#Splinter is actually so sweet in this episode

[truths33k3r4]

Guys next part of Indie TMNT IS UPPP!!!!!

WE FINALLY GET TO SEE THE NINJA KITTYYYYY EEEEE!!!!!! I loved Klunk dearly in the 2003 series, so seeing him in this series too just warms my heart. 😁 He so FLUFFIN CUTEEE! And the thing that Mikey did to the cats head when he was patting him- hehehe I do that to my cats sometimes. 🤣 Can’t say they have the same loving reaction to said patting.. 😅

And then the brothers and their father opening presents and celebrating their birthday! Just- AWWWWW~ Their eyes all lit up like little camera lensesssss I LOVE THEM ALL SO MUCHHH

And now…

Now we finally get to see SHREDDER. The darkness looming over him constantly keeps us from seeing any distinguishable features other than his glaring, contemplating eyes and the sheen of his spiked armor.

The designs of Shredders Lair are absolutely beautiful. Dark, but also clean and nearly royal-looking.

Amazing work, @indieyuugure!!!!!! Can’t wait to see where the story leads us next week! 😁

~ Melissa

Episode 7 of Ninjas in New York! I’ve gone back and forth in the past, but I have made the executive decision that Klunk is a boy like all other versions :]

Previous: Episode 6

Next: (2) Episode 1 -Get the next part a week early on Locals at indiey.locals.com

See All…

[spider-stark]

SWORN RIVALS

Benjicot Blackwood x Bracken!Reader

Summary - Taking up sparring with your sworn rival is likely never a good idea.

Warnings - barely edited, blood, implied fighting, suggestive language but no real smut, likely ooc given that the episode hasn't even aired yet lmao

Word Count - 1.1k

!MINORS DNI!

// masterlist // send me your thoughts // comments & reblogs appreciated! //

Pain splinters throughout your hand as your knuckles collide with his jaw. He stumbles backwards—just barely managing to keep himself from falling right onto his ass. 

“You fight like a girl,” you jeer, purposefully antagonizing him. “Though I suppose that’s to be expected of a Blackwood.” 

A raspy laugh rumbles through Benjicot Blackwood’s chest—a bitter, deep sound that sets your toes curling. 

“You’ve got quite a mouth on you.” Forcing his chin high, he flashes his crimson-stained teeth in a wry grin, blood dribbling from the corner of his mouth. He muses, “But perhaps we should put it to better use, don’t you think?” 

You cut your eyes at the bawdy implication. “You’re disgusting, Ben.” 

Another chuckle as he wipes his mouth with the back of his hand, inadvertently smearing blood along his bottom lip. The sight is entrancing—in a morbid sort of way. It glistens like pomegranate juice and, for a mere breath, you wonder if it would taste half as sweet. 

“C’mon!” Ben’s teasing tone slices through your thoughts, forcing some sense back into you. “Don’t act like you’ve never thought of it before,” he says, waving a hand between you both, “the two of us–” 

You don’t let him finish his sentence, cutting him off with a sharp glare. “I haven’t,” you practically snarl, taking a half-step towards him. “And you shouldn’t either,” you add, “I’d much prefer to be left out of your…" you blow out an exasperated breath, "depraved fantasies!” 

“Oh, but you are my depraved fantasies, sweetheart.” Ben’s grin widens as you groan, shaking your head at him. “You're also a liar, Bracken,” he adds, “and a shitty one, at that!” 

“You can believe whatever you want, Blackwood—but that won't make it true.” 

“Just admit it,” he continues. Swinging one foot forward, he takes a lazy step towards you—then another. “That’s why you train with me, isn’t it? ‘Cause you’re so desperate for someone to put you in your place—and none of those pansies along the Red Fork are fit for the task, are they?” 

You grit your teeth, knowing that his words aren’t entirely false. 

Training with Ben hadn’t necessarily been a purposeful decision. It was something that just sort of happened. Yet, in spite of the rivalry between your families, you’re willing to admit that you do prefer training with him over the Tully or Roote boys. 

He fought you like a true opponent—unlike the others, who felt the need to pull their punches or slow their own strikes, forever treating you like a helpless maiden rather than an equal. 

In many ways, you found Ben to be more tolerable than any other boy in the Riverlands, anyway. He was fierce and tough and undeniably skilled with both blade and fists, making him your ideal sparring partner. 

You still despise him, though—if only because that is what’s expected of you by your father, the Head of House Bracken. 

“Big talk from the boy who hasn’t gotten a single hit in today,” you smugly remind him. “Perhaps if you spent as much time training as you do thinking with your cock, you might actually stand a chance at victory, Benji.” 

Less than a foot-or-so of space separates the two of you when he finally stops, his grin souring like rotted fruit. 

“Don’t call me that,” he chides, his bottom lip jutting slightly. Your brow furrows, trying to discern if he’s pouting or if it’s simply swelling from when you hit him. “Besides,” Ben continues, “have you ever considered that maybe I’m just going easy on you?” 

You don’t buy his weak attempt at goading you—though you do entertain it, asking, “And why would you do that?” 

His shoulder lifts into a languid shrug. “Maybe I like it when you push me around,” he drawls, teasing. 

Another step and he’s towering over you, his chest mere inches from yours. His scent—a blend of leather and rich sandalwood—floods your nostrils, stirring your senses and leaving you dizzy. 

“Although,” Ben’s smirk returns, laden with his usual mischief, “I think I’d like you even more if you were on your knees-” 

A scoff rips from your throat, cutting him off with a rough swat to his chest. “Oh, go fuck yourself, Blackwood!” 

“Only if you’ll watch, Bracken,” he croons, mocking you. 

Every inch of your body is suddenly humming to life, an unrelenting blaze of rage—or was it desire?—setting your nerves alight. Before you can muster a response, a comeback, his fingers have closed around one of your wrists. 

“Go on,” Ben murmurs, his voice tantalizingly low. Your breath hitches as he presses your hand to his chest, feeling his pulse beat beneath your palm. “Hit me,” he dares, louder now. “Push me.” 

You don’t speak—don’t move, as those storm-cloud eyes dip once again. “Fucking do it—” 

You cut him off, fingers curling around the scarlet fabric of his tunic—you should kill him for being so crude, for acting so utterly lascivious! 

And yet, despite all logic and reason, you tug him closer. Pulling him down to your level in one swift motion, crashing your lips together in a kiss that is anything but soft. 

On instinct, your other hand slips to the back of his neck, tangling your fingers in soft, brown hair. You feel his heartbeat stutter beneath your fist, still gripping his tunic. For no more than a breath, you worry you’ve fucked this whole thing up. 

This is wrong! You scream at yourself. Wrong wrong wrong! 

But then he moves—hooking an arm around your waist, his nails sinking into your hip in an effort to bring you closer—and you loathe just how right this feels. 

Your legs tremble as his tongue slides along your lower lip, a soft moan spilling into his mouth. You feel him grin against you—can taste the blood on his lips, the bitter sweetness dancing on your tongue as he utters, “Eager, are we?” 

Tightening your grip on his hair, he hiss slips from his teeth. “Shut up.” 

He obliges—his mouth drifting from your lips to your jaw, leaving a bloody trail of kisses in his wake. You try not to think as he finally reaches your neck, earning a soft whine as he nips at your flesh. You try to forget who he is—that you’re supposed to hate him—as he shoves his leg between yours, offering you the very friction you so desperately desired. 

“This changes nothing, Benji,” you pant. 

He bristles at the nickname, letting his teeth sink deeper into your flesh, a deep bruise already blooming along your neck. “Sure." His own breathing is frantic and uneven as he rasps, “Whatever you say..” 

Your hand falls from his chest to his breeches, fingers already fumbling with the laces when you choke out, “I still think you’re disgusting, Blackwood.”

His own touch disappears beneath your tunic, fingertips trailing along every inch of your skin until his palms finally skim along your bare breasts. He gives one a rough squeeze before flashing that stupid, bloody grin of his. 

“And you’re still a liar, Bracken.”

a/n - writing fan fic for a character that hasn't even appeared on screen yet is wild. (hbo, this better be bloody ben or else I'll riot because this is perfect casting). anyway, I don't wanna be held accountable for how terrible, short, and rushed this is (I was bored and didn't feel like putting more effort into this than necessary rn) OR how wildly ooc this will likely prove to be come Sunday.

also---turns out that writing without actually knowing the character is hard! who'd have thunk, am I right?

[dilfsfordinner]

a/n- nanami has always been my favorite jjk man but BRO, he was something else in the new episode, they were definitely animating with one hand

warnings- doggy pos

—————————————————————————

“just.. just stay still,” nanami’s voice rasped against the shell of your ear, his muscly thighs slamming into the backs of your own, your spine pressed down into an impossible arch by his large hands, all tenderness flying out the window, a stark contrast to the usual sweet, love-making the two of you would have.

“why won’t you tell me what’s wro- mmhp!” your words were cut off by a particularly rough snap of his hips, his thick cock jamming against your cervix, releasing a barrel of electricity to shoot through your muscles. he was never usually like this, always making sure to treat you with the utmost respect and care, his actions and words tied by a boundary of love, never crossing into rough waters, said boundary apparently not strong enough to withstand an irritant, something causing his brain to turn muddled, his lack of speaking and animalistic thrusts just more proof along with the pure anger radiating off of him.

strong legs bracketed your lower half, his tall frame towering over you even while kneeling, his chest snug against your back as the top of your skull fit directly under the dip of his collarbones. nanami hadn’t really said anything since he’d gotten home, the only form of communication he deigned to use being grunts and huffs of pleasure.

you’d barely even had time to greet him when he’d opened the front door of your shared home, loud footsteps trudging toward you before grabbing you and throwing you over his shoulder, your worried questions doing nothing to quell his anger or silent treatment, his only apparent goal being to get you to the bedroom. and that’s how you found yourself being stripped bare and fucked in such a humiliating pose, his long fingers fisting the headboard, white knuckles so tight you swore you could hear the wood splintering.

you were like medicine to him, your doting personality so sweet whenever he needed someone to vent to. not only was your character comforting, but your body too, sex being another way for him to let out his anger which you knew and you let him, not stopping him from plowing your cunt raw, just to get whatever was eating at him out.

“i- just let me have you… please,” he practically begged in the crook of your neck, lips ghosting your flushed skin as he continued to push in and out of you, clearly not ready to talk about whatever had pissed him off. taking his request to heart, you nuzzled your ass back into his hips, your cunt squeezing him as if in answer to his plea, to use you however he wanted. nanami groaned at this, one hand coming down to hold your waist, pulling you back onto his cock languidly, the two of you lost in each other as you let your bodies do the talking.

he leaned down to leave kisses along the top of your spine and shoulders, your pants higher-pitched from the stretch and burn of his cock, that renowned gentle character returning even while he was fucking you like an animal, still concerned over your comfort no matter how troubled he was mentally. “you’re too good to me,” he murmured into your hair, hips lazily rolling against your ass, your bodies pressed so close you actually felt the way goosebumps riddled his skin, and how rapid his heartbeat was against your back.

yes, you loved when he didn’t hold back with you, when he was rough and manhandled you into whatever position he could think of, but there was something about his kind-hearted, gentle persona that could never be topped, even if getting bent in half did feel incredibly good.

—————————————————————————

[angelmichelangelo]

wanted to talk about my favourite scene in my favourite episode because i have a lot of feelings about it so here we go.

so it’s this particular scene in ‘of rats and men’ - anything to do with the rat king and i am there. he’s a really cool villain and i think the added bonus of him using solinher to fight the boys is really interesting but there’s this ONE scene that is always in my head when i rewatch it.

so after we see mikey hide away ice cream kitty we get a little comedic scene with him and his brothers + april and casey until splinter comes in, having just had the rat king invade his mind, he’s clearly unwell and weak, he goes to the freezer for some ice and a cheese sickle to which mikey tells him no and straight up slams the door in his fathers face to keep him from seeing the mutated cat in there.

to which splinter doesn’t take kindly towards.

remember, at this point, it’s not obvious to them that splinter is basically being possesed. he towers over mikey (ik he’s crouching here but the shot is really well done, pulling back to really emphasis how much he towers over these kids) and mikey just looks up in fear. again, splinter’s eyes don’t turn red straight away, he doesn’t show any obvious signs of change so to mikey, he’s suddenly aware of the fact that he’s pissed his dad off big time.

then, splinter strikes him, sending him across the kitchen.

we don’t see it, just a flash of red but it then immediately cuts towards the brothers reactions which again, i find interesting

it’s total shock. usually when one of them is hurt or down, we get angry reactions, something protective. but here they’re not mad. they’re just in utter disbelief that their father has just struck one of their own.

and i know splinters done this many times in the past but that all happens during training. it never occurs just because mikey is being odd. casey (and i know he was still grappling with his fear of rats here) actually recoils at this.

then we get a chase scene. again a little comedic just to lighten the tension but splinter is honing in on mikey. he wants to get to him, ignoring the other five teenagers who are in the room with them.

then we get these shots (the main reason i wanted to talk about this scene)

mikey is pushed against the fridge, exactly where he started. and you obviously can’t tell from screenshots alone but mikey is actually trembling with fear here. he’s hyperventilating and it’s not because he’s out of breath. he’s a trained ninja. he can go far longer than the little lap around the kitchen he’s just done. he’s positively terrified, and it’s not like the kind of fear in “invasion of the squirrelanoids” where he was making quips and making jokes to un-scare himself. this is a new fear because this is his father that is attacking him. he doesn’t even say anything during this moment. he just whimpers. he just trembles in fear until leo calls out to the others to “help him!”

then after splinter is pinned down, the rat king breaks through and we get reaction shots from the rest of the characters as they realise what has happened to their sensei.

i think it’s really sweet that april immediately goes to mikey, putting a protective arm over him. his eyes have shrunk to pinpricks (a neat little trick i really love that they show throughout and show when they’re scared or shocked) mikey doesn’t move or try to get back up, staying down with april it’s a nice moment (also we needed more of this duo! orange coded, blue eyed freckled friends for the win!!)

another little detail i found interesting was that after splinter seemingly goes back to normal everyone rushes to his side. april stands from where she’s crouched down with mikey and leo, raph and donnie are there to help him.

but mikey doesn’t get back up. he stays on the floor, perhaps coming out of his shock. he makes no attempt to reach his dad which.. breaks my heart little actually.

and as much as i love this episode, i really do wish it had some mikey + splinter pay off. we hardly see any moments of them together, especially since each brother gets their share of dad moments where he passes down some sort of wisdom, mikey gets a very brief “love yourself you don’t need to change” lesson in “mikey gets shellacne” and that’s it. we really were robbed of more of these two as father and youngest son. and ik all of them get attacked and scared by possessed splinter at some point but it clearly really affected ooor mikey here after being targeted in this one scene.

anywho. that’s my rant over. if anyone has any additions to this post feel free to add them as i’d be interested to see if anyone else is as crazy about this scene as i am lol

[yellowhollyhock]

because I'm the shield

I was trying to write a little scene between rise Raph and Mikey since his overprotectiveness is something they've argued about. But that's turning out slower than I expected and will have to be for another time--maybe will fit a different prompt when it's done, who knows.

I've been rewatching some of 2003 season 4 and having feelings about shield Raph.

Fight scenes do show a lot of him throwing himself between his brothers and physical harm. But season 4, with the family relationships strained, highlights something else, which is Raph shielding his brothers from Master Splinter and each other. Especially Leo.

I learned from the tmnt fandom that sai is meant to defend against sword. And that's so fitting for these two.

Raph defending his brothers from Master Splinter mostly looks like being the loudest and most openly rebellious to draw attention away from (honestly mostly Leo and Donnie) blatantly doing what they're not supposed to do (like traveling to an alternate dimension without telling anyone or fighting the Foot alone. Seriously they call him and Mikey the impulsive ones??). And Splinter isn't a danger to the turtles, he is very loving in 03, but his opinion matters to them and Raph makes himself the squeaky wheel so the others can stay squeaky clean.

But about Leo. Two things going on season 4: Raph is (trying to) protect Leo from his own inner thoughts, verbally replying to his anxieties with positives or neutrals; and Raph is on guard to keep Leo off Don and Mikey's case.

I just watched Aliens Among Us and found it especially sweet when they're all on the roof to watch the President how Raph and Leo interact. Leo is upset with Don and Mikey for fooling around, and says out loud that by even coming to watch they 'may as well ask to be dissected.' (Because it's gonna be a Bishop episode so Leo obviously has to foreshadow that. They just had Bad Day, they will not watch as the various enemies their memories pulled from do in fact torment them.) Anyway, it's the way he keeps a pretty calm, almost lighthearted tone while he talks Leo down from his catastraphizing, drawing attention away from his other brothers who were getting yelled at in the process. And this is just an example of how Raph acts this season.

side note, I adore how these two specifically could be talking about their favorite flavor of potato chips and look like they're plotting a murder. This is a picture of Raph getting as close as he can to physically beating up Leo's inner demons.

Another small moment in this episode that I loved: Raph grabbing Leo by the shoulder with, "Whoa, where are you going? Don't you think we need a plan?" and Leo's plan is 'take out every alien we see.' This is not a Leo at the top of his game, in spite of what he told Splinter last episode about 'doing whatever it takes to protect this family.' Raph knows it. He and Leo have different strengths and different approaches, but he knows a healthy Leo would be analyzing the situation, briefing them all on what they should most likely be prepared for and what information they lack that everyone should keep an eye out for. Leo is an analyst, that's one of his greatest strengths. And he's not doing that.

it's literally like 'hey bro are you okay? you've barely picked apart the enemy's battle strategy or lurked in the shadows.' Leo isn't doing the things he loves and Raph notices.

Also speaking of Bad Day. Here's a picture of Raph telling Donny it's not his fault.

Again he looks like he's plotting murder but he is actually speaking in the softest sweetest voice to his stressed out little brother. This is a turtle who just watched his best friends get blown up by people who were looking for him and his family.

That is all ❤️

[free-worldplease]

TMNT 2003 Turtle Ages/Birthdays throughout the series (hc)

Because there’s no way they’re 16 the entire time.

(I’m assuming the turtles are quadruplets for this)

Season 1 Episode 1: Things Change - 15 years old

I’m pretty sure this is actually canon.

Between Season 1 Episode 19 (Tales of Leo) and Episode 20 (Monster Hunter), they turn 16.

They’re at the farmhouse, regrouping after Shredder’s attack.

Leo’s getting used to walking around again when one day, Mikey jokes that it’s their sweet 16.

Casey and April (who are FLOORED by the fact that they’ve been hanging out with TEENAGERS) have a small surprise party for them, cake and all.

It’s the turtles’ first time they’ve had a real cake for their birthday.

Leo comes to the party, but he’s not in a partying mood. He’s a little surprised he even made it to 16.

Raph punches Casey in the arm when he sees the set up (he’s excited about having a birthday party, but he’s got a reputation to maintain).

Following the headcanon that Donnie has a puppy crush on April (WHICH IS NOT RECIPROCATED AT ALL), he’s definitely excited about the party April and whatshisname threw for him and his brothers.

Mikey’s ecstatic about having a real birthday party with cake and balloons and cake and streamers and CAKE (and does his best to make Leo smile).

After Leo goes through his reforging is swords but also himself phase, he goes and eats the last slice of cake (to all the brothers’ dismay) with a smile on his face.

He offers to share it with them, but they all cede last piece of cake rights to him. They’re just happy he’s happy.

(They still complain because it’s funny)

Between Season 4 Episode 1 (Cousin Sid) and Season 4 Episode 2 (The People’s Choice), they turn 17.

This time, everyone’s broken and battered, but Master Splinter is going to celebrate his brave children’s lives, especially when they were almost gone. April and Casey are happy to help.

Another party is planned.

Leo doesn’t celebrate his 17th birthday at all. He knows they almost didn’t get the chance to because of him. Why would he celebrate?

Upon walking into the dining room and seeing the makeshift decorations, he turns on his heel and goes somewhere else to sulk.

Raph, who arguably got physically hurt the worst (did Shredder break his SPINE?) is still angry about being taken down so badly. Mikey offers to feed him his cake. He begrudgingly accepts the help (why would he pass up cake?).

(He asks Casey to hit Mikey for him when Mikey starts making airplane noises)

Donnie is happy to spend another birthday with his family, angry ones included. He knows his family is struggling, but at least they’re together.

Mikey works overtime to make sure everyone (who stayed) is having a good time, even if his legs are in pain. As the most emotionally intelligent turtle, he sees that Splinter is trying to lift their spirits and he’s going to make sure that his dad knows it’s appreciated.

While he’s with the Ancient One, Leo explains his regret of not celebrating his birthday. That night, the Ancient One has a celebratory dinner for him, complete with one single slice of birthday cake.

Between Season 5 Episode 13 (Enter the Dragons Part 2) and Season 6 Episode 1 (Future Shellshock!), they turn 18.

It’s the first birthday they celebrate at home in 2 years.

“Teenagers Mutant Ninja Turtles, more like Adult Mutant Ninja Turtles! We’ve got to update our business cards.”

“Yeah, if we HAD business cards, lamebrain.”

“I’m just saying, we could make bank off our ninja saving skills Raphie.”

Between Season 6 Episode 26 (Zixxth Sense) and Season 7 Episode 1 (Tempus Fugit), they turn 19

As they are in the year 2015, April and Casey are not able to attend,

But Cody makes sure to follow in his great grandparents’ footsteps and help Splinter give the boys a birthday party to remember

And between the indoor water slide, laser tag, and bounce houses, I’d say that they definitely will.

(So will Serling, but for different reasons)

Bonus:

They’re 20 in Turtles Forever, a bit more mature, still growing, but still the goofballs we know and love.

[tmntkiseki]

Finally Rewatching Space Invaders Trilogy, Let's Goooooooo

Part 1

Have I ever mentioned how much I love Zanramon's voice? The actor puts so much into making him sound so hammy. (If the wiki isn't lying, it's apparently the same guy who did Professor Oak in the 4Kids Pokemon dub.

Edit: gatorkid509 confirmed that the wiki is lying and that it's actually David Brimmer. This is why you take any information over there with a grain of salt XD

Also, in-universe, the Milky Way Galaxy is referred to as the T-17 Galaxy by alien species such as the Triceratons. Interesting bit of lore there.

The chaotic energy of the PB&J duo playing video games while hanging upside down. I'm convinced this and the part with the couch from the end of "Nobody's Fool" is Don's way of flexing on his brothers.

Splinter is down at the bottom while this is happening, too. He's so used to his kids being ridiculous at this point.

Oooooh boy, the humans have no idea what they're in for.

Yeah, not surprising that every major military base was blown up in a matter of minutes (hours? Sometimes you can't tell how much time has actually passed in this show.)

Is it really necessary to kidnap innocent civilians? C'mon bro, none of them have weapons.

In this house, we appreciate seeing April working out.

THE FACT THAT SPLINTER COULD ONLY REACT WITH AN EXASPERATED SIGH TO HIS SONS LEAVING THE LAIR TO DEAL WITH THE TRICERATONS SGJKJFG

Mikey quoting REM. Classic.

OH COME ON, SHE'S LITERALLY AN OLD LADY.

"It's not nice to invade Mister Raphie's neighborhood." I giggled more than I should have.

The Sunset Duo energy in this little sequence is REAL.

Oh, to live in a universe where the mere sight of these sweet teenage mutant ninja turtle brothers causes old ladies to scream and faint.

So the Triceratons are basically going to anywhere that the turtles have frequented... oh dear.

Can we not blow up the antique store again? April only just got that place fixed up last season!

God, I'm surprised neither Casey nor April were injured after that wipeout.

Rule 1 of fighting the Ninja Turtles: Don't mess with their brothers. Rule 2 of fighting the Ninja Turtles: Don't mess with Splinter. Rule 3 of fighting the Ninja Turtles: Don't mess with Casey and April. Rule 4 of fighting the Ninja Turtles: Don't mess with--

I only just noticed how many of the Triceraton's symbols and machinery have triangle themes to them. And now I feel dumb.

Oh boy, the first allusion to Agent Bishop's existence, as well as the fact he is very well aware of the turtles and their existence.

"You know, if all those people were let out at once, there'd be a lot of confusion." "Mikey had a good idea?" "Mikey had a good idea."

IS THAT THE BLIND MAN WHO WAS PART OF THE INCIDENT THAT RESULTED IN THE TURTLES' MUTATION. I know they're probably just reusing a model sheet, BUT STILL.

It looks like he might have died ;A;

Oh my god, I never noticed that they also foreshadowed the Tricateron Mind Probe. And based on the simulation that they showed, if Donny hadn't been able to resist the mind probe without Splinter's help, he might have actually died. (You're welcome.)

CASEY LOVES APRIL SO MUCH ;A;

Mikey and Raph really had a lot of good moments in this episode

"Mikey?" "Definitely Mikey." This is the power that comes with having hatched from the same clutch of eggs.

"Donny, I could just kiss you!" "Really?" I am halfway between being amused at that interaction and wondering how the hell the writer managed to slip that in under Peter Laird's nose.

And thus Donny ends up getting captured. Pour one out for the Triceratons because they have made a TERRIBLE mistake.

[cupcakeslushie]

That has me so relieved lol. I feel like I’m the worst at fashion 😅. I spend so much time on Google and Pinterest, trying to find cute things to put our boys and April in that would match their personalities.

Leo likes jean material and anything with dark colors (obvi) and also really likes athleisure wear. Raph has pretty similar taste, but with brighter colors. Though it’s hard for him to find jean material that can stand up to his shell, so he also has a love for stretchy stuff that wont tear. Mikey and Donnie like oversized and cute styles! Really soft or fluffy stuff, but also Donnie will throw in some edgy rave outfits when he’s feeling fun. He’s also got the same three outfits for when he’s working and he’ll wear them until they’re covered in paint and oil and totally worn down. Mikey is probably the one that has the biggest and most versatile closet. He has a big problem with online, impulse shopping.

@kitty-kyte This ask has me so curious now about the undercity’s weather! Aw, and now that makes me think the Snow Day episode would go from them fighting, to them just having a good wholesome time showing Donnie how much fun snow could be. And maybe they do have a snowball fight, Leo and Mikey being way too competitive, and Raph and April and Donnie just enjoying some hot cocoa and building a snowman. OR OR OR Donnie, April and Leo make a Jupiter Jim snowman and Raph and Mikey and Cass make a Lou Jitsu snowman and they argue over which one is better and Donnie keeps switching sides because he can’t decide!

@blossomsofopossums

As for your first question! Leo witnessed some small fits during their first few encounters. He was as unnerved as he could be, but sadly chose to ignore the strange behavior in favor of letting Three struggle through them on his own 😔. Then the first time Raph, Mikey, Leo, and April run into Donnie, they can clearly see Three struggling with something they can’t. They’re really confused and don’t know what to do, but with Leo recently revealing to them that Three might be their long lost brother Donnie, Raph has already resolved himself that, Donnie would be coming home with them. Unfortunately he doesn’t really know how to handle Three in that first meeting, and so he’s a bit rough with him, making those first few days of Donnie getting used to being in the lair a manic mess. Later once they learn more, Raph and Mikey will try to talk Donnie through them and Leo will use contact. But they also kind of have to adapt their reactions depending on how bad each one is, and what they think Donnie needs to feel safe.

Question #2! Raph calls him Dad, Pop, or Old Man when he’s feeling cheeky. Mikey calls him Dad and Papa. Leo probably goes through the most names: Master Splinter, Splinter, Father, Dad. Donnie will call him Father or PApA~

Question #3 Donnie had thought he’d already been introduced to so much good food after a few weeks in the lair, but pizza was on a whole new level. Sweets might be his new weakness. But pizza is his favorite savory meal. And you just know that the boys took Donnie to Run of the Mill for his first pizza experience. They couldn’t wait to introduce him to Hueso.

Hueso on the other hand is starting to get slightly annoyed with all these traumatized boys that Raph keeps bringing in. Like he was perfectly happy adopting this huge, but well-mannered teenage turtle and his human friend. Then they come in with the small, infamous battle nexus champion and he’s a little hyper thing sometimes, but he’s pleasant enough, so okay. But THEN, they have some nerve to bring some poor, tired, stone-faced kid, who’s eyes hold much too old of a look in them. It tugs on Hueso’s heartstrings…that is it would, if he actually had them.

NOW what’s he supposed to do with this new one? He can’t just adopt them all can he?

Hueso in the kitchens, to his chefs as they cook the boys’ pizzas:

[whattraintracks]

It's reaction time

Space Invaders - Part 1

oh gosh is Zanroman gonna say they want to bathe in blo—

oh wait it's okay it's just the "sweet nectar of victory"

. . .

oh, look! prosthetic arm!

the sword slash effect is new

why are they playing video games upside down??? bat behavior

"Don boy" oh that's adorable

"relax, spacinator, it's not the end of the world"

uhm

it might be

love that April's practicing with the punching bag

she's gotta at least try to keep up with her little brothers

Splinter: whatever you do, don't—

crickets

Splinter sighing: leave

insert SplinterWhenTeenagers.jpg

if Mikey is anything like me I bet he had R.E.M. stuck in his head this whole episode

how could I have so quickly forgotten how many pop culture references these boys make and how much I love them?

aaaaand 2nd Time Around gets destroyed the second time around

every time April says "don't call me babe" I think of @familyofpaladins 's tmnt Princess Bride au now

but this one is exactly how I imagine she'd say it rolling down the cliff

Raph: Mikey had a good idea? Leo: Mikey had a good idea

doing my boy Mikey dirty

look at this slander

y'all're just bitter he is actually clever and won the Battle Ne—[gets smacked upside the head]

I don't know what it's called but I love how the show plays with angles and panels and like screen width and stuff to frame different scenes it's so fun

Leo sounds so smug and proud when Mikey causes an explosion and he and Don know it was Mikey, I can't

Poor Don

beware, it goeth before the fall and all that

oh man, did the others even notice? April's the only one in that last scene when they take him away

Donny noooooooooo

[eternalglitch]

Hi! I've been following your story since probably the 5th chapter (I'm not sure exactly), and it's absolutely amazing! I ran across the anamatic for it first, and I wasn't entirely sure what I was looking at. I had only ever known the 2007 movie version of tmnt. And then the description said it came from your story, and I love reading, so I checked it out. There, it said to watch the show first, and I was like, nahhhh. It'll be fine. I know the characters, the 4 boys, splinter, Casey and April, the Shredder. What more was there?

Oh boy. As soon as I read the name Draxum, I was confused. I thought maybe I was misremembering Shredders real name. But then who was Big Mama?

So I caved and went to find the show.

I was the same as everyone else who started it. "What in the world did they do to them?!" I really didn't like Splinter. The designs of the boys were so weird. Why was Raph acting so childish? The whole caboodle.

But I was informed by anime watchers years prior that when you first start a show, you need to give it the 3 episode test: watch the first three episodes before you give your final verdict. The first three are vital for the show writers and artists and producers to play with and figure out how the show is going to move forward and what style they'll fall into. They have the first three episodes to gently flush out who the characters are without bombing the watchers with info. So I did.

It was exactly what I needed to get through college. It actually retaught me how to laugh at shows again. How to be engaged. How to enjoy something again.

And as soon as I finished the show, I went right back to your story and finally understood who the characters were.

And coming fresh from the show, the characters I read in your story were like I never finished the series. Everything about them was the same. You drew their personalities out perfectly.

I wanted to share my findings and did the exact same thing I went through for a friend. I showed her the video, and she got excited. I told her of the story, but that it only made sense after the show. She watched the show and enjoyed it all. I gave there the link to your tale, and she ate it up. I thought she might have a breakdown as she waited for each update.

We got both our brothers into the show. I got another guy friend to watch it, and finally convinced another friend to watch it. The first friend got HER friend to watch it...

Really, it's all because of your story that I have a whole friend group that I can talk about turtles with.

So thank you 😊

-🐢

P.s. I hope for healing well and that your Lil rat buddies are doing much better.

I have actually had people read lfls with zero turtle background knowledge before, but if you are trying to map it to a different iteration it is definitely quite different. You probably joined around the 10th chapter, since I don't believe I had any serious fandom presence or fanart let alone an animatic until around that time.

Before Rise, 2007 was the only iteration of turtles I knew as well, by chance.

And I'm very glad my story created so many good opportunities and memories for you! Thank you for the very sweet ask <3

[dandylovesturtles]

Fanfic Writer Ask Game!

🎯 🦈?

🎯 Do you have a writing milestone you’re working towards?

nope. I am at the whims of my inspiration and energy levels.

🦈 Which character is the toughest to write?

in ROTTMNT I would probably say Mikey. I think it's a little easy to lean too hard into the sort of "sweet little brother" thing that a lot of fandom likes (this isn't meant as a callout, lol, I like it too) and forget that he is canonically a little gremlin who is very silly and sometimes pretty gross (I mean he's a 13 to 15-year-old boy so it tracks).

Also he probably has the least defined character arc of literally every main character in the series (including the supporting cast like April, Splinter, Draxum, and both Caseys). Leo has his struggles with his place and identity within the team as well as his growth as a leader, Donnie has his issues with feeling replaced and directly linking his family "needing" him to his family loving him, Raph is struggling to live up to the expectations of the clan and his role as a big brother, April deals with her struggles connecting with her own peers and her fear that she doesn't count as part of the fam, Splinter has a billion things going on, Draxum has a whole redemption arc (truncated as it was) and Casey Sr effectively does too, and Casey Jr. has grief and trauma. And Mikey... would probably have had a really good character arc if we'd gotten the rest of season 2 and season 3!

A lot of Mikey's episodes where he gets to really get feelsy and show his emotions are directly tied to other people's character development, especially Donnie's and Draxum's, so we don't get as much of what his deal is. The only really solid Mikey centric episode is Hot Soup The Game, which definitely brings up Mikey's frustrations with being the youngest and thus babied as a result, so that's something you can draw on for his character, but even that's more tied directly into what he wants from interactions with other people and less about what he wants for himself.

(the truffle episode is super weird... like Mikey learns not to take his friends for granted? I guess?? I wouldn't have expected him to in the first place but yeah I guess that's some character development lol)

(actually as a total side note, it does annoy me a little that when Todd is first introduced as a character in Season 1, the whole point of his superpower being niceness was that he was so nice you'd do anything for him, and even villains were unable to turn him down, which was a really good gag and made him an interesting character. Then at some point it became that Todd's niceness meant he couldn't turn anyone down and suddenly he was just kind of a doormat, to Mikey first in the truffle episode and then all of them later in Todd Scouts. I actually like the Todd Scouts episode but also you didn't have to do that to him lmao)

(actually actually even though I like Todd Scouts I would have loved a version of that episode where Splinter stayed with them in the woods and then we dealt with how his feelings were hurt by the kids being more interested in their phones than his teaching and they could have pointed out that their dad kind of waited until late in life to start teaching them life skills and IDK WE DIDN'T GET THE FAMILY BONDING CAMPING TRIP WHEN THEY GOT CAUGHT IN THE TURTLE TANK IN SEASON 1, WHY DIDN'T WE GET IT IN SEASON 2??)

cough. anyway.

yeah so I always feel bad that when I look at my AUs and stuff I always feel like I give Mikey the least. I'm so sorry, Mikey, you're just already perfect and I don't know where to take you. ;;

Thanks for the ask!

[slashingdisneypasta]

Striker x Small!Meek!Fem!Reader || Drabble

I LOVED HIM SO MUCH in the new episode.

Plot: Striker fails her so Stella shows him why he should be afraid of displeasing her- by leaving you a bloody and beaten mess on his doorstep.

Warnings: You are really badly brutalised and Striker has this weird combination of love and degradation for you that's ... interesting... 🤔🤔😅

God fucken damnit. You weren't made for this kinda bullshit. How'd that bitch even know about ya?

As Striker lifted your very delicate, shaking body up off the filthy ground, just about melting at the feel of your fragile little fingers pinch at the front of his shirt and the sound of your little nose sniffling against his chest as you cry. This is not right. You don't go fucking up weaklings for no reason.

"St- Striker- "

"I know, darlin'. I'll clean ya up- you'll be right as rain in no time."

You continue to sniffle, giving a bubbly little sob, and its so pathetic his black heart actually feels lie its broken. What the hell? ... That royal cunt better watch her back- next time he sees her, she wont be makin' it out alive. Grimacing, Striker walks with you in his arms over to an old wooden bench. The wood is rough as hell but its the only one he trusts to not snap under you, and surely a few lil splinters aint gonna make no difference with what you're already dealin' with.

He leaves you there cold and alone for a few minutes as he goes in search of his first aid kit- he doesn't need it all that often, so he's not too sure where he left it last. By the time he finds it, dusty and unused, buried under some fallen rubble, you've managed to get your own shoes off. Which makes him give you the smallest of grins, setting the first aid kit on the table beside you. "There you go, little girl. Good job. Can you wriggle on outta yer pants for me, too? Gotta get to those cuts... "

Striker's luminescent, snake-like eyes focus on your little form as you try; Sticking your thumbs under the waistband of your jeans and shifting, pulling, trying. You fail, and you're just a pitiful little bunny covered in tears and blood, and Striker's frown just gets worse.

How... how could someone do this to you?? You were pathetic before, sure,.. but now you're fucken tragic. Jesus fucking christ.

Its gonna be hard to let you outta his sight, after this.

When you give up, and just cover your face with your hands and start to cry again - thinking he's mad at you, - , he gives a relenting sigh. "... C'mere, tough girl, I'll help ya." With a hiss, Striker pulls out his blade and slices the garment off you. Then he flicks the first aid kit open, one hand on your bare thigh and his warm body nice and close to yours, as he methodically begins to care for and wrap up your bloody gashes, slashes and grazes.

He starts with your legs, wrapping up your sweet thighs completely in gauze before kneeling down and doing the same to your dainty calves. When he's done with that he grunts, and gets back up to his full height - he hangs over you even as you sit on the table.

When he cups your face in one of his hands to clean away the tears and hold you still so that he can stitch up a particularly nasty slice Stella gave you when you started to cry, he essentially engulfs both your cheeks. When he's finished with your face, he pauses- his eyes gaze down at your lips- before letting you go with a scowl and picking up your hands one at a time.

The left arm is worse, already turning a disgusting purple colour and practically broken so he carefully sets that one up in a sling before winding gauze around the other; Gently rubbing circles of disinfectant cream into your palm when he notices a gash there with dirt spread into it. "Hmmmm... " He hums lowly at it, frowning deeply and glaring as his thumb works away at the area- soothing your hurt but making you nervous.

"I- I... I'm so sorry, Striker... I'm- I'm... so weak... " You whimper meekly, eyes still full of tears.

"Yeah... " He sighs. "But yer my weakling, so... I shoulda been there to protect ya."

Sniffing wetly, you immediately shake your head- a little, spark of defiance that ordinarily, Striker woulda found fucken adorable. You? Thinkin' you can stand up to him?? Sweetheart, no... "No, its not your- "

"It is... " Pinching the bridge of his nose and letting go of your hand, Striker lets out a long suffering groan... frustrated and pissed but trying really really hard to compose himself. To not scare you. "... but you know what? That's okay."

"... What?"

"I got a fix, for this. Its alright."

"What's your... what's your fix?"

Here he lets go of his face and looks down at you again, a look on his face that isn't warm but isn't quite cold either; Its curious, and makes something heat up inside you- deep in the pit of your stomach. "... I'll move ya in here with me tomorrow. That way, I can keep an eye on ya." Cuz clearly you cant take care of yourself.

Fuck- Shit- He knew that, already. He knew that from the moment he first saw you, and he still let this happen.

Seeing him beating himself up again inside his head, you start to feel bad. And not because you're physically aching, and stinging, and torn to pieces- because your cowboy is upset. You hate it. If only you were tougher... then you could keep yourself safe and he wouldn't have to be so hard on himself!...

... If only.

After a few moments of silence between you two, you raise your creamy hand to his face; grazing your knuckles softly against him for a second- before second-guessing yourself, becoming embarrassed, and attempting to retreat again quickly.

He catches your hand though in his much bigger, tougher, capable one and holds onto it. "... That's nice, darlin'. Y'can do that anytime."

"Okay... I- I will."

"For now, though... " This wins your full attention, causing you to look at him again; Eyes wide and innocent. There's a tired look on his face, but he gives you a devastating smirk. "Lets go to bed, sweet thing. Y'need your rest, after a beating like that... and I don't wanna let ya go for a little while."

"Th- That sounds good."

"Yep." With that, he gently scoops you up again and takes you away to his bed. As he lies you down, he gives you a kiss on the cheek, before laying down himself.

[jadethest0ne]

What’s your favorite Donnie/ Raph dynamic out of all the iterations? Sorry if this question doesn’t make any sense lol

Makes perfect sense, and it has a very easy answer for me:

TMNT 1987 has my fave Donnie-Raph dynamic!

One might think it'd be Rise of the TMNT, but while I do enjoy Raph and Donnie's dynamic in that, and I did create a whole comic with the two of them, it's more of a love of what could be more than what we actually see in the show, because there are very few scenes and episodes in that series where the two of them team up.

In fact, there are very few interactions, scenes, or episodes with the two in most iterations, unfortunately. Despite that, the two remain my favorite duo in TMNT (more on why that is over here). But out of all the iterations, it is in 1987 that we get perhaps the most interactions and team ups between the two of them. And it's not just the amount of time we get to spend with the two of them together, it's also the quality of the interactions, too.

Throughout the series the two are often shown hanging out, tag-teaming in fights and sparring matches, and even teaming up to play pranks on Leonardo and Michelangelo.

There's many moments where they agree with each other or side with each other if there's a disagreement in the group. For instance in "Splinter Vanishes” the team is forced to go their separate ways. Raphael and Donatello disagree with splitting up and want to stick together, even though the others (and Splinter) insist that they do. Then you have Season 8′s “ H.A.V.O.C.” arc, where there's a team of other mutants that seem like allies, and the two of them want to side with the new mutants while Leonardo and Michelangelo are suspicious of them (the mutants end up being antagonists, but this is just another instance where the two have similar opinions and stick together).

They’re just portrayed as being a good team who work well together, despite having rather different personalities.

And that’s another thing that I find interesting about them in this version - how their personalities differ somewhat from other versions and how those personalities bounce off each other in this iteration. I've talked a bit about this, and what I like in regards to how their dynamic is portrayed in another post. But specifically what I find interesting is that in this version, Raphael is actually a lot more cautious and self-preserving, while Donatello is the one who is rash and runs into trouble.

Raphael's personality in the 1987 version is very much a sassy, wise-cracking jokester. He'll definitely egg on a fight that he's confident about and taunt the enemy a lot, but he knows when to back out of a tough situation. Meanwhile, Donatello is very smart and level-headed, but very prideful, and it's that pride that gets him to bite off more than he can chew. In numerous instances he's gotten himself and the others in trouble because he's so sure of his abilities that he doesn't see when things start to go wrong because "he can handle it".

What's cool about these seemingly clashing personalities, is that the two end up grounding each other. Raphael will be the one to point out when Donatello's schemes or inventions may have some downsides. Granted, he does so via sarcastic jabs at Donatello's expense, but nonetheless, he's also there to help out when things inevitably go wrong. And despite his reservations about Donatello's plans, he very often turns to him when things go south. He's very sure of his brother's ability to out-think a situation.

On the flip side, Donatello will often look to Raphael for comfort or assurance when he is worried or scared. There are lots of instances of him clinging to or hugging Raphael when he's nervous, and it's very sweet (more screenshots over here).

Overall, I wish there was as much focus on this duo in other iterations, and it's because there's so much content with them in '87 that it makes it one of my faves.

I’ll close out this ramble with a list of a few of my fave Don-Raph episodes from the 1987 series:

Back to the Egg - Michelangelo and Leonardo get shrunk to toddler age, and Donatello and Raphael have to be older brothers to the two younger ones. This is my favorite episode of the whole ‘87 series!

Raphael vs the Volcano - an invention by Donatello makes Raphael think he's dying, so he throws caution to the wind and goes on various heroic escapades. Donatello has to fix his mistake and save Raphael from his own brash actions.

Combat Land - The turtles are invited to test out a new battle-themed amusement park and to fight its robot creations. However, it might just be a scheme to destroy them.

Dirk Savage: Mutant Hunter - Leonardo and Michelangelo get kidnapped by a villain who is trying to control mutants, and Raphael and Donatello have to work together to save them.

Thank you so much for giving me an excuse reason to talk about my favorite duo :3

[hermit-searching]

TMNTposting Raphael edition (Part 1):

I have a confession to make. I've been lying to you all...my fave......is actually Raphael 😂

When I was growing up watching TMNT Donatello was always my favorite turtle, mostly because I was kin assigned the smart, purple turtle when we did those playground roleplay things elementary school kids did in the early 2000s. But during my journey rewatching TMNT 87, and 03 I've grown so SO attached to Raphael it's silly.

This guy. This dude. He's probably one of the most misunderstood characters in universe (and kind of in fanon as well) besides Leonardo. Raphael, no matter which animated iteration, gets himself into trouble because of his terrible impulse control (Woah me fr), which is linked to his "anger issues" which admittedly he does kind of have, but there's so much more to unpack there than just "oh he angy".

Well, except 87 Raphael but he's special and I'll get to him later.

03 Raph definitely has the most obvious actual blind rage. Fourth episode into the entire series he goes into a blind rage and tries attacking Mikey with a metal table leg when he loses a sparring match against his orange younger brother. Except...he kinda actually doesn't. Yeah he gets mad, for sure he got really mad, but something to note about it is he actually goes into a dissociative state before he attacks Mikey, he immediately apologizes when he's lucid again, and he runs off to cool his head which leads to him meeting Casey and teaching the same lessons Splinter has told him to Casey Jones. (Honestly the besties ever. good for them). And the reason Raph gets so angry? It's not just that Mikey beats him, Mikey eggs him on the entire time. Like I mentioned in my Mikey post, 03 Mikey is an instigator, he's constantly pushing all of his brothers buttons because he thinks it's funny. He does it on purpose so he knows what's coming for him, when his brothers (usually Raph) finally snap. That's not to say that Raph should have beaten his brother with a table leg at all, because he still spends his time learning his lesson through trying to reign in Casey, but his anger was a little more, in lack of better terms, justified than some of the other Raph-Mikey blowouts we've seen (cough12cough).

03 Raph is actually just such a polite, sweet little guy. He has a heart of gold, and tries so hard to protect him family, even until his last breath. He'll help blind old ladies, he gives old clothes and blankets to the homeless, heck his instinct when he's in his last moments in Same as It Never Was was to crawl over to Leo in an attempt to protect his big brother.

This guy's biggest fear is being the one behind the Shredder mask, and hurting his family. Literally, he fears himself, and his anger. He's so, so much more than the family hot-head.

I love this guy so much. It's great watching him develop as a character and cope with his anger without having to dig into the same lesson all the time of "oooh Raph you're angry. Anger is bad Raphael. That's a no no Raphael."

Which is what bothers me so much about 2012 Raph. They spend so much time making a joke about his anger issues it's baffling it was a choice the writers made. Oh to be a fly on the wall when they made all the questionable writing choices in 2012. Like, you'll have moments where Splinter will straight up tell his son "you remind me of my evil not-brother who was the reason my wife died lolololol", and you'll have other moments where they're like "oh aha he ran away and quit the team for the 27th time. Silly Raphael." and I genuinely do not understand why they treat him like this? 2012 Raph, fundamentally, is still the same as other Raphael's. He's got the anger issues, he uses sais, he wears red, but the way they present his anger is just. Weird. They'll have him punch or swat at his brothers just for existing, and not acknowledge it at all, visual gags or whatever. And then they'll also go "ooga booga he's so bad and his anger is bad", and then force him to learn the "anger bad" lesson for the nth time....only to wipe it from his character development again.

Once again, this kid has a heart of gold. He's the turtle equivalent of a Disney Princess. He took care of a pet turtle for, presumably years. He cared for Spike a lot! And...then they just rip that away from him to create a new villain who tries to eliminate his brothers because he used to vent to his pet (being the one way Splinter told him was "healthy" with dealing with his anger). Which? Okay way to punish him for trying to deal with his anger in a way that wasn't beating the snot out of something. (also what the actual fuck was that 180 they did having Slash go "I've always admired you Leonardo"???? HUH???)

But...then you have Chompy. Arguably the only thing they have ever given 2012 Raph without violently ripping it away for laughs, or to teach him some kind of lesson. He does give Chompy back to Tokka for a moment but she gives him back realizing they're both super attached to each other and stuff. Having the moment of Raph admitting he cares about Chompy was so perfect because it finally had a moment where he felt like Raphael.

other beautiful moments from 2012 Raph:

-literally just barn arc.

-"angry Donnie you're so silly and funny and- oh wait Donnie stop-"

-when he gets smacked with a brick by 87 Raphael (sorry I still play favs)

Ok back to more lighthearted Raphposting.

Rise Raph is actually such a fun take on the character. It's so interesting to see him being put into the role usually reserved for Leonardo, being the oldest and being the leader. At first he seems pretty well put together, and different than the other Raphael but. Nope! He still rushes into danger like a kid at a busy intersection during rush hour. The difference being, he learns to reign in his impulse control ever so slightly because he's brothers are all arguably more unhinged than he is. Especially Donnie and Mikey.

His temper in Rise seems to take somewhat of an inspiration from 03, having him dissociate into a rage, though the tone of it is vastly different than 03. Which, I think is fine because Rise always had a lighter tone than 03, and 12. The intention of it is a lot different than turning 12 Ralph's issues into a silly haha, and throughout the series we see how the pressure of being the oldest weighs upon the guy, changing the tone of his issues as the series progressed.

The season finale four parter was genuinely good for Raph's character arc all things considered. Him finally cracking under the pressure only to learn his family will be there for him the way he's always been there for him is beautiful. Him being the one who sees Splinter's memories with his mom? Amazing. And the messed up thing? He sees protecting his family as his duty and purpose despite being a kid himself. Kinda like 03 Raph.

The movie also finally gave us that Leo-Raph dynamic older TMNT fans have craved from the series, but the roles are still reversed. With Raph still being responsible and wanting Leo to take things seriously while Leo does whatever he wants and has ✨impulsive sparkle✨. Getting to see Raph finally let loose and be a normal teenager again, joining in on the silly fun by the end of the movie..Mwah. thank you.

This post is getting long so I'll go into 87 Raphael in his own post. I have way too much to say about him I'm sorry..

[los-ninos-tortugas]

(Throws this at you because I love your blog)

Rewatched Touch and Go today and it's such a GOOD 03 Raph episode!! It tells us so much about him!!

The mob chasing him? Not that big. He has fought and defeated bigger groups of actually trained and armed assailants. (Heck, he did it BLIND in Lone Raph and Cub.) This group didn't even have guns. If he had chosen to fight, he would have won - but he didn't even CONSIDER fighting them until his back was against the wall and he couldn't see another way out. This is punch first ask questions later RAPH choosing to flee because he didn't want to hurt ordinary scared people.

His interactions with Mrs Morrinson are just BEAUTIFUL. First of all his face when she pulls him through her door and essentially kidnaps him is hilarious and adorable. Secondly, he didn't have to let her do that!! He is so much stronger than her - he could have pulled away, but he didn't!! And then he spends a couple of hours at this random old lady's house THAT HE HAS NEVER MET BEFORE moving boxes and keeping her company and drinking tea. And he clearly has a good time!!! I don't even think it occured to him to try and leave - SHE has to tell him that it's getting late and he should go home. And when Mikey and Master Splinter suddenly have briefcase full of money? Raph's first impulse is to give it away to someone he has only known for a couple of hours. (Sidenote - this episode is the third time the Turtles are in possession of a stupidly large amount of money. The first time they hand it in to the police, the second time they insist April uses it to rebuild her shop, and the third time they give it away to somone only one of them has met. What does that say about them, when literally everything they own is other people's refuse? They are poorer than poor, and yet they give away life changing amounts of money with no regrets. I love them so much)

This episode really showcases how GENTLE Raph is. He is so good with vulnerable people. He doesn't treat Mrs Morrison as a convenient escape - he treats her like a person. And yes, there is a lot to be said about the fact that she is blind, and that that means she is treating him like a person - but he could have left as soon as he knew it was safe. He didn't have to move boxes and be kind to her. He didn't have to speak to her respectfully or drink tea with her or even let her pull him into her house.

Just... the 03 boys are such GOOD boys. They are extremely kind, and I love that about them. This episode showcases that for Raph so well.

(There is more I wanna say about this but my brain is melting due to the heat so I'm going to leave it there)

Thank you I do try my best <3

ALSO THANK YOU FOR GIVING ME A REASON TO TALK ABOUT MY BOY (I do love all the 03 boys but 03 Raph is my fave)

So I decided to rewatch the episode too so I could refresh my memory. And omg you’re sooo right. While 03 Raph is definitely one of the more straightforward Angry™️ iterations of Raph, he’s also one with a really strong moral compass. The crowd isn’t that big, they’re not armed, they’re still on edge from seeing their city torn apart. Could he have very easily incapacitated them single handed? Yeah probably, but it’s just not in his moral code. This Raph is very much a protector of the innocent, even when they don’t appreciate it. The fact that he only draws his weapons when he thinks he has absolutely no choice says a lot about how violence was his absolute last resort. And even then, as soon as Mrs. Morrison emerges from her apartment he puts his weapons away again.

His face when she pulls him in is so shocked but like, Raph you’re letting it happen! He really didn’t have to let her pull him into her house and he seems so surprised by it but he also doesn’t resist even a little bit. Also the way his voice goes from his usual kind of gravelly roughness to a slightly more gentle tone, like he’s almost speaking in a slightly higher register than he usually does and it’s kind of sweet? Little old lady is here better use my Polite Voice. And yeah, there is something kind of interesting about her being blind because yes, it means she’s not immediately hostile to him, however she gets pretty touchy when she’s pulling him into the apartment. She takes his notable three fingered hand and then she puts her hand on his shell when she pushes him in. Not going to lie when the mob asks her about “aliens” and she says there’s no aliens she sounds just like… mildly insincere (but maybe that’s just the New Yorker in me talking. We all say shit we don’t mean when we want someone to stop bothering us).

There’s something really funny about the fact that we don’t see the conversation that presumably happened right after they’re both inside, we just cut straight to Raph moving boxes 🤣 he really went, “well while I’m here…” and just started doing whatever she asked of him. And he just met this woman but he was already curious about why she was packing up to move! (Which is kind of a trend with this version of Raph and it’s part of what really makes him endearing to me. In spite of his tough guy exterior he gets invested in people soooo quickly. Even though Casey annoyed the (s)hell out of him when they first met, Raph also became incredibly invested in making sure his fellow hot head didn’t fist fight his way into an early grave. And you mentioned Lone Raph and Cub, where, despite the kid (I forgot his name at the moment) initially resisting Raph’s help and telling Raph to leave him alone Raph only becomes more determined to help him out.) I think even if Mikey and Splinter hadn’t conveniently come home with a suitcase full of money Raph still would have found a way to help/stay in touch with Mrs. Morrison because that’s just the kind of guy he is. (But also kind of makes you just how convincing his argument was to get Mikey to give him the money, these boys are very generous as you rightly pointed out and knowing it was going to a good cause I think Mikey would have agreed pretty easily but also Raph did just meet her that night so he must’ve had to have been reeeeaaal convincing)

My brain is also soup from the heat ✌️

[yellowhollyhock]

1 & 10, 1987 Leo for the character ask?

1 why do you like/dislike this character

HIM BABY 🩵

Ahem I mean uh. Swords or something cool akdjdhs

For real though 1987 Leonardo I feel so much embodies the things I love about Leos across the franchise. He sees his brothers' strengths and believes in them wholeheartedly. He always does what he believes is right no matter how difficult it's going to be--and often this looks like protecting people even when they might hurt him (the punk frogs episode is make me emotional 😭). I love that he's always having his brothers climb through windows, and when Donatello asks why they couldn't take the stairs he says "this way is more heroic." I love how Raphael lowkey makes fun of his corny lines but also seems really fond of them ("don't you wish you could pull off a line like that" <- raph to the audience after Leo says something like 'you won't get away with this!') and Leonardo actually starts kind of checking with Raphael after he says a line like that! Like this unspoken 'how was that one? was it heroic? 🦸‍♂️ was it silly? =D was it both i think i'm getting pretty good at both'

Or also when he says to the villain "How stupid do you think we are?!" and Raphael's "No, no--Leonardo, never leave yourself open like that"

Just the implication that Raphael is in fact trying to kind of coach Leonardo to help him seem cooler aldndbskdjb.

He's so courageous and really in control but he presents as this squishy little guy. And he is! him baby! but he is also so competent. He could be quite scary if he chose to but he doesn't. And it's so important to him to keep Master Splinter's rules which I just think is sweet. Plus also he does have a lil sass in him too especially when he talks to bad guys.

Also his crush on Lotus Blossom is just adorable. I love that he doesn't try to reform her he's just lovestruck for this assassin for hire. And the fact that they meet because she was hired to take him down and upon meeting her he's immediately head over heels. And Lotus as a joke line about 'you do not approve of my career' but I think she's also serious, like she has a dangerous life and she doesn't want to bring it to him. But he doesn't care, his life is already dangerous, which so many people don't see because of his optimism, and just. akdjshshaj.

10 could you be friends with this character

Leonardo would be very easy to be friends with. He's just a kid whose primary core motivation is to do what's right. Plus he likes history, I don't know much about Japanese history but that makes it even better because I could learn from him.

also especially when I was a teenager I find it very relatable to have everyone assume you're silly and naive because you choose to be optimistic and kind. My siblings and I went through a lot as kids, and it's kinda worse as kids because everyone still treats you like you've never done anything hard in your life and your kindness must be the result of your lack of experience instead of something you fought to learn with teeth and claws. I see the 87 turtles dealing with that, especially Leonardo.

anyway yeh we could be friends :)