#but why would big mama ever tell splinter? why would he care?

[thedawningofthehour]

Splints right after escaping from Draxum's lab:

"Oof, I think we're safe now boys. Big Mama said the city was under New York, so I guess we're in New York. I've been here a few times. It's been...years, but we'll figure it out together alright?"

'squints towards Lower Manhattan'

"Looks like they finally tore down those ugly towers."

[fizzywashere87]

Hello!! If it's alright with you can i please request rottmnt with a mom like yor from " spy x family "? Platonic, funny one-shot, hc or anything you want.

Like she's sweet and would go up and beyond for her babies but she's secretly an assassin and that's the one thing she WON'T tell anyone at all.

notes: OMGIE YESESES!!! (we don't talk about the fact this is over a month past due but :D) I'm going to do them altogether- and I'm making reader's personality like what you described to me so I'm sorry if i misunderstood anything!! Hope you enjoy and tysm for requesting!!

We Love You Anyways, Ma (HC's)

Toitlez

I think it's a trend for the rise!turtles to have dumbass parents

Look at Splinter from even before he was mutated

Barry.

yeah, you're a little naive but isn't everyone?

Now we know where your boys get it from! :D

April is apart of the family btw and she's your daughter

I reckon Mikey does all of the cooking anyways because you...

cannot.

The few times you tried ended with Raph, Leo, and Mikey screaming in the background, while Donnie extinguishes the fire

You guys lost a very important member of the family that day,

Speck.

You burned 'im at your failed attempt at cooking

That poor speck of cooking residue that was immune to cleaning supplies :(

Not even you, the mama of this carnival was able to remove

Maybe had a 'lil funeral as everyone cried but Donnie wasn't phased his ass was waiting for it to happen-

The lair is literally spotless

Nobody ever questioned why you were so good at cleaning

Actually, Leo did, I lied damn intuition i swear he has it

The boys get away with a lot, I'm sorry

"Where have you boys been?" You stand with your arms crossed scowling at the boys, they just got back to the lair and they do not look like they were anywhere you would condone as their mother.

Leo steps up, flashing you a smile, a bright one at that, "Sorry we're late Ma, we wanted to stop and eat pizza! We're sorry for not letting you know, we promise we'll let you know next time." He says, sounding oh-so genuine, how could you not believe that? Raph, Donnie, and Mikey are standing in the background nodding along to everything Leo is saying and you look at all of them carefully.

"Alright, be more careful next time! You had me worried!" You'd smile, and that would be the end of the conversation as your boys scurry away as a person right in the head would deem; suspicious.

You're not right in the head btw.

Overall, you guys are a family and you love each other tons

They do appreciate everything you do for them

You love them unconditionally and would do anything for them Please give Donnie validation and praise- boy needs it

You'd also do anything to protect them

Did I mention you're crazy strong?

Yes, you trained the boys so they have your agility

At some points you're overly gentle but you'll never tell anyone it's because you can't handle your own strength

Your excuse is that they can't handle it

You brush it off as a joke though

It's hard hiding such a big secret from them, but it's for their safety

They don't know why exactly you're so strong and cool, you played it a certain way that they'll never question

You do have your dumbass moments, but they never imagined you as an assassin- their mother? nah.

Your children come up with some weird ass shit on a day to day basis and never once they put two and two together

Your dumbass children i swear-

The boys love watching you in action

From the close combat that almost nobody can match-

To the way you effortlessly handle your blades

The way you know the exact points on a person to aim when attacking

Or how you've basically never lost a fight

The way you can scope out where your opponents are and how quick your reflexes are-

No you're not an assassin

I'm just lying!! You are!

If they ever were to find out, it's because your dumbass let something slip

The boys and April caught onto something

Leo confronted you in an indirect way

Boom

Exposed.

"WHAT?!" They simultaneously exclaimed in shock. Donnie pulls out a bunch of tech- probably to add to his file he has about you, Leo is shaking you by the shoulders demanding more information, Mikey copes by running around yelling 'OHMIGOSH,' Raph fell over backwards as if he were an object, and April yells 'I knew it!'

It's chaos.

As everyone settles down, you have no choice but to fill them in further, you go sit down at the table and they listen to your story. They are very shocked, very confused on some things, a lot of things are adding up now. But they aren't mad at you for keeping such a secret, none of them are, they think it's hella cool.

Leo raises his hand with a question and you wait for him to go on,

"So did the weird creepy fox yokai end up with the ugly bunny yokai or the nasty hamster one?" He recalls one of the missions you just told them about.

"I'm pretty sure it was the bunny." You answer, not really phased by the type of question he just asked and everyone nods along calmly.

Yeah. This is your life and you wouldn't wish for anything different.

[soapiemomorphine]

My Rottmnt Separated Au!// Masterpost

(*Dj Khalid voice *: Another one ) (scroll to bottom for links to other posts)

This one’s called:

How I Met Our Brothers

And it’s an au of my own inspired by all the greats, like @daedelweiss @dianagj-art @trubblegumm @red-rover-au and more! (Seriously go follow their blogs)

Mainly by @trubblegumm and by the feral Leo from @cupcakeslushie , and you’ll soon why

With out further ado;

DRUMROLL PLEASE DUN DUNNUNUUUUHHHHH

(Also dont worry ab my chicken scratch I have it all written down lol)

(Click for better quality lol)

Since my writing’s shit (lol) here’s the transcript for what I wrote: the character descriptions first, then the pluses from top to bottom

Donatello Hamato:

Raised by Splinter/Hamato Yoshi/Lou Jitsu in the sewers under Brooklyn

Started looking for his bros after his dad told him about them

Met April when he was 9 (she was 11)

He met Leo when they were both 11

Baron Michelangelo:

(I hc that Baron is a title, not a name; like Lord or Lady, so Mikey inherited Draxum’s title)

He’s been training to be a mystic warrior since he was born

Muninn (the one with a larger body and the underbite) wanted him to be named Angel, Huginn (the one with a larger head and overbite) wanted him to be Michael, so they compromised with the perfect name (don’t tell Draxum they saw it in a human pamphlet )

Raised by Draxum alone until he was seven

At 7 y/o he met Raph and ever since both Big Mama and Baron Draxum have joint custody over them

BM and BD raise them like a divorced couple, they alternate houses weekly and they celebrate each holiday twice, (Big Mama and Draxum only come together for their b-days)

Besties with Raph and Cass, (met Cass when he was 10, she was 13)

Rapheal Jitsu :

Training to be a mystic warrior since he was 9

Big Mama named him what she and Splinter would have named their first son; (he proposed to her, you can’t tell me that they didn’t talk ab baby names)

Big Mama was not the only secretive one in the relationship, she didn’t know what Splinter’s real last name was, (and as a gang leader she doesn’t use her name anymore) so yes, Jitsu is Raph’s legal last name

Met Mikey when he was 9 y/o

BM and BD raise them like a divorced couple, they alternate houses weekly and they celebrate each holiday twice, (Big Mama and Draxum only come together for their b-days)

Besties with Mike and Cass, (met Cass when he was 12, she was 13)

??????? —> Leonardo Hamato:

He grew up in the sewers in Staten Island, the one who brought him there was *REDACTED*

Staten Island is full on awful people, so nobody took him in, and he learned to fear people

Donnie found him, and named him Leonardo and gave him his birthday, making him 11

Other Info:

+ because Leonardo was hella malnourished as a growing young lad, Donnie ended up being the 2nd tallest by the time of the movie

+Splinter became more proactive in Donnie’s life ever since he lost sight of the other three brothers and became more proactive in his training when he met April because he’s more paranoid than he is in the show

+Don didn’t really care for Leo (he was comfortable as an only child and Leo changed his routine), until Leo got deathly sick and nearly died

+Big Mama and Draxum (somewhat) reformed only b/c Mikey and Raph would cry and throw tantrums (they won the moral argument slay) when they would talk ab their plans and beliefs (Draxum loves his children more that he hates humanity, and Big Mama finally learned how to love with Raph)

+Mama truly loved Splinter, but was insecure about him loving her as a Yokai (she had trust issues) and b/c her morals are hella skewed, it seemed like a great idea to keep him the only way she knew how, by putting him in Battle Nexus (and she makes bank with him there! In her mind it seemed like a win-win)

(Note: Big Mama’s and Splinter’s relationship will solely be as exes, because it would be hella unhealthy for Splints to trust her after she betrayed it like it. (They both lied to eachother during their relationship in this au) Their relationship in my comics and fanfics in this au will solely be as estranged exes, they will not be getting back together)

If this post gets like, at least 30 notes then ill post a comic on how Leo and Donnie met! (Edit: oh wow. U guys did it)

Lists of HIMOB Posts:

Disaster twins post

Sunset duo post

HIMOB Donnie meets the Canon Mad Dogs // Bonus Comic

Donnie and the Stranger: Part 1 // Part 2

The name Rapheal: Part 1 // Part 2

The Caretaker: Part 1 // TBC . . .

[imagionationstation]

Hey again…I have more ideas for the 2012 Donnie raised by BM au thing, (If I’m being annoying w/ this tell me to stop and this’ll be my last ask about it.)

Hey again…I have more ideas for the 2012 Donnie raised by BM au thing, (If I’m being annoying w/ this tell me to stop and this’ll be my last ask about it.)

Rich, self-centered, spoiled brat who’s never been told no. Ever.

he’s rude, thinks (knows) he’s smarter than everyone else, doesn’t expect consequences for his actions, expects to be waited on hand and foot (probably cuz he has been by hotel staff), etc etc

the whole nine yards. He enjoys the battle nexus fights. He finds them a bit inhumane but…why should he care? They don’t impact him at all.

He does get better after meeting Leo and Splinter and stuff.

Idk, I think it’d be funny lol

— ♊️

(Sorry this took so long!)

Relates back to this Ask which has links to other Asks.

Rude? Yes. Stubborn? Yes. A bit narcissistic? Unfortunately.

Incapable of understanding that the world does not exist to serve his every whim? For a while, yes.

Well, he has been told no. But only by one person. Big Mama.

His entire life it was made very clear who controlled everything. His meals, his attire, his routine, his likes and dislikes, his studies and his hobbies- everything is a gift, and he’s eternally grateful.

Why shouldn’t he be? She’s given him everything.

He deserves as much as she’s willing to offer.

It makes him feel small, sometimes. Being so utterly dependent.

Donnie makes up for his insignificance by leaning on the one thing that she can’t control. His intelligence. His genius.

His ego is his wall against the insecurities that she’s programmed in. Something else that she intended, because very few people can tolerate him and his pride. And even less people can understand his interests and his rants. He is unintentionally isolating himself.

And that’s just fine with her.

See, now this is where our opinions separate.

I can’t imagine any kind of AU where a 2012Donnie is chill with a murder arena. I could be convinced that he’d kill because of loyalty or to protect his family, or even just because he sees it as the only way to survive. But this is senseless.

It’s a place where a great number of Yokai walk in while expecting most of them not to walk out. It’s a choice to walk into a situation where the rewards are a heavy payment and a champion title, and the price is their life. He doesn’t understand. There are so many other ways to get that kind of cash. Stealing, for instance. Fraud, with the right skills. Plain old scamming gets the goods.

He knows how smart he is, but he thinks this should be basic information. Even the most brainless of oafs know how to steal. So why would anyone in their right mind fight in the arena?

It confuses him. Him, Donatello, the genius. And he hates it.

He’d rather die than admit to anyone that he isn’t able to comprehend. So he simply pretends that he does when he’s working in the arena or brought to be shown off at Mother’s gatherings. He listens to what the others say and he repeats it as best he can.

He just doesn’t see why anyone needs to stoop to that level. It’s gory and disturbing and completely senseless. So much blood is spilled for a crowd of Yokai who cheer when faced with a life lost. It’s horrific, brutal violence that so many Yokai seem to crave.

It’s why he’s so interested in Raphael.

Yes, Raph fights and, yes, he kills- but not once has he needlessly splattered blood. Not once has he ripped a warrior apart or continued to harm after a life is lost. He doesn’t celebrate his victories or appreciate the roars of the crowd. He gives them just enough flair to keep them happy, and he does what he came to do.

It fascinates Donnie to no end. That he’s so much different than the other Yokai. That he doesn’t slaughter merely because he can, sparing his opponents lives even when the crowd calls for a bloodbath. Unless Big Mama gives the word, he is firm in mercy.

He only ever glares out at them, daring a single member to come make him take that life. Donnie secretly thinks that he hates the crowd more than his opponents.

When he fights, he’s holding back. It’s incredible to watch.

A small part of him itches to know what that’s like. To have that much power and skill and to be able to use it without bloodthirsty intent. Was it possible, to learn how to fight, but not become savage?

Of course, he never openly speaks to his Mother about any of this.

Eventually, Splinter and Leo do clear the air. Donnie finally gets to understand why he dislike the arena and why that was actually a good thing. He’s still struggling to understand that his Mother isn’t the saint that she appears, but the answer satisfies both his ego and consciousness. It helps him sleep at night.

At least, it does until he actually fights in the arena.

Then his nightmares take a different turn.

[boots-with-the-fur-club]

Here is more of the crossover AU between Mama Bear and @daboyau’s Leave AU!

Four is surprised but overjoyed when he doesn’t wake up from his dream in the morning. Raph is gently placing him in a seat back at the table.

He yawns and smiles. Sleeping late feels so good! Getting more than just the minimum requirement refreshes his whole body.

There’s a comfortable drowsiness still in his body. It’s in between falling asleep again and still being conscious.

A sweet smell hits his nose and causes his mouth to water.

He blinks to try to keep his eyes open and see what’s being served. Unfortunately, he’s still too sleepy. His hand feels around for a fork.

“I got ya, big guy.”

Four smiles more.

Raph lifts the fork to his mouth. Four opens it up and takes a big bite. Something fluffy and syrupy hits his tastebuds and it’s almost overwhelming how much he likes it.

He hums happily before chewing and swallowing.

“Why does Mikey get to be treated like a baby when he’s not feeling well but when I am you guys tell me to suck it up?” Leo grumbles.

“Because you fake being sick for attention and don’t tell us when you actually are sick?” Donnie answers.

Four cracks an eye open.

He sees Leo open and close his hand, making mocking noises.

Four giggles.

Leo smiles proudly at making him laugh.

“Raphael, let me feed Mikey. You should get to your food before it gets cold.” Julia urges.

“Ah ma, it’s fine. I like ‘em no matter the temperature.”

Four’s eyes open entirely.

Ma?

He means…..mother?

They don’t have a mother. Splinter being their father makes sense, it’s his DNA. Having a mother would be something they just decided, chose.

It causes excitement to spring through him and full wake him up.

“It’s okay, Raph, mom! I’ll feed myself.” Four takes the fork back.

Raph’s body droops slightly as he gets back to eating his own good. Four is confused, but doesn’t want his brother to be sad.

“Thanks for the help, Raphie!”

Raph’s tail wags.

“No problem, little bro.”

Four digs into his food with excitement. The strawberries topping it are so sweet and fresh. Juice runs down his face which he wipes away with his hand.

Draxum grumbles and Four fears he’s made a mistake for a moment. That is, until he grabs a napkin and softly rubs his mouth with it.

Four beams at the gentle attention.

After everyone’s eaten, Luke and Draxum head out, saying they’ll meet them where they’re all planning to go after taking care of something.

Four excitedly wonders what that place they’re going will be like.

He’s finally going out on the surface!

Julia, Splinter and his brothers have him help pack a lot of things. Drinks, food, boards that are soft for some reason, blankets, umbrellas, plastic little toys, and sunscreen.

Raph, Donnie, and Leo change into colorful shorts and tank tops. Four nearly squeals happily when he’s given his own clothes with just as many, if not more, designs.

When the front door opens, he runs out first and soaks in the warm sun on his skin. It feels better than any artificial light he’s ever been given.

It, however, is also bright.

He still smiles as he shields his eyes from the rays. He feels his arm get moved down and something placed over his eyes. Four tilts his head back to see it was Leo who also has something over his eyes.

“Sunglasses, courtesy of the real Two. Now we match.” Leo smiles.

Four smiles back widely and hugs him tightly. He’s always known how much Three loves him, but here he’s able to show it so much more.

That goes for all of them, really.

He knows now that they’d show it constantly if they could. More people could love him, too. They just needed the chance.

Leo hugs back before lifting him up and into the seat of a car. He hops into the seat next to him as well. Four wonders why this doesn’t have a roof to it.

Everyone else piles in as well, Julia commenting about Donnie upgrading a convertible to hold more seats.

Donnie smiles proudly, Four is so happy for him.

After a seatbelt check, Julia begins driving them. Four knows why there isn’t a roof anymore and he wishes there never was on a vehicle again.

The wind blasts onto his face in the most fun way. The sun continues shining on all of them. Music plays, something cheerful and loud to hear it over the wind.

There’s so much excitement here.

After a while, the vehicle stops. Everyone begins leaving it and grabbing things from the trunk.

Four would also help, but seeing everything in front of him makes him jump out and run towards it.

A portal opens in front of him, bringing him back to the group.

“Ah ah mi hermano. You know there’s something you need before you go out there! I’m not listening to you whining about aloe vera all night.” Leo sprays Four all over.

After everyone else is sprayed as well, Four runs out again, followed this time. A human sitting on a blanket under a large umbrella waves them over.

“Hey you guys! Took you long enough! We had to almost fight people away from the spot.”

“Almost!? I did!” A second human corrects.

“Casey did. Karai just chilled over here.” The original human states.

“I was keeping watch for the seagulls. They are truly the tougher battle.” Karai adds.

No way!

Even more humans!? And they’re friends!?

“Gasp, fabo nail colors April, you two!” Donnie comments.

Four looks at their nails.

Casey has slightly sharp, medium sized, black nails with white skulls painted on them.

April has short, sparkling green and yellow nails.

Karai has short, white, cherry blossom themed nails.

Their toes are painted to match.

“We thought we’d show Karai the updated way to get them done! She almost broke the foot bath because she didn’t know there’d be bubble but it was still fun.” April responds.

Four notices the way Karai stares at him. He stares back, cocking his head curiously with a smile. She looks confused.

“Are you okay?” Four asks.

“Yes, I am fine, are you? There is…..something different with you today.”

“I’m great! Thank you for asking!”

“….I see. What do you all want to do today?”

April, Casey, Raph, and Julia decide to play volleyball.

Splinter chooses to sun bathe.

Leo and Donnie want to play in the water.

Four has a hard time picking what to do but ultimately goes with the water as well. Karai joins them too.

The four of them go to the water.

Four squeaks and jumps slightly at how cold it is which earns some laughter from Leo.

Donnie kicks water at him.

This turns into a very large splash fight. Four joins in after he’s more used to the water. Karai winds up using moves that keep her dry and everyone else soaked.

Leo soon picks up seaweed and starts chasing Donnie and Mikey with it. Karai doesn’t seem too put off by it.

They finally take a break when Luke, Draxum, Pomona, and Usagi show up.

Four feels his heart nearly burst with joy as he sees just how happy Raph and Leo are to see their partners.

Their eyes are brighter, their laughs lighter, their body language even more relaxed.

The joy slowly dissipates into something else. Seeing how everyone thrives when able to be free and love as they want, it makes him wonder why Draxum sees it as such a bad thing.

Probably because war has no room for either.

This isn’t a dream, is it?

It’s not the future either.

He’s going to have to go back eventually.

He….doesn’t want to….

No! He can’t think like that! No matter how fun and nice this place is, he would never abandon his brothers!

There has to be a way to make this happen for them too!

Right?

He takes a step away from the group, starting not to feel well.

What has he been doing?

Having fun, eating yummy food, enjoying a world that isn’t his while One, Two, and Three are probably being experimented on.

Thoughts are beginning to overwhelm him.

He feels light headed.

A strong hand is firmly placed on his shell and something cold presses against his face.

“Michelangelo. You’ve been getting too much sun. Come, sit with me.” Karai suggests.

Four softly nods his head and goes with her to sit under one of the other umbrellas they bought.

Karai opens up the cold item and hands it to him.

He sucks on the straw and digs his feet into the sand. Yet another wonderful taste hits his tongue.

Apple.

Karai sits with her legs crossed.

“What is your name?”

“…..Four.”

“Just as I thought. You’re not from here.” Karai hums.

“Are you…..angry at me? I’m sorry, I thought this was a dream or something at first….” Four digs his feet in more.

Karai shakes her head.

“No, of course not. You have done nothing wrong and I know you’re telling the truth. I just worry for Mikey.”

Four takes an extra long sip of his drink.

“If….we switched places…..it’s not….a nice place to be.”

Karai is silent for a moment.

“While I worry, I know that I don’t truly need to. He is strong in many ways. You two are very similar.”

Four glances up at her.

“I don’t think so. I can’t make everyone happy like they are here. It’s so different.”

“It took a lot of work and hardship for it to be this way. It would not be fair to ask you to change anything on your own. That being said…..I’m sure you make the people in your life happy. Maybe the circumstances make it difficult for that to be at a certain level, but without you their lives would be…..darker. Without as much light.”

Four sniffles.

“I-I’m going to keep doing my best!”

Karai rubs his head.

“You always do. I am going to look into how to send you back, for now, I believe someone wants to build some sand castles with you.”

Four leans over to look.

Donnie, Draxum, and Luke are calling him over to be their assistant with forming the structure.

Four smiles, hugging Karai tightly before rushing off for more fun.

He hopes his Mikey appreciates everything he has.

He knows he does.

[officialgleamstar]

in my feelings about monsters and mommies au morgan and how i only ever make her deeply depressed, so heres some (genuinely) cute/fun facts about her rather than the constant angst i give her:

though not a musician herself, she practically grew up at concerts and considers music her main interest

related: her dream job is being the owner of her own record store!

at the start of mnmoms au, she is an overnight stocking manager at a grocery store. however, after the timeline jump to the foster timeline - she has her dream job! shes the main breadwinner of their family with her own record/general music store.

she/they not necessarily in a non-binary way, but not quite a cis way either. she's always had a pretty loose grasp on gender, and after nick comes out as trans, she realizes that she doesn't really care about being seen as strictly a woman. she just also doesn't care enough to think deeper on it LOL

she is the ONLY MOM to know who the omega daddies are at first. this doesn't sound like a fun fact, but it is actually pretty funny for morgan and bill to be pointing at each other like "why are YOU here?!" while the other moms are like "...? morgan who are these strange men who kidnapped our kids?"

since she loves the color blue, nick (and nicholas in the foster timeline!) buys her any blue jewelry and clothing he finds and can afford. because of this, morgan has a generally younger fashion style than the other moms, because she likes wearing the clothes her son buys her/points out to her in stores

as the AU season 1 goes on, morgan loosens up a lot and the other moms learn that she is actually capable of being pretty silly. she likes dancing a lot, she sings off-key to any song that she knows, she's a big fan of stupid puns and disney jokes. shocker shocker, local woman is capable of being a normal human being when given the chance!

her favorite holiday is new years, tied between western new years and chinese new year! she just likes the idea of fresh starts, being with family, and the bright celebrations

she met glenn at a casual music competition held at a local bar, where he won against her boyfriend at the time. when she tells this story, people always ask, "oh, and he impressed you so you broke up with your boyfriend?" and she cheerfully responds with, "no, i tried to break his nose to defend my boyfriend's honor! we ended up dating later on."

she has a weird hate crush on erin o'neil, where she's utterly head-over-heels for her but can only express it by pissing erin off. everyone hates it except for morgan, but after hearing the glenn story, it makes a lot more sense

post-season 1, she gets really into messing with jodie. she finds the way he gets riled up funny and also kind of adorable.

(she's utterly unaware of it, and jodie would never say it, but jodie's original morgan was the same way so he finds it comforting whenever he snaps at her and she just starts laughing at him. he always found it genuinely annoying with his morgan, and it was definitely a splinter in their relationship, but he struggles more with finding offense with it now that she's gone. (whoops sorry i said these weren't gonna be sad))

post-timeline jump, nicholas is the absolute center of morgan's world. he's her favorite person to be around, she will drop everything if he needs her or just wants to hear her voice, and while his high anxiety can set her own anxiety off, she never finds it hard to reassure him. and luckily for morgan, he's a total mama's boy and clings to her just as hard, even if the sudden shift in his mom's personality confuses him

shes pretty close with the other kiddads, especially sparrow and grant since theyre close friends with nicholas post-season 1. shes perpetually confused by why, but the kids all think shes the coolest mom on earth and are very happy to tell her so (its because she's been to jail.)

[a-dumb-sarcastic-bisexual]

To celebrate becoming mutuals and because I know college is kicking your ass, have a headcanon prompt! Warning: it’s a bit angsty

How would the rest of the Hamatos react when Casey Jr tells them they all die in his timeline?

Cheers to being mutuals

For a little backstory this is the order I think they die in: Raph, Donnie, Splinter, April, and then Mikey and Leo

Let's go by age cause that’s how I’ve always done it

Splinter: I think he would try and brush over his death. Internally I feel like he would try to rationalize it and come up with reasons for his death: saving humans or his family. But he would be devastated to find out he outlives two of his kids, like falling to the ground sobbing his little heart out devastated. It still haunts him to this day. It also makes him rethink the path he’s set his kids on. Like don’t get me wrong he knows death is always a possibility on a battlefield. He’s heard tales of his ancestors sacrificing themselves ever since he was small. And honestly, it was easy to separate himself from those deaths and become desensitized his mindset was something along the lines of “I never knew them so why should I care if they died”. But when he heard how his kids died and how similar the stories were it kind of gives him an existential crisis. Cause he put them on this path he raised them to be great warriors and he can't stop them no matter what and that kills him.

April: I feel like she would take some pride in knowing that her last few moments were spent protecting humanity and fighting the good fight. But she would feel guilt in outliving both Raph and Donnie (outliving Splinter is kind of a given). And she would definitely blame herself because in her mind their death only means one thing she failed. And she would definitely hug the boys a little tighter for a month or so after she heard the news.

Raph: Externally he would try and calm his siblings down he would say something like “well thank the pizza supreme in the sky that we don't live in that future”. But internally he would be freaking out. He’s very similar to Splinter in the sense that he’d brush over his death (or he would try to at least) and focus on his siblings. I think it would crush him when he found out how they died. But he swears to this day the thing that really broke his heart was hearing how his baby brothers and his big sister had to fight nonstop every single day for the rest of their lives. And he hates that a small part of him is proud of that. 

Donnie: Knew already. He heard how Casey referred to him in the past tense. But he also knew confronting Casey when they were trying to save Raph was irrational. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t knock the wind out of him. Donnie has the worst reaction to death (Leo is a close second) in the sense that he shuts down. When Casey explained everything Donnie heard it processed it wrote down blueprints for robots that he could transfer his sibling's into when they die and then he would “go offline”.

(for context this is something I do when my family presents me with information that's hard to swallow. I’ll hear it, I’ll process it and my brain decides “oh you can come up with a plan to deal with that later but after that, you’ll resort to basic human functions” I will eat and drink and breathe but that's about it. My mama came up with the term “going offline” when I explained it to her and that sums up the feeling perfectly)

Mikey: Would be crushed. Absolutely devastated. Poor bubba wouldn't know what to do with himself. Cause here's the thing Mikey isn’t stupid he knows that he's related to a group of self-sacrificing morons. But having to hear how they died out loud. Breaks something inside of him. Because he doesn’t know how to fix that. He has all the mystic power in the world but he can't snap his fingers and wrap his family in lifesaving bubble wrap for all eternity. And that fucking sucks. So he does the only thing he can think of which is using his “baby brother privilege” to demand an immediate turtle pile. Cause he knows his siblings need it (and he does too). 

[tblsomedoodles]

Ok so I have a few of questions.

How would the Evil League of Mutants (and by extension, the rooftop scene in the Bug Busters episode) go? Would Draxum still say he created the turtles and/or would outright say they're Lou Jistu's kids? Would he admit (or allude) to them that they weren't always turtles?

I know in the master post of this au it said that most of the series would remain unchanged, but with the late spider yokai puberty starting to show and how it mentioned by the time the episode Many Unhappy Returns, Big Mama would put the pieces together and realize that the turtles are her lost boys. In somewhat of a follow-up question, would Big Mama try and track down Draxum in revenge for what he did to her children?

And to wrap this up before I start rambling too much, would the turtles ever question why or how exactly they have new spider traits, and how long would it take them to track it back to Big Mama, if they ever do?

Alright!

So as far as Barron Draxum is concerned, he believes he did create them so the rooftop "Bug Buster" scene and the "Evil league of mutants" Scene would go unchanged. He honestly doesn't care if they started as 'humans' or turtles, he turned them into what they are now, therefore he created them. He probably wouldn't allude to the fact they were human first simply because it's not important to him.

Yes, i had said it wouldn't change much before the idea of the spider yokai puberty, (which would begin to show itself a bit after Bug Busters, and be in full swing probably after BullHop(full swing meaning 'oh something is definitely up', not full grown appendages yet. Specifically as far as Leo and Donnie go. Their arms take a while to grow and they'd still be small enough to hide until probably Battle nexus ny.)) um...oh yeah, with the spider yokai puberty being added in, it still doesn't change a whole lot. It just adds some things to the main goings on (and some things inbetween.) But yeah, Big Mama would definitely be able to put the pieces together by "Many unhappy returns" even if Leo was keeping his arms hidden/out of the way. It would be hard for her not to when 1)the boys remind her so much of her kids already, and 2) Lou is right there, claiming one of them lol.

As for Big Mama's thoughts on Draxum post child revelation, she may actually try to track him down. It was one thing when she thought Lou took their boys, but this yokai not only kidnapped her children, but mutated them along with her significant other, ultimately forcing all five to not return to her. She would be livid once all that comes to light.

And last but not least, Yes. The boys do end up questioning why they're suddenly having spider traits! It's about the time that it becomes obvious they're developing (specifically Donnie being in a lot of pain when his arms first start growing. That's about when they realized something was weird.) they ask Splinter what's going on but other than telling them this is normal for them (all while looking like he's seen a ghost) he tells them nothing. So they slowly put the pieces together themselves, maybe even finding their last human portrait buried deep in Splinter's Do Not Touch cabinet. And eventually, Leo overhears Splinter and Big Mama talking before the "Many unhappy returns" battle, specifically her saying "Where did you hide our sons?" and it just...clicks.

I guess that would mean Leon is the first to realize they're related, even before Big Mama does. Well, i did say he's the clever one lol.

Anyways, thank you! This was very helpful! I hadn't thought of a lot of these points yet : )

[werewolf-w1tch]

part 4 of my ROTTMNT x TMA crossover analyses in which i decide which TMA entity a character from ROTTMNT would serve/vibe with! (villain edition 2: electric boogaloo)

parts one two three

we back babey!! it’s been a bit of a week for me hence the delay on this, but i’m ready to get back into the analysis mindset. i’m gonna continue the villain streak from part three cause i didn’t quite get to everyone, so it’s big bad time!

spoilers for tma and rottmnt!

kicking off the post with barry draxum!

i really really like draxum ok. i like everything about him. if donnie weren’t donnie then draxum would probably be my favorite character. he’s so funky. my poor little meow meow.

as i did with splinter, i wanted to split draxum into baron draxum and barry draxum for funsies. i’ll be doing the same with shredder. 

baron draxum is a corruption-aligned eye avatar with a healthy dosing of slaughter and spiral tossed into that rancid smoothie. i chose the spiral for the same reason i gave it to mikey: mystic shit. baron draxum was also a warrior alongside being a scientist and that man has absolutely killed before. he just gives me those vibes. 

barry draxum is a corruption-marked (cause the entities never really leave you) eye avatar with that same spiral but who is also leaning more towards the flesh when he becomes a lunch lady. you could also argue some lonely for him at the beginning of his redemption arc bc he’s living alone with no purpose having had his life force literally ripped out of him. i also get the feeling that, like splinter, he misses his glory days. i doubt he would go back to them bc he cares too much about the boys to want to go back but i can’t imagine he doesn’t have days where he reminisces on himself at his peak, powerful and respected. once he and splinter make up and he starts getting along with the boys, then he manages to break free of the hold the lonely has on him.

big mama!

i am very gay ok. preddy lady manipulate turrtles go brrrr. she is also the villain ever. again, if donnie weren’t donnie then she and draxum would be fighting each other to the death over who my favorite character would be. WAIT WHY ARE ALL MY FAVORITE CHARACTERS THE PURPLE ONES-

big mama is an hunt-aligned web avatar with a side of eye and a dash of the slaughter (it’s a very big dash ok). no one is surprised she’s a web avatar; she’s got the spider motif and she’s very manipulative with eyes and ears everywhere in the hidden city. she’s very intelligent and has a clear eye for talent, always on the hunt for her next champion. she is also so violent and you know what i support women’s wrongs. do you ever wonder if she regretted putting lou jitsu in the battle nexus (not enough to pull him out, but like do you think she ever regretted not saying yes and just having a life with him. anyway)

shredder!

PLEASEEEEEEEEEEE WHY DOES HE STAND LIKE THAT HE’S STANDING LIKE HE’S IN YOUR DOORWAY AT TWO IN THE MORNING TO TELL YOU HE THREW UP 

shredder is gonna be split into the shredder at the end of season1/beginning of season2 and then the shredder in the finale. 

end of s1 shredder is an extinction-aligned slaughter avatar with a bit of stuck-on spiral. the spiral comes from his constant blipping in and out of reality as he was teleported around new york. not much to say for him, he’s pretty self-explanatory. this shredder was terrifying because he was powerful (though not quite as powerful as finale shredder) and also because he just attacked everything in sight as brutally as he could. there was no strategy, just murder. 

finale shredder is an eye-marked extinction avatar with that same slaughter in him, just not quite as much as s1/2 shredder. THIS shredder was so much more dangerous because he was now awake and aware and could thus use his abilities and skills to the fullest and by god did he. i don’t have experience with other shredder incarnations but i fucking adored this shredder while he was around. what can i say i’ve got a soft spot for villains. 

the krang!

GOD what to say about the krang. i’m in love with the mech suit of krang prime and as villains themselves the krang were everything i love in antagonists. body horror galore and they were absolutely terrifying. i liked that they felt like their own characters too; they had the same goal and they had their similarities but they still felt like different people yk? it was so funny getting the whiplash i got when i learned what the krang are in 2012 vs here. 10/10 one and done villains. 

the krang are all slaughter-aligned extinction avatars with their own flair. krang prime is eye-aligned since he was obviously the brains of the operation. brownie krang (the little one) is flesh-aligned with all his ooey-gooey drippy disgustingness. murder krang is slaughter-aligned since she came out the door fucking SWINGING. i feel like if she weren’t evil (or if cassandra was) and didn’t hate every living thing she and cassandra would get along well. 

[all-that-tmnt-jazz]

How the boys act when their S.O have a fight with them and tells hurtfull things to her and he goes to apologize?

I am so sorry this tool so long- I was totally at a loss on what Mikey would have to say in order to hurt someone’s feelings- he such a sweetheart.

Warnings: Swearing.

Incarnation: Bayverse

Extra Info: N/A

Leo:

He realized what he said the moment it came out of his mouth

He knew it wasn’t true, and yet…

You had grabbed your sweatshirt and left the Lair

He tried to follow you, but his brothers stopped him and asked what he did

Splinter breaks Leo away from his brothers to talk to him

Leo told his father what he had said

“I told her I didn’t want her in my life because I shouldn’t be the one who loves her…”

Splinter was genuinely shocked his son would say something like that

Leo waited for a couple of days before he went to your apartment

He had to find the perfect words to paint the perfect image of what was on is mind

It was nearly 2 AM when he showed up at your bedroom window

Of course, he had a bouquet of brilliant blue daisies in hand

“Y/N, I… I’m sorry. I was scared- I am scared. I don’t want to lose you, but I know I can’t be there for you all the time like you know you want. I… I’m sorry for what I said, I know I hurt you… I… I have no explanation.”

He wouldn’t- couldn’t- look you in the eyes as he spoke

You knew this one was genuine and that he was wearing his heart was on his sleeve

After a while of silence, he looked up at you.

The cerulean blue of his eyes never ceased to take your breath away…

You hugged him.

“I accept your apology.”

“I feel like there’s a ‘but’ somewhere,” he would say, pulling away from you

He’d look into your eyes as if the answer lied within them

“I accept your apology, but it still hurt. A lot.”

He would bow his head, guilt rising in his throat

“I know. I’m sorry… For everything.”

You invite him in and you two talk over a pot of tea.

It’s going to be okay

Raph:

Raph knows he’s explosive. He knows his emotions get the better of him.

He just never thought they would around you

He couldn’t catch up with you as you run out of the Lair, angry tears on your cheeks.

Once he reached the entrance of the Lair, he stopped. He knew you didn’t want him. He knew he fucked up.

He didn’t know what to do. So, he went to Mikey, of anyone

Mikey asks Raph what he said.

“Why does everything have to be about you? You’re an egocentric, self-centered bitch! What would it take for you to actually care about me for once? I’ve put everything into helping you and this is what I get?”

Mikey is actually shocked.

Mikey knows that Raph needs to blow off some steam, so he suggests that Raph goes to his work-out room

Raph agrees and ends the night with bloodied knuckles from over-using his boxing dummy

It’s the next day before he even thinks about apologizing

Once he thinks of it, though, he knows he needs to do it fast. He is out of the Lair before anyone wakes up

He stops by April’s apartment- despite the early hour- begging her to get a specific drink from your favorite coffee shop (He’s literally known your order for months)

He then finds a way to get a bouquet of your favorite flowers

Next thing he knows, he is on the fire escape of your apartment, knocking on your window, not even sure what he’s going to say.

He’s sure that no words can fix what he told you, even if he spoke forever

But when you open the window, he almost runs off

He hands you the drink and the flowers, his hands shaking

There’s a long, tense silence

“I shouldn’t have called you anything that I did. I was wrong. I’m sorry.”

But you knew an apology from him was few and far between, and yet each was more genuine than the last

You got out onto the fire escape with him. You both hear people waking up and starting their days

“I accept your apology. Just… Talk to me next time.”

You had never seen him cry so much as he did that morning.

(A/N: Don is low-key me)

Donnie:

Donnie barely ever lets his anger blow up as it did

You were just offering him a cup of coffee, and he let that fry his last nerve

That’s why you left the Lab, left the Lair, cursing under your breath.

Donnie broke down the moment he saw you turn on your heel to leave the Lab. He thought about what he said

“Can’t you see I’m busy? I have an entire city to protect, I can’t be yours forever.”

He knew you needed to take time to breathe, but he knew he needed to apologize

He just didn’t know what needed to happen first and not knowing bothered him

He just sat and wallowed in his Lab, letting his mind get to him

Until Leo found him splayed out on the floor listening to “Bohemian Rhapsody” belting “Mama, ooh. I don't want to die, I sometimes wish I'd never been born at all.”

“Donnie, get up.”

“No, I’m depressed.”

“I was just on the phone with Y/N to ask what happened.”

Donnie looked at Leo and sat up

Leo says that he had never heard you sound so upset. He also tells Donnie to get his ass in gear and fix the problem he caused

Only then is when Donnie got up, promising to fix it

Once Leo leaves, Donnie picks up his phone

“Hey, Chief Vincent. It’s Donatello. A pretty big ask, real quick. In forty-five minutes, do you think that you could talk the Empire State Building into flashing the following message in Morse Code with purple lights? You can? I owe you one.”

From there, he rushed around the Lab, gathering all of the pictures that you two took together, putting them into a large album as he did so.

Then, he went to your apartment and found you on the fire escape of your apartment, reading

He jumped onto it, offering his hand.

“I need to show you something. It’s my apology.”

You agree, rather nervously, and he literally whisks you away. The next thing you know, you’re near the Empire State Building. A moment later, it starts flashing a message in Morse code using purple lights:

“I am sorry. I love you, Y/N. Could you turn around?”

You turn around and he’s showing you each page of the album, explaining each memory in detail.

“I was wrong, and I’m sorry, Y/N. I will be yours forever if you let me.”

“I accept your apology.”

And, of course, you let him be yours

Mikey:

Okay, neither of you even know what started the argument

But next thing he knew, you were in tears and had a foot out the door and he was on his shell on the floor

It took hours for the memories to actually click into place for him

He basically clung to Raph when he realized what he had done

“Mikey, what the hell is going on?”

“I yelled at her because I thought she was pushing me away… I called her selfish…”

Raph didn’t know his littlest brother had it him to say something so harsh

Raph took Mikey and hid in their room so he could hold his littlest brother

Mikey definitely needed it- so much so, he fell asleep

He woke up a few hours later to Raph knitting a beanie in orange yarn and adding the occasional star using white yarn

“What are you doing?”

“Making Y/N a hat so you can apologize. Tell her you pestered me into doing it.”

Raph finished the last few stitches, then handed the beanie to Mikey

“You better be ready to apologize to her- you’re literally miserable.”

Mikey took the hat and ran off

He stopped by a small florist and managed to get away with a bouquet of sunflowers, marigolds, and orange roses

Then he found his way to your apartment

“What is it, Mikey?”

“Y/N. I… I’m sorry, I… I was wrong. You’re anything but selfish… I just missed spending time with you.”

You couldn’t stand the sad look in his puppy-dog eyes

He handed you the flowers and the beanie.

“I know you wanted a new hat, so I made Raph knit one.”

You accepted both and immediately put the beanie on

“Thank you, Mike.”

He smiled weakly.

“I also accept your apology. Work has been overusing me.”

He beamed, and it only grew more when you hugged him

[emmaannaelisabeth]

the power i hold... here's PART 9

kaz stares down at nothing, or, no, he studies the floorboards, lets his gaze sweep over every tiny mark and splinter, every stain and dark round remains of twigs. it's the only thing he can do, the only thing that can give him the illusion of that he'll figure something out. because, despite how much he wants it, needs it, he won't find another way to save jordie but to agree to the man's demands.

fifteen years ago, he wouldn't even have considered it. fifteen years ago, he would have never stopped fighting. fifteen years ago, he would have spit death in the face. but ever since he put his hand on inej's growing belly that first time, a little less than ten years ago, he knew he'd surrender anytime.

he made a vow that day, that day when he first looked into those sky blue eyes. "i'll never let anything hurt you", he'd said, nodded and tried to look at his son through the tears in his eyes. he'd held his son's head carefully not to hurt his neck, terrified. terrified his profane hands, marked with hell, bearing the echoes of lives taken, might hurt the small angel in his arms.

because kaz knew he could blow this life away in a second, he knew how, it would be so easy on a baby. and kaz hated himself for it, for knowing that, he cursed his calculating mind, his cold heart and incompassionate thoughts.

he wasn't dirtyhands anymore, he reminded himself. that man was behind him, that wicked man was a shadow of his past. he was his own man now. ghafa. he was a ghafa. and so was his son.

"jordie", he'd whispered, closed his eyes, felt as tears rolled down his cheeks. he'd smiled and pressed a kiss on the top of jordie's head. a soft sob passed his lips as he lay jordie on his shoulder, felt his small ribcage move as he breathed.

there is a difference between expecting and imagining something. kaz had been imagining, hoping, he'd some day have something like this. but he had sure as hell never been expecting to get it. he never expected to live past twenty, perhaps not even that.

now, as he sits here in the dark room, counting the floorboards, trying to keep his heart from completely falling to pieces, he's thirty two. but he feels like nine. again.

he feels just like when he woke up a little too cold for having slept beside a warm brother a whole night. a brother who had grown cold without telling kaz he planned on putting out the fire; a brother who had gone away without telling kaz if he took left or right.

inej's face flashes past the echoes of his brother in his mind. and kaz bows his head back to lean against the wall; he draws in a sharp loud breath, lets it out in trembling soundless sobs. his body shakes and he tenses, shuddders.

he closes his eyes and shakes his head, tries to make her face go away, tries to make her glittering eyes disappear, tries to make her come back to life by sheer power of will.

come back to me, please.

she smiles in his mind, she's holding jordie, she's crying happy tears, she's sweaty, she's tired, she's happy, she's speaking... and kaz wants to scream. but all he can manage is a whimper.

"look at him, kaz", she says in his head, in the back of his consciousness, where all happy memories are gathered in the shelf on the third floor in the room with the big window in the castle of his mind. "he's our son, he's your son."

kaz grits his teeth against the bitter taste of unwanted memories and holds his breath as his vision blurs with tears and his chest trembles. he lets out a sound, and rips his hands apart from each other violently, as if something unhuman and savage washed over him. and the steel wire around his wrists cuts him deep. but kaz doesn't care.

the pain makes his mind clear, makes his breaths steady, and he firmly tells himself to get his shit together. if he's slipping, jordie is falling already. and kaz can not lose him. he can't.

he's not losing another jordie.

pull yourself together, kaz. he breathes in, out, in, out, in, out. just like inej told him when he panicked when her touch was just a little too much. inej, she... his... she, who saved him, she, his...

damn you, damn you, damn you.

kaz grist his teeth and curls his fists, lifts then to his forehead and feels the blood trickle down along his wrists. why did you have to go and die?

how could you leave jordie? kaz could get over her leaving him, but not jordie. not her son.

he should have let her go, never asked her to stay. would she be breathing now if he had just kept the four simple letters behind his quivering lips that time? was it then it all started?

he feels a pang of guilt stab right through his heart. that would be like wishing jordie dead, or no, not even that. jordie wouldn't even had lived for the shortest of moments, he wouldn't have existed.

but maybe that would be mercy in some way, because then jordie would never have to learn that he would never see his ma again. kaz sobs again. how is he supposed to tell him that?

jordie, mama's never coming home. mama's not coming. mama's dead.

depite being the son of one of the most dangerous men in ketterdam, jordie doesn't know death. would it be better to lie? say that she wanted to stay on the sea, that the adventures of waves were too exciting, that the sea was calling her?

what the fuck am i thinking. the sea was the thing that fucking took her from him.

jordie has the right to know, of course he has. but i worked so hard to avoid this. kaz had done everything in his might to keep jordie from having to go through this, from having to go through what he had to live through. and now that is exactly what's happening. jordie is losing the most important person in his life, at nine.

this is all my fault. why didn't i know it was an ambush? why didn't he force himself to stand up and fight, keep their rough hands from stealing his boy? why didn't he fight harder, push himself further?

would inej be alive then? could he have saved her?

this man could be lying, kaz knows that, because kaz has told lies like this himself. but... the way the brunet put it, the way he said it. kaz couldn't help but believe it.

and if inej wasn't coming, there was really only one option left: tell the man everything, give him it all.

why don't i push myself to fight now? if i curse myself for not doing it then?

just like when he held jordie's small fragile body in his hands, kaz knows that snapping jordie's neck would be just as easy now as it would have been then. (dirtyhands was gone, but not his knowledge, and not his skills, they still lived, somewhere inside of him)

and kaz knows that that brunet knows just how to do it, knows just the trick and the right angle to make jordie an angel, give him true wings, instead of the black paper wings he made with melinda.

i want your son's weight in gold. kaz shudders. he's small already, your boy. kaz feels his whole being stumble and fall. the brunet hadn't meant to starve him, he'd meant something worse. either something that would make jordie only need one glove, or only one shoe.

and really, kaz didn't need to think, he was already sure what he'd answer. no one had ever managed to do this before, at least not a man (only a thirteen year old boy, leaving him, had). no one had managed to break him. until now.

now, he was on his knees. willing to agree to anything. he had one reason. and he was willing to die for it.

[migeviellardi]

Out Of Comfort

Rottmnt Donnie Centric Fanfic

Genre : Adventure, Action, Humour, Hurt/Comfort

Summary : Things happens sporadically at times, especially when you meet an interesting stranger that saves you from a lonesome rock decides to fell on your head.

Chapter 3 The Stranger

Mikey : All clear.

Leo : What do you mean ‘all clear’?

Mikey : I’m making sure there’s no police around.

Raph : I thought they’d let us go.

Splinter : They are. But that doesn’t mean that you boys don’t behave.

April : It’s alright, Splints. I’ll make sure they won’t cause any troubles.

Casey : Ugh, what’s the point of life if there won’t be a trouble?

Baron : That you won’t be here, existing.

Casey : WHAT?!

April : Okay. You need to chill.

Donnie walks right behind the group as they strolls the Hidden City’s streets. Head covered in his hoodie with his hands shoved in his pockets. So far, they hadn’t realize he’s being quiet. He’s not having the mood to talk to any of them. 

Although, he agrees with Mikey, he still hasn’t trusted this whole situation. He looks around to make sure there’s no undercover cops or something, perhaps Big Mama’s goons. 

Big Mama. What could she be doing right now? There’s no telling if she’s watching or plotting something. Two years after the incident of ‘You-know-who’, was caused by that wretched spider-lady. 

Nobody knows what her deal is. Her fanatic obsessions about Battle Nexus always made everyone in the world got involve. She had no chill, she never does. Which come to wondering why would his father dated a girl like her?

“Donnie!” 

April’s voice startled him. The group had their heads turned to him. “You okay?” 

Donnie : Uh, yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.

Leo : Uh, no. You’re not.

Donnie : Can it, Leo!

Leo : You were spacing out again, Don! And considering we’ve been brothers for like,  forever, usually that means you’re not.

Donnie : Oh, so you’re an expert now?

Leo : I’m an expert to know what you’re thinking, Donnie.

Donnie : No, you’re not.

Leo : Yes, I am.

Donnie : And, why is that?

Leo : ‘Cause we’re twins.

Donnie : We’re not twins.

Leo : Whatever you trying to say, Don. I don’t care. We’re born with the same age.

Donnie : And that doesn’t MEAN that we are. We’re not even the same-

Leo : Ah ah ah, don’t wanna hear it! Lalalala~~~

Donnie : Leo-

Raph : ENOUGH!!

The twins startled at Raph’s shouting. Raph sighed, pinching his nose-bridge.

Raph : We’re here to have some fun, okay? And if I see you two fight again, imma  SHOVE YOUR HEADS into a toilet. Y’all understand me?

Leo : Yeah, yeah.

Donnie : Hmph.

Raph : Good.

Splinter groaned, massaging his constant headache. Why can his sons just behave?

Splinter : Alright, since you two done arguing, why don’t we split up-

Baron : I’ll call dibs with Mikey.

All : .............

Leo : Whoawhoawhoawhoa, did you just say ‘dibs’?!

Baron : Yes, I did.

Mikey : Aawww, okay Barry. I’ll go with you.

Leo : Does nobody questioning that he said ‘dibs’?!!

Donnie : Great, now it’s haunting me.

Raph : He looks weird saying that.

April : Am I hearing things, Barry? Did you eat something alive at your lab again?

Casey : Why you making this a big deal?

Leo : Of course, it’s a big deal. Calling ‘dibs’ is our thing!!!

Splinter : For the love of Hamato, please don’t say that ever again!!

Baron : Don’t worry. I already regretting ever saying that. But my point still stands, I’ll  go with Mikey.

Mikey : Don’t listen to them, Barry! You did a good thing.

Donnie : Michael, you better stay out of his head!

Splinter : Okay, fine. Baron will go with Mikey. I’ll go with red.

Raph : Sure thing, pops.

Leo : Nah, fam. I got somewhere else to go. I’ll fly solo.

With that, Leo took off immediately.

April : What about you, Donnie? Are you fine on your own?

Donnie : Yeah, I’ll be good. You go ahead dealing with the....

Casey : .....

Donnie : Uuh-I’ll go this way. 

Donnie left the group. He can sense for-sure that Casey staring at him. He doesn’t know why she terrifies him so much, she hasn’t done anything to him, regardless of those times they fought her while she still a Foot-recruit. Maybe he’s just paranoid, the fact that he did forgot to take a battleshell with him. 

His hoodie made it obscure and that his brothers didn’t warned him about it means they didn’t know he didn’t use it. With that in mind, he should be more careful and not get himself involve on a fight. The fact that he also didn’t bring his bo. 

“What is wrong with me?” he said to himself. Now fully knowing that he’s extremely vulnerable and too open for an attack, he began to be more cautious. Perhaps he needs to visit a place where there’ll be no violence. A place that strict with rules, like a Mystic Library. 

No. Raph ever told him that their last visit got thrown apart by the Foot-Clan, and if he make a noise above whisper, he’ll be send to a Kiddie Room that filled with hungering monstrous children-behaved Yokais who’s out for blood.

Guess not every safe places are safe after all. 

Then, Donnie yelped as he felt being pulled backwards. Suddenly a huge rock drops in front of him and shattered to bits. Donnie went shocked as he tumbled and fall on his back. A short flying yokai flew down to him.

“Oh my gosh, I am so sorry. Are you okay?” she apologized, her wings flutters real fast as he helped him up. 

“Uh, yeah yeah. I’m okay.” the fairy like yokai blew away some dust from him.

“Oh good, I am very glad.” then she turned to his left. “Thank you kindly, sir. I’m not sure what will happen if you didn’t save him.” 

Save him? Donnie looked to his left. A tall human stood still with a sharp gaze staring at him. Donnie flailed back at the guy. The stranger gave him an unexpressive look. He’s a few centimeters taller than him. His slim posture stood steady and a bit stiff. 

He’s unruly silverish grey hair nearly obscuring his slanted grey pupils in his pale skin tone. He’s collar on his cyber yellow jacket unfolded. It also unbuttoned that reveals a white blank T-shirt underneath. His hands shoved in his navy blue pants pockets, looks somewhat made out of a comfy fabric. He’s black and intricate design shoes looks appealing as well.

Donnie don’t know what to say. The stranger keeps staring at him, not saying a word, not even when the fairy said her final apology and flutters off. 

And there it was, the awkward silence. Donnie held his hands close to his chest, he knows he’s extremely vulnerable, but he needs to be ready for a fight. 

Then, the stranger walks towards him. Donnie instinctively walks backwards, keeping his distance from him. He startled and horrified as his shell hits a wall, he was cornered. The men were an inch away from his face. Donnie pressed himself against the wall, body’s trembling in fear, seeing the guy eye to eye.

Then, the guy swept his shoulder from the leftover dust. Donnie flustered by his gesture. The air somewhat less tense than two seconds ago. 

“You alright, kid?” the stranger finally asked. He spoke in a low tones, but not a deep one. Donnie was stunned, he would say something but he can’t. “Are you shook?” 

Once again, Donnie couldn’t speak. Some lump in his throat made him unable to let ou a single word. The stranger sighed, arms crossed.

“I assumed that you are, so I don’t think leaving you here alone will be a good idea.” he walks away from him. Donnie still flustered of what just happened. He stares as the guy moved away then startled when he turned back to him. “Come.” 

He ordered. Donnie isn’t sure if he should trust the guy, let alone that he’s a human. Since when there’s a human besides April and Casey walking in the Hidden City? But he did saves his life. If that rock got him without his battleshell, he probably be dead by now. 

Donnie took a deep breath and release, he followed the stranger somewhere. At least he still have his phone with him, so whenever he’s in trouble, he could call for help. Right now, he keep his distance to the guy in front of him.

What was he doing here? Is he from New York? Because he doesn’t look like he does. And his aura are extremely, menacing. He can’t see it, but he could feel the tensity whenever he got close to him.

The stranger stopped and turned to his right. Donnie was confused when he realize that he took him to the Run-on-the-mill Pizza place. Huh, so he likes pizza too.

Donnie followed him inside, he took a side on the sofa side. He points at the other end of the table, telling him to sit down. Donnie do what he told, and things back to its awkward silence. This time, the guy took his attention at his phone, ignoring Donnie’s constant staring at him. 

Donnie probably would do the same if it wasn’t with the awkwardness hanging in the air.

“Good day, gentlemen.” Donnie look up to see Hueso stood there with his notepads on his bony hands. He seems unimpressed seeing Donnie. “Anything you would like to eat?”

“Order up, kid. Don’t wait for me.” the stranger said, eyes still on his phone. Donnie blinks at the words. He looks back at Hueso who’s staring at the guy then back at him, raising his boned-eyebrow. 

“Uuuh, as usual. Please.” Donnie forced out to smile. Hueso notice that, he wrote his order at the notepads. Then, turned to the stranger. 

“Whatever the kid’s ordered, make it two. I’ll take the bill as well.” he said, still not looking up from his phone. Hueso wrote it down and took off, he took the chance to pat Donnie’s shoulder.

It made him jumped, not sure what’s that for. He watched Hueso leave until he’s longer visible.

“Something bothering you?” Donnie looked back to the voice. The men stares at him at last. The lump in his throat is back, but he knew he can’t stay quiet forever, the guy knew he could speak. He might gets angry and pissed if he didn’t talk.

Donnie clears his throat, gathering his courage to speak up.

Donnie : Um, thanks. For saving me.

Stranger : It won’t happened if you didn’t spaced out.

Donnie : Oh, yeah, that I...*rubbing his neck* I didn’t mean to- Well, I guess I can’t help  it.

Stranger : Can’t help what?

Donnie : Well, I dunno. I just can’t think straight for these past years, science block often  drives me crazy.

Stranger : Science block?

Donnie : More of a tech block, I guess. I just, every time I tried to built things it’s just  didn’t work, all I do it’s fix and fix and FIX-

Stranger : Kid.

Donnie : -it keeps jeopardizing my usual productivity, if wasn’t for a certain  ‘you-know-who’ who took pleasure destroying my LAB that I built since I was  NINE-

Stranger : You what?

Donnie : -destroying my techs like layers of newspapers, my home, my family’s life!!  Sure, we start off with new lifes now that we’re ‘Hamatos’, elite group of ninjas  or whatsoever. Yeah, life was good, until I certainly am NOT!!

Stranger : Okay, kid-

Donnie : -And what would I do? Quit? Run away? Oh, I could. I thought about it. But of  course, my father won’t let me. Keeping me in full surveillance 24/7, For  YEARS!!

Stranger : KID!!

Donnie flinched, then he looked around to see Hueso, with their orders in his hands, and all the customers staring at him. Donnie felt very embarrassed, he pulled down his hood to cover his face, looking away towards a wall. Hueso sighed heavily. 

“Here are your orders.” he puts down two large portion of pizzas on the table. Donnie held on to his hood, ducking his head onto his arm. “If you like, I’ll call Pepino to-”

“No.” Hueso blinked, “No, please don’t! Don’t call anyone!” his voice was semi-whispered. Hueso can see his hand trembles clutching the fabric of his hoodie. Hueso felt sympathetic, it wasn’t the first time the turtle took this place to vent his feelings. 

“I will get some coffee, my treat.” Hueso took off again. The Stranger glanced at the kid, he could hear some sniffles coming off of him. He knows the kid’s crying. He held on to his hoodie for dear life, not wanting everyone to see his tears.

He hates it, Donnie hates it. Crying means weakness, feelings that aren’t supposed to show that make him more vulnerable. He can only hope his family and friends didn’t know about this. He doesn’t want them to worry, he wanted them to stop. He’s fine, he can take care of himself. He’s also a Hamato, he can fix his own problem.

“Sorry.” the word took him back to reality, he sniffles as he slowly peeks from below his hoodie. “Didn’t mean to upset you, kid. I just concern that if you keep spacing out like that, you might hurt yourself.”

The stranger apologized to him, why? What did he do? It was him that supposed to be sorry. For what he done, Donnie just revealed his whole problems to a total stranger. Now, he’ll probably payed the price. Way to go, Donnie. What a way to keep yourself from trouble. Now watch this stranger use your weaknesses to enslave you.

Suddenly, a small blue entity appeared on his face. Donnie flinched, the blue thing looks at him. It looks like a little ghost, with it looks limbless and its body looks like tiny tendrils work as torso and arms with its round head containing two white friendly eyes.

The little thing squeaks, tilting its head. It was a cute to look at. It then flew close to Donnie’s face and hugged his cheek with its tiny tendril arm. It felt warm and comforting, as if it was a real hug. Donnie hovered his hand onto the thing, wondering how to hug back the thing without squishing it.

It then let go of the hug and gently patted his head, telling him to calm down. Donnie wipes his tears, he smiled at it. The blue thing smiled back, twirls happily knowing its attempt of comfort works.

It then flies towards the stranger, perching on his finger. The stranger smiles down at his little friend. It squeaks away, seems talking to him. Donnie titled his head slightly, curiosity began to appear.

“What is that?” he asked. The stranger glances at him. “It looks, cute. It’s that a ghost?”

“This is a wisp, kinda like a small ghost. And also, it’s a ‘she’. Not an ‘it’. Her name is Sia.” he explain. Sia waves happily at him, Donnie waved back. 

“Their more of a soul remnants rather than ghost. Whenever someone or something died, their memories remains, in a form of a wisp.” he added. Donnie blinks, he don’t know souls did that.

“So, are you a....psychic?”

“Kinda.”

“So, you can see ghost. And,....her type of thing?”

Sia flew circling the stranger’s head, “Yes, that’s what psychic means.”

“Well, I know. It just--are there more around here?” 

The stranger looks around him, from corners to corners. Then back at Donnie. “There are, but not much. Five including the one besides you.”

“My what?” then a small greenish entity appears right beside him. Donnie startled. It looks exactly like Sia, only it’s on different color. Donnie somehow felt a familiar precent from it, suddenly a tear came down to his cheek. He startled, what makes him cry?

“Who-who’s this?” he asked.

“Some wisps might wanders around aimlessly when they separated from their souls.” Donnie glanced back at him, “Others, might come back and followed whoever they’re close to.” 

“Whoever they close to?”

“The same case with the one in front of you.” Donnie’s eyes widened. This wisp is whoever close to him? Who was it? Why it felt familiar? 

“And, I believe it’s a ‘she’ as well.”

Donnie gazed back at him, tears began to streams out some more, “And, her name is Karai.” the men revealed. Donnie shocked hearing her Gram-Gram’s name. He looked down to the wisp, she nodded at the sound of her identity. 

Donnie’s tears began to burst. It might not be a real form of her body, but it’s enough to make him pulled her small presence into a hug. Donnie let himself cry one last time, holding close the wisp of his dead Gram-Gram to his chest. 

He could feel the wisp hugged him back. He felt it somehow, the warmth of her arms began to wrapped around him, hugging him close. Almost felt like she never left, that she’ll always be there. Watching over him, accompanying him. He didn’t get to spent much time with her, he wish he could. He wished she still alive. Here with his family.

Donnie let go off the hug, wiping his tears. He cupped his hands to let his wisp sits on his hands. He smiled, she’s not Gram-Gram, but she’s the closest thing about her.

Then, he realized that the stranger still there. He quickly dried his tears with his sleeves, gathering back his bearings.

“Sorry, I...Name’s Donnie by the way.” he finally introduced himself. The stranger raised his eyebrow. He held out his hand at him. Donnie stares at it and took the handshake gesture.

“Silver. Just call me Silver.”

[technofantasia]

A little thing I really appreciate about Rise of the TMNT is just how subtle the writing can be at worldbuilding and characterization!

Like... a very common problem in all kinds of fiction, let alone kids' shows which tend to think their audience is too stupid to put 1 and 1 together, is telling over showing. How do you let your audience know how your world works, what characters' names are, how they know each other, all that kind of stuff? Usually, the answer is to find some way to shove in exposition. Have the characters introduce themselves to someone new so the audience can be introduced to them, or have the information come up in (hopefully) natural conversation, or find some other way to tell the audience exactly what they need to know. While writers can get creative in how they deliver that exposition so it isn't outright immersion breaking, depending on how much they need the audience to know, a little bit of immersion breakage can seem like kind of a necessary evil. Exposition is still exposition, no matter how you dress it up; it's always going to be the writer telling the audience what they need to know through the characters' mouths instead of showing it gradually through their actions.

...If you notice, despite being ostensibly a kids' show, Rise doesn't really have any exposition!

The first episode drops you right into the turtles’ life, without any foreknowledge or expectations or anything really, and proceeds to not really try to explain anything. You can clearly see they are not human, and can assume that they are turtles by the title of the show and the shells on their backs; at no point is it actually explicitly said they are turtles (at least, at no point is the audience told they are turtles. it comes up sometimes, but more as flavor than exposition). The same way, at no point in the first episode do they really say the characters’ names; it comes up in conversation sometimes, as names often do, but there’s no “these are the character’s names!” part of the conversation where they all consecutively say each others’ names or anything like usually happens in first episodes. You just have to pay, like, minimal attention to figure it out, which the entire audience can easily do.

Actually, a thing I REALLY like is that, throughout the series, they almost never say their full names? Which makes sense, because why would they ever say their full names, they’re long and unwieldy. It makes them seem a lot more realistic. But that’s particularly noteworthy because the audience is never explicitly clued into the fact that they even have full names at all! If you legitimately knew nothing about TMNT going into the show, you’d need to figure out through context clues that “Mikey, Donnie, Raph, and Leo” are nicknames at all, let alone what they’re nicknames for. Then again, it’s not exactly impossible to find out through context because they have multiple nicknames for each other (which is a thing you’d only do if someone has a particularly long, nicknamable name)! Just in the first episode, Leo is called both Leo and Leon, which clues you in that Leo is probably short for something. Combined with later episodes where Donnie calls him “Nardo”, it then would become pretty clear that his full name is Leonardo even without having to hear it spoken out loud! The same thing holds true with the other characters; sometimes their full names come up, but when they do, it always feels completely natural and like it only so happens to be revealing information to the viewer. It trusts the viewer to understand and put together the subtle context clues it lays down so it can just tell a story without stopping to explain everything, which feels just fantastic!

And that’s only one example of the writers doing this. They do it for everything. Like, just going back to the first episode again, first scene. What happens? The turtles zipline over some shady crime stuff to canonball into a pool which April got them access to, They come across Mayhem, they fight some jogger guys who turn into magic horsemen or whatever, they lose and the bad guys get away with Mayhem and April. Cool. Now, what does this scene let the viewer know about without ever explicitly saying anything?

They’re ninjas (they’re in the shadows, doing cool flips and stuff)

They’re not very good at being ninjas, presumably because they’re teenagers and not fully fledged heroes (They ignored the shady deal going on on the roof, they completely failed the fight and showed very little skill, they act like teenagers who care about things like jumping in pools)

They’ve known April for a long time (dialogue shows them being very close, close enough that she doesn’t really need to ask anything or say anything in order to be understood)

The basic personalities of all the characters, just through dialogue

Donnie has some kind of high tech stick that has lots of cool features, but they aren’t very well implemented, presumably because he was hasty in adding them (nice little nugget of characterization there, showing he’s more of a scatterbrained scientist type than an exhaustively-pedantic one)

Donnie also has some kind of a backpack thing that can let him fly!

Mikey can pop into his shell, but none of the others do that, leading to the conclusion that he might be the only one who can (which is kind of up in the air anyway, but at least for the most part hes the only one who DOES)

...plus a bunch more. But all that is expressed more through stuff just happening and you getting to see it than any kind of easy to digest exposition. If you really aren’t paying attention, you could miss all of that! It’s surprisingly subtle.

Then there’s stuff like how none of the turtles’ weapons are ever really explicitly named in series (again, as anything more than an aside), Donnie’s battleshell is never officially named OR introduced, the fact that Donnie has multiple battleshells with different functions is never really explicitly brought up, what exactly it is that any of his inventions do AND how they work AND that they’re controlled by his wrist doohickey are all left up to the audience to notice, a good number of important side characters (Hueso, Hugninn and Muninn, the foot guys, FOOT RECRUIT,,,,) are never really explicitly introduced, like, with names and everything, the fact that Raph is the oldest and Mikey is the youngest and Leo + Donnie are the middle children only comes up in passing... so much of the show’s details and lore is never brought up in exposition form, and as a result needs to be just. Noticed, and put together.

It even does this with major plot stuff! Like, you learn that the Battle Nexus is 1) controlled by Big Mama, 2) in the Hidden City, 3) incredibly popular and basically a cornerstone of the city, and 4) Big Mama as a result basically controls the city, all through context clues without ever needing to be told. Or, most of Splinter’s backstory, the biggest continuing mystery of the show, is NEVER actually talked about at any point! It’s only shown to you, never told except in the most sideways fashion (like in Goyles, where, despite being ostensibly an origin episode, Splinter and the turtles aren’t even the focus!)

Heck, thinking about it, most of the show’s mysteries are only mysteries because the writers decided to put some context clues in that hint to there being more to the situation, even if not everyone would realize that! The viewers are TRAINED to take every bit of information given by the text and try to work it into their internal sense of the world and characters, because that’s just how the show works. The writing is consistently INCREDIBLY subtle like that.

And in a way, it makes sense that it would be written like that, even if TMNT isn’t usually known for its subtlety, This is a show all about teens being teens and doing stuff that teens would do, if they were ninjas and also had magic and enemies and stuff. Despite being a very wacky premise, the show relies on a certain amount of realism and groundedness in the characters in order to ground all of the crazy circumstances they get into. Even if they’re being forced into eternal 80s makeover montages by a magician hippo, the characters still act like people, and more importantly, like relatable, semi-realistic people, with realistic reactions and realistic interests and realistic insecurities. The characters are supposed to feel, in a sense, like real people.

How much do you know about any real people other than yourself?

The writers just dropping you into these characters’ lives and not explaining them to you is a way to make them feel more real, I think. It forces you to try to understand them and what they’re all about like you’re meeting them for the first time, getting to know them through their actions more than anything else. It makes the show and especially the characters feel a LOT more personal and, in a sense, real, which is a feeling the show absolutely benefits from and uses to its full extent.

But anyway, this has gotten really long, soooo... Rise is a show that always treats its audience with respect, and it’s just so nice to realize that respect even extends to trusting us to figure out lore as basic as the characters’ names. That kind of subtle writing really makes the show stand out!

[chrysalispen]

#1 - Foster

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/33640546/chapters/83598181

"She's getting so big," Vittora cen Remianus says. 

"She is." 

L'haiya agrees more to make conversation than aught else. The Miqo'te's two-toned eyes flicker in the direction of that little head with its riotous crown of rolanberry-gold curls - now bent studiously over a modest tower of wooden bricks - before turning her attention back to the drawn, exhausted face of the child's mother. Vittora has never really been what one would call robust, but at least the composer's pallor had been offset by a bit of spring in her step once upon a time. There is color in her cheeks, of course, a bright rosy flush, but L'haiya suspects the credit for it belongs to artifice and a half-bell spent before a dressing mirror, not to improved health.

"And so very, very bright." There is a note of quiet pride in the Garlean woman's voice, one which L'haiya has previously only heard from her when she speaks of one of her completed commissions premiering in the state playhouses. "I aim to have her brought to my studio on her fourth nameday. She is old enough now to begin pianoforte lessons."

"I wish you good fortune. You will need it," L'haiya laughs. "Small children are rarely wont to sit still for long, especially if something of greater interest catches their eye."

Vittora's shoulders lift and drop, the movement loose and listless, as though her arms are lifted by marionette strings. "Then I shall simply have to be the most fascinating thing in the room," she says, and L'haiya's brow creases before she can stop herself. 

"You did not call me here to talk about Aurelia's piano lessons, surely."

The statement, faintly accusatory, falls like lead from her lips. Were it anyone else, she would not have dared to speak thus. The layers of social hierarchy in the Garlean Empire are many and complex, like the fine layers of sponge in a princess cake: upset even one, and it can upend the entire concoction. Vittora is of common stock, but common or not she is still a true Garlean, and one married into one of the realm's most powerful military families at that.

But if the lady of the house is in any way offended by the boldness of her social inferior she does not show it: a rueful smile curves her thin lips. The light in her eyes seems muted, as though refracted through green bottle-glass. "I did not, but this matter very much concerns my daughter."

There is no hiding her worry. Vittora has had occasional spells of illness as long as they have known each other: brief and always fleeting, never longer than a day or two. But the physical strain of carrying a child and the long and difficult labor she endured to bring Aurelia into the world--these have left her a shadow of the sprightly, ambitious woman she once was.

Mingled with the pride in her eyes is sorrow: sorrow, and bone-deep fatigue.

L'haiya swallows past the sudden constriction she feels tightening her throat. "Well," she manages at length, "out with it, then."

"Julian has requested an audience with his brother and with his superiors." L'haiya waits patiently while Vittora coughs into one thinned palm, the sound of it shallow and dry. "The head of the family thinks it best if we take our leave now that Aurelia is old enough to travel."

"...You mean to go to the provinces with him?"

"I do. We were to leave the capital at the first opportunity that presented itself and now that day has come. 'Twas ever a condition of the family's agreement not to disinherit Aurelia for our indiscretion. I fear they have only delayed due to my ill health, and I would not see my child subjected to the ignominy of being declared a bastard." 

For the trouble which I have brought upon them. Vittora's self-recrimination hangs between them unspoken and L'haiya does not press further. She is well familiar with the heavy price that her friend has paid, in both her career and her reputation, to marry for love. It does not bear repeating.

"I will do what needs must for her sake, L'haiya. And in this case, those needs coincide with mine own."

"I don't understand."

"The chirurgeons believe that the harshness of the winter months has greatly contributed to my... present deterioration. Master Severus has advised Julian that if at all possible, he should seek a second villa in the southern provinces." After a moment's hesitation, she adds, "He suggested Rabanastre."

L'haiya's homeland. "And you want me to come with you."

"Yes. Now, I know how you feel about Dalmasca-"

"You don't. Not truly. But that is neither here nor there, I suppose."

Vittora's brow knits with her consternation. "...You would not have to see her if you did not wish it. The villas where officers and their families reside are well removed from the rest of the city."

That is not the problem L'haiya faces, but it is not one Vittora would understand. Many have chosen to resist imperial occupation just as there are many who chose to accept their altered circumstances, and L'haiya has seen and heard what the various splinters and pockets of Dalmascan resistance scattered throughout the Estersands do to perceived traitors. "I fail to see why my presence is required in Rabanastre."

"Someone must care for Aurelia."

"Aurelia has her mother. She needs her mother," L'haiya says flatly. "She does not need me." 

The Garlean woman folds her hands in her lap, eyes half-shut with her lowered gaze. 

"I think I shall not be in her life for very much longer, L'haiya."

"Vittora-"

"You can see the way of things- how it is with me." Leaf-green eyes, seeming enormous in that drawn face, gaze at her with a silent plea in their depths. The distant sorrow has returned and with it a gleam of fear. "The chirurgeons are very careful not to voice their thoughts, but every night when I close my eyes to sleep I can feel another piece of my strength slip away. One more piece I know I shan't have back. They don't need to tell me what I already know."

Understanding strikes her like a bolt of wild levin- or perhaps a brutal punch to the gut. Looking at Vittora with this newfound discovery she can see a knowing look in her friend's eyes. It is as though Vittora can sense the spectral hand of her own mortality reaching forth from some as yet unwritten future to claim her for its own. 

"L'haiya. Please." Vittora's voice is soft, conciliatory. "Julian goes to these lengths because he is not yet willing to face the truth. I need you to be there for her when-"

Vittora doubles over, wheezing, clutching at her chest with one hand. The commotion startles the child out of her play, and L'haiya sees a flash of gold and wide, anxious eyes of a curiously dark blue. Immediately the little girl shoves her toys aside with a loud clatter and clambers to her feet with the clumsiness of the very young. In moments she has reached the grand high-backed chair where her mother sits wreathed in a nest of blankets and soft sheepskin. 

"Mama," she tugs on Vittora's sleeve, tiny features crumpled with anxiety. The motion bounces her hair; her still-developing third eye is visible for just a moment beneath that cap of curls, a sliver of pearlescent white no larger than the tip of a fingernail. Her mother's coughing fit recedes, surf pulled away from the shore by a rising tide. 

"All is well, sunshine." Vittora's hand falls back to her lap and she raises her chin. Her lips are suspiciously reddened, but she smiles at her daughter and runs her fingers through her hair. Tears stand in her eyes but do not spill. "See?"

"Up, Mama." Heedless of aught save her own desire to give and receive comfort, Aurelia attempts to drag herself onto Vittora's lap. L'haiya gently plucks her fingers from one of the coverlets piled atop her mother's legs, then hoists the child into her arms only for her to make her displeasure known with a thwarted whine. "No!"

"Your mama needs her rest."

"Mama," Aurelia insists, her lower lip wobbling. It's a trick she's used on countless servants and even her own parents in the past but L'haiya is unmoved by it, and merely adjusts the girl's weight from her arm to her hip. As the toddler squirms in her arms, the Miqo'te turns her attention back to the child's mother.

"Since it's clear you'll badger me until the decision is made in your favor, pray consider it done," she says at last, somewhat testily. 

"I am eternally grateful." Vittora's smile is in turns sad and knowing, and she cannot bear it for more than a few moments. "Thank you, L'haiya."

Her eyes turn to the wall of white swirling in the storm beyond the window. Somewhere beyond it are the slow blinking lights along the walls that separate the imperial palace complex from the rest of the city, and L'haiya forces herself to shove down the sudden surge of bitterness. 

What else is there to say? To do? She knows she could not have refused. She loves Vittora Remianus with the surety of a beloved sister, and she knows what she would do for her own half-sister should such an unlikely circumstance ever occur, and so she will raise this child for her friend's sake. Of course she will. And just as every other citizen of the Empire must do when called to bend to the whims of its rulers, her own dreams are not so much relinquished as they are flung into the darkness, to be discarded along with all the other parts of herself she has sacrificed to fill an imperfect mold.

She feels as though she has just given her life away. She knows she has.

Outside, the northern wind howls around the villa's steel eaves like a despairing scream.

[midnightdragons]

Loki x fem! reader Soulmate Au

Part (1/?)

(By the way, this is the first time I've ever posted anything as in a story on here. Tell me if you like it and also if there's any mispelling or things like that. Hope you enjoy! ❤)

Warnings: Mention of death, murder, blood and some strong language

In a world filled with both, incredible science and magic, soulmates were the center of most everyone's desire. Each worldy and otherwordly being, midgardians, asgardians, vanaheimans and much more had a soulmate to call their own. Wether one's soulmate would be of similar age or even born within the same world, was unknown. The only clue to when one found their soulmate was that a mark appeared once one locked eyes with them. Wether tiny and barely visible or humongous it almost covers one's whole body, both soulmates would always have the very same mark in the very same spot

♧◇♤♡♤◇♧

"Auntie, auntie! Look what I did in class today!", cheeks flushed with excitement the young boy ran up to you, proudly presenting his masterpiece. Said masterpiece being some odd shapes, snippets of colorful paper and a big misshapen heart in the center of it all. Artists would gouge their eyes out at the sight of it but you loved it nonetheless. How could you not? It was your nephew's drawing after all

"I made it for you. The bestest auntie in the world!", he beamed up at you

You mustered up a tired smile and ran a hand over his head. "It's beautiful sweetie. I love it so much that I think... we should go and get some ice cream!"

Initially you had planned on simply going home and taking a nap on the couch. But seeing your nephew's sparkling eyes at the mention of ice cream... you couldn't change your mind now

Yes... he did have you wrapped around his little finger

♧◇♤♡♤◇♧

"Austin? Where aaare you?", muffling his giggles with his hands, your nephew slid further into the shadows of the small cabinet, not realizing, he was not being quiet at all. You've long since heard him giggling and moving around. However, you didn't want to ruin the fun and pretended that it wasn't obvious he was hiding in the kitchen cabinet to your left. So you continued, looking under the table, behind the curtains, lifting vases and even going as far as to open the fridge!

You fake sighed. "I guess my darling nephew disappeared. I can't find him anywhere", you dramatically covered your eyes, "Hmmmm. I guess I'll have to go get a new one"

You smirked when you heard the panicked

"No!", come from your cabinet and opened your eyes just in time to see him tumble out and storm towards you. "You can't leave me! I won't let you!"

You laughed and picked him up. "I'd never leave you pumpkin", he only tightened his hold on you in response, nuzzling his face further into the crook ok your neck

Perhaps this wasn't the beast choice to get him out of his hiding spot because he surely-

"Mama and Papa left me"

Just as you feared. You really shouldn't have said that. Ever since he could understand you weren't his mother he believed his parents left him

"They never wanted to leave you sweetie. But they had to go"

Had to go your ass

"Why?", he looked up at you with his now glossy eyes

"They weren't allowed to tell me. So they only asked me to take care of you and I promised"

Lies but whatever

"Do you know where they are?"

You gulped and rubbed soothing circles over Austin's back. "No"

His voice was meek now. "Will they ever come back?"

It broke your heart to see him like that

No, they wouldn't ever return

"I don't know sweetie"

"Do you miss them?", tears glistened in his eyes

You kissed his forehead

"Always"

♧◇♤♡♤◇♧

From the corner of your eye, you watched Austin play with action figures and Lego. He seemed so content, smiling. You wished you could forget your troubles like him

You really felt guilty for not telling him but how could you. How could you convey to a child that his parents didn't leave but died? Murdered by an army of aliens he didn't know existed?

Almost seven years ago, when you still worked for *the* Tony Stark and were actually really close friends with him, shit hit the fan

Almost seven years ago, all hell broke loose when Loki, known as the God of Lies and Mischief, opened a huge portal, leading the Chitauri to attack and overthrow humanity.

Tony had told you to make sure the civilians were as safe as possible and to lessen some of their fear. That was when it all went down the drain

♧◇♤♡♤◇♧ ~flashback~

"(y/n)! (y/n)!"

You froze. Shit. This couldn't be. You were imagining things right?

You turned around and to your horror, your sister and her husband were ducking behind some cars. Of course you ran over to them. They were your family

"What are you doing here?", you hissed, "You weren't supposed to be here until tomorrow!"

Before they could answer, a huge explosion made your ears ring. It was close. Too damn close

You ushered them away from the main street and into an alleyway. Left. Right. Running. Ducking. Hiding. Listening

Finally you could deem the sounds of danger far enough away to allow a break

Your brother-in-law was huffing and puffing, having helped your sister stay upright and holding his only few months old son

You quickly checked him and your nephew for any injuries and then tended to your sister. Smart you always carried a thin scarf on your person and that was why

Your sister had little cuts, bruises and scrapes all over. What you used the scarf for though, was the scraggly looking wound on her calf. That was why she couldn't walk properly and you knew only the adrenaline made her able to even move

You then took Austin from your brother-in-law and hushed him when the baby began to cry. God, your brother-in-law looked like he was going to faint

"We wanted to suprise you", your sister gasped, struggling to breathe, "You have so little time and we knew you have a day off today, so we though we could go out for dinner"

"Charming but right now, we can't stay here. It's to dangerous. Get up"

With her husbands help, she did

With the baby now in your arms, they were a lot faster too. You managed to sneak around like that, checking if the coast was clear ever so often

Suddenly you heard something which cause you to pause. You motioned for the adults behind you to not move either. They were a small distance behind you

Beeping... to the left, no behind you. Around where... they are...

The beeping sped up and it took you mere seconds to recognize the sound

You swivelled around to yell- but you were too late. Those seconds were mere seconds too many

The explotion burst forth right behind your sister and her husband

You were thrown back and slammed on your back. The force of the fall pressed all air out of your lungs

You didn't remember for how long you laid there, probably only a few seconds, but you knew you were tightly cradling your nephew

Against the protest of your screaming muscles you got up and looked around*

"Anna?", you called out. You didn't dare scream. Any of the Chitauri could be nearby

"Anna? Mick?", you took tentaive steps toward the huge pile of stones. The explosion had ripped apart the two inner walls of the buildings on either side of the alleyway

The ground was covered in stone as small as a pebble to bigger than your torso. Glass splinters creaked beneath your feet

You came to a halt in front of the piled rubble

"No, no, no... please no, please...", you whimpered. All begging could not change facts.

You saw the blood leaking from the bricks.

You knew that it was where they stood. And you knew that they couldn't have possibly survived

Tears welled up in your eyes but you had no time to cry

Grunts and roars far too close for comfort could be heard. They were there to check for any survivors.

You could consoder yourself lucky that your nephew was knocked out cold from the shock of the explosion. Had that not happened and Austin started to cry instead, the Chitauri would have surely found you

You had to get out of there. With one last mournful glance at the mass of stone, you sprinted away

♧◇♤♡♤◇♧ ~flashback end~

You blinked

Oh god you hadn't planned on sinking into your memories

You hastly wiped away any of your fallen tears and concentrated on cooking again. Luckily nothing burned while you zoned out and Austin didn't notice you standing there like a zombie

You were glad he was here with you. Without him you would've continued to work at the Stark tower, most likely becoming a shell of the woman you once were

With Austin here, you could focus on him, focus on something living. The precious and living memento of your sister

Not like he could go anywhere else

Your father had died only a few weeks before you were born and your mother had passed only a few years before Austin was born.

And Mick was an only child from Denmark. His parents had shunned him for moving to America, they wouldn't even let you speak to them, only stating that "It is your fault our Micky died", and hanging up

You didn't know anyone else of your or his family. That left Austin in your arms

You had left your job at the stark tower, got an apartment in New Jersey and started to work two different jobs to help with the finances. You couldn't depend on Tony to pay everything for you but he had insisted he buy the slightly too big apartment for you since you'd decided not to live in the Stark tower

Though it was a safe building, Tony's enemies often turned their eyes to the occupants and workers in the tower to use as baits or hostages. You didn't want Austin in the picture of said possibility

Though that wasn't the only reason

So you left and cut ties with most of your coworkers and friends from there. Only Tony visited you from time to time. Both of you made sure no one knew that Tony Stark visited (l/n) and her nephew. Austin only knew him as the Tony who always brought gifts

Which were way too expensive, not that Austin knew...

Throughout the day you worked as a 'barista' in a café near Austin's school and at night you worked as a waitress in the restaurant on the lowest floor of the building you lived in

Your new coworkers loved Austin and had bought you some cameras to set up in your apartment. You always turned them on before going downstairs to work. Every fifteen minutes one of the waiters or waitresses would take a peek at the monitor to make sure everything was safe. Now that Austin was older, he sometimes joined you and was allowed to watch how work was done

You were lucky and relieved to have found such good people

[rottmntrulesall]

Aaand a sorta sad ask to go with the silly one I just sent (sorry). What if because of all the stress from Shredder/Big Mama/etc. Splints ends up having a mild heart attack? Not bad enough to be fatal, but still fairly serious. How do his siblings deal with it/take care of him, since they can't just take him to a human doctor, and more importantly, how do they comfort their scared and worried turtle nephews?

Sorry this took awhile. Oh Man, this hurts to think about. Hopefully that will NEVER happen.

Panic ensues. Mainly from the Turtles and the younger Hamatos. Hikari is flat out bawling while embracing a sobbing Mikey. A teary-eyed Hiroki tries calming her twin brother and youngest nephew. Mei is silent, but you can see a river of tears streaming down her face in panic. A pale Leo holds on to Mei, he says nothing, just staring wide-eyed at his father as he grasps his chest in agony.

Raph is freaking out, trying to call 911 for an ambulance, but Kenji stops him. Trying to tell his frantic nephew why that would be a horrific idea that would do Splinter more harm than good. Feeling helpless and powerless, Raph begins to break down with heavy distraught tears, while Kenji is torn between wanting to help his younger brother and consoling Raph.

Nori and Donnie are the only ones who were doing their damnedest to stay calm. Nori has Splinter’s head on her lap, trying to keep him conscious. Donnie, trying to keep himself together, checks his father’s pulse and shakily takes out the defibrillator in case the situation heads south. Despite being a turtle of science, Donnie prayed to someone, ANY deity that was listening to keep his dad here with his family. To not take him, not like this, not now.

Saki...Saki is just in a state of shock. His family were losing their shit all around him, but he just felt...numb. Like, he was incased in a block of ice. Yosh- Splinter... looked so small...so weak...so beaten down. It felt unreal, maybe he was pulling a prank? He always did have a crass sense of humor. But he didn’t look to be smiling, there were no traces of amusement on his face. Just exhaustion, stress, pain, switching back from consciousness, like all the years he endured have finally came crushing down on him. The last time Saki had ever seen his brother look so frail and helpless was when...Father had confined Yoshi to his room for weeks after he disrespected their clan and family legacy with his plans to abandon the clan and flee to America.

Back then, Saki thought his brother deserved everything that came his way that day. That his suffering and misery was his own doing. But this, no one deserved this. He had taken some enjoyment out of his brother’s predicament in the past. But now, how could he enjoy this? Why HAD he enjoyed it?

Brothers are supposed to be there and support each other. Protect and guide them. Things that Saki had failed to do for Yoshi. He didn’t help him then, and even worse, he had no idea how to help him now. A part of him wanted to hold Splinter, tell him everything will be OK and that his big brother was here. But it was like his body wouldn’t let him. Like it knew he didn’t have the RIGHT to do so. Watching and standing was all he could for Splinter. This was all he could do. For the first time ever, Saki had no idea what to do. For the first time, he felt powerless. For the first time, he realized just how abhorrent of a brother he was and...he hated himself for it.