#spikey shell

[midnightmoonbeams]

Seriously... the RNG in this game is SUCH a troll.

From March 17th, 2022

[turtleblogatlast]

I adore the idea of Leo developing a love for glam rock not only because he likes the music but also because of how many glam rock bands had vibrant and extravagant eye makeup - looks that his own red stripes were right at home with.

Like just imagine a little Leo rifling through his dad’s music and choosing to vibe with glam rock specifically because he was like “:0! Like me!:)”

[poke-is-a-dork]

Inktober day 30! Using the prompt 'Memory' from sadmages' groupchat's oc-tober list!

[cimmerian1275]

I came up with the title for both of these chapters:

Arnt i hilarious? I am, i so totally am.

Heres DILLH future Raph w/o the text! He might be subject to small changes since this is the first time ive ever drawn him. Lookit that smile <3

Kinda spoilers in the tags for the chapter, i love my rambles in the tags.

𝐃𝐨 𝐈 𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐇𝐢𝐦? |ROTTMNT| (Male OC)

[Clothes kind of make the turtle]

Be sure to read the tags on my Ao3 so you guys know what you’re getting yourselves into.

Art above is done by one of the most talented artists I know! @cimmerian1275

Warnings: Honestly not much other than the usual angst but it’s like light angst

And of course, a quick thank you to my awesome beta reader Cimmerian who helped me out a lot with this chapter! Very talented and please, go give them a follow, love their work, etc.

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“Look over there, dude.”

“What? Why?”

“You see that yokai in the blue cloak?”

Murmurs spread about quietly in the cafeteria, a table not far from where Casey and Caden sat at, eating their food without noticing the way some of the people and yokai were glancing over to them, their eyes fixated on Caden.

“What about that guy?”

“Look closely.”

….

“Wait a second. Is that—“

“You see it too, right?”

The hushed voices grew louder, all people curious and eager to catch a glimpse of Caden who was chewing on some food that Draxum had brought over.

And while Caden and Casey didn’t seem to notice the attention they were unintentionally grabbing, Leo was quick to mentally note the stares, stiffening and shaking his head in realisation.

Shit… Caden was being noticed. He had to say something, right?

Leo stared firmly at Caden’s back, biting his lip in hesitation. Caden was actually enjoying himself right now, talking away with Casey, eating food, like he was a regular guy in the Resistance.

No… Caden was anything but regular. Leo narrows his eyes, taking confident steps closer to the unsuspecting mutant at the controls. 

Pull him away. Take control.

It would be so easy for Leo. Caden wouldn’t be able to do much if Leo grabbed him, pushing him back. Leo was the leader. He knew what was best for everyone, and if meant protecting his family, the innocent lives of these people, Leo would do whatever he could to stay in control of this body until its dying breath.

His hand almost brushed against Caden’s shoulder, but he reeled it back when a shout from the real world caught his attention, Caden flinching for a moment at the sound.

April.

She had burst through the doors of the cafeteria, looking around and spotting Caden and Casey. “You two! Come with me.” She ordered, Casey automatically got up and jogged over. Caden waited a moment to process her demand until he cautiously got up and followed, looking a little hesitant, as though he was in trouble.

Leo sighs, relieved that April arrived and took Caden from the cafeteria to avoid more potential rumours spreading about.

“Commander O’Neil? What’s wrong?” Casey inquired, walking alongside her as she hums for a moment, leading the two confused teens down the hall and into a room. Inside the room was Mikey and Donnie, the latter looking a bit displeased at the sight of Caden.

Casey and Caden themselves were at a loss for what was going on.

“Didn’t I tell you to let one of us know about your whereabouts?” Donnie narrowed his eyes at Caden, who blinked and crossed his arms.

“I don’t see why I gotta. Can’t I do things on my own?” He argued back, making the soft shell groan and rub a hand over his face.

Mikey awkwardly chuckles, cutting into the conversation. “In any case! This is actually a bit of a fun activity we have planned.” Mikey stated, smiling brightly as he walked over, weaving behind Caden and grabbing his shoulders gently, pushing him towards the middle of the room.

“Hey—!” Caden yelps, eyes wide when Donnie hums and walks over, taking out a measuring tape.

“Arms out in a T-pose, Leo.” He instructs, using the name of his dead brother much to the annoyance of Caden.

“I’m not Leo. You know, I’m starting to think maybe you’re the ones with amnesia.”

Donnie rolls his eyes at his comment, “Nice to see your attitude is still intact.” He mumbled under his breath, making the red eared slider in front of him give an annoyed huff before holding his arms out, watching as Donnie measured them with the tape.

“Huh… I see. Same specs of what you were like as a teen it seems. How fascinating…” Donnie muttered to himself, mentally noting the measurements. He did the same to the other arm and his legs.

He had then wrapped the tape around Caden’s waist, surprising the mutant who stiffened at the closeness. Donnie hums to himself again, pulling away and activating a holographic screen from his tech gauntlet.

“Mikey, I’m sending the measurements over to you now. You and April can get started on the pants and whatnot. I’ll be doing the accessories.”

Casey blinks before perking up in realisation, “Oh, I see! You called us here because you're giving Caden clothes?” He grins eagerly, curious as to what design they’ll go for.

“Clothes…? Didn’t Casey and I talk about that earlier?” Caden grumbled out, tilting his head to the side as Donnie smirks.

“Yep! I might’ve overheard it from the security camera.” He proudly proclaims, hands on hips as Caden widened his eyes at the mention of a camera.

“You have cameras in the cafeteria?”

“Of course. Can never be too careful.”

“Have you been spying on me?”

“What? Of course—not—anyways” Mikey smiles as he and April begin walking past. “I’ll start drawing up some ideas. Depending on, well, everything, you could be getting your clothes by the end of the day.”

Caden blinked, “That’s rather quick… can you really work that fast?” He asks, carefully eyeing Mikey who nods and places a confident hand on his shoulder.

“With my mystic powers, I can do probably anything.” He cockily states, laughing as Caden only grimaced in awkwardness. He didn’t know much about mystics, or anything about it.

But perhaps Mikey was right about his powers, even if Caden only saw a glimpse of it during his time awake.

“Let’s go, oh great mystic warrior.” April playfully teases, grabbing the mutant box turtle by his own cloak and dragging him out of the room, she pauses and turns to Casey. “Casey, you’re with us. Unlike Mikey, I don’t have those cool mystic abilities. So I’ll need some extra hands.” She announced, gesturing for Casey to follow after, the human boy brightened up and jogged after her as she and Mikey exited the room.

Caden frowns, unsure of what to do next. He gazes back at Donnie who had already turned away, the purple illumination of his holographic screen brightened around him, and he was mumbling to himself as he tapped away on the various screens.

He looks busy…

Caden concluded to himself and turned away, walking off and out the room, he closed the door to give privacy for Donatello. Sighing, he looks around to see what he could probably do now.

“Want my opinion? Go do some training. You really need it.”

Caden scoffed under his breath at Leo’s implied insult of him needing the training. And while yes, he wasn’t entirely wrong, he didn't have to say it so sarcastically.

“Yeah, yeah. I gotta go retrieve your swords first.” He spoke softly, looking left and right, he believed the way to Leo’s room was to the right, and since Leo wasn’t correcting him, he must’ve picked the correct way.

“Remember, keep your head down, hood up. Don’t talk to anyone.”

Caden rolls his eyes at the reminder from Leo. He couldn't understand why they wanted him to hide, it’s not like the Resistance would hurt him, right?

Caden tugged the hood of his cloak over his head, muttering something unintelligible under his breath as he headed down the dim corridor. The halls of the Resistance base were quieter now, the buzz from the cafeteria long behind him. Occasionally, a few humans and yokai passed him by, giving him curious glances—but none dared to speak. Whether it was because they saw him as another ordinary yokai, or just sensing his unease, he couldn’t tell.

“Almost there,” Leo murmured in his head, a calm but firm presence that seemed to loom just beneath Caden’s thoughts. “Second door on the left.”

Caden paused at the door Leo indicated. It was his room, he was able to tell due to the fact he recognised the doorway. 

He grabs the handle and pulls it open, peeking inside as he ventures further inside the room that wasn’t his. A shimmer of light on the blades caught his eyes, and he walked over.

“There they are…” Caden muttered, as the blades sat there unmoving against the wall. He could feel Leo suddenly stir within him at the sight, a wave of emotion he couldn’t quite identify—nostalgia? Regret? Maybe a mix of both.

As Caden reached out and carefully lifted one of the swords, he recoiled out of surprise as the weight of it settled in his hand. It actually felt… familiar. Too familiar.

“Do they feel right?” Leo asked.

“I don’t know,” Caden said aloud, almost without thinking. “They’re yours, not mine.”

“They’re ours now. Whether we like it or not.” Leo replied, his brows knitted slightly together as though he was in deep thought. “And if you’re going to survive out here, you’re going to need to use them.”

Caden’s grip tightened. He didn’t like the idea of fighting. He didn’t like the idea of being needed for violence. But something about holding the sword—maybe it was Leo, maybe it was instinct—made him feel grounded. Stronger.

“I’ll train,” He said finally. “But not because you’re telling me to.”

Leo didn’t respond. Not right away.

Then: “Let's move onto training then.”

Caden nodded to himself, holding the twin katanas together in his hands, turning around and exiting the bedroom that was Leo’s.

-----

The training room was empty, save for the faint humming of lights above and the dull thuds of Caden’s repeated failures echoing off the walls. He stood in the middle of the dojo mat, panting, sweating, and trying—really trying—not to scream in frustration.

The twin swords lay a few feet away, knocked from his hands again. His foot ached from where he’d tripped—again. And Leo’s voice in his head was not helping.

“That’s the third time you lost your grip. Maybe next time don’t hold them like you’re scared they’ll bite.”

“I’m not scared!” He snapped aloud, glaring at the swords on the ground like they’d betrayed him. “They’re just—ugh—they don’t feel right sometimes when I use them.”

“They won’t feel right if you keep flailing around.”

“Wow. Thanks. That’s super motivating.”

Leo’s mental sigh was audible, somehow laced with both judgment and exhaustion.

“Look, I’m just saying—if you’re gonna use my swords, at least try to use them correctly. You're gripping too high. Your footwork’s trash. You keep stepping with your back leg first, like you're walking into a grocery store, not a fight.”

Caden groaned, wiping sweat from his forehead. “I have never even been in a grocery store. Look, I didn’t grow up doing this, alright? I only just woke up after all.”

“Look, I’m not thrilled about this either, but you're the only one who is able to help out the Resistance. as my…” Leo hesitated in finishing his sentence, but he shook his head and opened his mouth. “As my temporary replacement. Just follow my lead and you’ll be fine.”

That quieted Caden for a beat. He knelt down and picked up the swords again, slower this time, adjusting his grip as Leo had described—lower, more balanced.

“Better. Now square your stance. Knees slightly bent. There. Now try the form again.”

Caden moved through the sequence Leo had been drilling into him for the last hour. Step, slash, pivot—he over-rotated and nearly lost his balance again.

“Too much. You’re not trying to spin into orbit.”

“Do you ever say anything nice?”

“Not to people who trip over their own feet trying to perform a basic kata.”

Caden growled and slashed at the air harder than necessary, making the blade whistle—but his form slipped, and he had to stumble to keep from falling on his ass.

“I swear, I’m gonna chuck these across the room—”

“You throw my swords and I’ll haunt your dreams.”

Caden bitterly scoffs, “You already do. Your whole thing is just haunting me whether I’m awake or asleep.”

Caden pauses, standing still, breathing heavily. His muscles ached. His hands stung. He was tired. How were the others able to do this for hours on end?

Gulping in a breath of air, doing what he can to calm down and relax his rising frustration.

“Again,” He muttered.

“…What?”  

“Run it again. I’ll get it.”

Leo was silent for a second—surprised, maybe even a little impressed. “Alright. From the top. Step one: don’t suck.”

Caden couldn’t help the small smirk that pulled at his lip as he reset his stance. 

“Lead the way, sensei jackass.”

Leo twitched his eye and corner of his lip at what he hoped was meant to be a playful insult from the teenager. He let out a tiny huff of exhaustion, but he had to admit, Caden sure as hell was quite stubborn and knew what to say to both get under Leo’s skin and to maybe… hype him up to teach.

Leo hadn’t had much of a chance to teach others, he taught Casey for a while, in fact he was still in the process of being his sensei, but that was sadly put on hold when Leo was stuck inside Caden.

He really hopes his brothers and April are giving Casey the teachings that Leo is unable to provide at the moment. But with Caden, well, it was a little reminder of Leo first teaching Casey how to take a proper stance, how to wield a weapon that best suited them.

For Caden, it was the swords. His swords. But maybe it was the fact that Leo was slowly starting to see himself in Caden, or some sort of part of him, and therefore felt like this teen was best suited for the katana’s.

If anything, Leo could most definitely notice the similarities between Caden and himself back when he was just starting his own ninja training. How his dad, Splinter, took time out of his day of showing the way of the sword. Granted Leo also took his teaching from old movies or YouTube videos back then, but Splinter helped him get the very basics down.

If only there were recordings of these videos still around, maybe Leo could get Caden to sit down and watch. But last he checked, Donnie never actually started recording everything until he was at least around 7. And by then, Leo had already gotten quite handy with his blades, and from then on just mostly taught himself.

Step back. Thrust forward. Ignore the burning pain in your arm. Concentrate. Don’t lose focus.

Jab the blade forward. Use the other to sweep under your imaginary opponent. Careful, don’t get distracted.

Caden was half listening to Leo’s ramblings but now he had blocked him out, relying mostly on instinct, doing what he believed felt right. Leo hadn’t corrected or commented on Caden’s own little routine he was doing. Occasionally he’ll mumble in his ear through the mindscape, telling him to fix his footing, don’t swing too hard but not too lightly either.

Caden had a long way to go before he reached great Master Leonardo levels of swordsmanship. But he could tell he was slowly gaining control of his movements, he just had to stay focused. Continue this routine.

“Leo? Leo!”

Caden gasps at the sudden intrusion of the booming voice calling out to him—no, to Leo. Not him. 

He was midway through a thrust of the sword until he fumbled over his feet for leaning too much forward, he staggered, but he regained quick balance as he hunched forward, sweat dripping down from his forehead and onto the dojo mat.

He stood up a bit straighter, turning to see who it was that came barging in and interrupting his training.

Raph.

Once their eyes met, Raph narrowed his gaze, clicking his tongue. “Leo! I was just told that you went to the cafeteria alone? And now you’re in the dojo alone?” He hisses, storming inside and striding to the puzzled young teen.

He wanted to correct the large snapper mutant that he wasn’t Leo, but he couldn’t form the sentence when he was so distracted about the fact that Raph seemed ticked off about their little agreement that Caden didn’t even get a say in.

“I wasn’t alone. Casey was there.”

“That doesn’t matter! Cadey’s a kid! You gotta tell one of us!” Raph scolds, pointing to himself in emphasis. Caden narrowed his eyes, gritting his teeth together, it felt like Raph was seeing him as some sort of idiot.

“What is so bad that I can’t go to a cafeteria for food?! So what if people see me? It’s not like I know them!”

“But they’ll know you! Your goddamn Leonardo Hamato. Leader of the Resistance. Who shrunk down into a teen with no memories of his past, no memory of his responsibilities!”

Raph growls, towering over what he truly believed was his younger brother. Leo inside Caden’s mind, felt his throat slightly clenching, his hands turning into fists.

He knew Raph was just stressed about this whole situation. Scared.

Leo can relate to that.

Caden however, could not. He is not Leonardo. He is not the leader that everyone thinks he is. And only Leo seemed to know the truth about that.

Caden glares, but he couldn’t help but feel a bit intimidated under the intense disapproving look of Raphael. “It’s not my fault…” He grumbled to himself, looking away with a slight scowl.

Raph’s eyes went wide for a brief second. For a moment, he saw Leo back when he was a teenager, back when he was young, naive and didn’t seem to care for his responsibilities.

An uncaring brother who just wants to goof-off. Be difficult just because. Someone who didn’t think ahead of the consequences.

A teen Leo before this whole apocalypse started. Before he was appointed as leader.

It felt nostalgic for Raph, being brought back to the distant memories of those rowdy times. But he didn’t miss the arguments. Not that he and Leo didn’t still argue while in this apocalyptic era.

“You just don’t seem to get it Leo.”

Caden froze, blinking up at Raph, body tensing. And Leo had the same reaction, his arms were crossed over his plastron, but Caden could identify the slight change of his behaviour.

Raph had seemed to notice the change in Caden’s demeanour. Making him feel immense guilt afterwards for snapping at him like that, he sighs, placing a hand over his face and rubbing his temple.

“I… sorry, Raph doesn’t wanna argue… I just—“

He groans, suddenly running out of words to say as Caden gulps slightly, looking down. 

The two fell quiet, both unsure what to say next now. But Caden took in a deep breath, inhaling before exhaling.

“…can you show me how to throw a punch?”

Raph stared, baffled by the sudden request as Caden’s face remained mostly blank and hard to read, but had a hint of determination.

With an airy and relieved chuckle, Raph nods. “Sure thing brother.” He softly spoke, nodding his head while walking over to stand next to him.

“Kid? What are you doing?” Leo had quipped in, puzzled but Caden didn’t turn to him, not in the mindscape. But he did speak.

“I don’t know. Raph’s the tank right? He seems to know how to punch. I could use that, right?”

He bites his lower lip before slowly looking over his shoulder to stare at Leo.

“I gotta get better don’t I? If I want to survive out here…”

Leo stiffens in place, his eyes wide and mouth slightly open in shock. He didn’t think Caden was going to repeat what Leo said to himself when he was first instructing him with the sword training earlier.

…why did he feel some sort of sense of regret for saying that? 

He shakes his head, it was most likely nothing. He was just being a paranoid mutant. Sighing to himself and standing back quietly, his gaze fixated on Caden who had gone back to listen to Raph.

Raphael had weaved over to stand opposite in front of Caden, his snaggle tooth hanging out his lip with a little smirk of confidence. He gets into a wide but solid stance, relaxed, feet slightly apart but not too much.

Caden imitates his movements as Raph raises his arms up in front of his face. “Just copy what I do.” He starts, thrusting a fist out, Caden takes a second to process before he does the same, raising his arms up and throwing a fist out.

He looked up to Raph who nodded encouragingly, “Now pull it back in. And do the same thing with the other arm.” He instructs, going slow for Caden who silently appreciated it. It didn’t feel too forced or tense in comparison to Leo’s teachings.

His shoulders are tense, aching for a moment of rest but Caden was far focused to give in. Raph had been standing aside, arms crossed comfortably over his plastron.

“Okay. You’re thinkin’ too much now. Stop thinkin’ and start feelin’ it. Punchin’s not math Leo.” Raph softly teased at the ending of his comment, but Caden just furrowed his brow, nodding once. He adjusts his stance once more, his eyes never leaving Raph, not out of fear, but attention.

“It’s all about the core. You ain’t just throwin’ your arm out. It’s the legs, hips, then the shoulders, and then your fists.”

To show Caden, he throws a slow-motion punch, exaggerating the twist of his hips, the way the power would flow forward. Caden squinted his eyes, humming to himself as he took in the advice.

“Try it again. Don’t rush. Feel it.”

With a hesitant nod, Caden breathes in, planting his feet firm on the dojo mat. He twists, much like how Raph showed him, and throws a punch. It’s clean. Solid. His body whips from the momentum.

Raph beans, clapping. “There ya go! That’s what I’m talkin’ about.”

Caden’s eyes light up a moment, feeling some sort of pride of the praise, and out of shock that apparently the punch was rather good, according to Raph’s reaction.

He smirks slightly to himself, he resets his posture once more and throws another punch out, more energetic. Raph happily beaming with a sense of pride, his tail for a second wagging in delight for Caden.

Caden thrusts out more punches, stepping forward as he does so, the sweat from his sword training and now this flinging off him. He didn’t seem to mind though, pausing and turning to Raph.

“Mikey was right…”

“Huh?”

Caden pants to catch his breath, lowering his arms to relax for a second. “You're a really good teacher.”

Raph gave a toothy smile, chuckling and rubbing the back of his neck. “Aw, it’s nothin’. Just being myself is all.” He tries to play it off, even though it was obvious that Caden’s comment seemed to have affected him, the tip of his large tail wagging.

Caden notices, how could he not when Raph wasn’t being subtle with hiding it. He snorts a little in amusement, crossing his arms.

“Better than someone I know.”

He could feel the intense gaze burning at the back of his head from the older red eared slider who had been uncharacteristically quiet this whole time with Raph.

“Hm? Who?” Raph asks, curiously tilting his head as Caden slightly deadpans. “Ah… nothing. Don’t worry about it.” He avoids the subject, as Raph hums, observing Caden and his behaviour.

“I think you’ll be back to your normal self soon, Leo. Look at you, you’re natural at throwing a punch. I’m sure you’ll get the hang of your swords again in no time. Plus, it seems like you’re relaxing a bit more around us.”

….

Caden felt himself become slightly stiff. Jaw clenched. 

Right… Raph was still thinking he was hanging out with his little brother. He didn’t know. And Leo didn’t want him to know… anyone to know.

Caden did his best to not appear any different than he was a second ago. And it must’ve worked, Raph had been ranting on about something that Caden didn’t catch when he was somewhat spiralling a moment.

“Come on, let’s do a few more sets.” Raph settles on training more, eagerly getting into a stance he taught Caden earlier. Caden nods quietly, copying as much as he can.

Leo stood there in the mindscape, his eyes focused on his big brother. His arms are crossed, brows are drawn in and lips pressed tight. Just… watching.

He’s good at this.

Leo had thought when he saw the interaction between his brother and the young teenage mutant. 

He tightens his fingers on his arms, as he sees Raph gently tapping Caden’s elbow to adjust the angle.

“Elbow in. You’re bleedin’ power out the side like that.”

Caden fixes it. Tries again. Getting better. Still a bit flimsy, but better.

Leo observed silently.

Gritting his teeth, as he shakes his head and turns away from the training session. Not leaving, but he didn’t think he could watch how Raph was thinking that Caden was him. In the flesh. Just young and at a loss of memory.

It ticked him off. Leo is right here. But no one really knew that. He sighs, shoulders going limp for a moment as he takes in the realisation of something he really didn’t want to think about.

His brothers were adjusting now to a potential new and improved Leo.

No… it’s fine. This’ll be fixed. Somehow. 

Leo just has to be patient and continue shaping Caden into a warrior, get him prepared for the nasty reality of war that he’ll no doubt face.

-----

Time became less of a focus as Raph had been drilling punching techniques for Caden to learn and remember, the latter clearly exhausted and felt like he was ready to collapse and just sleep away peacefully for a week.

“Come on, one more set!”

“You… told me that, like five times.” Caden groans out, his arms falling to his sides, indicating that he had enough. 

Raph pouted, but he got the hint. “Okay, I guess that’s enough for you. I keep forgetting you’re in that little body now, so you are probably still adjustin’.”

“Yeah… sure, just…” Caden sits down on the dojo mat, wiping the sweat away from his face with his arm. Guess he could try again with a shower later.

A familiar ring tone caught their attention, Raph digging into his pockets and pulling out his communicator. “Hello?” He greets, unsure on who exactly was calling.

“Raphael, my dear older brother. Is Leo with you?”

The voice was loud enough for Caden to hear, looking up at Raph who nodded. “Yeah, he’s here with me. Did ya need him for something?” He inquired, one hand placed comfortably on his hip.

“Yeah. Bring him to the lab on the west end of the base. We have his clothes done and ready for him to try on.”

Caden perks up at this, standing up even if his legs were a little wobbly. “Clothes? Uh, sure. I’ll bring him over now.” Raph assures, hanging up the communicator and putting it into his pocket.

“Your getting clothes?” He asks Caden who shrugs his shoulders. “Yeah. I guess I am.” He mumbles, noticing how Raph slightly grins and heads in the direction to the exit of the dojo.

“About time.”

Caden deadpans at the comment, sighing and following after him, he made sure to pick up the swords he left on the floor earlier to do his punching drills.

It took only a few minutes of walking, Raph using his larger frame to block Caden from curious eyes if they saw Resistance members walking by.

But eventually they reached the safety of the lab, walking in once Raph’s hands automatically touched the handprint scanner, allowing him access to head inside.

“Ah, you made it.” Donnie was first to notice, swinging around on his chair to face them. Mikey, Casey and April stood to the side, blocking a table behind them.

“Leo! We finally finished them. Thanks to my mystic mojo!” Mikey grins, flicking his fingers in Caden’s direction with a cocky look.

April rolls her eyes, “Yeah, yeah. Come on over and see what we made for you.” She waved him over, patting the table behind her as she moved to the side as Caden walked closer in.

When he got to the table, he was puzzled when he saw a bunch of items he didn’t seem to quite know. He saw pants, and a pair of white gloves, along with long grey wrappings that he supposed would go up his arms.

Matching that was more long grey wrappings for his legs. A dark blue belt with a darker shade of grey of pouches attached. The familiar green emblem that the brothers wore on their clothes could be seen in the center of the belt.

His pants were a familiar shade of blue and his immediate thought was that it would match Leo. There was a pair of grey like knee guards too.

And the last item he saw was some kind of strap, holster contraption that he could only guess would go over his plastron, shoulder and shell, for putting the swords safely away in the back of the holsters.

“Wanna try them on?” Casey spoke up, smiling slightly up at him as Caden’s gaze flickered between everyone watching him. He felt like he should. Having no choice.

He sighs, “I suppose I should.” He mumbles, taking off his cloak first and laying it atop the table as he starts with the pants first.

With some assistance from everyone who had to help with the wrappings and putting the holster on, Caden was finally done. He turns around to face the others, awkwardly showing off his new look.

Donnie grins, nodding to himself.

“I must say, I’m rather impressed. Well done you three.” Donnie turns to the makers of the clothes, as Mikey chuckles.

“Thanks! Oh, and now to completely fulfill the look…” Mikey grabs the swords, skipping closer to Caden who recoiled back slightly as he gently grabs the blades.

He stares at them for a moment, it felt… strange as he knew what Mikey was indicating.

Put the swords in the holsters, and he would truly look like Leo.

…right?

He sighs, shaking his head as he lifts his swords up and with surprising ease, he slips the weapons inside the holsters that were on his shell.

He looks back at the others, who stare with confident grins, their words of praise at his new look falling on deaf ears as Caden gazed to the side, looking down at his hands and pants.

Wow… he felt different already. He never wore clothes before. Or anything for that matter.

He noticed the cloak, picking it up and hesitantly throwing it over his shoulders, putting it on.

“Not bad kid… you actually look decent.” Leo spoke up, his voice a bit distant but sounded approving nonetheless.

“Feels weird… but thanks. I think?”

Leo hums, his gaze flicking over to his friends and family. He wished he was there, speaking with them, smiling and laughing along.

One day… just have to be patient.

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

He finally gets clothes!

Here’s a better look at his outfit!

APOLOGISE FOR ANY GRAMMAR MISTAKES THAT WERE MADE, I TYPE PRETTY FAST AND OFTEN DON’T SEE THEM UNTIL I ACTUALLY PUBLISH THE CHAPTER. THEN I’D TRY AND FIX ANY MISTAKES WHEN I SEE ONE.

Quotev - Do I Look Like Him?

Ao3 - Do I Look Like Him?

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@turtl3sk3tch3s

[heck-theo]

Okokokokok- ignore how rough and messy some of these redraws/sketches are - but it's apparently also dinosaur month?? (WHY did no one ever tell me it's Jurassic June? I love dinosaurs) And like. What if Rise but dinosaurs?!

I don't often post such loose sketches but I wanted to show these off cause I really like some of this.

Design choices and dino species + the reasons I picked them bellow (looking for potential Donnie dino suggestions):

Clothes: Without the shell they really need clothes. They'd all have pretty much the same pants to keep some unity, except maybe Mikey (I decided they should all have the same pants after I finished the Mikey sketches, not sure if I'll keep the shorts or change to pants). Accessories are a mix of pre and post finale.

Raph - I think would keep it simple and practical but would also wear nice jackets and stuff when in casual situations. I need to work on giving him an alternative outfit and tweak his accessories a bit.

Donnie - An oversized pull-over hoodie cause we already know he loves that shit. We see him wearing it all the time. Easy enough. He wears a comfortable singlet underneath so the straps of his battle sail don't rub. Nice soft fabric, tight fit so it doesn't move around, tucks it into his pants, etc. When he wears the battle sail he won't overheat so he can wear hoodies basically all year round.

Leo - He's in one of those shirts with obnoxiously large arm holes and make it cropped cause 1. I think he would 2. I want it to be different from Raph and Donnie's singlets. He usually wears the shoulder strap off his shoulder but pulls it up when he needs to. He has some of the black bandages over his mid drift atm but I might just make his pants super high waisted in the final version. He'd probably wear a bomber jacket (also cropped?) over the top for cool weather, but doesn't like to hide his feathers.

Mikey - I think he'd mostly wear hand me downs when he's younger. He definitely goes through a stage of rebelling and wanting to pick his own and would find a middle ground of appreciating sharing some of his brother's clothes and modifying them, as long as he has the choice of his own available. Not sure if that would be before or after this design. At the moment he's got Raph's old shorts (from a loooong time ago), Leo's old shirt, and Donnie's old zip up hoodie. He does have his own accessories though, including pins instead of stickers.

Dinosaurs: I kept them all as non-avian dinosaurs, AKA not including animals that are colloquially considered dinos but aren't (like pterosaurs). I wanted to keep an even split of herbivore vs carnivore just so one wasn't the odd one out. I wanted to keep most of their body structure, colours and distinguishing features the same as canon. Obviously I added tails cause, yeah, of course haha. I did want them to be recognisable as different species of dino using distinct characteristics that their species is known for. I did ignore a lot of differences though, like size and bipedal vs quadruped (although the quadrupeds might be more likely to go to all fours, especially when fighting or afraid). Leo and Donnie are carnivores so have sharper teeth and claws.

Raph - Some kind of Ceratopsian (likely Triceratops or something very similar) and he was the first idea I had for this and I'm really happy with it. I think it just suits him. Trike Raph just came to me in an unprecedented moment of genius. His spikey frill replicates his spikey shell. His sturdiness, protectiveness and willingness to kick ass when needed, all scream trike to me.

Donnie - Spinosaurus but looking for other species recommendations. More details below: So I wanted to figure out a way for him to have tech with a similar function to his battle shell (in the sense that it's something that helped him in day to day life) and so I went with spino cause one possible theory about a function of spinosaurus' sail is temperature regulation. So his battle sail has heating/cooling systems as well as other tech. A spino's sail was probably not fragile but the battle sail would also help protect it from being targeted during fights or crushed during extreme impacts. It was also thought to be used for display, and what's more of a display than a battle sail? The only problem I have with this is that it's lacking part of what makes Donnie's battle shell so great, which is that it is essentially a prosthetic. Not quite the same as how prosthetics are used in people of course, just in the sense that it is replicating the functionality of a body part that he doesn't have (I can't think of a better word). Well he does have a shell but it doesn't function in the same way that his brothers shells do, which leaves him with less defense than they have, hence a big reason for the battle shell (I hope I explained this well, it was hard to try and word properly). I can't think of a good way to do this with dinos. I was thinking of a carno or something with tiny arms, then Donnie could have tech enhanced arms but I'm pretty much ignoring body structure in the others so it would be weird to have just Donnie be affected by a difference in limb structure/functionality. I was thinking prosthetic tail but every non avian dinosaur had a pretty substantial tail. Except therizinosaurus but even they hade pretty obvious tails. I'm open to suggestions for this one if anyone has ideas. It does have to be an extinct non-avian dinosaur (anything not in Avialae), preferably carnivore but if someone suggests a really good herbivore or omnivore then I can try and swap Mikey for a carnivore. I want there to be an even split. I also wanted to give him something different on his face, like his brothers, and that could only be a little spino crest and it crowds the top of his head but I can't put it anywhere else...

Leo - A type of Dromaeosaur. I was tossing up between this and a dilophosaur where his red stripes were part of the dilo's crest, cause I wasn't sure about giving him feathers. But dilo Leo was so plain compared to the rest and the crests were hard to get looking right so I went back to raptor Leo. I can definitely imagine him literally and metaphorically preening his feathers too. You can't really see it but he does also have that big raptor claw. Raptors were smart, tactical and worked in packs so I think that suits him. I wasn't specifically referencing how some artists draw Leo's stripes coming off his face (I was just trying to replicate his stripes somehow, even though it doesn't make a huge amount of sense) but I realised afterwards that it kinda looks like that and might have been subconsciously inspired by it.

Mikey - Is an Ankylosaur. I'm pretty happy with the species but I need to work out the design of his armour plating so that it looks interesting, cool and protective but isn't too chunky, too pointy or super lumpy looking. I went with an anky cause Mikey is often hiding in his shell and he can't do the same here but he could curl up in a defensive ball. Plus I could imagine him using his tail club in his razzmatazz fighting style. A little like his kusari-fundo or nunchacku/nunchucks (not sure on proper wording).

[cerastes]

Now that I am a Hunter of Monsters, I can retroactively get miffed about the choices made for the Arknights collab: They really went with the safest choices! Now, I don't really dislike it because Kirin Yato gave us a tummy handcrafted by God and also more Yato which is great I love Yato, and Noir Corne as well, BUT it makes me think of what it could've been, starting with:

Legiana haughty ojou. You understand. You get it.

Deviljho Beta Charge Blade Specter. It's literally her weapon. It's straight up Shark Style.

I think Noir Corne could've been Gunlance easily. Nergi? It's very spikey, spiky suits him, plus it's Wide Shelling so you can easily work in a Skill that's the big shotgun blast after some charging and make it make sense; Fortresses are the more obvious pick as well, for sure.

INTERMISSION: It's funny how Typhon is literally just a Monster Hunter Bow. I chuckled when I realized her S2 and S3 are just straight up things you do in Monster Hunter.

This one's for me, but, Odogaron Beta+ Akafuyu. This one's for me. It's for me. Odogaron could definitely work for Utage as well. Only thing is that there's no Garon Longsword but that's what the Arena Longsword is for. I know Hellagur straight up has the odachi but we're trying to put non 6*s (Specter is a special case considering her dual unit nature).

Palico Durin.

Bazelgeuse THRM-X.

[entelodante]

More penta-beasts! Want to get a good grasp of the morphs going on in this planet. So sketched these out between coms! Info below!

First is more of a grazing type of 'animal', though their grazing is more so scrapping at the ground. The top and bottom jaws are used for scratching up edible bits from the biomat, while the middle are used for combing through the gunk they accumulate from scratching. They also got these long curved eyes. I was thinking like how animals with horizontal pupil align the pupil to the horizon, these guys just have their eye built into two modes so they have the wide vision when feeding and just hanging out. Maybe a lil goofy but this planet is just made to be silly. Like this other guy! This is a predatory pentapod, usually stalking up in the night before starting a quick chase. Most of the time the food gets away but if not they have modified their spear into their primary method of dispatching prey. They kill via exsanguination and eat with very dainty little bites as their jaws have atrophied a little bit. Also fun spikey shell to make them extra dangerous! Maybe it's when they have lil spats with each other.

[a-dinosaur-a-day]

this is a continuation of this and is an ongoing choose your own adventure story. If it goes well, I'll do it again!

[chaoticnezz]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~You're favorite part about working with animals was when you got to see the sea creatures. You worked at a place that was like a zoo but for sea creatures (aquarium). Most of the time you spent giving the children a tour of the place, or just playing with them as the parents got a break.

"And this kids is the petting area, where you can pet all of the sea creatures. But before you touch them let me show you how to handle them, so that you don't hurt them."

The children surrounded you as you crouched down to be level with the water table. The table was quite deep filled with water and aquatic life. You gently touched a black octopus that leaned into you touch with each pet.

Softly you pulled your hand out of the water, "and that's how you should handle all the sea animals so please be gentle, you are free to touch them." Soon all the children scattered around the water table, all but one.

"E-excuse me miss but I'm scared to touch one what if they hurt me." You crouched down to the boys level and you patted his head with your non- wet hand. "It's alright they won't hurt you I promise, do you want me to help you pet one?"

"Y-yes please" "alright what's your name I'm y/n." "I'm Tim" you gently grabbed Tim's hand and slowly led him over to the water table. Looking into the water table you grabbed the friendliest sea animal you knew.

The black octopus it was about the size of your palm so it was small enough not to terrify any of the kid. You and Tim both crouched down at the water table. "Alright Tim I want you to meet, Minato if that's to hard for you to say you can just call him taro."

"Taro?" "Yeah, Why don't you touch him with one finger, to start off." "But won't he bite me?" "Of course he won't let me show you." You took one of your fingers and began to gently rub it across the top of the octopus, causing Minato to rub his head into you finger.

"See now you try" Tim reluctantly pet the octopus, only to calm down after seeing that Minato didn't bite. "There you go, see he doesn't bite." Tim smiled "woah, you're right he feels so cool."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You but the final starfish back into the giant tank. It was closing time and today you were assigned with the task of bringing all the sea creatures from the petting zoo into the ocean tank.

The ocean tank is basically a part of the ocean near the zoo meant specifically for the sea creatures that you kept their. The last group of sea creatures you had to move for the night was the octopuses.

And there was only one of those in the petting zoo area. Gently you grabbed the small black octopus and put it lightly into the bucket that was half filled with water. You walked so carefully as if you were walking on glass.

Picking up the octopus you bent over and placed him into the ocean tank. Standing up you turned to walk away only to get pulled into the salty water. You gasped for air as you made your way back to surface, only to get pulled into someone's chest.

"Love <3!" You could practically hear the love in their voice, the fact that their was someone in the ocean pool wasn't what scared you. What scared you was whatever was gripping onto your waist and legs.

You hesitantly looked down only to see black tentacles. You felt a muffled cry escape your throat. "Love? Ways wrong, do you want to go back to the shore?"

The strange creature gently put you back onto the shore. You turned around now being able to fully see him.

He had short black hair with blue tips, on his neck was a black choker with gold spikes followed by a gold spikey necklace, his ears were accompanied by dangleing golden shell earrings. His arms had long fishnet like gloves on, along with a black bracelet on each wrist.

His nipples were covered by a gold swirl thing on each side, both side were attached at the front by two lose chains. Where his v line would have been their was a heart shaped tattoo. Instead if legs he had the bottom of an octopus. The color of his tentacles were black while the underside was blue with teal suction cups. His waist was adorned with gold swirls and shapes.

Your mouth was hung open in shock of what you were seeing. You finally got the courage to look at the male in the eyes only to meet with a pair of concerned bright green eyes.

"Oh my it seems your dehydrated here let me take you back to the water." Before you even have time to object you were grabbed and plunged into the depths of the ocean. You struggle in his arms you captor not noticing until you body went limp.

You were on the verge of passing out when you were suddenly brought back onto shore. You began to gasp trying to intake as much air as you possibly could. "Love I'm sorry I don't actually know much about humans!"

"Love I'm truly sorry! so, please... Please don't leave me."

[dubiousdisco]

does that thing on his chin count as a horn

indech has those goofy ass horns. what if child indech had goofy ass hair. because adult indech seems to have normal his hair if we go by his statue, but KID indech would not have had contact with humans yet. he could look so goofy...

[heretherebeturtles-comic]

thoughts on the current designs of the Rise!characters from the new comic by Andy?

I love the designs so much haha. They are the perfect mixture of cool and silly, it really fits the rise series vibe imo. Raph’s shell is so spikey! and his eye patch! and little eylash! Donnie's romper,,, I love it. Mikey fully embracing that old wizard energy and I support him in this. APRIL! I'm so happy to see her included. The trench coat and gear!! She is so cool.

Also, I love the art style, its so fun to look at. Shapes and inky textures beloved.

[raylaui]

Rise of the TMNT Hamato Raphael

Character Sheet / Study / Expressions

— CW ~ eye scarring / scars —

Playlist 🟥🐢 R.ed_A.ngel_of_P.reventin_H.arm

April / 🟥 / Donnie / Leo / Mikey

Hamato Raphael

- post movie - 17 3/4 - 7’ 1”

Birthday - March 24th

(pointing to large cracked hole in shell over left shoulder) Big chip will never “grow back” -but- edges of the puncture did “scar” with tougher keratin

(pointing to mask) Ties in a loose bow!

Scars (on left hand) from helping Mikey with portal

Sai measures 28” long

- omnivorous teeth - front right incisor enlarged due to mutation - small “lure” on tongue

HUGE hands

Keeps his nails short for A) boxing, B) fear of accidentally scratching

Scarring (around right eye) still pink months after invasion. Fades to pale green in time. 75% blind in right eye post-movie.

HYDRATE!!!

Hot cocoa & Whipped cream (Hamato house goes through SO many reddi-whip cans)

Loves - Strawberry Cake

Loves - Peach Gummies

(Image of a pizza) Raph’s Choice : cheese-in-the-crust - marinara - mozzarella - double pepperoni - sausage - bacon - mushrooms - red pepper flakes

— — —

Raphael - Shell Study

Look at all those SPIKES

Gives the BEST hugs

- weights are a hobby - wants to be strong for his family, but he’s not trying to be a body builder - he may be “the muscle” but he’s not all muscle, ya know?

POWERFUL TAIL

uses it as an extra weapon to swing at bad guys in hand-to-hand combat

Spikey on the outside — but — Basically a teddy bear with a kind heart

[mxmorbidmidnight]

Ppssst dead bugs are free spell ingredients. Find them in the grass, in the window sill or dead in thine shower. They are indeed very useful. So many things thou may use them for dear, really. Perhaps the claws off a cicada shell for protection, parasitical and more pest like creature for cursing, moths for all sorts of whimsical purposes, insect wings for flying business and beetle shell for protection. Now off shall thee go!! To forage with thee!!! (But so be careful dear, don’t touch anything still alive or particularly spikey or colourful).

[meowuff]

I took reference of the ~ Black-breasted leaf turtle ~

A video about a lil baby turtle popped up on my dash one day and I just thought that they looked absolutely adorable :3c

Here are the actual pictures I used as reference :3

I really like the spiky ones and the red dots are so freakingly cute that my brain just had to take it as template :D

I tried my best to stay as close as possible with the colors ~

Brain needs distraction after studying for 5h straight?

Here! Have a new baby turble! :D

[zinzabee]

I headcannon that Raph sleeps on his front (bc of the spikey shell) and so does Sharron for the same reasons. And my brain ended up wanting to draw cute bedtime snuggles.

Bonus Colored versions done by my friend @/CelticCowgirl25 on Twitter:

[mindblowingscience]

A team of researchers including scientists from the University of Oxford have made an astonishing discovery of a new species of mollusk that lived 500 million years ago. The new fossil, called Shishania aculeata, reveals that the most primitive mollusks were flat, shell-less slugs covered in a protective spiny armor. The findings have been published in the journal Science. The new species was found in exceptionally well-preserved fossils from eastern Yunnan Province in southern China dating from a geological period called the early Cambrian, approximately 514 million years ago. The specimens of Shishania are all only a few centimeters long and are covered in small spikey cones (sclerites) made of chitin, a material also found in the shells of modern crabs, insects, and some mushrooms.

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