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#All the boys are smart in their own rights but Donnie is THE Genius.
turtleblogatlast · 14 days
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I think a lot about Leo’s tendency to push his way into the spotlight despite clearly being a natural in the shadows. Hell, you could argue that his worst moments are when he’s forcing himself onstage, and his best are when he does things no one notices until it’s already been done.
#rottmnt#rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles#rottmnt leo#rottmnt headcanons#rise leo#His aptitude with subterfuge sleight of hand stealth and speed really push how being a ninja really comes naturally to him.#it’s arguable that his desperation for the spotlight and validation is an act of subterfuge against himself#note that when he’s offered a job as a mascot he’s fine being unknown#when he and splinter win the battle nexus Leo immediately says ‘they love YOU pops’#idk I think so much about how good a ninja Leo is#and how much his persona is more an actor#Leo as a tot is shown a natural skill at katana too so hear me out-#every Leo is a natural ninja but every Leo’s route in life is directly tied to their splinter so#since rise splinter is an actor Leo too aims for it#and he brings it into his whole life - masking always because a Leo makes what they do who they are#I think that Leo naturally falls more in line with that of a typical ninja#his eccentric performer self is his subterfuge skill just set to an 11 at all times#not that that’s NOT him - like I said it’s still undoubtedly a part of Leo#but? idk I think about little moments like Leo being the only one to choose stealth in bug busters#or Leo being the only one to almost get Gus’s dog tags in The Ninja Art of Hide and Seek (he was so close but luck was against him alas)#like- he’s clearly in his element there and he falls into those skills so easily#it’s like how everyone has skills in so many things but some exceed more in some than others do#like Raph? Raph’s the biggest Hero of the bunch of them let’s be perfectly real here. Raph is THE Hero#All the boys are smart in their own rights but Donnie is THE Genius.#and they all have mystic powers but Mikey is THE Mystic Warrior with immense untapped potential#likewise Leo I feel is THE Ninja#but yeah I love how much Leo goes for the spotlight anyway for better or for worse#he IS a performer again make no mistake! but again the way he does it still lines up with his natural ninja aptitude and I love it#Leo loving magic tricks and magicians so much works doubly well here because like#you’d think he’s focused solely on the performance flair - no it’s ALSO and ESPECIALLY the DECEPTION
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acewithapaintbrush · 1 year
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I really love @daedelweiss Life Mission AU and especially how close and affectionate the twins are so following my MO I just had to write something. Hope I got the characterisations right.
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"And this is 'Run of the Mill Pizza'! The best pizza place in the Hidden City. Ah, what am I saying! In the whole world!"
Leo spreads his arms wide and wiggles his fingers a little. It's easy to see how much he loves this place and how giddy he is to show Donnie. 
Don meanwhile is not particularly impressed. It seems like a nice enough place, but it's nothing fancy. The furniture looks old, the smell of cold pizza hangs in the air and the clientele… well, some of them he wouldn't want to meet in the middle of the night, let's just leave it at that. 
Don has occasionally accompanied Big Mama to meetings with important people at big and fancy restaurants, so he knows that this is definitely not the best Italian place in the Hidden City. He doubts this place sells a calzone sprinkled with gold leaf or champagne for 50 dollars a glass. 
But his twin looks so expectant and proud. 
"It's amazing." Don agrees easily. He looks around a bit more and his polite smile gradually turns more real. It does look a lot  more cozy than the other places he's been to and Don has recently developed a new fondness for all things cozy. He's lived his life surrounded by sharp words and restricting armor long enough to last him a lifetime. "It really is, Lee." 
"Pepino!", a voice shouts from behind them. "I hope you have come to pay your tab. You still owe me for the last delivery." 
"Tio Hueso!" Leo pulls Don towards a skeleton in a suit who manages to appear as if he is raising an unimpressed eyebrow without actually having an eyebrow. Don is kinda jealous. "Apart from the fact that I still can't believe you would charge your own godson for pizza, I've actually come to finally introduce you to my twin. Donnie, this is Tio Hueso. He runs this place and he looked after me while Dad was out looking for you all. Tio, this is mi hermano, Donnie."
The tall skeleton stares down at Don who does his best to not let on how intimidated he is. The void where this man's eyes should be seems to grow darker and darker the longer Don looks into it. The pinpricks of light don't help any.
But then Hueso smiles and it transforms his whole face. He suddenly doesn't seem nearly as scary. 
"Ah bueno. So we finally meet." He holds out his hand and Don straightens and shakes it with a firm hand. Some of Big Mama's lessons stick around longer than others. Hueso nods in approval. "I was glad to hear that you are alive. Welcome home, mijo. It's good that you have finally found each other again."
"Uh… Thanks." Don shuffles his feet while Leo beams and looks between the two of them with wide and hopeful eyes. The genius suddenly realizes that Leo must have been just as nervous about them meeting as Don has been. He suddenly feels very bad for his first uncharitable thoughts about this place. 
"Si. Very good. Good for me!" Hueso exclaims after a brief pause. He puts his hands on his hips and shakes his head. "Ay, that boy talked about you nonstop. My poor ears." 
"What ears?" Leo mutters sullenly. There is a light blush spreading over his cheeks. 
"'Oh, I'm sure my twin would have been super strong and super smart. Oh, I'm sure he would have been good looking, just like me, and an awesome ninja and super kind.' On and on and on he went." 
"Thanks Tio Hueso. I think we'll just-" 
"He drew pictures of the two of you and your other brothers all the time. I'm sure I still have some lying around."
Hueso disappears into the back, completely ignoring Leo's indignant spluttering and red faced outrage. 
"That you still have them only proves that you actually care! I hope you know that!" The slider shouts after him. He turns to his twin when it becomes apparent that Huseo is ignoring him. "Coming here was not an excuse for him to embarrass me." 
"Embarrass you?" Don asks and smirks. "As if the lair isn't plastered with your childhood drawings of us all." 
Leo pouts. "That's different."
"If you say so." Don leans back against a table and settles in to wait. As much as Leo acts long-suffering, he's also not made a single attempt to leave before Hueso comes back. The soft-shell turtle fiddles with his hoodie, surprisingly feeling a little bashful, a little unsure, all of a sudden. "Strong and smart and kind, huh? Guess you were pretty disappointed when you met the real me." 
He winces. Where did that come from? He is usually much better at keeping thoughts like that inside his own head. 
Leo doesn't react at all and when Donnie finally dares to look up it's to see his brother staring at him with a gobsmacked expression. 
"What?" 
"Ugh, forget I said anything." 
Leo takes him by the shoulders. "You are strong and smart and kind and an amazing ninja. You are the best, ever! Ever and ever!" 
Donnie groans and throws his head back so he can stare at the ceiling, but he doesn't even bother to hide the grin spreading across his face. "Okay okay, stop it already! I'm awesome, I get it." 
"You are." Leo's serious tone is enough for Don to snap his head back down. Leo stares at him with a mixture of pain and happiness that only his twin seems capable of. "You all are. The days I found you and Raph and Mikey were the best days of my life. All of them. How could I ever be disappointed?"
Don finally gives in and pulls Leo into a hug, burying his head into his brother's ever present scarf. He still has trouble showing affection in public, but for his family he is willing to learn. 
They separate quickly enough and Don is a good brother and so he ignores the way Leo surreptitiously rubs his face into the folds of his scarf to get rid of some treacherous tears. Instead he lightly punches his arm. "And what about handsome?" 
Leo acts like he has to think about it. "Well, since we are twins I'd say yes. Incredibly handsome." 
They are still laughing when Hueso comes back with an old drawing. If they were more familiar with each other, Donnie might have teased the man about the fact that it's in a very nice frame. As it is, he grabs it before Leo can stop him. Don can't help the undignified snort that escapes him at the sight of it.
"If that is how you always pictured me, then I believe you about not being disappointed." 
Leo chuckles and rests his chin on Donnie's shoulder so that they can both look at the crude drawing of a lonely 5 year old together. 
"Yeah. Definitely better than anything I could have ever pictured." 
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nerves-nebula · 1 year
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Fuck it, we ball.
Leo groaned as he kicked off his blankets, his whole body felt gross and nasty as the summer heat made the farmhouse feel like a sauna. Donnie was still working on fixing the A/C, but he kept mumbling about not having pieces he needed to get it “optimal”.
Leo refused to complain about the heat to her brothers, though. She took the room with the worst air conditioning so they wouldn’t have to. It had a window that practically worked like a death ray when the sun was high in the sky, cooking her in her shell.
“Try to think of the positives.” She rubbed her face, “I’m probably getting a nice tan from this.”
She practically jumped out of her shell when a loud banging came to her door, Mikey and Raph’s voices behind the knocks, calling her name in their “we’re trying to be obnoxious on purpose” voices. He groaned and pulled himself from bed to throw the door open, glaring at the boys standing on the other side.
“What?” She snapped, trying to put on an air of being annoyed. In reality, she could already feel her brother’s excitement radiating off them and infecting her own mood.
“It’s too damn hot.” Raph said, “So we’re gonna have a picnic down by the lake and go swimming.”
Donnie nodded excitedly, “We haven’t had a good soak in real water in ages. It’s good for our health.”
“Donnie says baths don’t count as real soaks because of micro-blah blah blah.” Mikey mimed Donnie’s talking with his hand, sticking out his tongue, “I say: Cannonball contest. Biggest splash gets first pick at the picnic basket.”
“Bet.” Leo grinned, “I’m getting antsy anyways.”
The other three all yelled in excitement, hurrying off to get ready for the excursion now that they knew Leo was coming.
-
Donnie was the first one in the water. It made sense, he was the most aquatic of them all, and he’d been sick plenty of times from drying out when they were kids. They had barely even set up the picnic blanket before they heard the thunk of Donnie dropping his shell cover and running for the water. He dove in like the natural swimmer he was, resurfacing moments later with a laugh.
“It’s cold!” He shouted, “It’s almost 90 degrees outside, why is the water cold?”
“How should I know, genius?” Raph yelled back, “You’re the smart guy here!”
Donnie just dove back down, the only hint of him visible from the surface being the bright purple shorts he wore.
“What a dork.” Leo grinned, “He’s gonna get a sunburn and complain all day tomorrow.”
Mikey and Raph just laughed, Raph grabbing the sunblock to start smearing over himself. They formed a circle, each getting the others’ backs and shells for them. Leo purposefully poked his fingers just a little too hard into Mikey’s sides, laughing when Mikey yelped at what he thought was an attempted tickle.
“You watch your hands, Leonardo.” Mikey glared.
“Why, Mikey, whatever do you mean?” Leo placed a hand to his chest, feigning innocence, “I’ve never done anything wrong in my life.”
Raph laughed this time, reaching over to shove Leo, just hard enough to knock him over into the grass, “That is the biggest fuckin’ lie.”
“I’m an innocent angel!”
“You’re full of shit is what you are!”
Mikey squealed as Leo pounced on Raph, the pair scuffling through the overgrown weeds, staining their clothes as they tussled. They yelled names at each other, but unlike years before their tones held no real heat. Mikey watched as they pushed and shoved at each other, happily deciding not to tell them that they were very quickly rolling towards the lake.
Leo’s last insult was cut off suddenly by a loud shout as Raph tumbled into the water, surprised both by the feeling and how Donnie had been right- it was fucking cold!
“What’s wrong, Raphie?” Leo teased, “Can’t handle a little water?”
Mikey took that moment to bolt, heading directly for where Raph and Leo had landed, hopping at the last possible second to leap over them and splash into the lake, subsequently drenching his brothers with the lake’s water. Leo and Raph both shouted loud enough for hun to hear beneath the surface and he was quick to escape before he faced their combined wrath, diving down towards where he could see Donnie, who had surfaced near the center of the lake to float and stare at the clouds.
“I’m causing problems on purpose.” He told Donnie, who just rolled his eyes.
“You’re a menace, Michelangelo. Forget the fact that we’re mutants and obviously inhuman, your actions are the reason we can’t join proper society.” He reached over and lightly bapped Mikey on the head, “You’d probably become a criminal.”
“My goal in life is to be an episode of a true crime podcast.” Mikey giggled, kicking up onto his back so he could float next to Donnie. They relaxed, enjoying a moment of comfortable semi-silence (seeing as Leo and Raph were still wrestling on the shore), taking in the wonderful feeling of the lake’s gentle waves against their skin.
“Did you ever think we’d get here?” Mikey asked, uncharacteristically quiet, almost like he was afraid to ask it.
“No.” Donnie’s answer was easy, “But I’m glad we did.”
——
I figured we’ve had a long streak of sad and angery lately, I wanted to show the light at the end of the tunnel.
-Monster Anon
STOPPPPPP THAT'S SOOO SWEEET AUGHHCKAGHAG. raph and leo play fighting instead of REAL fighting,,, gaougahh, the way they would have to get wAAAYY more comfortable with each other to even get to that point cause they'd associate each other with violence and pain for the longest time,,aggajfjmga... stoppppppppaghgosjfmgan.
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romancomicsnews · 9 months
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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem amplifies the fun of the franchise - REVIEW
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*Slight Spoilers for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Mutant Mayhem*
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has been a franchise that has consistently been rebooted and I have never minded.
While the 2003 series was my initial Turtles introduction, the 2012 series really made me a fan. It had the right balance for me of brotherly affection, drama, stakes, and weird obscure villains.
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While Rise of the TMNT wasn't exactly my taste, I can appreciate the animation, comedy, and going for a different new take. Plus my god is the Rise of TMNT movie good. I'm all for making really cool characters into animes now.
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Going into this movie I had extremely high hopes. Not only has this franchise rarely disappointed, but it was produced by Seth Rogen, who has worked on shows like The Boys and Invincible, and directed by Jeff Rowe, who is not getting NEARLY enough credit for this movie. He was a writer on Gravity Falls and the co-director of one of my favorite animated movies: The Mitchells vs The Machines.
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And I got to say, this movie does not disappoint.
The animation style is both impressive and at times disgusting in the best possible way. This is the first time I've felt New York feel grubby and grimy. Every shot looks wonderful, and that cannot be understated.
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The hardest part of the Turtles is usually the brother dynamics. I feel like if not written or performed correctly, the Turtles can come off as buddies or even acquaintances. But this was not a problem here. The idea of having all four actors in the same room clearly paid off, as the four of them riffing and mocking each other were some of the highlights of the movie.
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I do think coming out of this, some of these turtles will be the definitive versions of the characters. While Mikey and Raph have their charms, Micah Abbey as Donnie and Nicolas Cantu as Leo were stands out for me.
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The idea of taking Donnie from the tech guy to more of a calculating nerdy weeb was genius. Donnie often is the guy who is most made fun of because he is nerd, and I think pivoting to him being a smart-ass and respected for his brain was a nice touch.
Leonardo as the goody two shoes dork who wants to lead so bad also worked for me. Leonardo can sometimes come off a sorta bully or arrogant for even trying to be the leader. Making him unsure but wanting to be a good leader makes him charming and more likeable.
Also among our heroes are Ayo Edebiri as April O'Neil and Jackie Chan as Master Splinter.
While April does not have as much to do as I would've liked, I think Edebiri is a nice addition and I'd be happy to see more of her. She has good chemistry with the brothers, although it did take me out of the movie to think of the age gap between Edebiri and Cantu.
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Jackie Chan's Splinter may be my biggest problem with the film. While he is a passable Splinter and has plenty of laughs, he does not seem as fierce of a warrior as he has seemed in the past, nor as wise. I do not mind a flawed, anxiety ridden Splinter, but he should feel like he can take on the Turtles easily, and I don't think he can.
(Also, Jackie Chan is a bad father in real life and shouldn't disown his estranged daughter for being gay. Read all about it here!)
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I'm not going to go to into the details of all the villains in the movie, as there are quite a few, but I really loved the inclusion of the vast TMNT universe, and their own fun takes on them. One of the benefits of having Seth Rogen as a creative is access to all his very talented friends. A highlight for me was Mondo Gecko, voiced by the great Paul Rudd.
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The main antagonist of the film being Superfly was a rather interesting choice. While I was sure we were going to have a Jekyll and Hyde situation with Superfly and Stockman going in, the idea that it was his mutant son was a weird but fun choice. Clearly Ice Cube was having a lot of fun playing a villain. He gave me quite a few laughs and felt like a proper first villain for these turtles. I'm glad they didn't just jump into Shredder or Kraang.
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While all the characters are fun and interesting, what I really love about this story is the central theme of acceptance. Having them all have the goal of being accepted by society felt natural, important, and very teen drama, which is fresh to the TMNT. They are often outsiders who don't really care about that, just protecting the city. Making that at the heart of the movie made me feel for them in a way I haven't before.
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Leaving the movie where it does excites me for more movies and the upcoming show they have planned. I think this version of the turtles can last us a good 5-7 years, and will end up being as iconic as the ones that came before.
Not that there is a super high bar for TMNT films, but this is definitely my favorite. I think kids are going to love, TMNT fans are going to love it, and non TMNT fans are going to be pleasantly surprised.
I highly recommend you go see this movie, I know I am definitely going again soon.
Thank you for reading! If you'd like to support me, you can:
Follow me at www.facebook.com/romancomicsnews
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officialleehadan · 11 months
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Step Outside
Hey peeps, so TW for verbal and emotional abuse here. This story will be happy, but it's gotta be bitter first.
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Star Song
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Leadah was never happy to have dinner with her parents.
On the best of days, her father was a drunken wreck of a man, her mother was an enabler, and her brother was a simmering pot of barely-contained rage.
On the worst of days, her father was a mean drunk, her mother was almost as bad, except without the booze, and Beck was visibly considering murder as a way to get out of family dinner.
“You wouldn’t believe what my students are up to,” Leadah said as she forcibly took the conversation away from her father’s crass hints that his years of parenting them ought to be repaid with generous financial gifts. Never mind that Back was perpetually somewhat broke, and Leadah was a research mage who taught junior mages on a space-base. Not exactly high-paying employment. “So I’ve been getting them into intermediate divination and I introduced them to tea leaves and-“
“Booooring,” her father, Donny, moaned with a loud, obnoxious tone that made it absolutely clear how little he respected her work. “Come on. The students again? When’re you going to do something worthwhile with your time? All the teachers for that fancy school we sent you to said you would be rich someday.”
“I don’t want to be rich,” Leadah said through gritted teeth. “I’m helping to shape the future of magic, Dad. That’s more important than money.”
“Sweetie, we just want the best for you,” Purah, Leadah’s mother spoke up, sad around the eyes as she always was when Leadah and her father had this same argument. “We grew up poor, you know. We don’t want that for you.”
“I’m happy at the research base,” Leadah protested, although this was an old argument, and they all knew the steps. “I always wanted to teach, and now I’m doing that.”
“We knew the boy was gonna be a disappointment, but you were supposed to make up for it,” Donny muttered resentfully and heaped his plate with a third serving of dinner. Leadah’s mother always made enough for six people because Donny tended to eat for three. “What’s the point of having a genius in the family if you can’t even make ‘em do anything useful?”
“I’m doing something useful!” Leadah snarled as her own temper began to fray. “I’m a teacher, Dad! I always wanted to be a teacher!”
“We just think you should be applying yourself a little more,” Purah said cajolingly, as if Leadah hadn’t nearly burned herself out as she fought her way through the academy, and the ranks of student all richer and better-connected than she was. As if she hadn’t had to break herself in half to get the scholarships that let her go to academy at all. “You’re so smart. We just know you can do anything you put your mind to.”
“If she’d shut up about the evil corporations, she’d make some money,” Donny muttered into his pile of mashed potatoes as he alternated bites with swigs of beer. “Just gotta do what I do.”
“Drink herself into an early grave, right Lardo?” Beck snarled, his temper already hotter and more volatile than Leadah’s. Donny glared at him, but Beck’s menacing, dark blue magic flared around him, visible even to non-mages. Donny knew better than to every lift a hand to Beck, who was just waiting for an excuse to kill him, but neither of them would start that fight with Purah in the room. “Suck down junk until she’s too fat to walk and thinks beating kids makes them smarter. That’s what she’s gotta do? Shut up, old man, or I’ll shut you up.”
“Beck, you need to respect your father,” Purah chided him, but that was an old, and long-lost battle as well. There was no way Beck would ever respect Donny. “He worked hard to bring you two up.”
“You worked hard to bring us up. He worked hard to drink himself to death,” Leadah said, abruptly tired of the fight. She was finished eating anyway, not that there was much left once Donny was done with his own dinner. “Beck, you do the outside wards yet?”
“Not yet. Grab the wine. I’ll get the runestones,” Beck said, angry, but willing to follow the same tactics they always had for these family visits. The wine was a tradition. Purah didn’t drink, and Donny thought wine was pretentious, even when it came out of a box. Donny opened his mouth to protest, but Beck pointed a finger at him. “Not a word, Fatso. I haven’t punched someone all week. Don’t make me break my record.”
Leadah didn’t wait to hear Donny’s reply. Beck was pulling the attention onto him long enough for her to get out into the yard, and she wasn’t going to throw that gift away.
The wine was on the counter. Wine glasses never survived their father’s rages, so she grabbed a pair of chipped mugs that were older than her, and ducked out the back door before their mother could stop her.
By the time Beck made it out the door, she was halfway into her own mug, and had his waiting.
Donny wouldn’t come out after them. For better or worst, he was afraid of magic, and the threat of magic in the offing, even magic that would protect the house, was something that kept him well away.
“Don’t let him get you down,” Beck said when he took his mug of wine, and joined Leadah on the half-broken loungers out on the patio. “Mean old man wouldn’t know something good if it bit him on the ass.”
“Hard to remember that when I’m still struggling to pay rent,” Leadah mumbled. She could put a brave face on things, but the words hurt every time “If I can get that spell to work, maybe I can… maybe I can stop letting people down.”
Beck winced, sighed, and took a hit from his wine.
“Don’t tell anyone I said it,” he muttered to her, almost ashamed to even be speaking aloud. “But I’m proud of you. We had rotten teachers. You care about kids like us. Galaxy needs more teachers like you. And… look. I saw that spell you’re working on. I think it needs one person to sing, and one person to stabilize it. So… if you think you can get your fancy school to let me inside… maybe I can help.”
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Sorcery Spells
Star Song (Subscriber Only!)
Homeward Bound
Step Outside (New!)
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MASTERLIST
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virgilisspidey · 1 year
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Do you like the hc that all the rise bois are smart in their own field?
Like:
Donnie: Obviously in tech and book smart
Leo: biology/medical and street/strategical smart
Mikey: creative/art and physological smart
etc like that, similar to 2012 bois (yes i will die in the hill that all 2012 bois have their own field of genius, similar to rise, all these turtle bois are smart ok)
Of course everyone is smart in their own right.
Like how I'm smart when it comes to writing and how my older sister is smart when it comes to styled and clothing.
The rise boys and 2012 boys are all smart in their own ways.
Everyone is smart, they might just not find the thing they're smart at yet (like 2012 Mikey and his knowledge about the Kraang) or they were born with it (like the donnies), some people had to work hard for that smarts (like the leos and raphs) and some just have natural understanding and talent (rise mikey)
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morfanerina · 1 year
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Spirit Games
Chapter 1 / ? AO3
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Children’s toys and games were rare to find in the early days, so whenever Splinter found some he tried to take them to his boys. Some he recognized, others he did not. The ouija board boasted itself as a game and the rat shrugged, shoving it into the old backpack already filled with food. The boys would probably enjoy a new silly game for entertainment.
A turtle tots story
Leo huffed, twirling around on his heels and walking to the main living room. Donnie had snapped at him again, giving an annoyed hiss and biting the air when he tried to get closer to what he was doing. The other seven year old had not played with any of them for an eternity, choosing to read that stupid book while using those dorky glasses instead of doing something cool like hanging out with his twin.
Ever since Dad got him those advanced big boy books Donnie wouldn’t hang out with them, barely even talking with them at meal times.
The slider sat down, next to Raph and Mikey, the former turning his attention to him while the latter continued coloring something.
“Don won’t come?” Raph asked, frowning when Leo shook his head. Leo had curled up, shoulders slumped and the oldest hugged him “Hey, you know how he is. When he finishes it he’ll come back to demand playing monopoly or somethin’.”
“We lost our board…”
Raph, knowing full well that the board wasn’t lost but quietly disposed of by their dad after a full blown fight between them started over the game, grinned “We can just make a new one.”
“... I just don’t understand why those books matter so much. He’s already the most smart of us! What can he learn with mech… eng…” Leo struggled to remember the full title and then huffed “smart people stuff.” The slider drooped and unwittingly made a tired chirp. The snapper realized he had probably not slept well again. He couldn’t do much for Donnie’s situation but he could do something for Leo.
Making the deep rumbling sound on his chest that made his brothers calm and sleepy, Raph waited for his younger brother to slump with a yawn and glare at him with a pout “I’m sure he has a reason and when he finishes with it we can all play together. Or when he takes a break! We could even convince him to play pretend with us!” Mikey gave a loud giggle at that, having left his drawing to look at his older brothers. Leo also snickered, remembering Donnie’s most recent disavowal over meaningless games that could not appreciate his genius. They all knew it was because they were forcing him to be the damsel in distress again. Raph made the rumbling again and seeing as the younger didn’t try to fight it he said “Dad's gonna come home soon with food but we all should have time for a nap.” Receiving only a small complaining whine from Leo, he gestured for the youngest to join in on the impromptu turtle pile. Mikey didn’t hesitate to snuggle right next to the slider in his arms. 
It was a testament of how tired Leo was that he was immediately down for the count once Raph settled down comfortably.
-::-::-
Dinner was cold chinese takeout boxes and some old - but serviceable - vegetables Splinter had managed to cook with the bit of camping gas that was left. The pickiest of the turtles may have had to force himself to eat a bit, cajoled by his older brother, but they were all with their bellies full so the rat was satisfied with the day’s catch. 
The turtles saw how the older mutant changed one of the burned out lights, stuffed something in the extremely old fridge he had managed to scrounge up and connect to the electricity a couple of years ago, and then went immediately to his designated room, where a functionable setup for him to watch the shows in peace had been installed (with many curses that small turtles will not admit to have heard). They were all going to their own activities when the rat popped into the room again.
“Boys! I have a game for you. Do not make a noise, daddy wants to listen to his shows in peace today.” he threw the box (Mikey managed to catch it) and he disappeared, leaving the turtles with the new game.
Donnie stared blankly at the box, adjusting his glasses, and turned to return to his reading when Raph put himself in his way “Hey Donnie, how about playing the new game with us?”
The softshell frowned, not really wanting to. He glanced at his other two brothers and noticed the pleading look on his baby brother and the slightly hopeful one on Leo.
It had been a while and really, Nardo looking at him as if him joining would make his day made him feel a bit guilty over having snapping at him before. He supposed he could leave the advanced circuitry chapter for tomorrow.
Donnie’s hesitant nod received three cheers that had to be abruptly contained as their dad shouted “Boys!”
Deciding to go to the reading room (essentially only used by Donnie outside study time for reading in peace), they each squinted at the box cheerily informing them the name of their new game.
“What’s an O-u-i-ja Board?” Raph asked. Leo opened the box and took out a flat wooden board with numbers and the alphabet, as well as a couple of words, and another wooden thing with a hole in the middle. Donnie snatched the box to try to find the instructions as his brothers awed at the board, Mikey looking through the hole of what Donnie called planchette and giggling.
“A… Spirit Board?” Donnie mumbled, having found some instructions on the back of the box. He read the rules outloud, his voice getting more and more skeptic as it went on “To finish the game put the planchette on the goodbye and wait. If needed, force it again to the goodbye. Dispose of the board after the game by… This is silly.” he declared, sounding bored already.
“So. We have to spell stuff?” Leo grimaced, his excitement for the new game dwindling.
“It’s to speak with ghosts?” Mikey asked, gettting more curious and ignoring Leo’s question. 
Leo and Donnie scoffed, though Raph did pale and was conspicuously quiet, playing nervously with his fingers.
“Ghosts don’t exist. It’s probably the ideomotor effect,” the purple loving softshell took note of the blank looks he received and added “Small movements we make and don’t notice.”
Leo muttered something under his breath but Mikey spoke louder “I bet’cha we can speak with a cool ghost! Not that idea meter or something but a, a… an old artist!” the youngest gasped “We can speak with the dudes that our names are from!”
Neither middle child seemed convinced.
“H-hey guys. We can always play monopoly instead of talking wi-with ghosts?” Raph shuddered and younger siblings all turned to him, surprised by the grimace.
“... Again we lost the board and- is that your fear stink?” Leo stared at the fidgeting oldest.
“Raph, fearing ghosts is illogical as they are not real,” Donnie stated “Truly, this is a stupid game. I should return to my reading-”
“No!” Mikey yelled. 
“If it’s not real then there’s no harm in playing,” the slider quickly said and added, leaning on Donnie to whisper “We can always scare Raphie and Mikey away from the room by making it look haunted.”
The softshell considered the proposal.
“Comm’on guys, let’s not.” the snapper shuffled his feet, glaring fearfully at the board.
“... it is best to confront a phobia head-on. It is called exposure therapy,” Donnie said, fully knowing none of his brothers would question the details. Or what a phobia was. “So, let us start, dear brothers. Let us ‘talk’ with some 'spirits'.”
The oldest turtle whined but stayed put. He may not like it but he won’t let his little brothers defenseless without him. He just prayed it was a nice ghost.
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imagine-turtles · 3 years
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Hi! I’m knew to this whole request thing and idk if you’re still taking them, but I’d thought I’d ask. How would the boy react to someone as smart (or smarter) than Donnie?
Thank you for waiting!!  Bayverse, unless you wanted different!!
The fact that someone can not only go toe-to-toe with his brother but actually outpace him in his own wheelhouse makes Leonardo uneasy.  He’s typically slow to trust outsiders, true, but this is an especially drawn-out case.  What if they have unsavory intentions?  What if they seem trustworthy, but he can only see what they want him to?  What if they’re playing some sort of long con with goals beyond anything they’ve even imagined?
(Even the most socially-challenged genius can see their only option is to win him over week by week, month by month.  Slow and steady.)
Leonardo hardly thinks of how Donnie might feel until someone else brings it up.  It simply never occurs to him that his brother could feel any less valued than he did before, as if they could trade him in for a shinier model like an appliance.  As if they would.  But he tries, awkwardly, to equalize his interactions.  Anything the newcomer gets--praise, acknowledgement, attention--his brother gets, too.  Donnie might find it ridiculously juvenile if he weren’t so earnest in his attempts.
Finally, if they manage to prove themselves, Leonardo warms up to them.  One genius is great, but surely two is better, and outsourcing some of Donnie’s squint work to a trusted friend frees up a good chunk of his brother’s time.  If he can talk them into sparing an hour or two for the greater good, of course.
~~~
Raphael honestly didn’t think anyone was smarter than his brother.  Sure, there’s Nobel Prize winners out there, but they wouldn’t stand a chance if Donnie had everything they have.  Education, scholarships, laboratories, equipment, the works.  None of those little dweebs would last a day in Donnie’s custom-sized Nikes.
But Raph knows he’d absolutely hate it if a bigger, stronger hardass started parading around the lair, so he does the only thing he thinks he can do: he gets a little competitive, despite both parties’ lack of interest.  Less than tactfully.  So yeah, maybe this kid genius is a better coder, or a cleaner welder, or a master engineer or whatever, but listen.  Donnie had to teach himself to do all that with a keyboard too small for his fingers, and tools duct-taped together, and make it all out of literal garbage, so he’s basically better no matter how you slice it.  The best, even.
Donnie may have to step in to tell him to quit being embarrassing before his ringtone is mysteriously and permanently set to that shitty little gummy bear song.
~~~
Donatello’s reaction hinges entirely on what kind of person the new genius is; if they’re a bit of a knob, he’s much more likely to avoid them entirely.  No point in wasting time and energy talking to a pretentious brick wall.  Not that he’d pass up the chance to mess with them, he just won’t go out of his way.
If they’re friendly, and open to teaching, he’d demand their attention.  God forbid anyone else want a second of their time before he’s done with them; anyone in the family could tell you that when Donnie actually wants something, he fights low and dirty.  He’d have them down there 24/7 if Splinter would allow it, set them up in his room and just sleep in one of the cots tucked around the lair.  It’d be way more efficient than going back and forth to the surface all the time.
(At one point he realizes how absolutely bonkers that sounds, and thanks every star in the sky that he never actually voiced that one out loud.)
Donnie’s not afraid of being replaced--he knows his brothers, knows how much family means to them--but he does feel obligated to take advantage of all the new information available to him.  In theory, if they both share their respective knowledge, they’ll both end up equally skilled and better off than they were before.  Ultimately, he’d never say no to another tech-head around, regardless of their attitude.  Age of the geek, as they say.
~~~
Michelangelo is, for the most part, happy that Donnie has someone to talk shop with.  He listens when he can, but they both know there’s only so much he can absorb unless the planets align and he’s hyper-fixated on the exact same thing as his brother.  Once in a blue moon.  Donnie just accepts Mikey’s invitation to listen as exactly that--he probably won’t be able to pinpoint any problems, but he’s a perfect sounding board.  But if Donnie has a friend who knows what they’re talking about, that’s even better, right?
Like Raphael, he wants his brother to know he’s irreplaceable, but he goes about it by talking Donnie up instead of talking the newcomer down.  He may not remember how to correctly solder the components to a PCB, but he knows most of what his brother can do with scrap and trash is impressive.  Besides, there’s plenty to love about the Don-tron without boiling him down to his technical abilities.  How messed up would that be, to love your own brother for his usefulness and nothing else?
The exception is the genius in question being an ass, in which case he joins forces with Raph to rag on them at every opportunity.  It’s not mean, really!  He’s just performing an act of public service by keeping them humble.  They’ll thank him later, when they’ve been kicked down enough pegs to realize what a jerk they were being.
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aurora-the-kunoichi · 3 years
Text
For the Love of Shell - Chapter Forty Six - Halloween Festivities
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Another chapter for you to snack on!
Here it is in its entirety. 
HALLOWEEN FESTIVITES
It had taken Donnie close to two weeks of hacking and snooping the government database to find out who and what that strange man was about. He was the head of a secret agency funded by the US Government called The Earth Protection Force or E.P.F for short and went by the name John Bishop.
 Unfortunately there wasn’t much on Bishop’s past but from the looks of his training and connections he wasn’t someone to cross.
Leo leaned against Donatello’s desk, his arms crossed over his chest deep in thought. He had been watching his genius brother search through pages upon pages of tedious government documents trying to learn more about this new threat. They were aware of their existence even before they saw them. Bishop said something about a little birdie chirping in his ear about them, who could that be? Was it possible one of the police officers that had assisted them with taking down Krang informed the government about them? Rebecca had assured them their secret was safe.
 His name being called broke him from his thoughts and Leo looked down at Donnie still parked in his chair. “What is it Don?”
 “Do you think if they got a hold of us they would really dissect us?” his younger brother’s voice wavered with  the horrid thought of being strapped down to a metal table cut and apart like a lab rat.
 Leo’s large hand rested gently on his younger brother’s shoulder giving it a quick reassuring squeeze, “I would never let anyone dissect any of you. I would die before I would let that happen.” The vile images that raced through Leo’s mind of his dead brothers in pieces made his stomach churn making him feel sick to his stomach. It was true though, he would lay down his life in a second to save his brothers and die defending them to his very last breath.
 Looking up from Donnie’s brown eyes Leo saw Mikey and Raph saunter in towards the Leader and the genius. The sly smile on Michelangelo’s face put Leo on edge, the youngest had something up his sleeve and was ready to test is sway with his eldest brother.
 Reaching Leo, Mikey swung his arm up and over his shoulder pulling the blue leader to his side.
 “What do you want Mikey?” Leo sighed allowing the brotherly embrace.
 “Do you know what today is oh brother of mine?” Mikey cooed playfully slapping his palm against the hard plates of Leonardo’s plastron.  
 “It’s October 31st Mike.”
 “Yeah Brah, its Halloween and we wanna go out and enjoy the parade. We never get to go out and do anything fun.”
 Leo let out a heavy sigh shaking his head, “Mikey, I told you before, we’re ninja and we stay in the shadows. Going topside isn’t a smart idea.”
Raphael moved next to his younger brother and tilted his head eyeing Leo, “We know what we are fearless and we know we don’t belong on the streets. But today is the only day in the year we get to experience walking around with the humans unnoticed and safe. I think after all we’ve dealt with lately I think we deserve to go have a little fun topside.”
 Before Leo could reply the voice of their Sensei interjected stopping the conversation. “My sons, you are right, you have been so dedicated to the safety of this city that you have not been able to enjoy the spoils of your hard work. Halloween is the only day you can go up into the streets with no fear of hatred for your appearance or fear of scrutiny of your mutation. Please take this day to enjoy yourselves and unwind. Interact with the outside world but please be careful.”
 Leo and his brothers stared wide eyed at their aging father. He had just given them permission to go topside and enjoy Halloween. For the first time ever!
 “Besides.” The old rat continued. “You are old enough to make your own decisions and able to care for your own safety. Who am I to keep you from your destiny?”
 The atmosphere in the lair exploded as Raph and Mikey jumped into the air in excitement high threeing each other. Mikey turned to his genius brother beaming from his large skateboard chair and slide to his side smacking him on the back of his shell.
 “Tell them about that party you heard about Donnie. Maybe we could go there for a bit. Didn’t it say there would be food?” Mikey turned Donnie’s chair to face his other brothers who were now looking at him awaiting a response.
 “What’s he talkin about Donnie?” Raph quipped picking up a small trinket from Donnie’s desk flipping it over and over in his oversized palm.
 “I follow a local neighborhood watch blog and I guess someone bought that old church on the edge of town that’s been abandoned for years for a dollar. You know the one, the one built in the early 1800’s with all the missing windows? It’s been in shambles from all the vandalism over the years.  They have been remodeling it for the past year and finally finished a few weeks ago. They’re holding a neighborhood Halloween party for all the people in the neighborhood. There had been so many people stopping by during the construction to see what was going on, the owner thought it would be nice to let everyone see the work done to restore the old church. Supposedly there will be food too, which is what caught Mikey’s attention a week ago.”
 Mikey took out a lone nunchaku and spun it in his wrist circling Leonardo; he could tell by the confused look on his brother’s face he couldn’t remember the place. “You know that old church we used to play in when Master Splinter went to bed, we’d sneak out and play around swinging in the open rafters and hurtling the old pews.”
 Suddenly Mikey stopped in his tracks the blood in his veins running cold, he realized what he had just confessed in front of their father. Something he did not know about their past.
 “Mikey.” Raph growled in frustration resting his large head in his hands.
 With a grimace across his face Mikey slowly turned his head to face his father, dreading the death glare from the feisty old rat. The amused look on the rat took him by surprise, he wasn’t angry?
 Splinter watched his sons faces as they glared at their youngest brother then trained their gaze to their father to see how upset he was. When all their attention was on him he began to laugh, a good belly laugh he hadn’t managed to have in quite some time. “My sons you were only 6 years old when you started to venture out on your own. Your ninja skills were barely even tapped yet, so I heard you four leave each time. Instead of punishing your natural inquisitiveness for the outside world I just followed close behind to make sure you were safe. You boys will have hardships around every corner as you continue to age, who was I to stop you exploring your city. The more you got comfortable with your surroundings the more you could protect yourself; learn faster ways to get home. It was a very tiring time though, making sure I heard you each time, so I could supervise. Not a lot sleep when you were curious toddlers. But it did help your confidence and your bond with each other. You knew you had to rely on each other to get back home safely.”
 Their tense bodies relaxed as their father confessed he knew they had gone topside when they were younger. It was a secret they had promised not to tell anyone just in case it would get back to their father. As it turned out he knew the entire time and had followed them on each adventure.
 Leo let out a shaky breath realizing the wrath of his father would not come. A large bullet had been dodged and a small weight of the lie was lifted. “Yes, I know which church you’re talking about now. Yeah, I wouldn’t see why not, could be fun seeing the old place redone.” Leo scratched his chin contemplating their route; if they were going up to the streets they needed some sort of plan before they headed out just in case they got lost in the crowd. They still needed to be careful even though this was a leisurely outing. There was always a chance of running into some Purple Dragons at Halloween.
 To their surprise and delight it wasn’t difficult to get into the parade. With their great “costumes” they were pulled into the sea of people by several hands congratulating them on the detail of their work. At one point people on a parade float had tried to coax them up and onto the decorated trailer. Politely declining they moved back away from the reaching hands. That would expose them more than they already were. Thankfully their ninja skills had helped them mange to avoid any cameras as well.
 It was nice getting to know people, conversating and mingling with their fellow New Yorkers. There were no screams or flying insults, just random high fives and praises.
 “So life like!” One woman squealed running her hands over Raphael’s forearm excitedly and pressing down on his skin to feel the dense muscles beneath. “It feels like real scales; how did you do that?!”
 The red brute smirked when her wandering hands tried to encircle the impossible mass of his biceps. He allowed her hands to travel farther up to his neck, her touches giving his green skin a rush of goose bumps. “These hands are pure talent sweetheart in more ways than one.” He cooed seductively stepping into her personal space getting lost in the attention.
 Leo watched the exchange and figured it was a good time to pry the beast away from his prey before he sunk his teeth in too far. “Come on lover boy, let’s get moving before you bite off more than you can chew.” His hand hooked around the back of the brutes harness and started to pull him away from the unsuspecting female.
 The woman grew disappointed when Raphael was pulled from her groping fingers, “Come back! He’s fine, I like it rough!” She called after the retreating terrapins.
“Damn Raph, you attracted the girls real quick.” Mikey laughed giving a quick glance over his shoulder at the sad woman they had just left behind.
 Raphael turned abruptly ripping his harness from his older brother’s tight grasp and hissed in frustration. “Damn fearless, why you gotta cock block a brother.”
 “What were you gonna do Raph when she found that ‘costume’ doesn’t come off? When you got back to her apartment for a few fun evening activities?” Leo laughed as he moved around a poorly designed SpongeBob costume.
 “You never know Leo; she could have been cool with fucking a mutant turtle? Aurora can’t be the only woman who’s willing to spread her legs for mutant dick?”
 The comment made the leader stop in his tracks and the dense muscles in his neck bunch painfully. Slowly he turned to face his brother and the expression Raph was expecting was nowhere close to the look on the leader’s face. Pain swirled in the blue orbs of his eldest brother making Raph instantly regret the remark.
 “I-I’m sorry Leo, that was disrespectful to Aurora.”
 Leos’ eyes lowered to the city streets contemplating something and gave his muscled brother one final glare before returning his attention back to the mass of people in the parade.
 Donnie came up to the ashamed brother and nudged his shoulder gaining his interest, “You know you’re not wrong Raph. Statistically speaking there are plenty of woman out there who would be willing to bed us. There is a huge following of people online calling themselves ‘Furries’ and ‘Scalies’ that would prefer our unusual body types and larger…….physiques to normal human beings.”
 With a deep rolling laughter Raphael patted his genius brothers shell, “Thanks Don, I’ll keep that in mind next time I’m on the net.”
 As the parade came to a close they parted from the bustling crowd and headed towards the remodeled church that was holding the public house warming party. The walk was short but the anticipation for their first real party was staggering.
 Just as they remembered, the old church was surrounded by a large brick wall that towered even over them, perhaps 15 feet tall. It would require scaling it they needed to get over its walls. The old cast iron door they was barely holding onto its hinges was replaced by a massive wood and iron door. Its structure looked sound and secure not like the rickety old gates. This was built to withstand some heavy pounding and privacy.
  As they passed through the new protective doors they gazed up at the newly restored stained glass windows, marveling at the colors. When they were kids they remembered several kids throwing rocks at the beautiful glass shattering the window to smithereens. It was good to see them intact and cleaned for once; they seemed to sparkle in the moonlight.
 The once broken and uneven stairway up to the main door had been removed and replaced by fresh concrete and a new wood and iron hand rail. Gone were the tags from gang members and inconsiderate kids who defiled the old brick work on the outside of the ancient building. Someone had spent hours power washing the outside to rid the grey stone of the canned paint.
 Reaching the top of the stairs the old wooden doors that had been long torn from their hinges had been replaced by new metal doors. About half way up the thick doors were matching stained glass windows just above their eye line to complete the look of the exterior.
Donnie pointed to the almost invisible camera just to the left of the large front door, noting the advanced security system that protected the property. “So far I’m impressed, the tech is high end, like nearly impossible to hack and the outside is wonderfully redone. Even the shrubbery is trimmed and lush.”
 Raph’s large thick fingers wrapped around the elaborate handle and opened the door revealing the newly converted sanctuary. After all the years of abuse most of the pews had been burned or stolen so it wasn’t too much of a shock seeing the rows of benches gone. All of the religious relics were long gone as well; even the large wooden statue of Jesus that had hung above the pulpit had been taken years ago.
 The large spacious vaulted ceilings were repaired and refinished leaving no trace of the old roof’s leaks to see. At the back of the sanctuary was a huge circle stained glass window that sat high above the pulpit. It had been shattered long before they found the old building when they were tots so they never saw the vibrant colors inside the window. Now inside the round window sat a beautifully crafted piece of art, each little different colored piece of glass formed a dahlia flower. The large center piece was outlined with more flowers and stars with a background that transitioned from light blue to dark.
 Below the circle stained glass window was a large flat screen TV hanging from the wall with an oversized u-shaped couch just before it. Already people were sitting on it mingling and having conversations while snacking on plates of food.  
 The atmosphere was friendly and inviting and almost immediately people began to introduce themselves commenting on their ‘costumes’. That was when the aroma of delicious smelling food invaded their senses. Mikey was the first to grumble and turned towards the large kitchen sitting to the left, open to the expansive room of the old sanctuary. Atop the counters along with another large island covered in white quarts sat a plethora of foods and desserts.
 Mikey wasted no time and made a beeline for the kitchen and the foods followed by Raph and Donnie. Leo kept his attention on the transformation of the old church. They had never seen the space so lit up besides the beams from their flashlights. It was nice to see the old church fixed up and ready for its new life.
 Leo left his brothers to pillage the refreshments and continued down a wide hallway to look at more of the house. A bright sign with bold lettering was sitting on a stand just at the opening.
 “Please feel free to roam about the house. If the door is open you are welcome inside, but if the door is closed please respect the privacy of the home owner and remain outside.”
 Continuing down the wide hallway he peaked through each room that was open. The first room on the right was the old Library, it looked like it had been restored to its former glory. All of the busted shelves were whole and matching the rest of the wood perfectly. You wouldn’t have been able to tell of the previous vandalism which was nice, there had been too many swastikas lining the floor.
 Shelves took up every inch of space on the walls, from floor to ceiling it towered. Almost every inch of space was lined with books ranging from what looked like ancient to new. Colors splashed the shelves from their spines like an abstract painting making his fingers inch to pull a book from its home to read. They had their own library but nothing this expansive. His eyes and finger tips roamed over some of the spines and grew a bit envious at the rare books he only dreamed of reading. Some of them were ancient books from Japan dating back almost 200 years, he wondered if they should be in a museum not sitting freely on someone’s bookcase.
 Resisting the rising urge to pull a book from the shelve and take a spot on one of the lush chairs Leonardo took his leave and headed back out into the hallway. With a quick look the blue banded terrapin found his brothers hovering over the food thoroughly stuffing their faces. With a crooked grin he turned back and continued his tour of the renovated church.
 As Donnie and Raphael moved away from the refreshments Mikey stayed behind sampling a tray of fancy cheeses. This was a great opportunity to try different cheeses together to better his pizza making skills. Where else would be get chance to sample so many cheeses at once…for free?
 Putting a slice of munster and gouda on top of each other Mikey slid the concoction between his lips and found very unpleasantly the two did not mix. While his face was scrunched up from the awful taste the person behind the counter who had been diligently working to prepare a new snack turned around and nearly dropped the tray in their hands.
 Mikey’s hand moved over his mouth as he hurriedly tried to finish off the taste on his tongue, “I’m sorry.” He mumbled quietly before popping a strawberry in his mouth to mask the flavor. “Munster and gouda do not mix. Mistakes were made. Blerg….”
 The woman in what was a phantom of the opera costume set the plate of what looked like pizza pinwheels down next to the veggie tray and stepped back. She smelled of freshly baked breads and sweets, it was comforting and made his stomach grumble for more. Mikey ignored her unsure gaze and swiped up a pinwheel to pop it in his mouth.
 “Wait!” she cried out reaching for him as the pastry disappeared behind his teeth. “It’s still hot!”
 She was undoubtedly right; he could have sworn he heard the flesh on his tongue sizzle at the treat settled on the wiggling appendage. But instead of spitting it out Mikey huffed around the burning deliciousness trying his best to cool the food down and not drool all over himself. In and out he sucked in air desperately trying to bring the temp down. After a few minutes of rolling the burning dough around on his tongue it was finally cool enough to swallow. Mikey took a swig of his punch to sooth his throbbing tongue and eyed the now giggling woman.
 “Are you alright?”
 Sticking the tip of his tongue out he nodded, “I no longer have skin on my tongue but you know I’ll live drinking the rest of my meals through a straw.”
 She mumbled something under her breath but Mikey couldn’t make it out.
 “What was that?”
 “Ohh oh nothing, just talking to myself really.” The woman stepped back and leaned up against the counter, “So that’s a pretty elaborate costume you got there.” Her finger waged up and down alluding to his massive shell and green skin. “If I didn’t know any better I’d think you were a living breathing turtle man.”
 “Nope.” Mikey coughed popping a piece of cool broccoli in his mouth. “All foam and plastic. Can you imagine a giant turtle living in New York. Where would something like that live?”
 “The sewer?” she calmly remarked. “I can imagine there are a never ending slew of tunnels under us with abandoned train stations perfect for subterranean housing?”
 Mikey reached for a chicken salad sandwich and paused. “Don’t you think it would smell down there?”
 “Nah, it’s not that bad down there.”
 “How would you know?” His baby blues rose in surprise but found the woman gone and another plate of pizza pin wheels in front of him. “Hmmmm.”
~~~~~~~~~~~
Leonardo made his way down the hallway and found a bathroom, two extraordinarily large empty rooms but only encountered two closed doors.  At the end of the hallway there were two large French doors open wide to a giant roaring fire. Taking his time to reach the large room he noticed an open set of stairs leading to the second floor to the old structure. Making a detour he began scaling the old wooden stair case noting the restored finish and carpentry work.
 His hefty green hand ran over the handy work with each unhurried step taking in the detailed craftsmanship. At the first landing there was another partial stained glass window that had been restored like the others along with a built in bench. Stopping to peer out Leonardo found a beautiful fresh garden with a massive water feature just below. The water poured out freely from a fountain that contained four large turtles perched on top of each other playfully. What a usual choice of animal for a fountain he thought in the back of his mind making his way up the last flight of stairs to the second floor.  
 At the landing Leo found the master bedroom just to the right. Like the large room below it had two ornate doors leading into a massive room and a large fireplace in the same spot as the first floor. Looking up he saw the only original stained glass window left sitting high on the wall. A massive circle with the virgin Mary holding a baby Jesus, the array of colors was stunning and as the moonlight filtered through the colored glass it left beautiful streaks of color on the white linen of the king size bed just below.
 A flair of jealously sparked through the leaders mind, to be human to be able to live above ground with such luxuries like windows and clean linen that didn’t smell like the dank sewer systems. To finally be able to sun themselves in the sunlight, would be a treat in itself. His fingers ran over the soft fabric and pressed down on the mattress enjoying the textures against his skin.
 He wandered around the room for a bit and ventured into the bathroom, his blue eyes wandered to the very large tiled shower and massive soaking tub. The tub alone looked like it could fit him and his shell plus another person comfortably inside. Taking his phone out Leo took a quick picture to show Donnie. What an improvement to the lair it would be to be able to actually have a tub large enough for them to immerse completely in, shell in all.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Raphael made his way through the open doors of the first floor, until he found the giant study in the back with a massive warm crackling fire in the gigantic hollow of the room’s main focal point. It radiated a welcoming heat helping the chill from the night’s air melt from his scaled skin. Looking around Raphael remembered most of the walls in this church had been crumbling stone. There had been small holes in the structure as time ate away at the history of the building. Now all the walls had been repaired and covered with sheet rock and no doubt insulated property for New York’s winters.
 He walked around the room running his finger tips over the antique wooden desk when a voice came from  behind him.
 “And there was two.”
 Spinning around her found a woman leaning up against the thick trim of the open doorway dressed as a female phantom of the opera. She was dressed in a nice fitting tux with a large flowing red cap, a black brimmed hat covered her hair and a white mask that covered more than half of her face. He vaguely remembered seeing the woman working in the kitchen putting out fresh food for the guests. Maybe she was the host?
 Resting his backside on the edge of the desk Raphael kept his sights on the woman as she moved forward into the room, “Yeah I’m here with my brothers. If you see two more less attractive pretend turtles they be them.”
 “Brothers?” She cooed. “Are you all as handsome? And who is the talent behind these amazing costumes?”
 He watched her shift close fingers trailing along the crevasses of Raph’s muscled bicep. As she passed by he could smell bread and sugar, the woman had been baking all day for the scent to cling her to her like that. A hint of pizza accompanied the delicious smell as well making him suddenly hungry.  
 Raph was ecstatic Fearless wasn’t there, he may not get to take anyone home but by the way the woman was circling him like a vulture he was more than happy to offer up a small meal to the woman. He deserved a little action. Besides it had been a while since he had kissed a woman and Raph very much missed the taste of her even if it was brief. “Yeah we’re blessed, but you’re lookin at the cream of this crop lady. It don’t get any better than this.” His arms opened flexing his muscles putting on a show for the enthralled female.
 The woman stopped a few feet in front of him and smiled, “Impressive. What brings you guys to the open house and not out winning some costume contest? You could win top dollar looking like that. Not that I’m complaining about the position I’m in.” closer she moved resting her hands on his thighs.  
 The lowered lights and flickering flames from the fire crackling in the background made it difficult to see her eyes but one thing was for sure, she was definitely eye fucking him. The signal couldn’t have been clearer. Raphael leaned back spreading his legs which shifted her fingers higher on his thick thighs, “You’re just lucky I guess.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As he finished his solo tour on the second floor Leonardo found three more empty bedrooms along with their own en suites with equally large shower stalls and soaking tubs. Each room even had their own fireplaces, most likely for heating the rooms back in the day when electricity wasn’t widely available. Exiting from the last room he saw Mikey and Donnie leaving the master bedroom still munching on hors d’oeuvres.
 “I can’t believe you did that Mike!” Don growled giving his younger brother a smack on the back of his carapace.
 Mikey gave an indignant huff and shrugged his broad shoulders, “What? I wanted to see if I could get in the tub. Don we need one of those in the lair, I think Leo would love to take baths in the winter.”
 “Please tell me you didn’t let him get in the tub.”
 Both stopped in their tracks and found Leonardo standing just down the hall from them, his thick arms folded over his chest in frustration.
 Mikey popped the last of his mini slider into his mouth and smiled sticky sweet to his older brother. “Omf corsh nomf ((swallows)) why would I crawl into a complete strangers tub to see if our shells would fit inside? I mean who would be that crazy and rude? You have such little faith in me brah.”
 “Of course he did,” Donnie cut in dryly. “Had to swat his hands away from the faucet to keep him from filling it up for a ‘test run’.”
 “Mikey.” Leo’s voice was low and threatening in its authority wiping the smirk right from the younger turtle’s face instantly.
 With one stern gesture from their fearless leader all three mutants headed back down to the main floor. Without a word Leonardo felt himself pulled subconsciously into the large room with the fireplace just to the right of the staircase, as if it called to him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
With delight Raphael allowed the enthusiastic woman to crawl into his lap straddling his powerful legs. Now with her so close the bread smell gave way to a familiar smell, the smell of a woman and her arousal. It was thick and clouded his senses as she leaned in, mask still covering her face. His large hands found her waist but didn’t stop her from advancing further.
 “God you smell amazing, it’s been too long Red.” And with that she leaned forward slanting her mouth over the brute’s beak claiming a kiss.
 The familiar taste flooded his senses and Raphael reacted gripping her tighter. His tongue pressed into her mouth plundering the warmth groaning as she whimpered softly grabbing his cheeks with her hands.
 “Fuck.” He moaned breathlessly between each engage of their lips.
 As their mouths connected Leo, Donnie and Mikey walked in on the pair stopping in their tracks. They watched Raphael’s enthusiasm skyrocket as the kissed deepened. Both large arms wrapped around the woman pulling her impossibly close returning the kiss with everything he was.
 Raphael’s large mitt ran up the back of her neck and ripped the black hat from her head and locks of blonde were wound up in his green fingers. Mouth open and dumbfounded the three brothers could hear his rumblings over the fire. Raphael was clinging to the mysterious woman like she was a life line.
 “Hey it’s the snack lady!” Mikey pointed out breaking the spell around the two entangled on the desk.
 The woman slowed their kiss and disengaged from the brute and the massive turtle slumped down on the desk panting with a punch drunk look on his face; lips still glistening from their activities. One hand reached to her cheek under the mask cupping the right side of her face lovingly.
 Slowly she reached for the mask covering her face and slipped it free. There perched above the content brute was Aurora. Her violet eyes met with all three brothers and grinned. “Welcome to my home boys.”
 @imthegreenfairy88​ @tmntspidergirl​ @ravn-87​ @alonia143​ @blossom-skies​ @tmnt-bucklover​
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nights-legacy · 4 years
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Ice Breaking Utterance-Donnie
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Donatello 2014 Version
+ Y/N always felt like Donnie didn’t like her. In reality, he just didn’t know how to act around her. So he would act dismissive but never cross. One day, all of them are hanging out and Donnie cracks a quiet comeback to one of Raph’s one liners. Only Y/N hears it though and bursts up laughing. She gets strange looks from everyone but Donnie who starts to laugh too. One statement finally breaks the ice.
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Y/N’s POV
It wasn’t the first time that I had been ignored and excluded by a single person. Not in the slightest was it the first time. But it was the first time it had been by someone I was actually close too. Well, not really close but by someone that I spent a lot of time with. I spent 80% of my time in the lair with the guys, April, and Casey. At least, three out of the four of the guys. Donnie for some reason…avoided me, ignored me, anything to where he didn’t have to deal with me. I don’t know what I did.
“And from what I heard Bebop and Rocksteady are living as comfortable as those two can.” Casey said. “The higher ups are still trying to figure what to do with them completely.”
“I say put them in a dark hole and forget about them.” Raph said from his spot at his weights. Everyone agreed to an extent. I settle back into the couch next to April as the guys conversed about the battle they had with the two idiot criminals.
“Do all men live in their past, like this?” I asked leaning into her shoulder with my arms crossed. She laughed.
“Most do. But I thought…” She trailed off for a second. We both looked back the guys then simultaneously looked at each other. “These boys would be the exception.”
“Apparently not!” I laughed hard. She joined me in laughing while I doubled over into her lap laughing and trying to catch my breath.
“Alright everyone! Gather round, I got the grub!” Mikey yelled as he came in with a tower of boxes. The guys all rush forward and passed out the boxes. The guys all chose places around the room only leaving only spot left for Donnie. I gave him a small smile as he sat down. He just gave me a blank look. I shrunk back a bit before turning back to the others. Casey was talking about some of his past assignments, trying to impress April I think.
“I remember this one guys that thought he was this really big, rough and tough guy when he was in reality a guy barely under 5 foot and weighed no more than 130 pounds. He was just a robber that got lucky then unlucky.” He kept going on and on with quips from Raph and Mikey.
“I guess that’s shows you how the criminal master minds aren’t as smart as they make themselves out to be. Trying to pull off things that are way out of their league.” Mikey joked around.
“Yeah, they try until we come along and squash every last one of them. Foiling their dastardly plans.” Raph said with confidence. Mikey and Casey laughed but Leo just rolled his eyes with a smile. I just shook my head and leant my hand on the back of the couch, spacing out until Donnie’s voice caught my attention.
“Scientists say the universe is made up of Protons, Neutrons, and Electrons. They forgot to mention Morons.” I choked and burst out laughing. Everyone looked at me in confusion. I looked at Donnie and smiled while still laughing. He realized that I heard him and started laughing too.
“What the heck guys?” Mikey asked super confused.
“Nothing Mikey. Don’t worry about it!” I said finally calming down. I looked at Donnie and giggled. “Not sure if you morons would understand. Good one, Don.” I said half expecting him to not respond. He smiled, chuckling and muttered a thanks before turning back to the conversation. I looked at him in shock before returning my attention as well.
*Time Skip*
A while later, everyone separated to do their own things. Casey left for home, commenting on having an early shift in the morning. Leo and Raph went to the dojo, Mikey took over the TV, April went to speak with Master Splinter, and Donnie retreated to his lab. I sat, a little apprehensive on the couch. I wanted to go talk to Donnie but was afraid he would be like before. I kept glancing at the door to his lab.
“Just go already!” I jumped at the voice and turning to see Mikey looking at me expectantly.
“What?”
“GO talk to the genius. I know you want too.” Mikey said pointing at the door with his controller.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I darted my eyes around, avoiding his gaze. I heard him scoff. Suddenly he was standing in front of me. I recoiled back in surprise.
“Bull.” He said before picking me up and throwing me over his shoulder. “It’s not unapparent the tension between you two you know. I have seen how he has been dismissive of you since the beginning. I also noticed the little moment you two had earlier.”
“Mikey…” He was walking towards the lab.
“No, no.” He set me down on the ground. “Go!” He shoved me into the room before shutting the door. I stumbled and fell the ground hard.
“Ow.” I groaned rubbing my elbow and sitting up slightly. I green hand appeared in front of me, spooking me a bit. I looked up and saw Donnie. I gave him a small smile and grabbed his hand. He pulled me up and helped steady me.
“Are you alright?” He asked. I nodded but winced as my fingers brushed a cut on the back of my arm. Donnie noticed and pulled my arm to him. He looked before guiding me farther into the room. I sat down as he got supplies to dress my cut. He silently got to work.
“Thank you.” I said not being able to stand the awkward silence. He looked up at me and sighed. I bit my lip as he finished.
“You’re welcome.” He said as he stepped back and leant against one of his tables. He crossed his arms before pinched the bridge of his beak. “I’m sorry.”
“What?” I looked at him surprised. He let his hand fall from his face.
“I’m sorry for the way I’ve acted. I had no right. I just…” He trailed off, looking away. I smiled.
“Go on.”
“I just didn’t know how to act around you, Y/N. I don’t even know why either.” He got up and started pacing. “You were just somehow different from April, Casey, and Vern. I just couldn’t act normal around you. My chest would tighten and my heart would start to race. Like it is now.” He began to ramble. I chuckled as I realized what he was saying.
“Donnie.” He didn’t hear me. I got up and walked toward him. He didn’t notice until I grabbed him by the tails of his mask. He yelped as I pulled him to me. He turned around quick and yelped again when I placed my lips on his. I pulled away and looked at him. “I understand and it’s okay.”
“What? Oh…umm.” He blushed and scratched the back of his head. I smirked. “That all makes sense all of a sudden.” I chuckled. He tentatively set his hands on my waist. “I went about this all wrong, didn’t I?”
“Yep.” I pulled him into a soft kiss. This time his kissed back. Growing comfortable, he pulled me closer and flush against him. “I guess you need to go thank Mikey for pushing me in here.”
“Oh, yeah. Now I know who I need to have a word with.” His face grew serious. He pulled back and grabbed my hand. We walked to the door and he opened it. He leant against the door jam and pulled me against his side, arm over my shoulders. “Hey Mikey!”
“Yeah?” He paused his game and turned around. He saw us and smirked. “So you two made up?” He wiggle his brow ridges. Donnie smiled and nodded. I saw Leo, Raph, and April standing off to the side.
“Yes we did. Thanks.” Mikey got up and bowed. He froze when Donnie spoke up again. “But…you need to be more careful Michelangelo. Next time one of your little stunts results in hurting Y/N again, you’ll wish you pissed off Raph instead of me.” Mikey pales, gulping.
“Oh no. I’m sorry! Won’t happen again!” He squeaked looking very worried. Raph burst out laughing and you could see Leo and April trying to keep it together. Mikey mocked a brave facade.  “So are you two like a thing?”
“Mikey!” April berated. He looked at her with a ‘what’ face. As the others bickered, Donnie and I snuck back into the lab.
“So…are we a thing?” Donnie asked. I smiled and thought about for a second but I already knew the answer. With a simple nod, I pulled him in for another kiss. A crash from the other room pulled us apart. The sound of Mikey’s screams and Raph loud threats gave way to the fact that they were up to their usual game of cat and mouse. “They can be big idiots. Sometimes I just want to beat myself hearing them act like this.”
“Self-Control, the only way to survive in a world full of idiots.” I said while leaning towards him. His eyes widened before he cracked up laughing like I did earlier to finally break the ice.
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divine-motion · 4 years
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don’t fucking interact if you ship t/cest and minor/adult ships
more shitty phone photos of sketchbook sketches for my tmnt fan incarnation/tmnt 2012 rewrite bc i have no shame and i’m having fun with it! pictures should have captions since i spent time writing them out, but tumblr might mess it up, so in case captions doesn’t work: 1. left to right: leo, donatello up, raphael down, michelangelo 2. Casey Jones up top, April O’Neil to the right, donatello in the middle and karai at the bottom 3. casey and don again, raphael to the left, mikey at the bottom just bc i liked how their their expressions turned out and didn’t want a bunch of negative space so don and case appear again 4. size chart featuring turtles. left to right: leo, don, mikey, raph 5. sketchy Slash design. big boy.
general thoughts character stuff below the Keep Reading. A Lot of rambling below so beware!!
April: 15 years old, trans and bi. local fifteen year old telepath finds out that not everyone is able to feel what other people are feeling, something she’s been able to do since she was six after she played in that one weirdly glowy puddle (early Kraang mutagen attempt that only managed to mutate April in the sense that it gave her telepathy, was originally intended to make humans become part of the Kraang hivemind). she’s largely unfazed by the existence of mutants and aliens, taking it in stride, and finds out about the Kraang - and meets the turtles - while snooping around TCRI business (aspiring journalist that she is) and accidentally witnessing the mutation of Snakeweed. her telepathy, which later as she grows in power alongside the turtles extends to telekinesis and basically possession, is very useful whenever she gets into a scrap since she can predict what moves her opponent will make, thus letting her dodge their blows effectively. personality wise she is a very determined and driven young girl, incredibly curious (and cannot mind her own business, she wants to know all the drama while not having to be part of it... which makes her very fortunate to be a telepath. listen she’s 15 she’s allowed to misuse her powers a little bit. as a treat.), playful, and cheerful, and she’s an extroverted autistic. in her spare time between her studies, she likes to play bass, sing, read, and write. that, and investigating whatever shady business is going on in town, and she makes it very clear to the turtles that even if they weren’t going to deal with the Kraang, she’d continue to try to stop them herself. she would like to not live under the threat of her or her loved ones getting mutated, thank you very much! and, you know, it’s kind of exciting. kind of.
i know it’s bc i have brain issues when it comes to parent figures but i am very much leaning towards Splinter not being... a good dad. i don’t think 2012 Splinter is a good dad anyways but i’d probably amp it up, make him a mix of 2012 and idw probably. i’m still mulling it over but like, remember in the season 1 finale when leo is watching his show and thinks the captain guy making a totally unnecessary sacrifice is a heroic move, and then Splinter tells leo (his fifteen year old child) that leo should know what or who to sacrifice, more or less telling him to sacrifice his brothers’ lives, potentially?? i know there was a lot at stake but hello??? i remember watching it and being like me: ah i see, this is showing that splinter is wrong and there is no need for any sacrifices as seen in the show when the captain Goes Down With His Ship for no reason other than just sacrificing himself, and leo will see that- leo: *tries to sacrifice himself twice in the finale, both times being kind of unnecessary/seemed like if he had just hurried or done something slightly different there would be no need to stay behind, and he gets out fine with no consequences, seemingly no injuries, and does Not learn anything, his brothers don’t even get sad when they think he died or get mad at him for pulling such a dumb move) me: surprised_pikachu.jpeg
like that moment haunts me. has any other splinter told their sons to sacrifice himself or his brothers? has any other splinter put that on them??? idw doesn’t count if he has bc he’s more explicitly supposed to be bad so???
sometimes writers think they’ve made an uncle iroh but they really, really, really haven’t. also his backstory is the same as in the show
anyways. Donatello: 15 years old, bog turtle, nonbinary (he/they, doesn’t mind being called brother but doesn’t like to be called “boy” or “girl” or whatever), bi. he isn’t in love with April. no creepy incel shit here. donnie is instead more like a mix between his Rise and 2003 self. he has trouble expressing himself and is pretty introverted, but he is very altruistic, kind, and compassionate. a lot of his inventions are made to help people and he was driven to learn about science and engineering because he wants to find a way to reverse splinter’s mutation, to give splinter his life and humanity back. he feels like he needs to know if splinter would just abandon them if he wasn’t a huge rat man, needs to know if there’s any part of splinter that blames them for being constant reminders of his mutation. other than that, he also likes to make inventions because he’s a dreamer and wants to experiment to see how much of the unknown he can push beyond. also, the best liar out of the turtles. also fairly good at compromising and prefers to solve conflicts without violence he can get a little... “obnoxious 15 year old genius” at times. even when he’s helpful it can come off as a bit “poor dear isn’t as smart as me”, and while he usually gets along well with Raph, he doesn’t handle Raph’s temper well at all (calls him “Wrathael/Wrath” and thinks he’s being super clever) and gets really dismissive of Raph’s “outbursts”.
Michelangelo: 13 years old, diamondback terrapin, unsure about the gender and sexuality thing but he doesn’t think he’s exactly cis and definitely not straight. a bouncy ball of sunshine and surprising emotional maturity and emotional intelligence! more so than his emotionally constipated brothers, at least. it’s on his thirteenth birthday (it was leo’s idea for them to pick dates that would let them have their own birthdays instead of sharing the “Mutation Day”, Mutation Day being another special “holiday”) that the Plot would be set in motion, as he’s finally allowed to go to the surface same as his brothers, and on this first night out they meet April and the Kraang and other mutants. he is a goof still, but he’s capable in his own right and gets frustrated when people treat him like a baby or an idiot because he’s not. he doesn’t always treat everything with the seriousness it should but like. he’s thirteen, he’s having fun. even so, he’s very insistent of taking responsibility whenever he does do something wrong and gets mad if someone tries to take the blame for something he’s done. definitely the most compassionate and empathetic out of the turtles, he’s quick to make friends and is very persuasive due to his earnest nature and good heart. much like donnie, he prefers to solve conflict without violence but does enjoy knocking skulls a lot more than donnie. unlike donnie, though, he is almost overly forgiving and not petty at all. he’s well aware that his kindness and forgiveness may be taken advantage of, but he still likes to approach people with an open hand, even if he knows that it may end up getting bitten. oh, and his hobbies include drawing, cooking, singing, and dancing. he likes to express himself!
Raphael: 14 years old, mississippi map turtle, trans, bi. all his fury is compressed within his tiny body, that’s why he’s so angry all the time! no, he’s not angry all the time, but he does have a short fuse. he absolutely hates his anger issues which leads to a lot of self-loathing, and a lot of frustration as his family members either don’t take his anger seriously or don’t have the tools to help him with it. he’s the physically strongest out of the bunch and the least agile. he loves animals and plants a lot and keeps a lot of flowers in his room, hoping that he can one day become a gardener. as his idw self, he wants to watch things grow, but no matter what he does he seems to be best at destroying things. he’s also the one most self-conscious about how the human world perceives them, as he greatly fears rejection, and is the first one to see something positive with people getting mutated - namely, that maybe this way mutants will be more well known and finally accepted by society, so he’ll no longer be trapped in the sewer until the end of his days. so yeah, he’s a huge optimist, in truth. also he’s great at knitting - great at creating and taking care of things in general - and there’s no leo and raph rivalry this time around. he can get mad at leo but not really more than he gets with his other brothers.
Casey: 15 years old, nonbinary (they/them), bi. teen vigilante who gets inspired to fight mutants and the big time criminals (no beating up pickpockets or shoplifters or whatever, just the ones that are really hurting people) and gets roped into the turtle fam after meeting raph and becoming unexpected friends (everyone was expecting it, once Casey realized that mutants are people and not weird monsters. well, not all the time, anyways). they struggle a bit in school not because of a lack of trying but a lack of time, as their parents work full time jobs and someone has to take care of casey’s little sister. their parents are very loving, but they only have so much time, so casey takes it upon themselves to take care of their little sister when their parents are busy and/or burned out from work. that, and they run into the classic dilemma of vigilante work clashing with school work. as always, they have a short fuse, they’re pretty cocky, they like beating ass, and they like hockey a whole lot. hockey, vigilante work, school, and taking care of their little sister... yeah, they have a lot on their plate. oh, and making their little inventions like the taser glove and their puck bombs, something that they bond with donnie over.
Leonardo: 17 years old, Central American wood turtle, trans, gay. he doesn’t fall in love with his sister oh my god. ahem. so, leo is raised from the start to be a Leader and has to mature very quickly, learning to be an adult way earlier than he should’ve, and as such he is very stoic and quiet, and doesn’t seem to have any hobbies, instead just doing chores and training almost constantly, and when he’s not doing that he’s reading or sleeping in his free time. he’s incredibly protective of his younger brothers and his other allies/friends, even if he acts distant and detached most of the time, and removes himself from situations where they’re having fun to not be the stick in the mud. he loves his brothers and admires them greatly, believing they could be So Much if the surface world would just accept them, and as a result he tries to be The Soldier so his brothers won’t have to. alas, they still get caught up in the Kraang and Shredder business, which frustrates him internally. he is the best fighter out of the turtles on account of having more years to train (and convincing Splinter to wait a few more years before they got Real training bc Come On Dude They’re Kids) but it’s the Only thing he’s good at, along with stealth and his sharp eyes. he absolutely sucks at talking when it isn’t about a mission or something he can script easily in his head. in his mind, he’s supposed to be more of a weapon than a person, an idea that isn’t exactly encouraged by Splinter... but not exactly discouraged either. his arc would be very paralleled with Karai’s, as they would both learn to hate their dads... also, absolutely down for murder, and a lawful neutral at best, putting his family and friends’ safety above all other things and following a strict personal code. doesn’t care too much for society’s laws, though.
Karai: 16 years old, demigirl, lesbian. same backstory as in the show, she’s born as Miwa but gets taken by Oroku Saki and raised as his daughter. however, she doesn’t exactly want revenge against Hamato Yoshi because she believes that he killed her mother. she never knew her mother, so it’s much more difficult to hate someone for taking her mother away, even if it does mean that she never got to know her mother. especially since her father rarely spoke of what her mother was like, and much more about how much he hates Yoshi. instead, her need for revenge is more for the possibly idyllic life she was robbed of, since she believes that maybe, just maybe, her father Saki would’ve been a kind father that would’ve let her have a normal childhood and not be molded into a warrior from the start if her mother still lived. and hey, maybe Tang Shen would be a nice mom too. being trained in the art of deception, Karai has a tendency to talk a lot and say very little, or at least very little that is true. she is rarely ever sincere and acts as if she’s taking nothing seriously, which is part of her defense mechanism to never let anyone close or see her true self. she mocks pretty much everyone, ally and enemy alike, but especially likes to make fun of her father’s henchmen and is always the first to point out their failures. while she does value honor to some extent, she is a bit “flimsy” when it comes to loyalty, especially after the truth about her father is revealed. when that is revealed, she at first just feels very numb, learning that not only has she been nothing but a tool and a weapon for the Shredder from the very start, but also that the idyllic fantasy where her mother still lived, perhaps her life wouldn’t be so different after all. she looks at leonardo and sees a reflection of herself, that her “real” father chose to train his sons the same way the Shredder trained her. she feels stupid for feeling like she’s been robbed of even a fantasy, but it still enrages her. of course, this also inspires her to stay with the Foot Clan... just to get the kill on Shredder.
... yeah. that got long. ahem. i’m very passionate about this unfortunately!! anyways i might draw/write more for it because no one can stop me and i’m having fun
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imma-lil-teapot · 4 years
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Which Turtle I’d Get Along Best With :)
This is actually in response to @aurora-the-kunoichi ‘s  post = 
Ignoring the facts on why they are your favorite turtle based on looks and character traits. Based on your personality alone who do you think you would get alone with the best and give me reasons.
I was going to respond to it in the comments, but found the more I thought about it, the more indepth I wanted to actually go into the subject, and it’s been a while since I posted something of my own (sorta) so here we go~
Also, please beware the typos and errors. They bite.
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A few things before we start... (Feel free to skip if you’re really not interested, it’s cool) ;)
-- Since a Bay!verse gif was used in the original post (points up), those are the Turts I’m going with in response to the post. :)
-- I have a handful of personal issues that I’m going to take into account when considering which guy I’d get along with best, namely: social anxiety and awkwardness, depression, panic attacks and low self esteem.
-- The general comfort setting I assume is during after the initial reaction of meeting them. So the friendship is still in its early stages but past the ‘OMGOSH, GIANT, TALKING, EXTREMELY BUFF, TURTLES WITH WEAPONS’ phase.
-- I really wanted to talk a bit about each one and how I’d feel around them, so how this is gonna work is basically least comfortable (first) to most comfortable (last) and of course as to why. :)
-- Please don’t think for a second that I dislike any of them based on this! I ADORE all of these boys (even though I do have a fav) and I fully believe that just about anyone (with good intentions) can get along with all of them and vice versa, even if it were to take a while (I’m looking at you, Raph ;P). I don’t see these boys being especially hostile to anyone without good reasoning, but like with all friendships, it takes time. 
And with that outta the way~ (Drum roll)
(4) LEAST COMFORTABLE~
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RAPHAEL~
Aww, Mr. Big Cuddly Teddy Bear himself? Why would I be the least comfortable around ol’ Red? Perhaps because, first of all, his SIZE!! :O Yeah, technically, Donnie’s slightly taller, and granted, they’re all pretty gigantic, but Raph’s on a whole other level! Skip shoulder day? I think not! And here I am, 5′1′’ and have to look to the sky to see this hulking mass staring down at me with such a piercing gaze and a toothpick poking out of his lips... Yeah, that social anxiety and shyness I spoke of earlier would be busy wetting itself whenever I’d be in the general vicinity of Raphie-Boy. Now let’s get real for a sec, it’s not like Raph’s gonna have a Leatherhead moment and turn savage at the sight of me, but in my irrational mindset, from his displayed temper and the way he goes at that punching bag, he could at any time... Not to mention how he often butts heads with Leo. It would take quite a while to completely dispel the tension and discomfort I’d be in whenever I’m around him. Maybe even a few years since I get really nervous around others that show a lot of anger and physical irritation. I’d definitely feel like he’d find me a bother, irritating or in the way a lot, even though he probably wouldn’t really since he tolerates a lot from others, but that’s just how I’d interpret his actions from my own point of view and I’d always try to stay a little clear of him for the most part. Seriously, I adore you, Raph, but you’d scare the cr@p outta me. :O
On a brighter note, I would admire his dedication to his family, his heroic actions and just the way he works out all the time. But you know, just from... afar. :) At least for a while until I got use to him more, then we might even hit it off after that!
(3) SECOND TO LEAST COMFORTABLE~
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LEONARDO~
Sorry Boi Blue. :’( You may be my fav, but I’d be an awkward mess around you. Now I dunno if the favoritism would hold true if I were to meet them in reality (there’s still a good chance it would), but like with Raph, Leo’s someone I’d admire from afar, though the nervousness wouldn’t be as hectic as with his younger brother in red since Leo doesn’t tend to display it as much and not in the same fashion. I tend to have a good amount of respect for authoritative figures (or at least I try to) and he’d be no exception to that rule, but because of this, I’d both enjoy and dread our little interactions for the fear of saying something stupid or to annoy him in anyway, even though I’d probably enjoy his presence since he’s someone to look up to (and no, that wasn’t a short joke ;P ) and to feel protected by. Again, I’d feel like a burden and an annoyance to him but unlike with Raph, I would have to at least open my mouth first to get that same amount of discomfort with him as opposed to Raph... That last sentence wasn’t meant to sound NSFW, just FYI. ;P But with Leo, I think I’d actually try and work around that amount of nerves to get into his good books since he’s proven he can be a bit more on the gentlemanly side so I feel I’d stand a better chance with him... But still pretty nervy and that is why he’s in the no.3 spot. Sorry, Leader Boy. :’(
Up side, the admiration is strong. Leaders have a lot upon their shoulders to bear so that alone puts him in high respects in my eyes. Not mention I’d be in complete awe whenever watching him practicing with his katanas and performing katas... I promised myself I wouldn’t fangirl, but DAYUM, BOI! It’s getting awful warm in the sewer~ Expect applause and compliments after practice! ;P
(2) SECOND MOST COMFORTABLE~
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DONATELLO~
Despite us talking about the smartest Turtle, this one’s a no-brainer, really. :) Don’s a sweetheart so I think someone would really have to try their best to get this pacifist to at least not tolerate them. That’s not to say he doesn’t have enemies - like Shredder and Krang of course - but as long you’re not posing a threat to his family, friends, the innocent or the earth, I think you’re pretty much A-okay to him. He’d without a doubt be the brother I’d feel most comfortable around after the first as he seems to take into consideration the feelings and reactions of others and is just pretty laid back in general, not really loud and ranty and for that, I’d definitely feel more at ease around. Plus, he has a bit of a fun and quirky side that comes out every now and then. Heck, even a little bit of a potty mouth. X’D Don is definitely the one I’d go to for advice on just about anything, or just to share random information and trivia with. I feel he’d be a great listener, share his own opinions in a gentle fashion, provide heartfelt solutions and just genuinely be ready to help where he’s needed. Heck, he may even try to engage me in some simple tasks like helping him with a gadget he’s busy whipping up... This is however where the comfort will start to wobble: Don-Bon’s a genius, and I’m intimidated by brilliance of the mind. :( I’d start to feel compelled to stop talking to him after a while for the sheer sake of seeming too dense to be in his presence, especially if he were to start explaining equations and science related topics. His brilliant mindset would be too much for me to bear so I think I’d probably not spend too much time around him. That’s not to say the others aren’t smart, heck, but Don’s on a whole other playing field!
Other than that, I definitely would feel comfortable around this sweetie nerd. He’s adorable! Even though the brilliance is what scares me, I would in turn be in awe of it. :) He’s a regular Einstein and then some with a lovely personality to boot! 
When there’s something strange, 
with your home wi-fi,
Who ya gonna call?
DONATELLO~
*Is boo’d off the stage* X’D
And finally~
~(1)~ MOST COMFORTABLE~
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~MICHELANGELO~
*Lets off balloons and streamers* Well, what a surprise, am I right? ;P Raise your hand if you saw it coming! :)
But seriously though, there wasn’t much to question; Mikey’s easily the one I’d gravitate towards first and feel most at ease around. :) He’s so laid back, fun, non-judgmental, accommodating, sweet, hilarious and charming, just to name a few things! What can I say, the youngest brother of the Turts is adorable and I genuinely feel I’d get along quite well with him. <3 With all my own personal baggage, he seems like the one that would be most patient and understanding with me if anything was to surface, and he’d be so chilled about it or even joke around in a non-offensive manner to help ease the tension. That’s something I’d really appreciate with him, especially in certain situations. His goofiness could quell any nerves, that’s for sure. Even though I’m no prankster of any note whatsoever, if he were to rope me into a very harmless and innocent one here and there, I’d probably be game for it, so the two of us would probably have quite a bit of fun together. Watching movies together too, with pizza, of course! Even laughing at him showing/goofing-off during training. 
So yeah, Mikey’s hands down my go-to Turtle boy in terms of comfort level, emotional support and just about everything in that relation. I see no reason as to why I’d not get along with him. He’s just a really great guy whom I feel would really go out of his way to make any human with good intentions feel welcome in his family. Someone who’s really in tune with others’ feelings and emotions and would try to help them when needed in the best way he could think of. A real cutie-pie with a heart of gold who just wants to fit in with the rest of the world. Someone who wouldn’t really care what the person looked like as long as they meant well. That’s Mikey for you, and the one I’d probably be most comfortable around! :D 
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And there we have it! :) Definitely a fun and enjoyable post to type up! Although the ‘winner’ was a clear cut choice, it really got me thinking how I’d feel around the other three so am really glad I got around to doing this. :) Also, I’m sure @aurora-the-kunoichi​ would love to see more people respond to the question so if you’re interested, feel free to respond to it. ;) 
Thanks for reading~
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boficionado-a2 · 4 years
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SO THIS RANT WAS SMTH I PUT ON DIS.CORD YESTERDAY. I’m gonna put it here now because my feelings are all over the place right now and I wanna talk Donnie. HERE WE GO.
I’ve always strongly hc’d that Donnie has severe issues with anxiety, depression, and self-esteem/imposter syndrome, and a lot of it stems from a simple inability to connect with his siblings. There's signs of it from super early on that Donnie does just about everything he can to maximize his chances of acceptance. His brothers, while they fight and have issues, all seem better socialized.
But per my (ongoing) theory, he has always been a world apart from them. He was leaps and bounds ahead of them intellectually, and save for a few precious early years where that didn't matter as much, he's ended up alone for a lot of his life, spending more time in his lab than with his brothers. They could all feel comfortable talking, playing games, training, but Donnie just... has this insatiable need to learn to do everything and do it well. It's the gifted kid problem... once that's identified, it becomes your identity, and he's built himself around that.
He's a genius. He really is genuinely gifted. He learns things on the fly, picks up scientific studies as easily as he does languages as easy as he does engineering. But on the same side of the coin as that being his true calling, it also meant that he got called to do a lot more than he should've from a young age. Because you know Splinter's not doing HVAC work.
(Note: we're gonna get into Jay is pissed off about the healing mantras bullshit in short order so buckle up.)
So as soon as he started showing that he could take apart and put together toasters at age six without electrocuting himself AND putting them back together better than before, it unfortunately came with... certain expectations. If it broke, or was found broken, Donnie was expected to fix it. When they got sick, Donnie could usually figure out how to treat it with a few hours and some books... so that's what he did. He set broken bones, learned to stitch cuts... he became a sort of family multitool. As a result, he never learned a healthy respect for his own self and autonomy outside of people needing him... and never needing him for just being Donnie. Needing him for being a mechanic. Needing him to be an engineer. Needing him to be a plumber, a doctor, tech support.
So when they finally started branching out past the lair the idea of people who didn't know he was a genius and might like the person he was under all that was probably more than a little seductive (this is also why I tend to hc he wanted April's friendship and wasn't so hard on the crush side). Problem is he's not sure who he is if he's not the smart guy. (I generally handwave a lot of stuff out of canon and have him not act like an asshat in regards to April... just kinda picking out the bits I don’t care for there, but. The initial desperation for that attention made perfect sense.)
The worst part about the crush, as much as I hated that they kept pushing it well after the joke stopped being funny, is it reveals part of that core insecurity. April's new. She's a friend. She doesn't have the background that's judging him purely on his genius. So of course he wanted desperately for her to like him. He wanted to have that stability that his brothers had. Someone who liked him for him.
He's a shy, awkward kid who likes to read, likes skateboarding, and is perfectly at home playing video games like any other kid his age. He's got diastema and an overbite, both of which he's pretty self-conscious about. Gets in trouble for not training hard enough, but then can't train because something new broke. He's got a temper, but tends to get sad before he loses it. When he's scared, he rambles off random facts about some minor detail regarding the situation they're in. He's attached to his big brothers, but afraid that he just exists as a roommate and not a sibling. And when left to his own devices, he's a quirky, sweet boy with a wicked sense of humor, biting sarcasm, and just a want to be loved and treated as an equal to his brothers without anything else driving that.
So he just... keeps relying on that. If he's useful, if he makes things for their friends and his family then they'll like him more, obviously. And then he messes up and they make fun and the cycle starts all over again. And then.
AND THEN.
THE HEALING MANTRAS GET TROTTED OUT. AT PROBABLY SIXTEEN YEARS OLD AFTER HOW LONG OF BEING THE ONE HIS BROTHERS GO TO WHEN THEY'RE HURT OR SICK.
All that's handed to Leo and he's got one less thing he's needed for, and that is crippling. He's a child, he's built his whole life and self around being needed just so he can feel wanted by his family... and now they need him for one less thing.
Then of course there's the space arc, and he's barely even present. He's a footnote, because Fugitoid is there to solve all those problems for them. It's even a minor plot point in an episode.
“I'm not as smart as the professor. I just build things out of junk.”
To say Donnie has near crippling issues with anxiety and depression and deeply rooted imposter syndrome and miserably poor self esteem is probably understating it a lot.
I honestly think it's also why I'm so attached to my Wheels au. Because the boys had to spend almost six whole months learning just how hard it was to keep things functioning. (Four months of Donnie's coma, and the initial two months after he woke up being mostly bedridden bc he was still really weak.)
So it wasn't just the joking "I wish Donnie were here." It was four months of "Everything is on the verge of breaking constantly" and realizing that he'd been keeping them alive far more than they knew. And then he wakes up and suddenly he can't do a lot of what he did before, and it's clear he's getting mired in a depressive spiral. Because now he feels like he's lost that one thing he had a tenuous grip on: being needed.
Obviously he’s still needed, and he improves with some time and help, but. Yeah. That verse is very near and dear to me for a lot of reasons.
AND THERE YOU GO. YEAH.
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glapplebloom · 4 years
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You see so much negativity about this show, let’s do something positive.
Original Art used before was by AJthePPGfan
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The Catalyst
So I was watching Shadow Streak’s review on Save the Date when I notice a comment being upset that the girls are being constantly saved. I said that its only noticeable because the original focused on more action and had more episodes. If you count, you would probably see the girls being saved around the same amount of time. So I did via a speadsheet. This article was going to focus mostly on this before, but then the next review “Can’t Buy Love” happened.
One of Shadow Streak’s biggest complaint is that he doesn’t like the fact a six year old is having romantic feelings when they shouldn’t. I posted that they did show Buttercup give the Professor “something” for his date with the disguised Sedusa. For most people its likely a breath mint but I bet for others its a little more adult. And not mentioned in the comment is when the original had the confirmed 6 year old Buttercup crushing on a guy and said young adult taking advantage of her feelings. Don’t worry, its more about taking over Townsville.
There are plenty of reasons to dislike the show (Donny for example) but I would like the dislike being because of your taste and proper reasons. So while I could sit here and debunk others reasons (at least the ones that can be debunked), I think it would be better to see something more positive. So here are 10 things I like in the Reboot that would have made the original much better.
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1 - Buttercup and the Derbytantes
Its no secret Buttercup is my favorite Powerpuff. And looking at the reboot it seems like Buttercup is the favorite there as well since if episodes aren’t focused on her she is doing something to advance the story. And outside some minor changes (like her wanting to make cash being an extension from her Tooth Knocking Out Business from the original), she hasn’t seen significant changes. But a positive to her and the others to a lesser extent is that they have friends beyond one episode or each other.
All thee of them got Barry, Blossom has Jared Shapiro (who is hit and miss) and Bubbles had Donny (who is a constant miss). But I’m making this about the Derbytantes for two reasons: 1- they’re less awful than the two previously. 2- they show Buttercup having interest outside her sisters. She has a group of friends who gets her. Who accepts her even if she is a Math Genius. And who share in her kind of fun her sisters wouldn’t. It makes Buttercup more than just the Tough one of the group.
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2 - Blossom
In the original, Blossom was the least interesting to me. She was basically just the leader with your typical “I’m the leader so you should listen to me” attitude when Buttercup wants to go in. You know how many episodes focused on Blossom in the original? Four: ice powers, her stealing clubs, her hair getting ruined and suddenly losing and gaining confidence. Great for action scenes but as a character it makes her really one note.
In the Reboot, they gave her more to do. With Jared it shows she has a crush and how she deals with it. Her ego gets more explored as she has to handle not being in the right or being as good as she thinks she is. And even outside the 12 episodes focused on her, she has a lot more interactions with her sisters that makes them seem like sisters. One of my favorite moments is how Blossom suddenly acts like Rambo when the Daisy Robot takes over the house. To me, Blossom is a much more interesting character in the Reboot than the Original.
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3 - Bubbles
While the Reboot feels like it favors Buttercup, the Queen of the Powerpuffs is Bubbles. When it comes to episodes focused on her, she’s the most in both the Reboot and the Original. Even the final episode of the original was a Bubbles focused one. While the Reboot does make her more airheady than the original at times, there’s one addition they made that not only is a great addition in my book but also perfectly extends to her character: her being a programmer.
From the original we know two important things: she’s creative and she knows other languages. Coding is basically another language and you know programmers can do amazing things. The concept of Easter Eggs was born because a programmer wanted to add something and said thing turned out to be a brilliant addition to prove their program was stolen. This is a perfect fit for Bubbles to show that you can be smart in your own way than to just give this to Blossom because she’s the generic smart one.
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4 - The Professor
Him being more like the dumb fathers in animation is a justified complaint about the show. I feel its because he became a butt monkey in the end of the original series (having his voice stolen with the blessing of the Girls, acting like a child when they could fly instead of using his buggy, danced pants) and they decided to play it up more here. But there are moments I feel this Professor is a better father than the original.
There are two episodes focused on the Professor learning about the subject his girls are interested in so he can enjoy it alongside them. There’s an episode of a creation he made for the sole purpose of making sure they can’t guilt trip him into allowing them to stay up all night. And my personal favorite, being so angry he single handedly drove down to Townhall as Blossom is mind controlled because she disobeyed her. Even to the point that he won’t even let the other girls out of the car despite being thrown around. It just shows a lot more love than the original.
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5 - The Fashionistas
The strongest aspect of the original are the villains. They are arguably the best part of the original. But sadly besides Morbucks they don’t have a strong female villain that can be put on the same pedestal as the likes of Mojo Jojo and HIM. Sedusa is so one note she usually loses to other people besides the Powerpuff Girls. For the reboot, their new villains don’t have the same spark as the old with one exception: the Fashionistas.
Consisting of the Bikini Sisters, Bianca and Barbarus, these two have a clear theme, unique plans and great personalities that can bounce off each other or other characters. Like feel free to hate the Bridezilla episode but I really loved that Bianca’s reason to break up the marriage was because she felt she would be left alone since Barbarus was the Popular one, the Funny one and the Attractive one. Its a nice dynamic that I think would have been great for the original.
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6 - Silico
Despite having the most questionable reason since the show does a bad job telling us things like time, Silico is a good take for a villain that hasn’t been done in the original. Instead of being created alongside them, being jealous of them, or just simply being evil, Silico is a villain because of their actions. Since they destroyed his friends, even by complete accident, he’s going to destroy them.
This also was their attempt at an ongoing storyline in a similar vein as Steven Universe or Gravity Falls: have episodes be episodic and self contained but have clues or moments that would lead up to a later episode. Granted, not the best of said attempts but it is an honest effort to try.
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7 - Episodes
Its easy to point out Bad episodes and say they’re not as good as the original, but I think people underestimate those moments when the Reboot not only has a good episode but knocks it out of the park. I could highlight these good episodes and compare them to the original’s bad ones but that is not a fair assessment. But what I will do is highlight three episodes that I feel not only are the Reboot’s best episodes but also up there with the best of the original.
Home, Sweet Homesick: the episode where Blossom discovers that you shouldn’t grow up too fast and enjoy your time as a kid. Bubbles the Blue: you can feel sad and that’s okay. And finally the Octi-Father: the rage you see in Bubblevicious sharpened as a knife and even more dangerous. All without actually throwing a punch. That’s how you know you’re intimidating.
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8 - More of HIM
One of the biggest flaws of the remake is the lack of using the other villains. Outside HIM, Morbucks and Mojo, the most the others get is an episode of the Amoeba Boys working for Silico and the Gangreen Gang hustling. And while I do enjoy Mojo and Morbucks in the Remake, I know others don’t. But one you have to agree got a major push in a good way is HIM. This series really shows him living up to his one line: “Why destroy when you can torture with tooth decay” The Reboot also explains somethings weird from the original.
Remember the White Lie monster? How he seemingly came from nowhere and just as fast suddenly gone? The Reboot has a Secret Swapper Monster who was defeated in the same way: confessing. But the major difference is we know the Secret Swapper came from HIM, explaining why it suddenly came to be. This series shows how he can be just as devious as the devil people think he is.
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9 - Concepts
Its easy to remake something: just update the graphics and fix the problems here and there. But it is hit and miss when you add something to make it a reboot. We’ve seen hits in Ducktales Reboot and we’ve seen fails in both Thundercats reboots. But while some of the ideas the Reboot of Powerpuff Girls presented are misses, there are some good ideas.
Silico I mentioned above. A 4th Powerpuff Girl as a result of a previous attempt at creating the Perfect Little Girl not working out is another interesting concept. Mojo creating a Robot that can match the girls in ways the Rowdyruff Boys couldn’t. Morbucks possibly being turned good. These are very interesting concepts. The Reboot not making it work doesn’t mean these ideas couldn’t been more successful under better hands. 
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Honorable Mention - Lego
Love Lego. Love Powerpuff Girls. Match made in Heaven. Just got to get Morbucks and Mojo.
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10 - Inspiration
The one thing you have to give credit to the Reboot is that it inspired people to make stuff about it. Granted, a lot of it being stuff more in favor of the original but there are some great pieces out there about the old meeting the new. Some even highlighting how the Powerpuff Girls has changed over the years. 
You got new, younger fans being introduced to these girls and soon wanting more discovering the originals. You have old fans revisiting the originals to show others how much better these were.You got a reviewer in Shadow Streak looking into each episode of the reboot to give them a fair shot. And be honest, the Powerpuff Girls wouldn’t be discussed as much as it is today if it wasn’t for the reboot.
And that’s my list. I know its easy to dislike the Reboot, but I hope this list helps you understand why it has fans. And hopefully it’ll help you appreciate this when the Live Action Movie of the PPG comes...
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stilwaterskeeter · 5 years
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Rewriting Saints Row IV
Hi this is my absolute least favorite game of the series and I kind of hate it! But here I am regardless putting my time and efforts into making an entire post dedicated to what I like and (in my opinions) how to fix the parts I don’t like...
This is also written to match by SRTT post rather than the base canon for the games! Which literally changes nothing but Johnny is already known to be alive before this game, so yknow...
This is also a HUGE post whoops
And again, this is just for fun. Don’t like it? Don’t interact with it. I’m not forcing you to read this. That being said, I do like discussing this kind of stuff so I totally up if you wanna just talk about alternatives or how you think things would play out and stuff
Plot/Story Specific Changes:
President’s Cabinet:
Fuck Keith David! Get him out of here! Leave sir! Go back to your movies!
Johnny Gat is our new Vice President because we know regardless of his skill at the matter, The Boss would make him his VP
This also gives Ben King a lot more reason to hold it against The Boss that he isn’t the VP, because at least before Keith David was a likable actor and had his own skillset for the role. Now it’s Johnny fucking Gat who has all the diplomatic and political tact of a shoe
The Boss’ dream isn’t some stupid 50s sitcom, that was so dumb, hardehar 50s is so nice and polite my ass
I think shit like meeting Julius, the boat explosion, Dex’s attempt to kill them, Magarac Statue blowing up even if they tried to go there, Johnny bleeding out after the fight with Jyunichi, and probably much more are better suited pieces to a much larger much more intimidating and genuine nightmare sim that would have broken The Boss inevitably
All the times they almost died because they weren’t quick enough, all the times they just barely saved their friends? A lot scarier than “oh noes I cawn’t kiww anybodwy uwu” crap
Zinyak doesn't really destroy the Earth
First of all: I don’t think he’d waste so many potential assets over the folly of one idiot
Second of all: The man’s supposed to be like a genius of sorts? So I find it ridiculous that he doesn’t have the ability to hide the fact that Earth is Actually Totally Fine from an idiot like The Boss
Third of all: To avoid Kinzie being oh so smart and debunking Zinyak’s scheme- She’s absolutely distraught when the Earth blew up and surprisingly caught up in her emotions, a pretty new thing for her. So I think it’s plausible she would bee too caught up in the moment to do much and afterwards is too caught up trying to help The Boss find and rescue what they believe is the last hopes for humanity
Kinzie doesn’t save anyone before The Boss, she goes straight for The Boss and before trying to go to Earth, they rescue Johnny Gat
Kinzie was prepared prior to saving The Boss with a few locations already in mind that she found as she was looking for them
One of which obvs ended up being Johnny
Another of which is a Surprise Prison that will help us later
All she knows is that it’s definitely based from Stilwater in ye olden days (first game, not actually ye olden days lmao) so she was assuming it was definitely either The Boss or Johnny
(Spoiler it’s Lin)
Additionally: The sim we do activities and hang out in isn’t Steelport. It should have been Stilwater and you know it.
After the Earth is “destroyed” and The Boss needs to go back into the sim and start recruiting people, Johnny steps in a lot when discussing who to save next
Sorry Matt, your rescue is getting pushed back a little
Johnny’s very adamant about not saving Matt first, “We are not saving that little goth punk whatever kid before we save our girl and Pierce. I don’t give a fuck that you’re president, I’m impeaching you, we’re saving Shaundi next. Not Matt.”
Shaundi’s nightmare sim stays relatively the same, but maybe polish up the writing better
I like her nightmare and the angle, but the writing just felt very,,,awkward to me?
She was supposed to be hung up on feeling helpless and the fact that she felt that because she was always “the damsel” and in need of protection, that Johnny was gone
But the writing kind of just skimmed over that
Then they save Pierce because, yeah, they give him a lot of shit, but he’s one of Johnny and The Boss and Shaundi’s closest friends and Johnny’s already made it clear they’re not saving anyone else until they got both Shaundi and Pierce back
Then you have the 3 rescues that you pick the order for
Asha
Ben
Matt
Then comes the replacement for Johnny’s canon rescue; It’s Lin’s Rescue Now
Kinzie isn’t sure who it really could be because they already have The Boss and Johnny, and they’ve already identified which sim is Ben’s
She asks Pierce and Shaundi for help trying to identify the sim while Johnny and The Boss are fuckin around in the sim
Neither of them have a clue who it could be
But both of them recognize the invading gang members in the sim as Westside Rollerz members so they recommend asking Johnny and The Boss about it
Johnny and The Boss have a moment of “Holy fucking shit, there’s no way” “It couldn’t be her, could it?” all the while the rest of the crew is just like “Any day now, who couldn’t it be?”
Lin’s nightmare sim is the events following up to her kidnapping and then the moments before Zinyak got her when she was in the process of drowing
A street race where some shithead Roller sabotaged Lin’s car so she had to forfeit midrace and then some guys kidnap her
I was figuring you’d be racing to catch up to her and then the race ends for you when she has to pullover
And then a brief cutscene of her trying to fight of some Rollerz goons while The Boss is locked in their car and can’t get out no matter how hard they try to break the window or bust it open
Then a followup cutscene Lin and Sharp arguing about The Playa not arriving to her rescue
“It appears to me like your little friend won’t be joining us. Oh well, we’ll take care of them soon enough. For now, just you will have to do.”
“Could your head be any further up your ass? Get on with it already, I’m getting bored here.”
And a short line from The Boss like, “What an asshole, jokes on him I wasted that son of a bitch years ago. And I’m not leaving without Lin this time.”
The last part is a timed boss battle with Sharp
Kinzie’s trying to do her tech thing and find a workaround to save Lin from drowning while The Boss fends off Sharp and miscellaneous goons
After Lin’s rescued and Sharp is dead, she steals the gun from The Boss in a cutscene and empties it into Sharp
“I have been waiting too fucking long to do that.”
There’s a brief reunion scene between her and The Boss
“Man, you don’t know how glad I am to see you.”
“Oh. My. God. You can fucking talk, that’s almost as crazy as the fact I’ve been living in this hellhole for years....You look good, did you do something to your hair?”
“You have no idea, Lin. You’ve missed a lot.”
“Nothing we can’t talk about over a beer after we get out of here. Speaking of, you got a plan for that or-?”
Kinzie chimes in, “I do.”
Kinzie isn’t the one who defends Matt when he says the mission is a bad idea because that was dumb and out of character, agree with him maybe, but not defend him
Instead of Keith’s betrayal/loyalty mission/whatever; We get Lin going into the simulation on her own to try and save Donnie after having Matt find his sim for her when The Boss pushes off saving Donnie as something to do later since Donnie’s not exactly useful in a mission like saving the universe and destroying Zinyak
“How do you even know he’s not dead? What makes you think Zinyak even abducted him?”
“Because I know he’s still alive, and Matt found him.”
“Look, we’ll take care of this after we end Zinyak. There’s no cars for him to rig or information to leak to us with these guys.”
“There’s gotta be a fucking reason he got abducted, playa. He’s worth saving.”
Johnny chimes in, “We’re not saving your stupid boyfriend right now, Lin. We have bigger fucking problems to deal with.”
It just progresses into a whole fight and the others are kind of just like....”Holy shit....there’s three of them now.” until Ben King steps in and tells them to all shut the fuck up
“Listen, Lin. We’re going to get your boy, but we aren’t doing it now. It’ll be the first thing after we kick Zinyak’s ass.”
The Boss chimes in, “Who said anything about the f-”
“I said...it’ll be the first thing we do, got it?”
Donnie’s nightmare sim is The Boss attacking his garage but Lin never shows up and instead he gets “killed” and then it’s The Boss harassing him and attacking him to get him to rig the Brotherhood vehicles and for the location of Carlos and Maero threatening him and ultimately “killing” him as well and then repeat
Bet The Boss kind of feels a little bad about always picking on him now, huh
Lin is at least, she feels guilty about setting up the raid on Donnie’s garage in SR1 and then just feels really pissed off about The Boss going after him more in SR2
Eventually The Boss shows up to help and with some hacking skills(TM) is given their superpowers and Lin is given powers as well to save Donnie
Obviously he can’t believe Lin is fucking ALIVE let alone just SAVED his ass
“Y-You’re alive? But Mr.Sharp killed you! A-And I let him! They found your body in the river and-....where the hell have you been for so long?”
“Listen, Donnie, you wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
“Are you sure? Because Earth got invaded by aliens and I’ve been dying repeatedly everyday since.”
“Shit, yeah. That son of a bitch, Zinyak, saved my ass from drowning back in Stilwater. This asshole over her saved me from that.”
“I bet their to blame for all this! It’s always their fault! Ultor, STAG, Gangstas in Space, Cyrus Temple, they’re the fucking president now can you believe that?”
The Boss chimes in, “I’m standing right fucking here! And for your information, I happen to be an excellent president!”
“Now’s really not the time, playa.”
And also that The Boss also SAVED him
“I thought you fucking hated me, I can’t believe you just did that.”
“Yeah, well, don’t get your panties in a twist, I’m only here for Lin.”
“Oh.”
Okay I lied, Zinyak DOES destroy the Earth for realsies
But only towards the end of the game, like following up to the boss battle
He reveals like 
“Oh, it seems you haven’t learned your lesson then. I suppose I’ll have to really blow up your pitiful little planet then? Such a shame really, humanity could have been quite useful to the Zin Empire, but one must cut’s one’s losses sometimes. Their certainly not worth the trouble your putting me through here.”
This gives him time however to have abducted more people, including like Oleg, Viola, Donnie, etc etc etc
Fuck the Enter the Dominatrix DLC
Yeah it’s funny and all but like, where’s something actually interesting and additional to the game?
Replace it with DLC where you rescue like Viola and Oleg and stuff instead
Viola’s nightmare obviously would have to do with being stuck working for Killbane and probably have a boss battle where you fight simbane after he tries to kill Viola as well after having killed her sister
Oleg has a few options I think but the most appealing idea to me is a nightmare about him trying (and failing repeatedly) to escape the KGB
Character Specific Changes:
There really isn’t much to be put here shockingly
Maybe I’m the only one who thinks this but I think they should have expanded on the jokey romances more
I’m not talkin’ like full on bioware romances, just yknow maybe a little more than a single repeatable scene that varies from being shockingly indepth (Johnny) to just a fucking joke (Kinzie)
Maybe like add in a decision for a difference between just like casual sex or an actual romance with the characters
If you pick an actual romance then there’s random little banter lines about it when you have homies and maybe a few lines in some cutscenes or smth, nothing huge
Like say, you have Pierce and Shaundi as homies with you:
Romance Shaundi:
P: It’s about damn time someone did something
S: What are you talking about?
P: Uh, you and The Boss? Duh
S: Oh my god, shut up
P: Took ya’ long enough...y'all only been eye fucking each other as long as I can remember
S: Shut up, Pierce!
P: Chill! I’m happy for you, girl! Don’t attack me!
Romance Pierce:
S: So...you and The Boss, huh?
P: I already don’t like where this is going
S: I’m just surprised is all, you’ve been into them since like day one
P: No. I haven’t.
S: [snorts] Yeah, right. You used to get so upset when-
P: Shut up! They’re standing right there!
Or uh Pierce and Johnny:
Romance Pierce:
J: Hey, man, I’m proud of you for finally tellin’ The Boss how you feel
P: Wh- I didn’t- I’m not the one who-
J: But if you ever even think  about hurting them [cocks gun] I won’t hesitate to put a cap in your ass
P: Man, calm down. I ain’t gonna do shit, jesus
J: [laughs] I’m just messin’ with you, Pierce. I’m not gonna shoot you.....Unless...
P: This is why I don’t tell you things, Gat! What the hell, man?!
Romance Johnny:
P: I can’t believe you and The Boss weren’t already fucking
J: Me neither
P: Didn’t you ever...yknow...like wonder? You never even thought about it?
J: Oh, no. I thought about it plenty. I wasn’t about to be the one to say somethin’ though
P: Did we finally find something Johnny Gat is scared of?
J: Fuck no, man, just after what happened with Eesh-
P: So...you were scared?”
J: No!
Lin getting to know everyone is a very big thing, like she’s suddenly surrounded by new people and everyone but Johnny and The Boss from before her abduction are dead
She gets along really well with Shaundi, Johnny (duh), Ben King, Asha, and Donnie (duh)
She gets along pretty damn well with Pierce too but it’s a pretty similar teasing relationship as Shaundi and Pierce and she gives him a hard time a lot
He gripes about how he has to deal with 2 Shaundis and Lin now a lot
She and Asha are pretty different but also pretty similar, they’re both really stubborn and dedicated to what they deem their “duties” but Lin still likes to let loose and have fun a lot more than Asha
A lot of their interactions consist of Lin trying to convince Asha to just let loose “a little” and have some fun
Asha for the most part wouldn’t ever really admit that she likes Lin but if pushed she’d definitely say something like “I definitely respect her. Maybe the Saints wouldn’t be as ridiculous and out of control if she was never taken from them before.”
Also because again you can pry wlw Lin from my cold dead hands we get this exchange:
“You know...you remind me a lot of one of my exes.”
“That’s...nice.”
“Stubborn, pretty, law-abiding, all work no play-”
“Is there a point to this?”
“Not really, I just keep thinking about it.”
“I see...and what happened to them?”
“She broke up with me for some prick named Blake...[laughs] So I broke his nose next time I saw him. Detention for a month, but definitely worth it to see her face.”
“No wonder The President likes you...”
She also gets along with Matt pretty well, having gone to him to find Donnie instead of Kinzie, although that was simply because she figured Matt would keep quiet about it and not tell The Boss, as well as Kinzie was already doing 101 things for The Boss at the time
She really doesn’t understand the whole Nyteblade thing but vampires are kind of cool she guesses and also it’s not like there’s a ton of shows or books left to entertain herself with, at least with Nyteblade, Matt’s got the memory of an elephant and probably totally recreates a ton of the episodes and key scenes because he is Absolutely That Guy first of all
She ends up getting pretty into it but if you ask about it she’ll shrug it off as simply because it’s “the only show left to watch”
Lin also remarks with Shaundi how she reminds her a lot of herself
“You know, I used to be some fun loving party girl myself.”
“Really? What happened?”
“Los Carnales and Julius fucking Little. Couldn’t go five feet out of my house without some assholes doing a drive-by or starting gang wars.”
“Oh...”
“Had to step up if I wanted it to stop, we see how well that turned out.”
“...Yeah....”
Alternatively to the nightmare sim swap I listed earlier...Johnny Gat would be The Boss’ husband in the 50s nightmare sim for sure
Kinzie definitely brings that up to Johnny if they’re both homies, especially if you romanced Johnny
Matt Miller and Donnie friendship when-
Turns out Donnie’s also a fan of Nyteblade
And Matt liked the Feed Dogs’ admittedly short lived time of activity
They both geek out of dumb shit and also talk about how fuckin scary The Boss can be and how lucky they are as some of the few remaining living members of gangs that The Boss fucking demolished
CID gets a lil more establishment
aka I mean he gets like a lil hologram of what he used to look like before becoming an AI in the zin system when he’s in the sim so he can hold guns and run around with you as a homie
also cut the whole thing of him trying to bargain with The Boss for “a woman” because that entire segment was weird and uncomfortable
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Text
aposiopesis (part two)
My Orphan Black fic on A03 
part 1   part 3   part 4  part 5  part 6  part 7
@agoddamnsupernova
Scott wasn’t saying anything. Not that it was incredibly odd that he wasn’t talking, but Cosima could tell that there was something that he wanted to say, but was holding it back. She didn’t know if it was something about her and Sarah or about his few hours with Felix, but she could tell that he was keeping it quiet for a reason unbeknownst to her.
“Where did Felix take you?” She asked him to try to get him to start talking. She even poked him a few times, but he didn’t seem to notice. He was lost in his own thoughts.
Scott blushed and answered sheepishly, “A few bars.”
It was vague, but Cosima didn’t want to press for more. Scott had always shown her privacy and respect when it came to her personal life, and she didn’t want to push him away with any of her own meddling.
“Well, thank you. Seriously, dude. Sarah and I… we needed that talk, you know?”
Scott nodded and swiveled in his chair to finally look at her. “You looked really happy when we walked in. Felix told me he was worried about it, but I guess it all went alright? Not that I know what’s really going on. But my point is, I haven’t seen you that happy in a long time.”
Cosima could read between the lines. She knew that he was really saying that he hadn’t seen her this happy since she was with Delphine. She didn’t know if that was exactly true. Delphine made her feel electric and passionate and vibrant. Sarah… Sarah made her laugh and feel warm. It was different.
“Everyone’s having a rough time right now. I think… it was just what we needed at the moment. Did Felix tell you about Alison and Donnie?”
A text early in the morning the next day made Cosima wonder if Sarah ever slept. Not that Cosima hadn’t been awake when she received the text. Kendall’s death had been plaguing her dreams. Sometimes Kendall was replaced by Delphine and she imagined seeing them getting killed over and over and over again. She wondered if Sarah had similar nightmares. 
The texts turned into a phone call. 
"Oi, Cos,” Sarah murmured softly with an almost husky-just-woke-up voice that made her accent sound that much more pronounced. "Hope I didn’t wake you."
“You’re fine, Sarah. Any news? On MK or Donnie or…” 
"I think Alison’s able to visit Donnie today. With Fee and Adele. I’m hopin’ this turns out to be a My Cousin Vinny scenario with Adele and she’s secretly a genius or somethin’. Or it could be total shite. I’ve been warned to keep out of it."
Cosima chuckled at the idea of Sarah actually staying out of something (she didn’t think that was possible). She could imagine Mrs. S begging Sarah to bite her tongue about Adele being the family lawyer. 
“And Felix is going to tell Adele that Alison is your…” 
"Twin. I dunno how we’ll keep all this from her but whatever. Art’s still pissed, though, even if this all because of Neolution. But I can’t really judge Alison with the drugs, though, can I?"
“We all do stupid, impulsive things, right? Isn’t that what you said? None of us are perfect.” 
"Oi!" Sarah shouted in a tone that would have scared any person who didn’t know her well, causing Cosima to snort. "Are you sayin’ I’m not perfect, Niehaus?"
“Yo, my hands are in the air in surrender, Manning. I’m not saying anything.”
Sarah laughed, her voice ringing slightly, causing an echo on the phone. Cosima wished that she could hear the laugh in person. Her laugh always sounded raw, like her voice wasn’t completely used to it. 
"I guess there’s a reason why they call you smart, Cos. Speakin’ of, MK did call. She’s gonna hook us up to Susan somehow. I told her that you need to be involved too. I’d come over to you but… S is under the impression that Neos might be after me."
That didn’t surprise Cosima in the slightest, but it did make her wonder about Sarah’s foster mother. “How’s Siobhan doing?” 
"She’s not angry with me anymore, but she’s angry, Cosima. Not at you or us or anythin’. But at Neos and Evie Cho and Duko. Kira’s ‘specially worried ‘bout her. I dunno, Cos. I feel… like something's happenin’. Or about to happen. I dunno who to trust."
Cosima understood that feeling better than anyone. Trust was something that was easy for the scientist to gain, but once she loses it… She immediately thought of Delphine and Shay and how she hadn’t felt like she could completely trust someone she was sleeping with for years. 
“I know, Sarah. But there’s a bunch of people that are on our side. It’s my turn to be optimistic. We’re going to get the cure and we’re going to destroy Neolution.” 
Sarah sighed with what sounded like tiredness. "Yeah, but at what cost?"
.......
Her screen was blank for a few minutes until she could see everyone. Sarah, Susan, Rachel, and MK. This was what she was waiting for. Scott was by her side, which was reassuring. The two of them had finally come up with an idea for a cure that might actually work.
“Yo, Rachel.”
"Yo."
The rest of the conversation wasn’t as exciting as those first words. She was surprised that Rachel and Sarah hadn’t begun fighting on the video call, but there was something strange happening on Sarah’s end that made Cosima question what was happening over there at the safe house. She was even more caught off guard when Sarah had shut her computer off while they were in the middle of a conversation with Susan and Rachel, not that it seemed to faze them at all.
It was time for her to finally voice her idea. She didn’t want to work with them. She barely wanted to converse with them. But the only way she could actually pull off this cure was with their help.
“So,” Cosima finally began, knowing that she couldn’t hold back any theories if she ever wanted a cure (even if that meant working with their enemies). “I have a couple of ideas.”
........
She had texted Sarah. More than once. She didn’t want to bother her, but she was concerned with how abruptly she ended the video call. She tried to not read too much into it (Sarah was infamous for her unread text messages) but it was almost impossible to not be worried with everything else going on.
And besides that, she needed to talk to her. After hours of debating possibilities for the cure, they could only come up with one possible solution. One possible solution that Cosima actually thought might work. She hated to admit it, but Susan and Rachel were fairly brilliant. They kept up with all her insane thinking.
She was excited to tell Sarah about this new possibility, but she was also terrified. Not only did she need some of Sarah’s eggs, but she would also have to go to the island to actually do the science in a lab that was much more qualified than their own.
The door blasted open, interrupting her thoughts and conversation with Scott about what she would have to bring to the island. She was surprised to find Siobhan standing at the door with a huge ass gun in her hand. On instinct, Cosima almost raised her hands up in the air, but S didn’t look angry at her.
“Duko’s comin’ here. Art and Sarah too. You two are going to stay down here and not say a word. No matter what. Got it, loves? Don’t come back up until someone gets you.”
Cosima and Scott shared a look but they didn’t have the time to ask her about what the hell she was talking about. It frightened them, but they followed her directions. They knew not to go against her orders (that would be a death wish).
Both of them listened intently to the room above them, but they could only hear murmurs of familiar voices. Cosima had expected screaming or yelling or something horrifying as that, but she barely heard a thing until… the indistinguishable bang. Cosima immediately grasped Scott’s arm. After Kendall’s murder, she had hoped that she would never have to hear gunfire again. After a few minutes, the door opened for a brief second, but only for a short enough period for Hell Wizard to enter the basement.
“Duko’s dead,” Hell Wizard announced, looking as pale as a ghost. “Detective Bell and Sarah left.”
Cosima felt like fainting. She thought the idea of anyone else getting murdered would be horrifying, but part of her actually felt a wave of relief to find out that Duko was dead and wouldn’t hurt anyone else in the family. She knew Kendall’s death was only partially avenged. They still had to find a cure and put a stop to Evie Cho.
She felt her pocket buzz.
Sarah Manning: i gotta see kira, i’ll come clean tomorrow, S’ crew will be there in a few to get the body
Cosima Niehaus: Are you OK, Sarah?
Sarah Manning: i’ll update u tomorrow,,, pls dont go upstairs
Cosima thought about texting her back, begging her to tell her everything, but she knew that she couldn’t push her. That it would only push Sarah away from her. Instead, she put her phone down and announced to the others what Sarah had told her.
Scott just shook his head and returned to the computer while Hell Wizard offered a pot brownie. Cosima didn’t refuse.
.........
Someone was shaking her awake. She didn’t know when she fell asleep (or how exactly she fell asleep after last night) but when she woke up, her head ached. Somehow, Hell Wizard must have convinced her to drink too. Not a good mix.
“You okay, geek monkey?” Sarah asked her with pure concern and crossed arms. “Party hard or somethin’?”
Cosima sat up, rubbed her eyes, and realized that it was just the two of them in the basement. “Where’s--”
“When I got here, Scotty boy and Wizard boy were both scrubbin’. They don’t seem too thrilled with my presence.”
Cosima rolled her eyes. “Well, most people don’t like it when you kill someone a few feet away from them. But hey, that’s just a guess.”
Sarah glared at her. “Piss off, Cos. I thought you’d be the last person who’d be angry at Duko’s death.” When the scientist looked away from her, she sighed. "Cosima, S had to. For Kendall.”
“I get it, Sarah,” Cosima snapped. “I just would have liked to know before it happened, you know? A little heads up or something? Because dammit, Sar. I would have liked to not be here when it happened.”
Sarah sat down onto the bed next to Cosima and stared at her own muddy boots. “Loads happened yesterday, Cosima. I know that sounds like an excuse, but it’s true. Alison was threatened by Duko to give up my location in return for not knockin’ Donnie off. The only way to make sure no one died was to kidnap Duko and kill ‘im.”
Cosima raised her eyebrows. Sarah wasn’t wrong. A lot had happened. “But that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t have called me at the very least. Jesus, Sarah! Why can’t you just let someone into your life so you don’t have to go through all this alone?”
Sarah jumped up and headed for the stairs, ready to run away. Back turned to the scientist, Sarah said, “I should’ve told you. You’re right, Cos. I didn’t mean to keep you in the dark. But I can’t… I fucked that up. Shite. It’s what I do.”
Cosima’s anger dissipated from her body, though she didn’t quite know why. “You’re so dramatic, Manning. And I thought Alison was bad.”
The lighter tone in the scientist’s voice made Sarah turn around. “That’s the worst thing you coulda said to me. She’s a bloody theater actress for fuck’s sake. Though, I did grow up with Fee. Maybe he rubbed off a lil on me, yeah?”
“Just a little. But seriously, Sarah. Why are your communication skills so damn awful?”
Sarah only shrugged and felt her body condense into itself. She didn’t want to talk about herself or her fucked up nature or why she was so shit at life. In fact, she avoided those conversations at all costs. Which was why she normally avoided Cosima most of the time too. Cosima was the only one who wanted to know that kind of stuff about Sarah.
She turned around again and said, “Yeah, well, I dunno, do I? I gotta go see Kira--”
Cosima ran over and grabbed Sarah’s hand as she tried to walk off. She didn’t know what to say when Sarah looked at her, her eyes watering and lips quivering slightly (Cosima wouldn’t have noticed if she hadn’t been staring so intensely). She hadn’t wanted to piss her off, but she needed answers. Sarah had almost always been an enigma to her. She wasn’t one at first, not with her bitchy attitude and con artist tendencies. But now that Sarah was their leader, their person, she felt like she knew her less and less.
“Sarah… I’m a blunt person. So truthful to a degree that I like end up offending half the people that I’ve met.”
The other woman didn’t know where she was going with this. “Yeah, good for ya, Cos.”
Cosima grumbled. “What I’m trying to say is, I am going to be honest with you. It’s who I am, Sarah. And honestly, I don’t understand you. You act like nothing affects you until it does. You struggle with loving people and yet you’re the most loyal person I know. And you’re always alright, even when you’re not. I just want to know who you are, but you won’t let me.”
Sarah wanted to let go of Cosima’s hand and run. Run far and fast. But her grip was strong and something in Cosima’s eyes told her that this is what the scientist needed, though Sarah didn’t understand why.
“It’s not just you, Cos.” Sarah confided when she couldn’t think of a way out. “Why do you think I pushed Cal to leave? Why do you think I keep S at arm’s length and left Kira? Felix is the only one who’s ever opened me up. And that’s because he forced me. After years of bloody naggin’. It’s got nothing to do with you, yeah?”
That didn’t make Cosima feel any better. She could have guessed all of that. “But why, Sarah? Why can’t you let me in? Let me help you?”
Sarah sighed and wiped her nose that was running with her sleeve. “Because I’m an orphan, Cos. I grew up unwanted. Jumped from foster home to foster home that was either too crowded, too handsy, or too damn lonely. I didn’t have someone like you growin’ up. Or Alison or Cal or anyone. Not until Fee. But even then… Jesus, Cos. Why you askin’ all this?”
Cosima grasped her other hand and tried to smile. “Because I want you to trust me, Sarah. Like I trust you.”
“But I do trust you, Cos. I do. I just wanna protect you from all this shit. That’s why I didn’t tell you about the night I almost ended it with snortin' and drinkin' and shaggin' couples. Or about yesterday. Or all the other shit I’ve kept to myself. You already have so much to deal with. I can take care of everythin’ else.”
Cosima groaned and facepalmed, letting go of the other woman's hands. “But you don’t have to! You’re not the only clone, Sarah! Let someone help you for god sakes!”
Sarah shook her head. “I can’t.”
"Why?"
“Because I deserve this,” She shouted and pounded her chest like she wanted to hit something (and decided to hit herself). “I’ve wasted my shit life doing shit things. Maybe this is the way I can make it better, yeah? You’ve got science, Alison’s got school boards and her plays, Beth was a cop, hell Krystal’s even got cosmetics. I’ve got nothin’. I’m just nothin’ but a shit mother and hustler and lover of abusers.” She fell to her knees before Cosima had a chance to even try to catch her. “Everyone’s better off w’out me.”
“I’m not,” Cosima told her immediately. She crouched down and wrapped her arms around the shaking body. “Listen to me, Sarah. You’re a survivor. Restless, remember? You’re wicked smart. Strong. Brave. You’re my hero. My friend. My… god, Sarah. Do I have to say more for you to understand? We wouldn’t have gotten this far without you. You’re our rock, Sar. Our hope. We need you. I need you.”
Sarah rested her head on Cosima’s lap and held onto the scientist's shirt like she was trying to hold on.
“I feel her, Cos,” Sarah confessed as quietly as she could. “I feel her with me. I see her everywhere. All my dreams are about her. I’m worried that I’m… turnin' into Beth.”
Cosima blinked. She knew that there was a connection between the clones. A connection that couldn't be explained by any science that she was aware of. It was why Kira was unexplainably different. She didn’t understand why Sarah felt connected to Beth (or if anyone else had this feeling), but she wanted to.
“I won’t let that happen. I’ll protect you, just like you protect all of us.”
Instead of telling her about the island and exchange with Rachel like she knew she should have, she dragged Sarah to the bed and commanded her to sleep.
Their fingers intertwined and Sarah, with one last exhale, finally closed her eyes.
...........
Cosima would have never expected Sarah to be cuddly. The lion-hearted girl with the lion’s mane had her body practically wrapped around the scientist’s, her head rested gently into the curve of Cosima’s neck, breathing into her hair. It was surprising and endearing and made Cosima’s heart beat faster than normal. She couldn’t remember being this physically close to someone without sex being involved.
She would have never thought that Sarah would look this delicate as she slept. And she was sure that the punk would be the first to deny it too. She felt Sarah’s warm hands around her body and she didn’t want her to ever peel away. Cosima decided that she could live like this forever. It would be easy, she thought. Simple. The idea of staying this way with Sarah Manning made her grin and smile and it subsequently scared her.
She only felt this way with Delphine.
Sarah had her face. It was obvious and made her shake her head at the idiocy of the immediate thought, but she couldn’t stop staring at it. They had the same face. But it wasn’t the exact same. Or maybe their faces were the exact same and Cosima just imagined little differences because they were incredibly different people with different scars and different stories. Maybe Sarah seemed older because she had done more things and lived a harder life. Maybe Cosima felt younger because she admired Sarah so intensely. But for some reason, Cosima didn’t see Sarah like the rest. She saw her face in Alison, Beth, even Helena. But Sarah?
“Cos, why’re you bloody staring at me?”
Cosima raised her eyebrows. Sarah hadn’t even opened her eyes and yet she somehow knew. She didn’t know if she was freaked out by that or completely intrigued.
“I’d say it was because you’re hot, but I wouldn’t want it to go to your head, weirdo.”
“Narcissist,” Sarah snorted and finally opened her eyes. She moved her body immediately away from the other clone. “Fuck. Didn’t mean to hold you that tight, Niehaus. What time is it anyway?”
Cosima checked the time and sighed. In only a few hours, she was supposed to be in the air on the way to the island and she still hadn’t told Sarah about it.
“Listen, Sarah...” Cosima had already begun to trail off, just looking at the way the punk’s smile faltered and filled with worry and concern. “No, no. It’s nothing bad. Actually, something good. I think… I think we might have figured out the cure.”
Sarah gaped at her and then jumped up out of the bed and shouted, “Holy shite! That’s… that’s… and you’re not playin’? Don’t mess with me, Cos. This is--”
“Real, Sarah. I have good feelings about it. It’s the breakthrough we were all waiting for.”
“That’s bloody amazin’, Cos,” she muttered and ran her fingers through her mane of hair, still gaping in awe with disbelief. “You’re brilliant. I always knew you’d figure it out.”
Cosima felt her stomach knot. She had left out the worst part of the news. On purpose. Knowing Sarah’s moment of pure joy would soon vanish and be replaced with… well… she hoped that it wouldn’t be anger.
She opened her mouth, but Sarah had already started talking again. Shouting, really. In a strangely unlike-Sarah kind of way that would have normally made Cosima extremely thrilled.
“Kira’s gonna jump up and down when she finds out. Honestly, everyone will. Bloody hell. I could just kiss you right now, I’m so fuckin’ happy.”
Sarah was still grinning as if she hadn’t heard the words that came out of her own mouth. But Cosima heard them. Her mouth felt dry and she felt like her heart skipped a beat. She couldn’t stop visualizing it.
Her mouth on Sarah’s.  
She tried to shake it out of her head because she was sure that Sarah hadn’t actually meant that she wanted to kiss her. Besides, Cosima knew that her thoughts would have disturbed the punk. She tried to think about anything else, anything else, but it wasn’t working.
Instead, she blurted, “I need your eggs.”
Sarah froze, no longer jittery, and muttered, “What?”
“For the cure, I mean. We need both Castor sperm and Leda eggs. To make--”
“The original,” Sarah whispered and slouched over slightly. “Yeah, I get it. W-when?”
Cosima scratched her head. “Now would be a good time, actually. I mean, the procedure needs to be done soon. Like really soon.”
Sarah tilted her head with a questioning stare. “What’re you not tellin’ me, Cos?”
Cosima sighed and felt herself wishing that she wasn’t the one who had to tell her this part. “We can’t do this alone, Sarah. We just don’t have the resources.”
Sarah blinked, not connecting the dots yet. “So?”
“So, I’m going to a place with ample resources and… and guidance. I’m going to the island.”
Sarah’s posture immediately changed. She crossed her arms and started pacing around the room, unable to be stopped by any force.
“No. Not with bloody Rachel and Susan.”
Cosima frowned and confessed, “Actually, Rachel’s coming here. With Ira. They’re here to… help. Supposedly. I’m not quite--”
“And you think this is a good idea, ey?” Sarah asked and waved her hands up in her air, getting more pissed off by the second. “Makin’ deals with the devil—“
“Evie Cho and Neolution are the villains here, Sarah!” Cosima interrupted and got up from the bed so that she could walk up to her. “Us not having the cure, that’s our enemy. That’s our killer.”
Sarah shook her head and tried to avoid being near her. “You’ve forgotten all the shit Rachel and Susan have put us through! Cos, I want this cure as much as you do--”
“Really, because I don’t think you’re the one that’s dying, Sarah, even though you sometimes want to.”
Cosima regretted it the second the words flew out of her mouth thoughtlessly. She watched as all the color vanished from the other clone’s face. She and Sarah might not have always seen eye to eye on everything, but she had never made Sarah go silent and pale before. She didn’t know anyone could do that.
Sarah sniffled, backing away from the other woman who tried to reach out, and said, “Yeah, okay, Cos. You got the eggs, yeah? And I’ll play nice with bloody Rachel. I’ll do all this for you, Cosima. Because… Jesus, do I really have to say it out loud? I thought you knew better than anyone that I would do anythin’ to have the sickness instead of you. Jus’ seein’ you… it’s my curse. I’ll give you my bloody eggs.”
She walked away with tears in her eyes. Tears that Cosima knew that she had caused. She slammed her fist into the air and bit her tongue instead of screaming. She didn’t want to scare Scott.
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