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 situation just gets rosier. Leo sucks in a short breath, trying to press himself back into the nearest wall for some semblance of space. His shell clicks against the hard surface of the shelf behind him.
The fact he's trapped with Raph, the largest member of their family only makes the cramped closet full of weird mystical things all the worse. A slow creeping sense of claustrophobia is only getting worse the longer the two are trapped together.
His odachi is just outside of the closet, making his initial plan of escape null in void.
Raph has been battering at the door and it hasn't budged. Leo had his own attempts to get the door open, but the door remains doggedly shut.]
Raph, normally, I'm not opposed to be close, but if we can't get that door open I think I'm going to lose my mind.
( ooc: first off 10/10 thank u for the starter. shoutout to me trying to call my energy level shots and then metaphorically falling down a well lmaooo )
[ This is, truly, a nightmare scenario. Like, a door that Raph can't just break? Since when? Walls are one thing. Doors are made to open.
Being able to do big mystic punches is normally great at a time like this, but a giant magic fist runs way too much risk of doing something like accidentally punching Leo, or breaking one of these weird mystic thingies and getting them cursed. Not optimal.
He's never been a fan of being stuck in confined spaces. Something about this situation is feeling especially not great. But big brothers don't say "lol same I'm a freakout time bomb." They simply don't freak. ]
We ain't! Got! A lotta options! [ Cool things to punctuate with door-hitting.
He gives it one more good punch for good measure, but then sadly stops. ]
((OOC: You did the leg work of finding a prompt, I figured I'd grab a starter so you could jump into the shenanigans quicker. I get you though, life honestly just knocks us on our asses sometimes.))
[Leo cringes a little as Raph's punching trails off. A discouraged Raph is a bad thing.]
The fact anything is Raph proof frightens and confuses me. So, we'll mark it as impossible. We'll just call this a mystic fluke for right now. [Leo is already looking around the closet again, trying to see if anything looks useful. His mind is running a mile a minute with possibilities. Not great ones, but they're there!
The walls are oddly smooth, and there doesn't seem to be any convenient hatches in the ceiling overhead. What light they are getting is from a light bulb overhead that flickers occasionally. The gaps between the door are fairly minimal. In theory, Leo could try to drag his weapon into the closet if he could get something to grab on to it from under the doorframe, but the handle of the blade might catch on the door itself.
Leo turns away from their jailer of a door to look at the shelf behind them properly. He rubs at his chin slightly, scrunching his snout somewhat.]
Okay, maaaaybe something in here is useful? Like, break door useful. [He picks at random, grabbing a not at all mildly horrifying idol looking item that looks like a screaming yokai of some kind. Leo tests the heft of it, eying the door with clear intent on throwing it at the door.]
Can do. [ It is important to him emotionally that his little brothers believe nothing is normally Raph proof in a bad situation. Sure, he wants them being more responsible, doing their own problem-solving for the times when he can't or won't be there, but like.
Ultimately. When they really, really need it. He should be perceived as slightly omnipotent. Except for this time when this dum-dum door won't just break like a regular door so it's pointless-- no.
They are thinking. He's making sure not to catch anything on his spikes, brother included. It's fine. Wait what the heck is his brother even doing. ]
Wh- Leo, put that back! You don't know where it's been! [ ????? ] It could be mystic cursed.
[ He doesn't really know if mystic stuff does curses. That would require learning and researching. ]
C'mon, Raph. Clearly, the door has to be mystic cursed. So, if this is cursed, that'll like cancel each other out. If the door is mystic, something mystic could break it.
[Leo is absolutely just guessing here, but he is kind of trying the first thing that comes to mind. He's idly tossing the idol up and down in his hand, trying to debate how to throw it.He takes as much of a step forward as he can given the small space.]
Sides if this doesn't work, I have a different idea.
[He throws the idol without further warning. It crashes against the door, and shatters into pieces on the floor.
Oddly the pieces just seem to dissipate into smoke in the air, making Leo cough a little. He waves his hand trying to not breathe too much of it in. A bit too late though. The air smells different. Both of them can't really get away from it.
The door does look a little dented.]
See, so, mystic verses mystic is totally the way to go!
[His confidence wavers slightly as he starts to feel a little weird.]
[ When it's not like the worst logic you've ever heard because mystic stuff is always kinda weird and you never know 100% what you'll get mixing it up with mystic-ness, but then your little brother just chucks an entire creepy idol at the door as part of his process.
Raph also waves a hand, snorting and shaking his head like a dog that got something up its nose. Very elegantly. ]
Stop throwin' ancient totems! We don't know what any of this stuff might do! [ HE CAN'T PROTECT HIS BROTHER FROM SMELLS???
But the door is a little dented... but the principle... he could swear he was never this rebellious at Leo's age. (Smash cut to the many times Raph has seen a big random button and immediately pressed it bc he likes pushing big buttons.) ]
Scale of one to ten, how cursed and/or enchanted do you feel?
C'mon, Raph! Look- [He leans in to point at the mark, as if that proves his point. It really does not.] We're making progress here!
I'm feeling as fine as I can be! You know for being trapped in a closet. [He laughs a little, the sound starting to become strained as he has to lean back.
He presses a hand against his plastron, starting to shiver as he leans back against a shelf. His expression seems to shift, growing distant and unfocused. His voice seems to lose some of its confidence.] Yeah, we totally got this.
[ All of the big brother alarms are ringing at once. Full system Raph alerts. So Leo is maybe Not Great, Actually.
Maybe he should punch the door with a mystic fist after all. At what point do the Leo's well-being scales tip out of balance in that favor? Risk of injury from big magic hand? He's not sure.
It's a real standard Tuesday sort of feeling. ]
Of course we got this. I was just-- hopin' we could get it without needing a mystic detox. [ There's nothing he can do about it. There needs to be something he can do about it. That's like the whole point.
There's no room to kneel down or to give Leo more space, so the worst of both worlds, honestly. Raph puts a careful hand on his shoulder instead. Everyone has to make do sometimes. ]
Look, worst case scenario, we wait a while and then we gotta listen to Donnie congratulate himself when he tracks us down. Right?
[ Hopefully.
Well worst case scenario for real, Leo just cursed them and they wither up into mummies or something, but Raph is gonna be nice about that for the time being. Maybe after the mystic detox (whatever one of those even is) he will circle back. ]
Y...Yeah, right. Donnie will never let us hear the end of it. [Leo agrees a bit blandly.
Normally, he'd have some kind of quip, or joke to try to break the tension. Instead, he's silent. Whatever both of them have been exposed to is hitting Leonardo harder by the moment.
He's trying to steady himself out. Leo doesn't understand why he feels so afraid. He keeps trying to calm himself, but logic can't compete with the terror building up in his chest.
There isn't much room to do much of anything, but Leonardo ends up crumpling onto his knees onto the floor. His shell scraping against the shelves in the process, rattling them.]
((ooc: no idea what else was listed in the fear prompt originally, so we can probably take liberties with it. Give both dork children hallucinations or paranoia as needed.))
[ Well, it was more effective than not effective, but clearly not effective enough to do much else.
This is not a new feeling for Raph, strictly speaking. The spike of fear, tightness in the chest, heart pounding in his ears. But there's normally something he can sort of-- ball it up and throw it at. Not get stuck in it.
He's the big brother. That's his job, he takes care of stuff. If his brothers are with him they shouldn't need to be scared of anything. He can take the hit, or hit something before it gets to them, and watch their backs, make sure they know he's there. Mutually beneficial.
There's nothing here, though. There's nothing he can do. Nothing he can hit to get rid of Leo always has some smart remark or dumb joke but he's quiet and he's scared and there isn't even space to sit next to him through it. There's just Raph, being useless, and nowhere to go to make sure Leo doesn't see him being useless, and it's not like he doesn't mess up or not have a plan a lot of the time anyway but for some reason the thought hits ten times harder all of a sudden.
Raph exhales, a sort of punched-out sound. Manages to turn himself back around to look at the door again. Dumb mystic door. Dumb mystic dent. ]
It's fine. It's fine. The walls are definitely not closing in on us, and it's fine. Raph'll figure this one out, so you just-- do some breathing. Stop throwin' stuff for a minute. [ He made himself stop being scared of the dark so he could check under their beds for monsters if they needed it. This shouldn't even be hard. Why is it like this? Because it actually sort of feels like the walls are starting to close in.
He punches the door again, hard, mostly as an outlet. He thinks better if he's punching. All part of the plan. ]
((ooc: yeah i'm down to just kinda freewheel it 👌👌 brotherly suffering and bonding in good measure, as nature intended.))
[Actually seeing Raphael seeming scared doesn't do anything to make Leo feel less panicky. The tightness under his plastron means he's struggling to keep his breathing even.]
Y-yeah, yeah, I'll- sorry. Sorry, Raph. [An actual apology isn't a great sign either. He can't take it back either. Not that the thought occurs to him yet. He's spiraling fairly quickly and isn't sure why.
He scrubs at his face, scrunching into himself as much as possible.
Leo is realizing very quickly, in this situation, he can't really do anything.
He's not Donnie, whose smart, or Mikey whose creative enough to think his way out of weird situations. Raph is strong enough that they probably would have been fine with just the punching. Leo just made the situation more complicated for Raph.
He's just the faceman.
He can't talk his way out of this.
He made this worse though, he needs to backpedal a little. He can make this better for the important one here.]
Your fear stink is way out of control, and there is no way for me to get out of range. [He tries for light-hearted teasing, but his voice is absolutely bland. He sounds close to tears and awkwardly coughs to try and cover it up.]
[ A quiet and sincere apology from Leo. Like, not even an ironic one. Or a sarcastic one. Or a jokey one.
Which like, it's not like Leo never apologizes for anything ever, everyone's had a crack at the ol' apology wallet. But it's not usually in moments like this? Specifically? Usually a Leo apology is an "after everything is over" phenomenon. It's not a good omen. There are no good omens.
If Leo is dying, Raph's gonna kill him. ]
I can't control the stink. You know I can't control the stink. [ He can't even really be a Mad Dog when Leo sounds... like such a Sad Dog. ]
Man. How come every time a mission sounds easy, it turns out it's actually insanely tough? Where's all the gimmes?
[ Should've just found a bank robbery or something. If he's even qualified to keep his brothers alive against robbers. ]
Sometimes I wish you could. I mean, ugh. This whole closet is going to stink soon. [That was about the worst attempt at lightening the mood he could make, but he's clinging to it a little desperately.
He presses his hand against his plastron, it curls into a tight fist as he tries to steady himself. His voice is shaky, nervous. He blinks a bit, cringing at a few tears escaping. He's trying for normalcy if anything.] Cause our luck sucks?
We've been to the Hidden City before, we should have had this on lock.
Watch the sass or I'll make it worse. [ No one is too mature or responsible for the brotherly instinct to be worse out of spite. Can he control it, no, will he use this closet time to learn just for that.... maybe.
Probably not. That would be a lot of energy to divert away from, let him check his notes, bone-deep dread and terror.
This should've been easy. Why isn't it easy? The only thing that went wrong was like, one person in a hallway they had to hide from, and for them that's wildly good. But now everything is terrible? And he can't do better if he doesn't figure out what he messed up, and if he can't do better he can't keep his brothers safe, and if he can't do that then what's even the point?
Raph really wishes he was the type of turtle who could hide out in his shell for a while. This is a whole catastrophe. Mostly for coping mechanisms.
Their luck does suck. Case in point: ]
-- did you hear that?
[ Debatable. It might just be Raph hearing it. A suspicious skittery giggle that he thinks surely could only come from horrific puppets. ]
I will not be silenced, Raph. [He tries to sound huffy to sell the joke, but its still not going anywhere.
He ends up just lifting up the edges of his mask to press the butt of his palm against his eyes. He is trying to just bring himself back to his normal baseline.
Why is he freaking out so hard? He shouldn't be. He really shouldn't. Even if he's just dead weight here, he needs his head together.
The question jars Leo out of his own thoughts.]
...No? What did you hear-? [He doesn't even try for banter, starting to sit up a little bit.]
[ The day Leo is silenced is a true day of disaster. Even a sad, scared-sounding Leo is better than a silent Leo.
His brothers just being themselves is the top-tier end goal, of course. Even when them being themselves is happening in a way that drives him up a wall.
They're gonna get murdered in a mystic closet and Leo isn't even gonna be able to crack jokes to cope about it, and Raph doesn't know how exactly it's his fault but it probably is. After all this is over maybe he will move on to blaming whatever weirdo hoarded all these artifacts in this dumb closet in the first place. ]
That! How did you not-- [ He's not hearing things. He's not. He can't be. Creepy laugh right there, clear as day. He snaps his head back to look up at the ceiling like there's gonna be something waiting to strike. ] That!! The creepy laugh!
[Leo's fear spiral is interrupted by confusion as he just stares at Raph. Leo ends up looking around, wondering if he's missing something.
All he really hears is the heavy silence in the hall outside and both of their breathing.]
What are you talking about? I'm not hearing anything.
[He tries to stand up, but ends up just losing his footing from the emotional exhaustion starting to set in. His shell clips into a shelf, sending a few things toppling down on them in the process.] Ugh- ugh, no!
[The giggling certainly seems to be getting louder from where those items had been, what a mystery! or merely a hallucination.
Leo unaware of the sounds, just scrubs at his face with his hands angrily.]
[ WHY MUST EVERYTHING HAPPEN SO MUCH ALL AT ONCE IN THIS CLOSET OF NIGHTMARES. Why can he not-- not just calm down?
It's never an easy A to B line to calmed down, when he gets like this, but Raph should still be able to remember the steps. It took so much work to learn. To make it a habit. It's like it's all just gone.
He does the cool thing and simply opts to stand very very still. If fight and flight are off the table, freeze will do just fine. Be a big brother. What do big brothers do. They take care of their little brothers. Sometimes they're the only one who can. ]
You-- you didn't. You- [ And a hitch because the laughing doesn't stop, it won't even let him talk, he's not crazy, why is she messing with them- Raph presses his hands to his head and tries to block out the sound. ] You're not. You're not. I just. Gimme a minute and I got you, okay?
[ Breathing is the big step. He remembered breathing is important. Maybe he'll work on that and then figure out where he stands re: confronting the fact that the laughing got louder over there versus trying to chew through the door like an actual trapped animal. ]
I am! Its kind of what I do, Raph! [The fear rolls over into frustration as he sucks in a breath. Then another. He is not feeling any calmer. Not even slightly.
He does go quiet at Raph's question. He clicks his teeth together, hunching into himself slightly. The bottles on the floor need to get picked up. Who knows what else is actually in them?
He awkwardly tries to crouch down again to try and collect the fallen bottles. He quickly discovers a few are broken when he grabs at glass. He reels back with a startled pained sound, biting the inside of his cheek as he closes his eyes. The anger is dissipating back into something else and Leo can't even quantify it. He's just shaking bodily next to Raph.]
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no subject
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.
no subject
"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!
no subject
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
The fact he's trapped with Raph, the largest member of their family only makes the cramped closet full of weird mystical things all the worse. A slow creeping sense of claustrophobia is only getting worse the longer the two are trapped together.
His odachi is just outside of the closet, making his initial plan of escape null in void.
Raph has been battering at the door and it hasn't budged. Leo had his own attempts to get the door open, but the door remains doggedly shut.]
Raph, normally, I'm not opposed to be close, but if we can't get that door open I think I'm going to lose my mind.
no subject
[ This is, truly, a nightmare scenario. Like, a door that Raph can't just break? Since when? Walls are one thing. Doors are made to open.
Being able to do big mystic punches is normally great at a time like this, but a giant magic fist runs way too much risk of doing something like accidentally punching Leo, or breaking one of these weird mystic thingies and getting them cursed. Not optimal.
He's never been a fan of being stuck in confined spaces. Something about this situation is feeling especially not great. But big brothers don't say "lol same I'm a freakout time bomb." They simply don't freak. ]
We ain't! Got! A lotta options! [ Cool things to punctuate with door-hitting.
He gives it one more good punch for good measure, but then sadly stops. ]
I think this door might be Raph-proof.
no subject
[Leo cringes a little as Raph's punching trails off. A discouraged Raph is a bad thing.]
The fact anything is Raph proof frightens and confuses me. So, we'll mark it as impossible. We'll just call this a mystic fluke for right now. [Leo is already looking around the closet again, trying to see if anything looks useful. His mind is running a mile a minute with possibilities. Not great ones, but they're there!
The walls are oddly smooth, and there doesn't seem to be any convenient hatches in the ceiling overhead. What light they are getting is from a light bulb overhead that flickers occasionally. The gaps between the door are fairly minimal. In theory, Leo could try to drag his weapon into the closet if he could get something to grab on to it from under the doorframe, but the handle of the blade might catch on the door itself.
Leo turns away from their jailer of a door to look at the shelf behind them properly. He rubs at his chin slightly, scrunching his snout somewhat.]
Okay, maaaaybe something in here is useful? Like, break door useful. [He picks at random, grabbing a not at all mildly horrifying idol looking item that looks like a screaming yokai of some kind. Leo tests the heft of it, eying the door with clear intent on throwing it at the door.]
no subject
Ultimately. When they really, really need it. He should be perceived as slightly omnipotent. Except for this time when this dum-dum door won't just break like a regular door so it's pointless-- no.
They are thinking. He's making sure not to catch anything on his spikes, brother included. It's fine. Wait what the heck is his brother even doing. ]
Wh- Leo, put that back! You don't know where it's been! [ ????? ] It could be mystic cursed.
[ He doesn't really know if mystic stuff does curses. That would require learning and researching. ]
no subject
[Leo is absolutely just guessing here, but he is kind of trying the first thing that comes to mind. He's idly tossing the idol up and down in his hand, trying to debate how to throw it.He takes as much of a step forward as he can given the small space.]
Sides if this doesn't work, I have a different idea.
[He throws the idol without further warning. It crashes against the door, and shatters into pieces on the floor.
Oddly the pieces just seem to dissipate into smoke in the air, making Leo cough a little. He waves his hand trying to not breathe too much of it in. A bit too late though. The air smells different. Both of them can't really get away from it.
The door does look a little dented.]
See, so, mystic verses mystic is totally the way to go!
[His confidence wavers slightly as he starts to feel a little weird.]
no subject
[ When it's not like the worst logic you've ever heard because mystic stuff is always kinda weird and you never know 100% what you'll get mixing it up with mystic-ness, but then your little brother just chucks an entire creepy idol at the door as part of his process.
Raph also waves a hand, snorting and shaking his head like a dog that got something up its nose. Very elegantly. ]
Stop throwin' ancient totems! We don't know what any of this stuff might do! [ HE CAN'T PROTECT HIS BROTHER FROM SMELLS???
But the door is a little dented... but the principle... he could swear he was never this rebellious at Leo's age. (Smash cut to the many times Raph has seen a big random button and immediately pressed it bc he likes pushing big buttons.) ]
Scale of one to ten, how cursed and/or enchanted do you feel?
no subject
I'm feeling as fine as I can be! You know for being trapped in a closet. [He laughs a little, the sound starting to become strained as he has to lean back.
He presses a hand against his plastron, starting to shiver as he leans back against a shelf. His expression seems to shift, growing distant and unfocused. His voice seems to lose some of its confidence.] Yeah, we totally got this.
no subject
Maybe he should punch the door with a mystic fist after all. At what point do the Leo's well-being scales tip out of balance in that favor? Risk of injury from big magic hand? He's not sure.
It's a real standard Tuesday sort of feeling. ]
Of course we got this. I was just-- hopin' we could get it without needing a mystic detox. [ There's nothing he can do about it. There needs to be something he can do about it. That's like the whole point.
There's no room to kneel down or to give Leo more space, so the worst of both worlds, honestly. Raph puts a careful hand on his shoulder instead. Everyone has to make do sometimes. ]
Look, worst case scenario, we wait a while and then we gotta listen to Donnie congratulate himself when he tracks us down. Right?
[ Hopefully.
Well worst case scenario for real, Leo just cursed them and they wither up into mummies or something, but Raph is gonna be nice about that for the time being. Maybe after the mystic detox (whatever one of those even is) he will circle back. ]
no subject
Normally, he'd have some kind of quip, or joke to try to break the tension. Instead, he's silent. Whatever both of them have been exposed to is hitting Leonardo harder by the moment.
He's trying to steady himself out. Leo doesn't understand why he feels so afraid. He keeps trying to calm himself, but logic can't compete with the terror building up in his chest.
There isn't much room to do much of anything, but Leonardo ends up crumpling onto his knees onto the floor. His shell scraping against the shelves in the process, rattling them.]
((ooc: no idea what else was listed in the fear prompt originally, so we can probably take liberties with it. Give both dork children hallucinations or paranoia as needed.))
no subject
This is not a new feeling for Raph, strictly speaking. The spike of fear, tightness in the chest, heart pounding in his ears. But there's normally something he can sort of-- ball it up and throw it at. Not get stuck in it.
He's the big brother. That's his job, he takes care of stuff. If his brothers are with him they shouldn't need to be scared of anything. He can take the hit, or hit something before it gets to them, and watch their backs, make sure they know he's there. Mutually beneficial.
There's nothing here, though. There's nothing he can do. Nothing he can hit to get rid of Leo always has some smart remark or dumb joke but he's quiet and he's scared and there isn't even space to sit next to him through it. There's just Raph, being useless, and nowhere to go to make sure Leo doesn't see him being useless, and it's not like he doesn't mess up or not have a plan a lot of the time anyway but for some reason the thought hits ten times harder all of a sudden.
Raph exhales, a sort of punched-out sound. Manages to turn himself back around to look at the door again. Dumb mystic door. Dumb mystic dent. ]
It's fine. It's fine. The walls are definitely not closing in on us, and it's fine. Raph'll figure this one out, so you just-- do some breathing. Stop throwin' stuff for a minute. [ He made himself stop being scared of the dark so he could check under their beds for monsters if they needed it. This shouldn't even be hard. Why is it like this? Because it actually sort of feels like the walls are starting to close in.
He punches the door again, hard, mostly as an outlet. He thinks better if he's punching. All part of the plan. ]
((ooc: yeah i'm down to just kinda freewheel it 👌👌 brotherly suffering and bonding in good measure, as nature intended.))
no subject
Y-yeah, yeah, I'll- sorry. Sorry, Raph. [An actual apology isn't a great sign either. He can't take it back either. Not that the thought occurs to him yet. He's spiraling fairly quickly and isn't sure why.
He scrubs at his face, scrunching into himself as much as possible.
Leo is realizing very quickly, in this situation, he can't really do anything.
He's not Donnie, whose smart, or Mikey whose creative enough to think his way out of weird situations. Raph is strong enough that they probably would have been fine with just the punching. Leo just made the situation more complicated for Raph.
He's just the faceman.
He can't talk his way out of this.
He made this worse though, he needs to backpedal a little. He can make this better for the important one here.]
Your fear stink is way out of control, and there is no way for me to get out of range. [He tries for light-hearted teasing, but his voice is absolutely bland. He sounds close to tears and awkwardly coughs to try and cover it up.]
no subject
Which like, it's not like Leo never apologizes for anything ever, everyone's had a crack at the ol' apology wallet. But it's not usually in moments like this? Specifically? Usually a Leo apology is an "after everything is over" phenomenon. It's not a good omen. There are no good omens.
If Leo is dying, Raph's gonna kill him. ]
I can't control the stink. You know I can't control the stink. [ He can't even really be a Mad Dog when Leo sounds... like such a Sad Dog. ]
Man. How come every time a mission sounds easy, it turns out it's actually insanely tough? Where's all the gimmes?
[ Should've just found a bank robbery or something. If he's even qualified to keep his brothers alive against robbers. ]
no subject
He presses his hand against his plastron, it curls into a tight fist as he tries to steady himself. His voice is shaky, nervous. He blinks a bit, cringing at a few tears escaping. He's trying for normalcy if anything.] Cause our luck sucks?
We've been to the Hidden City before, we should have had this on lock.
no subject
Probably not. That would be a lot of energy to divert away from, let him check his notes, bone-deep dread and terror.
This should've been easy. Why isn't it easy? The only thing that went wrong was like, one person in a hallway they had to hide from, and for them that's wildly good. But now everything is terrible? And he can't do better if he doesn't figure out what he messed up, and if he can't do better he can't keep his brothers safe, and if he can't do that then what's even the point?
Raph really wishes he was the type of turtle who could hide out in his shell for a while. This is a whole catastrophe. Mostly for coping mechanisms.
Their luck does suck. Case in point: ]
-- did you hear that?
[ Debatable. It might just be Raph hearing it. A suspicious skittery giggle that he thinks surely could only come from horrific puppets. ]
no subject
He ends up just lifting up the edges of his mask to press the butt of his palm against his eyes. He is trying to just bring himself back to his normal baseline.
Why is he freaking out so hard? He shouldn't be. He really shouldn't. Even if he's just dead weight here, he needs his head together.
The question jars Leo out of his own thoughts.]
...No? What did you hear-? [He doesn't even try for banter, starting to sit up a little bit.]
no subject
His brothers just being themselves is the top-tier end goal, of course. Even when them being themselves is happening in a way that drives him up a wall.
They're gonna get murdered in a mystic closet and Leo isn't even gonna be able to crack jokes to cope about it, and Raph doesn't know how exactly it's his fault but it probably is. After all this is over maybe he will move on to blaming whatever weirdo hoarded all these artifacts in this dumb closet in the first place. ]
That! How did you not-- [ He's not hearing things. He's not. He can't be. Creepy laugh right there, clear as day. He snaps his head back to look up at the ceiling like there's gonna be something waiting to strike. ] That!! The creepy laugh!
no subject
All he really hears is the heavy silence in the hall outside and both of their breathing.]
What are you talking about? I'm not hearing anything.
[He tries to stand up, but ends up just losing his footing from the emotional exhaustion starting to set in. His shell clips into a shelf, sending a few things toppling down on them in the process.] Ugh- ugh, no!
[The giggling certainly seems to be getting louder from where those items had been, what a mystery!
or merely a hallucination.Leo unaware of the sounds, just scrubs at his face with his hands angrily.]
Why am I making everything worse?!
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It's never an easy A to B line to calmed down, when he gets like this, but Raph should still be able to remember the steps. It took so much work to learn. To make it a habit. It's like it's all just gone.
He does the cool thing and simply opts to stand very very still. If fight and flight are off the table, freeze will do just fine. Be a big brother. What do big brothers do. They take care of their little brothers. Sometimes they're the only one who can. ]
You-- you didn't. You- [ And a hitch because the laughing doesn't stop, it won't even let him talk, he's not crazy, why is she messing with them- Raph presses his hands to his head and tries to block out the sound. ] You're not. You're not. I just. Gimme a minute and I got you, okay?
[ Breathing is the big step. He remembered breathing is important. Maybe he'll work on that and then figure out where he stands re: confronting the fact that the laughing got louder over there versus trying to chew through the door like an actual trapped animal. ]
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He does go quiet at Raph's question. He clicks his teeth together, hunching into himself slightly. The bottles on the floor need to get picked up. Who knows what else is actually in them?
He awkwardly tries to crouch down again to try and collect the fallen bottles. He quickly discovers a few are broken when he grabs at glass. He reels back with a startled pained sound, biting the inside of his cheek as he closes his eyes. The anger is dissipating back into something else and Leo can't even quantify it. He's just shaking bodily next to Raph.]