Music is my soul. Don't judge me before you know me. I've had enough judgement to last a lifetime. I live, love, and learn with every breath. Avid and loyal fan of many different fandoms.
When a beautiful and injured engineer named Alida flies from his home planet with a dying Snap Wexley and an important piece of information for the Resistance, Poe Dameron takes her under his wing to train her as a pilot for their cause. The closer they become, the more he begins to realize that perhaps he was the one who needed her, after all.
With all of the pain I’ve been feeling at last Sunday’s horrific tragedy, I need to do some writing to calm myself down. I lost some people I knew, and while they were not my closest friends, watching some dear friends grieving because they were best friends or partners with them is tearing me apart. I’ll be writing and updating some of my stories this weekend. I love all of you. Stay safe. #Orlandostrong
I've been getting a ton of asks regarding my TMNT fanfics and when I will update them. My life has been crazy lately and finding the muse to write even a sentence has been incredibly difficult. Please be patient with me, my darlings. I love my fanfics too, writing them brings me so much happiness and I am so happy y'all are liking them...but real life always has to come first...and I've been stressed about possibly getting an interview for my dream job at Disney World. That is top priority. I promise I haven't abandoned the fics...I just have to be able to write them on my own time or it stops being fun. Thanks and I love and appreciate all of you!
Universe: 2k14 movieverse
Ship: Raphril…all the Raphril!
Words: 2,841
Rating: M (language and some dark violence, just in case).
Summary: Set during and after the events at the end of the movie. After a near death experience, Raphael and April are broken and trying to move forward. Everything is going fine until April vanishes, and Raphael’s life takes a downward spiral. Can his brothers pull him together in time to save April? (I AM SO SORRY!! I have been incredibly busy, and my muse was hit hard when real life slapped me in the face with a ton of work. I really hope y’all like this chapter, as it has some brother bonding and some sweet Raphril! @the-samurai-serval and @turtleintheshire I hope y’all enjoy!!)
           Chapter 8: Every Little Thing is Not All Right
“C'mon, bruh! Not fair!” Mikey's whine punctured through Raphael's thoughts as he wandered through the lair. Three days had passed since he had told his eldest brother his true feelings for the dark-haired hogosha who had climbed up a ladder into their lives only weeks ago. Three days since April and he had crossed a line into a new stage of their relationship...if it could even be called that. The conversation he had with Leo...it was a harsh truth, but in his heart, he felt like he needed to hear it. They were not supposed to have such strong feelings for each other. It was not supposed to be this way, not at all. Raphael was the hulking strength, the muscle of the group who pushed away anyone or anything that could force him to show weakness. Yet, April O'Neil was Raphael's Kryptonite.
“It is fair! How is this not fair?” Donnie fired back in his high pitched hoot of triumph. “You should've been watching where you were going instead of trying to hit on April...again...” Raphael broke from his troubled thoughts to send an irritated scowl in their direction, even though he knew they could not see it. Leo, on the other hand, could see it and had to step in before one of his brothers murdered the other.
“Raph. Training room. Now.” With a grunt and a tightening of his fist, he spun back around and marched into the other room, Leo following close behind with a soft shake of his head. April paused where she was handing Mikey an Orange Crush to watch them leave before releasing the breath she had been holding. It had been three days since their rather intense encounter, and while most people grew closer after such a show of affection, Raphael pushed her away.
He had done a complete 180 from heated kisses and roaming hands to avoiding eye contact and remaining holed up in the other room all day and night. Perhaps it was the fact that he had told Leo that he loved her. And it wasn't like she was helping. She made excuses to not be in the same room as he and made sure to change the subject the moment someone tried to joke about her time with Raphael. He was going to tell Leo that he loved her. And it scared the living hell out of her, mostly due to the fact that her feelings mimicked his to a tee. They were headed into dangerous territory, and April did not know how to handle it. She'd never had to deal with anything like this before. But, then again, she'd never had mutants and murderous villains in her life before, either. It was all new territory for her to explore day by day.
“You okay, Angelcakes?” Mikey looked up at her with a small grin as he took a sip of his soda. Without looking at him, she replied with a silent nod before walking back into the kitchen to cook them all some lunch. His grin faded fast as he glanced at Donnie, who was staring after her thoughtfully. “What's up with her?” he asked his older brother, who pushed his glasses further up on his face and frowned.
“Most likely the same thing that's wrong with Raph,” he muttered before pressing play on their video game and resuming the butt-kicking he was giving Mikey.
“What do you mean?” Mikey stuck out his tongue in concentration as he tried to overpower Donnie's character on the tv.
“Well, the two of them were happy and spent every moment together, and then all of a sudden, it stopped. Now, they avoid each other like the plague. It doesn't take a genius to see that something happened between them. Something that wasn't good.” Mikey glanced over at him and then sank deeper into his chair.
“Well, that sucks, dude. Hey! Does that mean I can go for her now?” Donnie threw the closest thing he could find directly at Mikey's head, though the agile youngster quickly dodged it and began to chuckle. “Just kidding, bruh.” Little did he know, April heard every word they had said from where she was mixing the ingredients together to make a pizza crust. Facing back towards the stove, she set down the mixing bowl and passed a hand over her exhausted features.
“April? Do you need to lie down?” Splinter stood behind her, his hands clasped behind his back as he stared up at her kindly. “You have barely slept in the last few days.”
“I'm fine, Master Splinter. Thank you,” she replied in a low voice as she started to pick up the bowl. However, not a moment later her actions were paused when a paw settled against her mixing arm.
“My dear April...” Splinter stepped closer and turned her until she was looking down at him. “Go. I can finish preparing lunch. You go rest.” Knowing that it was a order and not a request, April nodded once and handed him the bowl before walking out of the kitchen and through the lair until she reached the turtles' bedroom. Leo watched her exit while listening to the furious fists of his brother fly into the punching bag over and over.
“April is going to lay down,” he spoke aloud, noting when Raphael's punches faltered and glancing back at him. For only a second, Raphael looked genuinely worried even though he did not speak a word. “It's all right. She simply looked like she could use some rest.” With a nod and a grunt, Raphael resumed his workout. Leonardo's steps were soft and calm as he thought of how to broach the subject of April. He did not have to ponder long, as Raphael stopped in his tracks and turned to his brother.
“She's been avoiding me, Leo. I don't know why...” he began, his hand scratching against the back of his neck until it hurt. “I know why I can't look her in the eye, but her? She's closed off.”
“It isn't hard to see that you're making it your personal goal to stay away from her. Everyone has noticed, including April. Raph, she's probably avoiding you because you're avoiding her. She knows you. She knows when you don't like to be disturbed.”
“Maybe. There's just...when I look at her face, there's something there. Something different,” Raphael frowned. Leo walked over and clasped him on the shoulder, waiting until his brother was looking right at him before indicating for him to sit down. When Raphael had done so, Leo walked over and closed the door to the training room before he took a spot on the floor in front of him and crossed his legs.
“Raph, it is just you and me sitting here. Time to be honest. I want you to tell me everything that is on your mind now that you've had a few days to think about all of this,” he requested as his fingers rested gently against his crossed legs. To keep himself calm, Raphael also placed his hands on his own legs and released a deep sigh.
“Three days is not long enough to think about all of this, Leo,” Raphael retorted without getting angry. His shoulders sagged as he took another breath. “When I first met that woman, officially met her and not just stared at her at a distance on the docks like some creeper, I was a little frustrated and I did not see how important she would become. Not just to me, but to all of us. I just thought she was some reporter who would get her kicks from revealing us and getting a promotion from landing such a big story. But...well, you know what happened. I don't need to tell you that.” After seeing Leo nod in agreement, he spoke on. “She turned out to be someone completely different. April O'Neil is...she is everything I never knew I wanted in life. Kind, selfless, humble, willing to put her job and life in jeopardy to help four giant turtles who she used to feed pizza to inside a small tank. We were her pets, and  as soon as she knew that we were in trouble, she stepped forward and...”
“Kicked some major Foot Clan ass?” Leo offered with a small, reminiscent smile. With a smirk of his own, Raph nodded.
“Yeah, and then some. She tried to save our father, and she directly put herself in harm's way to make sure we were safe, to make sure that we could save the city. All for a family who she hasn't seen in years.”
“That's just the kind of woman she is.” Leo smiled as he threw his thoughts into the conversation. “April, ever since we first truly began getting to know her, and even before that, has always had a loving and generous soul, according to Master Splinter. He remembers her from when she was just a girl. She almost died trying to save the five of us from a fire, if you recall.”
“That's what scares me.” When the leader stared at him silently, Raphael's fingers dug into his knees. “April is as protective of us as we are of her. She gets to the verge of recklessness when she sees we are in danger. What if something happens and she gets herself kil...” He choked on the word and stared down at the floor with an intense gaze.
“Killed,” Leo finished the word and watched as his brother physically flinched. “Yes. Father and I have discussed the possibility.”
“Why? Why would you even speak about that? I'm not going to let that happen!” Leo could tell that he was growing more upset and restless with their conversation.
“Because it's reality, Raphael. You need to realize that her life will constantly be in danger now that she has chosen to be on our side and chosen to protect us from everyone up on the surface, especially Shredder and his men. There is a chance April can d...”
“Don't you dare even say the next word, Leo, or I swear...”
“What? You'll beat me up for telling you the cold, harsh truth? April can die, Raph.”
“Fuck, Leo. Shut the hell up.” Pushing off the ground, Raphael spun away and slammed his fist into the wall. “I can't deal with that outcome! I won't!”
“Can't and won't are two different things. You need to learn which is which.” Leonardo stood next to his brother, albeit slower, and folded his arms. “The sooner you can come to terms with the risk factor, the sooner you will tell her how you care for her to her face. The sooner you realize you can lose her, the sooner you will realize that you have a chance of being with her.”
“W-what?” That last statement shook Raphael to his core, and he remained rooted to spot, unable to move. Whirling back to glance over at his older brother, his arms dropped to his sides. “I thought you were against...”
“Raphael, my brother.” Leo's hand came up to rest on his brother's shoulder. “I am not against anything that can cause either of you happiness. Neither is our father. We simply want you to be one hundred percent sure you want to take that step. We want to make sure you are willing to take everything that goes along with her, both the good and the bad.”
“You approve, then?” Raphael's lips dared to curve into a grin, and his brother squeezed his shoulder in reply before he left the training room and allowed Raphael a moment to his thoughts. After their argument days before, Raphael believed his brother did not want him to have a relationship with April. However, he had not been saying that at all. He simply wanted the both of them to be cautious and to give it thought before jumping into anything that could further endanger them. With renewed energy and hope filling the bara turtle, he power walked out of the training room and headed for the bedroom, where he knew April was sleeping. Behind him, he heard Donnie complaining about some computer problem while Mikey hovered around him and asked if he could help out. As soon as his eyes fell upon the sleeping woman in the makeshift bed they had made for her, he couldn't stop an adoring smile from lightening his usually harsh features. He knelt by her bedside and raised a hand to tuck a hair behind her ear, and that's when she stirred.
“Back to sleep. It's okay...” he murmured gruffly as he started to stand up.
“Raph,” she sighed softly in response, her eyes sliding open and capturing him inside their groggy gaze. “Is everything okay?”
“It is now,” he told her warmly, sweeping her hair back a few times and noticing how her eyes closed every time his fingers touched her forehead.
“Good.” Stretching her arms above her head, she slowly moved to sit up, waving him away when he tried to tell her once more to return to sleep. “I simply needed a power nap. I'm fine.” Remembering that there was no persuading her otherwise after she's made up her mind, he shook his head and offered her his hand. When she took it, he pulled her up to a standing position and kept his eyes on her as she straightened her untidy hair.
“Are you sure everything's all right with you? You've been weird these past few days, ever since we...I didn't do something wrong, did I?” His gaze widened as his fingers moved to her shoulders and gripped them softly.
“No. No way. April, you are absolutely amazing. I just...I needed to sort some things out. I'm sorry.” Using his strength to move her closer, he wrapped her in a close and yet tender hug, resting his forehead on top of her head and simply breathing in her scent. He could hear her heartbeat increase slightly and smiled to himself. That never got old.
“I hope it's sorted now,” she whispered, her voice half muffled in his plastron. His laugh made his chest move pleasantly, and she curled further into it. He pressed his lips into her hair, loving the soft feeling of it against his skin.
“For the most part,” he answered truthfully. “And how are you?”
“I'm much better...thank you.” Hearing those words, he let out an audible sound of relief and went silent to hold her there against him for a perfect moment. And then, that perfect moment ended quite abruptly at the sound of Donnie's panic from the other room. Something had gone horribly wrong with his security system.
"Miss O'Neil." April froze from her position in the large turtle's embrace, the all too familiar voice of the Shredder echoing throughout the lair. Whipping her head around to stare at Donnie's computer screen, the face of their mortal enemy appeared with a cold glare devoid of any amusement.
"I-It's him...how...how..." April stammered as she broke free of Raphael's suddenly tightening grasp and rushed forward towards where the other three turtle brothers stared down at Donnie's work desk.
"I don't know!" Donnie switched to full genius mode, his fingers furious at the keyboard below him. "He hacked me. I have no clue how he hacked me!"
"I want to see April. Bring her in front of the camera NOW," Shredder ordered, his voice raising momentarily as his eyes remained trained on the camera. Hearing Raphael protesting vehemently behind her, April moved into the line of the camera's view.
"H-here...I'm here," she finally managed in a stammering breath. Shredder stared at her for what seemed like hours until he snapped his fingers. One of his minions dragged a crying woman into view, and April could sense all of the turtles growing uneasier by the second. Shredder circled the woman and placed his hand against her shoulder.
"Miss O'Neil...meet Grace. She just got married last week. She has such a life ahead of her. Say hello, Grace." The woman sobbed out a greeting, and April swallowed past a lump in her throat. In the next heartbeat, Shredder had drawn the weapon at his side.
“Well, had a life ahead of her...” In the next heartbeat, Shredder's sword was a flash of hasty movement, and the lifeless Grace crumpled unceremoniously to the floor. “Shame.” April screamed and reached out a hand towards the screen, but it was too late. Most of the turtles stared in shock at their enemy, but Raphael's stunned gaze stared solely at the look of abject horror on the face of the woman he loved. "Every day you do not show yourself...every day you do not turn yourself in to me...I will murder innocent people. Good day, April. I am sure I will be seeing you soon." The screen went black, and only a dark and dreadful silence surrounded them as they all digested the new and grim development.
Are you going to write more of that karolsen fanfic?
Mmhmm after I post up this Wrapped in Red chapter, I'll get to work on it! The fans of WIR have been waiting for seven months for this update, and I cannot disappoint! <33
Who wouldn’t want to work at Google? The whole HQ looks like an amusement park with FREE food 24/7 & if an employee of Google dies, their spouse will receive half their pay for 10 years as well as stock benefits, and any children will receive $1000 a month till they turn 19. Source
let me tell you a story about the google headquarters
so my uncle works for google and I went down to visit him once and he took my family on a tour of the google headquarters just for fun. there was tons of cool stuff and art and a random jungle themed room and the most crazy ass 360 degree google earth screen thing you ever saw
but you’d kind of expect all that right
but then I started to notice something kind of weird
there was a weird amount of rubber ducks? like. a WEIRD amount of rubber ducks. like typical yellow ones and camo ones and huge pink ones with bows and tiny donalds and pirates of the carribean themed ducks and bejeweled ducks with no explanation on nearly every surface
so i asked my uncle why there were so many ducks and this is what he said:
“google has a suggestion box for employees to use, and one time this guy got hired at google who had previously worked for another company. the other company also had a suggestion box but they never actually listened to any of the suggestions, so the new employee assumed that google would be the same way. so as a joke, he put a suggestion in the box at he google hq that said something along the lines of “great office but needs more rubber ducks.” a week later, 5000 rubber ducks arrived in the mail”
google read this guy’s bullshit suggestion about ducks
“Kara, just get out of there. It’s not safe!” The sound of his voice was soft rain on a rooftop in the late hours of the night. She always loved the sound of it. It kept her hanging on, kept her going.Â
“James. Your mother is here. I need to get her out of here, okay? I’m not leaving here until I get her out.”
“She’s...there? Kara. Is my mother all right?” With a close of her eyes, she took a deep breath and then confirmed the answer to his question. His relief on the other side of the line was unmistakable.
“Did he just...call you Kara? As in, the girl from the coffee shop, Kara?” She turned to the shocked face of the other woman and swallowed hard.Â
“Mrs. Olsen, please. I will explain everything later, but right now, I need to get you out of here. I need to get you to safety. James? Give the phone to my sister. It’ll be okay.” If it had been under any other circumstances, she would been frozen on the spot, terrified that her secret had been blown. But James’s mother was stuck in the middle of a dangerous situation, and Kara had no time to deliberate over the consequences. James may never forgive her if she could not save his mother. Moreover, she would never forgive herself.
“Kara, I have a detailed map of the building. I’ll talk you out of there.” Her sister. Good. She was incredibly clear-headed in these sorts of stressful situations.Â
“Thank you, Alex. I need an escape route fast,” she continued into the earpiece she was wearing. Her focus needed to remain sharp if she was ever going to make it.
“Okay, if you keep going about two more doors, the heat from the fire has not yet reached that area of the building. She’ll be safe.” The voice of her adoptive sister was soothing yet continued to keep her mind in the game. Turning her head back to glance at the mother of her dear friend, she frowned before opening her hand.
“Mrs. Olsen, you have to trust me. I promise, I’ll get you out of here.” After a moment of hesitation, the heroine felt the older woman’s hand slip into hers and grip it tightly. Kara surged forward, placing her hand against the door and using her X-ray vision to take a short glimpse of what was on the other side. However, upon doing so, her determination began to crumble.
“Alex, another way...please tell me there’s another wa...” She never got to finish that plea, as the door was blasted into pieces. Kara could hear Mrs. Olsen screaming as they were both flung backwards, could hear with perfect clarity as her own body made a sickening crunch as it collided with a metal pole behind her. Falling to the ground with a rough grunt, she groaned and rolled over quickly to get a clear view of whatever foe was upon them. She could hear the instant concern of her sister and James from miles away, unable to do anything but helplessly listen to whatever was happening.
“Your aunt sends her hate, as well as a message...” He began, stalking into the room towards her. This man...she knew him. Or thought she had at one time. “It has been many years since I have looked upon your face, Kara Zor-El. It will be a pleasure killing you.” No...she thought he had been locked up, that he was left powerless and sent back to Fort Rozz where scum like him belonged...how could he be here now?
“G-General Zod?” she managed breathlessly. “No...” He grabbed her by the throat, and in her surprise, she could not anticipate when he drove something sharp into her side and left it inside of her. With a scream of pain, she fell face first onto the ground and clutched at her wound, unable to fully process what was happening. Was this Kryptonite?
“I cannot wait to watch you suffer. Starting with this human.” Turning away from her with a sickeningly cruel smirk, he walked calmly towards James’s mother and yanked her up by the hair. Before Kara could get up, she was forced to watch as Zod began strangling the life out of her.Â
“No! No, please! I’m the one you want! Mrs. Olsen!!” Kara crawled towards him, unable to fight back, unable to stand. As much as she could not bear being seen as weak and fragile, tears fell from her blue eyes as she watched the life begin to drain from Mrs. Olsen’s soft and kind features. In just moments, the general flung her unconscious body to the ground and faced his opponent once more.
“Now you will feel pain. And this wound will consume you. It will kill you, slowly, agonizingly so...but I wonder. In the meantime, will you survive the guilt of knowing that had you been stronger, she would still be alive? Will you survive the looks of contempt upon your friends’ faces...especially the man whose mother was murdered? You should have saved her. You will die alone...you will die afraid, distrusted, and unloved. Is there a sweeter torture for me to witness?” Circling her carefully, he finally slid his fingers along her cheek and pulled up her desperate eyes to meet his.
“Goodbye, Supergirl. I will finish what I started.” Releasing her, he spun on his heel and used his heat vision to bust a hole in the roof before soaring upwards to the fresh air outside.Â
“Kara?! Kara, what’s happening?!” Alex’s voice sounded panicked in her ear as she finally managed to drag herself over to Mrs. Olsen’s prone body. “Talk to me, Kara!”
“I’m sorry...I’m so sorry...so sorry...” Kara was sobbing over and over, clutching the woman to her chest. “She’s dead...she’s...she’s dead...” Her mind began to cloud over with pain, and she doubled over with a cry of anguish. “Have t-to...have to tell...J-James...I was...stabbed...his m-mother...James...” James...His name echoed in her mind before she collapsed into darkness, unable to hear her sister’s cries for her to stay awake, unable to hear James crying out in fear for her.
“Kara?! KARA!!”Â
<S><S><S><S><S><S><S><S>
Sooo...should I keep going? That will probably be a chapter or so into the fic, as I’d want to introduce the characters and such! What do y’all think?
when are u going to update purple haze/wrapped in red/out of the blue? theyre awesome to read.
I’m in the middle of writing a chapter for each! Sorry I haven’t posted them lately...RL has been overwhelming...but I promise none of them have been abandoned!! <333 I appreciate the support! Thanks for checking in!
A wonderful cause that deserves everyone's time and attention. These children deserve to have the best and happiest lives possible, and #foundationforangelmansyndrometherapeutics is the organization to help give that to them. I am in full support of them and hope for a cure soon. <33 #cureangelman
2087
germansingergirl
jbbartram-illu
titsay
janainaart
