#because his brother saw what human friendship could be like!!!!😭😭😭

[plagueofskeletons]

so I got to THAT part in trimax…….

[the-peak-tmnt]

I want to say that I like that your fic is mostly Raph centric because those fics are rare and he deserves more love and pain lol

Raph: Mom says it's my turn with the trauma

Thank you so much! I'm seriously so grateful for people who are willing to give a Raph-centric fic a shot!

I knew writing Raph-centric fic that's also a Mutant Mayhem fic was gonna turn a lot of people off from giving it a try, which I totally understand because I usually go for Leo-centric fics myself lol. It also doesn't help that Mutant Mayhem still isn't super popular.

But Mutant Mayhem Raph is an exciting new version of Raph that's been SO fun to explore, and I'm gonna go on a little rant about why I'm enjoying writing (and torturing) him so much!

[Initiating Raph Rant] So, almost all Raphs are tough guys who also wear their hearts on their sleeves, which is what makes him such a fun character. He's "the angry one", but usually also super emotional in other ways:

Because MM feels more like an actual teenager than most other iterations, his moments of emotional vulnerability feel particularly raw and relatable. I might be old as dirt now, but I do still remember what it was like to be a teenager still trying to figure out who they were and what they wanted in life.

Mutant Mayhem does such an amazing job of hitting on those teenage insecurities and desires. The turtles whole goal in the movie is to be accepted. All teenagers feel like outsiders and want acceptance at some point. That teenage desire for acceptance is amplified for the turtles because they're not just teenagers, but mutants as well. The moment where Raph's voice sort of wavers as he says "we're never gonna be normal" breaks my heart every time, because they're so sure acceptance is completely out of reach for them 😭

...but the MM boys do get acceptance by the human world by the end of the film. Raph even seems to find his place own at Eastman on the wrestling team in the post-credit scene.

I think this is what has turned a lot of fans off MM, though, because the turtles' need for secrecy and using their ninja skills to remain hidden has always been an integral part of the TMNT franchise. Personally, I actually love that departure from the typical TMNT format and talked about it once before.

But there are some traditional TMNT elements that I did miss in MM, one of those being the fact that in most iterations, Raph is an outsider even amongst outsiders. His anger is what alienates him from his brothers at times, and it often gets him into trouble. It’s also what almost always leads to his friendship with Casey (another outsider).

Tales of the TMNT isn't out yet, and we don't how this series will give Raph that traditional outsider treatment, or if it will at all. They could save it for Mutant Mayhem 2, but that's still years away. And even then they might decide not to go that route because so far, MM Raph's rage has mostly just manifested in a propensity for fighting & violence rather than interpersonal issues with his brothers & other people. His rage is even framed as useful in the final fight against Superfly.

So anyway...as canon stands right now pre-tottmnt/MM 2, Raph is an "insider". He and his brothers can have a life on the surface, and Raph even seems to have found his own place at Eastman on the wrestling team. Again, I'm all for this happy ending and a brand new experience for the turtles, but I was also missing my personal favorite flavor of Raph...which is angry and alienated lol.

After I saw MM in theaters, I started looking at a lot of the concept art and other production material floating around on the internet and I came across this concept art by Garrett Lee:

And it was like "oh shit, there he is! Outsider Raph!"

He looks so lonely and separate from everyone else here, and I was obsessed with this idea of Raph somehow still being an outsider even after the mutants were accepted by humans. But again, we're still waiting for tottmnt and MM 2, and even then there's no guarantee we'll get an Angry & Sad Outsider Raph out of either of those.

So I asked myself "how can I ruin MM Raph's life so that he's as lonely and miserable as he looks in this concept art???"

...and Reciprocity was born 😅

[omgkatherine01]

Afterlife (Neteyam x Human Turned Na'vi Female Reader)

Requested:

"Can I please request some angst between Neteyam x human! reader, I actually based this on a song called Glimpse of Us by Joji. So one night they were watching a movie and (y/n) was thrilled to see two people dancing and she really wanted to experience it. Neteyam without thinking, he invited to dance with her even though he doesn’t know how to. They copied what they saw on the screen and danced in sync. Both of them actually liked each other but were afraid that their friendship might end. After Neteyam’s family fled to the metkayina clan, (Y/n) gets teased a lot by the Na’vi in that tribe because of being human. Neteyam is very protective of her, he cheered her up by inviting her to dance again at the beach when they were alone. He would blush when he sees her smile. Could you please end it in an angsty way? perhaps (y/n) was trying to save Kiri and got shot by one of Quaritch’s soldiers. Neteyam found her lifeless body on the ship, he never felt so devastated to see her dead. What is sadder is when Neteyam was dying, all the memories with (y/n) plays in his head. With (y/n)’s body near him, he tries to hold her hand one last time before passing away."

So.... yeah, I thought, since you wrote down all of what happen, let's just go with the afterlife... if it's alright with you... Please don't hate me if not 😚😢

Note: Just a tiny bit of spoilers for the second movie, because... well, be aware since... you know... Neteyam is... I CAN'T EVEN SAY IT 😭😭. I'm not over it!!!

Another Note: Didn't really like how I wrote it... and it's pretty short

Masterlist (requests are currently open for now)

"Neteyam."

Neteyam opened his eyes with a soft gasp. He frowned and sat up, the water dripping from his back. He looked around the empty small Island that he was on, a small pool of water in the middle where he was sitting on.

Neteyam looked up and around, the sky was glowing blue, and the area... it reminded him of the forest.

His home.

"I want to go home."

He remembered his words to his father, not long before he blocked out.

He remembered the pain he felt.

The bullet that hit him.

He frowned as he looked at his body. There was no sign of a bullet hole.

Neteyam stood up and looked around again. Where were his parents? His siblings?

"They not here." Neteyam turned when he heard a familiar voice but met a Na'vi he didn't met before. "Your family is fine."

Neteyam looked at her cautiously, "Y/N?"

You laughed softly, and nodded a little, "I think Eywa decided that if I wasn't born as a Na'vi and born as a human... she will turn me into what I wanted at the after life."

"You're here," he breathed out.

You stepped closer and held out your hand. He didn't waste time and grabbed it, looking at your hand in his. Your hand was still small but not as much when you were in your human form.

"Is that how you Sky People dance?" Neteyam asked. The two of you were sitting on chairs inside Norm's lab, just the two of you in the evening, watching an old movie from Earth.

In one scene the couple in the movie started to dance. "Yes," you said, "Uncle Jake told you about dancing, right?"

"Dad mentioned some stuff," he muttered next to you.

"Well, Uncle Norm danced with me a few times over the years, after he showed me some movies," you admitted, "Even Kiri danced with me."

Neteyam looked from the screen to you with a small smirk, "Do you want to dance with me?"

You blushed and scoffed as you looked back at the movie, "No, of course not."

Neteyam hummed still smirking as if he knew you were lying. You didn't dare to look at him and just continued to watch the movie. The thought of Neteyam dancing with you made you continue to blush which annoyed you.

Only Kiri and Tuk knew of your crush on their older brother, and no matter how much you tried to deny it, they didn't fell for it. You never thought Neteyam felt something to you more than a best friend or even like a little sister, so you always buried your feelings for him deep inside your heart.

It wasn't like something could happen between you two, you were a human girl, he was a Na'vi.

It wasn't like Jake and his wife Neytiri.

Your sad thoughts were cut off when you heard movements at your side and you looked at Neteyam in surprise as he held out his hand for you to take.

"I never done it before, so go easy on me," he said with a smirk.

You hesitated but took his hand and stood up. You looked up at him in amusement as you started to teach him to dance.

Neteyam smiled softly at the memory and looked at you. His smile disappeared and his guilt flickered to his eyes. It was his fault you died...

Like you read his thought, you stepped closer and placed your hand on his cheek, caressing it, "It's not your fault," you said softly, "I wanted to be there to help save your family."

"Yet it cased you your life," he said softly.

"And yours," you muttered, "You always careful, yet it happened to you."

"I always thought I won't be able to live on without you... I guess that was true," he said.

You tilted your head, "Neteyam--"

"I love you," he confessed and placed his forehead against yours, closing his eyes, "I should have told you that before. When I saw you there, lying dead on the floor... my entire world collapse. The thought of never seen you again--"

"I love you too," you confessed softly and he opened his eyes. "But because that I love you, I hoped you would survive the war and one day find someone--"

"There wouldn't have been anyone else but you," he muttered. You gave him a small sad smile, feeling the same. Neteyam looked at your lips, and you did the same.

Neteyam placed his hands on your cheeks and tilted his head, pressing his lips against yours. You closed your eyes, kissing him back passionately.

Breaking the kiss after a long moment, you both panted, breathing each other in. "I love you," you breathed out.

"I love you too," he said and gave you a soft smile, which you couldn't help but return one.

You and Neteyam didn't survive the war to be together... but Eywa watching over you two, you both could be together at the afterlife.

[wurm-food]

Wurm, first of all, hi!!! I'm so glad you're doing better! I've missed being on here as much and seeing your fucking brilliant content and commentary. Now, ask time! Want to tell us how much you love Uta and her family bonds? Any favorite moments? Things you wish we saw more of?

Omg hi !! 🥰🥰 (also do you like Star? Blaze? Delightful Human? gotta find the right name to call you hehe) I’m certainly making it… and I’ve missed being on here too!! I can’t wait to get home and dump all of my thoughts in a doc and read what everyone is writing 😭

Ok preface this is SUCH a rambley personal brain dump about her, I’ve projected so much onto this girl and as I’m writing all of this …. It’s turning into a novel, sorry in advanced!

My love for Uta is unending!!! It’s really not waned at all since the movie hype is kind of over, she’s really a character I’ve personally connected with on a lot of levels, she honestly feels like reader insert character Oda made for me specifically. I think it’s really special to see characters (especially female character) tap into the not so pretty sides of anger and grief and self destruction because, well, it’s messy and human and real. She makes me look back at my own reactions to my own childhood and family and hell , my own mental illness and the desperation to feel like I could fix everything despite not feeling like I deserved my own forgiveness or how I processed the traumas I lived through in ways that probably weren’t the best for me or others…. Idk i just get really really emotional about it. And seeing that maybe there’s a path for her for forgiveness and maybe forgiving herself and starting over is beautiful to see. (This is a ramble oh god 😅)

As far as her family, I’m seriously so in love with For Family it’s Worth the Fight 😭 like I believe that her and the rest of the Red Force can rebuild the family they had but TOO MUCH SHIT HAPPENED for that to just happen over night, as much as anyone might want that to happen. I know it’s been said before, but she’s still the same child left on that island when it comes to Shanks and co. Like that’s the realest freaking thing when it comes to putting yourself back into your dysfunctional family, all the same defensive mechanisms just crawl back to the surface. mwah mwah I love it it’s so good! (Plus I’m a fan of the Shanks/Beck daddy duo 😏)

As a side note, I’ve seen a lot of art revolving around Uta and the ASL brothers and THAT dynamic really gets my gears turning. They would have been absolute TERRORS together and I love it hehe 🥰

For things I want to see for her…. I really want this girl to have some friends and romantic interests, what can I say 😅 like I just feel in my bones that this girl’s ideas of friendship and romance are also a little messed up, but I also see that as an opportunity for her to learn how love can take many forms and be healthy.

Ahhhhh ok I think that’s all my brain could dump right now, that was a lot. She drives me crazy in the best of ways and I love her to pieces for everything she is 😭😭 thanks for letting me indulge in the brainrot 💕