I'm replying from another account, bear with me here for a sec.
What if we combine the prompts for locked in a closet & Fear? because the thought of Leo oscillating between RAPH I CAN SMELL YOUR FEARSTINK and being freaked out slayed me.
I can always grab a starter if you want! Probably keep the set up loose of foolishly confined children on a mission gone awry. Locked in a closet with a lot of cursed items. Maybe something that invokes fear and leads to deep convos while the two are losing it?
[This is definitely his fault. Leo is aware of that much. If he had been a little more careful, he and Donnie wouldn't have ended up here.
Then again, here isn't that bad honestly. It reminded Leo of the Hidden City to some degree, be it exposed to the warm summer air and a bit more classically Japanese in the architecture department.
The market place was bustling, and they weren't even slightly the strangest ones here. They practically fit in with the odd aliens, monsters, and everything in between. The crowds was boisterous, in apparently great spirits. Leo had yet to notice a good portion of the crowd was headed towards a stadium further afield.]
C'mon, Don, Donnie, Donald- This is like way better than Tahiti! [He gestures widely, spinning in a circle for a moment before coming to a stop.] I mean, look at half of this stuff! Cool, beyond cool even!
Like... [He grabs something off of a stall table, rattling it aggressively. Turns out he's grabbed what looks like a larger than average snow globe with a battle scene being depicted inside. The squid-like creature behind the stall looks less than amused.] Okay, not a perfect example, but cool!
[Oh yes, this whole situation is Leo's fault and Donnie will be the first to say so. In fact, he's probably already complained about it enough by now to be annoying.
That and this was supposed to be relaxing, he almost wore his board shorts for this. He's got a good hold on his bo staff, as he just gives Leo a dirty look at his attempts to make this seem better than it is.
Although the whole not standing out thing is kind of nice.]
Leo, this is most certainly not better than Tahiti. Not that you would know. [He does lean in to look at the snowglobe Leo grabbed, giving it a discerning look before turning his attention to the unamused squid-like creature that is most likely the shop owner.] While it's not that cool, you should probably put it down.
I'm sure this place has a beach... somewhere? [He's tossing the snow globe hand to hand casually. The shop owner is sitting up a bit more.] I said I was sorry, I'm sure Raph and Mikey are gonna just show up and get us outta here soon enough?
Alright, could be cooler, fair, but- [He picks up another to attempt to juggle.] This is also pretty good?
[After waking up in a grassy field under a cloudless summer sky, Leo couldn't quite quantify what happened. He had been floating through that dead dimension, the Krang leader intent on beating him into a pulp. Leo remembers passing out at some point.
This wasn't the Hidden City, or New York.
Was he dead?
He definitely felt like he had to be at this rate. How else was he here?
He finds himself staggering into town, just not sure what to make of the animal people in... old clothing wandering around. He can feel more than a few just staring at him. Its a struggle to find his voice, but when he does, it's croaky.]
Hello...? Are... where am I? Can someone help me?
[He clutches at the photo of his family tightly in his fist as he staggers through town. People are giving him a wide berth. Wary of him.
It takes Leo a while to notice. He tries asking for help a bit more confidently, but people hurry away from him. He gets snapped and snarled at in a different language, Japanese he thinks, but he isn't sure.
He's on the verge of just leaving the town to lay back in the field of grass when he catches sight of a familiar purple bandana out of the corner of his eye. He whips around, relief and panic sharp in his chest. The sixteen year old wants to cry. Wants to just weep at the fact he isn't alone as much as he does at the prospect of Donnie being dead.]
Donnie!?
[Adrenaline he didn't realize he had shoots through him as he takes off towards the other turtle. If he was less exhausted and injured he might realize this Donatello is vastly different than his own.]
[You know what? Donatello isn't even surprised anymore. Of course he slightly messed up the runes to get to the Battle Nexus, and of course he's now in what he's pretty sure is Usagi's universe without any knowledge of his brothers' whereabouts. God forbid anything be simple, oh no, not for the turtles.
And, of course, he's in a universe without modern technology. Of course. At least his Japanese is good enough to get by.
So Donatello just needs a minute standing in this town center, scowling at the sky at his luck and wondering what higher power his family pissed off so badly, when someone shouts his name. He turns, furrowing the ridge of his brow, to see a green and blue streak coming at him.]
Leo?
[He almost takes back some of his internal seething at luck--and then he notices that this turtle seems awful short to be Leo.
But then the turtle is upon him. Donatello catches him by the shoulders, and--is this a kid? He seems like a kid. Also he looks like he's about to cry?]
H-hey, you okay? [Is this just a turtle person native to this world? Kind of weird if he knows his name, though.]
Donnie- [The realization finally hits him as he stumbles to a stop. The hand on his shoulder does a fair job of grounding him.]
I- you aren't-? [He speaks English easily, far more comfortably than other people around them would.
The sixteen year old sags a little. He presses the butt of his palm against his eyes. The urge to just lurch back to the field is strong. So far, no one else has even spoken a little english. There is relief in having someone he can understand.
Someone who seems like Donnie? The purple bandana, the bo staff, it.. it has to be Donnie, right?
Some kind of Donnie.]
This really isn't New York, is it-? You're not- quite my twin either, huh?
[Everything was starting to mildly go back to normal.
As normal as it ever was for the Hamato family. Ancient interdimensional aliens attacking New York, time travel, an older version of Leonardo falling through a portal to foretell their doom if they didn't act quickly- it was a lot.
A new normal was starting to take shape with the battle over. Their new addition made things more than a little tense at times. Leo still couldn't completely adjust to it, not after the rough first impression that was had. It wasn't about to get any easier any time soon.
New York was working on repairing itself from the Krang's attack, which was understandably slow going. That slow repair naturally meant their family wasn't doing as many topside trips to patrol.
Everyone was going just a little stir-crazy. Most of the injuries everyone had suffered were still healing, but it was slow going like everything else. It was a potent combination leaving the lair feeling more than a little restless. Splinter had done his fair share of scolding and hiding skateboards to try and quell the need to do something.
Leo's own nightmares meant he was up and about more than he was asleep most nights. Unable to properly relax. He could finally walk around again on his own but still had an unsteadiness to his steps. He just had to take it a bit easier than he'd like still.
This was another night like that. He had burned through re-reading all of his comics, reorganizing some of his action figures, and re-hanging posters. He pushed out of his room into the rest of the lair, intent on just distracting himself until he hears what sounds like someone beating one of the dummies in the dojo.
Leo wrinkles his snout a little, mildly wondering who else is even up right now. He drifts towards the dojo's doors, somehow surprised and not surprised to see his older self working the dummy over. He watches for a bit longer before speaking up, his tone more accusatory than he means it to be.] Have you even gone to bed yet, old man?
[This whole thing was beyond weird. Weirder than their usual brand of 'weird'. He'd managed to convinced them he was not only real, but also not lying about anything though that had taken more time (and embarrassment for everyone involved) than he'd liked. They were too late to stop the initial run of Krang, but ultimately they had stopped everything from going to shit like his timeline.
But even with all that over, he has nowhere to go. No one knows what to do with him, so he's staying for the foreseeable future. They're having to figure out how to reverse engineer Donnie's own future-tech to now-tech to get him another replacement arm, his own injuries weren't exactly the best since he'd gone fully in without hesitation (Krang without their suits? Way easier than Krang-with-suits) to spare them the bruises. It still hadn't fully worked - his younger self had gotten locked in the dimension for a short while, long enough to get the shit beaten out of him to near-death. They'd all come out with their injuries and bruises, himself not exempt.
And this Leonardo, older and more experienced, has to come to terms with that. It's still better than twenty-odd years of torment and running and uninhabitable Earth but it still isn't something he would've wished on him.
But he can't sleep. He almost never can, whether it's from the hypervigilance, or the having watched his friends and family be killed in front of him because he was just a hair second too late. So he's in the dojo, taking out his frustrations on a dummy. It's not what he'll tell anyone, clearly he's just staying fit, staying on task. Keeping an eye out. Getting prepared in case they have to deal with anything before he has the replacement arm.
But he stops when he hears someone shuffling through and freezes at the voice. Then lets out a slow exhale.]
Careful what you say, you'll be an old man yourself.
Sure, whatever. Not today at least [Truly a stunning comeback on Leo's part, but, he isn't running on a full tank of energy at the moment.
He just rolls his shoulders tiredly, trying to just figure out what he even wants to say. He wishes he could sleep, but he isn't getting there yet.] Pretty sure you're supposed to be resting anyway. Unless you want Raph to flip when he realizes you're straining yourself. You'll get the concern stink going.
[Unsurprisingly, pot meet kettle. Leo himself should be resting, but isn't doing much of it.]
[The sound of water dripping from pipes feels loud, far louder than the red-eared slider was used to.
There had only been silence and the Big One's voice for so long. He presses a hand against the side of his head, gaze flicking around unsteadily, he can't track the sound down immediately. He can hear the distant sound of something else. Strange noises that felt as familiar as they did off putting.
His gaze slides over the sleeping turtle in the Medbay with him. He churrs lowly back at the younger teenager. A reassurance given his own voice was nothing these days. He lost it after years of yelling, years of fighting against The Big One. Not that he thought this place needed more noise. Now there was so much noise, so many smells and so many people. He was still coming to terms with what people even were anymore. He recognized his treasure, his people.
His treasure was real. He could reach out and touch his treasure any time he wanted. That was more reassuring than anything else. They had found him, and he was adjusting. Enough time was passing the smallest of the other turtles was almost healed, but, the others insisted Orange Treasure remains resting in the Medbay.
He had listened to the argument, absorbing some of it. Treasure talked around him at times. He didn't mind. He was happy to be here. He was happy to make Treasure happy.
He coaxed a hand across the sleeping turtle's cheek before he carefully maneuvered out of the bed. His feet touch the cool ground, and he resists his urge to drop onto all fours for now. Treasure, all of them had been alarmed by the way he moved. He tried to ease them where he could. He just uses the walls to lean against as he walks, moving along until he finds the exit to the room. He walks on unsteady legs out into the rest of the lair. He stares at the darkness around him, well aware the others are asleep by now.
It feels strange to experience time again. See the shift of it around him.
He trails after the noises until he finds an open doorway. He pauses, tapping at it in an attempt to emulate the knocking he had seen going on. It is mostly drowned out by the sounds.
He continues forward, chittering more loudly as he sees Purple Treasure seated at a table, working on something.]
[Ah, music and work. Two things Donnie enjoys, and one of his few escapes from the... Awkwardness? Yeah, the awkwardness that is the situation with Leo. As much as he is glad to have his twin back, it's also heartbreaking the condition Leo returned to them in. And since he didn't seem to be able to speak, knowing just what had happened to him in the prison dimension was all merely guessing. Which Donnie does not like.
So to occasionally escape having to think about such things, he busies himself with his work. He is well absorbed in at the moment when Leo enters the lab, and the music also helps cover up any noises the other turtle could make while approaching. And other than the movements of Donnie's hands, he's also bobbing his head back and forth to the beat of what he is listening to as well, completely unaware of who is approaching him.]
[The lack of response is enough for him to drop to all fours, more comfortable this way as he moves forward.
Donnie gets no real warning before something turtle shaped and heavily scarred ends up sitting down heavily on his other work table his side projects are laid out on. He points at what Donnie is working on with interest and a louder squeak.
Even in his current state, some part of him remembers giving Donnie's projects space.]
April's spies with her little eye one of her many favorite turtle nerds. About that time in the evening where she's available to be hanging out and they can look a little less conspicuous at night. Or as much as one could be in the nightlife of New York.
Greeting him cheerfully from her window and saying she'd be right down. In more of a literal sense than you'd think. Pushing the window up higher as she swung one leg out the window and soon the other as she sat herself on the edge. Wait, what is she doing?
Hey, Leo! Catch!
[The action was already within motion when she yelled out to him after pushing herself off the window ledge. A complete leap of faith. Coming in rather hot at that towards him as a fast velocity.]
[Leo had expected the usual, April coming down from her apartment via stairs to meet him and the two would go on their way.
April just bodily throwing herself out of her window makes the turtle double take before he fumbles to open his arms wide.
Unsurprisingly, she crashes into his arms and he wobbles whilst holding her up. Only for Leo to lose his balance and hit the ground. April never touches the ground at least.
He groans a little.]
You are, so, so, so, so, so lucky I'm a ninja, you know that?
[Why use stairs when a short cut was better and more convenient? Maybe not for Leo with April's spontaneous nature, but it was always good to keep him on his toes. That is a viable excuse and she will stick to it.
On the plus side he wasn't completely bodied (soft of) or this might have been how he died tonight. SO, this quick witted ninja catching does pay off. There's an amused snort among her laughter.]
Wouldn't have jumped if I wasn't so confident in your skills of catching.
Good job~
If not? Well, I would have the told the tale of how you valiantly died catching your friend.
[It happens, right? Some injuries here and there, bruises, twisted ankle or being scuffed up through battle with the foot or whatever villain of the week, but never nothing too serious with them. Up until an incident that left April severely hurt. Much as she held her own well, she was still just human. A lot more vulnerable in comparison to them.]
"Leo--!"
[It wasn't even a second thought in her head in hesitating. Doing it without thinking at the time when she quickly shoved Leo out of the way in the line of fire. There was just this excruciating pain from the backlash feeling her body connect with a pillar. After that, everything just when black in not even feeling herself collapse along side some rubble to the ground.
Was she moving? Breathing? There weren't any signs indicating otherwise with how still she laid there.]
[Leo is at least partially aware he's definitely going to be hit. That blow coming at him is not going to be fun. Meat Sweats never pulls punches in any regard. The guy is blood thirsty in every conceivable manner. Leo had readied himself for the blow, expecting it.
Then here comes April, swinging in too fast for Leo to redirect. He sees her just for a moment, then she's gone, hitting the remnants of a overly decorative pillar built into the fancy smahncy restaurant this place used to be.
Leo staggers to a stop, just staring at where April landed.
His brothers call out, and Leo has to make a choice.]
Keep fighting him! Move him away from here!
[The grim determination on their faces is enough to show they're going to listen as Leo whips around to move towards April. He drops down on his knees, reaching out to check for a pulse.]
[Not too surprising when the adrenaline would come in battle April was riding high off of it. It's really what fueled that energy of hers with determination. This time though? Panic. Much as she knows the guys be taking a lot of heavy hits from time to time it's not like they'd be careless in purposely doing it, right? Though, they're more than likely built a bit more durable than April being soft throughout. Not that it was even a thought with the lack of fear she always showed, which resulted in a world of pain.
It completely knocked the wind from her leaving her unconscious for the moment. Hand limp, much like the rest of her body when he felt for a pulse. Babump....babump...babump...
Thankfully there. Fingers twitched involuntarily from a sudden muscle spasm. Eyes brows knitted together tightly with an expression of pain contorting across her face. Eyes shut tight feeling the wave of pain running through her body. Shards of glass lay about with her broken glasses that didn't survive the attack either. A sharp inhale made followed by a shaky pants in an attempt to breathe properly.]
[There is a bitterness under his skin. Something he doesn't have words for. Something he can't articulate even if he wanted to.
He has never been abandoned before. Leonardo Hamato had thought family was forever, it was supposed to a comfortable constant. Family was meant to be an assurance, safety and warmth. It was not meant to be a heavy blanket of silence. Family didn't leave you for 'your own good', they stayed no matter what. The sudden silence left Leo grasping desperately for anything. He reached out so many times, and was met with a heavy silence. Messages eventually bounced back. Leo could guess he was blocked. The thought is painfully laughable.
They were supposed to be his family. He had thought, out of anyone, Bucky and Donnie would stay. It felt like they had been swallowed up by the fog. Not dead, but distant. Both of them trying to protect him from what exactly? Being hurt? They failed then. All of them had failed him. He had tried to keep them safe, tried to protect them. That had meant nothing to any of them.
His intentions were good, and it didn't even matter. Nothing really mattered when they left him.
He wants to believe in Ray, to trust her judgement. He helped her with this plan to trap the fog in a newly constructed body. Leo had operated on her without hesitation. This was someone he considered his sister. This was supposed to be a secret they kept for her. Only for her to torpedo the secrecy so publicly everything exploded. Leo didn't understand why. He couldn't piece together why someone would admit something like that so publicly and accept an execution.
Then again, Ray wanted to die. That was the one thing she wanted most in the world, to be dead and stay dead. Was this just a ploy to die? To do some grand gesture for Sonic, then be slain by one of the fog priests? He hadn't seen or heard from her either. Maybe she was finally dead? He hopes she is happy, if she is gone again. She deserves a peace being alive can't grant her.
Days turn into weeks, the quiet remains. Leo goes through the motions, but doesn't really know what to do with himself. He watches the network, he talks with people. He hopes for his family to come back to him. He tries to keep the apartment over the dojo stocked for a return. He stalks the neighborhoods, coming up empty.
He suffers through another transformation, from the combination of a monster to his usual fairy self. He cleans himself up, he pulls himself together.
He waits for a return.
A return that never comes.
July settles into August.
The sweltering heat of August makes the young monster act rashly. He makes a wish, changing to a mer. He survives another change alone. His body is still not exactly his own, but he feels emboldened. He goes to Vandere and hears of talk of poaching monsters. Even if Leo and Javert aren't friends, this feels like something the man would want to hear about.
He sends Javert a message. It is an impulsive decision at best.]
< TheCoolestTurtle > I have a hot tip for you. Care to meet and talk?
[One and a half months, nearing two. That is how long Javert can recall since the dates started to make sense again, since the gaps between autumn and summer faded from importance and he released his frustration and perturbation from his breast. Only one month since he made waves and reinforced his status in Ryslig, by making an example of R. Gardner for her egregious betrayal. Mere days since he slithered out of the infernal Labyrinth of Rooms caked in monster blood, his hollow eyes steeped with bottomless horrors.
And only one day since Doctor Pierce startled him, awaking nude beside him in his bed. One day since he received that agonizing blow, full in the face, in the form of his friend's (just a friend?) betrayed and pained mien when he fetched a fresh meal off the streets of Dyster.
He lay now alone on his unturned bed, laptop open upon his desk. Sleep evades him, as it always does day after day, a spent blunt smoldering at his nightstand. When he shuts his bloodshot eyes, he is haunted; Doctor Pierce's hurt, bloodsoaked hands, a heart still-beating in his claws, the taste of teenaged flesh coating his tongue.
He tells himself there is no shame in a Monster reliving his triumphs. No shame, when he has the right idea of Monstrosity.
And yet...
Javert's eyes crack open at the sound of a chime from his laptop. He grimaces, pushing himself upright and glancing at the time. His natural nosiness gets the better of him, and he sweeps his way to the desk to find a very strange (and not unwelcome) distraction, indeed.
It is his new acquaintance from the network. The sharp-witted fellow, one with which he's gleaned a decent rapport.
What is this about a tip?]
< PasUnPolicier > That depends. How hot, and how fresh?
[The fact Javert replied at all surprises Leo at least a little. They had no bad blood as far as Javert knew, but still. The man probably had a lot of people sending him messages.
Leo's reply is fairly prompt, offering a shorthand version of events.]
< The CoolestTurtle >
Oh, it's definitely a recipe you've seen before, but, just a little different if we want to stick to this metaphor.
I went to Vandere for a bit of a trip, and was followed by a group of humans while I was out in public. I managed to hide from them, and listened to a couple of their conversations while they thought I wasn't there. Looks like they're trying to catch monsters for parts. Poaching I guess.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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- Friendly games → You've set up the game station or board games for a friendly competition!
- Locked in a closet → For some reason, you're locked up in a closet with someone else. Do you make nice and try to figure your way out or what?
- Fear → You're not sure why, but you are suddenly terrified and you can't deal with it. You need help.
i'm down for rerolling or spitballing something else if you don't vibe with any of these tho 👌
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I'm replying from another account, bear with me here for a sec.
What if we combine the prompts for locked in a closet & Fear? because the thought of Leo oscillating between RAPH I CAN SMELL YOUR FEARSTINK and being freaked out slayed me.
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"me and my homies HATE confined spaces u can barely breathe in"
i'm totally down for that! and i'm about to head out the door to work but i'm also cool to do a starter when i'm back home!
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I can always grab a starter if you want! Probably keep the set up loose of foolishly confined children on a mission gone awry. Locked in a closet with a lot of cursed items. Maybe something that invokes fear and leads to deep convos while the two are losing it?
STARTER
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@Soft_shelled, 2003 TMNT era Battle Nexus Shenanigans
Then again, here isn't that bad honestly. It reminded Leo of the Hidden City to some degree, be it exposed to the warm summer air and a bit more classically Japanese in the architecture department.
The market place was bustling, and they weren't even slightly the strangest ones here. They practically fit in with the odd aliens, monsters, and everything in between. The crowds was boisterous, in apparently great spirits. Leo had yet to notice a good portion of the crowd was headed towards a stadium further afield.]
C'mon, Don, Donnie, Donald- This is like way better than Tahiti! [He gestures widely, spinning in a circle for a moment before coming to a stop.] I mean, look at half of this stuff! Cool, beyond cool even!
Like... [He grabs something off of a stall table, rattling it aggressively. Turns out he's grabbed what looks like a larger than average snow globe with a battle scene being depicted inside. The squid-like creature behind the stall looks less than amused.] Okay, not a perfect example, but cool!
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That and this was supposed to be relaxing, he almost wore his board shorts for this. He's got a good hold on his bo staff, as he just gives Leo a dirty look at his attempts to make this seem better than it is.
Although the whole not standing out thing is kind of nice.]
Leo, this is most certainly not better than Tahiti. Not that you would know. [He does lean in to look at the snowglobe Leo grabbed, giving it a discerning look before turning his attention to the unamused squid-like creature that is most likely the shop owner.] While it's not that cool, you should probably put it down.
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Alright, could be cooler, fair, but- [He picks up another to attempt to juggle.] This is also pretty good?
[He is not helping.]
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@thesmartbrother - Accidental trip to Furry Edo Japan
This wasn't the Hidden City, or New York.
Was he dead?
He definitely felt like he had to be at this rate. How else was he here?
He finds himself staggering into town, just not sure what to make of the animal people in... old clothing wandering around. He can feel more than a few just staring at him. Its a struggle to find his voice, but when he does, it's croaky.]
Hello...? Are... where am I? Can someone help me?
[He clutches at the photo of his family tightly in his fist as he staggers through town. People are giving him a wide berth. Wary of him.
It takes Leo a while to notice. He tries asking for help a bit more confidently, but people hurry away from him. He gets snapped and snarled at in a different language, Japanese he thinks, but he isn't sure.
He's on the verge of just leaving the town to lay back in the field of grass when he catches sight of a familiar purple bandana out of the corner of his eye. He whips around, relief and panic sharp in his chest. The sixteen year old wants to cry. Wants to just weep at the fact he isn't alone as much as he does at the prospect of Donnie being dead.]
Donnie!?
[Adrenaline he didn't realize he had shoots through him as he takes off towards the other turtle. If he was less exhausted and injured he might realize this Donatello is vastly different than his own.]
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And, of course, he's in a universe without modern technology. Of course. At least his Japanese is good enough to get by.
So Donatello just needs a minute standing in this town center, scowling at the sky at his luck and wondering what higher power his family pissed off so badly, when someone shouts his name. He turns, furrowing the ridge of his brow, to see a green and blue streak coming at him.]
Leo?
[He almost takes back some of his internal seething at luck--and then he notices that this turtle seems awful short to be Leo.
But then the turtle is upon him. Donatello catches him by the shoulders, and--is this a kid? He seems like a kid. Also he looks like he's about to cry?]
H-hey, you okay? [Is this just a turtle person native to this world? Kind of weird if he knows his name, though.]
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I- you aren't-? [He speaks English easily, far more comfortably than other people around them would.
The sixteen year old sags a little. He presses the butt of his palm against his eyes. The urge to just lurch back to the field is strong. So far, no one else has even spoken a little english. There is relief in having someone he can understand.
Someone who seems like Donnie? The purple bandana, the bo staff, it.. it has to be Donnie, right?
Some kind of Donnie.]
This really isn't New York, is it-? You're not- quite my twin either, huh?
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@neonleon
As normal as it ever was for the Hamato family. Ancient interdimensional aliens attacking New York, time travel, an older version of Leonardo falling through a portal to foretell their doom if they didn't act quickly- it was a lot.
A new normal was starting to take shape with the battle over. Their new addition made things more than a little tense at times. Leo still couldn't completely adjust to it, not after the rough first impression that was had. It wasn't about to get any easier any time soon.
New York was working on repairing itself from the Krang's attack, which was understandably slow going. That slow repair naturally meant their family wasn't doing as many topside trips to patrol.
Everyone was going just a little stir-crazy. Most of the injuries everyone had suffered were still healing, but it was slow going like everything else. It was a potent combination leaving the lair feeling more than a little restless. Splinter had done his fair share of scolding and hiding skateboards to try and quell the need to do something.
Leo's own nightmares meant he was up and about more than he was asleep most nights. Unable to properly relax. He could finally walk around again on his own but still had an unsteadiness to his steps. He just had to take it a bit easier than he'd like still.
This was another night like that. He had burned through re-reading all of his comics, reorganizing some of his action figures, and re-hanging posters. He pushed out of his room into the rest of the lair, intent on just distracting himself until he hears what sounds like someone beating one of the dummies in the dojo.
Leo wrinkles his snout a little, mildly wondering who else is even up right now. He drifts towards the dojo's doors, somehow surprised and not surprised to see his older self working the dummy over. He watches for a bit longer before speaking up, his tone more accusatory than he means it to be.] Have you even gone to bed yet, old man?
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But even with all that over, he has nowhere to go. No one knows what to do with him, so he's staying for the foreseeable future. They're having to figure out how to reverse engineer Donnie's own future-tech to now-tech to get him another replacement arm, his own injuries weren't exactly the best since he'd gone fully in without hesitation (Krang without their suits? Way easier than Krang-with-suits) to spare them the bruises. It still hadn't fully worked - his younger self had gotten locked in the dimension for a short while, long enough to get the shit beaten out of him to near-death. They'd all come out with their injuries and bruises, himself not exempt.
And this Leonardo, older and more experienced, has to come to terms with that. It's still better than twenty-odd years of torment and running and uninhabitable Earth but it still isn't something he would've wished on him.
But he can't sleep. He almost never can, whether it's from the hypervigilance, or the having watched his friends and family be killed in front of him because he was just a hair second too late. So he's in the dojo, taking out his frustrations on a dummy. It's not what he'll tell anyone, clearly he's just staying fit, staying on task. Keeping an eye out. Getting prepared in case they have to deal with anything before he has the replacement arm.
But he stops when he hears someone shuffling through and freezes at the voice. Then lets out a slow exhale.]
Careful what you say, you'll be an old man yourself.
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He just rolls his shoulders tiredly, trying to just figure out what he even wants to say. He wishes he could sleep, but he isn't getting there yet.] Pretty sure you're supposed to be resting anyway. Unless you want Raph to flip when he realizes you're straining yourself. You'll get the concern stink going.
[Unsurprisingly, pot meet kettle. Leo himself should be resting, but isn't doing much of it.]
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@soft_shelled, feral au, its FIIINE
There had only been silence and the Big One's voice for so long. He presses a hand against the side of his head, gaze flicking around unsteadily, he can't track the sound down immediately. He can hear the distant sound of something else. Strange noises that felt as familiar as they did off putting.
His gaze slides over the sleeping turtle in the Medbay with him. He churrs lowly back at the younger teenager. A reassurance given his own voice was nothing these days. He lost it after years of yelling, years of fighting against The Big One. Not that he thought this place needed more noise. Now there was so much noise, so many smells and so many people. He was still coming to terms with what people even were anymore. He recognized his treasure, his people.
His treasure was real. He could reach out and touch his treasure any time he wanted. That was more reassuring than anything else. They had found him, and he was adjusting. Enough time was passing the smallest of the other turtles was almost healed, but, the others insisted Orange Treasure remains resting in the Medbay.
He had listened to the argument, absorbing some of it. Treasure talked around him at times. He didn't mind. He was happy to be here. He was happy to make Treasure happy.
He coaxed a hand across the sleeping turtle's cheek before he carefully maneuvered out of the bed. His feet touch the cool ground, and he resists his urge to drop onto all fours for now. Treasure, all of them had been alarmed by the way he moved. He tried to ease them where he could. He just uses the walls to lean against as he walks, moving along until he finds the exit to the room. He walks on unsteady legs out into the rest of the lair. He stares at the darkness around him, well aware the others are asleep by now.
It feels strange to experience time again. See the shift of it around him.
He trails after the noises until he finds an open doorway. He pauses, tapping at it in an attempt to emulate the knocking he had seen going on. It is mostly drowned out by the sounds.
He continues forward, chittering more loudly as he sees Purple Treasure seated at a table, working on something.]
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So to occasionally escape having to think about such things, he busies himself with his work. He is well absorbed in at the moment when Leo enters the lab, and the music also helps cover up any noises the other turtle could make while approaching. And other than the movements of Donnie's hands, he's also bobbing his head back and forth to the beat of what he is listening to as well, completely unaware of who is approaching him.]
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Donnie gets no real warning before something turtle shaped and heavily scarred ends up sitting down heavily on his other work table his side projects are laid out on. He points at what Donnie is working on with interest and a louder squeak.
Even in his current state, some part of him remembers giving Donnie's projects space.]
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in my next tag I'll bump us ahead
/thumbs up
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1/2
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gently bumps us ahead once again
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April's spies with her little eye one of her many favorite turtle nerds. About that time in the evening where she's available to be hanging out and they can look a little less conspicuous at night. Or as much as one could be in the nightlife of New York.
Greeting him cheerfully from her window and saying she'd be right down. In more of a literal sense than you'd think. Pushing the window up higher as she swung one leg out the window and soon the other as she sat herself on the edge. Wait, what is she doing?
Hey, Leo! Catch!
[The action was already within motion when she yelled out to him after pushing herself off the window ledge. A complete leap of faith. Coming in rather hot at that towards him as a fast velocity.]
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April just bodily throwing herself out of her window makes the turtle double take before he fumbles to open his arms wide.
Unsurprisingly, she crashes into his arms and he wobbles whilst holding her up. Only for Leo to lose his balance and hit the ground. April never touches the ground at least.
He groans a little.]
You are, so, so, so, so, so lucky I'm a ninja, you know that?
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On the plus side he wasn't completely bodied (soft of) or this might have been how he died tonight. SO, this quick witted ninja catching does pay off. There's an amused snort among her laughter.]
Wouldn't have jumped if I wasn't so confident in your skills of catching.
Good job~
If not? Well, I would have the told the tale of how you valiantly died catching your friend.
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I regret nothing from this one
"Leo--!"
[It wasn't even a second thought in her head in hesitating. Doing it without thinking at the time when she quickly shoved Leo out of the way in the line of fire. There was just this excruciating pain from the backlash feeling her body connect with a pillar. After that, everything just when black in not even feeling herself collapse along side some rubble to the ground.
Was she moving? Breathing? There weren't any signs indicating otherwise with how still she laid there.]
oh the angst,,
Then here comes April, swinging in too fast for Leo to redirect. He sees her just for a moment, then she's gone, hitting the remnants of a overly decorative pillar built into the fancy smahncy restaurant this place used to be.
Leo staggers to a stop, just staring at where April landed.
His brothers call out, and Leo has to make a choice.]
Keep fighting him! Move him away from here!
[The grim determination on their faces is enough to show they're going to listen as Leo whips around to move towards April. He drops down on his knees, reaching out to check for a pulse.]
C'mon, April, c'mon, you're gonna be okay.
its my only favorite seasoning next to SALT
It completely knocked the wind from her leaving her unconscious for the moment. Hand limp, much like the rest of her body when he felt for a pulse. Babump....babump...babump...
Thankfully there. Fingers twitched involuntarily from a sudden muscle spasm. Eyes brows knitted together tightly with an expression of pain contorting across her face. Eyes shut tight feeling the wave of pain running through her body. Shards of glass lay about with her broken glasses that didn't survive the attack either. A sharp inhale made followed by a shaky pants in an attempt to breathe properly.]
"N...nhg...."
@ inseine, Ryslig PSL AU
He has never been abandoned before. Leonardo Hamato had thought family was forever, it was supposed to a comfortable constant. Family was meant to be an assurance, safety and warmth. It was not meant to be a heavy blanket of silence. Family didn't leave you for 'your own good', they stayed no matter what. The sudden silence left Leo grasping desperately for anything. He reached out so many times, and was met with a heavy silence. Messages eventually bounced back. Leo could guess he was blocked. The thought is painfully laughable.
They were supposed to be his family. He had thought, out of anyone, Bucky and Donnie would stay. It felt like they had been swallowed up by the fog. Not dead, but distant. Both of them trying to protect him from what exactly? Being hurt? They failed then. All of them had failed him. He had tried to keep them safe, tried to protect them. That had meant nothing to any of them.
His intentions were good, and it didn't even matter. Nothing really mattered when they left him.
He wants to believe in Ray, to trust her judgement. He helped her with this plan to trap the fog in a newly constructed body. Leo had operated on her without hesitation. This was someone he considered his sister. This was supposed to be a secret they kept for her. Only for her to torpedo the secrecy so publicly everything exploded. Leo didn't understand why. He couldn't piece together why someone would admit something like that so publicly and accept an execution.
Then again, Ray wanted to die. That was the one thing she wanted most in the world, to be dead and stay dead. Was this just a ploy to die? To do some grand gesture for Sonic, then be slain by one of the fog priests? He hadn't seen or heard from her either. Maybe she was finally dead? He hopes she is happy, if she is gone again. She deserves a peace being alive can't grant her.
Days turn into weeks, the quiet remains. Leo goes through the motions, but doesn't really know what to do with himself. He watches the network, he talks with people. He hopes for his family to come back to him. He tries to keep the apartment over the dojo stocked for a return. He stalks the neighborhoods, coming up empty.
He suffers through another transformation, from the combination of a monster to his usual fairy self. He cleans himself up, he pulls himself together.
He waits for a return.
A return that never comes.
July settles into August.
The sweltering heat of August makes the young monster act rashly. He makes a wish, changing to a mer. He survives another change alone. His body is still not exactly his own, but he feels emboldened. He goes to Vandere and hears of talk of poaching monsters. Even if Leo and Javert aren't friends, this feels like something the man would want to hear about.
He sends Javert a message. It is an impulsive decision at best.]
< TheCoolestTurtle >
I have a hot tip for you. Care to meet and talk?
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And only one day since Doctor Pierce startled him, awaking nude beside him in his bed. One day since he received that agonizing blow, full in the face, in the form of his friend's (just a friend?) betrayed and pained mien when he fetched a fresh meal off the streets of Dyster.
He lay now alone on his unturned bed, laptop open upon his desk. Sleep evades him, as it always does day after day, a spent blunt smoldering at his nightstand. When he shuts his bloodshot eyes, he is haunted; Doctor Pierce's hurt, bloodsoaked hands, a heart still-beating in his claws, the taste of teenaged flesh coating his tongue.
He tells himself there is no shame in a Monster reliving his triumphs. No shame, when he has the right idea of Monstrosity.
And yet...
Javert's eyes crack open at the sound of a chime from his laptop. He grimaces, pushing himself upright and glancing at the time. His natural nosiness gets the better of him, and he sweeps his way to the desk to find a very strange (and not unwelcome) distraction, indeed.
It is his new acquaintance from the network. The sharp-witted fellow, one with which he's gleaned a decent rapport.
What is this about a tip?]
< PasUnPolicier >
That depends. How hot, and how fresh?
[Tell him something he doesn't know. Go on.]
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Leo's reply is fairly prompt, offering a shorthand version of events.]
< The CoolestTurtle >
Oh, it's definitely a recipe you've seen before, but, just a little different if we want to stick to this metaphor.
I went to Vandere for a bit of a trip, and was followed by a group of humans while I was out in public. I managed to hide from them, and listened to a couple of their conversations while they thought I wasn't there. Looks like they're trying to catch monsters for parts. Poaching I guess.
Sounds like something you'd want a lead on.
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