#raph's not even here but he's referenced

[clanofjones]

Ghosts of Our Days: Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Fifteen: I Have a Foot But No Head: What Am I?

A/N: Written with @theosb0rnway! This one was genuinely so fun to do! CW for... implied murder? I guess?

<- Chapter 14

Start

Masterpost

Ao3

Karai's POV

"Now, I'm gonna show you what happens when you mess with my family."

"Cas- Skullshot, don't do this. We both want the Shredder dead, we can destroy him together!"

The vigilante shook her head, letting out a high-pitched cackle into the night. "See, that's the thing with snakes! They LIE. Now you've got one more chance to tell me where that motherfucker is."

"I don't know! Believe me, I want to find him just as much as you do-"

"Sure ya do. Like I said, lying snake." He hissed those words and shoved Karai's wakizashi to her neck. Karai didn't back down.

The wakizashi dug into her flesh a minute amount, and Karai hissed, taking the insult to heart, as her skin turned to scales and paled to a ghostly white as her snake hands hissed at Casey.

“Like I said. Lying snake.”

"I know it's you in there, Casey,” Karai began, and held her arms up in what he hoped was a gesture of peace — probably not a wonderful gesture, given that her snake hands were hissing at the vigilante, but the gist was there. “What would your family think of this? Your father, your mother, do they even know what you're doing? And your little sister-"

"My father doesn't give a shit about me, my mother is dead, and you LEAVE ANGEL OUT OF THIS."

"I knew it was you. I don't know how the others haven't noticed yet. I'm sorry about your mother. Nobody should have to endure that. I can relate."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, this whole 'my mom's dead too' shtick won't work on me, bitch."

Karai doubted that. "What would she think of this? Of the atrocities you've been committing? All for what? To defeat the Shredder just like everyone else wants to?"

"It doesn't matter what she thinks, she's been gone for years! Shredder took somethin' from me and I'm gonna make sure he gets EXACTLY what they got."

It took Karai a second to process. "It's Raphael, isn't it? That's why you left, that's why you're doing all this!"

Casey growled and pushed the sword into her neck."DON'T SAY HIS FUCKING NAME, YOU NO-GOOD FOOT SLIME!"

"Casey, please, I can help you-"

"Your time is up, Karai. You're gonna die, like all snakes should, but unlike that weird myth thingy, you and your stupid snake face ain't coming back any time soon."

"Wait, please-"

Casey pulled the blade back, and in one blow, carved through flesh.

Karai’s body fell scales returning to skin, snakes on her arms retreating into fingers, and an appendage fell a short distance away as Casey smiled, picking it up.

"I think I'll take you home. Raphie's gonna love to see that I killed a Foot leader! One step closer to Shred Heeeaaad!" She finished the cheer in a sing-song tone.

As he walked away, an extra pep in her step, she turned the limb over and smirked at the decapitated head of Shredder’s protege, as blood trickled from Karai’s severed neck.

April's POV

As she stared at the body on the coffee table, she only had one question, which she voiced in only a whisper.

“Where's... where's her head?”

Shinigami burst into tears again, and Mikey gave her a glare so powerful April wanted to melt into the floor.

Donnie and Leo couldn't do anything but stare, both of them still in utter shock.

It was only hours before that Karai had been in this very lair, alive, well, and very much in one piece.

Finally, Leo looked up, his own eyes filled with tears.

”Skullshot.” He whispered— no, growled, as he grit his teeth and let out a primal scream, falling to his knees.

No one said anything else, not daring to move as Leo reached his arms toward her, pulling away at the last second.

How could he touch her like this?

That was for Shinigami to do, not him, and she was clearly elsewhere in her mind, trying to recover from the loss of her love.

Suddenly, she stood up, climbing off of Mikey and grabbing her phone. She made a call in whispered Japanese, before sitting back down again, saying something into Mikey's ear.

“Uhhh... Shini's bringing her whole crew over, ‘cause it's not safe for them outside.”

“Obviously.” Leo hissed. “Skullshot made sure of that. Donnie, let's go set up the dojo. April, stay with Shinigami and help her... with Karai.”

He stood up quickly, and Donnie followed, like a robot matching towards its destination.

April couldn't move. Did this confirm all her worst fears or destroy them?

Casey knew Karai was their ally, but at the same time, she'd also been their enemy for quite some time and her Foot group was still the Foot. She took a deep breath in and let it out, finally walking over to Shini and Mikey.

“Shini?” She put a hand on the other girl's shoulder."How can I help you?"

“Keep her here."

"What?"

"Until- Until we find... the rest of her, keep her here."

That made sense, wait to give Karai a proper burial until after her head had been found, but there was no place they had to put her, and they weren't going to take her to the local morgue without raising suspicion or starting a murder case that would only draw Skullshot out even more and cause damage that the city and the police didn't need. She'd have to ask Donnie about a safe place to put the body for now.

"O-Okay. I'll... talk to Donnie later about finding a place for her. But... can I help you at all? This can't be easy for you, Shini. I know how close you and Karai were—"

"I should never have let my guard down for him. That Skullshot boy is an enemy to us all now, and a greater threat than any of us feared!" Her voice broke, and she stared at April, makeup down her cheeks, her brown eyes wide with anger and fear.

"Even my Karai could not see what he was, and now, now… SHE IS GONE BECAUSE OF HIM!" Mikey flinched. Shini noticed, rubbing his shoulder to calm him down, and probably herself too. "All I can do now is get my people to safely and... hope that he does not attack again." She buried her head back into Mikey's chest.

April sat down on the bench next to them. She tilted her head upward towards the ceiling to avoid looking directly at Karai, or at least what was left of her. She wondered how no one could find the head at the crime scene, they usually always got there before the cops did, unless someone took it.

No way, April thought.

Who just takes a head and not the entire body? Then she remembered who she was dealing with and realized that the whole idea made absolutely all logical sense.

She was interrupted by Shini's phone ringing again, which announced the arrival of the Foot at the sewer entrance.

She got Leo from the dojo, hoping the distraction would do him some good. Judging by how lifeless he looked when he got back, leading at least 20 Foot soldiers, it didn't do shit.

The Foot soldiers, on the other hand, seemed a mix of confused and fearful, most of them only partially in uniform, if at all. They were all ranging between their teens and late twenties, from what April could see of their faces.

One girl, holding her half-folded uniform against her chest, was pulling up the rear of the group, eyes bouncing around the lair as if she were trying to take in everything.

Shini let out a breathy sigh, and repositioned herself, blocking Karai from the view of the doorway.

“We must cover and move her,” she said in a whisper, and April nodded.

“Should we get, like, a sheet, or something?” Mikey whispered.

“Yeah. Probably. Don’t want any of the others to freak out,” April replied.

Mikey ducked and weaved through the recruits, and out of April’s line of sight.

“Where is a safe place to move her?” Shini asked, voice hoarse.

“Uh, probably the med bay.”

Shini nodded. Luckily, Mikey was quick with retrieving the sheet— an old, worn, brown one that April could only guess had been previously used as a makeshift tarp for some of Donnie’s more… Colorful experiments.

April dimly acknowledged that they might want to invest in a morgue as Mikey disentangled the cloth, and stretched it over Karai, until she was covered, more or less. At least most of the blood was dried by now.

Shini took hold of Karai’s upper arm and underneath her shoulders. “Help me, and hold her ankles,” she instructed to April, before turning to Mikey. “If you would, directions would be appreciated.”

And so they walked, Mikey mumbling a direction every few paces, April felt something well up in her stomach, and her eyes went glassy with unshed tears. Shinigami had given up on restraining herself, crying ugly tears.

When they arrived, after five careful minutes of averting her gaze from Karai’s corpse, April caught sight of the med bay door. Mikey held it open, and stood in the doorframe, back to them, casting glances down the hall in case anyone came to look for the leaders of the New Foot Clan.

Shini and April laid Karai down, and Shini tucked the sheet under Karai’s neck.

The trio exited the med bay, all three uncharacteristically silent, with the return to the dojo uncharacteristically so.

April noticed that the girl she had seen before had managed to get into her Foot garb, and was bouncing on the balls of her feet, glancing about. Shini noticed her looking and gave her a look that April couldn’t quite figure out.

“We should probably feed these guys,” Leo whispered, having reentered their vicinity. He sounded no better, and April was sure he was just searching for a task.

“We have old pizza, fruit juice, I think some croutons, and some doughnuts,” Mikey rattled off. “And some actual fruit, I think. Maybe stuff for really small, crunchy bread rolls.”

“Smoothies and bread rolls,” Leo decided as Shini sat down again, making a futile attempt to wipe the tears away.

“We got a blender, right, dude?”

“Yeah, the one you used a hot glue gun on, because we kept trying to throw in the air for target practice after we got our weapons.”

April smiled at the mental image.

“Oh, right.”

April sat, leaning against the wall, next to Shini, and leaned against her. Shinigami scrubbed at her eyes again, her makeup smearing, before drawing April into a half-hug while the blender whirled in the next room over. Leo tentatively sat on Shini’s other side and put an arm around her.

To Mikey’s credit, though his culinary skills had been off-and-on according to April, the smoothies and bread rolls were halfway decent.

“I should speak to them,” Shinigami said in a hoarse tone as if she hadn’t used her vocal cords in days.

“I can go with you,” Leo offered.

“That would be much appreciated, Leonardo. Thank you.”

Which left April, alone. She made her way to the dojo, passing Leo and Shini on her way. She sat down on a sheet, laid out presumably by Leo and Donnie, next to the girl she had noticed before.

The girl’s eyes darted to her and did a swift double-take.

“You’re April O’Neil.”

Uhm… Yeah. Did we fight before, or do you just know all of us by name?”

“My Senseis have spoken of you. Mostly good things. They keep a handful of photos of all of you in their quarters.”

“‘Mostly’ good things?”

“Karai says that you’re abrasive and reckless, Shinigami says you don’t think much in a fight. They agree that you are a good one, though. And a decent kunoichi.”

April frowned, and her brow furrowed. Obviously, this girl wouldn’t know Karai was dead, but it didn’t bring her any less of a shock. “That’s… Better than I expected, to be honest.”

The girl let out a puff of air and a smile with it. April took the moment to look at her up close. Her skin was a darker brown than April originally thought, and her dark hair was caught up in a braid.

“So,” April began, trying to sound as normal as possible, “You know my name, but I don’t know yours.”

“Aria.” She took a sip from her smoothie, before turning to look at April. “Alright, who made these, and what’s in them, because these are good, but I don’t wanna develop a fascination for, like, peacock innards or something.”

April let out a soft laugh and looked at her incredulously. “Peacock innards?”

“I dunno, if you guys have anyone who worked as a lunch lady, then I could be eating cardboard with marinara sauce and a basil leaf on it instead of pizza.”

April looked at her with a look of bewildered pleasure, apparently frozen on her face. “Alright, Mikey would never let that slide. Nobody is safe from pizza smoothies, though.”

Aria looked between her and the smoothies like April had sealed their fates to one of eternal torment. With smoothies. “Why. Why is that a thing. It’s literally oil but liquid-ier.”

April shrugged. “Your taste buds become neutral after a bit.”

“How long is ‘a bit’?”

“Like… A couple of months.”

“No offense to any of you, but I don’t want to be living out of the sewers for that long.”

“Yeah, no, you’d get crazy sick if that happened.”

“Say, how come we got called down here? I was having a nice post-training nap.”

April faltered and contemplated how much of a truth to give this girl. On one hand, she didn’t want this girl’s smile to disappear. On the other, she didn’t want her trust in April to disappear either.

Lucky enough for April, Leo and Shinigami reentered, neither looking particularly cheerful about the news they had to deliver, if the heavy expressions were any indication.

Aria, as well as the other Foot members, swallowed the vestiges of the meals, before standing at attention.

“You might as well all sit,” Shini said, and they followed suit, but not without an odd glance at each other.

“Hai, Sensei!”

Shini glanced around, almost as if finding something other than the elephant in the room to touch upon.

“This is Leonardo, and he and his family have kindly enough extended their home to us for our refuge. While we are here, we must treat it with utmost respect.”

“Hai, Sensei!”

A bout of silence passed, and one Foot member stepped up. “Sensei, were our security measures not apt at our headquarters? We performed a security check five hours prior to your call, and we agreed that we were safe.”

Shini opened her mouth, then closed it again. “It was not a dissatisfaction with our security,” she said.

When she did not continue, Leo continued. “Have you all heard of the new vigilante, Skullshot?”

There were a handful of nods.

“Good. You have heard of how this person has been taking out members of Shredder’s Foot Clan?”

More nods.

“In… recent developments, Skullshot does not seem to have the distinction between Shredder’s Foot Clan and this, New Foot Clan.” After a small pause, he added: “He has killed one of our own.”

There was a beat of silence, but not an unknowing one. It was one of unpuzzling, and April saw Aria’s eyes dart around the room, doing a succinct headcount.

She let out a tiny gasp around the same time that April began to see reactions from the others.

“Skullshot has murdered Hamato Karai.”

The reactions were spilling much faster now that they had climbed the hurdle. Shinigami nodded, and tears slipped past her already finicky control.

That was the straw that broke the camel’s back, April found, as she curled in on herself, head in between her arms and knees.

“NO!” Someone screamed, and April heard a person begin to hyperventilate.

She uncurled a bit and saw Aria, on her feet, frozen, as her chest heaved, a purely broken look on her face, as tears welled in her eyes.

Mobility slowly returned to her body, and Aria’s arms raised to rub up and down her arms, which were turning into fast scratches, and April was afraid she’d tear the cloth and hurt herself.

“Hey! Hey,” she said, and sprung up, her own face feeling remarkably wet. “Calm down, it’ll be okay.”

“You don’t know that!”

The din was ear-splitting, and April could see Leo and Shini attempting to restore calm as Mikey and Donnie looked into the room. She knew that she shouldn’t be this invested in calming down a single girl, but she couldn’t very well leave, could she?

“No,” April agreed softly. “No, I don’t.”

Aria stumbled on her feet, and very nearly fell, her face scrunched up as tears cascaded down her cheeks. April took a step forward, and an unneeded arm shot out to steady her. Aria met her gaze and glanced at her arm.

April froze for a moment and wondered if a knife was going to be pulled on her if she didn’t make her intentions known. She was already crying, April couldn’t make her feel worse.

So, she extended her arm a little, in an invitation for a hug. Aria shuffled back awkwardly and brought her hands up to scrub at her face. April dropped the arm, and a pool of guilt and jumpy regret welled up, settling into her bones.

“You… You’ve got other things to worry about,” Aria said, and her voice broke into a wobbly mess of sound, and she sat on the floor, glaring at her drink.

“Doesn’t mean I can’t help you out,” April reminded and sat next to her.

“You shouldn’t need to. You knew her longer than I did.”

April didn’t point out that a hefty chunk of her memories of Karai had been of the latter attempting to capture or kill her or the others, whereas Aria’s were likely genial. “Maybe. But you knew her too.”

Donnie, Leo, Mikey, and Shini were all running around the dojo, attempting to calm the Foot members.

“I should be able to do this.”

April didn’t have an answer for that.

“I can’t do this.”

April didn’t have an answer for that, either. She just extended an arm — an invitation — one more time. Aria accepted it this time and gave April’s shoulder a squeeze too. They both stared at the ceiling, with the horrified sounds of other Foot members surrounding them, holding each other loosely, only an arm around their shoulders.

A/N: You know what? You guys have been great readers.

Have the best thing I have ever animated :)

Excuse the rampant style change, this took three months because we all know animation is hard. I used Krita and IbisPaintX.

@theosb0rnway I HOPE YOU LIKE THIS IT IS MY MAGNUM OPUS

[turtleblogatlast]

[ cw: death mention / family death mention / ]

Mhmm I sure love thinking of the reality where we did get more time to really know Karai and her dynamics with the bros. Losing her hit hard in the finale, but it would’ve hit much, much harder had we known Karai longer and really saw her relationships develop with everyone.

I especially would have been interested in her dynamic with Leo, as past iterations often have the two of them clash in ideals and the like while still sharing many characteristics. Two sides of the same coin, and all that. Her specifically being the bros’ Gram-Gram also adds a whole new dynamic as well.

Imagine how interesting it would be, to have Karai start off on Leo’s side for once, showing wholly just how alike the two are at their cores and bonding as family without the worry of betrayal or animosity that other iterations suffer through, only to have Karai die anyway. Their parting hug and the desperate look of horror Leo wears later on would have hit that much harder, I feel.

[the-fandom-fuckup]

you lie to Casey? you lie in front of her chicken wings? oh!! Jail for Raph!! Jail for Raph for 1000 years!!!

[bulbabutt]

uh oh rise mikey's learning a new trick!

do i even need to say what im referencing here, i think we all know what we were robbed of (for the like 4 people who dont already know, we were supposed to get a rise episode where raph donnie and leo got turned into turtle tots and mikey gets to be their big brother, which he was going to like a lot. it was going to be a reference to this specific same concept from the 1987 episode "adventures in turtle sitting".)

[guawowow]

Going crazy thinking about the complexities of Donatello and his relationship with his emotions in tottmnt just auuaua !!!!

Like, he's outwardly and unabashedly kind in this iteration and I'm SO here for it !!! And it doesn't diminish his ability to be snarky and witty, he still throws jabs at his brothers, but I feel like this donnie is a return to form in the sense that the center of his character, the motivation for his intelligence and penitent for creation, is kindness- more importantly, empathy.

routinely he is described as thoughtful, 'non-threatening', and usually very placid; we see mention of his temper when his computers are messed with, but he's extraordinary patient- polite, even- with the killer robot chasing him, subway security, and the deaf conductor, all while under high-pressure stress. When confronting the Mechazoids for the first time, he keeps them at a distance and straight up complements the engineering ingenuity! Same when confronting bishop in the subway! He talks enthusiastically, respectfully, with her about her system setup! His first instinct is to diffuse the situation, approach her with humility and establish common ground. Dude like even when running away from the Mechazoid he was always thinking of the people around him.. he was telling everyone to get out of the way, waited for cars to clear (his brothers just straight ran through traffic and jumped over moving carsss), tried to usher people away from train cars he was fighting in, etc. And in the narrated recaps between episodes, donnie is the first brother to consider bishops motivations in an empathetic manner, "maybe she has a tragic back story". Of course that serves as thematic foreshadowing buy he was still the first to offer the kindness of reason to bishops character, maybe there's a reason she's doing this, not just anger that she is.

Not to mention he full ass built a robot to protect his brothers and took the extra time to program in impeccable manners. just for funsies heheh. eueueu Metalhead my beloveddddd😭🙏💙💙💙💙

ALL THIS and yet still, in episode 10, donnie considers himself non-emotional. He says he's 'all left brained' and implys that he operates differently from his brothers who he considers more outwardly emotionally expressive. And yet, in the same episode, he spends a majority of it comforting wingnut. He lends his ear and speaks to her kindly even when her panic exasperates their situation, he doesn't get mad when she freaks out, he takes the time to talk things through with her and make her comfortable whenever able. Even when they think Leatherhead has unmutated, he's sad but tries to put himself in her situation and understand her actions. HES SO SWEET IT HURTS DUDE ❗️❗️❗️ main point being, I dont think he considers himself emotional because he operates on a mode of empathy that is reason driven. He's emotionally logical, of that makes sense. It shows an INSANE amount of emotional intelligence and maturity, I just don't think he understands that because to him, this is logical, and his brother are anything but.

For a majority of his life, the only other people he has to compare himself to are his brothers. When up against anxiety riddled Leonardo, chronically angry Raph, and Mikey's carefree disregard, of course he sees himself and goes, 'ah ok. I must be less emotionally prone because I don't react like they do to these situations'.

I think he just understands the whole social song and dance of understanding better than he thinks.

I know the whole thing with tottmnt is the aspect of unreliable narration, but even then! Like if Leo wrote donnie like this then it probably because he routinely displays this kind of understanding behavior. Plus idk bout yall but I kinda consider the events of tottmnt as like a blurry semi-cannon? I think there are nuggest of truth in there, the broad strokes yk? Like the flood arc referenced 'the bishop situation' like it was a thing that actually happened, albiet in passing, and not just something to poke fun at Leo. It's got legs, there's ideas there to work with ajaja

[camsthisky]

Oooh how about 29 with Leo and Donnie?

turtle anatomy referenced from this post

this is set like immediately post rottmnt movie

29. "Tell me where it hurts, and be specific."

“Tell me where it hurts,” Donnie demands, goggles already flipped down and scanning Leo, and when Leo opens his mouth, no doubt to brush off Donnie’s very legitimate concern, Donnie gets ahead of him. “And be specific.”

“Chill, amigo,” Leo tries to soothe, despite the fact that he’s barely moved from the spot on Raph’s lap. The same spot he’s been in since they pulled him from the prison dimension. “It’s just a few bumps and bruises.”

Donnie doesn’t believe him, because Leo always does this. So Don falls back on his own observations.

“Scans are showing hairline fractures in the entoplastron and hyoplastron bone plates, as well as—Raph, lean him forward two inches so I can see, there—a few of the pleural plates on your shell. It looks like the neural plates are completely undamaged, thank god, so you shouldn’t have any spinal issues, but if you do, you need to tell me right away. The fractured cheekbone will probably—Raph, you can lean him back now—will probably need—”

“Donnie,” Raph snaps, and Donnie pauses, flipping his goggles back up to take in the chasm of worry on his older brother’s face that looks deeper than it ever has. 

Leaning against Raph’s free arm, Mikey has gone pale, eyes wide and hand shaking.

And in Raph’s lap, cradled like something precious, is Leo. Leonardo, his dum-dum twin, who almost—and if Mikey hadn’t—

Donnie forces himself to meet Leo’s gaze. He pushes the longing for data collection to the side—bone fractures, ligament tears, ninpo exhaustion—and takes a shaky breath. 

“Everything’s gonna be okay, ‘Tello,” Leo says, and if it were anyone but Leo, using anything but that secretive voice, using that name, Donnie would already be revolting. 

But it is Leo. It is that voice. 

“I thought you were gone,” Donnie croaks. 

Leo reaches out a hand, and Donnie finds himself incapable of not reaching back and taking it. Like if he doesn’t Leo will disappear again, even though the logic of that thought is completely skewed. But Donnie’s brain is at war with his feelings, and he can’t take the feeling of a hole in his soul where a balm of electric blue is supposed to always be. Not a second time.

Donnie’s ninpo pulses when his hand meets Leo’s, Leo’s ninpo humming back tiredly.

Unbelievably angry and also incredibly relieved, Donnie just hangs on and tries to process the fact that they’re all still here. It’s not the end of the world. It’s not the end of his world, even though it almost was. Because they almost just lost Leo forever.

“I’m right here,” Leo says. “I’m not going anywhere.”

You almost did, Donnie doesn’t say, bitterness threatening to rise up his throat and spit out in biting words. Instead, Donnie just clutches his brother’s hand tighter.

“Can—can we go home?” Mikey whispers, breaking the tension by bringing all three of his brothers’ attention to him. 

Mikey still looks pale, shaky and wide-eyed, holding onto Raph’s belt like it’s the only thing keeping him tethered to reality. His ninpo, usually a crackling flame, is barely an ember, so thoroughly exhausted by everything.

Raph’s isn’t much better. 

“Sure thing, hermano,” Leo says in that voice that he reserves especially for the youngest. The only thing that betrays his calm demeanor is the deathgrip he still has on Donnie’s hand.

Donnie clutches back just as hard.

Today was a clusterfuck. He found out time travel is real. Raph was captured. They were all separated and Donnie was solely responsible for Mikey. The world almost ended. Leo sacrificed himself. Mikey almost killed himself to save Leo.

But they’re all here. All four of them have somehow survived this whole ordeal.

“Yeah,” Donnie says, blowing out a breath and leaning closer to the warmth of his brothers. “Let’s go home.”

[hiddencitydweller]

Kingdom Dance

Pairing: Donnie x GN!Reader

(Reader is wearing a skirt, so take that as you will)

Absolute fluff!

Summary: You somehow managed to convince your tech-loving boyfriend to attend a ren faire with you, where you find yourselves caught up in a dance.

(Basically Tangled meets Turtles)

Warnings: Does poor writing count? With the structure of this fic, I wanted it to be a little more from Donnie's perspective rather than the reader, which was considerably harder than I thought it would be rip.

Word Count: 3k

Song Referenced: Dulámán

A/N: You know in Tangled, that scene where Rapunzel and Flynn are in the town square and he is just watching her dance with this besotted look on his face? And then he joins in and it's the most electric and romantic thing in cinematic history? Well, this is that but with some minor tweaks.

For all the people who long for someone to look at them like Flynn looks at Rapunzel, this one's for you.

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

Let's make one thing clear—Donnie did not want to be here.

At least, that's what he kept saying.

Wooden shops lined the dirt road you traversed, uniquely dressed owners promoting their equally unique wares in their doorways. In some of the many open air booths, you could see countless novelties one would sooner find in Witch Town than your beloved New York City. Crystals, wands, leather armor, chainmail, and countless other fantasy-related items could be seen anywhere you looked—and not just in the shops.

Everyone around you was intricately dressed in some fantasy or medieval fashion. No two people looked alike. You were surrounded by elves, royalty, warriors, and even the occasional time-traveler or two. Even with Donnie's experience in the Hidden City and his grumbling at being here, he had to admit it all came together to create one fantastical sight.

When you had suggested the gang go to the local Renaissance Faire, Donnie had been more than skeptical. Of course Leo and Mikey were immediately in, going as far as planning their outfits and characters right on the spot. Raph took a little more convincing, but once you assured him how safe it really was (and that they could keep their weapons on hand without looking out of place) he caved into the younger brothers' excitement.

Your tech-loving boyfriend, however, took some more convincing.

To put it plainly, ren faires just weren't his scene. For starters, technology was bluntly discouraged, to which Donnie took personal offense. Then there was the fantasy element, which simply made no sense to him. His history with magic wielders had left nothing but a bad taste in his mouth, and he couldn't imagine why anyone would actively want to seek out that sort of experience, fake or otherwise. Not to mention the clear and unparalleled superiority of science to the nonsensical magic.

However, as you repeatedly brought up in your own arguments, you had gone to countless Comic-Cons, Galaxy-Cons and whatever other Sci-Fi conventions he and his brothers were able to drag you to over the years. It was only fair for them to return the favor.

"Besides, you may find you enjoy having a little more non-mystic fantasy in your life," you had said with a sly grin and wink.

And that's how he had landed here, clutching a wooden bo-staff as he trailed behind your near-bouncing form.

He had to admit, he was enjoying himself far more than he would ever openly say. While, true to form, there was very little tech to be found, there were plenty of other little intricacies that called his attention. From other faire-goers' costumes to the effects at the shows, there was plenty for his mind to dissect and look at. And there was you of course. He couldn't help but smile softly to himself as he watched you flit from stall to stall, gawking at the unique wares and happily chatting with other guests. You were as excited as he was whenever he finished a new project, and seeing you brimming with joy was just as intoxicating.

"Come on Dee! If we don't hurry, we'll miss the performance!" you whined as you continued to nearly drag him through the crowd towards a stout building that looked to be an open air pub. The two of you had just split from the rest of the group, choosing to visit some more shops and see some musical performances while the others went to watch the sword fights and jousting tournament (which Leo was determined to sneak his way into, much to Raph's dismay).

"There's only so fast I can go in this getup!" he shot back, but he still made an effort to pick up the pace. His usual gear had been replaced with a plain white linen shirt, brown pants, and an alchemist's apron with bottles of "chemical compounds" and "ingredients" strapped on. Heavy brown gloves, boots, and his signature goggles finished out the look.

"Are you kidding me?" you had said this morning when he came out of his lab, decked out in his alchemist gear.

"What? Alchemy is commonly used in fantasy and historical fiction, plus it's science! It's a win-win!"

Really you shouldn't have been surprised by his choice of costume, this was Donnie after all. He may have agreed to go along with this idea, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to bring science into it anyway he could.

Speaking of science...

"Based on the open structure of the building, the number of people, and the location of the stage, this table should have the optimal acoustics and volume for listening to the performance," Donnie rattled on, leading you to said table as he frantically typed calculations on his tech gauntlet which he had cleverly hidden underneath his glove.

"Really Donnie? Couldn't go one day without it?" you respond in mock exasperation. Honestly you were surprised that was the only piece of tech he had managed to smuggle in.

"Hey, it helped didn't it? Couldn't have found the best seats in the house without a little bit of, say it with me now, science!" he sang out, striking a pose and pulling some jazz hands. It had the desired effect as you laughed at his antics before softly pushing him down on the bench at the, apparently, best table in the house.

"Okay, okay, you got me there wise guy." You joined him on the bench but couldn't seem to stop moving with excitement. Donnie smiled as he felt your bouncing legs jostle him slightly, your eyes already trained on the stage where the musicians were setting up.

"So what exactly are we about to listen to? I'm assuming I shouldn't get my hopes too high for my usual?" Donnie had heard you talking about the group when you were discussing plans with everyone else, but he never picked up on what kind of music they actually played. Nevertheless, he was pretty sure techno and EDM were out of the question.

"Hardy har har, nice try. I think you'd be pretty hard-pressed to find anything off of your playlists here. This group does a mix of fantasy-based and traditional folk music. Every show they do is completely different, so you never really know what you're going to get. It'll probably be some more mainstream fantasy soundtracks and some of the folksy stuff. Ooo we may even get some sea shanties!" you practically squealed, your legs speeding up in their bouncing as you considered the possibilities. You couldn't help it. Even though your life was quite literally a living, breathing sci-fi movie, fantasy was your thing! You never felt more powerful than when you had a sword or bow in your hand or a corset wrapped around your waist.

Donnie let out chuckle at your antics, knowing full well how much all of this meant to you. While he couldn't exactly understand it, he found that he didn't really need to. Anything that made you this giddy was clearly something to be acknowledged, regardless of how confusing it appeared to him sometimes.

He turned his gaze from you and considered the stage, trying to see if he could analyze the instruments and predict any of the songs that might soon fill the space. Sure, it may not be exactly his taste, but he wasn't exactly unknowledgeable of this type of music. After all, you had shown him plenty of your own playlists. Maybe he should have spent more time listening to them and learning the music for this event. That was something he'd have to rectify for the future. Perhaps he could have S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N. compile most of the songs so that he could...

"Hey Dee?"

He was so lost in his own thoughts that he didn't notice you had stopped your excited leg bouncing and were now looking at him with a slightly abashed expression. He hummed in response, mind still whirring through instrument combinations and crossing off songs in a mental list.

"Thank you for doing this," you said in a small earnest voice. That had him finally turning his full attention back to you, a slight furrow between his brows. "Dressing up, leaving most of your tech behind, humoring me and my weird fascination with all this," you gestured at the faire around you, "I'm just... really happy to share it with you and am grateful you've let me. And I know it's not your cup of tea, and we can definitely go check out the weapons displays and everything or whatever else you may—" your ramblings were cut off by a soft kiss on your cheek.

You stared at him, eye wide and mouth in a small O. Donnie was never one for PDA, but you were finding there were occasionally some exceptions to the rule.

"I'm grateful that you want to share this part of you with me. I want to know every part of you, even if it's not technically my thing. Goodness knows you've dealt with enough techno-talk to last a life time," he said softly, smile still playing across his lips. Seeing you so concerned about including him in this precious part of your world had his chest filling with warmth he wasn't quite sure what to do with.

That seemed to be your specialty, completely rocking his known universe with a single line and a smile.

You huffed a laugh and leaned forward the extra few inches to rest your forehead against his, your own smile broadening. "I happen to like your techno-talks thank you very much."

"How could you not? They are chock full of brilliance!" he smirked as you laughed, leaning back far enough to playfully shove at his arm.

It's then that you both heard the first few notes float from the stage as the music group made their entrance and introductions. You quickly swiveled yourself away from Donnie and towards the stage. Donnie chuckled at your immediate response, watching your face light up before he turns as well.

True to what you said, the group did perform a variety of music, none of which matched up with the list Donnie had conjured in his head earlier, much to his chagrin. (He would definitely need to connect with S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N. about it when he got home.)

The flitting notes and boisterous chords were quite a contrast to his usual tastes, but he still found himself nodding and stomping along to the thick beats and steady rhythm. He could feel the sound reverberate around him, creating an almost electric energy throughout the space that left him in excited awe. At one point, the group played a popular sea shanty that even he knew. The two of you sang and stomped along to the song, bumping each and smiling the whole way through.

After what felt like only minutes but was really closer to an hour, the group announced it was time for their final song. You sighed and leaned into Donnie's arm, content written across your features. He smiled softly down at you, perfectly content himself at your expression. The close proximity allowed him to feel more than hear your slight gasp as the final song started. His smile turned quizzical at your reaction, but your slowly widening eyes remained trained on the stage, leaving his question unanswered.

A repetitive, steady drumbeat rang out and was soon joined by low voices singing in a layered harmony intertwining with the solid beat. Donnie furrowed his brow as he listened. He couldn't quite pick up what they were singing, but he was sure it wasn't English. His hypothesis was confirmed when the lead singer, an ethereal looking woman with bright red hair, stepped to the mic and began to sing an upbeat and lilting melody. Her voice seemed to skip across the base created by the drums and other voices like a stone on a pond, creating an intricate blend of sound and lyrics that Donnie just couldn't understand.

Not one to leave the unknown alone, he shifted his arm and pulled up his tech gauntlet once again. He quickly used the audio feature to search up the song and analyze its mysterious language. Victorious in his endeavor, he turned back towards you to once again prove science's superiority, but he froze when his gaze fell on you.

In his quest to understand the song, he hadn't noticed your clear recognition of it. Or that you had started singing along.

"Bróga breaca dubha are an dúlamán gaelach..."

Your voice was soft, filling only the air around the two of you. Much like the lead singer, the notes flitted around the space, seeming content to fly through the air and never land. The Gaelic, as his tech claimed the language to be, rolled off your tongue as if it was made specifically for you.

"Tá bearéad agus triús are an dúlamán maorach..."

His gaze seemed locked on you, entranced by the sight. With an absent flick of his wrist, the now forgotten screen turned off, taking with it the typed out lyrics and their translation. Donnie suddenly no longer had the urge to dissect the song and its meaning. He was perfectly content to interpret it through your eyes and voice alone.

Completely unaware of your captive audience, you continued to sing. You felt the words take form on your lips as they had dozens of times before. Your eyes shone bright and your smile took on a dreamy nature. You couldn't help but move with the song, shifting your head along with the melody and even going so far as to bring your hands up to your chest on particularly powerful lines. You were completely lost in the melody and the story it held.

And Donnie was lost in you.

Donnie prided himself on his mental clarity, his ability to analyze and think through any and everything he came across. But in that moment, his brain came to a complete stop. The single-minded focus that had time and time again helped him create so many incredible and life-saving inventions was now solely on you and the wonderous scene you had unwittingly created.

And if that wasn't enough to make him fall in love with you all over again, you then began to dance.

The song hit a mild break, with the drums and backup vocals taking over for the lead singer. The base of the song still rumbling on, she stood at the mic and encouraged anyone who wanted to to come to the open space in the middle of the pub and dance.

Seemingly without a second thought, you shot up and joined the few other people who had taken the singer up on the offer. Donnie jolted backwards at your quick movements, so lost in your song he hadn't even noticed what the lead singer had said. Still, his eyes tracked you as you hastily made your way to the center of the pub.

With the thumping rhythm of the drums as your background, you danced like nothing in the world could stop you. Shoes long ago abandoned, your bare feet slid and stomped on the floor. You spun, causing your layered skirts to flare out in a moment of untouched beauty and passion. A laugh sprung from your lips as you continued to twist around and fling your shirts haphazardly. Nothing had ever felt so freeing, so magical.

If Donnie had thought he was mesmerized before, he couldn't begin to comprehend what he was now. There was absolutely nothing that could take his eyes off of your constantly moving and shifting form. Your face was lit up in such pure and unadulterated joy as you continued to spin and twist and stomp along to the music. It was as if you were a fire finally set free, and Donnie would gladly burn to see but an ounce of your passion.

The lead singer joined back into the song, bringing it to its full intricate beauty once again. At the shift, you turned, eyes locking on Donnie's. Somehow, your smile widened as you nearly floated back to his side, hands outstretched in invitation.

"Come on, they don't call you Booty Shaker for nothing, do they?" you asked cheekily. Chest heaving and face already pink from exhilaration, you looked radiant in your bliss.

Donnie couldn't contain his laugh as he accepted your hands. "Let's find out, shall we?"

Hand in hand, you led him back to the where you had been dancing. He instantly took the lead, pushing you away from him and then back in with a flourishing spin. The two of you swept across the floor, stepping towards and away from each other as you dodged other couples and guests. Donnie felt light as air. Nothing had ever felt so natural as twisting and turning you around the space. He caught sight of your smile once more, a beaming look created by and for him and him alone, and his heart completely melted. There was nothing more freeing, more right than this.

The song built to its crescendo, and so did your movements. You both continued to blaze a path as you dipped and twirled your way to the center of the floor. Just as the song flourished to its conclusion, you ended up tucked into each others' arms, trying to catch your breaths as you came face to face with the other's matching grin. Around you, the gathered crowd cheered. Even the music group applauded your efforts. But it all might as well have been background noise. Donnie heard and saw nothing but you, breath heaving and laughter on your lips. It was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen. Shifting his hands from their hold on your frame, he reached up and cupped your cheeks, gently pulling you into a passionate kiss. You melted into him, arms wrapping around his neck to pull him closer. When you finally pulled away, you didn't go far. Resting your foreheads together, you looked into each others' eyes and couldn't help the laughter that bubbled up.

Maybe he could get into this ren faire thing after all.

[endermen-impasta]

Rise of the TMNT: Future Study... Kinda

(( about this dude and the messy future reference in the movie ))

-- Someone made a post about the picture Casey had and how it didn't match up from Casey going to the day the war started, how the Kraang was fast to take over, so on so forth. If you don't know what I'm talking about... I kinda forgot who made that post and didn't like it BUT! I have another thing that tripped me up while watching the movie (( that IDK if someone has pointed out. )) Let's go to the time right after Raph got captured by the Kraang.

-- This moment right here --

-- Leo and Casey have a back and forth, Leo is clearly upset by Raph being captured and fears what could happen to Raph if he doesn't get rescued, clearly understanding how harmful the Kraang can be now (( since he had a near death experience and they hurt Raph -- Raph the brother seen as strong, sweet, and overall invincible { similar to how a child thinks of their parent / parents at a young age} ))

-- As all the same Casey is just focused on making sure the world and Leo survives and doesn't have to go through the hardship that he has to go through. (( clearly the highest important person to him due to seeing -- or at least being told as a kid -- the other brothers die and not having a connected relationship to )) In the moment Casey is also distressed over the fact that he FAILED the only mission he was given from the person he adored. To Casey he needed to complete the mission, not only to save the entire world from complete distortion but to him it was some sort of last task to do so Future Leonardo could rest in peace, knowing that everyone is fine.

-- Whenever Casey was presented with the object he wanted to get, Casey was relieved not thinking about how Raph would be in danger. As soon as Casey said "Nice" (( clearly being an apathetic thought at first )) Leo starts to go off how it's not "fine" or "nice" going over how they captured Raph, which caused Casey to rethink what he should be thinking of. At a stand point of silence Leo ALMOST realized something (( that would be considered completely wrong ))

-- He says "He's from the future, he knew this would happen" (( referencing that Casey is at blame for the events that happened and completely at fault for not warning them ))

-- To this Casey responds with "I didn't know this would happen, it didn't happen in my time." --

-- Let's take a step back. Casey is about the age of Leo and Donnie, (( sixteen years old )) and in the future Leo was thirty / forty before he died. Getting those ages Casey would've been alive when Leo was about twenty something years old. He wouldn't know about what happened the day of the invasion (( unless someone explained it to him -- which to the story the resistance told kids how the sky ripped open and started chaos, no one went into detail about what actually happened, or the whole day was fuzzy, some sort of forgotten memory as a way to survive the war at hand. ))

-- That scene is confusing, being that someone remembering what happened on the day of the invasion being next to nothing and how Casey knew what happened that day without even being a thought in someone's brain yet. He was an UNBORN, literally.

-- From that scene and on they went through an entire trauma enhanced movie and at the end, everyone got the good old cold glass of "here's-some-trauma-that-will-never-go-away-and-affect-your-entire-life-at-every-hour-of-your-living-breath"... So refreshing... That's all that I wanted to go over for now... I WILL be back to hyper analyze some more scenes, but for now I'ma run off and go into a coma.

(( Update, it was THIS post ))

[captainofthedauntless]

Leadership Skills

Bayverse Leonardo x Reader imagine

Info + Warnings: Leo handles stress poorly. And emotional vulnerability. And apologies- basically, he's doing his best, and he's lucky Reader is so patient. No gendered language, pronouns, or Y.N used for Reader, but they are described as shorter than Leo. Friends-to-lovers type beat, with some bullshit as the catalyst. Set a few years after OOTS.

Commentary: Leo's kinda shitty with his emotions. This is mostly me trying to figure out how the fuck to write him. Written with Into You by Ariana Grande on in the background.

Your phone buzzed, and you knew who it was before you even looked.

You weren't sure if you were glad to be right, to see "Fearless" pop up in your notifications.

Can I call?

A small part of you wanted to say no. An even smaller part, angry and defensive and petty, wanted to tell him to fuck off.

Give me five minutes. Busy rn.

All but instantly, he sent back a thumbs up emoji. You leaned back in your chair, pushing your food towards the center of your small kitchen table and away from you, suddenly no longer hungry.

Five minutes didn't feel like enough time to gather yourself, but you also didn't see any point in putting it off. Under all of your leftover anger and hurt, you could remember the look on his face when you'd left the lair the night before- he probably wasn't any better off than you were.

He cared about you. You knew that. And he'd upset you and you knew he knew that- it wasn't like you'd been subtle- and knowing him, he was probably kicking himself harder than he really deserved.

Donnie had mentioned this exact behavior to you a while back; this tendency of Leonardo's to become overly critical under stress, to lash out and snap at people and say things he didn't really mean. It had been at Raph, then, pushing his buttons into a fight that let both of them blow off steam and get back to some semblance of normal.

With you, it was different.

It had been hours of frustration for everyone, poring over data from a string of robberies to try and find any sort of connection while Donnie ran some sort of cross-referencing software to double check your findings. Leo had been snippy with all of you; clipped answers, cold tones, and an abandonment of the basic manners that were his constant.

You'd slipped away to the kitchen on a drink run for the group, and he'd joined you a few moments later, visibly exhausted and tense.

"You holding up alright?"

He'd laughed, a bitter, empty thing, reaching past you for a container of leftovers. "Just peachy."

"I've got to stand here anyway," You had said quietly, nodding at the brewing coffee pot. "Captive audience, if you want it."

He'd looked at you, jaw working as he weighed his options for a beat, two, before he'd sighed and absolutely deflated. "I know I'm missing something."

"In the case?"

Leo had nodded. "I know there's a connection. It's- it's like it's staring me in the face, and I just can't see it."

You'd hummed quietly. "Yeah. It's a good thing we have so many eyes on this, because it's definitely a puzzle."

"Yeah," He'd grumbled, "Lot of good that's doing us."

"Hey," You'd chided. "They're doing their best, Leo."

"Well, maybe their best isn't good enough."

You'd shifted, pushing off the counter you'd been leaning on and crossing your arms. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"We should be done with this already. I shouldn't be chasing everyone around to get answers."

"You just said you weren't finding any, either."

"Whatever. I shouldn't have said anything."

"You didn't need to. You've made your disapproval crystal clear."

"And yet, nothing's changed."

"So, what, you want Don to magically find the solution you can't manage to come up with?" You asked incredulously, waving at the door. "I know you're angry, Leo, but taking it out on us-"

"I don't need you to tell me how to lead my team," He'd said sharply, the tension back in his shoulders. "I'm doing fine alone."

"I'm not trying to tell you how to lead," You'd shot back. "I'm only trying to get you to-"

"If you don't like how I'm handling this, maybe you should just leave."

You had blinked at him, an offended "Excuse me?" leaving you.

He hadn't even had the decency to falter. "You heard me."

So you had. You'd marched right out of the kitchen, right past his grimacing face, stopping briefly to grab your bag from by Don's computers.

"Woah, you alright?" He'd asked, watching you angrily collect your things.

"Just peachy," You'd hissed, pausing briefly to collect yourself- and put the venom back where it belonged, away from the innocent turtle in front of you, because you were not about to be a hypocrite- before continuing in a much softer tone. "I'm heading out. Let me know if you find anything, yeah?"

"Ye- yeah, yeah. Of course. Uh, thanks for your help."

You'd nodded curtly. "I'll let you know when I get home. Coffee's almost done."

His eyes had widened slightly, darting quickly to the kitchen and then back to you. You had been able to see the question on his face- your "home safe" texts went to Leo, they always did, so letting Donnie know was an odd move- but to your immense relief, he didn't verbalize it. "Alright," He'd said instead, "Travel safe."

Your phone rang almost exactly five minutes after the thumbs up, like he'd been watching the clock.

It almost made you laugh.

Instead, you took a deep breath and answered, voice flat. "Hey."

"Hey," Leo said, voice heavy and tired even through the distortion of the phone. "How are you?"

"Depends on why you're calling," You answered dryly, finger tracing the edge of your table.

He sighed quietly, and you could picture the eye rub that followed as clearly as if he was in front of you. "To, uh, to apologize."

"For?"

"The way I spoke to you in the kitchen. And the- the way I spoke to all of you last night, but- but especially you. You were trying to help and I treated you like shit."

"True."

"And you were right."

"Also true."

"And... I probably should have planned this better, I just- I'm sorry."

You hummed in acknowledgement, not ready to accept his apology, but also not wanting to make him feel worse.

He was quiet for a moment. "Don probably told you, already, but we found something. The suspect for the robbery on 18th has an uncle that runs with the Purple Dragons."

"He did. Think it's important?"

"I think it's the best lead we have. And I think you were right about the chemicals being the key to this whole thing. He- Donnie- says they could be pretty dangerous if they get combined with a few other key ingredients. We're gonna stake out a few Dragons locations, see if there's any movement."

"Tonight?" You asked.

"That's the plan."

You hummed thoughtfully, weighing his apology. Weighing how much you'd actually missed him in less than a day (which, you realized begrudgingly, was a lot).

Yeah, he was an asshole, but he was trying. An olive branch in return would be okay, right?

"Text me when you get home?" You asked quietly.

Leo let out a small huff of laughter, one you knew to be a sign of relief, and it was enough to replace your stubborn frown with the start of a smile. "Yeah. I can do that."

You sat quietly, listening to the sound of something moving on the other end of the call. You wondered what it was; it sounded like paper, or plastic of some kind.

Your unspoken question was answered a few moments later by the sound of a whistling kettle, signaling tea time.

"I'll let you go deal with that," You said.

"Yeah," He mumbled, almost sounding reluctant. "I probably should."

"We'll talk later, yeah?"

"Yeah," He said quickly, as though worried you'd rescind the offer if he waited. "Sounds good."

"Play it safe tonight."

"I- we will."

"See you, Leo."

"See you."

You hadn't expected to literally see him, but a few hours later, you got another text asking if he could stop by on the way home from their stakeout.

You said yes.

He knocked on your window not even five minutes later, a soft, measured rhythm you knew like your own heartbeat. You opened the window, pushing the curtains aside to let his broad figure slip through with a tired, tentative smile, and drew them shut again behind him.

"Hey," He said quietly, something raspy in his voice. "I'm sorry to drop by so late, I just..."

You leaned against the windowframe, watching him falter and trail off and meet your eyes for the first time since he arrived. "Probably should've planned this better?" You teased gently, repeating his comment from the phonecall.

Leo huffed a laugh, hanging his head and rubbing the back of his neck roughly. "Definitely should've."

You took pity on him, leading the conversation back to something solid and matter-of-fact instead of whatever he was flustered about. "The job go okay?"

"Yeah," He said, immediately loosening. "Yeah, Raph and Mikey spotted a truck at their location. Got the plate, saw it heading out of the city- Don's gonna do some digging, see if it's connected to anyone with any history with biology or chemistry. He thinks the Dragons are creating some kind of weapon."

"Sounds like some deep shit," You said bluntly, making him chuckle.

"Agreed."

"Good thing New York's got you guys to look out for us."

You'd said it lightheartedly, almost affectionately, but it made him grimace.

"What?"

"I just-" He cut himself off, pausing to take a quick breath before turning to look you in the eyes, shoulders squared and head held high. Textbook "hiding behind leadership" Leo behavior, not that you'd call him on it. (Even if you kind of- really- wanted to.) "You're an important part of this team. We need you, and I never should have dismissed your concerns. Or you."

Interesting. "Important part of the team, huh?"

"And, uh, of other things."

You'd known him for years. You knew when he was being evasive. You knew when he was holding something back.

Usually, you'd wait. He'd come to you when he was ready.

Today, your patience was a little thin.

"Other things?" You questioned, holding his gaze.

He said your name, carefully neutral, but his eyes gave him away- as always.

Fearless was nervous.

"No, no, you said it," You responded firmly, lips just barely tilting up into a smile. "I want to know what you meant."

Leo shook his head, looking away from you and being the very picture of exasperation.

"Don made it clear that you're a critical part of our group dynamic-"

As much as the mental image of Donatello giving him hell on your behalf was hilarious, there was something else going on, too. You really needed him to get to the point before that dangerous spark of hope in your chest caught fire.

"Leonardo."

"You're important to me!" He blurted, whirling back to face you before quickly softening his tone. "You're important to me."

"And that was that painful to admit?"

"No. Yes. I-" He groaned, running a hand down his face, and you bit back a laugh. "I-" He sighed, bright blue eyes finding the floor, before finally, quietly, "I don't mean as a friend."

You could feel your heart bouncing off your ribs, going about mach 3. "Like an advisor, then," You quip breathlessly.

He snorts. "Yeah. Like an advisor."

"Anything, uh, else?"

He studies you, not moving. "That... depends."

"On?"

"Like I said, you're important," He says carefully. "I don't want to ruin that. Especially not after... last night."

"I think you're going to need to work pretty hard to ruin this."

"I hear I've got-" He did little air quotes- "'A talent for being a fucking asshole,' so it might not take as much work as you think."

You couldn't help it- you snorted. "Was that a Donatello verbatim?"

"No comment."

"Well," You said with a smile, "Why don't we see what happens, huh?"

"Because-"

"Leonardo," You interrupt. "If you don't tell me, I might start to draw conclusions of my own."

"Blackmail. Classy."

"Evasion," You counter quickly with a snarky nod of your head, "Real brave."

He sighs, squinting at the ceiling for a beat. "This really isn't how I pictured doing this."

"Such is life."

Leo smiles, a weak little thing, before he brings his eyes back to yours and takes a deep breath. He says your name, soft enough to send your heart into acrobatics. "I have feelings for you. Deep, deep feelings, that seem to get deeper every time I talk to you, and I'm starting to feel like I'm going to drown in them, and I can't even bring myself to be upset about it."

Well, shit.

How the fuck do I respond to that? You wonder, staring at his sky blue eyes.

Increasingly nervous sky blue eyes.

Fuck it.

"Same," You breath simply. You nod once, twice, wetting your lips. "Yeah. I'm- the only thing you ruined was my chance of being coherent."

Leo's face slowly split into a grin, and a small chuckle escaped him. "I can live with that."

"You're going to have to. Damn," You mutter, smiling broadly. "Yeah, same. I- I have feelings for you, too. Deep as hell."

"Would you let me take you out on a date?"

You cocked a brow playfully, grin never faltering. "Are you telling me you already have a plan, mister?"

"I will very soon. This... was not how I expected my evening to go," He admitted sheepishly, taking a slow step towards you. "But I'll figure it out."

"I never doubted you," You said fondly, matching his step and meeting him in the middle. "Yes, Leo, I'd love to go out with you."

He smiled again- beamed, really, the kind of smile that dazzles you and threatens to melt you right down to the floor- and the little space between you was enough to make your head spin.

As though he read your mind and took it as a challenge, Leo leaned down slightly, eyes darting to your mouth before returning to your eyes.

"You sure you didn't plan all this out?" You muttered, tilting your head up in invitation.

"No plan," He said softly, bringing one hand to rest tentatively on your hip. "Sorry."

You hummed, reaching up to play with one tail of his mask. "The great Leonardo, master of both plans and improv. Impressive."

"Y'know, some people say the key to good improv is a good partner."

You giggled, you honest to god giggled, and you found you couldn't even bring yourself to be upset about it.

Funny how that happened.

He cleared his throat gently, gaze holding your own, nerves visible again. It was adorable, really. "I... just to be clear, may I kiss you?"

"At this point, I'll be a little offended it you don't."

Leo chuckled again, and he was close enough that you could feel it through his chest and the air against your skin, and despite all of your quips and want you found yourself frozen, waiting.

Luckily, he didn't leave you waiting long.

His lips met yours.

Your eyes slid shut and your grip on his mask tightened and you melted, gently pressing yourself into his space as his second hand found your hip.

It was sweet, and soft, and tentative. It was a little clumsy. His neck was so tense that you worried briefly that he might strain something.

And it was perfect.

When he pulled back a few moments later, it wasn't far. Only enough to meet your eyes, smile shyly, and bring a hand up to brush against your cheek.

"I have a plan," He said quietly, warm voice barely enough to bring your mind out of the warm-fuzzy cloud he'd put it in.

"Yeah?"

"After all of this Dragons stuff is out of the way, I'd like to do a movie night. I'll bring snacks, and we watch the one you mentioned the other day about the murder. Just us."

You pressed your lips back to his for a moment. "I'd like that."

Before he could respond, his radio buzzed, making both of you jump.

The disgust on his face was enough to make you laugh.

"Yeah?" He sighed, answering.

"I've got a hit on the truck," Donatello's distorted voice said. "If we hurry, we can make it to the warehouse I suspect it went to and be back by sunrise."

Leonardo hesitated, gaze flickering from the radio to you and back.

You stepped in. "The sooner this is over, the sooner you can get back to me safely and we can have movie night."

It earned you a conflicted look- somewhere between gratitude and remorse. You decided to focus on the former.

"Alright, Don, I'll be right down. Get the others ready to roll."

"Will do."

Leo sighed, hand falling from the radio. "I'll text you when I get home."

"Please." You stepped back reluctantly. "Be safe, yeah?"

"We'll play it smart," He assured you. "Get some rest."

"Sure," You said noncommittally. He raised a brow, but said nothing as he slid your window open. "And Leo?"

"Yes?"

"Thank Don for me."

He laughed, and disappeared into the night.

A week later, you were leaning into his shoulder on your couch. Unbeknownst to you, his attention was wholly on the feeling of your cheek on his skin instead of the movie.

He hoped he'd have other chances to focus on the plot. More chances to offer useful commentary on suspects and motives.

For now, he couldn't bring himself to be upset when he had no clue who the killer was.

"What a movie, right?" You asked happily as the credits rolled.

"I loved every second."

[tmntstorycomp]

All the Comp Writing that was behind Puzzles

Hi hi! I realized if you followed the blog but weren't in the discord then you may have missed some of the hidden hints and clues that we had. Here you go!

The Notes:

From Raph

Hey Mikester,

I just wanted to reach out and see how you were doing! I know it’s been a rough past couple of weeks, being alone again probably isn’t all that fun.. But you’re welcome to we want you to come home. 

We want to support you right now, even if you’d rather be alone but..

You can’t do it alone. And we want to help. Come home, Mikey.

Sinserly sinceraly Love, your big brother Raph

From Leo

Miguel!

You need to answer my texts, I should not have to send you notes via portal. BUT. I am trying to respect your space because you are my little brother and I love you. 

However.

As someone who has had my fair share of awful break ups: You didn’t need her. There are plenty of.. Fish in the er… Yeah. 

Listen, my point is that moping around alone is only going to make you feel worse. Come home and we can mope together.

Your favorite brother, Leo

From Donnie

Salutations, Angelo. 

It has come to my attention that you are in need of help, and fortunately for you, I am more than willing to help. 

I have already taken it upon myself to research the best online courses I can find, cross referencing them with affordability- not that we need to worry about that. Your old room is just the way we left it, and I’m sure we can expand it for your expanded inventory. But of course, we can’t do that until you come home. 

I expect a swift reply. 

Sincerely, Donatello.

From April

Hey Mikey!

It’s been awhile! But I heard what happened. I get it. And it can’t be easy raising a little one on your own. You know, my cousin had a baby recently, and I’ve gotten real good at taking care of that! 

And you need a break. Come on, I want to see the little one. It’s been far too long and who knows how big they are! And! I’ll get pizza on my way over, does that sound like a deal?

I miss you Angie, and I’m bringing toys for your kid. 

Love you, April

From Splinter

Orange. 

I AM NOT GETTING ANY YOUNGER. I HAVE BEEN ASKING YOU, MY SONS, FOR GRANDCHILDREN SINCE YOU ALL TURNED OF AGE. I WANT TO BE A GRANDFATHER.

If you do not bring young Masaccio back to the lair, there will be dire consequences. DIRE. I will not die not knowing my little grand baby!

And we can have tea. I hope you will tell me all that troubles you, my son. 

Forever, your father. 

The Letters:

To Massy

Dear Masaccio,

I bet you have a lot of questions. And many of them I don’t have answers to. I wish I could explain everything to you.

I wish I could have been better for you.

But you’ll come to find out that taking care of someone else is.. well, it’s a big responsibility. One that you have to be prepared for in order to give them the best chances. And I want you to have the best chances you can have. 

I can’t give that to you. 

I wasn’t prepared for the toll that having you would have on me. And I can’t be your caretaker any more. I’m not strong enough for you, and I understand if that leaves you angry with me. 

You deserve to be angry with me.

But it’s important you understand. I may dislike being your parent, but I have always loved you.

You probably won’t remember, but as I’m writing you this letter, I have you curled up in my tail. We had spent the entire day together. You were practically bouncing off the walls, my little frog. You have so much energy, just like your father. Sometimes it’s hard to keep up! 

Today, you learned how to finger paint. Daddy sat with you the entire time, he said you had the magic touch, just like him. You smeared paint across the table and the pages and the carpet. You were having fun and your laughter was infectious.

I’m trying not to laugh now at how happy you looked with splotches of red, green, and blue every which way. I remember making daddy swear he would clean it all up..

But then his brothers called. You know how daddy is a hero. He’s always out there keeping our city safe. But, with daddy gone, it was just you and me.

You fought the bath, you fought dinner, you wanted him. And I wasn’t him. 

Maybe you remember then… how I raised my voice. I shouted at you to behave and you looked… so sad.

I’m so very sorry Massy, I should have never raised my voice, I should’ve never said those things to you. But I can’t promise it won’t happen again. 

Like I wrote, I’m not prepared for a wonderful child like you. And because of that, I need to go before I deal any more damage to you. 

You cried yourself to sleep because of what I did, because I couldn’t bring myself to hold you and wipe your tears. Daddy’s home now, and he’ll be there when I’m gone.

I believe in the turtle you can become, Masaccio.

Taina

To Mikey

Dear Michelangelo,

This isn’t how I wanted to do this, he’s only just a kid. I look at him now and wonder how I was silly enough to let these years pass me by. He’s so little now, his eyes are so full of light that sometimes it’s hard to peer into them.

Sometimes, it stings. But even now as I write this, I have him curled around my tail and you’re fast asleep. He’s almost cute. But then I remember the tantrum that I battled just to get him here. Just to get him to stay quiet so I have a few moments of peace and suddenly he’s not the cute toddler that I had hoped. He’s a screeching monster of tears and snot.

And I love him. I love him so much. But Michelangelo, he’s not mine to love. He’s not my baby. I can’t be here to raise him. 

And I’m sorry.

But I can’t do more. You keep saying that if we just push through it then we will come out the other side but the further I push the deeper into the earth I feel.

I shouldn’t have allowed this to go so far, but you were so happy. 

Do you remember the night we met? 

It was raining in New York. I was just freshly mutated, I didn’t know where I was going. I didn’t know who I was anymore. I’d heard stories of mutants in New York for years by then but I guess I never believed them. I was squatted underneath a bunch of cardboard and you…

I still smile thinking about the way you fell into my life. You said you’d been dancing on the rooftops and slipped.

Dancing, while the city around you was nothing but gloom, you danced until you came tumbling into my life.

We were so happy. I was happy. And I found the place where I belonged in your arms and everything was fine. 

Late nights staying up, playing with the soft strands of hair along your scalp as you showed off drawing after drawing. Taking in the soft glow of the candles every which way. We were in our very own slice of heaven. Then you asked me to marry you and the world came to a halt.

I could’ve sworn my heart had exploded that day from my excitement…

… maybe it did.

Because we were wed and we were happy and we were- We were us! Nothing could tear us down until..

Until you said you wanted a baby.

And I was hesitant. Were we even ready for that? Was I ready for it? No.. and I said that, you understood and we waited a year and you asked again. And you looked so hopeful that I would say “Yes, I’m ready!”

But I wasn’t.

I’m still not.

But I said yes anyways and you were so excited that I convinced myself I wanted this. And that’s when we had our Masaccio…

I love him t

o the moon and back, Mikey, I really do. But I’m not ready to be his parent, and he needs someone whose ready. He needs someone who won’t grow to resent him just for being a kid. I can’t grow to resent him. 

Your family will love him, pick up the burdens that I leave behind. You will love him.

You’ve always been extraordinary, Mikey. You’ve always been as bright as the sun. I don’t want to eclipse our little planet. 

I love you, Michelangelo. 

Be brave,  Taina

Massy's Father's Day Poem

Happy Father’s Day, I say to the man who told me I was loved, Who has been there in every way, Splattered paints and shiny toys,  A happy home to grow my heart,

Happy Father’s Day, I say to the man who kept me safe, Who tended to scrapes whenever I’d play, Bruised knees and tiny cuts, A safe home to protect my heart,

Happy Father’s Day, I say to the man who lied to me, Who told me everything was okay, Ancient letters and pleas to stay, A quiet home to pierce my heart,

Happy Mother’s Day, I say to no one who cares to listen, Who left because I was too much a fray, An old photograph and mental strain, An empty home to break my heart.

[certifieduruihater]

the karai and leo ship/dynamic is...so weird to talk about. first of all majority of the fandom just shuts down the discussion with INCEST which...i get it? but at the same time i also see why it wouldnt cross people's minds? im ngl when i watched the show as a kid, incest really didnt cross my mind for a number of reasons. 1. how the mutagen works is kinda finicky and not really well explained. so does being mutated by a donor's dna make you related to that donor? like when snakeweed was mutated by the plants, is he related to the plants now? when bradford was mutated, is he related to his dog? like karai is splinter's daughter, and the turtles are related to splinter because they were mutated with splinter's dna ..is that how that works? supposing the turtles do have splinter's dna embedded in them now which allows for their mutation and human-like features, idk if that's what the show was going for, because splinter's dna can't explain everything. like how do the turtles have such different eye colors then? how does leo have dark blue eyes while raph has nickelodeon slime green eyes? where were the genes for those? shen and yoshi (in human form) both had brown eyes. they could be carrying a recessive gene ig but still. or did they always have that eye color in turtle form? but those are exceedingly rare colors, and when they were children the turtles just had black stare-into-your-soul-eyes?? actually is it even confirmed that they were mutated from splinter's dna? or from someone else like the pet shop workers? idk?? i just never really thought about it too deeply (and i suspect you're not really meant to), and the show never really pushed it. and the distinction of the turtles being biologically related to splinter or not just never really mattered to me, because either way, it's clear that splinter views them as his kids. splinter and the turtle's relationship is a great depiction of family, regardless of whether they share blood. and honestly, i don't think any of the writers would have pushed leo and karai if it was actually incest. stuff like this is why incest never really crossed my mind on a technical level.

and 2. do karai and leo actually see each other as siblings? when its revealed that she's splinter's daughter leo sees her as part of the clan, sure. idk about karai. but do they actually see each other as siblings, or is this something the fandom just made up? i just remember their dynamic being really vague honestly. leo was super devoted to helping karai and finding her, treating her as one of the clan and devoted to helping her return. then there was this one line by leo to donnie that was something along the lines of he should know what its like because of april, which COULD have romantic connotations, or it could just be referencing the supposedly super strong bond the show likes to pretend april and donnie have. you also have instances where karai and leo dont actually seem romantically interested in each other, at least not anymore. i think leo even jokes to karai about it at some point, and KARAI is the one to look awkward, which to me signals that leo's over any sort of attraction he may have had. regardless, its not really clear if they explicitly see each other as siblings or if they feel something romantic.

side note: to all people rewriting the series to have raph and donnie clown on leo for falling for his "sister," you guys know that THEY were the ones actively joking about and thus perpetuating a romance between those two? they were the ones being weird about it! i know people are just using raph and donnie as author inserts to laugh at leo but it just doesnt work here.

MIKEY calls her sis (even this could be chalked up to his general use of language), but idk if raph or donnie ever really warm up to karai, let alone see her as their sister. and when people call them all siblings it really just feels like the fandom is squeezing these characters together, locking them in a room, and telling them to play nice. like wouldnt their dynamic be a lot more complicated than that? on the turtles side, this girl whos been trying to kill them, who they thought was the daughter of their enemy, is now suddenly their sister? talk about jarring. i can see mikey accepting it pretty easily bc he's mikey, but raph and donnie? i feel like it would take them longer to warm up to her, let alone get to a "sibling" level. slapping the sibling label onto karai feels like youre disregarding a lot of complicated emotions that would need to be worked out first. and honestly, even if they do work things out im still not sure theyd get to the sibling level. and there's nothing wrong with that, imo. this is not even talking about karai herself, who would also probably have A LOT of complicated feelings about being the daughter of the man she was raised to hate and being a part of his clan. add the "sibling" part onto that? oh boy. i feel like it would make karai distant and reluctant to get involved if they seriously started considering her a sister.

honestly what seems more likely to me is that the writers wanted to have their cake and eat it too. karai says to leo, just because i like you doesnt mean ill go easy on you. does she clarify what kind of like? of course not! maybe there were writers with different agendas or whatever, but either way you're left with karai and leo's dynamic just being really ambiguous and not really clearly addressed.

even if they're not related by blood/DNA, whatever, i know this is still a touchy subject for people because they believe that saying they dont see each other as siblings invalidates situations like step siblings, adoption, etc. but this is where i personally draw the line between fiction and reality. i think for this instance, fiction cant be a 1:1 representation of reality. this is a unique situation in itself. (i also dont think that this ship/dynamic is worth getting that heated about, nor is it worth putting much energy into honestly. it was not very fleshed out imo. my point is if you're looking for found family rep i dont think you should be looking at karai's relationship with the hamato clan. it's not the best example imo 😅 and if you're looking for a good ship with leo...idk this aint it chief.)

yeah i dont ship them. not because its incest, but because i just dont think theyd make good partners for one another. karai...girls got issues she needs to work out. i dont think shes very reliable, and she seems like the type to actively run away from responsibility. im not really too into karai's character as a whole, but thats a topic for another day. this may sound cliche, but i just dont think karai is the influence that leo needs. yeah she'll influence him sure...in the wrong ways. and i think leo would very quickly turn into karai's manic pixie dream boy who devotes himself to fixing all of karais problems which...i dont think he needs. dudes got enough on his plate.

personally, ill choose to believe that on both ends, what they felt for each other was nothing more than passing curiosity. MAYBE fleeting attraction, and that's a hard maybe, or at least it very quickly went away, because i remember the scene where karai was up in leo's space, and leo did not look into it all 😭 anyway leo felt undermined by his brothers, was tired of being responsible, and out popped karai looking for a good time. karai is karai. they were both distractions for each other initially. and leo chooses to believe in the good of people, so he kept talking to her. and then they found out she was splinter's daughter, blah blah blah you know the rest

[obsessed-small-penguin]

Mona Lisa is 7′0″ Headcanon

As a short person, I want this height difference to be known (and self-project)! 2018 Rise Raph may be 6′0″, But that won’t stop me from Headcanoning Rise Mona Lisa as 7′0″!!!

Here are some reasons why (with pictures 😌)

1. Shock Factor

Raph and his brothers are to believe that Raph would be the tallest mutant they’d ever encounter, but they would not be prepared for MONA. Que the “A Giant Woman” song from Steven Universe 😂 She would tower over everyone and Raph would love it! As 2012 Raph would say, “What a woman”.

2. Consistency

If she’s [2012 Mona] a foot taller than 2012 Raph, then I must see her a foot taller in Rise (if she ever were to be)! Even in the 1987 version, she seems to be taller (or around the same height) than Raph. Consistency ✊😔 (Also I haven’t seen her in 2003 or any other versions except IDW and the 2 in the picture)

3. Short Kings Stay Short

I don’t make the laws. Once short, always short. 2012 Raph is the second shortest. The second, dude is HC’d to be the second oldest yet he’s the second shortest. Leo beats him by an inch. I’m just saying, a short person who is angry (feral) gets a lot of love from people. Especially if their lover is taller and a gentle giant (Mona is... maybe gentle? She’s definitely stronger but calmer than Raph).

4. Giant Lovers

(I ran out of photo ideas...) There’s always something so funny about seeing a couple and you’re like “Oh the girl’s so much taller than the guy”. But then you put something next to the couple and you’re like “Wait no, they’re BOTH tall”. The only time tall people can feel short is when there’s a taller person next to them.

5. Raph’s Type

This is an assumption, but for every hotheaded character there’s always a badass girl boss right next to them (Knuckles and Rouge 👍). Mona Lisa is a perfect match, stronger and powerful like Raph but less hot-headed 😂 Oh, and that one moment in 2012, referencing the quote section on Fandom Wiki for Mona Lisa in 2012:

Raphael: Hey, Casey. Do you think a turtle can, like, date a newt? Casey: Dude, What? (He hits Raphael and laughs hysterically) AHAHAHAHA!! Raphael: I mean, you know, maybe, um, these Salamandrians aren't so bad. Like, the lizard girl is cool. Leonardo: You really are running low on oxygen, Raph. What are you gonna do, ask that giant newt out on a date? Raphael: Well, I mean...I don't know. Michaelangelo: Wow, you really got a crush on that salamander hottie? She's, like, bigger, stronger, and probably a better fighter than you. Raphael: Exactly. What a woman.

(I legit can’t find a clip of this on Youtube)

Anyways, Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk 😂

[yzafre]

I am sorry I have no clue what the Gibbs slap is but whatever that’s not really what I am here to ask about. You talked quite bit about Mikey Donnie and Leo. So I am curious what is your opinion on Raph? /gen question

Oh, man, comments that make you realize you're aging. So the specific post I was talking about was this one, and the Gibb's slap... I'm referencing a(n extremely) recurring gag in NCIS. Probably has a better name, but this is how it was referred to in my social circles growing up.

Now obviously NCIS didn't invent the idea of slapping someone upside the head, but I have a suspicion that it widely popularized it, given how popular I remember NCIS being through the 2000s.

As for Raph: this is re: my post on 2003, I'm guessing?

So, a thought that I'd had and forgot to add to my big post is how. Okay so there's a common fandom vibe that Raph is extremely hot tempered and constantly fighting with Leo, and that's.

Okay so he does have a temper, but as things go one he's more grumpy and impatient? Made more obvious that when everyone gets flattened in S6 the grumpiness is his main thing - "I hate the future grump grump", ect

And while he does argue with Leo, the only time it was really explosive was the City at War arc, which was..... a pressure cooker, and also the best showing of why Raph makes such a good Lancer for Leo in this series.

Leo has a lot of.... Noble idealism? Which is nice in theory but gets him in trouble sometimes - see city at war, and I also mentioned in the "thoughts" post I thought it contributed to his breakdown arc.

Raph, on the other hand, is immensely practical and has an insular, "just our little world" protectiveness (sort of, put a pin in this).

Neither of these things are good in isolation, but they balance each other out! And Raph really does care! See: him still following Leo everywhere even as he yells at him thought city at war.

This attitude is also what makes episodes like Lone Raph and Cub or the one with the old woman so interesting! Because his "others aren't my problem" thing only really holds up as long as the "other" remains faceless. Once there's an identity attached to it, his empathy kicks in, which prompts him to act where idealism wouldn't.

Also! Raph has a strong understanding of handling a working through negative emotions - from his own experience - and also has the presence of mind to apply that understanding to other people (mostly Leo, admittedly).

Another of my favorite Raph moments was... Both the S1 farmhouse episodes? The one where he helps Leo make the swords is a showing of the above about handling negative emotions. The "waking Leo from a coma" episode, on the other hand, highlighted his internal conflict between how deeply he feels things, and his (un)willingness to admit to or show it. Great stuff.

As for the... A couple tags on the "thoughts" post have described it as "meanness" related to my comments on the writing changing in the later seasons - even if I don't really like it, I also don't tend to hold it against the character, since I understand (and experienced, and participated in!) the cultural context that writing came from. Especially when there's obvious affection showed in the same seasons - as much as S6 was a mixed bag, I consistently enjoyed its depictions of them roughhousing and playing around.

While I personally connect to him less than the other characters, I do like Raph and his writing, flaws included (...when the writing is good).

Thanks for the ask!

[s0fti3w1tch]

I will probably send another Ask later to you, but I am separating them because content-wise I think it makes sense.

So I just wanted to talk about this ask:

https://www.tumblr.com/s0fti3w1tch/712638605488799744/not-to-sound-impatient-but-whens-the-next-part/ask

I don't know if that link will work, but the only way I could add a link right was by adding the "/ask" (or "/submit", but this is an Ask) at the end of the link.

If it doesn't work because I added the "/ask" at the end. It will probably work for sure if you get rid of the "/ask" and then try it then.

Anyways, I was just going to say; while I am also very excited for TD!AU, and I love all the art, written stuff about it, lore, the comics ofc, and/or etc. (I love separated AUs. And I love Leo so much; I love the others too though, but Leo is basically my favorite in every version (so u seeing all the nice Rise and/or Rise Leo content here is nice. I also really liked seeing some 2012 and/or 2012 Leo stuff from u, because just him too, and that 2003 Raph post u did; I love them so much too ofc), and ur blog gives so much cool Leo stuff and separated AU stuff. Both urs and others. And TD!AU combines both of those things, and also great stuff for the others, and a real focus on family (like, Leo does really care for Casey and the Foot as family. And then so does his family that thinks he is dead. Like, I really liked the stuff we have seen with April, Casey, Donnie, and Hueso and/or Leo. I am excited to see more of that. And stuff with Raph and Mikey and their feelings about Leo. Both before they find out he is actually alive and after) . And Leo and Casey stuff. And Foot Leo. Also, Hueso stuff in the future. And it is going to have Usagi and Mona Lisa in some form too? Awesome!

Also, ur comic and art is just so, so good. I love ur Leo so much. And I am curious to see (though like, I say this tentatively, because I know it is very personal for you) how the cult themes play out with Leo and everything. And to see more of ur take on Foot!Leo and Separated Leo (will probably talk more about this in another ask at some point); since I love both ofc.

Anyways, back on topic; while I am always excited for more TD!AU stuff; I can wait. The comic is gorgeous, and the 2nd part was even longer than the first, so they must take a hot minute, and honestly, I can wait for quality work. And u have given us a lot of other cool stuff between comic updates (and even if you didn't, I could still wait for when you do post stuff); to tide us over.

Basically; while TD!AU is one of the the things I really look forward to more stuff about and updates for; you are still just a person, and I can wait.

One last question (for this ask at least):

About this ask (once again, remove the "/ask" if the link doesn't work without it):

https://www.tumblr.com/s0fti3w1tch/712637475051454464/hey-buwan-what-are-the-orientations-identities/ask

I really love these headcanons for these 3! (also, I saw in a comic, that Leo used to be Venus in this, and I love that! I also sometimes see people, with transfem Leo, where people see vice versa with Leo becoming Venus after. Which I think is interesting too. Even though I also just love him being Leona or just sticking with Leo after coming out, as well as some other names and/or takes too)

"(also I do get what you mean w/ the whole different headcanons thing per universe! Kinda the way I see 2k12 Leo as a trans girl, but Rise Leo as transmasc. Just doubled down into differnt versions of only Rise Leo specifically)"

I thought you mainly saw all Leos as transmac? Referencing ur Masterpost here (could be misremembering it though). Not that it matters either way; just curious.

Also, I love both transmasc and transfem for any Leo honestly (like 2012 and Rise ofc). I basically headcanon them all Leos as not straight either, I just have trouble seeing Leo being so. Though I am totally okay if others don't think so. Though, saying that, yeah, sometimes different versions, different takes, even though I do still said what I said here.

One last question about the quote and/or ask above (and just in general), what do you mean by "Just doubled down into different versions of Rise Leo specifically'?

I just want to say thank you so much for this message. I've been meaning to reply to it for a while, but I haven't had the time. I wish I had the right words to express. Thank you so much for the support and your long asks (like, I genuinely love reading through them). The amount of time you've put into typing these or paying attention and keeping in mind the details I share just means so so so so much

I love making things for the story of Tentative Devotee.

Thank you for waiting.

Oh and that last one. I sometimes headcanon Rise Leo as different orientations and gender identities depending on the AU (though mostly adjacent to me or my sibling's experience)!

Generally, Rise Leo specifically I see as trans with a masc-aligned gender identity!

But I see 2012 Leo as transfem. Other headcanons: 2003 Leo is aroace, bigender and sapphic 1987 Leo

Again, thank you for this ask. I hope you have an amazing day

[turtlethon]

“Donatello Trashes Slash”

Season 6, Episode 11 First US Airdate: November 21, 1992

Evil mutant turtle Slash returns from Dimension X.

The sixth season of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles continues with “Donatello Trashes Slash”. This is the second of four episodes in a row written by David Wise and serves as a sequel to the earlier adventure “Slash - The Evil Turtle from Dimension X”.

We kick things off today with Leonardo and Raphael waiting for Michaelangelo to emerge from the kitchen with pizzas. If you’ve been keeping track of the occasional instances of friction between this pair then here’s another one to take note of, as Leo condescendingly points out that “a ninja is always patient”, leading Raph to give him what I can only describe as a Death Stare.

Mikey arrives and begins serving the goods as expected, but before Leo and Raph can chow down, Donatello arrives, keen to try out his new automatic pizza slicer machine. The wheeled contraption soon goes haywire, splattering pizza across the walls of the Lair and destroying the furniture. Even Donatello’s own Bo staff gets destroyed in the process of de-activating his invention (marking the second episode in a row where this has happened). Frustrated by Donnie’s machine ruining their meal, the other Turtles head off to Vinnie’s, leaving the team’s resident inventor to clean up his creation’s mess.

Later, Splinter arrives to find Donatello mopping up the living room floor. Donnie confides in his Sensei that this is the third time this week one of his inventions has malfunctioned, making him begin to doubt his role within the team. He’s ready to destroy the pizza cutter machine but Splinter offers words of reassurance, suggesting that he shouldn’t act too hastily.

With his cleaning done, Donatello settles down to watch some TV. Vernon is broadcasting from a reptile house about the opening of a new turtle habitat. In the report, April’s rival gushes about how this facility will be a great help in preserving endangered species of turtles and create greater awareness about their plight with the public.

The façade abruptly ends when Vernon thinks the broadcast is over, and he begins complaining about tax dollars being spent on “dirty, smelly reptiles”. As it turns out, the feed is still live, all of Vernon’s true feelings about turtles going out on the air. Donnie is infuriated by this, in fact I don’t recall ever seeing him this livid before. He’s about to head down to Channel 6 to confront Vernon – what's he going to do, beat him up? - when April appears on TV with a breaking story. An alien spacecraft has arrived in the city, and reports say that a large turtle emerged from it wielding advanced weaponry. Donnie briefly considers that the description given sounds like “Slash - The Evil Turtle from Dimension X” (referencing the title of the evil mutant’s prior appearance), but swiftly dismisses this idea.

During my break between writing about seasons five and six, I rewatched the first season of TMNT, rewriting and expanding the Turtlethon entries for those episodes. One of the observations that I made in that second go-around was that the payphone elevators seen in “Hot-Rodding Teenagers from Dimension X” were almost immediately abandoned, manhole covers and ladders to the surface quickly becoming established as the main way that the Turtles enter and exit the sewers. We get a quasi-return for that idea here as Donatello is seen emerging onto the street via a concealed rising platform, minus the phone booth. He sneaks past a crowd and underneath a police barrier to see that the trash ship sent to Dimension X, “The Space Scow”, has indeed made it back to Earth.

Donnie – now wielding his bo, which he apparently had concealed under his trenchcoat since leaving the Lair – confronts Slash, who is in the process of raiding an electrical supply store. This isn’t the same dopey foe that the Turtles battled before, however, as Slash now speaks like an erudite Englishman and wields an advanced laser blaster. Figuring perhaps brute force might work more effectively, Donatello tries to strike Slash with his staff, but gets hurled into a wall for his efforts. Seeing that he’s outmatched, he flees the building as Slash decimates a good portion of it.

Slash pursues Donatello outside, destroying the car that the smaller turtle was taking refuge behind with a single laser blast. The returning villain declares his intention to become the dominant turtle in the city, hurling Donnie into the path of a group of collapsing logs in a construction site as the first act ends.

We pick things up following the commercial break as Slash has buried Donatello under a pile of debris from the construction site. Announcing that this marks one Turtle down, three to go, the villainous mutant goes on to reveal he’s heading to Channel 6 to complete the construction of his trans-frequency flux oscillator. Wondering where Donnie is, the other Turtles reach him via Turtlecom, and after learning of his predicament, leave the Lair to dig him out.

Slash goes on to set up a forcefield around the Channel 6 building, and after going inside confronts a receptionist. She rejects his request for access to the roof’s broadcast antenna and is sent skyward (along with her desk) after being hit with a ray from Slash’s anti-gravity gun. Two security guards are taken out with an Immobiliser blaster, and a further group of employees are handled with a gust of cold air from a third weapon the evil turtle has invented.

At the construction site, the other Turtles free Donatello from the pile of girders and assorted junk pinning him down. The team find the idea of Slash beating Donatello incredulous – I don’t know why, he had no problem defeating all four of them before – and laugh in Donnie’s face after he tells them the deranged mutant is now super-intelligent.

Burne is entirely unfazed upon discovering that the alien Turtle reported to be on a rampage is now in the Channel 6 building, figuring that it’ll make a fantastic story. He soon ropes Vernon into joining him in investigating the situation. Meanwhile the Turtles reach the station’s premises and discover the forcefield that’s been put into place. As the dome only extends halfway up, our heroes use a grappling hook to gain entry via an open window.

An older lady is hosting a cooking show when Slash arrives on-set, scaring the crew off. He goes on to imagine the world populated by turtles that will exist after his plan has been implemented, leading to an extended fantasy sequence: a turtle equivalent of the cooking show host goes through the motions, before we see turtle news from “TNN”, a turtle home shopping pitchman and a jowly turtle providing a weather report.

Slash’s dream is interrupted by the arrival of the Ninja Turtles, but he hits back by opening fire upon a roof-mounted lighting rig, pinning down our heroes. The Turtles quiz Slash as to how he became so smart, which leads to another cutaway, this time for a flashback. We see the Space Scow crash land on an alien world, where a variety of creatures with differing goofy designs would take pity upon Slash, performing a procedure on him that would dramatically increase his intelligence. The evil mutant would take it upon himself to return to Earth and turn everyone into a turtle with his new animalizer ray, with himself positioned as the most powerful turtle of all. Listening in on this recollection of events are Vernon and Burne, who manage to attract Slash’s attention and become the first victims of the animalizer, now resembling pet turtle versions of themselves (but retaining the ability to talk).

[NOTE: During Slash’s flashback, Michaelangelo notes that the episode where the Space Scow was launched was show #74. I don’t know where this number came from, as it was the 83rd to be broadcast and the mid-seventies would place it during the syndicated stretch. Granted, both the syndicated and network portions of S4 had a super-screwy broadcast order that generated all kinds of continuity goofs – perhaps David Wise had it earmarked early on as being episode 74 and that never got updated once the final running order had been finalised, but it’s just as likely that he pulled a random number out of nowhere here.]

The Ninja Turtles attack Slash, who counters by jumping on a floorboard to send the team flying. More confusion abounds here with the line “And Slash fights with brain power!” being delivered out of nowhere – presumably Leonardo was supposed to utter his “Turtles fight with honour!” catchphrase when the group were attacking, and this wound up on the cutting room floor. Slash uses his ice gun against the Turtles as the second act wraps up.

Having frozen the Ninja Turtles, Slash scoops up the transformed Vernon and Burne, declaring them to be his first subjects and placing them in a shoebox before heading for the roof. As he begins work on amending the station’s transmitter, April finds the frozen Turtles. Back and forth scenes follow of the Turtles slowly being thawed out, alongside Burne and Vernon’s long journey back downstairs after escaping from their shoebox. April is astonished to see what’s become of both her old rival and her boss, who take turns in explaining Slash’s current plan. Vernon pleads to be offered protection and turned back to his old form alongside Burne, but Donatello continues to hold a grudge for the reporter’s earlier remarks. Nevertheless, our heroes agree to let them tag along.

The Turtles confront Slash on the roof, but his modifications have allowed him to turn the transmitter into a flying platform that he uses to escape. It becomes apparent to the team that Slash is heading in the direction of the Trumpet Tower apartment building, a giant golden skyscraper which we’re told is “the tallest structure in the city”. (This implies the existence of yet another Donald Trump expy in the TMNT universe, which is wild given that two prior Trump stand-ins were present in the first Slash episode alone, and one of those guys was Donald J. Lofty, whose own Lofty Tower was introduced as “the world’s tallest skyscraper” in “The Big Zipp Attack” - why not just incorporate that into this story?) Slash intends to use this vantage point to gain maximum coverage for his transmitter, and so the Turtles must act quickly.

A throwaway scene follows in which Donatello rushes back to the Lair, carrying Burne and Vernon in his hands as he passes the same building six times. Meanwhile the other Turtles confront Slash atop Trumpet Tower, only to be met with a wave of small, wheeled enemy robots. The outlook is bleak for our heroes until Donnie arrives with his pizza cutting robot, originally retrieved with the intent of disconnecting the antenna. The contraption easily decimates Slash’s machines, but the problem of the animalizer remains. Donnie goads Slash into using it on him and his team-mates, as turning them into humans would leave Slash the only mutant turtle in the city. When Slash opens fire, Donatello hurls Vernon and Burne into the path of the blast, reverting them back to human form.

Slash is furious at being tricked, and charges at the Turtles after his equipment is destroyed, knocking himself, Leo, Mikey and Raph off the side of Trumpet Tower. While our heroes are saved from impact thanks to Michaelangelo’s grappling hook, Slash isn’t so lucky. The Turtles assemble around their enemy and find that, while still alive, the impact has reverted him back to his former self. Donnie announces that the team will take Slash to his spaceship and send him on his way again.

Back in the Lair, Michaelangelo reveals to Leonardo and Raphael that while he’s relieved the day was saved, he feels ill-at-ease as every other adventure has always climaxed with a “big, humungous explosion”. This plainly isn’t true at all, but in any event, Donatello arrives with another innovation, an automatic cheese grater. I’m sure you can see where this is going, as after a single piece of parmesan is placed inside, an enormous explosion follows.

Slash’s first outing established him as a fan-favourite villain, and wisely – no pun intended – left the door open for his potential return. Two years on, we finally get that here, but I suspect that this isn’t the sequel that anyone imagined, much less wanted. The demented, chaotic energy that made the character so entertaining in his first go-around, coupled with the comedic tragedy of his origin and his endless quest for his “binky” don’t factor into this story at all, and instead we see him acting and talking like every mad scientist villain the Turtles have battled over the course of the last three seasons. Since this is a David Wise episode, there’s plenty to enjoy here regardless, but I can’t shake the feeling that this story denied us the chance to see more of Slash as Slash. That’s particularly disappointing as he’ll only appear in the series once more next season, in “Night of the Rogues”.

In prior episodes, Michaelangelo, Raphael and Leonardo each went through the process of doubting their value to the team and confiding in Splinter about their feelings. This of course only left Donatello, and had me joking that given how integral his intelligence is – coupled with his growing ego over the last few seasons – he wasn’t about to go through this rite of passage. Clearly, I was wrong, as that’s exactly what happens here. Though Donatello’s crisis of confidence does tie into the conclusion of this adventure, I do get the sense that we never fully got to explore these themes as Slash’s antics consumed so much screen time. It’s clear that some things were rushed through in this story to squeeze everything into twenty-two minutes – the extended fantasy sequence about turtles hosting TV shows certainly didn’t help.

Vernon’s increasing prominence isn’t something I ever would have predicted heading into season six, but aside from “Phantom of the Sewers” he’s been a notable factor in every recent episode going all the way back to “Return of the Turtleoid”, where he had a memorable interaction with the departing Big Louie. Subsequent outings have seen him plotting to steal April’s new office, attempt to impress the boss’s son and of course show off his nephew Foster to his co-workers in one of his biggest roles to date. Here, Vernon is back at his sneering best, getting in trouble repeatedly in an outing where April is barely seen at all. Even more strangely for a Channel 6-focused episode, Irma is nowhere to be seen, although as anyone who remembers the curious case of Mildred will know, this isn’t entirely unprecedented.

An entire month in TV time has passed since we last checked in with Shredder and his bunch, and there’s a real sense that while the Technodrome crew remain the show’s foremost villains, they’re not quite the dominant bad guys that they were in the heyday of the first three seasons. We’ll see if Shreds can turn things around next time as he returns with the rest of the Foot Clan regulars in “Leonardo is Missing”.

[thenerdywitchofthenorth]

Have I mentioned, that I suck at drawing small details and that besides the leo raph was the hardest one to start drawing?

So, I think this is The Godly outfit that has strayed the most from my original idea. I was planning on giving him the full body armor situation. But the more I think about it the more I decided not to. And believe it or not it wasn't due to laziness I actually can justify my actions.

Ralph is a war god, but he's so much more than that, and while his outfit is the most practical out of all of his brothers. And I do picture the details on his shirt and the ones on his middle, are not fabric it is armor, or made out of metal courtesy of Donnie, to protect his most vital areas. He doesn't wear heavy armor, because not only does he have this Nimpo to protect himself, but he doesn't want to be slowed down by the Heavy armor. After all part of his job on the field is trying to protect others and he wants to get to the most vulnerable people on time. His colors are simple but neutral, his outfit is open and you feel like you can approach him, if you get past the initial shock of seeing a giant snapping turtle. He has his weapons on, and the armor covering his arms is not just there to protect him but to make it more effective.

Now let's talk about the tattoos.

The one in his right arm speaks for himself, it's supposed to be a giant flower with all the colors of his siblings. I'm pretty sure later on he adds something that represents both the Casey's to.

And his other arm is a little, the most notable one, is of a rat protecting four eggs. The rest are just pretty designs with bright colors that make up for the lack of colors on his own outfit. And there's even tattoos of his preferred weapon hidden in there.

Ree, this is the part where you inspired me, I wasn't sure what to draw on his tail. Then Ree, suggested clouds and that gave me the idea.

Much like I did with Leo's outfit where I referenced the time of day that he was born, Ralph has not only his time, but his brother's and in the order they hatched.

We have Raphael at dusk, Donnie at midnight Leo at dawn, and Mikey at noon.

As we go down there are more fun colors and flowers and even a small tattoo of a teddy bear. Now the reason why I gave Raphael three tattoos alluring to the origins of his family is because, at that moment he needs a reminder.

The tattoos are there because they're covering gruesome scars that he got during a Savage episode, that afterward Mikey helps to cover them up. So when Ralph looks at his own body he's reminded of who he is ,where he comes from, and the things that he loves Like colors and animals and his family. and who he truly needs to protect.

Right now Ralph is having a full-on identity crisis, he's being pulled in five different directions. His family has just suffered a great loss, he feels like he's losing his second youngest brother, thanks to the selective and brutal worship he's getting. Is now distorted even to him. So right now he's using his family as an anchor, and going to do what feels the most familiar, and that's being the protector / Big Brother .

Much like Leo using his family as a security blanket and it's a way to define himself. I think later on not only will he get it more elaborate outfit that isn't afraid to lean more into the God of War aesthetic, and without forgetting his softer side, and will view his tattoos in a different light. No longer an anchor but something that he's proud of rather than depend on. And maybe even expand on them to reflect more of his own personality and growth, and.. maybe.. have a matching one with a certain badass Warrior Priestess who was newly transformed. Who knows

And here we have Savage rap, this one speaks for itself. His eyes whiten and teeth sharpen, the spikes of the shell more prevalent, I actually think that the spikes get so big that the tattoos aren't even visible. In short, if you're in battle and you're on the other end of that... there is no amount of luck that I can wish you for you to be safe.

Again very simple outfit, with similar colors but subdued and I threw in a little sun hat. And replace the armor on his hands with simple bandages.

Now another reason why I made his outfit so practical, is not just because he needs to be battle ready at the drop of a hat, but because of his favorite spots to go to when he's done in the mortal world or not just festivals and other fun locations, but in the woods to retrieve with his beloved animals that calm him so much.

Now finally we have clinging to a very special offering. The first offering he's received a long while that not only he appreciates, but get some hope that he'll be more understood in the future.

Yes @furiousjellifish , it's from the story you posted alongside your drawing of Mona.

There you have it the oldest brother, like always I would love to hear your opinions and if you have anything to add or suggestions I'm happy to hear them , because you guys know better than anyone that all of this is still beta and it might drastically change in the final draft.

@annonniiiiieeeee

@fatalflawsy