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Rise April Challenge Day 1: April O’Neil

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Ao3 link: here

Today, April had learned something very important, something that she was quite mad at her mom for not telling her. And that was that people were overrated and mean. They weren’t worth her time, and she was never going to talk to one again. Screw those stupid cartoons, the power of friendship was dumb, and she didn’t need it!

The first day of school had not been fun for April O’Neil. Turns out, that kids can be cruel and will easily turn on someone that is even slightly different.  

She laid down on the grass under an old tree and watched the other kids run around the jungle gym with narrow eyes.

She was mad, enraged even, and if her mom thought that a trip to the park would cheer her up then April would prove her wrong. This was not the type of mad that went away with swings and ice cream. This was a life changing type of mad, the kind that made people wear black and laugh evilly. Yes, this was a supervillain mad. And April didn’t think she would mind being a bad guy, they were cool, and they didn’t need any friends.

They didn’t get lonely.  

She wasn’t lonely. She was mad. She was mad. So mad that there was no room to be lonely. She-

Something fell out of the sky inches away from April’s nose. She jumped and scrambled back, fear and shock playing across her face. The thing lay unmoving on the ground as she tried to catch her breath. April looked up into the tree above to see where it had fallen from, but nothing was there. She looked back at it on the ground, and after a moment bent over to pick it up.

It was only about the size of her fist, round and purple, cold and smooth in her hand, and she turned it around. No markings or anything. Was it an egg? Could there be purple eggs? She put it near her ear and shook it. Nothing. April put it back on the ground and stared at it. What were you meant to do when things fell from the sky? Should she just leave it? Tell someone? Call 911? Did this happen a lot?

The egg-thing had apparently gotten tired of waiting for April to do something, and she watched as it sprouted legs. It was so sudden that it took April a few seconds to realize what had happened, she blinked down at its four limbs folding out of its body. Then the thing bolted away from her, towards the bushes that bordered the park.  

“Hey!” She sprinted after it, “Come back!”

It was fast, scurrying across the ground like a spider. Dodging and weaving its way around rocks and sticks. It was too far for her to reach, and it was about to disappear into the scrubs, never to be found again. But she was April O’Neil, and it would not get away that easily. She flung herself forward, arms outstretched, and eyes shut tight as she dove into the bush. Her knees scraped against the ground as she slid, and the branches scraped and caught on her clothes as she broke through the wall of leaves. But her hand had closed around the sphere. She had it.

“Ha!” she shouted “Got ya!” She opened her eyes and stopped when she saw two tennis shoes at her eye level. April looked up and met two wide black eyes, framed by square glasses.

“Uh...Hi?” April said. The masked kid jumped backward, stumbling away from her and falling onto his butt. “Hey! It’s ok, I was just chasing this thing.” She held up the purple sphere so he could see it. “It fell out of a tree and grew legs!”  

The boy did not respond, shrinking into his oversized hoodie, sleeves falling over his hands and the collar covering the bottom of his face. Silence stretched between them for a few seconds as April waited for the kid to talk. He didn’t.

“My name’s April, what’s yours?” Silence.

“Are you ok?” Nothing.

“Can you talk?” The boy shakily nodded. Well, that was a little better. She slowly sat up on to her knees, before looking at the other kid again. “Sorry it I sacred you, this thing was just super cool, and I didn’t want it to get away.” The boy uncurled slightly and leaned a little forward.

“You think it’s cool?” April blinked at the odd question but nodded.

“Yeah, it just fell out of a tree and grew legs all by itself!”

“Well not all by itself.” The boy reached into his jacket and pulled out a blocky remote control. He punched a few buttons and the thing in her hand wiggled out of her grip and ran toward the boy. April’s mouth dropped open.

“It’s a robot?” she asked, amazed.

“Yes,” the boy said sitting straighter and smiling proudly, “I made it.”

April’s eyes widened “Really?”

“But of course. I am testing out different joint attachments and its flexibility so it can climb and cling to different surfaces, that way-”

The boy sat up straighter as he talked, arms waving and gesturing to the bot as he talked. April smiled and listened. She decided that she liked this kid, he was weird. But in a cool way, and he was going to be her friend. But he had acted super jumpy before when she had tried to talk to him before, she would need to be sneaky.

The boy was lost in talking about wires and frequencies, legs kicking out in excitement. Perfect. April scooting closer, nodding and smiling even if he wasn’t really looking. Almost. Almost. He stopped talking when she shoved her hand in front of his face. He looked up at her, scrunching his eyes.  

“My name is April.” She said with a smug grin, happy to have managed to confuse him enough that he wouldn’t just run away.

“Yes, you said that already,” he responded dryly.  

“Yeah, but you need to tell me yours and shake my hand.”  

“Why?”

“Because.”

“That’s a stupid reason.” He turned his head away defiantly.

“Well, I can’t be your friend if I don’t know your name.” She said. The boy’s body stiffened, and he slowly turned towards her.

“You want to be friends with me?” he asked shakily. She smirked.

“You have to tell me your name first.” she demanded. He hesitated and squirmed, April stood still holding her breath. It was all or nothing now. The boy took a breath and locked eyes with her.

“You can’t take it back.” The boy declared.  

“Deal.” She reached to take his hand, but he pulled it back.

“And! You have to be my brothers’ friend too.” April shook her head. While more friends sounded exciting, she wasn’t going to just agree without meeting them. Kids could be mean after all.

“No, I haven’t met them. What if I don’t like them?” The boy paused to think.

“If you like them, then will you be their friend?” He asked. She nodded, that seemed fair. The boy reached out and took her hand. “I’m Donatello.”

April eyes widened as she staired down at her new friend’s green, three-fingered hand, and after a moment smiled at him.

This was going to be way more awesome than being a supervillain.

Next - Masterpost

Ao3 Link: Here

Please check out @zee-rambles who came up with this challenge.  Also take a look at @rise-april-art-challenge​ for more submissions. Please give feedback if I need to work on something.

Everything GREAT About Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem!

Hey, Rise fans!!! Please go comment on this video asking for a Rise movie review.

They have a large platform, so we can get more people into the fandom and more people to ask @nickelodeon to bring it back!!

You are important and real. You don’t need to find the right person. You are not doing it for attention. You are not making it up. 

Reblog if you think asexuality is a legitimate sexuality.

I’m trying to prove something.

YOU HEARD THEM BOYS, GIRLS AND WHATEVER THE HELL! 

WE HAVE OUR MARTCHING ORDERS! 

MOVE! MOVE! MOVE!

TAKE NO PRISONERS! HAVE NO MERCY!

RISE DESERVED BETTER! AND WE WILL MAKE IT SO!

(no blackmail though, kiddies. let’s be civilized savages. 😊)

Lets. D0. This.

(Please note: Post will be updated as I find more resources and think of more strategies)

(Please do not re-use gif without permission…unless it’s to save Rise…)

YOU can watch Season 1 and Season 2 of RISE right HERE!

So I’ve seen a a lot of people still wondering if Rise of the TMNT can be saved.

There’s is a lot of hope, especially with the boom of fans joining the fandom after the movie dropped last year, people making more art on tumblr, twitter, tik tok, and so on. But also a a lot of doubt, especially after JJ Conway’s post on twitter.

BUT…I still think there is a chance…a GOOD chance. WITH ORIGINAL CAST AND CREW! Why?

We live in the internet. Information is more then easy to get out now thanks to social media. There is all kinds of ways to get the word out to people. Let’s abuse it. 😎

Fans have brought back shows before.

We need a MAJOR push through social media, more fans, more art, it’s up to us…and I think we can do it!

Fans convinced Netflix to bring Sense8 back for a finale

Fans convinced fox to bring back “Futurama” after it was cancelled in 1999.

Hey Arnold got the jungle movie thirteen years after the show was cancelled

Animaniacs got a 3 season revival 22 years after it stopped airing.

Brooklyn 99 was cancelled in 2018, and the fans convinced NBC to pick up the series.

Arrested Development was canceled after 3 seasons, but AFTER it was cancelled, it grew an audience and they made it come back!

Fans saved the original Star Trek in the 60s with letters.

They did it. Why can’t we?

So what can we do?

Well…

1. PETITIONS TO SAVE RISE that we can all sign…

PETITION 1 (The strongest one, but the more petitions signed, the better!)

PETITION 2

PETITION 3

PETITION 4 (save the content that was cut/we missed)

PETITION 5! (Make an ROTTMNT season 3)

2. Pester Nickelodeon and Netflix on social media (THE BIG ONE Y’ALL, THIS IS THE MOST DIRECT AND IMPORTANT)

Be polite, be non-toxic (don’t be rude or mean, the boys would not want that, and the Nick/Netflix won’t listen), but be LOUD, PASSIONATE, AND ANNOYING! Ask for DVDs of the show/movie, and then BUY THOSE DVDs!

MAKE SURE TO ASK FOR THE FULL ORIGINAL CAST AND CREW TO COME BACK, INCLUDING ANDY SARIANO AND ANT WARD.

Sample DM/Letter (but try to come up with your own. Too many repeats and they will ignore it)

“Dear Nickelodeon/Netflix/Viacom, I can’t tell you how much Rise means to me, and I really love that you put the show on air. But it was not fair that the show was cancelled before it got the chance to reach the audience it deserved, only because of a few bad reviews and a lack of advertising. The show is great, there’s tons of fans, tons of art, and people, including me, want so much more! Please bring it back! We want the original crew to come, Flying Bark, for the show to get it’s full second season restored, and it’s five season run like it was originally intended. People hated the 2012 TMNT when it came out, but it got it’s chance and now there are people that love it. Why can’t Rise of the TMNT have the same? It’s clear that the creators love their work and there’s a growing fan base for it. Rise just came out at the wrong time, but it deserves it chance to shine.”

The more personal you made the letter, the more you say what Rise means to you, the better.

As for me? I’m sending them a picture of Pizza Pigeon with the #wewantmoreriseoftheTMNT and #saverottmnt

Request movies/seasons on Netflix.

Ask for Rise Season 2, another season, another movie. Just keep asking!

Nickelodeon’s facebook page

Rise’s facebook page

Leave good reviews. Share. Leave TONS of comments

Nickelodeon’s instagram

Nickelodeon’s Twitter page (treat carefully, there be Musks out there…only use if you are over 18)

Nickelodeon’s TikTok

Niceklodeon’s letter inbox

Nickelodeon, 1515 Broadway, New York, NY 10036

Rugrats was brought back because fans bombarded Nickelodeon with letters saying they wanted it back. Might as well cover our bases.

Contact Paramount

Official Fan Page Rise’s Instagram

The more followers the better.

Netflix’s instagram

Netflix’s facebook

Netflix’s Twitter (Treat carefully. There be MUSKs out there…only use if you are over 18)

SPAM NICKELODEON’S EMAILS!

feedback@nick.com

contactus@nick.com

Letterbox@nick.co.uk

help@paramountplus.coM

If anyone has any more, any deeper more direct points of contact, or more ideas, please share!

3. Leave good reviews for Rise anywhere and raise awareness everywhere you can!

One of the key reasons Rise did not do too well because it was unfairly review bombed before people could give it a chance…so get out there on tik tok, IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes, and ESPECIALLY youtube.

Make reviews! Analysis! JOKES! Support other content creators! When the Rise Reanimated video comes out, share it like no tomorrow!

No one paid attention when How to Train Your Dragon came out, but word of mouth and people saying it was good, made it the success it was. Let’s repeat history!

Anytime there is NEW RISE CONTENT on Nickelodeon’s YouTube channel, watch it, share, spread it.

Share this post on social media, across various sites, use the information here to spread awareness about how people can help and what they can do. Be relentless! (Like Leo in Lair Games)

Ask influencers to review, react, and give RISE a chance without placing judgement.

4. Make. ART!

Draw, Write, TWEET, Make MERCH, Sell MERCH, Make Tik Toks, Videos on YouTube, posts on instagram, discord, what pad, demanding more Rise, spreading the word, and just showing how much you love this show! Not only will it attract attention, but it’s also good for all of us. There will be more Rise content either way.

PLAY THIS GAME!

If you see official Rise MERCH in the while, buy it if you can! Also support as many rise content creators as you can. If you can’t draw? Write! If you can’t create! Like! Share! Comment! Support each other!

Rise April ART Challenge

Keep in mind…there WILL be pushback.

Companies as big as Nickelodeon and Viacom care about their bottom line: $$$…money. BUT pushback, whether they are taking down your videos on Tik Tok, striking artists on twitter, mean that they’re taking NOTICE. So don’t. Give. UP!

One last thing to remember: DO NOT harass fans for enjoying other versions of TMNT

Even though Rise is the first and only TMNT I have ever loved, I don’t believe in shaming other fans for looking forward to, or enjoying other TMNT series. Gatekeeping like that was what stopped Rise from (heh) Rising as high as it should have. All Rise fans are welcome, and all TMNT fans are welcome. Rise deserves to reach more fans, it deserves another season, and it does not need to knock down other TMNT series to do it. Show them your love and your need for more Rise, without making other TMNT fans feel unwelcome.

Share, spread the word, give it your best shot! A village can move MOUNTAINS! SO let’s do it.

So that in the near future…we can MAKE THIS JOKE!

Rise April Challenge 21: Jokes

Prev - Next - Masterpost Ao3 Link: Here

Leo had a sly smile as he approached Casey from behind, who was sitting on the couch with Mikey watching TV.  

“Hey, man.” He said, leaning over and wrapping his arm around Jr. The time traveler looked up with a bright smile.

“Hi Leonardo. How are you?”

“Oh, I’m wonderful, my friend.” Leo said, eyes mischievous. “Say, I was wondering, what do you call a baby butterfly with whiskers?”

Casey tilted his head in confusion, while Mikey's eyes widened, and he sat up straight. A look of fear on his face.

“Leo don’t-”

“A cat-erpillar.” 

Mikey fell back and groaned in annoyance, while Leo erupted with laughter. “Oh, that was a good one.” Leo brushed away a tear.

“But... caterpillars don't have whiskers.”

The two brothers stared at Casey for a moment, and Casey just stared back. Then his eyes went wide with realization.

“Oh, because cats have whiskers, and caterpillar starts with ‘cat.’ Cat-erpillar.” He started chuckling and giggling. “I get it! That's pretty funny sensei.”

Leo’s eyes went wide, and his face fell with shock. Then he lit up like a sunrise. Mikey saw this and began to wave his arms around in a panic.

“Leo, wait-”

“Oh, this is going to be fun!”

“No, it won’t! Leo, please-”

-

The next time they were eating pizza with the family. Leo smiled and bumped Casey’s shoulder with his own.

“Hey, kid.” He said and Casey looked up. “I saw this really cool chimney for sale and was thinking about buying it.” Jr furrowed his brow, while everyone else went stiff with concealed panic.

“Why would you want to buy a chimney? We live underground.” Leo waved his hands dismissively.

“Not important to the story. I thought it was going to cost a lot it turns out it was-”

“Nardo, please!”

“-on the house.”

The table erupted in groans and there was a bang as Raph dropped his head to the table. Casey just nodded at his master's words.

“Well, that was nice of them.” He turned and took another bite of pizza, then stopped mid chew a look of deep thought on his face. Then, he spit out the bite as he started to laugh.

“OH! On the house! Because roofs are on top of houses.”

“Ah, there you go.” Leo said, slapping Casey on the back. “See guys, he gets it!”

“This is going to be a thing, isn’t it?” Donnie asked, unenthusiastically and already knowing the answer. Leo just smirked back.

“Of course, it is.”

-

Leo and junior were sitting by themselves on a rooftop, when Leo turned to his friend.

“You know, I used to have this friend with kind of messed up feet.”

“Really?” Casey asked, turning to face him.

“Yeah,” Leo said, leaning back. “He would always stand super crooked and would always have to keep rocking back and forth to keep standing up.” Casey's face pinched in sympathy at the thought.

“Did it hurt him?”

“Naw, it was mostly just annoying or uncomfortable. Eventually, his doctor recommended that he at these new orthopedic shoes, and he kept saying that they weren't for him, but he did end up getting them and now he...”

Leo looks Casey straight in the eyes as he finishes his sentence, looking like the cat who had caught the canary. “...stands corrected.”

Casey just smiled back at the smug face.

“That's good for them. I'm happy they found something that works.”

Silence. Then-

“Wait a sec! Mater Leonardo-”

“HAHAHHAHHA!”

-

“Casey!” Leo called, and Jr quickly bolted over worried.

“Leonardo, what is it?” He found him standing by the closed bathroom door. Leo looked over and smiled.

“I need your help.” The turtle said, stepping back. “The door is jammed.”

And, indeed, sitting on the door handle was a jar of jam.  

“Ok, I’ll try and open it” Casey said politely, walking over and picking up the jar. He was already pushing down on the handle before he looked at the label on the jar and froze.

Leo burst out laughing and nearly fell over, gasping and bending over with his arms wrapped around his stomach. Casey just furrowed his brow in confusion, mouthing the words over. Then he straightened up, looked at the laughing turtle and began to giggle himself.

“I don't think that was as a good as the others.” he said, still chuckling.

“Oh, come on! That was a great one!” Leo said, taking the jar from Casey and leaving to return it to the kitchen.

-

“Hey, Leo?” Casey asked from his seat in the back of the tank.

The slidder smiled at the use of the nickname, instead of “sensei,” or “master.” It was nice that the kid was starting to relax around him.

“What up, Jr?” He responded and looked back. The kid was shifting back and forth anxiously. He then shyly looked up and cleared his throat.

“What do you call a dog that can do magic?”

The rest of the tank froze and stared in shock at the time traveler. Was he about to...

“I don’t know,” Leo said casually, not really taking in the question.

“A Labra-cadavrador.”

Leo’s head finally caught up to the conversation and his eyes went wide.

“Did he just...?” Mikey asked.

“No,” Donnie said. “He couldn’t have.”

Before the shocked discussion could go any further, Leo launched himself out of seat and tackled the human boy with a hug, laughing and squishing the boy tight.

“That was so good, kid!” He cried joy overwhelming him at the thought that Casey could relax enough for him to joke like that. The kid trusted him, the kid was joking! Leo had never been prouder.  

“You deserve around of a-paws for that one.” The slidder said, still hugging the kid tight. A round of groans echoed in the car. “Don’t listen to them, Casey. That joke was paw-some!”

“Stop it! No more!”

“Sorry, Mikey,” Casey said, rubbing the back of his head from his spot in Leo’s arms. “Can you, uh, fur-give me?”

“Donnie, open the window. I’m jumping out.”

“Wait, no! I really am sorry! I’ll stop!”

“Would you care if I joined you, Angelo?”

“WAIT! NO, SIRS-”

Prev - Next - Masterpost Ao3 Link: Here

Please check out @zee-rambles who came up with this challenge, and look at @rise-april-art-challenge to see more submissions by other fans. Please give me feedback if there is anything I should work on.

The (Incomplete) Injury Log of the ROTTMNT Movie (SPOILERS AHEAD)

Image ID: Image is a low-resolution screenshot from Rise of the TMNT movie. It takes place during the sequence where the turtles try and fail to interrogate Casey Jones Junior. It depicts Donnie lying comically on the floor, seemingly unconscious after accidentally activating Junior’s grappling hook and being knocked out by it. End ID.

salutations fellow turtle analysts! I am currently (very slowly) working on a fanfic that takes place immediately after [ROTTMNT MOVIE SPOILERS!] Leo gets rescued and, although I know it’s largely unnecessary, I wanted to be as accurate as possible about the various injuries everyone had sustained in the movie. for this, I have gone through the movie yet again and wrote down all the notable occasions of the main crew getting hit or being visibly injured and/or in pain for unclear reasons.

some clarifications and warnings before I jump into the readmore

[MORE ROTTMNT MOVIE SPOILERS AHEAD]

1. this log does not contain potential injuries sustained during the first fight with the Krang, EXCEPT for Raph. my reasoning: everyone but Raph got to go home in the escape pods and had a chance to recover somewhat. I think it’s best demonstrated by Splinter - he was majorly hurt during the fight, but seemed to be doing well when Leo and the others left to look for Raph. it could’ve been done to ease on the pressure, for comedic effect, it could just be that the escape pods provide some sort of first aid OR he simply had enough time to recover on his own. and while I don’t think it’s sufficient enough evidence, I choose to believe everyone but Raph did a “reset” so to speak in that scene. if you have counter-arguments regarding this, feel free to dm me about it and I’ll see if I agree and whether I should amend my statement!

2. I tried to keep my notes purely observational in nature, so in some cases I do not state specifically that there is an injury present, but rather describe the character’s expression or gestures and what they might imply (such as, someone holding onto their head or the glowing cracks caused by Mikey’s gateway)

3. feel free to dm me or reply to this post if you think I missed anything! as I’ve said, this log is incomplete, simply because I’m just one guy and can only notice so much on my own. although I don’t promise to amend this post in every case

4. my notes contain some light swearing and take on a more conversational tone in some parts

5. I mean this goes without saying, but there are descriptions of physical injuries, sometimes near-fatal. so take that into account if you decide to read through

6. slightly off-topic, but if there is something wrong with how I did the image ID’s or if there are general issues with accessibility, please let me know! i don’t know if i’ll be able to fix all of my errors, because I spent the entire day working on this post instead of preparing for my entrance exams, but I’d like to at least try

with all that out of the way, I present to you: The (Incomplete) Injury Log of the Rise of the TMNT Movie! (under the cut because it is ridiculously long)

Image ID: Image is a high-resolution screenshot from Rise of the TMNT movie. It depicts, from left to right, Leo, Mikey, Raph, and Donnie looking at the photoraph that Casey Jones Junior had brought from the future. The Key is drawn on the flip-side of the photograph, but the turtles haven’t seen it just yet. Mikey and Donnie are peaking at it from behind Raph’s back and Leo is standing at a slight distance from the three of them. End ID.

Keep reading

Zoozve, my beloved

My first was the Moment of Clarity, (which was a trip,) then Damsel, Wraith, Razor, and Tower, and finally chose to repeat the cycle.

SLAY THE PRINCESS SPOILERS

Out of curiosity, what paths did everyone finish with on their first runs? I got Prisoner, Damsel, Stranger, Razor, and Tower in that order, and decided to repeat the cycle

Rise April Challenge 19: Baby

Prev - Next - Masterpost Ao3 Link: Here

A thick blanket had been thrown over the cold tile floor of the kitchen, images of dinosaurs and volcanoes spread across its surface. A few stuffed animals and some of Donnie and Mickey's old fidget toys had been spread across the blanket. Mikey lay on his stomach, his upper half resting on the blanket while the rest of him hung off.  

The box turtle stared wide eyed at the four small forms crawling around on the blanket in awe.

When Draxum had called and explained that Mikey’s brothers had been transformed into children, Mikey had thought that he had meant ten to twelve. Not literal babies.

He could hear Splinter and Draxum arguing in the room over, but from what he could tell it was mostly just worried shouting with a few insults. Nothing that really needed Dr Feelings’ supervision. Besides, he was too busy staring at the little baby turtles crawling around on the floor.

They were so... tiny. Leo and Donnie could sit in Mikey's cupped hands, and while Raph was a bit too big for that, being twice the height of the other two. Mikey wondered how their dad had raised them without worrying about stepping on them.

Raph was currently chewing on the paw of a teddy bear, that he was cuddling with. Donnie had gotten hold of one of Mikey's old slinkies and was rolling it forward and back from where he sat with a look of very serious concentration. Leo on the other hand was giggling and trying to work the buttons on a fidget cube but that was the size of his chest. Mikey just stared at his little brothers.

Little brothers. Mikey had little brothers.

Holy cow, Mikey was a Big Brother!  

The thought made him squeal with overwhelming giddiness and excitement. He knew that this wasn’t going to last very long, Draxum had said that they should be fine by tomorrow, but still!

Donnie made a small quacking bark as he pushed the slinky too hard and it rolled farther away. The baby turtle wobbly stood up and stumbled towards the toy.  Leo stopped and looked over at the noise and, seeing his brother, he dropped the cube and crawled over. Just as Donnie had reached his toy, Leo stood up and with a smile and a loud squeal, leaned forward and fell on his brother in a hug/tackle. Donnie yelped and grunted as he tried to wiggle out from under his red eared brother.  

The noise broke Raph of his cuddle with his teddy bear. He stood and walked over to his brothers, much steadier than the younger two. He leaned over the wriggling mass and wrapped his arms around them and picked the twins up and held them to his chest, which just made the noise louder.

Raph then looked over at Mikey and held up Donnie and Leo with a proud look on his face while the other two just stared.  

Mikey wasn’t going to make it! This was it!  

The now eldest sat up and reached over, grabbed them all and placed his brothers in his lap. Donnie had settled and seemed resigned to the cuddle fest and just glared at them all. Leo settled across his twin’s back, rubbing his cheek across Don’s soft shell, and closed his eyes. Raph just sat up and swung his tail back and forth letting out happy chuffing purrs. Mikey just smiled and tried to keep from squirming in joy. Then he reached over and grabbed his phone, opening the camera.

He was going to tease them so much when they were fixed!

Prev - Next - Masterpost Ao3 Link: Here

Please check out @zee-rambles who came up with this challenge and look at @rise-april-art-challenge to see more submissions by other fans. Please give me feedback if there is anything I should work on.

Moments Chapter 2: Disaster Twins

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Ao3 Link: Here

Donnie and Leo loved to get each other gifts. It started with small things when they were younger. Leo brings home a bundle of wires from dumpster diving, or Donnie finds sparkly plastic jewelry for Leo to wear around the lair. There was something about seeing an item and instantly thinking that the other person would like it.

-  

On their 8th birthday, Leo pulled Donnie aside from the celebration and towards their room. Donnie grumbled at Leo's excited giggling and yanked his hand back to sit down as soon as they were through the door and alone. Leo didn't seem to mind, still smiling like a madman.  

"I got you a gift!" Leo said, and Donnie just rolled his eyes.  

"I know you did. You're not very good at keeping secrets. The only thing I don't know is where you're keeping it." The slider glared at his twin and with a huff reached under Donnie's bed. He then pulled out a small cardboard box with a bow on it. Donnie raised his eyebrows.  

"You hid it under my bed?" He asked.  

"Uh, yeah! Why would you look under your bed?" That was a fair point, Donnie conceded, then reached under his extra pillow, and pulled out a similarly sized box. Leo grinned and shoved his box into Donnie's hand before snatching the other one.  

Leo stuck the bow to his head before ripping through the paper and rifling through the tissue paper inside. Donnie on the other hand was very careful in peeling up the pieces of tape, setting the bow to the side before unfolding the tissue paper and pulling out a white coffee mug. It was covered in designs of constellations and atoms that Leo clearly drew himself in varying shades of purple.  

Donnie blinked down at the gift in surprise and looked up at Leo, who was pulling his own white mug covered in Donnie's hand-drawn designs, these of unicorns and rainbows. Leo broke out into a huge smile and began to laugh.  

"We really are twins!" He shouted.  

"Shut up," Donnie mumbled, annoyed.  

-  

7 years later, Donnie was sitting in his lab finishing up the wrapping on his gift for his twin. He smoothed out the wrapping paper across the heavy box with steady hands, trying to dispel the nervousness that always came with getting a gift for his brothers.  

Over the years both Donnie and Leo had given a lot of gifts to each other and to the rest of their family. Sometimes it was for special occasions, sometimes they saw something that the other person would like or need and just did it, sometimes it was just because. But giving gifts to Leo always felt different.  

The thing was that, at least for Donnie, the gift exchanges were reminders of how well the twins knew each other. Donnie had a hard time understanding any of his brothers, but with Leo, it was a bit easier. He believed it had something to do with them both being people of thought, rather than action, like Raph and Mikey. Leo may have acted stupid, but Donnie knew that his true strength lay in his strategy, in his understanding and manipulation of the enemy. He tended to show it casually most of the time, but it was always still impressive.  

But the point was that Donnie understood Leo on a level that he didn't quite with the rest of his family, and each time they gave each other gifts it helped reinforce that understanding. Plus, it was an easy way to show that they loved each other, without all the complexities of emotion.  

Donnie reached out and grabbed a scrap of paper and a pen out of an old coffee mug, with purple hand-drawn constellations and atoms, scribbled a quiet "happy birthday" on the paper and stuck it under the bow. He then walked out and knocked on Leo's door.  

He heard scrambling from inside and was greeted with a bright overwhelming smile on his twin's face.  

"Finally! Why do you always say wrapping till the last minute?" Leo yelped as he pulled Donnie inside his room. Donnie didn't dignify the question with an answer and shoved the present into Leo's hands. Leo in turn put the box on the ground and shoved his own huge brightly wrapped box into Donnie's.  

It had been a tradition ever since that first 8th birthday that they would give each other their presents separate from the rest of their family just so they could have a moment with each other alone on their birthday. And Donnie always had the strangest sense of Deja Vu whenever they did it. It was always a reminder of how little he and his twin had changed as they grew older. Because Leo still ripped and tore through the paper after sticking the bow on his head, and Donnie always peeled away the tape, to the point that Leo only used one or two pieces on the whole box to make the process faster.  

Once it was open Donnie picked up a new soldering tool, remembering how he mentioned his old one was fizzing out uncontrollably, and in another box a Jupiter Jim comic book wrapped in cellophane. With a card on top that read "Mint condition ;)." Donnie felt himself start to wiggle and put down the box to flap his arms up and down, he wished he was in his wheelchair so we could spin around. He looked up to thank Leo and hug him, only to find Leo already leaning across the gap with an excited squeal, talking so fast that Donnie couldn't keep up.  

In Leo's lap was a new custom wooden chess set, with each of the pieces a different sea creature. (Except for the nights which were unicorns, because his brother never grew out of that phase.)  

Donnie hugged Leo back with a smile and patted him on the back before they drew apart.  

"This is great, Don! I love it so much! You've got to play with me later today!"  

Donnie just sighed and rolled his eyes, accepting the fact that he was going to get his butt whooped in chess because he never could be Leo at that game.  

"Later," he said. "Let's just enjoy the party." Leo smiled and bolted for the door, dragging his twin behind.  

Just like always.

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Thank you to @rise-august-art-challenge for hosting the Rise August Challenge, which this is inspired by.

Please let me know if I should improve or fix something.