#piebald softshell

[zeawesomeness]

I love how cute n sweet your baby donnie design looks esp when softshells are carnivores and splinter probably learned this when he left raw meat in reach of the smart one

Unrelated have you read the turtle instincts by DysfunctionalRequest on ao3? Cause there's an installment where they literally explain "piebald only survived cause dad meticulously got us emotionally attached so donnie wouldn't eat her-" I love how wack it is /pos

Oooohh!! I love that AO3 series! I haven't read every fic but I've read a good portion of them hehe.

I also low-key forgot Donnie is carnivorous dhsjkgdhsjhs

Anywaayyyss, have a drawing of child Donnie!!! :D

[mxbusiness]

New Rottmnt fic idea

After the movie, Donnie find a way to track down his mom, his real mom, who's a regular softshell turtle. Instead of subjecting her to goo to turn her mutant, he fits her up with an exosuit (which everyone's kinda iffy on but hey, better than making her a mutant involuntarily)

I'd like to get piebald in there too, talking with Donnies mom about becoming a mutant by choice and why her son doesn't remember being a non mutant turtle (as opposed to her having memories as a non mutant fish)

I think Judith would be her name (one of Donatellos statues) and Splinter would call her Judy maybe? But Judy rejects him (L)

Mikey Raphael and Leo all want her to be their mom too, but they all get really quiet when they find out she can't skate, doesn't eat pizza, and doesn't really like video games. She's worried she can't connect with them and vice versa

I'd like to think of how she can connect with them and Donny... Any ideas?

Idk if she's going to become a mutant or not either, given the choice... again, any ideas?

[great-and-small]

A few days ago I noticed that one of the softshell turtles in my nearby pond has a very unique look. I was thinking he might be piebald (which is a genetic mutation that disrupts skin pigmentation), but I’ve never seen or heard of a piebald softshell. Take a look at this weirdo ⬇️

Since I wasn’t sure what was up with this dude, I did what I always do whenever I see something weird going on with a wild animal; I called my local Fish & Wildlife! This might sound like a crazy reaction to seeing a splotchy turtle but I actually learned something extremely important that I would love for my followers (especially those in Florida) to know about too. After calling F&W I spoke with the turtle specialist for quite some time, as it turns out there is an unknown pathogen killing softshell turtles in Florida, and biologists are desperate to find the cause. They need our help to do this! The biologist that I spoke with says they’re relying on civilian reports to find cases for further study, so it’s incredibly important to spread the word and make sure people know how to report any abnormal appearance or behavior in turtles that they see.

Fortunately my splotchy turtle (I call him Uncle Walter) doesn’t seem to be sick based on his presentation or behavior! The turtle experts examined his photos and at this point they agree he is probably just piebald, though they asked me to keep an eye on him and make sure his condition doesn’t change. I’m so happy that I am armed with knowledge I can use to monitor him and his friends in the face of this worrisome unknown illness.

To my friends here in Florida- if you see ANY wild turtle that looks sick, weak, distressed, or abnormal please contact Fish and Wildlife immediately using the information provided below! To my non-Fl friends, if you have any contacts that enjoy herping or just outdoor activity in the state please let them know about this as well. Our turtles are very dear to us and reporting possible illness is the best way we can help find what’s killing these animals.

[remmushound]

The Purple Ooze, chapter 3

Tags: @brightlotusmoon @selfindulgenz @scentedcandlecryptid @digitl-art-monstr @dakotafinely @ilo-artistry

When Leonardo had finally left him alone, Donatello got back to studying. Almost immediately, he fell into a roadblock from his own brain. He found himself reading the same sentences over and over and not processing it even after several attempts. He found himself misclicking, misspelling. He found his hands slow and unwilling to listen. He was tired. Maybe a ten minute nap would do him some good, but no more than that. He didn't have much longer to explore this discovery! He put the brooch in one of his drawers and locked it, set an alarm, and went to sleep…

Six hours later, Donatello woke to a sharp prodding and to the sound of April’s loud, assertive voice.

“Helllllooo? Doooon-ieeee!”

“April?” Donatello could hardly see straight.

“Yeah. You were supposed to meet us an hour ago.” April finally came into focus, hand on her hip and school bag slung over her shoulder. “And now we’re not going to school today because I am not going around normal people smelling like fresh sewage.”

“It’s okay if you overslept…” Sunita’s voice was soft and understanding, her smile pure. “Can I have my brooch back now?”

“Overslept…?” Donatello slammed a hand to his forehead, “How? Why didn't my alarm go off?”

Donatello picked up his phone to investigate, and found his alarm turned off? Had he done that? He must have; his brothers would all still be asleep at this hour.

“Oh… r-right, right.”

Feeling more than a little disappointed, Donatello slowly pushed himself up from his chair and, not unlike a zombie, opened his drawer and rifled through it. And rifled through it again, and then some more. It didn't take long before his searching became frantic.

“Donnie?” April asked, confusion giving way to a cold suspicion.

“Uh…” Donatello was frozen like a statue, not even blinking. Then, he moved so fast he might have teleported, ripping open another drawer and looking through it, and then another, and then another, “No! No no no no no, it was right here! Where’d it go?!”

“Was?” April said, eyes widening. “What do you mean was?!”

Donatello kept searching, and searching, and searching. He didn't care about the mess he was making— he could always clean up a mess, but he needed to find that brooch!

“Donnie?” April’s voice was a laced threat, “What did you do?!”

“I— I didn't—“ Donatello was unable to defend himself as the looks on both of his friends’ faces rendered him speechless.

Sunita had a haunted look, mouth hanging open and burning eyes staring but not seeing. April’s face was distorted in anger and disbelief, lips pulled back, brows furrowed. Sunita’s expression broke and soon came the tears as she collapsed into herself.

“Sunita, I didn't—“

Sunita ran, her sobs growing more distant as she disappeared out of the lab, but April didn't immediately follow. Instead she stomped over to Donatello. The softshell, as instinct guided, covered his head and flinched away expecting a strike. All he got was a stern, angry gaze that was much worse than any injury could be.

“I can’t believe this, Donnie.” April pointed her finger at Donatello and made him fall flat on his carapace as he tried to escape the touch. “You’re seriously going to pull this?”

“I— It was right here…” Donatello’s voice was like a mouse.

“Sure it was Donnie. You got until the count of three to give me that brooch.”

“I… I don’t have it!”

“One.”

“April— I— I’ll find it— it was in the drawer—“

“Two!”

“April—“

“I gotta go find Sunita.” Her voice was bitter as she turned her back on him.

Donatello could only watch with pure heartbreak as his friend left him alone, calling after Sunita as she pursued her yokai friend, and left her best friend alone with his thoughts.

It had been right there. He knew it had been, he put it there in the drawer and locked it for safekeeping! Wait… he LOCKED it! But he knew he didn’t unlock it. How did he open the drawer without a key? Looking around, he couldn’t even find the key.

Why had he even risked going to sleep with something so precious in his possession?! Where could it had gone?! He couldn’t imagine a yokai sneaking in the lair without his alarms picking them up, and definitely not human! Maybe Piebald? No. She would never play such a cruel joke on her little brothers. Donatello’s brain lit up. Piebald wouldn’t, but someone else he knew just might…

Donatello kicked down the door to his brother’s bedroom, knocking it off his hinges. He had designed it specifically as a break-away door, just for such an occasion as this one that required a dramatic entrance. The room was empty. And so was the game room, and the kitchen, and any other place he might have been hanging out. Donatello found his other two brothers still fast asleep, and just for peace of mind even checked in on his father. They were all here, and there was only one person who wasn’t.

Leo...

***

The slider had run and run until he felt like he might drop. The cold rain was like a barrage of bullets against his skin, weighing down his clothes and, in turn, him as well. He didn't care about the rain. He didn't care about the cold. He didn't care about the weight of his clothes pulling him down. None of those things mattered! The only thing that did matter was that purple brooch in his hand and what it promised…

“I can be human…”

[remmushound]

Curse of the Clan part 53! @selfindulgenz @scentedcandlecryptid

“How do we track Krang?” Leonardo asked when the story concluded.

“You don’t.” Was Knight’s answer, “If Krang is free, he will be seeking revenge on the ones who trapped him; it may not have been you in this life, but Krang will not see the difference. All you can do is wait and trust your instincts. You wouldn’t have been reincarnated if you couldn’t complete this task. He will come to you, and after he does and you defeat him, the council will be there to clean up the mess…

~~~

Back at the lair, Leonardo was stewing in his own thoughts. He, for one, was never good at waiting. If something had to get done, it had to get done right that moment, as soon as possible. No delays, no time for second guessing. Sitting there on the couch, surrounded by his family, doing nothing was the worst kind of torment! He just wanted Krang to find them and fast so they could handle the conflict and return to their normal lives. All this waiting was driving him crazy and he just felt so helpless—

“I feel the same way, Leonardo.” Splinter’s voice sliced through the silence like a blade and made everyone look toward him.

“What?” Michelangelo asked, the fastest one to break out of the silence that had plagued them.

“I feel helpless too.” Splinter said with a slow nod, closing his eyes in solidarity.

“Too?” Raphael asked slowly.

“Yes.” Splinter said; now he too was confused as he opened his eyes and looked around at the faces staring back at him. “Like… like Blue said.”

Silence, followed by Leonardo saying, “No I didn't…”

“No?” Splinter’s ears pressed back. He looked from Leonardo to the rest, who all shook their heads. “Oh…”

Draxum hummed, unamused. “I guess we found Yoshi’s power.”

More silence. The faint trickling of water was a constant this low in the sewer. The rumble of Donatello’s machines across the lair, the hum of the fridge, the low drone of the television that even Splinter wasn’t paying attention to. Eventually, the steady tapping of Leonardo’s fingers joined the melody of background noise.

“I want a kitten.” Michelangelo stated.

“What?” Raphael, and all others, turned to Michelangelo.

“After this whole Krang thing is done, I want a kitten.” Michelangelo stated again, closing his eyes and nodding matter-a-factly, “A fluffy orange kitten and I’m gonna name him Klunk. And I’m gonna buy him the most expensive cat trees to ignore, and give him wet food every day, and buy him lots of feather toys to play with. And he’ll sleep with me every day.”

There were a few moments of the clan looking around at each other, Michelangelo’s hopeful statements ringing in their minds.

“After we defeat Krang…” Leonardo was the next to talk, mind set on breaking the awkward silence, “You know what we’re gonna do? We’re finally gonna finish that Hip Hop Christmas Album.”

His words were met with groans from his father and siblings and confused murmurs from his friends.

“You’re still on that?” April groaned, shaking her head and laughing.

Leonardo threw his arms into the air in surrender. “It’s a good idea! Just because you’re all lame doesn’t mean a hip hop teenage ninja turtle mutant album isn’t a good idea! Have you heard my voice?”

“More than I would care to have.” Donatello commented, rolling his eyes.

“You’re welcome!” Leonardo said, flopping over to rest against Donatello and pull the softshell close, “Love you brother! And Let me guess; you want uranium when this is all said and done.”

“No.” Donatello said with a scoff, then immediately added, “Well— yeah. But I also wanna rebuild Shelldon…” Donatello carefully removed his necklace so he could hold Shelldon’s memory chip in his hand. He stared at it for a long, drawn out moment before Leonardo carefully brought his hand against Donatello’s so they were holding Shelldon together. Donatello finally smiled. “It… it’ll be my next big project… I really miss him…”

Leonardo smiled and rubbed Donatello’s shoulder, which in turn made Donatello rest his full weight into Leonardo and lay his head on his twin's shoulder. Leonardo welcomed the affection gladly and wrapped an arm around the softshell.

April took a deep breath through her nose. “I… would kinda like to start sending in college applications.” She brushed her hair out of the way of her face, “Thinking about going into journalism…”

That was met with an uproar of applause from all but Draxum, who didn't quite seem to know what college was. April was swarmed by hugs and affectionate touches from her friends as they praised her.

“You know we’ll support you every step of the way, Apes!” Raphael declared.

“Yeah! Just way the word and we’ll get you into any school you want!” Leonardo prodded April’s chest. “Within reason, of course.”

“Okay, we need role models, teachers, sources—we’re missing the references, people!” Donatello immediately pulled out his phone and started on seeking out potential references.

“Guys!” April laughed as she shoved the turtles off of her, “All I saw was I was considering it! Still gotta finish up school first.”

“It never hurts to be prepared.” Donatello said.

“Well… I’m not so sure what I wanna do yet.” Sunita said, laughing weakly as she twiddled her hair, “Maybe just get out in the workforce, try some things out…? Maybe something with children?”

“There’s no rush.” Draxum reassured, “I was well into my adult years before I realized I wanted to be an evil, warring warrior scientist!”

“And ignoring that note…” Splinter said slowly, then cleared his throat, “I want to adopt another goldfish. Since Piebald was flushed and mutated, I’ve been feeling a little bit lonely.”

“We can get you another one, Splints.” April smiled as she patted the old rats back affectionately.

“Pathetic!” Draxum growled, jumping from his seat and onto the table so he could make his announcement loud and proud, “While you waste your time adopting a normal, puny goldfish, I shall adopt a shark! And name him Sharky and train him to fight for our cause.”

“It’s not a competition…” Splinter grumbled, slightly jealous that he hadn't thought of it first.

“What do you want to do Cassandra?” Michelangelo asked innocently.

Cassandra considered. Then, taking a page out of Draxum’s book, she kicked over the chair she was sitting in so she could stand on it like a sailor on the bow of his ship tasting the salty winds.

“I want to rip our enemies to shreds, dance on their graves, then dig them back up and—“

“CJ, CJ, CJ.” Leonardo had to repeat the name a few times before he got Cassandra’s attention, standing up to address her while she stared down at him, “We’ve all been talking about, you know, getting pets and jobs and stuff. Killing and then dancing on the graves of our enemies is just a liiiiiiiittle much. So bring the bar just just a little bit. Just a little. Think smaller.”

Cassandra took a while to answer, struggling to think of just one, small thing she really wanted to do. She flipped her chair back over so she could sit backward in it and rest her head on the backrest. Her eyes lit up all at once and she finally knew what she wanted to do.

“I… kinda really want to rebuild my parents old bakery. It was burned down when I was just a kid and… and it was never rebuilt. It’s their legacy and I want to restore it if I can…”

“Aw, that’s sweet Casey…” April wrapped an arm around Cassandra and gave her a gentle squeeze, “If anyone can do that, it’s the great Cassandra Jones!”

“Thanks, Apes…”

“Raph?” Leonardo said with a gentle urgence, “You’re the last one. What do you want to do when we win?”

“I… it’s kinda stupid…” Raphael rubbed the back of his neck.

“We’ll be the judge of that.” Leonardo said, “Lay it on us!”

“I… kinda wanna do a secret santa gift exchange.” Raphael admitted, “One where we all make the presents and don’t just buy the first cheap thing we see. You know… something more special…”

Leonardo smiled widely. “That’s not stupid at all, hermano. In fact? I think that’s the best one yet!”