#also i use donnie tech to excuse a lot of things

[r0b0t1me]

resistance base floor plan/layout! i do not know what i'm doing nor am i shooting for total realism, but all of these ideas have been rotating in my head for ages and im having issues creating concept art for the setting without some kind of baseline to work off of so tada

[hotheadedhero]

can you do hug headcanons with the rise guys !!

AN: I sure can! These guys deserve all the hugs <3

Hug Headcanons

Rise Turtles x Reader

Raphael

It's no surprise that Raph adores hugs but there's always the worry that he'll somehow injure you in the process. He's a big guy, both in height and width but there are prevalent dangers even if his size wasn't a problem. Excluding his shell, he still has the odd spike poking out of somewhere, whether that be his elbows or the top of his plastron. It's no issue for his brothers seeing as they're turtles too but you're a human. There's too much chance of you catching yourself on one of them and he could never forgive himself if he ever hurt you, even if it was by accident.

You always assure him that no such thing could ever happen and, bit by bit, he allows himself to be bolder with the physical affection. He's glad for it too because holding you is like a dream come to life. If he had to pick a favourite hug, it's when you're curled up on his chest while he lies on his back. Having you this close with his large arms around you is such a pleasure. He takes great joy in knowing he can keep you safe this way. It's also a popular hold when you're both relaxing in the pool, floating around without a care in the world.

Leonardo

He likes to surprise you but not necessarily in the cute couple-y way. Leo makes a point of trying to scare you with his hugs, whether that be leaping out of a random room or embracing you from behind without any warning. He's really putting those sneaky ninja skills to good use, isn't he? You thought that him being an appointed hero of your city meant that he used his powers for good but it would seem you were wrong.

When he isn't trying to give you a heart attack, he's pulling you in with the addition of his phone. He just loves to throw his arms over your shoulders and snap an unexpected selfie. The sentiment appears sweet but you wonder if this is part of his scare tactic, if he's trying to capture a picture of your frightened face in the moment.

However, he does know when to give downtime a chance and frequently enjoys being the small spoon. Anything to feel like the centre of your world. It's also because of the kisses you plant on his shell or the back of his head. He adores those.

Donatello

Trying to get a good hug in with Donnie can be a difficult one. You can only assume that it has something to do with his soft shell. Deep down, you're aware of his vulnerabilities and how they've manifested into this desire to not be touched. Most of his contact will be administered through the use of his tech, whether that be with his bionic arms or the handful of times he's lovingly pat you on the head with his bo staff.

That being said, he does have his moments. Some days are a lot better than others but if you want a hug from him, he needs to be the one to initiate it. The times he does, he'll slowly envelop you from behind and hide his face in the crook of your neck. You suppose this position is part of his need to be in control of the physical affection. He can let go when he wants to and not worry about pushing your arms away if they're around him. You know how hard he tries and it makes those moments that much sweeter.

Michelangelo

Fasten your seatbelts because the hug-a-tron is in the house. He can and will find any excuse to trap you in his arms, sometimes to the point that you're starved of oxygen. Even if the last you saw him was only an hour ago, he'll lift you from the ground in a squeeze upon your return as if you haven't seen each other in months. Saying that you've had to check your ribs for bruising isn't an over-exaggeration. Further stating that you have found bruises is no word of a lie, either.

Mikey isn't sure if he has a number-one hug on his list. They're all amazing in his opinion and he'd feel bad for choosing in case you had a personal preference. In his eyes, it's more about the delivery rather than the sort of affection itself; the energy behind it. That's why it's his absolute favourite when you tackle him to the ground and smother him in that sweet cuddly goodness. He loves to know that you get as excited to see him as he does you.

[nardos-primetime]

Ngl my brain is trying to cook some crossover things already but I'll wait till you post some more lore (if you're comfy with that stuff to boot) Also obvs these boys are different from their source but does Donno still hold any interest for tech? Or do his hobbies end up elsewhere.

Murder talk TW

Donno only really gets to experiment with hobbies once he's with Big Mama. And he wouldn't be a Donnie if he didn't like technology!

Most of his technological expertise comes into his more casual job, which is working with the gamblers. He finds new ways to swindle yokai out of their money and is always excited to show Mama his new ideas. Along with this, he would absolutely steal someone's wallet and sell it back to them.

He's a little unhinged as well! After a few... hiccups, he becomes one of Mama's main choices when it comes to directly getting "the job done" so to say. (Other than Rage). He likes shooting people from afar, but his preferred alternative is experimenting and making torture devices to use on some of Mama's..... "problems".

He likes gaming too! In fact it started as a joke but I made his weapon a little mystic controller as a gift from Mama. He's a lot more open to mystic things and is the first one to get a gift like this from her, think of Donnie's ninpo but a lot more nerfed down, even the guns he makes from the controller have a strong size, usage and radius limit, to appease this, he experiments with real technology, such as his own hover shell when he's out an about, and packing a few actual guns to hold with his mystics to get past the whole "bullets don't go too far" problem.

Mystic weapons in this au are more like objects that can be in tune with their users emotions, Mama has been figuring out how to make more from ones she already has stolen and his controller is the first mostly stable one she's managed to make, Donno is picking up the slack on the testing and research, nowadays. After all, if his sad excuse of an original can't accept mystic things he should get ahead of the curve and learn about it first! (He also loves fucking with mystic shit and shoving it into other things if he can.)

He also likes fancy things in general, dramatic bitch. He does have a smoking issue that he picked up from older yokai (if you couldnt tell Mama runs with a bit of a bad crowd) but he is working on a healthier, mystic option. For himself (and yokai, if they have the cash.)

Overall none of this probably makes sense I'm just having fun but OHMIGOSH yes I'm totally fine w crossovers!!!! The characters do change a little overtime in the storyline but my favorite arc (and mostly the middle one) is the Big Mama arc because most of the problems truly get worse with her influence, can't wait to post more about it n would love to see what you come up with! :D

[naviaknell777]

Hello again! (Gosh am requesting a lot)

Can i please request rottmnt of leo x little sister!mutant turtle! reader?

Request type: fic, comedy, platonic, happy ending.

Plot: the story is about reader who's about 10 years old, of course she's rarely allowed to get out of lair due to her age and her begin weak but god she have such sonic energy, she can't stop running, jumping..etc.

So it's obvious on patrols the brothers have to leave someone behind to babysit her & it's leo's turn, leo was understatementing babysit job as he put reader in living room to watch mlp and went to his room to read a comic book, time pass & he went to check on reader only for her to vanish, leo panic as he go get the baby tracker Donnie made for reader & he found out she's outside the lair.

So leo's job is to find reader, get her back home before his brothers find out or he won't hear the end of it from raph especially.

“Babysitting”

ROTTMNT - Leo x little sister! Reader

Notes: not proof read, and might have made it unintentionally a bit angstier than I hoped hehe. Enjoy!

“Okay, Leo, it’s your turn to babysit,” Donnie said as he played around with the tech screen projected from his armband, using it to investigate further about the wild mutant activity going on upstate.

“Oh, sure, I’ll babysit” Leo started, inching a bit closer to Donnie “But if you three get pizza afterward without me - I mean us… We won’t be happy turtles.”

“Yeah! I’ll beat you all up!” Y/N exclaimed, jumping to the conversation and now standing next to Leo.

“Uh-huh, sure, okay” Donnie mumbles, still focusing on his tech. Y/N reached up and tugged on the long ends of Leo’s mask, pulling on it to get his attention. When he looked down at her, she smiled, latching onto him and climbing up his form, pulling herself on him and climbing up to sit on the top of his blue shell.

Leo sighed, “I feel like you’ve been getting more and more rambunctious lately, [nickname]”

“Nah, I’m just growing taller” She replied.

“My calculations say at this rate she’ll be as tall as Raph when she gets around our age… but regardless, we should get going,” Donnie said, his tech screen dissipating and looking to Raph and Mikey so they can start heading out.

“Haha, I’ll be taller than you when I’m your age, Leo, you’re such a loser!” Y/N teased, letting go of Leo and falling backward onto the floor.

“Also, don’t forget to set an alarm for 8, Leo, she’s gonna need to eat by then and -“ Raph started.

“She can’t remember for herself?” Leo asked.

“Nope!” Y/N answered “Too lazy, and I don’t have a phone yet”

“Oh, and Y/N!” Mikey rushed over to Y/N, grabbing her face “do not watch the ending of season three without me, I have a sense It’ll be really good, okay? Or else I will not be a happy turtle.” Y/N simply nodded, feeling a shiver down her spine.

“Okay, see ya!” Mikey headed towards the sewer exit first, followed by Raph.

Donnie turned to Leo, “Remember to not let her on the surface, okay? The last thing she needs is to get hurt” He headed out as well.

“Pfft, Donnie can be such a stick sometimes, I know you won’t go above to the surface, especially without me, right, [nickname]?” Leo turned to Y/N.

“Well… Why can’t I go out again?” Y/N mumbled, focusing on playing with her fingers as she now said cross on the floor.

Leo sat next to her, placing a hand on her shoulder, “You’re too young to go by yourself, Y/N… you haven’t had as much training as us, if something bad happens, you won’t be able to hold your own… you know? It’d just be better if you don’t go into the city with us in the first place.”

Y/N continued to look down and just nodded, “Yeah, I get it, that makes sense.”

“Great!” Leo stood up, “Now if you excuse me, I got some reading to catch up on, [nickname]”

“Huh? You’re not gonna hang out with me?” Y/N, looked up at Leo as if the tender moment between them hadn’t happened. ‘Does he really not care…or does he not know what he just said to me?’

“Well, now that the bros aren’t here it gives me some quiet time to read the Jupiter Jim special edition issue where he fights laser unicorns on Pluto! But don't worry, I’ll be sure to hang out with you later tonight, okay? I gotta come out here to make you food anyway” He said, walking towards his room with his hands behind his head.

Y/N nodded, getting up and wiping away some loose tears she tried to hold back, “Okay, that makes sense.. I’ll just watch some My Little Pony then”

“Sounds good, [nickname]!” Leo said dismissively as he locked himself away in his room. Y/N stood up, attempting to swallow away the knot in her throat that was getting tighter. She walks over to the recliner that Splinter was sleeping on, puts the My Little Pony DVDs in, and projects it on the white screen. She sat next to her father’s chair, hugging herself as she sighed, and pressed play.

. . .

Leo grumbled when he heard his alarm for making food for Y/N go off, pulling away the Jupiter Jim comic that was on top of his phone and stopping the alarm. “Okay, time to feed the rascal…” he mumbled, taking off his blanket and leaving his room to the kitchen.

He prepared some frozen pasta in the run-down microwave, food stains, and splatters covering the appliance inside and out. “I’m making some leftover pasta for you, [nickname], Don’t complain about it, 'cause I think it’s the last edible thing in the kitchen” He yelled towards the living room, still facing the microwave as it headed up the frozen dish. He then opened the utensil drawer, “Now, do you want the big fork or the small fork? I know you love your small forks, but they’re all in the sink and I don’t feel like doing the dishes, and it's faster to eat it with a regular-sized fork, right?" He turned around and made his way to the living room,

“Heard what I said? [nickname]?” He didn’t see her anywhere. He looked around for her in the living room where My Little Pony was still playing.

“Tell me that my friends are lying to me and avoiding me because they don’t like my parties and they don’t want to be my friends anymore!” A pink character said on screen that took his attention for a second, growing a bit more tense as he continued his search for Y/N. He checked her room, and all of her brother's rooms, and reluctantly, he checked the sewer opening, seeing it left ajar a bit.

Leo smacked himself in the face, “Why’d she have to go up there of all places! Ugh if Raph finds out…” He races towards his room, getting the emergency tracker that Donnie had made previously in case of emergencies. He checked the tracker, “Where… where is that…?” He looked at the tracker, turning it upside-down and reading the text of Y/N’s location “New Jersey?! How’d she manage to get all the way to New Jersey already?”

. . .

In reality, following the train system, it was only a thirty-minute ride to a university in New Jersey, but Y/N was on the move. She jumped from building to building, albeit a bit clumsily.

“Ah, that wind feels so nice! Ah, and the stars are so pretty!” Y/N said to herself, continuing to run and smile in the process, feeling freer than ever before - the feeling on the concrete on her feet, the wind in her face, the refreshing cool spring air in her face. She stopped on the last building of the block, looking up at the stray stars that peeked through the city smog.

She took a seat at the edge of the building, tightening her loose mask and looking up to the stars. “If only Leo could enjoy this with me…”

“Why didn’t you just say that? That way I didn’t have to go on this wild goose chase to find you, Y/N!” Leo yelled from across the building, trying to catch his breath. Y/N turned around, tensing a bit seeing Leo sweaty and tired from trying to find her, seeing him hold the black device with a purple screen that was glowing light.

“What? You tracked me or something, Leo?” She said.

“You left without telling me”

“You were sleeping!”

“That doesn’t matter, Y/N!”

“You would’ve gotten mad at me for wanting to go outside the lair…”

“I wouldn’t have, I promise. But you know the rules-“

“I don’t like the rules”

“They’re there for your safety, Y/N! You’re not strong enough yet, we-“

“But I made it here all by myself and I’m fine! You guys just…” Y/N sighed and took a seat, legs dangling over the edge of the building again. Leo walked over to her, sitting down next to her. “I feel like you guys make me seem weaker than I am… I can do things too, like cook for myself, go out, at least with you guys…”

“We don’t let you cook because with your speed you spill everything, make a mess, and put a fork in the microwave”

“You guys didn’t tell me it would explode! And you leave all your dishes out for bugs to lick at, you’re messy too!”

“…okay well to be fair I didn’t make that rule, Raph did.”

“And I don’t like that Raph won’t let me do easy things, like using the vacuum and stuff!”

“I think he’s worried you’ll explode that too… we could barely afford a new microwave, [nickname]”

“Yeah… but, like, you guys don’t trust me with things. Or myself. It makes me, um…” Y/N started growing a bit more nervous, the knot in her throat coming back, preventing her from speaking.

“Sad? Is that what you mean?” Leo asked. Y/N nodded. Leo wrapped his arms around her, enveloping her in a tight hug, and she soon returned it, her eyes watering a bit.

“I’m… sorry, Y/N. I suppose we’ve just seen you as our baby sister for too long.. You’re growing up… and literally, too, I sure hope you don’t end up being as tall as Raph, that’s a bit scary to imagine. Regardless, I’m sorry… Why don’t we go home and talk about this with our brothers, okay? I suppose the rest of them, including Raph, need to realize that you’re out a baby anymore. Does that sound okay?”

His sister nodded, and slowly let go of the hug. Leo gave her a soft smile, wiping away the stray tears on her cheeks.

“Let’s go home, yeah? Before our brothers find out you snuck out, especially Raph… He’ll go bananas. It’s a long way home… I’m actually proud that you managed to get here by yourself without getting hurt, and I saw you running, I’m impressed how fast you are! How did you find your way all the way to New Jersey anyway?” He asked, standing up and taking Y/N’s hand in his.

She signed to him as they journeyed home, “I just followed where my heart took me.”

——

All Rights Reserved ©️NaviaKnell777 2023

[bluepeachstudios]

GitS Asks!

A good example is Ghost getting hit by the magic blast. It bruised some ribs, knocked the wind right out of him, rendered him basically immovable for a good five minutes, and even after that he was sore and aching. Meanwhile, Raph got hit with the same magic blast and he hit a wall, CRACKED IT, and was more concerned about the FAB ball.

Part of this is because Ghost doesn't have bridges, so impacts can actually crack his ribs. The part of this is that... Ghost wasn't made to be a soldier. He's stronger and faster than humans, yes, but the mutagen was made by a peaceful alien race. They weren't trying to create war machines. Draxum was. The boys were made to get hit and get back up.

The incident with Albearto kind of woke them up to the fact that Ghost even could get hurt. But he healed quickly! Then he was stung, and suddenly they were actually afraid that he would die. They sort of realized his mortality. They don't see him as "fragile". It's near impossible for them at the moment. But they see him as mortal, which is a scary thing for a kid to see their not-dad as.

Honestly? It'd be likely. The kids are taken care of. Their world isn't ending, they have their dad. Ghost's world is dying, and his brothers are slowly withering away with it. The decision would not come easily, and he would never forgive himself. It would destroy him eventually.

@theskrunklyleonneon spoilers ;)

This entire question made me laugh so hard just aughfkgjhdkfjg. Indeed, an off-hand comment by Donatello in 2003 meant that he canonically takes the toaster apart to see how it works and this has permeated through the 2003 fandom for decades. Ghost doesn't mess with the toaster in the Rise lair. He has passed the mantle on to Donnie to take apart the toaster repeatedly. Donnie mostly just tries to improve it but it makes it endlessly more complicated for his brothers to use.

Leo. Leo has exploded a toaster four times before he was banned.

He does find it ironic! But he also gets it. This Leo didn't grow up bearing the weight of being the "responsible" one. Rise Splinter doesn't train or meditate the same way, and Ghost recognizes that all Leos will follow their dads first ;)

Chapter 21!

I actually don't know about Raph giving them codenames, I can't find that episode :x but Donnie only mentions Raph and Mikey and his own, Leo's codename isn't mentioned, so I'd like to believe Donnie would name Ghost "Lilac Queen" because he's the most powerful piece on the board in Donnie's mind.

Honestly? Todd would probably do most of the talking. Ghost would just end up listening, maybe talking back sometimes. Ghost would decide he's pretty okay with Todd by the end of it. Still has no desire to talk to him.

~sort of~ spoilers? Donnie doesn't really... Understand mystic stuff. And he uses excuses, like that he's focused more on science, and makes the excuse to himself that that's why he doesn't understand it, but then Ghost is out here doing both, and Donnie feels...

Inadequate.

Ghost knows the EPF is around but not their purpose. His world didn't have yokai, and this world doesn't seem to have any obvious sign of aliens unless yokai are somehow aliens, but he hasn't seen any sign of triceratons or even utroms. If it's not necessary, he doesn't want to talk about it. He didn't want to talk about it when he was with his brothers, let alone now when he's with kids and a stranger he doesn't trust completely.

Ghost deals with things by fixing them. In his mind, the Triceraton invasion was "fixed". So now he shouldn't have to worry about it.

Right?

His name would be Nate. Me and @melonpalooza have talked about this a lot and god did things get wild. Maybe I'll release some of the short stories I wrote for that one day.

Ghost still wears glasses for close up work! It's mentioned in the first few lines of the fic. :)

He knows they're a high school tech club, but he doesn't expect them to be. Y'know. The Purple Dragons. Just. Some other purple dragons.

But also y'know. Severe paranoia.

I'm glad it helped!

Ghost has definitely done exercises with him without the battle shell and the bo staff. The biggest issue is the battle shell is HEAVY. Donnie grew up wearing it a lot. He learned to fight with it. His muscle memory for balance and movement is based around the battle shell being on. He's a bit clumsier when he fights without it because of that; his center of balance changes.

But Ghost has definitely made sure that even if Donnie is caught without his battle shell that he'll still be able to defend himself. As for being less reliant on tech? Not so much. He still relies heavily on his tech. It's important to him!

He definitely would've joined them immediately. Stuck to them like glue. At that point he was still young and terrified and had full confidence that he could get home. Spending however long helping this universe's Splinter with babies wouldn't be bad.

(This is about Chapter 27 in Ghost in the Shell)

I do try to play people's heartstrings like a harp. Glad it's working. Thank you for enjoying. <3

[boots-with-the-fur-club]

Chapter 5 of The Teenage Mutant Phantom of the Opera!

@daboyau

“Hello? Earth to Yuichi?”

Usagi jumps as Donnie’s voice breaks him out of his thoughts.

“Sorry, what were you saying?”

“They’re asking for us to practice the next song.”

“O-Oh, right, I’ll be there in a second.”

“What are you even doing up here?”

Usagi was looking over the railing of the catwalk and down at the stage.

“Just….thinking.”

“About what exactly?”

“I upset my friend the other night and I don’t know how I’m going to fix things.”

Donnie leans on the railing.

“This is the same friend you said you’ve upset before?”

Usagi groans in frustration. This new situation added onto that growing list.

“Yes, him. At least I think I did? I don’t really know, he left before he said anything. I’m not sure he’ll see me again.”

“I can offer you advice but I can’t promise that all of it will be legal.”

“Ha ha, funny.”

“I am, but that wasn’t a joke.”

Usagi straightens up and frowns.

“You’re really trying to catch me doing some bad? Again? I saved your life! You should know that I’m innocent!”

Donnie also stands straight.

“I was offering my own services.”

“…..Excuse me?”

“The reason I was trying to get a confession from you is because if this opera got shut down, Mikey would force me into something else to express myself and I do not have the energy for that. I’m not the goody two shoes of the family, that title belongs to Raph if it belongs to anyone. What I’m saying is, I can and will help you. I have certain methods not many people would be willing to use.”

“Wow, Donnie….that’s really nice of you.”

Donnie smirks slightly.

“Nice has nothing to do with it. I’ve been dying to show off my inventions! I tried getting the tech crew to incorporate my ideas but they said it was handled already.”

“Thanks anyway for offering. I don’t know if tech can help in this situation though….”

“It can help in every situation! Just leave it to me and I can create an entire apology program for you to text him!”

Usagi opens his mouth to say something but then quickly closes it.

He doesn’t have Leo’s phone number.

He’s not even sure where he lives.

How is he going to explain that to him without looking stupid!?

“I don’t actually…..have his number. We always just met up….here, at night. He ran off backstage and I still couldn’t find him anywhere.”

Donnie stares hard at him, completely silent.

“So you lied about why you were staying late, just like I assumed.”

“Y-Yeah, but to be fair, I’m still not sure where we stand. I thought you’d assume he was the phantom!”

“And you haven’t come to that conclusion? At all?”

“Of course I asked him about it!”

“Who in their right mind would admit that?”

“I trust him a lot more than I trust you.” Usagi crosses his arms to hold back his foot from thumping.

“How long are you going to hold that recording attempt against me?”

“Should I hold how you treated me otherwise against you instead?”

Donnie clicks his tongue in frustration, knowing he’s right.

“Fine, whatever, as long as your mystery friend isn’t ruining the opera it doesn’t matter anyways. I couldn’t care less what you two are doing. I can still help.”

“Really?”

“I just want to use my tech.”

“Other than the program you were talking about?”

“Duh, what genius only has one card in his deck? If this is the last and only place you see him, then I can just track where he went from here.”

“That would be great! You’re a life saver, Donnie.” Usagi smiles.

Donnie desperately tries to hide his tail beginning to wag as he starts walking away.

“Let’s just get going before the director complains about us taking too long.”

“Right!” Usagi follows behind him quickly.

They continue their practice for the day, but Donnie can’t help but feel yet again that someone is glaring at him from somewhere each time a scene or song has him touching or even getting near Usagi.

After what he’s heard today, he’s starting to suspect that it’s not just a simple feeling.

Once everyone else has left, Donnie taps on his wrist device and a battle shell flies in.

“It’s a good thing I keep my most useful inventions hidden near here for safe keeping.”

Usagi’s in absolute shock, jaw dropped as he watches it land right near them.

“Donnie! You made this!?”

“This shell isn’t my best even though it holds my best tech since I had to sneak it out without Mikey noticing, but it serves its purpose.”

“What are you talking about? It’s amazing! I don’t know why the tech crew wouldn’t let you help!”

Donnie blinks in shock.

“You….you like my tech?”

“Yeah? This is basically a freaking jet pack! Why wouldn’t I like it?”

A blush starts making its way across Donnie’s face that he covers by turning away, clearing his throat.

“I mean, of course you like it! It is incredibly cool, isn’t it?”

“Are you kidding? The coolest!”

Donnie’s tail begins wagging again.

“You can keep telling me how great I am as we look for your friend.” He opens up his shell and grabs a device.

“How does it work?” Usagi bends over slightly, leaning in to look at it.

Donnie can feel his fur brush against him and nearly drops the device as his blush deepens.

“A little room to work would be nice!”

“Sorry!” Usagi takes a step to the side.

Donnie takes a breath.

“The way it works is that it picks up mystic energy signals. If he suddenly left with no obvious way of getting out, he must have used a portal.”

Usagi feels stupid for not realizing it sooner.

It would make a lot of sense.

“Wouldn’t it pick up mystic energy just given off normally by us?”

“Portals use more so the traces are higher, even a day later. Once I have his energy signature I can use it to track it wherever he went. Also though, there is no us.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m not a yokai. I don’t have mystic powers. I don’t even live in the Hidden City.”

Usagi’s jaw drops again.

“What!? H-How!?”

“How what? How do I exist?”

“I….I guess?”

“I’m a mutant. I have been since I was a baby.”

“So….your brothers….?”

“Also mutants. So is my rat father.” Donnie pulls out his phone.

Usagi sees a photo of them all together.

The only thing his brothers share with him is the fact that they’re turtles.

Raph, or who he assumes is Raph, is massive and clearly a different species.

Mikey is much smaller, but also has his own obvious distinctions.

Usagi had noticed the marks on Donnie before, and while he had never seen them on other turtle yokai he also never gave it a second thought.

He now knew why, seeing Mikey’s spots.

It is odd to him that Raph doesn’t have any but he wasn’t about to ask a potentially rude question.

He also was just going to avoid the fact that a small rat man was raising several turtles since families come in all shapes and sizes.

“I had no idea…..I heard mutants were showing up lately, but those were all pretty recent.”

“I wasn’t made with a bug if that’s what you’re asking.”

“I’m not! I promise! I appreciate you telling me about all this.”

Donnie shrugs.

“You make too big of a deal about things. Being a mutant isn’t some kind of secret to me. It’s just who I am, and who I am is someone who wants information in exchange for this favor I’m doing.” He puts his phone away and turns his attention back to the device.

“Oh, sure, what do you want to know?”

Donnie turns around as his device beeps.

“While I get the mystic signature, tell me about your friend.”

Usagi starts following him.

“His name is Leo, he’s named after the constellation, and he’s our age.”

Donnie narrows his eyes slightly.

“Leo. No nardo after that?”

“No, it’s his full name.”

“Couldn’t even get the rest of it.”

“Please don’t make fun of his name. It’s important to him.”

“Whatever. Is there more? I’m picking up so many portals around here it’s making the device act up.”

“He’s a turtle yokai.”

Donnie stops.

“Like you thought I was?”

“Yeah, I assumed you guys were the same type of turtle yokai honestly. Guess I was wrong.”

Donnie grips the device tighter.

“Yuichi, does he have any markings?”

What he’s asking finally dawns on him.

“He….he has a red one on his face, I’m not sure about the other side. He wears a mask. There’s also some on his arms and legs.”

Donnie bites the inside of his cheek.

His brother is long dead, isn’t he?

He has to be.

There wouldn’t be mystic traces from a mutant, right?

Unless he was using some kind of technology for this portals!

The device beeps, saying it finally locked onto the signature.

“Got it! Let’s get searching! One of his portals was at a store near here!” He grabs Usagi’s wrist and rushes out with him.

The battle shell flies after them and follows out of the building.

Leo grips the railing of the catwalk tightly.

How dare he get to be so close to Usagi?

How dare he drag him along with him?

How dare he come to this special place and their special time and act like it’s just okay!?

The railing bends under the anger directed from his hands.

He should have seen it coming.

Even if he was already jealous of the dammed eyes Donnie kept making at Usagi throughout the entirety of their practices, he never thought he could actually steal him away.

Now though, it was becoming far too much of a possibility.

He desperately wanted to put the entire blame on Donnie, but it was him.

Running away like a coward led to this whole thing.

From now on, he’s going to do things differently.

Pulling his punches would only make it worse for himself. He really should have been this way from the start, but the fear of losing Usagi was too great.

If the danger of that was looking anyways, why not go no holds barred?

Donnie apparently didn’t bat an eye at spilling his guts and Usagi was just eating it up!

He hated how he could just say anything and because he was such a jerk before, Usagi saw it as some kind of olive branch.

Leo is the one who’s helped him be better!

Leo is the one who made that other lead leave!

Maybe he should just show Donnie up, reveal his own secret.

His greatest secret.

His hand moves up to his mask.

Despite the red hot anger bubbling away inside of him, it’s still not enough to actually want to go through with it.

This mask was one of the only reasons he still hasn’t lost just yet.

Maybe he doesn’t need to level the playing field if he just gets rid of the other player.

He sighs, knowing he can’t do that just yet.

Usagi hasn’t had the opportunity to perform in front of everyone.

He’ll let him have his time, then, he’ll get to work on securing his attention.

He fixes the railing as best he can and then heads to his room to allow his wall calm him down.

Usagi and Donnie tracked tons of portals halfway across the Hidden City before it got too late and they knew they had to go home.

Even though this started as something for Usagi, he could see how upset Donnie was that they couldn’t find him.

He blamed himself, his tech, the quality of tech, himself again.

“Hey, it’s not you or your tech’s fault. We aren’t giving up, just taking a break. I can go back tomorrow by myself and see if that helps. Maybe he did come back but got shy seeing you there and left!”

Donnie grumbles.

“Fine. I don’t feel like facing any wrath from my family anyways…..do you promise that you’ll update me as soon as you see him again?”

Usagi lifts his pinky with a stern expression.

“Of course I do.”

The corners of Donnie’s mouth perk into a small smile before hooking their pinkies together.

“You know this means I get your pinky if you don’t do it, right?”

“I’ll cut it off myself in that case! Try to get some good rest, Donnie.” Usagi smiles and takes his hand back.

“Take your own advice too.” Donnie turns around and waves as he leaves.

Usagi waves back enthusiastically despite Donnie not being able to see it.

Donnie walks towards the exit back to the surface with purpose.

If this Leo really is his brother, he’s going to find him no matter what it takes.

[luxtoony]

I took my sweet ass time with this one didn't I.

There is a wall of text, so sorry for the *read more* thing but scrolling is annoying.

I shall begin with Donnie as I am trurly suprised how carelessly you left him so uncared for. (It may be my personal neutrality towards Thanatos, so I don't deem him worthy. And I love Dionisus but except for purple and big mouth I don't see much of a similarity) My first thought was Artemis, bc unavailable distant but cool etc., her percise arrows being a good substitute for his ninpo guns. But then, making Donnie not purple, seemed like a sin so quickly I came up with the perfect choice. NYX. And it is not only a dab at his sleeples nights! Once u think about it they have so much in common.

She can be distant even though she clearly cares for family. She's wise, she keeps records of everything, memorising where each deal is stored. She is the silent protector of the underground just like Donnie, constantly takes care of safety measures, updates, makes sure everything is in order, makes useful robots and inventions, which brings me to my favourite point. Donnie is a father of many children, whom he made and loves dearly, even if his image makes it seem like he is indifferent. Also the way he showered Casey with his tech is such a mirror (ha ha) to the way Nyx showered Zag at the beginning of the game with all the resources.

And since we are on the topic of purple and Donnie and children, I have to shove here the king.

SHELDON: Chaos. Yes I know that Chaos is a parent to Nyx, but once you ignore that, it makes so much sense. I mean... The voice? The neutral coldness, awareness of possibilities and randomness of the universe a AI could posess, bc it could literally count possibilities and run simulations, just like Chaos understands that in his nature. Also behind something you'd expect to be only neutrality -archaic god/cold mashine- there actually is love and care for family.

Mikey: Oh yea Hermes all the way, that was my first and only thought, your points are my reasoning. You could add sly, and inconspicuous. He knows and does a lot more than enyone expects. Also fast, agile yellowish-orangish.

Raph: I tot agree that Sisyphus is the one. Boldy just plainly is a plushie, I mean we even get the companion plushie of him.

But I also thought... Zeus. Big bro. Smashing his way out of problems, but also surprisingly smart planning. Tired but still slaying Himbo TM

Leo: I have no Idea why I struggle with agreeing on that one. Your points are so fitting, and I do agree, although something doesn't rub me the right way (FFS please me don't tell me it's bc Zag is red and yellow and not blue at all? Is that it? I cannot with myself. Ok time to find excuses.)

Leo and Zag share the things that you mentioned, but also Zag is much sweeter than Leo, and lacks this disgusting ammount of flamboyantness. He is way softer and calmer, willing to be soft with anyone (except dad). While Leo is very big. Very show offy. He can be sweet but 70% of the time, our boy is a walking, joking, uncle that can hold a grudge. So. How could I not see him as Poseidon?

April: and that's where I immidiately think Zag. Him entering the world of Olympic gods, uncovering secrets, encountering weird creatures is something very pararel to what happened to April once she met the turtles. Her not tot fitting in with her high school peeps, like Zag not being entirely Chtonic. Her character is so close to Leo, but sweeter and calmer yet with a sharp edge. Her bat swingin and ability to accomodate and use anything to fight with. Mayhem as Cerberus CMON

The last character you drew/wrote about is now stuck in the last game you played. How screwed are they?

[ducknotinarow]

MM Raph - Family Meme; all that apply uwu

| Talking about family

"Really right now? I'm on my way to practice." Raph states fixing them with a look of clear annoyance before rolling his eyes. "Look I know were like the talk of the school an' all but seriously you could have picked a better time to bug me. Fine let's just get this over with I guess."

TOTMNT gave me more on my Boi uwu

Send 👔 for my muse to talk about their father

"Dad? Well hes a giant rat that wears glasses and WORRIES way too much. He's getting better 'bout letting me and my brother just like live our lives and such. So thats cool. He's more cool than might think he tries a lot for us and ...maybe I could I dunno show I appreciate that more. Even when it comes to my anger he don't...give up on me when maybe he should."

Something I really love in MM/TOTMNT is that they do call Splinter Dad or refer to him as Dad and I feel it really shows. Splinter is just so damn patient with his sons. Raph seems to try his best to not take his anger out towards Splinter. Unlike past versions that could snap at or around Splinter. Raph tries to keep it more contained even having ways to work it out which ties in a lot to why he likes having excuses to work out his anger like fighting or wrestling even. When Splinter grounded the boys Raph was clearly upset but Splinter seems to hold some understanding to least see yeah my son is going to be upset which makes Raph not feel a need to burst out an over reaction just to be heard.

Raph dose listen to Splinter because of that and will even try to follow Splinters advice on how to go about his angry like mediating which seems to work but he's still very prone to exploding if ticked off enough and even then Splinter doesn't outright scold Raph since he can see him try. Which I feel shows a lot on why Raph has a good relationship with his Dad.

Send 🤜 for my muse to talk about (one of) their sibling(s)

"Eh my brothers are all just sort of dorks in their own ways. Mikey alway all hhhnn talk to the bad guys instead of beating them up, Leo's always being such a dweeb when it comes to the speeches and wanting to be the leader and then Don? Well he is the biggest nerd of them all always going on about anime and tech stuff jeez put a sock in it already." He grows quite for a moment.

"...I might complain 'bout them but..I dunno what I do with out my brothers either. I'm no good on my own but if I can't do enough to protect them?..I dunno I just really don't know."

Raph talks one way about his brothers but it's clear he loves them and cares about them a lot. MM Raph seems to be a bit more gentle towards the younger half his brothers well being out lashing out more towards Leo. Felt needed and not needed since he will still shift blame on Leo and even take out frustration towards him XD Yet you can see he really loves being around his brothers happy to play around and joke around with them really shows off the usual siblings being your first set of friends.

Of course, Raph is closest to his twin Donnie uwu cause I say so uwu

I like to headcannon that Raph actually likes some anime a few he's watched with Donnie he tends to be more interested in sports and Shonen anime being lame and not owning up to it of course because he can't say he likes anime thats for nerds like Donnie and Von not him he just happens to go into Don's tent when hes watching one of the few Anime he happens to like uwu Raph also has a habit of snagging thing for Donnie if he can recognize its from a show Donnie likes.

I also feel despite Donnie not being good with emotions and such Raph just likes being around Don the most and can easily be stated as being Raphs first best friend before he met Casey. If Raph feels he can't talk to Casey about something he usually goes to Donatello. He may not really talk though but more just hang around Donnie even if he's with Von Raph will hang in the same space. He just don't need to really talk when it comes to Donatello.

He didn't mention her but to be fair he don't know her too well at this point. But Raph dose already see Von as a sister as well mainly because of the whole homework thing Raph and Casey for sure beat up all the kids who took advantage of Donnie XD Hes just happy that Donatello has a real friend himself now even if he thinks Vons weird as all hell he still gives glares at kids who might speak about her badly.

Send 🎣 for my muse to talk about (one of) their aunt(s)/uncle(s)

"I mean I don't really have any but I do see Rockstead and Beepbop as my uncles? And I think they are cool they sort get how I feel when it comes to be angry all the time after all. I work part time with them here and there too as a way to earn some cash."

I just love Rocksteady and Beepbop XD So Raph having a chance to be close to them? I am all about it. I know they see the other mutants as cousins and all but some of them seem much older so I can see them coming across more like uncles/aunts. I can just see Raph palling around with the two of them when they do come around and even hyping them up. Of course, he loves his Dad and all but it's nice for him to have some adult figures in his life that are more in line with himself.

Send 🤛 for my muse to talk about (one of) their cousin(s)/niece(s)/nephew(s)

"Oh boy..I mean it's cool we got more family and the other mutants can be cool even but ugh there is just so many of them when they are over at the lair it just feels so packed and I can't go anywhere without bumping into anyone. I usually got and hang with Case but if I'm stuck home? Its...it's too much."

As someone who comes from a huge ass family and has often had many living situations where I was with a lot of family outside my own unit? yeah it can just become to much you love them and all of course but it sucks feeling you can't have any scrape of space to yourself.

Raph seems closer to Beepbop and Rocksteady of course, since they seem to share in his anger issues and being more rough and tough mutants of action like he is himself/ But he seems to be fine with the rest of his expansive family now as well. Likely sharing in the sentiment of enjoying not feeling alone as the only mutants in the city. So having like the best of both words in a sense so to speak. I feel Raph is gonna see them more as extended family though not too close to any one of them like Don and Wingnut or Mikey and Mondo but hes happy to see them he just isn't likely to hang out with them outside like tv or meals.

Send 🐾 for my muse to talk about (one of) their pet(s)

"....i might be a dad now?"

XD he really don't this is me joking but I mean why not let MM Raph have a pet turtle like 12 did?

XD if I just let him have a pet turtle likely gonna name it in reference to wrestling since he is very into it. Or make it Spike xD

[subbyfoxelf]

[comic review] teenage mutant ninja turtles, book i (1984-85)

written & illustrated by kevin eastman & peter laird

well, here it is. the comic that started it all. this graphic novel collects colorized versions of the first three issues of kevin eastman and peter laird’s original comics that conquered the world with a merchandising empire that no one saw coming, least of all them.

these comics did include some of the differences i’d always been told to expect from the turtles i’ve known and loved since the cartoons, movies, and video games of my early childhood, but not as many as i expected! true, it is a bit more violent, with the turtles being willing to kill some of their adversaries, but by the second issue leonardo is already telling his more hotheaded brother raphael that the turtles kill only as a last resort.

oh, that’s the other thing. i was primed to expect the turtles themselves to be nearly interchangeable, but they actually have much more fully-formed personalities than that even in these earliest days of the comics! leo was always the honorable leader and raph was always the hotheaded angy boy, all the way back in issue 1! and donnie has been the tech guy since at least issue 2, when he tries to hack baxter stockman’s computers to solve the mouser problem.

issue 1 of the comics does a lot, opening in media res with the turtles fighting the street gang the purple dragons. when they soundly defeat them, master splinter decides they’re “ready” and tells them the story of their origin as well as the origin of the shredder. the broad strokes of this origin story will be very familiar to those who have consumed much turtle media, but there are a few details that change from version to version and i’m not really sure there’s any single version that gets every detail right?

the main areas of divergence are often the exact origin of splinter and the identity of shredder. in some versions, splinter was a pet rat who mimicked his owner’s martial arts movements in his cage and then got transformed into an anthro rat; in other versions, he was himself the martial arts master and got transformed. in the comics, perhaps unsurprisingly, it’s the sillier of the two explanations–the pet rat who learned martial arts by mimicking his master’s movements from his cage.

the other area of divergence is the exact identity of shredder and the fate of splinter’s owner, hamato yoshi. in the original version in the comics, it is not oroku saki (shredder) who is rivals with hamato yoshi. rather, it is his brother, oroku nagi. he is jealous over yoshi’s greater advancement in the clan they’re both a part of, and also his romance with a woman named tang shen. one or both of these conflicts with yoshi is often transferred to oroku saki in later versions, skipping the middleman as it were. in the comic, nagi tries to kill yoshi and shen, but yoshi kills him in self-defense and flees japan with his love. it is then that oroku saki enters the picture, vowing revenge for his brother’s death and killing yoshi and shen in retribution.

the shredder is presented as a genuinely threatening big bad, but the turtles face him in a fight to the death in just the first issue of the comics! and that fight to the death does end in a promised death–shredder’s! “when the evil shredder attacks, these turtle boys don’t cut him no slack” indeed!

(apparently at least somewhat attributable to the fact that eastman and laird fully believed this was going to be a one shot. whoops.)

the second issue, as many future iterations will do as well, introduces baxter stockman and his mouser robots as the next villain the turtles face. it also introduces april o’neil, but not as a television reporter as you might expect! instead, she’s stockman’s lab assistant, but ends up taking issue with his methods and he decides to have her eliminated by his robot army. that’s when she meets the turtles and, as she usually does in later versions as well, faints. a lot of later versions also use this as an excuse to tell the turtles’ origin story rather than just having splinter decide “okay it’s time to do that now” after having apparently not told them anything about where they come from in all the years of raising them like he does in issue 1.

in the third issue, splinter is missing! this is another classic plot that gets reused in a lot of versions of the story. it’s also necessary for the turtles to abandon their sewer lair in this story, which is something some other versions retain. they don’t actually find splinter in this issue, as they spend the whole issue evading the cops before making it to april’s apartment and collapsing in four turtle heaps on her furniture and floor for some much-needed rest.

speaking of the police, back in the first issue when the cops show up to mop up after their confrontation with the purple dragons, leo narrates, “we do not like to run from those who would be our allies, but they would not understand us.” and i just gotta say, i’m pretty sure that should be your sign that the cops would not be great allies. the fact that you feel threatened because you’re different and you don’t think they would react to that well should tell you just about everything you need to know about them.

anyway, yeah! these comics are pretty terrific. they were also a lot more similar to all the things i know and love about my turtle boys than i was expecting based on everything i had heard, so that was pretty awesome.

b-rank

[chiliiscereal]

May I offer a prompt of how the turtles would be with a mom friendTM? you know the type I mean? like.... I think they might benefit from that kind of friend in the group lol (also I love your stories, your such a cool writer keep up the awesome work!)

Rottmnt headcanon: mom friend TM

And thanks so much!

Mom friends are severely underrated XD

——

-Okay these boys need a mom friend badly

-but that’s where you come in!

-as the mom friend you keep them safe in many ways

Donnie💜

-starting with this guy, he never really wanted a mom friend

-when April first brought you over he was cold

-didn’t even bother talking to you

-you were determined to befriend him, even though he left whenever you tried to talk to him

-you became comfortable with the turtles quickly and the others accepted your mom friend nature

-not Donnie though

-he didn’t hate you, sure, but you were too much

-you were too overbearing and too nervous for his safety!

-you’d make him wear a helmet when he used his jet pack 

-you made him put on SUNSCREEN whenever he went outside

-you told him to be careful when rewiring a project even!

-it’s like you wanted to ruin his bad boy image

-he hated it and wanted you to stop being so smothering

-…

-…until he realized that attention and moral support comes with the smothering

-the moment he realizes that he’s all for it

-he’s no longer hiding his inventions from you so you won’t bug him, but he’s seeking you out for your advice and praise

“Hey so I made this and… I don’t know…”

“Wow you built that? It’s awesome!” 

“Really? I mean, I know, I just wanted to show you that it was.”

-praise ain’t something this boy has

-have you SEEN how his brothers react to his ideas?

-he needs this

-with praise comes affection

-I’m talking homemade snacks and questions that his brothers never ask

-you’re there if he needs a cup of coffee or if he hasn’t eaten in a while or taken a nap

-“don, it’s been two days since you slept go to bed.”

-“*hissssss*”

-“I’ll make a cup of coffee for you after...?”

-“*hisses but less intense*”

-you may be good at making snacks and everything

-very good in facts

-but the questions are probably his favorite part

“Woah what’s that supposed to do?”

“Well it’s a device that’s meant to fix all the broken McDonald’s ice cream machines.”

“That’s amazing! What did you use to build it? How does it work?”

-you’re actually trying to learn about his work!

-you’re trying to learn about him!

-he loves it

-and he loves that you’re careful to

-it’s a nice change from his brothers

-you’re someone he can depend on

-doesn’t matter if it’s missions or just being a good friend

-and I mean it when I say depend

-you’re there when he needs help rewiring something or just to simply talk about his dumb dumb brothers

-honestly April isn’t even mad that Donnie stole one of her best friends

-she knows he needs this

-Donnie fully learned to trust you after the purple dragons mishap

-you told him they were untrustworthy but his heart was dead set on that satin jacket

-when he came back to the lair, late at night, with no satin jacket and a handful of his missing tech, he found you raising an eyebrow at him from where you had sat to wait for him

-he knew from then on to trust you and your opinions, even though his often got in the way

-you can often be found sitting on Donnies bed while he works, offering your company and comments

-Normally no one else is allowed in while he works but that’s just because they don’t have anything positive to provide

 Raph❤️ 

-Raph IS the mom friend

-your mom friend energy and his mom friend energy just work together so well together

-I’m talking planning missions together, figuring new ways to trick his brothers into being responsible, cleaning the dishes, and even making snacks together

-“so the mission is tomorrow right?”

-“yep! Should we bring apples with peanut butter or pretzels with hummus?”

-“well Donnie doesn’t like peanut butter, but Mikey does, so both?”

-“awesome! And you’ve got the water covered?”

-“dude I even have caprisuns packed so we’re ready!”

-the others find it to be too much with the two of you but Raph really appreciates the help

-especially during the pizza puff episode

-oh that part nearly set you on fire with worry

-Raph had never seen you that worked up

-you had a fan for Leo, a bowl for Mikey, and a bag of fruit snacks for Donnie

-Raph has to activate his supreme mom friend energy to get you to stop hovering over them

-that meant literally dragging you away from them so they could figure things out on their own

-he’s seen you be a mom friend to them all the time

-but never once for him

-you two were like... co mom friends working together to stop the younger irresponsible three

-until Raph got separated in the sewer

-oh man you were torn with worry

-you nearly destoryed the place looking for him

-and finding him all savage like that... ack that was enough to practically shatter your heart in two

-once he stopped trying to barbecue villains and destroy his brothers you took him to the lair and helped him calm down

-you even turned on a movie for the two of you so he could relax

-it was nice to have your best friend and partner in stopping crime back

-Raph of course was embarrassed because it’s HIS job to help everyone, not the other way around

-after much assurance you had him convinced that you didn’t mind

-he was grateful to have you and your help

-he just wished you didn’t worry quite so much

Leo 💙:

-this boy is soaking it all up from the start

-someone to compliment him?

-someone to help him out?

-someone to admire his achievements?

-oh he’s all for it

-he’s showing off skateboard stunts, he’s doing flips, and he’s randomly pulling you to him and creating a portal

-usually you end up somewhere sketchy but sometimes it works out

-you always have to be ready though

-one minute you’re walking to the projector room and the next you’re in New Jersey with a sheepish looking red slider

-his only problem is now he has to be more careful with skateboard tricks

-he’s fine with a helmet but when it comes to you hovering next to him while he’s going down the skate ramp...

-eh he’s not so fond of that

-praise?

-sure

-home made gifts and cards?

-always appreciated

-but you constantly trying to protect him from things he knew how to do?

-no

-just no

-now he only feels like he can skate if you’re not there or if he goes to a skate park without telling you

-you figure out quickly and still worry that he’ll mess up a flip

-doesn’t matter if you’re watching or not

-you’re the mom friend

-your job is to worry

-you promised that you’d stop worrying about him if he can back

-you didn’t want him to feel uncomfortable in his own home!

-he agreed and you did your best to keep your promise

-...

-until he actually messed up a flip

-you don’t know WHAT he landed on but it must have been sharp because there was a LOT of blood

-maybe you thought there was a lot because you were so worried but still

-you hadn’t even been in the room but you heard his shout (and crash) and you came running

-oh he was lucky you carried gauze and everything in your bag because other wise they’d have to go buy some

-you chewed him out while patching him up, much to his displeasure

-you’re both sweet and sour about it

-“I’m fine! Look, nothing’s broken!”

-“I TOLD you that you could get hurt! I TOLD you it wasn’t safe! Why did you not listen- I’m sorry does that hurt? I’m sorry!”

-“yeah it does hurt-.”

-“than you should have listened to me!!”

-for a while he’s bitter that you were just waiting for him to mess up

-clearly you thought he was just a big clutz to you

-but after a while of him avoiding you and pouting you brought it up again

-“I’m not just waiting for you to fail you know. I just want you to be okay.”

-“that’s not what it feels like! You clearly don’t trust me!”

-“life happens, Leo! Doesn’t matter how skilled you are! You’re an amazing skater but sometimes mistakes are made!”

-ha that changed his tune quickly

-“you think I’m an amazing and skilled skater?

-you just rolled your eyes and left, not saying anything about his comment

-didn’t matter

-this boy is all smiles for the rest of the day

Mikey🧡:

-he was on board from the very start

-he’s got cuddles, piggy back rides, and his own art fan/critic

-lots of baking and cooking together

-maybe even drawing if he’s lucky

-only problem?

-you don’t trust him to go out on his own

-even if it’s just to grab a video game from the store or pick up pizza

-“I’m just going down the block!”

-“what if someone sees you?”

-“I’ll be careful!”

-“just let me go with you.”

-“no! I can do this on my own!”

-you’re always offering to give him a ride or tag along just because you don’t want anything to happen to him

-that means, of course, sneaking out

-not for a long time, just enough to get some air

-but that also means you’re staying up late waiting for him to come back

-he’s your buddy!

-you can’t let anything happen to him!

-he didn’t know about it until he found you cashed out on the couch with the lamp still on

-normally you gave him an excuse about why you were still up, such as a late night snack or a movie

-but your phone and the tv were both off

-he decided to think nothing of it until he noticed that you were grumpier in the mornings

-he didn’t want his actions to affect you so he started coming back earlier

-even texting you and telling you he was fine

-you two talked and set up a deal

-he could go out by himself and you wouldn’t stay up late waiting for him as long as you had his location on your phone

-it was easier for both you from then on

[aeempress]

Apritello Express Evidences, part 2

Khem-khem, ladies and gentlemen, we shall continue out praising Apritello's episodes. And yeah, this part will be dedicated, in entirety just one episode.

Purple jacket. April and Donnie's episode.

I really love this piece of masterpiece, because it show April and Dee relationship, better reveals them as characters, and demonstrates their connection. (My previous points at this whole situation)

The episode begins with Donnie sneaking into April's school under the pretext of helping her. Soon, April stated the reason why she called D - her science computer project. Actually, she could take a photo of the code and sent it to Donatello, and I'm sure, he would send her the correct one right away, he's coder, he's prodigy, no probbles.

But still, April just asked him to come over and help her without stating any reasons. And he, indeed, came at speed of the light.

I want you to understand what exactly does that mean.

First: April is aware how much Donnie is into human culture. He wants to study in normal human school, do some average teen stuff. Especially, he is loving school and science-related stuff, all these science school projects, visits to botanical gardens, experiments and laboratory work. Because it's his field. It's exactly his domain, where he's good at. His family does not share his interest in science, and April is only one who can understand him. Probably.

Also, April know, how badly Donnie wants to go to school, which gives him an excuse, even if not the most solid one, but an excuse, nevertheless, to visit her school again.

Why again?

Because he has no problem navigating there. Donnie went directly to April's computer class.

He loves this place. And he'd already helped April with her projects.

Even so, knowing that every time she asked guys, especially Don, for help, it turned into a cataclysm, April still called him to help.

It's just a weird, indirect way to say, " Let's hang out, I know how much you like this whole situation with science, school and etc. Here ya go, buddy"

It seems like April did that to make something pleasant to him, something small, but nice to make him feel better. Because, as I state before - he likes to help April (praise, doing something useful for April - still counts as a motivation) and he likes school.

Second: khem-khem, D came at her school, as it seems, right away she called/texted. He didn't even know the proper reason, but c'mon: April ask for help, plus, her school. Sounds legit, don't you think?

Anyway, April has always been being the reason and excuse for teetles, but especially for Donnie. Clear? Clear. Good.

Donnie also tends to not think things through when he is excited. Because he went at the daylight in place, full of people just to help April.

ROTTMNT shows us how turtles were really afraid of human reaction and possible consequences. They have plan "H" to pretend they are going to Galaxy Con, brothers have explanation why they look weird and it's definitely not because boys are mutants, uh-huh, no, plus, guys go on surface at evening or night hours, when there are not so many people, and it's dark, obviously, to cover them and keep unseen.

Yeah, of course, Donnie seems more capable then his brothers to handle the surface (he has cash, D's dressed up as old ladies more than once, according to Leo, he was in April's school before, so yeah, no big deal) and I suspect that his friendship with April is one of the reasons.

Third: do you remember how April worried about looking "normal" when she was finally invited to a school party? She even forbade Mayham to appear nearby, just not to look like the lizard boy. Because cool kids don't bring pets to school. April doesn't have many friends, or rather, there are none at school, and she's been trying to solve this problem by getting close to Taylor Martin, the coolest girl in school.

And April O'Neil just calls Donatello, an objectively strange guy (since when is it normal to be a fan of school? Pretty questionable) in place, where her reputation is hanging in a balance. Our girl does not try to hide Dee, as it usually shown in shows for kids, and April do not pretend that she sees him for the first time in her life because, you know, Donnie will catch everyone's attention being himself and may embarrass her in front of her classmates. But no - April says with all her actions: "Yes, I know him. Yes, that dork is with me. And I don't give a damn about your opinion. Your problems, not mine. And yeah, I'm fine with him being here."

I mean it, guys. The devil is always in the tiny details.

The way they behave around each other.

Donatello is way more, MORE relaxed and just being himself: dramatic dorky nerdy ninja with current obsessions. The way he sneaked in school and April's classroom, the way he behaves alone with her is contrasting the way of his attitude while his brothers are near.

Don has a specific way to shown up. Instead of texting her, Donnie used shurekens. Yes, he almost fell off the lamp, but still, that's... quite an entrance he makes there.

April worries about him, when he fell from ceiling.

Our girl feel relaxed enough around Donnie, so she winks at him.

A wink is a fairly casual gesture that shows some expression of sympathy, trust, and togetherness. It's both good for saying "We're in same boat, we're team" and show the playful attitude towards someone. Isn't that an indicator?

Ironically, that being the best friends April and Donnie do not have any secret handshake/brofist/special greeting, as it usually the besties have at kid's series. Like Kendra and Jeremy have.

I can do only one possible logical conclusion: their relationship is far beyond "friends," "best friends," and "family".

Btw, about this certain phrase about secret five.

- Nay, fair April. A secret five[...].

Once again, nice wording, Donatello. Fair April? Maybe I'm too critical, but often when someone wants to convince their interlocutor and at the same time show one's condescension to them, it's usually uses "my dear ..." or something like that. I understand that semantically the difference is not very big, but in the first case, you can feel Donnie's personal attitude, even though he uses a book word. The second is just formal politeness, which emphasizes the difference between the rightness of the disputants.

This phrase were interpreted on official Russian dub as (okay, it's really hard to choose the correct word, because there's a lot of synonyms in English that sits quite well, while on Russian it's just one word, damn) "Нет, милая (No, honey/sweetheart )". Actually, a strange choice of wording, 'cause this is not what usually friends use to say to each other. We prefer use words like " my darling", "my dear", to demonstrate leniency. And again, most often this prerogative belongs to the older generation. Russians rarely throw around such words as "honey", "dear", "sunshine", because this deprives these endearments of any meaning, and a person using them, as a rule, is familiar. Of course, there are people who use them on a regular basis, but I HIGHLY doubt that Donatello is one of them. It's not his style.

But still, maybe I just too critical at this point.

April, as it is shown, have some kind of power to cool and calm him down and bring Donnie back to life reality.

1. Don awakes from his daze while heard April's voice

2. He's literally coming back to life, when April said about his broken jetpack.

3. Dee obediently interrupts his touching farewell to the jacket when April yells at him.

Oh, and his face. I remind you, fellas, we're talking about Donatello, "I really do not like to express emotions"-guy and "I will die if someone broke my bAbEyS"-guy.

And what do we see? Donnie's emoting. And feels free to do that. He's even drooling. (What seems kinda interesting without context, if you're understand what I'm talking about ;))

Dee doesn't seem angry about broken jetpack. And his wide smile, while he's assuring April he can fix it? A few minutes ago, he was steamed when his stuff was stolen, but when the jetpack was broken, he doesn't even raise an eyebrow. Very eloquent.

April is his support

April also supports Donnie whatever he's up to. Yes, she hadn't been excited when Othello had expressed a desire to join the club. However, she also introduced him to Kendra and company. Yes, she showed by her whole appearance that she did not share his joy, but nevertheless, our loyal captain O'Neil was there for him, by his side all this time.

And her sweet facial expression. From "Srsly? Join this jerks?" to "If you dare to even think about to hurt him, I'll smash you".

And one more cute detail about Dee. Even if he does whatever he wanted so badly, Don constantly looks around at April, looking for her approval.

- Be honest, April, do I look fantastic, or SUPERBLY fantastic?

- You look like you drop a juice box in a laundry. (Play nice, April, don't be mean)

He cherishes her opinion.

April had even called him late at night just to, technically speaking, say that his tech were stolen. And what's the big deal with all his outfit? It's late night, they can just sneak out into Nakamura in their usual form. But noooo, April give a special ride on her bicycle. Just. You know. Our girl carried her own weight and his all the way without stopping. And then she went up 53 + floors running non-stop because Donnie's equipment was stolen. And then she had to chase the her classmates, dodge and jump out of the window. Because Purple dragons stole Dee's tech. Like shooting fish in a barrel, no big deal at all.

And it's definitely not because he will be totally crashed or he'll do stupid things during his anger, which will then come out sideways.

And April comes along with him to very end.

By the way, their phone conversations.

Donnie is the very case when "Call at any time of the day or night and I will pick up the phone".

When April called him when he needs D's help with Albearto, when something is definitely going on behind.

As it says in transcript of the episode:

[April takes out her phone, scrolls to Donnie’s listing and calls him. Donatello appears on screen. Behind him a flying microwave wearing boxing gloves shoots lasers at his brothers.]

Don: "You are conversing with Donatello."

April

[Crouched on floor in hiding.]

Dude, I need your help."

Don: "For you, anything. As long as it does not involve bees, or spiders, or beach balls.

[There’s an explosion behind him and his brothers cry out, which he ignores.]

And yeah, he took her incoming immediately, he ignores absolutely and totally everything around him, because... April? Expositions, bloody flying microwave bot turned to destroy mode, his brothers screaming and being in life-threatening situation? Naaah, it can wait.

Donatello was at Todd's, building "the puppiest place on Earth" and was very enthusiastic about to finish this thing. But he paused anyway to answer April.

We already know how obsessive with work Don can be: if something interesting gets into his field of view, he begins to do it all day long. Remember "The Purple Game" - a very revealing case. Yeah, we weren't shown how much Donnie is into engineering, but I can guess that point remains the same.

April called him at late night and Donnie picked up the phone.

April, unlike Donatello, is a teenager who is burdened with social relationship such as family, school, and work periodically, which implies a more or less strict schedule to follow and some conventions, such as " April, you can't go out late at night to catch robbers, you are underage and you have to go to school/work tomorrow). However, she was watching the news late at night, so she called Dee. ( I have a lot of questions, but I'll never get answers, as it seems)

D, in turn, doesn't have so many contacts with the outside world. I highly doubt that anyone else outside of the family and April has his number. And yet, when he hears the call late at night he takes it. Yes, he had awaken from the nightmare, but still.

And what's up with his usual "You're conversing with Donatello"? He didn't even understand what's going on, as it seems, he's too sleepy to play his usual image and playfully attitude as we could see in "Hypno Part Deux" and "War and Pizza".

Adorable couple-like D&A arguing

April very rarely uses "I told you so" against anybody, or rather, this is almost the only case. This phrase is more suitable for Leo or Donnie, and you know," I told you so! " we usually use on people we know well, and we want to tease 'em about them being wrong. Which, in fact, once again highlights and proves how close D&A are. And I don't even get started about the fact that this is more like a couple's quarrel, not a friend's.

And one more time - in the end, when April suggests using the jacket to stop Kendra.

Their teamwork

I stated that before, I'll tell it one more and more times. The chemistry of their team interaction is incredible. It's as if they can feel each other, and each knows what the other is capable of doing in the next moment. April easily adapts to Donnie's attack, realizing his plan.

Donnie also throws them both out of the window in order to continue the pursuiting Kendra on the jetpack. Don is one hundred percent sure of April, that she will understand what he wants to do, Dee trusts her with his life without hesitation, and she has never used his jetpack. He just puts her before the fact: April will be using the tech.

Up for Donnie!

I really like how this scene was made. Donatello struggles with his own tech, somewhat he made by himself, having invested almost whole himself and his soul, but what "betrayed" him in end. When Dee finally managed to shake one of his battleshell, which almost choked him, Donnie feel so scared and unsecured. We can see his anxiety - Dee's coaching position with covering his head with his hands and tucking his knees.

Defenseless, helpless, and mostly lost, and then, just in time - hero comes to save his life. She uses Donnie's name as battlecry, look how furious she is.

Funny fact: on Russian dub April yells "Don't touch Donnie! (how dare you, madafaka)

April fits in Donnie's type of girls. She's cute (obvious) and mean (not so obvious).

I can't say that meanness is the main feature of April's character, as we can say about Kendra. But this personality trait is still present in her and sometimes it does not manifest itself so widely. April's meanness is not so pronounced, it is much softer and smoother, and it is not exposed.

But April becomes really mean when someone messes up with Donnie.

She's his support and prop. Literally. Just look at first frame, okay-okay, jokes aside

She's genuinely enjoying of kicking bad guys ' asses, even letting go of witticisms and barbs.

Last scenes

Don survived a rough night: he was used, his tech was stolen, so he and April had to chase the satin robed punks. Donnie was hit in the head with a hammer, he fell from a bird's-eye view, passed out and then his battleshell tried to strangle him. And April is here to comfort him, to cheer him up.

Yes, we don't get any hugs (because it's kids show, bleh), the tactility is kept to a minimum, except for April's comforting hand on his shoulder, but they don't even look at each other. But the softness of her voice, the intonation with which she utters a phrase (that is usually sent to the friend zone, but "pal" is really neutral word, and the most important how she said that) turn the scene upside down. It is not what April did to comfort him matter, it's how she did this.

I said "yes" to you way too often

April mirrors Donnie with his "Anything for you". Yes, of course, she said this with a certain amount of grumbling, but her voice and her demeanor suggest otherwise - she is not at all averse to going to giving in him.

And the way they're look at each other.

This one

And one more detail

It's really tiny, it's hard to catch from the first watching the episode, but still, it's possible. I'm talking about graffiti on the walls of the alley where April and Don had landed.

This one

Yeah, if we speak about reality it's quite normal to see graffiti like this. But we talking about TV-series, where everything has its own place and meaning. And if there something, it must be there, it's not just whim of artist who put it in there. But this little graffiti changes the mood of scene.

[gaylien51]

Chapter 2: A lot of questions

“Uhhhh hi? Nice dagger you got there” Mikey stared fiercely at the turtle ready to kill if necessary.

The turtle in front of him had a blue mask and two similar red crescent moons on his eyes, he had yellow stripes, a blue slash which seemed to carry a katana, and pouches. He seemed nervous holding up his arms and attempted to smile and seem relaxed. Of course Mikey was easily able to see through it as his eyes burned into the other turtle.

“Who are you? Why do you look like me? What are you doing here? Where is your leader? How long have you been a turtle?” Mikey shot off like rapid fire question after question. He was curious, confused, and extremely annoyed. Especially at himself and the stupid mistake he made.

“ So um hi there, My name is Leo and the two turtles behind me are my brothers Donnie and raph” The now named turtles Donnie and raph looked tense and reaching for their weapons but also nervous and conflicted. “Raph is our ever fierce and loving leader, been a turtle since the day I was born and fabulous, andwethinkyoumightbeourlonglostdeadbrotherbecauseyoulooklikeamutantturtle” Leo rushed out quickly.

Mikey looked at him with a puzzling and disbelieving look, still holding the kunai to his neck. “Drop all of your weapons unless you want your brother to be killed” Mikey instructed as he himself took Leo’s sword and threw it behind him as well as checked the - was that gummy’s in his pouch? Why is there? Never mind Mikey thought as he searched the rest of the pockets. He found more snacks, some kunai, and some shuriken and threw the weapons behind him. The brothers behind Leo looked tense and angry waiting for more instructions and Leo still looked nervous.

“ I’m going to put away my kunai and you are going to walk back slowly towards your brothers, your gonna stand in front of me and explain what the hell you said”. Leo looked nervous as his brothers nodded behind him. As promised Mikey slowly lifted away the kunai from Leo’s neck but still held it in his hand if it’s needed. Leo backed up quickly towards his brothers as the purple one put his hand on his shoulder and the red stepped a little forward in front of him.

“As my fellow brother here expressed we believe your our long lost brother who died in the fire our father saved us from we’ve been looking for you ever since blah blah blah rejoice! We found you” Donatello (?) Responded voice dripping with sarcasm -maybe?sorta? Mikey honestly couldn’t tell.

“ Yaaaaaa no, I was raised by my da- my master Baron Draxum who mutated me and saved my life from an evil rat master who is his sworn enemy and destroyed my other 3 mutant turtle brothers”. Mikey replied with disbelief as his stance was very tense and very awa- “wait... where’d the human go? Bring them out in 3 seconds or there will-

As if on time the human who had seemingly disappeared reappeared from the largest turtle raph holding a baseball bat and phone which they then gently put on the ground looking sheepish while doing so.

“ I should kill you for that pathetic attempt at a surprise attack but it wouldn’t be very nice to kill strangers who claimed to be my dead brothers and I need answers to my questions which only you can give” Mikey said cunningly and face expressing mischief. “ Starting off as to why are you working with a disgusting human? Are they mind controlling you? Or have black mail”. Mikey wouldn’t be surprised if the human was, he’d dealt within many situations described as such in his line of work.

“EXCUSE ME?!?! Who are you calling a disgusting human? Mr. green emo ninja turtle! Your even worst than donn- HEY! I’ll have you know I am not an emo turtle I’m a bad boy tech savvy genius” the brother interrupted continuing to ramble and argue with the human. Mikey could quickly feel a headache coming on and became more frustrated at still not having received answers.

“ENOUGH! Idk who you are! Why your claiming to be my dead brothers! Or why you here! So answer me quickly and efficiently or so help me I’ll will kill all of you and leave no trace of your body’s! Understand?!” Mikey could be truly as short tempered as his father if provoked enough. And he was certainly provoked.

“ Look um... what’s your name?” The red turtle questioned. He had a red mask that covered the top part of his face, bandages that covered most of his hands, and some torn red fabric similar to his mask was being used as a belt and on his elbows. He also had sais that were thrown in front of him.

“ My name is 42- Mikey, my name is Mikey. but that’s not important! If you really are my brothers how did you survive the fire or escape the rat?!” Mikey yelled at them.

“Well we didn’t escape the rat because the rat is our dad! He- We been looking for you ever since we started patrolling to save you from the evil alchemist! Our dear papa saved us from him but wasn’t able to save you so we’ve been trying to bring you back home ever since! I’m sure we can be reasonable and have you come back to the lair so he ca-“. The purple turtle said desperately and with frustration but was interrupted by Mikey holding a kunai to his throat and donnies hand still outstretched toward his arm. As Mikey looked him over he found he had a purple bandanna covering the top of his face, goggles with blue and red lenses, some elbow pads, gloves, socks (?), and what looked like a purple battle shell on his back. His arm device and bo staff (?) was behind him some feet in front of his brothers. His brothers wore the same expression like they did with Leo when he was in this position. Angry and concerned.

“Stop! I don’t care what you say but even if you are my brothers you were raised by the rat! He took you away from me, from my dad, he burnt down dads lab and forced us to rebuild! My da-.” Mikeys was interrupted by Donnie lowering his arm and punching him in the stomach. He stumbled back for a second but quickly regained his balance and took a fighting stance as the brothers did the same.

“ Look Mikey we don’t wanna hurt you! We just want you to come home! Whatever Baron told you was a lie, he kidnapped our dad to use his dna to create super soldiers to destroy humans! He wanted to use us, he’s using you! Come with us to the lair and see our dad he’ll tell you everything!” Raph exclaimed as his brothers nodded with hi. As well as the human.

“ Humans aren’t all that bad! I mean these guys are friends with me and we have fun all the time! We eat pizza together and play at the arcade and do plenty of fun stuff! Right guys?” The brothers agreed with her. His brothers. The same ones who were taken away from him by the evil rat! His fathers sworn enemy! That’s what his dad said and dad always tells the truth!... right? He does right? No he does! He wouldn’t lie to me, he wouldn’t! It must be the human? Ya the human! Ive dealt with humans who somehow got their hands on mystic things to control yokai plenty of times that must be what’s happening! Mikey was angered by his conclusion and zoned in on the human burning his eyes into hers.

“YOU, YOUR CONTROLLING THEM ARENT YOU?!?! LET MY BROTHERS GO!!!” Mikey roared at the vile human in front of him as they had the fuckin decency to play innocent, this is what his dad taught him! Humans are cruel, every single one just like the foot clan! Mikey begun barreling towards the human and threw a kunai aimed to kill.

CLANG

The kunai fell to the ground as it was blocked by Leo’s katana. He wore a furious expression as his eyes seemed to burn bright with fury. All the brothers had reclaimed their weapons and were now standing in front of the human and were prepared for mikeys attack. Mikey took out his tento and begun to fight leo.

“APRIL YOU MIGHT WANNA GET AWAY FROM OUR APPARENTLY REALLY MURDERY BROTHERRRRR!!” Leo exclaims as Mikey lassos him behind him with his kusari fundo. Then raph dives towards Mikey trying to catch him but Mikey jumps out of the way and unfortunately towards Donnie. Donnie than tries throwing a device onto him but Mikey dodged as the device explodes into a protective shield which entraps raph.

“Sorry raph!, Mikey please we don’t wanna fight you! We just want to get both sides of the story, you said your dad raised you right? That he saved you? Well our dad saved us! Did your dad ever explain what happened? Why Lou Jitsu attacked him?!”. Donnie questioned as he blocked an attack from Mikey with his bo staff.

“I don’t wanna hurt you either! But that human is controlling you with mystic magic to do her bidding! SO JUST MOVE OUT OF THE WAY SO I CAN GET TO HER!” Mikey screamed as he lunged again towards the human. Again Donnie got in his way and tried a second time to throw a capsule onto him but Mikey dodged again and soon it was a repeated process as Mikey zig zagged towards Donnie and April coming closer and closer with each failed attempt. Mikey then jumped upwards and threw shuriken at the human but Donnie got in the way again and-

SLASH!

Donnie grit his teeth and held back a scream as the shuriken pierced his shoulder. Mikey landed down and showed remorse only for a second before returning to his cold and steely gaze.

“Why are you controlling my brothers? Now he’s hurt because of you!” Mikey exclaimed with fury.

“IM NOT CONTROLLING ANYONE!!! Donnie are you ok?!” April questioned. “I’m fine tis but a scratch. HEY! Jokes are my thing!” Donnie replied as Leo interrupted. He had recovered although his arm was hanging limply as Leo held it tight. A gash was on his head spilling blood as well.

“Mikey! Please just come with us and pops can explain everything! None of us are being controlled all we want is for you to come home!” Leo yelled at him his voice showing pure honesty and desperation.

Mikey was confused and he was scared. He was angry. Extremely angry but Leo- Leo was calm and sounded honest. He didn’t know what to do.

“I-I want to believe th- AHHHHHHHHH!!!” Mikey screamed in pain and fell to his knees holding his head. Face contorted in overwhelming pain.

“MIKEY!!!” All of them yelled, concerned for their baby brother.

Suddenly a blue portal opened up beneath Mikey and he fell through and then it closed just as quickly.Mikey is gone. Gone again just after they found him.Pure silence enveloped all of them. All with their own thoughts and questions.

“What the hell just happened?” Asked April putting out all of their collective thought.

[rin-the-shadow]

30 Day TMNT Challenge: Day 1

I need an excuse to ramble about Turtles. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to find a challenge here on Tumblr, which I’m sure is probably more related to Tumblr’s crappy search system than anything else, but on Google I did find a picture of some prompts that seems to have come from Amino, so I’m going for it.

Day 1: Favorite Turtle

It’s Donatello, of course. Though as I’ve gotten older, Leonardo has become a close second.

Though I’ve used a picture of the 2003 series, my first exposure was actually an arcade game called Turtles in Time, and I originally played as Raphael. The girl next to me playing as Donatello absolutely hated the mechanics of the bo staff, and I was having a hard time using Raph’s sais without taking damage from being too close, so we switched and Donnie became my main ever since.

Then I got into the 2003 series on Cartoon Network. At the time, I didn’t realize they were two different adaptations, or that the cartoon I was watching was a new one. I don’t think I fully grasped the concept of series having different adaptations that weren’t in the same timeline until I was about 13 or 14. (It’s part of why I took so long to branch outside of Cybertron with Transformers, because I didn’t understand that things like Beast Wars were separate continuities and not just continuations or prequels that replaced all the characters for no reason).

But of course, even without my understanding of separate continuities, I instantly became attached to my former main. To some extent, I wonder if I would have turned out as nerdy as I did if that hadn’t happened, but I definitely already had some predisposition to get attached to the nerdy characters in a given series even before that. I went through a phase where I had to tinker with things, and I think I still have the circuitry and motherboard of an old DVD player I took apart. 

For the character of Donatello and my own nerdiness, I think it’s kind of a chicken-and-egg scenario, because I don’t think I would have been as drawn to the character if I hadn’t already shared some of his traits, but I also don’t think those shared traits would have become as pronounced as they are if he hadn’t been my favorite character.

Donnie’s enthusiasm for the stuff he built and tinkered with also proved to be a bit contagious, and the only thing I couldn’t really relate to was his general lack of artistic skill, which I attributed to lack of interest since his tech stuff took up so much of his time. But I can get that. When you have access to the thing you want to do, it’s easy to hone in on it and lose track of everything else, and since he had access to all kinds of technology, well, it’s pretty easy to see how that would end up.

Though actually, as I’ve gotten older, I can definitely appreciate that he goes ahead and draws a crappy stick figure. Some engineer-types I’ve met in real life still attempt to draw at the same level of someone with 15+ years of experience, while somehow mathematically calculating the perfect angles and shading, and just end up frustrating themselves by comparing their work to that of someone with more experience. So I definitely appreciate Donnie being like, “Well, a stick figure’s the best I can do” and then just slapping that thing down on the paper. You don’t have to be perfect, and I appreciate that he gets that.

I think his having a softer voice helped things, too. When I was younger, a lot of things sounded like shouting to me even when they weren’t, so his voice was a lot easier to handle even in scenes were he actually was shouting.

Hmm....I’m trying not to get too far into later prompts, because there are a few others that could be answered with Donatello, and which may overlap with what I might say here. But anyway...

Donnie was also one of the characters who helped me to learn to understand sarcasm. Between Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Transformers: Cybertron, I started being able to pick up on it, where before I just thought that people were being peevish and snapping at each other for no reason, and it didn’t make sense why they would say something like that and the other person wasn’t getting upset. But for Donnie (and really, Raph as well, even though his short temper sometimes made it harder to tell) it was generally pretty obvious that he didn’t mean it maliciously. At least part of this could be attributed to his voice, since the softer tone kind of blunted his sarcasm a bit, but I think in the Ninja Turtles series, there was also usually something of a change in vocal tone when they were being sarcastic which didn’t exist in some of the other series I watched, where the sarcastic voice was virtually indistinguishable from a character’s normal voice, or their behavior was consistent with it enough that I couldn’t tell they weren’t serious. The Turtles, but especially Donnie, were usually pretty obvious either in vocal tone or like, the kind of body language they were using. 

Though admittedly, as I’m rewatching the episodes, there actually is at least one Donnie moment I can think of where I didn’t understand he was being sarcastic. That one’s in “Tales of Leo,” when Donnie is telling the story of losing his car, and in the end, asks, “What, you didn’t get the car?”

I think in part because I was used to an obvious change in tone whenever Don was being sarcastic, and because of how Leo’s head turned with that expression immediately after, I didn’t realize he wasn’t being serious until I was about 18. So really, even characters I think I understand very well can trip me up at times.

[the-nerdy-stjarna]

AOS Rewatch: S1E12 “Seeds”

Let me get my tissues ready. Also let me say right from the beginning that I’m bitter about the Skimmons and Fitz&Donnie scenes they cut.

“Freakin’ thermodynamics” **ugly crying of any mention of thermodynamics ‘cause instant reminder of the pod scene**

“the device used a crystalline nucleation process she designed.” — “And a delivery mechanism he invented.” Fitzsimmons tech ultimately being used against them. How rude.

About Communications: “Boring.” — “By far the easiest to get into.” — “That’s where you’d be, Skye.” Uncool, Fitz, uncool.

Operations (Ward) and Science and Tech (Fitzsimmons) trying to one-up each other. It’s amusing. I’ll admit it.

Can we just take a moment to appreciate Fitz’s sweater vest. Can we just all agree with S5!Jemma who said she preferred him in sweater vests? It’s such a soft look for him.

“’Bad seed’ isn’t a S.H.I.E.L.D. term, Ward. Just a term.” I appreciate Skye’s level of sarcasm.

Wall of Valor **ugly crying**

“If you don’t know the history of S.H.I.E.L.D. by now, there’s no excuse. Unless you fell asleep Professor Vaughn’s class. That’s a perfectly acceptable excuse.” I laugh the awkward delivery of his joke. Just everything about it.

“Fitz, talk to me.” — “Something’s doing this to him. Find it.” — “Ward. There it is. Fitz, what now?” — “Smash the damned thing!” That whole scene is so dramatic. Eeek.

Quinn. Grrrrrr.

Weaver retelling Donnie’s story **ugly crying**

“You and Skye get comfortable with the students, see if you can get them gossiping. Skye looks young enough to blend in.” — “You’re not exactly Ol’Man River, and Fitz looks younger than us.” — The time will come when you won’t make fun of me for that. You’ll be jealous. You’ll be jealous, wrinkly old hags.” I love grumpy!FItz

The Boiler Room! **high-pitched squealing**

“These aren’t my big ideas.” Dun. Dun. Dun.

“We need to root out all the secrets.” — Agents Ward and I have been having sex.” **subtle**

That look when Coulson shows up with flying Lola.

That look on Coulson when the other agents immediately knows what it’s about.

“The girl was the 0-8-4?”

“’Cause wherever she goes, death follows.” Well, that’s reassuring.

“Simmons is probably smarter, technically, but that’s because she likes homework more than life itself.” Gotta admit, Jemma sounds a bit like Hermione. And they’re both #relatable

Donnie talking about his dad and you can just see Fitz’s being reminded of his own dad. **ugly crying**

Fitz getting knocked out, take 6,976

Quinn is such an asshat.

Coulson coming clean to Skye.

That scene without sound. Just the music, and everything building up. And Skye’s tears and the storm brewing and just. **so much ugly crying**

“Can you reach the North Campus Parking Garage?” — “That’s not far from where I am. I can get there.” **opens door** **closes door** “Yeah, I can’t get there.”

Melinda May, Pilot extraordinaire. God, I love that woman.

That last scene between Fitz and Donnie hurts. a. lot.

“She said her story started here.” **ugly crying**

“The world is full of lies.” **camera pans to Ward** OUCH!

“Who do you become?” **ugly crying**