I Gave Raph A Makeover, Too.

I gave Raph a makeover, too.

I painted his extra bandages.

Now he doesn't have weird, out-of-place rectangular flesh bumps. :)

Strength and Resilience

Rounding out the crew is April...and I just realized that if I had simply switched Mikey and Donnie around, I would have focused on each character in order from youngest to oldest. (Minus Splinter, who was kind of a spur-of-the-moment thing.)

Also, a disclaimer. I don't know if this needs to be said (I hope it doesn't), but just in case, don't look to turtles for medical care. See actual doctors.

~

After an intense argument and a brief yet heartfelt reconciliation, Leonardo and Regiomontanus reenter the lair's common area with Raphael, only to find that the remainder of the group has sealed Pandemic away in its box. Gio feels their face flush with embarrassment and immediately ducks behind Raph; they may not differ much in height, but the snapping turtle's wide, muscular build provides a sense of security. "Guys, you didn't have to do that," they barely manage to say. "I could've gotten it. I mean, I'm the one who made this whole mess..."

"Hey, it's cool. We didn't want you to have to deal with it on top of managing your emotional situation," asserts April.

"Besides," Donatello adds, "with the way everything was going, we figured it'd be better to try something else."

"Okay, if you say so..." Reluctantly, Gio stops hiding. They posit, "But what do you have in mind?"

After some discussion, the group settles on Truth or Dare--one of the ultimate party games. It can provide answers to burning questions, generate comedy through ridiculous challenges, and introduce levity into an otherwise muted atmosphere. In this particular instance, it is a convenient icebreaker that can truly integrate Gio into the rest of the group; April still needs to get to know them, after all. Donnie pulls out his phone, enters everyone's names into a random selection algorithm, and lets fate take the wheel as he taps the screen once more. "Okay, first up is...Leo!" the softshell declares. "Truth or dare?"

"Dare, obviously," Leo replies.

Donnie thinks for a moment, then lights up as an evil grin spreads across his face. "I dare you to gargle with mayonnaise."

"On it!" Leo darts out of the room, returning mere seconds later with a tube of mayonnaise. He returns to his seat and squeezes the condiment into the back of his mouth. He manages to gargle for perhaps two seconds, then leans forward and coughs forcefully. Between coughs, he sputters, "Donnie...you're a monster..."

"I know." He relishes in his diabolical dare for a moment, then retrieves a glass of water for his suffering brother. The red-eared slider daintily sips the water as he attempts to recover. Once he recollects himself, he considers who the next victim should be. "Hmm... Mikey, I choose you! Truth or dare?"

Not wanting to end up like Leo, Michelangelo responds with an enthusiastic "Truth!"

"Ooh, I've got a good one! What's the last thing you learned wasn't true that you thought was?"

"The last thing? Hmm... This is gonna be totally embarrassing, but I only found out last night that you don't taste different flavors with different parts of your tongue."

"Wait, what? But you're, like, the chef of the family! You're always tasting stuff!"

"I know! I guess I just wasn't paying attention," Mikey says with a chuckle. "Okay, let's see... Gio! Truth or dare?"

"Hmm... Dare," they decide.

"Dare..." Mikey's head sinks into his shell a bit as he tries to think of a good challenge. "Dare, dare... Oh!" His head emerges again. "Here's one! I dare you to listen to the same song ten times in a row."

"Easy--"

"Of my choice. And I have just the one~"

"...Oh boy."

The box turtle types furiously on his phone, then places it beside Gio and plays the video he has found. From the speakers, Tom Jones' "What's New Pussycat?" begins to emanate. The rest of the group erupts in laughter as Gio looks on with a combination of amusement and dread. After a few seconds, they remember that it's their turn to select the next contestant. "Alright, let's see... April, you haven't gone yet. Truth or dare?"

"I'll go with...truth," April responds.

"Okay...hmm..." Gio considers their options for a moment, then settles on, "What's the most embarrassing thing you've accidentally texted someone?"

"Oh, no... Oh, no...! Okay, so, in my defense, I was really tired at the time. But one of my bosses wanted to check and see when I'd be able to work, and do you know what I responded with?"

"...No, what?"

"A picture of Donnie T-posing, edited to have glowing eyes and a huge forehead--like, ten times the size of the rest of his head. Needless to say, I wasn't working for them anymore."

"...Oh... Oh...no..."

"...Yikes. I knew it was embarrassing, but was it really that--"

Before April can continue, Gio collapses onto the ground and begins convulsing. Everyone else freezes in place, panicked, unsure of how to react. April is the first to clear her mind and spur the others into action. "Leo, Donnie, ready the med bay. Mikey, get Splints. Raph, you and I will stay here with Gio. Got it?"

The turtle brothers all give various responses of affirmation, then hurry to their stations. Donnie and Leo barrel across the room into a connected sector marked with a white cross. Mikey sprints outside, toward the TV room. April and Raph remain beside Gio to monitor them. Approximately one minute later, when the sea turtle regains consciousness, they are surrounded by April, Raph, Mikey, and Master Splinter. They hear sounds coming out of everyone's mouths, but it all sounds like gibberish. Their attempts at a response are garbled babbling. Even their own thoughts are merely a string of nonsense. Before they can process much else, they are assisted onto a gurney by Raph and April, and wheeled into the medical bay by Leo and Donnie.

Five minutes later, however stunted, Gio's linguistic abilities return. Their first question is, "...Where...am I...?"

April, who had been sitting beside the gurney, sighs with relief. "Okay, good, you can talk again. So... You're in the lair's medical bay. We're all gonna do what we can to take care of you until you feel better, okay?"

"It's just a...a seizure. I'll be fine..." Gio attempts to sit up, only to immediately curl up and clutch their head. "Ow..."

"Headache?"

"Y...yeah..."

"I'll let Leo know." She gets up and walks across the room, tapping Leo on the shoulder when she arrives at his location. After a brief conversation between the two, April returns to the gurney. Leo arrives a couple minutes later, wheeling an IV bag beside him. "Okay, Gigi, we've got something special here for you," he says. "I like to call it a 'migraine cocktail.' It'll fix your headache in no time."

Wary, Gio asks, "Are you...like...trained...to do this kind of...of stuff...?"

"Trained enough to keep us out of actual hospitals." He smirks, then takes on a slightly more serious demeanor. "Seriously, though, you'll be fine. I know what I'm doing, I promise."

"Okay...if you say so..."

Leo carefully inserts the IV line in a vein in Gio's left arm, then leaves to retrieve the others. In the meantime, Gio turns to April. "Thank you," they say.

April stares at them, slightly surprised. "For what?"

"For...for staying here with me. I haven't...haven't had a seizure that bad in a couple years. I kinda forgot how scary it was..."

"Aww, it's nothing!"

"N-no, it really is something... It means a lot to me. Again...thank you."

April pauses, then smiles. "You're welcome, Gio."

When Leo returns with his brothers and Splinter, Gio receives a maelstrom of concern and questions. "Are you okay?" "Why couldn't you speak?" "What even happened?"

Gio clutches their head once more. April notices their pain and stress, taking charge once more to restore order. "Okay, okay, one at a time, guys..." she directs.

"Could someone please tell me what happened?" Splinter requests frantically.

"I...I had a seizure while we were playing Truth or Dare..." answers Gio.

"Are you okay now?" Mikey asks.

"Yeah, mostly. I'm still stuttering a little, and...and I have a heck of a headache...but I'm doing better now..."

"Good," he replies, hugging them in the process.

"On the topic of your speech," Donnie interjects, "what happened? The others told me you couldn't respond to them when you first woke up."

"Okay, so... The doctors never gave me an official reason... I did some digging around online, and take...take this with a grain of salt since it isn't official, but I think I have something called Todd's Paralysis. It's a form of par...temporary paralysis that can happen with epilepsy... In my case, it happened to my legs once, but now it happens with my speech and language processing..."

"Hmm... Interesting..."

"Wait, epilepsy?!" Raph exclaims. "Why didn't you tell us you had epilepsy? We need to know this kind of stuff if we're going to be good brothers to you...!"

"I didn't think it would come up...but I guess I have been slacking on my medicine lately...and I guess all the excitement from game night kinda pushed me over the edge... I should have seen it coming... I should have told you... I...I'm sorry, guys..."

Raph sighs, then pats Gio on the head. "Just don't hide any more important stuff like this from us, okay?"

"Ow... Okay..."

Everyone goes silent for a moment, until April has an idea. "You know what, guys?"

"What?" Mikey responds.

"There isn't anything stopping us from continuing our game of Truth or Dare here--if Gio's up for it. I think I get to choose someone next anyway~"

"Hey, you're right! What do you think, Gio?" asks Mikey.

"I dunno if I'll be able to do many dares, but...sure," they reply with a small smile.

"If you don't mind," Splinter inquires, "may I also play? 'Scorpion Treadmill' doesn't come on for another hour or so...and...I'd like to spend some quality time with my children."

The turtle brothers immediately pile on their father, pulling him and April into a massive group hug. In unison, they all shout, "Yes!" With that, game night resumes once more.

Incorrect Quotes Generator Shenanigans: Part 12

Mikey: What did you guys get in your yearbook? Leo: 'Prettiest Smile' April: 'Nicest Personality' Donnie: 'Most likely to start a bar fight' Raph: 'Least likely to start a bar fight, but most likely to win one'

~

Big Mama: *seductively takes off glasses* Wow, you're... blurry.

~

Muninn: So, what is Huginn to you? Draxum: The reason I wake up every morning. Muninn: ...That’s adorable. Huginn earlier that morning, barging into Draxum′s room, smacking pans together: WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP!!!

~

S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N., trying to comfort Splinter: What's the problem? Anxiety? Low self-esteem? Obsessive thoughts of random arson? I've been there.

~

Foot Lieutenant: You were stabbed. Do you remember anything? Warren: Only the ambulance ride to the hospital. Foot Lieutenant: That wasn't an ambulance, I drove you. Warren: But I heard a siren. Foot Brute: That was Hypno. Hypno: Sorry, I got nervous.

~

Splinter: I'm a firm believer in "if you're going to fail, you might as well fail spectacularly."

~

Raph: Anyone else feel good when their brain releases a bunch of endorphins? April: Can't relate. Mikey: Why would my brain release a bunch of dolphins?

I've been playing a lot of Plague Inc. lately, and my new Leo figure tends to be my "buddy" when I'm playing since he's in his bug-busting suit. I can't believe I didn't think of drawing something like this earlier.

Are you kidding me??? What is it with promising animated shows getting cancelled/paused after specifically two seasons? First Rise, now Inside Job... What's next?

Inside job cancelled please Please Nickelodeon I would like One (1) season three rise as compensation for my personal loss

An Experiment

Hey! This is a submission for a DTIYS being hosted by @trubblegumm. It's based on their ROTTMNT AU, Bloodbath. (Just in case, CW: Blood)

I didn't want to show favoritism (even though I definitely have a favorite--), so I just drew them all. It was really fun, and it made for some good practice. :)