#But we also look at Raph's from:

[risestarkiss]

Rise Ramblings #1000

(Closed captions and subtitles are available in multiple languages)

○○○○

💜 YOUTUBE | KOFI | 🎵 BANDCAMP 💜

[turtleblogatlast]

I am once again reiterating that Leo could and should be a figure skater because what are ice skates if not twin blades? What is dual blade swordsmanship if not a dance-like performance? Using the skates as blades themselves could let Leo make portals be his ice rink no? I rest my case. ⛸️

[monocrowee]

my silly mouse guy for @hydropyro mouse army !!! ty for doing this as well as making this got me to finish and post something:]

[cagednoob]

Ok I didn't realize we got a canon design for the two!!! OK!! I kind of wish we'd gotten the brother up closer to look at like Frida here. And that we got a hint of a name for him... Any popular fanon name for him as of rn?

Also they gave Frida lips, which is something but ehh maybe she just likes makeup??

Edit- OOP that’s Future Leo 😭 abort mission darn it

[n1ghtwarden]

me after actually completing house of ho.pe and getting the full raph and hope lore:

[tizeline]

TSAU Season 1 Finale - Part 1

It's about damn time I go over the TSAU's version of the remaining season 1 finale, as well as episode 1 of season 2, so HERE WE ARE! I am too lazy to adapt the entire thing into a proper comic, especially considering several plot points remain rather unchanged from canon, so we're doing whatever this format is instead.

(You should read Cell Talk and Gearing Up before this if you haven't already)

But a quick recap, the Gearing Up comic ended with Draxum in the Dark Armour going up to the surface with Mikey to start with the whole conquering humanity thing. Raph and Leo have offically joined Team Good Guys and they, alongside Donnie, Splinter, April, Shelldon and Mayhem went after Draxum to stop his evil plans.

When they make surface, Draxum and Mikey have already started their rampage and are just kinda wrecking the baseball stadium. The Foot are also at the stadium, clearly still expecting The Shredder to show up or something. Team Good Guys (yes that's their name now) figure it's probably good to try to get whatever info about the Dark Armour they can so April and Mayhem teleport to where The Foot are to try to gather some intel that might help them in the fight against Draxum.

Meanwhile, the others start fighting Draxum and Mikey. Draxum is low-key kinda baffled that Raph just straight up switched teams lmao. Leo is one thing, but Raph has always been so loyal and responsible so it's real suprising that he's completely disobeying orders. None of the Draxum family members are really enthusiastic about fighting each other (except maybe Mikey he's kinda pissed at this point) but they engage in battle anyway. Donnie, Shelldon and Splinter are less hesitant about kicking Draxum's ass and don't really hold their punches lmao. Despite that they're kinda struggling considering both Drax and Mikey are so strong, but that's when April and Mayhem teleport back with that useful intel!

What April learned from her intel-gathering is that The Foot think there is some kind of flaw with the armour, like in canon, you know the deal. What differs from canon is exactly how that flaw occured. Turns out that Donnie when he was younger got a little bit carried away with giving Shelldon cool powerful weapons and Shelldon enced up accidentally shooting up the teapot to smithereens, oopsie! Donnie managed to reassembe it before Splinter saw, but with one of the pieces having gone missing he had to sacrifice his Atomic Lass figurine to plug up the final hole (he's still upset about that to this day btw). BUT POINT IS, like in canon this means that the armour has a obvious weakpoint and if they hit that it might be enough to knock Draxum out of the armour!

You know what happens next, they resume the fighting with this new strategy in mind and eventually they manage to get a lucky hit in and as predicted knocking out the Atomic Lass toy causes Draxum to get knocked out as well. Except YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENS and you know it's not quite that easy. Lo and behold, the Atomic Lass figurine was the last thing keeping The Shredder from being resurrected, so now that it's gone? Yeah, the Dark Armour is finally completed, it slurps Draxum's life-force or whatever and then spits him out.

The Shredder is back.

... Except not entirely of course, like in canon he's acting like a wild animal attacking anything that moves, but regardless it's still a new threat they have to deal with. With Draxum being so hurt, Leo makes the decision to portal him back home, and to also send Mikey with him. Both because Draxum probably needs someone to look after him and also Leo doesn't really wanna deal with Mikey's attitude at the moment with everything else going on lmao.

From here on out the battle against Shredder begins. This too goes mostly the same way as in canon, Shredder kinda kicks all of their asses before suddenly teleporting away, and then that song and dance repeats a couple of times before Team Good Guys figure they need a better strategy. Splinter brings up how Big Mama would probably have a way to subdue Shredder, only problem is that it's BIG MAMA and he does NOT wanna go anywhere close to her. In canon Leo brought Splinter with him to BM anyway, but in the AU he kinda respects Splinter, or rather Lou Jitsu, too much to force him to come along. Instead Leo decides he and Raph will go to BM for help, while the others keep Shredder from completely wrecking New York.

The rest of the finale continues in Part 2!

[kathaynesart]

RECOMMENDED MUSIC: Boom Goes the Donnie-mite (Mikey/Donnie/Raph vs the Sweeper) - "The Red Zone" by Mitsuoto Suzuk

Finally! This big ol' update is out! Thank you everyone for your patience. Hopefully the next one will be much sooner since I already have parts of it drawn out. We're nearing the end of... uh, lets just call it the "Holiday Special."

BEGINNING || PREVIOUS || NEXT MASTER POST

Also couldn't get this out of my head as I was drawing this update:

Mikey's Ninpo:

Donnie's Ninpo:

Anyways, have some long winded deep dive into Donnie and Mikey's powers below the cut:

Mikey and Donnie are interesting because I feel these two are the ones who truly reach the full potential of their gifts. Mikey isn't there as of yet in the story but he will be by the end of Replica. Where as Leo and Raph had a lot of other things to focus on (leading, planning, and dealing with colony drama), Donnie and Mikey took the time to really focus on themselves and their abilities, choosing to distance themselves from a lot of the drama that the leaders of the family have to deal with.

Mikey's Ninpo

I always found it interesting how Mikey's weapon (the kusari-fundō) seemed to be the only one that had an actual entity within it. While they never address it, it's obviously some sort of flame demon/spirt. It could also help explain Mikey's dramatic increase in strength knowing that the spirit of his weapon is literally able to help him lift boats and buildings. I like to think that Michelangelo formed a connection with the spirit, especially since he looked so crushed when the Shredder destroyed his weapon in a way that none of the other brothers had.

Shortly after the victory against the Shredder I imagine he comes across his destroyed weapon in their old lair (probably while they're gathering thing to move to their new home) and he can still feel the sad little remnants of the spirit clinging to life in the broken object. I feel this would be the turning point that would lead to Mikey's first dip into the mystic arts. He would bring the weapon back to Barry for guidance and Barry would explain that the spirit has been bound to the object for so long that it can no longer survive on its own. Normally it could be bound to a new object but in it's dying state it would not be able to attach properly.

It is Mikey who suggests that maybe if it was bound to a person rather than a inanimate object then maybe the person could help the spirit survive. Barry admits the reasoning is sound and after much coercing finally helps guide Mikey through the steps, allowing the fire spirt to bind itself to Mikey's being (think something similar to Howl and Calcifer in Howl's Moving Castle, sans the heart losing). At first, not much seems to comes of the union. The spirit is still too weak to be able to do much of anything, but over time it regains its strength in tandem with Mikey and is able to gift him with similar abilities, becoming an integral part of Mikey's arsenal as well as a new spiritual connection to the Hamato family line. That is what we get a peek of here in this chapter.

Donnie's Ninpo

Just as Mikey canonically will go through a sort of mystic and spiritual enlightenment, Donnie too will have a similar scientific revelation. It always bothered me in the movie that his "firepower" (guns, missiles, etc) never seemed to be very effective, or at least not as effective as his ninpo designed physical constructs (such as the jet packs and the giant drill he uses on both the Krang and the Shredder). I believe this is because with physical constructs like a drill he has a sense of the weight and velocity needed to understand how hard it should hit. This properly visualized weight and damage is then made into reality.

But it's different with firearms and bombs. Up until the movie he really doesn't have a lot of real world experience around artillery and projectiles outside of what he sees on the internet and film. He does not know how a megaton bomb should feel or even the damage a bullet can create. And don't get me started on the the imaginary ray guns he uses on the Krang that don't seem to even leave a scratch. Without proper knowledge it's all just a light show. Very flashy, but not very effective.

When he realizes this it comes as a heavy hit to Donnie early on in the war. ...However, if there's one thing he is going to be exposed to in this bad timeline it's weapons of all kinds, even mass destruction. He will know exactly how it feels to get hit with a bullet, the blast of a projectile, and even an atomic bomb. He will then take this real world knowledge and recreate it in the same realistic way he can recreate his battle shell or drill staff. It takes a lot of work, sweat, and literal blood but this exposure to the worst of mankind's creations will help make him a walking encyclopedia of destruction. Over time, he will no longer need to make actual constructs of "bombs" or "bullets." He'll be able to simply create the pure raw power desired, no radiation or nuclear fusion needed. That's exactly what we see here.

We also see his use of shields, which is just as important as his ninpo arsenal. Specifically his ability to create shields to contain his own blasts, dramatically reducing the collateral damage from his own weapons of mass destruction. This makes him highly effective at taking down large enemies, but the shields sap his strength even more than the weapons (for it is easy to destroy, but hard to protect and preserve). This makes him often times a liability. He's often a sitting duck after pushing himself too hard and it can take him a decent amount of time to build these heavy hitting bombs. It's a double edged sword to be sure.

NOTE: these are stories I do plan to address further in my Patreon, with proper illustrations, but I wanted to give a little taste of what to expect! Haha. Very soon....

[pvtpunsart]

Sketchpage for some Mikey asks! Grouped together for my sanity, this week has been Weird!

Above sketched out some fun hair styles and colors--I think Mikey colors his hair a lot, actually! Even if having it too long would get in the way, he can color it often with temporary dyes!

Also, I've never seen Newsies, but I did look up some references and added a little sketch of it! They have some quite impressive jumps.

I dunno. I guess it'd be longer!

Limited on sketching time this week unfortunately, but I am a big fan of superhero media. I love the idea of Mikey's mystics being very versatile. He can do ranged summons of those chains and grab you if needed, but I think he can also augment his own natural acrobatics and strength (mutant super soldier, anyone?) to do some real hand to hand brawling action by wrapping chains around his fists or even using them to pull opponents and prevent them from gaining any range!

I also love leaning hard into the fire and sunlight aspects of the visuals, especially if we were to extend that to the other turtles as well like Donnie being matter and hard light, Raph being projection and augmentation, and Leo being electricity and quantum energy for his teleporting.

[theplushiefox]

Sooo until Hellaverse comes back, I'm gonna need something else to hyperfixate on... and it's gonna be these teetlez again lol

I was thinking about some Donnie hugs!

Mikey is the only one who gets to hug him anytime anywhere (as we can see throughout the series, I swear these boys are hugging almost every time they are on camera together)

Leo tries his luck - he is usually rejected, but gets very happy when he succeeds! (I feel like he kind of tries and succeeds more after the movie, but neither of them will point this out ever. They'll take that to the grave. Everyone knows. It's an understood thing.)

Raph always asks, and only does so when Donnie is having a hard time. Of course he gives the best hugs because he is the big brother. The one who is the biggest. Donnie likes dozing on him and that's a hill I'm willing to die on (all of them like dozing on him, they feel safe, and Raph feels safe because his brothers are safe and acgshdsdj sorry I'm having Raph feels lately)

Also I drew them completely from memory so sorry if I missed anything. Funny thing is, whenever I think Donnie's forehead is big enough - it isn't. It never is. He still doesn't look right but it's late and I wanted to upload this haha

[risestarkiss]

Do you know where the headcanon about Leo having an injured knee came from? I see it a lot in fanfics and sometimes in fanarts he has a knee brace

○○○○ Oooo, that one I DO not know...🤔 but I can speculate as to why we subconsciously all give him knee injuries. 😅 It may come down to character design.

They're designs says alot about who they are as people.

But before we look at Leo, let's look at Donnie.

(Humor me. I'm going somewhere with this. 😅)

I chose Donnie first because he has a similar build to Leo but also showcases the thoughtfulness behind good character design (of which the Rise team excels.)

Here is one of his character sheets.

The first thing I notice is that Donnie is protected. He's a softshell, so his back is protected, but it's not just that. He's actually protected from head to toe. High impact areas (elbows and knees) are covered with pads. His battle shell is durable but also carries an array of items for whatever comes up. He even protects his eyes with his goggles when the need arises.

All of this shows that Donnie is the type of person that preplans and who thinks proactively. He's ready for whatever may come, which is reflected in his character. He's an overthinker and leaves no detail overlooked in his planning, so his design makes sense.

Let's look at Mikey.

He is smaller than the others, but he chooses to only have his kneepads and his sash, which holds his weapon (Kusari-fundō, then Nunchaku.) Other than that, he sports decorative stickers. This also speaks to his character; a minimalist when it comes to the essentials, but who also highly values self-expression.

Likewise, his room shows his mindset; the minimal few essentials, with everything else dedicated to expressing himself.

Now let's look at Leo.

There's something about his design that is different than his brothers...

It's all decorative.

He has high socks and elbow length gloves, but why are they all so long? Also, he has a sash and satchels, but have you ever seen him take anything out of them that is distinct to his character?

What he keeps in his pouches are so mysterious that we fans had to ask the creators.

The point is, Leo's design is about him looking good and feeling cool, not about practicality or what he would actually need in battle.

Case and point: Where does he store his weapon?

Donnie has a place for his Bo, Raph for his Tonfa, Mikey for his weapons, but Leo has his Odachi and no where to put it. The lack of a sheath for the first ep makes sense, he just got that weapon. But why didn't he wear a sheath afterwards?

Maybe, he doesn't find the value in wearing a sheath.

He'd rather just carry it.

It shows lack of preplanning, and/or his choice to look good vs be practical.

So, when it comes down to the original question; why has the Rise fandom decided that Leo has bad knees?

Maybe it's because, for a turtle that loves to SLIDE on said knees...

He won't wear kneepads.😂

Therefore, due to either his lack of planning or his internal bid to look as cool as possible at all times, his future knee pain is inevitable, and we all know it.

Thanks for the ask. 😁

[turtleblogatlast]

Things I make for myself when insomnia kicks in

Just a chart about what I wanna change up and keep consistent in my art - I mainly wanna draw Raph with a tail because he deserves one, it fits too well. Donnie gets a long tail too because I didn’t realize how dino-like he looks until I gave him one, and now it’s a must for me haha.

[charcoaldustonmyfingers]

Splinter mutation speculation! This one is actually pretty old, I drew it before I did all that research on turtles :)

Fun facts about rats: When they are happy, they do a thing called bruxing and boggling, wherein they will grind their teeth together sometimes to the point where the muscles of their jaw make their eyes wiggle in their sockets. They also don’t have paw pads the way dogs or cats do, but instead have little bumps of thicker skin. Look up happy pet rats, they’re absolutely adorable!

These are mostly just my head canons for Splinter as an old jokester with a messed up past trying to do better for the future. We don’t actually see much of him in the show despite dialogue refrencing his daily lessons and his great ‘embarrassing dad’ comedy, so I wanted to speculate of how he might be when the cameras not rolling, per se. It’s tough being the single father of four teenagers without the help of a community, but the brothers are pretty well adjusted (relatively speaking) and are loving towards each other and open to others.

In terms of his anatomy though, while rats may look chubby, it’s in part because of their curved spine and rodent posture. They can get pretty slim when they stretch out. It may be because of these changes to his skeleton that Splinter seemingly shank so much from his human form, while still having the strength to beat people up despite his age. He also made a vow to stop fighting in the Battle Nexus leading to his eventual mutation, which he does break when his kids are on the line, but could be a reason as to why he avoided many of their squabbles in the show? Who knows!

There’s a lot to work with from little characterizations, and it’s fun to see all the different interpretations of his character!

[General][Raph][Donnie][Leo][Mikey]

[gejnialnie]

hi I don't think this duo gets enough love, so here are my fave screenshots of Raph and Leo mirroring each other! :D

+bonus:

look at this frame! don't their poses look similar, even though they're in totally different places?? well, there's a simple reason for it! we can see raph in the driver seat, his left hand on the wheel, while the other one's searching for someting, it's symbolising his active role as leader, while leo stands alongside him, his left hand on a handhold while he gestures with the other, showing him being less active and more of a passive presence, but he's ready on his feet, it's symbolising his potential as raph's co-leader but also him not yet being ready, still gripping the safety rails instead of the driving wheel-

(nah i'm kidding- like, was it just artists drawing similar poses in one scene? oh yeah most definitively! will that stop me from over-analysing? nope! :D this basically wrote itself!)

[tammyu-2]

hiiii. can you write hc for the turtles (if you do) for femreader with large breasts, like larger than normal, and has neck, shoulder, back pains, etc. with either rise or 2012 pleaseeee?? feel free to ignore, loves ya<33

Oookey however I won't do Mikey. I hope that's okay with you

2012 TMNT WITH A S/O THAT HAS BIG BOOBS

Some vulgar innuendos, sorta perverted on raphs side, trying to make this kinda pg but not that much, swearing, feminine pronouns

Let's hop right into it!

LEO

When Leonardo first caught had his eye on you he didn't really think much of it. He wasn't really the type to go for those physical attributes and more or less your smile would catch him before your tatas.

I think if he gets to a point where his crush is so bad then he will probably fantasize you with your boobies. Like full on dreaming about holding you as he used your built in pillows while you cuddle watching his favorite action show.

When you two stated dating it's a bit more..noticed. Especially since you often jump around whenever you see him because your excited to see your boyfriend. And since you've grown to ignore your jugs bouncing you barely take note... Leo however prays for forgiveness at even the slightest peak that happens to last longer than 10 minutes.

"Leo my eyes are up here."

Leo calmly looks up at you as if he hadn't felt like he was sinning hard as hell right now

"That is exactly what I'm looking at starlight.."

Whenever you wear boob windowed tops of revealing cleavage outfits it doesn't go unnoticed. He tends to be more clingy with you without trying to. It's just a natural response for him!

However, as much as you were blessed- it also had its flaws. Like the endless amount of back pain, you felt like you were a camel in the dessert carrying a heavy ass man. You tend to complain about it alot and Leo does small things like leaving extra pillows on the couch before you arrive and asking you to lie on your back alot when cuddling him. He makes sure there's heating pads at your disposal and little things like that.

"We all set for movie night?"

"...can I have another pillow-"

Not even waiting for the words to finish falling from your mouth. Leo tucks a fluffy pillow under you.

"Better?"

"Much."

He avoids touching them out of showing respect for you. Even if you say it's fine- this baby boy is NOT doing that. His papa raised a gentleman.

DONNIE

When Donnie first had his eye on you ofcourse he took in everything about you. That includes your girls. I feel like he would be the type to draw overly dramatic anime styled sketches of him saving you with you tatas doubled. When you jump? Honey listen to me.. when you feet touches the ground so does the back of his head...

They jumpscare him. Like he could be not paying attention and you appear out of nowhere and he visibly jumps at the sight of them suddenly entering his peripheral vision.

When you two start dating he is still the way he is. Just toned down. Like he is still overly flustered when they jiggle alot and he is still blushes madly at the mere MENTION of them. But he is controlled a little to a different degree.

If you wear cleavage revealing outfits then you best believe his nose be bleeding every single time. Even if it's the same outfit you wore 3 times in a row. He is GONE. If he ever gets the chance he will sit down and praise then for an hour and a half- summarized.

If you complain about your pain of having constant melons to carry around like a pregnant lady but longer than 9 months. Then our little genius will get to work. He will create gadget and gizmos. He will also leave around body pain medication and heating pads for you. He will also give you snacks thinking that sometimes it might be your menstrual cycle.

"Vuala! I present to you this magnetic gift for you darling!"

"Donnie this is a corset?"

"Not just any corset but the world's first ever comfortable corset. It is embroidered with built in cushioning along with a flat like table to rest your....assests on to. Gently gving you stylish fashion AND giving you comfort that a bra could do but better!"

".... WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU IN THE VICTORIAN ERA-"

Please let him sleep on them... he litrally is on cloud 9- like it's marshmallows but better. He would 100% Hint at it because he's too shy to ask upfront ot he will go full on 2018 Y/N on you.

"C-c-c-c-a-a-"

"Just lie down Donnie.. "

RAPH

We all know where this is going right? It's bright as day. The first that caught him about you were your little friends, thing 1 and thing 2, and he is SHAMELESS. You guys aren't even dating and he is relentless with it.

"I have a secret talent."

"Oh yeah what's that?"

"I can guess any girls bra size all you have to do is just jump"

"I'd rather jump off a bridge."

"Can I record it atleast? We can do it like a topless-"

"RAPH SHUT UP!"

Your taste is questionable. And you two end up dating. Now it gets worse because before it was sorta empty promises. Now there's nothing TO promise cause he knows he can anyway.

He will wrap his arm around you wast and just grab them like stress balls. He will put his face in it after a long day of being a ninja. He will just grab one to feel the warmth of it.

He cat calls you whenever you wear revealing clothing that show of the powerpuffgirls. Like full on construction worker type cat calling. He will get you attention and just stare. Your eyes are up where? No silly they are down here.

Whenever you have pain her doesn't know what to do cause he normally isn't good with being sympathetic. So he asks april bluntly which leaves him with a slap to the face and a scolding on manners. He will get you heating pads and pain meds but that's all. Other than ofcourse-

"Ugh my back is sore.."

"You want me to hold them for you?"

I don't feel comfortable doing Mikey sorry...

Hope you guys enjoyed that I'm going to try post 2 more but here is some food for yall. Once I finish Monkie Kid I will add that onto my masterlist and you guys will now have the option of request cookierun kingdom!

Okay baiiiii

~Tammy<3

Not proofread

[imababblekat]

Accidental Eavesdropping?

Anon request, "Hey!!! Love your blog and your writing style, it’s amazing and so detailed!!! Can I request Bayverse TMNT Spider-man Au, where the turtles and spider-y/n are in a battle with Bepop and rocksteady. And in the last moments of the battle, spider -y/n saves the turtles but gets unmasked in the process. (They live) If you don’t want to do that idea! You can either delete this OR A moment where the turtles start talking about y/n and they don’t even realize that they’re talking TO THEM!!! This was funny to me for some reason lol 😂"

A/N: Aw thank you, anon! ;v; I went with the second prompt, btw. Leans towards Raphael x reader, but it's mentioned/hinted that the other turts also got the feels for reader. Any who's, I hope you enjoy! <3

◌(s,p) = spider persona◌

~xXx~

You're swinging over traffic, indulging in a rather quiet night despite the sounds of honking vehicles and other night life, when a sudden warm fuzzy feeling beams from the top of your head to the tips of your toes. It's not your spidey sense per say, but something akin to it, all you know is that it's a good sense and you follow it with glee. It doesn't take long before the feeling is buzzing and you see the source of the feeling chilling atop a pizza parlor. Well, more like sources. You let out a small giggle, noticing that the four ninja turtle brothers seem to be in some sort of deep conversation or debate.

"Hey guy's, what's going on?!", you greeted, swinging in next to a steaming Raphael.

"Oh you know, just the daily sibling teasing while we wait for our pizza to be made.", Donnie shrugged, watching as you and Mikey did your secret handshake.

"Yeah? Let me guess. . ."

The eyes of your mask squinted as you pretended to skeptically look at all brothers before looking at the glaring gaze of Raphael next to you.

"Is Raphie suppressing his emotions again?", you chaffed.

Said turtle rolled his eyes, shifting his weight to one side as he growled.

"Great, just what I need. And don't call me that."

"Come on, I'm sure I can help! What's up this time big guy?"

Leo chuckled, gaining your attention while Raphael sent him a warning glare from behind you.

"Raph's got a crush on our friend."

At this your eyes widened, a small gasp escaping you as you looked between the two eldest brothers in excitement.

"No way! Who?!"

You're question went ignored as Raph threw his arms up, cheeks flushing a light hue of embarrassment.

"All I said was they smelled nice, and y'all chuckle heads suddenly think I've been struck by cupid or some mushy crap!"

"You complimented them, Raph.", came Leo's retort.

"I compliment people all the time!"

Everyone remained silent, giving the hot headed turtle deadpanned expressions.

"What? I do. Right (s,p)?", he asked turning to look down at you.

You merely shrugged.

"Sarcastically maybe."

Raph huffed, leaning back against the buildings ledge, you hoping up to sit next to him.

"So is anyone gonna tell me who this mysterious person is or nah? Come on people, I want the tea."

Mikey, idly spinning his nun-chucks, grinned widely.

"It's our friend, (y,n)!"

You sat rigid, mask eyes wide once more.

". . .Who now?"

"Oh you haven't met them.", Donnie waved off, checking his turtle made watch to see the remaining wait time on their order.

Raphael clicked his tongue, still slightly aggravated about his brothers earlier teasing. Meanwhile, you still sat frozen beside him, staring into the abyss with a racing heart.

"I still don't have a crush on them.", he muttered.

"You complimented them on their perfume!", Leo loudly pointed out once more.

"Why is that so weird?!"

The two started to banter once more, Mikey enjoying the show while Donnie threw in a few matter of facts to weigh in on Leo's side. You, however, felt never more thankful than in that moment that you wore a full face mask. If it wasn't for the coverage, surely the ninja brothers would see just how closely the color of your face matched Raphaels mask right now.

Raphael growled, fed up with his brothers ganging up on him and his definitely non-existent crush on you. If they were going to call him out, then he would do the same to them.

"Maybe you guys should get off my shell and jump on yours first! I ain't the only one whose been makin' googly eyes at (y,n)."

You just about fell off the side of the building, hands gripping the edge of where you sat, knuckles definitely white beneath your suit. What is happening right now, is all you could terrifyingly but blushingly think.

Leonardo and Donatello were quick to look anywhere but at Raph, trying their hardest to not blush themselves at their brother's call out.

"I seen the way you put on the macho charm, Leo, bowing extra deep and all your swooning romance book crap when they come over. And you, Donnie, sputtering and dropping shit when they try to help you with projects and their hand accidentally brushes against yours. And Mikey. . ."

All eyes focused in on the youngest of the bunch who sat ready and waiting to hear Raph's jest.

"Actually, Mikey you're not that surprising. You think anyone who gives you food is a gift from heaven."

"Hey, it's not my fault their cinnamon rolls are so good!.", Mikey pouted, bottom lip jutting out adorably.

Leonardo shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose before turning towards you.

"What do you think, (s,p)? Are we over analyzing or are we right?"

The boys eagerly waited for your answer, for your input. Surely someone from the outside would be able to better determine the situation the brothers found themselves in. Well. . .should have been able to more like, as the response you gave was not what they were expecting.

A rushed, "Igotgo!!!", was all they got before watching you thwip away at the speed of light, leaving the turtles to look at each other confused and quizzically.

". . .Wait, so you guys don't have a crush on (y,n) too??", Mikey questioned with furrowed brows, innocently confused by how they could not.

Raphael groaned loudly as he and his brothers devilled into another childish debate on why they totally didn't have feelings for you, a familiar smell that had sparked the argument coincidentally wafting lightly into their senses upon the wind in the direction of which you swung off.

~xXx~

[hotheadedhero]

Daft Pretty Boys

AN: I was going to try and get something Halloween-like out but it's been busy lately. Have some fluffy angst with Raph, instead :D

Raphael x Reader

Warning: kinda angsty, soft-hearted Raph ahead :)

When you blessed the turtles with your bright presence and inevitably befriended them, Raphael didn’t realise just how much of an emotional rollercoaster it would be. As a person, you are amazing. You always make a point to engage with him and his brothers, even for the small things. Other than April, they’ve never felt more welcomed by human company before. The thing is, if he were to put one fault on you, it’s your taste in men. 

You fall fast and hard, and it’s not because of their looks. It’s the ones who have this idea that they know they look good: the confidence they exude, sharp-witted flattery on the end of a hook that you can’t help biting into. You get caught, pulled in, they have their fun, and then you’re chucked back into sea awaiting the next juicy-looking cast of bait. One would think you’d be smart enough to not fall for the same routine tricks over and over again but here we are.

Each time you say, “He’s really sweet,” followed by a “This one is different,” but he never is. You’re always taking that chance, betting on the next guy being Mr Right, only for it to end in heartbreak, and every time Raph’s at your aid when you come crying to him. That isn’t said with any malice for you. He will always be there to pick up the pieces. Maybe broken pieces of these stupid shmucks if he just had five minutes alone with them.

You grasp so desperately to hope. Raph would commend you for your optimistic persistence if it didn’t break him to see you in tears. There’s only so much one heart can take. He doesn’t want you to become some calloused husk of your sweet self, too afraid to take another chance. He doesn’t want you to end up like him. Raphael knows he’s unloveable. Regardless of his appearance, he has a temper - one that he keeps as far away from you as he possibly can. His feelings for you never seem to pass despite how much he tries but he isn’t meant for love. That isn’t how this world works. You, on the other hand, should be cherished and he’ll beat the next sorry sucker who does any less than that.

How? How can someone be so foolish to drop you like these men have? He doesn’t get it. Were it him, he’d spend every waking moment appreciating you, letting it be known just how precious you are and how lucky he is to be the one to call you his. But he isn’t. The same daydream can play as many times as it likes, it’s never going to go in that direction. He needs to keep reminding himself of that.

You just deserve so much more than the cards you keep getting dealt. You’ve probably got to be the sweetest person he’s ever had the luxury of meeting. A little bubble-brained at times but that’s in part what makes you so cute. It’s also why you end up in and out of these short-lived relationships, he reckons. Much like now, for instance. It’s almost routine, weirdly systematic in a way, how you waddle into the lair glassy-eyed and red-faced wearing that grey sweater - the one he calls your breakup sweater - that’s two sizes too big for you. So much for the macho man with the green eyes. Making it to one month is a record, so there’s that at least.

Raphael doesn’t say anything, just holds a hand out whilst the other cradles the back of his neck. By now, he’s learnt that there’s nothing he can say. It’s better to wait on you until you manage to find your words. You slowly trudge towards him and smack your forehead into his chest. All he can do is stand there and stare at the top of your head whilst he battles the urge to pick you up and take you away from all this frivolous bullshit. His arm falls to his side as he watches you, and you just about say what he would expect you to.

“I really thought this one would be different,” you whimper quietly and the hiccup in your throat makes his chest burn. “He seemed so genuine.”

Raphael’s heart clenches. He wants to scream that he’s the one who’s genuine, that he’s the one who’s been here through every heartbreak, every tear. But instead, he swallows his words, feeling the weight of his own unspoken feelings pressing down on his chest.

He pats the top of your head, almost awkwardly, and sighs, “I know.”

A pained laugh muffles against his chest. “I’m the problem, aren’t I?” you ask rhetorically, playing it off as some joke at your own expense but it only angers him further.

“It’s not you,” Raph replies, a hint of a growl edging into his tone. “They’re the ones who don’t know what they’re missin’.”

“But there’s a common denominator here. It feels like it’s me.” You pull back slightly, just enough to meet his gaze. “Like, maybe if I was just different-”

“Stop right there,” he interjects, his brow furrowing. “You are not the problem. They are. Trust me on that.”

You always say the wrong things about yourself: the things he thinks about himself on a daily; if he was different. You are such an honest person and yet you lie so frequently when you talk about yourself. A nasty bi-product of those worthless scumbags treating you the way they do. You want to believe him on his word but you also can’t ignore the facts. It’s always the same song and dance. You stupidly cling to hope, searching for the silver lining that never seems to come, and end up in this sad mess of a person.

Raphael watches as you pull away, the warmth of his body replaced by the chill of reality. It’s painful to see you so vulnerable, so exposed. He wishes he could shake you out of this cycle, snap his fingers and make you see what’s right in front of you. But he can’t. All he can do is stand there, the silent sentinel, while you cry into the fabric of your sweater. The moment lingers, heavy and full of unsaid words. He wants to tell you that you deserve better, that you should never settle for the likes of those clowns who don’t recognize your worth. Yet, the words stick in his throat, tangled with his own fear of inadequacy.

He clears his throat, trying to break the tension. “Tell you what, let’s grab a couple sodas and a slice. Sit up top for a bit, yeah?”

You pull back slightly, wiping your eyes. “I don’t know if I can eat right now, Raph.”

“Doesn’t matter. You need to get outta this gloom. Plus, I’m starving,” he responds with a half-hearted attempt at humor, but the grin doesn’t quite reach his eyes.

Finally, you yield. Begrudgingly, he might add, but food and the fresh night air is what you need right now, especially seeing as you’ve been cooped up in your apartment all day crying. He takes whatever pizza he had leftover - it’s only lasted because Mikey has luckily been out - along with a couple cans and leads you through the sewers. Whilst he’s essentially forcing you outside, he goes at your pace, never pushing you beyond that. Sure, it takes longer than it should but you get to a nice rooftop eventually, and before you know it, he’s already got you venting with a slice in your hand.

“And then he pulls out the classic ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ shtick,” you say and Raph follows with a quiet “Of course, he does,” before you continue, “and I swear, I could’ve just slapped him.”

“You should have.”

You hum shortly against a bite of pizza and shrug. “Ah, the moment’s long gone, anyway.”

The two of you glance at each other with a small laugh before returning to the view ahead. This feels better. Much better. Once again, your knight in shell-y armour has helped you bounce back from your foreboding. If you had it your way earlier, you would have loved nothing more than to curl up on the couch and watch some bad reality TV to cheer you up. Not where Raph is concerned. He’s soft-natured when you need that shoulder to cry on but knows when to crack out a bit of that tough love, too. You’re always thankful for that - him - and you hope he knows just how much of a difference he makes.

"Hey.” He nudges you with his elbow and you look up, noting the light smirk on his face, though the seriousness behind his eyes isn’t something to be ignored. “Next asshole that breaks your heart, you just point me in the right direction.”

"And be an active participant in murder? Not a chance," you laugh and playfully swat him, earning a low chortle. You think you know what he’s getting at and it’s sweet in weird kind of way. With a perma-smile now glued to your face, you rest your head on his arm and speak more gently, "Thanks, though."

He glances down at you and tempts the idea of stroking a hand over your head. His fingers clasp into a fist and he looks ahead again, taking a gentle breath before responding quietly, "Yeah... don't mention it."