T-Rae18

Well, howdy!

My tags:

#t-raesurfacetension

#t-raewrites

#t-raedraws

#SurfaceTensionAU

#LeoLaina

[MASTERLIST COMING SOON!!! :D ]

I'm T-Rae, but you can call me T, or Rae, or gurrrrrrrrl. (But that last one's only for when you're really excited and just have to share somethin' with me 🤭)

I guess I can't say I'm a self taught artist anymore--not after spending nearly 6 years completing a fine arts bachelor's degree--but I've only just started getting back into art. And techinically my art degree isn't really in... art? It's in design (which is art, but not like, drawing and doing graphics and painting). It's more construction trades adjacent than anything.

For years, my sparkle's been... minimal. [Insert sob story here. Womp womp.] But I just started my Tumblr late last year, not expecting it to be this great outlet, but wow! There are so many amazing artists on here! And with similar interests and fixations, too; I had no idea!

- THINK FAST -

~ My favorite color is purple

~ I am a WOMF (that's old school Liza Koshy for woman)

~ I'm unfortunately/fortunately an empath (catch me cryin' at everythin' how bout dat)

~ I rescued a sweet lovin' doggo, she's amazing 🐾

~ I have a kind and gentle hearted hubby

~ I am brand spankin' new to digital art

~ I play a handful of instruments and write music

~ I'm learning how to knit from YouTube! 🧶

~ I knit my first sweater last year!! 🤩

~ I love, and I mean LOVE, to write

~ Hobbies? (Music, writing, knitting, gaming, sewing, painting... the list keeps growing! 🫥)

~ Current obsession should be obvious by now (TMNT, mostly 2k12)

~ Also starting to get sucked into the TADC fandom... 👀

~ Certified yapper 📣

~ Kind of a chronic perfectionist and people pleaser 😩

I also love being anonymous cause I'm really hard on myself and I tend to worry a lot about what people think of me, or rather, how I think they're perceiving me, so this whole anonymous thing is working in my favor. But PLEASE feel free to ask any fandom/art/story related questions. I never shy from a good ask! 🥰

Shoot, is this too long? I dunno how to intro post. 😅

Okayyy, thanks for stoppin' byyyyy. Byeeeeee~

P.S./Warnings: Heavy themes of Angst, Anxiety, Trauma, Blood, Violence. Suggestive (but no smut ever). PG-13 content! Characters are aged up. Reader discretion is advised.

Snippet Word Count: 1,576 words

When Karai called April to tell her you were kidnapped, she immediately packed a bag and ran to the lair. The brothers, Karai, and Shinigami have been searching for you all night, and by the time April arrives at the lair, she walks in just minutes before the group trickles in. 

        April senses them all before she sees them, her psychic abilities having developed significantly in the last year. All of their despair hits her at once, and tears streak her cheeks as the group rounds the corner and hops the turnstile entrance. 

        “She’s really missing?” April says, gripping onto her new backpack with white knuckles. 

        “She’s gone,” Mikey sniffles, walking up and plopping his head on her shoulder. 

        April squeezes him tightly, watching the group with teary eyes. They can barely keep their eyes open. 

        “Where’s Leo?” April asks worriedly. 

        “We don’t know,” Donnie sighs, his long arms drooping along with his eyes. 

        “One second he was with me,” Mikey mumbles against April’s shoulder, “the next he was just gone.” 

        April gives Mikey one last squeeze before letting him go. He rubs his eyes tiredly, trudging off towards the bedroom hall. 

        “I can find him,” April says to the rest of the group. 

        Raph drags his feet past April without a word, leaving Shini, Karai, and Donnie in the common area. 

        “It’s just awful,” Shini says. 

        “We looked everywhere,” Karai explains, “but her trail went cold.” 

        “And without a tracker,” Donnie sighs, “she could be anywhere in New York. Anywhere in the world.” 

        April squeezes Donnie’s shoulder, but he doesn’t even have the energy to give her a half smile. 

        “Everyone needs to get some sleep, including you, Donnie,” April says empathetically. “We’ll gather as a team in a few hours.” 

        “Right,” Donnie mumbles, hardly lucid. “I’ll be in my lab.” 

        As he makes his way through, April sighs deeply, knowing there’s no stopping him. Karai and Shinigami split off down the kitchen hallway, and April takes to looking for Leo. She can sense he’s near, so she makes her way to the dojo first, hoping to find him where he usually is during times of duress. 

        April slides open the dojo door, but it’s empty, the morning sun just starting to peek through the open grate above the grand tree to the left of the room. She leaves the door open and walks across the hall to Leo’s new bedroom. “Leo?” She asks, softly knocking on the door, but it creaks open. April gently pushes the door further and gasps at the state of his new room. 

        Leo’s mattress is lifted off the frame, flipped over on the floor. His dresser drawers are pulled out and thrown around the room, leaving wood splintered and broken off around the room. His wood lamp is slumped against the wall, the shade dented, and the light bulb shattered, the nightstand on its side. And worst of all, his beloved Space Hero posters, both framed and tacked up, are ripped from the walls. April covers her mouth as a few sobs sneak past her resolve. She could feel his heartache before she even opened the door, but to see it so plainly is nearly worse. And despite the state of the room, Leo is nowhere to be found. She pulls the door shut with a quiet click as she wipes her eyes trying to collect herself. She walks down the hall, following Leo’s trail of despair through the common room and down the bedroom hall. She knows where he is now. 

        April takes a few shaky breaths, determined to be a comfort and not a burden. She grasps the handle to your old bedroom door and pushes it open. Your room is dimly lit, the twinkle lights strewn over the ceiling plugged in for the first time in months, your lamp casting a rich, warm hue over the concrete walls. Leo is sitting on the side of your bed, his back upright, but his shoulders slumped, staring at your chair and dresser across the room. 

        “Leo?” April asks, walking slowly into the heavy space. 

        Leonardo turns his head, looking at April with a blank expression, and her heart breaks even further. She walks over to his side, but can’t think of the right words to say. Nothing I say is going to help the way he feels right now, she thinks. 

        Leo looks away as April sits beside him on your empty bed. He’s flipping the Sodalite turtle you gave him between his fingers, the repetitive motion numbing. He stares at the patterned high-back chair in the corner of your room, remembering the day he had to convince Raph to help him bring it in. Raph was sure it was trash, but Leo saw the potential in it, like you see the potential in him. At this point, Leo’s already cried so much, he doesn’t think he could cry anymore. His eyes burn, desperate for sleep, but he doesn’t dare close them. What if you call and he’s not awake to answer his phone? 

        April leans over and places her head on Leo’s shoulder, staring at the chair, too. She can’t believe you’re really missing. Kidnapped right from underneath them. I should’ve been on patrol with them all, she thinks guiltily. She’s been so focused on college that she has let her kunoichi responsibilities take the back burner, and she can’t help but share blame. “We’re going to find her, Leo,” she whispers, just as much reassuring him as she is herself. 

        “Yeah,” he says, his voice scratchy and dull. 

        “Leo?” 

        “Yeah.” 

        “Are you going to be okay?”

        “Yeah.” 

        April lifts her head, looking at him with a deep sympathy for his aching heart. She knows he’s hiding it all beneath this stoic, dare-not-show-emotion facade. He’s the leader; he feels he has to. 

        Leo knows if he looks at her, he’ll unravel, so he traces the rips in the arms of your chair instead. He flips the sodalite turtle around his right hand, trying not to think about you, but only being able to. 

        “Leo,” April says, her voice dripping with sincerity, “you did everything you could. And she knows we’re coming for her. There’s not a world out there where she doesn’t believe we’ll do everything we can to bring her back home.” 

        Without thinking, against his will, Leo’s inhale catches in his throat as his tired eyes burn with fresh tears. He finally turns to look at his best friend. Seeing her worried expression, her own tear-filled eyes, it's all he can take. Leo folds forward, hiding his face in his hands, and sobs. April places her hand on the back of his shell; he doesn’t pull away. She sits there with him in silence as he pours out the emotions he tries so hard to bottle up and hide from his brothers. He knows she’s right, that you know they’re all looking for you, but not knowing who took you leaves a sharp pit in his stomach. And not knowing if you’re alive or not is even worse. 

        “I should’ve been with her,” Leo sobs. April listens. “I should’ve been there.” 

        April caringly rubs her hand over the back of his shell, letting him say what he needs to say as he works through the grief. 

        “H-Her helmet–” Leo chokes on a sob, watching his tears fall down on the fuzzy white rug beneath his wrapped feet. “P-Pieces of it were o-on the roof like someone was c-crushing her or slamming her against the– and I– A-April, I can’t–” He can’t help it. His hands grip the sides of his head tightly as he tries desperately to hold himself together, but he’s unraveled at the seams, and all he can do is think about the pain you must be in. The fear you must be experiencing, and how badly he wants to save you from it all. It’s his purpose. To save and protect. And since he’s fallen in love with you, since you’ve become more important than the air he breathes, his purpose is to save and protect you. And it’s completely out of his control. It’s not just that he feels like a failure; it’s that he’s failed at the very reason for his existence. If he’s not protecting the ones he loves, then what good is he? 

        April senses this, despite her trying not to pry. Leo’s emotions are seeping out of his brain and into hers without any effort. They’re screaming out at a volume that is unignorable, and she shuts her eyes as tears slip past them. “You’ll find her, Leo,” she whispers. 

        “And if I can’t…?” He asks, hiccuping. He hides his face in his hands, his elbows propped on his knees. 

        “You will,” April says, sniffling. “There is no other choice. We will find her.” 

        Leo lifts his mask to wipe the water away from his face, then tugs it back down, starting to collect himself the best he can given the circumstances. “And Mona Lisa,” he says, taking a deep breath. “She’s been missing for a while, and I didn’t fully believe it until tonight.” 

        April nods her head. 

        “I need to talk to Raph,” Leo says, sitting up straight again. 

        “He’s probably sleeping,” April says, watching Leo stand and cross the room. 

        “This is more important.” Leo walks out, still sniffling back his emotions, but more determined. His brother needs to know that he understands now. 

I conducted a very legit way to select a winner... I put a number to all of your names and gave it a roll. Tumblr name belonging to the winning number 4?

Drum roll, please!

The Art Giveaway winner is...

@crimsonwolf715

Crimson, you've won a custom Short Story (TMNT character of your choosing X Reader or X OC)! DM me, and we'll chit-chat about what you'd like!

A BIG shoutout to everyone who entered the giveaway!

@anxsiu @marialove230224 @theswashbucklingspy @crimsonwolf715 @sady-is-secretly-an-alchemist @shyflame003

P.S./Warnings: Heavy themes of Angst, Anxiety, Trauma, Blood, Violence. Suggestive (but no smut ever). PG-13 content! Characters are aged up. Reader discretion is advised.

Snippet Word Count: 1,300 words

 “Karai,” Leo says, turning toward you and the small group, “have you given any more thought to what we talked about earlier?” 

        Karai sighs, standing up from her spot on the floor and giving a stretch up. She flicks her eyes from the ground to Leo’s, watching him with a sharp gaze. “I have.” 

        “And?” He asks, gesturing his hands out. 

        You and Shini share a look. 

        “Someone want to fill me in?” April asks, bobbing her head sassily. 

        “Leo wants us to move into the lair,” you say, watching Karai wrestle with the concept. 

        April mouths the word oh with a raise of her eyebrows. 

        There’s a long pause, but Leonardo waits patiently for Karai’s decision, holding her gaze firmly. 

        “If we move in here,” Karai says as if she’s choosing each word carefully, “you would have no right to tell me when and where I, or my team, goes.” 

        Leo’s jaw twitches. His eyes flick to yours briefly before turning back to Karai’s. “Fine.” 

        “And for no more than one month,” Karai says, holding out a single, counting finger. 

        “Three months,” Leo counters. “One month is hardly enough time to figure out if this leader is posing us a deeper threat! We’ve been after them already for months, and we’ve hardly even–”

        “Fine,” Karai says, lifting her chin and crossing her arms. 

        “--wait, really?” Leo asks, stunned. 

        “Yes, fine,” Karai says. 

        “Really?” Shini asks, surprised. 

        “Is there an echo in here?” Karai asks mockingly. “I said fine; that means yes, now let's just drop it and get on with it all.” She struts past Leo, towards the exit, but stops at the doorway. She holds onto the heavy wood-framed paper door, and tilts her head back to say, “Don’t make me regret this, Leonardo.” 

        “It’s the best thing for you and your team, right now,” Leo says honestly. 

        Karai sighs, nods her head, then walks out. 

        “I guess we’re packing our bags tonight,” you say, glancing at Shinigami. 

        “I guess so,” Shinigami says with a shrug. “Smooth move, Leonardo.” She smirks at him, patting his shoulder as she walks by. “I didn’t realize you were such an animal.” 

        “Move? Animal?” He asks, making a face. “You can see me, right?” He gestures at his mutant turtle form, giving her a confused look. 

        “Oh, you don’t have to pretend,” she teases, “we all know it’s just so you and (Y/N) can be… well,” she kisses her teeth, “closer every night.” She wiggles her eyebrows at him, and he catches on. 

        “W-What? No!” He bursts out defensively, his face an embarrassing shade of pink. “T-This is purely a tactical move!” 

        “Mm, right,” Shini says with a grin. 

        April snickers, and Leo whips his attention to her. 

        “Seriously?” Leo asks, flipping his hands out. “You all know as well as I do that the Red Foot are posing a serious threat and I’m only trying to protect–”

        “Sorry, sorry,” April says, stifling her laughter. 

        Leo’s eyes dart about the room, avoiding yours as he tries to gather himself. 

        “Don’t worry about it,” you say to Leo with a grin. “But I do hope you know that you’ll be getting a lot more of that from Shini with her living here. That’s just how she is.” 

        “...All the time?” Leo asks, finally looking at you again, his cheeks a residual pink. 

        “Oh, yeah,” you say with a laugh. “All the time.” 

        He gives a tight-lipped expression, and April laughs as she heads out of the room. 

        You and Leo walk side by side out of the Dojo at a comfortable pace. He glances down at your hand before deciding to take it in his, and your stomach flips. 

        “I can’t lie though,” Leo says, keeping his voice quiet despite the loud ruckus coming from the common area masking his words. “It will be nice having you around every day again.” 

        A smile tugs at your lips. You squeeze his hand and turn to face him as you walk. “It will be nice, won’t it?” 

“Yeah,” he says, his smile mirroring yours. 

        You both stop at the end of the hall, staring out at the packed living area. Leatherhead and Mikey are splashing about in the pool of water in the back, Mondo is using one of Mikey’s skateboards around the room, and Shini and Karai are back at the game machine behind a frustrated Raph beating away at his training dummy. The room is filled with energy, and grows louder as Mikey splashes water out at Raph, which makes him absolutely lose his already unstable temperament. 

        Leo pulls you closer to him so that your arms are practically squished between each other, and you bite your lip to keep a goofy grin from taking over your face. You lean into him ever so slightly, and the tension in his shoulders relaxes. 

        “With us moving in together,” you say, keeping your voice low, “don’t you think that poses a few complications?” 

        “What do you mean?” He asks, his blue mask lifting with his brow. “Your old room still has everything in it. You just need to bring your bedding over.” 

        Raph lets out a feral yell and is starting to throw things at Mikey, dodging the hits in the water. Leatherhead is frantically trying to convince Raph to calm down, but his words act as a stick poking an incredibly angry bear. 

        “If you’re worried about settling in again, I can even unpack and make your bed for you, if you want,” Leo says. “Then the move would be as simple as possible.” 

        Unsuccessfully hiding your smirk, you lean over to Leo’s ear and say quietly, “I’ll let you make my bed if you promise to be there at the end of the night.” 

        Leo inhales sharply, and with the grace of a turtle caught in a trap, he chokes on air, sending himself into a coughing fit. You cover your mouth, but it does little to stop the laugh that bursts out of it. You knew flirting with him so boldly would fluster him some, but his reaction is so startling, you can’t help but laugh. 

        “Are you gonna survive?” You ask as your laughter fades to quieter giggles. 

        As red as his brother’s bandana, he looks at you with wide eyes. 

        “What?” You ask innocently. “Too much?” 

        “You can’t say stuff like that out here,” he says frantically, his eyes darting out to the room then back to you. “I-I don’t… I don’t know what to do with that.” 

        You let out another laugh. “You’re supposed to flirt back, genius.” You lean over and place a smooch on his cheek, and his worried expression cracks. He touches a hand to his cheek, a soft smile lifting his blushing face. 

        You watch him with adoration and give his hand another encouraging squeeze. 

        “What am I going to do with you?” He asks fondly. 

        You blush, but your eyes stay locked on his while your smile widens. “Love me, keep me, never leave me,” you say cutely. 

        He chuckles, a short, breathy puff of air, and leans over to you until your noses nearly bump. “I wouldn’t dream of anything else,” he says, his tone lower, which sends shivers down your spine. 

        You give him a quick peck on the lips and make your escape, grinning ear to ear. 

        “What– hey, wait!” Leo laughs out, taking after you, but his path is interrupted by a wild Mikey running past, leaving puddles of water behind as Raph chases furiously after him. 

        “Get back here, you little twerp!” Raph yells. 

        “Somebody help me!” Mikey shrieks. 

        “Raphael, please!” Leatherhead says worriedly, thumping after them both, his tail dragging a long wet streak of water behind him. 

        “Seriously,” Leo says. “You guys are making a mess!”

Do you have a masterlist? I want to read your Leo X Reader book and I can't find the first chapter TwT I'm losttttttttttttt!!!!

Hi, friend!! D'aw shucks... 🙈 You're so sweet!! Thank you!

Masterlist? Gah, I was supposed to do one of those a while back, but I have yet to sit down and actually do one... 😅🫣 Every free writing moment I have, I'm working away on the Leo x reader content! But it is on my to-do list...

If you'd like to look at the snippets of the chapters, which are just partial cuts of some of my favorite scenes, those are on Tumblr starting a few chapters into the first book (which is "Surface Tension"). And those posts are tagged with my #SurfaceTensionAU tag. But if you want to check out the whole story from start to finish:

Book 1, Surface Tension (finished): Quotev URL Book 2, Below the Surface (in progress): Quotev URL

I publish all my full chapters on Quotev (I've had that account for ages). Each chapter is usually around 5K to 8K words, so I find that's a lot to publish here on Tumblr. Also, you do not need a login/account to read it on Quotev! 😄

I have an art giveaway happening right now, too, if you want to check that out! I'll link that post here. Only 3 more days to vote and get your name in the running! 🤗

The Leonardo x Reader I'm writing--book one finished, the second book in progress--I started because I wanted to create a world where the reader could feel like they're quite literally living in the 2012 tmnt universe. The characters are slightly aged up (18-21 currently), and I tried to make the reader character interesting while not putting y'all into a tight box. I wanted her to be as relatable as possible, while still being unique to the story itself.

Then I made an OC, Elaina, to carry out my vision of the reader and to finally have an excuse to create some art of her and Leo together. But honestly, the whole series is long, but every chapter tackles something new. I want it to feel so lived in. Like you're experiencing their world, and experiencing what it would be like to fall in love with Leonardo in real time. Piece by messy piece.