#future raph au

[blue-star-doodles]

So suddenly my brain had thoughts of a Peepaw Raph, and I blacked out until these were made.

This is basically his final design, though I'm still messing around with the plastron nicks. I'm pretty happy with how he looks!

He made the scarf himself

[bambiraptorx]

He stared down at the businesswoman smirking in front of him, even she could even be called that. It was too nice a word for Big Mama, too legitimate. It would imply that she was capable of honest exchange or straightforward deals, when the only thing she could actually ever be relied upon for was to work in her own interest.

And that was exactly was he needed her for. If there was anyone qualified to safeguard the Key with their life, it would, rather ironically, be the woman who always looked out for herself. If he could convince her that keeping the Key was in her best interests, she would defend it, simple as that.

Sure, it's risky as hell to give her the opportunity set the terms of a deal, but she was more predictable than he'd ever let on to her. He could feel her eyes on his scars, from the multitudes of tiny, nearly invisible lines crisscrossing his arms from decades of training to the large discolored patch of scales spreading up his neck. They'd probably make him pretty intimidating even if he weren't absolutely massive. He was built like a fighter, had been one for well over a decade, and Big Mama would have to be losing her mind to not want him as a gladiator. It's what this whole gamble was based on, after all.

"Obviously I'd put you in my Battle Nexus, should I accept your offer," she said, steepling her fingers in front of her. If he didn't know all of her tricks by now, it might look almost intimidating.

He snorted. "We both know that the Nexus has been declining since Lou Jitsu's fights stopped. The way I see it, I need this--" he gestured at the Key--"to be impossible to find, and you need someone to draw people back to the fights. We could solve each other's problems," he rumbled out, far more confidence in his words than he felt. He'd been a leader since he was a kid, faking assurance was like wearing a second skin by now.

She stood, pushing her chair backward and walking around her desk. She picked up the Key, casually running her manicured nails along the crude carvings. "A dimensional gateway opener? What sort of skantonious irritankle could be awful enough to require locking it away with a relic of this mystic caliber?"

Memories of zombies and food shortages, guard rosters and mercy killings, hopeless battles and sleepless weeks, of the portal opening and hell itself raining out, sprung to mind. "Let's just say you'd be lucky to die a quick death after finding out."

She huffed in amusement and set the Key down. "I'll draw up the contract."

---

I've been rotating a "Future Raph goes back in time but he goes a decade or so too far" story in my head for a while. I don't know if I'll do more, but I wanted to post this much.

(I'm gonna be so mad if tumblr nerfs the quality of this I spent so much time drawing the comic.)

Sequel of sorts

[bambiraptorx]

I'm trying to figure out what their relationship would be like for the whole "Future Raph goes back in time" thing and. I have this so far

[bambiraptorx]

Raph watched as his dad smiled, turning his face into the rain even as the downpour grew heavier. Well, Draxum's not exactly his dad, not here in the past. It's getting trickier to remember that the longer he's been stuck here.

"Enjoying the rain, huh?" Raph rumbled.

Draxum's face shifted, his previous joy replaced with a subtly pained expression. "I don't get to see it much. We live in a cave, after all." There was a forlornness to his voice, and Raph had to wonder if rain was yet another item on the list of everything that humans had taken away from yokai. He'd never truly thought about how long that list might be until coming to the past.

Raph closed his eyes, letting the sound and smell of the warm shower wash over him. It's peaceful like this, more so than he's felt in years. Even so, there was a tension in his shoulders that wouldn't quite fade, and he rolled them uneasily. Who would have thought that roughly a decade spent fighting off alien invaders would make it so hard to relax? ...Probably Mikey, actually.

He opened his eyes and blinked, his third eyelid automatically sliding down so he could see through the pouring rain. The temperature had shifted slightly, the once warm droplets now cool on his scales. The future had been cold too, grey and empty and alone.

"Hey, Draxum?" Raph asked, suddenly desperate for some sort of conversation to remind him that he wasn't alone, that he wasn't the only mind in a washed-out world filled with the static-y sound of falling rain.

"Hm?"

"Is my eyeliner running?"

Draxum glanced at him appraisingly. "Yes, quite a bit, actually. Will that irritate your eye?"

Shit, Raph didn't think about that at all when he put it on. The skin under his left eye tingled, as if it had been waiting for the suggestion before becoming annoying. Oh well, he'd had worse. Much worse.

The wind picked up, the heavy rainfall flicking harshly against the deadened patch on his face strong enough he could feel the pressure of it. The storm was gathering strength, and the goat yokai next to him shivered slightly.

"I believe it's time for us to head home, Ragnarok," Draxum said.

Raph nodded. "I've had enough rain for today."

--

Another snippet for my "Raph goes back in time too far AU", continued from this post.

A few things for context:

Raph did not tell Draxum his actual name. He goes by 'Ragnarok' around him (and in the Hidden City in general).

He wears red eyeliner like Casey Sr. did. Also because she did. What can he say, she has great taste.

This particular scene happens after Raph drags Draxum away from his work (creating the oozesquitos, specifically) long enough for them to go to the surface. Raph isn't actively trying to stop Draxum from making the oozesquitos, largely because he doesn't know how that would mess up the timeline.

Yes, Raph is taller than Draxum. Given that snapping turtles never stop growing, the height difference will probably increase.

Feel free to ask questions if you want more info! Just bear in mind that this AU is heavily under construction and I'm still ironing everything out, so details may be a little sparse for now.

[blue-star-doodles]

Some Aggie doodles from a little bit ago!

[bambiraptorx]

At least he used to be. (I like to think I'm funny)

Also, fun fact! I finally decided to give this AU a name so I don't have to keep calling it some variation of "the Raph goes too far back in time" AU. Its name is I'm Not Dead Yet.

[nani-nonny]

This is me currently vvv

—as I talk to the mirror and write on it with whiteboard marker plotting this “lost ronin” story idea that was supposed to stay a story idea while I write two other stories

I’m not even sure I want the name to stay lost ronin, someone help me pick a name /hj

I’d like to apologize to future me because I don’t think I’m going to be able to climb out of this spiraling abyss

The synopsis I have for this is over 500 words long and still going :)

Oh geez, imagine plotting out the chapter timeline I’m not getting any sleep tonight /pos

Ignore the tags… or don’t hahah

[bambiraptorx]

Some more concept art for my "Future Raph goes decades back in time" AU. (man I need a name for this thing.) Future outfit is on the left and past is on the right.

Lore (still largely in the planning stage, so subject to change) under the cut:

Future Raph has a lot of scars from over the years. Some of the important ones:

Acid/burn scar on the left side of his face, extending down his neck and shoulder: came from a Kraang-related incident. Somewhat limits the motion of that side of his face because of the scar tissue, so his larger expressions tend to look a bit lopsided. The scarring also extends partially over his shell as pockmarking.

Right hand: lost in a Kraang-related incident. Possibly the same one as his facial scar, I haven't quite decided yet. It was a very hasty amputation, so it took quite a while to heal, and he still has a good deal of phantom pain from it.

Cross-shaped crack on right side of plastron: this one actually happened in his childhood, and was usually covered by a bandage. At some point after the invasion he stopped covering it.

Cut over left side of mouth: came from trying to bite open a can of green beans. Was not worth it.

He also has a lot of tattoos, (subject to change because I'm still figuring out what I want to put there and because I'm not very good at designing tattoos) mainly in a sleeve on his right arm. This includes:

A hissing snake winding its way around his arm, roughly from shoulder to wrist

Ghostbear's luchador mask

A spiderweb

A stylized marigold-like flower with a few loose petals around it

A butterfly with a skull for a head

The constellation Ursa Major

A simplified version of the flame spirit that was part of Mikey's kusari-fundo

A portrait/bust of Jupiter Jim wearing his helmet

And the date of the invasion.

There are a few others, but I might change or get rid of those.

After going back in time and becoming a fighter at the Battle Nexus, he starts getting a small triangle tattooed on his right arm for every fight he wins. He's only got a few of them in the picture, but he ends up with more. A lot more.

Also, he starts to wear skirts and eyeliner when he goes back in time.(If I'm going to tear this man away from everyone he's ever known, he gets to wear skirts as compensation. It's not fair compensation, but its compensation lol.)