Rise April Challenge 21: Chaos

Beautiful!

Rise August Day 1: Mad Dogs

So... let's just pretend that I finished this on time and I'm TOTALLY not a day late on even my own art challenge, shall we?😅

The Love of a Clan

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Ao3 Link

Cassandra loved the Foot Clan, so it hurt when she realized that they didn't love her back.

Or, Cassy was in a cult, and we don't talk about that enough.

-

Once the mast-  

Once the Shredder had been defeated, Cassandra had offered to help rebuild the Hamatos’ home, with a complete willingness to do so. It was only right that she attempted to undo the damage she had such a large part in causing.  

She just... hadn’t expected them to take her up on the offer. But the small rat, who appeared to be the Clan Leader, had smiled and accepted her offer, even if the rest of his clan had looked reluctant to allow it. 

So, Cassandra had followed them to the ruins of their old home and helped them pick through the rubble to find the most important parts of their lives, even if the things they found were more often just as destroyed.

Cassy recalled seeing the blue Hamato pulling at an acoustic guitar with a snapped neck out of a pile of rubble, with a weak look of devastation. Then he glanced at Cassy and broke into a cheesy stand-up routine filled with music puns. She ignored any diggs he threw her way after that. 

She had seen the youngest of the Clan staring at a wall with a hole big enough for a car to drive through. It must have once been covered in a huge mural, as she could see oranges and reds leaking out around the edges of the hole. The turtle had just stared, wrapping his arms around himself in something like a hug. Cassy had tried to place a hand on his shoulder, but he had stepped back before she had even touched him. He had flashed her an open, friendly, and unconvincing smile and she had run off looking for another job that needed doing.

The purple turtle had been the worst. She had been with him when he found his room, broken metal and sparking current boards littered the floor. And in the center of it was a small turtle shaped robot, still and unmoving, its chest torn open and wires hanging out, like some twisted surgery gone wrong. It made Cassy feel horrified, even if she hadn’t known what she was looking at.

But the turtle hadn’t reacted. His face was blank and empty. He only said one word to her.

“Leave.”

She had, trying to not drown in horror and guilt.

She helped them relocate to another part of the sewers and had bought plywood and paint with the little money she had. She spent late nights cutting, and hammering, and painting. 

It hadn’t felt like enough.

- 

Cassandra leaned against the entrance tunnel to the Hamatos’ home and glared at the ground.  

The construction of the “lair,” as the Turtles called it, was done for the day. She wasn’t needed anymore and should just be heading home. But...  

Her dad was home tonight, for once, and she isn’t sure she can handle him right now. 

Before, she would have just volunteered for another round of training by the Foot or asked to go on a mission - even another humiliating coffee run. But that wasn’t an option anymore.  

But intruding on the Turtles’ new home any longer was also not an option. She could feel the awkwardness that was always in the air when she was around. It was growing steadily the long she stood there, even if the Hamatos weren’t around. 

She gripped the edge of her sleeve and tugged. There was nothing for it, no way out of this.  

She had to go home. 

The thought filled her with a hopeless dread. 

“Hey, Cass!” 

Cassandra jumped in surprise and swung at the one who dared sneak up on her and invade her personal space.  

The largest Hamato leaned back to avoid her punch and held up his hands in a placating motion. 

“Whoops, Sorry! Raph didn’t mean to startle you,” the red turtle said with a smile. “I was just happy I caught you before you left.”  

Cassy tried to calm her rabbit quick heart and stood up straight to make eye contact with the turtle, who was still far too close for comfort.  

“Your apology is accepted,” she said and forced herself to at least try to ignore how close the snapper was. “Do you require my assistance?” 

The red Hamato, Rapheal if she remembered correctly, shook his head. 

“Um, no not exactly. I was wondering if you would be willing to train with me?” 

“...I’m sorry?” Cassandra asked, confusion clearing her mind. 

“We just finished building the dojo, but my brothers are all tuckered out, so they don’t wanna come train with me.” He glared back down the tunnel in... annoyance? Cassy wasn’t sure, understanding others had never been her strong suite. 

“You... wish to train with me?” she asked, reluctance evident in her voice. Rapheal blinked and nodded. 

“Last time we fought you were able to throw me! Like a wrestler!” he said with an eggar, giddy look in his eyes that made the previous Foot Recruit lean back at the brightness. The red Hamato just kept talking excitedly.  

“The only other one who’s been able to throw me like that is Mikey! And he doesn’t like wrestling, he prefers fighting with his nunchucks. Which is stupid because-” 

“SILENCE!” Cassandra yelled, and then quickly slammed her hand over her mouth. 

Shit. She hadn’t meant to do that. She had just wanted to make him stop talking so she could think. 

She expected the larger turtle to get angry. All the higher ups in the Foot would have, hell, most of the other recruits would too. But the snapper just blinked in surprise, then his eyes widened, and took two steps back. His hands held up and his tail wrapped around his legs. 

“Raph’s so sorry!” He said, and Cassy distantly wondered why he constantly referred to himself in the third person. “My family doesn’t really have a lot of personal space, so we can forget about it sometimes. You don’t have to train with me if you don’t want to.” 

Cassandra cleared her throat and stood as tall as she could. 

“I would be honored to engage in combat with you again, Hamato Raphel. Please, lead the way.” 

Her new sparring partner shifted and blinked. 

“Just Raph is fine. Are you sure?” 

“I am.” She wasn’t lying. Fighting the Hamatos’ was always incredible. And Rapheal- Raph –always threw himself into his battles so completely, something she understood very well. 

Raph smiled and headed towards the dojo, with Cassy following behind. 

- 

Sparing with Rapheal was the best training Cassy ever had.  

The turtle was so strong that every hit felt like a wrecking ball, and the stances he made felt unbreakable.  

It was like fighting against a hurricane or a tidal wave. It would have been terrifying, if Cassy hadn’t happily returned everything the Hamato gave in kind. Raph was impossibly strong, and every blow she was able to land made her feel just as powerful. 

Weapons had been prohibited for today, so they often just ended up tackling each other and ending up grappling on the ground. Raph’s weight may have helped him here, but he wasn’t as flexible as her. They were evenly matched, and that just made Cassy fight harder to gain the upper hand. 

She had the snapper in a choke hold when she felt him tap out on her arm. She released her hold and fell to the floor, gasping for air. The turtle groaned and rolled over. 

“Water break,” he huffed out, and she nodded.  

Rapheal- Raph, be respectful. She reminded herself. -walked over to a beat up old minifridge in the corner and pulled out two bottles, offering one out. Cassy rolled to her feet and took the water. She leaned against the wall and slid to the floor; her sparring partner doing the same.  

“You have got to show me how to do that throw you used,” the red Hamato said.  

“I will happily help you learn any move I know,” she responded. “But I must request you do the same, your form is much more advanced than mine.”  

The turtle chuckled. 

“Uh, sure.” Both drank heavily and relaxed against the wall. “Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask, why do you always talk like that? You’re so formal.” 

Cassy tensed. 

“...I could ask you the same. Your habit of referring to yourself with your name is not common either.” 

“Yeah, fair,” the eldest Hamato admitted. There was a moment of long silence, where Rapheal shifted uncomfortably. 

“I was never very good with names.” Cassy looked up at the snapper, who wouldn’t meet her eyes. “I was never good with words in general. It just didn’t make sense in my brain. Why attach sounds to things? I did use them, but it felt real dumb to kid me.”

There was a soft smile on the turtle's face, as he spoke. Seeing it was like feeling a warm fire across a long room. Warm, but distant.  

But then the smile fell away, and the flames burned out.

“But then Donnie wouldn’t talk at all. He didn’t say a word until he was 4. And little me got scared and wondered if he just didn’t know any words, and so I tried to help him.

“I started narrating what I was doing out loud. Like: ‘Raph is building a tower out of blocks’ or ‘Raph is upset that he has to clean up.’”

The snapper let out a low chuckle.

“It was stupid. But it kinda worked. The first thing he said to me was that I talked too much. I was just so relieved that I actually tackled him. But, yeah, I just never got out of the habit of using my name like that. Plus, I think it adds to my charms.”

Cassy sat in stillness for a long time, then she looked down and pulled her knees up.  

“I had hoped that using more formal language would get my superiors in the Foot to respect me.” Cassadra admitted. 

Rapheal whipped to look at her. “

“Oh, dammit! I didn’t mean to bring up- I’m-” 

“If you apologize again, I will beat you to a pulp!” She said and glared, and his mouth clicked shut 

“...you don’t have to tell me more if you don’t want to.” He said after a minute.  

“No. I want to.” 

She did, surprisingly. Just that one sentence felt like coming up for air after drowning. Maybe it was just because Raph had shared with her first, maybe it was because he was comfortable enough to train with her, maybe she was just at a breaking point. But Cassy wasn’t sure if she could stop now, even if she wanted to. 

“I... hadn’t realized how much the Foot Clan had changed me until Shredder was defeated.” Her schedule was completely empty without training and missions. All of her “friends” had gone off grid. Even her closet only had clothes in red and black.  

“I- I thought they cared about me. They said they did. Or at least they used to.” 

“I’m sure they cared about you!” Raph said, aghast. “They were your clan!” 

“NO, THEY WEREN’T!” 

Cassy shot to her feet, the crackling anger of betrayal and the hot shame of being fooled finally breaking through.  

“'A Clan will protect and care for every part of itself. It will share its failures and victories. No Clan Member may have any doubt that they are loved.’”  

The words she had learned from the Foot’s scrolls flowed out of her without resistance. How many long nights had she spent reading and memorizing every ancient text the clan had saved? She learned every ritual, knew every rite of passage. Yet, she never seemed to earn those rites or rituals. Always falling short.  

“I used to train for days without rest! I trained until I couldn’t stand anymore!” 

She had pushed past her limits over and over again. She had practiced katas until she passed out from exhaustion. She had fought until she could take down even her instructors. But it hadn’t been enough. 

“I did everything they asked of me! I obeyed every request, no matter how useless! And never said anything! ANYTHING!” 

Cassandra Jones had loved the Foot Clan. She had given up almost everything for them. She had almost killed for them. She would have died for them.  

She loved them. 

“But they NEVER loved me!” 

A silence fell over the room. Cassy met Rapheal’s shocked eyes. They looked up at her with barely held back tears, and she felt her own grow misty with pain.  

“...fuck, they never loved me, did they?” She said, voice quiet and breaking.  

They had pretended to. They always told her that they cared about her, accepted her, and would always support her. They had said that they were her family.  

And that family had been something that Cassy had always wanted, always needed, and so she had fallen for the lie. Hook, line, and sinker. 

“I’m sorry,” the snapper said, voice cracking too. “Can I hug you?” 

Cassy hesitated, just for a moment. But all of her words had withered away, and it had been a long time since she had a hug. She thinks that she might need one. 

It was a very good hug. A long one too. But it was so warm and soft, and Raph’s arms held her in a way that was nothing like sparring.  

She wondered how someone could be so strong and so soft at the same time? 

But Cassy did pull back eventually, her face red from anger and embarrassment. She cleared her throat. 

“Apologizes. I lost control there.”  

The turtle just smiled at her. 

“Don’t worry. I’m glad I was able to help.”  

The turtle paused then sighed. 

“Listen,” he said. “Don’t tell anyone I told you this, but I’m pretty sure Pops is about halfway to adopting you. But I don’t know if it’s the best idea right now, and you probably need some time, so I’ll make sure that he doesn’t bother you with that.” 

Raph looked at her, open and honest, and Cassy wondered if his kind stare could possibly kill her. 

“But please know, if you’re ever ready to join another clan, you will always be welcome with us.” 

Cassy felt a small and half dead hope pulse in her chest. 

“I will remember that.”

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Thank you to my beta reader: @biconic-disaster25 Go read her writing, it's Great!

Moments Chapter 1: Mad Dogs

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AO3 Link: Here

Draxum was still adjusting to being in contact with his creations. He had thought they had been destroyed with his lab, so when he saw them alive, he had been overwhelmed. When he had lost them, he hadn't truly mourned, he had been uncertain if the experiment would work and wasn't sure what it would have created, he wasn't even certain if they would be fully sentient. The fact that they were alive and there had caused a rush of emotion. Surprise and shock, but also pride and wonder. He had called them beautiful, and he had meant it.  

As they fought, Draxum observed them carefully, trying to see what his creations had become in his absence. They had somehow managed to find the scrapped prototypes for the weapons that he had intended to give them if he had raised them. And each of them seemed to use them with at least a moderate form of success. Impressive. But what was more impressive was the fact that they could speak clearly, enough to banter with him and each other, and they each seem to have different and separate personalities from each other.  

Even though he only spent a short time with them he could see that they had become people. Not weapons, or animals, or some empty shell that could be puppeteered. They were aware, sentient, alive. It made some small and strange thing bloom in his chest. He had ignored it.  

He learned eventually that they called themselves "The Mad Dogs." Draxum had creased his eyebrows at the name, wondering why they would want to name themselves after a crazed and feral animal. But otherwise had not thought about it.  

-  

It had not been until much later that he remembered he had made them to be weapons.  

It had been a hard thing to remember. They acted up and goofed around so much, and rarely took anything seriously. Even when he had revealed a core piece of their identity, the truth about their human DNA, all they had done was squeal like little girls and jump up and down. And though he saw their power, it was easy for Draxum to continue thinking of them as nothing more than children. It took him seeing how they reacted after the Krang invasion to remember that fact.  

Draxum had received a call from Michelangelo's phone shortly after the chaos had settled. All he had managed to gather was that Michelangelo had done something mystical and had been severely injured before he was out the door and on his way to the turtle's lair.  

-  

When he arrived, he ignored the mess that the layer was in and march straight to the med bay. He threw the door straight open with a slam.  

"Would anyone care to tell me-" he started, but he was immediately interrupted.  

The Alchemist found himself tackled harshly against the wall, pinned there by a steel-like forearm across his neck, and staring down the glowing purple of a mystic technological weapon. Beyond the weapon he saw two animalistic eyes reflecting the purple light, pupils blown wide with adrenaline. Draxum froze under Donatello's gaze, the two eyes pinned him more securely to the wall than even the threat of the weapon. From behind the softshell, he heard a deep rumbling, and when he managed to look beyond the thing pinning him to the wall, he saw three more pairs of eyes staring him down intently. He felt his heartbeat pick up several notches, and his breath catch. His hind mind kicked into gear telling him to leave, screaming "threat!" in his ear. He felt like he had stumbled upon a den of predators, willing and able to kill him without thought. Like a pack of ravenous, hungry, and crazed dogs.  

"Donnie," a voice said, and all attention twisted from him to the source. April stood in the corner; hands raised in surrender. "Donnie it's okay, it's just Barry. He's here to help Mikey, remember?"  

Slowly, the purple turtle leaned back from Draxum. His weapon dissolved and he stepped away, pupils still wide but holding more clarity than before. Donatello nodded, glared at Draxum, and retreated towards the bed his brothers were gathered around.  

Now that Draxum was able to get a clearer look at the room, he nearly winced at the state of the brothers. Leonardo was by far the worst, wrapped in a huge number of bandages and looked trapped in the bed under the weight of the injuries. Raphael was favoring his left side, his right I was swollen shut, he had his body hunched over the bed pointing his spiked shell outwards and revealing the puncture wound above his shoulder. Donatello looked the best out of the brothers, resting on the foot of the bed like a sentry, but he was leaning on his bo staff like a crutch, and the Alchemist could still see bandages and patches on his arm. He also noted the lack of battle shell and the way the turtle angled his real shell away from him. Michelangelo was sitting at the end of the bed too, and Draxum saw the burns reaching up his forearms and the way his hand shook. They all still pinned him with that unnerving stare, but it was less of a threat and more of a warning.  

"Sorry," April said. "You just startled them a little, they're still kind of on edge."  

"Yeah," Michelangelo said from the bed, with a small smile, but his voice was hoarse and weak. "Sorry."  

"Don't apologize," Draxum said. He slowly approached the bed trying to keep his body language relaxed. "Now," he said gesturing for Michelangelo to show his injuries. The others' animalistic eyes still pinned on him. "Would you mind telling me exactly what happened?"  

-  

Later, when Draxum would try to go to sleep, the image of those stares would burst through his mind, and he would be wide awake again. He would be reminded of the name "Mad Dogs" and would find that it suddenly fit.  

Because no matter how childish they were, how silly, how kind, they would always have the capability to be weapons. They would always be more powerful than almost everyone they would ever meet. They would always have a wild part of themselves, that would seek to eliminate any threat to themselves or to anyone they cared about. It was a frightening thought, and The Alchemist was suddenly very happy that he had not raised the boys.  

Because no matter how much he had missed, and he had missed so much, he was happy that they had the chance to be more than weapons. Happy they had the chance to be more than crazed and feral animals. Happy that they had been raised as children and not soldiers. Happy that that wild part of themselves was not the only thing that defined them.  

Even if he still did not understand why they chose to call themselves by that title, he was happy it was a part of themselves that they could embrace along with their... humanity.

-

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Thank you for reading. Let me know if there is anything I should work on.

Thank you to @sariphantom for hosting the Rise August Challenge, which this is inspired by.

@nickelodeon Please save Rise.

Reblogging because it is a beautiful screenshot.

Artists, can you redraw this?

Pretty please? 🥺

Posting a random screenshot until we get season 3, there’s a chance I’m going to do it forever, day 173

A Gift for @allosaurids

Summary:

This is inspired by @cupcakeslushie Feral Leo AU.

After Leo comes back from the prison dimension scared and battered, Raph is just trying to survive the night and help Leo come back to them.

Even though he questions if there is any part of Leo left to return to them.

-

The vision in Raph's right eye is fuzzy and out of focus, and his arm on that side is throbbing and twitching uncontrollably. In fact, the whole of his right side feels wrong, alternating between numbness, and feeling like a thousand sharp needles are tearing and shredding at his skin and muscles. 

He needs rest. He knows he needs rest. But he can't, not yet.  

His mind is a field of landmines, and if he thinks too long about what could have happened, what did happen, he's going fall apart, and Raph can't afford that. Not now, when the injuries of the invasion are still raw and bleeding, still all too present. He can't rest yet; he needs to wait for his family and him to begin to heal.  

But Raph has a feeling that they never will be completely fine after this again. Especially Leo, who crouches in the corner of the dark med bay, eyes wide, wild, and unseeing.  

Raph is sitting in the opposite corner, curled inwards in an attempt to appear smaller and less of a threat, and just looks at his brother.  

His brother who spent years in the prison dimension, when for them it had only been minutes. Who has thick, jagged scars across his body that hadn’t been there at the beginning of this nightmare, nails and teeth that are sharp and cracked, and at the center of it all: a huge crack down his shell that none of them can treat because he won't let them close enough to do so.  

The two brothers watch each other in the dim light and take in each other. Leo with a scared and uncertain gaze, that shifts from Raph to the other shadows in the room. While Raph just looks and tries to take in all the changes that Leo has gone through.  

Raph wishes he could have stopped it, that he had taken Leo’s place, that none of this ever happened.  

He wishes he could tell Leo that he’s sorry.  

But he can’t. Not in a way that Leo would be able to understand right now. 

So, Raph does the only thing he could think of to calm down the scared rabid animal that had taken the place of his little brother. He hums. 

It’s a deep, rumbling, purring, hum that doesn’t come from his throat, but from the space between his lungs. He hadn’t done this in years, not since they were all tots, but it had always calmed him and the others down and he was praying it would work here. 

It didn’t seem to be working, Raph wasn’t even sure Leo was hearing it. 

Then, Raph felt a flicker of pain scatter across his arm, and he flinched.  

Dammit, not again!

He groaned and curled inward bracing for what was about to happen. 

The parts of him that had been fused with the kraang flared in agony. Burning sharp pain that made him want to scratch and tear at his skin to get it out. His whole-body shook, his eyes watered, and Raph knew that all he could do was ride it out.  

But, God, he just wanted it to stop.  

The episode went on for what was likely just a few minutes, though it felt longer, wearing down Raph’s already weak mental defenses and allowing the memories of everything that had happened to invade the parts of his mind not already overwhelmed with the pain. Why couldn’t this horrible day just be over already?! 

Raph felt something brush against his left arm.  

The snapper whipped around and pressed himself deeper into the corner to get away from whatever had managed to sneak up on him. But as he did so, whatever had touched him skittered backwards with a hiss.  

Leo hunched inwards on himself staring at Raph with fear and expectance, but Raph froze. For a few seconds neither of them moved, then Leo leaned forward and audibly sniffed the air. After a second, the slider took a step forward and made a soft clicking noise.  

"...Hurt?" Leo managed to rasp; voice uncertain but his face a mix of apathy and fear. Raph managed a small nod, too scared to make any move or noise that could frighten Leo back into the opposite corner. The younger just sniffed the air again and shuffled closer. Without taking his eyes off Raph, Leo reached out with one dirty clawed hand and placed it atop his brother's bandaged wrapped arm.  

It took everything Raph had not to flinch at the contact, as it caused the pain to spike and be brought to the forefront of his mind again. Leo ran his hand over the bandage, squinting down at it with his still cloudy eyes. He took the larger hand into his own and ran his fingertips down it and turned it over.  

He's looking for blood, Raph realized. Checking to see if the bandages needed replacing. Just like he always does when one of us is hurt.  

The thought gives him a terrible hope that maybe a part of Leo survived whatever had happened to him.  

Leo's administrations hurt more than they help, because there are no cuts to bleed, and his bandages are clean. But Raph allows it because it's the closest Leo has been to normal since they got him back, and he's not going to ruin this. He stays still, even when Leo moves his examination from his arm up to his eye, and, upon finding nothing to treat, onto the rest of him. 

When it's over, Raph is still just as hurt and tired as when they started, but Leo looks more present than he has since they got him back. The younger pulls back and faces Raph head-on. His mouth twists like he wants to say something, but he doesn't even try to open his mouth and vocalize it, which is so unlike the Leo that Raph knows.  

That's okay, Raph still has his voice, and he can talk for them both for now.  

"Thanks for the help, Lee," He whispers. Leo squirms under his gaze, then makes us sharp hissing click before turning away.  

Raph briefly panics that he did something wrong before he sees Leo moving towards the medical cot in the center of the room. The older relaxes realizing that Leo is just going back to bed now that he knows everything's all right. Or so he thought. Because Leo is coming back with the pillows and blankets that had covered the bed.  

He puts the pillow up against the wall next to Raph, then takes the large sheet and throws it over Raph's head. Leo sits down with the pillow protecting his injured and broken shell and arranges the blanket around his older brother. When he's done, he just curls slightly into his shell and stares out over the dark med bay, searching for a threat that isn’t there. 

The dangerous hope has taken root in Raph's chest, and he prays that Leo is still there.  

For a few minutes they just sit like that. Then Leo struggles out a single word.  

"Real?"  

For a moment Raph's not sure what he's talking about, then he remembers all the horrible things the kraang could make him see when it forced itself into his mind. An overwhelming sense of grief threatens to swallow him whole, and he moves to take Leo's hand in his. To try and convince his younger brother that yes, this is real, and he is safe now. But he stops himself.  

Memories of what it was like being held captive by the kraang, about how they clung to every part of you, and how their touch was unescapable, flashed across his thoughts.  

No, touch wasn't a good idea. But the idea of not being able to cling to some part of Leo was worse. 

So, Raph does the only thing he could think of, he reached up and undid his bandana from his head. He wrapped one of the fraying ends around his own hand and offered the other out to Leo.  

For a moment Leo just stared, eyes flickering between Raph and the red fabric.  

"Take it," Raph offered, and Leo's face filled with the same dangerous hope that had blossomed in Raph's chest. Leo shakily gripped the other end of the bandana, and Raph pulled it taut between them.  

They had done this when they were younger too, mostly when Donnie didn't feel that he could touch anything but still wanted to know his brothers were nearby. It feels wrong using it like this, but it's the only thing that Raph can think of. 

"This is real," Raph promised, tears flowing out of his eyes. "You're safe now." 

Leo’s empty gaze returned to scanning the dark room, but his grip tightened on the bandana, and after quiet moment Leo began to hum in the same way Raph had done earlier. 

Raph closed his eyes, pain still shooting up and down his skin and returned his brother’s attempt to soothe them with his own rumblings. 

They would both be healed soon; they just needed a little time. 

-

Sooooo, I'm kinda sliding in under the buzzer here.

I rewrote this at least five times, and still wasn't satisfied with it. But @allosaurids deserves a gift, so I just had to go with it.

Thank you to @rottmnt-secret-gifting for hosting, and to the receiver of this gift I ask permission to be able to post this on Ao3.

Thank you.

God Dammit! 

I haven’t been a fan of TMNT for long, I was only brought into the fandom with Rise but this hurt! 

I love these boys! 

Can I kick it? (Yes, you can!)

WAIT! SO I CAN REBLOG OTHER PEOPLES AMAZING WORK, AND IT WON’T BE THEFT?! I CAN SHARE WHAT MAKES ME HAPPY WITH OTHERS WITHOUT RUINING IT FOR THE ORIGINAL POSTER?!!! YES!!!!!

I’ll be back in a few hours, I HAVE SO MUCH TO SHARE!

Is it just me or are the new tumblr users convinced there's a penalty of some kind for using this site like it's meant to be used?

Rise April Challenge 16: Mask

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(This is a bit of a long one, but I think it’s worth it. Also, I go to make April say “bitch” so that’s fun. Warning: Feels Ahead!)

The Boys were acting weird. Which was quite a feat considering that they were mutant turtles, trained in the art of Ninja-ing. April wasn't even counting the fact that they were teenagers. In April's experience, all teens were weird. So yeah, the boys were acting stranger than normal. 

It started when she went to meet them on the roof of her current job. Raph arrived first and gave his lovely snaggle tooth grin. 

"Hey, big guy!" She calls out, waving him over to sit next to her by the small wall that went around the edge of the roof. "The others on their way?" 

"They stopped by Run of The Mill to get us some pizza." He said, sitting down and crossing his legs. 

"Cool." She responded and opened her phone, expecting Raph to do the same. 

But when she looked up a few seconds later he was staring at his lap, the place where his eyebrows should have been furrowed in concentration. He was thinking very hard about something, and when Raph was thinking hard about anything it was normally meant bad news. 

"You good over there, Boss Man?" April asked. The mutant jumped a little and snapped his head towards her, a big smile twisting his face. 

"Yep! I'm good! Why wouldn't I be good? I'm the best at being good!" Raph said, words rushing out like water out of a firehose. 

...Yeah, something was definitely wrong. April put her phone down and turned to face him. 

"Come on, bud. What's going on?" she asked and tried to look him in the eyes, even as the snapper nervously turned his head away from her. "You always say that you're here for all of us, no matter what. And you know that we would do anything for you."  

Raph softened at the girl's words. He shifted and squirmed, and though it was hard to tell with his green skin, April thought she saw him blushing. She waited and didn't look away, trying to project a calm and loving aura. The turtle finally sighed and faced her. 

"I'm Ok, April. Raph promises." His smile was softer now, more real and relaxed, and April knew that that was the best she was going to get. She patted his arm, scales smooth on her hand. 

"Alright, but just know that we're here if you need help. Or if you just need to talk." She leaned back against the wall and picked up her phone again. It's best not to push her friend unless he really needs it. 

"What's your favorite color?"  

The question was sudden and so different than what they had just been talking about it took a few seconds for April's brain to process it. 

"...It's yellow, why-" She was cut off by a loud whoop and the sound of skateboard wheels, and when she looked over Leo was jumping over from the neighboring roof with a pizza box in his arms. The skateboard flipped under him and rolled across the roof as he landed next to them. Mikey and Donnie shortly appeared next to him, 

"It's Pizza Time!" Leo yelled and that was just enough of a distraction that by the time they were all settled, April had forgotten the strange question.

-

The second time was with Leo. 

They were having a makeover day, with different types of eyeshadows, blush, and nail polish spread all over the living room table. It was hard doing make-up on someone who was green, but Leo looked great if April did say so herself. They were munching on candy and watching some stupid internet challenge video, while waiting for their nails to dry when Leo asked the question. 

"So what do you use for your pigtails?" She blinked and turned to him. 

"What do you mean?" Leo had his look that he always used when he wanted to look natural but was really after something. 

"Just, you know, you always complain about how hard your hair is to style. But it always looks fabuloso, So, you know, I just wanted some tips." Leo flashed his sparkling teeth at her like it would distract her from how weird his question was. 

"You don't even have hair. What do you need tips for?" 

"Casey said that Mikey had hair in the future. I'm hoping it will grow in." April narrowed her eyes at Leo, who was examining his nails with a clearly fake casualness.  

Well... it wasn't like it was personal or anything. 

"I can't wear hair ties because my hair is too thick, they always snap and they're a pain to use. I normally just use some ribbons to tie them up." Leo smirked 

"Wow. You're sweet, strong, pretty and with a bow on top!" April shoved him away.  

"Oh, come on that was a "ribbon" good one." Uuuhhhh, why her?! 

"Ow! Alright, alright I'll stop "ribbon" on you. OW! Ok, I'll stop! Wait hold on-WAIT! APRIL, I'M SORRY! UNCLE! UNCLE!"

-

Next time was with Donnie.  

April knew the soft shell had problems with boundaries, they've had to have several interventions to explain to Donnie that "It doesn't matter if you think you know better, you can't mess with our stuff without asking." Or "I know that you wanna keep us safe, but you can't tag track us without telling us." But it was normally alright. Donnie just needs some help understanding some things, and he usually said he was sorry, even if he still insisted that he was in the right. But April had thought that Donnie at least understood the basics of social etiquette, like not digging through a girl's closet without asking! 

But when she entered her bedroom after a long day of work, there he was: sifting through her shirts with his back facing her, and with a pile on the bed that was not there when she left. 

April closed her eyes, took a deep breath in, held it, and slowly let it out and relaxed her shoulders. She gently set down her backpack and opened her eyes. 

Then she took a flying leap and tackled Donnie to the ground. 

"OW! APRIL?! You're home early. How was- OW!" April wrestled the turtle into a chokehold, holding him down as he struggled, and she hit his chest with all the rage she could muster.  

"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, YOU ASSHOLE?!" 

"Wait! April, Stop! I can explain-" 

"EXPLAINE?! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" 

"Currently, I'm being beaten by a small, angry, teen-" 

"YOU DON'T JUST GO TROUGH A PERSON'S CLOSET! THAT OFF LIMITS!" 

"It wasn't like I was looking for your underwear! I was just looking at your shirts!" 

April stopped and glared down at Donnie squirming in her arms.  

"You got one chance to say something that will fix this, or I will be giving Leo an airhorn, and telling Mikey that you need more therapy." Donnie stilled. 

"You wouldn't." 

"You wanna test that?" April said, gritting her teeth. "Try me, Bitch."  

Donnie sighed in defeat. 

"I just wanted to get a sense for your style." 

What the heck? April let go of Donnie and crossed her arms. 

"Why?" 

"Style is an important part of expressing yourself, it reflects how you want others to see you, as well as what other factors like personality, overall mood, values-" They were getting too far off topic. 

"Yeah, I get all that. But why do you wanna know all that?" 

"...To be a better friend..." Donnie said with a fixed and stiff smile. April didn't stop glaring. Donnie drew back a little but stopped. The smile dropped and was replaced by a regretful look. "I'm sorry, April. I get that I was wrong and shouldn't have done that. I swear that I wasn't doing it to invade your privacy and I do have a reason. I just... can't tell you right now. But I promise I will! And I also promise that I will never do this again." 

April sighed and uncrossed her arms. She was still angry, but she had an apology and Donnie did promise. 

"Fine. But this is the only warning you'll get, and you owe me big time." 

Donnie smiled, a real one this time. It was soft and grateful, and felt so sincere that it threw her for a loop when she saw it. It didn't feel like it matched the situation at all. 

"Of course. Anything you want."

-

The third time was with Mikey.  

She had woken up in the middle of the night to find him hanging upside down outside her window, tapping on the glass. She stumbled out of bed, and towards the window to open it. 

"Mikey? What are you doing? It's late." 

"Sorry, I just needed to ask you something." 

... 

... 

Why did it have to be April? 

She thought about just slamming the glass in his face and going to bed, but, knowing Mikey, that would not deter him. So, she just sighed. 

"What is it?" The turtle dug around in his pockets and shoved two small squares of fabric in her face.  

"Which do you like better?" He asked, smile never leaving his face. She was too tired of this, but she still reached out and felt the squares. 

"This one," she said holding one up. Mikey took them back and nodded. 

"Great. Thanks, April. Night." He vanished into the shadows and was gone. 

April shut the window and fell to bed, too sleepy to care what on earth that was all about.

-

The last time, it was with all of them. 

A few days later, she walked into the living room and found the four brothers sitting on the floor in silence. 

Raph had called April a few minutes and asked her to head down to the lair as soon as she could, that it was important. He had said that nothing was wrong when she had asked, but with the way they were all gathered in a semicircle with serious looks on their face it felt like they wear going to tell her someone died. 

What was happening?!

April walked and sat down with a thump in front of them and narrowed her eyes. The tension in the room was thick, but she wasn’t going to back down from whatever this was. She would face it head on and beat it into submission. She wouldn’t run, not from her friends, not from whatever this was. 

“What’s going on?” she asked, staring into each of their eyes. They stared back. 

“We wanted to give you something,” Raph said, sounding calm and centered. But there was a lilt to his voice, a quake that made him sound... nervous? 

The red turtle reached behind him and handed over a flat white box. April took it and saw Mikey wriggle out the corner of her eye.   

This felt... big. Like some kind of old sacred ritual. It felt as though there was something else in the room, a presence that made every move seem purposeful and heavy. It made her hair stand on end.  

April placed the box in her lap and looked at the brothers. Each of them was turned away and... blushing? 

Screw it. She’d just have to rip the Band-Aid off. 

She opened the box. 

Inside, was a mask.  

She froze when she saw it, its long tails spread out and the eye holes stared back at her. 

It was yellow.  

“What’s your favorite color?” 

She reached down and touched it. She knew this fabric. 

“Which of these do you like better?” 

That wasn’t all that was in the box though. There were also two long, green ribbons, knotted at the ends, and strung through a beaded charm, that glinted in the light. It was the symbol of the Hamato Clan. 

“We were thinking you could use them for your hair.” Leo said, his eyes locked on the floor and skin a bright pink when April whipped her wide eyes up to look at him. “Because you can’t wear the mask all the time like us.”  

"So, what do you use for your pigtails?" 

“We wanted to make sure it could be something you could wear without it looking out of the ordinary for you.” Donnie added, scratching the back of his hand. 

"I just wanted to get a sense for your style."  

April looked down at the box in her hand. Her hands trembled. 

This was-

Her vision blurred. 

So, all this time it was-  

Her throat went tight. 

She had called them her brothers before, had called them her family. But she had always worried that she was wrong, that it was just her that felt like that. But this was an undeniable confirmation that yes, you are Hamato. You are our sister. We love you.

“It’s ok if you don’t want-” She lunged forward before that sentence could be finished and wrapped them in a hug. She clung to them desperately, trying to pull them closer and closer. She buried her face in someone's chest and sobbed. Tears and snot ran down her face as she kept whispering: “Thank you, thank you, thank you, I love you, thank you.” over and over again. 

The mask lay on one floor, having fallen out of its box, and the two charms glinted like distant stars. All the while, the Hamato Clan children hugged and cried together. 

Prev - Next - Masterpost Ao3 Link: Here Please check out @zee-rambles who came up with this challenge (you can blame them for the feels) 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.

Edwin keeps thinking he's back in Hell, and all Charles can do is be there for him.

Well...

There is one more thing, but Edwin isn't going to like it.

-

Charles would do anything for his best mate. Including, it turns out, selling his soul.

Today, all I have is medication and lemonade, and I forgot to take my meds.