#and I’m deciding he can’t really handle rodents in his home because rodents mean rot and rot means some very bad ptsd

[teenagemutantninjatrauma]

Shoutout to @/agenticed’s little Stockshop fic called Infestation which is technically about hysterical domestic shenanigans but got me spinning some horrific horrific Stockman headcanons again <3333

⚠️ Full warning, this gets a little fucked up and graphic, Insane In The Membrane style.

Like…… after everything, I think Stockman has some majorrrr trauma about rot (for Insane In The Membrane reasons) and rodents (for Mousers reasons) specifically, but also pests in general.

His lab is always, always pristine. The moment something got used it’s getting rinsed, everything goes back in its place, and partially this is just y’know, general lab safety, it’s good practice. But part of it is, what if something doesn’t get cleaned properly right away, what if you touch something and it will react with your skin, eat at it, melt it, ruin it.

He can’t leave dishes in the sink. The moment the food’s eaten, everything is getting washed, or he’s never gonna bring himself to touch it. What if it rots? What if there’s mold? What if he accidentally breathes it in? What if it catches onto him, roots in his flesh, burrows too deep in him to ever be rid of it?

It’s the worst with dead bodies, honestly. He doesn’t see many of them these days (thank God) but working with the organic Mousers can lead to the occasional corpse, either of a Mouser or something it had caught, and while dissecting his own creations properly in his lab tends to be fine (safe space, familiar process on a familiar project, focus on the science like you always have, you can always rely on science), the Mousers are experimental and sometimes die outside while working and have to be retrieved. Sometimes it takes a while for people to retrieve them.

And those can be terrifying.

When the flesh smells of rot and is being overtaken by scavengers, worms and bugs and all sorts of small living things, when it starts falling apart easier, so much easier than it should, it’s hard not to make it personal. It’s hard not to think about your own lower jaw slowly, gradually, unhinging from where it’s supposed to be, of your eyesight blurring much faster than it’s supposed to, it’s hard not to think of falling apart, witnessing yourself dying long before death takes you.

I think about that a lot.

#chatter #my headcanons #not tagging agenticed cuz you didn’t sign up for getting tagged in a post about rotting corpses but I’m sure this post will find you anyway #<333 #tmnt 2k3 #tmnt 2003 #2k3 stockman #tmnt fast forward #tmnt insane in the membrane #anyways my guy would probably do HORRIBLY in like a zombie apocalypse #and I’m deciding he can’t really handle rodents in his home because rodents mean rot and rot means some very bad ptsd #anyways read agenticed’s Stockshop fics tho they’re good and fun and I love them #(biased)