#emeraldhazeart

[angstsplatter]

Can I ask for "Please tell me I'm wrong"

With Donnie

Of course! From this list :)

~

Donnie had been over the numbers. His models and predictions. And there was only one answer, staring him in the face, no matter how many times he crunched the data. It was bad, bad news. For lack of anything else to do, he ran the numbers again.

And again.

And again.

Finally, he gathered his data up, called out to Leo - only because he was in the dojo in view of the door - that he was going out, and he left. The facts swirled about his brain. Don vaguely recognized that he'd shut down the emotional part of his brain a while ago to distance himself from the situation, but he didn't do anything to change it. He needed to be detached right now.

It didn't take long to arrive at Leatherhead's. He realized with a start that he'd been unceremoniously and continuously banging on the door when the croc answered it in a frenzy, clearly looking him over for injuries. "What is it, my friend?" the gentle soul asked him, full of concern.

"Can I come in?" Don heard himself say. Leatherhead ushered him in, and Don took over one of his workstations without asking, spreading out everything he had. "Please tell me I'm wrong," Don pleaded with his friend, voice cracking as his resolve wavered.

Leatherhead's brows knit together. "About wha-?" he started to ask, trailing off as he leaned over the information Don had brought, sharp mind realizing instantly what it was. "Give me some time to look this over. Make yourself a cup of chamomile," the croc commanded, waving his hand generally in the direction of his kitchen.

Donnie quietly complied, piling honey into the tea he had no real plans of partaking in. He sat at Leatherhead's kitchen table to give the croc some space to look everything over without Don hovering over him, possibly biasing the results. The tea went cold. Leatherhead was still quietly working, processing the same data Don had. The longer the silence stretched, Don knew he was coming to the same conclusion that Don had.

He lost track of time, staring at the pattern's in Leatherhead's precious china - a gift from Splinter a couple of Christmases ago. It was only now-innate ninja senses that kept the croc from startling him when he entered the kitchen. Leatherhead stared at the full cup of tea, gently grabbed it, and swapped it out for a new brew. Don watched the steam rise from the cup. Grabbed it just to feel something. Unable to look his friend in the eye, he asked: "so?"

"We will figure this out, my friend," Leatherhead said.

Don closed his eyes. A physical wall against the tsunami of emotion threatening to overtake him.

"Say it. Please. I need to hear it."

"We understand what is happening this time-"

"No. Please. I need you to confirm it. Tell me that even though it's been years, I'm suddenly devolving into that mindless monster again. Don't let me live with any denial."

Leatherhead took a slow breath in. Don counted while he held it. Fifteen. Leatherhead slowly released the breath. The storm inside Donnie brewed. Grew. Threatened to overwhelm him. Leatherhead's big hands grabbed Don's, removing them from the scorching teacup. "The mutagen in your makeup is destabilizing. It matches the kind of readings we got from when Bishop's mutagen infected you and temporarily mutated you into a more feral creature." Don tensed, clenched his jaw, tried to make fists. Leatherhead gently squeezed his hands, grounding him. "But," he continued firmly, "we understand what is happening this time. It isn't taking us by surprise. We know what is going to happen, and we know the makeup of the previous vaccine. Do not give into despair, my friend. We can handle this," he insisted.

Don opened his eyes, feeling wild. Out of control. Finally met Leatherhead's, strong and steady. "The readings are worse this time. Even if we do manage a working vaccine, it'll likely also be temporary, and the effectivity could continue to decrease over time until there's no point in fighting it." Don knew this. Knew his hunches were as correct as his calculations and predictions had been. He'd been analyzing the data for far longer than Leatherhead had. Despair thundered within him. Time was ticking down. He didn't have enough of it to do the work on a vaccine or cure that he needed to. He would once again be helpless. Leave his family helpless to do anything about it.

"We are not starting from scratch," Leatherhead insisted. "And I will never give up on you, Donatello. Your brothers and father will never give up on you." It was the only thing he could promise.

Donatello couldn't stay detached. The storm reached its peak, and the dam broke.

[side-shuffling-hyperfixations]

Quick question (for no reason at all. Don't, don't worry about it) :

Do you think Graviturtle and Shellectro have pupils beneath their masks, like our favourite Renaissance boys, or do you think they're pupilless, like Griddex and Blobboid?

I think they all have pupils (they're drawn with pupils in a few panels of their comic) but because of their past and their line of work, their neutral state is defensive/protection so they've all typically got that nictitating membrane engaged that shields their eyes and does the whiteout eyes effect more often than not, even when they're out of the field. It's just a safety habit

[mikubobba]

Hello hello :)

I'd love to know:

Question 2: How did you first fall in love with Leonardo?

Question 3: What are some of your headcanons about Leonardo?

YAY thank you so much for asking!! <3 :D

Question 2: How did you first fall in love with Leonardo?

My love for Leo took a loooong time to develop. When I was reintroduced to the franchise in my very late teens, my first love was actually Mikey and he was my favorite for a long time! Then it was Raph. And then it was Donny! And finally... Leo. As I grew older, I began to appreciate Leo's character a lot more. He's humble, selfless, and fiercly devoted to his family. I always admired his skill and dedication, but when I was younger, I think I mistook it for pure Boy Scout goody-two-shoes behavior because he was always trying to keep the others in line. I didn't get a good feel for the depth of his chaaracter, or see his virtuousness and discipline for what it was until later. But boy when it hit me, it hit like a freight train LOL.

I had a rough young adulthood, and I think Leo's calmness, inner peace, his strong sense of purpose, duty, and always looking to make the next right move heals that younger part of me that felt truly unmoored while navigating life as an autistic young adult who didn't know what they were doing at all and didn't have that reliable guiding presence they needed.

I see Leo as a healing soul. Someone who would give the very last part of hope he keeps for himself to others if it felt like the right thing to do. I enjoy watching him grow so much in the 2k3 show and he's one of those characters that you just know is going to age like fine wine. He will get even stronger, more brave, and more wise as he goes on to lead his family. I love that for him. :)

(He may be my favorite character ever............. may be).

Question 3: What are some of your headcanons about Leonardo?

Oh yay!! Let me . list

-- I think he likes his tea more lukewarm. It's a combo-headcanon I have that he shares with Master Splinter. I think Splinter likes his tea straight from the kettle to the cup to his mouth, no matter how hot it is. Leo likes to let his cool for 5-7 minutes before taking his first sip. It still needs to be warm, but he likes to have taste buds. :)

-- He does not like coffee, but sometimes needs to drink it. Raph and Don (resident coffee drinkers) snicker to each other over how much creamer their brave, strong leader has to use for it to be palatable to his ~delicate sensibilities~.

-- I think he is swayed by beautiful language and if he had the time, he would read more books and indulge in long, winding adventure stories that take the characters all over strange new worlds. I think he also likes poetry, the little he's read. He doesn't have a lot of time to read because he doesn't carve out a lot of time for himself, and when he is reading, he's trying to broaden his Bushido knowledge ("studying"), and not for liesure. (Not to say his interest in Bushido and living by the warrior's code is just his familial duty; I think it's also sort of a hobby, but it's not one that is free from the fetters of his leadership duties).

-- I think he's the only early riser out of the four of them, and it's mostly because it's the time of day he gets to spend the most one-on-one time with his sensei.

-- I don't think he's physically attracted to humans, but I think he's capable of falling in love with them. If he ever did, it just would be more of a spiritual and emotional connection rather than a physical one.

-- I think he is touch-starved on the regular. He doesn't want to invade anyone's space, doesn't want to ask for something that may not be his, doesn't want to impose. Asking for physical affection is difficult for him. But, as soon as his brothers and father senses that's what he really needs, they don't hesitate. Mikey is particularly good about giving him small touches where it matters (arm/shoulder squeeze, surprise attack hugs from behind, ruffling his bald head).

-- He never truly gets over his fear of letting others down. He does find ways to power through that fear and use it to fuel him, but he'll always worry in the back of his mind that he's disappointing everyone and failing them.

-- He very much loves sashimi, and when April or Casey surpirse them with a sushi dinner, it's the only thing that will make him stop whatever important thing he's doing to eat it. XD And he will start eating it right out of the package before it's all plated. He's gotta pop a few in his mouth as they unbox everything, like eating fries from the bag in the car ride home. Don't let him wander away with the whole container; he will eat it all but one (1) piece for the rest of them to fight over. No, he doesn't need wasabi.

-- He tried to make Japanese curry once and it turned out to be extremely good, but it was way too complicated and he never wants to make it again.

Thank you again for asking. :') THESE ARE SO FUN.

[whyiswingdingsafont]

If its OK to ask for another one, could I request this one with Bones, please

"I'm going to get you out of here, but you need to hang onto me."

It’s always okay to send in multiple asks for prompts! Because usually I don’t get very many! Lol

This is a long one! Also it gets a little dark so tw! (Nothing bad actual happens tho, just the implication)

————

All you need is a phone. Yours had died on your way home, but this part of the city is new to you. You couldn’t even find a taxi to wave down.

It’s far too late, and you’re tired and less-than-sober, so you step into the only open business you could find. The smell of cigarettes and cheap booze overwhelms you, despite bracing for it.

The inside of the building is dimly lit, but crowded. Every table has at least someone at it. You feel all of them stare as you walk up to the bar. It’s suddenly far more quiet than it had seemed from outside.

“I need to use your phone.”

The bartender looks you up and down with an expression you don’t appreciate.

“What, someone swipe yours?”

That’s… a concerning first thought for him to have.

“No, it’s just dead. I-”

Before you can finish your sentence, the bartender smirks and you feel someone grab your arms from behind.

“Lucky for us!” the bartender laughs.

You struggle against the person holding you back, but can’t escape. Someone at the bar happily starts snagging any valuables they can from you, laying them all on the counter.

“Not a whole lot on ya. Bummer, huh?” The thief smiles at you, but you see something dark in his eyes. “You’re not too bad lookin’ though, maybe we can figure something else out-”

Panic flares up in your chest in an instant. You try even harder to pull away, much to the amusement of the crowd around you.

You freeze completely when you feel a massive hand land solidly on your shoulder. Glancing back, you see a monster nearly twice your height: a skeleton with a half-gold jaw and an obvious crack leading away from it, up the side of his skull. His pupils are a deep, smoldering red.

The burning fear in your chest goes ice cold.

The monster, hand still on your shoulder, smiles. His metal jaw creaks and you swear this is what Death himself must look like.

A second enormous hand pushes away the man holding you back, holding both your arms behind you at once without any effort. Having you firmly contained, the hand on your shoulder reaches to retrieve your belongings from the counter.

“Hey, waddaya think-” the thief stops short, paling as the skeleton’s eyes land on him. He says nothing else.

The beast that has you captive takes all of your things off the counter in one grab and shoves them into his pocket. Then he slowly pulls you away from the counter, pushing you away and through the crowd, toward the back of the bar.

No, no.

You start struggling again, overwhelmed with fear of what this skeleton might do to you. His hand doesn’t budge, but he loosens his grip slightly. You hear a deep, raspy voice, so faint that you never could have heard it in the crowd.

“‘m not-” the creature’s voice catches, like just speaking is difficult, “won’t… hurt ya.”

You… don’t see how you can believe that.

He shoulders his way through a door labelled “BATHROOM”, dragging you along, and locks the door before releasing you.

It smells vile and you immediately search for an exit. In the tiny room, all you can make out is a toilet, a sink, so, so many stains, and the monster in front of you- holding up a phone?

The phone is proportional to him (meaning giant, as far as phones go) and the big chunky letters are easy to read, even in your current state:

im gonna get ya outta here, but you gotta hang onto me.

You take a second to process what you’re reading, before looking up at the beast in front of you. He’s sweating bullets. In fact, he looks about as panicked as you feel.

Whatever he sees on your face, he must not like it, as his brow bones scrunch further and begins typing. His claws tap away delicately at the phone before he turns it around to you.

It’s the exact same message, just pasted into google translate. All you can do is stare at him.

“I… could read it the first time,” you manage to say.

The skeleton looks at you, looks at the phone, then carefully reaches out his hand. It’s pointedly not in your space, face up. “Up to you” is the obvious message.

This is fucking terrifying, but going back out there is so much worse so- you carefully take his hand.

He’s visibly slumps in relief as he pulls you slightly closer and slowly wraps an arm around you. You feel the tell-tale rush of magic in the air as the world around you disappears.

When you open your eyes, you find yourself outside on the other side of town. You’re about halfway between the local park and the police station, which is honestly pretty close to where you live. This guy really did just save you?

He quickly lets go of you and backs away, holding out all your stolen items. You take them.

…

…

“That was the scariest fucking thing that has ever happened to me.”

The monster doesn’t react beyond curling in on himself more than he already was.

“Not-! Well, yeah you made that seem so much worse, but you also saved me so it’s- thanks. Just, thank you. I don’t want to think about what would have happened if you weren’t there.”

The skeleton relaxes, a nervous smile stretched across his face. He nods once at you before vanishing. Must be nice to have a trick like that in a pinch.

Now that you have your bearings, you start making your way home. Part of you hopes you’ll see your hero of the evening again. Thankfully, he’d be pretty hard to miss of you ever bump into each other again.

[aylish91]

Your writing is fantastic! I'm always so excited to read anything you post. Congratulations on all the followers!

Would it be OK to ask for something Dream x Reader? Happy, sad, angsty, fluffy, whatever you feel inspired to write (I'm sorry, I know that's not a very helpful prompt ^^; )

Thank you so much and thank you for giving me the opportunity to write this self-indulgent piece!!! Though it kicked my anus at times, I enjoyed it! It has an alternate ending for a Royal Au that's not quite finished as well. I will reblog it with the addition as soon as it is completed.

For now, have a dream meeting our fair reader in an older Au! I feel as if Dream would like the nostalgia once in a while. 😉

~~~

To Meet Beneath the Old Apple Tree

Nestled into the woods outside of your village stood an old apple tree. It sat far enough from the road that others seldom visited but close enough one could walk without trouble. It had been there since you could remember, and though old, it stood tall, reliably bearing fruit throughout the years. Steadfast and reliable. But most importantly, it was your favorite place to spend your time.

From how the sun shone through the leaves, to the trickling of the nearby creek; It created a sense of calm and safety. It was the only place that brought you a semblance of peace. 

You stared, contemplating the bountiful fruit above you. Birdsong echoed through the canopy but you remained still, thoughtful of your goal of gathering apples. They were ripe and in season, providing the sweetest of fruits for your endeavor.

If you could reach them.

It was a real conundrum. You had gathered as many of the low-hanging fruit as you could, but the rest were seemingly out of reach. Even standing on your toes, your fingers barely touched their bottoms. You couldn’t get enough of a hold to pull them down.

You huffed, wondering whether it was worth trying for more. You had enough to make something small, but the thought of leaving without a full basket gave you pause.

Apples were better before they fell to rot on the ground…

Making a decision, you settled on bringing a large rock over from the creek. It gave you the extra height you needed. Unfortunately, its nature and shape were not suited to the purpose for which it was being used. Though the apples were in reach, the rock wobbled dangerously beneath you. Undeterred, you carried on.

However, you did not anticipate a finely gloved hand brushing passed yours.

“Perhaps I may assist y—"

Your soul lept into your throat. You had not expected anyone to come this far down the path. The jolt it caused had the rock rolling and you tumbling back with a cry. Apples flew from your basket to litter the ground. Had it not been for the strong arms pulling you against a sturdy chest, you had no doubt you would have injured your ankle.

Through your heavy breaths, the concerned voice of your savior pulled at the back of your mind, their words not registering from the panic and apologies hanging on your lips. Scrambling to right yourself and turn, the subtle pressure along your arms escaped you.

“Oh my goodness! Forgive me! I didn’t realize...”

Your mind stalled. Finally looking up, you found yourself in awe. Golden eyelights and fine linen captivated you with their intricate designs. Despite the gentleman being of bone, his expressions were smooth, filled with a worry that radiated warmth you couldn’t comprehend. The soft chuckle as he spoke only served to instill your amazement.

“Please. It’s quite alright. No need for apologies. It is I who should be apologizing. I should have announced myself sooner.” Glancing towards the rock, his smile turned sheepish. “It was not my intention to startle you.”

The motion made your cheeks burn. You had not intended anyone seeing you foolishly teetering for apples, let alone someone of their standing. Adding to your shame, you only now realized he had been bracing your arms when his gloves gently slid over your sleeves. You didn’t know how to hold yourself. Opting for the customary politeness you were accustomed to, you did your best to ignore the lingering touch.

“You are too kind, My Lord. But if it wasn’t for my silliness, there would not have been a need to worry. But I do thank you for preventing my fall.”

His hands slid lower to grasp yours, lightly bringing one to his teeth. It made you painfully aware of his natural heat through the contact.

“My Lady, I would gladly catch you a thousand times if it got you to fall for me but once.”

You swear his eyelights brightened.

“M-my Lord!”

You didn’t think your face could become any hotter. You simply couldn’t find the words. You had known the man less than a few minutes and he was already sweeping you off your feet, physically and metaphorically. It turned you into a stuttering blushing mess as you desperately tried to calm yourself. It came with no surprise when he gave another chuckle, relinquishing his hold to step back and bow at the waist.

“My name is Dream. I do hope you can forgive me. I seem to keep getting ahead of myself. Something about this place…” His gaze wandered through the branches before he shook his head. “But I digress. Allow me to help you. It is the least I can do.”

…

Everything about the man in front of you was different. Strange, but charming and new.

With a great bit of deliberation and halfhearted denials to his pleas, you eventually relented to his help. Its oddity continued to perplex you. No one had ever taken the time before, and surely not as enthusiastically as Dream. His soft smile had remained as he knelt to gather fallen apples, offering small talk as you went. You couldn’t stop the smile his help in reaching more brought you. The longer you spent with him, the more relaxed and at ease you became.

You paid no mind when the basket filled and you both made your way to sit in the soft grass. The conversation was enjoyable, his company desired. You didn’t want it to end. He was as warm as the sun and just as interesting to speak with.

Unfortunately, all things must come to an end. Yours came in the form of a hurried skeleton monster dressed in white and black, hand gripping the hilt of a drawn sword as he called for your companion.

Dream, similarly, was quick to turn in answer.

“Cross! I was not expecting you. What…” For the first time, Dream’s features tightened into a well-hidden cringe. “Give me a moment. I will be with you shortly.”

Branches from the apple tree swayed above you, their fruit glinting in the light. You hated the look of regret Dream gave as he extended a hand to guide you. The way he avoided looking at you directly had your heart sinking.

“…It appears our time has come to an end. Though, I must confess. For what little moment we’ve shared, you have bewitched me body and soul. I have never known another that has captivated me so...” The gold of his eyelights finally met yours, hypnotic in the way their light swirled when your hands clasped one another’s. “It would do me a great honor if I could see you again.”

Something pulsed in your chest.

It felt like you could burst. You must have looked so strange with how wide your smile became. It wrinkled your eyes and made it harder to see.

“Of course! Please, I would like nothing more!” If there was any way you could see him again after this, you wanted to take it.

“Then so we shall. Right here? In a fortnight?”

The sun shone brighter through the trees, bringing with it a hope you thought you had long since forgotten. “I’ll be waiting.”

As quickly as he came, Dream left through the winding path, the strange knight following at his side. You were left dazed, watching long after they had vanished through the trees. Soul thrumming, phantom breath from his parting embrace pulled at the back of your mind.

… You would wait. Willingly and hopeful, you’d wait beneath the boughs of the old apple tree.

Dreamtale Aus GrandMaster

[loupy-mongoose]

Ooh, the latest update is so good!

But I just wanna appreciate Akoya's sleepy just-woken-up cat face for all it's worth

So perfect. So eepy

Bed-head cat~

Lol thank you. I really liked that pic. XD

[septic-dr-schneep]

Drop this sunflower🌻 into the inboxes of the blogs that make you happy! Let's spread a little sunshine ☀️(No pressure to send it on/back 🙂)

Thank you!! :D

[lover-of-skellies]

Really enjoying your ratings and your reasonings behind them. Great work!

Would you be able to rate Geno, please?

I've actually done both Sci and Lust already, and you can click on their names to go to the original posts if you're curious about them ^^ and I’m glad you guys seem to be enjoying these smooch-ability rating things!

Alrighty, after some thought and consideration, I’d say Geno gets a smooch-ability rating of 9. He’s still pretty safe, but if you surprise him, he wouldn’t be too happy about it. Smooches could also get a little gross, with his constant mouth bleeding and all, but if you wanted to overlook that and go in for a smooch anyway, be my guest

1) How dangerous is Geno’s mouth? In and of itself, not very. His teeth are flat, as opposed to being sharp or jagged, meaning there’s less risk of your lips being snagged or cut on them. 2 points for having safe chompers. I’d say the fact that he’s glitched could result in a sting or a zap (like it might with Error) upon smooching him, but he doesn’t seem to be nearly as glitched as Error does. In comparison, he’s still pretty solid

2) Would he bite, and is he aggressive? I’m inclined to believe that Geno may possibly be a biter; the chance of it happening is small, but still a bit more noticeable than it’d be with Sans Classic, for example. As for his aggression, I’d say he’s a little bit more moody and temperamental than his original UT counterpart (likely due to a mix of trauma, possible resentment toward certain individuals, him being from a genocide timeline, and his whole thing with Determination), but not as moody and temperamental as someone like UF Papyrus or Error. He knows how to keep himself in line and relaxed, and the only chance of that self control slipping would probably be if something or someone happened to set him off or trigger him. Since he’s relatively tame but still carries a slight chance of lashing out, I’d say he gets 1 point for this area

3) Are there any health hazards to the smoocher? Quite possibly. While he doesn’t carry around a weapon regularly that could cause accidental injury, he is very adept with magic. We know he has no qualms against using magic when necessary, so if he somehow felt threatened, he could use magic and sort of act on impulse to defend himself. Beyond that, blood constantly drips from his mouth and he has that big gash across his chest area. Blood, no matter what race or species it’s from, could very well be a biohazard. Taking that into consideration and the fact that kissing someone and getting their blood all over you is uh… pretty gross, I’m gonna have to give him 0 points

4) Does he have a sympathetic backstory? He went through all the same stuff as Sans Classic (raising his brother, working multiple odd jobs to financially support both of them, caring for Frisk/the player, being the only one to know about the resets, and being the one to watch judgement hall), which already gets him a small amount of sympathy on its own. That’s not all he ends up having to suffer through, though. In a horrifying turn of events, the player/Frisk decides to go on a murderous rampage and kills every monster they come across, which would’ve been a big betrayal to him. He repeatedly has to experience the death of everyone he’s loved and cared about every time they reset, then out of a desire to stop them for good, he starts experimenting with Determination (from what I remember reading). My memory of the events of Aftertale are a bit fuzzy since it’s been a while since I’ve read the comic, but through a series of events, I know he somehow gets trapped in the save screen and is unable to leave. The game goes on without him, spawning in a new Sans, and he’s just. Doomed to forever be stuck and unable to leave or communicate with anyone. While I believe Aftertale does give him a neutral or happy ending after a while, the fact that he went through so many tragic events back to back and probably has an insane amount of trauma from all of it gains him a full 2 points for sympathy

5) Does Geno deserve a smooch? After everything he’s done and been through, and all horrifying things he’s been forced to endure, yeah, I’d say he’s pretty deserving of a smooch. 2 more points for him

6) Is he cute or cool? I’m not sure if I’d call him cutesy, because when the pixels over his bad eye vanish, we’re left with this disfigured, melted half of his head (some depictions of him have a melted head, others just have the melted socket) and a socket that’s beyond repair. Which, if you were another skeleton seeing that, that on its own would probably be nightmare inducing. In terms of coolness though, I’d say he could be passing; he’s got this very laidback and chill personality, he doesn’t take shit from anyone, he’s incredibly strong and skilled with magic despite the condition that his body and soul are in, and he’s a fighter. He’s got a lot of trauma and obvious issues that need to be worked out, sure, but overall, I’d say it’s pretty cool that he’s willing to keep fighting, again, despite the shape his body are soul themselves are in because of the things he’s gone through. His design is simple, but it’s effective at conveying what he went through, from the blood on his slippers, the gash on his chest, him having pixels over one eye, and him wearing the scarf of his deceased brother, he’s unique, and pretty easily identifiable. 2 points for coolness

In total, Geno gets a rating of 9. If you absolutely needed to kiss him, you could, but you might end up covered in his blood, which isn’t exactly ideal. Since he’s a bit standoffish, he might not be too thrilled about a surprise smooch, but I can’t see him being the type to cause serious injury over it. At worst, he’d probably get super intimidating and tell you never to do that ever again