#Dragon Turtle with Splatters

[jptattooart]

Dragon Turtle with Splatters . . . #dragonturtle #dragonturtletattoo #dragontattoo #turtletattoo #splashtattoo #splattertattoo #instattoo #instatattoo #asianinkandart #tattoodaily #tattooist #hktattoo #tattoohk #hongkongtattoo #龍 #龍龜 #刺青 #紋身 #タトゥー ##용타투

[fluffypandabun]

WAAH TY PANDA! Hmm… I’ll try to be as specific as I can but still try to give you some creative freedom! If you have the time what about a lil something with my Laviana and Casey perhaps? (Lavi is my rottmnt turtle sona!) Maybe with 20, 15, or 95 for the lil 100 t-word prompt thingy? Here’s also some Headcanons for her or other things I’ve had her in that could hopefully help give you a feel of her personality! Thank you so much for your time and I hope you have a wonderful day/night! https://www.tumblr.com/pocky-dragon/739377412252565504/winter-squeals?source=share https://www.tumblr.com/pocky-dragon/746067876588470272/laviana-headcanons?source=share

AHHH UR SO WELCOME! I really enjoyed writing for her shes such an adorable sweetheart, I really hope I did her character justice and I also hope you enjoy!!!!

Lavi hummed softly to herself as she brushed past the colorful curtains that acted as a makeshift door to her room in the subway car. The fabrics colorful and all hand stitched together, splattered with paint and embroiderer with stars and other constellations. It was a bright pop of color in contrast the otherwise more metallic blue hues of the lair.

The sea turtle had spent the otherwise chilly afternoon curled up nice and warm under her blankets, re watching her favorite movies for the hundredth time and doodling in her little sketchbook. However, an empty bowl of popcorn had sent her crawling out of her warm cocoon and into the slightly more chilly lair.

Bowl in hand she had her sights set on the kitchen, when something, or more so, someone, caught her eye. Casey, dressed in a hoodie much too large on him (One of Leos no doubt) and wrapped up in a colorful patchwork quilt(Which Lavi was fairly certain was hers but it was Casey so she could share), sat with his back to her on the couch. The TV was off so he clearly wasn't watching it, and he was hunched over at a slightly awkward angle.

She frowned a bit in concern, popcorn bowl abandoned on a nearby table as she made her way over to the slightly younger teen.

"Casey?" She called, meaning to reach out and touch a hand to his shoulder, only to jump back with a yelp as Casey let out a startled squeak of his own.

"Lavi!" He breathed in relief, shoulder immediately relaxing when he quickly turned and saw it was just the sea turtle. "You scared me!"

"Sorry!" Lavi couldn't help but let a slight giggle slip into her words "Ninja instincts I guess?"

She let her amusement fade into something more curious; leaning forward a bit to try and peer over his shoulder.

"What were you doing?"

"Hm? Oh!" The human teen angled his body so the turtle could see the book he held clutched in his hands. "I was just reading this book Raph recommended me."

"Ooooh!" Lavi Chirped, interest further piqued, she braced both her hands on the back of the couch, lifting herself a bit upwards so she could lean further forward.

"Whats it about?"

Casey gave a bit of a smile at the turtles antics and turned his body back so he could resume his previous position with the book held in his lap.

"Its about this little witch girl, shes trying to find her magical calling, its like a coming of age sort of thing."

Lavi let out a hum to let Casey know she was still listening, for a moment the two of them stayed in silence. Lavis movie and bowl of popcorn momentarily forgotten for the sake of spending time with Casey.

After a second however, Lavis arms started to get a bit tired from holding herself up over the back of the couch so she shifted forward a bit to get more comfortable, as she did however, the tail ends of her mask moved forward and brushed gently over the shell of Casey's ear.

The teen let out a loud squeak, shoulders immediately hunching up to his ears as Lavi froze. They sat in silence for just a split second before a little grin started to pull at the corners of the turtles mouth, her little tail starting to wag behind her.

"Casey? What was that?" She asked, laughter in her voice as her eyes sparkled. The human let out a low groan as he brought the book up to cover his face.

"Nuthin..."He grumbled, voice muffled by the book.

"Nuh-Uh!" She giggled, swooping forward so that her masks tassels brushed against his ears again drawing out another squeak and the beginning a bright red flush starting to creep up the back of his neck.

"That totally was something!"

"Lahehvi!" Casey huffed, trying to scooch himself forward and away from the turtle. "Cuhut it out!"

Lavis smile couldn't get any wider as she laid her upper body over the back of the couch in order to free up her hands, wiggiling her fingers carefully in between Casey's shoulders in order to reach his ears, drawing out a new kind of laughter from him; one that was more squeaky and high pitched then his usual laugh.

Lavis eyes were practically sparkling, she let out a squeal of pure delight.

"Casey! You have ticklish ears!? That's so cute!"

Casey hiccuped softly, book abandoned on his lap as he reached up with a hand to try and gently batter Lavis fingers away.

"Ehehe! L-Lavi! Stohohohp! Its not funhehehey!"

The turtle giggled, sneaking her fingers under Casey's chin making him outright squeal.

"If its not funny then why are you laughing silly?"

After one last bout of giggles Casey finally managed to gain enough control that he was able to duck and roll himself onto the far side of the couch and away from the mischievous sea turtle. He lay there red faced for a moment, trying to rid out the residual giggles still caught in his throat.

Still hanging over the back of the couch, Lavi looked absolutely delighted; giggling to herself as she flapped her hands in front her her.

"Awwww! Ive never heard you laugh like that before Case! That was adorable!"

Face still flushed red; Casey sat up with a grumble, crossing his arms over his chest.

"M'Not adorable." He huffed, trying to put on a stern face just like his Sensei taught him, but the effect was dampened by his messy hair and still flushed face. It only served to make Lavi giggle.

"Yes you are!" She chirped, giggling again when Casey just chose to scowl at her in response. She met his scowl with a smile of her own, holding up her hands and making her fingers into claws.

"Aww come on Casey, where did they smile go?" She teased, smile widening when she immediately saw the way Casey had to fight to keep a smile off his face.

She let out a sudden gasp, "There! I think I saw one! It was righttttt here!"

She lunged forward suddenly, poking rabidly all over Casey stomach, causing the teen to yelp and fall back into squeaky laughter.

"Lahehevi!"

Said turtle grinned, "Yesssss?"

The human didn't give her any more of a response, falling back onto the couch and attempting to curl up onto his side to try and shield his stomach from the turtles barrage of pokes. This of course only served to backfire as she simply just switch to poking up and down his side.

"Boop! Boop Boop Boop! I think I find your giggle button Casey!"

Casey, much to his own embarrassment and Lavis delight, let out a snort, Lavi snickered.

"Woops! Guess that was your snort button instead!"

"VehehEHEHE! Pleasehehehese!"

The turtle giggled, finally pulling her hands away.

"Okay! Okay, I'm done I promise!"

She stayed with her elbows propped up on the back of the couch, sitting back and watching as the human rolled back over onto his back, covering his face with his arms as he hiccuped with leftover giggles.

Lavi smile softened a bit, it was always nice to see Casey let lose and act like an actual kid. She knew he had, and was still having, a hard time adjusting to everything. And she was glad that she could help even just a little with that, even if she wasn't the same Lavi he has known in the past...or well...future in her case.

After a second, the teen let out a low groan, the skin peaking out from where he was hidden within his arms flushed a dark red. Lavi reached out and gently poked his elbow.

"Are you still alive in there Casey?"

Casey pulled away the arm covering his face to fix her with a mock glare; "I would start running if I were you."

Lavi let out a little amused scoff, "I'm not scared of you."

Casey rose a brow, "Oh yeah?" He grinned, before suddenly he lunged forward and snagged Lavi around the wrist, dragging her over the back of the couch and onto his chest with a yelp of surprise.

With a triumphant laugh Casey immediately wrapped his arms around the turtle in a sort of hug, his fingers hooking onto the sides of her shell and wiggling gently. Immediately the older turtle was thrown into a fit of chirping giggles, her legs kicking out wildly behind her as she flailed.

"N-Nohohohoho! Cashehehehey!"

"You brought this upon yourself!' Casey laughed, thankful for his training which allowed him the strength to keep the squirming turtle trapped in the tickly hug.

She let out a loud squeal when his fingers traveled up to wiggle into the hallows of her underarms, fighting between the urge to scrim away form the tickly sensations and wanting to melt into the nice warm hug.

"Pleasehehehse! MERCHEHEHEHY!"

Casey grinned downright evilly, channeling his inner Leonardo; "Mercy? I don't know the meaning of the word!"

"Oh? Is that so~?"

Ah, speak of the devil and he shall appear-

Both parties froze at the sudden drawl of a new voice, looking up, both having to crane their necks to see, and spotting Leo leaning over them both, arms held behind his back. His beak quirked up in a smirk.

"Leheheo!" Lavi giggled, breathless from laughter and for once looking relieved to see her little shit of a younger brother. "Hehehelp!"

Casey however looked far less relieved, lips quirking up in a nervous grin, any confidence he had previously seemingly having vanished without a trace at the sight of the other blue masked turtle.

"Oh, heh, heeeey Leonardo."

The turtles grin widened even further. "Wooow Case, bullying my sister are you? In her own home? For shame, I really thought you were better then that."

"I-" Casey sputtered. "She...She started it!"

"Ohhh and now your blaming her?" He cracked his knuckles dramatically. "Don't worry Vee, your amazing brother Leo is here to avenge you."

"WaIT-" Casey managed to squeak out, trying to squirm out from under Lavi who, grinning like the cat that got the canary, was now using her weight to keep him trapped there.

"Leo, Leo dont-Lavi, Lavi call him off-Leo LEO-!"

Lavis popcorn bowl would be left forgotten on the table for just a little while longer it seemed.

[ryqoshay]

Tri-Arame: Purple and White

Primary Pairing Trio: RyqoYozaLacey YuuAyuSetsu Words: 569 Rating: T AU: TTRPG style world Time Frame: Sometime during the trio's college years Prompt: Purple Content Warning: Depictions of battle

---------

Author's Note: Primary entry for the 26th

Summary: Ryqoshay, Yozakura and Lacey fight a dragon turtle

---------

Yozakura yanked on her sickle, trying desperately to affect the balance of the dragon turtle. Her fighting style was unfortunately weak against quadrupeds. But that wasn’t going to stop her from participating in the fight. If nothing else, she could at least provide enough distraction to keep the beast’s attention away from her charge, best friend and guild leader, Ryqoshay.

A couple yards away, it seemed Lacey was having better luck with her greatsword. With a resounding crack, the fighter managed to finally hack her way through the dragon’s tough shell.

“Woo!” Lacey cheered as a sizable chunk of shell chipped off.

The turtle dragon roared and tried to turn toward its attacker.

“Not so fast!” Ryqoshay shouted.

I thought she was out of arrows. Yozakura thought to herself. She turned to watch the diminutive archer wave something that was definitely not her bow. Wait, no!

A brilliant flash, a loud snap, and lightning struck the dragon.

Oh thank the gods she got a good effect…

“That was awesome!” Lacey cried, taking another swipe with her sword.

Don’t encourage her…

Ryqoshay waved the Rod of Wonder again. However, instead of more lightning, a stream of multi-colored stream of sparkles splattered across the turtle.

And the creature became purple.

Ryqoshay burst out laughing. Lacey cheered. And Yozakua sighed.

At least it was ultimately a neutral effect. But it didn’t help defeat the still dangerous foe.

Yozakura yanked again on her sickle, trying to upset the balance of the dragon turtle.

---------

“Ne, Shizuku-san.” Setsuna bounced with excitement. “Can I cut some scales off the dragon to keep?”

“I didn’t know Lacey was the trophy taking type.” The Dungeon Master said.

“Her big sister was, so why not do the same.”

“Alright.”

“Also, they’re not actually for her.”

“Oh?”

“I would like to use them to make a necklace for Ryqoshay-san.”

“I’ll help with that.” Ayumu spoke up. “Uhm, is there anything white on the turtle that Yozakura can take?”

“Well, the effect description says the target turns purple.” Shizuku checked the entry in the book. “But I suppose I can say that its teeth stayed white. You could take a few of them.”

“I’ll do that then.”

Yuu laughed. “Thank you guys for the consideration. Ryqo-chan really has the best girlfriends with unwavering love and loyalty and spoiling her and such.” She smirked. “Kinda like me. Still, I wonder if she’s the type to wear such things…”

“I think Yuu-chan would wear a necklace if Setsuna-chan and I were to give her one.” Ayumu pointed out.

“Yeah, probably.” Yuu shrugged. “I mean I did start wearing my hair with twintails, and dying it because of Ayumu. So yeah, Ryqo-chan will accept the gift.”

“Although you three still have to defeat the dragon before you can take trophies from it.” Shizuku reminded.

“Then I’m gonna use the rod again.” Yuu said, shaking a pair of d10s.

“Ooo… I hope you get the fireball.” Setsuna said.

Yuu laughed again. “Of course Setsuna-chan wants a fire spell.”

“It’s a classic!” Setsuna insisted.

Ayumu smiled as she watched the events of Yuu’s actions play out. She loved watching her girlfriends enjoy the game, even if it meant that her character had to deal with a few odd things. Just seeing everyone having fun made it worth it. And she knew Yozakura felt the same way in game, even if she had trouble saying so.

---------

Author's Note Continued: Stole a scene from an old D&D game I played and swapped in the characters YuuAyuSetsu are playing.

I haven't written much about Setsuna's character, as she was originally the DM and didn't want to play one for fear of favoritism. But this game is DM'ed by Shizuku, so she is more comfortable playing. Also, Lacey Rayshun is a newer addition to my Roughnecks roster, so I'm still figuring her out. For both of these reasons, I would like to write more of her, and Setsuna playing her.

And continuing my self challenge, Unwavering was the prompt from '21 and Classical was from '22.

[nonsensetee]

How NonsenseTee Transforms Iconic Goku Symbols into Unique Designs

The legendary anime character Son Goku from Dragon Ball needs no introduction. His iconic emblems, from the Kame Kanji to the Turtle Hermit symbol, have become synonymous with power, resilience, and a drive to surpass limits. At NonsenseTee, these timeless symbols take on a fresh new life through creative reinterpretations.

This blog explores how NonsenseTee infuses its unique vision into Goku-inspired designs, creating T-shirts that resonate with anime enthusiasts and fashion lovers alike.

The Iconic Goku Symbols and Their Cultural Impact

1. The Turtle Hermit Kanji (亀)

The Kame symbol, representing "turtle," is Goku’s first emblem during his training with Master Roshi. It's more than just a mark—it's a badge of perseverance and mastery.

2. The King Kai Symbol (界)

Later, Goku dons King Kai's emblem, representing his mastery over spiritual and martial disciplines. This symbol resonates with fans as a mark of advanced training and cosmic growth.

3. The Go Kanji (悟)

The Go symbol, translating to "wisdom" or "enlightenment," encapsulates Goku’s character evolution. It’s a fan-favorite emblem of Goku's mature, unstoppable spirit.

These symbols are more than just visual identifiers; they are cultural icons representing the ethos of the Dragon Ball universe.

NonsenseTee’s Creative Take

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Gone are the days when anime apparel was confined to conventions. NonsenseTee’s chic designs make Goku T-shirts versatile enough for casual outings, gym sessions, or even as statement pieces at parties.

3. Tailored for Fans, Made for All

Whether you're a hardcore Dragon Ball fan or someone new to anime, the designs are universally appealing. Each piece reflects Goku’s enduring message of hope, courage, and endless potential.

From Sketch to Shirt: The Design Process

NonsenseTee’s journey of creating Goku-inspired T-shirts is nothing short of artistic.

Conceptualization The process starts with brainstorming sessions where designers study the original symbols. They discuss ways to reinterpret them without losing their essence.

Sketching and Prototyping Designers draft multiple versions, experimenting with colors, patterns, and placements. They also explore how the symbols interact with other graphic elements like Goku’s silhouette or power auras.

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When you buy a Goku T-shirt online from NonsenseTee, you're not just purchasing apparel—you're investing in a piece of anime artistry.

1. User-Friendly Shopping

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NonsenseTee isn’t just a brand; it’s a community. By sporting their T-shirts, you join a global network of Dragon Ball fans celebrating Goku’s legacy.

Top Picks from NonsenseTee’s Goku Collection

1. Kame Kanji Neon Glow

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3. Minimalist King Kai

For fans of subtlety, this shirt features the Kai symbol in a sleek, minimal design. Perfect for a low-key yet impactful look.

4. Comic-Style Mashup

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Conclusion

NonsenseTee stands out as a brand that doesn’t just create merchandise but curates meaningful designs that tell stories. By reimagining Goku’s symbols with creativity and respect, they offer fans a chance to celebrate their favorite character in style.

Whether you’re a lifelong Dragon Ball enthusiast or someone who appreciates unique, artistic apparel, NonsenseTee’s collection has something for everyone. Don’t miss out—embrace your inner Saiyan and transform your wardrobe today!

[herosone111]

FC(NES)感觉值得玩的游戏，因为我是做游戏的，所以这个榜单是根据“游戏类型”分类的，所以一个类型的游戏一旦出现一个，其他可能就不会出现，所以假如出现“迷糊蛋”就不会出现“银河战士”。或者后面有MOD画质增强版就不收录了。

❶Super Contra(超级魂斗罗)

❷热血时代剧(ダウンタウンスペシャル くにおくんの时代剧だよ全员集合)

❸赤色要塞(Jackal)

❹忍者神龟3(TurtlesⅢ；日版是忍者神龟2)

❺帝国战机(Crisis Force)

❻Summer Carnival '92(烈火92)

❼Bram Stoker's Dracula(德拉克拉伯爵)

❽小美人鱼(The Little Mermaid)

❾脱狱(Prisoners Of War、P.O.W)

❿龙珠Z外传-赛亚人灭绝计划(ドラゴンボールZ外伝 サイヤ人絶滅計画)

⓫孤独战士-惑星戒严令(Isolated Warrior、Max Warrior)

⓬怪鸭历险记(Dark Wing Duck)

⓭西游记世界Ⅱ天上界的魔神(西遊記ワールド2天上界の魔神、Whomp 'Em)

⓮打砖块(Arkanoid)

⓯Jurassic Park(侏罗纪公园；英文，很难)

⓰雪人兄弟(Snow Bros)

⓱敲冰块(Ice Climber)

⓲松鼠大作战(Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers；有一代二代)

⓳气球大战(Boalloon Fight)

⓴Snake Rattle 'n Roll(双蛇城)

㉑航空小英雄(Tale Spin)

㉒忍者神龟2(TurtlesⅡ)

㉓三目童子(三つ目がとおる)

㉔Solomon's Key(所罗门之钥)

㉕七宝奇谋(The Goonies)

㉖迷糊蛋(へべれけ、HEBEREKE、Ufouria:The Saga)

——

画质好的任天堂卡带和MOD，其实这里开始就不按游戏好玩程度了，而是按卡带和游戏技术排列，也就是没有排列。

㉗Cosmic Epsilon(宇宙战机)

㉘Hard Drivin'(超级赛车)

㉙Bill Elliott's NASCAR Challenge(比尔艾略特之云斯顿赛车锦标赛)

㉚RESCUE-The Embassy Mission(救援-大使馆任务)

㉛無賴戦士(Burai Fighter)

㉜口袋里的魔鬼(Monster In My Pocket)

热血系列，很多汉化版，游戏太多无法一一介绍。

㉝邦夫君的热血足球联赛(くにおくんの热血サッカーリーグ；热血足球3其实是2，热血足球2其实是1代的国际版)

㉞热血格斗传说(熱血格鬥伝說)

㉟热血新纪录(びっくり热血新记录 -はるかなる金メダル、Crash'n The Boys Street Challenge)

㊱8 Bit Music Power(8Bit音乐力量)

㊲奥瓦的觉醒(Alwa's Awakening)

㊳Splatter House(腐尸之屋)

㊴魂斗罗力量(Contra Force)

㊵恶魔城传说(Castlevania III - Dracula's Curse)

㊶Solomon's Key Fire 'n Ice(所罗门之钥火与冰)

㊷魂斗罗(Contra)

㊸大金刚JR(Donkey Kong JR)

㊹忍者茶茶丸(忍者じゃじゃ丸くん、Ninja Jajamaru Kun)

㊺猫捉老鼠(Mappy)

㊻超越地平线(Over Horizon)

㊼突袭班戈灵湾(Raid on Bungeling Bay)

㊽Fire Hawk(火鹰)

㊾碰碰车(City Connection)

㊿双截龙(Double Dragon；有一代二代三代)

51 Cabal(勇士们)

52 Bee52(小蜜蜂52)

53 Commando(戰場の狼、战场之狼)

54 Kickle Cubicle(迷宫岛；推冰块)

55 Super Mario USA(超级马里奥USA、梦工场ドキドキパニック、Yumekojo DokiDoki Panic)

56 Super Mario Bros3(超级马里奥兄弟3)

57 月宫桌球(Lunar Pool)

58 天使之翼2(キャプテン翼Ⅱ Super Striker)

59 冒险岛(高桥名人の冒險岛；有一二三四代，有的有汉化版)

60 アルマジロ(Armadillo、仙人掌)

61 Startropics(热带之星；游戏内信件密码747，有一二代)

62 Metal Slader Glory(メタルスレイダーグローリー)

63 火炮(GUN-DEC、Vice: Project Doom)

64 重力装甲(Metal Storm、重力装甲メタルストーム)

65 Bat Man-Return Of The Joker(蝙蝠侠2)

66 剑王(Sword Master)

67 圣铃传说(聖鈴伝説Lickle、Little Samson；密码5555)

68 Power Blade2(Captain Saver)

69 忍者蛙(Battle Toads)

70 蝙蝠侠(Bat Man)

71 Dragon Fighter(龙战士)

72 Zanac(银河号)

73 加纳战机(GUN-NAC；在片头长按AB键进入作弊模式)

74 Q版沙罗曼蛇(Parodius)

75 鳄鱼先生(The Adventures Of Bayou Billy)

76 赤影战士(KAGE、Shadow Of The Ninja)

77 忍者猫(キャッ党忍伝てやんでえ、Samurai Pizza Cats)

78 炸弹人(Bomber Man)

79 B-Wings(B计划)

80 Mappy Kids(少年快乐鼠)

81 The Lone Ranger(独行侠、长枪手传奇)

82 Felix The Cat(菲力克斯猫)

83 双翼人(Legendary Wings)

84 特救指令(Shatter Hand)

85 马里奥拆屋工(Wrecking Crew)

86 Rampage(大猩猩拆楼、怪兽拆楼)

87 SD快打旋风(Sd Final Fighter、Mighty Final Fight)

88 星之卡比梦之泉的物语(星のカービィ_夢の泉の物語、Kirby)

89 Chack'n Pop(拯救爱心、流行恰克)

90 ELITE(精英、银河侵略者)

91 彩虹岛(Rainbow Islands)

92 泡泡龙(Bubble Bobble；有一二代)

93 Double Dribble(二次运球、篮球)

94 迷宫组曲(Milon"s Secret Castle)

95 杀戮战场(Combat)

96 超级中国人2龙之子(Super Chinese 2: Dragon Kid、Little Ninja Brothers)

97 弹珠台(Pin Ball)

98 Batman Returns(蝙蝠侠3)

99 Thundercade(雷电节奏、摩托车特殊部队)

100 影子传说(影の伝説)

101 Flappy(顽皮精灵、フラッピー)

102 Paper Boy(送报童；有一代二代)

103 ココロン(Cocoron、魔法世界)

104 唐老鸭历险记(Duck Tales、わんぱくダック夢冒険；有一二代)

105 超惑星战记(超惑星戦記メタファイト、Blaster Master)

106 踢王(Kick Master)

107 龍牙(Ninja Crusaders、龙牙)

108 激龟快打(Turtles Tournament Fighters)

109 上尉密令(Captain America and The Avengers)

110 红巾特攻队(Sky Destroyer)

111 梦之勇士(Little Nemo - The Dream Master)

112 Rock man(洛克人、Mega Man；有1到6代)

113 Exerion(火凤凰、凤凰战机)

114 Silk Worm(中东战争、联合大作战)

115 前线大作战(Front Line)

116 CLU CLU LAND(金鱼、克鲁克鲁世界)

117 魔法门之英雄无敌(Heroes Of Might & Magic)

118 嘉蒂外传(The Guardian Legend、ガーディック外伝)

119 绘描衛門(描绘卫门)

120 Super Spy Hunter(超级间谍猎人)

121 Devil World(恶魔世界)

122 重装机兵(Metal Max)

123 阿尔戈斯战士(Argos No Senshi、阿格斯战士、未来战士)

124 忍者龙剑传(有123代，很难)

125 希特勒复活(トップシークレット ヒットラーの復活、Hitler no Fukkatsu: Top Secret、Bionic Commando、生化尖兵、希魔复活)

126 魔道士阴谋(リトルマジック、Little Magic)

127 龙珠英雄(半熟英雄)

128 天神之剑(God Slayer - Haruka Tenkuu no、Crystalis)

129 WILLOW(威洛之旅、风云际会)

130 Daiva(DAIVA Story 6: Nirsartia no Gyokuz、超人迪瓦)

131 Shadow Gate(暗影之门)

132 Joy Mech Fight(快乐机器人)

133 ミッキーマウスIII 夢ふうせん(米老鼠3梦幻气球、Mickey Mouse III - Yume Fuusen、Kid Klown in Night Mayor World)

134 外星战将(Bucky O'Hare、バッキー オヘア、宇宙野兔）

135 G.I. Joe - A Real American Hero - The Atlantis Factor(特种部队2亚特兰蒂斯行动)

136 特种部队-一个真正的美国英雄(G.I.JOE - A Real American Hero)

137 Puzznic(连锁方块)

138 成龙之龙(ジャッキーチェン、Jackie Chan's Action Kung Fu)

139 Wizards&Warriors(巫师与武士、巫师与战士；有多代作品)

140 Gimmick!(吉米克)

141 Star Soldier(星际战士)

142 双鹰-乔兄弟的复仇(Twin Eagle-Revenge Joe's Brother)

143 The Flintstones(摩登原始人；有一二代)

144 六三四の剑(六三四之剑、Musashi no Ken-Tadaima Shugyou)

145 AbadoX:The Deadly Inner War(阿贝道X)

146 Terra Cresta(神鹰一号)

147 The Immortal(不死传说)

148 えりかとさとるの夢冒険(Erika To Satoru No Yume Bouken、绘里香与悟的梦冒险、少年梦冒险)

149 Ikari Warriors II - Victory Road(怒2-胜利之路)

150 西武ロードリスト蘭のチップチューン地獄(Seibu Roadlist Ran no Chiptune Jigoku、Seibu Roadlist Ran's Chiptune Hell、Run's Chiptune Hell、Chiptune Hell、西武大道_清单兰花之芯片音乐地狱、西武路单兰奇普顿地狱、西武路清单兰花芯片地狱；日文。有体验版(Trial版)但未找到正式版ROM，出品公司ProgressiveGames)

151 Iron Tank:The Invasion Of Normandy(Great Tank、铁坦克:入侵诺曼底、铁胆坦克)

152 Nespeccy(演示DEMO，用点的改变做出方格旋转)

153 Tokumaru Raycaster01(演示DEMO，可控制，德军总部)

154 Heoh Demo(演示DEMO，做假旋转场景）

155 High Hopes By Aspekt(演示DEMO，多种效果，模拟器未必支持）

156 AxelayNesMusic(256ko)(演示DEMO，假地平线扭曲)

157 BladeBuster(刀锋战机)

158 Race America(上下分屏双人赛车)

159 Bio Force Ape(生化猿人、生物力量猿人)

其实还有橄榄球之类但是不知道怎么玩，很多没有排列了。

——

MOD(改版)或玩家自制，这些是个人独立作品，不是系列，所以会收录。

Celeste Mario(蔚蓝马里奥)

RockMan 4 Voyage(4代之前没充分使用FC机能所以123代claw和2Bm和7Ep都不收录)

RockMan 4 Miuns Infinity

RockManCX_ワィソー課長の挑戰

RockMan 4 Burst Chaser X Air Sliding

阿拉丁

Blazing Blocks(炽热方块)

東方老桜夢

1944(1943的改版)

烟山坦克(有多个版本，福州烟台山16中学傅瓒制作)

导弹坦克(福州烟台山16中学陈天明制作)

Salamander_Arrangement Chronicle(沙罗曼蛇高画质版；是日版，日版有三个子机，美版只有两个)

Gradius_Arrangement Chronicle(宇宙巡航机高画质版；有一代&二代)

魂斗罗2019空神贺岁版

Prisoners Of War-2Players(脱狱双人版)

BöBL

Jewelry(魔法宝石、宝石方块；有一二代)

blockage-0.3.2(球与方块与洞)

NESertGolfing(dgolf、瞬间高尔夫)

Gruniozerca2_NesDevComp(搭桥狗)

thwaite(高射炮挡陨石)

SolarWars2001(太阳系战争2001；类百战天虫)

◇〓坦克大战过关版4.0_Zeng Ge Hack 2012.12.24

〓Binary City(坦克大战双子星_2009_Shederv.Org.Ru)

Rockman 6 Unique Harassment(洛克人6稀世侵袭)

Over The Moon(月亮之上、非常高兴；银河战士改版)

〓Balloon Fight-4Players(气球大战四人版)

◆重装机兵_最终明奇

〓Super Mario Bros-2Players(超级玛丽奥兄弟双人版)

Bad Apple(演示视频，作者未知)

〓BattleToads-DoubleDragon4Players(忍者蛙与双截龙四人版)

〓Battle City 4Players(坦克大战四人版)

〓Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers 2-4Players(松鼠大作战2四人版)

◆生化危机(精卫填海、Bio Hazard；从Game Boy移植并修改剧情为1代)

Gemini Wing(捉虫敢死队；盗版商台湾人从街机移植，Rom已遗失，特色是拿到的炸弹都拖在机尾，还可以互相飞过自己或敌人机尾截获对方拖着的炸弹，FC版没大威力炸弹还只能带三个炸弹，不好也不可玩)

〓Street Fighter Zero 2(StreetFighterZero97 2、少年街霸2；)

〓Sterrt Fighter Ⅲ(街头霸王3、九人街霸)

◇快打旋风3(Mighty Final Fight 3)

Street Fighter2010(街头战士2010阿木一坑改版)

天王降魔传(国产抄袭变身忍者的游戏，→→A冲刺，↓→A发波，AB必杀，近身AB变敌人)

Sonice(索尼克、超音鼠)

Hell Fighter(地狱战士)

〓JupiterScope2(土星分数2)

we_are_hejickle_v3(希腊地牢)

LoveStory(奇爱冒险)

MelanchonyOfExistanceChapter0(方块头探索)

Auge(横版飞机)

JamminHoney(吉他甜心)

ChickenOfTheFarm(田雞、田鸡)

wolfling(狼的逃脱)

robo-ninja-climb(忍者爬墙)

squish(喵喵冲刺)

nebs-n-debs(半空冲刺者；目前还是DEMO)

f-ff_v1(3D赛车)

super-homebrew-war(宅天堂明星大乱战)

InherentSmile(3D假笑迷宫)

Function(编程游戏)

SaveTheKuin_v01(RPG拯救坤坤)

〓Super_Tilt_Bro(测试乱斗)

〓WreckingBalls_alpha1(四人炸弹人)

240pee(电视测试)

sfx(音效测试)

theremin(音效测试)

full_palette(色彩输出测试Demo，发色数极限为(2灰度颜色+12颜色)*4亮度*8强调色)再减去一些重复的颜色大概为410种颜色。

RockMan5YH(洛克人5YH；只是改得有意思)

洛克人3キノコ王国的末日(洛克人3蘑菇王国的末日)

Rockman6 Spirits Of Hackers(洛克人6黑客精神)

Rockman Install Metal(洛克人5安装金属)

Megaman In The Mushroom Kingdom(洛克人在蘑菇王国)

SteinsGate(命运石之门，Steins Gate (U) (IRQ scanline fix)；英文版，修复IRQ问题，让实机游戏中对话框不再随着DPCM鼓点抖动，这是因为DPCM的DMA会占用CPU周期，以及将PPU帧中写入调色盘的操作带来的杂信尽量移动到屏幕边缘)

[mfmsty]

Alcohol files

The coke and mescaline

And I don't smile

It exposes what's left of it

Dragon breath burning

The feel of adrenaline

Talk to toxicity

I still yearn to learn it

Considerable verses

Versed in the animal nature of sex

Grab her by the throat

And inject love through her breasts

Strong as the animal

Half man half warrior

Why be a man who can't console her

Why be a ant when the foot loves soldiers

Why be a turtle when you ran like a coward

Facing the powers

Animal

Injecting the pain

The antidote

Anti social

Anti social

Mind over matter

Never even mattered

Got s brain go splatter

To the halls w/ laughter

Choke in the madness

Stroke in the brilliance

Froze in the palance

Compose what was innocent

Divulge what was imminent

How it glows in the inner mist

Exposed by the indica

Frost bitten Terra world

Or, animals control.

[phykoha]

so what is the premise of the alter ego AU? is it just like the turtles do stuff on their own like a night or whatever? and if so, what do they do?

So it takes place after the movie. And you've pretty much got it on the money right there hdsfhds

I made Donnie (DJ DEE) first. His brothers don't know that DJ DEE is actually Donnie, but ironically they all have alter egos. And none of them know that. He goes around to big clubs in the Hidden City to DJ it up, and he's really good at it- There are a few places that actively seek him out to do music there. Eventually, he gets big enough to play at the Battle Nexus.

Speaking of the Battle Nexus, Leo (Blue Lightening) is a Nexus champion! He sneaks off to fight, and even Big Mama is like "who tf is this kid and how did he get in here?" But lets him fight anyway because he draws in huge crowds. She's the first to figure out that he's Leo. It's really not that hard once she gets close enough to get a good look at him hfdsjfsd

(Fighting helps Leo to get his energy and frustration from the whole Kraang situation out.. :) a pretty bad coping mechanism given how it's the fucking Battle Nexus)

Raph (Nightwatcher) goes out at night to fight crime and protect New York on his own. After what happened with the Kraang, he's too paranoid. He's always stressing and worried that his brothers will get hurt again, despite trusting them to take care of themselves. He saw firsthand how well they can fight, especially when they're working as a team... But he can't help it. So he works as the Nightwatcher to take on the bigger problems on his own.

Mikey (Name pending but he calls himself Dr Splatter for now. The city just calls him M.) is a graffiti artist. He goes out to paint up the town as a way to destress. You'll know if a piece is his, due to the big orange M as his signature. He's actually done a few walls for money too. He's gotten into doing pieces for the Purple Dragons, even. Fun fact: Some of his paint glows, bc he infused his mystic powers into it.

[lieutenantbiscute]

Fun thing about staying up late is that I can literally yell into the void and come daylight my post will be buried under my followers feed!!

SO!!

The Hamato Nephews having to face their first kill as ninjas!! Since this AU is basically Rise mixed with 2012’s darker tones I’d expect it to be a daunting affair to overcome.

Leo knows that the boys will have to face that hurdle some day. The same for Raph and Mona. The Hamato line of ninja work, especially in recent generations, has had to spill blood in order to survive.

So to see the boys come in from one of their same old regular patrols in silence was a tense moment. The way Ralphie’s fists shook as he clenched them, little Mikey and how he clung to Danny. Who answered in kind by how tightly he was gripping the box turtles hand.

And then there was Leon. Who had the red splatter of blood decorating his blue bandana. His face was slack, eyes distant and skin a paler green than usual.

There had been a squabble between them and the Purple Dragons that had gone south fast. It was a regular patrol so mystic weaponry was left at home for the night.

Michael had gotten pinned, a bat prepped to hit his shell square on and Leon had reacted without thinking.

He wasn’t sure if cutting that guys arm off had been wise, but the atmosphere quickly turned as now their enemies has taken to not hold back.

The quartet of brothers had quickly fled the scene, the last Leon saw of the man was him laying on the ground in shock. A blood of blood surrounding him as they ran.

He couldn’t stop scrubbing away at his skin, even after they all had showered. The constant way he wiped his face as if he could still been the blood on it and his hand and arms.

The family spent the night huddled in blankets and pillows in the living rooms pit. Chompy resting soundly snuggled up against Leon as he tried to find some semblance of peace.

In the oddest sense of it all the boys knew that this was an inevitability. Having joked about it all before, but to be faced with it suddenly and reacting out of instinct to protect his brother—

It’s not something one simply can get over over night.

[jptattooart]

Dragon Turtle with Splatters . . . #dragonturtle #dragonturtletattoo #dragontattoo #turtletattoo #splashtattoo #splattertattoo #instattoo #instatattoo #asianinkandart #tattoodaily #tattooist #hktattoo #tattoohk #hongkongtattoo #龍 #龍龜 #刺青 #紋身 #タトゥー ##용타투

[camilieroart]

COLORCODED TMNT AU RANT (with no edits)

Previous post of Colorcoded : Art dump and edited lore of Colorcoded :

I'm having such a brainrot of my own versions of the turtl universe it's awful. Like i wanna draw it but i CAN'T and it's awful Anyway I will info dump here instead Okay so first, the boys have japanese as their first language I always found it weird that Splinter (a japanese dude) raised them in english, when in most versions THEY AREN'T SUPPOSED TO INTERACT WITH THE REST OF THE WORLD So like, japanese as their first language but as soon as they express desire to go out and/or become ninjas (yes because unlike other versions he wouldn't FORCE that on them) he'd teach them english :) Splinter in himself is literally what I told you about some days ago rhzvdbzvdb He has 2 modes : sensei and dad Both the cool parent and the strict one They're all very close and a tight family :)))) INCLUDING SPLINTER

April is canadian and Casey is half-korean because in his 2012 concept art he DIDN'T look like a white boy and i always thought that was neatvrjzvfje No one in the main cast is american

Okay so in the ColorCoded AU (i will call it thatrvjzvfjzb) Splinter was a ninja master that got splattered with mutagene (much like 2012). The turtles were actually the only thing he brought with him from Japan, they're his last attachment with his home and past (they get splattered at the same time) So Splinter decided to raise them as a father would, not a sensei. He did continue training despite his appearance, and Raph was the first one to take interest in his training sessions

Like at that point they're all like 5, and none of his bros really care about it, but Raph always hides and observe their dad and then tried to re-do the movements. Splinter noticed it and suggested training him. Raph is super excited and accepts, his father underlining the fact that's it's not a lifelong commitment unless he wants it to be. He can get out if he wants to.

So Raph's starts training and quickly enough Leo gets jealous. (In this versions they're seen as twins) He asks to his dad if he can train too. Splinter refuses since he wanted to train out og jealousy and competitive spirit. He didn't think it was right to start teaching him this way. Meanwhile Donnie and Mikey are still completely uninterested

So Leo is like ):< and goes mopping in his room until after raph's training session where Splinter goes to see him and talks to him. Then Leo still wants to start training but out of genuine interest of the skill, not because of jealousy. So Splinter accepts :)

There's like at LEAST several months that goes by where Leo and Raph are being trained and the others not. I kinda went this way because of the whole skill difference in 2012 vrjeveje like, they always show raph and leo as more skilled but never really explains WHY

Then the other twos are starting to be kinda interested in what their family is doing, but they still don't want to participate. Splinter let them watch from a safe distance, and if Donnie is content doing just that, mikey finds it super cool and wants to join too but also doesn't want to leave his bro behind. So he doesn't say anything

There's like at least a year or two that goes by and Raph and Leo are still the only ones training. By that point Mikey's interest is like vibrating (#adhd and that's his hyperfixation) and Donnie is still completely uninterested. He'd rather jump headfirst in books, both fictional and theorical

My boy Donnie not JUST being obsessed with science Give him childhood slam table Fantastical books

Dragons ? Impossible. However, really cool in theory Since he CAN'T join his brothers because he felt like that would be unfair to Donnie, Mikey tries to redirect his hyperfixation elsewhere, and starts sketching and painting his brothers training

They all think it's really cool, even if well he's like 7 so it's not like actual MICHELANGELO level, but it's still like more level than regular child art It's not great But it's alright It's not something you'd look at and think "ah yes, a 7 y.o made this" Eventually a 13 y.o Anyway So Donnie is reading and Mikey is painting. Meanwhile, their brothers are getting the handle of the ultimate basics and are getting better ! They still really like it and sometime they use it to settle disagreement between them. Not that Splinter knows, but what he doesn't know can't hurt him So here they all are, at that point.

Splinter is in front of Mikey's newest painting, and he's starting to wonder if his son doesn't actually want to do more than just paint them. So he asks, anf oh surprise, Mikey has very mixed reaction. From an original "YES !" to an immediate "i mean meh" to bursting into tears

O-O uh okay -splinter at that moment probably So he sits with him and asks what's wrong. Mikey explains everything, and Splinter has little time to talk to him that Donnie pushes Mikey's door, looking confused and worried. He says he didn't want his little bro to not do what he want for him. So what if he's not interested. It's cool, mikey can still do it But mikey is like ): but you'll be separated from everyone else it's not fair. So to settle the situation, Splinter suggest they both try it out for a test run. If, like he thinks, Donnie doesn't like it, he doesn't have to stay ! But he'd have tried :) Mikey agrees to this because he also thinks Donnie won't stay BUT ! If he TRIES then it means he could ALSO TRY OUT SOME OF THE COOL NINJA STUFF Then leave with his brother because he doesn't want him to be alone

First session for Donnie and Mikey and as planned, Donnie HATES IT. Like EVERY minute of it. Mikey loves it, but tones it down a lot because of Donnie's mood. The next day, Leo, Raph and Splinter start their session, all absolutely convinced Donnie wouldn't show up for a second try (hence mikey neither) and then OH IS THAT A PURPLE TURTLE

They're all super surprised, (behind Donnie is an overjoyed stimming mikey), and Donnie looks super embarassed, apologizing for his behavior the day before. He explains that he had started getting some severe joints pain from the positions he sat in to read, and couldn't get rid of it. It was messing with his focus to read and he hated it but was too embarassed about it to talk to the family about it

Like imagine showing up to dinner thinking "i'm gonna tell them about my pains ):" and then your brothers shows up bandaged because they trained hard all day Oof not talking now

So he had chronic pains that were severely bothering him, but surprisingly as he woke up that morning they were gone. He had the muscles tiredness due to training but it was way better than his pains. He sat down and read more in one hour than he had been in a day lately. Donnie concluded that some physical activity might do him a lot of good, and what better physical activity than the one that's traditional for his family So naturally splinter is like

He invites them in and that's the story of how each turtles started their paths as ninjas Also as time passed Donnie grew more and more fond to the ninja training, and now although he hates to admit it, he loves being a ninja With his brothers :) Welcome to ColorCoded!turtl universe

Okay so like in Rise, April is their childhood friend. She was adventuring in the sewer and just happened to find them. Casey gets in much like IDW, where they meet because of school, but unlike IDW they're not COLLEGE STUDENTS dvhefvejrvbe Casey was like brand new in town (and in the school), in the middle of the year and he needed to catch up, so they appointed the BEST student of his class to help, and it was April :). At first she was very  (even tho he didn't IMMEDIATLY FLIRT like someone cough 2012caseyimlookingatyou cough) because well Casey, buuuut even if school isn't his main interest, she does realize he's a good person, and they become friends (because they each had none. Casey was new, and April was considered the "nerd" and "teacher suck up". She actually realizes he's a good person because he helps her scare off some bullies)

He doesn't immediatly meets the turtles, and he wasn't doing his vigilante stuff immediatly. His current family life is his overworked dad he barely sees (his dad is trying to make sure they live comfortably and don't realize the precarity of the situation. Casey does realize it) and his little sister, that was homeschooled for now because she mostly speaks Korean and barely any english (which wouldn't help in school)

Yeah ! They're like 15/16 when the story takes place :D all of them

So like Casey mostly tries to find a job to help his dad before even remotely thinking of going roof jumping. He also tries to help his sister but he sucks at it so he calls April for help. His dad doesn't know that Casey is also trying to bring in cash, but when he realizes it, he gets angry, saying Casey shouldn't waste his teenagehood on this kind of thing, and that it was HIS job, as the adult. They argue for a bit, until the dad kind of like, let go of his angry persona and is just super depressed. Casey finally understands his dad works SO hard EXACTLY so HE can enjoy his time as a teen before getting hit with responsibilities, and he promises not to work

But at the same time, his family is barely surviving, and he's sure that with his grades he isn't going to get a great job so he kinda gets desesperate, trying to "enjoy his teens" but mostly stressing out for his family and trying to hide it. He gets enrolled in the hockey team and is thrilled to see it's paying. Until his grades get too low and the dean forces him to leave the team. At that point, Casey is on the verge of snapping, and he just wants to help his family, whatever the cost. So he takes his hockey mask and stick and he goes trying to rob a bank

Take a wild guess who is let out of the lair for the first time that very night

So Casey is doing literally the worst thing ever, as every Casey would, and tries to rob a bank, feeling AWFUL doing it, voice shaking and all. He's about to leave with a buttload of cash in a bag when the turtles drop and tell him to drop the bag. Now as I said before, he was hanging on a thread. And that was enough to snap it. So he does drop the bag, and also himself, because he passed out.

So the Villain ™️ just dropped dead when they arrived and they kinda go ??? Okay, what now. And then they look up and oh wow is that the people working in the bank staring at them. Of course people being people they start screaming and running, right as the police arrives, and they all fully panic. "DONNIE TAKE THE GUY AND LET'S GO" "wHY WOULD I TAKE THE GUY ????" "I DON'T KNOW MAYBE HE'S DEAD" "WHY WOULD I-" "JUST DO IT"

They snuck out. They were SUPPOSED to be allowed out, but like in 2012 Splinter said "no" and UNLIKE 2012, he didn't change his mind because of puppy eyes and they were like ):< well that's not fair

So they're on a roof, away from the mess, and they kind of stare at eachother for a second, realizing what happened and then they go :D !!!! YO THAT WAS INSAAAAANE (much like hyper realistic movie 1) And they get super excited, like IDIOTS, until still passed-out casey starts grunting and Donnie like hurrily puts him down saying "IT'S ALIVE, IT'S ALIVE, GUYS" They calm down, curiosity taking over, until raph asks "well the dead guy ain't. Now what" As great timing always is, Casey wakes up at that moment, surrounded by giant turtles, and naturally started screaming for his life. They panic and raph's knocks him out again "WHY would you do that ?!" "why wouldn't i" "So what do we do" "Let's take him to dad, he'll know what to do" "WE CAN'T DO THAT, HE'LL KNOW WE SNUCK OUT" "ooooooooh true" ... "So what do we do with him" "We could take him to april's" "Why" "She's a human, he's a human, I don't know"

So naturally, they take him to April's. Like the absolute goddamn morons they are. Of course since they don't know where she lives, Donnie calls her to get her adress. And so here they are, at her window, in the middle of the night, with a knocked out guy in a hockey mask on their shoulder. Naturally, april is like ????? And they're like shrug April is getting angrier ???? ):< So they try to justify themselves and messily explain. Once she gets a somehow coherent explanation they suggest they get the guy to a HOSPITAL, not her BEDROOM. Until she notices that the passed out guy is wearing the EXACT same bracelet she saw Casey wear, a bracelet made by his sis. Suddenly concern and she let them in and gets the hockey mask off

D:< CASEY ???? "? You know this dude ?" Cue explanation and :0

So Casey gets shaken awake by a very angry April that's immediatly asking him what the Fuck he was thinking. The turtles are ninja hiding behind the window, since they can't really just. Leave the guy there but also because he'd just freak out again. Casey is super confused but also angry at her own anger like hers wasn't justified because she couldn't understand. He explained everything to her and she was like "So what were you expecting ???? You'd just be able to spend the money ??? Out of nowhere, just like that ??? Jones you're so fucking stupid" And Casey is like ):< April explains in great detail how stupid it was and then suggested that if he REALLY wants to help but also respect his dad's wish for him to be a teen, to go looking for TEENS JOB. Mindblown, he hadn't thought of that. Once that was settled, the night's event started to sink in and he was like "Hey red would you say i'm crazy if u told you I saw something that was super duper weird ?"

april looking behind him to his window "Probably not"

April like roughly prepare him for what he's about to see and gestures for the guy to come inside, and then he turns around and- "PLEASE don't pass out again" The way it was said and the shock of what he was seeing made him burst out in laughters, mostly nervous laughing like "chuckles what the fuck" And that's how Casey met the turtles, and the turtles met the national news and a good scold from splinter

Also, unrelated but Shelldon AND Metalhead co-exists and were both created by Donnie

Ice cream kitty is there and it's literally a copy-paste of 2012 because she's perfect

ALSO ! There is NO ROMANCE IN THERE, because romance is a lie and isn't real. The only romance is the turtles and pizza. I hesitated with there's no romance BUT raph and mona and then i thought about alopex and i wzs like "hell nah i'm not choosing. No one is getting romance"

Mouser + dog = raph's pet

i would also like to precise that the bag you can see holds a sketchbook and a pencil and an eraser and literally 0 ninja stuff the ninja stuff is in another bag jgieorgerj also also, this mikey stands his ground a lot against raph so they just argue a lot more than in most versions hjfeoihjfeor (they still love eachother, still bro)

"being a ninja is really cool, I got all these cool moves and stuff... anyway want to see the painting i've been working on" it's like ninja is a hobby artist is his job

You know how I said Colorcoded!donnie loved to read both science and fantastical books ? like he doesn't like science-fiction because he's like every two pages "well that doesn't make any sense it couldn't work. if you try to make it realistic at least do some research" but fantastical genre ? that genre doesn't even care. Dragons ? sure, why the hell not, and elves too, and you know what ? boom. fairies. Donnie likes the complete unhinge style of it, and it really allows him a break from science, like these two can NOT cross. okay so, Shelldon is there in this version, but he's different first, he's non-verbal second his design is based on a dragon with a turtle shell it's like shell-dragon but shellgon sounds terrible so he put a d in there. of course you completely lose the aspect of shell-dragon, and he refuses to admit it because he's extremely stubborn, but his brothers tease him a lot about it so it's a tiny robot dragon with a shell on his back boom, shelldon also he can fly but not by using his wings traditionally. it's like he open the wings and he has propellers inside of them and boom like a drone, like rise!shelldon

So Leo is SUPER tactile with his family and loved ones (including casey and april there bfehifhze). Whenever he can he touches them, especially when talking to them. He does a lot of surprise hugs for no reason other than :)!!!! love!!!! Mikey loves it since he's also very love filled like the good boi he is UwU Donnie likes it EXCEPT when he gets an hug in his lab, where he gets angry Raph is... cool with it. Sometimes. When he's in a good mood. Casey is often caught by surprise and kinda panics before understanding what's going on and then he relaxes April usually hugs back unless she's upset then she just stands there Splinter always hugs back and encourages his behavior, because he thinks it's good for everyone Leo is tactile to show affection but doesn't say it much, if not ever. Mikey does both because the boi has a lot of love to give. He does hug a lot less tho fhierohieur Leo is still the leader, and is supposed to be responsible and keeps the others in order but herd mind does wonder and if they get the Silly™️ then he usually goes with them to do something stupid. (such as : let's sneak out and prove to dad that we can handle ourselves outside ! oh look, a robbery !) Except when they get the Silly™️ he still is pretty good at what he does, and in battle is pretty much 2012 Leo. However unlike 2012 Leo he sucks at strategizing, it's more Donnie's field. He's super into Japanese's culture, because he feels like it's his roots and he wants to respect that as much as possible (hence why his ouftit is the most classic), and he often talks to Splinter about it to get to learn more. He really hopes he'll be able to go to Japan one day, and eventually meet the rest of the Hamato clan. So about the tactile thing, imagine in an important discussion, he would touch the shoulder or get close to whoever he's talking to, without even thinking it they're all used to it although it still weirds out Casey since he hadn't been there for long but he also get used to it pretty quickly :) if he can't get to whoever he's talking to for whatever reason, he fidgets a bit instead Whenever a group hug is suggested by someone else (usually mikey or splinter) he gets really excited and rushes in :)

Leo is also extremely supportive of his brothers, and tries his best to pull them up. He listens to Donnie's ranting about science or fantastical books, even if he usually truly understands like half of it, sometimes he link 2+2 and goes "oh, like when you told me about [thing]" and donnie gets really happy and like :D!!!!! YEAH!!!!! Exactly !!! He oftens hang out in Mikey's room when his brother is painting, reading a book or playing on his phone, because Mikey likes to have commentary on his work as it progresses. If Raph comes to him to spar, he usually drops whatever he's doing and goes with him and they train for a bit. Of course Leo does not let him win UwU but it means that whenever Raph DOES win, he knows it's for real and he always gets a big boost of confidence

I can't believe I deadass forgot that but remember Mikey's embroidery on the bois' stuff ? Donnie was like "sure do the mask" Raph was also like "sure do the mask" and then like most of his mask got ripped off and there was no more place to embroidery there so mikey did the belt Leo was like "sure do the mask" so Mikey did the mask and assumed that was it and then leo went :) and gave him his belt and Mikey was like :D!!!!!!!

Raph is still angry boi but he is way more contained than in 2012, and if he feels rage and wants to blow up to his brothers, he brutally leaves the room and go play a video game to let out some steam. He uses training and night patrol to let his anger run free, while still being kinda controlled so he doesn't do anything stupid (at first it wasn't contained and mikey got hurt. he felt very guilty and didn't go to training or patrol for a while after that, staying with Splinter to try and control his anger better. once he felt like he was in control enough, he went back with his bros) Since he plays video games whenever he's angry, and he's angry very very often, he's REALLY good at it. any games in the lair ? played 'em, beat 'em, next. When he was smaller, he used to rage and break the game/console if he failed at any point in the game. He later realized that it wasn't super smart and it mostly just ruined any chances he had of doing better. So he got a punching ball in his room and everytime he rages he gets up and go hit that instead.

More often than not, when Leo does his surprise hug, Raph pushes him away. He likes to hang out in Donnie's lab while he's working, talking to him about stuff unless Donnie REALLY needs to focus and he gets kicked out. He loves to tease Mikey, and if he goes to far, he gets scolded by the latter anyway, so since he can stand his ground, he doesn't see a problem with it and keeps doing it. When the team gets down and desesperate, Raph is usually the one to get them back up and get the team running again. He's usually super tough and ):< Except when there's an animal (non-mutated) nearby, and then he gets    which his brothers never hesitate to tease him for. Jokingly, of course, since they don't want to shame his soft side into hiding. he's super nice and soft and gentle with animals, researching what they need to doing his best to take care of them, eventually scolding the others if they do it wrong.

because of that he always wanted a pet but Splinter always refused, saying it would be dangerous both for the animal and them. He got really angry when Mikey got Ice Cream Kitty and refused to talk to anyone for days. He couldn't stand to see Ice Cream Kitty, and was borderline hating her. Then one night when everyone was asleep and he went to get a glass of water, he got startled by her as he opened the fridge and broke his glass. He kept pestering at her and blaming her while cleaning up, angrily swipping. He did a wrong move and cut himself, swearing in the process. Ice Cream Kitty got close and he jerked back, mad at her. She waited until he relaxed, as if the role were reversed and he was a scared animal. Raph found her behavior weird so he got a little bit closer and as soon as she could she licked his wound. Suddenly Raph realized how unfair and jealous and stupid he had been acting and proceeded to spend the rest of the night in the kitchen playing with Ice cream Kitty to make up for his actions. In teh morning, his family found him asleep on the table, the fridge wide open and Ice Cream kitty cuddled up next to him.

With Donnie, he's the most stubborn out of all of them, and he's difficult to reason with. He doesn't like to be proven wrong and has difficulty accepting it.

Also unrelated but unless they're on missions, the turtles wear normal clothes

Okay so the story starts and it's pretty basic Shredder, with basic Karai and basic footclan Except that unlike most version, this foot clan is EXTREMELY similar to the hamato clan What I mean is that they have similar value and promotes mercy over murder. Including Shredder. He's still a huge bitch, like he wouldn't kill you but would chop your limbs off Like in this versions Splinter and Shredder are VERY similar, but they have different goals and that makes them ennemies Also Shredder is a GOOD DAD to Karai. She's literally the only person he's nice at Okay so that's the baseline Then one day, Karai gets kidnapped by Baxter Stockman (not with the foot yet). And he tortures her (mostly mentally, by getting into her head and showing her visions, much like what kitsune did to leo in idw) and also physically, by chopping her leg off and almost completely killing her. He attacked her because a few weeks prior she attacked one of his ship and released his prisonners (mutants they recruited and gave a home to. Like i said the foot clan are less assholes, more people) So Karai wakes up home, her dad by her side, without a left leg, and she's PISSED. Like REALLY PISSED. Shredder talks to her and manages to calm her down or so he thought. Karai is slowly consumed by revenge and ptsd, the experience being far more traumatic than what she said (mostly that he just chopped her leg off). She goes mad and as soon as they cross paths with Stockman again, she tries to kill him, in front of her dad and clan (and the turtle family hiding nearby). The foot and shredder tries to stop her but fail and she murders stockman Hence finishing making her mad, no going back anymore. She disappears before later murdering her father. As in, not sword through the heart but more like. She leaves a note on his desk asking to join her to a cliff near the sea to talk, and when they're done talking, she pushes him off and takes his helmet, becoming the head of the foot and turning it into the foot we know. She also gets in a full shredder costume and calls herself shredder too And that is Colorcoded!shredder

Original shredder doesn't go my shredder, he goes by Master Saki, because he's NOT technically Shredder. He doesn't shred, he's much closer to splinter KARAI goes by Master Shredder once she takes over

so, hmmm, do the bros ever fight? do some get along together better than others :o?

Mikey and Raph fight more than the others, because Raph often goes to far with the teasing, but they still would die for eachother :) Donnie and Raph get along great as long as Raph doesn't get angry™️ and Donnie doesn't go on a rant Leo and Raph are twins so they tend to fight for stuffs, but they have a strong bond and they often go to eachother if they need to talk about stuff (and not let Splinter know Leo and Mikey are disaster children. Don't leave them alone in the same room. Mikey activates Leo's "dumb braincells". However if Leo is with Mikey and at LEAST another person, he has big bro energy Leo and Donnie get along great and have tons of talks about everything and nothing. Leo just gets along with everyone Mikey and Donnie often fight about eachother's space and the need to get out. Donnie wants mikey out because well he has big 2012 mikey energy in the lab, and mikey wants donnie out because Donnie keeps doing the "that arm doesn't look proportionate" and that kind of comments As a group they tease Mikey more, and in a non-threatning situation, have 1 braincell

What kind of inventions does Donnie work on :D?

Okay so unlike most of the fucking donnies who are "scIeNtIsT" and suddenly they can do everything- Can you tell this pissed me off.-- it's like he's an "arRisTE" and bitch can play any instruments, paint, draw, sculpt, and all at like college levelthAT'S NOT HOW IT WORKS FFS- So unlike most of the donnies, Colorcoded!Donnie is an Engineer, which means he can build stuff That's his FIELD.

If he has to do some bioscience he has to LEARN IT AND ASK FOR HELPbecause GUESS WHAT ?! HE CAN'T BE A GENIUS IN EVERY FIELD EVER THAT'S NOT A THING NO SIR

what kind of machines does he build then :D? any examples? Like Shelldon. Or metalhead Or the TURTLETANNNNNK

are they really super advanced and probably impossible irl like in Rise or more realistic like in 2012?

More realistic like 2012 Like he lives in the sewer BUT As soon as he gets his hand on Kraang tech ? Ohohohohohohohohoohoho

Donnie entering the room like in the first IDW christmas special :GUYS I HAVE SOMETHING TO SHOW YOU leads them to Shelldon and ask him to fly Donnie : NOW WITHOUT PROPELLERS HE JUST F L O A TS

hmmm does Leo like science fiction tv shows and stuff like in 2012 and Rise?

Leo is very invested in Japanese's culture and tries to learn as much from it as possible, and that includes japanese tv shows. Leo is ESPECIALLY excited about this universe's sailor moon equivalent. Mikey and Raph doesn't get it, Mikey because he feels like it doesn't make sense and it's badly written and HE COULD DO BETTER- and Raph because. Raph. However DONNIE didn't expect to get as invested as he is. But he is. Somehow.

Leo and Donnie making theories over dinner. Mikey overhearing : ??? BUT THEY SAID SHE WAS HIS SISTER ?????? IN LIKE THIS ONE EP I WATCHED Leo : yeah but it changed Mikey : VHDGEJEVZ ????? NO

Leo: "yeah, after season 12, they got a new writer and a lot of stuff changed. Season 3 didn't happen, and they made it so it was all a dream in the story, they got into some big legal problems during the writing of season 13, so they had to change the whole story and five characters died because they didn't have the rights for them anymore." Donnie: "oh yeah, I'm really sad they had to cancel the murder mystery episode." Leo: "I know, right? I could have loved to watch it!" Mikey, watching from afar: "what are you guys even talking about-"

Mikey : I can accept that we're giant mutant turtles, I can accept that we're blood related to a rat, I can accepy that law of physics change from dimensions to another, but I CANNOT accept whatever the HELL "Tanako no Ichi" WAS MY COMIC MAKES MORE SENDE THAN YOUR SHOW AND I'M AT ISSUE 834

Leo and Donnie watching the show : :) Mikey in the background having a breakdown : they can't even write a single episode without an incoherence raph.... Raph, who really doesn't care : ah Splinter arriving : ohhhhh I loved this show as a kid Mikey : DAD NOOOOOO NOT YOU TOO

Leo arriving in his workshop : :) mikey Mikey, foolishly having his guard down : yea ? Leo : :) I convinced Splinter you could throw a party here tomorrow Mikey, foolishly thrilled : OOOH REALLY ???? THANKS LEO BEST BRO Leo : :) he had a condition Mikey : ah ? Leo : tonight we watch the integrality of season one of Tanako no Ichi Mikey face reflects horror and fear Mikey : I'd rather not party Leo : There would be pizza mikey :) Mikey : h- Leo : You would have a pizza party with your friends in the lair mikey

Mikey: "wait, I thought the character were in Japan right now?" Donnie: "They went to America like, a whole two minutes ago, they implied it by transitioning with a origami paper plane with a map of America in the background, weren't you paying attention?" Leo: "yeah, duh." Mikey: "I'm sorry HOW THE FUCK-"

Tanako no ichi = Location of the Shopkeeper

Imagine the show has been going for years, so long that like, you said, Splinter used to watch it and when Leo and Donnie need info about old lore they just ask him xDDD

you know when some anime are names with names that has literally NO RELATION to the story at all, or the name referneces something completely insignificant to the story or the meaning got lost after hundreds of episodes efvghddf

Mikey: "THERE IS LITERALLY NOT SHOPKEEPER IN THE STORY WHAT THE HECK"

Imagine, Leo or Donnie stepping in his workshop like : "Can you make like a poster of Tanako no Ichi ? :D" And mikey like owl snapping his neck "brother I will kill you"

Mikey, watching Tanako no Ichi with his bros: "oh my god I need a break" Leo: "but we've only watched three seasons :)!! We still have 23 to go!!" Mikey, already out of the room: "no."

Leo : MIKEY REMEMBER THE PARTY Mikey : I CAN'T REMEMBER ANYTHING YOUR SHOW BRAINWASHED ME

Donnie: "you always want to us to have more family time :)" Mikey: "this isn't family time it's torture"

Splinter : Come on my son, one more episode, even Raphael is with us Raph : Honestly Mikey it's a show about people getting dresses while floating in space i don't know what the problem is mikey : BECAUSE THIS IS SET UP AND EXPLAINED-

Mikey, alone in his pain about Tanako no ichi : ;-; April coming along to watch it : wait this makes no sense Mikey, grabbing her shoulders : MARRY ME

Also Casey actually really enjoying it

you know how you drew Mikey's kneepads and elbow pads to looks like he and his bros faces x)? how did they react when they noticed it xD? Raph: "why is mine and angry face >:(?"

Leo was confused at first but really happy when he understood it was "ninja eyes" Donnie was like  <3   bro,,,, Raph was also like     <3 And Splinter was like : ))))): w What about What about me ))):

He said if one of his pads would broke he'd replace it with splinter's face

He has a shit ton of stickers on his back and front shell and a lot represent his family, including splinter I need to draw the back shell of the boisvehzvs There's 3 types of stickers on mikey's shell : -He drew his family -He drew other than his family (usually food) -He found some Good Shape ™️ stickers

also question!! (for whenever you can answer zecfsd) What are the bros' eye colors :o?

They all have the same eye color : black or really really dark brown (for highlightvahdvjzvd

also does Leo have only one sword or two dgcdfdf

I wanted to give him 2 but tbh i feel like 1 is enough for this Leo UnU

they still treat mikey as if he’s the youngest bfeuzggeruihreu$ Donnie does get teased more, and by mikey as well, unlike other versions where it was mostly raph and a bit of leo :)

RAPH'S MOUSER'S NAME IS BUCKLE

Donnie, chuckling : You should teach him how to do tricks Raph, suspicious : ...why ? Donnie : Because you could tell him "Buckle up" highfive of Leo, Mikey and Donnie while raph groans

also i keep having brainrot of some random scenes between them, including : Casey meeting Buckle for he first time and it's like that meme "AHHGBSHGSGH GET YOUR DOG DUDE AAAAH" "It dun bite" "YES IT DO"

Leo and Mikey alone in the kitchen (a mistake in itself) and Mikey goes "dude what if we taught the pet how to jump over a circle of fire" and leo is like "Mikey...." in a grave voice like he's about to scold him and then "THAT'S A GREAT IDEA LET'S DO IT" Cue Donnie and Raph finding them in a mess of a kitchen with Ice Cream Kitty, Buckle and Shelldon and half of everything is on fire including them Donnie, running to his boi : "SHELLDON D:!!!!" Raph, also : "BUCKLE !!!" Mikey : "ICE CREAM KITTY D:- wait i was a part of this lol nevermind"

Leo, regaining his braincells as soon as his other bros arrive: "in hindsight, this may not have been the best idea" Raph and Donnie: "YA THINK???"

Donnie: "It seems like Mikey's presence somehow alters Leo's ability to think rationally. I have no idea how. This is a mystery science can't solve."

Leo and Mikey on patrol together Mikey having sudden impulse : we should jump off the roof Leo : yes the t-phone rings and he picks up Donnie and Raph in the phone: hi yes hello we realized we left you two alone so we're doing this until we can find you Leo, still on the phone : mikey i decided to not jump off the roof and neither should you

imagine Raph or Donnie, (or both) are so used to Leo and Mikey being absolute disasters when alone that at some point they just. know when they're about to do something stupid dvhfhdf

Leo: "You know, I think you may be a bad influence on me." Mikey: "what makes you think that?" Leo, doing a handstand on the edge of a roof for a bet: "Just a feeling."

Splinter getting vibes that something is going on while meditating: "my sons are being idiots again"

Splinter: "Donatello, Raphael, where are your brothers?" Donnie: "They were here a second ago sensei-" [they hear a crash from another room] Donnie: "aw shi-" Splinter: "Language."

Splinter as soon as Raph and Donnie leave the room, under his breath : "ah shit…"

Mikey: "I bet ya I can fit 10 marshmallows in my mouth" Donnie: "you're a hazard to society." Leo: "AND A COWARD, DO TWENTY!"

Mikey proceeds to get 20 marshmallows in his mouth Raph watching : I bet I can do 30 Donnie : you can't it would break your jaw Raph already shoving marshmallows in his mouth : prove me wrong Donnie getting marshamallows too : oh yeah ???? Leo : I bet I can do more than 30 Donnie : OH YEAH ???

Splinter, watching them form afar, sighing: "I'll prepare the first-aid kit in case this goes wrong.…"

Casey and April coming by to visit Casey, slamming the table : I CAN DO 50

Mikey: "I WON!" Raph: "Mike, you almost chocked to death." Mikey: "Sounds like someone's a sore looser"

Donnie, the youngest sibling, somehow usually the rational one

Huge jaw dog running to you : :D!!! Casey : HIGH PITCHED SCREAMING

Casey Jones fears one thing : Buckle

Casey Jones in front of Kraang : wicked Casey jones in front of the foot : meh Casey Jones in front of Unhinged Karai : dang Casey Jones in front of Buckle : NO. NONONONONO GET AWAY AAAAAAH

Does it bite tho dghfdf

She does not

Mousers have sharp teef :), would Buckle bite off furniture and stuff ?

Ah Furniture yes People, unless they're threatning, no

Casey Jones: no fear Buckle: :) Casey Jones: one fear

Casey the first time he meets Buckle, freaking out and taking out one of his hockey stick Buckle, regestering : yes, ennemy

Buckle as soon as Raph grabs her and told her no : yes, friend

Casey, traumatized : ENNEMY

Literally the entire turtle family : pubby,,,, :)))) Casey, pointlessly gesturing yo buckle : MONSTER !!!!

"THIS THING'S A DEMON" "A DEMON WITH SHARP TEETH" Raph: "And cute lil paws :)" Casey: "AND CUTE LIL PAWS"

Mikey : "Case, it's a Mouser fused with a puppy. It's LITERALLY a puppy" Casey : "but evil" Leo : "Casey it's been MONTHS. When are you going to warm up to her" Casey : "n e ve r"

He's too stubborn now it's a challenge Oh god Teens shenanigans

Mission : get Casey to like Buckle

does Buckle like Casey by this point tho dsgvf?

Oh as soon as Raph went " this is is friend " she went "friend :)"

Everytime he gets to the lair or she sees him he gets a hug like everyone else However HE tries to avoid it by any means possible, everytime

Casey, holding on to dear life to one of the ceiling's pipes : "GET THAT DEMON AWAY FROM ME" April : "She's just saying hello" Casey : "WELL SHE HAVE A MOUTH, DOESN'T SHE ????"

who would win: Casey's inability to admit he may be scared of a tiny dog or Casey's stubbornness of not wanting to befriend the dog because everyone wants him to

these concepts can and should coexist

Everyone went off to sleep after a sleepover and he's the only one left, watching the end of the episode (hehehe ohooho imagine of tanako no ichi to piss mikey off) Suddenly Buckle arrives like :))) And he tenses up but also wants to see the end of the ep so they kinda just dance around, Casey trying to avoid Buckle and Buckle just wanting a hug Suddenly Buckle jumps on the couch and rest her head on his lap and he's like   Then she goes wap wap with her tail and he goes :0 and hesitates but land his hand on her head before pulling it away immediatly but she doesn't react so he does it again and pets her and end up relaxing and watch the end of the ep Of course the next day this never happened and he denies everything but he's less scared Still scared when she rushes to him at like 30 km/h

Hot take : Casey is Buckle's 2nd favourite person ever for no reason 1st one being Raph

Casey: "I'm pretty sure Buckle is like those cats that look at you from a distance and are plotting to kill you and conquer the world, Buckle is an evil mastermind and should not be trusted." Raph: "wh-"

Meanwhile buckle on her back getting scratches from mikey and leo

Raph, pointing at Buckle: "look at that adorable face, how can you not like her?" Casey, narrowing his eyes at Buckle: "She is probably plotting revenge for all the times I did not pet her when she wanted me to." Raph: "Now that's just sad"

Mikey talking to Casey with a huge board behind him : "see now this is the percentage of happiness you have right now. And THIS is the percentage of happiness if you became friend with Buckle"

Mikey: "Pros and cons of being friends with Buckle. Cons: none. Pros: oh boi let me get my list-" Casey, already walking away: "please don't"

Mikey, holding Buckle to Casey's face: "PET THE DOG, CASEY!!" Casey, running away: "OVER MY DEAD BODY" Buckle, in Mikey's arms, living her best life: :D

Leo going to Splinter : Dad I don't get it ! He just WON'T befriend Buckle ): Splinter : Leo you must understand everyone feels differently and you have to accept that Buckle walks in and does smth cute Splinter : However Casey is dead wrong but his loss

I feel like Mikey would try to be subtle but fail (like making a literal powerpoint presentation like you said xDD)

Mikey : "Slide 1 of 234" Casey, leaving : "no" Mikey : "Caseyyyy I spent the night on this ):" Leo, Supportive Brother ™️ : "I want to know :)"

Donnie: "I saw him work on it, most of the slides are pictures of Buckle"

Mikey: "SHHHH no spoilers" Donnie: "Mike, I don't think spoilers apply to powerpoint presentations"

hmmm, do they celebrate their birthday/mutation day :D?

Okay so they got mutated pretty much like in 2012, except that their "age" is determined by who mutated first. So Leo and Raph mutated almost exactly at the same time, Mikey second and Donnie was last Because of that, THEY INSISTED that thry do their Mutation day on 3 different days, but these days all follow eachothers. So it's like 3 days of birthday parties. Splinter had to cave in because he was weak to the puppy eyes and the lack of actual problem with their demand.

Mikey: "we need 4 birthday cakes" Splinter: "Michelangelo no"

"But wouldn't it be easier to do it the same day ?" "But Dad, we're not the same age )):" "Okay then at different times that day ? You were technically born there." "Okay Papa, but then we get 3 different cakes :)" "4" "shut up raph he will never agree to 4" "In the same day ??? Hh- what about we switch every year"

They don't they do 3 birthday parties that all follow eachothers on different days

imagine one of them having the WORST taste in cakes and everyone else hates it dhvdvhjdf

Mikey "ahhh finally my favourite cake : pepperoni and gummy bear :)"

ohhh question!! Is Mikey a good cook?

No Mikey still sucks, however I'm stealing the 2012 Casey's headcanon from the Capritello fanfic, and Casey is a great cook for the same exact reasons

I imagine Mikey would be interested in cooking lessons from Casey tho. Interested and pushed there, heavily, by his family, including Splinter

Donnie: "Come on Mikey, I'm sure you have some things to learn from Casey :)!" Raph: "cough a lot cough" Donnie: "Raph shut up I'm trying to save our lives from future food poisoning here"

Mikey : "food poisoning )))): ?" Leo : "He meant food humm... Death. Because we would have eaten too much. Because it's. Too good."

So in Colorcoded, Leo is a bad liar

Villain : "Where are you brothers ?" Leo : "Well uh... I can tell you ! Where they are not ! Which is above you head on that piece of metal right here. They are not there. No don't look I just said they're NOT there. STOP LOOKING"

Raph: "Leo, did you eat the last slice of pizza?" Leo, sweating and avoiding eye contact: "noooooooo.....?????" Raph: "Alright, you did."

Raph: "Leo, did Mikey eat the last slice of pizza while I was out?" Mikey, next to him: fear Leo: ".... noooooo, not at all, didn't see anything! Who's Mikey? hahHAha" Raph: "....." Mikey: "GODDAMIT LEO-"

If Leo can't lie that would logically mean he also can't act for shit fdvhfbhf Donnie: "Okay Leo, this is a very important undercover mission, we'll just pretend to be travelers passing through to infiltrate the city. Whatever you do, just let us do the talking okay?" Leo: "Sure." ... Leo, immediately: "why hello there uhh, people, we a just humble travelers and totally not undercover as maybe some paranoid people may suspect haha, these clothes are totally not hiding any ninja weapons of any sorts-" Donnie, Raph and Mikey: "Leo for the love of god please shut up-"

Donnie looking dead into his brother's eyes : "Leo I love you but if I have to take you to another undercover mission i'll literally die"

Splinter: "Years of deception lessons cannot fix this."

Imagine them playing the kind of game where you have to lie

Donnie, waving to April and Casey: "Hey guys, we're about to play Cheat (Menteur, the card game) Come join us! Leo is playing too, it's gonna be fun." April: "Why? Is Leo good at this game?" Donnie "HAHAHA NO."

Imagine they're making a surprise for Splinter or something and they don't want Leo to spoil the surprise by accidentally revealing it so they basically tell him to just avoid talking to Splinter as much as possible dbhbf Splinter: "why is my son ignoring me :("

Splinter can tell when they're all collectively lying juts because of Leo efdvhfvf

Splinter in the kitchen, enjoying tea : :) Leo arriving, seeing Splinter and backtracking immediatly Splinter : ):

Splinter: "Leonardo, are you hiding something from me?" Leo: "OH WOULD YOU LOOK AT THE TIME IT'S TIME TO UUHHH, SLEEP? I SHOULD GO" Splinter: "It's three in the afternoon" Leo: "HHHHH"

Leo panicking, laying on the ground and pretending to sleep

Donnie: "Why is Leo laying on the floor" Mikey: "It's floor nap time? hell yeah!" joins him Donnie: "Mikey what-"

Raph arriving, looking at them then at donnie. Donnie shrugs. Raph proceeds to also lay down

Buckle joins them dvgf

Splinter comes back later to see them all asleep in a pile on the floor: "I'm so confused right now but also aw"

Shelldon too so Mikey gets up and go get Ice Cream Kitty and smth cold to keep her cold

casey and april arriving and seeing the nap pile

they take lot of pictures because of course they do zgdvf and Splinter goes "May I have one of those printed :)? I need more non-chaotic pictures of my sons."

imagine all the pictures he has of them are all just pure chaos dfghdf

blurry messes in parts or someone blinks or on of them moved etc fdvdfhdf

what would be the ONE moment where Leo would finally manage to decently lie dvghdf

If someone of the family is in danger, but like really really bad danger like they will be instant killed if i don't lie

i think it's the intense pressure that would make him lie good and when i mean lie good i mean like good enough he's not suddenly the god of lies, just he lies good enough to save whatever family member something super simple ! like "where is the gem of chiubilo" "in the warehouse of the left street" that's it boom

Cue his family being super proud of him after the danger is over :)

and then the next time he needs to lie they're like :))) he's gonna do great !!! and he's worse than before

Colorcoded raph loves gossip

and everytime there is he’s like:) hell yeah tell me more

I find the idea hilarious that Mikey is unironically attractive and every person their age they meet get a crush on him and every time he's like N o Not again.... Because Colorcoded Mikey is aroace

And also the one time they meet a teen and he goes " BEFORE ANYTHING, PLEASE DON'T LIKE ME, I'M AROACE" And the person is like "...wow what an ego dude. I'm a lesbian" And then the EMBARASSMENT and he never said anything ever again

I imagine Mikey just. Pausing. Turning bright red and slowly turning away to hide somewhere and die of shame

Mikey: "Is it me?? Am I too handsome?? Is it my personality?? Why do people keep having crushes on me??" Leo, awkwardly patting his shell: "There, there. You will meet someone who will just want to be friends one day."

Mikey, meeting someone new: "how old are you?" That person: "24" Mikey: "I'm too young for you. Good." That person: "?????" Donnie, Leo and Raph: XD

He's horrible at turning people down because he feels bad and doesn't want to hurt the person's feelings

Karai: "the turtles are my arch enemies, but that orange one's cute" Mikey: "PLEASE NO"

More content : when Splinter assigned Leo as the leader, Donnie went up to ask him why since HE was the most responsible And Splinter ended training so he could talk from father to son and not sensei to student and went "Let's not lie to ourselves, Donatello, you're the youngest and they would never listen to you" and he was right

Also more content about Attractive Mikey ™️, April doesn't count because she's their childhood friends and when Casey arrived Mikey showed up and slammed his hands on the table and went "Casey this is very important are you gay" Casey : confused closeted bi chewing

casey is a very dear friend and he just doesn't want to have the moment where he turns him down thankfully it won't happen because i said so

Mikey: "If I have to turn someone down one more time I swear I'll just throw a fake wedding pretend to everyone I'm married"

"Mikey, you're too young to be married" Mikey: "WHAT ELSE AM I SUPPOSED TO DO THEN?"

Raph, here for the drama : "Well seeing your age, you could say you're dating someone"

"oh, that's smart actually. But also ew no »

Donnie : "So you're okay with throwing an ENTIRE fake wedding, but not pretending to date an imaginary person ?"

Leo: "You just want to have a big party don't you" Mikey: "maybe"

Mikey: "I could make a pizza wedding cake" Raph: "a what"

The colorcoded!mutanimals are VERY different There's Dawston, the equivalent of Mondo Gecko, who's the only born mutant known to this world, and then forced to do bad biding for Stockman of TCRI There's Lilajé, a very tall bat mutant, who was originally human, and a mad scientist wanted to see if prior conditions would influence the mutation. So he ripped her eyes out and then mutated her. There's Rembrandt, a guinea pig mutant, who was, well, a guinea pig with a shit ton of horrible things done to him, until they wanted to test mutagene on him. There's Vincent, a french cat mutant, pretty much the equivalent of Hob but more optimistic and less violent, who was a street cat, beaten up by humans and shit, until one of them tried testing mutagene on him. Then there's the extremely self-indulgent character named Sara Navidad, a human, who had been going against Stockman's plans, actively, and was kidnapped like Karai, except she lost ALL her limbs, and he tested some weird substance on her that pretty much made her immortal (it's worse than it looks), and also mentally tortured her by murdering kids mutants in front of her. Following that, Sara escaped but abandonned her old life behind because holy shit there's no way she can go back to a normal life after that and created the mutanimals by finding Dawston, and the others over time

I should precise that they come from all over the world Also Sara's father's name is Felix because Felix Navidad

So as you can guess ALL OF THEM are REALLY mad at humans, and their main mission is finding humans that torture mutants and kill them. They're always careful to only kill the HEAD of the snake, and never the goons of the evil, because like Lilajé and Sara regularly remind them, they're just people trying to survive, whether the guy that uses them is just a huge asshole and a monster. The Turtle family disagrees with their actions but doesn't actively try to stop them. They're still pals, but they just avoid talking work

Dawston was born in a lab, fusion of human and lizard, and technically the first ever born mutant. He was used for 25 years by Stockman to kill and murder, so that it would serve his purpose and ALSO ruins people's view of mutants so he could keep capturing them, dissecting them and tossing them aside. Since Dawston had always been in that environment, he never thought anyone could take it down, and he never tried because he never had any hope. Meanwhile, Sara just murdered Stockman and left her family behind, and was well, depressed as fuck. She kept trying to kill herself but failed again and again no matter the method because of what Stockman put in her (now pitch black) blood. Since she couldn't die, she searched for people like her, that were feeling what she was feeling, so she would feel less alone. And she stumbled upon Dawston while he was on one of his missions. She tried to talk but he got spooked and fled back to TCRI, effectively telling Sara that he was in a really bad place and he needed help. So she pulled herself together and used her skills to get into TCRI and start causing mayhem looking for the mutant lizard dude. Hearing someone ACTIVELY going against TCRI, and eventually winning, Dawston got the boost he needed and attacked the people in the room with him, and killed his abusers. When Sara got to him he was crying in the middle of a pool of blood, not his of course, with dead bodies all over. She reached out and he flinched, but eventually took her hand and they went back to her crappy place, in an abandonned building that she called home. Dawston was very warry of her at first, because she looked human, but she healed him and helped him get physically better, and he started trusting her, but just a bit. He finally allowed himself to talk, and so they talked. And suddenly they weren't as alone as they thought.

Next, Lilajé. She's a Philippine (because that's where they found human sized bat beuihgfezfze), and has a rocky relationship with her family. She's 32, and still lives with her mother, that doesn't pay attention to her at all and never had, and her brother, who cares, but have difficulty showing it. Lilajé (not her OG name, but she refuses to share her human name) had given up on her dream brutally at 20 after a really bad experience, and has since fallen into drug addiction. That's looking for money to buy those that she voluntered for a "scientific experiment" and got into the hand of a mad scientist. He had heard of mutagene and wanted to experience on it, and especially what factors defined what animal you turn into. So, to test one of his theory, he ripped Lilajé's eyes out and locked her up before immediatly pouring mutagene on her. Her wounds hadn't healed, and you can guess the entire experience was 10 times more painful than usual. She turned into a giant bat, blind of the two eyes and unable to control her body or new abilities. Satisfied, unaware that Lilajé had touched a bat prior of entering the lab, and thinking the condition of the being influences the mutation, the mad scientist discarded Lilajé and basically threw her out in a bin. She couldn't see, and hearing was painful, so Lilajé was terrified, alone, and completely exposed. Thankfully, Dawston and Sara found her there, while they were investigating this extremely suspicious lab. Lilajé was scared, but they were able to guide her to a plane that they took back to New York. It was an horrible experience for Lilajé, all the sounds, unable to know who was with her, why, what was happening. As soon as they got back to New York, Sara gave her her own room in the abandonned building and left her there to calm down. She of course explained why beforehand. Once Lilajé felt better in the silence and the darkness, she got out (with difficulty) and asked for explanations. Dawston and Sara explained their stories, and how they had heard of this awfully suspicious Philippine's lab, and finding her confirmed their fear, so they destroyed it, killing the head of the snake and leaving the goons alone. Lilajé was thankful, but still shaken, and went back in her room (with dawston's help), to process and get used to her new body. A few days later, she got out again to try and get to know those who saved her, and she realized they were both miserable, like a snuffed out candle. Their voices were flat and empty, and everything they said felt grey. (Around that time she realized she could "see" sounds, like splashes of colors and shapes.) Lilajé felt like she needed to help them like they helped her, as a thank you. So, she spent more and more time with them, acting more and more lively and happy as time went on. It surprised Dawston and Sara but they felt kind of pulled into that happiness, and they unknowingly started to feel better, to smile and laugh more, and they truly all started bonding. One day, Lilajé decided she wanted to try her new wings, feeling like she was used to her body enough (she failed a couple of times of course, before getting the hang of it) but as soon as she got it, she invited Dawston and Sara on her back and they all flew, the adrenaline of the flight sealing all of their bonds and truly being the point where they would get better, together.

Next, Rembrandt. When he was a tiny guinea pig, still a baby, there were 6 other guinea pigs with him, in his cage. They were all like brothers and sisters, being tortured by the humans, but still having eachothers at the end of the day. As he grew up, 3 died. Experiments gone wrong, escape that was violently stopped... Only 4 guinea pigs left, as they grieved the loss of their siblings. Then, 3 more died, and it was by Rembrandt's own paws.The scientists injected him with a substance that made him violent and blindly raged, and he killed them himself. Leaving, of course, extreme trauma. Not that the humans cared, since he was just a guinea pig. As the humans celebrated the success of their experiment, Rembrandt was sitting in his tiny cage, splattered with the blood of his brothers and sisters, their tiny bodies displayed like a gory exposition. If it weren't for one of the scientist's sensible nose, they would have left the bodies to rot in the cage. Of course, the experiments on him continued, scarring him, but never dulling down his boiling anger. Then, they one day got their hands on mutagene. They didn't know what it was, they had to test it out. So they poured it on Rembrandt. He burst out of his cage, 7 feet tall monster with gigantic teeth, biting them in half, preventing them from escaping, killing them to the last. He broke the walls and got outside, breathing fresh air for the first time, drooling blood. He ran in the city, terrifying any human he met, eventually trying to kill them too if they were too close to him. Sadly, the company that made him captured him back and put him in a solid cage, to study him more. However the wreckage in the city didn't get pass Dawston, Sara and Lilajé, and they went to investigate. They quickly understand what's going on and storm the scientists' hideout

As they do so, one of them accidentally cuts off the power, and it opens Rembrandt's cage, who doesn't even hesitate to burst out and start slayin'. When he gets to the main hall and sees a human fighting next to mutants, he doesn't understand and rushes towards Sara to kill her. Thankfully she survives since well she can't fucken die (did i mention that no one knows she's immortal ? she doesn't want to tell people because then she would have to explain the recurring splattering of black matter then and there, from her suicide attempts and she just doesn't want to deal with that) and they successfully calm Rembrandt down and he starts fighting by their side. However, he doesn't mind murdering goons, despite Sara telling him not to, because why would he listen to a human. They finally all get out and they lead him to the abandonned building. He warns that he'll only stay long enough to heal and then leave again. He says it's because of Sara's presence, but actually it's because he's terrified of the idea of murdering people he loves again. So he refuses to get close. Despite that, he's forced to stay for a while because of his wounds, and he stays as distant as he can. Lilajé and Dawston still tell him what got them there, and that they're all helping eachother and it would be good for him too to open up. He refuses, and especially doesn't want to interact with Sara. Knowing that what makes her so dislikable in his eyes is that he thinks she's human, she decides it's time to face her fears, for his sake. She goes to see him, even if he refuses to, and explains to him her immortality, her suicide attempts and shows him her blood. She explains she's not human, not anymore, she's more like a walking breathing corpse. She demands that he doesn't tell the others, begging for him not to do so, entrusting him with her biggest secret. It changes his visions of things, and in the end, he accepts to stay and bond with them.

Last but not least, Vincent. He was birthed in the street, and was the only kitten of his litter to survive. His mother did his best to protect him but was killed by some motherfuckers that likes to hit and kill stray cats for fun. He fled and survived, but a kitten alone wouldn't survive long. So he joined a pack of stray cats that lived together to survive, and grew up amongst them. He's a fast learner and a sly kitty, so he survives well with his pack. They're not very chummy with eachothers because cats are loner, but they HAVE to stay together in order to not-die. They often scare off the motherfuckers, and it's kind of a war because well, motherfuckers being motherfuckers, they don't like feeling "weak". So one night they come back with this canister of "probably poison" and decide to dump it on Vincent despite the hissing of the group. The cats stand back, in order to not get splattered and observe as Vincent is turned into a giant cat and slayed the motherfuckers in half with his claws. He's disoriented and doesn't know what to do, so he turns to his pack but they hiss at him and disappear into the night. So Vincent is all alone, with 3 corpses of humans, in the dark, confused and newly mutated. He does realizes quickly he has to get out of there and find refuge on the rooftops. He hides there for a while, trying to understand how to use this body, until he gets hunted down by the police and some other anti-mutants folks. He's scared and angry, but doesn't attack because unlike Rembrandt he has a Brain™️ and he uses it. So he flees, and go from rooftops to rooftops, trying to survive and hide. Since he moves around a lot, he absorbs knowledge he sees like a sponge, since he always was a fast learner. He's the guy that can Do Things. What exactly ? who knows. But he can do things. At some point during this wild goose chase, Vincent realizes there's nothing left for him in France, and he needs to leave. He finds out that New York has been recently having news report of murders of people actively against mutants, so he decides it's probably the best place he can find to survive and takes a plane to it. Arriving in New York, well that's great. Now he's in a brand new city, but it's the same problem. He can't walk amongst humans, and he still has nowhere to go. Back to the roofs it is. After several night starting to question his decision, he's alerted by some noises down a street and goes to check it out. He's surprised to see a group of mutants with a human fighting. Things. Brainy things. As I said before, Vincent has Brain™️ And by using it, he doesn't see WHY he should jump headfirst in a fight that doesn't concern him, so he does not. He's about to turn around and leave when suddenly he gets hit by one of the blaster a brainy thing is waving and he falls down. luckily he's catched and put down by Rembrandt but the hit and the fear of the fall made him lose consciouness. Once the fight is over and they bring him back to the ol' hideout (still an abandonned building from the outside but now the inside looks very nice), they proceed to heal him up and let him rest. When Vincent wakes up, he freaks out and panics, attacking the others, trying to get out. They open the door and he jumps out and disappears into the night. They kinda shrug it off and return to normal life. Meanwhile Vincent calms down on a roof and realizes his arm was bandaged and he wasn't harmed at all. He review his reaction and realizes he might have been a bit jumpy. Guilty, and also because well that's the first ever positive interaction he ever had with other mutants, he decides to go back and apologize. When he gets there he realizes they're being attacked by not brainy things, and they have difficulty defending themselves. Now, this fight concerns him. Because these people helped him, and he was boutta help back. He jumps headfirst into it this time and turns the fight to their favor. Once it's done, he profusely apologize for his behavior with a broken english and they reassure him and invite him in After some time of all of them living together and murdering people, they encounter the turtles, and are promptly named "the mighty mutanimals" by Mikey. Sara however refuses the name since she's TECHNICALLY not a mutant (no one except Rembrandt knows about her condition still) and takes on the name given by the media of AOD, or the Angel of Death

using Sara's family supplies, and also maybe by learning with Donnie a lot, and using his own knowledge and learning some stuffs, Vincent makes some "vision brooch" for Lilajé, that still misses her vision. She doesn't wear them when they're out fighting, but inside the house she prefers to, since she doesn't have to SCREAM to not bump into things.

is there a sort of leader of the group then?

yep, it's pretty much Sara although she doesn't want to

but they listen to her, and they say she started all this so

what do the others think about her? Rembrandt is the only one who knows she's technically a mutant, but the others don't :0

well she's not TECHNICALLY a mutant. Just a walking human corpse they think she's neat and needs therapy

"i love the turtles, they're my buddies, but I need a "survive" ouftit because they're just a danger magnet"

April: "I know you guys have your shells but FOR THE LOVE OF GOD WEAR SOME ARMOR EVERYWHERE ELSE PLEASE"

"THOSE KNEEPADS AREN'T GONNA PROTECT YOU IF YOU GET STABBED"

April has the one braincell Splinter adopted her "you have braincells. I like that"

First battle of the turtles, they're very excited, Casey too, and April is behind, in a HUGE ouftit that's covering everything like "Yeaaaa... woohooooo... pain and wounds, so excited..." And leo be like : "You know April you can stay behind-" April : "I would NEVER abandon you guys" ):< Later in the battle with the normal fighting ouftit on, she shows up and goes "I WILL HELP YOU WITH THE POWER OF FRIENDSHIP..." pulls out smth from her vest "AND THIS REALLY COOL GUN"

"Mister splinter, I have found my place in the team :)" "Oh ? and what is it ?" "gun"

"being careful is nice and all but BEING IRRESPONSIBLY RECKLESS IS BETTER" -April, probably

it's like, shooting you from afar will knock you out and shooting you from upclose COULD technically kill you if i shoot at the wrong place but at the right one i'll just explode your bones

non-lethal but still dangerous depending on how it's used

does she have any ninja training? :D

She does not ! Splinter did try at some point when they were younger but I don't have many Feminine ™️ characters so i'm trying to make her Feminine ™️ so she looked at the training once and went "fuck no" and chose gun

did Donnie build the gun?

it's either donnie build the gun or she just found a fucked up gun and went "hohohohohohoho ye S"

He finds a gun and goes "i'm gonna mess with this so bad now" and then proceeds to almost die 3 times

they found 2 different guns and bumped into eachother and went :D! cool ! a gun !

Raph: "Guns take out all the point out of being a ninja, you should just throw that thing away" Donnie: "You won't be talking once I make THE COOLEST GUN EVER" All his bros: "Donnie no" Donnie: "Can I at least go semi-lethal"

April and casey becoming friends because they're both unhinged

The gun’s name is Cassandra

April: "I'm gonna grab Casey and then we can go" Leo: "Casey the gun or Casey Jones" April, cocks gun: "The gun of course :)"

April: "Hey I named my gun after you" Casey: "weird flex but ok"

April showing her gun : Here is Casey the gun :D April gesturing towards Casey : And here is Casey the Jones :D

i had in mind that Casey was just taking a nap in the lair and you know how in cartoons the friends just comes up and draw on their faces ? It's Mikey's equivalent. He just took his jacket and gear and customized it. Casey was furious when he woke up because it's supposed to be THREATNING. The HEARTSHAPPED STICKER KITTEN is NOT helping. Mikey was like )))): Puppy eyes And Casey sighed, bad boyified the stickers and asked him to only leave the hardcore embroideries and get rid of the rest. Mikey did not get rid of the rest, he just sewed it inside instead

Mikey: "the puppies and hearts on your jacket doesn't define you, you can still be threatening :)" Casey: "please don't turn this into a lesson about self-confidence"

Casey told her sister about the turtles and his friends by showing her the embroideries. She asks if she can meets them and he's like "they can speak Korean ):" And she's like "well. you can speak both." and Casey is like ":0" Casey's sister is Hye-Jin (혜진) (pronounced Hyeh-Jeen) which means rare and precious

Casey's Korean name (non-official, not on papers) is Deok-Su (덕수) (pronounced deog-su) which means to guard

Okay so for the story, Casey's dad is korean and his mom is american. Beforehand, know that his mom is a ginormous bitch. So when they had Casey, she HEAVILY insisted he take HER name and that they chose a NORMAL name. Big red flags, but Casey's dad was in love so he said yes. However when they had Hye-Jin, his dad didn't flinch, and her official name is Korean (even if her last name is still Jones, much to her dad's disappointment) As soon as it was official, their mom had a tantrum, refusing to take care of a "foreigner" and that her daughter would never have "such an ugly name". She demanded divorce and to never have to see her daughter again. She still wanted to see Casey because he was "normal" but everyone, including the court said "fuck you that's not happening" Casey's dad is Jong-Min  종민 (filled with kindness, filled with wisdom) and last name Ra (good or Virtuous) So Casey's family is Jong-Min Ra, Hye-Jin Jones and Casey Jones

[bellatrixobsessed1]

Skin & Scale (Part 1)

So the survey results are in and making something of the dragon Azula fic won. So here’s the first part of that! It’s a combo of Dragon Skin and The Dragon’s Child. This first chapter is going to be very familiar as it is an updated and extended version of Dragon’s Child.

Summary: Some time ago, Ozai and Ursa stole a dragon egg in a quest for Ozai to have a perfect heir. Through the help of dark spirits, that little hatchling became a human child. They named her Azula. 

“We’re almost there.” The man hisses. The woman next to him remains silent. She is still wholly unsure of the entire endeavor. “We just have to cross the main chamber.” The light of his torch throws shadows across the cave walls. Shadows that put a chill in the woman’s soul and lifts the hairs on her neck. She swears that she can hear the groans and growls of the dragons. 

The egg cradled in her arms feels that much heavier. 

It is such a pretty thing, this precious thing that she holds. The egg is mostly gold with a few brilliant cracks of blue and splatters of turquoise chips. If she didn’t know any better she would say that it was a sea serpent egg that she is holding rather than a dragon egg.

“We can’t just take it.” She says.

“We can and we will.” The man snaps. “Now quiet down before they awaken.” 

 She decides not to tell him that his single sentence carried enough volume to wake a dragon three caves over. She clutches the egg tighter, it’s rough surface nicks her skin like thorns. “I don’t want to go through with this. We can still return it…” 

“No.” He replies through gritted teeth. “This is the only way that we will get what we want...what our Nation deserves.”  

They step into the light. 

The woman tosses a final look at the cave.

Not a dragon to be seen or heard. 

There is a part of her that wishes that there were one. 

Some outside force that can coerce them into saving themselves from their own foolishness. From getting themselves into something that is far beyond what they can reasonably handle.

 .oOo.

Zuko claws at his hairline. On days like these, he is more than half inclined to take Azula up on her offer. He can hand the crown over to her and enjoy his newfound leisure time. With several years of recovery, he feels as though she’d fit the throne well. Much better than he can and she would probably enjoy it much better than he does. She has the know how and the leadership skills for it, even if her compassion and diplomacy can be somewhat lacking. But he is committed. He made a promise to himself and his nation and he intends to be the best leader that he can be. 

Azula lingers in the room waiting for something to do, but until now, things have been quiet. There are no riots, no terrorists, no skirmishes to break up and so the princess is horribly bored. She wanders over to her brother and rests her elbows on his desk, deliberately obstructing his paperwork.

“Can you move? This is important.”

“I can.” She replies simply with a flippant and lazy wave of her hand.

He blinks at her. She blows at a tumble of locks that have fallen out of order and into her face. 

 “Oh, you actually want me to move.” 

Zuko massages his temples. Although, he supposes that there is some humor in that faux innocence. It is infinitely better than her former, outright viciousness. He can work with a more playful, mischievous Azula. 

 “Then give me something to do, Zuzu. I am terribly bored.” Evidently, it seems like she grows bored very easily. Now that there are no fugitives to capture, no wars to fight. She never did do well with the mundane and the day to day. It isn’t as exciting for her. 

“Read a book? Paint a picture? Feed the turtle-ducks?” 

Azula scrunches her nose. “Give me something worthwhile to do.” 

He really doesn’t know how to tell her that, these days, there aren’t really any truly impactful matters to attend, let alone life altering things. The sorts of thrills that keep her entertained and off of his growing pile of cumbersome paperwork. 

“If you let me finish reading these, I might find something.” He knows that he is lying and she does too. Truth be told, he is getting rather bored for himself. 

She moves her arms and stands behind him with her arms folded. He tries to ignore her as he flips through the pile for the letter detailing the most pressing problem. And just like that his thoughts begin to shift from that boredom and the prospect of a very lengthy era of nothing in particular to a growing sense that his days of peace are coming to an end. Amid the mundane tasks is a letter from a traveler. Each word brings him a step away from the prospect of prolonged relaxation and one step closer to another gradious adventure. 

Zuko doesn’t know how much stock he should put into the letter or if he should put any at all. The letter’s sender isn’t exactly credible. 

He digs it out of the pile and holds it out to Azula no less. 

“What’s this?”

“Read it.” 

He gives her a moment, watching her eyes sweep the page. “A joke.” She casts it aside. “Or a story.” 

“Why would someone write me a story about dragons wanting to go to war with us?”

Azula shrugs. “Maybe they are as bored as I am.” She sniffs. “Spirits, I pity them if they are more bored than I am…” She twirls her bangs around her pointer and shifts her weight from one foot to the other. 

“This is serious.”

Azula rolls her eyes. “Is it? The dragons are long dead.” 

She is as offensively blunt as ever. 

Zuko knits his brows. “No, not all of them.” 

“I’ll humor you, Zuzu. But only because I really have nothing else to do right now. What do the last dragons want with us?”

“I guess that we’re going to have to meet with them and find out.” 

“You mean that you will. I’ll stay here and make sure things stay in order.” He can see it on her face that she has been waiting for a chance to snag the crown, even if it’s only for a moment. “Don’t worry, I won’t destroy my own nation.” 

“I need someone to go with me.” 

“Send a messenger hawk to the Avatar, I’m sure that he’d be glad to go on another quest with you. It has been a while, hasn’t it?” She gives a nonchalant shrug. “Or I suppose that I can go…”

“You’re not going along.”

“You still don’t trust me.” She guesses flatly.

“No!” Zuko says quickly. “It’s not that. Believe it or not I actually kind of care about you…”

“I can take care of myself, Zuzu. I haven’t had…” she clears her throat, her face coloring ever so slightly. “A moment since the comet.” 

Zuko taps his fingers upon the table. “We can go together. I can leave Mai in charge for a bit.” Her expression goes curiously blank. It is an expression that he has come to know as resignation, perhaps disappointment. “Alright, fine.” He caves with a groan. “You can stay here and watch over things. I’ll bring Aang with me to meet with the dragons.”

She gives him the faintest flash of a smile. “Crown?” She holds out her hand and wiggles her fingers. 

He rolls his eyes and places it in her palm. “Just don’t change any laws or  policies on me.” 

“Not even the stupid ones?”

“N-not even the stupid ones!” He sputters. 

.oOo. 

That night she dreams of dragons. Flashes of red and blue scales and then gold and green. They are everywhere, pillaging the landscape with a power both awesome and fearsome. A power that she, even deep within the dreamscape, envies with all of her soul. She finds herself overtaken by a longing. 

A desire to be in the sky with them, mighty and unstoppable. To have wings of her own and scales and claws. 

The whole of the Fire Nation is consumed by its own element. The streets are a cacophony of screams. The pathways have a fine paint of blood, red as the banners that flap tattered and singed in the breeze. Claws swoop from the sky and steal lives away and she is in the middle of it all. 

In the center of the chaos and the destruction. 

Right in the center, at the heart of it all. 

There is nothing but horror and hopelessness around her from all angles and vantage points. Screams and pleas and people shouting their disrepair as claws rake through them and fire rains upon them. 

And yet all she feels is longing. 

Deep and terrible longing. 

.oOo.

Being the Fire Lord, she finds, is just as dull as pretty much everything else. Mostly it consists of sitting up straight, tall, and proud or–when she is alone and unmonitored–laying down and sitting in more ridiculous but significantly more comfortable positions. 

Much of her time is spent watching her fire shift and dance while she waits for Lo and Li to give her some business to attend or some urgent matter to address. There are no urgent matters, nothing but more letters coming in from their mysterious traveler. She doesn’t find these particularly exciting anymore; there is only so much, ‘we’re going to die a scaly, fiery death’ that she can read before her eyes gloss over and the words lose their impact. 

Azula lays back, clasping her hands atop her sternum and groans to herself; she should have just taken Zuzu up on his offer to let him talk to the dragons. But no, she just had to get a taste of the throne, of what she could have had. She supposes that she is somewhat grateful–at least now she knows that she can stop mourning what could have been. 

Evidently, what could have been is completely unsatisfactory and the more time she spends beneath the weight of the crown the less she can see herself wearing it for good. As much as she hates to admit it, Zuko, Uncle, Aang…all of them–they were right. She very much does need to figure out just what she wants and it isn’t this crown. 

She needs something that feels fulfilling and exciting. Something that can put her talents to good use. Something that doesn’t also leave her with a sense of longing, something that doesn’t make her feel bound and chained. 

In wearing the crown she begins to consider that it probably has more control over she and her life than she does of it. And she can’t imagine that it is any different for Zuzu if his drab expressions are anything to go by.

She taps her fingers against her sternum. 

The ceiling above with its golden reliefs shimmers above her. The metallic dragons coil and uncoil, having more fun than she ever can and they are only carefully sculpted depictions. 

Azula sighs. 

The dragons seem to reach down to her with their golden claws. And, just because no one else is around, she finds herself extending her hand to the ceiling. 

For a moment she can pretend like her warm hand is touching its cold claws. 

The fire around her dances, blazing a brilliant blue. 

Azula closes her eyes, feels the heat on her face. 

She wants to be close to that heat. Wants to feel the fire in her belly stir and sear. She wants to hold more power and fire than her own petite body could possibly allow. Sometimes she feels fragile and delicate; her skin is so soft and her frame is so slight. 

Sometimes she feels like the things inside of her are much larger than her body. 

Sometimes she feels like her mind has outgrown it. 

And maybe that is why she gets so bored so easily, why she always has to chase that thrill, that rush. 

Maybe that is what drives her mind to such dark and frightening places. Maybe it is not meant to be contained.

Maybe it was meant for something bigger.

[messers-moony]

Save you, Always | F.H

Paring: Five Hargreeves X Fem!Reader

Summary: A mission at the zoo goes wrong.

Ask: I have a big fear of snakes (Really🥶) Can the character be Five Hargreeves? Any gender is fine with me

Five always found her intriguing. The way she’d slip her hair behind her ear or the way she’d twist her pencil. How her hair always seemed to be brushed even after a horrid mission. The way blood stained her cheek in such an angelic way. Maybe he was wrong for thinking that, but Five thought she was beautiful.

Reginald always went hard on her for reasons none of them knew. Y/n was a telekinetic badass. She always excelled in her training and studies, so it didn’t make sense why Reginald was so hard on her. Everything she did seemed to bother him. The way she walked, talked, moved, or the way she knew everything.

Today they had a mission at the zoo. People came into the zoo armed and ready for a reason they didn’t know. Five and Y/n were paired together. They were led into the reptile section, where there were turtles, alligators, bearded dragons, and last but not least, snakes.

It got messy fast. It wasn’t supposed to get this bad. Blood splattered everywhere, and animals had escaped from their cages. Y/n was trying to keep them in place by using her telekinesis, but the moment a snake jumped at her, she lost control. Y/n screamed, and Five spatial jumped in front of her, keeping her safe.

The knife in Y/n’s waistband was grabbed from Five and sliced through the snake's neck. Y/n released a breath of carbon dioxide from her body in relief as the snake collapsed to the ground. Five wiped the blood from the blade on his uniform before handing it to her, handle first.

“Here you are, darling.”

Y/n chuckled, “My knight in shining armor, huh?”

Five wiped some blood off her cheek with a caring smile; he kissed her forehead, “I’ll always save you.”

Join my 800 follower celebration!

[rhetoricandlogic]

By: Catherynne M. Valente

Art by: Thais Leiros

Issue: 7 September 2020

9199 words                                                                                   

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Variations in Luminance

Big Edie was a useless piece of shit.

Johanna Telle found the most significant relationship of her life on a Saturday afternoon in late May, sitting on one of those excruciatingly handmade quilts crafty stay-at-homes used to make out of their precious baby’s old clothes and putting a deep, damp dent in the buttercup-infested lawn of 11 Buckthorn Drive, Ossining, New York. A four-pointed Arkansas Traveler star radiated out around her, each of the four diamond patches so exquisitely nailing the era of the quilter’s pax materna that Johanna pulled out her Leica and snapped a shot before the homeowners could stop her: The Pretenders, Captain Planet Says No Nukes, Got Milk? and a Hypercolor tee subjected, as so many had been, to the indignity of a commercial dryer until it finally gave up the thermochromic ghost, its worn cotton-poly blend permanently stuck on a sad blown-out pink.

And Big Edie in the middle, ugly as all the sins of man, with a box of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Second Edition modules on the eastern point of the compass, a mint condition Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Sewer Lair Playset to the west, a working laserdisc player up north, and down south, one beefy hardcase Samsonite in Executive Silver with a handwritten sign on it promising a complete set of signed first edition Danielle Steel hardbacks inside. A steal at $300, suitcase included.

Still life with late 80's/early 90's. Johanna loved it.

But she only had eyes for Big Edie. The absolute and utter trashbeast technological abortion winking up cheekily at her from within a nest of vanished childhoods.

She’d driven all the way out into the golden calcified time-bubble of the Hudson Valley after the ephemeral promises of an estate sale. The people here had so much money they never had to grow or change or evolve past the approximate epoch of their children’s most precocious years. That’s how Johanna had gotten a Hasselblad for $90 and a fake phone number a couple of years ago at a fuck-Gam-Gam-just-get-rid-of-this-junk free-for-all in Stonybrook. You just crossed your eyes and hoped the kids were the type to tell everyone who never asked that social media was a disease and didn’t sully themselves with Google or eBay.

This was clearly the case on that late-May Ossining afternoon. The card balanced against Big Edie’s case read:

Does Not Work. $50 OBO.

Johanna Telle smiled in the perfect post-processed sun. The EDC-55 ED-Beta Camcorder retailed for a cool $7700 in 1987. Just over sixteen grand in 2015 funbucks. It could produce over 550 lines of resolution in an age where high definition was barely even a phrase. Automatic iris control, dual 2-3 inch precision CCD imaging, Fujinon f1.7 range macro zoom, on-the-fly audio/video editing, capable of recording in hi-fi stereo and most impressively for its time, native video playback. Angular black and matte silver bug-ugly design. The last glorious 13.5-kilogram gasp of the Betamax world, still in its hardcase shell, that particular shade of tan that meant Serious Business for the Terminally 80's Man.

In digital terms, Big Edie was prehistoric. Big Edie was fucking Cretaceous. If there was a camera set up on a tripod to record what happened when the primordial soup stopped being polite and started getting real, Big Edie would have been a top-tier choice for the discerning prosumer.

Big Edie was archaeology.

Johanna whipped her faded seafoam-green hair to one side and hefted that machine corpse onto her dark brown shoulder. She was comically heavy. The weight of a dead world, its concerns long quieted.

Johanna Telle, when she was paying attention, when she was happy, in those moments when she was most definitively Johanna, saw down to the deeps of things. It was all she was really good at, in her estimation. She saw that world, le regime ancien, projected onto the back of her skull like a drive-in theater screen.

When she was little, she’d sat criss-cross applesauce in her mother’s lap in a kind of mute blue nirvana, watching a crew send an unmanned submersible in a metal cage down the icy miles to find the HMS Titanic. Before her father left them, before they lost the house, before the hundred little fatal cuts of getting from one end of childhood to the other. Long beams of light broke the black water of forgetting and scattered across that ghostly bow and found what had been lost. Impossibly lost. Forever. Johanna had barely been able to breathe. She knew herself then, in that terrifying way you know things when you are small. The warmth of her mother’s chest rose and fell behind her, an entire universe of protection and presence. A gentle little prick of the aquamarine pendant she always wore against Johanna’s scalp. The familiar smell of Pink Window, her mother’s signature Red Door knockoff, pulsing off her clavicle. The tinny voice of a rich man floating out of the blue ocean. Later, when the neighborhood kids played games on their unforgivably Spielbergian suburban streets, hollering I’m the Incredible Hulk or I’m the Pink Ranger or I’m Tenderheart Bear, Johanna would call out something nominally culturally appropriate but whisper the truth to herself, which never changed, no matter the game or the streets: I am the exterior lighting array on Robert Ballard’s Argo ROV unit.

Johanna put her eye to Big Edie’s viewfinder. The black cup pocked gently against her cheekbone. Such a nice feeling. Like holding a girl’s hand for the first time. She stared into inert darkness.

“It only takes these weird old tapes,” someone said from outside Edie’s warm lightless innards. A friendly, well-hydrated, nicely-brought-up male voice, full of solicitude, exhausted, heartbroken, hanging in there, like the orange kitten in the old poster.

Johanna didn’t look up. She amused herself picturing the kitten putting its paws on its hips and whistling regretfully through its sharp teeth at the $50 OBO paperweight before them. She suppressed her not-very-inner snob. Yes, dear, ED Super Beta II and III series cassettes. You can still get them, anywhere between $35 and $50 a pop. You can still get anything if you don’t care what it costs.

“There’s one stuck in there. Made a nasty sound when I tried to lever it out. I don’t have any others, though. Dad didn’t stick with this one for very long. I put his digital cameras around by the hydrangeas, way better. You want me to show you?”

“Does it turn on?”

“Nope. Well, not unless it’s a Tuesday and the moon is in Pisces and you’re standing on one foot or some shit. I keep the battery charged up, though. I heard you have to do that or it degrades. I’m Jeff, by the way.”

Of course you are. That’s what they always name soft orange kittens like you.

Johanna’s fingers slid down Big Edie’s flank and found the raised plastic goose-pimple that marked the power button as easily as a practiced accordionist settling onto C Major. She pointed the lens at the bereaved child of its former owner and hit the big red square.

A firehose of light white-watered through the generous 1.5” black and white viewfinder into her cerebral cortex. In the middle of it stood, not the hang in there kitten, but a tall handsome guy in his late twenties or early thirties. Big emotive eyes, tennis shorts, dark polo shirt, with a shimmer of beard-stubble six or seven hours deep, hair the cut and style of debate team and law school and firm handshakes and warm decades ahead in a secure center-right Senate seat.

A shard of glass punched through his chest. Black monochrome blood sheeted down over his shorts and his long, grey, summer-muscled legs. His neck whipped hard to the side, like he’d suddenly seen an old girlfriend and was about to call her name, but when he opened his mouth, a jet of dark liquid spurted onto the quilt of his so-loved childhood clothes. It cut across the white block-print Pretenders in a clean spattered line.

“What’s the verdict?” Jeff asked. That voice like a clean fingernail cut through Johanna’s attention. She yanked her face up off the viewfinder. Jeff’s fine blond eyebrows arched curiously before her in full color, waiting to find out if that old Betamax monster still had juice. If the moon was, in fact, in Pisces. He shoved his hands in the pockets of a paint-splattered pair of jeans.

Johanna glanced back down into Big Edie’s gullet. It was waiting down there, that death-image of silver and ichor.

“I like your shirt,” she said. The walls of her throat stuck together. Inside the camera, that charcoal polo dripped silent-film blood onto his new white tennis shoes. Outside, he wore a slim-cut celery-green tee with Newport Folk Festival 2010 stamped across his chest in a faux-rustic font. She could look back and forth between them. Back and forth. Black and white. Color. Black and white. Grey and green. Green and grey. And wet, dripping jet-onyx blood. All that faded thermochromicity blazing back onto the scene to react with the not live but definitely Memorex heat-death of Jeff from Ossining.

Big Edie went down for the count.

The image guttered out like a pilot light, a sound both grinding and whining shook through her, and she rather ungracefully peaced out.

“$30?”

“All yours,” Jeff grinned.

He took Johanna Telle’s money and strode off across the mown lawn, through the labyrinth of his late father’s obsessions, the sun on his shoulders as though it would never leave him.

Aliasing

It’s much easier to pry a stuck tape out of a machine when you’re not that bothered if you break it. Get a screwdriver and a Sharpie and believe in yourself. It came free with significant but impotent protest, trailing a tangled mess of ropy ED Supra Beta II behind it. Johanna wound the mistreated tape back through the cartridge with the pen the way kids would never do again, and she would have been perfectly content for the rest of her days on this maudlin, over-saturated planet if she could have said the stupid suburban sun got in her eyes and that’s all she really saw.

But Betamax tells no lies.

Johanna sat on the floor of her apartment like the kid from Poltergeist all grown up, heavily medicated, and a cog in the gig economy. A massive daisy chain of converter cables hooked Big Edie up to the living room flatscreen, each one coaxing the signal five or six years forward from 1987 to the slick shiny present day.

The reflected video image washed her face in color. A forgotten pleasure, like the taste of ancient Egyptian beer. You used to always see your shot in black and white when you looked through the viewfinder. You only got to see the colors when you reviewed the footage. Inside the camera was another planet. Color was a side effect of traveling from that world to this one. Step from Kansas into Oz, cross your fingers for fidelity, saturation, hue, hope those shoes still look as red as they did before you crammed them through a lens.

So. No more black and white artsy viewfinder image. Now it was straight outta Kodachrome. But this tape sat in Big Edie’s time-out box for thirty years. Chromatic degradation slipped and popped all over the image, sickly green blooms, hot orange halos, compression artefacts, uncanny edging that rimmed this and that object in weird chemical colors.

Johanna watched a factory-direct 70's mustache-dad with tennis socks up to God’s chin helping his small, yet unmistakably Jeff, son unwrap a record player on Christmas morning. Big Edie came standard automatic fade-in and fade-out, so everything transitioned elegantly, creating a subtle sense of deliberate editing where none truly existed. Fade to black, then a slow melt into a hopeless lacrosse game, small children running nowhere, hitting each other with sticks too big for them to hold properly.

Another bloom of darkness.

A school play, reedy, vulnerable pre-adolescent Jeff dressed as a cloud fringed with silver tinsel rain, twirling and twirling, technique-free, his arms stretched out. Then another and Johanna presumed this was Jeff’s mother, the maker of the T-shirt quilt, 80% Diane Keaton, 20% Shelley Duvall, a white-wine flush on her cheeks, smiling up at the man with the camera in frank, unguarded affection and not a little desire, her shoulders bare above a strapless summer dress the color of the hydrangeas she probably hadn’t even planted yet.

Such wildly un-special moments, clichés of heart-beggaring authenticity, carefully cut out of the flow of time and pasted into the future, selected for immortality for no particular reason, random access memories transfigured into light that cannot die—but can get stuck in a metal cage for want of a Sharpie and a flathead.

Time travel. The only real time travel, unnoticed and uncredited because it was so unbearably slow. In the present, you use this astonishing machine to freeze the past. And you send it to the future. One second per second.

The image cut to black and then it was 2015 and Jeff selling off a lifetime of his father’s lovingly dragon-hoarded objets d’American masculinity. Standing on a lawn with catalogue-ready light and dark green stripes in the grass. Talking not to the man who produced and directed his childhood but to Johanna. She can hear her own voice on the recording.

Does it turn on?

He makes a joke about the moon and tells her his name. Sitting alone in the dark, Johanna realizes he was flirting with her, and she has a second to wonder what his mustached father’s name was before the glass smashes through his sternum again and blood streams down to soak a just out-of-frame blanket stitched together from mass-marketed polyester and lost time.

Johanna ran the tape back. Then she watched it again.

Back. And again.

She was still doing it when the morning broke into her apartment without announcing itself.

Five weeks later, she’ll be down to two or three run-throughs a day. An article will swim across her feed.

Late Night Four-Car Pile Up on I-84 Leaves Two Dead, Seven Injured.

Jeffrey Havemeyer of Westchester County, NY, 34, remains in critical care.

Johanna will feel nothing. She’s seen it a thousand times already.

Overclocking

“Sit there,” Johanna tells her cousin’s daughter, pointing at a cracked leather barstool.

Anika is nineteen, in her second year at Columbia. She is everything Johanna is not: mentally stable, tall, good hair, vegan, grounded by parental encouragement and affection, prone to healthy relationships, able to commit to an exercise regimen. The twenty-first-century girl. Johanna has always found her fascinating. Scientifically. It’s like hanging out with an alien. Your whole ecosystem is based in carbon and abandonment and trash, and you just always assumed those were the essential building blocks of life, but it turns out they’re totally unnecessary and sentient beings can just as well be made out of palladium and love and sensible choices instead, look at this actual good person right here, you have the same nose.

Johanna’s arthritic Great Dane watches them coolly from his massive fluffy bed.

“Your hair looks like a badger,” Anika says.

It’s been some time since Ossining and quilt and the hydrangeas and what Johanna has come to think of as the glitch. Technical difficulties. Runtime error. It’s late summer. Sweat darkens Anika’s hairline under the expected carefully messy topknot. The boroughs are one long incessant screech of twelve million window-mounted air conditioners and the smell of warm garbage bags, round and shiny on every doorstep.

Seafoam green softheart mermaid look out; icicle-white collarbone-length brutalist bob with black tips in.

“I like to think of it as ermine. You know, royal cloaks and all that.”

“Did you know ermines are just regular stoats with their winter coats on?” Anika helpfully informs her. “Not special at all. Fancy weasels. Glam weasels.”

“That’s perfect. I myself am a decidedly unspecial glam weasel.”

Johanna adjusts the tripod under Big Edie. It took Johanna weeks to gut the old girl, order parts, and convince her that modern life truly was worth living. Nothing really wrong with her at all, other than the audio-visual equivalent of osteoporosis and a bad back. Johanna loved the work. Data was invisible now. Stored on sand, transferred on air, transcending physical form. Light talking to light. But not Big Edie. She was very visible. Gross and awkward and tangible. The girl would never be good as new again. But she was good enough.

“No you’re not, you’re amazing,” Anika says softly, and Johanna can hear the little girl she’s known in that grown-up, gonna-save-the-world-with-believing-it-can-be-saved voice.

Johanna ignores this obvious lie.

They’ve already done a few shots with the Hasselblad, the Leica, a couple with her phone. She doesn’t really know why she’s putting on a show. Anika wouldn’t question just sitting in front of an old Betamax camcorder for a few minutes and then heading off for Hungarian pastries and a good full-body-cleanse political rant. But it feels important that today has the appearance of a plausibly professional kind of thing. Not that Johanna is using her.

Which she is.

Johanna doesn’t have access to a lot of people at the moment. They find her offputting. Not user-friendly. An unintuitive interface. Carbon-based.

“Can you let the blinds down halfway?” she asks.

Anika does. Slats of August light and dark slash down her face and torso (like glass slicing through skin) like an old pre-lapsarian end-of-programming test screen. It would be a gorgeous shot even if the shot was the point.

“I mean it. This apartment, your work. Margot. Mapplethorpe.” The Great Dane’s floppy black ears perk up at the sound of his name. “I love it here. You’re living the dream.”

Johanna hesitates with her forefinger over the record button. God, she remembers how much she hated it when people told her college wasn’t the real world and she had no idea what it was like out there, as if studying and working full-time wasn’t more work and less fun than the barren salt flats of adulthood between your twenties and death. But she wanted badly to shovel the same shit for Anika now. The only way you could look at this place and see a dream was through a lens that had never touched reality.

This is fine, she tells herself. The Havemeyer Glitch is not a thing. Just a shill for Big Coincidence. It’s not like he died. And besides, nothing bad can ever happen to Anika. She is a palladium-based life form. So this is fine. It’s for science. You will take beautiful footage of your beautiful niece-once-removed, and buy her a walnut kolachi, and she will tell her mother what a nice time she had.

“Margot moved out last week,” Johanna says without emotion. Margot moved out three months ago. She left a purple brush in the bathroom. Long black hair still tangled up in it. Johanna can’t bring herself to move the last cells of Margot that exist in proximity to Johanna’s cells.

“Oh,” Anika replies gently. “So that’s why you changed your hair.”

Johanna hits record.

For eighty-seven seconds, the only thing Big Edie has to say is that Anika Telle was born for the camera, a portrait of her generation, artlessly artful, a corkscrew of loose dark hair hanging forward to catch the light, one grey bare leg tucked up beneath a billowy sack dress with small elephants printed on it, the other not quite long enough to touch the peeling floor. Her expression genuinely, infinitely, but entirely temporarily sad for the misfortunes of someone else. See? This is fine. Tell her to say something. Recite Shakespeare. Or Seinfeld.

Deep in Big Edie’s viewfinder, Anika’s left eye crumples in a wet gush of pearl and black. Her head rockets back, shrouded in mist. She coughs, gags, tears streaming from her remaining eye. She’s still sitting on the barstool in Johanna’s apartment with silvery botanical wallpaper behind her, the tall window, the August sun, the half-drawn blinds. But the Anika in the camera wears black leggings, a puffy black winter coat, a black surgical mask. White duct tape criss-crosses the back of her jacket to form the words: #NOJUSTICE. She’s older, the lingering baby softness in her jaw gone, her hair a buzzed undercut. The cords on her neck stand out as she runs, her face ruined, blind with pain, stumbling, looking over her shoulder as she bolts on the video feed from one end of the living room to the other. Out of nothing, a cop in riot gear steps out of Johanna’s kitchenette, grabs the back of Anika’s skull in one hand and shoves her down. Anika-in-black falls to her knees, sobbing, puking into her mask, holding one hand to the hole where her eye used to be, screaming silently into Johanna’s (Margot’s) red paisley rug.

Johanna yanks her head up out of the sucking desaturated pit of the camera.

Mapplethorpe snores loudly. Trucks beep in reverse outside the apartment building. Anika sighs softly, bored but not rude. She scratches a mosquito bite on her knee. “I really am sorry. I liked Margot. She was good for you, I think. Got you out of the house.”

All the blood has either rushed to or drained from Johanna’s head. She can’t tell which. All she can hear or feel is her own pulse slamming itself against her eardrums.

“Do you … want me to do something?” Anika asks uncertainly.

Johanna shuts the camera down quickly. The image at the bottom of the viewfinder clicks out of existence. She tries to talk, but there’s no talk to be found. Just the burning hot green-on-red afterimage of a crystal brown eye collapsing in its socket, over and over.

“Come on, Auntie J,” Anika says finally, hopping lightly off the stool and bending down, scratching Mapplethorpe between his spotted shoulder blades. “Dinner’s on me. Malaysian okay? Maps can have a curry puff, can’t you, baby?”

Test Pattern

An experiment that cannot be repeated is evidence of nothing.

Johanna establishes a beachhead in Owl’s Head Park. Back supported by a black walnut tree. Bare toes clenched in a sea of tiny white flowers and clover-infiltrated grass. Big Edie propped against her breastbone, lens stabilized by knees on either side. Mapplethorpe’s yellow lead loops around her ankle, but the big fellow has long passed his days of running off after unsuspecting children. He munches philosophically on a pricey organic broth-basted rawhide shaped like a braided ring.

She finds a target, hits the button, rolls footage for a few minutes, tracking them as they throw frisbees for far-inferior dogs or kick soccer balls or kiss on picnic blankets or drag giant wooden chess pieces across a giant board or just walk aimlessly, whatever Saturday afternoon moves them to do. She doesn’t look through the viewfinder into that hellworld of black and white. Just presses buttons.

Turn it on.

Shut it off.

Find someone new.

Repeat.

She chooses at random. No more Anikas. No one is special, or unspecial. It doesn’t matter who they are or what they look like. They’re just data. That man, that woman, that child, that set of twin babies, those skaters, that guy sleeping with a James Patterson book over his eyes. Compressed data to be converted later.

Johanna’s brain checks out and begins a speed run through the five stages of grief over the death of a reliable reality. Denial: you’re losing it, change up your medication, girl, it’s not real, it’s not anything, just a stupid old camera that you bought because you are stupid, at best it’s old footage coming through on an old tape.

Stop recording. New person. Girl in green skinny jeans with a sketchbook.

Anger: fuck this, fuck you, fuck estate sales, fuck Robert Ballard, fuck the Columbia School of Law, fuck sad elephant print fabric, fuck hydrangeas, fuck curry puffs that make my dog poop out his soul, fuck Betamax you dumb drooling obsolete idiot tech, fuck me, fuck my dad, fuck Jeff Havemeyer’s dad, fuck I-84, fuck Margot, fuck the linear flow of time, fuck everything, life is garbage and this is proof. Why is this happening to me?

Stop. Scan. Record. Lanky white-dude dreds fuckboy in a vest but no shirt.

Depression: Of course it’s happening to me, because I am garbage and this is proof, and whatever cosmic hazmat disposal dump site got its back end trapped in my camera would only open the gates to a warped maladjust like me.

Stop. Scan. Record. Old man on the bench with god-tier eyebrows and a yellow plastic sunflower in his lapel.

Bargaining: I’ll just watch this back tonight and whatever happens, afterward I’ll tip Big Edie in the bin and never tell anyone. And then I will straighten up and clean my apartment and go on Tinder and eat leafy greens five times a day and see Anika more often and make amends and buy an exercise bike. Okay, Elder AV Club Gods? Deal?

Stop. Scan. Record. Kid on a dirt bike with (elephants) puffins on her dress.

Acceptance.

Acceptance.

Acceptance is Johanna sitting cross-legged (criss-cross applesauce) on Mapplethorpe’s bed while he snoozes jowlfully on the couch. She braces herself for red slicks of gore and bone. For Jeff and Anika redux. Once is luck, two is coincidence, three is a pattern … or at least time to wake up and smell what your inevitable descent into psychosis is cooking.

But that’s not what Big Edie has for her.

Not entirely, anyway.

Entropic Coding

Gloppy August sunlight washes out the image. Everything is overexposed, too bright, unforgiving. His thin chest rises and falls with his breath. He watches a small blue and white bird hop nervously down the iron rail of his park bench. A cerulean warbler, Johanna notes with supreme irrelevance. Closer to him, then further away, then close again. He crumbles a crust of brown bread on his tweedy knee and waits knowingly. This goes on long enough that Johanna starts to relax. It isn’t going to happen again. The bird will give in, and eat, and Johanna’s life will resume the program already in progress.

Then the sunlight cools, then it darkens, then it is a dim nothing-watt lamp with a tacky early 60's cherry pattern on the shade. The branches of black oak and Dutch elm in Owl’s Head Park still reach into the frame like kids who’ve spotted a news crew, showing off in the background, dying to get on TV. But the bench and the octogenarian perched on it have become a mustard-colored corduroy sofa and a young man with his head in his hands. Vaguely Scandinavian mid-century wooden end tables bookend the couch. A clock with thin brass spikes radiating out around it ticks over a clearly decorative fireplace. Above the man hangs a proto-Bob Ross painting of standard-issue lake/pines/mountain/lonely boat in a dizzying array of shades from brown to brown. Children’s toys cover the floor. At least one boy and one girl. Maybe more. Wooden blocks, a rocking horse with yellow yarn hair, green plastic army men. Donald Duck and Bugs Bunny and Snoopy staring lifelessly at the ceiling in a triple rictus of frozen grimaces. A book of Connie Francis paper dolls with most of the smiling valium-glazed Connies already carefully cut out hiding under the formica coffee table. A Funflowers Vac-U-Form Maker-Pak Johanna recognizes from a box of crap her grandmother let her play with the year they had to live with her because, no matter how she tried to pretend it was an adventure, her mother had no options left. You squeezed out perfumed lucite goo into molds and made “Daffy Dills” and “Tuffy Tulips” that looked like crystals in the sun until you got bored and broke a vase just to get some attention. A Spirograph and stacks of spiralled paper, scattered across the avocado shag carpet like ticker tape after the parade has gone. Like mystic offerings before the massive, inert cabinet television that probably weighs more than everyone who lives here put together. The kinds of toys you lift off a flea market shelf with joy and reverence, despite the peeling paint and chipped edges and missing vital organs.

But these are all new.

A wind moves through Owl’s Head Park and dappled shadows in the jaundiced light of the living room move across the man, the sofa, the table, the TV, the toys, the cherry lampshade.

The man on the yellow sofa looks up.

He is so young. Perhaps thirty-five, perhaps not even that. His incredible, architectural eyebrows are dark brown now; he has all his hair. He’s still wearing a suit, but this one has wide lapels, no tie, a plaid pattern that will crown endcaps in Goodwill until the sun burns out. He looks exhausted. Someone’s been smoking all night and it was probably him. maybe not just him. Butts overflow a pink pearlescent ashtray under the cherry lamp. About a third have frosted coral lipstick prints glowing on their filters, each one fainter than the last.

Johanna braces herself for the shard of glass or the ruination of his eye or gunshot or gas leak, whatever is about to break this poor soul in half. Her heart rate spins up into the rhythm of a jet propeller carrying her into nothing and nowhere. Her stomach muscles clench for impact.

But: the man gets up. Wipes his palms on his wrinkled pants. Walks across the room. Stops. Bends down to pull one perfect yellow Vac-U-Form Funflower out of the pile of misshapen attempts. Slides it into his lapel. The man leaves the house. He closes the door behind him so gently it doesn’t even click. No sound at all until his car engine starts outside, and then that’s gone too.

In the margins of the image, the cerulean warbler flies off with a cry. The shadow of his little body flickers over the empty room.

Fade out.

Fade in on the girl in the green skinny jeans and peasant blouse lying with her sketchbook under the willow tree.

Johanna makes it five people and ten minutes sixteen seconds deep by the overlarge alarm-clock-style timestamp before she scrambles off the dog bed and shuts the whole rig off.

An hour later, she gets out of bed and pads back to the living room on tiptoe, as if afraid to wake Margot’s brush. Blue light washes her cheeks and her hands and her walls and Johanna doesn’t move until it’s over.

Then she hits rewind and starts over from the beginning.

Image Burn

Mapplethorpe makes it another year before turning his creaky back on that big dog life. Since Johanna got to keep him through the quiet post-apocalypse of their union, they agreed Margot could have his ashes.

She looks the same. Just the same. As if Margot stepped out of the day she left and into today with no interruption in continuity. Johanna knows that dress, the navy blue vintagey thing with white piping and a little too much room in the torso, but that she refused to take in or give up on, because at thirty-seven, she might still have some growing left in her.

“Your hair,” Margot says softly. She steps gingerly over the map of cables and playback devices that have replaced living breathing life for Johanna and sits uncomfortably in the old bisque-colored armchair (falls asleep re-reading Harry Potter in it during a snowstorm five years ago; Johanna drapes a crocheted blanket over her and squeezes the bare foot hanging over the overstuffed arm gently, fondly). She sits as though she is trying to hover, as thought it might burn her to stay.

“What about my hair?”

“It’s … shocking.”

“It’s my hair.”

“I assumed you would have gone puce or checkerboard by now. Your actual hair hasn’t seen the light of day since high school as far as I know.”

Johanna only dimly recalls that she used to care about things like wilding her hair. It seems like a fact about a stranger. Like something she would see on Big Edie and use to pinpoint a date.

They make small talk. Margot is leaving the city soon. She’s bought a house in Providence with her wife, two blows Johanna absorbs expressionlessly as a cascade of words concerning Victorian architectural flourishes and small, private ceremonies patter down around her ears like raindrops. Mrs. Margot was apparently called Juniper, because of course she was, bet you call her June-bug too, gross. She was joining the obstetrics team at Rhode Island Hospital. Margot would teach very well-scrubbed scions of the even-better scrubbed at a private prep academy in the fall. Plant heirloom squash. Adopt three-legged rescue Labradors.

What are Johanna’s plans? If she has a gallery show before September, Margot would love to come. Anyone new in her life? How is Anika?

Well, Marge, I plan to shoot weddings and graduations and bar mitzvahs in which the cakes have significantly more artistic value than my entire self until I die alone pitched face-first into my takeout massaman with no dog and no stomach lining and no friends except a magic camera, can I get you a 40%-off Pinnacle buttered-popcorn-flavor vodka straight up, because that’s where I am right now.

But she doesn’t say that. She would never say that.

Instead, she decides to ruin Margot’s life. And in that moment, she genuinely believes it’ll work.

“Can I show you something?” Johanna says.

“Of course. Always.” Margot brushes her hair out of her eyes, now and a hundred thousand times in that chair, in this light. “New work?” Miss M was always her first audience, first viewer, the only other eye she trusted.

“Sort of. Mostly I just want you to tell me I’m not crazy.” And she doesn’t realize how entirely true that is until it’s out of her mouth and loosed on the dusty air.

Margot frowns. “You don’t look well. I didn’t want to say. Are you still drinking?”

Johanna laughs bitterly as she flips through the input options on the flatscreen. “Why would I not be drinking? Drink is friend.” She shoves delivery detritus off the couch to make a space: receipts, plastic bags, black takeout containers, breath mints and fortune cookies and after-dinner toffees.

And they watch together. Side by side. Just the same. Like it is before. Like she will pick up her purple brush again tonight and run it through her hair and come to bed and tomorrow will be years ago and the film of them will run forward from the splice.

Rather, Margot watches. And Johanna watches Margot.

The colors waver on her face like she’s underwater, staring up at the parade of strangers fading in and out before her.

The old man/young man on the park bench and the mustard-corduroy sofa.

The girl in the green skinny jeans under the willow and sitting at a bistro table with fake electronic candles as a man walks in, says her name uncertainly, kisses her cheek, orders an old-fashioned.

The guy with white-boy dreds and a vest with no shirt steps off a bike path and into a gorgeous apartment in no way decorated by a man who would wear a vest with no shirt even once, all minimalist monochrome, and a woman in pajama pants and jade chip earrings sobbing get out get out not one more minute I’m done get out.

A kid in a Spider-Man hoodie swinging upside down from a jungle gym and lying on his couch, a teenager, playing Madden on XBox, yelling to an invisible mother that he’ll mow the lawn, yeah yeah, just one more game.

And worse. A boy’s face fades into his forties on the subway. He asks why he’s being pulled over. A gash blooms on his beautiful brown neck. A student drinking alone in a bar ages fifteen years and loses twenty pounds between sips of house red. She waits for someone with frantic energy and when somebody shows up, gives her a little wax paper packet, leaves her to it, her fingers start to turn the color of corpses on the wine glass. A volunteer museum docent grows red rings and bags around his eyes but loses his wrinkles. Somewhere between the Ancient Greeks and Mesopotamian pottery, gets out of a Camry, locks it, and runs toward an appointment, wholly unseeing the baby in the backseat, asleep in a puffy lavender knitted hat.

“What is this?” Margot says. “Glitch art? Datamoshing? Like Planes and Jacquemin? What program did you use? It’s really seamless.”

“No program.”

“What do you mean ‘no program’? This is a practical effect?” Johanna chuckles mirthlessly. The screen shimmers. “Where did you find all these actors?”

“No, look, you’re not seeing. You have to look. The calendar in the apartment. The clothes the girl in the bistro is wearing. Do you recognize any of the players in that Madden game?”

“You know I don’t care about sports. I wouldn’t recognize any player’s name five minutes after I heard it.”

“Okay, fine. The song on the radio when the guy gets stuck in traffic.” She pauses it, waits for Margot to catch up, to see the faint cursive 2026-At-A-Glance calendar on the inside of the pantry door in that perfect sleek flat, the unfamiliar controls on the car dash. “I’ve never heard that song. You’ve never heard that song. Because that song doesn’t exist, on any service, in any catalogue, anywhere.”

“I’m sure that’s not true. Come on, you couldn’t possibly know that for certain, Jo.”

But Margot doesn’t see. Margot isn’t Robert Ballard’s submersible lighting array. She doesn’t know how to crawl into an image and live there. What she does glimpse in Johanna’s pleading eyes is the weight of time. Time she has spent searching for these things, for connections, hoping, honestly hoping, to find that song buried on some indie compilation CD with some revoltingly photoshopped jacket art and a discount sticker. And a thousand other objects like it. Books on televisions, limited edition toys, tie-widths, license plates, worse, more scattered, atomized, randomized information that never coalesced into anything but Johanna’s increasing silence and solitude. She vibrates so intensely it looks like she is sitting still.

And so, slowly, knowing how it sounds, hating how it sounds, Johanna explains about Big Edie as more strange moments unfold before the not-really-that-long-lost love of her life; naked bodies, and there are a lot of them, in embraces violent and lovely or both or neither, strangers meeting, over and over, in different clothes, different hairstyles, different seasons, a child abandoned in an airport in Reno, calling for her mother, surrounded by slot machines ringing in cherries and oranges, tears rolling down her face. And at the end of the reel, Jeff and his glass heart, Anika and her shattered eye, the long staircase into images that has become Johanna’s life.

Margot says nothing for some time. It is a terrible, sour nothing that lingers far too long in the air between them.

“So you think your camera shows … what? Death?”

“Maybe. Sometimes. But not always, not even often, really.”

“Then what if not that? The future? Like the calendar.”

“That’s closer, I think. Better. But at least a third of them are the past.”

“How do you know?”

“Well, the man in the living room is 1970. You can tell by the Updike book on top of the TV. That was the first edition cover, and it’s pristine. You can figure it out, sometimes. If you care about these things. If you know too much about garbage. And you know I know too much about garbage, M.”

Margot smiles faintly, but it is very faint.

“But also I went back to the park and talked to the guy. His name is Antony.” Johanna scratches at the back of her hand. “Antony left his family. In 1970. Just up and walked out on Grace, Walt, Irene, and Amelia, who he’d married when she was fucking seventeen. The proverbial running out for a pack of cigarettes. Left them like they were just … a skin he was molting.”

Margot looks for a way to shut it off, but Johanna doesn’t help her find it. Why should Margot get to turn away from it? Why should she escape?

“Fine,” she says coldly. “What is it then?”

Johanna takes a deep breath. “So whenever you transfer or transmit or store data, especially a lot of data, like audio or video or both, it gets compressed, and in the process, you lose a little bit of it. Maybe a lot, like MP3s were always straight garbage compactors for sound. Maybe only a little bit. Maybe so little you wouldn’t even notice. But in order to fit the storage device or the bandwidth, in order to save information or share it, you have to … you have to harm it. And that creates distortion. Halos. Noise. Warping. Busy regions in the image. Blocky deformations called quilting, and visual echoes called ghosts. They’re called compression artefacts, and that’s … that’s what I think these are. Distortions created by the present and everything else getting compressed, crushed into one stream. Halos and noise and warps and quilts and ghosts. A lot of words for damage. Just damage.

“But the answer is: I don’t really know what it does. Technically speaking, it’s a problem of parallax. Catastrophic parallax. A vast difference between the apparent object and the actual object. And for awhile, I thought it showed the worst day of your life. Which, odds are, for some percentage of people, is going to be the day you die. But not for everyone. Not for Antony. See, nothing ever went right for him after he left. Two more divorces and a dried-up retirement fund. Grandkids he isn’t allowed to meet. Lung cancer he picked up working a big gorgeous free man’s HVAC repair shop. But it took him almost his whole life to understand any of it. To process where he fucked up. What he lost when he thought he was barreling down the highway to a big gorgeous free man’s life. Big Edie knew it in an instant. She had his number faster than a speeding therapist, and that number was 1970. So it seemed to make enough sense. When I shot old people, Big Edie usually spat out the past. Young people mostly turned up older on playback. The future. That kid playing Madden. Madden 23, to be exact.” She points to him on the projection. The hole in his sock. The length of his hair. The name on the Patriots’ QB jersey.

“Do you actually expect me to believe your camera recorded something in 2023? Jo, come on. I’m really busy, and frankly, I’m not in the mood.”

“Just listen. Because then there was this. A wedding. Mr. and Mrs. Nathaniel and Lucy Vaclavik.” She fast-forwards through scene after scene. Johanna can tell just the sheer number of them is starting to look bad on her, and the manic sizzle in her voice isn’t helping, but she can’t stop herself.

The creams and golds and pops of understated rose-shades of a high-end matrimonial spread flood the screen. The bride waves her lily-dripping bouquet in the air. The Hudson River throbs with sunset behind her. Her hair sparkles with carefully applied glitter. Eyeliner and brows that date her nuptials as surely as a library stamp. Her new husband, in a grey tux, bends down to kiss her expertly neutral-frosted lips and their unified families clap like a gentle river of approval. The picture flows smoothly to the edge of the frame. No ghostly picture-in-picture. No shadows cast from other places, other times.

Margot smiles politely. Johanna knows she is losing her (has lost her). “I don’t get it.”

“I didn’t either,” she confesses softly. “I shot this no differently than the others. But what you see is what I saw. What Big Edie saw. No parallax. No difference in images. I rolled tape and the wedding marched right through the lens and back out again and it was just a wedding, no more or less. Nothing else has been like that. And the next day we got right back to business-as-horrible. I couldn’t figure it out. Why was it special? What was different? The thing is … he killed her. It made the news for about thirty seconds in April. They found her in the woods in Connecticut. But, you know, hedge fund guys aren’t that good at forensics, even if they’re 100% current on all CSI franchises, so they caught him pretty fast. So maybe … maybe Big Edie doesn’t record the worst thing that ever happened to you. Maybe it’s something so much smaller than that. The moment when the worst thing that ever happens to you sees you coming. Turns toward you in the dark. I think, once she married him, he was always going to hurt her. Because that was in him, an egg or a seed or a tumor, whatever you want to call it, a future that no longer has the option of not happening. The flowchart flows until you meet that person at that conference and then there’s no more choose your own adventure, you’re going to fall in love and they’re going to bankrupt you or betray you or just … disappoint you until there’s nothing left but cynicism swirling around at the bottom of your heart like tea leaves. Or leave you in the woods in Connecticut. I don’t know, maybe it’s just a huge ugly regret machine. And mostly I will never understand these. What happened to the Madden kid or the girl in the bar or why getting stuck in traffic on that particular day was so important to that man’s whole trajectory, or any of them, because that stuff doesn’t come across the AP like Mrs. Vaclavik. They’re just moments, unconnected, pulled free of every other moment.”

The wedding fades out and the two women wince together as a man they do not know pushes a woman they have never met against a wall. Blood trickles down her temple where she hit a picture frame and she looks up at him with unbelieving eyes.

“Enough,” Margot says. She grabs the remote. Shuts it all down. Turns to Johanna and touches her face. Touches her. No one has touched Johanna in a year. It is an alien burn. It is Margot. It is the past and the future and death, stroking her hair and making enormous eyes at her while the constituent atoms of their dog look on from the coffee table.

“I miss you so much,” Johanna whispers, and wishes she could have thought of something better, more elegant, more memorable, but her need banishes pretty words.

“Don’t,” Margot answers with finality. The finality of Providence, Rhode Island and heirloom squash varietals and Harrington Preparatory School and June-Bug and poor Mapplethorpe in a box.

“What do you think?” She cannot help that either, the need for her approval, her regard, the perfect full absent moon of her gaze on Johanna’s work, Johanna’s self.

“Honey … I think you need help. This is … this is nothing, J. It’s a bunch of slice of life shots of nothing in particular and three or four gory jump-scares. You taped over some movie of the week with a lot of nonsense. And I’m supposed to believe it’s what, magic? It’s you stalking strangers. Listen to yourself. Catastrophic parallax? You’re manic, you need care.”

But Johanna can’t hear that. “Okay, but that’s just exactly what I mean. Do you know what catastrophe means? It’s Greek. It just means a turn. A turn down or a turn under or a turn inside. A turn away.”

“Jo, this is basically a conspiracy theorist wall and you’re unspooling more red yarn. This is not an X-File. This is you not coping. As usual.”

“No, you don’t understand. I’ll show you. Just stand over there, I’ll shoot you for a few minutes, a few seconds, and you’ll see.” And what will Big Edie see? Margot leaving that hot, humid, unretrievable night, Margot packing up boxes for Providence, Margot right now, right here, telling Johanna she will never believe her? One of them, maybe, surely. What else was even possible?

“No,” Margot whispers firmly. “You don’t need me. And you definitely don’t need to ride that camera any harder. I’m not going to enable this. You just need help, baby. Professional help. That’s all. I have to go.”

“Wait—”

“I have to go.”

There is a disentangling, a hurry to go back, edit, remove even the idea that physical contact was made. Margot excuses herself to splash water on her face and Johanna sees herself in the mute black monitor, sees as the ex-moon of her night sees: a woman so thin her clothes don’t fit, who smells sour, whose hair hangs limp and unwashed, whose face has grown lines it didn’t have even a few weeks ago, degradation lines, juddering through the frame of her face.

Margot emerges awkwardly, chagrined, her familiar elfin face not one cell altered from the day she left, her voice echoing against every surface: I’m so fucking lonely, Jo, I’m lonely even when you’re here. Especially when you’re here. I’m lonely right the fuck now and I’m looking at you.

She holds up something in her hand. Something purple. Something precious.

“Forgot my brush,” she says softly.

And then she is gone.

Ghosts

Johanna puts it off for a long time.

Why bother? What use could it possibly be to her? What use is any of this? You couldn’t do one single thing with it. The shot was too tight to predict the future. Fight crime? Protect the innocent? No. The camera crowded the subject, an unbearable idiot intimacy that took away everything but the seeing itself.

But eventually, she was always going to do it.

Johanna watches herself on the flatscreen. Watches herself get up in Big Edie’s face. Fix the focus, back up to sit on the same barstool that held Anika all those ages ago, shifting awkwardly as she looks into the lens like an actor breaking the fourth wall.

She knows what she will see. She is calmly certain of it. She shouldn’t have bothered running the tape back for this little screening. She saw it the first time, when she was seven. When she was thirsty in the middle of the night and padded quietly out of her room to get a glass of water. Out of her room and past her father sitting alone in his armchair, the moonlight crawling in after him through the window, grasping at him just before he shot himself and her life … turned. There never was any hope for her. She was turned before she got one foot in the world. It wouldn’t be a prettier shot now.

The compression artefact burns out from the center of her nuclear-powered selfie. Her stomach muscles seize up the way they do when she just barely reaches the tipping point of a roller coaster and enters freefall, down the rails into her old house, the rugs, the stain on the ceiling, the off-kilter hang of her bedroom door. Her father’s face. Her mother’s soft snoring from the bedroom.

But that’s not what she sees.

No moonlight. No armchair. No 3 a.m. drink of water in a seven-year-old girl’s hand. It is just Johanna, seafoam green hair and all, walking on the lovely light and dark stripes of green on a lawn in Ossining, in sunlight direct from a photography lab, approaching a quilt made of old T-shirts and the objects it carries. She bends down and presses her warm thumb into the patch of Hypercolor shirt, waiting for the fabric to change color, to unsuffer the damage of too-constant exposure to the very thing that it was designed to react with, which of course it will not, can not, ever again.

Johanna touches her own face on the television, that seafoam green girl who still had Margot and Mapplethorpe and opinons about everything, that familiar face, yet better-fed and better-loved and almost obscenely untroubled. An ancient version of herself, suddenly unearthed at the bottom of the sea.

Finite State Machine

Johanna puts Big Edie up on Craigslist, all her specs laid out like a personal ad: enjoys long walks on the beach, getting lost in the rain, composite video output, and turning everything you point me at into an avant-garde film-school short. If you can’t handle me being haunted, you don’t deserve me being way more work than the camera app on your phone.

She lowballs the price. She means it. She can change her artefact. She can let it all go, like Margot said. Get care. Be normal. Cope. She can take that moment in Ossining and make it nothing. Make it just another random memory on a compilation tape of the decades fading in and out, like the little tinseled cloud boy turning and turning on his forgotten school stage, meaningless, untethered, beautiful and sad and without connection to anything before or after.

And then anyone could. The boy who doesn’t want to mow the lawn. The girl meeting that man at the bistro. Lucy Vaclavik. Antony. Jeff. Anika. Anyone. The long white beam of the Argo’s exterior lighting array sweeping through that dark and missing the great hulking skeleton in the blackness, brushing gently by, just barely, just by inches, finding nothing but open water.

She doesn’t answer a single query.

Six months later, Johanna doesn’t even remember what it’s like to leave the house without Big Edie. The pockets of her original-issue carrying case bulge with new tapes.

[infinite-hearts-333]

Masked Love Chapter 1

Sander sides, Rociet, Human/Magical AU

WARNING: mentions of past dehumanising, reference to PTSD flashback??, um bullying reference. 

Masterpost

~~18/5/2022 6:37am (Present time)~~

“Janus?” 

Janus grumbled, pulling the weighted blanket over his head more as what sounded like his mama's voice filled his too-tired, half asleep brain. “Noooooooooo….”

“Janus! JANUS! I know you're awake up there!!”  

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO” Janus groaned back, pulling the blanket tighter over his head. 

“JANNIE IF YOU DON'T LISTEN TO YOUR MOTHER I’LL COME UP THERE WITH THE COLD BORE WATER AGAIN~!” Came the singsong voice of his mom, and Janus full on scrambled out of bed, covers sent flying and he had to double check his claws to ensure they didn’t ensnare on anything through his half sleepy, half panicked daze. 

“COMING! COMING!! Yesh….” he called, before grumbling, yawning, completely use to the soft popping of his unhinged jaw, forked tongue tasting the air. Waffles…. Mmmmm…. 

He quickly got ready, body automatically from routine, getting changed into his clothes- a lime turtle neck, black jacket with pins and patches attached, sunflower yellow beanie, skinny black jeans and his boots. He hummed a loose tune as he moved, alike to clock work, moving to turn to his bed, tugging the poor flinged sheets back into the right position, snatching up his stuffed dragon that had fallen onto the floor and placing it on top of his pillow gently. 

Janus’s room was, in fact, the attic. His mum and mama weren't… expecting him when he showed up, but they took him in and loved him all the same. The rickety old house they had didn't have enough rooms for Janus to move into when he got older, so his parents spent ages rebuilding the attic for him. You could tell in some places- the seams where the wall met the roof weren't all the same size, the floorboards ran crookedly rather than straight, there were chips in both the walls and the floor where the wood wasn’t smooth.

But janus loved his room. It was cosy- there different metals and CD disks strung up which glinted like precious gems under the sky window, he had a large rainbow flag hanging over his bed in the corner, fairy lights stuck on the wall all around the room. Boxes upon boxes peeked out of his bed, filled to the brim with the most random things, leaves, feathers, stones, shells, bones, name it, Janus probably had it. 

Walking to where his room ended, a wall with a human sized hole in the floor, he paused by the mirror, only to wrinkle up his nose in disgust at what he saw staring back. Janus was actually pretty handsome, nice clear tanned skin, brilliant eyes that shined lime and forest green and firefly yellow all at the same time. Chestnut hazel hair that hung in ruffled curls framed his face. He was strong, a little buff and according to his mother and mamma, quite the personality. But there were two things.

Janus’s jaw. It faded into the most horrid shade of olive green, splotches of lime, deep forest green and the colour of dying cactuses for scales, littered across the bottom half of Janus’s face. Two gross dusty pink scars ran from the corners of his mouth, stretching out and curling, nearly to touch his ears, one on each side. Darting in and out of his abnormally large fanged mouth was a forked blue tongue, fading into pink at the back of his mouth, the slightest sign that janus was once human. 

He softly sighed, turning away to wander to the wall, and so the holes well, jumping through it to land on the couch flawlessly. “Morning.” He mumbled to the two females cooking and giggling at each other. “Morning' darling~!” called Mamma, smiling brightly. “Did you sleep well, little snek-a-doodle?” Teased his mum, smiling warmly as she parted from her partner to ruffle her adopted son's hair. 

Janus smiled back up at her, and couldn't ignore the pang of happiness when all he found in mum's eyes was love. “We made waffles for your big day!” Chimed Mamma, beaming as she worked at the stove. 

Ah. Right. High school. Janus groaned, leaning back to painfully donk his head against the wall. “Do I have to go?” He whined. “Yup!” his mum said, popping the ‘p’. Janus rolled his head off the wall, allowing his eyes to drop to problem number two in his life. His hands. Or well…. Talons.

Janus’s hands, a lot like his jaw dyed into that horrid olive colour, splattered with scales. He had four ‘fingers’ instead of five, each ending with a large sharp claw that was almost an ivory green if held in the right light. Scars lined his hand where the scales started, signs that janus wasn’t born with these abnormal features. 

His mum then slapped him over the head with a rolled up newspaper. “OW! Hey!!!!!” snapped Janus. His mum raised an eyebrow. “You were pulling the face you make when you're judging yourself. And I'm having none of that. You're beautiful, fullstop.” she narrowed her eyes at him, daring him to prove her wrong. Janus chuckled. “Guilty as charged.” he hummed, standing to walk over to their small island counter. 

His mom huffed, nodding, walking alongside her son, combat boots making a soft thumping noise on the tiles. Janus hid a wince as the sound of clicking heels entered his mind. 

Click, click, click. 

He swallowed, sitting.  “Here you go!!” chirped Mamma, smiling as she placed the plates down. “Thank you dear.” Mom said softly kissing Mamma’s cheek on her way past. “Thanks mamma.” Janus chipped in, trying not to show his teeth while he smiled. Mamma beamed, swirling around to plop down in her seat. 

Janus reached out to grab the berries, randomly dropping them over the waffles. He was cautious, ensuring he didn’t open his mouth too wide, taking in small little bites. Mum started talking about what she would be doing while Janus was at school, working on the new barley crops. “Those darn aphids! They've been going off everywhere!!!” Janus slowly chewed on a piece of blue berry. 

“I think you're gonna need to get some pest spray mum.” Janus pointed out. Mamma nodded. “Do you want me to pick some up honey? I’m going into town anyway for some more mango seeds.”

Janus smirked against his milk glass, washing down the waffles. “Again with the Mangos Mamma?” 

Mamma shrugged, smiling. “I want to make some jams! And maybe I might try making mango sorbet again.” Janus grinned. “Yes please!” His gaze flickered to the clock on the wall, and he sighed. “Well, as much as I hate it, I should go.” he said with a huff, shovelling the last of the waffles into his mouth and drowning the milk. 

“Okay darling, have a nice day!” Mamma said with a smile. “See you this afternoon ‘kay snek-a-doodle? You’ll help me with the cows again?” Janus smirked, collecting his plate and glass. “Absolutely.” he stated, placing his dishes in the sink. “See you this afternoon!” he called, snatching up his gloves and mask off their hanger and then scooping up his bag.

He swung his bag half on, fumbling to put on his yellow gloves. They were bulky and too big to allow room for his claws, a black band around the start of the four fingers and wrist to prevent slipping and looked ridiculous, but it was better than exposing his features to the world. He had to be careful, pausing to ensure none of his scales got caught on the fabric. He then put on his mask, a simple also yellow fabric that covered his mouth and nose. He then twisted to reach into his front pocket of his bag, pulling out his earphones and lime mp3 player, shoving the buds into his ears and turning it on, blasting the music at the highest volume. 

[ 🎶 Looking for an exit in this world of fear

I can see the path that leads away

Mama never left, and daddy needs me here

I wish the wind would carry a change

Looking through the window to a world of dreams

I can see my future slip away

Honey you won't get there if you don't believe

I wish the wind would carry a change 🎶 ]

He wandered through the fields of crops and fields of animals, waving a hello to the farmer next door. Michel, his name was, he grows the best peaches. He guessed that there was a satisfying crunch as Janus jumped from a small ledge down onto the orange autumn leaf-covered road. Wandering along the side of the road, Janus quietly hummed along to his music all the way to the bus stop. He quickly checked the suns position, having done it many many times, relieved to find he was on time and the bus should be here any minute. 

[ 🎶 I've had enough

I'm standing up

I need, I need a change

I've had enough

Of chasing luck

I need, I need a change 🎶 ]

Sure enough the death machine, painted yellow and screeching nearly as loud as its passengers came swerving around the corner, somehow audible through Janus’s music, metal rusted gears screaming as the beast came to a halt. That thing was definitely gonna kill people one day. Janus huffed, climbing the rickety steps and flashed his card at the bus driver, who looked like he had been going for six months without sleep and would snap someone's neck.

They traded nods, having known each other since Janus first ‘moved’ to the country. They never really spoke to each other, but traded nods, ‘hey’s’, and ‘mood’s’ so he was cool. Janus sat right behind the bus driver, dumping his bag next to him so no one would take the seat next to him. Not that it was necessary, everyone actively avoided him. He then maintained his death glare, slipping it on as easily as putting on his mask. 

Some kids, janus found, take enjoyment in throwing things at the bus driver, so janus took it upon himself to protect the bus driver from the nuisances, and in return, once the bus driver found out, he would keep the passengers from taking the spot so Janus wasn't forced to sit next to anyone. 

[ 🎶 I'm setting fire to the life that I know (I know)

Let's start a fire everywhere that we go (we go)

We starting fires,

We starting fires till our lives are burning gold 🎶 ]

Janus sat, guarding the busdriver and spacing out till he felt the bus sharply halt. Hip hip hooray for hell. He sighed, standing up and wandered off the bus, bidding farewell to the busdriver with a small nod of the head. He turned his attention to his new problem. 

The school's shadow engulfed him standing tall over him, and a part of janus feared it may crumble and crush him. People were chatting, boys flirting and betting, bullies shoving random people and dropping curses. Janus’s personal hell. Well, here goes nothing!

[ 🎶 I've had enough

Of chasing luck

I need, I need a change 🎶 ]

[askwendyokoopa]

Thinking I should move to YouTube

... and by ‘move’ I mean ‘expand’ because I could never leave tumblr. But if you’re one of the dozen or so random people who follow my YouTube channel for some bizarre and unknown reason; as I’ve never posted anything approaching ‘real’ content... and nothing at all since the WiiU stopped its uploading service; then you might know that I’ve started posting random anecdotes about my life... only with Wendy. This is one of those times when I forgot to put Quotes or Parentheses at the beginning of the post, so even I don’t know if the Mun or Muse is talking... and that’s the problem, I can no longer tell us apart. So what if I ‘cashed in’ on that, and also those animated stories YouTube is so famous for?

The difference is my stories would be 100% plausible, because they actually happened; and yet, they didn’t happen to a female or a turtle or a dragon or a fictional character... I feel like there’s a potential for some strange disconnect there. Also, while nobody ever answered me for the ‘Year of the Koopaling’ animated project, that was supposedly because I never specified anything. I figured you ask the artist if they are accepting commissions at this time; if the answer is yes, you enter negotiations, and if the answer is no, you thank them for their time and move on with your life. Apparently what you are supposed to do is splatter your heart and soul bare in front of this perfect stranger, and describe in great detail what you want animated and what your budget is and all the nitty-gritty details first. Then they look at it, and decide at their leisure, whether or not they are even doing commissions at the moment.

Well, it’s all moot anyhow, seeing as I bought a microphone a few years ago and I can’t even use it. I literally can not speak when it is turned on. When recording for myself, for practice, something that no one else in the whole world is ever going to hear... I freeze up... I can’t even make sounds. If they gave out awards on tumblr for being the least like your muse, I’d definitely be in the running.

[the-fearmonger]

Last week on the Dragonslayers...

Can you Find All 36 Clever Puns? 

 Having laid their fecal fingers on the Phobian idol, our adventurers continued their movement through the bowels of the giant dragon. Straining to maintain their composure, the group determined that backtracking was the first option but no longer a solid plan, and instead went for #2, bearing down to find another path to daylight. As they prairie-dogged their way cautiously around each bend, the Dragonslayers encountered a pile after pile of Stool Elementals which served to constipate their progress.

 Meanwhile, back in reality, West and Rafe continued to snake their way through the countryside faster than poop through a goose. Just when the odds seemed impossible, the wagon rounded a corner to find Lurca and the Orctane. Shocked at the fortuitous meeting, Rafe asked what brought her so far from home and she replied something about needing to see a man about a horse. After some gentle pushing she let loose that she had freed the kobolds from the castle of the Shadow King and was pursuing his soldiers to the town. Now with an escort to safety, Rafe offered West the choice to assist him in relocating the party or to rejoin them in Hal’s subconscious. Before putting him back to sleep, Rafe confirmed to West that the party will need all five objects of power, and seemed concerned to hear that the strange boy was still clinging on to the group.

As the crew fought their way through in a testament to the fiber of their courage, West poked his head from Atticus’ sack like a turtle, awakening to find himself still very much knee deep in a shitshow. The party stopped to excrete West from the bag so that he could rejoin the group in the ‘rrheal world. Despite a valiant struggle with the sinister scat, Atticus, West, and Chet each plopped to the floor and Finn’s tail took heavy damage. Using explosive force, Phobian and Finn splattered the foes, wiping the slate clean and giving the party a chance for a shart rest. West dropped a corny story during the interval, and provided a few nuggets of information from the waking world (as nutty as they might sound). As the hour passed, Finn grunted that he had grown a new tail and it was time to go.

Around the next corner the group encountered a log jam, but blasted their way through to what appeared to be a clean break from their previous mess. Chet, Finn and the mysterious child slithered their way through the gaping sphincter to daylight, plummeting toward a waiting morass on the ground below. Finn and Chet used spells to slow their descent, and as they neared the ground and their powers waned, Chet dropped the kid off at the pool before finally touching down. West, Phobian, and Atticus made clever use of a rope, securing it to a sideways turd and easing themselves to the ground. Finally free and feeling a few pounds lighter, the Dragonslayers are off to find their way back to the dreaming hub and the final two objects of power.