#nardo reread

[mixelation]

One thing that really gets my goat about how Sakura is written is that she does occasionally start to do something, but the narrative shuts her down. Like this:

Sakura goes to leap into the arena to see Lee after his fight with Gaara. Kakashi shuts her down. Contrast this to the panels that immediately follow this one:

Naruto does the exact same thing and no one bats an eye!

It’s not that I think characters shouldn’t be stopped from doing what they want— it’s just that when it’s a consistent pattern it makes reading about the character really frustrating. When Haku traps Sasuke in his mirror prison thing, Sakura hurls a kunai to help… and Kakashi tells her to guard Tazuna. She does this obediently for the rest of the fight, INCLUDING when she literally thinks Sasuke is dead (Tazuna has to offer to go to Sasuke with her to get her to move). Sakura’s willingness to do this is actually an interesting character trait, but because it’s couched in this weird lack of agency, it makes her seem complacent and cowardly, especially when the take away of a lot of fights seems to be “try no matter what.”

Here’s another example: in the first part of the chunin exam, they’re all told they can pick to answer a final question and risk being banned from promotion, OR they can back out now and take the exam again later. If Sakura were alone, she’d take the question because she’s confident in her abilities.

However, she starts to raise her hand to back out because she wants to protect Naruto.

She backs off when Naruto gives a speech about never giving up, even though her making them all back out is arguably the more mature choice (why would you drag a teammate along on a mission you know they’ll fail?). She also tries to pull them out of the prelim tournament because Sasuke needs urgent medical attention, and he shuts her down AGAIN. Like, looking at this with the wisdom of an adult, Sakura was definitely in the right there.

To be clear, I don’t mind Sakura being a cautious killjoy to Naruto’s “Believe it!” Shonen protag energy. It’s just that whenever she tries to exercise that caution, it gets shut down and that makes it seem like a negative trait to have. (Also: contrast this to Shikamaru being REWARDED for exercising caution and knowing when to back out). I’m not even arguing that the scenes I cited need to be changed, because they do character work for Naruto and Sasuke. I’m just saying that Sakura could have gotten a few more scenes where her choices were plot relevant, and she’d be a more fleshed out character.

[liljakonvalj]

Me, scrolling through ao3 looking for fic: I wish I was reading Ripples (2009) right now.

[turtleinsoup]

all the fuckedupness of the lemonade leak aside, the others are going to have to realize that leo's actually a genius. your characterization of the boys is a bit different from the show (not bad or incorrect!) but in the show and movie they underestimate leo like all. the time. its kind of the whole point of his character. but in the lemonade leak leo is actually so scary. and hes s o smart to the point where hes practically an unstoppable force. in some epilogue of the story (hypothetical or otherwise) it would be neat to see the others sit back and just take in how intelligent their brother is and how little they might have understood about him before (because im on the edge of my seat hoping for a happy ending cause shits lookin pretty scary the way its going now ksgdhsdjdhfjfj) sorry if this interpretation is completely incorrect i just reread the lemonade leak and its eating my brain (/positive) no pressure to respond or anything!!

Oh!! :D Thank you sm for your kind ask!!

Leo's probably smart enough to know he's better off letting people think he's dumb. Because he doesn't just outwit his enemies, nope, he strangles a spider with her own strings.

I think Donnie doesn't really give a fuck about how genius and terrifying Leo is, because - just like Leo - he thrives off outsmarting an opponent. If the stakes weren't his twin murdering him to death until he's dying, Donnie would probably be having a normal saturday evening.

Like: You could be a coldblooded mob-boss! You could kidnapp & tie Donnie up! You could bring him to some uncharted island in the middle of the night with a bag over his head, and Donnie would probably go: "At least try to put effort into your pranks. My hands are free since Brooklyn, Nardo." I also bet Donnie sometimes just tapes Leo to a chair & treatens to perform the most horrific inhumane experiments on him, to which Leo goes "Dude, just tell me you want to hang out. Look I swear I'm not gonna speedwalk away again... If you put pictures in your powerpoint this time." I hc the twins just vibe with each other's bullshit. Like, Leon doesn't mind being taped to a chair in the name of science, and Donnie doesn't mind being kidnapped to remote islands in the middle of the goddamn night. Because they know exactly that if they get fed up or just want to leave, there'll be zero power struggle about it. (They just let the other go, bc they secretly respect each other, but shush) It's legit just how they communicate "Gimme your attention rn", because they are SHIT at talking xD

Raph probably doesn't care how terrifying of a genius Leo is either, because that's his brother who licks chocolate off his own foot.

Mikey would probably care, from the angle of "Leon, beloved brother, I need you to sit through so many lessons of Doctor Morality, your butt will be fucking square. :D <3"

(Betcha Intelligence is all situational friction anyway. It's a bag of marbles: Not about who has the brightest, but who rolls them across the existential playground best. It's about how many you can fit up yo nose at once.)

So like, yah. There definitly will be a scene were they realize how terrifyingly smart Leo is!

(But also, they won't be scared of him. That much. :D <3)

[pxrtalchopped]

So Shell Feed

two : ✧ afterthoughts

sᴜᴍᴍᴀʀʏ: ᴛʜᴇ ᴛᴜʀᴛʟᴇs ᴄᴀɴ'ᴛ ɢᴇᴛ ʏᴏᴜ ᴏᴜᴛ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇɪʀ ʜᴇᴀᴅs - ᴀɴᴅ ʏᴏᴜ'ʀᴇ ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ᴛᴏ ᴀssᴀᴜʟᴛ sᴏᴍᴇᴏɴᴇ's ʜᴇᴀᴅ ᴡɪᴛʜ ʏᴏᴜʀ sʜᴏᴇ!

parts: one || two ☑ || three || [four coming soon!]

thanks for your continued interest! enjoy!

Mikey's focus was off the entire rest of the evening.

It was something that became increasingly obvious to his turtle brothers as Mikey fumbled continuously throughout the remainder of the day's training sessions.

No one could necessarily blame him; they finally had a new friend!

And what more than that, they were a human! A human their age!!! The only other human friend they had was April!

'I hope she doesn't get jealous when she hears the news,' Mikey thought to himself, 'I wonder what MC looks like... I wonder what their name is! I wonder how many times I'll start my thoughts with the words I wonder!'

"- Mikey!"

"AGH!!" A startled yelp left the box turtle, turning to his eldest brother with a panicked expression.

"Raph, you scared me! You know you can't interrupt the first person's inner monologue!"

Raphael's response was just a look - a raised brow, crossed arms, and tense shoulders. His face read a mixture of annoyed and troubled.

"Mikey, what's gotten into you? You're never this distracted, even when you're excited about something."

Guilt tugged in the youngest brother's stomach, and he retaliated with a childish whine.

"It's not my fault!" he complained, "don't lie to me and say MC hasn't been on your mind, too!"

"Mikey, we can't let ourselves be distracted by the humans. We don't even know if MC is someone we can trust yet. You can be excited all you want when April give's us the clear to trust them. For now there's nothing we can do about it," he readied a fighting stance, fists raised by his face and legs squared and bent.

Mikey sighed. Although dissapointed slightly, he didn't show it. Instead, he lowered his stance and prepared for another round of fighting with Raph.

"You're right, big bro. Just gotta shake it off," he excused and quite literally shook his head with a grin.

"Come at me!"

___

Leo couldn't help but stare at the chat spontaneously while he did literally anything.

Either in disbelief or curious admiration (or maybe the fact that you went out of your way to give him attention) he was waiting for...you.

For you to do something, anything to prove that you were still there - that this wasn't just some random encounter and that was the end of it.

He'd be watching Jupiter Jim next to his father, passed out on the recliner, and during the scenes he memorized most he'd lip sync the words of the characters while scrolling through the chat, rereading the messages you'd so sparcely sent with butterflies in his stomach.

He'd be eating pizza, lazily sat on the counter of the kitchen across from his brothers, and pull up his So-Shell feed with his pizza greased fingers, staring just above the text box to see if your avatar and three little typing dots would pop up, ready to be the first person to respond to anything you had to say.

And even talking with his brothers, it'd be you that he was mostly interested in.

Sure, he'd still make sly jabs and jokes and even some insufferably annoying puns that drove the other three off the wall - but in between every one of those he'd subconciously whip out his phone and check for a notif indicating you replied to the groupchat.

As with Mikey, this behaviour was not unnoticed.

"Nardo, I get that you want to point out how gruesomely uninterested you are whenever I talk about the lore of the Jupiter Jim multiverse but doing so through checking on my greatest failure is just harsh."

Leo's head shot up with an offended glare. "What? Greatest failure?! Come on dude, not cool."

Donnie gave him a puzzled look, as if he didn't understand why Leo got so angry. "Uhh... yeah? I literally hyperfixated on firewalls and antimalware programs for a solid three months when I was 12 and some hacker wannabes from April's school got through my app - my app - as if it was guessing some funky password?! How did they even know I created an app?! HOW DID THEY EVEN KNOW I MAKE APPS?!?!"

"Okay wait, just for the record," despite noticing how heated his twin brother was getting, he chose to ignore it for your honor.

"Your greatest failure was the app and not an insult towards MC, right? Clarifying is important, I can never understand you."

Donnie sported an evident tick mark on his forehead. 'Sixhead LMFAOOO highthree inner-Leo, sick burn. If only you said it out loud.'

With an incredulous expression on his face and arms raised in the air, he gave a hurried nod before waving his hands in anger. "ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME?!"

Oh, poor Donatello, Leonardo wasn't. Leo left - all of them did, actually, and now the softshell turtle was left alone to his thoughts.

In the kitchen, with nothing but two slices of unevenly cut pineapple pizza to give him any form of pity he so desperately craved.

He needed to talk to someone. Someone that actually understood him. But who better than himself?

Maybe even an AI version of himself, one that would be able to give educated and immediate responses to every message sent by the braniac turtle.

".....Hey, I have a new app idea!"

___

Your phone most definitely had a virus. After charging it, your cellphone was so hot you probably could have cooked an egg on the back of it.

Infact - and woefully so - the heat damaged the pictures you had pressed behind the clear case - messing with the ink and completely ruining the polaroids of your dogs and old friends you forgot to take out of it.

Now the friends thing was probably a blessing in disguise, as they turned out to be very unhealthy for you - but the pictures of your precious doggos was enough to send you into a blind rage.

Which is why you made your way back to the tech club after school.

"I'm so gonna kill them - or report them to the principal and have their club disbanded and revoke their tech priveleges so they're stuck fiddling with their shitty moogle phones - but murder is on the forefront of my mind," you gritted.

The hallway was half-lit, considering only the janitors had a reason to be roaming the halls right now.

To be completely honest the situation you're currently in right now was kind of eerie.

What made it even more eerie was the fact that you heard shuffling and quick steps from behind you.

'Nope. Not a serial killer. Definitely the janitor. Maybe he's getting his steps in.'

Okay, but this time, as you neared the entrance to the tech room, you were 90% positive the diving sound and rustling of the trashcan directly behind you was not something you would hear from a Janitor.

Fiddling with the trash lid, sure!

The 'aw yeah, inconspicuous-style!' was not something a janitor would do. CALL YOU CRAZY, YOU JUST HAD A HUNCH.

The way you sprinted to the tech club's door. You could not have jiggled the handle any harder or faster - but it was fucking LOCKED.

God hated you.

He was probably mocking you right now.

The audience watching your horror film in theatres right now were probably laughing at the scene you're in AND stuffing their stupid little mouths with super yummy popcorn.

Jokes on them, though. You're a New Yorker. The only way you're going out is by some mutated Rat infected by some zombie virus.

"Oh, hell no. I got a melt-your-face scalding phone and I am NOT afraid to use it, come at me ese!"

"...Aw, shit! Not so inconspicous! Time to move!"

Just as you raised your hand to throw your cellphone you watched as a figure in a yellow jacket tried to make a break for it from behind the trashcan, running in the opossite direction from you.

But your abuela taught you the ways of the chancla. And you knew how to aim flat-surfaced materials.

'HEADSHOT!' You threw your phone with such precise aim it probably would've killed the... killer.

...If they were bald that is - but they were not, and your phone instead ricocheted off the afro-puffs of the stranger and shattered on the ground behind them.

Okay, bummer that you were so unbelievably stupid you just broke your phone with someone who had no intent to harm you after they were caught - but on the bright side, you threw it hard enough to make the stranger trip and fall!

"I've got you!" You exclaimed with a teary-eyed fury, pouncing on the [fellow high-schooler] and pinning their arms behind their back.

"Who sent you?! Why were you trying to kill me?!"

"AUGH! Hold up - Girl, I'm not tryna kill you? And I was sent by nobody! Nobody bosses ME around, except for my bosses! Of which I have had many, I can not keep a job for the life of me - "

" - If you weren't trying to kill me, then what were you doing stalking me after school hours?" You pressed.

You were salty that you risked and probably just ended the life of your precious phone over this girl so now you decided to be a little cocky and Sherlock Holmes this shit.

"I was just trying to see if you were totally cuckoo or evil for my buddies!"

"Your buddies?" You may be dumb, but sometimes you can connect the dots.

Female. High school girl. Checking if you were evil or not because her buddies were suspicious.

She must be talking about those groupchat dudes.

"Ow, yea-uh!" you let her go and stepped away from her, giving her the time to throw you some vicious attitude and a glare as she rubbed her sore arms.

"Donnie sent me your photo and asked for me to spy on you if I spotted you after school. Luckily I was finishing up helping Mrs. Sherman grade for some extra credit when you passed by the hall!"

"I'm going to assume that you're... April, then? They said something about how threatening you were going to be."

You and her conversed in a more polite tone than the previous inquisitive voices you shared.

You turned around to pick up your phone, and when you stood back up you were met with an outstretched hand, waiting for you to shake.

"That's me! I want to say it's nice to meet you but you were seconds from giving me a concussion." She gave you a cheery smile.

You felt guilty, but you looked her up and down with an unsure frown pursing your lips.

"....Can you blame me?" came your simple answer, slowly outreaching your hand to meet hers.

She laughed as you shook hands. "Not necessarily. I'm gonna be honest with you though, you are being strangely suspicious coming here after school's already ended."

Immediately, she had you in the same position you put her in just seconds before - kneeling beside you with your hands behind your back and pressed down.

She spoke again. "What were you doing heading to the Tech Club at this hour? Reporting your findings to your colleagues? Downloading Don's website into the power grid? Using a doohickey to overwipe the cassiters?!"

You were entirely sure she had no idea what she was talking about, though she did manage to confuse you if that was her original tactic.

"....Uhhh, what? My phone's literally melting the seams of my pocket right now, did you not hear the murderous tangent I was rattling off while you were spying on me from behind? I came here to yell at Kendra and her tech-savvy goons for totally ruining my phone!"

Her hands were off of you and you were up in seconds. She let out a comical, "oh." As if nothing happened.

"Yeah, I guess that adds up. Sorry, you have to understand how top secret our little group is," she whispered, squinting an inquisitory glare at the security cameras around the corridor.

You wanted to be put off by her SOOOO bad, but you had a feeling that she was genuinely just looking out for her friends, and it gave you a fondness and respect that you couldn't ignore.

So, you forgave her without a second thought.

"I guess that's understandable," first they have a whole 'we're mutant turtles living in the sewers!' bit you nonchalantly played off and now they're acting like they're some undercover facility of agents?

This ain't Kingsman, you're not sure how much quirkiness you can excuse before you ghost this group entirely.

"It just sucks that the stupid tech club isn't here tonight. I really wanted my phone fixed - or even reparation money to repair it before tomorrow but now it's even more broken than before!" You vented with a sigh.

April gave your phone a once-over, pondering for a moment before grinning at you.

"Hey, don't worry! Why don't I take you to the boys' place? I'm sure Donnie can patch it up with some virusblockers - plus he's probably dying to figure out what kinda bugs are going through the So-Shell via your phone, anyway. What do you think? Not too far of a trip from the school."

Could you trust her right now? Some random schoolmate taking you to a secondary location - broken phone and

exhausted as you are?

You made sure to tell your mom you'd be gone for a bit but for how long would you be there?

"He could patch it up in a jiffy, I could even give you a ride home on my bike!"

She could probably sense your uncertainty, but damn if her smile wasn't convincing.

She sounded so genuine and truthful, and you were so mentally drained that the common sense you once had (very little of) was already out of your body by now.

So you nodded. "Deal."

___

End of part two! I'm still using the text chats but I want to make sure this story has some actual length to it, you know? So here's a little bit of what I wrote up for now, I hope you stay tuned for the next part! Thanks for reading! &lt;3

[mindfulwrath]

Books of 2023

"You Look Like a Thing and I Love You" by Janelle Shane - AI is even weirder when you know how it works. Interesting read. Recommended.

"The Spare Man" by Mary Robinette Kowal - Cozy mystery, IN SPACE! Good mystery, fun characters, ACAB. Recommended.

"Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, Vol. 4" by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu - Oh they FUCKIN. Recommended.

"Meddling Kids" by Edgar Cantero - Scooby-Doo meets Lovecraft. Scarier than I expected. Recommended.

"Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days" vols. 1-5 by Shiro Amano - Break my heart all over again why don't you. Surprisingly humorous. Recommended.

"Every Heart a Doorway" by Seanan McGuire - Boarding school/group therapy for young adults who have just returned from portal fantasies. "Piranesi" vibes. Recommended.

"Down Among the Sticks and Bones" by Seanan McGuire - Prequel "A" to 'Every Heart a Doorway.' Vampires, mad scientists, and the greatest horror: suburbia. Recommended.

"Beneath the Sugar Sky" by Seanan McGuire - Sequel "A" to 'Every Heart a Doorway.' A group of portal-fantasy survivors quest to resurrect a friend. Recommended.

"In an Absent Dream" by Seanan McGuire - Prequel "B" to 'Every Heart a Doorway.' Fae bargains and the consequences of brinksmanship. Recommended.

"Peter Pan" by James Barry - Charmingly written, alarming subtext. At times appallingly racist. An interesting read.

"Come Tumbling Down" by Seanan McGuire - Sequel "B" to 'Every Heart a Doorway.' A portal-fantasy survivor seeks aid to unswap her body. Recommended.

"The Roman Empire" by Don Nardo - Nice overview of the time period, accessible, with good references. At times gratingly Christianity-positive.

"Your Guide to Not Getting Murdered in a Quaint English Village" by Maureen Johnson and Jay Cooper - What it says on the tin. Amusing.

"Across the Green Grass Fields" by Seanan McGuire - Prequel "C" to 'Every Heart a Doorway.' Horse girl goes to horse world. Frankly, missable.

"Everyday Life in Ancient Rome" by Lionel Casson - Fascinating, and has my favorite quality in a historian: petty snark. Recommended.

"Where the Drowned Girls Go" by Seanan McGuire - Sequel "C" to 'Every Heart a Doorway.' Portal Fantasy survivor escapes institutionalization. Recommended.

"T. Rex and the Crater of Doom" by Walter Alvarez - How we figured out what killed the dinosaurs. Recommended.

"Autobiography of a Transgender Scientist" by Ben Barres - Life, science, and activism from a trans neuroscientist. Recommended if you like neuro jargon.

"The Eternal Darkness" by Robert Ballard - A brief history of deep-sea exploration told by someone who's been there. Recommended.

"Lost in the Moment and Found" by Seanan McGuire - Prequel "D" to 'Every Heart a Doorway.' Abused child escapes to a cosmic Lost & Found. Recommended.

"The Writing in the Stone" by Irving Finkel - A mysterious stone drives a Babylonian exorcist to a killing spree. Cool concept, unpleasant execution.

"The Pillars of the Earth" by Ken Follett - Docu-drama about the building of a cathedral. Like if Game of Thrones loved its characters. Recommended.

"The Secret History of Moscow" by Ekaterina Sedia - People are turning into birds and folktale creatures live underground. Not my cup of tea, but Gaiman fans will like it.

"Wild" by Cheryl Strayed - A woman hikes the Pacific Crest Trail alone to grieve her mother's death. An interesting read.

"House of Leaves" by Mark Z. Danielewski - An imaginary film ruins a guy's life. Disturbing. Recommended.

"The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson - The true story of the 1893 World's Fair and the serial killer who hunted there. Fair bits way more interesting than killer bits. Recommended.

"Piranesi" by Susanna Clark (reread) - The Beauty of the House is immeasurable; its Kindness infinite. Recommended.

[bouncyirwin]

Dearest bouncy, I’m fresh off of leaving a comment on Tuesday of Doom. There’s a lot to enjoy about this delightful oneshot, especially the character dynamics, but the thing I love the most is the cyclical nature of the narrator’s blissful ignorance, which is where so much of the god tier humor comes from!!!

If you don’t mind elaborating: can you walk us through your creative process with this piece? How did the idea come about, and how much of it came to you fully developed already? I can’t help but ask because Tuesday of Doom has always given me lightning-in-a-bottle vibes.

Thank you for sharing your incredible stories with us, dearest bouncy. You are truly a gift to the Nardo fandom, and I cannot wait to see what you show us in the future!!! 🖤🖤🖤

(Not me flailing because you’re reading my work omg)

Hi Mittens, this is such an utter delight, I just saw your comment and ask and I’m so happy you loved Tuesday of Doom, it’s one of my favourite fics and I was particularly proud of it!

Tuesday of Doom was the product of an ItaSaku gift Exchange event. This was actually the request I received word for word:

AU, non-mass. Prompt: Sasuke woke up from a coma only to learn ItaSakuShi is a thing. He then proceeds to stumble on them being intimate multiple times during the week. He tried (and failed) to done out the thoughts of his brother, cousin, and ex-fangirl banging.

Of course, I was immediately on board, because I’m a sucker for voyeuristic Sasuke.

The idea immediately sprouted in my head, nearly fully developed, starting with the scene in which Sasuke knocks Shisui’s door and sees them through the window.

Laughing at Sasuke’s expense was incredibly self-indulgent, my idea was sort of like this: Sasuke is an incredibly arrogant man who thinks he knows and understands everything. Then there’s a moment where his worldview is shook and nothing makes sense anymore. I wanted to explore Sakura from his new perspective as a desirable woman, someone that could hold the attentions of two of the strongest, most successful men he knew.

Playing at Sasuke’s jealousy came to me in the midst of writing it. Sasuke is not just jealous Sakura has found someone better, rather, that she could hold Itachi’s attention. I wanted to use what he saw as an eye opener.

Of course the following conversation with his brother is something I greatly enjoyed writing (as I sniggered like a madwoman) and was one of the scenes that came to me spontaneously as I was writing the ending.

Tuesday of Doom was definitely one of those plots that kept sparking new ideas as I worked on it, until I was my muse’s willing victim. I let it lead me to what it deemed was its natural conclusion and when I was done I looked at this monster I created and just laughed because I couldn’t believe I created something so ridiculous.

I was done with this fic ages before the deadline (which has never happened by the way lol) and mostly sat at the edge of my seat in anticipation because I couldn’t wait until I could share it.

It’s surprisingly a very well-received fic, it made me really happy to see people enjoying it and pointing out some of my personal favourite bits. I thank god every day for that bout of inspiration xD I really reread this fic way too often and still giggle gleefully at all my favourite parts ❤️

Ahhh you’ve made my day sending me this ask, seriously. What a cutie, thank you for giving Tuesday of Doom a chance, I definitely hope you enjoy my future works too 🥰❤️

[zombiekillerky]

{ROTTMNT Fanfic} - Insomnia

(This Fanfic was inspired by @dovelydraws​ with their wonderful fanart they made of Rottmnt. Please go show them some support on their account!!)

( WARNING : This is not Turtle x Turtle related at all, this is purely just some family scenarios with no relationships at all what’s so ever. Just regular day in the life turtle stuff)

Leo would never admit it to anyone that he was starting to get Insomnia. His usual joyful and sarcastic self would never tell anyone about his sleepless nights he had been having. Ever since the fight with Draxum and Big Mama at her hotel about the ooze-squitos. He hasn’t been able to sleep at least a couple of hours. He could pin point why he wasn’t having any luck on one thing that came to mind every time he thought about it. Him falling from a skyscraper that had at least around 52 floors or more. He would say it could be PTSD, but he chose not to think about it and just ignored it for the time being. Pushing everything to the side in order to make it through the day with out being questioned over and over by his family. The turtle in blue would say the last time he had a decent sleep was last week or maybe the week before. The fight took place on what he thought was Tuesday. So 9 days he hasn’t been able to catch a few Z’s in order to function properly. It was getting to the egotistical turtle a lot, taking a toll on how he acted and functioned during the day. His reflexes a lot slower then normal and barely any comebacks and puns left his mouth as the days went by. Yet he couldn’t tell his brothers what was going on with him, feeling as though he would just be bothering them at this point. But the looks they give him during the day make him realize that they are on to him more then he thought. 

Leonardo walked out of his bedroom, covering his mouth as he let out a small yawn before returning to the front area. His brothers had just woken up at their regular times of the day. At least from what he thought since he could hear some of their voices in different rooms when he first decided to leave his dark room. Yet here he was not a wink of sleep, walking out like a zombie that rises fresh from the grave. Did he want to make a joke about himself, yeah, but he had to keep his personal issues a secret. At this point in time he was sure his brother’s had noticed a change in his body and the way he has looked. It was one of the things the turtle in blue didn’t want to deal with or talk about at the moment. He just wanted a calm day, maybe by himself if he was feeling up to it. As the laid back turtle walked in to the kitchen area his brother glanced at him in confusion. Mikey quickly glanced around the corner to make sure Leo was in there before going to his brothers in Donnie’s lab. As he walked in they both gave him the same look he thought they would give him before he fully entered.

“What’s up with Leo guys, he looks so tired and sad all of a sudden....do you think something happen to him?” Mikey asked as he hugged himself thinking about how he has been looking the past couple of days. He’s been wanting to ask him about it for a while now, but knowing Leo he would just tell him he’s fine and brush it off. Leo has always never really wanted to talk about his true feelings with things. They were all almost used to that aspect of him by now from previous times. But the state his brother was in was starting to worry Mikey greatly. He would do anything for his brother to make sure he was okay. The youngest of the three turtles glanced to the oldest for answers, watching his tense and anxious nature was not helping him at all.

“I don’t know but he keeps stealing my coffee in the morning and it’s starting to annoy me. That’s one of the main things that keeps me going and not having all of it is taking me down a notch” Donnie replied as he turned in his chair to face his younger brother standing behind him. The words that left his mouth seemed like he was more annoyed hen worried at the moment. Even though they were very serious about their brother’s condition and state of mind. Taking note on his worried face he had at the moment like it was a surprise to him. Donnie wouldn’t admit it but he has noticed his brother’s sudden change in behavior lately. His usual annoying self has died down a bit which he would say was good. But it was so weird not hearing his sarcastic come backs and his puns he always says through out the day. He also didn’t want to admit it but he did kind of miss his sarcastic attitude he had in certain situations. Realizing this is what it would have been like if he made his gift to him permanent. He wasn’t even sure if he wanted things to be like that now that he got a small taste of this attitude.

“Do you think something is bothering him?”

“Of course there is Raph other wise why would he look like a zombie coming out of his room every morning the past couple of days then?”

“Nightmares?”

“I don’t think Nardo would get that scared of nightmares like you and Mikey do when you both have them” Donnie replied, a frustrated sigh followed as he rested his head on his palm. Not wanting to continue his sentence in worry that his brother’s would get offended by his words, which they would have. But his main thought was trying to think of a possible way his brother could be acting so different then normal. He felt as though he would be the only one to find out why especially with his scientific skills on board. The overly smart turtle over heard his older brother sigh as he glanced out of the lab. Watching their brother in need walk out of the kitchen with a coffee cup and a cookie in his hand for his so called breakfast. You could smell how strong the coffee was from where they were standing. Raph couldn’t unseen the look on his brother’s face, the tired, emotionless look he was giving like he was in thought all of the time. This wasn’t the Leo he knew no, there was defiantly something up with him and he was desperate to know what. He was supposed to know what was wrong and how to make things better. He was the older brother, this was his responsibility to know what was up. He felt like he was failing him in some way not officially knowing what was making him sad.

“I should just go and ask him-”

“No you’ll just annoy him by asking him Raph, I’ll handle this alright just give me some time.” Donnie replied as he turned back around to work on his bow staff. The simple taps of his foot hitting the ground showed he was in thought at the moment. Raphael bit his bottom lip as his brow knitted together. It didn’t look like he was trying to figure out what was wrong with their brother at all. It almost looked like he didn’t care that much if he was being quite honest. Maybe this was just Donnie’s version of tough love that he gave. But Raphael wasn’t having any of it, he needed to know what was up and now before things got worse. The eldest of the turtle’s in the room started to walk out. His gaze turned to Mikey who was following right behind him. Already knowing what his older brother was up to and wanted to help out like always. The duo of the lighter colored masked turtles made their way out of Donnie’s lab as quickly as they could. Making it to a point where they could actually speak to each other in private of their other brother’s in their home.

“What are we gonna do now Raph....what if Leo says nothing to us?” Mikey asked suddenly, doubting his skills to help his brother in need. Raph was honestly thinking the same thing at the moment. But he knew he couldn’t tell his younger brother he had the same doubts in mind. He needed to stay positive about this whole thing and hope for the best out come. 

“Well we aren’t going to force him in to doing anything....we just need to make sure that he is alright....if he doesn’t want to tell us what is going on then he doesn’t have to if he isn’t comfortable enough.” Raphael replied, watching the ends of Mikey’s lips curl in to a small warming smile. The leader in red wasn’t to sure about his own skills in comforting his brother at the moment either. But he needed to try, he has vented to Leo in the past about some problems of his. So he needs to make sure he knows that he is there for him too. The turtle in red sighed slightly, covering his mouth with the end of his fist as he stood there in thought. Thinking of the best way for him to go in there and ask him what was up. His overthinking nature was taking over his mind at the moment, making him unsure of everything. Raph soon stopped himself, clearing his throat before walking over where his brother’s room was. His steps were quiet as he walking carefully over. Noticing the light was off that he usual turned on when he woke up. Raph’s gaze went back toward his little brother behind him. Getting a quick thumbs up with a small grin that followed for good luck. His hand raised and returned the gesture before walking in after knocking on the side of the cement in the doorway. 

“Hey Leo what are you doing?” Raph asked calmly like any other normal day of the week. Watching Leo set his comic book down he seemed to reread over and over every once and a while. He took note on the look on his face, the bags underneath his eyes. Not to mention how slow he was really moving. The turtle in blue stretched slightly, hearing a small pop of his back before shrugging ever so slightly as a reply. Raphael soon walked in after, feeling like he was sort of welcomed in by his brother. The end of Leo’s bed sunk due to his weight being on the end compared to Leo’s in the middle. The awkward silence was very unsettling as they sat in the dark bedroom next to each other. Something neither of them were used to with their quite loud family they have. 

“Nothing” Was the soft reply that was heard coming out of Leo’s mouth. His expressions were slow and his excitement was minimal then what his normal range was. Raph’s eyes darted around the room for something to talk about, feeling as though he shouldn’t get straight to the point of why he came in to his room. 

“D-Did you need something? Wanting a training partner like you said yesterday?” Leo asked to try and lighten the mood. Faking acting like he was himself when Raph could see right through his brother’s charade. Raphael leaned forward and rested his hand on Leo’s shoulder. The laid back turtle glanced up in to his brother’s eyes questionably. Already bracing himself for the questions to come once he saw the worried look in his eyes. His gazed went to the side and found his much younger brother in the doorway as well. Acting as if he wasn’t there and Leo couldn’t see him. But right now he needed to pay attention to what his older brother was saying.

“Are you okay?”

“Define okay.....I think I’m fine why?”

“Like overthinking? Sleeping issues? Nightmares at all?”

“Why are you asking?”

“Leo don’t deny it, we have seen you coming out of your room the past few days looking like you haven’t slept at all. It’s starting to worry us even if you don’t see that. I’m speaking for all of us at the moment” Raphael replied as he moved closer to his brother on the bed. Taking note of his expression of thought he had at the moment. The turtle in blue was trying his best to make up an excuse, a lie of some sort to make it seem like he was fine. But the truth was screaming to be let out of him, hoping they could help him in some way. This whole no sleep act was getting to him in more ways then he could count. He couldn’t take this annoying pain away no matter how hard he tried, he just always seemed to wake himself up. Leo’s eyes darted around the room, finally locking with Raph’s as he stared down at him. He would never be able to lie to his face even if he tried. The turtle in blue bounced his leg out of anxiety, running his hand behind his head all the way down to his neck nervously.  

A sigh left Leo’s lips as he leaned forward and rested his forehead on his brother’s muscular arm. Giving up on trying to lie to his brother trying to help him. Raph happily wrapped his arm around him to comfort his brother in need. Watching his eyes stare out at the wall as they screamed for help but no words came out of his mouth. This was his plead to him he felt almost with how quiet he got. 

“Did you sleep at all last night?” Raph asked Leo in his arms, feeling him shake his head calmly and slowly up against him. This concerned Raphael greatly once he learned of that. He bit his bottom lip slightly as he glanced back at Mikey standing there nervously. His eyes went back down to his brother sitting there up against him. Things were now tying up together from what Raph assumed before hand.

“How long has it been since you have actually slept bro.....please be honest with me here?” The older brother in red asked calmly in a soothing tone. Hearing a small sigh as Leo shrugged his shoulder’s slightly in return. Worrying Raph even more so then before hand.

“I don’t remember the last time I had a really nice sleep if I’m being quite honest Raphie” Leo replied with a warn out grin on his face to hide away the pain. Raphael’s brow knitted together as he thought about what he had said more and more. Not being able to understand why his brother was suddenly having bad sleeping issues. Leonardo was one of the main turtles that got good sleep being as though he complained when not getting his usual hours when he woke up to early. Why hasn’t he even told him about this before hand, Leo was one to speak his mind about something he thought was off. He spoke his mind about Big Mama and here she was a villain after all. 

“Why haven’t you been able to sleep.....is there something wrong? Something keeping you up at night Leo?” Raph asked softly, watching Leo’s eyes squint as he tried to think of something. Raphael waited patiently for him to answer, watching his expressions change as he rested against him. The turtle in red couldn’t really pin point anything on his bad sleeping issues at all. Not knowing what was bothering him made his heart ache, he should know after all. The guilt was rising in him that he didn’t know and wasn’t there for his brother when this first started to happen. Feeling idiotic for not realizing sooner and acting sooner then this.

“I-I don’t really know if I’m being quite honest..... the only thing I can really think of is when I was thrown off that roof top back when we were fighting Draxum on Big Mama’s hotel building....nothing comes to mind besides that moment and it’s the only thing that ties up to when I started not being able to sleep I think....I’m not sure other then that.” Leo replied as he glanced up at Raph in front of him. Raphael’s eyes widened in realization as he recalled that night clear as day. Draxum held him over the roof top and asked Raph either his brother or the bugs. Raph was sure he was bluffing, being that he thought every villain does. But once he saw his brother was thrown off the roof as soon as he said no to giving him the bugs. He dropped the jar of ooze-suitos immediately to go and save him. It was close he would admit and he wasn’t sure how he activated his powers. But he saved his brother from falling at the last second and made sure he was okay before they made it back to the others. He hadn’t even realized that fall had caused his brother trauma secretly. He had just assumed since they have been up on the roof tops for ages that he would have been used to the fall and the height. Raph’s eyes darted back down to Leo sitting there with his tired look. His arm keeping him up on the bed soon wrapped around his shell and pulled him in closer.

“I’m so sorry I didn’t see this before bro, I should have noticed this sooner then I did and maybe we could have helped you earlier then this....maybe I could have acted faster then I did back then and saved you quicker”

“no no Raph it’s not your fault bro come on, it’s okay....I’m okay....i forgive you if that’s what you want to hear....but it’s not your fault”

“I am really sorry though Leo....truly I am”

“Yeah we’re so sorry Leo” They both heard Mikey say from the door way with a guilty look on his face. Leo smiled softly as he held his hand out, motioning for him to come on to the bed. Which Mikey immediately did so and joined in on the group hug as soon as he could. For once Leo actually felt safe, he felt all the anxiety go away from him in their arms that held him tight. Comfortable like nothing could touch him like the times when they were little.

“It’s alright guys....I-I’m fine really....I just need to get this under control”

“Well we are here for you bro no matter what, we’ll always be here if you need us” Mikey replied lovingly as he hugged Leo tighter, making the laid back turtle chuckle softly. 

“Well....we could try sleeping medication now that we have found the route of what has caused you such trauma and stress lately. Getting that off of your chest is the first step and if things don’t go back to normal sleeping medication is the next answer for now” The three turtles on the bed glanced toward the door way and found Donnie standing there propped up against the side. Arms crossed as he gazed inside with a small worried look on his face he hoped they couldn’t see. This was the “I try to cover up my worry” look as Leo likes to call it. The turtle in blue smiled softly at him as a thanks, not even daring to move away from his brothers holding him. He didn’t even notice sleep taking him over slowly as he sat there with him.

“Sounds like a plan then D” Leo replied with a small yawn, resting his head back against Raph’s arm tiredly. His eyes slowly shutting as a result of the lack of sleep he has been getting. Raph only smiled as he held a finger to his lips at his two other younger brothers in the room.

“Looks like we’re gonna have a day off today then guys” Raph soon said as he heard the small snores coming from his brother in blue in his arms at the moment. Realizing comfort was one of the things the turtle needed all along to help him get some shut eye. The eldest turtle slowly moved up against the wall in order to rest. Having Leo moved on to his plastron and Mikey right beside him. Noticing Mikey was falling slowly asleep too as he spoke. Raph’s eyes darted over toward Donnie walking in to the room slowly. His hands carefully grabbed a hold of the somewhat folded blanket on the edge of the bed sheets. For someone so loud in their lab he was moving extra carefully and quietly to not wake Leo up.

“His body has probably given up on the resistance of sleep due to the lack of it this whole time.....It seems like you both have helped him by comforting him” Donnie said as he carefully laid the blanket over his overly exhausted brother sleeping up against Raph. Noticing Mikey’s falling asleep as well. 

“Do you want to join too D? I know you stayed up til 3 last night so don’t play games with me.”

“Well I do have some projects I would like to work on....but I am running low on sleep too soooo...” Donnie replied as he looked down upon them on the bed. Noticing Raph smirking since he knew what his answer was going to be. Donnie sighed as he took a step on to the bed and laid up against Raph’s other side. Taking his battle shell off since he wasn’t gong anywhere before laying down comfortably up against him as well. The turtle in red smiled softly to himself as he stared up at Leo’s ceiling. Getting nostalgia from when they were younger since this was how they used to sleep some days. The turtle in red’s eyes slowly started to shut. Glad that he could help his brother in need when he could at that Leo was finally getting some sleep. 

[sasoris]

G O D im rereading nardo and. Im so fucking pissed that kishimoto is such an insect-brained little man who creates rock lee, who is fucking flawless and gorgeous, and then makes a whole ass deal out of that everyone thinks hes ugly and cringey when IN FACT every single panel of him looks 10000 times better than any sasuke panel ever

[galaxdora]

*rereads sharingan rising so I can study it and my own world building spin on nardo*

[mixelation]

Fic trope: During the Wave mission, Sakura screwed around and did nothing while Naruto and Sasuke trained.

Canon:

Sakura was the only one doing the mission because Kakashi exhausted himself and Naruto and Sasuke were literally just practicing tree climbing, which she managed almost immediately.

[mixelation]

Man did not have a single flashback of his actual family loool

EDIT: nvm I’m dumb and missed Konohamaru in the group shot. Not deleting and burying the post bc LOOK at old school team minato. But RIP asuma I guess lol

[mixelation]

What do you mean Kakashi ran off with Sasuke for weeks, informed no one, and no one had any idea where they were or if Sasuke would show back up for the tournament, and also they were actively searching for them, and ALSO some people thought it was possible Sasuke was with Orochimaru

[mixelation]

Orochimaru’s entire introduction is easily one of the most bizarre series of WTF

Sir what the FUCK in crying

Why did you do that

[mixelation]

The real question for reborn au is. Does Tori escape Oto-nin super iconic mega fashionable uniforms?!

[mixelation]

Also here is the canon explanation for the relationship between ninja villages and their national governments. Hope this helps! :) (it doesn’t)

[mixelation]

Hiruzen @ Orochimaru: I can’t BELIEVE you sacrificed your own subordinates!!

Orochimaru: lol what