#Mermies Lit

[mermmarie]

DATING THE BAYVERSE BOYS The Good, The Bad, The Ugly, and The Sexy

Authors Note: In my TMNT phase hardcore right now and I thought... I wanna share my headcanons for dating the the Bayverse Ninja Turtles!! 😋 Mostly under the cut because of mature themes/ideas. Hope you like 'em! Also, small thanks to @seafoamtaffy for helping me out with a few of Leonardos! 💙

Disclaimer: All characters depicted are 20+

Warnings: Mature/sexual themes, NSFW mentions, mature language. MINORS DNI

MICHELANGELO 

The good:

The master of positive encouragement/reinforcement. This boy builds you up like no other! It’s almost impossible to think bad of yourself around him.

Lots of physical affection, especially PDA. (As public as it can be living a life in the shadows) Loves kissing you, holding your hands, cuddling. No shame around his brothers, father, or April and Casey.

Would graffiti random buildings, subway cars, and trains in your name or with symbols that represent your love.

Food is his love language. Not a fantastic cook, but he can follow instructions and he’d try making your favorite meal for special events like your birthday, Valentines, anniversaries, or when you had a bad week. He’d also spoil you with your favorite snacks and sweets whenever he has the means to do so.

Would serenade you a lot, and makes playlists for you. They’d consist of songs he thinks you would like, and songs that reminded him of you and your relationship with him.

The bad:

Cliiiiiingy. Always has to have his hands on you and follows you everywhere. Even wants to be in the bathroom with you when you’re using the toilet.  

Generally, not the jealous type, but absolutely needs your constant attention.

Texts and calls you a lot. (Almost too much) Like, goddamn. You know he has a lot of time on his hands cause he’s cooped down in the sewers until nighttime, but dude—chill.

The ugly:

Guilt trips you over having to return to your surface life and personal duties.

Straight up avoids and ignores if there’s problems with your relationship. He knows no relationship is perfect, but he doesn’t want to break the fantasy, So, if you’re upset and wanna talk things out, he’ll redirect the conversation a lot of the time. You’ll have to be pretty stern to get through to him.

Horny. All. The. TIME. He’d push boundaries to get you in the mood, even going as far to make unwanted advances. (Wouldn’t do anything against your will, or force himself upon you though.)

The sexy:

Can and will laugh during sex. And good, because it’s definitely interesting between a giant mutant turtle and normal human being. There’s a lot for both of you to learn, but he’s surprisingly patient and things are never awkward with him.

He is willing to do the horizontal tango any time you want it. You could literally spend thirty minutes shitting your guts out due to having indulged on your favorite, but forbidden dairy product, and he’d still be down to clown afterwards.

Looooves oral. (Both giving and receiving) He can’t get enough of the taste of you, and would work diligently to give you multiple orgasms through going down on you.

He’s confident in his abilities and open to anything. You want him to put on a sexy dance for you? You got it! Wanna try a new move? Say no more! Have a kink you’ve been reluctant to tell him about? Baby, you’ve got nothing to be ashamed of! 

Great with aftercare. Ya’ll would either fall asleep in each other’s arms, cuddle up watching your favorite streaming shows, or play some hand-held video games together afterwards.

DONATELLO

The good:

Thoroughly interested and supportive of your passions and hobbies. Loves listening to you speak on them and would try his best to get involved in some way.

Since he’s the tech guy, a good majority of your dates would consist of pirating your favorite shows, and movies. He’d take you out in the turtle van to some desolate underpass, and project the picture on a wide slab of concrete. Afterwards, he’d put the media on your favorite format so you could have it always; downloads, dvds, even the nearly nonfunctional vhs’s!

Also, since he’s the tech guy he would surprise you with deliveries to your work place from time to time. Flowers, edible arrangements, your favorite drinks, thoughtful cards (with some spending money~ bounces eyebrows. He’d love the idea of being your sugar daddy when he’s able to. 😩 )

 Because he’s such a tall boy, forehead kisses are his thing. He peppers your cute little dome with small little pecks any chance he gets.

When he’s low on energy he drags you into power naps with him, which inevitably turns into a slumber because he’s so comfortable in your presence, and you find content in his warmth.

An added extra: Since Donatello is the tattoo artist of the group, free ink if you’re into that kind of thing! 👀

The bad:

This guy works off a schedule, and sometimes he just doesn’t have the time to fit you into it. With training, patrol, lair upkeep, creating new tech, and being the only one to have an actual job (because how else are they paying for food?), he’s unfortunately a very busy turtle.

Is the silent type when upset, and worst of all, he gets more upset if you don’t realize that something’s bothering him.

Double standards. He would insist that you properly take care of yourself. Drink lots of water, cut back on caffeine, shower and moisturize, eat three meals a day and snack in between, get eight hours of sleep, take a day off of work, etc… But Donnie doesn’t hold himself to the same expectations and good luck trying to get him to change. (Sometimes he shares his red-cladded brothers’ stubbornness.)

The ugly:

Internet stalks you, your family and your exes... He mostly does it as a means to gather useful information, and he’s clever enough to only use it in the appropriate situations, but it’ll take you aback when he mentions the name of an ex when you two fight. (He’ll never do it again after the first time however.)

Gets almost unreasonably upset when you have to cancel plans with him. To reference back to how busy he is, and double standards; he just expects you to be able to make time for him. After all, you’re not a defender of New York, nor are you confined to specific hours of the day like he is. How busy can you be?

Since you have a life on the surface, he sometimes gets into his head and assumes the worst. He’s stuck in the lair until nightfall, and his stupid brain likes to torture him with made up scenarios. He’ll make jokes of it, but you know there’s a hint of truth and insecurity behind the question, “So, who’d ya cheat on me with today?” It’s never funny…

The sexy:

Dandere in the streets, Kuudere in the sheets. (Yes, I’m a weeb. Look it up.) He’s not too big on the idea of PDA in front of his brothers, but as soon as it’s just the two of you, his hands will be all over your body and he’ll be macking on those plush lips of yours.

While he enjoys getting off himself, he’s all about pleasing you. A lot of the time, you cumming is more than suffice for him.

Because he is the most internet savvy, he’s done his research on your anatomy. So, unlike the other brothers, your first time together would be quite pleasurable. (Which is a feat considering Donatello has the biggest dick (fight me), so there would be a lot of work put into getting you prepared for it, but he enjoys the foreplay.)

Blindfolds. He can’t see during sex (if he removes his glasses of course) so why should you? It’s a fun little venture from time to time exploring each other’s bodies with your other senses.

He will fucking lap up the ground you walk on if you moan or scream his name during. For the love of god, just do it. It’ll make him absolutely wild.

RAPHAEL

The good:

You wouldn’t expect it of him before you started dating, but once you enter a relationship, he is the best listener. You’ll accidentally spend long amounts of time vent dumping on him, because he’s actually very attentive and empathetic of your feelings.

Since Raph leaves the lair the most (due to needing “fresh air”) he knows New York the best. Which means he takes you to all the cool and secret attractions of the city for date nights.  

He includes you in his workouts, if you know what I’m saying? 😏😏😏 I mean, he asks for your assistance… Uses you as added weights, has you help him with certain stretches, asks you to time him on specific drills. He just wants you to be part of one of his favorite activities. (WHICH INCLUDES SEX! Duh. 😋)

You already knew this was coming but… He knits you clothes! Mainly stuff to keep you warm in the winter. So, sweaters, scarves, gloves, and socks. Buuut-- He also dabbles in jewelry in secret. None of his brothers know about it, but Donnie is always curious as to why he borrows/steals his pliers, wire cutters and soldering tools every once in a while. You get custom made bracelets, earrings, and necklaces out of this. (He wouldn’t make you rings until far long into your relationship. He’s a shy boy and doesn’t want to scare you off with the implications. Plus, they’re hard to make, lol.)

Playful teasing and showboating of you. Only to levels you’re comfortable with, but he’s proud to be your significant other, and you’re so attractive to him, he’s gotta show you off to his brothers a little bit. He’ll pinch/grab/smack your ass (gently, lol), caress your face, arms, thighs, and nuzzle his snout into the crook of your neck in front of them, just to get all of you flustered and worked up.

The bad:

Has the millennial phone fear. He doesn’t like talking on the phone much because he dislikes the way his voice sounds to him when you put him on speaker, and he isn’t good at texting you back in a timely matter either… He argues that your conversations are more meaningful in person.

Prone to fighting, duh. Verbal fights of course. Raphael would never lay a hand on you, but if upset enough, he would break things around you. Punch a wall, throw a chair, shatter a glass. He’s also quick to raise his voice and yell, so if that kind of thing makes you uncomfortable, expect tears. (Although, as soon as you start crying, he crumbles.)

Would avoid missionary position, or any position that gave you an angle on his face at first. He’s insecure about his physique and features, and wouldn’t want to scare you or turn your off with his looks. (Though, as soon as you cupped your hands against his cheeks and stared down his emerald eyes, lorrrddd!! It’d ignite a passionate fury in him!)

The ugly:

We all expect jealousy of Raphael, but it’s in the worst ways. He’ll get jealous of his brothers interacting with you and vice versa. He won’t act on his feelings, but he doesn’t like the others touching you or being too interested in conversation with you. He’s also jealous of you specifically. He hates it, but you’re beautiful and normal. You get so many opportunities being human that he couldn’t even possibly dream of. He’d try to keep those insecurities to himself, but they of course bubble up when you fight.

(Like his purple-coded brother) He stalks you. He tells himself he’s being a good boyfriend and he’s just watching over you; making sure nobody messes with ya, but in reality he wants to know what you’re up too at all times. If your residence has the view for it, he’ll become a peeping tom and watch you undress.

Raph always grows distant when your time together is coming to an end. He just checks out hours before you actually have to go. He must think it’s a way to protect himself mentally, but it’s just unfair to you and almost impossible to pull him back into the moment.

The sexy:

Raph just emits sexual tension into everything. The way he lifts weights, how his brows furrow when he looks at you, the way his tongue dances around the toothpick in his mouth, how he folds laundry… Like, how? WHY?? I mean you’re not going to look a gift horse in the mouth, but boy it’s almost troublesome how he can make you so hot and bothered so easily.

 A double standard, but he wouldn’t let you be insecure about anything during sexy time, especially not your body. - You: I don’t want to do x,y,or z because I’m too heavy/too boney/have too much hair/don’t like my stretch marks/my bits are different from others/etc… - Raph: … If you don’t get your ass over here and sit on my face right now.

His tongue… is so long… 😳💦 Do I really need to say anything more??

Have you been interested in standing sex positions, but could never try them out because your past partners weren’t strong enough for them? Well, these are Raphy-boys specialty! Holding you up and pumping away in ya is a breeze for him, and good thing too! Because your legs are gonna be wet noodles afterwards~

He is actually okay with you egging him on during sex. As in: Saying things to purposely piss him off to make him fuck you raw. You would need to talk about what’s okay to say beforehand, and make non-verbal cues for safe words; but once that’s said and done, he’s game. It gets him riled up in the best ways possible.

LEONARDO

The good:

Leonardo will just pop in on you randomly during the DAY, just to say hi, and see how you’re doing, maybe even give you a few kisses. He’s so confident in his stealth abilities, and honestly… it’s justified. Still, it nearly gives you a heart attack every time and a playful fight breaks out as you urge him to leave so he won’t be seen by other surface dwellers.

If you need a task done, Leonardo is your #1 motivator. He won't do it for you, pfft! No. But he will absolutely help you stay on track. So, if there’s something you need a push to do, like finish a college essay you’ve been procrastinating on, doing an exercise routine after a long day of work, or making a stress inducing dentist appointment on your own; he’s your guy!

Massages. The guy actually knows what he’s doing and isn’t just pinching and pulling your skin. Knows what muscles to work on to relieve you of that headache, and what pressure points to hit to release the stress and tension you’ve been holding.

It’s a little silly, but he ‘bridal carries’ you a lot. He loves holding you in his arms, so when there’s an opportunity for it, he scoops you right up! It’s definitely unnecessary sometimes; like when he carries you from the living room area to his bedroom, but are you really gonna say no to those biceps, triceps and delts? 😩💦

All the turtles would teach you self-defense and CQC at some point in your relationship with them, but Leonardo would be adamant on it from the beginning. He would want you to be able to protect yourself when he’s not around. If you’re able to successfully to take him down, (which is gonna be hard because…he big 😳) he would instantly pop a hard one.

The bad:

Not so creative with date nights. He just likes spending time with you and figures you feel the same way. You’ll have to be the one to come up with fun ideas to do, or at least drop him hints on how to spice things up.

Needs you to be independent. He’s the leader, he’s got a whole city to defend and four brothers to take care of. So, you aren’t going to have his attention 100% of the time. Not to mention, he’s the kind of guy who likes his space. He’s got his things that he likes to do on his own, so you need some of your own.

Ironically, he also kind of… parents you. Especially when you don’t want it or ask. He thinks he knows best and will try to steer you in a certain direction. “You shouldn’t wear that article of clothing, it’s too revealing.” “If you want a raise, ask for it.” “Don’t stay up all night doing ____, it’s bad for your health.” “ _____ person is right, you were being ____” (Oooh, the last one. You definitely have to teach him the difference between wanting him to just listen and wanting him to respond.)

The ugly:

He doesn’t have the time for your interest. Don’t get it wrong, he likes to hear about them and supports you pursuing them it’s just… if they aren’t his specifically, or they don’t mix in some way, he just can’t be bothered to be involved.

When you get into major disagreements his tongue can be quite sharp. He’s only used to Raphael questioning his authority and opinions, so his temper is surprisingly short and his remarks are critical. If he’s losing the battle, he’ll sometimes resort to just straight up ignoring you by going silent or leaving the room.

Jealous of toys and the idea of you getting off by yourself. While he absolutely has no problem making you cum, he wants to be the only one to make you moan and scream. So, best to leave the solo sessions at home.

The sexy:

(Technically, this could be a ‘bad’ point but…) Don’t wear any clothes you really like when planning on getting down and dirty with Leo because has a bad habit of ripping them off of you.

Leo’s really good with foreplay, and not just with stimulating you. He’s good at setting the mood, and building tension, all while keeping a cool head himself. It’s a bit infuriating how hard it is to rile him up the same way, but at least it makes for a fun game you both enjoy.  

(Being the weeb he is) Leo loves to practice Shibari on you. He loves seeing you restrained and completely submissive to him. He’s even gone out of his way to find/buy decorative rope to tie you up with, it’s gotta accentuate your beauty. If you’re lucky enough, he may let you try it out on him. (Although, you can only do a handful of knots and ties considering his shell gets in the way.)

He marks you with hickeys and bites. Most of the time, he is considerate enough to only leave them in spots where you can hide them, buuut--- Every once in a while he wants to remind his brothers, and surface dwellers that you are his.

Katoptronophilia babyyyy! You already know Leonardo is the type of guy who’d be into watching his performance in the mirror. (Not to mention taking in how good you look in the reflective glass. 😏)

If you liked these, check out my Dating the Rise Boys headcanons!!

#tmnt #tmnt bayverse #tmnt headcanons #tmnt x reader #tmnt imagine #tmnt 2014 #tmnt 2016 #michelangelo #donatello #raphael #leonardo #mermies #tmnt lit #Mermies Lit

[ofmermaidstories]

im a third of the way through lapvona. ottessa…………..

#ottessa 😔 i can’t keep defending u girl #i cannot in good faith recommend this book to anyone lmfao #it’s like the dead dove of lit #u have to look up content warnings and decide of ur own accord if u wanna go in LOL #mermie reads shells in the sand: bookclub 🐚🌊📖✨

[blues-sevenfold]

CBS Metaverse: Lorwyn, Shadowmoor, Celtic

Lorwyn and Shadowmoor are complementary MtG realms - and are connected via a portal bridge, called Dolmen Bridge. Dolmen Bridge is a high rising bridge which is a hundred metres long, which is the width of Dolmen River - concurrent to Lorwyn and Shadowmoor. Above water level, Dolmen Bridge is twelve metres at the highest - and ten meters below, as is the depth of Dolmen River. Dolmen Bridge spans ten metres its width. The river on each side of Dolmen Bridge are referred to as East Dolmen and West Dolmen, which never adjoin each other. A portal gate also exists underwater, which connects Lorwyn to the underwater portion of Luvion.

Lorwyn has 22 hours of daylight, with  two hours of civil twilight. Shadowmoor, by contrast, never sees daylight - with the two hours of civil twilight being the lightest the realm ever gets. Shadowmoor is also a mirror realm to Lorwyn - and, as such, the coordinates of Shadowmoor are reversed.

Plenty of sapient species that are native to both realms. Lilliputians, fairies, and mole-mice are plentiful - as well as nature insects (ladybugs, chrysolinas, scarabs, fireflies, dragonflies, butterflies, locusts, and cicadas), frogs, and, chameleons. Also abundant are sea creatures, which include the following: mermies (mermaids), aquams (fish people), merrows (like mermaids, with seal tails), selkies, seals, otters, dolphins, ducks, fishes, seahorses, squids, octopi, cuttlefishes, quasi-cephalopods (“sea monsters”), and water nymphs. Other sapient species native to both realms include humans, druids, earthies (grassy dirt-based humanoid bodies with bright azure eyes and flowers for hair), parrots, colourful passerines, hummingbirds, avons, and averas.

Sapient species exclusive to Lorwyn include leprechauns (green devils), elves (pastel and devil-like, but without horns or forked tail), cuckoos, pastel doves, pastel cats, pastel rabbits, new-world monkeys, and strawberry gnomes.

All avons and averas native to Shadowmoor are raven-like in nature. Other sapient species exclusive to Shadowmoor include red devils (control fire), blue devils (control ice), goblins (neon and devil-like, but without horns or forked tail), black cats, bats, owls, anti-pastel ravens, lemurs, spiders, scorpions, and pumpkin gnomes.

Due to the nature of Lorwyn and Shadowmoor, roughly 95% of the sapient beings from Lorwyn have a counterpart in Shadowmoor, and vice versa. In addition, these following species are complementary to each other: pastel cats & black cats, doves & ravens, monkeys & lemurs, and strawberry gnomes & pumpkin gnomes. About 99% of these species have a psionic connection with their counterpart.

The architecture of Lorwyn and Shadowmoor are Celtic in design. Shadowmoor also contains gothic architecture. Stained-glass windows dominate both realms, with the ones in Shadowmoor being constantly lit up. Plenty of colourful flowers abound in Lorwyn, while plenty of colourful luminescent mushrooms abound in Shadowmoor.

Lorwyn, quite naturally, never sees a moon. Shadowmoor has two moons, both of them always full and white. Moon A uses the lunar cycle of N 45° Parallel and 0° Meridian - while Moon B uses the solar cycle of N 45° Parallel and 180° Meridian. B-Lunar zenith is opposite that of civil twilight zenith, and the zenith of the “full moon” phase (Both moons are always full!) of Moon A largely matches the zenith of Moon B, whereas the zenith of the “new moon” phase largely matches the zenith of civil twilight.

The two hour civil twilight of Shadowmoor matches that of its companion realm, Lorwyn - the latter of which uses the solar cycle of 180° Meridian and the closest parallel north of the equator to have two hours of civil twilight on the summer solstice, and the former of which uses the solar cycle of 0° Meridian and the closest parallel north of the equator to have two hours of civil twilight on the winter solstice… the solstice cycle of which is then used year round. (Lorwyn: 64 58.8′ N, 180 00.0′ W; June 20-21; year round) (Shadowmoor: 72 00.6′ N, 0 00.0′ W; December 22; year round)

ETA 1/17/20: Added Dolmen Bridge, Dolmen River, and an underwater portal gate to Luvion.

#world building #magic the gathering #cyberspace #biopunk #solarpunk #text post #xg

[mermmarie]

Ya’ll see these new ROTTMNT characters? 😳

Hahaha! Just kidding!... Unless. 👀 Bonnie (on the left) belongs to: Me Aida (on the right) belongs to: @seafoamtaffy !

#rottmnt #rottmnt oc #seafoamtaffy #tmnt #tmnt art #Bonnie Brooks #Mermies Lit #Mermies Art

[mermmarie]

Wash Day

Pair: Donatello x Black Female Reader

Word Count: 4k

Rating: T?? (Characters depicted are adults)

Content/Trigger Warnings: N/A

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

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

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

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

—————————————————–

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

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

So… You invited him over to… watch.

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

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

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

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

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

As if he would go anywhere without his gadgets. 

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

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

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

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

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

Donatello nodded his head in acknowledgement, so you continued. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Could I?...” 

Your dark eyes rounded at the implication. 

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

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

“Uh… Sure, but… you’ll get wet.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Donatello chuckled again at your remark.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“S-Sure.” 

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

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

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

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

“Won’t your glasses fog up?”

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

“I didn’t bring a towel for you!”

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

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

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

“A quarters worth?” He asked.

“Mhmm.” You hummed in response. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reluctantly, you opened your eyes.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Mhmm .”

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

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

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

“It already looks rejuvenated.”

“Just wait and see how it looks tomorrow.” 

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

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

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

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

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

“Or whenever I wake up.” 

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

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

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

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

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

…..Or a third option.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Or cuddle… You thought.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[mermmarie]

The Red String of Fate

Authors Notes: So, I had been thinking about this idea for a while, and admittingly I started this ahead of OC x Canon week, but the idea fits perfectly for the Day 3 prompt: Soulmate. So please enjoy chapter 1 of my Red String of Fate fanfic featuring Donnie!

Pair: Donatello x Reader

Word Count: 2k

Rating: T?? (Although, characters depicted are adults)

Content/Trigger Warnings: Mention of blood.

||Chapter 1|| ||Chapter 2|| ||Chapter 3|| ||Chapter 4||

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Chapter 1: Cosmically Bound

The Red String of Fate was a fairy tale you didn’t believe in anymore. A long time ago, yes, but after so many rejections, heartbreaks and betrayals how could you now? It was silly to even consider it a possibility in the first place. Just the idea that two people could be romantically bound by some magical, crimson colored thread was ridiculous. Especially when there was a zero point zero, zero, zero, zero, zero, zero, zero three percent chance of it happening to anyone, let alone you.

While it was a fantasy you daydreamt about from time to time, you understood that it was just that; A fantasy. So, when you noticed a string of red laced around your ring finger, your first initial thought was that your head was in the clouds once more, dreaming of the impossible. However, the usual trick of closing your eyes and shaking your head of the thoughts only made the fantasies disappear, but the little red string remained. 

You straightened in your recliner, head cocking curiously as you focused your gaze on the thread. You flexed and curled your fingers, thinking that the illusion might disappear if you were to physically affect reality, but just as before, it stayed. A small gasp escaped your mouth when you lifted your hand into the air and the string extended. Following the red thread, your eyes grew wide with disbelief when it pointed out the window that was lined up next to your chair and suddenly all the dull sounds of New York were drowned out by the pounding of your heart in your ears. 

Somewhere out there in the bustling city was your soulmate. 

-----------------------------------------------------

SCANNING.

UNKNOWN PERSON NO.1

SEX: MALE

HEIGHT: 6 FT 0”

WEIGHT: 190 LBS

OBJECTS ON PERSON: SWITCH BLADE 

SCANNING.

UNKNOWN PERSON NO.2

SEX: MALE

HEIGHT: 6 FT 2”

WEIGHT: 211 LBS

OBJECTS ON PERSON: CROWBAR

SCANNING.

UNKNOWN PERSON NO.3

SEX: MALE

HEIGHT: 5 FT 9”

WEIGHT: 173 LBS

OBJECTS ON PERSON: BOX CUTTER 

Fittingly, Unknown Person No.1 had struck first, then Unknown Person No.2, but Unknown Person No.3 had decided to stay behind. Possibly a strategic tactic to fall back and assess the situation first, but it was more likely that he was just a coward. Although, his Sensei had taught him that a wise man was able to recognize when he was beaten. Unfortunately, none of them were wise. Just foolish thugs thinking they had the upper hand in the situation because it was three versus one. 

The realization came quickly to Unknown Person No.3 however when Donatello easily disarmed and knocked out his fellow associates. The whites of his eyes became more evident as the lean turtle approached him. His shoulders inching upwards and nearly touching his ears while he attempted to put on a menacing scowl, but by the way his teeth clattered against each other the front was obvious. Still, like a cornered rat, fear driven adrenaline compelled him to make a move, despite having already witnessed how that turned out for his comrades. 

Donatello effortlessly maneuvered out of the way of his first attack, and prepared himself to counter in the midst of his recuperation but faltered after having noticed something peculiar… 

As his metal staff spun between his large green digits, he saw a contrast of red on the smallest finger of his left hand. For a split second he assumed it was blood, thinking he somehow had been wounded in his scrap with the other two crooks, but there was no open gash or cut present on his hand. His eyes narrowed behind his goggles to focus his vision on the stark color and he brought his appendage closer to his view, nearly forgetting that he was in the middle of a fight until a familiar voice called out to him.

“Donnie!!” They warned and he flinched. Fear striking him when his gaze snapped to the short blade of the box cutter that was being thrust towards his face. Luckily, years of reflex training had him move just in time to avoid a critical injury, but he didn’t go unharmed. Unknown Person No.3 managed to nick him on the top of his cheek just below his left eye. Ignoring the sudden appearance of red momentarily, he turned his attention back to the thug and spun his bo into his diaphragm.

Another one of his Sensei’s lessons about ‘ never underestimating his enemies ’ and ‘ to remain focused during battle ’ echoed in the purple-coded mutants’ head and spite burned between his brows. Just as the man recovered from the air being knocked out of his lungs and he lifted his head, Donatello smacked him across the face with the tip of his staff. The man finally falling to the ground and unconscious. 

Bastard.  

Before he had time to inspect his injury, his cold-colored brother was at his side with his hands on his shoulders.

“Donnie, are you okay?” He asked, but didn’t wait for his answer. Instead, he moved his hands to his face, maneuvering it into a position where he could get a better look on the cut of his cheek. His normally, cool-blue eyes we’re blown up with a look of fear that Donatello didn’t witness often, and it had him reconsidering the severity of the attack. However, the anticipation that built in his chest subsided when Leonardo’s gaze softened. 

“Bad news; it’s gonna scar. Good news; you’ll finally match the rest of us.” He smirked. 

Donatello huffed and pulled his face out of his brothers’ hands. Pushing his goggles to the top of his head and sheathing his bo staff to his shell. 

“What happened back there, Donnie? I kind of expect Mikey to lose his head in the clouds but not you.” He pressed. 

Donatello grumbled and dropped his gaze. He could feel that his eyes wanted to wander back to his left hand, but he was almost too afraid to look. As he swung his final blow on the assailant, he caught the crimson color in his view again and recognized it for what it really was. He had heard of the ‘Red String of Fate’ as a myth. A legend, a rumor, an old wives tale. There had been some speculation of it happening to people throughout history, but no scientific proof. And Donatello wasn’t the kind of guy to believe in something without seeing it first hand for himself. 

So, if he didn’t look at it, that would mean it didn’t actually exist… Right?  

Uncertainty pulled at the corners of his lips as he extended his hand in front of his brother and splayed out his fingers. A bright red string wrapped snuggly around his smallest digit. Leonardo’s eyes widened again as he stared at the thread, but this time he looked with confusion. He brought his gaze back to him expectantly and naturally, he opened his mouth to explain.

“It’s–” He started but paused when he realized how silly it would be to speak of it out loud, let alone embarrassing… “Um–”

“The Red String of Fate.” Leonardo finished for him. 

Donatello’s brows arched with surprise. “Y–You know about the myth?” 

“Well, I wouldn’t necessarily call it a myth now.”

“Oh. Right…” Donatello lowered his hand and his gaze fell with it. His eyes locked on the red string in deep thought. He curled and flexed his fingers, speculating that the construct might simply vanish if he were to tamper with its existence. But as he turned over his hand, the tail end of the string extended and pointed into a specific direction away from the both of them. The two cool-colored mutants straightened in attention, but stayed silent as they looked off in the distance. 

Eventually, Leonardo broke the silence with a question that had Donatello snapping his head back to him in disbelief. 

“So… We gonna go find them?” 

“ W-What?!” The lean mutant exclaimed and cringed at how his voice cracked. His cheeks immediately turning a darker shade of green. 

Leonardo couldn’t help but to smile, albeit a bit sheepishly. “Okay, the way I worded it was a little– weird. ”

“ Ya think? ”

“What I meant was, don’t you wanna– investigate a little? See who your cosmic soulmate is?” The blue clad turtle shrugged. 

“No!” He covered the red string on his hand with his other, as if that would snuff out his brother’s questionable curiosity. 

“What do you mean?--”

Donatello groaned tiredly. “I don’t even know if I believe in this!” 

“How could you not? The proof is right there!” Leonardo pointed at his hand.

Cautiously, Donatello lifted his right hand just enough for him to peak underneath it. Checking to see if the little red thread was still intertwined around his finger. It was of course and he groaned again.

“Okay… I suppose I can’t deny its legitimacy but–” He chewed on the inside of his bottom lip. 

Out of the twenty-million residents who lived in New York, fate had decided that he, a mutant ninja turtle, was to be romantically bound to another. Who they were or what they looked like, he had no clue, but statistically thinking… His ‘other’ was most likely a human being. And from his experience, most human beings didn’t react positively to the fact that he was a nearly seven-foot tall, bioengineered reptile when they first saw him. He doubted that it would be any different in this case.

Even with the literal string attached.

“I’m not ready.” He paused again before adding on quickly, “To see them yet that is.” He shifted his weight from one leg to the other and averted his gaze from his brothers’. 

Leonardo stared at him in silence, and it felt as if he was trying to burn a hole into his head. As if to get inside his mind and find out what he was really thinking. Just as it was beginning to feel like too much, he finally spoke.

“Alright.” His arms flopped against his side and he turned away from him, looking in another direction. “Let’s tie them up and head home then.” He gestured to the thugs with a cock of his head and started to walk off, but Donatello reached out and grabbed his arm, stopping him from going any further. 

“Leo,” he started, but licked his bottom lip in hesitation. “Thanks… And please don’t tell Raph or Mikey. Especially Mikey.” 

An amused puff of air escaped Leonardo’s nostrils. “I won’t say anything to them, but you know Mikey’s gonna be upset when he eventually finds out. Probably cry about how it didn’t happen to him instead.” 

Donatello hummed in agreement and for a split second, he kind of wished it had happened to his orange-clad brother instead. At least then he’d be able to observe the phenomenon from the outside and record his findings on the matter if he were to experience it for himself. Normally, he didn’t mind going into things ‘ blind ’, metaphorically speaking. It was part of being a scientist, figuring things out through trial and error. But with this kind of subject? He’d prefer to have some knowledge on how to go about it. Unfortunately, he was on his own. 

Turning to follow his brother, Donatello took one last look in the direction the red string pointed off to and wondered if you were having the same troubling thoughts? Then, the idea of you looking for him crossed his mind and it pushed his focus back to the round up. The last thing he wanted was for you to find him in the middle of the night, amongst bodies of thugs, and with a bloodied face. 

#OC x Canon Week #OC x Canon Week 2023 #TMNT #TMNT x Reader #TMNT Bayverse #TMNT 2014 #TMNT 2016 #Donatello #Donatello x Reader #TMNT Imagine #TMNT Lit #Mermies Writing

[mermmarie]

The Red String of Fate: Ch. 2

Pair: Donatello x Reader

Word Count: 2k

Rating: T?? (Characters depicted are adults)

Content/Trigger Warnings: N/A

Authors Notes: Chapter 2 of my Red String of Fate fanfic. I'm about 75% through chapter 3 and hopefully I'll be able to finish it within the next couple of days. If you missed chapter 1 you can read it here. Hope you enjoy!

||Chapter 1|| ||Chapter 2|| ||Chapter 3|| ||Chapter 4||

—————————————————–

CHAPTER 2: SEEKING RED

What you thought had only been a couple of minutes of staring at the small red string actually had been thirty minutes, and thirty minutes had quickly turned into an hour. Generally, you chose to spend your hours of the night in a different manner, but this particular ordeal had demanded your attention. Your mind was a hive of thoughts. Unable to be quieted as many questions buzzed inside your head. All questions about your cosmic soulmate. 

What did they do for a living? Did you two share the same interest? Had they always been in New York, or had they moved from somewhere else? Were they handsome or beautiful by conventional standards? Where were they right now?...

You supposed most of the questions didn’t really matter. After all, the universe was telling you that you were destined to be together regardless of your personal preferences and opinions. And, who were you to tell the universe it was wrong? It had blessed you with life. Sure, sometimes it could be a pain, but there were thousands of people born every day, yet it bestowed the gift of true love upon you. You were grateful, no matter who your soulmate ended up being. 

Or so you had planned to be until you noticed the crimson thread laced around your finger had begun to fade and disappear all within seconds. The excited tingle that had been fluttering in your chest since discovering the little red string quickly turned into frantic fear when it vanished from your hand. You shot up from your seated position in your recliner and stuck out your arm in front of you. Hoping that perhaps it was just a trick of lighting that had made it disappear, but when the colored strip did not reappear around your ring finger, despair flooded your heart.

“No… No! No!! ” You shook out your hand, foolishly believing the movement would bring it back. It had just been there a minute ago, why was it gone all the sudden?! What could it possibly mean that it just up and vanished? Was there some kind of time crunch you didn’t know about when it came to the fated string? Had you missed your chance of meeting your soulmate because instead of going out and looking for them, you had chosen to stay inside and ogle at the apparition on your finger like an idiot!

Or…

Your blood ran cold at the dark thought and you had to physically shake it from your mind. You were overreacting… At least you hoped you were– No! You were! Everything was okay!! So what the string had suddenly disappeared? Maybe it had never actually existed in the first place! You had already admitted to yourself that you hadn’t believed in the fairytale anyway!...  But then– why did you imagine it to be real? 

Suddenly, a fierce wave of exhaustion crashed over your mental. Whether the existence of the string was real or not, this was a lot of excitement for one night. You had stayed up later than usual; perhaps your sense of sight was in need of some rest and the magical thread would return in the morning. Although, the theory didn’t stop you from brushing the tip of your fingers over the spot where the red string used to be in one last attempt to make it reappear. 

It didn’t of course…

Defeat pulled your features downwards. A frown etching into your face and your shoulders slumping tiredly as you shuffled to your room. You didn’t care to do any of your nighttime routines before sleep. All you wanted to do at this point was close your eyes and shut off your mind of any more exhausting thoughts. You figured it might be difficult to achieve due to the anxiety inducing factors of tonight, but shortly after laying your head down on your pillow, your conscious began to drift away. 

—————————————————–

During their march back to the lair, Donatello unstrapped the ipad from his left arm, and began pulling up every Wikipedia entry, news article, and blog post he could find on the Red String of Fate. Being the brainiac he was, he wanted to know everything there possibly was to know about the phenomenon, regardless of how credible the sources were. And any bit of information would be helpful when it came to his dilemma with the matter…

As he swiped his left pointer finger up the glass screen his attention was caught by the flicker of red on his smaller finger. Curious, he diverted his gaze to the apparition, his eyes growing larger behind his frames as he watched the crimson string vanish from his digit. His lips parted at the sight, and when it completely disappeared, he stopped in his tracks. Moving the ipad into his right hand, he brought his left closer to his face for inspection. His heart pounded against his plated chest as he twist and turned his palm but was unable to find the red thread. 

Why had it suddenly vanished? 

There had to be a reason for it, even if the whole idea of destiny bound twine had seemed impossible up until earlier on in the night. It wouldn’t just disappear without an explanation… At least, he hoped it wouldn’t.

Before panic could trickle into his mind, he brought his ipad back into view and started a new search on ‘Red String of Fate disappearing.’ To his satisfaction and slight frustration, thousands of results came up, but thankfully, his reading speed was far beyond average. Within a few minutes he would be able to surmise a theory as to why the thread had suddenly ceased to exist. His eyes zipped back and forth across the glass screen all the while he repetitively flicked his right pointer up the device. 

Abruptly, he pressed down on the tablet with the tip of his finger to stop the article he was currently examining from scrolling when he noticed something of interest. His eyes narrowed on the screen and he mouthed the words silently as he read over the text, only to be jolted out of his concentration when his blue-coded brother called out to him once more. 

“Donnie! You all good?” Leonardo questioned from the other end of the sewer tunnel they had been traversing. 

Donatello grumbled quietly before responding. “Ye-Yeah! I just– You go ahead without me, I’ll be with you shortly.” He nodded his head for added reassurance. 

Leonardo stared in response, but eventually shrugged his shoulders and turned away. Donatello released a soft sigh from his nostrils, relieved that his brother didn’t seem to notice the missing apparition from his finger. That or he didn’t care to bring it up, which he was equally grateful for. It was nerve-wrecking enough that it appeared in the first place. He didn’t need another being freaking out as to why it suddenly disappeared. Although, he might’ve just found the answer…

Directing his attention back to his tablet, he continued reading. 

[While the urban legend of the Red String of Fate has been around for centuries it’s a wonder there hasn’t been any hard recordings of the occurrence. There have been many theories as to why that may be, such as; only those afflicted by the magical thread are able to see it–]

Welp, by the way his brother had reacted to the sight of his left finger earlier on in the night, that wasn’t the case. 

[Or, perhaps the phenomenon worked similarly to other mystical happenstances and could not be physically documented--]

Donatello’s eyes rolled up in thought. He supposed that could be true, as he hadn’t tried taking a picture of the string when it was originally on his finger, but that didn’t explain why it suddenly vanished. His eyes dropped back down and he carried on. 

[Or, it could simply boil down to a missed connection--]

The top of his mask rose behind his glasses as his brows arched with interest. 

[Mythology Specialist, Yue Lao, theorizes that the reason why there hasn’t been any present-day findings of the Red String of Fate is because today’s society is always on the move. Whether that be commuting to work, making a trip to the grocery store, traveling to see your family, or taking a vacation away from home, there may be the possibility that you just missed making a connection with your soulmate. Yue Lao suspects that there is a maximum distance between those fated where the string will present itself–]

Slowly, the tablet dropped from out of his view, and down to his waist. He turned slightly, and looked back over his shoulder and down the tunnel where he once was. It couldn’t possibly be that simple, could it?... Only one way to find out.

He turned his body completely to face the opposing end of the tunnel away from his home and cautiously took a step forward. Bringing up his left hand to look at his finger, a brow twitched when the red string did not reappear. A twinge of disappointment struck his heart, but he fought back the urge to frown. After all, he had only taken a single step. As a scientist, he knew all too well that the first experiment never produced the desired results. 

This time, he took two steps, followed by two more when the crimson thread still did not show. A frustrated huff escaping him. Where he was standing now should’ve been the location where the apparition had begun to disappear. If there was any truth to Yue Lao’s theory, then his current position should’ve been within the maximum range of their cosmic bond….. Unless… His soulmates position had moved as well. 

Without wasting another second, he moved. 

The grimy water of the sewers splashed underneath the hurried steps of his boots. Being as tall as he was, he easily traveled a considerable amount of distance in only a few steps but that didn’t convince him to slow his pace. He extended his left arm in front of him as he walked and locked his eyes on his smallest digit. If he had been anywhere else, he might’ve been concerned that he would run into a wall but this was his home. He was so confident in his knowledge of the ins-and-outs of the sewers, that he didn’t even care to slow down when he came to an unilluminated section of the underground tunnels. 

But within seconds of entering the darkened area, the lack of light was illuminated with red. 

Immediately, Donatello came to a stop. Slapping his right hand to his left wrist, as if he needed the support to keep it up and in his view. He drew in a sharp breath, and the sound was amplified in the enclosed space, but he didn’t care. All that had mattered was that the little red string had reappeared on his finger, the tail end of the thread trailing off in the distance just like before. Relief made his chest swell and he could tell he was smiling by the way the bottom of his glasses met his cheeks. 

As much as he wanted to relish the moment, the logical part of his brain urged him to test the magical threads’ validity, and he couldn’t deny the concerning thought. Hesitantly, he took two steps backwards and his eyebrows bent as he watched the crimson color vanish from his finger once more, so he quickly retracted those steps. A soft sigh flittered from his lips when red reemerged through the darkness. If he was being honest, the color used to have a negative connotation for him personally. Red was the color of blood, the color his most temperamental brother dawned, and he feared the idea of losing himself to only be able to see the stark color.  But right now?... It was lovely.

Yue Lao’s theory was right, there was a maximum distance in which the myth would present itself which made sense– especially in his case since he spent most of his time underneath New York City. Knowing this, a strange mixture of peace and determination flooded into his being, washing away the reservations he had earlier on in the night. If the sun wasn’t going to be up in a couple of hours, he’d go back to the surface right now, but that was alright. He understood how this worked now. 

Tomorrow night he was going to find out who his soulmate was. 

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End notes: Tagging @eveandtheturtles because they requested it. (: If anyone else would like to be tagged on upcoming chapters, please let me know! I'm happy to oblige! 💖

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

[mermmarie]

The Red String of Fate: Ch. 4

Pair: Donatello x Reader

Word Count: 4.6k

Rating: T?? (Characters depicted are adults)

Content/Trigger Warnings: None other than minor injury?? (I never know what needs warning or tagged. If there's anything let me know!!)

Authors Notes: aaaaAAAAAHHHH!! It's finally done!! 😭 I apologize again for this taking so long. I got hit with writers' block pretty bad, but it's finally here!! I just hope you all like it. 🥺 This chapter is very dialogue heavy btw, but onto the story!~

||Chapter 1|| ||Chapter 2|| ||Chapter 3|| ||Chapter 4||

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CHAPTER 4: FATE FULFILLED

Pain throbbed from the top of your head and you had a hard time opening your eyes. Your lids feeling heavy as they blinked, your vision blurry and dark. Just as your sight began to clear, you felt something touch your hand. Turning your head to the source, you saw a figure squatting next to you. Picking up your arm from the ground and reaching for the glowing light on your finger, and it was then that you remembered what was going on… 

You had gone out tonight in search of your soulmate all by your lonesome, without any means to protect yourself, and some fool had mistaken your cosmic tether for a real piece of jewelry and attacked you for it. Now you had to hope that your assailant was sane enough, doubtful, to leave you be once they realized that the ring wasn’t actually tangible. But of course, you weren’t that lucky… No, it only made them more curious when they couldn’t pry the light from your finger, and they took a cautious step closer to your body. Surely to inspect your being for any other possible valuables, since their first inquiry was technically a bust. 

Stupidly, you parted your lips to inform them that you had nothing on you. Except for your phone, which would suck if they stole it, but it would be better losing that than your own life. As soon as you took in a breath to speak however, the assailant suddenly levitated from the ground, and you heard them cry out as they were thrown into some nearby clutter. 

Your eyes grew wide, realizing this was your chance to escape. Quickly, you used your hands to push up from the ground and sit up. But just as you got on one knee, a spell of dizziness rushed to your head and your vision began to fade. Feeling that you were going to pass out, you put your hands to the cold hard ground once more and just as you braced yourself everything went black. 

You weren’t sure how long you had been out for, but there had been a strange sound of something solid colliding with, what you could only assume was your assailant by the groans of pain that followed; that brought you back to consciousness. You opened your eyes to find yourself lying on the ground again. Remembering that you had feinted, you opted to pick yourself up slowly this time, despite the concerning circumstance. The last thing you needed was to slip and knock yourself out entirely after being given the opportunity to escape. 

Shuffling onto your knees, you sat up carefully and rubbed the cloudiness from your eyes until you felt something wet on your left hand. Looking at the back of your palm, you squinted to make out the substance, but it became clear when red leaked into your vision. 

That would certainly explain why you were having so much trouble picking yourself up. 

“Please…” Your assailant croaked, but the only response that was given was another smack of that reinforced noise you had heard before. 

While you knew you should just mind your own business and get the hell out of dodge, there was a part of you that wanted to know who had come to your rescue. Quietly, you turned your body to face the scene. With your head still swimming from the blow and the limited light in the alleyway, you weren’t confident you were seeing things clearly. Looming over your assailant was a giant of a figure. You blinked in disbelief, not quite understanding the outline of their body. There appeared to be a large apparatus on their back covered with a variety of vaguely recognizable objects attached to it. 

They wielded a weapon that was foreign to you. There had been rumor of a masked vigilante in New York who would use a hockey stick, or cricket bat to fight off assailants. But this mysterious figure had been using what looked like a long metal rod, just as tall as they were to fend off your aggressor. You were unsure you could trust your eyes with anything you saw in the darkness of that alley, but there was one thing that couldn’t be mistaken. And that was the was your soulmate.

This shadowy savior that was violently beating down the fiend that attacked you, was your soulmate.

Your throat tickled with unease, forcing you to swallow your disbelief. Although, it did make sense. The love-binding string had led you to this area, and as unfortunate as it was to admit, you couldn’t count on the average New Yorker to come to your aid in an attack. A strange sense of pride and appreciation clashed with your concerned nerves, however, at the sight of your soulmate’s brutal retaliation on your behalf. If you didn’t stop them, they were going to kill the stranger who attacked you. And regardless of what their intentions were, you weren’t gonna let your soulmate commit such a tragedy for you. Even if the two of you were cosmically tied. 

“S-Stop…” Your voice came out weak, and it was clear that the command hadn’t reached your soulmates ears as they lifted the long rod over their head again; rearing to bring it down once more over the thief. “Stop! Please!!” You exclaimed with all of your chest and that struck them. 

They immediately froze on the spot. Their weapon halfway through its swing. 

You stared in silence at them, trying to take in their features now that they were standing still. Unfortunately, they had their back turned towards you, and the gold light that shined from their hand was mostly blocked by their massive stature. You extended a hand to inch yourself forward on the ground, and they suddenly moved. Turning their body quickly, and making an attempt to flee. 

“Wait!!” You called out to them and they stopped again, their back still facing you. “Please, don’t go! I–” You fumbled for words as you tried to come up with a reasonable excuse for them to stay. They should want to stay on their own, shouldn’t they? Didn’t they know that you two were soulmates? Fated by the magical string? But as you pondered these thoughts, you remembered your plea before you had been attacked. 

You had been begging for them to show their self. You knew they were in the alleyway with you, but they had chosen to stay hidden. They were… afraid. Which seemed a bit ironic for the fact that they nearly had beat a person to death, but perhaps that added to their fear. 

Blood trembling down your forehead and over your eyelid snapped you out of your thoughts. You rubbed the back of your hand over your eyes and injury. Smearing the red substance across your skin, but you could care less about that at the moment. “L-Look…” You placed your hands back to the ground and began to pick yourself up. “We don’t have to talk about the soulmate thing but could you help me get some medical assistance? I think there’s a gash on my forehead…”

Your soulmates' breath hitched and they covered the gold light on their hand. Submerging their self in the shadows completely, but you could hear them shuffling indecisively in the dark. If it had been anyone else, you would’ve just disregarded them and been on your way. But you came out tonight with the goal of meeting your soulmate… You just hoped they would make their decision before you passed out from blood loss. 

Finally, they spoke and it took you by surprise. Your own breath catching in your throat.  “I… want to help, it’s just–” they paused briefly before continuing their explanation. “I-I’m going to step out of the shadows now. Please, don’t scream.” 

You’d be lying if that didn’t rustle your nerves. Anytime you heard that phrase be used, it unintentionally gave you the heebie-jeebies. However, there was a tenderness to their voice that quelled your unease. You might’ve been more easily swayed since it was your soulmate the horror movie line had come from. Regardless, you could tell by their tone that they were genuinely concerned about coming face-to-face with you, and it tickled your heart.

“Only if you don’t judge me for coming out bare foot and in my pj’s.” You joked, and swallowed nervously when you didn’t receive an amused response from them. 

You strained your ears to listen for their approach, but they caught you off guard when they silently emerged from the shadows and into the minimal light of the alleyway. Your gaze was pulled upwards as you took in their towering height. They had looked massive before, but it simply did not compare to actually standing in front of them. Your eyes met along the way of taking in their stature. Emerald pools circumferenced with bronze halos, glimmered behind glass lens, and just as you noticed the purple material framing their eyes; you were blinded by a gold light that erupted from below. 

You recoiled from the abrupt light, shielding your eyes with an arm.

“Oh! Sorry…” They quickly smothered the light with their other hand once more.

“It’s okay.” You squinted your eyes to help adjust your vision. 

This time, they slowly revealed the golden light, which in turn illuminated the rest of their shadowed features. Your eyes expanded at the sight of them. 

Pebbled olive colored flesh patterned the top of their dome, and covered their cheeks. The texture extending down their neck and exposed skin of their upper body. Toned muscles stiffened behind what looked like pale plates of armor covering their torso. Which explained how they so easily maneuvered the long weapon against your assailant. You noticed that the weapon itself had been sheathed behind their back, on what you thought was a large pack of some sort, but now that you were in close proximity for inspection….. You still weren’t sure what it was.

Besides some knee pads and a few strips of purple colored fabric, the only clothes were modified pants and boots to fit the armored body of your soulmate. They brought up their left hand, giving you a meek wave, the golden light bringing attention to their digits… Or lack thereof. Three fingers, instead of the average five, and in an instant, it became abundantly clear why they were hesitant in revealing their self to you. What you were looking at… wasn’t human.

Your lips parted in awe, and you hadn’t even realized you didn’t return the small gesture until they frowned and dropped their hand. Fidgeting with their other, they turned slightly and averted their gaze from yours. The skittish motion made you frown in response, and you immediately felt compelled to console them. There was a part of you that questioned the sudden need to be so sympathetic to a total stranger but– They weren’t really a stranger… They were your soulmate. 

“I’m sorry, I just–” The two of you spoke at the exact same time and that pulled their attention back to you. Their eyes blinking in disbelief just like yours had at the strange occurrence. 

“You go ahead–” You echoed one another, followed by nervous laughter. 

“Ah–” A frustrated huff expelled from their nostrils after you both parted your lips to speak once more. However, they finally took initiative. Taking a step closer to you, you drew in a silent breath as you braced yourself. Lips pursing into a thin line as you stared up at them with curious eyes. 

You watched as their right hand approached your face. Noticing that the underside of the three-digit palm was lighter in hue than the top. Just before they made contact with your skin, their hand flinched and they pulled it back. Realization flickering in their gaze. They swallowed and you saw the tiniest blip of pink swipe over their bottom lip before it disappeared back inside their mouth. 

“Is it… Okay if I touch you?” They paused waiting for your approval but quickly added on to their statement, “J-Just to take a look at your injury?” 

You felt your cheeks rise as a small smile carved into your face. “What are you, a doctor?” you teased and your heart fluttered seeing their lips curve upwards into a soft smile as well. 

“Well, I don’t have a degree perse…” Their head cocked slightly as they inspected your injury with just their eyes. “But I am quite knowledgeable in the medical field.” 

A soft snort blew out of your nose. “Then sure.” 

They reached out for your forehead again, but stopped just before touching it once more. Their tongue clicked against the roof of their mouth. It opening to speak but nothing came out. Instead, there was a brief moment of silence where you noticed something processing behind their eyes. Their smaller digit curled downwards as the larger pointed up.

“Actually… Would it be okay if I– Took you somewhere else to be checked over? I promise I’m not trying to be weird or anything it’s just that right now I’m–”

“Exposed?” You filled in the blank, and they looked at you with genuine surprise. Although, it wasn’t exactly hard to guess. If they were hiding from you, their soulmate, then it was probably safe to assume that they kept their self hidden from others as well. Not to mention the fact that they were some giant reptilian man thing… 

“...Yes.” They confirmed with a slow nod of their head. 

“Ye–Yeah…” You nodded your head back but internally cringed at how hesitant you sounded. You wanted to trust them; they were your soulmate after all. But it was still a scary scenario to be put in, especially after what had just happened. At the thought, you leaned past your soulmate and back at your assailant who was lying on the ground. You couldn’t make out much through the dim alleyway lighting, but you could hear the sounds of labored breath, wheezing from their lungs. You couldn’t help but wonder what kind of injury they had sustained from your soulmate’s hand and it made you frown again.

“Will they– be okay?” You asked hesitantly.

Your soulmate turned to the source of your inquiry, as if they had completely forgotten about the person they had just beaten down. “...They should be.” They answered solemnly, their tone making your eyebrows arch but before you could ask anything more, you were suddenly lifted off your feet. In one quick motion, they had positioned you in their arms. One hand pressed against your back, and the other in the pit of your knees. The shock and sudden motion sending a rush of dizziness to your head again.

The same heaviness that had hit you just before you passed out the first two times came over you again. Your vision blurred and darkened, but through it all, you heard the voice of your soulmate call out to you. 

“Oh no… H-Hey! Stay with me!” They commanded and you mumbled in compliance. Although it was difficult to keep your head up and eyes open. Feeling the abrupt sensation of ascension, consciousness was futile. Your head rolled onto your shoulders and your eyes fell shut as you drifted away for the third time this night. 

—————————————————–

You regained consciousness feeling your shoulder being gently shaken. “Hey… Hey…” Your soulmate called, and you forced your eyes open. Albeit your vision came back slowly. You blinked the blurriness from your eyes and when everything cleared, you found your soulmate kneeling before you. Even on their knees they still towered in height. 

You couldn’t help but notice the change in lighting. Soft blue rays from the moon cascaded down from above, making more of your soulmates' features evident, than the dim lighting of the alleyway had. Your eyes focused on their shoulders and specifically the way the skin there seemed to be pulled into the textured rim that clung to their back. Just as you drew the observation it finally clicked for you. 

“You’re a… turtle?” You breathed. 

They blinked behind their glasses and their chest deflated with a soft sigh expelling from their nostrils. “Correct....” They answered sounding a little surprised. Without taking their eyes off of you, they reached behind their back and pulled out a small black container. Opening it, you saw a small stash of medical supplies that could be found in the average household. Band-Aids, disinfectant wipes, gauze, Q-tips, a wash cloth, etc… This time they didn’t bother asking your permission before going to work on your head.

You flinched and hissed at the touch of the wet wipe doing its job, sterilizing the cut on your forehead. 

“Sorry…” They cringed in response but you nodded your head for them to carry on.

“Is it bad?” You asked, and there was a click again as they parted their lips to answer but they lingered in thought. Their eyes flickered down to yours just as they noticed your brows bend with worry and they quickly spoke up.

“You won’t need stitches, but I’m worried you might have a concussion.” They finally answered, dropping the disinfectant wipe to then pick up a roll of gauze. They unfurled a section of the medical dressing before wrapping it around your head. Ripping it apart when the area of your injury was covered and securely taping it off to make sure it wouldn’t come undone. “I’m gonna ask you a series of question, answer to the best of your abilities.” They explained and pulled out a small flashlight from one of their pants pockets. 

You had a few questions of your own…

“Well, isn’t that slick?” You huffed and they paused briefly before running the light over your eyes. 

“What do you mean?”

You followed the light back and forth until they were satisfied with… whatever results was needed from this kind of test. You never knew what it was for when you went to the doctor's... “Claiming that I might have a concussion so that you can get information out of me.” Your lips curled upwards just a bit, but they just stared in confusion. You could tell they were processing the insinuation in their head, and when they finally got what you had meant their eyes popped. The prescription of their glasses making the expression look a tad comedic.

…But in a cute way.

“Don’t be–Don’t be silly! I’m genuinely concerned for your well-being! Not trying to inadvertently learn things about you!…” They refuted and dropped their gaze in avoidance. “But… Would that be so wrong if I was curious about you?” They sheepishly glanced back your way and you smirked. 

“Fine. Shoot.” You sighed, leaning back into whatever is what that had you propped up. Although, the soft smile that carved into your soulmates face at your compliance made your brows perk with attention and you felt a flutter in your chest once more.

“What’s your name?” They asked first.

“Y/N…”

“What state do you live in?”

“New York.”

“What were you doing before this?”

“Looking for you.” 

They blinked and shifted back slightly. Their gaze dropping once more but it flickered between you and their hands as they contemplated over something internally. “Right…” They finally spoke. Their voice coming out low and quiet. You were quickly realizing that your soulmate didn’t have much of a poker face as it was evident by their soured expression that something was eating away at them. 

“Are we… on a rooftop?” You tried to distract. 

“Yes,” they answered but their voice was distant. Obviously, still caught up in their thoughts. 

Still, you had to take a moment to let the amazement sink in. Even though it was clear that they had the muscle to support you, you still wondered how they maneuvered to the top of a building with your unconscious body. Regardless, your brows furrowed at the failed attempt to distract them from whatever was on their mind, so you tried a different approach.

“Can I ask some questions about you?” 

Finally, they turned their attention back to you. Success. 

“Ah…” Their body shifted, readjusting their weight that had been put on their one knee. You saw the bulge in their neck bob as they swallowed nervously. “Ah, yeah… Shoot.” They forced a reassuring smile. 

“What’s your name?”

“Donatello. Although, most refer to me by ‘Donnie.’”

Most, huh? So, there were other’s that knew him? Were they like him or was he talking about other humans? You’d be lying if you said the query didn’t prick at you. You were just so curious to know, but you didn’t want to pry. Not right now at least… So, you stuck with the basics. 

“Do you… also live in New York?” Your brows arched with interest.

His chest swelled at the question and he smiled again. Although, this one was genuine. “Born and raised.” 

You couldn’t help but to smile back at that response, but it was short-lived because of your next inquiry. “What’s bothering you?” You asked, or really commanded to know and he gave you that same wide-eyed look of surprise that you had caught him off guard again. 

“Don’t you…” He started but paused on his thought. Hesitant to finish what he was going to say. “...wanna know why I’m a giant turtle man thing?”

“Well, yes, but I figured that’s a subject I can ask about at any time because you’re always gonna be a giant turtle man thing. Unless… You’re a wereturtle by night?” One brow rose over the other and you smirked. 

Air blew from his nostrils in amusement. “Noo…” 

“I didn’t think so.” You smiled softly. “....So what’s the matter?” 

The corner of his mouth twitched and he lowered his gaze once again. He bent his other knee down on the rooftop and sat back on his rear. Hands in his lap. “It’s just…” He started, and you saw the little bit of pink wet his bottom lip again. “If I hadn’t been such a coward, I wouldn’t have to be concerned about you having a concussion right now. And because you were hurt, I lost control of myself… That’s never happened before.” His voice was quiet as he spoke, regret evident in his tone. 

You straightened your back at his admission. Feeling warmth spread throughout your chest, but there was also a sting of sadness in your heart. It was sweet knowing that he cared so much about your wellbeing, but he wouldn’t be so troubled if you hadn’t been foolish in going out tonight like you had. Your gaze dropped to his lap and your eyes were pulled to the golden glowing string attached to the smaller digit on his left hand. Just a few minutes of preparation and you might not have been attacked, but in those few minutes you might’ve missed the opportunity to meet your soulmate.

The situation might not have been ideal, but you didn’t regret it.

You extended your arm, reaching out with your left hand and gently placing it atop his. A small smile pulling at the corners of your lips feeling the texture of his scales against your smooth fingertips. You hadn’t noticed before when he initially picked you up, but they weren’t as rough as you expected them to be. When you looked back up, you found him staring down at your hand as if you were the one to only have three fingers. 

“You’re not a coward. Anyone with some common sense could understand why you would be hesitant on revealing yourself to strangers–” You saw him begin to part his lips to interject, so you hardened your gaze and continued before he could get anything out. “But what ended up happening was not on you, okay?” You spoke firmly and gave them a short nod. “If anything, I should be the one apologizing for putting the both of us in that situation.” 

You watched as he took in a deep breath, holding it for a few seconds in thought before letting out his exhaustion through his nose. “I just can’t accept that.” He shook his head.

Your brows furrowed with frustration, and your lips puckered in a small pout at his defiance. “Why not?”

“Because… I’m–I’m supposed to protect the citizens of New York. It’s… kind of the reason for the way I am.” He explained, averting his gaze again. 

You weren’t sure if it was a nervous gesture of his, or if it was because the whole ‘soulmate’ thing was making him more bashful the normal but it stung every time he looked away from you. You wanted to look into those beautiful hazel-colored eyes that lit up the dark. You needed him to know that he didn’t have to be afraid of you. So… you did something unexpected. 

“But Donatello…” You started, and then slowly wrapped your fingers around the top of his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. 

That did the trick.

Instantly, he turned his attention back to you. His eyes flickering between your gaze and the hand wrapped around his. You couldn’t help but smile at the flustered response, but you continued. “You did protect me. You saved me and now I’m here, with you... The only place I wanted to be tonight.” 

His chest swelled and the pigment of his cheeks turned a shade darker at your words. He parted his lips to speak, but whatever he was thinking about saying got lodged in his throat so you took initiative again. 

Delicately, you moved your fingers between his. Your pinky on the outside of his largest digit and thumb, ring and middle finger in the gap of his hand, and your index and thumb between his smaller digit. It was… different than what you were used to, but it felt right.

This time it was you who dropped your gaze, but only to look at the gold strings attached to both of your hands. The glow of the fabric mellowed into a serene light, but it was still strong. “Is this… Where you wanted to be tonight?“ You asked, looking back up to him with large, hopeful eyes. 

Finally, he held your gaze. The green-bronze color of his eyes almost disappeared to the black of his pupils as he stared longingly into your pools. It sent an unexpected, but pleasant chill down your spine, and you did your best not to shudder. He drew in a silent breath, and relaxed his shoulders but tightened his grip on your hand before speaking. 

“I didn’t believe in this–” he nodded to his string, “before it appeared to me and even when it did, I was skeptical. It didn’t seem probable for the universe to pick someone like me to be fated to someone like you, but regardless… I came out tonight with the intention of finding you. So yes, this is exactly where I wanted to be.” He smiled and gave your hand a soft squeeze. 

Your heart overflowed with bliss and you could feel your throat seize with emotion. Moisture began to collect in your eyes for the third time tonight, but before they could over flow, the gold light coming from your strings of fate erupted into a flash. You clenched your eyes shut until you sensed the light die out. Peering one eye open slowly, you checked to see what had happened to the magical apparition and both of your eyes shimmered with intrigue when you found something new in its place.

Your once red string of fate had now solidified into a golden band of destiny…

—————————————————–

Iiiiiit's donnnneeee!! FINALLY!! I hoped you enjoyed it. This was a challenge for myself to write something on the fluffier side and I think I did alright. ^^; I do apologize for the lack of.... romance? I guess??? KISSING basically, lol. Idk if people will be mad about reader and Donnie not kissing at the end but the way I see it... Even though they are soulmates, they still gotta build up their relationship! I may do another one-shot in the future diving into some romance, but not any time soon. (I also have ideas for doing a RSOF fic for the other brothers but those too will be put on the back burner for now...)

Anywhoo... Hope you liked it!! Thanks to everyone who liked and reblogged the fic! And to those who sent me messages about it! It means so much to me and always brightened my day to see them! Love ya'll! 💖💕💕💖💕💖

Tag: @eveandtheturtles

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

[mermmarie]

The Red String of Fate: Ch. 3

Pair: Donatello x Reader

Word Count: 3.9k

Rating: T?? (Characters depicted are adults)

Content/Trigger Warnings: Uuuh... I wish tumblr had a "mark as spoiler" option like discord, but depiction of physical assault.

Authors Notes: I'm sorry this took me so long to get out, but I hope you like it! ;w; The fourth chapter should be the final one (which I have not started yet, lol).

||Chapter 1|| ||Chapter 2|| ||Chapter 3|| ||Chapter 4||

—————————————————–

CHAPTER 3: GUIDING LIGHT

To say you were disappointed when the magical red string hadn’t reappeared on your ring finger when you awoke in the morning was putting it lightly… 

You had tried to convince yourself the night before that it wouldn’t have been a big deal if it hadn’t returned, but really, you were devastated. You canceled all the plans you had for the day and relinquished your responsibilities for the time being. Feeling numb to your mental and physical needs, it was easy to stay in bed for the majority of the day. You just couldn’t be bothered to do anything after taking such a substantial blow like that. 

Somehow, you had squandered a seemingly foolproof opportunity at finding your one true love. Although the myth did insinuate that you were ‘soulmates’; perhaps it meant you would get another chance in another lifetime but you couldn’t be certain. Even if that was the case, it didn’t make you feel any better about losing your shot in this timeline. 

It just wasn’t fair… There was no guide on how to approach this situation. No fairy godmother had presented herself and instructed you on what to do. You didn’t suddenly receive clairvoyant insight along with the mythical thread. How were you possibly supposed to know how to go about it? Yeah, now that you had time to reflect, the string did give you a small indicator of direction, but it had been the middle of the night and you lived in New York. Any sane person knew better to go out after dark, alone, in the crime ridden state. 

And it wasn’t like the string had GPS. You had no clue how far away your soulmate had been last night. They might’ve been somewhere you physically couldn’t have commuted to, hell, they could’ve been outside of New York for all you knew! It was rational to be cautious about going out and finding them right away… At least, that’s what you were telling yourself just to ease your mind. You did your best to fill your head with reasonable excuses to keep the demeaning thoughts out. 

It was difficult to not be hard on yourself, but there was nothing that could be done about it now… Nothing other than to let your sadness flow, which you had been successful with as your pillow was thoroughly wet with tears. Still, as much as you wanted to let the magical occurrence go, there was still the smallest spark of hope within you that it would show itself once more. If it were to give you one more chance to find your soulmate, you wouldn’t hesitate. It wouldn’t matter how far you’d have to travel or what obstacles you would have to overcome, you’d find them. —————————————————– It was a small relief not having to worry about hiding the red string of fate from his other two brothers when Donatello returned to the lair, but it didn’t outweigh the worry he had for it not reappearing. Normally, he’d run multiple tests when he was trying to validate the credibility of something, but he hadn’t wanted to alarm anyone by returning late to his home. He could trust his cool colored brother to not be overbearing about his predicament, but the other two warm colored brothers?…Raphael probably wouldn’t bother him too much about it, but Mikey would surely be insistent. 

He’d tell them soon enough, but after he had scouted you out on his own. Because even if you were his soulmate, there were many things to take into account, for both your sake and his families. The main factor being that you were more than likely human. It was easy for him to grow and maintain an interest in humans, especially when his father had appointed him and his brothers as protectors of the species. But most humans did not share the same interest for them. Sure, they eventually came across a handful of humans who liked and trusted them, but it was still a very small handful. After all–

They only had six fingers as opposed to the human ten. 

Having been accustomed to life at night, the daylit hours were generally spent sleeping, however Donatello knew the task would be pointless. There was no way he could shut off his mind and fall into the rem cycle of sleep when this kind of phenomenon had happened to him. He couldn’t stop thinking about when the red string had first appeared to him tonight. All the articles he had read about the urban legend. You…

Were you man or woman? Or did you prefer to not identify as such? What was your current occupation? He supposed you shared the same or similar interest considering that you were soulmates. He could also assume that you lived relatively close by the information he had learned and how the string tried to direct him to your location, but he wondered if you had always been a New Yorker? Perhaps you had been born and raised elsewhere and recently moved to the Big Apple. 

Were you thinking about him right now like he was thinking about you?... The idea stirred butterflies in his stomach and he felt silly. But also– happy. There was someone out there in the world for him. A seven-foot tall, genetically mutated box turtle who practiced ninjutsu and loved pizza. Being what he was, he never thought he’d have the chance at a relationship, and when his father had said he was destined, he figured it was only to serve the human race. Not to be loved.  —————————————————– You would think that with all the crying you had done you wouldn’t have any fluids left in your body to have to use the restroom, and yet your bladder had been nagging at you for the past thirty minutes to go. It was easy to ignore your appetite and thirst as you napped the day away, but you weren’t depressed enough to self-inflict a kidney infection. Begrudgingly, you got your ass out of bed and did your business. 

Not-so-surprisingly, getting up had motivated you to tend to other needs. After having stretched your back and limbs, you made way to your kitchen. Downing a full cup of water in a matter of seconds before finding something in your pantry to nibble on for a snack while you placed an order on a delivery app for food. Pizza had always been a great comfort to you every other time your problems came crashing down. Surely it would be able to lift your spirits in this scenario as well, at least a little bit.

You had instructed your delivery driver to leave your order at your front door, but when the application informed you that they were dropping off your food a message followed shortly after. 

[Can’t find your door. Can you meet me outside?] 8:58 PM

A low frustrated sigh hissed out of your nostrils. How hard was it to fucking read? You grumbled internally but walked off to the front of your residence. There you had realized you hadn’t flipped on the switch for the outside light after putting in your order and you winced at your passive-aggressive remark. At least you hadn’t said it out loud, so no real harm done. However, opening your door and finding the delivery driver standing right outside it made the corner of your lip twitch in annoyance. 

Couldn’t find the door, huh?

“Sorry about that.” They held out a pizza box for you to take. 

“No problem,” you lied and took the cardboard container into your hands only to feel a tug of resistance from the other end. Confused, you arched an eyebrow at the delivery driver, but their gaze didn’t meet yours. 

Their attention had been pulled below. “What’s that?” They pointed to your hand with a single digit.

You declined your head, following their direction until you found the source of their curiosity and your heart jumped in your chest. 

Red shimmered brightly in the reflection of your glossy eyes. You lifted your ring finger hand, bringing it closer to your body for inspection. You held your breath as you carefully wiggled the digit, testing the authenticity of the apparition as to not get your hopes up. Your chest seized anxiously when the crimson lace around your finger didn’t waver and seconds later you wheezed out a shaky breath. 

It had returned.

“Are you okay?” The delivery driver leaned into your view, snapping you out of your thoughts. 

Your other hand let go of the pizza box, and it slipped out of their hands, falling to the ground with a loud thud. They flinched in surprise and startled again when you slammed your front door shut behind you.

“Uh–” Was all they were able to get out before you thanked them for their service and pushed past them. 

Within a few steps, your bare feet met the cold hard cement of New York’s’ sidewalks but you barely noticed it. Your pounding heart overpowered all sensations at the moment. There had been a very small voice in your head telling you to turn back. Not to give up, but to be rational about the situation. You were going out into New York, barefooted, in your lounging clothes, you hadn’t locked your door, you didn’t have your phone, and it was nine o’clock at night!! But there was no way you were turning back now. 

It didn’t matter if your feet hurt, if you weren’t properly dressed for the occasion, if someone broke into your home and stole your stuff, or if there was little light to guide you in search. You were not going to miss your chance at meeting your soulmate again.

You felt your heart skip a beat when the tail end of your string changed in directions and your breath caught in your throat. Turning sharply on your feet, you began to pick up pace. The sounds of your steps growing louder and louder as your stride changed from walking briskly to full on running. You weaved between the few bystanders still out at this time at night. Each and every one of them breaking their necks to stare you down as you passed them by. You probably looked like a crazy person, running bare foot through the streets with your arm extended out in front of you, but so what? 

Crazier things had gone on in New York. 

It wasn’t long before your lungs began to burn and exhaustion forcibly slowed your pace, but you kept moving. As long as the crimson string existed and led the way, you had no plans of stopping. However, when the thread began to change in hue your stride slowed naturally due to intrigue. The color faded to an orangish-yellow and eventually shined a bright gold. The spectacle brought you to a full-on stop, to which you realized was very much needed by the hard breaths you were swallowing. 

Suddenly, your red string of fate was now golden. Not only that, but the string itself was shining brighter than it ever had before and the tether of the tail seemed to be getting… thinner. As if you were coming to the end of the stra– Taking a deep breath you lifted your head and looked around you. At some point of your search, you had ended up moving from the public streets of New York to a backstreet alleyway. From what you could see, there was no one around, but your string of fate was still pointing off in the distance. Sucking in another breath through your nose, you continued onward. —————————————————– While he was confined underneath New York during the daylit hours, Donatello spent his time putting a trajectory of possible coordinates of your location using the knowledge he already had. Frankly, it wasn’t much to go off of but with his intellect he was able to narrow down his search to three possible locations you resided at. As long as the string returned to his finger when he resurfaced, he would be able to pinpoint your exact location. 

Fortunately for him, the crimson thread returned before he even breached the ground level of New York. A small smile of content crossed his face seeing its reappearance. You were close, and that filled his chest with tingles of excitement. 

Following the tail end of the lace, he recorded his steps into the multitool on his right arm along the way. In the event that he was unable to meet with you personally; say, you were in the company of others, he wanted to make sure he knew the way back to you for when the time was right. A twinge of concern scratched his mind at the thought of you not being alone. He had risked his chance of not finding you by waiting all day before going out on his search. The possibility of not having a moment to himself with you annoyed him.

However, that worry deepened when he considered the opposing angle. What if you were out at this time by yourself? Even with his prowess and size, he generally did not go out on patrol alone. As much as he loved New York, the city just wasn’t safe after dark. Although, he assumed you had managed to be safe up until this point, that fact didn’t stop him from subconsciously picking up his pace. 

He did as he would any other outing on the surface and traveled by rooftop. It was the safest and stealthiest option for someone like him, even in the later hours of the night. Jumping down from one building to a shorter one, the top of his mask pushed upwards behind his glasses as he noticed a change to the string. The stark red of the magical lace had begun to dull into an orangish-yellow hue. 

Immediately, he stopped in his tracks to record the findings into his multitool and consider what had caused the change. There had been no mention of the string changing colors in all the information he had gathered on the phenomenon, and the two times it had shown itself to him before, it was red. Naturally, he wondered if the shift in color was a good or bad thing. From a scientific standpoint, yellow was often a representation of happiness, hope and spontaneity. Which was certainly the case at this point. 

Having to use the fire escape of the building he was currently on to cross to another, the string flared in vibrance as he descended the stairs. The sudden change in brightness caught him by surprise and he recoiled from the light, shielding his eyes with his other hand. Narrowing his eyes to help them adjust to new source of light, an epiphany came to him. He turned his body to look back at the building he was just on and then to the ground below him in silent thought before moving. 

He traveled downwards until he met the bottom of the stairs and then jumped off of them from there. The bottom of his boots making a loud thud when they planted firmly against the concrete ground of the alleyway. Slowly, he rose to standing straight, and his gaze immediately went to the string on his ring finger. 

Still, yellow. No… Gold actually.

It didn’t make any sense. The night before he had been on the surface it was red, and down in the sewers it was red as well. The sudden change in altitude shouldn’t have had any effect on its hue in theory. 

Turning over his hand for further inspection he noticed the thread seemed to be… thinning? Concern prodded at his mind at the idea of the string vanishing again, but the feeling quickly turned into confused curiosity when he realized only the tail end of the string was slimming out. The band around the base of his finger looked as if it was becoming denser and he swore he could feel a subtle hint of weight where it resided. 

Without thought, he raised his other hand and pinched his thumb and pointer together to touch the apparition, but his test was cut short by the sound of hard breaths and padded footsteps approaching. His eyes grew at the sounds, his glasses amplifying the surprised expression. It was then that he realized that all the current changes in the string wasn’t due to change in elevation. It was because he was getting close… To you. 

How could he be so stupid? Of course, that was it! But by the volume of your approach, there wasn’t time to reprimand himself on his ignorance. You were coming, and fast! 

The excitement he had initially felt going out tonight to find you turned into all out panic realizing that it was actually going to come to fruition within a few seconds. What was going to happen when you came down a dark alleyway and suddenly found a giant mutant beast standing within the middle of it? Surely, the only response you would have would be one of fear. Even if you two were soulmates, it would be a reasonable reaction. Hell, he’d be a little thrown off if you didn’t react that way upon first seeing him, but he didn’t want you to flee entirely. 

Your introduction needed to be taken slow. Carefully and with caution. So, he did what him and his family did best. Hid. 

Not having time to climb back up a building, and not wanting to make any noise with the ascension, he opted for a familiar practice and went underground. Fortunately, a manhole cover was nearby for him to escape into, however in hindsight, he realized it wasn’t the best option. The enclosed space quickly became a beacon of light due to the luminance of the now golden string but luckily, real word physics applied to magical construct and he was able to smother the light with the use of his other hand. 

He silenced his breath but his heart sounded off loudly in his ears as it pounded against his plated chest. The seconds waiting for you to arrive felt like hours, and when he finally heard you come into the alleyway his whole body went rigid. Afraid that the slightest moment would give away his location and you would find him. Which was ironic considering that, that was exactly what he wanted to do tonight except in reverse… This would’ve been much easier to deal with if he had been able to come to you, instead of you to him, but within the flood of panic he felt there was a drop of fondness.

You came out all this way in search of him.

Before he could enjoy the feeling, you were on top of him. Out of instinct, he drew in a silent breath and clamped his lips shut. He didn’t dare to peer through the small holes that had been drilled into the cast-ironed lid, and he desperately hoped you had no inkling to look down either. While it was endearing that you were looking for him, he figured you wouldn’t think it was so cute to find him holed up in a passageway to the city’s sewer systems. 

He tensed hearing your feet shuffle on the covering of the hole and he came to the conclusion that the damn string had led you to his exact location, but you were unable to make sense of it due to his lack of appearance. His suspicions were confirmed when you let out an exhausted huff of air, and he prayed that you would step away from the manhole quickly. He wasn’t religious; his existence kind of went against most laws of religion, but he needed some supernatural force to step in and persuade you to move on. 

Seconds of silence went by as he waited for you to do… anything. But it still caught him off guard when you spoke into the empty alleyway. 

“I’m sorry.” You breathed.

Donatello blinked in confusion not expecting at all to receive an apology. You had done nothing wrong, but as if you were reading his thoughts, you were quick to explain.

“I probably look crazy right now and… you’re probably scared. I get it. I’m kind of scared too, but–” He heard the tone of your voice waver as you spoke. “I’m more afraid of losing the chance to meet you more than anything. So, please. If you could… Just tell me that you’re here?” 

The grip on his ring-finger hand tightened as he considered your plea. You sounded so…lovely, and sweet. 

He hadn’t even seen your face, and yet he was falling head over heels at the sound of your voice. For a second he considered that you might actually be otherworldly the way your words had captivated him. As if you were a siren or something of the sort. Whatever mysticism you possessed nearly compelled him to speak, but his own body prevented him from doing so. A massive lump had formed within his throat, choking back any words from coming out as he parted his lips. 

And then he felt something. Something wet. 

He now realized it was his heart that had inched its way up his throat, because it plummeted into his gut when he heard the soft sound of cries emit from your being. Sniffles and hiccups followed the quiet sobs and his mouth gaped at the realization but he was still unable to speak. He hadn’t even known you for longer than ten minutes and he already made you cry. He was supposed to be your soulmate! Shame weighed on him, pulling his head and features downwards to his feet, but he quickly perked to attention when he heard you move off the iron lid. 

The universe had heard his prayer but now he prayed for you to stay. He had to make up for his cowardice! Just as he opened his mouth once more to try and speak again, a different voice came out. One that wasn’t yours…

“You know it’s dangerous to be out at a time like this?” 

Donatello’s chest tightened at the low spoken words knowing the exact implication this unknown voice was getting at with their tone. By the sound of your own, you were aware of it too.

“Yeah, I was just… Taking out some trash. Gonna be heading back inside now.” You lied, but the stranger didn’t even care to call you out on it.

“That’s a bright little thing on your finger. I’ve never seen gold glisten like that.”

Donatello’s blood ran cold at the observation. His gaze dropped to his hands and he uncovered his ring fingered one to take a peek at the magical apparition, only to instantly regret his hesitancy. 

“Stay back!!” You screamed, and he flinched. 

Throwing all caution to the wind, he grabbed the metal ladder to ascend the unground tunnel but he didn’t move quick enough. Something made of glass shattered and echoed in the alleyway, followed by a loud thud of something– someone– collapsing to the ground. 

Despite the bright gold color that lit the space around him; all he was able to see was red. —————————————————–

Tag: @eveandtheturtles If anyone else would like to be tagged on upcoming chapters, please let me know! I'm happy to oblige! 💖

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

[ofmermaidstories]

Dear sweet mermie…to combat the bad vibes and help us ignore the recent chapter update and the thing we dare not speak of out loud 😌

what are your favorite headcannons you have for our favorite blasty gremlin? 💥 mines is that he isn’t too big into skincare but it never fails that he ends up using and going through all your products and even gets a bit pouty when you do a face mask without him 😭

AND!! Okay okay hear me out… If you could write a self ship with him (if you’re comfortable telling us if not totally understand!!) how would you want y’alls meet cute to go down!??!

I hope you’re doing well and here’s to screaming into the abyss 🤍

I had to think about this, so here’s what I’ve got:

It’s a clear, sunny day. Kinda chilly. I have the day free and none of my friends are available, so I take my time getting ready and dress up and go into the city—just for something to do, for somewhere to be.

Despite the aimlessness I end up picking up a volume I’ve been meaning to buy for ages. There’s an artbook I’ve want, but it’s big and I’m too lazy to carry it around with me for the rest of the day. The bookshop I’m in is lit up like the inside of a jeweller’s case and has a cafe that does collaborations with some high-end fashion brand and as a result, has trendy totebags on display. I buy one because I’m stupid (it costs like, $60). My favourite department store is close by so I spend some time lingering in the beauty section and wiping my grubby little fingers against all the samples and eventually I impulse buy a new perfume. It smells like… I dunno, expensive baby powder and flowers that’ve just been cut. It’s beautiful, and the shop assistant folds the tissue paper she’s wrapping it in so that it doesn’t need to be held with tape. When I’m out of the store I pull it out of all that wrapping and it’s box anyway.

Outside it’s a perfectly normal day. There’s an overpriced coffee chain nearby and I grab a iced latte (on oat milk, vanilla syrup, extra shot). The girls that work here are cheerful but also really young and one of them keeps talking to her friend who’s working with her about their favourite Pro Hero, who comes in often. Something always goes wrong with my order here but whatever, it’s not that big of a deal. It street is busy—the city’s busy, people are going about their lives and I’ve stopped in front of some giant window display for a trendy, fast-fashion kind of store, my drink in hand—there’s another department store up ahead that has an entire floor of stationary supplies and I want some new watercolours, maybe some washi tape, a letter set to send letters with—

And then there’s an explosion.

Do you know what all my favourite x Reader tropes have in common, when it comes to BNHA? The Readers have absolutely nothing to do with the romantic interest until they literally collide somehow. They’re not Pro Heroes themselves, they didn’t go to school with the canon cast, they don’t work with them (unless the story is starting with them starting at the agency). They are their own people with their own lives doing their own thing until, for whatever reason, they’re thrown into this superhero’s path. So that’s what’s happening here—it’s a clear, sunny day, kind of chilly, and I am minding my own goddamn business until that entire street erupts into violence and chaos.

I dunno what the villain is trying to achieve—disruption? Murder? He wants to bring to attention the needless and often fatal destruction these state-sanctioned beat-downs bring? He’s just a fucking asshole? It doesn’t matter; he lets loose, and everyone on that street suffers for it. There’s a car pile up—some tourist on her honeymoon is screaming their head off because their husband just copped a chest full of glass. People have either dropped in instinct or have dropped because they’re hurt and it’s all anyone can do but watch as the firepower comes in. The only hero nearby, who could come swiftly—Great Explosion Murder God: Dynamight.

That’s how we meet—in the middle of a ruined street, smoke and concrete dust triggering my goddamn asthma, my brand new perfume now smashed on the ground, the smell overpowering, mingling with the burn of all that smoke. Maybe he’s nearby, I dunno—when the explosion went off he was right behind it, chasing after our bad guy and in the middle of like, broken glass and my stupid shopping and rubble, we end up just a few feet away from each other, similarly trying to shake off the attack. He’s gotten good, by this stage, at assessing damage—one look at me and nah, she’s fine, maybe just shellshocked—but there’s another explosion just overhead and he’s shouting something—I dunno what, my ears are probably ringing by now—and he’s off, grinding his boots into the glass of what was my stupid perfume and disappearing, his world narrowing down to the need to contain that asshole before he hurts anyone else.

And it’s it, LMFAO, that’d be as close as I’d get to meeting a superhero and honestly probably as close as I’d want to get. 💀 My blood pressure is rising just thinking about it omfg, it would be so fucking stressful being near any of them. 💀💀 Also, I cannot maintain eye contact with men so even if the initial meeting was less violent i would be looking at anything but his face sooo yes, this is it, LOL. 💀

#ofmermaidstories-asks #does this count as a drabble/prompt? LOL #im not really a headcanony person tho because i just tend to write them into whatever im working on 🧐 #oh how she rocks: kedsandtubesocks

[starrywhump]

Here’s a little Caspian story, it’s not super whumpy, it’s more emotional pain than physical.  It’s also developing the characters a little more.  Hope ya’ll like it!

Tag list:  @nerdingz-prompts @whoopsalittlewhumpy @fanmanga1357-blog  @real-gen-z-hitchhiker  @newsies-lesamis-oz-and-me @mermy-blogs @whatwasmyprevioususername

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It had been a week.

A week dealing with broken bones, stab wounds, and bruises with no pain medication other than Advil. It didn’t do much to help.

A week of awkward, infuriating conversations with Cole. Every second with that guy was confusing.

He’s a murderer, he kidnapped you and tied you to a bed, he’s crazy!  

So why don’t I hate him?

Caspian wanted to hate him. He was so angry with everything, so angry that all this happened. But more than that, he was afraid. For a second there back with Damien, Caspian really thought he was going to die. It was scary.

After dealing with that it was kind of nice to be around someone who didn’t treat them horribly. 

Cole really had tried to make Caspian comfortable here. 

But he’s still keeping you captive Caspian. Jesus Christ stop excusing this guy. 

Caspian shook his head. He was tired, he didn’t want to think about this right now. 

A soft knock at his door caught his attention.

“Can I come in?” Cole’s voice came from the other side of the door. 

“Yes,” Caspian sighed, he didn’t want to get in a fight with Cole right now, he just wanted to sleep.

“I uh... brought you this,” Cole placed an orange pill bottle down on the bedside table, the label was scratched off, “Oxycodone, I got it through... uh work.”

“Work? Is that what we’re calling your gang now?”

Cole grimaced nervously, “It’s pain meds, I know you need them. And since we can’t go to the hospital, I just thought... well I don’t know, for uh, your injuries,” Cole scratched the back of his neck, clearly uncomfortable.

Pain meds do sound amazing.

“How many do I take?” Caspian winced as he pulled himself up to a sitting position.

“Just one,” Cole handed Caspian the bottle. 

Caspian held the bottle in his weaker wrist, opting to use his wrist that hadn’t been dislocated to open the bottle.  

“Ah fuck,” Caspian dropped the pill bottle, wincing. As soon as he tried to use the muscle in his sprained wrist it lit up with pain.

“I can do it if you’d like,” Cole muttered. 

Caspian nodded.

Cole easily opened the bottle, he handed Caspian one of the pills, as well as his water glass from the bedside table. 

The weight of the water hurt, but he could manage it.

Caspian looked down at the pill laying in his bandaged hand. There was no real way to tell what it was, he had no idea what oxycodone was supposed to look like. 

“Are you drugging me again?” Caspian spoke in a tired voice.

Cole looked down, he looked guilty, “I’m not, really.”

“Either way,” Caspian placed the pill between his lips, taking a drink and swallowing it. 

Cole took the glass back from Caspian, putting it back on the bedside table.

“So I uh, am going to the store today. For groceries. I was wondering, or uh... wanted to ask you if I can get stuff you like. I mean if you have things you would like. Like meals I can make or uh snacks.”

Snacks?

Caspian wanted to laugh. He couldn’t believe they were talking about snacks. Only a few days ago he was bleeding out in an underground cellar, and now he was being asked if he wanted any snacks. 

He couldn’t even think about it. His mind had been consumed by survival, and his other thoughts hadn’t come back yet.

“I’m sure whatever you get will be fine.”

Cole looked slightly disheartened.

“But uh, thanks.”

Cole’s eyes lit up. He smiled at some of the only kind words Caspian had ever said to him.

What the hell are you doing? Why are you being nice to him?!

Caspian felt crazy, this guy was torturing him less than a week ago and now Caspian was worried about not hurting his feelings.  

No.

He didn’t care about Cole’s feelings. Why would he? It was just because that is what he would say in a normal conversation.

Or because you have Stockholm Syndrome, ever thought of that Caspian?

No.

Oh god, is that what this is? Is that how Stockholm Syndrome works?

Caspian squeezed his eyes shut. He couldn’t think about this. He... he didn’t have Stockholm Syndrome that’s stupid.  

“Can you leave, I want to sleep,” Caspian laid back down on the bed, he spoke with malice in his voice.

“Oh,” Cole was surprised at the sudden change of tone, “ok yeah, um totally. Uh sleep well,” he walked out, closing the door behind him.

You hate him.

Caspian did, he did hate him. Cole hurt him and he hadn’t forgiven him for that. All of this was Cole’s fault.

You hate him.

So why did he need to convince himself so much?

#whump #emotional whump #angst #comfort #kind of? #pain medicine #stockhom syndrome #pain #painful wound healing #past injuries #thoughts #confused