understand, was he reading the signs wrong? He wasn’t sure. His whole head was a mess. All his thoughts were heavy and icky. 

Not even pizza from señor hueso was helpful.

He had known you for a while now. Only recently did he realized his feelings. And as nice as it sounded to have a possibility with you, those thoughts at the back of his head wouldn’t leave him.

So he just did what his instincts told him, to avoid the feelings as they never existed.

but how could he, even if he denied it, it was obvious to everyone how he felt. 

they way his eyes would linger for a few seconds longer when you were speaking. The smile on his face at the mere mention of you. How he’d light up when you entered the room.

and those were only the things others had noticed. But they didn’t see the many hours he spent finding the perfect memes to send you. The countless times he practiced his skateboarding just so he could show you. Or the way he practiced every pickup line he’d tell you.

he knew that he had fallen so hard for you. It’s no wonder his heart jumped when you didn’t reject his advances. 

his memory absorbing any detail from your interactions with him. He saw the way your face would reddened. the shy look in your eyes when he’d compliment you. And they way he would sometimes catch you staring at him.

You are so perfect 

why did he think avoiding his feelings was ever an option? 

especially with his growing feelings for you.

But even if there were signs that you might be interested in him as well. There was one thing he noticed,.. you never once initiated anything. Never have you been the one to strike up the conversation or send the first message.

He doubted it was your shyness, after all, he knows your personality. He has even seen it in person!

then why did you act different with him? was it because you didn’t want to be rude? Was that really the reason?…

He felt really unreasonable about the whole thing. One second he was on cloud nine, and the next he was in deepest dark hole of insecurity and doubt. 

oh, the things you’re making him go through.

thank goodness he loves you, cause these feelings are painful.

but if he’s being honest, he wouldn’t mind falling for you all over again.

After a lot a debate in his head and researching help in amazing sources of guidance, such as wikihow and wikipidia. 

he decided that the only way to find out how you feel about him is to ask you straight up.

That’s why he invited you to the lab today. No one was going to be around, and he has all the back up plans he needs just in case.

his phone chimed, you were about to enter. His heart leapt, infact it seemed to be overwhelmed. He knew his plan wasn’t the smartest but he has to know.

“Hey Leo,” you waved to him. You looked absolutely stunning, even if you were just in your casual clothes he felt his tongue get stuck in his throat.

“h-hey,” he accidentally let his voice break. He quickly grunted to fix his voice, “I mean, hey (y/n).” You lifted your brow in amusement knowing that tone brought trouble.

He step closer, testing the boundaries.  Not one second did he break eye contact . You felt nervous under his gaze. He was looking at you with such intensity. Then he looked towards your right, you followed his eyes. He had reached out and held your hand.     

Since he saw no objection from you, he placed his other hand at your waist.

The whole thing seemed surreal to you. Not once had he ever been in your bubble like this. Not that you’re complaining. But if this was a dream you wish you’d never wake up.

“Well my dear (Y/n), I hope you don’t mind if we dance a bit.” He said with joy as he spun you and music started playing in the background.

he caught you by surprise with this. “Oh, there’s no need to worry,” you replied through small giggles. “I don’t mind at all.”

“Glad to hear that, but have fear not! For a champion gentlemen like moi will definitely not let such an attractive person like you down.” 

Now that made your face flush. “Oh please, you’re just saying that cause you like to flirt.” 

“oh ho ho, my dearie. It is true I like to flirt,” he spun you again, though this time pulling you closer to the point your faces were inches apart.

“But I only like to flirt with you.”

————————————————————————

masterlist

[desceros]

ajkfljskj I saw you were taking requests now and I lowkey just- 👀 I'm having sexy Bayverse Turtles intrusive thoughts. Imma share a Leo one. Ever imagined Bay!Leo sharing his hobbies with reader after she earned his trust and teaching her Japanese calligraphy? Him watching her skin glow in the candlelight, dreaming to use her naked body as a canvas for a Japanese love poem written in kanji? Sexual tension, mixed with slow, agonizing brushstrokes? Cuz I have 😏 -💙

so i got this and immediately i was like 'omg. this would work So Well as a deleted scene of sorts for tea-verse' so that's what it ended up as. kind of sexual tension but it edges more on pining. also, i'm burning now, thank you everyone for playing, we had a great run here on desceros dot com leonardo x reader; T, GN!reader, 1.8k; leo pining like a TREE. officially takes place after the leaf scene in this fic if you want context for some of the subtler touches but tl;dr reader always makes leo his tea. (the fic itself has a female reader but this snippet is GN)

He wonders if you know. 

You’ve caught him staring, before. It makes his shell feel tight, his skin too-hot. Even with mating season coming up, it’s too soon for him to be reacting like this; the burning ache that comes just from the bell of your voice, the alluring sway of your footsteps as you come to his side. And yet he does. Because it’s you. Just because it’s you.

“Okay, I’m excited for this,” you tell him, teeth biting into a smile as you tuck as close as you can without touching. He knows you do it for him, that you stay away because of his wishes, but it’s an agony all the same. The sweet smell of your soap haunts him, even under the burn of the incense that ghosts the room with smoke.

“Yeah?” he asks, pleased when he sees the happy, easy glow of your face. 

“Are you kidding? It’s so pretty,” you say. “Plus I like how the ink smells. It smells really nice with the tea when I bring it in.” 

Pretty, he echoes, trailing his eyes down to your throat, your shoulders, your hands. The way all your angles and curves catch the candlelight and dance in a softness that makes his palms ache with emptiness.

…He wonders if you know how soft you make him.

“Okay. Tell me the names for everything,” you tell him, studying the tools laid out before him, a gentle eagerness brightening your eyes. He smiles, turning his head and gesturing at everything to share its proper name in Japanese, then English. Grinding the ink, he explains the process, looking to you and your fascinated expression and trying to remember to breathe.

“What do you want me to write?” he asks once he’s ready, causing you to look at him and smile.

“What do you want to write?” you ask. 

Reaching out, he picks up the brush between his fingers. He studies the paper before him, blank and infinite, but his mind is somewhere else. 

…It had rained, a few days ago. You’d come into the lair drenched, laughing as Splinter had sent him off to bring you a towel. He’d returned in time to see you lift your shirt, squeezing it out over the storm drain, miles and miles and miles of skin stretching before his eyes. The curve of your spine as you turned to speak to his father, the arch of your hips as you leaned to twist the fabric, the pull of skin over your flesh. Breathless, motionless, frozen, he’d faltered in the doorway, ensorcelled by the image forever, marked, seared into his mind.

It’s that sight that comes to his mind, now, as he closes his eyes. 

He could do it, he thinks. He could ask you to turn, to pull your shirt over your head. It’s so easy to imagine the way your shoulder blades would curve, the dip of your spine, the way you’d shiver when he pressed the brush to your skin. It would tickle, at first, until you got used to it; then you’d sigh, still, and let him spread his soul onto your canvas.

Oh, all the things he wants to write there, where it would sink into your flesh like a brand. All the little ghosts of you that haunt him, memorialized with love in charcoal: the way your teeth catch your lip, the flash of skin at your hemline when you stretch your arms above your head, the wet press of your tongue to your lips when they're dry, the way your eyes flutter shut when you have your first sip of tea, the hum of pleasure you give when it tastes good. 

…He’d make you feel so good.

“…Leo?”

Leo opens his eyes, feeling the hunger in them, letting them get as far as your mouth before he turns them back to the paper before him. A pointless daydream, a torment of his own making. 

“…Sorry. I was just thinking,” he says, and it’s not a lie, not entirely, but also nothing but. There is nothing just about the way that you consume him.

It’s easy, then, to think of what to write. In long, elegant nine strokes that pull from his shoulder, he glides the brush over the paper. Each inch of ink carries a memory of you, your hands as you pass him a teacup, your care in checking the flavor, your endless drive to perfect the art just for him. 

“…Tea,” you recognize, proving your familiarity with the subject. He smiles; of course you’d recognize it, what with how often the two of you share.

“Tea,” he echoes, waiting until the ink is dry enough to handle before he takes the paper and hands it to you. “Here. For you.” 

“Wh—Really?” you ask, eyes wide. 

“Of course. It’s about time I gave some tea to you, after all,” he says with a smile that makes you laugh. He tucks the sound into his heart, next to all of the others. 

“It’s beautiful, Leo,” you compliment, holding it before you. Your eyes take in every stroke, awe open and genuine, before they meet his own and your smile goes warm like the sun. “Thank you. I’m going to hang it somewhere nice in my apartment.” 

And oh, but you are the sun, he thinks, heart pounding as he watches your fingers trail down the edge of the paper. Reaching out with warmth, lighting everything you touch, smiling as everyone around you basks in your radiant glow. What is life without you, he wonders, chest aching and so full and so empty all at once it hurts. Madness. 

…He wonders if you know. 

[phoebepheebsphibs]

.Dead asleeP.

Title: Chapter 1: COMA Prompt: You were peacefully sleeping when you suddenly wake up to the sound of a heart monitor steadily beeping somewhere nearby, and realize you are in the med-bay with no memory of what happened prior to this. // After watching movies with your siblings all night and passing out in the tv room, you wake up to find that you're alone. What happened? Fandom: ROTTMNT Word Count: 1,927 Author: PhoebePheebsPhibs Rating: Gen Characters: Leonardo, minor Michelangelo, Donatello, & Raphael (disembodied voices) Warning: Derealization, nightmare-ish stuff (Leo is stuck in a dream) Summary: Leo enjoys a calm sleepover with his family... but when he wakes up in the middle of the night, everyone is gone, and the world starts to turn upside down... Notes: No Beta, We Die Like Gram-Gram! More chapters to follow (5 more, to be exact)

@shr00mi3writefight @tmnt-write-fight @that-0n3-shr00mi3

Posted on AO3 <-

Leo missed having nights like these. The five of them, watching movies late into the evening and early into the mornings. Bowls of popcorn emptied within the first fifteen minutes, stacks of pizza for them to scarf down, liters upon liters of soda, boxes of candy for everyone to enjoy, and plenty of pillows and blankets so that not a single square foot of the concrete and metal-grated floor was exposed. The classic Hamato-O'Neil sleepover extravaganza.

Leo battled April with their typical pun battles, where one would make a joke using wordplay, and the other would have to follow suit with a similar or related word. Leo started off saying that all her jokes would be 'cheesy'. April assured him they were all 'gouda'. Leo retorted that her jokes 'were like swiss cheese -- too many holes'. And so on and so forth, gaining complaints and boos from the rest of the group as they went on. Raph brought out all his cuddlies and stuffies, letting each sibling take one for comfort... should they decide to watch any scary movies. Their energy came in waves, the first dissipating after the first J.J. film. They paused, had some food and snacks, watch some 'Try Not To Laugh' challenges, failed the challenges, and then the second wave hit. Donnie set up a special game he'd heard about and fixated over for them all to play. At some point, Mikey started laughing too loudly and accidentally screamed in April's ear. Leo was making fun of the characters with his colour commentary and annoyed Donnie into pushing him off the couch. Raph decided it would be cool to see if a mint in Vitamin Water and shaking it would have the same effect as a Mentos in Diet Coke. News flash, it did.

So the night was going really great!

Leo cackled as he pulled Donnie off the couch with him. Raph panicked and dropped the bottle once it started foaming and exploding, and April grabbed the drink and used it as a weapon against them. Donnie started a massive pillow fight and created a battlefield. Once their second wave of energy had depleted, and the pizza boxes were all but empty, they settled down to continue the movie night. It was really nice, having everyone over together like this. Leo tried to recall the last time they'd gotten together like this and had a massive celebration...

Mikey laughed as he pointed to the screen, cackling madly. Raphael had fallen asleep watching Jupiter Jim's Pluto Vacation 4 and broken the coffee table with his face again. Donnie and April groaned loudly, but Leo and Mikey high-fived with glee.

Just another fun family night. One Leo was so extremely grateful for. Though, he didn't have any real need to feel that way. The Shredder was locked away, Big Mama was not causing any problems (that they knew of), and his family had never felt closer since Splinter had shared the a good portion of his past with them. Everything was... perfect. Sure, things had been kind of rocky before. Concerning Leo's portals needing more experience, the secrets that Splinter kept from them about their origins, Draxum being a villain, and the Shredder's resurrection. Among other things.  They needed a night like this. To unwind, relax, take it easy and have a laugh. They were all just teenagers, after all.

Leo leaned back in his sleeping back, propped up with pillows to form a cocoon throne. He chuckled softly at Raph's light snoring, Mikey drawing pictures on his face, April putting curlers into Mayhem's hair and through Donnie's mask tails...

His eyes grew heavy.

Leo fell asleep.

"Leo, wake up, Leo!"

"Can he hear us? I think he can --"

"How do we know this will work?"

"It just will. It has to."

"Don't give up on us, Leo... C'mon, get up... get up...!"

"Leo?"

Leo's eyes fluttered open. He yawned, and turned over in his sleeping bag.

"Wake me'up... wh'n iz... morn'n....."

No one responded. The lair was silent. Leo couldn't even hear the movie playing.

He sat up slowly, glancing around to see if the others had all fallen asleep as well. No one was here. The projector was still running softly, but there was no sound, no image. Just TV snow -- static buzzing across the screen as the machine whirred and whined with exhaustion. Huh. Weird, he'd never known the projector to do that... Leo tilted his head in confusion. The screen blinked at him oddly. The static took soft shapes Leo could almost swear he saw images in the interference. It must be his imagination.

⠀⢀⡀⡄⠀⢀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠲⢶⢶⢲⠄⠀⢴⠦ ⢸⡈⣷⢱   ⠏⣾⢾⢸.    ⠿⡀⠀⠀⢸⢸.  ⡿⢹⠀⢸⡈⣷⢱⠲⢶⢶⢲ ⠀⠁⠀⠈⠉⠈⠀⠈  ⠉⠀⠀⠀⠈⠉⠉⠉⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠘⡇⢸⢻⠀⡞⢠⠖⢦⠀⣇⡤⠂⣠⠶⢤⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡆⠀⡆⢰⠴⠢⡄ ⠀⢳⡏⠀⣷⠃⢶⣉⣹⡀⡏⠳⣀⢯⣉⡩⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣇⣀⣯⢻⣄⣠⠇ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠸⠂⠀⠀ ⢸⡈⣷⢱   ⠏⣾⢾⢸.    ⠿⡀⠀⠀⢸⢸.  ⡿⢹⠀⢸⡈⣷⢱⠲⢶⢶⢲ ⠀⠁⠀⠈⠉⠈⠀⠈  ⠉⠀⠀⠀⠈⠉⠉⠉⠲⢶⢶⢲⠄⠀⢴⠦

But the instant Leo called his attention to it, the projector popped, fizzled, and disconnected.

Huh. Must be the sleep deprivation...

Leo's attention came back to the emptiness of the room. Where had everyone gone? It was too dark and too quiet to be morning yet. Maybe... they'd all gone to get more snacks? It was a silly idea, but the only probable one he could think of. Leo rose to his feet, stretched, and clambered over the sea of pillows and cushions surrounding the area. He wondered what time it was. He tried to find his phone... but, uh... hm. That was unlike him, to leave his phone unattended. Oh well, he didn't actually need it. Besides, there were other clocks in the lair. Leo roamed into the halls, which seemed a lot longer and more dominated by shadow than usual. These shadows were strange, rounding about the walls and ceiling and floor as if they were cloth rolling down a hole. In fact, the more Leo focused on the world around him, the more it seemed distorted and out of place. The photos on the walls were tilted and slanted, the images were too blurry to be discernible. There were doors that he did not recognize, practically littering the hallway. And the hallway itself went on for miles and miles and miles. Leo eventually saw a door that felt familiar. Felt familiar. It did not look familiar. But being near the door felt like being at the end of a task you forgot you were doing. Recognition of completion. He opened the door.

It was the kitchen. And it was empty. No one was here... huh. Weird. Where had they all gone? Leo glanced at the wall clock. The hand were at... uh... He couldn't read the numbers. There weren't any numbers. And for whatever reason, he couldn't recall in what order numbers ran, or where they started on a clock. At the top? The middle? The bottom? Where was the 1 supposed to be? And which hand represented the hour?

Uh... h-he didn't really want to see the time, anyway. It would just remind him of how many hours he had left to try and sleep.

"You've been sleeping enough, I think..."

Who said that?

Leo glanced around room anxiously. The once warm light was starting to dim, darken, desaturate. It was getting pretty cold in here. Leo ran out of the room, and looked down the halls. The way back to the living room was pitch black, and getting darker and scarier by the minute.

"This way, Leo! Follow us!"

Leo turned to look the other way.

There was a light at the end of the tunnel! A deep, warm, golden amber light. He'd go that way. Leo started running. It was so hard to run, he felt like he was running through water, or molasses. Slowed down to a crawl, he forced his arms and legs to move as fast as they could to escape the oncoming, ever consuming darkness.

"Come on, Leo, you can do it!"

"You've got this, dude! Keep going!"

"Don't give up!"

Leo struggled hard, gritting his teeth and growling with strained effort.

"Rrrrrgh! Who ARE you weird disembodied voices, anyway?! What have you done with my family?!"

The voices didn't answer. Or maybe they did, he just wasn't hearing them anymore. Everything felt like slow motion.

Leo finally made it to the edge of the light. As soon as his fingers touched the sparkling beams, he felt the effects of the darkness bleed off of him, ebbing away like the tide as he crawled out of its reach. The cold chill that had been clawing at his heart and lungs was now replaced by a glorious sensation of healthy warmth. The air sparkled, chasing the dark back into the abyss. The light brightened, beckoning him. Something about this light felt like... like... Like Mikey, somehow. It mirrored his bright personality. Leo could almost swear that touching the light was like holding his hand. He could feel the weight in his palm.

"...Mikey?" he asked aloud, eyes wide with shock at how familiar and real it all felt. The realest thing here...

"He felt me!"

"Huh?" Leo asked, still unsure where the voice had come from...

But before he could discern anything, his feet started moving again, almost as if he was no longer in charge. He strode through the tunnels, following the light.

"Don't worry, Nardo, we'll help you get back."

"We'll be right here beside you, no matter what."

"Anatawa hitorijinai."

"I don't speak... whatever that is," Leo mumbled sleepily. He wondered why he felt so drowsy all over again.

But Leo felt like the voices weren't malevolent. They weren't evil, or cruel. Maybe they had done something to his family, maybe not. It felt more like they wanted to help return him to them. Leo wasn't an overly trusting guy, but he was willing to stake his life for his family's sake.

He was willing to follow the light.

[whatup345]

Au where Present!Leo dies during the events of the movie, but Future!Leo still gets sent back in time-

Hear me out. THE ANGST. The bros seeing Future Leo and thinking it's some kind of dream or trick. The bitter realization that this version of Leo somehow survived the apocalypse, while THEIR Leo didn't have the same luck. The struggle of trying to deal with Future Leo, figuring out how he got there and finding a place for him to stay, all while the bros can barely even LOOK at him without crying, because he's just so much like the brother they just lost. The irrational anger towards Future Leo, knowing that someone bent time to keep him alive, while Present Leo couldn't even escape the Prison Dimension. Then, the misery of having to live near him, unable to force him out because no matter how much it makes everyone upset to see him, he's still a version of Leo. He has the same quirks, the same little behaviors, constantly reminding everyone of Present Leo. Just as the brothers think that they're used to living with him, he'll offhandedly make a pun along the lines of something THEIR Leo once said, and suddenly everyone in the room is reminded of exactly what they lost. He's more than similar enough to constantly remind them of Present Leo, similar enough that the brothers can't fully distance themselves from him, but different enough that he can never come close to taking Leo's place. A walking, talking reminder of the brother they could have had.

And that's just from the brothers' perspective. Now imagine Future!Leo, getting sent back in time to a world where he is safe for the first time in decades, a world where he can see his brothers- except none of them can even look him in the eyes. His first few weeks in the new future, he is tossed into mourning for a different version of himself. His newly revived family is miserable, and only more so whenever he even gets close to them. He finds himself alone in the lair, not wanting to bother his family, trying to process his own feelings about Leo's death and what that means about him as a person, his feelings towards the Invasion which happened just a couple of weeks ago in this weird new timeline. Eventually things calm down, but Future Leo doesn't feel any better. His brothers start talking to him again, but it's awkward and oddly cold, nothing like the comfort he would have wanted from seeing them again. They start to slowly move on from what happened to Present Leo, but Future Leo can't move on, because individual trait he kept throughout the Kraang Invasion is now permanently attached to the memory of someone who's dead. He tries to goof around, he tries to comfort his family, but each thing he says only reminds them of their Leo, only pushes them further away from him. He is the ghost of someone they used to love, changed and warped by the trauma he went through, so close to all of them, but unable to embrace them like he used to do so easily. It's so difficult on both sides- Leo has changed, and now he's returned different, in some sick cosmic joke where no one is laughing.