#rise fanfic

[imagionationstation]

Am I really going to be the first author to write an A03 2012&Rise crossover where Leo&Donnie get thrown into another universe and find everything different and weird and kinda depressing and have to rely heavily on each other for some normalcy while dealing with the dysfunctional family they’ve found themselves stuck with until they can get found/go home?

Huh?

No, I meant 2012Leo&Donnie in the Rise ‘verse, obvi.

What could possibly make you think otherwise?

[aversiteespabilas]

The guys are having a lot of fun at Seahorse Hill!

Inspired by You Coveted This Prison, @bizzie-bee's AMAZING fic, go read it right now!

[teainthesnow]

Once again the Cass Apocalyptic series by @somerandomdudelmao is giving me emotions so time for angst

- - -

Dying isn’t quite what he expected it to be, not that he has any idea what he thought death would be like.

Maybe he thought he’d be greeted by the welcoming faces of his ancestors, of his dear papa, and gram gram. Or maybe even some higher being, or maybe even nothing at all. Maybe just empty space and a long deserved rest.

But this... this is the last thing he would have ever thought possible.

This unbearable agony, the burning pain as his soul, his very essence, begins to drip...

... drip...

... drip...

...drip away.

And there’s nothing that he can do to stop it.

He tries, really truly tries, to keep going. To do something, anything, to stop it from happening.

The pain is unending as he drags his faltering and weakening body away from his mourning family – and that’s a thought he pushes deep, deep, down because they’ll be okay, he made sure of that, at least – and tries to do something, anything to save himself.

But there’s nothing.

Just pain and fear and the looming dread that this is really, truly it.

But at least his family is safe. Or as safe as they can be. And that’s a reassurance to him, something that soothes the agony just a little bit.

And then he hears a noise.

A voice.

Closer and clearer than the soft murmuring voices of his brothers.

Shouting words he never thought would be directed at him again.

Shouting “Uncle Tello!”

He looks up.

Casey is running towards him... but he’s different. His mind, too riddled with pain and fog, cannot comprehend just what it is. Only briefly registering that he should not be here just yet. He opens his mouth, but no sound comes out, just more purple, more of his life.

“Uncle Tello!” Casey yells again, voice fear filled and desperate.

He tries to push himself up on weak and disappearing limbs. He’s surprised and confused and he doesn’t know what to do but reach his hand out towards Casey... towards... well, he doesn’t really know what.

But the remaining strength in his limbs give out, and he drops back down to the floor, wincing as the harsh motion sends threads of shooting pain throughout his body.

He suddenly becomes aware that he doesn’t have long left.

...

He doesn’t want Casey to see this.

...

But perhaps, he thinks, maybe it’s nice to not be alone as he goes.

...

Casey is still running towards him, golden orange sparks, like the sun itself, like his little brothers magic, dance along Casey’s arms and mix with the sickly purple of his own essence.

He screws his eyes shut through the torture that is his body

falling

apart.

.

.

.

Then, somehow, he opens his eyes again.

And he is still here.

He’s not gone.

It takes a second to really process that, and the another to realise the situation that he’s in.

He’s possessing Casey... Like April and gram gram all those years ago.

Okay, okay, he can work with that.

There’s still a lingering burning pain, he can still feel himself slowly slipping away but it’s not as bad. His situation isn’t too dire right now. If he tries, and concentrates with everything he has, he can stop it, or slow it down.

And then, because the situation isn’t already confusing enough, he finds out that Casey has time travelled.

How, he doesn’t know.

Nor does he know why.

And he refuses to think about it, why it was necessary.

And vehemently refuses to think about what that means for his brothers. For April. For the resistance and all it’s members.

Because they are all fine, it was just some... accident... or weird supply run... they were fine...

They had to be.

They were alive, happy, eating honey and living in a Krang free world.

...And he definitely wasn’t in denial.

He has more important things to worry about.

He coughs, wincing through the pain, just barely keeping himself together as he talks.

But he knows that, by himself, there’s nothing he can do right now.

He’s too weak to do anything.

Too busy keeping himself together.

(And maybe he briefly wonders if it would just be easier on them both if he just lets go.)

But then Casey is begging him to hold on.

That he’ll fix it.

That he’ll make it better.

“Please.” He begs and that seals it.

He thinks of the time travel, of his brothers, of all the things and people that he left behind, of all the promises that he’s already broken.

Of the birthday he never made it to.

“Alright.” He says, with a smile on his face and agony coursing through his veins. “I can do that.”

He concentrates on keeping himself together, on staying alive for as long as he can.

‘For you, Casey Junior, I’ll keep fighting for as long as I can.’

He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.

‘Because what kind of uncle would I be if I keep breaking my promises.’

[turtleblogatlast]

[ cw: risk taking behavior / circumstantial self harm kinda / ignoring of injuries / self-depreciation / slight ooc-ness but for a reason! / ]

Post invasion, Leo is fine.

More than fine! He’s better than before, even. That is, if you don’t count the slightly cracked shell and still healing bones, but those are only a problem when the weather wants them to be!

Leo really is better in the ways that matter.

He’s not as cocky, not as self-centered, and overall just more heroic in general if he does say so himself.

Raph even said he was proud of Leo!

So obviously things are going well.

But.

It’s not enough.

Leo’s better, sure, but he’s still got work to do.

So - and here’s something that will probably make his brothers faint on the spot - he needs to train.

_____

His brothers do not faint, but it’s a near thing for Raph. Mikey has to fan the snapper’s face and Donnie almost brings out the smelling salts before Raph shoots back to his feet with an excited grin.

Leo’s big brother gets teary eyed soon after and envelops him in a bear hug, saying once again how proud he is that Leo is growing up.

Leo lets himself be hugged, even hugs back as fiercely as he can, because unbeknownst to Raph, this marks the end of Leo’s childhood.

He lets himself be hugged like a kid one last time, looking through the hole in Raph’s shell all the while.

_____

Leo only trains the regular way with his brothers and occasionally April and the Caseys, but most especially Raph.

But of course that’s not enough, it was never going to be.

So he goes through the motions of the stretches, the spars, the meditation, and then he leaves.

He makes sure to have his excuses ready, usually defaulting to Hueso as his go to since his brothers are easily bought off with the promise of pizza. Leo hasn’t yet found the tracker Donnie installed in him, but when he does that’ll be dealt with too! But for now, this should be good.

See, the invasion made him realize something.

It’s not about him, but it was his shortcomings that led to everything going to hell.

So he just…needs to get rid of those shortcomings.

He’s working on it, gaining fighting skill in training, but there’s more he needs to do, more skills he needs to train.

Leo watches intently as Repo Mantis swindles someone, he memorizes the sleight of hand that Hypno performs, he sneaks back into the Mystic Library and is so quiet the hush bats forget he’s there, he talks Big Mama into honing his manipulation, and he even sneaks into human hospitals and reptile veterinary clinics to get a clue on more serious injuries.

And after any of these, he heads to Run of the Mill to compete in the Maze of Death.

_____

This is his twelfth time going through the (newly remodeled and even more deadly) Maze of Death, and would be his fifth time winning. The first three times had him waking up in Hueso’s office, and each time he wakes his old persona shines through.

He always waves off Hueso’s annoyance and questions and insists on trying again next time before he steals some pizza and bails.

The skeleton actively tries to stop him from entering the Maze after the first time, but hey- mystics are allowed before you enter.

It’s easy enough to teleport on by.

Harder to meet Hueso’s - and later his brothers’ - eyes when he fails again.

When he first actually won, Hueso congratulates him in that typical deadpan tone of his.

“Ah, felicidades, Pepino. Now you can move on, sí?”

“Hm? Nah, boneman! That run was sloppy!”

And then Leo runs off before Hueso can stop him.

He doesn’t even look at his picture on the champion wall when he next comes around. It’s not much to look at anyway.

_____

His second win is much like the first, and only his third win is actually acceptable.

But he knows the field too much now. He needs a challenge.

When he attempts to go through it blindfolded, he’s quickly shown how much he doesn’t know the Maze. So, obviously, he loses again.

He got a bit more banged up that time around.

“Pepino, basta ya, you’ve already won. Where are your brothers?”

“I can’t stop yet, señor! This is for my brothers - no les digas, please.”

Even if Hueso wanted to tell Leo’s brothers, they haven’t been in enough for him to get to, and it’s not like Hueso has their number since Leo’s the one Hueso usually contacts. For now, Leo’s safe to continue as is.

Though his injuries are getting harder to hide, and there’s only so much his shell in particular can take.

So to speed things up, he incorporates the blindfold into his regular training.

His brothers question it, of course, but hey, he initially got the idea from seeing Lou Jitsu do it in the third best Lou Jitsu movie, so it comes as a great excuse now.

He’s only a little put off by how fast Mikey adapts to it when the others try.

“I dunno-“ Mikey shrugs when asked, “You guys shine so brightly anyway, a mask doesn’t do much.”

Seeing their mystic energies is pretty cool, Leo can admit.

He just wishes he could grasp that himself - and that it was useful for a death maze.

_____

Leo’s training pulls off eventually, and soon, after a few more losses, he wins a forth time. But it’s a near loss, and a near loss is the difference between someone living and dying.

He’s gotta go again.

Hueso’s more insistent than ever, though.

“You must stop, Pepino.”

“But I can do better-“

“You don’t have to! Your shell is bleeding - ¡por tu propio bien, poner fin a esto!”

“I told you, this is for their own good! For everyone’s own good!”

He forgets the pizzas when he leaves. He claims sickness when he hides under his covers.

He ignores how childish the act makes him feel.

_____

Leo’s getting better, and his reflexes and tact in training shows this. His other training of his subterfuge and medical skills also prove to be useful.

He’s pretty good at hiding injuries, now! Though not so good at hiding a pained shell. Even Donnie looks at him with blatant concern (and understanding) when Leo can’t help but take a sharp breath whenever he lands on his back.

It’s hard not to go right back into waving everything off with jokes like he used to. Deflections are easier when they’re annoying!

But- this is just another reason that he needs to get better, right? So his brothers won’t worry. He doesn’t need the spotlight anymore - he’s over that, thanks.

He squashes down the part of him that perks up when Splinter says he’s growing up. He actively kills the part of himself that cries at the same phrase.

_____

So. Yeah. This’ll be his twelfth time running the Maze. And, hopefully, his fifth win. Maybe he really will move on after this.

The Hidden City is pretty big! There’s probably a bigger challenge somewhere.

Maybe Big Mama has a more secret Nexus hidden away, out of the public eye.

Well, whatever. That’s a future problem for him to figure out, yeah? For now, he carries on like usual, teleporting to the entrance of the Maze and diving right in.

Even blindfolded, he works his way through, dodging and weaving and feeling as he goes. He even tries to evoke his inner Mikey and calls on his mystic energy. Not enough to cheat, but enough to feel.

Usually, when Leo teleports, he swears he feels every part of himself disperse into particles. Now, with energy thrumming under his scales, he can feel particles everywhere.

It’s not refined enough to tell him everything, and he gets a fun new burn and a nice whack to the back by getting distracted. Still, it gives him more than he had before. It makes him more aware of everything, like he licked a finger and held it in the air to feel the direction of wind, but every direction blew wind, all in different ways.

He makes it to the end with minimal injuries after that, and sure, his shell is screaming at him now, but he thinks he did a shell of a good job.

…Ah, he needs to cut that out, huh? Man. Maybe Donnie’s collar idea was a good call after all.

Leo needs to be a hero. Not a face man. Not a failure.

Not a kid.

_____

Leo doesn’t smile when the Minotaur takes his picture again for the champion wall, and he doesn’t listen when she tells him to “go home and never come back.”

He doesn’t plan to, anyway, yeesh.

He’s tired as he trudges out of the exit, and Hueso catches him when he stumbles.

Hueso doesn’t say anything. Leo doesn’t either.

Or, he doesn’t, until he feels a familiar large hand helping him up as well.

Leo’s face whips up as he flinches back, eyes wide as they meet with a worried (so, so worried) Raph’s.

“You told them?” Leo asks Hueso in betrayal, heart thudding wildly in his chest.

“Pepino…”

“Told us what?” Mikey pipes up from behind Raph, coming closer to get a better look at Leo, “Leo, what’s going on?”

“Your shell has been having pretty big setbacks on its healing, is this why?” Donnie demands, glaring fiercely as he motions toward the Maze.

Leo feels unmoored. “I-“

“Leo.” Raph interrupts, and no Leo doesn’t want to hear it- “Are you okay?”

And Leo wants to say “it’s not about me”. He wants to say anything that proved he learned his lesson, that he’s not a liability or worse, an active danger to his own family.

He wants Raph to continue being proud of him. He wants his brothers to trust him.

Instead, he passes out.

_____

The next time his eyes open, Leo’s on his side, staring at his blue lava lamp.

He knows without looking that his shell is re-bandaged. He knows his other injuries have been dealt with too.

And unless Leo learned how to do some pretty impressive medical sleepwalking, he knows he’s not getting away this time.

All three of his brothers being in his room prove that.

“What’s been going on, Leo?” Mikey asks, and his voice cracks partway through.

He’s looking at Leo like he’s searching for something, but Leo doesn’t have anything to show. Nothing’s hidden, he just did some light spring cleaning is all, throwing out all the parts he didn’t need.

All the parts they didn’t need.

And yet despite everything, he can feel himself falling back into old ways, a grin tugging at his beak and lackadaisical deflection on the tip of his tongue.

Maybe he should let that part of him show, just for once. It wouldn’t seem like too much of a setback would it? And he could really use a fun pun right about now-

No.

No it’s not about him. He needs to remember why he did all this in the first place.

“Okay- sorry, guys.” He smiles, softly, quietly, “I guess I got too caught up in training. I’ll work at it some more, don’t worry.”

“Oh, I see. Training. That’s all it was, huh? Training.” Donnie hisses more than says, nearly vibrating in anger.

“…yeah?” Leo nods slowly, because, uh, that’s literally the most honest thing he said. It was training.

“If it’s just “training” then why the secrecy, hm? Why in Curie’s good name did you prefer to sneak around rather than, oh, I don’t know, tell your family?”

Leo feels his shoulders rise at Donnie’s aggression, defensiveness welling up in him, “It was my training! Nothing went wrong, I’m getting better!”

“Better?” Raph asks incredulously, “Leo, you’re wasting away. A tap to the shell stuns you for minutes, you lost weight, and your dark circles are worse than Raph’s ever seen them! You aren’t getting better-!”

“YES I AM!”

The words rip out of Leo before he can stop them.

The room is silent as his brother look at him, all wearing expressions of hurt that Leo put there again.

“Yes I am.” Leo reiterates, shaking, “Because- if I’m not-“ He squeezes his eyes shut. “If I’m not-“

Then what was all this for?

Arms slowly wrap around him, and he knows now from the feel of the mystic that it’s Mikey.

“You’ve gotten faster, and sneakier.” Mikey says quietly. “When I accidentally cut my hand, you knew exactly how to take care of it.” His voice grows firm, and he backs out of the hug, “But those are your skills. You, though, you’ve been…you’ve been…”

“You’ve been dilapidating before our very eyes, and trying to hide it.” Donnie finishes, jaw tight. “You think we wouldn’t notice? After everything?” To Leo’s horror, Donnie’s voice is hoarse with tears, “You absolute dumb dumb.”

“I- but I need to train. The Maze is-“

“Leo, we don’t care that you ran through the Maze. We care you did it alone.” Raph says quietly. “We could have joined you, any time.”

“But- but I’m doing this for you-“

“Listen to your brothers, Blue.” They jump as a new voice joins the fray, heads turning to see Splinter make his way into the - frankly crowded - room.

“Dad, I-“ Leo begins, but trails off, suddenly more unsure than ever in the face of his father.

“It’s good you’re finally picking up training! Especially for your brothers’ sakes! But there’s such a thing as going overboard, you know.” Splinter pokes a sharp claw into Leo’s plastron, “Just because you’re dragging it out this time, doesn’t make this any less of a sacrifice. My son, you’ve taken after Karai an awful lot, haven’t you?”

Leo just looks at his father. At his brothers. Then, he looks down at his calloused hands, bandaged and scarred from overuse.

He swallows dryly. “Is that a bad thing?”

He feels his family crowd in around him, feels his father’s hand on his shoulder.

“It’s not wrong to want to be better, Leonardo.” Splinter says, softly and with so much grief and guilt that Leo can never begin to understand, “But you were never bad to begin with.”

Leo’s breath hitches.

“And-” Splinter’s hands rise up to frame Leo’s face. “You are much too young to ever consider sacrifice the best answer.”

“You got me to relax, Leo. So I’ll do the same for you.” Raph grins, eyes wet, “We’re still kids, right?”

And-

Leo smiles, watery but genuine. “Yeah, Raph. We are.”

[risebto]

@cupcakeslushie I feel like they would get along

I love Three’s design. Hes unhinged

[cutielights]

OMG can you please do the pre-relationship hcs with Leo?!?! The Donnie one was so good

Ofc! <3 Donnie’s one

Tw: none

Hanging out with Leo pre-Relationship (g/n)

Play it cool play it cool play it cool

Doing his darn best with those one liners

Over the moon if he gets you to laugh

Nobody distract him he’s doing skateboard tricks for his crush FRIEND His PLATONIC friend

Tries cheesy pickup lines

Doubles down if you engage in said pick up lines

Watching Jupiter Jim together

He’s shown drinking tea in a few episodes so y’all are just gonna take a rare relaxing moment

Showing you his favourite hidden city places if you don’t already come from there

Hanging out on rooftops at night

“You know what’s more beautiful than these stars?”

“What?”

“Me.”

“Sure Leo.”

Buying pizza to eat under the stars

Only to get rained on

Using his portal to save the precious dish

And yourselves

He almost accidentally hit your head whilst making a portal in the effort to impress you

Don’t tell Donnie, Raph can’t deal with anymore shouting

Playing video games together

The Lou Jitsu one

He is not a gracious winner

Even co-op games get turned competitive

Mikey wanting to join in

Much to Leo’s dismay

[sad-leon]

hey what if i wrote a fic 👀

featuring a doodle i have of him:

[lizaaardstuff]

Set later on in Turning Purple…

…If you haven’t read that yet, that’s probably all the context you need for this, so I’d recommend checking it out.

Based off of a silly convo between @the-lavender-clown and I under a different post.

(This is for those who can’t read my horrid hand writing)

Leo: Ugh

Donnie: You good?

Leo: ✨my tummy hurts✨

Donnie: sucks to be you I guess

Donnie: literally could never be me

Edit: the link works now!

[sp1n-dle]

The silly is ever consuming and who am I to deny it's call /j

•

Chapter 21 of TNV is still rattling around in my head constantly, send help.

In the meantime I bring more Void because he's just a lil guy (what's an angst, never heard of it <3)

•

Mans belongs to @sugarpasteltmnt , the author ever :D

•

[banana-pancake5]

I recently caught up with Firefight by @remedyturtles and I LOVED IT!!! It’s absolutely amazing and I highly recommend it

Anyway I made this art for chapter 5 and I hope you like it!! :D

Non injured version below:

[idk-im-just-here-now]

HI @onejellyfishplease IM BOTHERING YOU WITH FANART AGAIN THIS IS FOR THE RECENT OPEN YOUR SHELL CHAPTER HOPE YOU LIKE!

(Behold what happens when I get a hold on my tablet)

[aversiteespabilas]

“Looks like we’ve started a trend, Stats.”

Illustration commissioned by @bizzie-bee, from her Apritello fanfic Custom Built. Read it here!: https://archiveofourown.org/works/48419692

IT IS SO GOOD!!!

[teainthesnow]

@somerandomdudelmao is giving me emotions again so time to give some back...

- - -

It’s over.

it’s finally over.

Or, he thinks, with a shuddering breath and numb agony, that it will be over soon.

So he lies there, breathing in the dust and ash, and the sour taste of all that was lost, of the embers of a dying world, filling his mouth.

It would...

It would all be okay now.

He inhales.

And tries not to be scared by what comes next.

But, vaguely, distantly, as he slips further and further into numb acceptance he feels a presence, a familiar warmth blanketing him. Warm hands touch his shoulder feeling fiercely protective but tinged with fear.

It’s okay, he whispers but he’s certain the words come about as nothing more than a senseless whisper, if they even make it out at all.

But...

It’ll be okay.

It’s time.

He’s ready for the next step.

To face his ancestors, friends, family, and brothers.

And hopefully that meant all three of them.

He exhales.

And falls into the darkness.

But the darkness parts around him.

His thoughts swirl into a blurry haze, slipping from him before he can truly comprehend them or the things around him.

All he knows is this is wrong... he shouldn’t... he thought...

Wasn’t it supposed to be over now?

Not... not this incoherent haze of a life where the only comfort his can find is in the soft fluttering traces of red and purple.

So he hides; feeling scared and alone and wondering why this is his fate, why he has been cursed to stay isolated and away from those he cares about.

He is so tired, so exhausted.

Barely clinging on to the last of his strength even though he isn’t truly sure why he does so.

There’s something whispering, begging, cheering for him to keep going.

To hold on.

Something – or perhaps someone – calling his name, voice laced with a pleading desperation.

But

all he can do

is

slip

further

down.

And then something shifts through the fog.

The world tilts on its axis.

The is a fire surrounding him, burning away the encroaching darkness that he had been so willing to accept.

No, he pleads, reaching a desperate hand outwards.

Let me go.

Please.

Let me go home.

The fire, the warmth, the two flames do not listen as they cling tightly onto him, dragging him forcefully along with them.

Please.

And then the fire vanishes just as quickly as it had appeared, leaving him weak and fading once more.

But then the static clings to him, trapping him, keeping him from fading, from moving on.

There is a comforting presence within the electricity, similar to the warm flames, but slightly different.

Familiar yet somehow unfamiliar at the same time.

There is something within the sensation that makes him pause and hesitate.

All he can feel is a weird mix of worry, relief, and unwavering determination.

He almost stops fighting.

But he can’t.

This isn’t-

He isn’t home.

He needs to go home.

So he fights against the static, against the energy it gives him.

Against those soft thoughts of you’re safe, please stop fighting, let me- let us help you.

But that wouldn’t be fair, would it?

Did he really deserve peace when they weren’t here?

He just wanted to see them again.

(Even though the whispers tried to convince him that they were already there because it didn’t make sense.)

So whenever he can he fights.

He runs.

But the static, the flames, keep finding him.

Keep holding him protectively within their embrace.

(keeping him safe)

Keeping him trapped.

(keeping him alive)

Keeping him away from home.

(giving him strength to keep himself alive)

In this fog-filled limbo that his existence has become.

And then.

Finally.

Something changes.

And.

He.

Falls.

Again.

He blinks open his eyes.

Confused and disorientated and still not quite fully himself.

He feels...

Empty.

Perhaps.

Nothing but a fragile reflection of who he was, of who he will be.

Hollow.

Lonely.

And lost in the vast empty darkness.

Empty, he realises slowly through sludge filled thought, but not silent.

There’s a voice shouting in the distance.

Muffled and incoherent but definitely there.

He looks around.

Suddenly desperate.

Overcome with the desire to find the voice.

To find-

He looks down at his reflection.

But it isn’t *his* reflection.

Maybe *he’s* the reflection.

Forced to echo, to copy.

He’s yelling at himself.

...isn’t he?

But then a hand reaches through the mirror and grabs hold of his scarf.

Pulling him upwards and through the once solid surface and the voice, the familiar and unfamiliar voice, becomes clear.

Becomes understandable.

And awareness washes over him.

The ‘anger’ leaves.

All he has left is a numb confusion and a growing hope.

And then he is falling again.

He blinks.

Awareness comes back to him slowly.

His vision slowly fading back into clarity.

And his first coherent thought is to be annoyed by a constant tap, tap, tap, of a keyboard being used.

He tiredly shifts to locate the source of the noise and sees Donnie tapping away, focused solely on his task.

Then that thought processes.

To See... Donnie... tapping away?

...Donnie?

And the tiredness immediately drops away as he reaches out desperately, hopefully.

And then he falls out of the bed with a thump.

But there are hands on him, gently picking him up, embracing him, words nothing but a murmured blur as reality drips into comprehension.

It can’t...

This can’t...

He is so overwhelmed, so utterly lost, he can only sit there as Donnie fusses around him, voice tinged with anger.

No... he realises, as a smile begins to creep upon his face and tears well up in the corner of his eyes, not anger.

Worry.

But he can’t let himself relax yet.

This is too good to be true.

Is this really truly real?

“D-Donnie?” He asks voice wavering and tinged with a fear he cannot hold back.

And when Donnie (and he hopes, really desperately hopes that it is) keeps fussing he reaches forward and takes hold of a flailing hand.

It’s... it’s warm.

The tears are there again, now dripping unbidden down his face.

“You’re real.”

The wrist within his grasp is solid and warm, and strong.

“You’re real!”

Not thin and weak and rattled with tremors.

But...

“Are you?”

He tentatively asks, scared for the truth but hoping against everything for the best.

That Donnie – his brother, his beloved twin is here.

And then Donnie soothes his fears, tells him the truth, the amazing, almost unbelievable truth.

He cannot stop the tears.

Does not want to stop the tears.

This is...

This is everything he had hoped for.

And the tears that drip, drip, drip down his face are no longer tears of pain and fear and utter sadness but those of hope and joy and the understanding that this is it.

There is a warmth surrounding him.

A hug, he slowly realises.

A hug he thought he’d never receive again.

The trickle of tears becomes a torrent. He cannot hold back, nor does he want to. The relief hits him like a sledgehammer as he clings desperately to the brother he never thought he would see again.

Crying loudly and unashamedly.

This is...

He chokes back the sobs once they calm slightly.

And cracks probably the best (worse) joke he’s made in a while.

And laughter is his reward.

There is a warmth swelling within him, a calmness, and a happiness he had thought unachievable as he and his amazingly alive brother share their joy with each other once again.

And then Donnie passes out.

Gently, carefully, he sets him down, noting the rise and fall of his plastron but he still presses a cautious hand to his brothers neck.

And sighs with relief at the comforting and steady

thump

thump

thump

of a healthy heartbeat.

He exhales in relief.

It’s okay.

A weight lifts off his shoulders as he raises a hand to his own neck feeling the very proof the he too is alive and healthy.

And that is when it really truly begins to sink in.

Despite his confusion. Despite having not even the smallest idea of how he got here, of how he’s alive.

Of how Donnie is alive when even his spirit...

He takes in a soothing breath, shakes the thoughts out of his head, and focuses on the good that he can find.

Because.

It’s over

It’s finally over.

But, he pauses, as he takes in his surroundings and processes what just happened.

To breathe in the clean air.

To enjoy the steady beating of their heartbeats.

To think he’s alive, they’re both alive.

So...

Maybe...

Hopefully...

...it’s only just begun.

[truffle-draws-turtles]

Dear writing beings

Would you like me to draw a scene from your fanfiction? Unfortunately, I don't get to read any more - but somehow it occurred to me that a slightly different collab might be fun.

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Are you a reading being and do you know an author who might be up for it? Just make a mention or send this on to them :)

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Little edit

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Masterpost

Patreon 18+

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@thelaundrybitch @morning-sun-brah

[shardkn1ght]

As promised! Because you guys helped me get so far in @tmntseparatedaucompetition here is a little fic I made for Hueso raised Leo!

I do plan on making more eventually!

And a little art to go with it!

[cutielights]

HIII WELCOME!!! Could I req something like ur tiger!reader hcs with all the rise bros but instead w/ a reader w/ fox features? The tiger one was so cute😭😭 Thank you!!!!!!!! <3

Absolutely! *pulls up facts about foxes*

Tw: mentions of sharp things (teeth/claws)

Tiger reader Panther reader Calico Reader

Rise boys with a Fox! Mutant! S/O

Leo

Foxes are considered to be solitary animals, so the fact that he’s finally gained your love and affection is such an ego boost for this man

Nobody tell him that foxes are often friendly anyway if they don’t think you’re a threat

You can hear him a mile away

Que him whispering jokes in a quiet room that only you can hear

I said this in the tiger one but he’s pulling on that tail for attention

Being able to smell the pizza he hid from his brothers

Thinks those sharp claws are the best built in weapons

Raph

He loves that you can hear the danger from a mile away it’s such a weight off his shoulders

Loves those sharp teeth!

Just don’t bite him please

Foxes have a certain smell, idk if you’ve ever smelt a fox but once you do you remember it

Raph also has a certain smell

Que Donnie dramatically pinching his nose when in the same room as you two, it doesn’t even smell that bad!

Foxes are red green colour blind, you got extremely confused when he told you that, no him and Mikey are not wearing the same colour? He’s red? What do you mean you couldn’t tell?

Donnie

Foxes shed around april time, he’s not letting you in the lab

Plus it could be flammable or something

Foxes are more active at night so you’re staying up together

Fox species are pretty easy to tell apart but he research’s it just in case

It has to be accurate after all!

What has to be accurate? His file on you that’s what.

Checks you for ticks and such

You can use earth’s magnetic field to help you hunt? Fascinating! Tell him more!

Mikey

He’s pulling out the fur dye once again people!

A neon orange tail goes with his mask!

Loves burying his face in all that fur

First time he saw you after shedding he was extremely concerned about your health

Poor baby you had to explain it to him

“Ohhhh.”

Helps you brush

Paints in red-green colour blind pallets so they look the same to both of you