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goodlucktai · 3 months ago

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a bigger heart grew back

rise of the tmnt post-movie characters: leo & splinter, raph & splinter word count: 5k title borrowed from no hell by cloud cult

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Splinter thought he had lived through all of life’s worsts already.

Losing his mother, estranging himself from what was left of his family, moving to the States as an orphan of his own making, falling in what he thought was love and losing his freedom as a direct result—

Years spent underground where he was forced to fight like a dog, an unwanted mutation that guaranteed his exile from society, that first bleak night in the sewers with nothing but the clothes on his back and four infants who depended upon him entirely and the utter conviction that he was going to fail them—

The resurrection of the Shredder, the collapse of Splinter’s home and the exodus of his children, the fear he had become unfortunately intimate with in those fraught hours—that his boys would become orphans, too—

Raphael’s escape pod opening and Leonardo tumbling out, eyes glassy and chest heaving with panic—sweet, sensitive Red covered in a fleshy pink parasite and forced to attack the siblings he loved more than life itself, those little turtles he had fussed over and carried and kept safe since he was just a little turtle himself—

But nothing compared to hearing the voice of his second youngest child as he prepared to end his own life.

His precious Blue, who could sell water to a fish, bravely trying to convince his siblings that it was right for him to go. Already pulling away, beginning the vanishing act, even as Raphael begged him not to do it.

All for that tiresome, nebulous greater good. As if any happy ending could possibly exist with Leonardo removed from the narrative.

Splinter had thought he knew what pain was, but his heart, patchwork, secondhand thing that it was, had never broken like this before. He crumpled to the ground, and listened to Blue’s line on the comms explode into a strange whine and then static and then nothing, and it was over.

His Blue would never crawl into his armchair for late night Spanish telenovelas again, Splinter realized. Would never wheedle and bribe and coerce him into chess matches, because he didn’t seem to know he could just ask and Splinter would play as many matches with him as there was time in a day for. Would never run from a successfully antagonized sibling and fill the lair with his ringing, infectious laughter. Would never fall asleep at the kitchen table over a medical textbook he pretended to be too cool for in the daylight hours. Would never effortlessly argue his twin out of the lab for dinner, would never lift Orange up on his shoulders to get a hard-to-reach mixing bowl because teamwork makes the dream work, would never painstakingly stitch together a ripped teddy bear for the brother whose fingers were too big to handle needle and thread ever, ever again.

There is not a word for a parent who has lost a child. There is not a word for that particular flavor of grief that carves you empty at the same time that it fills you to the last hopeless, drowning inch.

April sobbed openly beside him, her small, strong shoulders shaking. She had always been exactly what Splinter would have wished for in a daughter, and so the Hamato curse didn’t spare her, either. It takes and it takes and it takes.

And then Michelangelo turned his back on despair and handed his family a miracle.

Splinter could feel his remaining sons’ ninpo stir and then surge together, and the sheer forceful brilliance of it staggered him from all the way over on the other side of the city. He knew better than to hope—but he also knew that nothing existed in this world or the next that could possibly outstubborn his children, or strong-arm them into abandoning each other, or quite frankly make them do any single thing they adamantly as a group did not want to do.

“Guys,” April choked out. “Talk to me, what’s going on? Hello?”

Thudding footfalls announced Casey approaching at a run. He jumped over one of the pinned Krang’s flailing tentacles as if he dodged ballistic alien parts every day of his life and skidded to the ground beside them on armored knees.

“I felt it,” Blue’s child from another life gasped, face tacky with half-dried tears. “That’s Uncle Angie opening a door. No one else could do it but him.”

Casey had a familiar katana at his side, blue and gleaming. His fingers seemed like they wanted to linger on the hilt but he handed it over to Splinter agreeably enough. The lingering ninpo in the blade usually welcomed Splinter warmly, eager to be of use, a telling mirror of the way Leonardo himself was so anxious to please and be praised. But this time the tool that Splinter picked up was an innate, lifeless thing.

He prodded tentatively with his own qi. The runes flickered once, half-hearted, in the manner of a dog waking at the sound of a key in the door, ascertaining the person there was not the one it belonged to, and laying its head back down to sleep.

Splinter would not be able to follow the whims of his son’s ninpo to create a portal while it lay dormant. His own uselessness crushed him.

“Raph mentioned Staten Island earlier,” April said, wiping her eyes with the heel of her palm and pushing herself to her feet, business-like and brisk because she couldn’t afford to be anything else. “I doubt the ferry’s running, and the bridge is going to be a gridlock nightmare, so it looks like we’re stealing a boat.”

“If your mother asks, I did not condone this,” Splinter said hoarsely. “That said, the marina is too far to run to, so first we are stealing a car.”

They were halfway across the river in a cruiser that probably wasn’t meant to sustain the sixty miles an hour April was pushing when that startling shout of their family’s ninpo finally started to fade into a soft-spoken susurrus.

Before it was too quiet to make out clearly, he felt it: that achingly familiar mischievous blue energy, like a playful breeze flying above everything. Much smaller than usual, less spirited—giving more of the impression of a tiny tide pool creature hiding inside its shell than a smartmouthed sixteen year old boy with the whole world in his corner—but present.

Alive.

“Sensei,” Casey whispered.

“They got him,” April said, a ferocious, not-to-be-trifled-with look in her eye, all but daring the universe to try to make her a liar. “They saved him somehow, I know it.”

They were both Hamato enough to feel it as certainly as Splinter did.

But the boys hadn’t thought to include anyone else in their immediate, hard-won victory—and in fact, the call Splinter, April and Casey finally received some ten minutes later was one of outright panic.

“Dad, dad, are you there?” Orange’s voice warbled. He sounded all of fifteen years old and frightened in a way that set Splinter’s fur on edge instantly. “Dad, Leo’s hurt bad. He was awake a second ago, and talking even, but then he stopped making sense and just—just fell—”

“I don’t know what’s wrong,” Purple added, high-strung and liable to start biting if one more thing went catastrophically wrong within a mile of his person. “I’m scanning him but I don’t—I’m not a doctor I don’t know—”

“Send the readouts to me,” Casey said quickly, pulling his mask down, its lenses glowing green as the interface came to life. “Sensei trained me in field medicine, I can help with anything short of an open-heart surgery.”

“You take after your father,” Donatello replied. “Irredeemable overachievers.”

That faint thread of gratitude in his voice would go unheard by anyone who didn’t know him, but Casey huffed a near-silent exhale, having heard it loud and clear.

What Future Boy had to share with them wasn’t great, but it wasn’t the worst it could have been, either. Leonardo had sustained a number of broken bones and soft tissue damage, the cartilage in his right knee was torn as if the joint had been viciously twisted, one of his cheekbones was fractured, and even his shell had suffered a few hairline cracks. Altogether, he was looking at a long recovery, not unlike what the survivor of a traumatic car accident might have had to look forward to—but he would recover.

It wasn’t enough to prepare Splinter for actually seeing him. His Baby Blue, a tiny little thing in Raphael’s arms, with a face so beaten it was hard to make out the bright red stripe on one side.

“Okay,” April said, voice thick with anger and hurt and love. “Okay. Everyone on the boat.”

And finally they were home, after the longest day in history. Casey confirmed his initial diagnosis, with the caveat that they would know more when Leonardo woke up. He insisted to an audience of grim faces that it was a very good sign Leonardo had been awake and coherent in the first place, however briefly.

So Blue was disinfected and splinted and bandaged and medicated and then tucked safely away in the infirmary bed. Everyone else was seen to in short order. It was an easier task than it usually was, since none of them were remotely willing to leave just yet.

Splinter made a mental note to call Draxum to double-check that Michelangelo hadn’t pushed himself too far in creating a gateway—the glowing lines on his hands had faded, and beyond an occasional tremor, he promised his family up and down that he was actually fine. Donatello’s shell was a quiet source of concern, but the only person alive who could harass him into a checkup without getting maimed for his trouble was currently very much out of action. Raphael’s eye was definitely infected, and blood vessels had burst when he’d ripped the parasite away, coloring the sclera an alarming red.

The rest of the clan watched in some unspoken, exhausted wonder as Casey unthinkingly maneuvered around Leonardo’s infirmary as if he’d spent part of every day of his life there, knowing which drawer to find compression gloves for Orange in, locating topical pain reliever for Purple that he could apply himself and medicated eyedrops for Red in quick succession, before ultimately offering a bottle of extra strength Tylenol to April, who accepted it gravely.

“You’re a weird kid,” she said. From her, it was a declaration of approval. “You better plan on sticking around.”

“Oh,” Casey said at length, surprised. Clearly, he hadn’t thought ahead to what the after of his mission would be shaped like. His gaze lingered on Leo’s little bundled-up figure in the bed, so full of love and grief for a man who didn’t yet exist, and Splinter thought to hell with it. The kid was as good as his grandson if you squinted.

“We’ll find a bed for you,” Splinter said, some tiny corner of his mind free from screaming worry and bone-deep exhaustion already plotting where to make room for another subway car. “In the meantime, the sofa is yours.”

With that, five out of six children had been packed off to sleep. It took April and Michelangelo combined to pry Donatello’s hand from Leonardo’s, and subsequently his entire person from the infirmary. Raphael pulled a chair up to Leonardo’s bed and Splinter didn’t try to argue him out, knowing when to pick his battles.

Red had a familiar look on his face, an elephant in the room that often went unacknowledged for both their sakes. That look that said you’re his father but he’s my kid, too.

He had earned the right. No one could argue that. Late night vigils were his wheelhouse and had been ever since he was about nine years old. When Splinter didn’t have to be quite so present—when he started to let the tired gray encroach more and more, when he stopped getting out of bed right away at the sound of a child crying—Red quietly learned how to tend fevers and stomach bugs and bad dreams.

Soon enough, the boys stopped calling for daddy when they were hurting and started calling for Raphie instead. And their Raphie always came when they called.

Which was why it must have hurt like a blade piercing clean through his ribs when Leonardo finally stirred at something approaching two o’clock in the morning, blinked muddy gold eyes open slowly, looked up at the familiar shape of his biggest brother beside the bed, and flinched.

The world hadn’t ended yesterday. It was happening now instead.

Splinter had thought he knew what pain was. But life did not seem to ever run out of brand new lessons to teach.

“Leo,” Red whispered, heartbreak obvious in every inch of him. His hand was frozen in the air between them, arrested right in the middle of reaching out.

“No,” Blue managed, twisting around like he would attempt an escape the second he figured out where his limbs were in relation to the bed, IV be damned. The lines on the heart rate monitor started to crest dramatically.

“Leo it’s okay it’s—it’s me, I’m not—I’m not going to—I would never hurt—”

His voice strangled itself into silence. After all, at least some of those grisly black and blue marks around Leonardo’s neck were from him.

“Papa,” Leonardo cried out, the call reaching directly into Splinter’s heart with hooks and yanking him out of his chair. “I want papa, please, please—”

Clambering onto the bed, minding all the hardware, Splinter placed a careful hand on his second-youngest’s feverish head to soothe him.

He felt like an imposter, especially with Red still frozen like a statue behind him, but that part of his heart that had been smothered once, allowing his children’s cries for him to go unanswered and someone else to pick up the slack, was the loudest part of him now.

There was physically nothing else he could do but stroke that bruised forehead with the pad of his thumb and tell him, “Hush, Baby Blue, your papa is here. You are safe. You are home.”

Leonardo turned his face into Splinter’s hand, hiding as much as he was capable of. Raphael took one staggering step back, then another, then turned on his heel and fled the way Splinter had no memory of him ever doing before, infirmary door crashing behind him.

Torn completely in two, Splinter summoned conviction from those ancient spirits housed in his soul and forced himself at knife point to be strong for his family for once in his goddamn life.

“What are these tears for, silly turtle?” he murmured, the same way he had when Leonardo still mostly fit in the palm of one hand. Back then, all Leonardo wanted was to be held. He wondered if that was still true. “You are the safest little turtle who ever lived. There is no one left in this world who is stronger than the people who love you, don’t you know that? Your baby brother pulled down the stars for you. Your twin did not let go of your hand even once. And your big brother carried you home. You are safe. You are so loved.”

It was a nonsense litany for the most part, all true things said to someone who clearly was only absorbing every third word or so. But Blue stopped hiding his face at some point, eyes wet with tears he is even now too stubborn to let fall.

Splinter felt as though he was looking at a childhood memory of himself, trying to be strong when it would have been better—kinder—to allow himself a much-needed moment of weakness.

“You think you’re too grown-up to cry in front of this old man?” he said, gently pinching Blue’s cheek on the side of his face that hadn’t been crushed beneath a monster’s fist. “Try again in about a hundred years.”

Blue blew a tired raspberry at him. Splinter laughed, surprised at the show of spirit, his heart doing cartwheels at this proof of his irrepressible little boy unchanged by the close brush with tragedy. Winning a laugh from his father was enough to coax the ghost of a smile across Blue’s face.

“How are you feeling? We have some water for you here. No, don’t sit up. Let me help.”

He really ought to let everyone know Blue was awake, but they had just gone to sleep. His other kids needed their rest, too. It had been a truly terrible day.

And now that Red was out of the room—that thought dripped with oily, unpleasant guilt—Blue seemed to be in a more solid state of mind. He had winced as he tried to sit up for water, but if he didn’t have whiplash after a psychotic alien flung him around like a terrier would its chew toy, Splinter would eat his tail. There were none of the red flags Casey had warned him to be on the lookout for. The only thing Draxum had done right in his life was develop a mutagen that made these boys all but indestructible. Splinter would have to find the mental fortitude to choke out a thank you to him for that.

“It has been a long time since a sick little turtle has called for me,” Splinter murmured, stroking Blue’s forehead around the bandages. “Normally you are all ready to fight each other to the death to monopolize Red’s attention.”

It was only partly a joke. Leonardo gazed up at him, eyes glassy. It was hard to gauge how much of their conversation was sticking the landing and how much was somersaulting straight over his sluggish head.

Then Leonardo said, “He hates me.”

“Pardon?” Splinter said stupidly.

His son blinked, and finally fat tears rolled down his cheeks, soaking into bandages on one side, unchecked on the other.

“He hates me,” Blue insisted. “He’s right. It was my fault.”

“No one hates you,” Splinter said, reeling. He’d been right here the whole time and yet somehow he was suddenly flailing about two miles behind.

“You didn’t see his face. You didn’t see—and his eye—all because I—I couldn’t—” He sobbed, an awful sound, and turned to press his face into his pillow. Once he started crying he couldn’t seem to stop. The rest of his words stumbled out thick and choked and terribly sincere. “I couldn’t just—be what I was supposed to be. And he—and it was all my fault.”

There were few things Splinter regretted more than his fumbling of the leadership role. He had always known that Blue was too clever for his own good, that he had a head for strategy—as evidenced by his early mastering of chess, entirely outpacing Splinter’s own skill level by the age of eleven.

Acknowledging that in theory and learning to trust it in practice were two separate beasts, but watching from the front row as his baby outsmarted Big Mama of all people left little room for doubt.

On the other hand, Red was as solid and dependable as they came, the foundation his siblings built their whole lives on. As far as they were concerned, the sun only rose in the morning because Raphael hung it up there.

But Splinter’s eldest son was prone to anxiety that tended to fall on him like a guillotine, a kill switch to his rational thought. The twins floated terms like ‘panic disorder’ and the entire family was well-versed in helping him through his episodes, but if even an ounce of the burden on his shoulders could be reduced, that could only help.

Red would be happier and function better in a support role, where his top priorities would be to protect his little brothers the way he always had protected them, and to smash whatever Leonardo pointed him at.

Splinter should have sat them both down and explained it. He shouldn’t have left Red to feel as though he had done something wrong, that he had failed somehow. And he shouldn’t have let Blue believe he would be shoved into the deep end and left to sink or swim.

His boys were little gremlins who thrived in chaos and learned best on the fly. Splinter had thought the surprise announcement would have been an utter shock at first and the new normal by dinnertime. They were always so much on the same page, so in tune with one another, that he couldn’t have guessed it would turn into the tangled mess of hurt and frustration and miscommunication and blame that it did.

He should have stepped in the first time Red punched through a wall in a fit of anger and Blue laughed as though his biggest brother’s good opinion of him didn’t matter in the slightest. Instead he was a coward, unable to face them and admit his wrongs. He left his children to resolve it themselves and suffer in the meantime.

He should have done better. Maybe one day he would learn.

For now Splinter held Blue’s face in one hand and wiped it clean with a cloth in the other, patient with every new flood of tears. The last time he had seen Blue cry was the night the Shredder destroyed their home and killed Karai. There had been no time to comfort him then.

He takes after his Gram-gram, Splinter thought, and tried not to resent her for it.

“No one hates my sweet Baby Blue,” he said, willing the stubborn child to hear him. “Especially not my other sweet baby Red. You are a very confused turtle, that’s all. You will see. No one hates you.”

“You don’t,” Leonardo mumbled. “You’re not allowed to. You’re my dad. You don’t have to like me, but you’re not allowed to hate me. S’in the—the contract. You signed it. Legally binding. No arbi-arbi—”

“Arbitration. I would like to study your mind under a microscope. Maybe then I will have a hope of understanding these twists and turns it takes.”

Splinter’s voice sounded nothing but fond even to his own ears.

His children were all incredible people worth knowing, worth living for, and it was a very special joy to still be surprised after all these years by how much more he loved them today than he did the day before. To think about how much more he would love them tomorrow, even though it felt impossible to love anyone more than he loved them right now.

“You are so important, Leonardo,” Splinter said gently. “To me, and to your siblings, and to your friends. We would miss you so much if you weren’t here. We all want to see you get well.”

“It’s not about me,” Blue said, wobbly and miserable and matter-of-fact. “I know it’s not. I have to make up for it. I’ll prove—prove—”

“You have nothing to prove. It was not your fault.” Splinter pressed Leonardo’s chin gently to close his mouth when he inevitably opened it to argue. “Hush. You did not steal the key. You did not open the door. It was not even your responsibility to stop either of those things from happening. You are a child. It cannot be any one person’s duty to save this planet on their own. That doesn’t even make sense.”

Blue’s expression was becoming thunderous, which was silly and endearing, because his cheeks were still tacky with the remnants of his tears and half of his face was a swathe of bandages and without his mask he looked years younger than he already was. Splinter felt affection unfold in his heart like one of those absurdly big tropical flowers with petals the size of dinner plates, taking up more room than it was allowed and spilling out the sides and going on forever.

“Can I tell you something else? Your brothers aren’t allowed to hate you either. It’s in the contract as well.”

“They do,” Blue said tearfully, face still screwed up beneath Splinter’s hand. But his eyes drifted in the direction of the door, and the wanting in them was plain to see. Splinter took matters into his own hands.

“If I’m right, you must finish watching The Strange Return of Diana Salazar with me.”

His son took a moment to digest that, slower on the uptake than usual. Finally, he asked, “Don’t we have like a hundred episodes left?”

“I said what I said,” Splinter said sagely, then patted his cheek and hopped down from the bed.

He found Raphael exactly where he expected to find him, sitting just outside the cracked infirmary door, a hunched over shape that seemed unwilling to take up a single unnecessary inch of space.

Red stared up at him, unbandaged eye wide.

“I don’t hate him,” he blurted. “I could never—I wouldn’t even know how.”

“I know, my dear.”

“Even if he’d done it on purpose,” Red went on. “Even if he stole the key and took it to the Foot and opened the door with his own two hands, I wouldn’t have done a single thing differently.”

Splinter had worried when the turtles were very young that Raphael would frighten one of his siblings accidentally. He was so much bigger than them and toddlers were not well known for their self control or emotional regulation. It was a lingering fear that Red would say or do something he did not mean in the heat of the moment, and alienate himself. That something would happen in a split second that would cause his brothers to grow up wary of him.

It was an unfounded worry. Raphael was a quiet little boy, the last of the four to start talking, and as sweet as an American dessert. Splinter’s little apple pie. Even as he got older and started playing rougher, testing his strength and raising his voice, he never forgot when he needed to be gentle.

His brothers never ran from him unless they were avoiding bedtime or a well-deserved grounding or really did not want to go watch wrestling, Raph, it was boring. Otherwise he was their North star.

Even now, Leonardo would rather hide himself away than face a world in which he no longer had a Raphael to run to.

“How could he think that?” Red asked desperately. “He was going to die back there and he thought that’s what I wanted.”

Splinter cupped Red’s face in his hands and told him, “Blue was trying to do what his hero would have done. All of my children are so quick to sacrifice for each other. It is a wonderful thing to love someone so much, but consider the example you are setting.” Red’s good eye filled with tears, and Splinter was powerless to do anything but kiss him firmly on the forehead. “As empty as our lives would have been without him, they would have been just as empty without you. You are fundamental to us. Please remember that.”

“I know, pops,” Raphael whispered. “I’ll remember.”

“It is not always possible to win without losing but we must fight tooth and nail anyway. Abandon honor and heroism. Do what it takes to bring yourself and your brothers home. I would much sooner tell the great Hamato clan where they can stick it then let you join them before your time.”

It coaxed a shy smile from his eldest son, the barest exhale of a laugh. Still his sweet apple pie, no matter how big he got.

“I’m gonna go see him,” Red said bravely. “I’m missing out on premium Leo time while the gremlins are asleep.”

“Very wise,” Splinter said, patting his cheeks in approval.

Leonardo had managed to drag the blanket up over his head while no one was around to stop him, and only one golden eye peered out at them from his makeshift shell.

Raphael snorted and leaned over to peel it back down, heedless of his smaller brother’s protests. He let one hand linger on Leonardo’s scuffed plastron, and the other cupped the back of his bruised head.

“You’re so dumb,” Red said. “I love you more than anything. If you ever try to go anywhere without me ever again, I’ll make your life a living hell. Capiche?”

Blue stared up at him. It’s very possible he didn’t understand every word of that. But the tone seemed to get through.

His hand drifted up slowly, as if it weighed a thousand pounds, to cover the one planted on his chest. When the world didn’t end and his big brother continued to smile down at him like nothing between the two of them was any different than it used to be, Blue risked a smile back.

“I capiche.”

“You’re not alone, okay?” Red went on, playfulness gentling into sincerity. “We’ll figure it out. I’m in your corner, right where I’ve always been. But for now let’s get some sleep, big man.”

He didn’t move his hands even after Leonardo had dozed off. He just hooked his foot around the leg of his chair and scooted it closer to the bed before sinking into it.

Splinter joined him, and felt both aged by the last hour and rejuvenated. He needed a good pair of running shoes to keep up with these kids.

“He never asks to play chess with anyone else you know,” Red said suddenly.

Thrown by the non sequitur, Splinter could only offer an intelligent, “Huh?”

“Leo only learned how to play because of a comment you made once about—I don’t even remember what you said. But it stuck with him. He wanted to impress you. And he started learning Spanish because of those weird soaps you guys watch. He drove us crazy practicing every day but he never let up.

“I know that it seems like he does whatever he wants without rhyme or reason, but I think he just tries really hard to make it seem that way. Otherwise we’d all clue in to the fact that every single thing he does is just—him trying to get closer to us somehow. And then his cool guy cover would be blown. And god forbid that.”

Raphael brushed his thumb over the crown of Leonardo’s head, much like the way Splinter had earlier.

“He doesn’t love you for no reason, pops,” Red went on, not looking at him. “None of us do. Even when getting out of bed was the hardest thing in the world, you came running when I needed you. Every time I needed you. I learned all my moves from the best.”

Splinter had seen the worst of the world. He was no stranger to pain.

It was only occurring to him now that the opposite was also true.

His life was so full of impossibly good, underserved things; every day a little brighter, every night a little richer.

Four little creatures tumbled into his world by chance and then filled it to the brim with mayhem and color and laughter and pride, and he would not take a second of it back. He would not change a single painful part.

If only he had known as a young man where he would end up someday. It would have made those earlier years so much easier to survive.

Pretending his own eyes weren’t wet, Splinter said, “It will be hell on earth in the morning when Orange discovers we let him sleep through Blue waking up. You had better rest while you can.”

Smiling to himself, Red folded his arms on the side of the bed and rested his head in them, tilted so that his brother was within line of sight of his good eye. He had capitulated to the changing of the guard without complaint, but he was still tense. Primed for danger. Anxiety no doubt at play.

But Splinter was not without his tricks. He stroked Red’s carapace between the spikes, humming an old TV theme song under his breath. He did this for upwards of an hour once, back when Red was still small enough to be held in his lap, fussy and clingy after a bad dream.

Sure enough, with a great, shuddering sigh, Raphael’s shoulders went slack, and his breathing evened out—asleep within moments after the day he’d had.

“I’ve still got it,” Splinter murmured, and let himself have the win, as small as it was. If nothing else, he could give his children a safe place to rest.

And that really was no small thing at all.

#rise of the tmnt #rottmnt #lou jitsu #hamato yoshi #hamato leonardo #hamato raphael #hamato donatello #hamato michelangelo #april oneil #casey jones #casey jr #ratdad #my writing #tmnt fic #a team

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jjunberry · 5 months ago

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⋰˚☆ same time tomorrow?

with moving to a new town all hope seemed lost until you meet a certain neighbor boy.

kim jongseob x fem!reader

genre ☪︎ slice of life, angst, fluff, neighbors to lovers

warnings ☪︎ arguments, seob is mean at one point, typical high school drama

wc ☪︎ 2.9k mlist ☪︎

packing up your life and moving away was not in your life’s bingo card. yet here you were placing the last few items into boxes. taping the box, you walked it outside of your childhood home and to the huge moving truck. your heart felt heavy as you took one final glance at the house you grew up in. part of you was hoping your mom would change her mind on the new job.

the honking of her car horn was just another nail in the coffin. she was ready to leave this town, but you? you weren’t ready to leave your childhood home, your friends, hell, even your school. your whole life was here. with a heavy sigh you got in the passenger side of the car.

your mom patted your shoulder, “cheer up sweetie! this is a good thing. a new start, a better school.” she tried so hard to make this move an exciting thing. it just wasn’t to you. “i liked my old school,” you grumbled before placing your headphones in to drown her rambling out.

the drive seemed to take the longest. you were quiet the whole ride, still secretly wishing she’d turn around and refuse the new job. your friends we’re texting you the whole time, but it wasn’t the same. the car came to a stop in a driveway, the house it was connected to was decently sized.

the moving truck pulled up out front, the workers quickly getting to work. you decided to just take your things in. grabbing a box you got to work, taking in one at a time. it wasn’t until the last box, the universe decided to screw you.

when you lifted the box the bottom gave out, successfully spilling the contents inside. “no, no, no,” you mumbled. you got down on your knees to gather the items, which were mainly trinkets from your bedroom. a lot of them memories with your friends. “let me help.” you looked up and seen a boy leaning down.

“it’s okay.” you replied, both of you grabbing a small turtle figurine. his hands were soft, you thought. “i don’t mind,” he grabbed the last few things, putting them back inside the box. “thank you,” you said standing up. the boy smiled. “it’s no problem,” he stuck his hand out “i’m jongseob, i live next door.” he pointed to his house.

you took his hand in yours, “i’m y/n, i also live next door.” you smiled pointing to your new house. he released your hand, laughing slightly. “well it’s nice to meet you, sorry i should have brought a casserole.” he laughed. “oh my god.” you snorted.

“y/n, sweetie who’s this?” your mom asked as she approached the truck. “this is jongseob.” you introduced them. “nice to meet you.” your mom said before taking another box in. “anything i can help with?” he asked. “i mean sure, we have few boxes left. they’re labeled by room.” he nodded before grabbing a box.

you took your box in, carefully this time. on your way downstairs, you were met with jongseob holding a box. “says y/n’s room.” he said holding the box up. “oh um, follow me.” you turned and went back up, jongseob following. he sat the box on your bedroom floor. his eyes scanning the bare room full of boxes. your twin sized bed pushed against the wall.

“hey cool, your window is across from mine.” he pointed. you looked out the window, his window was across from yours. “the curtain is closed but that’s probably for the better,” he scratched the back of his neck “ i have to clean.” he joked.

“it’s okay, no judgment here.” you turned to your boxes. he looked at his phone. “it’s getting pretty late, i’ll see you soon okay?” he asked. you nodded and watched him leave. “bye.” he yelled, running down the stairs.

it took a few weeks before everything was unpacked, but only a day for you to become friends with jongseob. he got home that night and opened his window, “hey neighbor.” he grinned. you leaned towards the window, “hi neighbor.”

“y/n,” jongseob called. you peaked out your blinds before unlocking your window and opening it. “hi seobie.” he smiled, “your mom invited us over for dinner tonight.”

“really? she didn’t mention anything to me,” you frowned. “i guess my mom saw her at the grocery store.” he shrugged.

“not too excited are you?” he leaned closer. “it's not that, just i wish she’d tell me things before doing them.”

jongseob frowned, “this isn’t about dinner is it?” you shook your head. “i know you aren’t happy about the move and starting school, but the brightside is you met me.” he smiled which made you laugh. “thanks seobie.”

“now cheer up, i hate seeing you sad,” he stepped back from the window “i’ll see you at dinner.” you waved bye and closed your windows. you closed your curtains and walked to your closet. eyes scanning the outfit options, you decided on a nice summer dress. this was your first time meeting jongseob’s parents and you wanted to make a good impression.

when it was finally time for his family to come over you couldn’t shake your nerves. it was just dinner, why were you so nervous? the door bell caught your attention, “honey get the door please.” your mom yelled from the kitchen.

you opened the door and was greeted by jongseob’s smiling face behind him was his parents. his smile was contagious, “hi welcome.” you stepped to the side letting them in. your mom walked around the corner brushing off her shirt, “hi welcome.” she greeted.

taking a seat next to jongseob, he smiled at you. “hey neighbor,” he bumped his shoulder with yours. “hi neighbor.” through dinner you were in your own little world with jongseob, occasionally talking with your parents. “so y/n are you excited to be starting school here?” jongseob’s mom speaks. your eyes snap to her, “uh yeah, a little nervous though.” you admit.

“don’t worry sweetie, jongseob will be there.” your eyes turned to jongseob as he started choking on his water. out of instinct you began patting his back, “are you okay?” you asked. he held his hand up nodding, holding back to many coughs.

bidding your goodbyes, you helped your mom clean up dinner. “that was nice, you seem to really get along with jongseob.” she nudge you, “i mean yeah he’s my friend.” you answered ignoring the rapid beating of your heart. she continued to talk but you drown her out, your mind thinking back to jongseob.

he was all that was on your mind all summer. the late night talk through the windows, the ice cream dates, the walks around the neighborhood. nothing could of prepared you for how hard and fast you fell for him.

as the summer days started to fade, you knew school was approaching. “are you nervous?” you asked. jongseob shook his head, “no not really.” he vaguely answered. you furrowed your eyebrows. “i guess you wouldn’t be, i am though.” you admitted. “it’s just school.” he mumbled, but you heard him.

“i think i’ll go to bed now, same time tomorrow?” you asked. jongseob nodded and closed his window, before you could even say goodnight. ignoring your heart you closed your window, laying down. what had gotten into him?

jongseob wasn’t at the window the next night, the next few nights to be exact. you had left yours open in hopes he would come but he never did. it made the night before school a million times worse. your nerves at an all time high, yet his window was shut. he didn’t answer any of your texts, it was like you had made him up.

“y/n,” your mom said opening your door. you were already awake staring out your window. “come on sweetie it’s time to get ready, jongseob’s mom said the bus comes around 7:30.” your stomach churned at his name. “i’ll be down,” she smiled and kissed your head before leaving.

after getting dressed you met your mom for breakfast. “oh sweetie you look beautiful,” she pulled you into a hug. your arms lazily wrapped around her. “eat up, you have a wonderful first day.” she waved, grabbing her work bag and leaving.

your legs carried you to the bus stop, where there was a few different kids in uniforms. jongseob was around a few other boys. your eyes met his briefly before he looked away. the boys around him were laughing at something on the phone. you took a breath and texted him simply saying hi. you heard his phone ding, he looked towards you but didn’t say anything.

he didn’t reply either, you sighed putting your headphones in. it wasn’t enough to drown out the ache in your heart. fate seemed to be not on your side, you shared a few different classes with jongseob. your other classes seemed to have at least of of the other two boys. it’s like you couldn’t escape it.

“hey i saw you at our bus stop this morning, are you new? i’m intak,” he stuck his hand out. you looked up, “um yeah i’m y/n.” you shook his hand. “nice to meet you.” he spoke before joining up with his friends.

when the end of the day finally came, you were releaved to be back home. “how was your first day?” your mom asked while plating dinner. “it was good,” you lied. “i’m so happy to hear that, did you share any classes with jongseob? i’m happy you made a friend like him.” she gushed.

“yeah jongseob is great,” you lied again. your mom smiled happy with your answer. once she dismissed you from dinner, you took off to your room. with a heavy heart you opened your window. jongseob’s bedroom light was on but his window and blinds were closed.

you kept your window open for as long as you could, but the night got later. sadly, you closed your window. of course he wouldn’t come to his.

unfortunately the next few weeks got worse, a group of girls decided you were public enemy number one. making your school life a living hell any chance they got. the worst part is no one said anything about it, the teachers did nothing to stop it.

it happened at lunch, you were waiting in line when they approached you. “hey y/n,” you ignored them. you couldn’t ignore the cold liquid that ran down your back. you jumped forward and screamed, “what is wrong with you?” the laughed.

your eyes scanned the cafeteria looking for an escape, your eyes landed on jongseob.

you looked at him sadly once his friends joined in the laughing. your feet carried you out of the cafeteria, not missing the chance to bump jongseob’s shoulder with yours. what were you expecting him to do? play hero, give you his jacket? of course not.

it took about twenty-five minutes to dry your shirt, and get a new one from the secretary. the walk back to class was a long one, of course you didn’t want to go back but your bag was there. the sound of laughter caught your attention, your feet frozen at the door when you heard what was being said.

“jongseob is so sweet, i just wish he’d look at me the way i look at him,” giggles. “stop it.” your heart started to race hearing jongseob’s voice.

“i’m not finished seobie,” the girl said. “he doesn’t even keep his curtains open anymore, oh my god she’s a creep.” more laughter filled the room. tears welled in your eyes. “i just wished he liked me how i like him,” jongseob snatched the little book containing your deepest secrets and feelings.

“i don’t like her i never will.” he snapped shoving the diary back in your bag. once the laughter died down you rushed in with your head down, quickly grabbing your bag. you checked to make sure all your stuff was inside. “don’t worry your stalker diary is still there.” the girls laughed again.

you made eye contact with jongseob. only when he noticed your tearful eyes did he start to feel bad. “y/n,” he started but you walked away before he could finish. how could you have been so stupid? of course he doesn’t like you. were you over bearing? did you scare him away?

the walk home was long, thankfully it was the weekend and you could have two days of peace without those girls, without jongseob. your mom didn’t question your absence at dinner, and you were thankful.

jongseob sighed seeing your window shut and curtains closed. his heart ached. all he wanted to do was apologize. even if you rejected him at least he’d get to apologize. he needed to do something.

it was jongseob’s turn to hopelessly wait for your window to open. he’d wait everyday after school, during the weekends. he sent countless texts that were always left unanswered. how could he have been so cruel? his heart ached when he remembered how bad he treated you.

his eyes searched the school to catch a glimpse of you, but he never got one. you had gotten too good at avoiding him. “i don’t know what to do,” he groaned laying his head on the table. “what are you on about now?” shota asked. “y/n, she’s ignoring me, “ shota scoffed, “ i’d avoid you too if you openly said you’d never date me. that’s heart breaking dude.” jongseob groaned, “dude that’s not helping.” shota sat up, “well you broke her heart, why were you ignoring her anyway?” jongseob sighed, “ i thought the guys would laugh if i was friends with a girl.” shota smacked jongseob’s shoulder. “you idiot,” jongseob groaned holding his shoulder.

intak approached the pair. “hey guys, seob what’s up with you?” he sat next to them. “jongseob is trying to win y/n over again,” shota explained. intak laughed, “ good luck dude she’s super upset with you.” he opened his bag of chips.

jongseob sat up quickly, “how do you know that?” intak ate a chip and shrugged, “i share a class with her.”

jongseob sighed, “what do i do? she won’t even talk to me.”

“have you tried throwing rocks at her window?” intak asked shoving more chips in his mouth. jongseob’s eyes widened, “intak you genius.” he spoke scrambling up before rushing off.

he waited until your bedroom light came on, his pile of rocks by his sneakers. heart practically beating out of his chest. this was his one shot to get your attention. the rock felt heavy in his hand but not as heavy as his heart, letting out a sigh he tossed the first rock. it ticked off the window but the sound wasn’t loud enough. a few more duds were thrown before he moved onto a bigger rock.

he wasn’t expecting that one to shatter the glass. his eyes went wide and he cringed hearing it. a few seconds later your window flew open, “what the hell jongseob?” you whisper yelled. your eyes were furious but he didn’t care because you were finally looking at him again. “y/n,” he said your name. your heart ached. “what do you want jongseob?”

“i want to apologize, i’m sorry for hurting you,” you scoffed. “it’s going to take a lot more than that, you really hurt me.” jongseob’s heart felt like it was going to beat out of his chest. “i’ll do anything y/n, just please don’t shut me out anymore.” he was begging at this point. “maybe you should of thought about that before shutting me out,” you wanted to slam your window closed but you couldn’t bring yourself too.

“i know and i’m sorry, i was scared. i know that’s not an excuse but i’ve never liked anyone before i never had a friend who was a girl. i was afraid of what people would say.” he felt ashamed. “you should of been honest with me.” you began to carefully pick up pieces of glass from the window.

“y/n?” he called. “yeah?”

“same time tomorrow?” he was hopeful. “goodnight jongseob.”

your window closed, he felt like his whole world just crashed down around him.

for a week, he waited with his window open everyday after school. it was friday, jongseob had skipped school faking being sick. in reality he couldn’t go another day of being ignored by you at school, and his friends giving him the look of pity. he sat at his desk mindlessly tapping a pencil, his window open.

your window opened, “jongseob.” you choked out. his eyes snapped to you, taking in your puffy eyes. “y/n, what happened?” he asked. “t-they ripped up my journal and made copies of the pages.” you cried, regret filling you for ever taking it to school. “oh y/n i’m so sorry.” he said. you sniffled, “it’s not your fault, those girls are cruel.”

“still they’re being mean and i should have stopped it way before this.” he was upset with himself. “it’s okay really, it would have painted a target on your back, defending the new girl.” you let out a bitter laugh. “i should've been your friend.” he snapped. you sighed, “what’s happened, happened we can’t change the past.” you shrugged.

“no but we can change the future, i’m sorry for hurting you y/n, i really care about you and i would love it to be your friend again.” he admitted, he was practically holding his heart out to you. “seobie, i would love nothing more than to change the future with you.”

he smiled at you, and for the first time in months you smiled at him in return. “same time tomorrow?” he asked. you smiled, “same time tomorrow.” you answered.

🗒️: like what you’ve read? send a request! guidelines for requesting here.

tag list: @304files @jjunieworld @miaroseindreamland @sirenla @pancakesfriesfrog @milxed @allieyaaa @mimiibear @kookley77-blog @cyberdragon1789 @anaisalive (if your name is bold, i couldn’t tag you)

love, echo ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪

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rosie-b · 7 months ago

Text

Follow the Red Wooly String

A soulmate story written for day 6 of @adrinetteapril, "Red String" (with art!!!)

The art is a commission from the talented @sinkdraws! Her commissions are still open, so consider getting some of her art for yourself, and reblog the non-png version of this image from her, too!!

Without further ado, you can read the fic on AO3 or just below! I hope you enjoy :D

The first time Marinette saw the strings, she thought she was hallucinating.

Everyone knew about the Seers, the few people capable of seeing soul-binding strings, but it was exceptionally rare to meet one, let alone develop the Seers’ ability oneself. And, well, Marinette knew herself well enough to know she couldn’t fully trust herself after pulling an anxiety-and-ADHD-fueled all-nighter. Last time it’d happened, she’d been fully convinced that Nino had grown his hair out into a mohawk and loudly complimented him on it several times before passing out in the middle of class. In the aftermath, Nino had sworn to never wear a new hat without telling Marinette about it first again.

So, Marinette had been more dubious than shocked when she closed her eyes for a second too long on her walk to class in the morning and opened them to see a mess of red, white, black, and yellow strings tangling and shifting around on the pavement in front of her. It was a cool hallucination, she knew it was, but Marinette wasn’t about to celebrate having a new power that she’d most likely daydreamed up.

Her heart still did a happy, nervous dance when she saw the deep red string that had just appeared on her finger, though, and Marinette really didn’t want to quash the hope that her vision was coaxing to new life in her chest! She’d wanted to know who her soulmate was for so long, before becoming Ladybug and meeting Master Fu, anyway. What if she finally had a chance to find them?

On the other hand, though, it was probably safer for her not to find out who they were.

Chat Noir had always believed that they were soulmates. He’d asked Master Fu, the day they’d been invited to his home and the turtle kwami had revealed that Master Fu was a Seer, if he’d chosen them because he could tell their strings were connected.

Master Fu had only chuckled and said that he’d chosen them because he knew they would work well with Plagg and Tikki, not for any other reason. Besides, if Ladybug and Chat Noir really were soulmates, and if Master Fu told them that now, he’d claimed, that would add to the risk of another Seer seeing the string while they were detransformed and telling them each about it, thus revealing their secret identities.

They both knew what that meant— they’d have to give up their Miraculous, even if they were platonic, not romantic, soulmates. Their secret identities were crucial in the fight against Hawk Moth. So, Chat Noir had given up his hope of confirming their bond, and Ladybug had reluctantly given up her dream of finding her own soulmate (or soulmates). After all, if a Seer did take an interest in finding out whose string connected to hers, wasn’t there a risk that the same Seer might find out Ladybug’s identity, or at least who Ladybug’s soulmate was?

She didn’t want to put herself or her soulmate in danger like that, so she’d suppressed her childhood dream of being brought to her soulmate by a kind Seer and a little red string.

But sometimes, Marinette couldn’t help but stare at Adrien’s pinky finger during class and imagine a scarlet red string there, connecting his soul to hers. Love was a foolish thing, but Marinette wished she could afford its risk for the sake of being with Adrien. As Ladybug, though, she’d never be able to, so even after Master Fu handed over the Guardianship to her, she ignored her dream of being connected to Adrien as much as she could. Because she loved him, she didn’t want to put him in danger with her foolish hopes.

Today, though, as she approached Ms. Bustier’s classroom (only five minutes late!) and watched as the string trailing down from her finger seemed to grow taught, Marinette couldn’t help but hope that maybe, the universe was making an exception for her. Maybe, if she really was becoming a Seer, that meant she could finally find her soulmate without needing to worry about her secret identity!

Maybe this was a sign… if it wasn’t just an exhaustion-fueled hallucination, that was.

Marinette slid into her seat with a quiet apology to her teacher, who sighed but didn’t act surprised, since this kind of behavior wasn’t really that uncommon for Marinette. As Ms. Bustier resumed her lecture, Marinette found herself staring down at the string on her finger again.

It’s still there. What if it is real? She wondered.

Marinette looked around quickly, to make sure no one was watching her, and then gently poked the place where the string seemed to be. If the stories were true, only Seers could physically touch the strings. Everyone else phased through them or avoided them, as though by instinct, but the Seers could follow a string to its owner by sight and touch, and they were even capable of untying the string, releasing the bond between soulmates. That only happened rarely, Marinette remembered as she grasped the thick, red string tied around her little finger.

As it turned out, her string was soft, like it was made with fluffy wool. She touched it again, marveling at the texture under her fingertips. It felt so real!

In front of her, Adrien shivered.

“You okay, dude? Classroom too chilly for you today?” Nino’s whisper barely reached Marinette’s ears.

Adrien hesitated and then shook his head in response as Ms. Bustier shot Nino a meaningful look. There was no escaping the teacher’s attention for students in the front row.

Marinette turned her attention back to the string for another moment before leaving it alone to at least pretend to take notes. In her sleep-deprived state, her notes usually left something to be desired (legibility, for one), and she shot a nervous glance at Alya, who caught her gaze and offered a smile and nod in return.

“I got you, girl,” she mouthed, and Marinette smiled and mouthed a sincere thank you back.

Class moved on, and Marinette lost herself in trying to pay attention, and then in the way the light from outside fell on Adrien’s hair, and then in several doodles serious notes until lunch. At that point, she decided it would be okay to sneak another peek at her soul-string, if it was still there.

It was, trailing down from her finger to a small, coiled pile on the floor between her and Adrien. Marinette traced it with her eyes as she slowly began to pack up.

Then, Adrien got up to leave, saying something to Nino about lunch at the mansion today, and the pile of Marinette’s soul-string began to unwind itself. Some of it began to follow Adrien, and Marinette jumped up in a panic.

Her heart rate spiked as she worried about what this could mean; was this part of the hallucination? Was the universe telling her that Adrien was taking her heart away for good? That she’d never have him, but never be able to move on from him? No! She couldn’t accept that!

Marinette knew there was only one thing to do: she had to get her string back from Adrien before he stole it all away!

Alya, who was giving Marinette a concerned look, snapped in front of her face. “Girl, are you okay?” she asked, sounding worried. “What is it?”

Marinette gave Alya a serious, determined look.

“He’s taking my string away,” she declared with a frown, and Alya’s face pinched.

“Who’s doing what? Sorry, Marinette, but what do you mean?”

Marinette began speed-walking out of the door, leaving her things at the bench. “My string is following him, but I’m not gonna let him steal it from me!” she exclaimed, and hurried off in the direction of her string. She stared intently at the ground, watching as the string tangled and weaved through a mess of other ones. She couldn’t let it escape her sight!

Alya sighed and stayed behind. “Oh, no, don’t worry. I’ll get your stuff for you, Marinette!” she called. “And then you’re taking a nice long nap,” she muttered. Marinette ignored her as she hurried along until she caught up with the culprit, the thief of her treasured string.

Stopping in front of him, Marinette posed dramatically, sticking her hand out and demanding, “Adrien, give me my string back!”

The students in the hallway muttered to each other as Adrien stared at her with a completely perplexed look on his face.

“Give you what? Marinette, what’s going on?” he asked, sounding concerned. “Is everything okay?”

Marinette frowned, and her face went red in the usual fashion even as she stuttered out her defense. She couldn’t let herself be distracted by a pretty face, even if it was Adrien’s!

“String, you keep, uh, thief, uh, give it back!” She launched herself toward the string, grabbing it and pulling until she reached some invisible knot near Adrien’s finger. He flinched in response, looking hurt and surprised.

Nino, who was standing beside Adrien, looking confused, suddenly lit up. He reached out, stopping Marinette before she could untie the string and take it back.

“Marinette, wait! You said Adrien has your string?”

Marinette paused, looking at Nino suspiciously.

“Yes,” she said slowly. “He’s stealing it; I saw it follow him when he left class!”

Nino nodded, furrowing his brows as he came up with a response. “So, is the string still attached to your finger, too?”

Marinette blinked. She couldn’t believe she hadn’t thought of checking!

She peered down at her own hand, stepping back from Adrien as she did so, and noticed a familiar red string still tied around her finger.

“Yes,” she answered as the gears in her head began spinning, “Yes, it is.”

Adrien choked, and Nino nodded, relaxing. “Cool. So, dude, it sounds like Adrien’s not stealing it, then, right? Since it’s tying you two together,” he said, elbowing Adrien with a small grin.

Adrien’s face turned bright pink. “Nino,” he hissed, looking embarrassed. Nino kept going, though.

“And if it’s your string, and it’s still attached to you, and it’s attached to Adrien, then that sounds like a soul-string to me. This must mean you guys are soulmates!”

Marinette stared at Nino, then at Adrien, and then at the red string still connecting her finger to Adrien’s.

“Oh, no,” she whimpered, the horror of what she’d almost done hitting her. She’d almost untied the string binding her soul to Adrien’s! What kind of half-rate, half-witted Seer was she? “Oh, no, Adrien, I’m so sorry! I—”

Just then, Alya came out of the classroom, walking up behind Marinette and offering her the backpack she’d forgotten inside.

“Girl, you are a mess today! Are you sure you— wait. What’s going on?”

Alya looked around at the huddle of students in the hall, who were still staring at Marinette, Nino, and Adrien.

It was all a little too much for Marinette, who’d had a very long day for someone who hadn’t gotten any sleep that past night.

She reached out and grabbed the bag from Alya. “Thanks-see-you-later-bye!”

Before anyone could say anything (before she could embarrass herself further), Marinette took off running towards her home.

It was, without a doubt, the worst morning of her life.

__*__*__*__*__

Finding out who her soulmate was by trying to untie the string binding them together was possibly the most embarrassing thing that had happened to her, Marinette reflected. It hadn’t even been the weirdest thing she’d done — jumping into a dinosaur’s mouth was definitely higher on that list — but she knew the morning’s events would be featuring in her nightmares for years.

She’d almost rejected Adrien, her true love, as her soulmate— by accident, but still! It was hard to fathom a more awkward situation.

Still, after a short lunch and a semi-refreshing nap, she shouldered her backpack and headed back to afternoon class, full of resolve. She couldn’t run away from the mess she’d made! She had to make sure Adrien knew she wasn’t upset that they were soulmates, and that she hadn’t meant to hurt him earlier.

She’d only tell him the color of their string if he wanted her to, though. After all, just finding your soulmate was a big enough occurrence; being told whether the soul bond was romantic or platonic might be too much to find out in one day, especially considering how the reveal had happened.

Marinette hoped Adrien hadn’t decided to stay home to avoid her after what she’d done. He’d seemed pretty overwhelmed by her sudden attack on the soul-string earlier, but not unhappy when Nino had figured out that Marinette and Adrien were soulmates, so maybe that was a good sign. He had seemed really embarrassed, though, about as much as she’d been, herself, so maybe he’d choose to stay home, after all. Goodness knew his father would be only too happy to keep him there.

She didn’t have to worry, though; as she walked onto the school campus, Marinette could already see Adrien standing by the stairs. He looked nervous, she noticed as she walked closer, and if she concentrated, she could feel a kind of tension in their soul-string. She swallowed, mustered up a smile, and waved somewhat awkwardly as she approached him.

Marinette paused there, not quite sure what to do or say, and her eyes flitted over to Nino, who was standing beside his friend again, in hopes of some hint or encouragement. Before Nino could react, though, Adrien stepped forward. He opened his mouth, but hesitated, flushing, and rubbed the back of his neck with one hand.

Then Marinette felt a slight push at her side from inside her purse. Tikki had encouraged her to tell the truth earlier, at home, and she knew the little kwami was counting on her to set things right.

So, Marinette mustered up all her courage and reached out for Adrien’s hand, the one with the string attached to it. Adrien looked up sharply, nervous and hopeful at the same time, if the emotions Marinette could lightly sense through their soul-string were correct.

“Hi, Adrien,” she said, smiling lightly as she shook his hand as if to introduce herself. “I’m Marinette, and it’s nice to finally meet you, soulmate.”

A brilliant smile broke out on Adrien’s face, and he pulled her into a hug as their classmates cheered around them. Marinette felt her face heat up, but the butterflies she felt in her stomach were happy ones, for once. After a long moment, Adrien finally stepped back, and Marinette noticed that his face was a bit pink, and it looked like he was crying. A spike of alarm shot through her, and she gripped his hands tightly.

“Are you okay?” she asked, feeling worried.

He squeezed her hands back, and Marinette felt a powerful thrum run through their soul-string.

“I’m more than okay, Marinette,” he told her, “I’m just so happy! You’re not upset you’re my soulmate?”

Marinette’s face hardened. “Never,” she vowed. “I could never be upset about that, Adrien! I’m glad you’re my soulmate.”

Adrien wiped a tear away from his eye, smiling. “This is the best day of my life,” he choked out.

Nino grinned and clapped his back. “I’m really happy for you, dude,” he said, and Alya, who’d come to stand by him and was holding her phone suspiciously like she did to take pictures of the heroes, nodded in excited agreement.

“I feel like a proud mother duck watching my babies swim for the first time,” she joked. “We need a better picture. Pick a pose, sunshines!”

Adrien’s eyes widened, and he hastily dried the rest of his tears away. “A picture? I can’t even think of any poses right now, I’m too excited!”

Alya hummed. “The model can’t think of any poses? Well, that’s fine, I can! How about you dance with him, Marinette? Use up that excited energy before you have to sit still in class!”

Marinette flushed, looking up at Adrien. “A-are you sure, Alya? I can’t even dance, not really, I’m so clumsy!”

“You weren’t clumsy at Chloe’s party, Marinette,” Adrien said shyly. “I thought you were perfect.”

He offered his hands to her, smiling shyly, and she slowly reached out to take them. Nino pressed a button on his phone, and the two of them began swaying to the gentle beat of the music that started to play.

Alya exclaimed and cooed over them, and as the final minutes before class ticked away, Marinette relaxed as she and Adrien began dancing more naturally. She fell into the lead almost by accident, and Adrien grinned up at her as she dipped him while the music swelled.

“Got your perfect picture, Alya?” she asked with a cocky smile as she spun Adrien around one more time.

“I think I do,” Alya confirmed, grinning at the two soulmates. “Should we head into class? I’m sure Nino can trade Marinette seats so you lovebirds can sit together.”

Adrien blushed and Marinette stuttered, but in the end, they slid into the first row together happily, smiling so brightly that even Ms. Mendeleiev seemed affected by the adorable scene, not mentioning the fact that they were a few seconds late to class the way she usually would.

As she sat in class, Marinette reflected on her crazy day. She’d gone to school after pulling an all-nighter, discovered her soulmate, almost untied their soul-string, and gone back to school and made it up to him. And her soulmate really was Adrien! Her day could hardly get any better, and now she realized that maybe the universe had been sending her a sign, after all.

If another Seer was going to find out her identity because of the soul-strings, it had probably happened by now. She was no more at risk than she’d ever been, and she’d have to get used to the new feeling of freedom and fear that knowledge brought.

But it was a good feeling overall, a really good one. Maybe she’d even offer to find Chat Noir’s soulmate for him and spread the joy she felt over to him, too! Marinette smiled at the thought of her partner gushing about his new-found soulmate to her. He’d be so happy when he found out about hers, too!

For now, though, she was happy just sitting next to her soulmate, holding hands under the table and taking pride in the happiness radiating from his end of the string. Today had been a good day, after all!

#and yes the title is inspired by 'follow the yellow brick road' XD #adrinetteapril2024 #ml fanfic #soulmates #adrinette #lovesquare #rosie-b writing #crack and fluff

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desceros · 6 months ago

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i open up my tumblr to get my daily dose of turtle content after an excruciating day and immediately SPAT out my tea seeing what was happening in the rottmnt tumblr community like?? oh my god thats WILD

i presume you're referring to the dragon situation which is. well. it sure is fucking something i'll tell you that.

it's my understanding that she's currently being told she didn't do anything wrong which. ok. i'm going to need people to understand something. there are two big reasons to Why this is Such a Huge Fucking Deal.

interacting, sexually, with adults (which dragon lied about her age to do) is harmful for kids. it puts them directly into explicitly sexual places, which while Mostly Safe, do harbor some people who will latch onto vulnerable people. kids don't have a lot of the real-world experience that adults have that allow them to Spot these asshats and avoid them. kids like validation. they like feeling cool, wanted. and groomers know how to spot people that like these things and give it to them. christ, there are a lot of Adults that get this part wrong. (comprehensive sex education can reduce the chances of this happening, but considering the state of that for children being less than robust, it's safe to assume Most kids aren't being taught the sighs of a proper, actual predator and not 'dude in a white van with some candy.')

interacting, sexually, with kids, can get adults into a MASSIVE amount of trouble. there is no recourse for this. it ruins your reputation, it puts you on a fucking List, it can get you jail time, it destroys your ability to get housing or a job, etc.

so yes. this was all bad because a kid was doing sex stuff. but for everyone who i've seen saying "ohhh we all looked at smut and stuff when we were teenagers, she didn't do anything wrong", yes, she did. because she INTERACTED WITH ADULTS ABOUT IT. yes, we all know that teenagers read smut. we all know that you can click onto someone's blog. frankly, in my opinion, there's never going to be a way to stop that. but having that teenager come into adult spaces and TALK to adults, SEND them asks, POST erotic art, SEND THAT LEWD ART TO ADULTS, DO EROTIC ROLEPLAY WITH OTHER ADULTS, is beyond the pale. that's not "a teenager reading smut like we all did." that's a minor violating the trust and consent of adults who have said they don't want to interact with minors.

i want you to imagine a scenario where we have someone we Know is a liar. she says she's 17 in two months. but is she? she's lied about it before. but let's say we believe her this time. let's say we trust her when she says she's 18 now. we start letting her interact again. we talk about erotica with her again. except oops she's still not 18, she's 16 and her mommy just checked on her blog and sees she's talking about porn with adults. or she hears a headcanon she doesn't like and decides to narc on that adult for sexting with a child. or one of her friends decides they don't like how i talk to people, so they say something.

do you see the problem? sure, the kid is in danger. but so is the adult. the adult who thought they were interacting with another adult, but because that kid lied, now they're the one in trouble. oh, and fun fact, there is typically no recourse against the kid in this scenario. the adult's life is ruined, and the kid gets to walk away.

there are very few adult-only spaces left on the internet. we put up signs on our blogs that say "we talk about sex. minors do not interact." because we want these spaces for ourselves. it's so disrespectful and childish and stupid and selfish and bratty for kids to think "oh, i'm adult enough for that, actually" or "well everyone i'm following is an adult, but they all say minors don't interact, so i'll just lie and say i'm an adult, heehee." it reveals a lack of character and regard for others that disgusts me. it tells me that you don't care about my wishes, you will do whatever you want to get what you want. i did not consent to speak with a child. it's vile behavior, and people who can't comprehend why the adults here are so upset because "oh you don't owe anyone your age, we all read smut as kids, what's the big deal, it's totally fine" are clearly not using any amount of critical thinking because they learned that their favorite artist is a minor and they don't want to rock the boat and lose access to it which, by the way, maybe think about what that says about you.

#ask tag #inhale. exhale. okay i got that off my shoulders. feels better.#.......imagine this wasn't the drama you were talking about and i'm missing something else LMAOOOOO #well THIS is the drama in MY world right now so THIS is what you get the rant on!!!!#but yeah. dragons is 100% blacklisted. i don't tolerate people who lie about important shit like that.

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tervaneula · 2 years ago

Text

Yuichi hadn’t expected to run into two of his best friends from Neo Edo at the Hidden City markets and he definitely didn’t expect the direction the conversation had eventually taken.

"You're dating a ninja?!" Chizu laughs so hard her breath wheezes and Kitsune stifles a snort into her sleeve. Yuichi's cheeks flush crimson under his fur.

"W-what's so funny about that? You're a ninja!"

"Yes, but I'm not dating an idiot samurai," Chizu says. That makes Kitsune burst into laughter, right in Yuichi's face.

"Oh my gosh, Chizu is right. What does that guy see in you? Is he as big of an idiot as you are? When are you gonna introduce us?!"

Yuichi resists the urge to pull his ears over his eyes and pretend this conversation never happened when he catches a glimpse of a familiar shade of blue against green on the other side of the street. Leonardo is tall and it's not hard to spot him in a crowd, even among yokai.

"Well uh, you're just about to meet him," he mutters, desperately wishing for the heat on his cheeks to cool down. It’s not too obvious say, to a stranger, but Leonardo most definitely isn’t one and he can't have the red-eared slider see right away how embarrassed his friends are able to make him. "And he's not an idiot!"

Kitsune just laughs but her eyes are sparkling with curiosity. Chizu seems interested as well and Yuichi thanks his lucky stars that she's quick to calm down, he doesn't know what he would do if both of his friends were unable to behave in front of his new boyfriend. Luckily (or not) he doesn’t have time to fully spiral into a flustered panic when a voice calls out to him.

“Yuichi!”

He turns towards the approaching turtle and can’t help but smile at the sight of him. The answering grin on the striped face is stupidly handsome and Yuichi forgets all about fighting down the blush on his face. He’s smitten, so what? If he wasn’t already flushed he certainly would be now and Leonardo deserves to see how much he likes him, actually. Something in him settles and the rabbit is certain that despite their teasing, his friends will love Leonardo.

—

“Your friends seem nice,” Leonardo hums on their walk back to Yuichi’s house. The slider had offered to portal him home but instead, Yuichi had asked for a walk and invited him over for a cup of tea. He wasn’t quite ready for the day to end yet.

“Glad you think so,” he smiles, “they really liked you. Not that it was a surprise.”

Leonardo looks a little taken aback by that but he just chuckles and leans against the wall as Yuichi fishes for his keys. He looks a bit tired and the rabbit wonders if it’s the phantom pains again. Well, nothing a big cup of his auntie’s tea won’t help soothe, he smiles softly to himself as the door clicks open and he gives a little bow to the turtle.

“Ladies first!” he jokes, and Leonardo laughs. He ruffles Yuichi’s hair on his way past him and the rabbit sticks his tongue out at him. He might be over forty but age will never stop him from being the impulsive little shit that he has always been. Leonardo, with surprising grace, pretends not to notice and slips on the guest slippers before quickly snatching Yuichi’s bag from his shoulder and disappearing into the kitchen to unload the groceries, humming a tune Yuichi can’t place.

"You two seem like a good match."

Yuichi turns to look at Chizu. She's looking at Leonardo and Kitsune squabbling over the last piece of mochi, a thoughtful expression on her face.

"What?"

"You heard me," she chuckles, shifting her amber eyes to Yuichi. There's a softness in them that takes the rabbit off guard.

"He's a true leader. A brilliant strategist with charisma to match. I can tell. But there's also the burden that comes with it," she lowers her voice toward the end. "He's been through hell – don't look at me like that, he didn't say much but what he did say was enough for me to connect the dots – and this is where you come in. He needs to goof around and be stupid, things that were taken from him too early. He needs to be looked at with fresh eyes, to be loved for who he is now and not for the role he was born to fulfil – and who else is better suited for that than our very own silly rabbit?"

Yuichi belatedly realises his jaw is hanging open and he closes his mouth with a click. Chizu has always been bright, brighter than anyone else in their little found family, maybe save for Karasu-Tengu, but despite the obvious parallels between the two he was not expecting her to jump right into analysing the mutant turtle to the core on their first meeting. As dense as he may be, it doesn’t slip past him how most of the things Chizu said were very true for her all those years back.

"And how is he good for you, in turn?" the cat's eyes glimmer as her mouth twists into a smirk. "He can lend you some of those brain cells you so very desperately need."

Yuichi groans and punches her on the shoulder. She doesn't even flinch, brushing it off with a grin.

Yuichi closes the door behind him slowly, staring after his boyfriend. Chizu's words echo in his mind, I'm happy for you, and his chest feels odd. Full and tight and so, so warm.

He takes a deep breath and feels the expected burst of butterflies settle into something new, calm and gentle. It’s a feeling he hasn’t felt before but somehow he knows what it means.

He can’t wait to feel it more.

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ju1cyfru1t · 1 year ago

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Gotta respect and love another writer who’s a cool writer and a minor!! Fellow writer, I present to you.. A REQUEST. I don’t really request often, cause it’s my job to make ‘em, (excuse my lazy ass, i CANT do them as much as you do cause you somehow have amazing motivation to do so??), but besides that-

How about some little sister headcanons?? Or just little sibling headcanons about reader being the most cutest thing ever, but also the most surprising turtle ever- Say sneaking up on her brothers not purposefully and scaring them, or just overall knowing a whole lot about a certain math problem Donnie has troubles on?? Idk but- Have fun with this, and remember to continue be awesome!! <33

your wish is my command 🧞‍♀️ and tysm for the request! I rlly hope you like it. <3

rottmnt x sister! reader

little sister hcs

Rise! Splinter, Raph, Leo, Donnie, Mikey, April x fem! sister! Reader

sister between the ages of like 12-15, fem! reader, PURELY PLATONIC AND FAMILIAL, contains swearing, hehehehehehheee

Splinter (SORRY HIS IS SHORT)

- Splinter is such a girl dad and always wanted a daughter. you cannot convince me otherwise.

- You best believe if you were to ever start dating someone ALL of them are interrogating your partner. All of em: the boys, Splinter, and April.

- You absolutely have special privileges w/ Splinter. like he is letting you get away with things your brothers don’t and giving you almost anything you ask for

- ^ bc like…you’re just a little girl. his little girl. his baby. LIKE COME ON NOW-

- he truly believes you could NEVER do anything wrong

Raph

- they are all hella protective over you but he is the MOST protective over you (he’s the oldest, you’re the youngest; it just makes sense, ok?)

- when training, he really holds back and goes easy on you even if he doesn’t need to bc he couldn’t imagine hurting you in any way. to him you are precious and fragile

- iffy about letting you go on missions and patrols even if you’re absolutely ready

- ^ it’s not that he doesn’t believe in you, he’s just worried about what could happen

- Carries you :D

- Lectures you but just because he cares and he makes sure you know that he isn’t trying to be mean

- ^ apologizes profusely if his temper does get the best of him

- Yells at Leo for messing with you

- Anytime you’re in battle, he tries his best to keep you behind him if he can

- Heaven forbid you like Ms.Cuddles show

- He absolutely cannot say no to you like it just physically pains him

- Since Raph’s the oldest, he TRIES (key word TRIES) to handle all the important *cough* talks (puberty, s3x, all that fun growing up stuff) but he struggles 😭😭😭 ends up asking April or Donnie to handle it (but shouldn’t Splinter really be handling that???)

- dotes on you like you’re the cutest thing he’s ever seen

- reminds you all the time that he’s proud of you

Leo

- he tries SO hard to be the “cool” brother

- will always claim and brag that he’s your “favorite,” regardless of its true or not

- teases the shit out of you all the damn time like I wouldn’t blame you if you socked him in the throat

- but he just picks on you bc he loves you

-^ and while this is true, he would NEVER let anyone besides him and your brother make fun of you in any way

- (Almost) always has faith in you. he understands what it’s like to feel like no one trusts you and he doesn’t want you to feel that way

- Listens to all the drama and hot gossip and agrees w/ you on everything. If you’re beefing with someone, SO IS HE.

- ^ that bitch Chloe who told you your shirt was ugly is 13. So what? He doesn’t gaf they are BEEFING

- teaching you things he probably shouldn’t be- NOT IN LIKE A WEIRD WAY, but like how to get away with shit and be sneaky and stuff

- there for you if you need a shoulder to cry on. might not be able to give the best advice depending on your problems, but he will hold you and let you cry if that’s what you need

- calls you ‘sis’

- not the best influence 😭

- If you confide in him secrets you haven’t told your other brothers he is weeping tears of joy that you trust him like that

- also dotes on you

- competitive as hell when you play any kind of game

Donnie

- if you’re a human, he’s (begrudgingly) driving you and picking you up from school. I mean, what kind of brother would he be if he let you walk the dangerous streets of NYC by yourself?

- fr though imagine your classmates faces when you pull up in that big ass turtle tank

- Regarding school, the best to go to for help with homework/schoolwork

- ^ and listen, he tries his best to be patient with you. that’s all I’m gonna say 😭

- Donnie doesn’t really treat you much differently than he treats your brothers, just a little bit more careful and EVER SO SLIGHTLY more patient with you

- will let you hang out in his lab while he works on something if you swear up and down on Splinter’s life you will not break, touch, or LOOK at anything

- If you want an honest, unbiased opinion he’s the brother to go to

- Ole Donatello is not the best at showing he really cares for you and loves you with words and actions, but just know he does and would never let anything happen to you

- Carries you on his back like he does with April

- Lectures you as well but just because he wants you to be safe and not do dumb shit (not as gentle as Raph tho)

- If Raph can’t, he’s the one protecting you and shielding you during missions

Mikey

- actually the “cool” brother (Leo remains hella jealous)

- since you two are the youngest I could imagine you’d be pretty close

- always wants to try new things with you: snacks, video games, recipes, pretty much down for anything

- invites you to watch YouTube with him if you’re bored

- If you’re a turtle mutant like them, he’ll ask to paint or add stickers to your shell and plastron

- cooks for you when you’re hungry

- if you attend, he makes sure you always have an after school snack + packs your lunch

- if you’re ok with it he is super affectionate with you

- Lets you vent anytime you need to about anything! He’s always going to be there for you and is the most compassionate of your brothers.

- You, Leo, and him doing stupid tiktok challenges and trends at 2am

- Believes in you no matter what. So, so supportive of any dreams or goals that you have. :)

- hypes you up

- beware of Dr.Delicate Touch and Dr.Feelings

- reminds you often that it’s ok to be emotional and vulnerable

April

- of course she’s best friends w/ all of you but you guys have special sleepovers where it’s just the two of you (which your brothers probably crash if they’re bored)

- ^ obvi calls them “girls night”

- (Varies depending on your species(?)) the one to be the most helpful when you’re body starts changing and you go through puberty because let’s be real your brothers don’t know shit (except Donnie MIGHT know a little bit)

- you can always trust her with secrets or just things you don’t want your brothers to know, like you can talk to her about ANYTHING

- let’s you complain and rant about the dumbass shit your brothers do ALL THE TIME (NOT IN A MEAN WAY I LOVE THEM I SWEAR 😭)

- ^ lmao she totally joins in and agrees w/ everything you say about them

- def let’s you borrow from her if you want (accessories, clothes, jewelry)

- GOING ON ADVENTURES TOGETHER

- Mayhem LOVES you

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rascalentertainments · 4 months ago

Text

Wish Granted 🌟👩🏾🎶 (Wish Reimagined)

Chapter 5: Welcome to Rosas

Chapter 4

✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

We transition some time later as the trio run through the forest...

youtube

Asha had finally made it. Back to the place she never thought she would fight to return to: The Kingdom of Rosas.

"All right, there's no time to waste. Think you can speed up, Star?" she asked her now aquatic friend.

"I'm on it!" Star chirped. He quickly gained speed as they headed straight for Rosas, with a duo of fellow dolphins by each side. The sun slowly rised as shined on the magnificent kingdom.

We cut back to the cliffside where some of the guards that got knocked over by Turtle!Star earlier on finally caught up. One of them struggled to take his tightened helmet off, but finally managed to do so. "I'm sorry your Highness!" He replied. "The girl got away from us. We were ambushed by, um....."

Amaya raised an eyebrow. "By what?" Her tone was flat.

"....a flying turtle." The other guard finished, nearly embarrassed even saying that.

This was highly unexpected. The star Magnifico waa searching for wasn't just a simple ball of light. It could change its form, it could think for itself. And the girl it was with wasn't a fool either. They outsmarted her. Was that girl the one that brought the star down? Her husband probably wasn't going to be happy someone beat him at his own game.

"Clearly you've been outsmarted by a mere reptile." She replied as she approached the two guards on her horse. "You're a team of skilled soldiers and you couldn't even catch a mere teen and a small animal?" her voiced was raised.

The guards were too nervous to even defend themselves. The king held their wishes in his hands and he could take them away with a snap of his fingers.

Amaya sighed. "It doesn't matter this point. We just need to return to Rosas at once and I'll warn the king, who knows what that thing can do with a power like that? We must protect our kingdom!"

The guards agreed in unison. Amaya called for Sabor and he finally caught up with the rest of the group. He quickly tossed the ball of yarn in the ocean to avoid further embarrassment and joined his beloved owner on the horse.

The scene shows Amaya and her soldiers running back to Rosas' as the sun began to rise over trees.

We then go to the main port of Rosas where Star stopped swimming. Asha grabbed Valentino and gingerly stepped onto the dock. She looked up at the towering city before her, mixed with feelings of both joy and fear. Her thoughts were interrupted by small splashes of water.

Star had turned into a dog and was rapidly shaking himself to dry off.

Valentino belated in annoyance, but Asha found it pointless to complain. Star did help them get there after all.

Once Star was done, a yellow flash of light appeared and he was back to his human appearance. "Now that was fun! Aside from being chased by a crazy queen, I'd say that plan was flawless!" he said with a laugh.

Before Asha could speak, she heard some squeaks and clicks coming from the sea. "Oh, I almost forgot!" Star realized and ran towards the end of the dock. He saw the dolphins that guided them to the castle cheering for him.

He cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled, "Thanks for the cool water show and for guiding us here! Oh wait, I mean-" he stepped back and spoke dolphinese as he waved goodbye.

The dolphins returned it in joy and at the same time, the whale reappeared to wave with its large fin to Star as it dove back into the water. "Oh yeah, ThAnK yoOouUuUu tOoOoO!" he said with his tone going up and down dramatically. "Almost forgot I could speak whale!" He smiled. It faded a bit when he finally noticed the sun rising.

Asha stepped up beside him. "You've never seen a sunrise before?" she asked.

"I've seen the sun hundreds of times, but...never like this." He said, nearly speechless. "Is this how humans see the sun?"

"Yep, everyday in fact." Asha replied as she watched with him. "And it never gets old."

"Its....incredible."

Asha found her gaze leading to Star's face, who's expression was still in awe, but yet relaxed. He was always incredibly happy and cheerful, but this was the first time she'd seen him so at peace. It was....a nice thing to see. Asha was sure the bright sun was making her face warm and certainly nothing else. "All right, let's get back to the mission." She said abruptly.

"Right, right. So now that we're here, what's next?" Star said as he and Valentino followed her.

"Next we need to see Flazino. He's the apprentice to Magnifico and he knows his way around this place as much as the royals themselves. He should know where the wishes are kept. Then he can help us plan to how to stop Magnifico."

Star was silent for a moment. "This Flazino guy is a friend of yours right? Is...that all he is?"

"Well, more like an acquaintance. We only see each other once a month when he brings supplies to the people. Its helped us a lot these past couple years." she answered as she looked around for an easy way in.

Star felt a bit guilty for asking. "Well, I can't wait to meet him, he sounds like a nice-" his mouth got covered by her hand.

Asha pointed over to the entrance which had a young sleeping guard leaning against the wall. Clearly he hadn't gotten much shut eye last night. "Follow me, but don't make a sound. We have to get in before there's people everywhere."

Star nodded and followed her lead. The three of them walked swiftly passed the guard whom upon a closer look was actually a teen in training to be a guard. Asha looked around for a place to start, when the large bell tower started to ring loudly, starting the day.

"SHOOT." Asha seethed. She frantically looked around and finally saw a path that led towards the inner parts of the city. "This way!" She told him as she ran forward. Star flew behind her, and they eventually made it to an archway that was hidden from the main square.

The trio waited a long while and people started to gather in the city. "We can't be in the city like this, especially not you. We're going to need some disguises." Asha suggested. "Oh, you mean like this?" Star asked. He then turned into a small goat looking similar to Valentino, but with a goofier face. "Now we look like twins!" He nodded Valentino. The goat looked offended by the suggestion.

Asha shook her head. "I'm pretty sure they'll notice a glowing talking goat." she let out a small laugh. "No, I'm thinking...." her voiced trailed off when she saw a young man beginning to place some laundry out. "Bingo." She finally finished. She told Star to stay where he was and return to his human looking form then she proceeded on, acting like she was a fellow Rosas' citizen, putting on a fake smile.

Once she reached the other side, she quickly grabbed two cloaks from the table while the young man wasn't looking and quickly took off. When the guy turned around, he noticed that two clothes suddenly disappeared. He looked around seeing where they could've gone, then the dust around him made him sneeze loudly. He figured the wind probably blew them away and decided to just go back to working on the rest of the clothes. Its not like they were taken away.

It then cuts back to Star and Valentino in the middle of talking.

"So that little outfit was made from your mom's wool?" Star asked curiously. The goat bleated and nodded. "I'm sorry, buddy. I promise I'll get you a new one, somehow." He patted Valentino's head from above. The goat looked at him surprised. This glowing weirdo stranger cared about his feelings?

A green cloak suddenly covered Star's view. "What's this?" He asked as he took the clothes in his hands.

"Its your disguise. This way you can walk around town without catching everyone's attention." Asha put her own cloak on, which covered enough of her head so she wouldn't be seen as easily.

"Hmmmm. All right, but green's not really my color." Star pointed out. He then used some of his stardust on the cloak and the color changed from green to black and gold. "That's more like it!"

(I actually found a cloak that fit perfectly for Star's disguise here! Asha's is pretty much the same as the film. I didn't mind it.)

"Yeeaaah. That reminds me, if we're going to keep a low key, you need remember three rules." Asha stated.

"Okay, shoot!" He said as put the cloak on.

"Rule 1: No flying or shapeshifting. You need to act as human as possible." Asha explained.

Star gently came to the ground. "Check!"

"Rule 2: No glowing whatsoever. As fun as it is to see you like that, we can't draw any attention to us." She continued.

Star took in some air, and gulped it down along with his glow. His yellow glow slowly faded and he put his hood up. "Check!"

"And Rule 3: Can you….do something about being yellow?" She asked honestly.

Star looked down at his own hands. "I….don't think so. Can humans change their color?"

The question caught Asha off guard. She never thought about it that way before. "Fair enough. Just keep the hood on and stick by me."

"Check! Now let's get all sneaky!" Star said enthusiastically.

The trio then proceeded onwards into the heart of city, as the camera slowly pans up from them to the one of the towers.

We go into the inside of the castle where the king had fallen asleep hunched over his study desk. The doors slammed opened and it woke the king with a start.

The queen had entered the room, out of breath and disheveled. Meanwhile Sabor just coolly walked in past her.

"Amaya darling, you're back!" Mags said with a smile. It faded once he saw her appearance. "What happened to you? Did the star hurt you?" His anger began to rise as he called the staff to his hand.

"No, no. Nothing like that. It hurts my pride to say that we were outrun by some peasant girl who's smarter then she looks. And the star…" her voice trailed off when her foot hit one of the many books scattered across the floor. "How long have you been up here?" she asked, concerned.

Magnifico looked at the floor and realized he had made a mess without even realizing it. "Admittedly, I may have lost track of time during my research, sooooo….perhaps a few hours?" He guessed.

"But that's not important right now. Tell me about the star! What did it look like? Could you feel its power?" He grabbed her shoulders in desperation.

Amaya sighed. She might was well tell him, he was too fixated on this. "As were chasing it, it turned into an assortment of animals. The last thing we saw was it as a dolphin." She finally admitted. "It can think for itself."

There was a moment of silence as Magnifico blinked. He slowly let go of her. "The star can transform itself? Not even we have mastered that kind of magic!" He raised his voice.

The queen looked concerned at his current state. "Darling…?"

The man began pacing the floor frantically. "That thing has a mind of its own! Who knows what its capable of? It can be anything or anyone. Absolute power is right under our noses and I won't let it get away!" The king began to sound paranoid.

His ranting stopped when his wife placed her hands on both sides of his face. "Pookie! You need to calm yourself. We will get the star, and we will have that power. You just need to relax." she said in a soothing tone.

She could see the anger and fear in his blue eyes be replaced with calmness as he breathed deeply. The king took his wife's hands in his and kissed them. "You're right, my queen. What would I do without you?" He whispered.

Sabor ran out of the room as fast as he could. He didn't want to see this. 😂

The two them opened the balcony windows. They had a perfect view of their victims citizens going about their day. "Look at them. They're in their own little world once they arrive here. They don't have magic. Even if they did, they're too stupid to know how it works." Amaya pointed out.

The view cuts an overhead shot of the town square where people were going about their day. A few of them looked lethargic, but carried on anyway. "So one peasant girl found the star before we did? Big deal. She's bringing the star right to us. Once she arrives, its all a matter of time before we rule everything." She finished with a chuckle.

A smile crept on the King's face. "Indeed. Its time we finally take our prize." He said with a growl. (At this segment the music starts to swell a bit.)

Amaya had stepped away. "But first take a shower, dear. You can't rule the kingdom and the world smelling like a Llama." then she went to freshen up herself.

Magnifico looked down at his attire and took a whif underneath his arm. Oof. She was right.

"Very well, I'll just put on the morning event to distract everyone." the king replied and he shot some blue magic on the nearby mirrors on the buildings, and the blue glow spread to the other mirrors all across Rosas.

We go back to the city where it was now flooded with people of all shapes and sizes. Stalls were up selling various foods, trinkets, instruments and art.

Seeing the large crowd made Asha uneasy. While these people had no idea they were being controlled by power hungry rulers and held their lives in their hands, she felt sorry for them. Meanwhile Star was losing his mind at the sight of the crowd. "So...many...people!" He exclaimed. His eyes began to sparkle and his smile grew wide.

"I know, there's way more people than I anticipated. we're going to have stick close to-" Asha looked to her side and saw the starboy was gone. He was instead running straight forward to the crowd in broad daylight.

"SON OF A-"

"BAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!" Valentino panicked and chased after Star.

Asha rubbed her forehead. "For crying out loud..." she had no choice but to run after them.

Star couldn't get enough of what he was seeing. The city was packed with people. Some of them looked tired, but it was still pretty early for humans to be awake so maybe they just needed time. He looked up and saw a man on stilts walking by him, towering over everyone as he proceeded to start cleaning a customer's windows. A little girl ran by flying a kite in the cool breeze. A young woman had placed carts of various flowers out to get some sun. Another woman was pushing a cart with a carriage sized pumpkin across the way. People chatting to each other about the day ahead, and other small talk.

The sounds, the laughter, the people, the smells, everything felt new to Star as he took it all in. He didn't feel alone on Earth, and he was going to enjoy every minute he was here.

The star then heard a loud noise and felt something pull on his cape/hood. He looked behind him and saw a baby goat pulling him back away from the crowd. "Hey, buddy! You want to see the cool Earth stuff too? Come on!" he happily picked up the goat in his arms and carried on.

Asha navigated the best she could in the crowd, looking for Star, when she suddenly heard Valentino's bleating in the distance, objecting to Star taking him along. Even the goat knew this was insane.

By the time she caught up with him he already had a ton of souvenirs in his arms, with a tired looking Valentino. He seemed to be looking at a tray of desserts. "Hey, what are thooose?!" Star pointed to a plate of cookies with baked in the form of the royals faces.

(Doesn't make sense they both didn't have cookies, so I remedied that.)

An Asian girl with a crutch approached the table. "Ah, I see you have a good eye! These are freshly baked sugar cookies in form of our sweet royals!" She said with a smile. "I did my best to capture their likeness, but even I can't capture the rich smooth face of our king." She said with a blissful sigh. (I feel weird writing this. 😂)

Star took one of the cookies. "I don't know what means, but okay!" This would actually be first time time eating Earth food, or any food really.

As he took a bite, Asha finally caught up. "Would…you….stop running off like…that?" she replied, out of breath.

"ASHA, YOU NEED TO TRY THESE THINGS, THEY'RE INCREDIBLE!!" the star exclaimed. He didn't even realize he had run off and worried her.

The girl's name caught the baker's attention. "Asha…. wait, have we met before?" she asked.

Oh no.

"Uh, nope. nopenopenopewehaven't. Sorry, but we need to go, like right now!" Asha pulled Star away from the table and waved dismissively to her. "THESE ARE AMAZING, YOU'RE AMAZING!" He said as he was dragged away. "You mind telling me what heck you're doing?!" Asha scolded him. "I told you to stay close to me!"

(This isn't Stars design, but it fits for this scene. Everything is awesome to him, lol)

Star winced and put Valentino down. "Sorry, sorry. I just got so excited. Humans have the coolest things! Check this out, I found these flowers that made think of you," He gave her the flowers, surprising Asha.

(Fun fact, these are called Blazing Stars!)

"Oh and I found this thing! It makes music when you blow into it!" He started playing a few notes to demonstrate.

"And I got these things called cookies, and this cool hat, and this vase of some Greek guy-"

As endearing as he was, she knew had to stop him from drawing more attention. And bringing junk they couldn't carry.

"Star, I know you're really excited to see everything, but right now we have to keep a low profile and stick by me. Got it?"

After he put all his treasures on a nearby table (and the confusion of the jewelry there) Star noticed a couple walking past with linked arms behind Asha as they looked around the city. "Okay, got it!" Star suddenly linked his arm with hers, making them super close. "That way we don't lose each other. This planning stuff is really easy for me!" He chuckled.

Asha was caught off guard by the gesture, but oddly enough she didn't complain. The two of them (and Valentino of course) continued through the city. Luckily nobody was paying attention to them. "All right, now let's find Flazino. The sooner we find him-" Asha started, when a loud ringing interrupted her.

Another bell went off and this time a few blue fireworks appeared in the sky. Suddenly a bright blue flash appeared and all the mirrors in Rosas suddenly had the faces of the king and queen smiling. The giant mirror in between the statues of the royals had this image as well (and the instrumentals to "This Is The Thanks I Get" play in the background as music)

"GOOD MORNING ROSAS!" The two of them cheerfully greeted the city in unison. "Today is going to be another beautiful day, thanks to our wonderful king!" Amaya gestured to her husband. "Oh come now, darling. I can't take all the credit! Its your brilliant brain that helps me keep our fair city going!" Magnifico praised his wife.

(THERE'S THE TEAM ROCKET VIBES I TOLD YOU ABOUT!!)

Asha rolled her eyes. They can't even start the day without bragging about themselves...

"We're here to give you your daily reminder to always keep a smile on your face! All your wishes will come true, eventually!" Anaya continued.

"Trust in me, just in me! Just shut your eyes, give your wishes to us You can sleep safe and sound Knowing we are around!" Magnifico held out his hands and three wish bubbles appeared presumably safe in them.

"Don't forget to tell everyone about Rosas, for our goal is to bring as many people to safety and a loving home for anyone, anywhere!" Amaya then created a small example of little people around the castle, all in the form of blue sparkles.

Star noticed that detail. "Hey, they can make magic like me!" Asha sushed him before anyone could hear them.

"Hey, and if you mention my name to your friends, you'll get a room with a view!" Sabor then jumped on the table and blocked his view in front the camera. Mags pretend it didn't annoy him and gently patted him on the head. "Yes, yes and of course all animals and livestock are welcome!" He moved to the side so he could get back into view.

"And always remember," Amaya started as the camera pulled back a bit.

"Just keep wishing!" The two of them said in unison and all three of them gave a sharp wink. The blue swirl reappeared and it transitioned to some bright blue sparkling letters that read "JUST KEEP WISHING!" the music stops and little fireworks go off.

Asha groaned. She couldn't believe what she was seeing, and no one here even knew their lives were in danger. How could these two be so fake and cheerful in front of all these people? Meanwhile Star was applauding the show. "That was fun! Can they do that again?" He asked. Asha looked confused. "Does anything bother you?" A rock was suddenly thrown at the mirror between the statues and it created a large crack in the glass. The people gasped in shock and the two teens suddenly paid attention.

"No one wants to hear you squak every morning like roosters!" the voice came from a little person dressed in red who was holding a few more rocks in his left hand ready to throw another one. "One day these people are gonna wake up and see through your lies!"

"Wow, he seems grumpy..." Star whispered to Asha. (Like this:)

"Gabo! How many times do I have to tell you to stop damaging property?!" A male voice shouted to the left. Asha recognized that stressed voice anywhere! Flazino was already running towards the vandalizer.

"Yeah, good luck teacher's pet! You'll never catch me!" He mocked the boy and made a rather rude gesture with his hand. Gabo instantly took off before Flazino could get a hold of him. He was too out of breath.

"Its too early for this crap. Guards! Guards! Isn't there a guard anywhere?!" He looked around hoping for assistance.

"Don't worry, (yawn) I'll get him, Flaz." A large teen slowly made his way towards Gabo, took a stretch and finally picked up his pace. By the time he started running, Gabo was already far away and his laugh echoed in the distance.

"Oh great, greaaaaat. If Simon does catch him, he can snore him to death..." Flazino sighed as he rubbed his forehead.

"Flazino! Thank goodness you're here. We need your help!" She called over to him. The boy was happy at first but then his joy turned to panic. He quickly pulled the two aside and away from the crowd. "What are you doing here, are you crazy? Wait, how did you even get to Rosas?" The apprentice was about to go into panic mode.

"I know there's a lot to explain here, but it'll have to wait. Right now we need you to take us to where Magnifico keeps the wishes. I have a friend here can help free them." She gestured to Star.

"Hiiii!" The star smiled and gave him a small wave. "You're shorter than I thought you'd be!"

The boy just stared at him. "....How is this random guy going to help us? And...is your hair glowing?" he asked.

Star quickly pulled the hood down over his exposed hair. "Oh that! Its not glowing, its just, uh, freshly washed and its all shiny! Hehehe...." He laughed nervously.

Flazino stared at the star again. "And he's supposed to able to save the wishes...Where did you find this guy anyway?"

"Look, just trust me. We don't have much time. Everyone's lives are at stake here, and we need your help. We have to know where Magnifico keeps the wishes hidden and only you can guide us." Asha pleaded.

The boy was going to protest, but he just sighed in defeat. "All right, all right. But we'll need to go right now. Magnifico could come down at any-" Flazino stopped cold when he finally turned around. A large shadow seemed to cover the teens, and Star suddenly felt a chill for the first time. Valentino bleated in fear and hid behind Asha's legs as the shadow covered them.

Standing over them was King Magnifico himself. "What's the hurry, my apprentice? Aren't you going to introduce me to your friends?" his teased with a smug smile.

✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

FINAL THOUGHTS

And that wraps up another chapter! You know, recently I re-watched Enchanted for the first time in 15 years, and I nearly cried. Not only because it was an absolute masterpiece and great homage to Disney films, but it made me realize that Wish was going to be the new Enchanted. And all in 2D animation. I want to cry.

Anyways, this one took a while to do, so sorry for the delay. 😅 This chapter was originally going to be shorter, but my brain kept thinking of new things to add. Star going into Rosas in disguise is my favorite scene to read in these Wish rewrites. Him going all Ariel and being fascinated by everything is exactly what I wanted to do here. Really wanted to show how much he loves being on Earth and surrounded by people. And I did tell you we would start seeing the Teens! Originally it was going to be Star leading Asha to each teen in the city, but it was going to take TONS of time and I felt like meeting them all in one chapter would overdo it. So right now we get Gabo (who's more of a conspiracy theorist about the royals and later finds out he's right), Simon, Safi and Dahlia. The others will come in the next chapter, just need to plan out their introductions and make sure it makes sense. 😂 Also, yes I'm hinting at a couple things with Dahlia in this, but rest assured, your questions will be answered!

And Flazino…. I think I just wrote him always on the verge of a complete mental breakdown and I'm so sorry. Give him some tea. 😂 He stressed like every 2 minutes and with Magnifico looking for Star, HOO BOY. Wait till Star gets revealed, he's gonna freak and that's when the real power struggle will begin. And as for the evil duo, for those who are wondering just what their vibe really is, its this: In public they're Team Rocket. In private, they're Hades and Maleficent. Best of both worlds! I think the part I'm most proud of is the Royal Rosas commercial. Its part propaganda, part advertisement, and they both spell doom. 😂 Really wanted to emphasize how vain they are and provide more comedy as well.

One thing I'm setting up in Chapter 6 is that there's both conflict and parallels for the heroes and villains. Star's conflict with Magnifico besides the view on wishes is that the king puts into his head Asha called on him by accident, that she didn't actually need him for help.

While Asha's is her inability to trust others and make friends. Star's really the only new person she's trusted besides Flazino since coming to the Hamlet. Which will change once the Teens assemble and they work together. That conflict will be challenged by Amaya, who attempts to deceive her into think Star has ulterior motives, as well as the Teens. *Cough cough*

There will be a break for a while before I start on Chapter 6. Really want to plan things out and on the side, I'll reveal the redesigns for Valentino and Flazino and a DTIYS challenge. And I'll continue reading y'alls new chapters for your rewrites!

Thanks for reading!

@signed-sapphire @oh-shtars @annymation @chillwildwave

@uva124 @ishadow246 @tumblingdownthefoxden @your-ne1ghbor

@mythartist21 @gracebethartacc @emptyblog7 @spectator-zee

@lazytitans-world @emillyverse @flicklikesstuff @kenihewa

@snackara @wings-of-sapphire

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angelmichelangelo · 3 months ago

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my initial thoughts of tales of the teenage mutant ninjas turtles below the cut, don’t read if you’ve not already watched the show cos SPOILERS!!

off the bat i think this show is really good fun and overall i think i can say i enjoyed it! the style is good, the writing is just as easy and as realistic as the movie. each of the turtles do shine here in their own individual way. but alas if do have my gripes i wanted to share.

not so sure if anything that actually happens in this series is… even canon? maybe im just dumb but with the whole “leo making a comic book” and “raph dramatising a story for a school project” thing it’s not so clear as to whether the events in the series with bishop and the east river 3 are even real ?? kinda disappointing if not cos that’s honestly just as lame as “and it was all a dream!!” kind of endings you find in like. middle school creative writing homework.

also. just gonna say this now. splinter. if they couldn’t have gotten jackie chan back or gotten someone that at least sounds like him, i kind of wish they’d removed him entirely from the plot because raph doing the voice over for him in the entire second half of the series was. OOF. it really pulled me from the immersion especially when there was some really strong character moments from him, but it’s… raph? speaking in a gruff voice ?? for some reason? not sure what happened with jackie chan and whether they wrote all his scenes BEFORE they maybe realised he wasn’t coming back to voice him but… yeah. could have just gotten another va and made a gag that he had a cold or something rather than… whatever that whole thing was. i didn’t like it, sorry. pulled me out of the stronger moments for that character which was a shame.

i really liked the whole separated storyline. tmnt rarely does that and it plays no favourites in getting each of the boys to shine individually within their own arcs and play out their own strengths and weaknesses and their brothers own strengths !! and then a little reunion at the factory, especially raph and leo’s hug. very precious :D

but then… the second half of the series is that.. again?? feels kind of a waste of time to redo what we JUST saw. turtles separated (this time with a mutanimal) and have to think like the others to get out of a tough spot and then boom huggy happy reunion time. which brings us to like 2 whole episodes out of 12 where the turtles actually are all on screen interacting with one another…

i had the same issue with mutant mayhem that, whilst they are good characters in a group and alone, there’s never any like. closer interactions. aside from like, the leo raph hug or when raph gives mikey a noogie affectionately in the first episode, there’s never like any one to one interactions that makes it feel all that more believable to me. don’t get me wrong, ive been asking for a mikey centric episode where he gets to shine for YEARS now and we finally got it!! but in the words of rise donnie… something they feel more like roommates rather than brothers just because their interactions are so sparse and far between. that’s just how i feel so take it with a pinch of salt.

i feel like they tempered the whole leo april thing which, for me, isn’t really a big deal. she’s more like an sister to the guys in my opinion but if you were hoping for more of what we got in the movie, then only expect like. one or two moments where it reminds you leo has a crush on her before they’re acting like just friends again.

bishop was really cool! i loved her design and backstory!! they’re bringing in the EPF which i LOVE!! this franchise seems to swing heavily towards the whole anti-mutant thing which is always fun for me. love seeing the boys chased off or shunned especially since they’re known to the public (even if i… don’t super love that plot but here we are) so even if the whole bishop thing.. wasn’t canon?? im hoping they bring her back somehow.

the whole “humans have mutations too” thing was actually really clever, with rod and his different coloured eyes, i wish they did more with that!! i think i would have rather had an entire 12 episode series about bishop and her robots rather than the random mutant pearl heist just cos the bishop storyline felt more important. that way we could have done the whole separated storyline AND have the boys actually fighting together again.

even if i complained about the second half it was still really written and a lot of fun! donnie’s episode with wingnut and leatherhead was so good, maybe my favourite episode out of the lot, as well as mikey trapped in the bodega. im not hating on the show, i did actually enjoy it i promise lol

i think going into the show, i had an inkling that as far as plot was concerned, it wasn’t going to push itself out too far. often times when you have a tv series bridging between one movie and the next, you’re saving all your serious stuff for the thing people are most likely to see, which is the sequel, rather than the 12 episode series. if they were to add casey or shredder or Krang or put leo through an actual window as per tradition, and casual fans hadn’t watched the series but sat down to watch the second movie, they’d be confused as hell and it wouldn’t do as good. marvel do it too, where it’s just to fill a gap for a time being without any serious plot or arc. so i kinda had that anticipation going forward into watching the show and i guess i was right. so if you’re expecting your big leo trauma moment, know they’re probably saving it for the movie instead where more people are likely to watch it.

i really love the animation, the style, the voice acting. (though im just gonna say this in like the kindest way possible. mikey’s va needs to work on the fact that he delivers some lines like he’s reading straight off the page. im not a professional but it stood out to me a few times and that’s just my humble opinion. i do think he suits the character so so well though and i wish him all the best going forward as our michelangelo!) whether we ever see brady noon as raphael again is a nother story lol

overall, as a tmnt fan, it delivered. it was fun and punchy and honestly worth the watch if you’re thinking about delving into another series. it’s not rise nor any of the previous iterations and i think sometimes you gotta just step back and view it with a fresh pair of eyes, because in all honestly i came off the back of watching all the rise episodes in like 2 days to then watching this, so i was making a few unfair comparisons throughout, none of which i think were obvious in my above points but. yeah. i didn’t hate it!! I thought it was funny and silly and well crafted by people that genuinely understands the characters in this.

now im just looking forward to the sequel :D

#please know that these are just MY opinions #I went into the show with my own hopes and expectations and that’s okay #you can make you’re own conclusions and thoughts about it if you watch #i would honestly say if you’re a tmnt fan then watch it you’re probably going to have a fun time :3 #YEAH #the end #for me there’s not a whole lot to like rewatch ability in this #but I did watch it in like ONE BIG HIT so we shall see I guess #tottmnt spoilers #tales of the teenage mutant ninja turtles spoilers #tmnt spoilers

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savemeafruitjuice · 1 month ago

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Tickletober Day 7- Fidget

First week down! Honestly, it's crazy to get so much writing done, but I really hope I can keep my motivation up and get enough time to do everything. Wish me luck I guess?

Also, this was an interesting idea I had, and wanted to explore it a bit. Enjoy!

Lee: Leonardo

Ler: Karai

TW!: MILD SWEARING! ANXIETY FINGER PICKING! (Like, pulling on the skin around your finger, just in case)

THIS HAS SPOILERS FOR LATE SEASON TWO! Just a heads up!

(This is not a ship. These two are SIBLINGS!! Please respect that.)

Why did he feel so.. awkward? Like he can't even have a normal conversation with his brothers, let alone Karai.

Their dynamic had been a bit different ever since.. Miwa?.. found out that she was a Hamato. Having a sister was weird, especially because she was older than them. There were so many things that were missing in their lives, and now they had a chance to make up for it.

Their family had taken a couple days to warm up to each other, but it was difficult for Karai to gain the trust of the younger brothers- especially Raph.

Even so, there weren't as many fights between them as there had been, and Leo had found himself peacefully enjoying their time spent together. More focused, more relaxed..

Except for today.

For some reason, Leo found himself stuttering over his words in front of everyone, using the the wrong moves for training, and even held his katana wrong, the blade facing him. Everyone would give him a weird look, but other than a disapproving comment from Mikey, no one really said anything.

And so he sat on the ground, hoping maybe television would make him feel better. One of the earlier seasons of Space Heroes was on, but even that made him feel weird. Captain Ryan's voice actor sounded so much younger than he would later on, that watching it made him seem incompetent, and inexperienced.

All of the things Leo couldn't be as a leader, and all of the things that no good leader should be. Especially his hero.

"Hey, Leo. I heard you were screwing up a lot today. Guess your 'perfect' act wore off, huh?"

The blue-themed turtle winced, turning around to greet his sister. His hands pulled apart, having been picking at the skin of his fingers, and he gave her a wave. "Uhm- Hey.." There was a slightly pause, but soon enough, she came and sat next to him on the ground. "Did- you want me to pause it?" He asked, head tilted to the tv.

"Nah, I wanna see what kind of nerd show you've been watching. What's it about?" That brought a smile to the younger's face.

"W-Well, it's about this hero, Captain Ryan, and he's the captain of a space ship." He explained, gesturing towards characters as they appeared on the screen. "He and his crew go through space and fight aliens, that- that kind of stuff. It's really cool. Captain Ryan has the best catchphrases like- ever."

Karai nodded, listening to his little spiel for a couple minutes. Eventually, the episode that was playing ended, and Leo started on a whole other rant, and the elder placed a hand on his shoulder to bring him back to real life.

"Hey, woah. Give me a minute, I'm losing track of it all now." Leo cut himself off, bringing his knees up to his chest. "Oh, sorry. I get carried away when it comes to Space Heroes."

The turtle wrapped his arms around his knees. Karai shook her head. "No, you're fine. Just gotta give me time to process what you're saying." She crossed her legs, slouching a bit now. "It's nice to hear about things like shows. Anything interesting, really."

Leo hummed, still feeling a bit embarrassed about going on a tangent. "Did you not watch any as a kid?" she shook her head. "The Shredder didn't want me exposed to things like that. I mainly just trained, or went to talk to friends, or.. was influenced into hatred."

The younger cringed slightly. The Shredder really was awful.. "Yeah.. That makes sense, I guess.." The heavier topic made him feel bad, and he went back to pulling at the skin on his finger. Karai watched for a second, then put her hand on his shoulder to get him to stop. "You shouldn't do that, it could get infected."

Leo huffed, but it.. didn't sound annoyed? More like he was about to laugh. She looked at him, and he quickly went to change the subject. "Uh- so! What.. did you want to do now?"

Her brows furrowed slightly. "I want to know what's so funny. Are you laughing at me for trying to help? That's really low."

By now, the kunoichi had already made the connection, having seen a couple of tickle fights between the brothers within the last couple days of her being here. Leo immediately shook his head, though a smile formed on his face when her hand moved a little, so that it was resting more on the base of his neck.

"No! No no, I'm not laughing at you, I just.. thought of something funny that happened." Karai didn't look impressed. "Oh, really? And what is it that's so funny?" Leo's face went pink as he tried to think of something, shoulders scrunching slightly at the anticipatory touch. Her hand curled into a claw form, fingers digging slightly into the side of his neck and shoulder. "..Or will I have to make you tell me?"

Leo's hand went to grab hers, to pull it away, or something, but he was slapped away. "No, you're going to tell me what you found so funny just now. I want to know." "It's nothing! Really, you won't even care!"

"Then why is it such a big deal to not tell me?" She maneuvered slightly, scooting behind him. One leg propped against his shell, and the other wrapped around his torso. Karai began gently dragging her nails up his neck, and Leo immediately squeaked, shoulders shooting up the rest of the way to protect the sensitive area.

"EEK! Noho- wahait! I cahahan't!" Karai only smirked, reaching her other hand over to carefully pull his head to the side, smushing his cheek into his shoulder so that she could keep tickling. "I'm not letting you go until you tell me. Unless.. maybe you like this?"

Leo frantically squirmed, legs now drumming out on the ground as he tried to arch away. She had him held in place; he couldn't even move his head! He weakly slapped at her leg, face burning brighter by the second. His voice kept breaking, but through his struggles he finally got an idea. He could just pull his head into his shell!

It took a couple seconds of fighting with her hand, but his head successfully retreated inside his shell. Karai looked puzzled for a second, holding onto his shoulders to peer into the hole of his shell. "Wait.. you guys can just.. hide in there? What the hell, that's really useful."

The leader was having trouble stopping his giggles, and shrieked when she dug into his underarms instead. For a second, he flailed, then pulled his arms into the safe space as well, then his legs. "Pfft- Ihi- hehe I cahan't Karahai!"

The elder turner his shell around, grunting with effort because of his weight. "Don't think you've won just yet.." She laid his shell down on the ground, plastron up, and started scratching at his belly. "Are your shells ticklish too?"

As it seemed, they were. Very much so, in fact. Leo screeched, squeaky laughter filling the room as soon as her hands made contact. "BAHAHAHAH! KAHARAI! NOHOHOO! SNRT-"

"Noho way! Did you just snort? You guys are so funny." Leo let out a whine at the tease, unable to do much more than rock slightly, as he was basically immobile.

They were in a stalemate, Karai using her nails to scribble along his plastron, demanding to be told what he found funny, as all the turtle did was laugh and laugh. Well, until she decided to explore more of his shell, and raked her fingers down his sides.

"GHKAHAHAHAH! NAHAH- OKAHAHAY WAIHIT! SNRT- I GIHIHIVE UHUP! PLEHEASE!"

"No, you wait. I told you what you need to do."

"PLEHEASE- I LIHIHIED, IHIHI LIHIED! THEHERE WASN'T AHAHANYTHING FUNNY!"

Karai gasped in mock-offense. "You lied to me? I thought we were supposed to be family, but you lied! You don't deserve to be let go!"

Leo snorted again, spewing out pleas and 'sorry's. She scratched harder at his shell, sending overwhelming tickly sensations through him. On bare skin, it would've been painful, but on the hard exterior of the bridge of his shell, all it did was force the blue-themed turtle into uncontrollable laughter.

"IHI DIHIDN'T MEHEAN TO! IHI'M- SNRT- SAHAHARRY! PLEHEASE!"

Unbeknownst to him, Karai was smiling fondly at his crazed state, though her nails attacked him like he'd just committed an unforgivable crime.

"Sorry Leo, but this is your punishment. I'm going to make sure you never lie to me again."

-----

I thought this would be harder to write, if I'm being honest, but I actually really like it! All of my years of watching 2012 helped me write her dialogue better, I guess. Anyways, happy first week of October! 🎃🌕🪦

#Tickletober #tickletober 2024 #Lee leo #Ler karai #Tmnt tickle #Tmnt 2012 tickle

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writinandcrying · 10 months ago

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TMNT HEADCANON - Turtle of choice x reader (GN)

Reader’s Birthday

the first slice goes to.. / showing love through cake lol

It’s a tradition in my country to give the first slice to the person you love the most during your birthday, so here a tiny Headcanon for how the turtles would react to it!

Here a demonstration of this wholesome act, TW cute kids

Reader and TOC (turtle of choice) are still on the “crush stage”, doing with the 2003 boys cuz I’ve recently started watching the show! (I only remember bits it cuz I was pretty young when it aired lol, I love how the very beginning shows how they found out a new lair, how they met april, how they barely got any human contact before meeting her, it’s super cool and has some fresh concepts comparing to most canon narratives, if you haven’t watched the 2003 series I highly recommend it)

Anyways, let me know if you would like me to do other versions as well :) hope you guys like it, feedback is welcomed 🫶

English is not my first language so I apologize for any grammar mistakes !!

Mikey

🛹 He’s deadass behaving like this after you tell him the meaning behind giving the first slice (i love this gif lol)

🛹 “AWW !! ANGELCAKES!!” Hugs you so tightly you barely have time to move the tiny slice to the nearest surface you can find, one second later the cake would have gotten smushed between you two

🛹 good luck if you have labyrinthitis, he WILL spin you around a few (at least 5) times to show how appreciative he is of the gesture

🛹 he’s not letting you go for a hot second

🛹 Sees this as an opportunity to finally kiss your cheeks, he has always wanted to but never really had a “reason” to without making things awkward, this is his perfect chance!

🛹will randomly give you kisses through out your stay

🛹 Gets addicted to it, your skin are much softer and smoother than theirs, does a mental note to give more attention to this area from now on

🛹 If you blush to his antics tho? Oh he is DONE for

🛹if you placed a microfone to his chest it would def broadcast the sickest beat

🛹 boom boom boom boom 💥

🛹Actually he will cling to you, will do anything you want or ask for, it’s your princess / prince / royalty day!

🛹 Pls confess to the poor boy lol he’s actually anticipating it now

🛹 Literally vibrating with joy, expect lots of hugs from him

🛹 Your bday will become his favorite “holiday” (yes for him it’s a holiday now )

Donnie

🔬”Cake time! “ Mikey sings out loud as he has been patiently waiting for your arrival to sing happy birthday

🔬you insist that Donnie gets the first slice tho, and he definitely reads into why you are persistent of him instead of younger brother

🔬he of course accepts it, but D keeps it quiet most of the evening, doesn’t want to put you on the spot, but he can swear he saw a faint blush adore your cheeks when you looked towards him

🔬 will ask to speak in private with you, hopefully when the “birthday commotion” dies down a bit, he definitely doesn’t want to deal with Raph’s and Mikey’s “oooooh” and “get it Donnie!” Teasing remarks

🔬He still deals with it tho, cuz I mean, brothers.

🔬 Donnie shows the reason why he pulled you over, a PowerPoint complication of several different birthday traditions around the globe he has read some before setting up the party earlier

🔬 “Isn’t it interesting?? “Totally trying to cover up his main question, did you or did you not give him the first slice? aka just said in front of EVERYONE that HE is your favorite person in the entire world?????

🔬 “one of the most wholesome ones I’ve fond was this one, apparently, I mean, if you wish to, you give the first cake slice to your- erm, to the person it means the world to you…”

🔬 “that one is pretty cute, yeah” you chuckle, looking down as his nervous hands, fidgeting with a random prototype he decided to hold it for moral support while showing of his presentation

🔬”were you.. aware of such tradition? “ Donnie finally looks towards you, searching for any indication of you confirming his suspicions, eyes shining with anticipation

🔬 “I was- I am aware of it Donnie” you smooth your hand on top of his as you caress it tenderly

🔬 literally let’s out the dorkiest giggle you have ever heard in your entire life

🔬 the “school girl / Kicking my feet” kinda giggle

🔬 cover his mouth right after he lets it out. Don is mortified, embarrassed as hell, deadass wants to crawl in a hole and die after he lets it out

🔬 Relaxes a bit after he sees you giggling as well

🔬 asks more about your birthday traditions, past birthdays memories you had to break the ice (that’s his way is being smooth)

🔬 please be noted, He does not let go of your hand, man is making his moves

🔬 but just a heads up; this moment will live rent free in his mind for MONTHS on end, for his sake (and his brothers sake as well) confess as soon as you can

Raph

🧨 says he doesn’t want it right off the bat

🧨 It’s not that he doesn’t want to accept your feelings, he actually has no ideia about this tradition whatsoever, if you have ever told him before, he definitely forgot it

🧨 Plus, I’m a firm believer most Raph’s aren’t really into sweet treats, they doesn’t want to mess with his diet or can’t handle much sugar (gym rat tendencies)

🧨 You try to empathize how special it would be for you if he accept it

🧨 you really don’t wanna say why tho, like, this is already really embarrassing as it is

🧨 just take the cake man, damn

🧨 mikey for the rescue! literally shoves the cake down his throat after Raph guarantees he doesn’t want it

🧨 Things get a bit awkward after that, you really don’t want to showcase that such a small thing had an affect on you

🧨 But there’s a tiny part of you that feels rejected, unconsciously start to shut down

🧨 Raph is extremely perspective of this, much the second youngest, he start to analyses what could have gone wrong, did something happen before you came to celebrate your birthday? Is someone bothering you? Should he teach them a lesson?

🧨 Will antagonize Donnie to check cameras around your area and work place

🧨 But it’s donn who comments about the birthday tradition

🧨 Will literally get so mad when he finds out lol

🧨 Feels SO stupid, Jesus Christ

🧨Will bark at mikey to spill the cake out, that was his slice

🧨”Dude, that was a week ago!

🧨 “I don’t care. Spill. it. out.”

🧨 “Raph, he probably already, uh- processed it out? “

🧨 “you guys are freaking disgusting, do we really have to discuss this at the dinner table?”

🧨 Will randomly show up at your place with a tiny red cake, a bit messy, but still pretty cute

🧨 “my birthday was last week, im pretty sure you were there to witness” you let out a chuckle, trying to ease out the undeniable tension in the air

🧨” this is my cake “

🧨 “ok..?”

🧨” …and I want you to have the first slice “

🧨 Oh.

🧨 OH.

🧨 oh.

Leo

🎏 Unlike his brother, Leo could never forget it

🎏He literally has a folder in his brain just for stuff you tell him

🎏Stores it like the most precious piece of information anyone has ever given him

🎏 It took him a really long time to process his feelings for you, but once he does it, he treasures every single moment he has with you

🎏 you don’t even have to say anything when he sees you holding the plate to his direction, holding a mix of surprise and yet seriousness look on his face

🎏it’s like eveything it’s suddenly in slow motion, The determination behind his eyes makes you concerned a bit

🎏”Thank you, y/n”

🎏He bows to you

🎏 His brothers have no ideia what that was but they are def crackling up a storm

🎏 “what was that????”

🎏 “Tone it down, splinter junior, it’s just a cake”

🎏 what the boys don’t see it’s you being absolutely speechless and looking like a tomato as Leo takes his slice

🎏 you are the one over-analyzing the situation here

🎏What did he meant by that bow? does he remember what you told him ages ago? He wouldnt simply just bow for a slice of cake, would he?

🎏It fuels a fire inside of you and him, both extremely aware of each others lingering touches and thoughtful gestures from now on

🎏This goes on for a while, this whole… mutual pining stage can be tricky, but when reciprocated, it’s so nice to navigate through, and honestly quite addicting

🎏 a confession won’t even be necessary, leo and you get together over thoughtful acts, your first kiss was under the mistletoe on Christmas was an easy feat, yes, it was barely a brush over eachother lips, but still just felt natural, like it was supposed to be

🎏the midnight kiss in new years was a whole other thing, hands gripping on each other, his hand holding the nape of your neck like his life depended on it, you two couldn’t get enough of each other, waiting for so long to actually make a move after the cake incident

🎏 you finally make it official on his birthday, gracing you a smile and a light peck as he gently places the slice right in front of you

#tmnt #tmnt x reader #giulia writes #2003 tmnt #tmnt 2003 x reader #2003 tmnt Leo #tmnt leo #tmnt raph #donnie tmnt #tmnt donatello #tmnt michelangelo #tmnt mikey #birthday #tmnt headcanons #tmnt fandom #2003 tmnt Headcanon

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