#ceramic Donnie

[alitteraladhdmess]

In honor of Flat Fuck Friday I give to thee

Donatello

He’s not finished. The last thing is his shell but I’m very happy with how he turned out.

Progress photos below cut

Must hold him like he committed war crimes.

[turtles-hurtles-with-gurtles]

Donnie is complete!! His limbs are movable but not for long, it didn’t turn out the way I wanted but it’s still good!!

(Reblogs appreciated )

[dntl07]

我想要的陶瓷制品 关于TMNT

I want ceramic stuff.about tmnt,

and I'm heading to Jingdezhen in August.

[afreakingdork]

Weak Spot - Chapter 38

RotTMNT Donatello x Reader

Chapter art by the INCREDIBLE @garbagemilkshake

Warnings: Aged-up Turtles, Romance, Meet Cute, Villain Donatello, Cussing, Crushes, Xenophobia, Fear, Intimidation, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Hurt/Comfort, Love, AFAB Reader, Vaginal Sex, Sex Rough, Sex, Penis In Vagina Sex, Creampie, Teasing, Scent Kink, Sexual Tension, Breeding Kink, Multiple Orgasms, Cunnilingus, Fellatio, Marathon Sex, Somnophilia, Intercrural Sex, Bondage, Feral Behavior, Feral Donatello (TMNT), Mating Cycles/In Heat, Public Sex

Synopsis:  A love story of villainous proportions! Though it hadn’t come easily, as these things rarely do, you found yourself in a whirlwind romance with a handsome and mysterious mutant. His idiosyncrasies had been easy to ignore as attraction grew into something more. However, will love endure when the unknowns about him end up being far darker than you ever considered?

Warnings Below Cut.

Also available on Ao3

First 💜 Previous

Warnings: mentions of domestic abuse and kidnapping

Please keep yourself safe.

“Okay.” Across from you, your ex-roommate, Coral, pressed her fingertips to the table.

From where you were sitting at the same wired structure, you glanced around the café without moving your head. She’d recommended getting coffee before officially hitting the farmer’s market and meeting up with the others. It hadn’t struck you as odd since your schedules hadn’t substantially sunk up since Donnie’s heat, but now, seeing her as ready as someone about to make a business deal, you were on edge. “Okay…?”

Your drinks hadn’t even arrived yet.

“First off, safe space. I already took your phone.”

“You-?” Hands flying down to check you found your left wrist empty. “Coral…”

“Your weird bracelet also wigged me out.”

“Coral!” You seethed, taking your turn at putting your hands to the table, albeit with more force.

“I know.” She flicked her gaze up to meet yours.

Seeing only severe honesty there, you wilted with a partial scowl. “You stole my shit. What do you mean safe space?”

“I want you to know he’s not listening in.”

“Who?”

She gave a heady sigh and took a languid look around. “Do you ever feel followed?”

That was a mounting concern, but not one you’d shared with her. “No.”

She passed you a glance in turning her head before sweeping a hand back through her unruly locks.

There was something telegraphed about the move that had you narrowing your eyes. “What was that?”

“All clear.” She responded easily.

Spine straightening, you spun around in your seat and combed the same area. At first glance, nothing was out of place, but as you started to examine the New Yorkers, you caught a glimpse of Kaleb from behind a newspaper. “They’re all here, aren’t they?”

“Yes, we set up a perimeter.”

“What the fuck!?” You snapped back to her so fast your body hadn’t quite caught up with the rotation. “What is this?!”

“It’s not-” Coal stopped and beamed a smile.

You soured knowing it was a café worker before they even spoke.

“Here’s your drinks! Let me know if you need anything else.” With a parting peppy voice, two ceramic mugs were set down on the table.

Coral scooped hers up and took a sip.

From where you’d unconsciously hunched over yours, you examined her through your lashes. All she needed was a hat, sunglasses, and a Parisian backdrop and she’d be something out of a travel ad. “Cor.”

She finished off a long gulp and set her mug back down on a saucer. “It’s not an intervention.”

“Explaining what it’s not doesn’t say anything about what it is!”

“I just want you to know you’re safe.”

“I don’t feel like it! You took my phone and-” You stopped short and bit down on a grimace. You’d never even named your tech gauntlet and now certainly wasn’t the time to start. “-my bracelet. Do you know what a huge invasion of privacy that-?”

“I need you to know he’s not listening in.”  

“Who!?” The only person who could was S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N. and he had your full trust. More often than not these days, he rarely tapped in unless you gave him a signal or your vitals indicated something.

“I passed it off after we ordered. Nels has it and he’s the furthest away.”

“You’re…!” You felt crazed. Wild eyes looked through the reflections of the café window. “I know you’ve messed with my shit a lot over the years and I should have put my foot down, Coral, but this is-!”

“I know.”

Her harsh words cutting straight through to your core caused you to give an exhausted slow blink. Coming open you took a sip of your drink and spoke against its rim. “The others wouldn’t be playing along without good reason.”

“There you are.”

“I didn’t go anywhere.” You grumbled, finishing a swig. Coming down, you clanked your mug. “So not an intervention. What then? You’re acting like I died.”

“You almost did.”

“This again, Coral, I already explained-!”

She slapped the metal of the table so hard your hand shot out to stabilize your mug. 

She let hers slosh. “I’m going to come right out and ask; I just want you to take a moment and not react right away when I do, fair?”

You stared at her and threw a helpless hand up. You let it gesture to go ahead before it fell back to the metal with a plop that stung.

“Has Donatello hurt you?”

She hadn’t needed the warning.

Even without her input, you would have slowed.

Giving a sigh, you propped an elbow to the table and fiddled with your mug’s handle.

This wasn’t the first time she had brought this up. During the multiple times you’d come home bruised and battered, she’d hinted heavily that she thought it was his fault. In the many ways you’d twisted it, they’d all been believable enough and she’d let the whole thing lie. The change that must have recently cinched it for her was your withdrawal. Seemingly out of nowhere, in her eyes, you’d stopped hanging out with the group as a whole. Cursing the blue idiot who’d pushed you to do so you shook your head. “No.”

Coral didn’t move a muscle, but it was clear she didn’t believe you.

“Cor-”

“Then who?” Her voice was hindered.

“I told you-”

“You told me something, but that wasn’t the truth, was it?”

Looking away would admit guilt, so you closed your lips around circling the same excuse.

“I just…” She broke first, gaze shooting away with a flash of picked at wounds. “It’s not me. I have to believe that; that it’s not that you don’t feel comfortable in telling me, so what then? There’s something preventing you from being honest. This all started when he came around so it has to be him. That’s why I got the phone away and that weird communicator; in case he’s listening.”

How’d she know you could communicate with it? “He’s not.”

“Then why?” Her gaze returned with glistening eyes, but she buried them to drain her mug. Slamming it down, she regained her cool and steadied her shaking fingertips in straightening ceramic. “Sorry, guilt’s not a way to go about it. I’m supposed to make you feel safe; sorry about that.”

It wasn’t new.

You’d never once missed her worry.

She was obvious about everything she did.

What struck you in that moment was the separation.

You’d forgotten that since moving out, she didn’t have the same access to you.

What she’d gotten instead were bits and pieces filtered through digital means. You’d gone from living together to barely seeing each other where life interfered. The worries she had already had must have rotted her away in that time. She didn’t have the same reassurances of seeing your highs. It’s not like you took to a messenger to scream when you were  living it up. Being immersed in elation was often done in the moment. It was when you were down and lonely that you reached out. It perfectly coincided with your hike of messages. You’d stopped going out the same time you tripled your online presence. It indicated something she had no way of knowing.

All her messages asking how you were took on a new light.

“I won’t… do anything.” She gave a chuff that looked like it hurt. “That’s saying something, but I swear I won’t. If we need to get you away, we have a whole smuggling plan that’s admittedly half baked. He may be a mutant, but there’s way more of us.”

You softened sadly.

She took the look with a nervous flick over your features and stumbled on. “You might feel trapped, but I want you to know that’s not the case. We’re all here for you. I didn’t bully everyone… mostly. Okay, I bullied them a little bit, but you know they wouldn’t let my ass have free reign.”

You nodded.

“What I’m trying to say is… and I’m not trying to read into things, but that look kinda makes it seem like there’s no other way, but there is. I need you to hear that there always is.” She turned up the bearing of her soul to stare into your eyes.

You had to tell her.

At this point, why hadn’t you?

She was crazy, but she also loved you.

You loved her.

You probably would have needed to assemble your friends the same way to break it to her though.

That was just her nature.

“Coral.”

She nodded, clearly wanting to spew more of her research, but kept a tight lip.

“I haven’t been honest with you and I want to say it was for good reason, but right now… seeing you like this… I’m not so sure…”

Her fingers squeezed her mug handle.

You reached out and laid your hand out on the table, palm upright.

Her appendage dropped right into it.

You squeezed, once for reassurance. “It’s my turn. I’m going to say something and you’re going to wait before you respond.” The second constriction was to drive your point home.

She scoffed, but there was a warbled quality to it before she gave a nod.

“Two of the times were Donnie, but not in the way you would think.” You had to look away as nerves reared their heads.

Even if you had decided to explain, that didn’t mean you weren’t mortified by the prospect.

You were as sex positive as the next person, but society's shame ran deep.

She pinched your index finger to alert you that she’d heard.

The fact that she was holding back spoke volumes.

Returning your gaze, your bottom lip curled.

“The… first time, early on? When I was having trouble walking…?”

She was watching you with open intention, taking everything in earnest.

You wanted to bury yourself in a hole. “Ugh.” Lowering your head you reached your free hand up to rub your temples. “Just say it.” You brought your head up and mustered courage. “There’s a learning curve to human-mutant sex that neither of us accounted for.”

Though her eyes were still trained on you the same way, they seemed to lose their luster.

“I wasn’t hurt, but I did… need to heal…” Your teeth flashed as your anxiety fizzled out.

“You literally couldn’t walk.”

That had two connotations. “Yeah…”

“I know I pestered you about his dick, but… come on!”

You let her hand go and shook it out as if she burned you. “There’s more, can you not… get into that so soon!?”

“Is it more sex stuff?”

“Coral!”

“Eugh! It is!!” She laughed, threading her digits into knots of metal. “I mean, get it, but I was worried over that!?”

Your palms were pressing into your lids before you realized it. “There’s more. Can you-!?”

“You’re right, you’re right. Your humiliation fuels me. Keep going.”

“The second injuries… are harder to explain so let’s wait, but I will say they are not from Don at all, okay?”

She nodded.

“The most recent…” With your lips still parted a weird noise came out like a creaking door. You pressed your tongue to the roof of your mouth to silence it before trying again. “That was the worst one, right? I disappeared. Car crash… my dead… relative…?”

“I could smell that bullshit a mile away considering you didn’t immediately know which.”

“I thought you were being a little too cool about that…” You gave an awkward laugh.

As if to scorn you for even trying to inject comedy into the situation, Coral folded her arms.

“To be fair, this was totally new for Donnie too. None of us knew this was going to happen.”

She arched her brow. “Quick question.”

You were almost thankful for the small reprieve. “Yeah?”

“Us makes it sound like there’s someone else.”

You shrank a little in your seat. “There… uh… is…”

Her brow only rose higher and seemed to cause her head to tilt with the weight of it.

“Another shelf, just temporarily… When I start to explain it, it’ll come together-” The reality of the content begged to differ, but you had to force that sense away. “So Donnie… well… he went into heat.”

“Like a dog.” She spoke without missing a beat.

“Not… not like a dog…?” You squeaked out, hating that you’d used a double negative.

There wasn’t a trace of anything you could glean from Coral’s features.

“It lasted roughly 8 total days and you can kinda… guess… what… happened…”

“No.”

You rose to look at her, sheepish, until you saw her expression.

“What I know is I couldn’t fucking get ahold of you. Threats that you were dead and you’re sitting here, telling me you were just getting fucked?”

You bobbed with a reflexive tightening in your thigh. “Y-yeah… I didn’t….”

“Didn’t what?!”

“If we move to the second time-”

“I don’t think we’re done with this one!”

“Coral…”

“No, don’t say my fucking name. What the fuck are you even saying right now?! Do you know how worried I was?!”

You could only quiet.

“You couldn’t message?! I was stranded!! My bank locked me out and then I couldn’t get a hold of anyone! You know the only person I could!? Your stupid fucking boyfriend! Why couldn’t you!?”

“That wasn’t really…”

“That wasn’t…!” She stopped short, stooping over the table. “Who’s the third person?”

“S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N… sort of… interfered.”

“Who the fuck is Sheldon?!”

“Donnie’s… son…?”

“His…” She blinked wide and looked around as if there might be cameras even though she’d set this whole thing up. “He has a son now! Wow!”

“S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N. isn’t… exactly what you… might be picturing…”

“What the fuck does that mean?! What does any of this mean, Y/N!?”

People around were starting to stare.

You didn’t care.

She certainly didn’t.

She never did.

“Coral, Donnie is…”

“I knew he was fucking weird, but it seemed like he genuinely loved you, but right now I’m second guessing relying on that! Who the fuck can live off love!? That’s literally a thing! You can’t!!!”

“Donatello is a villain.”

Coral came to a statuesque halt with both hands raised at different heights like a scale.

You gave your mug a cursory push knowing full well you’d never get to enjoy the rest of your drink.

Coming down for her was similar to breaking free of Medusa’s magic. Cracks of hardened rock flaked off as her arms wobbled down. Catching fingers on the table to prevent a complete fall, she hung her head just enough so she could still watch you.

There you saw the flurry of math flying around her head before the equation came out, solved for x. “He’s the Lilac Lunatic.”

You gave a faint nod.

Stupid monikers.

There was no end to them.

“Ha…” She managed a single laugh before falling back into her seat so hard it came off two of its legs. “He’s a… He’s a…” She wasn’t stammering.

Your head started to bob in time.

“What isn’t he!? Fuck, Y/N! Do you know-?” Distress filtered through a broken sieve and soaked her. “You know exactly how bad it is.”

You continued to nod, now rocking.

“You’re still together.”

You were almost seasick.

“You said… ‘is’ as in he still is?”

Capsize was imminent.

Something changed.

You felt it in the air and it was enough to stop you from shaking.

Across from you, Coral seemed pained. She gave a bitter sigh before offering her hand on the table the same way you had. She couldn’t bring herself to watch, but you deposited your appendage the same way she did.

She continued the mimic with two squeezes.

One reassuring, one viscous.

You told her everything.

The tale was condensed and instead filled in the spaces that had been seen or misconstrued for her. Coral interrupted several times with bitter remarks, but was able to shove herself back into line without much complaint from you. You didn’t try to convince her; she was always going to make her own conclusions. You simply told the truth. No matter what the outcome was here, you were at least sure of one thing: you weren’t leaving Donnie.

It didn’t make you worry any less as she started to grow more silent as the tale went on. You hoped it was simply shellshock, but with Coral anything was possible. Catching up with the present and having just shared your worries about when Leo might show up again, your ex-roommate gave a faraway nod. She then scrubbed a hand down her face and looked out across the street. It was where Kaleb was, but she hadn’t thrown any obvious cues that she'd alerted him of anything. She instead seemed to be processing and swept to you after such a long time that you’d almost forgotten you were waiting. “You weren’t abused at least.”   

You had to laugh. The air had been so thick; the absurdity caused you to giggle as if inhaling gas. “Nope.”

“What the fuck!” She drew out the plosive and tossed her head back to look at the sky. “You’ve been dealing with all that, alone?”

“Kin…da…? It wasn’t always lonely. There were times though.”

“Yeesh!” She hollered and then came down. “I’m… gonna have to think about all this.”

You gave a sharp nod.

“You love him though, like a lot?”

“Absolutely.”

“How much?”

“The ‘spend the rest of my life with’ kind.”

Coral blew out a breath and came back with a lopsided grin. “He treats you good?”

“Oh yeah, he’s terrified of losing me.”

“ Keep it that way.” She tapped her mug twice. “Ugh, I need ice cream. You’re buying now that I know you aren’t hurt.”

“Hey!”

“What?!” She stood and loomed over you. “Want to talk back!? After all the lies!?”

You shrank down and shot your gaze away. “No…”

“That’s what I thought.”

“About the others…”

“We’ll tell ‘em one day, not soon.”

“You… sure?” You took a step out following where she’d freed herself from the table. “Wouldn’t that prolong the lie? I was ready for this to be a whole day reveal.”

“I personally can’t handle that much honesty, so let’s stick with just us. They’ll survive.” She did a half moon sweep. “If we aren’t 100% sure about each of them, Donnie might end up with like 12 life sentences if what the tabloids said he’s done are true.” Head barely towards you, she peeked out the corner of her eye to see.

You gave a zippy nod that you hoped conveyed you weren’t alright with his transgressions.

“Geez, that dick must be something.”

“That’s not why!” You huffed. “I regret telling you about the sex more than lying!!”

She barked with laughter.

Clicking your tongue, you headed towards Kaleb with her trailing behind.

“I-I-” She choked, wiping her eyes. “I wanna meet your kid though.”

“S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N.?”

“Yeah, I’m gonna make him pay.” She cracked her knuckles.

Reaching your chill friend, you steeled yourself for reintroduction. “Good luck with that. Knowing him, he’ll want to meet you, no fear.”

“Plankton didn’t mess with him, did he?” Coral oozed menace even though she’d just threatened the party she was now defending.

“How are you guys talking about Spongebob?” Kaleb huffed, folding his paper under his arm like an old man.

“Because I’m safe and sound.” You chirped, coming to a stop with a rock of your body.

“Yes! Hug time!” Kaleb swooped in and picked you off of your feet before you could say anything.

Balanced against his belly, he spun you around before setting you down.

“I told you!” He released and pointed an accusatory finger at Coral. “My Colonel would never!!”

She backhanded his digit away. “Better safe than sorry.” She shot you a smarmy look.

“I’ll buy you ice cream!” You croaked.

“It went like that, huh?” Kaleb bobbed knowingly.

“Like what!?” Nels’ nervous voice picked up.

Others were filtering in, like your phone-obsessed friend, Eugene, who was aptly scrolling as he joined the foray.

Coral stalked around Eugene like a predator and leaped at Nelson who screamed in outright terror.

It broke the tension of the group and gave everyone the cue that things were good. It saved multiple conversations dragging the same point and everyone headed towards the farmer’s market. Having been at least an hour over from your appointed time, the stalls were gaining various lines. Splintering off near immediately as people didn’t want to lose their spots, you joked at how the supposed meet-up was going well. You were scoffed at in a show of love that filled your chest with a warmth you imagined would last for days.

Stuck with Coral and her choosy nature, she kept dismissing stalls on a search for ice cream. Mourning your lost drink, you were peckish and losing patience with whatever she was looking for. She kept saying she’d know it when she saw it and you didn’t know that meant until she threw an arm out like a safety bar and it smacked you in the chest. “Hey!”

“This one! I want a Bomb Pop!” She pointed with glee.

“We could get that at any convenience store, why the hell would you want that from… here…?” Slowing, you took in the odd stall. Covered by a bright red tent, little aisles were set up to make it look like a bodega, except it was outside. “Why…?”

“It’s funny.” Coral chuckled. “You get the popsicle and whatever else you want and I’ll get you a drink from there.”

Following her thrown thumb, you saw a fancy drink place touting local ingredients straight across from the convenience store stall. “Okay, whatever…” You shook your head and the two of you parted.

Winding around cereal and Chef Boyardee, you tried to figure out who this particular stall was catering to. The nearest bodega was certainly only a couple blocks away at most so setting up something like this for whatever price the spot cost seemed ludicrous. Winding around one alley, you spied the shopkeep who could not care less about your existence. You ignored him all the same as you followed a line to where an ice cream cart was sitting in the back part of the stall. Further confused by its existence as you were sure you had seen it near Central Park, you rolled your eyes as you cracked it open.

Pleasantly cool air rushed out and fought against the summer heat. Sticky, but not miserable, you had once planned to fend this exact weather off by arriving at an early hour. Now you were in for discomfort and could only hope Coral got you something iced. Knowing she might very well not for kicks, you debated getting her the wrong iced treat. Also aware that you wouldn’t hear the end of it, you grabbed her popsicle along with a couple other options for your friends. Coming up from the ice box with chilled fingers, you heard several products fall and then a shout that made you fumble your pile.

“What did I tell you!?”

“S-sorry!”

Turning curiously, you watched as a red and green figure rose, towering above the aisles.

“And don’t you go tell your friends I was mutant-phobic! Word travels fast! Just like how I’ve heard how that tail of yours has been wreaking havoc all day!” 

“Yessir. Sorry, sir.” Stepping out even though he was already clearly visible, you saw a bundle of spikes.

Going limp, all your ice cream hit the floor.

“No! What is going on? You pick those up!!” You could hear a slam as the shopkeeper smacked his counter.

“Raph.” You whispered to the air.

Said turtle had his tail bunched up in his arms. Errant spikes from it caught his hoodie where it seemed his daggered arms had completely shredded the sleeves. Crouched down in baggy basketball shorts with compression leggings underneath, he looked more ready for the gym than trying to gather all too small cans of cat food. “Uh… Hey, Y/N…”

“Wha…?” Your arms wouldn’t obey.

None of your body would.

You had never been this close to him. 

He was unreasonably large.

He had to dwarf Donnie by at least a foot.

It wasn’t fair.

“Pick those up or I’ll report you!!!” The shopkeep roared.

Animated by nothing, you dropped to a squat and started to grab the ice cream. Raph appeared, done with his task and attempted to grab the furthest treat. It caused you to halt with curled fingers in fear of touching him. He didn’t seem perturbed and instead offered, “Sorry for scaring ya.”

“What are you doing here?” You hoisted your armful up and away from him.

“Ya know!” He quacked a little too loud. “Looking for ar-tisanal goods! I’m so into that and it’s totally not just Mikey’s thing!”

You stared at him flatly and turned to march straight toward the register.

You could hear Raph’s heavy steps chase you.

Shooting you both dirty looks, the man rang you up while muttering loudly about people messing up his shop. Only thinking how dumb that was since he had set up amongst the elements, you saw him package up all he had before he turned an annoyed look beside you. “Buddy, I don’t have all day!”

“Yeah, got it.” Raph responded and, from this proximity, you could hear the wane in his apologetic attitude.

The big guy had a limit.

Passing over the ice cream he’d gathered, the shopkeeper then turned a screen toward you so you could see the total. You went to get your wallet when you saw green extend beside you. Looking out of the corner of your eye, sweat cropped as you measured that Raph’s fist was larger than the whole of your head. 

With a snatch, the shopkeeper stole a bill from green fingers.   

“For startling you.” Raph said simply, watching the man with more patience leaking out from him by the second.

“No receipt.” The shopkeeper snapped before pinching the edges of a sack. You held a hand out to take it, but he dropped it early so it would plop on the counter.

Slighted by all means, you grabbed it and stomped out of the stall.

Heavy steps continued to follow you.

“What’s the plan here?!” You spun around and watched as a turtle nearly twice your size jolted like you’d scared him. “You gonna join up with my friends?! Hang out!?”

“No.” He got out with closed eyes before looking down at you with a battered expression. “That wasn’t the plan.”

You needed to keep your eyes on him, but at the same time you desperately had to look for Coral.

She had to see you.

It’s not like you weren’t standing next to a Statue of Liberty look alike.

Trying to strain out your periphery, you didn’t see her messy locks at the drink stand.

“Why can’t you just leave us alone!?”

Raph looked struck by your words and then softened apologetically for the second time.

“What did you do with my friend!?”

“Y/N, listen…” Raph’s hands came up.

“No!!” You took a step back, readying to swing your ice cream as the only weapon you had. “I’m tired of this! I’m tired of living in fear! You’re fucking stalking me and I didn’t do a damn thing!! Leave me alone!!!!”

Raph’s eye darted. “Y/N, you need to be quiet… I was hoping we could chat…”

“Fuck you!” You swung your bag and Raph took a step back to dodge it. “I’m not going anywhere with you!!!”

“You need to be quiet. People are taking notice.” Raph’s head was in motion.

“Uh duh! I want them to notice! I’m calling stranger danger!” Chancing it, you spun around and saw nothing but a blur of faces. Their whispers reached you, but not a single one was familiar.

There were six of you.

Where had your friends gone?

“I’m not saying this for me.” Raph spoke, stern, and took a step forward.

You screamed and swung your bag again, but it disappeared into a disc of glowing blue light.

Your stomach dropped.

“Told you.” Leo huffed to your right.

Color fading with your blood pressure, you turned to nothing. Carried by intuition, your gaze rose to find the blue turtle sitting on the point of the stall cover as if it were any old bench. Contrasting his brother, his crisp blue jeans popped against the red and a simple white tee was covered in a brown bomber jacket. Tipping his head down to see you over his aviators, his blue ball cap shaded him from the sun. 

“I had it. You just can’t wait one second, can you?” Raph turned his scorn toward his brother.

“Was it going to be before or after the police were called?” Leo folded his hands on top of the sword hilt held in front of him.

“Before! Clearly!” Raph’s arms mirrored the movie without a weapon. 

“Whatever, April got the jammer going anyway.” Leo rolled his eyes to stand. “Let’s go.”

“Yeah.” Your voice was too damn small. “Go.”

Leo lit up and then leaped into the air. Losing him to the harsh sunlight, you winced until there was a loud slap of him landing on the concrete between you and his brother. You stumbled backward as he came up with his swords dangling by his sides. “I think you misunderstand.”

Staring at the near manic expression on Leo’s face, you turned to Raph with one of incomprehension. “You can’t mean…! Not with me? You can’t seriously think I’ll go with you?!”

Leo twisted a sword and thrust his hand through a newly formed portal. Before you could register what was happening, he snatched up your bag and brought it to him. 

“This is what I was trying to tell ya.” Raph caught Leo’s shoulder and yanked him with crinkling plastic. “You have a choice!”

“In what?” You squawked.

“Were you gonna eat all this yourself?” Leo peaked in the bag and let his brother shove him further out of the way.

“We can talk, you and me, or we do it Leo’s way.” Raph explained.

“Oh sweet, Rocket Pop! Dibs!”

“That’s not-!” You hissed.

“Yours!” Raph scolded, snatching the bag away and pinching Leo’s arm from where he was trying to rummage through it.

“Sheesh!” Leo rubbed the spot and sauntered away like it was his idea.

“Here.” Raph held out the bag.

“Why?” You didn’t move. 

“It’s… yours…?” Raph wondered with a creased brow.

“No, why do I have to talk to either of you? Why is it a decision? I don’t owe you anything.”

Raph’s canine appeared as he sucked in sharply. Digging into his lower lip, he opened and closed his mouth twice before continuing. “We’re concerned.”

“You are or he is?” You spat with a flick of your gaze to Leo.

The blue turtle was perusing cereals and only bobbed his shoulders at the mention of his name.

“We…” Raph winced as if knowing what he was saying was wrong. “…decided as a group that based on the nature of your relationship…” He glanced at Leo and then back. “…which we’d find out… organically, that we’d have a few outcomes…”

“Do you hear yourself?”

“Oh, yeah!” Raph brightened. “Mind Raph is way too loud to ignore.”

You could only stare back and feel the way your lips were parted in disgruntled confusion.

“He’s no’rong.” Leo mumbled through a mouthful of cereal.

“Hey!!!” The shopkeeper shouted.

You sent a plea to the man which fell on deaf ears.

“Yeah, buddy, relax!” Leo swallowed harshly. “I was gonna pay! Ever heard of a hero’s discount? This city, I swear!” Stomping away, Leo entered the stall.

Raph rushed to close the space.

Your hands flew to your person where you drowned in a new sense of dread.

Coral still had your phone and tech gauntlet.

You weren’t sure it would have mattered based on the whole jammer thing Leo had mentioned. 

Leo also lied.

Often and always.

Hands sliding down your hips in defeat, you were confronted by the girth and height of Raph’s form. “Ah!”

“No, no!” Raph held out the ice cream. “I can explain. I want to explain. I know how scary this all is. Please.”

You stared at the handles only imagining how Raph could enclose his fist around the expanse of your arm and meet the elbow.

“You do not want to do this Leo’s way.” Raph dropped his voice and shook the bag in time.

It was a move that struck you as a means to further cover his comment from sharp tympanum.

“What is his way?” You whispered back, knowing you didn’t have the same ability.

“He wants to-”

“Whatcha all talking about?” Leo appeared and you both jumped. “Tough crowd.”

“Why are you so damn determined to ruin the credibility of our team!?” Raph shouted suddenly. “We’ve been a cohesive unit for years and you’re throwing it away on obsession!”

The sincerity of Raph’s statement struck you, but you had no time to mull its significance as Leo grew dark enough to summon rain clouds. The weight of his blackened aura became so thick you thought you might suffocate on it. He then turned the brunt of that storm on his much taller brother, who seemed to dwarf under the weight of it. “Obsession?” Leo took a step forward where he was already too close. “Obsession. Me? You make it sound like I’m the only one who’s been here for the last two plus decades. For the death and the mayhem and the life threatening injuries and the fear of collapse and separation and rot! How we all rotted away!! How he poisoned each of us physically and mentally and how almost none of us fucking survived!!!!”

Leo jabbed a finger into Raph’s plastron and the red turtle wilted till he was nearly on his knees.

“That’s what I thought.” Leo kept his hand in place, but whipped his head around to you. “And now, he’s making a new move and everyone around me is acting like I’m the insane one when I know for a fact that this is a game. If we want to be players on the board. We need to grab the pieces.”

“T-there are people…!” Your voice shook and you listened.

Those whispers were still there.

People were still watching.

“You're just going to… what? Take me? In this crowd?”

“No.” Leo tipped his head and retracted his finger. He then shoved the box of cereal he’d bought into Raph’s chest for the red turtle to catch as he let go.

“There’s still a choice!” Raph snapped.

Leo took a commanding step towards you.

You tried to flee.

Your feet were cemented.

Looking down at them found that not to be true.

Nothing was keeping you.

By the time your gaze came back up, the blue turtle was upon you. “Did you want to talk to Raph?”

“You’d need to leave.” You tried to sound forceful, but there was something unhinged looming in him.

“Do you-” Bending at the waist, Leo’s head came beside yours. “-choose Raph?”

“Yes.” You wanted to kick him again, but something told you he wouldn’t fall for the same stunt twice.

“Yo’ve got ten minutes.” Leo straightened and strolled away.

Ten minutes to stall until your friends finally took notice.

Raph stared after Leo with a furrowed brow and then glowered down at the cereal he now also had to hold. “Y/N.”

“Just stop.” You held up a hand that said the same. “Why is he in charge? I don’t know, but you seem… way more reasonable.”

Raph juggled his items to free up a hand which he used to scratch the back of his head. “He wasn’t… always. Dad decided when we were young.”

Dad?

“All I can say is he’s making us look way worse than we are. I’m not saying we’re great, but we usually do earn the hero moniker. This…” Raph brought the arm back around and used it to gesture a spiral into the air. “…is some kinda trauma.”

“I get that.” You wrapped your arms around yourself.

“Would you want to sit down…?”

“I want to move and stand in the very center of the market with as many people around as possible.”

Raph’s teeth flashed in a way that said this was the best he could do.

“We stay right here.”

He nodded.

“What did you do to my friends?”

“They were… lured away by free prizes.” Raph sighed.

“How…?” You shook your head. “You know what? I don’t want to know! Let’s wait out the clock and then I’m going to go.”

Again, his teeth made an appearance in the same way.

The snaggletooth might have been endearing under any other circumstance.

“What?” You snipped.

“We just need to figure out what’s going on.”

“Nothing!” You threw your arms out at where Leo had left. “You said it yourself! He’s obsessed! I told him there’s nothing! What did he tell you!?”

“That you and… Donatello were… dating.”

“Exactly! So, now you know!” You brought your hand in and then flicked a wrist at him. “Again!”

“That’s just kinda…”

“Unlikely! Yeah.” Venom dripped from your words. “I’ve heard that from just about every single person who knows Donnie, but you know what?”

Raph startled a little, but there was genuine curiosity in his gaze.

“They’re all wrong. He’s not that person anymore. I don’t know how long it’s been, but I don’t think he has since before me.”

Raph’s mouth opened with protest.

“I get it!” There was so much gusto in your shout that your feet planted. “He was bad, but you know what he does now!? He’s sweet! He remembers all my favorite foods, even the ones I’m pretty sure I never told him about! He’s caring! He bends over backwards to dote on me! He tries so damn hard! He messes up! He’s not perfect, but he tries! He’s a good partner and I want to leave here and go back home to him!”

Raph’s shoulders loosened.

“And I’m tired! I’m tired of having to justify our fucking relationship to you! Do you know what I just did!? I just told my ex-roommate everything! She’s a hundred times more unstable than you and somehow she took the news better! I just don’t get it!!!”

Plastic crinkling, Raph looked away.

“Is that good enough or do you need me to draw you up a fucking written version?”

“I want to let this go.” Raph spoke.

Though you’d paused on what was a clear rhetorical question, you weren’t prepared for him to answer.

“Trust me.”  He shot you a heavy glance that said that and more. “More than anything, I want to put him behind us.”

His phrasing had you leaning back.

“It can be hard to understand. Unlike Leo, I don’t think you were fed a line, but there’s no way he told the story the same way.” In a shift, Raph looked at the snacks in his hand. “Sorry, gonna put this on the ground for a sec.”

You nodded, unsure of what was happening or why’d you stopped.

He set the snacks down with great care and then reached behind his head. There, he undid his mask and pulled it off. Though you had clearly seen the scarring pouring out from under it, there was something different about seeing his whole face.

Marred and twisted, his skin was warped by burns that had aged many years. They ate away at his cheekbone with green flesh singed with brownish rot. His right eye was puffed up around a milky pupil which spoke to the blindness there. “Do you mind if I tell you how I got this?”

“He… dumped acid on you…” You sounded like you were on the other side of the market.

Raph bobbed with attention. “Did he tell you why?”

“You…” Your gaze plummeted. “You tried to paralyze him.”

Raph let out a single loud chuff. “The scars on his legs?”

You nodded, assaulted by an odd shame.

“That happened a totally different time, Y/N. I made those scars trying to get him off Leo. I wasn’t trying to do anything other than stop him from killing my brother.”

You brought your gaze up to match his.

“Some kids were selling in Bushwick which was odd. I tracked ‘em back to their supplier and found a ring. The usual shootout started up, but you’ve seen my sai.”

You couldn’t respond.

“I was making my move when suddenly they all just… dropped.” Raph looked down, his good eye narrowing. “Like puppets without strings. I checked the closest guy and he was just… dead. Then came the burning”

You dug your nails into your arm.

“It’s pain like…” Raph shook his head and tied his mask back in place. “He used to have this laugh. Broken, loud… Cartoons don’t do it justice.”

“How…?”

Raph picked up the bag and cereal. “Hm?”

“How… old…” You forced yourself to look not knowing when you’d turned away. “…were the kids?”

“Fifteen. He had failsafes implanted in them. The kids, the dealers, the cooks, he killed them all to protect his assets or himself? Hard to say. I never really understood.”

The same age they were when they met. 

When they started fighting. 

“What happened… after?”

Raph walked over to you. “He left. It wasn’t about me or them. My best guess is my timing was terrible and he happened to be there picking up his money. I never saw him…” His head tipped. “Saw half as much after that, mostly a blur of gauze and skin grafts.”

Did you apologize?

“Hey.”

You looked up at him.

“I’m not telling ya ta feel bad. I know it sounds like it, but the story is kinda like that. I’m trying to give you perspective.” Raph knelt down onto one knee in front of you. “That was one time. Now multiply that by 20 years.”

You nodded, slowly.

“Leo’s scared. He’s more scared of Donatello then Krang Prime which if you’ve seen the guy is… something else.”

“Otherworldly.” You hated that you’d even said it.

“Yeah…” Raph held no resentment. “He’s stressed too. Me and Mike aren’t reacting how he wants. I’m never going to forgive Donatello, but I’m tired of it. I’m tired of the fighting and torment. If we can stay out of each other’s ways, I’m gonna take that in a heartbeat, but I don’t think Leo thinks he can stop worrying until Donatello is…”

“Gone.” The word sounded like a ghost.

Raph gave a nod, not wanting to give the poltergeist any more voice. “He blames himself for all of it. He’s like that; self sacrificing. His worst character trait is he doesn’t think he’s worth a thing without his family. That we define and give him worth. I don’t think he’s lived his own life because of it.”

“He…” You cleared your throat. “He’d hate that you were telling me this.”

Raph almost smiled and pointed to his bad eye. “20/320 and I can see him glaring at me right now.”

You gave a single humorless exhale.

“So… yeah.” Raph stood and held the bag out to you.

You took it. “What happens now?”

“You go back to your friends and I talk to Leo about what I know.”

“But I didn’t…” You glanced over the clearly melting ice cream and up at him.

Raph smiled with a lopsided grin. “Oh you did, yelled at me good.”

“There’s no way that was convincing.”

Raph shrugged his shoulders, but kept his smile. “I’m a good judge of character.”

“How does that convince Leo though?”

“What do you mean?”

“He already knows the deal. He’s not worried about me; he’s worried about Donnie.”

Raph opened his mouth to say something else, but Leo’s voice cut through the crowd. “Time’s up!”

You turned to him with heavy lids, bored of his shenanigans.

“Hey.” Raph greeted his brother, ignoring the dark aura Leo took with him. “Let’s get one of those juices you like and I’ll catch you up.” He shot you a quick wink. “I got intel you’ll want to hear.”

“I heard.” Leo was curt.

Raph’s hackles went up along with your own. “Leo…” He warned.

“We didn’t want to cause a scene.” Leo took a long way around you to end up near his brother. “No more screaming. No one’s watching. You did a great job throwing off the heat, big guy.”

Raph’s eye widened before he snapped his gaze toward you.

Struck by the fear there, it took you a moment too long to realize he wasn’t actually looking at you.

He was looking behind you.

“Sleep.” Mikey’s unmistakable voice whispered like it was coming from all angles. A thousand touches from Donnie helped you identify what were mutant turtle fingers brushing at the back of your neck. Anesthesia then ran through a drip without a needle into your veins. Drunken, everything began to warp. You could hear Leo counting backwards from ten as Raph yelled beside him. You fell with a blur of blue and a burn from the sun before night swallowed you whole.

NEXT

I'd be toiling away in misery if it weren't for my betas @tmntxthings and @thepinkpanther83

[yorshie]

Battered - TMNT snippet

Bayverse leo x GNreader

SFW little blurb cuz I couldn't sleep. It's bascially injured reader, Leo's trying to be a good s/o. Mention of reader not wearing pants but it's the 'injured: had to take one pair off, can't get the other pair on' situation.

Your hip twinged, and you leaned heavily against the tiled wall, panic a sharp lance through your ribs. The floor swayed under your spotty vision.

“Leo?”

He was there in an instant, hand on your arm, the appendage sliding to your back when you didn’t move.

You heard the creak of his gear as he shifted, looked you over, and you fought the nausea in your throat to voice what was wrong.

“I can’t- see.” You blinked, fingers digging into the groove between cold ceramic as the movement only worsened your condition, your heartbeat picking up until it added to the pain in your ribs.

His hand gripped your far elbow, plastron an edge against your side as he moved closer. His other hand slipped over your features, wiping away your hair, tilting your head back to bring your face into view.

“Look at me.” He ordered softly, and you turned to where his voice was, trusting he would keep you upright.

His thumb slid over each eye, and your lids fluttered at the contact, the digit merely a grey smudge amid the darker floating puddles. He lifted one lid, and you felt his breath as he leaned closer, studied the way your eyes reacted to the light.

“Let’s go to Donnie.” He decided, but you wavered, uncertain.

“Leo.” You caught at his hand when he tried to pull you from the wall, your hip giving a painful reminder at the movement. “Leo. I don’t have on any pants.”

He made some small noise at that reminder, hand still curled around your bicep to keep you steady, and you knew from the sway of body heat that he was looking for the spare change of clothes that you were already suppose to be in.

“Got it. Here, lift your leg.” He set your hand back on the wall, stooped to tap your nearest ankle.

You pulled in a whistle of air with a hiss, trying to do as he asked, leaning more against the wall and dipping your torso when your hip refused to bend.

He made another noise, some concerned warble deep in his chest, and you felt his hand curl around the back of your knee before he slowly forced your leg to rise.

You started shaking at the effort, but he tucked your foot into the correct opening quickly, repeated the process with your other leg before you could protest. His knuckles were a rough point of contact as he pulled the sleep shorts quickly up your thighs.

“Alright.” You could feel him fiddling with the draw strings, pulling them tight to keep the too large fabric from falling. “Alright. Pants on.” His arms slid around your waist, pulled you from the wall again. “Let’s go see Don now.”

You hissed out a cry, hobbling in his grip, and you could feel him hesitate, shifting back and forth, concern and worry bleeding out before he could reel the emotions in.

He wanted to carry you. There was no way your battered body would let him. The bruises were settling fast, every joint practically crying out at the prolonged torture of staying upright.

You felt tears start tracking down your face, and the dark grey smudge that was Leo disappeared even more.

“Hold on.” His arms banded across your back, your thighs, pulled you upright against him. Any other time you would have laughed at the image of him carrying you like a fence post through the lair, but every muscle hurt so badly you seized up, stiff in his grip.

Your head arched back automatically, knocked against his jaw, but he didn’t pause. Through the darkness of your vision and the spike of pressure in your veins you could hear him calling frantically for Donnie as he shoved through the Lab’s door.

[imagionationstation]

No Good Reason - TMNT Drabblish

Can be paired in the same group as This previous Ficlette.

He doesn't know how it happened.

He knew he shouldn't have gotten up without permission, but Leo had said he was free to move about as he pleased. He seemed like he held a higher place in their chain of command, so Donnie took him at his word. He had no reason not to. Every one of them had earned his trust in one way or another. He knew he'd done nothing to deserve theirs, so that made the moment that ceramic slipped from his fingers all the more petrifying. 

The mug broke upon impact and the delicate shattering swallowed reality and drowned out the thump of his carapace against the cabinet. The following silence rang with the taunting echo of his wrongdoing, only interrupted with the sound of ragged breathing.

Then his consequence arrives. 

Leonardo slips through the curtain, their brothers close behind. Leo's gaze finds the brown shards, Mikey's finds him, and Raph's takes in the whole mess in one judgemental scan. Donnie blinks quickly, ridding himself of the liquid terror, willing his body to rise from the corner and accept the coming punishment. 

"Donnie, what-" "Are you-" "Dee, why’d you-"

Mikey is the first to move, and a full-body flinch snaps through the pale frame, arms jerking to his chest as he sinks lower to the ground. His foot presses down and shock jolts up his spine with the aftermath of pain, flooding his mind with the reminder of what comes with mistakes. 

Electricity jarring through flesh- shackles cutting into wrists- high pitch sirens drilling into his brain until he can hear it everywhere-

A half-strangled sob escapes as he pushes as far back from them as he can. They are all tense, clearly uncertain how to approach the pathetic bundle that can’t take his punishment like he should, allowing his broken pleas to hinder the quiet. “Didn’t mean to, didn’t mean to, I swear, I swear, I didn’t, I wasn’t, was good, was trying, was-was-!” 

"Donnie..." 

There's a clipped edge to the leader's tone that confirms that he must be mad. He's in so much trouble, and he knows he deserves whatever retribution comes his way, but he doesn’t want to know what that’s going to be. It was so nice here- so familiar, so confusing, so safe- and now he’s gone ahead and ruined everything in one stupid instance. He only wanted a drink- why couldn’t he just stay put? Why didn’t he trust his gut and simply do as he was told?!

“Sorry! Sorry, sorry, sorry, am, I am!”

“Woah, hey-”

“Bro, we’re not mad-”

“Yeah, it’s okay!”

Of course, they weren’t mad. That’s why satisfaction came with punishments- ugly, malice tones that chided for disrespectful behavior and insisted that he be good. Good good good- he was! He tried so hard to be! 

“Sorry sorry sorry sorry am am sorry good sorry tried good sorry-!” 

He didn’t want this nice dream of gentle touches and loving words to be tainted with deserved punishments and a buried ache that follows his every step. He doesn’t want to know what kind of horrors they’ll inflict now that he’s crossed a line that was better left avoided- broken something that wasn’t his. 

“Sorry sorry sorry sorRY SORRY SORRY SORRY-”

He doesn’t realize he’s hiding his face until pain is clawing into both his arms. He doesn’t dare look up to see the cause, sobs breaking free as the pain digs deeper into flesh. There’s shouting from everywhere at once, but then a strong grip is trying to pry his arms apart- but he doesn’t want to see- he doesn’t want to know- he doesn’t want this imprinted on his mind, mixed and merging with the other terrors that haunt his sleep. 

“NO NO NONONO- PLEASE PLEASE SORRY GOOD I’LL BE GOOD NO PLEASE SORRY SORRY SORRY-!”

The slam of something hitting the ground snaps his mouth shut. A whine overlaps the muffled voices in his background as the forceful presences recede. He leans further into the corner between cabinets and curls in tighter, shivering and sobbing into the only safety that he can ever find. 

He doesn’t know how much later the new presence arrives, but he’s suddenly aware of a gentle touch brushing along the top of his head. It keeps moving at a repetitive pace, stroking away the sweat that beads down his neck. The stabbing pain against his arms slowly loses it’s intensity until it’s just a faint outline of what was, and he hiccups as he lifts his head, looking to the source of comfort. 

“My son.” His father’s eyes are soft in worry as he removes his hand. “There you are.” 

He whimpers, keeping refuge within his huddle. His father’s head tilts, hands folded on his lap. “Are you with me?”

His eyes dart behind him, to the eyes peeking in through the curtain. They disappear the minute that he spots them. He understands why they don’t dare stick around when punishments are due. A shudder crawls down his spine.

“I saw what happen to my mug. That was you?” The terrified gaze locks back to the calm face as he gasps, “Didn’t mean to- didn’t- sorry sorry-”

“Apology accepted.” 

He blinks and the tears track their predecessors. “Y-you-?”

“I forgive you.” He says it like it’s the simpliest thing in the universe- but Donnie doesn’t understand. “But- but I- b-bad- punish-“ 

“This does not call for a punishment of any sort.” His father interrupts firmly. “Not from me, not from your brothers, and certainly not from yourself.”

“But-“

“Material possessions are replaceable. You are not. Killing your spirit is not worth the weigh of a million intact mugs.”

Donnie still doesn’t understand, but he takes him at his word. His father reaches out to lead his arms away from his chest, gently pulling him upright. Donnie looks at the bloody tears in the skin, and under his nails, slowly putting two and two together. 

They hadn’t hurt him. He had hurt him. 

He searches sympathetic eyes and earns a brief nod. Splinter turns away. “Leonardo, the first aid, please.” 

The curtain is brushed to the side, revealing two forms behind the one entering. Leo collects the requested box and stops near them, copying their father’s kneeling pose and looking between them anxiously. His father stands, leading Donnie to follow his example, and he yelps when his foot touches the ground. His father pauses, and then he has a brother tucking himself under his arm, removing any weight off his foot.

“Think he stepped on a piece.” Raph mutters as he watches Mikey scoot a stool up to the sink. He leads Donnie over, assisting him in sitting down, bringing his arms over the appliance as their father approaches with an open bottle. 

“This will sting. Not because we intend to hurt, or punish, but because we want to help. I will not pour if you request otherwise, but the wound should be cleaned. May I proceed?” 

Donnie looks to the blue-eyed turtles with their attention on the first aid kit, the father who waits patiently for his answer, and the brother who squeezes his hand when he takes the moment of hesitation.

He sniffles. “Okay.” 

He chooses to trust them.

They’ve given no reason for him not too. 

[exhaustedwriterartist]

sensory issues and toothpaste container sound interesting lol

Hello!!

For "sensory issues" I only have dialogue at the moment, but this is going to be a little mini comic between Donnie and Splinter (I'm going to say post-movie?), based on an interaction between one of my parents and me:

*Donnie rambling on about something while Splinter listens putting a piece of cake or pie on two plates, one paper, one ceramic. Splinter gives him the paper plate*

*Donnie notices and abruptly stops, looking confused*

Splinter (genuinely confused at why he stop talking): hmm? What's wrong Purple?

Donnie (light hearted, but a little sarcastic): I see you have given you have given yourself the ceramic plate and me the paper one. Is there a reason for this difference?

Splinter: Oh! I remember you telling me how much you hate the scraping sounds of these plates *gestures to plate and then continues to portion out cake not looking at Donnie.* That's why I gave you the paper one, because you've been quite overwhelmed lately.

Donnie (actually shocked that his dad remembered that): *looks down at the plate not sure how to feel.* That's... Actually really thoughtful. *A pause in dialogue as splinter cuts the baked good* *Don still looks at the plate* thank you for that.

*Don begins to eat the cake as his brothers come in, he starts up his conversation again*

End scene

I genuinely hate the sound of cutlery in ceramics and ceramics clanking into each other, so now Donnie does too.

---

And for toothpaste container:

A little warm up sketch that doubles as my reference for a mini comic idea. Also based on several arguments I've been in on how to use a toothpaste container.

Both of these are going to be part of my Random Rise Comics eventually. :)

Thank you for the ask Acorn!!

[haematoclan]

Um, maybe 6 with Donnie and Raph?

oh hi! i hadn't even noticed i've got one! sorry about the wait i honestly didn't get the notif? but the moment i saw this prompt i got struck with an inspiration, thank you for the ask! (also sorry for that(?))

content warnings: family death/major character death, description of a dead body (it's short and not detailed but still), grief and denial

ao3

6. “We’re gonna fix you up, brand new. I promise.”

A welder sends sparkles into the air, dancing in front of a mutant turtle's face, protected by a mask. A room is dimly lit, barely giving any idea what is going on inside. It smells of burnt metal and paper, sweat, copper, as well as something that… in the past would be, perhaps, harder to identify, but after spending ten years in the apocalypse the smell of a rotting corpse becomes obvious. And this room reeks of it.

There’s banging on the door, people yelling, begging, pleading… it’s all targeted at the engineer, he knows, although he cannot decipher what is being said in detail, his head’s stuck, swimming at the bottom of the ocean. It’s a barrier between him and the rest of the world, shielding him from hearing things that would stop him from working, from registering how his body aches and begs for rest. The murk of dissociation ensures he can finish his most important but the most challenging project yet to date.

He has to succeed. Failure is not an option.

The softshell finishes wielding two metal rods and turns the torch off, darkening the room even more. He sighs and, lifting his mask, stands up, ignoring the wobble in his legs and dizziness in his head, staying up only by the sheer force of will. He maneuvers through the metaphorical minefield on the floor full of the robot parts. He gets to the light switch and he flicks it. Weak ceiling lamps blink to life, revealing the workspace in its entirety; it’s a mess of scattered projects, destroyed and gutted machinery, drawers ripped out of the cabinets, their contents haphazardly thrown on the floor, glass and ceramic shards are everywhere, as if someone smashed mugs in rage. Then, amongst all the chaos, there are bloody and dried stains all over the place. The almost black droplets can be seen as high as on the ceiling.

Yet the most imposing and eye-catching scene is located in the center.

Here’s a medical table on which lays an enormous, spiky robot body of a mutant turtle. His green skin and red accents made of steel are shining in the light, looking surprisingly clean and neat, considering the state of disrepair and dirtiness of the workshop. There were small details that were lovingly applied during the long hours spent on this craft, like the snaggletooth was perfectly shaped and sized, every spike applied exactly where it should be and the so called “Raph Chasm” is carved ideally, just at the exact depth and size.

On the opposite table lies a nearly identical looking mutant body, the main difference being a gaping hole in his chest and the many, many, many scars the body acquired through the years that the scientist decided to ignore in his design.

Donatello turns around to see his progress on the robot, but his eyes accidentally gaze at Raph and- the moment he catches a glimpse of the gigantic carcass… his body moves in its direction almost like on autopilot, his mind’s set dead on the need to be by his big brother’s side as fast as possible. He doesn’t even register tripping over and stepping on the precious robot parts that he so painstakingly retrieved from the ruins of the civilization as they knew it. At this specific moment, this didn’t matter.

When he finally finds himself by Raphael’s side, Donatello lays his hand on the cold, decaying fingers covered in dried blood. His voice wobbles a little when he says: “We’re gonna fix you up, brand new.” He takes the much bigger hand in his two, squeezes it with trembling fingers and lays his forehead on its bony knuckles. A small whisper leaves his lips: “I promise,” and he means it. He will not stop until Raph is back with them, even if it kills him.

[alitteraladhdmess]

Let’s send a farewell to the flat fuck

He’s going to hell for all his crimes

[turtles-hurtles-with-gurtles]

to everyone who was wanting to see the disaster twins figures, Donnie is almost done!! I just need to wait for his legs and arms to dry so I can paint them, then attach them to his body and finish his goggles then it's on to Leo!! both turtles will be based off of my People Eater AU designs at first I didn't like how Donnie's body looked becaus the skeleton under the clay made the plastron curve too much to one direction ruining the lines on the plastron but after painting it I found it o look nice, and since he is going to be based off of the P.E. AU *sob of all things PE* his limbs are small at the start but once at the knees/elbows they become quite big, once I start working on Leo I might have to make his marking out of paper and glue them on since I tend to make his markings stick out of his body, I think the hardest part to make for him will be the body and arms since he will be in a position as if he is talking to Donnie, as well as the smallest details like the earrings on the mask tails, his fingers will be hard to make as well. but since I have already made a figure before (Day from Legend, though he was a human and I used a ref) I learned a few tricks that I need if I wanted the clay to dry faster. this time I am also more patient because the last time I tried to rush the painting and assembly, the clay wasnt dry so it was hard to paint and once I rushed into assembly the figure fell apart. and im thankfully using a thinner brush for small details so I won't risk killing my precious Micro Pens. doing these little projects is fun but also hard, the fun part is the designing, painting, and assembly but the hard part is shaping the clay and skeleton into the way you want and make sure everything is the way it should be.

if you read this whole update on the figures then you will see Donnie tomorrow without his arms and legs attached!! lucky you! you get to see a disabled and amputated Donnie! (reblog appreciated)

[tinytinyturttlesoup]

Spoiler: a snip bit of chapter two from two nardos

Casey stands, looking down at the boiling kettle. He hears the screaming high-pitched sound, can feel the heat from the steam bubbling and blowing past him. He can feel time passing, his lungs deflating, his heart beating. The noise of it all rolling over and through him.

He turns off the kettle. When was the last time Leo had let Casey touch him? It had to have been a few weeks ago. Casey touched Leo’s shoulder in an attempt to be friendly, to offer some kind of comfort, and Leo had just…he pushed him away. Swatting at his hand like it was nothing. They aren’t the same, Casey’s mind repeats over and over. None of them are the same. But Casey can’t help himself. It’s the glimpses. Leo’s laugh. Donnie and Mikey fussing over him. Raph’s stature and strength. April’s wit. And it’s Casey’s grief. He lost everyone he had ever known in one minute and then gained them all back the next. He thinks back to the key. The portal, big and buzzing with energy, the technodrome descending above him. The lack of gravity and the bright colorful sky as he looked at the key. Leo screaming in his ear to pull it, begging Casey to take the key and run. He froze. Until Sensei’s words compelled him to act. “Casey, it’s not about me.”   Then he shut his eyes, grabbed the key. and ran. Each step settled on the uneven rubble of a New York that was starting to look more and more like his own. A buzzing noise droning in the back of head, as the weight of everything fell on his shoulders. Finally, he had tumbled over to catch his breath, stopping to take big grasping gasps. He caught it again looking at Leo’s sword. He kneeled in the dirt and grime and grieved. Really grieved. He sobbed until his throat was raw, his chest aching. Whether it was from his lungs struggling to catch up with him, or the pain of accepting his loss, he couldn’t tell.

Casey shakes his head and the memory away. But the train of thought remains as he opens the cupboard and pulls out three mugs. It hadn’t been fair of Sensei to trust him with this. He was just a kid. It should have been Sensei. It Should have been the both of them. Casey opens the box of tea bags, a brand he has found to like in this new world. What was left for him after that? What did he have left? The world was saved but was also unrecognizable. He was a hero but with no home to return to. The life he had wanted with his family was gone. He had secured that none of them would ever exist. They wouldn’t need to exist; they shouldn’t have ever had to exist. He pours the water into the cups. The light fragrance of orange and chamomile prickles his nose and washes over his face, his buzzing mind calming down from the smell of warm tea. Casey looks at the steeping cups for a long moment.  If the timeline he was a part of shouldn’t have ever existed in the first place…

He brings the cup to his mouth, feeling the heat of ceramic burn away at his chapped lips. As he takes a tentative sip of hot tea, the warmth flows through him before settling in his core. Maybe he shouldn’t exist either. Casey is pulled from his thoughts as Mikey tiredly strides into the room. Casey offers him a small smile and a cup of tea. Mikey takes it gratefully. “You’re a lifesaver, Casey Jones.” “Anytime.” The two of them sip on their cups a moment or two before Mikey finally breaks the silence. “So, are you doing ok? It was pretty intense in there.” Casey huffs a pathetic attempt at a laugh. “Nothing I haven’t seen before. My Sensei had night terrors pretty often. I used to help Master Michelangelo calm him down. I guess it just makes sense that this version of him would have them too.” Mikey shifts his eyes over to Casey, a small worry obvious on his brow. “That must have been hard, to see him like that.” Casey grips the mug tighter. “It was, the first couple of times, but that was just the reality of it. I never blamed him for it.” “Of course not, but…That sounds scary. Seeing someone who was a mentor to you freak out.” Mikey knits the worry in his brow tighter. “Why did I show you that? If you had to make a guess.”

Casey thinks for a moment. “Probably, because, it was pretty hard to hide. I was always by his side. And if I wasn’t, then the screaming would wake me up. To be fair, it’s not like you wanted to show me. I don’t think either of you did, but I wanted to help.” “Oh.” The two of them sit in silence for a minute. “Casey,” “Yes?” “Did- did they ever get any better? Leo’s night terrors I mean, or-” Mikey holds tight to his mug. Casey sees something that looks like worry or guilt wash over Mikeys face. Casey can’t help but smile at the glimpse of something familiar. Mikey will always worry about his brothers, no matter the timeline. “They never got worse. But to be fair, it’s not like Leonardo has ever been very forthcoming when it comes to his mental health. And we never had a therapist with us in the trenches or anything. We all just sort of…coped. Did our best to make the situation bearable.” Casey watches as Mikey’s frown starts to deepen. “But you did have this power to make everyone feel better.” Mikeys face lightens at that. His expression becoming more bashful. “Oh. Well, that just comes with practice. I’m sure future me had plenty by the time-” “No. I mean, you had an actual power that helped people calm down.” “Oh. I did? Do?”  Casey nods at Mikey before smiling into his mug. A part of him has this weird little satisfaction in watching the turtles discover things about themselves from the future. “You used it on me when I was having hard times too.” “Oh.”  Mikey beams a little bit. “What did it feel like?” Casey thinks again. “Like- A heavy blanket. Warm and friendly. Or a hug on the inside.”

Mikey laughs, and after a while, Casey does too, before once again falling into silence. “Casey?” “Yeah?” Mikey puts his hand on Casey’s shoulder. The gesture feels warm, soothing and familiar. Always familiar. Mikey smiles at him. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

[horseshoemybeloved]

if the suitehearts are artists; what kind of art would they prefer to do?

:D!! Horseshoe actually already is an artist :) he likes painting on canvases ( his style is like Keith harring and patrick nagel. it changes tho with every piece, he’s very go with the flow with it ) He also works part time at a local art store so he gets first pick at all the cool new supplies :3

Sandman doodles but it’s very middle school emo wolf girl from the 2000s. like fuckin idk death note and invader zim fanart, all pencil and overly gorey and smudged and just,,,, kinda off

Donnie does mosaics and ceramics, only sometimes when there’s a class or with friends who know more about it than him. ( he is slowly growing a collection of little ceramic animals made by him and his friends )

And benzie does paint by numbers. He’s too repressed to do any sorts of “ go with the flow “ art it needs Structure and Precision. ( he also Secretly does those bedazzle by number things but he thinks it’s too gay to be public about LMAO )

[wickedsrest-rp]

Name: Masami Hanazawa Species: Kitsune Occupation: Veterinarian / Back-Alley Doctor Age: 500 Years Old (Looks about 35) Played By: Donnie Face Claim: Andrew Koji

"I’ve seen so much in this lifetime and yet your stupidity always manages to fucking amaze me."

TW: Parental/sibling death, terminal illness (fae magic), amputation

Gods weren’t supposed to die. Not from sickness or curses or time. They were meant to be above such things and yet when the spots hit there was nothing any of the elders could do to stop the spread among the family. Limbs crumbled to dust as the black spots engulfed them. Foxes screamed, begging to be put out of their misery as the spots would start on their torsos. This was the world Masami was raised in, one where gods fell to an unknown sickness and those that had once worshiped the Hanazawa clan left them to their fate, running from the village in case the disease spread to them next.

Masami was considered young for a kitsune, only fifty years, when he saw the first victim fall to the spots. His older sister’s legs turned black, crumbling to ash once touched leaving her unable to walk as the spots started to spread up her hip. She gripped his arms begging for something, anything to dull the pain, but there was nothing he could do. He was beginning to realize just how weak they really were. How everything he’d been told as a child was wrong. They were worshiped as gods but they were no more than mortals, the same as the people in the village they vowed to protect. Masami isolated himself in the back rooms with the scrolls his family had collected over the years.There had to be some medicine that would at least ease the pain of the victims or if there was a case of this sickness happening before surely it’d be here. Masami spent days looking for anything to help and while he did find some medicines they could make to try and help there was nothing on the sickness. He helped make tonics before setting off into the woods. He knew the mountains held beings older than those of his clan.

He noticed the spots forming before he left but he vowed he’d make it back with a solution before the curse took him. For 3 weeks he walked into the mountains, asking any fae he came across if they knew of the curse. None did but one pointed him further into the mountains in search of an old oak leshy who’d been around over 1000 years. He made his way deep into the mountains coming upon an opening in the forests, there standing in the sunlight was the old oak who warmly greeted the young fox who by now was hobbling on three legs, having had to take off his back left one with his own hands in order to ensure he’d make it to the leshy. The old fae listened to Masami’s plight and told him the only way to solve it was to find the fae who held a grudge against his family and end them.

Masami was a youngster with only one tail but he was sure the elders could take care of it if he just made it back in time. He thanked the leshy for their kindness and made for the long journey home. However when he made it back to the shrine, there was nothing but empty robes and black ash covering the grounds. He was too late. All that was left was a ceramic fox mask, the red tassels swaying causing the bells to ring as he picked it up and left his home once again. For a long time he wandered lost, becoming jaded on the outside. He would eventually find purpose again when a kind vet took him in and he learned how to patch up animals and heal their sicknesses. He took to it easily even going as far as to learn human medicine as well. Soon he set up a clinic in Maine in a small town that was just starting out called Wicked’s Rest. There he remains helping shifters who get hurt under the guise of treating exotic animals.

Character Facts:

Personality: Loyal, patient, abrasive (on the outside), compassionate (on the inside), grumpy

Masami’s fox form is a silver fox, he has five tails.

When in human form Masami uses a prosthetic leg to get around, he only takes it off around people he’s close to and often keeps it covered with long pants or his work scrubs. In fox form he gets around just fine on three legs, though he understands the dangers of being in fox form out in the open.

Masami is capable of conjuring lightning but only tends to use it on threats he can’t outrun or bite himself free of. He will use it against hunters without hesitating even if they seem weaker than him. He’s had bad run-ins with them in the past and tends to see each hunter as a threat.

Masami has a spellcaster that helps with his clinic named Janice. She’s there to help with any healing that may be out of his skill range or to help break curses the shapeshifters he treats might find themselves under. She mans the front counter and is the first person you see when you walk into the clinic.

Masami built his clinic to avoid small spaces as much as possible. His two exam rooms are rather spacious as are the lab in the backroom, and the x-ray room that's down in the basement. He will see normal pets from humans, not really being able to say no to a person in need despite his attitude, but what happens to the humans once they leave his clinic is out of his hands.

[asummersday]

🎀💌!

🎀 give yourself a compliment about your own writing

ahhhh that's always the toughest one.

i really like the way i describe things. not just settings, but also how i described leo's panic attack in ataimw and how i described his half-delirious state in chapter 3 of hollow mind.

💌 share something with us about an up-and-coming work (WIP) that has you excited!

this is from chapter 6 of all the ashes in my wake! i think it's one of my favorite moments in this chapter.

“I don’t know how to make it as good as Mikey’s or Raph’s, but—” he slides the mug of hot chocolate over to Donnie. It’s a very nice mug— ceramic and plain white with dozens of flowers of varying sorts and sizes printed all over it. Leo’s mug is a dusty blue with ‘world’s best grandma’ written across it in neat print letters. Not nearly as nice as Donnie’s, but it’s taller and wider, so Leo’s not complaining. “It’s fine,” Donnie replies, picking up the mug and taking a hesitant sip. “Thanks,” he adds as an afterthought. Leo hums in reply, sliding into a vacant chair at the table. Neither of them bothered to turn on any other light in the kitchen, so they’re mostly plunged in the dark, barely lit by the dim glow of the single lit lamp. Leo feels tired. It’s five in the morning, and he feels it weighing on him. His eyes sting a little and he misses how comfortably asleep he was back in Donnie’s lab, but he knows there’s little chance of him falling back asleep. Across from him, Donnie leans back in his chair, head tilted up toward the ceiling, eyes closed. He’s not sleeping, but Leo wishes he was. Donnie is never this careless with his tools, he’s never careless enough to use the more dangerous ones when he’s sleep deprived. He wonders, briefly, if Donnie would’ve gone knocking on his door after the fact had Leo not shown up in his lab, demanding his twin’s attention.

fic writer asks

[haywire-cebus]

Anyways here are my rottmnt pokemon team headcanons bc i love making these so much

Leo: Torterra, Riolu, Ninjask, Zangoose, Gibble, Kedabra

Donnie: Blastoise, Rotom, Porygon, Beldum, Golek, Cacturne

Raph: Drednaw, Clefairy, Machoke, Snorlax, Makuhita, Ludicolo

Mikey: Torkal, Smeargle, Bellossom, Baltoy, Cranidos

April: Crustle, Zorua, Solosis, Fletchinder, Skitty, Noivern

Casey: Tirtouga, Mimikyu, Porygon-Z, Trubbish, Amaura, Applin

My reasonings on why for each are below the cut :):

Leo:

Torterr:- big and strong but so cute and full of love and life. He kinda just. Holds the fam together. his first pokemon (all the turtle pokemon are the brothers starters)

Riolu: Blue pokemon and physical fighting with some Magic, and i just love riolu and i feel like it compliments Leader Leo very well (he evolved when leo steps up and accepts his role as leader. leader of what? idk i havent thought that far into this au)

Ninjask: greatest ninja ever needs a ninja pokemon :)

Zangoose: his eye. His eye marking. Is like leo’s. Im a simple man i see red eye mark i go ‘oh thats leo’ 

Gible: blue and chompy. I like the idea of leo being Tormented by this lil chompy guy and then he evolves into this real powerful pokemon. And then he still torments him for him

Kedabra: teleports. leo teleports.

Donnie:

Blasoise: gun turtle. Idk what else to say (i was gonna give him torterra bc ‘but my real passion is biology’ but. Gun turtle.) I think he helps leo take care of his torterra tho

Rotom: this feels a lil self-explanatory lol. but with his rotom, he builds more than the “standard’ rotom body options for him, including one of those toy punching robots (fighting), a jetpack form (flying, but cooler than the fan form), a robot dragon (dragon), a fertilizer spreader thing (poison), and of course his favorite: Gun (steel)

Porygon: again, self explanatory i think. It evolves in a really Climatic Moment too and like Saves The Day (but more of a one-off episode Climatic Moment)

Beldum: another lil robot guy. donnie thought it was cool, and then he learned its evolution is super strong and went “heh knew it all along” but he is clearly lying to look cool

Golek: a lil robot (kinda) guy

Cacturne: he likes botany. And also hes smart enough to kno he needs some type differences in his team (the cacturne was a gift from his bros when they saw how much he liked their grass types)

Raph:

Drednaw: i mean LOOK at that guy. He’d have a shiny version bc the shiny version is a greener shade AND has red on it. Big spiky. 

Clefairy: cuddly boy for a cuddly boy

Machoke: he saw one pokemon fight as a kid and fell in love. And then he saw the contests and started entering those, and people think he aims for the “cool” ones but he keeps winning the “cute” ones with his machoke

Snorlax: raph uses him all the time to make his brothers (mostly donnie and leo) sleep, bc he has snorlax (SAFELY) lay on them and fall asleep

Makuhita: cute lil punchy boy :) also reminds me of the paper friend

Ludicolo: i mean come on look at the lil guy of course hes raphs pokemon

Mikey:

Torkoal: fiery turtle. Hot and fun. I think he likes to leap into the air using his back steam (i imagine him yelling “FULL STEAM AHEAD” and then torkoal moves so slow)

Smeargle: self explanatory. Little bouncy art guy. this is his main pokemon, always hanging around him outside the pokeball.

Bellossom: this one just looks like mikey to me. i think him getting it was like a “he saw it abandoned and wanted to return it to its trainer, but it lost a contest so the trainer abandoned it. it now doesnt wanna do contests, but wants BLOOD” type thing. (ok it doesnt want blood but it likes fighting more)

Baltoy: mikey saw this lil clay guy and they bonded immediately. Also some psychic bc mystic magic feels psychic to me. his smeargly likes to paint on it like ceramics

Cranidos: looks like the robot dino from the cut episode, so of course i picked it

Chingling: im not 100% sold on this as one of his pokemon, but its bright and cute and psychic, so i picked it. im open to other ideas tho

April:

Crustle: when they were little and first met april, they wanted her to be apart of their Turtle Squad, so donnie played distraction while they went to catch her one. They saw crustle and went “legs and shell? Fuck yeah turtle pokemon.” when they brought it donnie immediately was like “thats a crab.” but april was so touched she refused to let them try again and she cherishes it so much

Zoura: its mayhem. little chaos fox/animal. always on her shoulders/in her arms/pranking the bros

Solosis: she thinks its cute (raph agrees) but she has to keep it in its ball when shes around donnie bc the texture makes him very upset

Fletchinder: she gives me bird vibes idk and shes passionate (firey). 

Skitty: april deserves a cute lil kitty i think. it pretends to be nice but is also means to the boys behind aprils back (aprils pretends not to notice and plays innoncent when the bros confront her but when they leave she gives the skitty a poffin)

Noivern: one donnie actually caught for her (as a noibat) bc it was purple (and he obvs likes purple) and it flies so she could travel far easily and safely. april and donnie are besties and they are the only two the noivern let ride on its back, everyone else it will only carry them in its claws

Casey:

Tirtouga: future donnie made/revived him, and gave him to casey. Casey is a Part of their Turtle Family. Also hes from 100 million years ago, casey is from future. Theyre both lost in time. Idk its cute

Mimiku: it gives me future vibes. It now uses the pikachu disguise to be more intimidating than its form beneath the disguise (due to the electricity). I think also the future has a poison variation that makes it dangerous to touch if it doesnt trust you

Porygon-Z: i really dont wanna say why he has the evolved form of donnies pokemon. But i think yall kno. yes its sad. and yes its weird when they go back in time and see each other. but i think the circumstances that made it evolve to porygon-z are Apocolypse-Only so donnies wont go past porygon2 and make it Extra Weird

Trubbish: a trash pokemon from his apocalyptic future. theyre everywhere. casey loves him and is very defensive of him when he first gets to the past/present, bc new york looks so clean in comparison to the future (when he finally sees all the trubbish there bc its a city hes happy bc his trubbish isnt an outlier)

Amaura: future leo gave him the egg, and he was carrying it around for a while. It only hatched in the past (bc it felt safe enough to do it). yes casey cried. yes he named it after leo (subtly) (it isnt that subtle. probably nicknamed it like Ardo or something).

Applin: the first pokemon he caught in the past/present. He was so surprised to see such a vibrant grass type and he got so excited (grass type are very very rare in the future)

Mikey did the classic Pokemon Magic (thats esp common in the movies) and summoned dialga to send casey back in time. Leo helped by summoning palkia to send him to the right Space. Giratina is there for idk the kraang prison dimension. I havent formulated a lot of it this is just for funsies.

[amescastaignede]

REACTION: TO THE AFTER PARTY NEWS.

EVENT: MOB AWARDS 2023. 

It's all over, it's all over, my heart echoed, it's all over Every minute that you cry for her is wasted don't you know It's all over, it's all over, so forget her (it's all over) Stop your cryin' turn around and let her go

- It’s All Over, Johnny Cash. 

Amélie's fingers clung to the warmth of her coffee mug, a thick fog of bitter cold had settled over the city, as though an icy winter had descended upon them, belching out its frosty breath. Her fingers, still numb from the bracing morning air, were barely able to grip the smooth ceramic. She gazed out of her small apartment window, watching as the city below began to stir to life, like ants moving in a frenzied dance. Despite the lengthening days, the winter's hold remained unyielding, unrelenting.

As she sipped her coffee, Amélie's mind was suddenly seized by a wave of shock and fear, as she read the news on her iPad. A shiver ran down her spine as she realized that the day had come - the day that she and her colleagues had been waiting for. Her planned day off was now irrelevant; the crisis at hand demanded her immediate attention.

Frantically, she reached for her phone, dialing Felicity's number, her heart pounding with each unanswered ring. The silence on the other end of the line spoke volumes - something terrible had happened, and the French were paying for it; that’d be felt causing ripples, Amélie thought; the investigator inside of her stirred. It was a moment of reckoning, a time when they could no longer sit back and wait for fate to decide their future.

Amélie needed to be the one. 

Grabbing her phone, she dialed another new. Her source. 

As the words of The Highway Men echoed through her mind, Amélie knew that the French were in deep trouble. The blood spilled and lives lost were a stark reminder of the harsh reality that they faced. It was a time for courage and action, a time to stand up and fight for what they believed in. The stakes were high, and the outcome uncertain, and Amélie wasn’t sure the people and families that this would effect were ready for whatever lay ahead.

‘‘Donny, I need a favour.’‘ She said as soon as they answered the phone and she walked out of her apartment with her keys and bag in hand.