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soyouareandrewdobson · 5 months

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Nintendo-vember Level 4: a last minute birthday special and opinion on Zelda

Okay so before I start this post, I should admit that I initially intented to post this one only in a couple of days, to let the previous entry settle down a bit. But as some anon made me realize, today on November 21th is actually the 25th anniversary of Ocarina of Time.

I am not going to let this chance go to waste. So enjoy this entry.

youtube

Following the Localization comic and me giving the claims of Dobson a bit of a verbal beatdown, I decided out of a certain (biased) nostalgia for the Ocarina of Time, to dive in a bit further into Dobson’s genuine disdain for the game.

For a start, I take some clues from “thehypocrisyofandrewdobson” and just point to those little posts Dobson made in regard of one videogame, that not only fans but (as I want to show later) some of the biggest game developers ever have cited as being one of the greatest ever made.

So what is it? Is it your favorite game on the N64 or an absolute pile of shit? I also find it very telling, that Dobson doesn’t give a damn about story and only visuals, at least according to the tweet.

And before you ask, no, I don’t think Shadow of the Collosus is a bad game because “it’s not Zelda” or something. I actually agree with Dobson that it is a visually stunning game. In addition it manages to tell a rather tragic and poignant tale with only minimalistic story techniques and has quite some unique platforming elements and ingenuity in order to defeat the titular creatures. But you know what is also funny? The director of the game, Fumito Ueda, cited Ocarina of Time as a major inspiration and influence of the style of the game

As did other game creators, at least according to Wikipedia. And who wouldn’t believe it? After all, OoT among other things was one of the first games back in the day to include a target lock system for fighting enemies in a 3D-environment, making it as such something of a breakthrough when many other game developers truly fumbled with the jump from a 2D environment into a proper 3D one. Not just that, it was also one of the most successful game sales of its time. The N64 version alone sold over 7.6 million copies world wide. All while also being one of the most re-released Nintendo games ever, having gotten releases on the Gamecube and a graphically updated one on the 3DS.

Anything else I want to say about OoT I want however to contextualize in the “analysis” of the following two comics made by Dobson. One SYAC related, one just Dobson whining about the things that in his opinion make OoT a terrible or great game, depending on whatever mood he has right now.

This one is just one of Dobson’s earliest SYAC comics, in which quite frankly, all he does is bemoan the fact that people hate him for his “silly” takes on things. Flying eyebrows included. Which if you are even slightly familiar with Dobson is kinda bullshit. After all, his “silly takes” and opinions included among other things bemoaning the whole of anime being garbage because he fell out of love for it and the fact people called his work derivative of anime comedy tropes of the 80s and 90s. Or outside of just his comics openly attacking fans of stuff he didn’t enjoy rather blatantly.

There is also another “funny” thing about the comic. The blond guy (one of the few blonds not demonized by Dobson through his artwork) is pointing at the Holiday comic as one example he is confused people got angry about when it comes to Dobson

The thing is, I myself can understand people calling the comic crap without genuinely being offended about the “Christmas” and Holiday thing. For starters, Danny is a genuine asshole here to the old lady, who hasn’t done anything wrong then to wish him a good time, by essentially making her believe that she did an accidental racism by saying “Merry Christmas” instead of being sensible and assume he is jewish. In addition, you could argue that Danny is doing something inappropriate too by claiming to be of another religion than he truly is, to exploit the privilege connected to it to shame someone.

Lastly, it is hilarious how Dobson wants to “stand up” for non Christians on the holidays, when people at this point likely knew of the Channukah incident, that happened a few years BEFORE the comic was published

But again, I digress. Anyway, Dobson’s choice of the topic of OoT is in my opinion more than deliberate, even if Dobson claims that the only reason he did so was, because the comic is partly based on real events.

I get the feeling that was not really all that happened, because who in their right mind would not try to elaborate on their point. And even if the person in question just yelled at Dobson and then moved away, the strawman argument the (of course) uglified strawman nerd makes in the comic is not entirely wrong.

Look, say about OoT whatever you will. Perhaps it is not the best (Zelda) game ever (cause what accounts for “the greatest game ever” in a series or in general is partly based a lot on personal bias as well as the point in time it came out) but I think the following two things ring true:

At least storywise, it was a massive step up from previous Zelda games (especially the very first two of the NES days) and to a degree held the title of the “most complex” storydriven and “technically less flawed” Zelda compared to some other games that followed in the series for quite a few years. At least Wind Waker based on what I heard (haven’t played it yet, sorry) had a few flaws like the sailing and fishing for items mechanic that nudged the game down a bit, despite how many people consider it a great game in the franchise now. Twilight Princess was widely considered a spiritual successor to Ocarina, but some people complained about a too dark presentation or were even annoyed about Midna. And Skyward Sword’s original controls and the entire thing about Demise hasn’t sit too well with some people either. Mind you, this doesn’t mean I think the games are crap and Twilight Princess is in fact one I want to revisit soon again, now that I am in the mood thanks to the review.

The second thing, it did have a massive impact on the Zelda franchise. Many of the things that kinda make the world of Hyrule way more fleshed out and as such contribute to the fun of the games, found their roots in the game. Things Dobson btw may claim to enjoy in Breath of the Wild, but as evident by that comic I now present hates.

And in order to make my point, I combine what those elements are, while also dissecting the comic that is the true main point of this entire post, panel by panel

First, the “derpy Goron” thing. So, you don’t like the Gorons? Okay, fine, you do you. But why is your idea to show why you think they suck to give them derp-face and portray them as “dumb? Sure, they are simple minded in a manner in the game, but not like that?

If anything, Dobson’s choice of facial expression and the “DUH” implies that he wants to use the word retarted to describe them. Which you know, kinda offensive. And also hypocritical, as Dobson would show down the line in life that just even the word “derpy” to use to describe a character, would in his mind be problematic.

As evident by the following MLP related posts provided by Hypocrisy, that show his dA journal expressed opinion on the Derpy Hooves controversy of 2012

In addition, hating the Gorons? Why? I admit, I did not think too much of Goron City as a location. It is a cave system in form of a hole in the ground, inside a mountain. Not very much to see there, but that was in regard to the technical limitations of the time. As a species however, I like them. Some of them are just simple minded, but kind creatures, but then you also have a badass like Darunia, who even becomes your brother in blood after you save the species from starvation. They are to me kinda like the Zelda version of the trolls in Discworld, elemental creatures that can also be funny but badass. In addition, traveling through territory leads to encountering some of the best dungeons in the game. Including the dungeon in Death Mountain, where you have to fight a dragon with a sledgehammer.

Nintendo's original GigaChad

Lastly, the Gorons would help to flesh out the world of Hyrule significantly, by introducing one of the first non human/elfish and yet intelligent species in the entire franchise. Till then, most of the time when you interacted in a Zelda game with an NPC able to talk, it was some other Hyrulian phenotypical to Link. Creatures such as Goblins or Lynel were only minions to Ganondorf. The Gorons, Zoras and Gerudos are the first major species with their own additional culture and kingdoms in the land of Hyrule and they got introduced in this game and further developed in other games.

Heck, Darunia is actually even something of a callback, as he is named after a town in the second Legend of Zelda game for the NES. You know, the sort of games Dobson worshipped.

Ganon(dorf) not being a pig Yeah. And that is a good thing.

Frankly, when OoT came out, most people assumed it to be a “prequel” to A Link to the Past from the SNES, because in this game Ganon isn’t yet in a boar demon form and goes by the name of Ganondorf. And they thought it was awesome. After all, A Link to the Past was a great game for many, and this implied that through OoT we get the “backstory” of this game, by diving into the very conflict that sealed away the Golden Land and resulted in a thief becoming the King of Evil. And we did… kinda.

Ignoring the Zelda timeline branching out more than Dobson ever did in his artistic growth, for quite some time it really came off like this game was a prequel to the SNES game. But not just that, it expanded on the Zelda myth and in doing so also on Ganon, which was more than a good thing.

Let us be real here: Ganon until that point was a boring boar. He simply was a fat blueish boar demon sitting with his thumbs up his ass in the final dungeon till you came along and finished him off with the sword or the silver arrows. Of all the four main Zelda games that existed by Nintendo up until that point, he only showed up in two.

The thing on the left is supposed to be the true embodiment of evil? Oracle games Ganon on the right was better than that!

Sure, he was the main antagonist and supposed mastermind behind everything in the first Zelda and A Link to the Past, but he had no real presence in the game. He wasn’t like let’s say Kefka in Final Fantasy 6, who showed up early on and became a constant thorn in the side for the heroes over the course of the game or the narrative till we were meant to fight him.

Ganondorf rectified that. In OoT, he was an active threat from the get go. Having assured that the Deku Tree would be infected by a deadly parasite, almost starving the Gorons to death, infecting the patron of the Zoras with another creature before the adventure of Link even began. And once he got IN story the triforce of power after essentially taking advantage that those dumb kids tried to stop him in order to enter the sacred realm… HOLY SHIT did things turn dark. Now Hyrule was ruled by a genuine king of evil.

The great kingdom we travelled before in search of three gemstones being turned into a wasteland and everyone we started to care for suffering in one way or another. We had more urgency, because the way the story had handled Ganondorf up until that point, made defeating him way more personal than in prior games. We didn’t just get a final baddie to fight to wrap things up, we saw the rise and fall of evil. Not to forget, his boss battle, with the castle falling apart and then the final battle in which Ganondorf finally snaps and takes on a demonic beastform… I have to say, playing that as a kid felt way more epic than the way it was presented in prior games.

The game essentially abandoned Ganon’s beastial cartoonish look and shallow final boss presence from previous games, to reinvent him as one of the greatest videogame villains of all time. This game establishes him as a determined, malicious and highly cunning villain in search of ultimate power, with his own backstory and origin to booth and laid the groundwork for his presentation in every game afterwards. Be it the old, more regal but still utterly mad man who wants to make Hyrule resurface from the sea in Wind Waker, the semi immortal manipulator in the shadows in Twilight Princess or the usurper and semi demon god in the Breath of the Wild continuity, who even in death is an utter menace thanks to his miasma overflowing the kingdom like some eldritch horror.

You know how they say that a villain is at times only as good as his best villains? Ganondorf is that example for the entire Zelda franchise, if not the entire Nintendo canon. As evident by the fact, that fans and even the main company alike think, that in any form of villainous team up he would be the true leader among the group.

The timeline branching Okay, I kinda agree with Dobson, the timeline branching really is an issue with that franchise. But none I would blame OoT for.

Timeline according to the Hyrule Historia post Skyward Sword but BEFORE the Breath of the Wild

To me it is like that: The timeline branching is a problem that first genuinely surfaced in the wake of Wind Waker and Twilight Princess, as prior to those games you could, even as a casual Zelda player, kinda put the games into a certain chronological order, even if the games themselves were NOT released as such.

Like to me OoT was the first game, followed by Majora’s Mask, then a new Link fought Ganon along in A Link to the Past, the Oracle games and Link’s Awakening, before the NES games had the final incarnation of Link get rid of Ganon for good. Either that or you ignored the NES games and considered everything from Wind Waker on a reboot.

But I digress. To me, OoT can’t be blamed for the timeline branching (nonsense), because the game itself did not attempt to “branch” the timeline. That is something other people, the game developers of future installments started to do, all while just saying OoT should be the point of divergence because it is chronologically the first game with time travel shenanigans.

Blaming it, is like blaming the great grandparents of Jeffrey Dahmer for his murders, because by reproducing and bringing one of his grandparents into the world, the existence of that monster was guaranteed.

On another note, Dobson also genuinely thought the Zelda games should only follow ONE Link for all eternity, instead of reincarnations or alternate versions. Which I guess may be linked to some autistic desire for conformity.

Sidekicks Oh, you are one of those people!

Frankly, I never got the hate Navi gets. I admit that her “hey listen” can get annoying over time, but as far as I know, this has been more of an issue in the American release of the game, than in the PAL version. Or at least I never got the impression she was that annoying. But frankly, she had way more positive functions as a “device” in the game to me, than anything. Plus, I can think of worse sidekicks in the series interrupting the flow of the game.

Navi has been criticized by some people in the fandom so hard, at this point it isn’t fair criticism in my opinion as much as it is blatant character bashing.

Also, complaining about annoying sidekick characters and how they are dumb?

Dobson is the last person online to do just that.

Fans Yeah, how dare people have fun with a videogame, that may have also impacted in a positive manner how they think of the medium overall.

I will say this: Yeah, overzealous fans in any fandom are annoying and I actually agree with Dobson on the notion that even if you love something, you should also look at it once in a while with a critical or neutral eye. Admit for example if something has flawed, but also try to explain why these flaws make it good in your opinion e.g.

However, two things work against Dobson’s point.

First, I think that overzealous hatred for something is even worse than overzealous joy.

Second, like with his hatred for sidekicks, Dobson is one of the last people on the planet to get mad at people being fans of anything to an extreme degree, when he himself has shown rather unhealthy fan behavior. Be it by hating George Lucas for the Star Wars prequels…

Obsessing over KorraSami to the point of it overshadowing the actual show…

Or spending more than 500 hours on Zelda Breath of the Wild in only 7 sessions

Now in his defense, spending hundreds of hours in an open world videogame is not the problem. But 568 hours in seven sessions? That amounts to an average of 78,2 hours per session. So either Dobson let the console run while he was busy doing other stuff (though I doubt they included actually drawing comics) and in doing so wasted precious electricity or he is a severe game addict.

The Zora redesign Again, I don’t get the problem. Zora’s in “A Link to the Past” were pretty much just mindless random monsters. This game established them as a sophisticated species and independent kingdom. And while Princess Ruto could be annoying and the Water Temple was so frustrating, I spend months not playing the game because I was stuck in it, I think the Rutos were a great addition to the game and the series as a whole.

Again, the world of Hyrule wouldn’t be as colorful and interesting, if it hadn’t been further fleshed out by the addition of non-elfish species and kingdoms/tribes. This game learnt to walk, so that Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom could essentially run.

I think the only reason Dobson hated them was, because he thought them being turned humanoid turns others into furries. Granted, I can kinda understand why someone would go Troy McLure based on that design…

But I think the designs of later games are even more detailed.

Heck, if I ever find out that he claimed for Breath of the Wild or some other game, that the Rutos are amazing and he always loved them, I will laugh my ass off at the hypocrisy. Before punching him in the face while smiling like Sidon

Oh and I will admit freely, that I love Sidon and his sister, even if my current main expossure to them is via Hyrule Warriors- Age of Calamity. Cause god dang it, those two siblings deserve a happy end, even if it is just in an alternate timeline.

Moving on...

Empty Fields

I will say this: Yeah, the Hyrule Field is my least favorite location of the entire game. It is just a huge grassy plane connecting the different more intriguing locations of the kingdom and before you get Epona or the songs to teleport to the different temples and dungeons, traveling across it can be rather annoying. But if walking around terrain without doing much is such a problem to Dobson, why exactly does he enjoy Breath of the Wild again, as it does involve a lot of travelling around vast space too? Granted, it is at least space with interesting scenery and great battles against minor yet dangerous monsters, but it’s the principal that counts for me here. Not to forget, walking around an overworld map that is kinda empty or devoid of much has been a stable for many games. Including great ones, wherein the lack of action, but the presence of a great atmosphere, helps to sell the game’s atmosphere. Including Shadow of the Collosus, which Dobson claims to love. Btw, if Dobson hates dungeons in Zelda, why isn’t he lapping up the actual overworld?

And this btw is only the second most annoying nitpick in the comic if you ask me. Cause the most annoying comes of course now

LINK IS BLOND! Again, like I asked in the last post, what is it with Link having a lighter hair color now than before, that makes Dobson channel his inner Chris Chan here? Link being blond is essentially what Sonic’s arms are to the internet’s most famous motherfucker. I just get the impression that Dobson genuinely believes the stereotype of blond people being dumb or at the very least “nasty” as the face Link makes in the panel also is kinda one reserved for genuine douchebags. Smug, slightly arrogant, as if he is going to give someone a swirly.

Heck, Dobson’s asshole level smugness about Link’s hair color has not only been more or less the reason for an entire comic complaining about it to exist…

If he could, he drew the character as often with brown hair as he could.

Frankly, I am more concerned about how Dobson’s interpretation of Link looks more like Link’s mother fucked a troll doll (something about the nose in most Link drawings by Dobbear give the impression to me) than anything from the genuine games. Like for someone who considers himself an artist, his own art doesn't really manage to capture what Link is supposed to be (End part 1/2. Second part uploaded in a minute because of a problem regarding the uploading of pics)

#andrew dobson #zelda #legend of korra #legend of zelda ocarina #ocarina of time #ruto #so you are andrew dobson #tom preston #syac #nintendo vember #nintendo #Youtube

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triple-asstro · 1 year

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Salaì Chapter 3: Sock and Buskin

chapter count: 1 | 2 |

word count: 2k

pairing: 2012!leo x reader

tags: leo being an idiot, slow burn, fluff and humor, comfort

summary: A new vigilante named Salaí has taken the streets of New York, sending an increase in missing and injured criminals. This seemingly new vigilante shocks the turtles in town and with the help of Reader, they try to figure out who this vigilante is. Surprise, its Reader, knowingly leading an investigation against themself. Hopefully, no one falls in love.

A/N: i hope you all enjoy this one, i'm going to be posting hopefully every wednesday (possibly later for everyone on tumblr) and i hope you all have an amazing rest of your week!

ao3

song: Sparky Deathcap - September

The next day at school didn’t dampen your thoughts about your encounter from yesterday. Dressed in medium-length black sweatpants and a light blue t-shirt, you tried to take your mind of things by volleyball, but alas, it was useless. With one more hard hit, the ball was sent flying into the other team’s area, as you huffed out and prepared to defend.

“Sorry if this is completely off but, you okay?”

“Hm?” you murmured, looking to your right to see a girl with straight black hair, dark coffee skin and an array of freckles covering her face. This was your close friend, Shreya, who with her sweet eyes and head-forwardness made her look abnormal being paired with you.

“Oh, sorry Shreya, I’m alright.”

“Okay, you’ve just been spaced out lately. Is something on your mind?”

“Oh yeah, yesterday I met a cosplayer during my study session at Mr Murakami’s shop.”

“Really?” she asked, tilting her head in surprise, blocking one hit from her left. “What kind of cosplay was he wearing?”

“You won’t believe this, a ninja-turtle hybrid,” you whispered, silently giggling to yourself watching her eyes widen even more.

“That’s awesome! I have to find this guy.”

“Yeah, we need to know his secrets!” you whispered teasingly. Before you knew it, the sound of a whistle brought you away from the net and sitting down with your knees hugging your chest around the gym teacher, eyes squinting and arms crossed.

“I am slightly impressed with your guys' work today, but we need to step it up. Next practice, I better see no crooked arms and no kicking the ball!”

Once she finished talking, you began to pack your bag away, stuffing your belongings in before rushing out of the gym. Shreya was quickly following behind you, huffing and puffing until you made it to the stone steps.

“Wait, slow down man! Class doesn’t start until 3pm .” Shreya remarked, huffing and puffing.

“I know, it’s just-” you muttered before a shrill gust of wind knocked you both on your sides, lying on the concrete.

“I was going to say, I have to babysit this girl for the Dobsons sometime next week and sometimes my mom schedules things for me without telling me and it could be today but I have no clue.”

“That sounds weird. What’s her name?” she asked, hopping back on her feet before offering you her hand. You took in willingly, groaning when she hauled you back up.

“I have no idea, but you’re right. It’s weird. Oh, did you hear that Dylan and Casey got into another brawl?”

“What happened?”

“The gist of it is that Dylan caught Casey checking out his girlfriend, Casey denied it,” you explained, bumping your fists together. “Brawl.”

“Doesn’t Casey have a hockey game today? Those two are idiots,” she spat, squinting her eyes. “Why

would anyone get into a fight for something so stupid?”

“I know, it reminds me of when this girl tried to gift you an entire boatload of roses for Valentines Day to date you.”

“Don’t try to remind me. It happens every Valentine's Day and I want it to stop, but I can’t say no to them. They put effort into getting those and it would be rude to say no.”

“It really wouldn’t. Just tell me who’s harassing you and I’ll brawl ,” you stated, whispering the last word while bumping your fists together, making her giggle.

“Alright, alright.” she chuckled, pushing your arm away, her thick metal band stinged your warm skin. As you guys talked, it watched. Far away and on top of a water tank, it watched, observing your every move with its amber eyes. For now, it’d gathered all the information she needed and escaped into the early afternoon shadows.

The afternoon dusk slowly receded back, letting the early night overtake the sky and letting the beautiful blinding lights of Manhattan shine. Tonight is especially an important night, since it was the night of Casey’s hockey game. He’d been boasting about it for a while but this time, it was happening in real time in front of the entire school. Unfortunately, due to the crushing amount of schoolwork you had to complete and the whole vigilantism hour creeping soon, you couldn’t attend. Thankfully, Shreya was livestreaming the entire thing through her phone, as you scribbled away another science formula.

You had to finish an entire worksheet, comprised of six pages, all in one night prepared for next week o n top of editing an entire essay for your humanities class for Wednesday next week. You were adamant on studying and overall working on the weekends, but with the way things were unravelling, it seemed like that would be the outcome.

A ping from your phone sent you scrambling for it, careful not to tip over your drink that was already watered down. It was another text from Leonardo, the ‘ninja-turtle’ cosplayer.

da vinci man:

Hey Y/N, it’s me.

y/n:

uhh who?

da vinci man:

It’s me, Leonardo. You don’t remember?

y/n:

oh no i remember.

im just messing with you

da vinci man:

Oh. Really?

y/n:

yeah lol

what’s up?

da vinci man:

Nothing much, I just got back from having to scold my brothers. Again.

y/n:

wait you have brothers?

da vinci man:

Yeah.

I have three brothers.

y/n:

damn, that’s a lot

i only have one sibling

da vinci man:

Oh, what’s their name?

y/n:

maise. she’s at college tho.

she used to irritate me a lot but now i miss her

da vinci man:

Ha. I know that feeling a lot. Trust me.

It’s annoying having to handle my brothers all the time too.

y/n:

yeah but at least i get a break every once in a while

you get those right?

leo

leo you’re being way too quiet

da vinci man:

Sorry, yeah! Of course I do!

y/n:

you’re an awful liar

ok meet me at the park near Barker street

meet you there

da vinci man:

What?

That’s all Leonardo could type. As he stared at the text, blinking periodically trying to process what he’d j ust agreed to. He sighed, clutching his T-Phone and leant against the wall. Hopping out of bed, he grabbed his katanas, sheathing them back into their holders and put on one of the hoodies that you gave him, one with a bluebell and purple lilac sewn on the sleeve cuffs. Before he could walk out, he opened the door to find Raph, leaning against the frame on his hip.

“Where are you going?” he questioned, attitude laced in his tone.

“On patrol,” he stated, passing by him and walking out.

“Alright, another one,” Raph sighed, clutching onto his sais.

“No, I’m going alone for this one.”

“Alone? Why?”

“Because it’s important. If Mikey or Donnie need anything, just use the T-Phone.” Leo said, pointing to his T-Phone before rushing out, leaving a confused Raphael.

Lifting off the cover, Leonardo snuck out of it, leaping onto the fire escape and climbing to the rooftops. He kept running, leaping from roof to roof and feeling the crisp air flow through his body; the sweet smell of fresh air still invigorated him like it did a few months ago when he first went up to the surface. That moment keeps playing in Leonardo’s head, relooping with the memories and feelings; all of this unknown that surprises him to this day.

He then felt the sudden lack of ground and the increasingly worrying amount of falling and with a crash into a dumpster, he’d realised he had fallen. Embarrassment stained his face, as he could hear the scuttling footsteps approach his spot.

“That’s a way to make an impression, Blue.” you snickered, offering your hand towards him to which he grabbed, pulling him out of the dumpster. As you placed him back up his feet, you gave him a sweet smile towards him as he awkwardly rubbed his neck.

“What are we doing here, man? ”

“I’m giving you this,” you said, ignoring his awkward comment and dug through your bag, handing him a soda, a generic one you picked up from the convenience store. You shook the drink, signalling him to take the drink but he shook his head.

“Oh no thank you.”

“Do you not drink soda?” you asked,

“Yeah, I don’t. It’ll ruin my physique .”

“Ruin your physique? Okay, I believe you.” you chuckled, packing the drink back into your bag and hoisted it back onto your back. Glancing over towards the middle of the park, you saw a small yellow swing with two seats swaying slightly in the wind. You nodded your head towards the swing and sped towards one of the seats, motioning Leo to come along.

“Come on! Swing with me.”

“Why?”

“Since you mentioned that you haven’t taken a break-”

“I never said that.”

“You did, not verbally but you did. Anyway, I wanted to introduce you to something that I do on my breaks that calm me down. Which is swinging. Do you do meditation?”

“Yes,” he answered, sitting down on the opposing swing and almost falling on the ground if it weren’t for you catching him by the arm. “I do meditation with my sensei-”

“You have a sensei?”

“Yeah, he teaches me ninjutsu and meditation.”

“Cool,” you said, pushing off of the ground and swaying back and forth. “Well, swinging is similar to meditation to me. When you sway, you can feel the worries melt from your mind.”

Leo clutched onto the chains, pushing off the ground hard and tucking his legs in, letting him swing far and making his eyes widen in shock. You smiled, watching him react so newly to a swing, as he came back to his original position.

“So?”

“That was… new. I’m not trying that again.”

“That’s because you pushed too hard, push it with less force. Like this,” you said, pushing off the ground and letting yourself swing back and forth, watching as Leo matched your actions with utmost attention and determination. You both swung together, almost in sync as you slowly took deep breaths in. The surroundings began to blur together, as a tiny spark of tranquillity rested in your ears with ease.

You halted your feet into the ground, stopping and turning towards Leo, who had a calm expression on his face. “So? Relaxing right?”

“I agree. Relaxing indeed.”

“So, your brothers. Tell me about them.”

“Well, I have three. There’s Raph, he’s mostly a hothead. There’s Donnie, he’s a tech whiz and there’s Mikey, he’s the party dude.”

“Wow, your brothers seem nice. I hope I can meet them someday.”

“Yeah, while they get on my nerves, I still appreciate them.”

“What about you?”

“Well, I’m the leader.” he stated.

You stared at him with confusion. “Okay, and?”

“What?”

“You’re a leader. That’s a role, not who you are. Who are you?”

Leo paused, thinking about what you just said. He tried to scavenge something, something to say so he didn’t look like a complete fool. But he couldn’t. No matter how hard he tried, nothing came up. Simply the word leader. Because that’s what Leo was. A leader. Nothing more and nothing less.

“I… don’t know.” was all he could say.

“Alright.” you said, staring at him with sincere eyes. As you kept swinging, Leo kept staring into oblivion. You knew he needed some time to himself and you were more than willing to give him that. It was a sweet moment of silence; something midnights are well-known for.

A ringing echoed from Leo’s phone which halted you in your tracks. He picked it up, and placed it to his ear. You could hear an angry voice on the other side spouting something about a Krang invasion near the power plant but Leo muffled it with his hand, hopefully what you made out made sense.

“Sorry, I’ve gotta go. I have to go… water my orchid.”

“No, it’s fine. I understand.” you nodded, watching as he nodded back and ran away into the night. You knew immediately what you heard was a lie.

So, why not go see what he’s so caught up with?

#tmnt 2k12 #tmnt #tmnt fic #tmnt x reader #leonardo x reader #2012!leo x reader #2012 leo x reader #2012 leo #teenage mutant ninja turtles 2012 #fluff #fanfic update

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