#it always looks like donnie is wearing headphones what i do stuff like this

[kuro8566]

I did an other screenshot redraw but human,

This time its ANGST!!!!

Here is some donnie angst (from the movie)

(Don't know why I'm doing so much donnie, my favorite is leo??????? Eh I'm just following where my mind wants to go)

[crystalandparrot]

ROTTMNT x Reader

Part 1, Part 2

The flashing of cameras and the voices of reporters was the first thing Leonardo heard as he stepped out of his limo. Due to the long plane ride, Leo decided to wear comfort over fashion, although it's hard for him to look bad in anything. He wore a white wife-beater, revealing his plastron and tattooed arms. Much like his brother, Leonardo loved art, he just loved it in a more show-off sense. Of course, he let his brother give him his first tattoo, a large colored portrait of their family on his thigh. On his legs were blue sweats, a personal favorite that his agent always advised him not to wear. Expensive shoes designed for him specifically adorned his feet. Finally, silver chains decorated his wrists and neck (he would have chosen gold, but his brother advised against it. C'mon, blue and gold?), glistening with each movement. He flashed a smirk at the cameras and gave finger guns at fans. One of his bodyguards leaned close to whisper in his ear, "You have a meeting with the executive producers in thirty minutes."

"Which means I get at least twenty-eight minutes to strut my stuff." Leo chuckled. With split-second motions, Leo changed between poses, performing for the camera.

"-mask!"

Leo turned and stared into the crowd, "W-Who said that?" The crowd parted as if making way for a royal or God to walk without interruption. A small woman with a microphone in her hand shook as Leo approached. "Just now, you said something, what was it?"

The small girl stuttered, "I asked i-if you could put on y-your mask. F-for a picture for Channel 10?"

Leo's heart dropped, and his breathing quickened. A pat on his shoulder shook him out of his mini panic attack. He nodded thanks at his bodyguard and gave the reporter a quick grin, " I don't even know where that old thing went! It's been, what, psshh, five years? It's probably shoved in a box somewhere." That satiated the hungry reporters and fans, for now. Leo and his bodyguard left, heading off to the large building behind the crowd.

Okay, first things first. You don't know the old password so you can't change it to one you'll remember. So you changed the screen dimming time to never. Now the phone won't shut off on its own. Dialing your number, you called about three times with no answer. A sudden thought crosses your mind, causing your palm to hit your face. Your phone was on silent. Taking a deep breath, you quickly texted your number, explaining the situation and the password to unlock your phone. That way the turtle Yokai won't be as clueless as you are now.

With nothing else to do, you connected your headphones to the turtle's phone and searched for Spotify. It was his fault, the least he could do was spare some tunes. Wait a minute...his Spotify account...this dude was Othello Von Ryan? Man, you couldn't wait to see him again. His studying playlists kept you awake and alert through college! His barrage of random music, ranging from 80's dancing music to hardcore techno kept your mind alert and focused. Donnie, or, Othello Von Ryan, helped you with memory. Oddly enough, some of the quirky tunes in his playlists gave you memorization songs.

In fact, now that you think about it, Donnie looked an awful lot like your favorite actor--

"(Y/n)! Come in, dear! I've been expecting you!" A shrill voice called from across the street.

You looked up, spotting Mrs. Erin, the Heron Yokai. You grinned, pulling your headphones out of your ears and shoving them in your pocket. You waved at the Yokai as you crossed the street, stepping into her swampy garden. "How's your husband, Mrs. Erin?"

"Oh, Harry's fine! Come in! Come in! Let me get you a cup of tea." The old Yokai hobbled inside, her talons dragging across the waterlogged wood. You followed behind closely, used to the drab environment. You learned throughout life that the more you understand how something came to be, the more beautiful it becomes. With a clap from you, the twinkling string of lights came on. It's warm glow bouncing off the waxy leaves that broke through the cracked windows. Dew drops fell onto the wet floor, filling the room with quiet plip plaps.

A chipped cup of lukewarm tea was placed in your hand. A feathery hand pushed you down onto an old rocking chair, the owner of the hand sitting down across from you. "I want you to tell me all about this new job!" Erin grinned with a toothless smile.

"It's just a small librarian job at the school up top." You said, sipping your tea.

"Up top! With all those-those monsters?" Erin screeched.

"They're not all monsters! Some of them—"

"(Y/n). When your mother died I promised your father I'd make sure that you were safe! W-wouldn't you rather stay home? Marry a nice Yokai and settle down?" Erin tottered closer to you and grabbed your hands.

You chuckled, "I'm not exactly looking for someone to settle down with yet. I'm ready to get out there and explore! Besides, I can protect myself!" You said, proudly.

"E-even with all the humans?" Erin stuttered.

You blinked at Erin, your face neutral, "Mrs. Erin. I'm human."

"I know! B-but you're one of the good ones! I'd hate for you to go up top where I won't know what happened—Oh!" The old Yokai snatched the cup of tea from your hands and peered into the old china. She glared at the leaves and swirled the remaining liquid in the cup. With a gasp that jostled your core, Erin’s beak stretched into a long smile. She breathed a sigh of relief and set down the cup. “I was worried for nothing. You’re going to fall in love and get married to a nice, young, handsome Yokai.”

You shook your head, yet a smile still sat on your cheeks, “Maybe in a couple of years, Mrs. Erin. I’m not in any rush to get married to anyone right now.”

“Oh, I’m sure!” The Heron chuckled like she knew something you didn’t. Without warning, she began pushing you out of the house. “Okay, bye-bye now! The quicker you go up top the faster you fall in love!” With that, the door was slammed in your face, the sound echoing through the marshy area.

“Love you too.” You said flatly. You pulled the mystery phone back out of your pocket and put in your earbuds again. When you clicked onto Spotify, a notification popped up.

“Leonardo Hamato back in NYC for upcoming movie shoot, exclusive interview from Channel 10.”

Huh. How weird would it be if you ran into your favorite actor while after just moving back up top? Probably entirely impossible, but it was nice to hope, right?

"Shoved in a box?! Did you hear him?"

"I did."

"Shoved in a box?! Ugh! He's just so—"

"Annoying, pompous, overconfident, lacking in empathy, ass-like?"

Mikey turned to Donnie, his hair falling into his face as his head whipped around. "I was gonna say stupid, but yeah, those work too." Mikey nodded, turning back to the T.V, seeing the reporters final words to the camera once Leo left the cameras view.

Donnie felt himself N.E., which stood for Nose Exhale. Mikey learned that phrase years ago and thought it was more fitting than L.O.L for his emotionally unavailable brother. While it was rare for Donnie to "laugh out loud", when he found something humorous, he always let out a little breath of a chuckle through his nose.

"I just...out of everything he could have done...why'd he have to take away the one thing that..."

When Mikey paused, Donnie looked up from his purple holographic screens that he had been typing on. He saw Mikey looking at the screen sadly, and he knew it wasn't from the sad dog commercial that came on, but the interview that came before it. "That what, Michael?" Donnie asked, the screens disappearing.

"Nothing, it's stupid," Mikey sniffed, wiping his eyes before tears could escape.

"Leo is stupid, you're emotionally intelligent. You obviously have a reason to feel what you feel. You're not stupid for feeling emotions, Michelangelo." Donnie used his full name with the intention of leaving an impact.

Mikey chuckled and turned to Donnie, tears running down his smiling face, "Thanks, D."

Donnie nodded and sat up in his bean bag (yes it was his, the purple color made it obvious), "I may have taken a page or two from Dr. Delicate Touch," he shrugged.

"Nah, that was Dr. Feelings for sure," Mikey joked, knowing his brother was rather uncomfortable with feelings, but to be fair, he had gotten a lot better. Realizing this, Mikey sighed. Donnie appreciated honesty over anything, so this was something he needed to get off his chest, for his sake and his brother's. "Dad always called us by the color of our masks. Red, Orange, Purple...but Leo's not wearing his anymore. It's like he disowned us...he's not Blue anymore." Mikey began tucking his head and limbs into his shell with every word. By the end of his sentence, only his shell was visible sitting in front of the empty recliner.

This time Donnie sighed, he stood and gripped the purple beanbag so it stayed comfortably on his rear while he shuffled towards his brother. Letting gravity help him, Donnie let himself and the beanbag fall to the ground. He wiggled slightly and hummed, pleased at the fact that his position hadn't changed and the beanbag was still holding his shell and rear perfectly. Using his hand, he hesitantly patted Mikey's shell in comfort. "Leonardo's done some idiotic things in the past. I'd put this in his top ten, actually." Donnie thought aloud, but shook his head, remembering his original point, "He’s a dumb-dumb but, unfortunately, he'll never stop being our brother."

Mikey poked his head out, looking in Donnie's eyes for...something. A lie? Hope? Donnie didn't know, but whatever he found, he liked it, because the next moment, Mikey had his head and limbs out. He outstretched his arms, but didn't move aside from that. Donnie rolled his eyes, although a small smile poked at his lips. With a nod from Donnie, Mikey jumped onto him, giving him the tightest hug that he thought he'd ever received. Donnie hugged back.

Thankfully for Donnie, Mikey understood boundaries, and separated from Donnie before the hug got too overwhelming. Sloppily wiping his tears and sucking up his snot, Mikey gave Donnie a sincere smile. "Thanks, Don."

Donnie nodded, a small smile on his own lips. Out of his battle shell came a robotic arm holding a tissue. Mikey took the tissue and blew his nose as the robotic arm retracted back into the shell. "Hey-"

"I would prefer if you finished blowing your nose before you change the subject, please." Donnie asked, pulling up his holographic screens once more with the help of his Ninpō.

Mikey obeyed, then tossed the tissue into the trashcan on the other side of the room. When it landed, Mikey pumped his fist in a silent cheer. "What happened at the Mystic City? We were chasing Meat Sweats and you stopped to talk to some girl." Mikey remembered.

"Oh, yeah. Raph was texting about meeting for dinner, so I naturally opened my messages to form a reply, when—" Donnie pulled out his phone to show Mikey the texts when he immediately felt something amiss. The case was the same, the weight was equal to his phone, the model was the exact same, everything looked fine. But this is Donnie, he lost his phone for less than a day and went nearly insane when he was still a teenager. Give him a week and he might've made a phone from just things in the woods. He knew everything about his phone.

"Donnie?" Mikey called, noticing his brother's sudden silence.

Shakily, Donnie turned over the phone, noticing the background first, then the surplus of texts and calls from his phone number. He whispered something too quiet for Mikey to hear.

"What?" Mikey asked, putting his hand up to the side of his head where his ear would have been.

"This. Isn't. My. Phone."

[britt-kageryuu]

It's early evening, things are calm, and Donnie is playing as a Horrible Goose. He has his model dressed in his Dinosaur Onesie, and matching slippers, and on the purple inflatable chair, against a background that made it look like he mas next to a pond somewhere. Animated turtles are swimming in said pond, including a softshell that keeps popping up to 'bite' the chair.

"This game very much matches my more mild Cain Instincts. Maybe I'll recommend this to Blue later. Though I must make sure he's never seen anything about the game first. Dubious Chuckle." Donnie does lets out a sinister sounding chuckle. "Clears Throat. I mean, I must be sure he plays this blind, it would be more entertaining! For you, and for me ofcourse."

Suddenly a loud mechanical hiss and growl could be heard, that startles Donnie. He quickly paused the game, and removed his headphones to check out what made the noise. His model goes off screen which reveals an animated red eared slider now basking on the seat of the chair. It has a little speech bubble that says 'BRB!!'

Chat goes nuts with many already creating Conspiracy Theories, while others are spamming how cute the little turtle animations look.

A few minutes later Donnie comes back, sits back down, and puts his headphones back on, all while looking mildly annoyed.

"Annoyed Sigh. Before anyone asks, that was River. A while back I bought her a game to keep her distracted that she wanted. But now she's annoyed because there is currently a bug that crashes the game every few times she cooks, and she also can't find a collectable, and every search result for it's location is one she already got." He decides to take his frustration out on the glasses wearing kid that is needed to continue the area puzzles/to-do list. "We believe the Collectables might not be labeled properly in the guides because of a different set where the first one in the list order is the last you collect for the area."

He proceeded to steal a bunch of random stuff from the market stalls, even stuff not necessary for the task list. Honking all the while.

"I wonder how hard it would be to re-skin the Goose into something else? I'll try that out later. As for Rivers game problem? It's apparently a common issue, and many have a similarly problem. Including one of the lists saying an item is missing, when the list is fully checked off."

A donation notification goes off that gets 'chased' off the screen by a goose with a purple bandana and Donnies goggles.

"Thank you for the donation, but the message was cut off, again. I guess that's another thing to work on later!" Donnie suddenly stretches out his body while still sitting. Arms stretched above his head with his hands clasped together, his legs held out straight with his slipper covered feet at slightly odd angles. Slight cracks or pops can be picked up by the mic. Ending with a loud yawn from Donnie himself.

"It's still early, but I feel like it's much later, must be from staying up too late last night watching memes... and I'll do it again tonight because I don't always control how easy it is to sleep! Light laugh, or would it be joking?" Donnie looks upward while thinking. He then pulls out his phone to check something. "Darn, it's definitely too late to have my preferred drink, and I'm being lightly threatened to get to sleep before midnight. The horror!"

He says all of this is such a deadpan tone that chat doesn't know how to interpret the moment.

"Okay, let's get the next area completed, then I will have to swim off to dinner. So let's embrace the goose, and annoy more people!!!"

The stream ends an hour later, with at least 4 new emojis of geese dressed in color coded bandanas, and a accessory to match their turtle counterparts.

--------------------

Masterpost

[lastknownstatus-alive]

took over a year but i updated the ref of the Some Guy + finally drew what i think his back looks like lmao

some stuffs:

i did a crime and dropped the headphone thingys - he just wears funky, tangible goggles now (they finally make SENSE hell yeah)

went back to making the mask tails a little longer and hang lower

weird pants straps i just replaced with utility packs

i always liked the idea of donnie slimming up his battleshells as he grows to be less dependent on his tech + become an even more skilled engineer, to the point that they more closely resemble his actual shell

i'll do the other guys...probably. maybe.

[donatellokinnersinner]

my gift for @miri-in-a-bottle for @rottmnt-secret-gifting

When Donnie was little, he was a little odd to his brothers. 

He took a while to start talking, and because of his soft shell, Splinter wouldn’t let him play rough. When he was a little older, he remained out of their play on his own, even with the pillow tied to him, and would often take it off because he didn’t want to wear it. 

He claimed his shell wasn’t a weakness, just a temporary setback. 

Raph didn’t know what that meant at the time, but he understood later when Donnie made his first battle shell. The beta test allowed him to roughhouse with his brothers and ended in the shell breaking, scratching up his shell some, and Raph promising himself never to play rough with his little brother again. 

The second version was sturdier, but his brothers refused to help him test it. 

The third was on for an hour before Donnie took it off and locked himself in his room for the rest of the night. 

Suddenly, he added padding on the shells, searching fervently with Mikey, who said his tastes were so refined that Donnie rejected almost every textile they found. It was like trying to find a needle in a haystack for Donnie, ending up on taking a mostly clean satin pillowcase and wrapping it around memory foam. 

Leo was the first to find him during a meltdown, and from then on, was the first to do research and offer as educated of help as he could manage. He explained everything to Raph and Mikey, so they could know and help if he was unable. 

They didn’t have to, not when Leo was always there first. Donnie would oh-so-easily go to Leo for help because he knew he didn’t have to ask for it, his twin would just know. 

On their way back from Staten Island, Leo passed out, and Donnie panicked. Leo was always the one to know the medical stuff, Donnie only knew the basics. 

“I’m an engineer, not a doctor.” 

They called Draxum, and he helped, and once Leo was all patched up, Raph realized that Donnie had disappeared. 

He found him in his room, curled up in the corner crying, with all the light off. 

Don’t try to touch him, and keep your voice low. Leo had instructed. 

Raph crouched nearby. “Hey buddy.” 

Donnie peeked at him from where he was curled up.

Check for any injuries, sometimes pain will send him over the edge, sometimes it’s just overwhelming situations. 

Raph took a breath. The situation had been overwhelming for all of them, so he couldn’t imagine how Donnie was feeling, and there were likely injuries on top of that. “Are you hurt anywhere?” 

He probably won’t outright say yes, but he will say no if he’s not hurt. 

Donnie shrugged, and Raph swallowed. “We need to make sure you get cleaned up, bud. We can make it quick, and then you can rest, I promise.”

Donnie sniffled, nodding.

He likely won’t talk, he might sign if he needs to say something. 

“Do you need help walking?” Raph asked. 

Donnie didn’t respond, moving to stand up on his own, but Raph could see him shaking. He offered his hand, allowing Donnie to make his own choice in taking it, which he did, putting his weight against his arms, both pushing against his biggest brother’s hand. 

Raph slowly led him to the bathroom, helping him take off his battle shell and getting him into the bathtub. He tried not to touch Donnie as much as possible, and made sure the water was a perfectly moderate temperature, so it wouldn’t feel like much. He tried not to panic at the mess of his brother's shell, looking like roots had been torn out of soft dirt and small bits of white could be seen through the slowly oozing blood. 

“We gotta go get this stitched up, Dee.” Raph told him and Donnie nodded slowly, letting his eldest brother help him out of the bath and into the medbay where Splinter and Casey Jr took care of him. 

Once they were done and he was all curled up with a blanket, he stared half-lidded across the room at Leo, and Raph swallowed. 

He left the room, getting Donnies headphones and bringing them back to the softshell, who relaxed when they were given. He signed Thank you. 

You’re welcome. Raph signed back, then patted beside his hand reassuringly. 

Donnie reached out and squeezed his hand, humming. 

Raph squeezed it back, giving him a smile.

(hope you enjoy!!!)

[havethetimeofyourstyles]

You and Me

Thank you to @msmarian94 for requesting this! 

This was kinda rough lol, but hope you all enjoy!

*gif not mine*

You’ve kind of always been the shy type.

Ever since you were younger, you’ve always sat on the sidelines, watching your classmates play on the playground as the teacher’s encouraged them to “stop running!” You’ve developed some sort of FOMO (fear of missing out) from being so shy and socially awkward.

Social anxiety really got the best of you during middle school and high school. Although you’ve made one good friend, Isabel, that stuck with you through it all, you’ve never really branched out to make new friends because you didn’t know how or what would be a good conversation started.

You were gorgeous—are gorgeous. Many people knew that too. You were a bit oblivious to it all; how people would stare at you, and many guys you used to go to school with, used to try and talk to you. And oblivious to just simply how gorgeous you are. But then again, your social anxiety got the best of you.

Then came around college. You didn’t have to freak out just yet because you and Isabel were going to the same college for only two years, but it’s when uni started that made you freak out a bit. Isabel was going to school in Ireland for business as you were still in London studying for journalism.

Uni was the time you had to break out of shell. It was definitely hard to though. It wasn’t as easy as it seemed. You’re practically in a new environment and you knew no one. Everyone that you passed by seemed like they knew someone. That made you a bit sad and frustrated.

Your roommate was nice to you, that was a plus. She would always invite you to parties on school night, which you kindly decline, saying you had a paper to write or a book to read, which is true 90% of the time. Other 10% is that it’s not really your scene. You’d rather stay in than go out, and you don’t see a problem with that. You’d also get a chance to call your family almost every night, and you can admit you’re getting homesick.

“Love, you need to go out! Stop trapping yourself in that dorm of yours or you might go crazy.”

“I-It’s hard, Mum. You know how I am.” You frown to yourself as you hear your mother sigh on the phone.

“I sure do, but how will you ever get out of that shell if you don’t try?”

You were sat outside of a cafe that’s close to the dorms. Your last class had cancelled and so you decided to take advantage of the nice weather London offered only a few times of the year. As you scanned over your notes and back to your laptop, someone cleared their throat causing you to cut your focus.

“Uh, hi. I don’t want to be that person, but seeing as there are no seats available inside and your table seems like the only one with a chair empty. D-do you mind if I sit here?” The stranger smiled softly. He was very attractive, you have to admit. He had a bit of a softness to him that you liked. This also could be a very great opportunity to practice your social skills, and who knows, maybe you’ll befriend this guy.

You nod. “Sure!” You say too excitedly for your liking. “I-I mean, yeah, okay, uh, yeah.” You say in a more lower tone. He chuckles a bit at your fumble of words and takes a seat. You quickly move your folders and book out of the way and set them on your lap.

“I’m Harry, by the way.” Harry reaches out his hands, which you gladly take, proceeding to tell him your name and that it’s a pleasure meeting him. In which, he smiles.

“What are you studying for anyway?” Harry asks.

“Oh, uh, basically reading stuff about American literature. Proper boring if I’m being honest.” You say shyly.

“Yeah, I remember taking American literature. Wasn’t my go to, that’s for sure.”

“What about you? What are you studying?”

“Actually, I’m not in school anymore. I graduated about 2 and half years ago.” Harry says and you’re shocked. He looks about your age and he looks insanely good.

“What? What are you blushing about?” You hadn’t even realized you were blushing, making you blush even more out of embarrassment. “C’mon, tell me.” He says as he flashes his beautiful, dimpled smile at you.

“Uh, it’s embarrassing.” You put your head down, tucking your hair behind your ear.

“Alright, I won’t push ya to it.” He smirks.

You simply went to the cafe to utilize the extra free time you had for studying and writing your paper, but that time was used talking to Harry and getting to know him, and vice versa. You’ve come to find out that he’s a sweet and down to earth person. He doesn’t push or nag you about personal things that people love to talk to strangers about, and you appreciate that.

Instead, you both talk about school and work, which you’ve come to find out that he works in a big marketing business. And you realized that he’s kind of perfect for that job. He loves to talk and talks with enthusiasm, which you think he’s fit for. You talk about hobbies: he loves to write and read on the side, and he loves to sing and play the guitar. The taste in music and movies: he loves the oldies. Anything from Fleetwood Mac, The Rolling Stones, Donny Hathaway, Van Morrison, you name it. He’s also a sucker for a good romcom.

You realized that it was getting rather late, and as you were collecting your stuff, you were getting a bit sad having to leave and stop talking to him.

“It was nice talking to you.” Harry says as you stand up and give him a smile

“You too, Harry.”

“I’ll see you when I see you.”

It was two months later when you saw Harry again. You decided to take a stroll in the park, thankful for the sunny weather again. Your earphones are in as you listen to a recent podcast you found interesting on the science of being transgender. It was something your friend sent you and it’s always great to be educated.

You take in the scenery in front of you with your hands in your cardigan pocket as you walk on the gravel cement. You people watch as you watch parents play with their kids and people jogging passed you. And a specific person you think looks very familiar.

A person looking very familiar walking towards you.

You take your headphone out. “Uh, hi Harry.”

He looks at you with bright eyes and gives you a big smile. “Oh my god, hi! How are you?” He gives you a hug, which you gladly to hug him back.

“I’m good, I’m good. Just here for a walk. How’ve you been?”

“Likewise, but I’ve been okay. To be honest, I was kind of regretting not asking for your number after we met.” He says shyly.

You blush. “Oh, wow. Uh, did you still want it?”

“I’d love to have it.” You gladly exchange numbers and proceed walking together in the park.

“Would you like to go on a date with me?” You look at him with shocked eyes.

“Y-you want to go on a date? With me?” You say nervously.

“Just said that, didn’t I?” He chuckles.

“Okay. Yeah, sure. I’d love to.” He smiles.

“Great.”

You’d thrown clothes and put them back on the hangers until you found the perfect outfit to wear. You wore a simple black, two piece skirt outfit with a chunky cardigan, and a bit of a heel. Makeup was always minimal, sticking to only mascara and eyebrow gel, knowing full well you don’t know how to do a full face.

“You look amazing tonight. I mean you look great all the time, but you really do look great.” Harry says as he’s sitting across you with a menu in his hands.

“Thank you, Harry. You look great too.” He smiles and looks back down at the menu as you do too.

“This place is quite the scene.” You say.

“I wanted it to be perfect for you.”

“You could’ve taken me anywhere and I would’ve loved it.”

You notice some people look at you in the most rude way possible, knowing you don’t fit into the scene. Harry notices the way people look at you, and you noticing how they look at you both.

“Hey.” You’re quick to bring your attention back to him and turn your head to look at him. “Don’t worry about them, okay? It’s just you and me tonight.” You nod your head and smile at him. It’s just the two of you.

After a successful first date, you’re giddy about him. I mean, who wouldn’t after? You’ve come to find out he’s a bit older than you. As you’re only 20, you find out he’s 25, working for a big marketing company. You’re slightly intimidated by that, but he reassures you it’s just fine, and he likes you for you, not your age.

After the second date, you feel as if you’re falling for him. It’s quite early on, but you’ve never experienced this before and with texting him almost every second of the day, you can’t help it. At the end of the date, he drops you off at your dorm.

Harry on the other hand, has quite fallen for you too. People are always so skeptical about ages, but he simply doesn’t care. That’s just something people are going to throw at you both if you proceed to date. It’s been quite a while since he’s done the whole dating thing, and he thinks it seems so right with you. Even though it’s only the second date.

“I had a lovely time tonight. Always do when I’m with you.” He says as holds your hand and doesn’t let go, as you’re both standing in front of your door.

“Me too. Thank you for tonight.” He brings your hand up to his mouth and kisses it. You smile, which then leads to him smiling. He pulls you in for a hug and you hug him tightly, not wanting the night to end. Harry pulls back and brushes the hairs out of your face and behind your ear.

“Can I kiss you?” He whispers as he looks at your lips. You’re frozen, shocked by his request.

“I-okay. I, uhm, I’ve never actually kissed someone before.” He looks you in the eye, finding some sort of lie in them, but finds that you’re actually telling the truth.

“No worries. I’ll just kiss you here,” he kisses you on the forehead. “And here.” He moves down to your nose. “And here.” He shifts to your left cheek. “And another one right here.” He proceeds over to the other cheek. Harry pulls away and look at your with glimmering eyes; the one that you’ve fallen for and it makes your heart burst. And the next thing you know, you’re pulling his arm and your lips connect with his. The kiss lasts for about 7 seconds. You’re both just enjoying the feel of each other with the most romantic gesture. You let go and open your eyes, seeing as he’s slowly opening his. He gives you a smile as he caresses your cheek.

“I’ve been waiting for that.”

Just a week after, you and Harry went on your third date to the local fair. It was by far your favorite date as you ate kettle corn, funnel cakes, and anything greasy you can imagine. You both played games and went on rides. After you won the round of shooting the water into the little hole, he saw the bright look on your face and how you lit up when you’re happy, so he couldn’t help but ask.

“Will you be my girlfriend?” You stopped jumping and looked at him.

“Did you just ask what I think you asked?”

“I sure did.”

“You want to be my boyfriend?” He nods happily. “And you want me to be your girlfriend?” He nods again.

“I really like you. I want to be able to call you my girlfriend. So...”

“Yes! Yes, of course!” You throw your arms around him and give him a big hug as he kisses your shoulder.

A few months after you and Harry made it official, you both couldn’t get enough of each other; always finding time to hang out with each other and go on dates. You’ve learned so much about him and he, you. It was pure bliss and happiness. You’ve never been so happy before. Naturally, your parents and Isabel asked you questions about him. Of course, mentioning the obviously that he was a bit older, but you shook it off because Harry is overall such a gentleman.

You and Harry were leaning on about a year and two months of being together and you still can’t believe the love he gives you. It’s definitely something you’re still not used to. You truly could not have asked for a better boyfriend.

Harry feels over the moon about you. He would do anything and everything for you without hesitation. Even though you would tell him not to, he doesn’t mind. He loves spoiling you with the love that you deserve. He loves everything about you. From when you blush shyly at the compliments he showers you with to the way you look when he’s deep inside of you, making you feel amazing.

He was kind of on the edge when you told him that you wanted him to make you feel good and finally have sex since it was your first time, but you reassured him that you’d want him and only him to make you feel at bliss.

Harry had invited you to a work party as his company was celebrating 40 years. To say the least, you were nervous. You had to make a good impression on his co-workers and his boss. He’s a big name of the company and has brought many successes over the years of being there, so you have to make yourself worthy of the big shot that he is.

The venue was rather nice. It was decorated with pretty light on the ceiling and dim lights with music playing in the background. People dressed amazingly as they held their drinks in one hand and greeting people with the other.

“Ah, Harry! There you are, was waiting for you to show up.” A man with black and gray hair, and beard greeted Harry.

“I’ve made it and I’ve brought the girlfriend. Daniel, meet my girlfriend.” Daniel put his hand out. “This is my boss.” You gladly shake his hand.

“Harry’s good at what he does. Keep him on his feet, will ya?” You chuckle.

“Will do. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Well, gotta go say hi to more people and make my rounds. Harry, lets have a drink later. And the missus, it was a pleasure.” You and Harry smile and bid him a ‘see you later.’

An hour or two into the party, you encouraged Harry to go and mingle, saying you didn’t mind sitting here. He gives you a kiss, saying he promised he would be back in 30, which you tell him to take his time.

“So Harry, how did you meet your girl?” Daniel asks as he takes a sip from his drink.

“We met outside of a cafe and I asked if I could sit with her. Then I saw her again two months later, and asked her out on a date.” He smiles, thinking back at the memory and start of your relationship.

“Ahh. That’s nice. Cliche, but nice. What does she do if you don’t mind me asking?”

“No, not at all. She’s actually still in school. This is her last year before she starts working, but she does intern at the publishing house.”

“Oh. She’s still in school?” Hart nods. “How old is she anyways?”

“S-She’s 21. Why?” Harry asks skeptically.

“It’s just that—don’t you think she’s a little young for you?” Daniel raises his eyebrows.

“Young? She’s only like 5 years younger than me.” Harry tries to stay calm as he explains, even though he knows he doesn’t have to.

“I’m just saying. What will happen if you’re what, 30? What will happen if you want to settle down and she doesn’t? She’d be at the peak of her life! She wouldn’t want to settle right away anyways. You’re obviously not getting any younger. All I’m saying is that: do you see a future with her and if she’s even worth it to wait for?”

The last part seemed like it was shade thrown at you. Harry is a very patient man. It takes a lot for him to get mad—furious. He clenches his fist, trying to maintain an appropriate attitude. He could say a whole lot to his boss right now, but again, that’s his boss. So Harry just stays quiet, hoping you’re having a better time than he is.

And you’re not.

During that time Harry was talking to Daniel, you were glad Harry was mingling at his work party while taking sips of his drink. Two ladies took a seat right next to you and you turn to look at them.

“H-Hello.” You say nervously. One of the girls raised her eyebrows.

“Are you Harry’s girlfriend?” The other asked.

“Yeah, I am.” You give them a soft smile.

“Tragic.” She replied with a low tone, but you heard her clear.

“I-I’m sorry?”

“I said that’s tragic.” She says in a more loud and clear voice. You give them a confused look. “It’s only tragic because he could do so much better than you.” She looks you up and down, and your face drops and you wish Harry could come over and interrupt. But they’re not wrong, are they? These two girls are drop, dead gorgeous as they wear low cut dresses that hug their body making them look even more sexier—attractive. And then there’s you.

You thought you had cleaned yourself up pretty well. You decided to step it up in the makeup department and tried out some basic eyeshadow. You still stuck with mascara and eyebrow gel, and finished it with a gloss. Your dress is a white halter dress that goes just above your knees as it shows your back, and flows out slightly. Your shoes are 2 to 3 inches of nude heels.

“And aren’t you a little too young to be in this place? You’re, what, 18?”

“I’m actually 21.” You say softly.

“Aww, that’s cute! Barely pass the drinking age in the states. Very cute.” They say sarcastically. You frown, trying not to cry. This is part of the reason you hated social events or parties. People can say some really rude shit and you’re there to just take it. You’ve never been a fighter and you don’t want to be, so you’re sat there, not trying to make a scene.

“Ladies.” Harry thankfully arrives just before you’re about to burst into tears. “How are you doing? Jenna, Mila?”

“We’re doing great, Harry!” Their voice suddenly changing. “We’re just having a chat with you’re lovely girlfriend.” They look at you in an almost threatening way, but back at Harry with dreamy eyes.

“Lovely, isn’t she? Beautiful thing, she is.” He looks at you with admiration and love, and it’s comforting—familiar.

“The loveliest.” They say in a fake tone.

“Well, we’re just about ready to head out. Hope you both enjoy the rest of your evening.” Your mine blocks out whatever they had said and whatever had happened from the time you left the party to the time you arrived at Harry’s.

“Did you enjoy the party?” Harry asks as he turns over to you in the bed. You turn to face him and only give him a nod, not trusting your voice.

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

“Do you ever regret being with me?” Harry looks at you with shock.

“Why would I ever regret being with you?”

“I don’t know. I’m younger than you. You’re a handsome, sweet, and charming man, and could possibly be with anyone. I’m just me.” You say with a sad tone.

“If you need to know, no. No I don’t regret being with you. I will never regret being with you.” You only nod.

“Jenna and Mila brought this up didn’t they? I was watching you from the bar, and noticed that your face dropped and that you were about to cry while they were talking to you. So I had to get my love out of there.”

You sigh. “I appreciate it, Harry. But yeah, I just don’t want you to miss out on opportunities, you know? I don’t want you to regret being with me for a more classy and experienced person. I understand-“

“Stop. Please. Look, I don’t want you to ever think that, okay? Who said I was missing out on opportunities anyways? I love experiencing new things with you. You mean the world to me and I love you so much. You’re the first person to make me feel something. I don’t give a fuck what they think. You’re only five years younger than me so I don’t see what the problem is. All that matters is you and me, got it?” That made you feel extremely better. The reassurance he made you feel is 10x more relaxing.

“Thank you, Harry. I love you too.” You give him a kiss.

“You know, Daniel said almost the same thing.” You raise your eyebrows. “Said that if you’re even worth the wait if I wanna get married or some shit like that.” You stay silent, not knowing what to say. I mean Daniel was somewhat right. If I don’t want to get married right now and Harry does, it’s only natural it won’t work out. “That doesn’t matter what he says anyways.”

“Why?”

“Because love, I would wait for you until you’re ready. Sure I want to get married and have kids with you, but I know you’re not in a rush to do so, and I’m not either anyways. And if you don’t want to get married then fuck it! We don’t have to put an official title of Husband and Wife on us. I don’t care as long as I’m with you.”

“Harry, that’s so sweet. And just to clarify, I want to marry you and luckily have kids with you too.” Harry blushes at your words.

“I know we’ve only been together for a little over a year, but when I know, I know. And all I know is that I want that future with you. It’s just you and me.”

“And I know too.”

“Good.” He pecks your nose.

“Do you remember when we met; how you caught me blushing and I turned all red?” Harry chuckles.

“Yeah, I do. Still don’t know why you were so embarrassed.”

“You had just told me that you’ve graduated about 3 years from that time and I remember thinking how insanely attractive you look because I thought you were my age.” Harry lets out a loud laugh. “Hey! It’s not funny!” 

“You know what? Fuck age! If my girl thinks I look good then that’s all that matters.”

feel free to send in a request!

[bluesakurablossom]

Okay I got one! What would it be like if the boys had Tik Tok? And would they do it with their s/o?

I’m still learning Tik Tok as I have seen only a handful of videos so far, but I did do my research on this! The stuff that the boys have put up, all pretty awesome they would be the most popular vlogs on the app! Hope you like this! <3

Leo

·         Uses it the least of his brothers, but does use it

·         Often uses it to show off the best moves that he is capable of doing with his katanas

·         Will add some effects and music in some videos

·         Some of the videos will be expressing his mood after missions and patrols, letting his mind release on what he thought went well or what could have gone better

·         Will definitely show off his neatly trimmed bonsai tree or collection of katanas he has hanging in his room

·         For private videos where only him and s/o can see, he would do little videos of when you would be asleep and just talk sweet things about you and how grateful he is having you with a caption

·         Surprisingly likes to use when he is with you, can catch those little funny and special moments with you

·         Videos can be anywhere from proud or just down right silly

·         Uses older combat music when he videos you mastering a move in learning your weapon, sometimes will add in a special effect to make you prouder in the moment, “Like Eye of the Tiger” or “Kung Fu Fighting”

·         You both love to do it when you are cooking new recipes you both want to try

·         You do videos of him when he has mastering skills in the kitchen, often times it would just come to him blushing in embarrassment

·         Another thing he would do private where only you and him see it, you would have your silly moments where you two would lip sync to your favorite songs and dance on the bed

·         Hey a leader can’t be serious all the time, you and him both know it! He actually has quite some moves!

·         Sometimes you guys take this to the rooftops when racing and jumping across the rooftops showing off your best moves in the air

·         Comments on his each of his brother’s videos, some actually do surprise him on what they post

·         Oh and one more thing, he does like to do with you is you doing your favorite anime moments like as if you were role playing your favorite characters 

·         You should give his account a look, even for being a leader he has caught some interesting footage!

 Raph

·         Uses it more than Leo, but less than the others

·         Most of his videos involve with him showing off his guns or doing a boxing move

·         Expect a lot of special effects, makes him look more powerful

·         Will impersonations of Vin Diesel be wearing his shades, mimicking powerful lines

·         Does even the slow walk or point using his sai as the weapon, what do you expect he is a big fan of him!

·         Like Leo, privately he would be lip syncing his favorite rock songs with you to view only

·         Videos will also include sound effects when he is boxing on the punching bag and does a bigger one when he knocks it off its hinges

·         Loves doing it with you, it’s a way for you two to spend time together

·         Does it the most of when you both are working out, tries to get your backside most of the time with songs like “Baby Got Back” or “Rock That Baby”

·         You often get him when he is bench pressing giving him good vibes, he is sure to give a wink and smirk

·         Will do videos of some of the rap lyrics he comes up, he is the hype man

·         Does like modeling video with him leaning against his bike acting all tough with some wind flow and explosions in the background

·         Heck you even do videos like this with him, it’s like you two are in a movie!

·         If you both go out on his motorcycle, often times you would be filming while he is doing some crazy move such as a donut or a wheelie

·         Those videos often end up being shaky from how fast he goes but it’s so worth it!

·         Doesn’t comment on all the videos his brother’s posts, but will give some comments asking what the hell made you decide to do that?

·         Go ahead and give his account a look, it will make you laugh and make you melt!

 Donnie

·         Most addicted to the app, looking for the next amazing thing!

·         Will often try any videos he sees that he likes, sometimes they are better than the original poster

·         While some are not so much, but hey at least he makes a cute dorky version of it

·         Loves to do videos of him rocking out to his favorite playlist with his beat headphones with him lip singing to the music playing in the background

·         Does some of his favorite memes with the special effects that relate to the meme

·         Will even include his drone to add creativity

·         When he does it with you, you guys go all out to make it the best

·         You guys be scrolling through the app together and just laugh your heads off on some of the things that you see

·         With you, the videos end up being better than he could have planned it

·         Best one he did with you, was with him pretending to sip coffee sitting his swivel chair and holding a plate in his other hand, he asks “Princess, do me a favor and stick it in that old thing?”

·         “Oh what that old thing?” She passes by kicking a pack of pop tarts behind her with her foot as it lands on the plate “That was a bit too easy in my opinion”

·         “Couldn’t agree with you more” Often times videos you two do together just end in laughter or bloopers from previous attempts

·         Both of you do your favorite songs with voice effect making you sound like techno with plenty of stickers and special effects, making you both look like pop stars

·         Having this app is just a lot of fun for you both

·         It’s an advantage for you since the app came out, it can help him stay away from work for a bit and you two can just have your time together

·         Give him a comment or a like, his account is pretty crazy but pretty fantastic!

 Mikey

·         Like any other social media apps that might be out there, count on this guy to be the king!

·         Very popular and uses it the most out of anyone!

·         Pretty much his life, just kidding lol! It’s his family, pizza, you and quite a lot of other things

·         Videos are pretty much random, some of rapping, doing skateboard moves, singing, or dancing, or just even doing a crazy stunt

·         Always looking for the next best thing like Donnie, and always commenting on each post he finds

·         Adding so many special effects, stickers and music! It’s like his videos just explode with everything he puts into it

·         When you and him are together with this app, let’s the fun begin

·         Hours and hours of fun, it’s like artists at work

·         You guys would do dance moves together being silly, doing signs, wearing shades, heck even feather boas

·         When he would do his rapping, you would be throwing stuff in the air to make it look like its floating such as glitter or confetti to add effect

·         You are really his top-rated camera woman and right-hand girl

·         You guys would often take your videos out on to the streets where you can really let the action take flight

·         Any videos that you guys think would be awesome to do, you guys are all in!

·         Most of them are skateboard tricks, ziplining, parkour, and creating art on abandoned buildings in fast forward

·         Expect seeing so many meme videos on his account, he is the king of memes!

·         Often adding his special effects to his brothers videos they post, just for the laugh and joke of it, often times its improvement other times it ends up with him being chased

·         Check him out and you will see some pretty awesome and crazy things that creative mind can think of! Cowabunga!

[beetlegoose01]

Frostbite- Recovery (Chapter 3)

It was a decent day outside after a long, boring day of school. Crisp, clear, the sun peaking out from behind the canopy of clouds scattering the periwinkle blue sky. Casey strolled through the crowded streets of New York, thrilled to hang with his best (non human) friends.

"Casey, wait up!" Riley whined, blowing a huge bubble of pink bubblegum. She trailed behind her older brother with less pep in her step, due to her lugging a heavy backpack. She was a short middle schooler, with a jet black pixie cut and dark almond shaped eyes. Freckles dotted her fair cheeks. A complete pain, but he would be lying if he didn't say he cared for the little squirt.

"Sorry kid." Casey said, ruffling his little sister's hair, much to her annoyance. "I'll walk slower."

"So what are we gonna do today?" She asked eagerly. "The sky's the limit!" She flashed him a cheeky, braces filled grin. Riley didn't really have any friends of her own. Too shy, and a bit strange around her classmates. Her love of sports made her an outcast with the girls, and none of the boys wanted to hang with a 'weirdo'. Luckily, Casey would be her best friend for life, he had vowed that.

"You said it!" Casey checked his phone. A text from Raph asking if he was joining them for patrol.

Riley frowned. "Is that one of your friends again? The super weird ones?"

"Er...yeah." He pocketed his phone. "Boring friend stuff."

"Yeah, your gang."

"They're not a gang..."

"Mhm. Sure. I won't tell dad you're a drug dealer if you tell me the truth." She sang.

"I'm not a..." Casey said. "You're bluffing."

"Am I?" She looked mischievously at him, winking.

Laughing, Casey flicked her nose.

Riley looked at him seriously. "You're not gonna ditch me for them, again, right?"

"Nah, don't worry. Come on, let's go to the rink."

But Riley seemed distracted. She trailed ahead, following something that Casey didn't see.

"Hey, Ri! Wait up!" He panted, raising an eyebrow. "Riley Elizabeth Jones! You can't just run off..." He was starting to sound like her mother- which was enough to make him stop talking.

"Look at it..." She crouched down, cooing at a little racoon blinking and twitching its nose at her. "I'm gonna call you Sparky."

Casey winced, reminded of rats just by looking at the weird creature. "Ugh, no you're not- come on before the rink closes, pipsqueak."

"Aw, okay."

~•~

Evening drew quicker than he expected, and before he knew it, the sun had dipped down the horizon and the sky was a peachy orange. After making sure Riley was safe at home, he ducked through a manhole cover and climbed into the depths of the creepy sewers. The sewers weren't terrible, but he would be lying if he didn't have to plug his nose in order to prevent the foul odors from entering his precious nostrils. He didn't know how the turtles managed it. Wait...do turtles even have noses?

'I'll have to Google that later.' He thought to himself, trudging through the mucky waters, trying his best not to think about what exactly was in the water. Though he already knew the answer, it wasn't fun to dwell on such disgusting matters.

No, Casey Jones could handle the smell. But what he couldn't handle was...

A rat scurried past him and he let out an involuntary squeal of horror.

Rats still gave him the creeps.

Sighing, Casey stumbled his way into the lair, where he was pleased to find Raphael hunched over a game of pinball, deep in concentration.

"Hey Raph." He greeted, leaning forward to get a closer look.

Raph only grunted in response.

"We're still on tonight to ride our bikes?"

"No, Dr. Frankenstein still hasn't fixed my bike."

"Ah jeez. We can still hang though tonight? At patrol?"

"Ha, I wish! Nah, Leo wants us to go searching for the mutant tonight." He grumbled back. The ball spun around and fell forward, the brief moment of distraction causing the turtle to lose. A big 'Game Over' in neon lights hung mockingly over his head. "Argh...damnit!" He punched the arcade machine so roughly it nearly toppled over. "Whatever, that game's stupid anyway."

"Where is Leo anyway?"

"Doing some meditation shit with April and Sensei." Raphael shrugged. "To focus their minds. I dunno, I wasn't really listening. I tend to tune Leo out, y'know?"  He gave a wicked grin. "Say, we might have some time to read some comics or-"

An aggressive, distorted guitar riff interrupted their banter- followed by what sounded like a man screaming like a banshee.

"Woah!" Casey exclaimed.

Raph grimaced. "Not again. He's always playing it at the worst possible moments."

"Mikey?" Casey wondered, thinking the genre of music must be the orange clad turtle's choice.

"Mikey?" Raph repeated, shaking his head. "Nope, that's all Donnie. When he needs to 'unwind' he plays it as loud as possible. Even without headphones!"

"Donnie?" Casey said, flabbergasted. "But he's so-"

"Geeky? Yeah I know. I can't believe he of all turtles thinks that crap is real music."

"Hey, it is real music!" Casey said defensively.

"Oops, did I strike a nerve?" Raph teased. "Didn't know you liked it."

"Well yeah! The Electric Skullz are legendary!"

"Aw, nerd bonding." Raph held a stubby hand up. "Please save me the embarrassment and go talk with someone who cares." He gave Casey a condescending pat on the head.

"Maybe I will." He said gruffly, following the noise.

Raph chortled with laughter, only stopping when he realized Casey was serious. "Wait- come on, man. I thought you and Donnie hated each other? Let's go do something- and he's gone."

Realizing he was now alone, he crossed his arms. "Eh, I'm gonna go watch Full House."

~•~

Casey hesitated, but ultimately his love for the heavy metal tunes was enough to follow it.  He felt awkward, like he shouldn't be doing this. Casey Jones was no snoop- he just was embarrassingly curious for his own good.

Passing Leo's room, then Mikey's, he finally found the last room in the hall. He creaked open the door, peering inside.

Donnie's room had clearly not been slept in very often. It was neat, but not in the same neatness as Leonardo's, who frequently cleaned his room but it still looked used. This room looked barely touched, and the bed had no creases or anything proving a living being had slept in it. A folded tatami mat was poking under the bed. Posters of scientists, newspaper clippings and photographs were decorating the dull grey walls, strung together with such precision. Some inventions were scattered on the floor, clearly failed ones as they had wires sticking out.

But what caught his eye was the turtle in the middle. He was...dancing. Every movement he made was precise, delicate. Of course, the skills of being a ninja helped, but each step was to the beat (well, less beat, more of intense screaming). It was surprisingly adorable.

Wait...adorable? That couldn't be the right word. 

"Sick moves!" He said, hoping his voice was loud over the music.

Donnie froze, suddenly aware he was being watched. His expression was a mixture of being mortified, then slowly switched to horror and anger.

"Wh- I- I wasn't-" He sputtered, blushing and stumbling over to shut the stereo off.

"Hey, hey, chillax." Casey raised one hand to show he meant no harm. "I love the Electric Skullz too!"

Donnie looked puzzled. "Y...You do?"

"Heh, for sure!" He replied genuinely, a smile revealing itself.

Donnie smiled back, finally relaxing. "And you're not just pulling my leg?"

"Nope. I'll prove it to ya. In 2012, the lead singer of the Electric Skullz was Nova Kun. She then stepped down after mysteriously disappearing. And then was replaced by-"

"James Mercedes!" Casey and Donnie finished in unison.

"Woah..." Donnie's eyes sparkled with delight. "My brothers always hated heavy metal. I don't even think they consider it real music!"

"Not even Mikey?"

Donnie shook his head. "He likes that bubblegum pop stuff. It's okay but..." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Not really my thing."

"Me neither." He agreed. "Don, you shouldn't be embarrassed or ashamed. This stuff's cool."

"You think so?"

"Would I ever lie to you?"

Donnie looked at him wearily.

"Would I ever lie to you about music?" Casey said. "I'm very serious when it comes to good tunes."

He thought for a moment, then smiled. "I guess not."

Casey returned the smile, bumping his shoulder playfully. The turtle's cheeks warmed, chuckling.

"Maybe you aren't so annoying."

"Gee, thanks, I'm touched." Casey said sarcastically. "You aren't so terrible either."

The bedroom door slammed open abruptly, causing both human and turtle to jump. A stoic Leonardo was behind the door.

"Patrol time Donnie." He said simply, his arms behind his back. "...and Casey?" He squinted, trying to process what he was looking at. "Uh...what's going on guys?"

They exchanged looks.

"Nothing!" lied Donnie.

"Just a couple of dudes being bros." Casey said, draping his arm around the tall turtle's shoulders. "Amigos, chum of chums..."

"Not there yet, Jones."

"Eh, he's warming up to me. We're like comrades...buddies..."

"I think I get it." Leo smirked.

Casey found himself leaning against Donnie's closet after he was pushed aside. "Say...why do you even have this? You guys don't even wear clothes..."

"That information is classified." Leo narrowed his eyes. "So, patrol?"

"No problemo Leo." Casey said quickly, stepping away to leave the room. "Are we partnering up again?"

"No, this is a solo stake out mission."

Casey looked back at Donnie who's eyes flickered in ...disappointment? The action was so brief, he barely caught it. No doubt Donnie was just upset about not being partnered with April. Yes, that had to be right. Why else would he be disappointed? Though Casey would be lying if he said he didn't want to talk about the Electric Skullz some more.

"You coming, Don?" Leo glanced back at his younger brother who hadn't moved from his spot.

"Yes, of course." The blank stare from Donatello had switched to a serious, determined one.

"Let's go."

~•~

Leo climbed out of the manhole cover, followed by Raph, Mikey, April, Casey and Donnie. He scanned the area, checking for anything suspicious. As the oldest brother and arguably the most mature, he had a duty to protect his family. So far the only suspicious activity was a raccoon rustling through a trash can. But he would never let his guard down for anything.

"Mikey and I last saw the mutant near Eastman and Laird. I'm thinking we scope around, keep our eyes peeled. If you see anything- and I mean anything, contact one of us and we'll come for backup. Your T-Phones are there for a reason."

"I dunno, Scalysnout was pretty tough!" Mikey said.

"Scalysnout." Raph repeated.

He looked sheepish. "Eh, it needs work." 

"A lot of work."

After each member was assigned locations, Donnie started his mission alert and focused. Though he liked working with his brothers, April and to a lesser extent Casey, he was more in his element when he worked alone. It gave him time to breathe. Of course, the return of a dangerous mutant wasn't exactly comforting.

Climbing the roofs, the mutant ninja concentrated on making sure he wasn't being followed. Which involved him frequently checking behind himself.

'It's not paranoia, it's called being sharp.' Donnie silently quoted Leo under his breath.

The night was oddly quiet though. One would breathe a sigh of relief at the prospect of an early night, but Donnie still felt uneasy. He glanced around, the full moon glistening in the sky over a blanket of stars. Peaceful, if one wasn't anxious about a rampaging monster patrolling the dark streets.

Still...it didn't seem like anything was happening.

"Hey, let go of me!"

'And once again, I've spoken too soon.' Donnie thought bitterly to himself, but he followed the sound of distress.

He slid down the fire escape, landing in a dark alleyway. Turning the corner, but still hiding in the shadows, he found the source.

A girl, maybe eleven or twelve years old was furiously fighting off two Purple Dragons with her fists. Her attacks, though admirable, were completely useless. The gang members merely jeered and pushed her effortlessly to the ground. The girl was definitely a bit strange, especially with the racoon perched on her shoulder- but Donnie didn't have time to judge her.

"Ha, got it!" One of the members snatched her phone, tauntingly holding it over her head. Because of her size, she had no chance of grabbing it back.

"Give it back, creep!"

Donnie had to act now or this girl was toast. Raising his bō in front of him, he whacked one of the members to the ground with a swift movement.

"What the-"

"Who did that? Show yourself!" One of the men demanded, swinging his switchblade defensively.

The other lay on the ground groaning in pain.

Donatello knew better than to make himself seen- especially in front of the girl. But that didn't stop him from defending her. He jabbed his staff directly in the other man's solar plexus, knocking him down instantly. 

Realizing their invisible opponent was fierce, the Purple Dragons made a hasty retreat.

"Wow that was nuclear!" The girl exclaimed, eyes wide. "Thanks, er, whoever you are."

"Not a problem. Do you need help getting home?"

"Yeah, my brother would probably kill me if he knew I was walking home alone. I just came to pick up some food from Murakami and then those creeps attacked me."

"They're known for that." Donnie agreed. "You really shouldn't be walking alone at night. It's dangerous for a kid." He hadn't meant to sound condescending, but the girl bristled anyway.

"Hey, I'm thirteen!" She paused, biting her lip. "Almost."

Donnie chuckled lightly. "Still, I'll help you get home."

"Thanks...erm...?"

"Donatello." He supplied.

"I'm Riley." She started to walk ahead, but realized her new friend didn't seem to be following her.

"I'm behind you, don't worry." Donnie said. "Just have to keep my distance."

"Ain't ya gonna show yourself?"

"Better not. But if anyone comes at ya, I'll help."

Riley stopped, now suspicious. "Come into the light."

"Riley I..."

"Do it now."

He could hear Master Splinter's scolding as he stepped out of the shadows in front of the streetlight. He held his breath, awaiting a scream. A little girl seeing a giant humanoid turtle was destined to end horribly. But she had a gutsy look in her eye that comforted him slightly.

"Woah..." Riley uttered. "You're a ..."  She reached a shaky hand to lightly touch Donnie's bicep. "You're real?"

Donnie nodded slowly, his brown eyes looking gently at the little girl. "I am."

"Are you an alien or...is this a costume?"

He chuckled. "Not quite."

"Either way, I owe you one for saving me. I don't care what you look like. I've seen weirder."

Donnie had a faint suspicion she was referring to the Kraang invasion.

"Besides," She continued. "No one will mess with me if you're by my side." She smirked, and Donnie swore her cheeky grin looked strangely familiar.

~•~

By the time Donnie had returned, the other three brothers were already at the lair. To his surprise, it wasn't Raphael who was in a sour mood. It was Leo, who stormed over with the rage of someone who was told Space Heroes had been cancelled.

"Where have you been?" He demanded, cutting any small talk.

"On...patrol?" Donnie stared down quizzically at his shorter brother. "Like we were supposed to."

"Don't sass me. You had us worried."

"I wasn't worried." Raph replied honestly. " "Chill, Mother Hen. Donnie's a big boy." Raph rolled his eyes.

"Thank you, Raphael."

"We all came back half an hour ago." Leo crossed his arms bossily.

"Don't mind him. He's just grumpy because none of us found Scaleysnout." Mikey murmured, eyes glued to the TV screen.

"That's not why I was...I was concerned, is all."

"I wasn't aware there was a curfew." Donnie shot back irritably. "Something held me up."

"Like what? A stop sign?" Mikey said, collapsing into giggles as if it was the funniest joke. When nobody laughed he scooted back to the television set. His oldest brothers stared at him for a moment, before looking back at Donnie.

"Explain?" Leo asked.

"The Purple Dragons attacked some kid. I couldn't just stand there so I defended her."

"Nice work D!" Mikey praised.

"How admirable." said Raph sarcastically. "You saved one person. Do you want a gold star? We save people all the freakin' time, genius. Except we don't usually gloat about it."

"I'd hardly call that gloating." defended Donnie.

"Besides you should really talk. You gloat, like, all the time Raph." Mikey teased, bracing himself for Raphael to slap him on the head. "Uncle, uncle!" He wailed. "I'm sorry! Raph, stop!"

Leo stayed silent, analyzing the situation. 

"She was just a kid. I didn't know what else to do." Donnie said, reading Leo's unimpressed body language. "And she didn't freak out when she saw me...so that's always a plus."

"She saw you?" Leo repeated. "Donatello, that was completely foolish! You know Sensei always told us to stay in the shadows."

Donnie hung his head, already preparing himself for a lecture.

"When I tell Splinter..."

"You wouldn't, Leo." Donnie interrupted. "Because that would be so hypocritical of you, and you know it. Showing myself was the only way to save her- Riley. And who's going to believe that a giant talking turtle saved her from a gang? Be realistic."

Leo's lips twitched, ready to retort, but didn't. "Fine."

Raph looked up, releasing Mikey from a chokehold. "Did you say Riley? That's weird."

"It's a fairly common name Raph."

"Well, yeah. It's also Casey's sister's name. He's mentioned her a few times to me."

Donnie perked up slightly. "Oh...that's interesting."

"Could just be a coincidence. New York is a pretty big city."

"I guess so."

"You need to be more careful, Donnie." Leo scolded. "You were lucky this person you saved was related to one of our friends. If she even is."

"Jones and I aren't really friends." He thought for a moment, remembering just a few hours ago when they bonded over music. "It's complicated."

"Aw no way!" Mikey complained. "I thought you two were finally getting along! This is bogus, dude!"

"Why do you even care?"

"Because you two have a lot in common!" Mikey scooted over. "I thought you guys would be bros in no time." He pointed at the screen. "Watch this for a sec. See, these two characters Ripjaw and Ellie hated each other!"

"Yeah, and?" 

"I remember this episode." Leo said fondly.

Donnie watched the television moodily. Two heroes in spacesuits seemed to be arguing about something.

"Stop following me, you fool! You're always getting in my way."

"So?" He said, hands on his hips. "That doesn't mean anything."

"Keep watching!" Mikey snapped, uncharacteristically harsh. "Look!"

"We have to put aside our differences!" Ellie yelled. "If we don't, the evil Slothman will kill our friends!"

"I'm not working with you!" Ripjaw sneered.

"Stop being selfish! Why do you even hate me so much?"

"Because...I love you."

"You...do?"

"More than anything."

"I love you too!"

Donnie made a face of pure horror as the character's embraced. "No. No way!"

Leo and Raph meanwhile seemed to find this extremely amusing.

"See what I mean?" Mikey pointed out, oblivious to the implications.

"Oh you bet we do." Raph sneered. "Can I plan the wedding?"

Leo batted his eyelashes. "I'll be the best man." He concluded.

"I'll be the Flower girl!" Mikey chimed in, eager to be included.

Donnie's cheeks turned beet red.

"Well I didn't mean you two kiss or anything." Mikey said sheepishly. "But you could totally be friends!"

Donnie shook his head furiously. "Over my dead body. I'd rather eat raw sewage than be friends with him. Let alone-" He blushed.

"Aw, love is still alive." Raph rested his head on his palms.

Donnie scowled.

Leo frowned. "Come on Don, you know we were only teasing."

"Whatever. This show is clearly for kids. I've got work to do."

The three remaining brothers looked at each other uneasily as they watched Donatello storm away to his lab.

"That ...didn't exactly go to plan." Mikey said nervously.

[wumpusandzandii]

Science and Progress: Chapter One

TMNT Human!AU Storyline for Donatello x Lily

Chapter One

Being part of a large family was a blessing and a curse. Everyone seems to fill a roll, and the family rolls on like a machine, sometimes well-oiled, sometimes like a train wreck, depending on the day. When that roll is the one that has family members asking for help, whether it be answering questions or fixing things, the feeling is amplified. There is a sense of validation with being able to help, to sometimes have answers to problems before they even became an issue. On the flip side of that coin, it can mean that simple problems easily solved by common sense or a quick Google search are often presented, and pile up over time.

Such was Donatello’s day, and it wasn’t even noon yet. Their morning training had been over for a while, but there were still hours to go before their afternoon classes. Splinter had left on one of his walks, and the home situation had devolved quickly thereafter. All he wanted to do was sit at his computers and get some research done on possible upgrades to his holo, but it was nearly impossible with his brothers in the same space. Leo and Raph were arguing, which was not at all a shocking surprise, but certainly a weary annoyance. Mikey had taken the opportunity to play his video games at full volume without his headphones on so he “could still talk to everyone,” which, with the other two bickering, meant talking to *him*. He tried keeping his headphones on to tune it all out, but Mikey had started throwing things when he didn’t answer, so the headphones only caused more trouble than they were worth.

“You’re missing the entire point, we need you here more,” Leo tried to reason, his voice as strained as his patience.

“Jesus Christ, Leo, I’m a phone call away. I have my gear, it’s not that far,” Raph snapped back loudly. “I’m not a fuckin’ kid.”

“I’m not saying you are! I’m saying we need you here, ready to go, just in case. It made sense while Stacey was healing up, but she’s in her new place and Donnie has it all set up. It’s been months. It’s time to get back to normal,” Leo argued, and Donnie winced to himself. He’d been waiting for that bomb to drop their entire argument, and there it was. If there was one surefire way to set Raph off ever, it was to bring her up in any kind of negative aspect. Surely Leo knew that, had to have known it wouldn’t gain him any ground, so he wasn’t sure why he took that route.

“Maybe it is my new normal,” Raph hissed, his voice lowering to dangerous levels.

“Hey Donnie,” Mikey piped up over the loud crashing and sound effects of his game. “Do you know if there are any new texture packs or skins I can add to this? Like, it’d be totally awesome if I could put a different skin over the boss, make killing him funny. Like a Kardashian, boom, the lips explode or something.”

Pinching the bridge of his nose and resting his elbows against the desk, Donnie sighed heavily. “I don’t know, Mikey,” he said in a long suffering tone. “Why don’t you look it up?”

“Because you’re right therrrre,” he begged, looking over the back of the couch with a pout and batting his eyes. “Hey, maybe you could show me how to do it? Then we could make a Shredder skin or something, crush his helmet against his crotch.”

Donnie couldn’t think of much else he’d have less patience for right at that moment, than trying to teach Mikey how to code, let alone create skins. “It’s not quite that simple-”

“I’m gonna spend as much time as I damn well please with her, and there ain’t a damn thing you can do about it! You ain’t the boss of my life!”

“No, but I am the leader of this time, and not having you available puts everyone else at increased risk and responsibility, just so can go sleep with-”

“Don’t you dare fuckin’ finish that sentence, Leo, or I’m gonna finish it for you.”

“If it’s not that simple, maybe you could just do it for me? I could totally write a list of people or characters that it would be cool to have skins of, and then you could just bleep bloop do your thing, no trouble!”

“Mikey, I have more important things to do-”

“Is that a threat?” Leo snarled.

“If it needs to be.”

“What could be more important than creating a Kraang mega boss that I could shoot to pieces? I mean, just think about the glory and beauty of it!”

“Fucking Merlin’s beard!” Donnie cursed, shoving his rolling chair back away from his desk and lurching up onto his feet. “What the hell is wrong with all of you? Can’t you just be normal or at the very least *quiet* for five damn minutes? I understand the hashi now, and why dad leaves to go walk by himself. I used to think it was for reflection and meditation, but it’s gotta be to GET AWAY FROM YOU!”

Storming into his room, he grabbed up his messenger bag, stuffed his laptop into it angrily. Pulling on the first hoodie he found, he slung the bag on and marched out of his room, straight towards the door. The room had fallen silent, he noted with sardonic irony.

“Hey, where are you going?” Mikey asked, sounding a little hurt.

“To the library, where they *force* people to be quiet!” he snapped, slamming the door behind him.

Forgoing any public form of transportation, Donnie decided to walk to the library. It was a decent distance away, but not so much to be excessive. In any case, he figured giving himself time to cool off before he got there was probably a good idea. It was difficult to focus when he was that agitated, and it would simply ruin the entire reason he was leaving in the first place. In further thought, he figured it was probably a good thing to get out, it might give him a different perspective on ideas than usual. The fresh air certainly didn’t hurt anything, either.

Upon arriving, he skipped up the steps, feeling lighter already than he had upon leaving. It had been far too long since he’d been in the library, perused the shelves, let the scent of the pages and old leather bindings suffuse his senses. Walking a little taller as he pushed through the front doors, instantly feeling the atmosphere change for the better. He couldn’t help but smile to himself, taking a deep relieving breath and wandering off to check the shelves.

Time could either stand still in the library or pass by a shooting star, quickly disappearing if oblivious to the large grandfather clock at the top of the stairs. Nearly using all of her spare time to be there, it was slowly becoming a second home, along with the lecture halls and computer labs at the university. Her own bed now a little foreign as she rarely had time to spare even on sleeping. Surrounded by folders and books, countless scrap pieces of paper and notebooks, Lily busied herself away with her coursework. Chasing the always just out of reach dream to be a veterinarian, she found herself chasing her tail to catch up, especially after joining the semester late due to moving. New York was the city of dreams, or so she was told, and moving there had been a huge decision. One she was hoping she wouldn’t regret. Finding her groove that day while listening to music quietly in her headphones, her focus solely on her work, she happily bobbed away in her seat. Her bright red hair bounced against her shoulders, loosely sectioned into pigtails with ribbon that matched her pale grey cardigan. It wasn’t a cold day, but the large hall had a chill running through it, meaning wearing just a dress was a poor idea and needed something across her shoulders to keep the chill off her pale skin. Being a frequent visitor as of late, Lily could happily leave her stuff unattended on the table knowing the staff flitting around amongst the endless rows of bookshelves would keep an eye on it for her.

Tapping her pen against her hand, she pulled the cap off the end and clicked it back on, doing so in time with the beat before sitting back. Adjusting her glasses with a gentle push of her fingertips, she nodded to herself, happy with what she had just written before moving to stand up. Thankful her mother was a seamstress, she plopped her phone into her skirt pocket, neatening the frills before pushing her chair in, careful not to make any noise since she couldn’t fully hear herself with headphones on. Checking her notes again quickly, she tottered off into the maze of shelves, beginning her hunt for a specific unit in the science section. Luckily she knew the cover of the book well, but that didn’t stop it being a grande task, especially at her height. Even the slight heel on her shoes didn’t give her much advantage. Pouting she regretted putting the book away earlier, knowing it was likely put back on a higher shelf, making it even harder for her to find.

As Donnie perused for books, a few texts already beneath his arm, he found himself with company in the next aisle. Well over a foot shorter than himself, especially once he noted the high heels that were lifted off the floor as she ran a finger over bindings well over her head, he could tell she was having some difficulty. He walked up slowly, just in case she didn’t notice him with her headphones in. Her red hair bobbed against her shoulders as she dropped back down onto her heels, hands on her hips as she sighed heavily. A bright, open, kind face greeted him as she started to look around, and he gave her a little finger wave before pointing up at the shelves above her hesitantly.

Tugging out her earbuds, she fussed with stuffing them into a skirt pocket before looking back up at him shyly. “I’m so sorry to bother you, but would you mind helping me get a book?”

“Not at all,” he responded kindly, smiling softly. She was adorable, like a little pixie wandering the science shelves. It sounded like the beginning of a fantasy novel. “Which one are you looking for?”

“Oh thank you,” she sighed in relief, her nose crinkling her freckles as she thought. “It was ‘Germ-free Life and Gnotobiology.’ I’m so sorry to ask, you probably get that a lot, being so tall.”

“Oh, I don’t mind,” he admitted, for the first time that day feeling genuinely helpful and not simply convenient. Scanning the bindings, he quickly found it, scanning the cover before passing it down to her. “Are you doing research for laboratory work?”

“Oh no,” she answered, taking the book gently and hugging it against her chest. “I mean, thank you. But no, it’s a research paper for veterinary class. It’s looking over the way gnotobiotes are born, raised and taken care of in laboratory settings. Um, specifically how their immune systems are poor if they stay there, but some animals like pigs have better immune systems if they’re born in the germ-free environment and introduced to the outside environments. But oh my gosh. I’m so sorry, you probably didn’t need that much information just for pulling a book down. I get carried away.”

Chuckling a little, he couldn’t help but relate with her, and felt bad that she was apologizing for something he did himself on the daily. At the same time, the way she blushed made her even more cute. “I do that sometimes, too. Please don’t apologize, I actually find the topic very interesting. I’ve done some research on it myself.”

“Really?” she asked, her bright eyes going wide and seeming to light up. “What for?”

Realizing he hadn’t thought it through entirely, Donnie struggled with wondering if it would seem pretentious to admit ‘just because.’ Rubbing the back of his neck, he shrugged slightly, answering, “Personal research? I found another text that went into great detail, and wait, you know what? It was published more recently than that one, and it might have more relevant information for you.”

Hastily, he scanned the shelves, trying to remember where he had found it. “Ah!” he proclaimed, plucking off the shelf victoriously, bringing it back to her. “Gnotobiotics. They go into greater detail about inflammatory bowel diseases and intestinal immunity.”

“I didn’t know about this one, thank you,” she murmured, looking over it carefully, seemingly dwarfed by the two textbooks.

“If it’s useful! I’m not sure. I just remembered it,” Donnie stammered, suddenly feeling self-conscious. “If not, I can just stick it back up for you.”

Getting caught in trying to memorize the name of the author, she turned back up to him with wide eyes before hugging the book to herself. “Oh no no! I’ll definitely look at it too! Just so many names and words to remember now...” she chirped, adjusting the rather large books in her delicate hands. “The more the merrier I guess!” she added, swaying a little as she did, trying not to seem awkward but making herself look even more so by doing so. Catching the way he looked down at her, an endearing smile on his lips, she looked down at her feet. “Thank you. Sorry again for distracting you from your browsing.” Knowing her pale skin was igniting into a deep blush, she wanted to just hide away in her coursework again but couldn’t move her feet that were now cemented to the floor. “It’s really no trouble, honest, I haven’t even gotten an idea as to what I’m looking for myself yet.”

Not knowing how to excuse herself without seeming rude or just plain weird, she stammered, trying to think of something. As much as running out of any form of social interaction was her usual, keeping occupied with research and studying, something about the kindness and warmth in his eyes made her want to try. Maybe actually talking to someone and making friends wouldn’t be so bad. It’d be a welcome distraction. Maybe he could even help her. “Uhm... are you a student too?” Glancing at his bag and noticing he had some books in his hands, Lily couldn’t help but wonder now his reasoning for being there, if he had said he hadn’t an idea for something to read. Maybe it was just for personal enjoyment, maybe he was studying something similar to her. The thought of having someone to study with brought a smile to her lips again, her cheeks a rosy red that nearly matched her hair as she politely awaited his answer.

“No, not exactly,” he answered with a nervous chuckle. Looking at the books around him, he wondered if maybe he had found what he needed to after all. Talking to someone outside of his family, actually face to face couldn’t hurt anything. After all, he’d already done a decent amount of research on the topic she was studying, maybe he could help out, or at least give her someone to bounce ideas off of. If that was even something she was looking for, and not just a way out of an awkward conversation. “I do a lot of freelance work, for various people and companies. It never hurts to keep up to date on research and well… I guess it kinda makes me sound like a horrible nerd, but I actually enjoy it.”

Smiling up at him through her eyelashes, she shook her head. “No, I don’t think that makes you a horrible nerd at all!” she assured him, rocking back on her heels. “Maybe just a very good one?”

Laughing, he ran a hand through his hair, gesturing back at the books in her arms. “Well, I already did a fair amount of that research, maybe I could save you some time? If you want. If you prefer to do your studying in private, I completely understand that.”

“I would *love* some help,” she answered, her shoulders sagging a little with visible relief. “I’ve just been swamped with this course load. I feel like I’m always playing catch up, you know?”

“I think that’s the nature of research, to be frank. Do you already have your stuff set up, or should we find somewhere suitable?”

“Just over here, I left my things. Thank you so much for offering to help… I’m so sorry, I think I forgot to get your name?”

Holding out his hand, he grasped hers in a delicate handshake, surprised at just how tiny it was against his own. “Donatello,” he offered, tipping his head down towards her in a semi-bow, for some reason feeling it was the thing to do. “And to whom do I have the pleasure of meeting?”

“Lilian, but please call me Lily, I don’t like my grandma sounding name.” Giggling as she attempted to give his hand a firm squeeze, she managed to give him eye contact for more than just a few seconds this time.

Tilting her head at him once she took back her hand, needing it to support the large books against her chest, she hummed in thought, narrowing her eyes a little. “Donatello? Like after the Italian artist? Well, of course...I mean there aren’t many Donatello’s..” Giggling again to herself, she grinned up at him, delighted by the sound of him giggling with her. “Well, you’re not wrong. Yes, I am named after him, shame I don’t have the artist talent to go with it.”

Unable to stop herself from smiling up at him, she was losing track of time, forgetting almost about the books she held in her dainty arms or why she was even in the science section anymore. “We can’t have it all, I’m sure you’re talented with something else instead, maybe you’re a master at chess? Who knows!”

Hearing him snort as he laughed was the highlight of her day, her week, her entire year. Her own laugh went higher, joining him until he had to push up his glasses on to his nose. If it wasn’t for the sharp ‘shh’ that came from behind her, Lily would have worked on another way to make him laugh, entirely enamoured with his smile and the light flush of pink across his cheeks and nose.

Jolting a little, she spun around to see the head Librarian, an elderly lady sat at the front desk, scowling at her. “Lilian, this is the first time I’ve ever had to ask you this, but please be quiet. Take your friend and giggle somewhere else.” Lowering her head a little in shame, she mouthed a sorry silently at the lady. Luckily she didn’t take it to heart, smiling and shaking her head at the two of them before waving them off.

Getting to know Lily since she visited so often, the Librarian learnt that she must have not had many friends, or any given the amount of times she saw her reading and working alone. It brought warmth to her heart seeing her with someone, especially a boy similar to her age and clearly with similar interests. Chuckling softly to herself, she made sure to keep an eye on the two of them, curious to see if anything developed of it.

Motioning for Donnie to follow her, she lead him back over to her spot at the large oak tables, gesturing for him to sit at the head just across from her. Careful not to let the books drop heavily against the tabletop, she winced as she sat down, neatening her skirt out before looking over to him like a scolded puppy. “I’m so sorry about that, I’m so embarrassed...such a bad first impression….I promise I’m not a troublemaker..” she whispered, leaning in as she spoke so she was sure he could hear her.

Sitting down after she had seated herself, he waved her off with a smile, swinging his bag into the chair on the other side of himself. She was such a genuine breath of fresh air after his brothers, and their genuine trouble making. It was hard to believe she was genuinely as adorable and sweet as she was, especially in a city like New York that seemed to churn out hard people, people born in trenches and always ready for a fight. “Don’t be embarrassed, it’s been a long time since I got clucked at by a librarian, usually for arguing out loud with a book.”

Covering her mouth as she giggled, he felt himself beaming. Talking with people in general had never been his forte, let alone women, but something about her made it easy. He felt like an entirely different person sitting there with her, and yet more himself than he could remember feeling in a long time. Even with his family, he always felt like the odd man out, his sense of humor awkward and often not understood or appreciated by his brothers.

Quietly, she angled her syllabus towards him along with her notes, written neatly in small, precise cursive. She explained the current assignment requirements, occasionally smoothing her skirt as she talked. Her organization skills were impressive, and she clearly had a solid grasp on the work. To be honest, he sincerely doubted she honestly needed the help, and was likely more of an overachiever like himself, never content with “good enough” and wanting to put forth the best quality possible. He went through it with her, making sure to point out that she had much of the important information already, and flipping through the texts to show her what she still needed. She had few questions, following along readily, and the questions that she did have were clever and insightful.

“I think you’re going to be an incredible veterinarian,” he admitted once they had gotten through a large section of her work. He wasn’t even sure how much time had passed, and for once, he had no inclination to check. “You seem very empathic and you understand the work well. Are you from around here? I can’t say you’re like any native New Yorker I’ve ever met.”

Smiling sweetly at his compliment, Lily looked down at her notepad, bashfully tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear as she did. “Thank you, that means a lot…” Still adorning a rosy complexion due to his presence and encouraging nature, she felt that maybe he’d just assume she was always that pink in the cheek, given she hadn’t stopped blushing the entire time she had met him. Maybe it was just the colour of her hair making it stand out more. At his question of her origin, she rose her head and grinned happily. Shaking her head, she tamed a giggle, still aware of how much noise she was making. “No, actually, I recently moved here a few months ago from Canada. I used to live in Denmark, when I was young - my family is from there. Hence the uhm….red hair…” Rocking side to side, making her hair bounce on her shoulders a little, she mimicked his amused grin.

“My dad works for a company that’s very demanding, moves us around a lot. I had to hold off university for a while because of it, so as always, I’m playing catch up. It’s probably why I don’t have many friends either..” Laughing awkwardly, trailing it off to try and stop her smile fading but failed when she added, “..or any friends for that matter. I keep to myself a lot.” Tapping her pen against her papers, she shook her head a little after a short pause before looking up at him, forcing back on her smile. “How about you? Hailing from Italy?” Giggling, she gently poked at his arm with the capped end, hoping she hadn’t dropped the mood.

Looking down at the pen she had poked him with, he considered what she had said. How many times had his family harassed him for not having enough friends, not getting out enough? Not that he minded keeping to himself, but he just couldn’t imagine someone as bright and cheerful as herself, alone. “I’m not nearly as interesting,” he chuckled with a shrug. “New York, born and raised… raised by my adoptive father, though. My biological parents died in a car accident while I was still in utero, and he was to have been my godfather.”

“Oh my gosh,” she gasped, putting a dainty hand over her mouth in shock. She looked genuinely upset about it, and he had a brief moment of regret of being so upfront about it. He simply viewed it as a fact, having come to terms with it when he was quite young and insisted his father tell him. It hadn’t taken long for him to understand that he and his brothers, especially Raph and Mikey, were not biologically related. “I’m so sorry.”

“Please, don’t be sorry, it’s entirely okay. I was raised in a loving, nurturing environment,” he explained, pushing up his glasses. “I have three brothers, they’re all adopted as well. It’s chaotic sometimes, but that’s family, right?”

“I guess so,” she agreed, her cheeks continuing to be as pink as ever as she shuffled papers around nervously. “I think you’re probably a lot more interesting than you think you are.”

It was his turn to blush again, running his hands through his hair. He was so used to people telling him to shorten whatever he had to say, to make it “English” or simply ignoring that he even existed that the thought was foreign. It was so rarely that he genuinely connected with people, and when he did, it always seemed to be a professor or scientist across the country or even out of the country, their conversations strictly through the digital realm.

“Well,” he said slowly, leaning forward against the table. “I can’t imagine you being a loner or keeping to yourself.”

Slowly packing away her papers, tucking them neatly inside her notepad and marking pages with sticky notes in her newly acquired research books, Lily listened to him intently. Glancing over at him, she smiled, although it’s cheerful glow had faded a little.

“Unfortunately, it’s the truth. I don’t get out much, because of work but...mostly I just choose not to..” she started quietly, not so much from needing to be but more she felt a little down about it, realising how sad it must sound. “I’m not one for going out, drinking or otherwise, the only place other than here or my dorm room is a Starbucks, maybe.”

Closing up her last book after putting her pens away into her bag with the rest of her equipment, she sat neatly up right, perking up again with a bright smile. “Heh, speaking of ...let me buy you a coffee or something? As a thank you for helping me and putting up with me nattering at you for so long...and as a sorry for getting us hushed at.” Shuffling her seat backwards, she stood up, making sure all of her skirt was down and not tucked up in anyway. Shouldering her satchel, brushing her hair away from the strap before taking the full weight of it, wincing a little even when she prepared herself for it. Her mother had always told her if her hair was any longer, she’d fall over, too frail and delicate to carry her own weight sometimes. It didn’t help that Donnie dwarfed her even more.

“Oh, no no, there’s no need for that. I appreciate the offer but-...”

“Actually! I changed my mind. I’m buying you a coffee and you can’t say no.” Once he was stood up, she made sure to give him the most stern look she could, but stuck her tongue out when he looked a little taken back by her order. As his lips curved into a smile, chuckling a little, she had to drop her eyes, looking down at her feet bashfully. “I-I mean...that’s if you’re not….uhm….busy...or want to, that is…”

The sudden surge of confidence she had to tell him what she wanted to do disappeared as quickly as it appeared. He simultaneously gave her confidence and took her breath away, unable to think of a coherent sentence while also giving her all the words under the sun to speak with.

“I’d love to,” he admitted earnestly, hopelessly smiling at how incredibly adorable she was. There wasn’t a fiber in his being that would’ve been able to say no to her, even if he had wanted to. He almost felt grateful for his brothers being so annoying that they drove him from his normally hermit-like behaviors to get out of the house. “But just because I’m enjoying your company, not because I agree that you owe me any kind of thanks or apologies, because you most certainly do not.”

Nodding, she smiled up at him while she fidgeted with the strap of her bag. He wished he was quicker, more smooth like his brothers with social behaviors, especially with women, and would’ve offered to take the bag that must’ve been heavy on her tiny frame. At the same time, he didn’t want to insult her by having her take it off to hand to him, just in case. “I suppose that’s fair enough,” she answered, leading the way out of the library. “Is there a particular place you enjoy?”

Laughing as he held the front door open for her, he shook his head, squinting at the bright sunlight after the muted tones of the library. “My brothers say I’d hook myself up to an IV drip of coffee if I had my way,” he answered, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his hoodie. “And they’re probably right. I pretty much live on the stuff, I don’t tend to be very picky about where it originates.”

“I’d probably hover off the ground if I had that much,” she giggled. He found himself enamored with the way her bright, doe-like eyes sparkled in the sunshine. “There’s a nice little shop just a couple of blocks down though, they have a lovely tea selection, too.”

“I will absolutely defer to your more refined judgement, then.” He listened carefully as she explained her favorite kinds of tea for different occasions or situations as they walked, cataloging the information in his mind for later use. If there was a later use, he reminded himself, keenly aware that he ventures into being social usually didn’t last, especially not when it was women. Still, he found himself hopeful with her, she was different in so many ways, and conversation with her was surprisingly easy. Not once had he noticed her eyes glazing over with boredom or confusion, or had she expressed any desire to end the conversation as quickly as possible to “get away.”

“Here we are!” she chirped, gesturing to the cozy little shop, and he took one long stride to move ahead of her just enough to get the door, gesturing for her to walk through. She giggled, giving him a little curtsy before leading the way in, the rich aroma of coffee swirling out into the air of sidewalk after her.

[tmnt-veelicious]

Across the Stars - Ch.1

Eyyoooo, first chapter of my TMNT fanfic :’) Now, what the fawck is going on? Welp, it’s a lil’ lovey-dovey story based on the 2014-2016 universe. The turtles are aged up to their mid 20′s.Aaannd it’s going to be rated mature (especially for language, anxiety/depression mentions, explicit stuff and future sex scenes yaasss). The main pairing is DonatelloXOC (self-insert). If you’re not a fan of that, it’s perfectly understandable and you may go on your merry way~. Writing this kind of stuff helps me with my own anxiety ( ´ ▽ ` )b  heh Also I want to apologize in advance for any errors I may make. My first language is French and sometimes my brain farts some nonsense. I always try to correct things as fast as I can though ! ANYWHOOORE, time for some reading ! Enjoy :) First Chapter --> You’re here mah precious Next Chapter --> HERE

Done. That was the only word that went through Vee's mind as she closed the apartment's door behind her, leaning into it with a long sigh. She was done with the day, done with her exhausting shift at work. Done with life. Hanging her black trench coat and removing her autumn boots, she wandered to the kitchen, finding the place void of any other presence. April O'Neil, her roomate, had been rather occupied with her job, being a reporter for Channel 6 no easy thing. Also Vee was noticing how the other woman was somehow avoiding her for an unknown reason... She shrugged, trying to chase the thoughts away, filling an electric kettle with water in order to prepare a cup of tea. As she was waiting for the water to boil, she stopped to a standing mirror, grabbing her long light brown hair so she could assemble them in a messy bun. She couldn't help noticing the dark circles under her green eyes, a clear sign of fatigue and stress. A new sigh escaped her lips as she pushed on her glasses, repositionning them to their rightful place. Ever since she moved in to New York city, six months ago, she felt like her spark was vanishing with each passing months. Coming from Montréal, Canada, to work and live here had been a big step in her life, but it had also been a dued change. Her initial thrill and thirst for adventure had fueled her, dreaming of the endless possibilities New York's creative scene could offer her... Alas, she was nothing more but a single raindrop in a massive ocean of artists just like her. Was her life reduced to the endless loop of eat-work-sleep? Indeed. And she despised it. Especially since her job consisted of folding clothes and being a cashier to bratty customers who would complain day and night about not finding the perfect size of jeans or t-shirt. So exciting!... At least it paid the bills and rent. Click Vee turned to the kettle, mindlessly pouring hot water in a cup and dropping a bag of green tea, next making her way towards her bedroom. The place wasn't too big, only offering enough space for her double size bed, a desk on which sat her laptop and, not too far, her prized electric piano, most practical when she needed to practice and would only need to plug in headphones so only she could hear the precious melodies. Vee was an artist in many forms. From music to drawing, with a side of writing, she have had the opportunity to lay her hands on many projects, also spending a good part of her past twenty-five years in schools and colleges, studying and mastering her creative side. Vee was a dreamer, her mind always up and running, never at peace. She had so many ideas and so little time... At some point she wished she could just puke them out of her brain, knowing it'd be way easier to sort them out. Instead, she had a wall filled with post-its, papers, anything that she could write on, filled with words, drawings, things that inspired her or wouldn't just leave her thoughts. That was her way of keeping a planner, knowing it'd be way too frustrating to flip through many pages of a book only to find THE idea she'd be looking for! Undressing so she could put on a large t-shirt and keep her legs free of any pants' restraint, she plopped on her chair, facing her desk and turned on her laptop, the screen's light blaring through her unamused, souless even, expression. Her fingers moved expertedly over her keyboard, typing in her password, next sipping her tea without care. Her thoughts slowly started to shift to a new subject. Him. She hoped he'd be online... A month or two before she departed from Montréal, she had started to notice the sudden interest of a new follower on her various online accounts. At first she didn’t mind, but soon both began to chat and discovered that they had many interests in common. They liked talking about science, sending eachothers stupid memes and simply going from serious conversations to hilarious ones. He said his name was Donatello. A bit of a pretentious name. It was certainly not his real one (or else his parents must have been total Renaissance nerds). And his username was no better: donino, a simple mix of his name and that domino pizza place. He liked pizza. URG. STUPID PUNS. Vee smiled when she noticed he was on, already opening a chatbox. (veelicious): Afbabshabvdfshdsbf (donino): Hi? (veelicious): My brain is trying to reboot. (donino): Long day I presume? (veelicious): HMMMRRR I wish I could land on a good job opportunity in my domain rather than hearing people complain about how they'll just go to another store only because we don't have an item that ran out of stock. (veelicious): I'm not even complaining. Go shop somewhere else, customer from hell. I won't miss your needy ass. (donino): Yikes! Sorry people can be such dickheads :( …. Have you tried looking for another place? I could help you search? (veelicious): You're sweet, Don, but you don't need to go into all that trouble for me. Don't worry, I'm always on the lookout for something else :) She always thought it was cute how he was always ready to help her. … Even though both were now living in the same city, they've never met. He would always give a reason to postpone any actual meeting and Vee couldn't help feeling hurt about that. They'd been chatting, both via text and voice, for a little bit more than half a year, developping a strong friendship …. Why would he deny seeing her? She suspected that he might be lying about living in the city, but on the other hand she couldn't believe that, the guy too truthful in nature. (donino): Is there anything I can do to help and make you feel better though? (veelicious): Yeah, what about a coffee date? She slapped her palm to her face, cursing herself. (donino): Vee idk... (veelicious): For fuck's sake Donnie, what could go wrong? I just want to get to know a new friendly face around here. (veelicious): I really enjoy talking to you. … April's been giving me the cold shoulder for some unknown reason, added to her being almost non-existent in this frickin' apartment. And now you just always come up with excuses. (veelicious): I may be a stupid introvert, but damn sometimes I just hate being alone. … I just want to talk. (donino): We can voice chat if you want. (veelicious): No Donnie. … I want to see you. I want to see your face, be able to put a picture over your name. I want to see you when you laugh. I want to see you smile. … Jfc, I don't bite. She took a long sip of her tea, her hands slightly shaking. She felt like she was confessing something, but deep down she just wanted to be able to hang out with someone other than herself, April or any stupid coworker... She got no answer for a good couple of minutes, knowing she had probably scared him. Ding Her eyes moved back to the screen. (donino): Tomorrow night. Come alone. Go on top of the building that's on the corner of 4th ave. and 12th st. (donino): … I know this sounds super creepy and weird as hell, but trust me, it's the only way. (donino): Oh and yeah, bring coffees :) Vee's eyes were now wide open, her heart suddenly beating hard. She was confused and excited, a large grin coming to her face. The request did sound off, but at least she FINALLY got a result. *** This september night felt chilly, the month nearing its end. Vee was glad to be holding the two cups of coffee, warming her hands. Wearing her black trench coat, she couldn't help snorting at the mental image of herself, dressed like some sort of hip business woman, walking fast with her coffees, ready to tackle any late work. HA! She wished. She found the place, a modest apartment building which had an emergency metal staircase to its side, Vee then going to it in order to reach the top. She found herself alone, gazing upon the nearby streets, sipping her cup from times to times and butteflies destroying her stomach due to stress. Why was she so anxious to meet him? The worst was probably that she had no idea what he looked like. He never described himself much, only stating that he wore glasses and was tall. At least that was a start? Vee was about to leave a cup down to check her phone that she heard a sound; someone clearing their throat to bring attention. She quickly turned towards the sound, noticing a form in the shadows. ''… Donnie?'' she asked. ''Uhm, yeah, hi.'' A large smile came on Vee's face, recognizing his voice. She proceeded to walk in his direction so she could hand him his cup, but was promptly stopped. ''Wait!'' his voice sounding slightly nervous. ''… This is hard for me, please, just stay where you are.'' Vee was confused but obeyed, her eyes trying to scan his form. He looked tall, easily over six feet! He seemed to be carrying some sort of gear- She heard him sigh, finally moving. The first word to come up in her mind was green. Then purple. Glasses. Golden eyes. Technology. Shell. Shell? Turtle?! They stood there, in complete silence, Donatello now immobile and in plain sight. He gulped, starting to feel anxious as he could only notice how wide Vee's eyes were now... ''Wow,'' she finally said. She walked to him, closing the distance. Donnie was tempted to fall back, but remained in place, his eyes never leaving the human. Vee handed him a cup, her hand slightly shaking, her gaze plunged in his. She felt his hand around hers, taking the cup, only then her mind was brought back to reality, trying to find words only to speak again: ''Is … is this why you never wanted to meet?'' she asked, now both her hands around her cup. The turtle swallowed hard again, trying to focus. ''Well, yeah!'' He finally frowned a little in disbelief, a hand going to his hip, trying to understand the situation. ''Wait,'' he puffed a little. ''No screaming? No fainting? Just 'wow'?'' Vee shrugged, unsure, taking a quick sip of coffee before commenting: ''Okay, let me say something else then. … Holy hell! There. Any better?'' A small laugh escaped her, mostly dued to stress, but she was quick to calm it, sighing. ''Look... I can't deny that I'm a bit scared right now, but I'm mostly curious. I mean, you're a walking, talking turtle person! Gee, that's not something you get to see everyday, at least for me.'' ''… You don't think I'm a monster?'' he asked shyly. ''Oh please, what now? Monster is a synonym for 'bad'? Am I supposed to be afraid senseless and run away? … As I'm aware, you're a good person.'' Donatello's fingers fiddled on his cup. ''… I- I don't know what to say,'' he mumbled. ''Vee, you're probably the first human to be kind when meeting me.'' The woman lifted her cup in a 'toast' gesture, a smirk on her lips. ''I'm your friend. If I were to scream and throw myself off this building in fear, that would make me a terrible one.'' Donnie clinked his cup to hers, a smile now on his face too. ''Glad that didn't happen then. I'll drink to that friendship.'' *** ''April, what the fuck?'' Vee said as soon as she entered the apartment and saw her roomate sitting on the couch, carelessly going through her phone. The brunette lifted her eyes: ''… Yes?'' Vee knew everything. Donatello had told her about how he knew April, how she'd be working with them – yes because there was a 'them' as in there were others like him! ''Why did you never tell me about Donatello being a freaking mutant turtle?'' April's body jolted back to life, sitting straight, her eyes wide open. ''Wait, how did you-'' ''I just met him,'' cut Vee, her hands resting on her hips, a deadpan, non amused look on her face. The reporter was at a loss for words, going through several emotions, trying to find the right words. ''… What, he actually met you? He told me he didn't want to.'' ''SEE! THIS! Why the secret? You knew I was talking to him. If he was so scared, why didn't he stop talking to me? What the fuck is going on?!'' April sighed, gesturing for Vee to come sit by her side. ''Vee, I'm sorry.'' She sounded sincere. ''Can you just understand that this situation was really … delicate? I can't just go around and tell people that I know some freakin' ninja turtles-'' ''Wait, ninjas?'' ''Yes, they're ninjas. Now don't interrupt me! … They've been living in secrecy for many years now and they come up at night to help around with justice and stuff. Their main goal around here is to protect the city.'' ''Wow, okay, so like some sort of super heroes?'' asked Vee, genuinely curious. ''Yes! Remember Shredder? The Technodrome? It's not Vern or the police that took care of all that, that was them! They run around, jumping and stuff and they fight back.... Usually they're very careful, but you had to fall upon the only one who's a real tech genius and probably spends more time on the internet than his brothers.'' She took Vee's hands, looking straight into her eyes. ''… How did you react when meeting him?'' ''I was surprised,'' answered the other with a small smile. ''I did not scream, although I was a bit scared, but I was just so happy to finally see him...'' ''Heh, lucky. First time I met them I fainted.'' *** (veelicious): I can't believe we actually met! (donino): Me too, to be honest. I was so nervous.... (veelicious): I'm really grateful that you went over your fear and showed yourself. … I have the feeling that I sounded selfish and mean last time we chatted and I'm so sorry. I didn't want to rush things like that... (donino): No! Actually, I'm glad you did. … You're a good person, Vee, and I guess I low-key knew that you would react the way you did when we met. I don't know how to explain it... … (veelicious): I want to meet you again. (donino): Same. (veelicious): April told me everything. … If you and your family are okay with it, we could meet up at your place? I'd be curious to see how it looks down there. April would come with me. (donino): Unless you have troubles with slight sewer odors, you're welcome here! I'll keep you up to date regarding the others though... (veelicious): Looking forward to it ;)

[another-tmnt-writer]

I Brought Soup

Raphael x Reader

I Brought Soup

Prompt: Hey there! I would love to read something about Raphael getting sick and his s/o wanting to take care of him. Would he be too proud? Or would he eventually give in and just enjoy the loving care? Of course only if nobody's watching! ;D

Note: I actually had a dream about Raph last night, so here ya go. This turned out cuter than I had hoped :)

Warnings: None??

Word Count: 1105

Raph groaned as he adjusted himself on the couch. Somehow, he had caught a bug. A bad one. And while the big buff turtle was as tough as they came normally, as soon as he got a touch of sickness, he became nothing more than a big baby.

When you showed up to the lair, you had a care package tucked under your arm. Even with his blurry vision and pounding head, Raph still squinted to look at you. You were wearing sweatpants and an old t-shirt, but you were still the most gorgeous person he had ever seen.

“Hey, Red. You feeling any better?”

“I am now.” His low voice was soft and hoarse.

“Oh hush,” You shook your head and tried to hide the embarrassing shade of red your cheeks had flushed to. Raph had a way of doing that to you, despite the fact that you were pretty sure he wasn’t into you. “I brought soup.” You held up a thermos and a spoon. He took it in one of his large green hands. “And tissues and a blanket and-”

“You’re too good to me.” Raph managed a tired smirk. He looked like his head was swimming, eyes unable to focus, breaths labored through a stuffed nose.

“And you, my green friend, are very, very sick.” You looked over to him. You had never seen him look so pathetic. “Why don’t you get some rest?”

“And what, miss spending quality time with ya?”

“Sleep, Raph. Now.”

“You’re hot when you’re bossy.”

“And you have no filter when you’re sick, apparently.”

“He really doesn’t.” Leo piped up from across the room. “Listen, thanks for coming to take care of him, (Y/N). We just can’t afford to get sick right now, but Don said you’d be immune to whatever he has so-”

“It’s no problem, Leo. Really.” You smiled. “It’s the least I could do.”

“Well, we’re headed out. If anything happens, don’t hesitate to call.” He and the other two left the lair, leaving you alone with Raph and Splinter, wherever the old rat had gotten off to.

“And then there were two,” Raph muttered. He ate a few spoonfuls of soup before setting it down for a while. “Sorry yer stuck on babysitting duty.”

“I don’t mind. I mean, you did save my life after all.”

“So we’re even?”

“Not even close.” You smirked. “I still owe you big time, Raphael.”

“After taking care of me a few hours, you won’t think so.” He chuckled to himself, leaning back against the pillows of his temporary nest. “I’ve been told I whine like a baby.”

“I have little siblings. I don’t think you could drive me away if you tried.”

“We’ll see about that.”

***

About thirty minutes after the guys left, Raph had drifted off into a nap. You learned very quickly that he snored like a chainsaw. This was an easy fix, as you had brought some headphones and a book to read in case something like this happened. You glanced up every few pages to make sure he was still out.

After a few hours, when you glanced up, Raph’s tired green eyes were fixed on you, a sleepy smile tugging at his lips.

“Well good morning, Sleeping Beauty.” You tucked a bookmark into your book and set it on the table. Touching the back of your hand to his forehead confirmed your suspicions that the large terrapin had developed a fever. “You need something to get this fever down.”

“I knew you thought I was hot.” He smirked. You rolled your eyes.

“Yes, Raphael, you are hot. You are running a fever. I’m gonna grab some meds.”

“You do that, gorgeous. I’ll be right here waiting.” You walked to Donnie’s lab, where he had labeled everything you needed and then returned to Raph to administer the proper meds. You handed him the pills and a bottle of water and then returned to your spot. “Thanks.”

“Need anything else?”

“I’m all set, Princess.”

“Alright then,” You opened up your book and continued to read.

“(Y/N)?”

“Yes, Raph?”

“Can you come here?”

“Um, sure.” You set down your book once again and walked over to where Raph was lying on the couch. His sleepy, sleepy eyes melted your heart.

“Thanks for takin’ care ‘uh me.” His voice was hoarse from all of the coughing and snoring and sinus drainage. “I really appreciate it.” You leaned forward to press a kiss to his warm forehead.

“Any time, Red.”

Raph took one of your hands in his large green ones, admiring each tiny little finger. There were so many.

“Yer hands are so small…” he murmured. “Have ya always had this many fingers?”

“Yes, I have. Are you sure you’re alright? Maybe those meds are kicking in.”

“I’m fine.” He insisted. Suddenly, something occurred to him. “Are yer feet that small too?”

“I think you need some sleep, bud.”

“But-”

“Sleep. We can talk about foot size when you feel better, alright?”

“Fine…”

***

As soon as he was better, Raph avoided you for at least a week and a half. Every time he saw you, his cheeks flushed red and he left the room. You couldn’t help but laugh a little before returning to your latest book.

But he couldn’t avoid you forever, and you both knew it.

He came around eventually, settling on the couch beside you. The other half dipped under his weight. Raph let out a sigh. You only raised an eyebrow in amusement, waiting to hear what he would say.

“So uh…I realize my fever may have caused me to uh…act different.”

“Mmhmm…”

“So I uh, I’m sorry if I made ya uncomfortable and stuff.”

“You didn’t.”

“I didn’t?”

“No, Raph. I actually kind of appreciated the honesty. It was like for once there wasn’t this wall between us.”

“Wall?”

“You know, the unspoken wall that you put up to protect your fragile turtle feelings. I understand, believe me, but just so you know, I’ve lived in New York all of my life, so dating a giant turtle would hardly be the weirdest thing that’s happened to me.”

“What now?” He paused. “You’d date me?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh.”

“Yep.”

“So uh…”

“This is the wall I’m talking about.”

“I see it now.” He sort of chuckled awkwardly before pausing again. “Ya know, I never pegged ya as someone who’d date a giant mutant freak.”

“And I never pegged you as a freak in the first place.” You winked and got up to get a drink from the kitchen.

‘Huh,’ thought Raphael. ‘I might have to get sick more often.’

[lulusoblue]

Headcanon: Casey Jones being on the Autistic Spectrum

I see plenty of neurodivergent headcanons for the turtles galore, but never for any of the human characters. In all honestly, saying one of the turtles is on the autistic spectrum is iffy and uncomfortable to me at least because it’s sorta implying that said autism would be the result of a mutation caused by an external element. Because it’s not like we’ve had shit over some dickhead portraying autism as a side effect of vaccination rather than it being a mental disorder that’s as embedded in our genes and beings as internal organs and a massive part of who we are as people. also fuck you wakefield

And so thinking about it more, it just clicked that Casey could fit an autistic headcanon. So here’s a list of things about his character I believe fit such a headcanon based on personal experience and from other autistic people I’ve known:

• Apparently the writers put him at around 17 years old, a year older than April, with some intent that he might have been held back during his education (probably to tie into him seeking April for tutoring). I don’t have any knowledge of American education beyond secondhand information I may see on the internet or pop up on my dash, so my only knowledge of being autistic in a learning system built around neurotypical students is from brief personal experience. Neurotypical education sucks when there isn’t enough awareness of learning difficulties or the teachers don’t have enough training to know how to handle it. Casey might have trouble with his education because he may have difficulties trying to pay attention and absorb information without the tools or support to help him focus. This can get you labelled as just bad behaviour or being dumb/stupid. I sure as hell wasn’t able to follow lessons in school until I finally had someone who listened to why I didn’t like lessons and found them hard to understand. We don’t have any clue as to when Casey was held back if this concept still applies in canon, but being held back might not mean he just didn’t care to study or doesn’t have the smarts to pass. Granted it gets harder to care about learning when you have trouble understanding and your educators don’t bother to help you so much as call you lazy. Which brings me to my next point.

• Casey’s interests and knowledge in gadgets, vehicles, and metalwork. The boy knows his stuff when it comes to Mad Max-looking makeshift weaponry and devices, which is clear from his decked out bike and the crude taser that he’s managed to strap to his arm without frying himself. He worked with Donnie to rig up a supercar as a hobby and helped pimp up the Party Wagon. And he’s still flunking trig. (so’s April but shhhhh that was just a Season 1 thing) Casey seems like a very visual learner in this case: he picks up on things through observation and is self-taught on what interests him. For all we know he figured out cars while being cooped up on a farm with nothing better to do while one of his terrapin friends was in a coma. I’ve ended up doing that with some programs I use or with life stuff in general. Manuals are boring and slow and easy to lose focus on. Maybe look up a couple of video tutorials for something but most of building skills and interests is self-teaching and trial-and-error. (my experience of video editing and art programs is “what’s this do and can i figure out what makes it tick without looking it up”, which is an approach to new interests I think also fits Casey). Likely not something specific or common in autistic people, but figuring things out in such a way has been a thing that popped up for me and a couple of old friends. What I’m saying is Casey made that new mask after half-watching a couple of cosplay tutorials and winging it with some scrap.

• Casey wears those gloves and that headband all the damn time. Even when he’s eating pizza, he’s eating it wearing gloves that have probably been worn working on his bike, wielding a hockey stick/baseball bat that’s likely bashed sweaty heads in rain two weeks ago without being washed, and just the day-to-day things that would get those gloves sweaty or grimey or icky. He wears that headband at all times, even when he’s wearing a mask thank would probably fit better if he took that band of material off of his head. What do his headband and gloves also have in common? They’re articles of clothing that usually have elastic to stay in place. Sure canonically they’re just there to fit his grungy look (get to that hoodie in a second), but digging myself deeper into this headcanon i got to thinking they might also serve sensory/stimming purposes. If there’s something that I think is one thing autistic people have in common or a feeling they share, it’s fiddling/fidgeting and certain sensory things to some level: e.g. I usually wear loose tops because i like fiddling with the hems and corners of my clothing. Some people wear tight or loose clothing based on how they process the sensation of skin against different type of clothing. Casey never taking off his damn gloves or headband could be seen as him liking the sensation of the elastic in them around his wrists and forehead. He probably pings the elastic as well because that’s fun too when you’re bored and need to fiddle.

I refuse to believe that he has never washed that hoodie. I mean yeah the turtles have smelt worse living in a sewer but Casey is a Human who has spent most of his life around Humans and his Human father would probably have burnt his clothes by now if Casey never washed the stink out of them. That and Casey is a hockey player, and I imagine stinking clothes is an annoyance that comes from most sports. Those paint stains on his hoodie I think he’s leaving there on purpose, like he’ll wash his clothes but no dad his clothes get washed separate because he can’t wash his clothes with your clothes because you use stuff that lifts stains and that’ll get rid of the paint splats that he likes on his clothes and why does he want paint splats because he does and they look nice and he probably won’t get the same splatter pattern again if he tried and shush dad this hoodie stays the same because it has to because shut up. We don’t really see Casey tagging anything regularly so unless it’s because they don’t change the texture on animated models because what’s the point it’s not a cgi blockbuster we’re making here Casey probably keeps his paint splattered hoodie like that because it looks nice and it’ll stay nice dad. It’s a Thing.

• Casey constantly refers to a love of heavy metal music. Too much sound for an autistic person can end up in sensory overload and that fucking sucks. And in general just the world around you can suck and you wanna shut it out because ugh. You know what helps? Headphones and really loud music. What genre has really loud music? Yup.

Casey having a social battery. He just pops in and out of the show all the time because the writers dunno what do with him shrug so yeah. Autism likes to play up the variance of a person’s social needs and wants and limits. You want to be friends but you just can’t be asked to be with people right now. You get this surge of wanting to hang out with friends and be loud for a bit, and then you have this mood where you just want to not exist or just not do things. Basically like this:

“raph great to see you i love your face” “whatever weirdo”

[dude where are you] [home] [you’ve been at home for three days] [i’m waiting until i stop hating faces to talk in person again]

If anyone has any other things to add to this headcanon, please do share/add onto this post. Now if you’ll excuse me i’m gonna dig myself further into this headcanon.

EDIT: I forgot another point I wanted to put in and also @a-specforest added some cool addon tags so broski if you don’t mind imma put them here too

• #okay so one symptom of autism is speaking in ’pre learned phrases’ #and casey has a ton of catchphrases • #sometimes speaking in a tone that doesn’t match the conversation? #casey does that a lot too • #he seems to have a few hyperfixations #in season 2 he’s practicing hockey late by himself #and the working on cars that you mentioned

1) how else would he come up with Goongala of COURSE!!! That and pre-learned phrases are great to have when spontaneous speech is a bitch and you trip over words and stammer. not that i would know anything about that nooo We’ve already heard him muddle up words in the moment (I think he said jumbled up “racism” later in S4)

2) Tone control is something I’ve dealt with, too. Apparently I have resting bitch voice so I’ll say something and get asked if i’m in a bad mood or snapped at for “being rude”. Also knew other autistic people who would have ranges of tones in certain convos too, e.g. one always sounded happy and chipper and laughed a lot even when something wasn’t particularly funny, one person’s tone of voice went everywhere it was hard to tell what their feelings were even with the context of conversation. Casey’s attitude and tone in conversation, even serious ones, might be an indication of that, I agree.

3) Oh yeah, he definitely fits hyperfixation. There’s his hobbies, and also there’s how he sees his future. When he and April are in the park for their first study session, he’s got two clear ideas for what to do with his life; Hockey Star or Bounty Hunter. With him immediately trying to play hero when confronted with a walking talking tank of organs his bounty hunter fantasy may have something to do with it. He’s reckless and headstrong, but it also lends to his fixation on one of his dream careers; if fighting a monster that he’s confronted with something he sees as a step to bounty hunting, he’ll likely put up his dukes and get melted because ACID HANDS I have definitely known people who were determined on doing something because it was what they wanted. It might’ve come across as stubbornness or rigidness depending on what it (even something as simple as just doing something like a chore a certain way), but in context of ambitions and their future they were pumped as hell to take the steps they needed to take to do what they liked and what they wanted for themselves. They didn’t care about what people thought of them even if they didn’t pass as neurotypical and would get stares on the street. Not sure how they would react if say culinary career path involved fighting mutated food, but considering the show itself is an action-adventure cartoon with mutant turtles I think we can give Casey a pass on that lack of realism there. we begrudgingly give the writers passes all the time so why stop now

Aaaand the point i forgot to put in my original post:

• Casey’s less-than appropo reactions or attitudes in situations possibly links to difficulty reading people, being empathetic or understanding social cues/priorities. Reading and understanding facial expressions and body language can be a bitch if you’re autistic. There’s even a learning software program a couple of students from my school would use in one-to-one sessions that specifically addresses this for those who find it THAT hard to tell what another person is expressing. It’s especially troublesome because empathy can be a confusing thing too, because it can go from you not really having any empathy to you having so much that you think you’re hurting the feelings of a pair of shoes because you chose to wear something else that day which totally isn’t the extreme i experience at all hahaha help i’m mentally apologising to a boot Casey doesn’t appear to take things seriously in dangerous circumstances the majority of the time, nor does he appear considerate of others at other times. It’s a lot of confidence and certainty that things will turn out OK (with a heaping spoonful of “self preservation instinct what self preservation instinct”). It’s not always an appropriate attitude to make jokes and quips and tease and make jabs at people, but he HAS taken things seriously and shown worry/sadness at appropriate times. He’s really quiet and almost numb when the subject of his family’s fate comes up in Invasion, and he was surprisingly the only one to be most affected after watching someone get mOLECULARLY RIPPED APART. From experience, both personal and through observation, figuring out how to react and respond to things when you don’t really know how to is a pain in the ass and often distressing because you feel bad for not knowing. Sometimes you resort to humour to lighten things and try to ease tensions, sometimes you have an internal screaming match with yourself and panic and go through an archive of potential reactions because what the fuck would apply here, or sometimes you just shut down or just don’t react like it’s not really a big deal or even happening. Or you end up going through verbal barfing and dig yourself deeper into a hole of instant regret because you’re making yourself look like an ass when you don’t want to why is this so hARD. I think Casey would fall into the “address things with confidence and cockiness” kind of reaction pool, because it’s an attitude he’s comfortable with and how he better deals and processes things. It’s not to say he doesn’t have some empathy or disregard for other people’s feelings (hello Buried Secrets), it could be that it’s not comfortable territory for him even when he wants to be serious/emotionally supportive. did any of that come out right fffffffffU

• Casey’s small social circle and it possibly being by choice. His best friends are the girl who he met through tutoring in a subject she was failing before and four giant turtles who are trained in ninjutsu. He only mentions having one friend before, a friend with whom he had a falling out, and he didn’t seem to like Irma all that much (you can say it’s because “she’s a third wheel on dates” but even outside of that he didn’t seem to get along with her much). With things like hyperfixation and the like making a vast group of friends is tricky. Being autistic might mean the friends you choose to make have lots of interest in common with you rather than just being someone you get along with. Not to say being autistic means you are limited to a few friends. I’m no expert on autistic social lives, I can only draw from firsthand experience. I found trying to maintain a number of friendships difficult and often overwhelming so at some point in school I stopped trying to make friends, with the exception of a couple of people I liked and had common interests with. I chose to keep my social circle small because the thought of making lots of friends and keeping in touch with them all and remembering who likes who and what overwhelmed me and made me nervous as a child. Still kinda leaks into adulthood because I don't have many friends outside of the company I keep on tumblr. In this autistic headcanon, Casey’s very small social circle could be by choice. He doesn’t mention having any other friends besides one previously, fixates on April (and yes I am knocking the romantic aspect out the window for this) after approaching her for tutoring because he found her cool and likes hanging out with her (and probably saw kicking a mutant’s ass as common ground/bonding too), hung out with her even when a person he wasn’t keen on (Irma) was also there, and even when he’s introduced to the turtles and befriends them he still appears to be platonically closest to April arguably, depends on how the writers want to write him that week. Considering how the love triangle bullhockey has been given little to no reference as of late, his concern for April in Tokka vs the World and his annoyance at Leo’s teamup picks in Tale of Tiger Claw might be more because he can’t be with his favourite person. (and yes that can be a Thing too) He might also fixate on having April’s company because she isn’t much of a social butterfly herself outside of the friendly neighbourhood mutants living in the sewer. Compare how many times we see him hanging out with the turtles minus April versus when April is present.

[clichesadmusic]

It Doesn’t Care

Summary:Jugheads life had been slowly falling apart for as long as he could remember, but it all really went downhill one July 4th.

Trigger Warning: Self Harm,  Physical Abuse, Emotional Abuse, Sexual Abuse,  Alcoholism,  Drugs,  Attempted Suicide.

Ship(s): Jarchie, maybe Beronica

Part 1|Part 2|Part 3|Part 4|Part 5|Part 6|Part 7|Part 8|Part 9|Part 10

Archie Andrews, First Year Musician.....And of Being a Huge Dick

~

Pro-tip, don’t fail at killing yourself in your room if you don’t want dried blood everywhere because cleaning it out is the worst.

That was how Jughead had spent his day, cleaning his failure from his house. ‘Can’t even kill myself right,’ he thought bitterly as he scrubbed at the carpet with an extra flannel that had gotten too big for him. Jughead knew he should be worried about that because just 2 months ago it had fit him perfectly but he couldn't bring himself to care that much. Instead, he grabbed one of the last things from his old life that he still had, his phone and headphone, placed the headphones over his ears and blasted the music as loud as it would go. He groaned as the most cliche song possible started playing, Boulevard of Broken Dream but as had become the usual, he didn’t care enough to change it.

Throughout the rest of the weekend, Jughead didn’t leave the drive in, he spent his day's cleaning and his night staring at the ceiling wishing the world would stop for just one second so he could get his life together. But such was the theme was his life, the world would not stop for him because it just didn’t care about a boy born on the wrong side of the tracks.

Monday came with a strange amount of courage thrumming through his veins, so when he got to school he walked straight up to Archie Andrews and started talking as if nothing had happened over the summer.

“Hey,” he called as he got close. “Do you think I could use Jason’s death to get out of PE? ‘Sorry, Coach, I’m just too depressed and freaked out right now to do pull-ups’. Which wasn’t a lie but it wasn’t the whole truth.

“Don’t joke about Jason Blossom,” Archie said, obviously annoyed.

Jughead was confused, had it only taken two months for Archie to forget how Jughead dealt with tragedy. “What? Sardonic humour is just my way of relating to the world.” Archie looked away wearing the particular face he had when he wanted to get mad at someone but couldn’t because he’s too nice for that. Jughead scoffed as he saw Reggie and his crew walking down the hallways. “Look, it’s the rich kids from The Goonies. Alright, I’m out.” With that, he walked away from Archie and down the corridor.

Part way down he bumped into Reggie. “Watch it, Wednesday Addams,” the jock snarked as Jughead just kept walking absentmindedly scratching at his arm where the cuts crisscrossed as he went.

~*~

Just when he thought nothing else could go wrong, life threw another curve ball at him. After Mr Weatherbee’s announcement, he was just walking around the school when he saw Archie in the music room. He peered through the window and what he saw made him want to puke. Archie and Mr, Grundy were...god he couldn’t even think about it, they were kissing. So this is why Archie had skipped out on him during the summer. Jughead knew the ginger would never love him the way he did, but he never thought seeing him with another person would hurt like this and he all but sprinted out of the school. He barely made it outside before the vomit climbed up his throat, puking the little food he had eaten into the bushes beside the school. It was then he decided he had to do something, this relationship would destroy Archie in the end and no matter how much Archie may hate him, he would never let anything bad happen if he could help it.

~*~

Jughead waited on Archie's porch for him to get home, planning out everything he would say as to hurt the other boy as little as possible. He perked up as he heard the ginger speak. “Jug. What’s up?” Oh, how Jughead had missed the nicknames, something so small but so important.

“What’s up is I saw you, Archie,” Jughead exclaimed standing up and moving towards his former best friend. “In the music room. With Ms Grundy.”

Archie moved closer, closing the distance between the two boys and responded frantically. “Keep your voice down, my dad’s inside.”

“I’m trying to help you,” Jughead replied, exasperated. “Dude. I’m trying to be your friend here. Even though we’re not anymore. How long?” He paused. “You and Grundy?”

“Since the summer,” Archie replied before looking off into the distance as if what he was about to admit was the biggest secret he had ever told. “I like her.”

Jughead scoffed, so he was right, this lady had taken precedence over him this summer. “So I’m guessing she's the reason you’ve been acting weird since summer?”

“One of them,” Archie said cryptically.

“‘One of them,’ there's more?” Maybe there was a real reason Archie had abandoned him, one that mattered.

“We were at Sweetwater River on July 4th,” Oh, so he was right, he ditched their road trip plans for a girl. “We heard a gunshot, the gunshot.”

“Dude, you have to tell somebody,” Jughead called.

“I can’t. Neither can you. If people find out about Grundy…”

“A kid is dead Archie,” Jughead cried at the other. “And you’re worried about...some cougar?”

“Don’t call her that,” Archie defended. “Okay, she’s not like that, she cares about me.”

“Stab in the dark,” Jughead shrugged, exasperated. “I’m guessing she cares more about herself. She’s the one who told you not to say anything, right? Look, I saw you guys. She’s messing with you, man. And she’s messing with your mind…”

Archie got visibly angry and Jughead flinched back when he started talking. “What the hell do you even know about it, Jughead. Or about me, even?”

Tears burned the back of his eyes and he looks away. “Nothing. But I used to know this guy once. Archie Andrews.He wasn’t perfect but...” He began to walk down the driveway as he sighed and continued speaking. “He always tried to do the right thing, at least.

“Jug,” Archie sighed and turned around. Jughead had a flash of hope, maybe he’s going to apologise for what happened but that hope drained as he saw the hard look in Archie's eyes. “If you tell anyone about this…”

Was Archie...threatening him? “What? What are you gonna do.” Any pain Archie could think of to put him through would never be worse that what he’d already experienced.

The front door opened and Fred Andrews stood in the doorway. “Hey, Jug. Coming in? We got take-out from Pop’s.” Oh god yes please, Jughead hadn’t had anything that resembled a full meal for longer than he could remember.

“He was just leaving,” Archie responded his eyes challenging Jughead to refuse. His stomach cramped as he thought of the food and the comfort that came with the thought of the Andrews household.

Jughead turned around to hide the hurt look that he knew marred his features and walked away with his head down.

~*~

At school the following day Jughead was in the student lounge thinking everything over in the corner, half listening to the conversations panning out in front of him. Until he heard Reggie talking about the murder of Jason Blossom.

“If a kid at Riverdale killed Jason, it’s not gonna be a jock, right? Now lets be honest. Isn’t it always some spooky, scrawny, pathetic Internet troll, too busy writing his manifestos to get laid.”

‘Ah yes because the ace of spades, Forsythe Pendleton Jones, is so focused on having the sex’ Jughead thought.

“Some smug, moody, serial killer fanboy freak, like Jughead?” Reggie continued turning towards the boy. “What was it like, Suicide Squad? When you shot Jason? You didn’t do stuff to the body, did you? Like...after?”

Jughead rolled his eyes before responding “It’s called necrophilia, Reggie. Can you spell it?”

“Come here, you little…” Reggie vaulted over the couch and Jughead pressed himself against the wall, memories of his father flashing through his mind.

Suddenly Archie stepped in front of him, blocking his view of Reggie. “Hey shut the hell up, Reggie.”

“What do you care, Andrews,” Reggie demanded stepping closer to the ginger.

“Nothing, leave him alone.”

“Holy crap,” Reggie stepped back as if he had just learned the secrets to the universe. “Did you and Donnie Darko kill him together? Was it some sort of pervy, blood brother thing?”

Archie lost his temper and lunged at Reggie. Jughead surged forward as Archie got pushed into the vending machine, Jugheads heart dropped when the glass shattered and Archie took a fist to the face. As was a recurring moment in his life recently, Jughead felt his throat closing up and bolted out the room before anyone could notice his oncoming panic attack.

~*~

The next day at the football game, Jughead saw Archie talking to Ms Grundy looking determined, after speaking he stormed away toward the blue eyed boy.

“Girl trouble? You?” Jughead questioned when Archie reached him, glancing toward the music teacher.

“We’re telling Weatherbee,” Archie declared. “At least, I am.” He paused. “And also, I didn’t mean all that crap I said to you. I’m sorry.”

“It’s cool,” Jughead said with a smirk. They paused for a couple of seconds smiling, for a second he had an uncontrollable urge to kiss the ginger but decided against it. “We’re not gonna hug in front of this whole town.” They both laughed and Jughead continued. “So why don’t we both just do that bro thing where we nod like douches and mutually suppress out emotions?”

Archie smiled. “Yeah, but as friends, right?” He looked nervous, did he really think Jughead would reject him?

“To be discussed, over many burgers, and many days,” at this Jughead smiled. Finally, something had gone right for him.

Archie took a step forward so he was close enough for Jughead to see the light stubble covering his face. Slowly Archie leant forward and placed his mouth on Jugheads. The hand not holding onto his helmet travelled up to cup Jugheads cheek and the brunette's arms moved to wrap around his neck. Jughead felt as if he had died and gone to his own heaven, sure the kiss wasn’t perfect, far from it in fact but it was perfect to him. He knew Archie would be more experienced so the writer just went along with what he did, when they broke away he blinked a few times, trying to decide if this was real life.

“One of those days is gonna be a date,” Archie all but demanded.

Jughead nodded still dazed from the kiss as Archie began walking away. “Wait!” He called, Archie sauntered back over. The other boy blushed and looked away, then quickly placed a kiss on the football players cheek. “For good luck,” he whispered. Archie beamed at him before jogging away to the field.

~*~

After the game, the two boys began walking toward Pop’s, halfway there Archie intertwined their fingers, if anyone had asked Jughead would deny the fact that he had blushed and he held on tighter as if afraid Archie would suddenly let go.

When they reached the diner Jughead saw Betty and who he believed to be Veronica.

“Do you want to join us?” Betty asked.

“Yes, but only if you’re treating,” Jughead called, chuckling.

“Veronica Lodge,” the raven hair girl offered.

Jughead climbed over the seats to sit down beside the window on the other side of the girl. “Jughead Jones, the third.” The rest of the night was spent with laughter and fleeting glances to the boy he now had a true chance with. That night he had two things he had not experienced in a while, a full meal and true happiness.

[evenstevensranked]

#48: Season 2, Episode 8 - “Head Games”

Twitty becomes the star pitcher of LJH’s baseball team! He’s loving it until Louis starts to put pressure on him to win all the time. Elsewhere, Ren tries to sit next to Bobby Deaver on the bus come hell or high water.

But, I’m pretty sure the one thing everyone remembers from this episode is:

(^ I cannot find the source of that gif for the life of me. So, if it’s yours... I’m sorry. Tell me and I’ll credit you!)

This one opens at the baseball field! Kinda refreshing. And guess who the announcer is?! It’s ARTIE RYAN!!! Played by Jerry Messing from Freaks and Geeks. This marks his first appearance in my countdown! He’s basically this overweight and sort of apathetic character, who dishes out some hilariously dry humor. He’s unfortunately only in five episodes over the course of the series. Then again, maybe that’s a good thing. It’s never fun when a character actor is overused and subsequently goes stale... (*cough* Beans *cough*) 

What a guy!

LJH isn’t doing too hot with the current pitcher they have out on the mound. Louis is there with a radar gun, checking the pitcher’s speed and hanging around Coach Tugnut. When Tugnut asks where he got the radar gun Louis says: “Got it at a police auction. I would’ve got the jaws of life, it just didn’t fit on my bike.” He also rags on the pitcher saying “My grandma can throw a ball of yarn faster.” Idk why, but I kind of like these lines. They’re clearly pre-written and therefore feel a little cheesy as opposed to some gems we get from Shia improvising. But, there aren’t many other stand-out lines in this one. So, they’ll have to suffice. This pitcher really is doing a crap job though, so they switch him out for Twitty. Something that stands out to me is that Twitty is chilling in the dugout prior to this reading some giant book? Like? Is that supposed to be a joke? It just seems out of character. He should be sitting there — not paying attention, listening to music on his headphones and playing air-guitar or something. Not reading freaking War and Peace.

So... I looked closely. That is a fictional book called “The Brains of Men and Women.” What the heck.

Twitty gets up to pitch for the first time that season and rox everyone’s sox off. (Yeah, I said that.) His stellar performance helps lead LJH to a victory! Artie initially introduced him by saying “Alan throws right, bats left, and lives around the corner from Del’s Pizzeria” which is fantastic. Fun fact: Just because I’m weird, I decided to look up Del’s Pizzeria… and it’s a real family owned and operated restaurant that opened in 1973! AND it’s actually in California! Granted, it’s 4 hours outside of Sacramento… so, if we’re thinking within the shows universe - that’d be a bit of a commute every day for a middle schooler lol. BUT STILL!!! I bet one of the writers or someone involved actually lived around there. Little things like that make me happy.  

Ren and Bobby talk in the hallway and it’s extremely awkward. Ren brings up Canada and how their system of government is similar to America’s. I can’t. To be fair, they haven’t become “official” yet. That actually happens in the following episode! But, I honestly think Ren and Bobby are so uncomfortable to watch sometimes because they simply don’t belong togetherrrrr! (I think I’ve made it clear who I prefer for her.) Well.. that, and they’re in Junior High. Everything about middle school relationships is awkward and I gotta admit again that the Ren/Bobby stuff portrays that pretty accurately. Ruby tells Ren to not say a word the next time they talk and let Bobby take control. Kinda awful advice and gives me Poor Unfortunate Souls vibes… but ok. It works, though! Bobby invites Ren to sit next to him on the bus for their upcoming field trip. Something that bothered me: Ren’s so excited about the invitation that she moves a guy away from his locker to scream into it. The only issue is that it’s HER LOCKER. There’s a crapton of other lockers the extra could’ve used!!

Her locker seen in Season 1. 

The “random guy’s” locker she screamed into. 

Twitty’s super happy about pitching so well. He’s the new star player! Tawny asks “Twitty, how does it feel to be the new sports hero? I mean, not that I’m into sports or anything. I actually find it to be a waste of the human spirit.” I relate to that so much, tbh. But, yeah. It’s all fine and dandy until Louis starts telling Twitty that everything’s different now. That the entire school is counting on him to win all of their games. And here we get one of the most iconic lines of the whole series. Louis explains, “You’re the closer, the man! THE BIG POPPA WITH THE BIG MOPPA!!!!!” (the first gif.) I was so unsure of where to rank this episode, solely because of how memorable this line is. But, one great line doesn’t exactly save this episode from being a little flat otherwise. I had my mom watch it with me today for an outside opinion and she was like “Dang, this one is boring.” Sooo. Yeah.

Anyway, Louis really gets inside Twitty’s head and he starts freaking out during their next game. He’s sweating like a pig and can’t think straight. We see Twitty imagine Louis’ face on the baseball he’s holding, repeating the Big Poppa line. It’s honestly so hilarious seeing Shia’s face on a baseball like that I really cannot handle it. It’s something else that made me want to rank this higher.

Twitty took drugs before this game, right? 

Twitty pitches terribly and throws the ball pretty much everywhere but over the plate. He hits the peanut guy and Artie yells, “Oh! Right in the peanuts! That’s gotta hurt.” — A little cringy. But, Artie said it.. so, it’s ok. He also exclaims “Holy cow! Someone get me a hard hat!” when one of Twitty’s awful pitches knocks over the announcement speakers. I love it. LJH loses 29 to 2. Twitty blames Louis. After this, he starts choking at everyday things! Like pouring milk and putting on deodorant. Tawny and Louis go over to Twitty’s and try to snap him out of it. This is the one time ever in all 65 episodes that we get to see Twitty’s room! It’s on-point with his character, too. Kinda stoner-y, sporty, music-y, but also messy like a slightly neater version of Louis’ room. I like that they actually put thought into how it should look. When Tawny and Louis walk in, Twitty is lying on his bed all depressed. Louis tries to motivate him by screaming and clapping “Ya gotta get up! You got a game this afternoon. UP AND AT ‘EM! Up, up, up! Come on! Let’s get UP!” As if that’s gonna help someone who’s depressed. I love Shia so much.

The two try to help Twitty by giving him jellybeans when he thinks positively about pitching, and forcing him to smell Louis’ dirty socks when he has negative thoughts. At one point Tawny refers to the mound as “that stupid hill thingy.” I relate to her so much this episode. Their plan doesn’t work, so they call in Donnie for help. I really like Donnie. They bring him to Twitty’s room blindfolded and when they take it off he asks “…..where’s the surprise party?!” He’s so innocently dumb. It’s great. Once they fill him in on the situation, he recommends that Twitty relaxes at Big Al’s Spa — a place that once helped relieve him of sport-related stress.

Twitty’s room! (Guitars and surfboards not pictured, lol.)

There’s a 5 second bit I always liked where Louis grabs and eats a jellybean from Tawny and she just gives him this side eye. They’re so cute.

Nelson once again starts screwing things up for Ren. He sits next to her on the bus because according to his mother (and his hypochondria) that seat is the safest and he wants to live. He refuses to move. Wow. But, Ruby ain’t having it. She rearranges the ENTIRE BUS SEAT SCHEDULE in an elaborate plan just to ensure that Ren and Bobby sit together. 

What an inconvenience. 

The first time, something goes wrong and Ruby ends up next to Ren. This pisses me off. WHY COULDN’T SHE JUST SWITCH SEATS WITH BOBBY AFTER THAT?! It’s a very obvious and simple solution. But, no.. they just sit there looking at each other across the bus like “ugh, this is so difficult!1! This is like an impossible algebra problem… how will we ever solve it?! We’re worlds apart! :(“ 

So, instead of switching with Bobby.. She makes the entire bus swap seats again. Oh my god. This time Nelson ends up next to Ren, and Ruby ends up next to Bobby! SHE COULD EASILY JUST SWITCH SEATS WITH REN THIS TIME! But, they just helplessly stare at each other again. Seriously, how difficult is this?! Why couldn’t Ruby get it correct?! 

Thankfully, Nelson actually does something right and gets the brilliant idea to switch seats with Bobby! Wow! Genius! You could’ve done that the first time and saved everyone all the trouble. Jesus. So, yeah. Bobby and Ren get to sit together and they both admit that they get nervous around each other. Which is kind of cute I guess. Then Bobby says he “feels like a little kid again” because he used to get carsick when he was young. He proceeds to throw up into a backpack, lol. This guy is seriously not ~all that.~ Idk what Ren sees in him. He is literally so strange. Classically good looking, maybe. But there’s something off about his character. That’s the end of the subplot.

Twitty, Louis, Tawny and Donnie roll up to Big Al’s Spa and discover that it’s run down now and literally just a mud pit. You’re supposed to relax in the mud as if it’s a hot tub. No, thanks. Twitty really does not want to bathe in dirt either. But Louis says “Twitty, Donnie drove 50 miles… I’m spending $15… YOU’RE GETTIN’ IN THE STINKIN’ MUD!” I just love Shia’s shouty voice. Twitty gets in and they leave him there for an hour. He ends up taking a nap and wakes up super relaxed and refreshed… unfortunately, the mud hardened and he’s stuck.

I love Tawny’s outfit. I would wear that, honestly. I live in my Docs. Tawny is just me today. 

When Louis, Tawny and Donnie come back for him.. Twitty freaks out. He starts screaming “I’m trapped! I’m gonna be trapped here forever! And then I’m never gonna get to see my grandchildren!” Uh, Twitty… I’d be worried about not having your own kids first. It’s pretty funny, though. Twitty takes his anger and frustration out at Louis and yells “I swear to Bob, when I get out of here I’m gonna beat you up for a week!” …Excuse me? “I swear to Bob?!” Who is Bob??? Bob Marley? Bob the Builder? Bob Saget?!?! I mean really, “SWEAR TO BOB”?!?!?! Clearly, I’m assuming Disney can’t say “swear to god.” But, wow. They should’ve had him say something else in that case, because “swear to Bob” just sounds stupid.

Obviously, they’re able to dig Twitty out! As soon as he’s free, he starts throwing mud balls at Louis who hides behind a barrel that just so happens to have a target on it. Without noticing, Twitty hits the bullseye every time. In order to focus that anger during games, they put a picture of Louis inside the Catcher’s glove, haha. Hey, it works though! And according to Artie Ryan, “The Twitty-meister is back.”

It ends with Coach Tugnut relaxing at Big Al’s Spa, per Louis’ recommendation… Except he’s stuck in the hardened mud with no one to dig him out. Oops.

The end!

Like I said last week.. Season 2 is just kinda there. Episodes like this and the other Season 2 episodes that I’ve ranked already are examples of what I mean. There’s just a strange amount of slower, more forgettable episodes imo. Although “The big poppa with the big moppa” definitely helps this one stand out in people’s memories, I think. This one is also a Twitty plot basically! Which is kinda cool! But, ya know.. The show is called Even Stevens and he’s not a Stevens. So the episode as a whole feels a little off because of that. And Ren’s subplot is okay here. I definitely relate to wanting to sit next to your crush on the bus. Again, a very realistic Junior High situation. But, I swear to Bob… (whoever he is) the unnecessary seat rearranging gets on my last nerve!!!

Thanks again for reading! If you didn’t notice.. the blog is now evenstevensranked.com! Yay! :D

Feel free to follow on Twitter, Instagram, and give a like on Facebook! Just tryin’ to get the word out.

As usual, share your thoughts below! 

[bluesakurablossom]

The turtles boys using social medi. Bonus if you add their s/o into the mix please

Well for one thing, their social accounts would be private to where only people that they trust the most would have access to it, but their accounts would be quite interesting and fit their personalities! Let’s view shall we! Hope you like it! <3 :)

Leo

·         Loves posting different Japanese artifacts

·         Katanas, landscapes, art work, scrolls, and symbols

·         Will do the city of New York and Tokyo in different background shading to add effect

·         Definitely count on seeing Blue Aesthetic on his account

·         Once in awhile do a funny post say of Mikey being chased by Raph of you and him doing a snapchat filter

·         He will even post some of his poetry he has been writing as well as art work

·         Oh definitely count on him showing off his bonsai trees he has in his room, they looked so precise with his tending

·         Loves taking photos of you of you doing some of the most basic things to doing something amazing, has a very good caption for each one he does

·         Count on a few of the posts of you together just being all cute and cuddling together

·         It can be anywhere from the bedroom, the rooftops at night, the dojo sparring, and walking hand in hand in the tunnels

·         Loves the latest one he took, his favorite of you

·         You were resting against the back of his propped legs reading to him one of your poetry books and you didn’t even noticed he had snapped the pic of you looking so intrigued with the writing

·         Caption….”What did I ever do to deserve someone such as you? Forever grateful you came into my life…love you my beautiful tenshi <3”

·         Will always leave comments on his brother’s accounts, some are pretty funny while others be like him responding “what the hell did you do?”

·         Doesn’t check every day on social media, but will check when he has the time during a break in his routine

·         His account is pretty special, definitely give him a follow or like

 Raph

·         Posts stuff on anything that it comes to work outs

·         Can be weight sets, dumbbells, or any of his role models who are fit crazy like he is

·         Will definitely post about motorcycles, any high speed or tough looking models

·         Even posts on some amazing art graffiti he spots while out on the surface that might catch his eye

·         For private posts for you, he will do cute little animals that he finds so adorable, cause he is such an animal lover!

·         Definitely does selfies of his bugling muscles to show off how big he has gotten in the arms and legs and chest, not afraid of smirking and showing off the guns

·         Some of the posts are him sweaty just out of a workout

·         Will post victories on catching Mikey in the act of a prank and the aftermath of him getting revenge, it’s a good before and after post

·         Will definitely take pics of you when you are not looking, will do it mostly on your backside

·         He is not afraid to show you off on social media

·         There are quite a few posts with snapchat filters, the funniest was the dog filter

·         Once and awhile he will do one of where you two are very cuddly, doesn’t need all the teasing

·         Small captions, but have a great meaning behind each one

·         His most favorite was you and him on his motorcycle going down the street on a night on the town with your arms around his neck

·         Caption, “Babes, bikes, and high speed….sure is the life for me”

·         Does check the media when after a long day of patrol or training at night when he could just unwind

·         Pretty awesome account, give him a like or follow!

 Donnie

·         Will definitely post on his inventions that he has created or currently working on

·         Post his favorite snacks, mostly on coffee and pop tarts with his favorite mug and different flavors

·         Does a few selfies on himself where he could be covered with grease after a long day of working, not bad looking if you think so?

·         Will do a few posts on his favorite science places he sneaks into, especially on space and technology

·         Loves taking photos of you, some of them are you think are embarrassing but he thinks you are downright adorable

·         Whether it be you sleeping or even eating something that makes a mess, he thinks its adorable in everything that you do

·         Will take pics of you both together all warm and cozy in his hoodies and add in some stickers to make it more festive

·         Always makes sure that the angle and lighting is right for precise perfection, it’s the one thing that he wants to be precise about almost acting like Leo

·         Very photogenic when it comes to his posts

·         Checks on social media when chilling out with you or listening to music on his headphones at the monitors, it’s a way of taking it easy and catching up on life

·         Tries to be funny on comments but most of the time it ends up being corny, but that’s Donnie

·         Leaves very sweet and adorkable captions about you when he posts pics of you

·         Favorite post of all time was you both wearing matching big bang theory hoodies out getting tiramisu on the rooftops having the time of your lives

·         Caption, “1+1= 2 nerds in love!”

·         You might find his account pretty interesting, give him a shoutout or like

 Mikey

·         Pretty much the king of social media here!

·         His account is pretty huge! Compared to his brothers already got over a hundred posts in a week!

·         He pretty much posts anything!

·         Posts on pizza he makes in the kitchen, a graffiti piece he had done on the wall, the newest design on skateboards, him trying out new tricks on his board, and of course nunchucks!

·         But his favorite thing to post would be you and him!

·         Count on every post you two take with snapchat filters, some having a few captions in the middle!

·         Definitely a selfie taker or should he say “Shelfie!” Such a show off!

·         Loves for the laugh of it to take photos of the bros and add silly stickers or edits to the pics and posts them with funny captions, often leading them to give him a yell from across the room

·         But quite surprisingly some actually do get approval or praise once in awhile that is

·         He takes pics of you wherever you two head off to whether that be the beach, skatepark, on the roof, or even in bed he never misses an opportunity

·         He has so many favorites, but the most favorite that was special to him was the one he took of you guys last night

·         You had baked him a pizza in the shape of a heart, and were eating a piece from the heart in your hand with a sweet smile

·         Caption, “I can’t decide what I love more, the pizza or my angel cakes who made it……..mmmmmmm Angel Cakes you take the win! Yay!”

·         Constantly on his phone checking for the next new thing, almost impossible to drag him away from it, any new ding he is the first one to see

·         Check out his blog pretty awesome stuff! Send a message and hit the follow button!