#B-Team

[puma-or-cougar]

A little sketch to pass the time! Not much to say, other than that I love them... and their traumas too.

[theanticool]

I have to give props to the B-Team for taking action against Jay Rodriguez. If only because so often in BJJ, schools will protect predators.

[crowsandturtlesandbatsohmy]

What are some of your favorite character relationships/dynamics in TMNT, and why? Is there anything that you particularly like seeing explored with them in fan works (art, writing, comics, etc)?

Good question!

I’m always a sucker for PB&J/B-Team. Initially it was just because I loved how Rise Donnie seems to have a clear soft spot for Mikey, and also the contrast of sarcastic “emotionless bad boy” with a mean streak and a sunshine sweetheart is just delightful to me! I enjoy them across all universes, but Rise is definitely my favorite :) For them, I love to see moments where Donnie really steps up as a big brother and looks out for Mikey. Things like making space for him in the lab, or making noise canceling headphones during Leo and Raph’s arguing phase, or taking him along when going on trips out of the lair. OR! To give canonical evidence, any scene where Donnie throws himself in front of an attack that would otherwise hit Mikey. I love the idea that Donnie has big brother instincts which cause him to have a soft spot for Mikey. I also love seeing Mikey try and make Donnie get more sleep, or eat, or generally take care of himself. I like to see him listen to Donnie info-dump. I love it when he’s able to get Donnie to relax a bit. Honestly I just love their dynamic so so much. They’re so much fun together, and the hurt-comfort (my favorite fic genre) is top tier. Unfortunately last I checked I’d read everything that fit what I was looking for XD so I make my own instead.

My other favorite duo is Leo and Raph. For this one it’s 100% 2012 and MM specific. They give me super strong twin vibes and there’s something incredibly endearing about their dynamic in both shows that I just can’t quite put my finger on? Like they obviously have each others back, but they’d rather die than admit that out loud. And yet there’s so much love there and so much care and concern. They’re best friends. Raph would punch Leo for a pineapple. Leo would push Raph into a drain pipe if he thought it would get him five minutes of peace and quiet. They tease each other constantly and it’s always brutal. They encourage each other the most. They are siblings in the truest sense and I love it.

As for what I like to see in art/fics, I tend to prefer the softer side of their dynamic. I like it when they hold each other up, be that physically or mentally or emotionally. I like it when they’re just goofing off and being silly brothers. I like it when when Raph can get Leo out of his head and to just relax for a bit, and I love it when Leo can sit with Raph and help him sort through his emotions and calm down. I love it when they take care of each other, like one brings the other a blanket or food or what have you. I love it when they one or both break and they go to each other. Hurt comfort with them is also absolutely the way to go, in my opinion. Typically I prefer if the hurt comes from an outside force, be it one of the other two, Splinter, the villain of the day, etc, and then one helps the other cope with whatever went down. But I also enjoy a good argument and reconciliation if it’s handled well :) My legit favorite canonical scene with the two of them is in MM, when Leo gives his speech, tells Raph to get loud, Raph flips the van and everyone piles in, and then Raph leans on the window of Leo’s seat and tells him he sounded like a real leader. They’re being supportive of each other and encouraging each other it just makes me so happy!!

I’m probably a bit basic in my taste, since that’s the way the shows often split the boys up, but hey, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it ;)

Thank you for asking! This was fun!

[sammy-writes-sometimes]

Word Count: 243

“You do this to yourself weekly?” Pungence asks as he winces.

Bdubs still leans against his side, now tilting his head. “Wha– well, yeah? I guess I do.”

There’s a pause of silence, the brothers leaning against the wall almost solemnly as it settles. Pungence sits on the floor, wiping a hand over his arm as he thinks.

“If– if it helps– I usually use this thing–” He motions something circular with his hands, “–to help it be less scary, but I forgot to grab it.”

“I’m not scared.” Pungence puffs.

It makes him laugh, even the smallest of things.

Like brother like brother. Leaves fallen from the same exact tree.

“By the way, my T shots aren’t like this.” He adds quietly, moving away from Pungence. “They’re– they only really go into the muscle, not blood.” Bdubs shrugs lightly.

Pungence rests a weak, tired hand as his shoulder as he stands, still wobbling and reminding him of when the younger had still been a fawn. Wobbly on newly spawned legs, not knowing what direction was what.

The blindness and nausea had worn off, but not enough to be stable, the younger leaning against the older in some attempt to stay upright.

The action draws him back to the board, to what they had been doing, of the silly idea and gift he was planning to give to Pungence.

“So I– uh–” and he goes on, like the moment of softness hadn’t happened.

[lamponellatempesta]

JWCT COUNTDOWN

DAY 2: Favorite Duo

For the second prompt of the countdown (you can find the first one here) I've decided to write something for Brooklynn and Ben, better called the B-Team. They deserved more moments together in the series, and in the few moments they were together as a tag team, I loved them. Beloved criminals. The little story is located the summer before chaos theory events.

(Countdown gently created by @campbenji)

"When did you get so tall?! I see why you don't fit in your clothes anymore!" Brooklynn exclaimed at the sight of her best friend Ben. "Hey!! That’s why I asked for your help! Even if they don’t fit so tight..." Retorted Ben as a button of his pants jump off, Brooklynn look at him with arms crossed with a raised eyebrow, "Uhhh. Maybe a little." "You need new clothes. I’ll help you." "Do I have to?" retorted Ben. Brooklynn went to the boy’s desk and threw him the keys of his jeep and walked out of the room. "Jolene will be happy to take a ride, come on!" Ben could only sigh and follow the girl.

Half an hour later, they were at the mall, and Ben was dragged into a store with Brooklynn walking into trouble-solving mode and putting jeans, cargo, and T-shirts of all kinds in his arms. Question marks popped out of Ben’s head while his best friend gave him some notes on how to match the various items "Bestie...you know I’ll have forgotten everything in 5 minutes, right?" "Oh yeah, but I hope something stays in your head by osmosis." "The only things stuck in my head are: cute guys, bumpy, bacon and physics." " Well, about cute guys we share the fixed thought"

The couple of friends laughed, while Lynn pulled on a crop top and looked at Ben. The guy shook his head "I’m not wearing that thing." " Oh come on! You’d be fine!" " Do I look like the kind of guy who wears that kind of thing!? It won’t even fit me!" Ben objected again.

Brooklynn looked at him again and put the crop top in the heap of clothes to try on, and the two exchanged another gaze "No." "Oh yeah. Go to change, come on!!!" She said peremptorily pushing his best friend towards the dressing rooms.

A few minutes later Ben was inside the dressing room looking in the mirror while he was wearing cargo, which are familiar to him, dark boots, more elegant than those he wears daily, but he also liked them just as much, he had to admit, Brooklynn knew him like the back of her hand and so he was not surprised and finally the...crop top...the part of the outfit that made him feel weird. The boy looked at himself from different perspectives to understand if he liked it or not and how he felt to wear something like this: he liked the pastel red color, also the crop top was not too tight-fitting and that was another plus for his tight-fitting clothing issues and texture. He looked down and smiled when he saw the abs on which he had worked on display; those kinds of garments showed some of his scars but it was not a huge problem, indeed, it made him feel even more confident. He caught a smile on his face and scoffed, his best friend had scored for the umpteenth time, and it amused him a lot.

"Hey come out and show yourself!! I’m sure you’ll look good! Come on!!" Brooklynn exclaimed, sitting on one of the benches outside the dressing room, passively scrolling the phone and she raised her head when Ben’s shadow obscured her view and she jumped up to look at him and the effect was even better than she imagined: the colors, the combinations, the physique and especially the smile that flashed on the face of his best friend filled her heart with joy and made her point the finger in his direction with one of her cheeky smiles and saw Ben snort amused "Yes okay you won this time too, you are fantastic Bestie, you signed the victory point. You won." "What can I say? I know how to make you shiiine, you’re awesome!!"

Ben went around to give her the full view with Lynn clapping at him with Ben laughing again; it was a new type of clothes for him, but a type that did not bother him at all. The two guys spent some more time trying on clothes and different combinations, between laughter and jokes, driving the store’s salesmen crazy before leaving.

One hour later, the two were sitting at the tables of one of the bars at the mall with Brooklynn sipping a coffee milshake and Ben a chocolate milkshake; both were filled with bags, they had a real shopping and gossip session like they hadn’t done in a while; it wasn’t one of Ben’s favorite activities, this was obvious, but the opportunities to be together with Brooklynn were very few because of the investigations that the girl carried out, so he enjoyed every available moment together. He had tried to persuade her to take a break from her work, had risked herself too many times and imagined that the wheel could turn from the wrong side at any moment, but he knew that keeping the girl still was impossible and she had been adamant about her decision to continue, so he could only hope that nothing too serious would happen or slip into something that would put her life at risk. The friend’s coff brought him back to reality.

"I got you a gift, Bestie. To make up for all the times I wasn’t there and I made you worry..." "Lynn...wasn’t necessary. I’m not angry. You do what makes you feel alive, I understand..." "Yes I know... At least it’ll be like having your Superstar with you all the time, right?" And she laughed to dampen the tension that was creating and stretched out a little box and Ben looked at it and then looked back at Lynn, who nodded and smiled "Open it, come on, you are not curious?" Ben looked at the box and he turned it over again before opening it; inside there were a pair of earrings depicting the moon in one and Saturn in the other and a small smile came out looking at them.

"I know Saturn is your favorite planet, and I like the moon and the stars. When I saw them, they reminded me that night that you taught me to read the constellations so I wouldn’t think and stop my anxiety attacks...and so I thought.. that you could hold Saturn, and I could hold the moon s-"

"So we’ll always be the crime team, even when we’re apart." concluded Ben and Lynn did nothing but nod.

Brooklynn was good with words, but not when it came to talking about affection; she knew how much she had made her best friend worry over the previous years, did not know how to repay the moments she wasn't there, in which despite everything she had his continuous support although he had asked her over and over again to stop, that she was taking too many risks, that it was not worth it; perhaps Ben was right, sometimes it was not worth it, but her investigation was one of the few things that made her alive and perhaps the only thing she knew how to do perfectly in her life and Ben was one of the few, if not the only one, to have understood it. They had the same thirst for risk and lawlessness in breaking the rules; Brooklynn and Ben, Ben and Brooklynn, always together, for better or worse. " What are you waiting for then?"

Ben said, shaking his head just to show Saturn’s earring swinging from his right ear; Brooklynn giggled to hold back the tears of joy she felt in her eyes "For you to be more fabulous than ever Bestie of course." She said in an amused tone as she adjusted her moon earring to her left ear and put her hands on her face to try not to cry in the middle of a shopping mall full of people and Ben immediately got up to hug her.

"Nooo don’t cry don’t cry, I don’t want to cry too. Don't make me cry!" The boy exclaimed and then continued "What you always say? When you smell Crimes in the air " "Keep an eye open. The B-Team is near. The Crimes are coming." "Exactly! Always." The two friends smiled and exchanged a laugh without interrupting the hug. They took a picture. That moment has to be remembered.

Months later

Ben put a hand on his earring while driving his van in the silence of the night. He looked at the picture they had taken that day at the mall, hanging from the mirror hook. He squeezed the steering wheel more.

"They better keep an eye open. The B-team is near. The crime is coming. You will have your revenge, Bestie. They will pay for what they did to you. B-Team always together. I assure you of that, wherever you are."

The boy’s van darted across the deserted road. The full moon shone that night.

[hinamie]

newest issue of first years fashion just dropped

[forgetful-nerd]

No one:

Absolutely no one:

Typical PB&J duo shenanigans that occur when the show’s plot finally focuses on them:

[a-dream-seeking-light]

kiko mizuhara for kiiks by michael bailey gates

[mellowwpuphub]

[lotus-pear]

on everyone's SOUL she's the least benched character in the entire game ‼️‼️

[sacredartist33013]

Did somebody say memories from the past!

Inspired by a chat with @inkyturtle, my writerbrain has once again had ideas without me.

Moar B-Team headcanon! It’s been a while. Hallo, weird o'clock writerbrain. Donnie’s great with hard sciences, Mikey’s perfect with soft sciences. The family engineer and the family therapist have weekly chat sessions in the lab over coffee, which is Mikey’s ADHD medicine. Mikey admits that he doesn’t really want to be looked up to or have his talents acknowledged as extraordinary beyond his brothers, because that would mean he couldn’t fail. In his mind he would forever need to keep up that perfect twice exceptional mentality and it would just make everything come crashing down. So he deliberately holds back and screws up and allows his ADHD-I to disrupt all hopes of focusing enough, except for the stuff he hyperfocuses on, seeing as that can’t be helped, and he just happened to hyperfocus on chemistry, psychology, making up his own katas, and wearing a lifelong mask of Keep Laughing While The World Burns, because at first he really just wanted to spread joy and love everywhere, but now it feels like hard work and smiling is hard sometimes and oh right that was how the first depressive episode happened. Donnie knows that Mikey’s emotional intelligence and interpersonal intelligence are so far off the charts they’re up in space but he also knows Mikey rarely takes himself seriously and would rather be loved for who he is rather than the things he could be if he only focused. Donnie has them both hooked up to brain monitoring helmets and starts taking notes and he starts trying to figure out how to do some sort of technical mind merge so he can get inside Mikey’s head and maybe transfer knowledge back and forth. Joke’s on him, Mikey’s already had that idea and has been drawing up crude blueprints that include pictures of dragons. Donnie starts to wonder what percentage of his inventions were in fact based on Mikey’s bizarre ideas for fun toys from his powerful imagination that can essentially create and destroy universes.

(I think I brought this up in one of the fics already, but I kind of want to make either a CFR Mind Games chapter or another Mikey The Lifegiver fic for Earth And Oxygen where this gets driven home.)

[minas-linkverse]

I like this game 👍

[lopata-four]

Greens 20 years later 💚

AU where they all survived.

[chanceofchaos]

I love this panel so much… I love Stan Sakai’s art style so much… And so, the only logical conclusion: redraw the panel in Sakai’s art style! I actually learned so much about Stan Sakai’s art style from trying to replicate it!

Original panel:

Also I get a pass on having an inconsistent art style if it’s an art study of someone else’s style right?? Right??

[parisoonic]

beard beard beard beard quick sketch to acknowledge the 7th comic lol

[forgetful-nerd]

This is how Splinter describes Donnie and Mikey respectively.