#no beta we die like donnie

[achilles-invulnerable-heel]

Did a tiny bit of writing based on @somerandomdudelmao 's most recent comic. And hey, dude, if you're reading this

a) ur stuff is really good

b) I hope this inflicts upon you even just a shred of the emotions that last comic made me feel <3 /lh

Death was something that often plagued Donatello's mind. It was an agonizing mystery that he wouldn't solve till it had taken him. A puzzle where the last piece can only be found by leaving the table. It annoyed him. Something he couldn't understand through research and logic. Something so devoid of reason. Something he couldn't fix. Not really.

For a short, foolish moment he thought he had understood it. He thought he had found a way to fix it. He had brought Raph back from death. And he had found a way to reverse Mikey's aging. But soon that understanding, that supposed power over death, slipped through his fingers like sand. It defied his logical comprehension.

When he failed to understand death through pure reason, he would instead turn to understand the emotions that it brought foreword through reason. As he lay there, feeling the energy drain slowly from his body, he decided death was a cruel form of mercy. A mercy from grief.

He hadn't properly grieved Raphael's death. He was too certain he could bring him back. To fixated on his machines to feel. Perhaps it had been unhealthy, but with Raph back that hardly mattered. Donnie didn't think that Mikey had properly managed to grieve the loss of Raph either. Mikey was so hopeful he would return, that he wasn't gone, that he pushed the grief away. He tried to hide it, but it wasn't hard to figure out. Donnie presumed Leo got the closest to accepting Raph's death, though that still wasn't much. He seemed to ignore his grief through battle, training, and patrols.

He hated the cruel, twisted mercy the world was showing him. Being the first to really die meant he would never have to grieve the loss of his brothers. instead he was forced to leave the grief, the pain , and the loss to them.

He knew they would be okay. He had taught them all they would need to know. Told them all the little things. He had prepared for this. He made sure they wouldn't need him. But even still, he knew he would be leaving them with grief. He wouldn't be able to take away Raph's guilt at being unable to save him. Wouldn't be able to take away Mikey's distress at losing an older brother. Wouldn't be able to take away Leo's unyielding sorrow at losing his twin. He was truly sorry that he couldn't prepare them for all of that too. Couldn't teach them how to deal with it like he taught Casey Jr electronics, or Leo how to do maintenance on his arm. Oh, how he resented the mystery of death and grief. The one thing he could never fix.

But now, in these final moments, he understood. As death reached out to him, as he felt the last drop of his energy leave him, as he took in his last breath surrounded by his brothers, he understood. He didn't say anything. Nothing he could say would make this easier. He exhaled slowly, and let death embrace him.

[kiaxet]

HOW ABOUT THAT @somerandomdudelmao DISASTER TWIN REUNION, HUH

Went a little feral to the tune of 2.2K words of self-indulgence. What else is new?

~~~~~~~

Donnie can't sleep. More accurately, he won't sleep. Not until he's done. He'd never been one to leave a project unfinished; death and resurrection hadn't changed that.

He taps incessantly, repetitively, on a keyboard and screen, the motions long since past inputting data and now only serving to keep him awake. The repetition is soothing, easy, and - counterintuitively - he finds his head drooping forward into sleep-

And he snaps back upright. No. Not until he can confirm Leo is okay.

Leo is behind him, he knows. Breathing. In bed. Asleep. Very much alive. And-

He jumps and whips around as a thud sounds behind him. "What the-"

Leo is on the floor.

Well, that answers the question as to whether his twin is awake.

For a fraction of a second, part of him wavers uncertainly. He loves his idiot twin. The question he hasn't been able to answer is whether his reaction to Leo waking up will fall on love or idiot twin-

"Leo!"

He can hear the exasperation in his voice, and yep, it's the latter. He takes a knee next to Leo and hauls him into his arms, lecturing him all the while, and if he can hear the annoyance in his voice then Leo sure as hell can. Sleep deprivation for the purposes of keeping his brother's soul alight had done nothing for his temper. "I swear to God, all you had to do was make a sound! Why are you such a difficult patient?"

He deposits Leo carefully on the bed - "Sit still!" - and checks him over, running every scan he can think of and making sure his brother's new body really is in good working order, spouting increasingly irritated commentary all the while. Of course the fall didn't hurt him - Leo is tougher than that, and Donnie does better work than that - but he still can't help the rising anxiety in his throat.

This almost didn't happen.

"-stupid, stupid selfless idiot!"

Donnie almost couldn't save him.

"Grrhh-"

Leo nearly died for real. Permanently beyond Donnie's reach. Well and truly gone-

"Do you have any idea how close you were to having nothing left to save?"

And now here Leo is, in perfect health, sitting on Donnie's bed with a big dopey grin on his face as Donnie chokes on his anxiety and damn near shakes himself apart-

Oh for fuck's sake.

"Hey. Are you even listening?"

Leo speaks up for the first time since he's woken up, voice shaky from disuse. "D-Donnie?"

And that is not a goddamn answer to anything Donnie has been saying, because of course it isn't. It's Leo. He's always had his own priorities. "Yeah. No. You're not fucking listening." Donnie heaves a long-suffering sigh, sinking back into the routine comfort that irritation at his twin provides. "At least you're talking." Small favors. "Although I'm surprised you're not throwing your stupid jokes at me." Even smaller favors.

He stops short as Leo's hand closes around his wrist, drawing Donnie's arm to Leo's plastron. "You're real," his brother breathes, looking from Donnie's hand to Donnie himself with tears streaming down his face. "You're real!"

And then, in the space of a thought, Leo's joy breaks, his smile turning desperate. "Are you?"

For a moment, Donnie stares at his twin, wondering at the sudden change in expression. He takes a breath-

And the part of him that had lain dormant for so long after he'd woken up - the part of him that had been screaming for his twin's safety ever since they'd recovered the few scattered embers of Leo's soul - gasps to life, blooming like a time-lapse video of a flower and reaching to the edges of Donnie's soul. Leo had called it their twin sense, and Donnie hadn't had it in him to argue after a while. Whatever it is, it's back, connected to Leo's renewed presence, and-

Donnie's heart floods with emotions. Relief and joy sprout quickly and are nearly swept away in a tide of exhaustionanxietyfearfearfearfearFEAR-

But down beneath it all, steady against the rising wall of terror, is the little blue spark of hope that his brother always carried. His core. The thing that let him continue on in the face of insurmountable odds, and lent that same strength to everyone around him. A ninja's greatest weapon.

It's Leo. It's Leo-

And Donnie can't leave him alone in his fear. Not when there's no need for it. Not when they're safe.

He lets that breath out, and sits next to Leo on the bed. "Mhm. I'm alive. And you're alive. We're safe. The Krang are gone." That's all the news that's fit to print, or at least the most important parts. What else does he have to say?

Oh.

"I'm sorry I..uh…"

He's sorry he what? Died? Left a mess for Leo to deal with? Didn't do enough while he was alive to keep everyone else alive in turn after he was gone? Kept his brother's soul in a fucking mug, because that was the only way he could ensure he wouldn't break it while Leo was still fragile? All of the above?

…yeah, it's all of the above.

He owes Leo one hell of an apology, and he's never been good at any of this, so instead he shrugs haplessly and leans forward, pulling Leo into his arms and hanging on tight.

It's a matter of moments before Leo has him flat on his shell on the bed and is sobbing into his arms. Normally he'd hate seeing his twin cry, but it's proof of life - proof that Leo made it, that his soul is intact enough for him to still be Leo, that he's alive and awake and here - and Donnie will take it.

And if he's squeezing Leo back pretty hard himself, well, that's fine too. Nobody else needs to know.

~~~~~~~

Donnie is yelling at him.

Donnie is strong enough to have picked Leo up off the ground, well enough to be on his feet without support, running tests and reading Leo the riot act over his latest boneheaded maneuver - in this case, forgetting he was missing an arm and falling out of bed.

Donnie is yelling at him, because Donnie is here to yell at him.

And Leo is smiling, because he couldn't be happier. He lets the words wash over him, draping over his shoulders like a favorite cozy blanket that he'd lost so many years ago, and he basks in the warmth that is his brother's voice and smiles.

It's enough to interrupt the yelling for a question, though he doesn't really hear it - just keeps smiling, and says Donnie's name, and it's so nice to be able to say it with a smile now, because Donnie is here-

-he is, right? This isn't just a dying hallucination on Leo's part, right?

(It couldn't be- he remembers his death, remembers breathing his last, remembers being trapped- but this-)

He reaches out, taking Donnie's wrist in hand, and pulls his brother closer to him. "You're…real…" It certainly feels real - skin and scales, softer than his own, and his fingers barely fit all the way around the wrist instead of encircling them with room to spare - and he stares down at it, tears rolling down his face as he finally looks back up at his twin. "You're real!"

The Krang show you what you want to see.

The thought strikes him unbidden, turning his joy and relief to ice. It's a well-known fact: a Krang infection can show its host what they want to see, visions of comfort and family and home, and extract intel from the host's reactions. He knows that- he knows that, and-

And he'd died surrounded by Krang- and even if he couldn't see or hear or feel, he knows he'd been held captive-

But it's Donnie- he wants this to be real- he needs this to be real- he wants his twin back so badly he can't think, and the idea that this could be a Krang hallucination is almost too much to bear-

"Are you?" He can hear how choked the words are as they leave his lips, but he needs to know-

And Donnie stops, and sits down next to him, and tells him everything he wants to hear - everything he could've ever wished for. They're alive. They're safe. The Krang are gone. It all sounds too good to be true.

And then Donnie offers him an apology and a sad half-smile, pulling him into a strong hug-

And the ice in Leo's mind shatters in a flood of warmth as his twin sense opens for the first time since Donnie's death. He feels his twin's irritation, and deep-seated exhaustion, and a choking wave of guiltguiltguiltguiltguilt-

And beneath it all, steady and strong as ever, the thrum of unending determination, powered by an unfathomably deep well of love. It's the backbeat to the melody of Leo's life, the point-counterpoint to his own heartbeat- it's something he'd never had to live without until he did, but it's back, rushing in to fill the silence he'd known with the strength to go on and the knowledge that he is loved loved loved, strong and overwhelming and all-encompassing in the way only Donnie can love-

It's something the Krang could never imitate.

This is real. This is all real-

He throws himself against his twin, toppling them both over on the bed as he clings to Donnie, unable to stand even a fraction of an inch of space between them, as though he could push their hearts together through their plastrons, and he cries, sobbing out worry and terror and grief and the slow, crushing exhaustion of a losing battle finally lost. He cries as though the world was ending - and it had, once when the Krang had invaded and again every time he'd lost a member of his family, over and over until he'd sent his last hope through a portal that had cost his littlest brother his life and succumbed to death himself.

And now he's alive. Here, wherever here is, with Donnie. Clinging to his twin, and being held in turn as Donnie gently sits them both up, never letting go as Leo cries himself out.

It takes a while - long enough for Leo's gaze to settle into a stare and his thoughts to settle into a comfortable static. He's alive, Donnie is alive, and he has no fucking idea what else is going on, but he's just going to be okay with that for now.

His thoughts rouse enough to inform him of something wrong - the line of tension Donnie is carrying down his neck and over his shoulders. That won't do. Leo could try to massage it out with one hand, maybe try to get Donnie to talk about it, but Donnie never likes to talk about it, and Leo isn't one for slowly soothing away tension when he can just take an axe to the release valve instead. Plus, it gives him something definite to focus on, instead of…this whole situation. Whatever 'this whole situation' actually is.

Donnie had mentioned his stupid jokes, right?

"H-hey Dee?" His voice wavers from disuse, thick with tears, but he pushes through. "Why did- why did the tree buy a camera?"

"What?" Oh, Donnie is not going to see this coming. Excellent.

"To do a photosynthesis." It's nowhere near the level of pizazz he normally uses for a punchline delivery - he's still too tired and frazzled and clinging to Donnie entirely too hard for that - but that beautiful pause of a terrible joke sinking in tells him it had hit home nonetheless. Donnie moves - he can hear the telltale slap of face meeting palm - and then breaks down into helpless laughter, smacking the back of Leo's shell as the tension Leo had felt in his twin's shoulders abruptly relaxes. Good. It worked.

"This is so fucking stupid," is all Donnie manages as his laughter fades, and he slumps fully against Leo with a murmur. That's...abrupt. Sure, Leo had felt Donnie's exhaustion, but he hadn't realized it'd been that bad. He takes hold of Donnie, gently laying him down on the bed to rest-

Remember what happened last time Donnie fell asleep next to you.

He gasps sharply at the thought - not again NEVER again - and keeps his hand steady as he moves, laying both fingers gently against Donnie's neck and feeling for his pulse. It's easy to find, strong and steady and even, like it had been before the infection had taken Donnie's vitality and then his life.

But he's alive, and healthy, and sleeping. He's okay. And Leo-

Leo moves his hand to the side of his own neck. His pulse is also easy to find, quickened with the adrenaline of an unknown situation and multiple consecutive shocks to his system.

Okay. Take stock. Assess. Figure out a plan from there.

He's alive. Donnie's alive. The Krang are gone. And everything else…is a big fat question mark, with no easy answers and no indication as to where to begin looking for them.

Well.

Uh.

"What the fuck," Leo whispers to the room at large, as though the walls could answer.

~~~~~~~

(A world away and still very close, a younger pair of twins cling to one another the way a drowning man clings to driftwood: desperately, clutching tight, as though letting go will spell their doom. Neither of them know where the emotions came from, or why; all they know is that each of them are damn glad the other is alive, and they'll do everything they can to make sure that continues to be the case.)

(What the fuck, indeed.)

[fungalittleweirdo]

chubby!reader × Donnie? he gets a tad bit flustered? maybe a bit of a spicy peice? praise kink🙏🙏🙏🙏

-👾🐈‍⬛️

already writing limes in the sfw blog, are we ?

jules fears NOTHING !!

i love writing this kind of content anyway >:)

if you wanted something higher on the citrus scale i shall direct you to my other blog, @fungalittlefreak where you could get even more specific with whatever you desire !!

i initially wanted to make this longer but i'm swamped with so many things to do, might have a part two if there's demand for it.

one chubby reader x flustered donnie coming right up B)

thank you for the request anon <3

important side note: while i don't deem this as "mature content" i feel more comfortable if anyone 15+ could interact with this post, otherwise please don't read or interact. while i can't force you not to, i hope anyone below 15 years old could respect my wishes.

May I?

It's movie night in the Hamato household and you're invited! April said you didn't have a choice, so here you are contemplating on wearing something comfortable or something cute.

Delivered (18:42 PM): is this too much? i'm bringing a change of clothes because i'm sleeping over

apes (18:42 PM): oooo who are you trying to impress

apes (18:42 PM): god i hope it's not leo

apes (18:42 PM): you deserve better

You shake your head, grinning at your phone as you send your last message to April.

Delivered (18:43 PM): i'll never tell :)

You finish getting ready and grab your overnight bag, heading over to the lair. The clattering and chattering in the kitchen tells you that the brothers would be in there, but you spot Donnie alone on his phone in the projection room. He seems comfortable enough not to wear his battle shell, which you find surprising. You take a step toward him and he looks up, turning to you as you put your stuff down beside the couch. He stops, staring while you move to sit beside him, even though you already greeted him, waiting for his response.

"Uh, yes. H-hello. Greetings. Good evening."

He looks away, then looks at you out of the corner of his eye. You grin and lean in with a smirk. He blushes, then a nervous smile plasters itself on his face. "D-do you need anything from me?" Donnie asks politely, but his eyes darted everywhere, scanning you as if he is committing the way you look right now to memory.

"A kiss might be nice."

The softshell freezes and it looks like his brain is malfunctioning, his face warming at the thoughts racing through his mind.

"May I?"

He reaches up to cup your soft face in his hand. His fingers twitch as if he's holding himself back from holding you firmly. You nod with a whispered yes, leaning in for a delicate, soft kiss. The softshell perks up and a dopey smile spreads across his face after you part, then he leans in for a deeper kiss, the heat on both your faces burning a little hotter.

"Your lips taste so good," Donnie breathes, threading his fingers through your hair at the base of your skull, holding you close as the two of you made out on the couch. "So sweet for me..." He whines, his blush darkening his face even more while he reaches for you with his other hand, holding you against him. His fingers knead the plushness above your hip for a moment, the hitching in his breath apparent. After another minute or so the two of you officially part, noticing the lair has gotten quiet.

You turn around to find nearly everyone with their jaws dropped to the floor, eyes boggled. Donnie sneers, wrapping an arm around your waist to hold you against him possessively. The way his hand grips your tummy made you yelp, feeling embarrassed now that the two of you were caught. April snaps a picture, Leo snickers, Mikey cheers, and Raph narrows his eyes in suspicion, then smiles, proceeding to whack Leo upside the head before he moves over to tease Donnie. The Caseys walk in with two bowls of popcorn, Junior has a knowing look on his face while CJ looked on in confusion to the commotion. You sigh with a grin, shaking your head and relaxing in Donnie's arms as movie night started to kick off.

[greenunoreversecard]

me and my friend decided that this is the new autism spectrum./j

[phoebepheebsphibs]

Painfully Honest, Chapters 1-5

Title: Painfully Honest Prompt: A truth-telling serum spills into the sewers, and now the turtles and Splinter can only tell the truth for 24 hours (or until Donatello whips up an antidote). What hard truths will they finally admit to each other? Fandom:  ROTTMNT Word Count: 9881  Author: PhoebePheebsPhibs Rating:  Gen Characters:  The Sando Brothers, Leo, Raph, Mikey, Donnie, Splinter, & Baron Draxum Warning: There is some vomiting when characters try to resist the truth potion Summary: After the Sando Bros infect the sewers with a truth potion, the Hamato family is forced to be painfully honest about everything. Notes: No Beta, We Die Like Gram-Gram!

@skullythefriendlyskullface @tmnt-write-fight

Link to fic on AO3 <-

[clowned-by-cupid]

First time drawing the turtles in a while! Still getting the hang of it but here’s to progress!

Doodled these while watching mutant mayhem! Also I love drawing Leo with a bow in his mask…

[sansbyshipper]

HERE WE ARE PEOPLE!!! As promised we have the next chapter today. Hope ya'll enjoy!

[poppysinpebbles]

Sewer Crypt

Chapter One

What would happen if Raph, Donnie, Casey, and April were never cured?

My idea from Here.

The night air was chilly, especially up on the rooftops. Perhaps too chilly for mid june, but it didn’t bother him, not anymore anyway. In fact, he loved it, reveled in it actually. The bite of the cool breeze in his throat tasted like power. It tasted safe. Safe as this side of the city. The stars were bright here and he was glad for it. The telltale light pollution of civilization disgusted him, it reminded him far too much of the burn of sunrise. But this part of the city had been taken by his kind long ago.

Never had he actually found the darkness of night all that dark. Whether or not that was the result of his dimly glowing eyes or just the abilities that came with the transformation was beyond him. At the moment, It didn’t matter either way because it allowed him to watch his newest batch of ghouls run around the street like roughhousing children. He enjoyed watching them, it took his mind off things.

He’d always been a natural at controlling ghouls. Even back when he was a little fledgling surviving off spiders and rats. He still had his baby fangs back then. That thought brought a smile to his face, one that quickly faded when his mind provided another memory from back then. The time he’d invited his brothers to join him. He was quite naive at the time and he wished he could go back to give his younger self the cold, hard truth and maybe a slap to the face. His hand reached up to his bicep to fiddle with a long, red piece of fabric tied around his sleeve. A habit his master encouraged. It probably made him easier to manipulate, whatever, he didn’t really care all that much.

Pulling his hand away quickly, he reminded himself he still had one of his brothers and two of his friends. Sighing loudly he glanced at his watch and a not so quiet cuss rang out. Taking a deep breath of air, he let out a bone chilling screech that echoed across multiple blocks. His ghouls took action immediately. Scrambling through open doors and windows and into sewer grates and manholes. There were even some clambering into ventilation shafts at the top of buildings. It looked like chaos, and it was, but they all had one goal in mind; to get out of the open. The time was 4:30, far too close to dawn for his comfort.

He himself hastily made his way to a manhole, jumping off the building he had stood on. He hated taking the sewers, they were filled with painful memories from… less complicated times. His hand wandered to the strip of red, tattered fabric just as his mind wandered to old memories. Memories of laughter, memories of fighting, of crying and hugging, of joy, of playing and injury, training and youth, memories of brotherhood.

"Raphael!" A voice yelled way too close behind him. Startled, he whipped around to see a pair of familiar glowing eyes.

"Donnie?" His voice sounded shakier than he anticipated. He blinked away tears he hadn’t realized were there and cleared his throat. His brother's annoyed expression morphed into pity. He hated that. "What the hell, man? You scared the shit outta me!" His voice had a lot less bite than he wanted.

"Look where you are." Donnie’s voice came out unimpressed and somehow it was worse than pity. "I’ve called your name like twenty times!"

Raph glanced around the environment and quickly realized where his brother's worry had come from. He was in his old room in the old lair, muscle memory must have taken him here when he wasn’t paying attention. Weird. He’d think after thirty three years his body would know not to go here anymore. It was the exact same as it was all those years ago, minus the thick layer of dust that seemed to coat everything, he also noticed that his extra mask was nowhere in sight but he decided not to think about the implications of that.

"Oh, whoops! Muscle memory am I right?" He forced a smile onto his face which Donnie immediately gave a look to.

"That’s probably the single worst fake smile I have ever seen." Raph decided Donnie’s deadpan was definitely worse than pity.

He chewed the inside of his cheek and kept from meeting his gaze. Had he always found it this difficult to lie to his purple clad twin?

"Sorry." He eventually managed to sigh out.

"Don’t, just… don’t. Let’s just go home." Raph couldn’t help but wince internally. He hated making Donnie worry, he was his only brother who didn’t see him as some death obsessed, bloodthirsty monster. Probably because he was one, too.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Next

[ninnosaurus]

the new professor

i just- i saw @khayalli well dressed donnie drawing and i just wanted to word vomit something that came to mind. I also wanted to practice writing short drabbles.

no beta, no editing, we die like men in here. look out for uh- spelling?

A murmur was buzzing in the lecture hall as you entered. Eyes scanning the room for a free seat that wasn't smack dab in the middle, you were not in the mood for "excuse me"s and "sorry"s and "just coming through"s. Finally, you settled on a seat on the far end of the hall.

Everyone seemed to be vibrating for some... reason you weren't sure about. You'd seen these people before, you've taken the class lots of times. You looked around before resorting to lean over to your right.

"Hey, why... is everyone so worked up? Do we have a test?"

"Hm? Oh, no. You haven't heard?"

You looked at your classmate, head most likely transforming into a question mark right then and there. You shook your head. "No... Heard what?"

"We're getting a new professor, today. Mrs. Larsson passed away in a car accident over the break."

Your entire being deflated like a tire. You liked Mrs. Larsson, you guys always exchanging both recipes and gossip. You made a mental note of sending a card to her family later this week.

Minutes passed. You leaned your cheek on one hand as the other was busy doodling. What broke you out of your zone was how the hall had suddenly gotten quiet. You looked up and saw the door was starting to open. Voices talking in a hushed tone. A chuckle. "Mhm"s. "Yeah"s.

Then he walked in. The door closing with a sssh and hiss at the end. You'd heard about the mutants. Four of them, apparently. Brothers. This must be one of them. He was... Tall. Broad shoulders covered in a knitted, royal purple sweater. Sleeves rolled, ending around the middle of his arms. Arms covered in scars, pinkbrown scars a stark contrast to the green hue that covered him. You tilted your head as you observed him move. Fluent, like water he moved. Long legs carrying him with style and grace. Like he was a human, and not at all bothered by the way people were whispering about him. He stopped by the desk in the front of you all. Leaning against it. Left hand supporting his weight as he sipped out of his mug. A golden watch sliding slightly down his arm. Coffee, probably. He looks like a coffee drinker. You thought to yourself.

Putting the mug down on the desk, he cleared his throat.

He smiled, like he'd been here for years and already knew all of you. "Good morning, class."

His voice, not too dark. If red wine could talk, it would have his voice. You couldn't explain it even if you tried. It just- made sense for you.

"I'm sorry you all have to meet me due to such unfortunate circumstances. I've been called in to... I don't like to use the word "replace", because I'm sure no one can replace Mrs. Larsson. I'm simply here to take over what would have been lost."

He walked to the whiteboard and picked up a marker, that too purple in color. It squeaked in the silence as he wrote. Perfect letters, in a perfect line.

"My name is Donatello Hamato. I'm not personally... big on being called Mr. Hamato, Donatello works just fine."

[buthowboutno]

ONE YEAR OF "AND THEY WERE LAB PARTNERS" ✨✨✨

Thank you to everyone who participated in the one year anniversary poll!! I still maintain that it would be funny as /fuck/ to just delete “And They Were Lab Partners” in a memento mori fashion, but alas; Only one person voted for it.

Cowards /j

In any case, the majority voted for the behind the scenes stuff, so here we are! The tidbits of how ATWLP turned into the fucking beast it is.

I would like to personally blame @morning-sun-brah , @hitechlatte, and @ordin-arily for being such big inspirations in this corner of the fandom. You guys are amazing and I probably wouldn't be where I am today without your works.

Shout out to all my losers in the backrooms for keeping me going and being such terrible influences. You are all responsible for the horrors that have been unleashed. A solid third of my content exists because of your sins /aff. 

@beckerboopin is the best beta anyone could ask for and has only brought this story up to the next level. I would die for you becks <3

Also @betyoudidntcthatcoming-blog is the love of my life that I only met ‘cause of this fic or whatever. They’re pretty neat. I guess. :p

ANYWAYS, /CONTENT/

(Major Spoilers Ahead Pre-Chapter 23)

—

I would like to remind everyone that ATWLP was only supposed to be 50k words. You can still witness my naivety in the notes of “Pudge ‘Preciation.” 

How… simple those times were. 

How I so firmly believed the idiots would be kissing by chapter 16. How a projected word count of 150k words seemed unfathomable for a single work, much less a work with multiple published and planned companion pieces.

Crazy. (I was crazy once.)

There was a lot of ATWLP that ended up getting scrapped as I got further into the story. The idiots had a lot of opinions and tugged at me a few different ways as I got to know them better. (aka they wouldn’t listen to me when I told them to fucking kiss already.)

Anyways, some of the few major structural changes:

Casey was originally supposed to reveal that he knew Sweet’s in the bad timeline during the “Intro to Sparring” chapter. That chapter was also originally slotted to happen /before/ the kidnapping debacle, but it just so happened to fit in better later

The stage kiss from “Hit the Club” was going to be in the Nerd Prom chapter. It felt too corny at the time (and lowkey still feels corny) so I put that in my pocket for later. For as much as y’all yelled at me for it, it barely made the final cut lmao.

The way the idiots are going to confess to each other is a COMPLETE 180 from how I planned the story from the beginning, which was already entirely different from the first idea for this fic. I wrote a whole ass chapter about an accidental kiss being the tipping point of them positively macking on each other, which I did end up cutting into convenient pieces for other stuff. (I PUT A PART OF IT DOWN BELOW)

Sweets was going to be kidnapped twice and the whole Purple Dragons debacle was going to be drawn out more. There was a lot more action planned than slice of life content at ATWLP’s conception. For better or for worse, this is where the story led us.

Donnie’s mating season wasn’t going to be as involved in the story, if in it at all. I grew to be hornier and less ashamed. You’re welcome.

The first title for this fic was “Lab Rat: a Story of Nerds Falling in Love.” For the life of me I cannot remember what compelled me to change it, but holy shit am I glad I did.

I was going to use (y/n) in this fic. No hate to those who do, but stylistically I’m pretty happy with not doing that.

And because I have no control over the idiots, quick rundown of the chapters that weren’t supposed to happen.

Kart Conflict

The Christmas Issue

The Recovery: Day Two 

Valentine’s Day Episode

Hit the Club

Aquarium? Hardly Know ‘Em

****Pool Excursion

****Beach Episodes

****honestly just like the entire endgame of this fic

All the ficlets/ alternate POV’s

All the smut! I still have it written down in my original notes that ATWLP was gonna be completely PG lmao. Once again y’all have @morning-sun-brah and her fucking fabulous fics to blame for that

The Valentines’ and aquarium chapters are COMPLETELY different than how I had originally planned, even with being forced to include them in my chart. The Valentine’s day plans that the brothers had “ditched” with Sweets was the og plot for the chapter. The aquarium chapter was supposed to be a rooftop picnic with feels~~, no aquarium even fucking mentioned in my outline.

I don’t have much control over what happens tbh. I am praying that the 37 planned chapters will be the final chapters. 

We’ll…. we’ll just have to see how that turns out.

The scrapped plots as a little treat for y’all <3 ~~~

Cut Stage Kiss (after the lift in Nerd Prom)

You leaned closer to Donnie’s face, intent on screeching in his ear for pulling that stunt.

“Kiss them already!” May yelled from the inner edge of the crowd. You turned bright red, blinking at her. You shook your head at her, but the crowd started to catch onto the idea. 

“Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!”

Donnie laughed, a little incredulous. He leaned in close to your ear, whispering, “Theatre kid protocol?”

You nodded in agreement, allowing him to put a hand to your face. He leans into your mouth, making the crowd go wild. You giggle against the thumb separating your lips, smiling against it. Donnie pulled away from you with a dramatic ‘mwah’. You threw your head back, fully laughing as Donnie lifted you up from the dip. 

First Valentine’s Day Outline

The final four move to the living room

Sweets: “We’re making friendship bracelets while we watch the most romantic movie of all time.”

Raph: “Shrek 2!”

Donnie: “This is ridiculous”

Sweets: “This holiday is ridiculous, now pick out your five favourite colors of embroidery floss”

Donnie: “....Fine."

Donnie is actually terrible at making bracelets lmao while mikey has wristfuls of them

Donnie: “I don’t understand! I’m following the blueprints exactly!”

Mikey: “The... instructions?”

Donnie: “Whatever! How are you making those so fast? You don’t even have that many friends!”

Mikey: “Physical therapy is a hell of a time, my brother.”

Sweets: “Is Donnie being ableist again?”

Mikey: “I do believe he is.”

Donnie: “I am autistic!”

Sweets: “Bless you.”

ORIGINAL CONFESSION

And it all starts like most things in your life do: a silly mistake.

“Donnie,” you whined. You were working on your physics homework at his desk while he was soldering a new motherboard for the Turtle Tank’s controls.

“Little pest,” he mimicked your tone without looking up. He kept on soldering as you stared at him, not a care in the world. 

“Would you be so kind as to look over my work for this problem? I’m following the steps but I’m not getting the right answer.”

“Mmm,” Donnie said. At that moment, a spark flew from his project and caught his exposed cheek. He flinched back, dropping his wire and soldering rod on the table and rubbing his face. You batted your eyes at him while he scowled. 

“I don’t know how, but I blame you for that.”

“I would *never*,” you teased. You pushed your chair to the side a bit so Donnie could stand next to you. 

He moved his goggles to his head and put his left arm over the back of your chair, leaning over you. He parsed through your work for a minute and tilted his head down to tell you what you needed to fix.

It just so happened that you tilted your head up to ask him a question at the same time, the two of you meeting in the middle with a kiss. 

Well, it wasn’t so much of a kiss as it was the two of you accidentally brushing your lips together for a moment. Seconds, almost nothing at all. 

But the way that Donnie looked at you when the two of you jumped apart…

That…that wasn’t nothing. 

You could almost laugh at the ridiculousness of this situation. You could’ve cracked a joke, played up your ridiculous game of pet names and intellectual bravado. 

(To be honest, you almost did.)

But then you thought about the way Donnie’s lips felt against yours. You thought about the way you’d dream of that moment and then proceed to do everything in your power to banish those thoughts away. Your mouth hung open slightly as you looked up at him, trying to will yourself to do anything, anything at all.

Donnie ended up making that decision for you. That oh, so familiar churring started emanating from his chest. He took your face in his hands, looking into your eyes for just a hint of confirmation before leaning in for a real kiss.

Oh.

*Oh*.

(Yeah, you could get used to this.)

There was nothing more you could do than press yourself against him, against his touch. You felt him smiling into the kiss, pressing you down into the chair. 

Donnie was *everywhere*, like he was trying to encompass you. His hand moved to your hair, the other to your hip. You smiled when you remembered his adoration for your love-handles all that time ago. You traced along his plastron, making nonsense shapes and mapping out every scar.

He was so responsive. The chirring increased tenfold for every touch to his chest, every soft bite you gave his lips. You recalled all the times he would make noises from you touching along his shell. You pressed your hands fully against him, doing your best to draw out more and more of those sounds.

What Donnie lacked in experience he made up for in enthusiasm. He followed your lead, matching your pace every step of the way. You licked along the seam of his lips, gasping as his mouth opened for you. Donnie’s tongue against yours was tentative, shy even. You did everything in your power to ease Donnie into deepening the kiss. 

When he moved from your lips and started kissing down your throat, your soul could have left your body right there. He was so…*gentle*. 

Donnie always has been. From when he was slinging his arms around you to kicking your ass in sparring, Donnie has never failed to treat you with care and reverence. 

You feel it now, with every soft bite he gives you, every gentle peck behind your ear.

Donnie pulled away from you after what felt like decades. (Never enough, it would never be enough.) You leaned forward after him, trying to close the space he was creating. He looked bashful.

“This might be the proper time to tell you that I have a massive crush on you,” Donnie said. His face was fraught with nervous determination. 

“Yeah, no fucking shit,” you said. You stood up from the chair and used your body to push Donnie against the desk. You wrapped your arms around his shoulders, pulling him down to your height.

“I’ve been wanting to kiss you for forever, can we get on with it?” you said, looking into his eyes. Donnie turned bright red.

“But– you? Do you?” Donnie stammered a bit.

“Donnie,” you deadpanned, crowding into his space, “I’ve had a crush on you for a year, thanks for noticing. Will you *please* lean your face down a bit so I can reach it?” 

Donnie looked at you a bit incredulously, like you were a problem he didn’t know how to solve yet. He made quite a picture, all red faced and calculating with a dumb half-smile while he looked at you. But, giving in, he put his arms around you and leaned in to kiss you again.

“Aye, aye, captain.”

You smiled into the kiss, humming with contentment.

He likes you.

He likes you.

—

Aaaaand some random headcanons because I love you guys and I am truly so thankful to this kickass community <3 I truly do not know where I would be without the support y’all have given me.

Donnie has a hella oral fixation

NOT IN A KINKY WAY (most of the time) But as an autist, Donnie do be biting

One of his biggest shows of trust if he bites you while just chilling

Like if donnie is big spoon, he just nom on a shoulder and stay there chillin

Or if reader is body pillow, he’ll lean around and bite their bicep

Good sensations

Donnie draws on eyebrows every day, he for sure would be very good at doing intricate makeup on reader

Gently holds their chin up, concentrated as hell while reader blushes like mad

Donnie keeps getting banned off of roblox

Didn’t matter tbh, he knew how to hack into it to get his account reinstated

Also makes money off of roblox??

never explains to Sweets, very suspicious

Sweets likes to kiss along donnie’s neck/where his battle shell usually sits

The word here is reverence

Donnie is egotistical, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have insecurities about being a mutant turtle and you being a human

Lots of tracing along his arms, his face, his shell

Donnie likes his coffee to be half coffee, half milk to cut down on bitterness. Sweets is a tea drinker normally, but opts for coffee when they can’t focus (which ends up being most of the semester).

Sweets drinks black coffee when they’re on the struggle bus

To quote them, “Black coffee can’t hurt me more than Calc II already has”

But they prefer two creamers and two sugars when they have it in their dorm.

That’s all, congrats on making it to the bottom of this long ass post lmao <3

[twignotstick]

So I saw an ask from @probably-not-a-rutabaga

Got sad, decided I should write sad

Here we are :,)

Words: 1,403

Warnings: Major character death (tho its implied it happened offscreen, so more just major character dead?), Grief/Mourning, general sad vibes [if there's anything missing here, tell me please!]

Other tags: tmnt: aberration, turtle tots (kinda?), sad turtle pile, all the kiddos are sad, not my characters, hurt/little comfort, bittersweet ending, no beta we die like- uh- :|

Summary: Leo finds something he never wanted to find.

Splinter hadn't left his bed for weeks.

It was no secret that he was sick. Leo had tried to keep that secret, but his brothers weren't stupid. They knew what it looked like when someone was sick. They had all been sick before.

They had just never seen it get this bad.

Leo tried to keep up hope, but every day was more terrifying than the last. Every time Splinter would start coughing, hold his eyes tightly shut and shake his head, or even just trip, Leo would be terrified. He just couldn't tell what moment would be his father's last. He didn't want it to happen. He wanted Splinter to be there for his life; for his little brothers'.

Donnie had been working tirelessly on a project, despite Leo's better judgment. Part of him wanted to scold his little brother for barely sleeping in favor of working, but the other, smarter part of him knew this was just how Donnie coped. Working until the bad thoughts don't feel so bad anymore. That was why, when Donnie was finally done, he breathed a sigh of relief.

It was Donnie's biggest project to date; a fully operational game console. Sure, it was an old Game Boy with only a cartridge of Tetris, but Donnie had saved it. He found it tossed in with some other miscellaneous materials Leo had grabbed from the surface, but it was completely unplayable then. The screen didn't work, and the sound (what little did play through the scratchy speakers) obviously didn't match up with the inputs. But somehow, with scraped together materials and a couple months of work, Donnie made it good as new. It even got a new coat of paint with Mikey's help.

Donnie was so proud when it was done, and all of his brothers gathered around to see it boot up for the first time and take turns playing.

Leo thought that Dad might like to see it, too. Maybe even take a turn.

“Dad?”

Leo shifted on his feet in the doorway, facing the dark room where his father had been for the past eternity. He saw his father's form laying under the blankets, but didn't get a response, as usual.

So he continued.

“Donnie finally finished the Game Boy. The one he told you about? It works perfect now!”

Splinter laid still.

“We all took turns playing Tetris. Donnie was really good at it.” He snorted under his breath. “We had to keep Raph from throwing it when he got mad. He wasn't that great at it…”

Silence.

“Mikey drew some really pretty designs on the back with the markers we found! They're all swirly and stuff.”

Again, silence.

“I thought you might want a go? I know you said you aren't that good with phones, but I thought…”

Too much silence.

“...Dad?”

Hesitantly, Leo approached his father's bedside. The sheets were laid neatly, just like when he had tucked Splinter in a few days ago.

A cup of water, left for Splinter to drink that day, was undisturbed on his bedside table.

Slowly, Leo lifted his hands to lay them on his father's arm beneath the sheets. He shook Splinter gently, just enough to wake him. He needs to drink, he thought, or he won't get better.

When Splinter's face stayed turned away, Leo started getting frustrated. “Dad, you need to at least look at me.”

Splinter did not turn, nor did he wake.

Leo sighed, then started climbing onto the mattress. Splinter had the nicest bed of all of them, but it was also the springiest, so it took a second for Leo to fully get his balance. Especially when he was trying to fit in the small space between his father and the edge of the bed. However, he was able to settle on his knees and look down at his father.

Splinter's face was lying to the side, and his dark hair was laid about on the pillowcase. He had neglected to cut or even brush it, so it was somewhat knotted at certain points. His eyes were closed softly, and his mouth slightly open.

His chest wasn't moving.

Leo reached over and hovered his hand in front of his father's mouth, checking for a breath.

Nothing.

“Splinter?”

He placed a small hand on Splinter's neck, searching for a pulse.

Nothing.

“Dad?!”

Leo grabbed his father's head with his hands, shaking it gently. Just enough to wake him up.

Splinter did not wake.

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

At first, Donnie wasn't sure of what he heard. He turned the Game Boy in his hands off and lifted his head, seeing if he could find the source.

“What was that for?” Raph huffed, shoving into Donnie's side. Donnie put his hand palm out toward Raph in response, still not turned to look at him.

They sat silently for a moment, then Mikey spoke. “You were doing so-” Donnie covered his mouth to shut him up.

There it was. A sob, a sniffle, coming from elsewhere in the lair.

Leo was crying.

There was no need for words; in an instant, all three brothers were on their feet and getting out of the pit. Donnie was the first one to reach their father's doorframe. There he stopped, halting his brothers behind him.

Leo was curled over Splinter's body, holding it to his chest. With every shaking sob, he would clutch the body closer. Like he was scared to let go.

Donnie turned to face his younger brothers. “G-go back to the pit.”

“What? Why?” Raph spat.

“I said, go b-back to the p-pit.”

“But Leo's crying, and-” Mikey's eyes filled with realization, and he clasped his hands over his mouth as his eyes started to water.

“Go back to the pit!”

“FINE!” Raph hissed, grabbing Mikey's arm to drag him away. “Not like Leo would even want us there anyway.”

“But- But Papa-”

“He doesn't care, Mikey.”

Mikey's tears finally spilled when they were out of Donnie's eyesight. Breathing deeply, he turned to see his big brother in despair.

He approached the bed quietly, knowing that Leo had already heard their argument. Hesitantly, he crawled up onto the springy bed and took a place behind his brother. Leo was clearly trying to stop crying, now that he had a brother to be strong for.

Silently, Donnie reached under the covers to find Splinter's wrist, if only to confirm what he knew to be true.

Something in him screamed to leave- to run away. Maybe he could find some way to fix this. But the better part of him knew that the best thing- no, the only thing he could do was work to fix what was left.

So he scooted closer and wrapped his arms around his shaking brother, letting his weight ground him. Then, he let himself break.

Leo broke the silence.

“I don't know what to do, Donnie.”

He finally lifted his head and turned, letting Donnie see his reddened eyes just a bit. He couldn't look straight at his little brother.

Donnie inhaled deeply and hugged Leo tighter.

“You do what you c-can, r-right?”

They sat like that for a while. Leo holding onto the body in the bed, Donnie holding onto him. The shedding of tears wasn't addressed.

Eventually Donnie caught another sound, just barely coming from behind him. A shuffle, and a sniff. Weight fell onto the bed. It could be mistaken for one, but Donnie knew it was two. Raph's face, soaking wet, appeared to Donnie's right before flopping onto Leo's shell.

Mikey came up on his left, crawling up further. Donnie tried to grab the lip of his shell, but the smaller shook it off easily. He laid himself down right next to their father, grabbing his face and holding their foreheads together.

“Its okay Papa,” Mikey whispered, as Leo rested a hand on his shell. “W-we're here now…”

Leo's breath hitched, but he grabbed Mikey and pulled him closer. Raph leaned deeper in the space between Donnie and Leo, and Donnie took that as a reason to wrap his arm around the turtle. The only one that could bare to look at their father now was Mikey, though it was through a curtain of tears.

The hiccups and sobs started to fade. Four little turtles laid there and wept, soaking in what warmth their father had left before it all melted away.

As all things must.

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

Hehehe

Again, these aren't my characters!! They belong to @probably-not-a-rutabaga 's awesome TMNT iteration, abberation! This fic is also just my take on how the turtles could have found out about Splinter's passing. That I wrote like, so fast-

I promise I don't just write sad stuff like this, but I just got inspired and couldn't control it. So, this is the first thing on my tumblr writing portfolio. My iteration (still unnamed, sadly) is more psychological introspective nonsense and spookiness with a sprinkling of sad, which is more my usual writing style! And still in the works,,

So in summary, check out tmnt: aberration, and thanks for reading this sad fic that actually made me tear up writing it! hahahhhaha

[treluvd]

@badthingshappenbingo first square done!

Here's the ao3 link! (maybe leave kudos even if you read it here on tumblr?(please))

Title - Some Things Are Worth Leaving Old Memories For

Rating - Teen

Fandom - TMNT

Words - 2,576

Chapters - 1/2

Warnings - Violence, Major Character Death

Prompt - Sacrifice

Main Tags - Self-Sacrifice, Character Death, Protective Raphael (TMNT), Good Sibling Raphael (TMNT), Hurt Raphael (TMNT), Raphael-centric (TMNT), Raphael Needs a Hug (TMNT), Protective Leonardo (TMNT), Hurt Leonardo (TMNT), Hurt Donatello (TMNT), Hurt Michelangelo (TMNT), Oroku Saki | Shredder Being an Asshole, Hurt No Comfort, Angst, Bad Ending, no beta we die like men, Broken Promises, Promises, Flashbacks, Memories, No Turtlecest (TMNT)

Summary - While in battle with The Shredder, the turtles realize they can't beat him this time around. Raphael chooses to sacrifice himself in order to save his brothers.

~~~

Raph and his brothers were in a battle with The Shredder for what felt like hours now. After an hour of fighting Foot Soldier after Foot Soldier, Dogpound and Fishface. Dogpound hit Mikey square in the jaw, sending him flying and hitting the opposing wall.

“Mikey!” All of the other turtles yelled in unison.

Dogpound cracked his knuckles. “That’s more like it,” he growled.

Donnie ran over to Mikey, while Raph and Leo stayed behind to fight. “He’s out cold!” Donnie yelled back to them.

“Shit!” Raph grunted between labored breaths.

“We need to get out of here!” Leo called out.

Raph and Leo’s shells knocked together. Both of them were fighting off groups of Foot.

“Dogpound’s gonna get Donnie!” Raph yelled.

Without saying anything, Leo and Raph both pushed through the Foot, and ran behind Dogpound. Leo slashed his legs and feet, while Raph ran up his back and stabbed his Sias into his shoulders. Dogpound howled out in pain and threw Raph off his back, sending him hurling to the ground. His back stung from the impact, and he was immediately worried his shell was cracked. But he felt a sense of pride when he saw Dogpound run out the big room. He slowly pushed off the ground and stood up. “You think we’re done here?” Raph called out to his brothers after looking around the room. No other enemies were standing.

“God, let’s hope so,” Leo said. “How’s Mikey holding up?”

“Still unconscious, but he’s stable! He’ll be okay!” Donnie yelled from where he was kneeling over Mikey.

“Great, let’s go,” Leo said.

“Not if I can help it,” the cold voice of The Shredder said from the front of the room.

They all whipped around. “Not you!” Raph groaned.

The Shredder flashed his Steel Claws at the brothers. “I’m disappointed my men could only knock one of you out, but I’m confident I’ll be able to finish the job.”

“I wouldn’t be too confident there,” Raph threatened, but was ultimately unsure if they could take him.

Shredder pulled a lever sitting above a button that were both connected to the front wall he was standing at, and a large cannon lowered down from the ceiling. “If I can’t finish the job, I’m confident this will,” he said.

“Jesus,” Donnie whispered under his breath. Just by looking at it, he could tell this wasn’t just a regular cannon. It was infused with Kraang technology. Donnie shook his head. “Guys?” He yelled to his brothers. “This is, like, really bad!”

“I’m gonna crush your ass!” Raph yelled as he lunged at The Shredder. In one swift movement, The Shredder moved out of the way, and at the same time, hit Raph in the stomach with the back of his closed fist. The blunt side of his Steel Claws hitting him. Raph slid across the floor and quickly got back up, not showing the damage Shredder did.

While that was happening, Donnie and Leo both jumped on him. Leo from the front, and Donnie from the back. Donnie got one hit in, smacking his staff on Shredder's back, but causing no real damage due to his armor. Leo, on the other hand, hadn’t been able to get a hit in before he was sent flying backwards. Raph rushed over to Leo’s side and helped him up. Donnie was in combat with The Shredder now. He was very good at blocking Shredder’s attacks, but he wasn’t landing any himself. Raph ran and hit The Shredder in the back with his Sai, sending Shredder stumbling forward, but not falling to the ground. Shredder swung back at Raph, but Raph caught Shredder’s Claws with his Sai, crouching slightly to hold up the weight of Shredder's attack. Before Raph could do anything else, The Shredder yanked his hand out of Raph’s grasp, and swung down on him. Raph jumped back just in time to dodge, but fell backwards. Leo’s sword hit against Shredder’s helmet and sent it flying off, revealing the burnt skin underneath. Leo jumped back and stood in position to fight. Raph watched as Shredder turned around and lunged towards the button on the wall. Donnie was there in an instant, blocking his hit with his Staff. Leo jumped over to them and started fighting with Shredder.

“If Shredder hits that button, the cannon goes off!” Donnie yelled.

Raph ran over to Mikey and lifted him over his shoulder. He needed to get his brothers out of here. He was going to get his brothers out of here, even if it was the last thing he did. He heard Leo cry out. He whipped around and, to his dismay, saw Leo laying on the floor with Shredder standing over him. Raph dropped Mikey and ran over to him, standing in between Shredder and his brother, his first instinct being to put a barrier between the two. The Shredder swung at Raph, and he dodged just in time. Shredder nicked his shoulder with his claws, but the damage wasn’t too bad. Raph managed to land a kick to his chest, sending him backwards.

With the moment he had, he bent down to check on Leo. Shredder had gotten him pretty good. He was bleeding pretty profusely from his arm, and it seemed like it might be broken. Raph sucked air in. He hated seeing his brothers injured, and this looked pretty bad. He gave Leo a hand and helped him up. Before he could say anything, though, Shredder was back on him. He swiftly kicked Raph’s shell, leaving him stumbling forward on his face. Leo geared up to fight, but Donnie was there before he could. Donnie took a swing to Shredder's face, but he dodged. He grabbed Donnie’s arm and twisted it backwards, earning a yell from him. Raph jumped up and tackled Shredder to the ground. He was furious.

“Leave! Get out of here!” Raph yelled while fighting.

“Not without you,” Leo grunted. He was losing blood fast. He needed to leave, goddammit.

Shredder landed a punch to the back of Raph’s head, sending him staggering backwards, spots forming in his vision. He only let this affect him for a moment, though, because Shredder immediately turned to Leo, and slashed him in the chest, causing him to fall over. Raph jumped on Shredder’s back and started punching wherever he could reach. “Go!” he screamed.

Donnie rushed over to Leo and helped him to his feet again. “No!” Leo screamed.

“We have to go! Now,” Donnie said, starting to pull him away. “Help me get Mikey!”

“No! Not without Raph!”

“Leo!” Donnie yelled, tears forming in his eyes.

Leo helped Donnie lift Mikey, and they started to run towards the door.

“No!” Shredder growled, and tried to pull out of Raph’s grasp to reach them. Raph held on to Shredder tight.

“Raph! Please!” Leo screamed.

“Get out of here!” Raph yelled. “Go!”

Raph watched as Donnie and Leo paused, then Donnie pulled Leo out of the door. Tears streamed down both of their faces. The heavy doors closed behind them, cutting off Leo’s last strangled scream.

The Shredder threw Raph off of his back, sending him crashing to the floor, and faced him. “Look what you’ve done!” He cried out.

Raph launched him back up and tried to stab at Shredder with his Sai, but missed. Shredder grabbed Raph by the neck and pinned him to the wall. Raph flinched as he narrowly escaped hitting the button that would set off the cannon. “I’m going to make sure you don’t get out of here alive, turtle.”

Raph kicked Shredder in the chest and wriggled out of his grasp. “We have one thing in common, then.” Raph had a plan. He didn’t know if it was going to work, but he didn’t have any better plan. “Come at me, fuckface,” he snarled.

Shredder did just that. He lunged at Raph and nicked him in the jaw, sending blinding pain to his head. He had meant to dodge that, but was getting weaker as the fight went on. It didn’t matter though, because he still had Shredder right where he wanted him. In one swift motion, he put Shredder in a headlock, and swung around him so he was behind him. He then pushed his head square into the cannon, and slammed into the button with his shoulder. He kept both hands on The Shredder’s neck, and held him steady as he struggled. He heard the cannon fire up and-

He was in the lair. He was newly 15 years old, and had only just started fighting crime. Splinter had just finished a lengthy training session and an even more lengthy lecture about the rules he had for them: they must never kill - for any reason, they must always look out for each other, and they always must return home - together. After their training and lecture, Mikey went out to the den to watch tv, and Donnie went to his lab. Leo and Raph, not having anything else to do, and both pumped to finally be getting out in the world to help people decided to do one last fighting match up against each other.

“You sure you’re okay with me beating you again?” Raph said with a smirk on his face as they circled around each other.

“No, Raph. I’m not okay with that, which is why I am going to win this round.” Leo said definitely, then jumped at Raph.

Raph admittedly, wasn’t expecting Leo to make the first move, but quickly recovered. They were on top of each other in an instant. They both possessed pretty equal skill level, so they made for a good match. Their match lasted about fifteen minutes, before Raph had Leo pinned.

“Ugh!” Leo groaned. “I guess you win,” Raph let Leo back up. “Again.”

Raph raised his arms above his head to stretch. “Don’t be too hard on yourself, bro. Being second best to me is an accomplishment!”

Leo got up to his feet and punched Raph in the arm. “You know, I am better at strategy than you,” Leo said with a hint of pride. “Sensei told me himself.”

“Sensei this, Sensei that,” Raph teased. “What is it with you and-”

Raph was cut off by Leo jumping on him again. “I am also better at the element of surprise,” Leo boasted.

“Yeah?” Raph said. “Well I’m better at this!” He flipped Leo off of his back, over his shoulder, and onto the floor.

Without saying anything, Leo sweep kicked Raphs legs out from under him, sending him sprawled on the floor next to him. “Element of surprise,” he said.

Raph elbowed him in the shoulder. “Fine, fine. I’ll let you have that,” he said.

Neither of them got up from the floor. They both just looked up the dojo ceiling, lost in their own respective thoughts.

“Are you scared? Like, of the future?” Leo asked quietly.

“Hm?” Raph questioned. “Like, of fighting and stuff?”

“Yeah. I guess,” Leo said. “Of getting hurt?”

Raph was quiet for a moment. He wasn’t planning on having a heart to heart today, but here he was. “Uh, not really,” he said. “I’m not scared of getting hurt, no. Neither am I that scared of fighting. But-” Raph sighed. “I’m terrified of you guys getting hurt.”

“Yeah?” Leo said softly.

“Yeah,” Raph said.

Leo chuckled softly. “I guess that’s an answer I could’ve expected.”

They laid in silence for another moment. It was a comfortable silence, but it was also kind of sad. They could both feel their lives changing pretty quickly, and it scared both of them.

“You know,” Leo said. “That’s honestly what I’m scared of, too. Like, I’m so excited to finally be able to get out there and… and do good for the world! But I’m just so anxious.”

“Well, we’ll just have to look out for each other, huh?” Raph said.

Leo turned his head to look at Raph and smiled. “Yeah,” Leo said.

Another silence fell over them again. Raph thought about how everything was going to change. They had spent their whole lives training every day for this, and now it was finally happening. It was all so exciting and overwhelming.

“Hey, Raph,” Leo said.

“Yeah?”

“Let’s make a deal, no, a promise, okay?”

Raph raised an eyebrow at his brother.

Leo continued. “As the oldest brothers… and the ones that are best at fighting,” Raph smirked at this. “I think we’ve gotta leave it up to us to… to protect them, you know? And each other. I’ll look after you and you look after me, right?”

Raph chuckled. “Well, duh,” he said. “I wasn’t just gonna only look out for myself, Leo.”

“Yeah, yeah. You didn’t let me finish,” he said.

“Go on then,” Raph said.

Leo propped himself up on his elbows, so Raph did the same. “Let’s promise each other that no matter what happens, we never leave any of us behind, okay?”

“Leo, you’re making me seem like a bad brother. Of course I wouldn’t just leave any of you guys behind!” He said.

Leo sighed slightly. “No, it’s, it’s just- what I’m getting at is that we never sacrifice ourselves for each other.” Raph sat up. He was surprised to hear this from Leo. “I mean, hopefully it doesn’t come down to that, but I’d rather us all fight until the end than lose just one of us, you know? I mean, we’re a team. I don’t think I could go on with only three of us.”

“Huh,” Raph said. It’s not like he hadn’t thought of this before. He had actually run through situations like this in his head a lot. “If you just want all four of us dead, you can just say that,” he teased.

Leo sat up now. “Hey! I’m trying to be serious.”

Raph put his hands up in defense. “Sorry, bro. I’m just a little lost here.”

Leo groaned. “I don’t want you throwing yourself in dangerous situations just to help us, but I know I can’t stop you from doing that. So at least promise me you won't ever get yourself killed, okay? I’ll promise too.”

Raph’s eyebrows furrowed slightly. He had known what Leo was getting after, but he didn’t expect him to be so forward about it. “Yeah. Okay,” he said quietly. “But if it’s you guys or me, you know I’m gonna put myself at risk to-”

Leo grabbed Raphs shoulder. “Don’t. Don’t say that. I never want you sacrificing yourself, okay?”

Raph sighed slightly and shook his head. “Yeah. Yeah, okay, man. I promise.”

Leo smiled slightly now. “Good. I’ll promise too, then.”

They looked at each other for a moment, before Leo wrapped Raph in a hug. It was an unexpected, but not unwelcome, surprise. Raph exhaled and hugged his brother back. “We’ve got this,” he said, softly.

“Yeah. I know,” Leo said. “We’ve got this.”

~

He has pressed the cannon button. He had Shredder's head in the cannon. He knew it would jam and kill not only The Shredder, but himself, too. He wasn’t afraid. His brothers were safe. He wasn’t afraid, he really wasn’t, but there was a squeezing in his chest. Even in his last moments, all he could think about were his brothers. But they were safe. He had made sure of that. He closed his eyes.

I’m sorry I couldn’t keep our promise, Leo.

[fungalittleweirdo]

Yandere Rise Donatello Designer "Catch Stitch" AU

okay, hear me out.

let me give context for this concept idea first (you could skip the next paragraph if you don't care, i'm just weird, i promise i start discussing the concept right after this next paragraph trust me)

i am a huge fan of this one designer in new york, bella pietro, her work is amazing. i was able to attend her bridal line debut fashion show in person this past sunday and got to speak with her very briefly. she's very lovely, relatable, super down to earth, and humble. she is also one of the influences for my own jewellery line, but this isn't the point i'm making, i'm going insanely off topic. i thought about what it would be like being a clothes designer in nyc.

donatello is the founder and ceo (at least, that's canonically what i'm led to believe) of Genius Built Technologies. it's also canon he designs Genius Built Apparel. i initially had this idea and shared it on discord a while back based around donnie being a member of a discord server with other designers. these designers usually joined said server for creativity, support, sharing each others' work, and giving critiques when wanted.

imagine you, an up-and-coming designer, join this server to gain more reach. while donnie was bored looking at others' designs and critiquing them harshly when asked to, he admired your work and advocated for you so that you could gain more popularity. the two of you accepted each other's friend requests and started talking in dms. he admired your work and thought it was cute how you were slowly rising in the industry, but you needed the right connections to actually get things going. you started getting seamstresses and a manager, but that took your time away from donnie.

donnie might have found out you lived in new york, that was when he suggested a meet-up for a collaboration. he was excited when you said yes, and a GB Apparel x For You line was in the works for when the two of you started discussing potential pieces. your crew got a little upset when you put all your attention on the collaborative project, especially your manager, and they thought it was a bad idea. you thought about listening to them and backing away to work on the collab line in the future. donnie... didn't really like that.

he loved spending time with you, as hard as it was for him to admit it. he adored the way you drew your designs, the face you made when you focused and shrimped over your tablet to get the details just right. he told you to adjust your posture, and you did it with a stretch, you ran your fingers through your hair he so badly wanted to run his fingers through instead. donnie hated the thought of having that taken away from him. once you told him you wanted to file away the collaborative project for another time, he managed to manipulate and gaslight convince you into believing your manager has the wrong idea, because his own brand was well known and high quality.

you hesitantly agreed with him and your crew began getting a distaste for you when you arrived late to meetings, made decisions with poor judgement, and delayed your own projects in favour of working with donatello instead. what you didn't know is that donnie anonymously emailed them all to quit their jobs with you because you were practically not working with them anymore. your crew moved on to work with other local designers. you didn't think much of it, you were aware people in this business would come and go, they would find other people to work for and it's no big deal, because you could sew your designs yourself.

besides, donatello had been a big help, he lent you his sewing machines that literally sewed by themselves. your own fall line had been presented on a runway at a moderately sized venue, a team curated by donatello organised it as if he were your manager. everyone on the server the two of you met on barely showed their support at first, until you got incoming praises and compliments from everyone after donatello's worship of you was sent in the runway channel. you were unaware to the fact that donatello threatened everyone with their careers if they didn't support you.

everyone seemed beginning to dislike you, your fans acknowledged that it didn't seem to be you at fault because your head was still held up high, staying positive and thanking anyone who bothered to take a look at your collection. donatello was working behind the scenes to isolate you as much as possible. he didn't want anyone taking you away from him because you were his precious fashion genius, your ideas complement his. that's why GB Apparel x For You is going to rock the fashion world, he had thought, deep in his delusions of spending more time with you. one look at you and it had his heart beating out of his chest.

your workspace in his apartment was a mess, fabrics everywhere, sketchbooks and a couple tablets (courtesy of Genius Built Technologies) with plenty of space for designs and you sat on the floor with your hair a mess and new glasses (those were courtesy from donatello himself) on your face after staring at the screens for so long. the softshell simply watched you work, enamoured and savouring the way you find his apartment more comfortable to work in because yours is already so cluttered.

donatello was so proud to see the results of your collaboration, he kissed the top of your head and held you close. you've had affectionate friends before, but you had only intimately known donnie for a few months. sure, he was one of the turtles that saved new york years ago, not to mention his brand even climbed up the ranks for a place in paris fashion week alongside balenciaga and valentino... so you knew him... but you didn't ask for this. you used to have more friends, lovely colleagues. whatever happened to that ?

of course, once the collab line debuted in the spring you went back to work, you designed a men's fall line you thought would grab people's attention. it certainly snatched donatello's, when he called you frequently and realised you were parting from him to work on your own, it pissed him off. he wanted to know what you were hiding. you hesitantly let him in on a day when you were being interviewed by april for press, dressed up for photography and not for him. you're only for him, no one should see you except when you're beside him. he lashed out at you in front of april, upset that you weren't telling him your plans since the GB Apparel x For You collaboration, and april took notes of the drama. not for press purposes at all, but to tell his brothers.

you didn't see donatello for a while after that, to which you were glad. you felt a weight finally slipped off your shoulders as you rebuilt your community. people didn't know that donatello was the one at fault for your darkest moments. you rebuilt your community over the course of a year, making new connections and finally making it into new york fashion week all by your own efforts, not by donatello's.

it was when he showed up at your door everything went downhill again. he pushed his way back into your life, asking for a spring GB Apparel x For You line even though he already started on his own designs, incorporating style that you would add due to how well he already knew you. over the year he had been gone, he watched how you grew and connected with other people in the soho fashion scene. the thought made his skin crawl. it irked him to know you were out and about, perhaps having dinner with your new manager, or spending hours at a time with your new seamstresses after you threw out the sewing machines he so lovingly gifted to you.

all he wanted was to share his world with you, have you live in lavish luxury like you deserve. you said no. you already had ideas for your spring line which would be presented in london along with new york, you didn't have time to collaborate with him. donnie threw another tantrum in your apartment, this time feeling a lot more destructive. he threw your decorations everywhere, then held up some of your supplies to set them on fire. it scared you into submission, telling him yes, putting off your own projects to move into his apartment and get to working with him on the next collab line.

things were different this time. donatello was a lot more clingy, literally working alongside you as the two of you designed the thirty-piece collection, he made gentle suggestions and leaned in close, added and subtracted things on what you already drew. the two of you had ordered takeout sometimes and he would be the only one allowed to receive the food. you felt trapped. there was nothing you could do about it, just accept your fate.

you disappeared off the tabloids, no one knew where you went, not even april. donnie kept you away for his eyes only, wrapping his arms around you at every chance he got, nuzzling into your neck from behind as you tried to break through the parental locks donatello placed on your tablets. that won't work, darling, he said, a smirk on his face you could feel against your skin. it made you sick, your stomach churning at the thought that you might stay in your captor's arms forever.

[greenunoreversecard]

How would the rise Fandom feel if I wrote a fic where your from an alt universe and some magic happened that transported u from ur universe to rise universe because a soulmate spell was put on the boys and it basically brought their soulmates to them and there was no you in that universe so you got brought over there and the catch is it's:

Mikey X reader but he's dating Miles Morales from across the spider verse and so like drama and Chaos ensues.

Hobie is soulmates with Donnie and usagi soulmates with Leo.

basically reader begs Donnie not to tell Mikey because Donnie knows that Mikey's reader soulmate and so Mikey isn't told anything.

And him and Miles have been getting an arguments because you're the extra man and miles is assuming but there's also like a whole thing going on between miles and Gwen that Mikey isn't too fond of and so basically it's a not so love triangle where there's lots of drama and the reader almost dies because they got kidnapped

also miles isn't fond of u bc u and Mikey instantly click and are besties

Also would prolly be ftm reader

Uhm yeah so that's a au I've been working on in my head. Would prolly also he cross posted on my ao3.

[phoebepheebsphibs]

How To Be A First-Time Dad of Four Turtles

Title: How To Be A First-Time Dad of Four Turtles Prompt: New dad Splinter (Rise), very unprepared, but doing the best he can! Fandom:  ROTTMNT Word Count: 2230  Author: PhoebePheebsPhibs Rating:  Gen Characters:  Yoshi Hamato / Splinter, Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, & Michelangelo Warning: Donnie bites Summary: Notes: No Beta, We Die Like Gram-Gram!

@untitled-tmnt-blog @tmnt-write-fight

Link to AO3 <-

"There, that should do it," Yoshi stated as he pinned up the last set of string lights.

He'd found a little sale, where some family was moving out of their apartment and needed to get rid of some junk. Yoshi still had his savings in a private account that (fortunately) Big Mama didn't know about. He'd dipped into it to buy a couple things, just for starters. He wasn't sure living in the sewers was the life for him or his new... kids?

He just needed some time to get used to it.

Anyway, that little estate sale had plenty of supplies that he could use or refurbish. He'd bought an entire box of lights, plastic tupperware and eating utensils and plates and bowls, some throw blankets, a baby stool, a few plastic bins and buckets, and a series of extension cords. He'd get more whenever he could.

Yoshi had discovered a small area of the sewers during his escape from the Hidden City that seemed rather roomy, and would work out wonderfully for renovations. There were multiple rooms that connected via mini tunnels and corridors into a large expansion, perfect for training in.

Training... for what, exactly? He wasn't 'Lou Jitsu' anymore. He wasn't Yoshi anymore, either. He'd thrown that name and identity away years ago, when he left his Grandpa Shō.

Still... he needed to do something or else he'd lose his mind. He'd found a yoga mat in a dumpster and stole 'repurposed' it so he could do some exercises whenever he got the free time.

"Waaaaaaaahhhh!!"

Which was seeming less and less likely...

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Yoshi shouted out, rushing from his redecorating section and speeding into the opposite room.

He'd left the baby turtles in a plastic bin under a heat lamp in the other room, and had hoped that he could do his work while they basked in the warmth alone. No such luck.

Clingy little things...

"I'm here, I'm here!" he proclaimed as he entered the room, sliding in and kneeling besides the bin, leaning over to inspect the babies. "What's wrong??"

The slider and the softshell were fighting again, nibbling and smacking each other and occaisionally bumping into the other two and disturbing them.

"Oh, you two..." Yoshi groaned, reaching in to pull them apart. "Why can't you just -- Ow! Hey! No biting!"

Yoshi tugged at the two babies, gently tearing them away from each other. They made upset little beeps and chirps at him in response, the slider squirming in his left hand and the softshell wriggling in his right. 

"Now, can you two behave for five minutes, or do I have to put you in time-out?"

He wasn't actually sure why he asked them. It wasn't as if they could understand what he was saying.

But the understood the tone.

The quieted down quickly.

"Very good... now, please, please just behave yourselves so I can finish working on the rest of our... home."

It still hurt to call this mass heap of bricks and slime and mold 'home'. Just like it hurt to call these glorified pets his 'kids'.

It had only been two days. He just... needed to give it some time.

Yeah... give it time.

"Waah! Wah! Wah!"

Uh-huh. Right.

"Okay, that's it!" Yoshi shouted, having reached the end of his rope. "Time-out! You two are going in... in, uh... different boxes! That's what! See how you like that!"

In anger, he grabbed the two arguing turtles again and dropped them into separate containers, then placed them beside the biggest one where the other two turtles sat in confusion, wondering where the slider and the softshell had gone.

The two naughty little turtles, trapped in their separate prisons, started making all kinds of noises. The purple-tinted softshell was beeping and clicking furiously at Yoshi, snapping and biting the edges of his plastic container. The slider with the blue shell was making loud wails as he pouted, slapping the walls of his box and begging to be returned to his 'brother'.

"No, you can't be fight with him anymore," Yoshi scolded.

"Aaah! Wah, waaaah!"

Yoshi sighed with exhaustion and exasperation.

"...Fine. Maybe you're just hungry, hm?" Yoshi suggests. "You sit tight while I get the fruit..."

Yoshi left the four in the room, walking backwards out of the room and watching them every step of the way before turning the corner and going to the room designated as a 'kitchen'. It had a tiny overturned box he pulled from a dumpster and a mini fridge he'd found in an alleyway. New York, what a town... Yoshi rooted through the tiny refrigerator and pulled out a container of half-priced strawberries, chopped them up into itty bitty slices and dumped them onto a little plastic plate. For an added touch, he took a few leaves of lettuce and placed them on the plate as well. Once he was finished, he took the plate back into the room with the others.

"What the -- Hey! You! No!!"

The softshell had literally eaten his way through the plastic box and was starting to chew through the slider's box as well. Surprisingly, the slider was very happy about this and seemed to be cheering his 'brother' on.

Yoshi dropped the plate and ran over to the turtles, grabbing the softshell and yanking him away from the bin.

No one was happy about this.

The turtles started yiping and yowling at him, especially the slider. The softshell took it as a personal offense and defended himself accordingly, twisting his head around and biting down hard on Yoshi's thumb.

"OW!!"

Yoshi clenched his fist and had to fight every knee-jerk reaction to drop the turtle, throw it, or flap his hand to get the child to let go. He released the turtle, but it still held on.

"Let go!" Yoshi shouted, trying to pull him off. He could almost hear the skin on his finger tearing. "Let go!!"

He pulled again, and the baby turtle suddenly yelped. Yoshi had pulled him too hard.

Yoshi released him again, and the baby turtle let go of his thumb, scrambling out of his 'father's' hold and hiding beside the box that still held the slider.

The four creatures watched in terror as Yoshi's thumb began to bleed.

It was silent.

Yoshi felt his face go red-hot with frustration. He yelled loudly. Just yelled, unbottled his anger and pain and... yelled. He shouted out no words, simply expelled his fury at the situation, his fury with the new life he was forced into, the squalor he had been reduced to, the pain of losing everything and suddenly being bridled with four ungrateful kids that couldn't be left alone for fifteen minutes without starting some situation. Once Yoshi had finished yelling his lungs out... he sobbed.

Yoshi wept and wept, the heaviness he'd felt on his shoulders crushing him to the floor. His tears pooled around him, soaking his pants he doubled over, unable to catch his breath. Everything was just too much. He'd lost the love of his life, he'd lost his dream profession, he'd lost his looks and livelihood, he'd lost the last family member he had, he'd lost it all. Everything. And Yoshi sobbed like a baby. 

Not his best moment.

Yoshi only stopped when he heard the weeping and wailing of four tiny babies by his side.

His head rose from his knees, glancing up in panic at the four children.

The softshell was sobbing desperately, cowering in fear at Splinter, afraid... afraid of him? Of his anger?

No, no... he was afraid for him.

The little boxshell turtle was wailing hysterically, clawing at the walls of his box, trying to get to Yoshi. The snapping turtle was crying as well, though not as loudly. The red-eared slider was whimpering and weeping as well, hands pressed against the wall and trying to push it away or push it down, trying to get to Yoshi as well.

Yoshi hiccuped, breathing in quickly as he realized what he'd done.

"Oh, oh, no no no -- I'm so sorry, my little ones, I'm so sorry -- I-I didn't mean to scare you..."

Yoshi reached into each box and picked the babies up, cradling them close. The boxshell kept crying, burying his little face into Yoshi's furry chest as he wiped his tears away. The slider also started rubbing his tiny face across Yoshi's shirt, trying to hug his father while also hiding his wet and gloppy tears. The Snapping turtle wrapped his tail around the rat-man's wrist as he gripped hand, hugging him tight and churring softly against his arm, trying to calm the both of them down. Yoshi started crying softly again as he held each one close to his heart, trying to soothe them. He heard a soft clicking chirp and glanced up to see the softshell somberly creeping towards him, suck-up sniffing as he came towards his toes. He tried to mew out a meager apology as he circled his foot.

Yoshi reached his hand out for him, hoping he would accept the invitation despite all that had just happened between the two of them.

Fortunately, he did, and crawled onto Yoshi's palm, sniveling as he did.

"I'm sorry," Yoshi whispered, bringing the little guy up to his face and nuzzling him with his snout and whiskers. The baby gripped his face and smushed his own snout against him, whimpering as their tears melted together. "I'm so sorry, my son. I didn't mean to scare you or hurt you. I won't do it again..."

The baby cooed at him, nuzzling him gently and patting his cheeks. He accepted the apology.

"Maybe... maybe you need more space than just a box, hm?" he wondered aloud.

He decided to let them roam the room instead, using the box as a makeshift baby-gate to blockade the door so they wouldn't escape. He also cleaned up the fruit and lettuce from where he'd dropped it on the floor. He left the plate out in the center of the room, close to where he sat so he could keep an eye on them.

The little slider nibbled on the lettuce a bit before running around excitedly. He seemed to love the extra space.

The snapping turtle lumbered after him, giddily giggling as he waddled around.

The sat messily munching on the strawberries, covering himself in the juices and skins.

The softshell wandered around the room, sniffing everything and inspecting it all. He growled if the slider got to energetic too close to him. The slider never figured it out.

"Boys, behave," Yoshi reminded them. "I'll still put you in the box if I have to."

That was mostly a joke. But you could tell that they believed him, because they made sure not to get into any fights. At least, nothing bad. They roughhoused a little. But all in good fun.

Yoshi exhaled and laid down on the floor, exhausted beyond all comprehension. The tiny little boxshell turtle chirped at him, almost asking if he was alright.

"I'm fine, just tired," Yoshi replied.

"Peep?"

"Because I've been working on fixing up our home all day. And I just cried a lot. Crying is tiring work."

"Peep, peep?"

"I don't know why. It just is."

"Peep!"

Yoshi felt somthing kneading agaisnt his ribs. He rolled his head over to see the sticky little critter trying to climb up his side.

He chuckled at the sight before helping the littlest one up.

"There we go, that's better, right? All high up now. I bet you can see the whole room," Yoshi joked.

The little baby sat proudly on his father's stomach, surveying the entire room and watching as his brothers played and explored. He then turned and waddled over to Yoshi's chest, rubbing himself clean on his shirt as he did so.

"Yes, thank you for that," Yoshi sighed. "You'll still need a bath, though."

"Peep!"

The little turtle's chirp sounded almost like a laugh. Yoshi chuckled back.

"You know... since you really are my sons now... I suppose you'll need names. Let's see..."

Yoshi elevated himself up on his elbows, studying the tiny baby boy on his chest carefully. He was tiny, had bright yellow spots and some orange-yellow markings on his shell as well.

"...How about 'Sonny'?"

'Sonny' spat his tongue out at Yoshi and blew raspberries at him.

"Okay, okay, maybe not. What about Shelly?"

The baby cocked his head to the side, almost to question his father's mental state if he actually thought that name was a good choice for him.

"You're a picky kid. Fine, fine, I'm sure I can come up with something clever soon... How about for now, I call you 'Orange'? Is that okay?"

The baby turtle plopped himself down, purring quietly. Good enough for now, it seemed.

"Then if you're 'Orange', let's call your snapping turtle brother 'Red', the softshell 'Purple', and the slider 'Blue'. That way I can tell you all apart! I'll get some little handkerchiefs or something to wrap around your shells so I can remember..."

Yoshi sighed.

"...I still have so much work to do..."

He looked out over the group of toddlers, running around and playing as 'Orange' started to fall asleep on his Dad's stomach, comforted by his warmth and one-sided conversation.

"...But I suppose you're all worth it," he smiled.

[sweaterrat]

Howdy, dorks ^^ guess who’s got lemlav lmao

This is Part 1 to a 2 part fluffy one shot! The other half isn’t finished yet, but as soon at it is, I’ll post it! Hope you enjoy my mid writing skills 💀 No beta read we die like gram gram </3

————————————————

⚠️!! WARNINGS !!⚠️ : N/A! Enjoy! <3

Soft Shell, Softer Touches

Two hours.

It’s been two hours since Donnie’s been gone for business with a certain group of well-dressed crooks, the Purple Dragons. Niyah was beginning to get worried. She knew she couldn’t call or text him because that could compromise Donnie’s (and her own) safety. So, instead, Janiyah sat on the floor of Donnie’s lab, impatiently waiting for him to come back.

Two hours and ten minutes.

This was torture. Where was he? Was he okay? Why did he insist on going alone?! Niyah’s mind began to wander.

Was he captured? Was he hurt? Was he okay? Was he unconscious in a random alleyway? Was he…

Niyah squeezed her eyes shut at that last thought. There was an uneasy feeling in her stomach that she wanted so badly to ignore, but the way it twisted and turned made her sick. Where was that dum-dum turtle—!

Suddenly, the mechanical door to the lab opened. Niyah opened her eyes to spot a exhausted looking—

“Donnie!” She sat up immediately and went to greet him. Usually, Niyah greets everyone with a hug, but for Donnie, she’d always give him a generous amount of distance and an occasional polite wave. The Softshell blinked as if he was surprised to see her.

“Where the heck were you?!” She almost shouted, worry woven into her words. Donnie just looked at her with a lazy expression. “Purple Dragons,” he simply replied. “Remember?” and he walked past her to get to his work desk.

“You were gone for two hours,” She stated, the worry never leaving her face. Donnie seemed to shrug it off. “You know how the Dragons are, they’re difficult.”

Niyah was bewildered at his indifference. Did he really not care? She spent hours worrying over him for nothing…? Donnie didn’t notice how quiet she got, a usual sign that she was upset about something. Instead, he hopped in his spinny chair and started to tinker with a big-looking, unfinished project. Niyah only blinked in surprise.

“You’re getting back to work?” Donnie didn’t spare her a glance, “Yep,” He replied lamely.

“But, you just got back…” Niyah said, more to herself than him. “The Dragons threw a wrench in my plans. I’m extremely behind schedule,” Don explained, an annoyed scowl on his face. Niyah couldn’t tell if that scowl was caused by the Purple Dragons or her. Still, she slowly approached the genius, taking the seat beside him. Donnie had added another chair to his lab a few weeks ago as a result of Niyah visiting him so often.

She sat a distance away from Donnie, almost afraid to get too close to him while he was in such a sour mood. Then again, something always had Donatello in a sour mood.

“I think you should take a break,” Niyah nearly whispered. She glanced from his work and to his eyes, hoping that he’d catch her stare and look back. But, to her disappointment, he did not. Instead, Donnie replied with, “I can’t possibly waste any more time than I already have.”

“Breaks aren't a waste of—“ Niyah tried to respond, but apparently, Donnie wasn’t finished. “Why do you care so much?” He finally looked at her. Niyah then realized the annoyed scowl was meant for her. She shrank back into her own chair, using her leg to slowly push herself back and create more and more distance.

“Sorry, I was just worried,” She mumbled, chest tightening as she avoided his stare. Donnie’s expression softened and he let out a soft sigh.

“I hope you know I’m more than capable of handling myself,” He grunted, turning away from Niyah and going back to his work. “You don’t have to worry.”

Niyah sat in silence after that. Donnie had wondered if he was being too mean. Niyah was more of the sensitive type, easy to get emotional. He tried to filter what he said to be less mean around her because, well, he cared. He cared about her, though he’d never admit it out loud. She always listened to him ramble about science and things he knows. Sometimes, she’d even ask questions about it too! They had recently begun studying astronomy and astrology together (Donnie wasn’t a fan of astrology but he couldn’t say no to her).

She’d always seem interested in what he had to say, even if sometimes she looked distracted. Donnie often wondered if there was something on his face with the way she stared at him. Niyah always listened with that small smile that Donnie (and he’ll never admit this,) adored.

Suddenly, snapping Donnie out of his daydream, Niyah quietly stood up. He watched her in his peripherals as she exited the room. Ah, she left.

Donnie sighed, running a hand down his face. Maybe he was being too mean. She spent hours in his lab just keeping him company, asking questions— not just about the current project— about him and how he was doing. Always making sure to check on him and making sure he’s eaten something at least. Donatello felt like he was taking her for granted… he felt like a jerk for being so annoyed at her being concerned for him. He wanted to apologize the next time he saw her. Maybe even thank her. But now, he could finally tend to—

The door to his lab opened again. Don snapped his head towards the light seeping into the cool, purple-toned room. It was Niyah again. And in her hands, a cup of hot coffee.

Oh. She had left to make him some. She went out of her way to do something for him even after he was being sour. Donnie felt his face warm at that.

She said nothing as she carefully placed the mug beside him, then sat back in her chair. Donnie eyed her curiously the whole time. “Careful, it’s hot,” She finally warned. Donnie tried to ignore the warmth of his face that was definitely not caused by Niyah, but by the heat of the coffee. Right.

“Thanks,” he mumbled hesitantly , glancing away from her, taking the mug in his hands. He lightly blew at the beverage before taking a sip. The drink warmed his chest. He had grown a tolerance to coffee a long time ago, but he still enjoyed drinking it. Donnie felt himself relax as he let out a sigh of relief.

“They didn’t hurt you, did they?” Niyah asked out of the blue. Donnie glanced at her, putting down his coffee. She had her head down on the desk, staring up at him. He could see the concern in her brown eyes though she didn’t express it externally. His stare softened and he blinked.

“No, nothing serious.” He lied, turning back to his work, trying to ignore the warmth spreading across his face at her persistent stare. Why was he so… nervous? Niyah stared at him before, even when she tried to sneak it. She seemed to study him in a way. Donnie got used to it after a while, but now, her staring at him was making him uneasy… in a good way?

“Why do you care so much?” He questioned quietly again, but differently this time. This question was soft and genuine; he really wanted to know. Donnie never looked back at her though. “About me?” He added.

Niyah smiled softly at his question before speaking. “Because you’re my friend,” she stated proudly, shifting slightly to fidget with the sleeves of her puffy, cream-colored cardigan. She sounded so certain, as if being his friend was enough of an answer.

“Because I’m your friend?” Donnie echoed, letting out a disbelieving chuckle. “Is it really that easy?”

“Yes,” she replied, her face warming as she held eye contact with him. Her dark cocoa eyes held an emotion… a feeling that Donnie has felt before, but couldn’t name. “Yes, it is.”

Donnie felt himself smile but quickly hid it in his palm. Niyah had a calm look in her eyes. Like two big black holes, dark and alluring, drawing him in the more he stared into them. A dark sea of mystery that he so wished to explore. He would have almost found himself drowning in them if he didn’t snap back into reality.

“Thank you,” Donnie muttered, unable to take his eyes off of the girl in front of him. “For caring about me.” This time, he didn’t hide the shy smile that was stained on his face.

Niyah sighed, “Anytime, Donnie.” She’s said his name a million times before, but for some reason, his heart squeezed. Donnie felt himself flush at her words, praying to whoever was up there that it didn’t show. It was like a triple homicide. Her eyes, her smile, her voice… he felt weak.

Weak.

Donnie remembered it. The stinging had somewhat lessened, enough that he almost could get used to the pain and forget about it. Still, Donnie winced, not at the pain, but at the way Niyah’s smile shrank as she noticed something was up.

WOOO!! One down and one to go! The second part might be a bit long, so deepest apologies for that. Hope you enjoyed this lil thingy I did way back in November lmao. Have a lovely day, ya dorks <3 (Also, very sorry for my awful writing 🕊️)

— Your Local Sweater Rat!

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PART ONE: (You’re here, silly!)

PART TWO: (Unfinished)