#Raph can pull his eye out and use it like a baseball

[risestarkiss]

✨The Fashionista✨

Rise Ramblings #234

While watching “The Clothes Don’t Make The Turtle,” I noticed something.

I found it interesting that Raph, Mikey, and Leo were content with Raph’s outfit choice until Donnie stated that he wasn’t “in love with it, ya’ know.”

Suddenly, Raph declares “I’m a disaster!” Albeit ridiculously endearing, it was a little strange to see his sudden shift from moderately content to absolute dissatisfaction. Huh…

Then, the disaster twins decide to help him out.

Take a note of their outfit choices.

Raph tries on all of these fits and more.

Donnie’s first choice is a mild “no.” Leo’s choice is a hard “NO.” (Not surprising, lol.) But then, the overwhelming consensus lands on Raph’s fourth outfit, which ended up being Donatello’s other pick for his brother.

So, in summary, Raph tried on his personal choice for an outfit, of which they rejected. Then, ultimately, Donatello picked out an outfit for his brother, and that pick ended up being perfect. Hmm…

Then I noticed something else. In this episode, we never get a Donnie “curtain reveal” moment, to our disdain. I mean, Raph, Leo, and Mikey got to try on several different outfits in order to get their brothers' opinions before landing on that “perfect outfit, you know the one.” All of his brothers got to shine. Why not DonTron?

Then it hit me.

The try-ons were to get their brothers' opinions and approval. And, for his brothers' choices, he was a major contributor in assisting them in pulling their looks together.

What if, bear with me, Donnie didn’t need the "curtain scene" because he was so confident in his fashion sense that he didn’t need to ask his brothers for help to pick out a great look.

…or they figured out how to break Hypno’s spell before he could get a “curtain reveal.” BUT STILL-

Look at his outfit choices in this episode. Some of his wardrobe changes were off-screen, but all of them were fire.

(I added the baseball cap pic because it makes me happy. I wish we'd seen more of that fit.)

To me, he makes some really smart choices for himself, pushing the envelope of what is expected and taking chances: an open collar with no tie for a “black tie” event, a beanie and spiked wristbands for their “gansta look,” no socks with loafers (a viral fashion trend that actually began in Africa) with old man slacks in his reclined pose. *muah* Chef’s kiss!

But Don’s fashion sense doesn’t just shine in this episode.

In “Reparin’ the Baron” the boys go to Draxum’s apartment. Leo and Donnie show up in some extra nice “Sunday Dinner” twin drip.

The gold is in the details. Everything Leo is wearing, Donnie rocks its compliment: for Leo’s round collar, Donnie’s is angled, for Leo’s blue shirt, Donnie’s is white, For Leo’s light slacks, Donnie’s are dark. Blah blah blah. It’s so good!

Look at the winter fit in Snow Day.

Again, Donnie is Leo’s perfect compliment. As a pair? Fire.

Donnie has “the eye.” I can go on and on with examples, but I’ve said all of that to say this…

In the future, we see that Donatello’s technology had major pull in the resistance. He had drone ships patrolling the skies. He built and designed Leo’s arm, Casey’s chainsaw-hockey stick, and Casey's mask. The list goes on…

But, when Donatello from the past see’s Casey’s clothing from the future, he says this:

We know about the “Genius Built” brand. We’ve seen that logo on all of his tech up to this point. But, here he didn’t just say “Genius Built.” He said, “Genius Built Apparel.”

“Apparel” is not a tech brand. “Apparel” is a fashion brand. Of course, tech is incorporated into the clothing, but still.

This means that past Donatello secured this trademark with plans of creating a fashion brand, comparable to the likes of Gucci, Ralph Lauren, or any other modern clothing brand, as a subsidiary of “Genius Built,” the tech company.

And why not? The evidence has been in front of us this entire time. He has a sharp eye for style, fashion, and trends. It is easily canon that he can sew. Splinter sewed their ninja garbs in “Insane in the Mama Train,” and there is a sewing machine in the house.

They already learned Ninjutsu through basically osmosis, so learning to sew is not too far-fetched.

And here it is, right in front of us, Casey’s entire ensemble, from mask, to weapons, to clothing, was made by Donatello in the middle of the apocalypse under the brand name “Genius Built Apparel.”

And that was just in the bad future. Resources were limited, they didn’t have access to much of anything in that broken world as they were survivors of a devastating Krang invasion. Yet, he created all of this.

However, now that they’ve changed the future, his future as a fashion designer is limitless. Think of what Donatello could produce with unlimited resources, unlimited technology, and unlimited creative freedom.

Tech genius. Clothing designer. Fashionista. Future Genius Built Apparel Owner and CEO. I’m sorry, but I have to call it...

Donatello Hamato of the present, of the bad future, and of the good future is a fashion icon, the likes of which the world has never seen. ○○○○

Update: I've decided to make this concept into a mini-comic series!

2025 Update:

I've also made this post into a YOUTUBE VIDEO!

Video Preview:

You can check that out →→→ HERE ←←←

○○○○

🎞 YOUTUBE 🎞 | 💚 SEND A SLICE 🍕 | 🎵 BANDCAMP 🎵

[foo0lish]

YOO there IS context but IM NOT SHARING IT. Have Mikey using his small intestine as a lasso. Have a good day 😊

[milkytheholy1]

Hi!!! I hope you are having a great weekend!!! Can I please get a story or headcanon of 2018 Leonardo x reader where the reader is a elf and has magical powers. But the reader is self conscious about their ears, face markings, and their unusual different color eyes. They have to use magic to hide who they really are when they are in public because people make fun of them. Can the story also be about 2018 Leonardo comforting the reader and reminding them how beautiful they are? Thanks! 🤗 P.S. Your writing is so beautiful. I am glad I found a blog that shares the same love for Rottmnt!

A/N: kinda changed it up a bit if that's okay, not too far off from your request! Hope you enjoy!

Ultimate masterlist

TMNT masterlist

Pointy

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You tugged at the knitted hat, fingers dragging down the wool enough to cover your ears. Your insides felt like a mess, fear and anxiety eating away as you walked down the cold New York streets. The city had been fairly cold in the recent few weeks, everyone emerging in fluffy coats and knitted mittens, although there were always those people that roamed around in shorts. Your eyes darted from person to person as you walked through the large crowds of Times Square, you were very aware of how small you felt when compared to the colossal size of the buildings that surrounded you.

You could feel your hat rising a few inches with each jostle of a shoulder, the fabric slipping from your hair and revealing the extension of your ears. Grabbing the wool in fury, you heaved the article close to your eyes quickly locating the nearest manhole cover. It was fair to say you were ashamed of your ears, embarrassed at the thought of being different. It was easy to hide the marks that littered your skin, simply covering them up with make-up and long scarfs, but your ears proved to be a problem.

Ever since you were little your ears had proven to be difficult, they'd poke out through the strands of your hair, cause noticeable bumps in any beanies, it was practically impossible to wear anything resembling a baseball cap. You were stuck with them no matter what you did. You felt shunned by the world, knowing from an early age that your appearance wouldn't be widely accepted, having to hide it like the plague. The only people you truly felt at home with were the turtles, they couldn't judge you without fear of being judged themselves; after all, they are talking, walking turtles.

Slipping into a sewer tunnel, you sloshed your way through the bending pipes that lead to Splinter's lair. You had practically remembered this place like a map, walking these passages most days with April. The bright lights and smell of pizza drew your attention closer and closer, the smallest sounds of cheering and laughter slowly flooding into the tunnels. Stepping into the light, you marched through the lair and into the projector room where your friends sat. Mikey and April were sprawled across each other, clinking the ends of their respected pizza slices together with goofy grins. 

Donnie was sat further away from the group on a lone beanbag, his face nearly pushed up onto the screen of his tech-gauntlet, a small pout embedded on his lips. Raph was sat opposite Donnie on the other side of the room, his frame looking a lot bigger than it actually was in the tiny beanbag he was perched in. Splinter was lounging in his recliner, cake and milk surrounding him in crumbs and puddles, he was knocked out cold; but what else did you expect?

Finally, there was Leo. Sat on the floor next to the recliner, his legs kicked out in front of him and his hands rested behind his head as a makeshift pillow. You felt your cheeks burn when your eyes continued to trail his figure, almost stalkerish in a way. Leo flicked his gaze up to you, doing a double-take almost immediately "Wha- Oh hey (Y/N), when did you get here?"

"Not too long ago, you guys look cosy," you replied, slowly pulling off your winter jacket. Leo laughed beside you, no one else really paying attention to your budding conversation, "Yeah, it was pretty cold out so April thought we could have a movie marathon instead."

"Oooh right, you guys were gonna go skating, right?" Leo nodded his head but shrugged his shoulders with no care in the world, "Eh, whatcha gonna do about it. Besides, I like this a lot more." You had finally sat down next to him, the cold floor sending shivers up your spine. You instinctively went to reach for your hat, tugging at the wool so it stretched further down your ears. Leo noticed the movement, his gaze blinking from your eyes to your hat. Something was different about you, he just couldn't put his finger on it.

You grew red under his intense stare, no words spoken just strong eye contact, your face flushed more as he began to lean in just the tiniest bit. You felt your body squirm beneath you, begging for whatever he was doing to stop, "Are you- are you wearing makeup?" he voiced, his tone light. You stilled at the question, eyes blinking back at him as you processed his comment, "What?" you blurted, unsure you heard him correctly. He tipped his head back to the movie, a smile engraving his green skin as he watched Lou Jitsu kick a guy in the back.

"I said: 'are you wearing makeup?'"

"Why does it matter?" you challenged, sounding a little more aggressive than you had meant to. Leo swivelled his head back to you, the teasing smirk dimming into an anxious smile "I-I...I didn't mean it in a bad way, it's just- you look nice." his arms were tugging at his chest by this point, fingers dancing along the grooves of his plastron to ease his nerves. It was a rare sight to see Leo, the usually mischievous and confident Leo, crumble into a ball of anxiety and fear. Maybe that's why you enjoyed spending time with him, absentmindedly trying to figure the guy out whenever you watched a movie or read a comic. 

"Nice?" you repeated, the tips of your ears burning under the restraint of your hat. Leo's cheeks flushed a light shade of pink, mask furrowing as he contorted his face "Yeah, nice. You know, pretty and stuff." The burning from your ears travelled down your face, cheeks blossoming bright red, "Are you- are you...flirting with me, right now?" you wondered. Leo let out a goofy laugh, eyes looking anywhere but at you, "I wouldn't call it flirting, per se." he mused scratching the back of his neck. You leaned forward now suddenly interested, did he like you or was it all just one-sided? 

"Oh, really?" you teased, the redness of your cheeks giving away how flustered you were. He looked back to you, eyes narrowing on the beanie that Raph had made you a year or so ago, "What's with the beanie?" he inquired changing subjects. You sat back surprised, was he really going to ignore the blatant flirting, the tension between you both. The others said it was pretty clear that you and Leo had a thing for each other, you remember eavesdropping on their conversation one time. Sure it was wrong to do, but at the end of the day they shouldn't have been stood in the kitchen like a cult; they should know the kitchen was your favourite place in the lair!

"Hello? You still there pointy?" Leo nagged, waving his gloved hand in front of your face. You pulled away from his hand, slapping it with the back of your palm, "What?" you asked, brows furrowing. Leo let out a small chuckle, "Pointy? You know, because of your ears?" You glared at him, the (e/c) of your eyes clouding over with anger. Standing up with no other words, you grabbed your coat and marched towards the lair's exit. Leo ran after you, his hand outstretched to grab your shoulder "Hey! (Y/N), wait up!"

You turned to suddenly face him, fresh tears trickling down your cheeks, Leo's eyes widened; his tone was caring. "What's wrong?" you huffed out a breath of air, pacing on the spot "What's wrong? What's wrong!" you roared. You could faintly hear the movie in the projector room decrease in volume as you shouted, "I don't call you stripey, or turtle boy or...or...I DON'T KNOW!" you cried out in frustration, brain too angry to think of clever wordplay. "(Y/N)," Leo whispered, taking timid steps closer to you, but you stepped back almost instantly "No! You don't understand what it's like, sure I look human but I'm not! I walk among them but I know if I took this stupid hat off for one second, if I didn't wear this makeup, then I'd be rejected from their society forever!"

Leo watched with pain in his eyes as you ripped the bean off of your head, fingers dragging into your hair as you tugged and pulled the individual strands. His heart ached for you, it really did, he knew what it felt like to be rejected by societies normal values. He knows what it's like to feel different, even among those that shared his similar predicament. He didn't for one minute intend to hurt you, make you feel rejected by the only people that accepted you, call you normal. Maybe he truly was the monster, the freak society saw him as; he had to be if he made someone like you cry.

"-But worst of all," you continued, Leo's attention flicking from the floor to your tear-stained face, "Worst of all, I thought the one guy that I actually liked, that I thought liked me, turned out to be the same as everyone else." you huffed, wiping some tears with your coat's sleeve. You went to walk out of the lair, probably go stomping back home and seal yourself in your room until you had to pee or eat, but his hand tugged at you. He pulled you against him, a frown etched onto his face while his eyes whined at you to silently stay with him.

He looked sorry, guilty was probably the better word in your opinion, you watched as he constantly opened and closed his mouth at a loss for words. You tried wiggling out of his embrace, every sway of your head saw your ears poke and shine through your hair. Leo caught the small detail, a loving smile fell upon him "I love your ears." he stated. You looked up at him unconvinced, his tone seemed pure and innocent but you knew he was a good liar. "I don't believe you." you spit back at him, continuing to tussle around. His grip on you tightened, not enough to hurt you but enough to pull your attention away from your struggle and onto him.

"I love your ears, they're so cute and I love that the tips always go bright red when you're flustered." As if on cue, the tips of your pointed ears pinged a bright red, a smile danced across his lips. "I love your marks, they remind me that I'm not the only one who has something weird on his face." His finger then began to delicately trace over the lines under your eye, marks no longer hidden by your foundation as the salty tears washed it away. "I love that you're one of a kind, makes me feel like the luckiest guy in the world, no, universe. Especially when I make you smile."

You had to admit, Leo had a way with words. You felt the anger inside you die down, replaced with the flapping of butterflies in your stomach. Your heart thumped against your rib cage, itching to be held in his hand; because he had you, he had all of you. You gazed into those eyes, the lair's dim lighting feeling a lot more romantic than it had done when you had arrived earlier. His eyes, shined, beamed, reflected the joy and immense love he felt for you. 

"You mean that?" you asked timidly, still searching for any hint of a lie, but you knew by his hearty smile and loving eyes it was true; all of it. "Of course I do! Why would I lie, you're perfect in my eyes. In fact-" he trailed off suddenly leaning closer and closer to your lips, the burning red of your ears couldn't have gotten any brighter as his lips descended onto yours. The kiss was a lot more gentle than you had ever thought your first kiss with Leo would be, but you didn't care because it was the meaning behind it that meant more to you than the intensity.

You were drowning that day, and his name was Leo.

~~End credit~~

"Alright, you can stop eavesdropping!" Leo called out pulling away from you and turning his attention to the quiet projector room. Raph's head popped out of the room, his face holding the biggest grin you had ever seen "On behalf of the whole group, we were rooting for you guys!"

[moxfirefly]

If you don't mind. Could I get a 67. "You're bleeding all over my carpet." With Leo, please. Maybe the reader seems super chill but is freaking out inside.

Thank you! Have a great day:)

I really like that one so thanks for requesting it!

Rated Mature (because blood?)

TW: Blood

The hissing noise and groaning were the sounds that alerted you that somebody was in the apartment. Naturally given your relationship with a certain mutant ninja, you really hoped it was him and not some robber.

For the sake of ‘just in case’ you walked out with the baseball bat you kept next to your night table. You walked out and abruptly turned on the lights to get the drop on the figure standing there.

Thankfully it was Leonardo.

Not thankfully, Leonardo was a bloody mess.

Just truly a mess.

You stood there frozen, bat raised above your head. Leo clutched at his side and raised another less bloody hand. “Word of advice, hit me in the dark, it’s better to get the upper hand on somebody in the dark” He groaned and took a step on wobbly legs. “Are-Are you seriously training me right now?” You lowered your weapon slowly, eyes running all over Leo’s frame.

‘Ok, keep your cool, don’t freak out’ your brain yelled at you. Sure Leo had always to some degree shown up to your place with bruises and bumps. The ocasional cut or sprain.

But this though.

He actively bled. He looked worse for wear. There was a steady but slow fall of blood and a stain forming on your carpeted living room. “You’re bleeding all over my carpet” Your tone was off as if a part of you knew this was normal, although inside your mind kept yelling at you to do something. Leo’s gaze traveled to his boots and nodded slowly. “That I am...” Another groan left him when he tried to kick off said boots.

You reacted more quickly now and went towards him. “Did you take on the entire National Guard by yourself?! What the hell happened?!” “You placed one giant arm over your neck, as if you could drag him alone if he actually collapsed.

“Not quite, it’s a long story... get me to the bathroom if you can please” Even a beaten mess he still took the time to not let you carry most of his weight. Once in the bathroom he sat at the end of the tub and watched you bring out a first aid kit. “I’ve only ever stitched small stuff Lee, shouldn’t I get Donnie or Raph here? Why are you alone?” You mind was a million an hour even if your voice was back to as calm as you could muster.

Leo placed a hand on yours and gripped it gently. “I’m going to need you to just keep this between us, please? His blue eyes begged you. “Lee, how are you planning to hide all of this when you get home?” You gestured to all of the damage he was sporting. Leo smiled, pain etchings at his features. “I’ll find a way, just help me with this, can I crash here?” You took out gauzes, alcohol wipes and the stitching equipment. He once again held your wrist and ran a thumb over your pulse. You stopped and sighed, looking at him with concern.

“Okay, but this better not be something you take up. Whatever you’re doing ‘on your own’ shouldn’t have to be like that” You knelt in front of him and took stock of the cut at his side, the more fleshy side that wasn’t as hard as his plastron. “I know what I’m doing Y/n, I just need you to trust me” He bit down on the inside of his cheeks as you began to clean the blood away.

An hour and several bloody gauzes and tools later and one much needed shower for him, Leo was sitting at the couch of your living room. He was the picture of misery and the pain was a road map. The bruising on his face, the cuts from blades and weapons, sometimes you wondered if the work was truly worth how much he and his brother hurt themselves.

You brought him some painkillers and water, setting it on the end table nearest him. You sat down with him, even like this he always looked at you as if you were the center of his world.

It hurt you to think the world was doing this to him. A degree of anger always spiked in your brain when you thought how the actual citizens would react to him and his family, they would surely not bother to care the blood and time they had spread across town to protect those very same ignorant folk.

“I hate this, I wish you didn’t have to do it” You reached for his hand and held it, Leo squeezed it affectionately. “I know, I can see it in your eyes every time I show up like this” He gulped down the water you had given him along with the medicine. “But you’re not quitting any time soon, aren’t you?” Your voice was sullen.

Leo didn’t answer, he simply pulled you closer and held you.

You rested on his shoulder avoiding the wounds closest. The two of you stayed there, your mind never shutting up about how maybe one day, Leo might not climb in through that window. Your eyes fell on the bloody stains on your carpet, your eyes welling up with tears.

‘Don’t think about it, don’t think about it, don’t think about it’

[webrokethe4thwall]

Can you write a Fanfic where Rupert Swaggart finds his own brooch and gets his live back?

Sorry for the wait @the-deku-guy, but here’s your request!

Brooches before Swine

A large man adjusted his trench coat and fedora as he scanned the stalls of the jewelers’ black market. He was not searching for your standard silver necklace or ruby ring, but a brooch. Specifically, a cloaking brooch. Meat Sweats was once again on the hunt for a mystic cloaking brooch. However, even now as he looked over the charms laid out on the table, his hopes plummeted. Several brooches, ranging from simple to ornate to tacky, were lined up, but none of them were mystic.

He had been through all of the black market stalls, antique malls, and even online auction halls. Each location yielded the same result: nothing. The former celebrity chef released a frustrated groan. He had been so close to reclaiming his old life with the last brooch he had found here. If only those two pesky girls—the curly-headed one and the slime-ball—hadn’t stolen it from him and ruined his plans!

And to add insult to injury, they had trapped him in that backwater barbeque studio. Did those amateurs not understand how to properly prepare meat before cooking it?!

“Rubbish, pitchfork-wielding hicks,” Meat Sweats grumbled, stalking away from the broach district. “Don’t know the difference between brine and a bay leaf.”

Regardless of the past, Meat Sweats was determined to regain his fame, his cooking show, and his previous life as Rupert Swaggart. Nothing and no one was going to stop him! …Well, except for his lack of a human appearance. Meat Sweats continued to mutter under his breath. He had seen other mutants—pardon, yokai—with cloaking brooches. Why was he unable to find one? Maybe there was a recall for some kind of mystical enhancement.

“One moment,” Meat Sweats grunted. “A memory stirs.”

He put a fist to his chin as he thought of a past conversation. It had been a few weeks ago with a tiny worm mutant whose name completely slipped his mind. The fellow had said he purchased a mystical enhancement jewel from some mystic shop disguised as a secondhand corner store.

“If that’s the case,” Meat Sweats mused, “perchance a visit is in order.”

That very night, the pig mutant went to the corner store. He pulled his clothes tight to his frame upon entering the store. He didn’t much care if he looked suspicious; he just didn’t want the police called on him tonight. The first thing Meat Sweats saw was some skinny greasy guy standing behind the counter. This fellow must’ve been the cloaked yokai. Meat Sweats took in the man’s lackluster appearance, baseball cap, and vague scent of chevon. After taking a moment to size each other up, the mutated chef decided to break the silence first.

“I heard that you sell delectable jewelry in this establishment,” Meat Sweats said.

“Oh, we sell all kinds of things here,” the man stated. “Lamps, dolls, and toasters to name a few; but yeah, jewelry is in the mix. The name’s Clem!” He gave Meat Sweats a lazy onceover. “You, uh, looking for something particular, friend? Nudge, nudge.”

“Nudge, nudge?” Meat Sweats asked. “It’s ‘wink, wink,’ matey.” What a peculiar character.

“Clem, get your act together!” The man shook his head in self-deprecation. Giving the password away again because he forgot an idiom. How embarrassing!

Before Meat Sweats could fake curiosity over what Clem meant, the man began shedding his disguise. The now purple goat yokai rang the bell on the counter, revealing hidden compartments in the displays that contained his mystical wares. Clem spread his arms out, showcasing the jewelry on his shelves.

“You said you’re looking for jewelry,” he droned. “What kind?”

“Cloaking brooch,” Meat Sweats stated, tearing away his trench coat. “Can’t really go on live television looking like this, now can I?”

“Wouldn’t really recommend it, no,” Clem said after a low whistle. “I’ve got just the thing.”

He knelt down behind the counter and pulled up a tray laden with stunning brooches. Clem plucked one up and handed it to the pig mutant. Meat Sweats turned it in his metal hands, admiring the star-shaped silver with a shining pink pearl in its center. He pinned the brooch to his collar and gave it a little shine. Soon his body was wrapped up in the soft pink glow of the mystical cloaking energy. Meat Sweats looked at himself in the counter’s shiny surface. It was perfect.

“All kinds of handsome is me once again,” Meat Sweats, now Rupert Swaggart, grinned.

With a wink and kiss sent to his reflection, Rupert threw a few bills at Clem. He had no appetite for goat yokai shopkeepers at the moment. No, it was time for Rupert to reclaim his previous life in full.

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A few nights later, Mikey upped the volume on his kitchen television. It was time for Kondescending Kitchen, and he was determined to make the perfect risotto!

“Are you ready to unleash the flavor?!”

Mikey came to an abrupt halt. That voice…it couldn’t be! He focused fully on the television. Meat Sweats, disguised as Rupert Swaggart, stood front and center for a cheering audience. Not good.

“Guys,” the box turtle yelled, already reaching for his kusari-fundo, “we’ve got a problem!”

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Rupert left the stage with the sound of the audience’s queued cheers pouring into his ears. He smirked to himself as he entered his dressing room. It was quite refreshing to hear after months of absence from his television career. The station manager even said that she was going to schedule an interview about his dramatic transformations and his unexpected final return. Yes, his cloaking brooch shining brilliantly on his apron was working greatly in his favor. The chef grinned as he picked up the night’s winning dish: pork risotto.

“Time to savor my victory,” Rupert hummed contentedly.

“Not a chance, Meat Sweats!”

One yellow and four green blurs swept into Rupert’s vision. No, not these reptilian nuisances and that ruinous girl! While Rupert hadn’t done anything more than reclaim his television program from an undeserving rival, Meat Sweats should’ve known that these pains in his tendrils would catch wind of his return.

“Not you rotten eggs!” Meat Sweats snarled, ditching his disguise in favor of his more combat-ready pig mutant appearance.

“You know it!” April defiantly retorted. “Which poor yokai did you steal this brooch from?!”

Now Meat Sweats was genuinely confused.  He was also annoyed, but he had some modicum of integrity. He never stole the brooch. He didn’t even steal the first one! He bought both pieces fair and square. Granted his newest item was from a slightly more legitimate business. Nevertheless, why are these pests coming after him tonight?! He hadn’t even attempted to eat or poison anyone recently!

Before Meat Sweats could state his innocence, the fight was on. Raphael and Donatello charged him head on, while Leonardo and Michelangelo went for his sides. Meat Sweats easily knocked all four of them back with a swing of his meat tenderizer. He nearly missed April reaching for his rose gold cloaking brooch.

“Hands off!” Meat Sweats roared, stepping away from the girl and raising a protective hand over the shining pearl. “This is me own brooch!”

“Oh, yeah?” Mikey challenged. “Show us the receipt then!”

Meat Sweats, fed up with these annoying teenagers that always seemed to pop up in his life, shoved the seedy secondhand shop’s receipt into the smallest turtle’s face. The turtles and girl clearly didn’t expect this response. All fighting stopped, and it appeared the children were taking a moment to process the strip of paper between the pig mutant’s gloved fingers.

“Satisfied?!” Meat Sweats demanded.

“Wait,” Raph said in disbelief. “You actually, legitimately bought a cloaking brooch?”

“How much does one go for?” Donnie asked, squinting at the too small smudged numbers.

“Enough to get the job done,” Meat Sweats stated, stuffing the receipt back into his pocket. “Now, leave me be before I cook you all into turtle soup!”

“Not so fast,” Leo said. “Why do you need a cloaking brooch anyway. You’ve just been trying to eat and poison people this entire time. Did you want to do that when you were human, too, or is it a pig thing?”

Meat Sweats sighed in exasperation. Maybe he should’ve just let the fighting go on until either he passed out or they ran off. It was too late to find out, in any case. Now he had to converse with, ugh, teenagers about his rather tame plans and not-so-tame eating habits.

“Pig thing,” Meat Sweats stated shortly. He rubbed his cloaking brooch and reactivated his human façade. “I’m taking back what’s mine with this brooch. My show, my fame, and my life need my human face. I’m not about to let some mediocre fry cook take over my kitchen!”

The so-called chef the station had replaced him with was barely out of culinary school his skills were so dull. It boiled Meat Sweats’ blood. Whether those pesky teenagers liked it or not, Rupert Swaggart was making a comeback. Kondescending Kitchen needed him! Meat Sweats just needed a human face to rescue it. While some people were accepting of mutants or cosplay junkies, the public eye required a certain degree of discretion.

“How do we know you’re telling the truth?” April asked. She gave Rupert a distrustful once over.

“Not a problem!” Mikey interjected. He slid himself between his siblings and the returned celebrity chef. “We’ll just enroll him into my Evil League of Mutants Going Good Rehabilitation Program!”

“His what?” Rupert asked, baffled by whatever the exuberant turtle was rambling about.

“It is Michael’s method of transforming our enemies into allies,” Donnie drawled. “It has been showing promising results for Draxum. Though there may be a learning curve.”

“Yeah,” Leo reluctantly agreed, “but Draxum’s the only one that Mikey has worked with so far. How do we know it’ll work on this guy?”

“That’s easy,” Raph stated, fully confident in his baby brother. “Since we know that Mikey’s program worked on one of the worst people we know, we’ll help him with setting Meat Sweats on the right path.”

“And keep Mikey from getting star-struck,” April muttered, eying the way Mikey fawned over the sweaty chef.

Rupert rolled his eyes. What is wrong with these kids?! Were they seriously discussing the future of his moral status in front of him? He didn’t need to put up with this!

“Don’t I get any say in this?” Rupert demanded.

“No!”

All the teenagers glared at him, except for the orange clad turtle who had stars in his eyes. The audacity!

“Rubbish,” Rupert grunted.

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

For weeks, Meat Sweats was under the unnervingly close surveillance of the Mad Dogs. A ridiculously unsuitable name for those five obnoxious kids. He despised how involved they forced themselves to be in his life. Telling him what to do and what not to do. It was annoying! Don’t eat the mutant silverfish this, and don’t sabotage your culinary rivals that. He was sick of it and was very vocal about his displeasure.

However, the teens didn’t seem to care nor let up in their efforts to conform him to the moral high ground. The chef didn’t know if reclaiming his glory was worth the hassle. At least he didn’t have to waste energy tenderizing their bones anymore. Michelangelo even had a realistic view of his character in spite of his fanboy attitude towards Rupert Swaggart.

The box turtle never expected him to become 100% kindhearted, if he ever became nice at all. However, Mikey did put limits on Meat Sweats and made him stick to some simple moral codes. Rupert just wanted to get his status as “Most Pretentious Chef in New York” back on track. Unfortunately, the youngest turtle did not allow him to perform any of his deliciously underhanded tricks on his competition.

“Meat Sweats!” Mikey admonished. He had just caught the reforming chef about to pour mystic poison into his delightful pizza puffs. Again. “What are we supposed to do with our culinary competition?!”

Meat Sweats released an annoyed grunt. He was getting tired of repeating his supposed mentor’s lessons, but it was mildly better than the intermittent fighting they used to go through.

“Out-serve them with quality meals, not quality poison,” Rupert droned. It was verbatim from one of Chef Mikey’s many “Maintaining Healthy Competition” lectures.

“Exactly,” Mikey said in a condescendingly sweet tone. He took the poison from Meat Sweats’ grip and yeeted it into the distance. “Now put on Rupert Swaggart, and let’s make filet mignon!”

Meat Sweats rolled his eyes at the young turtle’s antics but went along with it. Michelangelo was a decent enough chef for his age, proving his potential by the way he prepared that salmon when two drooling snakes were baring down on them. Rupert Swaggart activated his cloaking brooch and picked up a knife. He may as well humor Mikey with an attempt to mature his talent.

“Not a bad idea, lad,” Rupert agreed. “Filet mignon with roasted asparagus and,” he smirked, “truffles.”

Mikey’s eye twitched at the traumatic memory. “Not funny, sweat sock.”

Meat Sweats laughed uproariously, and even harder still when he saw Mikey’s annoyance growing. It was fun messing with this one. No matter what the chef threw his way, the young turtle always bounced back with an even snarkier reply. He might make a Kondescending Chef out of the boy yet. With no further preamble, the two mutants proceeded to craft a fine meal of filet mignon over roasted asparagus drizzled with mushroom sauce.

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

A month later, Rupert’s program established itself as the most popular food-related show on television once again. Crimes related to a food truck driven by a pig mutant plummeted as the celebrity chef made more public appearances. He had finally achieved his goal. Now Meat Sweats could kick back in his apartment, resting in his easy chair, and let the adulation from his fans inflate his ego, and his wallet, once more. A loud knock on his door broke him out of the moment, and the door being kicked open entirely had the pig mutant falling out of his chair.

“What in blazes?!” Meat Sweats shouted, quickly activating his cloaking brooch.

“Sorry for the door,” April cheered, giving no sign of remorse at all. “But I come baring gifts, and they’re heavy!”

April lifted several plastic bags filled with groceries. Rupert gave the girl an annoyed glare. He got up from the floor, set his door back into place minimal effort, and stared his “visitor” down. The chef didn’t know why she was in his home without her turtle friends, but he did catch the delightful aroma of raw meat, seasonings, and vegetables wafting from the bags in her hands. April immediately went to the kitchen and dumped a few wrapped lamb chops, fresh artichokes, a jar of capers, and several other ingredients onto the countertop.

“What are you doing, girlie?” Meat Sweats asked, dropping his disguise.

He was well used to the turtles’ surprise visits, but they always came in through the window or a portal into the living room. April rarely came by herself, so the chef had yet to learn her favored way of barging in.

“Setting up an apology,” April replied, organizing the meat, spices, and other ingredients.

“A what?” Meat Sweats was taken aback. This teen had been screwing up his life for months. Why was she apologizing now? What was she apologizing for?!

“You’ve been doing pretty good since you got that cloaking broach and went into Mikey’s rehab program,” April snickered. She rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. “And I started feeling kinda bad about trapping you in the ‘Sauce That Hog’ studio.” Meat Sweats frowned deeply at the memory, and April had the sense to move on to the ingredients on the counter. “So I brought over all the ingredients for fancy lamb chops.” She waved the bag of artichokes enticingly. “Including some mystic artichokes fresh from the Hidden City.”

Meat Sweats snorted at the attempt to woo his culinary pallet. He may not spend much time with the girl, but he knew April could kiss up to anyone’s better nature once she found their Kryptonite. His was fairly obvious, and the chef took great pride in flaunting his cooking skills.

“So you thought that catering to me superior culinary taste with mystic produce and corner store mutton would make up for that torment?” He wasn’t going to let April off that easily though.

“It’s actually hogget from my cousin’s farm,” April corrected. “She raises the best meat livestock I’ve ever tasted, so I thought you might like to try it.”

“No kidding?” Meat Sweats, surprised that April knew different types of lamb meat, looked at the wrapped meats inquisitively.

“It’s sheep meat,” April smirked, “not goat.”

“Why must you pun like the blue one?” Meat Sweats grumbled. “Just give me the ingredients and watch me—”

“Unleash the flavor!” The mutant and teenager chorused.

Meat Sweats wasn’t expecting that either. He gave April an odd look. Mikey was his fanboy, so what was her excuse? April just grinned.

“Mikey got me to watch a few episodes from his favorite seasons of Kondescending Kitchen,” she explained. “What can I say? It’s a catchy line.”

“Yes, well,” Meat Sweats countered, “it’s my line.” He knows it was a lame comeback, but he really didn’t know how to respond. One minute he and these kids are at each other’s throats, the next he’s cooking filet mignon and lamb chops with them. He shakes his head and gestures to the other side of the sink. “Hand me my knife block. I want to chop up these artichokes for a marinade.”

“Yes, Chef,” April saluted.

“Cheeky girl,” Meat Sweats commented.

He and April made a delightful set of lamb chops topped with marinated artichokes and seasoned capers. The chef figured that if the return of Rupert Swaggart meant being badgered by those annoying Mad Dogs, then there are worse fates he could have been forced to endure. They weren’t as awful as he dreaded. If he didn’t enjoy being a jerk so much, he may have been tempted to even call them his friends. He still might. Just not when they were around. He had an image to maintain after all.

[all-that-tmnt-jazz]

Could I ask for headcanon’s of bayverse!Mikey with a reader who isn’t traditionally fem? Like a total tomboy who’s even pretty androgynous looking and doesn’t dress fem?

Absolutely. 100% LoveLoveLoveLoveLove! Thanks for the idea, dear Anon!!

Warnings: Slight NSFW (mentioned only). One swear

Incarnation: Bayverse.

Extra Info: N/A

Mikey:

He actually thought you were a guy at first

(mostly because he’s a smol bean)

But you made that clear when you first introduced yourself

“Um… hi. I’m Y/N, she/her pronouns.”

He almost didn’t know what to say.

“I’m Mikey. Um. He/him pronouns?”

“Pleasure,” you say, offering him a hand to shake.

“Um… Totally…”

From there, it’s just normal questions and conversation

“You’re not afraid of me? What’re you doing out so late? What kind of job do you do that makes you walk him so late? Can I offer to walk you home tomorrow night so you’re not alone if you get mugged again? Can I have your number so you can text me when you’re out of work?”

He’s totally a sweetheart about it, but you definitely can see he’s starting to flirt

You laugh it off, taking it as a sign of him making a good first impression

From that point on, he literally meets you at work at the end of your shift every day

He takes you to the rooftops for the mere reason of getting to talk to you

It’s hard to talk to you if you’re down there and he’s on the rooftops

He loves listening to you talk, even if you’re just complaining about work

Long hours, coworkers, terrible rules, and even worse management

His favorite stories you tell are the stories of Karens you face- whether it be at work or in day-to-day life

He literally loves spending time with you- he sometimes claims to be tired just so you two can walk slower

Your friendship has gotten to the point where you have started bro-hugging your greetings instead of shaking hands

You both want to hang out on weekends but you are both too shy to ask

So, one weekend, he finally invites you over to the Lair

He isn’t shocked by seeing you, he’s surprised at how much more relaxed you look out of uniform

How much different you look- a good different!

Instead of khakis. You sported loose, distressed jeans. Instead of loafers, you wore Jordans. Instead of a collared t-shirt, you wore a distressed muscle shirt and a leather jacket. Instead of having a hair tie tying your hair to the back of your neck, you gelled it.

You reminded him of Danny from “Grease,” and he low-key loves it

When you two get to the Lair, you are immediately seen by Raph, who is trying to play baseball by himself

“Oh my god, you must be Y/N,” Raph says to you

“Yeah, what’s it to ya?”

“Nothin’, just date Mikey already- he will not shut up about you, I shit you not.”

You are immediately flustered

Mikey is, too, and goes to Raph

“Stop it, I have a reputation to uphold!” Mikey mutters

“You want to tie her up? What is up with you?”

“Raph!”

“Shut up Raph! We all know I’d take control,” you’d say

Raph and Mikey both have wide eyes as they stare at you

Mikey smiles, both proud of you and embarrassed

That was so in-character for you, but also the subject matter

“Mikey, if you don’t marry her, I will.”

You have never seen Mikey literally hiss before

But you pull Mikey away from Raph and ask him to show you around

It’s been a few months since then, and you’ve met the rest of his brothers and his father

They’ve gotten used to your presence around the Lair

They know you spend most of your time with Mikey, and they don’t really mind

You still take time to hang out with them, either individually or in a group

You hadn’t really been a Knicks fan, but a while later, you let yourself get convinced by Mikey

So, that’s how you ended up finding yourself in the jumbotron of the Madison Square Garden

You, Mikey, and his brothers were all watching the Knicks beat the Laker’s asses 130-78 in the last quarter

Once the obvious winner was determined in the last second, you took Donnie’s pea shooter

“Mikey, control your girlfriend!”

“That’s not my job! I drink Respect Women Juice! Also, we’re not dating!”

Donnie rolls his eyes as you take aim toward the coach of the Lakers

“I bet you can’t aim it onto his nose,” Mikey says to you

“If I don’t?” you ask him

“You have to get me individual pizzas for a week,” he smiles

“And if I do?”

“Your victory, you’re choice.”

You smile at this information.

“I’m not telling you my end of the deal until after I get it on his nose.”

You shoot a glance to his brothers, paired with a wicked- yet nervous- smirk

They then knew what you were doing

You focus your attention on the Laker’s coach- Frank Vogel

You watch him closely, predicting his moves

And then, you fire. It’s going to be close, but… It makes it, directly on target

You celebrate and Mike pouts.

“Whatever. What’s your end?”

“You date me.”

His eyes go wide, but he doesn’t complain.

That was about a year ago now.

You still laugh about how you won

[soldrawss]

Your big brother Mikey AU is so cool and well thought out! I was wondering, do the Foot still exist in this AU and if so, are the Hamato brothers in any danger? Does Mikey work as a pizza delivery boy?

The Foot exist yes! But they’re more of like, a street gang than anything else. (Kinda like how the Purple Dragons were in previous iterations) For the most part, the Hamatos don’t really have anything to do with them. Raph and Donnie and Leo know they’re not allowed out after 6 without an adult with them and Mikey’s taught Leo and Donnie enough self-defense (from what he can remember of their father’s training) to help them if they’re ever in need. “If you’re ever cornered, give them whatever they want and don’t make a move unless you absolutely have to. I mean it, guys. I’m not showing you this so you guys can play heroes, this is only, and I mean only, to be used as a last resort. But I want you to comply with any demands they give and get out of there. I don’t care if they take your phones and wallets and backpacks. We can always replace bus passes and school work. I can’t replace you guys.”

The only time the Foot were ever an issue was when Mikey gets mugged when he’s 17 on his way home from one of the shitty jobs he worked the nightshift at on one of the piers. The subway station was empty, probably because it was the dead of night and Mikey got off earlier than he usually does, so the station was bare of the usual tiny rush of new yorkers coming in for the graveyard shifts. Thankfully Mikey’s reflexes were faster than his brain was, and he was able to avoid too much of a conflict before the three-membered group got the upper hand. His phone go broken in the struggle, but they thankfully didn’t get to his wallet or key ring. They did land a couple of solid hits to his jawline and gut though, knocking the air clean out of Mikey, and ripped his best work shirt in the process of throwing him to the ground (he only had two), so really the struggle ended with a heated tie. The small gang turning hightail when a security officer making the rounds chased them off and helped Mikey to his feet from one of the concrete pillars he was slumped against.

Mikey ended up arriving home late anyway despite the head start because he had to fill out an accident report with the security officer, and that had just about drained the last ounce of energy Mikey had left to his name as he practically crawled through the front door of their little apartment. He kicked it closed with his feet, forgetting that it was 1am and that he shouldn’t be making as much noise as he was making because it was a school night, and Leo had been having a wack sleep schedule lately, and if he woke up now, he wouldn’t be able to fall back asleep till the next night and that would have totally been on Mikey. But Mikey was too tired to think that far ahead as far as the consquences of his actions go, and promptly dumped all his stuff on the foyer floor and passed out on the living room couch, not even bothering to change his clothes or take off his shoes, let alone fold the couch out into a bed.

He woke up some four hours later, to Donnie patting his arm gently but firmly, and with sharp brown eyes and a creased brow just barely peeking under a mess of brown-haired cowlicks and bed head.

“-ikey. Mikey, wake up. Your face is purple.” And the sheer tension and fear in his voice were enough to pull Mikey out of the desperate hold sleep had him in as he got up slowly, rubbing his face and ow, yeah, his whole left side was swollen and sore and felt gross.

“Ahhh, yeah. Some guys tried to jump me at Water and Fletcher station. I’m totes magoats fine kiddo. They didn’t get my wallet or anything. Phone broke though, so I’ll have to swing by a CVS and pick up a burner until I can get a new one.” Mikey explains all in one murmured half yawn. He didn’t like the way Donnie’s face did a complicated little series of frowns and pouts, which could have meant one of a million things, but Mikey just woke up, so he didn’t really have all the brainpower yet to try and decode it other than, oh no I made him mad.

“Go put on some pjs and wash your face,” Donnie replies, and he waffles from where he’s crouched beside the couch like he wants to say something more, but settles on sighing and standing straight. He makes his way to the kitchen quietly, carefully picking up the mess Mikey left in front of the door a few hours ago and unceremoniously dumps them on the kitchen island on his way to rummage through the freezer. Mikey watches as he pulls out a bag of frozen peas before getting one of the dishtowels hanging from the oven handle and wetting it down in the sink. “I’ll get you some ibuprofen, but you need to sleep in your bed or you’re gonna be sore all over. I swear, that couch was the worst decision we ever made, I can’t believe you made us carry it up 6 flights of stairs.”

“Shhhh, don’t listen to him baby, how was I supposed to know the elevator would decide to break down that day?” Mikey whispers not at all quietly to the couch just to get a begrudging half-smile out of Donnie. It works for a fraction of a second, but Donnie’s pouting frown and worried eyes return when he looks at Mikey’s nasty little kick in the face bruise, and Mikey can’t help but feel the weighted rock of guilt settle further in his gut. He just couldn’t do anything right lately, huh? “Anyway, thanks Dee, but I’ll just take a shower and get changed for my shift at Tony’s. Work starts in a few hours anyway and I can run to CVS really quick before then.”

But when he gets up and makes his way over towards the bathroom, Donnie blocks his path and presses a damp dishtowel wrapped around the frozen veggies and some pills into his hands. “No need, you’re staying home. I already called into your work for you. One of the GM’s, Woody, I think his name is? Anyway Woody seemed really cool. Gave you today and tomorrow off. Even said he’d swing you some paid vacation time if you bring some of your famous lemon squares into work on Monday, so really you have no excuse to object or complain.”

And Mikey wants to complain, and he almost does, but Donnie shoots down his squawk of disapproval with a pointed glare that Mikey hates being at the other end of. “And don’t you dare say you’re fine, Mikey. Your face looks like a bruised plum. Please, just, take the day off, sleep, do laundry, whatever. Raph can even stay home with you, if you really need some more incentive. But just, stay here for today. Ok?”

And he was begging in that way that Donnie and Leo almost never pull on Mikey, because they knew Mikey would crumble like an absolute sucker at those round brown eyes, warm like melted chocolate, and it was a power move that they only used for absolute good. And Mikey guessed that if he was swinging those bright round headlights his way, then this must have been a pretty good reason, and honestly, his bed did seem like something he’d love to just crash into for the rest of the day. So he nods, and lets Donnie lead him to towards the bedroom he shares with Raph, who’s still sleeping soundly on his side of the room.

Mikey doesn’t remember much after that. He changes into some pjs and disgards his shoes at the bottom of his bed while Donnie goes to get him a glass of water for the medicine. He falls asleep as soon as his head hits the pillow and Donnie rests the makeshift ice pack against his swollen cheek.

Mikey vaguely remembers Raph climbing into this bed a little later, scooching over with a practiced and natural ease so the little five-year-old could squirm his way perfectly against Mikey’s chest, resting his head just under Mikey’s chin, and Donnie poking him in the side, just long enough to tell him that Leo and him will be back home after Leo’s baseball practice and that they’ll pick up a burner phone for him.

Mikey untangles an arm from under the comforter and holds it out towards Donnie, an unsaid invitation that doesn’t take more than a second to understand because Donnie is leaning forward into it anyway, and it’s an awkward hug, but it’s warm, and as the 10-year-old wraps familiar arms around Mikey’s half-hug, squeezing back just as tightly, he presses a kiss into his kid’s bubble gum smelling hair, freshly shampooed, and smiles when he says. “Thanks Dee. Be safe. Love you.”

And his face is still a sorry mess of pain and swollen hurt, but Raph is a solid warmth against his chest, and there are some leftover ingredients for some lemon bars in the cupboard, and he’d been waiting to try out that new veggie lasagna recipe he never had the time for before anyway, and Donnie winks at him wordlessly behind his thick-framed glasses, and somehow Mikey has the distant and fading thought before he slips into sleep again, that he should have known that Donnie always gets his way in the end. And Mikey isn’t upset by that thought at all.

[davids-cartoon-corkboard]

Y’all know my theory at this point: when Raph was little he got separated from his family somehow and had to survive on his own for a while; the trauma from this caused him to develop DID.

It’s pretty clear Savage Raph formed specifically out of that isolation/survival trauma, but we met a third alter in “Pizza Puffs”, who I am calling “Red” for now. What’s his deal? When did he form and why?

-----

Raph: These guys are lost without me! Maybe I should help them.

Red: Make them do it themselves. It’s the only way they’ll learn.

Raph: But they’re just kids!

Red: And you can make them men!

-----

Raph: I gotta get in there!

Red: No. They’ll never learn if you always help ‘em, Raph.

Raph: But I can’t just sit here.

Red: This is for their own good.

-----

Raph: I knew you guys could do it.

Red: No you didn’t! I did!

Raph: Oh, you wanna go?

Red: Bring it.

-----

While Savage fronts when Host can’t handle being literally alone, Red spoke up in “Pizza Puffs” because Host was struggling to deal with being sort of... metaphorically alone? In that his brothers were dying a little bit and weren’t taking him or the situation seriously. Normally “it’s not good to be too dependent on others”, “kids need to grow up” and “sometimes you have to do things you don’t like” are good life lessons, but in this particular situation the life lessons should have waited until after the boys weren’t poisoned anymore. Sure, they pulled through, but Raph staying behind added an unnecessary level of risk. There’s a level of disjointedness between Raph and Red that I’m hoping will be explored and resolved in the future.

New alters form when preexisting alters are unable to handle whatever is going on in their life. What situation would Raph have been in for Red to form? When was “be independent/grow up/do something you don’t like” important? "Pizza Puffs” was the first time we’ve seen Raph do a solo mission, but it’s not the first time something like that has been mentioned.

“You went out on your own when you were [Mikey's] age.”

Thirteen is a very lonely age to be. I’m thinking events went something like this: Raph started hitting puberty at around 12/13 and Everything Was Awful. He was suddenly a lot bigger and stronger than he was used to, so he would accidentally break things around the lair more often, or get a little too rough when playing. I know we tend to poke fun at the “nobody understands me and everything sucks” mindset teens fall into, but as a mutant, Raph’s world was so, so small. Disconnected from his brothers, whose minds hadn’t hit the same milestones yet. Disconnected from his father, who would be passed out in the middle of a “Scorpion Treadmill” marathon whenever Raph needed guidance. Disconnected from April, a normal human girl who lived a normal human life he could never have.

Raph’s temper is relatively mellow now, but back then? Under those circumstances? He went too far.

And then he ran off topside, shame and nausea biting at the leftover fury in his heart.

In previous iterations, this is when he would run into a certain masked vigilante. But not in this universe. Not on this night. Casey wasn’t out pummeling pickpockets, she was training at the Foot dojo. They wouldn’t meet until “Hot Soup: The Game”, a couple of years later.

So Raph curled up on a roof somewhere with only his awful, awful thoughts for company. His little brother had been so scared of him... he couldn’t go back and face his family after what he had almost done. But he couldn’t stay up here alone either. What could he do?

Grow up.

He’s stronger now, and he has to be braver, too. He knows the way back home and there’s nothing out here that can hurt him. He can stand to be alone for a bit.

But he can’t stay here forever. He’ll have to go back home and do what he can to make things right, no matter how much it hurts.

So Red breathed in the cold night air for a while, and then retraced his steps back to the lair.

-----

But how are Raph and Casey going to properly meet? We saw her get kidnapped by that shadow thingy at the end of “Always Be Brownies”, so the resolution to that whole situation should be involved somehow.

Draxum gave Big Mama an orb covered in clawed, three-fingered hands. Then we see that Big Mama’s new assistant has such hands, as does the entity that took Meat Sweats and Casey. Clearly Big Mama is having her assistant kidnap people to fight in her “Fantabulous Battle Nexus Wizbang”. The turtles will be pulled into this because you can’t just not have your protagonists participate in the tournament arc.

We have yet to see Casey go well and truly Apeshit, because her previous fights have always had a certain level of shenanigans to them. Mikey fought her with an umbrella and a beach ball. Leo shoved a portal under her feet. She accidentally slashed up a corpse flower and fell into the goo. Her bonding moment with Splinter made her less willing to fight. The FBNW will give her the opportunity to show us what she can really do by pitting her against an opponent who is no-nonsense, one hundred percent ready to throw down.

Who could possibly be a better opponent for her than Savage Raph? (Perhaps Big Mama’s shadow captured the Sando Brothers, and they gave Big Mama information on a better fighter in exchange for their freedom?)

The two are evenly matched, of course, but the fight gets interrupted by the other turtles causing a mass breakout thanks to Leo’s emergency leader skills. Savage runs into his brothers amidst the chaos and they get Host to switch back in again. They defeat Big Mama and her shadow together and head home, yay huzzah plot concluded.

Casey, forgotten, also escapes and sneaks off to brood somewhere.

-----

A few episodes later, Red slips away to cool off for a bit (a habit that formed when he did, a way to decompress whenever they felt their temper getting the better of them) and happens to see some hockey mask-wearing lunatic picking fights with pickpockets. He hops down and holds her back, letting the would-be thieves get away with their skulls intact. “Listen, I get that you’re mad, but you can’t just go around-” And then he gets a baseball bat to the head.

"Back for round two, are you?!”

Red shakes the stars out of his eyes. That voice sounds familiar. “Hey, I don’t wanna fight you! Pops told us you left the Foot, we don’t have to be enemies anymore! Your heart’s in the right place with this whole crimefighting thing, but you’re going too far.”

Casey laughs a laugh that’s more taunt than humor. “Crimefighting? You think that’s what this is?” She gestures at the direction the thieves went with her scuffed and bloody bat. “This is training! You ran from our fight in the Nexus and I have been itching to beat you ever since. Die, coward!”

Red just barely manages to dodge the second bat swing. “What are you talking about? I never even saw you in the Nexus!”

They trade blows for a bit, Red’s attempts to calm her drowned by Casey screaming and cursing out this “lying turtle scum”. “Where is your fury? What happened to your viciousness? Why won’t you give me a real fight this time? Why are you holding back?!”

Her voice fades and all Red hears is the high shrieks and low roars of a crowd, harsh lights dulling the twin moons set in the green sky above as she lunges towards him and-

The bat hits his side with such force that the wood cracks a little, knocking the wind out out him despite his sturdy shell.

Casey stops bludgeoning him to better focus on gloating. “That move didn’t work on you last time. Did the first hit scramble your brains?”

Red kicks her feet out from under her and bolts, running back to the lair as quickly as he can manage with his head full of sights and sounds he can’t quite grab onto.

-----

Leo had stayed up to wait for his brother to return, so he grabs the first aid kit the moment Red emerges from the sewer tunnel. He starts to ask what happened as he unspools a roll of bandages, but Red asks a question instead. "What happened at the Nexus while I was... gone?"

Leo knows what he means, and the sun starts to rise as he fills in the gaps in his brother's memory.

-----

Casey’s ankle is twisted from Red's kick, so she can’t run after him for more than a few steps before falling over. Limping back home, she puts on her motivational Lou Jitsu playlist and begins to scheme.

---

For the record, I do think Raph and Casey will eventually become friends. But in the meantime... what kind of superhero doesn’t have a nemesis? :)

[beetlegoose01]

Frostbite Chapter 4- Broken Promises

AN: Happy Friday everyone! I hope you all enjoy Chapter 4. :D

Previous Chapter: https://pepperimps01.tumblr.com/post/646112113682710528/frostbite-recovery-chapter-3

Summary: Casey and Donnie struggle with their feelings. Leo reunites with the new mutant, and finds more info about them.

~~~

Casey grunted and grumbled as he wandered downstairs, still in his pajamas. Predictably dad wasn't in the kitchen, so he fixed himself and Riley a bowl of cornflakes. Dad was rarely ever at home, usually cruising through different bars to stay occupied, so Casey had to step up.  He wasn't really a cook, not that he would have time to make a meal.

"Riley, breakfast!" He hollered, running his hand through his messy curls.

The chipper girl skipped down the steps two at a time. She plopped down, inhaling her cornflakes like she hadn't eaten in days. She was already dressed in a blouse and skirt, the uniform required at her middle school.

Casey joined her, eating his cereal a bit slower as he fixed his hair. Not that he cared too much about his appearance.

"You know a comb would be more effective." Riley teased, mouthful of milk and cereal. "Something really weird happened last night. I almost thought it was a dream but it couldn't be."

Casey raised an eyebrow.

"I ordered food from Murakami's. I was so hungry, you know."  She continued. "And I walked home with my noodles and these assholes started attacking me."

Casey dropped his spoon so loudly it made a clanging noise. "What? Did they hurt you?"

She scoffed. "No, that's the best part. Sure, I was holding my own, but this guy with his sick karate moves saved me! And Sparky too! My pet racoon."

He wanted to tell her that a raccoon didn't qualify as a pet, and heck, he didn't even see the little rodent, but he was too concerned about his sister's wellbeing. "You're lying. You just did your homework last night."

"Except you know I never do my homework." Riley said snarkily. "No...he was really nice. Actually he was a bit strange. Donatello was his name." She perked up. "You wouldn't believe what he-"

"Shut up Ri, stop talking nonsense." Casey rolled his eyes. "Get ready for school. April's walkin' with us today."

"But he-"

"Riley!"

Riley frowned, slumping over, but complying as she grabbed her backpack moodily.

He chewed at his lip. He knew he was being a total jerk, but he also wanted his sister to just be lying. She was known to tell tales but he hated being so dismissive. He'd have to ask later.

After getting dressed and actually combing through his hair, he heard a knock at the door.

"I'll get it!" Riley shouted, clumsily leaping over a bookbag, nearly crashing into the wall as she ran towards the front door. "Hi April!"

"Hiya Riley," The redhead said. "You guys ready to go?"

"I am. Yo Casey, are you?"

"Yep." He grabbed his bag.

"Let's go then."

The trio headed out the door, Riley chattering mindlessly about something.

"I'm gonna stay late today." She said. "Baseball practice."

"Baseball?" April looked at her quizzically. "I thought you played hockey."

"I play both. Duh." Riley rolled her eyes, avoiding a crack in the sidewalk. "I'm the best player on the team, even though I'm the only girl. Hockey..." She cringed. "I prefer to watch, I think." She stopped, crouching down to watch a raccoon scurry through some trash.

"Come on Riley, we're gonna be late." Casey said.

"But he's so cute." Riley cooed. "I missed you Sparky!"

"How do you even know that's the same possum?"

"Racoon. And I just know." She scratched his furry head. The creature's big black eyes widened, accepting the pets happily.

"Ugh, no, he could have diseases or rabies or something-" Casey grabbed her by the backpack straps and pulled her away. Ignoring his sister's struggles, he looked at April: "Did you do Ms. Thompson's homework?"

"Yes, last night." She hummed, glancing back at him. "No, you can't copy it."

"Damn. Can you help me with it?"

April chuckled. "Sure thing."

"You're the best, Red."

She smiled, taking his hand in hers. "I've missed you, Casey."

"I've missed you too."

"Guys!" Riley interrupted. "Stop ogling and take me to school already!"

They blushed, April easily slipping her hand back in her pocket as if nothing had happened between them.

Thankfully, her school was just around the corner, giving him and April plenty of time to talk on their way to the high school.

"So...Red," Casey said, fixing his hair self consciously. "There's a new Beetlewoman movie comin' out on Friday."

April nodded. "There is."

"I heard it's even better than the last one."

She hummed. "I heard that too."

"Do you wanna go with me?"

"Are you asking me on a date?" She asked bluntly.

"That depends, are you gonna say yes?"

April stared at him for a moment, contemplating her answer carefully.

"It's a no, isn't it?" He sighed, defeated. "I could have sworn this would be the day."

"Jones," She said firmly. "Casey, you know I like you a lot."

"I have an annoying feeling that there's gonna be a 'but' somewhere..."

"But, I need to focus on myself right now. Dating is just another thing to worry about. My life is crazy enough." She laughed weakly. "You do know I like you and Donnie, right?"

Casey made a face. "What does this have to do with Donnie?"

"Everything." She looked away wistfully. "You'll figure it out eventually."

"Whatever you say, Red. Come on, the bell's about to ring."

~•~

Peace and quiet was all Donatello craved. The brief moments of silence he received when working on a project were always savored. Even as a curious little tot, he loved blissful quiet. Which was difficult when living in the same sewers as three other rambunctious turtles- but he made do.

Hunched over his desk, he carefully followed the instructions written down. Deja vu was a common occurrence now, and it certainly didn't help with the gelatinous blob form of Timothy watching him work.

"Don't worry Tim," He said through a yawn. "I won't rest until you're cured, buddy."

The floating eyeballs blinked back at him. Looking at him too long was sure to make anyone squeamish, but Donnie could only feel guilt and pity.

"Nothing will stop me from-"

"Yo D!"

Donnie massaged his temples, recognizing the voice immediately. For once, he wished it was Mikey who had interrupted his work.

"Don't you have school?"

"What are you, my mom?" Casey scoffed. "Nah, school's out." He flopped onto the lab table, sitting directly on Donnie's notes.

"What do you want now, Jones?"  He still couldn't forget his brother's teasing, and he wasn't looking forward to dealing with his own feelings. If they caught him talking with Jones, there was no doubt they would make fun of him.

"Oh, nothing." Casey took a seat on the table. "Check it." He slid a disc towards Donnie, who examined it. He couldn't believe what he was looking at- and that it was real.

"No. Way." He breathed. "The Electric Skullz's Dynamite album?"  He had to bite his tongue in order to prevent himself from squealing.

Casey grinned. "You know it." He placed his hands in his lap, thinking. "I figured we could...listen to it sometime. Together! Since we both like it." He paused, scrunching his face. "Stupid idea, probably."

Donnie's features softened. This kid...he did something nice for him. He didn't have to, but he did. And Donnie was touched. But also midly infuriated. How dare Jones make it so difficult to hate him?

"It's not stupid.. That's what friends do, don't they? Listen to music together?"

Friends...it sounded weird out loud. Not that either teen disliked it.

Casey raised an eyebrow. "Wait...we're friends?"

Donnie shrugged. "I don't know. But arguing is exhausting. And you had a point. We both love this band, so why not?"

"Sounds good to me."

Donnie eagerly popped the disc into his homemade music player, turning the volume up. Timothy pitifully stared through the glass container, as if he wanted to jam too.

"Listen Don, I meant to, well," He rubbed the back of his neck. "Talk to you as well."

Donnie stopped the music abruptly. He glanced at Casey, who looked uncomfortable. "Yeah?"

"Oh- er- uh." This was proving to be more difficult as he stared at the tall turtle's mahogany brown eyes. "I don't hate you."

"Thank...you?"

"No, wait. I feel like we got off on the wrong foot. Ever since we've met. But I don't want to fight anymore. I like talking to you about music. You're kinda cool."

Donnie didn't say anything.

"Red doesn't want us to fight. And if you do care about her like I know you do, then you'd respect what she wants. Right?"

"Yes, I agree. The trouble is..." Donnie looked down guiltily. "I don't know what I feel. About us." He gestured at himself, then at Casey.

"You don't have any answers?"

"No. For once, I don't."

Casey exhaled. "I don't either."

Donnie hummed, waiting for anything to ease the awkwardness. Before he had a chance to return to his work, Casey spoke up again. 

"My sister said something weird." He rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably.

"Oh?"

"She said some guy named Donatello saved her from some creeps. Is that true? Or was she just makin' stuff up?"

Donnie paused, a small smile revealing. He looked as if he was debating if he should tell Casey or not. "She wasn't. I did, though I didn't know she was your sister at the time." Donnie replied honestly. "Riley, right?"

"She didn't mention you were a turtle though." He joked.

"She didn't seem to mind."

"Guess those things don't really matter, huh? It's all about...what's in there." He patted Donnie's scratched up plasteron. Brown eyes met darker brown, and he backed up slowly, unsure if he should move closer. "Sorry. But thanks for helping her. She means everything to me. I'm sure you know how that feels."

Donnie's breath was caught in his throat. He gulped.  "I...of course."

"Oh shoot." Casey checked his phone as if nothing had happened. "Sorry dude, I promised Raph I'd ride bikes with him. Catch ya later?"

"Yeah!" His voice cracked. "I'd love that."

As Casey left with a cheeky grin and wave, Donnie felt a sinking feeling in his stomach.

He glanced at the jar of guts that once resembled another teenaged boy. "Tim, I think I'm in trouble."

~•~

That sinking feeling in his stomach didn't leave even hours later. Donnie had tried to push it off, move forward and continue like normal. It wasn't even a big deal. He saved Casey's sister, and that was that. He would have saved any other human just the same. Then why did he feel so weird? He wouldn't lie, he wondered how Casey would react if he knew. Would he be proud of him? Maybe their friendship could expand and their infamous rivalry could finally end.

They had more in common than either boy had realized. They enjoyed the same music and food at least, and according to 'bro code' that's all one needed in a friendship. They did have fun bonding over the Electric Skullz...

But then there was April. She clearly didn't seem enthusiastic in dating either of them. Donnie's pursuit of the beautiful redhead seemed to lose interest as time went on. Each look she gave him was not one of admiration, but of pity. He still liked her a lot though.

'I don't have a chance with her.'

Did Casey? Casey had the added benefit of being human. But he was also charming, handsome, had curious chocolate brown eyes and...and...

A really cute smile with little dimples on each cheek. And confidence to boot, something Donnie had always secretly admired.

Donnie rolled over in back, staring at the wall. What was he even saying? Casey wasn't...he didn't.

'Don't think that. You're not gay. You like April. You like April. You like April.'

He heard Raphael's voice in his mind. 'Who are you even trying to convince? Me, or yourself?'

Who was he trying to convince?

He slid out of bed as quietly as possible. He wasn't going to get any sleep at this rate.  Might as well work on the retromutagen and get his mind off Casey for once.  And it would be less of a time waster than staring at the ceiling and tossing and turning.

'Casey's still human, you know.' The little voice reminded him as he stepped out of his room, blinking blearily. 'You've got the same chance of impressing him as you do April.'

"I know." He muttered under his breath, this time aloud. "I don't like him like that. He's just a friend. I think?"

If he was human, he wouldn't have this problem. Maybe he could have dated them both. Though even for humans that was considered taboo.

He shook his head, glancing at the lab clock. 3:32am. No point in going back to sleep. His laptop had been left open too from a few hours ago. He sighed, typing into his old friend Google what exactly his feelings were.

Article after article, the only sound being the ticking clock, he found his answer. But not in the way he expected.

What is...bisexuality?

Hamato Donatello knew a lot of things. But one thing he was always going to struggle with- was romance. The best course of action was to simply avoid these emotions and put them off until he couldn't take it anymore.. Little did he know, he wasn't the only turtle struggling. His hand stopped moving the mouse, hearing shuffling noises from outside. He came to recognize each individual footsteps his brothers and father made. Mikey usually had a bounce in his step, Raph dragged his feet or stomped about. Splinter's paws were very quiet and had his tail dragging behind him. But these steps were nearly silent, as if he was standing on his tip toes, eager to not wake the remaining members of his family.

"Leo?" He uttered, careful to keep his voice low. He didn't need to turn around, he knew exactly who it was.

But when he saw the distraught, bloodshot eyes of his oldest brother, he moved closer. Leo flinched.

"Leo?" He repeated. "Why are you awake?"

"I couldn't sleep." His voice sounded hoarse. "And you?"

"Same as you, I guess." Donnie quickly slammed his laptop shut. "You look exhausted."

"I can't stop thinking about her." Leo murmured, nearly inaudible.

"Her?" Donnie stared blankly, wondering if Leo was sleepwalking and somehow stumbled inside the lab. "Karai?"

He shook his head. "Sorry, I'm talking nonsense aren't I?"

"A little bit, yeah."

Leo chuckled softly, then turned somber. "I was thinking about the mutant. I'm worried. I mean, she could cause some serious destruction."

Donnie's eyes widened in realization. "You were going to try to find it...her, weren't you? That's why you're wandering around at 4am."

Leo didn't answer. He didn't have to. His eyes told Donnie everything.

"You're dead on your feet. You definitely shouldn't go searching for a deranged mutant when you can barely stand. And alone, of all the crazy things. Come on, Leo, let's go back to sleep."

Surprisingly, Leonardo agreed, as if Donnie was the older sibling and not the other way around. "You're right. I don't know what I was thinking. But you should sleep too."

Donnie relaxed, grateful that there wasn't an argument involved. "I think I will."

"I'll walk with you to your room."

"And you promise you'll go to bed?"

"I promise." Leo vowed, leading the way back to their individual rooms.

Donnie slipped inside his room, practically melting into his bed, exhausted. His eyes fluttered close.

"Oyasumi." His brother whispered.

"Hai, oyasumi." He mumbled under the blankets, instantly comforted.

"See you in the morning, brother." Leo tucked him in gently. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

And for the first time in his life, Leo had broken a promise to his brother.

~•~

The moonlight glowed over the cityscape. Leo tumbled to the ground of the rooftops, checking the area, knowingly being followed. He wasn't afraid, but he knew he had to keep alert. This enemy was unknown, and if he made one false error, he couldn't rely on his brothers for help. Each sense perked up anxiously, waiting for any sign of attack.

Another movement came from behind. He stopped abruptly, skidding to a halt.

"Show yourself." He commanded, one katana raised high, its brother still in its holder.

"Oh, but that would make things less fun..."

Leonardo turned around fiercely. "Every moment you hide in the shadows you only prove your cowardice."

"Cowardice? We'll see about that. You're the one who's afraid."

"I'm not afraid." He said defiantly.

"You soon will be..."

And then it crawled forward. Slowly, claws stepped towards him, revealing the hidden mutant reptile that resembled a crocodile. Her voice, though menacing, still had a feminine tone that made his heart race. Her body was a beautiful emerald green, with piercing gold eyes and cream undertones. She flicked her long, thick tail back, fangs curling into a sinister smirk. Though she was bigger than he was, he wasn't about to show any sign of fear. She then circled him like a predator with her prey. Though he had dealt with much deadlier villains, he still felt uneasy. 

"Miss me?" She snarled. "It's been a while."

Leo narrowed his eyes. He recognized her of course, though they had never spoken. Their last fight had ended less than pleasant. Both he and Mikey had to make a hasty retreat. Leo had regretted it ever since.

"I don't think I ever caught your name." He growled. "If you have one."

"I didn't throw it." She said, then relented. "Nova."

"What are you?"

She licked her lips. "The last thing you see before you die. The banter was cute, sugar, but I'm hungry. That's all I need."

Beyond her wild eyes was a look of fear, and true hunger. She wasn't lying, she looked as though she hadn't eaten in days.

"Nova please. I'm- I'm Leonardo."

She pounced forward, pinning the turtle to the ground. "So long, Leonardo."

"I don't want to hurt you." He wheezed.

"What a shame, because I so want to hurt you. Your pathetic attempt at kindness only shows how weak you truly are."

"Nova..."

With his free leg, Leo kicked his shin upwards to hit her underbelly. She yelped, falling backwards. Her malnourishment was proof she needed help. But clearly she didn't want any.

"So much for not hurting me." She spat, acid leaving her lips and barely avoiding Leo's toes as he lept away. When she moved closer towards him, he softened slightly. He avoided staring at her shark like teeth.

He held out a hand. "I meant what I said. I can help you. Food, shelter, a chance to be with other mutants. I don't want to fight you."

For a brief moment, she looked as if she was going to comply, even eagerly with his convincing tone. Her muzzle grazed his cheek, vulnerability clear in her gold eyes. Then she turned away viciously, reconsidering.

"I don't want anything to do with you, Leonardo. Any hope of happiness is finished., My humanity is gone. I'm a freak, like you." She spat. "I had everything. Fame, fortune, my beauty..." Her claws extended. "All of it is gone."

He shook his head. "No it isn't. There is still hope. I promise, I'll help you."

She rolled her eye slits. "How very noble of you." Her tongue slid out, resembling two separated spiky parts.

"It's not just about being noble. It's about doing what's right." Leo held out his hand once more, echoing the wisdom of Captain Ryan. "Are you willing, Nova?"

"I..."

Snapping her jaws back, she raised a claw to swipe at him. He flinched, waiting for a swift but agonizing feeling. But nothing happened. She had moved away. He didn't even need to draw his swords.

"That's your answer. See you soon...sugar." She hissed, disappearing into the shadows once more.

"Wait!" He cried. But she was gone.

[dershloopmain]

End Of Everything - Chapter 2

‘’Jesus,’’ Casey said, looking down at the broken fence with multiple zombies, all in different states of living, tried to claw their way out of their barbed wire and wooden confines.

‘’Tell me about it. I knew they were dumb but I thought they were supposed to have dope eyesight? Doesn't look like it to me,’’’ Raph scoffed, pulling his own splintering baseball bat out of his bag, poking the arm of the closest trapped zombie.

‘’Won’t Donnie want a sample for his tests? Don't poke em too much what if they come free you ass!”

‘’They won't come free! I dunno I thought he was good for all that.’’

‘’I dunno either but shouldn't we at least ask him? Besides, we need the help,’’ Casey said with a shrug, ‘’and stop poking em Raph!’’

‘’What? You can ask him, but if I show my face in that lair before this is done, Leo will end my life so you’re going,’’ Raph said, pulling back from the undead recipient of his abuse.

‘’Fine, I’ll go alone then.’’

‘’Don’t say it like that you’re making it seem like you're going out into a haunted forest. You just gotta drop down the sewer pipe and walk like 100 feet then you’re at the turnstiles.’’

‘’I know! I also know I am, just as susceptible to Leo’s… whatever we’re calling them.’’

‘’First of all, when did you learn such a big word Jones and second just text him then you big dope,’’ Raph rolled his eyes, turning back to his undead victims, beginning to poke and prod at their bodies.

‘’I said stop fuckin’ poking em dude!’’ Casey said, pushing Raph away from the fence with his foot as he tapped out a text to Donnie, ‘’And it's surprising what hanging with D all day makes you learn.’’

‘’Hey! Rude. They're not gonna hurt anyone they're stuck as anything in there. Besides, I’ve been hanging with Don for years, you won't get smarter in a couple of months. Half his ramblings are gibberish at this point,’’ Raph said, sitting up and continuing to poke the zombie. Casey rolled his eyes, realising he wasn't going to win this.

‘’I dunno. I guess I just actually pay attention to him,’’ Casey said with a glare.

‘’Oh sorry,’’ Raph said with a sarcastic high pitched tone, ‘’What is he your boyfriend now? Why’re you getting so defensive?’’ Casey shot another glare at Raph, ‘’Yikes, touchy subject then. I’ll support you no matter what bro, and if you wanna kiss some time, just let me know,’’ Raph said, standing and pouting his lips while moving towards his friend.

‘’Dude stop it,’’ Casey laughed, pushing Raph back, ‘’No he isn’t either I’m just saying, maybe you’d be less of a bone head if you actually listened to him.’’

‘’Nice to know I’ve still got a chance with you then,’’ Raph said with a smirk, ‘’And who are you calling ‘bonehead’ Casey Jones, you’ve got more skull than cells.’’

‘’Alright alright I get it you’re gay for me, its hard not to be, just don't let Mona hear or she will kill both of us. I’m also just gonna ignore that last part but what I said still stands you’re a bonehead.’’

‘’I show you bone head,’’ Raph said, diving at Casey and tackling him to the ground, locking him in a headlock, ‘’Say I'm not a bonehead and I’ll let you go.’’ He said with a smile.

‘’Never!’’

‘’Well then, I hope you like the taste of dirt and sweat because I ain’t moving until you say it!’’

‘’Children, children, come on stop it,’’ Donnie said, rolling his eyes as he pulled himself out of the sewer. Raph looked up at his brother and smiled, allowing Casey a moment to flip Raph up and off of him. He landed on the dusty, cracked tarmac with a shout of surprise, before huffing and pulling himself and Casey up off of the floor, ‘’Now then. What’s the problem?’’

‘’We need help and Case was wondering if you needed new samples to test,’’ Raph said, pointing at the hole in the fence and multiple zombies clawing at the floor in an attempt to pull themselves free and feast on the 3’s flesh.

‘’Right… I’m guessing Leo said you couldn't have help right? That’s why you texted me?’’

‘’Yup.’’

‘’Thought so,’’ Donnie said softly with a small grimace on his face. A grimace that didn't go unnoticed by Casey and Raph. Nothing was said regarding it but yet… they all understood. A silent yet ever-present cloud hung over them all but not a word was said. Raph cleared his throat.

‘’Right then,’’ He spoke, rubbing his hands together readily, ‘’Let’s get on with it.’’ With that, the moment was over and the cloud disappeared, however not completely. It still loomed over them, threatening to take over their beings at any point. Donnie and Casey nodded, pulling their splintering boe staff and baseball bat out respectively and begun to shift the monsters, pushing them back from a safe distance.

‘’How long have our defences been compromised?’’ Donnie said, straightening up and letting out a deep breath.

‘’Not sure,’’ Raph said, copying his brother, ‘’But they’re really stuck in there so it must’ve been at least a couple of days. Probably longer.’’

‘’Why did Leo only send you two to do this?’’

‘’Your guess is as good as mine. He probably still hates me because of what happened.’’

‘’He can’t be still hung up on that. It’s been 3 months.’’

‘’I know,’’ Raph let out a shaky sigh, lifting his hand and pinching the bridge of his nose, ‘’He's not the only one who lost someone important though. We all lost something but we aren't all tyrannical megalomaniacs.’’

‘’You know how close Usagi and he were though. You can’t be mad at him for missing him.’’

‘’It’s past ‘missing him’. Fuck, I miss Mona too but it’s not my fault it happened I just- I just hate that I can't stop loving him. He's my brother, no matter what he does to me. I nearly died on that supply run, if it weren't for Casey I wouldn't be here but… no matter how mad it makes me I can’t stay mad at him,’’ Raph bit his tongue, his shoulders sinking in defeat, ‘’I’d do anything to get him back.’’

‘’I know Raph. I know,’’ Donnie said softly, moving towards his brother and wrapping his arms around him, rubbing his shell comfortingly. Casey didn’t say a word, he only followed Donnie’s lead and wrapped his own arms around his friend.

‘’Fuck me, man, there's something about the apocalypse that's making us all sappy,’’ Casey laughed, pulling an arm away from Raph and wrapping it around Donnie, who evidently also wasn't taking the entire situation well, but was just a lot worse at talking about it. He could tell from the turtle's physique that it’d taken a toll on him. Initially, while he had always been relatively thin, any muscle mass he had had before was gone, leaving nothing but skin, bone and organs. The eye bags Donnie had always sported seemed deeper and more rooted in weeks of sleepless nights rather than days of late nights and early mornings. His face was sallow and thin, his cheekbones protruding through his skin, almost pushing to escape their green confines. But he never said a word. Not to him. Not to Mikey or Raph. Not even to April. He was a silent sufferer, he wouldn't say a word to anyone but yet everyone knew. One of these days, Casey thought, he was going to have a proper conversation with Donnie. A proper talk. Even back before all this, they hadn’t been insanely close. Always at war over something or other yet something drew Casey to Donnie. He wasn't sure what yet but he’d figure it out. Eventually.

‘’Guys you do realise there's still zombies literal centimetres from us,’’ Donnie said, glazing towards the green-grey decaying hand reaching out for Raph’s ankle.

‘’Oh shit yeah,’’ Raph and Casey said in unison, pulling away and starring down at the writhing mass.

‘’How are we gonna move ‘em then?’’ Raph said, pulling a broken hockey stick out of Casey’s bag and poking the creatures again.

‘’My God Raph you’re like a 6-year-old. Stop. Poking. The. Fucking. Zombies!’’ Casey said angrily, ripping the hockey stick out of his hand and shoving them firmly back into his bag.

‘’Well, by the looks of things,’’ Donnie said, crouching down and levering the creatures up using his staff, ‘’They’ve been impaled by the fence. Pushing them back is just going to lodge them in even more and break the fence even more. We need to create some kind of lever system to lift them up so we can push them off the fence and out of our perimeter,’’ He stood up again, stretching his legs out and giving them a small shake, before looking over at Raph and Casey.

‘’This is why you’re the brain’s and I’m the brawn D,’’ Casey said, wrapping an arm around his shoulder and pushing him down into a headlock.

‘’Cut it out Casey,’’ Donnie said indignantly, squirming in an attempt to get out of Casey’s arms.

‘’Yeah Casey, cut it out. We gotta sort this out before ‘Nardo throws his rattle out his pram,’’ Raph rolled his eyes and Casey grimaced, loosening his grip and allowing Donnie to pull himself free.

Without another word, Donnie pulled a small toolbox out of his bag and placed it on the floor not too far from the creatures writhing in the barbed wire and jagged wood. Opening the box gently, he pulled out a small, clean-looking glass syringe and a neatly folded wet wipe.

‘’Ok,’’ He said finally, ‘’I need you two, and its imperative that you listen and do exactly as I say because I’m your only hope for a cure and if I get turned you’re all doomed so,’’ Donnie pointed at the pile of zombies, ‘’hold them down and away from me. But under no circumstances are you to do ANYTHING that could kill that one. If they die, their sample will be tarnished and it won't be effective,’’ He finished, a stern and serious expression on his face.

‘’Got it, Don,’’ Raph said, walking towards the pile and pushing his foot down onto the head of the creature Donnie had said, ‘’Casey, can you hold the others back while try and sort this one out?’’

‘’I’ll try,’’ He said sheepishly, looking down at the 3 or so other zombies laying at his feet before quickly composing himself and beginning to use his hockey stick to lift them up and pushing them back and away from his friends and home. Stepping over the barbed wire and broken fencing, he jammed his hockey stick back into his bag and pulled the splintering bat out, moving towards the now free pile of freaks.

‘’You want me to kill em, D?’’

‘’Can do,’’ Donnie said flatly, not looking up from his test subject.

‘’Uh- You know what never mind I’ll just kill em,’’ Casey said, swinging his bat in a downward arch, smashing the creatures’ skulls in, killing them all instantaneously. Mushy brain and dark, viscous blood splattered on his sneakers and jeans, coating them in another layer of grit and grime. He had to admit, the idea that these were once living people was disturbing to him. They’d once had lives, jobs, families and friends. They’d been like him once. Alive and free. Would everyone have bashed his skull in if he’d been infected? Or would he have been corralled and used as a test subject for Donnie to find a cure? He hoped the latter but… He wasn’t sure. After what’d happened, he wasn’t sure Leo would’ve been insanely happy with the idea of keeping zombies in the lair, especially not him. Being low on the hierarchy had its perks but not having Leo on his side in regards to anything was not one of them. He sighed, shaking the viscera off of his shoes and bat before stepping back into the borders of their home.

‘’Nearly done Don?’’ Casey said, crouching near him. He glanced over at his

‘’Nearly and… there we go done,’’ Donnie said, wiping the mucus and deep red blood from the small wound he’d just created, smiling at his work.

‘’Why’d you wipe it after. They’re dead their entire body is infected,’’ Raph said, removing his foot from the creatures head and letting Donnie back up before dropping its arms and dashing around to the other side of the fence.

‘’Force of habit,’’ Donnie said quietly, clearly uncomfortable with what was about to happen.

‘’We have to do it, Don, I know you don’t like it but we do,’’ Raph said, walking over to his brother and putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. Donnie looked away, gently placing the syringe into a ziplock back and putting it back into his toolbox.

‘’I know you do I just- I don’t think I’ll ever get used to seeing them be killed. They used to alive and through no fault of their own, now they’re monsters I- I don't know how much more of this excessive violence and murder I can take,’’ Donnie said, his eyes filling up with tears.

‘’Hey, hey don’t get upset. Crying’s healthy and all but if you start, I’ll start and even Raph might start- hey ow!’’ Casey exclaimed, whipping around and shooting Raph a death glare. Raph snorted, a mischievous smirk plastered on his face. Donnie laughed, wiping away yet another batch of unshed tears.

‘’Sorry it just… gets a little much at times,’’ Donnie shook his head, rubbing his elbow nervously.

‘’Don’t apologise for having emotions you big dummy,’’ Raph said, walking to stand next to Casey, ‘’I gotta say, me and Casey aren’t exactly peachy. I doubt Mikey and April are either. Don’t even get me started on Leo. It’s ok to feel like this Don, just stop bottling it up. That’s where it’s not healthy.’’

‘’I can’t believe for once WE are the one's schooling Donnie,’’ Casey said, crossing his arms and shaking his head jokingly. Raph rolled his eyes, as did Donnie.

‘’Now the sentimental shit’s over, let’s just finish up here and go down, I seriously doubt ‘Nardo is gonna be happy with how long we’ve been,’’ Raph said, trying not to think about what was inevitably to come.

‘’Tell me about it. D, we’ll deal with the creature and you can like, close your eyes and ears if that’ll help, then we’ll get started on the fence,’’ Casey said, trying to add an air of enthusiasm to his voice to bring up the mood, however, even he could tell it wasn’t working.

‘’Sure,’’ Donnie said, walking back to the manhole cover and looking away, covering his ears as Raph and Casey pulled out their respective weapons and began pulling the zombie out of the barbed wire and splintering wood, replacing it out onto the dusty street. Then, Raph stepped towards the thing that was slowly attempting to crawl back towards them and slammed his sai down into its head, cracking its skull and killing it, once and for all. He felt the vibrations up his arm as the metal of his sai clashed with the concrete, causing him to shiver a little, before pulling himself up and shaking the remnants of blood and brain off of his sai.

‘’Ok D, all done,’’ Casey shouted over, turning around to his friend and giving him a reassuring smile, who offered a small, shaky smile in return.

With that, Raph tucked his sai away and stepped over what was leftover of the small portion of the fence.

‘’You got any nails in that thing Donnie?’’ Raph asked, gesturing at the toolbox.

‘’I should have a few, I brought some hammers too, I figured you two wouldn't have remembered to bring any with you,’’ Donnie said, opening the toolbox and pulling out a handful of nails and handing them to Casey, before pulling his backpack around so it hung over one shoulder and rummaging through it for a couple of seconds before pulling out 3 relatively clean hammers and handing one to each of them.

‘’Well then, let's get to it,’’ Raph said, swinging the hammer around and grabbing a couple of nails from Casey’s outstretched hand, before picking up one of the wooden boards and beginning to bash it back into the wooden post that protruded from the tarmac. Casey and Donnie soon followed suit, before finally beginning to carefully pick up the barbed and wrap it around the makeshift fencing.

‘’That wasn’t so bad,’’ Raph said, grinning at their handiwork.

‘’Definitely a lot quicker with you here D,’’ Casey said, smiling at his friend.

‘’No problem Casey. I know how Leo can be, so just text me if you ever need help with anything. He already doesn't like you coming down to my lab. Thinks you’re stopping me from working or something,’’ Donnie said with a sigh.

‘’Well, I’m not gonna stop coming unless you tell me to. I don’t care what he thinks,’’ Casey said defiantly, putting his hands on his hips as if he were some hero.

‘’A real modern-day revolutionary you are Casey Jones,’’ Donnie said, rolling his eyes with a smirk.

‘’Should we head back? It’s getting cold,’’ Raph said, wrapping his arms around himself and rubbing them in an attempt to preserve any sort of body heat he could.

‘’Jesus it is. Must really be September,’’ Casey said, stuffing his hands deep into his hoody pockets.

Donnie nodded, flexing his fingers before pulling them back into a fist multiple times.

With that, the three headed towards the manhole cover and climbed down back into the sewer. It was surprising how much you learned about New York’s bathroom habits after 6 months of the apocalypse. Raph had always assumed that there’d always be greywater down here, no matter how many humans lived up top yet somehow, the sewers had run dry. Remains of final faeces and bathroom breaks lay dried up or non-existent along the floor of the sewer. It was almost impressive yet disturbing. The world really was ending. Or, as Donnie had put it ‘’Humanity's end as the dominant life force on earth’’.

‘’Bite your tongue Raph. If Leo says anything, don’t bite,’’ Donnie whispered as they hopped the turnstiles into the lair. Raph swallowed in a desperate attempt to dampen his dry tongue, failing miserably. He could feel his stomach turn in knots and any food he’d eaten in the last 24 hours was churning in his stomach, threatening to make a reappearance.

‘’Raphael,’’ Leo’s deep voice filled their ears, Raph flinched, ‘’I trust your supply run went well.’’

‘’Yeah. Got more medical supplies. There wasn’t much else we needed though so that was it.’’ ‘’What about our defences. Are they secure now?’’

‘’Yeah. Casey and Donnie helped me patch it back up so it should be fine.’’

‘’Donatello helped? I thought I told you that you and Casey were to do it alone.’’

‘’Yes, I know, I’m sorry but he was already up there to get another sample from the zombies and he had stuff on him to help so…’’ Raph trailed off, his eyes trained on the ground. He refused to look into Leo’s cold, uncaring eyes. If he did, he already knew he couldn't hold himself back.

‘’Hmm. Donatello? Is this what happened?’’

‘’Yes, Leo. I promise you, they didn’t ask me to help them. I asked them if I could come up to get a sample for my studies,’’ Donnie said sheepishly, looking up at Leo, trying his best not to let his fear be shown.

‘’Fine. I’ll believe you. You may all leave now.’’ Leo said plainly, glaring down at Casey and Raph, both of whom were starring at the ground still as they walked away, shoulders hunching slightly.

Leo nearly felt himself crack. He wanted to stop them, tell them he was sorry and wanted everything to go back to normal but… he couldn't. He couldn’t stop hating them for what happened. He couldn’t stop his blood from boiling every time he saw Raph walk past him to leave the lair. Maybe time would heal all wounds, but for now, he was perfectly content blaming and hating his younger brother for what he’d done. Not just because of what he'd lost. It's what all of them had lost. It was how reckless and immature Raph had been and HOW he'd caused it. All of it added up into a pit of rage that had been brewing for years. The number of times he'd been kidnapped or injured because of Raph's idiocy and complacency and arrogance. What had happened had broken him, the small, sane and happy, innocent part of him had snapped. Maybe if Usagi returned that part would be reconnected but… he knew that wouldn’t happen. It couldn’t happen. And it was all Raph’s fault.

[kazdoesntknow]

sorry for the stickers and lines in the latter image of leo, it’s the original one from before i got my sketchbook.

i ended up changing leo’s face. his right eye is burned, as well as his shoulder, and he’s blind in his right eye.

he wears goggles now- lightly based off of steampunk goggles. they read thermals, as well as zoom in and out. he’s also the only turtle who still has their mystic weapon- april still has hers.

leo’s really been through things. at his current age of twenty-one, he’s the leader of the team. though at sixteen, when he and his brothers went to fight draxum and most of the foot clan, he realized they were being overrun and he surrendered as a distraction so his brothers would be able to escape. he ended up being tortured over the next two years, as well as experimented on, but he eventually escaped and returned home, where he’s now planning on how to take his world back from the yokai, establish equality, and throw big mama and draxum away for their crimes, seeing as those two released shredder and made sure everyone else was shoved underground as the yokai had been.

he’s quieter now, and less quick to joke, and matured a lot faster than he should have. but somewhere in that heart of his, he’s still the same leon. he’s just struggling with how to express it.

he has a lot of mental disorders due to everything that has happened.

again, sorry for the stickers and stuff. that’ll go for just about everyone else,,,,

so this is raph. probably not the best drawn, i’ll redraw him soon, i promise that much. but anyway, as you can see, he’s got a few scars, and where leo has teal eyes, raph has green. ( aka i wanted to give them eye colors, and here they are. ) he’s twenty two, and during leo’s two years away, he’d begun to think leo was dead. but he blames himself fully for leo’s disappearance, and regrets not being the one to think of surrendering first. he doesn’t have his mystic weapon, though he does use his sais. once leo returned, he passed leadership onto him, because leo was the one who showed leadership and protected them all.

raph’s still his cuddly self, though his fear of being alone has gotten stronger, and he usually sleeps in mikey’s room to avoid waking up with panic attacks. he also has a strong fear of abandonment, and is terrified his brothers will leave or get kidnapped again.

also heavily blames himself for splinter’s death, even though he wasn’t fighting shredder with miko and casey.

stickers, yada yada. you get the gist.

anyway! this is the baby, mikey. i liked the addition of a bandana, so i threw it on him. he’s the youngest at age 20. upon leo disappearing, he chose to neglect the new way of life and pretend that nothing’s changed. upon leo’s return, though, he wasn’t quite sure what to do. he couldn’t seem to comfort leo. but mikey tried his best anyway.

during leo’s time in captivity, mikey was constantly with raph, bonding more heavily with his elder brother, due to donnie being more in his lab to deal with his own problems. mikey still loves to paint, and he simply wishes he could see sunlight again. he often plays video games with raph and does quite a bit of art- the lair is covered in his art, whether it be on canvases or walls. he chats about everything he wants to do.

he probably took draxum’s betrayal the hardest, seeing as he was the one the most supportive of draxum’s redemption. he wanted his two dads, and now, sadly, he has none.

and this is donatello, the last, but definitely not the least, of the turtles.

he fully blames himself for the abduction of his twin. fighting draxum was also very difficult for him, because his battle shell was torn apart ( again ) and he was carried home due to the wounds on his face and on his shell. he ends up cutting off his right arm for what he claims to be self improvement, though there is an underlying truth no one’s managed to dig out yet. he woud have cut off his other upon leo’s return, but leo had stopped him from doing that.

still a tech guy, he tends to isolate himself in his lab, save for whenever miko decides she wants to waltz in there like she owns the place. he doesn’t find her much of a bother because she’s usually pretty quiet. he’s still sarcastic and sassy, but he is very angry and defensive, and forgets to eat and sleep. he, though he would never admit it, probably missed leo the most because of their twin bond.

he has pilot goggles now, which is pretty neat, i think. they’re modified by the mystic crystals, though, so they work the same as his old ones did.

this is casey jones, age 22. living,,, somewhat his best life.

he met the turtles when he was fifteen, while he was out being a bit,,, crazy on the streets and doing his vigilante thing. he’s played hockey since middle school, and absolutely loves it. he’s learned hand to hand combat, and at school, he’s close friends with april o’neil. though at first, he had no idea she knew about the turtles until she went to introduce him to them, and... well, it just hit him. he was like “hey, i know those guys!”

he went with miko and splinter to help in stopping the shredder, and feels pretty sad about splinter dying, so he does the usual thing: vigilante shit. he fights off yokai who are harming humans or mutants, with the help of april and mayehm. he has hockey sticks, golf clubs, and baseball bats.

overall, casey’s a fun guy to hang out with. currently, he’s working on building up a resistance group to fight back, with leo’s strict instruction. in previous years, he was doing it on his own accord.

APRIL O’NEIL! age 21.

she’s pretty neat. has a scar on her chin that actually isn’t from fighting- her and casey were fucking around on the skateboard ramp in the lair and she fell and,,, chin scar. her jacket is immortal. her glasses are broke, though, and she had to tape them together, but she’s not too mad about it. in fact, she’s not too mad about anything.

she fought big mama with lavi, and though they lost, they managed to escape, and april still has her mystic bat. she snatched that up real fast when she bolted. she ended up forced underground, and she hangs out with her mom sometimes, and tries to hang out with casey vigilanting, and occassionally bugs donnie in his lab, or tries to help lavi pull the family back together- not to much avail.

she’s smart, and funny, and sassy. she’s the same as she was when she was younger, but she’s also gotten to be more independent and strong. she’s very confident, and though she’s been through a lot, she has a firm belief that they’ll win soon enough.

this is hizashi mikoto, an oc.

she’s a small. age 21. she’s formerly a business CEO, despite her young age, and graduated from MIT at the age of 15. she was raised in japan until she was twelve years old, and upon the death of her father and sister, she ended up moving to america with her mom. when she turned fifteen, her mom ended up dying as well to a foot clan attack. her relationship with her mom wasn’t the best- her ninja mother was fascinated with science, especially mutations, and inserted tiny bits of chameleon dna into her daughter through spars with swords. miko’s now partially chameleon. she met the boys by literally falling in on them. chasing down a few criminals vigilanting, she ended up falling into their lair and spraining their wrist when she was fourteen years old.

she fought the shredder with casey and splinter, and heavily blames herself for splinter’s death. she’s in love with technology and science, having of built a company off a computer chip she developed when she was twelve years old. so her favorite spot in the lair is in donnie’s lab. but she also likes to spar, and write on occassion, and is sometimes found watching tv with mikey.

this is lavi, the last oc.

gunslinger. she was born in watertown, new york, where her mother had abandoned her before her father found her and her little brothers in their home, but spent most of her life in maine, until conflict caused her to move away from her family and live with her mémé ( great grandmother ) up in new york. wanting to be a police detective and invest her time in chasing down cases at the age of fourteen, she ran around in a deep search for something to do, something to solve, and one of those days, she found leo. and literally just peppered him with questions about where she could go to find some cases to solve. and then they started being friends because “finding cases” turned into “spa day in the hidden city.”

after leo’s disappearance, she ended up searching for the turtle with donnie. the two were relentless in their searching, but two years later, they ended up finding him because he had broken himself out. she tries her best to comfort him as she had the rest of the turtles and their friends.

often passes out in a pile of pillows. leo usually throws a fluffy blanket over her.

but yeah! those are the main characters,,,, lemme know what you think!

[2k18leo]

((This may get lost in all the finale talk but I wanted it finished in time for Leo Day, so without further ado, here is Rogue’s personality sheet))

Name: Rogue

Age: 16 (November 5th)

- Leo 16, Donnie 16, Mikey 15, Raph 17, April 17

Gender: Female

Species: Australian Water Dragon

List the most important things about your character.

- Was an actual lizard before her mutation

- Was shipped from Australia to be a pet of a gothic teenage girl

- Did not retain an Australian accent because she was too young to learn one when she was shipped from Australia

- Gets called multiple creative nicknames from Leo, including but not limited to:

-- Ro

-- Rogue-y babey

-- (to the tune of Row Row Your Boat) Ro-Ro-Rogue-y baby

-- Stripes (they both call each other this)

-- Tails

-- Hot Fry ( ??? don’t know where he thought of this)

-- Spade (because of the shape of the mark on her back, which resembles a spade)

-- Reggae ( ?? )

-- Babey Spade

-- Moulin Rogue (to which she always laughs and responds, “it’s Rouge, dumbass!”)

- She loves to paint and be artsy with Mikey

- Will patiently listen while Donnie explains the technicalities of his latest inventions, and is also eager to be a test subject for some of his newer creations

- Absolutely loves to pull pranks with Leo and will sometimes sneak out with him on the shellhogs to race around the city

- Lives with April because “living with all guys is just a little too much sometimes” (but will crash with Leo if she is over there too late) and helps take care of Mayhem when April is at school/work

- She will sometimes instigate the Disaster Twins and their tomfoolery because she finds it so amusing

- She is actually not much of a fighter (but is well aware how to weaponize her tail and claws) but Raph has offered to help train her in their downtime

Physical Details

- Slim waist

- Thick thighs

- Short torso with long legs

Height: 5’6” (with Leo 5’11”, Donnie 5’11”, Mikey 5’6”, Raph 6’4”, April 5’5”)

Weight: ~ 130lbs

Skin: All scales

- Creamy pale green in color over the majority of her body

- Has “glove” markings on forearms and shins

Hair: None

Eyes: Blue eyes, long eyelashes

Other defining features/extra anatomy:

- Long tail with 17 stripes

- Has horizontal stripes from her eyes to the back of her head

- Three fingers/toes on limbs

- Has a heart-shaped marking in middle of torso on ventral side

- Has a spade-shaped marking in middle of torso on dorsal side

Habits:

- Constantly laughing with Leo

- Picking at her scales

- Will tap her claws or tail if she is jittery

- Will subconsciously quote movies if it seems appropriate for the situation even if no one around her knows where the quote comes from

- Will flick her tail if irritated

- When she gets nervous, her tail will suddenly curl around an object close to her for support (more often than not this object is Leo and he thinks it’s precious)

- When she’s being flirty, the tip of her tail will caress under his chin *enter heart-eyes Leo*

- Her tail moves in the night, accidentally knocking stuff over while she sleeps

- Often has sarcastic quips escape her mouth

Gestures/Mannerisms: She likes to sweep her tail around to help her hips sway back and forth

Voice: I am still figuring out a voice actor that I feel would fit her well. I’ve thought about Elizabeth Gillies, Liana Liberato, Sabrina Carpenter, Peyton List, etc. If you have any suggestions, I’m always open to options ! :)

Style: Athletic but casual (a cropped sleeveless hoodie with a choker, and a bandana wrapped around her arm)

-Personality-

Loves/Favorites:

- Food (will eat anything as she is omnivorous)

- Sunny days (loves to bask in the sun)

- Keeping her nails long and sharp

- Music (almost any kind. She can dance to pop, rap along to hip-hop, belt out to the Hamilton soundtrack (where Donnie will join in sometimes), dance to country music while breaking out in a southern accent, and sway lovingly to some nice jazz)

- Spooky stuff (Horror movies, Halloween, ghost stories, etc.)

- Movies! (Disney, Action, Horror, Sci-Fi, Adventure, Mystery)

- Watching/playing basketball (has somehow managed the ability to dribble with her tail)

- Playing Baseball (is not a bad short-stop)

- Swimming (she’s pretty fast underwater with the help of her long strong tail)

- Playing games (be it video games, card games, board games, etc.)

- Creating art (she loves to draw and paint, and also has a subtle love for photography)

- She has a huge ole’ crush on Leo <3

Hates:

- Cold weather (unless it’s snowing)

- Cloudy days (she loves the sun, duh)

- Rom-coms (too cheesy for her taste)

- Bad grammar (her previous owner (while Rogue was not fond of her) went to a college-prep school and she often overheard her speak with proper grammar)

- Burnt popcorn (a trAGEDY)

- A bad sense of humor (she’s thankful that pretty much all the turtles are able to laugh and not take anything super seriously because she often has some sarcastic quips that escape her mouth)

Hobbies: She draws, watches movies, will pick up a book occasionally

Talents/Skills:

- Dribbling a basketball with her tail

- Drawing/painting

- Memorizing movie quotes

Fears/Nightmares: Waking up one day back as a regular lizard

Best Quality: Sense of humor

Greatest Flaw:

- Not great at communication (gets cranky when she doesn’t have her alone time but is not good at expressing that)

- Sometimes gets jealous that she’s the “odd man out” and it wouldn’t matter if she wasn’t there because the boys already have April, but loves April all the same

- Perfectionist (likes things done a certain way) but only sometimes

Character Strengths:

- Playful

- Patient

- Good-natured

- A good sense of humor

- Laid back for most things

- A rationalist (very practical)

And the coinciding weaknesses: She’s not the best at opening up to anyone

What she wants and doesn’t want

- She wants to move towards having an actual family. Perhaps getting some training under her belt to know how to fight.

- She wants to stay away from her previous owner (and the snake that Evie always picked on her with, Calamity)

How does the character picture herself? Rogue: Oh gosh, what did everyone else say? This is kinda weird. Erm, I guess I’m a great swimmer. I like to laugh a lot so the boys never fail to make me. I’m not a neat freak, but not a crazy slob either? I like to think I’m fun to be around.

How do others see her?

- Leo: She’s beautiful, funny, short, has a great laugh, is always down to part-aaay. She laughs at my jokes! My jokes! You know that’s a quality girl!

- Donnie: Yeah, she’s… perfect for Leo, I guess. The two of them can get a bit riled up at times but she has a good heart. Plus, it keeps him busy and not a distraction for me when I’m trying to get work done.

- Mikey: Omigosh, I love her! She’s an awesome artist! She painted this piece on my shell right here, can you see it? Right here. Yeah, she’s great. Not a perfect chef, but I introduced Kondescending Kitchen to her and I think I’ve got her hooked.

- Raph: Shorty? She’s the best! She knows just when to bring Leo back down to Earth. Is always down for any athletic event. *whispers* she throws a mean spiral on Lace Face. I’ve been training with her a few nights a week, y’know to get her strength up. But it’ll be awhile before we take her on any type of mission.

- April: Oh, that’s my girl! Rogue is hilarious, and definitely great with Mayhem. She lives with me at my place, which isn’t bad. She isn’t a slob, so that’s great.

- Splinter: Is that the one with the tail?

Five adjectives that she would use to describe herself. Rogue: Oh, I guess… hmm… funny? Reasonable, happy, laid back, aaaand… artsy?

Five adjectives others would use to describe her.

- Leo: I’ll say it again. Beautiful, cute, funny, short, hilarious, pretty, smart, smokin’, (no, no, Leo, you’re only supposed to do 5. You’re good) … but I can keep going. (nah, I think we got it, thanks!)

- Donnie: Let’s see… Intelligent, humorous, independent yet social, and likeable

- Mikey: She’s tons of fun! Super friendly, a crazy good artist, awesome gamer, and very responsible when need be.

- Raph: The girl’s tough, athletic, smart, a jokester, and pretty trustworthy.

- April: She’s so funny, we laugh all the time. And we have inside jokes and secrets that I trust her with. Super sweet, but she also has a daring side that hypes me up. Aaand, she’s considerate. A good roommate and friend.

- Splinter: When did Blue get a girlfriend?

Most valued possession: Rogue: Oh, uh… probably the bandana that I have wrapped around my arm here. The boys gave it to me as sort of a family token. I didn’t like the look of it on my face since it hid my stripes but I always like to know where it is even if it’s not on me.

Darkest secret and/or treasured memory: Rogue: Wow, you guys ask a lot of questions. Ummm, I guess I shoplifted this hoodie. That’s not the worst thing in the world, but I’m not sure. Not many people know but I don’t think it’s a huge deal. A treasured memory I guess is when I met the boys for the first time. Also the day I escaped Evie.

Most proud accomplishment and or greatest failure: Rogue: I mean, I’m pretty proud of all the art I make. I guess the best thing I ever accomplished was escaping Evie, my previous owner. Everything kinda went uphill from there.

Current motivation: Rogue: Motivation for what exactly? To keep living? I guess my family. The turtles and April have really opened my eyes to what a happy life could actually be. It’s great. Everyday is an adventure with them and they make me feel so loved.

How does she view the future and/or the past? Rogue: I guess I regret not escaping Evie’s place sooner. That was just not a great time for me. But, hey, it’s all better now. I’m happier than I’ve ever been.

What is her philosophy on life and death? Rogue: Well, back before the mutation, when I was still at Evie’s place, I was just a lizard that didn’t really care one way or the other. Evie would constantly shove her other pet, a snake she named Calamity, super close to my cage. Us Aussie Water Dragons are common prey for snakes so it scared the shit out of me. It happened so much that it got to the point where I would just think ‘whatever. If the snake is going to eat me, go ahead. This isn’t a life to live anyway, being in this cage.’ It sucked and the best day of my life was when I escaped. Now I spend everyday with a smile on my face. I want to live life to the fullest! And the turtles really make that feeling come true.

What kind of energy level do they usually have? Rogue: I’m normally pretty calm and chill but I have been known to get riled up with Leo. Mikey and his bubbly side also hype me up sometimes.

How does she show and/or handle: love, affection, grief, pain, anger, sadness, conflict, change, loss? Rogue: I was conflicted with how to feel when the turtles first invited me to their home. Up until then all I had known were dead crickets and a glass box on all sides of me. So, it was definitely weird for me. I mean, Calamity didn’t like me so all I got were stupid threats from her. But loving the turtles came so easy to me. And ever since I met them I had felt a different feeling towards Leo, but the sensation was so foreign to me that I didn’t really understand. I liked him, all of them, but it was just a feeling of wanting to be around him more.

Does she have a temper? Rogue: I think I’m self-aware enough to admit that I have a small temper and I handle it with major passive aggression. I’m not great at confrontation and I’m used to letting things that really get to me sit inside. It’s not the healthiest practice, but…

How does she respond to the surrounding world, the ‘unfamiliar,’ and other people in general? Rogue: You mean everything outside my cage? It’s fantastic! I can’t tell you how wonderful it was to taste the fresh air when I first escaped. The only type of “friendship” I had was with a tarantula in Evie’s room. He and I weren’t close but I preferred him to Calamity anyday. So coming out into the world and seeing the turtles, I was super nervous. Everything was unfamiliar to me.

Polite or rude? Rogue: I like to think I’m polite? I mean, I was never really taught any manners from Evie.

Stingy or generous? Rogue: Umm… both? Neither? I don’t have much to share or hoard.

What kind of ‘public’ face does she display? Rogue: The turtles know I’m not crazy about Evie, so they accept that I don’t always want to talk about her. I’m pretty much an open book, though.

Leader or a follower? Rogue: Both? Neither? I have the reasoning to be a leader in some cases, but I will always do what Raph says if he’s giving orders… even though I don’t go on missions with them. He and April are the oldest and definitely know more about the world than I do. As far as I’m concerned, he’s the leader and I respect him too much to argue about that.

More happy by themselves or in a group? Rogue: I spent years alone in a cage. I love being around people. We don’t even have to be doing anything, but their presence makes me feel a bit safer.

Does he/she have any addictions/dependencies/fixations/fetishes/ or other strange behavior? Rogue: Is popcorn an addiction?

What is her sexual preference/experience/values? Rogue: I like Leo.

-History/Background- Rogue: I feel like I’ve talked enough for one day. I’ll let Taylor finish this off.

Setting: Present day in Rise universe

Occupation: Nah, she’s a mutant lizard, although she sometimes wishes she could help pay rent for April’s apartment because she spends so much time there. April doesn’t mind it since she’s already used to the boys raiding her fridge, but a job under Señor Hueso was mentioned at one point (and might possibly play a role in the future)

Educational background/other learning experiences: Her previous owner has good grammar, but she did not develop the ability to speak until after mutation

Intelligence Level: As smart as a pet of a prep-school kid can be. She also has learned plenty from the turtles and April.

Short Term Goals: Probably finishing a book or a video game.

Long Term Goals:

- Finding the perfect weapon for herself.

- Keeping the family she was so lucky to find

Family:

- Has no idea about her biological parents since she was shipped out so early in life. Doesn’t really bother her that much, though.

- Previous owner: Name is Evangelique (Evie) Flint, who named Rogue and took care of her fine, meaning she was fed adequately. However, Evie favored the other pets that she owned (her snakes and scorpions) and would sometimes get the snakes close to Rogue in order to freak her out (Australian Water Dragons are often prey for snakes). When Evie was moving houses with her family, Rogue was able to escape. She never looks back.

Friends:

- Leo: She and Leo are super close and became fast friends. He flirted with her for months before she actually caught on. Rogue always thought he was cute but was pretty clueless when it came to romance. April filled her in and helped them get together (the best wingman). He is always able to make her laugh and it’s not difficult for her to reciprocate. He enjoys playing with her tail. They’re young and in love but still best friends. The others refer to them together as “The Stripes.” He doesn’t really get seriously jealous because he trusts her with his brothers. He adores her laugh and the heart-shaped mark on her chest.

- Donnie: They’re cool friends. She looks up to him as if he is older than her because of how smart he is. He’s more calm with her than he is with the boys because he’s seen her rational side. She’ll stay out of his way when he’s busy, but won’t decline being a helpful assistant or test subject for an experiment.

- Mikey: She thought he was super funny, like Leo. He was fascinated by her splotches and patterns, and was overjoyed that she liked art as well. One of their first times bonding together was over video games.

- Raph: He approached her first when they first encountered her, mainly as a way to shield his brothers if she was a threat. She likes to play some type of sporty game with him even though she is not nearly as in-shape as the rest of them. It was his idea for her to start sparring. He appreciates how tough and level-headed she is. He thinks she’s a good fit for Leo.

- April: Rogue was fairly relieved to make friends with a girl. April loved her look and thought the choker and hoodie was awesome. She lets Rogue sleep on her couch whenever she pleases, and she thinks it’s great that Mayhem likes her.

- Splinter: They’re not close. She’s met him a couple times and only because she felt it weird that the rat had yet to introduce himself. It’s sort of a mutual respect that they have.

Backstory:

- Born in Australia and shipped to Poughkeepsie, where Evie lived. She was lonely and constantly tormented by her owner and the snake, Calamity, who lived just a single frame of glass away next to her cage.

- After years of living in Poughkeepsie, Evie’s family decided to move to Detroit because of her mother’s business demands.

- Early on in the move, Rogue was able to escape and out of the vehicle and off the Mid-Hudson Bridge into the Hudson River. The river carried her down to Manhattan where she consumed an Ooze-quito and became mutated.

- I’m still figuring out a story on how she met the turtles and the events leading up to the present because she’s currently been with them for nearly half a year (I’ll probably write some drabbles on it in the near future, so stay tuned)

-Combat-

Physical Strength:

- Her tail is the strongest part of her body

- She has enough strength to workout with the boys, but cannot do any of the heavy weights that they can.

Coordination/Reflexes: Not bad reflexes. She’s not clumsy, but her tail has been known to knock things over in an environment she is unfamiliar with.

Fighting Style: Is typically prone to striking with her claws and/or tail

Unusual Abilities/Powers: Nothing mystical about her besides the mutation

Weapons/Other Gear: Has yet to find a weapon that works for her

((couple things, Tumblr completely messed with the format of this but oh well, yes I referenced Leo’s pose from the episode Newsworthy, but I just adore his pose so much that I was super excited to draw it, they may or may not be holding hands, that’s up to your interpretation :D, but yeah. this personality ref sheet was super long but I really wanted to milk this character because I hope she sticks with me for a long time. If you read the whole thing, thank you so much, I appreciate you more than you realize :) ))