#pizza means family

[nightyslibrary]

Pizza Means Family

Another separated au, where Mikey is the only turtle Splinter saves. While he finds April accidentally and wastes no time to call her his sister, his siblings are raised by two of the famous bad guys. This get out of control when six of them end up at the same place, and each sibling has to decide what to do with what they learn. aka where you belong au because I'm either too good with titles or too bad haha

🐢 Click here to read on AO3 | 1,693 words | for WYB AU stuff click here 🐢

Chapter 1: Just a Few Hours Ago, When Everything was Normal

Mikey grinned as he read April's message. Tonight they had made a plan, a late celebration for Mikey's birthday. Since she and Mikey couldn't celebrate it outside as they had planned because of her school, they had postponed it to today. Which Mikey had been hardly able to wait.

They would go eat pizza, have some fun at the roofs, hang out in several places, jump into a pool... so many activities that Mikey was ready for. He and April would meet in the back alley of her apartment. The text was a reminder, in case Mikey got too lost into hobbies- again. The box turtle was grateful for his sister's thoughtfulness, but she should've known there was no way he was forgetting about this.

Maybe he should start getting ready though.

Mikey leaned to get his pouch, wristbands, socks, kneepads and lastly bandana. The bandana was April's gift for his birthday (along with another gift). He and April had learned how to make their own accessories, sew their own clothes, and such stuff from various sources over the years (like her mother's magazines, internet, and Splinter teaching them). This bandana was a result of that, a symbol made with their mutual knowledge over the craft and friendship.

It was nice to have a big sister who would always know how to give the best gifts.

He wondered if his brothers would be good at giving gifts too.

Mikey looked at the table, a few drawings of his ideas and imagination based on the information he accidentally found out on his thirteenth birthday. He still could remember the shock of hearing his dad talking to himself, mourn the turtles he never was able to save. How he wished to be able to find them, and how he hoped they weren't with Draxum. Mikey wondered who that Draxum guy was. But what he currently cared about was how he had siblings.

Dad had said three names.

Raphael, Leonardo, and Donatello.

That day Mikey had gotten so excited that he had texted April to meet, and without waiting an answer had run to her place. He had some lost brothers to find, and he had to share his plan with her. April had agreed to help, but she had told him that they should plan this with more care.

They had tried their best on their search, April joining whenever she had free time. They had found nothing.

This didn't stop Mikey from wondering who they were. How did they look? What food did they like? Did they grow up in sewers too? Were they a fan of Lou Jitsu or Jupiter Jim as well?

Did they know about him and Dad?

Another message ping distracted him from his thoughts.

🏵 April🏵:

You better be ready and heading out.

Mikey winced, noticing how much time had passed. If he didn't move, he'd be late.

As he walked out of his room, he glanced at the drawings of his dad, himself, and the other three turtles.

Once again, he wondered if they were really out there.

Once again he told himself he'll find them.

𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊

Red had a bad feeling.

Yes, Red was anxious often and felt bad about some stuff more than the yokai who raised them or the gargoyles that took care of them as kids… but this was different.

Something was wrong, and he wasn't sure if it was Draxum's plan or Purple's behavior.

Whenever Draxum would ask Purple to take care of stuff in the back, he'd get grumpy. He'd do his job, better than everyone else Red has ever met in his life, but he'd still be bitter. Red had an idea why.

Today he was bitter too, except there was something else along it. He had made that face he'd do when working on his ninpo, creating "something useful", as he would say. Determined, perhaps. Red was worried. Whenever Purple tried something for the first time, there was a risk of failure. Red was not a fan of those risks. Not with how many times he almost hurt himself. So Red hoped his senses were wrong.

Meanwhile, Red was asked to assist Draxum. He would be by his side, in case any of his test subjects tried to run away or anything went wrong- just like how it did thirteen years ago. So Red had worn his armor as always, and quietly waited for orders.

As he watched Draxum work and control things Red never quite understood, he started thinking about his origin. The story about their creation always fascinated him, but not because of what Draxum had managed to create (as he would say with pride). No, what fascinated Red was the others. The man who gave them their DNA and the siblings he was never able to meet again. At least he had Purple, Draxum, Hummin and Mummin.

Still, he wondered if the slider, the loggerhead, and the box turtle were okay.

He wished to know more about them. Had they survived? Was the box turtle with Lou Jitsu? Were the slider and loggerhead what the big lady wanted them to be?

Would he ever see them again?

"Red," Draxum called the snapper.

"Yes, Draxum?"

"Come here."

Red did as Draxum asked, pushing away the thoughts regarding his lost family and focusing on what he had now.

◇◇◇◇◇◇◇

Purple wished that for once that Draxum would take the risk and put him on the field. He knew that he was aware of Purple's strong ninpo and his genius brain, but Draxum refused to forget that one of his powerful mutant warriors had a flaw that almost cost his life twice.

A flaw that Purple hated passionately.

He knew well that Draxum had the knowledge of his softshell and his weak points, and honestly Purple was surprised that the yokai had chosen him as one of his warriors. Yet, one would expect that he'd have something in his mind for the battlefield if he chose him on purpose.

(The possibility of Draxum adding him into the mix just because of curiosity made Purple feel sick. It couldn't be true anyway. It was Draxum.)

So what if his laboratory once got demolished and he almost died? Who cares if when he and Red played roughly as tots he almost got hurt very very badly? He could protect himself now! He even had made himself a shell out of his ninpo to prove it!

Why had he had to stay back and control everything from outside of the main area?

The worst part was he knew that Red agreed with him, but his brother always would follow what Draxum said.

This wasn't fair at all.

…

Okay, so maybe he did follow Draxum's words too. But not like Red. Purple was different from him. It was just that he wanted Draxum to be happy and proud of him. So that nobody would ever forget him and get rid of him. Exactly what everyone would want.

But he could never prove himself from the back.

Which was why after today it would be different. At the moment of importance, he'd step in and prove he is much more capable than what Draxum thinks!

He looked through the windows. He was already almost finished with his job here, so all he had to do was to climb up to the higher levels and wait.

Perfect plan, Purple. He praised himself as he smiled. Perfect .

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

"Come on Veeeeeen! I can't stay inside here anymore!"

Leon's was whining for a while now, half dramatic, half genuine, begging for his sister to take him to her simple mission. So far it was going well.

"Leon shut up, someone will hear you! Do you want us to get into trouble?" Venus glared at him.

"No, I thought I made my request oblivious." Leon said.

"You can't come with me, you know the rules." She reminded him, for a millionth time.

"But Mama doesn't have to know. It will be a simple trip. You get to do your shopping, I'll tag along and see some people, and we will be back before anyone knows." Leon knew he couldn't do much and risk it all, he guessed Venus would know too. So why not give him a chance?

Venus looked at him with softer eyes this time, "I know you're bored of Nexus Hotel and want something different, but you've been to Hidden City. Why don't you save your chance for something else?"

Leon looked away from her, instead focusing on a wall. A wall he had been seeing for the past fourteen years of his life and getting sick of it. Hidden City though? That was a rare feat. "It's been so long, Vee." He sighed. "I know Mama doesn't want any of us out without permission, but I think I'll go insane if I spend another day here."

She rolled her eyes, "You're exaggerating." Still, she came and sat by his side on the enormous bed. "But I can consider it…"

Leon's eyes immediately brightened up. "Thank you Ve-"

"...Only if you wear your guard costume too."

Ah. Of course. The itchy guard costume. "Can't I wear another disguise?" Leon whined.

"No." Venus answered, a sly smile on her face.

"You know, I had heard sea turtles are kind. Unlike you. Are you sure you're not mixing up your species?"

He met with a pillow on his face. "Either be ready when I come back or stay here. You got fifteen minutes."

"Okay okay, fine." Leon huffed. Then smirked, "Good to know you still know to not miss the right offers."

She grinned, "You keep forgetting who taught you first." She said as she left the room.

"Keep believing that!" Leon shouted after her, grinning as well.

As the door closed, he felt his grin get wider. It had been so long since he was able to get out of this building. He was sure Venus wouldn't mind having some extra fun in Hidden City, too.

••••••••

Somewhere far, far away, a teenage mutant girl smiled and laughed with her father. Unaware of the world, dangers, and fate that awaited her.

[marclef]

What does Peppino think of Noise's children? Does he like them?

at first Peppino wasn't too enthusiastic, like c'mon, NOISE of all people flaunting his little kiddos around him? he didn't care much for them.

until he was around them for all of about 10 seconds.

(he.... *AHEM* might've grown on the idea of kids a little bit.)

[ali-borsch]

i miss drawing these two all the time

bonus

[kate-bot]

my “toxic”? trait is whenever i fixate on something my immediate reaction is to take myself to the pottery painting place near my house and paint it on a plate or a mug or a coaster. literally all of the plates in my house are like this

[1phakephan]

🗣️🗣️ pov dan and phil base their pizza selection in part 2 of their iconic mukbang video on their hatred for the detroit pizza company that almost ruined your life

[twacn]

being an eldest daughter is an inherited trait

[hamsterrodent]

Some silly Rattino + Fake Peppino shenanigans!

(Oh hi there Peppino)

[mildmayfoxe]

yknow it is crazy to think about how much i have been able to improve my quality of life by selling art as a supplementary form of income. like obviously it's a second job and it's taxing but it's also so rewarding to know how much people enjoy my work and how much good it is doing me to like, feel like i can buy snacks at the store. to be able to get takeout every once in a while. like obviously those are extremely minor changes or things most people take for granted but to me it's huge. having berries in the house when they're out of season and more expensive. buying things for CONVENIENCE??! it feels so crazy to me to have such a sense of luxury which i know says more about the bleak feeling of poverty that's followed me around my entire adult life than anything else but i feel so much gratitude that i am afforded these small luxuries at least in part because of people that like my art. not to mention how nice is is to make things consistently again when, prior to 2020, i hadn't made art regularly in almost a decade. anyway. it's cool!

[mercurys-hatta]

brain pizza

[notbecauseofvictories]

where do you think the best food in Chicago comes from?

There is no actual answer to this question. The "best food" in any place is not actually about the food itself; it is about who you were with or why you were there and potentially how drunk you were---while food can heighten or sharpen the emotions you're feeling, it can't create them whole cloth.

That being said: there's a woman on the west side who sells tamales. I've never seen her (at least, to my knowledge) but my coworker used to buy and then bring in huge batches of them whenever their paths crossed. Even lukewarm, even in the sterile office, wolfed down in between meetings and phone calls, they were exquisite.

......which isn't really a contradiction of the point above, because I'm still not 100% sure whether I was responding to my coworker's generosity, seizing a little slice of joy on rough days, or just enjoying the tamales themselves.

[thisisadonaldduckblognow]

look ill dunk on the rise movie a little for only developing leo as a character (everyone else DID things in the plot, but their character was static/used to showcase leo’s development), i don’t deny this

but its galaxy brain to end the movie with raph center-frame and everyone chanting his name, it does the heart good. rise team slapped the top of this movie overall and said “this bad boy can fit so many important group shots with raph in the center and we love him very much” and i respect that

bonus:

[theidiotabides]

Would really love to hear about the angsty marcotobias fic if you're interested in sharing. 👀

Oh gosh, I feel like I'd have to actually write it for it to make sense because like 80% of it is subtext, but here's some rambling in that general direction.

I'm chiefly interested in the ways in which Marco & Tobias are actually incredibly similar -- their senses of humor, their attractions, their complete direspect for authority, and most importantly how they both lowkey hate themselves but insist on survival anyway, largely out of spite -- but how they treat their similarity as, like, a cautionary tale rather than the basis for a healthy connection that it could be.

Like, Tobias disappearing into the woods and giving up on everybody is exactly the kind of behavior that Marco finds incredibly triggering, having lived through it with his dad. Marco would never walk away from his remaining loved ones like that, especially in the post-war world where he's charged himself with being the public face of the Animorphs because somebody has to. But there is absolutely a part of him that wants to give up and disappear; ya boi is tired.

Meanwhile, I think Tobias sees Marco's devotion to Jake and refusal to abandon him even after how Rachel died (which Tobias blames Jake for) as a version of the hero worship complex Tobias used to have about Jake -- like, I think Tobias sees Marco as being too devoted to Jake to see "the truth" about him, and he pities that in Marco. But at the same time, Tobias envies Marco's close personal connections, and I think on some level he knows that the only way to get to that place would be to work through his anger at Jake to get to his anger at Rachel, and he just can't bring himself to do that. It's easier to stay mad.

And then there's the question of Rachel herself, whom they were both deeply invested in trying to keep alive at the end of the war. Like, we see this explicitly from Tobias, with his "just be Rachel" and constant emotional check-ins with her, but I don't think Marco gets enough credit for his active role in keeping her literally alive. Dude bodily removed her from battles, at risk to his own life, and I just refuse to believe that's not something Marco & Tobias talked about, given how much time they spent together in Ax's scoop during that period of time between Marco's fake death & the move to the valley. Rachel is both a mutual love and a mutual failure for them (and that level of mutual devotion to a third person gives my polyamorous ass A Lot of Feelings).

Basically I think there's a lot of respect and love between Tobias and Marco, but they can't get to it because it would require each of them to deal with Rachel-related guilt and confront parts of themselves that they don't want to acknowledge.

...so I want to get them high on Marco's fancy penthouse balcony and make them kiss about it

[myblacknightworld]

This evening was horrible. I wanna lie down and read fanfiction but the heache won't leave me alone and I'm not at home right now so I don't have ibuprofen at hand :( (as soon as I get home it's sleepies time)

[jackednephi]

Making lasagna tonight right? Well I goofed and forgot half the cheese goes IN the lasagna and so anyway there's a whole pound of mozzarella on top

Oops 🤷

[steakout-05]

important post regarding AI and Tumblr

i'm making this post just to make my followers aware that Tumblr is having a deal with selling user data to AI companies. as an avid AI Hater™ i'm incredibly against this decision as i think scraping people's data and using it to train models without them knowing is unethical. here's what to do if you don't want your blog to be a part of this:

go to your Blog Settings. on desktop, click your blog button and then click the 'Blog Settings' button on the right sidebar. on mobile, click the three bars in the top left, scroll to your blog button, open the menu underneath and click 'Blog Settings'.

scroll down to where it says "Prevent third-party sharing for [blog name]" and click the button next to it.

as an extra precaution i'm also discouraged searching for my blog from sites like Google and Yahoo as well. i hate the integration of AI into social media and i hope this AI integration trend burns and explodes into a million pieces.

[thewitchqueen281]

me talking about how in midnight motorist it never confirms the person William first talks to is his wife and VERY WELL COULD have been Vanessa or an eldest daughter. and how the books DO mention Henry has at least one son (he's just never mentioned ever again):