#plus he has some big chompers of his own

[zeestarfishalien]

The coyotes are awful bold tonight and we have a newly crippled kitty who refuses to become a house cat.

Coyotes: *prancing outside the dog yard, taunting the dogs*

Me: *opens gate*

[hi-i-love-u-bitch]

Feral AU

A Rottmnt AU where everything is the same except the turtle boys turn out a little more animalistic then usual because Draxum wanted warriors not children. They’re a bit more reminiscent of the turtle species they once were; adding in sharper teeth and claws, and a much more limited range of speech.

Like Splinter is still able to save them and raise them in the sewers and they’re still much more intelligent than an average turtle but they heavily rely more on instinct. Splinter tried teaching them to talk and they can a little but their main form of communication is a series of chirps, clicks, and growls. Which is fine, the most important part is that they UNDERSTAND and are aware of what Splinter is saying. He had a better time teaching them sign language as they seem to better excel in things involving physical movement and motor skills.

SPEAKING OF WHICH!! They are able to learn and pick up Ninjutsu much faster than average and were able to access their Ninpo at an early age. It should be noted that Splinter did NOT teach them Ninjutsu as a means to train them in the ways of the Hamoto clan life mission but as a way to expel all the restless energy those boys had. Draxum had designed them to be warriors so they can’t be idle for too long or they’ll get bored and wreck the den. Splinter needed something physical enough to tire them out as well as something to focus on instead of just mindless destruction.

They are proficient in BOTH hand to hand combat and combat with their weapons.

The boys themselves behave a lot more animalistic, though they still keep some of their distinct personalities:

Raphael

He is an ABSOLUTE UNIT of a boy! You thought he was big before but now he’s an absolute MONSTER of a guy reaching at about 9ft by the time he’s 16yrs! And he’s still growing!

Communicates mainly in growls and deep rumbling churrs, sounds like a fucking motor enginee.

Obviously since he’s the biggest he is the self appointed guardian of the family and he takes his job VERY seriously! Super over protective! Nobody will ever hurt his family on his watch!

He is still very sweet though and a total cuddle bug! Basically the mind set of those HUGE dogs that think they’re a lap dog. Kind of sort of behaves like one as well not gunna lie. His favorite place to nap is atop Splinter’s lap but poor boy is too big so only his head can rest comfortably. Which is fine, Papa still coos and awes at him anyways, always making sure to give him some nice scratchies under his chin.

The best way to know what he’s feeling is to look at his tail, a large scaley, spiky thing that wags when he’s happy!

Still has his stuffed animal collection and enjoys being surrounded by warm soft things. He’s still a little rough when playing with his toys so most often than not they have to be patched up or fixed. He doesn't have as delicate a touch as Mikey does to be able to sew his own things back together so he usually asks Splinter to do it. He has been trying to learn knitting though, it’s a bit slow going due to his massive hands trying to hold regular size knitting needles but he’s getting the hang of it.

Despite that he is very self aware of how big he is and always makes sure to be extra careful when roughhousing with his brothers, especially Donnie.

If any of his brothers get too rowdy and wander off where they’re not supposed to he’ll pick them up like a mama cat with her kittens by the lids of their shells.

He is not above biting people when in a fight, and trust me when I say you do NOT want to be anywhere near those chompers. But he also gives affectionate little nips when playing with others.

The back of his shell is THE best spot to lie atop of when sunbathing! All his brothers plus Splinter can nap atop his shell comfortably and he quite enjoys the comfortable weight they provide as he sleeps.

Not adverse to wearing clothes but then again not a lot can fit his enormous frame and when it does it gets torn up fairly quickly by how rough and clumsy he is. He absolutely loves to wear ribbons though and has an extensive collection of them he keeps in a shoe box. They’re a bit dirty as he’s found them all in the sewers but still quite colorful and pretty. He let’s Mikey and Splinter tie them around his wrists, tail, and neck in cute bows.

As an alligator snapping turtle he is mainly carnivorous but he’ll eat mostly anything really. His favorite being, ironically, fresh fruit especially watermelon.

Still absolutely HATES Miss. Cuddles!

Donatello

The second largest of the group though that’s mainly by height then by build, almost 7ft tall. Long and slender with a thin whip-like tail he can use similar to Splinter when fighting.

Second most protective next to Raph but definitely much more ruthless. If you are not part of his immediate family/clan he could care less of what happens to you.

Also not above biting people, especially his brothers. Though he definatlly has the weakest bite force when compared to the rest of his brothers it still hurts like a mother fucker.

A Lot more cat-like in nature compared to Raph. The key to Donnie's mood is in his body language, seemingly ever calculated and graceful, and in his eyes. All the turtles have slit-like pupils that can narrow and expand depending on their environment but Donnie's seem to function a lot more with his emotions as well.

He’s definitely still the smartest amongst his brothers, ever curious about the world around him and is the only one Splinter was able to teach how to read successfully. Though quite like Raph, Donnie prefers to communicate through clicks and chirps, though he’s more fluent in ASL then the rest of his siblings.

He’s still quite a talented engineer though his inventions tend to look quite rough as they are mainly scraped together using whatever junk he finds laying around. He isn’t all that bothered by how things look so long as they work how they’re supposed to.

Unfortunately, safety in science is not his first priority which has led to quite a lot of injury. Burns scars form electricity and harsh chemicals as well as cuts from shap tools and raw metal edges. Splinter had to practically force him into wearing at least gloves and goggles while he worked by threatening to take away his tool box.

He hissed and growled and snapped at Splinter for a full week and a half but eventually caved.

(Still just as stubborn and hardheaded)

His favorite thing to make is bombs because we all know that every iteration of Donnie ever is a pyromaniac.

Donnie does have a battle shell (made out of scrap metal and memory foam to cushion the inside) but he rarely ever wears it, unless absolutely necessary. Splinter has always been wary of Donnie and his most vulnerable area but aside from keeping his middle child constantly wrapped in bubble wrap the only other thing Splinter could think to do was teach Donnie how to defend himself as a regular human would.

Though they aren’t completely cold blooded Donnie HATES being cold and is usually wearing either large hoodies or sweaters. But he absolutely despises pants!

He still loves to dance! Especially to groovy 80s jams and electro pop!

He’ll eat about almost anything you put in front of him though he seems to enjoy more soft and mushy foods as well as any kind of seafood.

Still terrified of beach balls.

Leonardo

He’s a little more normal in height though that still leaves him at 6ft and growing. A stockier built around the shoulders with long sturdy legs that can deal pretty powerful blows.

His tail is pretty thin, almost boney in texture, flat too, and only about 10in long. It moves a lot like Raph’s tail does, wags when happy, tucked between when scared, and droopy when tired.

He talks the most out of all his brothers though it's quite choppy and sounds a lot more like warbling chirps then words. His “turtle speak” involves a lot more clicks and high pitched chirps, almost sounding quite bird like.

He and Raph are neck in neck when it comes to their skills in ninjutsu, though Raph excels more in defense while Leo is obviously more offensive.

He’s not much of a biter but he will claw a mother fucker’s eyes out if need be.

Though he is a lot more easily distracted and can be quite lazy at times, preferring much more to play than train. Splinter has to constantly find ways to keep Leo focused on the task at hand which usually involves turning things into puzzle games.

Donatello may be the smartest among them but Leo is a scarily good stradagest when given proper motivation.

Definitely still the most confident and charismatic. He’s always the leader of things whenever mischief is afoot. That usually involves reckless stunts Leo wants to try out after seeing it on tv or during one of their many Lou Jitsu marathons.

His ability to create portals does not help Splinter in his endeavor to stop Leo’s trouble making.

He and Donnie spend the most time in water, to the point where Splinter had to build a large shallow pool in the middle of the lair for the boys to soak in. It isn’t a bad thing if they’re dry but if they so happend to get sick it’s best to keep them in water to help them heal faster.

He has slept in the pool before and it scared the shit out of Splinter the first few times it happened because he thought Leo had drowned.

Is the most adversed to wearing clothes, it restricts him too much and he doesn’t like that. The only “clothing” he tolerates are the straps for his weapons and a blue cloth he uses as a bandana for his head. He’s okay with certain hats and neckerchiefs so long as they don’t get in the way.

Again, will eat literally anything though he likes a lot of water based veggies or anything with a good crunch to it.

Not a lot seems to frighten Leo though Splinter isn’t sure if that’s due to bravery or naivety on Leo’s part. That boy seems to not have any self preservation skills what so ever.

Michelangelo

The smallest amongst his brothers though that’s mainly due to him being the runt of the clutch he originally hatched from. Has more of a lean and limber build which makes him a great climber and the fastest out of all of them.

Has the sharpest claws of the group, which really help out a lot with the whole climbing aspect. Mikey is always atop of something, swinging down from seemingly out of nowhere. His favorite perch however is atop of his brothers’ is shoulders, especially Raph since he’s the biggest.

You’d think with the claws he’d be more prone to scratching but that is not entirely true. Either way once he latches on there is very little you can do to get him off unless he wants to.

The cutest little stubby tail you’ve ever seen! It wags like a little bunny rabbit!

He and Leo are the most hyper and energetic of the four, with Raph and Donnie being a bit more low energy. If they don’t have something to focus on they’ll cause all kinds of mayhem, running around all over the lair causing chaos and destruction.

He’s just as fluent in ASL as Donnie is and also just as talkative as Leo is, though still choppy due to limited range in vocal cords. His chirps and clicks in “turtle speak” sound a lot more monkey like though less high pitched “ooo’s” and more tenor based trills.

Definitely the most empathetic amongst his brothers when it comes to outsiders. He’s still weary, don’t get him wrong, but he’s a lot more curious. Even in this universe Mikey still very much wants to make friends!

Still the very creative; loves to draw and paint, and is very messy about it. His favorite place to paint is on his brothers’ shells! They don’t mind of course and they really do enjoy how colorful and bright Mikey decorates them. (Always make sure to use washable, hypoallergenic paints kids!)

Mikey LOVE clothing! He thinks it's so fun to dress up and will sometimes even make his own clothes out of cloth scraps that he finds. Has delicate enough motor skills that Splinter was able to teach him how to crudely sew and stitch things together.

Is the most picky eater out of all of them, though that happened after he learned how to cook. Once he figured out that food could actually taste GOOD when you put effort into it he could never go back to just eating whatever. This was both a blessing and curse with Splinter because on one hand they couldn’t exactly be picky about what they ate with their circumstances. But on the other hand they had a lot more variety and nutrition when Mikey was in charge of cooking.

Before meeting April and her mom (more on them later) as they could not exactly go out shoping for beef and chicken, a lot of the turtles’ protein came from bugs. And as picky an eater Mikey is now he still actually prefers eating bugs over regular meat. His favorites are grasshoppers and earthworms.

He is afraid of the dark and does not like sleeping alone.

Splinter/Lou Jitsu/Hamato Yoshi

Splinter has obviously gone through the most change out of everyone, going from human to mutant rat overnight is definitely not good for your mental health. To physically lose your humanity is one thing but psychologically as well is just a whole other can of worms.

He’s still himself, mentally and personality wise, but sometimes he gets these “episodes”. They usually happen when he’s under stress or backed into a corner (both physically or emotionally). He’ll revert into a more animalistic and primative mental state, somewhat like his boys if a little more “savage”. He’s hostile and aggressive, he can’t talk or even properly communicate at all, possibly not even understanding how to do so. Thankfully he’s never hurt his boys in that state, as even then he still sees them as his children who he must protect.

Has a chunk missing from his left ear courtesy of Raph from when he was a baby and teething. He has a lot of bits and scratch marks from his kids, mainly from rough housing and temper tantrums.

If he had the funding he would absolutely spoil these boys rotten, though as it is the boys aren’t very materialistic and hardly even understand the concept of money.

He’s kept every single gift his sons have made for him. EVERY. SINGLE. ONE.

Out of all of his boys Donnie is the clingiest, even as a teen. Splinter doesn’t mind though he insists that one day Donnie will grow out of it eventually. (He won’t, he’s a complete daddy’s boy!)

Though all the turtles are bipedal, more often than not they’ll be running around on all fours, which is fine, whatever makes them comfortable. What Splinter does mind though is that he’ll catch himself doing the same thing, like if his body is unconsciously mirroring what is “natural” to him. He doesn’t like to think about the implications of what that means.

As a rat, Splinter has a lot anxiety and awareness of his surroundings do to his heightened senses. Perhaps its from the fact that he is naturally considered prey in the food chain of the animal kingdom. Either way, sometimes he’ll have really bad days of extreme anxiety. He’ll feel like he’s in danger and needs to hide himself and his boys someplace safe. They cannot leave the lair at all during those days and the boys need to stay within Splinter’s line of sight at all times or he will absolutly freak the fuck out.

He lives in constant perpetual fear that either Draxum is still alive (Spoiler: he is) and looking for them or that Big Mama will discover them and force them to fight in the Battle Nexus.

Splinter is face blind. He already had ATROCIOUS eyesight when he was a human, it got even worse when he became a rat. Which is why he color codes the boys cuz if not they’d all just be green blobs. This is also an excuse for cutesy nicknames!

Leo: Baby blue, Little blue moon, My tiny Blueberry boy, Blue Jay/Blue bird

Raph: Little Robin, Rose bud, Big Red, My precious little flame

Donnie: Little violet, My brilliant amethyst, Tiny storm cloud, Sweet plum

Mikey: Sunshine, My shining star, Baby tangerine, Little goldfish

All: My Precious Treasures, My beautiful boys, Little ones

[[Let me know if you guys wanna know more about this AU]]

[[To be Continued….]]

[the-nocturnal-writer]

Evenfall Grove Dev Log

So I decided to start a little Dev log to keep both anyone interested in Evenfall Grove updated and to set some tasks for myself that I want to be completed before the next log!

That said, I'll try to make this a weekly or fortnightly thing and have much to ramble about!

Worldbuilding.

Firstly, been working on a bit of worldbuilding for Evenfall, lots of developing pieces of lore, making some pinpoint places within the town and notable locals.

One place I've loved designing the most is The Wolf Den! Which is MC's home and work, being the Inn and Pub for Evenfall. It's where the reader is going to be and basically be a safe haven, so I want to put a lot of detail and comfort into it. I'm thinking of also making it a point for upping skills? But we'll see after filling in a few more bits and pieces.

There are a few other places I already have planned, like the library, clinic and a few main stores key to the story. I have ideas for things like guard towers or somewhere the Evenfall Guards train and sleep. (We shall talk more about guards in Evenfall later... They will be a bane to MC's existence).

Character Development

As I mentioned in a previous post, I've been fiddling with characters a bunch and one is a guardian sort of character for the MC!

Nana Ripley! She will be a big part of MC's life and will be one (if the only) character that the reader can 100% trust. Ripley is very much a comfort character for me, just a tough old granny who is protective of the MC (and has a slight hate for hunters).

Ripley isn't the only character I've been working on, also planning some notable locals important to the plot or worldbuilding, plus (of course) the Romanacable characters!

So far, the concrete options;

The Stranger! A mysterious man enters the town of Evenfall. His purpose? Who knows. But he certainly has the locals talking and staring. One thing is for sure... He owns a very good boy. (I couldn't help it and gave the dear stranger a canine best friend).

The Doctor! Evenfall's strongest (and only) doctor and healer. He is the master of combining magic and science, being a kind heart with a gentle smile... Though something lurks with the kind doctor.

As for other options, I have ideas, but till I'm sure of what exactly I'm going to pick and use (I will give a hint that there is going to be a lovely lady lending MC books).

Features? Ideas!

I'll try to keep it short since I'm excited to talk about a lot, but the last thing I shall mention is a few ideas for features I had (features? Well more additional options to the IF).

Idea one is the option for the reader's witch to have Familiars. I would love to hear some animals you all would like to see (I like the idea of a crocodile being a reptile option for a Familiar! 🥺 Giant chomper protector is you would.) I would think also of things like felines, canines, birds and reptiles.

I definitely want hell hounds to be an option since when designing one for a character... it turned into just a bigger, fluffier malamute pffft. I think it would be a great companion in the story.

That is my only idea so far since I haven't delved too much into them, but thought of Familiars and figured it would be interesting to note down for the future (when I really dive into it all).

Oh! I also am designing a proper title cover and story description to post, since I don't really feel the one I made at 5am with a bunch of coffee is very creative or well-planned hehe. That is all for now, I might add more next log if I forgot anything...

~ Red

[no-more-than-reason]

Anthropomorphic Cars and Trains, Rated

My 2-year-old is completely obsessed with anything with wheels rn, so I’ve lately been inundated with media exposure to cars and trains that have been given faces, and my goal here today is to convince everyone to STOP DOING THIS THING. I will look at 4 specific franchises and compare variant designs. I am completely and willfully avoiding the Rule 34 fan art that I know exists for some of these (you’re welcome) because tbh animators and illustrators have done a horrific job with some of these on their own. Also, quick shout out to the franchises I will not cover that have managed to give us car characters without faces (Trolley from Mr. Rogers’/ Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, you’re doing great sweety).

Cars

The bright red is a great choice for little kids who are drawn to the high contrast. Eyes in the windshield makes sense because that’s where a driver would actually see out of, but it ends up with that kid of weird Sonic the Hedgehog one giant eye look. Mouth here looks okay and the headlights kind of look like nostrils without being gross. 7/10 it’s fine

Okay so now it has teeth, which I am not a fan of because now I have to think about what exactly this thing eats. Gasoline does not go there so??? The teeth are also like the eyes in that it looks like there’s just one big tooth on top and bottom, but okay I can buy that because it sort of resembles a bumper. 6.5/10 do cars really need chompers

Not only does it have a tongue but it’s a loooooong tongue and I do not want to know why it needs one. 3/10 and I haven’t seen the third movie but I heard it has a brain in that one, so Disney please stop thinking so hard about the biology of a car

Chevron Car Mascots

I remember seeing these commercials as a kid and thinking they were kind of creepy. I guess the headlights as eyes makes sense but it means they don’t have noses and very flat faces. There are separated teeth but it’s still pretty cartoony. The design is kind of saved by the claymation. 6/10 just a little uncomfortable

I vaguely remember they made toys of these so I looked them up and

Yes they all have teeth like that. Why. Why do they need those. This toy is the one you will refuse to sleep in the same room as because 100% it is going to come to life in the middle of the night and devour you. 0/10 thanks for the nightmares Chevron

The Little Engine That Could

This was the version I had growing up and it’s perfect. The face on the upper part where the steam comes out makes it look like a sphinx, it’s just like lying there on the track. He’s a happy lil guy having a good time. Mouth is just white so I’m not thinking about teeth at all. 10/10 maybe I’m biased but I don’t care, this one is the best

In this one they added rosy cheeks, which made it look kind of clownish but also it makes sense because she puts in a lot of effort to pull the other cars in the story. Also added eyelashes so you know she is a girl, which is lazy design but also yay representation since most of these characters are boys? 8/10 not as good as the original but okay

This update is great! He has a line mouth that is kind of smirking so he’s like happy but determined like “I’ll show you what I can do!” Plus now it looks like he has a little hat. 11/10 good improvements on the original

-1/10 this is a bug not a train

From a movie version. No, absolutely not. What did you do to him? His eyes are headlights but on the outside of his head??? And now the front of the engine is both his nose AND mouth (I see separated teeth and s tongue in there). Also the driver area is open and visible so it’s like we can see inside his head and there is nothing there, even the child won’t ride there and is on top of him because gross. -50/10 how dare you

(Part 2: Thomas the Tank Engine)

[kariachi]

Turns out this fic from this morning wanted a part II. More Argit, more Mike, more Erinaen necromancy.

~~

The Ra- Argit, if he’s staying in his home he should use his name- Argit’s apartment isn’t anything impressive. Past the loading bays, up the stairs, first door on the right. Only door on the right. There’s a livingroom immediately when you get through the door, a kitchenette on the other side of it. First door on the left down the hallway is a bathroom that Mike’s tempted to go for as soon as he knows where it is. The Bellwood base isn’t nearly as worried about prisoner hygiene as he would like. But, he doesn’t want to give the impression that he needs anything. At all. In an ideal world he would have complete control over this situation and he wants it to looks like he does.

The place smells like flowers.

“Kev’s room is the second door on the right,” Argit says as he beelines for the kitchenette, “you can use it if you want, just stay out the chest in the closet. Or you can just have the couch if you’d rather.” Mike settles down on the far end of the couch, forcing himself to relax and lounge against the arm.

“I think I’ll take the open bed.” The forbidden chest has him curious.

“A’ight.” He takes something out of the freezer and fiddles with the oven. “You want some tea? Not like, tea-tea, but honestly better in my opinion.” Fuck it, in for a penny in for a pound.

“Sure.” Chewing his inner lip, Mike glances around the place, taking in the knickknacks, machine parts, and loose fabric lying around. That was something he’d need to look into, new clothes. His outfit is wearing heavily in places he really doesn’t want it to. “What’s in the first room to the right?” He can see it from the couch, a sign on the door that he can’t read but seems suspiciously like a ‘do not enter’ sign.

“Weapons I doubt you know how to use, potion and spell components I doubt you know how to use, and books I know you can’t read.” That last bit gets Mike’s hackles up. He can read more languages than he can speak- though that’s not too difficult, it’s only two and a half.

“Try me.” Argit chuckles again, leaning over the counter that separates the two rooms with a toothy smile.

“Like the enthusiasm, kid, but it’s not a judgement thing. They’re in Erinaen, and given they’re the only things in Erinaen on this planet odds are you can’t read them.” It was a logical argument. The bastard. “I’m not gonna put anything in your tea, if that’s good with you. Just straight soggy bark water.” This time Mike is the one chuckling.

“I didn’t realize I was quite that evil.”

“Better to try something alone for the first taste. It’d suck to find out you would’ve liked something better without milk and sugar and shit.”

“It’d suck worse to not get the necessary calories in.” Which, alongside his stomach, reminds him- “What’s for dinner?”

“Lasagna,” Argit replies. “Honestly forgot all about dinner until you showed up, but you’re wasting away at least as bad as me so, food it is.” Mike nods as both the kettle and oven go off, Argit handling the latter before filling a mug and small bowl. When he returns to the kitchen, he places the mug on the coffeetable rather than hand it to Mike directly, watching carefully as he picks it up, and settles in on the opposite arm of the couch. “How many calories you need?”

Fuck, why did he mention calories? Mike shrugs.

“I get hungry,” he says, knowing as the words come out his mouth that it’s not going to slide. In an attempt to give himself a moment to think of an proper answer, he takes a sip of the golden liquid in his mug and about dies. “Holy shit, what is this?” Argit looks too amused.

“It’s good for you, aids in healing.” It’s like he just tried to drink the world’s citrus supply, and that must show on his face because Argit stands with a chuckle and brings him a pot of sugar. He manages to only dump half of it into the mug. “Now, just how hungry are we talking?”

“That really isn’t your business.” Argit leans back, gazing down his muzzle at him. It’s fairly impressive, how somebody who can’t even be five foot and who Mike is near certain he could turn inside out if he had to can make him feel like a little kid being interrogated for stealing books from the library.

“Oh, so you have a healthcare provider I can send you to?” Mike does not, and apparently this shows on his face too. “Until tomorrow morning I am your healthcare provider, and as long as people are going around expecting to be able to get care from me I am gonna do a damn good job. That means knowing how much I need to feed you so you don’t starve while in my care.”

Mike glares at him. Argit glares back.

It burns to break first.

“I don’t have exact numbers anymore,” Mike says, “but I used to be able to knock down a lasagna on my own easy.” Argit nods.

“Then we’ll start there. I’ll get the leftovers reheating after the lasagna comes out, hopefully between the two you’ll be good for the night.”

Mike, honestly doesn’t know how to respond. That’s about the sort’ve response he’d generally gotten from the better doctors, or from his father and uncle. Not people. Argit snorts and pats his arms, so clearly he’s just being incredibly expressive tonight. He’s going to have to work on that. Clearly been wearing that helmet too long.

…fuck, he forgot his helmet.

He was just falling right to pieces, wasn’t he?

“You’re not the only mutant around here,” Argit explains. “Fuck, you’re not the only mutant in the building. I know plenty about how much we can put away.” Oh. Okay. Mike never really bothered to research Levin’s little friend more than learning he existed and what he is. Still, it’s always nice to have other mutants around. Argit laps up some of his own tea. “Any other health shit you want handled, since you’re already here?”

He shouldn’t say any more. This is already a precarious situation and Mike doesn’t like other people being in control of things. But, he’s about eighty percent sure Argit isn’t going to turn out like Charmcaster- for one thing he hasn’t even flirted a little with him yet- and the lack of healthcare these past several years hasn’t been good to him he knows. If Argit could help with one thing, well, maybe it’s worth seeing if he can help with the others?

“You know about the seizures,” he starts, just to make sure he covers everything.

“Kevin gets those too, so I should be able to set you up with some preventative measures and some stuff for recovery.” Mike nods.

“I need, so many calories-” he’d started eating people half because of the calories “-I can’t really taste things, talking hurts. Mostly things along those lines.” Argit makes a concerned chirping noise and scoots closer.

“That’s fucked up,” he says, “mind if I take a look?” Mike already knows what he’ll see, he’s got more teeth hidden around than any horror movie monster. “You don’t gotta.”

He opens his mouth.

Argit whistles when he looks inside.

“Damn, Mike-” he tenses “-some of these things needed to come out yesterday.” And relaxes again. He’s used to getting teeth pulled, with how difficult it is to keep them clean at the best of times given their layout. They grow back in a week or two anyway. Argit backs away, and muscle memory alone has him presenting the mouths on his palms for inspection as well.

Teething had not been pleasant in the Morningstar household.

Argit takes it in stride though, tutting over the state of them with the same calmness he’d tutted over the ones in his proper mouth. He’s all seriousness when he backs away, visibly turning the situation over in his head.

“Okay,” he says, “I can’t do anything about the tasting thing. There’s just, not room on most of the surfaces of that mouth for tastebuds. I have never before seen a person with teeth on their tongue and I can almost understand you draining the energy from people given how much of a bitch it has to be eating with those chompers.” Mike nods. It is a bitch. He stopped eating popsicles at five, when one stick got stuck and Elena and Cooper had to help him work it free. Plus, though Argit isn’t necessarily being tactful, he’s still being nicer about the matter than the vast majority of people who experienced that array in any capacity.

“A lot of them need pulled though, from mouth and palms, they’re just in too bad of shape. Either you can go to a specialist for that, or I could probably get Kevin to do it. None of them are in such bad shape it should be anything more than a good yank each.” Mike raises an eyebrow.

“You’re suggesting I let Levin pull my teeth.” Argit shrugs.

“You don’t gotta. Just saying he probably could, as long as I was there to numb the pain and speed the healing. Or I could recommend you to somebody with more experience in the matter.” Mike rasps his tongue against the teeth on his palate.

“I’ll consider the matter.”

“Good, just leaving those is asking for more health complications down the road, and you’ll probably have a better time eating proper food once they’re gone.” Probably.

“And the calorie needs?” He’s just been living with those his entire life. ‘Hyper-accelerated metabolism’ is in big bold letters on multiple pages of his medical files. Nobody’s been able to do anything before but now there’s a little voice in the back of his head whispering that hey, Argit is magic, and he’s trying to help, just maybe

Argit shrugs.

“I can’t know if it’s abnormal unless I see your appetite and powers both in action. And even if it is, I’d have to do research to see if it’s a mutant thing or an Anodite thing.” The hackles go up again.

“I’m fairly certain Gwen doesn’t have this problem.”

“No,” Argit says easily, pausing for more tea. Mike also takes another sip. It’s much nicer with the sugar. “But the problem might be Anodite-specific. Knowing details like that can give me a baseline to figure out and fix the core problem, or at least work out a way you can manage it better.”

Mike hates that that makes sense. He nods anyway.

“But you could help me manage it,” he asks. Argit shrugs again.

“If I can’t figure it out myself, there’s enough necromancers out there it’s likely somebody has a clue and I can get the information from them, adjust it to fit your needs.” He looks at Mike over his bowl. “Listen, I have been managing all of Kevin’s chronic shit since we were kids. This?” He gestures at Mike’s everything. “Is nothing compared to that walking disaster area.” He smirks a little. “Swear he’s more cancer than man some days.” It shouldn’t be funny, but the offhanded way Argit says it, like this is in no way special or dangerous, makes Mike chuckle. The idea that he can do enough with magic that cancer is hardly worth more than an offhanded comment is, nice. That little bit of hope gets bigger.

He’d really like to stop being so hungry.

“I would appreciate the help,” he finds himself saying. On the other end of the couch, Argit sighs into his bowl, then raises it in acknowledgement, giving Mike a smile.

“Then you’ll get it,” he says, then breaks into a small smirk, “as long as you don’t go punching my familiar anymore.” Mike pauses.

Blinks.

Then laughs.

“It’s a deal.”

[magicallygrimmwiccan]

If We Can Make It Through Another Day

Summary: Logan has a secret that he’s never told his family. He has fangs. This is how they all find out. Written for Inktober Day 4: Teeth

Notes: Heyo, people! I’m back~ So, this fic has some swearing (thanks Virgil and Roman) and a panic attack, but otherwise, I think it’s still pretty gen…? Anyway, enjoy guys! 

I. Patton

Contrary to popular belief, Patton was far from stupid. In fact, it could be argued that he was one of the more intelligent sides. Of course, Logan was the smartest; Logan would always be the smartest, no one was debating that. However, because many underestimated Patton’s intelligence, they didn’t realize that he knew certain things that they didn’t. Like, for example, the fact that Logan had shark teeth.

Well, Patton wasn’t sure if they were actually shark teeth. He’d never actually touched them or looked at them up close. He wasn’t going to violate Logan like that.

Still, Patton was surprised that he was the only one who had figured out Logan’s secret anatomy. After all, he was terrible at hiding it.

For example, Patton clearly remembers that time when Thomas was thirteen, right around the time when Virgil started showing up more and more. They were talking about Thomas’s newest crush, this extremely attractive boy in their grade, and Logan was clearly beginning to get uncomfortable. Finally, Roman started talking about all of his romantic and… other… daydreams with this boy, Logan snapped, jumping up and screeching “SHUT UP!” His fangs were bared, but Roman didn’t seem to notice, too lost in his daydreams. Virgil– Anxiety, at that time– was up in his room, and Patton had known since Logan first manifested. Logan seemed to realize exactly what he had just done and he slapped his hands over his mouth, terror leaking out of his eyes, before he dashed off to his room, leaving Roman to his fantasies and Patton to his cooking.

Another time, they were eating steak for dinner, and Logan was getting extremely frustrated with the fact that his steak wasn’t cutting properly. So, when he thought no one was looking, (Patton was, but Logan didn’t realize it) he picked up his steak and tore into it with his fangs. Patton quietly stared at him, concerned. Logan was always so careful about covering his mouth when he spoke, he was always so careful when he ate, he was always so careful about how he moved his mouth, and now he was throwing that caution to the wind just because he was frustrated.

Patton would never tell anyone, though. It was clear that Logan didn’t want him to, and he would definitely respect Logan’s wishes, no matter what. But seriously, though, Patton was concerned about Logan. He was so bad at keeping the fangs a secret, and Patton didn’t want to know what would happen if someone else found out.

II. Roman

Roman wasn’t sure how it took him so long to find out about Logan’s fangs. Seriously, now that he knew, the nerd couldn’t hide his sharpened chompers worth shit. Honestly, he could have just told Roman about the fangs, but no, instead he kept them a secret for so many years and possibly was getting hurt because of that secret. Seriously, Logan was so stupid.

Roman found out during a Doctor Who marathon. He and Logan were cuddled under a large rainbow fleece blanket, two empty bowls of popcorn sitting on the coffee table in front of them. Logan had a steaming mug of jasmine tea nestled in his hands as he leaned into Roman’s side, his eyes blinking sleepily as the episode played. Roman internally cooed at the adorable sight and gently ruffled Logan’s hair. Logan yet out a yawn, showing off… a set of extremely sharp fangs. What the hell?!

“What…?” Roman breathed. Logan snuggled deeper into his side, his mouth hanging open slightly and showing his fangs to the entire world. Yep, he had fangs.

“Why didn’t you tell us, cariño?” Roman murmured, shifting Logan so that he was in the much more comfortable position of laying across his lap. The answer came to Roman as he stroked his hand through Logan’s curly black hair. Of course he hadn’t told them; they hadn’t given him enough reason to trust them with something like this. Hell, Roman had tried to attack Virgil just because he appeared to be a villain at first. Roman kicked himself in his mind; he’d just driven everyone to mistrust him with crucial parts of them, hadn’t he?

“Oh, honey, I’m so sorry. I’ll make it up to you somehow, I promise,” Roman whispered, kissing the top of Logan’s head. Logan sleepily murmured and rolled over in response.

III. Virgil

Logan really should have warned him about this shit.

But no, since Logan had decided to keep yet another secret from Virgil, he had to find out the hard way. The hard way was when he was doing Logan’s makeup for the first time, and the shock of the revelation almost caused Virgil to have a panic attack.

Logan approached Virgil one day after a video and requested that Virgil help him put on makeup that would make him look, and Virgil quotes, “like an idealized version of myself.” Virgil agreed, because Logan had asked nicely. He lead Logan back up to his room and pulled out his good makeup kit while Logan awkwardly untied his tie and slipped his glasses off of his face. Virgil noticed that Logan’s face still looked pretty tense, and he snorted. Logan’s eyes widened, and Virgil sat down in front of him, still laughing.

“Relax, Logan. It’s makeup. It’s meant to be fun, not stressful.”

“Ah. Of course. My apologies,” Logan mumbled, shifting around. Virgil grabbed a sponge and started applying primer, and the two left-brained sides fell into comfortable silence. The silence lasted as Virgil applied the foundation, highlighter, eyeliner, mascara, and eyeshadow, but it was broken as soon as Virgil reached the last stage: lipstick.

“Hey, Lo. I’m gonna need to you open your mouth a bit so I can apply lipstick,” Virgil announced. Logan bit his lip before nodding and complying with Virgil’s request, giving Virgil a perfect view of his… fangs. What the fuck?!

“Virgil? Is everything alright?” Logan asked, his voice shaking a bit. Virgil slapped himself internally; he could freak out later once Logan was gone.

“Yeah, everything’s great. Just thinking.” With that, Virgil finished applying Logan’s makeup, resolving to talk to the logical side later about his fangs. Especially about why he had never told any of them. Virgil had a sneaking suspicion about why, but he wanted to make sure. If he’d ever done anything to make Logan uncomfortable, he wanted to remedy it. Plus, the fangs were kind of cute.

(Not that Virgil would ever admit that out loud; he’d rather die than do that.)

IV. Thomas

Yeah… Thomas isn’t proud of how he found out. Probably because it happened while Logan was having a panic attack from overworking and deadlines. Thomas knew he had pushing Logan pretty hard to get the latest Sanders Sides video out, but he knew the Fanders were getting a little jittery and he wanted to make sure that he got this video out soon. He knew he was pushing Logan too hard, but Logan kept insisting that he was fine, and every time Thomas suggested that they take a break, Logan kept working. Eventually, though, Logan reached his breaking point.

“Hey, Logan? I think your math is wrong here…” Thomas called, his voice pitching upwards. Logan leaned over his shoulder to look at the math, and as his eyes flickered over the numbers, his eyes widened exponentially. His breathing picked up, and all of the blood drained from his cheeks.

“Logan?” Thomas squeaked, standing up. The logical side was now gripping his hair and was sinking to the floor, his breathing now so fast and sporadic that it counted as hyperventilation. “Logan!” Thomas yelped, grabbing his shoulders. Tears started to stream down Logan’s freckled cheeks, and Thomas began to panic himself. What should he do? He didn’t know how to deal with Logan’s panic attacks!

“I… I made a mistake. I-it’s a simple mistake, how did I make it, if I make these mistakes that means I’m worthless, I’m useless, why am I here-” Logan gasped, hiccuping and slurring his words. Thomas felt his heart shatter, and he wrapped the side in a hug.

“Hey, hey, you’re not useless. I need you, Lo, and everyone makes mistakes. It’s okay, I’m here, just get it all out,” Thomas soothed, rubbing his hand up and down Logan’s back. Logan pushed himself away from Thomas, and when Thomas managed to stop blinking in shock, he saw… Logan literally biting through his lip with a large set of fangs.

“Hey! No! Logan, stop, you’re hurting yourself!” Thomas screamed, lunging towards Logan. He gently wrapped his hands around Logan’s jaw and gently pried his lower lip away from his fangs. Logan started crying even harder, and Thomas pulled him into a tight hug.

“It’s okay, it’s okay, just seriously let it all out,” Thomas murmured, rocking Logan back and forth. Finally, Logan managed to calm down, his breathing falling back into a normal pattern and his tears stopping.

“Better?” Thomas whispered, slowly releasing Logan. Logan shook his head and replied with “Y-you saw them.”

“Them what?” Thomas asked. “Your fangs?”

“Y-yeah,” Logan sniffed. “Th-they look horrible, and they’re terrifying, and everyone will hate me if they know.”

“No, Logan, your fangs aren’t horrible or scary. Actually, I think they look pretty flippin sweet.”

“R-really?” Logan sniffed, looking up at Thomas with watery eyes. Thomas gave him a bright, reassuring smile and nodded. Logan’s own mouth melted into a tiny grin, which caused Thomas to smile even wider.

“Now, do you wanna take a break? We could watch Big Hero 6 or something,” Thomas offered. Logan let out a small nod, and Thomas smiled before pulling him to his feet and heading down into the living room. He was going to have a long talk with Logan later about his insecurities around his teeth, but not now. Now, they had a movie to watch and junk food to eat.

Notes: Thanks for reading, guys! I’ll see you tomorrow!