I Can’t Tell You The Genuine Squeak Of Pure Glee That Came Out Of Me As I Watched This Because They

*pants as I rapidly hit the boop button*

Ma’am, Ma’am slow down SlOw DoWn

I can’t keep up! (Thanks for being one of the reasons I smiled today 😆🧡🫡)

NEVA!

(Seriously, though, let me know if you want me to stop. 💚 I will.)

*holds this oh so very gently*

CWs: thoughts of suicide, suicide attempt

-

There are no stars here.

There were stars in the country. You remember staring up at them on nights when you couldn't sleep, getting lost in the constellations until your eyes got heavy enough to stay closed. Here, though, when you look up, there's just… darkness. An endless expanse of nothing. Almost like the stars themselves decided it wasn't worth it anymore to stick around. Light pollution, smog, yeah yeah, you know. But maybe… maybe the stars just decided to leave. To start fresh.

Or maybe… they decided to finally rest.

The wind cuts through your thin jacket, chilling your skin. Your feet sway where they hang in the air, over the side of the roof, and when you lean forward, peering down at the city below, you think you should be feeling some sort of vertigo. A bit of fear, maybe. Instead you feel… nothing. Just cold, and stiff, and tired.

You miss the stars. But you understand why they left.

The city is a blur of light and movement. There are thousands of people down there, even now, at this late hour, going about their lives. It's so busy here. Always busy and bustling and alive in a way that doesn't come naturally to you.

Out of place. That's what you are. That's what you've always been. But not for much longer.

“What are you doing?” a voice stage-whispers nearby. You inhale sharply, whirling around to see… nothing. You scan the empty roof, eyes wide, your heart lodged in your throat. There shouldn't be anyone up here. You checked to make sure when you first came up, and there had been no one. If someone had come through the door, you would've heard the heavy, ancient thing creaking on its hinges, and the ladder is to your right, so you would've seen if someone came up the fire escape. So there shouldn't be anyone up here.

“Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I know this is weird or whatever,” the voice continues. It sounds like… a guy. Honestly, he sounds like a fucking dork, with the way he's whispering so loudly. “It's just that, like, Leo would kill me if I let myself get seen, but you've been here for a while and it's pretty late, or- I don't know, early? Whatever, but I had to check on you, y'know? So, like, are you good?”

…This is weird. Right? Yeah, this is definitely weird. The guy, wherever he is, doesn't… sound like someone you need to worry about, though. Something about the way he talks makes you feel like… talking back.

“I'm good,” you say slowly, the words feeling foreign in your mouth. You twist around further, still scanning the empty roof for signs of movement. “How did you… get up here?”

“Uhhhhhh same way you did?”

Okay so he's a terrible liar. Despite everything, it makes the corner of your mouth twitch upward. “Right. Sure.” You scoot back and swing both legs back up so you can stand, your muscles protesting from sitting still for so long. You take a few steps away from the ledge, peering around you. “And where are you exactly?”

His voice goes from a stage whisper to a cheesy imitation of a ghost, and yeah, okay, this is the weirdest thing that's ever happened to you, but you can't help laughing when he croons, “I'm a hallucinaaatioooon.”

“Uh huh. A hallucination.” There are a few vents on the roof. You start to walk between them, circling each one in the hope that you'll find this guy crouched behind one, but no such luck. “A hallucination that will get in trouble with the big boss for being seen? Is that what you said?”

“Pshhhh Leo isn't the boss of me. Well, I- I guess like sort of, in a way, but not like- I mean- Dad is the- okay, no, we were talking about you. What are you doing up here? Aren't you cold?”

You cross your arms, feeling a bit petulant at the question, though you're not sure why. Yes, you're cold. But it's… fine. “Are you cold?”

“Answering a question with a question, huh?” You hear a nervous chuckle from… somewhere. “Donnie does that when I'm being- oh shit, am I bothering you right now? I am, aren't I? I'm sorry, I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I'll- sorry, I'll let you get back to, uh, sitting.”

“No!” You reach out a hand toward nothing, feeling more than a little silly as you continue to look around you in vain. The roof is still empty. “No, please, I…”

You… what? Want to keep talking? Missed feeling seen? Maybe he is a hallucination. Maybe this is your brain's last attempt at stopping you. But… it's true. You do want to keep talking.

That's just pathetic, isn't it? Sad, lonely little girl, wanting to be seen so badly that she'll hallucinate someone to ask if she's okay. There's no one here. You're alone.

You're alone.

Everything you had been feeling before you came up here returns, all at once, like a crashing wave, smothering you beneath the crushing pressure. Your throat tightens. Your lungs burn. There's a fog in your mind and a black hole in your chest and you're shivering but it's not from the cold.

…You've put this off long enough. It's time to stop pretending.

Your shoes scuff against the roof as you approach the ledge. A gust of wind makes you sway dangerously, and you think you hear the voice again, but the roaring in your ears is too loud.

Just one more step. One more step. One more. Just. Just-

Something yanks you by the arm, and you stumble backward, bumping into something big and solid. You're wildly disoriented for a few seconds, still getting your feet steady beneath you, and then you look up to see…

Okay. You're definitely hallucinating.

“What are you doing?!” The man (??) asks, frantic concern etched into every line of his face.

His face. Green skin. No hair. And no ears, and more of a snout than a nose, and a- a mask over his eyes? For some reason? You're officially losing it.

The man snaps his fingers - there are fewer than there should be, you notice - in your face, and his other hand rests on your shoulder, holding you in place. “Focus on me, angel, okay? Can you hear me? Are you okay? What were you doing?”

He's talking so fast you don't even get a chance to answer each question before he's asking the next. You stand there, watching him fret, and Jesus, he's huge. With a big… something? On his back? A shell? You look him up and down and back up again before you finally find your voice.

“Are you a turtle?”

He stops moving, going quiet, and seems to suddenly realize something. His expression turns sheepish, almost afraid, and he pulls his hands back to fidget with them in front of his stomach. You feel unmoored without the weight of his hand on your shoulder. “Yeah, actually. I am. Sorry, I… guess I should've… I'm… I'm Mikey.”

Mikey. There's no way this is real. Still, it feels rude to not introduce yourself in turn. Mikey seems to relax when you tell him your name, but the concern returns quickly, and this time when he speaks, he does so quietly.

“What were you doing?”

Is this… your brain trying to… get you to face what you're trying to do? Somehow? You know what you're trying to do. You've been thinking about it for months. Where were these hallucinations before you quit your job? Before you sold nearly everything you own and let your lease run out and cut off the few people who have tried to make a connection with you since you moved here? You're so tired. You're so…

“You know what I was doing, Mikey.”

There's silence as you stare at each other. You watch his expression shift from confusion to dread to sadness. He looks from you to the edge of the roof and back, and his eyes start to water, and you can't, you can't, you can't do this. That's not fair. It's not fair for your mind to come up with a giant turtle man and then make you feel bad for him being sad. That's fucking ridiculous!

…But you do. Feel bad. Mikey looks lost, and scared, and sad - and you hate it.

“Sorry,” you murmur.

Mikey makes an aborted movement with his arms, then shakes his head. He opens his mouth, then closes it, then opens it again. “Can I hug you?”

Well, now, this really is pathetic, isn't it? When was the last time someone hugged you? Is your brain that desperate for comfort?

…What do you have to lose?

As soon as you nod, Mikey puts his arms around you and pulls you close. His arms shake, just a little, but you feel secure in his hold. Your cheek rests against his chest, and it's… oddly firm. Textured. Warmer than the air, but still a bit cool to the touch. You can feel his chest moving as he breathes. It feels so real. And you… you don't want him to let go.

It's pathetic, fine, sure, whatever, you don't care, but when you start to sob and he only holds you tighter, you're so, so thankful that he's here.

You let yourself cry. He stays quiet, a steady presence that keeps you grounded, and when your sobs turn to sniffles, he's still holding you. It still feels real. It can't be real, it can't be, but honestly? Fuck it. Fuck everything. You really, truly, do not care. It feels good to be held. It feels good to be seen. To be… cared for. Your brain can hallucinate whatever it wants at this point, as long as Mikey is there, too.

When he starts to pull back, you cling to him. Embarrassing. Whatever. He stops pulling away though, holding you close again.

“Do you want me to take you home?” he asks.

“Don't have one anymore.”

“Oh. My bad.”

For some reason, that makes you smile. Your hallucination, which manifested because you were going to kill yourself, is apologizing for not knowing that you were homeless, which you did in preparation for said killing of said self. Yeah, no, that's funny. That's fucking hilarious.

Maybe you're a little sleep deprived, actually.

“Can I…” Mikey hesitates, his fingers tapping against where he's still holding you. “Do you maybe want to stay with me? For tonight? It's pretty late, so… you'll need a place to sleep, yeah? N-Not that I was, like, saying that- I mean, I'll take the couch obviously, so-”

Oh my god. He'd be sort of adorable if he were real. You let him stumble over his words for juuust a little longer before putting him out of his misery. “That sounds nice, Mikey.”

“Ye-Yeah? Okay. Okay. Cool. So I'll. Um.”

You yelp as he shifts his arms and picks you up like it's nothing, carrying you bridal-style. You look up at him with wide eyes, and he smiles hesitantly down at you. “Ready?”

You blink. Ready for… what? But, as you've already clearly established in your head, you're done questioning things. So. You nod.

“Alright. Uh. Don't freak out. Here we go.”

Don't freak- JESUS CHRIST. The air whips past you as he sprints across the roof and leaps into the fucking air. For a split second you're sure that you actually did step off the roof, that the hallucination has finally ended and it was just your brain scrambling to make shit up in the moment before you plummeted to your death - but then you feel the impact of Mikey landing on something and continuing his sprint. Then it happens again, a leap and a free fall and another impact, and then it happens again, and you realize he's- he's jumping between roofs. Carrying you across the city from way up here. How-

Nope. Nope. Not asking questions. Doesn't matter. He's got you. That's what matters. You press closer, loosely curling your fingers around a leather strap that's crossing over his chest. Another leap, and you think you're sort of, kind of, maybe getting used to it. There's a sort of rhythm to it, and you let yourself relax. You wonder if the rhythm is soothing or if you're just that exhausted. You wonder if any part of this is real. You wonder if you're falling asleep or falling to your death.

It doesn't matter, you decide. Either way, you'll finally be able to rest.

I can't not tell you the amount of rage I feel after drawing this. Lee from Bayverse movies is my least favorite turtle and the fact he came out decently well BUGS me like none other.

You can see my displeasure in my roast with my dear friend @anobodyinabog. Hence the reason I decided to set him on fire.

Ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok

OK

So @luckycharms1701, this probably wasn’t what you meant by Femme Fatale Donnie, but this is what my brain decided to come up with so I’m tagging you with the source of inspiration.

Tumblr

The ANONymous Ninja

I’m WoRkInG oN a LiTtLe SoMeThInG PlEaSe BeAr wItH mE wHiLe My BrAiN rOtS

Has this been rotting my brain for the past week? Yes. Did I completely come up with an entire brand new AU?

*Donnie voice* Nooooooooooo… of course I did….nt

AnYhOo please enjoy my concept art for my new upcoming AU “🖤 The Dapper Snapperz🖤”

Part 2 coming soon!

Special shout out to @doreen090 and @anobodyinabog for listening to my nonstop rambles. Love ya ladies!

*KICKS DOOR DOWN WITH A WHOOP AND HOLLER*

LADIES AND GENTS HERE FROM THE HEART

I HAVE A FABULOUS PIECE OF ART

STRAIGHT FROM A MASTERS HAND

A PERFECT PICTURE FOR MAH BEST FRIEND

Words will never be enough to express my complete and utter ecstatic joy in receiving this for my friend. Bless you bootiful human!!!

*snickers madly* Ohhhhhhh Shortcaaaaaake I have somethin for juuuuuuuu

@spectra-bear @anobodyinabog

Normal

Sometimes I think I’m normal, and then I think things like this,

“I wear crocs, so that people know that I’m friendly and therefore approachable.”

Do you ever just fangirl so hard that your blood sugar goes low? No? Must be a me thing 😅

Anyhoo, like… whoooohOoOhOoOoo

NOW THATS A BATTLE LADIES ‘N GENTLEMEN!

I just love Replica Leo so much. His poise and his “so done” attitude while still being the most incredibly classy leader ever. Ugh I am in awe of his character.

Oneion also had my most mad respect like, he’s doing it for One’s own good. He knows it hard and it’s gonna hurt but Oneion just gives me biggest “tough love” kinda vibes ever and I’m here for it. Hemayevenbemynextattempttodrawprojectwhoknows

TMNT AU BATTLE PART 1 HERE FIRST (file was getting too big so starting a Part 2)

First off I want to thank everyone who participated in the vote for The TMNT AU Competition! It was so fun to be a part of this event and I’m so honored to be able to go home with Empyrean Weeping’s @cupcakeslushie as the champions! It has been an absolute blast getting to interact and draw with so many of you! Also thank you @dianagj-art @intotheelliwoods and @tizeline for being such amazing finalists!

We might do a few more updates to wrap this up then it’s back to work on Replica for me haha.

Also note: One is fine, he’s just in an arm lock, which is painful in the moment but should leave no lasting damage. Replica Leo however is in immense pain after doing an emergency disconnect from his prosthetic. All those raw nerve endings in his arm are probably screaming at him right now. Luckily he knows how to handle pain… though he’s obviously a little more short with One now haha.

My brain is literally buzzing with this new update. *bear poses*

✨Character Analysis Time Go brrr✨

Like notice how Leo the “most talkative and noisy” of the brothers is completely silent when he comes back. He’s pretty much quiet for the whole exchange because he’s watching, observing and taking action. Because the first thing he does, THE FIRST THING HE DOES, is reach out to his brother. No matter how on earth he’s alive again, no matter where the heck he is, his first thought, and his last thought is to reach out to his family, to sacrifice what little he has left, every fiber that is his soul, for THEM.

This is Leo at his core: a soldier and brother in arms

And Donnie here falling asleep ONLY after saving anyone because now he’s completed his mission. He too gave everything, dauntless in the face of impossibility because he’s THE Flippin Donatello! He’s NEVER fit the status quo, and that includes dying and being dead like a normal person. But Donnie ain’t normal, that’s what makes him so brilliant. He knows that because he’s never existed in limits, that he can therefore push the boundaries and even be so bold as to break limits and that’s why he’s RELENTLESS in his discoveries and expiraments.

So now they’re back, they’re all back. He can finally rest.

This is Donnie at his core: infrastructure of the family

Also this familial kabedonning is giving me life 😆🙌🏼 These boys will be the death of me

Part 21!

Uh..what can I say. I’m literally so so happy I can upload these pages you have no idea.

On a separate note. Oh my god. GuYs. FanDOM?? Thank you so much for your donations I can’t even,,,,jsjshdgdgdj,,,how do I express it?? Thanks to you, I can have a days off. Just..ah. Some days when I can ..like…j u s t. draw this comic in peace?? And don’t have to work a full day at the studio beforehand?? I’m so fucking grateful I kxjsksosjdhfbhr

Thank you 💜💙❤️🧡

Part 1

Ok so like my friend told me that something is considered good because it moves you. Well friends…*deep deep inhale* I’ve been FrIcKeN moved by this entire comic.

Like this is just so rawly human?! And I am literally transported into this world through perspective (Empath skillz is that you?) It hurts in a good way because I literally feel like I’m there and all the characters are so in character?!

I’m just sitting in my car trying to figure out the words to express my awe at this level of skill and talent, but once again words fail me so

@2aceofspades please take my humble keyboard smash to show my appreciation for you blessing my eyes with this today. *clears throat* sudbwudhevwodbdhsixnrjekznfjslsmdbe😭🙌🏼🤧

Y’all please read dis. It’s that good.

Blemished

Stained

Next

Jayus’ Jammie Jams

Tell me you grew up Christian without telling me you grew up Christian…

On a completely random note, the theme song for a movie about vegetable superhero’s has NO right to slap this hard