always happy about the fact that in 2012, mikey often asked donnie questions if he didn't understand something and donnie always answered no matter what

this can be seen in a bunch of episodes but my favorite example of it it's the one in half shell heroes where mikey is extremely excited to be in the museums and is the one actively asking donnie questions about the exhibits they saw and also actively listening to donnie's explanation (before raph got silly lmao). he was very excited to learn!!!

And while it's true that mikey would lose interest quite fast if the explanation got too lengthy with too many technical terms, it doesn't change the fact that he does retain the info donnie is always rambling on about different things!!! (even if mikey himself doesn't notice he's doing it lol) and also i find it very sweet that no matter if donnie himself got annoyed, donnie would always answer the questions. no matter what. he would always try to explain if he didn't understand something

This is prob because mikey is the one brother who is often seeking out donnie to pass time around him Meaning that donnie might have used mikey as his rubber ducky whenever mikey hangs out with him while he's working (explained him a lot of his experiments and theories while trying to solve them himself and in this way mikey also learnt in the process WHILE spending time with his brother! win win!)

it also helps donnie because accompanies him while not letting him get lonely in his lab 24/7, sometimes explaining things to someone makes it better to understand it yourself AND it's shown in the comics that donnie is quite used to his brothers just Living as background noise and literally cannot function without it lmao

They are literally the two smart kids in the family even if none of them notice it and it's all because mikey looks up to his brother and is like an sponge with donnie around. donnie is actively teaching mikey and mikey is learning! even if they have no idea they are doing it

Hey, what would you say to the TMNT fans who apparently hated 2012 April's guts and probably didn't finish the whole series through because of her?

(Check: https://twitter.com/UnxownP/status/1582226407467659265 (read the full thread) )

Okay so I'm gonna go a little bit April Simp mode so bare with me Anon-

These people totally got April's character completely wrong and are totally twisting her character into something that she's not.

12 April is not any of the things that this thread has suggested. April in the beginning of the series is introduced as the daughter of Kirby O'Neil who's a scientist that the Kraang take interest in because of his work and because of April herself. She's literally kidnapped and put in an extremely stressful situation for a 16 year old girl and yet she manages to get her shit together and toughen herself up because her father is more important to her than her stress. Throughout all of season one April is shown to be a determined and take no shit kind of girl because she has to save her father. And the boys help her out in her mission because of her determination and their own feelings of wanting to help her out. However she's more than that.

April is also kind, she's had many moments where her kindness has been shown as her main core of her personality such as when she helped the one scientist who was turned into a monkey or whenever she helps the boys with their missions or personal issues. April's also brave and fearless and she isn't afraid to be blunt with the ones she loves because she cares enough about them to give it to them straight. April's also incredibly loyal to her friends and has several times throughout the series thrown hands for the boys, Casey and Master Splinter. She's stuck with these people even when they were going through rough times in their friendship because at the end of the day they're more important to her than her anger that she may feel towards them at the time.

And don't even get me started on the Donnie and April thing because holy shit-

Literally Donnie becomes infatuated with April from the moment he sees her and develops a crush on her. And he in lovable Donnie fashion tried to woo her a lot during the first season because of this crush and April didn't even acknowledge this because ya know SHE'D JUST BEEN THROUGH A TRAUMATIC EXPERIENCE OF BEING KIDNAPPED BY BRAIN ALIENS AND WATCHING HER DAD GET TAKEN AND HAVING HER ENTIRE LIFE BE TURNED UPSIDE DOWN.

Like that's a lot of stress to deal with on it's own and added with Donnie's crush on her of course she's not gonna respond to his feelings she's literally working shit out and she doesn't have time for romance not when her father's life is at stake. Not to mention that it's quite obvious that April wasn't used to someone having a romantic interest in her so she is basically clueless in the area of relationships and romance in general much like Donnie himself. And Donnie bless him, he just tried to put too much out there a bit too fast at a terrible time and April didn't know how to handle it. Let's also not forget that she's 16. She's a teenager, she's gonna fuck up at times and yet what people seem to forget is that right after she fucks up she's quick to try and mend things with her friends because she honestly didn't realize she'd hurt them till much later.

And if people paid attention it becomes a bit more clearer that April does feel something for Donnie and this was after she'd gotten to know him and establish a friendship with him and Donnie as he got to know April better had started to back off on his somewhat overbearing affection for her because he realized that April's personality wasn't the type to respond well to big proclamations of love and romance.

And as for the April supposedly killing Donnie in cold blood as he begged her to stop thing. If they actually paid attention to the episode it's revealed that the reason she did it was because she was quite literally out of her mind. April was POSSESSED by an alien crystal and it made her not think correctly nor really realize the extent of her actions. And when April snapped out of it and realized what she'd done do you know what her first reaction was??

She cried. April immediately cried and broke down when she thought she'd killed Donnie, because the very thought of Donnie no longer being in her life completely ruined her.

April O'Neil from the 12 series has her flaws she has her weaknesses and she has her moments where she fucks up but to just reduce her to those things and call her toxic and manipulative and acting like she does these things because she's a spiteful person is completely wrong and downright disrespectful to her character. April O'Neil is so much more and she's a complex person with emotions and despite some of her flaws almost every single time at the end of the day she's always doing what's right and is always putting herself out there in harm's way to protect the boys and Casey and Master Splinter because they're her family and she loves them dearly. April is kind and fearless and isn't afraid to put herself in the line of fire for those she loves because that's who April O'Neil is.

Like if we really step back and think about it April could have left the turtles alone once she'd gotten her dad back. After all that was one of the main reasons she teamed up with them in the first place. She had every right to leave once everything was said and done but ya know what? She didn't. She stayed with the boys and continued their friendship even after her dad was rescued and she stuck with them even when the Kraang had become a real threat towards her safety, even when the Hamato clan's most fearsome enemy the Shredder and the Foot got involved threatening to kill them and anyone involved with them, even when dangerous mutants ran through the city reeking havoc. April literally stayed with them through it all and the kicker? SHE DIDN'T HAVE TO DO ANY OF IT. YET SHE DID BECAUSE SHE LOVED THEM AND CARED ABOUT THEM ENOUGH TO STICK WITH THEM TILL THE VERY END.

Honestly I don't understand why people cut out her character like this and just reduce her to only the flaws she showed a couple of times throughout the series.

not to plug for my own au or anything (bc it literally hasn't been posted yet lol) but like... as a mainly 2012 fan, seeing all of this with the knowledge of what happened to Yoshi and Saki in that timeline is. damn. okay yeah 12 Splinter could've been So Much Worse. by no means is he a good dad but at least he's trying to do right by his kids rather than emulating 1-to-1 what Yuuta did to him and his brother. still makes me so sad that he died before he could successfully unpack all that trauma so he just kinda said "well shit I don't have time so I better make one of them even more emotionally fucked up to protect the others For The Greater Good" and in that sense followed in Yuuta's footsteps at the very last moment. really pulled a Saki there :/

so! on that note! it made me curious, what with all the crossover stuff going on, what would happen if someone tried to kill your Splinter. idk if anyone else wants the glory so I'm just gonna say that my Splints did it because he regrets chickening out when Saki nearly died to Yuuta back in the day yada yada plot stuff. needless to say he would fail miserably, there's a reason he's in hiding these days. so how would Splinter react? like, if he survives, but it was close and there is a credible and very aggressive threat to his personal safety (which he can defeat pretty easily but it's still inconvenient and frightening), but for Multiverse Reasons he can't just pick up the kids and leave.

the other important question is... how would the kids react? especially Mikey. something has just shown that their dad is not invincible, but he is still a problem. how would he respond to that?

haven't watched a lot of 2012 but i am eternally amused that he was like, kind of a shit dad and then just DIED about it haha fsdfdsf.

anywho, to get into your question-

Splinter is already pretty paranoid, he wont step foot in the hidden city for fear that Big Mama's goons will get him even all these years later. if someone tried to kill him and knew where he lived he'd grab his boys and SKEDADDLE. and if they DIDNT know where he lived he'd force donnie to up the security on their lair by like 1000%.

as for mikey, I think it's different to wish your dad would die and actually see someone try to do it. even though Mikey wouldn't be SUPER broken up if Splinter died, he'd still be traumatized, and he knows it would hurt his brothers a lot if they lost Splinter. he's also not prone to trusting adults, especially those who just (seemingly) randomly attacked his caretaker.

Donnie would be panicked about it and feel unsafe until they figured out who tried to kill splinter and why.

Leo would be fuckin furious and decide to be Splinters personal body guard for the foreseeable future.

Raph is always tired and would continue to be tired and irritated. he probably wouldn't change much, except that now he's extra high strung cause what if the guy who tried to kill splinter comes back for the rest of them?? and if splinter dies, where will they go?? will Draxum take them in? stressful.

The Deadly Venom Liveblog

Wait, what? Karai is human again? Offscreen? Oh god they whiffed it...

EWWWW BRAIN WORM

God I love that Rocksteady is so happy to be named Rocksteady. Love him.

Wait so she's still a snake, but also not? This is why we don't do these offscreen.

I feel none of the tension they were hoping I'd feel... probably because... THEY DID ALL THE IMPORTANT SHIT OFFSCREEN

At least I have the bop of the theme song to soothe me

Is Leo doing really well, or is Splinter sick?

Okay yeah Splinter is still wounded.

Splinter was more fun in the first two seasons.

Oh okay he has magic. Yeah okay "technique" motherfucker that's a spell.

Casey I love you sweetie but you're ignoring April again. Are you ADHD as well? He might be ADHD as well.

Does her dad not like Casey?

Oh We In A Nightmare]OH SHE GOT POISONED

OH FUCK THAT BITE IS NASTY AND TERRIBLE

Casey why are you beatboxing to yourself while on patrol

YAY RETURN OF THE BIKE YESSSSSSSSSSSSSS RETURN OF THE WAR BIKEEEEEEEEE

HE HAS MISSILES ON THE BIKE?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

Not only is he beatboxing, he's using his own name as the lyric.

Awwww Casey was trying to make friends! Oh he'll never get an alternative-style friend in Karai now after thi- ASK EHR OUT?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!]Oh no! Casey's gonna get bit!

KISSED?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

WHAT IS THIS I HATED ALL OF THAT

Why the hell did Kirby bring April to The Turtles by the way? Oh good he agrees

ONCE AGAIN DONNIE HAS TO DO A LITERAL MIRACLE CURE ALL BY HIMSELF WITH TONS OF PRESSURE ON HIM TO HAVE ALL THE ANSWERS

Sorry was Mikey about to suck Casey's butt. Okay who let the perverts write this episode?

WAIT LOL KIRBY IS ONLY AS TALL AS DONNIE HE'S ONLY 5 FOOT 6 INCHES THAT'S SO FUNNY TO ME oh no he's a little taller nevermind

KIRBY LEAVE DONNIE ALONE HE'S 16-17 YEARS OLD IF WE GO BY 1 SEASON = 1 YEAR AND HE'S ONLY 15 IF WE GO BY THE TIMELINE THE SHOW INSISTS ON I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU'RE PANICKING ABOUT POSSIBLY LOSING YOUR DAUGHTER BUT STRESSING OUT THE ALREADY STRESSED TEENAGE BOY ISN'T GOING TO HELP HER

Yeah no this is just- this is just magic. This is spells. Splinter can do magic now.

Oh no, did they get bit in the water? Is there venom in the water? Why do they feel sick?

OH DONNIE IS A PINEAPPLE HEAD. HE STAYED AS ONE FOR THAT WHOLE RUNNING SHOT

Girl your venom is OP

OH GOD DID DONNIE HAVE A HEART ATTACK?!?!?!?! WHAT WAS WITH THE CHEST CLUTCHING

WHY'D YOU HANG CASEY UPSIDE DOWN HOW DARE

Slow, but then, within the hour? That's pretty fast Karai.

This plot is dumb. We did villain Karai, we don't need it again. Or let her be a villain outside of Shredder if you must. But this is stale.

PFFFFFFT "April, you must defeat the venom with Willpower." "... Oh god why did I bring her to TURTLES AND A RAT-" I just love Kirby's immediate panic after Splinter said that, my thoughts exactly man

So like. The Kraang are legit just. Gone? ... That kind of sucks. It's really good when Shredder and The Kraang are both there, I think it's getting stale now because it's only Shredder. ... I miss The Kraang.

Oh look Leo got bit twice more... but he's fighting it... I'm yawning.

It's magic, Karai. This show has magic now. I guess.

Oh that was a weird choice for the punch. ... Actually this whole sequence was weird.

Kirby's having a hell of a night, man. Magic Ninja Rat Man just healed his daughter who's half interdimensional alien.

Awwww Donnie arguing in Karai's favor since she's under mind control. See this is why I hated that part where he threw the can at Casey in Casey Jones vs The Underworld, multiple episodes establish Donnie as, largely, the Bleeding Heart of the group, and yeah he has moments of exception to that but generally he's not outright cruel. But that throwing thing was so... bully-like... ugh.

Leo unlocked the Healing Spells, his Mana leveled up. Multiclassing unlocked.

Is this seat empty? " Yes and this one will be too if you sit down" , "Don't be like that my love."

For MLB!Harry first stupid fight in a relationship 😂

Okay this turned into something entirely different then the prompt. Sorry anon 😂

—

Peace & Quiet (Please)

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I write for free so if you enjoy my work please consider donating to my kofi page.

-

“Where d’you put m’protein mix?” Harry asks, padding into the kitchen and opening every single fucking cabinet.

“It’s in the same place it’s been for the past five years,” YN bites out with a slight irritation, mixing the pancake batter a little rougher.

She’s been up since three in the morning and Harry sauntered in around six-thirty after coming home late from a baseball game last night.

All the babies still asleep.

“Ah - fuck,” Her husband huffs when he spills the powder all over the countertop and floor she had just swiffered ten minutes ago.

When he goes to open the other cabinet and grab for a shaker bottle - they all come tumbling out onto the floor in a loud clash.

“Could you be any louder? You going to wake up the kids!” YN scolds harshly, pointing to the closet, “Go get the swiffer.”

He obliges - surprised by her attitude, grabbing it and slapping it (by accident) on the ground like a fucking baseball bat, the head of the mop snapping off and breaking.

“S’broken,” Harry states the obvious, shrugging and going about peeling a banana before leaving the peel near the sink.

YN turns to face him, voice irritated, “I’m about to break you, just like you broke the swiffer.”

“Is that a threat or a promise?” He asks cheekily but her glare tells him there is no amusement to be had this morning.

“I just spent all morning cleaning and you’ve made this place a disaster already!” His wife bites before flipping one of the pancakes.

Harry dejectedly cleans up his protein mix mess, neatly places the shake bottles into the right place, throws away the peel, and closes all the cabinets.

“M’sorry,” He murmurs, coming up behind her and kisses the nape of her neck, “Y’seem a bit cranky this mornin’.”

And man. He should have not said that.

“Do you have a baby who needs to fucking feed from your body every hour even during the night? I don’t think so,” She mutters, shaking him off of her.

“Hey, mama. M’bein’ an ass, what can I do to help?” He changes gears, choosing to stand next to her since she didn’t seem to want to be touch.

“Breastfeed - let your nipples feel like their constantly on fire and about to fall off. Make all this post-partum bleeding stop. Let me sleep for a day straight. I don’t know,” YN begins to sniffles, plating a few mini pancakes.

He’s taken aback, eyebrows furrowing in concern, and he leans forward to flip off the stovetop, “Can I touch you?”

She nods, wiping her eyes, and allows him to haul her up into their marble countertop, “Mama, y’need to tell me when y’feeling overwhelmed? Please baby. I’ve asked you a million times to wake me up and I can bottle feed her.”

“No, she…I have to feed her. It helps bonding and it-“

Harry interrupts firmly, “She will be perfectly fine being fed by a bottle a few times a day. You’re putting too much stress on yourself.”

Her head falls on his shoulder and she mumbles, “I just feel so…gross, not attractive at all.”

He pulls her back, searching her face in confusion, “Baby, why would you ever say somethin’ like that?”

YN let’s out a quiet sob, “My nipples are chafed and sore, I’m constantly bleeding, my belly hasn’t deflated -“

Harry can’t help but lean in and connect their lips harshly, he’s pulling her loose shirt up and over her head.

“Harry, what-“

“Listen t’me,” Harry rasps seriously, his hands are tender and careful as they cup her swollen breasts - thumbing at her painful nubs.

“I’m literally obsessed w’your tits, baby. They’ll go back to normal after y’done feeding and even if they don’t - I love them just as fucking much. You fed our three healthy strong boys and now you’re makin’ sure our chunky little girl is eating good.”

Then he hands move to cup her belly, large hands splayed over the still softening, firm bump from where Briar had been housed for nine months.

“Y’gave me four, four fuckin’ babies from this belly. I’m fucking in love with your body. God, y’thighs, y’tummy, the stretchmarks - fuck, getting me hard just lookin’ at you.”

It was true, he was stiffening up in his shorts but neither of them acknowledged it - it was a love boner more than anything else.

He literally got hard from how much he loved her.

“I’m tired,” She sighs softly, letting Harry tug her shirt back on as the children would be waking up soon to eat breakfast.

“I know, mama,” Harry acknowledges softly, giving her another kiss before taking over the pancake station.

-

When all the boys are downstairs and chomping away on their food, Cash, who is just about four decides it’ll be funny to squirt the sticky syrup all over their expensive stool cushions and the floor.

When YN turns from the sink to see the mess, she admits she snaps a little bit, “Really Harry? You’re supposed to be watching them, not checking the sports news on your phone!”

Harry is about to defend himself but his wife is stomping over to where Cash has emptied the bottle and gives him a firm look, “Cash Edward Styles, get your bum upstairs, right now.”

Cash’s eyes widen, his mother rarely needed to use a harsh tone with them, “Mama, I’m so-“

“If you are not upstairs, by the bathtub this instant, you get no outside time today. Do you understand me?” YN tells him, giving Easton a warning look when he licks at the syrup on his finger.

“Yes mama,” Cash squeaks out sadly, abandoning his plate and walking up towards the bathroom upstairs to get clean.

Easton and Ezra are dead silent as they watch their brother leave - not wanting the same fate as him so they sit proper.

“Sweetheart-“ Harry begins, putting his phone back in his pocket.

“No, I have my hands full taking care of four kids. I don’t need you acting like a fifth. Go bathe your son,” YN tells him coldly, an angry stare directed his way.

Harry clenches his jaw, biting his tongue as he stands up and pushes his chair in with force - making a loud noise before following after his second son.

A few minutes after they’re out of sight, Easton thought it’d be funny to wipe syrup down Ezra’s cheek which made Ezra cry and throw a pancake at his older brother - now soaking him in syrup.

YN starts to leak milk at the sound of Ezra’s cries.

“Easton Robin - get you butt upstairs this instant too. You know better - no outside time today,” She informs him as she uses a wet wipe to clean Ezra’s cheek.

“Mama,” Easton whines, fat tears starting roll down his cheeks as he stands up, loitering by the kitchen stool.

“Do not make me repeat myself,” YN warns, swiping a paper towel over the wet spot on her shirt from the leak.

-

Harry had just started washing up Cash who was still melancholy when his blubbering older one comes in - still tearful.

He sighs, looking at his syrupy son, “Wha’ happened?”

Easton looks hesitant, “I put syrup on Ezzie and mama said no outside time today.”

His father is tight-lipped, he can already predict that Easton’s actions upset Ezra, “Alright, c’mon. Let’s clean y’up too. Y’know better, Easton.”

-

Harry had just finished helping both boys dress when YN appears in the doorway with Ezra who has a binkie popped in his mouth.

She steps over and hands their son to Harry before muttering, “I’m going to feed Briar, keep the boys out of the room. I need some peace.”

YN disappears from the room before he can even reply to her.

-

Harry can admit he gets distracted when one of his coaches calls him up for a game change, doesn’t notice when Cash sneaks from the playroom.

It’s less than five minutes later when YN leads Cash gently by the hand back into the playroom, with Briar still latched and feeding.

When she sees Harry on his phone, she’s fucking livid with him.

“Really Harry?” His wife scoffs, guiding Cash to join Easton in where he’s playing with legos.

“I’ll call you back,” Harry replies to his coach before hanging up, “Sorry, it was Donny-“

“Good to know your job is more important than watching your kids,” She spits out before storming back out of the room.

Harry is up and following behind her, jaw clenched and irritated, “Just ‘cause you’re in a pissy mood doesn’t mean that y’say shit like that.”

She turns on her heel, eyes fiery, “You have no god damn consideration. You’ve been swamped this week because of your nike promotion and games. I’ve had the babies all by myself for four nights while you get to gallivant around!”

Harry goes to speak but she puts her free hand up.

“I ask for you to keep our house clean and to let me have one moment of peace with our daughter but you don’t even let me have that! You do not understand how hard it is to push a baby out of you and then have them rely on you to feed them twenty times a day!”

His anger fades when his wife starts sobbing - chest shuddering sobs, “I just had her four weeks ago. I-I haven’t had a break yet. You act like it’s so easy!”

He starts to walk towards her, “Sweetheart-“

YN shakes her head, a desperate plea in her tone, “Please just give me time with Briar.”

Harry swallows harshly and nods - feeling like shit as his wife walks back towards the stairs - all the while still feeding their daughter.

-

“Hello?”

“Mum, I-can you take the boys for the night?” Harry asks quietly, standing in the kitchen while the two older boys are still playing quietly.

Ezra’s passed out, on Harry’s hip with his little face smushed against the cap of his shoulder with parted lips.

“Dear, is everything okay?” She replies cautiously.

“No, I-I don’t know. YN is overwhelmed and I don’t think I’ve been supportive enough,” Harry feels himself begin to sniffle.

Anne doesn’t pry for information which Harry loves about her, she agrees to take them, and states she’ll be over within the hour.

Harry goes about packing their pajamas and other necessities in their little backpacks as the squeal excitedly about going to Nana’s.

“Can we say bye to mama?” Easton asks anxiously as they clear out of their bedrooms.

“Let me go ask,” He murmurs, running a hand through his son’s curls.

When he cracks open the door, YN is sprawled out on her back, fast asleep with Briar also asleep in the bassinet next to the bed.

His heart aches because her shirt is off, and the remnants of her nipple cream which was a pinkish orange color wasn’t fully rubbed in on her bruised breasts.

Harry guides them downstairs, promising that their mama will call them later.

-

After the boys leave, Harry doesn’t know what to do so he cleans whatever he finds that is dirty or messy so she won’t have to.

He does all the laundry in the house, cleans up every single toy, and when Briar starts to whimper - he sneaks in to snatch her up so she doesn’t wake YN.

Then he takes her out to the shops with him to grab groceries, her favorite snacks, and maybe he does stop by a jewelry store and buy her something nice.

(casually a pair of 20k earrings)

YN fell asleep around eighty-thirty in the morning and doesn’t wake up until about nine at night, Harry had put Briar in her nursery about an hour ago.

When she does awake, Harry is sitting in the living room - watching a stupid action movie to pass time and dwell on everything.

She comes in quietly, stands in front of her husband who looks up at her with anxious eyes - she looks brighter now that she’s had adequate sleep.

“Will you hold me?” She rasps quietly, just in one of Harry’s shirts and soft pair of sleep shorts.

“Never haven t’ask, mama,” He murmurs, guiding her until she’s straddling his lap and burying her face into the crook of his neck.

His hands sneak beneath her shirt to massage the sleep-warm skin as he kisses her shoulder - over and over again.

“I’m so sorry,” YN whispers into his skin, voice croaky as she tries to not get upset.

He pulls her back to study her face, “Do not apologize, y’allowed to get mad at me and feel frustrated. You’re emotions are valid. There’s a lot going on and I could be doing more to help.”

YN wipes a tear that trickles down as she laughs in disbelief, “No, you can’t do anymore to help.”

“Wha-? I can, I promis-“

She interrupts his with a kiss before telling him sincerely, “You can’t do anymore help because you’re already doing the most amazing job. As a husband and dad. I was just tired and stressed - it’s not an excuse.”

It warms his heart, he fucking loves her so much it does make sense, has to button their lips together one more time.

“You have a really hard job too, on top of being a husband and dad. You give us all this, support us and take care of us.”

“Are y’kidding me? Y’the one who keeps this family together. Y’the fuckin’ love of my life, you know that? I love you so much, so so much,” He emphasizes, rubbing a thumb across her bottom lip.

The kiss one more time - the anger was subsided and they were okay once again.

Harry laughs and agree when YN murmurs, “S’time for bed again, m’tired.”

“Okay mama, anythin’ for you,” He responds before peppering her in kisses to make her giggle lightly.

Justice League: Snyder Cut

(DISCLAIMER: MY OPINION IS MY OWN AND CAN BE DEEMED INVALID TO THOSE WHO DON’T CARE FOR IT.)

Oh, the time has come my friends! Now, I originally did a review on Batman V.S. Superman and I didn’t care for it, so I deleted it. But before I start, I would like y’all to read this statement made by @verified-villain-fxcker - You can click HERE to read it. As I stated in my repost, I couldn’t have said it better. May Autumn Snyder continue to rest in peace. Let’s get started!

It’s been so long since I’ve made a post I can’t even remember how I do this LOL.

CLARK is outta there to say the least...

WONDER WOMAN and LOIS look flabbergasted, as they should... BRUCE as well.

Talk about a shock-wave scream 

All jokes aside, the hate that LEX has towards SUPERMAN is just to much energy to be giving to another person..

THESE BITCHIES ARE READY

why are they letting a minority approach the fucking the cube?!?!

*insert travel montage scene here*

                      Part 1 - “Don’t count on it, Batman.”

BRUCE knows damn well he’s talking to AQUAMAN. Let’s move this shit along lol

“Oh Gotham? How’s that shit hole?” - AQUAMAN

Ik these bitchies aren’t singing rofl

I’d sniff anything wore by Jason Momoa too.

“Maybe a man who broods in a cave isn’t cut out to be a recruiter.” - ALFRED

TALK YO SHIT ALFRED!!!!

AMY ADAMS can literally take my heart, step on it, throw it in a river and I still wouldn’t be mad. 

Here comes the lovely WONDER WOMAN!

broooo her hands were moving like Donnie Yen in Ip Man!

Fucked that entire ceiling up

Ofc the one who tried to touch it would make the stupid statement. 

STEPPENWOLF is really wildin’ out

Don’t look back! I hate it when they look back!!

These are some strong as women!

                             PART 2 - “The Age of Heroes”

“It’s toxic, that’s good.” - STEPPENWOLF

I can only imagine that this is how toxic people think. 

this dude really just threw that lil demon fella like it was nothin’ lmao

You know you're working at a job for too long when you say this is the first time in a while that they're going home early smdh

Now that shit was pretty lit....

SILAS thinkin’ shit I better check on my son. 

“You know a lot about monsters, don’t you? Especially how to make them.” - CYBORG

If that isn’t teen angst, then I don’t know wtf is lmao

Seeing Gal in this tomb makes me want to re-watch Wonder Woman 1 all over again!

DARKSEID ol’ trifflin’ ass

plopped him down like he was dirty laundry

God bless Willem Dafoe, this man is a fuckin’ legend!

“This world is divided. They’re a primitive species. Unevolved and at war with one another. Too separate to be one.” - STEPPENWOLF

DeSaad kinda looks like Doctor Doom in the Fantasic Four reboot lmao

GREEN LATERNS!!!!!!!!!!!! OH SHIT!!!!!!!!

we really need a Green Lantern Corps moving...

ZEUS + ARES = A Dynamic Duo When They Aren’t Being Dicks To Each Other

You know I feel bad for man because all they did was bury that shit in the ground rofl

                  Part 3 - “Beloved Mother, Beloved Son”

BARRY + IRIS = Love at First Sight 

The burger can’t be that good like damn. 

Bro the detail on his fucking shoes and the glass!!

ROFL PLEASE TELL ME HE TOOK THE HOTDOG FOR HIS DOG!?!? 

damn did the car really need to explode...

lol BARRY must really need the job lol

... I would’ve just played dead after he threw me against that rock...

Man of Steel probably has one of the best soundtracks not just for a superhero movie but just in general

Americans love their football!

I have this love-hate relationship with CYBORG being in the JL and not with the TITANS you know since he’s a kid, but he’s a college student in this one. 

Thank God DIANA spoke with VICTOR instead of BRUCE because I honestly don’t think he would’ve gotten him on board.

Everyone can literally zigzag zoom across this planet at undeniable speed except for BATMAN lol

Come on, VIC, help the lady out.

You know honestly, BARRY has a pretty cool pad for someone who's trying to get by paying for a Criminal Justice Degree. 

“A very attractive Jewish boy. Who drinks milk, I don’t drink milk.” - BARRY

“Fuck the World.” - CYBORG

dang Ik DIANA has every right to grieve over STEVE, but damn that man has her whipped!

“You’re looking at the hottest thing on Earth. The exact same thing I said to my prom date. She dumped me anyway.” - RYAN CHOI

Why does MERA have an accent in this but not in AQUAMAN?? (ik the answer)

DAAAYYUUUMMMN MERA TURNED INTO A WHOLE BLOOD BENDER!

                               PART 4 - “Change Machine”

CYBORG just glided over silently

STEPPENWOLF + WONDER WOMAN = EPIC FIGHT SCENE

Seeing BARRY move like that to stop the debris and to ping DIANA’S sword really is amazing..

But he should not be screaming like that LOL

How do you not remember the planet that’s habitants almost killed you?? Because if that was me, I wouldn’t have forgotten that shit at all!

 Would've held a big ass grudge until I could go back. 

“I know we’re all thinking the same thing right now. Who’s gonna say it? I’m not gonna say it.” - BARRY

WOOOAAHHH J’ONN JONES?! (forgot about that)

 “There are six, not five. There is no us without him.” - BRUCE

Damn, no faith at all 

                         PART 5 - “ALL The King’s Horses”

ICONIC DIALOGUE

BARRY - “Wonder Woman. What do you think, man? You think she’d go for a younger guy?”

VICTOR - “She’s 5,000 years old, Barry. Every guy is a younger guy.”

I would’ve kept swippin’ that ID like a cashier at Wal-Mart swippin’ a debit card.

They're movin’ a little too slow for me. Ik they’ve never been on the ship before, but I would’ve been zoomin’ through that entire ship just to hurry and get the job done. 

NOT THE PREGNANCY TEST

Damn, they couldn’t have at least picked up the photo??

The foreshadowing was spectacular! It will always amaze me. 

I’m sure Allstate will cover that person’s car...

Just when LOIS was about to move on. 

CLARK grabbed DIANA like miss me with that Rafiki shit.

I would’ve come back to my senses too after looking at Amy Adams. 

AQUAMAN + THE FLASH = A CONUNDRUM

DR. SILAS takin’ one for the team

                              PART 6 - “Something Darker”

As crazy as radiation is, it’s quite an amazing spectacle.

I wish this Justice League movie could’ve held off until we got some other heroes such as the Green Lanterns, Hawkgirl, and many others. 

Our generation was truly blessed to have an incredible actor as SUPERMAN, and we are not putting him to use!

JONATHAN sounds like President Biden lol

Alright, team?! Break!

AQUAMAN is totally enjoying this fight. He rode that Parademon like a surfboard.

AQUAMAN + CYBORG + FLASH = *THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN*

I swear every scene that WONDER WOMAN enters into does not fail to include the “Ancient Lamentation Music”. 

VICTOR hurry up and say “one” god damnnit!!

SUPERMAN COLD!!!!

Somebody needs to put this fight on WorldStar

BARRY = HE’S A RUNNA HE’S A TRACK STAHHHHARRR!!!

THAT WAS FUCKING IMMACULATE

The Unity  = The Three Bitchies

I bet DARKSEID will remember that shit now

                        EPILOGUE - “A Father Twice Over”

VICTOR = A Final Requiem

LOL VULKO and MERA look stressed tf out!

“Uh, I have too much to live for. And more important things to do.” - LEX

A cocky motherfucker LMAO

Alright, we’re back in this type of dream sequence. 

“Who have you ever loved?” - MERA

Uh, bitch his parents, Robin tf?!

Thank you, JOKER, for stating the facts for Ms. Fish-stick

 Oh shit, they let LOIS die, goddamn it!

HARLEY’S DEAD TOO?!?!?!

BRUCE LOOK SICK AF!!!

Well, the dream is over once again...

I just don’t see how people can live with all those fuckin’ windows. 

“Oh, and some have called me The Martian Manhunter.” - J’ONN

Alright...

________

Yes, the movie was long but what needed to be expressed was. As we already the Snyder Cut wasn’t supposed to be seen because a father simply wanted to grieve the death of his child. I’ll once again reiterate what @verified-villain-fxcker you don't have to like the film but at least give it the benefit of the doubt from its predecessor. For me, I did enjoy watching his version, but let’s be honest what he who shall not be named did was just fucked up. 

I finished it, finally! Yee fucking haw! It’s not perfect, but I’m not feeling terrible about it, and the next one is going to be fun. Unless something happens, the next chapter should come up on Sunday as planned. Knowing me, it won’t, but I wanna hope. As always, the table of contents and the previous chapter is at the bottom, and a full list of the shit I’ve published is at the bottom of the table of contents. I’ll do a proper proofread tomorrow. Right now, Grammarly and Kami are carrying the team, so if there’s a mistake, take it up with them.

Chapter 14

“I trust you won’t be creepy.”

“I’m thankful.” Yoshi runs his thumb along the rim of his cup slowly. “You have little faith in me, as I understand it.”

You try not to be disrespectful. “Well, things in your life could’ve gone better, right?”

He seems to consider this for a moment. “I suppose so.” He takes a slow drink. “Mistakes from my youth have led to many hardships. Still, though the road has been a long and strenuous one, I would not want to change my past.”

Your untouched drink is cradled in your hands. “You don’t regret anything?”

“It is a foolish and maddening thing, longing for a life unobtainable to you.” He closes his eyes, your own scanning the walls for the photograph you know is in some nook or cranny. “Besides, if things hadn’t happened the way they did, I wouldn’t have my sons.”

You can understand, intellectually, he does not mean to be—and likely is not— as arrogant as you perceive him. Still, something about the way he sits, the way he speaks, even how he looks at you now makes you feel painfully inferior, as if you reacting the way you are makes you somehow beneath him in more than a literal sense.

You decide against arguing the point, eyes flickering from the shrine back to the man in front of you. “I guess that’s true.” You know you are not going to drink any of what he has offered until you have to. “And you’ve always thought like that?”

He nods. “It was what I was taught.”

Nodding, you look back down at your cup, a deafening stillness settling between you two. ‘He convinces me to come here,’ you grumble silently, ‘and all I get for it is a lecture and an awkward silence.’ You look back up at him, setting the clay vessel on the ground and pulling your knees to your chest. ‘I could be doing something else, like fixing my shirt or something.’

“Speaking of them,” he continues, “Donatello tells me you have been experiencing night terrors.”

‘Snitch. Did he tell me he told him?’ “You don’t?”

His eyebrows rise. “Sorry?”

“We have the same trauma,” you explain simply. “Both our families died in fires we caused. Think that counts.”

He does not even flinch. “I’ve never thought of it that way.” He smiles softly. You want to punch him in the face. “I suppose so, yes.”

“You seem pretty calm about it.”

He chuckles at your expression. “I’ve had fifteen years to come to terms with my loss,” he takes another drink. “And,” he jokes, “I was often simply too exhausted to have nightmares back when the wound was fresh; caring for four young boys is tiring, you understand.”

“Right.” You crisscross your legs in front of you. “Yeah, the makes sense.”

“Having said that,” he continues, voice lowering, “I can’t imagine going through what I did at your age.” He sighs. “If something like that happened to one of my boys at this age, I can’t honestly say how they would cope.”

‘Poorly. I’d guess they’d cope poorly.’

“I understand that you and I have differences in ideals and morals.”

“You could say that.” Your mouth stretches into a wry smile. “I honestly only started hangin’ with and helpin’ y’all as a way to make up for my manslaughter. With this exception, I live by the adage, ‘Not my circus, not my monkeys.’”

“As I said,” he covers his mouth to hide his amusement, “we differ in that respect. I take it that’s why, when Donatello explained the situation—” you break eye contact—“he was unable to explain in any sort of detail what they were about.”

“Not his circus not his monkeys. ‘Sides,” you shrug, “he was already being really caring and understanding, and I was already sobbing my eyes out, which I’m sure he already told you, so.”

You stare down at your tea. “Are you going to elaborate?”

“Not if I don’t have to, no.” Your face heats up.

“Do you want my help?”

‘I hate this,’ you squirm. “Honestly, I wouldn’t be here if Donnie hadn’t asked me to.”

“For someone who believes in leaving people to their own devices,” he notes, “you seem to value the requests of my son a great deal.”

Your knees are back up to your chest. “He’s important to me. He’s been there for me. It’s the least I can do.”

He takes a beat to gather his thoughts. You brace yourself for a lecture.

“You care for him, then.”

You nod once, treading carefully.

“Romantically?”

You still do not look at him directly, staring instead at the gorgeous screen door. “I dunno.” Your fingernails scratch at the surface. “I’m not exactly in my right mind, you understand.”

“I can’t say I do.” A pause as he takes another drink. “Then again, I’ve only felt for one woman all my life.”

“Look at that,” you try to joke. “Another difference between us.”

“Do you mind letting me in, then?”

“A little,” you admit, “but I will since there isn’t really a point to being here if I don’t.”

“That’s the spirit.” You can hear his smile.

You set the cup down again, glancing up at him before fiddling with the laces on your shoe. “People under stress and without anywhere else to turn tend to latch onto the first people they relate to,” you explain, practicing your knot tying with fumbling fingers; there is no harm in practicing your dexterity. “He was the first guy I met after I died, got kidnapped, and almost got killed by a giant vine creature. I like him,” you clarify quickly, “I really do, but it’s hardly fair to pursue that sort of relationship, especially considering everything going on with the Kraang and Shredder.” Your eyes go out of focus. “We get along great,” you mumble. “He’s sweet, kind, generous, and empathetic. He deserves to make sense of his feeling properly without me muddying things up with my possibly trauma-induced attachment.”

“So,” he clarifies, “it is not that you aren’t in love with him, but, instead, you’re worried for his sake?”

Your face goes scarlet as you choke on your saliva. “T-that’s a bit—uh—extreme, isn’t it?” You rub the back of your burning neck. “I’m not even sixteen, Yoshi. You don’t understand love properly at sixteen!”

“I fell for my wife at thirteen,” he smiles. “It’s certainly not impossible.”

“That’s—look,” you protest, “that is entirely besides the point. The point,” you state, “is that is completely irresponsible for me to pursue a relationship with your son. Frankly, I’m surprised you don’t agree.”

“He cares for you. You know that. Who am I to decide who he does and does not pursue, especially when that person makes him happy?” He reaches for a worn kettle sitting between you two on a table, pouring its contents back into his teacup—you remember Leo telling you that it is technically called a yunomi. “I find love typically does no harm so long as it does not consume you. Moderation is key.”

You look up at him. “So, you don’t have any reservations about it?”

He takes another drink. “I wouldn’t say that. He is my son, after all. In truth,” he admits, “I was more concerned that my sons would never experience what I did than anything. Given the circumstances of our existence, I’m sure you can understand my wish to give them a relatively normal, happy life.”

You sigh. “I guess, yeah.” You adjust your blanket again. ‘Seems counterintuitive, teaching them the art of murder, but I guess that’s his normal.’ “That’s just a generally good parenting thing though, right? I’d hope you’d want that even if you weren’t a giant rat and they weren’t anthropomorphic turtles.”  

A parent. He is talking to you like one might speak to their kid.

“I suppose so,” he nods. “It’s been difficult, but we’ve certainly come a long way over the years.”

The screeching of tires pierces the still air, the chattering of his four sons bouncing off the concrete walls.

You strain to hear what they are saying. “I never noticed that there was an echo in here. It’s less noticeable than in the tunnel.”

“That’s by design,” he explains. “I’ve made something of an effort to dampen it.”

“Oh, that’s cool.” You set the yunomi on the table. You sigh, holding your breath and downing your now gross, cool tea in three quick gulps. “I hate to cut this short,” you lie, wiping your mouth with your sleeve and tottering to your feet, “but I’ve gotta check to make sure everything went smoothly on their mission and adjust my timetable accordingly.”

He nods, deciding not to point your tell out. “I won’t keep you, then. Would you like to borrow my cane?”

This is not the first time he has offered. You, of course, refuse.

“Oh well. I thought I’d offer.” He sets his cup down, staying seated. “It has been pleasant talking with you, Y/N.”

“Likewise, Mr. Hamato.” You nod once in acknowledgment, hopping over to the door and slipping out into the hallway.

Your stomach churns at the stench coming from the lab—you can smell the gasoline. You lean against the wall, making a pointed effort not to eavesdrop and rapping your knuckles against the door. Their voices immediately lower to hisses and someone drags the door open.

“Hey,” Mikey beams. “We were just talking about you. Need somethin’?”

“Just is an over-exaggeration.” There is a considerable amount of protest as Donnie pulls him away from the door with an uncomfortable edge to his voice. “P-please, come in.”

A beaten DIY van sits pathetically on the subway track, looking not dissimilar to a burnt, crushed soda can from where you stand. The once hot pink graffiti has most certainly seen better days, and you squirm at the thought of the sound it must have made if you understand the situation properly. Raphael, who you glance at out of the corner of your eye, looks similarly beat up. Of course, you are not going to say anything because you value your life.

You whistle, smiling incredulously. “So,” you try not to laugh, “I take it you took on the cucaracha.”

“Made it my bitch is what I did,” boasts Raphael. “Shot it with a laser.”

“Cool, cool.” You chuckle at his excitement. “You take care of the egg?”

Is there a better sight than watching the light in someone’s soul die? You would hesitantly say no. “The what?”

“Right outside the building,” you elaborate. “On the side of the road. Looks like a horrifying imitation of an orbee?’

He takes a slow, deep breath, holds it, exhales. “I’ll be right back,” he says calmly, and sprints out of the lair.

Michelangelo laughs. “Were you being serious or are you messing with him?”

“Serious.” You readjust the blanket, trying to subtly figure out how to breathe without being assaulted by the mechanical smell. “I won’t joke about that sort of thing. It’s cruel.”

He hesitates. “… speaking of, are you alright? I didn’t get to ask before.”

The other two are quietly watching the interaction with an odd amount of intensity.

You shrug. “I guess. Probably.”

“Alright,” he nods. “Just lemme know if you need to talk, alright? Donnie’s no—ow!”

“Don’t talk bad about people in front of them,” Leonardo criticizes. “It’s rude.”

“You called him special, like, four hours ago!”

“The word of the day is hypocrisy.” Donatello puts his hand down.

“Hypocrisy’s right” You rub Mikey’s shell reassuringly. “To be fair, though, Leo could honestly probably just dodge it anyway.”

He leans into it. “I guess,” he grumbles, shooting a look at Donatello. “Favoritism.”

“It’s strategic favoritism,” the tallest brother corrects. “It’s to encourage parti pris.”

“Cronyism,” you tease, grinning. “You mean cronyism.”

“Hey, I’m plenty qualified!”.  

You stifle a giggle as his face reddens, looking back over at the battered vehicle, raising an eyebrow.

“That was a team effort.”

“Yeah, okay, Hamato.” You blow a strand out of your face. “How long do you think it’ll take to fix?”

“Half a week? Maybe a bit less.” He looks back at it ruefully. “The spy roach completely jacked it.”

“Clearly.” You remove your hand, Mikey seemingly thoroughly comforted. “Then mind if I borrow a needle and thread so I can fix my jacket? I have school tomorrow.”

“Do you have the dexterity for that?” Leo crosses his arms across his chest absentmindedly.

“If I can hold a pencil,” you reason, “I can do basic stitching. ‘Sides, it’s only gotta hold until I get home.”

“I didn’t know you sewed.”

“I don’t. That’s why I’m asking now.”

Donatello pipes up again. “I really don’t mind—”

“Dude,” you reason, “you have to fix a whole ass van. I’ll manage.”

He pulls his phone from his pocket. “It’s a quarter to twelve. You won’t finish before midnight.”

“Then sucks to be me.” You shrug. “I’ll fix it here and walk home.”

He looks at you with a surprising amount of incredulousness. “It’s New York City.”

“You go out at night all the time,” you protest.

“I can carry you—”

Immediate panic. “Nah, I’m good!” You try to sound confident. “I walk home all the time, remember?”

“Not at midnight.”

“What’s a couple hours difference?” You would rather get attacked or kidnapped than fly over buildings again.

“A hundred-twenty minutes,” he states. “You know that crime is statistically more likely to happen at night, right?”

“That tracks. What’s different?”

“Violent crime peaks at midnight.”

Mikey butts in. “Why can’t she just go in the blanket? It covers enough.”

Donatello rolls his eyes. “Mikey,” he sighs, “she’s a teenage girl walking around with her torso covered by a single conspicuous quilt. Let’s use our heads here.”

It takes him a minute. “So you’re worried about her getting, like, attacked?”

“… were you paying attention to any of the conversation? Or the lesson we just learned?”

“Dude,” he protests, “when do I ever?”

“What, you mean the one where y’all learned to face your fears or the one where talking about people in front of them is rude?”

The bitter edge to your words is not lost on him. “Look,” he reasons with you, “I-I’m not saying you’re incapable of taking care of yourself—”

“You are, but that’s not the point.”

“Shut up, Mikey.” You are surprised he did not punch him, though, admittedly, you can hardly argue the point. “What I mean is that if you put yourself in harm’s way, you’re going to get hurt.” He nods at Leo. “He’s a really experienced fighter and even he gets overwhelmed if he goes out of his way to do something reckless and dangerous like Karai.” He spits out her name like it is poisonous.

“Since when have you had a thing against Karai?”

The eldest brother sighs. “I’m never living that down, am I?”

“Unimportant, and nope. Point is,” he continues, fingers twitching at his sides, “it doesn’t make sense to tempt fate.”

You open your mouth to argue. You close it again. He has an extremely valid point all things considered, especially considering everything that has been happening, and although you are completely certain about your stance on him carrying you home, you would be lying if you said the idea of stumbling home without your walker or shirt sounds very appealing.

“Then what exactly are you suggesting?”

He looks off. “I’m suggesting she stays the night, Leo.”

Mikey blinks. “What, in your room or on the couch?”

“It would be up to her.”

That works for you. “Your home. You pick. Where do you keep your sewing supplies?” You slip out of the circle the four of you have formed.

“On top of the bookshelf,” he points. “Behind the cardboard box.”

You nod, hopping over.

Mikey offers his two cents. “It makes more sense for you two to share a room. It’s kinda cold in the front room, and you guys’ll probably end up going to bed at around the same time anyways. She also has your blanket.”

You stand on your toes, fingertips brushing against a plastic container.

“That’s a fair point.” You catch it before it cracks open on the ground. “Training starts pretty early, so she should have time to grab her things before school.”

“See? Foolproof plan.”

“Would Master Splinter approve?”

“Leo,” you call over your shoulder, “he’s slept over at my house twice already. I really doubt he cares.”

“But we don’t know.”

“Then you can go ask him.” You turn around. “Where’s the jacket?”

“In the cardboard box.” Donnie starts towards the train wreck on the tracks.

You pull it down, taking your shirt and jacket and sitting down, crossing your bad leg under the one you can use, despite the nausea. ‘Exposure therapy.’ “Thanks.”

“No problem.”

You feel a tap on your shoulder. You glance up at Mikey, who crouches down next to you as Leo waves to his brothers and leaves. “You need anything?”

He shakes his head. “Just wanted to hang out with you is all,” he shrugs. “You didn’t go after Donnie.”

“I didn’t,” you nod in agreement.

“Why?”

“Because car.” You unlatch the box, carefully digging around inside for some pins. “That, and the smell is bad enough from over here.”

He crosses his legs in front of him. “That’s fair.” He taps his foot absentmindedly. “You think he knows?”

“I thought I made it pretty damn clear,” you shrug, “but it’s Donnie, so I wouldn’t bet on it.”

He grins at that. “Then do you wanna hang out while you work on that out front? He isn’t exactly talkative when he gets in the zone.”

You shake your head. “If I do, I won’t get much done,” you admit. You unwind a long portion of the thread, snapping it apart. “Besides, the only way to get over a fear is to face it head-on.”

“Alright.” He hops to his feet. “Thought I’d ask. Have fun.”

”Bet,” you mumble through a bit tongue, shaky fingers making threading the needle almost impossible. “You too.”

“See ya.” He waves, running out of the lab.

You let out a breath, picking a piece of loose wire off of a table and creating a poor imitation of a threader. While you genuinely enjoy talking with Michelangelo, you have some things to think over.

Clumsy fingers start on a running stitch. If your timetable still holds true—which, surprisingly enough, it has thus far—the episode after next’s plot will take place in about three weeks. Your cast is coming off in two. You do not know where and when The Kraang are coming through their portal, or if there is any way for you guys to know, but seeing as you are skipping the episode where the turtles get stuck in a labyrinth under the assumption that, without Baxter being bullied by the Shredder and his goons, he has no reason to construct it, you would tentatively estimate the next episode will happen in about a week. You are still fairly sure that Stockman will not get involved with the Shredder without his input until Oroku finally opens his eyes to the dangers and powers of the Kraang, which should happen around the same time as the next episode.

Your eyes glaze over as you get into the groove of it. ‘The next episode is also when the guys get on Karai’s shit list because they betray her, and, if that happens, the episode where the Shredder starts getting involved with the Kraang and comes to appreciate their resources." You prick your finger. ‘It wouldn’t be long after that before Saki gets the idea to create a mutant army, and with Baxter already somewhat on the villainous map, our best chance to make sure he doesn’t end up under his employment is to…’

You wipe the sticky liquid on your jeans, careful of the bandages on your back. ‘It’s not a guarantee that he even knows Baxter exists.’ Your eyebrows furrow in concentration as you try to keep the stitches separated at equal distances. ‘Hell, it’s not a guarantee he’s even alive. Still, it’s better to air on the side of caution and not think about how you’ll have to do it until the time comes.’

You let out a soft sigh. “I’ll buy a gun, when that happens,” you murmur to yourself. “Just want more time where bodily harm is all I have to deal with is all.”

 --

 You slide your poorly stitched jacket over your shoulders under the blanket, pulling your sleeves into place and zipping it up. After folding the blanket up and draping it over your arm, you pull yourself to your feet, hopping over to Donatello and his death trap as he sat down, looking over his work. “How’re the repairs comin’?”

The two of you have not spoken for the three hours it took you to repair the jacket, and significantly more progress has been made on his end than yours. At the very least, the generally rectangular frame was pounded back into submission.

He looks over at you, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand and stifling a yawn. “Fine,” he sighs, looking back at the hulking mass of metal as you lower yourself down next to him. “It won’t blow up or anything if it’s driven, but it still needs another day’s worth of work to get it back to where it was before.” You nod along as he goes into more intimate detail, not understanding half of it, but happy to just listen to him talk resentfully about the whole process that you can tell he genuinely does not mind.

“Sounds like a time.” You rest your head on your good knee. “And you’re not gonna fix the graffiti?”

“It rubs off,” he shrugs. “Besides, it’s not exactly important to the design.”

Your head bends in a subtle nod, cheek numb from the pressure of your knee. “Are you going to sleep today?”

He shrugs. “Maybe? It wouldn’t be a bad idea.” His legs are almost crisscrossed in front of him, and he leans his weight back on his skinny, muscular arms. “I honestly don’t want to leave it alone, though. It would be weird to just leave it unfinished.

“Hardly, but alright.” You sit up for a moment, handing him back his quilt. “Thanks for giving me something to cover myself up with, and for not ditching me on a roof, and patching me up, and—I owe you, is what I’m getting at.”

He smiles tiredly. “Don’t worry about it, really,” he reassures you, his face flushing and muscles relaxing slightly. “You’ve made it up plenty.”

“I disagree. I’ve never saved your life.” You trace the fading lines on your cast his brother had left.

“I don’t think a ton of people would literally kill someone for me and my family,” he argues. “That’s pretty awesome, right?”

‘Not sure how I feel about framing murder as a positive thing.’ You do not say anything, looking back at his work.

He sighs. “You should go to bed,” he advises practically. “It’s getting late.”

“Never stopped you.” You straighten your legs. “I’ll go if you come with.”

“Tempting,” he teases with a sudden burst of confidence, hoping to his feet and outstretching his arm to help you up, “but what’s in it for me?”

Your face lights up as your face goes red at his borderline roguishness, taking his arm pulling yourself up. “For as much shit as you’re going to get for it,” you promise, pecking where his nose would be with an almost kittenish smile, “I’ll get up extra early, make everyone breakfast, and go topside for coffee.”

His face almost turns the shade of a human blush, forwardness gone in an instant. “C-can’t,” he stutters, clearly flustered. “When I was eleven, I got addicted to it and I’m not allowed to have any anymore.”

“Relatable,” you giggle. You blow the hair out of your face, comfortable as he helps you walk towards the door, the air between you two charged with electricity. “Is that for all caffeine or just coffee?”

He opens it for the two of you, ever the gentleman with the quilt over his shoulder. “Tea’s fine. Don’t bring tea down, though,” he quickly clarifies. “Leo’ll have a very inconspicuous fit.”

You blink curiously, looking up at him as he pulls you along. “Why?”

“It’s the one food thing he’s particular about,” he shrugs, not bothering to hide his gooey smile as you use his upper arm for support. “Couldn’t tell you why.”

“Are you particular about any foodstuff?”

“Not really?” He helps you up a few steps. “I’m not Mikey, but I don’t think I’m that picky about that sort of thing.”

“That’s fair.”

You do not let go of his arm to use the wall. You do not even think to if Donnie is reading your body language correctly. His smile widens as he opens the door for you.

You give a nod as thanks, lowering down onto the foot of his relatively narrow bed. “Alright,” you clap your hands together quietly as he sits next to you. “How do you wanna do this?”

You are sitting on his bed, willing, with no pretense other than sleeping getter. He is currently on cloud nine.

You look back at the frame. ”Too narrow for us to lay side by side,” you note. “You sleep on your front, meaning you will likely take up most of the room." You look between him and the bed, trying to imagine a position that would work. “You could lay on top of me, I guess, but then your legs would hang off the end.”

“I can sleep on my side,” he offers hurriedly. “If that makes things easier, I mean.”

“You sure?” Your fingers fumble with your shoelaces.

He nods eagerly. “S-so long as you still don’t mind being close to me, I mean. The bed’s still kinda narrow.”

You roll your eyes, smiling. “We’ve slept together before,” you reason. “If you wanted to pull anything, you would’ve the other two times.”

He glances off, face still red. “Y-yeah,” he rubs the back of his neck bashfully. “That makes sense.”

You gesture to the bed. “Then,” you nod once, “so long as you’re comfortable, you lay down. I’ll work from there.”

He tentatively lays himself down, facing the wall, tensing ever so slightly as you lay behind him, legs curling up under his thighs.

You lay your arm under your head as a pillow, the other pulling the blanket over the two of you. “This work,” you whisper, closing your eyes.

“Mhm,” he hums, covering his face with his hands. “We closed the door, right?”

You look back over. “Yup.”

“Locked it?”

“Seems so.”

He relaxes a bit. “Alright,” he nods, quietly reveling in the way your fingers, again, traced the indentations in his shell like the first night.

‘When I wake up tomorrow,’ he realizes, ‘she’ll be right there. Right behind me, in my bed. By choice.’ He smiles behind his fingers. ‘When we get older, maybe we could have our own place. Or our own room, more accurately, where she just lives with us. Imagine her moving in. If—no, when,’ he corrects himself, ‘we defeat The Shredder, if I ever get the nerve, I’ll ask her.’ He reaches his leg back, entangling it with yours carefully. ‘Would we have to get married first? No, you move in before you get married, right? I should’ve paid more attention during those movie marathons.’ He closes his eyes as you drift off, focusing on this train of thought. ‘How long do you need to be in a relationship before you get married? How would we get married, even? Legally, that would be impossible, right? I can’t go to a courthouse. And if we had a child—practically speaking, of course—would they live with us or go to a public school? We could give them a good education, I’m sure, but—’

You shift in your sleep, absently laying your arm over his side and pulling him closer.

He exhales, allowing himself to relax back into you. ‘Not tonight.’ He rests his hand on top of yours. ‘It’s too late, too soon.’ His thumb runs along the back of your hand, letting himself drift off in your arms.

‘It’ll be okay. We’ll last long enough to take it slow.’

Table of Contents

Chapter 13

Chapter 15

I’m Not Going Anywhere - Chapter 2

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After his argument with his dad, Donnie rode his bike to school. Gary was currently talking to Principal Walker about postponing the Graduation Ceremony. Principal Walker wasn’t taking it too well. Donnie zoomed in on the two adults talking. 

“There's Dad taking shit from Principal Walker.” Donnie commented. Donnie looked over and saw [Y/N] and Trey walking over. Along with the two brothers, [Y/N] volunteered to do interviews for the video time capsules. 

“Did you two get the last of the interviews?” Donnie asked the pair. [Y/N] shook her head, looking at the Junior. 

“No, we still got a few to do.” She said. Trey smirked. 

“But what we did get was a nice shot of Miss Bell's cleavage. Wanna see?” Trey asked. He showed Donnie the footage. [Y/N] frowned. Donnie sighed. 

“Trey.” Donnie said. Trey shrugged his shoulders. 

“What? You don't get many teachers with a rack like that.” Trey said, pointing to the footage. [Y/N] slapped the boy on the back of the head. Trey flinched. “Ow!” Trey shouted. 

“You deserved that, cut it out. We need to start editing right after graduation.” [Y/N] said. Donnie nodded, looking at the girl. 

“[Y/N]’s right. Dad wants the clips online by the end of next week.” Donnie said. Trey closed the screen of the camera. He looked at [Y/N] and shrugged his shoulders, shaking his head. 

“What's the point of doing a video time capsule? Video won't even exist in 25 years.” Trey said. [Y/N] looked at him with shock and disappointment. “What?” He asked. 

“Time Capsules record important events! It’s leaving things behind for the next generation!” [Y/N] said. Trey shook his head, holding his hands out. 

“What next generation? The only next generation is the high schoolers who aren’t graduating yet.” Trey said. [Y/N] gave him a ‘Duh’ look. 

“Exactly! Why do you think we are asking people to say something to the future them?” [Y/N] asked. Donnie sighed, shaking his head. 

“Let's just get it finished. Okay?” Donnie said. [Y/N] nodded. She understood that Donnie was under a lot of stress.

“Yeah. Okay.” She said. She smiled kindly at him. A small bit of jealousy erupted into Trey’s mind. He looked down at the camera in his hands.

“Fine,” Trey said. He looked up again, looking around. “Did you guys see the weather report? Supposed to be a big storm coming. Maybe they'll cancel the whole,” Trey was cut off when [Y/N] elbowed him. He looked to her. [Y/N] pointed at something. That something was Kaitlyn Johnston. 

Trey started up the camera again. “Whoa. There's your girl.” Trey said. Kaitlyn seemed to be talking to Miss. Blasky about something. Miss. Blasky walked away. Kaitlyn rolled her eyes and ran her hand through her hair in distress. Trey smacked Donnie on the shoulder. 

“Oh, dude. Now's your chance, man. Vulnerable girl. Comforting guy. Right?” Trey asked. Donnie sighed and shook his head. [Y/N] looked at Donnie. She also knew of Donnie’s crush on her friend. Kaitlyn was one of the second people, beside Donnie and Trey to welcome her to Silverton. Kaitlyn and [Y/N] immediately hit it off. They were extremely close, almost like sisters.  

“Just go talk to her and see if she's okay.” [Y/N] said. Donnie shook his head. 

“We have work to do.” Donnie said. Trey shook his head. 

“Chickenshit. Come on.” Trey urged. 

“I need to get the last of the interviews, and Dad's, like, on my case about it.” Donnie said. Trey shook his head. 

“Screw Dad.” Trey said. [Y/N] looked at Trey, shocked. 

“Trey!” [Y/N] scolded. Trey looked at her and shrugged. 

“What? It’s true,” he said. “Go do something for yourself for once.” Trey said. [Y/N] sighed. She knew that Trey was just trying to help his brother out. “Bro, [Y/N] and I are literally begging you.” Trey said. [Y/N] placed her hands on Donnie’s upper arms. 

“Just go talk to her. All right?” [Y/N] said. Donnie sighed, knowing he wouldn’t win this argument. Especially against his brother and his best friend. 

“All right.” Donnie said. Trey and [Y/N] smiled. 

“Yeah?” Trey asked. Donnie chuckled. 

“Stop.” Donnie said, starting to walk towards the library where Kaitlyn had gone a few seconds before. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Trey and I smiled as we watched his older brother head off towards the library.  Trey laughed. 

“Heh. Have fun.” Trey called in a sing-song voice. Trey looked at me. “He's really doing it.” Trey said, laughing. “We gotta film this train wreck.” Trey said. I looked at him. 

“Trey, leave him, alone for once.” I said. Trey looked at me. 

“Come on, [Y/N]. This is epic! He’s finally going to ask her out!” Trey said. I shook my head. 

“He’s not going to ask her out. He’s going to comfort her.” I said. Trey pointed at me and shook his head. 

“You don’t know that and there’s one way to find out.” Trey said. Before I knew it, Trey grabbed my wrist and pulled me towards the library. 

Donnie walked up to Kaitlyn, who was sitting at a table with her laptop out in front of her. 

“And he's pulling into the station.” Trey said quietly. He and I were hiding behind the doors to the library. Trey zoomed in on the two with his camera. 

“Hey, Kaitlyn?” Donnie asked quietly. Kaitlyn looked up and smiled lightly. 

“Hey.” She said back. Donnie pointed to himself, still standing.

“It's Donnie.” Donnie said, not quite knowing if she knew his name. Kaitlyn nodded. 

“Yeah. I know.” She said. 

“Strike one.” Trey said quietly. I smiled lightly and shook my head. 

“Trey, shut up.” I hissed. Donnie, unaware of our presence, set his back pack down. He took a seat next to her. 

“Are you okay?” Donnie asked. “I saw you outside with Miss Blasky.” He said.  Kaitlyn looked back at her computer screen. 

“Right. Uh, I had this application for an apprenticeship, and it had to be submitted by the weekend,” she started explaining. She opened the application to show Trey. “And Miss Blasky checked it for me, and it's just completely corrupted. I don't know what happened to it. It was fine yesterday.” She said. Donnie looked at the application. 

“Yeah. Yeah, that's toast. What was it about?” He asked. 

“The abandoned factory on Garner.” Kaitlyn said. 

“Oh, the paper mill?” Donnie asked. Kaitlyn nodded, looking at him. 

“Yeah.” She said. Donnie nodded his head. 

“Yeah.” He said, slightly awkward. Undeterred by the awkward comment, Kaitlyn continued describing what her application was about. 

“When they shut it down, the state never paid for an official cleanup. So there's all these chemicals and hazardous materials sitting there contaminating the soil and probably running off into the water.” Kaitlyn said. 

“That's what the film's about.” Donnie said, not sounding very interested. 

“Pretend to be interested.” Trey said quietly. I glanced at him. 

“You do know your advice is practically useless when he can’t even hear it?” I asked quietly. Trey rolled his eyes. 

“Anyway, the submission doesn't make any sense at all without it. So I'm screwed.” Kaitlyn said. She ran her hands through her hair again. I really wished that I could be over there comforting her. But, as much as I don’t really like to agree with Trey on this, it was the only way and probably the only chance Donnie had at asking Kaitlyn out. 

“Come on, man. Take a swing.” Trey urged. 

“Trey, shut up!” I hissed again. 

“You're into all this environmental stuff, huh?” Donnie asked. 

“Come on, man. Just ask her out.” Trey urged again. 

“Trey, if you don’t shut up right now, I swear I’m going to duck-tape your fucking mouth shut!” I threatened. 

“Gotta take care of the planet, right? Or else the planet will take care of us, right? Heh.” Donnie said, laughing awkwardly. 

“That was awkward.” Trey said. I growled quietly. 

“Alright, that’s it.” I said. Trey looked at me. 

“You don’t even have duck-tape on you!” Trey said. I shook my head. 

“So? Doesn’t mean I can’t go and find some, come back and then duck-tape your loud mouth shut!” I argued back. Kaitlyn laughed dryly.

“Heh. Yeah. Well, some of us care, or at least are trying to.” She said. Donnie looked at her.

“No. I'm sorry. I can help. I have all these cameras and this editing software and,” Donnie said. Kaitlyn looked at him, her hope renewed. 

“Really?” She asked. Donnie nodded. 

“Yeah.” He said. “Well, this will be easy. We can reshoot this.” Donnie said, looking at the computer.

“It'd have to be today.” Kaitlyn said. Donnie froze. 

“Today?” He asked. Kaitlyn’s eyes widened. 

“Oh, you and [Y/N] are filming the graduation.” Kaitlyn said. “No, it's fine.” She changed her mind.

“No. No. My brother, Trey, he's good with all this stuff too. He and [Y/N] can get that.” Donnie reassured her. While I was perfectly fine with this, Trey wasn’t. 

“No way.” Trey whispered. 

“Like, they can get that footage.” Donnie said. 

“Really?” Kaitlyn asked. Donnie nodded. 

“It's not a problem.” He said. 

“Sure?” She asked again. Donnie nodded. 

“Yes, it's a problem.” Trey whispered. I snickered. Trey glared at me. 

“[Y/N], now’s not the time.” He whispered, causing me to snicker more.  Donnie nodded. 

“I'm sure. Yeah.” Donnie said. Kaitlyn sighed in relief. 

“Thank you so much,” Kaitlyn said. Donnie shook his head. “No. You have no idea what this means for me. I owe you so big for this.” Kaitlyn said. She stood up. Donnie stood as well and shrugged. 

“No. Well, you know, me and the planet go way back, so,” Donnie said. The bell rang. Kaitlyn gathered her things. 

“Thank you. I'll see you later.” Kaitlyn said. Donnie nodded. 

“Cool.” Donnie said. Kaitlyn started to walk away. 

“Thank you.” She said again, this time leaving. Trey sighed.  

“Okay, no.” Trey said. He pushed through the doors, me following after. Donnie looked up and saw the both of us. 

“This is so not cool.” Trey said. I sighed. 

“Trey,” I tried to calm him down. 

“You are kidding me.” Donnie sighed in anger. “What are you two doing?” Donnie asked. I raised my hands in defense. 

“Hey, he dragged me into this.” I said, pointing at Trey. Trey looked at me like I betrayed him. I shrugged. “What?” I asked. Trey looked back at Donnie. 

“What are you doing? You're gonna skip the ceremony?” Trey asked. I had to admit that I agreed with Trey on this one. If Donnie skipped the ceremony, Gary would not be happy. Donnie nodded. 

“Yeah. Yeah. You two said do something for yourself, so I'm doing something for myself.” Donnie said. Trey looked at me for help on the matter. I shrugged. 

“We did technically say that.” I said. Trey sighed and pointed a finger at me. 

“Not helping, Squirt.” He said. I chuckled. I knew he couldn’t get mad at me. We were best friends. Arguments and playful banter were bound to happen. 

“Yeah. And leaving me and [Y/N] to do all the filming?” Trey asked. Donnie looked at us. 

“You guys can handle it. Right?” Donnie asked. Neither Trey nor I answered. Donnie’s smile fell and worry crossed his features. “You guys can handle it, right?” Donnie asked again. I looked to Trey then back at Donnie. I nodded. 

“Yes.” I said, confidently. Donnie smiled. I elbowed Trey. He groaned.

“Yeah. Yeah. Totally. Hey. You go for it, bro,” Trey said. Donnie smiled and started to walk away. “But get some skin on camera.” Trey called. Donnie stopped and turned around. “E- mail it to me.” He said. I rolled my eyes. 

“Trey, come one.” I said. Trey chuckled. Donnie smiled. 

“Just get the interviews, all right?” Donnie said. Trey nodded. 

“All right, all right, we’re going.” Trey said. Donnie smiled. 

“Okay.” Donnie said, chuckling. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Y/N] and Trey were in the gym interviewing Todd White, the captain of the Silverton High Basketball team. 

“Yo, Todd. We're rolling.” Trey shouted. Todd shot a basket ball through the hoop. Todd turned to the camera. 

“Yo, what's up, me? How's life in the future, bro? So I just know by now you are playing for the NBA, you're super loaded, and you got a super-smoking-hot cheerleader wife. So why the hell are you watching this right now? Why don't you get up to your penthouse and bang her good, right?” Todd shouted, chuckling. [Y/N] stared at him, not that impressed. 

“That's your time-capsule message, Todd?” Trey asked. Todd shook his head. 

“Why not?” He asked. [Y/N] rolled her eyes. 

“Boys are gross.” She said. Trey looked at her. 

“Hey!” He shouted, sounding offended. [Y/N] didn’t look at him. 

“Not sorry.” She said. 

“A message?” The two Sophomores were now interviewing a construction worker named Frank. Frank shook his head. “Nah, too late for me. Too late for these guys,” he gestured to the other workers behind him. “But my kids? Grandkids? Simple. Study. Get good grades. Or else you're gonna hang around this group of losers shoveling shit all day,” Frank chuckled. He realized that he cussed on tape. “Sorry.” He apologized. [Y/N] chuckled. 

“No harm done, Frank.” She said. 

“Please marry a rich guy. Please marry a rich guy.” A cheerleader named London chanted, her eyes closed and fingers crossed. [Y/N] frowned, confused. 

“Uh, we're rolling.” [Y/N] said. London opened her eyes and looked at the camera. 

“So, what would you like to say to yourself in 25 years?” Trey asked. London looked at the two. 

“That was it.” She said. [Y/N] groaned slightly and pinched the bridge of her nose. High schoolers could be so stupid. Trey placed his hand on her thigh, gently patting it, letting her know that they were almost done.

“Twenty-five years time?” An old man named Chester asked. “Ha! My guess is we'd have blown up the world by that time!” Chester said. His dog sat next to him. [Y/N] chuckled. Chester was her favorite interviewee by far. 

“All right.” Trey said. 

“High school sucked,” Jimmy said. Jimmy was an Honor Role student and what most of the students at Silverton High would classify, a nerd. “Hopefully, it was all worth it. You've got your Ph. D. from Brown. You're doing research and using your skills to help,” Jimmy was interrupted by Todd.  

“Douche-rocket! Ha!” Todd shouted, laughing. Jimmy frowned. Trey chuckled. [Y/N] elbowed him in the ribs. 

“Ow!” Trey winced. “Sorry, man.” Trey apologized. 

“I’m still going to duck-tape your fucking mouth shut later.” [Y/N] said. Trey chuckled. 

“Yeah, good luck with that, Squirt.” Trey said. 

“Am I done here?” Jimmy asked. 

“Uh, yeah, sorry, Jimmy. Thank you for your time.” [Y/N] said, smiling kindly. 

~~~~~~~~~~~

The stage was set up on the field for the ceremony. 

“Mike check. One, two, three.” Principal Walker tested the mic. Gary walked across the field, Trey and I following. 

“Where's Donnie?” Gary asked. Trey shrugged. 

“I don't know. Around.” Trey said. I didn’t really say anything, knowing that I shouldn’t get in the middle of this. 

“He knows what time we're starting?” Gary asked. Trey nodded. 

“Yes, Mr. Fuller. Donnie knows what time we’re starting.” I said. 

“Anyway, [Y/N] and I can run the cameras.” Trey said. Gary looked back at him. 

“All three?” He asked. Trey nodded. 

“Well, yes, Dad. That's why they invented tripods.” He replied sarcastically. I sighed. 

“Trey, now really isn’t the time.” I said gently. Gary sighed and looked at Trey and I.  

“Trey, [Y/N] this is important.” Gary said. Trey scoffed. 

“And we can't do it, right?” Trey asked. Gary shook his head. 

“I didn't say that.” He said calmly. Trey nodded. 

“Yeah, you kind of did.” Trey said. He walked away.  

“Trey,” I started. He walked past me. I sighed and looked at Gary. “I’ll talk to him.” I said. I was about to walk off when Gary gently grabbed my arm. 

“[Y/N], you don’t have to.” He said. 

“Yeah, I do,” I pulled my arm out of his hand. “Trey’s my best friend. It’s my job to make sure that he’s alright.” I said and walked off. I saw Trey near the back of the stage. I gently placed my hand on his upper arm. I was a little shorter than he was, reaching up to his nose in height. “Hey. You okay?” I asked gently. Trey shrugged. 

“No, not really. I just wish dad had more faith in me.” He said. I smiled at him sympathetically. 

“I know,” I reached down and started playing with his fingers gently. “I know things have been rough for you all since your mom died. Your dad’s under a lot of stress, and from what I’ve noticed, he has kind of a hard time expressing his emotions,” I said. Trey looked down, nodding. I tucked my fingers under his chin, gently lifting. Trey looked at me. “But believe me when I say that he loves you. He really does. He just forgets to show it sometimes.” I said. Trey nodded, looking down again. 

“Yeah.” Trey whispered out. I gently cupped both sides of his face. He looked at me. 

“You okay now?” I asked gently. Trey placed his larger hands over my own smaller ones and nodded. I sighed. “Come here.” I said. I removed my hands and pulled him into a gentle hug, kissing his cheek. Trey sighed and closed his eyes. 

~~~~~~~~~~~

The Ceremony had started. [Y/N] was standing in the middle of the row of chairs filled with graduating seniors. 

“To all the students of this year's Graduating Class,” Principal Walker said. “Who have dedicated themselves to the hard work necessary to reach this day, you are now standing on the threshold of adult life,” Gary looked at the other cameras and noticed that Donnie wasn’t there. And let me tell you, he did not look happy. He looked at [Y/N]. Where’s Donnie? He mouthed to her. [Y/N] shrugged her shoulders and shook her head. She lowered her eyes to the camera again. “You are free to take your own path and that path will be different for all of you. But it's now time to create your own lives. To create your own destiny.” Principal Walker continued. [Y/N] looked up at the sky, worried. Dark clouds were forming, thunder rumbling. “I leave you with John Updike's words: "You cannot help but learn more as you take the world into your hands. Take it up reverently, for it is an old piece of clay, with millions of thumbprints on it.”,” Rain now started to come down. Students and parents alike pulled out umbrellas, clearly paying attention to the storm warning on the news. [Y/N] arched her back and blinked rapidly, trying to get the rain out of her eyes.   “Oh, great. I guess we should, uh, I guess we should start finishing up, then.” Walker said. [Y/N] rolled her eyes. No shit Sherlock. She thought. The rain started to come down harder. The clouds got darker. This weather was starting to worry [Y/N]. “Seniors! Stand up! Stand up!” The seniors stood. “We salute you!” Walker shouted. The seniors tossed their caps into the air, cheering. The wind started to pick up. “All right! Ah.” Walker groaned as tornado warning sirens started blaring. Okay, now [Y/N] was really freaked out. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The sirens kept blaring. “Go inside, guys.” Principal Walker shouted over the sirens. Gary stood up. 

“Stay calm! Move inside in an orderly fashion!” He shouted. I looked around, trying to find either my dad or Trey in the commotion. 

“Everybody, back inside.” I heard my dad shout. I looked around. 

“Dad!” I shouted, trying to find him. 

“To the main building.” Gary said. Trey was still holding the camera. 

“Dude, come on,” he urged. I looked around. 

“Trey!” I shouted. 

“Thing 2!” A familiar voice shouted. I looked behind me and saw Trey. 

“Thing 1!” I shouted. Trey grabbed my hand. 

“Are you okay?” Trey shouted. I nodded. 

“What about you?” I asked. Trey nodded in confirmation. “We need to go, now.” I said. Trey and I quickly rushed to the main building.  Gary was still ushering people in.

“Here we go! Quickly! Come on! Here we go! Come on, this way.” Gary urged. “Everybody! Okay, 90!” Gary shouted, somehow keeping track of how many people were coming in. “Here we go. Here we go. Keep moving. All the way down the hall. “Keep this door open. Come on.” Gary said to a graduate. 

“Move on in, folks. Move in.” Walker said, trying to remain calm. 

“Everybody into the storm shelter area.” Gary ordered. “Keep this hallway clear. Make sure nobody's behind us. All the way down!” Gary shouted. Trey and I raced in. I looked around for my dad. 

“Dad!” I shouted. 

“[Y/N]!” I whirled around and sighed in relief. Dad raced over to me and pulled me into a hug. He gently cupped my face as we pulled away. “Are you alright?” Dad asked. I nodded. 

“Yeah, I’m fine. What about you?” I asked. Dad shook his head. 

“Don’t worry about me. Go all the way in, alright.” Dad said. I shook my head.

“I’m not going anywhere until I know that Mr. Fuller and Trey are safe!” I shouted. Dad sighed. He knew there was no stopping me. Trey was still near the window, so I would stick close to him.  

“Trey! Where's Donnie?” I heard Gary ask. I looked behind me and saw Trey still by the windows, filming.  

“Uh, I don't exactly know.” Trey said, trying not to reveal the truth.  

“Get away from the window.” Gary ordered. Just then, a whole tree came flying through the window. Dad gently yet quickly pushed me to the wall, covering me with his body. I screamed.

“Tornado!” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

//I apologize if Chapter 2 is a little long. If the switching between Third and First person is too confusing, please let me know so I can fix it. I want all my readers to have the best reading experience they can. I hope you all like it.// 

Space Oddity, part 2

Seren has to find a way back home

The holes in the body filled out with a light, but instead of the body re-animating, the light emerged from the body, taking the shape of the dead Scomparsa. She looked at her hands, and saw she was still holding the coin in her now-ethereal palm. She looked at Seren.

“Thank you, Astra,” Clara said. Seren didn’t understand how she had heard it, though: She had seen her lips move, and had heard the words in her ears, but she knew that there was a vacuum between the two of them. She was also perfectly cognizant of which twin was which, suddenly, as if Clara’s speech was able to convey her sense of self. “The others will need your spark. Go, find them quick, their oxygen is running down. I will stay here and comfort my sister.”

As Seren went to go, Clara wrapped her aetheric arms around Ash, who quickly calmed and rested her head on Clara’s shoulder.

Seren flew out of that section of the Hab, and searched for more signs of life. The crew had been gathered in the living quarters, so they could not have been far. There was no sign of them, or the thing that caused all of this in the first place. She set down again near another portion of the Hab and opened the now useless airlock. She flew down the hallways searching for her crew, until she finally found the sign of life she was looking for: The airlocks to the communication module were both shut, when the protocol was to leave at least one open so emergency communications could be made hastily in just such a case as this.

Seren flew up to the door, and looked through the small window inside. She saw the other six members of the crew sitting against the walls, all of them with their head down, having accepted the fact that they would run out of air in a matter of hours. Now that she found her crew she needed to make a plan to save them. If she just opened the airlock, they would lose all their air and die pretty much instantly. If she shut the other airlock door, she would leach their air away slowly, and kill them slowly. If she found the emergency air canisters, she could replenish their air after leaching it away. She quickly flew away to find the storeroom, and get the spare oxygen cans and masks. When she got there, she found that many of them had been damaged, and she was only able to find 5 sets.

She bundled them up in her arms, and carried them back to the communication module. Then she remembered that they had brought two spacesuits for every crew member, and flew off to find those as well. Unfortunately, most of the suits had been torn. There were only five left intact. She brought those into the airlock and then shut it behind her.

She tapped on the window, and Robert Prince looked around, confused. His eyes went wide when he saw Seren’s face on the vacuum-of-space side of the door. He ran up to the window and stared out at Seren and mouthed, plainly, “What the fuck?”

Seren held up a canister of oxygen, and made a show of cranking open the valve, letting it flood into the airlock, until the air pressure had risen to the point where her speaking voice sounded about normal. “Can you hear me?” She asked through the closed airlock.

“Yeah,” he replied, his voice muffled by the inch of polycarbonate between them. “What the hell is going on? You were just breathing vacuum!”

“I don’t know what happening. All I know is that this...” She pressed her coin against the window, “...made me able to survive in space.”

Prince made a show of quickly patting down his pockets and then pulled another coin from one of them. “We got those too. None of us know where they came from, they just literally appeared in our hands when we weren’t paying attention.”

“Can I open the door?”

“I mean... I guess. If you don’t we’re dead in a few hours anyway.”

“Alright. I’m going to break the seal.” Seren cranked the lever to open it and leaned against the door to push against the slightly imbalanced air pressure. There was a small rush as the air balanced out, and then she pushed the door open the rest of the way. She gestured to the air tanks and space suits. “I brought supplies. Air tanks, and spacesuits. Only 5 of each, though. Everything else was destroyed.”

“Where are the Scomparsas?” Isabella asked.

“They... I’m not really sure what happened to them. They were dead, but then I touched their coins and brought them back to life, somehow. They’re back in the sleeping quarters.”

“Is whatever did this still out there?” Adewale asked.

“I don’t think so. At least, I didn’t see it. How long has it been? I got knocked out.”

“About half an hour,” Prince answered.

“Did you get a message down to Earth?”

“The equipment was already destroyed by the time I got here. But, the good news is that with all the debris thrown up by whatever happened, and the fact we haven’t called to say we’re okay, they probably already know that our shit is fucked. They could probably whip up a rocket to send in the immediate next launch window, which would only take...” he looked at his watch, “four fucking days to get to us. And even if we could leave this room, I can see from the window that our return craft was trashed, too.”

Seren did some hard thinking, about what she knew about herself and her new abilities so far. She could survive in the vacuum of space. She could fly under her own power. And she could survive extreme temperatures. Three very important qualities for any rocket or other spaceborne object.

“I can fly you back home. Back to Earth.” Seren held up her coin again. “This thing, whatever it is, it gave me incredible power. That power is the key to getting us out of here.”

“You said after you touched the Scomparsa’s coins they...” Ford didn’t really believe the words he was about to say, so he didn’t say them. “Anyway, what if you do that for us? What if you gave us power, too?” He held out his own coin. The image on it was of a sword overlaid on a shield.

“I can try, but I can’t promise anything. I know just as much about how this works as you do. Maybe it only worked for the twins because they had died?”

“Then there’s no harm in trying,” Thor said. “Worse come to worst, you kill us, then you bring us back.” The other six all gave him looks. “What? Just being realistic.”

“There’s nothing realistic about any of this, Donny,” Prince said.

Ford offered his coin to Seren again. “Just try it.”

Seren hesitantly reached out towards it, and gently grabbed the edge of it. Nothing happened for a second, but then a green light shone out of the coin, and spread across Ford’s skin, until it completely enveloped him. And then it gently faded.

“Well, it did something,” Prince said. “Me next.” He held out his coin, with an image of a triskelion on it, which slightly perplexed the welsh Seren. She touched it, and almost instantly a set of glowing runes appeared in the air around the coin, before they also faded.

Isabella’s coin had a rose on it, and when Seren touched it, it glowed red briefly, and then afterwards the air began to smell more and more like roses as time went on.

Thor’s coin had an image of the traditional Thor’s hammer of Norse mythology, with a stout handle and a wide, curved head. When Seren touched it, it crackled with electricity for a moment, before it faded as well.

Pierre's coin had a subtle embossing of two slightly different textures separated by a lightning-bolt shaped line. When Seren touched it, the two sides glowed red and blue respectively, before fading as well.

Adewale refused to let Seren see the reverse of his coin, but he did let her touch it. Nothing happened that anybody in the room could tell.

“Well, that didn’t do much except confuse us,” Ford said. “What’s the next plan?”

“I guess I just have to try and carry the module back to Earth,” Seren said. “I don’t know how well it’ll hold up to space travel.”

“If you go slow, we should be fine.”

“If she goes slow, we’ll die before we get back,” Adewale pointed out.

Ford stared intently at the shield on his coin, and then at his other, empty hand. He tightly squeezed his fist shut, and tried to focus, and then suddenly his arm was surrounded by a glowing green shield-shaped energy. “Whoa!” He said, jumping back in surprise, dispelling the green energy in doing so. He focused again, and summoned the energy again, this time in a slightly larger disk in front of his fist. He pressed his other hand against it, and found it to be completely solid. He moved his fist, and felt the air resistance, indicating it blocked gases as well as solids. “I think I can help, Seren.” He closed his eyes, and focus one last time, but the rest thought nothing had happened until they glanced out the window and saw that the module was completely surrounded by the green energy. “If you think you can carry us home, I think I can protect us from the stresses and debris impacts of interplanetary travel.”

“Alright, I think that sounds like a good plan. But everyone should wear the spacesuits anyways.”

“We only have five,” Pierre noted. “There are six of us who need them.”

Ford focused again, and completely encased himself in green light. “It should be air-tight enough to last however long it takes us to breach atmo if we decompress,” He said, muffled by the summoned spacesuit.

“Will you be able to focus on it that long?”

“It’ll be just like rock climbing. One slip-up, and I die, but I have the discipline to not slip up.”

Seren approached him, and placed her hand on his shoulder. “Thank you for for risking yourself like this.”

“Don’t be so grim about it.”

The other five suited up, and put the helmets on. After they had done so, Seren walked into the airlock, and closed the door. She walked up to the outer door, took a deep breath out of habit, and the cracked the seal. The door tried to explode open, but Seren held it tight enough that it didn’t fly off it’s hinges, until the air was gone and she pushed it open. She didn’t know quite how she was going to lift the module off the ground, but she did carefully manage to snap the cables anchoring it down with her bare hands, so she felt like she was strong enough now to do it.

She carefully lifted up the edge of the module, jostling the people inside, and then Ford summoned the green energy to make sure none of the beams she was lifting it by wouldn’t bend under the weight. She slowly lifted the module, until it was perfectly level, and she placed herself directly under the center of mass, balancing it on her shoulders. She pushed off from the lunar surface, and the module began to rise with her, until they had risen above the rim of the crater. And then, with all her might, Seren started accelerating directly towards the Earth, at a considerable clip. They moved relatively slow at first, but it quickly became clear they were accelerating at a far greater rate than most rockets did, and they left behind the moon in a matter of minutes, compared to the few hours it would have taken in the actual return capsule.

They reached the halfway point in an astonishing 30 minutes, at which point Seren reversed the direction of her acceleration and they started slowing.

Debris from previous missions occasionally splattered against the green force field holding the module together, but otherwise the trip went without a hitch until they entered the atmosphere and the air around Seren started burning.

Her jumpsuit burned with it, leaving her naked as she flew across the sky, still trying to slow the module. She eventually reached a stop in the skies above Texas, with the Johnson Space Center visible below. She had been palming her coin the entire trip, fortunately not being able to trust that her pockets would hold it the entire way home. She rested the module on her shoulder, and looked at the coin now that her options for places to hold it had diminished from  20, the number of pockets she had had, to four: Her hand, her mouth, and two far less comfortable options.

Thankfully, as she stared at it, the coin glowed with the golden light that the being who had given it to her had glowed with, and then a wave rippled across her skin, spreading from the fingers touching the coin. Wherever the wave passed, a skintight fabric suddenly appeared, gold on her hands like gloves, red from her elbows to her shoulders, blue across her torso, red down her legs, and gold on her feet like boots. Across her chest was a golden symbol identical to the one on her coin, and pinned to her shoulders was a 6-foot-by-6-foot square of golden fabric that billowed in the wind dramatically.

Your first appearance should be memorable, but for the right reasons, the voice that had whispered to her when she had first touched the coin said. This is the uniform of a Hero. Go, Astra, meet the cameras, show the world that you are here to protect them, and then show them the truth of those words.

Seren noticed that there was a conveniently sized pocket on the inside of her right glove, and slid the coin into it, where it fit snugly. She started lowering the module to the ground, aiming for the parking lot outside mission control, and she saw dozens of people running out to watch her. She touched down in a remote region of the lot with few cars, and carefully, slowly, lowered the module to the ground. Ford’s green energy holding it stable faded, and the airlock was pushed open from the inside. Five astronauts in space suits walked out, and Ford followed after them. The flashing lights of photographers and the microphones of local news stations surrounded them, and before any of them had had time to breathe started asking them all questions.

All Seren managed to say in answer to anything was “I’m here to protect you.”

They were silenced when an ethereal figure materialised in front of Seren. Clara said, with haste, “Astra, you must go and face the Void-Beast that did this to us. It has followed you here, from Luna. It seeks to devour all life on this world, and to grow fat on our newfound energies.”

“What followed us? What is it?” Seren asked.

“The Howler, Devourer of Souls, spawn of Apophysis.”

@questforsims tagged me in this questionnaire thing bc he knows they’re my favorite lmao, answers under the read more....

DO YOU SLEEP WITH YOUR CLOSET DOORS OPEN OR CLOSED? I'm literally terrified of people who can sleep with closet doors open like... do you fear nothing...?

DO YOU TAKE THE SHAMPOOS AND CONDITIONER BOTTLES FROM HOTELS? nah I usually end up using them all lmao

DO YOU SLEEP WITH YOUR SHEETS TUCKED IN OR OUT? untucked

HAVE YOU STOLEN A STREET SIGN BEFORE? not a street sign I guess but one time when I was 15 I was recovering from a party at a friends house in the middle of like, the Scottish nowherseville countryside and like 6am that morning we went out to take a walk and smoke and we ended up taking one of those roadworks signs back to her house for some reason... it was dumb lmao

DO YOU LIKE TO USE POST-IT NOTES? heck yeah there's a wall in my room that's just post-it notes lmao it calms me

DO YOU CUT OUT COUPONS BUT THEN NEVER USE THEM? we don't rly have coupon culture as much here but I probably would if I lived in America...

WOULD YOU RATHER BE ATTACKED BY A BIG BEAR OR A SWARM OF BEES? they don't allow you to have bees in here

DO YOU HAVE FRECKLES? no and thank goodness bc if I had freckles I'd be... too cute.... too powerful

DO YOU ALWAYS SMILE FOR PICTURES? like... in group photos sure but if it's a selfie I almost never smile lmao

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST PET PEEVE? loud/messy eaters tbh

DO YOU EVER COUNT YOUR STEPS WHEN YOU WALK? yeah I used to go on long hikes/walks in the forest and I'd be out for hours and like I'd take one of those pedometers w/ me and I'd feel so fuckin validated when I saw it get to 10,000 lmao...

HAVE YOU PEED IN THE WOODS? y'all foolin if you been out in the woods and you said you haven't tbh

HAVE YOU EVER POOPED IN THE WOODS? ok this is gross nevermind

DO YOU EVER DANCE EVEN IF THERE’S NO MUSIC PLAYING? nah but if you put a bop on i'll immediately start dancing

DO YOU CHEW YOUR PENS AND PENCILS? part of me is like 'nah that's p gross' but yeah i probably do

HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE YOU SLEPT WITH THIS WEEK? just one lmao

WHAT SIZE IS YOUR BED? like... it can fit me + another fully grown man so it's pretty big i guess

WHAT IS YOUR SONG OF THE WEEK? So Emotional by Whitney Houston

IS IT OK FOR GUYS TO WEAR PINK? I literally wear pink every day of my life you stupid bitch

DO YOU STILL WATCH CARTOONS? yeah but not like... with the intensity some of y'all do... i really liked Gravity Falls especially 

WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE MOVIE? most disney movies tbh... I'll never get the appeal of them as a genre lmao... special shoutout to Ace Ventura: Pet Detective for being absolute fucking garbage though

WHERE WOULD YOU BURY HIDDEN TREASURE IF YOU HAD SOME? I probably wouldn't even have time to hide it cause I'd immediately lose it somewhere lmao

WHAT DO YOU DRINK WITH DINNER? honestly it depends on what dinner is? mostly I'll drink soda or wine

WHAT DO YOU DIP A CHICKEN NUGGET IN? mustard, ketchup, bbq sauce, ranch

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FOOD? takoyaki! i also love any and all mexican food

WHAT MOVIES COULD YOU WATCH OVER AND OVER AGAIN AND STILL LOVE? there's literally... so many... lmao... Fire Walk With Me, The Birdcage, Scream, Wet Hot American Summer, Blair Witch Project, Donnie Darko, The Craft (like.. semi-ironically but I do love it lmao)

LAST PERSON YOU KISSED/KISSED YOU? a boy but he's lame so he won't be named here lmao

WERE YOU EVER A BOY/GIRL SCOUT? nah I always thought boy scouts were dumb but as an adult I kinda wish I'd been a part of something like that

WOULD YOU EVER STRIP OR POSE NUDE IN A MAGAZINE? what kinda magazine....

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU WROTE A LETTER TO SOMEONE ON PAPER? me and my ex-boyfriend used to write letters to each other all the time! so probably like, last year

CAN YOU CHANGE THE OIL ON A CAR? nah, I've legit never even driven more than once lmao....

EVER GOTTEN A SPEEDING TICKET? ... the one time I drove around it was in an abandoned parking lot and my then-boyfriend was sitting next to me with one hand on the steering wheel it was fun...

EVER RAN OUT OF GAS? .... i almost hit another car that was doing the same thing but i didn't and i was so proud of myself lmao

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE KIND OF SANDWICH? meatball sub... or like.... steak & cheese

BEST THING TO EAT FOR BREAKFAST? pancakes, coffee, hashbrowns and/or a breakfast taco, at least two kolaches

WHAT IS YOUR USUAL BEDTIME? midnight or whenever i pass out after work

ARE YOU LAZY? yea

WHEN YOU WERE A KID, WHAT DID YOU DRESS UP AS FOR HALLOWEEN? aw heck so many things! Vampires have always been a big thing for me tho and I was both Spike and Angel from Buffy the Vampire Slayer multiple times lmao

WHAT IS YOUR CHINESE ASTROLOGICAL SIGN? I can never remember which one but either dog or pig

HOW MANY LANGUAGES CAN YOU SPEAK? I can barely speak my first language lmao but I can bluff my way thru German and I've made half-assed attempts at learning Russian, Japanese and Icelandic before...

DO YOU HAVE ANY MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTIONS? nah

WHICH ARE BETTER: LEGOS OR LINCOLN LOGS? legos you dumb bitch

ARE YOU STUBBORN? sure

WHO IS BETTER: LENO OR LETTERMAN? whoms't?

EVER WATCH SOAP OPERAS? British soaps are genuinely class but I never rly keep up w/ them, also telenovelas are amazing and important...

ARE YOU AFRAID OF HEIGHTS? nah I love heights! I was afraid of them as a kid but ask any of my friends/boyfriends and they'll tell you I'm always trying to get people to go to the top of stuff lmao

DO YOU SING IN THE CAR? only during inebriated night-time road adventures

DO YOU SING IN THE SHOWER? pretty much constantly lmao

DO YOU DANCE IN THE CAR? like... how?

EVER USED A GUN? honestly I've never even touched a gun lmao

LAST TIME YOU GOT A PORTRAIT TAKEN BY A PHOTOGRAPHER? uuh high school I reckon

DO YOU THINK MUSICALS ARE CHEESY? yeah of course who doesn’t

IS CHRISTMAS STRESSFUL? very

EVER EAT A PIEROGI? no but it feels like my kind of shit

FAVORITE TYPE OF FRUIT PIE? (dale cooper voice) cherry pie

OCCUPATIONS YOU WANTED TO BE WHEN YOU WERE A KID? painter or director, something artistic or whatever, maybe something with computers I always figured I’d be good at

DO YOU BELIEVE IN GHOSTS? yeah I love ghosts they're all my good pals

EVER HAVE A DEJA-VU FEELING? yeah and I'll do things multiple times in a row just out of not paying attention lmao

DO YOU TAKE A VITAMIN DAILY? yeah I take an A-Z multivit and cod liver oil usually

DO YOU WEAR SLIPPERS? nah they make my feet too damn warm boy

DO YOU WEAR A BATHROBE? nah but when I'm a guest in a hotel w/ somebody I'm always claiming dibs on the complementary bathrobe lmao

WHAT DO YOU WEAR TO BED? if it's cold I'll wear like a t-shirt or something

WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CONCERT? I went to a bunch of festivals and free concerts and stuff as a tiny lil' baby ten year old but the first one I went to without parents was probably like... Fall Out Boy? or another band from my 2007 - 2009 emo phase lmao

WALMART, TARGET, OR KMART? the only thing I learned when I was in America was that Walmart is both haunted and cursed, Target is The Promised Land and Kmart is a sensory hallucination

NIKE OR ADIDAS? Adidas.... also I like the new adidas NHL kits sue me....

CHEETOS OR FRITOS? the first time I had Fritos it was with a bean dip and I almost barfed so definitely Cheetos lmao

PEANUTS OR SUNFLOWER SEEDS? both are gross whatever

EVER HEAR OF THE GROUP TRES BIEN? no but they sound very good

EVER TAKE DANCE LESSONS? nah

IS THERE A PROFESSION YOU PICTURE YOUR FUTURE SPOUSE DOING? handsome genius/hockey player

CAN YOU CURL YOUR TONGUE? heck yeah

EVER WON A SPELLING BEE? I legit don't think we have those here but I definately would have if I competed because I was the best damn speller in my class

HAVE YOU EVER CRIED BECAUSE YOU WERE SO HAPPY? I laugh-cry more than anything tbh

OWN ANY RECORD ALBUMS? nah I used to have a record player and I've bought a bunch of records as gifts for people but like I download all my music anyway so I'm 2 lazy 2 cheap lmao

OWN A RECORD PLAYER? ^

DO YOU REGULARLY BURN INCENSE? nah but I love candles

EVER BEEN IN LOVE? yeah but honestly once was enough lmao

WHO WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE IN CONCERT? literally one of my only goals in life is to see Bjork live before she quits music or I die lmao... also Math the Band (again), Anamanaguchi, Mac Demarco, The Mountain Goats...

WHAT WAS THE LAST CONCERT YOU SAW? not like a concert I guess but I went to see Kim Chi perform in February and it was lit

HOT TEA OR COLD TEA? like... Iced Tea? the way this is worded is disgusting lmao I'll go with hot tea

TEA OR COFFEE? I literally make coffee every single fucking day of my life @ work and like... not only do I now hate it I hate anyone who drinks it lmao

SUGAR COOKIES OR SNICKERDOODLES? what the fuck does this mean

CAN YOU SWIM WELL? yeah!

CAN YOU HOLD YOUR BREATH WITHOUT HOLDING YOUR NOSE? yeah!

ARE YOU PATIENT? yeah!

DJ OR BAND AT A WEDDING? I'm not the kind of person to have friends who are in bands and not ask them to play at my wedding lmao also wedding DJ's are always weird old men

EVER WON A CONTEST? yeah I've won like.. talent shows and stupid semi-academic shit like that but nothing super cool

HAVE YOU EVER HAD PLASTIC SURGERY? nah but no question i'd absolutely get it

WHICH ARE BETTER: BLACK OR GREEN OLIVES? green

CAN YOU KNIT OR CROCHET? nah but i can kind of sew

BEST ROOM FOR A FIREPLACE? every room but only if you live in a log cabin or some shit

DO YOU WANT TO GET MARRIED? yeah but like, not for the sake of being married? 

IF MARRIED, HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN MARRIED? ^

WHO WAS YOUR HIGHSCHOOL CRUSH? aw man I threw a lot of time and energy into dating boys in high school but like... my biggest crushes were always unattainable and short-lived lmao so no-one notable...

DO YOU CRY AND THROW A FIT UNTIL YOU GET YOUR OWN WAY? god honestly any single one of my friends/previous boyfriends will tell you I throw tantrums over literally anything lmao... I usually act pretty stable and emotionally mature but when I'm comfortable with people I'll fuck shit up for no reason lmao

DO YOU HAVE KIDS? nah

DO YOU WANT KIDS? I'm way too self-centered and emotionally unavailable for any of that shit right now lmao but in like 10 years I'd be open to it for sure

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COLOR? forest green, goth purples, black, pink, also what can only be described as like, Nickelodeon slime green

DO YOU MISS ANYONE RIGHT NOW? uhhhh pass

WHO ARE YOU GOING TO TAG TO DO THIS TAG NEXT? nobody! it's like, 100 questions long and I don't feel comfortable that tagging any of you won't be annoying lmao but if you wanna do this msg me and I'll tag you in it! ! ! ! 

Kevin Cage of @spotlightsaga reviews... F is For Family (S02E04) Night Shift Airdate: May 30, 2017 @Netflix @GaumontTV Ratings: Privatized @BillBurr @mikepriceinla Score: 8.75/10 @FYeahBill @FIFFNetflix TVTime/FB/Twitter/IG/Tumblr/Path/Pin: @SpotlightSaga **********SPOILERS BELOW********** 'Is my house clean?' No seriously, I'm gonna look up and you take a look in. I need to know... Can't go trouncing about town, especially the notorious 'Cocaine Cowboy City' of Miami with powder around the edges of my nostrils. I wouldn't think anyone, in any decade of existence, would want an onlooker seeing them trading coke for anything right out in the open... Whether that's in a record store, yes they still exist & I'm sure they would love a visit, or a street corner... I'd suggest visiting the record store over the street corner. Just as walking, talking, 'Teenage Turmoil', 'Trepidation Tornado' (Yeah, I'm also a sucker for wordplay), Kevin Murphy (Justin Long) is looking to make it big in what he sees as almost a dream world of sorts as a bonafide rockstar, he spots his well connected, high rolling neighbor, who is very much a part of that dream world, bribing an aggressively apprehensive DJ to play a pop record with a picture of a 'Teen Heartthrob' holding an adorable puppy on the front... But hey this is where they are in their lives. Pretty sure I've been lower. Vic (Sam Rockwell), along with the rest of the cast, has so much more room to breathe now that the series has been extended from 6-Episodes to the nicely rounded off number of 10 entries for S2. However, this means that Vic can no longer simply be that hurricane of a character, representing the perfect storm of carefree 1970's hedonism and indulgence. Suddenly, there are consequences for his actions and we are peaking into a long, dark tunnel where Vic is on the verge of an 'existential crisis'. No, there are no immediate repercussions for any of Vic's self destructive behaviors quite yet anyway, but the forlorn fates are written all over his face. Right now he's much closer to what we would refer to the point of 'existential dread' than we would call a full blown 'existential crisis'. The writers are smart though, they're giving you a peak of his cards without letting you see his full hand and that will surely create a helluva payoff when it it's finally time to pay the piper. That's a stark difference from a character that was once a quick, in & out, 2-D slice of animated comic relief. When it comes to television, cinema, film, real life, whatever... 'Existential' and 'Crisis' are literally my two favorite words in the English language, not only because they are so beautiful when paired together, but more so the fact that it's one thing Im actually good at. I know that's a really weird thing to be proud of, excited to dive into, or even claim to be 'good at'... But with all the LSD & DMT I've consumed in my life, I believe I've had more self-induced existential crisis and egodeath(s) than most of the worlds population. It's not just hallucinogenics and weird dissociatives, or even a finely tuned education in psychology & sociology that have made me an expert and lover of all things 'existential', it's also real life experience in all things crisis... Inner, outer, dramatic, and otherwise... I've always been dramatic, I got it from my mother, and her adoptive Mother... They are whatever is slightly above the 'every southern woman' version of Bette Davis & Joan Crawford. Everything is a spectacle, darling. Anxiety attacks are full on broadway performances, complete with Tony Awards, a nice Southern 'Wink', and a long list of 'Thank You's at the end... Oh and trips to the mall that start out sweet & fruitful and end in sheer terror. My Step-Father is more like the American Cherokee version of a cross between Tim Allen & Jim Gaffigan, if that makes sense. He has a traditional, signature style of humor that is both clean & observational and masculine & sometimes surprisingly crass, mainly due to his dual nature and long hard road from the cesspool of a nasty rock bottom to the heights of being a pillar of his community. There was a time in my life where these attributes all made me angry, just like Kevin. At that rebellious teenage age, if someone says go, you stop and if they say stop, you go. If a parental figure or an adult influence that we look up to makes a mistake, as a young adult many times we hold them to it unfairly... As if they're supposed to be perfect because they are the adult. As kids, we want to meet them halfway with unrealistic expectations. Essentially that's because adults meet their children and particularly teenagers with unrealistic expectations, themselves. Can't expect a toddler not to touch a hot stove, can't expect a little kid not to pick their nose (or worse), can't expect a teenager not to do usual teenager stuff, and we can't expect our parents to always remember all of that in times of stress. Looking back now (and let's hope Kevin moves forward to this place soon), I know that I learned the most from watching my parents make mistakes and subsequently finding a way to fix it, by any means necessary. Kevin is already sick over his issues with his dad, so he's practically ready to give up when he sees Vic forking over line after line until DJ Howlin' Hank (Josh Adam Meyers) would say he loves any record Vic gave him to play (yes, that includes records with vinyl covers that feature kids holding puppies that look like they "fell out of Donnie Osmond's pussy"). When one reaches the epiphany that hard work, talent, and actually being cool isn't what gets them to top, a breakdown of some sort is to be expected. Personally I've had this specific epiphany more than once (complete with influential dramatic Hollywood Breakdown), so a nice soul searching, ego shattering session of smoking weed (or simply insert alternative mind expansion drug here) his friends refer to as 'Oregon Gold dipped in Columbia River Salmon Piss' out of a baby doll made into a pipe is just what Kevin needs to push him to a point where he's ready to face this new, harsher, cruel world to get their band's ultimate goal achieved... Being played on the radio, preferably by DJ Howlin' Hank... Because, you know, at least they are 100% sure what it takes to make 'Hank Howl' (thanks, Vic)! So off the clueless teenage trio goes to score some blow. This should be good. Kevin has currently written off his father, Frank (Bill Burr), for his inability to accept a certain kind of defeat... Or better yet, I should say... Face his humility for a greater good and 'bite the bullet' at the unemployment office. He sees his father's stubborn pride as a weakness, when really like any human attribute, it's technically both a positive and a negative. The fact that Frank is lying to Sue (Laura Dern) about it, makes it all 100x worse, though... Creating a mountain blocking any possible view to see the silver lining. Frank taking a humiliating, lower paid job, just to avoid a handout is silly and ultimately a bit insane, but at least Frank is trying to do something instead of curling up into a corner & folding. Still, the whole ironic arrangement is not lost on us. Don't think for a moment that we won't be on the lookout for bumper stickers being sold at 'Hot Topic or 'Urban Outfitters' that say "Ask me about my Loser Husband's shit job!" Frank's insecurities and paranoia are officially at an all time high. His new boss Smoky (Michael Kenneth Williams) shows Frank the restrictive ropes of the world of vending machines, its many perks, and how to "Shove it. Slam it. Twist the lock. Stick the key inside your sock." Why can't the key just be on the key ring? Simple. "Because the rhyme came first, system came later." Frank is killing it, but an accident with the lock on the back door (see how important those rhymes are), ends up with the bag of change they've been collecting falling out of the back of the truck and finding it's way all over the dirty urban street. Frank goes into survival mode, scouring the street like a hardworking crackhead to recover the change. As this is happening, Kevin is out looking to score $10 worth of coke in the same seedy downtown neighborhood. Last time I checked $10 won't get you a bag of coke, and I live in a city where cocaine is easier to get than the attention of a bartender, and cheaper to get than a simple single liquor cocktail. These three young clowns mistake a pimp for a drug dealer and one of the funniest scenes of the series commences when the 'white' they are all so ready to score turns out to be an obese, Caucasian, $10 prostitute that has difficulties keeping one of her titties inside of her blouse. As the trio scrambles to escape the low rent hooker who offers to 'fuck them all if they have a sandwich bag', they end up passing Frank digging for nickels on the side of the street. Ok, ok... This is obviously the worst possible scenario for Kevin, but his frustrations lead him to march into the radio station with his band's demo tape in hand, demanding to be heard. Fuck the system, right? Everything might be going to shit for the characters in the Netflix Original 'F is For Family', but when you are down on your luck and you don't even know why you're stuck in a meaningless, chaotic existence... Suddenly an existential crisis becomes your best friend. Frank's embarrassing dedication to picking up the change in the street leads him to secure the job of no one's dreams, Sue has a sudden idea for a product invention when going through the mundane process of drying out her lettuce while making dinner salads, and Kevin's frustration & desperation pay off after the boys tune in to hear Vic use a two syllable taste of their song to introduce the weather segment. To three young boys with a pipe dream that's like the equivalent of being featured on MTV's 'Total Request Live' in 1999. Recently I've watched a friend go through a horrible incident and face their mortality. Suddenly that person is trapped in an existential nightmare... 'What's any of this worth if it really doesn't lead to anything, if we are all biding our time on this earth until the Grim Reaper comes-a-knocking anyway?' And that's just the base of it. We've all got our existential and emotional baggage to deal with, but it's the unexpected moments when you're at your lowest point that suddenly remind us that even tho we might all just be going through the motions and repeating history over and over, sudden sparks of light can suddenly reignite your passion for life... Its as all as easy as that, or as difficult as that, whichever way you want to look at it. Like Frank said in the beginning of FIFF's 'Night Shift', "I woulda killed myself, but I don't want to haunt my own house." **********Written By: Kevin Cage********** Special Thx: TVTime, Bill Burr, Michael Price, Jerry Wilson, Kat Holiday, Chad Rigsby... Dedicated to: Denver G. Pratt http:://www.tvtime.com http://www.spotlightsaga.com http://www.facebook.com/SpotlightSaga http://www.facebook.com/groups/ArtsEntertainment