Why Leo Is “Blue”

I love how Mushi-shi (the anime) depicts chronic illness through the paranormal and abstract. Ginko is literally a medicine man, and his clientele are closer to suffering an affliction than experiencing a haunting. He doesn't "exorcise the demons through prayer;" he treats the condition the person is suffering from, which often involves removing the mushi, but sometimes they need to be lived with, and sometimes even a successful treatment can leave lasting damage from the time the mushi resided in the person's body. It's the best depiction of chronic illness I've seen portrayed through an abstract lense. I'm not even learning anything about myself or my life by watching it; I just understand and appreciate each case the show portrays. Part of what sets it apart is that Mushi-shi is very good at depicting the emotional toll of chronic illness without moralizing it. Sometimes chronically ill people die of depression from their conditions, sometimes after you're cured you miss or take joy in certain elements of the disease, having a friend play with you in quarantine is invaluable for your spirit but comes at the deadly risk of contagion. I'm only 4 episodes in but it's really resonating with me. Teenage chronically ill me definitely couldn't handle this show, but 25 year old me loves it.

I love everything about this!

And aww Damian is following in his father's footsteps adopting seemingly orphaned kids.

Here are some ideas for the au that I hope you like:

- Mikey helping, mostly watching, Alfred prepare meals in the kitchen. He is the semi official taste tester for all of the turtlesafe foods.

"Now how is this Master Michelangelo?" The small turtle opens his mouth for the offered spoon. There is a moment of consideration and then enthusiastic nodding.

- Donnie just sitting with Barbara while she works as Oracle. The clacking of the keyboard calming him down.

She is the one who teaches him to program his first "hello world" and later how to hack surveillance cameras.

- Dick getting the phone call about there being 4 more kids in the house

"Really Bruce"

"It was actually Damian this time"

- Damian telling the tots more about their renaissance name sakes.

- Tim introducing the turtles tots to skateboarding, it is an instant hit, but now they want to borrow his skateboard all the time.

- Leo really likes Nightwings flashier flips and moves, and nearly gives everyone a heart attack when he tries to replicate them.

- Raph decides he will become a vigilante too when he is older, he will be RAPH: the Red Angel of Preventing Harm and he will save others just like they were saved by Robin.

- Mikey and Damian painting together.

- Donnie taking and hiding in Stephs cape, it is purple and the fabric is nice.

- Titus is very patient and careful with the tots. He is warm and they like napping beside him. The red one is his favorit and seems to really like petting his furr. But the red one is also anxious, laying down with his front paws on the red ones shell or legs seems to help.

- Alfred the cat is less fond of the turtles, they splashed him when he walked past their pool.

- Batcow does not know what to think of them.

- Mikey seeing Cass do ballet and falling in love with the dance. They now rehularly dance together, with Mikey trying his best to mimic her movements.

- Leo one day finding Steph stressing and going over her notes for her nursing school exam and asking asking about it. After explaining what she is doing and what a nurse does Leo wants in, he wants to help heal people too! Later they were found sitting in the medbay going over and show how to use a stetoscope or take someones pulse, bloodpresure, check knee reflexes, temperatur, etc. (Medic Leo lets go!)

Leo will also ask Leslie or Alfred to explain what they are doing when they are treating someone but he likes to talk with Steph the most. She explains things in a way that is easier to understand and there are jokes.

- Duke made the mistake of introducing the twins to video games, he did not account for how competitive they would get.

- Donnie is not allowed anywhere near the batmobile unless there are at least two people watching him. They did this mistake once and learned their lessson.

- Jason reads them bedtime stories.

Mikey likes the ones with the coulorful pictures most.

Leos favourites are stories about adventure and brave witty heroes.

Donnie favours sci-fi stories and dramas, the more dramatic the characters the better.

Raph likes stories about friendship and defeating evil, but most of all he likes how Jason does the voices.

- Bruse sees Raph carrying around one of Dicks old plushies. Shortly thereafter he organizes an early morning (less people) excursion to a toy store/build-a-bear equivalent (heavily disguised ofcourse) were Raph gest pick out his very own fluffy best friend, they leave with at least 10.

DC/ROTTMNT Crossover Idea

Okay, so. I am SHOCKED at the lack of DC/ROTTMNT crossovers right now. I wanted to fix that. There's a few versions I have rattling in my brain, but this one is a personal favorite. Whenever I finally make art for it I will post it BUT FOR NOW-

Turtle Tots & Baby Birds.

How it goes is this, Batman and Robin (Damian) are currently busting a meta human trafficking ring at the docks in gotham. As they are releasing the hostages, Robin opens one of the containers to find 4 baby mutant turtles. Raph (5 yrs) standing in the front, arms outstretched as he tries to hide his brothers. Shaking like a leaf, hissing, and a horribly fitting dog muzzle shoved over his face. Leo (4 yrs) is nearly laying on top of Donnie (4 yrs) and Mikey (3 yrs) also trying to protect them. Donnie is in shock, with another muzzle over his face. While Mikey is refusing to leave his shell.

We know Damian LOVES animals, so when Damian sees them he goes “Mine.” and adopts them immediately. Convinces Bruce that these turtles are obviously very different from the average meta human, so they should absolutely take them home and investigate further. No other reason involved of course.

They do take the brothers to the Bat Cave eventually. (Damian refused to let the police see the brothers, with how freaked out they are.) And get them medical attention. Raph is the most roughed up, Donnie & Leo are mostly Okay, but Mikey is sick and still refuses to leave his shell. During this, Batman takes some DNA samples from the 3 more so okay turtles (Just a q-tip with saliva) and runs tests. Finds out how they’re perfect genetic hybrids of their various turtle species, some small traces of unknown DNA (Yo’kai), and action star Lou Jistu, who has been missing without a trace for about 13 years at this point. This of course makes Bruce very concerned and curious. (Bonus points if Bruce was a fan of Lou Jitsu like he is of Grey Ghost)

Meanwhile with the turtles, they are currently feeling ALL the feelings, like:

Raph, he is incredibly suspicious and still in Protective mode. The whole incident with the smuggling ring was his first ever interaction with humans! It was scary! He doesn’t know if these new humans are any better yet.

Leo seems to bounce back almost immediately, babbling about any and everything as he tries to cheer his brothers up. (Hes not fine)

Donnie, who is terrible with change, is temporarily shut down as everything calms down. (He probably snapped at Alfreds or Dr.Thompkins hand when they removed the muzzle from his face on reflex.)

While Mikey is very lethargic, maybe a bit delirious and scared.

The humans around aren’t entirely sure how to treat Mikey given his Turtle DNA yet, tho they do their best. (Damian absolutely goes to the most trustworthy vet he knows and has them swear a blood oath to never tell anyone else about the turtles.) Damian also convinces Bruce to get the fanciest pool, UV lamp, and sand pit for the brothers. They WILL be spoiled rotten Damian will be SURE of it.

Now what of Splinter? Well, he is alive! However he's very hurt. Splinter took the boys to the surface to look for medication for Mikey when they were attacked by the Kidnappers. Splinter, of course, fought to save his sons back but gets shot in the gut and left for dead. (During the fray Raph absolutely bites off the fingers of one of the kidnappers) Splinter gives himself medical attention, barely survives off of pure spite. And as soon as hes able to walk again, he immediately goes to find his sons. Though, not knowing where to start, he goes to Big Mama first. He WILL find his boys.

Misc Info:

I wouldn’t be surprised if the League of Shadows & Hamato Clan know each other. However mostly leave each other alone… well, mostly because you BET Ra’s Al Ghul would want the Hamato’s Ninpo abilities (When Damian finds out the brothers are related to the last known Hamato Clan member, he gets even more protective.) Ra’s probably proposed for a unification of their clans before, but of course. The Hamatos will not touch that crazy with a 100ft pole, and.. Maybe the LoS had a hand in the declining Hamato Clan in an attempt to pressure them to unify. Doesn’t work however. The Hamatos are way less afraid of death than the LoS is after all.

Also wouldn’t be surprised if many magical heroes might’ve heard whispers of the Hamato Clan but put it up to myths. I mean, they are ninja mystic warriors after all.

Turtle Tot Shenanigans:

Now onto the adorable part. Just, let them be cute while plot is happening..

Mikey, when hes feeling better. Absolutely paints on the walls of the Bat Cave & Manor, the batfam keep the paintings in the batcave but had to stop him from painting on the Manor walls.

Leo copying anyone he sees sparring. Damian absolutely tries to give Leo a knife when he sees this but is stopped by Alfred. (The batfam may be a bit weirded out at how fast Leo seems to be learning the moves however. Because he is a built super soldier)

Raph chews on the manor furniture and. Absolutely destroys the legs of every table and chair until he gets something proper to chew on.

Jason or Alfred helping Raph to learn how to read (HC that Raph has dyslexia) Mikey too.

Donnie getting his hands on some bat or Wayne tech, manages to perfectly pull it apart to see how it works… and because hes 4, shoves a piece into his mouth.

Leo: Where are we?

Damian: In Gotham.

Leo: Wheres that?

Damian: In New Jersey.

Leo: …Ew

Anyways thats really all I have for this AU so far. I’m okay if people want to make a fic bout this, just credit me for the idea.

The gorgeous Tiresias animatic by @somerandomdudelmao rewired my brain and I couldn’t rest until I made this. What if— Mikey’s prophecies were delivered by the ninpo manifestations of his brothers? Wouldn’t that be jolly?

Can you tell me why Frodo is so important in lotr? Why can't someone else, anyone else, carry the ring to mordor?

but someone else could.

that’s the whole point of frodo—there is nothing special about him, he’s a hobbit, he’s short and likes stories, smokes pipeweed and makes mischief, he’s a young man like other young men, except for the singularly important fact that he is the one who volunteers. there is this terrible thing that must be done, the magnitude of which no one fully understands and can never understand before it is done, but frodo says me and frodo says I will.

(when boromir is thinking of how he can use the ring to defend gondor, when aragorn is thinking of how it brought down proud isildur, when elrond is holding council and gandalf is thinking of how twisted he would become, if he ever dared—)

but then there’s frodo, who desires nothing except what he has already left behind him, and says, I will take the Ring.

it is an offer made out of absolute innocence, utter sincerity. It is made without knowing what it will make of him—and frodo loses everything to the ring, he loses peace and himself and the shire, he loses the ability to be in the world. It’s cruel, the ring is cruel, it searches out every weakness you have and feeds on it, drinks you dry and fills you with its poison instead, the ring is so cruel.

and frodo picks it up willingly. for no other reason except that it has to be done.

(the ring warps boromir into a hopeless grasping dead thing, the power of the palantir turns denethor into an old man, jealous and suspicious, it bends even saruman, once the proudest of the istari, into a mechanised warlord, sitting in his fortress and bent over his perverse creations—all the best of intentions, laid waste)

but there’s a reason gollum exists in the narrative, which is to show—well, to show what frodo might have been. because even as frodo grows mistrustful and wearied, as the burden of this ring grows heavier and heavier, he is never gollum. he is gentle to gollum. he is afraid—god frodo is so afraid for 2/3 of these books he is so tired and afraid, but he keeps moving, he walks though it would pull him into the ground, because he asked for this, he said he would.

someone else could have carried the ring to mordor, I suppose. the idea of a martyr is not dependent on the particular flesh and blood person dying for some greater purpose. but such a thing has to be chosen, lifted onto your shoulders for the right reason, the truest reasons, and followed into the dark, though it would see you burnt through and bled out.

I will take the Ring, though I do not know the way.

Credit to @just-prompt-things & @peach-flavored-cyanide for the…. meme idea?. What do you call these things…? Anyway, have some hay sillies cus my brain is rotten :)

Zombie setting where the undead are drawn towards unhygienic scents, so survivors constantly bathe to avoid being eaten.

Zombies are docile when adorned with flowers.

Settlements overgrown with herbs and flora.

Barely any banditry; everyone is focused on farming and gathering.

Different human factions and towns named after flowers like Lilies, Orchids, Roses, etc.

Instead of immediately killing an infected survivor, they’re given special funeral rites - the zombie is covered with flowers to keep them calm, and  allowed to walk out from the settlement to join the hordes.

Why the twins abandoned Draxum

Ok, i promised more Imaginary Friend content, and i am here to deliver!

this is a little more of the plot side of things rather than the shenanigans.

i'll put it under the cut since it's long. again.

Ok, so they sneak out to meet with Mikey and Raph for about three years before Draxum realizes what's going on. (or part of what's going on. He knows they have been sneaking out and the caretaker hasn't been doing his job properly, but he doesn't know they were sneakign out to meet, or even who they were meeting.)

Upon finding this out, the caretaker is fired and Draxum decides that, if they are competent enough to constantly leave the house on their own and come back fine, they are competent enough to be properly trained. This means they no longer have the opportunity to sneak out.

Mikey and Raph try to reach out to them via mind meld, but it's too far for a strong enough connection to communicate, not to mention the twins keep purposefully shutting them out. the twins figure that since they can no longer meet up with them, that It's better to cut themselves off completely now than continuing to long for a time, they believe, is gone.

It's two more years before they meet again, and it's on accident.

When Mayhem stole the emperium, Draxum sent the twins to fetch it, treating it as a test.

They're sent out to fetch the emperium, and, of course, run into Mikey and Raph (and April). It's very much a surprise, especially considering they're standing between them and their mission. They're careful not to hurt their siblings but do get Mayhem away Donnie sending Mikey a quick "do not follow us. it's dangerous" mind meld message before they nope on out through Leo's portal. a portal that both April and the soon-to-be imitation crab man go through before it closes.

They appear right in the middle of the lab so neither of the twins quite realize they have stowaways until it's too late. They recognize April as one of Mikey and Raph's friends and figure it's not a good idea for Draxum to realize she's there, so they hide her in a nearby closet before Draxum can notice, miming for her to stay quiet. once Draxum leaves again, Leo portals her back out of the building (he's aiming for topside but ends up just setting her down on their front porch for Mikey and Raph to find.)

Anyways! Mikey and Raph (and April) show up like canon, and, of course Draxum is seeing stars. It's the other two. He could have a full set once again! but they prove to be difficult to coerce into joining him, so he creates that vine monster to fight them (and test them while they're at it.) He sends Leo and Donnie after them as well, but they linger, choosing halfheartedly fight April rather than their brothers. That is, until Mikey ends up weaponless and the target of an attack that could hurt him.

Then the above happens. Donnie instinctively protects Mikey, which angers Draxum, which causes Leo to portal Donnie behind him so he's away from him, and, then they defect, choosing to get their brothers, April, and Mayhem out of the soon-to-explode lab rather than continue fighting.

but yeah, that's how they get away from Draxum. The power of little brother in peril lol.

(fun fact i'm just coming up with now (but have been thinking about) Draxum was super extra dramatic when he named the twins originally. He named them Thanatos and Somnus. though neither of them really acknowledge those names b/c they so rarely heard them growing up. Literally only Draxum used them. which is why when Mikey asked thier names, they just shrugged. Why is that Draxum beign extra, b/c those are the twin personifications of death and sleep respectively (though Somnus is technically the Roman name. but since Somnus's Greek name is Hypnos, i thought it would be too confusing.) also, according to Greek Mythology, Thanatos and Hypnos are the twin sons of Nyx (goddess of night) and Erebus (god of the dark). SO yes, Draxum was being dramatic AF and named a set of twins he was going to train to be ninja warriors, after the mythological twins born to night and darkness. and who also embody death and sleep. (this also gives me a good excuse to jokingly call the twins the Myth Twins, even though the aus staying named Mikey's imaginary Friends. lol))

Ray recalculating his meticulously crafted plan of six years to save his best friends every time Emma and Norman present him with some new bullshit

part 2

raph:3