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Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Trick or Treat Exchange! (2023)

Hello fellow turtle enthusiasts.

Welcome to the 2023 rottmnt secret Halloween, or as I'm calling it: the Trick or Treat Exchange!

I saw the idea from @ abbeyofcyn (Forgive me for the random @) and decided "Why not? It can be fun!" And so here we are.

To make sure this exchange goes well, this shall be the master post for the Trick or Treat Exchange 2023

Introduction of the dumdum running this

I am Strangermask, Mask for short. I am the only one running this event. If you have any questions or issues, you are free to send any asks or a private dm.

Form for sign up

Google Docs

Rottmnt Trick or Treat Exchange

This is a sign up sheet for the rottmnt secret Halloween/trick or treat exchange! All that needs to be done is to state your tumblr name, wh

*Sign up ends on September 23rd 11:59 PM Mountain time*

Rules

Please be respectful

Do not do any nsfw. If you wouldn't want your boss to see it, don't make it.

For the all loving mother Mary of god, no Tcest. You will be blocked from the blog and immediately kicked out of the gift exchange.

You are allowed to draw or write the gift you're making!

Make sure your gift does have what your secret Halloween person has list for on the table (If you are having difficulty including everything they want on your gift, you are okay to compromise.)

Please be mindful of what is not on the table for your secret Halloween person.

For now, ships will be allowed HOWEVER please be mindful of those who don't like certain ships (If this becomes an issue, I will change this rule.)

Deadlines for gift exchanging will be between October 29nd to 31st. If you need extra time, please inform me immediately so I can inform the person you are gifting.

When the gifts have been exchanged, please @ your secret Halloween person, this blog and use the tags: "#rottmnt trick or treat exchange" and "rottmnt trick or treak exchange 2023"

Have fun with this!

And of course, most importantly...

HOOOOOOOOT SOOOOOOOUP

Amazing and needs to be seen by others

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.

Rise April Challenge Day 2: Competition

First - Next - Masterpost

Ao3 Link: here

When they had been younger, Donnie and Leo had begun to wonder which of them was the older. All the brothers knew that Raph was the oldest and Micky was the youngest, but as for the middle two there was never a real answer. When this had come to the children’s attention, they had done what any child would do when they had a question. They asked their father. It wasn’t all that helpful.

“Neither.”

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN NEITHER?!” Leo shouted, “One of us had to have been born first!” Splinter shrugged.

“You are twins. Twins are born at the same time.”

“But that’s not fair!”

“Yeah!” Donnie agreed, “I have to be older, so I can tell him what to do.” Leo growled and glared at his brother, looking just about ready to tackle him. Splinter sighed; this was going nowhere. It’s time for a new tactic.

“Very well. We will try something...”

Thus, the Competition was born.

-

The exact game or challenge was never the same, but the bet always was the same: Winner got big brother rights over the other for a day. When they were younger it was simpler things like a race or a guessing game. But as they got older, they got sneakier and more vicious. So, the competition had to get more complicated, the rules more specific, and inevitably more dangerous. The last straw had been when Splinter had walked in on Leo balancing on a tightrope, holding several lit candles. While Donnie watched on, peeling candle wax off his arms from his attempt. After that the Competition was borderline banned unless they were given express permission.

After a while it faded into childhood memories, a funny story to remember on family game nights. Until now.

-

“Donnie I am fine.”  

“No, Leo, you are not. Did you not hear me? Your ribs are bruised, your left wrist is fractured, your right shoulder was dislocated, and that’s not even the half of it!”

“I'll just walk it off.”

“...Walk it off? Walk it off! YOU CAN BARLY EVEN STAND!” Why did Leo always have to make this so difficult? The blue turtle rolled his eyes and leaned more on to the kitchen island.

“Listen Dontron. I'm just making myself breakfast, it's not like I'm going on a hike, or training. It’s not that big a deal.” Donnie clenched his teeth and balled his hands into fists.  

Stupid dum-dum, so stupid all the time, why was it always-  

He took a slow breath and closed his eyes. It was pointless. Leo got into this mindset sometimes, one that made the thought of getting any form of help itchy and painful. It was worse when he was sick or in pain or had gotten too into his own head. But it had been a while since any of the brothers had to deal with it. Normally Dr. Feelings would help, sit down and talk to the slider into whatever he needed. But Micky wasn’t here right now, and Donnie didn’t have the time or the patience to try. That left only one option. He didn’t want to half to use this card, but it was the only way Leo would listen. Donnie opened his eyes and glared at Leo.

“I declare a Competition.”

Leo’s eyebrows shot up, then furrowed.  

“...What?” The slider asked,

“You heard me.” Donnie crossed his arms.

“Don, we haven’t done that in years. Besides dad will flip if he finds out.”

“Are you backing down?” Donnie asked, and Leo glowered back. They both knew that backing down meant a forfeit, meaning an atomatic  win for Donnie. The only way out for his brother was to accept the challenge and win.  

“Fine. What’s the game?” Donnie smirked, perfect. He pointed across the kitchen to the door.  

“Walk through that door and back, without holding on to anything.”

Leo snarled at his brother in rage.

“Come on Donnie, play fair!” He snapped.

“If you can make yourself a meal, you can walk into the next room and back.” Donnie stood his ground.

Leo growled and glared at the counter he was leaning on in frustration. He then took a deep breath, let go, and began to move towards the door. He made it five slow, hobbling, stumbling steps before one of his legs gave out and he began to fall. He rolled to his side, trying to avoid putting his weight on his injured wrist only to slam his hurt shoulder instead. He hissed and rolled on to back and stared at the ceiling till Donnie’s face came into view.  

“I win.” Don deadpanned and bent to help his brother up.

“Cheater.” Leo hissed, but accepted the hand and pulled himself up, half collapsing on to his brother when he was upright. The genius shrugged, and supported the idiot as he carried him to the med bay.  

“Doesn’t matter, I’m still older.”

“Only for today.” Leon protested but followed without resistance.

“Well, as today’s big brother, I’m keeping you in bed. So your stupid body can heal itself.”

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever, I’ll get you next time.”

“Keep dreaming, little brother. Keep dreaming.”  

It was hours later, as Donnie typed on his tablet and Leo watched some videos on his phone, that the slider managed to get out of his head enough to turn to his brother and whisper a quite: “Thank you.”

Donnie pretended not to hear, but quietly reached up and rubbed his brother’s head.

First - Next - Masterpost

Please check out @zee-rambles who came up with this challenge. Also take a look at @rise-april-art-challenge​ for more submissions.

The expressions! The way you can feel the cold!

I love this art! It was my inspiration for Day 13 of Rise April! (Along with my own experience.)

Just look at it!!!!!

Sometimes you just have to sit down under the rain, and let the drops run over your body. Just like warm tears, let them heal wounds and ease the pain. Let them wash away the blood that you had to shed and soothe the broken heart.

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.

Voyeur needs to be seen to be believed. The scariest movie I have ever seen.

Voyeur needs to be seen to be believed. The scariest movie I have ever seen.

April Rise Challenge 13: Umbrella

Prev - Next - Masterpost

Ao3 link: Here

Leo had been reading one of his comics when Donnie had barged in with a wide look in his eye.

“Woah, Hermano,” Leo said, catching his twin as he almost slipped and fell.  “What's got you in such a rush?”

Donnie's wide eyes turned to the slider, and he bared his teeth in an excited smile.

“Leo, it’s a Rain Day.”

Leo froze, and then his eyes bulged out.

“Really?! You’re sure?”

“Even if it wasn’t for my super advanced and accurate weather predicting system, I can see the storm clouds.” Leo broke into a smile and let go of Donnie so we could hop from foot to foot, whooping loudly.  

Rainy days were not unusual in any sense of the word. But Rain Days were different. They were only held on days when the water came down in sheets and the thunder rolled loud enough to drown out the city traffic. Rain Days only happened when there was a storm, and they were the best brother tradition the four of them had.

“How long do we have?” Leo asked, already looking around for his raincoat.

“About two hours,” Donnie responded. “So, we need to be ready in an hour and a half to get there in time. You-”

“Yeah yeah! I got this!” Leo cut in, scouring under the bed for his umbrella. “Take care of your own stuff, Tello!”

Donnie shrugged and rushed out of the room to get ready on his own. Leo felt giddy as he ran around, for once mad at himself for not keeping his room cleaner.

-

Within the hour, the four turtle brothers were all gathered at start of a long sewer tunnel. They were all dressed in rubber raincoats with either hoods or in mickey's case a rain hat. Raph had a bag under his arm that held towels and snacks, and each of them had a different colored umbrella. Mikey was bouncing on the balls of his feet, gleeful and unable to stand still.

“We all told dad where we’re going, right?” Raph asked glancing around.

“Of course,” Donnie said.

“Then let’s go already!” Mikey yelled, breaking into a sprint down the tunnel. The others quickly followed suit, whooping and hollering in excitement and anticipation.

It didn't take them long to reach the end of the tunnel where a large sewer grate was swung partially open. They all slowed as they neared it, allowing their noises to fade away into a heavy almost silence. They listened closely, but despite the heavy gray sky and the smell of electricity in the air, all they could hear was the distant sounds of the city.  

Raph reached out push the gate the rest of the way open stepping in the fresh air, and walking out of the tunnel to be bathed in the bit of sunlight that could peek through the wall of clouds above. The others followed behind, pulling their jackets tighter at the frosty cold.  

The outside of the tunnel was a long concrete canal that was far away from the rest of the city. The brothers walked silently down watching their breath appear in the cold air and float upwards. There was a rumble of thunder, and the boys stopped and waited. Leo felt the first drop of water land on his nose.

“It’s starting.” Leo said, and Mikey squealed in excitement. They all opened their umbrellas and continued walking.

By the time they reached their destination the rain had been consistently falling for a couple of minutes. A strange drum of water meeting plastic meeting each of their ears as the umbrellas prevented them getting wet.

Their destination was a small ladder that went up the side of the canal. Raph had already started climbing it, but Mikey couldn't wait any longer and simply ran up the side. Leo wanted to roll his eyes at his brother's enthusiasm, but he didn't want to be a hypocrite, so simply followed Raph up.  

On the top of the canal there was a singular huge tree, the last of the autumn leaves still clinging to its branches. In front of it was a shallow pit that they had dug when they were younger. It was big enough that Raph could lay down inside of it without having his feet hanging out. The bottom of it was coated with smooth rocks, and it was already filling with a shallow amount of rainwater. Mikey was sitting up in the branches of the tree, his umbrella hanging upside-down by its hook while he smiled down at them. The remaining three brothers sat beneath the tree branches and watched the sky, quietly waiting for the real rain to start. It didn't take long.

The sky opened and dumped the water down, thunder rolled loud enough to drown out the noise of the city, and the wind blew so hard that their umbrellas quickly became useless. Leo threw his up to Mikey who hung it upside down on a different branch than his own, which was already overflowing creating waterfalls down to the ground. The other two umbrellas swiftly followed. They hung like ornaments, catching the rain. It was a good thing that Donnie had reinforced all their umbrellas so they wouldn't break under the weight of the water.  

Once it was done Leo turned to the shallow pit which was filling up quite nicely. He smiled, stood up, walked to the edge, turned around and spread his hands.

“RAIN DAY!” he yelled, and on cue the thunder roared. Leo leaned back, allowed gravity to take hold, and fell shell first to the man-made pond.

The water was shockingly cold, and Leo was going to need a good cup of coffee after this was all done, but it felt heavenly.  

No matter how old they got, or how human they could act, some part of the Hamato brothers would always be turtles. It was a fact that could have been uncomfortable if they had not grown up with it. And on Rain Days four would allow themselves to be weak and indulge in the joy that rain brought to their amphibious minds.

As Leo sat up from the water, he heard his brother's yell and watched as Mikey ran and jumped into the water that came up to the box turtle’s knees.

Mickey wasn't an aquatic species of turtle, but for some reason he still loved Rain Days. Maybe it was simply hanging out with his brothers, or maybe he just enjoyed the rain for a normal reason. It didn't really matter.  

The youngest brother yelped and jumped at the temperature, making Leo laugh. While the other was distracted, the slidder reached over the side of the pit and grabbed a fistful of wet sticky mud. He aimed slowly as Mikey tried to get feeling back in his feet, and just when the orange turtle turned to him, Leo hurled it right into his face. It landed with a wet splat and Leo laughed at the look on his brother's face.

“So... You have chosen war, brother?” Mikey asked, and Leo knows he should be afraid but all he can do is smile and meet the challenge.

“Bring it.”

-

The day is spent with the four of them flinging mud and each other and splashing in the achingly cold water, and by the end of it they're all shivering with slightly blue fingers. And towards the end as the storm dies down, they all lie on their backs with their eyes closed underneath the old tree and feel the droplets fall on their faces until they decide to go home.

When they get back home, covered in mud and soaked to the bone, they'll take a lukewarm bath and sit with a hot drink under their heating lamp slowly bringing feeling back into their limbs. And the week will be filled with them complaining about their runny noses and how cold they all still are. But in the end, they'll be back to that old tree and shallow pit on the next Rain Day.

Prev - Next - Masterpost

Ao3 Link: Here

Please check out @zee-rambles who came up with this challenge and look at @rise-april-art-challenge for more submissions by other fans.

(Sorry I haven't been keeping up with this, I had a lot of schoolwork that needed to be done. I will be working on catching up with this.)

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.

Rise April Challenge 22: Father

Prev - Next - Masterpost Ao3 Link: Here !TW! Implied Depression and Self Hatred !TW!

There’s nothing that triggers it. There isn’t a grand event that snapped all the pieces into place, it just hits Yoshi one night as he lies in bed waiting for sleep.  

I’m a father.  

It hits the man like a train. His body stiffens like he’s back in the arena and about to be attacked and he jumps up, sleep gone from his mind.  

I am a father. I have children.  

His hands shake and he tries to remain calm. But his mind is filled with his few memories of his mother. Soft, gentle, loving. Gone. Gone from his life in a second. Leaving him to grow up without her. She never saw him earn his first colored belt in martial arts, she never had talked to him about his first crush, or been there for his first audition, or to help him pick out a ring for the person he thought he would spend the rest of his life with.  

She was just gone. And part of Yoshi hates her for it, for choosing some sacred duty over her own son. He was a child. Did she really think that some story from an old dusty book would be a good enough reason for him to accept being abandoned?  

It hurts.  

Yoshi hasn’t admitted that to anyone in years.  

Not when his mother left, not when Grandpa Sho only called him up after years of silence to demand he quit his career as an actor to follow his “destiny,” not even when the women he had loved had lied to him and tortured him for spectacle.  

But now, in the dark of the New York City sewars, rat hands clamped over his mouth in shock at the idea of being a father, Yoshi lets the pain take hold and cries.  

He cries for the first time in what felt like years, breaths coming out in hiccups, and he tries to hold himself together. But it’s a losing battle.  

God dammit! How had anyone ever thought he was a powerful warrior? How could anyone look at him and see a champion? A star? Not that anyone would think that now. Not with a naked pink tail and shaggy, dirty fur.  

Whatever he had once possessed that made anyone think he was worthy of admiration was gone, burned out of him with his humanity.  

And then, the world had decided to give him 4 sons. Decided to make him a father. Why?! Why did those wonderful, amazing boys have to get him as a father? Surely, they deserved better. They deserved better than a vain movie star that only cared about his own fame. They deserved better than a chained-up beast made only to spill blood for others entertainment. They deserved better than a sewar rat, that couldn’t even stop crying over a death that happened years ago.  

They deserved better than him.

-

Yoshi doesn’t remember falling asleep that night, but he still wakes up the next morning. And the next. And the next. And the next. And the next.  

He does his best not to be bitter over the fact that his eyes still open every morning, because he is a father. His sons need him. But as they get older, they start to need him less and less. So, he pulls back from them.  

Because they deserve better.

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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.