#So scared for a krang come back | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

inbrightshadows · 10 months

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*sticks one arm out from under my rock, slips this into the tag, and retreats back under my rock* Inspired by the cass apocalyptic series by somerandomdudelmao It's a very very cool rottmnt fancomic and you should give it a read 👉👈🥺 (Not canon but you might recognize some parts/dialogue from the comic) [warning for implied/referenced past infant death but no actual infant death (the boy is fine dw), infected wounds, amputation, and a dog like creature biting someone]

The first time Casey Jr almost dies he's about three months old, by their best guess, and he's only been Casey Jr for a week.

Cassandra and Raph go out on a supply run, which is normal. They come back with a baby in a box, which is not.

Fortunately or unfortunately, there's no such thing as government or paperwork in the apocalypse. So there's nothing stopping Cassandra from saying “I found him in an alley so he's my son now, his name is Cassandra Jr.” And that's that.

Thankfully, this isn't the resistance's first baby so there's plenty of formula and hand me downs to supply Cassandra in her sudden status as a Mom. And everything else the family quickly supplies.

Donnie is very uninterested in babysitting the oozy crotch goblin but Casey Jr's crib still has the genius built logo and built in laser security system to prove he cares in his own way.

Mikey breaks into his carefully rationed paint supply to paint a small mural above the crib and takes every chance to babysit he can.

And Raph? Well Raph dives headfirst into the roll of co-parent slash halway blockade.

Then there's Leo.

In his own words, he has a whole resistance to babysit. And besides that there’s not much he can really do other than what he’s already doing.

Fight the krang, stop the war, give little Casey Jr a better world to grow up in. And also avoid everyone’s efforts to get him to hold the baby.

He is not cut out for tasks that require a delicate touch but it seems like he’s the only one who understands that. He’s a gigantic mutant ninja turtle who, unlike his brothers, has never had any kind of hobby that requires any kind of delicacy. So he hangs back, he keeps an eye out for things that will be useful to the Caseys while he’s out on the surface, and he waves away attempts to hand Jr to him.

And then Casey Jr gets sick.

It should be fine. Should be normal. Babies are delicate little things, getting sick is a thing they do. Except there’s not much the way of medicine in the apocalypse. And babies are delicate.

It starts as a low grade fever. By the end of the day it’s a raging bonfire. They have a lot of things but medicine is in short supply. Nothing they have is working. It’s just Casey Jr, sobbing his heart out on Raph’s shoulder while Cassandra hovers and Raph tries to soothe all three of them.

There’s nothing Leo can do to help. They don’t have the medicine they need to treat the fever. At least not something safe to use on a baby. Raph is the one who remembers how Dad used to use lukewarm baths to break their fevers when they were little and he was still too scared to try human medicine on them. It helps enough that they can get some formula into the kid. But it’s not fixing things.

Two days pass and the fever refuses to break. The baths are becoming less and less helpful. After the third refused feeding attempt that afternoon Donnie slams down a map of ‘areas most likely to contain useful information or materials for treating a sick baby.’

Leo and Mikey gear up and head out leaving Donnie to monitor things back at base while April takes charge of running everything else so that Raph is free to help Cassandra take care of Jr.

It’s bad luck, really, that a pack of krang dogs find their camp on the first night. It should be fine. They should be able to handle it.

But bad luck is bad luck.

Leo sees movement out of the corner of his eye. He moves to dodge and the ground underneath him decides now is a perfect time to give way.

“LEO!” Mikey yells as Leo tumbles away into the dark.

Leo grunts, biting back a scream as the Krang dog’s teeth sink into his arm. They tumble into the dark together, bouncing down the stacks of rubble. It’s dead by the time he lands but the damage is done.

The good news is that the fall kept the dog from getting a good grip on him.

The bad news is that even if the bite won’t infect him with Krang regular infections are different story. Krang zombies have foul mouths.

Mikey can’t find out it managed to bite Leo. If he does he’ll want to go back and get Leo treatment before they look for the medicine.

And right now every second could mean the difference between getting medicine to Casey Jr in time or adding to their graveyard.

So Leo makes sure that by the time Mikey makes it down to him his first aid kit is a good bit lighter and any sign of the bite is hidden beneath his normal arm wraps.

When Mikey finds him Leo smiles and doesn’t hesitate to wrap both arms around his little brother.

“Are you okay- did it bite you?” Mikey asks, darting around him to hunt down every last scrape.

“Nah, just a couple of scratches,” Leo lies. “Let me heal them-” “No, we’ve got a ways to go, I won't risk you wearing yourself out too soon.” “Leo!” “I already used my first aid supplies on them! It’d be a waste if you healed me now!” Mikey glares at him but huffs and nods. “Fine! But if they start to feel bad-” “I’ll tell you, don’t worry,” Leo lies again.

Day two is a bust. There's useful supplies in the area Donnie marked out for them to search, sure, but nothing that will help Casey Jr. Or the sensation of a burn throbbing its way up Leo's hidden bite wound.

Leo and Mikey mark out where the useful things are and keep going. Someone can go back for them when they're less pressed for time.

That night Leo waits for Mikey to fall asleep before he checks the bite. It's bad.

The moment the bandages come off he's gagging at the putrid stink of infection. It's hard to see it in the dark but then again he's not sure he really wants a better look. It wouldn't change his mind anyway.

He can make out the dark veins of infection spreading. If he wasn't green it'd certainly be a violent red.

He cleans it, spreads a thin layer of disinfectant cream that will do about as much good as throwing a cup of water at a bonfire, and re-bandages it.

His usual arm wraps go up over top of it, hopefully Mikey won't notice he's done them a bit higher than normal.

All the evidence goes into the fire. By the time Mikey's turn to take watch comes all that's left is ash.

On day three Leo wakes up feeling like someone dropped a building on him. He makes the mistake of groaning about it.

“Leo? Are you okay?” Mikey asks. “Yeah, yeah I’m fine. I just, uh, I think I’m inheriting Dad’s back problems! That or the Krang made the ground harder.” Mikey snickers. “I mean, they would, but I’m also pretty sure you just called yourself old.” “I did not!” Leo drags himself upright and makes a show of cracking his back. It obliges with a satisfyingly loud pop that makes Mikey giggle harder. “I think your spine disagrees with you too.” “Shut up!” “Awwww are you feeling cranky, old man?”

Leo is too exhausted to feel properly offended or even think of forming a comeback but he plays it up for his little brother anyway.

Anything to keep him from worrying. Or forcing them to turn back. It’s fine. This shouldn’t take too much longer anyway.

It’s midday by the time they reach the second site. Just from a glance it’s obvious this is a more promising site. There are actual chunks of buildings scattered around and there’s enough of a shattered sign left lying around to tell them that whatever kind of care this place used to give it was geared specifically towards children.

There’s plenty to find digging through the rubble. Well. Plenty for Mikey to find. Leo is mostly trying not to let on how dizzy he is.

To both of their frustration, they run out of daylight before they find anything. Leo can feel his body screaming at him to lay down and rest. Just a little longer, he tells his body. They’re going to find the medicine. He can feel it. Leo just needs to make it at least that long.

The fourth day dawns. Mikey shakes him awake as soon as there’s enough light ot see by. Leo bites back a moan as he claws his way upright. Leo thought his arm hurt before but now it feels like someone is pouring lava down it.

He notes with a calmness that boarders on absurdity that he can’t feel his fingers.

Something must show on his face- or maybe he just looks at least halfway as awful as he feels- because Mikey frowns at him when he wakes up.

“I’m worried,” Leo blurts out. “If this takes much longer then- I don’t think- he’s already been sick for so long.” “We’ll find it. Today, I’m sure. I’ve got a good feeling.” Leo tries to smile for him and hopes the shaky thing he offers up is enough. Well. At least one of them is feeling good.

Leo is lucky. He’s always been lucky. Luck runs out eventually, it always does. But not today. Maybe it helps that Leo isn’t hoping for something for nothing. Because on day four they strike gold.

Mikey is a short bit away, digging through the rubble with his power, hunting for anything with even the chance of helping. Leo is doubled over just out of his site, trying to stifle his stomach’s efforts to rebel against him.

Don’t hurl, he tells himself, if you hurl there’s no way Mikey won’t realize something is wrong.

He forces his eyes open, hoping that focusing on something will help. And then Leo’s eyes fall on a shattered glass cabinet, several packs of some something promisingly adorned in cartoon human children. He reaches in, flips it, and feels a wash of relief when he realizes it’s exactly what they’re looking for.

“Mikey- Mikey look-” everything fuzzes, tumbles. There’s something under him. He blinks back blurs of color, tries to resolve them into something coherent. Mikey’s face hovers over him, mouth moving. He looks upset. “What's the matter?” he tries to ask. “Leo! Leo, are you sick? What hurts?” “Arm,” Leo answers without thinking.

Oh shit. Oh shit he’s not supposed to let Mikey know. But it’s a little late for that. At least the panic clears his head a little. Mikey makes a wounded sound in the back of his throat as he uncovers the bite.

“Leo.” “Yeah, I know. Sorry… sorry for lying.” He watches Mikey’s lip wobble until Mikey catches it in his teeth. “Leo this is bad! We- I don’t know if we have the supplies to treat this!” Leo hums. Now that the panic is fading it’s getting so much harder to think. He lifts his good hand before he can forget and flops it over towards Mikey. “S’okay. We can go back now.” Mikey takes the box of medicine with shaky fingers. “Leo,” he croaks.

Mikey is talking. Something… probably important? He looks scared but they’re not under attack. He’s pretty sure they’re not. Leo tries to focus on him anyway but it’s so hard. He’s so tired.

He’s been tired but there was no resting, not properly, not until they got what they needed. They do now so it’s fine, he can rest his eyes a bit.

Good. Seeing is hard too. Just blurs and colors.

He feels Mikey’s hand on his face, his voice in his ears. He tries to pay attention but he’s slipping, sliding away.

“Sorry,” he mumbles, but he’s out before he can think of what, specifically, he’s sorry for.

Leo doesn’t remember the trip back, just the thud of Mikey landing. Someone screaming. A hand squeezing his. Small. Thin fingers. Lots of them.

“April?” he might mumble. He thinks. “Shhh, rest big guy,” Probably-April says. “Donnie has it. He’s gonna fix it.” Oh. That’s good. He lets himself sink, lets her hold him together while he waits for Donnie to do what Donnie does best.

A light in his face. “Am I dying?” he says. Thinks? Someone hisses. Angry sound. Who does that again? “Not if I have anything to say about it. And I have a lot to say about it.” Oh. Donnie is here. That’s good. Didn’t someone say he was coming? “Now go to sleep, you don’t want to be awake for this part.” Leo doesn’t get a chance to answer, he’s already sinking again.

Leo blinks up at the ceiling of Donnie’s lab. He spends a good while just staring at it, trying to get his brain to work. His arm throbs. “Ow.”

Some several things crash and shatter and then Donnie''s face hovers into view. “How do you feel- nauseous? any pain, aches, fever? Chills?” “Uh, my arm hurts a little?”

“Which one? The one that got bit by one of the most disease ridden things in the apocalypse and then went four days without medical care or the other one?” “Hey I did some medical care!” “You did FIRST AID. You know, the thing you do to help someone before you get them ACTUAL MEDICAL CARE.”

Leo winces. There’s no arguing about that one. “Ok well, I was hoping we’d find the medicine and get back before it got too bad.” “Well. You didn’t.” “Yeah, I guess. How long was I out?” he asks. He tries to lift his arm but he can’t feel it move. He frowns. “It… barely hurts anymore. Uh. Donnie? I can’t- Um. Donnie. I can’t feel my arm.”

Donnie’s face twitches. Leo tries to turn his head to look at his arm. Donnie’s hand darts out out to stop him. Leo looks at Donnie again. Donnie looks away, grimacing and refusing to make eye contact.

“Donnie-” “Don’t look yet.” Leo tries to move his arm again but there’s still no response. No it’s not just that there isn’t a response. He can't even feel the weight of it.

He can feel his shoulder. He can feel a ring of throbbing pain a few inches above his elbow. And then it’s just… light? Like there’s nothing but air- oh. Oh. Okay then. There’s where his luck ran out. “...Huh. That’s. Hm. Let me see?” “Leo-” “Donnie. Let me see.” Reluctantly, Donnie eases back.

For a second Leo doesn’t do anything. He closes his eyes and breathes. He turns his head. He opens his eyes.

It’s gone.

Everything past his first crescent marking is gone.

He closes his eyes and takes a deep, measured, breath. Okay, he thinks. Okay. He’s a medic. He knew this was a possibility. Donnie starts eyeing him nervously.

“Did he make it?” Leo asks at last. “...Yeah he made it,” Donnie says quietly. Leo feels like he's fully breathing out for the first time since Cassandra burst into the infirmary with a sick baby in her arms. "Good. That's good." Donnie puts his hand over the end of Leo's nub, covering the scar. He stares at the floor and says nothing. Silence reigns. Leo stares up at the ceiling, letting it settle around them.

Until the door slams open and the rest of his family tumble through the door, both Caseys included.

The last knot of tension loosens from him at the sight of Casey Jr, happily wiggling in his mom’s arms as he flails his arms at Raph.

He tears his eyes away as his family gathers around him, worried and loud, and Leo only knows one way to calm them down.

“So. I’m guessing I'm the opposite of... All Right now, huh?” Cassandra covers Casey Jr's ears. Donnie leans away, inhaling sharply. “Why are you like this?“ he asks. “Because it's all I've got... Left” Raph groans, hiding his face in his hands. “Already?” “Put him back under,” April says, deadpan. “Boooo,” Mikey says, and Leo pretends he doesn’t sound two steps away from tears. “I hate you so much,” Donnie lies, a few screens manifesting around him. He taps away with the hand that isn't still covering the scar on what remains of Leo's arm while Leo laughs at his own terrible jokes.

“You no longer have a choice about getting a prosthetic. Mikey tried to say I had to ask before implanting experimental technology in your body but you know what? I’m making an executive decision. I can’t live with the puns.”

Leo starts laughing harder, so hard that it circles right back around to sobbing. He’s buried in a pile before the first sob can even fully leave him. Donnie’s eyes stay on the screen even as he shifts his hand to Leo’s shoulder and squeezes. “I’ll fix it. Don’t worry.”

Leo spends a lot of time sleeping but he’s never alone when he wakes up.

There’s Raph, showing off the balls he’s threading onto his mask tails so Casey Jr can climb them while Cassandra sits nearby, once more restitching her perpetually tearing sleeves on her shirts.

He wakes to Mikey making little fish or birds dance in the air while Casey Jr sits in his lap and reaches for them.

Or there’s April pouring over battle plans with a mug in one hand and the other wrapped around Casey Jr.

Point is there’s a lot of Casey Jr. So Leo really should be prepared to wake up with a tiny weight on his chest, healthy and safe and sound. And still so very tiny. His breath hitches, he doesn’t dare move.

“Bemused scoff.”

Leo carefully turns his head toward where Donnie is busily typing away at something.

“You know you can’t avoid holding him forever. Even I've held him." Leo gives Donnie the flattest look he can manage. Sure. Donnie has held Casey Jr. Once in a blue moon when there was literally no one else to do it (and Leo's hands were firmly tucked under his arms.) For about sixty seconds total. "...I've held him more than you have.”

Leo grimaces. “Look, I wasn’t cut out for holding delicate stuff when I had two arms. It’s an even worse idea now that I’m twice as likely to drop him.”

“Invalid excuse. I’m already working on a solution to your arm situation.” Donnie waves his hands and his ninpo sparks, building a blue print of an arm and some other thing hovering in the air between them.

“These are the schematics for a bio-mechanical arm and a socket implant to allow it to safely interface with your nero-” Leo’s brain glazes over the rest of Donnie’s explanation.

“...So you want to turn me into a kick ass cyborg?” he asks as soon as Donnie is done. “Did you listen to none of what I just said?” “C’mon, Don, I’ve got you for all the nerd stuff.” “Exasperated sigh, yes I’m turning you into a kick ass cyborg.” “Sweet,” Leo says, yawning. Donnie huffs. “Go back to sleep, Nardo.” “Can’t, baby could fall,” Leo mumbles. “I won’t let him fall. Just rest.” And Leo trusts his brother. So he does.

It takes a frustratingly long time for Leo to recover enough for the surgery to implant the port for the arm in his stump. It’s more low profile than he expected, hardly noticeable at all unless you’re looking head on at it.

Then there’s a whole other saga of learning how to use the arm Donnie has built him. It’s clunkier than Donnie’s preferred standards but it works almost as seamless as his real one. He gets good with it and he gets good with it fast because with the Krang you either do it fast or you don’t do it all.

The unintended and unwanted side effect of this is that now his family are no longer accepting “I’m not good enough with my arm I might drop him” as a valid excuse to not hold Casey Jr.

And they are very, very, intent on getting him to hold Casey Jr.

Look. Leo is thanking sweet pizza supreme in the sky and every one of the Hamato ancestors, Casey Jr bounces back from being sick like it never happened.

He bounces and wiggles, he babbles and giggles, as though less than a week or so ago he wasn’t so sick that Leo and his family (literally) risked life and limb to get him medicine. And Leo is thrilled. Really.

It’s just that he wishes his family would stop encouraging Casey Jr’s newest favorite game- trying to grab Leo. Because apparently one of any baby’s favorite thing is whatever they can’t have.

“Here! Hold him!” Mikey holds Casey out so that he faces Leo. Casey Jr, who seems to have a sixth sense for when someone is playing the 'try to get Casey close enough to touch Leo' game, is thrilled. His tiny arms wave at Leo, itty-bitty fingers clenching like they’re ready to latch on the second they’re close enough to touch him.

“W-wait, I can’t!” Leo protests for the thousandth time. But Mikey isn’t taking no for an answer this time. A nudge of mystic power keeps Leo from fleeing. All Leo can do is tuck his dangerous un-baby proofed metal arm away from tender baby skin and wave his flesh hand pleadingly.

“C’mon Leo… you have to hold him eventually.” Mikey cajoles, gently waggling Casey Jr.

“Not happening, no way.” Leo leans back as far as Mikey’s powers will let him.

“Yes way,” Mikey says, holding Casey closer and closer. Casey is giggling furiously, tiny arms flying at top speed.

“Do you even see how tiny he is?” Leo points at the baby, just in case Mikey needs a reminder. “I could break him with one finger!” There’s a tiny nudge to said finger. Leo looks down. Casey Jr is copying him, nudging Leo’s much larger finger with his own.

Mikey gets a look on his face. A terrible, evil, look.

“One finger? Like thiiiiis one?” Mikey grins as he lifts his middle fingers away from Casey Jr’s body. Leo freezes. “Mikey. Mikey no.”

“Whats that? Oh nooooo.... I can’t hear you over the sound of my grip slipping!” Mikey sing-songs. “Don’t you dare!” Leo stares at him, horrified and frozen. He won’t. Surely he won’t. Cassandra would murder him. Raph would double murder him. He wouldn't. Right? Right??? “Oh no! I hope someone catches the poor delicate baby!” And then Mikey drops Casey Jr.

Leo shrieks. He forgets that Mikey is literally magic and does not need his hands to hold a building, much less a baby.

“Mikey what the fuck!” Leo squawks, hands flying forward and closing around the tiny delicate bundle that is- … not falling towards the ground at all actually.

The gears turn, the realization that he's been tricked sets in. Leo glares at Mikey. Mikey grins, unrepentant, and waves his faintly glowing hands, a glow also present around a perfectly safe Casey Jr. The glow vanishes and Leo feels the surprisingly greater weight of the baby properly in his hands for the first time.

“Ahhhh Mikey- Mikey take him back!” Mikey stubbornly keeps his hands in the air and backs away, still grinning. “You’re fine, you’ve got this.” “I don’t have this!” in spite of saying this Leo is already tucking Casey closer to him. “It’s fiiinnne, you're doing fine! Look, he’s having a great time!”

Tiny clumsy fingers hit his jaw, drawing his eyes down. Casey Jr has one hand buried in Leo’s scarf. The other is pressed to the highest part of Leo’s face it can reach. As he looks down they stretch up, reaching for the vibrant red markings on his face.

“Ah- what- what does he want?” “Awww he likes your stripes, hold him higher!”

Hesitantly, Leo shifts the baby a little higher in his arms and Casey’s little fingers smack against his markings, clenching against them as best the pudgy little things can. Leo chuckles. “What? You want those? Hate to break it to you bud but they’re kind of attached to me.” Big dark eyes lock onto his. Casey Jr babbles. His little fingers flex against Leo’s face again.

Someone makes a noise like a slowly deflating balloon. Leo looks up to find Raph has found them. He’s standing in the doorway, his eyes shining with unshed tears.

“Please tell me Donnie has a good angle on this,” he says, voice wobbling. Raph’s com clicks on and switches itself to speaker mode. “Sending you the best shots as I speak,” says Donnie’s voice. “I hate all of you,” Leo lies. Mikey snickers at him, Raph is too busy cooing to reply. And then Casey Jr realizes Raph is there and decides he’s done being held by Leo. He leans his entire body toward Raph and puts all of his tiny baby might into wiggling free of Leo's grip.

“Oh fuck-” “Don’t cuss in front of the baby!” “Raph. Raph.” “You’re doing fine, relax-” “He’s gonna fall! I’m gonna drop him- Raph!” Raph easily scoops Casey Jr up, saving Leo from the terrifying force of a wiggly baby.

Casey Jr giggles and grabs for Raph’s mask tails while Leo dramatically flops to the floor. Mikey continues to snicker at Leo’s expense, floating over to pat his head.

“I can’t believe you pretended to drop him just to trick me into holding him,” Leo groans. “You what?” Raph’s head snaps over to them. Mikey freezes. “I had mystic hands on him the whole time!” “Baby holding is a two hand activity!” “You literally hold him with one hand!” “Raph’s hand is big enough to count as two!” “Oh that is so not fair!” “... Leo watch the little man for a minute.” Raph sets Casey Jr down by Leo’s head. Leo makes an inarticulate sound of horror but before he can protest Raph is already bolting for Mikey.

Mikey flees with a yelp. Leo looks at Casey Jr. Casey Jr looks at him. “So, you come here often?” Casey Jr stuffs his fist in his mouth and makes a garbled noise around it, almost recognizable as a very turtle like chirp. Leo checks that his brothers are out of ear shot and then chirps back. Casey Jr’s eyes widen and sparkle. He takes his damp hand out of his mouth and smacks Leo in the face with it. Leo grimaces. “Thanks.” In the distance, Mikey screams as Raph catches him but it's just as quickly followed by laughter.

Casey Junior grows up in between loss and stolen joy and forgotten childhood memories. He gets old enough to ask questions. Inevitably, the day comes when he asks “Sensei, how did you lose your arm?”

And Leo lies.

Or, well… He doesn’t lie so much as he just… leaves out some details. Details Casey Jr does not and will not ever know if Leo gets his way.

“Ah, you know… Krang dog got a lucky bite in. By the time I got back to base it was the arm or me and Donnie chose me.” He says it with a light little shrug, like it’s no big deal.

Because for Leo, it’s not a big deal. Between losing an arm and losing family he’d chose the arm over and over again.

#rottmnt #Cass apocalyptic series #rottmnt casey jr #rottmnt future leo #I did not mean for this to be so long help #ahhhh i hope this is ok and doesn't come off as weird or anything #Originally it was just going to be Leo's family tricking him into holding the baby but then I got an Idea #and then the idea got Really Really big...#my writing

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coff33notforme · 2 years

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Alright here's a Rise request for you! (Bc I also am hyperfixating rn lol)

So movie Casey is from the future right? How would the turtles/April react to him revealing that reader (their crush who they haven't confessed to yet) is their spouse in the future? (also slight angst bc reader is most likely gone which Casey might reveal later)

A/n: You guys are coming up with such great prompts! And I will get to all of them this just took so long for me to write because I kinda procrastinated.

I also couldn't think of anything for April so I skipped her but I'll add her in once I think of something so don't worry.

Genre: One-shots, Fluff, A tiny bit of crack

The air seemed tense, nobody moved from their spots in the tank, nobody dared to speak. Your gaze was fixated on the road ahead, Krang tentacles had been wrapped around any possible surface, there was no place safe, everything had been overtaken. You felt yourself slowly begin to loosen your muscles, taking in a deep breath as you realized you’d been holding your breath through the whole drive.

No doubt there was worry clouding everyone's mind, leaving a tense feeling of bitterness. You didn’t blame them at all. But still it was so strange seeing all of them so upset, scared, and even angry. You wanted to do something for them, just to get their minds off everything. There was no harm in trying to lighten the mood a bit right? Well at least what you decided

You thought for a moment, could you say? You didn’t want to come off as insensitive, like you weren’t taking the situation seriously. What was something that would distract them for a couple of seconds? Then it came to you, you smiled as you began to speak up.

“So Casey, you're from the future right?” you asked the grin still present on your face.

Casey turned to you his focused expression shifted to one of confusion as he quirked an eyebrow at you not really sure where you were taking this.

“Well I was just curious. Could you tell me a little bit about the future?” you asked, glancing at Casey. This didn’t seem to spark too much curiosity amoungst the brothers though, much to your dismay. That was until Casey started speaking.

Leo

“Well after you get married to Master Leo…”

Your eyes grow wide, you nearly gave yourself whiplash from how fast you turned to face the black haired male beside you. “What?” you said with a slight bit of urgency.

“When do we get married?” Leo pipes up from the back genuinely curious.

“I didn’t actually get to ask, before well…” Casey trails off his face contouring into a sour expression as he shifts his gaze back to the road ahead of him.

The tank goes silent for a moment before Casey speaks up again.

“Well, I can still tell you what he did tell me.” Casey grins.

“Master Leo used to always gush about you whenever he had the chance, talking about how sweet you were. Especially how cute you were.” Casey added

Leo feels his face begin to heat up as a dorky smile spreads across his face. You and him? Married? Sure he’d flirt with you here and then but he never thought he’d actually ever have the chance to ask you out.

You giggled as you could hear Donnie groaning in the backseat as Mikey began to coo at Leo lightly teasing him.

You looked back and for a split second you’d looked Leo in the eyes. You immediately looked away feeling extremely embarrassed considering everything that Casey had just told you. The tank suddenly came to a stop, and everyone went silent.

One by one everyone began exiting the tank. You took a deep breath as you began to walk out, that was before a firm hand on your shoulder pulled you back causing you to let out a quiet yelp.

You were suddenly turned around to meet Leo’s uncharacteristically stern gaze. “Is something wrong?” you ask immediately concerned for the blue clad turtle.

Leo's head dropped for a second before he sighed, bringing it back up to look at you with his signature smile on his face. “I don’t know what’s going to happen out there but I want you to stay safe.” he said his voice firm as he spoke. Suddenly you felt yourself being pulled into Leo as your lips were met with his cold ones.

Your eyes widened for a moment before you closed them leaning into Leo's embrace. Before he pulled away. Offering you his trademark smile before walking out of the tank. Leaving you there face bright red.

Donnie

“Once you guys got married…” Casey was cut off as Leo spoke up from the back.

“Wait wait, hold up. You're telling me, my baby brother Donnie.”

“We’re the same age Nardo…” Leo clasped a hand over Donnie's mouth to silence his protest as Leo continued his teasing as Donnie pushed his blue brother off of him.

“Actually managed to ask someone out? I didn’t know you had any sort of romantic charm.” Leo grinned as he continued pestering his already humiliated brother.

Casey spoke up.“He actually ends up being the one flustered by his S/o.” Casey states bluntly. Leo bursts out laughing, deciding to take another jab at his twin as Mikey jumps in too, teaming up against his purple brother. Much to Donnie's dismay. “Aw, come one Leo cut Donnie some slack.” Raph said

This was not how he planned to confess to you at all. Shrinked up, in the back of a hot smelly tank surrounded by his ignorant brothers. He was imagining something more romantic.

You and him, sitting on a rooftop looking down at all of the lights and people. And then Donnie would confess to you. Not like this, nothing like this.

Meanwhile you were still struggling to grasp Casey's blunt response. Sure Donnie had always treated you with a special kindness he didn’t treat anyone else with, and yeah sure he would ask you to stay with him at night to keep him company while he worked on something, it didn’t really mean anything when he would constantly compliment you on your skills and talents. Oh. Oh.

How could you be so dense? All of the signs were pointing to the fact that Donnie had a crush on you, how could you not see it?

You spoke over Leo and Mikeys teasing remarks. Hoping to comfort Donnie just a little bit.

“Well I think it’s sweet Donnie.” you spoke sincerely as the purple turtle felt himself wanting to shrink away from all of this tournament. You let a stupid grin spread across your face as your mind drifts to a domestic future with Donnie. As you shifted into living out this sudden fantasy.

Your daydream was broken as the breaks of the tank were slammed on. “We're here.” Casey said, opening the door to the tank. As he and his brothers began to walk out Donnie called to you.

You turned around now facing Donnie as he continued to desperately avoid your gaze. You smiled at him.

“Yeah Donnie?” you asked as Donnie took a deep breath in before speaking.

“I wanted to apologize on behalf of my brothers.” he spoke firmly as he finally gained the courage to meet your gaze. You smiled leaning up to peck him on the cheek as you took his hand leading him out of the tank. “Come on, we're going to fall behind the others!” you said dragging the flustered brother behind you.

Mikey

“Well, You and Mikey get married a couple years after all of this happens.” Casey says with ease. You can hear Mikey gasp from the back. As his face lights up with joy.

Leaning over to Casey with a glimmer in his eyes as he begins to shower poor Casey questions.

“Really?! Me and Y/n?” he exclaims happily not even trying to hide the fact this new revelation has the orange turtle captivated.

Casey chuckles as he takes a glance at Mikey before continuing.

“Yeah, you and Y/n.” he states again as Mikeys face lights up with joy you can’t help but beam with excitement as well.

“When do we get married?” you asked curiously, Casey turns to face you humming in thought before he answers your question.

“I think in the middle of October,” he says. Mikey hasn’t finished his celebration as he continued to dance around in the back.

You laugh at his antics before he turns to you, pulling you up from your seat to dance with him. He takes your hands in his and with a laugh he spins you around pretending to dip you as he pulls you back up. You giggled as he struggled to pull you back up.

Donnie pretends to gag from behind you as Leo rolls his eyes playfully, as he watches you two dance happily.

“Can you believe we're going to get married?!” Mikey exclaimed his smile growing as he spoke

You shook your head playfully. You hear Raph chuckle at his little brother as he walks out of the tank.

“Alright lover boy, time to go.” Donnie said, pushing past you as he exited the tank.

“You're just jealous Dee!” Mikey retorted, sticking his tongue out as he rested his hands on his hips.

“Yeah yeah.” Leo says walking out as Casey follows. You smile as Mikey takes your hand confidently as he turns to you grinning.

“Come on! Future spouse.” you chuckled following him out of the tank.

Raph

“You and Raph get married a little after…all of this.” he pauses before continuing waving his hand around to emphasize what he was talking about. Your eyes widened at the mention of Ralph's name. You hear Raph cough awkwardly from the back, before he speaks up shyly.

“Me and Y/n?” he asks, unsure of what he had just heard.

Casey nodded in reply. You could feel yourself trying to avoid Raphs gaze as you fixated your vision on the road outside. It was obvious you and Raph were very shy about this new information. You hear Leo whisper something to Raph before Raph's face was covered in a crimson red, his mask practically disappearing on his face before he turned to his brother quietly scolding him.

“Oh Y/n, There's something Raphs been dying to tell you.” Leo cooed from the back seat as you turned around in confusion. Raph turned to Leo again, his brows furrowed together.

“Shut up Leo!” said hitting his brother lightly as the blue turtle continued to laugh.

“Oh come on Raph you know you want to.” Mikey jumped in teasing his brother as Raph's face grew red again in embarrassment.

“Not you too Mikey!” he groaned, putting his head in his hands. You giggled softly at the sight.

Raph was always so sweet to you, always treating you with kindness and respect, you're sure that if he had something to tell you it wouldn’t be as big a deal as Mikey and Leo were making it out to be.

You walked back to Raph crouching down as you softly removed his hands from his face.

“Raph, you can tell me anything, I won’t freak out I promise.” you smiled reassuringly as he looked away embarrassed. Raph sighed.

“Okay here it goes. Y/n will you go out with me?” now it was your turn to be embarrassed you looked away. Before nodding softly, turning back to Raph with a shaky smile.

“I’d love to.” Raph’s eyes widened as Leo and Mikey cheered in the background.

“Can I kiss you?” Raph asked meekly, avoiding your eyes. You nodded shyly.

Raph gently cupped your face before giving you a quick peck on the lips. Leaving you both embarrassed as hell.

As the tank came to a stop Raph rose up offering you a hand which you gladly took.

“Alright guys let's go.” Raph said as a confident smiled spread across his face

#rottmnt raph x reader #rottmnt donnie x reader #rottmnt leo x reader #rottmnt mikey x reader #rottmnt x reader #tmnt x reader #rise of the tmnt #fluff #rottmnt fluff

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cupcakeslushie · 6 months

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Okay. I've been tip-toeing around this AU for a while now, but I just got caught up, and now I think I have a (decent) grasp on what's going on. So I wanna go over everything I know so far to see if I'm right or wrong on anything. Don't know if you'd be willing to correct me or not. Either way, I hope my mistakes can help you understand what to clarify to other fans like me. But, I also have some questions. You probably won't be able to answer most of them, but it's at least worth a shot.

First, where's Venus? Like, why is she not in your comics that are (sort of) separate frome the canon now story. The ones that skip to the future way after all the turtles reunite. Did she die? Did she escape? Is it because she wasn't introduced yet when you made those comics?

Two, why do you keep on making references to the future timeline? I know you're planning on possibly making your own stuff leading up to the events of the movie. It just gives me a jumpscare when I see certain...imagery in those comics. I guess you're hinting at what your version of the future apocalypse would look like, but it just hurts to see. Specifically in the comic explaining both the events and aftermath of the movie and the bad future timeline. It's starting to really confuse my brain as to where this story is headed. What's meant to be the main focus? The Hamto's reuniting? The aftermath? Or the future?

Third, did you make all those min-comics before you started the actual AU? Or did you do them during?

Fourth, are any of those mini-comics relevant to the actual story now? Or have you changed your mind on a few things? It's just that everything is so all over the place, I don't really know whether to trust if they're accurate. I know most of them are just there for funzies, but the longer ones concern me. I guess I'm just not used to the storyteller doing sequel, start, prequel, start, sequel, prequel, prequel, sequel, and then end. Or maybe it's just me, and I'm sleep deprived.

My little observation speech is gonna take a while for me to get out in your asks because when I get theoretical, my speech gets long, and my proper English goes down the drain. So I'll be back. I appreciate your work very much. Despite the pain it causes me, it's still amazing.

I’ll try my best to clear up what confusion I can!

1. As far as Venus. The answer is kind of a mix of, I was still figuring out her design and backstory while coming out with some of those early comics, and then, once I had that down, I wanted the boys to grow strong bonds as a main cast. That’s why a lot of the side characters are only making small appearances in the Sep!AU Life stories, as those are mainly for the boys reconnecting. (Usagi shows up the most because I love him and am totally biased towards him).

This maybe hasn’t been stated outright, but I wasn’t really expecting so many ppl to like Vee as much as they do, and now im trying not to spoil too much of her story. It’ll unfortunately just take us a while to get to the meat of it. Since the boys reconnecting takes up a lot of the early s1s2 story, Im trying to follow the familiar Rise blueprint of Draxum, Shredder, Krang, and then in s3 we’ll have crazy fun new stories with the extra characters.

Ive also decided to take this little nugget from one of the Q&As, and use it for Venus instead of Jennika. It was a much needed bit of inspiration to explain why Venus sorta disappears for a while and will go through some major physical changes (not yet revealed) before the family can figure out a way to reach her.

2. I’m not sure if you mean jump scared in a bad/triggering or neutral way, but if you need me to tag anything on those posts please let me know!

The glimpses of the future timeline, are being scattered throughout wherever they parallel the present story in little ways, but that’s only for now. As we get closer to the movie plot, bigger chunks of the future will be revealed, because the future versions of the boys will have a larger role to play in the present timeline. So we will need more backstory than what the canon got. And also I just enjoy drawing my future versions so sometimes I don’t think too hard on a reason. I just like throwing them at ppl with no warning or reason.

When s2 ends, I plan on collecting all the future related stuff that’s been released, and recapping it for easier reading. Right now, it’s just little sprinkles of foreshadowing to give ppl an idea that, ‘oh crap. The doomed timeline is a bummer’. In my mind, I guess i thought it’d be kinda like a fun scavenger hunt for clues, but maybe ppl don’t like that 😅

3. All of the side-stories were written as the main comic was/is being released. A lot of them resulted from asks that just spawned the need to expand on certain ideas, or a desire to give all the turtles their time to shine.

For instance, when I was doing Donnie’s section of the main comic, it was a good few months where we hardly saw anyone but him and Venus. I wanted to just mix it up, and give Raph some love with his ‘Raph Time’ short. When Leo was front and center in the main, we hardly saw the others, so Mikey and Donnie got their little ‘Secrets’ short (and it was also I fun thank you for EW making it so far in the tmnt sep competition).

4. Anything that has been reworked/revised or just plain dropped should have an ‘Edit’ note because yes—I have gone back and changed some things, but more so from the asks i got in the early days, and some movie idea drafts.

All the short comics done in the last year, especially the ones that are listed in my pinned post, are canon and fall somewhere in the timeline. They’re like supplemental reading though—extra meat to give the world and the characters more personality. They do have particular backstory plot and important info in them, but nothing that shouldn’t eventually be re-visited/repeated in the main story.

um I hope that cleared up some things! I know it’s kind of a crazy amount of lore. I’ve tried my best to organize it in the pinned post, huge timeline, and search bar tags, but I know it’s getting harder and harder for newer ppl to jump in as it just get bigger. Thanks for reading regardless!

#rottmnt #tmnt #ask slushie #separated au #rise of the tmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rottmnt separated au #sep!au infodump #ew au #Empyrean Weeping Au

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homeheroine · 9 months

Text

More Than You Could Know

Authors note : heyyy, I wrote this really late at night. It's not prof read. I'll edit it later. I hope it makes sense for now. this is pretty angsty by the way. fluffy raph will be here soon don't worry! enjoy! <3

prompt :

"Raph. We have to talk about this."

"Nah, I don't think we do actually."

"What is wrong with you? Why are you acting like this? What happened to "we are a team"? What happened to trusting each other? W-wha what happened to us?"

"You wanna know what happened Y/N!? Huh!?" The volume of his voice booms though the lair's hallway's. "I realized that I'm so much stronger than any of ya. I'm so powerful that if I lost my mind I could-- I could...." Finally making eye contact with you, Raph notices the tears that roll down your face. Each tear a reminder to him of the atrocities that he had committed against his family, against his morals...

....against you.

-------

Reconstructing New York was gonna take a while, everyone knew that, but with the mutants and humans coming together to construct it again the wounds from old discrimination would heal. The Hamato clan was thriving, strengthened by the bond of battle, the healing of their physical and emotional scars, it seemed everything was ok. Everyone was ok. Right?

"no... no please. I don't want to do this! Let me go! Let me go please!" Raph's cries had woken you with a start. He was having another nightmare. You rushed over to his side tripping from your post since he had basically scared you awake.

NY had basically been completely reconstructed; the only thing that was left was crowd control. You and Raph had been tasked to put away some of the mutant baddies who had broken out of the Hidden City Prison. After tracking a particular escaped inmate for quite some time, Donnie had given you a tip that this inmate could potentially lead you to a group of baddies who banded together after escaping. It was originally a solo mission for you because of your specialty for stealth and recon, but you opted to take a Raph as your bodyguard if you were discovered. The thought of being caught against an entire group of mutant baddies didn't sit right with you. But having Raph with you, the muscle of the group who just happened to have a growth spurt between now and the krang invasion, you felt very comfortable getting the valuable intel for Donnie. Though if you were to tell no lies, the whole reason you requested for him was because he had been avoiding you. Ever since the defeat of the Krang he had been.... different, not only because of his new height and mass. You first noticed the physical distance between you two, then his efforts to keep you from being part of his reconstruction team and even sitting out of his usual spot during movie night. Every time you tried to confront him about it he either dodged the question or straight up ran away! This mission was a perfect excuse to get answers from him, but since leaving the lair he's been just as distant.

"Raph! Hey! Wake up! It's a dream you're on a stake out!" You grab his shoulders trying to shake him awake. He twists out of your grasp effectively throwing you out his range. Stunned by his strength you go back to him, this time coming closer to his face. "Raph please. Wake up-- Ah!" You gasp as he grabs the wrist of the hand that attempted to cup his face. His hand might as well envelop your whole hand all the way down to the middle of your forearm. His fist tightens and his eyes shoot open, they're blank, no sign of his usual friendly gaze. He looks at you like... like you're an enemy. You stare back, honestly unsure of what to expect. He has always been very good with controlling his strength around you, he could easily break your hand even before the invasion. Who knows what he could do to you now with his new strength. Fear fills your heart as you watch him, "Raph! Please! You're hurting me!". Those words seem to spark something in him, blinking back at you his iris's return. He looks into your eyes confused at first then noticing the situation he releases your wrist immediately. You wince and drop to your knees opening and closing your hand attempting to regain feeling, nothing was broken at least. Raph gets on his knees next to you, spouting apologies. The corner of his eyes pricked with tears. "I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry. I'm sorry Y/N."

You muster your strength and put on a reassuring smile. You know how he gets when things like this happen. But you have never seen him like this before. What was he dreaming about? "It's ok Raph. Don't worry, it was an accident, I understand." He seems unconvinced. "Is it broken? Can you move it? Are you-" He stops his apologetic rambling, abruptly raising himself to his feet and taking a few steps back from you. He bows. "Forgive me. This will not ever happen again." If it wasn't for his tone you would have laughed, but his voice is filled with anger. You blink, confused, at least you were distracted from the pain in your hand.

You aren't given a chance to respond when movement from behind you catches your attention.

"Shit!" You curse under your breath. Mutants. When did they get so close? You concelled yourself in some flora while Raph backed into the shadows. Mutant baddies were coming near your hidden stake out spot and they did not look happy.

"Listen, I swear I heard voices coming from this way."

"If there is nothing out here I'm telling the rest of the gang you left the base unguarded."

Gang? Base? Donnie was right. They did team up, and it seems you were close to their base of operations too. Maybe this night would redeem itself. You covertly made your way over to a nearby tree. You needed the high ground if you were gonna follow them back. Launching yourself into the air you attempted to grab a branch to pull yourself up. Pain surged through your arm from the impact and you let go quickly falling a distance toward the ground below. Raph swooped in catching you before you could hit the ground, though effectively ruining your stealth.

The baddies made some noise of realization and began charging toward you two. Raph is first to make contact with them, punching the first larger one in the face, sending them flying. The other goes running, deciding to not mess with the hurt that Raph was dishing out. You were about to give chase when Raph bolted ahead of you, charging toward them. You waited, breathless from the sudden rush of battle and winced as you clutched your now broken wrist. Listening, you waited, a minute of huffs of battle and then a scream occurred and Raph returned with the runaway mutant. He held the mutant upside down by the ankle as he walked past you. Raph's face was unreadable, only his eyes were visible because of the harsh shadow that cast over his face. They were blank again.

"Let me go you overgrown toad! You have no idea what my buddies will do to you when they find me." The smaller mutant snarled. "And don't even get me started on your little human pet! What they're gonna do to dem will be much worse." The mutant spat in your direction.

At that Raph launched the mutant in the air, catching them by the face when they came back down. Raph made no comment, so silly a joke, nothing. His face filled with anger, with hate, while he stared upon his enemy. You shook from the memory of the same look he gave you only a little bit ago. The mutant struggled against his hand, clawing and scratching. Raph was unfazed and wasted no time slamming the back of the mutant's head into the ground.

You gasped. The mutant plastered on the ground in a crater from the impact. Raph, hunched over expression still unreadable, releasing the mutant. They sputtered out groaning in anguish. Raph raised his arms readying himself to slam his fists into the mutant again.

Your body moved on your own. Driving your body in front of the mutant, in front of Raph's fist. You're not sure what you thought. That he would stop? He already had hurt you. But if you were here now, in front of him, would he really hurt you again? Would he kill you to get to this mutant?

The pain you prepared for never came. His fists never touch you. You peeked open an eye only to stare right into the terrified eyes of Raph centimeters away from you. Something was wrong. His right eye shines a bright yellowish green as his cat eye-like pulp mirrors the movements of his normal left eye that swims through yours. This is a memory of the Krang's possession. You and him were in the same position as when he unconsciously fought against you and his brothers. This moment was all too similar. "Raph?" Your voice is barely above a whisper he stares into your eyes once more, his eyes seemingly normal again, then blinking he rips himself away from you. You get up, rushing toward him. "Are you ok? Please talk to me. Raph!" He turns his left eye over to you while covering his right, his face is sad, scared.

"Go home Y/N."

"Raph come on now."

"Go home." His voice rising.

You huff, very worried and frankly frustrated from your dear friend's behavior. "We can't have this conversation here." You say turning around looking for any other approaching mutants. If he wants to go, then fine, we'll go, but he will talk to you. You make your move to pick up the mutant, "Help me get this guy back to the lair, we can question him."

Raph huffs, picking the mutant up and placing him on his shoulder.

-----

Making it back to the lair you are able to report your findings to Donnie and see the injured mutant to the med bay. Donnie gives a quizzical look to you and Raph when you return. Mainly because of the damage they took. The moment the mutant was in Donnie's care Raph attempted to flee you. Immediately making his way to the lair's exit. You finish your report in time to catch him in the abandoned subway on the way out.

"Raph. We have to talk about this." You demand speeding behind him.

"Nah, I don't think we do actually." He doesn't slow his pace, continuing to march through the lair.

"What is wrong with you? Why are you acting like this? What happened to "we are a team"? What happened to trusting each other? W-wha what happened to us?"

"You wanna know what happened Y/N!? Huh!?" He spins around to face you. His brow knitted inward while his mouth displayed a harsh snarl. The volume of his voice booming through the lair's hallways. "I realized that I'm so much stronger than any of ya. I'm so powerful that if I lost my mind I could-- I could...." Finally making eye contact with you Raph seems to notice the tears that roll down your face. You're so worried, what happened to your dear friend. Was it the Krang? Why was he keeping secrets from you?

"Please Raph, you can trust me. I'm here for you." You plead coming closer to him. He doesn't move, allowing you to cup your hand on the side of his face. He faces you now. Eyes welling up with tears as he begins to break down. "Why?" He cries, "Why do you trust me? I've done nothing but hurt you! When the Krang had me I almost killed Leo! I almost killed you!"

You recounted the memories of the Krang's possession of him. No wonder he had been avoiding you. His nightmares, he was dreaming about the Krang? Dreaming about hurting you? Tears free falling down his face now. "I can't imagine a world without ya in it Y/N. The very thought terrifies me. If I was the cause of your... the cause of a world without ya, I don' think I'd have it in me to forgive myself."

You cup both sides of his face, "Raph, that wasn't you, the real you would never do that to me. If you have these fears, these nightmares you have to tell me. I'm here for you. I'm not leaving Raph. Not now, not ever. Because I-- I love you."

His eyes widen at your sudden confession, then fill with tears once again. His face breaks down as he pulls you into himself for a much needed hug. Even now with his emotions running high he still hugs you gently. "I love you too... so much more than you could know."

#rise raph x reader #rise raph #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles x reader #rise of the tmnt #tmnt x reader #rise tmnt #rottmnt raph #rottmnt x reader #rottmnt raph x reader #tmnt raphael #tmnt raph x reader #tmnt raph 2018 #tmnt 2018 #tmnt 2018 x reader

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boots-with-the-fur-club · 3 months

Text

Decided to post the final chapter a day early! No Fun in Fungus chapter 5! I’ve submitted myself to @tmntaucompetition and the submissions close tomorrow if you wanted to submit this au as well! Thank you to everyone for supporting and reading!

@daboyau

@theawesomeninja-xd

@nights-flying-fox

@phoebepheebsphibs

“What did we do!?” Leo shouts in confusion.

“I know there’s something you want to apologize for. Even if it’s not your fault.” Mikey insists.

Leo glances away then takes a breath and looks at Donnie.

“I’m sorry about S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N.”

“It seems Mikey can apparently tell the future now because I have no idea why you’d apologize for that.” Donnie deadpans.

“I sent him to go protect gram-gram. He was destroyed because of me.”

“He was destroyed because the Krang loves hurting our family and possessed our extra great grandfather. I’m just glad you didn’t try to do something stupid like face him alone. It would have been your parts I’d have to find scattered around.”

“But….Donnie, you loved S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N. How are you not upset? You hate when I break your inventions, and he was way more than just an invention.”

“Are you kidding? You’re really asking me that? I can’t rebuild you! You are not easily replaceable, Leo! I know what I say and how we joke around but I thought that’s just what we did! Do you think I mean everything!? That I want you to be like gram-gram!? Like all the Hamato before us!? No! When I told you to sacrifice yourself to buy us time I said it because you like jokes! I-I didn’t say it so you could go jump into a portal to save the world! Screw the world! Screw all of it if it means I lose anyone!” Donnie ends up tearing up at the end.

Leo feels a lot of guilt creep up inside him. He was very aware about how being in the prison dimension and getting so hurt affected everyone.

At least he thought he was.

“I don’t think that, I’ve never thought that! You guys know I don’t just do this kind of stuff whenever, right?” Leo frantically looks between the three of them.

None of them can meet his gaze.

The guilt turns into a bit of hurt.

“Jeeze, you sacrifice yourself for the sake of the world once and suddenly you’re the craving death guy.” He deflects.

“Leo!” Mikey shouts, eyes starting to glow again.

“You’re joking now? Right at this moment? Am I hallucinating again? You can not be serious!” Donnie joins in on yelling.

Leo looks away from them, eyes landing on Raph.

He’s the only one who doesn’t get angry which surprises Leo. The anger was there at first, he could see it, then it flickered to something else.

Realization.

“You told us and I never thought you were bein serious.”

Donnie raises an eyebrow.

“Told us what exactly?”

“That he jokes to cope. You’re not telling jokes because you don’t care, you’re telling jokes because you’re afraid.”

Leo bites the inside of his cheek.

“I thought I was pretty obvious about it until you guys kept coming after me during the first Shredder situation. If I don’t joke, then I just stop moving and that leaves all of us without portals!”

“Why didn’t you just tell us? It sounds like you were scared the entire time!” Mikey frowns.

“Of course I was! He turned Draxum into a freaking raisin and almost killed dad! How could I not be scared!? What good would telling you I’m scared be? So you could do what? Actually, let me tell you exactly what you’d do. You’d do what you’ve been doing since Mikey rescued me and ignore everything just to make sure I’m okay. We didn’t have the time for that back then.”

“How often do you not tell us how you’re feeling just because it’s inconvenient or a detriment to the mission?” Donnie narrows his eyes.

“Have you considered how much I do say what I’m feeling only for you guys to say I’m being paranoid or messing around? Oh Leo, we should trust the weird spider lady. Leo, stop spraying the bugs to protect this guy from getting mutated. Who cares if we might get hurt during the mutant panic?”

Leo regrets his words as he sees the look of hurt on Raph’s face.

He sighs heavily.

“It’s not on you, big bro. The bigger problem is we kind of all ignore each other? I’m still afraid of bringing up the pizza puffs incident because I’m worried you’ll blow a blood vessel. Donnie got pretty mad about the pizza pigeon too. And then….” He trails off, remembering just how badly he messed up.

“Maybe that’s because we weren’t paying attention to your feelings then either.” Mikey says softly.

“No, what I did was all my fault. You and Donnie could have died.”

“You chose the wrong thing to do, but you were….really messed up, Leo. You didn’t even have much time after your panic attack. We should have taken over for you, or at least try to make you see you weren’t okay.”

“Then….I’m sorry that for as much as I talk, I don’t say what I need to say as much. I’ll try to do better, try to help us all do better.”

Mikey smiles brings him over, nuzzling his cheek against his.

“I suppose it’s my turn now. I am sorry for….a lot of things. I….know how I can be. While I have come to terms with the fact that there are parts of me that I should accept and never change, I do realize what you all put up with sometimes. I don’t always take care in focusing on what you all do for me, small things that can be taken for granted. I want you all to know that no matter what I say or do, I would still personally tear out the still beating heart of anything that comes after us. Then, I would put it on display as a warning.” Donnie says that last part nonchalantly.

There’s a few seconds of silence before Donnie is pulled into the collective hug.

The others are crying.

“Donnie, we love you too!” Mikey sobs.

“That was beautiful, Dee.” Raph sniffles.

“I’ve never heard you say something so emotional, kinda liking the mushy side.” Leo smiles through tears.

Donnie can’t help but tear up too.

He really did love his family more than anything.

Mikey soon lowers everyone down, the chains disappearing as well.

“Can Raph ask how you did all that now!?” Raph grips him by the shoulders.

“I….I don’t even really know. I just thought our family was going to fall apart and it just happened.” Mikey answers.

Donnie glances around.

“Your chains managed to get rid of a lot of the spores. I think the mushrooms must be weak to light like yours.”

Mikey’s eyes light up.

“I can make those things go away?”

“That’s my working theory, but…..I worry about your arms. I’m surprised that they aren’t hurt again now.“

“There is a pretty big difference between chains and opening up a portal to another dimension.” Leo comments, subtly checking over Mikey’s arms.

Mikey hums as he tries to think of a solution.

“Donnie, could you make a weapon?”

He makes a gun and hands it to him.

“Donnie!” Leo and Raph shout.

“Oh calm down, it’s just a dart gun.”

Mikey imbues the weapon with some of his ninpo.

“I need a mushroom to test it out on.”

Raph picks up Leo and Donnie in one arm and Mikey in another.

“Let’s find you one then.”

He carries them all off and together they carefully search for the mushrooms.

Eventually several start making their way towards them and Mikey shoots.

The bodies shrivel up almost right away at the ninpo dart stabbing them.

“Alright Mikey!” Leo cheers.

“If it’s his light that does it….then maybe these will work!” Donnie creates three UV light flashlights.

He hands two to Raph and Leo and wriggles out of Raph’s hold.

“Let’s make these mushrooms which they never evolved.”

The brothers start exterminating every single mushroom they come into contact with.

It feels nice to be able to take out the things that have been torturing them all night.

It’s almost cathartic. They couldn’t truly destroy the source of their fears, but they could waste some crappy mushrooms that triggered their PTSD.

“Do you think that was the last of them?” Raph questions after a lot of walking yielded no more mushrooms.

“When this kind of thing happens in movies, isn’t there usually one big version that controls the others?” Leo answers with his own question.

“I hate where you drew that conclusion from, but I hate that you’re right even more. My goggles picked up a much larger amount of mystic energy in one of the tunnels.” Donnie adds.

“Then we know what we gotta do. Those things aren’t going to hurt anymore people. Everyone on board?” Raph looks around.

Everyone nods with the same look of determination Raph has.

They grab their real weapons for good measure before heading down the tunnel Donnie got the reading from.

He and Mikey walked behind Raph who had Leo using his arm for assistance walking again.

Mikey can’t help but still feel a little afraid of the darkness they leave behind as they walk with their lights.

Donnie gently, purposefully bumps his hand against Mikey’s.

Mikey smiles a bit and holds his hand.

He smiles more when he notices Donnie’s tail wag.

After a good amount of walking, they come across the end of the tunnel that goes to a large opening.

Inside was a colony of the smaller mushrooms surrounding a humongous one.

“Let’s slice him up like he’s going on a pizza.” Raph readies his weapons.

The mushrooms start coming at them all’s

Leo opens up portals to send him and the others to different locations.

Raph mows down the mushrooms with his projection and Donnie supplies some clones with more UV lights.

Mikey jumps and flips around like crazy using mainly his legs as he shoots at the mushrooms. It’s freeing, not focusing on what he can’t do for once.

Donnie made grander, larger weapons with every launch of his ammunition. He let himself go all out. Therapeutic in its own way.

Leo may or may not be taking too much advantage of being able to use his portals again. They were useful in this chaotic fight sure, but it also meant a lot to be able to move around better.

This is the first fight they’ve had since the Krang and each of them felt like they got something back from it.

They keep fighting until the big mushroom finally ends up the same way as all the smaller ones.

The ones that were still alive also followed suit.

Now that the fight was over, they dragged themselves back to their home. It was entirely too late in the night and everything they went through was exhausting in its own right.

Mikey looks up at Raph, eyes almost closing, and makes grabby hands.

Raph feels his heart swell. It’s just like when they were kids.

He lifts him up, cradling him like he did Leo at the beginning of this whole situation.

Leo smiles tiredly at seeing them.

“Remember when you tried to convince me you were older and I said that all big brothers give piggy back rides? I can’t believe you and your big brain fell for that.”

Donnie considers this and suddenly stops right in front of him. When Leo almost falls over on him, Donnie takes the opportunity to get him on his shell.

“I am older.”

Leo rests his chin on Donnie’s head.

“Fine, just this once.”

Raph and Donnie carry their brothers to Raph’s room.

When Donnie, Mikey, and Leo are in the bed, Raph grabs his fluffiest possible blanket out of his collection and pulls it over all them after he’s wrapped himself around.

Donnie had his arm spread over Mikey and Leo who were cuddled up together.

Mikey also held Raph’s tight in his arms like it was the world’s most comfortable teddy bear.

They all drifted off to sleep, knowing that even if there were more nightmares, they’d deal with them.

None of them would ever be alone.

#no fun in fungus #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rottmnt #2018 tmnt #rise of the tmnt #rise fanfiction #rottmnt fanfiction #tmnt 2018 #fanfiction #rottmnt michelangelo #rise leo #rottmnt angst #rise angst #rottmnt leo #rise mikey #rottmnt donnie #rise donnie #rottmnt raph #rise raph

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sloppy-rants · 1 month

Text

Rottmnt Rant #2

(Leonardo centered)

One thing I adore about rise is that if you pay attention there are no character traits that ever come out of the blue. They have always been present within the show, they just don’t have any spotlights on them.

One example of this is Leo’s martyr complex, as well as his habit of making jokes out of serious situations. These traits are very present in the movie, and are even main plot points that push the narrative forward. These traits have always been present in the show, however one episode that I think contains multiple examples of these is the episode “Flushed but Never Forgotten.”

⚠️SPOILERS AHEAD FOR THE EPISODE AND THE MOVIE⚠️

In the episode Flushed but Never Forgotten, the boys accidentally flush their dad’s pet fish, Piebald. They decide to cover it up, lying to their dad and replacing piebald with a ‘perfect’ replica (a rock with googly eyes glued on). After about a year, Mikey starts to feel guilt over the loss of piebald, and tells the rest of his brothers about writing on the walls and voices he’s heard that he thinks are coming from her.

We find out that Piebald has returned, and is now a mutant capable of talking and possessing abilities such as turning invisible/camouflaging with her surroundings. Upon initial discovery, the boys are terrified. All of them except Leo.

Leo responds to seeing piebald with “Okay so she’s a mutant.” While the others are obviously scared shitless. This only lasts for a moment, but it demonstrates his true nature, as in this moment he hasn’t had enough time to lie and come up with some sort of fake or funny reaction. He uses one of his coping mechanisms, humor, to deal with the situation. Now of course, after this he goes right back to being scared with all of his brothers, as one would do, but I find it interesting that his initial reaction was to tone down the situation and after that he showed fear, rather than the other way round. Moments like this are sprinkled through the whole show, but I decided to focus on this one simply because of how small and fast it is. It would have been so easy to have Leo just scream along with all the others, but the writers decided to add this bit in. You might think of this as just a joke the writers added in for shits and giggles, but he does this multiple times in the series. A rather popular example of this being his line “Soo.. you guys from Jersey?” in the very first episode.

Now his Martyr complex, I know is a very popular topic for Leo. It provides juicy angst, and it’s a wonderful topic to use for drawings, fan fictions, and rants such as I’m doing now. But usually, those are all centered around the movie. The movie’s climax features Leo locking himself in the prison dimension with Krang prime, sacrificing himself for those he cares about. What I don’t think people talk about enough is that this isn’t the only time Leo does this. This is another reason why I decided to focus on this episode specifically.

Later in the episode, Piebald ends up taking Leo’s entire family. His brothers, his dad, even the paper foot ninja they took in. Initially, he has a plan to gain the upper hand against Piebald. He uses her own trick against her, camouflaging with his surroundings to use the element of surprise against her. Once this fails, however, he finds himself backed into a corner. His family is tied together, hanging behind him as they dangle over a large whirlpool of sewer water, about to be flushed as they had done to Piebald so long ago. In one last desperate attempt to save his family, he pleads with Piebald to let his family go, and take him instead.

He says, “flush me and let my family go.” Clearly stating the he wishes to sacrifice himself for those he cares about. He’s been running this whole episode. Running from the monster, running from the responsibility of Piebald’s “death”, and running from telling the truth to his dad. Now, as the only one left, he knows it’s him who has to save his family, and when given no other choice, he chooses himself as the sacrifice. It’s not even suggested to him that he sacrifice himself, he came up with that on his own. He doesn’t know what will happen to him, he just wants his family to be safe.

Sadly, this moment is short lived as immediately after he says this Piebald cuts the rope to drop the others into the whirlpool, which is where the whole thing is revealed to be a ruse made up by Splinter and Piebald to teach the boys a lesson. But I still think this moment should be talked about more. It’s so interesting to me.

It’s one thing that I think people get wrong a lot. A popular trope I see with Leo is that in any danger whatsoever he will deliberately go out of his way to sacrifice himself first. It’s his first and only plan, and he truly believes it will 100% work out. Watching the show though, this just isn’t true. Leo is a good leader, and he knows what his brothers are capable of. He’s able to use their skills to come up with a clever plan that almost always works when he really puts thought into it. It’s when he’s backed into a corner, stuck between a rock and a hard place that he resorts to his final plan. His last chance to keep everyone he loves safe and more importantly alive. If it comes down to it, he will use himself as the scapegoat willingly, even if the others don’t want it. I love Leo angst so much, and I love it even better when it’s done right. Leo is a smart guy, he knows when he can find an easy way out of things. That’s what makes it even more devastating when he resorts to his martyr complex, because it’s always either a last resort, or a split second decision. I think what people try to do is make it his first instinct, which I can agree with if written to be believable.

Moments that represent these traits come and go quickly, but I think that’s part of why Rise is so well written. The creators trust their viewers, and are aware that things don’t need to be spelled out in order for us to understand them. This show is honest to god just so amazing, and a wonderful example of when artists put out a work that they really care about for others to enjoy.

#rottmnt rants #save rottmnt #unpause rottmnt #rottmnt #rottmnt leo #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #save rise of the tmnt #rise of the tmnt #rottmnt leonardo

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teainthesnow · 1 year

Text

@somerandomdudelmao has absolutely destroyed me with that latest Cass Apocalypse update so my brain decided to spit this out in return.

- - - -

Looking back, he realises that he knew – in some small defeated way – when he woke up that morning and his legs refused to leg that this was it.

There were many thoughts and emotions that ran through his scarily sluggish brain at that realisation.

Why here?

Why now?

He still had so much to do.

So much to prepare for.

This couldn’t... He couldn’t...

But he also knew that he could only accept it at that point because what else could he have done?

He still puts up a fuss when his brothers carried him into another room and bundled him up in blankets and pillows. They set him down onto Raph’s arm, and Mikey and Leo settle down on either side of him.

And that’s where he finds himself now. In a familiar yet vastly different turtle pile. And he is warm and cosy and comfortable despite everything.

He stares up at the ceiling and if he tries hard enough, and lies still enough, he can almost pretend that the crumbling roof above him is actually the chipped tiles of their old sewer home.

He takes a breath and he can feel the rumbling breaths of an alive and not robotic Raph beneath him. That there is no hair upon Mikey’s head as he presses against his side. And finally that the two hands that Leo clutches at him so desperately with, are both of equal size with familiar warm and unscarred scales.

He releases the breath. Barely paying any mind as to how long it had been since he breathed in.

The lair's ceiling is a comfort and the softly glowing green lights lull him further into peace.

And in the morning they’ll all wake up and get into their usual shenanigans again. They’ll go fight some villains or cause some chaos. Perhaps even get some pizza after.

And nothing is wrong.

And life is simply a slightly messy joy.

He would give everything to have it all back.

To not be where he is now.

Weak and usualess and... and dying.

He blinks, having to force his eyes back open, and he is back in the resistance base. And brothers are still clinging tightly to him.

They’ll be okay, he thinks to himself.

And, sure he is worried, and scared, and filled with so many other emotions that he doesn’t even have the time to try and describe or make sense of.

Despite that, however, he believes that he can trust his brothers.

Trust that they’ll keep themselves alive.

Keep the resistance strong and victorious.

And that they’ll beat the Krang and make them pay for every little thing that they did.

For all the loss, and destruction, and pain, and fear.

And then Raph would live again.

He would eat his honey, surrounded by his family.

April would keep them all going, keep them grounded while living the life she deserved.

Casey would grow up to be strong and brave.

Mikey would be a fantastic mystic warrior.

With Leo a beloved leader and respected ninja.

And it would all be okay.

There’s a slight bitterness, a simmering anger, that he won’t be there to see it. Won’t get to enjoy that well deserved rest, to see what freedom could bring or even live the life that he could barely even imagine anymore.

But at least they will.

And, to him, that’s all that really truly matters.

He closes his eyes, letting himself become enveloped within the warm embrace of his brothers.

He knows that his time has come.

Faintly he realises that he should say something. Some cheesy goodbye or emotional last words. Perhaps a grand gesture or maybe he could even steal Leo’s trademark and go out with the stupidest pun imaginable.

But, maybe, nothing is needed.

Perhaps, lying here, surrounded by his family, is the best goodbye he could give for now.

And maybe some part of him hopes, somewhere deep down, that this isn’t truly the end. That he’ll see his family once again.

He smiles.

Yeah, he thinks, this is enough.

He hears faint whispers in the air.

A comforting voice. Another friendly face.

Two softly glowing green hands reach out towards him.

He lets out a breath.

And reaches back.

#cass apocalyptic series #rottmnt #Im having to many emotions right now #thank you cass #but also why cass #but genuinely thanks #rise of the tmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #tarts&crafts

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miso-sopas · 7 months

Text

In My Arms │ ROTTMNT Leo x Reader

Cross-posted in Ao3

Summary: Leo's arms are the safest place in the entire world.

Warnings: Angst, Hurt no Comfort

1324 words

▸▸▸🍜▸▸▸

It was all a mess; everything was so frantic, urgent shouts and worried whispers among your crowd. You can’t keep up in every turn, cracks and energy flowing around you. Despite being a civilian, you were thrusted in the very front of the fight that you don’t know whether you’ll come alive after or not.

Today was supposed to be a beautiful day. After finishing your assignments, wanting to hang out with April, Cass and Sunita then ending your day with your beloved Leonardo and his family, you expect more of a calm and sweet day to spend time around your favorite people. Not being passed down like a ragdoll, keeping you safe and away from the clutches of this alien they call themselves the Krang Prime. It becomes a sadistic game that the alien enjoys, keeping you safe as Leo and his brothers fight against them. Truthfully, it's making you dizzy with all the back and forth shielding but it seems that the Krang Prime recognizes you as the turtles’ weakness, especially to the blue one, focusing on making sure to either give you injuries or worse, kill you.

Being in the middle of an alien invasion wasn’t in your to-do list for today.

After being wrapped by Mikey’s kusari-fondo and taking you far enough from them, nobody noticed a crack swimming towards your footing. As their senses sharpened for trouble, Krang Prime suddenly slammed their metallic foot down, surprising all the turtles and you. The warriors were confused at the alien’s actions but continued to fight nonetheless, you however hear small cracks beneath you. Not satisfied, the alien stomped their foot again, this time not only breaking the floor beneath you but also making you stumble backwards into the open air.

You realized you’re falling; in panic you shouted his name. His heart jumps from the sight of your falling and scared figure, quickly running towards you. Leo ignored his brothers’ calls as he solely focused on you, now jumping at the edge of the building. No hesitation for his safety, only yours.

As your body keeps falling, he frantically opens portal after portal to come near you, even by an inch to your raised hand. He was stupid to not portal you out from the harm’s way sooner! Now he’s doing his best to not fail you. Not you, not to you.

Even as you fall there is this peace between you, while your heart beats frantically from danger, your mind settled on something. You heard your beloved whisper, “I got you okay!” Despite having a slight tremor in his voice, it doesn’t waver your hope to him. You never gave up on his eccentric yet good intentions. You know he got you; he always does. No matter what the odds both of you face, he’s always there to keep you near him. You are safe as long as you are in his arms, and he in yours.

You felt your feet being roughly grabbed up to a glowing blue, all of its mystical elements comforting you momentarily. The rush of air as you feel yourself being suspended. That slight disturbance, the slight wrongness in movement, the slight accidental of the placement of your head to a surface you both didn’t account for. The taste of salt, and iron and you felt pain somewhere in your head.

Quickly, he opens a portal near you as his hand grabs what he can reach. As he feels your warmth on his, he knew he didn’t mess up. He didn’t disappoint himself in saving you, he didn’t disappoint you.

If only he didn’t mess up. If only before engaging to Krang Prime, he transported you far away from all the mess, maybe in April and Splinter's side. If only Mikey was not occupied and might save you with his weapon. If only he did not mess up, again. Again, and again, and again. Again.

Again, he doubts himself.

No, he shouldn't. He caught you!

Your favorite sneakers caught in his hands. Well-worn and beautiful, always beautiful no matter what you dress and what you style. Giving every chance to compliment you, and you giving all of it back more. Leo started crying in relief as he carefully pulled your body into him, supporting your torso and hugging you tightly. Traveling away, he walks down the sidewalk filled with rubble and broken glasses. Tightly hugging you as your warmth comforts him. You are safe.

You are safe, back within his arms.

"You keep falling to me huh? Guess I'm that charming," chuckling to ease his nervousness and calming you down. He did it! You’re safe and back in his arms. Your nails lightly scratching his plastron and your nose pressing underneath his chin. You are safe. You are safe. You---

Are you breathing?

You remain silent, not moving despite the lack of danger. You don't cry and you don't grumble. Not even a groan or giggle on his joke, not a peep from you.

Slowly revealing your face, you are peaceful. Almost sleeping. Maybe the adrenaline was too much, and you fainted? Yeah, that must be it, right? Right?

At first, he was hesitant in shaking you. He does not want to add more stress on you, but you need to see him. He needs to see you! Frantic, he shakes you like rocking a baby in a lullaby. From careful to desperate, even carefully slapping you to wake you up. Nothing was happening, you were still sleeping. He panics again, this is worse than before.

You're in his arms but why does it seem you're still miles away from him.

"Hey! Hey babe, this is not funny! I know that you hate some of my flirting but right now I need to hear you groan! Or snicker! Even an insult! Anything! Just please, open your eyes!"

Hearing his distress, April slowly walks towards them. Her eyebrows furrowed from confusion as she sees Leo shaking your body. She can’t really see much other than his brother’s shoulder rising rapidly and your legs slacking above glass and concrete. She can hear the shouts from her other brothers, calling for Leo to get back into fighting and help them. It was chaotic around the scene, but she feels dread when you still don’t move.

Mikey, the ever-thoughtful brother, comes down safely from above and shakes his older brother’s shoulder. April heard Donnie’s ever helpful quip, "What's the hold up? Finish your lovey-dovey and help us here!" She can tell that the purple clad turtle is aggravated, that despite the big threat in front of them right now, his blue-clad brother chooses to coddle with his beloved. At all times.

"Come on Leo! Let her walk, man!" Raph’s booming voice above also adds to the tirade of frustration and chaos, even with the noise there was nothing coming from either Leo or you.

Worry creased between Mikey’s brows as he called for his motionless brother. His soft voice becomes the loudest towards Leo, who seems to grip your body tighter into his.

He can feel tremors from his brother’s shoulder, hands never letting go of your body and your face becoming paler. It was strange, he’s used to seeing both of you being lovey-dovey towards each other. Always noisy with giggles and kisses, smiles permanent between your faces and your feet always swings whenever Leo carries you.

Now your legs remain still and eyes never opening, Leo refuses to accept his biggest mistake as he slowly curves his warmth around you. Shielding your body from his failure as your hero. "Leo? Leo, what is going on?" Mikey’s scared now, scared for you, and scared for his brother.

As if the world needed to prove his mistake, a lone drop of blood shows itself from your nose. Eyes still closed and your body resting. Dead, you are dead.

In his arms, you lay stiff but remained beautiful as ever.

#tmnt leonardo #tmnt x reader #tmnt 2018 #rottmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #leonardo hamato #rottmnt leo #rise leo #rise of the tmnt #x reader

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tblsomedoodles · 10 months

Text

It's late but have an Apocalypse timeline Morgan anyways

i didn't know what to draw (since my animatic went from "this is fking hilarious" to "i can't watch this without cringing and now i hate it" when i wasn't looking last night) so i figured seeing what Morgan would look like in the Apocalypse Timeline was a good doodle.

I think Morgan ran into some trouble early on with some Krang beasts, to the point where they would have died if someone from Big Mama's group hadn't found them and brought them back to their temporary base. (They probably still would have died if one of the group didn't recognize them and made a case as to why keeping them around would be beneficial.)

They stayed with that group for a while before the group joined forces with the Resistance and ended up in the vault. At which point, Morgan straight up took over the greenhouse and vary rarely leaves it.

That early encounter with the Krang beast left them pretty scared. They've either lost use of (or simply lost) their right eye, they have some scars on their shoulder and chest, and their lower right arm was damaged enough that they lost most feeling and movement in it.

Personality wise, Future Morgan is a little more short with people than they used to be pre-invasion (like more willing to just snap at them). They almost died to aliens and had since decided they just don't have time for everyone elses bullshit. This is particularly evident when they're working in the greenhouse. Morgan's not a fighter, they know this. They can't protect these people like everyone else is. But they can make sure they have fresh produces and various helpful plants and herbs at their disposal. Therefore, whenever someone comes in and tries to get in the way of their one job, they will make sure that person regrets it. (that person often being Donnie since he was in charge of it before them and doesn't quite know how to just let someone else take over a project lol.)

anyways, that is all for now.

#tmnt #rottmnt #seer twins au #apocalypse timeline #my doodles #oc morgan

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freestyle-crocodile-trashpile · 2 years

Note

if you have the time, could you do hc on the Rise turtles and how they like to cuddle you? And I haven’t seen you do draxum yet and if you don’t that’s completely fine but if your willing can you add him? :) Just some pure fluff for the soul<3 also how was your day?

[A/n:you and one other person has asked for draxum. Thank you for requesting]

Summary:how they like to cuddle

Type:hcs:turtles + draxum x gn reader

Version:rise

Michelangelo

He would be the little spoon, even if your smaller

It makes them feel safe, especially after the krang event

Feeling small in your arms is his comfort

But sometimes they'd want to be the big spoon, but only sometimes

He would hold your arms close to the top of his plastron and one of your hands pressed against his lips

Mainly so when they wake up or before they go to bed they can kiss your hand, or just randomly kiss it

He also loves having his shell against you, mainly because they get colder at night than their siblings

So you staying nice and close to him keeps him warm

Leonardo

Just like Mikey he likes you close

He doesn't care if your little or big spoon as long as your close he's fine

He feels extremely safe when close to you, so just like with cuddling he'll random be pressed against you, like out side of cuddling

Even just sitting together his leg will be against yours

He also loves hearing you breathing, not in a weird way, in a comfort thing

Since he would sleep in a different room as everyone it's silent, so hearing you let's him know he's not alone

He doesn't really know how to cuddle but he knows how to stay close and hold your arms

Like your arms will probably be in his hands. Like he will hold your forarms, bring your arms close to him

Draxum

He isn't big on cuddling

But when he does, he would want to be big spoon

Like just being able to hold you close to him, makes him happy

So if he does cuddle you, he's gonna hold you close to him, and have his arms wrapped around you

But most of the time he's probably gonna be sleeping with his back turned to you

Not because he's mad, he just feels awkward about facing someone when he sleeps

And on race occasions, he'll little spoon, and have his back pressed against your chest

He surprisingly loves being little spoon

Raphael

Like Leo he doesn't care who's big or little spoon

He just wants to be with you, doesn't matter if your close or not

It gives him comfort just knows your there

But he will hold your hand, or bicep depending on how much bigger you are to him

Like if he's tiny compared to you he's gonna gently hold your bicep, but if your smaller than him than he's gonna hold your hand or if your in the middle

He likes to cuddle, so he likes to hold you or have you hold him

Either way doesn't matter, he just likes how warm you are and cuddling in general not just for warmth

But either way, hes gonna hold your hand or bicep there's no changing that

Donatello

She hates cuddling and physical affection for that matter

Like if you get lucky you can be big spoon but other than that no

He hates cuddling, so if you try he'll push you away

They don't have the best memories when it comes to physical touch

But after the kranng event cuddling will be more common

Only because she's scared, and starts having nightmares like alot of nightmares

So now he'll be cuddled into your chest gripping your shirt just scared, so all you have to do is hold him close

Donnie isn't big on cuddling but when they do its different, mainly Because most times will be them scared or it's awkward

[A/n:I hope you enjoyed and btw guys if you haven't see I am falling out of tmnt, so this might be the last one for awhile sorry guys]

#tmnt #tmnt imagine #tmnt donatello #tmnt x male reader #tmnt leonardo #tmnt raphael #tmnt michelangelo #tmnt x reader #tmnt headcanons #rottmnt #rottmnt x gn reader #rottmnt x male reader #rottmnt x reader #rottmnt draxum

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misteria247 · 1 year

Text

This wasn't supposed to happen.

None of this supposed to happen.

But here he was, on a small island watching in horror as one of his brothers was thrown into another dimension. Disappearing from the world as if it were nothing. Mikey could only watch in horror as the Krang ship disappeared from the skies of NYC, carrying Leo with it. He could hear Raph falling to his knees and letting out a primal, grief stricken scream into the air, his large frame shaking uncontrollably from the emotional onslaught. Donnie was deathly silent, but Mikey could feel the turmoil and disbelief coming from his older brother. Could smell the tears that had started coming down his cheeks. And Mikey.......

Mikey didn't even think about it before he found himself running towards the edge of the island. He heard Raph and Donnie's voices, broken and suddenly terrified by their little brother's behavior but at that moment Mikey didn't care if he scared them. Didn't care if he had let the mask he wore slip as he ran. Flashes of memories hit him like waves of an ocean. Lifetimes of losing Leo stabbing into him and cutting him deeply.

Leo when he'd been stabbed by Karai and beaten to near death by the Shredder.

Leo when he'd been taken to be used as a sacrifice for monsters.

Leo when he held back Kraang Subprime in the Technodrome, sinking into the sea.

Leo once again beaten by the Shredder to near death, ending up comatose for three months.

Leo nearly having all of his blood be taken and nearly going into shock.

Leo who had patted his head before going out with Casey and being blown to bits and pieces, a broken sword being all that was left.

Leo sacrificing himself at this very moment, throwing himself into the prison dimension with the Krang general to be beaten to death.

Mikey's eyes filled with tears as he drew closer towards the edge of the island, his heart racing. The words of his brothers echoing in his head in their brokenness.

'There's nothing we can do. Leo's gone.'

The box shell shook his head, refusing to accept it. Refusing to accept that Leo was gone for good. He remembered Casey Jr saying that his future self was a powerful mystic warrior. With skills unmatched by anyone. Mikey didn't know what he was going to do, but God damnit he was going to try.

He refused to give up on Leo.

Not when Leo wouldn't give up on him.

Mikey shot his arms out, the tears flying down his face in rivers as he struggled to do something. To do anything. If he could just get to Leo......

More memories of Leo filled Mikey's head, fueling his determination and desperation as he dug deeper into himself, forcing his mystics to do something.

Leo who held him when he had a nightmare.

Leo who made silly puns and catchphrases to annoy them as well as cheer them up.

Leo who always had their backs even when he was frustrated with them.

Leo mother henning them and keeping them safe on missions.

Leo with his selflessness and self sacrificial ways to ensure that his family was happy and taken care of.

Leo with his smile and laughter and wisdom and patience.

Leo, Leo, Leo-

Leonardo.

He wanted Leonardo back. He wanted him back home safely and smiling like he always did. He didn't want to lose Leonardo.

Not now.

Not ever again.

'Give him back-! Give me back my brother-! GIVE ME BACK LEO, GIVE ME BACK MY BROTHER PLEASE-!!!'

He pleaded to anyone listening, his blood singing with lifetimes of grief, rage and terror. At that moment something seemed to snap, like a delicate thread that held his mystics back had just snapped. He couldn't make out what Raph and Donnie were saying, instead focused solely on the sudden burning flames that tore and chipped away at his arms and hands. The pier in front of him began to change, a portal being torn open through Mikey's sheer force of will. He didn't care if this would kill him, as long as he could have his brother back then he'd lay his life down in a heartbeat. Mikey was so focused that he nearly jumped when he felt Raph and Donnie grip a shoulder each, taking on some of the mystic backlash that had burning the youngest turtle.

"I don't know how you're doing this Mikey! But don't stop!"

Raph's voice commanded as he gripped his little brother's shoulder. It took a bit before the portal finally opened and there floating around in the vast darkness of the prison dimension was Leo. The red eared slider blinked at the sudden light, his light blue hues landing on his brothers. A look of exhausted relief filled his face.

"Took you guys long enough...."

Leo said his voice gruff but teasing. Mikey felt relief hit him before horror replaced it as the sudden large form of the Krang general appeared behind Leo. A clawed hand reaching out to grab the blue clad turtle and crush him. Raph shouted Leo's name, his mystics sparking to life like a live wire. A large red hand grabbed Leo's wrist and yanked, and as the Krang general went to reach out to grab him and yank him back.....

A drill, sparking and whizzing flew straight into the alien's face and neck, the sounds of the powerful mystic drill tearing at the Krang general filling the air. Donnie with a murderous and cold glare made sure that he didn't miss. Leo was yanked through the portal and the Krang general went to lunge back towards them only to be met with a merciless expression from Mikey. Light brown eyes flashing the youngest threw his arms together in a closing motion, forcing the portal to shut and lock the monster away forever. Chest heaving from the adrenaline Mikey's head snapped towards his brothers seeing Leo laying on the ground with Raph and Donnie on either side of him.

'No, no please don't-don't let him be-'

Mikey felt his chest constrict in a nasty way as he joined his brothers looking at his bruised and beaten older brother.

"Leo....?"

Mikey croaked, his voice barely holding back his panic. A groan greeted him and the others before Leo's eyes opened up gazing up at the trio.

"Hey guys......."

The blue jokester began to say only to stop when he saw where they were.

"Ew-! Stan Island?!? Gross-!"

Leo complained immediately sitting up painfully so he wouldn't have to be laying on the ground. Mikey didn't even think about it before he launched himself into Leo's arms, clinging to him tightly as he promptly started to cry silent tears. Raph and Donnie were quick to join the hug, Raph's large arms circling around them.

Leo was safe.

Mikey hadn't failed him this time.

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goosewriting · 1 year

Note

Okay I've got an idea so you remember when in the rise movie Leo is saying goodbye to his family and then gets Portales in the other dimensions with the krang. What is the reader saw this happen like right in front of their eyes and they're running to the portal like "NO!" and the then it closes.

Then later they're with Casey/ or by themselves just making their way to the others not knowing that Leo's alive (could be because their phone broke or something) so when they see Leo with his brothers and stops. Then Leo turns around and see the reader, he makes his way over to us.

Then we just smack him (plot twist 😱) then he stops.

We then start yell at him about how that we could have stopped the krang together and how scared we were that we would never see him again and he should never do something so stupid ever again. While we're say this were like sobbing, voice cracks everything. Just us trying to hold it together but failing miserable, Then going "and- *shakey breath noise* a-and"...

While Leo slowly pulling us into a hug, our eyes widen and then we sob into him then Leo just petting our hair and whispering comforting stuff. Then after we stop hugging but but also not like were holding on to each other making our way back to the other very slowly because we're both very VERY injured. Then we apologize of smacking him and griping his hand tighter.

.....

Sorry this a lot but I've had that idea in my head for a hot minute and just wanna see it come to life.

Anyways Make sure to take breaks and and eat food because you deserve it for all the amazing story's you bring into this world. Have a great day

When he was gone (rottmnt Leo x reader)

summary: reader sees Leo stay back in the prison dimension as the portal closes and thinks he’s gone for good.

relationship: Rise!Leo x GN!reader (established)

warnings: angst, comfort at the end, mention of the Krang and injuries

word count: 1.4k

A/N: i was in the mood for some angst and i’ve been wanting to write this one for forever now. sorry it took so long (and for the lame title lmao)! i hope this is along what you imagined ;;v;;

(english is not my first language. constructive criticism and grammar corrections are very appreciated!)

— — —

“Casey, please!” you heard Leo pleading. Pleading for him to close the portal, while he was still on the other side, holding back the Krang.

You lied on the ground, or rather on the floating debris around the technodrome; remainders of the battle that had just taken place. While you had fought to the best of your abilities and given it your all, the Krang still seemed so much more powerful than all of you. You clenched your fist, hearing Leo screaming again.

No, you thought. We’re not leaving you here. We need you. I need you.

Painfully getting back up on your feet, you started walking towards where you could see Leo fighting the alien. Then you started running, sprinting as fast as your limbs would allow. Daring to look down to where Casey was standing in front of the gate, your blood ran cold as you saw him snatch the key from its platform.

“NO!” you screamed, stretching out your arm towards Leo as the portal started to close. Your vision was completely blurred from your tears, but you kept leaping forwards until the explosion of the gate closing knocked the breath out of your lungs and sent you flying.

You hit several pieces of debris, and by some miracle you managed to land somewhat safely on the actual ground, although you were pretty sure you had broken something. Still, the pain in your heart was so much worse than the physical one. Clenching your shirt over your heart, you all but wailed and screamed.

It was over. He was gone.

You were curled on the ground for what seemed like an eternity, but had likely been only a couple of minutes, until you felt the stinging pain in your leg and chest; probably a broken rib? You tried getting to your feet, but winced and immediately fell back down. Looking at your already swollen ankle, you concluded it was sprained. You dared giving your body a once-over and realised you were covered in cuts and bruises everywhere. Blood stained your shirt where glass shards had cut into your flesh. You carefully picked them out one by one, biting on your bottom lip.

Once your breathing had somewhat calmed down, you tried getting up on your feet again, switching your weight fully onto your good leg. Taking your phone out of your pocket you realised it was completely busted. Another wave of tears streamed down your face. Hopefully you could recover the pictures of you and Leo. You suddenly thought of how you didn’t have a single printed out photo of him, and a bitter laugh escaped you in between sobs.

If anything, you had to get back to the other turtles. So you grabbed some piece of metal that was the right length to use as a crutch, and started your slow and painful way back.

You kept crying to yourself with every stride. The ache was too much to bear. Several times you had wanted to just give up and let yourself be engulfed in self-wallowing, not caring what happened to you, but you knew that’s not what Leo would have wanted, so you continued to take step after step, breath after breath.

The sun had almost finished setting when you heard familiar voices. Quickening your pace, you walked around the corner to see Raph and Donnie supporting Leo, Mikey besides them, as they also made their way back home.

You called his name, and Leo looked up to see you limping towards him. He freed himself from the grip of his brothers, meeting you halfway and ready to take you in his arms. To everyone’s surprise, when you stood in front of him, you let your makeshift crutch fall to the ground as you slapped him across the face with all the force you had left.

Behind him, the brothers winced and looked at each other, but no one moved.

“Have you lost your mind?!” you all but screamed in Leo’s face. “We could have stopped the Krang together! Do you even know how scared I was that I would never see you again?”

Leo stood still, his gaze soft, as he let you yell at him. You pointed at him accusingly.

“You better-” your voice cracked as you choked down a sob, shaking. “You better never even dare to do something this stupid again, Leonardo. I swear if you-” but you couldn’t continue as you started to cry again, sobs impeding you to talk any more.

Leo took one final step towards you to close the distance and embraced you in a hug. You reciprocated and shamelessly put all your weight on him, as your sprained leg was about to give out. He grunted softly as your arms snaked around his torso and gave him a squeeze.

As you cried into his chest, he kept stroking your hair, whispering reassurances.

“It’s okay” he spoke softly into your neck. “I’m here, I’m not going anywhere.”

After a while when your sobs had turned into sniffles, he pulled back slightly to look at you, wiping away some of your tears with his knuckles.

“We should get going. We’re all in pretty bad shape” Raph said from behind. To which you agreed, reminded of your own state as a sudden streak of pain made itself known in your leg, going from your ankle to your hip.

“Can you walk?” Leo asked, holding your arms to stabilise you. Your eyes were closed shut because of the pain, so you just shook your head.

As Leo started letting go of your arms, you opened your eyes in panic, but he kept holding your hand in his, even when Raph picked you up to carry you to the lair. Donnie was once again at Leo’s side to help him walk. The rhythm of the snapping turtle’s walk started lulling you to sleep. Despite the pain, the exhaustion took over, and soon enough you were out cold. Still, your grip on Leo’s hand did not loosen.

— — —

When you woke up, you were all patched up, lying in Leo’s bed. Lifting your arms with a grunt, you saw several bandages covering the glass cuts, as well as an IV. You looked down at your leg and sure enough, your foot was now in a plaster cocoon. You leaned back again and sighed deeply, hissing through your teeth as you felt the shock of pain in your chest.

“You should take it easy” Leo said as he entered the room, sitting down on the edge of the bed. He held a cup with a lid and a straw in front of your face. “Drink up” he commanded.

You obliged, and took several sips. As he placed the cup on the side, you saw he was also donning several bandages and band aids.

“And why aren’t you in bed?” you asked. Clearly he had also taken quite the beating.

“I already was. I’m better now, and you need someone to take care of you” he replied and took your hand.

“That’s unfair, I also wanna take care of you” you whined. Then you went over his words again. “Wait… how long was I out?”

“Five days” he simply said, caressing the back of your hand. “Actually had me quite worried for a bit.”

“There’s no way you’re healed in just five days” you retorted, ignoring the fact that you had just slept for almost a week.

Leo just snorted at your reply, glad that you were alive at all. And that he was here with you. Together again. You both remained in silence, enjoying and appreciating each other’s presence.

“By the way” you said after a while. “I’m sorry.”

He raised a brow in confusion.

“For smacking you…” you explained and hid your face with your other hand. “You didn’t deserve that. I mean, you kinda did after what you pulled, but I didn’t mean to hit you so hard.”

“Eh, I’ve survived worse” Leo shrugged and smiled at you, squeezing your hand tighter.

“Still, I’m sorry” you apologised again and cupped his face. As he leaned into your touch, you pulled him down towards you and gave him a lingering kiss. He hummed and smiled into the kiss.

“Maybe I should get smacked more often” he joked and you gave him a warning look. “I’m kidding~” he laughed. “You don’t need to smack me to get kisses.”

#goose feathers #rottmnt x reader #rottmnt leo x reader #tmnt x reader #tmnt 2018 #save rottmnt #rottmnt #tmnt leo x reader

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mad4turtles · 11 months

Note

Hi 🙂 Loved your work over on Ao3, so I thought I'd shoot my shot at a rottmnt fic request!I had an idea for a prompt that has a premise like

• Takes place in the future timeline.

• I hc that CJ probably had at least ONE super rebellious moment in his younger years. I mean he's a child raised by both Cassandra Jones and the Hamatos 😂

• Casey Jr is still young enough that he's not allowed on missions

I can imagine CJ really pushing to start going on missions after witnessing the aftermath of one gone very bad. He just wants to be more useful & be able to protect his family like they always protect him and aid the Resistance. Casey and Leo probably get into it on the topic of Casey going on missions cause Leo is both his sensei AND one of his primary parental figures. CJ wants, Leo definitely does not want.

CJ sneaks out anyway to prove a point & scares the crap out of the fam. CJ runs into some trouble, maybe gets only mildly hurt, but scared & definitely learned an important lesson. Leo and the squad pull up ready to annihilate x5 cause their kid is the thing that's in danger. Some much needed, healthy heart to heart between Leo and CJ after everyone is safe and any wounds are treated. Cause their bond has me in a chokehold 🥹

Thank you for offering up request! Super awesome if this prompt is do-able for you!

... anon. my friend, my good pal. Do you know what you have done to me?

I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR AN EXCUSE TO LION KING THE HELL OUT OF THESE TURTLES AND YOU HAVE GRANTED MY WISH. I salute you!

This is a two-parter because I got 9 pages in and really didn't want to rush this. I was having far too much fun!

Enjoy Part 1 XD

(EDIT: PART 2 IS HERE)

---

brave when i have to be

“Absolutely not.”

And really, Casey should have expected it. Even so, his jaw drops. “What?! Why?!”

Master Hamato Leonardo, leader of the only Resistance faction in the remains of Merica, and Casey's godfather, plants his hands on his hips and sighs. “We've been over this a thousand times, CJ—”

“But sensei,” Casey interrupts, stepping forward and clutching Uncle Tello's chainsaw hockey stick tight to his chest, “I can help! I'm not as strong as you, but I can still hold my own! I can scout, carry supplies back to base, or—or anything besides sitting around down here doing nothing while everyone else—!”

“I sincerely hope you're not just 'sitting around down here doing nothing' when there is plenty of training you could be doing and studying you can be catching up on,” Uncle Leo—no, Sensei right now—shoots back with an arched brow, frowning. At Casey's silent squirming, he leans forward with narrowed eyes that the boy avoids. "Don't think I haven't noticed. I got word from your dear Uncle Tello that your most recent test scores were, ah, disappointing.”

“Snitch,” Casey whines, scowling at the floor.

Sensei leans back with another sigh, massaging his wrinkled brow with his prosthetic hand. Casey tries not to stare and fails.

“Look, bud,” Sensei says, “Your heart is in the right place. You want to help, prove yourself and all that jazz, and you've come a long way. I mean that. But you're still young. Hell, even I wasn't going out fighting bad guys when I was your age; I was hot-wiring cars with Don for joyrides, vandalizing corporate office buildings—shitty teenage boy stuff that we thought was cool. Right now, that's all I want from you; to be safe down here, doing shitty teenage boy stuff while you still can. And keeping up with your training and studies, too, that's kinda important.”

Casey rolls his eyes. “Kinda hard to do that stuck down here, but whatever...” he mutters.

Sensei's eye twitches. “Okay, I know I just said you should be a shitty teen, but that attitude right now is no bueno, niñito.”

“I'm not a little boy anymore, Sensei!” Casey cries. “I can take care of myself! I can fight, just like you! This is what you trained me for, isn't it?! To fight the Krang and save our world! I can help, why won't you let me—?!”

“Because you're not ready, dammit!” Sensei snaps, and Casey almost jumps. The slider lets out another breath, muttering what sounds like a prayer for patience. “You're not ready, Case. The Krang are stronger than all of us—I can barely stand to send your uncles and aunt up there, you think I wanna drag you along and watch you get—”

“I'm not weak, Sensei!”

“I'm not saying that, don't put words into my mouth—”

“Well, you're sure implying it!”

“Again, you can knock off that attitude—jeez, I sound like my Dad—”

“I'm not a baby, Sensei!” Casey stomps his foot. Yes, it's childish, but damn it, his Sensei won't listen. “You can't shelter me from everything!”

“You're really gonna make me say it. You're really gonna make me pull that card, aren't you.”

Casey bristles, his chest hot. “Don't—“

“Your mother left me with a responsibility to look after you, kid,” Sensei cuts in like a knife, prodding a metal finger in Casey's chest where his mother's mask is tucked against his shirt. “I promised her that I'd watch over you if the worst ever happened. And guess what, it did. And if you think for a second that I'm gonna break that promise over your stupid-ass death wish—!”

Eyes stinging and hot, Casey slaps the metal hand away and screams, “To hell what you think, you're not my father!”

Silence.

Casey hears a leaky pipe dripping, his own thundering heartbeat. He looks up. His Sensei's face is slack with shock—and a hint of hurt—as he stares at Casey. For what feels like forever, they just stare at each other.

Casey wants to take it back—he needs to take it back because none of that was even remotely true or fair. It was mean, and Casey Jones Jr is a lot of things but he's not mean. That's not how he was raised, in part by the very turtle standing before him. He has to take it back.

But while Casey isn't mean, he is every inch his mother in her stubbornness, so he locks his jaw.

Sensei's expression goes blank. The slider takes a step back, drawing a deep breath that's barely steady, shoulders squared and shit. Casey should've taken it back.

“... You're right,” Sensei says, his voice hard and cold. “You're right. I'm not your father. But I am your teacher and your superior officer, and as long as you're living under my layer of earth and metal, you'll obey my rules. You can start by reporting to the mess hall to cover Dan on dish duty, then you can take yourself straight to your quarters for the rest of the evening. Tee-ell-dee-arr, this discussion is over, and your ass is grounded.”

Casey chokes. “W-What?!”

"Uh-huh. For a month."

"What?!"

“You heard me. Think of this as your punishment for your insubordination and disrespect.”

“Kutabare.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“You can't just—!”

“Keep it up and see what happens, I am being so serious right now.”

Casey meets his Sensei glare for glare. Ultimately, stubbornness aside, Casey relents first, scowling at the floor. “... Yessir,” he bites out.

Sensei nods curtly. “Good. Dismissed.”

Casey turns on his heel and storms out of Sensei's room, hissing under his breath the whole way to the mess hall.

(He doesn't hear his Sensei's hitched sigh or see the trembling hand that covers his face as he sits heavily on the bed.)

~0o0~

It's a stupid, stupid idea.

But his Sensei always told him to trust his gut and follow his heart—it's his greatest strength—and Casey's heart is screaming at him to help.

This isn't for him—not entirely. It's for everyone who comes home beaten and bloody, hope crumbling with every defeat. It's for the ones who never come back—for his Mom and Uncle Raph, who loved him, all of them, enough to stay behind and die with a war cry and a smile. It's for his Sensei, still recovering from losing his arm.

I'm doing this for them, he thinks as he slips his mask on, putting all his training to use as he sticks to the shadows, creeping along the edge of the crowd of foragers before slipping into an empty crate. His heart pounds in his ribcage, ears ringing as he feels the crate start to move, mechanical wheels squeaking as the squad move out through the tunnels.

I'm not weak. I'm not defenceless. I can do this. I can help.

~0o0~

Casey doesn't go to the surface often. Uncle Tello used to bring him up to try and find the stars when the pollution wasn't as dense, lifting him and pointing out the constellations they could see from their hiding spot. Master Michelangelo brought him once to fly him over the ruins of New York, and show him what had once been a bustling city full of people; Casey still can't wrap his head around that many people existing in one space without a care.

But that was years ago.

Casey can still find his way back to base. He has the evacuation routes memorized down to the last detail, and Master Michelangelo had left mystic markings to lead lost ones back home, near invisible unless you knew what to look for—

“Or if you're family,” he'd said with a grin and wink. “Then you won't just see it. You'll feel it. The pull of home.”

Now, as Casey wanders the wasteland of what used to be Lower Manhattan, he wishes he could feel that pull. Leaving the foraging troop to scout ahead for danger was not one of his better ideas. Especially when they didn't know you had tagged along, and they move on without you.

If I don't die out here, I'm dead when I get back, Casey thinks as he crouches behind the wreckage of a vehicle buried in the ruins, trying not to panic and mostly failing.

Sensei had lost his arm in their most recent mission. He'd barely made it back alive, Commander O'Neil dragging him on her back, ragged, burnt and losing blood fast. They were among the seven survivors from the raid that had left with seventeen.

It was close. They'd had a replacement ready in time, but it was. Too. Close.

Casey had already lost his mom. He can barely remember her voice now. He can't lose Uncle Leo. He can't lose anyone else because he can't protect them. He can't. He won't.

Still, he thinks as he curls up into a ball to fight the chill sweeping across the landscape, you probably should've listened.

“What do we have here?”

Casey's heart skips.

Shit.

Instinct saves him as he rolls out of the way right as the robotic claws of a Krang suit obliterate his shelter.

The dust clears, revealing the glowing, delighted eyes of the creature piloting the mech suit looming over him. Jagged teeth flash in the red glare of the mech's singular eye as the Krang grins down at the boy trembling at its feet.

Casey gapes behind his mask. He'd gone out looking for trouble, and it finds him in the form of—

“Krang Subprime!”

Subprime cackles. “That's right! I see that my reputation precedes me. About damn time, too!”

Casey's heard enough stories and reports to know how dangerous Subprime is. Responsible for leading the charge that had wiped out Asia and melted the icecaps, he's Krang Prime's right hand for a reason.

He'd gotten the drop on the raid team in the last mission. He'd taken Uncle Leo's arm. And now he's found Casey. Alone.

Casey can't beat him. He'll die out here, and no one will know until it's too late.

You should've listened.

But Subprime has a weakness. A glaring one that most Krang don't seem to have. All Casey needs to do is exploit it, buy himself some time. He won't win, but he'll live. And get this asshole back for nearly killing his Uncle. Maybe. Hopefully.

Spirits, please let this work.

“Not really,” he says, surprised when his voice doesn't shake like the rest of him. “Everyone thinks you're freaking annoying, nothing compared to Prime. My Uncle says your all bark, no balls.”

Subprime's eyes pop open wide, mouth gaping like a fish. Casey considers laughing.

(His one weakness: his ego is fragile as hell.)

“You—You little shit!” he squawks, stomping closer and leaning down until he's face to wrinkled, pink face with Casey, eyes blazing. Casey holds his position, gripping his weapon tight in one hand, holding his breath against the stink of Krang flesh and dripping saliva.

“I should vaporize your sorry butt right freaking here, you disrespectful waste of flesh! Sure, Prime may be our leader, but I'm the tactical mastermind, y'hear me! I'm the reason we've come this far in taking over this planet! I'm the brains in the outfit—!”

“Literally though,” Casey grins, shifting ever so slightly on his back. Rocks and metal dig into his back, and he does his best to ignore it. He has never been this close to a living Krang, and he's scared shitless, but he can't falter. He can still get away. He can still live. “I mean, You are a giant brain thing in a mech suit, so...”

“Shut up! You talk more than that dumb blue turtle with the fancy sword.” Then Subprime grins, slow and vicious. “Speaking of which, how is he? Last I saw, he was bleedin' out pretty bad after I bit his arm off. Never heard him scream like that. It was music to my ears.” He licks his lips. “His blood tasted delightful.”

Casey wants to be sick. He wants to kill this disgusting son of a bitch more than he's ever wanted anything in his life.

Keep your cool, Case, Sensei's voice echoes in his ears. Anger is a dangerous ally when it's not focused. Sharpen it. Give it form.

Casey breathes in.

“Aw, got nothin' to say, pipsqueak?” Subprime chuckles, slamming a metal hand beside Casey's head, caging him in. “Now, you've got two options. You can spend the rest of your worthless life in our labour camp, or go ahead and make your last request. If nothing else, it'll be entertaining. I do enjoy the way you humans beg for mercy.”

Casey breathes out.

“In that case, I have one request if you would kindly grant it,” he says softly.

Subprime chortles and leans in, jagged teeth dripping. “I'm all ears.”

“Could you scream in agony like a little girl bleeding from the face?”

Subprime blinks. “Could I what—?”

Casey thrusts his roaring chainsaw into Subprime's left eye.

Subprime screeches and rears back, metal hand cradling his bleeding face. “YOU—YOU SON OF A—!”

Casey is already running, leaping over and ducking under debris and wreckages from a time long gone.

For my Sensei, you dusty bitch!

He can hear Subprime giving chase, moving faster than anything Casey can hope to outpace. But he has size on his side, and he squeezes through tight gaps between collapsed buildings and pipework, crawling through a gaping fissure in the ground leading to the sewer system. Far too big and down an eye, Subprime struggles to catch up, bellowing and hissing after Casey as he brute forces his way through the rubble and vines, claws just catching the frayed hem of Casey's cape.

“Shit—!” Casey stumbles, careening into a wall slick with Krang slime and—a familiar smell that Casey doesn't want to think about too much as he bolts down through the tunnel, feet and heart pounding. He'd thought—hoped—blinding the bastard would've slowed him down.

“Wretched brat! I'll tear you limb from limb, you insignificant—!”

“Can't catch me, bitch!” Casey screams back, scrambling up a rusty ladder that leads back to the surface. Adrenaline pumps through him like electricity, and he all but punches the sewer grate, barely feeling the pain in his busted knuckles, crawling out into the open.

He remembers this street; it leads to the Hudson Cross—from there, he can find Uncle Mikey's runes. He can get home—

“Gotcha!”

Cold, solid metal slams Casey into the asphalt, pinning him face down. His hockey stick flies from his grip, skidding out of reach. The breath leaves him in a painful rush, he can't even cry out as one claw pierces his shoulder. Warmth pools under his shirt and drips onto the concrete, sticky and wet.

No.

“Heh... hehe,” Subprime's wheezing laughter over Casey's head feels like a blade against his neck, honed, ready and aching to swing. “Thought you could get away, did ya?”

No, please.

He can't help it. Casey sniffles, tears leaking through his eyelids as he squeezes them shut.

I was so close.

“Awww, what's this? Tears? Gimme a Krangin' break!” Subprime presses harder. Casey chokes on a sob as his bones creak in protest. “What's next, you gonna call mommy and daddy to come save you from the big, mean old Krang-y? Ha! Should'a thought of that before ya blinded me, you freakin' pest!”

Help. Somebody, please, Sensei—

“Forget the labour camp.” Subprime tightens his grip and lifts Casey's limp, bleeding body off the ground. “I'm gonna enjoy smashing you to a bloody pulp instead!”

Help me, please! Da—

“Put. Him. Down.”

Casey's eyes snap open.

Subprime's grin falls. “Huh—?”

A flash of green, and a blade slices Subprime's arm from his shoulder.

Casey's falling for half a heartbeat before two strong arms pluck him from the air. His stomach swoops as he scrambles for purchase on—he squints—Uncle Tello's shoulders as they zip across the street on the propellers of Tello's battle shell. “Oh my god!” he cries.

“Not quite,” Uncle Tello quips as he skids across the broken street and sticks the landing. His purple visor flickers to life across his eyes, analysing Casey's from head to toe. He doesn't put him down. “Are you alright?”

Casey's knuckles are broken on his right hand. His shoulder and nose are still oozing blood, and his body feels like one giant bruise from that chokeslam into the ground. He can hear Sensei and Commander O'Neil holding an enraged Subprime back behind them, and his heart feels ready to leave his body with how hard it's beating. Other than that—

“I-I'm okay,” he stammers. He sniffs, swiping his unbroken hand under his nose. “I'm—I'm okay.”

Uncle Tello doesn't look convinced. “Can you stand?” he asks anyway. Casey nods, and Uncle Tello sets him down carefully. He keeps one strong arm draped around Casey's shoulders, bringing the other up to speak into his vambrace, his tone clipped and urgent. “Nardo, April, I've got him. A little banged up, but nothing serious. I've also got a pack of Krang Hounds incoming from the south, ETA two minutes. Sister is with them and seems to be in a good mood. Much as I want to carve the innards out of Subpar here, we gotta book it.”

Casey gulps. Subprime is one thing, but he never wants to meet the Sister.

He looks over his shoulder—and chokes when he sees Master Leonardo standing on top of Subprime's fallen mech, sword poised over his bloody eye. He can't see the slider's face, but his voice carries across the empty street, cold and dark and nothing at all like the man he knows—

“Don't. Touch. My boy.”

And then he carves Subprime's eyeball out of the socket, tossing it across the street.

Subprime wails in agony, thrashing on the ground and narrowly missing Commander O'Neil as she slides neatly under his flailing leg, nabbing Casey's weapon as she sprints over to them, Master Leonardo not far behind.

“Get going!” she shouts.

Casey doesn't need telling twice and runs like a bat out of hell, not daring to look back. Uncle Tello, who can run (or fly) rings around Casey any day, sticks close to his side. Commander O'Neil draws up on his right, leaving his Master at the rear, boxing Casey in.

“How're we gonna get back to base before they get here?!” he cries. He can hear the barking and howling already, getting louder, closer.

His aunt grins. “Same way we got here so fast!”

Ahead, golden light explodes like a star against the twilight, leaving a mystic ring of blessed orange in its wake.

Master Michelangelo hovers above it, winking. “All aboard the Mikey Express, leaving now!”

“Impeccable timing, little brother!” Uncle Tello crows. Casey wants to cry.

They all leap through the mystic portal right as the first Hound rounds the corner of a building. Michelangelo zips through last and shuts it with a swipe of his hands, plunging them into darkness and silence save for their panting.

They're back in the tunnels. They're home.

Casey drops his head with a shuddering breath, leaning back into Michelangelo's steadying hands on his shoulders. It stings, but it's grounding. He can breathe. It's over.

Then he lifts his head to look at the back of his Sensei's shell, sees his clenched fists and thinks it is far from over.

“Leonardo,” Uncle Tello approaches the slider, one hand reaching out. “It's fine. It's fine, we are all fine, so I need you to do me a solid and breathe—”

Sensei slowly turns his head to face Uncle Tello, and even Commander O'Neil takes a step back at the frigid rage swirling in his eyes. Michelangelo inhales sharply through his nose, gently pulling Casey closer. Uncle Tello doesn't flinch, meeting his twin's glare evenly. Eventually, he backs off with raised hands.

Then Sensei turns to Casey, and Casey wilts under his stare. He's pissed.

Somehow, Casey finds his voice. “...um... Sensei, I—”

“You. Deliberately disobeyed me,” Master Leonardo says lowly, and oh god, he's not pissed. He is livid.

Casey shrinks back against Michelangelo's chest, his grip the one thing keeping his knees from folding under him. “Sensei, I'm—I'm sorry—”

“Medbay. Now.”

Master Leonardo marches past them, brisk and tense, a silent threat that they should follow if they want to live.

Uncle Tello and Commander O'Neil share a look that Casey can't translate. Then Uncle Tello sighs, his expression crumpling for the first time as he buries his face in his hands. This close, Casey can see how much they're shaking.

Casey's gut twists viciously with guilt.

Commander—no—Aunt April pats Uncle Tello's shoulder firmly with one hand, the other pulling back his frayed purple hood. “It's alright, Don," she says. "Casey's here. Leo's here. We're all here."

Uncle Tello's breath shudders out of him. His head still in his hands, his snout twists as he nods.

Aunt April smiles ruefully, patting the soft shell's arm again. "Go. Take care of yourself, Dee. We'll handle things here.”

Uncle Tello responds with another nod, making Casey's innards twist even more as he watches him go.

Then Aunt April sighs, looking at Uncle Mikey and cocking her head after Master Leonardo. The mystic warrior nods back and ushers Casey forward, not letting him go.

“Don't worry, little man,” he says softly, pressing his beak into Casey's mangled hair. Like he's trying to convince himself that Casey's here at all. “We'll patch you up first, then we can rest. It's... it's been a long day.”

Tell me about it, Casey almost says. Instead—“'M really sorry, Uncle Mike...”

His Uncle sighs into his hair before pressing a kiss to his crown. “I know you are, little man. But I'm not really the guy you should be apologizing to.”

Casey gulps.

I think I might've had better chances with Subprime.

---

Part 2 coming soon!

(Feel free to send more requests <;3)

#rottmnt #my writing #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles the movie #future leo #casey jones jr #hoooo boy casey is IN for it y'all #i also HAD to use Subprime i miss that son of a bitch

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dandylovesturtles · 6 months

Note

For the DVD commentary. IMBI, Chapter 6:

“In… Out… In… Out…”

He was underwater. He was fairly sure. Why else would everything be so wavery? The world was made of bobbing smears of color that made no sense.

“In… Out… In… Out…”

There was a lot of purple. He tried to focus, but nothing would stay still.

“In… Out… In… Out…”

“That’s good, Leo… Just follow Donnie, okay?”

Follow Donnie? Follow him where?

“In… Out… In… Out…”

The waves calmed, and he understood more. Donnie was in front of him. They were both wet, because they were underwater. Except they weren’t underwater. They were sitting on the ground.

“In… Out… In… Out…”

Donnie was telling him how to breathe. He was already doing it. He didn’t have to focus, his body following his brother’s measured instruction instinctively. Like he’d done this a hundred times. Except he couldn’t remember ever doing it once.

“In… Out… In… Out…”

Donnie was sitting in front of him. Except Donnie’s eyes weren’t focused on him. They were looking at something else, or maybe not looking at anything at all. He frowned. Was something wrong with Donnie’s vision?

“In… Out… In… Out…”

“He’s looking more lucid, Dee,” said Mikey. He realized then that Mikey was by his shoulder. Mikey was looking at him, so there was nothing wrong with Mikey’s vision. He put a little green checkmark on his mental list.

“Okay… keep breathing, Nardo,” said Donnie. “In… Out… In… Out…”

He followed this for a minute more. Or maybe an hour more. He wasn’t sure. But everything looked more solid. He was on the ground. It was raining. Donnie was in front of him, Mikey at his side. He couldn’t remember where he was, or how he got there.

What happened?

The words didn’t come out. He reached up to touch his throat.

“Don’t!”

Mikey’s shout startled him, and he lowered his hand again. Mikey winced, apologetic.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. I just… didn’t want you to… well.” He trailed off awkwardly, chewing on his lip.

Leo didn’t understand. Donnie had stopped timing his breaths. He was looking in Leo’s direction, but he wasn’t looking at him. Something was wrong. Donnie had been hit by the Krang, he fell, had he been hurt? Something was wrong.

Something was pounding right at the edge of Leo’s awareness, but when he reached for it, it fled. So he didn’t know what he was supposed to know.

He turned to Mikey. He wasn’t sure why that was his first instinct. Donnie wasn’t focusing on him. Something was wrong with his eyes. Something was wrong. He turned to Mikey.

“What happened?” he signed.

“You, uh… you had a panic attack? A really bad one, actually-”

Leo cut him off with a wave of his hand. That explained the breathing. It didn’t answer what he wanted to know.

“What happened to the Krang?”

“Uh, I don’t…” Mikey trailed off, then repeated the signs to Donnie, who looked at him. Looked at him without issue. So nothing was wrong with Donnie’s eyes?

The pounding got louder.

“...The Krang…?” Donnie repeated. Mikey stiffened. Donnie was looking back at Leo again, in that unfocused way that made worry spike through him. “Leo, the Krang are gone, remember?”

Leo didn’t remember. Then he did. You’ve been portal-chopped!

Wretched little pest!

Donnie was looking at him, but wasn’t. Leo realized for the first time that he wasn’t actually wet. He didn’t feel the rain.

He was here, but he wasn’t.

Leo lifted his hands, and signed.

“Did I die?”

Mikey repeated the signs to Donnie. Donnie’s face paled, and he looked sick. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, rubbing his forehead with his thumb.

“No, Leo, no. You didn’t… Your body is fine.” Another deep breath. “I believe a line you would appreciate would be something like, “You’re just a little out of it right now.””

Leo stared at him. Then he snorted. Or tried to. No sound came out.

“Was a that a pun?” he signed.

“Don’t make me do that ever again,” said Donnie dryly. Mikey gave the tiniest laugh next to him. “You’re alive, Leo,” he continued firmly. “We beat the Krang and you’re alive. We just have new problems to deal with.”

And beginning from Herbal Tea, please?

Draxum has become a father three times in his life.

The first time, of course, was with Michelangelo. The boy had helped (or harassed) him much over the last few months, and at this point his visits were an expected part of Draxum’s routine. Even, if he were honest with himself, an anticipated part of his routine, something he looked forward to the rest of the week.

It was during one of these visits, while Michelangelo was baking cupcakes in his tiny apartment kitchen and chattering away about what he and his brothers had been up to that Draxum recognized the warmth in his chest for what it was. This wasn’t merely his creation - this was his son.

The second time was immediately after their victory against the Shredder.

He had acknowledged the kids as his boys to Lou Jitsu, but that feeling of fatherhood was still missing between him and the other three. That didn’t stop him from opening his apartment to them, because they were exhausted and that pit they called a home was full of rubble and bad memories.

Long after the others were asleep, Raphael sat awake, back to the wall and eyes watching the door and the windows. When Draxum asked him about it, he admitted he felt like he couldn’t sleep - like the moment he closed his eyes, something would hurt his family.

Draxum didn’t bother telling him to sleep. He just sat next to him and promised to keep watch. And when the boy’s head finally listed and came to rest against Draxum’s shoulder, he gained another son.

The third time was months later. Michelangelo had been coming to his apartment regularly for training in his mystic powers, and Donatello had started tagging along. He claimed it was because he had an interest in alchemical compounds, but Draxum had a feeling that wasn’t all. There seemed to be growing tension back home that both boys were desperate to escape.

Draxum didn’t ask. He let Donatello peruse what books he still had at his leisure and allowed him to conduct alchemical experiments in the bathroom (under strict orders not to destroy anything).

The day the boy came to him with his a successful compound, Draxum told him he’d done very well. He received the first genuine smile he’d ever gotten from Donatello, and while he quickly schooled his expression back into something more neutral, Draxum would never forget that moment of pure joy on his son’s face.

Of the four of them, only he and Leonardo were still at odds. He wasn’t hostile, and he accepted Draxum’s presence in the family easily enough, but he kept Draxum at arm’s length, never opening up, never letting down his walls, never offering anything more than the surface level.

Where the other boys had come around, Leonardo still

resists

against the hold of Draxum’s arms, digging his feet into the dirt and straining to be free. He wriggles one arm loose, reaching back toward the smoldering wreckage of the collapsed tunnel, and he screams at the top of his lungs.

Thank you for all your stories!!

I'm so late to this ask, but thanks for sending it in!

He was underwater. He was fairly sure. Why else would everything be so wavery? The world was made of bobbing smears of color that made no sense.

Whenever I need imagery for things being muffled or wavery or hard to see or whatever, I usually reach for the feeling of being underwater. I was on swim team from elementary school through high school and was a lifeguard for about 4 years, and I've always loved being in or under water. So it's really familiar imagery for me haha

The waves calmed, and he understood more. Donnie was in front of him. They were both wet, because they were underwater. Except they weren’t underwater. They were sitting on the ground.

I actually wrote this sentence and then realized Leo isn't wet because he can't get wet haha. But I ended up leaving it in anyway and changing it so that Leo's understanding is just wrong here; he thinks he's wet because he's in a situation where he should be wet, but later he realizes he isn't wet and it adds to his confusion.

He didn’t have to focus, his body following his brother’s measured instruction instinctively. Like he’d done this a hundred times. Except he couldn’t remember ever doing it once.

Leo is dissociating so hard he's basically forgotten everything that occurred after the invasion, including his brothers taking care of him during panic attacks. I have another bit in chapter 1 (I think??) or maybe 2 about how each of them helps Leo through his panic attacks; there's no telling how many times Donnie has done this for him before.

In my headcanon for IMBI!Leo's post-movie recovery, he did have a few dissociative episodes, usually because he'd wake up from a bad dream or something else would happen that would make him have a hard time remembering where he is and what's happening. These typically didn't last too long, though, because someone would find him and help ground him, and over time Leo got more used to grounding himself.

Without a physical body, though, Leo has a much harder time grounding himself, so his dissociative episodes hit a lot harder. It's a lot harder to remind your brain that you're okay and alive when you literally can't feel anything. And this is pretty alarming for the other three, because they aren't used to seeing Leo this out of it, or having this much trouble bringing him back to reality.

Was something wrong with Donnie’s vision?

Leo will be actively dying but still more worried about his brothers than himself.

Mikey was looking at him, so there was nothing wrong with Mikey’s vision. He put a little green checkmark on his mental list.

As I was saying.

“Okay… keep breathing, Nardo,” said Donnie. “In… Out… In… Out…”

This is neither here nor there but Nardo is my favorite alternate nickname in the whole show and I think it's so cute that only Donnie calls him that. I feel like it conveys so much exasperated fondness <3

The words didn’t come out. He reached up to touch his throat.

“Don’t!”

Mikey’s shout startled him, and he lowered his hand again. Mikey winced, apologetic.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. I just… didn’t want you to… well.” He trailed off awkwardly, chewing on his lip.

Realizing he can't touch his throat is how this whole thing started, and since Leo lost awareness for awhile, it's possible that they've already cycled through some moments of starting to regain lucidity > realizes he can't talk > realizes he can't touch himself > back to dissociating again

Mikey just doesn't want him to go through it again.

Something was pounding right at the edge of Leo’s awareness, but when he reached for it, it fled. So he didn’t know what he was supposed to know.

The worst feeling is knowing you've forgotten something important but you don't know what it is because you forgot!

“You, uh… you had a panic attack? A really bad one, actually-”

Leo cut him off with a wave of his hand. That explained the breathing. It didn’t answer what he wanted to know.

I don't think Leo really had panic attacks prior to the krang invasion, but since he's medic Leo in this, he knows that's one way to help ground people after one. As I mentioned before, Leo basically forgot everything after Casey closed the portal to the prison dimension, so he's trying to find out how he got out.

“Uh, I don’t…” Mikey trailed off, then repeated the signs to Donnie, who looked at him. Looked at him without issue. So nothing was wrong with Donnie’s eyes?

Leo is a perceptive bugger, the good thing about this is that it makes narration easy from his perspective.

“...The Krang…?” Donnie repeated. Mikey stiffened.

I'm a little loosey-goosey on what sign language Mikey knows and doesn't know. I think if Leo fingerspelled Krang, then Mikey would have understood the question, but I can also imagine that Leo and Donnie came up with their own sign for "krang" that Leo used here instead of fingerspelling it. Even though he's lost his conscious memory of what happened, he'd still know how to sign that.

Anyway I don't know enough sign language to try and describe it (beyond some of the really simple/common ones) and that's why I don't. Sign language is still dialogue, though, which is why I just present it as such.

He was here, but he wasn’t.

Leo lifted his hands, and signed.

“Did I die?”

Leo knows Hamato ghosts are real, so he's just coming to the natural conclusion here.

Donnie’s face paled, and he looked sick. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, rubbing his forehead with his thumb.

I've said this before but IMBI from Donnie's perspective is just uninterrupted screaming. This kid is not having a good time.

“No, Leo, no. You didn’t… Your body is fine.”

He doesn't want to say "You didn't die" in front of Mikey because he knows it'll scare him, but he also has to convey to Leo what happened so Leo doesn't panic. He's threading a thin needle here.

“I believe a line you would appreciate would be something like, “You’re just a little out of it right now.””

Borrow Leo's coping mechanism.

“You’re alive, Leo,” he continued firmly. “We beat the Krang and you’re alive. We just have new problems to deal with.”

Very important information!

Aaaand putting the Herbal Tea talk under a cut.

Originally this entire first part was just supposed to be, like, a couple paragraphs max, maybe one sentence or so per boy, and the more I thought about how I wanted to open the fic the more I realized it was going to be longer than that. I still tried not to drag on too long, though.

WHY DID I CHOOSE PRESENT TENSE FOR THE FIC god it made the first part of this so messy as a result.

Even, if he were honest with himself, an anticipated part of his routine, something he looked forward to the rest of the week.

He likes it and he hates that he likes it.

This wasn’t merely his creation - this was his son.

Clearly Draxum is capable of paternal feelings, we see that throughout season 2. In my Draxum headcanons, though, I don't think he ever was thinking of his creations as people when it came to his plans. The turtles were turtles, and in his mind they would become mutant warriors that he would train the way you train a dog, with no real agency. If he'd gone through with this, it definitely would have been pretty horrifying, but personally I think, once he had the actual babies in front of him, once he realized they could talk and think and form opinions, those paternal instincts would have kicked in at some early point and he may have abandoned his plan to use the kids as warriors.

Maybe this is wishful thinking, haha, but I think this is really the way Draxum works best as reformed villain for me, the idea that the potential for him to change his mind was always there, he just didn't get the chance because he doesn't see the boys again for 13 years and by that time they're old enough to annoy him lol.

(Though I do also like harsh taskmaster Draxum for the angst potential.)

He had acknowledged the kids as his boys to Lou Jitsu, but that feeling of fatherhood was still missing between him and the other three.

The big difference between babies and teenagers is that teenagers have developed personalities, meaning you actually have to get to know them. It's easy to feel unconditional love for a baby because a baby isn't actually asking anything of you (beyond keeping them alive). So while Draxum by the end of S2 has accepted that he has some responsibility for these kids, and that he does feel fondness and care for them, it's not really the same as feeling like their dad. He doesn't know them that well yet. It takes time for feelings to develop.

In general, I think Raph would really struggle with hypervigilance after the Shredder (and the Krang don't help). Raph takes his self-appointed role as protector extremely seriously, and it's really hard for him to turn that off, even for necessary things like sleep.

Draxum didn’t bother telling him to sleep. He just sat next to him and promised to keep watch.

Draxum knew telling Raph to stop worrying and go to sleep wouldn't get them anywhere because it's not that simple. What Raph needs is to feel safe enough to let his guard down, to feel like hypervigilance is not needed, and the only ones who can really give that to him are the adults in the room. Draxum takes up Raph's post to give Raph that subconscious permission to sleep.

And when the boy’s head finally listed and came to rest against Draxum’s shoulder, he gained another son.

I feel like it's really underutilized that at this point in Raph's life, Draxum is basically the only person big enough to treat him physically like a child.

He claimed it was because he had an interest in alchemical compounds, but Draxum had a feeling that wasn’t all. There seemed to be growing tension back home that both boys were desperate to escape.

Things were rough while Raph and Leo were constantly fighting between the S2 finale and movie, and both Mikey and Donnie were not doing well as a result.

He let Donatello peruse what books he still had at his leisure and allowed him to conduct alchemical experiments in the bathroom (under strict orders not to destroy anything).

A terrible idea, but at least the tub is probably already grimy enough that Donnie can't really ruin it.

He received the first genuine smile he’d ever gotten from Donatello, and while he quickly schooled his expression back into something more neutral, Draxum would never forget that moment of pure joy on his son’s face.

The direct way to Donnie's heart is through praise.

We're only seeing Draxum's side of the equation here; Donnie's been burned before, so he was probably trying to hold on to some skepticism for awhile that Draxum was being sincere in his praise. But over time Donnie comes to trust that it's genuine, and he eats it up. For Draxum's part, it is entirely genuine; he's very impressed by Donnie and doesn't mind letting him know it, as long as he doesn't get too cocky.

I have all kinds of thoughts about Draxum and Leo. The thing about Leo is, he actually accepts people into what he considers his family pretty easily, and once you're there he's ride or die for you. I mean he basically forces Hueso into his found family entirely against his will, and there's that bit I love in the Sparring Partner episode where Leo says, "Back off, he's ours! ...Apparently," that I think hits at this truth that once someone has been established as Part Of The Family, Leo will do anything for them.

But I still tend to headcanon that Leo comes around on Draxum the slowest. Like I say here, I don't think Leo is necessarily hostile toward Draxum, and if Draxum were in danger Leo would try to help him just like he would any other member of his family. Once Mikey decides Draxum is their second dad, I think Leo was on board... to a point.

But Draxum was a real threat to his family, much moreso than anyone else Leo has previously accepted as part of the family. I think Leo would take time to overcome that, to start to let down his walls and display the vulnerability needed to connect with Draxum.

And to be fair this is on Draxum, too. I kind of imagine that Draxum is least impressed with Leo. Mikey is an adorable ray of sunshine and has massive untapped potential, Donnie is a genius and a hard worker, and Raph is physically strong, dedicated, driven, and extremely loyal. Leo, on the other hand, comes off at first look as someone who is lazy, entitled, full of himself, more than a little stupid, and honestly? mean to his brothers (sure, we know that Leo's teasing is ultimately meant in good faith and he cares about his family with his whole heart, but that doesn't mean it's obvious to someone who doesn't know him well).

So in my head, after the rest of the family accepts Draxum's presence, Draxum and Leo are just, at best, neutral toward each other. They aren't actively antagonizing each other (well, maybe Leo does, because it's funny) but they aren't really putting in effort to get to know each other, either.

By the time Herbal Tea takes place, Draxum has started to get to know a drastically different side of Leo than the one he's used to. Though we don't see it much in this fic, Leo at this point is trying really hard to make up for the mistakes that he feels got them here in the first place. This Leo is remorseful, driven, fiercely protective, and constantly pushing himself. These are the things Draxum wishes he could have seen from Leo before, except now he hates it because he's started to really care about this kid and all those things he thought would be positive changes are actually eating Leo alive.

So this whole fic is about Leo finally, finally letting himself be vulnerable in front of Draxum, and Draxum finally seeing Leo for the terrified, loving, incredible kid he is.

UH YEAH sorry for the ramble haha

thanks for the ask! sorry this took forever

#fic: i may be invisible but i still look good #fic: herbal tea

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