#My tmnt fic

[turtlebros4u]

Counterculture Terrapins (1/4)

I was thinking about doing something short but then I kept adding detail so here we are. Inspired by someone mentioning that Donnie does Raph's tattoos (I forgot when and who I saw that from or else I would link it cuz it was so cute). Also I have a rudimentary knowledge of how tattoos work I haven't gotten my first one yet so I've done my best to Google some things.

Also in case anyone is upset at the mention of needles, like me, I have avoided using that word when talking about tattooing.

Donnie

You're sitting next to Raph on the couch with one of his favorite soap operas on the TV. It's a bit boring, you know the cliché it's going for now. You look to the big guy but can barely see his invested glare over his massive delts. You gaze down in your boredom along his partial sleeve tattoo. It's so delicately done.

"Who does your tattoo?" You ask.

"Hm?" Raph says peeling himself from the drama as it hit a commercial break to look down at you over his shoulder, "Oh Donnie. He's got a real steady hand from making all those tiny 'lectronics and stuff. Why? Y' want one?"

"Uh well I was thinking about it..."

"I think you could rock one. You'd look even hotter." He drops that sentence so nonchalantly it makes you blush.

You don't say anything for a bit, letting Raph get back to the show after the commercials. You calm down as the Secret Twin trope gets revealed on screen. God it's such a cheesy show but maybe that's why he likes it.

You wait until the next break to ask, "How did you choose what to get?"

He thinks for a moment, "Uh, I wanted something that reminded me of the strength of my family and also looked cool as hell I guess."

Mikey sauntered into the room at this time whistling a tune.

"So a tattoo should be inspiring and cool?" You ask Big Red.

Mikey spins on his heels and lands his elbows onto the couch, "Angeeeelcaaaaakes! You thinking about getting a tattoo like Raph's?"

You laugh, "Ahh well not really. I'm not sure. I have been wanting one but I'm not sure what I even want yet. Do you think I should get a sleeve?"

"No one can tell you what you want except for you, sweet cheeks. Buuuut if you ask me I think you should get some bold text, like NO REGERTS or PIZZA TIME!"

He smiles widely, "Totally show me what you decide to get, pumpkin spice, Donnie's like a serious guru with that. You'd look so dope with a tat." And with that Mikey also left you blushing as he continued with whatever he was going to do.

The episode ended and Raph rambled a bit about how he wants to know who the real father of the baby was going to be and if it will be the secret twin of the dad or not. You smile softly, amused that he's invested in such goofy drama. Raph headed to his weight rack to do a couple of sets and left you scrolling on your phone on the sofa.

You sit there looking through tattoo ideas. The idea of asking Donnie is kind of growing on you. You weren't sure how to find a good artists anyways and talking to new people made you anxious.

How much would it hurt? Even if it did, to sit there under Donatello's gaze would counteract everything. You wonder how he would react to you asking.

"Hey Princess," Leo sashays towards you, a towel around his neck dabbing sweat. He must have just finished a training session with Splinter, "Mikey says you're going to ask Donnie for a tat."

"Uh well I really was just curious where Raph got his and I was looking for an artist I trusted anyways but I don't really know what I'm going to get yet." You say somewhat surprised that word is going around faster than pizza.

"Ah I see, Mikey was telling us about it while we sparred. He got very excited about tattoos and ended up going off about trying get a whole pizza pie tatted to his shell. Fun fact, you can't tattoo a carapace. Anyways, Splinter suggests doing something symbolic and simple. And if you want my opinion—"

"I do want your opinion, " you say knowing he was going to say it anyways.

Leo stuttered for a moment, thrown off his rhythm that you were actually asking for it this time. "W-well I'd say an elegant asymmetric pattern of some sort on your shoulder or thigh would suit your style well. Like a spider web or lighting or wrinkled plaid. "

"Wrinkled plaid? "

"Okay maybe not plaid, but something like that, I feel it suits you." He shrugs off the awkward suggestion and escapes towards the showers before putting more of his foot in his mouth.

You consider plaid for a moment longer and then shake your head of the silly suggestion. Leo often had great ideas but was very bad at explaining why or offering any useful context when it came to personalized things. He could make a life or death decision in a split second but he couldn't explain to you why he liked tile over rugs.

~*🐢*~*🐢*~*🐢*~*🐢*~*🐢*~*🐢*~*🐢*~

You've been mulling over it for a few days now. You have finally both decided what you want and also built up the courage to ask Donnie if he would do the honors.

You get to the lair and beeline for the lab. Leo and Mikey see that you hardly acknowledge their presence and they smirk at each other. They know you've finally decided.

You flip the plastic sheets away as you enter the lab.

"Donnie!" You say loud and proud.

Donnie perks up and spins on his stool to face you.

"What can I do for you, Sparkplug?" He asks setting down the tools in his hand and giving you his full undivided attention. A rarity.

"Would you be willing to give me a tattoo? I trust you and I want—"

"I thought you'd never ask." He says, a glint in his eye as he leaps up and goes to the industrial cabinet that holds all varieties of his tools and he opens the drawer for his tattoo work.

"Yesterday I finished prepping the attachment for human skin. I had initially made the pen for us, since we've got thicker skin—at least literally—than you. But this should work wonderfully. Are you ready for your consultation?"

"Yep, let's get started!" You say and plop down in another stool.

~*🐢*~*🐢*~*🐢*~*🐢*~*🐢*~*🐢*~*🐢*~

After a day of prepping the design, Donnie let's you know he's ready.

You had asked for him to design it based on some key words. You are excited to see what he came up with but even more hyped to lay down and let him work his magic.

You get to the lab and see that Donnie's set out some sort of MacGuyvered massage table? Or was it a dentist's chair? You took a seat anyways.

"So, Tattoo Guru," you joke to the purple banded terrapin, "where shall we put it?"

He scoots toward you on his rolling stool and slides just between your knees.

"May I?" He asks gesturing to you that he would like to look you over for the perfect location. He had decided he would design it first and pick a location later.

You nod and he begins. He mumbles to himself as he analyzes your body from top to bottom for the prime location. You try to fight the blush in your face when he runs his fingers across your thighs and down your calves. It's no use.

He gently lifts your shirt up to check your stomach and sides. Your shoulders and collarbone. His face is so close to yours. You can feel his warm breath on your neck.

"Are you nervous?" He asks, "Your heart rate is increasing and your breaths are shorter."

"N-no," you stutter somewhat embarrassed that he was noticing, "not about the tattoo. I trust you entirely. It's just you were studying me so intently I'm starting to wonder if you can see any flaws from this close."

His brows raised, "Flaws? What flaws?"

"Oh y'know. The blemishes and cellulite and the few gray hairs I've been trying to keep plucked but somehow elude me." You say trying to play it cool.

"Oh, you think those are flaws?" His voice rose in astonishment. You remember that he doesn't have hardly any clue about human beauty standards, and while he knows that humans are judgemental, it's on a totally different scale for him.

"Well yeah, people think they aren't very flattering." You admit, not proud to admit humans weren't all great.

"That's ridiculous. The whole point of being human is to be unique and live unique. And as you age you get little representations of the life you've lived. Like nature's tattoos. You can almost read my brothers' shells and find a mark from every year from some stunt we pulled. I find it quite fascinating to read all the little love notes that life leaves."

You face flushed with heat. If you had managed to hide it before you certainly couldn't now.

"I've decided your shoulder blade is the best." He said changing the subject very matter-of-factly. "Would you remove your shirt, here's a towel if you want to cover your frontwhen you lay down." He shifted the seat to be horizontal and scooted away. You take the towel remove your shirt and lay on your chest. The table was quite comfortable.

Donnie scoots back with his template, wipes down your shoulder blade and begins his work. While he preps the stencil his every touch makes you tingle. The air is cool on your back and his hands warm.

You definitely would not have had this experience with any other artist in New York. This was special.

"I'm ready to start inking. You ready, Sparkplug?" He asks gently. You confirm and brace for the sting.

It hits you but less painfully than you expected. It still takes a moment to adjust to the regular zing in your shoulder as he begins.

Through the corner of your eye you can see he is zoned into his work. His tongue sticking out a bit as he is apt to do when in deep focus.

Although somewhat munade, every time he wipes away your shoulder, it feels so intimate. You close your eyes and just soak it in. The buzz of the pen, the warm hands and trained eyes.

May this will be one of those little love letters Donnie was talking about. You are glad your face is buried somewhat, your heart skips a little just thinking about how oddly poetic Donnie was when he said that.

Maybe that's the way Donnie sees the world. Every line of code, every chemical equation, every physics constant, every biological mutation was just poetic to him.

You were glad to have the opportunity to be one of the few who knew the brothers. You went through a wash of emotions.

First pride for almost having them to yourself, but then followed sorrow, that the brothers were limited in who they could trust and show themselves to without insighting the worst humanity had to offer.

Again you were grateful that you could be one of the people that didn't make them feel like they didn't belong here. You felt a twinge of resentment towards the outside world, because it took you this long to find a family this accepting and kind and optimistic about everything, you had felt your fair share of human cruelty both from people you once considered close as well as the system itself that felt so predatory.

When you were in this little pocket of sewers, turned into a cozy abode, under the city, you felt like you could step away from the rat race for once. Like it didn't really matter as much as everyone made it seem.

Overall you felt content. You loved the turtles and their fatherly rat, each with their quirks, but always trying to be better and never abandoning those they considered family.

"Aaaaand 100% completion. You may have outdone yourself Donnie," he said to himself, "I could compete with a RedSail laser cutter and win." His pride was bubbling up in the most adorably nerdy way.

"Let me just get you cleaned up and wrapped, let's keep it covered for a few days and then you can see, how's that?" He asks laying down the protective plastic over the fresh tattoo.

You nod trying to recover from being hopelessly lost in thought just moments ago.

He allows you to cover yourself again and you thank him for his work on your way out.

You send a text to Mikey to let him know that he can join you in the lab in two days to see your brand new tattoo.

~*🐢*~*🐢*~*🐢*~*🐢*~*🐢*~*🐢*~*🐢*~

You show up a little early and Donnie is busy soldering away at something or another.

He hears you come in and looks up from his hunched position and smiles, "Early as usual."

You take a seat and pull off the button up blouse you were wearing. Underneath was a tank top that revealed your entire tattoo. You were honest and hadn't looked at it yet, avoiding the chance to peak at it through the mirror in your apartment.

Donnie washed up and rolled over to you in his signature wheeled stool. He peeled the plastic off and took a damp towel to wipe it down.

He just finished when Mikey flung open the plastic sheets to the entrance of the lab announcing in one of his many comical voices, "And here were have the perfect human specimen, recently upgraded and equipped with the finest work our generation has to offer!"

You look at him in confusion at who he is talking to and see Leo and Splinter walking in behind him.

"Splinter?" You ask in confusion.

"My child," he responds intentionally not answering your implied question of why he was there.

"Cmon Y/n, spin around so we can see it. Mikey's been hyping it ul for days and he doesn't even know what it looks like." Leo said obviously just as excited as Mikey but showing it differently.

Somewhat nervous with such a crowd you freeze for a moment.

"Here," Donnie hands you a small mirror and holds up another so you can see the back of your shoulder when you turn around.

The tattoo comes into your sight. It's amazing.

"Donnie that's perfect." Leo commends.

"Angelcakes! Whoooaaaa that's so rad! Omygosh Omygosh Raph's gotta see this!" Mikey makes a break to sprint down the tunnels hollering for Big Red.

Splinter nods, "You've managed to capture my impressive aura I see. Excellent work." You roll your eyes and chuckle at the vain rat's comment.

You can't stop looking at your shoulder in the reflection. It really is amazing. It had everything you wanted. A symbol of new York in the classic sewer cap, simple representations of the five people you cared most about with Splinter's silhouette donning the masks of his four sons on his tail, and bold inspiring text through the middle of the sewer plate that reads, "WE'RE NOT MONSTERS".

You couldn't have been more proud to reclaim one of Mikey's most impactful quotes. And he seemed ecstatic to see them worn proudly.

Raph thumped in, "Calm down little bro, I've seen tattoos before, I'm sure it's cool." He stalks up and inspects it closely and quietly for a minute.

Then a moment later Donnie is spinning out of control on his stool with Raph bellowing, "Who said ya could give someone else a cooler tattoo than what you gave me. I told you specifically to give me the most badass tattoo and obviously mine is second best now."

Leo and Mikey bust up laughing. Splinter chuckles heartily. You can't help but giggle as Donnie recovers, shaking his head of the dizziness and smiling like an idiot. He took Raph's reaction as a full blown compliment and it truly was.

You leap towards Donatello and wrap your arms around his neck. He catches you and pulls you close.

"Thank you," you mutter, "Raph is right this is the best tattoo. I'm so proud to have it. You guys aren't monsters, you are the best family I've ever had!"

~*🐢*~*🐢*~*🐢*~*🐢*~*🐢*~*🐢*~*🐢*~

Totally forgot my taglist on these 😅

@turtle-babe83 @thelaundrybitch @geeksauruse

[littlesilentrebel]

holy fucking shit putting this into ao3 took way longer than it shouldve

my technodrome donnie fic: come back to us- is finally finished!!

@scaaaaaaaaarreeddddd

-masterpost-

[itsbasicallycanon]

was reading little kid with a big death wish (@remedyturtles) and wanted to play around with visualizing leo and sensei's headspace and putting it alongside the outside world and i'm mostly happy with it so i'm posting it

[pastawayallday]

I couldn’t resist, I had to draw something from Firefight by @remedyturtles . I’m obsessed, I legit cry at every chapter.

[grey-viridian]

Based on hollow mind by @crows-murder

Thanks for the inspiration and a lot of pain)

Here is a version without a shield (it doesn't make sense but I just like it. You can see the fear in Leo's eyes much clearer>:3)

Aaand the original sketch (which I also like so I'm showing it to you)

[el-pada]

beauty and the beast inspired 2003 au by @scarredwoods

im so normal i promise

[divi-138]

My Favorite Scene of the Fic

Started reading MNMC and BOY ITS GOOD

no pressure to finish the fic but,, PELASE I GOTTA KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT @mutantninjamidlifecrisis

Comic layout and f!Leo inspo by @somerandomdudelmao

[etheralisi]

I’ve been thinking about in-universe media so. Heh. Why don’t we tumblrify the ending of the rottmnt movie

Update: here’s part 2 and 3+3.5

💫silent_swirl Follow

Nice knowing you guys

🥐ittybittyypastrypuff Follow

Wtf??? Where do you live?

⏱️lordoftimeandspace Follow

You can’t just ask someone where they live

💰rhymeonthedime Follow

op must be from new york. i’ve been trying to text my sister who lives there all day and when she finally gets back to me, it’s to send me a photo of her being chased by some weird??? fleshy???? car? i think the pink stuff was growing inside of it?

🥐ittybittyypastrypuff Follow

The hell is happening in your city?

🔥guess-ill-die Follow

The end of the world

🐛lugbugg Follow

🎙️do-re-mimimi Follow

Where else would you learn that?

14,056 notes

🚀jj-sails Follow

Alien invasion???? This is not how Jupiter Jim said it would go

267 notes

🦙dramallama Follow

So who had alien invasion on the 2020 apocalypse bingo card

🤠see-you-in-space-cowboy Follow

At this point no one is surprised 

#give it two months. somehow something will find a way to top this

12,435 notes

⚔️ bluejitsu Follow

I lived bitch

🌑faded-moonlight Follow

Context?

⚔️ bluejitsu Follow

No ✨

43 notes

🎨 asprinkleofrazzmatazz Follow

Sorry everyone  ::> ︵ <:: No more art until my hands are healed up. Doctor’s orders

🧸bear-with-me Follow

Are you okay? 🥺🥺💞

🎨 asprinkleofrazzmatazz Follow

♡ ♡ Achy. But I realllllly want to drawwwwwww

#I have so many ideas right now #currently trying and failing to draw with feet #but I am determined 

226 notes

👾aliens-among-us Follow

Time to storm Area 51 again

#they can’t stop all of us #look I just want to see aliens in person okay #if they can’t invade my city then what’s the point #I know they have to be keeping some of those pink blobs in there

67 notes

🟦 outoftouchoutoftime Follow

Hello

🏒 hockeyordeath Follow

JUNIOR! HELLO

I SEE YOU HAVE DISCOVERED THE INTERNET

🟦 outoftouchoutoftime Follow

It’s Sensei’s fault

⚔️ bluejitsu Follow

#I?????? #don’t just look at me it was purple too

5 notes

🛸 atomiclass9000 Follow

I smell the scent of betrayal in the air.

#not science posting #blue I’m looking at you

77 notes

✍️writingprompts Follow

You are a time traveller sent back to stop the apocalypse before it ever began. Only problem is: you aren’t sent back far enough.

🟦 outoftouchoutoftime Follow

Relatable 

💥zipzapzoom Follow

Umm???

4,522 notes

🕜has-lou-jitsu-been-found-yet Follow

Day 3667 of me posting: no

🪽angelofhell Follow

Wow this blog is dedicated

101 notes

🐝 dizzee-bee Follow

Why do aliens always invade NYC? What’s so special? Why don’t they ever invade Las Vegas huh? What about Boston? Where are my aliens in D.C? So many cities and you’re telling me they chose New York? If aliens really did invade I bet you they wouldn’t even come near it

🐝 dizzee-bee Follow

This post… aged

🐾 ultimate_cataclysm  Follow

Pay up op

1,356 notes

🦊redfoxtrott Follow

there’s something weird going on in this city. remember that time at the stadium? suddenly it’s a free for all on world domination i swear

🪩glitter-jam Follow

I thought the whole stadium thing was a publicity stunt

👋saysayonara Follow

I thought that was a rogue cosplayer 

#for real though. What even happened to them?

11,388 notes

🌎yes-the-earth-is-flat Follow

Wow. So tumblr thinks it can gaslight me int thinking aliens exits huh? Well think again

🌎yes-the-earth-is-flat Follow

Stop bringing up my username. You know im right

2,488 notes

🏒 hockeyordeath Follow

NO, MY KEYBOARD IS NOT STUCK LIKE THIS. EVERY LETTER I TYPE IS AS IT IS MEANT TO BE SAID. WITH PURPOSE AND VOLUME.

🏒 hockeyordeath Follow

IF MY USERNAME COULD BE IN CAPITALS YOU KNOW IT WOULD BE 

🛸 atomiclass9000 Follow

I can help with this

#give me one minute and some flavourless juice

122 notes

💃disco-girl Follow

My apartment was almost flattened by a giant freakin robot a few years back. And now aliens????? I’m moving

#guys I’m just. So. Done with all of this

67 notes

🎙️do-re-mimimi Follow

So did the aliens just up and leave? What’s the story here?

🎩man-with-a-top-hat Follow

There have been various sightings of lights across the sky. I have not been able to find any reliable sources on the cause, but the general consensus is the lights pushed the aliens back where they came from. 

🦇batarang Follow

This photo of some person swinging around the city has been making rounds on twitter

🐚seashellsshesells Follow

Pretty lights and vigilantes? 

5,993 notes

❌cant-think-of-a-user Follow

So what are we calling these aliens? They need a cool, alien sounding name ‘cuz all I’ve been seeing around is ‘land squids’, ‘brain goop’ and shoutout to that one discord user who used the words ‘pink gelatinous parsnip’ to describe them.

👊punch-moodi Follow

Have they ever seen a parsnip before?

🤏deadly-nerve-pinch Follow

What about Utroms? They kinda look like the aliens from Jupiter Jim’s Last Trip to the Moon 9

❌cant-think-of-a-user Follow

Isn’t your fandom super dead?

🤏deadly-nerve-pinch Follow

Say that to our 80+ movies. Your faves could never 

🚀jj-sails Follow

Fandom still going strong 💪 

🍎almond-apple Follow

Why does everyone keep on calling them aliens? Are we sure they’re not just failed government test subjects? Haven’t there been mutant sightings in NYC before?

❌cant-think-of-a-user Follow

Sorry, mutants???

👾aliens-among-us Follow

Nah it’s defo aliens

❌cant-think-of-a-user Follow

#so far 3 votes for Utroms and 22 for parsnips #sigh

3,751 notes

🫎duck-duck-moose Follow

Children are terrifying 

💤needsomezzzzzzz Follow

Agreed. But I feel like there’s a story here

🫎duck-duck-moose Follow

Was walking back from work, and I was like nearly home right? I turn a corner and there: a sea of cheering girl scouts. Who are they cheering on you ask? Their… cult (?) leader? Tearing one of those aliens apart with her bare hands. And the kids are just laughing and some are even joining in? They must have nerves of steel

💤needsomezzzzzzz Follow

Woah

🌽 sherlock_corn Follow

@  HOCKEYORDEATH Hey look at this

372 notes

💀outoftouchoutoftime Follow

Set a profile picture because apparently everyone’s blocking me thinking I’m a bot?

🥊 red_hotsoup Follow

Sorry CJ

9 notes

asprinkleofrazzmatazz said: Spread the sunshine ☀️ Post this in at least 5 ask boxes to let them know they make you happy

🥊 red_hotsoup Follow

Aww, hey Orange

⚔️ bluejitsu Follow

Hey, where’s my ask

⚔️ bluejitsu Follow

Orange?

⚔️ bluejitsu Follow

Oh 

10 notes

asprinkleofrazzmatazz said: Spread the bugs 🪳 Post this in at least 5 ask boxes to let them know they’re bugging you

⚔️ bluejitsu Follow

Two can play at this game

🎨asprinkleofrazzmatazz Follow

Jk ☀️☀️☀️

29 notes

🛸 atomiclass9000 Follow

I remember the good old days on tumblr. Back when my brothers didn’t know the name of my account. Back when they didn’t bug me in my inbox

🍞shortbutsweetbread Follow

Then make another one?

🛸 atomiclass9000 Follow

Gasp. And leave behind a username such as this? I’m attached.

🌽 sherlock_corn Follow

What about your sister?

🛸 atomiclass9000 Follow

You’re fine

⚔️ bluejitsu Follow

Favouritism 

128 notes

🐱sophinophie Follow

Whoever you heroes are

Thank you.  

❤️🧡💜💙

#I don’t know how you did it. Or what you even look like #but one thing is for sure and that’s that you are heroes 

189 notes

[somerandomdudelmao]

I hadn't planned on doing anything more complicated than a sketch, but here we are…

[turtlebros4u]

TMNT Bayverse Boys x Reader: Hands on their weapons (4\4)

SFW FLUFF

This is it. This is my man. My beloved Donnie. My knowledge of engineering was able to add a twinge of realism to his cool gadgets, some of this is based on many years of conversations between engineers of different backgrounds. This one turned out sooooo long but also terribly proud of the drawing, though I might edit it with better color balancing. Enjoy!

Prompt: What would each of the brothers do if you picked up their weapons out of curiosity?

Donnie

It was a quiet observance of a federal holiday.

You were up at the crack of dawn due to some angry horn honking drivers on the corner below your apartment. Unable to go back to sleep you begrudgingly started your day earlier than expected.

Now you find yourself in the early afternoon with your chores and errands finished. You had expected to work this weekend but your boss mustered up some holiday spirit and closed the shop and granted the staff some early bonuses.

Unfortunately he only told you yesterday at the end of your shift so you didn't have much time to make any plans with friends or family.

But you did happen to know some folks who weren't going to be upset with a surprise visit from you; and they happen to be name after some wonderfully talented Renaissance artists.

You check the time and hesitate.

They are mostly nocturnal, so would anyone even be awake? You stood there, backpack on, scarf at the ready, one hand holding a half-turned doorknob, just contemplating if it was worth it to make the trip if you'd be alone for a few hours before anyone awoke.

After a few long minutes you rationalize that at the very least Splinter's insomnia might offer you a chance to hear some childhood stories about the guys.

Yeah, that was reason enough for you to at least try. Worst comes to worst you could probably just hang out at a nearby bagel shop and watch the news.

You grab your sewer parka and head to the far end of Manhattan to the only underpass with sewer access that wasn't also a homeless camp. You used this entrance on the few occasions when you'd visit the turtles during the day, otherwise most alleyway entrances would suffice in the dark.

You sipped on your second latte of the day as the flurry of faces and people piled onto the subway then off again at each stop. You stared at the illuminated ads above the heads of strangers while waiting for your stop.

The train slows and you see your stop printed in tiles along the station walls.

Those tiles must be from the 90s, you think, you just don't see that shade of torquise and purple anymore.

You exit through the turnstile and up the stairs. The cool winter air hits your cheeks and you brace as the gust aims to fuddle your already messy bun.

It's a few blocks to the underpass you're aiming for and along the way you stop to grab a couple of hot bagels and shove the foil wrapped lunch into your pockets.

You descend unnoticed into the sewer entrance, noticing it's significantly tidier than the last time you used it some months ago. A smile creeps onto your face just thinking about the guys spending the better half of a day just to keep this little part of the sewer, a place specifically design to be gross, clean just for potential visitors.

You knew they had a few friends between you and April and Casey, but you wondered which of you they really cleaned for, secretly you hoped that it was you. Though, unless you asked you couldn't be sure.

The next 20 minutes was a comfortable walk down a manageably lit path towards the lair. You didn't mind as much, the rumbling of trains echoed deeply, the cars muffled in the distance, and the occasional exhaust pipe whistled from some boiler tucked away in the basement of a nearby building.

A soft colorful glow appeared around the bend.

That was it, the lair.

You step through the draped plastic sheeting that formed the threshold of the cozy terrapin abode and separated it from the rest of the unkempt sewers.

You look around. The massive signature couch, empty. Donnie's control center with 30-some screens quietly humming and continually running programs or streaming news, empty. Kitchen where many mugs of tea were shared, empty.

You release a tense breath you didn't realize you were holding in.

Not an unusual noise to be heard. You sigh, slightly disappointed, but remove your sewer parka, scarf and gloves and hang them in the usual place.

You take the bagels and toss one on the kitchen counter, someone will eventually eat it. The other you keep in your hand to enjoy soon.

You feel odd. It's the middle of the day for you, maybe 2pm? But here it's like the middle of the night. It's almost liminal.

You stroll towards the dojo where you've seen many spars and meditations; empty again. You were sure you'd be able to hear any action from the half pipes had someone been there and decide not to get your hopes up. Aside from the bedrooms there's one last place to check.

The lab.

You walk around a corner into a short hall, at the end of it was another wall of draped plastic intended to isolate the lab. Although Donnie basically built it, it wasn't necessarily only his lab. Leo has his corner with a whet stone for sharpening his katana. Mikey and Raph had a makeshift sound booth and studio built at one end for their music production. And Raph even stored his less used knitting supplies in a locked cabinet there. Donnie just happened to occupy a great deal of the rest with all sorts of benches, mechanisms and scientific gadgets.

You reach to push the plastic out of the way and pause.

You shouldn't be surprised to find it empty, but still, you feel nervous. Like you want someone to be there. Was it to make it feel like your visit was intentional? Or did you want to not be alone? Did you care who was there?

Instead of facing those questions you push your way through the heavy plastic drapes.

Empty.

Damn.

Most of the lamps above each workbench are shut off. But small LEDs on various equipment offered enough illumination to see that there had been very little activity here in the last few hours.

A distinct shape caught your eye on one of the soldering benches. You walk over, setting your bagel down on the only bench Donnie allowed food to be at, and made your way to the silhouette of interest.

Upon reaching it you flip the switch for the bench overhead lights. Before you lies what appears to be a newly crafted staff.

You know better than to touch it. You duck and bob your head taking in the details from what you could see without disturbing it.

It hasn't had the edges sanded down yet, and some of the soldering is still messy, but you can already identify some new features that weren't in the previous model but you recall Donnie excitedly raving about adding them to the next.

"So what do you think?"

You nearly leap out of your skin. You spin on your heels into a low defensive stance by instinct.

The tall nearsighted turtle had silently moved through the plastic curtains and had been standing in the archway. His curious expression doesn't change after your reflexes spun you around.

Recognizing that it's only him, you relax. You relax so much you feel a tension in your chest that was there since you arrived fade away as well.

"Why are you awake so early?" You ask.

"Occasionally I'll get up earlier than the others just to get some peace and quiet for a few hours." You knew how much of a ruckus the others made once they were awake.

"Ah, so should I leave?" You ask sheepishly.

"No," he answered quickly, "please stay."

You were both awkwardly quiet for a moment.

So what do you think? The question echoes in your head.

You glance back to the staff, then back to Donnie, who is walking towards you and you notice the second bagel in his hand. He motioned you over to have breakfast with him at the "food bench".

"Oh, I mean it's still got some work to do," you say sitting beside him and unwrapping your bagel, "but if you mean from a fellow engineers perspective, it looks like you've got the accelerometer upgrade in it that you've been wanting for months, the sleek tracking device ejector integrated with pneumatics, and quite possibly some degaussing wiring running along it, presumably to negate any magnetic fields you encounter. Did I miss anything? It looks like you've been working on the fabrication for a week or two now. "

As you had been talking Donnie finished his meal in just a few bites. You get to work on yours, expecting his response to be long winded, and you're excited to hear him ramble about his creation.

"No, you didn't miss anything at all. I'm glad you remembered that I'd been wanting to add all those features to my next staff. The planning was pretty easy, but finding all the specific materials I needed was the hard part. Getting just the right grade of steel and brass tubing of the exact sizes took me a month alone. The pneumatics are actually hypercompressed air into single use microcannisters... " He continued to ramble and you smiled through your meal.

Once finished you shoot back some questions. He answers and provides exquisite detail about his process.

"So how's the weight? It's not going to be too unwieldy is it? Sounds like the material change might throw it off."

He jumps up and retrieves the staff, "no actually I designed it to have the same weighted properties, and kept the weight nearly the same by changing the springs to lighter zinc but stronger push power."

He stands there, demonstrating the ease of use, shifting the staff between his hands and spinning it, "Here give it a try."

You set your bagel down, stand, and grab the staff carefully.

You'd given Donnie's old staff some tests before when you had first asked him about his design process for engineering it. This new one was indeed well balanced, it spun easily despite it being more than your own height and only felt slightly heavier than the previous model.

You nod, studying closely some of the fine craftsmanship near the springs.

He chuckles softly, "I'm really glad you understand the work I do. It's really a relief to talk to you and feel like you really understand what I'm saying when I go off about things. Sometimes my brothers try, I mean I know sometimes they want to support me, but I just know they haven't got more than a dial-up tone between their ears when I try to tell them what I do."

You look up with a grin of awe tugging at the edges of your lips. "Donnie, what you do is so cool. I couldn't do this, I know just enough to appreciate how incredible all of it is, though. The electrical engineering for the lair, the coding for security protocols, the design and MacGuyvering to make tools and weapons and tracking devices. It's nothing short of genius."

He looks startled at your response, "Y-you really think so?" He glanced down, bit his lip and fiddled with his thumbs.

"I know so." You say. You knew he had always been self conscious of himself. His brothers didn't understand his skill very well. He was scrawny when beside them, he just didn't have nearly the raw brawn to fight the same.

A smile grew on his face and his eyes met yours. Your heart skipped. You didn't have time to savor it because Donatello dashed away towards the back of the lab. "You know, uh, as a sort of, I guess, thank you," he was either excited or nervous, he didn't usually stutter this badly otherwise, your eyebrows furled in confusion watching him shuffle and tumble around bins of equipment.

"I would like, uhm, to ask if you'd like, uh, well, a staff of your own?" He appeared from behind a bench holding a mostly rudimentary staff with some very old electronic modifications to it.

Still not sure why he's suddenly offering, you answer honestly nonetheless, "Yeah I think that would be pretty amazing if it was decked out with some stuff I'd use regularly."

His smile beamed brighter. "Uh, well, this is the second model of my staves. I made it when I was 13, and, uh, I've reclaimed the few gadgets it used to function with, but," he swallowed, "I'd really like to refurbish it into something you'd like."

You, obviously flattered and jittery with joy at the possibility of getting a hand crafted gadget by one of the best engineering prodigies you knew, nearly fell out of your chair. "Seriously?!"

Mirroring your energy and feeding off the positive reinforcement, Donnie gained confidence, "Absolutely, just tell me what you want and it'll be yours. I can have it ready by your birthday easily. And I couldn't be happier handing it off to you because I trust you'd treat it with the respect it deserves, unlike some people..." He trailed off.

Still in your hands, you lift the large staff above your head and with a small leap swing it over Donnie's head and onto his shoulders, and with your hands still gripped you swing your weight back pulling the lanky turtles shoulders down to your level.

He dropped the small light staff and grasped at the large one suddenly dragging him down in elevation.

Frozen there, inches from you face, he looks into your eyes and sees a chaotic look only other mad scientists could recognize. He blinks, dumbfounded.

You smirk, "I want it to fold into the coolest walking cane you've ever seen when not in use, I want an emergency button that alerts you if I'm ever in trouble, I want pollutant and air quality sensors integrated, I want it to whistle a beautiful woodwind pitch depending on how fast I spin it and lastly, I want you and your brothers to sign it. Can you do that O' Masterful Donatello?" You question him smugly.

He licks his lips and nods. "Uh...yeah, yeah, yes certainly," he begins. You release your grip allowing him to once again tower over you.

"Great, I expect the full benefit of Donatello quality genius." Your heart again skips a beat.

Donnie looks to the side, his grin unable to melt away.

"May I watch and talk to you while you work on it sometimes? You know, just to make sure you are getting everything right..." You add.

He looks back to you, he seems almost out of breath, "Uh, y-yeah," he squeaks out, "I'll get started right away. Y-you want to stay a while and watch?"

"I suppose I could make room in my schedule for that."

For the next few hours the lab is aglow with more than just LEDs and overhead lamps.

[teasodium]

that moment when you are the eldest sibling n you coerce your youngest sibling with snacks so they can give emotional advice (ghibli redraw also >;3)

silly fun idea that i may follow up one day with Mikey info dumping about Edo period queerness.

[boxfullaturtles]

03 Don adopting the Rise kids in any form immediately wins me over. Dragon in the Woods just took that concept and stabbed me three dozen times in the heart by throwing in a dash of Empathy is Learned and mind melding across the universes. How dare you.

Don't even LOOK at Dawn's kids or he'll stomp you to death.

anyway brb I gotta go cry about turtles

[sweeneydino]

When I said I had fanfic fanarts plan, it was a threat /srs

A teaser of the @vanillavengeance Mystic Malfunction final

This is gonna be a big boy so I shall satisfy yall with my wip for now 👀

[chaoticspeedrun]

For @yosajaeofficial

You guys are putting Anastasia! Donnie through the ringer and I don't know how much of this he can take!

[untitled-tmnt-blog]

@dandylovesturtles put Leo in a room, and I am not okay about it.

[grey-viridian]

Future father-son hugs!