#soft shell turtle to snapping turtle

[calculust-prime]

Born to dilly-dally

Forced to lock in.

[fmd-art]

Biblically accurate Rise turtles, with Raf who is basically Gamera and I died a little inside drawing Donnie...

[angelmichelangelo]

donatello acquired

[scoutbot]

turned heavy into a creature

[carolperkinsexgirlfriend]

can you see the stars in your dreams (and do they have a lot to say about me) - Part 21

Or: a secret Admirer AU

PART 1 || PART 2 || PART 3 || PART 4 || PART 5 || PART 6 || PART 7 || PART 8 || PART 9 || PART 10 || PART 11 || PART 1 || PART 13 || PART 14 || PART 15 || PART 16 || PART 17 || PART 18 || PART 19 || PART 20

Chrissy’s in Steve’s bed, sprawled out on her stomach, trying to plow through her homework when Steve says, “I need your help.”

Her heart’s in her throat as she whips her head toward him, already halfway through jumping up off the bed, ready to bury whatever body he needs burying.

But, he’s not even looking at her; he’s restlessly tearing a blank piece of paper into tiny little pieces, and his ears are a familiar, damning red. He’s not worried, he’s embarrassed.

“Jeez, you’re going to give me a heart attack,” Chrissy sighs, flopping back down onto the bed. She’s gotten far too used to all of Steve’s problems being life or death, and whatever this is, she can tell it’s not that.

“Sorry,” Steve mutters.

She just waves her hand and flips her notes and textbook closed, ready to think about something, anything else. “What is it, boy troubles?” she asks, fluttering her eyelashes flirtatiously, only to drop all pretenses when Steve ducks his head like a turtle hiding within its shell. “Already?”

“It’s not a problem, Chris, god,” he sighs, running his hand anxiously through his hair. “I just thought—nevermind, it’s stupid.”

And then he just, picks his homework back up, as if Chrissy would ever let him get away with that. “Steve Harrington,” she snaps, only feeling marginally bad when he snaps his head back up. “Nothing about you is stupid.”

He’s still turtling into himself, but he nods dutifully, so she continues. “Now, tell me what you were going to say.”

He groans, flopping down on the bed to stare up at his white ceiling, barely blinking. She follows his lead, collapsing bonelessly next to him and rolling atop all their coursework until she’s nestled into his side, both of them giggling.

He wraps his arm around her shoulder, and finally begins to speak. “I have  a date with Eddie tomorrow, right?” he says, looking down at her for confirmation. She nods, even though he’d never given her a specific date. “And I wanted you to help me, like, plan it?”

She blinks, nonplussed as the blush on his cheeks disperses across his cheeks. She rolls over, elbow planted on his chest so she can use it to prop her chin up and peer down at him. “You need help planning a date?” she asks, voice incredulous.

He groans, reaching up to hide his face from her view, but she grabs his wrists and yanks them back down. He pouts up at her while she watches on, unamused.

“Most of my usual date plans are like, public? We can’t exactly just show up at Benny’s and share a milkshake, you know?” Chrissy grimaces, not having thought of that, but before she can apologize, he continues talking. “And besides…”

He trails off, eyes darting back and forth between her eyes as his blush travels down his neck and up the bridge of his nose.

“Besides?” she prompts, voice soft.

“We started this whole thing together, right?” he asks, looking earnestly up at her. “It wouldn’t feel right if we didn’t finish it together.”

Chrissy’s shriveled heart grows three sizes and bursts with such a ferocious love that she collapses onto him without warning, arms wrapping around him and squeezing tight enough that he groans.

“I love you, Steve Harrington,” she says, ignoring all his pleas for her to loosen her hold. “I’m so glad you looked pathetic enough that day for me to come ask if you needed help.”

“I didn’t look that pathetic,” he grumbles, finally succeeding in tossing her off of him, sending her careening off the bed and onto the lush carpet of his bedroom floor.

He peers over the side of the bed, looking worried, so she smiles up at him until he reaches down and helps her back up.

“You looked like a wet puppy someone had tossed in a river,” she replies, bulldozing through his continued complaints to ask, “now, what were you thinking?”

In the end, it’s a fairly typical date set-up, but instead of dinner at a nice restaurant, it’s in Steve’s home. They lay a checkered table cloth across the Harrington’s breakfast nook, make sure he has all the ingredients for burgers and fries, and then set about attempting to make milkshakes once Steve reveals he’s never made them before.

Their first attempt splatters chocolate ice cream and milk all over the ceiling. Their second results in a water concoction that, while edible, is less than pleasant.

The third is thick, barely able to be sucked through one of the straw’s Steve had stolen from Benny’s. It’s perfect.

“Can you dump Eddie so I can go on the date instead?” she asks, barely pausing in her pursuit of sucking the shake through her straw.

Steve laughs and replies, “Or, I can just make you one whenever you want,” he says, nudging the shake closer to her, leaving his own straw inside.

She beams, and drinks the entire thing.

Steve accosts her before lunch the day of, telling Jeff, “can you tell everyone we’ll be missing lunch? Thanks,” before dragging her away.

“I thought we were done with this,” she says, settling into the seat across from him as he pulls out a familiar notebook she hasn’t even glimpsed for weeks.

He opens it, but doesn’t turn to the back of the notebook where all his rough draft secret admirer letters lay. Instead, he pulls a light blue envelope from the front and hands it over to her.

She stares down at Eddie’s name in Steve’s messy scrawl, clearly written carefully to keep it legible.

“Steve?” she asks, ghosting her fingers over the letters before looking up into his anxious face.

“It’s just—I liked writing the letters, so I wanted to give him one on our date, so,” he breaks their gazes to look down at the envelope, biting his lip. “I already wrote it, but it wouldn’t feel right if you didn’t read it first.”

Steve Harrington, Chrissy thinks, eyes welling with all the fondness her body’s too small to contain. “Okay,” she sniffs, smiling down at the letter as she carefully slides her finger under the envelope’s flap and pulls it free.

It unfolds into the letter itself, Steve having clearly reverse-engineered it from all the times Eddie had done the same. Only then does she realize that at some point, he must have stolen a page from her planner because that’s the same as the first time, too.

She raises an eyebrow at him, but doesn’t say anything, just hunches back over the letter and begins to read.

   Eddie —

   I know we don’t have to do this anymore, but I miss it. Isn’t that the strangest thing? I’m happy talking to you face to face, holding your hand beneath the table, pressing my lips against yours, but I miss reading your words, and I miss writing my own.

   So, here I am, writing you the day before our second date, so nervous and excited I might just throw up. Because we can do it now, you know? We can do all the things we’ve talked about (and more). I’m excited to do them with you.    

   If the date goes well, I want you to put this under your pillow, hold my face in your mind, and dream of me.

   Hopefully Yours, Hopefully Always,

   Steve

   P.S. I know you can just put them in my locker now, but maybe put this one in The Return of the King? Just this once, for me?

“How is it?” Steve asks when she’s been staring down at the words on the page for probably too long. “Is it okay?”

“It’s perfect,” she says, grinning when his entire face lights up like a Christmas tree. “And so are you.”

***

“They’re not coming to lunch,” Jeff says as he settles onto the bench at their usual table, a slab of lasagna already somehow congealing on his tray.

“Are they okay?” Eddie asks, dropping his own fork to try to glean any worry on Jeff’s own face.

“Steve was definitely excited when he dragged Chrissy off,” Jeff replies, shrugging. Before Eddie can even spit out his follow-up question, Jeff continues, “no idea what they’re doing, though,” and he closes his mouth.

“I know,” Robin calls from down the table, voice all sing-songy and sly.

Eddie turns to glare at her, but she just keeps grinning around her sandwich, Vickie looking equally lost at her side.

“Are you going to enlighten the rest of the class,” Eddie asks, gesturing to the rest of the table despite clearly being the only one who gives a shit.

Robin grins wider and replies, “it’s a secret,” tauntingly like she knows somehow that word is his ultimate trigger.

Eddie whines, but no one pays him any mind. Even more cruelly, he doesn’t see Steve for the rest of the school day, leaving him flushed and flustered as he rushes home to get ready for their date. 

Unfortunately, it’s Wayne’s day off, so he’s there to heckle Eddie as he changes his outfit enough times to leave his hair a frizzy mop on the top of his head.

“You dressin’ for a date or to be the janitor’s new mop?” Wayne asks, laughing as Eddie rushes past him and into the bathroom, slamming the door behind himself.

Unfortunately, Wayne’s right, so Eddie runs a damp brush through his hair, trying to make the frizziness merge back with the rest of his hair. When it doesn’t really work, Eddie folds his hair into a bun and elects not to look at himself in the mirror again.

With ten minutes to spare, Eddie moves his frantic pacing for the living room, walking back and forth in front of Wayne, fingers gyrating as he tries to keep them from further ruining his hair.

“You really wearing that?” Wayne asks, long since having given up on trying to watch the TV, Eddie’s body too much of a moving obstacle to crane his neck around.

Eddie stops and stares down at his outfit. “What’s wrong with this?”

It’s a more put together version of his usual style: his only pair of black jeans that haven’t gotten any holes yet, clunky boots, still adequately polished from his last date with Steve, a plain black t-shirt, fingers full of rings except the one he keeps bare, the ring still on Steve’s own finger.

“You know what I mean, boy,” Wayne sighs, looking him up and down with so much judgment that Eddie wants to shrivel up and die. “Ain’t the jacket a bit much?”

Eddie fondles the green and white cuff of the jacket’s sleeve. He does a little spin, like a dog chasing its own tail, trying to get a look at the way it hangs on his frame.

Wayne’s right—it looks almost incongruous on him, clashing absurdly with the rest of his outfit, but it’s got Steve’s name on its back, and a small, shivery part of Eddie likes that. Jock courting rituals are absurd, but there’s maybe something to this one.

Maybe Steve will like it, too—his name on Eddie’s back.

“Is it too much?” Eddie asks, voice taking on that higher pitch that only dogs can hear. He turns to Wayne, panicky and desperate. “Do you think it’s coming on too strong?”

Wayne’s mouth twists up all sardonic and wry as he snorts and replies, “that boy’s been writing you love notes for months. There ain’t no such thing as too strong, for a thing like that.”

Eddie feels his cheeks warm. He breaks eye contact, looking down the floor as he scuffs the toe of his boot against the carpet bashfully.

Before he can voice any of the self-conscious bullshit kicking around in his head, there’s a knock at the door. Eddie snaps his head up and freezes, staring with mounting hysteria at the closed front door until there’s a second knock and he snaps back to life.

“Oh my god, places everybody!” Eddie cries, clutching at his head in panic, undoing all the work he’d done on his hair in one fell swoop.

“I ain’t moving,” Wayne says from the chair.

Eddie rushes past him, skidding to a halt in front of the door. He wastes precious seconds taking a few deep breaths before he swings the door open, fake smile plastered on his face. It melts into something excited and real when he catches sight of Steve.

Steve, who’s wearing the leather jacket Chrissy still hasn't returned. Steve, who’s fiddling with the lapels and blushing self-consciously until he catches sight of Eddie’s own attire and bursts out laughing.

“Great minds think alike, huh Harrington?” Eddie asks, smiling down at him.

While on Eddie, the aesthetic mismatch looks bizarre, Steve’s light-wash jeans and green polo somehow only enhance the effect of Eddie’s oversized leather jacket.

“It’s The Return of the King,” Eddie says, looking up and down Steve’s body, smirking before catching sight of his befuddled face. “We’ve really gotta get you up to date on Tolkien.”

“Oh, the hobbit books?” Steve asks, smiling brightly. “I just started the first one. Bilbo’s a pretty cool dude.”

Eddie takes a shuddering breath, heart kicking up a notch. “Yeah, he’s pretty cool,” Eddie replies in a hushed tone. Steve Harrington is reading The Hobbit. This fact somehow has him feeling more faint than seeing him in Eddie’s own jacket. He clears his throat, face hot, heartbeat rapid. “Should—should we go?”

His voice squeaks awkwardly, but Steve doesn’t seem to notice. He just beams up at Eddie and takes two graceful steps back off the front stoop, holding his arm out to gesture Eddie over the threshold of his own trailer.

Eddie slams the door, muffling Wayne’s embarrassing call of, “have him home by ten!” just in time.

He skips down the steps and latches onto Steve’s held out arm, letting Steve lead him toward his car like a gentleman.

“You know, I think Chrissy and Jeff had some sort of weird sex thing with this jacket?” Eddie asks, shaking his arm demonstratively.

“Yeah, Chrissy told me.”

"Seriously?" Eddie squawks, stopping suddenly enough that he kicks up gravel beneath his boots.

"No, you idiot,” Steve says, laughing at him even as he stops beside him, still holding onto Eddie’s arm.

“Oh, good because—”

“Jeff did.”

Eddie sputters, eyes wide until he turns and sees Steve’s shit-stirring grin. “You’re the worst,” he says, pouting as Steve just starts laughing again. “Why do I even like you?”

That has Steve’s ears turning pink, and his eyes averting to look toward his car, seeming almost shy. “Well,” he starts before cutting himself off when his voice comes out strangely high. He clears his throat and continues, “shall we?”

Steve gestures toward his parked car with his free hand because return of The King or not, this guy’s somehow, inexplicably, a nerd.

Eddie wants to kiss him about it, but they’re in public, already toeing the line of what’s acceptable in polite society, so all he does is squeeze Steve’s arm where it’s still wrapped around his and reply, “we shall.”

There will be time for kisses later—time for all of the things Eddie’s finding he wants to do with Steve Harrington.

They’ve got nothing but time.

The End

If you've read this far, thank you so much! Especially if you've like, reblogged, or commented. It all means so much to me, and I appreciate every single one of you.

This could have gone on for another 50k, I'm sure, but this feels like the right ending to me. It's not a story about Being Together, it's a story about Finding Each Other, and they've both done that, with Chrissy, and Robin, and Jeff, and now with each other <3<3<3

Now, one final shoutout to @queenie-ofthe-void for both being the best beta a guy can ask for, and to be the one who came up with this idea at all. It literally couldn't exist without you, and I appreciate you so much <3<3<3

[biscuits-and-gracie]

Soft Heart and Sharp Edges

summary: You didn’t have to harden yourself to survive. Not with Rafe around. characters: rafe cameron. crybaby! reader. mentions of ruthie. topper. kiara. warnings: dead turtle :( word count: 1k

The sky was slipping into dusk, the colors spilling across the ocean like someone had taken a watercolor brush and dragged it through the clouds - golds, pinks, and bleeding violets. The salt in the air clung to your skin, and the bonfire crackling nearby cast dancing shadows across the sand.

You stayed tucked against Rafe’s side, your fingers threaded tightly with his, feeling the steady pulse in his wrist against your own. His thumb brushed lazy circles along the back of your hand - grounding, possessive, sweet in a way no one else ever saw.

The beach was alive with chaos - Kooks and Pogues mixing in that strange, brittle way that could snap at any moment. Topper’s Jeep revved somewhere near the dunes, Ruthie shrieking with laughter as she gunned the engine too hard across the sand.

You heard it before you saw it - the sickening crunch. Then the tracks in the soft earth, torn straight through a scattering of tiny shapes.

At first, you didn’t understand. Then your stomach twisted. The tracks weren’t just in the sand. They were through a nest. A nest of baby sea turtles.

Kiara was the first to reach it, stumbling forward with a strangled sound. She bent down, her hands shaking as she scooped up a tiny, broken body. The hatchling fit into her palm like a fragile, ruined thing - a cracked shell, little flippers limp.

She whirled toward Ruthie, voice cracking in rage. "LOOK WHAT YOU’VE DONE!" Kiara screamed, her hand trembling as she held up the dead turtle.

The beach seemed to still. Even the music dipped lower, like the ocean itself was holding its breath.

Ruthie only laughed, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "It’s a turtle, Kiara. Jesus. Chill out."

You stood frozen for a second, staring, until the devastation hit you like a wave. Your vision blurred instantly, hot tears welling up and slipping down your cheeks without permission.

The tiny creatures - their first instinct to find the sea - crushed before they even had a chance.

You sank down into the sand without thinking, your knees giving out as you scrambled forward to help the few hatchlings still moving. Your fingers, trembling, brushed one onto its feet again, coaxing it toward the surf like it could somehow make it if you just believed hard enough.

The tears came faster, silent but unstoppable, dripping off your chin onto the sand.

"Aw, are you serious?" Ruthie snickered loudly, catching sight of you. She elbowed Topper, gesturing. "Look at her. What a crybaby."

You flinched like she’d slapped you - not because it was mean, but because it was loud and sharp and cut through your soft grief like a knife.

That’s when it happened. You heard the change in Rafe’s breathing before you even looked up.

One second, he was beside you. The next, he was on Ruthie.

He crossed the sand in two strides, grabbed her by the wrist so roughly her laughter cracked into a yelp. Her phone tumbled from her fingers into the sand, screen face down.

"The fuck did you just call her?" Rafe’s voice was low, dangerous - like a lit fuse just waiting for the spark.

Topper lunged forward, trying to break it up, but Rafe shoved him back without even glancing at him. Topper stumbled, nearly falling onto his ass.

Kiara watched with wide eyes, still cradling the baby turtle.

"You crushed a goddamn turtle nest, Ruthie," Rafe growled, his hand tightening enough that Ruthie’s face twisted. "And now you wanna run your mouth about her? You think that’s funny?"

"Rafe-" Ruthie stammered, but Rafe leaned in closer, a razor smile cutting across his mouth.

"Apologize," he said, deadly quiet. "Or I’ll make you wish you had."

The fire snapped and popped behind them, casting Rafe’s face in flickering shadow. His pale blue eyes looked almost silver in the dark, furious and unblinking.

Ruthie went pale, nodding jerkily. She stammered something that vaguely sounded like sorry, and Rafe let her go with a shove that sent her stumbling backward.

But when he turned back to you, it was like a switch flipped. All that violence melted off him like a second skin he could shed just for you.

He crouched down next to you carefully, like approaching something too fragile to touch. His hands, rough and calloused, cupped your tear-streaked cheeks with a gentleness that made your chest ache.

"Hey, hey, baby…" His voice cracked a little - softer than the breeze. "Please don’t cry, alright? Please."

You hiccupped against him, your hands shaking as you tried to wipe at your wet cheeks with your sleeve. "They’re-they’re just little babies, Rafe… they didn’t even get to the water…"

"I know, sweetheart. I know." He kissed the damp trail of tears under your eye. "It’s fucking awful. I hate it, too."

You sobbed again, and Rafe tucked you into his chest without hesitation, wrapping both arms around you so tightly it felt like he was trying to hold you together by force.

"You want me to fix it?" he whispered fiercely against your hair. "Tell me what to do, baby. I’ll donate, I’ll fund the whole goddamn coast if you want. Ten grand, twenty - it’s yours. We'll save a thousand turtles. Just say the word."

You buried your face into his white shirt, breathing in the sharp, clean scent of him - cologne, salt, and smoke.

"You don't have to-" you started to whisper, but Rafe cut you off with a soft kiss to your temple.

"I want to," he said. "Because you care. And because no one gets to make you feel bad for having the biggest heart I've ever seen."

The fire crackled behind you. The tide tugged at the beach with a sleepy hush. Somewhere, a few stubborn hatchlings finally found the ocean.

And you stayed there, wrapped in Rafe’s arms, soft and broken - knowing that even if the world was cruel, he would always be crueler to protect you.

You didn’t have to harden yourself to survive. Not with Rafe around. He could be the sharp edges. You were allowed to stay soft.

[bestanimal]

Round 3 - Reptilia - Testudines

(Sources - 1, 2, 3, 4)

Testudines, commonly known as “turtles”, are a unique order of reptiles. They are divided into two major clades: Pleurodira (“side-necked turtles”) and Cryptodira (“hidden-neck turtles”), which differ in the way their head retracts. The are composed of the living families Chelidae (Austro-South American side-neck turtles), Pelomedusidae (African side-necked turtles), Podocnemididae (“big-headed turtles” and South American side-necked river turtles), Chelydridae (“snapping turtles”), Dermatemydidae (“Hickatee”), Kinosternidae (“mud turtles” and “musk turtles”), Cheloniidae (“sea turtles”), Dermochelyidae (“Leatherback Sea Turtle”), Platysternidae (“Big-headed Turtle”), Emydidae (“terrapins”), Geoemydidae (Eurasian pond and river turtles and Neotropical wood turtles), Testudinidae (“tortoises”), Carettochelyidae (“Pig-nosed Turtle”), and Trionychidae (“softshell turtles”).

Turtles are most known for their modified, fused ribs that form an armored carapace. They also have a flattened belly-plate called a plastron. Their shell is mostly bone, covered by keratin scales called scutes. They shed their scutes as they grow, with older scutes peeling off of the newer, larger scutes beneath. As defense, Pleurodirans draw their necks sideways, hiding their head under the overhang of their carapace. Meanwhile, most Cryptodirans can fold their entire neck inside their shell. Box Turtles (genera Cuora and Terrapene) also possess a hinged plastron which allows them to seal themselves tightly within their own skeleton. Due to their streamlined bodies, sea turtles (superfamily Chelonioidea) cannot retract their head and limbs into their shells for protection. Turtles are found in many environments, on most continents, some islands, and most of the ocean. Some are terrestrial, some are freshwater, and some are marine. Some are herbivores, most are omnivores, and some are pure carnivores.

All turtles lay eggs. They do not form pair-bonds or social groups, and have a wide range of mating behaviors. In terrestrial species, males are often larger than females, and will fight with each other for the right to mate. For most semi-aquatic species, combat happens less often, and males will pursue females. In fully aquatic species, males are often smaller than females and rely on courtship displays to gain mating access. All turtles lay their eggs on land, although some lay eggs near water that rises and falls in level, submerging the eggs and signaling them to hatch. Most turtles create a nest for their eggs, digging a chamber into the ground. Depending on the species, the number of eggs laid varies from one to over 100. Eggs can be hard or soft-shelled. Most mother turtles do not perform parental care other than covering their eggs and immediately leaving, though some species guard their nests for days or weeks. Most species have their sex determined by temperature. In other species, sex is determined genetically. Hatching young turtles break out of the shell using an egg tooth, a sharp projection that exists temporarily on their upper beak. Hatchlings dig themselves out of the nest and find safety in vegetation or water. Most species grow quickly during their early years and slow down when they mature.

Testudines are not closely related to the two major living clades of Reptilia, Lepidosauria and Archosauria, so their exact place on the reptile tree has historically been disputed. The most recent evidence points to them being closer related to archosaurs than to lepidosaurs, but their ancestors are estimated to have split 255 million years ago during the Permian. The oldest known members of the Pleurodira lineage are the Platychelyidae, from the Late Jurassic. The oldest known unambiguous Cryptodire is Sinaspideretes, a close relative of softshell turtles, from the Late Jurassic of China. Turtles began to diversify during the Cretaceous.

Propaganda under the cut:

The largest living species of turtle is the Leatherback Sea Turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), which can reach over 2.7 m (8ft 10in) in length and weigh over 500 kg (1,100 lb).

A turtle was the symbol of the Ancient Mesopotamian god Enki from the 3rd millennium BC onward.

If a female sea turtle does not want to mate, she has multiple ways of refusing a male’s advances. Her larger size and strength may allow her to simply swim away faster, or she may bite the male. She may take up a refusal position with her body vertical, her limbs widely outspread, and her plastron facing the male, keeping her rear away from him. If water is too shallow for the refusal position, the female may resort to beaching herself, as males are not adapted to come ashore.

In Hindu mythology, the World Turtle, named Kurma or Kacchapa, supports four elephants on his back; they, in turn, carry the weight of the whole world on their backs. The turtle is one of the ten avatars or incarnations of the god Vishnu.

There is experimental evidence that the embryos of Chinese Pond Turtles (Mauremys reevesii) can move around inside their eggs to select the best temperature for development, thus choosing their sex.

The Yangtze Giant Softshell Turtle (Rafetus swinhoei) is one of the most endangered animals in the world, considered to be functionally extinct. The species has a known population of only 1 in captivity and potentially 1 in the wild, with no remaining fertile females. Conservation teams continue to monitor lakes and ponds in China and Vietnam and interview local communities to gather more information about potential surviving individuals. Efforts are also underway to explore new areas of habitat that could support this species.

An ancient Greek myth told that only the tortoise refused the invitation of the gods Zeus and Hera to their wedding, as it preferred to stay at home. Zeus then ordered it to carry its house with it forever. Not the worst Zeus curse by far, tbh.

The oldest known living turtle, and land animal, is said to be a Seychelles Giant Tortoise (Aldabrachelys gigantea hololissa) named Jonathan, who is estimated to be 192 as of 2025. He lives on the grounds of Plantation House, the official residence of the governor of Saint Helena and is cared for by the government. The Saint Helena five-pence coin depicts Jonathan on one side.

Among vertebrate orders, turtles are second only to primates in the percentage of threatened species. They face many threats, including habitat destruction, hunting, the pet trade, pollution, light pollution, and climate change.

Chinese markets have sought to satisfy an increasing demand for turtle meat with farmed turtles, even turning to American markets to cover their decreasing supply, as harvesting wild turtles is legal in some American states.

Threatened species of turtles, such as the critically endangered Radiated Tortoise (Astrochelys radiata), Angonoka Tortoise (Astrochelys yniphora), Philippine Forest Turtle (Siebenrockiella leytensis), Yellow-headed Box Turtle (Cuora aurocapitata), Indochinese Box Turtle (Cuora galbinifrons), Golden Coin Turtle (Cuora trifasciata), McCord's Box Turtle (Cuora mccordi), and the Roti Island Snake-necked Turtle (Chelodina mccordi) are in high demand in the exotic pet trade, and their populations have plummeted as poachers capture them from the wild.

Large numbers of sea turtles are accidentally killed in longlines, gillnets, and trawling nets as bycatch, or struck by boats. In Australia, Queensland's shark culling program, which uses shark nets and drum lines, has killed over 5,000 turtles as bycatch between 1962 and 2015, including 752 critically endangered ones. Light pollution at night threatens young sea turtles who use the moon to guide them toward the ocean, instead crawling into brightly-lit city streets where they are struck by cars or fall into storm drains.

Native turtle populations can also be threatened by invasive ones. The central North American Red-eared Slider (Trachemys scripta elegans), often kept as pets and then released into the wild, has been listed among the "world's worst invasive species", outcompeting native turtle species in eastern and western North America, Europe, and Japan.

As of 2021, turtle extinction is progressing much faster than during the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction. At this rate, all turtles could be extinct in a few centuries.

[saltydoesstuff]

Love bites (Raph, Donnie, Leo, Mikey x Reader HCS)

((All characters are depicted as 18+ unless stated otherwise)) I FINALLY got this done! This has been in my drafts for a w h i l e and I'm so glad to be able to share it! technically suggestive??, biting, jealousy, love bites/marks, cuddling ------------------------------------------------ Raph: - He is an alligator snapping turtle, biting is what his species is known for! - He has chew toys hidden around his room so he can have something to bite into whenever he gets the urge, or when he gets frustrated so he doesn't grind his teeth together fighting the urge to bite. He has a very strong bite force and he doesn't want to hurt anyone. - But with you, as soon as you gave the okay for him to bite you he was a little hesitant. You wanted him to bite you? You were okay with it? He could take out your whole shoulder if he really wanted to! - It'd take a little for him to get used to the fact that you were okay with being bitten, but soon he is more than happy to do so. Biting is one of his love languages, and to be able to do it to you without worry of you getting upset really soothed him. - He is extra careful when biting you, starting off with gentle nips and nibbles along your shoulders when you two are cuddling in his room. Every time he thinks he may have gotten a bit hard on a particular nip he will kiss the spot and ask if you are alright, looking at you with the biggest puppy dog eyes. - The only time he would be less gentle in his biting is if he's jealous. Raph is not one to get jealous super easily, nor let it show. He trusts you completely, but sometimes when the person trying to hit on you is just not getting the hint that you are not only not interested but taken- he could only feel the steam coming from his nostrils as he huffs and glared at the person. Afterwards, when you are both are alone- Raph will suddenly pull you by the waist back into his plastron, he head leaning down and snout nuzzled against the side of your neck. "Uh.. Raph?" You ask, glancing at him through the corner of your eye, "Are you okay big guy?" There's a brief moment of hesitation, before there is a sharp pain searing into the spot between your neck and shoulder; making you inhale sharply and wince. - Yeah.. you needed a bit of bandages after that. His teeth had broken skin and had you bleeding. The poor guy felt so bad, apologizing frantically as he patched you up. You had to constantly reassure him that was alright, despite his many protests that no it was not alright. He clung onto you for the rest of the night, mumbling apologies and kissing the bandages every chance he could. - Yet despite his immense guilt for hurting you, he couldn't help the sense of pride he got whenever he saw the mark once the bandages came off. It was a physical sign that you were his, and now everyone could see it. - And if you ever bite back? Oh you will have a very flustered and smitten turtle on your hands. Donnie: - He isn't much of a biter. At least.. at first. - Donnie has a bit of difficulty showing physical affection at times, even more so verbally expressing it. Which is why his main go to of showing love is gift giving. - When you both started dating, there was a long adjustment period of getting comfortable with getting physically affectionate past platonic gestures. It started small, linking each other's pinkies together when you thought no one was paying attention and holding hands when you slept together in place of cuddling. Times in the morning where a very sleepy soft shell will come up beside you as you prepared coffee for you both and gently bunt his head against yours as a greeting as he picked up his mug and headed towards his lab.

- It had progressed steadily and soon you often found yourself being the stress toy for your purple clad lover. He had found it actually much easier to work while you were on his lap, so that's where you stayed most of the time when he had projects to work on but also wanted to spend time with you. You would face him, your legs wrapped loosely around his waist and arms hugging his middle as he had his head rested on your shoulder to peer down at whatever he was tinkering with that day. His claws would gently run up and down your spine in a mindless manner, and when he got frustrated his hands would come up to your love handles and squeeze while he tried to find a work around. - One of these times, he had gotten a bit too frustrated. He had been working on a new upgrade for Shelldon, but nothing he did seemed to turn out the way he wanted. You were half asleep on his lap at this point, having been there quite a while at this rate. That's when you felt his teeth sink into the flesh of your shoulder. - He didn't break skin, but his canines dug into your shoulder just enough to leave a little bruising mark. The feeling was enough to make you jolt slightly with a little yelp, startling Donnie in turn. - He pulled away and looked at you quizzically, not seeming to grasp what exactly had happened at first. Then he takes notice of the mark forming on your shoulder and the man short circuits. - Is quick to apologize and offer to get you an icepack to help the bruising through his own flustered state, stammering and tripping over his words. Yet, his grip is firm- keeping you in place on his lap, like he was afraid you would try to get off after he bit you. - He had chalked it up to simply being apart of his more animalistic instincts, a side he is normally the best at repressing compared to his brothers (at least he tells himself that). Still, he tries to take precautions to avoid making the same error. Unless you encourage the behavior, then he is more lenient towards allowing the action to repeat. Just more gently from now on. - His bites are rare, but when they do come they are gentle and almost teasing depending on the situation. His favorite places to nibble is along your collarbone and sometimes the lobe of your ear. - The only time he will deliberately leave lasting marks is out of jealousy, and as we all know the soft shell is very quick to get jealous. Expect to be covered in marks for the next two weeks.

Leo: - Leo would actually be revealed to be a bit of a biter early on in the relationship, a split moment while you both were play wrestling that he had turned his head suddenly and sunk his teeth into the skin of your wrist while you had him pinned. It had caught you off guard, long enough for the slider to get the advantage and over power you. The next second you found yourself on your back with a very smug turtle straddling your waist. - It didn't seem to click for him at first just what he had done, only as he opened his mouth to tease did he notice the flabbergasted expression on your face did it sink in that he had actually bit you. - His eyes darted from the faint mark forming on your wrist to your face a couple times, looking equally as shocked- only his face definitely felt ten times warmer. - He would try to play it off at first, saying that you two never agreed not to bite, so it was still fair game. "All is fair in love and war, mi vida.~" - The biting would not happen again for a while after that, and Leo would get slightly embarrassed every time you try to bring it up in a teasing manner. Bringing it up in a playful tone that you wouldn't mind being bitten, this only served to make the slider more flustered. - Next time he bites you however, is during a sleepover at your apartment. You both had decided to have a cozy night in, cuddled up on your bed and watching movies through whatever streaming services you have. - You were staring blankly at the screen, trying to fight the effect that gravity was having on your eye lids. Leo was behind you, holding you against his plastron- his snout nuzzled into the crook between your neck and shoulder. You could feel his soft breathing against your skin; not quite enough to lead you to believe that he was asleep, but still gentle. - Slowly, his snout trailed upwards- grazing the corner of your jaw as he moved. You didn't think much of it, assuming he may be simply adjusting slightly to get in a more comfortable position- that was until you felt the tips of his canines catch onto the lobe of your ear, tugging and biting gently. - The squeal that left your mouth is still something Leo laughs about to this day. Your flustered and embarrassed reaction to such an innocent test was hilarious, or so he would say. You would heavily beg to differ on multiple of those points. - Once establishing your comfort with his biting, Leo will bite regularly. Not nearly as much as Raph or Mikey per say, but close. More often than not it's more just to get a reaction out of you, he just loves how red your face gets to the simple actions. Other times to have a physical marker that you were his, even if the bites were only in places that he could see. The action still mattered. Oh don't worry, he would never bite you in public. Only behind closed doors when you both are alone. - If he ever bit you out of jealousy, much like Donnie those marks would be e v e r y w h e r e- and not going away anytime soon. He trusts you completely, but apparently other people won't take the hint that you were his unless they saw you covered in his marks. He takes satisfaction in their reactions and defeat. Only he was your champion, no one else.

Mikey: - Biting is also what Box turtles are known for! It's a form of a courting/mating gesture for his species. - I'd say he'd bite you early on into the relationship in the form of soft nibbles, more playful than anything. Say he has you in his arms and he buried his snout into the crook of your neck, he'll gently nibble at your flesh in-between kisses to fluster you. He thinks your adorable flustered! - It's hard to say if he would ever say why he bites you. He would only answer if you asked him directly about it, as to then he would sheepishly admit what it means to him. If you're uncomfortable with it he will gladly stop though! - If you encourage the behavior however, or even go as far as to bite him back at some point? Oh, he just fell even harder! - His favorite spots are your shoulders, thighs and the tips of your ears, you make the cutest squeaks when his canines nip at your earlobe and he just can't get enough! - His bites will become more frequent during cuddle sessions or play fighting to gain the upper hand, you can't tell me this man would not use tricks to catch you off guard- - Despite it all however, he would be rather gentle with his bites. He knows his teeth are sharp, and he doesn't want to accidentally hurt you. But from time to time he will get a bit rougher and leave marks. He will make sure to apologize if it starts bleeding, immediately offering to patch it up. He isn't as panicked as Raph is, but still worries. - Jealousy is a whole different matter. Mikey trusts you, he really does! But those flirting with you just don't seem to understand that you are taken sometimes.. perhaps a few lasting marks will fix that! - This sneaky bastard will make sure some of his bites are hard to cover up, wanting people to see them. To see who you belong to. - But overall he is very sweet and caring with his affections towards you, no matter what form they take.

[muletia]

Just read the merformer ask about sparklings being referred to as guppies and big scary mer form Megatron trying to snooze but his newly born guppy daughter keeps teething on his little axolotl fins (the ones round their head) 

I keep imagining Mer Megatron going “Let me hear your war cry!!” And his guppy letting out the most squeakiest chirp they can muster 

I had some more ideas with the other Mers but imagine Starscream who also has a lil guppy daughter but they’re just as much of a baby as him, but the guppy tries to act all big and tough. Starscreams guppy chirping angrily at a crab, but the moment the crab raises its claws at her they’re chirping in fear, code for “AAA FATHER SAVE ME-“ and next thing they’re diving under starscream for protection 

Mer Bulkhead. Girl dad. Need I say more?? Miko is his daughter in tfp this man is girl dad coded and I won’t take criticism. I think you said he’d either be a manatee or sea turtle? I’m gonna use sea turtle for this one but imagine the babies (idk how the logics would work with birthing since sea turtles lay eggs so just use your imagination here) Bulkhead is just melting over how cute and tiny they are. You know that anon that said guppies follow behind their parents like ducklings? That’s bulkhead with his pod of baby guppies. Side note, he’ll stomp you into non-existence if you try to hurt his babies. Look but don’t touch 

I know Bee has Raf in the series but ngl…I love the idea of him with a lil girl and a lil boy. He’d be escaping. You’re telling him he a beautiful mate (you) AND he gets TWO adorable guppies?! Best day of his life. Bee is that one young dad in the pod who won’t stfu about how great his kids are, lookat his babies, he made them (with your help of course). I dunno if deals can get zoomies like dogs, but his guppies do literally anything like sneeze cutely or chirp to him and that man has water zoomies for hours  

Rahhh I am so soft for family tropes.

I live, love, laugh for Megatron being this terrifying, massive mer, covered in scars with huge claws and sharp teeth, yet having a soft spot for his guppy. Of course, he’s still rough around the edges and, truthfully, has no clue how to be a good father (see Kratos from God of War), but he loves his daughter with his entire spark <3 Even if sometimes he ends up growling at her a little too loud and a little too harshly.

Meanwhile, Starscream is hiding behind you lmao

Aughh Bulkhead, such a handsome gentle giant. If we’re going turtle, I can totally see him letting his guppies ride around on his shell <3

And aaa Bumblebee getting the zoomies the moment his kid does literally anything. Absolutely precious. If he had the means to take photos, he’d be snapping them nonstop.

[hotheadedhero]

can you do hug headcanons with the rise guys !!

AN: I sure can! These guys deserve all the hugs <3

Hug Headcanons

Rise Turtles x Reader

Raphael

It's no surprise that Raph adores hugs but there's always the worry that he'll somehow injure you in the process. He's a big guy, both in height and width but there are prevalent dangers even if his size wasn't a problem. Excluding his shell, he still has the odd spike poking out of somewhere, whether that be his elbows or the top of his plastron. It's no issue for his brothers seeing as they're turtles too but you're a human. There's too much chance of you catching yourself on one of them and he could never forgive himself if he ever hurt you, even if it was by accident.

You always assure him that no such thing could ever happen and, bit by bit, he allows himself to be bolder with the physical affection. He's glad for it too because holding you is like a dream come to life. If he had to pick a favourite hug, it's when you're curled up on his chest while he lies on his back. Having you this close with his large arms around you is such a pleasure. He takes great joy in knowing he can keep you safe this way. It's also a popular hold when you're both relaxing in the pool, floating around without a care in the world.

Leonardo

He likes to surprise you but not necessarily in the cute couple-y way. Leo makes a point of trying to scare you with his hugs, whether that be leaping out of a random room or embracing you from behind without any warning. He's really putting those sneaky ninja skills to good use, isn't he? You thought that him being an appointed hero of your city meant that he used his powers for good but it would seem you were wrong.

When he isn't trying to give you a heart attack, he's pulling you in with the addition of his phone. He just loves to throw his arms over your shoulders and snap an unexpected selfie. The sentiment appears sweet but you wonder if this is part of his scare tactic, if he's trying to capture a picture of your frightened face in the moment.

However, he does know when to give downtime a chance and frequently enjoys being the small spoon. Anything to feel like the centre of your world. It's also because of the kisses you plant on his shell or the back of his head. He adores those.

Donatello

Trying to get a good hug in with Donnie can be a difficult one. You can only assume that it has something to do with his soft shell. Deep down, you're aware of his vulnerabilities and how they've manifested into this desire to not be touched. Most of his contact will be administered through the use of his tech, whether that be with his bionic arms or the handful of times he's lovingly pat you on the head with his bo staff.

That being said, he does have his moments. Some days are a lot better than others but if you want a hug from him, he needs to be the one to initiate it. The times he does, he'll slowly envelop you from behind and hide his face in the crook of your neck. You suppose this position is part of his need to be in control of the physical affection. He can let go when he wants to and not worry about pushing your arms away if they're around him. You know how hard he tries and it makes those moments that much sweeter.

Michelangelo

Fasten your seatbelts because the hug-a-tron is in the house. He can and will find any excuse to trap you in his arms, sometimes to the point that you're starved of oxygen. Even if the last you saw him was only an hour ago, he'll lift you from the ground in a squeeze upon your return as if you haven't seen each other in months. Saying that you've had to check your ribs for bruising isn't an over-exaggeration. Further stating that you have found bruises is no word of a lie, either.

Mikey isn't sure if he has a number-one hug on his list. They're all amazing in his opinion and he'd feel bad for choosing in case you had a personal preference. In his eyes, it's more about the delivery rather than the sort of affection itself; the energy behind it. That's why it's his absolute favourite when you tackle him to the ground and smother him in that sweet cuddly goodness. He loves to know that you get as excited to see him as he does you.

[squishycat330]

Donnie! I finally did my 2012 & 2018 Donnie mix! (its been 3 weeks and 5 days. . . I’m so sorry)

he’s! Here! He’s finally Here!!!!

another run down, one last time!

In the 2018 series the boys are all different types of turtles, Leo is a Red-eard Slider, Raph is a Alligator-Snapping turtle, Mikey is a simple box turtle and Donnie is a Soft shell turtle (shudders), in the 2012 series Donnie says that he suspects their Common-Box turtles and/or Diamond-Back Terrapins.

So they’re all different turtles and Donnie is by far the most complicated, he’s a Diamond-Back Terrapin and a soft shell turtle. His shell is a mixture of both a normal shell and a softshell, it’s thinner and smoother then his brothers, but harder then a normal softshell, the outer part of the shell is soft wall the inner area is harder his scuts are oddly but consistently shaped and a bit thicker,

his plastron is similar to his shell and is softer as well, it’s more rounded and is flush with his chest/skin (if that makes any since) the plastron and shell blend together similarly

I really like the design I gave in his shell it looks nice, tho is gives off bohemian vibes which isn’t Donnie, it was also much easier to draw it digitally then traditionally, I also drew the traditional one first (because I’d dropped this for a bit). his shell is probably one of my favorites! (More on this in a moment)

Donnie also has a cover/armor for his shell!

It’s made out of recycled Kraang metal since it’s probably pretty durable and strong, he painted it purple because Donnie. It’s got holes for his belt and loops for his Bo-staff, and he’s attached something to his plastron that clips in to place with the pice on his shoulder, he made it after he got an injury to his shell early on, I actually looked up how ‘fixing’ turtle shells work when their injured to understand how it’d go for Donnie and I did end up coming up with something,

the outer bit is stitched wall the inner is sealed with zip ties and ‘command hooks’ or Resin and Fiber-Glass (or whatever that stuff is)

Donnie takes more after the soft-shell with his general shell wall his scuts are supposed to be the Diamond-back terrapin, tho the spotting on his shell I made to match a softshell turtle and how their typical drawn, he’s also a ✨lanky✨ boy and I think it could possibly come from the soft-shell turtle.

he’s so adorable! I love his cute lil face so much!!!

I just really love this drawing! He’s so freaking cute!!! His lil markings and smile! And eyes he’s just so adorable! I love it so much!!!

much like how I did Leo I thought Don having less specks in comparison to his brothers fit him,

I didn’t have to many problems with Donnie drawing wise. . . . (remembers that I had exactly 3 problems with this boy right off the bat. . .)

(yeah the three problems where his side in between his shell and plastron because at the time I hadn’t worked that out yet, the other problem was the fact that he was the only one with a neck. . . Yeah, all of the other turtles are at angles where the neck isn’t visible Donnie’s however (Mr. Soft-shell long neck boy) is and that was annoying for me. . . And I don’t actually remember what the last one was so yeah thanks Don!!!) But~ it was mostly just figuring out how to mix his shell tho, which was vary hard and I had to look up a lot about soft shell turtles, it was a lot more research then I did for the other boys, it was a nightmare looking at all of those softshell turtles. . . .their creepy and kinda disgusting but also vary interesting. . . I don’t know. . .it’s weird. . .

I actually proposed the idea for his shell to a friend who side it was actually really good and provided the idea for his plastron! So big thanks to them!

I also wanted to give him glasses and his goggle like things but I couldn’t figure that out digitally so I didn’t add them I may do that at another point tho since it’s a cute idea!

that’s the last of em! Donnie now completes the 4 turtles collection!

now moving on from that: the thing that finally motivated me to finish Donnie was actually what now goes Along with this which I’ll be working/posting on soon ;> I’d also point out Donnie took about 2h in general, so probably the least out of all of them which is funny,

id also say the first time I got distracted by drawing Donnie was to draw something by brother had suggested and it’s. . . .a disaster stupid funny disaster, then I just kinda never picked it back up and switched to traditional for a bit so yeah sorry Donnie!

Leo: Raph: Mikey:

Miscellaneous:. karai, Casey, April, shinigami, Renet

[imagionationstation]

16 🍄 with mikey and raph!

🍄 -> You ate a wild what?

Raph notices a problem when Mikey refuses dinner.

His older brother could probably count the number of times when Mikey skipped a meal on his fingers. So when Leo told him to leave it be, Raph promptly and firmly ignored him. He left their injured brother to Donnie’s care and went looking for the turtle that had slipped out of the room during the meal.

He finds him upstairs, vomiting his lungs out.

“You idiot.” He goes down to his side, putting a hand on his head. There’s no unnatural heat. He releases him so Mikey can… Release something else. “Why didn’t you say you were sick?”

“I’m not!” He whines between pants. “My stomach just hurts.”

“And you told who?”

“I’m not a baby, Raph.” He snaps to the toilet bowl. “Go take care of Leo.”

“Idiot.” Raph decides because by the look of his teary eyes and the way he’s grabbing at his chest, Mikey is miserable and he’s got to be an absolute moron if he thinks that he’ll just walk away.

Well. Fully walk away.

He does head over to the stairs to cup his face and scream, “MIKEY’S THROWING UP! MAKE SOME TEA!”

Mikey groans from the bathroom. Donnie calls back, “WHERE?”

“FIGURE IT OUT!”

“REAL HELPFUL!”

Raph heads back into the bathroom. “There. Problem solved.”

Mikey whimpers, holding his chest tighter. After a moment of deliberation, his older brother carefully dislodges him from the toilet and flushes it. Hoisting him from the floor with a low warning about barfing on his plastron, he carries him back to the room that him and Leo share. Laying him on the bed, he grabs the vomit bucket.

Mikey hugs it to his chest, inhaling through his teeth.

“I know, bud.” Raph rubs his arm. “Just breathe.”

“It hurts.” His voice warbles as the tears fall. He’s not sure if the paleness is from the fight not to throw up or the pain. “It hurts a lot.”

“Got to ride it out.” Raph assures. “Gotta-”

The door flies open. Donnie, holding a basket, shouts, “Mikey ate pokeweed berries!”

Mikey and Raph look at him. Then at each other.

The hothead crosses his arms, “Try again.”

“Did you eat these?” Donnie demands as he holds up the bucket. It makes it harder to see what’s inside, but Mikey nods meekly.

“They’re poisonous!” Donnie snaps furiously to hide the anxiety lingering below. “Mikey ate wild poisonous berries!”

“You ate wild what?”

Raph whirls on him. Mikey’s head is halfway in his shell. “…Oops?”

“Why would you do that?!”

“I didn’t know!” Mikey tries to sit up and immediately falls down again, tucking his arms around his midsection. Raph looks to the resident genius. “Is he gonna die?”

“Luckily for him, box turtle metabolisms can handle it.” Donnie huffs as he sighs in relief. “Unluckily for him, human metabolisms cannot. I doubt he’ll die. But the next few hours are gonna really suck.”

Mikey gags and then vomits. Raph pinches between his eyes.

“Maybe now he’ll learn to stop eating random things that have not been okayed as people food.” Donnie is looking directly at Raph but his words are perfectly pitched for Mikey.

The hothead turns him around and shoves him out of the room. “Go make tea.”

“I wasn’t done-!”

He slams the door in his face. After a under-breath grumble, Donnie pouts his way downstairs. Raph moves back over to the bed, takes one look at the tea-streaked face, and sighs. Grabbing the tissues from the dresser, he climbs onto the other side of the bed.

When he lays down, Mikey flips over to latch onto him. He whimpers loudly, buries his face in his plastron, and Raph grumbles, “You’re gonna be fine.”

“It hurts.”

“Yeah yeah.” Raph lifts his face to wipe away the liquid. “Nature’s way of saying to keep away from random berries.”

His lip wobbles, “I’m sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing?” Raph remarks as he lets him go. Mikey squeezes tighter, a soft keen of pain reaching open air. “Those weren’t my poisonous berries. And it sounds like you’re already dealing with the punishment.”

Another keen tugs at his heart. Raph wraps his arms around him in return, scratching at his carapace. A bit of the tension leaves. “Breathe, little brother. It’ll pass. I’ll be right here until it does.”

Mikey exhales pitifully. Raph leads him through more breaths.

They ride out the next few hours together.

Wasn’t sure which Mikey and Raph? So you get 2012. And thanks! Love a good excuse for fluff!! 🧡❤️

[andromeda-galaxy2877]

I Promise...I'll do better.

First write fight attack! @untitled-tmnt-blog 's prompt 2, "New dad Splinter (Rise), very unprepared, but doing the best he can" this is for @tmnt-write-fight !! Y'all know I adore Rise Splinter, I just HAD to pick this one for my first attack. I hope you enjoy!

Quick warning! This fic does depict some issues with body image, due to Splinter's mutation.

-----------------------------

Lou was far out of his depth.

Huddled in a box in a rainy alley, four sleeping little baby turtles— whom of which he was beginning to fear weren’t really just animals anymore— curled in his arms, sheltered from the cold.

Babies.

They were babies.

Not animal young, not little creatures, not pets— babies. Children. Once he’d gotten over his initial panic and the chaotic whirlwind of emotions that had swamped him over being a literal goddamn rat now it hadn’t exactly been difficult to realize how the turtles had changed.

‘...What on earth do I do now?’

Going back into the Hidden City was completely out of the question. Big Mama would have her people crawling around all over the place trying to find him, to force him back into that arena. Not to mention Baron Draxum would certainly be looking for Lou Jitsu and his creations, determined to fulfill their true intention. 

‘Over my dead body.’ Lou’s hands curled over their shells protectively. There was not a chance in hell he would allow these sweet creatures to become monsters. 

So that ruled out the Hidden City, where Lou’s…new appearance would be accepted without second thought. But…the human world wasn’t exactly the best place for that either. He grimaced, pulling his legs closer to his body. His stomach roiled in disgust at the fur he could see poking through, his misshapen feet. ‘What did he DO to me?’

The sight of his monstrous, clawed hands curled around the innocent creatures made his stomach churn. His body still ached from the transformation, his vision was different— blurrier, he had assumed that it was from the panic but it was staying— ‘Why is it staying??’ He was disgusting, a monster, he—

A soft squeak caught his attention, snapping him free from the downward spiral. He looked down, noticing the large spiky turtle gently nuzzling into his hand. Lou’s eyes softened as he gently stroked the baby’s shell, chuckling softly at the ensuing…chirp? Turtles chirp?

‘Right. I…need to figure out what to do.’ Lou swallowed tightly, daunted by the sudden responsibility thrust onto his shoulders. He had never done well with this before, and now to be responsible for other lives? Oh dear god.

Gathering the babies close to his chest, Lou carefully exited the box, hesitating after he had gotten to his feet. Returning to the human world would be impossible now. He was hit with a wave of desolation, pure defeat at that realization. ‘I could never go back to my career like this. Could I even go back at all…? How long has it been since I was taken?’ He didn’t even want to know. ‘My coworkers, my friends…’ He…he would never see them again. They would never accept him like this.

His life was over.

A little warble caused his gaze to lower, the stinging in his eyes signaling the wet drops falling onto the babies’ shells was not only from the rain. The one with orange spots was looking up at him with big eyes, another soft warble escaping its beak. It was then Lou realized it was shivering—- they all were. 

Something solidified in his chest. His life may be over, but theirs had only just begun.

He would not fail them.

Shielding them closer to his chest, Lou made his way towards the back of the alley, searching for something that could act as a better shelter than that worn and torn box. Dumpsters, a pile of garbage bags, a torn up pile of blankets…a manhole.

Lou grimaced, hissing through his teeth. That would be disgusting. But… ‘What choice do I really have anymore?’

Passing the babies into one hand, he gripped the manhole cover in the other and hauled it to the side. The ladder seemed to lead into an endless abyss of darkness, his vision swimming for a moment at the daunting sight. He hesitated, ‘...Is there nothing else I could do?’

One of the turtles— the one with the soft, leathery shell— let out a fearful little chirp. Lou immediately gently stroked its shell, shushing it. “I know, little turtle. I know…don’t be scared.” 

‘That’s MY job!’ He thought with a shaky chuckle. Cradling the four babies in his arm, Lou carefully climbed down the ladder with the other. 

_______________________

A few hours had passed since then. And Lou had never felt so out of place in his entire life.

He had found a large atrium, deciding to make it into their home. Using some old blankets and a damp box he had grabbed from the alley, he formed a bed for the babies. And for a few haunting hours, Lou had sat and contemplated the complete shitstorm his life had become as the babies peacefully slept.

And then a piercing wail broke through that fog.

Lou startled, a sharp gasp of surprise escaping him as his hand flew up to cover his heart. He looked over at the box, eyes wide and heart pounding as he carefully fished out the shrieking turtle. ‘Is it hurt?? What happened?!’

The other babies let out whimpers as their sibling was taken from them, but Lou ignored them as he turned the baby over in his hand. The turtle looked up at him, sniffling, before letting out another cry.

Lou flinched, his ears pinning down to his head to try and block out the noise. He patted the red-striped turtle’s shell soothingly, grimacing “It’s alright, it’s alright little turtle…what are you crying for?”

The baby paused, blinking a few times. Then a series of chirps escaped its beak, rapid and increasing in volume.

Lou winced again, rubbing his head. “My, you are a talkative one, aren’t you…”

‘Something’s wrong. It doesn’t seem to be hurt though— what’s the problem??’ Lou’s concern grew as the wails did in volume, even more so as the other babies joined in. He carefully set the red-striped one back with its siblings, but unfortunately that did not stop the cries.

And then it hit them.

‘They’re hungry! Oh I’m so stupid—’ How had he not thought of that?!

‘...What the hell do turtles eat?’

Well, it was time to find out. Lou hesitated as he looked back down at the babies, their tearful little eyes and wobbling lips striking his heart. His gaze softened as he scooped the babies up with their blanket, holding them to his chest. “Alright…let's go find you turtles some food.” 

All four babies let out a chaotic little series of chirps, the red-striped one patting his little hands against the leathery-shelled one’s face. It immediately grumbled, snapping its teeth at the fingers.

Lou sighed, shaking his head fondly as the spiky one shuffled its way between them, chirping in annoyance before settling against the blanket with a little chirp. The orange spotted one seemed content to just rest beside its siblings, but its expression was twisted. 

Hungry. The poor babies were still hungry.

Lou began making his way out of the atrium, heading back into the tunnels towards the ladder. He grimaced as his bare, spindly claws clicked against the grimy concrete below. He did not want to be doing this, doing any of this— all he wanted was to huddle up in a corner and cry.

But as the soft sniffling of the red-striped turtle started up again, that thought faded away in an instant. All that mattered right now was taking care of these little turtles.

Climbing up the slippery, wet ladder one-handed was a lot easier going up than down. Easier to see where he was going, at least. As he made it halfway— his arm slipped. 

Heart lurching into his throat, Lou instinctively released his cargo to grab the ladder— before he immediately realized what he had done, and nearly dropped himself back down the ladder to catch the bundle.

‘Tell me they’re alright, tell me I didn’t already fail them—’

Lou could barely breathe as he carefully untucked the top of the blanket, counting one, two, three—

Three turtles.

Where was the red-striped one?! Lou’s ears were ringing, chest so painfully tight he could barely even think— and then a squeaky giggle caught his attention. The man turned his head, spotting the missing turtle sitting on the rung right over his head.

Lou blinked rapidly, the relief he felt near-dizzying. “What are you doing up there, you silly daredevil?” He reached a clawed hand out, gently scooping the baby back into his arms, and safely returning it to the blanket with its siblings. “Give me a damn heart attack, why don’t you…”

He finished climbing up the ladder, taking a moment to sit down outside and catch his breath. The rain seemed to have halted, dawn’s light gently painting the alley in a warm orange glow. As his panic slowly ebbed, guilt quickly encroached on where it had once been.

‘Why did I do that?! That was beyond reckless, so stupid— it could have died, they ALL could have!’ Lou swallowed tightly. 

He was not cut out for this.

He had never wanted to be a parent. He blanched at the word, terror striking him. ‘I can’t be a father. I cannot be their father, they need someone better than me.’

But who? He couldn’t just leave them at a pet store and hope for the best, they clearly weren’t normal turtles anymore. It didn’t take a genius to realize that. The human world would never accept them. Leaving them somewhere up here would only be a death sentence, either some small-minded human would hurt them or bring them to a scientific laboratory to be—-

‘NOPE. NOPE. Do NOT follow that line of thought, you JUST calmed down from panic!’ He scolded himself, shaking his head. No, the human world would not be safe.

The Hidden City could be…maybe there was an orphanage that cared for children, maybe he could find them a good family. With parents who were equipped to handle them, ready to raise them, who wouldn’t put them in danger by climbing a wet ladder with them with one hand.

But…

‘If Draxum found them...’ No. No, that was not an option.

The turtles’ only option was him. 

“I’m sorry…” He whispered, curling his knees to his chest as he cradled the babies closer. “You deserve so much more than me.”

The spiky turtle’s face scrunched up, an incoherent soft little murmur-babble leaving his beak as he gently patted Lou’s muzzle.

Lou chuckled wetly, smiling softly as the other little turtles followed the spiky one’s lead. “Thank you, little ones. I…I will do my best to care for you.” ‘I can only hope it will be enough…’ “Now. Let's find you food, shall we?”

The little turtles remained curled up in a little huddle together as he stood, eyes scanning the alley. His vision was still blurry— only further confirming his fear that this was permanent— but he spotted a large enough scrap of fabric to wrap himself in. The man carefully set the babies down as he did so, doing his best to cover every inch of exposed fur and otherwise rat-like traits.

A series of chirps caught his attention; Lou turned, heart leaping as he expected to find the babies in peril again— only to see them all messing with bits of fabric. It seemed it had come from a rainbow t-shirt, but the spiky turtle was hard at work chewing it to pieces, a scrap of red fabric still hanging from its jaws.

Lou chuckled, kneeling down to pull the fabric out of its mouth. “That’s not good food, little— uh…” 

He forgot to name them.

‘I should probably do that.’ They needed good names, something meaningful…he couldn’t think of anything now, with his mind the chaotic spiral it had remained trapped in since he had escaped that wretched lab.

He glanced around between all the babies again, noting the colors they were on— or, in the spiky one’s case, currently chewing on—- ‘WHERE DID IT GET MORE?!’ — Red, Blue, Purple, Orange.

“I’ll call you all that for now. While I think.” He muttered, scooping the little ones back up. Maybe he could take pieces of cloth on the way back, give them each little necktie bandanas? Whatever. That didn’t matter right now; what did matter, was finding these babies something to eat.

…Maybe visiting a pet store wasn’t such a terrible idea. Just to ask what to feed a turtle. That would be his first step. Then he would find said food, get the babies properly fed and bring them back to that atrium…and then…

Then…take it day by day. Raise them as best he could. It was all he could do now.

Lou was far out of his depth.

But maybe…

Maybe everything would be alright in the end.

[imababblekat]

Oops

Prompt: It's been a grueling few weeks of dishing out ass whooping's to bad guys, and to top it all off is your exhaustion of the ever growing guilt of keeping your true identity a secret from your best friends, the Ninja Turtles. Surely all this fatigue of hero work and life crisis thinking wouldn't accidentally solve your later issue, right? . . .Right?

prev(don't need to have read for this post)

A/N: Wow, this has been a long time waiting huh?! Welp, I finally got my thoughts into words, drafted, and edited! This is my personal interpretation of how the turtles would find out spiderman reader's identity. I really wanted to get this out before delving into other ideas of how it'd happen from requested prompts sent into my ask box. I'm so happy to finally get this out to y'all. It's short and sweet, but I hope y'all can enjoy nonetheless <3

◌(s,p) = spider persona◌

~xXx~

The window slides open with a snap, two legs swinging over the sill like heavy weights as you tumble into your darkened room. You can't even be bothered to turn on the small touch lamp resting on the nightstand, body riddled with exhaustion from today's bad guy butt kicking. With a heavy 'mph', you throw yourself onto your plush bed, reveling in it's softness and the slight relief it offers your aching muscles.

"There's gotta be an evil convention this week or something, because shit man.", you grumble tiredly into your comforter.

The past week had been non-stop for criminal activity. From small no good doers to the big professional criminals, you had hardly a moment to breathe it seemed.

With an aching neck, you turn your head for better comfort, tired gaze landing on a small quilt thrown across the top of your pillows. Any previous annoyment had dissipated upon gazing on the gift, memories of the a certain tough to the bone turt bashfully handing you the handmade quilt for your birthday.

Dimples quirked in the corners of your cheeks, a smile etching its way there. Despite the mountainous call to duty you faced these past few days, you were at the very least grateful to not have to deal with it all alone. No, with four mutant ninja turtles as friends, you five were New Yorks greatest bunch of vigilantes. Thinking back to a time when you were alone in keeping the streets of this wondrous city safe, it's hard to believe you could have ever handled so much without your four best friends. Now, so much time later, it's as if you, Leo, Raph, Donnie, and Mikey had been a crime fighting team since day one. Something, you could never had imagined but would forever be beyond grateful for.

A sudden spark of guilt ignited deep within your chest, burning away your fond smile and replacing it with a sorrow frown.

Being such amazing and close friends, one would think no secret wasn't shared between the lot of you. However, that wasn't quite true, and whether the mask was on or off, your growing repentance of this secret identity matter only seemed to continue growing as time passed.

It wasn't that you didn't want to tell them. Truthfully, you did, but it was more of a fact that you couldn't. The four brothers already had a major player in the criminal underworld on the back of their shells, the Foot Clan. Adding your own long list of enemies to that, and surely their hard shell would shatter. Something you would never want to happen to them, simply from knowing that their normal friend, (y/n), was not so normal and ordinary after all. You already lost important people in your life, you weren't about to lose them too.

However, this sensible logic did very little to quell the ever growing guilt of hiding something so important from them, when they put so much trust in you. Both of you at that; you as normal, everyday (y/n) and you as the amazing (s/p).

With a pang to your head, you released a loud groan, ignoring the ping of your phone and instead opting to force your self off the comfort of your bed.

“I need food. All this life crisis thinking is giving me a headache.”, you grumbled, pushing into your apartment.

The smell of left over pizza wafted into your senses, a low rumbling noise from your stomach echoing your desire for nutrients as the eyes of your mask widened in excitement. Rubbing your hands together you quickly made way to your small living room, the box of pizza sitting like a jewel in a museum perfectly atop your coffee table. Hopping over the back of the couch, you quickly reached for a slice and took a deep inhale to truly appreciate the godly scent. For leftover pizza, it sure smelled rather fresh.

The thought had you pausing for a second, trying to remember when exactly you had bought this food. However, just as quickly as the concerning thought came, it left with a shrug of your shoulders.

“Eh, senses must still be high from kicking so much ass today.”, you exclaimed, ripping off your mask to take your first mouthwatering bite.

Your senses, however, were in fact not still highly aware as you'd thought.

CRASH!

The sudden loud sound of breaking glass had you nearly jumping out of your skin, spidey senses actually jumping into action this time and going haywire. With a swift turn of your head, mouth awkwardly agape and pizza drooling cheese from your hand, wide eyes locked onto four pairs of equally astonished stares. Well, somewhat equal anyways.

Because nothing, and I mean nothing, could equate to the absolute astonishment that riddled through none other than Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo in this singular moment. For you, all you could do was stare back frozen like a deer in headlights. Well, if a deer in headlights had a slice of pizza dripping cheese into their lap instead of their still agape mouth.

With gear still strapped on, and fire scape window billowing your curtains open with a chill breeze, it was very clear that the four had just arrived from patrol. The patrol they had with you, as the amazing (s/p). Recalling the ding of your phone moments ago, you internally cursed, now realizing without a doubt that it was for certain one of the brothers letting you know as (y/n) that they were headed over. Something your tired brain forgot had become habit for them.

Clearing your throat, you awkwardly waved a greasy hand at the still flabbergasted quartet.

"H-hey guuuuys~"

Hand still loose from once holding the now broken glass of grape juice, it was not Leo, not Raph, not even Mikey who reacted first, but Donnie, eyes wide and brows narrowed behind his crooked glasses, voice echoing what his three other brothers must have also been thinking.

“You have to be shitting me!"

~xXx~

[ghostytoad]

hey so how do you think the rottmnt turtles would deal with the boys being busy and s/o comes up behind them and gives them a hug and then lets go and somehow they had snuck a xmas gift bag on their lap and s/o is gone from the room. Inside the gift bag is three things; Something they’ve been wanting for fun, something domestically useful and homemade cookies?

i'm gonna have to break this up into 4 parts again because it's a bit too long for tumblr's block limit agaiiin

* Season of Surprises *

ROTTMNT Boys receive an unexpected gift

Summary: The boys have been working themselves to the shell. Between patrols, kicking villanous butt, and general hero business, it leaves little time for their darling Reader. Fortunately, 'tis the season of gift-giving.

Oneshot for: Raphael

GN! Reader; Romantic; Fluff; Mild angst; Pre-established relationship || Words: 1k

Donnie | Leo | Mikey

Raph:

His fun gift: A giant turtle plush

His useful gift: Phone big enough to fit in his big hands

His cookies: Chocolate chunk cookies

It had been an entire week since Raphael had gotten any sleep and the low, unintelligable mumbling that rumbled in his chest made it obvious that he could really use the rest. His body, mind, and very spirit were aching for a peaceful night's sleep and Raph was determined to will himself into bed despite the aches that riddled his body threatening to topple him over. He had barely reached past his room's doorway before he collapsed forward with a thud and a delayed groan, his face colliding with the cold, hard floor.

'Well, this isn't any better-' he thought to himself and struggled to wriggle and worm his body across with floor, the dragging of his spikes leaving scratches and cracks on the unmoving concrete. He'd worry about the scuff in the morning For now, his bed was far too inviting for his overworked body to ignore and by god was he going to get some sleep tonight. The week prior had been nothing but back to back patrols, the brutal rate of which started taking a major toll on the titan's massive form. The long-neglected bruises, scratches, and scrapes dotting his body made his quest for a good night's sleep all the more pressing. He was only inches away from the foot of his bed when his trek was interrupted by the pattering of soft footsteps beside him.

"Mikey, I'm not carrying you back to your room." he deadpanned, flattening his raised torso back onto the floor hoping to discourage his playful little brother from jumping onto his back and demanding a piggyback ride. As the footsteps stopped right next to his face, Raph turned his head and looked up through squinted eyes. Instead of olive green legs standing beside him, he was met with what he recognized as his significant other's kneeling form next to his face, a wrapped box being held out toward him. Raph blinked slowly up at Y/N and reached a tenative arm up to accept the gift.

"Babe, hey!" his voice was deeper and much slower than he'd wanted it to be, "What's with the-"

As soon as the parcel left their hands, Y/N wordlessly smiled down at the snapping turtle mutant and started back out the door in a haste.

"Uh… Th-Thanks! Love ya too!" he'd called out after them, the last part sounding uncertain considering they'd left in a hurry without so much as a greeting. Did they hate him all of a sudden? Were they mad at him? Did they mean to leave him a present sooner? Did they think he was unattractive lying on the floor like that? Okay, maybe the last one was a bit of a stretch, but nothing was off-limits in Raph's overthinking mind. But they'd left a gift, surely they must still at least LIKE him?

The turtle had glanced at the box that sat in his large palm, sitting himself up to examine his partner's handiwork. Chuckling to himself, he admired how delicately the red foil wrapping paper had been folded, edges neat and free of crinkles. The golden lace bow that sat so beautifully on top could only have come from their careful and precise hand; if there were ever someone with a knack for gift wrapping, it was his beloved Y/N.

In a thoughtless swish and tear, he unwrapped the plain medium sized box that hid underneath. His attention was caught by the little sticky note taped to the side of the box, reading:

Merry Christmas, my Red Angel!

I know you've been working extra hard and I wanted to show you how much I appreciate you and everything you do! Let me know how you like your new gifts!

Love, Y/N

PS. I named him Raph Jr.

"Raph Jr, huh?" he'd hummed while a cheeky, lovesick grin stretched across the boy's face and a dark blush colored his green cheeks. What did he ever do to deserve someone so wonderful and thoughful? How could he ever hope to repay them for such a kind gesture? His dreamy eyes read over the love note again and again, drinking in every sweet little word. All he could do was flail his hands and giggle like a little girl, fangirling quietly on the floor of his room not wanting to bring his brothers' attention to his silly little display. If they knew what a lovesick mess their big brother was and how easily Y/N could fluster him, the teasing would be merciless.

Lovingly, he eagerly dug in, tugging and pulling at the stubborn object packed tightly into the little box. After a few gentle and ineffective yanks, he gave a strong pull and forced the soft gift free of its tight enclosure, causing him to stumble onto his back in the process. The plush gift decompressed mid-air with an audible POOF and in a bounce, landed on top of the unsuspecting ninja.

"Wh-What the-?!" it took him a minute to focus his eyes on the large, green turtle plush that continued fluffing itself up to its full huggable capacity.

"Raph Jr…?" he snickered and sat himself up once again with the oversized stuffie letting out a squeak as he rested his elbows on its fleece shell.

"You can't sneak up on people like that!" Raph cooed in his baby voice, "Must've been a rough ride being stuffed into that itty bitty box, poor lil' guy. Don't you worry, wittle one, Papa Raph's gotcha now~"

Giving the plush a tight squeeze in his large arms, Raph let himself fall back onto the floor, nuzzling into the cozy warmth of the stuffed animal and slowly started to drift off. Falling deep asleep in a matter of seconds, he hadn't realized the cookies and even smaller box that still sat in the gift box. By far, the plush was more than enough for him now.

[sprite-writes-fanfic]

First date!

🐢💙❤️2003 TMNT x Reader💜🧡🐢

Word Count: 862

CW: Gender-neutral reader, referred to only as ‘you’, turtles my beloved, I am feeding you turtle fluff today. <3

🐢💙Leonardo💙🐢

💙 A first date with Leo would be pretty cozy, I’d think. He wishes he could take you out to a fancy restaurant like other men could, or even take you to a movie theater, ANYTHING so romantic, he wishes he could do. It really does make him feel so bad that he can’t provide you with romantic experiences like this, not unless he was disguised, but he can’t risk it either.

💙 But, you’re able to snap him out of it! You suggest a little stay-in date, and honestly, he wasn’t really aware what a stay-in date was, so you end up explaining all the things you two could do.

💙 That actually lifts his spirits a bit, and you reassuring him you didn’t need anything fancy and were happy just spending time with him made him feel so warm and fuzzy.

💙 The two of you would make dinner together when the brothers were out and Splinter was sitting in his room. The two of you had a romantic time, making spaghetti together and enjoying the meal… Soft touches, subtle flirting and sweet exchanges with one another, and the food was delicious too!

💙 After that, Leo would turn on Mikey’s stereo, playing some romantic music, then offering a hand. Once you take it, he’d pull you into a slow dance, your bodies pressed together in a warm embrace as you two would sway, his eyes staring into yours warmly. It was truly a cozy night.

🐢❤️Raphael❤️🐢

❤️ A first date with Raph would be pretty fun! He already knows what he wants to do, he’s had it planned out for months if you two ever did get together— Yeah, he’s daydreamed a lot the moment you’d possibly say yes.

❤️ He gets Donnie to make another helmet, just for you specifically. Once that’s done, the plan is set into motion. Raph approaches you and asks if you want to go somewhere special, and once you give him the yes he was waiting for, he takes you up to their garage.

❤️ He would take you for a ride on the Shell Cycle through the city and soon make it outside of the city to a nearby patch of grass with a blanket and even a picnic basket, (bro had this all set up).

❤️ The two of you would end up enjoying the sandwiches he made while admiring the stars, it was just the two of you, and it all felt so so right.

❤️ You guys ended up cuddling that night and sharing a few kisses before he had to bring you home. He was very grumpy about that fact. 💔

🐢💜Donatello💜🐢

💜 With Donnie, he wasn’t sure what to do for a first date. He’s not experienced in the romance department, (not like any of his brothers are either but), mostly because he’s always thought more about science than what it would be like to love another.

💜 Well, how about a small adventure? Not the most romantic, but it would still be fun! The two of you set off in the Battle Shell, picking up some fast food and stopping in an empty-ish parking lot to eat.

💜 After talking and eating, you two would set off again and find yourself at an old scrapyard that seemed pretty much abandoned! After Donnie would give you that look, you couldn’t deny those little puppy eyes.

💜 Honestly an interesting experience. Donnie found some pretty neat things he could use for his inventions, and you found some pretty cool old things, like you found an old antique lamp, which was pretty cool!

💜 You guys would get back to the lair and end up cuddling on the couch. Not long after, both of you were passed out with a soft blanket draped over the both of you. His brothers found you guys and Mikey took pictures to tease the both of you later, (little stinker).

🐢🧡Michelangelo🧡🐢

🧡 As I mentioned in the last fic, (the ‘03 turtles are in love!), you guys had a rooftop date… And to say it was a fun experience would be absolutely correct.

🧡 Mikey, being the goofball that he is, had this little dining table set up and he had a fake mustache on along with this apron, acting like a waiter once you first climbed onto the rooftop, greeting you with a big smile.

🧡 He’d push in your chair and hand you the menu, pouring you a glass of Fanta, while asking you what you’d like to eat. This menu only had pizza on it by the way, so what did you order? Pizza of course!

🧡 He’d take your menu and soon grab a box of pizza, tossing aside his apron and mustache, making you laugh at his silly antics. He’d serve the pizza with a wink, and you guys would have a small dinner date while watching the sunset together!

🧡 After dinner, you and him would have fun dancing on the rooftop. Similar to Leo, he’d play music, but instead of an embracing dance with romantic music, you would be listening to more cheerful music and having a good time! Dancing to your heart's content and laughing. If you ever did end up getting tired, he’d carry you home without issue.

RAAAH, okay, felt a good amount of inspo today so I was quick to dispel it 😭 also GOD DAMN, thank you guys so much for the support on the last fic! I didn’t expect it to get so much traction like at all, so glad to see you guys like my writing! :) Next one I’m planning is first kisses with these lovely turtles <3 so I hope to see you guys there too!