#this was my first time drawing the krang

[mimjandoodlesstuff]

(Click for better quality)

This project has been something I've wanted to do for a while but only now got around to actually making it.

The real painting's name is The Defense of the Sampo in English (by Akseli Gallen-Kallela, 1896). Yes, the Sampo is golden pizzas in this "AU", because obviously! And the pike jaw kantele is April's video camera.

[bicryptide]

They have divorced tenth time already <3

[kathaynesart]

RECOMMENDED MUSIC: Boom Goes the Donnie-mite (Mikey/Donnie/Raph vs the Sweeper) - "The Red Zone" by Mitsuoto Suzuk

Finally! This big ol' update is out! Thank you everyone for your patience. Hopefully the next one will be much sooner since I already have parts of it drawn out. We're nearing the end of... uh, lets just call it the "Holiday Special."

BEGINNING || PREVIOUS || NEXT MASTER POST

Also couldn't get this out of my head as I was drawing this update:

Mikey's Ninpo:

Donnie's Ninpo:

Anyways, have some long winded deep dive into Donnie and Mikey's powers below the cut:

Mikey and Donnie are interesting because I feel these two are the ones who truly reach the full potential of their gifts. Mikey isn't there as of yet in the story but he will be by the end of Replica. Where as Leo and Raph had a lot of other things to focus on (leading, planning, and dealing with colony drama), Donnie and Mikey took the time to really focus on themselves and their abilities, choosing to distance themselves from a lot of the drama that the leaders of the family have to deal with.

Mikey's Ninpo

I always found it interesting how Mikey's weapon (the kusari-fundō) seemed to be the only one that had an actual entity within it. While they never address it, it's obviously some sort of flame demon/spirt. It could also help explain Mikey's dramatic increase in strength knowing that the spirit of his weapon is literally able to help him lift boats and buildings. I like to think that Michelangelo formed a connection with the spirit, especially since he looked so crushed when the Shredder destroyed his weapon in a way that none of the other brothers had.

Shortly after the victory against the Shredder I imagine he comes across his destroyed weapon in their old lair (probably while they're gathering thing to move to their new home) and he can still feel the sad little remnants of the spirit clinging to life in the broken object. I feel this would be the turning point that would lead to Mikey's first dip into the mystic arts. He would bring the weapon back to Barry for guidance and Barry would explain that the spirit has been bound to the object for so long that it can no longer survive on its own. Normally it could be bound to a new object but in it's dying state it would not be able to attach properly.

It is Mikey who suggests that maybe if it was bound to a person rather than a inanimate object then maybe the person could help the spirit survive. Barry admits the reasoning is sound and after much coercing finally helps guide Mikey through the steps, allowing the fire spirt to bind itself to Mikey's being (think something similar to Howl and Calcifer in Howl's Moving Castle, sans the heart losing). At first, not much seems to comes of the union. The spirit is still too weak to be able to do much of anything, but over time it regains its strength in tandem with Mikey and is able to gift him with similar abilities, becoming an integral part of Mikey's arsenal as well as a new spiritual connection to the Hamato family line. That is what we get a peek of here in this chapter.

Donnie's Ninpo

Just as Mikey canonically will go through a sort of mystic and spiritual enlightenment, Donnie too will have a similar scientific revelation. It always bothered me in the movie that his "firepower" (guns, missiles, etc) never seemed to be very effective, or at least not as effective as his ninpo designed physical constructs (such as the jet packs and the giant drill he uses on both the Krang and the Shredder). I believe this is because with physical constructs like a drill he has a sense of the weight and velocity needed to understand how hard it should hit. This properly visualized weight and damage is then made into reality.

But it's different with firearms and bombs. Up until the movie he really doesn't have a lot of real world experience around artillery and projectiles outside of what he sees on the internet and film. He does not know how a megaton bomb should feel or even the damage a bullet can create. And don't get me started on the the imaginary ray guns he uses on the Krang that don't seem to even leave a scratch. Without proper knowledge it's all just a light show. Very flashy, but not very effective.

When he realizes this it comes as a heavy hit to Donnie early on in the war. ...However, if there's one thing he is going to be exposed to in this bad timeline it's weapons of all kinds, even mass destruction. He will know exactly how it feels to get hit with a bullet, the blast of a projectile, and even an atomic bomb. He will then take this real world knowledge and recreate it in the same realistic way he can recreate his battle shell or drill staff. It takes a lot of work, sweat, and literal blood but this exposure to the worst of mankind's creations will help make him a walking encyclopedia of destruction. Over time, he will no longer need to make actual constructs of "bombs" or "bullets." He'll be able to simply create the pure raw power desired, no radiation or nuclear fusion needed. That's exactly what we see here.

We also see his use of shields, which is just as important as his ninpo arsenal. Specifically his ability to create shields to contain his own blasts, dramatically reducing the collateral damage from his own weapons of mass destruction. This makes him highly effective at taking down large enemies, but the shields sap his strength even more than the weapons (for it is easy to destroy, but hard to protect and preserve). This makes him often times a liability. He's often a sitting duck after pushing himself too hard and it can take him a decent amount of time to build these heavy hitting bombs. It's a double edged sword to be sure.

NOTE: these are stories I do plan to address further in my Patreon, with proper illustrations, but I wanted to give a little taste of what to expect! Haha. Very soon....

[wickcipher]

I love your comic so much! The palette shift between the movie and season 1? nerve damage Mikey? The krang having an effect on Donnie and Raph? The SCARS? (How you included raph’s shoulder + plastron scar bits when most artists leave it out?) that’s literally so cool I’m INVESTED. Time travel is one of my favorite tropes!!

I can’t wait for the inevitable angst ❤️ you’re amazing op! I’ve reread your comic over five times I’m loving it!it reminds me of that one deleted scene from the movie. Yknow, the one where Donnie asks CJ if he’s dead in the future? YEAAAAHH.

okay theory time: I bet season 1 leo is more observant than the others give him credit for… sure, he’s more careless. But in the comics he’s shown to be anxious even before the movie.

Spoilers!!

I bet S1 Leo is gonna figure things out before the other three do :3 however the reveal goes down I am soooo here for it. I do want to ask how long you think your comic’s gonna be. Do you have an estimate? Thanks for reading! Sorri I went crazy this ask haha

Thank you thank you!

I'm more confident in writing comedy than angst, but hopefully it'll be satisfying when it does inevitably start to bubble underneath the surface

It's true that season 1 Leo is more observant than he's letting on... but I can't really say much more to that as of now... :)

As for how long this comic will be: I have no idea lol It really did start as just comic practice with those first 3 pages...

I'm just enjoying figuring out what comes next and drawing these guys, so whatever estimate I come up with would be way off the mark (especially considering... what do you mean I've already drawn 48 pages of this comic?! That's way more than I thought)

No need to apologize for the ask, I love reading these :D

[indieyuugure]

Hi Indie!

So, I've been wondering, how did you plan out your TMNT Iteration? I'm asking because I actually have an idea for one I'm hoping to eventually write, but don't know how to start.

Hm, I feel like “planned” is a strong word, I think it’s more like “haphazardly ‘what-if’-ed some plots into existence in the shower and whilst trying to fall asleep.” But I think there has been more concrete planning more recently in the project

I think my advice would be to come up with some really rad turtle designs. They don’t have to be forever, in fact plan on changing them later, but just come up with a design for each of the boys that makes you excited.

Once you have some turtles to imagine, you can start thinking up plots and imagining the world and characters in it. Is there a Foot clan? What are they like? Is Shredder the boss? What’s he like? Are there Krang/Kraang/utroms? Are they good or evil? What’s their agenda? Do the turtles have friends? What are April and Casey like? Etc.

If you’re stuck, try out imagining your versions of the turtles in different situations from other series. What would happen if your turtles went to space? Or went back in time? Or fought in a battle nexus arena, or had a showdown with Shredder? Don’t be afraid to pull ideas from non-TMNT universes either, it may make for something crazy and cool!

Just start going down the rabbit hole and go crazy, even if you have two ideas for something, write them both down, you can flesh out both and choose later, just make your ideas exist. I recommend doing a mix of writing and drawing to help you get firm ideas of your characters and stuff, but if drawing isn’t really your thing, you need to at the very least write it down.

Perhaps not every thought that flits through your brain, but definitely some important stuff. I guarantee you do not have a good enough memory to remember every cool idea you have. If you don’t write at least some stuff down, you risk forgetting it and you’ll be super mad if you forget an awesome idea.

Once you feel satisfied with the quantity of stuff you have—maybe you’ll invent more stuff later, maybe cut some stuff—just keep refining and re-writing the ideas until your satisfied with every aspect of the plot, characters, relationship dynamics, everything.

It helps you work out plot holes and add foreshadowing and stuff which is very important for making a cohesive story. Maybe it takes a weekend to refine it, maybe it takes a year. Go at your own pace making these decisions and ask people for help when you need it. But most importantly, do what makes you happy.

So uh, TLDR: Make your turtles first, imagine them going on adventures and meeting people, please oh please for the love of everything good in this world write your ideas down, and please refine them so you don’t end up with weird plot holes and characters that canonically got the same scar twice in two different ways at two different times.

I hope that helps! I wish you luck on your writing adventure! ^v^

Good question! :]

[dysfunctional-doodle]

I'm basing this to what I've seen of! (And my personal renditions!!)

Now, onto Mikey Headcanons!

MICHEALANGELO HEADCANONS!

1987's Mikey

He has one of those long sausage pillows that he often uses to cuddle up like it's one of his brothers.

That pillow was gifted by Donatello!

Usually, he's pretty still when he sleeps and barely moves, until of course he has a dream / nightmare.

He sleeps pretty early / late, but that just depends on how the day went for him.

He cannot sleep without some sort of light on. He doesn't know why, he just needs it.

2003's Mikey

More often than not, he sleeps with an arm above his head because the lights at the sewer are really blinding.

He absolutely gets flashed when he doesn't do this and this leads to him scrambling off his bed when he gets woken up by one of his brothers.

Always the last one to fall asleep, his system would not let up the first few nights at the cave unless he knew his brothers were safe.

Night terrors are frequent, and usually he goes to Leo about them. But, when he doesn't want to bother any of his brothers, he stays up.

Future (Where he lost his part of his arm)

He often has his nub near him because he would wake up due to the phantom pain.

He holds the nub with his other hand when the pain starts to hurt even more than usual.

2007's Mikey!

He asked Donnie for a pair of headphones that he could use when he needs background noise to sleep.

Usually, he has a hand draped over dramatically on his chest like a frail victorian child.

He opts to sleeping on his back even more because of his shell.

He's much more sensitive to loud noise when it stems from his own family, so hence the headphones.

Always the first to fall asleep, he's always exhausted when it comes to his job and he's gotten used to the habit of being lulled to sleep.

2012's Mikey

Sprawled out like a spider when he sleeps and that depends on whether he's sleeping on his back or front. Usually he's on his back most of the time.

His hands flail around and can and most definitely will hit you when you're next to him.

Somehow, his body has a mind of its own and he ends up on positions he never thought was possible.

He falls asleep on his back and ends up on his front all. the. TIME

He randomly gets zapped with his electrical powers when the friction gets too much. Even though it doesn't hurt, he wakes up almost immediately.

He's mostly in the middle when it comes to falling asleep.

2014-2016's Mikey! (BAYVERSE)

You'd think he'd have at least a normal sleeping position because of large his shell is. You'd be so darn wrong. He's over here acting all victorian princess when he sleeps, full on clutching the pearls he doesn't HAVE.

He's a pretty light sleeper and more often than not cannot for the life of him fall asleep fast enough than he is to stay awake.

He's so still you can mistake him for a doll.

The hashi night terrors are frequent and he often dreams about them.

Sleep doesn't come easy for the dude and he really liked being sung to as a kid.

2018's Mikey

He sleeps on his front with his arms supporting his head. It helps when his shell becomes unbearably heavy.

Sometimes he moves his arms to reposition the position he's in right now.

He doesn't usually have seizures but his pain gives him enough to jolt him awake and cause him problems. He waits it out.

Sleep doesn't come easy anymore because he's terrified his powers will amp up when he sleeps for long periods of time causing his body to decay.

He liked to doodle and draw before he sleeps just so he can keep his mind occupied.

He absolutely glows when he sleeps, or mostly his arms do.

He talks in his sleep about anything honestly.

He has had frequent night terrors about the krang and he's still shaken up about that.

2023's Mikey

He sleeps with his a stuff toy boar, who he named to be June.

He sleeps on his side, because it's much more comfortable.

He doesn't stay up that late because he has school in the morning.

When he does, he's usually having doubts about himself and his intellects, or he's finishing up school work.

He doesn't sleep in his own bed and prefers to sleep with one of his brothers or in the living room.

He has night terrors about the super fly incident.

He has weaker bones so his joints hurt more which leads them to sometimed spasm and lock, causing him to cramp.

Absolutely loves to be hummed to sleep, he likes listening to music while he sleeps because it helps him cslm down.

Usually, before he sleeps he has a skin care routine consisting of 12 steps.

After the series he's been much more hesitant around robots (they're absolutely cool in his opinion, but he doesn't like them as much when the robots tried to kill him.

He's dyslexic and he has had a harder tome spelling and reading words.

My gosh this is a lot, if you can't tell (you probably can) Mutant Mayhem Mikey's my favorite!

Now mostly all of them are my own take but hey, I had fun!!

Yes!!!!!!!

My thoughts, in order:

87 Mikey: yes, he loves hugging anything really at night. It makes him much more comfortable to have that pressure, the dude even spreads the love in his sleep! You can tell if he’s having a bad dream by how tight he grips the item in question. At the start of their mutation, he would hug tattered bundles of blankets instead, until Splinter first noticed and picked out a softer item from a donations box. He’s like one of those dogs who’s insanely gentle with their toys all the time lol

2003 Mikey:

I have always been a strong preacher in the fact he has ADHD, and often has a really impressive imagination because of this. He definitely, in my opinion, has maladaptive daydreaming disorder, hence why he has his own comics and he has long moments where he’s imagining himself as the Turtle Titan whilst he just stands staring at a wall. This is also not a good thing as his vivid imagination paired with his trauma makes really bad night terrors, though you would never know. Seriously. In my opinion, before season 4, Mikey doesn’t ever tell anyone. That speech he makes in season 4 about the family roles? He fights to remain in his own ‘role’ no matter what, but Leo gets a little sharper, a little wiser after his own struggle in season 4. They bond over midnight tea and quiet admissions in the dark about their pressure to conform to family roles. They have their own little private time where they break down these walls, just between them, because they both just get it.

2007: I love this idea of sensory issues. This makes his work as a party mascot even more painful for him because it’s so loud. The fake head helps muffle it, but it’s still overwhelming as heck. He takes comfort in cramming himself in small spaces like cupboards. I don’t know if any of y’all have seen A Christmas Story, but it’s like that scene where the mum opens the cupboard and the youngest son is just sat in there for no reason and hands her a pan before she doesn’t question it and shuts the door again lol. God I love that movie.

2012 Mikey: Yes. Just yes. He’s the kid that you never want to sleep next to on a camping trip because he will end up beating the shit out of you in the night with how much he moves. Also, he sleepwalks sometimes. Eyes open. Terrifying.

Bayverse: you genuinely think he’s dead with how still he sleeps vs what he’s like during the day. April literally did think something was wrong the first time she saw him slumped over the couch. Also, he’s one of those people that kinda just falls asleep anywhere sometimes in strange positions. He’s once fallen asleep standing up.

2018: I hc he does have seizures, which I’m writing a fic on soon, and he hates waking up suddenly because he can get triggered into one. You have to take it slow when you wake him.

TOTTMNT Mikey: if you’ve read Too Many Turtles you know I am FEASTING on the hc that Mikey struggles in classes. I hc him as autistic due to the concept art indicating so with the stickers on his nunchucks, and because he’s bad at understanding tone he has problems talking to other kids despite wanting to be social. Kids that pick on him aren’t seen that way to him, which makes him more of a target, and overall he struggles to follow conversation ‘naturally’, scattering across topics and saying things randomly as an impulse that he doesn’t understand doesn’t fit with the current mood. Poor guy is very friendly and wants to socialise but struggles to. I love the idea he goes to bed early unless he has a sudden fixation on something or an anxiety, in which he finds it super hard to turn off his phone and go to bed, always doing “one last google search” which takes him to 4am.

[an-artistic-failure]

✨H O W D Y✨

I'm hank :) // fledgling adult // she/her pronouns

Commission Request Form

Carrd

I will curse, and sometimes draw blood and gore and body horror or discuss/depict mental health issues, and probably other stuff (I will try to put warnings and tags) so if that bothers you then ig I'm not for you. If there are any posts that you feel don't have proper warnings lmk.

I have social anxiety, but I'm very friendly (I think) so don't be afraid to talk to me! but also, I might be afraid to talk to you lol. Also, if I don't respond to your ask/DM I probably saw it and didn't feel like responding, so don't resend it or spam me.

You can use my art for pfps and whatnot just be sure to credit me. DON'T repost or trace my art, or claim it as yours.

Hope u enjoy :D

Art tag: #hank's art

Comic tag: #hank's comics

Villain Mikey tag: #villain mikey au

Links to comics and whatever under the cut:

Leo’s Missing + Bonus

Serious Question

Appreciation

Double Standards

Girls Day Out (9 parts):

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9

Still Alive • Shut up

Define “weapon”

Off day

Krang Raph

Annoying

Chomp

Valentine's Casita

Donie becomes krang food + uhhhh

Brains and Brawn (4 Parts):

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Krang Trauma Bonding Time (2 Parts):

Part 1 | Part 2

Human disaster twins

Purple Dragons Strike Again

Villain Mikey AU:

Welcome to My Nightmares

He’s just bein’ spooky

Draxum

Draxum Lore Dumping

You weren't there

Do it again

LORRREEEEE

Finally Fine:

FIrst half

Second half

Stay tuned for more stuff ;)

[chil-aglia]

𝐃𝐨 𝐈 𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐇𝐢𝐦? |ROTTMNT| (Male OC)

[The Great Outdoors]

Be sure to read the tags on my Ao3 so you guys know what you’re getting yourselves into.

Art above is done by my beta reader Cimmerian who is one of the most talented artists I know! Please go like their stuff on tumblr!

Warnings: Blood, guns, animal (Krang Hound) deaths, usual angst, implied PTSD, etc

And of course, a quick thank you to my awesome beta readers @cimmerian1275 + @bootyshakerrr9000 who helped me out a lot with this chapter! Very talented and please, go give them a follow, like their work, etc.

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

Caden had been actively avoiding Mikey since their conversation in the dojo; he couldn’t face him after he freaked out and ran away like a scared child. He hadn’t even done anything, merely suggested a mind meld, and yet Caden chose to run. Hide his tail tucked between his legs like a coward. 

He felt terrible throughout the days he’d been ghosting the young box turtle. Leo had been no help either, fueling their arguments more often, butting heads each time Caden fumbled with the swords.

It was starting to become the norm for him. Wake up, get breakfast from the cafeteria from Draxum, train for hours on end throughout the day, take a break for water and lunch, and back to training.

He honestly felt like a robot, with such a boring routine that everyone has forced upon him. But given how Leo’s family didn’t want him walking around the base alone, he didn’t have many options.

He did however find a little respite in his daily routine by messing with the tech brace that Donnie had given him. At first, he experimented with just a simple notes function, writing down what he saw today or what he and Leo argued about this time when he was bored. Then he found a small drawing program, using his fingers to doodle random things, they weren’t good, just simple shapes and bad attempts at trying to copy stuff that caught his eye from the real world.

Leo interrupted him each time he was finally relaxing and getting into the zone though. Nagging him to train. To supposedly become skilled in the way of the blades. Caden often snapped at him, scolding the older slider to give him a damn second to just breathe for a moment.

Leo would, surprisingly, respect his wishes more often than not. Taking a step back for him, not crowding him so much as he silently observed the young teen.

Leo hadn’t told Caden that he found Draxum’s lab, he figured it was none of his business to know. It took a lot of willpower to not think about what he saw, to not accidentally show Caden the limp body of Leo’s mortally wounded physical form floating lifelessly in the floor to ceiling tube.

Leo also kept the baby pictures to himself as well. Mostly out of the fact he could picture Caden becoming annoyingly embarrassed and running after him in the mindscape, probably even threatening him.

Leo held a deep breath before slowly drawing out the exhale, keeping his lidded gaze fixed on Caden who stood at the panels, unmoving but wide awake as he stared at the ceiling of Leo’s room. “You didn’t sleep much, kid.” Leo mumbled quietly, tilting his head towards him as Caden shrugged a shoulder dismissively.

“Not tired.”

Liar.

Leo could tell he was absolutely lying, he knew because he could feel his exhaustion, but he also knew he couldn’t really force Caden to sleep. Well… in a strange way he might be able to, he would just have to control the body, but something told him that Caden would only fight back harder if he did that.

Leo silently breathed out a sigh, what the hell is he going to do with this kid? He was being so unnecessarily difficult for Leo. Arguing with him about pointless things, ignoring his orders. Just a constant headache for him to be stuck with.

He doesn't know how to get him motivated to listen. Motivated to practice more.

Motivated to grow up and learn.

Sure, he’s gotten better at sword wielding, but there is always room for improvement.

Leo closed his eyes, sitting down cross legged in the mindscape, hands over his lap as he inhaled calmly. He recalled when his father, Splinter, showed him some mediation techniques. Help him ground himself.

Leo should’ve been more appreciative of the lessons he tried to teach him back then. 

He regretted a lot of things from his earlier years, he was immature and selfish, just a bad son and brother in general. While his family would never say it to his face, he just… knew.

Caden felt a strange feeling crawl up his spine, making him turn to Leo as the only logical cause. He figured it must’ve been from the older turtle, but what was that feeling? It felt… kind of sad and heavy.

Before he could even ask, he was interrupted when the door of Leo’s room opens, making both him and the older slider perk up and look over to see April peeking her head inside with a tiny smile.

“Psst, hey Leo? Are you awake?”

Caden exasperatedly huffs, taking control of his body and sitting up in the bed. “Not Leo.” He corrected in a mumble, as April hums in acknowledgement and opens the door wider while gesturing to him.

“Hey, uh, I’m heading out of the base for a bit with some other scouts for a small scavenging trip. I figured I should ask you if you want to tag along? Finally see the world, maybe it could help you with your memory issues.” She explains her reasoning, but Caden brightens up at the mention of leaving the base.

Excitedly he opens his mouth, but he wasn’t able to get a word out when Leo suddenly grabbed him by the shoulder, not pulling him away but gripping firmly enough where Caden would tell he was serious.

“You’re not going.”

“What?! Why not?”

Leo glared down, biting his lower lip and shaking his head. “You’re not ready. It’s dangerous out there.” His firm tone was edged with a hiss, Caden returned the glare back, scoffing as he wrinkled his snout in indignation.

Not ready? He’s been training for what feels like years. He could tell he’s gotten better at wielding Leo’s swords, and he knows how to throw a good punch and kick thanks to Raph’s lessons.

He would be fine.

….Right?

He looked at April who angled her head at him expectantly. “You okay? If you don’t want to come, that’s fine. I can understand.” She assured lightly, though her smile was a bit strained around her eyes, she clearly wanted him to go along with her.

Caden gazed back at Leo, his face was stern. Caden knew Leo was anxious at the suggestion of him leaving the safety of the base, but how was he supposed to prepare for the world outside if he was going to be cooped up like this and never actually see it?

He roughly shrugs Leo’s hand off his shoulder, turning back to April as he moves his arm to grab the discarded gear that had been neatly folded on the bedside table.

Caden stands up, hopping off the bed and decisively clipping the straps for the katana’s on and over his shell, sparing a moment to reach for his cloak and throwing it over his shoulders.

“What are we waiting for? I need to get some fresh air anyway.”

He confidently pushed past April, heading to the door.

“You idiot… you’re not ready!”

Leo was yelling at him, trying to gain his attention but Caden remained fixated on going outside. He wanted to see the world. And he was not going to pass up on this opportunity.

-----

April led Caden through the base’s mostly barren hallways, it was early in the morning where most people were asleep, giving Caden the freedom to keep his hood off for the time being.

“Who else is coming along?” He inquired, tilting his head as April smiled down at him briefly.

“We got Allan, Sorcha and Maya with us today.” She informs, naming off the three other scouts coming along.

Maya….?

The name sounded familiar, but where did he hear it before?

April came to a sudden halt when they reached the doors to a new room, one that Caden hadn’t been in before. “Hood up.” April simply stated, waiting for him to do as he was told. The mutant listened and pulled the blue fabric over his head as he followed after April, who opened the doors for him to enter.

Inside was a room full of weapons and gear he doubts he even knows how to use. Dented lockers lined a wall, paint scuffed and peeling. Dim flickering lights lined the ceiling in haphazard rows, casting a dull white and blue atmosphere over the space.  It was a large room, enough to fit lots of yokai and people at once. The smell of oil, sweat and the ever-present trace of bioluminescent moss clinging to the cracks in the rocky walls.

Right, Caden has to remember that the base itself was still underground.

At one side of the hangar sat an armored rover—scuffed and dented from the years it's been used but still well maintained. The wheels were thick and rugged, plates bolted over them for extra protection, and a small mounted light rig perched on top to keep a watchful eye.

Crates of supplies were organized in rough rows near the far wall. Filled with gear like ropes, water canisters, first aid kits and a few odd pieces of scavenged tech that no doubt Donnie was going to see if he could use for a project.

Near the vehicle Caden noticed stood the other scouts, a lanky yet fit-looking yokai tiger holding a strange looking gun that had glowing purple lights embedded inside and visible through the cracks of the exterior. Beside him was a human girl, skin covered with scars like some kind of patchwork canvas and brown hair chopped short, wearing a black sleeveless top and cargo pants.

The last scout was another human.

Maya.

Caden recognised her when he finally saw who she was. Making him a little relieved that he somewhat knew at least one other person here.

Caden stayed close to April, his steps beginning to feel unsure despite the confidence he projected earlier. The cloak draped over him rustled with the movement he made, starting to feel like the fabric was heavier than he remembered it should be. Or maybe it was just the earlier words from Leo clinging to him.

‘You’re not ready.’

Leo had been quiet since Caden agreed to come along, in fact Caden felt as though if he turned around to face him, he wouldn’t even be there. But he didn’t want to risk looking like some scared or nervous kid if Leo caught him having second thoughts. He shoved the notion aside, shaking his head dismissively.

April stopped near the rover, exchanging quiet greetings with the scouts. The tiger yokai, Allan, gave a grunt of acknowledgment, adjusting the glowing rifle strapped to his chest. Sorcha, the girl with the scars and chopped hair, gave Caden a scrutinizing once-over, her expression flat with a brief flicker of skepticism twisting her lips before she turned away to do a gear check.

And then Maya turns to Caden, her eyes widen for a moment before she smiles and makes her way towards him. Her hair swayed in its messy ponytail, and she wore a hoodie that looked a few sizes too big for her under her utility vest.

“Caden. Nice to see you again.” She smiles happily at him as Caden clears his throat and nods in acknowledgement.

“Yeah, um, nice to see you as well Maya.” He exchanged a little smile back, though no doubt it must’ve looked awkward from under his hood.

“I feel much better now that someone I know is coming along with us on this little scouting trip. I haven’t been outside in weeks, so I was nervous about joining a new group again.” She chuckled good-naturedly, hand on hip.

Caden blinked at her and bobbed his head in thought as he processed her words, “How come you haven’t been out in a while?”

“Ah… I got injured last time I was out. I’m fine now, but the medics told me to stay in the base until they were satisfied enough with my health to let me get back into action.”

Injured…?

Caden silently observed her appearance, he didn’t see anything wrong with her physically, but perhaps the injury was under her clothes or internal?

“Alright team! We're all ready to go?” April announces, loudly clapping her hands to gain their attention.

“Just before we leave Commander. Do you mind telling us this young gentleman’s name?” Allan, the tiger, spoke up as he stared at Caden who gulped under his analytical gaze.

“Oh right. This is Le—“ She catches herself halfway, clearing her throat and quickly correcting. “Caden. This is Caden. He’s new, but don’t worry he can handle this.” She smiled out of pride as Caden offered an awkward wave in greeting.

“And, uh… a yokai! Yeah, he’s a turtle yokai.”

This had their attention, “Turtle? Huh, the only turtles alive I’ve seen are the four brothers.” Allan hums, running a paw under his chin in speculation. Caden fiddles with the edge of his cloak, nervously twisting it between his fingers and clears his throat, gesturing for April to hurry this along so that they can go.

Luckily, she noticed and nodded, “Now that everyone is ready. Let’s go.”

She walks over to a control panel, placing a hand over it as it beeps and turns green, clearing her access. The wall ahead of them sliding up, Caden feeling anxious but excited as he trotted a bit closer to April’s side.

It was time.

Time to see what was really out there.

-----

As soon as Caden stepped out of the hangar’s shadow, the world outside engulfed him whole.

His legs froze on the spot.

The air was noticeably sharper, dry and tinged with something unnatural and new—burnt metal and ozone. The morning light didn’t feel like morning at all. The horizon bled orange and gold across the sky that looked as though it had been ripped open by a dragon.

Mountains of rubble and blackened stone stretched across the ground, like gravestones of the old world that Caden had only heard brief stories of.

Caden could hear his heart pounding loudly in its confines, eyes blown wide with shock. He winced out of startlement when the wind picked up, his cloak rustling as dust from the earth swirled and hissed around him.

“Let’s go. Make sure to stay low, quiet, and if you see anything don’t engage.” April orders, her voice stern and authoritative as she jogged away in the lead, the others following after as Caden hesitated before chasing the group. The sensation of sand and uneven broken land beneath his wrapped feet was new, the earthy tones already beginning to coat his legs and the bottom of the cloak. The light felt different on his skin out here, warmer and more real.

He gulps, dry mouth making the motion a challenging task, breathing unevenly as he tries to not dwell on the destruction he had only just now begun to see.

He struggled to tear his gaze away from the scenery as April gestured him over to her side, and he noticed that they were using trenches to move. Caden hesitated a moment as he looked behind him, the base slowly getting farther away.

He didn’t realise that they came out of an underground tunnel system, the wall that opened up for them was now closed. Caden bit his lip, body feeling a little shaky as he stared ahead to keep up with the group.

They travelled further from the safety of the base, having to crouch down and remain on constant alert once April informed them that they had now entered enemy territory. Or close to it at least.

“Commander, what are we supposed to be looking for?” Sorcha asks in a hushed tone; April stops and looks back at her team.

“Supplies, anything that looks valuable. Food, first aid kits. The usual list.” She informs, gazing over at Caden who remained quiet, deep in thought.

“You okay?” April asked, the others looking at him when Caden flinched at the sudden switch in attention.

“Yeah. I’m just… I’ll be okay.” He assures, pulling his hood down as much as he could to hide his expression in case it gave away how he felt.

He spots the way Maya frowns at him, patting his arm in comfort. “It’s scary isn’t it? I was like that too.” She mutters, voice soft and reassuring as Caden hums in reply, inhaling a deep breath of dusty dry air and exhaling it slowly in an effort to calm himself down.

“Okay, we’ve reached where some stores are reported to still be standing. Spread around and gather anything you can fit in your pockets.”

Quietly they enter inside a ruined convenience store, Caden blinking curiously at the mess as he watches the others split up, browsing through the aisles.

Gather supplies… okay.

He walked over to a spot they hadn’t checked yet, crouching down and searching through crates, picking up random jars full of strange substances inside. He grimaced at the sour smell of food turned bad, sighing and giving a slow and hesitant look around the place.

Shelves leaning against each other, half collapsed, their contents scattered across the dusty and rubbled floor. Degrading bags of chips long since torn open, drinks that must have exploded from the heat and candy reduced to sticky rot. Caden didn’t say a word. He didn’t need to as the others chatted quietly amongst themselves.

It felt too quiet.

Focus Caden. Look for useful things.

He goes back to scavenging around the place, eyes narrowed in concentration.

And then he heard it. Something that instinctively screamed danger for him in his mind.

A soft, wet click. Somewhere in the back just behind a pile of fallen shelving units. His eyes went wide and unblinking as he slowly turned towards the noise.

“…Guys?” He called out, voice low and barely audible. He received no answer, but he saw how Maya had ducked into a side aisle, April was busy prying open a locked cabinet and the other two were somewhere else out of sight.

Another click. Sounding closer now, which was followed by the noise of tapping, reminiscent of Draxum’s hooves on concrete.

His breathing hitched in his throat, and he crouched near the fallen aisle, planning to peer through a gap. 

“Kid—“

Leo had suddenly spoken up, but Caden ignored him, peering through the gap and narrowing his eyes, willing them to adjust faster. It was nothing but dark shadows, and for a second, he felt relieved that it must've been his imagination.

He let out a breathy chuckle of relief, “Stupid mind tricks.” He mumbled, curiously looking once more through the dark gap.

His heart stopped.

Two vibrant glowing red eyes blinked open low to the ground, so bright they were almost white, looking back at him.

And then—

A loud guttural roar echoed from the gloom as the eyes lunged forward, the pile of fallen shelves burst outward as a giant, four-legged creature thundered through. Caden yelps in both shock and fear as he quickly jumps and stumbles backwards.

He let out a grunt when he dove back again, narrowly dodging the beast as it crashed and pounced towards him. It skidded across the floor where Caden was just standing, letting out a mix between an inhuman shriek and howl, knocking over an empty freezer as it immediately turned, fast, too fast.

April grabbed his arm, forcefully pushing him back behind her with a strong grip, gun trained on the enemy as she fired at its shoulders to force it away.

“Krang Hound! Everyone, weapons ready!”

At this Allan, Sorcha and Maya dashed over and drew out their guns, aiming them at the Krang Hound. Caden stood in the back of the group, breathing heavily out of shock and adrenaline as he cautiously reached behind for the blades on his shell, swinging them out and gripping the hilts tightly.

Would Leo’s swords even do anything against this?! It was practically as tall as himself and way, way bigger than him.

“You have to attack!” Leo commanded, as Caden trembled, frozen as he switched to watching the group fire their guns, pink and purple lasers blasting with skilled and experienced precision at the Krang Hound. But they weren’t fast enough to hit their mark as it dodged, running circles around them and using its powerful front legs to propel its massive frame faster and jump between the shelves, screeching down at them.

“Caden! We could use your blades to cut them down!” Sorcha shouts, in the brief moment they used to split their focus and yell at Caden, it left them vulnerable and she gave a muffled scream. The Hound had lunged at her when it saw the lapse in concentration, pinning her down with a single foreleg and the crushing weight of its entire body. She used her gun to block its jaws from biting her head off, the metal snapping and sparking as the Hound’s jaws thrust forwards and severed the weapon clean in two before tossing it aside.

“Damn it, Kid!” Leo growls, shoving him back and taking control, using Caden’s body to charge ahead, brandishing the katanas towards the Krang who narrowly avoided a blade to its neck. Leo managed to slice a shallow wound in its leg, making it hiss in pain and back away as Caden watched Leo from within the mindscape.

“Leo!”

“Just shut up and let me focus!”

Caden listened for once, shutting his mouth as Leo flexed Caden’s fingers out. Readjusting and getting a comfortable grip on the hilts before running ahead again, blades at the ready as he leaps up at the same time as the Hound, kicking his leg out and hitting it square chest. The Hound yelped and huffed as it crashed down, muscles rippling across its thick hide as it shook off the impact of Leo’s attack.

He rolls to the ground shoulder over shell, and lands in a crouch, swords aimed at the Hound again as it swivels its glowing eyes back in his direction, growling and claws tapping on stone as it inched closer to Leo who clicked his tongue in annoyance. Sorcha no longer had a gun, and April and Maya were periodically firing between reloading their own weapons, the laser fire glancing off the tough skin of the Hound.

“Come on! Attack me.” Leo smirked in his routine cocky fashion, whistling to keep its attention as the Hound snarled and charged at him. Leo dodged, circling around the Krang Hound as his swords collided with its razor sharp jaw and talons. 

They did this a few times, the Krang Hound testing his defences and looking for a new opening to attack as Leo studied it with focused eyes. Then he saw it look over at April, as she momentarily struggled to reload her weapon, and his breathing got caught in his throat.

“April!”

The Hound runs at April who fumbled briefly with the gun, and she cursed under her breath. Leo sprinted forward, instinctively throwing one of his katanas at the Hound, the ear-splitting shriek of the creature ringing in his ears as the blade struck its lower back, falling to the ground and shaking the foundations of the crumbling building as it skids to a stop at April’s boots. It lay twitching and spasmed for a horrifying moment before going limp.

April blinked widely as she watched Caden’s body pant heavily when he gasped for air, unaware that Leo was in control, unaware that Leo was the one who expertly threw his sword with practiced aim at the Hound to save her.

He gathers a deep breath before walking over, grasping the hilt of his sword that had remained impaled in the spine of the now deceased Krang Hound. “Leo… I mean, Caden?” April mumbles to him, but neither of them had a chance to speak when another click and growl echoed throughout the building.

Caden slowly made his way towards Leo, “There’s more…?” He inquired in bewilderment.

“They’re pack creatures. When there’s one, you can bet there’s at least a few more around.” Leo calmly informs him, used to this sort of scenario.

The growls got louder, the scouts and April loading their guns again as they followed the noise. Leo trailing behind them, he noticed that they got closer to where the first Krang Hound jumped out from. Leo used Caden’s engineered inhuman strength to lift up the fallen shelf and move it upright, walking in first.

It revealed a back room with its door ripped off its hinges, the shelves acting as an impromptu doorway before he’d removed them.

Another Krang Hound. However, unlike the first one, this one was already injured, struggling to move as it lay prone on the ground, but still managing to direct a weak and feeble defensive snarl at the group when they approached. Huddling behind the Hound were 3, smaller, puppy-like sizes of the adult creature.

“It’s hurt. Let’s kill it and the pups before they get a chance to recover and grow.” Allan growls, gun trained on the Krang creature as it hisses.

Caden stares and looks at Leo, whose face remains stoic. Expression unreadable as Caden gulped. “Can’t we just… leave it? It’ll die eventually with its injuries…” He mutters, but Leo laughs bitterly for a moment.

“These things? Trust me… it’ll take a lot more than this to kill them off. It’s better that we do it now.”

Leo looks at April who gazes at him, “Shoot.”

The guns power up, and Caden watched with a feeling of uncomfortableness churning in his gut, recoiling and closing his eyes when he heard the sound of gunfire blasting away, followed by screeches of pain and terrified yelps, the sounds of an animal suffering as it died.

Then it was silent.

“Okay, let's head back to base guys. Take what you’ve gathered.” April announces, turning away and walking out of the room, Allan helped Sorcha, an arm under her shoulders as they followed behind her closely. Maya took a second to look back at Caden, chewing her lip in thought as she glanced back at him when he didn’t move from the bodies of the Hounds.

She eventually walked out, leaving Caden alone.

Inside the mindscape Leo walked away from the controls, letting Caden regain control as the young mutant let out a breath he hadn't realized he’d been holding.

When he was back to piloting his own body, he felt his chest tighten at the scene up close. His hands that gripped the sword hilts felt weak and shook as he sheathed them into their holsters on his shell.

He didn’t like this. Killing an already injured creature that was just protecting its babies. Leo was probably judging him. Hard. But he didn’t say anything if that was the case.

Caden turns around, ready to leave the gore and death behind.

“Chirrrp!”

He froze at the soft and barely audible noise, quickly turning back around as his eyes flew wide open at the sight. A miniature, puppy sized Krang Hound tumbled out from behind the lifeless body of the adult that shielded it.

Its red eyes looked around curiously, and as it noticed Caden, let out a small 'chirup' of curiosity as it tried to climb around the large body.

Caden gulped and hesitantly crouched, kneeling down with one leg as he watched the young Krang stumbling head over heels over its dead parent. It shook its head and sneezed, sniffing the air and nudging its snout against the limp leg of the adult Krang, who of course couldn’t respond.

“Shit, we missed one. It’s up to us to kill it.” Leo spoke up, making Caden tense up at his words.

“Kill it…?” Caden repeated in a mumble, watching as the pup whimpered when its parent didn’t move and return its gesture of affection or wake up to its offspring's cries.

“Grab a katana.” Leo orders, but Caden shakes his head stubbornly.

“No, please… don’t make me do it. I… I can’t just..” He takes in sharp and ragged breaths as he feels his heart rate pick up, wrapping his arms around his body as though he was trying to calm himself down.

Then the pup turns around, looking over to Caden. Its previously sad and grieving body language had suddenly perked up and it trotted towards him with its smaller stubbier legs, letting out a curious and eager ‘sheiwrk!’ sound as it approached and stood on its hind legs. Leaning against Caden’s thigh, trying to climb into his lap.

Caden didn’t know where to put his hands at first, but he slowly and gingerly helped it up to sit in his lap, quiet and stiff as he looked down at the small creature who nuzzled its snout against his plastron.

“What are you doing? It’s a killing machine. It’ll shred people when it’s older.” Leo announced, putting a hand on Caden through the mindscape.

“If you won’t kill it, then I will—“

“NO!”

Caden shoved his hand off his shoulder as his body in the real world curled protectively over the Krang pup, shielding it and holding it tightly as he trembled.

“No one is killing it…”

Leo, flabbergasted, stood still. “What are you…?” He mumbled as Caden tenses, tears forming and burning his eyes as they slid down his cheeks, the droplets landing on the Krang pup who inquisitively looked up at Caden, wagging its little tail as a tongue flicked out to lick its nose dry.

“I can’t kill it… I won’t. And neither will you.” Caden glared at Leo, who’s face twitched in annoyance and incomprehension.

“You can’t be serious…” He growls, but Caden nods.

“What’s the point of killing it? It poses no threat. I can… I can take care of it.”

Caden tightened his hold on the pup, who started licking away his tears, making Caden smile painfully as he sniffled, looking down at it with a fond gaze.

“From what I’ve seen of this world so far… mercy is a skill that more could use, right?” Caden spoke out loud, voice crackling and wet.

Leo stiffens at his words, hands curling into fists by his sides, scoffing at him. “Absolutely insane.” He comments under his breath, but Caden grinned when an idea popped up.

“I’ll make us sign up for those therapy sessions with Mikey, if I don’t get to keep this, uh, Krang pup.” He blackmailed, Leo groaned loudly and walked away to curse under his breath.

I’ll take that as a go ahead and I can keep it.

With an eager smile, Caden stands up, holding the Krang pup in his arms. He frowns at the remaining lifeless bodies, the other pups.

“I’m sorry…” He muttered, turning away and walking out the room. He stops before he could see the waiting group, tucking the Krang pup into one of the larger pockets of his pants to keep it out of sight.

“Make sure to stay quiet.” He whispered as the pup purred quietly, before ducking down deeper inside the pocket.

“Yo, Caden! Are you coming?” April calls out, noticing him standing far from the group. He flinched but nodded and did his best to look normal, or as normal as he could.

“Yeah, let’s go.”

He strolls over, nodding in acknowledgment as they exit the store.

Leo sat in the back, rubbing his hands over his face. “This kid is gonna be the death of me, I swear.” He grumbled to himself.

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

It’s so sad….ANYWAY CADEN HAS A PET NOW- 

APOLOGISE FOR ANY GRAMMAR MISTAKES THAT WERE MADE, I TYPE PRETTY FAST AND OFTEN DON’T SEE THEM UNTIL I ACTUALLY PUBLISH THE CHAPTER. THEN I’D TRY AND FIX ANY MISTAKES WHEN I SEE ONE.

Quotev - Do I Look Like Him?

Ao3 - Do I Look Like Him?

First Chapter here

Previous Chapter here

Taglist:

@turtl3sk3tch3s

@katiemaycreate

[goodlucktai]

Would you maybe do 8 with Leo talking to Usagi? :D

dialogue prompts

8. “Okay. Okay, here’s what we’re gonna do—fuck.”

x

The subway tunnels are dark, half-collapsed, and the purest pitch black. Leonardo’s eyes are hooded white when Usagi sweeps the beam of his penlight towards him. Usagi’s never gotten a straight answer from any of the turtles about what, exactly, they had been genetically modified for in the first place, but he watches Leonardo pass his own light to one of the frightened humans behind him and figures he could add ‘built-in night vision’ to the column of weird abilities he’s seen firsthand proof of. 

The woman takes the light from Leo and passes it to her young daughter, who clutches it like a lifeline. No one from their group makes a sound, hyper-aware that the Krang hounds they barely managed to outrun could make a reappearance at any second. 

“Okay,” Leo says, in that steadfast, fearless tone of voice that made heads swivel from every corner of the room to pay attention when he talked. “Okay, here’s what we’re gonna do—fuck.”

“What?” Usagi blurts, jolting forward. “Leonardo, what?”

He tries to keep the panic out of his voice, for the sake of the humans they had not quite managed to fully save just yet, but he can’t help the way his heart starts to race. Leo doesn’t swear. He never swears. Every time he used to, he would look around guiltily, waiting for his big brother to swoop in out of thin air and scold him— “I don’t care if you’re a hotshot resistance leader,” Raph would say, “you’re still my brat of a baby brother, and I’m still bigger than you.”

But Raph died two years ago, and is no longer around to scold him for it. It didn’t stop Leo’s knee-jerk reaction of looking over his shoulder for him, as if he still might appear. And Usagi knows that hurt him every time. So Leo doesn’t swear. 

For him to break out the big guns, something must really be wrong. Usagi sweeps the light over him, his pulse pounding in his ears, and freezes when he finds what definitely looks like a piece of metal sticking out of Leonardo’s arm. 

Leo tilts away from him, putting the injury in the dark, and says, “Hush, Cottontail. We can’t let the hounds know we’re here.” 

But what was already a tricky situation has become a ticking time bomb. The hounds are nearby, their warbling, high-pitched croons reverberating down the dark tunnels, making it nearly impossible to pinpoint their location by sound. They’ll follow the scent of blood from a quarter of a mile away, like sharks. And Leo’s losing it fast—alarmingly fast. 

He unties his mask from around his eyes and uses his teeth to knot it around his arm instead, tight above the wound. He’s perfunctory and businesslike about it, and when he looks up Usagi knows he’s going to say something horrible.

Sure enough, “I’ll draw them away,” Leonardo says. “Once I do, you get these people to safety. We’re not that far from the safe zone, you’ll make it.”

Only that’s not how it’s going to go. Because Leo’s siblings are waiting for him. Because Mikey still hugs Leo like an octopus any time one of them leaves without the other, every single time, almost thirty years old and made ancient by grief and fear but still very much someone’s baby brother. Because if Usagi goes through with this, he’ll have to look April and Mikey both in the eye when he returns, and he doesn’t have the stomach for that. 

A crooning howl creeps toward them, alarmingly close. The hounds are getting excited, as if they’ve picked up the trail. Usagi shifts one step back, then another. 

Leonardo says, “Don’t. Don’t you dare.” It’s his leader voice, but it doesn’t work on anyone who grew up with him. And they were kids together before the end of the world. 

“Sorry,” he whispers, because he is. If he had a choice, he wouldn’t go. But this—him or Leo—this isn’t a decision that needs to be made. This just is what it is. 

He runs as far as the end of the track, sticks his fingers in his mouth and whistles piercingly. Leonardo’s stricken face, fuzzy and indistinct just within the range of Usagi’s flashlight, is the last thing he sees before he turns and runs for his life. 

They’ve used these tunnels for training exercises more than once, and that’s the only reason he makes it as far as he does, counting on muscle memory as he sprints and ducks and climbs. He crawls into a pipe just barely big enough for a rabbit yokai, much too small for a Krang hound—but not before he feels the drag of claws in the meat of his calf, not before a cry of pain is wrenched out of him, the immediate sting of the alien toxin setting in like a chemical burn. 

There are four of them screeching and digging at the mouth of the pipe with their horrible hands, and Usagi presses as far back as he can and hopes the metal holds. Hopes Leo got away. Hopes he won’t look over his shoulder for Usagi the way he does for Raph, because that would be—that would be so—

The sun comes out, flooding the tunnel with gold. The hounds shriek and peel away. A familiar, powerful force thrums in the air, like the charge before a lightning strike but consistent. 

Usagi thinks it’s strange to see a sunrise underground, and stranger still to see the sun at all when the sky has been overcast with dust and smoke for years, but it’s nice. It’s warm. 

And then he wakes up, which is super disorienting because he doesn’t remember going to sleep. He’s in the infirmary, the one room in the base guaranteed to have working lights and clean linens. The soft pillow beneath his head feels like a luxury he didn’t do anything special enough to deserve.

There’s a pressure on his hand, and when he looks he discovers Leonardo is holding it while he sleeps on the edge of the bed, slumped forward in his chair. Michelangelo is conked out beside him, his hair doing the funny curly thing it does after he uses too much ninpo, the whole of him blanketed in leftover static electricity. 

On the other side of the bed, April is watching Usagi with brown eyes that see everything. 

“That was close,” she says. “I don’t need to tell you that.”

No, she doesn’t. The memories limp and crawl back, and Usagi rips his eyes away from Leo’s face. He looks stressed even when he’s sleeping. Usagi contributed to those lines under his eyes, the chasm between his brows. It doesn’t feel good to know that. 

“I won’t ask you for a miracle,” April murmurs, “because that isn’t fair. But—it feels like I’m holding onto him by a thread sometimes. And I know Angie isn’t gonna let him out of his sight again for at least a week. Usagi, he can’t lose anybody else, okay? He can’t.”

The distress in her voice triggers something in Usagi that just bleeds, all through his ribcage, all through his heart. 

“I know,” Usagi whispers. He really does know. Donatello’s funeral was three months ago, and it still feels like they’re walking through a minefield. They’re balancing on a tightrope. Leonardo hasn’t laughed once since he buried his other half. 

“So just,” April says, “come home, okay? No matter what, make sure you come home.”

“I promise,” Usagi says, and holds his free hand out to her. She clasps it, and her fingers are human, the shape of them entirely different, but they have had a decade to make the gesture familiar and second nature. She’s his sister, as much as she’s Leo’s and Mikey’s, and Usagi would do anything she asked of him. 

So he keeps that promise for a long time. But he doesn’t keep it forever. 

[staticwither]

Untitled 259

Ohh yes, I have some pretty vivid fun dreams I like to write and draw sometimes. I wrote this in the 3rd person but for the first part I was Leo. Ignore the grammar mistakes lol im not much of a writer

Leo had broken his leg and arm during one of his usual episodic adventures and needed a crutch made for him (thanks Don). Despite being injured, he ventured into the sewers with Mikey for fun but they stumbled upon mutant Krang animals that had spread like crazy in the hidden parts of the city after the invasion.

One of the Krang dogs sprinted forward. Mikey pushed Leo out of the way making him stagger and drop his crutch. By the time Leo looked back up, the krang had already surrounded Mikey. The small turtle trips back unfocused on the krang goop on the floor. The moonless sewers was lit up by the dogs mutated eyes as it narrows in on Mikey.

Leo’s ninpo hummed sending sparks across his face, he snatches up his crutch and held it above him like a sword, the arc creating a crescent moon

Feeling unsteady without the crutches support, his ninpo lifted him up, off of the floor near a bright red ceiling light. The humming burned into his ears. With a force the red-eared slider hadn’t experienced before, he swung

(my pov changed to mikey)

A blue light swept over Angelo, a nostalgic feeling, and the bits of krang around him seemed to melt away. The dogs whined, hiding from the light and ran off.

Leo fell

His crutch clattered on the ground and splashed into the sewer,

Mikey rushed to stop his fall, catching him before he slammed onto the cold muddied floor. All that remained was the quiet drip drops of the sewer pipes and the flickering of the light overhead

(and then I woke up)

[imagionationstation]

i want in on this game!!

Sorry if i is too much 😅

HECK YEAH MORE PEEPS! LET'S GO!!

ALSO NO SUCH THINGS AS TO MUCH TURTLES!

1) Aaaah, turflytle. The prank bait plan that heavily backfired on Raphael. "You could be a superhero and have a superhero name!" Teen was trying to make Mikey feel better/make fun of him and he lived to absolutely regret it. Ah, Raphie, Raphie, Raphie. Episode is The Lonely Mutation of Baxter Stockman when Mikey dawns his superhero costume for a second debut, buzz buzz!

2) DREAM BEAVERS!! This is from In Dreams when Leo and Donnie are napping and Mikey takes advantage to prank both of them. Dr. Prankenstein can't resist!! Then him and Raph join the snooze and it all goes downhill from there...

3) It's either the first time that Mikey sees Icecream Kitty in Of Rats And Man or after she saves him from a giant rat in Of Rat and Men. But either way I'm certain it's from that episode!

4) Raph's eyes are on fire... His eyes are on fire... UM! My brain says that I SHOULD know but in all honesty I'm drawing a blank... Hm.

5) Karai's Vendetta when the boys encounter a very loving Krang ocean monster WAIT IF IT'S FROM DIMENSION X DOES THAT MEAN THAT THERE'S WATER IN DIMENSION X OR DOES IT JUST FLY AROUND IN THE LACK OF GRAVITY?? Things I must know!!

6) Oh that is 100% totally the moment where Donnie brags about getting April's number and Raph is like "you dingus we already have it on the fridge" and now he's pouting professionally as one does. Oh, uh, episode name is.... Monkey Brains. Pretty sure.

7) Never Say Xever. The episode when Mikey wanted a 1987 tattoo on his face. Child do you not know how painful that would be?

I'm sure your pain tolerance is pretty high but why would you WANT to see how much you can handle? Get markers and a sharpie then let Raph mess around with your face. It'll (probably) be a lot less painful. The way that Donnie says, "you know they use needles for that?" tells me that the headcanon of Mikey not liking needles has basis- ....or is THIS the basis that spawned the headcanon?? BRO WAIT-

[bambiraptorx]

I keep forgetting to post my iteration art so here goes lol

[I.D. Drawing of a personal iteration version of Krang. They are a goopy bipedal person colored in various shades of pink. Their limbs and face have a melted appearance, and little definition. They have narrow eyes with blue sclera, and a somewhat annoyed expression. End I.D.]

Here's roughly what Krang's "true" form looks like, as much as they can have a true form given that they're a shapeshifting alien blob of flesh-goop lol. Technically they can go full blob and have no limbs, but they do tend to prefer a vaguely humanoid form if they have to be around people.

[I.D. 2. Sketch page of Krang's human form. The first image has two sketches of his face and one of his body. He is the same fleshy pink as before, but this time his features are much more defined and humanoid, with sharp, exaggerated features, strong cheekbones, and a bumpy nose. The first bust shows him frowning severely, while the second shows him smirking. The second is drawn without ears with the note "regularly forgets ears" next to it. Below them is a sketch of Krang from about knees up, one hand on their him and the other in a fist by their side. They are very muscular and broad-shouldered, their physique exaggerated. They frown slightly. End I.D. 2]

And here's some sketches of Krang's human disguise/form, plus their villain suit. Much more defined and humanoid. That said they do occasionally forget elements of human faces, like the ears. The human form is actually fairly hard for Krang to maintain, as it takes a lot of conscious effort. Even so they spend a lot of time in this form.

[I.D. 3. Two variations of Krang's villain suit, one with purple highlights and the other with red. In both, they stand with one fist against their hip and the other by their side. In both, the costume has a grey torso and legs, with the neck and arms being black. It has grey gauntlets with silver spikes on the elbows, and silver pockets on the thighs. It has a logo on the chest shaped like a symmetrical, three-toed foot. It also has a helmet that covers the entire head, black lenses covering the eyes. It has silver fangs over the mouth, and a three-pointed silver prong over the eyes with smaller decorative kites shapes between the main prongs. In the first image the helmet and foot logo are purple, and in the second they are red. End I.D. 3]

Might end up tweaking the suit over time because it doesn't fully scream "villain outfit" to me? Idk might be overthinking I do that. Also I'm still going back and forth on whether Krang is the Shredder or the two are separate characters, so that's also going to affect the design I think. Anyway, the suit is designed to help Krang hold its human form for longer periods of time.

[yourlocalartsonist]

MONTHLY MFIP UPDATE✨✨

9/24 | Month 2 | Next Month | Month 1

Hey folks 🦐 I finally got the chance to make this month’s MFIP Update cuz god damn life was kicking my ass. College is fine for the most part tbh, just a lot of reading and writing cuz of the specific classes I chose. HOWEVER I have 💥FUCKING PMDD💥 so um skill issue on my part but it’s why I’ve been kinda exhausted as shit this week and was late with the update so my bad folks! (Also for more info on PMDD, click here! I don’t wanna spend this post yapping about it but wanted to leave a resource to spread awareness just in case :3). Also, Imma be tagging some of y'all who have been reading/supporting MFIP consistently just for this post, so yk you guys actually know these updates exist. I was gonna do that for the first ever update but as with many things, I forgor, so I'm doing it now! They’re supposed to come out on the 18th of every month, but yk sometimes life happens and I’m a lil late. It won’t be any earlier than the 18th tho so look out for these once it hits that date! Anywho, cheers to this month’s update!

Alrighty folks we be starting with the Art~!

Alrighty so obvious new thing, WE GOT RAPH’S REF SHEEEEEEEET TEEHEEEEEEE

BRO IM SO HYPE ABOUT IT! It turned out so genuinely amazing and I’m ridiculously proud of it! Especially cuz I honestly thought Raph was gonna be a harder design to figure out yk? I’m not used to drawing his body type, I wasn’t as familiar with his outfit, and even tho I’ve sketched him a few times before, I was just a bit nervous with Raph. Funfact, he’s also been the hardest to figure out how to write back when I was first starting MFIP. I genuinely don’t know why, but I got there eventually (I actually really love writing him now—) and same thing happened with his design!

Since MFIP’s taking place a few months after the Krang invasion, i’m able to take creative liberties and update the boys’ designs more! For some clarification btw, in my story’s lore, the invasion took place in September 2020, and MFIP starts on March 2021. Anywhizzle, my ideas for the boys’ designs is to combine their movie look with their show look, cuz while I do LOVE the black on them, it doesn’t feel right to me to not make them still unique in their own ways. These guys are all about authenticity, so why make their gear exactly the same, ya get me? I basically recolored his show gear to be black and red (and added a lil asymmetry on his legs) cuz I think it makes Raph feel older and more sure about himself, just feels right for him! I also just think the red fade on the black is hella cool! Fun lil color theory i think application, the black is more of a really dark, inky blue, so it makes the red pop out even more! I decided to make a bow out of his mask tails, too! I don’t wanna spoil the entire lore reasoning for it yet (it’ll pop up in the story), but I can indeed say it’s intentional that it looks a little like a lunamoth with damaged tails :3 I also took a BUNCH of creative liberties with his sais’ handles, since we haven’t really seen it much so like idk gaslight yourselves into thinking it’s always been this epic✨✨

Also I gave him his shorts back because FUCK YOU I LIKED THE RED TRIMMMM—

OH I ALMOST FORGOT yes he has longer eyelashes! I saw he grows to have really pretty eyelashes in the future cuz of his turtle species, and I wanted to lean into that by showing they’re starting to grow now :3

Bullshit Gag Because Yes‼️‼️

There ain’t shit to say about this, I just pulled a silly. I saw the fact Donnie was supposed to have a “Doctor Donatello” persona in the deleted episode where Dale turns into a werewolf. I’m really heavily on the train of Leo being the team medic and into medicine in general. I don’t think it makes sense for Donnie to be the medic judging by his sensory issues and this mf being as much of a germaphobe as my mom, and in my opinion it felt too stereotypical anyway to have Donnie be the medic. Ofc, to each their own, and this is just my interpretation of it, but I thought it’d be funny if Donnie still had this persona and was passionate about it, but was like horrifically bad at being a doctor. I made this dumbass sketch that I’ll finish sometime in the future (it’s gonna be a chapter in Arc 3 probably) and I just wanted to share it with yall~

THEY’RE HUMAN NOW⁉️

My ass wanted to show off cuz I’m sketching out some ideas of what my human designs for the boys culd be. I already did Leo’s like ages ago so he’s not on here but I’m realizing as I’m typing this my dumbass forgor to post it so um my bad I will do that in a few days—

But I wanted to design (or more accurately, redesign cuz I did draw em once a while back but I’m not satisfied with them) and I think I ate so far so uh yea. There isn’t any logic to sharing this, I just thought it was cool😭

And actually, imma share them here too just so y’all can see my boy ;w;

(A lil outdated cuz I didn’t give him lips at the time)

Okay there we go~

As you can see, I want all the boys to look kinda etherial and like they'd turn heads, and I think I am SUCCEEDING SO HARD SO FAR CUZ DAMNNNN THEY'RE ALL PRETTY AS SHIIIIIIIT TEEHEE✨ Also am tryna make sure they actually look Blasian since that's what the canon of my story says they are. I'll talk about them more another time when I have all of them on here~

But yea that's all for art this time folks :> ONTO THE NEXT THINGGG

Chapter Progress Time Whoop Whoooop‼️‼️

I didn’t make much progress on anything this month due to college—again, it’s fine, but there’s a shit ton of time management going on in my part to just manage everything and make sure I’m on track—BUT I am indeed still working on chapter 10. We’re up to 20 pages now which is only two more pages written from last month, but it’s kinda cool writing Donnie and I feel like I’m getting a better understanding of him! One thing I’ve been tryna do is understand autism better as a condition cuz I do wanna acknowledge and show bro’s autism instead of just ignoring it due to a lack of understanding. Donnie ain’t Donnie without it, ya know? I don’t know everything and tbh I would say I still have A LOT to learn on the subject matter, but I’m tryna expand my knowledge every opportunity I get and experimenting with how to better show it! This is to say tho, I’M NOT A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL, NOR AN EXPERT ON THE AUTISM SPECTRUM. This is what I’m finding and comprehending via my own research, and can tbh end up being wrong so please don’t quote me as a reliable source, I’m still learning ;v;

I remember one of the things I kept hearing about was autism leading people to struggle with empathy. The best way I heard it being described was someone bringing the example of when their friend was upset. That person can’t truly feel their friend’s emotions because they’re not the one experiencing it, so can’t properly understand how it’s making their friend feel. But they can see that their friend is communicating their sadness, and they still try to comfort them and make sure their friend knows they’re there for support. I understood it as bringing logic to emotions in a sense; collecting data and figuring out how to handle the situation based on the data rather than using intuition alone.

I’ve been using that to figure out how Donnie might handle more emotionally subtle situations, where he might try to rationally work through what’s happening and kinda substitute it in place of natural empathy. Like the little tidbit I gave above! Instead of just automatically being able to get vibes that the other person is upset, I felt maybe Donnie would instead notice the fact their tone is kinda different from before; it’s basically a data point. With that data point in mind, he could connect it to past experiences where a tone change could indicate a mood change, and as a result he might conclude that Salena’s tone change means she’s upset. I comprehend it as manually working through empathy rather than it being second nature, if that makes sense. Obviously and thankfully Donnie isn’t gonna spend the entire chapter playing a guessing game or anything with Salena’s emotions, it’s just one lil moment that I thought was cool challenge to myself with when writing him! I really love putting myself in the characters’ shoes when I’m writing them or their dialogue. I highly recommend it as a tool too, since it's helped me a lot with staying in character!

Last Lil Segment Y'all

Aight so, I wanted to try doing something cool if y'all are up for it. I really love rambling about my story and lore and characters blah blah blah, but I don't really know how to do so tbh. I'm not that familiar with how social medias work cuz I just never took it seriously, and I don't wanna just keep being like HEYYYYY ASK BOX IS OPENNNNN like I'm screaming from the top of the hill either. Sooooo insteaddddd

I think it'd be fun to do Q&As here! Or at least something similar. I'll open my ask box again and feel free to send any questions you want; it can be about the story, past lore, design questions, getting to know the characters, absolutely anything! Then when I'm gonna do my update for the month, I'll compile all y'all's asks, (prolly will have to tag to make sure you guys know I answered it, or if you ask anon then uh idk look out for the monthly update) and then answer them during the monthly update as the last section! I think it'll be a cool way to make this feel more interactive, and gives me an excuse to ramble. Don't be afraid to ask potentially spoilery questions either! If it's something I can't spoil yet or even give hints or vague answers about, I'll just say so in the update!

Anywhizzle, That's All Folks~!

I'm glad there was so much to talk about this month! I actually deadass thought it would be short but I should know better with my yapping' ass💀✨ But yeah, thanks for reading everyone! I hope y'all enjoy the rest of your days, and I shall see you next month~ Bye :D

Tageroonies:

@yosajaeofficial @chaoticspeedrun @ramblehour @randomcerealbrand @goldanrabbit @m1sf0rtun3 @foundthethief @ackalice @jellyfishheartsss @dollyrin @harukonene @iieieiw @mwantstossleep @zipzaizen @hypocriticaltypwriter @lordfreg @rainbowpr1sm @idioticsky @oleander-nin @cheeselord-official @skittlesqueen101

By the way, if you guys think you’d like to be tagged whenever an MFIP chapter is posted, lmk in a reblog or comment (no asks or dms plz, too inconvenient) and I’ll be sure to tag so it’s more reliable than tumblr notifs :3🫶

ROTTMNT: Moths Fly In Packs

[phoebepheebsphibs]

Snow Day

Title: Snow Day Prompt: There's a snowstorm, and someone's been gone since before it started. They were supposed to come home hours ago, so a member of the group heads out to find what happened to them. Fandom: ROTTMNT Word Count: 3681 Author: PhoebePheebsPhibs Rating: Gen Characters: Casey Jones Jr, Raphael, Leonardo, Baxter Stockboy cameo Warning: Casey gets real freaked out and has a minor anxiety/panic attack Summary: Casey goes out just before a snowstorm happens and gets caught right in the middle of it... Notes: No Beta, We Die Like Gram-Gram! Reused old art for illustration lol, you can see it on AO3

@cheetochild989 @tmnt-write-fight

Posted on AO3 <-

"I won't be gone long," Casey promised. "It's only a few things."

"Still, it's your first time buying groceries alone," Leo mumbled, the tap tap tap of his crutch echoing against the floor. He didn't always need it, but some days were harder than others. "I could go with --"

"No," Casey interrupted him, holding a hand up and stopping Leo in his tracks. "If I'm ever going to figure out how to live in this time period, then I need to learn to do these things on my own."

"Sheesh, alright!" Leo joked. "And don't say 'time period', this isn't the Victorian era! It's only what, 20-plus years into the past? Time period. Woof! You make it sound like we're ancient wizards or something..."

Casey laughed at the idea. The only one he could truly call a 'wizard' was Mikey, but he hadn't really gotten to that stage just yet. Mage, yes. Wizard? Maaaaybe in a few months, if he kept up the training with Draxum.

Casey and Leo went over the list one more time, adding one or two last-minute items that Leo suddenly thought of as they made their way to the exit. Casey stuffed the list into his pants before shoving a large and slightly oversized jacket over himself, struggling slightly with the arms.

"Don't forget your hat and earmuffs," Raph reminded him as he walked past. "It's really cold out today."

"Gotchya," Casey nodded, handling the earmuffs like they're some new and exotic species. "We didn't really have cold weather in the future..."

"Really?" Leo asked, his head tilting to the side. "What were winters like?"

"I dunno, like 60 degrees at the lowest?" he shrugged. "What with all the planetary devastation and laser blasts and global warming... weather became sorta nonexistent."

Raphael shuddered at the thought of such a thing. No weather meant no rain, no snow, maybe even no real wind or cloudy days. 

"Well, try to be home soon okay? I think there's a call for heavy snow later."

"Sure thing," Casey replied, half-paying attention to Raph as he walked out the door. After all, this is the past, and everyone has it so cushy! There's nothing dangerous here except for idiot muggers and a few mutants. What could possibly go wrong?

"And don't forget the mittens!" Raph called after him. Casey walked back into the lair, retrieved his gloves, and then walked back out.

⋆⁺₊⋆ ❄ ⁺₊⋆ ❄ ₊⁺ ⋆

Casey Jones Jr was starting to really like New York City, circa 2020. It was a different kind of hectic, but Casey had lived his entire life in chaos.

Instead of dodging missiles, he was dodging taxi cabs.

Instead of wild krang dogs, there were people walking a dozen angry chihuahuas and poodles and dobermans to earn money.

Instead of corpses laid to waste on the ground, there were a few homeless people sleeping in cardboard boxes.

Differences with small similarities.

The biggest difference was the turtles. Sensei Leonardo was no longer a tall and hulking king of the apocalypse with a robot arm who took no slack from anyone or anything -- he was now an ego-stripped teenager with a knee that had been so twisted up that it counted as a physical condition and they could qualify for disabled parking with the tank. Master Michelangelo was no longer someone who looked older than time and could create lavish magic spells with a flip of his hand, but an untrained child with an unbridled adoration for drawing and reality cooking shows. Uncle Tello was not the cybernetic scientist in overalls with a hundred extra technological advancements, but a nerdy teenager with 'secret' plans for anarchy against the US government. Raphael... well... Casey couldn't remember Raph firsthand. There were some photographs and video recordings of him, a few stories passed down, but the big red giant had been killed in action a few years after Casey Jr was born.

But this time period -- er, the past was still nice. It was crazy how many people he recognized. Baron Draxum, Commander O'Neil, Master Splinter, Todd 'The Sasquatch' Capybara, Big Mama... Casey would just be walking down the street and he'd see a couple with a child, and he'd realize the kid was one of the medics that helped him when he'd broken his leg. He would be buying pizza and the cashier was one of Uncle Tello's tech apprentices. In the Hidden City, an octopus Yokai would offer to sell him some mystic potion and Casey would recall they were one of the cooks in the mess hall who always gave him extra portions to help him grow, even when rations were low.

Casey reached the end of memory lane when he found the grocery store he'd been looking for. He casually walked inside just as a few unnoticed flakes of white began to fall from the sky above him.

"Hello, and welcome to the Stock & Shop!" an older woman greeted. "Holler if you need anything!"

Casey nodded with a smile as he started to gather everything on the list.

Chicken soup: got it.

New batteries for the remote: donezo.

Flaming-hot chips: three bags procured. 

Four different brands of soda: orange blast for Mikey, sugar-free cola for Raph, flavourless juice for Donnie, and diet blueberry bubble waters for Leo. Check.

Popcorn for movie nights: not yet.

The popcorn in question was placed on a hard-to-reach shelf high above him. Of course, this one particular brand that Mikey so desperately needed was at the very top. As Casey was reached up for the requested snack, a voice chimed in behind him.

"Better hurry, there's supposed to be a wicked snowstorm tonight!"

Casey jumped back, startled by the sudden sound. He looked down and saw a short, scrawny kid with a comparatively huge head looking up at him.

"Oh, hey. You look familiar...?"

"This is my parent's store, I work here all the time. Or maybe you've seen my videos? My channel? STOCKBOii?? Cybersleuth??"

"Stockboy? As in Baxter Stockboy?" Casey wondered, his eyes widening as the corners of his mouth turned up.

"Yeah! You've heard of me?" the child asked excitedly.

"Kind of," Casey replied, not exactly sure how to explain that Baxter had worked as one of Donatello's apprentices to create warships and mechas during the golden age of the Resistance, despite Sensei's reluctance. "I heard about the whole 'Mutant Menace' fiasco."

Baxter groaned loudly.

"Uggggh, that whole thing. My parents still won't let me leave the house unsupervised. It's ridiculous! One mass panic and riot instigation, and they turn on me! At least the judge agreed to let me work off community service in the store..."

Casey smirked just a little.

"Hmm. Anyway, you said something about a snowstorm?"

"Oh, right. The weather report says it might get up to two inches."

"What might get up to two inches?"

"Um... the snow? Look, it's started snowing already!"

Baxter Stockboy pointed out towards the front entrance. A small sprinkling of white could just barely be visible beyond the glass.

"Oh," Casey shrugged. "Doesn't look too bad."

"You say that now, but it's supposed to get below 30º Farenheit!"

"Oh. That is kinda cold," Casey agreed. "...But I'm sure it'll be okay."

⋆⁺₊⋆ ❄ ⁺₊⋆ ❄ ₊⁺ ⋆

Ten minutes had passed.

Raphael received a notification from the weather app, informing that the previously predicted 'heavy snowfall' was now a full-blown snowstorm.

That probably wasn't good. But it wasn't terrible, either. Just some snow.

"Boys, it looks like tomorrow is another snow day!" he announced to the rest of the Hamatos.

From various rooms in the lair, Raph heard them shout in excitement.

"Yes!"

"Alright!"

"Snow day, hooRAY, baby!"

Raph smiled. He couldn't wait to introduce Casey to his first snowfall...

⋆⁺₊⋆ ❄ ⁺₊⋆ ❄ ₊⁺ ⋆

Casey had finally gotten all the items on the list and was preparing to check-out, when an announcement went over the loudspeakers.

"Attention shoppers -- we encourage all patrons to finish up their errands, as we will be closing soon due to the weather. Thank you."

Huh. They sure were getting all riled up over this 'snow' stuff. Casey had witnessed a few storms before in the months prior, but it was never too bad. Thunderstorms were freaking terrifying, but only because they were loud and Casey's first thought was always that an air attack was happening. But he loved watching lightning. It reminded him of a few magic spells Master Michelangelo had performed on occasion...

Casey finished up the last of his errand and purchased the items. He needed a little help when trying to decide on paper or plastic, and for a moment he forgot the pin number for the card Splinter had given him, but other than that all had gone well.

He stepped out of the store, the glass doors sliding past him gracefully.

And he was greeted by a harsh blast of cold. It almost knocked him over, the icy wind biting his face so much he dropped the bags of groceries in order to cover his face with his regrettably un-mittened hands.

Okay. He was starting to see what people meant now. He hurriedly pulled his mittens on and scrambled to cover as much of his head as he could with his hat and earmuffs.

It had been cold these past few months, sure, but not like THIS! This was arctic.

And what's more, the sky was raining ash. That only ever happened when Uncle Tello sent missiles to blow the Krang vessels to kingdom come. So why was no one terrified, or hiding? Besides, there were no more Krang ships to incinerate. So then, what was...?

Casey happened to glance to the side and saw a kid sticking their tongue out. Their parents did the same. They caught a few of the flakes on the tips of their tongues, laughing as they shivered. Casey watched in wonder. He held a hand out. A single fleck of white flittered down to his palm, delicately touching down onto him, and melting upon impact with the glove. Casey was gently bewildered. He looked up at the sky. The heavens above were masked over with clouds of grey, hiding the universe from him, guarding him from the wonders he couldn't understand or comprehend. And yet, the universe deemed this wonder fit for him to comprehend?

Casey's mouth hung open as he gazed at the sky, confused. Snowflakes fell against his cheeks, his eyelashes, his lips, his chin. He stuck out his tongue and closed his eyes. It took a few minutes, but finally he felt one land and melt in his mouth.

...Underwhelming, if he was honest.

It was just water. He kind of expected a flavour.

The wind suddenly whipped against him. It had calmed for the brief moments that Casey stood there, but now was circling back in full fury. Casey gasped at the fierce chill, bundling himself up more and more before gathering the supplies and shuffling back to the lair. The wind swirling around him, the snow raining down with a vengefulness.

⋆⁺₊⋆ ❄ ⁺₊⋆ ❄ ₊⁺ ⋆

Twenty minutes had passed.

Raph had started to feel like he was forgetting something. He wasn't sure what, though...

Donnie had re-fortified the lair and central heating system, so now it would stay extra cozy despite the freezing temperatures outside. You could hear the wind start to roar if you went to the exterior tunnels and big exit door.

Raph remembered how in the early years when they were all teeny tiny turtle tots, Splinter had them all stay in the same room to conserve heat. He'd set up tons of heat lamps and space-warmers, bundle each one in extra-fuzzy blankets... Looking back, he could clearly see the panic that Splinter would be hiding at the idea that maybe they could all freeze to death if they weren't careful, or maybe that the power would go out when they weren't expecting it and he'd only have a few minutes to come up with a plan before hypothermia could creep in like a ghost. It was probably extra terrifying considering that they had minor cases of brumation when it got way too cold. They got better at combating it, wearing warm clothes to help stay warm. And it helped that they also had some minor mammalian DNA too, meaning that they had to be utterly and agonisingly cold for brumation to actually take effect. 

Still. Raphael had mad respect for Splinter now. He'd kept his cool and kept his calm, never once displaying the fear that probably filled his mind day in and day out. Raph wished he knew how to do that...

⋆⁺₊⋆ ❄ ⁺₊⋆ ❄ ₊⁺ ⋆

Was Casey even going the right way?? He couldn't tell anymore.

The downpour of snow particles was starting to get so heavy that Casey couldn't even see ten feet in front of him, even with his mask on. Constantly blinded, he relied mostly on the lights from cars or neon signs to help guide him down the sidewalk. He couldn't remember the last time something like this had happened...

Maybe... during the dust storm incident. Sensei and Casey were in a losing battle against the Krang one day and in a sheer panic, Leonardo portaled them away and into some random place far, far away. Leonardo had initially assumed it was some inhospitable desert in the middle east or something, based on how much sand and wind there was. But after a quick look at the tracking device Donatello had installed, they realized that it was actually just New Mexico. Or, what was left of it. Sensei Leonardo had sent them right smack-dab in the middle of a dust storm, where the drought-riddled land had become so dry that the wind created massive walls of dirt and dust that engulfed everything. It could suffocate you, dehydrate you, blind you, etc. The might've died if Leonardo hadn't thought quickly and found a shelter for them to hide out in. He'd dropped one of his swords during the storm, so the two were forced to wait it out. Sensei Leonardo never did find that other sword. He'd had to create a new one with his ninpo.

Anyway, this snowstorm felt like the exact opposite of the dust storm.

Rather than hot and dry, this was cold and wet. But the stabbing sensations of small things constantly flying into you was the same. The wind that threatened to carry you away was the same. The loneliness was the same.

Casey was convinced that he'd gotten turned around somehow... He wasn't sure where he was.

Forget being able to see ten feet away, he could barely see his own hands in the storm!

This was not good. Casey reached up, feeling around his mask for a specific button that would activate a distress beacon. He'd modified it so that Donnie's tech could receive the call, and hopefully it would go through. But if the storm was as severe as it felt, then it was possible that the lines would be down and the lair's internet access and phone lines wouldn't get the message.

Casey found the button. He'd have to hope that they'd get the signal.

He pressed it, and then pressed on, hoping that he could find his way home on his own...

⋆⁺₊⋆ ❄ ⁺₊⋆ ❄ ₊⁺ ⋆

Thirty minutes.

The lair was starting to get terribly frigid. Raph waltzed into the kitchen, shuddering from the chill as he did, hoping that maybe Mikey would start making something hot to eat and that in turn would warm up the kitchen. He only found Leo in there, swirling a mug of hot cocoa that he'd heated up. 

"Brr-rr-rr, it's cold! I thought Donnie fixed the heat?"

"He did, but it's still pretty frigid," Leo sighed. "I'm starting to get worried..."

"You think the power might go out?" Raph asked.

"No, I'm wondering where Casey is."

Casey?

OH SHOOT, CASEY.

"Raph completely forgot that Casey was out!" Raph screamed, hands flying through the air. "I thought he came back fifteen minutes ago! You mean he's still out there?!"

"Relax, it's just snowing. Not that big of a deal," Leo said as he took a long sip of cocoa from his mug.

"Leo, you do realize that Casey's never seen snow before?!" Raph reminded him. "And this ain't no ordinary gentle snowfall, this is practically a blizzard!" 

Raph huffed angrily before rushing to the lair entrance. He grabbed a coat, some galoshes, a scarf, gloves, snowpants -- the whole shebang. Leo followed casually, sipping his cocoa gently as he walked after him.

"Where'ya goin'?" he asked with a smile.

"I'm goin' after Casey, of course!" Raph yelled.

"Do you know where he is?"

"I got him right here on the little tracker thingy."

Raph held out his phone to display to Leo the small signal coming in from Casey Jr's mask.

"Mhm," Leo hummed. "Okay. Well, when you get back, maybe bring home a pizza too."

"Leo, can you be serious about this?!"

"Okay, fine. When you find him, call me and I'll portal the two of you home. Okay?" Leo suggested. "No sense trudging through the cold back and forth."

"Great, thanks," Raph grumbled before running out the door, pulling his collar up to prepare for the wind and wet.

Raphael ducked out. Down the corridors, up a ladder to the top of the street. He pushed the manhole cover aside with ease. He was instantly met with a barrage of wind and ice, the snow and slush that had been atop the cover sliding down and splashing onto his face.

Raph sputtered softly, wiping his face off before heading into the fray...

⋆⁺₊⋆ ❄ ⁺₊⋆ ❄ ₊⁺ ⋆

Casey was huddled against something. A wall, a stone, a tree, a car -- he could hardly tell. It was so cold, his skin felt like it was peeling off. His eyes stung from the wind, his feet ached from the chill, his arms hurt from the cold and from carrying all the groceries with him this whole time. The straps on the plastic bags were digging into his arms, cutting off his circulation. It was so windy and loud, he couldn't hear the traffic of the city anymore. His jacket was coated in white.

He'd hoped that he could shield himself with whatever he was leaning against, but the wind came from all sides.

It was terrifying. Being alone. He hadn't felt alone like this in so long...

He remembered sitting alone, like this, long ago...

The wind whipping around, the sky dark, the battlefield torn and scarred, white flakes of ash raining down from above. It was cold that day, too. Casey couldn't be older than four years old at the time.

The ground was covered in grey and white from all the ash and cinder. Casey was covered in the powdery residue himself, his face white as a sheet, his messy and greasy hair holding in the flakes and embers from the explosion that had decimated the world around him.

But the worst was the silence that followed. Nothingness. Loneliness. Agony.

Casey started crying. Four years old, having watched the world end, having seen his mother die, and so many of her comrades, and only to be left alone and scared? Of course he was crying.

In the distance, a figure began to move. Casey gasped, trying to cover his mouth and keep silent as the looming creature lumbered towards him. The monster was huge, it must be a krang mecha or --

"Casey?"

He recognized that voice. It wasn't Sensei, but it was just as comforting.

"Casey, where you? Casey!"

The child meant to answer. But his voice was lost in his own throat.

"Casey! I see you! I'm coming, kid, I'm coming!"

Casey reached out for the Red Giant to take him home... The silhouette of his figure in the smoke and smog that surrounded them...

But as the figure stepped through the fog, it wasn't a red giant.

"Casey! There you are!! I was so worried, what happened?!"

Casey Jones Jr was taken back to the present moment, and stared at Raph in shock.

"R-Raph..?"

"Geez, Case, you look frozen solid! Are you okay?"

Casey nodded softly, getting back up on his feet as Raph gave him a hand.

"I'm fine," he whispered. "It... it, uh, started snowing."

"Yeah, I see that," Raph chuckled. "Sorry, we had no idea it would get so bad."

"It... it's okay," Casey responds quietly. "How did you find me?"

"Well the snow's dying down a bit, so it ain't as hard to see," Raph mentioned as he pointed up. Casey did notice that during his anxiety attack, the wind has calmed a bit more and the downpour of frozen particles was much gentler. "Besides, the tracker helped. Although, I am curious how you managed to get all the way into Central Park?"

"Wha-huh?" Casey gaped, turning around and examining the area.

He had been huddled against a tree trunk, and a few feet off in the distance was a playground. Ahead of him was the cityscape, behind him the rest of the wooded little area.

"Wow. I didn't realize that I came this far..."

Raph chuckled as he grabbed the groceries from the ground.

"So, you ready to get home? All I gotta do is call Leo and we can be back in the lair with some hot chocolate!"

Casey glimpsed at the park behind them. It was... actually quite lovely.

It was a magical world, sparkling and quiet. Undisturbed. Serene.

Raph noticed Casey's stare and looked back at the scene, smiling knowingly.

"It sure it pretty, ain't it?"

"...It's peace," Casey awed. "It's absolute peace. This... I've never seen anything like it before."

Raph took in a deep breath, inhaling the peace with gratitude for a world that could give you something so gorgeous after something so terrible.

"Yeah. It's really beautiful. Tell ya what, the guys can wait for a bit. Want me to show you around the Winter Wonderland for a bit?"

Casey nodded with a dumbfounded smile on his face.

The two walked out into the park together, enjoying the peace that they both had fought tooth and nail for.

⋆⁺₊⋆ ❄ ⁺₊⋆ ❄ ₊⁺ ⋆The End⋆⁺₊⋆ ❄ ⁺₊⋆ ❄ ₊⁺ ⋆

[teethstitch]

Since you are into TMNT I am curious what’s your opinion on each of the turtles in general since you seem to be into all iterations of them /gen question

ooh fascinating question. unsure if you mean each individual turtle from each gen or just each gen itself but i'll go into both!

so i actually have a tmnt powerpoint i'm working on right now, so i'll lift some stuff but obviously i won't lift it all, ill go in franchise order. shows and comics in order (show specific comics will go in the show sections) and then movies. spoilers for pretty much every single thing i talk about. if you haven't finished a specific iteration just skip the paragraph about it

Mirage

I havent read too much of mirage, though i'm sure its good i find it a bit visually noisy and actually struggle to read it- my vision is fine as far as i know and i don't usually have trouble with other black and white comics but man mirage is hard to read, whenever eastman would draw for idw annuals or issues i'd have a hard time getting through them because even though the style is cool i just can't see anything, so yeah, that for the time being kind of sums up my thoughts on mirage, i think the shredder worm shark is funny as hell though. i suppose the only thing of note i have an opinion on is the april race debate - wherein by one of them she was thought of as white and the other thought of her as non-white (i can't remember which ethnicity), so based on that i've seen people say that means she's white or the other ethnicity but since they're co authors i've just gone with the idea that mirage april is biracial. that's about the only mirage thing i can actually give my two cents on, moving on!

1987

I really like 1987, i haven't watched it all but trust me i'm slogging through it o7. i adore the animation mistakes, the way they give one turtle another turtles lines, and i think the characterisation is pretty solid. sometimes the show can feel tedious to watch personally, which is why i love saturday morning adventures, it's a much more concise, thought out version of the show itself and is a beautiful love letter to the show (they also finally sent usagi home :'D). obviously it went on for way longer than it realistically needed to, a majority of episodes basically mean nothing unless they introduce new characters, its the one piece of the franchise, lots of filler, i still think it's great though. i also love shredders revenge, it was the first tmnt game i've played since joining the fandom and similar to SMA it is a genuinely beautiful love letter to the community and franchise, i'm an avid cross stitcher as well so pixel games make me happy because i can stitch straight from the game sprites, which i've been doing :3. I love how the turtles are characterised, Cam clarke is iconic and i love shredder and krangs dynamic, irma has become the love of my life and much to my dismay i love the neutrinos which sucks because they're only present elsewhere in idw, i'm doubtful but begging Tottmnt to bring them back.

2003

2003 is by far my favourite of the shows, i actually enjoyed fast forward unlike much of the tmnt fandom, i thought it was fun, though sterling was meh to me, i just didn't like him - even though i liked fast forward i can personally admit the show dealt with similar issues to 1987 of just. extending itself. when they were able to focus on plots and do arc episodes was great, but the seasons could have definitely been cut down sometimes because the formula of an episode was beholden to ads, which meant every 5 minutes someone had to say something shocking or nearly die only for it to be dissuaded or continued after the ad break, watching it digitally now with no ad breaks was kind of funny though because i would be up late sometimes and delirious and the 03 singers yelling 'teenage mutant ninja turtles' at me while mikey or other did a cool move entertained me much more than it should have. I really love that the opening scene is recreation of the first scene in the mirage comics, even if i have trouble reading it i think thats cool and fun, i love all the turtles voices and characterisation, i never have any complaints about voice in any iteration but especially not here, they all feel perfect. the fandom is a big part of the joy of 03 for me, but i do still love watching my favourite episodes back from time to time, and like any good 03 fan i can scream about good genes and same as it never was like a banshee, though i do also have a lot of thoughts on other arcs dw. usually i find it easier to pick a favourite turtle iteration to iteration but man is it hard here, they all have their moments, i think the humour and the darkness are played really well (cough except for when leo got stabbed in the shoulder and i had no idea where he got stabbed until he got a scar next episode because there was no blood). I was drawn into the fandom by rise and it will always hold a special place in my heart but 2003 is far and away my favourite iteration. forever sad about the dreamwave comics being cut short and no one picking them up. we deserve more official 03 comics.

IDW

I'm also still reading idw - don't kill me its long and also theres just a lot of turtles stuff to get through, okay? I really have enjoyed it thus far, i jumped for joy when the neutrinos were revealed, i hated chet with a passion and they somehow wormed me back in with the fugitoid reveal, i will say similar to watching 03 digitally and just getting hit with the before ad and after ads cutaways back to back, there's a bit of an annoyance in trying to find and read everything in exact order, because missing a micro/macro or short side story like the secret history of the foot can kind of screw you over, so when someone says they're reading idw its not actually the 150 issues, its well over 200, though i haven't counted specifically. if you read the powerpoint pictures you'll see the artist death match, basically i was just going to pit them against each other by choosing the best design of reoccurring characters and the artist would get the point, there are some great artist who had a hand in this series, i can't deny all of them are talented, but man some of them are just not for me, getting through an arc with a style i don't like is a breath of fresh air, right now my main example of a style i like is Mateus Santolouco - not all the character designs are my favourite but the secret history of the foot clan was gorgeous, especially karai, she's always been one of my favourite characters. i enjoy idw, i think the worst thing i can say about it really is sometimes theres styles i don't like and akin to other comic series it can be stupidly difficult to figure out the exact reading order when you're not there from the beginning.

2012

possibly controversial (definitely, i'm lying to myself), 2012 is probably my least favourite of the franchises shows (no, its not below next mutation, just talking animated main shows). just to explain myself, I do LIKE the show, but of the shows i find its the least in line with my humour, the gross out humour is a little more uncomfortable for me given the 3d style, i can't deny the story is probably the most well done of any of the shows thus far, i do enjoy the story and i think even non relevant episodes to the main storyline do a good job of serving some kind of purpose to character development or giving the viewer a look into the world, it is by no means a bad show, i would never say it is, i do like it, but for myself personally i struggle to sit down and rewatch because of some of the things i pointed out and some other things like the way apritello is written, leorai (shudders), idk why but 2012 splinter just annoys me, i will say the turtles and april are really enjoyable characters, i find most of the characters (karai, casey, some of the minor villains even) pretty engaging, everyone feels really fleshed out and similar to 03 the voice acting is on point, though this iteration isn't my favourite in terms of rewatchability, i audibly cheered when i realised shelldon was greg cipes, when he said booyakasha i was on the floor weeping. 2012 is a show that i would watch on occassion when it was on, its the one i technically grew up with, though i wasn't really into tmnt as a kid, but greg cipes was pretty much my childhood as a big teen titans kid, as well as mae whitman, i was a big tinkerbell kid, so those 2 are a huge highlight of the show for me. my feelings on 2012 are pretty confusing, but i still do like the show, its just if anyone (like you) asked, i would have to say its technically my least favourite, but again, by no means means that its bad, because it isn't, it's just not really as for me as the other shows. the '12 comics i enjoy, i haven't read too many but the batman crossover was sick as hell, style wise the 2012 comics are solid, while i don't think 2012 looks bad as a 3d show i would personally be more drawn to it if it was 2d like the comics, i just prefer 2d.

Rise (2018)

As previously mentioned, like many others rise was my formal introduction as a teen/now adult into the tmnt fandom, for a while it kind of stood out as my favourite before 03 topped it, but still i love it with all my heart and i rewatch episodes frequently. i think the voice casting was on point, i had recently finished ducktales so ben schwartz and josh brener were welcome surprises, kat graham was in perth for a con recently and i was so sad she wasn't scheduled for the melbourne run of that con and was heavily tempted to go just to see her, rise april is definitely my favourite of all aprils, while i think its a fun dynamic when April is an adult and sort of an aunt figure to the turtles, rise april really killed the older sister thing, every episode she's in is a treat, omar miller and brandon smith (am i meant to put middle/second names i have no idea) were stunning choices for raph and mikey, rise raph is so brotherly and silly, he just brings so much heart to raph, Mikey is so much fun in rise, i can get caught up in inflection and the way a line is said and there's a lot of variety with Mikey's lines, its funny and i couldn't ask for better delivery, i think they're all good at it but brandon knocks it out of the park with mikey. So, partially the blame goes to 03 but rise was also what got me into usagi yojimbo, it's kinda funny how the only show without a canon usagi is the one that kinda goes the hardest in adding him into stuff. the format of the show not getting to focus a lot on plot and mostly just being one off episodes obviously isn't ideal, but for what story we got i really enjoyed, i also just liked the one off segments, the majority of them i really liked and found funny, for me this is probably the show that makes me laugh the most out of any of them - while i tend to participate nowadays more with the 03 section of the fandom, i still love rise to my core and still interact with it here and there.

Ronin

As i said before, theres a lot of tmnt to go through, but uh. everyone talks about the last ronin, so i detoured my regular watching and reading to dive into it. I liked it, there are things i would love answers to but i might just need to reread to know because middle of reading my cat threw up and i had to pause to clean it up, so yeah- there are things i'm worried to have possibly misunderstood, like the dissolution of their treaty of sorts, misremembering or misunderstood that part of the story is a possibility but if its not that i'm still desperate to know who actually betrayed who first, what actually did the turtles/foot truce in? i haven't gone into re-evolution or lost years yet, i've been meaning to but occasionally i'll get a new shiny hyperfixation and when i return to turtles i tend to dive right into the shows or long running comics first compared to stuff like ronin. i am very excited for the game and the film, little nervous at the idea the film will be live action but i'm mostly just going to wait and see, no sense hating it before i even know what it looks like.

Mutant mayhem/tales/2023

i know i said movies last but its kind of different since the movie was before the show- so deal with it ig. mutant mayhem is a great movie, emotional, funny, i really like it, and the style translates beautifully into 2d animation for the show, i don't have much to say on the movie itself, i really liked it, i watched it with my mum who really liked it and she can be pretty hot and cold when it comes to movies. Tales is a fun show, i similarly don't have too much to say, i struggle to rewatch things i've watched semi recently because i get burnt out on it quicker, but i'm super excited to watch this iteration continue, i'll miss rise like hell but i think tales shows great promise and i'm looking forward to more of it!

Bayverse

if you're wondering why i skipped the 2007 movie its because i haven't watched it, semi similar to mirage the style is a lot, but not similar in the way that i can actually tell whats going on in 07, i just. don't like the style. bayverse is pretty controversial but i like it enough, i don't really rewatch it because the 3d models freak me out, but i love the fanart people make, i do think the character designs themselves are very good, peoples fanart definitely helps you look at them more clearly as well. I still don't visually get leo's bone necklace placemat thing. splinter in the first movie is too furless and he needs to be shot. the movies themselves i don't find too special but i don't dislike them, i remember watching the second movie because some cousins and i went out with our nan and my younger cousin wanted to watch it so we did. i had very little turtle exposure as a child but out of the shadows was part of it.

Original trilogy

I quite like the original trilogy, it's very campy but i think its a fun watch, similar to mutant mayhem i watched these with my mum, we really only watch the movies together and we had a good time, we both struggle to really take them seriously. we had to pause the first movie for a WHILE to laugh at the bathtub scene, i still laugh about it frequently and remind her of it just as often, 'i'm coming....... tO A DECISION' also was funny, the third movie is there also.

Batman vs tmnt

Holy crossover, batman. i really like this movie, as a tmnt fan and a batman enjoyer this movie is just so good, many have said it before and i will continue to say it. the movie is so full of easter eggs, i'm still trying to figure out if that portrait in the turtle van is of mikey or jennika - everyone is characterised so well, the dynamics between the batfam and the turtles is done amazingly, alfred and mikey as a duo is delightful and as always the voice acting is so good, i would sell my soul to hear kyle mooney and baron vaughn as mikey and donnie again. eric bauza is always fun to see given his history with tmnt, so seeing him actually be a turtle for once was great, i really enjoyed his performance as leo, i still can't believe darren criss is raph. i'm a gleek and a huge starkid fan and i can't hear it but i know its true. its fucking insane. the movies story and pacing is just really good, and is one of the few animated tmnt iterations to actually let people get hurt, have visible injuries and get fully murdered on screen, when i saw that foot ninja DIE die i was fucking pumped, a lot of the other video iterations lack actual tension because yeah shredder wants to murder a guy but this is family programming, so he wont and can't. but you watch people die and suddenly that hologram the foot tried to kill doesn't just feel like a 1987 thing where the one time the villains are able to do real damage its a decoy, it feels like a truly necessary precaution, had batman not done that, someone would have died, no doubt. i've spent an extended period of time analysing the easter eggs in this movie, especially when it comes to the turtle van itself, i LOVE the van design, the fact its an old rv, the call back to 87, the spare tire being an anti-foot symbol, the grafitti saying 'Foot Stinks', the April calendar with a picture of a turtle on it, its all a genuine treat. I love this movie, i think it's the best tmnt film ever, i love rise's film but to me nothing holds a candle to this. rarely do i only ever have one criticism for a movie but the only issue i have with the movie is the fact they clearly imply mr freeze DIED and that mutated batman killed him but they NEVER TOUCH ON IT AGAIN. i need directors commentary, i need a script, i need SOMETHING to tell me what happened. anyways. the fighting is so much fun, i love it, it's delightful to watch a tmnt fight and to be fully dialed in because it feels like a real fight, 03 had some pretty good fight scenes but in essence they were very cartoony in the way they won a lot of the time, i just think the batman vs fights are golden, especially the penguin fight, but again, all of them are really good.

so yeah. i have a lot of tmnt opinions, there's more i could say about each iteration individually, especially the shows, but i'll leave it with a list of my favourite characters and their iterations.

IDW Karai, 2012 and 2003 karai, they mean the world to me, i'm a big karai fan and i think they're great. of course the neutrinos, as little as they appear they mean the world to me. 2003 casey is definitely my favourite casey, second is probably idw casey. Batman Donnie is so much fun, his lack of social awareness is really played up but it feels natural and very donnie and i love the think he does where he moves his head like he's going to hide it in his shell but doesn't so he's just poking out. Rise april has my entire heart, she's the best and i'd die for her. 03 and 24/MM Leo, they're both great. really the entire rise cast has my heart. also the 03 cast but special shout out to 03 splinter he's just very sweet. i have to stop now because i could yell about even more characters forever, so last one i would say Alopex, i think she's a great addition to the franchise and i hope more people adapt her.

in case you weren't wondering because i'll tell you anyways, i do have oc's, i just don't really draw that much or particularly well so i don't post about them, i do write about them but i don't publish it bc i don't think anyone would care much, i don't really dip into oc fic either so.

so yeah. general thoughts on most of the franchise! if you want me to expand on any of the thoughts i shared here i'd be happy to but for now my fingers ache from typing so bye :3

[sloppy-rants]

Rottmnt Rant #2

(Leonardo centered)

One thing I adore about rise is that if you pay attention there are no character traits that ever come out of the blue. They have always been present within the show, they just don’t have any spotlights on them.

One example of this is Leo’s martyr complex, as well as his habit of making jokes out of serious situations. These traits are very present in the movie, and are even main plot points that push the narrative forward. These traits have always been present in the show, however one episode that I think contains multiple examples of these is the episode “Flushed but Never Forgotten.”

⚠️SPOILERS AHEAD FOR THE EPISODE AND THE MOVIE⚠️

In the episode Flushed but Never Forgotten, the boys accidentally flush their dad’s pet fish, Piebald. They decide to cover it up, lying to their dad and replacing piebald with a ‘perfect’ replica (a rock with googly eyes glued on). After about a year, Mikey starts to feel guilt over the loss of piebald, and tells the rest of his brothers about writing on the walls and voices he’s heard that he thinks are coming from her.

We find out that Piebald has returned, and is now a mutant capable of talking and possessing abilities such as turning invisible/camouflaging with her surroundings. Upon initial discovery, the boys are terrified. All of them except Leo.

Leo responds to seeing piebald with “Okay so she’s a mutant.” While the others are obviously scared shitless. This only lasts for a moment, but it demonstrates his true nature, as in this moment he hasn’t had enough time to lie and come up with some sort of fake or funny reaction. He uses one of his coping mechanisms, humor, to deal with the situation. Now of course, after this he goes right back to being scared with all of his brothers, as one would do, but I find it interesting that his initial reaction was to tone down the situation and after that he showed fear, rather than the other way round. Moments like this are sprinkled through the whole show, but I decided to focus on this one simply because of how small and fast it is. It would have been so easy to have Leo just scream along with all the others, but the writers decided to add this bit in. You might think of this as just a joke the writers added in for shits and giggles, but he does this multiple times in the series. A rather popular example of this being his line “Soo.. you guys from Jersey?” in the very first episode.

Now his Martyr complex, I know is a very popular topic for Leo. It provides juicy angst, and it’s a wonderful topic to use for drawings, fan fictions, and rants such as I’m doing now. But usually, those are all centered around the movie. The movie’s climax features Leo locking himself in the prison dimension with Krang prime, sacrificing himself for those he cares about. What I don’t think people talk about enough is that this isn’t the only time Leo does this. This is another reason why I decided to focus on this episode specifically.

Later in the episode, Piebald ends up taking Leo’s entire family. His brothers, his dad, even the paper foot ninja they took in. Initially, he has a plan to gain the upper hand against Piebald. He uses her own trick against her, camouflaging with his surroundings to use the element of surprise against her. Once this fails, however, he finds himself backed into a corner. His family is tied together, hanging behind him as they dangle over a large whirlpool of sewer water, about to be flushed as they had done to Piebald so long ago. In one last desperate attempt to save his family, he pleads with Piebald to let his family go, and take him instead.

He says, “flush me and let my family go.” Clearly stating the he wishes to sacrifice himself for those he cares about. He’s been running this whole episode. Running from the monster, running from the responsibility of Piebald’s “death”, and running from telling the truth to his dad. Now, as the only one left, he knows it’s him who has to save his family, and when given no other choice, he chooses himself as the sacrifice. It’s not even suggested to him that he sacrifice himself, he came up with that on his own. He doesn’t know what will happen to him, he just wants his family to be safe.

Sadly, this moment is short lived as immediately after he says this Piebald cuts the rope to drop the others into the whirlpool, which is where the whole thing is revealed to be a ruse made up by Splinter and Piebald to teach the boys a lesson. But I still think this moment should be talked about more. It’s so interesting to me.

It’s one thing that I think people get wrong a lot. A popular trope I see with Leo is that in any danger whatsoever he will deliberately go out of his way to sacrifice himself first. It’s his first and only plan, and he truly believes it will 100% work out. Watching the show though, this just isn’t true. Leo is a good leader, and he knows what his brothers are capable of. He’s able to use their skills to come up with a clever plan that almost always works when he really puts thought into it. It’s when he’s backed into a corner, stuck between a rock and a hard place that he resorts to his final plan. His last chance to keep everyone he loves safe and more importantly alive. If it comes down to it, he will use himself as the scapegoat willingly, even if the others don’t want it. I love Leo angst so much, and I love it even better when it’s done right. Leo is a smart guy, he knows when he can find an easy way out of things. That’s what makes it even more devastating when he resorts to his martyr complex, because it’s always either a last resort, or a split second decision. I think what people try to do is make it his first instinct, which I can agree with if written to be believable.

Moments that represent these traits come and go quickly, but I think that’s part of why Rise is so well written. The creators trust their viewers, and are aware that things don’t need to be spelled out in order for us to understand them. This show is honest to god just so amazing, and a wonderful example of when artists put out a work that they really care about for others to enjoy.