#I still love that turtle dude though

[colleendoran]

Great Big Good Omens Graphic Novel Update

AKA A Visit From Bildad the Shuhite.

The past year or so has been one long visit from this guy, whereupon he smiteth my goats and burneth my crops, woe unto the woeful cartoonist.

Gaze upon the horror of Bildad the Shuhite.

You kind of have to be a Good Omens fan to get this joke, but trust me, it's hilarious.

Anyway, as a long time Good Omens novel fan, you may imagine how thrilled I was to get picked to adapt the graphic novel.

 Go me!  

This is quite a task, I have to say, especially since I was originally going to just draw (and color) it, but I ended up writing the adaptation as well. Tricky to fit a 400 page novel into a 160-ish page graphic novel, especially when so much of the humor is dependent on the language, and not necessarily on the visuals.

Not complainin', just sayin'.

Anyway, I started out the gate like a herd of turtles, because  right away I got COVID which knocked me on my butt. 

And COVID brain fog? That's a thing. I already struggle with brain fog due to autoimmune disease, and COVID made it worse.

Not complainin' just sayin'.

This set a few of the assignments on my plate back, which pushed starting Good Omens back. 

But hey, big fat lead time! No worries!

Then my computer crawled toward the grave.

My trusty MAC Pro Tower was nearly 15 years old when its sturdy heart ground to a near-halt with daily crashes. I finally got around to doing some diagnostics; some of its little brain actions were at 5% functionality. I had no reliable backups.

There are so many issues with getting a new computer when you haven't had a new computer or peripherals in nearly fifteen years and all of your software, including your Photoshop program is fifteen years old.

At the time, I was still on rural internet...which means dial-up speed.

Whatever you have for internet in the city, roll that clock back to about 2001.

That's what I had. I not only had to replace almost all of my hardware but I had to load and update all programs at dial-up speed.

Welcome to my gigabyte hell.

The entire process of replacing the equipment and programs took weeks and then I had to relearn all the software.

All of this was super expensive in terms of money and time cost.

But I was not daunted! Nosirree!

I still had a huge lead time! I can do anything! I have an iron will!

And boy, howdy, I was going to need it.

At about the same time, a big fatcat quadrillionaire client who had hired me years ago to develop a big, major transmedia project for which I was paid almost entirely in stock, went bankrupt leaving everyone holding the bag, and taking a huge chunk of my future retirement fund with it.

I wrote a very snarky almost hilarious Patreon post about it, but am not entirely in a position to speak freely because I don't want to get sued. Even though I had to go to court over it, (and I had to do that over Zoom at dial-up speed,) I'm pretty sure I'll never get anything out of this drama, and neither will anyone else involved, except millionaire dude and his buddies who all walked away with huge multi-million dollar bonuses weeks before they declared bankruptcy, all the while claiming they would not declare bankruptcy.

Even the accountant got $250,000 a month to shut down the business, while creators got nothing.

That in itself was enough drama for the year, but we were only at February by that point, and with all those months left, 2023 had a lot more to throw at me.

Fresh from my return from my Society of Illustrators show, and a lovely time at MOCCA, it was time to face practical medical issues, health updates, screening, and the like. I did my adult duty and then went back to work hoping for no news, but still had a weird feeling there would be news.

I know everyone says that, but I mean it. I had a bad feeling.

Then there was news.

I was called back for tests and more tests. This took weeks. The ubiquitous biopsy looked, even to me staring at the screen in real time, like bad news. 

It also hurt like a mofo after the anesthesia wore off. I wasn't expecting that.

Then I got the official bad news.

Cancer which runs in my family finally got me. Frankly, I was surprised I didn't get it sooner.

Stage 0, and treatment would likely be fast and complication-free. Face the peril, get it over with, and get back to work. 

I requested surgery months in the future so I could finish Good Omens first, but my doc convinced me the risk of waiting was too great. Get it done now.

"You're really healthy," my doc said. Despite an auto-immune issue which plagues me, I am way healthier than the average schmoe of late middle age. She informed me I would not even need any chemo or radiation if I took care of this now.

So I canceled my appearance at San Diego Comic Con. I did not inform the Good Omens team of my issues right away, thinking this would not interfere with my work schedule, but I did contact my agent to inform her of the issue. I also contacted a lawyer to rewrite my will and make sure the team had access to my digital files in case there were complications.

Then I got back to work, and hoped for the best.

Eff this guy.

Before I could even plant my carcass on the surgery table, I got a massive case of ocular shingles.

I didn't even know there was such a thing. 

There I was, minding my own business. I go to bed one night with a scratchy eye, and by 4 PM the next day, I was in the emergency room being told if I didn't get immediate specialist treatment, I was in big trouble.

I got transferred to another hospital and got all the scary details, with the extra horrid news that I could not possibly have cancer surgery until I was free of shingles, and if I did not follow a rather brutal treatment procedure - which meant super-painful  eye drops every half hour, twenty-four hours a day and daily hospital treatment - I could lose the eye entirely, or be blinded, or best case scenario, get permanent eye damage.

What was even funnier (yeah, hilarity) is the drops are so toxic if you don't use the medication just right, you can go blind anyway.

Hi Ho.

Ulcer is on the right. That big green blob.

I had just finished telling my cancer surgeon I did not even really care about getting cancer, was happy it was just stage zero, had no issues with scarring, wanted no reconstruction, all I cared about was my work. 

Just cut it out and get me back to work.

And now I wondered if I was going to lose my ability to work anyway.

Shingles often accompanies cancer because of the stress on the immune system, and yeah, it's not pretty. This is me looking like all heck after I started to get better.

The first couple of weeks were pretty demoralizing as I expected a straight trajectory to wellness. But it was up and down all the way. 

Some days I could not see out of either eye at all. The swelling was so bad that I had to reach around to my good eye to prop the lid open. Light sensitivity made seeing out of either eye almost impossible. Outdoors, even with sunglasses, I had to be led around by the hand.

I had an amazing doctor. I meticulously followed his instructions, and I think he was surprised I did. The treatment is really difficult, and if you don't do it just right no matter how painful it gets, you will be sorry. 

To my amazement, after about a month, my doctor informed me I had no vision loss in the eye at all. "This never happens," he said.

I'd spent a couple of weeks there trying to learn to draw in the near-dark with one eye, and in the end, I got all my sight back.

I could no longer wear contact lenses (I don't really wear them anyway, unless I'm going to the movies,) would need hard core sun protection for awhile, and the neuralgia and sun sensitivity were likely to linger. But I could get back to work.

I have never been more grateful in my life.

Neuralgia sucks, by the way, I'm still dealing with it months later.

Anyway, I decided to finally go ahead and tell the Good Omens team what was going on, especially since this was all happening around the time the Kickstarter was gearing up.

Now that I was sure I'd passed the eye peril, and my surgery for Stage 0 was going to be no big deal, I figured all was a go. I was still pretty uncomfortable and weak, and my ideal deadline was blown, but with the book not coming out for more than a year, all would be OK. I quit a bunch of jobs I had lined up to start after Good Omens, since the project was going to run far longer than I'd planned.

Everybody on the team was super-nice, and I was pretty optimistic at this time. But work was going pretty slow during, as you may imagine.

But again...lots of lead time still left, go me.

Then I finally got my surgery.

Which was not as happy an experience as I had been hoping for.

My family said the doc came out of the operating room looking like she'd been pulled backwards through a pipe, She informed them the tumor which looked tiny on the scan was "...huge and her insides are a mess."

Which was super not fun news.

Eff this guy.

The tumor was hiding behind some dense tissue and cysts. After more tests, it was determined I'd need another surgery and was going to have to get further treatments after all.

The biopsy had been really painful, but the discomfort was gone after about a week, so no biggee. The second surgery was, weirdly, not as painful as the biopsy, but the fatigue was big time.

By then, the Good Omens Kickstarter had about run its course, and the record-breaker was both gratifying and a source of immense social pressure.

I'd already turned most of my social media over to an assistant, and I'm glad I did.

But the next surgery was what really kicked me on my keister.

All in all, they took out an area the size of a baseball. It was  hard to move and wiped me out for weeks and weeks. I could not take care of myself. I'd begun losing hair by this time anyway, and finally just lopped it off since it was too heavy for me to care for myself. The cut hides the bald spots pretty well.

After about a month, I got the go-ahead to travel to my show at the San Diego Comic Con Museum (which is running until the first week of April, BTW). I was very happy I had enough energy to do it. But as soon as I got back, I had to return to treatment.

Since I live way out in the country, going into the city to various hospitals and pharmacies was a real challenge. I made more than 100 trips last year, and a drive to the compounding pharmacy which produced the specialist eye medicine I could not get anywhere else was six hours alone.

Naturally, I wasn't getting anything done during this time.

But at least my main hospital is super swank.

The oncology treatment went smoothly, until it didn't. The feels don't hit you until the end. By then I was flattened.

So flattened that I was too weak to control myself, fell over, and smashed my face into some equipment.

Nearly tore off my damn nostril.

Eff this guy.

Anyway, it was a bad year.

Here's what went right.

I have a good health insurance policy. The final tally on my health care costs ended up being about $150,000. I paid about 18% of that, including insurance. I had a high deductible and some experimental medicine insurance didn't cover. I had savings,  enough to cover the months I wasn't working, and my Patreon is also very supportive. So you didn't see me running a Gofundme or anything.

Thanks to everyone who ever bought one of my books.

No, none of that money was Good Omens Kickstarter money. I won't get most of my pay on that for months, which is just as well because it kept my taxes lower last year when I needed a break.

So, yay.

My nose is nearly healed. I opted out of plastic surgery, and it just sealed up by itself. I'll never be ready for my closeup, but who the hell cares.

I got to ring the bell.

I had a very, VERY hard time getting back to work, especially with regard to focus and concentration. My work hours dropped by over 2/3. I was so fractured and weak, time kept slipping away while I sat in the studio like a zombie. Most of the last six months were a wash.

I assumed focus issues were due (in part) to stress, so sought counseling. This seemed like a good idea at first, but when the counselor asked me to detail my issues with anxiety, I spent two weeks doing just that and getting way more anxious, which was not helpful.

After that I went EFF THIS NOISE, I want practical tools, not touchy feelies (no judgment on people who need touchy-feelies, I need a pragmatic solution and I need it now,) so tried using the body doubling focus group technique for concentration and deep work.

Within two weeks, I returned to normal work hours.

I got rural broadband, jumping me from dial up speed to 1 GB per second.

It's a miracle.

Massive doses of Vitamin D3 and K2. Yay.

The new computer works great.

The Kickstarter did so well, we got to expand the graphic novel to 200 pages. Double yay.

I'm running late, but everyone on the Good Omens team is super supportive. I don't know if I am going to make the book late or not, but if I do, well, it surely wasn't on purpose, and it won't be super late anyway. I still have months of lead time left.

I used to be something of a social media addict, but now I hardly ever even look at it, haven't been directly on some sites in over a year, and no longer miss it. It used to seem important and now doesn't.

More time for real life.

While I think the last year aged me about twenty years, I actually like me better with short hair. I'm keeping it.

OK. Rough year. 

Not complainin', just sayin'.

Back to work on The Book.

And only a day left to vote for Good Omens, Neil Gaiman, and Sandman in the Comicscene Awards. Thanks. 

[somerandomdudelmao]

After Casey's nightmares, does he sometimes run to one of the guys' rooms and subconsciously hug them for comfort? Or does he stop himself and keep all those feelings bottled up?

I can imagine that he's tried, but he's had to be reminded that they're not them. They're not on that level yet. And even though they do sympathize with Casey's past, they still haven't clued in the amount of pain that he's going through. That he has gone through. They just don't understand. Casey loves them all like family, but he loved the broken versions of them. The ones that grew up to fast and had to cope with the loss of everyone they loved, and more. He loved Commander O'Neal, Uncle Raph and Donnie, and Sensei. They were all he had. And now, well, they're coming back. But he doesn't know any of that.

Cass, I hope some of that convenient plot-twist magic is coming soon 🫵

Yes. Yes exactly. He doesn't. When he has a nightmare, he takes out his mask and listens to old tapes or goes on a little walk (patrol) to look around for dangers.

He doesn't want the younger versions of the turtles to worry about the future, which they've already averted anyway. They are so happy and untouched by the war he doesn't want to change that. And he knows they don't understand. They have no context they have no experience, all they have is Casey's stories, and Casey tries to tell them only safe things.

Also, there's a difference between coming to a father figure for comfort or some other boy who calls you "dude." It's just not the same.

[yorshie]

Dunno if you still take requests. But maybe for when you feel like it? (No pressure tho. You can totally ignore this if it isn't up you alley.)

How do them turtle dudes like to romance their honeys? Like who uses strategy (badly)? Who goes with the flow (also badly)? Who just blurts it out the first moment they realize what they're feeling (so SO badly)? And who just buries it behind heaps and heaps of repression (the absolute worst)?

And what about after being assured that their feelings are reciprocated? Is there a change in behavior or demeanor?

🧁

Cupcake Nonnie, I am so sorry. I have no excuse. I have no idea why this was so hard to write, or why it took so long.

I decided two birds one stone sort of thing with this one, a blurb about how exactly starting a relationship with each turtle might go, followed with headcanon style of what they would expect out of a relationship, how it would progress, and how a good relationship would affect them.

As always set in 2023 so turtles are 24-25, SFW

Michelangelo

By the time Michelangelo asked you to be his girlfriend, you low key thought you’d already been going steady for about a month. The turtle shows up like clockwork every Friday at your place, with a pizza and a soda, and the two of you stay up late watching movies while cuddling on the couch. Several times, you’ve woken to him stealing a hug or a nuzzle before leaving before the sun’s up. 

So when he turns from the movie unexpectedly one night, the last item on your ‘what is Angelo about to ask me’ bingo card was a sheepish:

“Hey, babes, would you- will you be my girlfriend?”

You stared at him for a whole scene, taking in those baby blues, before you blurted out your own question. “I thought I already was?”

“Oh. Ok. Cool.” And he grinned like it was nothing, turning back to the tv, leaving you still staring at the side of his head like he’d turn back around with a ‘gotcha’. 

Needless to say, you didn’t pay attention to the rest of the movie. Mikey, to his credit, picked up on your mood during the credits, and you had a long conversation over what exactly the two of you wanted to be to the other.

Mikey’s love language is physical touch and quality time spent together

Angelo loves PDA. Soft kisses and nuzzles, hugs, you name it, he’ll try and get away with it. One of his favorite things to do, because he’s a little shit, is to see how many innuendos he can fit into a conversation while still maintaining decency, just to make you turn red and his brothers sigh in exasperation. 

Lowkey though, he doesn’t expect much from you other than your affection, and doesn’t have an overarching game plan. Sure, he celebrates anniversaries, but all the big milestones are simply tackled without him making a big deal out of them. One day you’ll just look up, realize you can’t tell where his stuff ends and yours begins, and have to come to terms with the fact that somehow the two of you are living together with no conversation about it happening.

Sunshine turtle approaches romance the same way he approaches life, with the firm belief that fun is the most important factor. Get ready for movie dates, late night parkour trips, canoodling on rooftops, etc. Just as often though, he will want to stay in. He’ll cook for you, cuddle while you while playing video games or watching a movie, include you in schemes and plans to drive his brothers crazy, anything to include you in his life or show off your bond to others. 

There isn’t a big difference to Mikey’s behavior after he knows you’re into him, though now when he gets in your space he doesn’t hold back from touching you. Turtle was a flirt beforehand, he’s a flirt afterwards. The only difference is, now when he says something you know eventually he will get around to trying it. He says something flirtatious that gets a reaction? He’s not gonna forget, and he’ll bring it up at a later date. 

He will stop flirting with everything that walks by eventually however. Guess calling you babes/babycakes/angelcakes in private had some spillover connotations (ie he can’t say it without thinking about you and it makes him gag trying to say it to anyone not you)

Donatello

Donnie’s blurted out his feelings for you in the middle of the Lair during Sunday Football. You’d arrived to find the turtles acting weird, leaving the room whenever you entered to grab snacks, suddenly making excuses and disappearing so every time you were left with an increasingly nervous Donnie who seemed to trail you around the Lair. By the time kick off happened, Raph, who seemed increasingly edgy, asked you to bring him another beer from the kitchen. You readily agreed, but when you turned from the fridge with the cold can Donnie blocked the way back to the others.

“Hey Don. You ok?” You asked, giving him a smile, craning your head back to meet his wide eyes.

“I like you.” He blurted out, practically looming over you.

You tilted your head, fighting the blush, convincing yourself not to read too much into it. “I like you to, Dee.” 

When you went to move around him though, thinking the moment was over, he caught your hand, grip slightly sweaty. “No, I mean…” He waited for you to meet his eyes again, and he visibly swallowed. “I- I like you.”

You eyes widened, a second before your smile followed. “Oh! Dee…” You set the beer to the side, covered his hand with your own. “I like you too.”

His answering smile lit up the whole room.

Donnie’s love language is gift giving and quality time. 

This turtle wants affection, but he doesn’t always know how to ask for it. You’ll have to pick up on his little cues to catch what he wants. Such as, if you notice him standing over you for periods of time before moving off and then returning, he might want to cuddle, and is just working up to asking for it. If you want things to go smoothly between the two of you, it’d be prudent to make a list of things you’re comfortable with and things you aren’t. It’ll stop him from worrying over things like hand holding and kisses, if he knows you’ll welcome his advances, and it’ll save you some headache trying to parse out what his nonverbal cues are if he is given free reign to just tell you what he would like. 

Dee’s idea of romance is to spend time with you, in whatever way you’ll let him. If you want to park your butt and watch him tinker in his lab or the garage, this turtle is all for it. If you mention there’s a play you want to see or a museum you’d like to go to, he’s already scheming on how to get the two of you in. The turtle disguise doesn’t work as well on him since he’s so tall, but he can sit in the very back and turn into a ninja statue just for you. 

He makes gadgets for you to stay in touch when you’re not with him, and readily goes into tangents about things you’ve said or done, or projects he’s working on for you. His brothers have learned to tune him out to various success. 

As far as changes after the two of you start a relationship, it’s easy to say that that it’s leverage over him and his habits. If he needs to eat, sleep, or just get away from his computer’s before the blue screen fries his brain, his brothers send in you. He gets in a snippy mood and clearly needs a night out or a break, you’re the only one that can convince him to go. Ooo, feel the power.

With you in his corner, Donnie blooms. Yes, he’s a genius and a sarcastic little shit beforehand, but now he has a cheerleader, a partner in crime, someone to fuel his crazy schemes and to be his rubber ducky on occasion. Anytime any old doubt trickles in, he only has to turn to you and be reminded that someone is always there for him, through thick and thin.

Raphael

You ended up confessing your feelings for Raph long before he’d gotten the courage to say anything. He probably would have continued to ignore his feelings, if you hadn’t cornered him in his weight room and spelled it out, angry that he’d been successfully giving you the cold shoulder for weeks.

“Hey, you wanna tell me what I did wrong, or are you gonna go sulk in the corner?” You asked, arms crossed and hip cocked, blocking the entrance to the weight room.

“M’not sulking.” Came the instant reply, though Raph didn’t turn to address you directly. “What’re you doin’ here?”

“Leo said I could find you here.” You narrowed your eyes as he rolled his.

“Course he did, stickin’ his nose into-”

“Your brother isn’t my concern, you are.”

“Yeah?” He grumbled, still not looking at you, moving to rack up the manhole covers on his bar. “Why’s that, princess?”

Normally, that nickname made you feel special. Now, it pissed you off. Made you stupidly, sarcastically honest. “It’s probably because I’m not into him, I’m into you, dum dum.”

The weights clanked loudly together, and he turned just his head, glared at you. “Oh, real funny. Don’t go jokin’ about that.”

“I’m hilarious.” You answered. “And I’m 100 percent serious, Raphael.”

He turned to face you fully, head cocked, eyes slowly going from defensive to wide the longer you stood your ground. “You serious?”

You nodded emphatically, and he snorted, ran his hand over his face. “Damn. That’s fucked, babygirl.”

“It is not!” You started angry, but the wide smile on his face broke you out of the emotion.

Raph’s love language is verbal affirmation and physical touch

Yea this turtle can’t decide which is worse, telling you how he feels or seeing his large hands next to your small ones. But he so desperately wants to find the words, so desperately wants to ask you to hold his hand. Expect for him to start coveting private moments with you. He’ll agonize over what to say, what to do. You’ll have to lead the way most of the time, at least at the beginning, until he gets over waiting for the other shoe to drop, for you to change your mind about him and all the issues that come along with him. 

Date nights with him are simple. He doesn’t like people, doesn’t like to be out of his comfort zone. He’d rather stay in with you, or up on the roofs where no one can see the two of you. He is very aware of how he is different from a human though, and so he will go out of his way to make sure he can bring normal things to the relationship. His gut instinct is to turn down anything new immediately, but all you have to do is pull out the goo goo eyes and he will bend. He wants to be helpful as possible to you to make up for the things he can’t do, and it’s up to you to make sure he understands how appreciated he is.

He loves to hear you voice your feelings for him, but he won’t outright ask for confirmation. Expect quiet moments where the two of you simply exist in the same space, or maybe cuddling while talking. Raph doesn’t like to be reminded of how different the two of you are though, so you might spend some time reassuring him that you love him, without telling him you don’t care about how different he is, because he will not believe you, or worse will get upset.

The differences in Raph are a long way down the line. At first, he might be even a little more standoffish, doubt and worry overtaking his usual responses. You’ll have to be dedicated to get anywhere past the initial ‘there’s no way this is gonna work, we’re both crazy for thinking this would work, you’re crazy for liking me, and I’m crazy for listening’ phase that will grip him hard. If you can weasel past that, however, be prepared to have someone that will never give up on you, ever. You’ll have a significant other that will come to your aid at the drop of a pin, at the first sign of trouble. 

He’ll mellow out over time, become a little softer around the edges and a little less ‘the world is out to get me and mine’. He might even tolerate his brothers’ teasings over the two of you, as long as they do it where you can’t hear, trading huffs and denial for small smiles and easy laughter at their pointed questions.

Leonardo

You found Leo waiting at your window, the same way you’d found him countless times. This time however, when you let him in, you were concerned at his formal movements. He was always careful, but now he was watching you as though waiting for something.

“Hey, Blue?” You asked, moving automatically to start tea, the way you had every time he came to visit. “Are you ok?”

“I’m fine.” He answered, and you could tell it was a knee jerk reaction, but you let it slide.

“M’kay, well, I was just about to start dinner? How does that sweet chicken with the rice I made last month sound?” You asked, already knowing his answer, moving to grab the ingredients.

He surprised you by moving into your space, catching your hand. “Can we talk, for a moment, first?” 

You turned to give him your attention, careful to keep your movements slow as you took his hand. “Sure. Of course.”

Leo stood there for a moment, petting his thumb over the back of your hand, before he took a deep breath. “Stop me if I’m overstepping, but I need to speak my mind.” 

At your nod, he continued. “I like you, more than a friend, more than I should. I wanted- wondered, that is, if you could feel the same for me?”

If he had lifted his head at all, he would have seen your answer in the high wattage smile plastered across your face.

Leo’s love language is verbal affirmation and quality time spent together

This turtle has thought of everything. He’s intimately turned his feelings for you over and over in his mind, viewed them from every angle to inspect for marks or imperfections before he even accepts how he feels for you. Once he’s accepted them, get ready for slow burn romance. He has a sequence of steps the two of you must dance through in his head, and if you try and skip any steps he will want to backtrack to correct it. You want to hold hands for the first time and share a first kiss? He’s not going to turn down smooches, but he might not even notice you are posed for one, considering he’s too busy marveling at the feel of your much smaller hand in his.

Dates are simple things, he’s too paranoid to sneak into movies like Donnie or Mikey, instead he’ll go for walks with you, try and spot stars with you through the light pollution. If you want to do nothing but watch movies and lay against him, he’s in heaven, but he absolutely loves to hear you read from books out loud to him.

Expect lots of talks with Leo, but it’s less about sharing information and more he just wants to hear your voice, turn his brain off and simply exist for a moment where no one expects anything from him. Not to say he doesn’t listen, and not to say what you tell him isn’t important, but its calming to listen to simple workplace gossip after dealing with crime fighting and high stakes espionage. On the flip side, there will be times when he comes to you clearly lost in his head. In those instances, he just wants to be reminded that you care for him, that you’re by his side, that you willingly chose to be with him.

Most of the changes with Leo are the two of you are together happen privately, after all he is a very private person. The others don’t get to see him unravel, set aside everything bothering him. The first time you realized you cracked the code, is when Leo told you something that was bothering him, without getting defensive. Like he knew even if you disagreed with him there would be no judgement. After that, the two of you were inseparable. 

The only outwards change, that everyone picks up on, is his sense of humor. Before, it only came out in high stress situations, during fights, one-liners to goad others into making mistakes. But after meeting you, it morphs into quiet, humorous observations. The first time he dropped a joke in the middle of dinner just to make you snort into your soup, his brothers froze, wondering what the hell was happening. Raph legit asked Donnie if body snatching was a thing and if they needed to quarantine Leo. 

[joonipertree]

Michael

Tags: Fluff, crack, absolutely stupid. Enjoy.

"michael"

a blank stare.

"michael manjiro." you said and promptly burst out laughing, leaning against your boyfriend who simply turned back to Draken and continued talking, face on his palm and body not budging at your weight.

toman chose not to mention your maniacal snorts and the uncharacteristic way their leader didn't pay attention to his partner.  The one person he looked at every time he talked to them, the person he would give his food to, the person that he has any inclination in taking care of. 

If there was a fight going on, they weren't getting involved. If a breakup was to happen, they would need a way to steer a sunken ship that would have their captain dangling from the side. Mikey and you fought but it was never public, nor did it last more than it takes you time to bat your eyes and cling to him. 

"Can I please for the love of god ask what's so funny? Mikey looks two seconds away from murdering kenny." Emma was the only one who had the guts to ask.

You got off mikey's back and stared at his side profile that was indeed glaring daggers at the vice captain. ooooh, you didn't realise there was trouble in paradise.

"Oh my god, Kenchin did something? In this economy? To you? How exciting."

"I didn't do anything, he's not mad….he's just taking his frustrations out on me because he's fucking soft for you.”

“You sound whipped, bro.” You said with a snort. “Couldn’t be me.”

A hand comes to squish your cheeks together. Your boyfriend finally looks you dead in the eyes, expression blank but edges soft. Your pout was even more puckered up and you made kissy sounds to ask for love.

The boy didn't budge.

How fucking dare he.

"What's my name?" Mikey was not going to let this go.

“Michael."

"It is not."

"That's what Mikey is short for." 

"what the fuck is this conversation?" emma murmured.

“I’ll give you a kiss if you call me anything but that white boy trash name." 

Your lips quirked up, "Michael Manjiro." and you were back to giggling uncontrollably.

Toman had never seen Mikey give you a stare that unamused, you were his baby so of course he could never feel anything but complete and utter adoration for you.

 He was still adoring, considering his rough calloused hands cradled your face but the vein popping out did not hide his irritation. 

“No.”

“I said your birth name, I have done nothing wrong.”

“You barely call me Manjiro, it’s always when you’re serious. You are most definitely not serious right now.”

“Michael Manjiro is a meticulously crafted name that was forged from what’s yours to sound like the name of the dude from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. How is that not serious?”

“It has been three days, please for the love of god, call me anything else.” The gang never thought they’d hear their leader sound that desperate.

 They’ve seen him cling to you and literally stop a fight just so he could go and hang out with you. They have seen many sides of Michael since you two started dating. But they have never heard their commander beg. They didn’t even realise he was capable of that and that you held all the power in Tokyo simply for being you. 

The fear they had for you had grown, wondering if this was a torture device that  could be used against them when an enemy attacks. Were you the enemy? Were you the devil toying with a poor man’s heart? Should they be worshiping you now??

“Mmmm, okay bro.”

And with that, they saw the fall of the most feared gang leader in Tokyo. The Invincible Mikey had been left for dead. 

You squish his face.

"my lil baby, why you so angy huh? is it cuz I called you a thing that lives in the sewers?" 

mikey felt his body melt at the pet name, leaning against your palms and deciding to ignore the second statement.

something caught his eye though.

both his hands cupped your face and you shut your eyes to enjoy how big and warm they were. he was always engulfing in his love, never scared to radiate his feelings onto you. 

mikey told you once that he had a chance to live a new life and he wanted to feel unapologetically. you loved that his feelings for you were felt with no hesitation. 

"is this some weird mating ritual?" hanma asked with his usual disgusted tone.

your hands squished your boyfriend's cheek harder in defiance. 

mikey swiped his thumb under your eyes, the pressure soothing your tight skin and making your cheeks relax completely.

"when was the last time you slept, love?" 

oh fuck.

"last night." You said in a meek voice.

mikey hummed and his thumb caressed the apple of your cheeks gently and you hoped if you stayed still long enough that he'd forget about you.

"how long?"

ofc he'd never forget u. fuck him and his undying love for you.

"the appropriate amount of time." 

he said your full name with a warning tone and your bottom lip wobbled because my god, mikey using anyone's proper name? unheard of.

"there you are, I was looking for you." a voice chimed in just as you were praying to the eldritch gods. chifuyu had earned himself the title of best friend right then and there. a blessing from the universe, your saviour. 

"what volume are you on now? are you done with the manga?

you hoped michael killed him.

your boyfriend stared at you, daring you to answer the question. you could just lie but in any case, you had been found out. mikey knew how you functioned. if a manga was good enough, you would sacrifice sleep and all worldly possessions to finish it.

"I did finish it." you mumbled, begging fuyu to read the room.

"in three days? god, it took me a week. so tell me---" 

mikey threw a shoe at chifuyu, it landed square in the face. 

[scatterbrainedbot]

Hello :D

You're so cool

Anyway have you thought that in your rat sons au Splinter might outlive the boys?

You're very cool :D love your stuff dude

(tw for some blood, light gore, implied overdose (kinda??))

hi copper!!! this is a fantastic question!

so obviously typical irl rats have far shorter lifespans than the average irl tortoise. according to google (yes, be awed by my spectacularly in-depth wealth of research) the average pet rat lives between 2-4 years ish, and the oldest on record lived to be about 7. meanwhile, an African spurred tortoise (Splinter's species) averages more around a 50ish year lifespan in captivity, tho is suspected to possibly exceed 75 or more in the wild.

Now, the mutation does give us a lot of wiggle room for playing with these numbers. For the rat sons boys, id say their natural lifespan probably clocks in at about 45-55 years old? definitely not old by human standards, but not young young either. (though, its also important to note that the boys were exposed to the mutagen just days after being born.)

For Splinter, meanwhile, aging is slightly more complicated. He lived the vast majority of his life as a regular normal African spurred tortoise (well, non-mutated at least. there were perhaps some shenanigans of a more mystical variety going on before he was mutated, but thats a separate matter) He was about 70ish i think? when the boys were born and they were all exposed to the mutagen. so he is already distinctly an old man turtle papa. id guess he'd probably still have another eh lets say 25-30 years after his mutation. he could probably push it a little farther even with some mystic nonsense, but when push comes to shove id say his 'natural' post-mutation lifespan would put his death like a solid decade or two before his sons.

of course, the tricky part of the matter is that theres no way for Splinter to know any of this. theres no way for him to know how the mutation affected them all, or if it even affected them all in the same way. especially since the boys dont show many physical signs of mutation for the first few years, and just kinda look like normal rats, (albeit with a more human sort of intelligence) — what sort of health standard do you hold them to? what if they simply dont show external signs of sickness or old age anymore? how do you actually know if something is wrong?

for a while there Splinter is very worried that one of his babies will just essentially reach the end of their normal rat lifespan, fall and not get up again.

so mostly, he just tries to live in the moment, enjoying whatever time he does have with his little ones, taking each day as a gift <3

still,

that fear

never

really

goes

away.....

[dandylovesturtles]

More Sidelined propaganda for @tmntaucompetition ! Today's special guest star is Omega from Replica by @kathaynesart

I promise that the 100ft boys aren't my redheaded stepchildren I've just had more ideas for Sidelined so far (and also they've been in a comp before). I'll try to write something for them sooner rather than later.

But for now, this!

-----

"Ohmigosh, look at that!" calls Mikey, pointing excitedly. "It's a cartoon Donnie!"

It's not hard to tell what he means - some kind of screen mounted on a wheeled tripod, with a cartoon Donnie face making various expressions as he "looks" around at the assembled turtles. Leo wheels his chair towards him, grinning mischievously.

"Look guys, Donnie finally evolved to his final form."

"Hah hah, I haven't heard that one a hundred times before just today," says the Donnie on the screen.

"He even does sarcasm like Donnie!" squeals Mikey.

"Faaaascinating," says Leo's Donnie, leaning in close to observe. "I would think this Donatello is just broadcasting from some remote location, but then why the sprite-based representation of myself? Mikey's handiwork, I assume."

"Correct that it is Mikey's artwork, however, wrong that I am a Donatello broadcasting from a remote location." The cartoon Donnie looks entirely too smug, even in 2D. "I am a fully autonomous AI made from Donatello's personality and memories. I am Omegabootyshaker9000, but most people call me Omega."

"An AI!? Of me!?" Donnie is really buzzing now, practically fluttering around the tripod. "Oh, that's brilliant! Ooooh, I would love to get a look at your programming - may I?"

"Nope, my programming is proprietary, as you well know."

Donnie's face falls. "Awww, come on! Your creator and I are the same person!"

"The deviations between our timelines would suggest that they are not. But nice try."

Donnie immediately turns sulky, pouting off to the side of the Leo's wheelchair. Leo wants to laugh at him, but something more important than his brother's disappointment occurs to him.

"Hey, if you're one of Dee's AI, I know someone who'd want to meet you."

So saying, he reaches around the back of his chair, under the various things he has hanging in the way (as always) and taps on the little drone stowed there. He hears a questioning whirr, then the sound of rotors slowly starting up, and then Shelldon pushes his way out from under Leo's hoodie, stretching his rotor discs like they're limbs.

"Sup dudes?"

"Check it out, Shelly - it's one of your big brothers!”

"Hm?" Shelldon blinks at him, still booting up, before finally looking at Omega. That seems to shock him all the way awake, zipping toward the screen and doing a lap around it. "Whoa! A Dee AI!?"

"Shelldon!" cries out Omega, looking delighted. "Oh, look at you! You look so young!"

"Hey, I'm not young! I'm version 13.0.8!"

"Ah, almost version 14..." Omega chuckles. "I know how much trouble you gave Donatello back in those days."

"He gives me plenty of trouble now," huffs Donnie, still sulking.

"Eh, don't listen to him," says Leo, waving it off. "Shelly's great!"

"You are part of the reason I have so much trouble with him," Donnie argues. "You're a bad influence!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"They update so fast," says Omega, interrupting their bickering. His sprite has a look of wistful nostalgia. "You should really cherish this time, you know."

"Eugh." Donnie makes a face. "There's nothing about this time to cherish. I'll be glad when he updates out of it."

"You think that now," says Omega, "but whenever Donatello remembered those years... he missed it."

The past tense applied to his twin makes something in Leo's stomach twist. Though they're out of his sight, he can sense Mikey and Raph tensing up, too. For the first time, Leo has to ask himself why Donnie needed to make an AI to store his memories and personality. And he doesn't like any of the plausible answers.

Omega seems to realize after a moment that he's sobered the mood, because he does a very exaggerated clearing of his throat and says, "So, that wheelchair is interesting, he said in a very natural segue. Is that a Genius Built original?"

"Uh," says Donnie, and then he kickstarts into motion. "Why yes! Yes it is! You know, I can show you the schematics if you just let me see-"

"Haha, nice try again! But no."

"Awwww, come on!"

[monimccoythings]

Cuteness Overload

Just saw the movie. What a masterpiece. And (spoiler warning) I'm glad they did Charles Martinet justice even though I still think it should have been him voicing Mario. And of course, I'm in love with Jack Black's portrayal of bowser, excellent representation of a good creepy and psychotic villain that stole the entire movie. I loved it so much I'm writing a Y/N fic (My favorite little hoe, but this time is more on the platonic side). This contains a huge spoiler for the movie, specifically the ending. I'd recommend to watch the movie first.

Next Parts: 2, 3, 4, 5

So, a couple of weeks ago your entire neighborhood got destroyed because of some epic anime battle that just casually happened over there. How cool is that? Or how horrible, because thanks to that you just have to take the biggest detour ever known to man to get to work. But hey, at least you had a nice walk.

You getting into the mushroom kingdom was entirely by accident. Yes, you were curious about that new world but never had the time or will to go on a transdimensional travel. Thank goodness there was an open sewer hole laying there (which you completely missed) to help you take the initiative.

If you didn't took into account that nightmarish journey through the tunnels, the Mushroom Kingdom was a pretty interesting place to be. The toads were very friendly and kind fellas, some of them carefully checking you out for injuries and advising you to go see the princess in order to help you get safely home.

Okay, forget about the journey through that cosmic rabbit hole, going up to the castle was way worse. You didn't remember having exercised that much, not even in P.E. You swore your vision was blurry after all that.

Princess Peach was the most loving, kindhearted badass you had the pleasure to meet. That kind angel sent down from heaven upon seeing your miserable state, generously offer you to step in for tea and pastries, while the royal doctor (another toad but this cutie came with a stetoscope and a labcoat) made sure you didn't had seriously injured yourself with the fall.

As dignified and courteous she tried to act. It was obvious she was very excited to meet another person from Brooklyn. Soon you found yourselves engaged in conversation. It felt easy talking to her, like you were talking to an old friend. You suddenly felt very glad you didn't see that sewer hole.

Mario and Luigi stopped by as well, and the second they opened their mouths you recognised them as those two dudes from that dope ass commercial. So they were the ones that were in the middle of the battle in Brooklyn. Good for them, you were glad things turned out great.

You were having the time of your life, they were really chill and easy going people, which put you more at ease. As time passed, you heard the faint sound of a piano being played. When you asked your new friends about it, they just shrugged and Princess Peach gave you a half smile saying that it was her "pet turtle".

Whoah. This was truly a magical place. Her pet turtle played the piano?? And very well by the sound of it. Peach asked you if you wanted to see it. Of course you wanted to see it! Mario and Luigi gave each other uncertain looks, but in the end they just shrugged it off.

After a long walk through the hallways you finally reached a room. The toad guards immediately stepped away when they saw their ruler approach, but gave you a look full of suspicion. Peach softly reassured them.

She opened the door for you and let you in. The room wasn't any different from the castle except that it was completely devoid of any furniture but a single golden cage with THE TINIEST TURTLE PLAYING THE TINIEST PIANO YOU HAD EVER SEEN.

Said turtle was now looking perplexed and midly annoyed that it had been interrupted, but its eyes lighted up when they landed on Peach, who suddenly looked very done and tired. But how could you notice when its mere sight alone was too much for you to bear.

It was SO CUTE. SO DARN CUTE. Cuteness overload. You had died and were sent to adorable heaven where tiny turtles played teeny tiny pianos. You made sure to tell it that several times, making Mario burst out laughing. And it got even better from that moment, because out of that turtle mouth came the most colorful collection of threats and insults in a HIGH PITCHED voice that made your heart melt. Because of course it, he, had a high pitched voice. That only made you gush out more, you loved animals but specially you absolutely adored reptiles.

Mario was literally holding himself against the wall to keep himself from falling for laughing so hard. Luigi was cry laughing and Peach was trying to cover her face, but it was clear that from the way her shoulders rose and went down that she was practically wheezing.

You asked Peach if you could hold him for a while, to which she seriously, or at least she tried to sound serious in the middle of all that laughter, answered that it was too dangerous to let him out. But how could something as darling as that do any wrong? Peach gently pulled you out of the room, but not before you let out a "Bye bye, piano playing turtle, I love you." To a very blushing and mortified turtle.

Turns out that the turtle had comitted war crimes. Very bad war crimes. And even though he was still a little cutie to you, he got what he deserved and shouldn't be let out under any circumstances. Still, you were def going to visit him again.

[writer-room]

I personally like headcanoning Peacemaker as still being just a little too similar to Darkstalker in some aspects. He's obviously still a good dude, in fact he's an absolute sweetheart, but there's still some...characteristics. You know what I'll list them for the good of my inner child

Kid gets big. And I mean big. He's nowhere near Darkstalker's size, but he ends up really tall and heavy for a NightWing, let alone one thats supposedly half RainWing, which are not overly big dragons to begin with. This leads to most dragons trying to convince him to move into professions that require big guys, but his strength still helps him plenty with farming. It does make some people ask questions, though

He's not as narrow as Darkstalker was. As Darkstalker grew, his features became noticeably sharper, more IceWing in body type. Peacemaker has softer features, however his face never truly changed. It's not as jutting such as in the jawbone or horns, but he has a much more defined face that seems to stand out on a rounder body. He's terrified a few dragons on accident who saw him from a distance or as a silhouette and thought he was Darkstalker risen from the dead. He never understood why everyone was so scared

Doesn't quite like the RainWing part of himself. As a kid, he was never sure why. Sure, some dragons weren't very nice about it, but his mom loved him plenty, he had some really nice dragons like Moon and Kinkajou who who were really sweet, so he never quite got why he was upset about it. Maybe he was still mad at the dad who wasn't there? He wasn't sure why he was upset about that, either. He got better after having a lot of talks with his mom and friends, but that little piece of self-hatred never fully went away, and he can't for the life of him explain why

Had a lot of imaginary friends as a kid. They didn't always have names, but they were usually dragons he made up in his head. Like a scardy-cat SeaWing all the other dragonets accused of just being Turtle, or an actually scary SeaWing, or a super smart NightWing who knew all the answers to everything! Sometimes he made up a new NightWing queen or played a pretend war with the other dragonets. Occasionally, he said his friend that week was a big shadow. He said the big shadow seemed kind of angry and sad, but his shadow liked to listen. He slowly stopped after a while. Some of his older friends started looking worried. Imaginary friends were for babies, anyway.

He still has Darkstalker's horns. Those never changed, for some reason. Maybe a little less pointy on the ends, maybe a little thicker at the base, but they were still very much Darkstalker's Horns. Hope & the gang silently freaked out about this, but when some dragon brought it up in earshot of little Peacemaker, he loudly proclaimed he liked his horns, they were all funky and looked kinda like mister Winter's horns! Mister Winter is kind of rude sometimes, but he seems nice, so Peacemaker doesn't mind looking kind of like him! Winter was tormented over this for months

Sometimes he'll just...say things. That sound a little too similar to what some other dragon was thinking. Or make random guesses that are very close to what will actually happen. It's never by much, usually finishing other dragon's sentences or predicting the next thirty seconds, but it's enough to make Moon twitchy. He just thinks he has good luck

Once asked Hope if he could ever have a little sister. He never asked again. He'd never seen his mom cry before.

[sprite-writes-fanfic]

How would the Tmnt bros (2003) react to a best friend who has a crush on them and at first they don't feel the same way, But way later on they develop feelings for their friend but theres that bit of awkwardness in that they already rejected said Friend's prior confession.

And like the friend took the rejection well and is trying to move on, though theres a bit of tension as the friend is subtly trying to avoid like being alone or like to close physically with their turtle crush so as to not make them uncomfortable and even gets on a dating app (with 0% success there lol) They atleast hide their still very much there feelings and are good at not being obvious they are still down bad for the turtle.

Also I cant get enough of your writing! I love it so much Always looking forward to the next post, Hope your having a wonderful week!

Hey anon! Sorry for the long wait! Thank you so much for your kind words <3 I really hope you enjoy this one!

Awkward…

🐢💙❤️TMNT ‘03 x Reader💜🧡🐢

Word Count: 642

CW: Gender-neutral reader, referred to as ‘you’, a bit more on the angsty side for some, for others they get a bit of fluff. The boys and Mikey don’t know how to healthy deal with their emotions. Without further ado, I hope you enjoy!

🐢💙Leonardo💙🐢

💙 Leo feels like a huge dick. Like, seriously. He felt really bad having to reject you, now he feels really bad that suddenly he feels those same feelings. Like, man. This is NOT what he wanted.

💙 Will actually avoid you at all costs because he feels so bad, he’s trying to focus on other things. He luckily feels better in a group setting so it’s just not you and him.

💙 He misses old times quite a bit, and when he sees the obvious signs that you’re still into him, he’s a mess. Man is just a goddamn mess. Like what’s he supposed to do in this situation? He’s heavily considering talking to you about this but he’s also very scared too.

🐢❤️Raphael❤️🐢

❤️ Despite your confession, you and Raph remained rather close, I mean he wouldn’t ever let little feelings like that ruin— And he’s caught feelings too. Right after he’s rejected you. Oh he feels awful.

❤️ Taking his frustrations out on the punching bag and sparring lately, RIP Mikey. He’s just really upset, because not only did he reject you, but he’s seen those dating apps on your phone too. He wants to sincerely make it up to you.

❤️ Isn’t sure if he should shoot his shot or just let it be and wait and see if these feelings go away or get stronger… He chooses to wait. He chooses to see if these feelings just happened because of the confession and they’re a short time thing. Will shoot his shot a year or two later if you’re both still feeling the same and you’re still single.

🐢💜Donatello💜🐢

💜 Poor Donnie’s brain is going haywire. It was about three months later that he rejected you that he suddenly caught feelings, and it suddenly occurred to him while he was working on his latest invention. And he could not stop thinking about it either.

💜 Dude was panicking a lot when he first realized, and honestly felt himself wanting to cry. He was overwhelming himself at the moment and ended up going to Master Splinter for comfort. After that fiasco, he’s very distant. Like, he’s worse than Leo, kind of distant. He’s just drowning himself in his work and it takes a toll on him mentally.

💜 You end up catching him one day and forcing him to talk, and he finally kinda admits that he’s been feeling like shit because he’s rejected you, and that he randomly caught feelings as well. You two certainly talked for hours, trying to get it sorted out. And if either goes: You two remain friends and try to move past this. Or, you both give a possible relationship a chance after spending more time together.

🐢🧡Michelangelo🧡🐢

🧡 To say he didn’t expect this was an understatement, the feelings just kinda hit him out of nowhere. When you helped him patch up after a skateboard trick gone-wrong, it hit him. Mikey liked you, but he already rejected your confession. Uh oh.

🧡 He definitely thinks on it, for once, instead of going in and flirting with you. For once he was thinking about this, as he felt guilty about it. When he’s thought about it, he’s probably gonna be the only one who’s open about it unlike the rest of his brothers, only one that has really healthy communication.

🧡 When he’s open and honest, he’s extremely nervous, I mean, who wouldn’t be? Rejecting you then telling you how he feels about you is pretty messed up. Luckily, the two of you talk it out and try to reconcile and work it out. Luckily, your feelings were still there and blazing, and it’d take a bit before you could completely forgive him, but you both worked it out. You’re giddy to say you have a date on Friday and you’ve deleted all the dating apps off your phone within minutes after you and Mikey’s big talk.

[fungalittleweirdo]

All four 12 turtles first meetings/impressions headcanons pleeeeeaaassseee <3333

anything for pookie <333

2012 TMNT First Meetings Headcanons

Leo

i think he would be interested in keeping you safe if you're a civilian

if you're a criminal he might talk you down from doing crime first, if you don't listen to him though he will kick your ass

but back to if you're a regular person in new york– if you were in danger he would most likely defend you

and if you insist on keeping him company because he saved your life, he might get a little shy and embarrassed

are you hungry ? he'll get you an order of pizza gyozas as soon as possible

you're one of the few humans he's ever met, it's a little hard for him to socialise with you at first but then gets the hang of it

if you're interested in any of the things he's interested in he will ask about it

he might infodump about space heroes if you're not careful

if you let him, he might develop a silly little crush on you

sorry this leo first impression headcannon thing is purely spoopy fanservice

Raph

he'd think nothing of you if you're a civilian

if you're a criminal he'd beat your ass, no questions asked

but if you're insistent on talking to raph after he saves your life or whatever he'd get annoyed and ask why you want to talk to him so bad

but this is only if he's still with mona

if he hadn't been with mona at all or they broke up or whatever, he might be bored enough to have you around for company

he might end up venting to you if you listen to him for long enough

raph feels as though he's never listened to and to have someone so ready and willing to hear him ramble, it comforts him

you might become his favourite friend after a night of talking and getting to know one another

he also would like it if you wanted to watch him train and cheer him on, it helps dissolve his insecurities

Donnie

depends how you react to him when it comes to you being a civilian

as for you being a criminal ? he'd ask you why, how, when– he wants every little detail about the crime you're committing and the context behind it. he might not even want to kick your ass at all, maybe he just wants to talk.

now, if the turtle's saving your life and you're grateful like a normal person, thanking him and going on your merry way, he'd be proud of himself for handling whatever you tangled yourself with on his own.

if you make out his save as a knight-in-shining-armour-saving-his-princess situation ? he would get all flustered and embarrassed, falling for you hard if you give him any semblance of affection as thanks.

the mutant is starved for affection after all the years he's pined and yearned. crushing should be his middle name and it's not for crushing his enemies.

spending the rest of the night talking to him would probably mean him checking for wounds or if you got hurt.

he would worry about you no matter if your life was threatened or if someone just tried to steal your bag

haha you're the next april (whether you reciprocate or not is up to you)

Mikey

nah dude you're chill brah

bro's clueless if you're committing crime

but otherwise he'd fight whatever's threatening you then offer if you want to hang out with him

whether you agree or scream and run away it's your choice (but the latter isn't what you're here for, is it ?)

he'd take you to murakami's or some pizza place he knows of for food first

after eating you guys would go up to the rooftops and he'd try to show you tricks on his board

maybe try to flirt with you if he finds you easy on the eyes

you spending time with him kind of reassures him that he's not annoying like his brothers say he is, so you're making him feel better about himself just by keeping him company

he'd love to talk to you again !! definitely will call you in the middle of the night to ask you if you think pineapple belongs on pizza.

[tmntfixationxreader]

"I just read your Donnie fic and I am in LOVE with the way you write. Sometimes I feel like fics don't really show the emotions of the turtles beyond being shy around reader and I appreciate fluff where the characters actually interact and have a meaningful moment without it having to be sexual. So let me just say your writing feeds my soul. I love it.

That being said can I request a Raph x fem reader crack oneshot?

Reader was a friend of April and April decided that it would be good to introduce the turtles and reader. Little did she know that reader had a thing for big buff dudes, to the point that she goes from generally outgoing to extremely shy within seconds. So when she meets Raph she gets quiet, avoids eye contact, and fidgets frequently. Raph calks it up first time nervousness because he knows that he can be a bit intimidating. Reader eventually starts hanging around the turtles more often and gets closer with Donnie, Leo, and Mikey but is still shy around Raph and it ends up hurting his feelings. He feels like he's too scary and starts avoiding reader. Obviously this is the opposite of what the reader wanted, especially after getting to know him a little bit better and liking him even more.

Bonus points if the reader is taller than most her peers and a bit stronger to so she is often viewed as not feminine. So in order to seem more feminine she wears baggy clothing and curls in on herself to feel small. Happy ending please🙇‍♀️

Sorry if this is too long or too specific 😫 I just really like the way you write and I feel like I can trust you with an idea that is so dear to my heart!!!

Make sure to rest and drink some water.❤️"

♡All requests are anonymous, so here is the copy and pasted ask♡

Thank you so so much for the kind words!! I really appreciate and it fuels me to keep writing <3 Also, I did drink some water.

Here is your request! I hope It is how you wanted it :)

*****************************************************************

♡You don't scare me♡Raph x Fem!Reader♡

~When you get nervous around Raph, he’s worried you are scared of him~

Word count: 3,237 (longest one-shot so far)

Warnings: Fluff, Fem reader, strong/tall reader, reader attracted to strong guys, squishmallows.

*****************************************************************

When Apri skipped up to you, bag over her shoulder with more than a few pencils falling out the back end, you knew immediately she had planned something. 

She was panting, and smiled excitedly at you. “Y/n! Guess what?”

You smile at her, stopping and helping her pick up the pencils that had just fallen out. “What?”

“So you know those friends I told you about?? The ones that don’t go to school here?” She said, grabbing the pencils with you and shoving them messily back into her bag.

“Yeah! That's the brothers right?” You say, standing back upright after you had collected the last of the pencils.

You were easily a head taller than April, had broader shoulders, and had some pretty good muscles on you. From April being small and lesser on the muscle scale, and you being tall and muscular, the comparison made many people do a double take. It just heightened the differences you two had. You two didn’t care though, you liked yourselves just as you two were. And if there were days when you would doubt it, then April was always, always here to prove just how great you were. Just like you were always there for her.

She nodded excitedly. “Yes! Mikey, Leo, Donnie-”

“And Raph,” You finished, grinning, and April nodded happily. “You talk about them a lot.”

She laughed, and you two began walking. “Yeah, I guess I do… Anyways, I had a chat with them and they invited me to bring you to their- er- house!”

Your face lit up with excitement. April had talked about these guys for years. It was about time your finally meet them

“Heck yeah! When can we go?” You ask, putting one hand into your baggy hoodie pocket. You always wore baggy clothes. 

April smiled, pushing her red glasses back up into place on her nose. “After school! If you're not busy.”

You shook your head. “Nope! I’m not busy, I would love to meet them.”

April grinned. “Perfect! I’ll let ‘em know, and we can go after school!”

April found you immediately after school, which wasn’t hard. You two usually walked home together on most days anyways.

What you weren’t expecting was how far away their house was.

It seemed like you two were just walking until the crowd of kids faded away, which turned out to be the idea.

When April turned and went into an alleyway, you got really confused.

“An… Alley?” You said, raising an eyebrow and following her anyways. You trusted April, and knew she wasn’t going to lead you anywhere dangerous. 

April nodded her head side to side. “Well… Yes.. I mean, they aren’t living in the alley…”

She walked over to the sewer gate and lifted the lid. You stared at the sewer entrance.

You raised an eyebrow, and put a hand on your hip.“Ok, you’ve got to be kidding me.”

You trusted April. She had been your best friend for a long time. You two had done a lot of crazy things when you were little; from pulling amazing parkour stunts on the couches to playing Floor is Lava. You two did it all. Now that you two were older, you had broadened the area of things you two could do; the mall, movies, drawing,  unfortunately homework, and you still were the all-time champion of floor is lava.

Even after everything, how April managed to convince you to go into the sewers, you still didn’t know.

That didn’t matter now, you were walking in a sewer tunnel next to April, narrowly dodging some unmentionable things you avoided looking at.

But in all honesty, it wasn’t that bad. It was at first, but the further and closer you got the cleaner it was. Soon the smell went away entirely, and the tunnel was empty and clean. The smell was so gone, that you actually started smelling… Pizza?

The sheer thought of smelling pizza in a sewer tunnel attempted to trigger your gag reflex.

“April… is that pizza?” You ask, feeling nauseated and looking at her like this whole thing was crazy. You were open minded, but this was getting crazy.

April smiled and nodded. “Heh, yeah, the boys like pizza… Mikey is probably cooking some.”

“Ok… So how close… are… we?”  You trail off as you turn a corner, seeing an entrance to what you could only assume was the brothers house. It looked really nice on the inside, from what you could see. Pizza boxes, skate ramps- like the whole place was a skate park on the inside. And that was only what you could see.

April stepped inside. 

"She’s here!” She called into the layer.

“Ok!” A light-toned male voice called back. “Tell us when you're ready!”

April turned back to face you.

You glanced around to see the lack of brothers. “Are… They hiding?”

April nodded nervously. “There’s a couple of things I need to explain first…”

You raised an eyebrow and fidgeted with your hoodie drawstrings. It wasn’t out of nervousness, you were excited.

“Ok… What is it?” You ask. 

April nodded her head side to side. “So… Before you meet them, you need an open mind.”

“April, you know me. I am a very open minded person- as long as they aren't walking crocodiles living in the sewers I'm fine.”

April blinked. “How does a turtle sound?”

You raised both eyebrows. “I like turtles… But what does that have to do with them?”

April smiled slightly. “Mikey, why don’t you come on out!” 

You got slightly excited; you had heard so much about the brothers already, and knew that Mikey was the artistic younger brother.

Mikey slowly side-stepped out from around the corner, a large smile on his face. 

He was… Green? With an orange mask and a… Turtle shell??

Your jaw dropped and you blinked. You were frozen like that for a while. 

Mikey turned kind of shy, giving a small wave.

You waved back, and finally took a breath. “M… Mikey?”

His face lit up into a smile. “Yep! I’m Mikey!!”

You smile a little. “Wow! You're a… Turtle!!”

Mikey smiled back. “Yep! A mutant turtle teenager!”

You smiled back happily, taking a step towards him, and walking around him. You were a head taller than he was. You looked down at his shell, his green skin, and the yellow spots on his shoulders.

“Wow!” You exclaimed, looking back at April, who smiled. “Wait- are your brothers turtles too??”

Mikey nodded. “Yep! Would you like to meet them?”

You nodded, smiling, eyes wide with shock and excitement.

“Leo! Donnie! Come on out!” Mikey called. 

A turtle in a blue mask came out around the corner. The first thing you noticed was that he was a different color green, and he had red crescents around his eyes. He was as tall as you were, close enough that you could probably only tell who was taller by standing side by side.

He waved his hand.

“What’s up Y/n! I’m Leon!” He said in his show-offey-tone. 

You waved back. “Hi Leon!” You said happily.

A turtle in purple came out next. You noticed he had a head wrap instead of a bandana, and he had a pair of goggles mounted on his head. His shell looked different too, like it was metal. And you more than quickly realize it was.

“My name is Donnie, Donatello, and to my loving brother here, Donald,” He said with a sarcastic monotone voice.

You smile, watching Leo lean an arm on Donnie’s shoulder. You give Donnie a wave too.

“Wait, isn’t there one more brother?... Raph right?” You ask the brothers. 

Mikey nods. “Yes in deedy! But there is something you should know first… Raph is a little… Bigger than the rest of us. He wanted me to tell you that first before you met him.”

You shrug. “I am bigger than most people my age, too.”

Mikey smiles. “He may look big and scary, but he really is the sweetest guy…”

You smile and nod, looking around the corner to where the other brothers came out from. 

“Raph? You can come out,” You say.

Then, a turtle who was two heads taller than Leo, and at least twice his size, came out around the corner. He was strong, his arms and legs loaded with muscle, and he had spikes protruding from the top and back of his plastron and back of his shell. 

One small tooth poked out from the right side of his mouth, and he smiled nervously when he spoke, clearly shy.

“Hi… I’m Raph...”

You smiled, and gave him a nervous wave. For someone who was generally outgoing, you suddenly became very shy. You didn’t know exactly why.

Raph smiled, and looked towards Mikey with a smile. For him, it was just a win that you didn’t run away.

“H-hi Raph… I’m Y/n,” You say, smiling up at him but, then looking away back at the other brothers as you felt it growing harder and harder to keep eye contact.

Raph beamed, and nodded happily. “Nice to meet you!”

The brothers and April smiled.

The pizza timer dingged, and everyone looked towards the doorway to the kitchen. 

“Time to eat! Y/n, how do you feel about pizza?” Mikey asked, rocking on his heels excitedly.

You grinned at him. “I love pizza!”

It had been about a month since then, and you and April would hang out with the turtles everyday after school.

You and the turtles had gotten closer, you would play games with Leo and Donnie, and make art with Mikey. You really wanted to train or hang out with Raph, but you just couldn’t bring yourself to do it. Something about him was just so… You didn’t want to explain it. But whatever it was, it was making you nervous. You would fidget, avoid eye contact with him, and get much, much quieter. You just couldn’t get yourself to stop being so shy around him, even though you really wanted to hang out with him. 

April and the other brothers didn’t seem to notice, and if Raph noticed. He had avoided you multiple times before. He knew he was big, scary and intimidating, and he thought you just hadn’t gotten used to him yet.

“Hey guys! How about we play a board game?” Mikey called out to the others from where he was playing his video game with you. You had gotten pretty good at that fighting game, and Mikey was getting a little playfully worried that you would beat him soon. That was his high score on the line after all.

You grinned. “Perfect!”

“That sounds great!” April said excitedly, then got up from her spot next to Leo. The two of them had been watching a cartoon on his phone. “I’ll go get one!”

Raph came excitedly into the room, ushering Donnie in as well. Donnie didn’t seem all that pleased about the idea, but perhaps that was just the aloof-bad-boy persona he was trying to perfect.

Everyone gathered around the table, standing over it as April brought in the game, she had chosen Sorry.

You were bubbling with excitement as everyone gathered around… Until Raph took his spot across from you, smiling that adorable smile that had been playing on loop in your head for the past few weeks.

Your heart (for reasons you didn’t want to sort out-) started to flutter again. You took a firm hold of your hoodie drawstrings, seeming to shrink a little. Your smile was still genuine, but it seemed lesser, like you were suddenly self conscious and shy.

The others didn’t notice as they were setting up the game, but Raph did. He always did. He always noticed that you got nervous around him. He really did think you were just shy around him at first, but you had known him for weeks and you still were like this… 

Raph’s smile seemed to fade a little too. 

Just as they were handing him his game token, he put his hands up and took a step backwards. 

“Sorry guys, Raph just forgot that he was supposed to help Dad clean up the living room…” Raph said, speaking in the third person again. Normally you thought that it was adorable when he did that, but something about the way that he was speaking seemed off.

Mikey raised an eyebrow. “You can do it after, I’m sure Dad wouldn't mind if-”

“No, no, Mikey, I told him I would… You guys go ahead and play. Raph’ll catch up with you later…” He said, and walked off towards the living room where his dad was always watching his commercials.

The brothers exchanged glances, and April got up to go after him, when you stopped her. 

“I’ll go get him. You guys go ahead and start, Raph and I will join in the next round,” You say, and follow where Raph had left.

Raph wasn’t in Splinter's room.

You checked the dojo, and the skate ramp before finally finding him in his room.

You heard moving from within his room, but his curtain was pulled covering the door so you didn’t let yourself in. Instead you knocked on the doorframe.

“R-Raph? Are you coming?” You asked.

“Uh- Y/n… Yeah, I’ll be there in a minute…” Raph said. You stood quietly for a moment.

“Can I come in?” You asked.

“Yeah… Sure,” He said. 

You stepped through the curtain into his room. He was sitting on his bed, the mattress bowing beneath his weight. 

His room was nice, a few posters, some weapons hung up, and a few scratches on the walls from his spikes. It was pretty clean, surprisingly.

The one defining feature was the squishmallow on his bed, each neatly in place. That made you smile. 

He watched you expressionless for a moment.

You watched him. 

“Can I sit down…?” You asked quietly. He nodded.

You sat down next to him. It was weird being smaller than someone, you were normally much taller than the rest of your peers, so sitting next to someone so much bigger than you was almost a relief. You more than often hunched over to make yourself feel smaller, but next to Raph you felt like you didn’t have to do that. It makes you feel more comfortable in your own skin.

Raph watched you for a moment. “Why did you come to get me?”

You shrug, playing with your hoodie drawstrings again. “The others got worried when you left, so I volunteered to come and get you.”

Raph nods a little. “But… Why?”

You shrug again, seeming nervous. “I wanted you to come and play.”

Raph looked slightly surprised, shifting so he was facing you. “But… You don’t like Raph. I make you scared… Why would you want me there?”

You look extremely confused. “What? Scared? You don’t make me scared, Raph.”

Raph shook his head, his voice quiet. “But I do… I'm big… I’m scary… I make you scared..”

You looked at him like he was crazy. “What? Why would I be scared of you! You're one of the sweetest guys I’ve ever met!”

He blushes a little at the compliment. “But… You're always fidgeting when you're around me… You get quiet. You don’t like hanging out with Raph.”

You shake your head, reaching up and putting a hand on his shoulder. 

“I love to hang out with you, Raph… Actually it’s been making me a little disappointed that you keep avoiding me.”

Raph nodded. “Sorry… Raph just thought you would like it better if I stayed away…” His eyes dropped down to the mattress.

You shook your head. “Raph, why would you think that? You don’t make me scared, or intimidated at all…” 

“Y/n, I’m a giant mutant snapping turtle. You do get nervous around me. You don’t have to be sorry for that, I get it,” He said, attempting to give you a fake smile, but you saw right through it.

“Raph… I do get nervous around you, but it’s not because I think you're scary. Promise… But I get where you're coming from… Actually, you're a lot like me. I’m so much bigger than everyone else my age, and I'm not trying to brag, but I'm pretty strong in comparison to them, too. I’ve had a lot of people avoid me before.”

Raph looks at you, waiting for you to continue. When you don’t, he speaks.

“So… If you're not scared… Then why are you so nervous?” He asks. You put your hands in your lap and fidget a little again.

“W-well… See… I…” You stutter.

Raph looks confused. 

You sigh, taking a deep breath.

“Well, I… I kind of have a thing for big strong guys…” You mutter.

Raph blinks, and blushes without his expression changing. 

His eyes widened. “Oh- so you're not scared of me- you… you just have a thing for big strong guys?”

You nod a little, feeling your own cheeks burn.

Raph’s eyes widen even more. “Wait- I’m a big strong guy!”

You chuckle, and nod. 

His jaw drops momentarily and he blushes. “Ohhhh- so you think i’m-” He puts a finger to his chest and waits for you to speak.

You nod again. “Y-yeah…”

His face lights up into a bright smile. “S-so you think I’m… Attractive?”

“Yeah… Very…” You say, feeling your cheeks burn. You are smiling a little, but taking out all of your nerves on your hoodie drawstrings.

Raph grins and he blushes. “So you're not scared of me?”

You shake your head, smiling.

Raph nods, grinning. He blushes a little more. “Y/n… Can I tell you something?”

You nod, still blushing. “Of course…”

“Well… I kind of have a thing for strong girls…” He smiled, face as red as his mask.

You blush, looking down at the mattress with a grin.

“So… You…” You say and wait for him to answer.

He nods. “You probably don’t realize it… But you're really cute, Y/n…” He blushes a lot.

You smile, blushing and feeling awkward. “T-Thanks…”

You two sit in the silence for a moment.

“So… You probably think that someone as big and strong as I am is weird for collecting squishmallows then…” Raph said, feeling slightly embarrassed.

You immediately shake your head. “Nope! I’ve got a few at home too.”

Raph’s eyes lit up. “Really! What ones? What are their names?”

You grin. “I’ve got Abby the octopus, Caddie the cat, and Darex the dinosaur!”

Raph grinned. “Cool! I have quite a few… I can show you if you want!”

You nod excitedly, and Raph shifted so he could show you his collection better…

For the next half hour, you and Raph talk about both of your squishmallows, and the conversation slowly shifts from your favorite tv shows, to your favorite foods, and your favorite music.

You and Raph learned a lot more about each other, and you two grew much, much closer.

Eventually April comes up to say the second round is starting, and you two play the game with the others. 

And this time, when Raph stands across the counter from you and smiles that adorable smile of his, you smile back. 

And if you get nervous, he knows it’s not about his appearance or that you think he’s scary… 

…It’s because you like him…

…And he might just like you back…

*****************************************************************

Hope you like it! Thank you very much for the request! <3

This one ended up being longer, my brain took the story and ran with it lol

I am currently working on 4 other requests, and I will write them in the order I received them :)

Master post

Bye bye Butterflies!!

[strxwberryshxrtcake]

General Dating Headcanons

Raph:

When you first start dating he acts pretty shy

Like if you told him a compliment he would shut down and become a stuttering and blushing mess

“I like your shell 😊”

“Y- you like my shell?  I- I mean, thanks!”

He just needs a moment to get used to you two dating

Like maybe a month or two

After those few months he gets more confident

He likes to have nice dates with you where he gets to just hang out with you

Takes you to the park during the night when nobody is there, or goes during the day in a disguise

Will go anywhere on a date with you if you recommend it, just don’t abuse your power please

He likes to kiss you on the forehead

Like if you’re just sitting together he’ll randomly do it

Likes it if you kiss him back on his forehead

Gives the best bear hugs

He’s nice and warm (for a turtle 😒)

If hugging or touching isn’t really your thing he respects your space

Completely fine with PDA

will kiss you any place and any time

If you don’t like PDA he won’t do it

He likes cuddles, but he gets scared he might accidentally hurt you

Please reassure him, I’m begging you, so help me if you don’t 😠

If you reassure him enough he’ll cuddle you more out of random

Will melt if you boop his nose

“Raph, Raph!  Come close I have a surprise”

*Raph bends down to your level*

*boop!*

Is you hype man, no doubt

You wanna start a business?  He’s all for it

Wann start a band?  He’s your biggest fan

Wanna become a streamer?  He’ll watch all of your streams

Anyways, very sweet and supportive boyfriend 10/10

Leo:

When you first start dating he won’t stop flirting with you

But it’ll be a bunch of dumb pick lines that weren’t well thought out

“Come here often?”

“I literally visit you and your brothers almost everyday, Leo 😒”

Takes around two weeks for him to start getting used to dating you

He’ll slow down with the flirting, but won’t fully stop

It’s Leo for crying out loud!

Likes to go to the movies with you

It’s dark so it’s hard to see that he’s a mutant

Likes to go to cafes with you in the Hidden City too

Will randomly kiss you smack dab right on the lips just so he can try to fluster you

“Hey, y/n!”

“Yeah?”

*Kiss*

If you kiss him back he’ll get flustered

Likes to hug you from behind

Like if you’re just standing and doing something he’ll put his ninja skills to use and sneak up behind you and hug you

If he spooks you too much though he’ll stop, don’t worry 😌

Loves PDA

Kisses you in front of his brothers just to annoy them

If you don’t like PDA he’ll be extra lovey dovey in private 😏

Absolutely loves cuddles

He can easily fall asleep while cuddling

Please cuddle him, he has bad insomnia

Just a warning, he won’t let you go

He needs a good two hours

Will randomly poke you for no reason

Even if you protest against it he won’t stop

Don’t take it in a bad way, but will randomly smack your butt (not a hard smack) and run away

*y/n talking to April while standing*

*Leo walking past y/n and smacking their butt and then running away*

“Dude 😐”

Donnie:

When you first start dating he probably tries to impress you a lot

Make inventions just so you can praise him and stuff like that

“Look what I made, y/n!”

“Omg, that’s so cool, Don!”

Takes around four months to get used to dating

He starts to stop trying to impress you a whole bunch, but still does it to a certain extent

Likes to hang out with you will he works on a project of his

Has a chair for you

“I made a chair, just for you, it’s even your favorite color! :)”

Made it himself 😌

He likes to go to cafes in the hidden city with you a lot, like twice a week

You guys are regulars at some cafes

Likes to kiss you on the lips

He doesn’t really do it randomly though

Like he’ll ask in some way before he engages

But it’s always in a weird way

“y/n, perhaps we could partake in the gesture of forming our lips together as couples do if you want.” 

“😐 sorry, what?”

Doesn’t really enjoy hugs that much

He’ll hug you if you ask, but won’t actually do it himself

Not into PDA

He feels like his brothers might tease him

He’ll hold hands with you or lean his head on your shoulder but that’s about it

He doesn’t mind cuddling, but doesn’t necessarily love it

He likes it if you sit on his lap and hug him while he works on something

Or if you sit close to him and lean your head on his shoulder

Likes to lay his head in your lap

He’ll even do it around his brothers

If you’re watching a movie with him and his brothers he’ll do it

Does this weird thing where he just stares you down until you pay attention to him

“Hey, why’s Donnie staring into your soul?”

“Oh, he just does that sometimes.  Probs just wants attention.”

“😟 Should I be concerned?”

Probably stared you down while you were sleeping before because he wanted to show you something

Overall, good boyfriend material :)

Mikey:

When you first start dating it’s kinda awkward between you if you know what I mean

Like he’s still getting used to the whole thing

Only needs a week and a half to adjust

Yes, that time exactly, no questions 😊

Likes going to amusement parks and arcades with you

He just likes fun dates

Went to a hidden city mall with you and got lost

Raph had to go and find you two

Raph was not having it 😔

Likes to peck you on the cheek

Will just randomly do it in the oddest ways

“Hey y/n, I have a secret to tell you!”

“Hmm?”

“I love you!”

*kisses cheek and then leaves*

Always hugging you

Any time that he wants a hug he just goes ahead a does it

*y/n talking to Raph*

*Randomly comes over and hugs you*

“Hey Angelo”

*continues talking to Raph while hugging Mikey*

Enjoys PDA

He likes to hold hands and give you little pecks on cheek or lips

He’ll openly cuddle you infront of his brothers

Won’t do it if you don’t like it though 😊

Absolutely loves cuddling

He likes you to just hold him and talk or take a nap

It’s going to take a long time to stop cuddling though

Like he refuses to let you go over some time

“Hey, where’s y/n?”

“Oh, their cuddling with Mikey over there.”

“HELP ME.”

“Is that normal 😟?”

“Yeah.”

You guys have a lot of inside jokes and stuff

You guys have been known to randomly blurt out a vine or a phrase and start dying of laughter

“y/n, diddly dum.”

*cue hysterical laughter*

---

Hope these were good :)

[theyhavetakenovermylife]

Shadows Entwined: Part 3

BatmanVsTmnt!Leonardo x sidekick!reader

Part 1 Part 2 / Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Bonus (18+)

In which Leonardo and (H/N) meet again.

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

A/N: Just a friendly reminder, that the Robin in Batman Vs TMNT is Damian Wayne. The son of Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul. Aka, Ra’s al Ghul’s grandson. That little dude is trained to kill.

Warnings: Spelling, talk of breaking bones, only slight research on Damian Wayne, long af today.

The reader and the turtles are 19.

—--------------------------------------

When Donnie said he had an idea, Leonardo didn’t expect to involve an underwater cave network that Gotham City somehow had been hiding. Michelangelo was right, this city was bonkers, in more was than Leo ever had imagined.

Leo, Mikey and Raph followed Donnie through the never ending cave system, before finally breaking the water surface, in a lit tunnel. Leo’s first thought was wondering if Batman and his sidekick ever made use of these tunnels. How often did she wonder about these waters, if ever? It was a strange thought and Leo knew it, but somehow, everything he had seen along the way, had reminded him of her.

“Look”, Raph spoke up, breaking the silence and thoughts running through Leo’s head. “I love being an amphibian as much as the next guy-”.

“Amphibious”, Donnie corrected. “We’re still reptiles”.

“Yeah, thanks for that, but you sure this cave leads anywhere?”

“Glad you asked! I am sure actually”, Donnie started explaining. “I made a database of every reported Batman sighting, and ran them through an algorithm that-”.

“Donnie”. Leo placed a hand on his younger brother’s shoulder. "Nobody cares. Where are you taking us?” Leo tried to sound, well, at least a little happy, even though a little bundle of something was building up inside of him. Nervousness? Anxiety? Couldn’t be. Why would he be nervous or anxious?

“The answer should be right through…” Donnie turned and continued in the direction they had been walking in, only to be met by a big opening in the caves. To say that what they discovered was shocking, would be an understatement. A big open cave with what looked like a taxidermy dinosaur, several glass display cases with Batman costumes, and a giant coin among other things.

“Ta-da!”, Donnie stated with his arms out. “The… Bat… Man… Cave… Huh?”

“This is pretty cool”, Leo admitted. Why did he feel so small all of sudden?

“Pretty cool?!” Mikey already looked like a child that had had too much sugar. “This is amazing! I don’t know what to put my grabby paws on first!”

As Mikey started running around, screaming like a child, Leo casted a glance around the cave. All he was Batman but no… her. Not her in person, nor anything that indicated you spend time here. Was it wrong that Leo had kind of hoped you’d be there? That when he and his brothers emerged from the water, you would be there, ready for another round? It was because he wanted to beat you. Or that was at least what he told himself. It wasn’t in line with how he saw himself, but he would much rather admit to wanting revenge, so he didn’t have to admit to anything else. Like how he hoped you would comment his eyes again. Not that he would admit it, but the thought of you being that close to him again, made tingles erupt in his stomach.

For a second Leo was scared that he was the one that began to chur at the thought of you, only to realize it was Donatello, who had gotten his eyes on a big computer.

“I don’t see any sign that the Shredder, nor the Foot Clan have been here”, Leo said, desperately trying to distract himself from the thought of you.

“Yeah. And I just see the signs of a dude with too much time and way too much money on his hands”, Raph said, looking skeptically at the Batman costumes.

“Most of these files are encrypted too heavily”, sounded Donnie’s voice from in front of the big computer. “But it looks to me like Batman has been tracking the laboratory break ins, like he’s been looking for the Foot’s next move! Same as us!”

“Hey guys! Check it out!” All three brothers turned, in fear of what Mikey had gotten himself into now. They found Mikey, sitting on top of the taxidermy t-rex, dressed in a Batman cape. “I’m Batman! And I’m riding a t-rex! I’ve never been so happy in my entire life!”

Leo’s first thought was to look around, slightly in fear of what you would think, if you found his little brother like that. “Mikey! Get down!”

“Nah man, I live up here now!”

“You should listen to him”.

Mikey turned to look at the source of this new voice, only to be met by a figure in the shadows right behind him. It was a boy. Not a very old one. Dressed in red, black, yellow and green, his eyes had a look that could kill. Yet Mikey didn’t find the child threatening in any way. Instead he turned his head to the side and let out an audible, “aww!”

The young boy sprung at Mikey, causing the two of them to fall off the t-rex and land on the ground, with Mikey’s back against the stone. Mikey held the boy above him, trying his best to hold his small hands away from his face.

“Take that mask off! Now!”, the boy yelled through gritted teeth, while Mikey was struggling to keep the mask on.

“Help!”, Mikey yelled out. “A tiny dude is like, totally trying to kill me!”

All brothers rushed to help Mikey, as the young boy pulled the mask and cap off of Mikey before jumping back, greeting distance between the two. Leo cursed himself, as his first thoughts were; did you know this kid? Did he know you?

“What are you, like five?”, Donnie asked, taken aback by the young boy in front of him.

“How did you get in here?!”, the boy asked, before jumping over Donatello, taking his bow staff and hitting him in the back of his head with it.

Leo stepped forwards with his hands held up. “Hey little guy. We didn’t come here to fight”. But Leo should have known better. Just like you, this little guy knew when to take advantage of an opening. Using Donatello’s bow staff, he hit the side of both of Leo’s knees, making them crack in a horrible way. “Jes!”, Leo yelled out, falling to the ground. At least you didn’t try to break his legs. Leo would much rather have fought against you, and not this little demon of a child.

All four of the turtle brothers were taken aback by the boy's fighting skills. Leo’s knees were aching, Donnie’s head was hurting, and Raph’s arms would soon form black marks. And the fight hadn't even been five minutes. It ended when Mikey yelled “sneak attack”, before tackling the boy, causing them to tumble around, ending with Mikey on top of the boy, retracted into his shell. The boy screamed all sorts of things out of anger, including how he would have their heads. Leo found the scene strange, just like all the other things he had seen in Gotham. Yet, there was something strangely wholesome about it. Almost domestic. A young boy being sat upon, by what felt like a teasing older brother.

Leo almost had to shake those thoughts out of his head. This wasn’t wholesome nor domestic. They were in Batman’s home (Leo wouldn’t point fingers. He and his family called the sewers home), and this little gremlin might have known something they didn’t.

“Let’s just try and reason with him, before-”. The sound of a car engine cut Leo off mid sentence. “...that”. He already had a suspicion of who it might be.

The Batmobil drove into the cave at full speed, before Batman jumped out of it, landing in front of them with this strong stare, followed by you and Batgirl. Leo had not expected his stomach to jump at the sight of you. Neither had you expected the sight of the blue turtle to make your stomach drop. Maybe it was the conversation with Batman and Batgirl, that now caused the fast heartbeat in your chest, at the sight of the turtle. Or maybe it was the sight of one of them sitting on your little brother, that caused you to clench your fists.

“Get off Robin”. He narrowed his eyes. “Now!”

The orange turtle got off of your brother, and turned to try and help him. Robin, as proud as he was sometimes, refused the turtle’s help, pulling his arm away.

“How did you get into this cave?” You unclenched your fist at the sound of Batman’s voice. Most people would find his tone scary, fearing the angry outburst that would never come. But to you and your bat family, it was a comfort. Batman cared about you, Robin, Batgirl and all of those that came before, and that meant he was willing to protect all of you from any danger. Especially strange turtles that have made it into the Batcave.

Leo took notice of your unclenching fists, and your position just behind. Covered enough to be protected, yet open enough to jump in if needed. Robin, found his place beside Batman, close enough for you to put a protective hand on his shoulder. That weird domestic picture formed in Leo’s head once more.

“Oh, well”, Donnie started. “There weren’t many security measures in the northern tunnel. We had to swim for a bit, but…” Donnie stopped as Batman frowned his brows. “I’m realizing you actually don’t want constructive criticism right now”, Donnie said, slowly pulling his head back into his shell.

“What I want are answers”, Batman said, eyes unmoving as he stared the turtles down.

“Look”. Leo stepped forward, causing you to tighten your grip on Robin’s shoulder, just a bit. But it was enough for Robin to notice, making him shoot you a questioning glare. “We’re not here to fight. My name is Leonardo”. Your grip softened on Robin’s shoulder, causing him to look at you in even more confusion. He knew you were a more expressive type than he and his father, and the sight of four mutant turtles in the Batcave might have shocked you, but so many reactions at once were not common. Not even for you.

Leonardo continued. “These are my brothers. Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo”. The orange turtle started waving at the mention of his name.

“Seriously?”, Batgirl asked, showing more amusement than the rest of the bat family.

“Our father was really into renaissance painters”, Donatello clarified.

“And he’s a rat!”, Michelangelo added.

Robin turned his head towards you. “Did… Did he just say a rat?”, he asked in a hushed tone.

“He did”, you nodded.

Leonardo had to breathe for a moment, after hearing your voice, before continuing. “We’re not your enemy. We came to stop Shredder and the Footclan. Honestly, we thought you might be Shredder’s new partner”.

Robin turned to you once more. “Foot?” You shrugged.

“Shredder”, Batman repeated. “So that’s his name... I’ve heard of a Footclan, but I thought they went extinct ages ago”.

“They’re ninja”, Raphael said. “You know, sneaky”. He moved his hands up in front of his face, as if he was hiding behind them.

“Sooooo…”. Robin moved from your protective hand and straight to the side of Batman. “Are we not going to beat up these green losers?”

Batman looked down towards his son. “It’s not looking like it, no”.

Robin sighed out loud, and you couldn’t stop yourself from smiling. Leo saw as you crossed your arms, and moved all your weight to your left leg, coming ever so slightly out from Batman’s protection.

“Then I may as well tell you that I know exactly who the Shredder and the Foot are working with”, your brother said, letting the small anger building inside of him overshadow his slight disappointment. And when you heard him say the name of his grandfather, you very well understood that anger.

—

“They are strange”, Robin told you, watching as Batman and Batgirl was talking to the turtles.

“They are indeed strange”, you agreed, fidgeting with whatever gadget you had in your hand, fighting the urge to look up. Because if you looked up, you would look at him. And if you looked at him, he would notice. And if he would notice, then so would Batman, and so would Robin, and Batgirl, and all of Leonardo’s brothers… Better just to focus on… what it was you had in your hand…

“I tried to break the blue one’s legs with the purple’s bow staff”, Robin said, his eyes shining proud. You finally dared to look in the direction of Leonardo, focusing on his legs. You couldn’t see any signs of injury.

“You should have aimed for the knee caps”, you told him, eyes still on the knees of the turtles.

“I did!”, Robin exclaimed, laying flat against the table. “And he did fall! But they didn’t break!”

You took a chance and looked at Leonardo’s face, studying for any signs of discomfort. None. None at all.

That should have been it. You should have looked away, so you could concentrate on that thing you had in your hand. But you didn’t. Your eyes stayed on Leonardo’s face. He was listening to something Batman told him. Most likely information about Ra's al Ghul. He looked very concentrated, with his brows frowning and his arms crossed. You noted that he was almost as stoic as Batman. You haven’t seen him smile a single time. No smiles when he fought the Penguin, no smiles in the alley, and no smiles in the Batcave. The only time you had seen him other than frowning, was when you told him he had pretty eyes.

Robin noticed your sudden silence, and looked at you in confusion. His sister never left him unanswered. She would never let an opportunity to tease him fly. But then he noticed how you had stopped fumbling with your glove, and now sat staring. Confused he looked from you, to what your eyes had been caught by.

Leonardo?

Robin looked back and forth a few times, before it finally clicked for him. He slammed his hand flat against the table, causing you to yelp and stare at your shocked little brother.

“Are you crushing on a turtle?!”

You slapped your hand against his mouth so fast, that the young Robin could only scream and fight. Confused by the sudden commotion, all of them turned to look at you.

“What did he say?”, Mikey asked, obviously intreacted

“Uh”, you said in a slight panic, trying to hold Robin still as he was lashing out against you. “He asked where Alfred was! He’s so hungry he could eat a turtle!” Batman started rubbing the bridge of his nose.

You were going to beat Damian so hard the moment Bruce looked away!

[cutielights]

hiii!! i just read your rottmnt x fox!reader (so good) and i was wondering if you could do a panther!reader next? /nf

love your writing<3

Everyone is absolutely loving the x mutant readers huh? Well that’s great because I love writing them! I’m assuming you mean a black Panther, which is just a Leopard or Jaguar with excessive melanin (Also tysm??? My heart can’t take it!) just realised I keep calling the reader mutant instead of yokai? Oh well ^^

Tw: none

Fox reader Tiger Reader Calico Reader

Rise boys x Panther! Mutant! S/O

Leo

Loves your agility

Super duper fast!

Oh boy the races that are about to ensue

No Leo! You can’t use your portals, that’s cheating!

Probably tests if you like water or not

By throwing a bucket of water all over you and the lair

Feeling incredibly guilty afterwards

Giving you a “carnivore special” pizza to say sorry

Lovable jerk

I can’t say tail yank on every mutant s/o

Raph

He loves cats!

And your a big cat!

Obviously it’s a match!

Chin scritches for the both of you

If the spots can be seen, he’s trying his best to count them

My dude have you SEEN panthers hunt and fight

Sparring sessions for SURE

He’d probably need some convincing to not hold back though

The BEST cuddles

All that fur and all those stuffies? Oml that’s gotta be comfy

Donnie

Hiding in the shadows of his lab so you can jump out at him

Laser pointer

Fluffy fur is sensory heaven

Trying to figure out if you’re a Jaguar or a Leopard

Weather you yourself know is a different story

Being quiet together

The lovely peace and quiet being disrupted by one out of three turtles

Doesn’t risk giving you any of his coffee he heard it can be poisonous to cats

You tried telling him that one cup wouldn’t hurt

He did not listen

Mikey

“PSPSPSPS”

tries the “cat pranks”

After all you are basically a really big cat

He’s still apologising about the cucumber

Tail bows

Being disappointed when fur dye doesn’t show up on your black fur

He needs someone to use all his dye on! And Splinter grounded him last time he dyed him in his sleep!

Sorry Mikey <3

Jumping to high up places and pulling this shortie up

Ear scritches

[mermmarie]

DATING THE BAYVERSE BOYS The Good, The Bad, The Ugly, and The Sexy

Authors Note: In my TMNT phase hardcore right now and I thought... I wanna share my headcanons for dating the the Bayverse Ninja Turtles!! 😋 Mostly under the cut because of mature themes/ideas. Hope you like 'em! Also, small thanks to @seafoamtaffy for helping me out with a few of Leonardos! 💙

Disclaimer: All characters depicted are 20+

Warnings: Mature/sexual themes, NSFW mentions, mature language. MINORS DNI

MICHELANGELO 

The good:

The master of positive encouragement/reinforcement. This boy builds you up like no other! It’s almost impossible to think bad of yourself around him.

Lots of physical affection, especially PDA. (As public as it can be living a life in the shadows) Loves kissing you, holding your hands, cuddling. No shame around his brothers, father, or April and Casey.

Would graffiti random buildings, subway cars, and trains in your name or with symbols that represent your love.

Food is his love language. Not a fantastic cook, but he can follow instructions and he’d try making your favorite meal for special events like your birthday, Valentines, anniversaries, or when you had a bad week. He’d also spoil you with your favorite snacks and sweets whenever he has the means to do so.

Would serenade you a lot, and makes playlists for you. They’d consist of songs he thinks you would like, and songs that reminded him of you and your relationship with him.

The bad:

Cliiiiiingy. Always has to have his hands on you and follows you everywhere. Even wants to be in the bathroom with you when you’re using the toilet.  

Generally, not the jealous type, but absolutely needs your constant attention.

Texts and calls you a lot. (Almost too much) Like, goddamn. You know he has a lot of time on his hands cause he’s cooped down in the sewers until nighttime, but dude—chill.

The ugly:

Guilt trips you over having to return to your surface life and personal duties.

Straight up avoids and ignores if there’s problems with your relationship. He knows no relationship is perfect, but he doesn’t want to break the fantasy, So, if you’re upset and wanna talk things out, he’ll redirect the conversation a lot of the time. You’ll have to be pretty stern to get through to him.

Horny. All. The. TIME. He’d push boundaries to get you in the mood, even going as far to make unwanted advances. (Wouldn’t do anything against your will, or force himself upon you though.)

The sexy:

Can and will laugh during sex. And good, because it’s definitely interesting between a giant mutant turtle and normal human being. There’s a lot for both of you to learn, but he’s surprisingly patient and things are never awkward with him.

He is willing to do the horizontal tango any time you want it. You could literally spend thirty minutes shitting your guts out due to having indulged on your favorite, but forbidden dairy product, and he’d still be down to clown afterwards.

Looooves oral. (Both giving and receiving) He can’t get enough of the taste of you, and would work diligently to give you multiple orgasms through going down on you.

He’s confident in his abilities and open to anything. You want him to put on a sexy dance for you? You got it! Wanna try a new move? Say no more! Have a kink you’ve been reluctant to tell him about? Baby, you’ve got nothing to be ashamed of! 

Great with aftercare. Ya’ll would either fall asleep in each other’s arms, cuddle up watching your favorite streaming shows, or play some hand-held video games together afterwards.

DONATELLO

The good:

Thoroughly interested and supportive of your passions and hobbies. Loves listening to you speak on them and would try his best to get involved in some way.

Since he’s the tech guy, a good majority of your dates would consist of pirating your favorite shows, and movies. He’d take you out in the turtle van to some desolate underpass, and project the picture on a wide slab of concrete. Afterwards, he’d put the media on your favorite format so you could have it always; downloads, dvds, even the nearly nonfunctional vhs’s!

Also, since he’s the tech guy he would surprise you with deliveries to your work place from time to time. Flowers, edible arrangements, your favorite drinks, thoughtful cards (with some spending money~ bounces eyebrows. He’d love the idea of being your sugar daddy when he’s able to. 😩 )

 Because he’s such a tall boy, forehead kisses are his thing. He peppers your cute little dome with small little pecks any chance he gets.

When he’s low on energy he drags you into power naps with him, which inevitably turns into a slumber because he’s so comfortable in your presence, and you find content in his warmth.

An added extra: Since Donatello is the tattoo artist of the group, free ink if you’re into that kind of thing! 👀

The bad:

This guy works off a schedule, and sometimes he just doesn’t have the time to fit you into it. With training, patrol, lair upkeep, creating new tech, and being the only one to have an actual job (because how else are they paying for food?), he’s unfortunately a very busy turtle.

Is the silent type when upset, and worst of all, he gets more upset if you don’t realize that something’s bothering him.

Double standards. He would insist that you properly take care of yourself. Drink lots of water, cut back on caffeine, shower and moisturize, eat three meals a day and snack in between, get eight hours of sleep, take a day off of work, etc… But Donnie doesn’t hold himself to the same expectations and good luck trying to get him to change. (Sometimes he shares his red-cladded brothers’ stubbornness.)

The ugly:

Internet stalks you, your family and your exes... He mostly does it as a means to gather useful information, and he’s clever enough to only use it in the appropriate situations, but it’ll take you aback when he mentions the name of an ex when you two fight. (He’ll never do it again after the first time however.)

Gets almost unreasonably upset when you have to cancel plans with him. To reference back to how busy he is, and double standards; he just expects you to be able to make time for him. After all, you’re not a defender of New York, nor are you confined to specific hours of the day like he is. How busy can you be?

Since you have a life on the surface, he sometimes gets into his head and assumes the worst. He’s stuck in the lair until nightfall, and his stupid brain likes to torture him with made up scenarios. He’ll make jokes of it, but you know there’s a hint of truth and insecurity behind the question, “So, who’d ya cheat on me with today?” It’s never funny…

The sexy:

Dandere in the streets, Kuudere in the sheets. (Yes, I’m a weeb. Look it up.) He’s not too big on the idea of PDA in front of his brothers, but as soon as it’s just the two of you, his hands will be all over your body and he’ll be macking on those plush lips of yours.

While he enjoys getting off himself, he’s all about pleasing you. A lot of the time, you cumming is more than suffice for him.

Because he is the most internet savvy, he’s done his research on your anatomy. So, unlike the other brothers, your first time together would be quite pleasurable. (Which is a feat considering Donatello has the biggest dick (fight me), so there would be a lot of work put into getting you prepared for it, but he enjoys the foreplay.)

Blindfolds. He can’t see during sex (if he removes his glasses of course) so why should you? It’s a fun little venture from time to time exploring each other’s bodies with your other senses.

He will fucking lap up the ground you walk on if you moan or scream his name during. For the love of god, just do it. It’ll make him absolutely wild.

RAPHAEL

The good:

You wouldn’t expect it of him before you started dating, but once you enter a relationship, he is the best listener. You’ll accidentally spend long amounts of time vent dumping on him, because he’s actually very attentive and empathetic of your feelings.

Since Raph leaves the lair the most (due to needing “fresh air”) he knows New York the best. Which means he takes you to all the cool and secret attractions of the city for date nights.  

He includes you in his workouts, if you know what I’m saying? 😏😏😏 I mean, he asks for your assistance… Uses you as added weights, has you help him with certain stretches, asks you to time him on specific drills. He just wants you to be part of one of his favorite activities. (WHICH INCLUDES SEX! Duh. 😋)

You already knew this was coming but… He knits you clothes! Mainly stuff to keep you warm in the winter. So, sweaters, scarves, gloves, and socks. Buuut-- He also dabbles in jewelry in secret. None of his brothers know about it, but Donnie is always curious as to why he borrows/steals his pliers, wire cutters and soldering tools every once in a while. You get custom made bracelets, earrings, and necklaces out of this. (He wouldn’t make you rings until far long into your relationship. He’s a shy boy and doesn’t want to scare you off with the implications. Plus, they’re hard to make, lol.)

Playful teasing and showboating of you. Only to levels you’re comfortable with, but he’s proud to be your significant other, and you’re so attractive to him, he’s gotta show you off to his brothers a little bit. He’ll pinch/grab/smack your ass (gently, lol), caress your face, arms, thighs, and nuzzle his snout into the crook of your neck in front of them, just to get all of you flustered and worked up.

The bad:

Has the millennial phone fear. He doesn’t like talking on the phone much because he dislikes the way his voice sounds to him when you put him on speaker, and he isn’t good at texting you back in a timely matter either… He argues that your conversations are more meaningful in person.

Prone to fighting, duh. Verbal fights of course. Raphael would never lay a hand on you, but if upset enough, he would break things around you. Punch a wall, throw a chair, shatter a glass. He’s also quick to raise his voice and yell, so if that kind of thing makes you uncomfortable, expect tears. (Although, as soon as you start crying, he crumbles.)

Would avoid missionary position, or any position that gave you an angle on his face at first. He’s insecure about his physique and features, and wouldn’t want to scare you or turn your off with his looks. (Though, as soon as you cupped your hands against his cheeks and stared down his emerald eyes, lorrrddd!! It’d ignite a passionate fury in him!)

The ugly:

We all expect jealousy of Raphael, but it’s in the worst ways. He’ll get jealous of his brothers interacting with you and vice versa. He won’t act on his feelings, but he doesn’t like the others touching you or being too interested in conversation with you. He’s also jealous of you specifically. He hates it, but you’re beautiful and normal. You get so many opportunities being human that he couldn’t even possibly dream of. He’d try to keep those insecurities to himself, but they of course bubble up when you fight.

(Like his purple-coded brother) He stalks you. He tells himself he’s being a good boyfriend and he’s just watching over you; making sure nobody messes with ya, but in reality he wants to know what you’re up too at all times. If your residence has the view for it, he’ll become a peeping tom and watch you undress.

Raph always grows distant when your time together is coming to an end. He just checks out hours before you actually have to go. He must think it’s a way to protect himself mentally, but it’s just unfair to you and almost impossible to pull him back into the moment.

The sexy:

Raph just emits sexual tension into everything. The way he lifts weights, how his brows furrow when he looks at you, the way his tongue dances around the toothpick in his mouth, how he folds laundry… Like, how? WHY?? I mean you’re not going to look a gift horse in the mouth, but boy it’s almost troublesome how he can make you so hot and bothered so easily.

 A double standard, but he wouldn’t let you be insecure about anything during sexy time, especially not your body. - You: I don’t want to do x,y,or z because I’m too heavy/too boney/have too much hair/don’t like my stretch marks/my bits are different from others/etc… - Raph: … If you don’t get your ass over here and sit on my face right now.

His tongue… is so long… 😳💦 Do I really need to say anything more??

Have you been interested in standing sex positions, but could never try them out because your past partners weren’t strong enough for them? Well, these are Raphy-boys specialty! Holding you up and pumping away in ya is a breeze for him, and good thing too! Because your legs are gonna be wet noodles afterwards~

He is actually okay with you egging him on during sex. As in: Saying things to purposely piss him off to make him fuck you raw. You would need to talk about what’s okay to say beforehand, and make non-verbal cues for safe words; but once that’s said and done, he’s game. It gets him riled up in the best ways possible.

LEONARDO

The good:

Leonardo will just pop in on you randomly during the DAY, just to say hi, and see how you’re doing, maybe even give you a few kisses. He’s so confident in his stealth abilities, and honestly… it’s justified. Still, it nearly gives you a heart attack every time and a playful fight breaks out as you urge him to leave so he won’t be seen by other surface dwellers.

If you need a task done, Leonardo is your #1 motivator. He won't do it for you, pfft! No. But he will absolutely help you stay on track. So, if there’s something you need a push to do, like finish a college essay you’ve been procrastinating on, doing an exercise routine after a long day of work, or making a stress inducing dentist appointment on your own; he’s your guy!

Massages. The guy actually knows what he’s doing and isn’t just pinching and pulling your skin. Knows what muscles to work on to relieve you of that headache, and what pressure points to hit to release the stress and tension you’ve been holding.

It’s a little silly, but he ‘bridal carries’ you a lot. He loves holding you in his arms, so when there’s an opportunity for it, he scoops you right up! It’s definitely unnecessary sometimes; like when he carries you from the living room area to his bedroom, but are you really gonna say no to those biceps, triceps and delts? 😩💦

All the turtles would teach you self-defense and CQC at some point in your relationship with them, but Leonardo would be adamant on it from the beginning. He would want you to be able to protect yourself when he’s not around. If you’re able to successfully to take him down, (which is gonna be hard because…he big 😳) he would instantly pop a hard one.

The bad:

Not so creative with date nights. He just likes spending time with you and figures you feel the same way. You’ll have to be the one to come up with fun ideas to do, or at least drop him hints on how to spice things up.

Needs you to be independent. He’s the leader, he’s got a whole city to defend and four brothers to take care of. So, you aren’t going to have his attention 100% of the time. Not to mention, he’s the kind of guy who likes his space. He’s got his things that he likes to do on his own, so you need some of your own.

Ironically, he also kind of… parents you. Especially when you don’t want it or ask. He thinks he knows best and will try to steer you in a certain direction. “You shouldn’t wear that article of clothing, it’s too revealing.” “If you want a raise, ask for it.” “Don’t stay up all night doing ____, it’s bad for your health.” “ _____ person is right, you were being ____” (Oooh, the last one. You definitely have to teach him the difference between wanting him to just listen and wanting him to respond.)

The ugly:

He doesn’t have the time for your interest. Don’t get it wrong, he likes to hear about them and supports you pursuing them it’s just… if they aren’t his specifically, or they don’t mix in some way, he just can’t be bothered to be involved.

When you get into major disagreements his tongue can be quite sharp. He’s only used to Raphael questioning his authority and opinions, so his temper is surprisingly short and his remarks are critical. If he’s losing the battle, he’ll sometimes resort to just straight up ignoring you by going silent or leaving the room.

Jealous of toys and the idea of you getting off by yourself. While he absolutely has no problem making you cum, he wants to be the only one to make you moan and scream. So, best to leave the solo sessions at home.

The sexy:

(Technically, this could be a ‘bad’ point but…) Don’t wear any clothes you really like when planning on getting down and dirty with Leo because has a bad habit of ripping them off of you.

Leo’s really good with foreplay, and not just with stimulating you. He’s good at setting the mood, and building tension, all while keeping a cool head himself. It’s a bit infuriating how hard it is to rile him up the same way, but at least it makes for a fun game you both enjoy.  

(Being the weeb he is) Leo loves to practice Shibari on you. He loves seeing you restrained and completely submissive to him. He’s even gone out of his way to find/buy decorative rope to tie you up with, it’s gotta accentuate your beauty. If you’re lucky enough, he may let you try it out on him. (Although, you can only do a handful of knots and ties considering his shell gets in the way.)

He marks you with hickeys and bites. Most of the time, he is considerate enough to only leave them in spots where you can hide them, buuut--- Every once in a while he wants to remind his brothers, and surface dwellers that you are his.

Katoptronophilia babyyyy! You already know Leonardo is the type of guy who’d be into watching his performance in the mirror. (Not to mention taking in how good you look in the reflective glass. 😏)

If you liked these, check out my Dating the Rise Boys headcanons!!

[crackedpumpkin]

Hi i saw your one shot of leo x reader " lair " and it broke my heart to pieces.

So is it okay to ask for a fluff one shot where leo is trying to patch things up with reader? Trying to win her again?

|| ʟɪᴀʀ ᴘᴛ. ᴛᴡᴏ || ʀɪꜱᴇ! ʟᴇᴏ x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ ||

Well, you asked and I answered, lovely anon! The first part was initially meant to be a standalone oneshot to bring you pain and suffering, but I thought, 'Why not?' and wrote a part two. This ending is however, completely optional, depending if you'd prefer to leave part one on the painful note :) (That's what I did)

"Just one more chance," He pleads, voice soft outside your shut window.

You press your head further into your pillow, waking up in a cold sweat from your dream. You'd be lying if you said you weren't affected by the breakup. The desk felt empty without his usual clutter, the absence of the framed photo of you together a constant reminder of what once was.

You'd never admit it, but you often find yourself glancing down at your phone, waiting for the occasional text from Leo. You were exhausted, trying to move on from him. But often, you'd come home to your empty apartment, collapsing onto the cold sofa and missing the warmth of his arms around you.

You had moved out a couple weeks after the breakup, only having told Donnie about it. The genius turtle had agreed to keep your secret from your ex in exchange for a constant supply of your signature guacamole. 

You had offered to teach him the recipe, but he quote-unquote, "prefer to focus my energy onto things that have more significant results than a bowl of guac."

He visited sometimes and brought Mikey with him. Not recently, though, as Leo was getting suspicious. You enjoyed their presence - maybe it's true that when you love someone, you also love their family.

Loved, to be exact.

The feeling of loneliness gnaws away at your chest.

You pull out your phone, a buzz signalling a new message. You unlock it, squinting at the screen to read Mikey's latest message. 

Dude, I'm so sorry. He got your new number when he snatched away my phone. - Mikester, sent at 9pm. 

As soon as your eyes skim over the words, your phone vibrates from an incoming call. You flinch, dropping the phone. 

It lands screen up, and your breath hitches from the unsaved number. There's no way you wouldn't recognize the same number you had subconsciously memorized and called countless nights. 

You steel your resolve, trembling hands picking it back up and hitting the button to accept the call. You hold it up to your ear, waiting for him to speak. You hear a sharp inhale on the other end, biting your lip to prevent yourself from doing the same once you hear his voice. 

"Hello...?" 

There it was. The voice that had once brought you joy from just a simple greeting, one that had reassured you and whispered sweet nothings into your ear as he held you close in your bed. 

"Leo." You breathe out, trying to ignore the sharp pang in your chest at the mention of his name.

“Y/n,” His voice is quiet and subdued, starkly contrasting with his usual cheerful and carefree nature. “I know we ended badly, but could we meet to talk about it? If that’s okay with you, of course.” You can hear his voice tremble on the last word, the audible gulp a dead giveaway.

You’re silent, taking the time to think. Do you risk it? Or do you not? In retrospect, you had never really found full closure from everything. Maybe it’s why your head is still filled with thoughts of him, your apartment a constant reminder of the subconscious habits adopted from your relationship with him.

“Alright,” You agree in a quick exhale. 

“Thank you…Would Run of the Mill be okay? At seven tomorrow.” 

“Yeah, that sounds good.” 

And then both of you hang up. Unknown to you, Leo is hunched over his phone in his room, holding his head in his trembling hands, relieved that you had agreed.

You open the door of your (very) empty fridge, sighing at the lack of food besides condiments like mayo and a bottle of cola. You grab the drink, passing the bowl of guac you had made for Donnie. 

You turn on the TV, trying to drown out the loud silence in your apartment. You sit on the couch, feet curled up and under a blanket. You watch the show blankly, trying not to address the emptiness you feel after the phone call. 

You take a sip, the cola burning the back of your throat. You grimace, setting it back down on the coffee table. You didn't even like cola, so why was it in your fridge? 

Ah. Leo liked cola.

You focus on the TV programme, deciding to drift off to sleep instead. God knows you'd need it, considering you'll be talking to your ex tomorrow. 

— — — — — — — — 

This is it. This is the day your life will be better off without him. The day you finally bring things to a close. 

You tap your feet, waiting impatiently for Leo. You had arrived at Run of the Mill ahead of time, choosing to dress in your best battle armour. In this case, it’s a stunning black dress that stops right above your knees. It made you feel confident, and your smoky eyes made you look badass. 

"Hey," you turn at the familiar voice, ignoring the way your heart does stupid little flips. 

"Y-you look good." Leo stutters, trying to pass off a suave smile as natural. But you knew him better than that, noticing the beads of sweat on his brow and how his hands shook ever-so-slightly. 

He's just as nervous as you are. 

The realization relaxes your tense shoulders, now knowing you weren't the only one. The surprising absence of his swords elicits a raise of your brow, and he notices. 

"I left them at home. I just wanted to focus on us tonight." He admits, fiddling with his fingers. 

"Then how're we going to enter?" You gesture to the brick wall, and the both of you are shut out from the restaurant without his sword to open the doorway into it. From how his eyes widen in shock and his cheeks flush in embarrassment, it's apparent that he didn't think that far ahead. 

Of course, he didn't, you think fondly. 

Wait. Fondly? No. No way. You were here to just talk and address the breakup. That's all there was to it. You dismiss the small smile at the familiarity of the situation, remembering how the same thing had occurred on your fifth date. 

You spot the way Leo's eyes light up at your amused expression, quickly masking it with a blank expression. "Should we get some takeaway instead?" Leo suggests. From the look on his face, it seemed that he recalled the exact same memory. You shrug, but Leo knows it means that you agree.

 ------------

You sit on the rooftop of an apartment building, a piping hot pizza in its box between you two. You take a slice, and so does he. The both of you eat silently, eyes darting to focus on anything but each other.

"So," you're the first to break the silence. He flinches, almost choking on his last bite. 

"So..." He drawls out. C'mon, Leo! He silently chides himself, trying to not be intimidated by how utterly gorgeous you look in that dress. 

You're waiting patiently for him to continue the conversation, and he desperately wishes that his hands could cup yours in a gentle hold. He wants to apologize, to grovel, and to beg for you to take him back. 

The past weeks were absolute agony for him, and he missed you more than anything. So many ways were thought up to express his apologies and promise the world if you'd just give him another chance. He'd make things right, to love you more than you'd ever need or want. 

But in an instant, once his eyes meet yours, it's all gone. Your eyes are filled with so much vulnerability, your pale complexion a dead giveaway to how you haven't taken good care of yourself. He observes the tautness in your cheeks. You'd been losing weight too, he realizes. 

"I'm sorry." The heartfelt apology spills past his lips, carrying so much weight with so few words. 

“Sorry isn’t enough to undo everything you’ve done to hurt me.” You inhale deeply, willing the lump in your throat to fade. “Six dates that you’ve stood me up on, not to mention the missed calls and unread texts.” You list out.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t….” I didn’t mean it, Leo wants to say, but he knows it’s a mere excuse, and he catches himself before he hurts you and ruins everything yet again. “I don’t have an excuse. I should’ve treated you better, and you have every right to feel this way.” 

“You lied to me.” Your words are quiet, and your eyes fill with sorrow. No matter how much you prepared yourself for this moment, it’s rendered useless as the wound is reopened from mere memory.

He’s so full of guilt, and it seeps out through his words. “I did.” He confesses, shame filling his cheeks and feeling them burn. “And I never should have.”

“Yeah,” You whisper, looking down at your lap where you’re fiddling with your hands. You swallow down the lump in your throat, hating how your eyes tear up again and how much he still affects you.

“But I’ve changed,” You look back up to meet his gaze, his eyes filled with pure resolve and earnestness. “I’ll treat you better than ever before, and I’ll make it up to you. Please, give me another chance. I’ll never hurt you ever again. I promise.” 

You shake your head, feeling the tears spill out the corner of your eyes and trickle down your cheeks. You couldn’t risk it. Not again. But Donnie had mentioned that Leo really had changed, how he wrote so many letters piled up on his desk. 

Heartfelt words left unsaid, Donnie had put it. He even admitted to taking a peek but never told you about its contents, only that Leo really had changed.

Even Mikey had brought it up.

God, you hated yourself for what you were about to say next. You turn around, facing him. He looks back up, willing the tears to go away. "Three dates." You ignore the way your heart pounds in your chest. 

He clears his throat, rubbing his eyes roughly with the back of his hand, "What?" His voice comes out hoarse, but he could care less about that. What mattered more were the two words you had just spoken. 

"I'll go on those three dates with you." You repeat, holding up a finger to stop him from speaking, "And we'll see where it goes; no promises." 

— — — — — — — — 

Date Numero Uno.

Leo waits on the cinema rooftop, two separate bean bags on the picnic mat that covers the ground. An assortment of popcorn and candy litter the ground, a projector he borrowed from Donnie sitting on a small table behind the bean bags.

He senses your arrival and turns to face you. He’s left speechless, the breath knocked out of him when he sees you in a pair of blue jeans and a flowy blouse. A necklace decorates your bare neck, bringing out your collarbones.

You’re beautiful.

He’s struggling to greet you, tripping over his words and stammering, reduced to the mess he was when you first kissed him. 

You survey the scene, eyebrows raised when you spot all your favourite candy and snacks, even the ones Leo didn’t like. 

He remembers.

Your heart melts slightly at the gesture, but you choose not to give anything away. You set down your purse beside one of the beanbags, choosing to sit down. “So, what movie are we watching?” Your voice is impassive, pretending to not be impressed.

“Well,” Leo walks over, sitting down and making himself comfortable in the blue bean bag, “Remember our first date?” He hits play on the app connected to the projector, and it begins to play the movie on the wall of the taller building opposite the both of you.

You gasp softly, eyes wide as your favourite movie starts playing. It brings you back to that day in the park when you first met him, a mutant monster having interrupted the public screening. He and his brothers had subdued it, only for him to smoothly invite you on a date to make up for the interruption.

It was a difficult movie to find in high quality. All the websites you visited only had blurry frame-by-frame displays. He had never told you how he managed to get a copy on your first date, and you never asked.

“How’d you get it?” You turn to him, unable to hold back your curiosity. 

“Well, I kinda had to make a trade with Donnie.” He rubs the back of his neck sheepishly, his gaze soft when he looks at you. 

You avert your gaze, feeling slightly flustered yet touched. The mood remains silent with nervous tension, and you nibble on a snack as the movie plays. 

Then Leo makes a joke, wincing when it breaks the silence. 

But to Leo’s delight, you laugh. It sparks hope in him, and he continues to make pun after pun. You try to hide the small smiles from your amusement, but the atmosphere soon turns from awkward to comfortable and warm. 

He walks you home after, insisting that you keep the snacks he had bought and reassuring you that he’d be the one to clean up the rooftop. 

“Well, today’s not a bad start.” You murmur, stopping at the doorway to your apartment. He has his hands in the pocket of his hoodie, eyes filled with hope. “Just wait; I have another two dates to make it up to you.” He quips. 

“Goodbye, Leo.” You chuckle, entering your home. You close the door behind him, and he heads home.

— — — — — — — — 

Date Numero Dos

The bright lights of the carnival almost blind you as you weave through the crowd, spotting a familiar blue hoodie and jeans. You walk over to the booth that Leo’s waiting at. He pockets his phone once he sees you, straightening his posture and greeting you with a smile.

“So, this carnival, huh?” You cross your arms, looking at the booths around. He nods, holding up two express tickets that would allow the both of you to skip the long queues. 

He’s really serious about this, you note with a soft smile. 

Leo knows this next move is risky, but he does it anyway. He holds his arm to you, “Because it’s really crowded. Just scared you might get lost, and I won’t be able to spot you in the crowd.” He jokes nervously, holding his breath. 

You hesitate, but you gently place your hand on his bicep. Besides, this is just to prevent you from being separated from the crowd. Nothing else.

You feel his body relax, observing the quiver of his lips as he tries not to beam. You hide a small chuckle at the sight.

He brings you to all the various carnival games, cheering for you as you knock down towers of metal cups with a tennis ball and win a prize. You do the same when he’s hula-hooping, lasting the longest out of all the other participants. He has the audacity to do a few tricks with the hula-hoop to rub his win in everyone else’s face, and you giggle at the sight.

“Move aside, blue.” You pat his chest a couple of times, the feeling so natural to you that you almost forget that you are no longer together. A blush coats Leo’s cheeks as he looks at you, aiming the toy gun at the tower of Jenga bricks, the action stunning him into silence.

You groan, only one last small stack remaining upright. A mischievous idea hits him, and he sneakily uses his sword to form a portal behind the bricks, using his finger to flick it and send it toppling down. You gasp in delight, and your arms are thrown up in victorious cheer.

You turn to face him with unadulterated excitement in your eyes, heat spreading across your nose and cheeks when you see the soft smile on his lips. You avert your gaze, staring down at your sandals as embarrassment fills your body.

“Shall we?” He holds his arm towards you again, but you take it without hesitation this time.

The two of you continue to play the carnival games, and you have so much fun that you forget about the agreement altogether. You make jokes and laugh and gasp in excitement when he hands you a large stick of cotton candy to share. You tear off small pieces, relishing in the happiness of the sweetness that melts on your tongue. 

When he walks you home, you're disappointed that the date is ending, much to your surprise. You shut the door behind you as usual, small butterflies in your stomach and a silly smile you can’t seem to wipe off your lips.

You’re lying in bed when the phone screen lights up with a call, and you answer it without looking at the number.

“Hey,” Leo sounds surprised that you picked up, and you tuck the phone close to your ear, using your shoulder to hold it in place as you massage your sore feet. 

“Hey,” You reply softly, glancing up at the clock. Eleven PM.

“Did you get home safe?” That pulls a chuckle out of you, “You walked me home.” You remind him with an amused roll of your eyes.

“Oh, I knew that. Just wanted to check, is all.” Leo bluffs, lying on his bed with the phone next to him on his pillow.

“So, why the sudden call…?” You ask, switching the phone to rest on your other shoulder as you massage your left calf. 

“I wanted to tell you to dress up for the last date.” Leo turns to lie on his side, untying his bandanna to loop it around the bedpost.

“Oh? How formal are we talking?” You collapse on your pillow, holding the phone above your face. You accidentally lose your grip, and it falls. You yelp when it lands harshly on your nose, rubbing it to relieve the pain.

“You good?” Leo gets worried, sitting upright in his bed. If you were hurt, he’d make his way over to your apartment immediately. He’s relieved when you mumble a yes.

“Yeah, I just accidentally, yet very conveniently, dropped my phone on my face.” You groan, frowning when he barks a short laugh over the phone. “Hey, you did it too during that movie night in the lair with your family,” You snap playfully.

“I would never!” He gasps, holding his hand over his heart in mock hurt. An affectionate smile finds its way to his lips, staring up at the ceiling.

“So, where will our last date be?” Your question sobers him up, and a dull pang resonates in his chest at the reminder that there was still a chance you didn’t want to be his anymore.

“Run of the Mill.” He responds, quieter than before. 

You inhale sharply at the mention of the chosen location, and it gets quiet for a while. “Make sure you bring your swords this time.” You try to joke, keeping the atmosphere light.

“I dunno, it might ruin the outfit's aesthetic.” He replies without thinking, warmth blossoming in his chest when he understands what you’re trying to do. He turns to face his phone, oblivious to the fact that you are mirroring his exact position and tender smile in your own bed.

You continue to talk and chat into the night, and when Leo hears your witty replies slow, he knows you’re falling asleep. He finally hears your soft breathing after a while longer, falling silent. He stays in the same position for a bit, just listening and pretending that you’re right there with him at that very moment.

But he hangs up with a sad smile, falling asleep with a pillow in his arms instead of you.

— — — — — — — — 

Date Numero Tres

You’re waiting in the alleyway, checking your phone. You were there on the dot, but a small fear eats away at you, scarred by past experience. 

Would he be a no-show?

He was supposed to have changed. You prayed that he wouldn't let you down. Not again.

You don’t realize how tense your body is until he shows up moments after your doubt starts coding your mind, your shoulders relaxing when you see him. He’s dressed in a casual tuxedo, and you raise a brow at how snazzy he looks in it. 

“M’lady,” He holds out his hand, and you slide your own into his, tingles tiptoeing up your spine at the contact. He pulls a single sword out of the two slung across his hip, and you note that he’d even bought black sheaths for the blades to match the outfit.

He guides you into the restaurant, Señor Hueso bringing you to a private balcony and leaving the both of you with menus. “Wow, you’re really going all out, huh?” You observe, and sit down when he pulls a chair out for you.

He sits down on the chair opposite you. You’re about to pick up the menu to rifle through it, but he places his hand on top and gently pushes it back onto the table. You blink, confused by the gesture.

“Trust me, I know exactly what to order.” He smirks, signalling Señor Hueso to take your order. You ask for a glass of iced tea and wait patiently for Leo to order for the both of you. 

“Señor Hueso, one of your Pizza Especial, large please.” The owner, familiar with Leo’s antics, takes the order with so much as a blink at Leo’s exaggerated Spanish accent. 

“Did you just ask for a Pizza Special?” You ask, bemused yet entertained by the turtle opposite you. He nods with a cheeky wink, inducing a nervous laugh from you. 

You make small talk till the food comes, and you gasp in pleasant surprise when a piping hot pizza is placed between you both, the grilled onions among various other toppings bringing a smile to your face. You’re almost drooling, thanking Señor Hueso, who brings the food to your table before he walks away.

Leo picks up the first slice of pizza, placing it onto your plate with a warm smile that sends a rush of endorphins through your body. You clear your throat. “Thanks,” You murmur, picking up the slice and taking the first bite. 

He waits for your reaction, ignoring the rumble his empty stomach makes. He’s euphoric when your eyes light up, taking larger bites with a happy hum. He watches you with fondness in his eyes, stiffening when you catch him.

His eyes focus intently on the pizza, grabbing the second slice and munching hungrily. He doesn’t spot the grin on your lips, and you both eat. After a few slices, you’re stuffed to the max. You lean back in your chair, and Señor Hueso brings the pizza away to be put in a takeaway box at Leo’s request. 

“Dessert?” He asks you. You immediately nod with an eager smile, sitting back upright and covering your mouth politely when you burp. Your cheeks flush in embarrassment, but he finds it cute.

“Would you like to share our signature sundae?” Señor Hueso suggests upon returning with the packaged leftover pizza, waiting for your decision.

“Oh, I don’t think she’d be comfortable-” 

“I don’t mind sharing,” You cut Leo off, and his eyes widen briefly in surprise before they soften at your words. You nod in thanks to Señor Hueso, who leaves to prepare dessert, with silence settling between you both.

“The dates were fun,” You begin the difficult conversation, clearing your throat awkwardly.

“I’m glad you enjoyed them.” Leo’s reply is shy and nervous, fidgeting with his fingers on the table, green skin against the pure white of the tablecloth

Your lips curve upwards into a reassuring smile, reaching across and placing your hands on his. He looks up, taking in your radiant beauty and bright eyes. 

“I can’t wait for the next one.”

He freezes, forgetting how to breathe. 

“Wait,” He looks down, blinking rapidly before looking back up at you, “Does this mean…?”

Your nod of confirmation is all he needs for the rising swell of affection in his chest to spill over in the form of a sudden hug. You gasp in surprise at the feeling of his arms around you, melting into his touch as he buries his head into your shoulder.

You were home in his arms once more.