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#teenage mutant ninja turtles and other strangeness

mooncalfe-art · 6 months

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Turtles from the comic in the back of the old Palladium Books "Road Hogs" book! https://turtlepedia.fandom.com/wiki/Road_Hogs_(Palladium)

#tmnt #teenage mutant ninja turtles #teenage mutant ninja turtles and other strangeness #after the bomb #road hogs #palladium

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tomoleary · 1 month

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Kevin Eastman “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Other Strangeness” Unpublished Cover

#kevin eastman #Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Other Strangeness #unpublished

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legionofmyth · 6 months

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & Other Strangeness - [Pt. 3/5] - Kevin Siembieda & Sean Roberson

[Part 3/5] 🐢 Dive into the world of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & Other Strangeness with Kevin Siembieda and Sean Roberson! 🎉 Join the conversation on the epic TMNT RPG revival. 📽️ Don't miss it! #TMNTRPG #TabletopGaming #RPGRevival #TMNTKickstarter

[Part 3/5] Get ready to embark on an epic nostalgia trip with the all-new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & Other Strangeness Kickstarter by Palladium Books! Dive into the world of these iconic heroes with two deluxe hardcover collections, beautifully remastered in full color. Kevin Eastman, the co-creator of TMNT, graces us with a stunning painted cover, while exclusive bonus content offers…

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weaselmonkey · 6 months

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The first rpg I ever owned as a child was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Other Strangeness by Palladium Games. I love that game so very much. Even for the time, it was a pretty bad game, and it has aged poorly.

I own the original version, that lists homosexuality as a mental illness based on an at the time already outdated version of the DSM and the version where those pages are blank.

They are running a Kickstarter to reprint all of the TMNT&OS rpg line in two books, with some actual editing.

It is a bad Kickstarter.

They are on day six or seven. There are 3 FAQs, one Update (for reaching funding), 800 comments, and they're 250% funded. The creator of the kickstarter has repeatedly told the people asking for updates that the data tells him those people do not want updates. They wanted a quarter of a million dollars to print two books, now they have half a million. They have promised to ad one new picture to the books. They are planning on coloring them, badly. And while many of the original illustrations are by Eastman and Laird, who are amazing, most of them are not, and are of lesser quality.

I'm not backing this Kickstarter, but I was never going to back this Kickstarter. The last Kickstarter from Palladium of note was so mismanaged they lost the Robotech License, which is less than they deserve considering it was also so mismanaged one of the designers attempted suicide. And they of course managed to fail to make huge buckets of what they initially promised. I didn't back that Kickstarter either, but I appreciated the minis eventually being on super clearance.

I don't know where I'm going with this, it's just such a shit show. I already have all the books, but I might buy the new versions if they ever make it to retail. In the meantime, here's a fun looking Kickstarter for spaceships I saw:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/72stations/an-infinity-of-ships

#tmnt #teenage mutant ninja turtles #Teenage mutant ninja turtles and other strangeness #Rpg #Ttrpg #cw sui mention

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oldschoolfrp · 8 months

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You want one? They're really good (James Dombrowski art from Mutants of the Yucatan, Erick Wujcik's supplement for After the Bomb, Palladium Books, 1990; as reprinted in Palladium's ad in Dragon 159, July 1990)

#James Dombrowski #After the Bomb #TMNT & Other Strangeness #Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & Other Strangeness #Erick Wujcik #anthropomorphic animals #mutants #anteater #armadillo #ants #postapocalyptic #postapocalypse #Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #Palladium Books #1990s #game ad

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abbeyofcyn · 7 months

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Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles AUs

Phantom Pain

Donnie was finally back to normal. At least.... he was no longer feral. But months of being infected takes its toll and Leo has lost a lot to get him back. It's not easy having two idiots who can't deal with emotions as brothers for Mikey.

Start reading here

Hiatus

CW: nightmares, amputation

Tags: #phantom pain comic

Krang infection sequel

We're not Kappa!

When a rat turns a 1000 years old they become a Kyūsu. They grow large like a cat and have been known to take care of orphan kittens, but this old rat found four turtles in strange green ooze. The Kyūsu did not expect the second physical change in his long life nor did he expect to raise four not-quite kappa in modern Japan.

Tag: #we're not kappa! au

CW: none

Wretched Little Pests

Draxum, Splinter, April. All dead. Shredder won, the Krang won. The brothers must survive and will fight to protect each other no matter the cost.

Collaboration AU

Read the comics here

CW: death, injuries, murder, savage mode

Tag: #wretched little pests au

Krang Infection

Two years after the invasion, Donnie feels sick and his gut instinct tells him it's very different from the rat flu.

Start reading here

Completed

CW: minor body horror, implied amputation, non graphic brain surgery

Tags: #krangified Donnie #Krang infection comic

False Memory

All the brothers have had nightmares from the Apocalypse pop up and ruining their sleep. Casey confirmed that what they've dreamt actually happened to their counterparts in his timeline. They refer to it as 'false memories'. Leo wakes up to the worst 'memory' he's had thus far.

Start reading here

Completed

CW: death

Brains and Brawn Apocalypse

Donnie and Raph lost their brothers during the apocalypse when they were only in their twenties. Now, in their thirties, there's not much hope left for them to win this war.

Several one shots: overview

Completed

CW: death

Great, what's next...

A poll based adventure with Donnie as the main character

Start reading here

Discontinued

CW: none

#AU overview #brains and brawn Apocalypse au #krang infection comic #wretched little pests au #we're not kappa! au #false memories #rottmnt #no tcest #wip going to add links please be patient

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phoebepheebsphibs · 1 month

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I mentioned in a reblog thing that I'd wanted to make a Rise comic series called "ROTTMNT: UNPAUSED" and I hinted to one of the finale episodes being called "Mikey's Birthday Bash"

Well I'm gonna infodump about that now...

So basically the episode started off with Mikey waking everyone up for a special breakfast to celebrate his bday, only to discover that not only did his brothers forget his bday, they all made plans of their own. To quickly make up for it, the guys take him into the Hidden City for a quick shopping spree before they all have to leave for their engagements. While Mikey is looking for something to buy, he overhears his brothers conversing about how in the next year, Raph won't be a TEENAGE mutant ninja turtle anymore (he is 17 currently). Donnie adds that he is already looking for colleges to join and hopes for an early admission. Leo also admits he has been planning for the future. Mikey realizes that his brothers are all planning to leave and grow up, which he is not ready for. He runs away crying, and meets a strange old hag who sells him a "special" birthday candle, which she promises will grant his biggest birthday wish.

Mikey finds his bros again and uses the candle on a meager cupcake they got for him. As soon as he blows the candle out, the four are transported into a version of the Battle Nexus, trapped there along with every other character from the show (and my comics) by the hag who sold Mikey the candle. She reveals that Mikey's wish was for "everyone to spend my birthday together", and the only way for them to escape is for the turtles to win the tournament! The bros are furious at Mikey for making the wish, and Mikey promises to get through the games as quickly as possible so they can get back to their plans and leave.

The hag states that the turtles will be pitted against their previous enemies, and with each round they win they'll will receive more allies. Anyone KO’d will be eliminated from the round and sent to watch in the audience, and upon the ending of the game all contestants will be returned to their last location. The enemies will get progressively more challenging until they defeat all of their opponents.

Round 1, April is with the guys, and they are up against Baxter Stockboy, Albearto, and the Purple Dragons.

Round 2, the Casey Joneses join the fight against the Foot Clan.

Round 3, Draxum, Splinter, Big Mama, and the two missing siblings hinted at by the writers join against the evil league of mutants and the Mud Dogs. April is KO’d after getting slammed into a wall and knocked unconscious by Heinous Green. Cass is KO’d by Hypno after he hypnotizes her to knock herself unconscious as well. Draxum is KO’d by Meat Sweats after he steals his power.

Round 4, Several characters (such as Agent Bishop and Mona Lisa) join to fight against the Triceratons (which were introduced in my series). During this round, everyone is K.O.'d except the turtles. However, Mikey sees that he didn’t finish the battles in time and his brothers have missed their appointments. He feels guilty, and his brothers are admittedly irritated.

Round 5, the final boss battle. They are pitted against the Shredder and the Kraang. Before the fight begins, Mikey has a blowout with his brothers and finally admits that he was angry they were gonna leave because he was scared of growing up, as he is not ready to be an adult yet and he doesn’t want to be alone. The Kraang interrupts stating “I can help you with that” and captures Mikey. However, the Turtles get one last team member… Karai. The Shredder -- having been defeated and Oroku Saki redeemed -- turns against the Kraang and sides with the Turtles and his daughter. The boys defeat the Kraang using the special formula from the movie, but not before the Shredder and Karai are K.O.'D by the Kraang. The Kraang are defeated with the last of the mixture, but to the boys' horror they see that Mikey was kraangified, and now have to fight against him as their last opponent. They try, but are unable to defeat him due to his increased strength AND his ninpo. Leo refuses to admit defeat, saying “Mikey never gave up on me… I can’t give up on him.” He tries one last attack, grappling with Mikey and holding him down...

I happened to make sketches of what came next...

The game finished, everyone is returned home. Mikey apologizes for everything, but Raph admits that he isn’t ready to grow up yet either, and he never wants to leave Mikey alone. He found out the hard way what that felt like, and the brothers agree to wait a little longer to grow up and enjoy being the teenage mutant ninja turtles while they can. Back at the lair, everyone bursts in to make sure Mikey is okay. They spend the rest of the day with him, enjoying his birthday...

So yeh that's that

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todayontumblr · 10 months

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Friday, July 7.

Animation!

Here's a fun fact.

The word "animation" stems from the Latin "animātiōn", stem of "animātiō", meaning "a bestowing of life", and that, if you ask us, could not be more appropriate. Animated movies have the scope and freedom to capture life in a way quite unlike any other medium, even if it is essentially just still figures manipulated to appear as if they are moving. But this is a simple definition for something beautiful in its complexity. It comes in many, many forms too: traditional animation, rotoscoping, anime, cut out, 3D animation, stop motion, motion graphics... all of these mediums and more can capture the beauty, humor, strangeness, and indeed violence of life with endless creativity.

As it happens, 2023 is something of a vintage year for #animation, with the release of Nimona, Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Suzume, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman, and Unicorn Wars. There is an abundance to come, too, with the return of anime master, and suspected final film, from Hayao Miyazaki, a fresh new take on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the conclusion of the long-running ancestral trauma pageant The Venture Bros., and even another Chicken Run. It's a good, good year, despite it all.

#today on tumblr #animation #cartoon #disney #3d #cut out #stop motion #animate #animated #anime #manga #anime and manga #film #movies #cinema

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bovineblogger · 2 months

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I keep finding strange cows. This is Cuddley The Cowlick from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. He’s a bull who can transport people and things to other places, times, and even dimensions by holding them in his mouth while he travels.

Idk if the rest of his body exists somewhere, but as far as I know, he’s just a floating head.

i... i ... hm.............

#hrm..#asks #tmnt

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theyhavetakenovermylife · 4 months

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hiii when you get a chance could you maybeee write a lil something about how 12 casey and raph both kinda of fall for the reader because she’s like them in a way?

like they would be a trio and really great friends and their feelings individually grow for her 😋 like maybe at first they were all just best friends and having fun but then as their feelings grew the hanging out kind of grew into jealousy and the readers like wtf guys

JUST A LIKE SOMETHING ON MY MIND 🤭 have a great day/night 💋

Jealous Trio

2012!Raphael x reader (a little 2012!Casey Jones x reader)

A/N: I normally don’t write for Casey, but I think I can manage this. Hope you enjoy❤️💋

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You’re best friends with Raphael and Casey Jones, but as it happens so often with teenagers, the two guys develop a crush on you.

Warnings: Spelling and jealous bois❤️

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It didn’t take a lot to understand how you, Raphael, and Casey Jones could form such a close friend group. All three of you were loud, sharped mouthed and easily prone to physical reactions. Mikey found out the hard way, that throwing his water balloons while the three of you were deeply engaged in a video game, was a very, very bad idea. He found that being chased around the lair by three hot tempered teenagers just was worth it. Especially not when they actually caught him.

You meet Raphael the same day you meet Casey Jones, in an alley further from home than you had intended to go. But in your angered state, after an argument with your parents, you did not take the time to notice your surroundings. And neither did you notice the strange emotionless men in the alley you had just entered. They leaped for you, and you screamed. But then a certain mutant turtle and a human boy came to your rescue, taking out the Kraang.

“I had it under control!”, you told them, your face flustered by the sudden rescue, as you stumped on the dead droid.

“Sure”, Raphael had said with Casey leaning his elbow on his shoulder. “That scream sounded like a person in full control”.

And that was the start of a strong friendship between the three of you. It didn’t take long before Raph and Casey would come and knock on your bedroom window, and asked if you wanted to hang out. That usually involved fighting Kraang droids or Foot ninjas, so obviously you said yes, bringing a baseball bat.

The three of you had used countless nights on the roofs of New York City, doing everything from playful ninja training to a strange game of hockey and baseball, that involved you hitting whatever hockey puck Casey sent your way with your baseball bat, sending it flying over the street. Yes, you had bused several windows, and yes, all three of you ran whenever that happened. It quickly became a fun inside joke that often caused Leonardo to be uneasy whenever he heard it.

But as it often happened with teeangers and friendships, emotions started sparking. In school Casey found his thoughts drifting more than usual, all finding their way to you and how hard you swung your baseball bat. You had once taken a Foot ninja out with one swing. That was impressive. So impressive that Casey found himself smiling at the memory. Raphael too found your face taking up more space in his head as usual. There was this time you had taken his sais, before doing a well meaning impression of him. Normally that would anger Raphael, causing him to yell and maybe even throw punches, but watching you with his sais made him feel warm inside. He too found himself smiling at the thought.

But for quite some time, neither Raph nor Casey knew about the other’s growing thoughts and feelings about you. For long they kept quiet, watching you with fond smiles, just being happy to have you around. Until one day they both realized that they were not alone with their thoughts.

It all began on a chilly evening when the three of you found yourselves on the rooftop of your apartment building, gazing at the city skyline. The distant sounds of traffic and the occasional sirens filled the air as you shared stories and laughter. You, not able to sit still that evening, found yourself standing out on the roof, just swinging your bat aimlessly, laughing at the nice stretching in your arms as you did so.

Raphael, perched on the edge of the building, stole glances in your direction when he thought you weren't looking. The tough exterior that defined his character softened whenever he spoke or looked at you, his eyes betraying a vulnerability he seldom showed.

Casey, armed with his hockey stick, leaned against a water tower, his eyes fixed on you and the movement of your arms. His tough, streetwise demeanor melted away in your presence, replaced by a genuine warmth that only you seemed to inspire.

It was there on the rooftop, that both Casey and Raph noticed the way the other was looking at you. The sudden realization hit both of them hard, as if it was a puck being shot at them by your bat. The realization that they were not alone in their admiration and growing feelings for you.

This marked a turn in your trio’s friendship. As the days turned into weeks and the weeks into months, the unspoken tension between Raphael and Casey grew more palpable. Each found themselves grappling with emotions they couldn't quite put into words. Soon it wasn’t uncommon for Raph and Casey to start silent arguments while you weren’t looking, or even pushing or shoving to be the one that got to walk you home.

The tension built moths, a simmering undercurrent that now threatened to erupt into a full-blown argument, even with you around. For everyone around you it was quite obvious what was going on. Both Casey and Raph was crushing hardcore on you, and yet, you were totally oblivious to this. You still hung out with them, happy and joyous as ever, not seeing the foul looks your two best friends were giving each other over your shoulder.

Raph and Casey would start seeking you out on their own without the other. Soon you would be met by Raphael on your fire escape or a never ending string of texts from Casey, asking if you wanted to hang out. You found that a little strange. For a whole month the three of you never hung out all together, but just you and one of the two. Raph would bring you to the lair or hang out on the roof, while Casey would come to your place or find a place for the two of you to play your hockey baseball game.

Then one day Raphael and Casey found themselves on the rooftop of your apartment building once again, the city lights stretching out before them like a sea of stars, as the two of them stared at each other in shock. Both of them had come to your apartment, wanting to heat if you wanted to hang out. But unbeknown to them, they had had the same exact thought that night.

“What are you doing here?”, Casey asked.

“I could ask you the same thing”, Raph said, narrowing his eyes.

The two boys angrily stared each other down, arms crossed, eyes narrow, fist clenched and jaws tight, hoping it was enough to scare the other off. But they both stood their ground, blame laying on their stubborn nature.

Casey sighed, leaning against a ventilation duct, a scowl etched on his face. "Look, Raph, we gotta talk about this".

Raphael shot a glare in Casey's direction, acting as if he had no idea what he was talking about. "Talk about what?"

Casey's frustration boiled over, coming out in an agitated growl. "You know what I'm talkin' about, Raph. Her. (Y/N). We can't keep goin' on like this".

Raphael's eyes narrowed, his temper flaring. "What's your problem, Jones? You got somethin' to say, spit it out".

The hockey-masked vigilante took a deep breath, attempting to rein in his anger. "I can't ignore this anymore, Raph. We're both into her, and it's messin' with the team dynamic. We haven’t hung out in a month. We gotta figure out who's gonna make a move or back off".

Raphael scoffed. "Why should I back off? She ain't yours, Jones".

Casey's jaw clenched. "She's not yours either, tough guy. But we can't keep playin' these silent games. It's not fair to her, and it's not fair to us".

Raphael took a step closer, his body tense. "You think you're better for her, is that it? What makes you so damn special?"

Casey's voice rose, matching Raphael's intensity. "I'm not sayin' I'm better, but I'm not gonna sit back and watch you hoard all her attention!”

As the argument reached its peak, you emerged onto the rooftop. Having heard the voices of your two best friends from your window, you decided to go up and check on them, only to be met by them screaming and yelling at each other.

"Hey! Guys! What's going on up here?"

Raphael and Casey snapped their attention to you, their faces immediately shifting to nervous embarrassment. Raphael scratched the back of his head, a weak smile on his face. "Nothin', just havin' a disagreement about... baseball".

Casey rolled his eyes, muttering under his breath. "Yeah, because that's a good diversion". That comment caused Raph to glare at him.

Not the least bit convinced, you crossed your arms, a stern look on your face. “Spill or I’ll get the bat”.

Panicked, both boys looked at each other. None of them were ready to tell you about their feelings, yet they knew you wouldn’t give up before they told you the truth. Curse you being as stubborn as them. And curse you for making them so nervous, when they normally would be calm.

“Raph has a crush on you!”, Casey yelled, pushing the terrapin towards you. Raph locked up, staring at you frozen in fear.

You smirked. “Is that so?”

Unsure of what to do, Raph grabbed onto Casey and pushed him towards you as well. “Casey has a crush on you too!”

Your smirk turned to an expression of shock, eyes moving between your two best friends. “Really?” Their nervous demeanor spoke volumes, telling you that it indeed was true. Your two best friends had feelings for you. “Is that why you guys haven’t hung out in a month?” The boys nodded, their eyes on the ground, both slightly ashamed.

A silence fell upon all of you, not really sure what to say. You had never guessed, nor thought that your best friends could have a crush on you, and therefore did not know what to think of it. The thought was knew and still strange to you, yet, you cared deeply for the two guys infront of you. For goodness sake, they were your best friends!

“So”, you started, catching their attention in less than a second. “My parents won’t come home before tomorrow evening. Do you guys wanna come down and watch a movie?”

The two guys looked shocked at you, before turning to one another, friendly smiles forming on their faces.

“That sounds good”, Raphael said with Casey nodding in agreement, before following you down into your apartment.

That evening you, Raph and Casey hung out in your living room, talking and laughing at the action movie playing on your television. You had to admit, it was nice to be together with your two best friends once again, feeling the calm and joy once more. As strange as it was to know that both of them had a crush on you, you were happy to be close to them once more. And tomorrow when they had gone home, you would sit down and have a real think through. Did you feel the same way? And even if you did, were you ready to start a relationship with any of them? And were you willing to run the risk of not just ruining one friendship, but two? You did not know. And as you sat and watched the movie with Raph and Casey, you still didn’t know. But you had tomorrow to worry about that. That evening, it was all about enjoying your time with your friends.

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legionofmyth · 6 months

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & Other Strangeness - [Pt. 4/5] - Kevin Siembieda & Sean Roberson

[Part 4/5] 🐢 Dive into the world of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & Other Strangeness with Kevin Siembieda and Sean Roberson! 🎉 Join the conversation on the epic TMNT RPG revival. 📽️ Don't miss it! #TMNTRPG #TabletopGaming #RPGRevival #TMNTKickstarter

[Part 4/5] Get ready to embark on an epic nostalgia trip with the all-new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & Other Strangeness Kickstarter by Palladium Books! Dive into the world of these iconic heroes with two deluxe hardcover collections, beautifully remastered in full color. Kevin Eastman, the co-creator of TMNT, graces us with a stunning painted cover, while exclusive bonus content offers…

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thydungeongal · 5 months

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Mutants in the Making: Introduction

So, recently I became aware of a cool game called Mutants in the Now (thanks once again to @ostrichmonkey-games for shouting it out, game good) that has since wormed its way into my brain and consumed my entire personality. Written by two-time ENnie-award winning freelancer Julian Kay (who has done stuff for Level 99 games and Pelgrane Press) with art by Fábio Fontes (Pixel Tactics, Millennium Blades, Buck Up and Drive!), Mutants in the Now is "a retromodern retake on the mutant animal role-playing games long past and left behind by licensing." It is clearly and explicitly inspired by Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Other Strangeness by Palladium Games (which is, strangely enough, getting a revised reprint through Kickstarter right as we speak), but there are many other inspirations evident in the text. The one I picked up on most strongly was 13th Age, which Julian has worked on previously.

Anyway this game kicks ass. I haven't even gotten to play it yet, but I know I could have hours upon hours of fun with it just rolling up characters. It's one of those games like Gamma World 7e or Traveller where character creation itself feels like a fun game and not a chore. To demonstrate this process I will be rolling up a character with it today.

However, I also have access to the first companion book to the game, Mutants in the Next, and since this adds even more strange options into the game, you know I'm going to be using those!

I'll be tagging all character creation posts as #mutants in the making if you want to find them more easily. There are nine steps to character creation, so that'll be nine posts in total!

#long post #mutants in the making

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monsters-conquer-the-world · 7 months

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OOZEPUNK

WHAT IS OOZEPUNK?

Oozepunk is the term I'm coining for the microgenre of urban heroic sci-fi horror-fantasy that first exploded in the mid-80s with movies, shows, and comics like Ghostbusters, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Toxic Avenger, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Hellboy, Street Sharks, and others. Lots of natural crossover with Biopunk and Cyberpunk, aesthetically and philosophically.

Your childhood trauma didn't let you forget Roger Rabbit heavily featured colorful nightmare slime, did it?

A ragtag gang of weirdos (often horribly mutated--more on that soon) band together to save a city that doesn't understand them. Grimy sewers, abandoned buildings and graffiti'd brick walls are lit up by neon lights, streams of mysterious, glowing goo and/or the unearthly lights of futuristic particle weapons--ideally all of the above!

Beyond the "cracked concrete and gutters full of liquid plutonium" aesthetic, Oozepunk prankishly asks "What if catastrophic aberrations of science, particularly DUMPING TOXIC FUCKING WASTE STRAIGHT INTO THE ENVIRONMENT created fucked-up monsters... but they're HEROIC fucked-up monsters!" These catastrophic aberrations of science grant the heroes incredible powers, but COST them their place in human society. (Ghostbusters and Roger Rabbit eschew character mutation in favor of discovering that the undead and olde tymey cartoons are real [and exploitable!], respectively. 'Busters and 'Toon sympathizers alike are treated like insane idiots and/or frauds in their respective universes.)

Oozepunk heroes are challenged not only by strange supernatural beings, but by human society itself. The Ghostbusters battle with local politicians as much as they do the undead. In the recent (and delightful) TMNT: Mutant Mayhem, Splinter warns the Turtles of humans and their obsession with "milking" mutants for their blood--on top of the villainous mutants they're trying to thwart!

Crank up the creep factor in Oozepunk and you get awesome anti-establishment goo-horror like 1988's The Blob, The Stuff, Street Trash, and probably a bunch more. Toxic Avenger is a batshit crazy splatter-comedy (i.e. classic Troma)... and still garnered sequels, a kid's cartoon and toyline!

And there's a Shredder's Revenge-style Crusaders beat-em-up coming out next year??

youtube

This looks dope as shit

Ghostbusters and TMNT are the only current, "evergreen" (or radioactive green!) Oozepunk franchises I can think of off the top of my head, but Oozepunk elements are buried in almost all of the stories and settings I love the most. Heroic kaiju like King Kong, Godzilla and Gamera paved the way for our freaky friends, but so did comics characters like Fantastic Four's Ben "The Thing" Grimm, The Hulk and Swamp Thing. Hell, I think I blame SESAME STREET of all things for starting me down the Oozepunk path.

Surprise! I've loved screaming trash monsters with secret hearts of gold since I was a fucking baby, and they've ALWAYS been there for me!

But it's not just Oscar, Sesame Street as a whole is a proto-Oozepunk utopia, years before the big Ooze-splosion of the 80s. Muppets, monsters, talking animals and chill humans all live and work together to scrape by with a little dignity in a gritty-but-wholesome urban world!

Sesame Street, a decades-long reminder that educational childrens' programming can and SHOULD be cool as hell looking and loaded with all kinds of friendly mutant freakuloids.

OOZEPUNK! Whaddya think?

#oozepunk #ghostbusters #teenage mutant ninja turtles #toxic avenger #toxic crusaders #street sharks #who framed roger rabbit #ooze #slime #hellboy #sesame street #goop #goo #Youtube

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tangledinink · 8 months

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I told y'all I was still working on this project! >:3c Chapter 26 of I'm Sorry, Teenage Mutant What Now? is out! Thank you so so so much to everyone recently who's taken the time to comment/send asks/etc etc etc, it makes me very happy... ; w ; The Hamatos are slowly improving upon their ninja skills, and the latest mission goes off without a hitch...! Mostly...? Read it on ao3 or below the cut.

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If you had tried to describe this scene to April a few months back, there’s no way she would have ever believed it. Hell, if you had tried to describe it to her a few weeks ago, she still probably wouldn’t have believed it, because the concept was just so… alien. Even after she knew about her brothers’ ‘mutant origins,’ it still felt alien. She couldn’t help but see them as anything but… people! Those were just her brothers. And the right way to see them was just the way she had always known them; as humans. And seeing them in ‘turtle mode,’ as Mikey had taken to calling it, felt so strange and uncomfortable. Not just because she wasn’t used to it, but because she knew that they weren’t used to it, and the way they had held themselves just always seemed so… unhappy. Like their own skin was burning them. She couldn’t help but look at them and the way they moved and how they held themselves and think, oh my god, they’re sick. Something is wrong. I have to help them. I have to take care of them.

But jesus, the way Mikey moved now? It was the most natural thing in the world. It was like he had been this way his entire life, and he couldn’t possibly seem more comfortable or at ease. All April could really think was, wow. He’s in his element, isn’t he?

She had been vaguely aware of this new ‘thing’ the guys were working on for a while, but this was the first time they actually tried it out for-real-for-real, out in the field, on some low-stakes outing. There wasn’t even a Dark Armor piece here or anything; they were just staking the place out because Foot Shack merchandise trucks came in and out of this parking garage a lot, and they were looking into it, just in case. Just practice, more than anything, with Raph leading the way and Yoshi once again on standby…

It was just so fluid. April watched in silent awe as her littlest brother slipped in and out of two different bodies like water, seamlessly transitioning from one to the other as he moved. Five fingers would be conjured to undo a latch on a grate, and then tucked back away again as if they had never been there. He’d flit from form to form to match each shadow and blend in.

At one point, even, when they were ascending a fire escape, making their way up to the roof to get a bird’s eye view, Mikey misstepped and he slipped-- and he fell. Every single person had jumped for a moment, and April could tell that all her brothers were about ready to dive after him. She was, too.

But they didn’t need to.

He was tucked into the safety of his shell before he even hit the ground.

And by the time the hard carapace was bouncing back up after smacking against the pavement, eliciting only a short clack with the impact, he was a human again, his feet under him, jumping back onto the fire escape to catch up again as if nothing had ever happened.

Raph and Leo were doing it, too, but… God. Not like Mikey.

But April had to admit-- even Raph and Leo were beginning to get the hang of it. They all were.

Well… All of them except for Donnie.

“You know,” she mumbled at some point once they got to the top of the roof, heaving her way upwards. Donnie reached over to grab her arm, helping hoist her the rest of the way up. “If either of us fell, we’d be totally screwed.”

“Yes, well,” they muttered in a deadpan. “Just trying to offer some solidarity to you, our sole human team member. I know it must be very difficult to be a minority.”

April scoffed softly, but didn’t push it.

Leo grinned big, stretching his arms over his head as the whole group made their way up to the rooftop. “Okay, uhhh, I don’t wanna jinx it--”

“Then don’t--” Donnie hissed.

“But this is actually going, like, really well?”

“Why would you say that?” Donnie sighed deeply, shaking his head.

“Oh, psh. As if you believe in all that, anyway,” Leo scoffed, waving him away with a flick of his wrist. “I’m just saying, like, we’re kind of being badasses!”

“All we’re doing is sneaking around an empty parking garage,” Donnie pointed out dryly, quirking a brow as he crossed his arms over his chest. “It’s not exactly high stakes.”

“See, Dee, this is your problem,” Leo sighed, shaking his head as he placed a hand on his hip. “You’re always focused on the negatives…!”

“Both of you shut up,” Raph said. “Leo is right--”

“HAH! Suck it--”

“Shut up,” Raph pressed, smacking a large palm over his little brother’s face in order to quiet him. “He’s right that we did good. Or. Well. We’re doin’ good so far. And Dee, nice job figurin’ out the bracelet thing! It’s way easier to swap back and forth without having to actually take it off.”

Donnie puffed up his chest a bit, seeming smug. “Yes, well, it isn’t a terribly complicated mechanism, it just took a bit of studying for me to unravel, truly no great feat--”

“Don’t get carried away,” April mumbled, leaning over to hip-check her brother briefly. Donnie huffed.

“Sooooo… now what do we do?” Mikey asked, turning to glance over the side of the roof, resting his elbows on the ledge. “‘Cause, uhhh, no offense? But this place is… suppperrrr boring!”

“Well,” Raph said, seeming a bit unsure of himself. “We, uh… We didn’t find anything evil or anythin’. Which is good! So I guess we…”

“Document the hell out of everything!” Donnie declared happily, moving to join Mikey’s side with a grin. “Snag pictures of the layouts, all exits and entrances, stairwells, and anything else that may be pertinent, and I can reverse engineer blueprints of the entire place with some beta software I have back home-- this would be the perfect chance to try it out. And then, if anything evil does ever happen here, we will be completely prepared!”

“Uh, yeah!” Raph agreed after just a beat of hesitation. “What Donnie said! That’s what we’re doing.”

“Impeccable leadership as always, dear Raphala,” Donnie sang, wasting no time at all in slinging his backpack from his back, beginning to unpack a cacophony of tech. “Now, I have HD, nightvision, two different drones, one macro and one micro, body cams, magnetic sonogram machines, patent pending, and a RED, which no, Mikey, you may not touch--”

“Aw, what!? No fair!”

“Ask Dad for your own!”

“But you already have one--”

April sighed deeply, rolling her eyes and resisting an exasperated smile. Oh boy. Donnie came prepared prepared.

That meant… This might take a while.

---

Casey had been told her entire life that she was too loud.

So she was well aware of the fact.

Her mother had told her, back when she was in contact with her. Her teachers had told her, back when she went to school. And her Senseis had told her, too, over and over again, gently informing her each time her volume got away from her that she needed to dial it back a bit. She was aware. She knew she was too loud.

But no one ever had anything to say when she was quiet.

Because she was capable. She had dedicated years of her life training to be a ninja-- obviously, she could be quiet. And really, she had always known how to be quiet. She had been good at it ever since she was small.

It was just that when she was quiet, no one ever had anything to say.

No one ever looked at her when she was quiet.

She’d fade away.

So it was easy, really, to find hiding places around the Foot’s hideout any time she had free time on her hands to burn away. She was quite good at tucking herself into little cracks and crevices, and always had been. The layout of their base really only lent to this. And she had only gotten better at it as time passed.

Perched up on the catwalk, curled up small and bent over, she could watch members of the Foot returning from their latest mission, greeted excitedly by the rest of their clan. They had been gone for some time now-- one of the many elite strike teams sent out to fetch more far-flung armor pieces. They weren’t all just conveniently clustered in New York, after all.

They had started sending these teams out months ago. And now, one by one, they all slowly returned, each with another piece of the armor in hand to add to their growing collection.

Every day, they got closer. She could feel the energy in the air, ever pitching higher and sharper the closer they got to their goal. Even her senseis were infected by it, brighter than she had ever seen them before.

And that was amazing. That was wonderful.

She remembered the praise she had gotten after that one mission-- after she faced down the Hamato Clan in a department store of all places. How pleased they had been with her. And god, that had been amazing.

But now she simply resented its absence.

And even though she had always known that there wasn’t really any chance that she’d be sent to join any of these special teams-- to be sent out to join them in the field and contribute to something greater, to be a true part of the clan and show them what she could do…

Every time another came back, it just sealed the reality of the matter that that door had closed. And she wasn’t going anywhere.

---

“Donnie, seriously--”

“What!? Do you want the 3D model to be accurate, or don’t you!?” He cried, whipping around to face her, and April groaned loudly, dragging her hands down her face.

“Why do we need a 3D model again!? Just make a blueprint!”

“Ah, yes, well, I could…” Donnie said, spinning on his heels with a grin. “But why have an inferior, two-dimensional recreation of a space when I could make a far superior, three-dimensional recreation!? That’s a whole entire other dimension!”

“Donnie!” April barked, scowling. “We have been here for hours. Do you have any idea what time it is?!”

“No, not really.”

“Well how about you check!?”

“Fine, fine, yes, the time is approximately-- Oh, sweet Galileo. Is it actually that late?”

“Yes!” All four of his siblings chorused, and Donnie scowled, a little pout blossoming on his face.

“... But… My model…”

“Donnie, you’ve already documented nearly every square inch of this place--”

“I’m sure the model will be fine, Purple,” Yoshi’s voice crackled over the radio. “It is time to go home.”

Donnie sighed deeply, giving a dramatic heave of his chest… but he reluctantly began to pack his gear away. “Okay, okay, fine. I will concede. But if there comes a time when we are in desperate need of a one-hundred-percent accurate third-dimensional model of this establishment, I hope you will all be prepared to eateth thy--”

“Shush. We’re on a stealth mission, remember?” Raph muttered, swiping at his head lightly. “C’mon, you guys. Leo, wake Mikey up, let’s go.”

Leo sighed, allowing the video he was playing on his phone to wrap up before he pocketed it, beginning to nudge his younger brother, curled up and slumped against him.

“C’mon, Angie, we’re going home,”

“Whaaaaa…” Mikey mumbled, blearily beginning to open his eyes-- blinking away the few stray rays of orange light that fluttered around his eyelashes even when he was just dozing. “Did we… win…?”

“Yep, we totally won. C’mon. Get up.”

Raph sighed deeply. “Do you want me to carry--?”

“No! I can do it!” Mikey woke up properly now, quickly scrabbling up to his feet.

April sighed deeply. “My parents are going to kill me for being out this late,” she grumbled. “And when they kill me, I’m killing all of you, just for the record!”

“Don’t kill me! Kill Donnie!” Leo protested.

“Oh, like any of you were keeping track of time and keeping him from going totally Donnie about this whole thing!”

“Hey--”

“Neither were you,” Mikey pointed out, and April scowled, grinding her teeth.

Dammit.

She hated when he had a point.

“Whatever. C’mon, let’s get out of here,” she said with a huff. “You good, Donnie?”

“All set,” he replied, tossing his bag back over his shoulder. “Let us bounce.”

And so they did.

The good news was that Leo was getting a lot better about this whole portalling thing with the help of the weird mystic sword he had! Which was cool, so the commute home? So do-able!

The bad news was that it was still way past her curfew. She quietly cursed herself for letting them be out so late. She hadn’t even realized the time until she glanced at her phone and noticed all the texts… and the missed calls.

“You good, April?” Raph questioned, frowning a bit as she hurriedly gathered her things, having traded her certified Ninja Gear for street clothes, quickly shoving things into her bag and toeing on her shoes.

“I’m fine, it’s all good,” she muttered.

“Do you want me to walk you home…?” Yoshi questioned, his brows furrowed. “I’m sure I could talk to your parents--”

“It’s fine, Yosh. Don’t worry about it. They’re chill! They probably, like… barely noticed I’m late!” She said, forcing a smile.

“Alright, well, if you need anything--”

“Right! Got it, thanks, bye!” She chirped, throwing herself out the door and slamming it shut behind her before she could look at their sad, guilty faces any more. Ugh. It wasn’t their fault, really. I mean, it was, but no more than it was her own.

I should have set an alarm, she thought bitterly.

On a stealth ninja mission? So it can go off in the middle of you trying to sneak past a bad guy or something? Yeah, brilliant plan, she thought immediately after.

When April quietly crept back into her own apartment, slipping her key into the side door, the house seemed quiet. The kitchen lights were off, and there was no screaming or yelling right off the bat. That was a good sign.

The living room lights, however, she could already see from here… were on. That was a less good sign.

Drawing in one last deep breath, she darted the rest of the way inside, bumping the door closed with her hip.

“Hey, guys, I’m home…!”

“April!” Her mom responded to the call almost immediately, and half a second later, April was no longer alone in the kitchen. Warm yellow light flooded the space as a light switch was clicked on, and April winced slightly, blinking a few times to adjust. “There you are-- where in the world have you been?! Do you have any idea what time it is?!”

“Uh, yeah, my bad!” She laughed nervously, throwing her hands up as if to surrender. “Kinda lost track of time, uh, I was just over at the Hamatos doing homework and stuff…”

“Oh, were you?” That was her dad, now, and April winced a tiny bit at the tone he used, which meant that she had fucked up. “Because we went over knocking on their door ten minutes ago to come and get you, and no one answered.”

Oop. Fuck.

“Oh, yeah, we ran over to the corner store to get some snacks, so…?”

“In the middle of the night? By yourself?” Her mom protested, and April huffed softly, rolling her eyes.

“Uh, no? I literally just said that I went with the Hamatos--”

“Hey! Watch the attitude, miss,” her dad immediately cut in, and April winced. “I don’t think you have any room to be being huffy at us when you’re coming home two hours past curfew, and wouldn’t pick up your phone… Do you have any idea how many times we called you!?!”

“I’m sorry!” She said, throwing up her hands. “I forgot I had it on silent, I just, I wasn’t looking at the clock…!”

“For two hours?” Her mom cried. April bit the inside of her cheek, feeling her stomach flip-flop in response to the slight crack in her mother’s voice. “April, baby, you-- you can’t do that! This isn’t okay!”

“It was an accident--!”

“You can’t just disappear!” She continued. “You can’t just leave us not knowing where you are, we can’t--!”

“I know! I know, I’m sorry, okay? It was an accident!” April pressed, her face flushed. “I know, okay? I really, really didn’t mean to…! I just… I wasn’t paying attention. Okay?”

She frowned, wrinkling up her nose and glaring at her feet.

“Sorry.”

For a few long moments, the kitchen was silent.

Her father heaved a long, shuddering sigh.

“No more phone on silent,” he finally said. “When we text or call you, we expect you to answer right away. Understood?”

“... Yeah. Okay,” April grumbled softly, kind of toeing at the kitchen tile. She was sure Donnie could help her… figure out a way to make that work when they were out on missions and stuff…

“And this is the last time you miss curfew,” he added in, his eyes narrowed. “Full stop. We are not doing this again. Understood?”

“... Yeah.”

“April.”

“Yes. Understood, Dad,” she sighed loudly, tilting her head back and resisting the urge to roll her eyes, frustration prickling at her stomach.

“... Go to bed,” her dad finally said, his arms still crossed over his chest. “And you come straight home after school tomorrow.”

“Wha-- but Dad! I was gonna--”

“Do not argue with me April O’Neil,” he snapped. “Bed. Now. We’re not discussing this any further.”

April really, really thought about discussing it further.

But she didn’t.

For a lot of reasons. One being that she valued her life and freedom.

The other being that she couldn’t stand to look at her mom’s face anymore. Not when she was staring at her like that.

It wasn’t like she had never lied to her parents before. Of course she had! What teen doesn’t? She had fibbed about plenty of things before. Yes, I did brush my teeth already. No, I didn’t unlock all the parental controls on the computer. Yes, I am going to Bailey’s to study for chemistry and not anywhere else or for any other reason. Etc. etc. etc.

But she had never lied… like this before.

April ground her teeth, kicking her door shut as she threw her bag down, flopping down onto her bed and burying her face into the nearest pillow with a scowl. She suddenly felt unwelcome tears pricking at the corners of her eyes, and she tried to will them away, though with mixed success.

A little part of her thought, they’d understand if you explained everything to them.

But a much larger part of her said, are you literally insane?

Because, really… how do you explain something like this? How would she even begin? What would she say? And even if she did try, even if she did think it was a good idea, even if she did want to, she…

She couldn’t.

Because it wasn’t her secret to tell.

April had known Raph, Donnie, Leo, and Mikey since she was six. She used to go over to their house every day after school until her parents came home. Their families went on day trips together. They celebrated holidays together. Her parents knew the Hamatos nearly as well as they knew her. They had always had this… weird, amazing blend of Hamato and O’Neil, pressed close in such a way that it was hard to see where one started and the other began sometimes.

And she had always loved that. She had always adored this.

But she had never felt a pull like this before.

She had never felt like she had to choose between being an O’Neil or a Hamato before.

---

“Daddy!” April shrieked.

She waited a moment, pausing to see if she’d get a reply, but after five seconds passed without a response, she breathed in deep, repeating the call with the volume cranked up.

“Daddy!”

That one worked. Her dad’s head popped out from the apartment a moment later, peering through the door that was always kept propped open when she played in the alley like this. “I’m comin, I’m comin, baby, hang on--”

“Come look!” April bade, waving her arms hurriedly. “Hurry up!”

“I’m hurrying! I’m hurrying!” Her dad laughed, quickly toeing on some sneakers before venturing out into the concrete jungle, half-jogging his way over to where she was crouched in the alley, moving to squat down next to her.

“What? What is it?”

“Lookit what I found!” She squeaked excitedly, pointing to a single feather resting on the asphalt. “Look! A feather!”

“Oh, wow! Good find, sunshine.”

“Can I pick it up!?”

“... Yeah, okay, so long as you wash your hands afterward.”

April absolutely wriggled with excitement, immediately snatching the feather up from the ground, turning it over in her hands a few times to examine. One side of it was this pale, cloudy gray, all fluffy and soft, but the other side was a sleek, shiny shade of cobalt blue. Just holding it made her grin, and she looked up at her dad with wide eyes.

“What kinda feather is it?”

“I dunno,” her dad said, shrugging a bit, resting his elbows on his knees. “But I bet we could find out.”

---

“Casey.”

Casey whined softly, curled up a bit further under the covers. Was it time for school already…? But she didn’t wanna get up…

“Hey. C’mon, Casey. Wake up.”

Wait, wasn’t it a Saturday…?

“Noooo…”

“No?”

“Noooooo.”

“What’s wrong, Case?”

“I’m sleeping, Daddy…”

“Oh, you’re sleeping?”

“Yeah!”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize,” her father exclaimed with faux surprise, drawing back slightly. “Well, if you’re sleeping, and you don’t want to go hiking up on Newton Hill with me--”

Casey’s eyes shot open.

“You’re going out into the woods?!” She gasped, immediately upright in bed, her eyes wide.

“I am,” her dad confirmed, this big, wide grin growing on his face. “I was hoping you’d come with me, but, I mean, if you’re still sleeping…”

“No! No, I’m awake!” She squeaked, just barely managing to contain herself and keep her volume down. She threw her covers back, scrambling quickly from bed. “I swear I’m awake! Please can I come hiking with you?!”

Her dad laughed.

“Ah, how can I say no to that face?” He teased, reaching down to ruffle her hair. “Hurry up and get dressed, sunshine, and let’s get out of here.”

---

April gasped, jumping over her dad’s arm so that she could point at the screen of his laptop.

“That one! That’s the feather!” She exclaimed. “It looks just like ours!”

“Hmmm…” Her father hummed appraisingly, leaning into slightly to squint, before he gave a firm nod. “I do concur, April, I think that is our feather! Here, let’s double-check. Are the colors the same?”

“Yeah!” April said, grinning wide as she held the feather up. “Look! It’s the same blue.”

“And the same shape, right?”

“Uh-huh!”

“And we measured it--”

“And it’s twelve centimeters! Look, Daddy! It’s this one!” She insisted, and her father laughed.

“Yeah, okay. You’re right. Definitely our feather.”

“What bird is it!?”

“According to this, it’s a mallard feather.”

“A mallard?” April echoed. “What’s that?”

“It’s a type of duck!”

“A duck!?” April cried, her eyes widening, holding her prize up in amazement. “This is a duck feather!?”

“It sure is, sunny girl.”

“Whoa! That’s so cool!”

“You know,” her dad said. “I bet if we went down to the park, we might be able to find some more feathers…”

---

Cassandra was absolutely alight with energy, bouncing from foot to foot as she scampered around, practically doing laps around her dad. The drive over had been equal parts exhilarating and tortuous, with Casey wriggling in her car seat the entire time, her face pressed up against the window.

This was her favorite thing in the world.

She loved Newton Hill.

“Daddy, I wanna go all the way to the top!!!” She exclaimed, bouncing up and down, grabbing onto his pants leg to yank at him.

“All the way to the top?” He echoed dramatically.

“Yes!”

“Alright, you got it,” he hummed, fishing something from his pocket before kneeling down next to her. “All the way to the top. I think we can do it.”

“We can,” Casey agreed excitedly, leaning against his knee and leaning over slightly so she could peer at the item in his hands.

“Alright. Let’s do it,” her dad enthused. “But first-- I have got a job for you, Casey.”

Casey blinked in surprise as her father pressed the stopwatch into her palm, tilting her head slightly to the side.

“I have a job?”

“You have a job,” he confirmed. “You are gonna be in charge of timing us.”

“Timing us?”

“Yep! Here, you press this button to start the time-- and this button to end it. And you--” He pointed to her decisively, this big, mischievous grin on his face. “Are gonna find out how long it takes us to get from here to the top of the trail.”

Casey tilted her head to the side.

“Why?”

“Because,” her father declared, his hands on his hips as he rose back up to his feet. “David from work bet that I couldn’t get all the way up to the top in four hours. So now I’ve gotta prove him wrong.”

Casey stared at her father for a second.

And then she gasped.

“He bet we couldn’t do the whole trail in four hours!?” She shrieked in offense.

“He sure did, Case.”

“HOW DARE HE!” She wailed, throwing her head back.

This was the other best part of Newton Hill. She could be as loud as she wanted out here.

“Exactly!” Her father sighed, throwing out his hands with a dramatic shake of his head. “I knew you’d understand. So obviously, we have to show him up! You up for the challenge, sunshine?”

“Yes!” She cried, immediately setting off-- hesitating only long enough to run back, grabbing onto her dad’s pants leg and yanking at him. “Come ON! Hurry up! We are gonna WIN! Let’s GO!”

---

“Come on! Hurry up! Let’s go!” April squealed, yanking at her Dad’s hand impatiently. “Look! I see one!”

“I’m coming, April, I’m coming!” Her dad laughed, jogging slightly to keep up with the enthusiastic five-year-old. “Hang on, sunshine.”

April darted across the lawn, hopping over wayward twigs or stones until she got to the water’s edge, waving her arms excitedly as she knelt down to pluck the feather from the ground.

“Look!” She said, beaming as she turned to show her dad. “Do you think it’s another duck feather?!”

“Might be. Or it could be a goose.”

“I hope it’s a goose,” April said, scampering her way back over to her dad, who knelt down to hold open the ziploc baggie for her. April deposited the feather inside, along with the several other specimens they had already collected. “We already have a duck feather.”

“Yeah, but maybe it’ll be a different kind of duck,” her dad countered, zipping the baggie back up once their prize was safe inside. April paused at this, tilting her head to the side slightly. Oh! Another kind of duck? She hadn’t even thought about that!

“Well, then, I hope it’s a different kind of duck. Or a goose,” she declared, grinning big. “When we get back home, can we show Mommy all the feathers?”

“Of course we can,” her dad said. “I’m sure she’ll be thrilled for you to show her. Especially if you can tell her which feather is which!”

“I will. I’m gonna look it up. I’m gonna do research,” April declared proudly, grinning as she spun around on her heel. “Come on! We gotta find some more. I wanna have a bunch for mommy.”

---

Casey froze in place, her body going rigid as a tiny little gasp caught itself in her throat.

“Daddy!” She whispered, her voice hushed, but fervent. “Daddy, lookit! Under the rock!”

After hiking for two hours now, Casey only occasionally electing to ride on her dad’s shoulders rather than racing up the trail, poking at every leaf, stone, and mushroom they came across, the pair had finally elected to take a break, settling down on the stones of a creekbed to rest and munch on the snacks her father had packed along. The stopwatch she was wearing around her neck was still ticking away-- but they were making good time. Certainly enough time to catch their breath.

And it was here that Casey spotted a tiny black-and-yellow snake-- just barely poking its head from beneath the shadows of a stone just inches away from them. Its little pink tongue flicked out a few times as it examined the world hesitantly, turning its head from side to side, as if checking for something.

“Whoa!” Her dad breathed, keeping care to keep his voice soft once he spotted the creature. He slowly moved to place a hand on her shoulder, patting her gently. “Nice eye, Casey.”

“It’s a real snake!”

“It is.”

“What kind is it?”

“Probably a garter snake, I’d bet,” he whispered, grinning ever so slightly. “I bet he wants to come out and sun himself on the rocks.”

“Why?”

“Reptiles are cold-blooded, Casey. They’ve gotta warm themselves up with the sun, or else they get too cold.”

“Oh,” she said, her eyes wide. “... He’s so cool…”

“He is,” her dad agreed, shooting her a small grin. “Good job, sunshine. I never even would have noticed that little guy! I would have totally missed him.”

Casey absolutely beamed. “Really?”

“Yep!” He confirmed, chuckling softly, leaning over to ruffle her long black hair, carding his fingers through it briefly. “But you’re so smart, of course you saw it… Alright. You ready to get moving again? I bet that little dude would be pretty excited if he got to come out in peace and warm himself up.”

She nodded excitedly, wasting no time at all in beginning to get herself back to her feet. Despite all the running and jumping and climbing she had already done, she was suddenly filled with energy once more.

“I’m ready, Daddy!”

---

“And this one is a pigeon…”

“Mmm-hmmm…”

“And this is a pigeon…”

“I see…”

“And this one a pigeon feather, too…”

“Ah…”

“And this is a starling!”

“Oh!”

“And this is a pigeon!” April exclaimed excitedly, spreading the feathers out on the paper towel slightly, grinning big. “... There are a lotta pigeon ones.”

“That does make sense,” her mom said, smiling a tiny bit. “Thank you so much for showing me, baby! This is so impressive! I can’t believe you found all of these all by yourself!”

“Nu-uh!” April protested, turning to grin big up at her mother. “Daddy helped me! Except for the first one. I found that one all on my own.”

“Well, then, good job to your Daddy, too,” her mom remarked, and April just caught her shoot a smile across the kitchen to her dad, who was busy preparing dinner. He smiled a tiny bit, too.

“I’m gonna make a chart for them and stuff. In a book,” she declared proudly, beginning to climb her way up into her mom’s lap, absolutely beaming as she did so.

“April, sweetheart, you need to wash her hands--”

“Will you help me make it? Pleasseeee? I wanna make it look cool.”

---

Casey was so tall.

Every time they got all the way up here, to the very top of the hill, up as high as they could go, she would always think, wow. This is the tallest we can get. This is so tall.

And then every time, her dad would pick her up and put her on his shoulders, and then she’d be even taller.

And it had only taken them three hours and forty-two minutes to get here.

“There’s not even any clouds!” Casey marveled, eyes absolutely sparkling as she leaned back slightly, clinging to her dad’s head to keep her balance. “It’s just blue!”

“Yeah, it’s a nice day, isn’t it? Perfect for hiking,” he declared, grinning. “Can you believe David said we couldn’t make it!?”

“David is WRONG!” She declared, just as loud as she possibly could, and she grinned at how her voice carried. It made her feel all shimmery. Her dad laughed.

“You wanna yell?”

“YES!” She gasped. “You do it, too! I wanna do it together!”

“Okay, okay. We’ll go on the count of three. You ready?”

“Mmm-hmmm!”

“Okay. One… Two…”

Casey took a deep breath in.

“Three!”

Throwing her head forward, her eyes shut tight and her hands balled into fists, Cassandra reached as deep into her little six-year-old chest as she could possibly reach, and she dredged up the biggest, longest, loudest howl that she could possibly conjure. It always hurt her throat a little, but it never hurt more than it felt good. It made her entire body vibrate. And her dad was screaming, too, holding onto her hands with his own big ones, the two of them harmonizing together as they screamed out into the woods from the top of the hill, their voices echoing out into the sky.

She kept going until there was no more left in her, running out of air entirely and left with just shaking, heaving breaths, her shoulders trembling as she panted.

And for a second, both of them were both quiet. And then finally, her dad chuckled, tossing his shoulders a few times to jostle her slightly.

“One of these days, you’re gonna shatter my eardrums, sunshine. I hope you know that,” he laughed, and Casey just grinned, hanging onto him.

“I like yelling,” she hummed.

And for a bit longer, it was quiet again.

Just the two of them on the top of the world.

And then Dad’s cellphone began to ring.

Casey paused, frowning slightly as she watched her father fish the device from his pocket, glancing at the screen and scoffing in such a way that Casey already knew who was on the line.

“Damn. Too bad we still have service up here, huh?” He tsked, and Casey frowned.

“Don’t be mean to mommy,” she muttered petulantly. “I don’t like it.”

“Sorry, Casey. My bad,” he sighed, crouching down so he could ease her down off his shoulders and back onto her own two feet. “Here. Just gimme two seconds to talk to her, okay?”

“Can I talk to her when you’re done?” She asked, and Dad hesitated.

“Uh, maybe! Lemme just talk to her real quick first and see what she wants. I promise it’ll be fast. Here, hang on. You can time me, okay?” He said, returning the stopwatch back to her hands. “Think you can do that?”

“Yeah…”

“Good girl. I’ll be right back,” Dad said, offering her one last crooked smile before turning away, looping off a few paces before finally picking up his phone.

“Hello?”

“Yeah?--”

“Yeah, I know.”

“No, we just went up hiking--”

“I know that, but it’s just one day. Yeah, I know that… I’m going to!”

“She loves it up here!”

“I will, just-- Could you please just listen to me?-- No, I didn’t--”

Casey frowned. She settled down to sit in the grass and hit the ‘start’ button on the stopwatch.

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#sorrywhatnowau #sorrywhatnowau fic #sorrywhatnowau fanfic #rottmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rise of the tmnt #tmnt 2018 #rottmnt au #rottmnt fanfiction #rottmnt human au #fanfic #writing #rottmnt april #rottmnt casey jones #rottmnt cassandra jones

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