#Cdk

[aealzx]

After having gotten the kids off to sleep in the same room, wrapped up in a mass of blankets and pillows, the adults were only half surprised when a roar came from their room a few hours after midnight. Mikey was the one who was closest, and therefore the first to burst into the room. There was only one of two options that could have caused what they soon learned was Raph bellowing; either an intruder had gotten past their alarms, or a nightmare. And it was pretty easy to tell once Mikey was in the room that it was the latter.

Lil Mikey had Leon bodily shoved off the mattresses, his small frame joined by April in shielding Leon on the floor. And still on the two mattresses slid together on the floor were Donnie and Raph, the larger brother still waking from an obvious nightmare while his hand was clasped firmly at Donnie’s throat. Not quite choking, but his fingers curled around to press roughly against Donnie’s shell while his thumb was wedged into his collar bone. Yet despite the position Donnie just shot Mikey a quick shake of his head before he went back to speaking quietly to Raph, trying to coax him around his heaved breathing.

“It’s okay Raphie. Take deep breaths. You're safe. We’re all safe. No one is going to hurt you, or any of us.” Donnie’s voice was quiet, and gentle. A stark difference from what Mikey had heard from him before. And despite the position he was in Mikey was surprised to see Donnie wasn’t struggling. Gentle hands simply rested comfortingly on Raph’s arm, sometimes rubbing up and down to coax him to focus on the real sensation rather than whatever he’d seen in his dreams.

“D’Donnie?” Lil Mikey asked, wanting to check on his other brother while slipping his fingers into Leon’s hand to keep it away from his own neck.

“I’m alright Mikey. Just focus on Leo, I’ll get Raph,” Donnie’s reassurance came with the same calmness that made Mikey believe this had happened before.

“C’mon Leo, you too. Big slow breaths,” April directed, starting to rub Leo’s back to give him something to focus on too.

As Leo closed his eyes to comply, drawing slow yet shuddering breaths to try and calm his racing heart, Mikey blocked and shushed the rest of his own family from interfering. It looked like Raph was breaking out of the dream now, and Mikey didn’t think it would be good to crowd in on them.

“...D’Dee?” Raph’s start of recognition came in the form of his brother’s name questioned in budding anguish. The hand that was holding Donnie instantly flexed open once Raph realized where it was, and he tried to yank it back as though it were poison to his brother. Yet Donnie stubbornly held onto it, getting pulled forward slightly before Raph stopped, holding up his other hand to catch him if needed. “I’I’m so sorry. I’m sorry Dee, I didn’t mean-”

Raph’s heartbroken apologies were cut off as Donnie shushed him, deliberately leaning into his brother’s grip despite him being so afraid to touch him. “Shhh. I’m not hurt. It’s okay,” Donnie assured, gaining a small smile when his refusal to let Raph let him go was enough to convince him to change tactics, his huge hands moving instead to wrap around Donnie in a tender hold. “...Tell me where we are, big guy. Let’s get you awake,” Donnie directed next, bringing Raph’s focus to their environment.

At that point Don and Leon started wordlessly shoving the rest of the bystanders away. Don and Raphael had already filled them in on what April had said, but they didn’t think they would have been any help in this situation. Not just yet anyway.

“Mikey- Where are you going?” Raphael hissed when Mikey broke off from the group to head for the kitchen.

“To get them some water and tea. Like we usually do,” Mikey hushed back, making a drinking motion with one hand.

“Try the lavender,” Leo directed as Don gave an agreeing nod. They didn’t all need to crowd in, but it should still be fine to let the kids know the rest of them weren’t oblivious, and were there to help if they needed. Plus staying hydrated was always a good thing.

“Let us know if we’re needed,” Don requested, shuffling away with his other two brothers while also trying not to trample over Master Splinter. He didn’t move as fast as they did these days, so they made sure to fill him in on what was going on.

“Little Raph had a nightmare. They seem to be handling it on their own, but Mikey is going to bring them some drinks,” Leo explained.

Master Splinter gave an understanding nod, then looked to Mikey since he was still waiting at the door. “Bring them some of the candied fruits as well. Growing boys always need snacks,” he directed with another nod. And then instead of returning to his room he headed for the cushions in the living room, aiming to take up residence there just in case.

It was a good idea, and the other three boys followed suit, huddling into the couches or other cushions while they let Mikey take point this time. The tea didn’t take long to make with the electric kettle they had. Most of the commonly used teas were kept right next to it as well, so while the water boiled Mikey just gathered the candied fruits together in various small bowls. Then when the tea was added to a metal container and rested in the ceramic teapot Mikey gathered it, the food, and plenty of cups onto a tray to carry to their guest’s current room.

It had only been a few minutes, but all of them were gathered back on the mattresses when Mikey returned, Raph gently holding both Leon and Donnie now while April and Lil Mikey did their best to hug him. Since his hands were full Mikey just gave a small whistle to announce he was there, feeling just a little bad when most of them snapped their gazes to him in mild startle.

“I brought snacks,” Mikey explained as an apology, gesturing with the tray and stepping over to the group of teenagers. They seemed wary, but not unwelcoming. And while Leon keyed in on the smell of the tea, the others seemed more taken in by the fruits. Master Splinter had made a good assumption, especially since right as Mikey set the tray down two hands reached out to snatch pieces of fruit to nibble on.

“Thanks….” Leon’s voice was husky both from rough sleep as well as just not speaking loud. “I’m surprised you guys didn’t hear that…” he commented, half regretting saying anything once he did. He didn’t really want to talk about it if the others actually weren’t aware and just had impeccable timing.

“Pff, everyone heard that,” Mikey dismissed, pouring a cup of tea and holding it up to Raph first. “But we didn’t want to crowd. So it’s just me, with our usual. Gotta make sure everyone stays hydrated after all,” he explained with a wink.

It was so casual. Like Raph had only dreamed about something silly like bugs crawling on him. Yet he didn’t feel belittled. Far from it. Mikey was so relaxed with all of this not because he wasn’t taking it seriously, but because he was used to it. This wasn’t the first time someone in his home had woken up screaming from night terrors caused by memories.

“...S’someone here has nightmares too?” Raph asked, his voice still a little shaky, and he used both hands to take the teacup because of it.

“All of us do,” Mikey answered, the smile never faltering as he handed out more cups of tea. “It’s just been long enough since the latest crisis that we’re not currently making noise everyone else can hear. - Well, actually Don never makes noise that loud, unless he accidentally blew something up in his lab. So for him we usually end up taking turns checking in on him.”

The way Mikey spoke, as if it were any other topic like the plot of a movie or something, ended up earning snickers from the others and a few glances at Donnie when Mikey mentioned lab explosions.

“What was the most recent- Wait I shouldn’t ask that, nevermind,” Leon started, then realized what he was saying and corrected himself before lowering his head to his tea.

“Nah, it’s fine. That’s the main reason I stuck around. To talk about whatever you guys wanted,” Mikey admitted, not bothered by the question at all. “I think it was…. Hmm, hang on. They all blur together. I sometimes forget what happened when,” he hummed, putting a curled finger to his chin.

“Honestly I’m not really good about remembering the events as much as the fun stuff that happens after, you know?” Mikey eventually relented, giving up on trying to figure out their own history. “Like, there was one time we had to scare off some goons that were after Casey’s cousin. But Raph had some broken ribs, so we shoved him in a closet to keep him quiet and away from trouble.”

At least three of the kids ended up sputtering on their drinks, which Mikey counted as the second win of the night.

“You didn’t seriously?” Leon gaped, aghast at the treatment of someone with broken ribs.

“We did,” Mikey laughed, then caught himself and quieted down again. “We were just teenagers, and it was the first time we’d had to deal with broken bones. That same event is how my legs ended up getting all messed up forever now. Which, by the way if you guys’ old injuries start aching just go whine about them near ol Raph. He gives the best massages.”

More chuckles were earned, and more tallies were added to Mikey’s mental chart. He actually did know what the most recent scare had been for them, but he didn’t want to mention it. He wasn’t sure how much it would remind the others of their own trauma, and therefore didn’t want to even suggest anything new to them. And regardless of that, it was still better to talk about the fun stuff.

“There was the other time, after Don got really sick we ended up babying him so much we wouldn’t let him help with anything. Just forced him to stay on the couch, even while we were moving it around to set up a new lair. Oh, and then one time Leo got so sick of us hovering he booby trapped his room entrance to hit the next person that entered with a pie. It was the first time he’d ever pulled a prank like that, I was so proud.”

As Mikey continued to chatter there were more and more snickers and giggles from the teens, their forms gradually relaxing as they shifted into comfortable positions to listen while they snacked. Eventually Mikey’s stories somehow trailed into him talking about their local superhero group, which led to talking about the comics he had, and the stories they held. It was easy to keep going, and he made several promises to let the boys read the comics in the morning. But even as he spoke with animated mostions for some of the stories, Mikey eventually started talking more softly, and making smaller motions. His captive audience was starting to doze off again, and he wasn’t about to force them to stay awake. Not if they could get a few more hours in with hopefully more pleasant dreams about superheroes and space.

It was only two hours later when Mikey was stealthily gathering up the remains of the snacks, slipping out of the room after making sure all the kids were properly tucked back in. If it were any other task accomplished he would have been humming as he made his way back to the kitchen, but considering he wanted to make as little noise as possible he refrained. Instead as he passed by the living room where the rest of his family was, he just gave them a thumbs up and wink.

“Mission accomplished. All five are back to sleep,” he announced in a whisper, pleased when his brothers and Master Splinter all visibly relaxed.

As the rest of them stood to return to their own beds, Raphael moved to help Mikey clean up the dishes, giving his taller brother a soft pat on the head in praise for a job well done.

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Whew 8D slight delay because I ended up getting hyperfocused on my own story for a bit because I'm nearing the end of it. But then Five by Sleeping at Last came on a few days ago and just vibbed so well with the first part of this part in my head that I had to write it while looping the song.

[the-kipsabian]

1 & 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

[takaisayaka]

7 days to go until the Euro Cup 2024 ! Fourth ! Charles De Ketelaere!

[dynamitekansai]

[unseemingowl]

Okay, I know I reblogged this yesterday too, but I have now watched this like... 20 times, and I gotta talk about it some more, because I am so blown away by how well the dance and the camera works together in this.

Because, guys, so much dance is shot badly. In music videos you can have really crack dancing, but so often they gotta defer to the pop star at the center, they're the star of the show, not the choreography. And also there's the issue of money, it takes a lot of shots to shoot dance really well.

And live performance is so often shot, well, not great. Either, it seems, because it's not a professional videographer doing it, or because there's limitations in the venue or because they don't know what it's the most arresting part of shooting dance. I swear if I have to watch one more professionally shot ballet performance where they keep cutting away so I can't see the dancers' feet at crucial moments in the choreography I am gonna lose it.

This! This is shot so well, and very simply too! The shots shifts at an even pace, and don't use gimicky shots. The movements of the camera are fluid and calm to give us time and space to take in the natural speed and movements of the dancers.

And when I can't see the lower bodies of the dancers 20 seconds in, it's because I'm not supposed to. I am supposed to focus on the hands and the faces of the dancers.

And the camera also really makes the most of the very frenetic moments in the choreography. Like the section below would no doubt look impressive in a live performance as well, but here? The way the camera tracks along the stage, gives every one of the dancers their own beat to shine and fix our attention.

Same goes when the camera zooms out of the choreography. Like, dude here is really getting to show case those deceptively spaghetti like arm movements.

and then as soon as the legs does the first real sweep out, the camera is back out in wide, giving that leg sweep all the more swerve.

And can we talk about the wide shots from above! at how fucking in sync they are! How well the angle show cases that! The way we can actually fully see the rhombus shape they squeeze into!

I. AM. SALIVATING!

I have been ranting for long enough about this, but final detail I wanna add. Towards the end we have so many seamless cuts between the singular dancers starting the movement and the group shots finishing it.

Ugh. It turns me on it's so smooth.

Go watch it guys, and then lets hope that all dance videos meant to be filmed will be shot this wonderfully in the future.

[sailoraquila]

I'm obsessed with this

[gwydionmisha]

CDK - Somebody That I Used To Know by Gotye

[daily-coloring]

CDK - Somebody That I Used To Know by Gotye

[art-for-a-reason]

CDK - Somebody That I Used To Know by Gotye

More than a little obsessed with this choreography

[dreamingstilluniverse]

CDK - Somebody That I Used To Know by Gotye

I didn’t know I needed this video in my life. The choreography, outfits, and cinematography theyr’re all amazing! 

Sometimes the youtube algorithm gives you a gem.

[aealzx]

Working on Raph’s leg with Don was a fascination that left Leon grinning constantly behind his surgical mask. He’d seen so many videos, but those didn’t compare to the real thing. And with Don there almost all of the stress of the procedure was gone. Pushing back the muscle, clamping it in place, using saline to clean the wound and critically inspect it for residual debris. All the while Don was calmly talking him through the steps, letting Leon learn at the same time. It took hours to get the injury clean, stabilized, packed with antibiotics, and wrapped up, but Leon hardly noticed. Even the enthusiastic chatter beyond the curtain couldn’t distract him from Don’s directions.

“Aaaand we’re done,” Don’s concluding comment came as soon as Leon secured the final bandage wrapping in place. It was such a stark contrast from before to have the clean, beige colored bindings around Raph’s now straight leg, but Leon was mostly feeling like they hadn’t spent nearly enough time to fix that mess.

“Wait- really?” Leon asked, gaze snapping up to look at Don.

Don could only chuckle, having been incredibly impressed by Leon’s single minded focus the entire time. He was hardly surprised at the question now. “Yes- But! Let’s clean up everything else before we pull the curtain down. Okay?” he confirmed, reaching out a hand to block Leon from snatching the curtain excitedly, then gesturing to the bloodied mess of tools around them.

“O’oh… Right,” Leon laughed weakly, the mess fully registering in his mind now as he looked around. It could have been a lot worse, but it would probably still be alarming for others to see. At least it didn’t take too long to clean up the area. The tools and other bloodied items were placed in a bin to take back to the sinks to be washed and sterilized. Then the areas that couldn’t be moved easily were wiped down with antiseptic soaked cloths, and their surgical coverings taken off. Only then did Don give Leon the go ahead to pull the curtain back.

Beaming with an excited smile, Leon poked his head around to look at the others. “Hey Raphie,” he beckoned, noting how April was dozing like a cat curled up around Raph’s head as he and Raphael were a little more quietly watching movies on a tablet Leo had fetched for them.

“Yeah?” Raph asked immediately, shifting his gaze over to Leon. He was exhausted, it was easy to tell. But Leon was expecting that considering none of them had really had proper sleep in the past day and more.

Flinging the curtain aside with a dramatic flair, keeping it held out of the way, Leon beamed proudly. “All done!” he chimed.

Raph took a moment to fully register what Leon was showing him, but then twitched into a half sit up with a small gasp. “Ohmigosh, Raph’s okay!” Raph hushed, sitting up fully and awkwardly jerking his still numb leg towards himself. “I hardly noticed. That’s amazing Leo!”

The movement roused April fully out of her dose, and she quickly oriented herself with a glance around before focusing on the bandages as well. “Woah! Heeeyy lookit that big guy!” April added to the cheers, wrapping her arms around Raph’s bicep and shaking him a little.

“Heheee,” Leon chuckled, rubbing his nose and basking in the praise. “Just be careful still. You still shouldn’t walk on it, so we’ll have to find some crutches for you. How are you feeling?”

“...Mostly just hungry now,” Raph admitted, giving a sheepish smile. His leg didn’t hurt, he couldn’t even feel it. And the medicine and IV fluids helped the fever and rest of his aches. Now he just needed to fill his empty stomach. And probably get some sleep. “And sleepy,” he added, ending up causing himself to yawn after voicing the feeling.

“That’s good. We’ll see about getting you to a bed, and get some food for you,” Leon chuckled, ignoring his own stomach protesting its gaping emptiness.

“Allow me to be of assistance with that.”

The new voice caused the three newest visitors to whip their heads towards the entrance of the infirmary where Leatherhead and Mikey were entering with trays full of food in various dishes. Leatherhead had been the one to speak, and definitely caught the teens’ attention.

“WOAH!” April blurted.

“Ohmigosh you’re STILL SO COOL!” Leon gushed, being kept in place only by politeness and his irritated knee. He remembered Leatherhead from when he first got there, but he hadn’t been able to appropriately address him then.

“Ohhhhh…. You’re bigger than Raph is,” Raph noted, a coo very similar to Lil Mikey’s leaving his mouth as his eyes also shined with awe.

Leatherhead could only chuckle in mildly confused embarrassment, not used to people being drawn to him favorably in any manner. Normally people were either scared of him, or aggressive towards him. It was a lovely change, even if he wasn’t sure how to handle it.

“Sounds like we have perfect timing. Who’s ready for… well I guess it’s breakfast now, huh?” Mikey chimed in, laughing at the kids’ antics towards their friend. They must not be used to seeing a crocodile mutant. “I was starting to get worried all my work was gonna go to waste. I had to warm it back up,” Mikey chuckled, pausing at an unmarked distance away from the surgery area. He’d been scolded too many times by Don for bringing food where surgery was done.

“You wanna get the kid this time, Leatherhead? I can take the food,” Raphael offered, getting to his feet to take the tray. He could easily lift Raph, but he still understood it would probably be more comfortable for him if someone the same size or bigger than him picked him up.

“It would be my pleasure,” Leatherhead agreed, letting Raphael take the tray before approaching the others and kneeling in front of them. “My apologies for not introducing myself sooner. Normally I assist Donatello with surgery, but as the role was already sufficiently fulfilled I didn’t want to crowd. My name is Leatherhead. Am I correct in assuming you two are also known as Raphael and Leonardo?”

“Pff- yeah, but, Leo is fine,” Leon huffed with a smile, mildly uncomfortable with the use of his full name. “Or Nardo as Donnie likes to say. Leon. Face man. Anything but my full name. I feel like I’m in trouble.”

The response ended up earning a snicker from Raphael, giving Leo a nudge as he brought up the rear with another tray of food. “There’s a welcome change,” he teased, earning a slight glare from Leo.

“Wait- did I hear that right? Face man?” Mikey asked, excitement bubbling under the surface.

“Well yeah. Who else would you put in the front but the one with the best looks,” Leon confirmed, framing his face with his hands and raising his chin with a dashing smile.

The flaunting earned snickers from April, and a fond smile from Raph. But Raphael let out a loud honk laugh as Leo’s expression scrunched in disoriented confusion. “Oh my gosh, it’s like Leo and I got spliced!” Mikey laughed, beaming from ear to ear. “I like this Leo. I like him a lot.”

As the others messed around a little, Leatherhead looked back to April to finish introductions before he moved Raph. “May I ask your name, little miss?”

Giving a chuckle at how polite Leatherhead was, April nodded, reaching her hand out for a handshake. “Sure. April O’Neil. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Leatherhead.”

The response was mildly surprising, and Leatherhead chuckled as he gently took her hand. “The pleasure is all mine, Miss O’Neil.”

“You’re remarkably well adjusted to… all of this,” Leo admitted, rolling his head at everything since his hands were full.

“Well yeah, it’s pretty much normal for me,” April answered. “I’ve known these guys since I was eight, we grew up together. And things just kept getting crazier and crazier as we got older. Dimension hopping is probably up there with finding out we had a whole hidden city under New York. It’s just another place to go.” She gave a shrug, scooting out of the way as Leatherhead scooped Raph up after getting permission to do so from him while she had been talking to Leo.

“Oh… I see,” Leo blinked, having so many answers to unasked questions in his head given. That explained a lot about all of their behavior. “Do they… walk around on the surface then? Among people?”

“Uhhh no… Not really. We still stick to non populated areas just in case. But if we do get caught we just pretend we’re going to a science convention and they’re all dressed up in cosplay,” April explained, trying to converse with Leo but inevitably getting distracted again. “Hang on, I gotta get pics of this too,” she excused, digging her phone out of her dress pocket and scooting off the table.

Unlike the last time he’d been picked up Raph had no fear of squishing the one carrying him, and therefore was much less tense. Leatherhead had scooped him up under his knees and back, and Raph could only tuck his hands close to his chest as a big smile squished his cheeks. It was a foreign feeling, but it was actually kind of nice. Just being slung around so gently. Moving somewhere without having to go there himself. It was bringing back faint memories of Splinter carrying him to bed a very long time ago, and he felt he could understand now why his little brothers loved to climb on him so much.

“Gosh, picked up twice in one day. You’re gonna get spoiled here Raph,” Leon laughed, squeezing in next to Raph to beam a smile at the camera as April took a picture of them. Looking down at the short she got, April had to coo a little at the adorable smile and tiny wave Raph had given her. He really was enjoying himself. “You can put him with Mikey,” Leon directed, guiding Leatherhead over to where Lil Mikey was drooling on the pillow.

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I rushed a lil on the last bits of the pic so I could get it up today X'D So excuse if there are missing details |D

This was my first time drawing a crocodile face, and Leatherhead ended up looking like a nice grandpa to me X'DD oh well, I wanted him to look softer.

[fa14-eb23]

Da sottolineare il fatto che l'assist è di CDK 😌🖤💙

[vanityangel]

CHOCOPRO CHRISTMAS CHAOS 🍫🎄💥

ChocoProLIVE! Episode #279

[dynamitekansai]

[bruisedfruitisstilljuicy]

CDK - Somebody That I Used To Know by Gotye

I am OBSESSED with this video — I just don't know if I'm more enamoured of the choreography or the costuming in it... it's all just so damn gloriously & insanely delicious!!! 🥰🤩😊