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mermmarie · 9 months

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Wash Day

Pair: Donatello x Black Female Reader

Word Count: 4k

Rating: T?? (Characters depicted are adults)

Content/Trigger Warnings: N/A

Author Notes: Sooo… This is a bit random but I wanted to practice writing more fluff and felt compelled to do this. Sometimes it feels like I'm the only black person in the fandom, lol… So, I wrote this for the Melanin Queens out there.

I didn't go into great detail about hair type/hair length/hair products, because I wanted to keep this as open as possible for readers, but skin is: 'bronze", eyes are: "dark" and hair is: "coily/wavey."

(Slight spoiler: I also don't go into styling for this same reason.)

For my black girlies: I hope you enjoy. For everyone else: I hope you'll enjoy reading from a different perspective~ 🤎

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It shouldn’t have surprised you that Donatello had taken interest in a routine of yours. He was very attentive of all details about you… It was how he was with everyone if you were being honest. He liked to study and make note of things which made sense since he was the scientist of the group. But it was kind of different for him to specifically ask if you could demonstrate your hair washing process to him.

He had wanted to hang out and when you told him you wouldn’t have time because it was wash day you didn’t expect him to casually suggest allowing him to observe. You explained to him that you had nearly gone a whole month without cleaning your hair, so it would be a long and somewhat boring process from an outsider's perspective, but that didn’t deter him. He only smiled and suggested that the time would pass more quickly with company and that he was curious to learn about the procedure.

So… You invited him over to… watch.

It still felt weird that he was going to be observing. You had never done something like this for anyone before. Not even past lovers… Not that you and Donatello were a thing or anything like that… But it was just a personal routine that you had done on your own for a long time now. You never thought about how someone else might find it interesting, especially a mutant turtle man who didn’t have a single hair follicle on his being.

Although, you had caught him grazing the ends of your locks with the tip of his fingers once. In retrospect, the act had been harmless. But at the time, you had reared on him so quickly; thinking it was Mikey instead who had once bawled his green sausages into your luscious mane and messed up the style you had put your hair in for the day. The reaction miiight’ve scared Donatello from showing more interest until now.

Amidst your surprise, you hadn’t thought about the arrangements of your process. Normally, you did your work in the bathroom of your apartment. However, with Donatello coming over to watch, you felt it would be too cramped and personal… But the alternative was breaking your neck over the kitchen sink, since you didn’t have a detachable hose to work with. So, the shower it was… Although unlike your typical wash day experience, you’d be clothed during.

You wore a two-piece swimsuit under an old, light colored tee with black gym shorts. It felt strange stepping into the porcelain tub with all the garments on, especially since Donatello was just as dressed down as you were. And by that you meant: without his tech.

He had been standing just in front of your bathroom doorway, hands intertwined thoughtfully at his waist. Thankfully, the ceiling of the room had been high enough to where he didn’t have to crouch to fit in with his giant form but since it was a bathroom, and the two of you were just hanging out, he left his tech… elsewhere in your apartment.

As if he would go anywhere without his gadgets.

Still, it was one of the few times you saw him dressed so casually. He traded in his usual maintenance suspenders for black sweats tucked into some frankensteined basketball sneakers versus his signature boots. He still donned his trademark features such as his purple mask and tortoiseshell glasses of course. But overall, his whole demeanor looked more relaxed despite being in a private space with you.

“So…um…” you trailed off into a nervous laugh. “I was never good with presentations.” You joked as you turned towards your shower's knobs.

“You’re doing fine.” Donatello smiled warmly at you.

Your cheeks warmed in return, so you focused your attention away from him before he could notice your complexion darkening. You grabbed both the hot and cold handles of the shower. Turning them both about halfway, water came rushing out of the bottom faucet. You bent down a little bit, touching one hand to the running water to gauge its temperature. Dialing the cold handle back, the water began to heat up until it was at your preferred temperature of hot.

Turning your head back to him, you spoke. “So, like with cleaning most things, I start off with hot water. It makes detangling my hair much easier and removes grime and buildup from the product I use.” You shrugged and quickly added, “Oh! And hot water opens the pores on my scalp.” You brought your hands to the top of your head and ever so lightly scratched at it in a show of the motion of exfoliating.

Donatello nodded his head in acknowledgement, so you continued.

Pulling up the diverter valve of the bottom faucet, your shower head came to life.

You flinched a little when the water hit you. Not used to the feeling of being clothed when it happened, but you fell into your usual rhythm after the initial impact. Turning your back to the water, you dipped your head back and directly into the stream. You stood in place, turning your head back in forth slowly so the water would fully soak your hair. A few rogue streams cascaded down your face, and your eyes instinctively shut at the sensation. Feeling your locks become significantly heavier, you knew that they were thoroughly drenched and primed for detangling.

You wiped water from your eyes before opening them enough to glance at him. Seeing him patiently waiting for your input, you continued with the process. “I wait until my hair is pretty soaked before detangling it. Some people will use a special brush like this,” you bent over in the tub to pick up the nylon tool in question.

Using both of your hands, you spread the bristles open, showing the wide length in between them and the brushes flexibility. “This is specifically a detangling brush. It’s made to be so open and have give because you want something that glides through your hair effortlessly. The more resistance the more likely you are to cause breakage and frizz. Although, I generally prefer to use my fingers for the process. More control that way.”

“Interesting… May I?” Donatello extended his arm.

You smiled a little, finding amusement in the fact that he was curious about a hairbrush, but you gave it to him anyways. It only made you smile more when he turned it over in his hands and surveyed it like it was some ancient relic.

As he poked and prodded at the bristles you got to work. Gently, you combed through your hair with your fingers. Your eyes falling shut again as you relaxed into the process. You went over it in sections. Going through it a couple of times until it felt akin to a hot knife cutting through butter.

You opened your eyes and glanced Donnie’s way to speak again, but noticed his attention wasn’t on you anymore… Or at least, wasn’t on your hair.

His gaze had drifted lower, which made yours do the same. Searching for whatever it was that pulled his focus, a brow arched in confusion when you couldn’t find anything. You then wondered if there had been a stain or something of the like on your shirt, but there was nothing incriminating on the now translucent fabric.

You looked up at him questioningly, but his eyes were elsewhere now. Off to the side, looking into your bathroom mirror for seemingly no reason. It was then that you noticed the color on his cheeks were the faintest shade darker and it hit you.

You looked down to your chest again, which had been drenched in water. Your light tee was practically invisible as it clung to your glistening bronze skin, but you had prepared for that by wearing the two piece. Though, you couldn’t deny how good your breast had looked sopping wet with the creases of your shirt folding into your cleavage.

“...Perv.” You smirked, and stopped running your fingers through your hair momentarily to fling some water at him.

He recoiled as if the droplets had stung him and his green complexion darkened even more on his face. He fiddled with the brush in his hands but said nothing in defense. You saw a small smile creep up on his face, and his eyes flickered back to you shyly as he felt your staring presence.

You huffed with satisfaction before continuing. “Now that my hair is detangled, it can go one of two ways. If I wanna be in and out of the shower, I’ll just run my shampoo through my hair. But if I’m doing a deep clean, I’ll part it into twists; but the later usually takes longer so to save you some boredom I’ll–”

“No! No!” Donatello faced you again, holding out a halting hand. “You don’t have to worry about me. Please, take your time.”

“Seriously?” Your brows knitted. “Isn’t it… kind of boring? I mean, I know you're a genius and all so you like learning about stuff but– this isn’t really something of use to you.”

“Sure it is. It’s an important process of your lifestyle, and I…” His sentence began to taper off as he realized what he was saying. You noticed the deeper green in his cheeks come up again.

“like learning things about you...” He muttered but you were able to make it out through the sound of the rushing water.

Feeling the all too familiar heat, you were certain your cheeks had darkened in hue now.

“Okay… Do you at least want to grab a chair or something?”

A soft chuckle shook his shoulders. “I’m fine, thank you. I’ve endured far worse in the Hashi.”

“Alright… ” You cocked your head and averted your eyes to the bottom of the tub. “I section my hair into twists, because it makes sure my hair stays untangled, and it’s easier to clean my scalp that way…” You mumbled bashfuly.

You were teasing him only moments ago. How the hell had he turned it on you so quickly?!

Donatello watched attentively as you weaved your fingers through your hair. Lapping the coily strands over one another into loose twists. They were firm enough to hold their shape underneath the constant current of the water, but lax enough to not cause damage to the cuticles. When you were nearing the end of that process, he suddenly spoke.

“Could I?...”

Your dark eyes rounded at the implication.

“...You wanna try twisting my hair?” You asked for confirmation.

He nodded his head gently. “If that’s alright with you.”

“Uh… Sure, but… you’ll get wet.”

He huffed at the notion, smirking slightly. “Water doesn’t bother me.”

“Offf course it doesn’t. You’re a turtle. Duh.” You chided yourself.

You turned your shower off temporarily, not wanting to waste water and then you nodded your head at him, signaling for him to come forth. You faced the unfinished side of your head towards him and waited in silence for his touch.

You drew in a breath and held it, feeling his large digits take your delicate hair into his hands.

He was gentle, which didn’t come as a surprise. You had watched him work on gizmos and gadgets a lot, and you witnessed how precise and delicate he could be. Even with hands that were two times as big as yours. You felt him wind a section of your locks together and then pull away.

Leaning into your peripheral view, the top of his mask pushed upwards behind his glasses, giving a look of uncertainty.

How’s that?” He asked, and you pawed the section.

It wasn’t like you had tasked him to do some kind of difficult braid, but you were still impressed that the end result had felt similar to one of your own. Especially since you assumed it was his first time doing such.

“It’s good.” You glanced up at him with a small smile on your face. “Just one more section if you don’t mind.”

His chest swelled and he beamed at your approval, nodding his head eagerly. “Not at all.”

When he finished, you moved right into the shampooing process.

“Since it’s been about a month since I last washed my hair, I’m gonna shampoo twice.” You said, bending over to the rim of the tub and picking up your preferred choice of shampoo. “The bottle says to use a dime worth but–” You blew a raspberry and playfully rolled your eyes. “I don’t fuck with dimes. Quarters at a minimum. ”

Donatello chuckled again at your remark.

You squeezed the desired amount into one hand. Setting the bottle back on the rim of the tub, you pressed your hands together. Rubbing the substance between your palms until it was a nice lathered consistency. You pulled the shampoo to your fingertips and then applied it to your scalp. Firmly, but carefully working it into your pores.

You closed your eyes again as you worked. Not caring if that meant Donatello would sneak more glances at your body while you did so.

“I give it a nice scrub down for a good…. Thirty-seconds to a minute. Then rinse.”

“You're not gonna cover your twist?” Donatello spoke in an inquiring tone.

“No, the water will carry the shampoo down and through them. Plus, it’s why I do two washes.” You opened your eyes to give him a wink.

His brow line jumped, and he smiled down at you. “I see…”

Turning the shower back on, you did your first rinse and then left the water running for the second.

Bringing up the bottle to dispense some more shampoo, you paused when Donatello spoke.

“May I?” He asked again and you looked at him just as surprised as before.

It was one thing to do your twists, but to wash your hair? The only other people to do it were your parents and your stylist. You weren’t sure if you wanted to get that personal with him…

“S-Sure.”

Ok– Maybe you did want to get that personal with him.

Before you could hand him the bottle, he did something else that thoroughly surprised you. He lifted a foot, and ducked down to remove his shoe and sock, then did the same with the other foot. He placed both articles neatly together and off to the side of the bathroom, and then stepped into the tub behind you before you could object.

Your eyes widened and mouth hung open with disbelief. Instantly, you felt a feverish heat rush up to your chest and up your neck to your face. The embarrassment seemed a bit foolish considering the both of you were technically clothed but-- he had gotten in the shower with you like it was nothing!!

You quickly turned forward out of sheer panic and sputtered. “Y-Your pants!” He was fast with a response. “Trust me, they’ve been through worse.”

“Won’t your glasses fog up?”

“I designed them to have anti-fog lenses.”

“I didn’t bring a towel for you!”

“Then I’ll just wait in here for you to bring me one.” You could hear a smile in his tone and it made the corners of your mouth twitch.

“You’re a tall shit, you know that?” You huffed and he did as well before extending an arm in front of you.

He held out his palm and flexed it open and close in a grabbing motion. Physically asking for the shampoo bottle. You plopped it in his hand and remained facing forwards. Taking the brunt of the water to your chest.

“A quarters worth?” He asked.

“Mhmm.” You hummed in response.

You could hear him rubbing the substance between his hands, but you weren’t prepared for the warm touch of his fingertips against your scalp. You flinched in an exaggerated manner and he immediately pulled away.

“Sorry! Did I press too hard?” This time he sounded genuinely concerned.

“...No, I just– It’s nothing.” You shook your head lightly. Taking in a deep breath, you composed yourself and held your chin up. “Go ahead.” You commanded and braced yourself for his touch this time.

He waited a few seconds before bringing his finger tips to your head again. He pressed them carefully into your scalp and slowly started moving his fingers in small circles. Your head gently rocked at the motion and the two of you stood in silence for a few seconds as he worked.

“.....You can go a little harder.” You instructed.

“O-okay…” He said hesitantly but did as he was told.

He kneaded his fingertips firmly against your head and you couldn’t help but crane your neck backwards to add to the effect. It wasn’t long before your eyelids fell heavy and you relaxed into his hands. Allowing him to massage your scalp clean. You relished in how good it felt not having to break your neck over the salon sink, but still having someone else to do the work.

Despite it being his first wash, he had managed to apply the perfect amount of pressure that your conscious almost drifted away, but the constant stream of water kept your senses alert. He seemed to recognize your peaceful state however, as he leaned in close to speak in a hushed tone.

“I think you’re ready to rinse…” The words tickled your ear and sent a delightful shiver down your spine.

Reluctantly, you opened your eyes.

Donatello stepped backwards, giving you the space to turn around in the shower so you could position yourself underneath the water again. Putting your back to the water, you let it run over you. Gently rubbing out the bubbles and suds on your scalp.

With clean hair, you shut off your shower and started the final process of your routine.

“So… You’re undoing your twist now?” He asked in a curious tone.

“Yes, because unlike with the shampoo, I do want to cover every inch of my hair with conditioner.” You answered as you unraveled one section. “Hand me that little tub over there.” You pointed and waited for him to retrieve the product for you.

He took a second to examine the label on the back of the container before handing it over to you. You twist open the top, and placed it down on the rim of the tub before holding it up and within the vicinity of his face.

“Smell.” You scooped out a glob of the product onto your fingers and held the container with your other hand for him to take.

He took the container from you, bringing it up to his snout and taking a dainty whiff of it. His eyes grew a little and he looked at you with recognition. “Oooh. So, this is what makes your hair smell so good.”

“That and a few other products.” You giggled as you applied the thick cream to your strands. “Sooo… You’ve smelled my hair before?” You raised a brow at him and smirked teasingly.

“Not in a creepy way.” He mimicked your expression.

“Mhmm .”

“I’m a mutant turtle. Turtles naturally have a heightened sense of smell, and when you combine that with biogenetic mutation–”

“Yeah! Yeah! You’re in the clear!” You waved him off with a hand. “For now…”

Pulling out each section of twists, you lathered your locks with a generous amount of conditioner. Donatello reached out with his free hand and gently touched the ends of your hair with his fingertips. His head cocking slightly as he admired your freshly cleaned coils.

“It already looks rejuvenated.”

“Just wait and see how it looks tomorrow.”

He lifted his head at your comment. “Tomorrow?” He echoed.

You blinked at the question but then realized that he probably assumed you’d be washing out the conditioner immediately. “Oh! Yeah,” you bent down picking up a small bottle of ochre colored liquid infused with crushed herbs. Twisting the cap off of it, you used the attached dropper to apply the product to your hair. Stroking it in with the conditioner. “This is why I generally can’t hang out on wash day. It’s an overnight process.” You answered.

Pulling your hair back into a loose bun, you reached across Donatello and grabbed the towel that was hanging on a rack next to the tub. You used it to dry only your face and body before folding it around you and stepping out of the shower.

“I wrap my head up with a shower cap, and then my bonnet.” You picked up a plastic head wrap from your bathroom sink counter and then the satin one to show him the two head pieces before putting them on in said order. “The heat coming off my head underneath the wraps will essentially bake the product into my cuticles. And the longer I do that for, the better… In my opinion.” You shrugged and smiled a little.

“O-Oh… So, technically the process is done in the morning then?” He asked.

“Or whenever I wake up.”

You watched with confusion, however, when Donatello’s gaze dropped to the bottom of the tub. Cocking your head, you waited for him to speak, but seconds passed in silence. Just as you parted your lips to call out to him, he looked back up at you.

“I guess you’ll have to show me how you style your hair another time then.” One side of his mouth quirked into what looked like a disappointed smile. “I have to get back to the sewers before day break, and I shouldn’t move in the light either…” He cupped his hands below his waist and shrugged as well.

“The whole… ‘work in the shadows’ thing. ”

“Oh… Right.” Your lips stayed agape as you thought on his circumstances. You knew them to be true, and they were completely justified. Even though there were a handful of humans that did know about his existence, he and his family wanted to remain unknown to the general public. He wouldn’t be able to return to your apartment until the next night, and while the treatment would stay in your hair for at least eight hours; you weren’t sure if it would be advised to leave it in any longer than that.

Your tongue swiped over your bottom lip while you considered your options. You could do a thirty-minute treatment instead, or make another day with him styling your hair.

…..Or a third option.

Your fingertips rubbed together at your sides, and you bit your lip at the idea. It was probably too forward, but you wouldn’t know until you suggested it.

“Or…” You started and instantly felt your cheeks burn hot. “You could stay the night?...” You looked to him with arched brows before quickly adding, “If you want! And if that’s okay?..”

His bottom lip dropped and his eyes blinked rapidly behind his glasses. The smooth confidence he emitted before seemed to have vanished as he was loss for words. You winced at the silence that filled the space between the two of you again, but the motion must’ve turned a gear in his head. Suddenly, he jolted and nodded eagerly.

“Ye-Yeah!!” He sputtered out. Flush darkening his cheeks as well. “That would be fine! I just– will have to let the others know that I won’t be coming home till later…” His sentence trailed off at the end as his gaze dropped again, although it was clear that he was processing everything in his head.

You couldn’t help but to giggle and feel satisfaction in catching him off guard.

“Cool.” You smiled. “We can stay up late playing video games, or watch some movies.”

Or cuddle… You thought.

“Two of my favorite things to do with my favorite person!...”

You watched his eyes widen with panic when you gave him a look of surprise. He held up his hands, and went to speak, but you quickly cut him off by ducking out of the bathroom. You returned shortly after with a fluffy large towel in hand, and Donatello was still standing in the tub. You chucked the towel into his chest, and he grasped it with one hand.

“Make sure you wipe down good. You wouldn’t want to get your 'favorite persons’ couch wet.” You winked at him.

Eventually, his faced relaxed into a soft smile. “Right.”

The two of you stared at each other with content for several seconds before you broke the silence with another teasing remark.

“I’mma see if I got a bonnet that will fit your head.” You snickered and he chortled.

#TMNT #TMNT Bayverse #TMNT 2014 #TMNT 2016 #TMNT x Reader #Donatello #Donatello x Reader #Black Reader #TMNT Imagine #TMNT Lit #Mermies Writing

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bytedykes · 1 year

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[ID: digital art of Klavier Gavin from Ace Attorney. Shown in full body, he's wearing a pink crop tube top, a long dark purple coat, a knee-length black skirt with a piano keys border, knee-high boots with star cutouts, and an orange star earring. He's smiling, and has one hand tucked into his pocket, the other holding up a pair of plain sunglasses. Klavier is drawn with light brown skin and dyed-blonde hair that's in a messier version of his signature twist. The background is white, with a yellow circle that has colorful swirling patterns on it behind him. Second image is a closeup of his face. /end ID]

klavier supremacy

#klavier gavin #ace attorney #aa #ace attorney fanart #eyestrain #nik art #accessible art #misc #is this outfit Good? i doubt it. was it Fun To Draw? yes very much so. no more questions #hes so hot beautiful etc i love drawing him i love him <3 #TWOOO drawings in one day??? yeah <3 im insane

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miracleandplagueau · 1 year

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MIRACLE AND PLAGUE -- ALL LINEUPS + DESIGN NOTES

Good luck to anyone reading this, I spent good 1.5 hour on writing this out instead of studing LMAO

JIAYI DUPAIN-CHENG -- WONDERBUG

- She designed the jacket herself. There's a clover logo on the back with a hidden signature.

- One of the bracelets (the ribbon one) is a matching gift from Alya. She has a similar one.

- The red fade is a side-effect of the Wonder

- In her hero form, her irises or pupils aren't visible

- The symbol on her belt is the chinese symbol of luck

- She has two yoyos in the pockets on her sides - one is a spare one

- Her capette is supposed to resemble Tikki's "wings"

- She has small metal guards on the top of her hands/gloves

- The anthennas are tied into her hair

ADRIEN AGRESTE -- CHAT NOIR

- His hair fade is dark brown. I chose a softer shade because black-black did not look nice

- Adrien is wearing clothes from his father's brand. It's most evident because of the butterfly logo on the front of the sweater

- Cat ears and tail real

- The tail has a little ball on the very end. It's in order to imitate Plagg's tail and It gives some personality to the design.

- He has three sticks attached to his belt

- The whiskers are barely visible but they're there!

GABRIEL AGRESTE -- MONARCH

- He's wearing darker clothes to reflect on his gloomy personality and in order not to stand out as he's trying to avoid attention outside of his home

- The coat was designed himself - similarly to Jiayi's jacket that she designer on her own

- His hair color is light purple and most of the time comes off as silver which is definitely to his advantage

- The hero form has little antennas that usually bend along his hair

- Transformation is definitely more combat-based despite the power being suiter for long-distance

- The back material resemble butterfly wings and allow him to fall slower If needed

- The additional set of eyes serve a purpose of supporting his eyesight as glasses don't appear in his hero form

ALYA CESAIRE -- RENA ROGUE

- The ribbon on her wrist is matching with Jiayi

- She wears a beret sometimes

- The shirt is a reference to a video game character she's a fan of

- The sleeves of the jacket are made out of leather

- The mask resembles a fox with spiky parts under her eyes. It also has a white part running down from her forehead

- The brown shoulder parts are actually short fur. So are the side cuts on the pants, they're also fluffy

- While the tail takes a form very similar to the Wonder itself, it still functions as a regular tail

- Her ears are very pointy and long

- Mismatched socks

CHLOE BOUGREOIS -- QUEEN BEE

- She technically shouldn't be walking around with open shoulders, but she uses her father's influence to avoid following the dress code.

- The scrunchie she's wearing to make her bun has little strings that are meant to look a little like antennas

- All three of her designs have yellow-dark stripes, in hero form's case It's yellow-red.

- In her second design, she's wearing Wonderbug merch

- She has little fluffy cuffs on her wrists that are similar to Pollen's fluff

- Her boots are meant to look very similar to Pollen's legs, even with the weird "extension" at the back

- The "wings" have little hanging jewlers at the endings, making them look more decorative than functional yet It continues to serve a similar purpose to Monarch's wings

- The anthennas are a bit thicker at the end in comparison to Monarch's

NINO

- I don't have much about Nino yet, I still need to design his hero form

- I gave him a little braid on the side with colorful marbles at the very end

- He always gave me the skaterboy vibe so I went along with it and gave him knee guards (mismatched like Alya's socks :p)

- Ripped sleeve from an old fall

- Big headphones replaced with earbuds and a red hat to add more red

SABRINA RAINCOMPLIX

- Her first design is very similar to her original

- She's wearing a semi-formal attire with elements from the school's uniform

- Her second design is very opposite to Chloe's usual style/style that she chose to hold on to while in Chloe's presence

- It's a mix of everything, but motifs like mushrooms, suns, space. There's also a ton of accessories (like bracelets and moon-themed jewlery on the glasses) and things that let her personalize everything a bit more like patches on the pants.

- She's wearing a headband with a blue flower

JULEKA COUFFAINE

- I gave her a slight tweak to the outfit, but nothing very big so I'll pass on design notes

- She's wearing a matching necklace with Rose

LILA ROSSI

- Lila's hair is braided into a long braid with front hair being stylized after fox's tails

- She's seen wearing parts of her school's uniform - most notably the red jacket

- Her eyes are green with yellow tints at the lower part

- Volpina's form might not look that far off, but there's a few very important parts to mention

- As Monarch's power isn't strong enough to actually make a form fully resembling a fox holder, Volpina looks more like a Jackal. Jackals from afar are generally similar to a fox with the exception of longer ears and muted colors. Her flatter tail, ears are supposed to look like that

- The shorts are simliar to the ones from the canon design

LUKA COUFFAINE

- Luka's style was revamped completely, giving him a more individual, indie-rock kind of style.

- The ripped jeans are matching with his sister :D

- He's got snake bites now

- I left the blue jacket from the canon, just making it bigger and worn only for colder weather

- Luka has freckles on his shoulders

NATHANIEL KURTZBERG

- A bunch of changes made but I don't have too much notes about it

- He usually has his hair down whereas it looks very similar to canon, but occassionally the hair is tied up

MARC ANCIEL

- Half-star on the shoes

- Two chains pinned to the shorts: one is a regular chain, second is the thin, longer one

- Colors present on the T-shirt: purple, magenta, pink, yellow-y, muddy green + the star

ALIX KUBDEL -- BUNNIX

- Her hair is a little shorter than in canon

- The hoodie is cropped while the shirt underneath is just plain

- Fingerless gloves that also act as hand guards for rollerblading are often seen

- She has a scar under her right knee

- Unlike the usual fade, Bunnix has a light/blue strike in her hair

- That round, fluffy, cloud-like motif is present along the entire hero form

- The mask has three freckles on each side

NATALIE SANCOEUR

- A Gabriel-brand broch

TIKKI

Dark shade fading from her lower limbs

Four arms

Little wings on the back - she can fly without them anyway

Long "eyelashes"

PLAGG

Much more fluffier

The tail has this off spiky part at the very end

Long long whiskers

NOOROO

Fluff at the chest and the ends of lower limbs

Similar fade as tikki, but a lighter shade instead

Also long "eyelashes"

TRIXX

Fluffy

POLLEN

4 Anthennas

Thin limb endings unlike other insect-like Kwamis

The wings are very thin

Points of bending (limbs) are bend backwards (see lower limbs)

DUUSU

Bird-like legs

Pattern on the tail are actually additional eyes

The chest is made out of colorful, small feathers

WAYZZ

Hard to touch

Shell on the back is brown with green moss-like spots

TUZIN (RABBIT WONDER)

Cloud-like theme present

Extremely soft to touch

Ears are deformed, they are naturally stylized and are supposed to look unrealistic

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hatecharred · 11 days

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A VERY DESCRIPTIVE PROFILE OF YOUR MUSE . Repost with the information of your muse, including headcanons, etc. If you fail to achieve some of the facts, add some other of your own !

NAME: Toya Todoroki. ALIAS/NICKNAME: Dabi. Noodle. (Thanks Tomura) AGE: 24. SPECIES: Meta-human. SEX: Male. NATIONALITY: Japanese. INTERESTS: Music, Art, Stain / Stain's ideology, Anarchy, Individuality, Sewing/Patching. PROFESSION: Street urchin > Villain.

BODY TYPE: Tall, thin, athletic. He's narrow waisted with fairly board shoulders. He also suffers metabolic myopathy. Dabi's muscles are always tight, giving him the look of someone who has a much better physique than he actually does. Needless to say Dabi's "muscles" are pretty much useless for strength and aren't a result of fitness, but hey, around the scarring it makes him look like he has a hot body so a wins a win. EYES: Sharp, Striking blue, he typically has a lazy, heavily lidded expression. HAIR: Usually spayed/dyed black, thick, short and spiky/unruly. SKIN: Pale, terribly scared in large discolored patches all over his body. FACE: Rounded, delicate features, some would say he's the spitting image of his mother under all the twisted scarring and necrotic grafting. Frankenstein's monster: ikemen edition, though keep in mind Dabi doesn't find himself pretty or handsome/attractive in any way. POSTURE: Typically relaxed, exerts an aura of confidence. HEIGHT: 5'9'. VOICE: I like what Jason did with Dabi's voice so thats the one I imagine for him. His voice is hoarse and raspy and he tends to speak roughly and informally. He sometimes seems strained when he talks and this is a result of extreme damage to his larynx / vocal cords from his burning. SIGNATURE OUTFIT: His villain outfit consists of a black/dark navy leather assemble of a long black coat and pants that are stapled and stitched in their seams to match his bodily aesthetic along with black boots and a usually white undershirt and belt. This outfit is strongly fire resistant and thus these are the only clothes in Dabi's wardrobe that aren't frayed and burned all over. SIGNIFICANT OTHER: @marcescenx 🩵 COMPANIONS: The League of Villains. ANTAGONISTS: UA / Pro heroes / The government. His family ( In his head, its the mental illness luv ) STRENGTHS: His flames are incredibly powerful, burning at 2,200 °F average which is the temp of lava and gets exponentially hotter when Dabi's feelings mix in. He's also pretty perceptive and a very fast learner with a strong sense of justice. WEAKNESSES: Funnily enough, also his flames along with his bodily insensitivity giving him pretty much no cap on how hot his fire can get even at risk of his flesh and bones. Having a spicy mentality doesn't help either, given it means his off switch is pretty broken. That sense of justice I mentioned is also twisted by a neurotic revenge fantasy. COLORS: Blue, black, purple and red. FRUITS: Peaches, strawberries, apples. DRINKS: Water, soft drink, tea. He's not picky. ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES: Again if he's thirsty hes not picky but he wont spend money on alcohol. Stealing it or having it given to him is a different matter though. SMOKES/DRUGS: Funnily enough, no. These things require money and Dabi rarely has money. Whatever money Dabi does have he usually puts towards shelter and food. He's cautious of drugs and alcohol due to his already impaired state. His body is dulled, if he dulls his mind he's in real trouble and honestly for someone suicidal he's pretty prudent about these things. In my headcanon he's also a non smoker in light of the one time he tried to smoke a cigarette he had the most horrid sensation of pain / burning in his lungs which was probably a residual thing from when he actually did burn alive and needless to say it was so wickedly unpleasant and terrifying it put Dabi off cigarettes for life.

DRIVER’S LICENSE: He doesn't have one and probably never will.

TAGGING : @marcescenx , @drengar , @bunnybolt , @musehotpot , @ingen1um , @dynmghts , @deibreak , @osoreruna , @eraseur , @musedriven , @wingeatersblog and anyone else who wants to do it !

#⊰ ° ‧: ｡* 炎 🧷 ━◞ 𝑻𝒂𝒈 ↝ Dash Games ⊱#⊰ ° ‧: ｡* 炎 🧷 ━◞ 𝑻𝒂𝒈 ↝ Headcanons ⊱#Headcanons

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sunny-starz4u · 28 days

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⋆౨ৎ˚⟡.• Abbacchio's Birthday

➛ Main Characters: Leone Abbacchio ★ Bruno Bucciarati

➛ Side Characters: Team Bucciarati + Trish

➛ Ship Pairing: BruAbba

➛ Word Count: 2,743 ★ Character Count: 15,537

Another year gone by, and here we are again. Abbacchio’s birthday. Something he’d been dreading the whole 364 days prior.

It’s not like anyone will remember, he thought. So no point in stressing, right? Abbacchio had always hated birthdays, especially after his 8th one when all of his friends forgot. He hated the concept of getting older, the thought rattled him to the core. One of the few things that could scare him. The future. It was a silly fear, really, but a valid one at that. And one that haunted him thoroughly.

He pushed himself to the edge of the bed and leaned over, allowing the blood to start recirculating in his body. After a moment, he stood, steadying himself so he didn’t fall. A few easy steps and he was up and going to his closet.

Just because no one else is celebrating doesn’t mean I can’t feel a little special myself… Abbacchio talked to himself all the time, sometimes even narrating what he was doing. But mostly conversation, to simulate someone was there. He hadn’t had anyone in forever, so one would expect the mind to do what his does in a situation like that.

He gripped his signature purple coat, but as his hand tightened around the top of the fabric, he suddenly changed his mind. The grip loosened as he began to search for a different outfit to wear.

Grabbing an expensive corset he never wore, he held it up in the air, inspecting it. It’s intricate stitchings and ruffles were beautiful in his eyes. He even began to wonder why he never did wear it. He decided that this would be the main piece of his outfit for the day, and pulled a bolero from the closet as well. This will go along nicely, considering the colors. Abbacchio then chose some stylish culottes alongside his special belt— the one with the large “A” on it. He slipped on his sleek black boots. They were spiked around the top and had platforms on the bottom. He stood and carefully inspected himself in a tall standing mirror placed in the corner of his room.

He grew to be the slightest bit excited, not something he felt often.

Perhaps today would be different than all the others.

Abbacchio finished dressing himself and scooped up a jewelry holder sitting atop his vanity, filled with special trinkets of his. He gently picked up a necklace Bucciarati had given him for Christmas. This necklace had one simple thing on it: a charm that had the initials “AxB”. It meant the world to him and he promised himself, and, frankly, the whole universe, that he’d never ever lose it.

So you can always remember me, even when we aren’t together! He had said when he gave it to Abbacchio. Bucciarati and Abbacchio had always had something special together. Not that he didn’t enjoy the company of the gang, but he had just always had a deeper connection with Bucciarati. He even allowed him to call him Bruno sometimes. Abbacchio would allow Bucciarati to call him Leone, but his past butchered any chances of that in the future. Though, it never seemed to bother Bucciarati. He was an understanding man, and trusted that Abbacchio had his reasons. Bucciarati had picked up a habit of calling Abbacchio “Abba”, which he didn’t dislike too much, and condoned it as long as it stayed a secret between the two. In fact, he quite enjoyed it, but wasn’t about to express that to him.

Abbacchio’s slender fingers hooked the delicate chain behind his neck, just under where his hair ended. His long and soft lavender hair rested gently on top of it. Even though he didn’t think the day would be going as well as it was, he washed his hair the night before just in case. Turns out it was a good call after all. When he grasped the hairbrush on his vanity, it seemed that his hair didn’t even need brushing. A few tangled knots came out smoothly. Huh, that’s odd. They usually don’t brush out that easy.

He would tell himself that this might be his lucky day, but every time he set his mindset that way, something awful happened. For example; he had been having a wonderful day with the gang at a park, and all of a sudden, Narancia fell and fractured his arm. Another time they had gone to the mall and Mista attacked a security guard for simply making fun of his outfit, and when he called a “code 44” on his walkie talkie, Mista lost it. This resulted in the gang being kicked out of the mall for the next 3 months (for association), and Mista for 7. Unfortunately, that’s just how his luck is. So, he let the thought be. If it was going to be a good day, he didn’t want to acknowledge it until after the fact.

After applying some makeup (said “some” makeup being lipstick, heavy eyeshadow, darkening his eyebrows and eyelashes, etc etc.), he headed downstairs to the kitchen for some breakfast. A very fast walk, which didn’t even give him time to think of what he wanted to eat. His house wasn’t big, quite small, actually, but he loved it. It was his, and it was special.

Arriving, he lifted some sticky notes off of the counter as he drifted in. Snatching a pen as he walked, he jotted down a few ingredients he needed to get next time he went grocery shopping. Abbacchio’s mind always wandered around different tasks he had to do, and they never left him alone. He took up a habit of having two journals; one to keep his thoughts and events he found significant, even some photographs, and the other were all of his responsibilities (appointments, lists, etc.).

Setting the pen and small paper back down on the other side of the counter, on top of his responsibility notebook, he opened the pantry and pulled out a few pancake ingredients. A batter mix, flour, baking powder, and sugar. Setting these all down on another counter, where he’d make the pancakes, he opened the cabinet and got out salt and vanilla extract for an extra yummy kick. He then opened the refrigerator and grabbed milk and butter.

These pancakes are going to be delicious, he told himself. Something special just for me!

A good amount of baking later, and the pancakes were done. Beautifully golden tops and perfectly plump and fluffy structures. He slabbed a small amount of butter on the top and drizzled maple syrup over it as well. He set the glass plate on the wooden dining table and poured himself some milk as a drink. None of the gang would ever suspect he drank milk as a regular beverage, but here we are.

He quickly inhaled the pancakes and downed the milk, enjoying it thoroughly. He walked the fragile dishes over to the sink and carefully set them at the bottom, prepared to be cleaned later. I suppose I should start the real festivities, now that that’s all done. He skipped over to the wall phone and dialed Bucciarati’s number. Maybe I could spend today with him.

A dial tone or two later, he picked up. “Ciao, Abba! How are you today?”

“Doing just fine myself, how about you?”

“Well, I’m just wonderful! Did you have something you wanted to say?” His cheery tone always made Abbacchio smile, though in person, he never showed it.

“I was thinking maybe we could, you know, do something today..” as he twirled the phone chord in his fingers he quickly realized that he had absolutely nothing planned to say. He was embarrassed of it but quickly dismissed the feeling.

“Oh, of course! Is there anything specific you had in mind? I could come up with a few things if not!”

“Hm… maybe we could just go for a walk and see where the day takes us?”

“That sounds lovely,” Bucciarati replied. “When shall it happen?”

“Maybe.. 20 minutes? How does that sound?”

“Perfection. I’ll make it happen. Do we gotta plan?”

“We should if I’m not mistaken.”

“Well then, arrivederci, Abbacchio! I’ll see you then!~”

“See ya…”

Just as planned, Abbacchio arrived perfectly on time. Bucciarati was already waiting there, but that was to be expected as it was what he always did. Getting to places earlier than expected, that is. Abbacchio always managed to be exactly on the dot. Not one minute before, not one after.

“Ciao, Bruno.” Abbacchio slid up next to him and looked him up and down. It seems he wasn’t the only one who dressed up. Bucciarati was wearing a blouse, still spotted with his signature keyhole pattern, but still different than what he normally wore. His pants were also dotted with the same fabric, and were flared at the bottom. Good ol’ Bucciarati fashion, Abbacchio joked to himself.

“I see you’re breaking away from your normal outfit today, aren’t you?” Bucciarati said to Abbacchio. He blushed a bit and looked away slightly, and then Bucciarati’s eyes grew ever so slightly wider. “N-Not that that’s a bad thing! I think you look beautiful..” Abbacchio turned back and cracked a grin. He knew Bucciarati meant it, and that made him happier than anything. Bucciarati softly gasped and beamed brightly. “Oh, you’re wearing the necklace I got you! That’s so sweet…”

“Well, it does mean a lot to me,” Abbacchio didn’t mention it was unintentional and let Bucciarati have his moment. “C’mon, Abba, let’s begin our walk.” He offered up his arm by bending it outwards, and Abbacchio promptly put his arm in the opening. The two interlocked and off they went.

They talked of many things on their outing, catching up, news on the gang, future outings, among many other things. Eventually, they passed by the fancy restaurant the gang adored so much.

“Shall we stop for lunch?” Bucciarati asked as he gazed into Abbacchio’s purple-yellow ombré eyes. “Sure, I don’t see why not.” They followed each other inside and were seated in a booth only moments later. Abbacchio ordered his favorite; a slice of Margherita pizza alongside a glass of white wine. Bucciarati also picked something he enjoyed, squid pasta. Abbacchio never understood his love for it, but didn’t judge him regardless.

“You know,” the waiter said in a thick Italian accent. “We offer 10% off of any meal for couples. It’s part of our restaurant’s purpose after all!” Abbacchio’s face flushed and he tilted his head down slightly, and Bucciarati’s mouth fell open a bit. “O-Oh! We’re.. we’re not…” he stammered, and the waiter picked up quickly. “Ah, my apologies. Well, I’ll be back with your order shortly!”

The wait was awkward as Abbacchio leaned back and picked at his painted nails and Bucciarati tapped his own against each other, hunched over the table a bit.

“You know… that thing the waiter said..” Bucciarati began.

“Huh?” Abbacchio looked up with one arched brow.

“Forget it-“ Bucciarati swatted his hand in the air as he sat up straighter. “It was a silly thought.”

A few minutes passed and the same waiter returned with their dishes. “Bon appetite!~”

They ate in silence for a small while and then picked up on some more conversation. About 20 minutes later, they had finished their food but were still giggling in the booth. Gazing directly at each other, across the table, they lived in the moment and nothing more. The Moody Blues played gently through the speakers in the background.

Abbacchio laughed as he sipped on his wine, listening to the light thunk as he set it against the table again. “Hey, who knew they’d have the band with the same name as my Stand playing here,” Bucciarati snickered at his comment. Melancholy Man was the specific song playing. Neither one understood why it was playing amongst a soundtrack of pure instrumental Italian music but they didn’t question it anyways.

“Well, don’t you think we should continue on our walk? Maybe we can even find an ice cream shop.” Abbacchio prompted after a few more minutes. “That would be lovely,” Bucciarati responded. He uttered a few more words under his breath, but none Abbacchio could make out. None negative, that was for sure.

2 hours later, the two were still chatting away as they returned to Bucciarati’s home. The keys jangled in the door and it almost sounded as if there was shuffling inside, but Abbacchio decided to ignore it. The door gently swung open, nothing but pure darkness inside…

The light flickered to life and 5 faces popped up behind furniture, and yelled, “Happy Birthday!” Abbacchio was taken aback a bit, as the yelling and sudden gesture shocked him. He stared wide-eyed, jaw dropped as the sight. “Oh,”

Abbacchio’s eyes grew ever so slightly wet, but he managed to push the feeling back down. He wouldn’t let a bunch of his friends see him cry, let alone a new one.

“So, what do you think?” Bucciarati looked at his surprised expression and tried to take a guess at what could be going on in his mind.

Abbacchio took a few steps in and gazed around for a moment, taking in his surroundings. Streamers, confetti, balloons, a banner that read “Happy Birthday, Abbacchio!” all in different shades of purple. Giorno, Mista, Fugo, Narancia, and Trish all stood in the foyer of Bucciarati’s mansion in their own fancy and fun outfits. Abbacchio looked back to Bucciarati, smiling from ear to ear near the entrance. “Oh,” he gasped once more. “It’s so perfect…” Never had anyone done something like this for him before. Not even when he was a child.

Abbacchio had been a big dreamer his whole life, up until his police incident, then he didn’t dream too much at all. In fact, any literal dreams, rather than figurative ones, were pure nightmares. But this— this was beyond anything he could have ever come up with. He ran over to Bucciarati and hugged him tightly, and Bucciarati rested his gentle hands against Abbacchio’s back in return. “Happy birthday, Abba…” he whispered so only he could hear. “Thank you, Bruno. Thank you thank you thank you.” He whispered back.

Abbacchio turned back to everyone and the corners of his mouth upturned. “So,” he started. “Who wants to get this party up and going?”

Hours of dancing, games, eating, and overall fun actives later, they all settled down and began to watch Abbacchio’s favorite movie: Sling Blade. The gang was lying around on the floor on blankets and pillows with bowls of popcorn and other various sweet treats (which Sex Pistols were fighting over as Mista made an attempt to quiet them) while the party planner and the birthday boy sat close to each other on the couch. As each carefully crafted scene played out on screen, Abbacchio set his arm over the top of the plush couch, around Bucciarati.

Bucciarati looked up to Abbacchio and he returned the steady gaze. Looking directly into his eye, Abbacchio whispered, “This has to be the best birthday ever. I could never have even come close to asking for better. Thank you,” it seemed as if he was going to continue with more, but Bucciarati brought his lips close to Abbacchio’s ear and muttered a few words to him, only at a volume that Abbacchio and Abbacchio only could hear.

“I love you so much, Abbacchio. And it means more than anything else to me that this is something that you wanted. I dearly hope you continue to remain happy and healthy, maybe even here with me.”

And with that, Bucciarati placed a small kiss on Abbacchio’s cheek, leaving a subtle mark of light pink lipstick against his pale skin. Abbacchio was absolutely dumbfounded but simultaneously delighted with the action he had just done. He gently placed his fingertips on his own face to feel the spot Bucciarati had just kissed. Bucciarati turned his attention back towards the screen and rested his head on Abbacchio’s shoulder. Abbacchio’s tense and slender frame softened under his weight, and welcomed the rush of joy and warmth.

Bucciarati’s fondness of Abbacchio never hit him until now, as he realized all of the very obvious signs he liked him for a long, long time. He saw potential in him since day one. Abbacchio breathed out gently and cuddled Bucciarati closer to him.

This would be his little secret.

Their little secret.

A/N: This was so fun to write and I literally was so obsessed when I first made it!! I still read it to myself occasionally whenever I'm feeling down. :) Genuinely one of my proudest pieces. <3

#Jojo's Bizarre Adventure #JJBA #JJBA Fanfic #JJBA Part 5 #Golden Wind #Vento Aureo #Leone Abbacchio #Bruno Bucciarati #Bruno Buccellati #BruAbba #Streety's Homemade Fanfics

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silentreigns · 6 months

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My favorite outfits from Lewis Hamilton's Fashion Week (LHFW) 2023

Seeing people post the compilations had me wondering what was my favorite paddock look he wore. This was very hard because there were over 80 outfits to choose from. I am not a fashion expert but i know what i do and do not like. And if there's one thing about me, imma give my opinions that literally nobody asked for. Credits to @.hamazinglew on Instagram for their work on sourcing the brands he's wearing.

These are in no particular order because I don't have it in me to rank the best of the best. That's just way too hard

Bahrain Race Day - Dior

The top is alright but what really gets my attention is the half-skirt part of the outfit. More of that please and thank you

Jeddah Quali Day - Rick Owens

His waist was snatched and the top was sleeveless. What more could you ask for?? I wish he was wearing skinny jeans with the signature Rick Owen's high heel boots but I understand why he isn't 😅

Miami Race Day - Rick Owens

I know it was hot as hell on that day. But he wanted to make history, and that's what this is. I love sequins, and I love the color purple, so this is like my dream outfit in a way

Baku Race Day - Tommy Hilfiger

I give Tommy Hilfiger a lot flack because a lot of the outfits in their recent collections don't move me at all. It's really all about the styling. If he buttoned down the jacket all the way I probably wouldn't have cared much for this outfit

Silverstone Practice Day - Louis Vuitton

I liked Pharrell's Louis Vuitton collection for the most part. A lot of people said that it was uninspired and tacky but I was living for it. What can I say, I am easily influenced. Lewis really had that shit on and the bell-bottom pants completes this look

Zandvoort Race Day - Rick Owens

The fabric looks so cool. It's like his outfit is wet but it's not at the same time. If the top was completely see-through this probably would have been my favorite outfit of the year

Qatar Practice and Quali - JW Anderson and Rick Owens

This outfit would be considered average if it wasn't for his chest tattoo being shown. Normalize boob windows. More people need to wear tops like this please and thank you 🙏

Las Vegas Race Day - Burberry

The outfits he wore during the Vegas weekend chewed. And this one had to be the best one. He's sparkly and shiny like what more could you ask for???

Honorable Mention: Paris Fashion Week - Wales Bonner

I cannot talk about LHFW without talking about his best outfit of the year. Lives were changed when these images first hit the TL. This is the best suit he's ever worn. I am not quite sure how he's gonna top this but he will find a way

#lewis hamilton #f1 #fashion #too bad there's an image limit on posts because there are a lot of outfits that i am missing #all red outfit from mexico deserves to be on here

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yuliyaana · 1 year

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— THE ANIMATION AND ARTSTYLE USED FOR THE VISUALS

The amazing use of both 2D and 3D elements mixes perfectly with the animation and the art style and it really reminds me of the animation of Into the Spider-Verse. Everything’s an eye candy and wallpaper-worthy. The vibrant colors and the lighting?? The visuals and the background art, they're just so GORGEOUS! Like you can see those little paint brush strokes on some parts of the film. You know the movie’s gonna be good when they apply this kind of style. This movie is an absolute masterpiece. *chef’s kiss*

— THE WORLD BUILDING

OKAAAAY I WILL NEVER GET OVER WITH THE WORLD BUILDING ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY WENT TO THE DARK FOREST— it’s just so hilarious when Puss and Kitty got depressing and dangerous path/terrains while Perrito got the easiest path because he’s a carefree and cheerful pure-hearted therapy dog who sees the positivity in life (despite his sad “funny story” like he said) and it really shows that whoever possesses the Star Map judges the character of those who holds it.

— CHARACTER DESIGN

Can we talk about Goldilocks’ character design? I really, really love how they designed her— like every details of her design reflects the way she got raised by her bear family. You see those mismatched earrings? They resemble Mama Bears different earrings. Her necklaces? Baby Bear also got a chain necklace. And the faint scar she got on her left eyebrow later on? Now it resembles Papa Bear’s scar on his left eye. Okay I love this her golden blonde hair so much. It really fits her name ESPECIALLY her two huge buns resemble like bear ears! Her outfit got dirtied in the dark forest making it look brown, like her family's brown fur plus she got those little fangs omg. She's so cute but she can also kill you. TvT

Jack Horner, okay this chaotic huge man got pink hair and chubby cheeks. He’s got the perks alright? Hear me out, his pink tie resembles an icing piping cream pastry and he got those small printed pies on his purple vest. He BIG.

And finally, this big bad lobo himself and his name is DEATH, like literally. He’s the Grim Reaper of Shrek Universe. His design freaking SLAPS! Oh man, this brooding wolf deadass got the hardest drip for me ngl. The black poncho fits him perfectly for a grim reaper like him. The fact that his eyes always stand out making him look even more intimidating and menacing. We all know that the universal look of Grim Reaper is a skeleton in a long black cloak with his scythe while DreamWorks made Death as a wolf with his signature dual-sickles (likely as a reference for Grim Reaper’s Scythe), for me it’s an interesting detail because his main target was Puss in Boots coming to punish him for recklessly wasting away his past eight lives mainly because he’s a cat, and wolves are known for being a natural predator. Not to mention, he was always there whenever Puss dies. He was so patient enough to finally get to his prey. Another interesting detail of him is the dark part of his fur in his face, donning a skull-like shape because he’s literally the Grim Reaper. Overall, he’s 12/10 for me and my most favorite antagonist so far.

— THE LESSONS BEHIND PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH

Sometimes whenever we wish for something that we want, we didn’t realize that thing we were wishing for was already there all along.

Puss himself already learnt his lesson to value his remaining ninth life at the end of the movie because every ounce of moment in our lives are precious and we need to appreciate them fully. We will never know when our time comes. As Perrito said to Puss, having one life in enough.

Sacrificing your personal needs to save someone you truly love and care about. Like how Goldilocks ditched the Wishing Map when she was one way of granting her wish and instead, she helped saving Baby from disappearing to the Star Wall.

...and they lived happily ever after.

#puss in boots the last wish #puss in boots 2 #puss in boots #puss in boots kitty softpaws #puss in boots perrito #puss in boots puss #puss in boots spoilers #puss in boots goldilocks #puss in boots jack horner #puss in boots death #the last wish #death wolf

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n3onstarss · 1 year

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Some self-indulgent Rottmnt! Raph x reader because I'm bored and projecting and had a Moment™ earlier.

Reader is a pale fox, agender and transmasc btw, although not much of it comes up besides species.

'This is gonna be great!' I think to myself as I trek through the dark and damp sewers, purposefully ignoring the small puddles splashing around my boots and holding my bushy tail off the ground. 'I'm going to get to spend the night with my boyfriend, at my boyfriend's house, and meet his family! Shit did i wear the right outfit?' I ask myself as my paws pat down my shirt. 'I mean, it's a plain black turtleneck shirt and my fancy schmancy green jeans, you can't go wrong with that! And i made sure my earrings are the nice matching stud ones too!' My right paw moves once again to feel up long pointed ears, claws catching on the three metal studs on each side, while the other stays wrapped tight around the strap of my plain black duffel bag. 'Yeah, I'll be fine!'

'Did i put all my earrings in? what if one closes up during dinner or something or they're lopsided? did i remember to pack pyjamas that are decent? God please don't tell me I packed two shirts instead of a shirt and pants again. what if my mascara runs? or my eyeliner? fuck did i smudge it on the way down?' I glance over the side of my hand as i keep moving. Luckily i don't see any dark streaks in the pale tan fur. 'Oh okay nevermind. no black streaks, we're all good there at least.'

I barely have time to continue my spiraling train of thought before I reach where I was instructed to go. I pulled out my blocky red phone to shoot Raph a text to let him know I arrived. I couldn't see this supposed door and i didn't wanna just barge in either way.

Me: Hey, I'm outside! 💚

RedRover❤️: Oh okay!! I'll be right there love!

I started rocking back and forth on my heels while i waited the minute or two before the supposed door swung open. There, holding open the hidden, round, cement door stood my beloved partner. light poured out from behind the barrier and surrounded him in a halo of sorts. 'God, why does he always have to look ethereal?'

"Hey Red! you look nice as ever." a warm, fuzzy feeling couldn't be ignored at the compliment. seriously, how does he do this shit??

"Hello, also Red! you look stunning, love." i respond back without skipping a beat, making us both try to hold in peals of laughter at the matching names. It was almost stupid how easily it worked. they were our signature colors either way! What with his red bandana and the red markings in my fur, it wasn't a hard conclusion to come to.

As soon as we both collect ourselves, which takes a minute or two, he steps to the side to let me past. the sudden anxiety hits me worse then it did getting ready or even walking down here. I hold out my hand a little, a nonverbal ask to hold his hand, and he almost immediately scoops it into his larger one.

"Are you sure they'll like me..?" the words come out quiet, almost inaudible to even my ears, but he still catches them.

He squeezes my hand reassuringly. "they'll love you, Red. i just know it."

-----

He, infact, did not 'just know it'.

So far, everyone except the orange one, named Mikey, the spider yokai, Big Mama,.and the human girl, April, has a avoided making direct eye contact or speaking to me as much as they can. maybe it's first time awkwardness, maybe it's jitters, maybe they just don't like me.

The dinner table was just big enough to fit all of us, which was nice, and was laid out with bowls and plates. I'd offered to help set it earlier, but the blue one, Leo, had only shooed me away. tomato soup and grilled cheese was laid out, and now I feel like I dressed too fancy. God i look ridiculous, a blank spot in a sea of color.

Leo and the purple one, his twin Donnie, sat side by side as far away from me as possible, both their fathers and their mother seeming to follow suit. Raph sits to my left, April to my right and Mikey between her and Donnie. The other human, CJ or Casey, sat between Raph and Draxum. This left Big Mama sandwiched between Splinter and Draxum.

"Bone apple teeth!" Mikey calls, making everyone groan or giggle, before grabbing up the soup pot and ladle to pass around. I ultimately decide to try to wait until everyone else has gotten theirs so I'm not rude, but my plan is foiled when Raph notices my tenseness and scoops some into my bowl before reaching over me to pass to April.

Across the table i can see Leo lean towards his twin and whisper something. Both of them whisper heatedly for a few minutes and occasionally break eye contact to glare in my general direction, which only serves to make me want to shrink in on myself.

The urge to shrink in on myself only got stronger as dinner wore on, but luckily Mikey must've picked up on it. He kept up a slow and nice gentle conversation between the table, asking about everyone's day and basic info from me. Eventually everyone became wrapped up in their own seperated convos and left just me and Mikey talking, scooting and leaning back since April sat between us.

"So! what's your favorite color and why?"

"hmm.. green. It's very calming and it matches nicely with my fur, especially darker greens! very nature-y."

"OOOO! that's a good one! mines orange, obviously! it's a very warm, happy color and i love that!"

"Man you're reason is even better!" quiet giggling breaks out between us for a few seconds. "okay, okay! what's your favorite.. hobby?"

"oh definitely painting or baking! yours?"

"hard to choose really, either watching movies or listening to music."

"lame, man!" his words were harsh if his tone wasn't teasing.

as our conversation continued I could faintly make out remarks from the other side of the table over the other conversations. CJ, the other human, and Draxum, the other dad, were talking about school i think. Raph, Big Mama, and April were gossiping and arguing semantics. and the twins were whispering again.

Eventually Leo slammed his hands on the table and stood up. everyone had been done eating for a while now, but the sudden movement drew everyone's attention. The tense atmosphere was back, not as strong as earlier, but still there.

Without a word Leo gathered his and Donnie's dishes and left, presumably to clean up. everyone soon followed suit.

"I can get yours if you want." I offered to no one in particular, but Mikey, Raph and Splinter all took me up on the offer. As i made my way towards the kitchen hushed voices flowed out and immediately halted when I turned the corner. Glares followed me as i made my way to the sink, pointedly ignoring them, and rinsed the dishes quickly, ready to get out of their hair.

Instead, both turtles left and I decided to just finish the dishes to be polite. 'I wanna make a good impression so pleaseeeeee let this help.'

Turns out, the dishes didn't take very long and by the time I was heading back out it'd only been a few minutes.

By the time I was out there, movie night had been set up. Everyone was piled onto the floor to watch a Jupiter Jim movie and passing around a communal popcorn bowl, as Raph had told me earlier when we made the plans. Quickly and quietly i moved to sit next to Raph, snuggling my left side into his as everyone settled. About halfway into the movie Raph got a text and excused himself, as did Leo and Donnie. After a few minutes I decided to get up too, to get some water and refill the communal popcorn bowl, which was now reduced to unpopped kernels that CJ and Mikey kept eating. April snagged and handed me the bowl once i offered and I departed.

There was talking as i walked down the hall towards the kitchen, and i tried my best to ignore it so i wouldn't be rude.

unfortunately, my ears picked up a conversation i wasn't meant to hear.

"oh come on Raph! you brought a canine, a predator, into a house full of prey, and three other predators, and expect nothing bad to happen? what if theyre a villain? or lose it and return to their basic instincts? what then, huh?!"

'what is going on?'

"what? Leo, what do you mean basic instincts?"

"He means, dear Raphaella, returning to a predator mindset. seeing our family as either prey or competition. what do you expect us to do then?"

'oh..?'

"basic instincts dont affact anything, De-"

"Oh really?? explain that to your chirps and churrs and your savage episodes. explain that to Mikey hiding in his shell instinctively when threatened. Explain that to Donnie and I swimming often and our strange diets. WE have basic instincts too Raph, the only reason they don't affect our lives is because we aren't predators!"

'oh. okay.'

I stormed around the corner now, bowl still in hand and tears welling in my eyes. anger burning bright behind them. "You know what? fuck you! I've tried all. night! to prove I'm not some vicious fucking predator and you still accuse me of being one when I'm not even fucking there! I'm!- I'm.." the bowl slipped from my fingers, clanging loudly onto the floor.

horrified looks sat on everybody's faces in varying degrees. Donnie looked shocked I'd been there at all, Raph looked upset and pitying, and Leo.. he looked like i was about to murder him.

a small choked sob escaped me once i realized what I'd done. tears rolled down my face and effectively dragged my makeup with them. they didn't trust me, or love me or even like me. they see me as a monster. because of my stupid species. okay then, sure, fine. that's fine I'm fine everything is fine.

I began speed walking down the hall I'd came from, looking for a escape or place to hide. 'I'm such a fucking coward. running and hiding instead of letting them say anything. God this is pathetic, I'm letting my boyfriend fight my battles for me after i scared the shit out of his family because i just can't handle it. stupid stupid stupid.'

I hadn't realized I'd walked through the back of the silent living room, movie paused on the wall, or passed a frantic Mikey jogging down the hall towards the kitchen while absorbed in my thoughts, nor did I realize the yelling starting again and getting louder. all i could focus on was the "basic instinct" to get the fuck out of there.

Eventually, after a minute or two of twisting halls, I found a bathroom. perfect spot to hide, i guess.

I gently closed and locked the door behind me, not wanting to draw any more negative attention to myself. I flicked on the light, only to decide it was way too bright and turn it off in favor of the dim lamp on the counter.

The bathroom was a light green in color, with black and white checkered floors, which was nice i suppose. it didn't soothe my nerves but it provided a comforting atmosphere in a way. something that told me "its okay, let it all out" in its own little way. The bathtub was covered in a black curtain and looked inviting. I gently shifted the curtain aside as I started to hyperventilate, sitting myself in the tub. The quiet was soothing at first, but eventually it only made the bathroom into an echo chamber, making my thoughts bounce around my head in a quickening spiral.

It felt like an eternity before the knocking started. My sobbing only got worse, and louder in turn, which made the thing, person, call out. I couldn't process what was being said. I wanted to tell it to go away, to leave me in peace, but the words were stuck in my throat. my face was buried into my knees as i tightened my curl into upright fetal position, tears drenching my jeans knees worse then they already were. the knocking stopped as a few voices began talking outside followed by two sets of footsteps padding away. Light flooded the bathroom not long after and I shrunk in on myself further, curling my tail around myself to be as small as I could.

Footsteps echoed around the walls and the curtain was pulled aside as an unconscious growl built in my throat. When the voice started talking, my head snapped up, lips pulled up to bear my fangs and eyes wild. the thing, Orange one, jumped back in fear before backing, terrified, out of the room and closing the door. 'goddamnit this is only proving their point. i am a monster. i am i am i am i am i am.'

the same two words continued to float around my head until frantic, heavy running came down the hall and the door was thrown open again. My fur puffed up and my claws came out even more, only serving to make this feeling worse. My heartbeat was pounding in my ears and i couldn't hear anything else for a moment. Then the door was closed, something soft was sat down somewhere, and the light from the hall left, but the new thing didn't leave. the curtain was again pulled open, but much slower this time. 'I really fucked up and scared someone haven't I.. goddamnit! stupid stupid stupid stupid!'

the curtain finally revealed the figure. Tall and dark green with red patterns and fabric. I knew him, i felt safe with him. my fur didn't lay back, but the growing growl stopped and i could hear something other than my heartbeat again.

"hey hey.. easy there, you're okay, Red, Raph's gotcha.. you're fine.."

gentle hands wiggled under my arms and lifted me from my spot in the tub, holding me like a wet kit, before he stole my spot. I almost began growling again, how dare he steal my spot?, before i was placed slowly in his lap facing him.

A large, gentle hand began to smooth my fur, softly pushing it back down, as another hand cupped my face. His thumb moved to push away tears and smooth fur there too. My thoughts stopped their spiraling as i finally processed everything.

'This is, was, my boyfriend, sitting in his bathtub with me, trying to soothe me from.. whatever that whole ordeal was, and somehow not mad at me..'

As if he could hear the question in my head, he began to speak. "It's not your fault, Red. Nobody's mad at you, I'm not mad at you. And I'm not scared of you either, I can practically see you thinking it, and you've gotta know that I'm not scared of you. I don't think i ever will be scared of you a day in my life. what happened out there wasn't your fault, you're gonna be okay.. it's all gonna be okay.." as if my sobbing rubbed off on him, Raph started to tear up too.

I practically threw myself into his plastron, clinging tightly to him as the, now dry, sobs wracked my body. His hand that had been cupping my face was now gently sitting on the back of my head while that hand that'd been essentially petting me never stopped it's work. Our crying dyed down after what felt like forever, but neither of us dared to move for a while longer.

"a-are you gonna l-leave me?" i asked with a wobbly voice, still on the teetering edge of crying again.

"what? no! of course I'm not leaving you Red!" his voice was almost offended i asked, but somehow pitying too.

"b-but-" i wanted to argue that he should. I'm as dangerous as they claimed, I'll only hurt.

"uh-uh, no buts. I'm not leaving and that's final." i was pulled tighter into his plastron as the petting stopped. "i won't go unless you want me to, and even then I'll always be here for you. capishce?" the hold softened as he leaned back, trying to get a good look at my face.

".. capishce."

comfortable silence fell once again l, just until i could breathe right and stopped shaking, before he spoke again.

"Do you wanna get cleaned up and try again?"

"mm-mm", i hummed while shaking my head no against his chest.

"why not, Red?"

".. they hate me."

"oh Red.. they don't hate you-"

"yes they do! you heard what they said, you saw how- how scared Leo looked when I yelled!"

"they don't hate you Red. They don't. please, trust me. they don't hate you, we can try this again and get it right this time. if it doesn't work out then I won't force it, but i think you all might've just gotten off on the wrong foot."

".. okay"

i slowly worked to separate myself from him as he stood up, helping me up in the process. I squeezed my eyes closed and turned on the light. and when I reopened them holy shit it was bad.

eyeliner and mascara made black tear tracks through pale fur, most of my cheek fluff was laying flat and wet, my nose was running a little and when i glanced at Raph it only made me laugh a little. his plastron had a big wet spot right in the middle of it, complete with mascara smears.

Raph almost immediately brightened at my laughter and began laughing too. "gods we look stupid," i managed to get out between breathes, "so what's the plan, tiger?"

"whatever you wanna do, love. we can go to your place, or stay here or whatever."

"... can I get changed into pyjamas before we try again? please?"

Raph took a minute to jokingly inspect my outfit before agreeing. my knees were itchy from the tear soaked jeans and my shirt felt a lil too tight around my neck right now to be comfortable.

Somehow i hadn't realized the duffel Raph had brought with him and set on the toilet, maybe because he was standing infront of it but whatever. I walked behind him to the bag and got changed in the shower. the shorts and tank top were comfortable, but thank god i brought makeup wipes.

-----

The second meeting was much better, but not a perfect success. Donnie didn't mind me much anymore, but Leo still seemed to hate me a lil. That was fine, I could live with that, It was my fault.

Everyone was settled back in the living room, ready for a different movie. a vote was held and, after a lot of yelling, Piss in Boots; The Last Wish was chosen. Raph and I volunteered to go make new popcorn and dipped within the first 5 minutes.

It was not just popcorn. there were drinks for each person, and pop tarts for Donnie and Mikey, and fruit for Mikey, and applesauce for Leo, and chocolate for the humans, and dry ramen noodles for Splinter and Raph.

"You want anything specific, love?" Raph asked, his back to me as he leaned to reach the top of a cabinet while i dropped into a crouch to gather drinks from the cooler.

"I'm okay! thanks though!" I lied through my teeth, I'd done enough, i would be good anyways. I apparently got caught eyeing the ramen and fruit though.

"mhm.. sure." another ramen packet was added to the pile and another handful of fruit was thrown into the bowl.

the food was hauled back to the living room, and my skills from being a waiter set in. i had 2 drinks in each hand, caught between my fingers in a odd way, and two bowls balanced on each arm, one popcorn and one fruit. somehow nothing fell. I actually got a little applause out of Mikey and a laugh from somewhere in the room.

By the time everyone had their snacks we were, like, 20 mins into the movie. everyone was content and, after delivering the go go squeeze and a pepsi to Leo he even seemed to mellow out a bit. everyone was happy and fine, it would all be okay. especially if Raph would get the stupid mascara off his plastron. (whish he totally failed to do in the bathroom, by the way!) Mikey passed fruit around with the popcorn and, apparently, nobody ate it except Donnie, April and I, everyone else was too focused on the movie or their own snacks.

comfortable and safe, I leaned over to April and asked "psst, what'd we miss?"

"ohh okay! so, basically"..

73 notes · View notes

thdorkmagnet · 5 months

Text

The Great Christmas Tree Heist

Summary: A Turtle Tots Rise of the TMNT holiday special, where Raph, Donnie and Leo all steal a Christmas tree for Mikey and things go wrong like they always do.

Disclaimer: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle belongs to Andy Suriano, Ant Ward, and Nickelodeon. All rights go to them.

‘Twas the night before Christmas and down in the lair, young Mikey did ask for a gift oh so rare.

Not games or toys or yo-yos to fling, in fact he asked Santa for just one little thing.

A Christmas tree, a real one, with lights all aglow, like the children he'd seen have in all the holiday shows.

And thus was decided by his big brothers three, this year they'd come back with a real Christmas tree.

So they waited and waited till the youngest was asleep, then rose from their beds and up to the streets.

A manhole was lifted then pushed to the side, three heads popping up to view the outside.

The snow was falling gently on the streets of New York, Donnie said something smart, Leo called him a dork.

Raph did shush them and told them to wait, then rose from the sewers to make sure it was safe.

With no humans around, blue and purple emerged and I'm going to stop rhyming now cause it's getting absurd.

“Okay, boys,” Raph said in a whisper, unnecessary since the streets were completely empty this time of night. Normally it was far too cold for them to be out this late but they had all dressed warmly, wearing matching coats of their own signature colors, as well as scarfs, hats, mittens, and boots so there was (hopefully) no risk of catching a cold or getting frostbite. “You remember the plan?”

“Yes, Raph, we know what the plan is,” Donnie scoffed, rolling his eyes.

“Stealing a Christmas tree!” Leo enthusiastically answered, giving his older brother two thumbs up.

Raph chittered at his brother, correcting him quickly, “Not stealing, borrowing. And just for one day.”

Leo deflated a bit at that, while Donnie raised a skeptical eyebrow. Raph cleared his throat after a short awkward silence, before getting them all back on track. “Leo, you got the coordinates loaded up on your phone?”

Leo pulled out his cellphone, double checking the map was loaded correctly before nodding. “Yep!”

“And Don, you got the equipment?”

“Affirmative.” Donnie patted the large duffle bag he was carrying.

“Then it's time to begin Operation: Get Mikey a Christmas Tree or Die Trying!”

“Eh, too wordy,” Leo said in disapproval. “How bout we call it the Great Christmas Tree Heist! Now that rolls off the tongue.”

“It's not a heist,” Raph argued. “And I'm the leader so I get to make the names.” The snapper started down the street, not waiting for the other two to follow. “Now let's hurry up and get that present. We only got a few hours before Mike wakes up.”

“Oh, fearless leader,” Leo's voice sang, causing Raph to flinch and glance over his shoulder. The twins stared at him with bemused expressions, the slider jabbing a finger in the opposite direction. “The tree is that way.”

The red turtle's face lit up in a blush, sputtering out an excuse as he shuffled past the two. “Right well, Raph knew that. I just got… turned around.”

Leo and Donnie snickered as they fell in step behind their embarrassed brother.

…

Under Leo's careful directions the three turtles arrived at the tree lot with no issues. However, they did run into a problem once they got there, a large fence and locked gate, the only things that seemed to pass for security in this place. None of this deterred Raph in the slightest. In fact the sight of thick pines peeking over the fenceline only fueled his determination and without any warning he rammed into the gate, trying to knock it open.

He bounced off instead.

“Uh, Raph, shouldn't we try not breaking the door down,” Leo logically stated. “Kinda a big clue somebody broke in.”

“It's fine,” Raph grunted, pressing his shoulder into the gate’s surprisingly tough frame and pushing into it, hoping for any give. “Donnie's got a fix for it.”

“Yes, because of course I’m carrying around an accurately sized replacement door in my duffle bag,” Donnie sarcastically quipped.

“See, it's fine,” Raph said, too distracted to pick up on the obvious sarcasm. He dug his heels in and pushed harder.

“Sigh,” Don groaned with a face-palm. “Oh well, I suppose just let him wear himself out. He won't be able to break it down anyways.��

“Yes I will!” Raph shouted back.

“So why'd we pick this place exactly?” Leo asked, looking at his twin in confusion. “I think there's easier places to rob.”

“Not robbing!” Raph yelled, the veins in his neck starting to pop out from the strain.

“A couple of reasons, actually,” Donnie began, completely ignoring Raph. “First, we all agreed we were getting a real tree not some plastic knockoff which really limited our options. Since this place was closer than the others and had no security cameras, it seemed like the best spot. Not to mention it's run by a man in his seventies so unlikely he'd be up this late to interrupt us.”

“So we're stealing from an old man?” Leo asked in concern. “Isn't that kind of wrong?”

“It's not stealing!” Raph growled, feeling his strength start to waver with still no give on the door.

Again the snapping turtle went mostly unheard as Donnie replied to Leo instead. “Yeah well, most people already bought their trees for the year so any leftovers are just taking up space. So really our quote, unquote, ‘borrowing,’” Donnie did air quotes in emphasis. “...is really more of a benefit to him than a crime.”

“Right, I'm sure the police would see it that way too,” Leo teased, winking and elbowing his twin.

Raph's muscles finally gave out and with one last strained scream, he collapsed against the door, panting and defeated. Leo and Donnie went over to check on him, the blue turtle tapping him on the forehead. “You good, big guy?” he asked when he received no acknowledgement from his exhausted brother.

“Yeah,” Raph huffed, weakly batting Leo's hand away. “Just… gotta… catch my breath. Then I'll… try again.”

“Orrrrr we try something a little less asinine,” Donnie countered.

Raph and Leo shared a confused look. “Wha's that mean?” the older asked.

“I think it means epic,” Leo said with a shrug.

Donnie groaned, running a hand down his face. “My point being, there is another way in which you neglected to notice.” He gestured at the wall with a pointed look.

“Oh yeah, good idea, Dee! We can climb over!” Leo shouted, scooting over to his purple counterpart's side. “Boost me up!” He spread his arms and legs wide in preparation to be lifted but Donnie made no move towards him.

“You are confident and have a great personality,” Donnie joked flatly, expression focused as he searched inside the bag on his shoulders. Though a small smirk did cross his face when Leo howled with laughter.

Finally he found what he was looking for, pulling out a grapple line and hook. “But in all seriousness, how about instead of breaking ourselves trying to get in, let's do this the smart way. Or as I like to call it…” Donnie swung the rope around a few times before throwing it up towards the wall. “My way!” he finished with a dramatic flourish.

Unfortunately, the softshell’s aim had been ever so slightly off, causing the hook to bounce off the top before plummeting straight down. Donnie was too busy gloating to notice it, the metal falling directly on his head, knocking him to the ground.

“Dee, you okay?” Raph asked, trying to rise to his feet to check on him even though his legs felt like jelly.

Donnie sat up and rubbed at the bruise forming under his mask, face flushed in embarrassment from Leo's hysterical laughter. The blue turtle was full-on rolling on the ground, feet kicking the air in delight, throwing snow this way and that with each frantic movement, creating a lopsided snow angel underneath him.

“Yes, I'm fine,” Donnie finally muttered to Raph. “The only thing hurt is my pride.” He winced as the bump on his head throbbed. “And a possible concussion.”

Leo was kind enough to check Donnie’s head after he had recovered enough from his laughing fit to focus, using the light from his phone to check his brother's eyes for any dilation. Once he was sure it was nothing more than a light bruise, Leo picked up the grappling hook and tried his hand at it. He managed to catch the edge on his first attempt and was quick to rub this in Donnie’s face. “Huh, look at that. And with zero head injuries, too. You proud of me, Don?”

“No but I am considering asking Santa for a replacement twin,” Donnie rudely retorted.

Leo snorted. “Bold of you to assume you got on the nice list, Dee.”

“Knock it off you two,” Raph scolded before the twin turtles arguing could break into a fight. He forced himself to stand, testing to see if he could walk yet. His legs were wobbly but stable and he managed to join his brothers, positioning himself between them just in case they didn't get the message. “We're here for the tree, remember? So let's just focus on that.”

“Okay, I'll go first!” Leo exclaimed, racing over to the rope and climbing quickly. Donnie was still salty but he said nothing more, climbing up behind his brother with an annoyed frown. Raph clambered up after both, ignoring the subtle aching in his arms.

While the softshell and snapper took their time climbing, Leo rushed, thanks to the excitement and adrenaline pulsing through his veins. Once he reached the top he plopped down on the small ledge, leaning forward so he could watch his brothers’ progression. They were both only about halfway up and Leo couldn't help but tease them for it. “C’mon, slow pokes. I've seen grandmas that move faster than you two.”

“Shut it, Nardo,” Donnie snapped, sounding slightly out of breath. Out of the siblings he was the least athletic and wore out the quickest during playtime, so it was no surprise he was struggling here.

“Just be patient, Leo,” Raph added, watching the softshell closely. He would have been at the top with Leo already if not for Donnie, but he didn't mind. This way he would be able to catch him if his brother ended up losing his grip. Which seemed necessary since Donnie was clearly struggling, huffing and puffing tiredly. So Raph reached a hand up to help support him, only to be stubbornly kicked away. The red turtle let out a yelp, less in pain and more in surprise, watching stunned as Donnie wiggled up a few more inches on his own. Raph felt his chest warm at his brother's determination. Because while Donnie struggled to keep up physically with his siblings, he never stopped trying and refused help unless it had been made by his own two hands.

Raph didn't offer any more assistance after that, letting his brother climb up on his own, but still watched him closely all the same.

Leo, meanwhile, was getting bored waiting, trying to pass the time by catching snowflakes on his tongue, legs swaying unevenly in the cold, night air. Eventually he got tired of this too and let out a loud groan. “Ugh, you’re taking too long! It's gonna be New Years before we find a tree!”

“Just wait, Leo,” Raph ordered, attention still focused on Donnie. “We're almost there.”

Leo groaned again, crossing his arms in annoyance. He was itching to do something, still hyped from his successful throw and record-breaking climb. He needed something else to try, something to impress his brothers, or at the very least entertain himself.

But hopefully that first thing too.

After all, he hadn't gotten his fill of showboating yet, he wanted to gloat some more. Which meant he needed to step up his game.

A smirk stretched across his face as he was struck with inspiration, leaping to his feet a second later. He stood on top of the large stone wall, smiling superiorly down at his brothers. “Hey, I bet you I can do a backflip off of here.”

“Leo, no,” Raph said in a warning tone, eyes narrowing dangerously. But this only proved to encourage Leo, grinning wider as he started tensing and untensing his legs in preparation for the jump.

“Climb up here and stop me then Grammy Raph,” he taunted, looking quite proud of himself for the insult. Raph growled low, grip tightening until his knuckles turned white. He wanted to take Leo up on that offer, scramble up that rope and physically pull him away from the stupid stunt but with Donnie blocking his way, so he was powerless to do much beyond scolding or glaring. Both of which were ineffective weapons against Leo's impulsive nature.

“You're gonna fall and break your brain, dumdum,” Donnie commented. “If you even have one.”

Leo shrugged this concern off quickly. “Oh, come on, the worst thing that happens is I land in some snow. Big deal.”

“Don't. You. Dare.” Raph hissed in the most intimidating tone he had, reserved only for when his brothers were threatened, either by some outside force or themselves.

Leo actually seemed to think better of his idea, smirk vanishing off his face as he looked shamefully down at his big brother. He sighed. “Yeah, you're right. What was I thinking? I definitely shouldn't do this!” Then without warning, Leo leaped backwards angling his body so he'd do an arc in the air. Raph screamed his brother's name in a panic, starting to climb over Donnie in his haste.

To his credit, Leo managed to do a full 360 flip before tucking into his shell to lessen the impact.

Donnie and Raph nearly jumped out of their shells as a crash sounded from the other side of the wall, accompanied by snapping and cracking noises that sounded just a bit too much like bones breaking for Raph's comfort. Donnie blinked, confused by the loud racket. That was far too loud for just falling into snow. There was a soft moan of “owww” on the other side that was unmistakably Leo. With renewed strength, Donnie scrambled up the wall, Raph right on his heels, the two peering over to check on the state of their brother.

Leo's shell lay in a pile of sticks and branches all haphazardly stacked next to the wall. Many were broken under him and Raph practically gasped in relief that snapping sound hadn't been his little brother's limbs. Leo popped out of his shell, looking winded and face scrunched up in pain but otherwise unharmed.

“Okay, I was wrong. There was something else besides snow down here,” Leo choked out, still struggling to regain the breath that had been pushed from his lungs.

“Which is exactly why we told you not to jump down there Leo!” Raph yelled, unsure if he wanted to check on him or strangle him.

“Did I at least look cool?” Leo asked hopefully.

Okay definitely that second one.

“Dumdum,” Donnie whispered under his breath.

Once Donnie and Raph were safely on the ground and Leo had pulled himself from the pile of sticks (with thankfully nothing worse than some small scratches and a sore rump) the turtles got their first good look around. On the outside, it didn't look any different from any other part of the city but once past the fenceline, it was like stepping into a whole new world, one made of wood, branches, and pine, not the cluttered cityscape they were used to. Trees towered over the three, reaching high enough they couldn't even see the massive buildings stretching behind them. It was a forest, bathed in a layer of soft, white snow and scented in pine needles. They had been to the park before but the trees there were few and far between, now there were more trees than any of them could count, each varying in size and scattered about with no sense of organization or purpose to their placement. Some were already on metal stands, perfectly cut at the bottom. Others were still rooted in the ground. Still others were no more than sprouts. Stumps poked out from beneath a blanket of white, looking like craters on a dusty moon. A small gardener's shed was set up off to the side, old and rustic and practically crumbling into itself. Other than that there were no signs that man had ever set foot here and the turtles suddenly felt even more like intruders than they already were.

Up to this point, none of them had even thought about why Mikey was so invested in a Christmas tree this year, they had just decided to get it without question because it was Mikey and he always got whatever he wanted. But now that they were here, standing in awe of the forest stretching before them, delighted gasps fogging in the chilly, winter air they finally understood what all the hype was about.

“I know why we couldn’t bring him but I kinda wish Mikey was here to see this,” Leo's voice finally said, breaking the spell over them all as Raph and Donnie nodded in agreement.

“Okay, let’s get down to business,” Raph said once his focus had returned, hands clenched into excited fists. He looked around at the trees trying to select the right one. “Now which one of these guys is coming home with us!”

“How bout this one!” Leo said, pointing to a monster of a tree towering high above them.

“It’s taller than the lair, dummy,” Donnie replied with a roll of his eyes. He pulled out his phone, typing quickly before turning the screen so his brothers could see. “Besides, I already figured out which one to grab. I did some measuring and I think our best bet would be a five foot tree. It’ll be easier to move and fit perfectly in-”

“Or we grab that one!” Raph exclaimed, pointing out the tree that had caught his eye.

He grinned and crossed his arms, feeling quite proud of himself for finding it so quickly.

Donnie was less than impressed though, drawn-on eyebrows scrunching together as he looked the tree up and down, trying to measure the height in his mind. Once his calculation was done he gave his brother a skeptical look. “Raph, that one has to be at least seven feet tall!”

“Exactly!” Raph smiled brighter. “Mikey will be super impressed with it.”

“What’s the big deal? There’s enough room in the lair right?” Leo asked.

Donnie sighed but nodded. “Yes but I really think we should just stick with mine. it’ll be harder to carry and I’m not sure how we’ll get it down the-”

“Great! Then let’s take this baby home!” Raph ran over to the tree, grunting as he tried to rip it out by the roots. Leo was quick to encourage him, yelling praises and cheers while Donnie just groaned in defeat and reached into his duffle bag, looking around for something.

“Wait, Raph, before you hurt yourself let me try something,” Donnie said, gaining the snapper’s attention enough he actually stopped what he was doing to see what his little brother had in mind.

“Oooo you got some fancy invention that’s gonna like pick it out of the ground?” Leo asked curiously, leaning over his brother’s shoulder to see.

“Yeah, like a Gravi Gun from Jupiter Jim and the Invasion of the Portal People!” Raph shouted, eyes glittering in excitement.

“Oh man, that thing was so cool!” Leo agreed, fanboying as he thought of his and his brother’s favorite movie franchise outside of Lou Jitsu. “Please tell me you made one of those! I wanna lift stuff without using my hands!” Leo bounced on the balls of his feet, rocking Donnie with each little motion.

“No but it is just as effective as one,” Donnie replied cryptically. His face lit up as he found what he was looking for. “Ah, here it is.”

Leo and Raph both flinched as Donnie pulled out not some futuristic-y gadget straight out of science fiction but instead a very real, very dangerous looking chainsaw, spray painted in Donnie’s signature color.

“Whoa! Where’d you find a chainsaw?!” Raph asked, face going pale as he shuffled away in panic.

“You’d be amazed what people throw away, dear brother,” Donnie replied with a dangerous smile, fingers tapping against the handles in vibrant anticipation.

“Ohhhh, sweet, let me try!” Leo exclaimed, rushing to take the tool from his twin.

Donnie twisted his body so that his brother couldn’t quite reach it, holding it as far away from Leo as he could. “Leo, no! You aren’t trained to use it!” Donnie hissed, trying to elbow his annoying brother in the plastron.

This didn’t deter Leo at all, in fact it only made him fight harder, arms flailing as he tried to maneuver around his purple counterpart, who just barely managed to keep it out of his hands. “Neither are you!”

“Scoff! Am too! I read the manual online!” Donnie managed to angle his foot so that Leo tripped and fell face-first into the snow. The red-eared slider was only down for a second though before he leapt at his brother, trying to snatch it away before his twin could react. Donnie had anticipated this though and managed to stop him with a raised foot to his plastron.

“C’mon just let me try it already, Don! You're hogging it!” His arms flailed wildly, causing Donnie to pull it further from his reach.

He shot him a warning look and pushed a little harder against Leo’s plastron. “No! You’ll probably cut your hand off or something stupid!”

Leo grabbed Donnie’s ankle and yanked it up, causing his brother to lose his balance and tumble back. He let out a little yelp before hitting the snow, Leo snatching the chainsaw out of his loosened grip a second later. The blue turtle giggled in victory only to run head-first into Raph, who scooped his brother up with practiced ease.

“Hey! Raph!” Leo wiggled in his brother’s grip but the snapper wasn’t shaken, holding the slider under one arm and the chainsaw in the other. “No fair! Give it back!”

“Nuh uh, it’s way too dangerous for you to be messing with, Leo,” Raph said in an authoritative tone. He walked over to Donnie, who was busy wiping snow off of himself and his thick clothing, before handing him the chainsaw back. Donnie’s face lit up and mouth twisted into a superior smirk.

“What?! No fair! Why does Donnie get to use it!” Leo whined angrily.

Raph ignored him, instead giving his genius brother a nervous smile. “Here you go, Dee. Just… be careful okay.”

“As if that were ever in question,” Donnie said dramatically, still eying Leo smugly. Leo, powerless to do anything else, just crossed his arms and pouted.

With a few pulls of the cord, the chainsaw revved to life and Donnie’s face twisted into something wild, curious, and terrifying. The power beneath his fingertips was enlightening and he felt giddy with the possibilities. With slow, almost sinister steps he crept up to the tree, the vibration running through the chainsaw pulsing all the way down to his feet. Taking only a second to calculate the correct spot, he placed the sawblade against the trunk, resisting the urge to violently start cutting in.

“Raphael, goggles!” Donnie commanded and Raph rushed to pull a pair from the discarded duffle bag, Leo still unhappily tucked under his arm. The eldest ran up to the softshell and slipped the goggles over his brother’s eyes.

“Thank you, dear brother,” Donnie said, words polite even though his voice sounded mad with power.

“Uh sure,” Raph muttered, backing away so he could give Don his space. His eyes jumped from the chainsaw to his brother then back, starting to regret his decision already. “Y-You sure you know what you’re doing, Dee?”

“Oh yes,” Donnie replied in a steady whisper, tone dripping with bloodlust. “I know exactly what I’m doing.”

He gave a small chuckle which slowly rose in volume as he finally pulled the trigger, the spinning sawblade slicing through the tree like it was butter. “Evil laugh!” Donnie howled, before breaking into a cackle again.

Raph and Leo could only watch the whole display with growing concern, this new side of their brother terrifying them down to their core. “I think we just created a monster tonight,” Leo whispered.

Raph just nodded dumbly as the tree toppled to the ground. The chainsaw was off a second later, Donnie planting a foot atop the new stump and draping the tool over his back in a triumphant pose. “Well, how was that?” he asked, looking back at his two awestruck (and slightly unnerved) brothers.

“That was, uh,” Raph began before losing his voice halfway through. He didn’t know how to begin to describe what he just witnessed.

“The most terrifying and cool thing I’ve ever seen,” Leo admitted, eyes sparkling in admiration.

Donnie rubbed a hand against his plastron before blowing on his nails arrogantly. “Why thank you, I try.”

Raph finally lets Leo go, who rushes over to examine the fallen tree with his own eyes. “Whoa, you took it down in like two seconds!” he gasped, staring up at his twin in disbelief.

“Seventeen actually but who’s counting,” Donnie replied, smiling proudly.

Raph bent down to check the tree too, running a hand over the bottom. It was completely smooth all the way across and he couldn’t help but be impressed by it. “Nice work, Donnie. Though I’m not sure you should keep using that thing. Seems a little… dangerous.”

Donnie rolled his eyes. “Scoff. Well yes, Raph, it’s a chainsaw, it is made to be dangerous.”

“No I meant… you seem a little dangerous.”

“Nonsense.” Donnie dismissed the notion with a wave of his hand. “I was just having a little fun, but not like worrying fun.”

“And the evil laugh?” Leo asked skeptically.

Donnie’s face twisted into the same sinister smile. “Dramatic effect.”

Despite how concerning that look and response was they were still on a time crunch and so Raph decided to drop it for now, focusing back on the task at hand. “Alright, knuckleheads, let’s hurry up and get this back to the lair and decorated,” he proclaimed.

Donnie fetched some rope and tied both ends to the trunk before handing the middle over to Raph. The snapper looped the rope around himself and dug his feet in the snow, pulling against the tree with all his might. He could feel the strain in his muscles, the dull ache in his limbs from before but he just continued to tug mercilessly against the rope, willing it to move despite his body's protests.

With a sudden lurch the pine followed, Raph so surprised he nearly tripped over his own feet, turning back to his brothers to grin widely. Donnie and Leo gave a thumbs up and quickly took up the rear to help push. It made little difference but Raph still appreciated the help. It was hard work and slow going but none of them minded all that much, even Leo not bothering to complain about his own impending exhaustion. Their thoughts were elsewhere, already imagining Mikey's smiling face when he came downstairs on Christmas morning and saw the fruits of their labor. They could already hear his little squeals of delight and feel his warm hugs as he celebrated the ‘Christmas miracle’ with them.

That thought alone was worth any amount of work, no matter how tiring.

But they were all abruptly snapped back to reality as Leo noticed something they had all neglected to consider, staring at the sealed gate and towering wall in horror as he asked dumbly, “Um, guys? How are we gonna get the tree out?”

…

It took less than a minute for their calm discussion of escape to turn to a full-blown argument, Raph and Donnie both insistent that their plans were better and the others nonsensical. Raph wanted to try his original plan of busting the door down which Donnie reminded him would only expose their crime and lead to more trouble down the line. Donnie tried to explain the practical applications of a pulley system only to be shut down by the eldest that it would end up taking too long. Leo tried to pitch in that the whole argument was taking too long, only to be shot down by both before they went back to fighting again.

Leo sighed deeply. He could tell this would last a while, so seeing no other alternative he decided to just wait it out. He plopped onto the fallen pine, an elbow propped against his knee and head resting in his hand, drumming his fingers against his cheek. He watched for a while in growing boredom, finding the whole thing pointless and stupid. It was a waste of time in his opinion, neither of their ideas were good and they were both right in pointing it out. Raph's idea was too reckless and Donnie’s too time-consuming. If they wanted to get back to the lair before Mikey woke up they needed a new plan, not continuing to argue the same moot point.

But it seemed stubbornness was a family trait and neither was going to admit defeat without some kind of outside interference. “Guess its up to me,” Leo muttered, hopping off the tree.

He stepped over to the gate, examining it up and down for any weaknesses or ideas. It was made of sturdy wood, though the red paint was peeling and fading with age. Off to the side was a rusted metal handle, a small keyhole just beneath. And that gave Leo an idea.

He remembered seeing someone lockpick in a Lou Jitsu movie and it had looked simple enough that Leo was sure he could pull it off. The only problem was that they had used some kind of hairpin to do it and that wasn’t really a viable option for a mutant turtle without hair.

Guess he'd have to improvise.

Leo ran over to his brothers, tapping his purple counterpart on the shoulder to gain his attention. “Hey Dee! You got something in that big bag I can pick a lock with?”

Donnie snapped his attention onto his blue brother, seemingly confused by the interruption. “What? No, go away, Leo. I'm talking.” He shooed his brother away with a wave of his hand, before focusing his attention back on Raph. The two had ceased their argument and were now discussing the effectiveness of attaching a rocket engine to the tree. Because of course Donnie had one of those in his bag but not a hairpin.

Or maybe he just wasn't listening.

Both were likely options.

Leo huffed dramatically and crossed his arms, pouting bitterly. When this also went unnoticed he stomped his foot and loudly declared, “Fine! I'll just go find it somewhere else then,” before turning his back on his brothers.

The somewhere else ended up being the only other place Leo had to search: the gardener's shed, which was thankfully unlocked. Leo poked his head inside, squinting into the dimly lit room looking for something useful for lockpicking. He saw many tools stacked inside but most were too big for his purposes, stepping inside to get a closer look. He scanned the nearly empty shelves for something usable before his eyes landed on a small brass key.

Leo's mouth dropped open and he quickly snatched it off its hook. “It couldn't really be that easy. Could it?” he wondered aloud, slowly turning the key over in his hands.

Leo was out of the shed in an instant, racing past Donnie and Raph (who didn't even look over to acknowledge him) and right up to the gate. He stuck the key in, letting out a sharp breath as it slipped easily inside. So far, so good.

He turned the key until he heard a noticeable click, smiling widely and pumping his fists in the air in silent victory. Oh boy were his brothers about to be jealous.

Donnie and Raph at this point had exhausted every option that came to mind, frowning in mutual defeat as they stared at the ground instead of each other. “Hey guys!” They both turned to see their brother leaning against the gate with a knowing smirk. Before either could question the look, Leo stood straight and declared, “Check this out,” before pulling on the handle. The door opened with a loud creak and the turtles’ jaws went slack.

Raph was speechless, eyes bouncing between Leo and the opened gate and back. Donnie, on the other hand, had many things he wanted to say, none of which could quite leave his lips, thoughts spinning around his mind in a jumbled mess. So he settled for the most important one at the moment, “How?!”

Leo shrugged, the smug grin never leaving his lips. “Told you I knew how to lockpick,” he replied, making sure the key was stuffed deep in his pocket where his brothers couldn't see.

…

They were all in high spirits as they made their way back to the sewer entrance, the tree much easier to pull now that they were on the slippery sidewalks, the icy ground doing most of the work for Raph, which his sore body was thankful for. They sang Christmas carols the whole way there, sometimes together, sometimes singing over each other in a competitive game, but always with a bright smile on their faces.

Finally, they were back where they had started, the manhole cover still pushed to the side, though now covered in a thin layer of snow. After a bit of maneuvering the boys managed to get the tree positioned next to the underground entrance, Raph holding the pine upright and sliding it over until it dropped into the hole…

… and stopped.

Raph’s smile vanished in an instant as he stared down at the manhole in confusion, spotting the culprit instantly. The trunk fit in easily but the pine branches had caught on the sides, thicker around than the entrance itself. “Wait, what?!” he exclaimed, grabbing onto the tree and trying to push it down. The thick tangle of branches refused to be manhandled, popping back up the second he let go. “No, no, no!” he whined, forcing more and more of his weight on it but only managing to stuff a few limbs through. “This can’t be happening!”

He continued trying to force it down before switching to light little shoves against the pine branches, trying to bend them into a shape that would allow it to slide past. It stayed stubbornly in place.

He tried flipping it over in the hopes that the top of the tree went down smoother. It didn’t.

He tried jumping onto the tree and wrapping his legs around it, ignoring the way the pine needles itched against his skin, hoping his weight might be enough to make it fall. It instead tipped to the side, causing Raph to slip off and hit the concrete hard.

With each new failure, the snapper's frustration grew. Until finally out of options, Raph sat back and stared up at the tree hopelessly. It was still wedged tightly in the manhole, hanging limply to the side, seeming to mock him with its very existence. Raph stared down at his feet sadly, tail wrapping tightly around himself to provide a little comfort. He was so distraught he didn’t even notice Leo sitting down beside him until his hand was on his shoulder. “It’s okay, Raph. I’m sure Donnie will figure something out,” he assured him softly.

Donnie plopped down on Raph’s other side, arms crossed and expression flat. “Yes well, I wouldn’t need to if you had just listened in the first place. I tried to tell you something like this might happen but you were so insistent on this tree I couldn’t argue.”

“Not helping, Don!” Leo hissed.

“Luckily…” The softshell continued pointedly, shooting his twin a look. “I do have a solution. I just need to trim it down some on the sides. It won’t be as big but it will fit.”

“Wait, really?!” Raph gasped, giving his genius brother a hopeful look. “You can do that!”

Donnie nodded, a smirk tugging at his lips. “Of course I can. I’m a genius, afterall.”

Leo’s eyes lit up like Christmas lights. “Does this mean you're gonna use the chainsaw again?!”

“Indeed,” Donnie replied with a short nod.

Leo whooped before jumping to his feet. He was at Donnie’s side in an instant, digging inside the bag for the deadly tool. “Let me use it this time!”

“Absolutely not!” Donnie snapped, ripping the bag away from him. “Not until you’ve watched every safety video about chainsaws known to man, Leo.”

Leo huffed but relented, turning his back on his brother just to be rude about it.

That was when Leo noticed lights in the distance. Two bright lights, yellow and low to the ground.

And coming right towards them.

Leo’s heart dropped as he shouted, “Car!” his brother’s swerving on their heels to see. The second his eyes landed on the fast approaching vehicle Raph scooped his brothers up into his arms and dove for cover. He managed to get behind a trashbin just before a semi-truck drove by, going far too fast for the frosty streets. It plowed into the pine tree, snapping the trunk in half and sending the rest tumbling over the top. Each collision caused wood to snap and pine needles to explode in all directions, tearing the poor tree apart with each violent roll.

Finally, mercifully, the tree tumbled off the back of the semi, landing broken and heavy on the icy streets. The truck didn't even slow down, undeterred by the destruction it had just caused, and was soon gone around the next corner.

Raph, Donnie, and Leo all peeked out from their hiding spot, eyes wide with horror as they saw the state of their beloved Christmas tree. It was in shambles, loose branches hanging from severed limbs, its once smooth base now torn into jagged edges and sharp points. It looked dead, murdered. The messy street looking like the site of some vegetated massacre, bits of wood and bark scattered about and everything coated in a layer of pine needles, more of which seemed to be on the ground than the tree itself.

The boys were left speechless by the sight, faces twisted into expressions of disappointment, confusion, and defeat. Finally it was Leo who broke the depressive silence, giving his brothers a lopsided smile.

“Well, on the bright side, it'll totally fit down the hole now.”

Raph said nothing, instead banging his forehead as hard as he could into the metal bin.

…

“Y'know it looked bad before but now that we've got it in some light…” Leo paused, smile wilting as he stared at the broken, mangled mess of a tree now sitting in their living room. Donnie had already attached a metal stand to the bottom but it didn't make it look anymore presentable. It was still as sad and pathetic as it had looked on the surface, maybe even more so since now they could fully see the damage.

“It looks worse,” Donnie finished for Leo, voice a cold monotone.

The tree looked empty and barren with only clumps of pine needles dotted about its branches. Most limbs were in tatters from the nasty tumble it had taken. Large cracks ran up its center, looking like veins. If Mikey was to see the tree at that exact moment he probably would have burst into tears of empathy for the shabby shrub they had brought home. The exact opposite response they were all going for.

“It doesn't really look like the trees in those movies,” Raph admitted, cringing at the mental image.

“Understatement,” Donnie commented sarcastically.

“Maybe we can grab another one?” Leo weakly suggested.

“Well it's already after four,” Donnie pointed out, silently running the calculations in his head. Past data proved Mikey was an early riser, especially on Christmas, so statistically there was a good 98.5% chance of him waking up around 6. That left them with very little wiggle room and knowing their luck they would only end up with more complications and delays that would absolutely get them back too late. So he felt confident in saying, “By the time we’d get back Mikey would already be awake and probably completely given up on his belief in Santa.”

Leo and Raph hung their heads low, hopelessness draping over them like a dark cloud. It felt like a punch to the gut after all the hard work they'd put in to making their little brother happy. All the pain and exhaustion and fighting and stress, all amounted to nothing in the end. The only thing they had to show for their efforts was a sad, broken tree that looked as miserable as they all felt. The three all sighed as one, each lost in their own gloomy thoughts.

After about a minute of wallowing though, Raph decided he needed to say something encouraging. His brothers were sad and Mikey was still without a Christmas tree and as the big brother it was his job to fix these things. So no matter how much he wanted to curl up into a ball and cry, he forced the bad feelings down, shoving all the sadness, guilt, and worry way deep inside him and made himself smile at his bros. It was small and pathetic but he did his best to back it up with confidence, using the best big brother voice he had. “Well what’s done is done. We’ll just have to use what we got. And hey, maybe with enough decorations Mikey won’t even notice the tree’s all banged up!”

Donnie highly doubted that but chose to let that thought go unspoken for the moment. Instead, he said, “I’ll go get the decorations,” and started for the door.

“I’ll help and I’ll carry way more than Donnie will!” Leo boldly declared, sounding lighter now that there was a plan in place, and jogged after his twin.

Raph listened to them bicker until they were out of earshot, then let out a massive sigh, thankful his words had actually managed to cheer them up a little. He hadn’t really expected it to work but he was glad it did. Feeling a swell of pride and accomplishment, he turned his attention away from the tree and got to work on his own task.

Although the Hamato family never owned a Christmas tree it was always a family tradition for them to each make their own ornaments out of clay, which they would lovingly hang on the walls to greet Santa each year. Only this year, Raph was gonna see to it that they had a proper place to hang. Especially Mikey's.

He carefully took each one off the wall, setting them delicately next to the tree, taking only a moment to admire the designs.

Leo had tried to model his off of Lou Jitsu but it barely resembled their idol, looking more like a lumpy egg with stick arms and legs attached. The head was a small lump, the top part painted black for his hair, with a yellow triangle in the center for his signature sunglasses. Donnie had tried to make Atomic Lass in an effort to match his twin but had quickly gotten frustrated when the clay didn't work the way he wanted it to, so had instead switched to a simple candy cane with purple stripes. He had spent hours making sure the lines were all even and symmetrical, using a ruler and protractor to carefully shape each section until it pleased even his critical eye. Raph had made a teddy bear with a red bow, though it more closely resembled Leo's in quality, mostly due to his massive hands struggling to shape small clay.

Mikey's was easily the best one out of the bunch. It was ironically enough a Christmas tree as it seemed the box turtle had been on a bit of an obsessive streak. Although the lines weren't quite as smooth as Donnie's, there was still a delicate precision to Mikey’s sculpting that could only come from an inspiring artist. The painting process was where he truly shined though, a glossy green coating littered with small dots of every color for the lights. The trunk was brown with some light texturing to make it look like real wood. Mikey had even added a small present at the bottom and a golden star at the top. It was still clearly made by a kid but there was talent there thanks to all the time Mikey spent drawing and coloring and painting the walls. It was clear his baby brother had a passion for all things artistic and Raph couldn't be prouder.

He had even started baking, at least what he could since he was still too young to use the oven or stovetop without Splinter present. Though even that did little to stop him, as more often than not his puppy eyes were more than capable of getting their dad out of his chair and in the kitchen to help. Raph wished he had that kind of power over their pops but he was glad that at least Mikey got the extra attention.

Mikey and Splinter had been hard at work baking the whole day, making all kinds of gingerbread treats which the whole family had been snacking on endlessly. Mikey had been careful to save some back for Santa, three cookies stacked on a plate off to the side with a tall glass of milk and a little homemade sign reading “For Santa: Leo do not touch”. Raph smiled at Mikey's crooked handwriting before snatching a gingerbread man and biting off its head.

It felt a bit weird to be taking their dad's place as Santa, even if it made sense with the plans to get the tree. It had always been Splinter's job and it felt strange taking that away from him, even if he had seemed more than happy to pass the task onto his eldest children, telling them how excited he was to retire early on Christmas Eve rather than having to wait up for four excited kids to finally fall asleep. But Raph was pretty sure that wasn't entirely true as he noticed their four stockings which had been empty before they left were now notably bulging. So it seemed their dad wasn't quite done playing the role of Santa just yet.

Though it did make Raph wonder how many more years of being Santa he had in store.

Mikey was now the only Hamato who didn't know Santa wasn't real and they were all eager to keep it that way. Raph had found out the truth pretty early on thanks to being the oldest and Donnie had never bought into such beliefs even if he thankfully never said so out loud. Leo, however, had only found out earlier that year, when he discovered their dad's secret present stash and was shocked to find ‘From Santa’ on some of the gifts. Leo had been pretty devastated at first but sworn to keep it a secret from Mikey.

No one wanted to be the one responsible for ruining baby Mikey's innocence, even the loud-mouthed Leo.

Leo had since changed his tune, especially when he found out he could stay up Christmas Eve so long as he promised to help. The slider hadn't brought it up since, so it was safe to say he was over it. He'd even jokingly suggested they dress up for their little excursion: Raph as Santa, himself as an elf, and Donnie as the reindeer, which his twin had vehemently protested.

Raph had just finished his cookie when the others got back, Donnie using a remote-controlled hovercrate of his own invention to carry the heavy boxes. Leo followed behind with nothing but a shoebox, looking none too happy to be upstaged by his brother. “Uh oh, what happened?” Raph asked, Leo looking away with a pout.

Donnie rolled his eyes before stating flatly, “Nardo almost dropped everything trying to carry more than me.”

“At least I didn't cheat, Smellatello!”

“Well I needed some way to carry everything since my helper couldn't be trusted, Nerdo!”

“Okay, enough guys!” Raph scolded, making sure his tone was louder than their arguing. “You're gonna wake up Mikey.”

Both boys begrudgingly obeyed and went quiet, though Leo couldn't resist sticking his tongue out at Donnie, who retaliated by twisting a knob on his remote so that the cart suddenly flew towards Leo. It stopped just shy of bowling him over, the slider screeching and lifting the shoebox high over his head, balancing on one leg as he tried to lean away from the dangerous hovercraft.

“Hey, watch it! This stuffs breakable, remember?” Leo snapped, cheeks flushed red from embarrassment.

“Hand slipped,” Donnie responded simply. He slowly started twisting the knob again and Leo quickly moved to hide behind Raph.

“Knock it off, Donnie,” Raph began in a warning tone, grabbing the shoebox from Leo before anything else chaotic could happen. He peeked inside to make sure nothing was broken, the box half-filled with homemade ornaments from previous years. A toothy grin spread across his face as memories of past Christmases flashed through his head.

Leo, in the meantime, finally noticed the plate of gingerbread men, gasping in delight. “Mikey’s cookies! Raph why didn't you say something?” Ignoring the sign, Leo picked up a gingerbread man and stuffed the whole thing into his mouth, chewing loudly. “Mmmmm, I love being Santa.” He washed the whole thing down with the glass of milk, swallowing it all in a few quick gulps.

Raph snatched up the final cookie before his brother could devour that too, taking it and the box of ornaments over to Donnie. He handed him the gingerbread man and the softshell nibbled on it absently, focus on the mangled tree beside them. Raph could tell by the way his false eyebrows were pinching together he was worried.

“Do you really think this is going to work?” Donnie asked, eyes not leaving the tree.

“Not sure,” Raph admitted with a shrug. “But if we don't do anything then we've already let Mikey down, so we gotta at least try.”

Donnie finally met his eye, still nibbling away at his cookie. Raph noticed he actually ate the gingerbread man from the bottom and worked his way up and held back a little smile at that information. “I suppose you have a point there,” the softshell muttered between bites.

Now Raph actually smiled, bright and cheerful. “Besides Mikey won't even be able to see the tree through all these decorations you bought.” He gestured over to the four stacked boxes no doubt filled to the brim with Christmas stuff.

Donnie grinned, clearly pleased with the praise and Raph felt his chest warm. “Of course, I'm nothing if not prepared.” Donnie puffed his chest out proudly. His face turned sour, however, as he added, “Although Leo called it overkill.”

“It is!” Leo defended from the other side of the room, trying to subtly dig inside his stocking to see what he got. “It looks like you bought out an entire store's worth of stuff!”

“Scoff. Four boxes is hardly equal to a store's worth, Nardo. I just didn't know what we wanted so I got one of everything.”

“Well I say we use all of it!” Raph enthusiastically exclaimed, throwing open the shoebox and pulling out clay figures to hang on the branches. Before he could though, Donnie jumped between him and the tree, arms spread wide to try and better block his brother's path. Raph froze, giving his brother a wide, confused look.

“Whoa, Raph, what are you doing?! You can't just hang up whatever! What are we, savages?!”

Donnie sounded as if it should be obvious, but Raph really had no clue what he was doing wrong. Wasn't the whole point? To put stuff on the tree. Wasn't that why he bought all of this? Why would Donnie suddenly not want that? Maybe it was because Raph was using the homemade ones? But he had seemed enthusiastic about using the clay ornaments when they talked about it.

On top of that, Raph had absolutely no clue what ‘savages’ meant but Donnie looked like he should know, so maybe that was on him. For a lack of anything better to say, he stumbled out a very hesitant, “Uhhhh, we're… turtles.”

Donnie slapped a hand to his forehead, making Raph flinch. “Groan. Metaphors are lost on you dumdums,” he murmured unhappily. Then in a much calmer tone, he explained, “You need to wait on that stuff. There's a system to this. Lights first, then garland, then ornaments.”

Leo let out an annoyed groan of his own. Of course Donnie would ruin their fun with rules.

But Raph was just relieved he knew what Donnie was upset about now, seeing no issues with following his lead. He knew way more about this, anyways, so who was he to question his little brother's method. He slipped the ornaments he was holding back in the box, saying, “Sure, Dee. You're the expert.”

This only further inflated Donnie’s ego, turning to his twin with a smug grin. Leo just let out an irritated huff, pointedly ignoring his twin as he started rummaging through one of the boxes for something interesting. Donnie was lucky this time. Leo would have been more vocal about his grievances if Mikey wasn't asleep just a few rooms over.

“I'm so glad to hear you say that, dear brother.” Donnie started shuffling backwards towards the pile of boxes, keeping his gaze and grin on Raph. “Because I have something that's gonna really dazzle our little brother.”

Uh oh. Raph knew that tone. That smile. That look. It meant Donnie was trying to get away with something, playing innocent in hopes Raph wouldn't notice.

Raph braced himself as Donnie reached into a box.

He was expecting mechanical snowmen that shot lasers from their eyes or bombs carefully concealed as ornaments or any number of dangerous things his genius brother was no doubt capable of making.

So it caught him more than a little off-guard when Donnie pulled out a seemingly normal string of Christmas lights, grinning that pleased grin reserved for when he made something cool and impressive. “Behold, the future of Christmas!”

Raph cocked his head to the side, trying to see what was so special about them or why Donnie was being so sketchy about the whole thing. “Does… it shoot lasers or something?”

“No,” Donnie said with a frown. “That would be highly inefficient.” But the smile returned as he dove into one of his patented infodumps, carefully laying them out on a table to be better admired by his brothers. “What it is, Raphael, is a highly advanced lighting system that I invented. It's capable of glowing three times brighter than your average Christmas lights while using five times less energy. I also upgraded the bulb with a heat-resistant fiberglass, effectively eliminating the risk of it catching fire, making it a far safer substitute to traditional lights. It's cost efficient, energy efficient, and pleasing to the eye, a perfect combination if I do say so myself.”

Okay, Raph only understood like half of that but it did sound impressive and maybe a little too good to be true. There had to be a catch. Otherwise why was Donnie trying so hard to get him to agree. It was more than a little suspicious.

After some thinking, Raph realized what Donnie had failed to mention, something that made all the difference when it came to his inventions. “Did ya test it yet?”

Donnie’s eyes widened before forcefully returning to neutral, a few beads of sweat appearing on his face. His smile was just a bit too wide and posture just a bit too stiff, hands tapping against his legs in that distinctive Donnie way that only happened when he was nervous or overwhelmed. “It's functional,” he managed, eyes not quite meeting Raph's.

Yep, there was no doubt about it now. Donnie was lying. Or more accurately, hiding the truth, since he hadn't really lied yet. But now his suspicious behavior made sense at least. “You didn't answer my question, Dee,” Raph pointed out.

“Didn't I?” came the softshell’s timid response. It was almost ironic how someone who could be so good at concealing his emotions could be so awful at lying.

Leo gasped, hitting him with an accusing look. “You totally didn't. Test them, I mean,” Leo said, seeing through Donnie’s thinly veiled lies as well. That wasn't surprising since Leo was the resident expert on both Donnie and lying.

The purple turtle let out a whine of guilt before reluctantly admitting, “Okay fine. I may not have had all that much time for testing.” His voice rose several octaves as he added, “But that's only because I was too busy planning for our heist!”

“It wasn't a heist, it was borrowing!”

Leo patted the eldest on the shoulder, saying gently, “Raph, you know we love you but you can't return something after it's been hit by a truck.”

“But it does work,” Donnie cut in, emphasizing each word so he knew they heard him.

Raph hadn't doubted that, everything Donnie made worked, but it wasn't really the problem. Because even though Donnie was an undeniable genius, that didn't mean everything he made functioned properly.

And normally Raph wouldn't mind that. In fact, under any other circumstances he would be more than willing to try out Donnie’s new tech, even if it sometimes turned the microwave evil or made the toaster explode.

But Mikey’s Christmas was on the line! And that the one time Raph knew they couldn't take the risk.

“Sorry, Don,” Raph said in the kindest, softest tone he had, careful not to say anything that might upset his sensitive little bro. “I’m sure what you made is really awesome and cool but this tree’s barely holding together as is. Let's not try anything crazy, okay?”

Donnie had known that answer was coming but it still didn't make him feel any better about it. Disappointment weighed heavy on his heart and he could feel his ego deflating as he pouted sourly. And even though he knew it was pointless, a part of him still wanted to argue and pitch a fit about it. He would have too if Raph wasn't looking at him with that annoying tender look that made it impossible to stay mad at him even if he really, really wanted to be.

So, Donnie begrudgingly relented. “Fine.” And because he was still very much bitter he added, “But when Mikey isn't properly dazzled you'll only have yourselves to blame.”

Then, he set to work pulling out the lights they wanted from their boxes, making sure to ignore Leo's smug look as he did.

Raph and Leo joined him, helping sort everything into neat little piles. The mood changed for the better after that and they were all soon enjoying themselves again. Leo and Raph had fun looking at all the decorations Donnie had bought, showing off each one to the other and talking excitedly about it. Donnie just continued untangling lights, trying to pretend to still be annoyed even if his fond smile betrayed him.

They were all having so much fun in fact, they didn't hear the padding of small feet approaching.

“Raphie.”

The three turtles froze, recognizing the voice behind them in an instant as their baby brother. A quick glance over their shoulders and sure enough there stood Mikey in the doorway, favorite kitty plush pressed to his plastron.

Raph, Donnie and Leo were on their feet and across the room in a heartbeat, creating a semi-circle around Mikey to try and block his view. “Hey, little man~” Raph began in his baby voice, reserved for Mikey alone. “What are you doing out of bed?”

Mikey took a second to process that, eyes glassy and half lidded. He rubbed at them tiredly before glancing between his brothers’ smiling faces in hesitant confusion. It was clear he had just woken up. “Klunk and I were thirsty,” he muttered drowsily. He squeezed his plushie a little tighter. “And you weren't in your room.”

Mikey was still too little to reach the cup cabinet, so always went to Raph whenever he needed one. The snapper gave him an apologetic smile, saying gently, “Sorry, Mike. I was, uhh-”

“Making sure no rats got into the cookies!” Leo, the naturally born liar, said it as if it was as easy as breathing. “Well, non-dad rats, I mean.”

Mikey blinked lazily, a tiny smile tugging at his lips from the joke. “Did Santa come yet?” he mumbled, trying to look past his brothers but Leo moved to block his path, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“Nope! Not yet!” he said quickly, spinning him around and giving him a small push. “So you better hurry and get to bed so he can!”

“Don’t you need to sleep too?” Mikey’s words came out slurred, eyes starting to drift closed again as he swayed unevenly on his feet.

“We will,” Raph assured him, taking his little brother’s hand in his own. “But first let’s get you that water.”

Mikey let out a noise of agreement, allowing Raph to guide him to the kitchen. Leo and Donnie shouted goodbyes to the box turtle but he wasn’t listening, burying his face in his soft cat plush and yawning tiredly. His eyes closed, trusting his big brother to get him there without any trouble.

Raph glanced back at the twins, mouthing the words, ‘Start without me.’ They both gave him thumbs up and he grinned before returning his focus to Mikey, whispering gentle words as they walked.

Donnie waited until they were both out of earshot before turning to Leo, not bothering to hide the mischievous glint in his eye or evil grin on his face. “Wanna use my lights?”

Leo’s eyes widened in surprise, before reflecting Donnie’s own look back at him. “Raph'll be mad,” Leo said, voice a hum.

“Yes but he also isn't here to stop us.”

As expected, that was all the convincing it took. “I'm in!”

By the time Raph had Mikey tucked back into bed, the lights were done. Donnie was plugging them in when the snapper entered the room, mouth instantly going slack. “Donnie!” The softshell flinched, dropping the cord he had been fiddling with. He turned to his brother with a startled look. “I thought we agreed to use the regular lights instead!”

“Yes but I figured once you saw them you would change your mind,” Donnie replied plainly, showing not even a hint of remorse.

“So you went behind my back!”

The slider slapped a hand over his older brother’s mouth, saying with a finger to his lips, “Uh, Raph, maybe try and keep the voice down. Mikester’s still asleep in the other room, remember?”

Leo pulled his hand away before Raph could get mad and the snapper let out a huff. “You went behind my back,” he repeated in a whispered but still very annoyed tone.

“Leo assisted me.”

Raph directed his scolding glare at Leo, who let out an offended gasp and placed a hand to his chest dramatically. He didn’t bother watching his volume either as he cried, “You would betray your own twin so heartlessly!”

Donnie shrugged. “I never claimed to be above such things, Nardo.”

“Oh you are so on the naughty list,” the blue turtle hissed, fuming.

“Actually you're both on Raph’s naughty list,” the eldest declared, grabbing the back of Leo’s shirt and lifting him off the ground. “Now take those off and put on the other stuff.”

“That would be a huge waste of time, Raphael,” Donnie pointed out nervously. As quick as he could he finished plugging everything in, the lights flickering on and filling the room with a brilliant purple glow. “Besides they are already on and not malfunctioning so I vote we leave it as is.”

“Uhhh,” Leo raised a hesitant finger in the air. “I vote for whatever won’t get me in trouble.”

Raph shot him a look but set him back on his feet.

The snapper sighed before saying in the calmest voice he could manage, “I'm glad it didn't mal- whatever but that's not the point. You didn't listen to me.”

“Only because you were trying to stifle my creative genius,” Donnie argued, folding his arms in front of his chest.

“Um guys?”

“I just didn't want it to explode or something,” Raph retorted.

“Should it be smoking like that, Donnie?”

“Scoff. It wasn't going to explode! The worst it could do is catch-”

“Fire!”

“Yes, thank you, Leo,” Donnie snarked, frustrated at his twin for finishing his sentence for him.

“No, I mean it's actually on fire!” Leo screamed pointing at the tree in terror.

Donnie and Raph swiveled in place, spotting a flickering flame on one of the branches which quickly spread to the one above it and then the one next to that, until the whole tree was ablaze in a matter of seconds. Raph screamed, Donnie ran, and Leo grabbed the oldest's arm, shaking him violently. “Do something!”

But Raph was too overcome with panic to think straight, yelling and running around, looking for something to put out the blaze. “Water! Water! Where's water?! Need water!!”

“The kitchen!” Leo screamed in reply, snatching Splinter's favorite blanket off his chair.

A second later the lights shut off, Donnie no doubt cutting the power in the room, explaining his absence.

Raph flinched as everything went dark but another prompt from Leo got his legs in motion, leaving Leo behind to desperately try and fan the ever-growing flames.

Once in the kitchen he dashed straight to the sink, yanking it on and cupping his shaking hands under the steady stream. He started to run back only for the water to sloosh onto the floor instead. He went back and collected more, only for it to spill before he even made it out the door. His thoughts were too scrambled to consider the plethora of empty cups, bowls, and pans he could fill instead, so went with the only option that came to mind…

Raph stuck his head under the running sink, filled his mouth close to bursting and dashed back to the blazing tree as fast as his legs could carry him.

Leo was clearly losing his battle to the flames, huffing and puffing with each labored breath, arms aching as he flapped the thick blanket up and down. “What took you so long?!” he screamed upon spotting Raph. The snapper didn't reply, instead sucking in a deep breath and spewed the water from his mouth, spraying the tree in the process.

“Ew, gross!” Leo wailed in disgust, shuffling backwards. “You couldn't have grabbed a cup or something?”

“Stand back!” Donnie shouted in warning, fumbling with the fire extinguisher he was carrying. The blue and red turtles backed away as their purple counterpart pulled the safety pin free from the handle. He took aim before unleashing a torrent of white foam to the blaze, snuffing it out quickly and effectively.

He used the entire can, making sure every inch of the tree was coated in the flame-retardant substance, only stopping once he was sure the flames were out and the extinguisher was empty. Then he pulled the can to his chest like a lifeline, sighing in relief.

For a moment the three boys just stood there trying to catch their breath, accessing the damage as best they could. It was hard to tell just how badly the tree had been burnt through the thick foam that covered it but it was clear the trunk was about half its size now, bark devoured completely by flames. The branches were now withered husks, curling up on themselves thanks to the pressure of the heat, while many others had crumbled into ash. The ends were gnarled and twisted into sharp points. Strips of metal wires and frayed electric cords all that was left of Donnie’s creation.

The air was thick with smoke and the blanket Leo was holding was singed at the ends where it had been licked by flames, but other than that nothing else had been harmed.

No one spoke or even breathed a sound, the three brothers powerless to describe the feelings of frustration, hopelessness, guilt, and lingering terror that tore at their frazzled heartstrings. Finally it was Donnie who broke the silence, finger tapping a nervous rhythm against the extinguisher as he cleared his throat. “I think I might have had the voltage too high.”

“Ya think!” Leo and Raph shouted as one.

…

The boys salvaged what they could of their present, thankful Mikey had somehow managed to sleep through the whole fiasco. Donnie did his best to clean the foam off but he wasn't able to do much without compromising the tree’s structural integrity. Leo tossed Splinter's blanket, prepared to gaslight him into thinking he lost it should the need arrive. Raph swept up the ashes and lit a bunch of sweet-scented candles to hopefully drown out the smoky scent in the air. Then they all hung up the decorations, garland, and functioning Christmas lights (much to Donnie's ire), placed all their presents under the tree and went to bed.

None of them managed to fall asleep though, even as exhaustion pressed heavy on their tired bodies, trying desperately to relieve their aches and pains by pulling them into unconsciousness. Their minds were a buzzing hive of worry, fear, and dreaded anticipation. No one knew how Mikey would react to seeing the Christmas tree but it could hardly be a positive one.

After all, Mikey was imagining a perfect, movie-accurate tree, not the burnt, mangled monstrosity waiting in their living room.

They could practically see Mikey's tears as he sobbed in disappointment. Would he reject Christmas after this? Would he hate Santa? Would they be forced to tell him the truth and then he'd hate them? Had they collectively ruined Mikey's innocence and Christmas spirit in one night?

It was admittedly a worst case (and more than likely impossible) scenario but it was difficult not to go to extremes when their thoughts were so clouded with negativity and they lacked the strength to fight it off.

They each blamed themselves for the situation they were currently in: Raph wished he'd listened to Donnie and taken the tree he'd picked out, Donnie wished he'd taken the time to check the wiring and voltage so it had never caught flame, and Leo… well, honestly Leo couldn't think of anything directly he'd been the cause of. Still he wished he'd been a little less obnoxiously antagonistic all night.

But there was nothing that could be done now, the turtles could only wait for the youngest to wake. After about half an hour, Raph heard shuffling and giggling outside his door and pretended to look fast asleep, shoving the guilt and fear deep down inside him as he did.

He heard little feet scramble across his room before a weight plopped onto his bed, tiny hands tapping his cheek. “Raph. Raph, wake up. It's Christmas,” Mikey squealed, not even bothering to lower his volume in his excitement.

Raph let out a hopefully convincing yawn and opened his eyes, giving his baby brother an affectionate smile. “Morning, Mike,” he said, rubbing at his eyes to try and sell the bit. “Merry Christmas.”

Mikey beamed sunshine, eyes shimmering despite the dim lighting. He was wiggling and bouncing in place, incapable of holding still for even a single second. Donnie had once joked that if he turned Mikey into a battery he'd be able to power the whole city and despite knowing nothing about science, Raph believed it.

“Can we open presents now?!” Mikey asked enthusiastically, ignoring his brother’s greeting.

Raph felt his stomach churn with worry and hoped it didn't reach his face. “Let’s get everyone else first, okay?”

Mikey sprung off the bed and was out the door in the blink of an eye. Raph smiled despite his anxiousness.

…

Mikey plopped down on top of Donnie, foregoing the gentle approach in favor of hurrying things along. Despite only pretending to be asleep, the softshell still jumped at the sudden physical contact. He sputtered to try and make sense of it all. “What? Angelo? Why did you-”

“It's Christmas, Dee,” Mikey emphatically informed.

“Yes, and?”

“And that means you gotta get up now so we can open presents,” Mikey continued, hands on his hips as he tried to mimic his brother's know-it-all tone. “Don't you wanna see what Santa brought you?”

As curious as he was to see if his dad had gotten him those computer parts he needed, he was much more worried about Mikey's present. All he really wanted right then was some coffee. But since he couldn't say any of that without arousing suspicion, he instead went with a simpler response. “I suppose I should get up then, since it seems I'm not allowed to sleep in.”

Mikey nodded, pleased he'd convinced his genius brother. Donnie tended to be grumpy first thing in the morning. “Yay!” Mikey cheered, hopping off him so he could stand. Despite the impatience bubbling in his chest he waited for his brother to climb out of bed, just to make sure Donnie didn't fall back asleep without him there.

Once he was on his feet, Mikey took his hand, leading him away from the warm, inviting bed and into the chilly hallway. He followed along limply, looking like a puppet being pulled by its strings.

Raph met them in the hallway and Mikey waved and released Donnie's hand, leaving his brother swaying unevenly. “I’mma get Leo,” Mikey said cheerfully. “Make sure he doesn't fall back asleep, okay?”

It was weird hearing Mikey give orders, especially since it was clear he was trying and failing to mimic Raph's ‘big brother’ tone, but the snapper just nodded in assurance, putting a hand to Donnie's shell to help keep him steady. “I will.”

Mikey, satisfied with that answer, grinned and trotted off for Leo's room, humming a Christmas song as he went. Once he was out of earshot, Raph leaned down and whispered, “You think he's gonna hate us?”

Donnie paused, trying to consider that carefully but it was far too early, his brain was far too tired, and emotions were something he struggled with on a good day. So instead he just groaned, leaned up against Raph's plastron and fought to keep his eyes open. “Ask me again once I'm awake.”

…

Leo was the most convincingly asleep, his covers strewn about, the muscles in his face and body relaxed, he even let out little snores so close to the real thing that Raph and Donnie might have actually believed he was sleeping, if not for the fact that Mikey couldn't seem to get him to wake up and Leo was notorious for being a light-sleeper.

To his credit, Mikey seemed to realize this too, getting more and more irritated as the slider refused to acknowledge him. He tried everything he could think of, he called his name, he patted his shell, he hit his shell, he told bad jokes, he tried to peel his eyes open, until eventually he was trying to physically push Leo out of the bed, whining bitterly. “Come on, Leo! I know you're awake! I wanna open presents!”

Leo yawned in a distinctively fake way, rolled over and pulled Mikey to his chest. “Hmm what's this new teddy bear I found,” the blue turtle murmured and Mikey let out a few angry chirps, fighting his hold.

“I'm not a teddy bear, I'm a turtle! And let me go!” Mikey kicked his little feet around, knocking the last of the covers to the floor.

Leo's mouth twitched as he fought back the grin. “Oh it's so noisy, it must be an electronic one,” Leo continued, squeezing his brother tighter to keep him from escaping. He finally peeked an eye open, looking over at his two brothers in the doorway, both of them grinning at the whole display. Mikey just continued wiggling. “Hey Raph, I think Santa gave me your present by mistake.”

Mikey finally managed to jerk a hand free, retaliating by tickling Leo behind the neck, where he was most sensitive to the attack. Instantly, Leo burst into laughter, releasing Mikey so he could try and pull away. But the box turtle wasn't having it, flopping on top of him so he couldn't escape easily, then tickled his neck with both hands to help add to the torture.

Leo tried to push him off but couldn't muster the strength as his lungs burned and his limbs turned to jelly. “Okay, Mikey! I give! Uncle!” he shouted between bouts of laughter but the baby turtle just tickled harder.

“Nope, this is my revenge,” Mikey giggled.

“Raph, Don, help!” Leo screamed, waving his arms desperately to get their attention.

Neither of them moved to do anything, Raph saying smugly, “Nah, you got yourself into this mess, you can get yourself out.”

“Come, dear brother, let's wait for them in the kitchen,” Donnie added with a mischievous but still tired grin.

“Let's,” Raph replied and the two started off together.

“Traitors!” Leo yelled after then, still howling with laughter.

…

The four eventually made it to their dad's room, Leo carrying Mikey piggyback, but were shocked to find it empty. Their confusion didn't last long however, as a sweet scent in the air led them to the kitchen, where they found their dad and five steaming mugs. “Merry Christmas, my sons,” Splinter greeted them kindly, taking a small sip from his cup. “I trust you slept well.”

“Did Santa come? Did he bring me what I asked for?” Mikey asked, bouncing a little against Leo's shell.

Splinter chuckled. “I'm not certain. How about you drink your cocoa and then we'll go check.”

“Yay! Dad's hot cocoa!” Mikey exclaimed, jumping out of Leo's arms. Splinter handed him a cup and he settled down at the table to enjoy, sipping slowly so he didn't burn his mouth.

Splinter set his own cup down and picked up the three remaining mugs (using his tail to carry Raph's) and brought it over to the boys. “Here you are, my sons. For all your hard work.” He made sure to keep his voice down.

“Thanks, pops,” Raph said, rumbling softly as the warmth spread through his fingertips and up his arms. It felt nice.

Donnie leaned against his twin for support, still fighting for consciousness. He glowered at the mug in his hands, wishing it was coffee instead of cocoa. He barely even liked cocoa.

Leo looked more awake and alert than his brothers but was still sporting a nasty pair of eyebags. “Did you go into the living room yet?” the blue turtle asked, half curious, half confused.

Splinter gave him a suspicious look. “No, why?”

Leo's eyes widened and he quickly looked away. “Um, no reason,” he nervously muttered, bringing the cup to his lips so his dad wouldn’t ask anymore questions.

But he jerked away a second later, sticking his tongue out in disgust. “Ugh, why is it so bitter?”

Splinter leaned forward and whispered, “Ah, that would be the expresso I added to your drinks.”

Donnie swallowed the entire cup before even needing to take a breath.

Raph and Leo followed suit, drinking greedily as they felt the edges of exhaustion slowly creep away. By the time they were done, they all felt lively and energized again, a comforting warmth filling their insides, making each of them sigh in contentment.

Splinter smiled as each of them thanked him and handed back their cups. “Yes well, I had a feeling you’d need some of my ‘Santa special’. The only thing that got me through some years.” He winked then returned to his own simmering cup of cocoa.

Mikey jumped to his feet a second later. “Okay, I’m done! Now onto presents!”

“Yay,” Leo, Raph, and Donnie said as one. They tried to sound enthusiastic, with varying degrees of success but the box turtle didn’t even notice as he led them towards the living room.

The walk there was nerve-wracking for the older turtles, dread pooling in their stomachs as they watched their little brother. Mikey was skipping and singing and beaming ear to ear, blissfully unaware that every step only brought him closer to crushing disappointment. Leo tried to think of some way to stall him. Raph wondered if he should say something to prepare him for what he was about to see. Donnie was strongly considering setting off the emergency alarms just to get them out of the lair long enough for him to finish burning the tree to the ground. Anything to keep Mikey from stepping inside and seeing his disaster of a present.

But before any of them could implement their plans, they arrived.

Mikey slipped inside without a second thought and the three had no choice but to follow. The box turtle gasped loudly, causing his brothers to violently flinch, grimacing at the sight of the tree.

Somehow, despite all common sense, it looked even worse than before.

Raph, Donnie, and Leo nervously crowded around Mikey, trying desperately to interpret his shocked expression. His eyes had grown wide and mouth hanging slack, but it was impossible to tell if it was out of disappointment or not.

Still the boys couldn't imagine him liking it, suddenly feeling like the worst big brothers in the world. Their bodies stood tense, bracing themselves for the crying and screaming and rejection of all things Christmas to begin.

Instead, Mikey squealed, the shrill noise making their ears ring. “He came!” the box turtle exclaimed and his brothers froze on the spot, staring down at him in confused silence.

“He came! He came! He brought my gift!” Mikey was a giggling, joyful ball of energy, fluttering around the tree like a moth would a flame, trying to see as much of it as quickly as possible. His tail twitched and his eyes shone like diamonds as he pointed to the tree emphatically. “Guys! Guys! Look! Santa did it! He really did it! He got me a Christmas tree! And it’s decorated and got lots of presents underneath and everything!”

Slowly, the shock turned to relief and then to joy, Mikey’s big brothers pleasantly surprised by his reaction. Leo gave Donnie and Raph a thumbs up, the snapper letting out a soft sigh before beaming, while the softshell felt his heart swell with accomplishment and pride, lips twitching into a fond smile as he watched his little brother.

Splinter stepped into the room and Mikey was at his side in a heartbeat, grabbing him tightly by the hand as he bounced up and down. “Dad! Dad, look! Santa brought me a tree, just like I wanted!”

The rat opened his mouth to reply, only to be taken aback by the sight, turning to the others, who were suddenly very interested in staring at the walls, ceiling, and floor. He plastered on a smile, managing to say, “It’s very, um, unique.”

“Uh huh! It’s even got snow on it!”

“I would refrain from touching that,” Donnie spoke up but Mikey wasn’t paying attention.

He went back to admiring it up close, squealing at every little thing he saw. “Ohmigosh, he even put our ornaments on it! Come see!” He gestured them all over and they happily gathered around.

“Huh, how about that?” Raph said with a hopefully straight face.

“There’s mine,” Leo said, pointing it out. “You can tell from how cool it looks.”

“Yours is subpar at best,” Donnie retorted.

“Ohhhh someone’s jealous that mine are all higher up than yours. Guess that means that Santa likes me better.”

“What does height have to do with anything?”

“Just admit you’re jealous.”

“Why would I admit to something so obviously not true?”

“Can you two please not argue on Christmas,” Raph sighed in annoyance.

Mikey tugged on Raph’s arm and the snapper immediately dropped into a crouch. “Can you lift me up, Raphie? There’s something I wanna do.”

Raph nodded, picking his little brother up like he was nothing and setting him down on his shoulder. As the snapper stood, Mikey reached into his hoodie pocket to pull something out. Raph tried to peek up but the orange turtle put his foot over his eyes. “Don’t look, it’s a surprise!”

The snapper lowered his gaze again, staring at the ground. Once Mikey was sure it was safe, he went back to fishing his surprise out of his pocket, tongue sticking out in concentration. Out of his peripheral vision Raph could see Mikey putting something on the tree.

After a moment, Leo and Donnie took notice of their little brother but when they moved to see Mikey ordered them to cover their eyes, which they immediately did. Finally, Mikey was done, nodding once in satisfaction as he climbed down Raph’s arm and onto the floor. “Okay, you can look now!” he shouted to the family. Everyone glanced up at the tree, spotting Mikey’s surprise in an instant.

Just below the star were five clay ornaments, clearly the work of the little box turtle, each hung on different branches. Four of them were turtles wearing a separate color each: red, blue, orange and purple. Mikey had even added small details like Raph’s spikes, Donnie’s glasses, Leo’s eye stripes, his spots. The final one hung in the middle of the four, a rat with a bright smile on his face.

“Awww, Mikey! You made ornaments of us!” Raph cooed, cuddling his brother close to his plastron.

“Uh huh,” Mikey replied proudly, little tail twitching in joy. “That’s why I wanted the tree so bad! I wanted them to have a special place to go! Plus, it looks really nice!”

Raph felt tears in his eyes and Donnie and Leo quickly joined the group hug, tucking into the snapper’s sides, placing warm hands on Mikey’s shell. Splinter took his place at Mikey’s back, hands wrapping around to hold all his young sons. They were getting steadily bigger, by next year he doubted he could hold them all like this, so he decided to enjoy it while he still could.

“You shouldn’t have, little bro,” Leo said brightly.

“Yes, but we appreciate it, nonetheless,” Donnie added, tone gentle.

“You are too good to us, Orange,” Splinter murmured, nuzzling a cheek against his head, making the box turtle giggle as the whiskers tickled his leathery skin.

Mikey just beamed and said lightly, “Merry Christmas, you guys!”

“Merry Christmas, Mikey!” his family echoed to him.

And as the Christmas lights twinkled, the small family held fast, knowing this feeling would stay and would last.

The hug lingered and lingered, not one pulled away, the celebrating could begin a bit later that day.

And the big brothers three, though had feared it a mess, declared this Christmas mission a rousing success.

For the youngest sung praises to Santa with joy, his spirit unbroken, a greater gift than a toy.

Now the heisting was over, a word Raph would protest, so they could relax now and catch up on their rest.

Until Mikey declared with stars in his eyes, “Maybe next year he'll bring me a real reindeer that flies!”

Thank you for reading! I hope everyone enjoyed! I barely managed to finish this one in time for the holidays but thankfully I got a last minute burst of inspiration when I got to Mikey's part so I was able to get it done in time. I think I just really like writing Mikey back when he was a baby, hehe. But then I like writing all of the family and their shenanigans give me so much life XD

Can't believe this is my first official Rise fic! I've still got lots of ideas for the series as it's become my most recent obsession, haha. In fact, I'm wanting to make a whole series of little Turtle Tot one shots, among other things. So yeah, if you enjoyed maybe consider giving that one a read whenever it's ready.

For now I'm gonna go and enjoy my holiday! Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas! Or Happy Holidays, regardless of what you celebrate!

#my writing #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rottmnt #rottmnt fanfiction #save rottmnt #unpause rottmnt #turtle tots #disaster twins #magnetic duo #portal pals #pb&j duo #smarts and crafts #brains and brawn #sunset duo

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