"quick! sacrifice yourself to buy us some time!"

he/they | rise turtles brainrot | i am physically incapable of drawing so i write instead

[tyo-mimt]

36/36. @tmnt-event-blog

A Splinter Special for Turtle Tot Donnie.

(a/n: this was both painful and so much fun to write; all thirty-six prompts were difficult but i love the challenge. after this though, i shall return to the land of shadows, where all is not right (thank you for reading!))

It was going to be okay... It fell on the way out, but it was still salvageable... It was something he could fix... He just couldn't remember... how...

"I knew I'd find you here," Splinter sighed, taking a seat on one of the many mountable surfaces in the makeshift lab. Heh, Donnie didn't even hear dad come in, "Yet again, you've always liked this room."

Donnie turned to face him for a moment, before turning back to focus on the device he was fiddling with. It wasn't anything special, or maybe it was supposed to be... After all...

"Oooh, our self-solving Rubix cube?"

Donnie handed the toy to Splinter, watching him analyse the device before giving it back.

"Is it working?"

Donnie shook his head.

"Did it break?"

Redundant question. He nodded anyway.

"How?"

A moment of hesitation before the turtle could give his answer. "It fell."

A pause of deliberation, before dad sighed.

"If something's broken then, there's only one thing to do."

Donnie paused for a moment before the realisation set in. He nodded, watching dad acquire some tools from underneath a table before placing it on the workbench. To keep himself busy, Donnie cracked the toy open. It shattered into a number of uniform coloured pieces. They'll reassemble them later, but they just had to make sure they didn't lose the pieces.

Organising them by colour, he handed the main core of the toy to dad.

"I see the problem here. The motor's damaged." He pointed to the damaged component, tapping and spinning it to emphasise his point, "Hehe, luckily nothing too important got damaged."

"There's a spare motor in the bottom-left cabinet."

Splinter pulled it open, acquiring the spare part and watching Donnie quickly unhook the motor from where it was previously attached. Placing the motor inside, the two worked on reassembling the toy. It took a little less than five minutes, what with Donnie having memorised the exact layout of each piece. To test it out, Splinter shuffled the cube before placing it down. It took a second for the motor to run, turning autonomously to complete the puzzle and restore the right pattern.

"Good work!" Dad affirmed, giving his son a pat on the shoulder before sighing.

"I... I don't suppose you want to talk about what happened, do you?"

"I did tell you."

"Yes, but... I meant, about how you feel."

Donnie visibly froze up at that, before shaking his head.

"You know, there are ways of telling me if you're scared or upset." Donnie turned to face Splinter properly. He probably looked dead-eyed and unfocused there. He merely chuckled, "I won't force you, or instill the feeling on you, but you get what I mean, right?"

He nodded. "Mhmm..."

"And you will tell me, and continue to tell me, if or when something goes wrong, right?"

Another nod, not accompanied by his voice. But it was enough.

Splinter smiled, gesturing to ask for a hug. The smile widened when Donnie was the one to lean in, embracing his dad for much longer than Splinter thought he could tolerate. A hand to his shell, he gave Donnie a few gentle pats.

Perhaps it was a last ditch effort for affirmation, but it was worth saying. And maybe then, it would be worth hearing.

"My son... Don't forget, I'll always be here."

[tyo-mimt]

35/36. @tmnt-event-blog

The guys "decorate" Donnie's lab.

For some reason, Donnie was barred from his lab. It was fair enough, the brain fog keeping him from doing any more work than staring at the circuit for hours on end trying to remember which wire went where and why the opposite of what he was trying to achieve was happening. But it never got to a point where he was kicked out of his own lab by his brothers, even weirder how April and Raph were sent to watch over him.

Well, to that, Donnie could've easily waltzed back inside...

"Say, Donnie, if we were to use one of the empty rooms here as a greenhouse, which one would you pick?"

Oh.

"Ah, under these conditions, putting together a greenhouse underground would be very difficult..."

They didn't tell him to stop, nor did they walk away. They just let him keep talking. Heh, it felt strange to be listened to.

"Natural sunlight and storage problems aside, proper wind circulation and humidity to simulate natural environments are just as difficult to achieve..."

And he was listened to when it mattered, but it felt weird to have all the focus put on him. Huh, there was only one other instance where they gave him so much room to talk.

"Not to mention the larger plants that may need more room to cultivate and grow... Wait a minute! You guys are trying to distract me!"

"Ah, the jig is up..."

Raph laughed lightly. "But we really are thinking of giving you a plant room."

"Dearest Raphael, I appreciate the gesture, but one: it is a greenhouse, two: no room, both in the old and this lair, is suitable enough to house a plantation, and three: what are you fools doing to my lab!?"

Mikey stuck his head out of the room, "Keep him out there! We're not done yet!"

His head dipped back in. There was a brief moment of eye contact where Donnie prepared to rush back inside, only for the top of his battle shell to be yoinked and lifted off the ground.

"Donnie, it's for your own good!"

"The last time you distracted me for this reason, you blew a prototype up!"

April shot a look directly at Raph, who cleared his throat and laughed nervously, "It fell...?"

"Explains the Great Lab Ban of O'Twelve..."

"We don't talk about the Lab Ban of O'Twelve..."

"That's besides the point! What do you all think you're doing to my lab!?"

"Sit down; I wasn't lying when I said it's for your own good!" Donnie was placed back on his seat, huffing.

"Fine, fine, okay. Whatever you all did to it, I'll just fix it when you're done."

"You won't need to!" Leo walked out of the lab, the same cocky grin on his face, "Trust us, Dee. You'll like this."

The softshell raised an eyebrow, but relented and walked in. "I remain doubtful, but amuse me."

He looked around... And it was just hitting him how unorganised the lab was. Huh, was it really that long since he cleaned up in there?

He turned to the right side, seeing all of his tools and instruments lined up in alphabetical order. To the left, the many prototypes and blueprints organised in neat rolls or placed in order of priority. In the centre of his work desk was the very thing circuit he was working on; untouched.

"Wait, what, why?"

"Your room was a mess, Dee. Someone had to do something about it."

"Those someones were us~"

A pause.

"No need to thank us. We only did it because we wanted to." Mikey mumbled the next part, "Even if our wanting to was out of frustration."

"Yeah, dude, it was impossible to find anything in there."

Donnie blinked, unable to stifle a chuckle before pulling them all into an embrace.

"This is new..."

"I love you guys, thank you..."

[tyo-mimt]

34/36. @tmnt-event-blog

Many bad things have also resulted in a lot of good.

If someone had told Splinter he'd be getting groceries with the guy who turned him into a rat mutant, he would've called them an idiot and slapped them with his tail. Unless that someone was Orange.

Yet again, the unexpected would always happen, and truth was often stranger than fiction. And that truth happened to be trudging through knee-deep snow across the pavement alongside a disguised goat yokai, the two of them carrying several handfuls of groceries in each arm.

"Are you sure nothing fell on the way out?"

"Doubting me now? If you had so little confidence in me, you shouldn't have asked me to come."

"Don't start that with me now. Orange was the one who suggested we bond."

"Suggested implies you could've refused."

"And let that paint me as the bad guy? You didn't refuse either!"

"Hm." Draxum rolled his eyes at that, hoisting the groceries in his hands as if to adjust them in his hands, "You aren't struggling to carry all of that, right?"

"Worrying about me now? How sweet of you."

There was that look of indignance on his face, as well as the smug grin plastered over Splinter's. "You are insufferable. I should've had Cassandra fill in for me."

"I feel like she'd be more suspicious in public than you would..."

"She may be a little extreme, but it also means she has just as much spirit," Draxum defended, turning pointedly to the rat mutant, "Don't fault her for that."

"I never was. But it does attract a lot of attention."

"Never thought of you as someone who hated the spotlight, Lou Jitsu."

The tail shot up to slam Draxum's jaw shut. "I like the reminder in private! Not out here."

The goat yokai smirked at that. Splinter turned away before speaking up, "But it does make me wonder... just how different things would've ended had things gone differently."

"Oh? In what way?"

"If I didn't escape with my boys, or if you never used my DNA at all," Splinter sighed, "If all of the world's disaster could've been prevented if the past was different at all."

Draxum remained quiet at that, arriving at the garage door but not opening it yet.

"The past is past, it influences our future but doesn't determine it completely." He turned to Splinter properly, "I was so sure I would've decimated humanity by now, yet I find myself living amongst them."

Splinter paused.

"I didn't expect you to be the philosophical type."

"Like I said, life was a lot easier when I didn't like your family."

A brief chuckle, returned with the goat yokai's light smirk.

"Ah, you're right. It doesn't matter. Whatever the future may hold, I'm proud of them," Splinter remarked with finality. Draxum pushed the garage door up and let the rat through. For a brief moment of eye contact, they seemed to finally share the same sentiment, "I'm proud of our family."

"Perhaps you should tell them instead of just me."

"Right... I shouldn't need a reminder to do that."

He approached the door to the lounge room, the muffled humming revealing itself to be screaming as the children ran across the room. The room wasn't in as bad of a condition as he thought; it was just that the couch was on fire.

Oh.

[tyo-mimt]

33/36. @tmnt-event-blog

Snow day, hooray!

It snowed again, and it was just as mystical as usual. Something was different though. Perhaps it was simply how the patrol went without a hitch, how there wasn't a single Krang in sight, how they were even able to salvage a number of different resources among the snow.

Casey could catch Donatello tug Uncle Raph over, whispering something into his ear. The larger snapping turtle turned to him, immediately lifting him off the ground and onto his shoulder.

"Snow day, hooray! It's tried and tested truth; so many things to do~"

It seemed the rest were catching on, Sensei turned his head and leaned against the much larger turtle.

"Snow day! Post-training, we'll have fun; it's only just begun. I'm glad I'm here with you~!"

Donatello sided up next to them, dragging Commander O'Neil and Master Michelangelo wih him.

"Snow day, hooray. Barometric pressure is so low, but my heart is still aglow! For the future holds our goal!"

Master Michelangelo cleared his throat, wide mischievous grin on his face as Casey was yanked off Uncle Raph's shoulders and into the air.

"Snow day! Our future's in our hands, takin' the charge, we're all the best! Glad to get that off my chest..."

A chorus of laughter as the mystic warrior's hold on Casey flickered before dropping him. He was caught (or rather, his fall was broken) by Donatello.

"Snow day, hooray! We all should be so proud! All together, sing out loud!"

There was a pointed turn of heads to the boy. He could guess the next line.

"Snow day, hooray~!"

More laughter echoed across the group as they walked back to the base. Their little song luckily didn't attract any unwanted attention, but that didn't seem to be a problem or priority for any of them. After all, each and every one of them were capable individuals. They just got lucky in terms of not needing to face any Krang to and fro patrolling.

Everyone broke off into their own groups for conversation. Casey was still being carried by Donatello, but it wasn't like he needed to be put down either. The boy clambered around the softshell before settling on his shoulders.

"I didn't know you can sing!"

"It is one of my many talents. We used to do that for more than just morale-boosting."

Casey tilted his head; Donatello didn't need to see it to feel the sudden shift in weight.

"It was also for fun."

Casey went starry-eyed. "Just for fun? We should sing more when it's safe then!"

"Those times are few and far between but... They are doable... And beneficial."

"Like you said, it's fun! And we don't get a lot of that nowadays."

"Oh, if this whole apocalypse wasn't fun to at least one creature, it wouldn't even need to happen."

"Could we even call those sorry excuses of slime monsters creatures?"

"I'm proud."

A beat of silence, before Casey asked once again.

"Oh, and the lyrics..."

"Improvised, same melody as the one we used back then though."

"Back then?"

Donnie looked up at Casey, amused smile on his face. "If you want me to regale the tale of Jupiter Jim Sails The Seven Galaxies v. Jupiter Jim Pluto Vacation 4, we might spark another highly heated debate about the better movie of the two."

Casey remained quiet, expectant.

"Yet again, it is you. In which case, buckle up: it is a long story."

[tyo-mimt]

32/36. @tmnt-event-blog

What was he if not what he was good at?

He asked himself the same question often: what was he good for if not for his tech? Even when the answer was repeated to him, it wasn't something he could fully internalise.

Blaring music on full volume with his headphones, tinkering away on the motherboard during a non-brain fog night. Just another one of those nights where he could finally be productive and work on some repairs.

Just recalling the laundry list of things he had to do, there was fixing the alarm system (which had been broken for weeks, but no one seemed to notice), software updates on his code (which applied to all contingencies and failsafes in his battle shells), and... Hmm, he was forgetting something after all.

For now though, he had to focus on goggle repairs. He slipped on ice and damaged the motherboard on it. It was but a minor setback... He could handle it. His fingers started tapping to the beat of the music as he attempted to mentally recall what needed to be soldered where.

Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap.

He fiddled with the instrument, the butt of it hitting the desk as the chaos of the music only grew with his work.

Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap.

Huh, did one of the wires burn out? Maybe he should've readjusted the voltage on that part of the circuit.

Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap.

He was really struggling to properly track each wire. He really should've coloured them...

Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap.

Oh, right. He had to install proper doors on the train carts. They'd just substituted them for curtains, but those didn't offer good privacy...

Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap...

As much as he wanted to stave his thoughts away, they remained stubbornly intrusive. If he couldn't even fix the thing that would help him with the rest of repairs, how could he expect to fix everything else? Did he even deserve the aide? When his brilliance was tanking and deteriorating, did anything he did afterward matter?

Yes, he was the tech guy, but did that mean he could like other things?

He liked to dance, liked to learn about plants and the various ways to utilise them to benefit everyone, liked skateboarding and pizza the same way his brothers did, loved scrapyard diving... He loved his family... But did it really matter when he couldn't be of any use to them?

He tried to recall April's words in Witch Town, but they were still hard to internalise. They weren't even retrievable, replaced with the many failures of his past. How his tech had almost failed his family before. How each and every mistake now could easily spell doom for his family in the future.

Oh.

Never mind, it was one of those brain fog nights.

(Quietly, hopefully) slamming the device onto the desk and huffing in mild frustration, Donnie leaned back on the rolling chair he sat on and groaned. Inertia pushed the chair away, eventually bumping into the bunk bed in his lab.

It was late enough, and exhaustion and frustration was a good mix of emotions to fall asleep to. Probably.

Clambering onto the bed and sparing one final glance at the desk, he pulled the bedsheets over his head and closed his eyes.

He chanted the same thing, because he knew it'd come true eventually... It'd be better tomorrow.

[tyo-mimt]

31/36. @tmnt-event-blog

Donnie loves gift-giving. He also learns he loves getting a gift in return.

Gifts were easy. Correction: they were easy to make, but much harder to determine. Especially with people he wasn't familiar with.

Leo, Mikey, and Raph were easy; they all shared similar tastes and Donnie had to grow up with them all his life. They're either incapable of disliking his gifts or he's exceptionally good at figuring out what they'd want. Dad was also pretty easy to please; any memorabilia of his days as Lou Jitsu or some other useful gift like a new robe were things that he liked. And April was a more of a challenge, but in his experience, she always appreciated each and every gift he'd given her, even if it ranged from something as standard as some new tech to something as strange as a kayak and hazmat suit.

But add the rest, each and every new addition to the family: ranging from April's friend Sunita to a future-apocalypse child like Casey Junior, and Donnie could easily land himself in hot water trying to think of new gifts. Add the brain fog... And well, a month's worth of preparation wouldn't be enough anymore.

Either way, time waited for nobody, and Donnie was barely able to push through and create a myriad of gifts, all of which deemed suitable for presentation and usage... All those nights wasted away in that lab of his, however unfamiliar or new it felt, would finally be worth the trouble.

Taking up a seat in the booth with all of his gifts sent in, the softshell knew for sure that his task was completed... All he had to do was wait for the shower of praise and adoration from his family to remind him of how worth it the whole process was.

Well, that was the day before. He woke up that morning, thoroughly exhausted from the six-streak all nighter he pulled.

"Garage."

"Surprised to see you lead the charge with training," Donnie teased, pushing himself out of the booth and walking through the portal. Preparing to get ambushed with a barrage of sudden attacks, he found the room was mostly stripped of all the training equipment. Instead, he was barraged with a number of familiar faces. Mikey was there in the middle, holding up what looked to be a very thick book.

"What is everyone doing here?"

"A very late gift." As Donnie approached, Mikey pushed the book into his hands. It was illustrated in his signature style, handwriting both parts elegant and wild: Plant Key. He flipped the pages open, eyes scanning neatly-written entries about certain plants pressed and preserved in the pages (explained the thickness).

Plants from the Hidden City, fauna that could only be cultivated in certain climates, flora found only in the rarest of places... Even facts on known plants that Donnie never knew about. The Plant Key was more like a handwritten journal of various plants collected throughout a year...

"Your tech's great, don't get me wrong!" Casey Junior started, "But it was also your knowledge on plants that saved a lot of us during the apocalypse."

"We know you like plants over tech so..."

"We got you a plant-cyclopaedia!" April quickly butted in, clambering onto the snapping turtle.

There was that look of confusion and amazement on the softshell's face, even if he didn't know he was displaying it, "Something like this couldn't just be bought off a market."

"That's because we made it." Donnie looked up at Draxum.

"Aw, give yourself some more credit, Barry... You were the one who wrote all of those descriptions." The goat yokai crossed his arms indignantly at that, but didn't seem to refute it.

Dad and... other dad getting along. Outside of a fight. That's a weird sight.

Either way, he closed the book, mechanical arms extending outward to wrap his family in a tight hug. "Thank you... I... really don't know what to say..."

"You already said what you needed to, Donnie. Just accept the gift."

[tyo-mimt]

30/36. @tmnt-event-blog

April experiences her first instance of overstimulation.

Everything was too loud.

But maybe she could just blame her atrocious schedule and work ethic. Her morning and afternoon was already filled with Christmas-y mall music blasted on full volume; the same songs looped over and over again for the winter holidays. She was looking forward to clocking off for the day; the thought of coming home to a quiet apartment room and sharing a warm bed with Mayhem was appealing, until she remembered her other life commitments.

The four turtles gathered by her front door and bundled up in thick winterwear and masks. It was still hard to believe that they didn't attract a crowd of gawking New Yorkers, but weirder has and always will happen...

Well, they wanted her to take them to the Jupiter Jim pop-up store that opened the day prior. She worked there, after all, so she should know the place like the back of her hand.

Except... The mall music was loud. Even louder than before.

Ah, whatever. She should still know the place even with her eyes closed.

"Jingle bells, jingle bells; jingle all the wayyy~"

Should know the place even half-asleep,

"Oh, what fun it is to ride..."

Her mind couldn't even auto-complete the rest of the lyric.

Her blurred vision wasn't from the lack of glasses, the drowsiness building up wasn't from the lack of sleep. The only thing she could hear were the blares of the instrumentals, the continuous ring of bells across the mall, the voices of each and every customer in the mall.

"April?" She almost missed his voice among the hubbub of commotion outside. She'd manage though...

"Uh, you guys go on ahead." The voice was more distant. She was being pushed in the opposite direction, feet moving against the direction she thought she was moving in. It was only until a pair of headphones were placed over her head when she was pulled back down to conscious movement.

"They'll understand." Donnie's voice was muffled, but managed to break through the constant buzz in her mind. She wanted to refute his claim, but it was Donnie... He probably knew better how to deal with this sort of thing, right? Despite her initial reluctance, April was pulled away from the mall; she recognised, just based on the patterns of her movement, that the softshell was leading her back to the lair. Down the manhole to avoid any traps, muscle memory informing her and Donnie's movement, they made it to the lounge. Everything was just a little clearer there and the constant ringing in her ears ceased.

Realisation set in, and before she could even rush back up to the surface, an arm blocked her path. "Wait... I'm supposed to be up there!"

Donnie grabbed her by the shoulders. Eye contact as an intimidation technique. It always worked. "How long has it been since you last slept?"

April raised an eyebrow. "Are you really the person who should be asking that question?"

"Do as I say, not as I do."

"Right... I did sleep."

It was Donnie's turn to raise an eyebrow.

"Two days ago."

The softshell thought about it for a moment before letting her go. "Your sleep schedule has gotten worse. And that's coming from me."

He turned around with the expectation that April would follow, and she did, dragging her feet against the ground as she was lead to a collection of beanbags behind the booth. April didn't even need to be prompted to throw herself onto one of them, a weighted blanket draped onto her.

"Get some rest. You need it."

She sat up, "You should also go back there, enjoy yourself."

"They already know what I want." The softshell toook up one of the beanbags beside her. She rolled her eyes, smile on her face.

"You just want an excuse to spend time with me, do you?"

"Shush. Go to bed."

With a yawn, April chuckled before turning to her side. "No need to tell me twice..."

[tyo-mimt]

29/36. @tmnt-event-blog

Quality time and acts of service are considered love languages, right?

There was nothing Donnie hated more than feeling unneeded. It was even worse when he felt like he needed help with something he shouldn't need help with.

Mikey willingly coming into the lab to make himself busy didn't count; the box turtle being there was more akin to having a willing lab assistant than needing an aide, but the brain fog made things hard to remember. He found himself missing details, forgetting and skipping steps, unable to focus on code. He had a whole laundry list of unfinished steps, easily thrown off schedule like a common man. The greatest and strongest part of Donnie felt like it was slowly being taken away from him, and as much as he didn't want to admit it, he had to face the facts and understand that that might be the case.

So where did that take him?

"You look like shit."

"If you're here to interrogate me, go back to bed." Donnie squinted at the mess of code he had to read through. The lines were beginning to blur together. He had forgotten where he put his old glasses.

"Kicking me out already? I barely said five words." Leo threw himself onto a rolling chair, wheeling himself toward the softshell. The back of his chair bumped into the other's with a gentle jolt. Donnie turned around, scowl on his face.

"What do you want, Nardo?"

"Can't a brother look out for his younger twin?"

Donnie froze up at that, extending his arm. Leo chuckled, extending the other. Rock, paper, scissors. Leo's paper beat Donnie's rock, and the softshell could only relent to the statement.

"What are you planning?"

"You can't sleep, I can't sleep, so I'm better off making myself useful here."

"Right... I've never seen you in my lab, even to steal something," Donnie drawled, stifling a yawn, "What makes you think I'd trust you around experimental tech?"

Leo raised his arm. The prosthetic one. He crossed his arms afterward, "You taught me how to repair this for emergencies, which I have had to do before. Come on, Dee, trust Leon on this~!"

"I remember that six out of seven of said emergencies, I was also there to berate you on your shoddy craftsmanship."

"Yah, but there was also the one time you weren't there and the arm turned out just fine!"

Had him there.

"And if I were you, I'd have built this thing to not need as many emergency repairs as it does now."

Donnie rolled his eyes in response, turning back around before sliding a motherboard over to Leo.

"The wires are burnt out. Use the wire box on the top left shelf and find the thickest one. Because you already know how to replace those wires, I won't need to redemonstrate."

"Oof, giving me the easy jobs now?"

"Just be glad you're even allowed to touch that highly volatile component."

Donnie nearly missed the amused chortle Leo made, but it was a weight off his shoulders. The rest of the night followed the same structure: Leo finished a simple task and Donnie gave him another. The slider was still his signature flavour of annoying, but it never completely got on his nerves... It was even helpful at times, having another head to remind Donnie of a certain task in an irritating but strangely non-condescending manner.

At some point, the softshell did doze off on the desk he worked on, but Leo was there. He woke up the next day in bed with more mentally-listed tasks completed than forgotten.

[tyo-mimt]

28/36. @tmnt-event-blog

Expired eggnog was a terrible idea.

(a/n: last one with usagi! as always, still platonic)

"'ello~? Anyone home?"

Usagi had been coming in and out of the lair more often lately, especially during the snowier days. The Hidden City wasn't physically impacted in any way by the surface's snow, but it did get cold. And more yokai preferred to sleep off the cold or cope with brumation in their own ways. It was understandable, and a relief to the rabbit who wouldn't complain about more breaks from Run of the Mill.

And he also wouldn't complain about meeting with some familiar faces. Friends.

That being said, it was still weird to come to a quiet lair. Did everyone leave for some adventure? He must've triggered an alarm when he entered, his feet not even making a sound as he crossed the threshold between the garage and the main area.

"You've reached Donatello."

His ears perked up at that. He turned to the source of the voice, bounding toward the softshell. "Donnie!"

The mentioned turtle was in the main lounge area for once, sat on one of the booths, probably reading through or fixing his code. The rabbit's presence was acknowledged, which was better than most days! "Yes, me."

"The others aren't home?"

"Grocery shopping; I stayed home this time." Donnie stopped from the rhymic tap and slide of his trackpad before turning up to Usagi, "Why? Do you need something?"

Ah, right! The reason he came to begin with. "Uh, I don't need something per se..."

The softshell looked up at the rabbit, following his movements as he plonked a bottle of some creamy, viscous concoction onto the table. "Uh, what is that?"

He sat down next to the turtle in the booth, rubbing his hands together. "We're about to find out."

Donnie looked absolutely disgusted, not hiding his attempts to shrink away at the very sight of that bottle. "Where did you even get that?"

"Run of the Mill. Senor Hueso told me to bring it home for the family, but that family didn't exactly come with me to my year-long pilgrimage across the world," Usagi shrugged, "He didn't tell me what it was, just that it wasn't alcoholic."

"Even with that background information, I remain unconvinced," Donnie deadpanned.

"Pah! I'll chug it and show you that it's perfectly probably safe!"

"Don't do it." Though the way he said it wasn't very convincing (totally not an excuse).

Usagi picked the bottle off the table. "Bottoms up!"

The rabbit unscrewed the bottle before chugging. He could just hear the mechanical whir of arms covering the softshell, or maybe Donnie was being nice enough to retrieve a bucket for Usagi. Either way, he was barely able to get through half the bottle before exhaling and shaking his head.

It was as thick as it looked, tasting a weird combination between sweet and sour... Maybe more sour than it was supposed to be. The look on his face must've been an uncomfortable one, judging by Donnie's next question: "You aren't about to throw up, right?"

"I... I think I'm fine!" The rabbit managed to utter, wiping off the milk mustache with a sleeve and putting the bottle back onto the table.

"What did it taste like?"

"Uh... Milky? Egg-y... It was kinda sour though..."

"Eggnog?"

"Probably... But isn't eggnog supposed to just be sweet?"

Donnie paused, daring himself to pick up the bottle (granted with one of the metal hands) and inspect it. "Say, when did you receive this?"

"A month ago. Why?"

A shudder went down Donnie's shell. "And where did you store it?"

"Uh, on my table?"

There was a pause on Donnie's part; one of horror, "Without refridgeration?"

"It needed to be refridgerated?"

[tyo-mimt]

27/36. @tmnt-event-blog

A Splinter Special for Turtle Tot Mikey.

Weren't families supposed to get along?

Mikey would be lying if he didn't admit that a lot of his life was spent with the frankly tenuous unity of three other turtle mutants and a rat dad, but that was enough reason to consider each other family, right? After all, who else could they look to? That last question was the topic of that day's spiral.

Leo and Raph fought. No, it was just supposed to be a lighthearted spar, just like it always had been, but of course it escalated... Because nothing ever came free without consequences. Was that how Donnie put it?

"Orange?"

Mikey holed himself up in his room after he reported the incident to dad, resigning himself to the papers and paints tucked in the corner of the room... He didn't want to see anyone, afraid that he might break into tears again at even the slightest mention of what happened.

"Are you okay?"

He couldn't even properly focus on what he wanted to draw. The page remained blank, but Mikey's mind grew louder with the echoing cacophony of what happened.

"Michelangelo!"

Why was he so focused on this? He wasn't the one who got hurt, or hurt someone. He was just watching... But did that also make him responsible?

Quickly pulling him out of his spiral, the box turtle nearly jolted as a warm hand was pressed against his shoulder. He didn't even realise he was tearing up, anguish worn clearly on the paper on the ground. Dad didn't even need to be prompted to pull Mikey into an embrace, the box turtle choking back sobs even as he continued to cry.

Gentle circular rubs on his shell and the warmth his dad shared, he did begin to relax slightly. "My son... What happened?"

Mikey freezed up at that, tensing at the question before sinking deeper into dad's embrace.

"You... don't want to answer?"

Mikey shook his head. He wanted to, but... There was a pause, before dad sighed in understanding.

"Just so you know, Blue is doing okay. And that's because you and Purple were able to get me back there quickly."

Mikey dared to pull back and look back up at his dad, seeing the warm smile on his face widen. The box turtle only grew more concerned as another thought crossed his mind.

"What about Raph?"

"He'll be okay."

He looked away. "I know it was his fault but... I think he feels really bad..."

Dad remained quiet at that. Mikey continued.

"He's always trying to be careful with us, and it feels weird to think he'd change all of a sudden." He dared to look back up at dad, the signature youngest brother look on his face, "If you're going to get mad at him, don't be too harsh."

It took a moment for dad to laugh, giving Mikey a few gentle pats on his shell.

"You're always thinking of your brothers... I'm glad," He assured, pulling his son into a gentle side hug, "I was never planning on getting mad at him, or Leo, or any of you."

Mikey didn't even notice he was tearing up until dad wiped his tears away. "I'll have a talk with them, yes... But just know that I won't blame any of you. I just hope that you all will be willing to tell me if something like this happens again."

"You... really won't get mad at us?"

"My son, I'll only get mad if you intentionally do something bad to each other," Dad teased, rubbing the top of Mikey's head in an endearing head pat like manner, "But just remember. I love you boys, make sure to love each other as well."

[tyo-mimt]

26/36. @tmnt-event-blog

Mikey drops in to help April bake some last-minute Christmas gifts.

"You're a lifesaver!" April grabbed the box turtle, lifting him off the ground and wrapping him into an excited hug.

Christmas shopping was difficult enough trying to look for suitable gifts for a bunch of New York mutant turtles (especially when one of those turtles could acquire copious amounts of wealth at a moment's notice), but remembering her human obligations was something she still struggled to balance.

Some things never change after all...

She still had to get some gifts for her classmates.

"That's what I'm here for~" Mikey teased, set back on the ground. He set the box onto the counter, taking out a collection of different utensils and ingredients, "You can't go wrong with cookies for the holiday season! Luckily for you, the chef's in the house!"

His smile was contagious and she returned it. Rolling up her sleeves (she washed her hands before he arrived), she gave him a goofy little salute, "Where do you need me?"

"Hmm... Let's start with the batter. You just need to pour the rest of everything I have here into a large bowl; we can shape them with the moulds later on," Mikey instructed, pulling the ingredients out of the box and sliding them in her direction.

He paused for a moment, looking around before asking, "Have a tray? And baking sheets?"

"Cabinet to your left." She opened the bag of flour and sugar up, dunking the remaining ingredients into a bowl and stirring. Mikey pulled a large tray out of the cabinet, locating the baking paper and tearing out a few sheets.

"How many of these do you think you'll need?" Mikey asked.

"I mean... This semester, I've only had a few classes. It would feel weird to only give a cookie per person though." The wet ingredients were pushed into her direction as Mikey picked the dry ingredient bowl out of her hands.

"Got it, as much as physically possible," Mikey preened. April laughed in response, cracking an egg open and separating the yolk from the whites.

"Right, do you want me to store the whites?"

"Of course, I have something planned with those anyways."

The rest of their night was just that, but it was the first time in a while since she was able to properly hang out with Mikey one-on-one.

"Guess university's different from high school," Mikey remarked.

"Mhmm... I'm supposed to have more flexibility with my time but... With extracurriculars that actually want me, I'm more swamped than I was in high school."

"But that means you're finally doing stuff you like, right?"

The question took a weird turn, and even if the box turtle's tone sounded innocuous enough, she would be lying if she said she didn't feel like she was walking into a trap.

"As much as I love finally being useful out there, I still miss doing stuff with you guys."

Mikey turned his head; April gave him a brief pat on the shell. He pushed his head into her elbow; the habit returned, and she relented.

"I guess the lack of seeing you guys just feels... like things won't go back to how they were before. I couldn't always be there for you guys."

"Some time together is better than none at all," Mikey said, "The fact that you're even trying at all matters a lot to us, April."

"I... I just wish I was around more..."

"Hehe, is that an invitation for us to come to you more?"

A pause, before a smile bloomed on April's face. "Oh, yes. Please! I'd love you guys to visit! Disguised though. I'm still not sure how anyone'd feel about... this whole situation."

[tyo-mimt]

25/36. @tmnt-event-blog

Mikey sneaks out of the lair. Without his brothers.

He had to see it for himself. He didn't hate his brothers, but especially after the Shredder and Krang and... well, everything, it was hard to get some breathing room.

Made sense... Mikey was the youngest, and everyone wanted him to be safe. It hurt though, knowing that they wouldn't extend that concern to themselves.

Finishing dinner and pushing his plates into the sink, he excused himself from the table and ran back into his train cart room. Pulling the door shut, he turned around and rubbed his hands together. Yellow streaks of mystic energy sparked from his hands.

It was getting easier.

As if he were tearing a rift through reality, Mikey pulled at the air as a fissure formed. The cracks in the skin glowed but didn't worsen, which likely meant he was in the clear. Well, it wasn't like he was tearing a hole through reality to access the Prison Dimension; this was just an inconsequential gateway to the Hidden City after all. A place he was never able to wander around on his own without either dads or his brothers watching over him.

With one final push, he tore open the portal from his room to the Hidden City...

He lets out a breath of relief before stepping back, grabbing a hoodie and his belt off his bed and hopping through. He stumbled on the landing but managed to keep himself upright, watching the portal close behind him... Eh, he'd just make another one when he wants to go back.

Slipping the hoodie on and hiding the belt beneath, he hopped into an alleyway before walking out onto the pavement. It was quiet, not as crowded as Mikey was used to... Even then, he saw a few yokai gathering and walking toward the same direction.

He wanted to ask, but he didn't really say to risk being seen and tattled on. Besides, crowds usually meant something interesting was about to happen!

Following a small group of yokai, Mikey trailed after them. His hood drawn over his head, he was careful not to be recognised or see anyone he found familiar... Better have possible deniability than without reasonable doubt! Or however that saying went.

He turned a corner, eyes blowing wide as he watched the large crowd converging around a single point. Being a city full of yokai, Mikey was at a bit of a height disadvantage, but did it matter when he was also a ninja?

Turning to locate one of the buildings, Mikey clambered onto the wall and scaled it with ease, settling on the rooftop to look at the epicentre of the crowd.

There was a small circular stage in the middle, a yokai in the centre seemingly entertaining the crowd (Mikey was too far away to hear what they were saying). It seemed to end in the crowd's applause and cheers as the yokai in the centre clapped their hands. A puff of smoke concealed them as something that looked like fireworks appeared in their stead.

They flew up into the air, bursting in colourful splendor. The shapes and symbols created looked complex; it definitely wasn't reproducible with human technology, but this was yokai magic, right?

The sparks in the subterranean sky didn't fizzle away. If anything, they merely dispersed and coloured the air in different shapes and colours. The symbols didn't hold any meaning to Mikey; they weren't familiar, but they were still beautiful nonetheless.

Unable to drag his gaze away from the sight, Mikey watched as the cheers and applause echoed from below.

He could stay for just a little longer...

[tyo-mimt]

24/36. @tmnt-event-blog

Maybe looking up the recipe would've been a good idea.

(a/n: another one with usagi! also still platonic)

"Usagi? Surprised to see you here!" Mikey called out. The rabbit turned to face him a little late, but managed to catch the box turtle's silhouette in the kitchen. He decided to step through the threshold between the kitchen and living room to greet him properly.

"Mikey, hi! I'm guessing the others aren't home?"

"Nope, everyone's out today." A weird sentence coming out of Mikey's mouth; this was the first time Usagi's seen him home alone after all. Thinking about it, it was weird to see Mikey home at all! Ever since Usagi met the turtles, Mikey's always either been out on the surface or the Hidden City.

"Oh, well, doesn't matter." The rabbit crossed his arms, turning to address the box turtle more properly. His vision focused (finally) and he could see what Mikey was doing: stirring a bowl of batter, "I've been meaning to have some one-on-one time with the favourite brother."

A pause, one almost akin to a record scratch.

"I'm the favourite brother?"

"Uh, yes? You didn't know?"

"Oh, I do know," Mikey quickly corrected, "But is that your opinion or because Raph, Donnie, and Leo told you that?"

It was Usagi's turn to pause. "Uh..."

The box turtle laughed in response, "Just messin' with ya. Say, if you wanna spend some quality time with me, you could help me make a gingerbread house!"

"Oh? I'm great at helping out, just give me a job and I'll do it!" Usagi affirmed, giving a little salute to emphasise. It was then followed up with a chuckle; one that made the rabbit a little nervous.

"Right, well, my kitchen needs more than just listening-for-instructions-and-doing-as-told," Mikey said, putting the bowl down and crossing his arms, "You can start by grabbing some of the batter and shaping them into thin rectangles."

He pulled a tray over, prepared with a baking sheet. He tapped the surface in emphasis, likely to also guide the rabbit's attention to it, "It doesn't exactly need to be rectangles though; I can build with any shape as long as it's shaped well enough."

"Right! Sounds straightforward enough..." Something didn't sound right about the recipe, but it wasn't like Usagi knew what was wrong with it.

"Okay then! I need to dip out to use the bathroom for a bit." Mikey gave the rabbit a brief pat on the shoulder before turning him over, "You'll be okay on your own for a bit, right?"

The rabbit blinked before wearing a smile. It was strained but was probably convincing enough. "Yeah... Yeah! I got it!"

"Confidence in the kitchen's good to have," Mikey quipped, giving the rabbit one last pat on the back before walking out. He paused for a moment and peeked his head inside.

"Oh, and wash your hands."

"Right!" Hands newly washed, Usagi turned to the dough to the dough. He dumped it out on the counter, immediately regretting it when he realised just how sticky it was. Even then, he did try to knead it properly first. The dough kept getting stuck in his fur, and he knew it was going to be a nightmare to clean out, but it wasn't too bad!

It didn't take long for the mistake to come noticed as Mikey ran back inside.

"Wait! I shouldn't have mixed the batter and icing together!"

Usagi's head snapped towards Mikey.

"Uh, wha-?"

"I... may have made a mistake with the recipe..."

An opportunity. "Oh! That's fine; we still have time, right?"

"Yeah..." A pause. "Do you mind helping me remake the batter?"

Usagi lit up. Just glad to be part of it! "Happy to help! But uh... help me get this batter out of my fur first..."

[tyo-mimt]

23/36. @tmnt-event-blog

A cold winter day makes one of Casey's favourite memories.

Heat was something he knew to be adjacent to burning. Casey's been burnt before, he's experienced atrocious temperatures and weather conditions in the past. The apocalypse isn't exactly known for pleasant temperatures, seeing as a cold chill can come and go as it pleased whenever and however it wanted to.

Temperature was something Casey never noticed until it got too uncomfortable... But it was also something he never knew could feel pleasant.

Winter came, harsher than usual. The snowfall was more akin to a hailstorm and the temporary (thinking about it, all of their bases so far have been temporary) underground base they were in didn't have the best insulation.

Sluggish and dragging his feet against the ground, Casey barely managed to navigate through the hallways. He bumped into a tall figure, face planting into the plastron of a particular mystic warrior.

"Master Michelangelo?"

"Whoa, buddy, you're looking a little chilly."

Understatement. He didn't stifle his laugh, maybe delirious from the cold. Just by habit, he remained with his face on that plastron, draping the loose fabric of the box turtle's robes over his shivering figure as the boy fought his body to create more body heat.

"Hey, want me to show you a trick?"

Casey nodded, pulling away only to take Master Michelangelo's hand. He was led through the corridors, passing by the occasional survivor before making it to the large break room-like lounge. Hand let go, the boy stepped back as the turtle brushed his hands together.

Master Michelangelo's eyes glowed. Instead of the piercing blinding white, it was a softer shade of yellow. He spread his palms open, gently cupping a flame in his hands. It wasn't burning; it wasn't destructive like it would've been on the battlefield. It was more akin to the light from a candle: soft, safe, warm...

Warm?

Casey felt himself reach out, careful not to directly touch the flame. It wasn't scalding... It glowed gently against their hands, radiating heat that sent pleasant tingles through his frozen fingers and throughout his body.

"It's like a little light..." Mikey chuckled at the reaction.

"Has anyone ever shown you a campfire?" He asked. The boy shook his head. Stepping back, the box turtle revealed a pile of dry sticks in a stone basin. He leaned down, placing the flame upon the kindling and watching as the fire spread across the firewood.

It didn't spread any further, which only made Casey grow more starry-eyed.

"I thought I smelled a campfire around here!"

He turned his head, seeing Commander O'Neil walk in with Donatello (as always) behind her. She set herself down by the fire, rubbing her hands together and thawing her icy cold hands against the flame.

"Good, I'd've turned into a popsicle otherwise!"

"Spare your dramatics. With the heating I've installed around the base, it would be difficult for you to develop hypothermia, let alone frostbite."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, I know you're cold, too, Dee." Commander O'Neil pulled Donatello down next to her. Two other pairs of footsteps approached from behind.

"I'm surprised you broke the campfire out so early."

"Junior got cold."

"And you didn't?"

"Kill two birds with one stone. It'd be a win-win to set it up now."

Sensei slid next to the campfire, Uncle Raph following from behind to wrap them all up in a hug. That included Casey, sandwiched comfortably by Master Michelangelo and Sensei.

He felt tired all of a sudden. Or rather, relaxed... Surrounded by another rare moment of quiet revelry, Casey allowed his eyes to close as he dozed off. This was everything.

[tyo-mimt]

22/36. @tmnt-event-blog

Who put a fireplace in the lair?

"Who did this?"

The fireplace sat smack dab in the middle of the lair. It wasn't here the night before... And weirdly enough, it was the whole fireplace minus the ash pit and flue. It was a snow day, both today and the day before, which meant that almost everyone here stayed in the lair throughout the whole time. Even more so, almost everyone was present and accounted for, which made this case all the more difficult.

"I'm not mad," Donnie emphasised, "I just want to know."

Mikey slowly approached the fire box, peeking through it and up the smoke chamber. "It's not like anyone topside's falling through it; why can't we just keep it?"

"Because it clashes with the vibe of the lair and looks like an accident waiting to happen."

"Yah, and no one else can reasonably carry four hundred pounds worth of bricks." Leo side-eyed Raph at that. Everyone immediately turned to the snapping turtle.

It's time for the blame game.

Indignant, he gasped and pointed back at Leo. "Where would Raph get so many bricks? It makes more sense for the guy with the portal powers to bring that whole thing here!"

"I'm flattered you think I can build a fireplace in a night with a single hand; be real, Raph! Why don't you look at the tech wiz?"

"J'accuse! Why would I build a non-functional solely-for-aesthetic-purposes fireplace when I've installed perfectly functional heaters around the lair?"

April slid over to Donnie's side; she didn't even whisper quietly enough, "Not to point fingers but doing things for the sake of chaos sounds more like Mikey's thing..."

"April! Come on! Do you think I could really do all this in a single night!?"

"Did you just steal my defense?"

"This ain't about you, Leo," Mikey defended, jabbing him in the forehead, "'sides, you don't only have one hand all the time!"

"Fair, but hey!"

"All the evidence clearly points to you, Nardo."

"I don't even have a reason to build a fireplace here!"

Everyone paused. "Huh, good point..."

"Yes, thank you, Raph," The slider drawled, walking over and patting the snapping turtle on the shoulder, "Now let's point fingers at the ones who stayed suspiciously quiet the whole time."

Multiple heads snapped towards the Caseys. CJ raised his arms. "Hey! I didn't even know what a fireplace was until now!"

Cassandra paused, pointing back at her accusers. "And you four- five- six are the ones with mystic powers!"

"And you both of you can kick all of our butts without breaking a sweat."

Cassandra visibly preened at that. "Flattery will get you nowhere!"

Before anyone else could open their mouth, the fireplace made a dull thud. It trickled down the smoke chamber; before Mikey could get crushed, he jumped backward. Someone fell through after all... But they didn't have to worry too much.

"Santa!?"

"We've been over this, Mikey, Santa isn't real..."

"Then explain why I, the Jolly Roger, am here." There's no mistaking that signature deadpan tone. The smoke cleared properly and they all could see Draxum's silhouette robed in a poor imitation of Santa Claus.

"The rat told me this would be a good idea, I'm beginning to think he played me for a fool."

Heads turned to Splinter, who held a camera in his hands. "Oh, yeah, this definitely was to make you look dumb."

He tossed it aside, clambering onto the yokai and pulling the sack out of his hands. "Well! Because all of you have worked so hard throughout the past year, Draxum decided to treat you all."

Leo caught a wrapped present thrown in his direction. "Huh; didn't think Barry was capable of generosity."

"My being here is an act of generosity."

"Yeah, yeah, we love you, too, dad!"

[tyo-mimt]

21/36. @tmnt-event-blog

A rare down day accompanied with a little baking at dawn.

Today could've been better... It was one of his worse days, but it wasn't something he couldn't weather.

Sitting in front of the oven, waiting for the sugar cookies to finish baking, Mikey watched as they slowly grew. It wasn't strange to see him in the kitchen at all, but the strange part about this session was the time he started baking.

At one in the morning, awoken by the same nightmare that seemed to plague him and his brothers constantly, the box turtle found that the others had managed to find sleep. Good for them, he bitterly thought. It was weird being the only one unable to go back to sleep. He knew it was a regular occurrence for Leo, knew that the insomnia was normal for Donnie, and that it was becoming a more recurrent event for Raph, but this was the first time Mikey felt it.

The crushing loneliness of being awake at some ungodly morning hour, with no family to bother or with no one awake to distract him from the reasons of his wakefulness.

Funny how things turn out, huh?

A few moments ago, when he was merely sat in bed and staring up at the ceiling, he pondered what he could do. Draw? No, he didn't really feel like it (burnout had crept in and he just didn't want to acknowledge it today). Games on his phone? His hands shook too much whenever he held the device, and he didn't need the reminder and vertigo. Stare up at the ceiling until morning came? He isn't crazy (Mikey may be experiencing sleeplessness but he wasn't about to let boredom consume his soul.

So he decided to risk waking someone up (luckily, he didn't) and go to the kitchen to bake. Sugar cookies were right for the season, so he started baking them. Preparation only took a good chunk of an hour, and the rest of it was used on mixing the batter and laying it out on parchment paper. He decided not to bother with icing until the tremors got a little better. Mikey'd rather not have Raph or Leo scold him about not resting when he needed it.

He couldn't help it.

Staying idle made him feel bad, making his family happy made him feel good. And Mikey didn't want any of them to worry about him while he's doing that second thing. Besides, when has his family ever seen him completely or fully upset? The times that they did were always a quick fix, and he wasn't about to change that. Besides, it was his job to keep everyone together, keep everyone happy and in high spirits. The morale booster wasn't supposed to be feeling down!

That was his job, to bring everyone together and keep everyone together.

He wanted to laugh at the thought. He's hanging by a thread, barely managing to keep his family consistently talking to each other. Doctor Feelings wasn't as effective, and Doctor Delicate Touch can only ever help in specific scenarios. And don't even get him started on how the Krang seemed to affect every thing it got its slimy little tentacles on. Raph's eye, Leo's arm, Donnie's mind; Mikey could be considered the only one left untouched, but the tremors and scars on his arms made it difficult to back that claim up.

Everyone else had it worse than he did, right? He wasn't the leader, he didn't crave approval, and he wasn't the oldest. So what right did he have to get upset? He's supposed to be out there to help his brothers.

His attention turned back to the sugar cookies; he stood back up, pushing away the self-pity he allowed himself for those few moments.

"It's okay," He murmured to himself. He opened the oven and pulled the tray out, setting it down on the cooling rack. He sighed.

It'd be okay. It's just one bad day out of many good ones.

[tyo-mimt]

20/36. @tmnt-event-blog

Raph helps Mikey turn the lair into a winter wonderland.

Mikey liked asking his brothers for help; all of them were good at something and he always wanted to get closer. Though this time, there was a slight ulterior motive to his asking for Raph for help.

"Winter decorations?" Raph echoed.

Mikey nodded quickly. "It's been a while since we've had anything winter-themed going on in the lair; it'd be nice to see the walls decorated in fairy lights!"

That mention of lighting grabbed Raph's attention. Mikey's smile grew wider. The last time the family decorated for the season was before they picked up their weapons. Dad had more time to focus on them, and not being able to see the surface for most of their days could make someone go a little crazy. The lights were a nice substitute for that for before they started heading up there. Besides, it'd be nice to see the lair look more like a home than a base. They weren't survivors, not of the Krang nor of the Shredder. They're a family, living in New York's sewers and fighting crime five times a week minimum, but still a family!

"It could be like a winter wonderland down here!"

There was a pause, and it wasn't long. "Eh, either way, Raph'll help ya!"

Mikey beamed. Raph asked first, "Do we still have the lights?"

Oh. That was something he forgot about. Most of them were probably destroyed; the fragile nature of bulbs didn't really help. The snapping turtle must've seen the way his face fell, quickly suggesting, "We can make them, too!"

Mikey tilted his head. Raph's confidence only grew, "Can't be that hard!"

"Yeah... Yeah! It shouldn't be!"

"Okay! I'll go sneak into Donnie's lab for the bulbs; you grab as much DIY stuff as possible!"

"Wouldn't Donnie get mad at us for sneaking in?" Yet again, did Mikey ever really have any personal regard for Donnie's privacy?

"I saw him leave the lair a while ago, probably to find Leo again... We should be safe!"

"Sounds a little dangerous... Good luck!" Mikey called out, watching Raph walk back over to the labs. The box turtle made his own way to the storage closet. Arts and crafts wasn't something he's done in a while, either because of his dwindling interest in exchange for murals and digital drawing or some other thing that's piqued his interests. Even then, this was still fun.

Pulling out coloured ribbons, fern-like tinsel, flexible copper wires, and some other various materials, Mikey walked out of the storage room with the box of materials. It didn't take long for Raph to return with lights... Which were significantly bigger than fairy lights. If anything, they were the full size of a normal bulb! Yet again, Mikey wouldn't let such a thing get in the way of true artistry. Putting on a large smile, Mikey picked up the bulbs and wrapped the tinsel around the bottom in demonstration. He slid over the rest of the bulbs and tinsel.

"Work on those; I'll be bending these into shape." He held up the wire in place, Raph nodding in compliance as they began to work on their respective tasks. Mikey wasn't able to count the minutes of time passing, but it couldn't have been long, right? Not like Donnie nor Leo was back.

Hustling with the little time they had left, Mikey grabbed the finished tinsel-wrapped bulbs and positioned them inside the star wire outlines, wrapped in various ribbons corresponding to their colours. The tinsel were trails, trails of a shooting star against the backdrop of the walls. They managed to hang up the decorations with a bit of duct tape and stubbornness, falliing back against the couch from exertion as they looked over the landscape. Not quite winter wonderland, but it was getting there...

"Think they'll like it?"

Raph place a hand on his shoulder, patting his arm. "They'll always like it."