#and I love their dynamic in mutant mayhem

[alabasterpickles]

Experimental drawing of my two favorite TMNT villains because A I got a cintiq I wanted to test drive and B I need some merch of these guys I’m desperate 😭

Heavily inspired by classic punk posters and comic art

[sylphee]

manga discussion club ^u^

[angelmichelangelo]

DONNIE BEING BABY IS CANON !!!!!! AHH

[bicryptide]

Some sketch of MM shredder x Cynthia "not at all an alien in a mech suit" Utrom

based on this two tweet

[nosleep83]

WHEN DONNIE GRABS ONTO LEO’S SHOULDER/SHELL WHEN HES LIKE NERVOUS OR SCARED AGEBSHSGGWHE GOD DAMN BROTHERS‼️‼️‼️‼️😭😭😭😭🗣🗣🗣

[turtleblogatlast]

Huge missed opportunity to have more teleportation hijinks with Mayhem and Leo tbh

Could have so easily been made into a great April & Leo episode 😭

[duckdodger]

'87 and mm mikey eating empanadas while talking about their fave shows

THIS SCENARIO IS SO SILLY I LOVE IT <3

very very mini comic ?.? hsjdnfk-

[jasminegazer]

Spot the difference:

They’re both alpha women with their cutie pie bfs

[renesassing]

y'know if you had asked me 'hey rené what pop culture music do you think you're going to hear in the tmnt movie' i never would've guessed the he-man cover of the 4 non blonde's 'what's up.'

[5t4r5and5uch01]

SUNSET DUOOO ❤️🧡

a couple of funky fresh brothers

[ho4ho5]

TMNT relationships have always been destined for doom either ending in tragedy or falling apart due to harsh circumstances. And the funny thing? Since TMNT was created, romances have rarely felt earned. Most of the time, characters fall in love simply because the plot needs them to.

Take Casey and April in 2003, for example. Their relationship boiled down to “Oh, you have turtle friends? I have turtle friends too! Let’s get married, it’ll be fun!” It lacked depth. Or look at Tang Shen in TMNT 2012 she had a baby and a husband, yet for some reason, there was still this weird “But Saki is kinda attractive though” subplot. None of it felt natural. And then there’s the mess that was April, Donnie, and Casey in 2012. They constantly argued, treated each other badly, yet by the end, it was like none of that mattered. Their relationships weren’t built on anything solid they just existed for the sake of the story.

That’s why Mutant Mayhem is interesting. Sure, it follows the same “romance is needed for the story to move forward” pattern, but there’s actually a key difference that sets it apart the characters themselves.

Leonardo is one of the most loyal characters in TMNT history. He’s practically like a dog he always finds the good in people, even when they’re trying to kick his ass. 2003 Leo is a prime example of this. Then we have April, who is just as sweet and loyal. But here’s the real difference: unlike Leo’s past crushes who either turned out to be his enemies or, uh… his siblings April is actually someone who could return his feelings. She acts tough at first, but once you show her a little kindness, she’s willing to meet you halfway. That’s why their dynamic has the potential to be healthy for once.

So why fear it when you can create something new? Romance has always been a rejected subject in TMNT either forced into the story or completely avoided. But Mutant Mayhem has the chance to fix that instead of just ignoring it out of convenience.

For once, the Turtles have the opportunity to be accepted as themselves while still being entirely different from the humans around them. TMNT has struggled with this in past versions whenever romance was involved, it either felt like a gimmick, a tragic subplot, or something doomed from the start. But this time? It doesn’t have to be that way.

Instead of treating romance like a background element with no real purpose, Mutant Mayhem could actually make it feel natural something that enhances the characters rather than just existing for drama or tradition. It’s a chance to show that, despite their differences, the Turtles can form meaningful relationships outside their own circle, not by changing who they are, but by finding someone who accepts them for it.

[saladmix]

salad!!

first and foremost: i love TDTWB so much, i literally cannot emphasise that enough.

i wanted to know your thought process on the parallels of april and leo’s relationships in both world 6 and dimension z!

what i gather is that in world 6, leo has a dorky crush on april, and in dimension z they’re more like siblings. what made you tweak this little aspect? ramble on!!

Ahhh thank you!! I am once again honored and touched and every shade in between I can't thank you enough for reading and engaging with the fic!

oooooOooOooOoo STAND BACK IM ABOUT TO RAMBLE let me get my ramble boots on these are high waters.

OKAY SO spoilers below if ya aren't caught up!

So World 6 as we now know is the Mutant Mayhem universe! And I really, really loved April and Leo in Mutant Mayhem. I think Leo's crush is so charming and wholesome maybe I'm lame but I got a soft spot for that time period in life where crushes felt all consuming and were just so embarrassing and made you act like a fool.

I know in Mutant Mayhem/TOTTMNT universe we don't really know what direction they're taking Leo and April in. I mean for the most part it seems one-sided but I'm a sucker for unrequited love or some pathetic man pining, especially when the other person in the equation might be totally oblivious. But either way I'm excited to find out! I think they're cute fam. I do. And in my fic specifically, MM Leo has known April for about a year at the point where we meet him. And he's clearly still got this crush, but I also like to imagine that he's deepened that friendship and at this point they really know each other well and that infatuation is maybe something a little deeper it's got some roots now!

But the Z boys are different! The Z boys have known April practically their whole lives. We're talking playground friends, we're talking pre-school friends. So April grew up alongside them and because of that, she really does feel like a sister to them. This isn't to say that really good childhood friends can't also develop romantic feelings for each other! That happens a lot! But for Leo and April specifically I wanted to explore a really deep platonic relationship. Catch me throwing around the term platonic soulmates. Like they are each other's person, you know? The kind of relationship that would quite frankly intimidate the hell out of romantic partners because they're like okay what the hell how do I compete with this level of attachment?

Another reason I decided to go this route is because I knew I wanted to have the Rasey relationship and I didn't want to be doubling up on romantic mayhem you know what I mean? That wasn't quite the story I wanted to tell. And I chose Rasey because honestly I feel like Leo and April would be so freaking solid as a couple like they'd be In Step with each other, like they are now, and that is a lot of fun to write! I love stable loving relationships in fic that shit is undervalued! But it wasn't the dynamic I was in the mood for. And Rasey, at least my Rasey, is messy. They're these two hot-headed assholes that butt heads most of the time, they're always arguing and bickering, but they also have a lot of passion and love for one another. I like that, honestly, they're probably not right for each other but god damn do they choose each other.

So really it just came down to the relationship I wanted to focus on. I like having a variety of different kinds of relationships to write <3 So all this to say that I think MM Leopril is really cute and charming and I'm a fan, but Z Leo and April have a really deep unshakable bond that's kind of that once-in-a-lifetime relationship. And it isn't romantic, but it's love, and it's powerful <3

[rainyraisin]

Oh wait for real? I do hope they decided to go with it because I genuinely got so excited when I heard it dbskdbskdb- Especially cause of how Rise’s age order switch up changed the general dynamic so much (and also because Donnie is my favourite in any iteration). I guess we’ll have to wait until the show releases or if someone who worked on Mutant Mayhem clarifies. Also good point about the voices!

If we don’t get an episode in Tales of the TMNT about how Donnie is the youngest I will be MISERABLE/lhj

[theoneandonlyneonleon]

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

Oh yippee an ask!!

I think my favorite character dynamics are Warren and Hypno or 2012 Raph and Casey.

Warren and Hypno are just honestly a really cute pair. Not one I was really expecting, but still one I really really enjoyed. Something about this ex news anchor and magician coming together to form a cute little domestic relationship as boyfriends really good friends and roommates is just so cute to me. I could honestly go on and on about Warren and Hypno (as well as the general queercoding of rise as a whole) but ill spare you on that for now-

Im a huge fan of the Raph x Casey pairing, and it fits for pretty much every version. Even mutant mayhem, which doesn't even have a CJ- (I do however have my own Casey Jones for mm, you should ask me abt him some time) I don't really know why I like the pairing so much, I suppose they just- work. Its really different for each version of Rasey, whether we're talking about rise, 2012, 2003, etc.

My least favorite relationship dynamic is definitely April x any of the turtles (in a romantic sense) (also any of the turtles shipped together, but I feel that goes without saying). April is such a fun character, and I feel like reducing her to just a love interest severely inhibits her character. Take 2012 Apriltello for example. I feel like April had so much potential, but was reduced to a vanilla side character love interest for Donnie. (Simply my personal opinion here-)

My favorite dynamic to see explored in fanworks is definitely Leosagi. Something about the two just intrigues me so much. Its such a fun pair, and they work so well together. I can't really say why I like them so much, I really have no clue, but I just love them so much.

[nosleep83]

I love this little interaction sm

[fabuloustrash05]

What if in the new Mutant Mayhem show, just hear me out, we meet Yuichi through Lotus Blossom.

Like, Lotus and Leo are hanging out on a rooftop or something and she offhandedly mentions to him something like, “Oh hey, I have this rabbit friend I would like you to meet.”

And when Yuichi eventually arrives Leo is just-

Literally fits into my headcanon that MM Leo has main character syndrome and thinks everyone who gives him a smile is his love interest and/or are in love with him.

I’ve even made a chart with my MM OCs to show how Leo sees the relationship dynamics with everyone and himself VS how it actually is:

In conclusion, Leo is a bisexual disaster who overthinks WAY too much and we love him <3