aealzx

[aealzx]

Shortly after Mikey had left, Leo was surprised to see a different being enter the room, squeezing through the cracked doorway and padding onto the matted floor. An adult orange cat silently coming to no doubt take up residence on Leo’s lap. But then she froze in place when she spotted another, unfamiliar person there, eyeing Donnie with wary curiosity. “Onion Ring?” Leo spoke quietly, addressing the cat as well as giving Donnie a name as a way to let him know the little furry creature belonged to them.

Donnie had already finished all the food that had been brought in, and was just sitting with his arms around curled knees when the new cat caught his attention. And after Onion Ring unfroze and hesitantly started to approach them while sniffing the air Donnie reached his curled fingers out towards her. Onion Ring stretched her head towards the limb, bobbing with each inhale as her whiskers twitched. Then, to Leo’s surprise, Onion Ring curled her head forward to bump and rub against Donnie’s hand repeatedly, a soft purr rumbling from her.

“That’s surprising. She took forever to even be in the same room as April,” Leo commented quietly, pleased to see the tiny smile Donnie got. Apparently cats were acceptable to him right now.

“Not that surprising,” Mikey commented, slipping back into the room with a glass of orange juice and Donnie’s headphones. “He probably smells a lot more like her daddy than humans do. I caught her sleeping on the three of them a few hours ago. She probably got used to them already. Huh? My precious lil baby girl.” Mikey’s voice pooled into smothering gushing as he reached out to pet Onion Ring with both hands, having passed the other items over to Donnie as soon as he could.

Once the headphones were within reach Donnie quickly grabbed at them and pulled them carefully back onto his head. At first Leo thought the small device was just a form of comfort for Donnie to have, something familiar in an unfamiliar place. But after watching Donnie rapidly tap several subtle buttons on the side he realized they were something else. Was it music? Did that mean he was okay with having them talking, as long as they weren’t yelling? Donnie still wasn’t speaking vocally, but he seemed to be in a better mood once the headphones were in place. His expression relaxed a little more, and as one hand picked up the orange juice to sip the other reached out to pet Onion Ring some more. At least he wasn’t shying away from being in contact with everything. But Leo did notice he would still flinch when he accidentally touched Mikey’s hands, so made a note to still keep his distance for now.

It didn’t take long for Donnie to finish the glass of juice, and after it was gone and Onion Ring wandered off to another corner of the room Leo noticed Donnie seemed to be getting restless. Feet shuffling from one being over the top of the other, to switching and the opposite foot being on top. Adjusting the blanket multiple times. Many glances towards the door, and around the room without actually looking at anything in particular. Eventually Mikey reached out to scoop Onion Ring up when she came back to rub against him, rising to his feet and looking at Donnie. “Hey, why don’t we go back to the living room with the rest of your family? Lil Mikey and Raphy were playing with my other cat earlier. We can see if they can get both Pepper and Onion going,” he offered, giving a bright smile.

Donnie’s gaze locked on Mikey when he started talking, and to Leo’s relief he nodded in response to the offer. Pulling the blanket close, Donnie shifted to stand up as well, semi hesitantly following Mikey out of the room. He was deliberate in keeping well out of range of accidentally bumping into anyone as he silently walked behind, betraying his informal training in silencing his movements. Mikey didn’t mind though, more focused on keeping Onion Ring calm while he brought her to a crowd of unfamiliar, and rather noisy, people. It seemed that Raphael had goaded Don, Leon and April into playing video games with him, and the four were easily reaching decibels that Leo may have been concerned about if they were anywhere other than home.

“HA! Eat dirtbike losers!” April’s triumphant cheer caused Leo to check if Donnie was alright with the volume, eyes moving to him from behind. He didn’t seem to react to it at all though, which made Leo wonder once again what the headphones were doing.

“Oh dang, that was a good one,” Raphael praised as Don let out a frustrated noise.

“April what the hell? I thought we were friends!” Leon’s anguished cry followed along with the rapid clicking of the controller.

“Ohhh, got them playing Junkyard Brawl, huh?” Mikey commented, looking at the game on the screens and coming to stand near the couches. It was a little hard to see with the four players crowding in front, but it looked like they had tried to play it fair by splitting the teams in a way there was one guest and one host. Don and Leon against April and Raphael. And it looked like April and Raphael were barely in the lead.

Raph and Lil Mikey were still snuggled down together on the couch, bothing grinning hugely, and looking over when Mikey’s comment alerted them of his presence. And from that they spotted Donnie following close behind, their smiles growing bigger and eyes brightening.

“Donnie!” Both brothers chimed as Lil Mikey sat up a little straighter and Raph opened an arm to make room for Donnie to silently slide in next to them.

“Feeling a little better?” Raph asked, causing Donnie to look directly at him before Lil Mikey caught his attention. A point at Donnie, then finger almost hooking into his own ear, then an open palm near his chin before being brought down. It was a little hard to be limited to one hand, but Donnie seemed to understand well enough. A single nod was given to both of his brothers as Donnie wiggled to get comfortable in the space tucked in next to Raph.

Strangely enough, having all five of their guests in the same room, most of them so closely snuggled with each other, and otherwise just having fun and relaxing, caused Leo to breathe a heavy sigh of relief as he came to stop a short ways behind the couch. With Onion Ring squirming too much, Mikey let her down to scurry away and hide as he had to chuckle in response to Leo, shifting up next to his brother.

“I know that sigh,” Mikey commented quietly. “Mission finally accomplished, eh?”

The comment earned a soft snicker from Leo, and he loosely folded his arms, a little embarrassed about being so easily read. “Yeah. They’re all safe now. We’ll take a breather before we start to tackle how to get them home.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Mikey agreed, giving Leo a thumbs up. “I’ll go check up on Casey and April, and see about trying to introduce them again.” Thankfully even after getting his nose to stop bleeding Mom April was able to keep Casey from immediately trying to talk to their guests again. Despite them being used to April, they still seemed quite skittish around Casey and Mom April. Leo and Mikey weren’t sure why, but they figured it would still be better to take it slow next time. Maybe Mikey would have to tell Casey to treat their guests like cats instead of turtles, and to keep his distance until they came to him.

As Mikey left to check on the others, Leo rested his arms on the back of the couch, giving the three brothers a smile when they looked at him briefly. As usual, Raphael was trying to handicap Don by shoving into his space but not actively blocking him. They’d already been banned from standing in front of each other while playing competitive games since they always ended up too close to the screen. Master Splinter was concerned not only for their health, but also for the equipment. But to Leo’s surprise even April and Leon were just as rambunctious. Somehow April had gotten Leon on the floor, and was sitting on his chest to keep him semi pinned. But Leon didn’t seem all that bothered and was continuing to play the game upside down. It must have been a common experience for him since none of his other brothers were reacting to it either.

“We should play this in Repo’s junkyard,” Lil Mikey commented, watching the others beating each other up in the game.

“I don’t think Ms. Nubbins would let us,” Raphael responded, the rumbling of his voice causing Donnie to glance up to make sure he wasn’t being addressed.

Leo wasn’t sure who Repo or Ms Nubbins were, but it sounded like these four were just as much of a handful as he and his brothers had been. Giving a soft chuckle, Leo shifted his gaze when Master Splinter came to stand next to him.

“Perhaps a request for dinner might be in order,” Master Splinter commented to Leo, calmly watching the others with fondness.

“Sure,” Leo agreed easily, taking out his phone again. Donnie had just eaten, but it would still be good to make sure everyone else would be well fed as well. “How about Thai food?”

His question had been to Master Splinter, but Lil Mikey keyed in on the choice and spoke up. “Ohhh Thai food is terrible to order. Too many peanut dishes.”

“...You don’t like peanuts?” Leo asked, paying attention to them now too.

“Raph’s allergic,” Raph answered simply, still watching the TV for a bit before looking over. “We usually don’t order any Asian, Indian, African, or Mexican food because of it. But If you guys want Thai then I can always have something else.”

Leo’s eyes widened slightly as he immediately grew anxious over the revelation, securely filing that fact away in his mind to never forget. “N’no, it’s fine. We can adjust,” he assured, running through the list of foods Raph said to avoid again. “...What about Italian?”

“Ooo, risotto and mozzarella mezzalune both sound good,” Lil Mikey agreed.

“Hey, you think they have that really cool salmon thing here we got once?” Leon chimed in, apparently paying attention now that food was being discussed.

“Oh, maybe that one pasta stuffed with meat?” Raph added.

“Uhhh, I have to admit I’m not sure what any of those are, but here’s the menu,” Leo responded, leaning over the couch so Raph and Lil Mikey could look at his phone with him.

“Oh! They have seafood risotto, how about that Leo?” Lil Mikey asked, looking over to Leon.

“Sounds awesome. Can we get garlic bread and cheese sticks too?” Leon asked, still stuck under April. “What about you April?”

“You mean after I keep kicking your butt?” April teased, grinning as Leon squawked after her character hit his with a mattress. “Honestly I’m good with anything. Lasagne or spaghetti or whatever.”

“Oh oh, this one for me,” Raph spoke up, pointing at a picture on the phone.

Leo was momentarily taken back when Leon requested three things, but then had to shake his head. Right. Teenagers. This would be quite the bill if he wanted to make sure they were all fed well. “And Donnie?” he asked, noting that Donnie was still watching the TV without reacting to the order being made.

Luckily Lil Mikey offered his help by waving his hand where Donnie could see, getting him to look up and watch him make three motions. And as Donnie took a moment to think, Lil Mikey noticed Leo’s brow furrow and gave him a quick explanation. “He’s not ignoring you. He probably just has his headphones silencing everything so he can’t hear us right now.”

As Leo made a soundless O in understanding and gave a slow nod, Lil Mikey watched the motions Donnie made before looking back to Leo. “Anything with scallops and noodles?”

“Uhhh,” Leo hummed to fill the pause, “Scallop alfredo?” he offered, letting Lil Mikey converse with Donnie again.

“Perfect,” Lil Mikey grinned, giving a thumbs up.

Adding the dish to the order, Leo scrolled through the menu to find what he wanted and called to his own brothers. “Don and Raph, is the usual okay for you guys?”

“Yeah, just make sure they don’t forget the onions this time,” Raphael accepted.

“Do the sea bass one this time, please,” Don requested, getting tired of shoving back against Raphael and casually stepping out of the way to make him stumble. It earned a chuckle from some of the others at first, until Leon took the opening while Raphael was semi distracted and knocked his player out of bounds.

“Oi!” Raphael protested as Lil Mikey, Raph and April gave a chorus of impressed and slightly mocking ‘Oo’s.

“Looks like we have an opportunistic leader on their side,” Don commented, just a hint of smugness in his planned opening being easily utilized.

Leon’s brow ended up furrowing a bit at the comment, and instead of gloating he just quickly responded with, “Actually Raph’s our leader.”

He hadn’t expected such a simple comment to distract Don enough to allow April the chance to take his player out of the game as well, ending with just her and Leon dueling. But after a stretch of consideration, Don just voiced a single thought about it. “Huh.”

Raphael on the other hand had more to say. “... Say what now?”

“Well, I guess we trade off every now and then, now. But growing up it was just Raph,” Leon clarified. “And now sometimes April takes over too. It just depends on who’s the most capable at the time.”

It was a thought that Raphael and Don hadn’t considered before, and inevitably caused them to fall quiet in thought. Leo had always been their leader, and to have anything different had always felt like a permanent overthrow to them. Unless it was situations like the recent adventure where Leo was simply not there to lead them. But to trade off? To just temporarily change leadership? It was a novel idea, and Raphael and Don both looked at each other before they ended up looking silently at Leo.

“Oh, don’t even,” Leo shot back, having finished the order and put away his phone just in time to see them stare at him. “We all know what happens when the rest of you try to lead. And it’s not like it was ever my decision in the first place,” he defended, looking to Master Splinter for support and causing the others to follow his gaze.

Master Splinter was quiet, a hand held near his chin in thought until he saw his sons looking to him for direction. “Hmm. It has been some time since we’ve explored the option. Perhaps there would be some merit in considering it once more,” he admitted.

“HA!” Raphael burst, turning to slap Don’s raised hands with his own. It seemed Don was more excited for Raphael after the comments than for himself, but he was still grinning.

Leo on the other hand had a dropped jaw before he picked it up to protest. “Master Splinter! You can’t be serious- they’re not ready!” he scrambled, only able to fall back on the complaints from his childhood since it had been that long ago when the topic was last addressed.

To everyone’s surprise though, it wasn’t Master Splinter that responded.

“No one is,” Raph spoke up with a tone somewhere between amused and incredulous. It caused the others to fall silent and turn to stare at him, prompting him to repeat himself and elaborate. “No one is ever ready to be a leader. Sometimes you just have to, and sometimes you get to learn from others and have backup. But no one is just born a leader. They become one.”

The comments were enough to earn complete silence from everyone in the room now, April’s achievement of securing victory against Leon going uncelebrated as they ended up looking to Raph along with their hosts. And this time Master Splinter remained quiet, allowing someone else to speak reason for once.

It was enough motivation for Raph to continue again, looking over to Leo with a slight grin. “You and I were leaders because we had to be. We’re the big brothers, and we gotta keep the others safe. But I bet you weren’t ready for it either.”

Leo found he couldn’t answer immediately. A rare moment, especially since even Raphael didn’t have a snarky comment or jab. But eventually he let out a slow breath and rested his arms on the back of the couch once more. “....Yeah…. You’re right,” he admitted with a bit of reluctance. He had been the most capable and responsible of the four of them, but that hadn’t meant he was ready to be a good leader. And he’d already had many times where he’d berated himself for his own mistakes in the role.

Raph just grinned, proud to have guessed right. “It’s scary at first to let someone else lead. But it’s actually kind of nice to sit on the sidelines sometimes, and see all the cool stuff your lil brothers can do. Like saving the world from aliens and stuff.”

The comments earned a little more stillness from Leo, marveling at how hearing it from someone else who had apparently been in a very similar situation to him was happy about the change. He followed Raph’s gaze to Leon when he mentioned saving the world from aliens, and as Leon gave a rather embarrassed smile and shrug back Leo could only think of Don and the Triceratons. Mikey and Kluh. And Raphael being there for all of them during everything. He didn’t have a response, but the quiet was long enough for Don to make a correcting comment to dispel his discomfort with the quiet.

“...We’re actually all the same age,” Don pointed out in a mild hush, earning a snicker from Raphael. Of course Don would have to make sure the correct facts were known. But what they didn’t expect was for Lil Mikey to respond after a few connections were made in his own mind because of that fact.

“You guys are quadruplets and can’t even ninja mind meld?!”

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Previous

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Hhhhhh please excuse any clunkiness int eh writing. I had thoughts but stringing them together this time was hard. Which also resulted in this being twice as long as I usually do

#my art #rottmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #cross dimension kidnapping #rise + 2003 crossover #fanfic #writing #long post #Leo #April

[aealzx]

I spent a lot longer on this drawing than the others because fullbodies and also I had to redesign Midas' guns even though only like 10% of them are showing and then I just gave up on redesigning the bike and used the old one after that |D Struggles of brain wanting to think about polishing things

tag list: @masterfuldoodler

Several hours into the trip, Midas had distracted himself with a side project that was unnoticeable by the rest of the group. A group that honestly would have been nerve grinding if Midas, Whip and Ian hadn’t learned to tune them out near the beginning of the trip. Snide comments shouted their way, jokes made at their expense, sending them off to scout an area so they wouldn’t risk their own people. Mida quickly learned what Whip had meant about not getting too feisty with them. The more he pushed back the more they tormented them. It was only when he’d stopped reacting that they grew bored and focused on their task. One thing Midas did notice was that everyone there but Whip had a gun of some sort. Which Midas knew wouldn’t put Whip at a disadvantage if they turned violent, but it would be an inconvenience. And that line of thought was what brought his little project to the front of his mind.

A project he wasn’t able to finish before they had newcomers.

The extra bodies in the wasteland were first noticed by Midas by the tingling sensation crawling down the back of his neck. Something about the environment not quite feeling right. A warmth where there should have been barren stillness. Whip growing tense behind him and raising his head to scan the horizon around them. There was a silenced blast in the distance, too far for average ears to hear, but that was enough for Midas to confirm he wasn’t just paranoid.

Something was speeding their direction, and unfortunately Midas seemed to be within the target area as a few more muffled bursts hissed somewhat behind them.

“Shit!” Midas cussed, swerving the bike with a jerk of his hands and earning a slightly startled huff from Whip as he was nearly tossed from the bike. They barely managed to dodge a clump of metal thumping into the sand close to where they had been, exploding upon impact and throwing a haze of dirt and mild flames in the air. Other members of their group had to pull similar maneuvers to avoid the other objects fired their way, and as Midas caught sight of one briefly before it exploded in the dirt he had to hiss. Were they seriously using mini mussels on them? Anti human, compact explosives developed during the cyborg war?

“We got brigands!” Zeera hollered over the sand bursts from two more shots fired on them, her hand raising to signal to her companions before she raised her plasma submachine gun as forms that didn’t belong to the crest of the hills showed themselves.

“Are those missiles?!” Midas guaffed, returning to his earlier thought while glancing back over his shoulder as he heard more muffled hisses, catching sight of Ian already breaking away from the group as he did so. He wasn’t worried about Ian’s motive, but he would admit he didn’t like having one of their own, smaller group so far away. But he didn’t comment. Already knowing Ian needed distance to be the most effective.

“Time to earn your stay, pups,” Zeera called back to the three of them, watching Ian detour to higher ground for a moment with distrust before she realized his motive and turned back to tap the driver in front of her. “Take us in range.”

Several of the other motorcycles peeled off at Zeera’s directions, looping around in wide arcs towards the source of the enemy fire to either engage them or chase them away. They didn’t have to go far since the group raiding their caravan was large enough to split into two, half approaching and half staying further back.

Whip had to silently curse at his lack of ranged abilities this time, noting how all of the raiders were staying too far out of range for him to be effective without risking getting left behind. He could try throwing things at them, but he knew that Midas would be way more efficient than him. And yet the lad had stubbornly refused to allow his precious bike to be piloted by anyone but him. He’d just have to goad Midas into bringing him into range then. Which led him to flattening down against Midas’ back so he could call into his ear. “Midas!” he shouted, to get Midas’ attention, not sure if he wasn’t reacting because he wasn’t used to fighting other humans. They probably should have thought about that beforehand. Whip knew Midas had fought against C-Tech security, but had he had to deal with anyone else since then?

Midas winced at the noise in his ear, flinching away and swerving to dodge another missile slamming into the ground nearby. He chose to wait until the resounding boom died down before shouting back an answer that completely derailed Whip’s thoughts. “I haven’t finished programming it for you yet!”

The breath Whip had drawn shout directions caught in his throat as he fully registered what Midas said. Hadn’t finished yet? He’d actually started reprogramming his bike to be able to accept other users? When had he done that? Was that why he’d gone strangely absent minded awhile ago? Regardless, Whip wasn’t going to complain. “Well hurry up! I’m useless here!” he shot back, a mild tease at both of them through a grin that kept growing in anticipation. The prospect of actually getting to drive Midas’ fancy custom bike just made this crazy raid a lot more exciting.

The only response he got was an irritated ‘tch’ as Midas elected to finish what he was doing rather than waste time responding. They had been through enough road trip fights for him to realize Whip did alright with beasts and other enemies they could swing in close to. But humans were a lot more intelligent, and would know to keep their distance. It would be much more effective if they switched places.

“This isn’t a joy ride, pups,” Zeera called as her bike swerved close to them, her own return fire catching one of the raider’s bike’s front wheels and jostling the connection enough to destabilize the tire, causing them to swerve off to slide gracelessly into the sand.

He was so close to finishing the code, and having one more person snapping at him instead of leaving him alone made Midas retaliate. “Do one of you want to try reprogramming a single user system to allow for multiple users in the middle of a missile fight? No? Then shut the hell up!” he snapped, earning a smothered snort from Whip trying to hold back laughter. No need to pick a fight, but that was still funny. Even if the situation was a little tense. They were supposed to be helping, and Whip was starting to get worried they would accuse them of slacking off deliberately.

A concern that was quickly abated as Midas raised his voice again. “Try it now!” he ordered, pulling his left hand from the grip and leaning slightly out of the way.

Whip was quick to comply with the order, leaning forward and threading his fingers into the controls. The green hued circuit connection from Midas was replaced by blue before it could completely fade, and Whip felt the rush of a new system linking to his mind beyond his hermetic code wall. His mouth ended up breaking into a wide smile not only because his access was granted, but also because the system behind the machine was surprisingly clean and well organized. Whip felt like he knew how to operate the bike much faster than almost any other machine before in recent years, and eagerly started shifting more to replace Midas. “Got it! Go,” he announced, trying to keep the bike steady as Midas squirmed out from under him and to the back seat.

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First

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This part and the next one was an effort I had to almost completely rewrite once or twice. I don't remember, but it was enough read through that I didn't read through this again after drawing and before posting X'D ugly first draft for a reason

#my art #original story #rizen #web light novel #midas #writing #long post #whip #original characters #sci fi #post apocalypse #ocs #cyborg #sorry for always posting at super late at night |'D

[aealzx]

#9 It's not just the voice that makes a loud teenage gal

"(hand signs) <Tomb my gold~ Tomb my gold~ Take that yellow into those molds. All that sheen and all that gold, throw it in a casket for those future woes~>" -Aki

Aki is mute, she can hear just fine but she can't speak. She has lost the ability as a side effect of the Shifting many years ago. Even Theo who had been with her the longest has never heard her voice. Her throat, while perfectly healthy, is unable to vocalize any sound, not even the mildest of screams or laughter is available to her. But this doesn't stop her from being the loud and outgoing girl that she is. She is still able to make sounds that are derived purely from pushing or sucking her breath through her mouth or nose, such as whistling, sighing, snorting ect. She is able to 'laugh' in her own way through this method.

But most importantly, she mainly expresses herself via her very own home made sign language.

In Crown, how the deaf and mute deal with communication is a problem to be solved by the affected individuals and their local communities. There isn't a shared or standardized sign language system and as such, any sign language used in this region is almost always unique to a person or settlement. Aki is no exception to this common rule.

Through out the years, Aki has formed a decently sized vocabulary for herself based on her needs and experiences. And while strangers wouldn't be able to quickly or accurately understand her unless they were great at charades, Theo is extremely proficient in the sign language she created and is able to effortlessly communicate with her as normal. Aria can understand Aki at a basic level but there is still a lot of learning to do on her part. Till then, Theo is still her main go to when trying to figure out what Aki has to say.

#not my art #wys art #molibium #aki #aria #theo #hhhhhhh I have such a soft spot for sign singing #its like dancing and singing combined #and goodness some people sign sing so freaking beautiful

[aealzx]

boops for you! 💜💜

Thank you! Boops back ^7^

Best April fools gimmick so far X'D

#my art #mun #ask response #boop #april fools 2024

[aealzx]

Leo thanked any spirits that may have helped that it only took a few minutes of silence before Donnie’s breathing evened out. Soft, smooth breaths in and out as he took time to himself in the quiet. If Leo focused he could still hear the others outside, but it was easy to ignore. Or at least he thought it was. It wasn’t long before Donnie was pushing himself upright again, his gaze drawn towards where they had left the others. Were they still there? Was it still too loud? Leo shifted slightly to see if Donnie was still bothered by the sounds, but was surprised to see the lad didn’t look irritated at all this time. Instead he seemed more concerned.

This time, being in an isolated room with nothing to bother him, Donnie knew the irritated feeling was from Leon and not him. Something about feeling exposed? Had someone said something he didn’t want them to? Oh, there it was. That sinking into a black hole feeling Leon got sometimes. The times when he was strangely in the others’ space, asking how they were doing, expressing strange interest in their hobbies masked by jokes because he couldn’t make it seem like he cared too much. But this time he seemed to be reacting differently. The black hole was bigger than usual and laced with stinging burns. He felt useless, didn’t he. Or that he was somehow causing trouble for others and feeling self conscious about it. Donnie ended up gaining a soft smile as he responded in silence. Pulling up memories of his brother in his mind that ended up pooling feelings of warmth in him that he willingly pushed Leon’s way. Fondness, comfort, affection, familial love. All the dum, overwhelming emotions that normally got Donnie sputtering awkwardly in denial when addressed in any other manner than them responding to the newest present he’d given them. All focused on Leon, and all bundled up in a soft package and shoved into Leon’s metaphorical arms. He felt Leon push back, but he didn’t mind and just kept nudging the feelings his way. The second rejection was weaker, and then on the third time Donnie felt Leon crumble under the blanket of care and accept it, earning a tinge of smug pride to Donnie's smile.

Leo had no idea what was happening, but he didn’t feel the need to comment. Watching the concern in Donnie’s expression morph into a warm, fond smile instead was enough for Leo to pull back into a proper meditative pose and close his eyes again. He wasn’t there to interfere. Just make sure Donnie didn’t feel abandoned. He heard Donnie give the tiniest chuckle Leo had ever heard, and ended up cracking a small smile in response. It seemed he was feeling a lot better for some reason. Especially since shortly after Mikey swung the door open, slipping in with a tray of dishes, and Donnie only looked at him warily instead of hissing again.

“Tadaa~,” Mikey chimed in the lowest whisper he could manage. “You brothers were in the middle of making you food when they had to stop to help. They’re all on the couch now, but Don wanted to make sure you got something to eat.”

Leo had initially been afraid that Mikey’s talking would annoy Donnie more. But to his surprise Donnie just pulled his knees close to his chest in a sign not to touch him, but otherwise didn’t respond negatively. Just watched Mikey kneel a short ways in front of him and place the tray on the ground. Leo had to admit the food looked incredibly boring, but to his surprise Donnie wasn’t immediately put off by it. Shifting to lean forward to get closer, Donnie poked and nudged the food a few times, finding the texture acceptable before picking up a piece of the steak to sniff. He didn’t smell anything unusual on it either, so hesitantly nibbled on the edge of it. It was just cooked meat. No seasoning, not even grilled in oil or butter. And it was perfect. A few more nibbles that gradually became full bites eventually grew into Donnie stuffing entire slices of the meat into his mouth. With a brief look at Mikey, Donnie raised a hand to tap both fingers under his own chin before moving them out, then reached for the crisp spinach leaves and carrot slices.

“I have no idea what that means, but I’m guessing you like it,” Mikey whispered, amusement in his voice as he watched the obviously hungry teenager eventually end up gobbling the food up. “...Is there anything else you want?”

Donnie paused with a cheek full of food being chewed, looking up in thought before he eventually made a gripping motion near his mouth before moving it away, raising a pinky and twisting his hand.

“Uhhhhhh…,” Mikey gaped, raising a finger to scratch his tilted head. “... Milk?”

Donnie snorted, and rolled his eyes slightly while reaching for a pocket that wasn’t there. His hand patted where his belt usually was, and then rested on his shoulder before he stilled with mild sullenness. Right, he didn’t have his battleshell, which was where he usually kept his phone. To his surprise though a different phone was slid into his view on the floor. The notes app was already open with a simple |Use this| typed on the page. When Donnie looked up in mild confusion why Leo would willingly give Donnie his phone, Leo just gave a warm smile.

Giving a mildly amused huff, Donnie picked up the phone and used one hand to type out what he’d signed before, another spinach leaf being brought to his mouth with the other. He decided to behave himself and not snoop though, so after a second he was sliding the phone back to them.

|Orange juice.|

“Ohhh,” Mikey hummed quietly, leaning over the phone. “Close enough.”

“Not even,” Leo whispered back, one eye scrunching at the thought. Just having those two drinks mentioned in place of each other had given him the thought of them being mixed, and it made him grimace.

“Sure they are. Don has both of them for breakfast every morning,” Mikey whispered back, but nevertheless shifted to stand up.

“Because they’re different,” Leo hissed, raising his hands to grab at the air as if he could snatch the point and throw it at Mikey. “Otherwise he’d just have one or the other.”

Donnie would have given more than a huff of amusement, but they were starting to get too loud again, and that made him focus on a different item. Reaching out to brush his fingers on Mikey’s arm, holding just long enough to get him to wait, Donnie snatched Leo’s phone again and typed another request.

|Can you bring my headphones too?|

Pausing to read the phone, Mikey grinned and gave a thumbs up, noticing how Donnie’s other hand was twitching to raise and cover one of his own ears again. He’d have to ask Don where the headphones had been stored, but it was an easy enough request to fulfill.

Watching Mikey leave, Leo looked back at Donnie, noting how he was looking more sullen again. Of all the younger brothers Donnie seemed to be the one that was having the hardest time pulling out of the stressed state they had all been in. Even though Leon had fallen back into a more aggressive state earlier, it had seemed to have been because of protectiveness towards Donnie. Something Leo could relate to, both for his own brothers, and admittedly for their counterparts. With concern furrowing his brows, Leo reached over to pick up his phone, typing his own question on it before setting it next to Donnie.

|How are you feeling? Aside from the noise?|

Donnie was quick to look down at the phone, but his curious expression quickly fell to a frown and tense brow when he read the questions. He wasn’t quite sure how to answer them. Not because he didn’t have at least some idea how he felt. But more that it was the wrong person asking. He was uncomfortable, and stressed, and scared, and didn’t feel completely safe in this foreign place. But he also had the thought to lie and tell Leo he was fine, even though it was obvious he wasn’t. But he just didn’t want to talk to Leo about it. It made his stomach and shoulders tense from the thought.

Leo was expecting an answer though, so Donnie gave a small huff and scooped up the phone to type a response. Even if it wasn’t one Leo would want to hear, lightly thumping the phone back down to him.

|You’re not my brothers.|

Reading the response as Donnie turned his gaze away from him, Leo grimaced. Fair enough. He was still a stranger as far as more serious conversations were concerned. But he wouldn’t push. He’d already learned that stressing Donnie too much only caused him to get violent. So even though he couldn’t hold back a small, helpless sigh, Leo turned the screen of his phone down on the matted floor to wordlessly show he’d accept that response and not pry anymore. At least he could still stay there while Donnie nibbled on more of the food.

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Previous Next

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Drawing soft Donnie was so fun X'D

First part has Donnie's side of what Leon was arguing with him about.

#my art #rottmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #writing #rise + 2003 crossover #cross dimension kidnapping #cdk #fanfic #donnie #Leo and Donnie are twins

[aealzx]

Dreadlocks are fun to draw, if a different mood than straight hair X'D

Tag list: @masterfuldoodler

After bidding Benjamin and his family farewell for now, and Berko giving Ian a huge hug after waking up just in time to see them leave, Ian led them back to the eastern gate. They would have to pick up their own transport vehicles before taking the outer tunnel connecting to the south eastern gate, emerging back above ground a short distance away. There was already a group gathered in the street leading to the exit, three massive open top trucks and a scattering of motorcycles of various quality and repair. The people gathered there wore a smattering of partial soldier uniforms as well as attire common for wasteland mercenaries. It wasn’t hard to find Zeera, standing among the workers with practiced and overly familiar watch, barking orders as needed. It only took her seconds to notice the trio of newcomers to her party, and she cracked a snide grin as they approached, Ian holding the paper authorization in his hand, ready to give her.

“Heh. Secretary Morna must think we have platinum in our trucks if he’s sending a bunch of cyborg mercenaries to help guard it,” Zeera’s greeting came as a scoffed sneer as she looked over her assigned assistants. She didn’t look impressed, but she also didn’t look hostile. More like she was dealing with a bunch of pets that needed proper handling.

“Got a problem with it?” Whip asked in return, his eyes narrowing in unamused distaste saturated with boredom from having heard the same complaint too many times.

“What makes you think we’re cyborgs?” Ian cut in, giving one last chance for Zeera to retract her position and start again in a more amicable manner.

She didn’t take the offer though, just huffing and giving Whip a sideways glance before looking back to Ian. “Please. All three of you have the halo eyes. And it’s not like bluebell here even tries to hide anything on his back,” she scoffed, nodding her head towards Whip. “I ain’t gonna pick a fight though. More just surprised your kind even exists anymore. Thought you’d all gone berserk and gotten put down by now. But, I can’t deny you’ll be useful. Just don’t do anything crazy and I won’t have to put you down myself,” she offered as a scathing withdrawal, shifting the rather bulky plasma submachine gun to her shoulder and turning back to her team. “Alright kids, let’s head out in five. Those who don’t make it by then don’t get paid. The puppies can drive themselves, and I better not see anyone provoking them. We don’t need to give them a reason to bite.”

Midas had to sneer at her disregard of gun safety, even if the power cell had been removed for now, and had a half consideration that he might just accidentally forget to protect her if she ended up being a target. As Whip wordlessly ushered him to his bike, Midas obediently followed, noting how Whip’s protective shielding arm around him was also acting as a sort of cover.

‘Remove the bullets from your pistols,’ Whip directed Midas silently, flicking his eyes to meet one of the truck drivers that was staring at them and getting him to flinch and return to his task of starting the engine.

‘Why?’ Midas returned, irritable because of their treatment as well as the idea of not being able to use the more effective metal beads. Plasma did nothing against the larger wildlife around here.

‘Don’t give them a reason to blame us if one of them ends up dead,’ Whip returned. He already knew Ian had the same idea, the pack of bullets for his rifle being subtly removed from his pouch and stowed deep in his bike’s compartment. Physical bullets were illegal in all three cities, but they all knew the further away from the cities people got, the more loose laws became. Neither Whip or Ian was going to give these soldiers or mercenaries a reason to use them as scapegoats.

As the others started mounting their bikes, Whip swung onto the back of Midas’ bike, taking the bullet case Midas passed to him and storing it as well. Midas still seemed grumpy, but he took his usual position at the front, looping his fingers into the rings that made up one of the controls.

“Nice Cerah loot. Where’d you steal that from?” a gruff mercenary asked, staying a few feet away from them but still nodding at Midas’ bike.

Giving him a half glance, Midas huffed. “Garbage heap,” he answered shortly.

The mercenary grunted in amused disbelief. “Sure. Let me just look up the serial number registry and see where it’s supposed to be in service,” he pressed, seeing if threatening to report Midas would get him to talk.

“Sure. The bulk of it is from model S7-24-12-11, but the shocks I had to pull from model SC24-72,” Midas shot back, unfazed. “And I had to construct the interface from various parts of an old high wire transport compartment, a neural link motherboard manufacturing device, and a broken vending machine. Do you want the serial numbers for those too?”

The mercenary ended up twitching his head back in surprise at Midas actually talking back to him instead of stammering under the hazing. But he recovered quickly and half forced a short laugh. “Damn kid, that’s a lot. Bit of a handyman there, I see. Might actually be useful to have ya around then,” he chuckled, waving his hand dismissively as he casually left to join his own riding buddy.

Midas could only squint in annoyance after him, giving an unimpressed breath at the return comment and shifting to get comfortable while they waited for the direction to leave. Whip couldn’t help adding his own genuine chuckle though, leaning over to mutter quietly. “Nice one. Just don’t get too feisty, or they’ll stop playing fair,” he cautioned, giving Midas an approving pat on the upper back.

“Then they better be ready for me to meet them on the playing field they set,” Midas scoffed back, reaching his free hand into the other controls as Zeera shouted and gestured for the group to proceed.

“HA. We’ll see if you can keep that claim. Mister ‘I can’t tell the difference between coffee and mud’,” Whip teased back, adjusting his weight to his usual position for a long ride.

Midas’ mildly flustered protest was half lost to the roar of slightly over twenty engines, and Whip ended up just flashing him a toothy smile before quickly raising a brow and nodding his head towards their departing group. The response he earned was just Midas punching too much power into the bike’s gears to cause it to jerk both of them to harass Whip, then smooth out into a steady ride to keep in line with the others. Whip could only laugh again, being more than used to this method of attempted torment from the lad. And just like always, Ian slid in diagonally behind them, rolling his eyes at their antics even as their tires scuffed up clouds of dirt that forced them to keep a bit more distance.

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First

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I enjoy designing the extra characters for this sometimes =u=

#my art #rizen #ocs #original story #post apocalypse #original characters #zeera #web light novel #writing #long post #that parts list from Midas was a bit of an effort

[aealzx]

Looking off to the side, Caliil realized he actually did recognize this part of the city. Some office, apartment and parking buildings clustered together. But as he felt the burning rays of the rising sun he realized why it hadn’t registered at first. It didn’t used to be possible to see the sun between the buildings from where he was now.

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Little extra side project for Rizen 'cause I wanted to try a weird angle picture. =v=

#my art #oc #rizen #rizen extra #caliil #whip #lola ruins #mortenheim #original character #rare polished art

[aealzx]

Hahaha so it's basically a way to show what you have in common with your OCs huh? X'D I've never seen Inside Out, but this is the first things i thought of without putting too much effort into it, or getting too personal

I think outward talking is like a mix of these three for me. Left to right is Trance, Kevin, Eris and Saantus. Pretty much summed up into "If I'm helpful people won't hate me ovob" but the occasional way too blunt comments that offend people.

And then the other one that's an obvious direct reference to myself. X'D Ourin and Midas.

I have gastroparesis, which is essentially a lazy ass bitch stomach that can't even do the bare minimum. And while it wasn't planned, Ourin unfortunately ended up with a slightly more mild form of that too. Fussy stomach, bad relation with food, doesn't like eating, doesn't get hungry often and therefore forgets to eat, etc.

Midas and I share the stupidity that comes in the form of having no idea if we're sick or not. I got covid in early 2023 and I was convinced it was just allergies. Sore throat? Talked too much. Body aches? I'm out of shape. If I don't understand what I'm reading/hearing, I don't have it.

Other stuff I couldn't really think of on the spot |D

Ok so you know the idea of an author and their characters being little bits of themselves they write? Well I propose the idea of all the characters controlling the author. Teaming up to be a functioning human, more or less. Inside out but ocs

Okay so reblog and tell me how your OCS are doing it, who has what jobs?

#my art #oc game #midas #ourin #trance #kevin #eris #saantus #tag game

[aealzx]

#5 Some orphans live in the mines, literally!

"Hey, remember the mines we used to live in, Aki? I wonder if it moved this year." -Theo

A noticeable percentage of orphanages in Kogbor are actually companies, most commonly being independent mining town companies. These companies are solely run by miners from their homes built within the mines. They have their own full time workers, also known as the local townspeople, but they often gather orphans from the nearby areas to bolster their workforce.

The orphans are not paid for their work but are fed, dressed and educated by the company. Once the orphans grow past the point of being the right size for 'crawler' work, they are usually listed as full time employees. These older orphans are stuck working with the company till they are done paying off the 'food and lodging' debt attached to them. As the debt usually takes about a decade of work to pay off, most orphans end up getting too comfortable with the familiarity of the mining town and decide to stay for the long haul, thus becoming part of the next generation of townspeople.

This said, should someone else decide to buy out an orphan's debt to the company at a much earlier time. The orphan would be considered an ex-employee and will be able to leave the town behind, usually leaving with their new employers. Most people in Kogbor consider this some form of adoption, just with money involved.

#not my art #wys art #molibium #world building #ah yes #color scheme is how children work #yup #makes total sense #A+ mom

[aealzx]

I'm a sucker for good charas that still do the eyes turn red thing X'D Red eyes are fun.

Also in Sev's world variant I decided the blood beads have more of a fruit skin/membrane exterior instead of weird glass bottle on a tree thing e,e So yeah, they bite it and it pops, yeeey

#my art #oc #code vein #Sevrin Los #Sev #code vein protagonist #code vein mc #code vein oc #revenant

[aealzx]

look who learned to draw Aina's curls better since the last time I drew her 4 years ago X'DDDD

I also ended up using the new clothes 'cause I'm sick of drawing the old ones |D I don't like them

Tag list: @masterfuldoodler

“You’ll be under the direction of Zeera Viden,” Benjamin continued, breaking the three away from their silent, internal conversation. “She’s a rough lady that used to follow Brigadier General Valin quite heavily, but I think she’s started to come around and not be as prejudiced. Don’t give her a reason to think you’re up to something, and she should remain cordial. If not, then just ditch her and come back. We can think of something else.”

The names meant nothing to Midas, but he didn’t miss the grimace Ian made when the general’s name was mentioned. Nor did his miss Whip’s obvious eye roll and noise of disgust. Peering over to the tablet Ian was looking at, Midas could only notice that the woman in the picture had a split eyebrow from a small but noticeable scar, and a nose piercing. Which was odd considering how much metal was coveted. She must be rather high rank. Or at least somehow rich enough to afford such trinkets. “Who’s Valin?” Midas asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

“Euh. Cyborg hater,” Whip huffed, sagging into his hand as it supported him by his cheek.

“We used to work with her during the war. She was never very fond of the idea of cybernetics in humans,” Ian clarified, forcing himself to be polite to not cause trouble.

“What was that she always said? ‘Humans were meant to use machines, not become them’,” Whip added, his voice growing forced in mocking as he repeated the words he’d heard so many times. “She was the reason we were on the front lines as often as we were. Stupid woman thought we were just tools and not actual people.”

Ian could only purse his lips in bitter memory, but still couldn’t bring himself to blame her for her actions. He and Whip had made an impressive team that was hard to match afterall. “Her words ended up motivating a lot of dehumanization propaganda towards cyborgs in the past. It was… easier for people to accept the war when it wasn’t against people.”

“Hmmm…,” Midas hummed, not quite sure how he felt about either side of the topic. He wasn’t sure Brigadier General Valin’s concerns were warranted considering the specialists of old had long ago learned there was a limit to how much cybernetics could be pumped into a person. There was a reason that full body cyborgs were considered as such despite only being 40% mechanical. Any more and the body started to shut down. Humans could be supported by machines, but they could never become them.

Or at least that was what he could remember from databases he’d examined of the old world. Where he’d gotten access to such databases was beyond his memory, but the facts were still there. Apparently there was still a concern though. Ignorance often did bring fear. Which made Midas have a question he didn’t think twice about asking out loud.

“What about you guys?” Midas spoke up, looking at Chipo and Benjamin. “Do you think we’re human?”

He didn’t realize it wasn’t an appropriate question to ask until Whip sat up from his slouch, and Ian tensed uncomfortably. “...Midas, that’s not really something you should ask…” Ian hushed, eyes flicking to the others.

“Why not?” Benjamin asked in return, breaking out of his own stunned surprise. “I think it’s one that should be asked more often. Maybe I’m not one to talk since I wasn’t even alive when cyborgs were more than just a rumour most times. But I think you’re all human enough to warrant being treated as such. It’s not like cyborgs have done anything worse than what some non cyborgs have.”

The response was somewhat surprising, but also reassuring. Enough that Midas gave Benjamin a more confident grin, not having much more to say after that. Even Whip seemed strangely softened by the comments, a faint smile as he also chose not to respond.

“...Thanks,” Ian spoke up quietly for the three of them, sliding the tablet slightly to let Benjamin know it was okay to continue.

Benjamin only gave a nod in response to the gratitude, reaching over to swipe the tablet to the next page of the file. “She’ll meet you at the south eastern gate in an hour. I’ve already notified her of the additional support, and let her know that you’ll be staying in Eutoli to help the citizens unload and store the supplies. That should be enough to let you stay for a while.”

“It’s perfect,” Ian acknowledged, skimming over the details listed in the digital documents. It seemed it was a standard shipment for the most part. But there were some items on the list that Ian knew would be worth a good enough price for scavengers to risk stealing. “Is there anything else we should know?”

The pause Benjamin made when asked to continue started to spike Midas’ anxiousness about him and this place again. But it seemed that he was just nervously considering if he should speak up or not. “Everything about the task is in the files, you’re free to copy them to a secondary device. But… I do have a more personal request, if you don’t mind,” he explained, hesitating long enough to get a response.

It made sense. Benjamin was doing them a huge favor by assigning them this job. It was fair for him to ask for something in return. Ian just hoped it was something they could give him, while Whip was expecting it to be reasonable. “What is it?” Ian prompted.

“My niece,” Benjamin started, getting a mix between a worried and amused grin. “If you see a girl named Aina Morna while you’re out and about could you give her a message for me? Let her know that she’s still welcome in our house any time, regardless of what the rest of the family says?”

It was a surprising request, and after a moment's shock Ian could only chuckle. “Sure thing. I’ll just send her a message now,” he agreed.

Before Benjamin could fully register what Ian had said, Midas was able to realize what Benjamin had just confirmed for him. “I knew it!” he burst, jumping to his feet and pointing his fork at Ian. “You act like a weirdo around her because you know her! Aina’s your-.... Uhhh,” he blurted, trailing off as he had to pass the family tree through his head to figure out the relationship. “Granddaughter?”

“Weirdo?” Ian repeated, mildly offended.

Whip could only snort in amusement. “Absolutely weird,” he confirmed to Ian. Considering how readily all the other kids had been adopted by Ian, it was strange that he’d always kept Aina at a distance. Most people just assumed it was because she had the C-Tech brand despite being largely ostracized by them as well. But apparently it had been because Aina was a relative to the woman that had demanded Ian not interact with her family line. Which Whip then tried to confirm the relation to Midas. “It would be granddaughter. But only if they’re from the same person.”

“Uh, she’s technically a great granddaughter like Olie,” Benjamin corrected, mildly confused. “Her mother is my sister. You know her?” HIs question didn’t sound upset, just horribly confused.

“Yeah, she fixed up my leg after a morillo bit it, and is always trying to get in my brain,” Midas answered bluntly, causing Whip to snort once again while Ian sighed and lowered his head to his hand.

“Midas. Phrasing,” Ian chided gently, shaking his head.

Benjamin flipped between being shocked with concern, to disgruntled confused, and then ended up snorting and laughing as Midas hummed in a half frozen state of recalibrating his mind.

“Uhhh. I mean she’s trying to figure out a way to directly communicate with my internal network like she does with Whip and Ian,” Midas clarified, staring at the table as he tried to figure out the more proper way to describe what his relation was to Aina.

“You two must get along great then,” Benjamin laughed heartily, not bothered at all by the weird comment once he realized what Midas had actually meant.

“Not really,” Midas admitted with a mildly scrunched nose, only able to remember them being awkwardly quiet around each other when they weren’t stumbling over words as he tried to talk to her without scaring her.

“Really? You’re so similar though,” Benjamin chuckled, rubbing a tear from his eye.

The comment caused Midas to scrunch his nose even more in bafflement, and Ian reached over to gently pull on his shoulder to get him to sit down again while Whip laughed loudly. “Finish your breakfast, we have to leave soon,” Ian prodded with a mild sigh.

That was enough to motivate Midas to return to his omelette after a short “Oh,” scooping another fork full into his mouth.

----

It would take awhile to transfer through the satellites, and Ian wasn’t sure if she would even get the message. But eventually Aina would get a notification for a message drop that would prompt her to break away from her current task to touch with a finger tap.

‘We met your Uncle Benjamin. He says you’re welcome home any time. Thanks for always watching out for us. And I’m sorry.’

It was a simple message, but one that caused Aina to stare at it for longer than necessary. They were words she felt like she’d heard before. At least the first part. But for some reason the last two sentences made everything seem different. Albeit confusing. Like they weren’t just words said to be polite, and the people who said them actually meant it. It was too much to consider right then though, so the message was left without a response as she flicked it back to a minimized state, commenting to no one that it was strange.

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First

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I was halfway through the first picture before i realized it was a scene from the previous section X'DD So I gave up and just did 2 pics for this one.

#my art #rizen #original story #cyborg #ocs #post apocalypse #sci fi #web light novel #original characters #writing #midas #aina #long post #chipo

[aealzx]

WOOOOOO lookit mah lady face gooooo~And also still manage to make things too polished X'DD

If you want some fun charas to follow and a more casual project ( if I can get her to not try to make everything professional |D ) then you'll enjoy this. X'D Dash of humor, dash of angst, little bit of romance, the works. The charas are fun and have a good variety, and she's really good at drawing expressions and comedy stuff.

#1: A very shotgun Intro to Molibium (Crown Edition V5)

"There was once a Giant, Almighty, Magnificent, Extraterrestrial, Space dragon! It suddenly died and now people live on its fossilized corpse. Cool right?" -DM Moli

(Left: A completely serious map depiction of Crown aka "the northen region of Molibium", Right: What the actual general vibe of the areas within Crown is like)

Molibium is a "Nonsense" world.

Yes it is, in the most loving way possible, full of "Utter Nonsense".

Frogs turn into princes, pigs can fly, guns shoot swords, eggplants are exactly what the name is, waking up with your cat turned into a log of cheese and your hand a fish while the world is ending next door is just another Tuesday. Think too much about how it logically works and you might just go insane.

After all, true magic is chaos and the rule of fun is king. The reality of Molibium as a world consists of both in the truckloads. It's a chaotic place where logic is mostly made up of what looks to be someone's idea of world building for the fun and giggles. A wall full of sticky idea balls thrown at it.

Yet, even in this nonsense setting, somehow the people living on Molibium managed to form some kind of order as shown by the various governmental bodies and towns that sprung up. The people here still experience wars and personal stakes drama. So in the end, it's not all "Nonsense" after all.

In current day region of Crown, there's a bunch events and quite a few POVs. So, let's start with these three :

Aria the Mapper and her two assistants, Theo and Aki

You'll see them around.

(Repurposed old comic that's still funny to me)

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This is Crown, the region with the most polished map I have on my original world, Molibium. One that is the most relevant in my 'current playthrough'.

The world has been my playground for A TON of years now, it's been rebooted 5 times cause I recycle the world and characters whenever I get bored, that's where the version 5 came from. Soooo, this story is mostly a funny doodle-ly world building '4koma comic' thing for myself but girly suggested that I shared them, so I guess I'll be uploading them one by one.

No, there is not one focused main conflict to settle but there is a cast and overall timeline. Yes, I have a lot of doodles and info about it. No, most of my doodles are not in this style you'll see LOL. Pray for my sanity. Hopefully it's fun, enjoy!

#not my art #friend's ocs #molibium #wys #theo #ali #aria

[aealzx]

it’s rise Donnie and Leo who are twins correct?

Yeh, that's correct o3o

The closest thing for 2003 headcanon for twinnies for me would be Donnie and Raph, but even then it's not to the extent I do for Rise Leo and Donnie (Disaster Twins), so I don't even mention it. It makes no difference in my writing if 2003 boys are called twins or not.

#ask response #CDK question #I'm assuming #but applies for all my other rottmnt content too

[aealzx]

As Don nudged Mikey to tell him to bring the food Lil Mikey and Leon had made to Donnie, Raphael cleared his throat and brought Leon over to Raph. “C’mon kid. Lets have you sit with your brother now. You need some time to relax.”

Leon didn’t quite seem to want to rely on Raph at the moment, considering Raph was still way more injured than he was. But he at least took a seat next to Raph and let April squish up next to him. And when Lil Mikey shamelessly clambered up on Raph’s lap to be wrapped in a hug, Don took a seat carefully on the foot cushion Raph’s leg was propped up on.

“...I’m sorry if this is really uncomfortable for me to ask. But could you tell me what just happened? I want to know what’s normal for you guys so I don’t have to worry about if there’s something medically wrong,” Don prompted, trying to be delicate but having his curiosity way outweigh his respect for privacy.

After a quick glance at the others, and seeing Leon just avert his gaze to the floor, Lil Mikey looked over with a slight smile. “He was talking to Donnie.”

“...Through a communicator?” Don asked, not quite sure how the two boys were able to speak without yelling between the rooms.

“In their brains,” Lil Mikey corrected with a bright grin, using his left hand to point at his own head. “Though I’m not sure if it was the ninja mind meld this time or just the twin thing.”

The words Lil Mikey said made no sense to the other two, and Raphael drew a slight sigh as he looked to Don, ready for him to explain. But it seemed Don was also failing to comprehend what Lil Mikey was saying, for he had his fingers pressed together while pursing his lips.

“Oh, here we go,” Leon muttered when Don finally drew a breath to speak.

“I’m sorry, what do you mean by ‘twin thing’?” Don asked first. “You mentioned earlier that they’re twins, but I’m not sure I follow considering they’re-” “Different species? Yeah, Donnie argued that a lot in the beginning too,” Leon filled in, rolling his eyes slightly.

“...Yeah…,” Don agreed, now even more confused since they actually did seem to be talking about the two boys being biological twins and not just using the term incorrectly.

“We used to think it was just a thing Leo liked to say to feel close to Donnie, but Dadxum told us recently that it’s actually a legit thing,” Lil Mikey explained, voice full of mirth and excitement when talking about Draxum. “He said that since Leo and Donnie were probably born around the same time, and now share 50% of the same DNA, they became twins when they were mutated. And now they’re always in each other’s heads. Well- Sort of? They just always know how each other is feeling and stuff.”

There was a lot to unpack from what Lil Mikey said, but luckily Don had seen enough mystic happening to not immediately discredit it. And the more he thought about it the more he understood, and it explained things that had been a little odd before. April saying that Leo and Donnie caused each other to spiral off each other. Leon reacting to everyone being loud when apparently it was actually just Donnie that was bothered by it. Leon being so certain that Donnie wouldn’t eat the stew, and would be asleep for awhile. And the fact that he wasn’t worried about Donnie being asleep in the first place.

“You saying Lil Leo and Donnie have some constant psychic connection with each other or something?” Raphael piped in now, sort of following with what Lil Mikey was saying. At first he thought he was being pranked, especially when Lil Mikey nodded so happily. But the way Leon almost looked embarrassed, and April rubbed his back made Raphael doubt his initial thought.

“We can all do the ninja mind meld, where we can talk in each others’ heads super fast. But Leo says with him and Donnie it’s all emotions and not words,” Raph supplied, pointing to his own head with a grin, then looking down to Leon to make sure he was explaining it right. “We always just thought he just knew Donnie really well and was good at guessing what was wrong. But after-” Raph spoke happily for the most part, but then abruptly cut off as he almost breached the subject none of them liked talking about. As Leon hunched up more, Raph reached over to pull him close, tucking him onto his lap with Lil Mikey and looking more sullen. Even April scooted over to get close again and leaned over to lay against Leon, almost like she was afraid he’d vanish if she wasn’t in contact with him. Clearing his throat, Raph shifted subjects back. “Anyway. He used to drive Donnie crazy sometimes, telling people they were twins and all. But now he’s gotten a little more closed up about it.”

This time Leon spoke up before the others, getting tired of being in an uncomfortable topic. “Yeah, well… before it didn't mean that much,” he half huffed trying to play it off as not a big deal even though it was obvious to his family it was something that really bothered him. “Before it was just something for me to have in common with Donnie that you guys didn't. We happened to be the same age, so why not tease you guys and say we were closer than you guys could ever be? But now?... Now…,” the slight sharpness to his words faded with them, being replaced by a slight shudder instead as fresh tears welled in his eyes. “Now it hurts. Now it’s a lot more than what it was before. And if this is what Dee felt like all the time back then now I know why he'd always shut me out. Sometimes it's… sometimes it's just a lot and it's too much.”

Don and Raphael were quiet when Leon explained his side. It made sense then why Leon hadn’t wanted to talk about it. And why he seemed so frustrated and upset. “So… something changed? And you haven’t gotten used to it yet?” Don summarized what he understood so far, and also prodded for further response.

It seemed he wouldn’t get an answer from Leon this time, for he just squeezed his eyes closed and pressed his cheek against Raph, needing a moment to recollect himself. His brothers didn’t seem to want to answer either, so April sat up slightly to take over. “...We almost lost Leo a few months ago,” she explained as softly as she could. It caused Don’s heart to skip a beat, his own unwanted memories flashing briefly through his mind as Raphael sucked a slight hiss. “He was… he…,” April tried to continue, but found she couldn’t say it fully and skipped ahead. “Donnie says it was like having a piece of his heart ripped out. He said he’d always felt something more than others before, but he’d just assumed that it was his own difficulty in recognizing his own emotions. But… when Leo was gone for a moment… It took losing him for Donnie to realize that extra stuff was from Leo and not himself. And after that he said he stopped trying to push it away.”

“.... How did that make things different?” Don asked before he remembered what Leon had said and made his own hypothesis. “It’s more intense for you now?”

“...Yeah…,” Leon admitted, motivated by hearing  the thoughts Donnie had expressed a while ago included in the discussion instead of just focusing on him. “Before it was like feeling something from a long distance away. Like it was a faint feeling in the back of my mind. But now… it’s like two people sharing the same body. If that makes sense.”

“Yeah, it makes sense,” Raphael finally commented, a hand rubbing the back of his head to try and dispel the awkwardness he felt about being able to understand something like this. “You said he’d always shut you out before? Why don’t you do the same now?” It was a blunt question, but it was the first thought he had. If something was so hard to deal with, why not just make it take a step back?

It was a fair question, and probably would make sense to just turn off the faucet if he couldn’t handle it. Any smart person would. But Leon found he just couldn’t do that. “...Because he doesn't anymore,” he admitted quietly. “He just accepts everything from me now, even if it’s too much for him and makes him hurt. And I can't just turn it off now that he's so open. Now that it's like how I always wanted it before. It’s just… Sometimes it's just hard… I’m sorry.”

“No, don’t be sorry,” Don was quick to reassure, reaching a hand out to rest on Leon’s knee once again. “I’m sorry for prying into something so personal. But… I have to admit it’s actually really cool.”

The blunt admittance of finding Leon and Donnie’s connection to be a merit earned a snort from Raphael, and broke Lil Mikey out of his sullen silence. “That’s what I said! They share a brain twenty four seven, and don’t even have to talk to know how each other’s feeling. It’s like the ultimate Dr Feelings technique,” he gawked, sounding both in awe and extremely disappointed.

“Doctor what now?” Raphael coughed in surprised mirth.

“Mikey’s persona when he’s playing family therapist,” April answered quickly. “He finds it’s easier to let the others know what he expects and what to expect from him when he gives them names.”

“Oh…. I guess that makes sense,” Raphael admitted, then rubbed the back of his head again as he thought back to the other topic. “Well… while Don thinks it’s cool - and it is cool, I guess - …… I think it just goes to show how impressive you guys are. I had a hard enough time dealing with my own emotions as a teenager. To deal with someone else’s on top of it? …. Let’s just say I can’t blame you if you end up murdering something.”

The last line earned a choked snort from Don as he looked over with a wry grin. “Raph,” he chided lightly, shaking his head. “Let’s keep murder off the table for at least another twenty years.”

The comment caused the rest of the people in the room to silently stare at Don with wide eyes. Raphael having not expected Don to include a timeline, and the others having not expected jokes about murder from the one that seemed to be the most gentle person they’d met so far.

“... Oh, you and Donnie really are a lot more alike than I thought…,” April commented, mentally filing that fact away for later if necessary and earning a barked laugh from Leon.

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Aaaand here's the other half of that spurt of writing X'D The song I had on repeat was mostly responsible for this section and only slightly the one before. It was [Fate/stay night Heaven's Feel III spring song OST - In early Spring -you were always brilliant-] if anyone is curious.

Took way too long doing the drawing though, and at this point I don't care if there are mistakes. |D

#my art #rottmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #long post #writing #cross dimension kidnapping #fanfic #rise + 2003 crossover #Raph #Mikey #Don #Leo and Donnie are twins

[aealzx]

After Leo left with Donnie, Leon strode over to Raph with a displeased expression. He wasn’t sure if Donnie was out of earshot enough yet, so just made a series of rapid gestures at Raph as Raph shifted to be seated instead of kneeling. Raph ended up looking sheepish, but also tried giving an excuse for it being okay. Leon didn’t seem convinced, crouching down near Raph’s wrapped leg and tenderly poking at it to inspect it.

Glancing over to make sure the other two were out of sight, Raphael stepped over to his counterpart. “Need me to move him?” he asked, keeping his voice quiet just in case. Leon flinched at the sound, but it seemed to just be because of reflex and not because it was actually a problem.

“Raph can do it-” Raph assured, starting to move before Leon shoved a hand in his face.

“No, Raph can’t. Just because you can create a shell around your limbs doesn’t mean they aren’t being used,” Leon huffed, earning a snicker from Don as he shifted closer as well, just in case.

Raph ended up giving Leon a halfway convincing pout, but ended up relenting since Leon had a point. The movement hadn’t been completely painless. He’d just not wanted to leave Donnie and April on their own.

“Don’t worry about it kid. Once you get better I’ll let you pick me up too,” Raphael consoled, thinking that Raph just didn’t like feeling helpless.

“Really?” Raph asked, expression brightening.

“Sure,” Raphael shrugged, crouching down so that Raph could sling his arms around his shoulders to allow him to heft him onto his back. “Just don’t blame me if I turn it into a wrestling match instead.”

Raph just laughed, not minding at all if that ended up happening either. “It’s been fun to get picked up for once. So of course I can return the favor,” he agreed, being a little more relaxed this time since he knew Raphael didn’t have any issues carrying him.

The response caused Raphael to raise a brow in surprise, but he ended up just huffing in amusement as he started the trip back to the couch.

“Hey April?” Don started, moving closer to April to start addressing his question that had come up because of the mild skirmish.

“Yeah?” April voiced, sticking next to Lil Mikey but still turning to face him.

“What did you mean by Leon spiraling off of Donnie?” Don asked, partially repeating what she’d said, the words not making sense to him.

“Oh. Ever since the-... a few months ago it’s been hard for Leo to tell if he’s feeling his emotions or Donnie’s,” April answered, cutting herself off at first so she didn’t prod at any nerves that may be recently irritated. “So if Donnie gets upset Leo will get upset too, and then they both get protective, which makes them-”

“April,” Leon interrupted once he noticed what she was talking about after making sure Raph was back to a comfortable place. The sharpness of his tone caused Don to blink in surprise, wondering if he’d asked about something he shouldn’t.

“What? It’s not a big deal, and if they know then they’re less likely to make it worse,” April protested, placing her hands on her hips.

“It’s none of their business,” Leon countered, eyes narrowing defensively.

“Is this related to the- umm. You know what, nevermind,” Mikey started, cutting himself off when he realized they hadn’t actually told any of their guests that they had figured out Leon had traumatic flashbacks.

“Related to what?” Lil Mikey persisted, leaning to the side slightly in his curiosity.

“Nothin,” Mikey responded quickly, avoiding the topic while averting his gaze to the ceiling. It only caused Lil Mikey and April to narrow their eyes in suspicion, but he was luckily spared from their scrutiny when Don took over.

“Mikey, it’s fine. It’s better they know anyway,” Don assured, his voice growing more soft, especially when their guests looked at him in wary confusion. “I told the others that I was pretty sure Leon has flashbacks from trauma. I know it’s a little personal, but I didn’t want them getting upset with him if he ended up lashing out at them,” he explained gently, noting how Leon’s folded arms became hands tightly gripping his upper arms as his eyes widened.

“Oh! No, it’s not that- not really. Leo and Donnie are just twins,” Lil Mikey clarified easily, not thinking it was a big deal.

“MIKEY!” Leon snapped, rounding on his little brother and just barely keeping from swatting him.

“What?!” Lil Mikey shot back. “It’s not like it’s a secret with how you laud it over everyone.”

“Well maybe I didn’t want them to know this time!” Leon shouted, a hand flinging out to gesture at Don and the others.

This caused April and Lil Mikey to scrunch their brows in confusion, Lil Mikey pulling his head back slightly. “Since when did you-?”

Lil Mikey started to argue, but April reached out to rest a hand on his shoulder. They didn't need to be antagonizing Leon again, especially when he was already double stressed from this whole situation and Donnie’s mood. “Leo…You were always so proud of it before. Why don’t you want them to know?”

Leon ended up drawing a stressed breath that he let out through his teeth, raising his hands to helplessly try and smack words from the air to give an excuse before giving up and blurting the reason. “Because I'm tired of being a hindrance!”

“Leo. It’s okay-” Lil Mikey started, quick to reassure Leon that he wasn’t a hassle, and they really didn’t mind helping him.

“No it’s not!” Leon shouted, arms punching down at his sides. “You guys already have to deal with all of us freaking out all the time over stupid things. You don’t need to deal with my other problems- Donnie stop it!”

Don had to admit he wasn’t fully following exactly what Leon was saying other than picking up that a lot of pent up emotions were spilling from a bubble that had just popped. But when Leon suddenly cut himself off, addressing Donnie who wasn’t even there anymore, Don quickly knocked his brain from trying to apply what he already knew to the situation to mentally throwing all options out and starting from a blank page. Which ended up making it extremely hard for him to react since he had switched completely into observation mode.

“Don’t give me- It IS my fault! You don’t know what I- What do you mean so what? You’ve done worse? I doubt that- Just stop- I’m in the middle of a crowd of people ” Leon’s words sounded like he was talking to, and continually being interrupted by someone who wasn’t there. Raphael ended up watching for a bit before looking at Don and jerking his thumb at the kid in question. To which Don could only semi hesitantly shake his head. He didn’t think it was a flashback, especially since Lil Mikey and April were both just standing there with mildly confused by otherwise content expressions.

“...Dangit Donnie… That’s not fair,” Leon’s voice significantly changed after a short stretch of silence when he shifted from being stubbornly avoidant, to curling in on himself before not being able to hold back fat tears around a shaky smile. At this point April and Lil Mikey broke their stationary state and moved forward to bump against Leon, wrapping their arms around him quietly.

“... I think it’s time for both of you to take a break,” April said quietly, rubbing Leon’s back as he quietly hiccuped. “I’ll take over. Let’s go,” she beckoned, nudging him over towards the couches where Raph and Raphael were.

Giving a slight nod, Leon allowed April to usher him over to the couches, rubbing his eyes and staying hunched. He still had a faint smile that helped the others not be too concerned. But when they got close enough to where he was standing Raphael couldn’t help react to a subconscious idea, abruptly stepping forward and snatching Leon into an air stealing hug. It earned a wheezed huff from Leon, who then blinked in surprise before eventually looking up for a possible explanation. Unfortunately Raphael didn’t have a good one. “...You’re a great kid,” he half muttered pathetically, not sure why he chose those words.

It earned a snort from Leon, though he didn’t seem completely opposed to the compliment. “What are you, my mom?” he asked, the sarcasm not quite there as Don silently noticed the unusual choice of using mom instead of dad.

It was Raphael’s turn to snort softly now, and he responded without thinking too much. “I wish.” He wasn’t sure why he said that, he’d never wanted kids before. But it was surprising enough to get Leon’s head to snap up so he could look at Raphael better. “I know I’d be real proud of all of you if I were your dad. You’re pretty impressive kids. Even without all the mumbo jumbo mystic stuff.” What had Master Splinter said? Just rely on his instinct and don’t overthink it? Leon seemed rendered speechless by the comments, and Raph and Lil Mikey also looked rather surprised. It was like they weren’t used to hearing someone tell them they were proud of them.

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I'm too tired to give this a third read through |D

I sat down yesterday ready to struggle to write even 100 words for this, but ended up finding the perfect song to just throw on repeat and ended up writing 3300 words X'DD so here's the first half since I don't like posting more than around 1500 per post unless it's a really bad break point.

This section and the next one are learning heavy into the Rise Leo and Donnie have a twin thing headcanon.

also none of this or the next section was planned. I just sat and wrote self indulgence as it came to mind |D enjoy if you will

#my art #rottmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #writing #cross dimension kidnapping #rise + 2003 crossover #Raphael #Leo #leo and donnie are twins #headcanon #long post #soft raph

[aealzx]

I guess I should get these up X'D

Being in the last stretch of the story I got distracted and ended up thinking about official designs for them instead of spur of the moment filler clothes, or clothes that I designed when I was a teenager that don't fit the setting anymore X'D

It's very common for slum people in Rizen to have sleeveless shirts, cause the sleeves get taken off and used for other things.

#my art #rizen extra #rizen #reference #Midas #Whip #Ian #oc #still trying to decide if I switch over to these for the rest of the draft #or still use the old ones to finish it out

[aealzx]

Hewo! I just wanted to say that I am really enjoying your Cross Dimension Kidnapping fanfic. It is so beautiful! Donnie is my favorite character, and the way you describe him is so sweet and fantastic! His moment with Leo is the most precious thing ever! Not to mention how sweet Raphael is with Lil Mikey!

Its all just so wonderful. When do you plan on releasing the next chapter?

THANK YOU! I'm so happy you loved it enough to comment >U<

One of my favorite things is writing the disaster twins being soft, so I hear you on that X'DD Raphael has been a blast to work with too, along with all the other 2003 boys.

Let me just wiggle this story back to the upper parts of my to do list |D it has been a bit, I have a terrible sense of time |D

#my art #mun #cdk ask #ask response #leilanising ask