#really like the shades of green on Raph though

[hoodiedmenace]

One day I'm gonna kiss the character designers for rise of the tmnt.

Yeah shape theory and all that, it's super neat but IT GOES SO MUCH DEEPER.

Since the beginning of tmnt, the turtles have always been hard to distinguish from each other. Especially in the 1987 show, but all the way up to 2007 movie, the one thing the turtles have really had to distinguish themselves is their color of their masks, their weapons, and usually some minor design changes like the letter on their belts, height, and skin tone. But even those have been subtle.

The 2012 series is really the first tmnt iteration to change up the turtles in a significant way. Not only is their skin different shades of green, but their heights are a more significant difference. Donnie towers of the other turtles, and Mikey's height really solidifies him as the youngest brother.

That isn't where the differences end, though. Raph has a crack in his plastron, Mikey has freckles, and Donnie is much lankier and skinny than the others. The main problem with this though, is that they are still fairly subtle. From behind and without their masks on, it's impossible to tell whether its Mikey, Leo, or Raph on screen. Not to mention, Leo is sort of treated as a 'base', and the other three turtles are just alterations made to his design.

Rise, on the other hand, said "hold my beer."

Not only do rise turtles have the different heights, skin tones, and masks, they have different body types.

And not only are these differing body types useful in telling the turtles apart, they have genuine meanings. So I'm gonna infect your brains with my brainrot.

Starting with Mikey.

Mikey has always been the silliest of the group, the party dude, if you will. Rise uses shape theory to give this playful, young vibe to him. Not only are his markings circles, but so is his head and shell. His design is very rounded overall.

The other thing about rise, is that all their fighting types are different. Their weapons influence these styles along with their personality. Mikey's style of fighting is very acrobatic, very showy. He is very in touch with his sense of balance and the space around him.

It can't be a coincidence that Mikey's body type is also very similar to an acrobat or gymnastic athlete. His muscles are small but compact, and rounded like the rest of him. His limbs are small, but clearly strong and well maintained. Acrobats often have these types of hidden muscles, where they almost disappear when not in use because of the function of them. They aren't using the muscles for heavy lifting or grueling tasks. Acrobats use their muscles for balance and manipulating their own body.

Next is Leo. Unlike 2012 where Leo is used as a baseline for the other character designs, he most definitely has his own unique look. Overall, he's very sharp. His crescent moon markings on his face and limbs, his swords, and his overall stylized body shape leans into this pointed, sharp look.

Leo attacks quick in the series. He is often one of the first to strike, and thinks well ahead in battle to preserve his energy. His battle moves tend to also continue throughout the fight with a large blow in the beginning and end, with smaller strikes in between.

Leo is also the leanest of the turtles, with a small waist and the lithest of the turtles' limbs. All of this points his character design towards a long distance runner. They often start and end races with bursts of energy, and then pace themselves throughout the rest of the race. They have to think and consider their speed. Long distance runners also have very lean muscles. It has to do with the actual proteins in the muscle that make them thinner but perfect for pacing and persevering throughout long lengths of time.

Similar to Leo is Donnie. The disaster twins, as the fandom has named them for being the same age, are the most physically similar. They are nearly the same height and, when Donnie had his battle shell on, their shells are very similar in shape. However, they are still very different. Donnie has a rectangular build with his purple pixel-like markings and big ass forehead. Him and Raph also are the only turtles in rise with full head coverings, and they are also both square shaped.

Donnie tends to put all of his energy into one, well timed blow. Usually using his tech to discombobulate the enemy and then backing off quickly. (The only time this doesn't hold true is when he's fighting with April, where it's only the two of them. However, he still does tend to attack and then back away.) His muscles are the second most defined of the turtles, being thick and bigger than both Leo and Mikey.

For this reason, Donnie I believe is built off of a sprinter. A short distance runner. The perfect match to Leo (the twins ever bro)

Sprinters have to save up all of their energy in order to use it all in one short length of time, often just a few seconds. Exactly how Donnie attacks. Sprinters also have much larger, more defined muscles than long distance runners. I think it has something to do with storing energy and oxygen to be used all at once.

Finally, there's Raph. Raph is big and bulky in the show, with the biggest muscles and is *physically the strongest. He lifts giant boulders and can carry all three of his brothers, April, and Splinter with ease. His shape is a square, with his head and chest being large and boxy. His fighting style is the least ninja-y out of the four, being more related to actually just throwing hands with someone. He fights physically and often times without his weapons, preferring to attack with his body. He gets in the enemy's space and uses his larger size to overpower them. His ability to make himself bigger with his mystic powers furthers this idea. He attacks hard and doesn't let up, not allowing his weaknesses to be exploited by keeping the enemy from never getting a hit in.

I believe Raph is based off of a wrestler or boxer. They fight physically and roughly, preferring to never allow their opponent get a hit in if it allows. Their act of defense is also similar, as boxers generally use their weapon as defense instead of offense. (Raph does this in the train battle and the shredder fight pre-karai death.) Even some of Raph's moves are essentially boxing moves. It also makes sense why, in the show, Raph loves wrestling so much. It may not be boxing, but it's a very similar sport.

Boxers also have large, bulky figures similar to Raph. Their entire body is muscular as opposed to just their legs or arms because of how physical their sport is.

*Mikey throws a lot of super heavy stuff like the top of a sky scraper, a loaded cargo ship, and a semi-truck, but he does it with the help of his mystic weapon.

Hahaha I'm so. Normal.

[boots-with-the-fur-club]

28 and 29

I combined the two, hope you don’t mind! Also, um, I went a little far with this. Make sure to check the tags.

@daboyau

Leo thrashes around violently against the restraints keeping him to the table. The Kraang who brought him there had taken out his portaling ability the first chance they got. It feels like years since then. Maybe it has been. The Kraang aren’t exactly generous when it comes to their prisoners.

Especially not one they’re trying to break.

He stops moving as much when a certain former warring warrior scientist walks in. He was taken at the same time Leo was.

That doesn’t mean he’s also a prisoner though.

“I-I want to be mad at you, but you’re like this and Mikey isn’t….you turned into such a freaking softy. Sacrificing yourself for the greatest mystic warrior ever? He’s not even a kid anymore.” Leo scoffs.

Draxum’s half Kraang covered face doesn’t change expressions. It was worth a try. It’s not like this could get any worse. It is torture by the world’s evilest creatures after all.

He lifts up a syringe filled with a green substance.

“What….going to double mutate me? It’ll do exactly what you’re trying to avoid.” Leo insists.

The reason Leo isn’t part of the grossest shade of pink ever hive mind right now is because they want someone to infiltrate the resistance undetected. That means he can’t look like Draxum does right now.

It also means they have to get him under their control another way.

He had been kept in a cell for a long time before this. Every day, Draxum would come in and use something new on him to make sure he never got used to the torture.

Leo’s healing factor meant that it could go on for a long time. Wounds closing just to be torn open again. A fresh canvas to splash with blood.

Just recently, he’s been making a lot more serious escape attempts. He almost made it the other day. The Kraang were really pissed about it.

This is probably punishment.

Draxum injects the liquid into his vein and immediately it feels like his insides are on fire. He bites his lip so hard it bleeds. He’s shocked when it hasn’t begun to heal already.

There’s….no way he just….?

The pain throbs through his whole body and he can suddenly feel it where he hadn’t before. A broken ankle that he was able to walk on now is absolutely killing him.

His wrists burn and bleed from how much he just tried to free himself.

He really did it.

Draxum took his healing factor.

A saw appears in his line of vision that is pressed against his arm.

His cool persona starts breaking as he feels the words to beg for this not to happen on the tip of his tongue. They’re only barely held back by the fact he knows it’ll only encourage The Kraang.

Draxum begins sawing.

Slowly.

Leo feels the scream come deep from his core. The pain is completely unbearable. There’s absolutely no drug to get him through it.

He hears liquid dripping to the floor. It’s easy to imagine both the tears pouring from his face and wound mixing on the ground.

Leo starts passing out from the pain. He feels something else inject to his other arm and his brain buzzes back to life.

Adrenaline.

He’s keeping him from going to into shock. From passing out. From escaping the worst pain of his life.

It keeps going on and on. It’s so slow. He can feel when his nerves die and shut off. It’s only some.

He’s hitting bone he’s hitting bone he’s hitting bone he’s hitting bone he’s hitting bone he’s hitting bone he’s hitting bone-

Ah.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE MAKE IT STOP!

RAPH!! DONNIE!! MIKEY!!

DAD! GRAM-GRAM!

ANYBODY! PLEASE!

A wall blows open.

Finally, finally, something other than the sound of his flesh and tendons being torn through.

The saw stops as he’s vaguely aware of Draxum getting tossed so hard he’s not sure he’s ever going to get up again.

There’s screaming.

A lot of screaming.

Oh, he recognizes those voices.

He’s barely able to turn his head to look his family there.

His brothers and-

Ha.

Who’s letting Casey J.R. see this?

Gross!

Leo starts laughing.

His brothers all start trying to help him. Casey J.R. stays back, eyes wide and full of absolute fear.

Leo laughs more.

How awful.

[moss-and-marimos]

gimme doodles/character designs for ur tmnt iteration NOW

(no actual pressure i just want to draw them and need ur designs for them)

okay so I dont have much actual art of them bc I have had no time to draw lately, but ill try to like summarize their vibes or give doodles at least Donnie- hes a very anxious angsty guy, is in his lab almost all of the time, always seems to look a bit sad or tired, doesnt really like other people, kind of has similar vibes and shape language to tm(n)t donnie if that helps at all, hes a hybrid spiny soft-shell turtle and spotted turtle, hes got spots on the back part of his shell like this:

and spiky bits at the bottom edges of his shell like this:

so I imagine hes like a dark green kinda grey color mostly besides the yellow spots on his shell, his hands and forearms and legs are always bandaged up and if theyre not covered he has a lot of scars from assorted causes, he usually wears either like black shorts or baggy sweatpants, sweatpants more often, on occasion a hoodie and that becomes much more frequent after the events of the shredder apprentice arc, I forgot to put them in the doodle but he has stretch marks on his thighs and upper arms and is the tallest of the guys but hunches over so much that you wouldnt know, he has scoliosis but not very severely, you can just barely tell if you look at his shell from behind that its a bit misshapen

Raph- Raph is a bog turtle, so is Mikey, this is an older drawing and isnt the most accurate but its like the only good drawing I have of him, usually he does not look anywhere near this happy, the markings around the back of his neck and on the shell are still accurate but otherwise its kinda up to interpretation so do what you will, he also wears hoodies and pants sometimes but not always, his mask tails vary in length bc he chews on them so sometimes theyre short when he doesnt want to or longer when he does want to

Mikey- Mikey is also a bog turtle, raphs markings are a bit more red and his are a bit more yellow/orange, my Mikey wears a more yellow mask than bright orange, its kinda that yellow-orange shade, I think he has freckles but theyre more like small scale patches that are darker green than real freckles, has the same neck markings and similar shell markings to raph, has either one dot above his right eye that looks like a circular eyebrow or has it on both eyes, for now I'll say just the one though, his mask tails arent as long as Leo but go to about mid-back and the ends are frayed Leo- Leo is based a lot on 2012, all of my turtles are more based on 2012 than any other iteration, his mask tails are very long like all the way down to his waist, theyre cut at diagonals like at an angle at the end and are not frayed, he has more yellow colored stripes that go over his eyes (like rise Leo a bit) but then they run down to his shoulders and down his arms, sides, and legs, and theres also shorter segments on his shoulders that are pretty much just yellow patches. He's a black knobbed map turtle, so just imagine kinda realistic stripes like theirs but stylized. When he uses his powers they glow a really intense blue color and it looks really cool. After the events of the shredder apprentice arc he has a big X scar across the back of his shell

[datusaguy]

All TMNT Shredder’s Revenge Color References - Leonardo

Other character posts are linked at the bottom.

Here’s another post going over color references. Went through the main turtles and realized I actually did know most of them already and with a bit of research, figuring out most of the rest wasn’t too hard. All the turtles have essentially the same references, so hopefully I can make the other turtle posts quickly.

If you do have any additional info, I would appreciate it. Anyways, hope you enjoy.

# 1 - Default (1987 Show)

# 2 - 1988 Playmates Toys Action Figure - Wouldn’t have gotten this one by myself since I have none of the toys nor do I look into them much. The weapon color here though is a big indicator it’s this specific toy line (also I think it may have been the first toys which would be more reason to put it in the game).

# 3 - 90’s movie(s) - Most likely based on specifically the first one.

# 4 - 2003 Show

# 5 - 2012 Show

# 6 - Rise of the TMNT

# 7 - Archie Comics Intergalactic Wrestling? - This slot for Raph and Don ABSOLUTELY is this specific version of the Archie Comics designs where the turtles fought in some tournament. Mikey also seems quite likely to fit, although Leo’s does resemble his Next Mutation design a lot closer. Since the other 3 turtles almost definitely got their 7th color from here though and I can somewhat see how Leo got this design. I’m putting this design here.

# 8 - This one I’m quite clueless on. The obnoxious green indicates it’s probably from an older game, but it’s too colorful to be the Gameboy. He does have the “whited-out” eyes which implies it’s a game that doesn’t base the designs on the 87 show. Maybe it’s from a game where you could get a power up that makes you glow? It’s seemingly the same green for the other 3 turtles though so I doubt it’s be something like an 03 game. Most of my research has literally just been for this and I can’t find something that looks close enough.

Update - TMNT ULTIMATES Mutagen Ooze Figures - I’m still not 100% confident that this is correct, but out of all the things I’ve thought of that seem close (like the ZX Spectrum TMNT game or the GBC version of Back to the Sewers), this seems by far the closest.

# 9 - Mirage Comics - I do think that this color is likely for Mirage specifically, although it is worth noting that every turtle canonically wore red masks in that version, so maybe it is referencing a different version of the turtles. Most times I’ve seen the TMNT depicted in black and white though, it either is just outright the turtles from the original comic or it’s a reference to them, so I think it’s likely they just added a bit of color to be rad and for some visual clarity.

# 10 - NES - There’s multiple NES games this could’ve been, although all the turtles have the same shade of green which does narrow it down a bit. The first NES TMNT game (that one AVGN reviewed) seems to resemble it close enough which is the example. Something like the NES Tournament Fighters is closer in terms of posing, but that specifically probably isn’t the exact reference since the NES costumes in this game are all the same green colors, whereas that specific game had different turtle colors to help distinguish the turtles.

# 11 - Gameboy - Really any of the Gameboy games could work as the example, but I chose Fall of the Foot Clan.

All other Color References posts:

1. Karai

2. Leonardo

3. Michelangelo

4. Raphael

5. Donatello

6. April O’Neil

7. Master Splinter

8. Casey Jones

9. Usagi

[gaybabything]

Hi! Please don't feel bad about going over board on the TOA stuff! It sounded SO cool. I have never watched it, but you talking about it has definitely made me wanna check it out!! However, I liked what you talked about so much I stopped reading about half way through so I wouldn't get too spoiled since I will probably be watching it now (if I rememver after I finish watching it, I will come back and read the rest!!)... also the fact that pretty much every other show you have listed I love. Our taste is so similar, I'm sure I'd probably like it!

As for my own headcannons... hmmmm. None that really come to mind. You have so many cool ones but... I'm not sure I have any of my own. Though I do like most of the really popular headcannons for Rise I wouldn't call them my own, since someone else came up with them? (Such as Leo being gay/trans, Raphs lost of sight in one eye after the movie, ect)

My favorite colors are as follows: sky blue, brighter shades of green, then purple!

And finally, I like to draw turtles mostly. As for writing? I have like a billion and one ideas floating in my head at all times‐ only like .01% of them end up getting written down on paper.

Hmm for my next question... what is YOUR favorite colors? Do you like any books? (I used to be REAL into warrior cats) annnndddd any music you'd recommend? (I get nervous recommending music, so, if not that's fine, I get it ^-^)

I totally get that, I also really like the more popular headcanons that other people come up with! (Like Raph's eyesight.)

My favorite colors are dark sage green, darker purples, and queen blue (or similar shades).

My favorite childhood books were A Series of Unfortunate Events, The Unwanteds, Fablehaven, and The Magic Treehouse! My current favorite book is Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots!

For music I'm a big fan of Will Wood! My top songs are probably Marsha, thank you for the dialects but I need you to leave, Chemical Overreaction/Compound Fracture, Love Me Normally, and Hand me my shovel I'm going in! Other random songs I like are Gamma Ray by Beck, Living Dead Girl by Rob Zombie, Girl Anachronism by the Dresden Dolls, Crocodile Rock by Elton John, and Bad Moon Rising! My Playlist is kind of one giant pot of the most random songs ever.

Alright, now more for you! Do you like to bake/cook? And if so what's you're favorite thing to make? What's your favorite animal? And what's your current favorite piece of media? (Could be a show, book, video game, whatever comes to mind!)

[nrrrdgrrrl2002]

Ranking the 2012 main 6 designs from favorite to least favorite

1. Raph

I love this design. From the neon green eyes to the dark red mask to the jade green skin to the chipped shell to his more lean, blocky body type and the fact he’s smol. 10/10. Wouldn’t change a thing.

2. Donnie

Another 10/10. I love his reddish brown eyes that contrast his lilac mask. The gap tooth is a must for Donnie’s to me now. I love how his light forest green skin makes him look pale to signify how he doesn’t go out of his lab that much. They really found the perfect mix of skinny and round with him and his egg head.

3. Mikey

10/10. He was made to be adorable and it worked amazingly. I love that his colors have a calm sunny tone with his light orange mask and yellow green skin. The baby blue eyes are such a nice contrast with this but also fit perfectly with their calm tone. I love his mask tails so much and the freckles are so cute and a must for Mikey designs to me now. I love the detail in the artbook that his shell is more loose because he still needs to grow into it.

4. Leo

Imma go with 8/10 for 2 reasons. One. His eye color. I know Leo’s kind of supposed to have a basic design and it fits his character but it bugs me to no end that his eyes are the same shade of blue as his mask. This could’ve easily been fixed by giving him dark brown eyes. Brown eyes are super common, it’s a nice contrast to his mask and it’s a subtle parallel to saki. Second. His lack of scars after the season 2 finale. I get they’d probably have to make a new model but it would’ve been such amazing visual storytelling if we could see scars on his knee and throat and actually see his cracked shell that Mikey mentioned. It would’ve shown how, despite “healing” from those injuries, that day will always affect him.

5. Casey

This is probably a shocker to anyone who knows how much I love Casey, but I would rate his design at a 6/10. I was originally gonna put him higher than Leo but I put him here for one big reason: his design creeps me out. I love this boy. His clothes, his color scheme, his freckles, his face shape and nose are all really great and creative design choices. So what bugs me about him? His teeth, his hair and his stature. Casey is amazing, but he is a victim of the uncanny valley. I think the missing teeth was a great touch, but the teeth we DO see are way too realistic and not at the same time. To the point I have to look away if I see a picture of him where his teeth are visible. Why didn’t they give him the Barbie teeth the others have? Why? Second. His hair. I know. He’s the type of guy who would think axe body spray can substitute a shower, so it’s realistic that his hair is flat with grease, but, and this is a personal opinion, it doesn’t vibe with his character. Casey is a very wild person. To me, it makes more sense if his hair was more floofy and all over the place. That’s probably just me, though. Last but not least; his stature. Yeah. Him being super super skinny is funny, but it feels like he’s from a different show. Other than certain girl characters, I don’t remember any humans in 2012 having such and exaggerated body type. Please. Keep him skinny. It works for the character, but add a little lean so he doesn’t look like pearl from Steven universe. Again. This is probably just me cause the people I’ve talked to about it seem to like how skinny he is.

6. April

Aprillll. My gurl. I’m so sorry 😭. You’re such an interesting character, you don’t deserve this 4/10 design. Where do I start? Let’s go with her outfit cause everyone roasts it. It’s bad. It’s baaaaaaddddd.

They had so many cute outfits for her in the concept art why was THIS the final choice??

I know everyone complains about the outfit so imma summarize. Real clothes like hers don’t wrap around your body like a skinsuit. I know layers were popular at the time but there’s a trick to it. Casey knows how to do it well. April does not. Also I hate the uggs.

Moving on to….

Her hair and eye color

Hoo boy

I’m not gonna complain too much about how her hair is animated cause, I get it. 2012 tv cgi animation. Not that great for hair.

I AM gonna complain about her hair color though. It is WAY too orange to be natural, and yet it is. April being a redhead is iconic but that vibrant of an orange doesn’t fit her character. If anything, they should’ve given it a pinker tone to tie to her kraang origins.

Next Is her eye color. I know some people say her eyes are too big, but I like it along with her round face and freckles. One problem. Combine those with her insanely orange hair and baby blue eyes and she looks too much like Mikey. Again. They should’ve made her eyes mutagen green blue or kraang to subtly tie to her kraang origins which leads me to my last complaint;

If she is half kraang, her design should tie to that. You don’t have to give her kraang tentacles and full fangs from the get go, but something as simple as a color scheme change would’ve done her so much good.

Just like Irma saying she’s allergic to gluten doesn’t seem like it means anything until after the twist is revealed, april having pinkish red hair and green eyes wouldn’t be thought about until after the twist. Then, because the show stopped caring about april having a double life between being a normal girl and a kunoichi, you could have the crystal arc give her pinkish skin and kraang tentacles.

Aprils not a bad character, but dear lord does she need a redesign.

Alrighty! Now. How would y’all rank the main 6s designs from your fav to least fav and why?

[well-its-not-human-anymore]

Ok ok wait probs not the kinda request you expected but theres this movie called over the moon about a moon goddess losing her one true love and near the end she sees him again for a moment and they sing THE MOST HOPELESS LOVE SONG IVE LISTENED A MILLION TIMES ALREADY AND THEY SING PARTLY IN MANDARIN and im just thinking if the boys saw that with reader would they imagine theirselves in place? Would leo sing it mindlessly forever, would raph desperatley wish? I just gotta know bestie im desperat

Okay I'm definitely watching this movie tonight but for now I'll stick with the clip (bitch u got me crying on main) how am I supposed to maintain my emotionless personality now???

But I'm so hyped to write this now, buckle up my space children, and you might want to grab some tissues~

TMNT Headcanons

The boys reacting to the Yours Forever scene:

Leonardo

This was fine

This was totally fine

Holy shit it was a damn movie, why was it giving him feelings??

He'd been at your place for nearly 3 hours and you'd only started the movie halfway into his visit

You told him it was a kids movie

So why the hell was he getting teary eyed?

The Facade™ has been compromised

Leo didn't speak a lot of mandarin, just a few simple phrases that Splinter had taught him

But you'd clearly seen this movie more than once because he could hear you faintly singing along

Your mandarin was flawless

You didn't notice the way he was looking at you, too enraptured by the movie

His gut was twisting when he looked back at the screen

He knew he'd be humming this for at least a week

Andddd now you were sniffling

Shit shit double shit and then some

Leo awkwardly wrapped an arm around your shoulders, hesitant

You immediately snuggled into his side, pulling your blanket closer to your chin

"I've seen it like seven time and I know they're fictional but it just makes me so fucking sad" you were hiccuping between words

"I can see that, are you okay?"

You furiously rubbed at your eyes

"yeah- just gets me feeling stuff. I'm not a huge fan of that."

This man's eyes were boring into your skull

"I want what they have though, I'd give an arm and a leg for someone to look at me like they look at each other. That's some real shit, y'know?"

Leo stared at the tv screen, rubbing your shoulder, you couldn't see the flushed green of his skin in the dark

"yeah. Yeah I know."

Donatello

You had no idea that Donnie spoke mandarin

It really shouldn't have surprised you though

I mean come on, it's Donnie for fucks sake

He was excited to watch the movie with you, all of the ones in his collection he'd watched 100 times at least

Needless to say he jumped on the opportunity to watch something other than jurassic park

You'd brought your laptop and projector and settled down on the roof of an abandoned building, the same one you both usually stargazed on

You'd seen the movie twice before, this was his first time

So when the 'Yours Forever' scene came on the last thing you were expecting was for Donnie to join in

He had a very nice voice but you never knew he could sing like that

You stared at him in shock

The poor boy stopped the second he realized you were looking, leaving you singing solo

You nudged his shoulder and nodded your head at him, a way of saying "hey, don't leave me hanging here"

Now you were dueting a love song with a turtle on a rooftop

Best Saturday night ever

Donnie couldn't look at you for the rest of the night, not even when he walked you home.

But the expression you left on his face after kissing his cheek and ducking into your apartment made it all worth it

Raphael

Raph wasn't one for emotions

You weren't either

So the both of you did your best not to react during the movie that his brothers had invited you to watch with them

You were sandwiched on the couch between Raph and Mikey, Splinter, Leo, and Donnie sat on the opposite sofa

Splinter didn't miss the longing eyes that his son was giving you

Raph couldn't believe that a damn kids movie was making him feel things about you

You seemed oblivious, completely stone-faced, eyes locked on the screen

Internally you were waging a war against yourself, screaming at your own subconscious not to glance at him

No looking

Don't you fucking dare

That damn duet made you feel shit and you wouldn't be caught dead looking at your friend the way you really wanted to

Especially knowing that Splinter was watching you as well

You definitely felt the turtles eyes on you though

Raph was fighting the same battle with himself

He knew what he wanted to do, but he knew he didn't have the courage to do it

Not with you

Not with his family there

You were just a friend

So why was he looking at you the way the characters had been?

Damned if he knew

It wasn't until the end of the movie that he'd noticed his hand in your lap

You'd wrapped both of your own hands around his and held him there, you honestly didn't remember doing it

And he made no effort to pull away

Michaelangelo

Alright listen

You and Mikey have seen this at least 20 times together

The boy suggested it to you

And now you've both convinced the rest of the boys to watch it with you

So when that scene comes on you both already know the routine

You both start singing

You realize you're both singing

His brothers realize you're both singing

You both stop abruptly

He turns an even darker shade of green

You're screaming at your skin to stop turning red for fucks sake

He wishes that was him

You wish you were her

He's gonna be thinking about this all week

You're gonna make an impromptu phone call to your best friend to rant about it

You guys have done this 20 times now.

How the fuck have you not noticed

The boys opt not to point it out

They've got a bet on how much longer it will last

Donnie's been leading for the past three weeks

He's not losing this shit

I hope I was able to capture what you had in mind dude! I'm also forcing my best friend to watch this movie with me tonight. If you were thinking something different let me know. Other than that I hope you like it as much as I do! 🧡

~Mars 🌠

[rapharoni-supreme]

Ranking all of Raphael Hamato-Jitsu’s Outfits

Because why not? Raph is Best Turtle and he has some pretty great and unique outfits too! ^v^ So, let’s rank them:

Hippo Suit: Standard mascot suit, nothing too special, though it still looks cute on him and I can imagine it’s pretty comfy too as long as it doesn’t get too warm. 6/10

Football uniform: ...It’s a football uniform. Again, it looks fine on him but there’s nothing really special about it. 5/10

Vacation outfit: Look at this cutie... Look at how happy is is. Also, the yellow and pink go really well with his light green scales and red mask/armbands. Like- peak color coordination with a hat that pulls it all together. 9/10

R&B Singer Outfit: I. LOVE THIS OUTFIT! Yeah maybe it’s a bit goofy - though given the episode’s plot, that’s kind of a given - but I think it also looks really stylish! This outfit definitely screams 70s from the style of the collar to the ruffled wrists. I love the wig and the gold necklace he wears with it, I love just how much FUN he seems to be having wearing it (”Anybody call for Soul Patrol~?”), and I just love that it totally seems like his style. 10/10

Overcoat disguise: Nice callback to the 80s cartoon/90s movie. The coat isn’t quite thick enough to prevent his elbow spikes from poking through, but it still looks good on him. The fedora of course ties this look together - out of all the Turtles, I’d say Raph is the one that looks best in a hat. 7/10

Savage Raph: Not much of an ‘outfit’ but eh, it looks cool enough. This and another outfit down the line sorta hints at Raph preferring ponchos, which is valid. 8/10

Winter Outfit: You know, it’s not often we see these guys wearing shoes, but the boots look good AND functional! I like the different shades of red, with the coat being darker while the scarf is the same color as his mask, and the brown pants look nice too! 9/10

Hamato Clan Uniform: I actually don’t mind the switch to a darker red with his mask. Honestly, as much as I love his normal bright red mask, I could see him switching to a darker red as he gets older. The outfit itself looks really cool, and the fact that you can’t see any of Raph’s spikes poking out just shows how well Splinter made this uniform (no doubt so his son could still be comfortable as he fought. D’awwww). 9/10

Hoodie and shorts: You know, it’s not often we see the boys out of their signature colors. While there’s still some red there, you can barely see it, so the main color is grey. But honestly, I don’t mind that much. 

The hoodie and shorts combo still looks cool on him, and it’s definitely something a teenager would wear, though I question what the point was of him putting on pants AND shorts to cover his legs, but then ripping off his sleeves and revealing his spikes/scales. As a disguise, it’s maybe not as effective as it could be because of this, buuut if it makes him comfier then I’ll allow it (plus the ripped sleeves totally fit him, aesthetic wise). 7.5/10

R.A.P.H. Outfit: Just like his R&B Singer Outfit, I just absolutely love this one and how it captures the perfect balance of silly AND cool! There have been different incarnations of Raph who decided to be vigilantes, and I like how Rise!Raph goes for a more Superhero-looking spin with his instead of something like the Nightwatcher.

I also think it’s cool that his poncho doubles as a cape, that’s super cute. And the letter gag is just so great, lol. Doesn’t do much to disguise his turtle-ness but you know what? He’s fifteen and he wants to be a hero, let him have some fun dammit. 10/10

Red Suit: Idk why Donnie didn’t like it, this suit is so stylish!! The pink and red works on him well, though I’d maaaaybe drop the shades. 9/10

Ripped Tank Top and Jeans: Kinda indifferent to this one honestly. Don’t hate it, don’t love it - I think it’s the belt that’s bothering me but idk why. Feels like he needs something else - like make the shirt a different color or wear a vest or hat with it or something. But yeah, just kinda meh to me. I do like the spiky wrist bracelets though. 6/10

Fedora and Bow: Ehhhhhh... Like I’ve said earlier, the hat definitely works on him, and the bow tie is cute too. But the shirt? ehhhh, not doing it for me. 6/10

Neon windbreaker: Like the jeans, like the colors - and also I want that jacket. Overall super fun outfit with an 80′s vibe that I feel is pretty fashionable too! 10/10

White and pink: Another 80s-esque outfit that just screams Miami Vice, lol. It’s cool enough, though unlike his hoodie and shorts outfit where I don’t mind all the grey too much, I feel like here all the white just kinda washes him out. The light pink shirt doesn’t help with this, and the super low collar is just kinda weird to me. I get why some would like this style, but it’s not for me. 5/10

Leather Jacket Outfit: OKAY HERE WE GO! This is a much cooler outfit imo. Cool jacket with shirt and pants that also work well with it, but the jacket really is the star here, with the belt and collar adding a bit of extra style to it. 9/10

So, it I had to pick my top 5 outfits for Raph, I’d go with: R&B Singer, R.A.P.H., Neon Windbreaker, Leather Jacket and Vacation, with Red Suit being the runner up. But hey! Let me know what your favorite Raph outfits are and why you like them! ^v^ I’d love to see other fans’ rankings

[eternalglitch]

Like Father Like Son: Chapter 3

Prologue Arc 1: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3

Mikey let out a small sound in the back of his throat, bending down to pick up the odachi by its hilt, hands shaking slightly. His reflection stared back at him, eyes wide and face a paler shade of green than was normal, pale enough that he could actually see his yellow freckles that oh so rarely showed up. “Guys?” he whispered. “Has Leo ever gone out without his weapon?”

Read it HERE on ao3.

Chapter Specific Warnings: no specific ones (please see the general ones listed in the prologue)

Chapter Three: All Green and Blue

“He’s not picking up. Why isn’t he picking up?!” Mikey demanded, looking up from his phone. The youngest couldn’t help but shift from foot to foot, a sort of buzzing energy from his anxiety making him want to move. Why couldn’t his brothers walk faster?

“Yeah, it is odd he wouldn’t answer either of us…” Donnie agreed, squinting at his wrist tech. “I can’t locate his phone’s location, either. It’s either out of battery or broken.”

Finally, Mikey thought with relief, Raph’s pace noticeably quickened, his brothers right on his heels. “Okay… okay. First, we’re gonna backtrack the possible routes to the pizza place, and then we’re going to check any place he could have ended up. Donnie?” The leader of the group glanced at the purple turtle, gaze expectant.

“On it, I’ll hack any nearby cameras and run a scanner through social media looking for buzzwords,” the technological prodigy replied, typing quickly. “I’ll compile a list of people that might’ve gone after him as well.”

“People that went after him?” Mikey asked, now even more nervous, his voice rising a pitch or two until it cracked completely. “You think the foot clan or Big Mama is behind this? What if they’ve hurt him?” Mikey reached out and clung to Donnie’s elbow, staring over at Donnie’s screen as stats whizzed by. The other turtle tolerated it, but didn’t stop typing to pat his shell or head. That was a sign things really were serious. “What if he’s all alone and scared or… or I don’t know! I can’t even begin to picture him being scared!”

“Again, Michael, I’m sure it’s really nothing, we’re just being thorough—“ Donnie finally started to reassure him, but his eyes never moved from the screen until a loud clatter rang out. Donnie froze, Mikey almost stumbling as he was also pulled to a sudden stop. They looked down.

Leo’s sword was lying, innocently forgotten, all alone on the sewer floor.

Mikey let out a small sound in the back of his throat, bending down to pick up the Odachi by its hilt, hands shaking slightly. His reflection stared back at him, eyes wide and face a paler shade of green than was normal, pale enough that he could actually see his yellow freckles that oh so rarely showed up. “Guys?” he whispered. “Has Leo ever gone out without his weapon?”

“I’m sure there’s a reason… or… or an explanation,” Donnie grasped at, but after he glanced at Raph, who shot him a panicked look, Donnie bowed his head, his eyes flicking back and forth as he thought.  

It was Raph who spoke next, his voice low and urgent. “If something did go down– someone must’ve been inside of the sewers– I’m not sure Leo even made it outside for the pizzas in the first place.” The eldest scratched his head, his expression slowly darkening.

“So they came here purposefully looking for us and somehow we didn't even notice them brothernap Leo from right here?” Mikey looked around at the ground, eyes flicking up and down the sewer walls like the name of the culprit would be left behind with a clean, neat note. He needed someone to tell him flat out that it was going to be okay, he realized weakly, hugging the sword close. Someone to crack a bad joke about the situation, or know what to say. He needed… he needed his brother.

“I’ll call April,” Raph said, phone already out. He already had her number pulled up as well, finger hovering over the green button to call. “We’ll need eyes in every possible place, including checking to see if this was on Leo’s way to or from the pizza place.”

“I now have generated the list of most likely suspects,” Donnie added, pulling up a screen that had a numbered list of the names of their many yokai nemeses. At the top of the list were the various yokai that constantly fought with them on the regular, and the list continued down until it ended with a Warren Stone, although Donnie must have added him just to be safe; in reality, Mikey barely remembered the guy. “It looks like the first name my algorithm came up with is those mutant crabmen we came across recently- apparently they sometimes linger in this area.”

Raph nodded, pulling his phone away from his tympanum and giving them a thumbs up. “April’s in,” he confirmed. The way he said it was heavy; the air shifted, and the panic is forced down until Mikey only has to concentrate on being efficient and focused. “Now, Mad Dogs; let’s move.”

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The floor framed between Leo’s hands was swimming; sweat dripped down and splattered onto the negative space that the floor was made up of, and he was dimly aware that his arms shook under the pressure of holding himself up. Get up, he told himself. Get up, you have to do something. Anything. Just get up, Leonardo.

“Get up,” Draxum echoed his sentiment, voice expectant.

The repeat was like a slap to the face; Leo could only lift his chin to stare at him, a bitter laugh being swallowed before it escaped his lips. Sure, he knew he needed to do that, but it seemed a bit ridiculous for the guy with the metaphorical big red button to ask him to as well. He had a concussion and had just been fried; what did Draxum expect him to do-

The collar let out a shrill buzzer sound, and Leo only had a split second to think what? before the collar lit up for a third time. His arms gave out and he hit the ground hard, and even though he knew what would happen if he screamed, he couldn’t help but do so anyways. The result was exactly as expected. His mouth felt dry.

“Don’t you think the shock’s intensity is too high, Boss?” one of the gargoyles asked from above him. Leo couldn’t see which one; stars danced in front of his hazy vision. “He looks kinda dead after just four zaps.”

“Yeah. And it’s probably going to take a lot of these shocks for it to sink in,” the other agreed. “He keeps making it worse.”

Draxum scoffed, and Leo flinched slightly at the sound, hands weakly rising to shield his head from any more attacks. “Well. I just set it to what he should be strong enough to take. It’s his own fault for being weak. He’s lucky; I don’t have the advanced setting on yet.”

Leo felt Draxum’s nails dig into his bicep as the yokai reached down and hauled him up to his feet, Leo swaying as he tried to lean away from the yokai. “Stay still,” Draxum ordered, and Leo bit down hard enough on his inner cheek he tasted copper, barely accomplishing the feat.

Draxum circled him, hands clasped behind his back. Leo’s head felt foggy, and he didn’t even bother watching Draxum; his head kept drooping forwards, like when he was watching Donnie’s favorite Jupiter Jim movie without Raph around to liven things up. Everything hurt so badly. His hands wrapped around himself and Leo shrunk a bit under Draxum’s assessment.

“You’re slower to catch on than I would have thought,” Draxum said after a moment. “But let me spell it out now, just for the sake of ‘fairness,’” he added with his fingers punctuating the last word with air quotes. “The collar has three things that you will be shocked for. Any vocalizations, or any failure to follow my exact orders as well as… well. I could always just order it to go off.” Leo flinched, his fists tightening. Was Draxum enjoying this? April had taught them the meaning of the word sadistic at one point, after their first prank day on her where no one had told her it was coming. And that was the only word Leo could think of at the moment when he glanced up and into Draxum’s eyes.

This was sadistic.

“It was quite the impressive invention, really,” he continued. “Somehow a simple shock collar had a complicated A.I. that understood the situation at hand enough to correct situational humor. Not to mention it didn’t even need to feel the vocal chords vibrating; it could be programmed to listen for a certain individual’s voice and go off regardless of if it was being worn or not. A bit overkill, if you ask me, but who am I to judge?” A smug smile crossed his lips. “Your brother must have felt quite strongly about this to have put so much work into fixing your flaws.”

He didn’t know anything, Leo told himself. Donnie was just like that, he had made his dorky and kind of insensitive gifts for everyone, he hadn’t been trying to single Leo out or anything. Of course not. Even if Mikey and Raph’s inventions hadn’t caused them any harm at all when they used them, just tried to prematurely stop them from doing it. Even if Leo and Donnie were the main two that squabbled, he never would have… Leo shook his head, one hand slowly rising to press against his forehead.

He couldn’t think like this, he needed to bounce his ideas off of someone for it to be useful. Had Dad ever taught him what to do in a situation like this? A quick scan through memories of Splinter handing him his first pair of swords, of noodle fights and throwing stars, and the only thing Leo could come up with was the advice “stay with your brothers. You will protect all of them, and they in turn will all protect you. And if you get separated, stay in one spot until we can find you.”

Yeah, great, but that advice had been from when Leo was seven. When Splinter had first let them wander a bit farther into the sewers to explore with just the four of them. This wasn’t getting lost in the sewers, this was- this was something more. He was starting to have to face the knowledge that this was something serious, even.

“Pay attention when I am speaking!” Draxum suddenly snapped, and Leo went rigid when the collar let out a low, almost inaudible chirp, his eyes darting down to where he could see the blue rim of the machine before back up to Draxum. The collar didn’t otherwise react, though, but Leo kept still, wondering when the proverbial shoe would drop. “How will I teach you anything if you keep zoning out?”

“It miiiiiight be the concussion,” Muninn offered, one hand on his chin. “We’ve seen a few guys get hit before, Boss, and they also had that spacey look to them.”

Draxum threw up his hands. “Well, he should learn to deal with that. Injuries are something to be powered through.” The yokai took a deep breath, and the two gargoyles dipped as his shoulders slowly became less tense. “But. Very well. Before I forget, a few rules,” he said, voice suddenly back to the flavor of ‘calm with an undertone of smugness.’ AKA the most punchable tone of voice Leo had ever heard. “No trying to escape from me.” The collar let out a soft beep and Leo winced. “No trying to take the collar off.” Another wince. “And, other than attacking, absolutely no contact with any other turtles.” What? That wasn’t- he couldn’t just do that. Leo opened his mouth, keen to argue, but Draxum just raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms and waiting.

On second thought, Leo had nothing to say. His hands curled into tight fists.

“Excellent. And now that I have…” Draxum trailed off, pausing. He fixed Leonardo with a puzzled gaze. He leaned closer to Muninn, holding up one hand to loudly whisper to the gargoyle. “What was this one called, again?”

Muninn blinked, turning and glancing at Huginn, who shrugged back at him. “Uh… ha, wow, Boss, wait, you don’t know?” The gargoyle asked, chuckling nervously. “Didn’t you hand pick him, though?”

Draxum’s eyes widened, slightly flustered. “No! Well, yes. But…” All three villains turned and stared at Leo, who crossed his arms as he stared back at them, lifting his chin slightly in a challenge. This guy had been after them long enough to at least know their nicknames, he thought, somehow still finding it within him to be annoyed.

“Wasn’t it… Larry or… Lawrence?” Huginn weakly offered up, but Draxum rested his chin in one hand, thinking.

“No, it wasn’t that. What was it again…” Draxum trailed off, frowning.

Muninn suddenly perked up. “Hey, wait, why don't we ask him? Hey, turtle! What’s your name?” he yelled, and Leo felt one of his eyes twitch. He glanced down at his shock collar, and both gargoyles made little ‘oooooh’ sounds of understanding.

“That’s right, it was Green!” Draxum suddenly said, hitting his fist into the palm of his other hand. He smiled, brushing some of his hair over his shoulder. “I remember now, how silly of me to have forgotten.”

“What? But- but he’s the one wearing blue.” Huginn darted around Leo, pulling at the bandana tails behind his head. It was a light touch, but even just that made Leo sway, his arms having to slightly go forwards as he forced himself to stay standing. He didn’t know if he would be shocked again if he fell, but from the way black dots swam in Leo’s vision, he couldn’t afford to risk it. “I don’t know, Boss, I think his name would be Blue if he’s named after a color.”

“Nonsense, I’m sure of it,” Draxum declared as Leo weakly shooed the gargoyle away from him with one hand. “It was definitely Green. Besides, that’s but a small detail. I could call him whatever I wanted, really. More importantly, we need to decide how to go about making him my ideal warrior before any of the others show up.”

Leo flinched, one hand absently reaching up to rub at the collar. The skin underneath it already felt raw and uncomfortable; he wondered if it was going to leave scars.

He then wondered if he’d ever be able to even see if it had.

“Ooh, why don’t we inject him with some more ooze?” Muninn suggested, clasping both hands together excitedly, wings fluttering as he hopped slightly into the air. “That seems to make everything better! Think of the possibilities: spikes, a tail, and our personal favorite—”

“Fire-breathing!” The two gargoyles sung at the exact same moment.

“A tempting idea, but no,” Draxum said, shaking his head. “Physically speaking, his body is as good as I had hoped for, it’s the rest of it that’s the issue. Respect and obedience should come naturally with the aid of that collar, but as for training techniques…” Draxum circled Leo yet again; was he trying to make him dizzy enough to fall over? “With the level of sheer incompetence that I’ve witnessed, it would take far too long for me to train him myself from scratch. And I don't trust you two to be in charge of it, either…”

“Ouch, Boss,” Muninn said, one hand over his heart. “That really hurts.”

“Wait, wait, wait!” Huginn flapped harder, shooting over to Draxum. “We actually know exactly how to do this! I mean, not to flex or anything, but Muninn and I did do our fair share of training in school.”

“Uh,” Muninn stammered, looking lost, but a quick elbow from Huginn and he blinked and also smiled at Draxum. “Yeah, absolutely. So…” he trailed off, shooting his friend a nervous glance.

“What faster way to train someone than to just give them a bunch of experience! You know, the good ole ‘learn as you do’ method!”  Huginn finished with a flourish.

“Hmm, you do have a point,” Draxum considered. He stopped walking. “Surprisingly.”

“Why thank you,” Huginn trilled, bowing.

Draxum’s gaze went back onto Leo, who couldn’t help but shrink away, hands nervously reaching up to hold onto the top of his plastron. “And that gives me the perfect idea…”

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“Draxum!” Raph bellowed, kicking open the door, Mikey and Donnie flanking him on either side. The turtle huffed, glancing around the lab as he searched for his target.

The third name on Donnie’s list had to be it, right? Surely. It had taken them far too long to hunt down the Sando Brothers and force them to tell them anything, and the next yokai they had tried had had similar results. April hadn’t found anything, either, but the pizzas had been paid for so… so…

Ugh! Raph couldn’t put these pieces together right now. He just needed to find his younger brother and save him from whatever mess he had found himself in this time.

There was the sound of slow clapping, and the sheep yokai appeared from around the column of ooze, one gargoyle perched on his right shoulder. “Well, well,” he greeted them, a smile on his face. “It’s quite rare for you turtles to come and seek me out. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Cut the cr—“ Donnie started to say, but Mikey beat him to it, bounding in front of his brothers. Raph almost reached out to pull him back, but he stopped himself; he understood Mikey’s point of view enough that he had also barged in, weapons ready to go.

“Where’s our brother, you creep?” Mikey demanded, his weapon already spinning in his hands.

“Ah,” the yokai replied, blinking at them. The gargoyle snickered softly, and Draxum glanced at it, some message passing between the two of them. “I’m afraid I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

The way he said it- it was casual. Too casual. That was suspicious, right? Raph couldn’t possibly be the only one to think so. “You’re lying,” he snarled. “What did you do with Leo?”

The gargoyle perked up, about to say something, but Draxum covered it with one of his hands. “Really,” he said, sounding exasperated. “Whatever you silly children are accusing me of, I don’t have any involvement. Search my lab, if you must, but I’m in the middle of some very important experiments. I’d really rather not fight today; but I will, if you insist. That is,” and the yokai sneered at them, eyes flashing. “If you have that kind of time to waste. Whatever you’re up to, it sounds very... urgent.”

(Chapter Four –>) 

[limeblood-exe]

A Singular, Bloody Mattress (part 1)

tw: blood

The warehouse door bursts open, slamming against the concrete wall; the sharp sound thundering through the thick silence of night. Dust plumes and scatters as the old and abused door falls off its rusted hinges, the only sign of movement besides three masked figures who stealthily make their way inside. 

Mikey, wielding an odachi in place of his signature kusari-fundo, frantically glances around the abandoned mattress warehouse, surveying for any threats amongst the giant columns and rows of mattresses with an uncharacteristic expression of apprehension smearing his features. Joined in his search, Donnie approaches a much shorter column of mattresses, about his height, and stops to inspect one with his goggles.

“All clear,” Mikey whispers, determining that the deafening silence means that no present danger is lurking in the shadows. Not that they really expected any threats from a mattress store, but anything's possible when with them. 

Glancing behind him at Raph, who stood back for the all clear before entering any further into the building, he waits for further instruction from his leader.

Raph, holding a blanketed figure in his arms, nods at Mikey, and both relax their posture at the promise of no current danger.

“Do you think we were followed?”

Sharing Mikey’s worried expression, Raph tries to smile in an effort to placate his distressed younger brother, though it probably comes out more as a grimace when replying, “With that cool stunt you pulled off earlier? Not a chance. I don’t think those freaky Foot guys were expecting to get roasted with that fire tornado of yours. I bet you they’re running back home with their tails between their legs!”

Mikey responds in kind with a timid smile; he’s always welcome to any of his older brothers’ praise, soaking them up like a needy sponge. Besides, it was pretty cool what he did back there.

None of them had expected to be jumped by those two Foot dudes, having just left April’s house from a fun night of trying out the new board games her parents bought her. Now that he’s thinking back on it, they probably should have been more concerned with the fact that their enemies had actively sought them out rather than the turtles running into them by happenstance. The paper ninjas they commonly used were totally different this time around, and not just because of the change of color scheme (an ugly shade of dark green, if you were to ask Mikey his professional opinion). 

They didn’t have any hands.

Well, they did have hands, just in the shape of blades.

Really, really sharp blades.

The vomit-colored paper was obviously mystic, no inspection from Donnie needed. No paper should be allowed to cut cleanly through concrete for goodness sake. It shouldn’t be allowed to cut through shells, either-

Remembering why they were seeking shelter in the first place, Mikey’s gaze darts down to the bundle in Raph’s gentle hold, the blood seeping through the blue blanket. His face immediately falls, and he feels queasy at the sight of the red puddle already starting to form on the floor. Blood that should be inside his brother, not drenching some stranger’s blanket they stole from a clothes’ line. Mikey opens his mouth but before he can voice his question, he is interrupted by a heavy “plop” to his right. Bodies tensed, Ralph and Mikey whip around for the cause of the noise, only to see Donnie airing out one of the mattresses. Dust clouds the surrounding air, getting caught in the lungs of his unsuspecting brothers and a massive coughing fit follows. Donnie, unperturbed, just drags the offending mattress away from the dust cloud and drops it to the floor, wiping his hands against his thighs with a look of disgust on his face.

Facing Raph, Donnie says, “Lay him down here. I can't get a proper looksy otherwise,” while nodding in the direction of the mattress.

Following his brother's directions, Raph stifles down a cough as he kneels down next to the mattress, but hesitates for a brief moment.

“Don’t worry, Raph, I already scanned it. They’re safe. These mattresses are definitely older than most of Splinter’s clothing, but just as filthy, if you were to ask me, but they’re relatively clean,” Donnie reaffirms him.

“It’s not that, Donnie.”

And it's not. Not really. Swallowing thickly, Raph gently lays down his far-too-quiet and limp brother to the mattress, trying to be as slow and careful his large body will allow him. While Raph was as gentle as he could possibly be, even the faintest of movement jostles his younger brother, and a pitiful whimper escapes from his throat. Raph can’t help but wince, as hurting his own flesh and blood, even unintentionally, makes him feel sick to his stomach.

It doesn’t help that Leo looks absolutely awful. From what’s peaking out from the blanket, his eyes are pressed tightly shut, skin cool and clammy to the touch, and sweat beads at his creased forehead. He sounds awful, too, with his rattling lungs gasping for air like he just got done running a marathon, as if he wasn’t just carried for three whole blocks. Raph may not have as extensive of medical knowledge as Leo and Donnie do, what with Donnie’s general interest in all sciences and Leo being the medic of the team, but he knows signs of shock when he sees it.

His brother has lost far too much blood for comfort.

Donnie wastes no time in getting to work, carefully unwrapping Leo from the blanket. Donnie and Raph hiss at what is revealed from the confines of the blanket; a deep gash on the lower left side of Leo’s abdomen, his plastron having been neatly cut through deep enough to injure the skin and tissue that was supposed to be protected by thick shell. Thick rivulets of blood seep from the wound and cascade down Leo’s side even with the gray hoodie, also stolen, wrapped tightly around him to halt the bleeding.

“That doesn’t look good, Donnie,” Raph whispers after a second, trying (and failing) to reel in his worried thoughts about how quiet Leo is. He’s never quiet; it's basically Leo's given nature to never shut up. Yet, here they are now, and Raph would give up just about anything to hear one of Leo’s one-liners.

"No, no it does not," Donnie nods in agreement. His brows are deeply furrowed as he gently prods the edges of Leo’s laceration. 

“I’ll have to analyze just how deep the wound is. I have to get the bleeding under control, too, or he won’t even make it back to the lair in time,” Donnie states matter-of-factly. If Raph didn’t know his brother any better or notice the slight shake in his voice or the way his hands trembled, he might believe that Donnie seemed unfazed by his brother’s condition. But he knows, and they all know, that Donnie's attempts at appearing emotionless is just a facade he hides under.

As Donnie starts to delicately remove the sodden hoodie, the fabric gets caught on the jagged skin, causing Leo to let out a sudden gasp, back arching from the sudden pain, and his breathing becomes more erratic. Recoiling, Donnie puts a placating hand on Leo's cheek.

“Shit! Sorry, sorry,” Donnie mutters to Leo, gently thumbing away the tears that start streaming down his face. Raph is so taken aback by Leo’s reaction that he doesn’t even bother to chastise Donnie for his potty mouth.

"Is… is Leo gonna be okay?"

Raph faces his youngest brother, whose arms are clutching tightly around Leo’s sword. Mikey's gaze is locked to the floor, eyes wide with unshed tears. He looks so lost and scared, so devoid of his regular pep and overall cheer, that Raph has to suppress the overwhelming urge to engulf his brother in a giant hug.

His brothers need him right now. He might not be able to help Leo like Donnie can, but he's still their leader. He is still their big brother.

“Leo’s gonna be just fine,” Raph starts, approaching to grasp Mikey’s shoulders in his large hands, squeezing gently. “He’s strong, you know that. Remember that time when we thought Leo got lost in the sewers, and he did, but he found his way back? We spent hours searching for the guy and the cheeky bastard was home the entire time, eating the last of the oreos. Or what about that time he broke his arm doing that stupid double back-flip he saw in a video once when he was seven? He only cried like twice the whole time!"

Mikey looks at him, eyes glistening and mouth wobbling.

"I know my brothers. If there's one thing I can count on Leo, it's that he always pulls through in the end."

Silence fills the air for just a brief moment, filled only with the labored breathing of Leo. That brief moment is all Mikey needs, however. He presses his lips into a thin line and vigorously wipes at his tears with his forearm. After taking a composing breath through his nose, Mikey asks, "What do we do now?”

Isn't that the question. It’s far too dangerous to go back the way they came, not with the Foot Clan still searching for them knowing they have the advantage with one turtle down. And especially not with those new paper ninjas.

They’re incredibly lucky that when Mikey resorted to using his fire tornado, it was discovered that while mystic paper, it was still just paper and fell to the power of its natural enemy. Of course, that was after one managed to get the jump on Leo.

Raph can still vividly feel the gut punch he got when his own brother's screaming pierced his ears, the way his blood chilled in his veins and his heart plummeted. The raw fear of thinking oh god my little brother is dead.

He shakes his head. There'll be time to digest today's events later, when they're home and Leo's patched up and back to his annoying self, using his injury to his advantage so that his brothers may tend to his beck and call. And they'll fall for it too, of course, cause that's what family does for each other.

So, they can’t go back the way they came, what else then? The main sewer entrance for the lair is too far away to just make a run for it, especially being above ground. Raph could have Donnie track down another near manhole, but not only is Donnie currently busy using his tech to scan Leo’s injury checking the severity of it, they'll have no way of knowing if that manhole is connected to their sewer line unless they're in it. And even if that does happen to be connected to the lair, it's still quite a long distance to travel with someone who doesn't have any time to spare.

Dammit, he needs to think! Raph isn't the greatest at coming up with plans; he's always been more of a "smash first, talk later" kind of a guy. 

And look where that got them. Raph's baby brother is bleeding out to death, they're being pursued by the stupid flame-heads with deadly (well, deadlier) paper ninjas with nowhere to go, and they're stuck in a mattress store of all places. 

Leo would have known what to do. Hell, he'd have gotten them home by now with one of his portals, where they'd be enjoying the rest of their evening with pizza and a movie.

But they're not home. They're stuck with no where to run to, and Raph can't think.

“I-I don’t know," Raph stutters, self-doubt numbing his mind, jumbling his thoughts like clothes in a dryer, spinning and spinning. "I don't-"

“I c'n port'l us.”

Shocked, Raph whips around. Leo, even though his face is twisted with pain and his arms tremble, struggles to hoist himself to his elbows, swatting at Donnie's attempts to push him back down. Leo’s breathing extremely hard from the exertion of just sitting up, but he remains upright out of sheer stubbornness.

“I c’n get us-shit,” Leo grits through his teeth. Donnie, relenting to his brother's will, wraps an arm around Leo's shoulders, taking most of the weight as he leans him up. Glaring up at Raph, eyes blaring with fierce determination, he finishes with more clarity in his voice, “I can get us home.”

“No, absolutely not! Not in the condition you’re in.” 

Raph knows that with Leo now awake, they have a chance, a real good chance, of escaping their ridiculous predicament and getting Leo proper medical treatment. And Leo is the only one who can do it; he's the only one who can use his sword after all. But Leo can't even sit up without Donnie's support, which he clarifies as he gestures to Leo, “You can’t even sit upright on your own, how are you gonna hold a 30 lbs sword?”

“Oh yeah? Watch me."

Leo moves to stand up, pulling away from Donnie, but as soon as he draws his legs beneath him and shifts his weight, his eyes roll to the back of his head and he lists to the side. If it weren’t for his older brother, he would’ve faced-planted the floor. 

“Woah, woah, easy there ‘Nardo,” Donnie smoothly scolds, pressing his brother back to the comfort of the mattress. Leo hasn’t lost his battle with unconsciousness yet, grasping harshly onto Donnie’s bicep. His big brother grimaces but ultimately ignores it. After Leo's breathing evens out, Donnie gives his younger brother an exasperated look.

“Well, that was the dumbest thing you could have done.”

Leo rolls his eyes.

“Ugh, sh-shuddup, you weirdo asshole.”

Donnie snorts.

“Glad to know your personality is still somewhat intact. Though, I think you're more so the asshole here, seeing as I'm the one trying to be helpful and all.”

"Whatev', you just doin' this for yer own sake."

"Ah, yes. I have been wanting someone to be in my unquestionable debt recently, since I’m entirely incapable of doing anything from the goodness of my heart. Thank you for reminding me, Leon. I’ll be sure to remember this the next time you try to unload your chore duties onto me."

Leo tiredly gives one of his signature smirks, "No problemo."

Donnie's face turns stern.

“But seriously, Raph’s right. Being completely honest with you, I don’t even know how you’re still conscious right now.” Even as they speak, Leo’s eyes start to lose their focus, glazing over with exhaustion. Even eye-rolling and smirking seems to take away any energy he has left, and if Leo wasn't currently bleeding like a stuck pig, he would've gasped at the audacity of it all.

“I can do this," and Leo looks at Raph knowingly. "I always pull through in the end, remember?"

He's using his own words against him, Raph realizes. He must have been awake enough to hear his conversation with Mikey.

And he did say that, but if Raph was honest with himself, he mostly said those words to comfort Mikey. The odds are stacked against his brother right now. He doesn't have general mishaps anymore forming portals, but there are occasional days when Leo still struggles. Today, though, had been an average day, with Leo having successfully transported them directly in April's living room just earlier this evening, but failing to open one to the lair when the game night ended.

And there are plenty of examples of Leo triumphing when he reasonably shouldn't have. But looking at his brother now, bleeding and sickly and dying, he can't help the tendrils of doubt that suffocate him, snaking their way into his subconscious. 

But Raph knows his brothers. Even amongst doubt, Leo always does come through, in some way or another. 

Raph trusts his brothers, and he will trust Leo in his word that he can get them home.

After all, Raph's not one to make plans. He's never needed to really, not with his brothers by his side.

"I know."

Raph glances over to Mikey, communicating with a single look.

Mikey understands completely.

There's no time to debate whether Leo can do it or not. Every second that passes is another second of Leo losing more blood. Donnie might be pressing the hoodie into the large cut, but it’s not enough to entirely stop the flow.

At that moment, a large crash reverberates from just beyond the warehouse walls, the sound similar to the likes of a building collapsing in on itself. Dread stifles the air; their hiding spot will soon be found, it's only a matter of time. 

“You got this," Mikey encourages, presenting Leo with the handle of his odachi. Raph and Donnie watch, faces scrunched with anticipation. As Leo grasps the odachi, he breathes deeply, preparing himself both physically and mentally. 

His arm pathetically quivers as he lifts his sword from Mikey's hold. Raising the familiar object to its full weight, Leo heaves himself forward, sending white sparks across his vision as the pain blooms from his side. Blood begins to pool in his mouth as he bites the inside of his cheek to refrain passing out. 

Focus.

Focus on his breathing; focus on imagining the lair, the skateboard ramps, the untouched, warm pizza sitting on the counter waiting back home that Splinter had promised them.

Letting all other thoughts evade his mind; let's them fall to the ground like forgotten crumbs off of a home-cooked meal Mikey had prepared; let's them fall off his shoulders and into the drain like water when Leo spends too much time brooding in the shower and his brothers get upset at him for stealing all the hot water again.

Clearing his mind, Leo draws in the formation of a circle with the tip of his sword and blue light zaps and sparkles from his odachi.

But no portal forms. Halfway through, his muscles seize up, locked with overexertion, and he can't complete the circle. His sword lowers to rest on the ground, nearly falling from his grip altogether, his arms too tired to properly hold it.

His body has betrayed him, refusing to move when he commands it; feeling like he's trying to move around in thick syrup.

He didn't do it. His brothers' faith in him was misguided, and they're all gonna die here, not just Leo. 

No! Not wanting to give up, Leo tries again. An even more pathetic attempt than the first. His body protests his wishes, and his sword stays put as though it trying to tell him that he's already beat.

Hands are suddenly upon him, grasping the hilt of the odachi next to his own and resting on the back of his shell. His brothers are here, helping him bear the weight alongside him. 

"We gotchu, Leo!" There's Mikey's positive attitude, refreshing to hear as always. "Just focus on making a portal, we'll take care of the rest."

In the distance, another boom can be heard, louder and closer than before. Raph faces the direction it came from, protectively standing over his brothers as Mikey and Donnie crouch beside Leo.

Reaching his zen mode, confidence from knowing he's not doing this alone, Leo directs his sword to move in a circular motion, his two brothers following his lead and finishing in a perfect circle.

And like a miracle itself, a beautiful brilliance of blues fills the dark warehouse, and a perfect portal stares back at them.

Quick successions of multiple slashes can be heard, and the wall behind them explodes, raining heavy chunks of concrete and plaster all around them. Mattresses, carried by the blast, careen through the air, experiencing freedom for the first time in so many years. 

Wasting no time, Donnie throws Leo over his shoulder despite the weak protest, leaping into the portal. Behind him, Mikey and Raph follow, but not before Mikey gives the Foot Heads a taunting wave, blowing raspberries as he jumps through the portal. Leaving behind two very frustrated villains, having been outsmarted once again by the turtles and left with nothing but a single dusty and bloody mattress for their efforts, they can do nothing but stew in their hatred.

"Gah, those pesky turtles," the shorter one of the duo rasps. They had gotten so close this time, too. But they still have their new weapons at the ready; all they need as another opportunity to strike, then those pests will never bother them again.

Just as they're about to leave the warehouse, the larger of the two stops by the mattress, picking up what looks like a familiar blanket.

"Hey wait a minute, isn't that-" He doesn't get to finish that statement, with a scraping scream interrupting him.

"Noo! My Lou Jitsu: Punch Chowder hoodie!"

[raphaelbrcoks]

RAPHAEL’S TWENTY-SEVEN HOUSE PLANTS (pt. 1)

PRESENTED IN ORDER OF APARTMENT APPEARANCE

1. devil’s ivy

name: henri with an i

horticutural fun fact: not only are devil’s ivy pretty to look at, but they’re also actively purifying the air around them, even when you cut off one of their stems and propagate them. 

background: “up first is henri with an i, who’s a gentle soul with a love of 70’s disco. he’s had a lot of pressure on his back to live up to the devil’s ivy title, but the truth is there’s nothing demonic about him and he’s never even dabbled in satanism (except for that one time in college, but he was just experimenting, really). it’s ostracized him from the greater devil’s ivy community, but i’m happy to offer him a loving home with lots of diana ross. he’s a great dancer too - come over sometime when it’s windier, he knows how to shake those leaves like nobody else.”

2. chrysanthemum 

name: jeanine

horticultural fun fact: both the flowers and leaves of the chrysanthemum are totally edible.

background: “this is jeanine, but you can call her jeannie. she’s a city girl, but she loves to romanticize quitting her office job and moving out to some ranch in arkansas with the cowboy boyfriend she’d pick up along the way. with that being said, she’s never actually seen a farm in her life, and i don’t think she even knows what a plow does, so it’s hard for me to be totally supportive of her aspirations sometimes.”

3. euphorbia ingens

name: greg

horticultural fun fact: even thought the euphorbia ingens looks like a cactus and has the pricklies to match, it’s actually a succulent in disguise. 

background: “greg thought it’d be cute to grab onto my favorite sweater the other day and rip it up, so he doesn’t get a fun backstory again until he learns how to apologize. no, greg, stop, i don’t want to hear any excuses. honestly, your habit of gaslighting is starting to feel really toxic.”

4. sword fern 

name: vienna 

horticultural fun fact: sword ferns are also commonly referred to as the “christmas fern” due to a large amount of its fronds being used for wreaths each year. 

background: “next up is vienna, who’s named after the billy joel song and not that measly city in austria, thank you very much. they’re weirdly into swamps, so if you’ve got any swamp-related trivia you need checked out, feel free to run it by them. i ask them sometimes, i’m like ‘hey vienna, if you like swamps so much, why not look into some swamp-based real estate? there’s gotta be some good stuff left after ‘08, i’ll find you an agent’, but they brush me off every time. vienna thinks some things are better left as just a pipedream, you know?” 

5. orchid 

name: piper

horticultural fun fact: even though orchids have been cited as one of the more difficult houseplants to care for, they can live for up to a hundred years if properly looked after. this plant was the only one raph ever got from his brother, and he’s managed to maintain it for the last sixteen years.

background: “piper’s very into the grunge scene, she loves to tell anyone who’ll listen that punk’s not dead. she’s a star on the bass guitar, and while she’s fine rocking out on her own, what she really wants is to find an all-female punk band to shout about the patriarchy with. piper’s also been trying to grow out a rainbow mohawk for the longest time, but her delicate leaf structure is making it hard to follow through on that.” 

6. peace lily 

name: reese

horticultural fun fact: the peace lily is named for its flower, whose white color symbolizes peace for many. 

background: “reese is really trying to get a law degree and get involved with environmental diplomacy down the line, but they just can’t afford to go back to school right now. in the meantime, they work a lot of jobs to make ends meet, but they can’t seem to keep one for more than three weeks - something about being easily distracted with a bad temper. they’ve also got a small crush on piper, which i blame entirely on frankie and murph bringing over their simp influence.”

7. english ivy

name: lina

horticultural fun fact: when the english ivy is left to grow in the wild, it usually latches onto trees, which it then climbs and shades out the leaves of, killing the tree within a few years. raph’s made sure to keep this one away from all his indoor saplings.

background: “lina is the youngest of four, but she’s the only one who consistently remembers her siblings’ birthdays. she bugs them a little about it, too.”

8. anthurium

name: juno

horticultural fun fact: both the flower stalk, which contains calcium oxalate crystals, and the sap of the anthurium can be anywhere from mildly irritating to poisonous when ingested.

background: “juno’s just trying to law low for a while, if she’s being honest. she went a little crazy in her early-twenties, became involved with the wrong crowds, got some blood on her hands that she can’t take back now. when everything finally caught up with her, she got off with two years behind bars after a messy plea bargain. these days she’s taking it easy, just baking a lot of bread and embroidering sweaters in her free time.”

9. fiddle leaf fig

name: carmen

horticultural fun fact: unlike the common fig, the fruit that the fiddle leaf fig bears, when grown indoors or outdoors, is not edible.

background: “here we have carmen, who isn’t paranoid, they just have a lot of important questions. like, isn’t it peculiar that those footprints on the moon were so well preserved, despite the lack of moisture? and how the denver airport is so incredibly large for no explainable reason? and that jet fuel only burns up to 1500 degree fahrenheit, which isn’t nearly enough to burn through melt steel? carmen's just got a lot on her mind.”

10. rhapis palm

name: richard 

horticultural fun fact: the rhapis palm is a strange breed of fan palms that actually doesn’t exist in the wild, but was created by chinese cultivators to exist as indoor plants. 

background: “richard’s prone to being a bit cocky about how tall and green he is, but with how hard he’s worked to get here, he doesn’t think it’s arrogant to be a proud of his appearance. what’s his secret, you may ask? he’s about to release a self-help podcast this upcoming fall, but in short: cardio three times a week, cross-training with weights every day in between. plus a well-balanced diet of sunlight protein, high-fiber carbon dioxide, and lean chicken breast.”

11. lemon tree

name: amelia

horticultural fun fact: the latest addition to raph’s plant collection via eddie’s birthday gift, the lemon tree can grow up to 600 pounds of lemons when grown in the wild, but raph’s lucky if he gets a few teeny fruits. 

background: “growing lemons isn’t just amelia’s profession, it’s her passion. she carries an advanced certificate in citrus cultivation from the university of toronto. she can talk all day about the ideal conditions for lemon development and the exact amount of sourness that separates an amateur lemon from an expert one. she even painted her entire home in a very specific shade of lemon yellow - somehow her wife puts up with it.” 

12. monstera deliciosa

name: ludwig

fun fact: the holes in the monstera’s leaves actually serves an important purpose, which is to withstand heavy rainfall and wind as they let the elements pass through the holes. this is also the priciest plant in raph’s possession, clocking in at nearly a hundred dollars for this high-end monstera.

background: “ludwig likes to think he’s a tough guy, something out of a holywood sweatshop, but the truth is he’s a huge softie. like yeah, he rides a motorcycle and he’s got a dragon tatto on his back, but he also still sleeps with his childhood teddy bear, loves the smell of fabric softener, and is a sucker for jennifer aniston movies. his favorite is that one with adam sandler in hawaii, which i personally think is in bad taste, but ludwig won’t hear it.”

[mitkitty]

Gift of a Frenemy

((Happy birthday, Tessa! ^v^ *huuuuugs* hope you enjoy this oneshot))

((Aaaaaaah its all so cute, thank you so much!!!

Birthdays had always been a… mixed bag for Wil.

When she was able to spend it with her mothers, it was nice. They gave her their full attention, letting her pick whatever activity they did that day and whatever dish they had for supper (plus the homemade birthday cakes were nice too).

The birthdays where she had to spend it alone, however… weren’t so great. Students and teachers at school never remembered, and due to her lack of popularity, she wasn’t exactly the ‘birthday party’ type.

Until now, that is. To some, having a birthday party in the sewers was far from ideal. But to her - seeing her friends, her moms and her boyfriend all in one place, giving her the birthday party she never really had - it was absolutely perfect.

She lost track of how long it lasted, though a part of her wouldn’t have minded if it lasted forever. She laughed and joked around with her friends, played party games, ate good food, watched movies (NOT Lou Jitsu ones, thank goodness), danced and pretty much just partied to her hearts content.

“-Hey, we’re not too late, are we?” Wil turned her attention towards one of the Lair entrances, and grinned.

“N-Nope,” she told the gargoyles, hopping down from the second level to greet them, “C-Come on in!”

“Aww, thanks Wil!” Muninn said, smiling back. 

“Yeah,” Huginn nodded, “Happy birthday, kid.” He would have waved or offered her a hug, though the heavy gift bag in his and Muninn’s hands prevented him from doing so.

Not wanting them to strain their little wings any longer, Wil took the bag. “Aww, th-thanks you guys! You’re so sweet.” They flew over to her shoulders, nuzzling her cheeks a bit and making her giggle.

“Weeeell?” Muninn said after a few moments, “Come on, open it!”

“Heh, o-okay okay!” Setting it down, Wil opened up the gift bag - and while she wasn’t completely surprised by its contents, she was still touched by the meaning behind them. After all, she gave them snacks all the time, so it was only fitting they gave her snack in return. “Wowwww!”

She took each item out, wanting to fully appreciate the gift that she was sure they worked hard to get her. There was caramel popcorn, a jar of Nutella, a couple cupcakes, and even sugar cookies that had been frosted (albeit a bit messily) to look like her. “These are great!”

However, when she took out the final item - a small bag of blue, white and yellow M&Ms from the store in Times Square - she couldn’t help but smile. “Um, I-I’m sorry but- guys, y-you know I can’t eat chocolate.”

“Oh no, did we forget?” Muninn said in ‘shock’, his tone a bit forced, “Gosh, we’re sorry! Guess you’ll have to just exchange them for some non-chocolate candies.”

“Yeahhh,” Huginn nodded, smirking ever so slightly, “Though, I’d maybe wait until after you get Boss’ gift. You know, just in case.”

Wil gave them both a curious look, though didn’t get a chance to ask any follow-up questions. With one last hug to her shoulders, they wished her a happy birthday before flying up to the second level to see what other festivities the party had. 

“H-Huh…” Still wondering what Huginn meant by that, Wil gathered up all the treats and placed the bag next to her other presents before joining back into the birthday fun.

The moon was high above the NYC skyline as the Bulwarks returned home. Venny and Eva kissed their daughter goodnight before heading to bed. As for Wil herself, while the party had worn her out in the best possible way, her nocturnal feline instincts ensured that she would still be up for at least a couple hours more.

She fidgeted a bit with the (fake but still pretty) ruby covered bracelet Raph had given her as she thought about what to do next. “Maybe I’ll do some reading,” Wil mumbled to herself, thinking of the chemistry books and shoujo manga books Donnie and Leo had gotten her. Doing that would be both enjoyable and would make her sleepy. But before she could even begin to try and get comfy, there was a knock at their door.

Quietly, Wil padded down the stairs and opened the door. The tall figure in front of her took a moment to recognize, but once she saw the face underneath the hood, she wasn’t worried at all. “Y-You know,” she said, crossing her arms, “you c-could have just came to the pa-party.”

“Like I said,” Draxum grumbled, “I’m not much of a party person.” Besides, while Venny didn’t mind him and Wil and Mikey had wanted to include him, they all knew that there was still plenty of friction between him and Splinter. It would have been wrong to fill her special day with drama that she had nothing to do with. “Still, I figured it would be consider rude to let the occasion pass without a token of acknowledgement, so-” he reached into his pocket, and pulled out a vial, “Happy birthday.”

Wil’s eyes widened a bit as she took a closer look at the glass vial. Whatever was in it wasn’t green or glowing, thankfully. Instead, it was a cool, light shade of brown - almost like chocolate milk. “Wh-What is it?”

“Well… I was told you had allergies that prevented you from eating chocolate,” Draxum explained, “And judging by how many bakeries and candy shops there are in this city, I’d imagine that must be pretty frustrating. So, I thought I could help with that.”

Wil blinked, a bit shocked. “Wait, so… s-so, is this like an Antihistamine or-”

“One dose, and your dietary biology will be forever changed,” Draxum told her, “and you’ll be able to eat as much chocolate as you wish without any harmful side effects. Well, other than a stomachache and cavities, maybe.”

She stared at him, a bit shocked. She honestly didn’t know what to say. Seeing this, Draxum quickly added, “You don’t have to drink it. I won’t force you to. It’s yours to do whatever you wish with, including throw away. I just-… I thought that, after everything you’ve done for me, the least I could do is provide you with a mutation that you might actually want.”

Wil’s eyes softened a bit at that. “You big d-dummy…” Taking the vial, she hugged him. Surprised though not as annoyed with the action as he normally might have been, he patted her back. Hugs weren’t… that bad, on rare occasions.

“I n-never said I hated being a c-cat, you know,” she told him once the hug ended, “Like I t-told you before…” It had been scary at first - completely terrifying, really. But she was stronger and faster now, not to mention the fact that if she had never mutated, she might have never met her best friends. Sure, being a cat in a world of humans would still always have its difficulties, it was still her life. It wasn’t always easy, but she accepted it. She was happy, whiskers and all.

“If you’re wanting to m-make up for this wh-whole situation-” she gestured to herself- “then, well, y-you’re already doing it by trying to be a better person! That means more than a-any potion or mutation.”

“…” Draxum glanced away a bit. “I suppose so…”

Wil looked down at the vial. She was sure that Draxum had thoroughly tested it, but even so- “I’ll h-have to sleep on it a little b-before I decide to use this or not. Still-” she smiled genuinely at him, letting her appreciation be known loud and clear, “T-Thank you for the gift, Draxum.”

Draxum nodded. “Happy birthday, Wilhelmina.” With that taken care of, he began to turn away, figuring that he had already taken up enough of her time-

“Hey, s-speaking of birthdays, we still have some leftover cake, i-if you want some.” That made Draxum pause. “I know how much y-you love Mom’s cooking~” she added, giving him a small smirk.

Draxum scoffed, though didn’t move. “…I guess one slice couldn’t hurt. The walk over made me a bit peckish anyway.” Wil chuckled, and happily opened the door to let him in.

Yep… It really was a pretty perfect birthday.

[doodles-arts]

Leo 2003 prompt

pairing; Leonardo x Artistic!Reader

Description; Your a tiny and skittish high school girl, who struggles to pick up on social instances. Your only friend was a boy in the sewers you barely remember. However this boy turns out to be Leo, and after a little reunion, you and Leo are the best of buds. Though the artist in you can’t help but draw what it finds beautiful. a new muse is in order...

prompt; “your like a knight”

warning; graphic instances. mention of alcohol and rape. no worries!!

rating; pg-13

He had been your friend since you were little, and how did you meet? 

To be completely honest, you didn’t really remember. You sorta just met him on your way back home from school, and from then on you spoke to him through the sewer drains on the side of the streets. But once your parents caught you, you were walked to school from than on. You hadn’t seen him since high school, as your parents kept you under lock and key. The memory of a green turtle/human thing, with a blue banana that covered his head, had begun to fade away. He might have been the only friend you had at that age, because you were a peculiar child and most kids stayed away from you. But as you droned on through the years of high school, you wished that the distant memory of a child happily chatting with her turtle friend were true, were real. 

High School was a bore and sucked the life out of you, you were terrible at math, social skills and, of course, boys. So throughout freshman year you were bullied, you were used to it though. The whispering and pointing were normal to you, children were cruel and you learned that the hard way. However, through junior year, you changed, you grew up. Your drastic changed through the summer was surprising, even for yourself but your mother helped you with everything. The kids at school were intrigued by your beautiful transition. You were like an ugly duckling, growing up to be a beautiful swan. The positive attention was new, not unwelcome but unsettling. You were still awkward and kept mostly to yourself and your art. just the way you liked it. Though you were well aware that the attention was biased and petty, the students only spoke to you because you were prettier and more confident with yourself. This did sting, having never gotten positive attention because no one wanted to get to know you for you, was easy to accept, but to learn that you never got any attention because people believed you were ugly? Hurt. It was hard to accept. But looking back at your pictures as a child, you noticed how wrong the kids at school really were. You weren’t ugly, you were unkempt, wild and free. Like every child should be. So, you finally grew up and worked on the assists you had, which was fine! But you were never ugly. 

After a football game, you were keeping the time of the game, you were exhausted and began packing your things to go home. Strangely the boys of the team had come back from the locker room after you helped put the time and points equipment away. You paid the rowdy- probably drunk- boys no mind. Taking your things and walking out of the field and going home. After awhile you noticed a car strangely following you, as you stopped to look into your bag the car also stopped. you were being followed, no doubt about it. In a state of panic in the strangely quiet streets of New York, you turned and walked the other direction like you had read about before when a car follows you. Your heart fell from your chest and down into your stomach, and hammered a beat from there when you heard the tires of the car brake harshly and switch gears. 

You ran, knowing that the only way to lose a car would be to head into an alley. If they were smart, the perpetrator would leave you in the alleys and search for other prey. But perhaps tonight just wasn’t your lucky night. You were shaken to the core when the car stopped at the alley entrance you entered and the doors opened. All of them except for the driver spilled out of the truck. The Football team, obviously drunk and hungry for something you were afraid you’d be able to provide. Running down another alley way, your flight or fight instincts taking place perfectly, when you came up to a dead end, the tears began showing. Dread ran through your spine, the adrenaline you felt as you ran away, giving way for your fear. “No, no, no, no”, you whispered. You refused to live like a wimp, you didn’t want this to happen. You were going to raped and possibly killed, thrown in a hole in the ground and forgotten forever. You clutched at your bag beside you, going through all the pastel drawings you ever made in your mind. Remembering all the emotions you ever had while making them, all the drawings and paintings you had hung up in your room. God, they would be the only thing with your legacy on them, the only thing left that you held pride in. Your artwork, your mother, your father, and the only friend you ever had who genuinely cared about you. A long lost memory you were sure was just a dream.

The drunk boys crept closer to the end of the alley, calling out your name like a tune and you couldn’t help the tears that were rolling down your cheeks. This was it…

As they turned the corner after you, Leonardo heard the name, the familiar name. From that friend all those years ago. The one who drew for him and his brothers. The one who brought things from the outside world for them to see as kids. The brothers all looked at the frozen leader curiously, perhaps they did not remember the name or the (y/h/t) (y/h/c). But it did not matter, whoever you were, you were in trouble and you needed help. Leo turned to look at his brothers, they all gave a stiff nod, they agreed to help. 

As the human boys spotted you, the brothers dropped from below and wrestled with them. Knocking them out safely, ensuring that they would not be able to follow you home again, an easy defeat, the football players were clumsy and drunk. But as Leo turned to see expected you, running in fear, you stood still, watching intently. 

“I wasn’t imagining it, then…” The other boys turned to look at you, as you mumbled.

“Y-Your real!” Your tears were long gone. Your wet eyelashes a huge contrast to your huge grin. The boys took a step back as you reached in to your bag. 

Pulling out a big sketch book and flipping through the pages. Finally finding the wispy and green pastel portrait of Leo that you could remember from the almost forgotten memory of him as a child. Turning the sketchbook around, showing the picture of free lance painting of Leo in an attempt to gain there trust. The picture had a strange point of vision, where the green human creature had a big darker green back, small and innocent with a bright blue bandanna covering the creatures bald head. It was Leo alright, but nobody had the courage to say so. 

“I-it’s me (y/n), are you Leo? I remembered you as a child, I always knew you were real, not just some child fantasy!” You were ecstatic and Leo was still frozen, thankfully his brothers took over for him. Trying themselves to remember you, and even though you hardly remember their names you do remember their distinctive colors. Almost like their own brands, or merchandise. The other boys smiled at your work and quickly warmed up to you, clearly remembering your name all of the sudden. 

Leo watched from a distance, he had always remembered you, his first human friend. The first person who wanted to be his friend other than his brothers. He had felt a connection to you as a child, growing close to you before his brothers found out about you and hogged you. Excited to meet the human child. He never realized that you’d remember all of them, that you’d remember him.

How could this be? You remembered them after all this time, after the many years. You were still in elementary school, and Leo hadn’t even begun his training when he met you. How did you manage to remember? Did he and his brothers actually mean something to you, that you had remembered the memories as a highlight in your life. If this was the case, something just might have jumped in Leo's chest. 

~

After some time hanging out with you and the other brothers getting to know you, you were practically family. Raph’s loud voice scared you sometimes, some more than others. Mikey’s energy also made you skittish at first. However the boys learned to coax you in and you learned to expect the booming voices and unexpected touches. Though Donnie was very soft spoken, he tended to have his outburst from time to time. Which were a lot harder to become accustomed too. Most of the time you were with Leo, and most of the time you were drawing so you never bothered him. He enjoyed being your favorite. 

You both had gotten as close as you were when you were kids and you were ecstatic to be with your old friend again. No longer floating around a group of snobby girls who tried to gain your trust just to stab you in the back, you had real friends now.

You were an artist, and in artist always drew what they loved and what they found beautiful. Their art was to be transparent and honest. Every artist needed a muse. And who else would be the unfortunate victim to your sketching? Thankfully, realistic still-art was your obsession at the moment and Leo was the only person you knew who could stay still for more than thirty minutes. He was your muse, and after hours of staring and watching, you were never satisfied. Time and time again you were mesmerized by the strong muscles of his shoulders, the stern look in his eyebrows and the beautiful blue his irises held. 

It wasn’t long until your sketch book was filled with him in every page and your feelings of loyalty for your friend turned into love. 

~

One night as you shaded in a forgotten drawing you had made of Leo from memory-a beautiful sketch that had the leader in blue sweating and panting in pleasure. You had seen his exhausted face after an intense training. But all you could see at the moment was his pleasure ridden face on the page. You finished it and were very proud of your masterpiece. But once you remembered that this was no stranger on the page, this was your friend. You were being invasive, daydreaming of such scenarios. It was wrong. Quickly hiding it away as you picked up another unfinished piece that was less heated to patch up. Perching on your fire escape for the late night breeze in the hot summer night, you had started the sketch a day you had watched Leo meditate as he waited for you to come up to the rooftop, you felt bad making him wait to draw, but you didn’t regret it right now. You shaded and finished the last bits of his eyes, which you had memorized by heart. Coloring the blue of his eyes, unsatisfied with the exact shade of blue, which would never live up to the real thing. The blue was never light enough, but the neon light blue never held the life of his eyes either. You huffed out in pain at another failure to recreate his eyes. 

“I think it’s spot on,'' a voice whispered into your ear. You yelped and jumped in fear, almost splitting your head on your windowsill, but a three fingered green hand blocked your forehead from hitting the edge. 

You looked up in horror, he knows. He knows you’ve been stalking him to draw him now, he must think your creep now- “I didn’t know you were this good, you’ve got talent!” Leo already knew you drew him from time to time, though sometimes he didn’t notice. He knew you weren’t actually in the bathroom that long! You had been drawing him! You gaped at him, in complete horror, he’s lying. “I don’t know how you manage to make them seem so real,” he took a seat next to you. Your cheeks flushed and you had no idea how to respond. 

“Your a really good muse, you don’t move much, and you have a knack to pose when your resting.” You whispered it to him, he barely heard it. He turned to smile at you. “Well it’s an honor to be your ‘muse’”. He thinks your a creep. You pushed your insecurities away, your friend wouldn’t lie. His calm demeanor and reassurance helped you to smile back, to find some backbone and talk. You both spent the night talking about the other boys and the sketches you never got done of them. You really did try to draw them, but each time was a failure. 

“Man, your really something (y/n), out all of us you pick to draw big ol’ me. A mutant and a horrible monster. I’m flattered!” you chuckled and put a hand on his, “you aren’t a monster Leo, you’re more like a knight”

He blushed as he looked away and you looked to your dangling feet bashfully, you might have taken that a little too far. Panic rising slowly growing in your chest threaten to spill, until you felt a three fingered hand grab your own. “Than i guess that makes you the princess..” you blushed as he smiled bashfully. Maybe your fantasies of Leo weren’t so far fetched at all. 

[fairymagicheart1]

Half Court Havoc

(I imagine this right in between the time right after Snow Day but right before Insane In Big Mama’s Train, and this is how I see their relationship in it's earliest as a budding couple in Fanfic version. :3

Mentioned OC: Dani is an OC belonging to my friend @mermaidsoul8, she helped me greatly in her input on this!! Kudos goes to her as well!

PS: This is my LONGEST fanfic so I hope you all enjoy it!)

It was just after 5 PM as Tati finally came through the Lair entrance and dropped off her bag. “Hey, guys! Sorry I was a little late, got held up at school with April, Sunita, and Dani..” Tati said as she passed by Splinter; sitting in his chair. “Uh hey, Sensei.. where’s Leo?” Then Some crashing can be heard, “I recommend looking in the kitchen, he’s been in there all day.” Splinter said rather nonchalantly. “Uhh... thanks, Sensei.,” Tati said as she walked ahead.

Leo was stumbling about to put the pots away after he had tipped them over. “Ok just keep it together Leon.. just turtle up and just ask her.” He said to himself, of course in his practice mode; Leo had knocked over the pots by his clumsy nature. Then a lightbulb appears over his head! “That’s it! I’ll just play it smooth like Lou Jitsu was before we found out he’s our dad..” He decided and with a proud smirk on his face.. which quickly changed to a surprised shock upon hearing...

“Leo? What was that?” Tati asked as she stood by the entrance to the kitchen. Flip-flopping around to face her, Leo tried leaning smoothly on the counter and showcased his trademarked grin. “Just uh... chilling you know?”To which, Tati just raised a brow and lightly smirked back. “You’re sure making a lot of noise for just “Chilling?” Leon?” She giggled, helping away to put away one last pot. “So uh, Tati? I was thinking you wanna go shoot some hoops with me... I mean if you want to?” He asked while leaning on his left elbow, even though on the inside he was shaking.

Tati turned and looked up with a smile. “Sure Leo! Should we ask your bros to play too?” She suggested but Leo shot up. “Oh uh I already checked in! They’re all.. busy! You know.. with their.. ninja stuff too?” He grinned nervously from the raised brow on Tati, “Well alright then, just let me get my phone.” She shrugged but smiled. She turned around to walk out and leaving Leo to do a dab and cheered in secret.

It turns out that the three brothers were already walking in from off-screen and were all smirking, they had heard the whole thing. “You know, a girl like it better if you just ask them straight up Leo,” Donnie said and chuckled as Mikey just grinned. “Aw come on!” Leo slumped his arms down.

“You didn’t have to lie, Leo, just go and have fun.” Raph smiled and Leo smiled as he took off to meet with her... with Donnie adding with: “How much you wanna bet he screws up?” Mikey rose his hand and Raph slapped his face.

The two already made it to the surface as Leo showed off his spinning ball trick with Tati smirking... with some unsavory eyes watching them... it was the recently mutated Ghostbear! “This Tortuga has a Novia now? And on a date? I shall ruin it like he and the other Tortugas ruined my pro-wrestling career!” He cackled and proceeded to follow...  Upon arriving at a half-court, Leo spun the ball and tossed it to Tati and grinned. “Let’s see what you got,” Tati smirked and held it. “Oh, I’ll bring it, Blue Bolt...” Tati started the game.. with her practically running with the ball without bouncing it! Though Leo caught up to her. “I’m not a rules guy but you’re supposed to bounce it as you run.” He smirked and Tati held it away above her head with her own smug grin. “Why can’t we?” She teased and stopped when Leo stepped in front of her. “Gotcha! The two of them ended up laughing as Leo tried to reach for the ball and knocked it into the air! Tati grinned as she used the magic from her hand and controlled the air to carry the ball right into the basket!”

”Ok that was not fair.” Leo teased and Tati just teased back. “Hey, you did say to bring it, and you were up against a fairy that in tune with air.” They both end up laughing... and they just realized how close they were standing still and blushed.

”So if you wanna do this more often..” Leo started to ask smooth... that was until a loud landing crash happened in front of them. Ghostbear decided to take action this time and cackled loudly. ���Peekaboo Tortuga!!” He called out and cackled. “GHOSTBEAR?!” Leo cried in horror, This was the LAST thing he wanted. Leo took out his Odachi sword and tried charging at him... completely forgetting about his new ability to go Ghost!! Falling right through the mutant!

“I’ll ruin this date like you ruin my pro wrestling career!!” He cried out evilly and tried to swipe at Tati, jumping back, she tried unleashing her gale-force attacks and it did knock Ghostbear to the brick wall. Though he roared and Leo took the distracted opportunity to hit Ghostbear from the side.

Now was the time for a retreat! The noise brings people and people mean more risk in innocent civilian damage. Rushing down the alleyway they came from the first time with a raging mutant polar bear in pursuit.

Leo quickly found cover in the separate alleyway as Ghostbear was busy searching for the two and tore open any garbage bins, Leo covered his face before he turned to face Tati. “I’m so sorry about this, I tried being smooth and confident to ask you out and yet this happens.. probably messed up so bad now..” He sighed but Tati, with a pink shade to her cheeks, grabbed his hand. 

“Leo, no matter what and despite this evil, crazy, and might I add very petty mutant polar bear... I would’ve and always will say yes; I would love to go out with you.” She confessed and Leo squeezes his hand back in hers. “Really?! I-yes!” He said (rather) too loudly and Ghostbear turned to that direction and poked his furry head in.“Peekaboo Tortuga!!”

Before Ghostbear gets a swipe in, Leo and Tati quickly jump out of the way and in midair, Tati said quickly “Uh maybe not the time and place for a romantic confession!” “Agreed!!” Leo concurred fast as Tati had caught him and used her wind magic to help him land behind another alleyway. Tati and Leo poked their heads out to observe the seeking mutant bear.

“Señor Fuzzy-Jerk won’t leave us alone unless he’s stopped! We gotta do something..” Tati said.. then gave a knowing look to Leo. “Well, Leo?” In her eyes, she fully believes in him.“You.. really think I can?” Leo said looking surprised. “Leo, I know you can.” She squeezed his arm and now they both looked determined to the approaching Ghostbear. Leo lifted the basketball and he whispered his quickly made plan.

Separating as Tati ran out first. “Hey! You!! Over here Mal Oso!!” She cried and with an evil laugh, Ghostbear foolishly chased after her. Supposedly cornering her by a gate in the alleyway and Ghostbear cackled. “Looks like the Tortuga is gonna have to find another novia.. because I have ruined his date!!” He cackled so evilly.. but didn’t exactly noticed the smirk on Tati’s face.

“Yeah, I don’t think you have you moron.” She then pressed her cloaking badge and revealed her fairy wings and green eyes. “You really should watch out behind you!” She raised her hand to catch the basketball and used her air power to launch it into Ghostbear’s face hard and very quickly, in Ghostbear’s surprise and his guard was hit backward.. into Leo’s already opened portal!

Leo opened two more: one above the other to gain speed and finally a third opened to lead into the Hudson River and had shot Ghostbear through. “TORTUGA!!!” He cried before hitting the waters and he burst out soon after to catch on some driftwood.. exhausted and frustrated that he failed again.

Back with the couple, Tati and Leo high fives each other and laughed about it. “Leo! That was so good! You knew thy enemy and used it to our advantage!! You're amazing!!” She threw her arms around his shoulders and Leo enjoyed this feeling.

“And you’re amazing too Tati! Everything! Your wind powers and everything about you?” Leo complimented back and the two blushed and were silent for a quick moment.

“Let’s call this a pre-date and finish this night off with Pizza?” Tati suggested, “Pizza! Run Of The Mill?” He held his arm out and Tati gladly took it. “Run Of The Mill.” She giggled and the two finally went off towards the Yokai Pizza place... feelings confirmed but willing to take it slow.

[blackevermore]

T.U.R.T.L.E

[ Taz x Mikey ]

Summary: Mikey feeling that insecurity about not being human and Taz is there so paint him back to himself.

Genre: Wholesome

Warning(s): Slight mention of nudity but that’s it.

Word count: 1,815

A/N: Can I just love him? Like, smother him in kisses and just AHHHHHHH....yeah? I was also inspired by this imagine .

"Michelangelo, did you draw a sun across my chest?" Taz looked around Mikey to the standing mirror beside his bed. There was, in fact, a heavily detailed sun starting from the side of her left breast to the other side of her right. Without looking back towards her boyfriend, she could tell he had a very cocky smile across his face. Proud of his work, he turned his head to look at her reflection, giving a thumbs up. They sat on the floor in front of his bed facing each other, Taz's legs were over Mikey's as she sat in between his legs.

"Babe I'm trying to use my killer art skills to display a wicked symbolism of you being my sunshine," Mikey explained closing his eyes and making a stereotypical Italian gesture. Taz felt the sudden urge to pick up the bottle of red paint next to her and slash it in his face. However, she reframed herself since they would need it for the rest of the session.

Today was Wednesday which means naked art therapy, which meant Mikey's room was completely off-limits, which also meant no one was allowed to bother the couple until they emerged from his room. They started doing this on a whim after an awful mission which left Mikey to feel very much not like himself for a week. No one knew what exactly to do to make Mikey happy. Raph offered to battle him in NBA 2k19 but Mikey turned it down. Leo offered a skateboarding battle with Donnie topping it off with allowing Mikey to order whatever ungodly combination of pizza but he turned those down as well. They all knew it things were terrible when Mikey turns down pizza. Donnie was ready to push the emergency button, but their father put a halt to it quickly. He told them that it wasn't platonic love that needed to reach him, for he always knew he had that, but rather romantic reinsurance. Having friends and family accepting you was strong, but the bound of romantic and intimate acceptance was greater.

With that in mind, Donnie video called April to get her cousin to come over. Taz made it in ten minutes, ran past everyone shouting a single 'hi' and straight to Mikey's room. She had an idea on how to cheer him up.

This was their thing now, it wasn't meant to be sexual, just therapeutic with having them both at their most valuable states. Painting whatever they wanted on each other and talking things out.

"You say that, but I can clearly tell you just wanted to paint my boobs." Taz turned back to the paint tray and dipped a finger into the yellow and booped him on the nose. For a moment, Taz was laughing along with him but then stopped to look him over. Mikey was wearing the disguise bracelet beta that Donnie had invented. Mikey originally didn't suppose to have it, of course, he took it out of pure curiosity. Donnie tried to snatch it back, unsure if the bracelet would actually work or not. There was a high chance it would blow up when Mikey pressed the activation button. Before Donnie could catch up with his much faster brother Mikey had already pushed the button, and a bright white light flashed scanning him from head to toe.

"Oh my god it worked," Don said dumbfounded.

"Bro!! I'm a dude!!" Mikey yelled, causing Raph and Leo to stop sparring and peek their head out of the garage.

Taz could only imagine the happy dance Mikey was for a day straight until the bracelet ran out of juice and he turned back into his turtle self. She didn't mind the disguise, Mikey will always be Mikey no matter what he looked like but she prefered, in more intimate moments like this, he wouldn't use it. This Mikey has human the whole way round. Sun-kissed sun honey brown skin with fields of freckles and birthmarks where his usual turtle spots would be. His tattoos were still there but more prominent. He still had his buff yet slim figure, but his shell was gone, and he also had messy curly shoulder-length hair. His eyes didn't change, which was a blessing because they were already as beautiful as ever. If Mikey was human Taz was sure she would still fall head over hills for the pizza-loving, never so serious, fun-loving turtle-er guy.

She knew why he became insecure at times, he heard the stories from Raph and Leo about their teen years. Since Mikey was the youngest, he had only came out of those years only five years ago. He had a lot of things bottled up that he ever talked about. Even though he was the more emotional brother, he still had his more personal matters. If Mikey could only make one wish for the rest of his life, Taz was sure that it would be to be human and live up top with her. He would totally keep all the cool ninja lifestyle. However, to be able to walk around without getting weird looks or even worse people being afraid of him. Mikey had built up a very tough skin over the years for whatever came his way, but that never stopped his heart from hurting.

This made Taz feel terrible.

Mikey noticed her change in behaviour and stuck a hand up in front of her shaking it back and forth. 

"Baby girl?"

"Mikey, why are you wearing that?"

"Wearing what? We're both naked, that's the whole point of this babe." Mikey winked and dropped his eyes low then back up. Taz's eyebrows knotted, clearly not amused with the joke (which she would have laughed at any other time).

"Mikey seriously-”

"Babe we're fine, come on we're naked and painting and having a good time."

"Mikey-"

"Now turn around so I can bust out a killer back mural that I've been thinking about. Neon colours always look the best on you if I do say so myself, and I did, I say so myself." Mikey turned to his side and picked up a tray and a few paints as he prepared for his art attack.

"Michelangelo, Michael, Angel!" Taz rose her voice to break his rambling he was trying to distract her with. Even if all his names out of order, it still shook him silent as she gave him a look at told him to shut up and listen. Mikey's smile dropped, and he slowly sat the supplies down. Taz's face softens when she saw the light in Mikey's eyes die down and dull, it broke her heart. Taz took a breath then nodded, she picked up her brush and dipped it into a shade of green that matched Mikey's normal skin tone. She scooted closer than she already was and placed Mikey's hands on her plumped waist. Mikey didn't move and kept his eyes only on Taz's face as she wrote out something across his chest.

"You are Triumphant, Unyielding, Renowned, Talent, Loved, Exuberant. You are a 'T.U.R.T.L.E', and there is nothing wrong with that, there was never anything wrong with you." Taz used her free hand to press the button on the bracelet to deactivate it. Mikey refuses to put up a sign of protest as show his self change back through the reflection of the girl's glasses. He could feel his chest tighten and his breath hitch as Taz moved her hand up his arm then back down to grab his hand and take it in her. 

"You've been spending too much time with Donnie." Mikey cracked a feeble joke relating to the words she used in her acronym. Taz finally gave him that smile he was ever so lucky to be blessed with. He loved nothing more than to see her smile towards him.

"Yeah I have but at least I have a bigger vocabulary to compliment you with." Taz stuck out her tongue then reached up to wrap a hand behind Mikey's neck to pull him down for a kiss. He quickly melted against her lips and pulled her entirely onto his lap with his other hand that was still on her hip. Taz giggled and pulled away from the kiss. 

"Seriously though," Taz fixed her glasses then cleared her throat. "When we are around family and friends, I don't want to see that bracelet on you. When you do that it feels like your hiding from me." Taz gave him a playful, sad face and poked out her bottom lip.

"Hey, that's my puppy face I use on the other! You can't use that on me." Mikey pulled her down for a kiss and Taz happily gave. After a few more seconds of their small make out, the girl pulled away again and patted his shoulder right above his tattoo.

"Mikey stop trying to distract me, I need to know your answer." Taz wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed herself against his plastron. Forgetting all about the paint on both of their bodies.

"Okay okay, yeah, I promise. It's just...a lot, and I know you already know this but-"

"Hey ya knucklehead, I don't care how many times we'll have this talk, I want you to feel comfortable as you are around me. I know what you long for, but we must embrace and love what we have now." Taz cupped his face and pushed his cheeks together. Mikey bubbled with laughed from his baby girl's attack. He nuzzled into her neck and kissed a small trail up and down.

"I love you. I really didn't know love could feel this good." For a moment, the laughter died down, and the tone of his voice was solemn. Taz closed her eyes and rested her cheek on top of his head.

"I love you too Micky, no more hiding." Mikey nodded and settled into their position until he saw a sudden glow of light. He shifted a bit, not enough to get Taz's attention, but enough to know where the glow was coming from. He could see it was coming from between them from Taz's necklace. He had seen it do that before. It only happens when she got overly excited about something or if she got upset. Of course, he never said anything about it to her in fear that she would panic, but he did wonder why it did that.

For now, Mikey would leave it alone, they already were having their heart to heart. This wasn't about her right now. Mikey smiled and wrapped his arms around Taz and held her tight, earning him a kiss on the head and a soft hum. Taz, on the other hand, was anything but relaxed, her emotions were everywhere. She was telling Mikey to not hide and to be himself, but yet she was hiding as well.

[a-small-fools-blog]

TmnT Turtles x Child!Reader!

You were young. About 6 years old young, and homeless. You lived in New York City, and even asking people for food got you kicked in the face. A long dirty T-shirt was all you wore. Hair long and knotted. You were dirty, hungry and alone. That didn't stop your excitement and curiosity as a young child.

You wondered the streets by yourself, past midnight, skipping down the sidewalk, when a tall lanky guy in a hoodie tripped you.

You fell on your face, you looked up at the guy in confusion. He frowned, "dirty ass child" he said, as he kicked the side of your head.

He only got one kick in, and before he could get another one in, he was snatched up but someone.

You could hear him begging who ever was attacking him to stop, that he was sorry. Screaming and yelling 'Freaks!' A few curse words were added.

After a few minutes it stopped, and a pizza box was slid your way. You didn't care that it came from a random alleyway, you opened the box and dug into the hot pizza.

You heard voices arguing in the alley, you munched much slower.

A minute later, a large green hand peeked out from the alley way. You put the pizza down, and made your way over to it slowly. It only had three fingers, and it was a deep shade of green.

"She ain't gonna come, she's so little she'll freak the fu-" you startled the creature when you touched it. It flinched and that caused you to flinch too, you thinking you were gonna get hit.

"Awe, Raph you scared her" a younger voice said.

A large turtle creature with an orange mask crouched down in front of you, smiling.

It wasn't a crooked smile, like most men gave you when they tried to lure you, it was a kind smile, one that was friendly and helpful.

He held out his hand to you, the other hand holding a slice of pizza. You ran over to him, taking the pizza out of his hand and eating it happily. He laughed, and patted your head.

"Hungry little dude?" He smiled. There were three more turtles. You recognized the colors.

Blue. Red. Purple. Orange.

You stared up at the biggest one. The pizza long forgotten. You had this- "hes so cool" six year old face. He chuckled, and even though he crouched down, he was still so huge.

You lightly touched his red mask. You cooed softly. His eyes held adorned all over them. He looked up at the blue masked turtle. "Lemme keep her" he said, the blue masked turtle thought about it for a second.

The blue masked turtle's eyes flickered to you for a moment before sighing. "Fine" he said, "but your taking care of her"

You knew what that meant. That you'll finally have a home. You jumped up and down, squealing excitedly. You ran over and hugged the blue masked turtle's leg.

He flinched, and that scared you. You ducked your head, and ran back over to the red masked turtle.

He scooped you up, holding you close to his chest. "Aye, its okay kid, I ain't gonna let old leader getcha" he said, tickling you. You giggled, and hugged onto his arm.

"The names Raphael, can ya say that?" he asked, walking towards a man hole cover. You attempted to say it, but it came out "Rapel"

Raph laughed, and jumped down the man hole. "Ya'll get it kid, aye, what is ya name?"

"Y/n" you said, he smiled down at you. "Cute name"

When you got their home, your six year old mind exploded. It was so big, and colorful.

You explored a bit, you scared the life out of Master Splinter though, you looked up at him, but you just suddenly there it took him by surprise. His tail smacked the ground when he was startled, and that scared you.

Raph scooped you up, apologized to his father and explained to him who you were. Splinter smiled, and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I except you to take care of her Raphael"

"I will sensai"

You learned their names, but for now just stuck to calling them by the color of their masks.

"Red!" you yelled, he set you down at the table. Pulling out his cellphone.

"please pick up-April! Yeah, uh I need ya help me with a little something, please help a turtle out?" he asked on the phone, as he glanced over to you.

An hour later a woman came into the lair, you were eating at the table, and coloring with Mikey.

You didn't notice her at first, she was talking to Raph.

"Orange!" you yelled at Mikey. Mikey laughed. "Y/n, say Mikey"

You blinked at him, giggling. "Orange!" he laughed. "Close enough"

He then noticed the girl. "Angelcakes!" he got up and went over to her.

You struggled to get off the chair, but made it down. Falling on your butt, you got back up and ran over to the girl.

You touched her long hair, it startled her. She looks down at you, your bright eyes shining. She awed and dropped everything she had in her arms to scoop you up in them. She hugged you close to her, swaying softly. "Awe your so cute"

She smiled at you "I brought you alot stuff, wanna see?"

You nodded rapidly, she put you down. She sat on the floor in front you surrounded by bags.

"My names April, what's yours?" you smiled, "Y/n"

Raph sat next you, fidgeted a bit then sat you in his lap. April laughed at him. He glared at her, but pulled you closer to him.

April handed you the first bag. You looked in it and pulled out a few outfits. You excitedly showed Raph, wiggling on his leg with excitement.

He smiled, "Thats pretty" he complemented.

A few bags later, you had new clothes, some sippy cups, a lot of toys and a stuffed turtle plush, a new bed set, a hair brush and a few other essentials you may need.

You snuggled the turtle plush, holding it up for Raph to see it. He laughed, "what's it name?"

You thought for a moment, "Phil!" Raph laughed harder. "Okay, Phil it is"

After a bath, a change of clothes and Donnie making you a bed made for your size, placed next to Raph's, you were fast asleep.

He sighed, tucking you in. He kissed your head, walking into the living room.

Leo looked over at him, "didn't think you could be that soft" Raph threw a pillow at his face, sitting on the couch. "Shut up"

A few weeks living with turtles took a bit of adjusting to. Not just for you, but for the turtles aswell.

Donnie was almost always constantly tripped over you. You were so small, he could barely see as it is. You also had a thing for his computers, he's moved you a few times out of his chair, and into his lap, letting you watch him work until you got bored and went to find Mikey.

Chalking it up to you never really seeing one before. He'd let you play on his computers a few times, as long as you sat on his lap when you did. He even downloaded a few children's learning games. Donnie was also your teacher. He taught you how to read, talk and a bit of numbers too.

You'd also run to Donnie if you fell down and hurt yourself. When you scraped your knee, Donnie held your tiny leg in his hands. He fake gasped,

"Oh no Y/n!"

"What?! What?!"

"I'm going to have to cut off your leg, there's nothing I can do!"

That didn't go as smoothly as he hoped it would, he didn't actually have to cut off your leg, but we all know Donnie has a playful side.

After 20 minutes of you screaming at Donnie not to cut off your leg. He laughed, and kissed your head. Putting a band aid on your wound, he gave you a cookie, and let you play on his computer as an apology.

You had run up to him when you first drew a picture of you, April and all of them. He let you tape it to his desk, he moved it though to a board he kept in front of his desk so he could look at it while working.

Leo had a bit of a harder time with you, since he scared you your first meeting, it was a bit tough. At dinner, if he sat next you, you'd get up and sit next to Mikey or Master Splinter.

Leo apologized for scaring you with a little blue flower. You pointed to your ear, for him to put it behind it. He smiled, held your chin gently in his hand and placed the flower in your hair. You smiled and hugged him around the neck. He was careful to hug you back.

He even had April get your very own bright blue kimono, which he cried the first time you put it on. You loved it, and would only wear it when Leo was teaching you Japanese. You did okay at it, but he struggled not laugh when you'd say certain words that didn't sound at all what it was meant to be.

When you get a sentence right, he would ask you to repeat it to the family as much as possible. Raph got mad at Leo a few times because you'd come up to him and say it, and he would have no clue what you said. Until he realized you were speaking Japanese.

He did get a bit aggravated at times when you'd come running in the dojo when he was meditating. He was sitting, so you saw the chance to touch his shell, play with the tails of his mask and sit in his lap, constantly asking if he fell asleep sitting up. He sighed, grin and start tickling you.

Mikey made sure to be the best older brother he could be. He taught you how to paint, tried to teach you how to skate and cooked food for you whenever you were hungry.

You often sat in his lap when he played video games, he gave you a controller you thought was plugged in but was just him playing.

"You got it angelcakes! Go! Go!"

"I couldn't!" you yelled out in young person frustration.

Mikey danced with you in his arms, you'd stand on his feet and he would hold your hands in his as you both twirled around.

He would give you piggy back rides. You asked to get on his shoulders one so you could be tall like Donnie.

Mikey walked over to him while he was in the kitchen, with you on his shoulders, you didn't quite reach Donnie's height but you managed to kiss his cheek.

He looked over and saw you sitting on Mikey's shoulders. He laughed, picked you up and nuzzled your nose. "Your so cute" he said, putting you back on Mikey, who held onto your hands and ran off.

Raph was, well Raph. He was there for you whenever you needed him. When you wanted to nap, he'd let you fall asleep on his plastron, which Mikey has a picture of. Raph taught you how to fight. He almost cried when you would punch the sand bag with such fury. He thought it was fucking adorable. He scooped you and nuzzled your nose with his flat one. You giggled and grabbed his face, hugging it close.

When you'd try to pick up one of his weights, he would stand there with his arms crossed grinning.

"Well come now, I know ya stronger then that!" he said, "put ya back into it"

"I couldn't!" you said, falling on your butt.

He would let you sit on his shell while he did push ups, and also let you lay on his plastron while he lifted weights.

You'd hold onto the bar, giggling as your arms went up and down. He would also lift you like a weight which was your favorite thing to do with Raph. You laugh and giggle, making him unable to stop smiling. When he'd stop, you'd pout.

"Again! Again!"

"alright, fine"

He had alot of your drawing strung up on his wall. He even knitted you a quilt, that was now your security blanket. When you'd get scared or lonely at night, you throw your blanket up on the top bunk and climb up. You snuggled into Raph's side, wrapping yourself in the blanket, falling back asleep.

He had snatched Donnie's full cup coffee from you, growling at him to keep it put up, to Donnie's defense he would say he just poured it and you were a sneaky little shit.

When Raph and Leo would get into it, you'd put yourself in the middle, tiny arms thrown out to your sides and screaming "No turtle fight!"

The first time they heard this, they stopped fighting and started laughing. They'd playfully fight just to hear you say it.

Master Splinter was like the grandpa you've always wanted. You'd wake up first in the mornings, go to his room, sit and have tea with him. Holding your sippy cup as delicate as you could. He laughed, and that caused you to giggle to.

He caught you with his tail when you were running down the stairs and tripped. He brought you to him, hugging you close. "You give an old rat more gray hairs little one" he said, "be careful"

He would rock you to asleep in a rocking chair Donnie made him, when the boys were out either on patrol or on a mission. He couldn't get you to sleep any other way.

Missions were not only hard for them, but hard for you too. You didn't understand why they'd be gone for so long. But when they did come back, you would try to hug all of them at once. Kissing their faces and crying, saying not to leave you again.

When you met Casey, you were a bit skeptical. He smiled and fist bumped you.

You'd watch hockey with him, you didn't understand why he got so excited but you'd excited too. He tried to teach you how to play a bit, but once you got hit with the puck in the head.

Leo said no more, and that he should probably not visit for a week or two because when Raph finds out he'll want to rip Casey in two, accident or not.

April was the only female in your life, so that meant she's the only one you could have girl time with. You'd give the boys small fashion shows when she would buy you new outfits, she would even do your hair too. (Raph said no makeup) She even bought you two matching outfits.

Mikey whistled, "Looking good angelcakes!" You blew him a kiss, which made him laugh. He couldn't help it, and scooped you up giving you a big kiss on the cheek.

"Mikey! Your ruining the fashion show!" April said, putting her hands on her hips, then turned her cheek and tapped it.

Mikey grinned and kissed her cheek. He put you down, and went back to his seat. The show must go on!

Life with the turtles couldn't be better. You finally had your family, and you couldn't be happier with the one you got.