#look at casey & cass and tell me they don’t look like twins

[frogandbird]

monster au but i just draw? sounds about right for me (next chapter is up)

@ultimatebabygirlsupremebattle

[inbrightshadows]

*shoves part 3 of tiny turtle baby Casey Jr out from under my rock*

Inspired by Cass Apocalyptic Series by somerandomdudelamo

go here for part 1, here for part 2

“We’re not feeding him worms!” Mikey yells with an outrage is so thick he could bottle it up and sell it as a seasoning.

Donnie throws his hands up. “Mikey the internet literally says that’s what we’re supposed to feed him!” He gives his phone a vigorous shake, just to drive the point home.

Leo grabs the arm with the phone and drags it down to his level. He flicks through the screen for a second, ignoring Donnie’s eye rolling and general huffiness.

“It also says we can feed him fish and small shrimp. Or fruits and veggies if he’ll eat them.” “I’ve got strawberries and grilled mackerel.” “Raph can help cut it up small for him.” Raph sets the Casey Jr containment mug down on the counter. Donnie glares at it, muttering darkly, but relents at Leo’s look. “Ugh. Fine. You’re probably depriving him of vital nutrients but whatever, just ignore Donnie- hey! Wait, those are my strawberries!”

Mikey turns away from the counter to shake a strawberry at Donnie. “One: you turned him into a baby turtle, Two: he’s tiny so he can probably only eat one anyway, and three: you turned him into a baby turtle!” “Uggggghhh fiiiiinnne.”

Raph peacefully takes a knife to a small piece of grilled mackerel while Leo… 'supervises.'

“You remembered to de-bone the fish right?” Leo stares at the little pieces of fish on Raph’s cutting board, hunting for any sign of a dangerous shard. “It came without bones, Leo,” Raph says with all the patience of an older brother utterly done with his little brother’s nonsense. “Cool cool cool, but you checked that they didn’t miss any little ones, right? Sometimes they don’t get them all.” “I checked,” he sing songs through gritted teeth. “Ok but you’re super sure, right? I mean. Not that you would have missed that but, like, he’s just so tiny-” “Leo I swear-”

There’s a thud of someone barging into the lair immediately followed by a voice that has every turtle in the vicinity- except the one confined to a mug- freezing.

“Casey Junior!” the elder Donatello yells through the lair. Panicked looks fly between the brothers. Casey Jr chirps a greeting. Donnie slams a hand over the top of the mug to muffle it.

“He’s back early!” Leo hisses, whipping towards the entrance to the kitchen. “Well gentlemen- and Leo- it’s been an honor. I’ll tell Gram-gram everyone says hi.” “What do we do what do we do?” Mikey leaps up and clings to Raph, who clings back.

“Casey Junior?” the elder Donatello calls again, confusion and a bit of concern creeping in. His footsteps come closer. Donnie, looking like he’s two seconds from leaping onto the ceiling, shoves Casey Jr’s mug in a cupboard.

“What are you doing?” Raph hisses. “What does it look like? I’m prolonging my inevitable demise! Now get away from the scene of the crime.” Donnie says, shoving his brothers toward the door. “Wait- Donnie! You can’t just shove a baby in a cupboard and leave!”  “He’s fine! He’s in a mug!” “That doesn’t make it better!” “Well it will have to do, I can’t just leave evidence lying around!” “He’s not evidence he’s a baby!” “I baby-ified slash mutated his nephew! He’s going to murder me. Which I know because he is me and if someone did that to my family I would murder them.”

Leo scrambles after them, visibly torn about leaving a baby- mug confined or not- in a cupboard.

“Aw, you do love us…” Mikey coos. “You know I love you guys. I’ve literally told all of you that before!” “Yeah but it’s nice to hear it!” “Awwww Don-don,” Leo coos, the opportunity to menace his twin an instant distraction, “Would you avenge me if I got murdered?” “No,” Donnie lies, “If anything I’m more likely to be the one doing the murdering.” “Would you avenge Raph?” Raph asks, pouting. Donnie reaches out and pats his arm. “They would be dead before you started rigor mortis.” “Awwwww-”

Ahead of them, someone clears their throat. The young turtles freeze.

“As touching as it is to watch you all swear vengeance for each other I seem to be missing a nephew.” Donatello the elder leans against the entrance to the lair, eyebrow raised. Only the fact that he hasn’t bothered to take his hat and coat off betrays his worry.

Donnie shrinks back behind Raph’s shell.

“Uhhh… We…” Raph’s eyes dart to each of his brothers but finds no help there. Especially not from Donnie, who is busy pretending he’s not there.  “We… haven’t seen him?” Raph says at the same time as Mikey squeaks out “He went out?”

Donatello frowns. Mikey’s head slowly sinks down deeper into his shell until only his eyes stick out. Leo, certified best liar of the turtles, steps in for damage control.

“He went out for groceries, he was worried since we were getting low.” Leo opts for a casual lean against Raph’s arm. He flips his hand and shrugs in a little ‘what can you do,’ motion. Donatello squints at the three of them and then eyes Donnie carefully peeking over Raph’s shoulder. Donnie freezes and slowly sinks back down. Silence settles around them, every second adding another pound of pressure.

“… Right. Casey Jr, who is notably very uncomfortable venturing to the surface on his own, went out to get groceries. Alone.” Donatello steps past them.

“Yeah I mean, just a couple things? A little literal milk run to get his feet wet, y’know? Gotta fight the fear and all that.” Leo turns and follows him, his brothers trailing after him. Over Raph’s shoulder Donnie makes several alarmed motions. Leo raises an eye bridge at him. Donnie points violently toward where Donatello is walking toward-

Walking toward the kitchen.

“Ahhh y’know, why don’t we all go to the living room?” Donatello turns and raises an eyebrow at Leo, a flat frown on his face. “…Why don’t you want me going in the kitchen?”

“Whaaaaat? Who said anything about keeping you out of the kitchen. You’re a big, strong, independent turtle and you can go wherever you want. I just thought, y’know, the living room might be… more comfortable. For your old man bones.” Leo gives Donatello his best grin. Donatello returns it with a flat stare.

“Suuurrre. We can go to the living room.” “Really!?” Mikey exclaims, halfway to drooping in relief. “Yeah. Once I get coffee. From the kitchen that you’re totally fine with me walking into.”

Leo’s brothers exchange nervous looks. Leo is not so easily broken. He’s kept secrets from his twin before. How much harder can lying to an adult Donatello possibly be?

[part 4]

[nataliedanovelist]

ROTTMNT - The Apocalypse That Was, But Never Is ch.4

After a lifetime of rebelling against the Kraang, Casey Jones II has a lot to adjust to. He can handle real food and new clothes just fine, but having his parents alive and well and right in front of him is entirely new - and slightly terrifying - territory.

A fanfic dedicated to @fanficmaniatic and @soundwavemain for creating a beautiful idea that I decided to push a little bit further. You can read the premise here.

Swearing and slight gore warning.

Posted on AO3.

Ch.3 - Ch.5

~~~~~~~~~~

Cassandra patted the dozing toddler’s back, but Casey was stubborn and almost three, so he had no problem telling his mother, “M’not sleepy.”

“Yes you are.”

“No m’not.”

“Yes you are.”

“No m’not.”

Cassandra could play this game all night, until Casey fell asleep, which they sometimes did, but she heard footsteps and saw Mikey coming. “Hey, I heard about the ambush yesterday. Is everyone okay?”

Mikey nodded. “Yeah, we’re okay. Leo’s… a little bent outta shape, but nothing D couldn’t fix.”

Cass was still pretty sore at Donnie, their friendship not quite the same ever since Raph died, but she nodded. If he really tore himself away from that stupid project long enough to help his brother, maybe it was a sign he was getting his head out of the clouds.

“Mikey,” Casey cooed, rubbing an eye and yawning. “Want Weewo.”

Mikey smiled and cupped the toddler’s cheek. “Sorry, champ, but he’s resting right now…”

“Hamato Michaelangelo, you keep that kid away from me, and I will feed you to the hounds.” A voice called calmly, but with a certain old man stern Mikey thought Leo was too young to have.

The mystic warrior rolled his eyes. “Damned echoing caves. Okay, CJJ., let’s go see Weewo.” And he scooped up the toddler and led the way to Leo’s chambers.

Donnie couldn’t believe he and Mikey managed to move their brother safely to his chambers, a slightly more comfortable place to rest than the table in the lab, but he also couldn’t believe his brother was still alive after all that blood loss, awake and talking twenty-four hours later. But he could definitely believe the first thing on Leo’s mind was giving Casey the attention the child deserved.

Cass’s jaw dropped silently when she saw the slightly too large robotic arm attached to Leo’s body, but she closed her eyes and regained her composure, glad to see her old friend alive.

“Weewo!”

“Hey there, buddy.” Leo said tiredly, teaching his organic arm for the boy and holding him, letting him rest against his chest and on his lap. “There’s my little soldier. What’re you doing up? Torturing your mom for me?”

“M’not tired.”

“Ah, gotcha. But brave warriors like you need lots of sleep so they can grow up big and strong, and all that jazz.”

“Wanna stay wif you.” Casey mumbled, holding Leo’s arm and using it like a blanket.

Leo smiled and looked over at his twin, who was standing stiff. “Don’t worry. I don’t want you to go anywhere.”

Donnie grimaced at how little he had been with his family, how precious time is, and how he almost lost so much of it, all because he missed one person so damn much. But he knew he wasn’t ready to miss more people. He would never be ready for that.

The scientist opened his eyes and managed to form a tired smile. He sat in the spare chair, right by Leo’s left side, and said, “I’m not going anywhere.” And he folded his arms and rested them on the edge of the bed, showing that he had no plans of moving anywhere for a long time.

~~~~~~~~~~

“Hold still, Casey! Let Dr. Delicate Touch take a look.”

“Dr. Delicate Touch threw a building at the Kraang!”

Mikey laughed and said, “Well as long as your not an alien trying to destroy the world, I think you’ll be okay.”

“Dang it, Casey, just let Mikey look at your wrist.” Leo said, rolling his eyes with his skateboard across his shoulders.

Casey had been doing very well on his roller skates, maybe a little too well; he got slightly over-confident and tried to do some flips, which he nearly got right, but he didn’t quite stick the landing and he put all his weight on his left wrist.

“Guys, I’m fine, I swear.” Casey said, standing up and cradling his arm by his chest. “I’ll fix it up at the lair.”

“Casey Jones, just let Mikey or Donnie look at it.” Raph instructed. “We just need to know if it’s broken or not, that’s all.”

Casey still looked very uncomfortable with the situation. Raph wondered how he was treated for injuries during an apocalypse and why he would be so against help now. Just add it to the lists of survival habits the snapping turtle hoped would go away with time. But the teenager winced, shut his eyes, and held out his arm to Donnie and Mikey.

Mikey held his arm very tenderly and gently felt for swelling beneath his wraps, just where his glove ended. “Oh boy, already swelling.”

Donnie lowered his goggles, which made Casey swallow, and the scientist said, “Well, you definitely sprained it. The ligaments are stretched, but not torn, so you’ve only got a mild sprain.”

“Let’s put some ice on that and get you one of those cool sprains for your hand!” Mikey said as he let Casey’s arm go and he held it by his chest. “And we’ll get some stickers so you can decorate it!”

“Thanks.” Casey said, giving a timid smile.

“Aw, I remember our first sprains and broken bones.” Raph reminisced as they walked to the convenient store. “It took all of us and Splinter to hold Leo down so Donnie could pop his arm back in place.”

“Or remember how big Donnie’s ankle was when Leo f- accidentally fell on him?” Mikey asked, eyeing the leader in blue.

Leo narrowed his eyes. “Or when Mikey’s bone was sticking out of his elbow…”

“Ew, gross!” Donnie groaned. “That was not fun!”

“You weren’t the one with the broken arm!” Mikey reminded him fiercely. “It took me a year to get on my board again!”

“And now look at you!” Raph said, rubbing the top of his head. “Best skateboarder in the world!”

“Better than Sydney?” Mikey pushed, knowing fully well he wasn’t better than the coolest pro-skater in the world.

“Okay, now that’s pushing it.”

~~~~~~~~~~

“Where are you? C’mon out, wittle warrior.” Mikey cooed as he creeped around the cave.

Casey covered his giggling mouth, hiding behind some boxes and sensing that the mystic master was nearby.

Mikey smiled, put a hand on the crates, and quickly bent down. “I’m gonna getcha! Huh,” The hiding spot was abandoned, and Mikey was impressed by the six-year-old's speed and sneaking abilities.

“Where is that wittle guy, hm?” He called out to the cave. “I’m gonna bobble him up when I find him!” Mikey growled playfully, but then was pounced on by a playful child, who landed on his shoulders as he giggled, but Mikey laughed, scooped him up and began tickling him and “eating” him. “Om nom nom! I’m gonna eat you! Om nom nom!”

Casey’s laughter echoed in the caves blissfully, drowning out the sounds of distress a few tunnels away, but as Mikey stopped and let Casey catch his breath, it became clear that something was wrong.

Mikey put the child down and walked on, Casey closely behind him, hoping to play some more soon.

They went into a large cave, the largest hole in the ground and the most important, the Med Bay. A majority of the beds were empty, some holding warriors with broken bones or bad flesh wounds, but far from death. A lot of commotion came from one bed. Donnie was hard at work, Sheldon flying around, Leo holding someone’s hand, Baron Draxum standing with his arms crossed over his chest. When the brave sheep stepped aside to talk to Leo, Casey and Mikey got a clear view of who was lying on the bed.

It was Cassandra. She was pale and painted in scarlet. Casey had seen blood before, it didn’t really scare the child, but that was a lot. Donnie hooked up a small monitor to her, and Casey knew what that meant. Those tools were only used for when someone was dying.

“NO!”

Mikey had completely forgotten that Casey had followed him. He caught him just as the boy ran past him and held him close, but the child kicked and screamed and wiggled in his master’s arms.

“NO! NO! MOMMY! LEMME GO! MOMMY!”

Cassandra tried to open her eyes and move her free hand upward, but her strength was leaving her too quickly. Donnie quickly started closing her wound while Sheldon gave her more blood.

Baron approached the turtle and human and said, “Easy, child, calm down. You won’t help your mother screaming like that.”

“LEMME GO! I WANT MY MOMMY!”

“I know, son, I know.” Baron cooed, scooping up the child and resting him against his chest as he and Mikey left the Med Bay. “But I’ve known your mother for years, since she was nothing more but a look-out for look-outs. She will be fine.”

Casey’s screams turned into sobs, and he clung onto Baron’s white vest, tears falling on the sheep’s bare chest. “M’scared, Baba Baron.”

“I know,” The alchemist replied, and added as he gave Mikey a grave look, “I’m scared, too.”

Mikey’s face dropped; he knew right then and there to prepare for the worst.

~~~~~~~~~~

“Donnie, where’s my mom?”

The scientist stayed silent, wiping his scarlet hands clean with the rag.

“Donnie! Where is my mom?!” Casey demanded.

He couldn’t say it. He didn’t need to. His eyes said it for him.

The child fell to the dirt floor and held himself, sobbing his heart out. Mikey covered his eyes with his hand, his heart broken after losing a friend, and seeing his nephew so broken and sad, at such a young age. Baron held his arms so tightly his nails nearly dug into his maroon skin.

Leo stepped forward and got on his knees. He used his non-robotic arm to tuck some black hair behind Casey’s ear, and start rubbing his back. Casey looked up at his sensei, tears streaming down his face, and the leader said,

“Anatawa Hitorijanai.”

The six-year-old launched himself into Leo’s arms and sobbed, both arms - robotic and organic - embraced him, as the family mourned the loss of a beloved family member.

~~~~~~~~~~

Casey opened his eyes and felt something wet on his face. He tried to wipe his skin dry, but his arm ached and felt heavy. Right, sprain. He sat up and used his other hand to wipe his face with his blanket, sighing tiredly.

The room Donnie had built from him was nice, but only half finished. Cass had given him some old posters to hang in his room, he had a nice bed with more pillows and blankets than he’s ever had in his life, and he had a bookshelf that he was free to fill with his favorite things, he just needed to gain some favorite things first. His gear, mask, and gloves sat on a small table on the right corner of his room, next to his bed.

Casey’s arm ached and he had a headache. Painkillers, maybe some ice on his arm, and a snack? Yeah, that sounded like a good plan.

In his maroon-plaid pajama pants and black t-shirt with a skull on it, socks, and wraps and brace, he left his bedroom and headed to the kitchen, where he swore some medicine was kept. He was grateful to find the lair silent and dark, meaning no one else was awake.

In the dimly lit kitchen, Casey made himself a glass of water, pulled out a bag of chips, and set them on the counter while he looked for the painkillers. It seemed like every cabinete held something other than medicine; food, cups and plates, spices, but the medicine was nowhere to be found. Casey was starting to get a little annoyed, his headache getting worse, so he decided some food might help him think.

Sitting at a stool and eating his snack, his wrist was really starting to hurt. Not bad bad, he knew there was worse pain to be felt, but it still hurt. Ice, right. Casey stood back up, opened the freezer, and luckily found a bag of ice waiting for him.

He sat back down, rested his arm on the table, and placed the ice over the swollen area. It felt nice, but he frowned. He really should take off his wraps, wash his arm, and put fresh gauze on. Casey looked up at the door of the kitchen to double check he was alone, sighed, and carefully lifted his arm and started to unwrap his oddly-colored limb.

Meanwhile, Mikey left the bathroom, yawning into his clean hand and ready to go back to bed, but he saw that the kitchen light was on and heard some motion. Thinking someone needed a snack, and deciding he could go for a bite himself, Mikey decided to give them some company.

He smiled when he saw Casey at the counter. “Hey, Case-…” He stopped, deadpanned at the sight.

Casey was rigid. His whole left hand and arm had been unwrapped, showing its true colors. Mikey was at first freaked out, thinking the teenager had an infection, but a longer look told Mikey that Casey’s green skin wasn’t due to an injury.

Casey’s entire hand was green. It continued past his wrist (which was bruised and swollen at the moment), and freckled into average Caucasian human skin, like Cassandra’s, a little before his elbow.

“Mikey!”

“Ohmigosh!” Mikey gasped. “YOU’RE A MUTANT?!”

“Dude!” Casey hissed, shushing him, and put his arms behind his back, leaving the ice pack on the table. “Rude!”

“Lemme see…”

“Get off of me!”

“Casey Jones, you let me see…”

“No!”

The whispering fight continued for only another second, the sprained wrist powerless against the two healthy arms, as Mikey took his arm and carefully held it, examining his skin, which now that the turtle looked closer, Casey’s skin wasn’t just green, but also scaled. Like his. Like his brothers’.

“Casey,” Mikey awed under his breath, then looked up at the hybrid before him. Casey looked away, angry and embarrassed, and Mikey asked, “You’re… Are we… Um… A-Are you a Hamato?”

Casey sighed and held his head by his eyebrows with his free hand, elbow on the counter. Mikey grabbed the ice pack and placed it on the swollen part of his wrist. “Yes. Yes, I am.”

“But…” Mikey was starting to put some pieces together, and he wanted to be happy about this discovery, but Casey’s reaction depressed him. “H-How?”

Casey refused to answer. He covered his mouth, not looking at Mikey, his eyes heavy with secrets and emotions.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Mikey asked. “Are you… ashamed of us? I get it that it’s not easy being a fr-…”

“No!” Casey interrupted, finally looking at Mikey, and going from angry to apologetic in a flash. “No, I’m not ashamed! I’m very proud…”

“Well you sure got a funny way of showing it.” Mikey let slip darkly.

“I don’t care about being a mutant.” Casey said firmly. “I’m proud of my family! I just… I wasn’t ready to tell you guys.”

“You told us who your mom was.”

“That was an accident! And plus, c’mon! We have the same name! It wasn’t gonna take long for you guys to figure that out.”

Mikey sighed, trying to be patient, trying to be understanding.

“Look, Master… I mean, Mikey,” Casey said. “I’m sorry, I just… I’m just not ready for him to know. I didn’t really know him. It’s a little different with Mom. I knew her until I was six. I just got her back! I wanted to enjoy that for a bit before trying to… trying to get to know him in that way. Plus, I didn’t want it to affect my parents’ relationship too much, y’know? I mean, clearly they hasn’t even started dating yet.”

Mikey’s face relaxed, feeling sorry for his friend, reminded of how much he lost at such a young age. He nodded, feeling like he was finally understanding, but he just couldn’t help but ask. “Okay, okay. I’m sorry, I… I think I get it. But…” Mikey bit his lip, hesitant, but decided to ask anyway. “But who’s your dad?”

Casey looked down at his green skin. “I’m not ready to say it.”

“And that’s okay.” Mikey quickly said. “I’m sorry. You… You take as much time as you need. I’m just…” The box turtle smiled and added with tears in his eyes, “I’m just so happy you’re family.”

Casey smiled back, and allowed Mikey to hug him, Casey resting his left arm, but he hugged Mikey back with his right arm.

When they separated and Mikey stole a chip, he asked jokingly, “Is it Donnie? Is it me? Raph? Ohmigosh, it’s Leo!”

“Shaddup.” Casey laughed, shoving Mikey by the shoulder, and eating a chip.

“So,” Mikey popped another chip in his mouth and asked, “Do you have a shell, too, or…?”

“Eh, kinda,” Casey said, rocking his hand back and forth. It was certainly much easier to talk about himself than his parents. “It’s kinda half formed under my skin. Here,” Casey barely lifted his t-shirt and showed Mikey his lower back.

It was certainly very interesting to say the least. His back looked like a paler green than his arm, with bumps and scales scattered throughout, and when Mikey gently touched it, it felt rough, but still very flesh and not very protective. “It kinda reminds me of Donnie’s shell.” He said, leaving the comment hanging.

“Yeah, not very good against attacks,” Casey explained, pulling his shirt down and turning back around. “But it’s still cool.”

“Are both your arms green?”

“Yup. And my legs, just below my knee.” And he pulled up a pants leg to show Mikey exactly that. Green skin that freckled into peach skin before the knee. “Other than that, I’m all human.”

“Cool!” Mikey exclaimed. “Well, I know for a fact that your parents were proud of you, no matter who they were.”

Casey chuckled and brought his cup of water to his lips. “Heh. Thanks. Can I have some painkillers now?”

“Huh? Oh yeah, sorry!”

~~~~~~~~~~

“You’re doing great, babe! You’re almost there!”

“SHUT THE FUCK UP!”

“Wow wow wow, okay, broken thumb, but that’s okay! You break all the bones you want!” The father said sincerely with a faithful smile.

“Oh, wow, that looks pain-…”

“Leo, get your fainting brother out of here!”

“UUUUUUUUUGH, I WANNA FUCKING DIE!”

“Okay okay, there’s too many people in here, and there’s about to be one more, so everyone but Mom and Dad and flying AIs, OUT!” April commanded, sitting on a stool and slipping on gloves.

Donnie leaned on Leo, gagging and nearly ready to throw up. Mikey followed them, giving his brother a good luck thumb-up, leaving Raph by Cassandra’s side as she moaned and screamed.

April ducked between her legs. “Alright, Cass, they’re crowing. It’s time to start pushing. Sheldon…”

Cassandra’s screams could be heard all throughout the tunnels.

Donnie threw up into a bucket while Leo rubbed his shell and rolled his eyes. Mikey paced excitedly, twiddling his thumbs and beyond excited to be an uncle. Baron sat in an old armchair, kicking a hoof unknowingly as he sharpened a spear, his ears on high alert.

The screams eventually faded away to grunt and panting, and there was silence. The men were frozen, fearing the worst. They had tried so hard to help Cass, but there was no way to give her the rest and food she would have gotten in a non-apocalyptic world.

Then there was crying, and the three turtles dropped like puppets cut from their strings, and sighed with relief. Baron smiled and resumed his sharpening.

An hour later, April came into their cave, clean and grinning. The men waited, and she only had them in suspense for another minute.

“It’s a boy! A very healthy baby boy!”

The caves erupted with cheers and cries of joy. Mikey even used his mystic powers to make tiny fireworks explode in the cave, Leo and Donnie did some sort of weird jig, and Baron punched the air and jumped up from his chair.

“Okay okay,” April laughed. “Everyone shaddup so you can go meet him. Anyone who wakes a sleeping baby is getting sent to a labor camp.”

The shushing family carefully walked to the room, everyone taking in a unison breath at the sight of the teeny tiny bundle in Raphael’s strong arms, Cassandra leaning against him, beyond tired with huge bags under her eyes, but her smile was radiant.

Raph looked up at his family, his eyes wet and his bottom lip quivering, his smile just as joyful as his partner’s. “Hey guys,” He croaked.

“Awwww!” Mikey cooed and rested his hands on his knees, looking at the tiny face surrounded by the warm blanket. “He’s beautiful, you guys!”

“What are you naming the bundle of chaos?” Leo asked.

“We’re naming him after the most amazing warrior of all time…”

“Aw, Lou Jitsu!”

“Einstein?”

“Leonardo Jr. it is then!”

“Better not be Shredder.”

“No!” Raph corrected. “We’re naming him Casey Jones! After pushing an entire person outta her body…”

The room clashed with agreement and also a plea to drop the subject.

Raph chuckled and smiled at Leo. “You wanna hold your nephew, fearless leader?”

Leo was a little surprised by the honor of being the first outside the parents to hold the baby, but smiled and nodded. He stepped forward and Raph carefully handed his son to his little brother, showing him what to do, and beyond happy to see Leo holding little Casey, eyes shining at the sleeping newborn.

“Aw, hey there, buddy.” Leo cooed. “I’m your Uncle Leo. Yeah, hi. Welcome to the family.”

[jordm]

Heartland 11x11  - Somewhere in Between review

I really really enjoyed this episode. It felt like such a sharp departure from last episode; where the drama was more low-key but also felt more realistic and home-based, which is why most of us fell in love with the show. From Chris Potter (Tim’s) struggle, which many of us can relate too, even if not on an illness level to seeing Ty/Amy get back to basics/work; it was just a feel good hit ya in the spot episode. More of this please!

^ also how cute is Buddy and Lisa’s horse in this picture!

Katie is in Vancouver with Peter and this makes me happy for many reasons, but mostly because she’s with fam and Peter stepping up and being the parent since Lou is kinda... gone. And also because maybe they finally realized it can’t hurt to mention where people are so we know they’re alive?

Speaking of mentions, Cass is finally taking a long due vacation with Caleb and is making Ty pay back dividends by babysitting the troublemaker Jasper.

Also, there’s a snow appearance (but no Lou!)

TIM 

When Casey goes to Jack to talk to him about Tim, I can’t help but feel bad. She’s in the dark, for what Tim thinks is a good intention on his part, and knows in her gut that it’s something deeper than “I don’t love you anymore.” To that end, Jack is also worried about Tim also hearing about how he broke up with Casey and it’s a testament to how far their relationship has come since season one.

Anyways, Tim still doesn’t want to tell anyone and Jack disagrees. He hates keeping secrets and frankly I’m just surprised he didn’t tell anyone yet. I understand both Tim and Jack’s POV; with Tim not wanting to burden anyone and not wanting to be more “real”, with Jack thinking about how Tim needs more support than just him.

One of my favourite parts about this storyline is all the Marion flashbacks and memories. Tim babysitting Lyndy and telling her a fairytale about “Princess Marion” and the no-so prince “Prince Tim” was adorable and really demonstrated how much he loved his daughters (even if he really only sees one of them).

“She would have loved you so much” - Tim about Marion loving Lyndy

When Casey demands that Tim tell her the truth about the real reason why they broke up, he tells her he doesn’t love her anymore. Luckily, Casey can see through the truth, and calls him a coward, probably not suspecting the actual real reason in anyway. Eventually though, he tells Casey the actual real real reason (I’ve said real way to many times in this paragraph); that his biggest regret was not letting Marion in and being honest with her- the result being she left him to help herself when he was going through his addiction, and that this is his way of giving him a way out. But Casey, god bless her heart, isn’t going anywhere and I’m really glad he can now add Casey to his support system.

Tim later visits Marion’s grave (this is probably what inspires that Marion memorial ride thing) and one can only hope through his little epiphany he’s finally starting to get past his regrets from the past and will finally tell his family (which I suspect he might based on spoilers).

To close this ridiculously long section, I enjoyed Tim’s character development here. It happened over 3-4ish episodes and that was a refreshing change as opposed to other storylines. I hope now that his character doesn’t regress and continues to move forward.

JACK & LISA

LISA IS BACK GUYS! Lisa is back. And she’s working with Val on the hunt ride thing, which is an odd pairing, especially since they weren’t aruging... too much.

I really enjoyed Tim’s advice to just go with Lisa on the hunt thing because it means something to her. It spoke to his situation; he realized that time is precious and he/we should be treasuring every moment we have with our loved ones.

Jack adorably asks Amy to help him ride English and dons the outfit, surprising Lisa. A happy Lisa makes me happy; especially when Lisa realizes she’s been focusing too much on what’s happening with Val and Dan and hasn’t noticed Jack being miserable (or maybe it’s because of the snow?). More Jisa adventures please?

AMY & TY

It was refreshing to see Amy have a nightmare about Mongolia. Great acting on Amber’s part, and I only hope that this nightmare shows them that they can’t do this running off business again.

“Don’t leave me” - Amy to Ty (when ironically, she was the one who told Ty to go to Mongolia)

Amy’s client today is Oliver, a retired racer who has issues with trail rides and whose owner wants to re home Oliver, so Amy enrolls Oliver in the hunt since their may be potential buyers. I liked how Amy seemed to mildly distressed when the owner arrived early and she couldn’t spend more time with her family, as well as how she initially struggled (even if I wish she struggled a little more) to figure out what was wrong. Even though it seemed like a quick fix, it was nice to see her struggle to contain Oliver when Dan was talking.

Lastly, the scene of Ty and Amy running around the house getting ready to leave for work and getting Tim acquainted with everything, and then Amy pulling back for a second kiss was nice. It felt natural, as did the last scene; although as I said previously in another post, I feel like Lyndy twins might assist with that!

“Well look on the bright side she’s never gonna ask us to dog sit again”

GEORGIE

Val isn’t happy she got third. And because Val isn’t happy, Georgie can’t be even though everyone else is thrilled. Can’t Val just be happy for once? When Val tracks down Amy at the hunt, Amy assures her that Georgie really wants to win the fall finale, so Val says she’s going to come watch a practice. Yeah, that’ll go well. 

Anyways, I have a suspect feeling that somehow Dylan (of whom Val offered to be a new rider should she continue to be impressed with Georgie), despite his insistence that his season will be over if Arrow is lame, will ride Flame in the fall finale, as we Georgie ride Phoenix in the fan extra day (oops spoiler?). And we saw Georgie jump Phoenix no problem this episode.

But that’s just worry because Wyatt is back. He has since ended things with the girl back in Calgary, a little too late but whatever. Georgie is “over it” but doesn’t want things to back to how they used to be. That is, least until the end of the episode when she realizes Wyatt had good intentions when warning her about Dylan, even if he currently had no intention of saying yes.

I feel kinda bad for Wyatt, but I applaud Georgie for not going straight back into a relationship, rather friends. She needs more friends.

And Dylan tells Georgie to take some time off and have some fun is good advice but I don’t know if Val would approve of this advice. 

VAL

I just think Dan and Val are an odd pairing and I want to see more of this and less of Val being hard on Georgie. She doesn’t even have her mother here for petes sake!

SONGS IN THIS EPISODE

Call Me Again - Evan Olson

Grace - Rose Cousins

[artificialqueens]

Royals (A The Selection AU Fanfic) Chapter Six - TheQuartzMermaid

A/N: I’m back with another chapter fully written by she me her and completely beta-ed (is that right) by miss Tiffany. It took a long time and I’M SO SORRY but I like to be at least 2 chapters ahead to the one I’m submitting and with all this relatives visiting, graduation planning, the sims playing and family issues shit I had almost no time to write Lil Miss Chapter Eight.

What can you expect from this chapter? Bianca being sweet, Adore being alone and Katya being… Katya.

If you’re a Royals fan, jump right into the chapter. If you’re new here and not familiar with The Selection, first of all THANK YOU and second of all, I suggest you to check out the prologue for this fanfic. If you like it enough, you can read the original books by Kiera Cass, they’re amazing.

Let’s go, pumpkins!

Royals - Chapter Six (or The one in which they appear on TV)

“I’ll be giving you a tour through the palace and you’ll also be given some more orientations you must follow if you want to have a happy stay here”, Bianca said solemnly. “I must tell you that you’re not meeting Prince Casey today, as he is very busy with his royal duties.” The girls whined. “Oh, but that’s his job, my ladies. Soon it will be the job of one of you girls too.”

Dreamy sighs from 33 girls filled the room. Adore rolled her eyes. Katya was taking the possibility of becoming a royal very seriously. Both of them reacted the same way towards their fellow competitors’ apparent idea of “royal duties”: Do these stupid girls think it will be all dresses, jewelry and crowns?

The tour commenced. Bianca walked them through a bunch of doors and explained where they would take them. Where they were just seconds ago was the Women’s Room, a place where only women could stay. Interesting, Adore thought. She would spend most of her time there. Then another door, leading to the palace’s immense gardens. Katya was planning a visit there, but Bianca crushed her dreams as she told the Selected that the area was forbidden due to security reasons. Another area, the king’s office, was also forbidden.

“This”, Bianca announced as she opened the door, “is the dining hall. As you can see, it’s big enough for the 35 of you and the royal family. If there are any guests, everyone will be moved to the Great Hall, which is used for parties and banquets.” The girls took a look at the disposition of the tables. In the middle, one with three seats: for the king, the queen and the prince. There were two other tables at each side of the main one, forming a U, with marked places for everyone. Katya and Adore would sit across one another. The blonde would be between Linda Gardens and Manila Luzon. The brunette would have Violet Chachki and Tyra Sanchez as neighbors.

Then they met the studios where the Illéa Capital Report was filmed, wrapping up the tour of the first floor – and one floor down.

“Ladies, I have to warn you: the third floor is off limits. It’s where the private rooms of the Royal Family are, and any sort of intrusion will not be tolerated.” Whines were heard again. Bianca must be bored by them, but it didn’t show. Man, she was super professional. “Your rooms are all on the second floor. You will inhabit a large portion of the guest rooms, but don’t worry about it; the palace is quite big, so we still have room for any visitors coming through.”

36 pairs of heels went up a beautiful staircase. Paintings of the previous kings and queens – and some leaders of what used to be North America – were hanging on the walls. Adore quickly remembered what her mother said about Queen Abby as she stared at her portrait. A chill went down her body.

“Everything you have to your name is already in your rooms. If something is wrong or you don’t like the decor, please tell your maids”, Bianca kept giving instructions. “Each of you have three maids, they are already in your room as well. They’re there to help you unpack and get ready to any appointments you may have for the day.

“For tonight, you’re just having a meeting at the Women’s Room before dinner to watch a special screening of the Illéa Capital Report. They’ll be showing some of the footage they’ve taken of you leaving your homes and arriving here. It promises to be emotional.” The woman smiled. Katya started asking herself if Miss Del Rio wasn’t feeling tired of talking yet. “Prince Casey hasn’t seen anything yet, he’ll see what all of Illéa will see tonight, and tomorrow… I guess that’s when the games begin!”

After so many rules, Bianca started dropping off the girls at their rooms. There was a tiny hallway with four doors, the rooms belonging to Joslyn Fox, Nicole Brooks, Yekaterina Zamolodchikova, and Adore Delano.

As Bianca left them with another “welcome, ladies”, they started opening their doors. Joslyn greeted her maids as if they were long-time friends. Nicole seemed less bubbly, but very polite. Adore hadn’t opened her door yet, neither did Katya. Instead, they ended up looking at each other, their twin doors still closed.

Adore didn’t feel intimidated by the blonde anymore, but didn’t feel comfortable with all the staring. She opened her door, finding the three maids stop their sewing to get up, bow, and introduce themselves. Her room neighbor still caught her attention, though, she smiled a “see you at dinner time”. Adore smiled back and entered her room, finally talking to her maids.

“My lady”, a sweet girl greeted Katya as she opened the door. “I’m Anna and these are Clia and Judy, we are here to your service.”

“Do you want any help with your dress, lady…. Lady…” The Selected Lady could tell Clia was trying to read her pin. Oh God, why her parents didn’t give her an easier name like Angelina or Filippa?

“Katya. You can call me Katya”, she said as she held the maids hand. “And no, thanks. I’m just taking a nap, you can get yourselves some rest too. I’m sure you had a lot of work to do during the past week and I really appreciate it.”

“Do you want us to leave the room, my lady?” Now it was Judy’s time to talk. “If you wish, we can prepare your outfit for dinner or unpack your stuff…”

“Oh, don’t worry about it. You can go rest, we all had a tough day today”, Katya was trying to be as polite as she could. The three maids seemed so eager to be helpful and they’re also very sweet, she couldn’t play the bitch with them. The thought that some girl in another room could be rude to her maids left a sour taste in her mouth. “You can call me when it’s time to go downstairs, so we can get ready and know each other better. Deal?”

“As you wish, Lady Katya”, Anna bowed before leaving the room, closely followed by Judy and Clia.

Then Katya was all by herself.

She started studying the room, it was almost three times bigger than the one she had back in Columbia. She also had her own bathroom, with a big bathtub – or was it a mini pool? - inside. A small closet (well, at least it seemed small for the palace’s standards) had some dresses, including the ones she could have chosen earlier at the Women’s Room. She noticed most of them were blue or green – or somewhere in between – and she knew why: these colors kind of make her eyes shine brighter.

After taking a look at the other things the royal family provided her with – jewelry, shoes, the largest mirror she’d ever seen, art materials –, Katya ended up lying on the floor, the lush carpets making her feel as comfy as she would be on her bed back at home.

Home. Even with the palace being miles away from Columbia, her room smelled just like home. Maybe Queen Danica had a touch on it, since she comes from the same province as Katya.

The thought of writing a letter popped in her head, but she was in a nice position down there. Her hands ran over the carpet she was now lying on, feeling the nice work whoever did it through her fingers. It was almost like caressing Polina’s soft fur, but better. Thank God her cat was not near. Katya swears Polina can understand what humans say – and even hear what they think – and likes to plot revenge to anyone who doesn’t think she’s the best creature to ever exist on Earth.

All that thinking about how her life would be in danger if her cat could hear her thoughts got Katya falling asleep on the floor. That’s how her maids found her about an hour later, waking her up with their gasps.

“Lady Katya?” Anna was down on her knees, shaking the girl’s arm. “Is everything right, milady? We can call the doctors if you wish.”

“I’m fine, Anna. I was… I was just sleeping”, Katya got up, hands quickly working on fixing hair and clothes. “This carpet is so good…”

“You could’ve used the bed, my lady.” Judy seemed amused by Katya’s choice on where to take a nap.

“I didn’t want to ruin it”, Katya lied, looking at the perfectly organized bed. She could sense the girls would protest and stopped them before they would even say anything. “It’s time to get ready for dinner, I guess. Let’s do this?”

After a series of bows, the three maids started working. Anna fixed Katya’s hair, Judy chose her outfit and Clia was working on her makeup. Katya asked questions whenever she could. Where are you from? What’s the most difficult part of your job? Is Bianca always that strict? Do you know the prince?

She didn’t stop for a second.

Twenty minutes later, Bianca knocked on the door. She looked impatient, but didn’t say anything. Soon Katya and the other 34 girls were heading to the Women’s Room, the sound of their heels click-clacking on the marble floor. It took a while for her to find Violet, who was talking to a blonde she could recognize from miles: Courtney Act. That’s right, THE Courtney Act.

“So you are the lovely Katya”, the shorter blonde smiled when Violet introduced them both. “Violet said you have, hum… a unique taste for jewelry.”

“Well, don’t we all?” Katya took her hand to the eyeball necklace she decided to wear for dinner. She almost regretted it, but flashed a smile at her favorite singer instead. “And I have to say, I love your last album. It’s my favorite.”

“So you’re a fan, huh?” Courtney’s face lit up. She seemed proud of herself. “Thanks. I worked really hard on it.”

As they arrived at the Women’s Room, the girls started taking places. Violet, Courtney and Katya found a spot right in front of the screen and were joined by Pearl, Ivy and Lineysha. The chat continued across the room, but there was someone who stayed quiet: Adore, alone, the unsure look from earlier still on her face.

The large screen on the room lit up, revealing the coat of arms of Illéa. The Capital Report has just started. An instrumental version of the national anthem was still playing when Carson Kressley appeared on screen, looking over excited. What do people put on his water, huh?

There was a bunch of announcements. Rebel attacks on Honduragua, progress of the war with New Asia, budget updates for projects… By the time the subject was some festival that happened in Labrador earlier this week, Adore felt someone sit by her side. It was Bianca, and she looked concerned.

“Miss Delano, is everything right?” The woman asked, sounding truly worried. “Why are you so distant from the others? I mean, I know all of you are here for the same reasons and only one can win, but I guess it doesn’t hurt to make some friends.”

“I believe they don’t want to be friends with me”, the teenager answered, matter-of-factly.

Katya could hear the conversation even though their voices were low. Adore wasn’t feeling that welcome. Maybe she heard Violet and the others calling her “The Replacement”. This can’t be good.

“We should talk to her”, she told Courtney, totally out of the blue.

“Who? The Replacement?” Violet threw herself into the conversation. “I don’t know, Katya.”

“I don’t get a good vibe from her, it’s almost like she doesn’t even want to be here”, Courtney finally answered. “I don’t want to spend my time around a Debbie Downer.”

“We didn’t even talk to her”, Katya was whisper-screaming now. “Maybe she’s just annoyed to have people talking about her. She could be nice…”

Her friends just rolled their eyes and chuckled, gluing their eyes to the TV before they could answer. The segment of their arrivals has just started.

“Here we can see Illéa’s Sweetheart Courtney Act saying her goodbyes to all her fans in Carolina”, Carson narrated the footage. “It’s the first time a worldwide famous celebrity makes it into The Selection. Isn’t it incredible, Your Majesty?”

“Absolutely” was all the king said.

Once they were done with the Mideast portion of the country, it was time to move closer to Angeles. First up, the northern provinces.

“Miss Yekaterina Zamolodchikova from Columbia was the real star of the day”, Carson did the voice-over as the screen showed Katya’s speech at the send-off ceremony. “She is really nice to watch: beautiful, funny and not afraid to get her hands dirty”, now the airport footage showed, special close-ups on Katya’s doll hands necklace, “NONE of her hands.”

As everybody greeted Katya, it was time for Violet, Ivy and Lineysha to shine on TV. Soon enough they were talking about Fennley’s Phi Phi O'Hara. By the time they were finished, Adore’s picture popped up on screen.

“And we’ve got a big surprise in this Selection. For the first time ever, a contestant was disqualified before the beginning of the competition, giving the chance for another star to shine. This star is, of course, Miss Adore Delano of Sonage, caste Five.”

“Oh, now she’s a star”, Violet started before getting playfully slapped by Katya.

“Miss Delano only knew she was a Selected lady this very morning, but accepted the challenge with grace and poise.” Carson said as the TV showed Adore at her send-off ceremony. She swears she looked like a dummy or something like that, but the editing made her look like a lady: mature, responsible and classy.

Then they showed that one moment in which Adore was holding Charlie for dear life before leaving her. Carson’s voice revealed he was now getting emotional: “Here Miss Delano says her farewells to her mother. I believe it’s the most beautiful scene we’ve got to see today.”

As all eyes were on her, Adore did her best to hold her tears. Bianca noticed and gave her a caring look. She couldn’t be more grateful.