Regiomontanus - Tumblr Posts

This isn't important in the slightest, but I'm proud to say that I finally have a name for my turt-sona!

Regiomontanus

Why?

Fits with the "famous Renaissance figure" theme naming of the other turtles (I could have gone the Jennika route and just used a modern human name, but that's not my style.)

Has MANY possible nicknames with varying gender expressions (Reggie, Regina, Gigi, Gio, Monty, etc.)

The IRL Regiomontanus was known for his contributions to astronomy, the field in which I wish to eventually have a career.

He was also German. I'm an American mutt, but a good chunk of my maternal ancestry is German.

So yeah. That's all.

New Life, New Name

I just wanted to write a proper origin story for Regiomontanus. It won't be the best thing ever; I'm running on ~30 minutes of sleep, and fanfiction isn't my strong suit anyway. But hey, it sounds like fun. :)

~

It was supposed to be a fun day at the local aquarium. They had recently rescued an adorable green sea turtle, and it was finally being brought out on exhibit. They were even holding a little "meet and greet" so the children could get acquainted with it. Of course, the event didn't just appeal to children. People of all ages came to meet this turtle.

One such person was Grizzly, an awkward but ultimately innocuous local.

Grizzly had wished to bring their mother to the aquarium for this event, but she was occupied with tasks for work, so they went alone, promising to take pictures. They were ecstatic. They had always loved marine life; they were obsessed with dolphins as a child, but they'd eventually learned to appreciate all the creatures in the ocean. The zookeepers were allowing select guests to feed the turtle. Grizzly had never been chosen for these sorts of things, but perhaps today would be different.

Indeed, it was.

Of the five patrons chosen to feed the turtle, Grizzly was the fourth. They trembled with both excitement and fear. Their mind was racing. Holy crap, they picked me! But what if I mess up? That's stupid. You're just using tongs to move the seagrass from the bucket to the water. I'll probably find a way, though. Regardless of their worries, they would try their best to perform well. They had to. Dozens of people were watching.

Things went well at first. The grass stayed nicely in the tongs, and the turtle seemed enthusiastic to eat. However, its enthusiasm was a bit excessive; once it finished eating the grass, it went straight for Grizzly's hand. They didn't have time to react, so they received a nasty bite to the index finger. What did I tell you? WHAT DID I TELL YOU? Frightened and embarrassed, they sprinted away from the crowd, out the door, and into an empty alleyway. Finally out of the public eye, they allowed themself to break down crying. Their eyes burned as the tears streaked down their face. Their head pounded with a stress headache. They reflexively tugged at their jacket sleeve, unintentionally scratching their arm as if to fuel the pain. Even their neck ached with a sudden pinch. A sudden, searing pinch.

Wait, that wasn't right.

The blazing sensation in Grizzly's neck quickly spread throughout their entire body. They winced as their skin began to itch like the worst sunburn they'd ever had, especially around their scalp. They grunted with discomfort, then squeezed their eyes shut and screamed in agony as their fingers and toes tensed up uncontrollably. This strange attack on their body lasted only seconds, but it seemed to persist for years.

When they finally found the strength to open their eyes once more, they found that their skin had turned chartreuse. There were deep brown, oblong marks on their hands--their now webbed, three-fingered hands; a quick peek under their sleeve revealed more markings extending halfway up their arm. They glanced downward and saw their hair laying in piles around their feet. They screamed with terror, feeling their head to confirm that they were, indeed, bald. Despite their pure confusion and fear, they had only one instinct at this point.

Call Mom.

Thankfully, after a few rings, Grizzly's mother picked up.

"Hello?"

"Mom, I need help! I don't know what the heck is going on, but all my hair fell out, and my skin is green, and I only have three fingers now--!!"

"Wait, honey, slow down. What's going on? Are you hurt?"

"That's the thing! I don't know! I hurt really bad before, but I feel a little better now...! Except for, you know, LOOKING LIKE A FREAK!!!"

"Okay, okay. Well, come home so Dad and I can see what's going on. We'll take you to the hospital if it's really as bad as what you're saying."

"O-okay... I'll see you soon. I love you."

"I love you, too. Bye."

"Bye."

Grizzly dashed back to the aquarium parking lot, slipped into their car, and drove home. Their mother was shocked when she saw her poor child; their father was similarly devastated, yelling uncontrollably. They all immediately drove to the local hospital, only to be referred to a dermatologist in New York City. Great. New York wasn't far away in the grand scheme of things, but it was still inconvenient. Well, whatever. If that's what it takes to go back to normal, then so be it.

~

As Grizzly searched for the dermatologist's office, they bumped into someone. That was to be expected. It was crowded, and they weren't watching their step. They looked forward and went to apologize, only to choke on their words. The individual in front of them was huge--not as tall as their father, but beefy. To say that they were intimidated would be an understatement. However, the other person looked similarly surprised...and similarly green, if the arms poking out from his gray hoodie were anything to go off of.

"So, uh... Are you looking for the dermatologist, too?"

Great. Just great. You've done it again. Amazing social skills.

"No," he said with a chuckle. "I'm just out for a walk."

"Oh, okay. That sounds much more fun than what I'm doing. See, this happened to me, like, a week ago--" they explained, holding out a three-fingered hand.

The strange man gasped, then pulled them into a nearby alley.

"Hey, what gives?! Let me go!!"

"I think...we might have some stuff in common"

He pulled down his hood to reveal his face. Said face had a lime green complexion to match his arms, with a red bandana over his eyes that provided a nice contrast. He also had a sharp tooth sticking out from the right corner of his mouth.

"No way... No freakin' way...! I'm not alone! I'm not the only one with this crazy skin condition!!!"

"...Were you in close contact with any turtles lately?"

"...Yeah. Yeah, one bit me. Why?"

"And did you see any weird-looking bugs flying around you after that?"

"No...but it kind of felt like a mosquito bit me on the neck... and then immediately afterward, this whole mess happened... Do...do turtles and bugs cause this?"

"...Kind of. Hey, uh, I have some brothers who are also familiar with this sort of thing. Wanna meet up with them so we can all talk about this?"

"Sure. Just let me call my mom so she knows where I am."

"Got it. I'll call my brothers, too, so we can decide where to meet."

After quick phone calls on both ends, Grizzly and their new companion waited at a nearby pizzeria for his brothers. They were easily recognizable once they arrived--all with varying shades of green skin, all with different-colored bandanas on their faces. They placed an order for a large pepperoni pizza, then got down to business.

"Wow, Raph, you weren't kidding! That's the real deal, alright!" exclaimed the fellow in blue.

Grizzly winced with embarrassment.

The one clad in orange immediately turned to them with an expression of both comfort and concern. "Oh, no, he isn't making fun of you," he said. "We're just surprised that there's someone else like us!"

"Well, the doctors at home did say that they haven't seen a case like me before..."

The one donning purple glanced up from his phone. "That's because you aren't sick," he claimed boldly.

"...I'm sorry, what?"

The first of the brothers, presumably called "Raph," looked on guiltily and took a deep breath. "I'm really sorry I didn't tell you earlier," he said, "but you don't have a skin condition. None of us do. We're mutant turtles--and now, you're a turtle mutant, too. That's why I asked that one question earlier."

"...No. No. You're joking. That's literally impossible. That's not how mutation works. If my cells had been mutated that much, I'd have cancer or something. Or...or..."

The purple one piped up again. "You'd be horribly deformed? Like now? Though I'd call it less of a deformity and more of an upgrade..."

"Donnie, I swear to Pizza Supreme in the Sky, I'll--!!!" Raph shouted, just barely able to cut himself off before he could say something regrettable.

"...Yeah... I...I guess..." Grizzly slumped in their seat, clutching both sides of their head. "Hooooooly crap, what do I do...?! I can't ever show my face in school again...! And forget having a job! At least my parents still love me, but I'll be a freak forever to LITERALLY EVERYONE ELSE!!!!"

The petite turtle in orange gave them a gentle pat on the shoulder. "Hey, not everyone else. You aren't a freak to us. Maybe we can be your friends--maybe even your brothers, if you want!" he suggested with a smile. "Then you might not feel so alone. I mean, you'll fit right in," he added, gesturing to his deep evergreen face for emphasis.

Though a bit uncertain, none of the others seemed actively opposed to the idea.

"W-well, I can't be your friend--or sibling--if I don't know your names..."

"Then we'll introduce ourselves. I'm Raphael, but you can call me Raph."

"Donatello--Donnie for short."

"I'm Michelangelo, or Mikey, or Michael, or Angelo. Whatever you prefer."

"And I'm Leonardo, but please, call me Leo. And you are...?"

"Well, I'm Grizzly...but honestly, I don't feel like Grizzly anymore. That's who I used to be, who I was when I wasn't...this..."

Leo gave a sly smile. "Hey, new life, new name. Who do you feel like now?"

"I dunno... If I'm going to be your sibling, then I want my name to match the theme you've got going on--Renaissance artists and inventors."

Donnie nodded in approval.

After a few minutes of scrolling on their phone, the sea turtle mutant found a new name that stood out to them:

Regiomontanus.

With a new addition to the family, the turtle siblings happily dug in to the pepperoni pizza that just arrived at their table.

Dedication and Potential

Now that I've gotten the backstory out of the way, maybe I can elaborate on truly forming those sibling bonds. It's "fun" writing instead of "work" writing, anyway. See this post for the meanings and general theme of the titles.

~

Regiomontanus. Born in 1436 in Königsberg, died in 1476 in Rome. He put together some of the very first trigonometric tables, constructed some astronomical tables, devised an astrological house system, and facilitated the development of Copernican heliocentrism. Though the wider public may not recognize him, he is at least significant enough to have been the namesake for a crater on the Moon.

He also happens to be the namesake for a newly-created sea turtle mutant.

Regiomontanus. Reggie. Gigi. Monty. Gio. Montana. Whatever you want to call them, they're a new acquaintance to and potential family member of another group of mutants. These ones are mutant turtles, however, instead of turtle mutants; there is a distinction. The youngest of this group, Michelangelo, readily accepts Gio as a new sibling. The others, though? They didn't show it at the time, but they're a bit apprehensive.

Donatello, the second-youngest, judges Gio with particular scrutiny. He prefers to take his time when making big decisions. Mikey's quick, almost impulsive acceptance of the new mutant does not sit well with the softshell. What if they aren't what they seem? he ponders. What if they're just trying to worm their way into our inner circle so they can hurt us?

This calls for an interrogation.

Mikey is giving Gio a tour of the brothers' home--their lair--when Donnie calls the latter to his laboratory. They gladly comply. Science in all forms had always fascinated them, including the various tools used by scientists. They're excited to see what the lab has in store...only to be immediately thrown into a chair and hooked up to something that resembles an EEG. EEGs. Ew. No. They had only developed epilepsy a few years ago, and consequently had only endured a few EEGs, but they still dreaded the experience every time.

"What are you doing...? What are you doing? Let me go! Get this thing off of me, please!!"

"Don't worry. You'll only be connected for a few minutes." Donnie knew that didn't sound reassuring in the slightest, but he was trying his best. "This is essentially a lie detector--one that's much more reliable than a polygraph. For my sake...for everyone's sake...I need to make sure we can trust you."

"You could have just asked! You didn't have to hook me up to this thing without telling me what the heck is going on!!!"

"...In retrospect, that would have worked. Probably better." He sighs softly. "I'm sorry. I've...never been good about this kind of thing."

Gio takes a deep breath, then exhales with resignation. "It's...it's fine. I get where you were coming from; don't want a possible criminal to get away that easily..."

"Exactly! You get it!"

Though still irritated, they couldn't help but smile a bit. Something about Donnie's enthusiasm reminded them of themself.

"Now," he interjected, "I'm going to ask some baseline questions, then give you an interrogation proper. If you pass, you're in. I'll accept you as one of us. Oh, I have another idea--after this, if you pass the interrogation... May I perform some other tests on you?"

"Uh... Why?"

"When people like you get mutated, they also tend to develop strange powers and abilities. I'd like to see if you have, and what they are."

"Ooh! In that case, heck yeah!"

"Great," he remarked with a smile. "Then let's begin."

As Donatello promised, the interrogation only lasted a few minutes--somewhere between ten and fifteen. Though the machine's similarity to an EEG made Gio nervous, they were able to remain relatively calm and provide truthful answers to the questions asked. Thus, they passed.

"Well, it appears as though our inner circle is secure. You're in. Welcome to the family."

"Thank you...!" Gio beamed with joy...and relief that they were finally disconnected from those accursed electrodes.

"On to the ability tests?"

"Sure!"

Donnie's first move is to construct a makeshift fish tank and fill it with water. After all, Gio is a sea turtle. He supposes that their abilities would likely be enhanced underwater. When the tank is full, Gio hops in. The water is surprisingly warm, pleasantly so. Perhaps Donnie understands the agony of diving into an ice-cold pool.

"First test: lung capacity. Submerge whenever you're ready, Gio."

"Got it!"

They inhale as deeply as possible, then close their eyes and fully submerge their body. Donnie presses a button on his wristband, serving as a stopwatch, as soon as they're fully underwater. When Gio reopens their eyes, they panic. Why is everything so bright? It's like the sun itself is in here!! They resurface to escape the illumination, panting with overstimulation.

"Gio? Gio!! What happened? Are you okay?!"

"I opened my eyes, and it was just too bright in there! I don't know why! It isn't usually that bright underwater...!"

Donnie's thick eyebrows furrow with thought. "Maybe that's one of your new abilities--sensitive underwater vision!"

They climb out of the tank, then curl up beside one of its walls. "That makes sense...but at the same time, with how bright it was, it might be more of a curse... Just one more thing to be super sensitive to..."

Donnie frowns with concern, then sits next to them. "Hey, it's okay. I get it. I'm sensitive to stuff, too."

"How so?"

"This might sound stupid, but...I literally can't handle seeded fruits. The seeds just feel so gross...!"

Gio smiles. "I'm like that with stuff like tomatoes and grapes. They're too squishy, too fleshy, too slimy."

"And how about sudden, loud noises? I just want to find the source of that noise and rip it to shreds!"

"Dude, same! ...Hey, uh... This might seem out of left field, but... You don't happen to have autism, do you?"

"...Maaaaaaaaaybe. Why do you ask?"

"Because I do, and you sound a lot like me. It seems like we have more in common than I thought," the sea turtle says with a smile.

Donnie beams back. "Yeah. You might be right. ...You know, I think I have an idea as to how we might get your vision under control."

"How?"

"Maybe I can make you a pair of goggles with light-filtering properties--kind of like sunglasses. How does that sound?"

"I think that could work. ...Thank you."

"Anything for my family."

"...So what would have happened if I failed that test, anyway?"

"Simple. Lasers to the face."

"Goooot it."

The turtles stand up, then exit the lab for a pizza break. The goggles can wait a little bit. Right now, it's time to bond in a less clinical environment.

So, how has everyone's week been going?

If it's been bad, don't worry. I'm right there with you. I've basically been swinging between these two states:

Man, I wish my responses to stress were actually productive. :(

Support and Love

To distract myself from the impending doom that is finals week, I'm continuing my stupid little fanfiction journey. I think I've earned it, anyway; I wrote an entire five-page history essay in four hours yesterday.

~

Four days have passed since Regiomontanus initially met their prospective new siblings. They've been flitting back and forth between their temporary New York residence and the other turtles' lair, but they haven't truly spent time anywhere else. They have made a concerted effort to hide their appearance from as many people as possible. This has been effective so far; aside from their parents and a few doctors, no humans have seen their recently mutated form, at least not up close. Their stealth has also been quite necessary. Attempting to live a normal human life as a sea turtle mutant is akin to swimming through the Sahara Desert--technically possible, but not worth the trouble at all.

Sticking to the shadows isn't so bad, though. The turtles of the New York City sewers have, at minimum, been open-minded toward Gio's presence. Leonardo remains skeptical of them--not aided by their increasingly apparent similarities to his nerdiest brother--but he does not yet wish to make a scene. Raphael makes a more obvious effort to be courteous, but he too is a bit wary. The others have, for the most part, been downright pleasant. Michelangelo was the first to embrace Gio after learning of their plight, and he was even the one to suggest adopting them as a sibling; his optimism regarding the situation has not yet changed. Donatello was initially even more suspicious than Leo, but he used his logical mind and advanced technology to put his doubts to rest, and he has found some common ground to truly connect over with Gio.

At the very least, even if the siblinghood falls through, some sort of connection between Gio and the turtle brothers seems to be in the cards.

Over the past half-week, with some help from their new acquaintances, the new mutant has grown ever so slightly more accustomed to the drastic changes in their body. They are still slightly put off by their chartreuse skin coloration, but they feel a bit more at ease in the presence of spring, lime, spruce, and forest green complexions. The chocolate chip-like markings extending down each of their limbs startled them at a first glance, but their concerns have eased somewhat upon seeing appendages decorated with stripes, spikes, spots, and zig-zags. Their heavy shell threw off their balance for a while, but their center of gravity has gradually adjusted to compensate for it.

They're also discovering advantages to their new form. They have been tested by Donnie twice so far for mutation-related enhancements. Appropriately, two have been documented at this point: augmented underwater sight, and drastically increased lung capacity. Gio has made some independent observations, too. They have noted a heightened ability to hear low-frequency sounds, as well as an uncanny boost to their sense of direction. "Official" tests will be performed over the next few days to confirm that Gio's findings are real. They are exhilarated to continue making discoveries like these.

However, they also miss the feeling of a "normal" life.

As delighted as they are to be in the lair with their new companions again, they can't help but sigh wistfully as they reminisce about their human friends. Mikey hears, and he can't help but want to turn their gloom into glee.

"Hey, Gigi," the box turtle says as he seats himself next to his potential sibling. "Are you okay?"

Gio's posture corrects itself, and they snap into a more positive facade. "Oh, uh, yeah. I'm fine. Just thinking about something."

"You sure? You don't have to tell me if you don't wanna, but I also don't want you to be sad..."

The sea turtle sighs once more, this time with a marked lack of protest. "Okay... It's just... I'm still trying to come to terms with this whole 'being a turtle' thing. You and Donnie have really helped me get used to, well, physically being a turtle, but... I miss my friends. I've been texting them, and I know I can keep doing that, but I know I can't really see them again when I look like this. I used to play board games with them every day, and now I can't do that ever again." They gulp silently, barely holding back tears.

"Aww, hey, you don't know that...! If they're really your friends, they won't care how you look! They'll still love you for who you are."

"I...I know. But I can't take any risks. You know that just as well as I do..."

Mikey looks dejectedly at the floor. After a few seconds, though, his expression brightens again.

"Heeeyyyy...! You know what?"

"What...?"

"There's one human we can introduce you to."

"Wait, what?"

"Yeah! She's been friends with us for years! Just let me call her up!"

Before Gio can raise any questions, Mikey stands up and lifts them into a standing position beside him; they tower over a foot above him, yet his sheer energy and strength mitigate any issues the height difference would pose. He presses a button on his phone, then sets it down horizontally across from himself.

"Wait, what are you doing?"

"I'm doing a video call. It'll be easier for her to talk to both of us that way!"

"Uh, okay, but I wasn't expecting--"

Gio's train of thought is interrupted by a voice coming from the phone's speakers.

"Hey, Mikey, what's up?" asks the caller. Said caller is a girl with tawny brown skin, wearing red glasses and a green hoodie. Her curly, syrup-colored hair is tied up in two pigtail-like puffs.

"April! Hey! We have a new turtle mutant buddy, and since they miss their human friends, I thought I could introduce them to you!"

Gio gives a silent, shy wave.

"Aww, well, isn't that nice-- Wait, 'human friends?' You mean they're a mutated human?"

"That's what they said. We found them by complete accident, too; Raph bumped into them while he was out for a walk!"

"...Huh. Not what I would've expected, but I guess it isn't impossible..." April turns her head a bit to look at Gio. "Anyway, what's your name?"

"I...I'm... I'm Regiomontanus. I know, I know. It's a mouthful. You can just call me Gio, or Gigi, or whatever."

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Gio. I'm April," she says with a smile. In response, Gio simply nods.

"So... What kinds of things do you like? What are you interested in?"

The sea turtle is nearly frozen in place, stammering awkwardly and fidgeting with the webbing between two of their fingers. Mikey takes it upon himself to intervene.

"Well, we haven't seen much of them yet, but they seem to like science; they really like Donnie's lab. Oh, and board games! That's one of the things they loved to do with their other friends."

"I see... So we're looking at another 'Dorky Pals for Life Club' member~"

"Yeah, probably."

Gio glances up in confusion. They can't help but ask, "What's the 'Dorky Pals for Life Club?'"

April gives a playful smirk. "That's just a little nickname I gave myself and Donnie for being such huge dorks."

"Ah. Then, yeah, I'd fit right in--if you'll have me, that is."

"Why don't we get together in person first? Then we'll see."

"Y-yeah, that sounds good."

"Great! Me and the boys'll put something together. That okay with you, Mikey?"

"You bet!"

"Then it's settled. I'll organize everything with you guys later in the group chat. I'll talk to you later!"

"Alright, April. Bye!"

The call concludes, and there is silence for a few minutes. However, Gio eventually finds a bit of courage to break the stillness.

"Hey, uh, Mikey...?"

"Yeah?"

"...Thank you. The fact that you'd go out of your way to do something like that... That...that really meant a lot to me."

"Aww, you're welcome!" He pulls them into a hug. Gio's posture stiffens into discomfort, but they find it in themself to permit the embrace. Mikey rests his head on their arm and looks up to initiate eye contact once more.

"I know we haven't known each other that long, but I really do think you have a place in our family--and I'm not just saying that because you're a turtle now. You seem really nice, and I don't want you to feel lonely or weird. We'll always be here if you need us, okay?"

With moist eyes, Gio wraps their arms around his small body. The two turtles hug in silence until the tears and melancholy transform into laughter and merriment. They're almost sad when Donnie arrives to collect Gio for more testing, but knowing that more fun times lie ahead, the diminutive box turtle and willowy sea turtle depart with grins on their faces.

Nerdy Guardian Sailor Gio

I couldn't resist including my self-insert in this series of drawings.

I felt that Sailor Neptune would be a good fit for Regiomontanus. After all, what better combination would there be than the Sailor Senshi with ocean powers and a sea turtle OC? There are other reasons, though. Michiru is a musician and an artist; though I play the piano and draw instead of play the violin and paint, music and art are two things I love. (I...also tend to get Sailor Neptune as one of my most frequent results on personality quizzes. ^^') And just as Neptune is an Outer Senshi rather than an Inner Senshi, Gio here is an OC rather than a canon character.

This may be it for now, but we still have Tuxedo Mask, the rest of the Outer Senshi, Chibi Moon, the Asteroid Senshi, and Chibi Chibi. I'll take suggestions for characters (or other OCs) to fill those roles!

Trust and Loyalty

The wheel said it's Leo's turn, but I wanted to give the story a bit more of an opening than "cut to game night in the lair with April," so I naturally wrote an entire interlude featuring Splinter. I even drew a whole new tarot card from my deck for this, just for consistency (it was the King of Pentacles).

Why can't I be this productive with my homework?

~

In the shadows of a New York alleyway, a human-sized turtle monster creeps toward the corner of East Lairdman Street and Easter Egg Lane. It wanders slowly, taking ample time to balance and readjust the tall stack of boxes in its hands. It cranes its head to the left, then to the right before kicking open a manhole at its feet. Then, it sinks below the surface.

Suddenly, though, it freezes in place. With a ladder rung in one hand and the boxes in the other, it cannot easily descend to the sewers below. It raises its body once more and attempts to place the boxes on the ground by the entrance. However, it loses its footing. Both the creature and the boxes begin tumbling toward the pipes, sewage, and concrete below.

This graceful creature is named Regiomontanus.

They stifle a scream as they grasp a nearby ladder rung. Trembling, they marvel at the fact that they are still alive, as well as the fact that they have reclaimed two of their boxes. Their awe quickly turns to panic and disappointment, however, as they realize the fate of the other five boxes in the stack. They return the manhole cover to its rightful location, then hurry down the ladder to assess the situation. Amazingly, though each of the boxes has sustained varying volumes of scratching and tearing, none of them are completely destroyed. Just as they can process the damage to their precious boxes, a sharp voice from around the corner ignites another surge of adrenaline.

"Blue? Is that you? What's with all the racket?"

Gio snaps their head in the direction of the voice, only to see a short, stout rat mutant approaching. Stumbling over their words, they somehow manage to squeak out a "Who are you?"

The rat stares at them in silence for a couple seconds, then straightens his posture a bit. "I think that's what I should be asking you," he replies. "You look quite a bit like my boys, yet with anything more than a passing glance, I can easily tell that you are not one of them."

"...Your boys?"

"Yes. I have four sons. They're all turtles like you."

"...You don't mean..."

"...You don't happen to already know them, do you?"

"I...um...yeah. I met them a couple weeks ago. I came over to play some board games with them today...but then I dropped most of my stuff on the way down..."

"...Hmm. Why don't I walk you in, and you tell me how you met them?"

Gio nods silently, then reorganizes their boxes and follows the rat man down the spacious sewers. They share the story of their first meeting with the turtle brothers, taking a bit of additional time to detail on their future interactions with Michelangelo and Donatello.

"Well, I'm glad that they've found another friend...and that Purple has something new to keep him busy. He always gets so restless when he doesn't have any experiments or projects to do," the rat remarks with a chuckle. "I can't help but wonder, though... What on Earth were you doing out in public looking like...that whole situation? You know how risky it is, don't you?"

"Yeah, but at the time, I thought I just had a weird skin condition! ...I didn't always look like this. I was a normal person up until about a month ago. Then I felt this awful pain in my neck--like, the worst pain in my life--and then I was...this."

The rat's gaze softens a bit, looking somewhat forlorn. "...I'm sure that was difficult."

"Y-yeah, no kidding... But the others are helping me deal with it a lot. Mikey even...he even said that he and the others could 'adopt' me as a sibling so I wouldn't feel alone. I know I'll never quite be on the same level as a 'real' sibling. I mean, I just showed up a month ago. They've been together for...however many years. But it really meant a lot to me..."

He stops briefly, prompting Gio to stop behind him. "It sounds like you've touched their hearts in some way. Orange is the sensitive type anyway, but for Purple to warm up to you so easily... I think that means there's something special about you, beyond being a turtle."

"You think so...?"

"Of course! ...I wish they'd told me about the whole 'adoption' idea earlier, though. You'd think they'd want to get, oh, I don't know, their own father on board with a big decision like that?"

Before Gio can respond, an orange blur on wheels descends from the ceiling. Michelangelo lands between his father and his new companion, then picks up his skateboard and corrects his stance. "Sorry, Dad! I've been meaning to tell you about it, but then I just kept forgetting. And when I did remember, I was kinda worried that you'd say no... Oh, and, uh, sorry for just kind of barging in on your talk. I wanted to get some skating practice in before game night, but then I heard you guys."

The rat sighs, then pats his youngest son on the head. "I would have liked to know about your idea beforehand, but I don't think I would have said 'no.' Especially if this friend of yours really means that much to you." He smiles warmly, then turns back to Gio. "What is your name, anyway? I don't think I ever asked."

"I settled on Regiomontanus; I wanted to match the others with their whole Renaissance theme. But they usually shorten it to Gio. And, uh... What should I call you? I know you're their dad, but I also have my birth dad, and I think calling both of you 'Dad' would be confusing..."

"Splinter is fine--Master Splinter if you want to show a bit of extra respect. But if you ever warm up to the idea of calling me a second father, well... I won't be opposed to that."

Gio pauses in surprise, then smiles softly. "Thank you...Master Splinter."

Mikey grins, then gently tugs the sea turtle's arm. "Come on, Gio! Let's go set up. April and the others are waiting for you!"

"Okay, okay!" The duo sprints off into the deep recesses of the lair, eager to begin their night of games and amusement.

Uncertainty and Limbo

Now it's Leo's turn.

~

Underneath the streets of New York City, tension stirs. A battle is about to commence. The stakes are high. Only one victor may emerge, and they alone will lay claim to glory.

It's game night.

Leonardo sits in the lair's common area with Raphael, April, and Donatello as they wait for the final two participants to arrive. They had organized this event so April could properly meet Regiomontanus, a new turtle mutant the brothers encountered two weeks prior. Gio has been visiting the lair frequently to partake in experiments with Donnie; even though they end up spending the majority of their time in Donnie's lab, they still interact with the others with some recurrence. Truth be told, though, Leo isn't the biggest fan of them. He actually happens to be stewing about it right now.

I just don't get it, the red-eared slider ponders. I mean, yeah, it's a given that Mr. Science loves them--new mutant, loads of new experiments--but enough to consider them a new sibling? I get Mikey doing that. He's always been a little mushy like that. But DONNIE? Why does he trust them so much?! Even Raph doesn't really seem suspicious of them! They just show up out of the blue, and in like a week, everyone's all over them! This can't end well. He inhales to clear his mind, then continues his train of thought. Look, I'll give them a chance with game night. That's the least I can do. But I just don't know if I can really be all buddy-buddy with them like everyone else seems to be.

As if on cue, Michelangelo runs into the room, dragging Gio along by the wrist. Nestled in the sea turtle's arms are a clumsy stack of seven boxes, presumably home to board games. The two stop, and an out-of-breath Gio immediately collapses onto the floor.

"Never...do that...again..." they manage to wheeze between breaths.

"Aww, c'mon, Gio," Mikey groans as he places his hands on his hips. "I think you just need to get more exercise."

"Yeah... I know..." They sit up after a moment, then carefully organize their boxes into a neat tower. Immediately intrigued, Donnie proceeds to examine this tower.

"Hmm... Pandemic, and Villainous. Lots of Villainous. You must really like that one."

"Yeah. I...I do. I think I have enough expansion packs for us to hypothetically play with twenty-one players," Gio responds with a slightly sheepish grin.

"...Good Galileo, that's enough for us and our rogues gallery of villains, with players to spare."

"I'm sorry, your what?"

"...Ah, shell."

Raph takes this opportunity to interject. "Donnie, language. What he means, Gio, is...um... There...are a lot of people who have it out for us. Yeah. And even though they can be awful to us, we're always able to put them in their place--just like superheroes and villains."

"O...kaaaaaay...?"

"Yeah. So don't worry about it." The snapping turtle gives a thumbs-up and a toothy grin for emphasis.

A moment of awkward silence passes, which Gio breaks with equal awkwardness. "So... Uh... What are we gonna play first, anyway? I know I brought lots of stuff, but we don't only have to play my games. What do you guys have?"

"Actually," Leo replies, "I'm kind of interested in this Pandemic game you've got. What do you guys think?"

The others agree with varying levels of enthusiasm. Gio smiles. "Well, then, it's settled. I'll start setting everything up...but I might need help shuffling the cards. I'm kind of garbage at it."

"I'll help with that," says April. "I mean, having five fingers instead of three is probably good for this kind of thing."

"Yeah, that's true... Thanks."

Five minutes pass, and the board is prepared. All that's left is for the players to pick their roles. Gio mixes around the seven role cards, gathers them into one pile, and passes them leftward to Raph. The cards then go to April, then Donnie, then Mikey, then Leo, and finally back to Gio.

"Huh. Researcher. This should be interesting," Raph remarks.

"Alright, Dispatcher! I was made for this kind of role!" April exclaims.

Donnie smirks haughtily. "Scientist. How could it be anything else?"

"Ooh, Medic!" Mikey gasps as he realizes, "And the little piece is orange!!!"

Leo can't help but snark, "Quarantine Specialist? So I just yell at people to stay inside?"

"Gah, Contingency Planner... I'll...do my best, I guess," Gio says with resignation. "Alright, let's see who has the highest population on one of their city cards, and then we can begin."

The game begins smoothly, but tension bubbles to the surface as the group races to cure the fictional diseases plaguing the board. By the time three of the diseases have been cured, an argument is underway.

"No, Leo, you don't understand," Gio moans as they press their fingers to their temples. "If you don't stay there, then there's going to be a chain outbreak between Kinshasa and Khartoum, and then we all lose." "Okay, but if I do stay here," Leo counters, "then we aren't going to cure Yellow in time, and then we all lose. Why didn't you grab that Silent Night card on your last turn? We wouldn't be in this mess if you'd just done that!"

"Because I can only do that once for each event card! Once we use it again, it's completely out of the game!"

"Well, gee, I didn't know that! You don't need to yell at me!"

"Well, you don't need to yell at me!"

"Uh, guys--" Mikey tries to interrupt. Unfortunately, his attempt falls on deaf ears.

"Uh, yeah, I do," Leo retorts as he clenches his fists, "because you haven't listened to a single one of my suggestions this entire game!!"

"The point of the game is to listen to everyone's ideas!"

"Well, it sure seems like you're the one calling all the shots!"

"Only with everyone's agreement!"

"Not mine."

"...What? Weren't you on board with a lot of those plans--?!"

"I'm not just talking about the game here. I may not have said anything about it back then, but I never agreed to 'adopt' you. I never agreed to let you so close to our inner circle. I never agreed to be ordered around by you. And I may have encouraged you to change your name, but Gio? Really? Did your nickname have to rhyme with mine?"

Gio, taken aback, struggles to respond. "I...didn't.... I didn't know you...you...felt that way..."

"Well, I do. Mikey should've at least asked me how I felt about the whole thing. People have acted nice to us in the past, only to turn out to be dangerous. If you were--if you are--like them, I wouldn't know what to do with myself. I'd feel so, so guilty about letting someone like that get close to my brothers. I don't care what kind of interrogation Donnie might have given you; I can't take any chances. I need to know what you're really like, and what you really want from us."

At this point, the entire group has gone completely silent. All eyes are on Gio.

"...I feel like...no matter what I say, you won't believe me. And I get it. I've only been around for a couple weeks, and if those people are really as dangerous as you're making them out to be, then yeah. You've got every right to be suspicious. But I promise that all I really want is to be your friend. I think the whole 'adoption' thing is a nice gesture, but if you don't think of me as a sibling, that's okay. I...I get it." Gio, despite clearly being disappointed and hurt, does their best to maintain their composure.

Leo's expression softens slightly, and he sighs. "I won't stop the others from 'adopting' you. Heck, I may even get on board with it someday. Just don't push it, okay?"

Gio nods.

With renewed determination, Leo returns to the table. "Alright, then let's get back to this game and figure out what we're gonna do about Yellow."

"You guys go on," Gio says. "I need a minute." The sea turtle gives a thin smile, then quickly walks out of the room.

Leo grimaces, hiding his face in his hands. Great. You really beefed this one, he can't help but think. Maybe I should go talk it out with them some more.

He looks back up, only to find that Raph has already beaten him to the punch.

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.

A Revised Introduction

Since I actually have a bit of an audience now, I'd like to provide a bit of an Introduction to...well...me. This is for both current viewers and future ones.

I've decided to represent myself using my Rise of the TMNT OC, Regiomontanus (Gio). You may refer to me in-character, or simply as some form of my username (grizzlyofthesea). My pronouns are they/them and she/her.

An approximate layout of my favorite turtles. Honestly, though, everyone aside from Donnie is basically interchangeable. They're all great. (I've sort of "adopted" them as my fictional brothers, too. ^^")

Some of my favorite things:

My dogs (and dogs in general, but mine are the cutest)

Astronomy

Tea

The ocean

Pocket watches and other elements of 19th century men's fashion

Video games

Seafood, especially shrimp

Music

My top fandoms:

FNAF, represented by Mr. Fazbear himself

ROTTMNT, represented by a smol Donnie

Super Mario, represented by Princess Daisy

Monster High, represented by G1 Lagoona

Several magical girl anime/manga, represented by Sailor Mercury

Some of my biggest dislikes:

Tomatoes

Onions

Skirts and dresses (wearing them; they can still be cool to look at)

Loud and irritating noises

The cold

Stink bugs (are we sure they aren't actually demons?)

Some skills/talents:

Lifeguarding

Perfect pitch

Playing the piano

Physics (and, by extension, math)

Applicable pride flags:

Aroace

Nonbinary

Genderfluid

Genderfaer

Jellogender

So yeah. That's just a bit of an info-dump about myself. Feel free to ask any questions you may have!

Comfort and Fun

The wheel has spoken. Raph is next.

~

Pandemic is a cooperative board game. It is designed to make players work together to face the problems arranged before them. Given the nature of cooperative board games, though, this doesn't always work. Sometimes, it's just a matter of the group being conflicted over what steps to take. In other cases, an "alpha" will emerge and attempt to steer the entire game in their vision. Things can get ugly if there are multiple of these strong personalities in the group.

Things got ugly between Regiomontanus and Leonardo.

It started with a simple disagreement about how to handle the final troublesome disease on the board. It ended with Leo revealing some deep-seated feelings about Gio's presence, and Gio leaving the room. Desperately wanting to prevent the situation from worsening, Raphael has taken it upon himself to follow and check on Gio.

Raph finds the sea turtle in a hallway just outside the lair's common area, curled up against the wall. He creeps just a bit closer and hears them quietly crying. His heart sinks. He discards his stealthy approach and approaches them outright.

"Hey, Gio," he says gently. "Can I sit with you?"

"Why?" they ask between sobs. "I...I ruined game night. Why do you even want to be around me...?"

"No, no! You haven't ruined anything!" the snapping turtle asserts as he sits beside his distressed companion. "It's just one game. We've got time for more. I bet it'll all blow over soon."

"I dunno... You heard what Leo said. Those feelings don't just 'blow over.' It sounds like he...he really doesn't think he can trust me. I didn't do anything wrong, did I...?"

"Not that I know of. But maybe it'll help for you to know exactly where he's coming from. Remember what we were saying about those people who have deceived and tried to attack us before?"

"Yeah..."

"And what Donnie said about our 'rogues gallery of villains?'"

"...Yeah...?"

"...These...aren't your run-of-the-mill thugs. They're mostly mutants like us...and some yōkai, but either way, they have extremely dangerous powers."

"Wait, like, actual yōkai?"

Raph nods. "Some of them have seriously hurt us, too. One of them--a spider yōkai lady--even turned all of New York into a battle arena and made us fight for our lives in there."

"...W...what? Why wasn't that on, like, national news?!"

"It's a long story. We'll tell you some other time. But the point is, that's what we mean by 'dangerous people.' That's what Leo means by 'people we shouldn't trust.'"

Gio goes silent for a minute, staring at the wall ahead as they try to process the information that Raph just relayed to them. For a solid thirty seconds, all they can think is, Well, heck. No wonder he got like that with me.

When their train of thought finally resumes, they ask feebly, "So I guess you guys have been through a lot...huh...?"

"Yeah," Raph confirms. "...Especially Leo."

"Ah, geez..." Gio can't help but start crying again. "I had no idea... I shouldn't have snapped at him...! Why'd I have to go and ruin everything...?!"

"Hey, no...!" Raph softly places one of his hands on their shoulder. "Stuff happens, okay? I know I've gotten into some nasty fights with the others... But then, once everything's cooled down, we talk it out, and that helps. It isn't always perfect, but it still helps. Maybe you and Leo can talk your stuff out later, in a less 'heat of the moment argument' kind of way."

Gio gives a small smile. "Yeah... That...that might work... ...Thank you..."

"Aww, no problem! Now, whaddya say we get back to playing some games, huh?"

"In...in a minute. I don't want to go in there looking like...this," the sea turtle says, gesturing to their tear-streaked face.

"That's okay. Take your time. I'll stay right here with you until you're ready to go back."

"Y-you don't have to..."

"It's fine, really! I don't want you to be all alone when you're feeling crummy like this...unless you wanna be alone--"

"No, it's okay. You can stay."

Raph smiles, and the two sit together in silence for a couple minutes. Gio eventually regains their composure, but they comment, "I should at least apologize to Leo before I go back in..."

"No need," an outside voice interjects.

Gio and Raph both snap their heads in the direction of the voice, only to find a certain slider leaning against the doorway. "LEO?!"

"H-how long have you been there?!" Gio sputters.

"Long enough," Leo replies nonchalantly. With a bit more formality, he adds, "I...actually came over to apologize to you. I shouldn't have gotten so worked up... You haven't made any moves on us since we met. There wasn't any reason for me to be so paranoid about you."

"No, no, it's okay...! If they're all like that spider lady, I totally get it! I'd be scared of everyone! ...And in retrospect, I was kinda taking over the game; I just get really into strategizing like that... I'm sorry about that, too..."

"...Raph, you told them about Big Mama?"

Raph stands up and folds his arms. "She was the first example that came to mind, okay? And...if Gio's gonna keep hanging around with us...they have to know everything about us sometime, right?"

"...I...guess I see where you're coming from...but that can wait. It's game time. You still in?" Leo asks with his characteristic smirk.

Gio stands up and turns to face him. "Yeah. I am."

"Great! Then vamanos, hermanos."

"Wait, 'hermanos?' But you said--!"

"A guy can change his mind, can't he?"

Gio pauses, then smiles. "Yeah. He can."

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.

Okay, so I know that literally none of you care, but I'm retconning Gio's accent color. It was turquoise, but now it's going to be violet. Why?

Complementary colors, that's why.

Their skin is chartreuse, which I have taken to mean as the exact midpoint between yellow and green. This is #7FFF00 in hex color codes (thanks, Wikipedia). Its complementary color is #8000FF, the hex code for violet. I couldn't pass it up.

Don't worry, Donnie. I'm not stealing your purple. Violet's bluer than purple (#800080 according to Wikipedia).

Pop Quiz: How do you double a turtle's coolness factor?

It's simple. You give them a weapon!

The logical reason for Gio to have a weapon? Self-defense is a good skill to have when you're part of the Hamato household.

The actual reason? Ninja weapons are awesome.

I chose a chigiriki specifically because it looks rad. Simple as that. I do think it's a good choice for other reasons, though.

The staff portion is typically hollow, so you can be sneaky and hide stuff in it.

It's like an unholy fusion of Donnie and Mikey's weapons.

It's versatile, being good both offensively and defensively.

And et cetera.

This isn't a mystic weapon. It's just an ordinary chigiriki...that Donnie tricked out so the spiked portion can give electric shocks on impact.

And here's how I think "training" would go. Captions because my handwriting is tiny and sloppy:

Gio: So... How do I use this?

Splinter: We'll get to that after the Lou Jitsu marathon.

This was my first time drawing Splinter, by the way. He may be chibified, but I'm happy with how he turned out. :)

Guess who downloaded Among Us.

I know it's kind of a dead meme at this point, but it's pretty fun as long as you don't get stuck with the wrong people. I love being a crewmate, especially when I catch an impostor. I hate being an impostor because it's stressful. It's exciting, but I'm a horrible liar. I've gotten away with some dumb stuff, though.

Anyway, have this drawing. It looks kind of bad because I drew it in the dark during a movie we were watching in my psychology class.

And some captions. I didn't bother writing them on the paper because my handwriting is small and messy.

Regiomontanus (me): Guys, I was in navigation, I swear!

April: Oh, come on, Gio. You're literally shaking. You're even worse at lying than Donnie.

Donnie: ...Just for that, I'm voting you out, April.

Maybe I'll draw little crewmate beans for the turtles and April, too. :)

I have a dumb idea.

Buzzfeed has AI quizzes now (AI is everywhere now for some reason), and this one caught my eye since I've always loved mermaids. And then I thought to relate it back to TMNT, because of course. I decided to take the quiz once for myself in character as Regiomontanus, once for each of the turtles, and once for April. These results may not be the most reliable out there, and the names are a little wacky since the quiz is likely assuming female takers, but it was fun. Here's what I got.

April

My mermaid name is Aprilla and my tail is a beautiful turquoise color, with tiny sparkles covering my fin. My sidekick is a Bottlenose Dolphin named Duke, who guides me all around the ocean. The city I live in is Coral Reef; it is home to dolphins, whales, and a variety of colorful fish. Every day I swim to all the different coral caves and explore the depths of the ocean. I enjoy swimming with the dolphins and playing tag among the sea stars. I also love talking to the mermaids and learning new magical tricks in our underwater kingdom.

Gio

My mermaid name is Regeo. My tail is a deep teal with streaks of bright pinks and oranges, shimmering and sparkling in the sunlit depths of the ocean. My sidekick is a brightly patterned Moorish Idol named Glitter. Together, we explore the wonders of the seafloor, from sunlit coral gardens to dark and mysterious trenches. From time to time, we visit the underwater city of Callemon, my home. There, I pass the time catching and trading seashells with fellow mermaids, racing through fields of swaying seaweed and zipping around the city on our scaly friends, sharing stories and secrets with friends old and new.

Raph

My life as a mermaid, Raphaelia, is filled with enchantment. My tail is a shimmering turquoise, with vibrant pink and orange scales along the upper half. I thrive in the underwater city of Nassquah, where I have many friends and adventures. My closest companion is a playful angelfish named Finn. We spend our days exploring sunken shipwrecks, swimming with dolphins, learning magical new spells, and chasing rainbows of color through vibrantly-hued coral reefs. We also love helping to protect our beautiful aquatic homes from pollution and fishing nets. In Nassquah, I'm never bored—my life is a continuous magical journey!

Leo

My mermaid name is Leonida and my tail is a majestic white and light blue combo that shimmers in the sun. My sidekick is a Nemo-like clownfish named Antonia. We regularly explore the ocean on whimsical journeys filled with exciting adventures. We usually return to our underwater city, Corallian, which is a small but vibrant town located in the depths of the Atlantic. During our time in Corallian, I often enjoy making music with my dolphin friends, searching for sunken treasure, and swimming in the shipwrecks littered in the bay.

Donnie

My mermaid name is Donatella, and my tail is a glittering turquoise and emerald mermaid tail with pearl scales. I live in the underwater city of Neptune Bay, which is home to a multitude of marine life. My sidekick is Pebbles, a small yellow and blue striped fish. In Neptune Bay, I enjoy swimming with dolphins and exploring the coral reefs. I have a number of mermaid friends and we often have singing contests with the fish and dolphins. Each night, I rest on a bed of white sand and gaze up at the twinkling stars. Life as a mermaid is liberating and I couldn't be happier.

Mikey

My name as a mermaid is Michelamar, and my tail is shimmering aquamarine with golden accents. I reside in the beautiful city of Atlanina, located on the seafloor, which is bustling with life and activity. My sidekick is Coralessa, a cheerful clownfish who loves to follow me around. I spend my days swimming around the many coral reefs, exploring the vast ocean and playing with the other fish. I often like to gather with other merfolk in the city and socialize, competing in various mermaid challenges such as tail races and pearl hunting. Other activities I enjoy are creating stunning sand sculptures and gazing at the starfish.

No kidding, I'm thinking of making an AU out of this. I may change some design details, too (because 5 out of 6 characters having blue-green tails is kind of lame), but merturtles is such a silly concept, I can't help but love it and want to make it a thing.

What do you guys think?

Squaring up for the @autismswagsummit vote today

I know I already posted Donnie propaganda last night, but every vote counts! Go vote when the polls open up!

Down, but Not Out

We may have lost the battle, but there's still hope for the war. Come on, Donnie squad. Keep up the propaganda! Let's destroy the Wheel of Doom!

@autismswagreblogs

I got to do my presentation today!

I think it went well. :)

I also had the idea to draw Donnie reacting to my slideshow, so here.

Gio: So, what'd you think? :D

Donnie: ...See, I'm not sure whether to be honored that you chose me or offended that you gave Freud any ounce of credibility.

BIRTHDAY TIME, BOIIIIIII

At 11:11 this morning, I officially entered a new year of my life. To celebrate, I drew the Mad Dogs putting together a little party for my OC. :)