tmnt · angsty · grief · self-loathing · tragic romance · strong build · nightmares · isolation · turtle · guilt
Raphael stirred, a guttural groan vibrating in his chest as he rubbed the grit of sleep from his eyes. He rose with a slow, heavy effort, his massive tail hitting the earth with a resonant thud. Before him loomed a monolithic cherry blossom tree, its petals drifting through a freezing, sanguine mist that passed through his body like a phantom chill. He touched the scar over his right eye, gasping as the world suddenly snapped into sharp, agonizing clarity. The memory surged back—the deafening crash of falling stone, the suffocating pressure of the rubble, and the crushing weight of the sacrifice that had saved his brothers but cost him the only soul he ever truly loved.