#hamato bro shenanigans

[gaybananabread]

Oh my gosh congratulations on the milestone!! 🥳💖 I would love something for ROTTMNT! Maybe lee Mikey and ler Leo or lers Raph, Leo and Donnie. I’d love Dragon Fruit, Oranges & Grapes! Take all the time you need and I hope you’re doing well! 💖

Fruit(s): Dragon Fruit, Oranges, Grapes

AAAAAHG THANK YOU! You're so nice all the time, just make my brain go (>w<)✨! Been a hot second since I've done something for Rise, these boys need some more love from me. (Got carried away but we don't talk about that shhhhhshsh) Again, thank you sosososo much, and I hope you Enjoy!

Lee: Mikey

Lers: Raph, Leo, Donnie

Summary: Mikey tries making a treat for his bros, but things don't go as planned, bumming him out. The boys quickly notice and, after a quick wrestling match and some questions, manage to get their baby bro back into his high spirits.

Warnings: none! This is a fic, so if you don't like that, scroll away!!

“No no nononONONO!”

Feeling his heart sink, Mikey pulled his fruity Danish pastries from the oven. The charred surfaces and burning smell of the treats brought tears to his eyes. Three hours of work down the drain…

The teen had been trying to make desserts for his brothers; they’d been really supportive during his recovery from the Kraang invasion, encouraging him and helping him wrap his arms. Even Donnie had put aside some extra time to shop for arm braces. They deserved it.

His arm had a flare-up during the baking, making him take a break to put a brace on. The timer had gone off without him in the room, his poor confections roasted beyond recognition. He sniffed, dumping the marred fruits of his labor into the trash. Maybe some music and drawing would help…

-

“Okay, family meeting.” Raph sat down with his two of his brothers, Donnie quickly correcting him. “Teeechnically, it's a partial family meeting. If we count the main seven family members and round the percentage, it's only about 42%-” He got a hand clamped over his mouth, the blue-themed turtle interjecting. “HUSH the nerd stuff! We know what we're here for, right?”

Donnie scoffed, but stopped spouting math. All three brothers knew what the problem was. Raph took charge again, attempting some order. “Mikey's been really down all day. Raph's worried about him.”

The purple clad turtle tapped his wristlet, frowning. He had been keeping track of Mikey's expressions from the past few days.“He seemed fine yesterday. Angelo’s face only drops around two today. I hadn't seen him for a few hours, my data’s a bit incomplete. I think he was in the kitchen.”

Leo blinked, seeming shocked. “Wow. Your number craziness finally paid off.” A claw extended from Donnie’s battle shell, whacking the snarky teen upside the head. Raph stepped between them before any more chaos could ensue.

“HEY! Donnie, do ya know what he was doin’ in there?” He huffed before answering, looking down. “I…do not. Dr. Delicate Touch made me promise not to install cameras; even I won't defy him.”

That was fair; none of them wanted to go against Dr. DT… Leo sighed, twirling his mask tails as he spoke. “I've tried asking, but no dice. The dude's clearly not okay, but he won't talk about it. Little hypocrite…” 

The techy teen offered an idea. “We could try to interrogate him.” Leo snorted, snapping out of his little trance. “Interrogate? What is this, one of dad's movies? Besides, it'd probably only make him more upset.”

Raph bit his finger as he thought; one bad habit he'd tried and failed to drop. He got an idea, snapping his fingers and smiling. Bingo. “I got it! Listen up boys, here’s the plan…”

-

Mikey was sitting on his bed, moping and dragging a pencil across some cardboard. He wasn’t making anything; it was just a nice way to destress. Things weren’t working as well as they usually did, though… A knock at his train car door startled him, making the typically upbeat boy flinch and drop the pencil. “C-coming…”

The metal slid open, an obviously forced smile on his face. All three of them wanted to wrap him in a hug, but they had to follow the plan. “Hey guys…what is it?” 

Leo stepped forward, looking his brother over. He took special notice of the arm braces. “Alright hermano, the jig is up. What’s wrong?”

The boy’s fake smile faltered a bit, though he tried to keep the act going. “J-jig? I dunno what you’re talking about, Leo. I’m good!” His artificial confidence got a bit stronger at the end. It was clear he wasn’t telling them without a fight. 

Raph was next to get closer, trying to sneakily box the boy in. This time, however, a small smile was paired with the chasm. 

A small squeak escaped the youngest as he backed up, recognizing the look on his brothers’ faces. They wouldn’t…would they? “C’mon Mike, this can go quickly if ya just hold still.” Oh. They would.

Feeling a slight giddiness rise in his chest, Mikey ran farther into his train car, diving for his escape hatch. Raph stopped him in his tracks, using his mystic tonfā power to catch him in a giant fist. Leo ran over, being careful of his brother’s arms as he tossed him into his hammock.

“GUys- guys wahait! Mikey squirmed and kicked, the hammock swinging as he thrashed. Leo flipped his sword, opening two portals to hold his brother’s arms safely. Didn’t want him getting hurt after all that recovery time.

“Nah, there’s no fun in waitin’. Raph’s out for giggles and the truth.” Wasting no time, Raph started poking at his brother’s armpits. A genuine smile formed on the younger’s face, giggles spilling from his lips. “Rahaphie! Nohohot thihis!” 

“But this is the best! You get to giggle, and we get to hear it.” Leo smirked, not wanting to miss out on the fun. “Big man’s right, Miguel. The truth will set you free~!” He moved his hands to Mikey’s plastron, scratching and scribbling on the area where his stomach would be. “LeheheHEEOOOOO! C-chohOHOME OHOHOhohon!” 

“Just tell the truth, Micheal. You know there’s no simple way out of this predicament.” Donnie took in the sight of them; his co-conspirators smirking, enjoying the sound of their brother’s laughter, and Mikey, laughing and sounding happier than he had all day. He supposed it was worth breaking a few of his rules for the occasion. He pressed a button on his bo, the feather he used against Shredder popping out. 

“D-dehehee? Whahat ahare youHU- NYAAAHAHAHO!” Mikey squealed as he felt the soft fibers of the feather run behind his knees. Curse him for taking off the knee pads… The armpit pokes, the tummy scritches, the feather on his knees; it was all too tickly. It was nice to be able to laugh with his brothers, though he didn’t know how much longer he could take all of them at once.

Raph chuckled, smiling warmly as his brother laughed. Those goofs were gonna be the death of him…but he loved them more than he could ever express. If it takes some playful tickles to get one of his bros to open up, then so be it. “All ya gotta do is fess up, Mikey. What’s been goin’ on today?”

He still didn’t seem like he was giving up, though it was clear he was reaching a breaking point. Donnie, ever the over-achiever, wanted to speed things up. He sent a claw from his battle shell to his brother’s knees, having it squeeze and scribble along the underside. That did him in. 

“K-GAHAHAHA! DOHOHONIEHEHE! *snrk* NAHAHAH!” Raph gave the purple-clad turtle a look, sighing. “The goal is to get the truth, Donnie, not kill him.” Dee just chuckled, continuing the metallic tickles. 

Kicking and thrashing like crazy, the teen finally reached his limit. “OHOHOKAHAHAY! IHI- *snrk* IHI’ll TEHEHELL!” 

And just like that, it all stopped.

Donnie begrudgingly retracted his tools, a small smile still on his face as he watched his little bro giggle. Leo followed suit, though Raph’s hand moved to the underside of the boy’s chin. He gently wiggled his fingers into the soft skin, chuckling as his little bro melted into the touch. His loud and bubbly laughter died down to soft, breathy giggles.

“Spill it, little man~” Raph practically purred as he said it, his tone softening with the next phrase. “We promise not to judge.” 

Mikey whined through his giggles, but didn’t squirm. Leo had long since released his arms; he just hadn’t noticed. “Uh-uhuhum…I wahanted to make youhuhu guhuys some d-dahanishehes for helpihing me throuhugh recovery.” He looked down, still not pulling away from the loving tickles. He’d never say it out loud, but he loved them.

“Ihi uhm… Ihihi kinda buhuhurned them. H-hahad a flare-up whehen they went ihin the ohohoven…” All three brothers’ expressions softened, even Donnie’s. The thought was incredibly sweet, and it wasn’t his fault his arms still hurt sometimes.

“Mikey…listen. We love ya. Even if you weren’t an awesome baker, we’d still take care of ya.” He continued to gently scritch under his chin, though the big guy limited it to one finger. Donnie jumped in, not making eye contact. “It’s not your fault you still get pains. Based on typical recovery times, you’re actually making exponential progress. Occasional aches are to be expected.”

“If you ever need anything, we’re all here for you. I could help with the baking and stuff, if you want.” Leo’s offer made his heart soar, as well as his other brothers’ kind words. Heartfelt moments like those would forever be cherished, especially that one.

He felt a few tears spring to his eyes, arms reaching for his bros’ hands. “Youhu guys are the behehest…” Raph stopped tickling, enveloping them all in a hug. Donnie whined, but he relaxed into the embrace. Mikey sighed, his heart full and the sadness from earlier in the day completely gone. He loved his brothers so freaking much…

[mischievousspooks]

Peek-a-boo

[imagionationstation]

The other day, I read a fic called "Two by Two" (or something along the lines) where both Leonardo and Raphael were humans but both Donatello and Michelangelo are mutant turtles (Hamato Yoshi is still a giant rat in this) and it depicts that, despite being (somewhat) weaker comparing to the other boys, Leonardo and Raphael makes it their personal goal in protecting the two from the horror this world got to offer.

While leaving for topside, Leonardo makes sure he scouted the area thoroughly, make sure that it's safe, etc— and absolutely forbad the two getting involved in any fights although both he and Raphael are vigilantes themselves.

So I harnessed an idea.

Introducing my AU: Skewered Two

Both Donatello and Michelangelo are a product of Kraang experiments and neither of them knew of their origins— whether or not they are originally humans or animals (or aliens) are a mystery yet to unravel. They looked human, but they were complimented with animal-like characteristics.

Donatello has wings— like, a whole 3 set of wings. One set is portruding from his ankle, one on his back (the biggest one) and one from his head. Otherwise, he would've looked human; with pale complexion, red eyes and pale brown wavy hair. His animal is a dove.

Michelangelo has gills— there's gills portruding from his arms, legs and head. Scales are littered, but he wasn't covered with it. He has tails. He would've looked human. His animal is an axolotl.

Both Leonado and Raphael are humans. Yoshi is still a rat.

Shenanigans ensues.

I feel like I know this story. Like, maybe I follow it?? Or I used to?? And it hasn’t been updated in a little while or somethin’??

Future addition: I meant to respond to this way sooner, but then I went looking for this Two by Two and totally forgot about this ask. I’m so sorry, but you mentioned something familiar! A fanfic of all things! Sadly, I never found it but now I wanna go searching again-

IT’S OUT THERE SOMEWHERE AND I WILL FIND IT!

Did you know Asks move to Drafts automatically after you write something? I do now.

Skewered Two sounds awesome!

I’m addicted to protective Leo&Raph fanfics. The idea of them being the weaker brothers of these winged/gilled mutants and still feeling the distinct needs to protect already has me craving some content to snack on. Ah, well.

Imagine Donnie being able to fly but having no way to do it tho! Like, Mikey could technically go for swims and embrace his nature, but flying around has to be risky. A rooftop is easier to duck down and hide on than the nights sky. Any human looks up and he’s straight busted. I wonder how often the wings get in the way, with clothes and what not… Mikey’s tails/gills too…

Mikey’s an animal, but with Donnie being partly human-looking, doesn’t that mean he’s so insanely close to being what he needs to be to fit in, but can’t fit the quota? Acceptance always is just out of reach… But perhaps, he’s more interested in focusing on their mystery past. I bet they get in a lot of trouble that their bros gotta bail them out of while finding answers.

I wonder how Splinter being a rat fits into all this…?

I don’t know if you’re the same person who shared your AU with Karai & Donnie as Shredder’s golden children and Mikey the oddball who befriends the ‘enemy’/future fam, but I love all the content!

Even if it never comes into fruition, I appreciate the sneak peeks into these different worlds! Thank you!

[lieutenantbiscute]

(Oof. I feel you on the pornbot asks. Hopefully it stops.)

If Draxum gets a redemption arc in Shellshock, how's that going to go down with the family?

(Ye it’s sucks balls bro)

Ooooh ShellShock Draxum redemption, Ive played around with the idea and I honestly think of it going the Endeavor route from BNHA. Him knowing he can’t really be redeemed so he seeks to atone.

But I also have this other idea when after the armor uses him (and more shenanigans happen) it kinda ends like Kubo and The Two Strings does. Where he has no real memory of what he’s done prior and it just completely lost. Wouldn’t help also that the majority of the family save like, Orion and maybe Donnie would want to help him.

That’s the other thing.

No one in the family would even want to help him. Raph and Mona are in the firm belief that he’s do nothing more than backstab them and with everything that’s happened with the kids prior, they aren’t taking any chances. Leo is very much siding with them as well, Mikey following his lead after Draxum’s whole stint of kidnapping the kids when they were 5, same with Donnie.

Cino and Rovva VERY MUCH despise him. Same with Venus, with Corrin he’s the reason he and Cino both have nightmares. Orion makes attempts to look past this, to see the better in him but it’s tough when your whole family, save for Cassandra, is against you redeeming the guy who’s the cause of the majority of your siblings trauma.

Lou won’t. Venus won’t. The Hamato family as a whole is very much against even working with him.

[misteria247]

Hopping off of you mentioning Porter Robinson, ‘Sad Machine’ is a big bop and an even bigger inspo for my AU shenanigans.

For the turtles is can definitely start out with ‘we depend on you’ being the young tots and ‘I depend on you’ being a recently mutated Splinter. The motif changing through the song as now the turtles are older and wiser and better at fighting—

‘We depend on you’

To Splinter, who has accepted his mutation and thrust into fatherhood ‘Id depend on you’

Idk man just the boys and their father being proud of how far they’ve come ;3;

Shell Shock wise it’s the same thing but with Raph and his brothers being proud of the new generation of Hamato fighters and at how bright the future looks

Porter Robinson songs really do be giving these great vibes that fit so well with these boys and their papa like omfg I love this dude fr fr and I'm gonna cry Shellshock Raph with his wife and brothers and babies??? Raising a new generation of Hamato clan members??? Doing the exact same thing their own dad did for them?????

Bro I'm like tearing up it's so damn sweet, this whole family is so damn sweet both your AU and the canon Hamato family I just aaaaaaa I love them sm dude-! 😭

[tmntstyle]

BIRTHDAY GONE WRONG

**BEEP BEEP BEEP**

A green hand reached over and hit the 'off' button on a Mickey Mouse alarm clock. Stretching and yawning loudly, Michelangelo slowly sat up in his bed. The young terrapin rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and glanced across his dimly lit bedroom.

"GASP! Today's the day!!" Mikey exclaimed as he hopped out of bed and bounded to his calendar in excitement. Mikey grinned and bounced in place as he viewed the highly decorated date on the kitten calendar Raph had gotten him for Christmas.

"Ooh I can't wait to see what my amazing older brothers have planned for me today."

Mikey set about to get ready for the day. Once the bathroom had been visited with teeth brushed and an orange mask had been tied securely on his face, Mikey skipped out to the main living area.

Sitting on a beanbag was Leonardo scrolling through some app on his phone, his shell facing Mikey. On the ground beside Leo sat Donatello tinkering with S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N. again. Nothing out of the ordinary here.

Hmm. Mikey shrugged and strode toward his immediate older brothers. "Good morning, dudes! It's a beautiful day, isn't it?"

Leo glanced up from his phone and turned his head to smile at Mikey. "It sure is, hermano. Too bad we can't go outside to enjoy it."

Confused by Leo's lack of acknowledgment of the day's importance, Mikey went and sat in front of his brothers.

"Well yeah, but I mean... It's a beautiful day down here. In sewer sweet sewer. Don't you think?"

Mikey directed the question at Donnie, who merely shrugged and said in a flat tone, "Don't know how this place can be anymore beautiful today than any other day."

'What is with these guys?' Mikey thought to himself. A bit disappointed by his brothers' lack of enthusiasm, Mikey stood and headed toward the kitchen.

'Maybe it's too early for any celebrating. Neither of them like mornings.' Then it was if a lightbulb turned on above his head. 'Aha! Of course! They have a big surprise planned and don't want to spoil it. Oh, those guys...'

Mikey hummed a light tune as he entered the kitchen. There, he found Raphael pouring milk into his bowl of cereal. Seeing his youngest brother, Raph smiled wide. "Mornin', little man!"

"Raaaph. How many times do I have to tell you? I'm NOT a 'little man'! I'm grown up like you!" Mikey rolled his eyes and huffed, placing his hands on his hips as he stared at his oldest brother.

"Right, right, sorry. Ya hungry, big guy?"

Mikey grinned and nodded. "You bet! What do we have?"

Raph looked at his brother in confusion. "Uh... Same stuff we always do. Cereal, toast, leftover pizza. Whatever you want."

Posture deflating, Mikey uttered an "Oh," and rifled through the fridge for the pizza box from the night before.

Heating up two slices of supreme pizza in the microwave, Mikey poured himself a glass of milk and took his 'breakfast of champions' (Leo's name for it) toward his room. Noticing Mikey's dejected behavior, Raph followed him.

"Somethin' wrong, bro?"

Mikey shook his head and opened his bedroom door. "Just still tired, I guess. Kind of a slow morning."

Nodding at his brother's words, Raph gave him a small smile. "I think we're all a bit tired. Take it easy for a bit."

Mikey didn't respond and shut the door behind him. Rather than sit and possibly drop grease on his bed, Mikey opted to sit in his egg-shaped floating chair. He sat his glass of milk down on his desk and started eating his pizza.

"What the heck is going on today? Does no one respect the joy of a birthday anymore? No happy morning greetings with confetti, no pre-made breakfast...no pops. Where is he?"

Setting his empty plate on the desk, Mikey sipped his milk and used his left foot to push on the floor. His chair lightly swung as he mulled over his family's behavior that morning.

After some time had passed, Mikey was woken out of his light doze by a knock on his door. Rubbing his eyes, Mikey called out, "It's always open!"

Splinter entered the room, ears twitching as he beheld his youngest and smallest child alone in his room. That alone was not concerning. What bothered Splinter was that Mikey seemed to have been asleep instead of painting or drawing or writing something. Keeping one hand behind his back, the older rat shut the door and walked toward his son.

"May I ask why you are alone in here and not with your family out there?"

Shrugging, Mikey kept his toes on the floor to maintain a steady swing of his chair. His right leg was bent underneath his left, hands resting on it. "Not much going on out there, dad. Seemed more fun to do my own thing than be around those party poopers."

Frowning at his son's words, Splinter sat on the edge of the bed and held out a brightly-colored box. "Well, I hope this can lift your spirits, Orange. It's not much, but I hope you like it."

Eyes widening at the expertly-wrapped gift, Mikey took the box from Splinter's hands. It wasn't overly big, nor was it small. Mikey smiled and tore off the orange wrapping paper, removing the lid covering the box.

Inside was a small book. Mikey gently lifted the brown leather tome, noting the professional binding. In gold lettering were the Japanese characters for Hamato on the spine. Turning the book over, Mikey found that there was no description for any story. Looking up, he saw Splinter smiling at him.

"It is a journal. Tradition in my family is to pass one down to your son to write of his life and adventures. Seeing as I have four sons, I had to decide which of you to give it to." Splinter reached out and flipped the book over to the front cover, pointing to an engraving on the bottom right corner.

"I knew a long time ago that it would be given to you once you had reached the right age. Of all my sons, you are the most creative and open-minded. I had your name engraved with April's help a few years ago. I hope you may find some use for it."

Mikey didn't know what to say at first. So he sniffed and threw his arms around Splinter in a tight hug. "Thanks, dad! This is the best birthday present I've ever gotten!"

Splinter chuckled and patted Mikey's shell. "I am glad you think so, my son."

Pulling out of the hug, Splinter stood and headed toward the door. "Feel free to join us whenever you wish. Though I am sure you would rather use this time to use your present."

Mikey grinned and nodded, grabbing a pen from his desk drawer. "You bet, pops. I'll be out there for dinner and topside shenanigans."

Smiling softly, Splinter left the room and shut the door behind him.

Hours of writing/doodling later, Mikey shut his journal and got out of his chair. Stretching his stiff limbs, Mikey checked his phone and was shocked to see that he had indeed missed lunch and nearly dinner.

"Oopsie! Guess I should finally make an appearance." The young turtle, mood drastically improved, exited his room and headed to the kitchen.

"Hiya guys! Wassup?" Mikey's entrance was met with wide eyes.

"Mikey! Where have you been? Haven't seen you all day!" Leo pulled out a seat at the table beside him. "I was bored without you."

Grinning, Mikey sat beside Leo and piled the pasta onto his plate. Other than Mikey himself, Leo was the best cook when he needed to be.

"Sorry. Got distracted. Excited to head topside, though!"

"Oh... Yeah, about that. No one is going up top tonight."

Groans and protests were the responses to Raph's statement. The leader merely crossed his arms and shook his head. "According to the news, a large storm is coming in. We're not going out there. End of story."

Sighing in defeat, Mikey rested his chin on his fist. He twirled noodles around the tines of his fork. 'Well this sucks,' he thought.

Standing up and grinning, Leo addressed the room. "Fear not, brethren! I have a fantabulous plan!"

Donnie rolled his eyes. "This oughta be good."

Ignoring his twin, Leo went on. "We can have a skateboarding competition! Winner decides on dessert and movie."

Mikey's eyes lit up at the idea. If he won, he could demand cake and an awesome movie. Then they would have to celebrate his birthday and reveal whatever surprise they've been hiding.

"I'm in!"

The four turtle brothers later stood at the top of their indoor skate ramp, skateboards in hand. "Alright, bro-hames. Rules are simple. Do a trick. Stick the landing. Winner will be decided by majority votes." Leo looked at his brothers for understanding. After an affirmative nod or thumbs up from each, Leo designated himself as first up.

The turtle in blue skated down the ramp and flew up the other side, completing a flip before skating down to the bottom. He finished with a twirl and bowed with one foot on the board. The other three clapped at the performance before moving on. Leo stood beside the ramp, watching as Donnie did a similar trick, but instead landed on his hands rather than his feet. Impressive.

"Why don't you go next, Mikey?" Ralph suggested.

Mikey grinned. "Don't mind if I do." With a determined look on his face, Mikey kicked off the edge of the ramp. 'Gotta win. Gotta win. Gotta win.' This chant overtook Mikey's thoughts as he picked up speed. When he made it up the other side of the ramp, he was too distracted to realize his placement and instead of doing any kind of trick, he plummeted toward the bottom of the ramp.

CRASH!

"MIKEY!!" Three turtles surrounded their fallen brother. "Mikey, you ok?" Donnie immediately assessed his younger brother for injuries. When he saw the unnatural angle of Mikey's left ankle, he cringed.

"Ooh, that looks bad. I gotta get you checked out then bandaged."

Shaking and silent, Mikey held his leg. No words came to him. Nothing except, "Ruined! It's ruined!"

Raph lifted Mikey delicately. "Don't say that, bro. Don'll fix your foot good as new." With that, the brothers headed to the genius' lab.

Mikey refused to speak after that. He didn't make a sound the entire time Don poked and prodded his obviously broken ankle. Even after being treated with utmost care and gentleness, Mikey remained mute.

"You're all fixed, Mikey. Can't you say anything? Not even 'ow'?" Leo tried his best to coax any words out of the youngest, but failed. Sighing, he patted Mikey's head. "Some birthday, huh?"

Mikey looked at his brother in shock. "Y-You remembered?" Taken aback by his brother's voice, Leo blinked several times before responding.

"Of course I remembered! That's why I came up with the skateboarding competition. I know how much you were looking forward to being topside today. Sorry my plan sucked."

"No! No no, your plan was great! I just... I thought you guys all... forgot. Or were just messing with me to surprise me later."

Leo swallowed and sat beside Mikey. "I'm sorry, Mikey. I didn't forget, but the others might have... They haven't talked about it at all."

Heaving a sigh, Mikey looked at his bandaged foot. This birthday sucks. Seems like everything went wrong today. No special breakfast, no party, not even a cake!

"Hey, I just remembered. I have something for you. Be right back." With that, Leo got up and left the lab.

A few minutes later, Leo returned carrying a cake, followed by Raph and Donnie. Both had apologetic looks on their faces.

"I'm so sorry, Mikey. I wasn't thinking. I can't believe I forgot what today is." Raph looked devastated. He took pride in caring for his family. This whole situation hurt him.

Donnie looked just as upset. He sat next to Mikey and took his hand. "Bro... Why didn't you say anything? We could've had a party!" Then the genius in purple smacked his own forehead. "April's text makes more sense now! That's what she meant by 'when's the party '!"

The three older turtles gave Mikey pleading faces. "Can you forgive us, bro? We didn't mean to give you a terrible birthday." Leo held the cake out to Mikey, candles lit.

Glancing at each brother, seeing the love and regret in their eyes, Mikey slowly smiled. "Of course you're forgiven. I can't stay mad at you guys. Besides, you brought cake! How can I say no to that?"

Three huge smiles were given in response. "Alright then," Raph said. "Blow out your candles and make a wish, big guy."

Mikey blew out the candles. "I have everything I need already. My family. My friends. Personal butlers who will cater to my every whim to make up for my sucky birthday and broken ankle." At this, his smile turned into a smirk.

"Isn't that right?"

Raph decided to answer for the group. "Sure, bro. Just until your foot heals."

Nodding, Mikey opened his arms. "You may hug me now."

His brothers chuckled and hugged him tight. They'd never forget important days like this again.

[ladylillycrawley]

Per permission of the great @suthnmeh, I’ve been allowed to post my reviews on her story “Ghost of a Chance” here on Tumblr!! So without further or do, my review:

-Going back to the previous chapter, I’m glad we got to see the other characters responses to the shenanigans that took place in Donnie’s lab. As much as I love the Apriltello theme that got to be played out these last few chapters, I was a bit interested to see what the other characters were thinking too! Don’t get me wrong, I LOVED the lil Donnie and April moment when they and Leo were talking about what had happened. That was friggin’ adorable!

-I have been questioning the Lotus clan’s leader motive in bringing the item in the first place. Later in the chapter she says that she essentially was indebted to the spirit (in this case, Tang Shen), so I’ve been wondering about the relationship between both women before Shen’s death. Where they long-lost sisters? Where they best friends at one point, got into an all-out feud and now it’s a matter of repaying respects/apologizing? Very suspicious indeed…

-Speaking of suspicious: lots of people have been wondering and asking about the future turtles and how weird the whole situation is with the man unanswered questions. Personally, I do find it odd how there doesn’t seem to be a lot of clarity on what exactly is going on. To an extent, it does make sense. Why risk endangering the future by meddling in the present? On the other hand, knowledge can be a great weapon to any problem so I can understand where the present turtles are coming from. Long story made short in the regard: I’m going to try and not speculate… yet. Reason being is cuz: 1) we haven’t met the future turtles so why prejudge now, and 2) we still have to wait and see what is up with Karai and her inner struggles later on in chapter 24.

-Side tracking for just a bit here, but regarding April: dang girl! I totally get why she’s upset and freaking out a little (not that I blame her really) but to stand up to the leader of the Lotus? Gotta admit, I became a bit worried about her considering she’s already on thin ice… Hoping that her little stealth mission with Donnie brought more clarity to the table though.

-And lord almighty, poor Donnie. First getting the life nearly ripped from his body by an angry ghost, then to have both the Hamato and Lotus clans demand answers whilst he’s still trying to catch his breath, and now it’s off for punishment time with Splinter. Shakes head lightly The dude needs a vacation, like yesterday fast haha!

-And then there’s Queen Leo… I mean, I love the kid but really? Bo trippin’ on your freaked out bro like dat? You’d think that out of all of his siblings, he’d listen to Donnie the most. Glad to see his power trip falter slightly when he saw that Donnie looked flipped out, April was scared out of her wits, and that they were right about the whole ghost thing. Huh, who knew, right Leo?

-Karai’s reaction kinda got to me though. I mean, I’m super close to both of my parents, so if I overheard that this random person held my mom or dad’s spirit with them in a pendant, I’d be super upset as well! Going against my family and fathers wishes, eh not so much of a good idea. Then again, I was a teenager at one point in my life so I’m sure I probably would of felt and thought the same.

-My biggest concern (as is everyone else’s of course) is whether or not Splinter should know about Tang Shen’s ghost and the events that transpired. Being the passive-aggressive/harmonious person that I am, I had some inner conflict about what I’d do if I were placed in that situation. I believe that the turtles are right in keeping this info to themselves for now but I bet Splinter will find out about it sooner or later.

And that’s all that I can dish up so far for this chapter. As always, it was well written, beautifully developed, and I loved reading every single word of it! You ladies (both authors and beta readers) are all so very talented and your story is beyond appreciated! Whenever life gets a bit tough or if I feel like I need to escape reality for a while, I always turn to reading fanfics like this which makes this nerd feel better in seconds! Once again, a thousand thank you’s, and I look forward to the next update!