You said rant is allowed, so here I rant (kinda )
I haven't watched season 3 yet, but I absolutely HATE the idea of Casey and April getting together! He's an arrogant, sel-obsessed asshole, and even though I love him as Casey Jones the Vigilante, I do not love him as Casey Jones, April's boyfriend. That position needs to belong always and forever to Donatello. 3 3 Apritello is meant to be. :)

Another great story! I love the way you write each character so vividly, I can picture every expression and movement they make

This is pretty much how I imagine things may go when Casey makes his appearance.

I enjoyed this. I pretty much spent the entire story feeling badly for Donnie. He is ignored by April and treated badly by Raph. To make matters worse, Casey-who is definitely an ass in this story-has April wrapped around his finger.

It is a story nice guys everywhere have seen or experienced far too often: the girl of their dreams winds up with an absolutely insufferable asshole. Few experiences are more painful to endure. What's more is that Donnie does it while keeping his emotions entirely in check. He doesn't stand up to Casey or Raph or rock the boat in any way...and perhaps that is the problem.

Women tend to be fans of grand gestures. Perhaps if Donnie stood up to Casey, she would finally notice him. As is, he is blending seamlessly into the background and that is driving her right into Casey's arms. I think that, more than any other factor, is what makes this story so sad

will you please write more?

F**K CASEY! I hate him so much he's going to absolutely ruin apriltello
F**K CASEY!

Okay, I WAS going to to start reading your story "The Tender Trap", but as I scrolled through your list of stories, this one caught my attention and I decided to give it a little looksy. And I'm glad I did! :D I share your curiosity as to how Casey's going to be portrayed in season two of TMNT. As you can tell from the way I write him in my story, I see him as not such a bad guy. Hell, he's actually pretty cool, so to read him as a complete asshole is a really nice change of pace. Hopefully he's not TOO much of an asshole thought in the cartoon. Dx I'm mostly curious about the drama between him and Donnie, because let's face, Donnie's little crush on April is just so immensely CUTE! x3

"When he whipped his head around and sucked in an eager breath to respond, he only released it in disappointment as she continued to sketch and stare at the television, not even looking his way, while waiting for the others to get back." This line, totally killed me. I know the feeling all too well, because I had many, many crushes before I met my loveable fiance and I could just FEEL Donnie's heart-crushing dejection. Really tugged at my heartstrings, so kudos for that! ;D I also loved the part where Leo lunged at Casey and completely lost his temper. As I said before, furious Leo is just so friggin' sexy and I couldn't help but read that part over and over again. XD

"Personally, I always thought if April was attracted to that type of guy, who not Raph?" ...Huh. I never really thought of it that way. Like, AT ALL! How could that have slipped my mind? Man, now you GOTTA write a April/Raph one shot! I will love you forever if you do so! XD Overall, great fic and I can't wait to read more of your writings. ;)

Keep up the good work!

DFTBA,

The Nerdfighter

Wow, I'm at a loss of words. I'm speechless, that was absolutely amazing. So intense, the feeling of raw, pure emotions, the frustration, the anger, it's just unbelievable. I really, really like this unique perspective and interpretation of a possible future with Casey having entered the picture.

The descriptions were wonderful, full of detail and full of life. I could picture everything to the fullest detail in my mind and before my eyes. Almost as if I was watching a new episode itself. I loved it.

The first scene with Donatello and April already sets the tone so well, and gives a sense of foreboding on what is going on. Donnie's hope that April will turn and talk with him, only to be disappointed at her lack of reaction. At first it seems that April is just watching TV, but then later on, especially when she's checking if she's looking well, you get the feeling her thoughts are actually with someone else. I then realized that when Casey and Raph came back, she had been waiting, thinking and maybe even dreaming about Casey all that time on the couch, and not once showing any interest for Donnie.

My mouth fell open when I read the wounds Casey, Leo and Raph had on their body. And from that point on I got a sinking feeling, this was not going to end well. Not to mention April's interest in Casey when he got back, I can only imagine Donnie's face at that moment.

I really liked how you showed the interaction between Casey and Raph, it's very clear they are good friends and go along well, almost like kindred spirits. However, both can be quite violent and rash, and it seems Casey even more so. They seem to amplify each other's character/personality, and especially Raph wants to prove/show to Casey he can easily keep up in that area.

Despite the bad feeling I got (bad in the sense of possible consequences) I loved how you protrayed them both here. They seem like good friends, and I loved how both grabbed some beer and acted tough, and simply ignoring their wounds.

The way how you protrayed Donny's frustration and feelings was incredibly well done. It felt as I was standing there in his place. Almost as if you can touch his feelings, hise thoughts. It must be so hard for him, a nightmare coming true.

I enjoyed every major scene in this one-shot, but it was especially the next scene that made the deepest Impression on me. Leo...

Wow, just wow. Since the moment he came in you could feel something was off. And it seems that his anger and frustration had been building up until it reached boiling point. I loved that bit about April's reaction when Leo first spoke and how temperature plummeted and the tension sky-rocketed. You could feel Leo was so angry. Angry at Casey due to his reckless behavior, putting his brother in danger and having a negative influence on him. And it was clear this wasn't the first time this happened. I realized at that moment Leo was about to lose control, and that a lot needed to happen before you could push Leo to the edge of his limits.

Leo was also angry if even not more angrier at Raph, because he expects better from his brother. Because he would expect at the very least that Raph would follow orders, and act the wisest. The fact that Raph each and every time willingly joined the fray with Casey must have been so frustrating for Leo.

The next scene was... well, it was a moment you could feel a long time coming. Leo directing his anger on Casey again, Casey's "brutal" remark (Very obvious he doesn't like Leo much either), Leo finally snapping and flipping over Casey in a bout of rage, April's shocked reaction and Raph lunging himself at his brother. (Shows how protective he is about Casey as well)

So intense, so amazingly written. That next scene was brutal, Raph pounding on Leo, Leo striking back, Donny keeping Leo in check. The description of the wounds both Leo and Raph had send chills through my spine, I could feel a shiver going through my back when Leo's plastron wound only became worse and cracked further open due to his struggling.

That whole scene was truly breathtaking, and conveyed an intensity that I rarely see in fanfics. The explosion of pent up anger and frustration, everything being unleashed in one massive blow. I was speechless.

It takes a lot to push Leo over the edge, but Casey finally managed to do it.

I was very glad to see Splinter came in and intervened. I loved that little bit about Mikey holding a carving, a bit of light-heartedness fitting perfectly with the tensions all around the Lair. I loved how Mikey took a large step backwards on Splinter's direction and said he was going to put "his dinosaur" into his room. I loved that bit because we saw in Donnie's impressions he thought it was something else. (Chicken/elephant)

Very nice how Splinter took control of the situation, I felt sorry for Leo when I read that his sensei's disappointment hurt him so much, (In a way I think it hurts even more for him than his physical wounds) knowing how hard he always tries to follow his master's teachings. Yet I also knew it was still Leo's fault, his feelings are understandable but he had no right to treat Casey like that and sensei was entirely right being angry with him. I'm kind of hoping though Casey took the hint.

And then the ending. Oh, Donny. From one moment having a glimmer of hope, only for it to be mercilessly crushed within seconds. April seems angry with everyone, and confirms once again her feelings for Casey. I liked the bit how Donatello felt when everyone was observing him for his and April's reaction. They all knew about how he felt, and I liked the description how suffocating that felt to him.

An amazing story. It feels so realistic, so raw and pure. A real gem and beautifully written. I still feel myself shaking as conflicting emotions are rushing through my mind. You are an amazing writer. Thank you for sharing this amazing piece and possible glimpse of the future with Casey.

This fanfic just made me pissed beyond belief with Casey coming into the new series!

Wow- this is totally different compared to the Nick version...
Personally, I think that you used a large number of swear words- too many to be used, to be honest. I don't think that any of the turtles would drink beer, either. So I'm assuming that this fic is AU, which I can respect, but could you place a warning in your summary about the content?

Alright, on to positive feedback- You definitely wrote Donatello's character perfectly, followed by Master Splinter and Mikey as well. The story was very creative. And you highlighted the utter madness Donnie must be feeling perfectly. I must say that the story was very well-written over all. good job.

Heya:) so first off, eeee I LOVE your writing, but I believe I've already told you this, but it doesn't hurt to tell you over and over again what an amazing and talented writer you are!
I loved this fic, Porr Donny, you could really feel his pain and confusion over April obviously being attracted to Casey. (I am very interested in seeing what is going to happen in season 2 of the Nick series, but that is a topic for another day;)
"The rash behavior and bloodlust of their violent new friend only drove Raph to prove he was just as bloodthirsty and just as bold, if not more so. In a twisted testosterone fueled race to prove which one was the alpha male, his brother was running on the razor's edge between attacking with deadly force and acting suicidal." fav line EVER! because it is sooooo true! And so awesome. You can really sense Raph's need to be just like the care-for nothing Casey. eeeee!
And Leo...ahhhh Leo and his temper, lovely:)
I know that in canon Casey become a kind of Alcoholic crazy person, but I think you wrote him perfectly. You could just feel poor Donny's frustration oozing from the page.
And I agree. if April is attracted to Casey...why not Raph? (ugh must update Blindsided ) But I think you should totally tackle a Raph/April story. I think it would be Epic!

Keep up the awesome work, and I will try to read more of your lovely fics!

Dark

What an excellent and sad fic! Donnie's heart is broken and I start to really, really hate Casey Jones! You write so good that I am feeling myself like a real situation participant, booyakashaa

Aw, you did a great job capturing Don's frustrations here...and I love how you take an inkling of what this Casey will be like and applied your own unique brand of conceited crazyness to him. Will look forward to what you do as the second season develops

Aw, Donnie...

Aaaw poor Donnie! THE FEELS! I know Season 2 is going to be Love Triangle City. This is a great take on some of the forthcoming drama. Oh and the fighting, cracked plastrons, blood, and disharmony. My heart!