#so this is about tmnt at the moment but I’ve done it before and will do it again

[jerichomere]

help the turtles got me

[theyhavetakenovermylife]

AHH HII I DONT KNOW IF YOURE TAKING REQUESTS BUT YOUR 2007 FICS ARE SO 💋😩🤌

i would LOOOOOVVEEEE to see how everything went down when leo actually came back.. would they tell him? would raph continue to do it? would she choose one over the other? AHHH SO MANY POSSIBILITIES if you’re not taking requests ignore this but i would beg you for some closure or just more spicy fics HAHAH🤭

Anger: part 2 (18+) (Angst)

2007!Raphael x reader (a little 2007!Leonardo x reader)

Part 1 / Part 3 Leonardo's Ending Raphael’s Ending

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A/N: Thank you for your request! I’ve been so tempted to continue it, but I wasn’t quite sure how, as I can only see this situation end in a specific way. I decided to go in a third direction, bc let’s face it, everybody has made their own bed in this lol. And bc it is the 2007 TMNT, I’ve allowed myself to go extra angst. Hope you enjoy!💙❤️

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You and Raphael’s sexual relationship has taken a turn in the serious direction, but then an old missed face comes home, stirring up feelings once again, especially anger.

Warning: Sex as a coping mechanism, angry sex, angst, emotional betrayal, swearing, Leo and Raph being horrible brothers to each other, cheating?

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It had been almost a year. A year had passed since Leonardo’s training had ended, yet there was no sight of him. You clearly remembered the night you sat in your window, with a slight hope that Leo would come home. It almost felt wrong to think in such a way, especially after a year of sneaking around with his own brother. You had found Raphael’s pressens comforting, even if most of the time was spent moaning or calling out his name in ecstasy, with your legs spread wide or over his shoulder.

You really liked the time you had spent with Raph, even if he wasn’t much up for talking about emotions. He was there for you, in a way Leo hadn’t been able to in a long time. Yet, when you saw a familiar figure out on your fire escape, during the last hour of Leo’s return day, you were slightly disappointed to see Raphael instead. He too didn’t seem too happy. And that was the moment you realized that Leo most likely wouldn’t come home again.

That night with Raphael was way more passionate than what you had been used to with him. Passionate with an undertone of sadness, but intense. There had been very little dirty talk from Raph, yet his eyes spoke with more emotion than they ever did before. Same with his hips, as they thrusted into you with more focus and intention, instead of his usual rapid angry way.

Raphael stayed that night, like he had done so often up until that point. And as you woke up the next day, and began your obligatory morning sex, a change in your and Raph’s relationship was noted. Though still rough, it was not as hard as usual. Though there was still anger hidden in there somewhere, it was not as prominent as before. Sex between you and Raph was no longer a coping mechanism. It was no longer about the absence of Leo, but just about you and Raphael.

Sex in Leo’s room grew old long ago. After Raph had had you in every possible way on every surface of his older brother's room, it started to move into his own room. The first time he had you on his own bed, he felt like he had won a major victory in a long fought battle. It satisfied him to have your scent spread all over his room, in such a way that Leo had never managed to in his own room. With your legs over his shoulders, his hips pounding into you over and over again, and your hands holding on to him for dear life, he felt like the king of the world. How you would hold onto his head while his tongue was writing his name over your dripping cunt, or the way your mouth felt around his dick and how you worked to make him feel good. It was enough to make any man go mad. And that was almost what Raph did, whenever he sat around, waiting for the perfect moment to jump on you again without, the rest of his family noticing.

When Raph would come back home, after a night of crime fighting as the Nightwatcher, finding you sleeping in his bed. Waiting for him to come back home to you. Waiting for him to hold you tight before giving you yet another earth shattering night to remember. And unlike his brother, Raphael did just that. He came home to you to take care of you, just like Leo never would. Or so he thought.

Leo had to admit that he was slightly fearful as he stepped into the sewers. Even after what April had told him, he still feared the reactions that would come from his family. Would they be angry or would they be happy? He did not know. But the reaction he feared the most was yours. Leo first thought when he came to New York was to go to your place, just to see you again. But remembering how late it was, and not knowing what plans you had the next day, he opted to make his way straight to the sewers.

The first thing that met Leo as he stepped into his old family home, was the sound of his two youngest brother’s snoring. Both Donnie and Mikey sprawled out in front of the TV, pizza boxes laying all around them. Leo smiled at the sight, remembering what April had told him. They had jobs now, however that was possible for two mutant turtles. But because of that they probably needed their sleep, and therefore Leo decided it was best to leave them alone for now.

When Leo first stepped into his room, he was surprised by the smell that met him. The scent of you was very strong, almost jumping at him. Had you been touching yourself in his room? It touched Leo deep. A pang of guilt pinching his heart. But there was another smell. A familiar one, yet he could not place it. It did not seem to fit into his room, and definitely not with the smell of you.

After having placed his things in his room, Leo went down to the dojo. He had a feeling that Master Splinter was up and waiting for him there. So when Leo found his father sitting in the dojo patiently waiting for him, he sat down.

Raphael knew as soon as he walked out of his bedroom. He stopped in his tracks, feeling all sorts of emotions. Happiness, pleasantly surprised, confused, unsure, angry. Leo was home. His big brother was home. The man that had you first was home.

He went to the dojo and peeked through the open doors. The sight of his brother talking to Master Splinter was like a punch to the guts. They were talking like they did any other day, as if Leo hadn’t been gone for two years. Raph did not hear a single word they said. All he could think about was you, and how you would react when you knew Leonardo was back home.

Master Splinter said something, which prompted Leo to turn and look in Raph’s direction. The red clad turtle panicked a bit, not sure what to say. He ended up settling with a simple welcome home and that he was going to bed, before turning and waking up his brothers.

But Raphael did not go to bed. While Master Splinter and his brothers were distracted by Leonardo’s return, Raphael went straight to the apartment he had found himself in more and more often over the past year.

You were sleeping peacefully when Raph came to your bedroom window. If it had been any other night, Raph would have climbed in quietly through your unlocked window, before spooning you in your sleep, waiting for you to wake up. But not that night. Raph had thrown all his quiet skills as a ninja out the door, as he banged your window closed behind him, causing you to stir in your sleep, slowly waking up.

“Raph?”, you asked, rubbing your eyes as the named turtle started taking off his gear, in a way he hadn’t done for a long time.

Raph didn’t answer, but instead he slammed his lips to yours. You moaned out in pleasant confusion as your tongues danced together in your mouth. It had been a long time ago since Raph had been this rough with you, and you could not help but wonder what had caused it. But as he started pulling your underwear off, feeling how wet you already were against his fingers, you couldn’t help but moan in pleasure, enjoying this side of Raph you hadn’t seen in a while.

The sex that night was rough. Not unpleasant, but hard. It was like being fucked like the same way Raph used to do it one and a half years ago. Expect he didn’t talk dirty to you like he used to back then. This time he growled more than before, and would bark out  small sentences, such as “take it”, “look at me” and “say my name”. It wasn’t that you didn’t enjoy it, because you did. You had nothing against rough sex, and especially not the way Raph did it, but you still couldn’t shake the feeling that something had pushed him. The gripe of his hand around your neck as he fucked you sensless, made you think that he wanted people to notice someone had held you down like this. Like he wanted to prove something.

Raph was angry as he slapped your ass during doggy style, bringing his hands down hard against your flesh, one after the other, before grabbing onto your hips and thrusting into you like a drill. But he was not angry at you, but Leo. After all this time, how dared he come home now? After you and him finally were doing a little more than just fucking, he had to come and fuck it up. He just had to come and take you away from him one more time. But Raphael wouldn’t let that happen, especially not now while you were calling out his name, begging him to make you cum, just like you had done so many times before.

After three rounds, you thought that Raph would what had almost become a habit to him. To stay the rest of the night, and leave in the early hours of the morning, before his family would notice he had been gone. But to your surprise, Raph was already putting his gear back on, just as quickly as he had been taking them off.

“Raph?”, you asked, watching him in confusion. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing”, he said, tying the knot on his belt. “Absolutely nothing”.

“But that’s not true, is it?”, you asked, getting out of your bed, while he acted like he didn’t hear you. “Somethings going on, isn’t there?”

Raph growled quietly in response, irritated that you could feel his anger. He tried to relax his fists as he turned to you, fighting to keep his expression neutral. “Nothing is going on, (Y/N)”.

But you didn’t buy it. You frowned your eyes, blinking at him a few times, and Raph knew he had no way out of this one.

“You know what? Forget it. It’s not something to bother you with”, he said, trying to sound as sincere as possible, before turning to leave out the window. You called after him as he climbed up the fire escape. You quickly put on a pair of pants before hurrying up after him, your bare feet against the cold metal of the fire espace. He might have been a ninja, but you wouldn’t let him leave so easily. First Leo and now Raph. You couldn’t let it happen again.

You caught up with Raphael on the roof, grabbing onto his arm before he could leave. He looked at your hand on his bicep, almost as if it was hurting. But he did not pull back. Instead he sighed as you continued to ask him.

“Please tell me what is going on, Raph”, you almost begged him, shivering in the cold wind of the New York night. “You can’t just leave like that, not like…” You didn’t get to finish that sentence, before another presence jumped onto the roof. A breath hitched in your throat as you recognized the shape of his face, shell and the katanas strapped onto his back.

Raph’s eyes fell to the ground as he took a long breath in. Of course he had to be here now.

“... Leo?”

Your expression and the way you said his name was almost enough to bring Leo to his knees. Surprise, hurt, sad, confused. You stared at him, wondering if you were dreaming, almost scared to reach out to him. Leo could only imagine how confused you must be at that moment. It hurt him, and it hurt him even more to know that he was the reason you felt like that.

“Hey, (Y/N)”.

Raphael bit the inside of his cheek, watching as you let go of his arm and walked to Leo. He had known this would happen. It was like watching the two of you a few years ago. I love with those eyes you and Raph was slowly building up over the days. He almost had what you and Leo had, just so much better. But then Leo had to come and ruin it. Not only did he come back and take you from him, but he just came back like that, leaving Raph feeling even more betrayed by his brother.

Leo opened his arms a little, ready to hug you like he had done so many times before. To comfort you in the way he should have done once his training had finished. Raph looked away, feeling the lump in his throat build up when...

SMACK.

Raph looked up at the sound, staring at the scene in front of him. Leo almost forgot to breathe. Eyes staring off into the distance, his cheek burning with a tingling yet painful sensation. You had just slapped him. Leo looked confused at you, only to be met by your angry expression and your teared up eyes. You wanted to slap him again, feeling all the anger from the unknown that had been building up over the past two years, finally boiling over. But you didn’t. Instead you started yelling, louder than Leo had ever heard you yell before.

“A whole year, Leonardo! A whole fucking year! Half a year without writing, and then you don’t show, and another year later you expect a hug!?”

“I’m- I’m sorry, (Y/N). They needed me, I- I had to”, Leo stammered, not sure what to tell you.

Raph was surprised. He had never heard Leo stammer and never in front of you. The fearless leader never stammered, not even when he was cold. But a slap to the face by you was what did it.

“And you never thought that I needed you?! Leo, I fucking waited for you everday, even after you stopped writing!”

“Like I said, (Y/N); I’m sorry! They- they needed me in the jungle! They were killing people! Innocent people! I- I had to stay there, I couldn’t just let people get killed!”

“And you couldn’t tell me that at least once during a year and a half? Leo, I thought you were dead when you didn’t come home!”

Leo didn’t answer that. Instead his eyes fell to the ground as he felt guilt eat him from the shell up. Why didn’t he write? He wasn’t sure. He did have the time. Was it because he at one point feared that everyday could be his last, or was it because he for a short time felt he did better saving people in the jungle, than he ever did as a leader for his brothers? He did not know. He had totally forgotten about you and how you must have been feeling while he was gone. Leonardo had fucked up big time, thinking he was saving people, all while leaving the girl he used to call his girlfriend alone in the unknown.

“And you!”, you yelled, turning to Raphael, pointing your finger straight at his face. “This is why you were so angry, wasn’t it?! And yet you didn’t tell me?! How long has Leo been home Raphael?! Huh?!”

Raph snatched your finger in the air, his blood boiling with anger. He just had to say it. Especially in front of Leo, now that you had been yelling at him like that. He just had to stump it further into the wound, even if it meant evoking your anger even further.

“As I recall you didn’t seem to mind me doing you angry while Leo was gone”.

Leo snapped his attention straight at Raphael with that comment. Then he realized. That smell in his room. It was Raphael. It was his own brother. His scent mixed with yours all over his room. On every fucking surface. The realization hit him even harder than any of your words had. He couldn’t believe it. He refused to believe it.

“You didn’t”, was all Leo could choke out, feeling his hands shaking.

Raph cured himself and his own anger. He cared for his brother, but his brother never cared for him. Raph’s hurt and insecurities grew stronger than any rational decision he could make up.

“Every night and every day”, Raph said, letting go of you before turning his attention towards his older brother. “Hard and good”. You saw as Leo’s chest moved up and down as his breathing sped up, a fire burning in his eyes. You would be lying if you said it didn’t scare you. Because it did.

“You’re lying”, Leo growled.

“Why would I lie about that? For the same stupid reason you didn’t come home? Because guess what, while you were gone, being a hero in the forest, I took care of her better than you ever did”.

That was what broke Leo. In anger he drew his katanas, not even waiting for his brother to pull out his sai. Raph felt horrible for liking how angry he made Leo. As he dodged his brother's sharp blades, he pulled out his sais, ignoring how you yelled at them to cut it out. The battle that followed was intense, with you yelling at them to stop. But they didn’t. Not until Raph and Leo pinned against the roof.

It was there, staring down at his big brother’s hurt and angry eyes, Raph realized what he was doing. What he had done. Broken his trust with not just you, but his own flesh and blood. And now he was fighting his brother, ignoring the calling of the person he told himself he was doing it for. Just like Leo, he had fucked up. He had fucked up big time.

Raph didn’t know what to do. He was scared. Scared of his own actions against two people he cared for. Therefore he grabbed a hold of his sais and ran. For once he didn’t feel anger, but sadness. And Raph didn’t know what to do with sadness like this, except hiding.

Leo called out for his brother, telling him to call back. Not to fight. No, he knew just as well as Raph that he had fucked up. He had created a burning absence with no closure, and the two of you had found your own way to cope. He was naive to think you would still stick around after a year and a half without a single word.

Anger burns bright and hot, and kept unchecked it will bring down everything around it. And now you, Raph and Leo were all feeling the effects of that burning anger.

[yorshie]

TURTLE JOKES

Bayverse tmnt

Fem Reader (No Y/N)

no pairings, leans slightly Raphael x reader

warnings/summary: pregnant reader, horrible turtle jokes, cussing, suggestive jokes, meeting the turtle boys

Aged up turtles (22 ish)

Your weekly ritual was something you loved dearly about your friendship with April.

Ever since college, the two of you would meet up in the park to shoot the shit, feed the turtles and ducks, and in general bemoan the horribleness of the dating scene.

About seven months ago, though, the meetings had changed gears. You knew, eventually, she’d cotton on to what was happening. There was only so much you could hide behind baggy clothes and the dark lighting. You were waiting for the questions you weren’t sure you had answers to, expected them every time April’s gaze would pause on your midriff, track through your slower, more careful motions and the healthier food choices you brought with you.

Part of you wondered, as you hurried to your meeting bench next to the pond, if she’d wait until you had the baby in a buggy before saying anything. 

For some reason, the thought had you giggling like a maniac, emotion bubbling up quick and hot, and you felt yourself slip on thin air, the bread bag you’d been holding going flying as you slid gracelessly onto your back in the middle of the grass. 

“The fuck?!” You looked up at the darkened sky, took a moment, wiggling all limbs before trying to roll to the side. “Hmmm… here we go-nope.” You relaxed again, shimmied as though gearing up for a fight, tried to bend your stiff middle around again. 

Gave up after the third try, instead dug for your phone.

April picked up on the third ring.

“Hey, buddy, ole’ pal, best friend in the world-“

“Uh huh, yeah, what did you do?” She was already laughing, great.

You pushed air out in a loud raspberry. “Remember that joke about life alert?”

“A-are you ok?” Her tone changed fast, though you could still hear the edge of humor.

“Yup.” You popped the p, raising your head to look around the darkened grass, scowling at the halo of bread bits and carrot hunks littered around you. “But I’m a flipped turtle in the middle of duck chow and I feel the tiny velociraptors closing in-”

A muffle on April’s side, and you heard her hiss violently at whoever it was.

“Are you good?” You asked, concerned, shuffling up on your elbows.

“Yea, I’m fine, ignore that.”

“Oookkkkay.” You huffed, dropping back down. “In that case: help, I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.” You deadpanned the last bit.

A loud snort, male, definitely not April, and your eyebrows rocketed up. 

“Woooow, I am not the only one with some ‘splainin’ to do.” You glanced down at your exposed middle, watched as a small jiggle shifted under your shirt. “If you hurry and come get me before a turtle or a duck does I’ll fess up to mine.”

“Did you fall in the park?!”

You squinted your eyes at the tone, “mmmayyybeee?”

Movement from the phone, and you pulled back to look at the speaker. Movement from the corner of your eye brought you up short though. “Oh god.”

“Hey, hey, what’s ‘oh god’?” April was back, with what sounded like a whooshing air dryer.

“I see eyes. It’s Hermando.” The duck looked at you, then the bread. “He’s gonna call the whole calvary over here. I’m done for. Remember me fondly.” You strained, trying to get your arm far enough back under your hip to push off from. “Oh, god, April. I’m a little stuck turtle. I’m gonna have to crawl for it.”

“Don’t you fucking move.” It was bit out with surprising venom. “What if you’re concussed, hurt, going into early labor-”

“Hey!” You interrupted, “we were suppose to be pretending that wasn’t a thing!”

“You’re getting along, sweetheart, I’d have to be blind not to notice.”

“Ok, well, rude, O’Neil,” You let out a screech, feeling a duck peck at your leg. Blindly, you threw the phone, sending your target flapping off in a whirlwind of feathers and quacking. You distantly heard April squawking from the phone now sliding across the grass, further and further away. 

You laid back on the grass, blowing out a loud breath, listening to the sound of the duck moving further away. To your left, the bushes rustled. 

“Oh, god, please don’t be a bigger duck.” You shut your eyes, only to open them back up again as a shadow fell over you. You peered up, dumbfounded.

“Green duck?” 

“You see a fucking bill?” Came the low growl, and your eyes widened.

“Nooo?” You turned it into a question, conscious that you were on the ground and he was towering over you, and despite there being no bill stuck to his face you could clearly see the shell sticking up over his shoulders.

“Raph, did you find her?” More voices, blessedly someone that sounded like April, moving towards you. When you turned your head though, saw her leading three more just like the not duck looming over you, your filter broke.

“Is this the reason you don’t laugh at my turtle jokes?” You pointed helpfully at the one standing over you to illustrate your point, body relaxing as your friend moved nearer.

“Oh thank god,” April crouched down next to you, hands hovering, but you were already trying to push up, twisting to get one elbow under your straining spine. “Hold on, hold on, let Donnie look you ov-”

“If I don’t get off this fucking ground I’m going to kill someone.” You snarled, holding the position, trying to push past the point of resistance with your foot. “I mean it, April, I just had to fight off a whole pack of rabid ducks, blood and guts everywhere-”

“And suspiciously no bodies,” Said another voice, dry humor, and you snorted, hand slipping as you fell backwards again. Before you could hit the ground again, a large hand caught your shoulders, and blessedly, pushed you passed that stuck point.

You sat, catching your breath, before tilting your head back and replying blissfully. “I ate all them, how else do you think I got this big?”

“I thought pregnant chicks got fat from fu-” The cheery whisper was cut off, turning into an abrupt gag that made you think someone had chosen violence. 

You gave April a look. She had the grace to look sheepish before you turned back to the shifting goliath turtles standing in a broken circle around the two of you. Huffing, you finally looked away, raising your hands up in the air and making grabby motions. “Ok, ok. Party’s over. Who wants to help the pregnant chick off the ground?”

A large hand reached down, and you wrapped both sets of digits around as he pulled, and you found yourself off the ground faster than you anticipated. Your grip tightened before he could shake off the touch, and you stood there for a long moment, eyes shut, knowing you were violently green.

“Ooo, hold on, I’m sorry, just- give me a moment.” You unconsciously swayed forward and backward until another hand came up to steady you, April, judging by the small fingers. 

You swallowed heavily, took a step away from the press of large bodies, and smiled weakly, finally getting a better look at them all. 

“Um…” April gestured as you breathed heavily through your nose. “Introductions: Leonardo,” She patted the shoulder of the one nearest, blue bandana across his face, swaying gently back and forth as though unable to stay still. He gave you a nod, fingers waving, and April moved on:

“Donatello,” Purple, so tall you had to crane your head, typing fast on a gauntlet on his arm while moving closer. 

“Hello, I’m just gonna make sure your vitals are good.” 

You took a violent step back, swinging the arm you didn’t realize you were still holding in front of you, and they all froze, gazes becoming still.

“No needles.” 

“No- needles?” He looked confused, glancing over at April for help.

“No needles,” She quickly assured, and you stepped back around the arm, returning Donatello’s small smile as you let him get closer.

“And this is Michelangelo.” You gave her a look, connecting the dots to the names you’d overheard over the last two years meeting up with her, but twitched a smile as the orange ping pong ball moved into your field of vision, feeling the need to hide again.

“Hey, baby momma, you are looking fiiinnne-” 

You felt your snort catch in your throat as Leonardo grabbed the littlest by the strings of his orange bandana and yanked him away from you.

“And Red here is Raphael.” You followed her point to the largest turtle next to you, and you took in his careful stare, feeling your eyes widen as you followed the breath of his shoulders down to the hand you were all but clutching across your torso.

“Wow, wow, ok. Sorry. Personal Space.” You all but threw his arm back at him. “I am going to behave and my hands are going to behave and there will be no more grabb-”

Donatello snorted from next to you, and you shivered, forgetting how close he was. “If he didn’t want to be your personal cuddle bear I bet he could have gotten out of it.” 

Raphael sniffed, and you narrowed your eyes at him, before turning to the others. “Jesus. Christ. April.” 

April smiled, tilting her head as you moved around, Donatello straightened as you moved between them and then backed up a little on the grass, hands on your knees and squinting as though to take them all in. 

“I don’t know what the fuck you feed these boys, but they’re too damn big!”

Her laugh was loud, obnoxious, but you felt a smile bubble up as you started in too, the sound cutting off as you felt yourself start to go backwards again.

“Holy H-”

An hand shot out, and you were yanked back upright, this time not hesitating to plaster yourself to the arm offered.

“Maybe you should just stay holding on to cuddle bear here,” Leonardo offered, his smile a small thing, quickly dropping as Michelangelo butted in again.

“Hey if you need a second cuddle bear I’m free sweetpea.”

“Mikey,” Raphael all but growled, the sound traveling down to your chest, but surprisingly the other turtle stopped, large smile still in place.

“So. Turtles?” You looked around at them, down at the three fingered hand curled into a loose fist on the side of your stomach, before back to April, saw her nod.

“Turtles.” Donatello confirmed.

“Mutants.” Raphael growled.

“Ninjas.” Leonardo added.

“Brothers.” Michelangelo butted in, knocking against Leonardo to jockey closer to April.

You watched Donatello leave the group for a moment, arm aloft, only to return with your forgotten phone, holding it out for you to take.

“We were going to get pizza.” April offered as you slid it back in your pocket. “After I meet up with you we go get pizza. There’s room if you’d like to come?”

You frowned at her offer. “April O’Neil.” She blanched, and you saw Donatello take a step away from you and back towards his other brothers.

“Have you-” You broke off, dropped to a hiss. “Have you let me do that stupid turtle impression every week with these four hanging around?”

Donatello hummed. “It’s a very good impression.” He sounded like a man that studied how to lie to get out of complicated situations and failed every practical test.

“That’s a bold faced lie.” You pointed at him, jabbed the finger threateningly.

“I don’t know,” Raphael rumbled next to you. “I definitely felt the siren’s call. We had to tie Mikey up to keep him from you.”

You pulled a suffering face, looked at April again, and she took pity. 

“They were banned from making videos.” Your face fell more, but she continued. “Come get pizza with us, and I’ll let you put whatever you want on yours, and no one will say anything.” She held up her hand in a mime of swearing an oath, nudging Leonardo until he got the hint and one by one they all held up their hands, eyes rolled to the sky.

 You caved at the thought of satisfying pregnancy cravings.

“Ok. Ok, fine. Need something to wash out the taste of rabid duck anyway.” 

From the corner of your eye, you saw Donatello preemptively shock Michelangelo.

[turtleblogatlast]

hey!!! this is less of an ask and more of a fic rec tbh 😭 but have you read 'I May be Invisible, but I Still Look Good" by Dandy over on Ao3???? It's after the movie AND Leo-centric and like he gets cursed so his spirit is ripped out of his body. It's like 125k words of wonderful storytelling

OH- but for an actual question, do you have and fic recs?? or any AU's you think people should go check out?

I tried answering this before and it erased my reply orz

ANYWAY YES I HAVE read this and I absolutely love it with every fiber of my being.❤️ 100% one of my top fics to read in this fandom that I even go back to for a reread more than once. The characters are perfectly done and the set up for the story is believable with a fantastic payoff, highly highly highly recommend to anyone who hasn’t read it yet.❤️

As for recs, I’ve always been terrible at giving recs since my memory is very bad especially for ones I haven’t read in a while.😭 Off the top of my head I can recommend (note these are practically entirely Leo-centric since he’s my special guy you understand (the others aren’t forgotten at all though!!!) - and most of these are very very well known so you’ve likely already read them…):

[Note many of these are unfinished and may remain that way - please no one harass the writers for more, let them write at their own pace if they choose to write at all]

- The Neon Void by sugarpastels is absolutely incredible, the dramatic irony of it all as we follow Leo in the state he’s in and see just how broken all the Hamatos are by his “death” is just 👌👌👌 The fact that this places with one of my favorite tropes aka “Leo being in the Prison Dimension longer than canon” is just so good. Genuinely a thoroughly gripping tale that I highly recommend. It’s not complete yet (a lot of this list isn’t) but what is there is so amazing please read (though you most likely have read it already haha)

- little kid with a big death wish and firefight by remrose are another two you’ve likely seen but by god are they worth the read. Firefight isn’t done yet but it and death wish are so amazingly well written and really go into how trauma affects people differently and how ties with family can be tested in traumatic situations. Hard subjects definitely but very maturely done. (Also I misread firefight as firelight for way too long before I realized it-)

- Power Up and Times Five by pickedcarrotsandradish are both unfinished but I can’t care because what we were given is so good that I’m fine with them as they are. Both deal with Leo’s insecurities and bad feelings about himself and, very importantly, the fics go into how these insecurities establish a base for Leo’s very real flaws and how those flaws push him to act the way he does. Very interesting and compelling stuff here!! Power Up especially does really cool things for the boys’ mystic power ups, especially Leo’s, and I loved reading about the ins and outs of what they could do.

- Race Against Life, Death, and the EPF by Cass_Phoenix is just so engaging to read??? Like I love the entire set up for it - it’s feels so fresh and like you’re in Leo’s desperate situation yourself. I was so excited whenever a new chapter came out because the atmosphere was so well done.

- A Mixed Bag by GreatlyBlessed is SHOCKINGLY not Leo-centric for once haha. It’s not completed, but again, like the others above it is so good that I recommend it anyway. This story is actually a crossover between four sets of TMNT (‘87, ‘03, ‘12, and Rise) and the dynamics set up in it are SO fun I love it. Team 2 is my fave because you have literally all my faves on that team how could I not?? I also highly appreciate that everyone gets a chance to shine and that there’s no bashing at all, they’re all just very much in character and it’s refreshing to read ❤️❤️❤️

There’s a LOAD more that I could recommend I’m sure but I don’t remember them off the top of my head at the moment.😭 If I remember I’ll come back and add them in!

(Forgot about AU’s- honestly there’s some that I see and catch up on when I see them but there’s just so many that it’s a bit difficult to keep track of sometimes! I’d have to go around and fully look through many before having a solid answer haha! The ones I do see are always so well done though, I may come back and add them here if I remember 😅)

[imagionationstation]

What’s your opinion on people who think 2012 raph is an abusive bully? I think personally they are only children and it shows. People with siblings see this as normal.

I think that people with an opinion on any type of Hamato abuse in the show either haven’t done proper research on the show, they have a rough family life that twists it, or they don’t have siblings.

Since you opened the door for me to get ranty, Imma be a little ranty about more than simple TMNT data.

Now, some people DO have siblings and see this show as abusive, but that’s because of a number of other reasons.

The biggest problem, to me, is the fandom itself.

Let me explain:

You go outside for the first time. When you ask what color the grass is, your entire neighborhood says, “orange.” You accept this as correct, and now you would see all grass as orange. You could hear this for weeks before leaving the neighborhood. At the store, someone tells you, “Actually, it’s green, and here’s why.”

And here you hesitate.

Because wouldn’t that mean your neighbors are wrong? After they all believe it? Everyone says grass is orange. How dare this person say otherwise. You aren’t stupid. You know grass is orange. They’re attacking you and your neighbors. Why would you listen to them?

Likely, you wouldn’t believe them. You’d be more inclined to assume that what you always hear is correct. You would continue to spread what everyone says because it’s what you heard.

This is similar to how people see Mikey. 2012TMNT seasons and certain episodes were hard for me to find when I started looking for the show. Many people rely on the fandom more than show for opinions on it. Negative clips get taken out of context and the favorite moments like Parasitica are blown up until it’s all the fandom can see. I’ve spoken to people who write fanfics about the show, but haven’t seen past the second season.

They rely on the fandom to write, so if the fandom and their friends preaches that Mikey is abused and Raph is the abuser, why would they believe otherwise?

(It’s funny, how Mikey has been ‘abused’ by Raph for years, and yet, he never hesitates to do all of the things that will tick his brother off. He does not waste a moment pushing the buttons of the one person that he ‘fears’ more than anyone else, and turns to his ‘abuser’ before any of his other family members when he’s upset and looking for comfort. Even more interesting, is that the ‘abuser’ will not hesitate to help and comfort the brother that he ‘takes pride in hurting’.)

Everyone who has talked bad about the show has had strings for me to pull at. Not one “Mikey is abused” fan has made a solid argument as to why Mikey feels unloved and unwanted. When they talk about Raph, they often default to- well, Raph is mean to Mikey and that makes him upset. But he doesn’t stand up for himself, so he must be depressed and sad and I’m depressed that my life is bad so if you say he’s not than you’re attacking me. (True story)

It’s exhausting. I don’t like these kind of arguements. Because there’s a different between me saying that a character who is not you and does not share your exact thoughts and feels as well as not knowing the trauma of your home life is not depressed and me saying you are not depressed. Me saying a character is not depressed does not make your feelings any less real.

It just means that the character that I am analyzing from a show that has nothing to do with you in its creation isn’t depressed.

As well as saying that the character that I am analyzing from a show that has nothing to do with you in its creation isn’t abused.

Maybe it isn’t that Mikey doesn’t stand up for himself. (He does.)

Maybe, more often than not, there’s nothing to stand up to.

And, no, I’m not saying you can’t headcanon Mikey as depressed. Or convince the fandom that he’s abused.

I’m saying that if you truly believe that he is, you better be able to give me a cohesive debate and plenty of picture proof that he feels unloved and unwanted or has any depression symptoms laced through the show. And you should also be ready to have me attack that with my own opinion to defend my beliefs.

I have nothing against someone who says Raph is abusive. I’m sure they have their reasons and I’m sympathetic to the trauma and respect whatever reasoning that they give.

I respect them and their right to opinion. I have nothing against that person. I’m not against any person.

I’m against, to quote 2018Leon, “Everything you stand for.”

[mathmusic8]

20 Questions for Writers

Thanks for the tag @musewrangler!

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 17

2. What's your total AO3 word count?  395,117

3. What fandoms do you write for? 

Aside from random one-shots, mostly Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Star Wars, but I have some Lego Monkie Kid things coming up :D

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Lost and Found – Fives and Kix (Star Wars)

Only Partially Applied (Star Wars)

Wow, What a Coincidence (TMNT)

WWAC Extras (TMNT)

Ice Cream Makes Everything Better (TMNT)

5. Do you respond to comments?

I try to! I have a small pile I’m meaning to get to tho haha

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

At the moment, probably Only Partially Applied, mostly because it’s an angsty fic and I don’t know if I’ll come back to finish it

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Probably a tie between Lost and Found and WWAC. If I had to choose I’d say Lost and Found, being a Star Wars fix-it/happiness AU and all. WWAC had more of a build-up to the happy ending, though, while Lost and Found it was kind of fun last-second twist

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not really

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Nope.

10. Do you write crossovers?

I have a few crossover once-shots, plus WWAC if you count multiple iterations of tmnt as crossovers.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Don’t think so

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Not really? Not a fan fic, at least—I collaborated with friends for some original fics when we were kids. Lately I’ll talk through ideas and have a couple of shared AUs with a few select people, but those haven’t been fully written or shared yet.

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

I’m not a super shippy person. Some ships are done well, but it’s not generally what I look for when I’m reading or writing. The last shippy stuff I read and liked was Zelda and Link (Twilight Princess, Breath of the Wild, and Tears of the Kingdom), but I’m not a die-hard on any of them.

For example, probably my favorite romcom fic I’ve ever read was TP Link and Zelda, but I’d love to see TP Link with Ilia in a healthy relationship that doesn’t end in tragedy (not sure why the fandom keeps doing that to them). I haven’t found a fic like that yet, though, and I don’t care enough to write my own.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Ahhh Only Partially Applied my poor child. You deserved better. Also the Lost and Found sequel. There wasn’t a ton of plot, but I had a few concepts I’d hoped to put out there (like a little Omega/Cal Kestis action).

16. What are your writing strengths?

Convoluted plots. Also maintaining a character’s individual voice and motivations. I want to say dialog, but it really depends on the day for me.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Exposition. Filler scenes and stuff that helps a fic feel more like a full and complete story when it’s done right. Some of my favorite fics to read are slowburns that do this extremely well, but I tend to get impatient and rush things when I write.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I used to be all over it when I was a kid, but after seeing it from others, I realized it’s not my favorite thing to read unless it’s handled a certain way, like including certain words for multi-lingual characters to add to realism, or entire sentences to show that the main character (and audience) aren’t expected to recognize what a certain character is saying. Things like that. As a writer I personally avoid it now.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

On AO3? Undertale. First ever? My Little Pony, I guess? I hadn’t even seen the show, just played with the toys and started writing stories about them, if that counts.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

Ooo probably Lost and Found. It was my first long fic, and written in a frenzy of inspiration without a super firm plan beforehand. I was super burned out by the end, but it was a ton of fun and I gained a lot of friends along the way.

Have to give WWAC a shoutout, though. It was longer, actually planned out, and had a Dracula-Daily style posting schedule that made last-minute chapters super rushed, but it was an absolute joy to write, and I hope to continue the story a bit further.

If you read this far, consider yourself tagged!

[justapersonwholovescats]

Introductions:

Recently I’ve had a creative hit and need to let out all this built up energy for it.

I wanted to try out something a little different. I’ve always participated in the 2012!TMNT role plays for years now, but after watching the RotTMNT movie a few times inspiration hit me. I’ve never done RotTMNT before in a role play, so if I mess anything up, please bear with me.

••••••••••••••••••••••

Plot Background:

It’s been months since the Kraang incident for the RotTMNT gang. Casey has stuck around for the most part, mainly going about doing his own thing. April is in college. And the four have been doing their usual business. Although, they have attempted to help clean up the city in the beginning after dark hit as they felt bad for partially destroying the city, being a bit to blame themselves.

Over time NewYork went back to normal for the most part. As normal as one can get after being attacked by aliens that is. It’s taken a toll on businesses and people alike, especially the main four mutant turtles. They’re all struggling to work past their trauma alike between each other and by themselves in their own personal time.

One normal day in the lair: Everybody relaxed, doing their own things, goofing off, etc. Nothing crazy had happened for the last few months and it seemed they were all glad about that. That was, until a portal opened.

It wasn’t one they had seen before. Purple glowing swirls almost seemed enticing to step through entirely on looks alone. Not even a few seconds later two mutant turtles (or mutant turtle and people) were thrown through the passage way. It didn’t seem that the two knew where they were entirely as they sprung back up to get through the portal once again.

It was far too late as the portal quickly closed, leaving bare brick wall in front of them all instead.

During the twos time stranded here in the newer version of themselves home, little do any of them know that the RotTMNT Kraang is going to make a comeback after sensing a new portal opening. They scheme carefully and plan to attack sooner rather than later…

••••••••••••••••••••••

Role Play Rules:

—I’m Literate to Advanced Lit.+ So I’m looking for somebody who can match my style. For usual replies I write 2-3 paragraphs, and sometimes more depending on how many characters are being played, inspiration, etc.

—Not really into NSFW stuff.

—I’m fine with gore and horror as long as it portrays to the plot and is talked about beforehand.

—I don’t have many triggers but I will respect any that you have.

—I’m fine with mental health issues that characters may have. Even the heavy ones.

—Please don’t spam me. I have a busy life most of the time so I might not reply every single day.

—I can’t think of anymore at the moment but if I do I’ll let you know.

••••••••••••••••••••••

Ending Points:

I’m always down to add in or trade ideas for this plot! I’d like for the two coming in through the portal to be from the 2012 series since that’s what I’m comfortable rping as — BUT if you’re wanting to rp as someone from a different universe you’re more than welcome to do that as well!

If you’re interested in role playing this with me, just make sure to read through all my rules. And then either send me a PM and I’ll get back to you soon as I can :))

[lilythelitten]

Rooftop Ninjas

(A recursive fanfic for TMNT: From the Hidden City, an incarnation by @hopeaterart )

…I wrote over FOUR THOUSAND words for this. Four thousand words for a fanfic of a fan incarnation that technically hasn’t even been written yet. I’ve never even written 4k-word fanfics for published works. What the heck, brain.

So since there aren’t plans to flesh them out (understandable, they’re far from the main focus) I have been thinking for a bit about the future kids. And in the process, created a very specific dynamic for Lita/Hinata and her brother Nagato. So have this story about them. Did I spend too much time on this? Yes, yes I did.

Should mention since there’s (again, understandably) not much to work with, I basically gave myself carte blanche to do whatever the fuck I wanted with the future kids (within reason). It’s not like any of this is canon anyway, so…yeah.

Few more things before we start: fight scene’s not great, sorry about that, hard to write a fight scene from the POV of a six-year old; I don’t know if everyone still lives in the clinic but I’m assuming they do for storytelling purposes; and she/her pronouns are used for CJ because I am assuming he hasn’t started using she/he at the point of time the story takes place, apologies if she has, not malice, just me not knowing.

Aaaaaand GO!

“Hina! Hey, Hina!”

Hinata blinked awake at the sound of a sharp, somewhat muffled whisper. Still sleepy, she closed her eyes again and buried her face in her pillow, trying to go back to bed.

“Hiiiiiiina.”

This time, the whisper came with a poke to the back of her neck. Then another. Then another. Hinata let out a soft groan, tilting her head so she was facing whoever it was. “What?” she mumbled.

Instead of an answer, a hand slowly pulled up her sleep mask so she could see who it was. Her vision was kinda blurry at first, so they were just a fuzzy silhouette, and she blinked a few times to clear it. And once it was clear...she had to blink again to be sure of what she was seeing.

A ninja. A small figure around her own height, maybe an inch taller, wearing a black jumpsuit with the hood and mask pulled up, two swords strapped to their back and two hanging from their hip. Through the darkness of the room and the visible space around their eyes, she could make out green skin...

But she didn’t need to. She knew who this was.

“Naga, why’re you in your Halloween costume?”

Her brother sputtered for a moment, then pulled down the mask to glare at her with a pout. “It’s not Halloween an’ it’s not a costume! It’s a ninja disguise worn by ninja.”

“Okay. Can I go to bed now?”

“No.”

“But it’s late.” Hinata squinted at the clock, the one bit of light in an otherwise pitch black room. “It’s ten. That’s really, really late.”

Nagato puffed his chest out proudly. “That’s nothing. One time, I stayed up ‘til midnight.”

Hinata gasped. “No!”

“Yep! And I’ll tell you all about it if you go do this with me.”

“Do what?”

Her brother set his hands down on the bed, grinning. “I wanna play Ninja.”

Hinata’s eyes went wide, and she shot up in bed. Ninja was a game she and her siblings and cousins had invented two years ago, and it was the best game ever. They’d all go outside (after the pepper spray incident Granduncle Splinter said they couldn’t play Ninja indoors) and divide into two teams—good ninja or evil ninja—and then they’d all pretend to have a ninja fight. Sometimes, they made up the situations. Other times, they’d act out battles their family had done a long time ago (Nagato always called dibs on playing their daddy). Every time, they pretend-fought until all the members of one of the teams were out (they had a rule, three strikes and you were out), and then the team that still had members won.

Hinata loved Ninja. They all did. But...

“But it’s late,” she said. “No one else is awake. We need teams to play Ninja.”

“No we don’t. We just need two people. One as the good ninja—” here, he pointed to himself “—and one as the evil ninja.”

She frowned. “Why’m I the evil ninja?”

“Because I don’t wanna be the evil ninja. Now c’mon!” Nagato grabbed her arm and yanked her out of bed, Hinata toppling to the floor with a yelp and a thud. Across the room, their sister stirred, and both siblings froze, holding their breath—but all she did was shift a bit before quieting again.

Nagato sighed in relief. “Gotta keep quiet,” he murmured, pulling Hinata to her feet. “I don’t wanna be tattled on.”

“Why don’t we ask them to join?” Hinata whispered.

“‘Cause none of them will listen to me even though I’m the leader.”

“I don’t think you’re the leader.”

“Who else could be the leader?”

“Um...CJ?”

“CJ’s our cousin, she doesn’t count!”

Hinata opened her mouth to respond, but Nagato cut her off. “Plus she never said she was the leader, but I did. Plus I’m older than you. So I’m the leader.”

Hinata wondered if she should point out that both CJ and Jan were older than them. She also wondered if she should point out that even among them and their siblings, Nagato was only second oldest, it was just that Kiyomi was completely uninterested in leading and so made no attempt to argue when Nagato declared himself the leader.

She then decided that it wasn’t worth the argument, and nodded. Her brother smiled smugly, puffing his chest out. “Like I said. I’m the leader. Now c’mon! Let’s go before we wake someone up.”

And so the two of them crept through the dark room, steadily making their way to the door and out into the hallway. They couldn’t risk turning on the light—that might wake someone up. They had to make their way through the darkness, carefully heading down the staircase to the second floor, where they’d have to be extra careful (this was where the adults slept).

They were almost to the next staircase when Nagato suddenly stopped, then gestured at the door beside him—the door to the dojo. “C’mon,” he whispered. “Go pick out a weapon.”

“A—” Hinata’s heart skipped a beat, and she stared at her brother in shock. “A weapon? We could kill each other!”

“Shhhhh!” Nagato hissed, putting a finger to his lip. After a pause, he continued. “We’re not gonna take actual weapons. Just practice ones.”

“How is that better? What about last time?”

“This will be better than last time!” Hinata was kinda amazed at her brother’s ability to whisper-shout. “Just...go grab one. I won’t hit you in the mouth. Sibling’s honor.”

(The “last time” they spoke of was a game of Ninja back when they were five, where Nagato had snuck practice weapons out of the dojo and CJ had ended up hitting Hinata in the mouth with a katana, knocking out her two front teeth and causing her to run sobbing to her parents. That day, Hinata had learned that she was supposed to lose baby teeth, and Nagato had gotten in trouble for sneaking weapons out of the dojo, and CJ had gotten in trouble for hitting her cousin in the mouth with a wooden katana.)

Reluctantly, Hinata stepped forward, opening the door to the small dojo and staring at it, too worried to go in. “Won’t we get in trouble?” she asked.

“Only if we get caught—now go!”

And her brother suddenly shoved her into the room. Hinata stifled a yelp as she stumbled forward, but once she steadied, she let out a resigned sigh and headed to look for the weapons.

It didn’t take her long to find them. It also didn’t take her long to pick one—she always liked the sword. Maybe it was ‘cause both of her parents were sword users. Whatever the case, Hinata carefully picked up the practice katana and nervously edged towards the doorway, heart loudly thumping with every step.

“You got it?” Nagato whispered as soon as she was there. When she nodded, he grinned. “Awesome. Let’s go.”

“Aren’t you gonna get a weapon?” Hinata asked, following him down the hallway.

“I’ve got my weapons.” He patted at the swords on his hip and the ones on his back.

“...why’re you bringing four?”

“You’ll see!”

They climbed down the second staircase, being extra careful with their steps—the first floor stairs were pretty creaky. When Hinata’s feet touched the floor, she felt a relief sweep through her. And a bit of thrill at having made it all the way to the first floor late at night without anyone noticing.

“Alright,” Nagato said. “Hard part’s over—now we just gotta get outside.”

Hinata stopped. “But the door’s locked,” she said. “An’ I dunno how to unlock it.”

“We don’t need the door.” He headed over to a nearby window and stood on his toes, pulling himself halfway up on the windowsill to fiddle with something Hinata couldn’t see. After a few seconds, there was a click—and, with a huff of effort, Nagato lifted the window.

Hinata’s eyes widened to dinner plate size. Nagato looked over his shoulder and grinned proudly. “Kiyomi figured out how to open the windows an’ showed me. Now we have secret passages outside.”

“How did you do that?” Hinata asked, walking up to the window as Nagato climbed fully onto the sill.

“Can’t tell you. Oldest sibling secrets.”

“But you’re not—”

“I’m the oldest brother. Do you wanna play Ninja or not?”

Hinata did, so she let her brother help her onto the windowsill. She carefully swung her legs so they were dangling on the outdoor side, then slid off the sill, landing on the ground. Nagato landed next to her a second later. “We gotta keep the window open,” he said, voice louder but still low. “So we can get back into the house when we’re done.”

“Back into...” The full implications hit her. “Oh my gosh. We— we just left the house!” Her voice was giddy with either excitement or worry. “We left the house an’ it’s late an’ we’re not allowed to leave the house at night an’ we stole from the dojo an’— an’—” She cut herself off with a gasp, clapping her hands to her cheeks. “We’re gonna get in so much trouble,” she whispered, eyes wide.

“No we’re not! We’ll be done and back in our beds before anyone even wakes up.” Nagato sounded so sure of it that Hinata relaxed a bit despite herself. “C’mon—follow me!”

He turned and started walking away. Hinata stared after him. “Aren’t we gonna play now?” she asked.

“Here? No! Everyone will hear us! I’ve got a better idea.”

***

“Nagato,” Hinata said, trying not to panic. “This is a terrible idea.”

They had just arrived at a building. They had climbed. The fire escape. All the way to the top floor (sure, it was only five floors, but still!). And they were about to climb onto the roof. To play Ninja.

Hinata wished she had stayed in bed.

“It’s fine!” Nagato insisted, standing on his toes and trying to grab onto the edge of the roof. “Daddy jumped around roofs all the time!”

“He was fourteen! What if we fall?!”

“We’re not gonna fall! We’ll stay in the center!”

“But what if we don’t?!”

“I’ll catch you!”

“What if you fall?!”

“I’m not gonna fall because I’m good at ninja-ing!” Nagato strained to reach the edge of the roof, standing on the very tips of his toes, then dropped into a slump with a groan of defeat.

“We can’t even reach it,” Hinata said, eyes nervously flicking up to the top of the building. “Can we please just go home and play in the backyard? I’ll be super quiet, I promise!”

“No, no!” Nagato declared, holding up a hand. “I know what to do here.”

He backed up a bit, took a deep breath, then shut his eyes in concentration. Everything was quiet for a bit, then there was a flicker of light. Then another. Then—slowly—the blue outlines of a second pair of arms shimmered into existence from his shoulders, flickering and wobbling before becoming stable. One magic arm reached up to grab the ledge, and Hinata’s eyes went wide. Is he gonna...?

He did. The other magic arm grabbed Nagato’s regular arm, sloooowly lifting him up to the roof. Nagato squinted in concentration, eyes glowing blue and regular arms stretched out to grab the ledge. Hinata watched him in silent terror, very aware of every wobble the magic arms made. What if he fell? How was she gonna catch him? If she couldn’t catch him, what was she gonna tell their parents? Her heart pounded in her ears as her brother reached for the ledge—

—and then the magic arms fizzled out of existence, and Hinata screamed and flinched away, covering her eyes.

...

“I got it!”

Hinata peeked through her fingers. Nagato had...he’d made it. He’d grabbed onto the ledge and was climbing up onto the roof with both his regular arms and the magic ones and...Hinata stared as he hoisted himself fully onto the roof, briefly disappearing from sight before his head popped out to look down at her, looking smug. “I told you I wasn’t gonna fall,” he said in a “duh” kind of voice.

Hinata was still staring. “I can’t believe that worked,” she said.

“Of course it worked! I’m a magic ninja!” He huffed, crossing his arms. “An’ I got magic first, so I know more about it than you.”

“Don’t brag.”

“What? I did get magic first!”

That was true. And very unexpected. A while ago, their dad had explained to them—all of them—that they were gonna get magic when they were older, probably teenagers, maybe earlier or later but the chances of that were low. And then two weeks ago Nagato got the blue power during the last game of Ninja they’d played, accidentally shoving CJ to the ground with magic arms.

It wasn’t impossible to get magic at six years old—Aunt Zia had been even younger when she got her power—but it wasn’t common, and all the adults had been really excited that he’d gotten it so young. And so for a week after getting the blue power, Nagato used it for everything and kept looking for excuses to use it and bragged about it to their siblings and cousins all the time.

Nagato was kind of exhausting sometimes.

“Now come on!” He leaned over the ledge, stretching his hand down to her. “I wanna play already!”

Hinata shrunk back, looking up at him in fear. “Wh-what if I fall?”

“I’m not gonna let you fall! I promise! Sibling’s honor! I’ll pull you up with the magic, just come on!”

Hinata hesitated, then grabbed her brother’s hand. The magic arms flickered back into existence to grab her arm, and Nagato pulled her up, helping her up onto the roof. She stumbled a bit as she stood up, and her heart skipped a beat—but she didn’t fall.

She was on the roof.

Hinata’s shoulders sagged and she sighed in relief. Nagato beamed, magic arms finally flickering out for good and his eyes fading back to black. “I told you you wouldn’t fall!”

“I was so scared—”

“You didn’t need to be! ‘Cause I didn’t let you fall!”

“I can’t believe I’m up here!”

“Believe it! Now—” Nagato gestured to the swords. “Can we play?”

“...” Hinata looked back at the edge. “Not so close?”

After moving to the center of the roof, the two stood apart facing each other. Hinata held the sword she’d taken from the dojo in both hands, not entirely sure whether it was one-hand or two-hand, while Nagato drew both swords from his belt, shifting a bit to try and get into a proper stance. The air itself buzzed with anticipation, and Hinata found herself unconsciously fidgeting. They hadn’t played Ninja in a while. Was she still good at it? Was she gonna get beaten in five seconds? And why—

“You’re s’pposed to talk.”

“Huh?”

“The evil ninja always talks about what their evil plan is at the start! An’ you’re the evil ninja, so you hafta talk.”

“O-oh, yeah.” Hinata cleared her throat, then thought for a bit. They didn’t agree on a scenario this time, so...maybe just make it up? “Um...fear me, people of Earth, for I am, uh...the Ultimate Ninja?” She looked at her brother, who gave a thumbs-up, prompting her to continue. “And I’m here to take over the world, and I’m starting here, with this city of yokai. Now, um, surrender, or I will...um...hurt you real bad.”

It wasn’t great acting. She was always rotten at playing the evil ninja. Fortunately, her brother more than made up for it.

“Halt, evildoer!” Nagato declared, dramatically pointing one of his swords at her. “You should be the one surrendering!”

“And...who are you supposed to be?”

“I am Leonardo Hamato! The coolest ninja of all! Now either leave this city or prepare for an awesome butt-kicking!”

Hinata paused. “I will not,” she said awkwardly. “You think you can beat me?”

“Of course I can!”

“Then...” She lifted her sword to point it at him. “Come face me.”

Nagato grinned and yanked up his mask so it covered the lower half of his face again. “Hajime!” he yelled, and charged towards her.

Hinata scrambled out of the way of the first sword strike, though she didn’t entirely need to; it was a slow swing, and Nagato had to throw his whole body into it. She tried to swing her own sword at his side, but it was heavy and slow and he dodged easily.

“These are heavy,” Nagato muttered.

“They’re made of wood,” Hinata pointed out. “Wood’s heavy.”

“Well—whatever!” He spun to her and swung, and Hinata scrambled backwards to avoid the hit. Nagato kept going though, relentlessly swinging his swords and forcing her back further and further to avoid them. Which, since they were trying to avoid the edge, led to him chasing her in a circle, spinning around the roof while clumsily swinging swords.

Seemingly realizing he was getting nowhere, Nagato spun the katanas so they pointed the same direction and thrusted them in a stab. Hinata sidestepped, barely dodging, and Nagato’s eyes widened—and then she thwacked him on the arm with her sword.

“Ooooow!” Nagato yelled, dropping his sword, while Hinata cheered, “Strike one!” Her brother glared at her, then stomped—hard—on her foot. “Ow!” she wailed—and then yelped as he thwacked her in the stomach with his other sword, sending her sprawling to the concrete.

“Ha! Strike one!” Nagato grabbed his dropped sword and raised them up, and Hinata raised her own sword to block it. The swords THUNKed against each other and Nagato stumbled backwards, Hinata frantically scrambling to her feet. Not waiting to regain her footing, she ran towards him, stumbled—

Thwack!

“Ow!” she wailed, grabbing her shoulder, which stung from the blow. Nagato laughed and cheered “Strike two!” then pulled back, readying for one more swing. Hinata’s eyes widened, trying to find some way to fight back, before Nagato swung with so much force he spun in place—

—and Hinata ducked under the swing and smacked her sword into Nagato’s side.

“Oof!” Nagato staggered backwards, arms flailing before he dropped to one knee, trying to catch his breath. “Strike two!” Hinata called out. A few seconds paused, then Nagato stood up, eyes narrowed.

They were both at two strikes. The next hit would end the game. Neither of them moved a muscle, just stood there staring at each other. Was he waiting on her? Did he have some kinda plan? Who was gonna move first? Who was gonna—

“Pssst,” Nagato fake-whispered. “You’re s’pposed to talk now.”

“Oh! Um...” Hinata hesitated, then cleared her throat. “You are quite skilled, ninja,” she said, sounding just as awkward as she had the first time. “But you cannot defeat me.”

“Ha! That’s what you think, bad guy!”

“Ultimate Ninja.”

“Whatever! For I, awesome ninja that I am, have a secret weapon!”

Hinata blinked. “Secret weapon?” she said, genuinely confused.

Her brother’s eyes glowed blue. The magic arms flickered into existence from his shoulders, but this time...Hinata’s eyes slowly widened to dinner plate size as they reached back, drawing the swords strapped to his back with a swish. He posed with the swords in his regular hands, the magic arms holding out the two other swords.

Hinata’s jaw dropped. “WHAT?!” she yelled.

“Behold!” Nagato declared, and she could hear his grin under the mask. “My shi kenjutsu!”

There was a brief silence on the roof.

“That’s Japanese for ‘four sword technique’.”

He reared back, leapt forward—

—and bonked himself in the head with a floating sword.

“Ow!” he yelled, stumbling back—and bonking himself again. “No—” The sword dropped a bit, this time hitting him in the shoulder. “Stop—” Hinata stared as Nagato backed up, trying to adjust the magic arms and bonking himself with his own swords over and over until he let out a scream of frustration and dropped on his butt, crossing his arms and scowling as the magic arms disappeared and the swords clattered to the roof.

“...” Hinata walked over, looking down at him with worry. “Are you okay?”

“No.” Nagato yanked down his mask and pouted, not looking her in the eye. “It was gonna be so cool...”

Hinata sat down next to him, and neither of them said anything for a moment. “Why’re we up here anyway?” she asked. “Couldn’t we have played Ninja normally?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“‘Cause CJ and Jan don’t wanna play with me anymore.”

“Huh?”

“I asked if they wanted to play a few days ago an’—” Nagato’s lip quivered, and he looked away. “An’ they said no, they were busy.”

“That’s not—”

“They were playing earlier!” he insisted, head jerking to look at her. “I saw them! That’s why I asked! They just don’t wanna play with me!”

Hinata stared in confusion. “But why don’t they wanna play with you?” Sure, her brother was kinda bossy and sometimes he got them into trouble, but he wasn’t mean or anything.

Nagato’s pout morphed into a scowl. “It’s ‘cause they’re jealous.”

“Jealous? Of...” And then she realized. “Of the magic?”

“Mm-hm. They played with me before I got magic. Now they don’t wanna.”

“Oh...” Hinata wasn’t sure what else to say. “But...they play with the rest of us, right?”

“They won’t,” he said, his hands balling into fists. “You’re gonna get powers too, an’ then they’ll stop playing with you because they don’t wanna play with us because we have powers and they don’t!” His voice cracked on the last word, and he furiously rubbed his eyes. They were quiet for a bit after that, mostly just because there wasn’t much they could say.

Then, Hinata picked up one of the swords and lightly tapped Nagato on the shoulder.

“Wh—”

“Strike three!” she chirped. “I win!”

“Nooooooo!” Nagato wailed, springing to his feet and glaring at her. “You— you— you jerk! You cheated!”

“Nope!” Hinata replied brightly, standing up. “The rules are three strikes and you’re out! An’ we were still playing! I won!”

“Noooo!”

“I wooon, I wooon, I won I won I wooon!” she sing-songed, and Nagato pouted again.

“I’m leaving you on the roof,” he muttered, grabbing the swords he’d dropped and sheathing them on his back. Hinata gasped, all smugness gone.

“No— no! I’ll let you win, I’ll say you won, please don’t—”

“I’m joking, I’m joking!” he yelled, holding his hands up. “I’m not leaving you on the roof. You’re my sister, I like you. And I’d get grounded forever.” He picked up the other two swords and sheathed those on his hip.

She watched as he went over to the edge they’d climbed up from. “Are we done now?”

“My side hurts. An’ my arm.”

Hinata was suddenly very aware of the aches where the swords had hit. “Me too,” she said, following him to the edge.

It wasn’t a long drop down to the fire escape, and the two sat on the edge. “Naga?” said Hinata.

“Yeah?”

“If we do this again, can I wear my ninja costume too?”

“Yours is pink. What if everyone sees you?”

“They won’t! I’ll be extra stealthy, I promise. Sibling’s honor.”

Nagato thought for a moment, then shrugged. “Okay, sure.” And then he started climbing down to the fire escape to head home, Hinata following close behind.

***

By the time the two of them got home, they were giggling uncontrollably, giddy from having a ninja fight on the roof and getting away with it. They giggled as they climbed through the window and Nagato did that weird oldest sibling thing to close and lock it. They stifled the giggles when they climbed up to the second floor and briefly entered the dojo to put all the practice swords away, but it was right back to giggling once they were on the third floor and had made it back to Hinata’s room.

“That was amazing,” Hinata said, climbing onto her bed with a grin.

“An’ no one knows!” Nagato had an equally wide grin. “See, we don’t need meanie cousins to have fun. We just need each other, fake swords, an’ a roof.”

“An’ me winning.”

The grin slipped off Nagato’s face. “I’ll do the four sword technique right eventually,” he grumbled.

Hinata didn’t respond for a bit, thinking. “Do you think Daddy ever tried that?” she wondered. “Using four swords at once?”

“Probably! It’s s’pposed to be really cool and Daddy’s the coolest so he probably thought of it. An’ it’s hard to do because no one’s as cool as Daddy.”

She leaned in closer. “Not even Uncle Mikey?”

“Not even Uncle Mikey.”

“Not even Papa?”

“...” Nagato hesitated. “Well, yeah, Papa’s really cool, but...Daddy’s cooler. Don’t tell him I said that.”

“I won’t,” Hinata said, nodding.

They were quiet for a moment, then Hinata yawned, suddenly aware of how tired she was. “‘S late. I’m goin’ to bed.”

“Yeah, me too.” Her brother turned to head for the door.

Hinata burrowed under the blankets and pulled her sleep mask down, laying her head on the pillow. “Night, Naga,” she called out, already drowsy.

“Night, Hina.”

She heard the door softly shut, and then there was silence. Hinata shut her eyes, hardly daring to believe how much she’d gotten away with tonight—and no one but Nagato would ever know.

The last thought she had before she fell asleep was that having siblings was pretty great.

(One last author’s note: I am aware it has been stated that Raph and Donnie taught their kids to not antagonize their younger cousins due to jealousy. For my purposes, I imagine that lesson was taught sometime after Nagato ended up being an early bloomer powers-wise; they never thought they’d needed to have the talk so early. Also, eight-year olds can be jerks. Aaaaanyway hope you enjoyed this monstrosity I spent too much time on.)

[well-its-not-human-anymore]

Hi lovely! I just want to say, your writing is amazing!! Do you think you could do little headcanons for each bayverse brother where the reader is almost ALWAYS super happy and chipper, super kind to everyone all the time, but then one time somebody (turtles or readers family, doesn't matter) says something to really piss them off? Like... Teeth clenching, furious, silent, and boiling kind of anger that terrified the SHIT out of them that they've never seen before or expected from them?? 😂

Usually, when my Dad and Stepmom are arguing, the fight is blamed on me because I'm "the oldest" and "the most responsible" and I become extremely upset, completely opposite of what I usually am, and there's nobody I can talk to. Thank you so much, for taking my request!! Love your writing!! -Captain trash 🐌

Ohhhh 💢😡 love this, and I do this all the time. Out here bottling my emotions like I'm canning pickles.

TMNT Headcanons

The boys reacting to the quiet type of rage

Leonardo

you were an absolute angel

this was one thing Leo knew to be true

to him, you were like a carbonated beverage, bubbly and sweet

but what he didn't take into account was that like most carbonated drinks, you always hit just right

he learned that the hard way

no, he wasn't sure what he'd actually said to set you off, but he knew it probably wasn't about him insulting potato chips

you weren't that passionate about potatoes, shockingly enough

but he'd ran his mouth when he shouldn't have and immediate correction was provided via a VERY solid punch to his plastron

then you were up and storming out of the kitchen to your personally designated shelf at the other side of the lair, snarling as you went

you stayed up there for the rest of the day and when dinner came around Leo had to tackle Mikey to the ground to stop him from throwing a paper airplane up into your nest

a wise choice

Splinter was the one who informed you that it was time to eat

Another wise choice

Personally, Leo's never seen anyone eat fettuccine with the afterthought of murdering god but damn if you didn't look like you were considering it

Your jaw was clenched so tight that he feared you'd break your teeth

He felt bad of course, how couldn't he? But he also knew from experience that it was best to leave you be until you came down from your anger

Raphael

Now, Raph is no stranger when it comes to anger or rage, especially the silent type

He likes to think he knows it better than anyone

But holy shit- he never expected it from you

You were always kind and sweet and every other synonym for those words under the rainbow

In fact, Raph had gone so far as to assume that you didn't have a mean bone in your body

That turned out to be lie

The argument was something dumb, it had to be, but it quickly escalated. Much faster than he thought it could

And he made the mistake of running his mouth

"Oh yeah? And what could you ever get outta being with a freak like me, huh?!"

Big mistake

He actively watched your face darken and your lip curl into a snarl

"You need to stop using your appearance to win arguments."

And then he had to watch as you turned your back on him and simply walked away

You were silent at dinner, only speaking when you needed the salt or something else

You declined all offers to be walked home and left by yourself

They could all tell by your stature and your tense jaw that caused the veins in your neck to bulge that you were beyond pissed

Despite that Raph still received your text informing him that you made it home safe

But that was all

Two days went by before he showed up at your apartment to apologize

You'd never been one to hold a grudge against anyone

Especially not your boyfriend

You accepted his apology and he hasn't crossed that line since

Donatello

From the day he met you, Donnie knew you were different

Your social anxiety and self esteem overlapped in some of the worst possible ways

But damn if you weren't an absolute sweetheart around everyone else

You defended your friends better than Fort Knox security and that was a fact

So in truth he really shouldn't have been surprised by your outburst

But in his defense he'd only ever seen you react verbally, yelling, threatening, the works

When they were all returning from a scouting routine that night the last thing Donnie wanted to listen to was Leo's lecture

Donnie had gotten in a little too far and banged himself up, bleeding from a few cuts and scrapes but nothing major

And none of them had realized that you were there

So when Leo went in for an attack on Donnie's intelligence and worth you'd done the only reasonable thing you could think of

The glass bottle shattered on the wall next to Leo's head and sent them all ducking and covering their faces

You stood opposite of them, murder dancing in your eyes like a ballerina

You pinned Leo with your gaze and held him there for a painfully long minute

Then you were taking Donnie's hand and pulling him to the needle room

You were both silent while you patched him up and he was relieved to know that your anger wasn't directed at him

Your entire body practically melted when he touched your cheek

"You're going to break your teeth if you keep that up."

"Well I've never been one for self preservation now have I?"

Michaelangelo

You and Mikey's personality and mentality were basically identical

You might as well have operated on the same vibrational frequency

He just worked so well with you

If it wasn't for the fact that he clearly wasn't human you could've been twins

It wasn't that you were necessarily angry with him at that moment, but the argument you were having was quickly escalating so you both opted to shut it down before it got any worse

Things usually turned out better when you both went nonverbal

Ended with way less hurt feelings than it could have

But you both found it best to take some time alone during these situations, things were easier to smooth over if you were both calm

The others found this terrifying however

Because silent, angry you was one thing

Silent and angry Mikey was another thing entirely

But fortunately you both typically resolved things rather quickly after giving each other some space

I know the last one is a little off but I kinda ran out of ideas and brain power. The dreaded wall of writer's block has hit me and I think I just made a nest under it and took a nap. But in all honesty this week has really stressed me out so I apologize for the lack of postings. I'm doing my best to get back into it. Thank you all for being patient with me. 🧡

-Mars 🌠

[turtlethon]

“Michelangelo Meets Mondo Gecko”

Season 5, Episode 5 First US Airdate: September 14, 1991

Mikey returns to where the Turtles were mutated and encounters a half-boy, half-lizard.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles season five continues with “Michelangelo Meets Mondo Gecko”. This is the only episode of the series written by Gary Greenfield, and aired as the second half of a double-bill with “My Brother, the Bad Guy”.

After Michaelangelo wakes the other Turtles due to a recurring nightmare, Splinter steps in. Using a medallion to place his student in a deep sleep, he has Mikey recount his dream’s events. We flash back to the fateful moment when a boy carrying a bowl containing the four Turtles would trip, leading them to fall through a grate into the sewers. We originally saw these events unfold all the way back in the very first episode of the show, “Turtle Tracks”, though this retelling of their origin is done with entirely new footage.

Eagle-eyed viewers of the show will notice that this version soon diverges from what we saw in season one. Here, the Turtles land in the mutagen immediately, whereas the original story had Hamato Yoshi find them and discover they had wandered into a puddle of mutagen later. Note, too, that mutagen was originally a pink/purple colour. Beginning with season four, the show adopted green as the standard colour for the ooze, in line with its usual depiction in other TMNT media, and so that’s how it appears here.

Michaelangelo remembers seeing a baby lizard emerge from the cracks between the bricks of the sewer walls and join the Turtles in the mutagen. It’s seen being picked up by a shadowy man with a large collar. Mikey screams in terror, despite never being in any danger and not knowing the lizard; I guess the idea here is that the mystery man was just that scary.

Raphael is his typical wry self and doesn’t put much stock in Mikey’s dream. Splinter suggests that it might not be as fanciful as it seems, and that “what seems to be fantasy often proves to be reality”. This is the second episode in a row that’s opened with Splinter’s supposed wise teachings being the most obvious, redundant platitudes: sometimes people don’t believe things that turn out to be true, no shit.

A fun gag follows where Leo, Donnie and Raph all complain that they’re never going to be able to get back to sleep now, before immediately all being out like a light. Michaelangelo is still up, however, and is fixated on learning more about what happened. He leaves the confines of the Lair, spending hours wandering around trying to solve this mystery. Eventually Mikey winds up standing beneath a grate that he’s convinced was the one from his dream, and logically, given the amount of time that has passed, that should be the end of it. For the purposes of the story, however, we continue.

Above ground, three hoodlums are seen robbing a bank: the quiff-sporting Sluggo, plus-sized crook Basher and a third individual in a long, hooded coat. Mikey confronts the trio, and as he has no weapons of any practical use nowadays – his character model doesn’t even include his nunchucks anymore, following their gradual phasing out last season – all he can do is charge at Basher, bouncing off his belly and flying into a nearby wall. He then gets hurled into a trash can, which is kicked downhill. I’ve never seen any of the Turtles get their ass handed to them by some random unarmed guy in this manner; this is truly a new low.

April and Stan arrive at the bank to cover the robbery. Our ace reporter interviews the Chief of Police, and as is so often the case in TMNT, the cops are entirely incapable of providing assistance and clueless as to what is going on. The Chief reveals he knows nothing about the robbery, and only happened to be on the scene as he was depositing his paycheck.

We briefly check in with the other Turtles, who muse over breakfast as to where Michaelangelo has wandered off to. Elsewhere in the sewers, Mikey has another encounter with the hooded robber, who rides a skateboard through the tunnels while carrying the standard cartoon sack of money (sans dollar sign). The thief winds up skating into an area that’s a dead end, and with his back literally against the wall is forced to reveal his true identity as Mondo Gecko, a mutant lizard.

Act two opens with Mondo Gecko using his tail attack, before turning Michaelangelo’s grappling hook against him, tying the Turtle up on a sewer pipe – his second humiliating defeat in the space of a single morning. The mutant gecko escapes, but Mikey is able to follow him thanks to the tracks left by his skateboard. Playing spy, he sneaks around a run-down warehouse and sees Mondo, Basher and Sluggo checking in via radio with their boss, the mysterious villain “Mr. X”. The trio are given instructions for their next raid, this time of a military truck that will be carrying a new and “devastating” explosive device. Mr. X explains that his plan is to only return the invention in exchange for an astronomical sum of money.

When Basher and Sluggo briefly exit the room to retrieve some dynamite for the mission, Michaelangelo steps in to confront Mondo Gecko again. This backfires when the other two crooks return, and Mikey soon suffers his third defeat of the day, this time getting thrown in a net for his efforts. He’s about to be fed to an improbable pool of sharks installed in the warehouse, but Mondo has second thoughts, suggesting that they should take him to be punished my Mr. X directly instead.

A still-restrained Michaelangelo is left in the back of a pick-up truck while the three hoodlums carry out their plan, knocking a tree onto the road and forcing the military convoy to halt. Mondo, Sluggo and Basher hijack the military truck containing the explosive device, hurling Mikey in the trailer and driving off to Mr. X’s hideout.

Mikey is able to use his Turtlecom to make initial contact with the Turtles, but Basher steps in to destroy it before he can relay his location. April is also on the scene, riding a news cycle as she covers the robbery of the truck for Channel 6. Leonardo asks her to steer clear of the situation due to the danger involved. April agrees, only to immediately turn around and follow the truck anyway: she’s not about to let go of such a big story so easily.

While Mondo Gecko orders his allies to dispose of the truck, the Turtles are tracking Michaelangelo’s “bio-genetic infrared code” from aboard their blimp. They determine that he’s at Devil’s Mountain, and set a course to travel there immediately.

Act two ends with Sluggo convincing Basher to murder Michaelangelo by sending the truck he’s in over a cliff with a thousand-foot drop. When we return from commercials, the two villains continue to cackle as the vehicle is seen hurtling downhill. Mondo Gecko steps in, furious at his allies for their behaviour. He uses his skateboard to catch up with the truck, jumping on-board and retrieving Mikey moments before the military vehicle goes up in flames.

Michaelangelo announces his surprise at being rescued by someone he had pegged as a villain. Mondo explains that he doesn’t know why he came to the aid of Mikey, his actions being purely instinctive; now back to his normal self, he holds the Turtle at gunpoint and marches him back to Mr. X’s home.

The Turtle Blimp arrives on the scene, and upon seeing the wreckage of the truck our heroes are briefly under the impression that Michaelangelo has perished. Raphael is even tearful for a moment before the team notice that his life signs are still present. Our heroes head off in pursuit, with April travelling in the same direction.

Mr. X is seen in a Dr. Claw setup, his appearance largely obscured by the back of his chair, as he demands five billion dollars from the military over the phone. If they don’t comply in the next seven minutes, then it’ll be “kablooey”. (Who is he going to blow up seven minutes from now given the super-explosive device is in his home isolated at the top of a mountain, other than himself?) When Mondo brings in Michaelangelo, Mr. X turns around to reveal his true identity, which I can only describe as “Norman Tebbit dresses as Colonel Sanders for Halloween”. Mikey immediately picks up on this being the man who he was having nightmares about; through a flashback, we see him picking the baby lizard out of the mutagen.

Mondo Gecko is ordered by Mr. X to execute Michaelangelo; when he expresses his reluctance, X tells him that “either you finish him, or I finish you!” before storming out of the room. For his final wish, Mikey asks Mondo to return a pendant to his mother, and presents it to the lizard. In reality, this is the same trinket that Splinter used while performing hypnosis earlier. Our resident Party Dude now uses the same tactic against his captor, placing him in a trance and having him recount his own origin story.

More flashbacks follow as Mondo recalls being picked up by Mr. X – it's never explained why – and taken back to the villain’s hideout. There, X raised Mondo as he grew into a half-lizard, half-boy, leading him into a life of crime. After ending the hypnosis, Mikey convinces Mondo that he’s not really villainous, but was indoctrinated to believe he was. Mr. X, Sluggo and Basher return and are about to open fire on the two mutants, but Basher manages to accidentally activate the military device.

Mr. X has Michaelangelo in his sights when the Turtles break in, tying up Basher and Sluggo. Furious, X attempts to shoot Mondo instead. The lizard is saved by the intervention of Mikey, who knocks him out of the path of the ray gun’s blast. Michaelangelo goes on to use his grappling hook to hoist Mr. X up on one of the roof’s beams.

April arrives and immediately declares that she wishes she had a camera to chronicle this “dynamite story”, before the Turtles explain that’s an unfortunate way of putting it, as the timer on the military device has been ticking down since Basher knocked it. Now there are less than twelve seconds remaining to deactivate the bomb. Donatello is forced to quickly choose which of the wires to cut, opting to go with the purple one and successfully stopping the timer. When pressed as to how he knew which one to choose, he reveals that he just went with his trademark colour.

Mondo provides April with the sacks of money that he stole to return to the police. Now without a home, he suggests that perhaps he’ll return to the sewers. Michaelangelo is thrilled by this, and is quick to welcome the lizard as a new neighbour for the Turtles. Later, we see the team helping him to move furniture in, and a lot of gushing follows about how the green teens will now have a new ally living next door that they can call on in their daily adventures.  Mikey and Mondo head out to ride skateboards together, leaving the other Turtles to continue lugging furniture around.

(Sharp intake of breath through the nose)

No. No, no, no. I don’t care for this episode at all.

With more than a hundred adventures behind us, we’ve seen a multitude of different characters undergo some form of mutation, all of them under different circumstances. When you start meddling with the core aspects of the series and the origins of its central characters to squeeze another mutation out of it for a largely throwaway episode, that’s something else entirely. The retcon that the Turtles instantly wound up in the mutagen and Mondo Gecko also just happened to be there is, at best, a big ask for us as viewers who have been invested in the story of the green teens for years at this point, and at worst could be considered simply a gigantic middle finger to the audience. All of this for no real reason beyond shifting a few more units of one new action figure.

But wait! There’s more somehow.

Mondo’s mutation presumably is contingent on him having made contact with Mr. X, turning him half-human. But Mr. X, who must have had at least some exposure to the mutagen too, turns into... nothing? Splinter did much the same with the Turtles, and even if his transformation is confusing (because as we’ve covered previously, we saw with our own eyes that the last animal he’d been in contact with was not a rat, it was the Turtles themselves), at least he did change. If X had been an interesting new mutant enemy for the team to battle, we’d have that to chew on. Instead, we get one of the most laughably ineffectual big villains the Turtles have ever crossed paths with. Even his name suggests that this guy was a complete afterthought. Neither he, nor his henchmen Sluggo and Basher, will return. Good.

All of the Turtles are arguably diminished as a result of this episode meddling with the mythos behind their creation, but no-one comes out of it worse than poor Michaelangelo, who gets defeated by absolute schmucks over and over again. In-universe, it makes him look weakened due to the loss of his old weapons, and the fact that he gets to tie up Mr. X at the end does nothing to rebuild his credibility given that, as we’ve established, Mr. X sucks beyond belief. Mikey deserves better. We all deserve better.

Going off his toy’s file card you might expect that Mondo Gecko would be portrayed as a full-on Poochie, the most extreme radical dude possible, getting biz-zay consistently and thoroughly. For better or worse, we don’t really see much of that here. Instead, he’s largely handled as a cantankerous and gruff villain who just happens to also ride a skateboard, the need to keep his babyface turn until the end preventing him from ever becoming particularly likable. The ending of the episode suggests Mondo will be a regular fixture moving forward, but this won’t be the case: he’ll make one more appearance two years from now, in the late season seven adventure “Dirk Savage: Mutant Hunter”.

Mondo’s role in the Archie TMNT Adventures comics is far more significant than his television portrayal, with the mutant lizard even appearing in the spin-off series “Mighty Mutanimals” alongside some other popular side characters like Leatherhead and Ray Fillet. His inclusion in the toy line at the height of Turtlemania seems to have boosted his profile despite only seeing a scant amount of TV time – call it “Ace Duck Syndrome”. The fact that Mondo would get a second action figure in 1992 suggests that Playmates were at least somewhat satisfied by the sales of his first toy; why they decided to dress him in full-on Woodstock hippie attire for his return to the line at the height of the grunge era is anyone’s guess.

I’m struggling to find anything positive to say here. There must have been some kids who had Mondo Gecko’s toy, or knew him from the comics, and I imagine they would have been excited to see him here, so there’s at least value in that. I suppose it’s not “Camera Bugged” bad, so that’s something? Definitely ranks alongside some of the all-time worst, though, next to “Michelangelo Toys Around” and the rest of the dreck from season four’s syndicated stretch. Given that our next episode, “Enter: Mutagen Man” will also introduce a new character from the toy line, I can only hope that it’ll be better than this.

[skylarmoon71]

Raphael x Parker Reader- Extra (TMNT 2014/2016)

The insistent ringing of your phone makes you groan. Rolling over in your bed, you grumble, picking it up.

"(Y/N) come quick!! Something weird happened!!"

Mikey sounds scared but also excited.

You scramble out of your bed to get clothes.

"I-I'll be right there!!"

What was waiting for you at the lair?

~~~~~

"How..."

"We have no idea how it happened." Standing before you are four very human teenage boys. Donnie you can only assume is the lean tall male with a pair of spectacles on. 

No shell, no scales. Mikey is shorter with dark hair. Leo you conclude is the male with the blond hair and green eyes. He's holding his swords in his hand and looking at his back in annoyance. Raph...you were drooling over Raph. The human form was a fair depiction of what you thought of him. Strong jaw, muscled stature and those intense smoldering eyes. You need a minute to gather yourself. This is all too much too fast.

"(Y/N)?"

You jump, because in your staring, you barely saw Raph move. Of course human Raph is certainly attractive but...you never realized how much you appreciated their differences before now. His gait and demeanor hasn't changed, but everything else has.

"D-Does Donnie know how to change you guys back?" you divert your gaze.

"I have no clue. These readings make no sense. The change was spontaneous, unplanned. Our DNA has literally warped itself, no trigger. "

He continues on a rant meanwhile Mikey is unbuckling his pants. He looked down in slight disappointment. 

"Wow, it got smaller." you blush.

"MIKEY!!" Leo and Raph yell at him.

"What? I was just checking." He zipped up, and you kept your eyes on the wall.

"I vote we got out!"

"Absolutely not, we have no idea how this happened and when it'll wear off." Leo objected.

"Exactly, that's why we gotta use it while we can. Come on, you can't tell me you're not curious. This is the first chance we have to go out there without worrying about being mutants. " You understand Mikey's yearning.

"Please Leo." Mikey is pleading, and you feel for him.

"Leonardo." Splinter walks over, placing a hand on Leo's shoulder. He doesn't say anything, just looks at him. Leo releases a deep sigh. 

"Fine, but we're still together. No running off. If you feel anything weird you tell me and we leave immediately. "

"YESS!!!"

Mikey is overjoyed, and it makes you smile.

Since the beginning, Raph hasn't taken his eyes off you. He looks down at his hands, then over to yours.

"Out in the open..together.."

Maybe this really was a blessing in disguise. Leo is searching for a strap for his blades.

You laugh. 

"Leo, maybe it's better if you leave that stuff here. People aren't gonna react very well to you walking around the city with two katanas. " His shoulders slump in an adorable way.

"But my blades.."

He's actually pouting. It's so cute. Raph slaps his shoulder. "Quit being a baby, ain't like we gonna chase around criminals. " He's right, it's the first time they'll be outside just to enjoy all that New York has to offer. You're kind of excited to see how the day will turn out.

"Onward!" 

Mikey cheers. Donnie is packing some of his equipment in his bag. "I'll see if I can work on this while we're at it." He states. You follow, trailing behind a little. Raph comes to your side, taking your hand and you look over. Your fingers interlock, and you grow silent. It's so weird to be holding his hand like this, but not unwanted. He doesn't look at you, just continues forward and you grin, leaning into his side.

You place a quick peck on his cheeks, and they burn red immediately. Your eyes light up. "Raph are you blushing!" He's trying to glare, but with the flush in his cheeks, it just makes him look so cute.

"I ain't." He denies. You giggle. "You so were."

He picks you up unexpectedly and you squeak. Those green eyes hold you captive. He leans in, and you close your eyes, but he stops a hairline away.

"Now who's blushing."

"No fair!" you protest.

"Could you guys stop flirting for one minute." Leo says boredly. You bury your face into Raph's chest, blushing.

"Shut up." you grumble. Leo just smiles.

~~~~~'

Mikey was literally staring in awe at every store. It was hard to keep up with him. Of course they told April about the change, she was more than happy to join. So the plan was to head to her apartment after Mikey was done gawking at every little thing. Leo and Donnie were somewhat the same. 

"We've never really seen that much of the city from down here." Donnie states in awe. A girl stops in front of Donnie.

"Hi, I was just a little lost and hoping you could give me some directions." She batted her eyes a couple times and you were struggling to hold in your laugh. Donnie didn't look bothered in the least. You sort of figured he didn't realize that girl who was obviously flirting with him. So he gave clean directions, and she smiled. "Thanks handsome." She gave a quick kiss on his cheek running off. Donnie stood there in shock.

"Donnie you player!!" Mikey said, slapping his arm. Donnie cleared his throat.

Leo was smiling. "Something tells me she didn't really need directions."

You joined in their laughter, turning you fully expect Raph to be acting just as excited as his brothers, but his eyes were watching you. 

"Ra-" He leans down and kisses you, and it's so sudden that you squeal. Leo and Mikey groan. "We're heading to April, you guys can kiss all you want on your own. " Raph barely acknowledges their words, and you moan when he deepens the kiss. You force yourself to pull back because you're in public and as you look over you can see a few people staring. "Raph.." you whine.

"We're going to your house. "It doesn't sound like a request. He just pulls you along, and you follow mesmerized.

~~~~

The second you step in the door you expect to see Aunt May, you're confused on why she isn't there.

"Right." She was still helping the principal.

You turn to Raph, a bit nervous. 

"A-Aunt May isn't gonna be back for a while." You mumble. Raph just kisses you again. You're a bit surprised. Raph isn't usually this needy. He's a lot more attentive. You barely have a chance to gather yourself. He backs you up and you knock into the table. He pauses for a second, panting softly.

"Take me to your room." he'd been teasing about blushing earlier, but you were probably as red as a cherry right now. Taking his hand, you nod, guiding him up the stairs. He followed silently. The second you got inside you were pushed up against the wall. Not that you were really complaining. But this whole thing felt so sudden. 

It's only a second before he takes you into his arms. You aren't that shocked. No matter what form he took, apparently his strength stayed the same. He lowers you onto the bed slowly, still leaving kisses along your neck. The moment you touch the mattress, it becomes real. This is Raph and you're about to... you brush your hands along his hand.

"That's right." 

You lean away, and Raph stops. "What's wrong?" You slide out from under his body, inching backwards.

"I-I can't Raph."

It's clear that he never saw this happening. Raph looks down with a bitter chuckle.

"Guess no matter what I'll forever be a freak huh. Thought for sure you'd want to since I was human. " Your eyes grow wide.

"I-Is that why you were being so..forward?"

He shifts, sitting at the edge as he looks at the ground. 

"It ain't your fault if you don't want to. I should have asked first. "

He really was that scared of you rejecting him as himself.

"Raph.." You feel horrible. And here you thought he was just really horny. You feel like an idiot.

"Raph it's not because of who you are that I don't want to do this. "

His head raises, and you move closer, taking his hand.

"I..I've never, you know, done this before. I-I didn't want my first time to be with this version of you. I want...the real you.."

"Wait, you're saying you want to do turtle me?"

"W-Well when you say it like that it sounds so dirty!"

For a moment he thinks he dreamed the words you just said. But the pretty flush of your cheeks and the way you're playing with your fingers to distract yourself, he can't help but feel so lucky. How did he manage to snag someone like this. He isn't quite sure.

"You really are something else."

He drops back unto the bed pulling you with him. You giggle when he hugs you, kissing every part of your face.

"Ya kinky little shit." you blush, smacking his arm.

"You're lucky I love you Raphael!"

"Don't I know it."

[goldenspecter]

Cosmo’s TMNT Masterpost

(Rise, 2003, 2012, and others)

Here’s where you can find pretty much everything I’ve ever made for the TMNT fandom! Fanfics here[haven’t gotten the courage to post fanart here yet], hope you guys enjoy my work. Reblogs are appreciated!

Fanfics

1. Finding my way home(and moving forward)

Out of sheer curiosity, Leonardo and Donatello looked up, and there it was.

A portal.

Had the Universe really taken pity on them? Had it really heard his desperate prayers for one more chance?

It was not like the ones they had seen before, it was an irregular circle made up of several shades of blue, completely different from the perfect and symmetrical pink triangles of the Kraang.

Leonardo and Donatello looked into each other's eyes for a few moments, "Should we go in?" Donatello asked, almost shouting, drawing the attention of the others, who quickly turned to the portal and to see each other, then the two brothers in question.

"It's our best bet, and our only chance," replied Leonardo.

Or rather, with the 2012 kids' home gone, they end up in the Rise verse after a strange portal shows up. Therapy is needed, and start the slow process of healing from their trauma.

(Rise/2012, Work in Progress, written with @keeryd​ )

2. Strawberry Cookies:

"Mikey here was just about to tell me what we could do to cheer Raph up while he's sick," Donnie says. "Mikey continue?"

Now that Mikey had both of his older brothers attention, he grins. "I was thinking we make strawberry cookies!" He does his jazz hands as he says this and is met with looks of something that he can only put as disapproval. "What?"

"You do know that everytime that we have tried to make it-" Donnie starts.

"We mess it up and Raph has to come in and save our butts from burning the cookies?" Leo finishes, "What would be different this time?"

Mikey huffs, "We are doing this so we can cheer him up and to prove that we can do something on our own!" he says, "That's what got Raph sick in the first place!"

Or rather, Raph gets sick after helping his brothers recover from the poisoned pizza puffs. Mikey, Donnie, and Leo take a shot at baking cookies for Raph while trying not to burn their kitchen down.

(One shot, complete)

 3. Chicken Fried Rice:

“I only poured in half a pot of rice,” Donnie complained.

Mikey stared at him, really stared at him before he spoke. “You do realize that rice expands when cooked right?” he said, “You do realize that?”

Donnie was silent, looking away from Mikey.

“Donnie!”

Donnie makes chicken fried rice. Mikey watches over. Shenanigans and brotherly fluff ensue.

one shot in which Donnie is in the kitchen, cooking rice and Mikey, Mikey is positive he should have gotten Donnies braincell. 

(One shot, complete)

 4. Tea Time with Hortense and Patty: 

"Sooo," Raph starts. She's always been weird with awkward silences. "Are these grandma kinning hours?"

"Grandma hours!" Mikey exclaims excitedly. "Grandma time!!!"

"Ah, if it isn't our favorite girl and her little brother!" Hortense tilts her head over in their direction slightly. "Are you going to join us? We were just about done arguing," she says.

---

Today is Tea Time. Two old ladies have a tea party, one of them forgets to bring the food, and they are joined by Mikey and Raph. A good time is still had.

(One Shot, Complete)

5. One of those Days

When Donnie woke up this morning, he woke up with the familiar thrum of anger and irritation running through his body with more intensity than normal. Rubbing the crust out of the corners of his sleep-addled eyes, he jerkily grabbed his phone and turned off the alarm. It's one of Those Days, Donnie noted. Those Days where Donnie isn't capable of handling Mikey's over-enthusiastic optimism or Leon's chaotic trickster nature. His safest bet is to hang out with Raph, his calm and mellow demeanor always helped calm down before Donnie went on a rage fest and say anything he couldn't take back.

Or, Donnie and Raph help each other out, balance each other, and make things a little less difficult.

(One Shot, Complete) 

 6. Gift Hunting: 

“It’s Leo. Tiny Leo,” the voice answers. “I need your help with something.”

“What is it?”

“I can’t say until you say yes first,” Leo says. “It’s really important though.”

Angelo is silent, weighing his options. He could say no, he really could-

“Please, Angelo, you’re the only one who can really help me with this,” Leo pleads.

Rather, Angelo and Leonardo go out in the streets of New York to help the blue banded turtle find gifts for his brothers' sixteenth mutation day. Bonding and fluff ensues.

(One Shot, Complete)

 7. Aftermath:

“Raphie bear?” Mikey called out, gently tapping Raph, with relief washing him when Raph turned his head to face him. “What’s the matter teddy bear?”

“Th-thi-this doesn’t feel real.” Raph stuttered out, his voice cracking as a sob broke through. “I’m not really here. Neither are you and everyone else. I’m still alone with Draxum and his minions. No one’s coming to save me because I was stupid enough to get captured and no one wants such a worthless turtle like me.”

In which Raph was kidnapped and tortured by Baron Draxum and his family has to deal with the aftermath of it.

(One Shot, Complete)

 8. To Be the Eldest

Donnie, the second youngest in his family, wishes he was the eldest for once. Then one night, Donnie gets his wish granted and now he was three small turtles in his care.

Donnie adjusts to being the eldest, comes to some realizations, and makes a promise to his (now) younger brothers.

(Work In Progress)

 9. Wanted: Snaggletooth 

Dr. Noel bent down on his knees in front of Raph, a manic smile that showed too many teeth coming about on his face speaking of pain and suffering that has yet to come. He stretched out his hand towards Raph’s face, placing a thumb under his mouth, pressing into his snaggletooth. “Beautiful. Just as I expected,” he crooned, pulling out a syringe and injecting it into Raph’s neck, pushing the contents of the syringe into his system.

Raph’s eyes fluttered as he started losing consciousness, watching through hooded eyes as Dr. Noel's smile grew even wider, with his last thought right as darkness consumed him being that he hoped his family would find him before it was too late.

Post S2 Finale, Dr. Noel remembers Raphael, his snaggletooth, and manages to find and capture the red masked turtle. It doesn't end well for Raphael.

(Work In Progress)

 10. Dimensional Differences:

They bow. Not like one of those pretentious bows like she would do at Yokai parties and not like the ones she would do with her brothers when they hosted tea parties. They bowed deeply, heads stopping at her stomach, one hand closing around their fists. This spoke of respect and honor.

And that unnerved her a little bit. Why are they bowing so deeply?

“Thank you,” they said in unison. It’s unnerving to April and she felt the uneasiness coming from her brothers too.

“Why are you thanking me?” She said finally, voice sounding foreign to her.

“You saved my life?” Baby Leo said slowly, voice tinged with confusion. “That was an honorable thing to do?”

April blinked, “It shouldn’t be considered honorable for doing what any big sister would do,” she said. “That’s not honor, that’s just being a good older sibling.”

In which April, Sunita, Casey, and the turtles end up in the 2012 verse after a mishap with Leo's ōdachi and stay with the 2012 turtles until they can go home. They find out a lot of things that don't quite jive with them. Some things are the same, some things are different and they're not quite sure how to handle those differences.

(Rise/2012, Work In Progress)

 11. Mind Meld Part Deux:

“Oh thank Galileo that you all are back to normal!”

“What do you mean we’re back to normal?” Raph questioned, pulling back from the hug. Mikey and Leo also pulled back to stare at Donnie. “We’ve-we’ve always been like this?”

Donnie went quiet. He shouldn’t have said that.

“Donnie, what did you do?”

The brothers found out about Donnie’s Mental Intelligence Reprogrammulator. Arguments are had, words are said, words that tear a rift between him and his family, and it’s up to Donnie to earn his brothers’ forgiveness. The only thing is, will he get it?

(Work In Progress)

 12. I'm a little kid and so are you(don't you go and grow up before I do):

The 2003 turtles somehow, someway ended up in the Rise verse, with Rise Splinter and his turtle tots, and stay with them while the boys try to figure out their way home. 2003 Raphael got attached to his tiny counterpart the moment he laid eyes on the tot. (Raph centric)

(Rise/2003, Work In Progress)

 13. Dimensional Self-Isolation

Post S2 Finale, Raph finds himself trapped in the 2012 universe and has a difficult time coping with all of the differences that this world has in store for him. From new villains, unfamiliar familiar faces, and the way the 2012 boys and Splinter treat each other and him, Raph has a heavy plate on his hands during his long term stay.

(Rise/2012, Work In Progress)

14. A Collection of Turtle Thoughts

A collection of drabbles and ficlets about Turtles I've been writing since October 2020. Ranges from humor to hurt/comfort, I have it all.

Requests are open. SFW only though.

(All Iterations, Work in Progress)

If y’all reblog, read, and share my work, I’d really appreciate that! Anything and everything is appreciated, money or not! Thanks folks 🐢💕

[lissacmonster]

Wrong Place, Right Time

TMNT x (Gender Neutral) Reader (Non-romantic) Synopsis: Reader goes into an abandoned building to find their dog, and ends up finding a lot more than their dog. Rating: Teen Genre: Action/Thriller Pairings: None Content Warnings: The dog is in danger for some of it (but isn’t actually hurt) Other Tags: Funny, Combat, Short Story, Fanfiction, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Shredder

When you left your apartment that night, you had no way of knowing how unprepared you were for the events that would unfold. Armed with a flashlight and a roll of doggy bags you and your dog Cody had slipped out into the fresh, cool night air. You also brought a can of bear mace in case you ran into any creeps. Bear mace wouldn't have necessarily been your first choice, but it was leftover from the time you went camping and you wanted to put it to good use.

The dog was just happily sniffing around and relieving himself when he suddenly stiffened up. Following his gaze, your eyes landed on a cat. The cat was happily strutting across the street, unperturbed by the dog even as he began barking hatefully and straining against the leash. You held your grip and started pulling him back the way you had come. But he turned around, dug his heels in and managed to pull out of the collar.

The cat suddenly noticed it was in danger and darted around, looking for a place to hide. Cody followed the cat in circles around a parked car, then he chased it around the corner.

You ran after him, "Cody! Get back here!"

You were half angry, and half worried that he would run out into the street in front of a car. Instead, when you rounded the corner, he was wriggling his way into a boarded up building. His tail disappeared through the space in the boards just as you leapt forward to grab him.

"Cody! NO! Get back here, now!" You said, using your best angry parent voice.

But Cody was on a mission to find that cat. You knew that he would be single-minded until he found what he was looking for. It might have been admirable if you were coon hunting together out in the countryside, or something. Instead, it was annoying because you were on an evening walk in the middle of Manhattan.

You groaned in exasperation and looked up at the building. It was an old apartment building or something, a rough brick structure that was 5 stories high. The windows were mostly boarded up, and the ones that weren't were missing their glass. There were no lights on inside. It didn't look like anyone had been here for a long time. At least, nobody you wanted to run into...

And nobody you wanted your dog to run into either! Your protective instinct kicked in. You called through the hole to him for another 30 seconds. When he didn't reappear, you started looking around for a way in.

In the alley where you were standing, there were lots of bits of metal and you took a second to poke through them and find a good one. First you found a weird, 3-pronged dagger of some kind, which you tucked into your belt. Maybe you could use it for protection in case somebody dangerous was squatting in there. (Although, if you were being honest, you mostly kept it because you thought it looked cool.) Then you found a metal rod that seemed sturdy enough to work as a crowbar. In no time, you were squeezing through a gap you had made in the boards covering the doorway.

After clicking on your flashlight, you noticed that you were standing in an old lobby. There was a torn up spot on the floor where the front desk had obviously once been affixed. The wallpaper was peeling. The hardwood floors, which had probably been gorgeous when they were kept up, were covered in a thick layer of dust. Cobwebs were hanging in the corners and doorways, with their own gathering of dust.

You followed the sounds of Cody's feet skittering against the floors.

"Cody!" You whispered harshly, creeping towards him. If there were any questionable people around, you didn't want them hearing you guys. Luckily Cody wasn't raising hell yet, which told you that he must have lost track of the cat.

You spotted him at the end of a hallway.

"Cody, c'mere," You called, sweetly.

He looked you dead in the face and then turned and walked through a doorway into pitch black nothingness.

What. A. Brat.

Gazing down the stairway, you wanted to cry so bad. That damn dog had just run down into what must be the basement. You stood at the top, feeling sorry for yourself, trying to see down the steps. After a minute you realized that it wasn't actually pitch black. There was some kind of light that was dimly illuminating the bottom of the steps.

Gathering every last ounce of courage, you made your way down the steps. Every step creaked horribly, and with each one, you felt certain that your foot was about to sink through rotten wood. A dank smell invaded your nostrils more as you descended. How long did you have to breath black mold in before it would make you sick, anyway?

Once you reached the bottom of the stairs, you found that you were standing in a hallway. The floor here was even more dirty than the ground floor above. There was garbage piled all over the place. If anyone had ever squatted in this building, you were willing to bet that they'd done it here in this basement level.

A voice sounded from down the hallway. Your head snapped towards it in alarm, but after a few seconds it was clear it wasn't directed at you. It had come from a doorway at the very end of the hall which was slightly ajar, pale blue light spilling from it. You fought the urge to sprint back up the stairs and instead crept down the hall towards the voice. You tucked the metal rod into your belt and pulled out the strange dagger, ready to strike if someone suddenly rushed out at you. The voice was speaking again.

"...think you can defy me, turtles, but once again I've proven you wrong."

"You're not gonna get away with this, Shredder!" A second voice, female this time. She sounded scared. What were you walking into? You felt strangely numb as you continued to move forward, your heart pounding.

"I already have. Look at them! Once I have what I need, I'll dispose of you all," It was a deep, rich voice with a cold fury beneath.

"And then what? You took the mutagen out of our blood when we fought you years ago. So what could you possibly want with our blood this time?" Another male voice countered, sounding calm, but angry.

"Th-that's right! Our blood is free of mutagen, you can't use it to mutate anybody!" Another, nervous-sounding male voice agreed.

You reached the doorway and peered around the doorframe very slowly...

Within the room was some kind of makeshift laboratory. One bulb hung from the ceiling, casting the whole scene in harsh bright light. Several figures were visible in the large room. The first one that caught your attention was the huge figure in the center of the room. It looked like a man wearing a thick, heavy suit of strange armor. The armor had lots of sharp angles and spikes on it. You couldn't see anything else about him because he was silhouetted against the harshly-lit room. He was facing two figures who were lying on the floor.

One of the people on the floor was the woman. She had dark hair and eyes and was wearing a yellow jacket. Her hands were bound and she was glaring hatefully at the armored man. Next to her was another man. He wasn't talking, and he was lying very still... Was he ok? Or was he...?

You didn't finish that thought because you caught sight of four... somethings against the far wall.

They were... turtles, you guessed. But they weren't like any turtles you had ever seen. They were tall and buff with humanoid faces and bodies. Each was wearing a different colored mask, as well as various gear. They were strung up against the wall by lots and lots of chains. There was some kind of machinery connected to them, but it was hard to make out what it all was from this far away.

The spikey man- what had she called him? Shredder? He was speaking again, "I don't need to mutate anybody. All I need is your DNA, and I will have an unstoppable army."

"He's cracked, you guys," A new voice. It was gruff, and it came from the largest turtle, who was wearing a red mask.

"Oh no... I-I think I know what he's talking about!" The nervous voice was coming from the tallest one, in the purple mask, "He wants to clone us!"

"Is that true?!" The orange one finally spoke up, "Man, you can't make another Michelangelo! I'm the one and only!

"Stockman, how much longer before they're drained?" Shredder interrupted.

You nearly jumped out of your skin as an answer sounded out from very close to you.

"Another 2 hours, Mr. Shredder!"

"Why must it take so long?" Shredder asked, threateningly.

"W-well... We only had so much equipment..." Stockman defended, "I mean, there are ways of removing it faster, if you catch my drift. But if you want a clean, untainted sample, this is the best way to go!"

"Hmm... Very well." Shredder agreed after a moment.

You were now pressed against the wall just outside of the door, clutching your chest. That Stockman guy had been no more than 4 feet from you just inside the door! He was against the wall that you couldn't see, though, so you hadn't noticed him.

Stockman was talking again, more to himself, "Aw man... That cat got in again..."

A soft growling sounded from within the room. Oh god. Cody.

"What the..." Stockman started and then yelped, "HEY!"

His chair clattered to the ground as Cody's chorus of barks started up. You rushed back to the door and were frozen to the spot as you watched the scene unfold. It was utter chaos as Cody tore around the room after the cat, which was leaping around on the equipment and furniture. Cody managed to knock over 2 chairs, jump up on a table, and upset several important-looking instruments before he was caught around the neck by the monstrous man's hand. Cody's high-pitched cries snapped you out of it.

"STOP!" You hurled yourself forward. Everything in the room seemed to stop in time. All eyes settled on you and every face held surprise. Shredder's helmeted head turned towards you, observing as you sprinted toward him. You had the dagger drawn back with the intent to jam it into the metal of his stupid, shiney armor.

You didn't even feel it when he swatted you away like a fly. All you noticed was that suddenly you were flying backwards. You quickly sprung back to your feet. Your skin felt electric as adrenaline coursed through your body. There was a throbbing feeling in your face where he had struck you. The strange dagger had skittered out of your hands.

Cody was no longer in his grip, that was the good news. The bad news was that now you were getting an up close and personal look at this Shredder guy. You could see every facet of the armor from here. The most striking part was the helmet, which resembled a leering skull.

You wondered what his face looked like behind the helmet. Did he look as surprised as everyone else? His voice didn't betray any surprise, only amusement.

“Well, well, well, look what we have here... A new hero, come to save the world. Such a pity you’ll have to die."

You tried to keep your voice steady as you explained, “Look man, I don’t know what you’re talking about- I’m just here for my dog!”

"Really, turtles, is this weakling the only ally you have left?"

None of them answered. They were still staring at you and glancing at one another, like they were trying to figure out if they knew you from somewhere. This was getting awkward.

"No, really, I don't know them," You insisted.

"Is that so? Well, then, how do you explain that." He lifted one of his huge metallic arms. It took you a second to realize he was pointing at your shirt. You looked down and gasped.

Save The Turtles was emblazoned across your chest in bright green letters, complete with a cute little cartoon rendering of a turtle.

God damn it. Of course you had chosen to wear the shirt you got from that time you volunteered at the turtle sanctuary.

"Uh- that's-!"

Before you could explain it to him, Shredder cut you off, "ENOUGH! Stockman, restrain this fool."

"ME? I'm not here to be your muscle!" Stockman sounded indignant.

Shredder was just throwing out another line about how weak you looked, and that restraining you would hardly require "muscle," when you darted around him and over to the far corner where Cody was cowering. You had to climb around some equipment that seemed to be collecting blood from the turtles. You were uncomfortable being so close to them, as you had yet to discern whether they were friendly or not.

"Hey, that's my staff!"

You looked up at the turtle with the purple mask. He was peering down at you through glasses that made his eyes look 3 times bigger than they actually were.

You glared at him, "No, that's my dog!"

"No, I mean that thing on your belt!"

Was he talking about the metal rod?

"WHOA, WHOA, WHOA! DUCK, KID!" The one in the red mask was shouting.

You dropped instantly to the ground. A huge BANG! sounded from above and drywall rained down on you. There was a big piece of metal embedded in the wall where your head had just been. Cody scampered away, whimpering in fear.

"He's coming up behind you!"

You whirled around to find Shredder was advancing towards you. You glanced around for an escape, but you were boxed in by equipment.

Suddenly Shredder stopped dead in his tracks and whirled around. Stuck in his back was the dagger you had dropped. The girl in the yellow jacket was standing there, having plunged it into the battery pack on the back of his suit.

You stepped carefully out of the way of the equipment and cast around desperately for a way to help her.

"Quick! Use the staff!" The purple one called.

When you looked clueless, he clarified, "The thing on your belt!"

Oh, the rod! Great idea! You grabbed the rod, jumped on Shredder's back and started pummeling his helmeted head with the thing. This drew a chorus of complaints from the turtles.

"Aw MAN! C'mon, kid!"

"Duuuude, that's not funny! Kick his butt for real!"

Purple was fighting desperately to be heard over all the commotion. He sounded completely exasperated by this point, "No, I meant-! Press the button!"

What button? There were no buttons on the-! Oh, wait. There was a button on the rod. How had you missed that? You pressed your thumb down on small, red button. Instantly, both ends of the rod shot out, extending it by about 5 feet. In the process, it struck Shredder's helmet, launching it violently from the man's head. With a startled cry you toppled off of Shredder's back. The man rounded on you. You looked for the staff, but it had launched itself far out of reach.

"Now, I'm going to put an end to this little game," He said, and you could see the full extent of his fury on his face.

The four turtles were all shouting things and you couldn't make out any of it. All you could see was the hate in the man's eyes as he approached. His long black hair hung in his face untidily. He was panting and his lips were pulled back in an angry grimace. He looked like some kind of beast, like a lion, or like a...

"Bear!" You shouted suddenly. You tugged the bear mace out of the little pouch on your belt.

Shredder was towering over you now. He raised one of his bladed arms, poised to strike. Popping the top off, you raised the bear mace, pointed it at him, and pressed the switch.

Shredder was suddenly engulfed in a cloud of orange smoke. He roared and stumbled backwards. While he was distracted with that you scrambled to your feet. The woman was busy unlocking the chains that were trapping the turtles.

"Thanks, Angelcakes!" The one in orange said gratefully as he shrugged off all of the blood-collecting equipment.

He came over and stood next to you. You eyed him warily, but he was just looking at you with interest, "Hey, that was pretty rad how you stood up to Shredder like that! You pretty much ruled, even though you kinda-sorta... suck at fighting!"

Your pride had never been particularly tied to your fighting skills, so you just said, "Thanks. What's your name?"

"Michelangelo. But the ladies like to call me Mikey."

The two of you kept an eye on Shredder while the woman continued unlocking the turtles chains. You even sprayed a few more times in his direction when he got too close. Eventually he managed to rip the metal armor off of his hands so he could rub his burning eyes. Now he rounded on you again.

He looked truly out of his mind by this point, his blood red eyes were streaming and his face looked pinker than any face you had ever seen.

"Whoa... I think he's gonna-"

Before Mikey could finish, suddenly Shredder was charging at you. Mikey yanked you aside as someone barreled past you. The one with the red mask slammed into Shredder, colliding with him with the force of a refrigerator.

"Oh, shit! Is he ok??"

"You mean, Raphael? He's fine! He gets thrown into cars and stuff all the time," Mikey waved his hand dismissively.

Raphael rolled to his feet, pulling the dagger out of Shredder's back as he did so. He walked back to where you guys were standing, "Thanks for bringing one of my Sais, kid."

Things were kind of a blur from there. The turtles restrained the Shredder. The one with the blue mask was apparently the leader, and his name was Leonardo. He was on the phone with the chief of police. Wow... So your local police department was cool with these turtle ninjas? Who would have thought... Maybe your uncle's conspiracy theory about reptiles controlling the government wasn't totally crazy.

Donatello, the one with the purple mask, was attending to the man who had been lying on the ground when you came in. The man's name was Casey, and he wasn't dead as you had previously thought. He did have a pretty nasty concussion, though, and kept repeating the same phrases over and over (A common symptom with concussions, Donatello told you).

Don also took a look at your own injuries while he was at it. Your face was beginning to swell from where Shredder had struck you, and you would be sporting a nasty-looking bruise for a while. Other than that, you would be just fine.

After everything was said and done, and you had talked to the police, and Shredder had been loaded into an armored vehicle and hauled away, you and Cody were finally leaving to go home. You were back in the cool night air, walking your dog on his leash. You wondered if Cody would think twice about chasing a cat next time, or if the whole event had gone over his head? He definitely didn't look like he cared that he had just been in life-threatening danger.

Before you could ponder it much more, the brothers suddenly appeared around you.

"Heeeyyy, let us walk you home!" Leo offered aggressively.

"No, that's ok! You don't have to!" You really just wanted to be left alone now.

"We insist." The grin on Leo's face looked mostly threatening.

Leo threw his arm around your shoulder, as if to make sure you wouldn't run away, and started practically dragging you along.

They took you on the coolest shortcut you had ever been on. You scaled buildings and leapt across rooftops. It was just like in Assassin's Creed! Of course, they had to carry both you and Cody the whole way like a couple of carry-on bags.

When they set you down finally, you were in the alley next to your apartment building.

"Thanks guys," You said, "But how the hell did you find out where I lived?" You hadn't ever given them any directions.

"I have my ways..." Donatello said. He adjusted his glasses and they glinted dramatically like in an anime.

They were all kind of staring at you in a vaguely menacing way, "Uh... Are ya'll gonna... kill me because I know too much or something?"

"What the-! Of course not!" Donnie yelled.

"Hey, relax, buddy! We're not those kind of ninjas!" Mikey laughed, "That's not how we handle people who know too much!"

"Not any more, at least..." Raph said, narrowing his eyes at you, "The chief said it was too messy to keep covering it up."

You gulped nervously.

"Raph! Don't tell people things like that!" Leo shoved him and turned back to you, "Don't worry, he's joking. YOU'RE JOKING, RIGHT RAPH?"

"I'M JOKING. JESUS CHRIST!" Raph yelled back, "Just, don't go runnin' your mouth about us, aight?"

The leader in blue leaned in uncomfortably close to stare into your eyes, "If you say anything about us, we will come back to see you..."

"Aaaand PUNISH YOU," Mikey added, "In a gentle, non life-threatening way!"

You put up your arms defensively, "Trust me, I am not telling anyone that I fought some kind of terminator samurai to save my dog and some turtles."

You thought you saw a twitch at the corner of his mouth before he straightened up and lead his brothers away. They scaled the walls of the surrounding buildings with ease, and then they had vanished just like that.

============================

Will you ever see them again? Would you LIKE to see them again? I hope so because I have a lot of ideas for this series.

Thanks for reading, ya’ll. It’s the first story I have finished in ages and it feels good to be back.

[missdawnandherdusk]

Lost Boys

Reader X Draco

(Follow up one-shot to Beautifully Beastly) 

Summary: Now that Scorpius is older and in love with his best friend, he’s terrified to tell you and Draco

A/n: So, I recently finished reading the Cursed Child, and oh my lord I love Scorpius more than my own non existent children. And I know that coming out to your parents can be scary and it might not go the way you always wanted it to, but here’s some comfort in that fear. Something to hold onto. 

It was a late night and Draco was out on another case as I read in bed by lamp light. There was a knock on the door.

“Yes?” I called, seeing Scorpius’ pale face in the night light. “Everything alright sweetheart?” I sat up.

“You’re busy reading, it’s nothing, never mind,” He stammered and went to leave. 

“Scorpius,” I chided, setting my book down. “It’s alright darling,” I patted the bed beside me.

His eyes didn’t leave the floor as he shuffled over to the bed and curled up beside me, hiding his face in my shoulder. Worry began to bloom in my chest. I hadn’t seen Scorpius like this in a while—the last time being when Harry had changed Albus’ school schedule and told his son to avoid mine.

I stroked his hair softly and hummed. I knew Scorpius, he would open up when he felt safe and secure. Even as a teenager, he still had the habit of curling up with me at night when he was afraid. And I was glad that some things never changed.

“Mum?” He peaked up at me after a while and I could see his father reflected in his eyes.

“Yes dear?” I smiled.

“I... I’m bi.” He rushed out, growing very red and looking down, ashamed.

I stared at him a moment, letting it sink in. A smile spread across my face as I drew him close into an embrace.

“And you are loved, and complete,” I rubbed his back softly. Tears stung my eyes as I felt his frame shake with little sobs as he clung to me. “And I will always support you and demolish anyone who doesn’t.”

The tears did slip out as Scorpius continued to cry into my arms. I tugged the blanket up around him and continued to card through his hair. When he started to babble apologizes is when I pulled him away and cupped his face, wiping away his tears.

“You are my son, Scorpius. You are such a bright young wizard with a pure heart that has love to spare. Don’t apologize for that, ever.” I pressed a kiss to his forehead. “I’m so sorry that you’ve been so scared.”

He sniffled and wiped his eyes.

“Who you are, and how you feel, has, is, and always will be valid my dear,” I smiled and stroked his cheek softly. “And I love you. All of you.”

He nodded and threw his arms around me again, hugging me close.

“I love you, mum,” He whispered softly.

“As I love you,” I smiled, and we settled down under the covers.

Curled up on my chest, Scorpius seemed to calm down and his breathing evened out. My fingers still combed through his hair as I hummed one of his favorite lullabies.

“Mum?” He breathed out; his voice still small. 

“Yes darling?”

“Do... do you think dad will...” He didn’t seem to know how to finish the thought, but I had been thinking the same thing.

“I think your dad might surprise you,” I confessed. “But if you don’t feel safe, I can talk to him. Merlin knows he’s afraid of me,” I chuckled softly.

“You’d... you’d fight dad for me?” Blue eyes met mine.

“It’s not the first time I’ve done it,” A smile played at my lips.

“What do you mean?” Scorpius frowned. “You’ve fought dad over me before?”

“I suppose you were too young to remember... When you were little, and I first began to tutor you, you asked me where all of my lullabies came from. I told you they were muggle and I’d have to talk to dad about letting you know the movies or stories they came from...”

“Dad wasn’t always alright with muggle things?” Scorpius seemed shocked.

“You have to understand he grew up loathing muggles, darling. That your grandfather twisted him into...” I sighed softly and shook my head. “We fought. He didn’t want you to know muggle things... fairytales.” The memory flitted to the forefront of my mind. “I said that I wouldn’t keep secrets from you, so I resigned, but he was going out on a case for a week, so I was going to stay until he got back...”

“But you didn’t quit?” Scorpius frowned.

“No,” I smiled. “The case... your father almost died on that case, because they were using me against him. He went in alone to try and save me—it wasn’t me, don’t worry, just a bit of Polyjuice Potion... when he came back... he said he was sorry for the things he said to me... and that it was alright if I never wanted to speak to him again, but he begged me to stay because you needed me... because he needed me.” I looked at the rings on my hand: an engagement ring and a wedding band. “I was going to stay anyway, no matter what he ordered me to do because I wasn’t going to leave you... I couldn’t leave you.” Blinking out of the memory, I looked down at Scorpius, who looked mystified.

“You and dad... did that for me?” He squeaked. I nodded.

“We love you Scorpius, more than you’ll ever know.” I pressed a kiss to the top of his head. “And though I will love your father until the day I die...” A smile graced my lips. “I loved you first.”

Tears shined in Scorpius’ eyes as he dove back into my arms. The next morning, I woke to Draco pressing a kiss to my forehead. Scorpius was still fast asleep in my arms.

“Bad night?” He whispered softly, not to wake his son. 

“Could say that,” I mused. “But he’s better now I think,” Another pair of blue eyes blinked open.

“Good morning,” I greeted softly, letting Scorpius sit up.

“Dad?” Scorpius rubbed his eyes, looking to Draco who was sitting beside me on the bed. 

“Right here, son,” Draco encouraged with a soft smile.

Scorpius nodded and ran a hand through his hair—a nervous tick he picked up from Draco. He stood, making his way to the door without another word. I called to him before he could leave entirely.

“I love you,” I reminded him.

“Love you too, mum,”

Draco looked to me for answers and I pressed a kiss to his lips softly.

“He’ll tell you when he’s ready,” I rubbed his arm softly. “But he really is okay,”

“I don’t think I will ever understand you two,” Draco rubbed his face and nodded, a soft chuckle escaping his lips.

“I don’t think you’re meant to,” I chuckled, pulling him into my arms.

“And you’re sure he’s not in danger? Harry isn’t trying to make Albus go to Ilvermorny or something is he?” Draco looked up from his lounged position on my lap, drawing a laugh from me.

“No dear, Harry has nothing to do with it,” I affirmed, fanning out Draco’s hair so that it formed a silvery halo around his head, draped onto the comforter.

“Is it about Albus then? Did something happen?” Draco pressed and I laughed, seeing right through his attempt to get to me confess.

“He will tell you when he’s ready, and until he is you will respect him.” I narrowed my eyes playfully.

It took a few days, the weekend, in fact. I could tell that Draco was carefully hiding his curiosity and frustration under a mask I knew well. But, as I tidied the library, replacing books and shifting the order of a few, and sending a few cleaning spells towards the blanket of dust, I paused at the large French windows, seeing my two boys walking along the Manor grounds.

Scorpius had his head hung and I knew exactly what conversation was taking place. I lingered at the window and watched as Draco paused a moment as he gazed at our son and smiled. The tight embrace between the two brought tears to my eyes as I looked away, letting them have their moment.

That night the three of us curled up in the grand master bedroom bed. My fingers carded through Scorpius’ hair as he finally found a peaceful slumber.

“This is familiar,” Draco noted softly. I simply nodded. “Do... do you think we messed up?” He asked softly.

I raised my eyebrows, shocked at the question and ready to go off on him, not caring if Scorpius was there or not. Draco caught my glare and quickly mended his question.

“Because he was so scared to tell us,” He rushed out and I exhaled slowly, looking down at Scorpius.

“We might have...” I confessed. “But we’re going to do everything we can to make up for it,” 

“And how are we going to do that?” Draco chuckled softly.

“Well, I have a feeling that Albus might have something to do with it after all,”

I watched Draco’s eyes widen in realization as a smile spread across my face.

“Of course, it had to be a Potter,” Draco groaned, laying back on the silk pillows.

I laugh escaped my lips and Scorpius shifted in my arms, his eyes not opening as he nestled back down, mumbling incoherently.

Standing by Draco’s side, we waved as Scorpius and Albus headed out on their first date, both blushing and laughing while holding hands.

“He really is perfect for our son, isn’t he?” Draco sighed softly; a smile evident in his tone.

“He is,” I leaned against him.

“Still can’t believe he fell for a Potter,”

“You did,” I grinned, my eyes meeting his. “And just because you couldn’t shag a Potter doesn’t mean our son can’t,”

I burst out laughing at the look on Draco’s face.

.

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[popculturebuffet]

Ducktales Comics: Spies Like Us and Dime after Dime or Weblena: The Preschool Days (Lena Retrospective) (Comissioned by WeirdKev27)

Hello all you happy people and welcome back to Shadow Into Light, My Lena Retrospective, which fittingly has now come to Women’s History Month! I sadly do not have anything besides this arc prepared for the month. This month is pretty packed for me with two shows a week to cover, as while there’s only two weeks of Ducktales left final space starts up right after to take it’s spot, two arcs to cover, and two time specific movie reviews: animal crossing the movie and the 1990 TMNT film. I will try to get more than the currently planned top 12 superheroines list out there... but this month is very tight as is, so if I do not I deeply apologize.

Now that’s out of the way, it’s appropriate we start Women’s history month on some likely lesser known parts of Lena’s history, with some comics stories focusing on our faviorite emo lesbian duck and her 87 counterpart. Before I get started on that though Kev my patreon pointed out something intresting a few weeks back i’ve been forgetting to get to and since we’re looking into Minima, I felt this was the perfect time to do so: Lena’s Concept art. 

There’s quite a few things to gleam from this. For starters as pointed out in the reddit thread I got the image as a whole from this was made in 2015, meaning Lena was one of the first new characters designed for the series and was part of it from the VERY early stages, as evidenced by the fact that despite clearly having their new personalities established, Beakly and Webby still had the old designs. 

The other notable change is that her first design was way more like both Magica nad Minima, a bit more modern, but clearly far more obvious who she was related to. She also had all black feathers making the shadow twist a bit more obvious and was likely done away with both to avoid giving that twist away, the same reason for the fake lestrange name, and to avoid accidently black coding her, as while Lena being black would’ve been intersting, it also would’ve invited a firestorm of controversy given that their one black character in season 1.. woul’dve started off as a homeless, manipulative antagonist, and none of that would play well nor was it something the progressive crew of this show couldn’t spot from a mile away.  And even this early on they have an almost final design ready, simply changing the shirt to fit her personality more, and her hair to be pink because it honestly looked better She also had green eyes throughout, but for whatever reason they phased them out. That part I don’t quite get as they look nice but probably they were hard to translate to the reboot style once they settled on their own. Her purple eyeshadow and haircut though have stuck since and were good calls. 

One last VERY obvious note.. Webby was gay for Lena from minute one. While Dana helped it is now VERY obvious they gay coded this relationship from the design phase, and the crew was entirely aware the whole time and I gave them less credit than I should have. They clearly had this in mind, and it’s very likely ONLY subtext because Disney, while making more and more progress, is very reluctant to have queer characters as Owl House was a struggle and since they have a tighter leash on properites based on the sensational 6, that means Frank knew they had the same odds of making Webby or Della queer in anything but subtext that a pig has of suviving in a slaughterhouse. I bring this up because I fear the series getting accused of queerbaiting somewhere down the road instead of doing what they could with a bad hand and hoping they could make the show as gay as they could. Penny is as out as they posisbly could get her, and Violet and Lena’s dad’s got a full apperance, if no speaking role that made it obvious beyond a shadow of a doubt their gay and did it in a plot important episode. So they did their best and I want them to get credit for that. 

But while this is all intresting stuff, join me under the cut for the meat of today’s review as I dig into Lena’s only apperance in the tie-in comic that was never punished here, and the only apperance of her protoype Minima.

Spies Like Us:  As I mentioned this comic was never published here which is doubly weird to me because of how I knew this story existed. Since I follow comics weekly and buy trades reguarly, I read the solicits companies put out eveyr month to see what new series are coming, what the ones i’m currently reading are doing, and what trades are coming out. That sort of thing, and it’s something I love. I know their basically adds.. but their well put together adds that really pull you into the books you like. The big two and the indies are all very good at it and sometimes i’ts the only way to know a comic is coming if the company dosen’t make a press release for it ahead of time. 

So naturally given there are several comics I follow at idw, paticuarlly the TMNT comics, I read those solicits and found they were going to do an issue with Webby and Lena becoming spies, and was excited about it. I ended up forgetting about it and never really followed the Ducktales comic as it came out, and upon reading an issue or two recently, one for another comission by kev as one story, happy happy valley, was particularly terrible. For those who haven’t read the story or my review, it involved the family getting stranded on an island where their forced to partake in activites and smile..that somehow turned into an aseop about Louie wanting to be rich. It ended with this

Yes.. really. That actually happened. But even with this, I fully planned to cover the issue when I covered Lena, and brought it up to Kev when he commissioned the retrospective. He gave me the discord equilvent of a blank stare and had never heard of it. I soon found out why: the story was replaced as, and fair play to disney, it spoiled Beakly’s past from the agent 23 episode which wasn’t going to air in time.  What dosen’t work is they never reprinted the story in The US.. didn’t put it in a future issue and just swap it’s place didn’t put it in the nothing. And the story was fully complete as we’ll see, with a cover and everything so they had no excuse whatsoever to NEVER use it, even with what happened to Lena in the season finale, this clearly took place before that and it was weird to just shelve it because of that. But thankfully when a bunch of the stories were reprinted overseas, this and another one, also webby centric got published overseas. But not in english.

Lucky for me, I was able to find an english translation of an english story which you can read RIGHT HERE. It was translated by @neopuff and I thank them for it as without them this review would not be possible and want to give them all the credit. So was it worth all their hard work translating it? Well let’s take a look. 

We begin at the Manor where Lena is skulking around suspiciously.. though it turns out she and Webby are just playing hide and seek. Though Lena accuses cheating. The dialouge here is pretty flat though that’s not Neopuff’s fault at all. As I can attest from reading other stories a lot of the early IDW comics are just this flat in dialoguge no matter the writer as they were likely given character descriptions and basic info about the show they likely had written up for merchandising and Frank and Co were given no involvement and likely weren’t made avaliable to consult on the comics to help them be a bit more fleshed out. It’s very obvious to me Disney just tried to get these pumped out so they’d have a series in stores to tie in without carring about qualities and given Scrooge debuted in comics, their lack of care toward that side of things in general, but especially in the first american published original duck comics in a while, bothers me a lot. It’s inexcusable. 

That being said the story isn’t half bad nor is the setup as the two hear a beeping and find it’s Beakly’s phone going off with a mysterious message from Q, Webby thinks she’s been reactivated, and is encouraged by Lena to go look after her while she stays along. While Webby says in response

It just feels grossly out of character for both. Lena is far more subtle about manipulation as shown five minutes ago and Webby blindly trusts her. Because she has a massive crush on her and is naïve about how the world works. It just seems very odd of her to get suspicious as she never does on screen, and again it comes off as Disney having barely given the writers any materials on them when i’m sure Frank or Matt would’ve been happy to write up a thing for them to help outside of the usual press materials they were given. 

Though hte last line isn’t all that out of character and has an obvious answer as within a jumpcut Launchpad’s taking them to London and is told to blend in.. which he does with an australian flag and accent.. good gag. 

So our heroines do some heroic breaking and entering and look for the package, but soon find while hiding it’s already in transit.. and had obvious bows on int. Whoops. Our heroes trie the old follow tha tcar bit and refreshingly, it dosen’t pan out as the guy stops and tells them to get out. A nice twist. Unable to follow, our heroes instead find launchpad lost, as his map is upside down

So Lena dares him if he can follow that plane, a nice bit of character for both. I will give Joe credit. While the dialouge’s a bit flat and there was that out of character moment.. for the most part he does nail the actual character down and does use it decently enough. He’s just not given enough page room or actual details to work  with is all. 

So while our heroes follow they end up having to crash as they run out of fuel.. lucky their with the expert but end up near home where the package is delivered to. Turns out this wasn’t a spy thing, this was just a thing with her aunt. That’s fine and a nice gag.. it’s just ruined by just sorta.. ending. Lena leaves disapointed and Beakly scolds webby for “playing spy” and she’s sad. That’s it that’s how it ends. Which dosen’t fit the characters, as while Beakly would defintely scold her, it just dosen’t FIT that she’d be that tearse or not appricate the effort or give her an actual lecture and it feels like Joe had no idea how to end this after the gag and just.. ended it. 

Final Thoughts for Spies Likes Us: This was okay.  It is a bit of a disappointment as for the only story not available.. i’ts just okay and not really above an average Ducktales comics story, with some nice character bits but feeling a bit weak overall, as do at least the first half of the idw comics. I haven’t read the later stuff to see if it got better. It’s worth a read if you like Webby and Lena as characters and it’s not BAD, it’s just not anything impressive and is a simple hyjinks filled misunderstanding story. 

Dime After Dime:

So now  we go back a bit to the original. I didn’t do these in chronological order because frankly, Dime after Dime is the better story of the two and the bigger one at that, so I have more to work with here. But the original also had comics and honestly from the few i’ve read much BETTER comics. I chalk this up to two things: The Ducktales 87 comics seem to have come out AFTER the series was already a hit, and since Ducktales is pretty close to the original uncle scrooge comics minus it’s own tweaks here and there, it’s easy enough to just write the stories like you would a regular uncle scrooge story, just with Webby and Launchpad added, whereas the idw writers were staffed with writing for all new versions of the characters with noticable differences without much to go on.  It’s why to me with tie in comics you have two options: Wait long enough so you can put your story inbtween the episodes like the Steven Universe and Regular Show comics did or just make your own continuity entirely like the Adventure Time Comics and the Archie TMNT Adventures series did. The ONLY time i’ve seen a comic work like this is the Bravest Warriors comic, which had a talented writer and fit well enough in the margins until it sadly ended.. and honestly is BETTER in some cases than the series. I might get to it someday. The point is this comic shows why you need to have a deft hand adapting something instead of just falling your arms about and hoping it’ll work. 

So today’s comic was part of some Disney Series called cartoon tales, which clearly repackaged comic stories from wherever, and put them together. I don’t know much about it and the only other issue avaliable collects the disney adventures adaptation of “Just Us Justice Ducks”, which I might cover at some point. This book does have two other stories which i’d be happy to do on comission or on my own at some point, one involving gladstone the other gizmoduck, but for now, i’m just sticking to the title story and the reason you all came here. 

So we open with Magica gazing into her crystal ball from her Mt. Vesuvies base saying that Scrooge will never know what hit him I know exactly what and who wiil hit him thank you very much. 

Scrooge is seeing Webby off to her first day of day camp, getting all teary eyed which is touching. Beakly apparently goes with her as the story never SAYS Sshe does but she’s not also not around when the story moves on, as Launchpad says it looks like rain. Scrooge dismisses him, though Launchpad turns out to be right. Scrooge had good reason for once though, instead of just being a dick good on you comic for making me not want to punch him in the face, trust me that is a high bar to clear with the scrooge comics, as the weather was fine just a minute ago. Naturally it was Magica All Along! Nothing scrooge can do now that eveyrthing has gone wrong! Her entrance though is sadly not a catchy earwormy tune, but .. this confusing line

I think your thinking of Gladstone. And he’s still single so.. have at that but no Scrooge is the one who values hard work over anything else and brags about THAT or being rich. I .. I don’t get this line and frankly I don’t want to. Even in stories where the dime is supernaturally lucky and the source of his wealth he dosen’t boast about it because he’s not stupid and dosen’t want everyone knowing how to bankrupt him instantly. This line will baffle me until I die, presumably, given my life’s tragetctory, after reviewing an episode of mighty ducks and slipping on some a jerky wrapper. 

Scrooge asks what she wants... 

No this isn’t that kind of story sadly. Her plan is to.. zap the bin with lightning and take the dime. Really just went with your first draft didn’t you magica? But as stupid as this plan is Scrooge has prepared for it. He installed a lightning rod on the bin to save on power, and to power his new super soaker traps. So all Magica did was save him money. She flies off and nothing is acomplished. 

So we get back to Webby at the Teenie Weenie Day Camp.. and just so you don’t think that was a terrible joke on my part...

My theory for how this name got approved at all is the editor KNEW how that sounded and just wanted to see if Disney would actually print a comic with the phrase Teenie Weenie without getting what it means in slang or how hilariously inapproriate it is to namme a children’s camp after it. 

Your probably wondering who that grown woman calling Webby a dweeb is. Well story wise, she’s SUPPOSED to be another kid at the camp around Webby’s age. In practice, she looks like THIS in closeup

So it looks and plays like a 30 year old woman snuck into the day camp and no one’s noticed she’s not actually a children. Or their just humoring her because she had a week to live. I don’t know. I do know she doesn’t get to judge on names. 

Snippy Von Glitz, proof rich people really do hate their kids and this this comic is trying personally to give me material. Snippy is your average alpha bitch, taking a chair from Minma and being obnoxious and classist and all that jazz. Minima gets hers back by making the chair bouncy then returning it to normal so Snippy gets in trouble when she makes up things about the chair, with the lady in charge getting ready to call her Dad. You cannot convince me that her “Dad” is just what she calls her husband, this is how they both get off, and that the lady at the preschool only tolerates it because they pay her a lot and so far the kids haven’t noticed Snippy is 30. Webby likes minima finding her name pretty, proving that the ho yay is alive no matter the webby and magica relative, and Minma returns the favor by saving her from a block. 

Minma is reluctant to make an actual friend, finding they aren’t worth anything and given most of the kids here apparently pick on her and her aunt is well.. Magica, it’s understandable why she’d be so cold. But Webby presses on and says something from Scrooge about friends. Which given Ducktales scrooge has none goes weird but it gets Minma to find out she knows and lives with Scrooge, so she cons webby into taking the dime for show and tell, showing that she can manipulate them with her powers, and that he won’t notice it’s missing, getting her with “I thought you wanted to be friends” 

So let’s pause for a second and compare and contrast the two: Both are the niece, or at least sorta in Lena’s case, of Magica, both manipulate webby, and both are her first real friend: The 87 boys are little monsters and I don’t consider them friends or even brothers, while the 2017 ones are just that: brothers. Their her siblings in all but blood, not friends and have hteir own long complicated history. 

But otherwise the two are vastly different. Lena is a far more complex character as she’s been abused her whole life, is a rebel because Magica hardly gave her agency, and while she starts wooing webby out of self interest it’s clear even as far as the first episode she cares. Lena would gladly be part of the world if she could and this whole scheme is to gain that choice. 

Minma is still sympathetic but very different: She walls herself off because the other kids laugh and mock her for being herself and lashes out at them.. not unreasonably mind , but still feeling she needs no one else.. but as we’ll learn later she’s only helping Magica to finally feel accepted, to get all the fancy clothes and stuff that will make her popular instead of that grown woman masquerading as a kid for disturbing reasons. Minma is at her heart just a hurt kid desperate to fit in. And while Lena shares the desire for a place to belong.. it’s at it’s core much sadder. Lena.. wants a family. Someone to love her and to care about her and actually look after her. Minma has that she just wants to be loved. it’s similar but very diffrent and I can see why Lena evolved into what she did, as Frank and Matt ended up going in a far darker but ultimately more interesting direction. Minima is not a bad character at all though and without her I don’t think we would’ve had Lena, but at the end of the day the 87verse is just not that complicated, so the reboot needed something more and that more evolved into who we have now. 

Both kids excitedly talk about their new friends, with their respective guardians being distracted. Scrooge is distracted by the fact his car is a bit bumpy and Launchpad offers to fix it up for free with some parts from a buddy, which given the sentence “This won’t cost you anything” makes him erect, Scrooge agrees. Magica meanwhile, whose watching Minima while her mom is away which raises a LOT of questions we don’t have time for like who she is, is she’s poes wife or does Magica have other siblings... it’s a lot of questions we’re never going to get answers to. 

The next day Webby got the dime easy as Scrooge was distracted. so Minima swaps them while she’s distracted. But while swiping it was easy, which to be fair Webby is likely approved in his security so it woudln’t match her.. or the story just needed to progress. You make the call. 

Magica does the logical thing and goes and get sthe dime and the story ends there.. and i’m shitting you, she of course brags to scrooge, reveals minima as her spy, and offers to RACE him for it shortly after he realizes he has a fake.

The only major flaw in this story is Magica’s overconfdience, which isn’t BAD persay, but here has gotten to dumbass proportions. She just can’t plan for anything and a CHILD has a better plan than her that only dosen’t work for reasons we’ll get to. And that plan is almost ruined by Magica taunting scrooge!

So a race is on but Launchpad has transformed Scrooge’s old Model T into this

Damn that’s cool. Scrooge of course dosen’t like it, but honestly you get what you paid for. Oh that’s right you paid nothing for something you NEED to use every day for transportation. 

At  the rickity thickity bridge, Steve Buschemi’s worst roll and her minion ask Webby to roll with them and Minima mistakes this for betrayal planning to soak them all.. only for Webby to DEFEND HER, pointing out minma’s her friend, how she dresses is fine and she loves her no matter what.. the last part’s implied. The 30-year old asshole and her minon leave Webby and Minma is genuinely touched, as no one’s done that for her before. She put up so many walls... she didn’t realize someone could ACTUALLY care about her, so obessed with thinking she had to be like that soccer mom in preschoolers clothing, she just had to be herself: kinda werid but in that fun adams family way. Webby says she knows Minma would do the same.. so while she prepares to let’s get back to the race. Magica realizes Launchpad’s roadster is actually gaining and spreads some tacks, but Scrooge counters with some money.. because of course he has a lot of money in the trunk. But Magica takes out the bridge and while scrooge awesomely JUMPS IT... he’s still too late. 

As you probably guess though, Minima had a change of heart, and gave Webby the real dime back, and Scrooge confirms it. Minima TRIES to tell Magica, and Magica is horrified her niece is a goody goody “I”ll never hear the end of it at my astral aerobics class”.. I.. I want to see that. Let’s raise those spirit ladies and kick kick that soul, doge that shadow king punch them in the soul. Yes! Now eat it eat it and absorb it’s power!

We end on a button joke as Webby apologizes for taking the dime., Scrooge accepts it and Webby tells them magica learned to carpet and they gulp for some reason. 

Final Thoughts on Dime after Dime: This story was decent. It has problems, some jokes don’t land and Magica is made horribly incompetent, but minima’s character arc is endearing, and Webby herself is precious as always and her winning Minima over feels genuine. And Scrooge is in prime adoring uncle mode with her and i’ts just so cute. And the roadster race is pretty awesome to watch honestly. It’s an exceptional and enjoyable tie in story.. and not the last ducktales 87 story we’ll be covering here. Wink wonk. 

Next Time: Things get DARK as Lena and Webby head into the depths of Scrooge’s hidden bin and Lena heads into the depths of her own soul. 

Tommorow: Woo-Ooo mofos as we go back to the very beginning of the reboot! A family restored, a lost city to explore, and a glomgold rises! Be here or be square. 

[laziarteest]

Ellie Rants About TMNT 2012

It took approximately three years, but I’ve finally watched every episode of this cartoon. I didn’t expect it to take me that long, but I got distracted. I didn’t expect my feelings to turn quite so sour towards the end, but.... Well I’ll cover that when we get to it. If you’re familiar with the show or saw my other posts, you might know what I mean. Gonna do my best to avoid comparing the show to any of the other iterations of the series since I feel like each one should be able to stand on its own.

So if you’ve been around on my blog since 2018, you might remember that I started watching this version of TMNT on a whim because hulu was working while Netflix wasn’t. Up to that point my knowledge of the franchise basically consisted of a tiny handful of episodes from the 1987 and 2003 cartoons that I’d happened to see one way or another, the fact that it was crazy popular in the 90s, and a couple fun facts that my dad would share. That meant that this was going to be my first time watching a TMNT cartoon from the beginning and trying to get invested in what was happening. I made it as far as partway into season 4 before I dropped it. It can’t have been long after Trans-dimensional Turtles. When I decided to watch all of the 2003 cartoon recently, I figured I might as well revisit the 2012 cartoon afterward since it was the show that got me interested in the first place. Instead of picking up where I’d left off, since I couldn’t remember where that was, I decided to just go back to the very beginning and watch it all again. It’s somewhat unfortunate that they decided to do 3D models for the animation, in my opinion, since when it comes to the way the show looks, it’s definitely going to age pretty poorly in the long run. Though the stylization of the models does help somewhat.

Season 1: I might as well get this out of the way early. Pretty much right away, Mikey tends to be treated fairly poorly. I don’t know if they intended him to come off as annoying or if it was just a side effect of trying to make him appealing for very young kids, but he tends to get on my nerves. I don’t hate him, but he’s by far my least favorite turtle. So if there’s an episode where the entire conflict happens or is exacerbated because of Mikey, there’s a good chance I don’t care for that episode, or at the very least that parts with him in it. The problem is that I desperately want to like Mikey because I know he can be done well. He just tends to not be. Thankfully the first couple episodes, the two-parter Rise of the Turtles, that start off the series are pretty enjoyable. They’re the whole reason I stuck it out as long as I did, I just liked those episodes that much. From that point I feel like the quality tends to fluctuate a bit. Episodes that contribute directly to forwarding the plot tend to be pretty solid. Anything else in between ranged between really good and meh for me. Anything to do with romantic relationships was definitely off-putting. It didn’t bother me as much the first time I watched these episodes, but revisiting them more recently, Donnie tends to be pretty creepy about April, and it’s slightly spoilery, but the thing between Leonardo and Karai is super squicky once you know the twist. Looking past these issues, I generally had a good time with these episodes. The problems were there, but were usually contained to just a couple episodes here or there. Season 2: When it comes to looking at the big picture, this season is one of the better ones. Dare I say, it could be my favorite? There were definitely some throwaway episodes, but there was also a lot of really cool stuff. Casey Jones shows up for the first time, we get some conflict between the turtles and April, got some good Leo moments in Fungus Humongous, the Rat King appears.... Lots of good episodes. Really like the finale. Plus there were some Mikey episodes that I didn’t tune out of because his childishness and randomness was actually useful a few times. One thing that was slightly annoying as soon as I noticed was that Leonardo’s voice actor got replaced partway through the season. I know why they did it, but it was still odd once I noticed. The guy filling in did a pretty good job at first, it wasn’t until a couple episodes into his run that I noticed some of his line deliveries felt off. Otherwise I don’t have a ton to say about this season? It was good. Some of the issues from before are still here, but they’re not really going to go anywhere for a while, if at all. Season 3: I’ve heard people tend to like this season? I’ll admit I found the first half with the farmhouse to be really fun. Any time they shake up the setting and let you look at something other than just city streets is usually a good time. Plus since I’m very biased towards good Leonardo content, watching him try to recover and deal with some internal strife was a good time for me. I will say that the episode A Foot Too Big gets a mixed reaction from me though. It was good to see Donnie realize he’s been really gross about his feelings towards April, and it would have been nice to see him get let down gently and they just be good friends instead. But then she had to go and kiss him and ruin the whole lesson. Speaking of Leo again, he also got his new permanent voice in this season. I wasn’t expecting them to attempt to give a reason for the change, but I guess Seth Green’s voice was different enough they felt an explanation was necessary. The voice took a while to grow on me, but I think he usually did a really good job. The second half of the season was a little more hit or miss for me. Most of the episodes were at least okay, but anything dealing with Karai felt like they were just retreading old ground that they forgot to cover earlier or didn’t have time for but wanted to use anyway. Especially since the resolution is so quick. At least there were some time traveling shenanigans with Renet. I understand that it would be really easy to overuse her since time powers are kinda OP, but I wish we got to see more of her. I sort of wish the build up to the finale was a bit smoother though. The previous two seasons did a pretty good job of setting up for the story of the finale episodes and then having the following season pick up right away from where they leave off. This time though it just drops the story in your lap with no foreshadowing. The first time I watched the show it didn’t bother me, but the second time through it caught me off guard how the Triceratons just come out of nowhere and are suddenly a world-ending threat. Sure the finale was very exciting, just wish it had been telegraphed better. I saw another post where someone mentioned they should have had Bishop show up earlier in the season, and I definitely agree that would have helped. It just sort of felt like they didn’t know they were going to be doing a space arc until they got to the last three episodes of the season and realized they hadn’t set anything up for season 4. While the high points of this season get pretty high, I think the low points go low enough for me to still prefer season 2, but if you can ignore a few stupid sideplots, it’s fairly solid and fun to watch. Season 4: Alright! Here we go! The season that probably should have been the last one and is where I originally dropped the series back in 2018! The first half of the season was... interesting? Like season 3, it takes place in a different setting. Most of the first 13 episodes take place either on a space ship or an alien planet. To me it felt like they tried to juggle too much. While there is a coherent story, it takes a lot of breaks that don’t really contribute. There’s an entire episode that just gets undone by the end, so aside from wanting to include Wyrm, it didn’t really need to be there. Looking at a list of episodes, there’s at least one episode I can’t remember at all, and I watched it like two days ago. And as fun as Trans-dimensional Turtles is, it doesn’t really contribute much in the long run either. Though I still like the episode. I’d say things pick up after the space arc, but for me the second half still felt fairly weak for a while. Shinigami seems really cool, but we never really learn more about her beyond the fact that she knew Karai when she lived in Japan. City at War didn’t really feel like the city was at war. Some of the stuff with April and her crystal was kinda fun though. Got some cool fights out of it. I wanted to like the episode with Alopex, it just seems like a waste to have alluded to her before and then she finally shows up, fights a little, and then we never see her again. Splinter sure did take a lot of abuse this season though, hoo boy. I got spoiled on it ahead of time, but geeeeez I did not expect some of the things they put him through. I’d possibly have to watch it again to be sure, but I thought Owari would have been a really good place to end things. It was somewhat bittersweet, but in the end they beat Shredder. The guy that just wouldn’t give up. More so than the previous ones, season 4 feels like a mixed bag. It had a handful of really great episodes, and then a whole lot of episodes that you could probably skip and not be missing anything. Mostly by this point, the one thing that kept me going aside from wanting to know how it ends was the fact that the look of the show had improved. It was still the same CG, but the composition of the shots and the choreography of the action scenes looked a lot higher quality. My dad kept commenting on how the background music was really good towards the end. Season 5: Also known as Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. This one... I have VERY mixed feelings on this one. The idea of doing multiple smaller story arcs seemed like a decent idea. Some of them I thought were entertaining, but one of them. One of them I loathe. The first few episodes leading up to End Times were whatever. Not good, not bad. Passable. I thought bringing Shredder back AGAIN was overkill, but it was fine with the way it worked out. I’d prefer if this arc didn’t happen because why was Tigerclaw so gung-ho about reviving this asshole, but it’s fine if you just want to see some neat action. The episodes with Newtralizer were, again, okay. I wasn’t really curious about what had happened to him or Dregg, but it was fine. Nice to see Mikey actually be competent and not get beaten up for saying something dumb for the 47th time. The crossover with Usagi Yojimbo was pretty fun. I’m not terribly familiar with the source material, and it felt a bit rushed at times if only because they had to resolve the whole plot in only three episodes, but I had a good time and it made me appreciate Usagi’s character more. Lone Rat and Cubs was the only standalone episode, and honestly, I wish they’d done more to show the turtles when they were younger. Would I want an entire series about them being toddlers? No. But would I want two or three more episodes about single dad Splinter raising 4 rowdy boys? Yes. Probably my favorite episode of the whole season. Then we get to the arc that left me with a bad taste in my mouth. Looking into it after the fact, this arc was apparently supposed to be the series finale. And I’m so glad it wasn’t and Nickelodeon made it non-canon. This arc is so depressing and it contradicts canon so badly. The Mutant Apocalypse arc is so terrible. I’m sorry if you happen to like this arc, but I hate it. Not only does it do wrong by all the characters, it doesn’t even properly explain everything that happened. My hatred for this arc is the whole reason I’m even making this post. So there was a Mutagen Bomb? Where did that come from? How did it affect the whole world? Why did it turn everything into a desert instead of making it look like Dimension X? Was it a different kind of mutagen? Why is everything Mad Max now??????? How did Raphael lose his memories? How did he grow a beard??? We’re told that Donatello’s body was near death, so he moved his mind into a robot. But how did he manage that? How is it that Casey, April, Karai, Shinigami, Slash, Mondo Gecko, etc seemed to have either died or just gone missing. That’s a lot of beloved characters to just decide are irrelevant. Yet Ice Cream Kitty is somehow fine??? Mikey can grow hair and is a crazy hermit?? I was already angry enough about what they did to the other three brothers, but then they show what happened to Leonardo and any hope I had of this arc being okay just dropped dead in front of me. They did this boy so dirty. They did all four of them soooo dirty. The only decent thing to come out of the arc were some okay visuals, but that’s not enough to overcome my contempt for this story. I just cannot properly express how distressed this story made me. AND THEY WANTED TO SHOW THIS TO KIDS? At least since that wasn’t the finale anymore, it got to be followed up by another story with Renet. This story is honestly pretty dumb, but it’s at least harmless in its stupidity. Maybe it’s because Raphael wasn’t around to punch Mikey for being stupid, but I actually found Mikey to be a welcome bit of comic relief for once instead of the annoyance he usually was prior. I think the most obnoxious part about Savanti Romero returning the way he did was just that it got so much wrong about the monsters, but I can overlook it since most kids probably aren’t well read enough to be familiar with Dracula and Frankenstein as they are in the novels. Plus Raph being a vampire was probably funnier than it should have been. Still wish we could have gotten more Renet content earlier on, but what ya gonna do. Then finally it ends with one last crossover with the ‘87 turtles. I wish we could have seen more of the 1987 dimension since it looked like the animation quality had gotten better since the last crossover episode. I think Trans-dimensional Turtles was the better crossover though. Maybe it was because of the shorter runtime, but it seemed like the ‘87 turtles were more competent in that one than here. I know I said at the top that I wanted to avoid comparisons, but it gave me Turtles Forever vibes the way the 2012 turtles were boasting about being better. Why can’t these turtle boys just get along Though I did think it was pretty fun how Bebop and Rocksteady got to save the day. Overall though? Season 5 is kind of a disappointment. I knew to expect that going in since I’d read all about how this show got screwed by the network, but I didn’t expect my opinion to go as low as it did. Out of the whole season, there’s really only a few episodes I would ever consider revisiting. An unfortunate way to end a series that was otherwise pretty great.

So after watching the whole thing, I’d say if you haven’t seen it before, but still want to after potentially getting spoiled, you should really stop after season 4. You could probably pick and choose from Tales if you really wanted to, but Owari was already the perfect ending. I know I complained a lot, but aside from that last season, I really did have a lot of fun watching the show. It might not be my favorite version of the turtles, but it is the one that introduced me to the franchise, so it’ll always be special.

BONUS Half-Shell Heroes: Blast to the Past: It’s a goofy toy commercial. Has some really cute flash animation. It’s not canon or anything, but I did watch it. Not much else I can say lol