#and Donnie doesn't want Leo to have to go through it a second time

[tblsomedoodles]

Some Apocalypse Seer twins,

Also the first of my January Speedpaints (Aka make-up work for my missed december speedpaint. I will be doing a second one mid-January.)

Was suggested by @soniclozdplove a few weeks ago. (the suggestion was technically just "seer twins" but i went the apocalypse boys route. I felt the need to draw a billowing cape lol.)

i kinda want to rant about some shit, particularly to do with Donnie's cloak, like how it's darkened over the years, and how between the dark cloak and the fact that if Donnie "rescues" someone they either come back dead or soon to be dead (compared to Leo who's rescues always live), he ends up with a Grim Reaper sort of reputation. But, then again, that's really it on the subject and i'm pretty exhausted rn.

anyways, video link will be up once it's available.

Edit: Speedpaint Link

[tizeline]

Some snippets into Donnie's relationship to his brothers in the Separated AU

So after having figured out that Donnie is in fact their Long Lost Brother, the Drax Trio obviously want him back, and while Donnie is initially excited to find out that he has a bunch of siblings, he's less excited to find out that they're a bit, uh, evil. And they keep insulting April!! How dare they!!! Not to mention, he already has a dad, he doesn't need a new one! So no, Donnie isn't planning on just leaving his current family behind for this new one, and his brothers react to this in various different ways.

As much as Mikey wants Donnie back, Dr. Feelings understands that this is quite the adjustment for Donnie and that he may need some time to come to terms with the fact that he actually belongs with them and not with the humans. Mikey doesn't wanna force his brother to reunite with them, so instead he tries to convince Donnie to come home willingly through various ways. I mentioned this in an earlier post, but AU Mikey is essentially trying to give Donnie a redemption arc like Canon Mikey did with Draxum

Raph, however, sees Donnie and immedietly goes full Protective Big Brother Mode. He thinks the best course of action is to "forcefully rescue" (kidnap) him and and then convince him to stay and be apart of their family. He's can't help catastrophizing about all the way his baby brother is definitely being mistreated by Lou Jitsu and April and all the other evil humans oh NO they have to SAVE HIM!! The only reason he doesn't is because no one else in the Draxum family thinks it's a good idea

And then Leo. I'll go more into detail about Leo's character in this AU at a later dat cuz hhhhhhh but basically, he's still dealing with pretty intense Middle Child Syndrome and the LAST thing he need is another middle child joining the family! Why are all his family members so obsessed with getting Donnie back anyway? He's already clearly chosen the human side so why waste their time on him! .....Now that's not entirely the whole truth, he's kinda ecstatic when he first meets Donnie, except Donnie doesn't seem to care about them any, which... ouch.

Another way to describe their dynamic would be similar to their canon dynamic, a lot of friendly bickering.... except they don't really know each other and are also enemies here so like.... UNfriendly bickering.... which is just bickering lol. They fight a lot, is what I'm getting at.

Anyway you know the family dinner scene with Draxum in season 2 of the show? Yeah, Mikey tries that tactic here too. Like I said, Mikey wants to be patient with Donnie, but he does eventually get a bit tired of Donnie acting so hostile all the time so he starts organizing hangouts for the four of them (attendence is mandatory!)

And poor Donnie, this whole situation is a bit of an emotional rollercoaster for him, as you might imagine. Reuniting with your secret lost family is fun for all of five seconds before you find out that they're actually kinda messed up uh oh. A big reason why Donnie acts so hostile towards his brothers is because it's easier for him to just dismiss them as mere enemies that he feels no attatchment to. He's basically being made to pick between this new family and his old one is Not Fun.

[fishsticksloser]

Hi! You know that comic of the girl who's putting on lipstick, and she's like, "It's been half an hour, and we still can't find a kiss proof lipstick! This experiment must be boring you!" And the guy is whipped. What about the rise boys with an s/o doing that? (Love all your fics they are so well written :)

Lipstick Stains

RotTMNT, Casey, & Liam x gn!reader

Warnings: oc x reader, kissing, whipped boys

A/N: First of all.... Thank you so much! Second, I... I have you in a chokehold(affectionately) now because of this. Sorry that some of them are shorter than others

Casey

He is not sure how he got here

He blinks up at you, confused and dazed

No one has ever kissed him so much

Casey doesn't complain

Hell... he doesn't say anything really

He leans into your kisses though, pressing himself closer

His face is littered with kisses

Not to mention his hands

He smiles a soft, dazed smile when you approach with another color on your lips

His lips are definitely a smear of many different colors as he kisses you properly after every lipstick

Casey hums into every proper kiss, a bit kiss drunk by now

Donnie

This was not his idea of an experiment

You had complained that your lipstick wasn't kiss proof so he was going to make you some that was

But first, obviously, you guys had to go through every single one of your lipsticks so he could get an idea of the color you wanted and the texture

He had a paper you were supposed to be kissing, not him

Did he complain?

Did he stop you?

No.

Donnie just sat there, a kind of dazed look in his eyes as you applied another

His face was scattered with kisses

They went onto his neck

His shoulders

His plastron

His shell

Donnie was so out of it, he could barely respond when you asked if he was okay

Leo

It was definitely not his idea

Not at all

This is obviously a lie

Every time you walk towards him, a new lipstick painting your lips, he sits up more

Slightly leaning forward in preparation for your kisses

Leo is practically purring like a cat as your lips press against his skin

He moved when you tried to kiss him with certain colors

His eye stripes covered with darker lipstick verses the rest of him

His tail wags happily, closing his eyes and churring loudly

Leo was so happy

So content

Absolutely covered in lipstick stains

He does retaliate though

Grabbing lipstick to kiss you all over as well

Liam

Also completely confused as to how he got here

What did he do?

Why is he covered in lipstick?

Liam doesn't necessarily mind it

But the feeling of lipstick on his skin is not an overly pleasant feeling

He can't help the giddy feeling he gets when you smile as you approach with a new lipstick on

It may not be a pleasant feeling, but you look so happy

Liam can't say no, letting you press more kisses to his face

He feel particularly excited when he feels your lips on his facial scar

It makes him want to grab you and show you the same affection

Mikey

It was his idea!

He saw all the art people had made by kissing canvases

He really wanted to try it

And who were you to deny this sweetheart?

You were testing out which ones to use for the piece

Having a blank canvas hung up for you to swatch them on it

Still...

The canvas remained empty

Instead you stood in front of Mikey, looking over the colors on him

Mikey blinks up at you, grinning yet slightly dazed

Who was he to deny these lovely kisses?

He definitely won't complain

He loves kisses

Mikey is excited for every single one

Raph

All he remembers is you mentioned that your lipstick wasn't kiss proof

Now he's sitting on his bed, dazed and wide eyed

Covered in lipstick stains

If you didn't know he wasn't a statue, you'd have thought he wasn't breathing

In fact, you could even hear the sharp breaths he took in when your lips pressed against his skin

Raph's face was covered, even his mask had some stains

The stains trailed all over, down his neck, over his shoulders, his shell, plastron

He really couldn't tell where you hadn't kissed

Was he basking?

Was he too scared to move?

A bit of all the above

Raph didn't want to ruin your fun and he was enjoying all the smooches you'd left on him

He definitely won't complain if you leave more

[dandylovesturtles]

I meant to do this earlier and then I didn't |'D but quick little ficlet for @trilobitepunch 's DTIYS!

I've tried to read all the stuff about fangiverse but I may have some lore wrong... but I hope you enjoy this anyway, Aya!

-----

Raph has always kept an eye on his little brothers, and that hasn't changed. Two of them have some added... difficulties now, but that's all. They're still his little brothers, and Raph will watch out for them, same as usual. Everything is totally normal.

Thinking that way helps him stay calm, anyway.

Like now, wandering through a marketplace in the Hidden City, eyes on Donnie as he pokes at the gourds at a stand with a frown. They have a whole shopping list from Draxum, for some medicines he wants to try to make that he thinks will help not just Donnie and Leo but all of them. Raph had almost insisted that he and Mikey could do it on their own, but Leo starts going stir-crazy if he's kept locked in the lair too long and Donnie can lock himself in so long he needs the vitamin D.

Besides, Raph doesn't want to feel like he's keeping them prisoner. It's not their fault.

But against all odds, the day has turned out surprisingly well! They had lunch at Run of the Mill, and ate all their favorites. Leo and Mikey spent their remaining New Year's money on candy from a shop that temporarily turns keratin weird colors; it's supposed to affect fingernails, but right now Mikey is sporting a bright pink shell as he trails after Donnie (Raph has to admit, he wants to try it later). For his part, he has an almost-eaten cup of froyo, which he'd piled high with some pretty weird toppings (the Hidden City has weird green mushrooms that taste like cotton candy!). And they've made it through over half the shopping list without incident! Maybe everything will go smoothly after all.

And just as Raph thinks that, he hears a familiar snarl, and everything falls apart.

His mistake, he realizes even as he turns to look, was focusing so much on Donnie that he forgot to keep an eye trained on Leo.

Donnie's easy to trigger, and he sinks deep, devoid of everything but the urge to attack, to fight. Leo can usually keep one finger in reality, just enough to be the bridge between Donnie and the rest of them. Donnie is unpredictable in a crowd, but Leo loves being out around people. That's why Raph had kept his eyes trained on purple.

But the thing is, when Leo goes down, he goes down hard. And there's nothing to stop Donnie from being swept right along with him.

Raph swivels on his feet, froyo cup tossed aside as he scans the crowd. He finds Leo fast, poised like a snake ready to strike, snarling and hissing, pupils flared and wild. His fangs are out and they're bared, staring down a yokai almost three times his size - Raph doesn't know what happened in the lead-up, but he has a feeling that Leo's freakout is deserved.

It doesn't change the fact that they can't stay here now. If Leo hurts someone in this state, he'll beat himself up about it for weeks - and it's only a matter of time until the cops show up and arrest all of them.

"DONNIE!"

Raph isn't at all surprised by Mikey's shout, or the sudden blur of purple that shoots past him. Donnie is at Leo's side in an instant, snarling just as loudly, the two of them circling back to back in challenge to the increasingly panicked crowd.

It's time to go!

"Raph!" yells Mikey, but Raph doesn't spare him a glance. He trusts Mikey to keep up.

"Hitch a ride, Mike," is all he says, before he's clearing the space between himself and his snarling brothers in two big steps. A second later, a familiar weight lands on his shell; one problem taken care of.

Donnie is just about to launch himself at a yokai brandishing a short sword when Raph swoops in, grabbing his little brother by the battle shell and tucking him under his arm. Donnie howls in frustration, but Raph has experience on his side; he pins Donnie to his side and makes sure his teeth can't get anywhere near him.

"No biting, Dee!" he calls over the noise of the crowd, and gets a frustrated chatter in return.

"I can't reach Leo!" Mikey reports from his shoulder. Raph swivels around to look at his remaining sibling, currently advancing on the big yokai once again. Said yokai has his hands balled into fists in front of him, but he looks more than a little concerned as Leo lurches toward him with predatory steps.

Maybe he could just let him get a little closer...

No, Raph should definitely stop this.

With another big step, Raph comes level with Leo and scoops him under his other arm, earning a startled yelp that would be hilarious under other circumstances. Both feral turtles struggle under his arms, fangs bared and hands strong, but Raph has them in his grip.

A police siren echoes over the din of the crowd.

"Time to go!" Mikey shouts, thumping Raph's shell.

"Don't gotta tell me twice!" he yells back. He's already muscling his way through the crowd, making a beeline for an alleyway off the market. They need to get off the main streets, then book it for the nearest portal topside.

The whole trip, the bundles under his arms hiss and snarl and claw at him, completely ungrateful for how he just saved their butts. He ought to drop them and leave them here.

But he won't. They're still his little brothers, after all.

[aleksiej]

does rottmnt donnie dislike touch?

i have rewatched all of rottmnt and am ending this debacle once and for all (at least for me lol)

based on the two seasons, the movie and the comics (tho the comics don't really bring anything to this conversation) i think i have the answer to one of the more controversial topics in this fandom

(no, it's not the yuichi vs usagi debate, usagi obviously wins that no sweat)

so, does donnie dislike touch?

in the series, he is shown being fairly touchy with his siblings throughout the series, with some exceptions i will try to list now, tho not with proper episode names as i am not looking them up, sorry not sorry:

pilot episode, captured by draxum in a cacoon with mikey he's visibly uncomfortable and tries to get away

mikey's solo mission, he doesn't look at any of the and in response to a hug he pats mikey's head with a metal arm from his battle shell.

glued together, he's showing visible discomfort at being forced into close (touching) proximity of his brothers, tho that discomfort is somewhat elevated when they do a second go-round after the sticky foam ball got crushed

that time splinter caught everyone in a trap hanging in the lair (i think it's the forest survival episode?), he's, again, uncomfortable and the first to find a solution to their entrapment, be it on his phone

there's probably more, but that's what i remember from the series and spread out on about 60 episodes it's noticeable, but not a deciding factor, especially since donnie's also seen being fine with touch. now, the movie offers us even more of a look into donnie's relationship with touch. this list will include every instance presented i can think of, in no particular order.

during leo and raph's fight after they lost the key, donnie jumps on raph's back in an attempt to stop him from advancing in the fight, as mikey tries to shield leo. it's a very quick decision and doesn't seem to particularly trouble donnie.

after the kraang come through the portal and the turtles escape-pod out, mikey's panicking and grabbing cj, also causing him distress. donnie grabs mikey under his arms like a plushie and is shown to carry him until leo gets back with a panic attack and news of raph, upon which leo starts at cj with a fight in mind and donnie and mikey keep him away. again, no distress is coming off of donnie, no more than the regular situation call for (although he gets more logic-minded and quiet as the movie goes on with only small donnie moments breaking it up, which seems to be how he reacts to stress, but that'll be in another fever post)

he's touching mikey sometimes during the subway battle, but it's most likely he either didn't notice or didn't care, considering everything else happening in that fight (ps the kraang train is my favorite villainous entity in the franchise, give me more of the kraang train and i will give you my soul)

he's shown very visibly having sensory issues (very relatable) throughout the whole movie because of the kraang. not necessarily to do with touch, oh except for the part when he had to get EATEN BY THE TECHNODROME THROUGH HIS BARELY TOUCHED AT ALL SOFT SHELL which is shown to be a sensory nightmare and awful to touch and yes, i had night terrors if that, thank you very much.

at the very end, they all hug with no visible problems except for the fact that they are on staten island. that is to say, there's one important scene still, it happens before the end, but i wanted to have space to gush about it so here we go.

the famous scene of raph grabbing donnie and mikey flying through the air, yelling "don't worry donnie, it's not a hug, it's a rescue". probably the most important thing said in accordance to donnie's relationship with touch.

in my personal opinion, donnie doesn't mask (i mean look at his behavior) or if he does, he does it, rarely in public and even rarer with just his brothers. so every one of the hamato clan knows at least the most important of donnie's boundaries, especially related to the autism, as it's handled well within their family structure (both donnie's and mikey's autism is) . so, if raph calls out to him to warn about the hug he's giving donnie and treats it like a potential bad thing, there are really only two conclusions we can get to.

one, donnie doesn't like/hates physical contact. disputed by just about everything else in the show, except for the listed above exceptions.

two, donnie being open to touch or not is conditional. and considering the mentioned exceptions and raph's rescue from the movie, there's one similarity we can notice between them.

the touch affecting donnie is happening without his consent and without a form of escape.

(except for when donnie's hugged by mikey in his solo mission episode, but considering he's already kind of detached, i'm assuming he's just not up to it and so he uses his robotic extra arms to give comfort instead of ignoring his little brother which aww)

that's the uncomfortable part, the unpredictability and lack of a way to detach himself. aka, donnie's just like me for real. lmao.

donnie probably doesn't mind touch and welcomes it, but needs to be in control of the process and be able to leave if he gets overwhelmed. and his family knows that, hence raph's words in the movie that led so many people astray...

this might just be another evidence of how well donnie is written as an autistic character, both with his low empathy not being demonized and not preventing him from creating bonds (tho sometimes making it difficult) and the fact that the most common opinion of autistic people (that they hate touch, which is something a psychiatrist brought up as evidence of me not being autistic) doesn't apply to everyone.

as a summary, rottmnt donnie is probably the best version of donnie right now and he doesn't hate touching, he just has to touch on his own terms. extremely valid, extremely relatable.

[mindless-existence1]

Hiiiii!!!! I would love to request a oneshot of Rise!Leo having his first kiss with the reader (gender neutral). I want the oneshot to take place after the ROTTMNT movie, and I want it to have a love confession!! (Leo can be the one who confesses)

If you can do this for me, it would absolutely make my day!! THANK YOU!!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Authors note: So like the request says this is gn reader and it's implied that Leo and Reader have been friends for a while. Also reader can fight so they are present during the kranng fights. Hope you enjoy! Also not beta read so might have a lot of errors!

REQUESTS OPEN! REQUESTS OPEN FOR FLUFF AND KINKTOBER AS WELL!

The lair was tense, the Hamato family was scattered around. Donnie, Mikey, and Splinter were in the med bay doing check ups. Raph was in his room and April and Casey were out getting food.

You and Leo were in his room, sitting together in silence. Something Leo had said caught you off guard during the last battle.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~FlashBack~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You and Leo got stuck with one of the smaller krangs under a large cave of rubble. The creature had gotten a hit on your shoulder that caused you to fall down. Leo's rage fueled him to finally kill the monster.

He ran to you falling to his knees in worry next to you. Tears start to build in his eyes as he holds pressure onto your wound. You're going in and out of unconsciousness from the blood loss.

"Y/n? Y/n please stay with me." His voice seems hoarse and he can feel the tears start running down his face. When you don't respond he starts to panic "I can't lose you! Y/n I love you."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~End of FlashBack~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The two of you a sitting facing each other on the terrapin's bed. He was fiddling with his fingers in embarrassment. You had finally gotten done getting stitched up meaning you were free to leave the infirmary.

You immediately went searching for the turtle leader. The two of you hadn't had time to talk about what you heard Leo say. Although you were delirious you can't help but hear the repeating three words playing in your head.

That leads you to being in awkward silence trying to ignore the way both of you are flushed. Leo had secretly hoped you were too out of it to understand what he said. Or hope you ignored it. Anything to keep him from this.

Leo wished to keep your relationship intact. But s profession of love? Absolutely not part of any plan he had about telling you how he felt. Not that he was going to even attempt to confess to you but still, not part of the plan!

Your voice breaks through his thought spiral. "Leo-" You can't even get the words out before he interrupts you. "Do you remember anything that I said." He knows he doesn't have to specify when, although he wants to deny it deep down he knows you heard.

"I remember all of it." Leo's breath catches at your words. He begins to ramble. "I'm sorry, you can just forget everything I said-" He starts to let out every last thought he has.

He starts to move his hands around while speaking sporadically. With quick thinking you quickly lean in, gently grabbing the sides of his face. Your lips meet, effectively shutting him up.

For a second both of you are still. Leo's whole body frozen in shock. After a minute he seems to come back to himself. Leo begins to deepen the kiss as best he can.

It's uncoordinated and slightly awkward with your position. But to him it's like fireworks going off all around you. When you part Leo follows your lips in a desperate attempt to keep you close. You heavy breathing mixes together from the close proximity.

Leo rests his forehead on yours, his eyes hazy and half closed. Leo begins to try and speak again, hes even more feazzled then before. You cut him off before he can go down a rabbit hole again. "Leo I love you too now please just shut up."

You lean in to kiss him again, this time feeling a smile pull at his lips. His hand reaches up to the back of your head to pull you in closer to him. "Just this once I can do that."

[angelpuns]

50AU Part 34/Finale

Donnie would like to say that the worst 10 minutes of his life was when he had to watch as Leo sacrifice himself with no way to stop him. 

He would like to say that. 

But now that he'd seen Leo's memory of that moment, watching his twin throw himself into another dimension was taking second to this moment. 

The moment in which he described what had happened during the curse to Leo. 

Because he could have lied. He wasn't good at it, but he could have at least tried to lie. It would keep Leo from worrying about the things he had done during the curse, and it would keep Donnie from having to tell him about what happened during the memory spell. 

Except, Leo looked so tired. And Donnie was sick of lying to him. 

And he was fairly certain Leo would find a way to learn the truth on his own, anyway, whether Donnie wanted him to or not. 

He slowly went through the events of the curse. How well the first day had gone, how Leo had ran the second one. How he'd been injured and just kept running,  and how they had been so sure they got through to him. Only for Leo to have been acting. 

It felt like so much when he was saying it aloud, but it…it really had only been a week. 

And barely even that. But so much had happened that it felt like forever. 

Leo's face fell as Donnie kept going, as he described what had happened day by day.

As he suspected, Leo had found out about their fight on his own. Leo hadn't said anything until Donnie brought up the fight, so it was a little surprising when he interrupted. 

“ And then I-” 

“ Did it hurt?” Leo asked, voice small. He had shrunken in the booth, shoulders hunched and eyes staring down at the table, “ When I…when I attacked you?” .

Donnie blinked. He lightly touched his beak, which was thankfully no longer tender. It had hurt a lot, but Leo already looked so guilty. 

“ No, it didn't hurt-”

“ why are you lying?” He hissed, glancing up to make eye contact with Donnie, “ don't lie, Dee, I- I would be fucking scared of me, too”

Scared? 

Leo thought they were scared? Of him? 

It was almost laughable, really, but Donnie had enough self control to keep himself serious. 

“...is that what this is about? You think we're scared of you?” He asked, unable to keep the humor out of his voice. Nothing about the situation was funny, but for Leo to think they were scared of him was- well, it was downright hilarious. 

Leo didn't seem to agree, though, looking away guiltily. 

“ Lee, c'mon, as if any of us could be scared,” He tried, “ It was pretty wild to see you so…violent, don't get me wrong, but-”

“ But I hurt you! And-and apparently I hurt Mikey and Raph, too!” Leo retorted, suddenly sitting up again, “ I mean- I-I could have seriously injured one of you or even-”

He snapped his mouth shut and shook his head, like he didn't really want to say it. 

Donnie sighed, “ Look, ‘Nardo, that wasn't really you, I mean, you were cursed-”

“ You don't get it! That- That was still me!” Leo hissed, throwing his hands up in the air, “I am angry! And violent! And- and terrible!”

“Leo, we're not scared of you, even if you are like that, it-it doesn't matter, we know you didn't mean to!” Donnie protested. 

He wasn't really sure where all this had come from. Leo claiming to be angry and violent. Sure, Donnie had seen Leo get mad before. And he could really get mad. But it wasn't like he couldn't control it. 

Donnie remembered when they were kids and Leo would get so mad he'd just cry. He'd be so upset that it wouldn’t have anywhere to go, and he'd just burst into tears and run away. 

Once, Donnie had followed him to try and apologize, only to walk in on Leo throwing his things off his bed and screaming into a pillow. So Donnie of all people knew his twin could get mad. 

“Raph gets mad all the time, and we're not scared of him, right?” Donnie tried, “ you're not scared of Raph, are you?”

“‘Course not…” Leo murmured. He rested his forehead on the table. 

 “ ….Even though Raph tried to…to kill you? During the invasion…?” 

They both looked up at the voice, Donnie blinking in surprise. Raph and Mikey had shown up almost out of nowhere. Right. Donnie forgot to leave a note. 

“ Raph….I'd never be scared of you,” Leo sighed, “ that's- it's different- ” 

“ Its not. Leo, we get that you were still yourself during the curse,” Mikey said matter of factly, “ But the point is that you didn't know it was us. If you had actually believed us, would you have done any of those things?” 

Leo scoffed, “ of course I wouldn't!” 

“ Okay, then, it's settled. We're not scared of you, and we have no reason to be. Got it?” 

Leo frowned, but nodded a bit. 

He looked up at Donnie. 

A small part of him was hoping Leo would be satisfied and not ask to hear more, especially not the whole ‘ went into his memory and accidentally saw some shit’, but he knee his dum-dum twin wouldn't be satisfied. He wouldn't have been either, if he were in Leo's shoes. 

“ Donnie, what happened after that?” 

Donnie took a deep breath, “ Let's- before we get into that let's go home…” 

Leo glanced around, seemingly just noticing that they were the only ones left in the restaurant, save for Hueso and Leo's….boyfriend watching from the kitchen. 

“Shit, I forgot about- uh, lemme apologize to Hueso and uh- “ His cheeks flushed as he gestured to the waiter, Donnie unable to hold back a snort. It was a little funny that Leo thought they didn't know. About him being gay, that is. He’d actually hid his boyfriend pretty well, even from Donnie. 

They watched as Leo hurried over to Hueso and apologized, the skeleton waving it off like he had last time. Donnie planned on giving him a full kitchen remodel to make up for all the damage they kept doing to his restaurant.  

Then, Leo turned to the waiter and pulled him into a tight, squeezing hug. He glanced back at his brothers with red cheeks before giving the waiter a peck on the cheek and hurrying back to their side. 

“ Ohohoooo, Looks like Leo's got some explaining to doo~” Mikey teased,  “ Dude, Raph is gonna hunt that waiter down and give him the shovel talk!” 

“ Raph is not!” Raph retorted, glancing at Leo, “ unless he ain't treatin’ you right already. then Raph'll have to talk to him,” 

“ Oh my god can we please just go?” Leo whined, already cutting open a portal, “ I didn't plan on having so many emotional talks tonight and I just wanna get this one over with,” 

Raph and Mikey stepped into the portal, Donnie starting after them. 

He was…scared. Scared that once Leo found what he did, he'd never forgive them. Never forgive Donnie. 

It made him shudder with anxiety, wringing his hands as Leo followed him through the portal. They emerged in the living room, Mikey and Raph already taking up two of the beanbags. 

Leo closed the portal and slumped into Dad's chair.  Donnie swallowed down the nausea at the sight. 

“ Okay, chop chop Dee, I want to get all the emotional talking out so then you all can tease me about Yuichi and all that and we can all go back to normal, ‘kay?” Leo sighed, looking far too comfortable in the chair that they'd trapped him in. Twice. 

“ Well..well, after that, Draxum finished the potion and…” Donnie started, starring to pace. His fingers ached with how hard he kept squeezing him, but it was the only thing keeping him from just running away.  He hated this he hated this he hated this! 

He hated that he didn't know how Leo would react. Obviously he didn't give a shit if Leo decided to fight him again. That would make sense, at least. 

But it would hurt more knowing that Leo was well within his rights to just…dedide he didn't want to interact with Donnie ever again. That he wasn't to be trusted. That Donnie could never be trusted with anything again now that he'd done this. 

Leo could be understanding, sure. But he was the king of holding grudges. Rest assured that if this upset Leo, Donnie would be living in the aftermath of it for..probably forever. 

But he could not keep lying about stuff to his already confused twin, he couldn't keep breaking promises. 

He described the whole memory spell, that Draxum had modified it so they could stay there longer, that they first had cleansed the memory of him falling off the roof. 

“ and then we were….it was your memory of the invasion, back when…when you decided to…” Donnie swallowed back his anxiety. He was pacing back and forth. He'd been doing so as he spoke, afraid that if he sat down he wouldn't be able to say it. He couldn't stop to watch Leo's expression, to try and puzzle out his reaction to what Donnie said. He had to keep moving or he'd never be able to say it. 

“ But- something happened. We were too far, the item was your sword, and- and you were about to portal into the prison dimension,” Donnie sighed, rubbing at his arms thoughtlessly. He finally stopped and looked at his twin. 

His expression was like something out of a drama. Wide-eyed realization set in. Leo blinked, staring at him incredulously. 

He smiled faintly, a lopsided, shaky thing that was nothing like Leo's usual smirk or even his more rare, soft smile. This one didn't fit his face right, didn't curve in the right way, it hardly looked real. 

“ You…didn’t. You wouldn't…” he chuckled, standing up off the couch and stepping up to Donnie. He put his hands on Donnie's shoulders, grip not overly tight, but definitely noticeable. Like he was purposefully holding back, “ Donnie, please tell me you didn’t,”

Donnie sighed shakily, “ I didn't have a choice,” 

Leo’s strange, crooked smile cracked into a shaky frown, his expression changing a thousand miles a minute. It didn't take the years of practice Donnie had had trying to interpret his expressions to know that Leo was angry. He pushed away from Donnie - the softshell only stumbling a little. It wasn't nearly as hard as Leo could have pushed him. 

His hands shook with the effort it must have taken to hold back. The mask of control sliding down before Donnie had the opportunity to see Leo get angry again. Not that he wanted to, but it wasn't as if it would be a strange occurrence now. Not after the curse, anyway. 

“ You- you promised,” Leo bit out, taking a few steps back. His eyes were glassy, like he might cry. It had been years since Donnie had seen Leo cry out of frustration like that. He was sure it had happened, but never in the view of anyone else.

“ you promised you wouldn't- you wouldn’t ask about that anymore, but you just had to know, didn't you, ‘Tello?” He bit out, voice shaking with barely contained anger, “ You just- you just had to see it, huh? Co-couldn't even wait to ask again?” 

“ It- it wasn't on purpose! I had to get the sword, and you were already teleporting, and I couldn't- I couldn't get out!” Donnie retorted, knowing he must have sounded desperate. But he needed Leo to understand it was an accident, “ I tried not to look, I-I promise, but you made me!” 

“I made you?” Leo scoffed, tears rolling down his cheeks. He was laughing, throwing his arms up in the air at what must have felt like a cruel joke, “ oh I'm sure! I'm sure I made you follow me in, made you watch as I- as he-” 

He shut himself up, snapping his mouth closed and shaking his head. 

“ I never wanted you to see that,” He bit out, “ I would never want anyone to see that”

“ I didn't mean you as in- as in you- you,” Donnie sighed. He felt so defeated. He was so tired still, even if things were fine again. Because they didn't feel fine. Leo was mad at him. Mad at him. And rightfully so, but…it still hurt. 

Sure, Donnie had been avoiding him lately. He just…he hadn't wanted to tell Leo what happened. He thought maybe if they didn't talk, Donnie wouldn't have the opportunity to tell Leo what he'd done. And eventually they'd all forget and move on. 

“ your…the inner Leo made me watch. I promise, I tried to-”

“Oh so now you're saying that-that I must have subconsciously wanted you to see it!? I bet you told Mikey and Raph everything, didn't you!?” Leo chuckled, eyes unfocused. He was hardly even looking at Donnie anymore, pacing back and forth in a way that mirrored what Donnie had been doing before, though it was far more erratic, “ I bet everyone knows now how - how broken I am and how scared I was and-”

“I’m not saying- I-I didn't tell them!” Donnie cut him off, grabbing Leo's arm to stop him, “ Leo, I didn't want to- I didn't mean to see it, I promise! I’m sorry, it-it was a mistake!” 

Leo wrenched his arm away with a scowl, eyes still unfocused. Like he wasn't really listening. “ you promise, huh?” 

It was silent for a moment, Donnie unsure what to say that hadn't already been said. 

“I need..I need to go..” He murmured, turning away, “ Please, don't…don’t try and- I just need to be alone…’ 

He still had his sword on him from his impromptu pizza trip, and he quickly cut a portal and stepped through it. Donnie just stood there. 

He didn't know what to do anymore. How to fix it. He'd finally managed to fix the curse but how was he supposed to fix what he'd done? It had been an accident, but still. 

He glanced back to Mikey and Raph, who were watching the entire thing with concern. 

“ You guys…i think-  I think I really messed up..” 

Donnie didn't tell them what he'd seen. He didn't dare fuck that up again. But he did tell Raph and Mikey about the promise he made with Leo, about how he had purposefully kept the truth from his twin the entire week. And about how Leo had found his security tapes from before. 

He almost wanted to delete them, to get rid of any evidence that Leo had been…. But he didn't touch them. If Leo wanted to know the truth, he should be able to see it for himself. 

“He’s never gonna forgive me…” Donnie murmured, now cradling a cup of tea. Mikey was making breakfast, even if it was a little too early. He'd urged them all to eat something, even if Donnie was especially not hungry. 

It had barely been an hour, not even that, but it felt like Leo was going to be mad at him forever. And he couldn't fix it. He didn't know how anymore. He didn't know Leo anymore. 

It all just kept circling back to the same thing. If he had done better. If he had paid more attention to the changes Leo was going through. If he had been able to keep Leo from hurting him or if he had been faster or if- 

He didn't know. It was done, now, but he wished he could just go back and-and maybe even take the hit. It was his fault they were fighting in witchtown in the first place. At least if he had forgotten his family, it wouldn't have been- well, wouldn't it have? 

Leo was better at reading people, though. And a much better strategist. He could have kept Donnie from doing anything too permanent, kept him from running off. 

Ugh, this was getting them nowhere! Wishing things were different just made everything feel worse. He needed to find a way to fix it, not dwell on it further. 

“ D'you think Leo hates me?” He asked, not realizing he'd said aloud until Raph reached over and put a hand on his shoulder. 

“ Nah, he doesn't hate you,”  Raph rumbled, squeezing Donnie's shoulder a bit, “he’ll figure out it wasn't your fault soon enough,” 

Donnie nodded, though the thought didn't comfort him. It was his fault, after all. He'd thought he could get the sword. Not to mention Leo was so stubborn, he was probably never going to forgive Donnie. 

“ Yeah, maybe..” Was all he said, knowing full well that Leo probably did hate him and would never forgive him and- 

He sighed, and took a sip of tea. 

There was no fixing this, was there? 

Leo only ignored him for a couple of days. He'd bounced between a couple of random beaches on the West Coast before returning that same night. Donnie watched his tracker for a while that first day. How he seemed to be pacing a lot. Like he was deciding whether or not to forgive Donnie. 

Which, he shouldn't. Except when he was doing that open and honest thing with Mikey, Mikey told him not to think like that. Because it wasn't his fault, even though Donnie was pretty sure it was. 

As much as he hated discussing his feelings, it kind of…helped. A little. It made him less sure that Leo was going to hate him forever, at least. But not entirely sure, as he would have liked to been. 

Finally, after two days of the cold shoulder, Leo came and knocked on his lab door. Donnie was trying to distract himself with work, but he'd been having trouble with the coding on Shelldon 4.0 and it was leaving him more frustrated than distracted. 

Then again, he'd been trying to replicate Sheldon for nearly 6 months now with hardly any progress. That would frustrate anybody. 

“ I took a nap earlier, Raph, I'm not going to bed anytime soon!” He sighed, knowing it was probably Raph trying to get him to sleep, like he usually did. He did nap earlier, so at least he wasn't lying. 

“ Not Raph,” 

Donnie turned to see Leo standing in the doorway instead, leaning up against the frame with a faint frown. 

“ oh..” Donnie didn't know what to say. He could apologize again, but he didn't know if it would make things better or worse. He couldn’t tell what Leo was thinking. It seemed he could never tell these days. 

Leo sighed and shut the door behind him, stepping into the lab without invitation. Not that he needed it. As much as Donnie liked to protest his presence, he never really minded it. He would lock the door if he didn't want Leo to come in, after all. 

“ So…I’ve been thinking..” Leo murmured, rubbing at his arms a bit, “ I don't…I don't think its…that terrible that you…saw everything…”

Donnie blinked in surprise. It was about the last thing he thought Leo would say, especially knowing how well Leo held a grudge. 

“ I just mean- maybe it's…not so bad to have someone else know and all…” He continued, “ cause- cause at least someone else can tell me it was real. And it’s okay to be…upset and- ughhh, this is too real for me right now!” 

He ran a hand down his face and looked at Donnie. 

“ I just- I don't want you to, like, pity me or- or- think I'm…weak or fucking whatever..” He muttered, cheeks pink, “ cause I survived, didn't I? And- and I’m fine, so-” 

Donnie chuckled faintly. He dropped what he was doing and buried his face in his hands. He wanted to scream. 

“ I didn't think that for even a second,” He sighed, leaning back in his chair, “ Leo, you may be an idiot, but you're one of the strongest idiots I know. Slash SRS on the strongest part and slash j on the idiot part, just in case that wasn't clear” 

Leo snorted, leaning against Donnie's desk, “We’re not really good at this open and honest stuff, are we?” 

“ No, and I never claimed to be,” Donnie sighed. He stood up and opened his arms for a hug. He kind of needed it himself, actually. 

Leo gave him a tight squeeze back and they stood in the silence of the lab together for another moment before Donnie finally, lightly pushed him away. 

“ Okay, enough lovey-dovey twin stuff,” Donnie sighed, “ are you…mad at me?” 

He hated that he couldn't tell just from the hug alone, but he needed to know. He needed to know Leo wasn't gonna hate him forever, even if he seemed to have forgiven the action. 

“ No, I'm not mad at you,” Leo sighed, “ I just want..I want everything to go back to normal. I know it…it probably won't, but I can dream, right?” 

Donnie sighed, slumping back into his chair, “i don't think it will go back to Normal normal. But…I will try my best to make it feel that way,”

Leo leaned back against his desk with a faint smile, crossing his arms and watching as Donnie got back to work. 

And it was about as normal as it could have been. 

No curse. No grudges. No looming worries, for now. 

---

this is not a great ending, I am super aware of that, but sometimes it's good to just finish the thing. I do wanna write a REAL fic for 50au, okay? And I will eventually. This was a decent start at the very least.

So that's how it ends. Keepin' it open ended was a good idea methinks. The google doc for this is lik 50,000 words (minus the 1000 for the OTHER outline i did at the beginning) and like 130 pages so yay?

Enjoy (or don't)

part 1 | Part 33

[blueberri-blu]

Learning You...

Mikey ♡

[Bayverse] Slowly getting to know Mikey ♡

Leo ♡⁠˖ Donnie ♡⁠˖ Raph♡⁠˖

Meeting Him:

You met through April, her thinking you two would hit it off

(and knows Mikey wants more friends)

He immediately starts flirting with you

You just start giggling, realizing it's just his personality

You both have been joined at the hip since then

I'm sorry this is so short but I feel like with Mikey you wouldn't take long to become friends!

Befriending him

You and Mikey have competitions to see who can eat the most pizza

Or beat the other in a video game

But you just giggle it off as Mikey being mikey

Or skate better

AKA, Competitions all around

Very friendly, giggly, joking Competitions

You'll have long movie marathons, with Mikey and you making fun of the movies (we all know he can't sit still for long)

He is constantly flirting with you "Angel cakes, baby, sweetcheeks, Babycakes" you name it

But you just giggle it off as Mikey being Mikey

Eventually you both are trying out pick up lines on each other

This always ends in huge laughing fits that are so loud even Even can hear them

Honestly? Y'all are just like those elementary school best friends on the playground

"I'd die for you, you're my bff"

"omg so would I!! You're MY bff"

You'll start inviting Mikey over so you two can get some time off, show him around your apartment/house

If you have any, and I mean ANY pets, he is in love immediately

You two will watch TV shows for hours

If y'all end up watching Euphoria, he'll say "wow your highschool must've had drama novela style"

You'll have to explain to him that no, most high schoolers aren't doing hard drugs in the bathroom, and that yes, maybe a few hook up in the school bathrooms

All in all, you and Mikey hit it off right away and have a friendship even the mane six from my little pony would be jealous of

First Date

Your first date takes... awhile to be honest

With Mikey always flirting with you, you can't tell the difference between joking, and Mikey trying to ask you out

Mikey goes to April for advice

She tells him that, it's not really special when he talks like that to everyone

So, Mikey thinks of a plan

Influenced a little bit by Leo

He brings you a box of pizza to your place

And when you open it, it's a heart pizza, and in the box in sharpie is written "will you be my only love?" With Classic by MKTO playing in the background

You two stay the night at your place, playing video games, watching TV shows (you show him reality TV and he is hooked.)

At the end of the night, Mikey is confident and leans in for a kiss

If you kiss him back, after he'll be breakdancing a "victory dance" in your living room

If you pull away and say you don't kiss on the first date

Hell immediately start planning your second, third, fourth date and, if you let him, your wedding

Dating

Mikey is very touchy

He loves PDA and physical affection in general

If you do too, you can't keep your hands off of eachother

His brothers, don't appreciate it

If you don't like PDA or physical affection as much (in public) he will have a pillow to hold and cuddle with while he holds your hand

He doesn't care if he has to wait for you to be comfy for physical affection

In his words "my sexy Angel cakes, no need to rush, imma have you forever, right?"

Omg he is so sweet

His brothers are kind of happy he has you now tho, you entertain almost all of his ideas, and Mikey never feels stupid or dumb around you

You even encourage him to try some of his (non dangerous) ideas, just so you two can see what happens

I can totally see Mikey teaching you to ride on a skateboard

Thankfully his "powerful lou jitsu ninja skills" as he puts it, give him the reflexes to always catch you

If you don't get the hang of it, that's ok!

Mikey loves it when you and him share his skateboard,

His two favorite things, you and skateboarding (all that's missing is pizza)

You'll go to skateparks that are either closed down

Or just closed at night with no one there at night

You bring a calming presence to his chaos

Always encouraging him to try things, but within safe limits

Mikey brings out an adventurous side of you tho

He loves cuddling you, big spoon or little spoon, you on top, him on top, he doesn't care!

Dating Mikey means pizza, skating, adventure, movies and gaming

[shantechni]

"2012 Mikey is Abused" and other constant complaints that, quite frankly, don't make sense

Since one Reddit user (who shall remain anonymous) inadvertently made me type out an essay I intended to write and post in a more coherent manner at a later date, I will be using their comment and my response.

Anyways, the comment itself starts off fairly normal and agreeable:

But then I see the next three points and my sleep-deprived mind just goes off the rails, so let's start with the second point:

Let me preface this by saying I absolutely do not condone the writing here because everyone under the sun will agree that we could've easily had the "Karai is our sister!?" plot twist without Leo and Karai briefly developing feelings for each other.

The problem is that this brief development of feelings is wildly blown out of proportion by the fandom, so much so that it makes it seem as though Leo and Karai actually had anything legitimate going on between them.

The "incest-eqsue garbage" between Leo and Karai is almost nonexistent outside of the writing room. They openly crush on each other for a whopping six episodes by way of verbally teasing each other and being at odds before Karai tells Leo that she's the Shredder's daughter. That's it. He is not pursuing her after that (hardly ever did, not even to the extent that Donnie pursues April) and Karai isn't remotely fond of him anymore after he broke their deal. Then, after we find out alongside Splinter that she's actually his daughter, he tells Leo towards the end of Follow the Leader. We don't get a reaction, actually nothing on Leo's side since the Foot Clan is mostly absent with April being the main point of conflict, even in Target: April O'Neil because April's forgiveness of the turtles is the main focus.

Leo eventually attempts to tell Karai the truth in Wormquake! and The Manhattan Project and she obviously doesn't believe the poor guy, she just wants to kill the turtles and Splinter at this point. Leo doesn't tell her because "he still likes her", but because, in his own words, it would change everything. She deserves to know the truth and Splinter shouldn't have his own daughter cursing him at every waking moment. When she tricks the gang into bringing her to the lair under the guise of her finally accepting the truth, Leo is ecstatic and his first thought is for her and Splinter to make amends. He's upset that Raph still can't fully trust her in the end when she fought alongside them (who can blame Raph though, he's cradling an unconscious brother after a plan gone awry), and that's the end of that.

They dedicate two episodes to the guys attempting to rescue her because Leo has enough brain cells to worry about what the Shredder could be doing with her, and Raph makes a jab at Leo on one instance when they find her (there is absolutely no romantic undertone, Raph just picks at his old crush on her and their tendency to tease each other at the worst times). Then, when she wants to get back at the Shredder for ripping her away from a life she never knew was her's, Leo attempts to aid her because he knows it isn't wise to face someone like that alone, especially with his henchmen there.

There's one last self-aware jab at their past feelings in S5, of which Karai awkwardly remembers and forgoes mentioning, and that's the last you see or hear of that.

As much as I dislike it, I'd take this narrative over the Donnie-April-Casey hurricane any day.

It seems that 2012 Mikey's mere existence is a sore spot for fans because Jesus Christ this gets brought up way too much.

Mikey is not written as a complete idiot, he's written as someone who doesn't see a reason to take everything so seriously, has odd habits, and doesn't always think things through, yet is shown to be highly capable and intelligent when the situation calls for it. Yes the writers left much to be desired at times, but to say they wrote him to be a "complete idiot" and left it at that is just offensive. I'll ignore all the miraculous things Mikey can do with Kraang stuff and Dimension X and focus on what other things he's shown to be capable of.

Mikey was a temporary learning model for Donnie in how to fight without thinking, or in better terms, how to fight instinctually without becoming bogged down by your own mind. Splinter's lesson is shown in a comedic manner, but that's ultimately what helped Donnie defeat Falco.

Another interesting thing is his ability to keep his composure when no one else around him can do so. I mentioned this briefly in another post, but it really stands out to me how he put Leo at the top of his priority list in Invasion Part 2. He's as worried for Splinter as Raph and Donnie are, but they have with them a crippled and unconcious Leo who needs medical attention asap, compared to martial arts master Splinter who's older and wiser than the three of them combined at times. Even when they eventually find Splinter and lose him, he keeps the gang in line by reminding them, as well as himself, that Splinter can take care of himself.

Along with that is when Splinter was kidnapped in The Manhattan Project. Mikey was quick to intervene when Raph was angry with Leo for allowing Tiger Claw to coax him into calling Splinter, and he reminded the two of the problem at hand: they have Splinter, let's go find him and take him back. There are so many other moments when he becomes the levelheaded one in response to the chaos or disorder surrounding him.

Mikey is a highly skilled fighter, he's emotionally intelligent, he remembers the weirdest things that eventually aid the team, he's street smart, he's a fast learner (ex: Bradford's secret kata, as well as the temporary use of the plasma katana in Target: April O'Neil), he's great at distracting enemies without needing to become bait, he gets insecure about things, he has photographic memory, he's the most outgoing of his brothers and therefore ends up with the most friends, he's quick to adapt to a situation and think of a plan, he can throw together seemingly random ingredients to create exactly what Donnie would struggle to create, he knew exactly what to do to find Casey after his run-in with Tiger Claw, the list goes on.

Heck, just to add to this, Mikey is the one who saves the day in three separate stories in S5. 1) His temporary electric powers save the world from Dregg and the Newtralizer, 2) he convinced Frankenstein's monster to join their side, retrieved the scepter from Savanti and Dracula (he accidentally broke the scepter while he was at it, but that helped) and cured Raph and Donnie of their vampirism, and 3) he was the one who repaired Kavaxas' seal and made him reopen the portal to the Netherworld so the dead could return.

The brothers don't always take him as seriously as they should or listen to him, and that's understandable at times, but when they do, they're reminded of the fact that Mikey, in his own way, is intelligent.

If I had a dime for every comment I've seen about this, I'd be rich enough to buy the TMNT series from Viacom and right every wrong they made with the 2012 series.

These abuse allegations are as bad as people putting Markiplier in the same tweet as problematic Youtubers and saying something wild like, "these content creators should've been cancelled a long time ago." I feel like people who say the brothers abuse Mikey are either an only child or genuinely have a warped sense for what actually counts as abuse, and I'm not even trying to be mean, those are just my thoughts. I shouldn't even have to comment on this, but the fact that people are still seriously believing that to this day is shocking.

Would you also like to say that Raph was abused in Turtle Temper when Splinter had the boys ceaselessly taunt him in that little exercise? Or that the boys abused Raph everytime they downplayed his anger? Or that Raph abused Donnie by threatening to hit him if he didn't find Snakeweed's hideout? Or that Leo abused Donnie everytime he stressed him out by rushing him for answers? Or that Donnie abused Mikey because Mikey flinched 2cm to the right when Donnie raised his hand to playfully knock at his noggin? Or that Leo was abused by the team because they took forever to view him as their leader? Or that Splinter abused the boys because he was "too rough" on them during training?? Or that April abused Donnie because she "constantly led him on"? Or that Xever and Bradford abused Baxter???

I'm losing my mind over here

Mikey is never physically or emotionally abused by his brothers, the show speaks for itself. But if you somehow aren't listening, go look up a textbook example of abuse, or better yet, look at Karai.

Abuse is the Shredder locking Karai in a dungeon when she tries to escape to her real family and going so far to become a peak manipulator by saying Karai was hurting him by making him lock her away. Worse than that, he starts brainwashing her with mind controlling worms so she has no choice but to obey him. Even before then, he's lowkey uncaring of her wellbeing: he treats her like any other soldier of his and doesn't listen to her when she tries to tell him something. He doesn't address her concerns about the Foot bots nearly finishing her off, instead telling her, "disobedience comes with a stiff penalty, especially for my daughter," when she objects to him telling her not to take action against the turtles while he's gone.

He only ever pays her any attention or gives her praise when it benefits him and his vendetta against Splinter.

Splinter and the turtles are the farthest thing from the image of a family filled with abusers. Raph openly apologizes to Mikey when Splinter tells him to stop picking at him in Shellacne, Raph comforts Donnie when the brainiac is somber after forcing Timothy into the equivalent of a cold sleep, Raph apologizes when his anger gets the better of him and he hits Leo harder than intended, Donnie apologizes when he realizes he shouldn't insult Raph when the guy is visibly upset, Leo regrets doubting Donnie about Metalhead, etc., etc.

Even beyond apologies, Raph is the quickest to entertain Mikey and vice versa during a mundane moment, Donnie never kicks Mikey out of the lab, Leo plays around with Mikey when the situation doesn't call for him to be their fearless leader, and Splinter is quick to advise Mikey during Karai's Vendetta and Shellacne. There are even times when the guys just go along with Mikey's antics because there's no harm in doing so, and often times Mikey needs a moment to be silly.

If you think play fighting, teasing, or getting a little physical with a sibling is the equivalent of abuse, particularly in the context of TMNT of all things, you need to do some re-evaluation.

[downwiththemutantnjnjaturtles]

Hi! Love your posts. Can you write crush headcanons for each of the turtles, like how they develop it, how they may act around them, and maybe ask them out? Thank you! Hope you have a great day!

TMNT crush headcanons:

Leonardo:

• Leo developes slow but meaningful crushes! He's very careful, and guarded of his feelings similar to Raph, but in his own way. His crush starts with feeling inspired by his person of interest, someone who makes him want to better himself in any way by either observing their passions, talents, and skills, or who encourages his limits to discover his own.

• He's thoughtful but very subtle about his affections towards someone, he doesn't exactly want them to know

• Observant, attentive, and a classic romantic is how he is—that last part, in his fantasies, at least. He dreams about being able to provide everything his crush could want or need, even though he can't always do so due to how they live

• Leo asks his crush out after a series of escalating gestures of love so it doesn't really catch them off guard. Asks them to meet him alone to talk because he has something important to say, and then makes the confession.

• "I know you have to know what I'm going to say, you're nervous, I can tell...I probably shouldn't have been so cryptic when I asked you to meet me in the dojo by yourself." He softens his posture a bit, to seem less tense. He'd lit several dozen candles scattered all over the room, partially for himself while he meditated to calm his mind a little, mostly to create an atmosphere. "You've become a close friend of mine despite everything, you know you're always welcome in our home, right? And you can come whenever." There's an awkward pause—he doesn't know how to continue with what he's saying. "Ah, anyways—I was saying...I enjoy your company, I would be honored to show you some stuff I know, in exchange for some of your time. Only if you'd like." God, he hoped that you would.

Michelangelo:

• Mikey couldn't hide his growing feelings, even if he wanted to. And it didn't take much for him to fall fast and hard for his crush; the attention he got was addictive and he wanted to give it back tenfold! He always wanted to feel wanted and accepted by others, so even though he couldn't have that from the rest of the human world, the fact that he had that from you was more than enough for him. He was grateful.

• He's his crush's biggest fan!! If there were merch, he'd wear it proudly even if it embarrassed you

• Creative and artistic; he painted and redesigned one of his old longboards just for you. It had some of his old pop-art on it, graffiti style, random sketches and doodles, and every sticker he could find. He tried to remember everything you liked to put it on the things he gave you, whether it were poster collages he made for his wall art or putting love onto the bottom of a skateboard. Big gift giver, so expect to get a LOT of stuff from him—even sentimental items he's nostalgic over, even if you feel bad to receive those things from him. He has a lot to give. 😌

• Mikey confesses by accident one day when he doesn't even mean to—he's playing around with you as usual and gets talkative when he's feeling excited, so it just slips out. Mid-play.

• "Ha-hah! That's what I'm taking about, I love you, Y/N!" There's a pause where it has to compute for a second. "Wait, did I just say that out loud?" He's serious for a moment—he can't believe he actually said that. But the next beat, he's back to smiling at you, laughing, maybe trying to deflect the hint of embarrassment he felt (which was rare for Mikey). "Yeah, I did say that out loud, I guess. Whoops...oh—now, tag, you're it!"

Donatello:

• Despite his brains and his intellectual nature, Donnie is an emotional person and actually falls in love almost immediately when he encounters that perfect person. He gets stars in his eyes and runs his own compatibility tests through his mind as he learns more about them, and annoyingly, they're stuck on his mind even when he's trying to work on his experiments and projects.

• Helpful, playful, a little stingy with your time lol—when he wants to spend time with his crush, he wants his brothers away because they take the limelight without thinking sometimes. Always offering to help you with homework or if you need anything fixed around the house, he's volunteering for that. Broken cabinet? Fixed. Wifi isn't working? No problem. Pipes under your sink leaking? He's been fixing up the Lair for years!

• Donnie is not shy. Let's say that rn. He's 👏 confident 👏. He's a little bit of a showoff competing with his brothers to snatch your attention, even if it's just games.

• He asks you if you'll have him on a date one night on your way out of the sewers. He'd been looking for the prime time to hit you with the question and was a little nervous to do it with his peers around, so he dropped the question when you went to leave for the night. "I know you're leaving—and this will only take a minute! But I had something to ask you." He lets you get curious. He holds up the keys to his prized possession, the Shellraiser, that he dreamed about driving you around in. "Ever gone on a joyride through New York in a souped-up garbage truck? No?...do you, maybe, want to do it with me? As a friend thing? Or maybe as more than just...friends?"

Raphael:

• Raph was completely UNready to admit he was getting soft for you. Or ready to commit to feeling the uncomfortable—but tantalizing—feelings you gave him. In honesty, for a good long while, Raph didn't let you know in the slightest he was getting his heart stolen over the course of the months he knew you.

• Very much puts off his crush with his prickly demeanor. But underneath that tough exterior, he's secretly taking every chance he can get to try to impress you in the ways he knows how; if there's any heavy lifting to be done, you bet he's volunteering himself out for that before anyone else can.

• Acts too good for sappy things until the moment his crush is being vulnerable—it disarms him, he's a protector at heart. He wants to be your shield from everything bad in the world, which is a lot.

• Raph plays the long game with his crush hinting over and over again he's in love, with no luck at times. It frustrates him but it's a challenge. He won't be outright and say it; everything he does is subtle, but the second your back is turned, he's making it known he's got your attention just to pull one over on his brothers (in good humor!)

• Makes his crush work with him to get the confession out, low-key. He makes you guess until you finally start to piece everything together. He will not be saying it with his words, but he'll definitely show it.

• "Y/N. C'mere," he says. "What're you still doing here this late, dummy? Already said it's not safe to walk home alone." Silence. "Agh, I did it again. Ignore my crap. But I mean it, stop goin' home alone, you know I told you I'd come too. And if I ain't available then I'm making Mikey go. Hear me? Stop acting like it's a burden or whatever..." He's kicking himself mentally for being unable to say what he actually wants to say. He ruffles your hair roughly to deflect. "See, now ya look silly like you act. Come on, let's go. I like you better safe in one piece than ending up in the back of some guy's van."

I lost all of my TMNT gifs from my old phone 😭 The post feels bare without it, but anyways, this is my first post in over a year so i hope it's good! 🐢🐢🐢🐢

[spoopyblues214]

Hello! How are you? I hope you are doing well Idk if you are open for request, if not you can ignore this one :)

I’d like to ask for a rottmnt x reader hc with a reader does kisses the back of the boys hand a lot, like those gentlemen-y acts but as a sign of thank you, appreciation, courting as well… maybe reader and the boys have mutual crushes and that’s their way of showing affection / desire to kissing them before actually being more courageous into asking to kissing them? Lol hope that makes e sense

Hope you have a good day

This seems absolutely adorable omg yes

Requests are open! Send an ask if interested :>

°•.•°

Raph

When you kiss the back of Raphs hand saying goodbye it first catches him off guard

He finds it endearingly silly how you take his large hand in yours to do so, the contrast adorable in his eyes

After the next few times it flusters him, feeling your soft skin on his rough hands from all his years of fighting. He starts looking away to try and hide his wobbly smile.

You get more courageous and start doing it for any little greeting, like seeing him just when entering a room, even if you already saw him when you first got to the lair.

He becomes rather forgetful, needing to refocus on what he had been doing.

He finds himself often looking at his hands where you most recently kissed him, swearing that he could feel the ghost of your lips on his skin and feeling giddy.

One night when leaving you kissed his hand as usual, but you lingered, purposely looking up at him. He glanced at you since you were taking longer and finally it clicked for him.

The next time you're over, before you could reach for his hand he's picked you up in one arm, still offering his free hand to you. You giggle and kiss the back of his hand, and afterwards he kisses your lips, his fingers lacing through your hair.

Leo

The first time you kiss him across the knuckles he freezes for a moment and then asks, "uh, why so formal?"

Your reply of 'just cause' has him over thinking it until the next time you come over, though it still doesn't click

The second time, he takes your hand and does it back, never one to be outdone on grandeur, and he always greets you the same since then

Each time he tries to come up with a different greeting to say. "Hola mi estrella," "ciao, bello/bella," "hi there, hot stuff!"

Even if your usual reaction is to just laugh at him, he still loves getting any reaction out of you.

All his attempts to fluster you seem like they never even phase you, while when you kiss his hand he's fighting off a wobbly smile.

With this dance going on for so long, finally you meet his greeting with, "surprised you haven't gotten the hint and just kissed me already."

He can't save himself this time and actually sputters, which has you laughing at him again. He huffs and pulls you into a dip, saying "you literally asked for it," before kissing you.

Donnie

The first time you kiss his hand he is flabbergasted. Jaw dropped, almost looking disgusted but really he's just confused. You go to apologize and he shakes his head, stuttering out, "ah, um, it's fine."

The second time you're slower with it so he can pull away if he wants, and he doesn't, so you go through with kissing his knuckles and are only a little surprised when he does the same.

Is he doing it as a part of masking? Is he doing it to hide his blushing face? Is he doing it in an attempt to return politeness? Perhaps an amalgamation of all this and more.

He is in his lab corkboard and red stringing about these incidents now every time after you kiss his hand, trying to math out every little detail and why the sudden change.

Both of you are pining oblivious shy idiots honestly- reading social cues is already hard enough but with the two of you fumbling no one is getting anywhere any time soon.

Thankfully, or maybe not so, Mikey and Leo make a plan and bring Donnies theory board out into the lair on a night you're visiting.

Donnie is plotting murder while you're stuck not knowing how to react because it's just so romantic that he was trying so hard to figure it out.

You grab his hand and kiss his knuckles again, only to reach out with your other palm and place it on his cheek as you kiss him. His murderous intentions get put on the back burner.

Mikey

He's curious first but uncharacteristically he freezes stock still when your lips meet his skin. After you wave goodbye he's melting, almost falling to the floor.

The second time you do it you're greeted with a large smile, and Mikey asks giddily, "are you gonna be doing that every time now?" You answer yes.

He's looking smug as he holds out his hand for you ahead of time now, which always makes you laugh, which always makes him smile wider.

He's dancing around the lair. His brothers are rolling their eyes. He's like a teen girl losing their mind over a boy band just from your goodbyes.

On day he asks if he can have another. "Hmm, I don't know 'angelo, what's in it for me?" He plays along and offers a kiss to your knuckles in return. You take this deal, and he knows he's won with how much you blush.

He does this a few more times, just to absolutely 100 percent make sure and totally not just because he likes seeing you blush. It's the same song and dance prior every time, too.

The next time he's smiling so wide you know he's planning something. When he asks for another, you open your mouth with a similar protest to before, and he cuts you off. "I know, I know, a kiss for a kiss. I want both of mine first, though."

You raise an eyebrow, but shrug, taking both his hands to kiss the tops of each. After this he takes one of your hands in his, but the other is under your chin, and he kisses your lips.

[tblsomedoodles]

Here's an art/info dump about this stupidly cute idea that's been rotating in my brain for three day.

(the first comic here is just how they first met. they ended up in the same alley, pestering the same cat without noticing. Then the cat left and they notice they're not alone lol)

(Second is Donnie 'talking' with Mikey for the first time. He only uses Mind Mend to communicate and is just as surprised as Mikey to find it worked on him. (it has only worked with Leo before this))

I'll put the rest under a break b/c i will be going off about this and i don't want it to take up your entire feed.

I'm jokingly calling this "Mikey's Imaginary Friends" though that might change if i continue this.

Basically it's this, the twins grew up with Draxum while Raph and Mikey grew up with Splinter. Neither set knew about the other (b/c splinter though they were dead and didn't want his two remaining kids to worry about it, and Draxum was too focused on fixing his lab to pay much attention to the twins.) So, imagine Mikey's shock when, at age 8, he's out exploring topside (having snuck out) and runs into two more mutant turtles (who also snuck out and are exploring.) Thus begins an ongoing sneaking out to meet up thing between the three b/c Mikey's excited to have new friends and the twins are just as fascinated with Mikey as he is with them.

And before you ask, "hey, why doesn't Mikey tell his family about the two other turtles?" he does. Raph thinks he just made up some imaginary friends so he plays along but doesn't believe they're real. Splinter, on the other hand, thinks he's talking to Hamato ancestors due to some very big miscommunications (that i'll probably draw out at some point b/c it's silly)

Twins background wise, i'm still thinking through a lot of it, but i'll put my thoughts down anyways.

Draxum knew that training the twins at a young age would be counterproductive, so he doesn't train them beyond some basics a few times a week. Other than those sessions, he leaves them alone with their less-than-stellar caretaker, in favor of rebuilding his lab. The caretaker doesn't do much for them beyond give them food and very basic school like lessons. Beyond that the twins are left on their own.

they come to the conclusion that the only people that will care for them is themselves. They discover Mind Meld very early as a result of this and will not talk verbally b/c they found out early on with their caretaker, that if they tried to talk, they were just ignored anyways, so what's the point.

(I'm also thinking Donnie might be deaf or hard of hearing in this, with the pair of them using Mind Meld as a way for him to temporarily hear through Leo and thus keep Drax from finding out. but i'll have to do some more research before i decide for sure/figure out the specifics)

as for Meeting Mikey

That's why they became so fascinated with mikey. B/c mikey was the first person that treated them like a person and not a job or an incomplete experiment. (He's also so happy and bright, they can't avoid getting drawn to him lol)

Mikey's probably the only one they verbally start talking to, even after they teach him mind meld. (though Leo's the one to pick up on that more than Donnie. Donnie doesn't do much talking at all outside mind meld).

They also come out of their shells (hehe) a lot as they interact more with Mikey. Before they met him, they acted more like automatons, even when alone. The more they socialize with Mikey, the sillier these two get. Leo learns about puns and starts going mad with them, Donnie starts happy stimming about thing (which he has either been suppressing or just never had the urge to do before.) Basically they stop acting like little creepy statues and start acting like kids.

Honestly, it's just a cute idea with the kiddos meeting each other and Mikey inadvertently socializing his not-well-socialized brothers.

(also, the twins wear masks b/c Donnie doesn't like the smell of the city and he's worried about germs. Not for any ninja reasons, what so ever.)

Alright, that's it for my info dump. maybe more later? Maybe not? Depends on how much longer these kids keep my attentions (though right now, they're doing a pretty good job at it lol)

[tizeline]

1-I've fallen in love with your Tiz Sep AU, especially how you made Mikey the problem child with the hardest redemption arc out of the 4, because normally it's not Mikey who gets that role (Cause he'll always be a sweet kid no matter what dimension or universe or faction he's in<3), so I'm really interested to see how Sep Mikey and Sep Donnie finally reconcile and become closer<3<3<3<3

I'm glad you're enjoying the AU :D! And I'm still trying to figure out how the events of the movie is gonna go down in the AU, but so far this is what I've come up with (though keep in mind this is subject to change)

So it's during season 2 that all that drama between Mikey and... basically everyone else in his family gets really intense, but he does end up mostly reconciling with Leo, Raph and Draxum during the season 2 finale (don't know the details yet, just that it's gonna happen). With that character development, Mikey also grows more accepting towards humans, he still doesn't like them but he's also not trying to destroy them all so that's something!

But Mikey and Donnie just can't seem to get along, in the time leading up to the invasion they're just stuck in this constant state of animosity. Raph and Leo certainly try to mediate, but it's almost like Mikey and Donnie don't want to get along. It's kinda one of those situations where it doesn't really matter why two people started fighting, cuz now they're been fighting for so long and about so many things that it feels impossible to even try to make peace.

So then The Foot get the Key, which in the AU happens because Donnie and Mikey can't stop fighting for two fricking seconds and they screw up the mission. And then each of them blame the other for the mission going wrong, which just gets worse when Casey Jr shows up and warns them about the Krang and goddam these two are being annoying. STILL! Despite their less than ideal relationship, they have started genuinely care about each other, and they both feel guilty about losing the Key, so when Mikey sees an opportunity of getting the Key back he goes for it (like canon!Leo did). And when Donnie sees that Mikey is about to get fucking skewered by the Krang, he jumps in front of his little brother and shield him with his own body (like canon!Raph did).

The story from here on out is not as thought out, but needless to say Donnie gets captured and "krangified". I'm kinda thinking that instead of the Krang just making him a soldier like Raph was, they instead hook Donnie up to the Technodrome or something? And after being freed from the Krang's control, maybe Donnie can still take control of the Technodrome himself to pilot it back through the portal. Cuz ya know, they still need a way to send it back into the prison dimension and the other turtles can't connect to the TD because of their hard shells. I did have an idea of potentially making April pilot the thing lmao, but I also have a headcanon that the only reason Donnie could pilot the TD at all was because he has some Krang DNA in him (empyrean), which April obviously doesn't. So Donnie will still probably be the one to send the TD back into the prison dimension.

In the AU, I imagine that Leo and Raph are still kinda dealing with the whole leadership-issue throughout the invasion haha. It's not nearly as dramatic and hostile this time around, don't worry! But I love the idea of Leo and Raph becoming co-leaders, only problem is that they're still trying to figure out what exactly that looks like for them. It not a huge issue when they're doing small-scale missions, but with how intense and stressful the invasion is, they're kinda struggling figuring out how exactly their dynamic should look like.

But back to Mikey, he obviously feels guilty as fuck over Donnie sacrificing himself for him and he's not handling very well. Mikey having lost access to his mystic powers is also really getting to him considering how heavily he relies on them. Leo's drama with Casey Jr in the movie is in the AU replaced with Mikey's drama with Casey Jr. Mikey is initially pretty cold towards CJ just because he's human, when Donnie gets taken Mikey decides to direct his hurt and anger at CJ because... well... he's human! And he didn't properly warn them about the Krang! So obviously it's somehow his fault that Donnie got taken! Somehow! It's very weird for CJ to interact with pre-character-development-Mikey acting like a petty brat about the whole situation, he's hurt by it but also quickly just grows very annoyed at Mikey's hostility towards him. And then we get That One Scene where CJ yells at Leo to get his shit together, except of course this time it's him yelling at Mikey haha.

Anyway, then Mikey DOES get his shit together, and he manages to help Donnie break free of the Krang's control by giving this big heartfelt speech about how he's sorry about how he has been acting and he wants to befriend Donnie and become real brother, you get it. But Mikey still feels guilty about everything that has happened, and to add on to that he still kinda has main character syndrome lol. Point is when Raph, Leo and Donnie all get knocked out of the fight and it's only Mikey against Krang One, he pretty quickly decides to sacrifice himself if it means defeating the Krang. It goes down pretty similarly to how Leo did it in canon, Mikey can fly so he lures Krang One into the prison dimension and is able to restrain him there long enough with his chains to convince CJ to close the portal.

So then the question is - how the HELL does he get out of there??? Mikey opened up the portal in canon, which is gonna be hard for him to do in the AU if he's being beaten within an inch of his life by Krang One haha. But I do think I've figured it out, so Leo and Raph at this point in the story have unlocked their Hamato Ninpo but Mikey hasn't, because their Ninpo is fueled by like... the connection to their family, and Mikey doesn't feel very connected to his Hamato ancestry before this obviously. But what if this is the moment where he doesn finally unlock his Ninpo! After both Donnie and Mikey proved their dedication to each other through their sacrifices, Mikey finally feels connected to the Hamato family. The way I imagine this scene is that it's not just Mikey creating the portal, his brothers are reaching out to him with their Ninpo and Mikey is able to reach back, even while in different dimensions. They're able to establish a familiar connection and because of that a litteral connection is formed through the portal, and Mikey is brought home.

Lastly I wanna talk about Donnie, specifically the uh. Injury he gets from the Krang when he shields Mikey. I actually drew this really quick sketch of that moment a while back but I never posted it here so I might as well do it now! It's not super gory or anything, but Donnie's shoulder got a little but fucking impaled and also there's blood so I'm putting it underneath the read more thing

Haha remember when I said this this AU was gonna stay mostly silly goofy? Teehee!

Anyway, I can't really decide if I wanna make Donnie just lose his enitre arm after this because lol. Lmao. But the reason Donnie doesn't like die from blood loss right after this moment is because the Krang goop is sealing up the injury, both when he first gets captured and interrogated, as well as during the time when he's under Krang control. After he's freed, he's mostly only able to help in the fight by piloting the Technodrome up partway through the portal, maybe he's able to like act as support in the fight against Krang One by using his Ninpo? But yeah no he basically gets benched as soon as his brothers get him back because he's still quite injured.

But look on the bright side, Mikey and Donnie both being on bedrest after the invasion gives them PLENTY of time to bond! :D Like sure, they showed how far they're both willing to go for each other during the invasion, but they've still got a lot of bad blood to sort out afterwards and them both being stuck in medbay kinda forces them to deal with their problems haha. So yeah, while the invasion is the catalyst for them making peace, it's mostly during their recovery that they properly bond with each other. (Prepare for B-Team cuddles, it WILL happen!)

And you asked about specifially when Donnie loses his immunity towards Mikey's puppy dog eyes, and I'd imagine it's during their recovery. Not only because they're growing closer, but also because his baby brother is INJURED and SUFFERING and to Donnie's horror he quickly realizes that he is unable to say no to Mikey now haha XD

HOOBOY that's basically everything, I still have to figure out a lot of the details, but writing this all down made me realize that I've figured out way more of the plot than I initially thought, so that's nice!

[britt-kageryuu]

Donnie is doing a reaction stream, if only because the audience found their commentary and general reactions.

Plus many of their games mods needed to update, totalling 3 hours for just one games mods.

Donnie switches over to YouTube to watch some reddit videos, at the request from chat.

He also readjusts his setup so that his model dressed in purple sweatpants, a black longsleeved shirt with a graphic of a cartoon softshell holding a knife in its mouth, black socks, and his bandana. And sitting on an armchair with his tail visibly draped next to him.

At this moment the chat starts asking why Donnie isn't signed in to YouTube.

"Well, I don't have Premium so Ads do not matter. Frustrated Huff. What matters is that when I am signed in I get YouTube Podcasts, and episodes as Ads, and the timer just says 90, seconds or minutes, it doesn't tell." Donnie says with some annoyance, his tail whips to the side striking the side of the chair with a smack. "Sure they're skippable, but if I leave a video playing in the background and I get an Ad... well I wonder why I hear someone I wasn't watching talking for 10 minutes."

"Meanwhile, if I am not signed in, the ads are a worst a 30 second unskippable ad. Or the video pausing to ask if I want to sign in." Right as they say this, said pop up comes up on the video, "Like so. It doesn't 'improve my watch experience' to log in, so no."

"Now to watch a video or two from reddit readers, first up is Mildly Interesting." Donnie announces as they start the video. "Then after this will be a 'Confidently Incorrect' reddit video. So help my sanity, then Tech Support Gore. To torture me further apparently."

Donnie spent the first video double checking facts, or slightly correcting some of the posts, though some did genuinely surprise him.

The other two were a treasuretrove of clips people took of Donnie ranting, yelling and glaring at the computer for the Confidently Incorrect.

Though the Tech Support Gore had Donnie going through more emotion than anything else the audience had ever seen. Including Donnie looking close to throwing up on stream, they thankfully only dry heaving.

Though the epic rant about taking care of your electronics, was sound sampled for alot of parody videos made by those who watched the stream, and clips in the time after the stream ended.

Leo occasionally send Donnie videos where people overlay the rant over many Tech Support Gore situations.

------------------

Masterpost

I just wanted to use Donnie to do a small scale rant about my YouTube ads situation.

[ceruleanchronicle]

Please make a hsc for TMNT 2012 (Rahp, Leo, Donnie, Mikey)

How do turtles give up after finding out their girlfriend's big secret (e.g. that she was a foot clan soldier... whatever comes to mind) or will they forgive and forget her or will they hold a grudge

Thank you 💙❤️💜🧡

(if this violates your guidelines.....ignore it)

Hey! This doesn't violate my guidelines at all! Also, I'm SO sorry if this lowkey kinda bad but this is my first time actually writing anything, so I hope it's not terrible or cringey LOL.

I wrote this with a bullet point style, so let me know if you would rather a blurb kinda one shot instead.

Warnings: angst no fluff, unhealthy habits, depression, Leo has a love for foot soldiers apparently

2012 boys finding out their girlfriend is a foot solider

Leo-

Breaks up with you immedeantly after he finds out

Feels so betrayed

You're the first girl (besides Karai) that he's ever felt like he had an actual, real connection with

He beats himself up over it constantly because what if you had attacked his brothers or Splinter? He couldn't fathom how that would have played out

Raph deadass bullies him for it too

Goes to Splinter to ask "What's wrong with him" considering this is the SECOND TIME he's fallen for a foot solider. Homie has a type I guess.

Meditates a whole lot more in hopes that it will clear his mind of all thoughts of you

I don't see him as the forgive and forget type unless you're EXTREAMLY persistent in him taking you back. I'm talking constantly calling, texting, going out of your way to see him on his patrols. Then he MIGHT take you back and believe that you genuinely care about him

Raph-

Loses. his. shit.

He thought out of all his brothers, he would be the one able to see through anyone and their secrets

He defiantly holds a grudge against you, but deep down he loves and misses you

He's in the dojo training a lot more to let out some steam. His brothers are very worried about him

Tries to talk to Splinter about how he feels but ultimately gives up because he struggles with identifying his emotions and putting them into words

Donnie-

Now we all saw how obsessed he was with April and that's basically how he was about you, but now, you've basically broken his entire world apart

Shuts himself in his lab and doesn't talk to anyone

Stays up damn near all night trying to distract himself with his machinery. Coffee is his bestie during this time

Leo tries to get him to drink water and eat but Donnie is so concentrated in his work that he forgets

Splinter eventually has to intervene because he's skipping too many meals

Holds a grudge for about a week but after that, if you contact him, he's immediately running back into your arms claiming to his family that you've "changed" and that you "would never hurt them"

Mikey-

Feels so upset.

Tears up as soon as he finds out. Weather that be in the middle of a fight, alone, or with you.

Spirals into a deep depression. He feels emotions far deeper than any of his brothers

Stays in his room a lot more and hardly plays any video games, doesn't play pranks, or watch his shows with his brothers

Of course, his brothers are worried SICK about their baby bro

They want their happy little guy back

Is absolutely the forgive and forget type. He'd take you back in a heartbeat, against his brothers wishes and his own better judgment

Hope this did your ask some justice! Sorry if a few are too short. I find Leo the easiest to write for since he's my favorite LOL

[alwerakoo]

no shape for driving

Tales of the TMNT Leo & Raph word count: 2k CW: amputation, injury recovery, PTSD (aka: Raph does lose that finger - the fic)

AO3

---

“I'm trying to help,” Leo tells him.

“It fucking hurts,” Raph bites back, because he's a bad brother.

And an even worse patient.

He holds his hand close to his chest, the other closed around his wrist. As if Leo was going to sit up, reach across the bed, and physically pull his arms back in.

He won't, or at least Raph hopes so, but there's a certain look on his face, that he can't quite decipher.

That makes him anxious.

Lots of things do nowadays.

He thinks that might be the worst part of it all. There's a new twitchiness to him, something that wasn't there before. Something that pulls at his chest, that takes the air out of his lunges, that digs sharp needles into every part of his brain.

It's observant. It notices things he never did before; normal, innocent things that always passed through him without a second thought.

It hears the mechanical turn of a machine, something distant and quiet, so silent he would've thought he imagined it – and Raph spends the rest of the night staring at the bottom of Mikey's bed, body frozen and stiff.

(He did imagine it – maybe. Or at least Mikey didn't seem to recall anything like it in the morning, and then there was that look on his face again, and Raph hadn't dared to ask again.)

It feels someone brush behind his back, a hand on the back of his shell, and he's turning before he can think about it, feet clumsily stumbling back, one after the other.

(“'It's just me,” Donnie told him then, with something sad hidden between the words.

“Yeah, I know,” Raph lied.)

It spots a knife in someone's hand as they're making dinner, the way their fingers curve around the blade, and Raph has to leave the room, breath twice as fast, and a heart in his throat.

(That one pissed him off the most. It wasn't even a knife that did it, after all.)

He hates it.

He hates a lot of things now – Purple Dragons the most.

He hates when his limbs go numb but his mind turns sharp, thoughts turning into a mess of tangles and knots – all fired up, always for nothing.

And then it's over, and his eyes feel wet and hot, and there's a heaviness to his jaw, like cotton stuck under his tongue, and he wants to scream at every person he sees.

He does, sometimes. And then he lets it simmer out, lets his mind and body grow numb, till he can finally gather enough of himself to apologize.

They never hold it against him, and that makes him want to scream all over again.

Leo doesn't look mad right now, either.

He tilts his head slightly, hands rested flat on his thighs, and the ends of his mask curl around his shoulder.

There was always something so perceptive about his eyes, like he could see right past everything Raph wanted to be – straight into everything he truly was.

It's a scary thought, especially now.

“Raph,” Leo tries again.

He sounds low and hushed, but there's a nervous edge to his tone.

Raph can't read his mind, but he sees the way he flexes his fingers against the skin, the sudden twitch of his shoulder.

Leo always seemed to be living on the edge, his mind always faster than his body – too fast for his own good.

Now, it only feels like his edge has grown some new eggshells.

(Raph thinks he can say he understands now. He wishes he didn't.)

“It's... I'm...” He stumbles over his own words, clumsy and uncertain, like cotton in his mouth. “It's fine. I'll do it myself.”

He says it without second-guessing, without giving it too much thought – all impulse, like he has done all his life. Which means that now, something new inside him stirs up, and he hesitates.

He thinks it's a good idea, because if Leo touches him again right now, his skin will burn clean off.

He thinks it's an awful idea, because it means he'll have to look at his hand.

Leo told him it's a process. That it'll take time to get used to.

Mikey told him to take it slow, let his body heal and "chillax" – whatever he meant by that.

Donnie told him not to touch the sewer water with his hand.

Dad didn't say anything. He only held him.

Their advice was honest, most likely true, and never fucking enough.

Because no one told him about this part.

There are moments where he puts his hand behind his thigh, just enough to make it seem absentminded, or he holds it's under his pillow, tucked away for the whole night. Moments where even the thought of it fills his stomach with air and his lungs with acid.

And then there are moments where he can't help but to stare at it. At the jagged skin, pulled together by a nasty, pink scar.

He puts his hand on a table and watches the empty space between his two fingers. He flexes them against the wood, and it's walking down the stairs and missing a step – even if he's looking right at his own feet.

Both moments make him feel like clawing his own brain out.

In front of him, Leo fidgets, first with the bowl of rice sat between them, then with the ends of his mask, twisting them around his finger.

It's an old habit that Raph never thought he'd pick up from him, until he caught himself trying to do it once, and flinched when his mask only met air.

“You look like you're gonna have a heart attack,” Raph says, looking at him.

Leo stops in place, before shifting a little in place, not helping his case.

“I don't,” he says.

“You don't know what you look like,” Raph retorts.

Leo frows, and there's something petulant and childishly annoyed breaking onto his face. Raph had missed it.

“Yes, I do?”

Bickering with his brothers is familiar, and he hates the way everyone around him stirs clear of anything that goes beyond a pleasant grocery small talk. It's been two months, and they still act like he would shatter at any minute.

“You're an idiot.”

Looking at Leo also grants him the perfect excuse to not look at his hand.

He puts his left palm forward, sinking it into the bowl in front of him.

The sensation hits him immediately.

He shivers, arms raising up, and he almost pulls his arm back. He would've, maybe, if Leo didn't reach forward, cradling his elbow.

“It's okay!” He says, far too quickly. “I know it feels weird.”

He doesn't, and 'weird' doesn't cover it.

It's sharp needles digging into his flesh; it's bugs crawling under his skin; it's buzzing static, shooting electricity through his every nerve, and the spot where Leo holds him aches.

He feels the rice sink into the space where his finger used to be, and he feels it grow itchy in a spot he will never again be able to scratch.

Leo looks at him again, with those big, sad eyes of his, and fuck – does Raph hate that look.

It's pity.

He knows it is, he knows it under layers and layers of worry and love and care. He hates it, and he hates himself for not being to appreciate all those other parts.

“I'm fine,” he spits out, jaw tense, looking down.

“Are you?” Leo says, suddenly more serious.

His voice goes a little high, like he's going to choke on his own tongue at any minute.

Raph doesn't raise his head, but he looks up – the image of his brother blurry out of the corners of his vision.

“What?”

“I'm asking: Are you?”

Raph works his jaw.

He knows this part. It feels like half of their conversations end like this nowadays.

‘Yes, I’m fine. No, it’s okay. Yes. No’, rinse and repat, rinse and repeat.

“Do we have to talk about this now?” He sighs.

“I mean, it's like...” Leo pulls back, rubbing his hands together nervously. Raph wishes he hadn't. “I can see it, you know? You're so on the edge, all time, and I know it must be hard, but you never want to talk about it, and I just-” Leo raises his gaze and their eyes meet. His brother's jaw tightens. “I know you've been avoiding your sai.”

Raph tenses.

The muscles in his hand spasm, and he finally pulls his back, the air hitting the scar on it like a harsh gust of wind. He cradles it close to his chest again, breathing out a little too fast.

He thinks he should lie.

Or change the topic, at least. Let Leo have his doubts, his hopes, his little theories.

He doesn't want to crush him, any of them, under the same weight that's been resting on his shoulders for the past two months.

But he also thinks that new, rotten thing inside him wants him to lie, too.

He's tired of letting it win.

“It's...” He looks down, then quickly up, when he spots his left hand. “It doesn't feel right anymore.”

The words sting, sharp in his mouth like chewing glass.

He takes a breath. His eyes feel hot, and he quickly breaths in again, before he has a chance to do something stupid, like cry.

Leo's shoulders sag.

“Oh, Raphie...” He says, voice wobbly.

“Don't call me that,” Raph huffs.

But the half of it gets lost in Leo's collarbone, when he suddenly sits up, throwing his arms around Raph with enough strength to knock the wind out of him.

Raph raises his arms, and his left hand shakes as he places it on Leo's shell.

“It doesn't feel right,” he repeats, right into Leo's arm, hiding in his brother's hold like a little kid. “I don't know what to do. They're- It's- It's my thing, you know? What am I supposed to do now?”

Leo hums. He pushes the bowl aside with his knee, scooting closer. He sits up on his heels, so he's just a little taller than Raph.

“Your sai are not going anywhere,” Leo tells him.

He sounds weirdly on a verge of tears, and that almost makes Raph laugh, because Leo has always been a sympathetic crier, and it’s just so like him, that it makes Raph want to hold him even tighter.

He wants to hold onto any sense of familiarity he has left.

“I'll be okay. You'll see, you're gonna learn how to use them again. You've done it once before, right? And we were toddlers, can't be that much harder now.” Leo rambles.

He has a tendency to do that. On a regular, but especially in hard moments.

“Yeah,” Raph breathes, because in hard moments, he tends to quiet.

“What is that thing Mikey always says?” Raph can't see his face, but he can imagine the way his face scrunches up. He sniffles. “Learn, adjust, overcome?”

“That's not how the meme goes,” Raph laughs, and it comes out a little wet.

“It's close enough,” Leo hums.

“Are you crying?” Raph asks, just to make sure.

Leo sniffles.

“... No?”

Raph doesn’t say anything to that, but Leo must sense his amusement, because he huffs, pulling gently at Raph’s mask tails.

“Shut up, we’re having a moment.”

Raph doesn’t try to argue.

His hand aches, raw and sensitive. He runs it over Leo's shell, and he's expecting his finger to catch on his belts, and then it doesn't.

But he's still holding him.

There's just a little less of him now, in more than one way.

But he will pick himself back up. He knows he will.

He'll fill every void with something new and kind, and everything he can't – with spite alone.

And maybe that new, scared thing inside him will never fully go away. But he can make it wither, just a little bit.

Leo squeezes him, just a little tighter, and Raph doesn't let go.